Digital Equity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Digital Equity - Assignment Example For this reason, the provision of free laptops or home computers has a little help in reducing the academic gap between the haves and the have-nots. From a research conducted by Pew, students in rural areas spend up to $80 per month on internet connection while those in the urban areas spend $36 per month. Although these figures might be small for the rich, the poor cannot afford such expensive connection. Consequently, they have limited access to information, class notes, and often late with their assignment completion and submission. The solution for educational gap does not depend on internet access but rather on the educational policies. The government should introduce a program to ensure that each student has equal access to educational materials regardless of their financial status. Your assertion that technology is an important instrument in facilitating the access to educational material and a communication tool where educators can distribute learning material to the student is compelling. In addition, your acknowledgment that limited access to the internet due to high connection prices provides the reality of the matter as it affects the poor students. Finally, the proposal you make to ensure all students complete and submit their assignment on time shows a high level of consideration. Specifically, this is because you have considered the situation of various students within the society and offered a solution that can help in improving their academic

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 8

Marketing - Essay Example According to Walker (2009), in 2012, over 20,000 e-bikes were sold in United Kingdom. Support for greener transport continues to grow thus making e-bikes become a trend, and giving a higher advantage to the stockers of e-bikes. This is a marketing plan in the field of sustainable mobility. The success factor in electric bicycle is that it has several benefits in comparison to conventional forms of individual mobility. E-bikes business has been selected because electric bicycles mitigate accessibility problems and reducing energy use and most relevant emissions of commuter traffic. These issues are the success factors of Manchester e-bikes Inc. because e-bikes will reduce environmental degradation, as well as offer cheap transport options. This plan focuses on the company’s growth strategy, suggesting ways in which Manchester e-bikes Inc. can build a large customer base, develop products that are differentiated from the already existing brands in the market. This plan will also provide information regarding the external environment in which the Company will operate in order to provide it with a good startup strategy. Since Manchester e-bikes Inc. will market its products directly to its customers, it is considered a business-to-customer (B2C) marketer. This marketing plan seeks to promote consumer awareness of the e-bikes and to motivate and entice them to purchase e-bikes. An outline of the strategies through which the e-bikes will be marketed will be given in this marketing plan. A substantial research will be undertaken in order to develop viable assessments that will help Manchester e-bike Inc. to determine the marketing and image branding direction for their products. Every business is rooted in a particular macro environment. An instrument that is used to scan the macro environment is the PESTLE analysis (Andler 2008, p. 197-198). This analysis will be conducted in consideration of the political environment, economic

