Monday, September 30, 2019

Accounting treatment for capitalizing

Thank you for CA for accounting treatment in regards to your venture capital stake in Historiographers (Western). In our introductory meeting, you requested this firm to research on the accounting treatment for capitalizing the accumulated Meatball marketing consultancy charges uncured and the staff salaries. I am able to confirm that the marketing consultancy charges and the staff salaries can be capitalized and amortized over more than one taxpayer.In reaching this conclusion, I referred to relevant authority from codifications from the Financial Accounting Standards Board. In addition, I have also reviewed the documents provided to this firm during our earlier meeting. Facts The facts as was provided to us are as follows: Western hired a high-priced marketing consultancy company, Medievalist, to come-up with an integrated marketing strategy for computer game â€Å"Project. † Medievalist was tasked to develop a very catchy slogan that Western will use in a multimillion dolla r advertising campaign long with other things.Before the winning slogan was developed, they had presented others that Western rejected as unsuitable for Project's image. Therefore, Western has Incurred a marketing expense of $750,000. Western wants to capitalize charges for the rejected phrases but they reason that the rejected phrases were an integral part of developing the winning slogan. Western will also capitalize the costs of staff salaries of $300,000 for the time they spent in meetings with Medievalist. Western intends to amortize the capitalized amounts over the expected product-life f the game.Applicable Codifications The applicable codifications from Financial Accounting Standards Board (FAST) which addresses Westerns plans to capitalize the accumulated Medievalist charges and capitalize the staff salaries are as follows. Codification paragraph 720-15-55-3: The following costs that might be incurred in conjunction with start-up activities are subject to the provisions of this Subtopic a. Travel costs, employee salary-related costs, and consulting costs related to feasibility studies, accounting, legal, tax, and governmental affairs.Codification paragraph 720-15-45-1: Because is marketed to others, the expense shall be charged to cost of sales or a similar expense category. Codification paragraph 720-15-45-2: In an entity's balance sheet, capitalized software costs having a life of more than one year or one operating cycle shall be presented as another asset because the costs are an amortize intangible asset. Analysis Based on the provided facts of your venture stake in Western, it is clear that charges incurred through a consultancy contract with Medievalist is a part of the product placement under the implementation guidance paragraph.In addition, the staff salary is also a part of the implementation guidance paragraph as well. Recommendation Due to the shortness of time to turn this research project around, I suggest that we see the more detailed invoices from Medievalist along with the billable hours of the staff salaries allocated to working on the marketing development of a catchy slogan. Please call me at (415) 297-8060 , if you have any further questions concerning these findings.I also suggest that a follow up meeting next week to discuss the additional accumulation which may be needed to better conclude this research into the accounting treatment of your situation. Sincerely, for Golden Gate & Associates, Spas IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (I) avoiding any tax penalty or promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

AOS: Belonging Essay

Experience †¢Our life experiences teach us that when you stop trying to belong you realize that you have always belonged. †¢We search for a place to belong, not realizing that it is our perceptions and attitudes and not the place that allow us to belong. Notions of identity (Ideas) When your cultural identity is marginalized you can feel displaced and dislocated, and believe that you don’t belong to your culture or the dominant culture. †¢Our search for who we are is fueled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong. Relationships †¢The need to belong to a group of community shapes our behavior, attitudes and actions. †¢An individual has the potential to damage relationships and ensure that others do not belong. †¢When humanity experiences a strong (spiritual) connection to a place the notion of belonging is strength – ENED and ENRICHED. †¢When our relationship with a place is shaped by a narrow and biased view of the world, our notion of belonging can be questionable. Acceptance †¢The basic human need to be accepted and belong can cloud our judgments and direct our actions. Understanding †¢When we begin to understand the forces that drive us to belong we develop empathy for others and personal insight. Essay Introduction Belonging is about connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. A sense of belong is a fundamental need. As Kofi Annan says, â€Å" We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race†. The oxford dictionary defines the word belong as be a member, fit in a specified environment, not be out of place.’ The need to ‘fit in’, to belong with others is common to all humanity, crossing all geographical and cultural boundaries. The need to ‘fit in’ to belong with others is common to all humanity crossing all geographical and cultural boundaries. Perceptions of belonging are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts. ‘The Fringe Dwellers’ directed by Bruce Beresford deals with an indigenous Australian family whose struggles for acceptance and identities are portrayed through its main characters. Bruce Beresford has used film techniques†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to show the different aspects of belonging. These characters are depicted as people striving to attain an identity, but the barriers to their acceptance are quite strong. The different aspects of belonging/ not belonging presented in the text are place/land, Topic sentence – about place and land and sense of belonging, Land/Place/Home is an important part, the members of Comeaway family belong to each other and stick together in their extended family in WA. They live in a dilapidated house on the out skit of town. Mrs comeaway is the centre or the family. Trilby has great ambition and plans and wants to move into the council house. The thinks that if she moves into the new house she will be able to like any other white person. The family feels a sesnse of belonging to that place after they moved out to their new home. Trilby says, it’s all new’’. ’A kitchen, an electric stove and running water!† She feels a sense of belonging to that place and does not want her relatives to stay there. The close connection to a place is significant to every individual. Having a home, feeing secure and comfortable is vital. Tribly feels out of place due to her great ambitions and goes away in the end searching for a place of her dreams – to the city to get her great white Australian dream materialized. Some of the shots are extreme long shots and some long shots which show the background. The body language of main characters tells a lot more than words. Trilby and Noonah are a searching for a place to belong Skippy’s return to his tribal birth place indicates that he wants to belong where her belonged. The second aspect of belonging is ‘notions of identity/acceptance. An individual’s sense of identity reflects his/her belief or aspirations about where they belong and feel accepted. When our cultural identity is marginalized we feel displaced and we believe that we do not belong to our culture or group. Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place where we belong. The sharing of common values creates a bond that allows individuals to feel they won’t be misunderstood or rejected. Often the process off searching and finding one’s identity is a difficult process and can change overtime. In Fringe Dwellers, Noonah, Moolies, Bertie, Joe, are all aware of their identity they never question it except for Tribly – Comeaway school girl. Trilby is full of grand hopes and dreams and questions her identity through body language. There is a difference between knowing your sense of identity and searching for your identity. Trilby constantly encourages her family to be independent and live just like the whites. The director showing the close up shot of Trilby’s face in front of the mirror indicate Trilby’s insecurity about her identity. Again the point of view shot of Tribly looking intently at the window (with the scenes of the city) shows. Her dreams and aspirations. This was the route she looks. Forwards to walk on as it is a pathway to get accepted by the wilder community.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Comparison between Christianity and Hinduism based on the seven Essay

Comparison between Christianity and Hinduism based on the seven dimensions of religion - Essay Example On experiential and emotional dimension, Hinduism believes in Brahma the mother Goddess and the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu is the protector and Shiva the Destroyer and several hundreds of gods thought to emanate from the mother Goddess Brahman. In this tradition, God and trinity are one in their purest form and mother Goddess is worshipped. In the Christian traditions, God and the trinity are quite different. Some Christians worship Virgin Mary as the Holy mother. On narrative Christian traditions describe Earths creation, starting with the universe and final creation of man. Additionally, the early life of Gods creations is described, this forms the Old Testament in the bible, and later on the life of Jesus is narrated. In Hinduism, formation of the universe has been narrated, basing on the fact that it formed through a gradual process caused by Prakrit. On Social and institutional approach there are no rules on how God reveals himself, or how he chooses messengers in Hinduism. God i ncarnates himself, physically reveals himself or as such, chooses heavenly beings or a pure soul to accomplish his work. It is believed that, his final incarnation will happen at the end of this cosmic period. However, in Christian traditions it is believed that Jesus is no equal to man. it is believed that no more messiahs will come, until only the second coming of Christ. On ethical and legal rules, Hinduism believes in forgiveness, prayers, inner purity, as a way for earning Gods grace, and as a way for soul liberation. In the Christian traditions, such beliefs are the means by which man abides by Gods law and indeed personify the will of Jesus Christ as well as Christian values. Liberation from sin is not personally achieved but it is through the faith in Jesus and the teaching on Gods law. On Doctrinal and philosophical dimension, the bible forms the basis for the Christian principles and values. Indeed the Roman church acknowledges traditions in line with the bible as the prim ary source for the doctrine. Christianity has been instrumental in the shaping of Islam and Jainism. In Hinduism, the pillars of the traditions originate from the smritis, or as such the books of revelation. As such traditions, the epics, law books, and the writing of different philosophers serves as a guide to the spiritual life of the Hindus. Notably, Hinduism has been instrumental in shaping the history of Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Lastly, on material Christians use Palm branches as a symbol of victory. The burning bush depicts Gods divine power. In Hinduism, the Om or Aum has been used as a symbol for piety where it is enshrined in Hindu temples and some family shrines. As such Om has been used to symbolize divinity, as well as authority. In addition, swastika is used which symbolizes the eternal nature of Brahman. Christian sub traditions include Catholicism, orthodox Christians, Protestants and Anglicanism. The catholic doctrines proclaim that the church is infallible to the dogmatic teaching on morality and faith. Protestants belief in bible authority, while Orthodox Christians is a set of governing churches affiliated to the eastern Christian traditions. In Hinduism, the main sub traditions include the Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Shaivism as well as, Smartism. As such the denominations share common rituals and belief as well as, traditions. However, each denomination has its own philosophy concerning the achievement of the ultimate goal in life. As In this denomination, a follower believes in the deity Vishnu. Secondly, Shaivism forms the second largest religious community

