Learning Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Learning Style - Essay Example There are, however, those that have admitted that if they want to be at time annoying they may stay in a mode that is different from the person that they are working with (Van, 2007). For example, when asking for evidence in an argument they might ask for written evidence clearly knowing that the other person often likes to use oral information. A multimodal learning preference can be described as a preferred way of learning new information or material that incorporates several different and diverse styles of learning. The different modes of learning that are combined in multimodal are visual and auditory. It is imperative to understand that one is a unique learner, and there is no one that learns exactly as another (PavicÃŒÅ'icÃŒ , 2008). However, there exist a lot of benefits in discovering one’s learning style. First all in academic matters, it often gives on a head start and maximizes one’s learning potential. Secondly, it helps one to succeed in college, or university as one is able to understand how he or she learns best. Further, one is allowed to learn more by overcoming the limitations of poor instructors as well as reduce the stress and frustration that is often accompanied by one not fully realizing his or her learning style. When it comes to teaching it is imperative for a tutor to understand the different learning styles of his or her student. The tutors must realize that all the students have different learning styles that are unique and for this reason they should be treated as such. If the tutor understands the different learning styles of the students, he or she might become an effective tutor because information will be released easily. Research often suggests that each person often tends to adopt a particular approach when studying (Van, 2007). My preferred learning style is multimodal; this is because this learning style is a combination of all the learning styles. It involves auditory, and visual.

Mobile Phones Should Be Banned While Driving Essay Example for Free

Mobile Phones Should Be Banned While Driving Essay The risk of getting into a car accident while talking on a mobile phone while driving is growing as the number of mobile phone subscribers increases. Engaging in a phone conversation on a mobile phone while driving distracts the brain and delays reaction times which are more likely to cause drivers to swerve between lanes, slow down and miss important signs. Mobile phones should be banned while driving because they are risky. An Australian study conducted in 2005, estimated that the risk of a collision when using a mobile phone was four times higher than the risk when a mobile phone was not being used. 456 drivers who owned phones, were involved in crashes. By collecting these drivers’ mobile phone records, scientists determined those who made telephone calls just before the time of the crash. Case crossover analysis of mobile phone habits enabled the scientists to calculate the increase in risk. Even hands-free devices were not that safer. An earlier study in 2003, integrated data from questionnaires, mobile phone companies and crash records kept by the police. It found that the overall relative risk (RR) of having an accident for mobile phone users when compared to non-mobile phone users averaged 1.38 across all groups. The RR was then adjusted for kilometers driven per year and other crash exposures. When this was done RR was 1.11 for men and 1.21 for women. The study also revealed that increased mobile phone use correlated with an increase in RR. However, there are some objections to the call for the ban of mobile phone use while driving. According to the Associated Press, CTIA – The Wireless Association, a mobile phone trade group in America, objected to a complete ban. Its vice-president, John Walls, is reported as saying, â€Å" we think that you can sensibly and safely use a mobile phone to make a brief call.† Although there are objections, there is sufficient evidence to prove that using a mobile phone while driving is risky. Using a mobile phone while driving, taxes the cognitive skills of the brain at the expense of driving. The vast majority of drivers have no idea that using the mobile phone while driving is risky. argumentative essay

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3:

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Windows version Changes between 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Video outputs: * Fix video quality when resizing the video on Windows Vista and 7, due to regressions in most popular drivers * New deinterlacers modules based on yadif and yadif(x2) algorithms Decoders: * Windows version supports now natively the WMA Professional codec, as it didnt work in the packaged version of 1.0.2 * Fix downmixing of particual 4.0 AC-3 audio tracks Encoders: * x264 has profile-limitter, like: #transcode{vcodec=h264,venc=x264{profile=baseline,level=12}..} Input: * Update for appletrailers lua script * Fixes on the RAR stream filter * Fix for E-AC3 in ATSC/TS streams * Various fixes for v4l and v4l2 * Fix a crash in mjpeg demuxer Service discovery: * New udev module for linux Qt4 interface: * Fixes on the playlist and the stream output panels Translations: * French, Galician, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian updates Changes between 1.0.1 and 1.0.2: Decoders: * Native support for WMA Professional, without the use of the Win32 dlls * Fix issues in subtitles, especially SSA ones * Various fixes on theora and ogg Demuxers: * Various fixes for EPG support in MPEG-TS demuxer * Fixes for potential stack overflow in .avi, .mp4 and .asf demuxers Access: * Fixes for v4l2 devices * Fixes for dvb-c channels-scanning Qt Interface: * Fix some playlist sorting issues Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed a crash when updating VLC * Fixed a crash related to QTKit when opening video files (10.6 only) * Added the ability to play 2nd media in sync to the primary item (input-slave) * Added the Quit after Playback feature Mac OS X Port: * The Delete Preferences script is now delivered as a Universal Binary with native code for PowerPC, Intel and Intel 64bit * Full 64bit runtime compatibility on both Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 no support for Goom and SDL limited text rendering support This port is still considered as EXPERIMENTAL despite its binary release. Encoders: * MPEG2 transrate stream output removed * x264 default-values closer to x264.exe defaults. * x264 rc-behaviour fixes: if user defines qp-value, CQP-mode is used otherwise if user defines vb=0, CRF-mode is used otherwise ABR-mode is used * x264 set vbv-bufsize/vbv-maxsize better if user hasnt defined these: ABR mode set vbv-max-bitrate=bitrate vbv-bufsize is bitrate * seconds between keyframes (keyint/fps) Playlist: * Lua scripts for Mpora and Vimeo playback Unix builds: * Various fixes to enable 1.0 to build on Solaris and OpenBSD Translations: * New Kazakh and Croatian translations * Lithunanian translation is available on Windows * Galician, Korean, Nepali, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Brazilian, Arabic and French translation updates Changes between 1.0.0 and 1.0.1: Demuxers: * Fix wmv/asf issues that caused audio to drop * Various fixes for ac3, mp3, dts and stability for wav format * Fix seek in RTSP in conformity to RFC 2326 * Fix Dailymotion access script * Fix crashes in xspf files handler * Fix seeking and timing issues in some flv files on Windows version Access: * Add extra caching for files on network shares * Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria Decoders: * Fix seeking in mpeg2 video files * Improve SSA subtitles rendering * Update most codecs for the Windows and Mac version Muxers: * Fix sound recording of .flv files with mp3 audio Qt Interface: * Possibility to change the opacity level of the Fullscreen