Management Accounting Change Essay Example for Free

Management Accounting Change Essay Describe the ‘Challenge of Management Accounting Change’ in light of recent research findings and discuss, how can this change help an organisation, in getting its strategic, tactical and operating objectives? Management accounting change and the continuously changing roles of management accountants have dominated accounting literature for the past few decades and the theme of management accounting change procedures has been a topical issue of many studies such as Baines and Langfield-Smith, 2003; Kapla, 1985 and Granlund and Lukka, 1998, just to name a few. In order to understand the relationship between a firms strategy and objectives with its management accounting systems, it is necessary to first define the latter. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) define Management Accounting as the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of information used by management to plan, evaluate and control within an entity and to assure appropriate use of and accountability for its resources. Management accounting also comprises the preparation of financial reports for non-management groups such as shareholders, creditors, regulatory agencies and tax authorities. It is important to explore the extent to which management and strategic concerns are driven by accounting practices, and also how accounting practices are mediated by the views that managers have of the role of accounting (Burns et. al, 1999). Changes in Management Accounting can be viewed as an inevitable process, and they are also intrinsically interlinked to not only changes in a firms strategy, but also with environmental changes. Both internal and external changes in our economic and business environment are the dominating factors in the change of management accounting practices within organisations. This view that change is inevitable has been supported by Kaplan (1985), where he details the change as a cause-effect relationship. In short, management accounting systems have to change whenever there is any sort of change in an organisations business or economic environment. Organizational change is frequently a response to environmental change; such as changes in competition, or changes in laws and legislation. So if Management Accounting change occurs due to organizational change, it is important to note the indirect link between environmental change and management accounting change (Burns et. al, 1999). Wijewardena and De Zoysa (1999) support this idea by detailing that the success of an organisations strategy can be determined by how quickly and effectively management accountants can adapt to their systems to ever changing environmental and economic conditions, thereby supporting the link between management accounting practices and the business environment. It is fair to state that there are a number of factors that can influence change in management accounting and these factors are both internal and external. A research project on management accounting change in the UK, that was funded by CIMA and the Economic and Social Research Council was conducted between 1995 and 1998 by Burns et. al (1999). The study aimed to investigate changes in management accounting systems, the changing role of management accountants and the adoption of modern accounting techniques. The study initially sought to settle the claim that management accounting had not changed in more than 60 years (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). The initial stages of the research found that management accounting practices use traditional accounting systems and modern techniques such as Activity-Based Costing and Strategic Management Accounting were not being used as much as expected. One reason for management accounting changes is the general economic factors such as the globalisation of markets. Changes in technology are another key factor, especially changes in information systems and methods of production. It is in this context that changes in management accounting have taken place. Changes in information technology have allowed for accounts and information to be dispersed around the organisation and managers have a more profound and hands on role within a firm. This in turn indefinitely has an impact on how objectives are met and how strategies and tactics are implemented to achieve, said objectives. This has led to a decentring of accounting knowledge, meaning that it is not only specified accountants who have knowledge of a company’s accounts, but also managers and their subordinates. This gives managers a greater ownership of information and it also means that they have to have an increased knowledge of accounting systems. Ezzamel (1997) states that a lack of change in accounting practices is presented as being not only detrimental to business interests but also threatening to corporate survival. However we must also look at external environmental factors and how they affect management accounting systems. A definition stated by Macy and Arunachalam (1995) define an external environment as a phenomenon that is external and have either potential or actual influence on organisations. However we must reiterate the fact that organisations of no control whatsoever over external factors. It is in an organisations best interest to take any external factors that could affect their operations, into consideration and to recognise them for their long term