Friday, September 27, 2019

Modern Democracies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern Democracies - Research Paper Example This means, in communities that act by voting, that rule belongs to the majority, as no other method has been found for determining peaceably and legally what is to be deemed the will of a community which is not unanimous† (Bryce, and Bryce 20). Keeping in accord to this definition if the modern systems of governance are followed, mainly two types of approaches towards democracy can be found, namely: multi partisan and bipartisan. In a democratic system as the common people have the sole authority to select the government by their voting power, thus, depending on their political ideology, creed, and dependence on political system parties are formed and they aim at functioning as the representatives of common people in the context of conveying their requirements to the government. In a bipartisan political structure as that of the United States the nature of democracy is determined by two major parties. The incidents of fraud in election had a major role to play in leading the U nited States political scenario to adopt the bipartisan structure. ... However, since mid 1980s several neo-liberal reforms were implemented quite in accordance with multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural demography of Brazil. The multi-cultural demography of the nation played one of the most important roles in the genesis of multi-partisan political structure and consequently provided the common people of the nation with freedom of choice so that urgent reforms can be introduced in different domains of the democratic existence within the Brazilian political context (Lemanski-Valente 89-90). Thesis Statement: The approach towards democracy in both bipartisan and multi-partisan system is to a great extent dependent on political culture of the respective nations. However, in respective system, approach towards democracy generates certain issues that will be focused with adequate attention on the structure of the United States of America (bipartisan) and Brazil (multi-partisan). The issues in approaching democracy from countries with bipartisan str ucture (such as the United States): The bipartisan structure of the United States received greatest challenge in late 1980s in approaching democracy once the Cold War was over. Ensuring democracy to the U.S. citizens became highly difficult during this time as the Cold War aftermath period was jeopardized by three major factors, namely wide spread of the liberal economic principles due to capitulation of the Soviet Union as well as of the communism; increasing economic interdependence among nations that was considered to be incompatible with traditional ideals of national sovereignty; and finally, the challenge over national sovereignty within the national itself due to negative impacts of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Discuss the main causes and effects of gun crime in the USA Essay - 2

Discuss the main causes and effects of gun crime in the USA - Essay Example Subsequently, the following paper makes an insight into most widespread causes and effects of gun violence. One if the factors the most commonly blamed for gun crimes is availability of firearms. The debate over the right of the general population to bear firearms has been among the actively and commonly debated ones. From one side, opponents of gun control argue that any law denying such right would be a violation of the Constitution that allows one to protect property and life from criminals, who would still have a gun, regardless of the prohibition. Although the following position may contain the grain of logic, it, in fact, leads to more crimes, research shows. A recent study that compared data from developed countries on gun ownership and subsequent deaths clearly concluded that more guns mean more gun-related deaths. †There was a correlation between guns per head per country and the rate of deaths with Japan being on one end of the spectrum and the US - on the other† (Boseley, 2013) Subsequently, availability and easy access to guns can be regarded as one of the essentia l causes of gun crimes in the U.S. Another possible cause of gun violence in the United States has been called social conditions that allow the existence of risk factors most commonly associated with gun violence. According to Walker (2014), one of the recent strategies that proved its effectiveness for alleviating the rates of gun crimes has been a mentoring program, focusing on the at-risk population and preventing it from the involvement in felonious situations and aggressive behavior. Success of the program in reducing crimes occurrence proves that unfavorable social conditions are associated with gun crimes. The commonly cited risk factors are unemployment, poverty, and poor education. (Walker, 2014; "Gun violence prevention,") Therefore, the low quality of life should be regarded as a predictor of gun crimes. Apart from that, it is argued that the lack

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

EFFECTS OF WORKING MEMORY DEMAND ON PERFORMANCE AND MENTAL STRESS Essay

EFFECTS OF WORKING MEMORY DEMAND ON PERFORMANCE AND MENTAL STRESS DURING THE STROOP TASK - Essay Example Mental stress results from the lack of balance between external requirements, and the ability of the individual to accomplish them. Mentally or emotionally related stress influences the daily life of a human being, and his or her performance. If one becomes exposed to extreme mental stress, it affects the nervous system, and can affect their performance severely. Most of the stressors associated with human computer interaction occur as a result of massive workloads, a lot of work pressure, job control tasks that are not efficient, and which are also monotonous, poor relationships between supervisors and the supervised. It is suggestive of the demand/control model of work strain, that little control and low social supports happen to be demanding. Working in shifts, factors that are human related and ergonomics have an association with mental stress. A dependable amount of evidence shows that heart diseases have links with extreme work demand. Therefore, evaluating the rate of heart ac tivity can help in gauging occupational risks. This studys purpose is to measure mental stress and monitor the heart rate variability during the low and high working memory (WM), needs affected by Stroop interference. The other aim is to measure the performance and time taken to respond during the Stroop task and to study their drift during high and low working memory demands. The third aim is to foresee the affiliation between mental stress and functioning. In carrying out the study, the rate of the heart should be recorded during both rest period, and also during the performance of a Stroop task. Both the high and low working memories are acquired by raising the amount of Stroop interference. The time taken to respond and the performance are computed for every hard stage of the Stroop task. This should be computed during the high and low working memory demand. Stress that is as a result of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has links to the increased danger of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Cultural Issues in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Issues in Management - Essay Example (Ghauri, P., & Fang, T. 2001). There are many management issues that are affecting both the Japanese employees and the American employees due to the differences in cultural practices. These differences should be integrated so that the company’s activities can be done effectively and efficiently. A chief issue affecting the company is differences in context cultures of both Americans and Japanese. Japanese employees are high context cultures while Americans’ have low context cultures. Japans people value personal relation and good will while Americans value expertise and performance. Japanese make agreements on the basis of general trust while Americans make agreements based on specified legal contract. In cross cultural communication between the Americans and the Japanese, there will be conflict of understanding and extremely long time is required to have consensus in any aspect. This has always forced the company to make late decisions. To solve the problem arising fro m context culture, the company should come up with guidelines for how things are done so that there are no conflicts of interests due to cultural differences. Secondly, there are vast difference in the attitudes of sale force between the Japanese and the Americans. Japanese have particularism and high universalism as illustrated by Trompenaars cultural perspectives. Americans have the attitude of take or leave in sales while the Japanese have room for modification and customization to accommodate the opinions of the customers. The company should adopt the Japanese attitude of sales and train the Americans on some of the techniques since it gives more customers satisfaction and less harassment. The company should also come up with sales commissions to encourage more sales. This will encourage the Americans to adopt the Japanese attitude of sales that they can achieve higher sales. (Ghauri, P., & Fang, T. 2001). The management of Chiba international has challenges because it comprises of both Americans and Japanese. American managers are individualistic in nature while the Japanese are collective. Americans are concerned with their issues and their reporting authority while the Japanese are concerned with the overall objectives of the company. The individualistic nature of the Americans has led to power conflicts amongst themselves, and this has derailed many activities in trying to solve the problem. In the recruitment process, the Japanese are concerned with performance, ability, and the attitude of a person measured in an interview. The Americans lay most of the emphasis on the person who has high education credentials. This has lead to poor communication between the two workforces. Chiba communication should come up with clear separation of duties so that there is no conflict in any decision making process. In the recruitment process, the company can use external employment bureaus and set the standards for qualification. (Kedia., & Mukherji, 1999). In the m anagement of financial activities, there is a wide variation between the Japanese and the Americans. The management of the Japanese follows all the financial activities throughout the company. All the expenses and revenues are accounted for when they are incurred or earned. Chiba international follows the theory of noodle peddler which considers expenditure of all resources for any objective achieved

Monday, September 23, 2019

ANTH 25 Assignment 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ANTH 25 Assignment 7 - Essay Example Hence, employees at this level can work with the management team without much difficulty. I like my job because I always enjoyed playing with numbers while I was young. Banking too has been my core career interest and it fits into my educational goals. The main challenge is the time factor because the financial industry requires an employee to work for many hours due to the workload and limited time resource. This affects off-work commitments and relationships. I overcame this by re-arranging my schedules. The time factor also prevents employees wishing to any form of part-time study program. Today, graduates get an average of $53,000, but my starting salary was at $49,900. The employment of other employees in this position is an improvement from the earlier $49,700 in 2012. It has been higher in previous years notably 2011, where the figure stood at $50,500. This is according to Andrea Koncz, the employment information manager at National Association of Colleges and Employees NACE in their salary survey reports. I would describe it as both affiliate and goal oriented. Through this method, the management encourages the workforce to develop a sense of teamwork and drive towards set a target. Firms avoid the use of authoritative management, as it is destructive to the morale of the employees, which hurts organizational productivity. Thus, the management should strive to device strategies that work for the company and its skilled workforce. I get up at around 6:30. Am and head out to the gym, after an hour’s workout I clean up and go to the office. Ten minutes to eight, I check into the office, login to my work email, and check emails I need to attend to.9. Am my workday commences but if it is a Monday morning, we all gather for our weekly meeting with the management team. I go for lunch at 2.pm after handling client accounts for five hours non-stop, its tiring so the lunch break helps.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Financial Statements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Statements - Essay Example d of the companies are for the year 2008.The areas covered are profitability, liquidity, financial risks, investments attractions and overall growth of the companies. The ratios employed to assess the profitability of two competitive airlines are Operating profit margin, Net Profit Margin, ROCE, and earnings per share. Gross profit margin cannot be employed as the airline business is not a goods trading business. Operating Profit Margin â€Å"measures the percentage of each sales dollar remaining after all costs and expenses other than interest and taxes are deducted. It represents the pure profits earned on each sales dollar.†(Lawrence J. Gitman, page 144)i Easyjet operating profit margins are mere 3.85% as compared to massive 19.78% of Ryanair. The reason for such difference is the efficiency employed by Ryanair in operating expenses to reach a turnover of $27138222000. On the other hand the turnover of $2362.8m has been achieved by Easyjet at huge operating cost of $2271.8m. Net profit margins take into consideration all expenses including depreciation and finance expenses before taxes. It will be noted that Easyjet has shown improvement in net profits margin of 4.66% when compared to its own operating profit margins of 3.85. The reason is that Easyjet has net finance income and not the expenditure. It is because of this reason Ryanair/s net profit margin of 16.17% is lower than its operating profit margin of 19.79 as it has finance expenses are higher than finance income. But Ryanair’s net profit margin is certainly higher than Easyjet because of its efficiency shown in controlling the expenses. Return on capital employed (ROCE) is more realistic ratio of profitability â€Å"if the assets are stated at current value rather than at historical cost; that is, there is a revaluation reserve included in the capital employed.† (Philip Ramsden, page 42)ii Taking this limitation into account, Easyjet has a very poor ROCE of 3.81% as compared to 8.19% of Ryanair.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Racial, Gender, And Sexual Oriention Micro Aggressions Essay Example for Free

