The need of IFRS and the Problem of adopting it for UK Small and Dissertation

The need of IFRS and the Problem of adopting it for UK Small and Medium Enterprises - Dissertation Example It is tough to bring such a radical change in operational as well as financial aspects for these SME. These radical changes are not without their associated dangers and risks. This research paper tries to elucidate the benefits and the problems of adopting IFRS for SME and provides suggestion of adopting a middle path between benefit and associated risk. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION 6 1.1 Background 6 1.2 Research Objective 7 1.3 Research Problem 7 1.5 Research Questions 8 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW 9 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Theoretical Framework 9 2.2.1 Brief overview of the GAAP for SME 10 2.2.2 Brief overview of IFRS for SME 13 2.2.3 A brief overview of the differences between IFRS and UK GAAP 16 2.2.4 A brief overview of the small and medium scale enterprises in UK 19 CHAPTER III – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Sources of Data 24 3.2 Research Design 24 3.3. Construct Validity 25 3.4 Internal Validity 25 3.5 External Validity 25 3.6 Reliability 26 3.7 Administration of Procedure 26 3.8 Research Ethics 26 CHAPTER IV –FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS 27 4.1 The need to change to IFRS from erstwhile accounting standards for UK SMES 27 4.1.1 Reduced cost 27 4.1.2 Less complexity 28 4.1.3 Greater transparency achieved through IFRS 29 4.1.4 Increase in the cross border trading 30 4.1.5 Increased cross border mergers and acquisitions 31 4.1.6 Easier access to capital 32 4.2 The problems associated with adoption of IFRS for UK SME 33 4.2.1 Recording same transacations in different formats 34 4.2.2 Global acconting system and IFRS does not rhyme 35 CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 35 5.1 Conclusion 35 5.2 Recommendations 36 5.3 Limitations of the Study 36 CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background In the past few decades both developed and developing countries witnessed an exponential rise in the number of small and medium scale industries. The rise of SMEs is buoyed by the support provided by the entrepreneurs and the banks as well as the financial institutions of these counties. The rise in the number of SME is 5% for all the countries. The small and medium scale enterprises contribute 14% to the GDP in countries like Oman (Arundel and Geuna, 2004). Developed countries and under-developed countries have the power to generate even more contribution of the SMEs towards the country GDP. In the wake of the financial crisis that gripped the whole of Europe starting from Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain and Switzerland, a huge chunk of the SME in these countries got wiped out. These small and medium scale enterprises operated independently and there are few governing bodies to monitor the activities of the SMEs (Bates, 2004). The government spent a huge chunk of the sovereign money in constructing the framework to support the activities of the SMEs. On the other hand, the government did very little to install any regulatory framework to keep an eye on the financial as well a s operational activities of these enterprises. Although most of the enterprises follow the GAAP principles and procedures but it is felt that current procedures and principle are falling short to contain the incidents of â€Å"window dressing† of the accounting statements. 1.2 Research Objective The research objectives are set to guide the research aims for the research

Pugh v. Locke Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pugh v. Locke Case - Research Paper Example On February 26, 1974, an inmate of G. K. Fountain Correctional Center filed a complaint concerning the state of inmates confined by the Alabama board of corrections or those who may be confined later (Robbins & Michael, 1977). The court found that those actions were maintained as class actions under Federal Rule 23(a) and (b) (2) (Gerald, 1978). Notably, the court investigated and found out that the defendants in both cases acted and refused to act on the ground set for the class. The defendants were sued in their official and individual capacities including the Governor of Alabama, the Commissioner of Alabama Board of Corrections, Deputy Commissioner of the Alabama Board of Corrections, the board members, the Warden of G. K. Fountain Correctional Center and the Warden of Kilby Corrections Facility. These people were retained as individual defendants (Robbins & Michael, 1977). On April 16, 1974, the court-appointed counsel filed the amendment to the case. This complaint was filed on behalf of all inmates of the state penal system confined to, G. K. Fountain Correctional Center and those who underwent such violence (Gerald, 1978). The Alabama Board of Corrections was charged with the responsibility for managing these state penal institutions. The board