Friday, May 29, 2020

Financial Reporting and Capital Markets - Free Essay Example

Financial Reporting and Capital Markets: Explain the accounting for ATTs acquisition of NCR and Coca-Colas channel stuffing. Discuss and compare the motivations of those who made the accounting choice, explaining what consequences the academic literature would predict to follow from the choice. Creative accounting is a means by which companies manipulate standard accounting practices, in an attempt to influence the way certain parties interpret financial performance. A multitude of devices exist within creative accounting, two examples of which will be discussed in this essay: firstly, the pooling method of accounting used in ATTs 1991 acquisition of NCR; and secondly, Coca-Colas 1997-99 channel stuffing. The motivations of such accounting choices will be discussed and compared, explaining the relevant consequences academic literature would expect to follow. Discussion relies on the assumption, held and tested by many academics[1], that market efficiency is of the semi-strong form. ATT monopolised the long-distance telephone industry for almost a century, until the Department of Justice filed an antitrust action in 1974. A consent decree was signed in 1982 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a widely criticised decision à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" stating ATT must divest 75% of their assets (Ly s, 1995), yet could enter the unregulated computer-orientated industry. 1988-appointed CEO in 1988,, Robert Allenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analysis suggested ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s continuing computer losses could be solved significant investment or divestment. Moving forward with the former option à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" arguably to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“save faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  after signing the decree à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" presented NCR as a potential acquisition. ATT was determined to acquire NCR, debatably in an attempt to reposition itself as a market competitor, despite weak history regarding computer mergers, NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial setbacks and the general consensus of NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“lemonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ -like status. Acquisitions can either use the pooling-of-interests or purchase method of accounting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" neither of which impact future cash flow. The former sees assets acquired at book value, and the latter requires acquisition at fair market value, with the inclusion of amortisable goodwill. Several barriers existed to prevent the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from granting permission to pool (Lys, 1995) some of which were purposefully introduced by NCR as a defence mechanism. Significant costs were incurred to sidestep the barriers; including reportedly lobbying the SEC. ATT arranged 6.3 million NCR shares (at $102.75) to be placed with Californian money manager, Capital Group Inc., which were exchanged for 6.3 million ATT shares (at $110.74). This cost ATT $50.3 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" profit recognised by Capital Group à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" with an additional $10 per share offered for NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managerial cooperation. ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s motives to pool rather than purchase à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" costing them a confirmed $50 million premium, with the willingness to pay an additional $450 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" were related to the belief that earnings per share (EPS) would increase. The b elieved increase related to ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perception of the market efficiency, who predicted that, with the purchase method, shareholders and financial analysts would incorrectly interpret decreasing earnings due to goodwill amortisation as decreasing cash flow, resulting in a 20% share price decrease (with 100% stock, pooling EPS = $2.42, purchase EPS = $1.97). ATT investors, during the six-month negotiation period, had adverse reactions to all news that increased likelihood of acquisition. Indeed, throughout the 9-month, $7.5 billion acquisition, ATT shareholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wealth decreased $6.5 billion (NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s increased $3.5 billion). ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assumption relating to market inefficiency was that analysts and investors would not recognise the difference between the purchase and pooling effects on earnings. However, research into the correlation between purchase accounting and stock prices reveals no market inefficiencies (Hong 197 8). The lack of evidence supporting this assumption perhaps suggests that NCR supplied inside information to ATT. The disregard to the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s negative response to the deal is illustrative of ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief of market inefficiency with regard to acquisitions. Lys suggests that psychological motives exist, such as the pressure on a decision-maker to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“become boundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  to decisions that are taken freely, not easily reversed and have personal ramifications. Such theory coheres with the earlier notion of ATT trying to redeem itself after the 1982 decree, within the computer industry. Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s biggest manufacturer and distributer of non-alcoholic concentrates and syrups à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" surpassed expected earnings from 1990-1996, with its share price increasing over twice as fast as the SP500. In 1996, Coca-Cola began to face competition in a tough economic envi ronment yet it publically maintained its growth through hidden à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“channel stuffingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , an example of real earnings management. Demand is only truly seen internally, and as such when anticipated demand is low tangible products can be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stuffedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  downstream to customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" known as the carryover effect (Lai, 2010) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" allowing higher sales revenues to be reported, with investors thereby incorrectly overvaluing the company. CCE persuaded bottlers to purchase additional concentrate, that they wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have required until the next period, offering incentives such as: extended payment terms (Terhune, 2004), indications of increasing price, discounted prices for extra purchase quantities (United States District Court, 2005), etc. Increasing bottler concentrate inventory levels suggested increasing sales, yet their sales rose only 11% from 1997-1999, whereas concentrate levels produced and delivered by CCE increased over 60%. The inflation of product sales à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" increasing revenue by $600 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" falsely implied a healthy future for CCE. Channel stuffing was not disclosed to shareholders, and relied on semi-strong market efficiency assuming, correctly for a period of time, that shareholders would not notice the creative accounting device. CCE released higher sales figures, in line with past growth, which created a short-term profit boost; this was not sustainable. Bringing future inventory forward created a deficit for the next period, which required another, larger channel stuff, forcing a vicious spiral of declining sales, inventory deficits and gallon pushes. Ultimately, bottlers were holding significantly more inventory than the forecasted decreasing demand required. In 1999 inventory levels were too high, thus channel stuffing ended, leading to a large decrease in revenue. Gunny (2005) refers to channel stuffing as a mana gerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“willing[ness] to sacrifice future cash flowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  in the short-term, with research showing that operating performance will be reduced in the long-term. CCE violated Sections 17(a)(2)/17(a)(3) of the Securities Act by not disclosing their channel stuffing to investors. Additionally, CCE produced false statements announcing a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“several-month long optimum inventory studyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  conducted alongside retailers (SEC 2005). Additionally, CCE violated Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act, which stated that any trends known by a company that are expected to negatively impact revenue must be disclosed. In 2000, the investors who bought CCE stock, after being misled, filed a lawsuit claiming that channel stuffing led to inflated and dishonest revenues. CCE agreed to settle in order to elude unwanted litigation, yet did not admit any misconduct. They agreed to abstain from future securities violations, paying close attention to sales levels to bottlers. CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s motives for channel stuffing are arguably twofold: the decline in demand for products, explained by CCE as due to bad weather and unexpected expenses, meant that financial analystsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sales forecasts would be missed and hence share prices would decrease (Chan, 2005). Secondly, (Chan 2005); and plaintiffs alleged that the performance-based bonuses contributed to the creative accounting. Such theory corroborates the discovery that several officers later suspiciously shorted millions of dollars of inflated CCE stock days before corrective disclosures of CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial position (United States District Court, 2005). Similarly, Lys discuses the possibility of incentive-based compensation in ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling decisions. Details of calculations and estimates can be found in Lys (1995), though an overview explains that the $0.45 EPS decrease from the purchasing method would have reduced Al lenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bonus by $427,245 (over the ten-year goodwill amortisation period) and by $3.4 million for the officer group, compared to smaller bonus reductions of $140,445 and $811,468 respectively after pooling treatment. This resulted in a  £2,909,862 net pooling benefit, though this is relatively small compared to the wealth of the officer group. It can be reasoned that ATT either had motives not aligned to maximizing value to the shareholders or possessed inside information. The former relates to the principal-agent problem; arguably ATT had psychological and, as well as CCE, compensation scheme motives. The latter relates to the market efficiency, in particular the asymmetry of information. CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s channel stuffing was based on the premise that they knew something the market and distributors did not about the demand trends. Similarly, NCR appeared to the market as a lemon, with all events associated with acquisition reducing ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ ž ¢s stock price. Their persistence regarding the deal suggested they saw value that the market did not. Contrary to this, Lys (1995) described the deal as value destruction, and 6 years after the hostile takeover NCR re-established itself as a separate company after a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“disastrous relationshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  with ATT (Andrews, 1996), confirming the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lemon opinion. Considering the motives to pool and not purchase, one must ask if ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief that EPS would decrease with purchase was justification for a $50 million premium. Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1978) research into the correlation between purchase accounting and stock prices questions ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling rationale, revealing no inefficiencies, rendering the premium to pool shares redundant. Yet, Ayers (2002) indicates that CFOs commonly fear purchase accounting negatively affects stock values justifying the large premium, researchi ng that on average a firm will pay over $60 million for pooling treatment. Hopkinsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (2000) research, contradicting Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, within experimental settings shows that analysts frequently do not appropriately take into account purchase or pooling methods when adjusting stock prices. Additionally, it could be argued ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns over investor misinterpretation could have been reduced with voluntary disclosures, reducing the information gap between managers and investors (Healy, 2001). A decline in demand and failure to meet analyst forecasts and expectations would indefinitely result in a decreasing stock price. CCE, rightly, believed the market would not recognize the downward trend due to their lack of access to the soft drink industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s data. Additionally, their understanding of market efficiency led them to assume investors would not immediately recognize their channel stuffing activities. Though financial rep orting and disclosure are crucial for outside investors to understand performance, it can be argued that the device used by ATT was transparent à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" an informed investor could have inferred motives from publically available information à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and by CCE was opaque. Keller (1991a) references that Donaldson, Lufkin Jenrette analyst Gross recognized and agreed with ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s insistence on pooling treatment, foreseeing the negative share price implications if SEC denied the pooling request. Though in CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case it was not recognized, Lai (2010) notes certain activity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" for example large increases in accounts receivable or excess inventory at customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Hendricks 2008) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" can hint at, though not identify, channel stuffing. Ulterior motives to use the aforementioned accounting devices, such as psychological or bonus schemes could not be deciphered without inside information. Thou gh ATT did not use an illegal device, and CCE admitted no wrongdoing, both performed questionable accounting practices. Thus, decreasing shareholder trust would be a certain consequence, especially for CCE. Indeed, Akerlof (1970) stated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dishonest dealings tend to drive honest dealings out of the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , suggesting future and potential investors would distrust ATT, who acted despite the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns, and CCE, who used information asymmetry to mislead the market. The SEC proved that channel stuffing occurred and CCE put certain bodies and practices in place to ensure openness with regard to financial, ethical and compliance matters. This would not repair the broken trust between the two companies and the market and thus stock prices, in the long-term, would be predicted to decrease due to the dishonesty. CCE knowingly misled investors into believing their sales were continuously growing, in order to meet and exceed forecasted ear nings, taking advantage of the asymmetric nature of the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information. Whereas, ATT paid a $50 million premium, with the potential to increase this to $500 million, in order to protect themselves from misinterpretation due to their perceived market efficiency, which was arguably weaker than semi-strong. An alternative hypothesis is that the principal-agent theory was in play, with ATT managers acquiring the lemon-like company for reasons other than maximising shareholder value. Both ATT and CCE office members received financial benefits from the acquisition and channel stuffing respectively, although neither the significance nor the malicious attempts to secure such bonuses has been proven. Academics, in particular Hong, suggests that the semi-strong market form would not let either pooling or purchase methods of accounting affect ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stock price, contradictory to Grossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Hopkinsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analyses. Lai and Hendrick both suggest that certain activities can indicate channel stuffing and though the CCE device was not immediately detected the incident has helped reinforce and improve regulations put in place to prevent future channel stuffing. Akerlofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Lemon model implies that the two companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ dishonest behaviour would not bode well in the long-term with investors or shareholders. In conclusion, the assumption, held throughout this essay, of semi-strong market efficiency is crucial when deciphering the true motives and consequences of the two cases. The motives, which are still unclear, of ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling treatment and CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s channel stuffing stemmed from the seemingly innocent desire to increase shareholder value and avoidance of misinterpretation, to the controversy of performance-related bonuses, malicious information asymmetry and psychological pressures. ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perception of lower than semi-strong form, and corroborating analyses from Gross and Hopkins, suggested uninformed investors would misinterpret their financial performance, despite Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s conflicting research. CCE believed the semi-strong form left room to mislead the uninformed investors into thinking financial performance was significantly greater than it actually was, leading to poor performance and distrust in the long-term. The creative accounting devices discussed would have led to decreasing stock price as a consequence of their dishonest nature. In the words of Akerlof (1970), the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cost of dishonestyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ultimately à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“[drives] legitimate business out of existenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Bibliography Akerlof, G 1970, The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 84, no. 3, pp. 488-500. Ambreen A. Delawalla, JAJJ,TRDABLA 2007, In re Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc Securities Litigation, Case: 1:06-CV- 0275-TWT, United States District Court, Georgia. Andrews, E 1996, ATT Acquisition, Soon to Be Spun Off, Regains NCR Name, The New York Times, 11 January 1996. Ayers, B 2002, Do firms purchase the pooling method?, in Review of Accounting Studies, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. Chan, F 2005, The JIT revolution: What actually happened in the inventories of American companies between 1981 and 2000?, Forthcoming in Management Science. Fama, EF 1970, Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work, The Journal of Finance, Blackwell Publishing for the American Finance Association, New York. Gunny, K 2005, What are the Consequences of Real Earnings Mangement?, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Guoming Lai, LDLN 2010, Manager Incentives for Channel Stu ±ng with Market-based Compensation , Chicago Booth School of Business , University of Chicago , Chicago. Hai Hong, RSKGM 1978, Pooling vs Purchase: the effects o f accounting for mergers on stock prices, The Accounting Review, no. 53, pp. 31-42. Hendricks, KB,VRS 2008, Demand-supply mismatch and stock market reaction: Evidence from 28 excess inventory announcements, MSOM. Hopkins, PE,RWHAMFP 2000, Valuation of the components of purchased goodwill, Journal of Accounting Research. Lys, T 1995, An analysis of value destruction in ATTs acquisition of NCR, Graduate School of Business, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Manchester, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Chicago. Merton, RC 1987, A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information., The Journal of Finance , pp. 42, 483à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"510. Paul M Healy, KGP 2001, Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Boston. Perler, HMSJ 2010, Financial Shenanigans, 3rd Edition, McGraw Hil l, New York. SEC 2005, US Securities and Exchange Commission, viewed 20 February 2014, https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-58.htm., April 18, 2005. Terhune, C 2004, Probe of Cokes Sales Leads to Japan, The Wall Street Journal. Tobin, J, On the Efficiency of the Financial System, Lloyds Bank Review, 153: 1-15. United States District Court 2005, Civil Action, file note 1:06-CV-0275. Vishny, ASARW 2011, Stock Market Driven Acquisitions , Harvard University, Boston. 1 Financial Reporting and Capital Markets, Essay 1, 7167N [1] Notably, (Vishny, 2011),) (Tobin, n.d.) (Fama, 1970)

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Feminism and Masculinity Essay - 836 Words

In contemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideological state apparatus. Standards of masculinity vary from time to time, from culture to culture. However, masculinity always defines itself as superior and different from femininity. For example, gay men and househusbands exemplify subordinate masculinities in our culture. They are not considered to be real†¦show more content†¦Many other critics however believe that it is womens lives that have changed more so than mens. As Judith Stacey states in her book, Theory and Society (1993), journalists and academics share recognition of a problem, a problem that is named not femininity in crisis but as a crisis in masculinity (Stacey, 1993: 719). So although more changes are going on in womens lives, men are more affected and the notion of masculinity is therefore resulting in a crisis. According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of the private and public sphere, the intimate and the impersonal, the emotional and the irrational (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have been two major shifts in masculinity over the last twenty years. Firstly there is the structural change which mainly takes place in the workforce. And the second shift is the ideological change which pushes for real equality between men and women. The structural changes which have taken place in the workforce have been very significant. The workplace has become more feminized, but despite this, men are still at a more authoritative position. During the 1950s to the 1960s paid employment was seen to be very masculine and women wereShow MoreRelated Feminism and Masculinity Essay820 Words   |  4 Pagescontemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideological state apparatus. 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Case Of Estelle V. Gamble Essay - 1340 Words