controller * Fix various crashes and VIDEO_TS folders opening Mac OS X Interface: * Added options to disable support for Apple Remote and Media Keys * Fixed options for Volume, Last.fm password and Subtitle Encoding * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Preferences panel now includes help through tool-tips * More reliable Information and Messages panels * Fix various crashes Windows port: * The ZVBI module is now available for Windows, for complete teletext support Translations updates for Brazillian, French, German, Korean, Norwegian Nynorsk, Lithuanian Changes between 0.9.9a and 0.9.10: HTTP Interface: * Fixed default ACL Mac OS X: * Fixed crashes on multi-screen setups * Corrected volume and subtitle encoding options in the Preferences * Improved Information panel behavior, when playlist is not displayed * Fixed QTCapture input support for the latest iSight models * Added a menu-item to unlock the video windows aspect ratio * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Updated libpng, libgpg-error, libgcrypt, fribidi Various fixes to the following modules: * access: HTTP, SMB updated and additional access scripts (BBC radio, dailymotion, ) Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria * stream out: RTP, RTSP VoD, Mosaic Bridge * decoder: TSCC Changes between 0.9.9a and 1.0.0: Important notes: - * Alsa and OSS audio capture has been removed from the v4l and v4l2 accesses. See Access: for more info. * Support for Mac OS X 10.4.x was dropped due to its technical limitations Playback: * Instantaneous pausing * Frame-by-Frame playback * Finer speed control * On-the-fly recording for all medias * Timeshift for most medias * RTSP trickplay support * Subtitles core improvements and fixes Decoders: * New AES3 (SMPTE 302M) decoder * New Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3 (A/52b) decoder * New True HD/MLP decoder and parser * New Blu-Ray Linear PCM decoder * New QCELP (Qualcomm PureVoice) decoder * Improved Real Video 3.0 4.0 decoder * New WMA v1/2 fixed point integer decoder * Closed Captions using the SCTE-20 standard are now correctly decoded * Improvement of WavPack decoder to support all integer modes and float mode * Corrections on 5.1 and 7.1 channel decoding and ordering Demuxers: * Support for Dirac, MLP and RealVideo in Matroska files * Major improvements in RealMedia files opening (.rm and .rmvb) * Improvements of the TS demuxer for M2TS files from Blu-Ray and AVCHD * Metadata for mod files are supported * GSM codecs in Wav files are supported * New raw audio demuxer supporting raw PCM streams * New Dirac demuxer for raw Dirac streams Encoders: * Dirac encoding using libdirac (supported in Ogg and in TS) * Shine mp3 fixed-point encoder Access: * RTSP authentication with Darwin Streaming Server * On-the-fly gzip and bzip2 file decompression (except on Windows) * Playback for video in uncompressed multi-RAR archives * DVB-S and ATSC cards support on Windows * New OSS and Alsa accesses. The v4l2 and v4l modules no longer support OSS or Alsa audio input. Use input-slave alsa:// or oss:// if needed. * DVB scanning on linux * EXPERIMENTAL Blu-Ray Disc and AVCHD Folders support * On-the-fly zip file decompression and browsing (MRL of the form zip://file.zip!/file.avi to specify the file the development form of zip://file.zip|file.avi is not supported anymore) * Opening of any file descriptor using fd:// * MTP device access on Unix * CD-Text support on the cdda module (CD-Audio) * :start-time and :stop-time can handle sub-second values Inputs: * Mouse cursor support in x11 and win32 screen modules * Screen module now features partial screen capture and mouse following on Windows and Mac OS X. Playlist: * Export the playlist in HTML * Lua script for BBC radio playback * Better metadata handling and reading Linux/Windows interface: * Global Hotkeys on Windows and Linux * Various fixes for skins2 interface * Recently played items list * Interface toolbar customizations * Various Improvements on the Qt interface: More menus actions Finer speed slider Improvements on many dialogs New dialog for plugins listing Fixed-size mode for videos Better Teletext, trickplay and encrypted streams control * Better integration in GTK environments Mac OS X Interface: * Controllable by the Media Keys on modern Apple keyboards (brushed Aluminium) * Reveal-in-Finder functionality for locally stored items. * Easy addition of subtitles through the Video menu * Additional usability improvements Stream output: * Restored the old mpeg2 transrating module. * Multiple bridge-in instances are now possible. * bridge-in can be used to configure a placeholder stream. * Remote Audio Output Protocol (AirTunes) module. * Fixed mosaic memleak. Mosaics are now usable again. Maemo Port: * New Maemo port with: an interface based on Hildon framework. scaler based on the swscale_nokia770 library. Windows CE Port: EXPERIMENTAL work for the winCE port has been done. Mac OS X Port: * EXPERIMENTAL 64bit support * Speed improvements by using llvm-gcc * New document icons by Dominic Spitaler * Support for latest iSight models Audio output: * Removed obsolete Esound and aRts plugins * Surround support for PulseAudio Video output: * Effects (cube, torus, etc.) removed from OpenGL video output * Video is able to stay in original size and to zoom in fullscreen (hotkey o) while keeping black borders * Image video output has been rewritten into a video-filter named scene. The old image video output has been removed. * Support for scaling and converting video chromas with FFMPEG imgresample was withdrawn due to bugs. Please use the newer FFMPEG swscale instead. Miscellaneous: * Invmem, a fake codec to display images from external applications New Localization: * Khmer * Mongolian * Sorani Changes between 0.9.9 and 0.9.9a: Mac OS X: * Updated multiple 3rd party libraries to keep in sync with the Win32 port * Playback fixes for PowerPC-based Macs Changes between 0.9.8a and 0.9.9: Decoders: * Experimental new decoder for Real Video 3.0 4.0 Demuxers: * Various fixes related to real demuxer Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed circumstances, which could lead to an empty Information panel Note that VLC will show information on the currently _selected_ item instead of the currently _playing_ item, if the playlist is visible in the main controller window. * Fixed multiple UTF8 issues in the Streaming / Exporting Wizard Mac OS X Port: * Improved video playback performance on Intel-based Macs New Localizations: * Indonesian * Bengali * Updates of other localizations Various bugfixes: * Support for receiving RTP packets on odd port numbers. * Lots of small bugfixes. * Correct Fullscreen behaviour on Multi-Screen setups on Windows * Telnet fixes on Windows * Resampling fixes when transcoding Changes between 0.9.6 and 0.9.8a: Security update: * Fixed buffer overflow in Real demuxer (SA-0811, CVE-2008-5276) Bunch of small bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.5 and 0.9.6: New Localizations: * Ukranian Security updates: * Fixed overflow in CUE support from VCD access (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5032) * Fixed overflow in RealText subtitles support (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5036) Changes between 0.9.4 and 0.9.5: Security updates: * Fixed buffer overflow in TiVo demuxer (SA-0809, CVE-2008-4686, CVE-2008-4654) * Fixed libpng CVE-2008-3964 in Win32 and MacOS builds Features: * Closed Caption EIA 608/708 parsing enabled for libmpeg2 Various bugfixes: * Fixed various potential crashes and memleaks * Fixed issues with reading from files (especially non-local) Windows port: * Fix bug where interface was eating some media keys * Fix some crashes in DirectShow access Qt Interface: * Fix bug when the resetting of preferences didnt reset the dialog states * Right-click menu to select playlist columns reenabled * Various fixed in playlist Access: * MMAP module is now deactivated