operated four large institutions for male inmates, which were, G. K. Fountain Correctional Center, Holman Unit Prison, Kilby Corrections Facility and Draper Correctional Center (Robbins & Michael, 1977). They also managed Julia Tutwiler Prison for women and the Frank Lee Youth Center for young men. The inmate populations of these institutions were in excess by 5000. The overcrowding of these institutions heightened, and inmates were crowded so much that they had to sleep on mattresses on hallways and even near urinals (Robbins & Michael, 1977). These made sanitation and security impossible to maintain. Alabama’s penal institutions were filthy. In a research carried out by a public health officer, he found r oaches, flies, mosquitoes and other vermin in all stages of development. The sanitary rooms were terrible and constituted to poor drainage systems. Strange odors emanated from these facilities due to the gross under maintenance of hygiene. Moreover, personal hygiene was not observed in these facilities. The parties predetermined that the state only provided for razor blades and soap to the inmates (Gerald, 1978). Items such as shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream and combs were unavailable to the inmates since the state did not provide. However, inmates who could afford the products were required buy them. On the other hand, catering services were of poor quality in these facilities. Food was stored in unsanitary conditions. The storage units were dirty and infested with insects. The food service personnel who mostly comprised of inmates were unskilled on how to handle and prepare food. In addition, the inmates were not supplied with eating utensils. This forced them to use, old, dirty, tin cans. The food was unappetizing and unwholesome while at the same time dangerous for human consumption. An expert witness once toured the facilities. Shockingly enough, he concluded that the conditions in the facilities were unfit for human habitation in every criterion (Robbins & Michael, 1977). The prison officials did not dispute evidence that most inmates are in a terrifyingly poor condition. Consequently, a

House Of Flying Daggers Analysis

House Of Flying Daggers Analysis Chinese film-director Zhang Yimou is member of the Fifth Generation. The Fifth Generation itself is famous for its cinematography, specifically for the use of visual images, unusual camera movement, vivid contrasts, unusual framing and montages. The films of Fifth Generation have their ways of telling stories and narration, which is mostly done through allegory. Zhang Yimou himself emphasizes visual imagery and metaphors to convey the messages of his films to the audience. In his films one can observe the emphasis on the shot composition and color symbolism e.g. in Raise the Red Lantern bright red colored lantern is used to represent the wife which husband chooses to spend the night with , and the new wife which is wearing red wedding dress. (Lent, J.A. , Yin, X. n.d.) Zhangs films often deal with the stories of peasant or common people (To live, 1994), (Ju Dou, 1990) He often touches the themes of love, betrayal and unhappiness (Raise the Red Lantern, 1991). In his late 50s Zhang Yimou turned to action movies, Wuxia genre, and directed (Hero, 2002) and (House of Flying Daggers, 2004). House of Flying Daggers has won awards for Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Outstanding Production Design and many more, reaching total worldwide box office gross of 92 million Dollars. Although Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, by Ang Lee), also an international success, still remains the highest-grossing foreign language film. (Wikipedia) Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004) directed by Zhang Yimou and Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon (2000) directed by Ang Lee are the most famous and internationally renowned Wuxia films. Wuxia genre directly implies that film incorporates martial arts but if analyzed further word wuxia is composed of two characters. First Wu which describes the abovementioned martial arts action, and Xia which describes the protagonist of the film. Xia characters can be both from aristocratic or humble background. Generally these are martial arts masters who seek adventure and who fight for justice. Xia characters, just like knights, have their code of conduct which is guiding their beliefs, behavior and lifestyle. (An Introduction to Wuxia. n.d.) House of Flying Daggers, if literally translated from Mandarin to English means ambushed from ten directions which perfectly describes the tension building up in the film when watching incredible fighting techniques, daggers flying through air and complicated combat scenes. (Brenner, J. n.d.) The film tells a story of three main characters whose lives get entangled with one another. The element that unifies all three of them is the torment for love, their sorrow and devotion. The film shows that love cannot be based on time- span. One can find the