Racial, Gender, And Sexual Oriention Micro Aggressions Essay The three types of micro aggression are racial micro aggression, gender micro aggression, and sexual orientation micro aggression. Racial micro aggression consists of subtle insults which can be verbal, nonverbal, or visual directed towards people of color, often automatically or unconsciously. It is a subtle form of racism. Racial micro aggression can take a number of different forms including: nullifying racial-cultural issues, making stereo-typical assumptions, and cultural insensitivity. They also play a role in unfairness in the legal system as they can influence the decisions of juries. Gender micro aggression is related to acts that perpetuate stereotypical gender roles. An example of this could be a male faculty member asking his male colleagues to help him work out a glitch in a piece of equipment in his laboratory but not asking his female colleagues making the notion that a woman’s mechanical aptitude is inferior to that of a man’s. These gender micro aggressions include devaluing, minimizing, belittling, and demeaning comments about women and women associated activities. Sexual orientation micro aggression is associated with actions that maintain stereotypes about homosexuals. An example of this would be assuming that all homosexual males personify women with high-pitched voices and manicured nails and that all lesbians have manly characteristics that signify that they are gay. The dynamics of micro aggression are the forces that tend to produce activity and change in racial, gender, and sexuality incidents. The dynamics behind micro aggression also tend to send messages towards people. An example of this could be when an white person asks an Asian American or Latino American to teach them words in their native language. This sends the message that they aren’t American and a foreigner. Another example would be a white person stating that an African American is very articulate. The actual message it sends is that it is unusual for someone of color to be intelligent. There are four dilemmas that we face during micro aggression. The first is the clash of racial realities where white Americans tend to think that racism is on the decline and that African Americans are doing better in life than 30 or 40 years ago. On the reverse side, blacks view whites as racially insensitive. The second dilemma is the invisibility of unintentional expressions of bias. This refers to the issue that in most cases racial biases are invisible and the wrongdoer is unaware of any injustice. The third is the perceived minimal harm of racial micro aggressions. This conveys the fact that when an individual is confronted with their micro aggressive acts the perpetrator usually believes that the victim has overreacted or is being overly sensitive. The last dilemma is the Catch 22 of responding to micro aggressions. The victim is usually perplexed about how to react whether it be deciding to do nothing or confronting the perpetrator. Sometimes, micro aggression can manifest in counseling. Under Denial of Individual Racism, a common response by Whites to people of color is that they can understand and relate to experiences of racism. Under Color Blindness, for example, a client of color stresses the importance of racial experiences only to have the therapist reply, â€Å"We are all unique. We are all individuals. † or â€Å"We are all human beings or the same under the skin. † These colorblind statements, which were intended to be supportive, to be sympathetic, and to convey an ability to understand, may leave the client feeling misunderstood, negated, invalidated, and unimportant. In clinical practice, micro aggressions are likely to go unrecognized by White clinicians who are unintentionally and unconsciously expressing bias. As a result, therapists must make a concerted effort to identify and monitor micro aggressions within the therapeutic context. CHAPTER 7 CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES The communication styles identified in this chapter were verbal and non-verbal. Most communication specialists believe that only 30 to 40 percent of what is communicated conversationally is verbal. There are a number of non-verbal communication styles. These are proxemics, kinesics, paralanguage, and high-low context communication. The two concepts presented in sociopolitical facets of nonverbal communication were 1. Nonverbals as reflections of bias this is represented in the example of the white women walking down the street past the white, black, and latino teenager. When passing the black and latino teenager she automatically clutched her purse and switched it to the other side. The women who switched their purse were operating from stereotype, biases, and preconceived notions about what minority youngsters are like. 2. Nonverbals as triggers to biases and fear this is represented in the differences in that which cultures communicate. Whites often perceive black persons as a â€Å"threat† because of the way in which they communicate. Blacks are often high-key, animated, heated, and confrontational. They also believe the black male to be hostile, angry and prone to violence. Implications for Clinical Practice 1. Recognize that no one style of counseling or therapy will be appropriate for all populations and situations. 2. Become knowledgeable about how race, culture and gender affect communication styles. 3. Become aware of your own communication and helping styles. 4. Try to obtain additional training and education on a variety theoretical orientations and approaches 5. Know that each school of counseling and therapy has strengths but they might be one dimensional 6. Use an approach in training programs that call for openness and flexibility in conceptualizing the issues and actual skill building. It is important to know this because communication styles are strongly influenced by race, culture, ethnicity, and gender. These implications lend support to the notion that various racial groups exhibit differences in communication style. CHAPTER 8 MULTICULTURAL FAMILY COUNSELING AND THERAPY There were five components of the multicultural family counseling and therapy: a conceptual model. 1. People Nature Relationships 2. Time Dimension 3. Relational Dimension 4. Activity Dimension 5. Nature of People Dimension Activity Dimension The primary characteristic of White U. S. cultural values and beliefs is the action orientation. They believe that we must master and control nature, we must always do something about a situation, and that we should always take a pragmatic and utilitarian view of life. Counselors expect clients to master and control their own life and environment and to take action to resolve their problems. It is evident everywhere and is reflected in how White Americans identify themselves by occupation. American Indians and Latinos/Hispanics prefer a being or being-in-becoming mode of activity. The American Indian concepts of self determination and noninterference are examples. The Latinos/Hispanics believe that people are born with dignity and deserve to be treated with respect. They are born with innate worth and importance. The inner soul and spirit are more important than the body. Both the Asian and African Americans operate from the doing orientation. However, the â€Å"doing† manifests differently than in White American lifestyle. The active dimension in Asians is related not to individual achievement, but to achievement via conformity to family values and demands. African Americans exercise considerable control in the face of adversity to minimize discrimination and to maximize success. Nature of People Dimension Middle class White Americans generally perceive the nature of people to be neutral. Environmental issues such as conditioning, family upbringing, and socialization are believed to be the dominant forces in determining the nature of the person. People are neither good nor bad but are a product of their environment. African Americans tend to have a mixed concept of people, but like their White counterparts, they believe people are generally neutral. Asian Americans and American Indians tend to emphasize the inherent goodness of people. Latinos may be described as holding the view that human nature is both good and bad. The Key Points for Clinical Practice 1. Know that our increasing diversity presents us with different cultural concepts of the family. 2. Realize that families cannot be understood apart from the cultural, social, and political dimensions of their functioning. 3. When working with a racial/ethnic group different from you, make a concerted and conscientious effort learn as much as possible about their definition of family and the values along with it. 4. Be attentive to cultural family structure and extended family ties. 5. Don’t prejudge based on your own ethnocentric perspective. 6. Realize that most minority groups view the wifely role as less important than the motherly role. 7. Utilize the natural help giving networks and structures that already exist in the minority culture in community. 8. Recognize that helping can take many forms. These forms often appear quite different than our own, but they are no less effective or legitimate. Multicultural counseling calls for the counselor to modify our goals and techniques to fit the needs of minority populations. 9. Assess the importance of ethnicity to clients and families. 10. Realize that the role of family counselor cannot be confined to culture bound rules. Effective multicultural counseling may include validating and strengthening ethnic identity increasing ones own awareness and use of the client support system, serving as a culture broker, and becoming aware of the advantages and disadvantages of being from the same or different ethnic background as your client. You shouldn’t feel you need to know everything about the ethnic group, you should avoid polarization of cultural issues. 11. Accept the notion that the family therapist will need to be creative in intervention techniques when working with minorities. Bold = most important points in clinical practice CHAPTER 9 NON-WESTERN INDIGENOUS METHODS OF HEALING Culture bound syndromes are disorders specific to a cultural group or society but not easily given a DSM diagnosis. These illnesses or afflictions have local names with distinct culturally sanctioned beliefs surrounding causation and treatment. They include amok, ataque de nervios, brain fag, ghost sickness, koro, mal de ojo, nervios, and rootwork. It is very important for mental health professionals to become familiar not only with the cultural background of their clients, but to be knowledgeable about specific culture bound syndromes. A primary danger from lack of cultural understanding is the tendency to overpathologize or overestimate the degree of pathology. The principles of indigenous healing 1. The healing begins with an opening prayer and ends with a closing prayer. The pule creates an atmosphere for healing and involves asking the family gods for guidance. The gods aren’t asked to intervene but grant wisdom, understanding and honesty. 2. The ritual elicits a truth telling sanctioned by the gods and makes compliance among participants a serious matter. The leader states the problem, prays for a spiritual fusion, reaches out to resistant family members, and attempts to unify the group 3. Muhiki occurs which is a process of getting to the problems. The foregiving, releasing of wrongs, the hurts, and the conflicts produces a deep sense of resolution. 4. After the closing prayer the family participates in pant, the ritual in which food is offered to the gods and the participants. Implications for Clinical Practice 1. Do not invalidate the indigenous practices of your culturally diverse client. 2. Become knowledgeable about indigenous beliefs and healing practices. 3. Realize that learning about indigenous healing and beliefs entails experimental or lived realities. 4. Avoid overpathologizing and underpathologizing a culturally diverse clients problems. 5. Be willing to consult with traditional healers or make use of their services. 6. Recognize the spirituality is an intimate aspect of the human condition and a legitimate aspect of mental health work. 7. Be willing to expand your definition of the helping role to the community work and involvement.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Examining Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Techniques

