Abolition Of Death Penalty In India

Abolition Of Death Penalty In India Mahatma Gandhi, who preached non-violence and through the same was successful in attaining independence for colonial India, said the above lines. Eye for an eye refers to vengeance which contrasts the Gandhian ideology of non-violence.In contrast, India has decided to retain the most brutal form of punishment death penalty, which has been abolished by 131 other countries. Tracing the history of abolition of death penalty in India, it dates back to 27th January1931, when this issue was brought about in the legislative assembly headed by Shri Gaya Prasad Singh.  [2]   Death penalty is one of the oldest forms of punishment, even though the method of execution has evolved over the years. This form of punishment has been prescribed under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 which introduced the preliminary concepts of criminal law in India. To a layman, death penalty is awarded for offences like murder section 302 of IPC. The most recent execution had been that of DhananjoyChatterjee, whose case has been examined in detail in our paper. This paper will study the recent trends of abolition of death penalty and evaluate Indias stand on the same. After this, various cases will be discussed to understand the meaning and scope of the term rarest of rare. Our main case in discussion is that of DhananjoyChatterjee, who was awarded death penalty. This case will bring out the restrictive interpretation of rarest of rare term. To sum up, the purpose of our paper is to put forward the arguments in favour of abolition of death penalty. RECENT TRENDS OF ABOLOTION OF DEATH PENALTY Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of UN, in 2007 said, I recognize the growing trend in international law and in national practice towards a phasing out of the death penalty.  [3]   There has been a worldwide concern regarding the abolition of death penalty. The UN General Assembly made the first instance towards any such abolition in 1948 by adopting Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). They strongly advocated the concept of right to life. Article 3 and 5 of UDHR cater to the inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 6 states that no one should be deprived of life and the countries, which are still practicing death penalty, sentence must be given for the most serious crime in accordance with the law. India too claims to have retained death penalty on the ground that it will be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases and for special reasons.  [4]   Amnesty International reports indicate that a total of 131 countries have abolished death penalty. While 66 other countries have chosen to retain this form of punishment but the number of countries actually executing the punishment is in the minority.  [5]   In 2007, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution, which called all the states to establish a ban on execution with the purpose of abolishing the death penalty. This further strengthens the movement against this form of punishment. Forty-eight countries including India opposed countries that voted in favor of it. In light of the above information India must realize the importance of abolishing death penalty in order to keep up with the rest of the world. It must be kept in mind that Indias stand in retaining death penalty is contrary to the international trend but it always seeks for justifiable ground to award such punishments. DHANANJOY CHATTERJEE Alias DHANA v. STATE OF WEST BENGAL In the present case, DhananjoyChatterjee, the accused, raped and murdered a 18 year old school going girl. The Additional Session judge found him guilty and convicted the accused : (i) for an offence under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to death, (ii) for an offence under Section 376 IPC and sentenced him to imprisonment for life, and (iii) for the offence under Section 380 IPC, he was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five year. The High court confirmed the death sentence after which the appeal was filed, and the Supreme Court confirmed death sentence again. Justice AS Ananad examined the case in the light of the circumstantial evidence since there were no eyewitnesses and confirmed death penalty. He categorized this case under the rarest of rare cases arguing that it was a cold blooded pre-planned brutal murder, without any provocation, after committing rape on an innocent and defenseless young girl of 18 years. He further says that such a case deserves no other punishment than capital punishment. India has witnessed various heinous crimes but the biggest problem faced by the courts is whether to categorize a particular murder under the rarest of rare cases. Though the term rarest of rare is complicated to define, but the Supreme Court in Bachhan Singhs explained what constitutes rarest of rare. The Supreme Court discussed the circumstances of such cases. These circumstances include that the murder committed should be extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting or dastardly manner so as to arouse intense and extreme indignation of the community, it should be for a motive which evinces total depravity and meanness, murder of a scheduled cast or scheduled tribe- arousing social wrath (not for personal reasons), bride burning/ dowry death, murderer in a dominating position, position of trust or in course of betrayal of the motherland, where it is enormous in proportion or when the victim is an innocent child, helpless woman, old/infirm person, public figure generally loved and respected by the community. In Panchhi v State of Uttar Pradesh, one of the important cases which stated that brutality is not the only factor that determines whether the case will fall under the rarest of rare category and thereby, life imprisonment can be a better substitution rather than commuting death sentence. The court opined:- No doubt brutality looms large in the murders in this case particularly of the old and also the tender age child. It may be that the manner in which a murder was perpetrated may be a ground but not the sole criterion for judging whether the case is one of the rarest of rare cases as indicated in Bachan Singhs case.  [6]   In State of Maharashtra v Bharat Fakir Dhiwar, even though the accused was held guilty of murder and rape, but the High court acquitted the accused. Furthermore, the Supreme Court refused to take strong stand on death penalty and awarded life imprisonment. Instead, the accused was awarded with life imprisonment. The facts of the cases are, prima facie, diabolical that the lesser option was to give life imprisonment instead of death sentence. EdigaAnamma v. State of Andhra Pradesh is another landmark judgment which involves death penalty awarded to female criminals. Justice Krishna Iyer on the basis of certain factors like gender, socio economic background, and age, psychic reversed the punishment from death sentence to life imprisonment. It was laid down that while evaluating the death penalty, the crime committed should not be the sole criterion for determining the crime but various other factors should also be taken into account. The case of SwamyShraddananda and MuraliManohar Mishra v. State of Karnataka is another case which depicts restricted interpretation of rarest of the rare category. Life imprisonment usually of 14 years was extended for the remaining life of the accused. This was the first time that a court attempted to award life imprisonment by altering the period of punishment. In Santosh Kumar SatishBhushanBariyarvs State of Maharashtra, the accused with three others lured the victim to a particular place with the purpose of confining his movement to ask for ransom. They threatened to kill him if the family did not pay the ransom. Eventually they killed the victim and cut his body into pieces to dispose of at different places. Along with Bariyar, the other accused were also arrested and charged under S.302 and S.364B read with S.120B of the IPC. Bariyar was awarded death sentence which was upheld by the high court stating that Bariyar was the protagonist of the act. However, the Supreme Court refused to award death penalty based on the reasoning that the circumstances were not sufficient enough to constitute rarest of the rare case. The court further supported the judgment by saying that the accused were not professional killers, without any criminal history, but the motive of collecting the money had lead them commit the crime. They relied on the theories of punishment and believe that the Bariyar could be reformed and rehabilitated and hence awarded him rigorous life imprisonment. This is a landmark case which is a step closer to the abolition of death penalty in India, hence was well received by the abolitionists.  [7]  In other words it restricted the scope of rarest of the rare cases. From the facts it can be gauged that the crime committed was extremely grotesque yet the punishment awarded was not in proportion. Based on the landmark cases and the work done by B.B Pande on capital punishment, well be examining the legal perspectives in support of abolition of death penalty in India. The arguments made in favour of the abolition can be discussed in a thematical framework. In Rajendra Prasad v State of U.P, certain fundamental issues relating to law have Right to life is the fundamental right as laid down in the constitution. This theme plays an important role in the debate against death penalty. The constitutional arguments as raised by Justice Krishna Iyer in Rajendra Prasad v State of U.P will be reflect an abolitionists perspective. The points raised by Justice Iyer are: 1) the deprivation of life under our system is too fundamental to be permitted save on the gravest ground and under the strictest scrutiny if Justice, Dignity, Fair Procedure are creed ally constitutional  [8]  . 2) The right to life and to fundamental freedom is deprived when he (accused) is hanged to death, is dignity is defiled when his neck is noosed and strangled.  [9]  3) The judge who sits to decide between death penalty and life sentence must ask himself: Is it reasonably necessary to extinguish his freedom of speech of assembly and association of free-movement, by putting out finally the very flame of life?  [10]  he goes into the retrospecti on of the judge deciding the death penalty and is it reasonable to extinguish to every flame of life out of the accused.  [11]  4) you cannot be unusually cruel for that spells arbitrariness and violates Article 14.  [12]  5) Through this he is trying to bring to notice that this form of punishment violates article (14) which talk about equality before law such punishments are also in violation of the Preamble which speaks of dignity of the individual.  [13]  5) you cannot inflict degrading punishment since the preamble speaks of the dignity of the individual. 6) Social Justice, which the preamble and Article 38 highlight as paramount in the governance of the country, also has a role to mould the sentence.  [14]   Through these arguments put forward by Justice Iyer clearly indicates him to be a believer of abolition of death penalty. Through the issues he wants to highlight the basic rights, one of them being Right to Life which is violated on execution of death penalty. In his argument, he highlights that the death penalty deprives the criminal from right to life and questions if the crime committed is so grave that a constitutional right needs to be compromised on? In contrary, all other fundamental rights are given equal importance in India. Such degrading punishments defeat the purpose of Article (14) which talks about equality before law. In other words, this form of punishment can be said to be unconstitutional. Justice Iyer points out to the absence of proper guidelines and standards in awarding life imprisonment or death sentence in Section. 302 of IPC. This in turn gives over- wide power in matters of life and death. Sections. 303 and 307 prescribe death penalty as the only form of punishment. Section.302 prescribes only one alternative to death penalty i.e. life imprisonment. The basic problem arising here is that the only alternative to death penalty is life imprisonment. So, the question of when and which punishment is left at the discretion of the judges. Another matter complexing the situation is that the punishments under IPC are limited. Therefore, the scope of awarding punishments in brutal and diabolical cases is restricted because of the sections enacted under IPC. Among the prevailing theory of punishments, one of the important factors of death penalty is deterrence. This element of death penalty is given a lot of importance because it has been presumed by the courts that will deter crimes to be committed in the future. This theory is supported by Justice Sen, who argued that the deterrence is generally held to be the most important, although the continuing public demand for retribution cannot be ignored.  [15]  It is still believed that through death penalty deterrence can be the factor that refrain a person from committing a crime. However, the statistics shows that this impression about deterrence is proved to be wrong. According to the Indian Crime Report of 2007 which states disturbing figures, 19,89,673 are crimes related to IPC.  [16]  It also shows that the IPC crime rate in 2007 was 175.1 whereas in 2006 it was 167.7.  [17]  These figures clearly contradict the presumptions taken by the courts on deterrence. Thus, it is al so stated in the 35th report produced in 1967 the Law Commission took the view that capital punishment acted as a deterrent to crime.  [18]   A deeper study of the implications of death penalty gives us a social aspect of this punishment which is not evident otherwise. In this perspective we can observe that the death penalty affects the poor and the helples that are to be protected by the law. The significant role of the law is to protect the people and society by laying down rules for the proper justice. However, the process and the practices implemented till now have been biased specially towards the poor and the helpless. The social inequalities are highlighted through the judgments given in different cases. In DayanidhiBisoi v State of Orissa, the accused was working as a peon which indicates about its weak economic background. Thus, this element is betokening of the wrong judgment executed by the courts. According to the cases stated above, it is evident that the rarest of rare term has been interpreted in a restrictive manner. Even after the guildines laid down by the court in the Bachhan Singh case, the judicial discretion has played an important role in defining the rarest of rare cases. For every offence where death penalty is awarded, the court looks at various aspects of the offence to decide whether it is rare enough to award death penalty. In Rajendra Prasad case, the court defined the parameters for awarding death penalty. It was further stated that the death penalty must relate to the criminal and not with the crime. In Bariyar case, brutality was not the only factor for determining death sentence for the accused, the court emphasized on the other aspects like the professional background of the accused as well as his criminal history. In EdigaAnamma case, the female criminals socio-economic background was looked into. Therefore, it can be confidently said that inspite of ma ny death penalties awarded no clear standard has evolved to clear the stand of the courts on rarest of rare term. This gives rise to erroneous judgments which in the past have taken place in almost seven cases convicting thirteen criminals and awarding them death penalty. Coming to the DhananjoyChatterjees case, in light of the above arguments, the crime or the criminal clearly does not come under the rarest of rare cases. There is a thin line between the rarest of rare and ordinary case but again its judicial discretion that plays the deciding factor. CONCLUSION Various arguments have been made in favor of the abolition of death penalty. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the analysis from the landmark cases to infer what constitutes rarest of rare. The judgment in Bariyar can be considered as a significant one because it gave importance to the reformatory and rehabilitation scheme. The court said that the prosecution has to first prove that the case belong to the rarest of the rare category after which they also have to provide evidence as to why accused was not fit for any kind of reformation. After which, the death sentence could be awarded. It is important for a developing nation like ours to match up to the international standards and do away with the forms of punishment that hinder its progress.We hope that India works towards complete abolition of death penalty!!