love of his life during three days. The aim of the film is to show how the journey of love unfolds, what kind of sacrifices characters make for it and how tremendously the experience of love changes their inner self and their worldview. The story takes place in china 859 AD during the reign of the Tang dynasty. The film portrays a corrupted and weak political situation in response to which an alliance called house of the flying daggers forms to overthrow the corrupted government. The Flying Daggers are a secret alliance composed of excellent martial-art warriors. Members of Flying Daggers are present everywhere in entertainment houses, even in the government system. Police Captain Leo (Andy Lau) also a member of Flying Daggers and Captain Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) receive an order to find and destroy the new leader of the Flying Daggers in ten days. They start their quest by visiting Peyony Pavillion to take a closer look at the blind dancer Mei (Zhang Ziyi) who is suspected to be the member of the Flying Daggers. The dramatic structure starts to evolve right after Captain Leo suggests Captain Jin rescues imprisoned Mei , gains her trust and by escorting her leads them to the bigger reward- the trail of the Flying Daggers. The undercover plan only lasts three days but these three days are what leads to the culmination of the film. During these days Captain Leo suffers immensely and endures sleepless nights as he witnesses the love of his life flirting and bonding with another man. Captain Jin faces dilemma of choosing sides. As due to Generals order he is forced to kill his own soldiers. The idea of killing his own people tortures him while love for Mei grows. He reaches the point of no return when he returns for her in the bamboo forest, knowing he will have to combat his own side again, but he does so for her. Mei, on the other hand, is struggling between love and gratitude toward Captain Leo who has saved her life multiple times and new growing affection toward Jin. For intensifying the dramatic structure symbolism is used as a tool. One of the first symbols viewer witnesses is the song sung by Mei in the Peyony Pavillion. A rare beauty in the North, Shes the finest lady on earth, A glance from her,  the whole city goes down. A second glance leaves the whole nation in ruins This is a metaphorical foreshadowing of the entire tragic love triangle. The Beauty in the North is Mei, whose beauty and love is destructive, ironically even for her. The song is sung in the beginning of the film as in the end, during the combat in the snow between three main characters, when Mei is dying. One of the most impressive moments is the last scene in the snow. According to the director Zhing Yimou it was just a coincidence that it started snowing in October but it truly did make a wonderful addition to the visual aesthetics of the film. The last scene of snow can be perceived as a symbol. As the viewer sees how the forest of yellow, purple, green and red trees suddenly gets covered under a thick layer of pure white snow, it unfolds the culminating events to come. The pure white snow symbolizes the end and the new beginning. It is the end, as the snow gets covered with blood of three main characters. But it also symbolizes a new page, as that is the day of the great battle between the Flying Daggers and the government. Its a fresh start for all the others but its the end for Leo, Jin and Mei. In order to underline Zhang Yimous techniques of symbolism and metaphorical portrayal of messages one must also discuss the form of dialogue in the film. From the dialogue in the Peyony Pavillion about Meis name audience learns that the showgirls have taken the names of the flowers while Mei didnt. The reason for this according to Mei is that the showgirls are fake flowers, as real flowers grow in the wilderness. This is very interesting if one takes into consideration that Jin calls himself the Wind. So the two main characters are metaphorically referred to as a flower and the wind. The flower and wind metaphor follows the progress of Meis and Jins relationship and is recurring several times. First instance is when Jin takes Mei to the flower field where the real flowers grow, makes her a flower bouquet and calls her the most beautiful flower among the field. The metaphor of the wind is recurring in the conversation which Mei initiates in order to understand the intentions and feelings of Jin toward her. Jin tries to explain his feelings to her by referring to winds attributes, that wind is playful and carefree, moves around and leaves no traces and doesnt stay in one place. Reference to the wind once more emerges in the most dramatic moment of the film, when Leo stabs Mei lethally. Mei answers Leos question and says that she wanted to be free as a wind, metaphorically referring to Jin and freedom of being with him. The symbolism for Mei and Jin, as a flower and a wind, helps to communicate the traits of the characters to the audience. Mei, a flower that grows