by default Translations: * Update of Brazillian, Swedish translation Changes between 0.9.3 and 0.9.4: Various bugfixes: * Crashes fixed in ogg, vobsub, dvdread * Fixes several memory leaks. Mac OS X port: * Apple machines without Quartz Extreme are no longer supported (use 0.9.2 or earlier ) * Fixed a crash with deletion of old preferences. * Fixed targetname for downloaded updates Windows port: * Stability fix for the video output. Changes between 0.9.2 and 0.9.3: Various bugfixes: * Fixed DTS channel order on 5.1 systems * Fixed pausing behavior for subtitles and for Audio-CD * Multiple subtitles and podcast fixes * Various crashes fixed in PS, SSA, mkv, xspf, freetype * Fixed update system bugs * Other bug fixes (dvd language selection, subtitle colours, HTTP keep-alive+) Mac OS X port: * Fixed ffmpeg slowness on PowerPC-based Macs * Fixed crash on startup when installed on old preferences * Fixed bug in directory opening on Mac OS X * Fixed font selection in the Simple Preferences * Thicker border to the subtitle renderer * Fixed the appearance of playlist items in the Streaming/Transcoding Wizard * Fixed AC3 passthrough on Mac OS X * Fixed behavior of the Volume Normalizer settings on Mac OS X * Removed the deprecated QuickDraw video output module to avoid crashes on modern Mac OS X versions Windows port: * Fixed sensitivity of Fullscreen Controller * Fixed error messages on startup when VLC wasnt correctly uninstalled before installation * Fix showing of controller when returning from fullscreen playback * Multiple directory and path location fixes. Qt4 interface: * Added Faster/Slower icons to the controller panel * Fixed lost playlist columns when switching the playlist view * Added needed options to Simple preferences (to avoid NVIDIA drivers issues) * Fullscreen controller: added time label, remembering of last position * Fixed dragn drop behaviour on the playlist * Multiple other fixes (Enter hotkey in preferences, Skins selection) Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.2: * Restored the old behavior of sout-keep. It is now de-activated by default. * Skins2 interface repaired on Windows. * Multiple bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.0: * Multiple bug fixes. Changes between 0.8.6i and 0.9.0: Important notes: - * This release will need Windows 2000 and Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), or more recent to work correctly * The HTTP interface is now only available on the local machine by default. If you want to make it available from other machines, you will have to edit the .hosts file. On UNIX/Linux, the file is in /usr/share/vlc/http/.hosts If youre using the old http interface, its located in /usr/share/vlc/http/old/.hosts On Windows they are in C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttp.hosts and C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttpold.hosts On Mac OS X, you can find it in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/.hosts and respectively in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/old/.hosts * This version of VLC contains a new interface for Windows and Linux. This interface has a fullscreen controller and simplified preferences. This interface lacks the Streaming Wizard that used to be present in VLC 0.8.6, but provides basic profiles. * The behavior of sout-keep was changed. Its now activated by default. * The marq, mosaic and logo commands in the rc interface changed. They now require a target name as their first argument. Example: vlc sub-filter [emailprotected]{marquee=Hello} -I rc You can then use commands like: @test marq-marquee Goodbye If you didnt name the object using @test, its name will default to the plugin name (hence marq) in this example. These new commands are also available in the telnet interface. * The rtp access output module has been removed. Please use the RTP stream output instead, e.g.: Old: #std{access=rtp,mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2:5004,sap} New: #rtp{mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2,port=5004,sap} * You now need to append m3u-extvlcopt to your command line to enable EXTVLCOPT options parsing in m3u playlists. Note that only a limited set of options is available to m3u playlists (CVE-2007-6683). * The old access:url syntax is no longer supported to resolve ambiguities with some file names. Use access://url instead. E.g.: vlc:quit -> vlc://quit ; udp:@239.255.12.12 -> udp://@239.255.12.12 * The ffmpeg module has been removed and replaced by the new avcodec, avformat, swscale (or imgresample if you use a swscale-less ffmpeg build) and postproc modules. * The web plugins ActiveX (IE)/Firefox/Mozilla/Safari now recognize the following states: IDLE/CLOSE=0, OPENING=1, BUFFERING=2, PLAYING=3, PAUSED=4, STOPPING=5, FORWARD=6, BACKWARD=7, ENDED=8, ERROR=9. With FORWARD and BACKWARD being reserved for future implementations and are thus not functional atm. * Croping and padding in transcode are now done using the croppadd video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=croppadd{cropttop=20,cropbottom=30,paddleft=100}} * Canvas setting in transcode is now done using the canvas video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=canvas{width=640,height=480}} * Glide video output module has been removed. Changes: Security updates: * Updated libfreetype on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1807) * TTA Parser improvements (CVE-2008-3732) * MMS Access Module improvements (CVE-2008-3794 ) Playlist: * Vastly improved playlist support: * Media library creation to save all your playlist items * Live search * Shoutcast TV listings * Audioscrobbler/Last.FM support * Album art support * User definable Lua playlist scripts. See share/lua/playlist/README.txt (Default scripts open YouTube, DailyMotion, metacafe, Google Video and lots of other URLs) * User definable Lua album art fetcher scripts. See share/lua/meta/README.txt Inputs: * Video for Linux 2 (V4L2) input support * UDP-Lite transport for RTP/AVP * DCCP transport for RTP/AVP * Proxy support for MMSH stream * JACK audio input support * Input run time option (improved live stream recording) * BDA devices access module for DVB-C/S/T capture cards on Microsoft Windows * Re-written Screen access module for Mac OS X using OpenGL instead of QuickDraw * Screen module now supports partial screen capture and mouse following on X11. * Experimental EyeTV access module This requires the user to install a plugin to EyeTV.app (available as a separate download). * Simple RTP input (with MPEG A/V, G.711 and PCM support). * RTMP input support * QTKit-based Input module for Mac OS X allowing display and streaming of video taken from all iSight-labelled video cameras (no audio support) * HTTP access now supports gzip compressed data and Digest Access Authentication. * New options to reduce latency between arrival of raw data and display of frames. (auto-adjust-pts-delay and use-stream-immediate) Demuxers: * MP4 gpac and Apple chapter support * Fixed playback of AIFF stereo files * Fixed audio glitch on seek * Improved FLAC demuxer (duration / current time / meta data) * AAC tags support * APEv1/2 tags support * Improved ID3v2 tags support * Improved Ogg/Vorbis tags support * Raw video support * Standard MIDI File (types 0 1) support * TiVo Series 2 support * CD+G karaoke Files support * MXF files support * OMA support Decoders: * VP60/VP61/VP6F/VP62 support * Flash Screen Video support * CamStudio Screen Video support * DosBox Capture support * Karl Mortons Video support * limited atrac3 support * Fraps support * Fluidsynth MIDI software synthesis (with external sound fonts) * New codec FOURCCs to support more specific files: Avid, FCP, Sony, Samsung, * H.264 PAFF support * DNxHD / VC-3 support * NellyMoser ASAO support * APE (Monkey audio) support * RealVideo support (with the RealVideo run-time) * Dirac video support using libschroedinger Subtitles: * Closed Caption Decoder (DVD, ReplayTV, TiVo, DVB/ATSC) * VBI EBU (Teletext) support (*nix, Mac OS) * Ogg/Kate subtitles support * AQTitle subtitles support * MKV USF subtitles support * HTML-based subtitles support * MPSub subtitles support * JacoSub subtitles basic support * MPL2 subtitles support * Rewrite of ASS/SSA scripts and subtitles support * PowerDivx (.psb) Subtitles support * Realtext subtitle support * DKS subtitle support * SubViewer 1.0 (SubRip09) subtitles support * Correct Right-to-left languages in subtitles support Encoders: * Flash Screen Video support * Improved H.264 encoding speed Video outputs and filters: * New CoreAnimation-based output module (VLCKit framework on OS X only) * Adjust, Invert and Distort (now split into Wave, Ripple, Gradient and Psychedelic) video filters can now be streamed * New puzzle video output filter * Re-written motion detection video filter * New extract video filter (extract Red, Green and Blue components from a video) * New sharpen video filter (increase the contrast of adjacent pixels) * New erase video filter (removes logos from a video) * Enhanced subtitles renderer to support bold, italic and some HTML tags (Google Summer of Code Student project) * Support for RGBA and I420 blending. The latter improves Mosaic CPU usage *a lot*. * New transparency mask video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). * New bluescreen video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). This was previously part of the mosaic module. * Fixed random characters problem in RSS filter. * Add rotate-deciangle for more precision on rotate filter * Support for Intel SSE2 instruction set in chroma converters * Improved use of Intel MMX instruction set in chroma converters * New croppadd and canvas video filters. Audio outputs and filters: * Replay gain support * Audio playback when going slower/faster (with pitch correction via new scaletempo audio filter) * New spatializer audio filter * Correct DTS output via S/PDIF Stream output: * RTSP for TS-multiplexed broadcast streams * New RTP payload formats: * Speex voice audio codec * ITU T.140 (for text, subtitles) output * G.711 (both A-law and  µ-law) output * UDP-Lite transport for RTP * DCCP transport for RTP * Lots of fixes for RTSP broadcasting * RTMP output Interfaces: * All * New Simple Preferences dialogs showing the most important settings in an end-user suitable way. * Improved user interaction * Improved mouse gestures * Vastly improved Update checker * Full support for meta data editing (ID3v2, Ogg/Vorbis, AAC, APEv1/2) * Windows/Linux * Brand new interface for Linux and Windows, based on the Qt toolkit * Fullscreen controller (transparency on Linux+Composite) * Mac OS X * Improved video output features * Online access to VideoLANs Help Wiki within VLC * New setting to disable the Recent Items service * When playing Radio (live) streams, the current track is shown correctly * Correct appearance on Macs using Aquas graphite theme * Simplified Extended Controls panel * Ncurses: * Correctly displays wide characters when using an UTF-8 locale, if libncursesw is available. * Some nice colors if the terminal supports it (most do) * Experimental Lua interface modules. See vlc -I lua and share/lua/playlist/README.txt for more info. * Unix * Option to allow only one running instance, using D-Bus interface. * D-Bus Interface implementing the MPRIS (Media Player Remote Interfacing specification), a common dbus control interface for media players that intends to become an xdg standard when finished: http://wiki.xmms2.xmms.se/index.php/Media_Player_Interfaces . * Motion module using disk accelerometers to keep video horizontal * Plugin to set Telepathy presence message using MissionControl * Fixed VLM schedule time on Linux Linux Port: * VLC now complies with the XDG Base Directory Specification version 0.6 http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-0.6.html (which means that VLC doesnt use the $HOME/.vlc directory anymore) Mac OS X Port: * Mac OS X Framework VLCKit that can be used to embed VLC in third party applications (Google Summer of Code Student project, Mac OS X 10.5 only) * New text renderer based on Quartz replacing the existing Freetype solution * Complete compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard * It is now required to compile a fully featured build * The support of Mac OS X 10.3.9 and QuickTime 6.x was discontinued. LibVLC: * Event management and various improvements in libvlc (Part of a Google Summer of Code Student project) New Localizations: * Finnish * Persian * Polish * Punjabi * Bulgarian Developers: * LibVLC now supports externally built plugins properly. A vlc-plugin pkg-config package is provided. * Java bindings are now built from a separate source. Changes between 0.8.6h and 0.8.6i: - Security updates: * Fixed integer overflow in WAV demuxer (CVE-2008-2430) Various bugfixes: * Fixed option to use shared memory within the GLX video output module * Improved galaktos-based audio visualizations on FreeBSD * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (transcode stream output, OSD menu video filter, VCD input, SAP services discovery, http control interface) * Updated Polish translation Changes between 0.8.6g and 0.8.6h: - Security updates: * Updated GnuTLS and libgcrypt on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1948, CVE-2008-1949, CVE-2008-1950) * Updated libxml2 on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2007-6284) Goodies: * Updated libebml and libmatroska on Mac OS X. Reliability improvements. * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (ftp access, record access filter, video filters, RC interface, playlist demuxer, IP networking, MPJPEG muxer, stream outputs) * Improved support for MPEG2 content created by Final Cut Pro * More reliable audio reception for MPEG TS streams * Fixed a regression in 0.8.6g where usage of the snapshot feature could lead to an unexpected application termination * New Serbian translation * Updated Romanian translation Changes between 0.8.6f and 0.8.6g: - Security updates: * Removed VLC variable settings from Mozilla and ActiveX (CVE-2007-6683, VideoLAN-SA-0804) * Removed loading plugins from the current directory (CVE-2008-2147, VideoLAN-SA-0805) * Updated libpng on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1382) * Fixed libid3tag denial of service (CVE-2008-2109) * Fixed libvorbis vulnerabilities (CVE-2008-1419, CVE-2008-1420, CVE-2008-1423) * Fixed speex insufficient boundary check (CVE-2008-1686, oCERT-2008-004) Various bugfixes: * Fixed various memory leaks, improving stability when running as a server * Fixed compilation with recent versions of FFmpeg * Correctly parses SAP announcements from MPEG-TS * Fixed AAC resampling * The Fullscreen Controller appears correctly on Mac OS X, if the Always-on-top video option was selected. Changes between 0.8.6e and 0.8.6f: - Security updates: * Really fixed subtitle buffer overflow (CVE-2007-6681, CVE-2008-1881) * Fixed Real RTSP code execution problem (CVE-2008-

Nova Scotia :: essays research papers