There are many healthcare disparities through out a variety of populations in the United States. People face difficulties and disparities getting quality health care for many different reasons such as race, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs and various other reasons. One population that has numerous health care issues and disparities is the incarcerated population. This population stood out to me because there is a mixture of all kinds of people (races, genders, age, etc.) living in close and often overcrowded spaces. This is a complex problem because not only is there a lot of diversity but also jails were not meant to accommodate everybody’s medical specific issues. If someone were to commit a minor crime and has an untreated health issue while in jail it could be very serious or even become a death sentence. Currently there are over 2.3 million people in American prisons and jails at any given point, but 11 million people a year will cycle through the system (Wagner, 2016). In the case of Estelle v. Gamble dating back to 1976, it was established that under the eight and fourteenth amendments a prisoner had rights to medical care. (Oyez, 2016) The term health disparity describes the differences in treatment and services of illness, disability, injury or mortality by a certain population (Artiga, 2016). Mental health, addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, communicable diseases and chronic conditions are all significant disparities that affect theShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics Of Human Being As Such And The Social Benefits Of Caring For The Health Care945 Words   |  4 Pagescourts held on inmates’ rights, this was the case. Prisoners did not have rights and considered, by some, slaves of the state. In 1871, the case of Ruffin v. Commonwealth illustrates this was the position taken by early courts and states that inmates have, â€Å"as a consequence of his crime, not only forfeited his liberty, but all his personal rights except those which the law in its humanity accords to him. He is for the time being the slave of the state (Ruffin v. Commonwealth, 1871).However today, theRead MoreAmnesty International : Violation Of Human Rights1175 Words   |  5 Pageseven die because of a lack of healthcare is cruel and inhumane. This behavior is not only contradictory to the ICCPR but also to the US constitution, as mentioned in a landmark case, Estelle v Gamble. Estelle v Gamble has a similar principle as the current situation with the immigrants, where a claimant brought a case all the way to the US Supreme Court since he claimed that the state failed to provide medical treatment while the claimant was imprisoned. During Estelle’s imprisonment, he claimedRead MoreThe United States Civil Rights3535 Words   |  15 Pagesthe name of Estelle Gamble. On November 8, 1973 a man by the name of J.W Gamble was an inmate of a prison in Texas, which who was performing a prison assignment and was severely injured while on the job. On February 11, 1974 the inmate decided to make a complaint about the treatment that he received prior to getting injured while performing a task. After taking this complaint to the board by submitting a Pro se, which is for one’s own behalf: in person appearing for oneself as in the case of one whoRead More DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services (No. 87-154)1659 Words   |  7 Pages DeShaney v. Winnebago County was a landmark Supreme Court Case which was ruled on in February, 1989. The case revolved around Joshua DeShaney, a child who who was reportedly abused by his father, Randy DeShaney. In 1980, Joshuas parents divorced and his father won full custody. 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Violence and Media

Question: Describe and evaluate research into the effects of watching media violence on children. Answer: Introduction: The term violence is not new to the society or the human race, it always has been an increasing and fast enhancing problem which has been a big hurdle in the path of growth for the human beings living in the modern society. With increasing access to the explosives and the firearms, the efficiency and the scope with regard to the violent behavior certainly have brought out many of the harsh as well as unexpected results and consequences (Krcmar and Kean, 2005). Since, year 1960s, it is researched and evident that the exposure of the violence in the movies, television, cell phones, video games, and which has been shown at the internet sites enhances the risk of some acute violent behaviour, which in actual is filled with violence enhances the risk of all of them to behave violently (Scharrer, 2006). Refer the present review of the research evidence in concern it is critically assessed, plus the theory which involves the psychology explains the reason as to why the exposure to the world ly violence has detrimental the serious and true effects for and on both of the longer as well as the short runs is elaborated. Thus, the basic size refers the media violence effect is carefully and is compared with the other kinds of famous and well-known dangers and threats to the present society (Scharrer, 2006). Major Effect of viewing violence in media: Effects on the behaviour : Many of the early research on the effects of viewing of the violence refer the telecast on the on television which especially is concerned and is among the children has found a comprehensive and very desensitizing effect plus the potential for the cause and result of the aggression. During the year 1982, (Savage, 2004) the National Institute of the ill and the Mental Health certification, found these major outcomes and vital effects of notifying the seeing the violence on TV: The Kids may as compared to others become much less sensitive refer the sufferings and the pain of other people. The kids may also be much more fearful refer the world which exists around them. The kids may be much more expected and likely to