Cuneiform And Hieroglyphics Essay

The invention of writing was an important part of the development of Sumer and Egypt. There are many similarities and differences to the writings of each of these civilizations. The Sumerians developed a writing called cuneiform. Cuneiform is the oldest written language in existence. Each picture represents a living or nonliving thing. Cuneiform was written on clay tablets with a wedge-shaped instrument called a stylus. Henry Creswicke Rawlinson was the first person to decipher the meanings of cuneiform. He did so in 1846. Cuneiform eventually spread throughout the region and was adopted by many other early civilizations. The Egyptians developed a writing that they named hieroglyphics. The word hieroglyphic means ?sacred inscriptions? because they were often written on the walls of temples. Hieroglyphics were created about 5000 years ago. There are not any vowels, only consonants. There is also no punctuation. In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered. The Rosetta Stone was the secret to discovering the meanings of hieroglyphics. On the Rosetta Stone there were three sections of print, each saying the same thing but in different languages. At the top, the paragraph was written in hieroglyphics. Second, it was written in Demotic. Lastly the paragraph was written in Ancient Greek. By reading the ancient Greek word and names, the other paragraphs could be deciphered. Twenty-three years after it?s discovery, Jean-FranVois Champollion figured out what the hieroglyphics meant. Hieroglyphics are pictures that represent a letter. In both civilizations, mostly only scribes knew how to read and write. Being a scribe was a very honorable profession. People who were to become scribes went to school for many years starting at a young age. The profession of being a scribe was passed down through families; if a boy?s father was a scribe, he would become one also. Because children needed to be taught to read and write when they were to  become scribes, schools were created. Eventually, these schools became more than centers of just learning the art of reading and writing, but they also became centers of learning of botany, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. People becoming more literate and more knowledgeable helped greatly in the development of the civilizations. Both writings, cuneiform and hieroglyphics, were invented to improve the record keeping of the civilization. By having a written language, Egypt and Sumer could kept records, draw up contracts and official documents, record laws and legal judgments, and record sales. As time went on, being able to write also enabled people to write down formulas, procedures, legends, prayers, and hymns. Even though there were many differences between cuneiform and hieroglyphics, there were many similarities. These similarities caused writing to be important in the growth of Sumer and Egypt.

The financial position of Kier Group Plc. - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2712 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Introduction. This paper provides a discussion of the financial position, performance and cash flows for Kier Group Plc, a UK based construction company. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange operates in the Industrials Sector and in the Engineering and Construction Industry. (Reuters, 2008). The discussion is based on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 2007 and 2008 financial statements as well as the notes to the financial statements. Part 1 Direct and Indirect Method of the Cash flow Statement. The direct method of preparing the cash flow statement shows the specific cash inflows and outflows that result in reported cash flow from operating activities. It shows each cash inflow and outflow related to a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cash receipts and disbursements, adjusting income statement items to remove the effect of accruals. In other words, the direct method eliminates any impact of accruals and shows only cash receipts and cash payments. (Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007; CFA, 2008). The indirect method on its part shows how cash flow from operations can be obtained from reported net income as a result of a series of adjustments. The indirect method begins with net income. To reconcile net income to operating cash flow, adjustments are made for noncash items, for non-operating items, and for the net changes in operating accruals. (Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007; CFA, 2008). The cash flow statement is made up of three components. These include cash flows from operatin g activities, cash flows from investing activities and cash flows from financing activities. It should be noted that the use of the direct or indirect method has an impact only on the manner in which cash flows from operating activities are presented. Cash flows from investing activities and cash flows from financing activities are presented in the same manner under both methods. (Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007; CFA, 2008). Under IFRS, IAS 7 Cash Flow Statements encourages the use of the direct method but permits the use of either method. (Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007). Under U.S GAAP FAS 95 Statement of Cash Flows also encourages the use of the direct method although the indirect method can also be used. FAS No 95 requires that if a company uses the direct method, it should also present a footnote disclosure of the indirect method. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The financial position of Kier Group Plc." essay for you Create order Reformulation of Cash Flow Statement Kier Group Plc prepared its 2008 cash flow statement using the indirect method. In this section we reformulate the cash flow statement using the direct method. Appendix 2 shows the original cash flow statement of company for the year ended 2008. Kier Group Plc Cash Flow Statement 2008  £Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢000 Cash received from Customers2,290.5 Cash paid to suppliers(2,056) Dividends received 0.8 Interest Received 9.6 Income taxes paid (18.4) Cash paid to employees (117.9) Net Cash Flows from operating Activities 48.6 Since the cash flows from investing and financing activities are the same under both methods we have presented only the cash flows from operating activities. The full cash flow statement is shown in appendix 2 and the calculations for the above figures are shown in appendix 1. Profitability, Liquidity and Gearing of Kier Group Plc. To better understand the profitability, liquidity and gearing of Kier Group Plc we need to calculate a number of ratios for the company. Profitability. The profitability ratios we use here include the gross profit margin, operating profit margin, net profit margin and the return on equity. Appendix 3 shows the profitability ratios calculated using the balance sheet and income statement over the period 2004 to 2008 inclusive. It can be observed that the gross profit margin has been fluctuating over the period under study. For example, the ratio declined from 8.93% in 2004 to 8.85% in 2005. It then increased to 8.94% in 2006. It witnessed a further increase to 9.24% in 2007 and then a decline to 9.02% in 2008. The operating profit margin on its part witnessed a constant upward trend over the period 2004 to 2007. It however dropped to a record low in 2008 when the figure dropped below its base period (2004) figure of 2.95% to 2.85%. Net profit margin too witnessed an improvement over the period 2004 to 2007. It however declined from 2.69% in 2007 to 2.02% in 2008. The return on equity (ROE) recorded its highest figure in 2004 and its lowest figure in 2008. The ROE has also been fluctuating over the period 2004 to 2008. Overall, the company has been profitable but its profitability ratios have not witnessed great improvements over the last five years. Liquidity The liquidity ratios show that Kier Group Plc is not in a good liquidity position. The current ratio shows that the company has been in a good position to meet its short-term financial obligations (current liabilities) with short-term (current) assets. This can be seen from appendix 4 which shows the liquidity ratios. The current ratio has been above 1 throughout the period under study. The ratio has been slightly above 1 indicating that an instant request by short-term creditors for the company to repay its short-term financial obligations may render the company in a poor working capital position. The quick ratio is even worse as it indicates that the company can only cover approximately 50 percent of its short-term current assets excluding inventory. The cash ratio too indicates that the company is in a very difficult liquidity position. Gearing The gearing ratios are shown in appendix 5. The gearing ratios indicate that the company is a high gearing or leverage company. Its total debt-to-equity ratio is very high indicating that most of its short and long term operations are financed by debt. Long-term operations are also financed mostly by debt as the long-term debt-to-equity ratio has been above 50%. The ratio was 3.55 in 2005 and 1.42 in 2006. Debt-to-total assets also indicates that the company is financing most of its assets with too much debt. Assets are financed with more than 80% of debt. The gearing position of Kier Group Plc indicates that it may face significant financial risks, that is, the risk that it may be unable to meet both short and long-term financial obligations as the fall due. (Ross et al., 1999; Elliot and Elliot, 2005). This may result in the liquidation of assets to meet financial obligations. Part 2 Financial Statements The statement of financial position (balance sheet) measures the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets and liabilities as at a particular date. Assets occur as a result of past events and represent items from which probable economic benefits will flow to the company. For an item to be recognised as an asset three characteristics must be satisfied as follows (Epstein and Mirza, 2005: 29): The asset must provide probable future economic benefit that enables it to provide future net cash