in the wilderness portrays that her beauty, as her excellent martial arts skills are a deadly weapon for seduction and destruction. The fact that she is portrayed as sightless person elevates her importance and uniqueness. The best example of this is the scene of the echo game. When Captain Leo tosses single beans she flawlessly repeats the echoes of the drums by banging the sleeves of her dress onto the drums. After Captain Leo tosses entire bowl of beans onto the drums she demonstrates her exceptional skills in martial arts, and therefore is revealed to be a lot more than just a talented blind dancer. Jin is the playful or carefree wind. He moves around and leaves no trace. His character is portrayed as a ladies men , who likes drinking, is playful, enjoys going to entertainment houses and is thus unable or not willing to commit. His character progresses as he settles, the wind will stop at his will and transforms into a devoted lover. Leo is an undercover character who has endured much of the suffering. In his speech to Mei he reveals his feelings and sufferings saying he has been surviving day by day by the thought of Mei. He is a reliable and cautious character, who looks after Mei and saves her during the combat in the flower field. When his character progresses he turns mad with jealousy, partially blaming himself but the feeling of betrayal is so strong and pain so deep he just loses his mind, leading him to aggressively force Mei into making love to him, and later taking her life. These three characters are unified by one more trait. All three of them are full of deceit. None of them appear to be what they have led the audience or each other to be. When analyzing the characters themselves there is a certain context that these characters should be put into to fully understand the reasoning behind their behavior. All the three main characters are Xia warriors. Eight common attributes of Xia warriors are altruism, justice, individualism, loyalty, courage, truthfulness, disregard for wealth and desire for glory. These elements are very important to take into consideration as the characters of the Wuxia movies often display these traits. (An Introduction to Wuxia. n.d.) The example of loyalty and betrayal in the warrior world is portrayed by the relationship of Mei and Leo. Mei could not allow herself to love Jin as she felt she would betray Leo, and due to high respect and gratitude for what he has done for her she rejects Jin in the forest. But as it becomes obvious that she fell in love with Jin , Leo becomes coldhearted and Mei has to pay the cost of her betrayal, her life. Also what seems to be very interesting is according to what values and attributes do warriors establish trust among each other. When did Mei actually feels trust toward Jin and starts truly falling in love with him? Was it after he saved her life in the forest, or rescued her from the prison? The trust and love come to may after the fighting scene on the flower field, when Generals soldiers attack Mei and Jin. This being a true, unforeseen and tense combat of dozen soldiers against two, Jin gets stabbed and this seems to be the point of him gaining Meis trust and love. A perfect explanation of this situation is given by Shu-lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The experiences and the hard times partners face together brings them closer. Shu-lien fell in love with Li-Mu Bai as they have gone through many different hard times and fought together, apparently this is what warriors value and what brings them closer being there for each other through hard times and surviving them toget her as one. In addition to that Shu-liens and Li-Mu bais love story can also serve as a perfect example of warriors code of conduct . Shu-lien and Li-Mu Bai are in love but they didnt have a chance to be together and be happy. The reason for this is revealed by Shu-lien who states that the men she loved , who was also Li-Mu bais brother, died and not to disrespect him and betray him they cannot allow themselves to be together. This is one of the examples of deep loyalty, friendship and self-control that warriors display as they deeply believe and let their principles guide them. When mentioning these two films together, one should discuss two particular scenes which are of great importance and interest. The first scene is the fighting scene in the bamboo forest. First of all when seeing a bamboo forest in the martial art movie, it is like a foreshadowing of the upcoming battle. Bamboo forest has been used in House of the Flying Daggers where Mei and Jin are attacked by the Generals troops, and also in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where Li-Mu bai and Jen are fighting. There is an obvious similarity in these two scenes. Characters fight with their armor but also use the bamboo forest as tool to jump, walk on the thin branches, escape each other by bending the tree tops, flying from one tree to another or standing on / between two bamboo trees preserving composure and