survival. External factors create a lot of uncertainty for firms. This uncertainty means that companies have to learn to adapt to sudden changes in external environmental business factors. Research by Mia and Patiar (2001) show that organisations must have more refined management accounting practices in order to operates successfully in uncertain business environments. There are also a number of views that contradict the idea that management accounting systems are directly influenced by external environmental factors. The idea of uncertainty, according to Chapman (1997), can be linked to internal factors as well as external factors. More research shows that external factors affecting management accounting can be dealt with in the way internal managers and accountants actually perceive the external variables. Despite the vast amount of advantages to management accounting and organizational change, there are also downsides to such changes. Burns, Scapens and Ezzamel (1999), show that accounting change can challenge existing routines and institutions within an organisation. This can then lead to conflict and resistance within employees, managers and perhaps even board members. Goal congruence may disappear, and an organisations strategy to achieve objectives may be hindered with the lack of an aligning view from all the members who have succumbed to the initial accounting change. Burns et al. (1999) also state that it can be a difficult process for previous systems to be unlearned. A major role for management accounting systems is to motivate behaviours of employees and managers in line with the desires of the organisation as a whole. A great problem is that many managers try to implement new accounting systems without taking into consideration the behavioural implications and consequences of employees with regards to these systems. The lack of goal congruence and effective communication can lead to low motivation and dysfunctional behaviour of employees. A change in an existing system will reduce employees’ knowledge and skill thereby affecting the effectiveness to achieve company objectives. Implementation of new techniques has to be orchestrated with great care and communicated thoroughly throughout the organisation. Accounting practices and emerging routines can be said to be institutionalised when they become widely accepted in the organisation such that they become the unquestionable form of management control. In which case, they are an inherent feature of the management control process, and represent expected forms of behaviour and define the relations between the various organisational groups (Burns and Scapens, 2000). Burns et. al study of CHEM, a small chemicals manufacturer showed that a change in the accounting and organisational systems had little impact on the company as a whole and it did not change their previous ways of thinking. This led to conflict between individual members of the chemical manufacturing company. Later, the new accounting systems were scrapped as they offered little benefits to the company; there had been very little change in the routines, institutions and systems of the firm. There are also claims that management accounting does not always change or respond to environmental or business changes. For example Kaplan (1984) suggests that despite significant changes to the business environment, such as increased competition and continuous changes in technologies and production processes, there has been no signicant changes in management accounting to match since 1925. Research conducted by Horngren (1995) and Burns et. al (1999) show that firms still tend to use traditional management accounting methods instead of adopting new techniques such as ABC. It is also important to note that their has also been a lack of implementation of non-financial measures such as Total Quality Management, Strategic Management Advice or Internal Financial Presentation and Communication. The absences of modern accounting methods support the claim that there is indeed in some cases little change within organisations from traditional accounting systems to new techniques. It is a difficult process to draw a set conclusion on the effectiveness of management accounting change. It is evident that there are vast pools of research both supporting the idea that management accounting hange is beneficial in aiding an organisations strategy but there is an equal amount of research to support the idea that change in accounting systems is derogatory to the success and progress of a business. It is fair to say that further external factors can determine how successful accounting change can be for a firm. For example we must take into account cultural and political factors of the country a particular organisation resides in to fully understand the implications of strategic, and management accounting change. It is impossible to apply findings from research to every company, because in short, every company is different; be it its strategy, its structure, its ethics or its objectives. We must be liberal in what we determine is successful implementation of management accounting change. The change that has taken place in organisations cannot be pinpointed to solely a change in management accounting systems and techniques but it is in fact the change in how these new systems are used and implemented (Burns et. al 2000) and these changes are more often than not part of wider changes of the organisation as a whole.