flows; The entity is able to receive the benefit and restrict other entitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ access to that benefit; and The event that provides the entity with the right to the benefit has occurred. Looking at Kier Group Plcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s balance sheet, one can observe that its assets are presented using the non-current and current format wherein non-current assets are presented first, the followed by current assets. This is in compliance with IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements. One can also observe that current assets form a significant portion of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s total assets. For example, as at 2008, current assets totalled  £1054.6million and noncurrent assets totalled  £176.1million. Current assets therefore represent 85.7% of the total assets of the company. Maintaining more current assets indicates that the company is able to meet short-term financial obligations with little stress. The structure of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets enable it to be able to capitalise on investment opportunities since it can easily convert a significant base of its assets to cash with little loss of value and with less time. Kier Group meas ures its assets at their historical cost except for derivative financial instruments which are measured at their fair market values. While this presentation provides a true and fair view of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets, it provides little information about the current replacement cost of the assets. (CFA, 2008; Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007). Investors may be interested in knowing how much the assets cost to replace at current market prices. Therefore the balance sheet may not serve as a true measure of value. Certain inventories have also been value at net realisable value. IAS 2 Inventories requires that inventories should be valued at lower of cost and net realisable value. (IASB, 2008; Epstein and Mirza, 2005; Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007). We may therefore reasonably expect that the net realisable value of the certain items of inventory was lower than the cost and therefore in complying with IAS 2, the company valued them at net realisable value. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Li abilities represent future probable sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations of a particular entity to transfer assets or provide services to other entities in the future as a result of past transactions of eventsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . (IASB, 2008; Epstein and Mirza, 2005; Epstein and Jermacowicz, 2007). The income measures the financial performance of the company over a period of time. It shows the expenses that have been made to generate revenues. (Penman, 2003). The most important figure from the income statement is net income, which shows how much the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operations have contributed to the total returns to shareholders. The income statement may therefore be considered a very important statement than the balance sheet because it provides an indication of how the assets and liabilities in the balance sheet come about and how the increase in shareholder value has occurred. Kier Group Plc had net income of  £47.2million in 2008. Thi s indicates that the company contributed a total of  £47.2million to shareholder value from its operating activities. The income statement and balance sheet are usually based on accrual accounting and provide little information about the movement of cash. As a result the cash flow statement which is to a certain extent similar to the income statement except for the fact that it eliminates accrual items provides a better picture of the sources and uses of cash by the company. The cash flow statement constitutes both operating, investing and financing cash flows. The cash flows from financing indicates that companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to generate cash from its operations. Kier Group Plc generated cash flows from operations of  £48.6million in 2008, used cash in investing activities totalling  £30.8million and used cash in financing activities totalling  £22.3million. (Kier Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts, 2008). this indicates that the compan y generates more cash from operating activities and spends cash in investing and financing activities. Accounting Policies Adopted by Kier Group Plc. Kier Group Plc prepares its consolidated accounts following international accounting standards (IFRS/IAS). The companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial statements are prepared following U.K Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). In preparing its 2008 financial statements the company disclosed a number of significant accounting policies. It adopted a number of international financial reporting standards and interpretations for the first time. (Kier Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts, 2008). For