balance. In spite of the fact that audience anticipates the fighting style and techniques to be used, these scenes are still breathtaking due to the mastery of the actors, also due to the amazin g colors and the lighting of the forest. Another scene which will also be discussed is the bathing scene of Mei. Jin, while in the forest, constructs a little pond of fresh water, gathers leaves and suggests Mei take a bath. Mei decides to take a bath, and to make her let her guard down Jin proposes that he will let Mei keep track of where he is by making sounds by his sword. And in the end he offers her fresh men clothing. In Crouching Tiger there is also a bathing scene where Lo bandit from the desert suggests Jen to take a bath and to assure her of his good intentions he tells her he will sing so that she knows where he is. He too in the end offers her his fresh clothing. Of course the two scenes unfold in different directions but still there are several elements worth mentioning which unite the two except for the basic similarities mentioned above. In these two movies both bathing scenes suggest and lead to a new kind of intimacy level and lead to a romantic affection between two characters Jin and Mei, and Jen and Lo. The beginning of new emotions and affection is seen right away in the Crouching Tiger as the characters make love and reveal their feelings soon after. In the House of Flying Daggers there is an attempt of intimacy though in this case Mei is faced with the burden of loyalty that she has toward Leo and therefore rejects Jin by being cold as water. But beginning of the upcoming love between the two characters is starting from the bathing scene in both of the films. Except for the beautiful landscapes and nature, setting in House of Flying Daggers is also one of the elements contributing to the visual aesthetics of the film. As the time frame of the film is during ancient times, Tang dynasty, every detail in the film is meticulously chosen to match the replica of the old times. The swords, the lather hand bracelets male characters wore, the pottery, the instruments played in the entertainment house and even the torture devices gave the impression of being made exactly during the ancient Tang dynasty by a handy craftsman. The scene at the Payony Pavillion perfectly illustrated and set the mood of ancient China. There are interiors of elaborate richness, beautiful costumes, landscapes of mountain ranges, meadows and fields of snow. Spectacular  Costumes designed by Emi Wada depicted women of Tang dynasty very well. Entertainment House is filled with high-class courtesans who are great singers, performers, know the rules of entertaining games and have respectable table manners. The costumes are fashionable, colorful, with beautiful ornaments. Courtesans have their hair brushed up with an edifice above the forehead, hair decorated with extravagant head combs and jewelry. In addition to visual aesthetics of the film there are different sounds used in the movie to achieve the effect of tension, excitement and make the viewer listen and watch the film in absolute silence. The example of this is the sounds of water droplets and crystalline curtains in the Peyony Pavillion. Also sounds of flying bamboos, falling leaves, sound of sword cutting the air all these elements are mostly used when Mei is in the epicenter of the fight. As during the half of the film she is perceived and portrayed as a sightless warrior every above mentioned sound is perceived as a clue of what she listens to and notices in order to coordinate, and how she perceives the environment in order to defend herself against the enemy. Zhang Yimou has his way of storytelling through visual imagery, which can be also observed in his early works. He uses de-centered compositions, sometimes also obscure angles, utilizes little details such as lighting, sound, strong and beautiful scenery to portray minimal plot and strengthen the dramatic effect. His stories can be perceived as fables which are in a sense enigmatic and have ambiguous endings. He uses color and composition to bring out the oriental mood of ancient china. His intention with House of Flying Daggers was to show the fate of three main characters who sacrificed everything beginning with their loyalty to their duties, their roles in society, their beliefs, and in the end their lives for love. He showed how the inner world of these characters changed and crashed in misery. As he says : People in misery have deep meanings, People in misery is what is most important in art (Zhang Yimou Interview, 2002). Their misery is depicted in very powerful way which brings out empathy in audience. After the analysis of various elements I can say that Zhang Yimou successfully conveyed his films message and anguish of the characters very skillfully and in a very touching manner. The actors excellent performance made it very authentic to feel empathy and sorrow. And the overall aesthetical part of the film made a striking and long lasting and impression.