Nova Scotia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nova Scotia, one of the three Maritime and one of the four Atlantic provinces of Canada, bordered on the north by the Bay of Fundy, the province of New Brunswick, Northumberland Strait, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and on the east, south, and west by the Atlantic Ocean. Nova Scotia consists primarily of a mainland section, linked to New Brunswick by the Isthmus of Chignecto, and Cape Breton Island, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso. On July 1, 1867, Nova Scotia became one of the founding members of the Canadian Confederation. The province's name, which is Latin for New Scotland, was first applied to the region in the 1620s by settlers from Scotland. Physical Geography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nova Scotia can be divided into four major geographical regions-the Atlantic Uplands, the Nova Scotia Highlands, the Annapolis Lowland, and the Maritime Plain. The Atlantic Uplands, which occupy most of the southern part of the province, are made up of ancient resistant rocks largely overlain by rocky glacial deposits. The Nova Scotia Highlands are composed of three separate areas of uplands. The western section includes North Mountain, a long ridge of traprock along the Bay of Fundy; the central section takes in the Cobequid Mountains, which rise to 367 m (1204 ft) atop Nuttby Mountain; and the eastern section contains the Cape Breton Highlands, with the province's highest point. The Annapolis Lowland, in the west, is a small area with considerable fertile soil. Nova Scotia's fourth region, the Maritime Plain, occupies a small region fronting on Northumberland Strait. The plain is characterized by a low, undulating landscape and substantial areas of fertile soil. History   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The area now known as Nova Scotia was originally inhabited by tribes of Abenaki and Micmac peoples. The Venetian explorer John Cabot, sailing under the English flag, may have reached Cape Breton Island in 1497. Colonial Period   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first settlers of the area were the French, who called it Acadia and founded Port Royal in 1605. Acadia included present-day New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The English, rivals of the French in Europe and the New World, refused to recognize French claims to Acadia, which they called Nova Scotia (New Scotland) and granted to the Scottish poet and courtier Sir William Alexander in 1621. This act initiated nearly a century of Anglo- French conflict, resolved by the British capture of Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal) in 1710 and the French cession of mainland Acadia to the British by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. Thus, the bulk of the Roman Catholic French-Acadians came under Protestant British rule.

First Motor Case

Global Perspectives on Accounting Education Volume 5, 2008, 17-25 FIRST MOTORS CORPORATION: A CLASSROOM CASE ON IMPAIRMENTS Tim Krumwiede College of Business Bryant University Smithfield, Rhode Island USA Emily Giannini Graduate Student, College of Business Bryant University Smithfield, Rhode Island USA ABSTRACT This case requires a detailed analysis of impairments of both long-lived assets and goodwill for First Motors Corporation, a fictitious automobile company. By integrating multiple issues into this case, students are presented with some of the complexities and interrelationships that are seen in practice.To properly prepare solutions to this case, students must successfully read, interpret, and apply both accounting standards and concept statements. The use of judgment in choosing a discount rate for present value computations is an important component of this case. In fact, an earnings management issue and resulting conflict between First Motors Management and the companyâ₠¬â„¢s auditor revolves around the discount rate choice. Additionally, the suggested questions provided with the case require that students address components of the conceptual framework in the context of the impairment standards.This case can be used in upper division financial reporting classes at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Key words: Impairment, goodwill, long-lived assets, discount rate BACKGROUND t is currently 2013 and you are a member of the engagement team assigned to audit First Motors Corporation for the year ending 12/31/2012. First Motors Corporation is a car manufacturing company focused on moving from the production of gasoline-based cars to the production of cars I 17 18 Krumwiede and Giannini based on alternative fuel sources.It was one of the first car companies to successfully produce hybrid-based vehicles in the United States. First Motors has successfully maintained car sales and retained valuable employees while creating modern, efficient cars. B y 2008, First Motors was manufacturing two vehicles, both of which are still being manufactured today. One model is a hybrid-powered vehicle that can be customized in style and features for any purchaser around the globe. This model, called the Passaic, is manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, close to the company’s corporate headquarters.First Motors also manufactures a gasoline-powered model, the Mendoza, at its plant in Lorain, Ohio. In 2008, to take advantage of its alternative fuel source expertise, First Motors purchased a large competitor, Macinaw Motors Corporation, which had made significant progress with hydrogen-powered cars. As the United States is moving toward alternative energy sources, hydrogen is increasingly being used as a fuel source to replace gasoline. To achieve such progress, several processes can be used to make hydrogen. According to the National Hydrogen Association (2006), hydrogen can be made from water, biomass, coal, and natural gas.Much of the hyd rogen produced today comes from steam reforming natural gas. Alternatively, an electrolyzer can be used to separate water into its components, oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be cooled down to form liquid hydrogen which can be stored at hydrogen fuel stations. Macinaw Motors had experimented with several hydrogen technologies but eventually settled on the use of liquid hydrogen in an internal combustion engine as the most effective way to make substantial progress with hydrogen as an alternative fuel.Due to Macinaw Motors’ valuable research and development program, operating efficiencies, and exceptional reputation, part of the purchase price was allocated to goodwill. The amount recorded as goodwill was $1. 3 billion, or the difference between the $5 billion purchase price (fair value) of Macinaw Motors as a whole and the $3. 7 billion fair value of its identifiable net assets. When First Motors purchased Macinaw Motors, the combined company retained the name Firs t Motors Corporation.Although First Motors and Macinaw Motors merged, the former First Motors is operated as the First Motors Division and the former Macinaw Motors is operated as the Macinaw Motors Division. Each division acts as a component of the enterprise that earns revenues and incurs expenses from engaging in its own business activity. Additionally, each division is reviewed by the enterprise’s chief operating decision maker to assess its performance and each division has its own discrete set of financial information. At the time of the purchase, Macinaw Motors had three manufacturing plants, all of which are still operating today.Each plant is used to produce one car model. Plant 1 is located in Irvine, California, where the hydrogen-powered Mankato is produced. Plant 2 is located in Mishawaka, Indiana, where the hydrogen-powered Sheboygan is produced. Plant 3 is located in Braselton, Georgia, where the gasoline-powered Spokane is produced. When Macinaw Motors was pur chased in 2008, executives at First Motors believed that consumers were still purchasing gasoline-powered vehicles because their purchase price was still less than that of similarly equipped hybrid-based or hydrogen-based vehicles.Management of First Motors plans to convert Plant 3 to manufacture a hydrogen-based vehicle at some point in the future. However, for the next several years, First Motors wants to capitalize on the market for gasolinepowered vehicles and Plant 3 will continue to be used in the production of gasoline-powered cars. In late 2008, management began retooling Plant 3 of the Macinaw Division to create a new, efficient, and highly desirable gasoline-powered model of the Spokane. To retool Plant 3, the First Motors Corporation: A Classroom Case on Impairments 19 ivision incurred substantial equipment costs including the costs of body assembly jigs, welding equipment, conveyors, robots, and a new