Pro Forma Definition - Economics

Pro Forma Definition - Economics Pro forma, originates as a Latin phrase which, literally translated, means something like for the sake of form. It is often used for specific purposes in economics and finance.   Our Ambivalence About the Phrase in Finance The briefest perusal of some dictionary definitions begins to express our ambivalence about the use of the term in economics and especially in finance. Some online dictionaries give relatively neutral definitions that adhere closely to the phrases Latin origins, such as according to form, as a matter of form, and for the sake of form. Other dictionary definitions begin to express more complex assessments of the meaning of the phrase, Merriam-Websters, for example: done or existing as something that is usual or required but that has little true meaning or importance  (emphasis added). Its not a far reach from little true meaning to not meaningful at all and potentially deceptive. Legitimate Instances of Pro Forma In reality, the greater number of uses of pro forma documents in finance are not deceptive at all; they serve a valuable purpose.  One such use, one that occurs frequently, has to do with financial statements. In most circumstances, a financial statement  reflects reality. In some circumstances, a financial statement that does not do so could be considered (in ascending order of wrongness): valueless, misleading or evidence of criminal misrepresentation. But a pro forma financial statement is (usually) a legitimate exception to that rule. Instead of answering the question What is the state of the balance sheet? or how much money did the enterprise earn in a given time period, a question answered by the income  statement, a pro forma balance sheet and income statement answers the question What would happen if...? Heres a good example: The corporation has earnings for the past year of $10M, with expenses of $7.5M. These are figures you might find in the income statement. But, executives wonder, what would be the effect of introducing a new product line (which would sharply ramp up expenses)? You would expect that in the shortest term, before the revenues from the new product line were realized, that profits would diminish considerably and that  revenues would go up very little. Youd also expect that over time the additional revenue from the new product line would more than pay for the increased expenses, and that the business would be more profitable. But, is that really true? At the point of youd expect... this is just a guess. How can you know, if not for sure, but at least with some   increased confidence that increased profitability will result?  Thats where pro forma financial documents come into play. A pro forma set of financial documents will refer to past performance as a guide to project would would likely happen in the future if we make a similar introduction. It answers the question What if...   When the company introduced a past product, the MicroWidget, operating costs rose X percent in the following three quarters, but in the fourth quarter increased revenue from the MicroWidget more than made up for the increased operating cost expense and net profit actually rose 14 percent year over year.   The pro forma balance sheets, income statements and statements of cash flows show what might happen if a new MacroWidget product is introduced, based on the data available. Pro Forma Statements vs. Certainty Note that a pro forma financial statement does not express certainty. It expresses what, with the data available, business leadership and accountancy professionals believe  is likely to happen. Often it does, and sometimes it does not. Nevertheless, pro forma statements serve a valuable purpose by introducing data that supports (or does not support) the original intuition that, for example, adding a MacroWidget to the product line is a good idea. It does so by quantifying the probable results based on past performance. The pro forma balance sheets, income statements  and, importantly, statements of cash flows give business executives a better idea of what will happen if.... The Downside of Pro Forma Statements The general intent of pro forma financial statements, to answer the question what will happen if... can be abused. In the notorious Enron collapse,  pro forma statements played an important part. Arthur Andersen Enrons auditors, it became clear in retrospect, were too close to the company to deliver reliable financial statements to financial markets. This was particularly true of the pro forma statements that projected a rosy future for Enron and purportedly were based on reasonable assumptions.    They utterly failed to predict what became instead a total collapse that sent Enron executives  to jail, ended the Arthur Andersen company and culminated in a prolonged and messy Enron bankruptcy in which stockholders and others lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Absent criminal intent, data that already exist are reliably what they propose. Data that are projections based on assumptions which is the essence of a pro forma statement are inevitably and categorically more subjective. In short, they are useful financial tools that are particularly easy to abuse. You shouldnt avoid using them, but you need to exercise caution. Books on Pro Forma Profits You Can Trust: Spotting and Surviving Accounting LandminesHow Companies Lie: Why Enron Is Just the Tip of the IcebergThe Valuation of Technology: Business and Financial Issues in RD Journal Articles on Pro Forma Assessing the relative informativeness and permanence of pro forma earnings and GAAP operating earningsThe Predictive Value of Expenses Excluded from Pro Forma EarningsAre Investors Misled by Pro Forma Earnings?