Free Essays - Realism and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Realism and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an immensely realistic novel, revealing how a child's morals and actions clash with those of the society around him. Twain shows realism in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, that of the characters, and even the way characters speak. Twain also satirizes many of the foundations of that society. Showing the hypocrisy of people involved in education, religion, and romanticism through absurd, yet very real examples. Most importantly, Twain shows the way Huckleberry's moral beliefs form amidst a time of uncertainty in his life.    Realism is a literary style in which the author describes people, their actions, their emotions and surroundings as close to the reality as possible. The characters are not perfectly good or completely evil; they exhibit strengths and weaknesses, just as real people. The characters often commit crimes or do immoral things, and are not always just good or just evil. In a realistic novel, aspects of the time period or location are also taken into consideration. Characters dress in clothes that befit them, and speak with local dialects. Most importantly, characters are not sugar coated or exaggerated. The characters do things as they would normally do them, and are not worse or better then their real life counterparts.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using his experiences as a steamboat engineer, Mark Twain creates a realistic novel through meticulous detail in the descriptions of the setting, diction, and characters. The setting is described with much detail and imagery, so as to make it as close as possible to the actual surroundings. Twain uses a page just to describe the sunrise over the river.      The first thing to see, looking away over the water, was a kind of dull line - that was the woods on t'other side; you couldn't make nothing else out; then a pale place in the sky; then more paleness spreading around; then the river softened up away off, and warn't black any more, but gray; you could see little dark spots drifting along ever so far away-trading-scows, and such things; and long black streaks-rafts ... and by and by you could see a streak on the water which you know by the look of the streak that there's a snag there in a swift current which breaks on it and makes that streak look that way; and you see the mist curl up off of the water, and the east reddens up.

Pension reform in Europe

Task 6 Are future pensions secured? Bruno Miguel Silva Abrantes Current Issues in Economic Policy Academic year 2012-2013 Contents Are pensions secured? Understanding pensions Pensions aim to handle the transition of a person as worker to retired. So that he enjoy an income provided by the state or another organization and maintain a similar standard of living to what he had while employed and thus have a comfortable life economically, until the end of his life.The second objective of a pension is related to the fght against poverty which is done through a redistribution of income that romotes equity, within the elderly class. 1 There is a growing concern on the part of the European Commission on the sustainability of pension systems in the various countries of the European Union. The recent financial and economic crisis has revealed weaknesses that several countries have and bring into question the sustainability of the pension system. Economic growth slowed, unemployment has risen and the public accounts are in poor condition.One of the more serious implications on future pensions is related to the fact that a large part of the population remains unemployed or is forced to accept Jobs where they get lower ncomes, or work less time, which will result in a lower pension. 2 Further compounding the situation is a major demographic trend towards an aging population. The increase in life expectancy over the past decades, combined with low fertility rates is creating a change in the composition of the population. The number of active workers will decrease while the number of people who are retired will increase.Moreover, the numbers of years that a person remains employed is dwindling, partly because people start to work later, due to the many years spent in education. On the other hand there is a great tendency in obtaining early retirement ue to existing policies and management ot age in What are the main systems of pension funding? the labor market. In several co untries of the EIJ-27 the public sector is largely responsible for pensions, early retirement, disability and survivors. However there are some differences between the various members of the European Union at the level of pensions related to occupational or private pensions.In a generalized way pensions can be classified into three pillars: The public social security system, mandatory or voluntary occupational schemes and voluntary private schemes. The first, public social security system is undoubtedly largely responsible for the allocation of pensions to the population in most member states of the EIJ-27. This pillar can be characterized mainly by the Pay-as-you-go system (PAYG). In this system pensions are financed directly from taxes and social contributions that workers are paying in the present.The taxes are used to pay pensions in the short-term instead of being used to create funds that may grow in the long-term and benefit future generations. 3 Schemes within the second pil lar can be mandatory or voluntary occupational schemes. Participation in these funds is usually mandated by law and aims to provide an adequate pension to retired people according to what they saved during their working life. These funds are created by a company or organization in order to provide proper pensions to their employees, which should correspond to the effort and contribution the workers exercised.Both the employee and the employer contribute to the fund, which grows with the return rates that vary with the state of the market and the economy. The amount of the pension depends on the number of years of service and final salary of the employee. These funds are important to relieve the responsibility of the state to secure pensions in the whole population, but also because it is believed that these organizations are able to grow a fund more effectively than the state would. 