come out with a behaviour in the aggressive or the harmful manner toward all others people (O'Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011). The significant researches, it has been found that the kids who continuously come in front of acts of violence practically are used to watch such kinds of activities for long hours on TV tend to get attracted to such negative facts much more easily in comparison to the other kids of the society. They also tend to show much more expected acts of such kind when they turn to be adults. Such kinds of nature which they develop in themselves turn them to become a danger to the society and to their own families as well (Krcmar and Kean, 2005).They become use to the criminal acts and also their minds gets destructed and they least care about the results of suck kinds of acts. The fact is also very interesting that, being very aggressive in the childhood do not in actual sense predict the watching of more of the violent TV as an adult, which also suggests that the Television watching can also be one of the main cause rather than being considered a consequence of the matters of the aggressive behavior. Thus, the significant researchers by some of the most famous psychologists such as the Brad Bushman and the Douglas Gentile has given their views that the exposure of such kinds of kids to the media violence is merely one among all of the several factors which may also contribute to the matters which results for the behaviors which are aggressive (Savage, 2004). While some have the view that such a kind of the exposure to the violence which is shown at the TV can desensitize the human beings to violence in the actual world and also some of the people who continuously watch the violence tends to start enjoying it after a stage plus no kind of humanity is left in their hearts as a result of so. The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Available research literature has been very compelling that the exposure of the kids to such a kind of media violence certainly plays a vital role in the etiology of the violent nature and behavior. At times, this has been a real task so as to determine that children who have been since long witnessing, watching or experiencing media concerning violence are undoubtedly at the much greatest state of risk (O'Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011). In such conditions, there appears to be a comparatively much stronger bonding or the correlation between the TV violence and also the aggressive behavior and that too within the vulnerable "at risk" stage of the adultery. Some of the learned researchers have clearly demonstrated that the kids get attracted to wrong doing which they watch on TV very soon as they get attracted and also tend to perform such similar acts in their actual lives as well. Before the adolescent age of just 4, the kids are very much innocent and are not capable to make a difference between the good and the bad, in such an age they may watch such violent activities and may also not get attracted to it or may also not try to opt them in their lively hoods but after they cross the age of 4, they ae well able to distinguish between everything, and thus prompt care is required to be given at this stage (Savage, 2004). Most of the Heroes are shown as violent, and also they are rewarded for the violent nature at the end of the commercials and the movies, but in reality, such things also divert the minds of the kids to do some things which are required to be done only by experts and or under the expertise presence. Weapons carrying, cl imbing the straight walls, killing the enemies with weapons excites the kids and they also try to do such activities which may at some stages bring about any kind of bodily harm to themselves or the others (Zhang, Xiong and Tian, 2013). Kids often lose their innocence after they see all these kinds of explosive stuff, as the scenes thrill them and excites them to be also of such a kind. Conclusion: Thus the influence of media refers the psychosocial improvement or the development of the kids is a profound (Scharrer, 2006). So, it is vital for the physicians to carefully discuss with their seniors or parents, for the kids exposure to local media and also to give proper guidance on the appropriate viewing of the media. The (AAP) which stands for the American Academy of Pediatrics states and suggests that the physicians discuss openly with the parents of the concerned kids all about the extent and the nature of the viewing of programmes by the kids on the TV sets at their homes (Savage, 2004). Guardians are strictly required to definitely limit the viewing of the TV of the kids to a just maximum of 1-2 hours each day and the programmes which are seen are also required to be monitored carefully so that no wrong thought makes a home in their minds at all. Overall growth of the kids is very much dependent upon the fact which they see on the media channels and thus this is a serious matter and requires concern of the parents, teachers and other guardians of the kids. References Gentile, D., Saleem, M. and Anderson, C. (2007). Public Policy and the Effects of Media Violence on Children.Social Issues and Policy Review, 1(1), pp.15-61. Scharrer, E. (2006). "I Noticed More Violence:" The Effects of a Media Literacy Program on Critical Attitudes Toward Media Violence.Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 21(1), pp.69-86. Krcmar, M., and Kean, L. (2005). Uses and Gratifications of Media Violence: Personality Correlates of Viewing and Liking Violent Genres.Media Psychology, 7(4), pp.399-420. O'Keeffe, G., and Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families.PEDIATRICS, 127(4), pp.800-804. Savage, J. (2004). Does viewing violent media really cause criminal violence? A methodological review.Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(1), pp.99-128. Zhang, Q., Xiong, D. and Tian, J. (2013). Impact of media violence on aggressive attitude for adolescents.Health, 05(12), pp.2156-2161.