Structure of organization of a clinic Assignment

Structure of organization of a clinic - Assignment Example When laying off employees, treat them with respect, not like they are criminals. Be objective and  prepare  exit  benefits for them guided by the time they have worked for the organization, the titles they  hold  and their outstanding contribution to the organization. Making decisions on lay off and determining which employees and positions to let go, it is  responsible  to protect employee privacy. It is unethical to discuss issues regarding lay off in  common  areas. Documents containing information regarding layoffs must  be  confidential. Changes  introduction  in nursing care delivery In order to  deliver  similar or better services as it was before the downsize, it is necessary to  motivate  the remaining employees so that they may not  feel  overburden. Setting up a new framework on the duties and responsibilities will be  necessary. Employees should be given guidelines on how to cope with the work load. Employees may be required to work in  several  areas. For example, a nurse who used to work in one  ward  may be required to work in two wards. A procedural  framework  may also be  necessary. Services issued by  different  employees may be given by one employee. ... es, CEO,  SVP  Patient services,  SVP  Maternal Child  division, labor and Delivery manager, Maternal Child Manager, Paediatric Manager, Assistant Nurse of Clinical Coordinator, Staff RN, Nursing Assistants and Scrub Technician. Organizational structure is a system ensuring that all employees  get  coordinated to ensure the company achieves its goals. This  organization  structure  is  effective  because all these people oversees and coordinates employees and all the activities of the organization. The board of trustees acts in the best interests of the organization (Nelson &  Whitcomb,  2002). Board of trustees comprises of shareholders who oversee all the activities conducted are beneficial to the organization. The board of trustees exercises their powers for the financial benefit of the organization. Their inclusion in the organization is  crucial. This  organization  is  effective  as it includes a CEO. The CEO is responsible for success of t he organization. The CEO is responsible for Operations, marketing strategy, human resources, financing, hiring, creation of  company  culture, firing, compliance with safety regulations, PR, sales amongst other duties. His/ her responsibilities cannot be delegated. SVP  Maternal Child  division  deals with all programs of reproductive health, making it an essential component of the organization. Labor and  deliver  manager oversees employees in labour and  delivery  department. He/she ensure that patients  get  treatment and taken care of  well. He/she ensures that all operations are running well, in areas experiencing difficulty he finds for solutions. He/ she is responsible for the program and structural development making him or her an  influential  person in the organization structure. Paediatric manager makes sure that all

Change Agents Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Change Agents - Research Paper Example The change agent is unbiased and he looks for solutions to resolve the issue taking into considerations the needs of all parties involved. Resistance to change can negatively impact the plans to implement change at a company. The managers must communicate with their employees to explain to them how the change management initiatives will affect their job routines. Change initiatives often fail due to a lack of change management (Swati, 2012). Resistance to change can hinder the ability to change the culture of an organization. Management intervention is needed to resolve resistance to change (Mariana, Violeta, 2011). The managers have to demonstrate to the employees the benefits of the initiative. If resistance to change persists it can have devastating effects on a company. The efficiency and productivity of the workers decreases which hurts the profitability of the firm. Long periods of resistance to change can escalate into work strikes or even complete shutdown of an operation. Managers have to react in a proactive manner to handle resistance to change effectively. Mariana, P., Violeta, S. (2011). Opportunity to Reduce Resistance to Change in a Process of Organizational Change. Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 10(2). p698-702. Retrieved February 9, 2013 from EBSCOhost database. Swati, M. (2012). Managing Employee Resistance to Change a Comparative Study of Indian Organizations and NMCS in Delhi-NCR Region. Researchers World: Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 3(4). p64-71. Retrieved February 9, 2013 from EBSCOhost

The Africa National Congress (ANC) Essay Example for Free