4 The third and final pillar is characterized by private schemes. These are schemes that help people to accumulate savings for their retirement.The people who wish to do so can choose from a wide range of schemes who best match their needs. There are funds that are riskier; however the contribution that person does is less than the benefit you will receive if all goes well. On the other hand there are safer funds in which the benefit will match the contribution made. Typically these funds are voluntary and are complementary to government reforms that people receive from the state. 5 Looking at table 7(in appendix) we can divide public pensions, which are part of the first pillar of pensions in various sub-groups.Among which we can find Minimum pension / social allowance, Old age, early retirement, disability and survivors' pensions. Early- retirement, old-age pensions, disability and survivors' pension exist in almost all 27 member states. Early retirement does not exist in the Netherlands, Malta, United Kingdom and Norway. These schemes operate mostly in the form of earnings-relat ed, which means that pensions are assigned according to what people earned and contributed during their working life. However not all countries have adopted this scheme in the same way.In Denmark, survival and disability pensions are awarded according toa flat rate, offering a pension with a fixed value over time. This way of organizing pensions can promote greater social equity it the people who are the target of these flat-rate pensions have not worked or contributed enough to receive a ension that is sufficient to have a good quality of life in old age. However the state has to make an extra effort to fund this pension scheme, an effort that ultimately fall on taxpayers, since the people who will receive these pension contributed less than the amount of pension they will receive. Minimum pension or social allowance schemes exist in all EIJ member-state. These pensions are usually means-tested, in the sense that people are tested to understand whether they are , that is according to what the person has earned and contributed as an employee, or if they did not ork and had no and any gain if they have worked and which contributed received is not enough to access a normal pension. This type of pension is normally financed by taxes on citizens rather than individual contributions of individuals to pension funds. In the 2nd pillar we find Mandatory / voluntary schemes occupation.

Bilingualism affects childrens language and cognitive development

The possibility that early bilingualism affects kids ‘s linguistic communication and cognitive development has long been a concern for parents and pedagogues. In the first half of the twentieth century, the predominating position was that bilingualism and second-language acquisition early in life made kids baffled and interfered with their ability to develop normal cognitive functions1 and win in educational environments.2 These thoughts were dramatically reversed in a landmark survey by Peal and Lambert3 that showed a general high quality of bilinguals over monolinguals in a broad scope of intelligence trials and facets of school accomplishment. Recent research has been more balanced, placing countries in which bilingual kids excel and others in which bilingualism has no consequence on their development. The inquiry sing the possible impact of bilingualism on kids ‘s development has ever been of import, but has progressively emerged as a important concern for modern societies and for Canada in peculiar. In add-on to the official committedness to a national policy of second-language acquisition and bilingualism, in-migration has transformed Canada into a rich multilingual and multicultural state. Public schools, particularly in major urban Centres, are home to big Numberss of kids for whom English or French is a 2nd linguistic communication. These kids represent an tremendous assortment of place linguistic communications and frequently constitute the bulk of kids in a individual schoolroom. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the impact of these linguistic communication backgrounds on kids ‘s cognitive and educational hereafters. Information about the linguistic communication, cognitive and educational development of kids with varied linguistic communication backgrounds is indispensable to construe the public presentation of these kids in school and measure their development. For illustration, kids with limited proficiency in the linguistic communication of schooling are certain to see increased trouble in get bying both academically and socially, and it is of import to place these troubles in order to understand what intercession or remedial attacks are needed. The research is typically conducted in schoolrooms, frequently settings incorporating both multilingual and monolingual kids. The context in which the bilingualism or 2nd linguistic communication occurs is of import, even though it is non ever included as a formal facet of research probe. There is grounds that whether the kid ‘s place linguistic communication is in a bulk or minority state of affairs, is valued in the community and is used as a medium for literacy undertakings affects the kid ‘s lingual and cognitive outcomes.4 Therefore, the deductions of the kid ‘s linguistic communication experience should ideally be examined with careful attending to the societal and lingual factors that describe the kid ‘s