platform. Management decided to retool the plant and continue with a n ew model Spokane under the assumption that there was going to be a significant increase in oil supply from expected oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska (ANWR). It was believed that these oil reserves would help keep the price of gasoline down which, in turn, would continue to stimulate demand for gasoline-powered cars. The retooling process was completed during 2009.THE CASE In 2012, First Motors management was surprised to learn that oil reserve estimates were inaccurate for the ANWR. After debate over this controversial drilling location, legislation was finally passed in 2010 that included approval for ANWR oil drilling. Some citizens of Alaska and other states were angered by the new law and protested the approval of oil drilling. Nevertheless, in 2012, drilling proceeded in one small select and authorized area. Results of the initial drilling revealed that the expected oil reserves in that location were not nearly as large as projected.Due to the ANWR finding and turmoil in the Middle East, there was a spike in gasoline prices during 2012 and the sales of the Spokane model did not meet expectations. Closure of Plant 3 was considered; however, for four reasons, management decided to keep Plant 3 open. First, management believed the spike in gasoline prices was not permanent and that other oil reserves would help to moderate future oil prices. Second, significant expenditures had already been made on the plant, and it would not require large amounts of additional capital in the near future.Third, consumers were still purchasing gasoline-powered vehicles because of the continued price differential between these vehicles and vehicles using alternative energy sources. Finally, because of union contracts, any assembly line workers laid off would be paid wages by the Macinaw Division at 75 percent of straight-time pay. Thus, management determined that it was not the appropriate time to convert Plant 3 to a hydrogen-based plant. Impairme nt Despite these reasons to keep Plant 3 open, its long-lived assets will not generate the net cash flows originally anticipated when the plant was retooled.In fact, as the result of very deep discounting of the Spokane’s retail price during the year, it is possible that the final numbers for 2012 may show negative operating cash flows related to Plant 3. Accordingly, management determined that an impairment test must be performed for the Plant 3 long-lived assets. To determine if the assets are impaired, management compares the future undiscounted cash flows of Plant 3 to the book value of the plant’s long-lived assets. As of 12/31/2012, the net book value of Plant 3’s property, plant, and equipment is $1. 4 billion, before any write-down from impairment is recorded.Additional relevant information is as follows: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The estimated remaining life of the assembly line equipment is 11 years. Yearly anticipated net cash flows for each of the next 11 years is $62,504,377. It is assumed that the land, buildings, and equipment for Plant 3 can be sold for $30 million at the end of this 11-year period. The total estimated undiscounted net cash flows related to Plant 3 over the next 11 years are $717,548,147 (($62,504,377 x 11) + $30,000,000). 20 Krumwiede and Giannini The assembly-line and related equipment are considered the primary assets of Plant 3.In measuring the impairment loss for Plant 3, management considers various valuation methods for this equipment. It is determined that most of the equipment has no alternative use and that a sales value is not readily available. Accordingly, following the guidance of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 157 (FASB, 2006), management determines that the fair value of the Plant 3 long-lived assets is best measured by the present value of its future net cash flows. The company’s management measures the present value of future cash flows using a riskfree discount rate of 3 percent.Because expected net cash flows are not adjusted for inflation, management does not incorporate an inflation factor into the discount rate. Using the 3 percent rate, the present value of the net cash flows is $600 million, resulting in an impairment loss of $800 million (book value of long-lived assets of $1. 4 billion less $600 million fair value as determined by discounted future cash flows). Once the impairment loss is determined, management is not sure how to allocate it and decides to wait for its auditors to assist in the allocation.The property, plant, and equipment of Plant 3 can be divided into four primary categories: land; buildings; robots and related equipment; and all other equipment. In anticipation of the audit, the following information is compiled regarding these Plant 3 assets: TABLE 1 Plant 3: Property, Plant, and Equipment Land Buildings Robots and Related Equipment Other Equipment Total Net Book Value $500,000 20,000,000 140,000,000 1,239,500,000 $1,400,000,000 Fair Value $1,000,000* 20,000,000* Not Available Not Available $21,000,000 Without undue costs, the fair value of the land and buildings are obtained from an outside appraisal. The 2012 Audit In early 2013, you go with your audit team to the First Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan for the audit, for the year ending December 31, 2012. Your team gets a quick tour of the factory, and you learn about various changes in the car industry, including the lack of oil reserves in the ANWR. You know that an impairment loss was recorded for the Plant 3 assets, and you are impressed with management’s initiative in measuring, recording, and disclosing the loss.However, you wonder if an impairment loss should have been recorded for the Mendoza, the other gasolinepowered car produced by First Motors. Fortunately, First Motors maintains cash flow and sales information on a plant by plant basis and you quickly learn that during 2012, sales of the Mendoza rem ained strong because of its compact size and excellent gas mileage. After reviewing the documentation supporting the impairment charge, you note that future cash flows are discounted at a risk-free rate of 3 percent and that this rate does not incorporate an First Motors Corporation: A Classroom Case on Impairments 1 inflation factor because the cash flow estimates were not adjusted for inflation. You vaguely recall from a college class that a discount rate should incorporate a risk premium and although you are relatively new to auditing, you know that 3 percent is a rather low discount rate. You approach management questioning this low discount rate and they become very defensive in explaining that 3 percent is the rate for all the Plant 3 assets and that no other rate would be appropriate. Upon inquiry about risk being considered in such a rate, management stubbornly states that the 3 percent rate is fine.When asked for justification, management reasons that they reached this conc lusion due to the fact that a risk premium could not be adequately measured. Additionally, they refer to Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 7 (FASB 2000), which suggests that in such a situation a risk-free rate can be used. In re-evaluating the net cash flows, and after discussions with management, you agree that the cash flows are in fact the single, most-likely amount in a range of possible estimated amounts or the best estimate for the next 11 years (the expected life of the primary assets of Plant 3).However, you believe risk is not factored into these cash flow estimates. You suggest adding a risk premium to the discount rate, to incorporate fully the risk inherent in the cash flows. After consultation with the firm’s valuation experts, you are told that a risk premium is appropriate. Also, based on their experience in the auto industry and review of First Motors and Plant 3, the valuation experts suggest that an appropriate risk premium is 6 percent. From t heir advice, you conclude that 9 percent (3 percent risk-free rate + 6 percent risk premium) is a much more reasonable rate to use in discounting the cash flows.You are very proud of your findings and hope to make a good impression on your audit manager, Mr. Bother. Although you had briefly discussed with him the magnitude of the impairment loss and the discount rate used, he left the calculations and details up to you. When you approach him, however, he appears extremely frustrated and explains that First Motors never even complied with the yearly test for goodwill impairment, as specified in SFAS No. 142 (FASB 2001). You suggest that the goodwill impairment test may be unnecessary because an impairment loss for the plant assets has already been recorded by management.Mr. Bother shakes his head at you, grumbles, and tells you in a very stern manner that impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill often go hand in hand. He explains that upon acquisition of Macinaw Motors, $1. 