The Africa National Congress (ANC) Essay The Africa National Congress (ANC) was the first party in South Africa to win under democratic elections. One of the major reasons of its resounding victory in 1994 was its promises to improve the living standards of majority to almost 85% of total population. From many problems which were facing South Africa, when combined formed a package of strategy known as Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) macro-economic strategy. The strategy was introduced in June 1996. Even though there has been achievement in some areas, from its overall goals it is a failure. Indeed, most of the Black South Africans are now worse off materially than they used to be during Apartheid. In additions, there has been vanishing of hundreds of thousand jobs and increase in the cost of basics such as food, water, and rents. Only minority are better than they used to be during apartheid. Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)                  From different ideologies, not all failures are of its own doing .There is also claim that much of ANC failure are associated with its founders from South National Convectional party. However, this was not enough for â€Å"justification,† many of critics arouse from the ANC governance as the government of South Africa. Despite many oppositions and critics, once in power ANC government came up with tight monetary policy and orthodox Macroeconomic policy with the aim of deficit reduction all combined with trade liberalization. All these combined, they had a major purpose of facilitating growth, Employment and redistribution programme, the package known as GEAR. The target of GEAR, introduced in 1996, was to accelerate the economic growth with rate of about 4.3% programmed for 1996-2000.Towards mid-term of the programme; the GEAR achievements were below its target. According to Ludman (2004) this failure can be because of excessive rise in interest ra te and fiscal contradiction, this is opposed to the idea of W. J. (2003) that it was because of unfavorable external factors. Following five years of GEAR functioning towards the target of average 4.2 percent growth rate for 1996-2000, South Africa Ministry of Finance announced the carried out the analysis of the budget. Following the budget, it was determined that GDP had expanded at by 2.3% over the past two years, since ANC had took over in power. Moreover, from the budget it was determined that, GEAR, having functioned for two years after the end of the regime whose policies on economic growth sought to accrue the economic benefits to minority white men had marked little growth in equal distribution of resources. Although may differ with the observation perhaps because the growth with a slight improvement, there is need to consent that it was different with that of last decades of apartheid. Looking back from 1980 through 1993, perhaps would give us insight in judging the achievements or failures of ANC. During this period, there were major problems in South Africa economy. Only four years of this period that the gross domestic product (GDP) raised .Moreover, only the year 1984 that marked slight improvement in annual average decline of (GDP) by one percent. This was associated with many problems in the mid-1990s. South Africa had become a largely demanding society. For instance, the industries were greatly affected poor agriculture from the conversation of peasant agriculture and migrant workers .From the destruction of peasant agriculture, many problems arouse such as permanent unemployment and poverty. These problems were more among the black Americans as compared to â€Å"White.† It was devastation that about 65% of the total population lived under poverty .Thuynsma (2012) also explains that there was a huge disparity between unemployment rises in South Africa as compared to the rest places in Sub Saharan Africa, where peasant agriculture is believed to be strong. The most striking problem was unemployment among the youths in South Africa. Comparing it with that in sub-Saharan Africa with about 11.9% and North Africa with 23.7%,it was a huge difference South Africa with whopping 48.1% cases of unemployment of all young people ranging between (15 – 24) of age .All this research was carried out by the South African Institute of Race Relations. From these problems, it necessitated prompt responses, some of them include, and increase of investment rate stimulates to modernize production and increase of economic growth rate. From above definitions, the government, through GEAR policies aimed to bring about equality in the distribution of income, increased wage employment, better wages for those in employment and greater equality in the wealth, however there was no achievement. In fact, the economy of South Africa dropped by 5% and it was from this that ANC set broad framework .The primary goals of ANC since 1994 were therefore clear; to come up with new government’s social and economic policies. The first goal being economic growth little achieved during 1993-1995 with slight improvement of one percent as compared to negative rate of the previous years but below the population growth. During the period between 1994 and 1995, per- income did not fall; towards the end of 1995, there was per capita income increase outside the margin of statistical error. The ANC’s political misfortunes                  Looking at ANC’s misfortunes it would be necessary we look back to its founding to get a clear picture. Many at times ANC associate it is failures with 1908-1909 founders for they could not invite the representatives of ANC to convectional meetings or used to delay the negotiations whenever called upon. However, ANC is altogether accountable for crating the bad lack and its founders are not the first bad omen as they claim. According to Ludman (2004) perhaps Nelson Mandela was right when said, â€Å"Prepare for armed struggle immediately after the end 1952 Defiance Campaign.