societal and educational environment. The of import issues concern the cognitive and educational results for bilingual kids. First, it is necessary to set up whether linguistic communication acquisition returns at the same rate and in the same mode for kids who are larning two linguistic communications at the same time or are larning a 2nd linguistic communication after holding begun to get the hang one. Second, are kids able to get literacy accomplishments at school if they are either bilingual or larning a 2nd linguistic communication, particularly if their place linguistic communication is non the linguistic communication of direction? Finally, are at that place effects on normal cognitive development in footings of the kid ‘s ability to get new constructs or execute assorted computations ( e.g. arithmetic ) , particularly if school direction is in the kid ‘s weaker linguistic communication? There are three chief outcomes from this research. First, for general linguistic communication proficiency, bilingual kids tend to hold a smaller vocabulary in each linguistic communication than monolingual kids in their language.5 However, their apprehension of lingual construction, called metalinguistic consciousness, and is at least as good6 and frequently better7 than that of comparable monolinguals. Second, the acquisition of literacy accomplishments in these kids depends on the relationship between the two languages8 and the degree of proficiency in the 2nd language.9 Specifically, kids larning to read in two linguistic communications that portion a authorship system ( e.g. English and Gallic ) show accelerated advancement in larning to read ; kids whose two linguistic communications are written in different systems ( e.g. English and Chinese ) show no particular advantage, but neither do they show any shortage relation to monolinguals. The benefit of larning to read in two lin guistic communications, nevertheless, requires that kids be bilingual and non second-language scholars whose competency in one of the linguistic communications is weak. Third, bilingual kids between four and eight old ages old demonstrate a big advantage over comparable monolinguals in work outing jobs that require commanding attending to specific facets of a show and suppressing attending to deceptive facets that are outstanding but associated with an wrong response. This advantage is non confined to linguistic communication processing, but includes a assortment of non-verbal undertakings that require controlled attending and selectivity in such jobs as organizing conceptual classs, 10 seeing alternate images in ambitious figures, 11 and understanding the difference between the visual aspect and functional world of a deceptive object.12 The consequences of these surveies demonstrate that childhood bilingualism is a important experience that has the power to act upon the class and efficiency of kids ‘s development. The most surprising result is that these influences are non confined to the lingual sphere, where such influence would be expected, but extend every bit good to non-verbal cognitive abilities. In most instances, the kid ‘s grade of engagement with a 2nd linguistic communication, defined as the difference between bilingualism and second-language acquisition, is an of import variable that determines both the grade and type of influence that is found. Three forms of influence were noted in these surveies. One result is that bilingualism makes no difference, and monolingual and bilingual kids develop in the same manner and at the same rate. This was found for cognitive jobs such as memory- span development and linguistic communication jobs such as phonological consciousness. The 2nd is that bilingu alism disadvantages kids in some manner. The primary illustration of this is in the development of vocabulary in each linguistic communication. The 3rd form, and the most prevailing in our surveies, is that bilingualism is a positive force that enhances kids ‘s cognitive and lingual development, bettering entree to literacy if the two composing systems correspond and development of general executive procedures for all bilingual kids work outing a broad scope of non-verbal jobs necessitating attending and control. These executive control abilities are at the Centre of intelligent idea. Parents are frequently concerned that utilizing a non-community linguistic communication as the linguistic communication of their place will disfavor their kids. This plan of research provides solid grounds that the overpowering consequence of bilingualism in the place is positive. The disadvantages are comparatively minor and easy get the better of. The deductions for schooling are more complex. Children ‘s success in school is strongly dependent on their proficiency in the linguistic communication of direction, a relationship that holds for of import lingual activities ( e.g. larning to read ) , non-verbal computational topics ( e.g. mathematics ) , and content-based course of study ( e.g. societal surveies ) . In all these instances, kids must be skilled in the signifiers and significances of the school linguistic communication and be competent readers of that linguistic communication. Bilingual kids may non be at the same degree as their monolingual equals, and second-langu age scholars for whom English or French is non their place linguistic communication may hold non built up equal accomplishments in the instructional linguistic communication to win in schools. The grounds for the overpowering positive benefit of bilingualism, together with grounds that bilingual kids are non cognitively handicapped, indicates an of import function for schools in supplying a agency for these kids to construct up their linguistic communication accomplishments in the school linguistic communication so that they can be full participants in the schoolroom and harvest the most positive benefit from their educational experience.