Examining Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Techniques Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a generic term for techniques used for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil well. Using EOR, 30-60 % of the reservoir original oil can be extracted compared with 20-40% using primary and secondary recovery techniques. Enhanced oil recovery is also called improved oil recovery or tertiary recovery. This improved extraction is achieved by gas injection, chemical injection and thermal recovery (which includes cyclic stream, stream flooding, and fire flooding). Gas injection is the most commonly used EOR technique; here gas such as carbon dioxide (CO2), natural gas, or nitrogen is injected into the reservoir whereupon it expands and thereby pushes additional oil to a production wellbore, and moreover dissolves in the oil to lower its viscosity and improve the flow rate of the oil. Oil displacement by carbon dioxide injection relies on the phase behaviour of carbon dioxide and crude oil mixture that are strongly dependent on reservoir temperature, pressure and crude oil composition. These mechanisms range from oil swelling and viscosity reduction for injection of immiscible fluids (at low pressure) to completely miscible displacement in high pressure applications. In these applications, more than half and up to two-third of the injected carbon dioxide returns with the produced oil and is usually re-injected into the reservoir to minimize operating cost. The remainder is trapped in the oil reservoir by various means. Other techniques include thermal recovery (which uses heat to improve flow rate) and, more rarely, chemical injection, where polymers are injected to increase the effectiveness of water floods or the use of detergent-like surfactants such as to help lower the capillary pressure that often prevents oil droplets from moving through a reservoir. Surfactant enhanced water floods are used for oil recovery where surfactants are injected with polymer. Microbial Enhanced oil Recovery (MEOR) is particularly suited for application in carbonate reservoir, after secondary oil recovery, there are still large amount of oil left in the reservoir. Some bacteria are able to increase the oil production when injected into the oil reservoir. To stimulate such anaerobic microbial increased oil recovery, nutrients is injected together with the injection water. Oil recovery requires two to three stages which are briefly described below Stage 1: Primary Recovery 12 15 % of the oil in the well is recovered without the need to introduce other substances into the well. Stage 2: Secondary Recovery The oil well is flooded with water or other substances to obtain an additional 15-20% more oil from the well. Stage 3: Tertiary Recovery This stage may be accomplished through several methods which includes MEOR to additionally recover up to 11% more oil from the well. Layout for different recovery techniques are shown in figure 1. Primary and secondary recovery techniques are usually called conventional recovery. Primary recovery is done by natural flow which is usually enhanced by reservoir natural pressure, and artificial lift such as pumps and gas lift, etc. Secondary recovery is done by water folding and pressure maintenance by gas reinjection. Tertiary recovery techniques cover broad area which includes thermal recovery such as in-situ combustion and steam flooding, solvent recovery is done by methods such as polymer flooding and surfactant enhanced water flood. Chemical enhanced recovery methods include gas injection or hydrocarbon miscible injection and nitrogen and flue gas flooding. Microbial enhanced oil recovery which is the main focus of this project will be explained better in the next chapter, but it is basically injection of microbes such as bacteria into oil reservoir to help recover oil. All these methods of oil recovery will be e xplained briefly. PRIMARY RECOVERY If the underground pressure in the oil reservoir is sufficient, then this pressure will force the oil out to the surface of the earth. Gaseous fuel, natural gas or water is usually present, which also supply needed underground pressure. In this situation, it is sufficient to place a complex arrangement of valves (Christmas tree) on the well head to connect the well to a pipeline network for storage and processing. Normally oil is recovered by natural means and artificial lift like pumps and gas lift. SECONDARY RECOVERY Over a lifetime of an oil well, the pressure will fall and at some point there will be insufficient underground pressure to force the oil to the surface of the earth. If economical, as often is, more oil in the well is extracted using secondary recovery methods. Secondary oil recovery uses various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted or low pressure reservoir. Sometimes, pumps such as beam pumps and electric submersible pumps (ESPs) are used to pump the oil to the surface of the earth. Other secondary recovery techniques increases the reservoirs pressure by water injection, natural gas reinjection and gas lift, which inject air, carbon dioxide or some other gases into the reservoir. Together, primary and secondary recovery generally allows 25-35 % of the reservoir oil to be recovered. Water injection The productivity of existing oil wells can be significantly increased by the use of water injection. Statistics has shown that a reservoir produces just 37% oil in the first recovery. By using water injection, a reservoir can produce more than 50% of its oil. One of the most important issues during oil production is to keep the matrix/formation as clean as possible to maintain maximum oil production. Water is injected for two reasons: first is for pressure support of the reservoir. Second is to sweep or displace the oil from the reservoir, and push it outward. Gas lift Gas lift is one of a number of processes used to artificially lift oil from a well, where there is insufficient reservoir pressure. The process involves injecting gas through the tube-casing annulus. Injected gases aerate the fluid and reduce its density so the formation pressure is then able to lift the oil column and forces the fluid out of the wellbore. Gas may be injected continuously or intermittently, depending on the producing characteristics of the well and the arrangement of the gas-lift equipment. Although the gas is recovered from the oil at a latter separation stage, the process requires energy to drive a compressor in order to raise the pressure of the gas to a level where it can be reinjected. TERTIARY RECOVERY Tertiary recovery reduces the oil viscosity to increase oil production. Thermally enhanced oil recovery methods (TEOR) are tertiary recovery techniques that heat the oil and make it easier to flow or extract. Steam injection is the most common form of TEOR, and is often done with a cogeneration plant. In this type of cogeneration plant, a gas turbine is used to generate electricity and the waste heat is used to produce steam, which is then injected into the reservoir. In-situ burning is another form of TEOR, but instead of steam, some of the oil is burnt to heat the surrounding oil. Occasionally, detergents are also used to decrease oil viscosity as a tertiary oil recovery method, another method to reduce viscosity is carbon dioxide flooding. Tertiary recovery begins when secondary oil recovery isnt enough to continue adequate production, but only when the oil can still be extracted profitably. (Hitzman 1983) Gas injection or Hydrocarbon Miscible injection Gas injection is the most commonly used EOR technique, here, gas such as carbon dioxide is injected into the reservoir whereupon it expands and thereby pushes additional oil to a production wellbore, and moreover dissolves in the oil to lower its viscosity and improves the flow rate of the oil. Oil displacement by carbon dioxide injection relies on the phase behaviour of carbon dioxide and crude oil mixture that are strongly dependent on reservoir temperature, pressure and crude oil composition. These mechanisms range from oil swelling and viscosity reduction for injection of immiscible fluid (at low pressure) to completely miscible displacement in high pressure applications. In these applications, more than half and up to two-third of the injected carbon dioxide returns with the produced oil and is usually reinjected into the reservoir by various means. Nitrogen and gas flooding Nitrogen and flue gas about 87 % nitrogen and 12 % carbon dioxide is used in place of hydrocarbon gases because of economical reasons. Nitrogen competes with carbon dioxide because it is economical and its compressibility is much lower. For a given quantity at standard condition nitrogen will occupy much more space at reservoir pressure than carbon dioxide and methane at the same condition. Nitrogen has a poor solubility and lower viscosity in oil and requires much higher pressure to create miscibility. THERMAL RECOVERY In-situ combustion Fire flooding is world cheapest means of thermal recovery, however, significant amount of amount of fuel must be burned, both above the ground to compress the air, and below ground in the combustion process. Actually the worst part of the crude oil is burnt, the lighter end are carried forward in advance of the burning zone to upgrade the crude oil. Stream flooding In the steam drive, steam Is continually introduced in the injection well to reduce the viscosity of the oil and provide a driving force to move oil towards the production well. Steam driving may work by driving water and oil to form an oil bank in front of steamed zone. Ideally this steam bank remains n front, increasing in size until it is produced by the well offsetting the injector. However, in many cases the steam flows over the oil and transfer heat by conduction. Oil at the interface will then be less viscous and dragged along with the steam to the producing well. Recoverability is increased because the steam lowers the oil viscosity and improves the oil mobility. The more mobile oil displace the steam zone expands vertically, and the steam oil interface is maintained. Chemical injection Other techniques which uses heat to improve flow rates (and more rarely) is chemical injection, where polymers are injected to increase the effectiveness of water floods, or the use of detergent like surfactants to help lower the capillary pressure that often prevents oil droplets from moving through a reservoir. Alkaline flooding is an effective chemical EOR method. SOLVENT RECOVERY Polymer flooding Both synthetic polymer such as polyacrylamides and natural polymers are used for improvement of sweep efficiency. Additional polymer makes the water more viscous so that oil is produced faster. Obviously, this is not a good idea n a low permeability reservoir or one with high clay content that absorb the polymer. However, polymer-augmented water floods can be profitable Surfactant-Enhanced Water flood Three types of chemical floods exist. The first is an alkaline-augmented polymer flood. Another is an alkaline-surfactant polymer flood. The third is a micellar or low interface tension flood (Donaldson, 1989). AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this project is to study the adaptability of anaerobic bacteria (Clostridium Thyrobutyricum 633) to different salinities and check the effect of the microbial strain on permeability of the Danish Nord Sea Chalk. To achieve this aim, the following objectives have been set: Check adaptability of microbial strain to high salinities Microbial gas production and dynamics of metabolism Carry out plate count experiment Observation of fermentation process and microbial analysis To determine and measure the volume of carbon dioxide gas produced by these microbes when exposed to different salinities To determine the amount of acid produced during fermentation process Statistical analysis of results to derive model Improvement of experimental procedure The project work is based on studying of the microbial enhanced oil recovery method and the possibilities of using this in the Danish sector of the Nord Sea. The project task applies experimental procedure and the specific to investigate if these microbes can survive under reservoir conditions and produce products important in oil recovery. CHAPTER TWO:Â  LITERATURE REVIEW MICROBIAL ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (MEOR) MEOR is used in the third phase of oil recovery from a well, it is a tertiary oil recovery technique. MEOR is the use of micro-organisms to retrieve additional oil from an existing well, thereby enhancing the petroleum production of an oil reservoir. In this technique, selected natural micro-organisms are introduced into oil well to produce harmless by-products like carbon dioxide. These process help to mobilize the oil and facilitate oil flow by reducing the viscosity of the oil and making the rock permeable, thereby allowing more amount of oil to be recovered from a well. Amongst the available tertiary oil recovery techniques, MEOR is arguably the best for many reasons. One key factor in the selection of microbial enhanced oil recovery is the economical potential, by which desirable chemicals and gases are produced to enhance oil recovery. MEOR processes are also energy efficient and environmental friendly as compared to other recovery techniques. History of microbes used MEOR is a technology that has a history based on over 60 years of research and field studies. The earlier works by ZoBell CE and Updegraff D (USA), Kuznetsov SI and Shturn DL (USSR), shows the international scope of the work. This work was expanded in the 1950s mainly by investigators Coty VF, Yarborough H and Hitzman DO in the major oil companies in the United States. In MEOR, the process that facilitates oil production is complex and may involve multiple biochemical processes. Microbial biomass or biopolymers may plug high permeability zones and lead to a redirection of water flood, produce surfactants which lead to increased mobilization of residual oil, increase gas pressure by the production of carbon dioxide or reduce the oil viscosity due to digestion of large molecules. Application of MEOR technologies MEOR technologies have the common basis of