† In fact, if ANC representatives followed the advice, it would have won earlier because of its adversary (National Party) was not well prepared to withstand much of struggles and other form of resistance. The result of the party not heeding to the advice had far reaching consequences, by the time NP could consent to have conversation with ANC ,they were negotiating from the point of ANC weaknesses .Further, they continued to undermine ANC performance in their efforts to transform South Africa.According to Bond (2003), it is also failure of ANC to have negotiation settlement in 1993 that lead to 1994 elections. It would have been better if this conversation had happened in 1909 when both Africa nationalists and Afrikaner had been brought together by British, with the aim to rule South Africa nation together. Later the British conclude that, it would be better if the mining interests of South Africa were protected through policy of divide and rule, which GEAR strategies failed. Political elite                  By the time National parties in South Africa had reached the agreement in sharing of powers ,South Africa Society had already gone transformation .This time both economic influence and political power had decreased ,economic muscle had also a minimal power. This marked the inability of ANC to bring about transformation in South Africa in making it equitable society and more dynamic. The 1994 settlement, created a political elite that was seen to control the state but not the economy. The previous elite, which used control both economy and the political power, was seen to lose grip in political power though it retained control of the economy. This was seen as the mix up because, those in control of the economy would live in fear of being overtaxed or having their assets seized by the elite that controls the political power. In fact, the case in South Africa, through black economic process empowerment, usually compels the company owners to give some percentage of their assets to the political elite. The major benefit by the black political elite in the year 1994 was to have access of revenues from the government and distribute among themselves through corruption by giving high salaries. They were also seen to engage in redistribution of wealth, through free government services and social grants .Despite of inability to control the Nation productive resources, the ANC can be said to be far much lucky. Having came from industrialized Asia, the ANC government was able to achieve what we can call slight pain in wealth redistribution .Immense increase sale of minerals in Far East was also marked as one of ANC success. Conclusion                  In conclusion, there are only few signs of achievement of ANC in South Africa since it’s victory in 1994. According to Nell Van (2003), even some that remained are reaching dead end. Although there is sense from above in ANC making great efforts to improve the society, only few progress can be marked through closer examination of progress based from employment by the government ,rise in wage of civil servants ,growth in credit and replacement of Afrikaners in the South Africa though emerging of middle class black Africans. The weakness of the strategies used by ANC is that they are not based from windfall of profit from industrialization. Instead, they are accompanied with shrinkage of the employment in South Africa productive sectors .Therefore, looking at the ANC governments Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) macro-economic strategies, is a failure as compared to the unchanged conditions in South Africa. In fact, is a slight success it its goals has been achieved .As a result ANC’s luck is running out even from the protests from the service that have been happening some few years ago. References Bond, P. (2003).  Against global apartheid: South Africa meets the World Bank, IMF, and international finance. Lansdowne, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press. Ludman, B., In Stober, P. (2004).  The Mail and Guardian A-Z of South African Politics: The essential handbook. Johannesburg: Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd. Nell, P., Van, . W. J. (2003).  Democratizing foreign policy?: Lessons from South Africa. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Thuynsma, H. A. (2012).  Public opinion and interest group politics: South Africas missing links. Pretoria, South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa. Source document

cold war Essay -- essays research papers

World War II divided Korea into a Communist, northern half and an American-occupied southern half, divided at the 38th parallel. The Korean War began when the North Korean Communist army crossed invaded non-Communist South Korea. As North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid. General Douglas MacArthur, who had been overseeing the post World War II affair of Japan, sent the US forces, which began to hold off the North Koreans at Pusan, at the southernmost tip of Korea. Although Korea was not strategically important to the United States, the political environment at this stage of the Cold War was such that policymakers did not want to appear soft on Communism. The US step in as part of a "police action" run by a UN international peace- keeping force. With the US, UN, and South Korean forces pinned against the sea at Pusan, MacArthur orchestrated a daring amphibious attack on Inchon a port on the western coast of Korea. Having made this landing, MacArthur defeated the North Korean army and recaptured Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Instead of being satisfied with his defeat of South Korea, MacArthur crossed the 38TH Parallel and pursued the North Korean army all the way to the northernmost provinces of North Korea. Afraid that the US was interested in taking North Korea as a base for operations against Manchuria, the People's Republic of China