3 bil lion was recorded as goodwill (the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable net assets of Macinaw Motors). Mr. Bother explains to you that the fair value must be re-evaluated and compared to the book value. Furthermore, you heard some members of management grumbling about losing their bonuses if â€Å"these auditors keep coming up with more impairment charges. You realize management has significant bonuses tied to the 2012 target profits, and a large impairment loss will cause them to lose the expected bonuses. A quick review shows that the largest total impairment losses that can be recorded before the target profit will be missed and the management bonuses lost is $1. 75 billion. Your calculation is based on two facts: (a) 2012 unaudited net income before impairment charges is $2. 25 billion and (b) the management bonus arrangement states that bonuses will only be paid if 2012 net income exceeds $. 5 billion.You go home that evening and realize that yo u do not really understand what Mr. Bother said to you about goodwill impairment. For one thing, you do not know if Mr. Bother was referring to the fair value and book value of the entire company or just the Macinaw Division. You print out the firm’s training material on impairments and spend the rest of the evening reading about SFAS No. 142. 22 Krumwiede and Giannini The next day, you attend a meeting with management and Mr. Bother. During the meeting, you are first excited when you hear management indicate that they made an error in the recorded impairment charge for long-lived assets.You think that management finally realizes the necessity of incorporating a risk factor into the discount rate. However, your jubilation is quickly deflated when management indicates that the impairment testing for long-lived assets should have been done at a different level. In particular, management states that impairment testing of long-lived assets should have been for the company as a wh ole (Plant 1, Plant 2, and Plant 3 of the Macinaw Division, plus the two plants from the First Motors Division) and that the result is the impairment charge should not have been recorded.Management claims this result would hold because the decline in the value of the Plant 3 long-lived assets could be offset by the increase in the value of the longlived assets at the other plants. It is further explained that the individual who made the error is no longer with the company. Mr. Bother explains to management that the issue will be examined more closely. Before any further explanation can be provided, members of management are called away for another meeting.As you leave the meeting you realize that you do not know whether management is correct about combining long-lived assets for all plants of First Motors to perform the impairment test. Furthermore, you wonder if impairment testing is done for both plant assets and goodwill, if it can be a combined test, and if it needs to be done i n a specific order. After reviewing your notes and the company records, you also begin to wonder if a mistake was made in the original calculation of the impairment loss related to long-lived assets.In particular, for purposes of the present value calculations, you note that the land and buildings are assumed to be sold at the end of 11 years. However, you recall from discussions with management that manufacturing plants are used for many years and are retooled over and over. Accordingly, it does not seem appropriate to assume the sale of the land and buildings after 11 years. After all, according to the accounting records, the buildings have a remaining useful life of 25 years and the land has an unlimited useful life. A couple of days earlier, the valuation method for any possible goodwill impairment testing was discussed.It was determined that no fair value was readily available for First Motors or its divisions. Additionally, because the stock price of First Motors was so volati le over the past year, the market capitalization was not a good indicator of the fair value of First Motors. You, Mr. Bother, and management came to an agreement that discounted future cash flows was the appropriate valuation technique to use. However, the calculations provided by management incorporated a riskfree discount rate of 3 percent. You took the initiative to do your own calculations based on an 8 percent discount rate, which includes a 5 percent risk premium.The 5 percent risk premium was recommended by the same valuation experts from the firm who recommended a 6 percent risk premium for use in the Plant 3 long-lived asset impairment. Management calculations and your calculations are summarized below in Tables 2 and 3. The information in the first portion of Table 2 represents the total fair value of First Motors and its divisions based on discount rates of 3 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Presented in the second portion of Table 2 is the estimated fair value of ide ntifiable net assets based on discount rates of 3 percent and 8 percent, respectively.Finally, presented in Table 3 is a summary of the book value of identifiable net assets and the book value of net assets before recording any impairment for long-lived assets (the difference represents the book value of goodwill). First Motors Corporation: A Classroom Case on Impairments TABLE 2 Fair Value Information 3% Discount Rate Total Fair Value: First Motors Division Macinaw Division Total (First Motors) Fair Value of Identifiable Net Assets: First Motors Division Macinaw Division Total (First Motors) $2,600,000,000 3,200,000,000* $5,800,000,000 8% Discount Rate $2,045,000,000 2,550,000,000* $4,595,000,000 23 2,500,000,000 2,800,000,000 $5,300,000,000 $2,010,000,000 2,200,000,000 $4,210,000,000 * Please note that the total fair value for the Macinaw Division includes the combined net assets of Plants 1, 2, and 3. TABLE 3 Book Value First Motors Division Macinaw Division Total (First Motors) Identifiable Net Assets $2,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 $5,000,000,000 Goodwill $0 1,300,000,000 $1,300,000,000 Net Assets $2,000,000,000 4,300,000,000 $6,300,000,000 QUESTIONS (Assume that currently enacted GAAP is still applicable in the year 2012) Part 1 Please provide detailed explanations in answering each of the following questions.For questions 2a, 3a, 4a and 5, provide a citation to the appropriate accounting standard that supports your discussion. 1. Diagram the organizational structure of First Motors Corporation. 2. a. Under what circumstances is a company required to perform impairment testing for long-lived assets? b. Was impairment testing of long-lived assets required for First Motors? Why or why not? 3. a. At what level is impairment testing done for long-lived assets? b.Are the executives of First Motors correct in suggesting that the impairment of longlived assets at Plant 3 is not needed because the decline in the value of the Plant 3 assets can be offset by the incr ease in the fair value of long-lived assets at other plants? 