example the company adopted IFRIC 10 Interim Financial Reporting and Impairmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . The annual report (2008) states that the adoption of IFRIC 10 had no significant impact on the timing and recognition of impairment losses because as the group already accounted for such amounts using principles consistent with IFRIC 10. The company also adopted IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Discloses and related amendments to IAS 1. Adoption of these standards also had no impact on the com panyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profit/loss. The company measures assets using historical cost. The company consolidates all subsidiaries from the date that control transfers to the Group to the date that control ceases. The purchase method is used to account for the acquisition of subsidiaries. This is in accordance with IFRS 3 Business combinations. Interests in joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. This is in accordance with IAS 31 Financial Reporting Interests in Joint Ventures. Only goodwill arising from business combinations is recognised as an asset in the balance sheet. In accordance with IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, the Group does not amortise goodwill. Rather, it tests goodwill annually for impairment and writes down the value of goodwill by the impairment loss if there is significant evidence that the value of goodwill has reduced. (Kier Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts, 2008). Other intangible assets which comprise contract rights are stated at cost less accumulated amortisations and impairment losses. The company uses the straight-line method to amortise intangible assets over their useful life. Revenue from contracts is recognised using the percentage of completion method which is in compliance with IAS 11 Construction Contracts. (Kier Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts, 2008). Inventories including land held for sale are valued at lower of cost and net realisable value in accordance with IAS 2 Inventories. The company charges operating lease rental charges to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the life of each lease. Borrowing costs on qualifying self constructed assets is capitalised in accordance with IAS 23 Borrowing Costs. (Kier Group Plc Annual Report and Accounts, 2008). Amendments to IAS 1. The amendments of IAS 1 include two issues. These include the preparation of a separate statement of comprehensive income or an inclusion of a portion under the income statement for comprehensive income and the disclosure of information on non-controlling interest in the statement of shareholders equity. (ACCA, 2008). These amendments, which are expected to be effective as from 1st January 2009 are not expected to have any impact on the results of companies adopting these changes. Consequently, Kier Group Plc will not be significantly affected by these changes. Rather, these amendments will result in disclosure of more information about comprehensive income and non-controlling interests. Bibliography Elliot, B., Elliot, J., 2005. Financial Accounting and Reporting, 9ed. FT Prentice Hall. Epstein, B. J., Jermakowicz, E. (2007). Interpretation and application of International Financial Reporting Standards, Wiley and Sons Inc. Epstein, B. J., Mirza A. A. (2005). Interpreta tion and application of International Financial Reporting Standards, Wiley and Sons Inc. IASB (2008) International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Available online at: www.iasb.org. MSN Money (2008) Kier Group PLC: Financial Statement Available online at: https://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.aspx?Symbol=KIERFlstStatement=CashFlowstmtView=Ann Penman, S. (2003) Financial Statements Analysis and Securities Valuation. 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill. Ross, S.A., Westerfield, R.W., Jaffe, J. (1999). Corporate Finance. 5th Edition. McGraw-Hill International Edition Finance Series. Reuters (2008). Kier Group PLC (London Stock Exchange). Available online at: https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=KIE.LWTmodLOC=C4-Officers-5 Appendix Appendix 1. Calculation of Cash Flow Items Cash collected from customers (CC) = Revenue à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Change in Accounts Receivables = 2332.4 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" (361.3- 319.4) = 2,290.5 Cash paid to suppliers = Cost of Sales + Change in inventories à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Change in Accounts payables = 2122.1 + (516.4-460.1) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" (914.2-791.8) = 2,090.5 Cash paid to employees is a balancing figure calculated based on the original cash flow from operations and the cash flows calculated based on our calculations. Dividends received, interest received, and income taxes paid remain the same as in the original cash flow statement. Appendix 2 Cash flow Statement Kier Group Plc 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Period End Date 06/30/2008 06/30/2007 06/30/2006 