secretly sent an army across the Yalu River. This Chinese army attacked the US/UN/ROK forces. Only after the appointment of Lt. General Matthew Ridgway as commander of ground forces did American the motivation begin to swing against the Chinese Communists. Although President Truman hoped to end the war quickly and pressed MacArthur to be more tactful, the brilliant strategist went against presidential orders and continued spouting incendiary lines about his hopes to reunify Korea. After gaining the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Truman relieved MacArthur of command. The move was extremely unpopular in America MacArthur was perceived as a popular war hero. Only the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saved Truman from impeachment after the firing. Ridgway took MacArthur's command and held off the Communists with strong forts and entrenchment’s just north of the 38TH Parallel, sending occasional offensives against the Iron Tria... ... terms. Although the United States attempted to keep the war on a very small scale, it quickly snowballed out of proportion, involving China, at times seeming as if it might become a World War III. Looked at another way, though, the Korean War can be considered a success: although the war did at times get out of hand, the US and the USSR were able to avoid direct confrontation, especially since the USSR fought mainly by proxy. Perhaps most importantly of all, though it was fought just five years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, the Korean War was not an atomic war, avoiding both the possibility of immediate nuclear and setting a pattern that would continue throughout the Cold War. The Korean War had a huge effect on the US government. One of the main reasons that the war was fought was to stop communism from taking over the world. The war strengthened our relationship with Britain. This war also let the US avoid a confrontation with the USSR, which would have hurt the economy drastically. If this war would not have happen I believe that the world would have been conquered by communism. Instead of living our lavish US life I believe that we would be living like Russia.

Multimedia learning proposes Essay

Multimedia learning proposes ways of going beyond the pure verbal messages which have been used in lectures and printed lessons for hundreds of years. Multimedia learning as Thomas Edison predicted has proved to be an effective method of teaching, has revolutionized our educational system and has supplanted the use of textbooks. Multimedia presentations are known to help learners. The newly developed multimedia technologies which incorporate simultaneous presentations of narration, images and text make the possibilities for instruction vast. Yet how should educators use these technologies to ensure that there is optimal learning? The answer is that the multimedia messages should be designed in the best way using the eight principles for multimedia design as a guideline. Background to the multimedia principles: Mayer is known for his research in the field of cognitive theory. According to Mayer, a multimedia instructional message is a presentation which involves words (such as spoken or written text) and pictures (such as animation, video, illustrations, and photographs) in which the goal is to promote learning. Mayer links cognitive learning theory to multimedia design issues, validating three theory-based assumptions about how people learn from words and pictures: the (1) dual channel assumption which is based upon the theory that pictures are seen by eyes and are processed as pictorial representations in the visual-pictorial channel. Spoken words on the other hand enter through ears and are processed in the other channel of human cognition, the auditory-verbal channel. (2) Limited capacity assumption is demonstrated by auditory- verbal overload. Because each channel in the human cognitive system has a limited capacity for holding and manipulating knowledge, presenting too many visuals and a lot of sounds at the same time causes the auditory-visual channel to become overloaded. And the (3) Active processing assumption implies that optimal learning occurs when learners engage in active processing within the channels which include relevant words and pictures organized into coherent pictorial and verbal models and integrated with each other and other knowledge. The discovery of the eight principles of multimedia design was a result of Mayer’s research. Each principle was based on the cognitive theory and was supported by the finding of the research. The multimedia principles discussed with good and bad practice examples: These eight principles are explained as follows in more detail, along with their applications. Multimedia Principle: This principle states that carefully and selectively chosen words and pictures enhance a learner’s understanding of an explanation better than words alone. Mayer tells us that deeper understanding occurs because students mentally connect pictorial and verbal representations of the explanation. A study was conducted in which students viewed a narrated animation about pumps or brakes or simply listened to a narration; the students who viewed the narrated animation scored substantially higher. There are numerous examples of the multimedia principle. Desktop publishing programs and the illustrative capabilities of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint adding pictures to a multimedia presentation has become relatively easy. A good practice example would be to use an