4. a. At what level is impairment testing done for goodwill? 24 b. 5. Krumwiede and Giannini For First Motors, at what level should this testing be done (i. e. , should it be done for the company as a whole or just for the Macinaw Division)? If impairment testing of both goodwill and long-lived assets is required, in what order is it done?Part 2 Please provide detailed explanations in answering each of the following questions. Provide citations to the standards for each of the following: questions 6a, 7a, 8a, and 10a. Additionally, it is suggested that you provide citations to SFAC Number 2 (FASB 1980) when answering questions 10b, 11, and 12. 6. a. Prepare a schedule showing the computation of the long-lived asset impairment loss at both the 3 percent discount rate and the 9 percent discount rate. In the information provided in the case, it was assumed that the land and buildings for Plant 3 were sold at the end of 11 yea rs.Be sure to consider and discuss if the land and buildings’ â€Å"assumed sale† after 11 years is appropriate or if the â€Å"assumed sale† should be at the end of the buildings’ useful life. b. Do you think that management is correct in using the 3 percent rate, or are the auditors correct in suggesting the 9 percent rate, or can either interest rate be justified? Provide a detailed answer to this question including a discussion about a risk premium. Be sure to consider the type of cash flow information provided by management. 7. a. Once an impairment of long-lived assets is determined, how is the write-down allocated among multiple assets?Prepare a schedule showing this allocation for Plant 3 (use the impairment loss determined based on the discount rate you chose in question 6b). b. Refer to your answer for part a. After the allocation is completed, will each longlived asset (or asset category) that First Motors wrote down be stated at fair value? Wh y or why not? c. How will the impairment loss and the corresponding reduction of book value to the long-lived assets affect future depreciation expense to be recorded, (potential) future impairment charges and/or future gains or losses on the sale of the long-lived assets? 8. . Determine the implied goodwill value and the goodwill impairment loss, if any, using both a 3 percent and an 8 percent discount rate. Which rate should be used and why? b. The valuation experts suggested that the risk premium (6 percent) in discounting the free cash flows from Plant 3, for purposes of the long-lived asset impairment, should exceed the risk premium (5 percent) in discounting the cash flows for the Macinaw Division. Why is this difference in a risk premium justified? 9. a. Will management still receive bonuses if the 3 percent discount rate is used in the calculations?If the 9 percent and 8 percent discount rates are used? b. What is earnings management? c. Discuss the relationship between earn ings management and the choice of discount rate to be used in discounting future cash flows for the long-lived asset impairment of Plant 3 and the goodwill impairment of the Macinaw Division. First Motors Corporation: A Classroom Case on Impairments 10. 25 11. 12. Once written down because of impairment, can long-lived asset write-downs or goodwill write-downs be recovered if predictions change (i. e. , the fair value subsequently increases)?Is there such a thing as a write-up for either long-lived assets or goodwill? a. Regarding reliability of financial information, comment on the verifiability and representational faithfulness characteristics of the conceptual framework as they relate to accounting for impairments. Be sure to incorporate First Motors into your discussion. b. Discuss the trade-off between the relevance and reliability of reporting long-lived assets and goodwill at fair value. How does the principle of conservatism apply to this trade-off? Consider the case of Firs t Motors in your discussion.Find a real-world company that has taken an impairment charge (either for goodwill or longlived assets) and discuss how the relevant information was disclosed in the notes to the financial statements and the affect the charge had on net income or net loss of the company. TEACHING NOTES Teaching notes are available from the editor. Send a request from the â€Å"For Contributors† page of the journal website, http://gpae. bryant. edu. REFERENCES Financial Accounting Standards Board. 1980. Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information. Concepts Statement No. . (Norwalk, CT: FASB). _______, 2000, Using Cash Flow Information and Present Value in Accounting Measurements, Concepts Statement No. 7. (Norwalk, CT: FASB). _______, 2001. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142. (Norwalk, CT: FASB). _______, 2006. Fair Value Measurements. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157. (Norwalk, CT: FASB). The National Hydrogen Association. Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved July 12, 2006, from http://www. hydrogenassociation. org/general/faqs. asp.

Lines, Regions and Crossovers Essay Example

Lines, Regions and Crossovers Essay Example Lines, Regions and Crossovers Essay Lines, Regions and Crossovers Essay Firstly In this coursework I will draw six or more lines which will cross each other and while doing this I hope to get as much crossover points as I can, as well as I will try to get the maximum regions. I will try to avoid any sort of double intersecting i. e. intersecting over a ready made crossover point. I will try and keep all my lines as consistent (placement). To make sure I do this I will draw 1 line and then copy past it and then add another line this will help me keep my lines the same i. e.  consistent. But I will vary the number of lines I use. I will draw six line models (each having one more line than the previous one) the first model that I will create will have only one line the second will have two lines the third will have three lines etc. Secondly I will try to figure out the formulas that will find the nth term for the crossover points, open regions, closed regions and the total regions. I also plan to find the relationships / sequence between any two of these characteristics of the line(s). I will accomplish this by using the following formula: A+B (n+1) +0. 5(n-1) (n-2) C. A = 1st term of the sequence. B = the difference between the first two terms. C = the 2nd difference (the difference of the 1st difference). Thirdly I will put all my findings onto to a table consisting of total regions, closed regions, open regions, crossover points and all of the formulas. Lastly I will try to summarize all my findings by writing up a conclusion and evaluation. Prediction I am going to predict that every time the number of lines increases by one the number of open regions will increase by two. For e. g. if there are two lines then the number of open regions will be four. In other words the number of open regions will double the number of closed lines. I predict that the relationship between open regions and closed regions will be a sequence that has a 1st difference and a 2nd difference. This will have to be the case, if I am to work out the nth term in the way I have described above. I also predict that there will always be a greater number of closed regions in comparison to open regions and finally that the number of total regions will be greater than the number of crossover points. Diagrams showing my investigation Summarizing of the 6 lines that I drew with the formulas Patterns I managed to spot while investigating While undergoing the investigation I found numerous amount of patterns e. g. the relationships between open closed regions. The following information will give you insight information about what I managed to find i. e. the relationship between open and closed regions.