06/30/2005 06/30/2004 Period Length 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months Stmt Source ARS ARS ARS ARS ARS Stmt Source Date 10/16/2008 10/15/2007 10/15/2007 10/11/2006 09/15/2004 Stmt Update Type Updated Updated Reclassified Reclassified Updated Net Income/Starting Line 63.4 77.6 59.1 54.5 39.4 Depreciation/Depletion 16.4 15.0 13.5 12.3 8.1 Amortization 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.6 Non-Cash Items 7.5 -13.4 -34.8 -18.4 -1.0 Unusual Items 21.3 -0.7 -1.1 -7.2 -1.3 Equity in Net Earnings (Loss) -0.9 -3.0 -3.2 -0.9 0.3 Other Non-Cash Items -12.9 -9.7 -30.5 -10.3 0.0 Changes in Working Capital -40.8 24.1 52.2 27.0 -63.4 Accounts Receivable -48.7 -54.4 -26.7 -16.7 -26.2 Inventories -84.3 -20.1 -49.3 19.7 -52.1 Accounts Payable 97.8 104.9 131.8 31.3 27.9 Other Liabilities 2.4 3.2 1.1 1.8 -2.1 Other Operating Cash Flow -8.0 -9.5 -4.7 -9.1 -10.9 Cash from Operating Activities 48.6 105.3 91.9 77.3 -14.3 Capital Expenditures -27.5 -19.7 -23.2 -19.9 -21.5 Purchase of Fixed Assets -27.5 -19.7 -23.2 -19.9 -21.5 Other Investing Cash Flow Items, Total -3.3 -34.2 -4.7 2.3 6.3 Acquisition of Business -16.5 -28.0 -10.1 -16.5 0.0 Sale of Fixed Assets 2.5 1.5 4.6 6.0 2.8 Sale/Maturity of Investment 0.0 0.0 1.4 5.8 0.0 Investment, Net 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.7 Purchase of Investments -2.9 -7.7 -0.6 -1.5 -17.2 Other Investing Cash Flow 13.6 0.0 0.0 8.5 0.0 Cash from Investing Activities -30.8 -53.9 -27.9 -17.6 -15.2 Financing Cash Flow Items -3.2 -2.6 -2.7 -2.6 0.0 Other Financing Cash Flow -3.2 -2.6 -2.7 -2.6 0.0 Total Cash Dividends Paid -13.6 -5.9 -6.2 -6.4 -5.5 Issuance (Retirement) of Stock, Net -5.5 -5.6 -2.0 -0.2 1.3 Issuance (Retirement) of Debt, Net 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Cash from Financing Activities -22.3 -14.1 -10.9 -9.2 -4.2 Foreign Exchange Effects 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Net Change in Cash -4.5 37.3 53.1 50.5 -33.7 Appendix 3: Profitability Ratios Kier Group Plc Ratio Formula 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Gross Profit Margin (Gross profit/Revenue)x 100% 9.02% 9.24% 8.94% 8.85% 8.93% Operating Profit Margin (Operating income/Revenue) x 100% 2.58% 3.77% 3.32% 3.12% 2.95% Net Profit Margin (Net income/Revenue) x 100% 2.02% 2.69% 2.41% 2.33% 1.98% Return on Equity (Net income/Average Equity) x 100% 25.91% 38.18% 53.19% 43.26% 24.57% Appendix 4: Liquidity Ratios, Kier Group Plc Ratio Formula 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Current ratio Current assets/current liabilities 1.14 1.20 1.15 1.12 1.13 Quick ratio (current assets-inventories)/current liabilities 0.58 0.62 0.59 0.56 0.51 Cash Ratio (cash + short term investments)/current liabilities 0.19 0.22 0.21 0.16 0.08 Appendix 5: Gearing Ratios, Kier Group Plc Ratio Total Debt-to-equity Ratio 5.75 5.16 7.63 14.58 5.19 Long-term Debt-to-equity Ratio 0.66 0.78 1.42 3.55 0.63 Debt-to-total Assets ratio 0.85 0.84 0.88 0.94 0.84

Femininity against Masculinity in A White Heron Essay

Since its first appearance in the 1886 collection A White Heron and Other Stories, the short story A White Heron has become the most favorite and often anthologized of Sarah Orne Jewett. Like most of this regionalist writers works, A White Heron was inspired by the people and landscapes in rural New England, where, as a little girl, she often accompanied her doctor father on his visiting patients. The story is about a nine-year-old girl who falls in love with a bird hunter but does not tell him the white herons place because her love of nature is much greater. In this story, the author presents a conflict between femininity and masculinity by juxtaposing Sylvia, who has a peaceful life in country, to a hunter from town, which implies her†¦show more content†¦?Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful, the woman?s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.? As the symbol of mascul inity, the hunter is an aggressor although he is described to be kind, handsome, friendly and sympathetic. When first met Sylvia in the woods, he ?called out in a very cheerful and persuasive tone? and spoke to her in a courteous way. In fact, he takes advantages of Sylvia because he is in need of home and food. When he needs Sylvia?s help, he proves he cares for her so much, ?He listened eagerly to the old woman?s quaint talk, he watched Sylvia?s pale face and shining gray eyes with ever growing enthusiasm.? ?He told her many things about the birds and what they knew and where they lived and what they did with themselves. And he gave her a jack-knife, which she thought as great a treasure as if she were a desert-islander.? However, he is cruel and merciless to nature, his gun is a convention which is to destroy the nature. ?I have been hunting for some birds?. At the end, he goes away and does not help her family when she refuses to tell him about the heron?s nest. Not only their characters, but Sylvia?s and the hunter?s behaviors towards the nature are very different and contrasting. Both of them love birds, however the way they show their love is dissimilar. Although saying that