introducing or stimulating viable micro organisms in an oil well reservoir for the purpose of enhancing oil recovery. However, this broad generic definition of MEOR is not a single methodology but is a broader technology which can be designed for different and selective applications. It is convenient to divide the MEOR technology into the following application groups: Single well stimulation MEOR water floods Paraffins removal Viscosity modification Water diversion Heavy oil modification The classification of MEOR technology by the proposed oil releasing mechanism shows the range of microbial effects which can be identified or expected to occur to which the MEOR system can be directed. MEOR Oil Releasing Mechanism Gas generation: The production of gases will aid the displacement of oil in the pore spaces. Acid production: Organic and inorganic acid production by microbes will dissolve carbonate deposits, iron sulphide and dissolution and sulphate materials. Surfactant production: Biosurfactants produced by the organisms result in the reduction of interfacial surface tension of the oil/water bond. Other MEOR oil releasing mechanisms includes: Physical oil displacement Biopolymer production Hydrocarbon modification Viscosity modification Selective plugging of high permeability zones within a reservoir is necessary to achieve oil recovery. This is best achieved in MEOR process where cells stimulated to grow deeply in a formation where production of biomass and products will have the greatest impact. If growth occurs primarily at the well bore, then face plugging will result, and no additional oil will be recovered, leaving the reservoir unproductive. The Science of MEOR The micro organisms used in MEOR can be applied to a single oil well or to an entire oil reservoir. They need certain conditions to survive, so nutrients are often introduced into the well certain intervals. MEOR also requires that water be present. Micro organisms grow between the oil and the wells rock surface to enhance oil recovery by the following methods: Reduction of oil viscosity: Oil is a thick fluid that is quite viscous, meaning that it does not flow easily. Micro organisms help break down the molecular structure of crude oil, making it less viscous and easier to recover from the well. Production of carbon dioxide gas: As a by-product of metabolism, micro organisms produce carbon dioxide gas. Over time, these gases accumulate and displace the oil in the well, driving it up and out of the ground. Production of biomass: When micro organisms metabolize the nutrient they need for survival, they produce organic biomass as a by-product. This biomass accumulates between the oil and the rock surface, physically displacing the oil and making it easier to recover from the well. Selective plugging: Some micro organisms secrete slimy substances called exopolysaccharides to protect themselves from drying out or falling prey to other organisms. The substance helps bacteria plug the pores found in the rocks within the well so that oil may move past rock surfaces more easily. Blocking rock pores to facilitate the movement of oil is known as selective plugging. Production of bio surfactants: Micro organisms produce slippery substances called surfactants as they breakdown il. Because they are naturally produced by biological micro organisms, they are referred to as bio surfactants. Bio surfactants act like slippery detergents, helping the oil move more freely away from rock and crevices so that it may travel more easily out of the well. If we make a comparison between MEOR and other enhanced oil recovery, then we can see that MEOR is much adoptable, it offers multiple recovery mechanisms, low capital and operating cost, while in other enhanced oil recovery techniques, only a specified technology is applicable also has a high capital and operating cost. TYPES OF MICROBES AND THEIR SELECTION MEOR has gained much attention in recent times, but it is worth noting that not all microbes can survive in such conditions as found in an oil well, therefore the microbes which are able to withstand these conditions are discussed below: Microbes used in MEOR There are many types of bacteria used in MEOR, they include aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and are divided on the basis of their need for oxygen. In this project work, the bacteria used were anaerobic from CHP-biogas plant at Ribe in Denmark. Selection of Bacteria The selection of specific bacteria is considered in this method. There are a lot of bacteria available, but the normal conditions for majority of bacteria is 5 % Sodium chloride, optimum temperature of 37 degree Celsius, pH less than seven. Factors affecting growth of bacteria There are many factors which affects the growth of bacteria. Some of which are explained in the below: Salinity: The term salinity refers to the amount of dissolved salt that are present in water. Sodium chloride is the predominant ions in sea water, the concentration of magnesium, calcium and sulphate ions are also substantial. High salinity and toxic substances are responsible for limiting the growth of microbes. Halophiles are salt loving microbes which use sodium chloride and also have complex nutrient requirements. Moderate halophiles can grow anaerobically at temperature greater than 50o C. The salinity in the northern part of Danish oil field is about 40g/l or more. Since salinity too high, formation water is diluted with sea water during injection in the well. In order to perform experimental and laboratory analysis, a sample of produce water is taken so as to know how much salinity can be controlled; therefore microbial gas production has been tested up to 140g/l. Temperature: Extreme high temperature affects the growth of bacteria, although they need average temperature for growth. Thermopiles are bacteria which are heat loving; these bacteria have an optimum growth temperature of 45 o C 80 o C. Their membranes are unusually stable at this extremely high temperature. Thus many important biotechnological processes utilise thermophilic enzymes because of their ability to withstand intense heat. So before injecting these bacteria into the reservoir, the temperature of the reservoir should be considered, therefore, selection of the right thermophilic bacteria for high temperature is very important. Effect of pH: pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Simply pH is the measure of concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. It is a measure of the activity of dissolved hydrogen ion. In pure water at 25 o C, the concentration of hydrogen ion equals the concentration of hydroxide ions; this is known as neutral and corresponds to a pH level of 7.0. Solutions in which the concentration of hydrogen ions exceeds that of hydroxyl ion has a pH level lower than 7.0 and are known ad bases. The pH reading of a solution is usually obtained by comparing unknown solution to those of known pH, and there are several ways to do so. More favourable pH condition for micro organisms is about 7 and very few of them can grow below2 and above 10. Micro organisms capable of living at very low pH are called acidphilies and those which live at high pH are called alkaliphiles. Pressure: Extreme pressure affects the growth and metabolism of micro organisms. A pressure lower than 100-200 atm has no effect on microbial metabolism, however, pressure of the range of 500-600 atm have limiting effect on growth of bacteria. The ocean floor possesses high pressure. For most MEOR processes barophilic organisms will not be necessary, instead, barotolerant microbes can grow at high pressures, but do not require these high pressures for optimal growth. The ability to grow pressure depends on the energy sources available, inorganic salts present, pH and temperature. Adaptation of microbial cultures to higher pressure therefore is possible. Toxic elements: Chemicals which have toxic effects on micro organisms are found in some reservoirs. These chemicals include co-surfactant, surfactant, biocides, ethylenediaminetetraacetate, and toluene, many of which are used in various chemical EOR operations. Sodium and Potassium may be exchanged without impairing the growth of micro organisms. Magnesium has higher toxicity than sodium and potassium, but the most toxic formation water are those with high Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), so adaptability should be considered before injecting micro organisms in such toxic environment. The choice of Clostridium Tyrobutiricum Thousands of bacteria have been investigated for MEOR purpose, but the fermentation bacteria remain the most popular especially Clostridia specie because they produce large volume of gas which include CO2, H2 and CH4. These gases produced, decrease the oil viscosity and increase the pressure in the oil reservoir. Fermentation Fermentation is the process that produces alcoholic beverages or acidic dairy products. In general, fermentation involves the breaking down of complex organic substances into simpler ones. Waste products formed in this way include gases, ethyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, organic acids, acetone and others. Molasses fermentation generates energy rich metabolic product, which may react in the final decomposition line of sulphate reduction under anaerobic formation condition. With sulphate ion in the formation water, sulphur reduction predominates. Hydrogen sulphide produced is actually not desirable. The organic acids are formed through fermentation of the molasses by the bacteria in the reservoir do cause a rock dissolving process. Dorben field (Germany), 1982, Dr. Wagner Another reason for using fermentation bacteria is Dr. Wagner field trail. If we make comparison between Danish north oil field formation and Zechstein evaporates rocks which are similar to the Danish North Sea formation. Dolomite is also similar to Danish north field chalk. Formation temperature is quite similar and of course has a high salinity. Clostridia tyrobutiricum was selected for Dr. Wagners experiment. The characteristics of Dr. Wagners experiment field are as follows: Dolomite of Zechstein formations Depth of 1240m Formation temperature 53 oC High salinity formation water, even the fissures and fractures are partially filled with salt. The result of Dr. Wagners MEOR well experiments: Water cut decreased from 80 to 60 % Average annual oil production: Before microbial treatment 50 tons per month 3 months after injection 150 tons per month 1 year after injection 300 tons per month Since all these conditions are similar to Danish North Sea formation and other factors are also same, so we can use fermentation bacteria for MEOR experiment. Adaptation of bacteria to high salinities Majority of the bacteria cannot withstand high salinity, from the time of ancient civilization; it is known that adding 50 g/l of salt in food preserves it from spoiling. This means that fermentation bacteria which normally populate organic substances has a challenge of adaptation in high salinity. The spore forming bacteria like clostridium form spores in extreme conditions. These conditions allow bacteria to survive but they will not be active and would not be productive. Under extremely high salinities, bacteria undergo osmotic stress which is expressed in osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure affects the water activity and production of CO2 gas during the fermentation process. Osmosis Osmosis is the passage of water from region of high concentration through a semi-permeable membrane to a region of lower water concentration. Semi permeable membrane are very thin layers of material (cell membrane are semi-permeable) which allow some substances to pass through them and prevent other substances from passing through. Cell membranes will allow small molecules like oxygen, water, CO2, ammonia, glucose, amino acid, etc. to pass through; meanwhile, cell membranes do not allow passage of larger molecules like sucrose, starch, protein, etc. Osmotic pressure Osmotic pressure is hydrostatic pressure produced by a difference in concentration between solutions on the two sides of a surface such as a semi permeable membrane. It was also observed that the bacteria change its morphology. For the case of clostridia it will mean that from rod-shape it turns to cocci-form which is simply the reflection of shrinkage. Potential osmotic pressure Potential osmotic pressure is the maximum osmotic pressure that could develop in a solution if it were separated from distilled water by a selectively permeable membrane. It is the number of solute particle in a unit volume of the solution that directly determines its potential osmotic pressure. Osmotic properties of cells The wall of bacteria and growing plant cells are not completely rigid, and the turgor pressure has been proposed to provide the mechanical force for the expansion of the cell walls during cell growth. The uptake or biosynthesis of osmotically active solutes causes an increase in the cells, thus providing the necessary tugor pressure for expansion of the cell walls. Although the suggestion that turgor pressure is the driving force for cell wall expansion would imply that the mechanisms that regulate the osmotic balance of organisms are central to the very process of cell growth. Lipid membranes allow rapid diffusion of water molecules into or out of cells while presenting an effective barrier to most other biological molecules. Membranes that exhibit selective permeability for different substances are called semi permeable, and the osmotic properties of cells derive from this property of the membranes. Thermophyllic and Halophyllic bacteria There are bacteria which need high salinities and high temperatures for their growth. In order to investigate and record the conditions of microbes at high salinities and high temperature it is better to know about the bacteria which can withstand on these conditions. Important information has been given about these type of bacteria is discussed below. A thermopile is an extremophile organism which survives at relatively high temperatures. Thermophilic (heat-loving) organisms are organism with an optimum growth temperature of 50o C or more, a maximum of up to 70