animation of how an earthquake occurs to support the textual and/or verbal description: â€Å"when the frictional stress of gliding plate boundaries goes beyond a certain value and causes a failure at a fault line, which results in a violent dislocation of the Earth’s crust. At this point, elastic strain energy is released causing elastic waves to be radiated, leading to an earthquake. † The goal of this principle is best achieved when graphics used are meaningful and illustrative in juxtaposition with text. Images which convey meaning, not simply multitudes of clip art images with no instructional purpose. It would be bad practice heaps of pictures which show destructions caused by earthquakes are used when explaining how earthquakes occur. It would actually be a hindrance in the process of learning as it would take focus off the topic and instead bring the costs of the earthquake into discussion. A good use of this principle would be when pictures and animations are used for presenting instructional content where there are used as lesson interfaces and not for any decorative purpose. Contiguity Principle: The contiguity principle examines how words and pictures should be coordinated in multimedia presentations. This principle states that there is more effective learning when the narration and animation are presented simultaneously rather than successively. Also, words and associative pictures should be close each other and presented at the same time so that when the narration or words describes a particular process or action, the animation or picture shows it at the same time. A good practice example of the contiguity principle would be showing a car assembly procedure where narration and video are presented simultaneously. Students would learn better when the two things are coordinated than otherwise. It would be bad practice if the entire textual description or narration of the car assembly procedure which has 23 stages is presented first, prior to the animation or when the animation is played prior to the verbal description. A good idea is to display the narration and animation in close time proximity so that when words describe the action, the visual depicts the same action at the same time. This will make it more likely for the learner to build mental connections linking the verbal and visual representations. Modality Principle: This principle states that students learn more deeply and effectively when words are presented as narration rather than on-screen text. Using animation and text is a method most people use when designing PowerPoint presentations. According to Mayer when both pictures and words are used are displayed in multimedia, only the visual channel is utilized and it easily becomes overloaded. A good idea therefore is to use both processing channels; the visual/pictorial channel and the auditory/verbal channel. When the narration presented is auditory, it is processed by the auditory channel allowing the visual channel the resources to process the graphical content without it becoming overloaded. A good practice example of this principle would be to present an animation of how a bicycle tire pump works together with the narration of the explanation. Presenting some information in visual mode and some in auditory mode will expand working memory capacity and reduce excessive cognitive load. It would not be a good idea to play the narration after or before the animation. Redundancy Principle: This principle states that students learn far better from multimedia presentations consisting of animation and narration than from animation, narration, and text. The redundancy principle rejects the idea of presenting duplicate instructions in different forms. Unless it is necessary, presenting the same information both in narration and on-screen text hinders the process of learning rather than facilitating it. Some people think presenting the same information in multiple forms is safe and at best advantageous. However we must understand the architecture of human cognition. When dealing with new and technical instruction, working memory is very limited and presenting the same information in narration and on-screen text will mean that not all information will be processed. A good practice of this principle would be when a lecturer uses presentations to deliver his lectures. He can narrate the instructions while his presentations present animation and pictures. It would not be good practice if the lecturer has text heavy-slides and yet continues to try to maintain the attention of the audience. This redundancy causes the learners or audience to become wrapped up in either the verbal presentation or the textual material and miss the other. Even worse the learner may decide to not pay attention at all when he is being bombarded with so much information. Coherence Principle: This principle states that students learn better from multimedia presentations when irrelevant material is excluded rather than integrated. Irrelevant words and pictures, interesting but irrelevant sounds and unnecessary words huts the student’s learning process. Learners throughout the multimedia presentation try to make sense of the material by building a coherent mental representation and any irrelevant information that comes out of nowhere is likely to disturb the process. A good practice example of this principle would be that when discussing the issue of widespread public display of affection and whether there should be laws imposed against it. It would be a good idea to stick to the topic and present points for or against the