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Death and Regeneration in Walt Whitmans Poem, When Lilacs Last In The

Death and Regeneration in Walt Whitman's Poem, When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd Whitman in 1865 wrote an elegy for President Lincoln entitled "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." The "Lilacs" elegy is an outpouring of the deep sense of loss that Whitman felt after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The President's death was a great shock to the poet; it overwhelmed him in a very personal way. Whitman recognized Lincoln's excellence and importance. When Whitman first heard of the assassination, it was the spring of the year and the lilacs were in bloom. The poem is heavily symbolic. In this first section, Whitman introduces two of the three central symbols used in development. The poet appears in company with the "Lilac blooming" and the "drooping star." The lilac represents love as well as resurrection and rebirth. The star symbolizes the slain Abraham Lincoln and comes to symbolize, also, the poet's heavy grief for him. The star, or Lincoln, once celestial and shining like a strong guide to those beneath it, has now "droop'd early." Lincoln i...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Walmart :: essays research papers

In 1945, Sam Walton opened his first variety store and in 1962, he opened his first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas. Now, Wal-Mart is expected to exceed â€Å"$200 billion a year in sales by 2002 (with current figures of) more than 100 million shoppers a week†¦(and as of 1999) it became the first (private-sector) company in the world to have more than one million employees.† Why? One reason is that Wal-Mart has continued â€Å"to lead the way in adopting cutting-edge technology to track how people shop, and to buy and deliver goods more efficiently and cheaply than any other rival.† Many examples exist throughout Wal-Mart’s history including its use of networks, satellite communication, UPC/barcode adoption and more. Much of the technology that was utilized helped Sam Walton more efficiently track what he originally noted on yellow legal pads. From the very beginning, he wanted to know what the customers purchased, what inventory was selling and what stock was not selling. Wal-Mart now â€Å"tracks on an almost instantaneous basis the ordering, shipment, and delivery of literally every item it sells, and that it requires its suppliers to hook into the system, enabling it to track most goods every step of the way from the time they’re made and packaged in the factories to when they’re carried out store doors by shoppers.† â€Å"Wal-Mart operates the world’s most powerful corporate computing system, with a capacity (as of late 1999) of more than 100 terabytes of data (A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes, or roughly the equivalent of 250 million pages of text.). Only the U.S. government maintains a bigger database.† Sam Walton was eventually considered â€Å"the most influential retailer of the century, and with good reason, for nearly every great retailer of the coming years would follow his business examples.† Industrial Revolution: When the Industrial Revolution took place in the United S tates, factories were now able to out produce consumer demand. For the first time, these new goods needed new ways to be sold, new ways to get to the public. â€Å"In New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, the first department stores opened their doors. Railroads and telegraph wires snaked across the country, giving storekeepers a new way to order goods and get them on the shelves faster than ever before. A whole new industry sprang up to persuade people through advertisements with enticing pictures and clever slogans, to buy things they’d never known they needed, to turn America, in the phrase department store pioneer John Wanamaker, into the Land of Desire.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Diels alder reaction Essay

Result: For the Diels-Alder reaction: Maleic acid is 0.002 mol 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene is 0.002 mol The theoretical yield is 0.36g Cycloaddition product is 0.358g (maybe it was not completely dry when I weighted.) The % yield of Diels-Alder reaction is 99.4% For the hydrolysis: The theoretical yield of hydrolysis is 0.396g The experimental product yield is 0.28g (some solid left on the filter paper and some for the melting point measurement.) The % yield of hydrolysis is 70.7% The cycloaddition of a conjugated diene and a dienophile, which is drove by forming new ÏÆ'-bonds from Ï€-electrons of the diene and dienophile, which are energetically more stable than the Ï€-bonds. During the Diels-Alder reaction, the temperature should be kept between 60-70 â„Æ'. Because the boiling point of the butadiene is low and do not let it vaporize. After cycloaddition, pour the reaction mixture into 50 ml water under room temperature, the product would precipitate because of the low temperature. The acid added for the hydrolysis part is very important because acids have been used to accelerate the rate of the intra-molecular Diels-Alder reaction. The PEG 200 used in this experiment as the solvent for maleic anhydride is  make the experiments more green, which is less harmful and more environmental friendly. The melting point measurement is helping us to determine what we get basically. Compare with the IR spectra I got, the peak at 1792.62 cm-1 in the first spectra express the C=O bonds of the initial cycloaddition product, and the peak at 1697.14 cm-1 in the second IR spectra shows the C=O bonds of carboxylic acid ( RCOOH) of the final product.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Borland Software Corporation Case Study Essay

A)Intangible assets are operational assets that lack physical substance. However, the future economic benefits that are derived from intangible assets are usually less certain than tangible operational assets. Due to this uncertainty, the valuation of these assets rely upon multiple estimations, therefore the reliability of the information may not be as accurate. Additionally, the relevance of the data in the decision making process comes into question since the future benefits are unknown. Copyrights, franchises, goodwill, patents, and trademarks are just a few examples of intangible assets. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), intangible assets including patents, trademarks, copyrights, franchise agreements, customer lists, license agreements, order backlogs, employment contracts, and noncompetition agreements should appear on a company’s balance sheet. GAAP requires intangible asset recognition (apart from goodwill) on the balance sheet if the said asset arises from contractual or other legal rights or is capable of being separated from the acquired entity. B)The value of goodwill in a company’s balance sheet captures the unique value of a company as a whole over and above its identifiable tangible and intangible assets. Goodwill can only be recognized as an asset on the balance sheet when a company engages in the acquisition of a whole of portion of another company. The value of goodwill is a residual value that is calculated by subtracting the fair value of the acquired company’s net assets from the fair value of the consideration exchanged (or purchase price). Additionally, if the goodwill is developed internally (as opposed to purchasing another company), the costs incurred is expensed not capitalized. Process C)i)December 31, 2006253356= 57.1% 443899 December 31, 2007226688= 41.7% 544017 ii)26.5 million of impairment was recorded against our CodeGear reporting segment iii)CodeGear,26509= 39.4% 67340 iv)In the text is says that they consider various data points when determining these values such as discounted cash flows and market comparable transactions. This should be done at least annually v)Loss on Impairment of Goodwill26,509 Goodwill26,509 vi)On the statement of cash flows it shows that the impairment of goodwill was under the operating activities. Its shows that it is giving the company a loss of 26,506 in 2007 vii)If there is a loss on impairment by goodwill and this has an effect on the cash flow statement I think that it should known to everyone in a footnote. It would be understandable if this amount is minute and not shown but if it large and ongoing it is something that needs to be known and dealt with. D)i)December 31, 2007(31658/544017) = 5.82% December 31, 2006(40521/443899) = 9.13% ii)The gross amount if recorded intangible assets at December 31, 2007 was $68,205 iii)Primary cause of the decrease in the value of intangible assets, net on Borland’s balance sheet from 2006 to 2007 was amortization. All intangible assets are amortizable and that’s why total accumulated amortization for 2007 was higher than 2006. iv) Amortization Expense$ 8,863,000 Accumulated Amortization$8,863,000 E)Software development cost was not capitalized in 2007 balance sheet. It was feasible because they were not selling any third party software and as soon as software was considered for technological feasible they put it up for sale. Analysis F)Borland accounts for these expenditures by expensing the production costs of the advertising the first time the advertising takes place. The costs from funding certain activities of the reseller channel are treated as advertising expenses. i) 2007 2006 2005 Total advertising expense including funded advertising $2.3 million $2.8 million $4.4 million Total advertising expense / Total revenues Total advertising expense / Selling, general, and administrative expense ii)This table shows that advertising spending has decreased each year. When taken in proportion to total revenues and general expenses, the percentage that composes advertising expense decreases each year. Since advertising costs are expensed the first time the advertising takes place, this may not represent an actual decrease in advertising, just a decrease in new advertising campaigns. iii)Looking at the assets of the company may help to show fluctuations in the current value at least in terms of book value. Even more so, the company’s stock price will help to see where investors see the current value of the company and its brands. G)i)For the purchase of Segue Software, Inc, the purchase price was allocated to the acquired assets and liabilities based on their estimated fair values on the date of acquisition with the remaining classified as goodwill. The developed technology, customer relationships, agreements, and trademarks are all amortized over their respective periods. These amortizable intangible assets were calculated using the income approach by estimated the expected cash flows from once the projects become viable and discounting them to the present value. ii)131,663/141,456 = 86.93% iii)In process research and development is research and development acquired from Segue Software, Inc that had not reached technological feasibility and had no alternative use. This amount was charged to operating expense upon completion of acquisition. The value was computed using the income approach by estimated the expected cash flows from the projects once commercially viable and discounting the cash flows to their present value. v)On the cash flows statement, an outflow of $115,939 million is reported for the acquisition. This amount is different because the statement of cash flows only reports the amount of cash that actually changes hands. H)i)Based strictly upon the figures on Borland’s financial statements, it seems as though the company has had a record of poor financial performance from the years 2005 to 2007. The company’s net income reported an increasing loss in all three years ($29,832 in 2005, $51,953 in 2006 and $61,673 in 2007). Also, according to the Borland’s balance sheet more than half of the company’s assets are either goodwill or intangibles. Since these intangible assets have a more uncertain economic benefit than other tangible assets, the financial condition is not as strong as it initially seems on the balance sheet. However, a closer inspection of the financial statements gives an explanation that doesn’t reflect Borland’s financial condition as poorly. Much of the company’s operating expenses come from research and development and expenses relating to goodwill and intangibles (36% in 2007, 32% in 2006, and 31% in 2005). This is technically a violation of the matching principle, but it is a necessity since the future economic benefits of goodwill and intangibles is uncertain. This results in increased expenses and lower earning in the current periods and decreased expenses/increased earnings in the future. The statement of cash flows shows that Borland spent a large portion of its expenditure on acquisitions of different companies (Legadero, TeraQuest, and Segue Software), technologies, and investments that include goodwill and intangibles, which further supports this analysis. ii)The market’s perception of Borland’s value over the period from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 is a negative one. The overall trend shows a decrease in value of Borland’s stock price (beginning approximately 5.4/share and ending roughly 2.0/share), indicating negative perception of Borland’s value. Borland’s market capitalization at the end of 2007 was about $218,927,916 [(total common shares outstanding) * (stock price) = (72,975,972 shares * $3/share = $218,927,916). The book value of equity is $202,070,000; therefore the market value estimate is greater than the book value by about $16.9 million as of December 31, 2007. iii)After reviewing the analysis in parts h. i and h. ii, it is clear that the current value of Borland’s goodwill and other intangible assets is undervalued. Although current earnings are low due to increased expenses in the current periods, the high market capitalization over the book value shows that investors believe the value of the company will be higher in the future. iv)In Borland’s May 7, 2008 press release regarding Q1 2008 data, the company states that the goodwill impairment charge of $13.3 million associated with CodeGear is an infrequent occurrence and was required by GAAP standards. Borland did not believe that this accurately portrayed the financial status of the company’s normal operations and thus should be excluded in any investor’s assessment of the company. Borland has a valid point in this statement since these goodwill impairments affect the financial documents but do not arise from the core operations of the company.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Business blue print document Essay