argument and the reach a conclusion. If however a person is tempted to spice up the presentation, it would be bad practice. Including dramatic stories of politicians engaged in the art of public affection and video clips where couples are seen showing affection in public would be highly entertaining but off topic and the audience might get upset if they do not make out anything from the four hour long presentation. It would also not be a good idea to include any other non instructional material such as unrelated clip arts, background music, sound clips or detailed textual descriptions. Personalization Principle: The personalization principle states that students learn better when words are presented in a conversational style than in a formal or expository style. Students or audience responds better when a more personalized tone is used in narration. A good example of this principle is when explaining how a human respiratory system works, there is a use of ‘your’ instead of ‘the’. For example instead of saying † During inhaling the diaphragm move down creating more space for the lungs† we say † When you inhale, your diaphragm moves down creating more space for your lungs†. Also when addressing community issues using multimedia presentations it is always a good idea to use ‘your community’ rather than ‘the community’. It will help the learners see that it is his community that has issue and not some other community and will provoke him to take action or become a responsible member of the community. Segmenting principle: This principle states that lessons should be divided into manageable segments. When an unfamiliar learner is introduced to a continuous presentation with a lot of inter related concepts which are complex it is easy for the cognitive system to become overloaded. A good practice of this principle would be when a lecture breaks down complex geometry problems into segments rather than present them as a single solution. This helps learners learn at their own pace. Pre-training principle: This principle suggests that people learn better from multimedia presentations when they are familiar with the names and idea of the core concepts. There is a better transfer of knowledge when the audience is trained on the components the presentation would use preceding a narrated animation. A good practice of this example is when explaining the phenomenon of global warming to children, it would work better when terminologies such as green house gases are explained and smaller concepts are built before proceeding to the presentation. This will help the children integrate their built in concepts into understanding the main problem of global warming. It is not good practice to start with the subject before providing the learners with an appropriate start up knowledge neither would it be a good idea to stop in the middle of the lecture to explain some terminology or a hidden concept. Conclusion: Multimedia enhances learning but for learning to be optimal, there should be effective use of animation, narration and on-screen test in multimedia presentations. Techniques to increase working memory by reducing cognitive load have been proposed by many theorists. These techniques improve instructional design, learning efficiency, and effectiveness. Richard E. Mayer and his Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning has highlighted well-established principles of multimedia learning which the research continues to support, including (a) the multimedia principle, (b) the contiguity principle, (d) the modality principle, (e) the redundancy principle, and (f) the coherence principle and (e) the personalization principle. These principles aid users to design effective multimedia presentations. References Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2003). e- Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Practice in Correcting Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

After youve reviewed how to correct errors in subject-verb agreement, including tricky cases, complete the editing exercise below. Several (but not all) of the following sentences contain errors in subject-verb agreement. When you spot an error, correct it. If a sentence is free of errors, identify it as correct. When youre done, compare your responses with the answers below. Example Sentences Music soothe me.Billy bake brownies every Halloween.Peggy and Grace is arguing again.Elsie never takes the bus to work.The people who own that house has no insurance.One of these mechanics have a set of jumper cables.Felix and his brother is mending the wings of butterflies.Both of my essays is brilliant.The pulses emitted by a neutron star recurs at precise intervals.One of my uncles dances at the Rainbow Cafe.Phil and Jeremy has gone to the concert.Both of my daughters are professional dancers.Every one of the workers receive the same benefits.There is two gerbils in my bathroom.This box of toys belong in the attic. Answers Here are the answers below, with the corrected words in bold. Music  soothes  me.Billy  bakes  brownies every Halloween.Peggy and Grace  are  arguing again.CorrectThe people who own that house  have  no insurance.One of these mechanics  has  a set of jumper cables.Felix and his brother  are  mending the wings of butterflies.Both of my essays  are  brilliant.The pulses emitted by a neutron star  recur  at precise intervals.CorrectPhil and Jeremy  have  gone to the concert.CorrectEvery one of the workers  receives  the same benefits.There  are  two gerbils in my bathroom.This box of toys  belongs  in the attic.