Recurring payments/deductions infotype (0014) in which you capture the details of periodic/regular earnings or deductions. For Mastek, Indian payroll, they will be Medical Reimbursement, Reimbursement of Books, Leave Without Pay, Guesthouse Deduction, Personal Courier and Personal STD/ISD Phone Call.   Additional payments infotype (0015) in which you capture the details of annual or irregular earnings or deductions. For Mastek, Indian payroll, they will be LTA and Performance Pay.   Contract elements infotype (0016) Monitoring dates infotype (0019)   Family details infotype (0021). Membership fees infotype (0057), which you can also set up to make payments to third-parties in particular cases Cost distribution infotype (0027), which you can also set up to assign the internal order number if the cost of the employee is to go to the internal order number. You can also assign the percentage so that only that percentage of cost goes to the internal order. If this infotype is not maintained or the percentage assigned to the internal order in this infotype is not 100 percent, then the system picks the cost center assignment from infotype 0001 to attach the cost. Personnel IDs infotype (0185) These infotypes have been modified to handle Indian requirements. India-specific infotypes containing payment information: – These infotypes have been created for India payroll only: –   Previous employment tax details infotype (0580)   Housing (HRA/CLA/COA) infotype (0581)   Exemptions infotype (0582)   Car & Conveyance infotype (0583)   Income from other sources infotype (0584)   Section 80 deductions infotype (0585)   Investment details (Section 88) infotype (0586)   Provident fund contribution infotype (0587). Other statutory deductions infotype (0588)   Long term reimbursements infotype (0590) * Nominations infotype (0591) 1. 7 POSTING TO ACCOUNTING Purpose Reporting for posting payroll results to Accounting, otherwise known as posting to Accounting, is a subsequent activity that is carried out after a successful payroll run. It usually takes place for each payroll period. During posting to Accounting, all posting data for the payroll results is selected, summarized, formatted, and then posted to the integrated components in Accounting. You can also archive the data created in posting to Accounting. Integration Different R/3 components are involved in posting to Accounting, and these components have different data requirements: –   Payroll (PY)   Financial Accounting (FI)   General Ledger Accounting (FI-GL)   Accounts Payable (FI-AP)   Accounts Receivable (FI-AR)   Special Ledger (FI-SL)   Controlling (CO) INTEGRATION OF THE COMPONENTS IN POSTING TO ACCOUNTING Payroll (HR) The principal organizational concept in Payroll is the wage type. A wage type classifies personnel expenses according to tax, insurance, labour legislation, pay scales and other operational characteristics. In Payroll, wage types are also used for saving additional information in the payroll results, for example, in the form of cumulation wage types (total gross amount or gross tax amount), or in the form of wage types for other important amounts (statutory net pay or transfer amount). The organizational assignments valid for all periods are also created within Payroll as well as special cost assignments, and the wage types are assigned to this information. During payroll, additional wage types are created to provide data for cost accounting and these are saved in the payroll results, for example, the portion of the wage that is not applicable on public holidays. Financial Accounting (FI) Financial Accounting is responsible for the flow of payments. The payment flows are posted to particular accounts depending on the type or identity of the receiver, and on the due date of the payment. Cost Accounting (CO) Cost Accounting splits the costs according to the type (cost type = G/L account) and assigns them to cost centers or to other cost assignment objects (additional account assignment). Posting to accounting allows you to post costs to the following account assignment objects: –   Position in customer order Implementation Considerations To ensure that the process of posting to accounting is completed successfully and without problems, please make the following settings: – Customize the components involved (wage types, accounts, other account assignment objects)   Customize Reporting for posting to Accounting. The individual components involved in posting to Accounting can be organized as follows:   All components are in the same clients of the R/3 System.   The accounting components are in a different system to the Payroll application component. This could be a different R/3 System, an R/2 System, or a third-party system. If the individual components are distributed in various systems, see setting up Posting to accounting.   Reporting for posting payroll results to Accounting   Posting documents In Customizing for Cross-Application Components under Scenarios ‘Posting payroll results to Accounting’. Features Posting to Accounting allows you to perform the following functions: –   Post retroactive accounting runs Pension Fund report for exempted Trusts (Though this is not applicable for Mastek, this is for the information only): – 1. Form 4 – Return of members leaving service 2. Form 5E – Return of the members leaving service during the month 3. Form 6 – Statement of contributions for the month ESI Reports 1. Form 6 2. Form 7 These reports are generated every half-year, in the months of October and April for the preceding contribution period. Professional Tax (PTax) Reports Payroll-India caters to the PTax Reports for the following states: – 1. Andhra Pradesh (Monthly) – Not applicable for Mastek 2. Gujarat (Monthly) – Not applicable for Mastek 3. Karnataka (Monthly) – Applicable for Mastek 4. Maharashtra (Monthly) – Applicable for Mastek 5. West Bengal (Monthly) – Applicable for Mastek 6. Tamil Nadu (Half-Yearly) – Applicable for Mastek 7. Madhya Pradesh (Annual) – Not applicable for Mastek These reports are to be generated at the relevant frequency for those states where PTax is applicable. The selection screen captures the following information: – 1. The PTax report can be generated for a PTax grouping created for the Personnel Subarea. 2. The report is printed in the relevant format for each state as applicable and for those employees for whom the PTax and return is applicable. Labour Welfare Fund Reports Payroll-India caters to Labour Welfare Fund reports for the following states: – 1. Gujarat (Half-Yearly) – Not applicable for Mastek 2. Using the standard SAP – ADP link the gross payroll results shall be uploaded to ADP for the final processing. The SAP US Payroll allows MSI to process payroll for employees in the United States, using data from SAP Personnel Administration and Benefits under a wide variety of configurations. The SAP Payroll system also offers a number of standard payroll reports. The Tax Reporter component will allow MSI to generate all required state and federal tax forms, such as SUI reports and W-2s. Further reports can be generated using Ad Hoc Query in conjunction with an SAP Payroll Infotype. However bulk of MSI requirements for legal reporting etc shall be met by ADP as the net payroll processing will be in their domain. Integration The Payroll component is integrated with other SAP HR components, such as Personnel Administration and Benefits. There are also interfaces to other SAP modules such as Financial Accounting and Controlling. 2. 1 COMPENSATION FOR USA PAY SCALE TYPE During the discussions it was realized that across Mastek Group, the compensation paid to the employees is divided into the following classifications: – 1. Technical – Professional 2. Technical – Semi-professional 3. Non-Technical – Professional 4. Non-technical – Semi-professional 5. Others – Professional 6. Others – Non-professional The same will be configured as the Pay Scale Types in the SAP R/3 system. PAY SCALE AREA The Pay Scale Area will remain same as we have defined our Personnel Areas. Therefore the following will be the Pay Scale Areas in the SAP R/3 system: – 1. Santa Clara 2. Dallas PAYROLL AREA & PAYROLL PERIOD In MSI, a semi monthly payroll period shall be used for running the payroll. Hence the payroll area defined in the SAP R/3 system for MSI is: – 02 – Semi Monthly – USA PAY SCALE GROUP The Pay Scale Group will be in terms of grades in the organization. The list of Pay Scale Group that is to be customized as under: – 1. T2 2. T3 3. G2 4. G3 5. G4 6. G6 7. G8 8. G10 9. G12 10. G14 11. G16 12. G18 13. G20 14. Project Trainee 15. Temporary PAY SCALE LEVEL There is no sub-classification of Pay Scale Groups, which can be mapped to the Pay Scale Level. At Mastek the salaries are defined in terms of Total Annual Gross (TAG) and then the money is divided into the various wage types of the employee. For the purpose of customization, one Pay Scale Level will be defined For the US compensation, Dallas has been taken as base location. The location is also considered for the US compensation package. To start the compensation review, first Mastek has to map the US Grades with the Indian Grades. The US Grades are as follows: – D2 D1 C2 C1 B2 B1 A2 A1 How they are mapped: – Indian Grade US Grade G4 D2 G6 D1 G8 C2 G10 C1, B2 G12 B1 G14 A2 G16 A1 The salary survey is done by an external agency and the salaries are fixed based on that. There are four major heads under which the salary is fixed for the review: – 1. Base Salary 2. Location Allowance 3. Skills 4. Performance Pay NOTE: MASTEK has decided that Indian grades shall be applicable globally and the US grades shall be mapped to equivalent Indian grades. However MASTEK is yet to provide the mapped list of grades for the same. The Reviewed salary is paid as Base salary and the relevant amounts are paid under the other heads. Thus the salaries are finalized for each and every employee in USA. It is to be noted that the salary survey report is Grade based in USA. As Dallas is taken as Base location, the amount for Location Allowance is fixed on the basis of the location the employee is scheduled to work in. For finalizing the location allowance the following factors are taken into account: – 1. Accommodation Cost, 2. Transportation Cost, 3. Tax Rate, and 4. Food Cost. All this is relevant to the Indian employees who visit USA from India. There is no information available as to how the compensation review takes place for the US nationals in USA. 2. 2 USA SPECIFIC BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION COBRA COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. It requires the vast majority of employers to offer continuation of coverage to covered employee and their dependents who, due to certain COBRA qualifying events, lose group health plan coverage. Infotype 0211 COBRA Qualified Beneficiary Infotype 0212 COBRA Health Plan Infotype 0270 COBRA Payments > MSI pays 100% for its employee’s health insurance premiums. Employees’ dependents are eligible to participate in the same health insurance, however it’s the employees’ responsibility to pay the premium costs. > Anthem Health provides both Medical and Dental insurance for MSI employees and their dependents. LIFE INSURANCE > MSI provides life death and dismemberment insurance coverage for all of its employees through UNUM Life Insurance Company effective from the date of joining MSI. > The beneficiary will receive two times the employees’ annual base salary. 401 K PLAN > All employees are eligible for this plan > MSI does not make any contributions to this plan > Employee can contribute up to 25% to a maximum of USD 10,000 per calendar year. CAFETARIA PLAN > Also known as Section 125 Plan. > Employees can pay for medical and dependent care expenses with Pre Tax Dollars to avail of tax benefit under this plan. > Employees may choose to have designated amount of their income directed towards this plan. > This is solely and employee contributed benefit. 2. 3 STANDARD SAP US PAYROLL FEATURES SAP Payroll allows MSI to run payroll for employees in all states. Requisite statutory reports, such as Federal forms 940, W-2, W-3, and all state SUI forms are also supported by the SAP system. Payroll does not just involve the calculation of remuneration, but consists of a variety of processes that are becoming increasingly important due to the employer’s increased obligation to supply benefits and medical welfare. You can also control the financial system of third-party providers. The System calculates the gross and net pay, which comprises the individual payments and deductions that are calculated during a payroll period, and are received by an employee. These payments and deductions are included in the calculation of the remuneration using different wage types. However, since MSI has out sourced its net payroll processing to a third party called ADP. Hence only the gross payroll shall be run and an interface shall be provided to send data to ADP for net payroll processing and deduction of Taxes etc. After the remuneration payroll you can carry out various subsequent activities, for example, you can see to remuneration payment or the creation of various lists, and make evaluations. The Gross Payroll component processes employee master data from SAP Personnel Administration and generates wage types and amounts to be used by the Net Payroll component, or to be exported to a third-party product for net calculation. Pre-tax deductions and earnings are processed within the Gross Payroll component. Integration. The Gross Payroll component is closely integrated with the SAP Personnel Administration and SAP Benefits components Payroll in Dialog Mode Purpose The payroll program is run at a specific point in time, not only to calculate an employee’s basic remuneration but also any special payments, overtime payments or bonuses that must be effected for the period in question. You can follow the procedure of payroll directly in dialog mode. Payroll in dialog mode is particularly suited to simulate a payroll run for an individual payroll area or individual personnel numbers. Payroll in a Background Operation Use When you have checked all the settings for the payroll run, and have tested the run in a simulation run, you can perform the payroll run in a background job. Off-Cycle Activities Purpose As an addition to regular payroll, which carries out payroll at fixed regular intervals, this function enables you to carry out specific off-cycle payroll activities for individual employees on any day. You can issue a check to replace payments that were originally made to an employee by check or by transfer but which the employee did not receive, or if the check is in an unusable condition (for example, torn). You can reverse payroll results that were created by a regular or off-cycle payroll run. You can enter a check number into the system retrospectively for a payroll result for which you have already issued a check manually. 2. 4 MSI US PAYROLL – GROSS PROCESSING Purpose The Gross Payroll component processes employee master data from SAP Personnel Administration and generates wage types and amounts to be used by the Net Payroll component, or to be exported to a third-party product for net calculation. Pre-tax deductions and earnings are processed within the Gross Payroll component. Integration The Gross Payroll component is closely integrated with the SAP Personnel Administration and SAP Benefits components Payments The individual payments form the basis for the calculation of an employee’s gross remuneration, which is the core part of payroll. Gross remuneration is the starting point for the calculation of social insurance and tax payments, and also for the calculation of net remuneration. Structure In the R/3 System, payments are split into the following categories according to their characteristics: Basic pay. Basic pay consists of the fixed wage and salary elements that are paid in every payroll period. You enter them in the form of wage types in the basic pay (0008) infotype. Recurring payments and deductions Recurring payments and deductions are paid or retained with fixed frequency. The system determined the payments using factors such as overtime, leave or substitutions. The wage types that illustrate these factors are entered in the recurring payments and deductions (0014) infotype. In the processing stage the system uses the Customizing settings representing the collective agreement.   Additional Payments. Additional payments are remuneration elements that are not usually paid in each payroll period, and that are not paid at regular intervals. You enter them in the Additional Payments (0015) infotype. Benefits Integration to Payroll Purpose Users of the R/3 Benefits component can use Benefits Integration to streamline the payroll calculation process for their employees. The Benefits Integration component allows benefits-related deductions and contributions entered in master data to be processed during net payroll processing. Integration This component integrates the Payroll component with the Benefits component. Deduction and contribution amounts can be remitted to benefits providers using functionality from the Third Party Remittance component. 2. 5 THE PAYROLL PROCESS 2. 6 US PAYROLL REPORTING Introduction The R/3 HR Payroll System provides all regulatory and tax reports required by U. S. federal and state law, such as SUI reports for state unemployment agencies, W-2 reports for the federal and state governments, and the Multiple Worksite Report for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional payroll reports are available for other business purposes, such as the New Hire Report. These reports allow efficient evaluation of payroll data and ensure compliance with government regulations. Integration Payroll reports access information from all HR Infotypes and evaluate data from HR Time Management and HR Organizational Management as well as HR Personnel Administration. Features R/3 Payroll offers numerous internal and regulatory reports, including: New Hire Reporting Tax Reporter for federal and state reports Law requires companies to report the results of their payroll calculation to several tax authorities, including the federal government and many state and local governments. This component enables you to produce regulatory reports for government authorities in the format required by each authority. Reports that Tax Reporter supports include Form 940 – Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return, Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, Form W-2 – Wage and Tax Statement, the 1099-R form and the Multiple Worksite Report. NOTE:-In case of MASTEK the above reports may be provided by ADP since ADP shall be responsible for running net payroll and doing all calculations and deductions for the same.