Issue of Cyberbullying Today

Issue of Cyberbullying Today Cyberbullying Twenty percent of kids cyberbullied think about suicide, and one in ten attempt it. Four thousand five hundred kids commit suicide each year (Laird). Cyberbullying is turning out to be a enormous problem effecting many people. There should be a higher offense for a person who cyberbullies someone. Cyberbullying should be a felony, because it has pushed many people into self harm and committing suicide. Bullying is already a major problem in our society today, when it reaches to the internet then it becomes cyberbullying and it ends up affecting more people.When cyberbullying reaches the internet numerous amounts of people are able to read it. Cyberbullying can occur at anytime and it allows people to harass each other which could even end up in people harming themselves.Also you have to include the other emotions people feel when they get cyberbullied such as feeling depressed and empty because of the harassment they receive. They also feel hopeless as if there is no one they can talk to or feeling of hopelessness because you lost the feelings of friendship. A felony is an extreme punishment because if you get a felony you will , lose the right to bear arms, certain employment opportunities, public social benefits and housing, parental benefits, and even the ability to vote. no laws specifically addressed cyberbullying. But legislators have not been blind to the increasing number o f high-publicity incidents, including tragic results in certain cases (suicides and school shootings, for instance) (cyberbullying). 70% percent of students report seeing frequent bullying online (was your visit to nobullying.com helpful?).cyberbullying gets seen by not just the people that it is directed to but cyber bullying can be seen by anyone on the internet. The world is becoming a cruel place to live because everyone is attacking each other instead of building each other up, and now that we have internet it spreads the problem instead of stopping it.This should not be the way we live instead there should be a more serious consequence then just a slap on the wrist. Cyber bullying should be a felony because a felony is a harsher punishment and when people see they cannot take it any further and will hopefully stop.68% percent of teenagers agree that bullying online is a serious problem (was your visit to nobullying.comhelpful?). Most teens agree that cyber bullying is a major issue that needs to be solve and that some actions should be taken into to stop the increase of cyberbullying because cyber bullying h as become too common to not be doing anything about it. 43% of children have experienced bullying online, and 1 and 4 has had it happen more then once(was your visit to nobullying.com helpful?). That on its own tells you that cyber bullying is a huge problem especially since social media has not been out that long this also shows the progression of it has been extremely rapid. People are intentionally bullying people online because they are either cruel and heart less or they are to scared to do it in person but either way it is unacceptable. You shouldnt have to be rude to people all the time or show them hatred over the internet.This is the reason there should be a higher punishment like a felony for this abuse over the internet that possibly everyone in the world can see. Also 80% of teenagers use a cell phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyberbullying(was your visit to nobullying.com helpful). Most teens now a days have a smart phone and most likely have some sort of social media that they can get on this does not make it any easier to stop cyberbullying from happening. 97.5% have been online in the previous 30 days, 63% have a cell phone, 42% regularly use Instagram, 33% regularly use Facebook, 15% have been the target of cyberbullying in the previous 30 days (boys: 11.8%; girls: 18.5%), 6.3% have cyberbullied others in the previous 30 days (boys: 6.1%; girls: 6.5%)(cyberbullying facts). this shows that most kids are on social media and using internet in some way and 15% of kids were targeted in the past 30 days this is not a good thing thats why there needs to be punishment to those who are doing this. Know that its not your fault. What people call bullying is sometimes an argument between two people. But if someone is repeatedly cruel to you, thats bullying and you mustnt blame yourself. No one deserves to be treated cruelly. (tips to help stop cyber bullying) Cyberbullying is only the bullys fault because they are the ones who keep perusing to be rude and inconsiderate to someone and it is not a laughing matter anymore. They have to be rude and cruel to make one person feel bad about them selves hurt them selves or even bully them to attempt or even commit suicide. It is best to be able to reach out to some one and be able to talk to someone like a counselor, principal, mother figure, father figure just someone that you can tell how you truly feel. Also if someone is being cyberbullied do not just watch the argument unravel take action and tell a teacher parent about what is happening and to the person who was cyber bullied and see if in anyway shape or form you could help them s o they do not have to go through this struggle alone. If cyber bullying happens to either you or someone you know take action to help and stop cyber bullying immediately so it does not progress any further. At the end of the day cyber bullying is not something to joke about of even think is cute and funny this is really serious and needs to stop immediately thats why the law for cyberbullying should be a felony so after people saw what the punishment is they might double think before they are rude to a person so much that they would want to hurt themselves or even commit suicide. Works Cited Cyberbullying. Findlaw, Findlaw, 2016, criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/cyber-bullying.html. Cyberbullying Facts. Cyberbullying Research Center, Cyberbullying Research Center, cyberbullying.org/facts. Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying. ConnectSafely, ConnectSafely, 4 June 2015, www.connectsafely.org/tips-to-help-stop-cyberbullying/?doing_wp_cron=1485738274.0622389316558837890625. Was Your Visit to NoBullying.com Helpful? NoBullying Bullying CyberBullying Resources, NoBullying Bullying CyberBullying Resources, nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-facts/.

GREECE :: essays research papers

Greece   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two most dominating city-states in Greece of their time, Athens and Sparta, were great rivals with two very different ways of life. Sparta’s overbearing military and Athens’ impartial justice system and government are models for many modern day countries. Even though these two city-states differ greatly from one another, they share many characteristics of their country and their time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful Greek territories of their time. Like most cities of the same country, they have the same Greek culture, worshipping the same Greek gods and speaking Greek. Like all Greeks, their people loved to talk and tell stories. Although they fought against each other, their citizens equally had great amounts of pride for their entire country as well as their city-states. The two rivals were both devoted mainly to agriculture and based their wealth, but not their success, on agriculture. Both also participated in the annual Olympics, an ancient Greek national athletic competition which is now a worldwide tradition. These to Greek city-states were the most feared city-states in all of Greece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though Athens and Sparta were similar, they were also very different. Athens was the first democracy, and it was also the first to govern with trial by jury. Athens’ main accomplishment was that it had a very strong Navy. It was the command of the sea and the head of the Naval Alliance, or the Delian League. Athens was the most feared city-state to fight at sea. Its other achievements were that is had excellent forms of art, architecture, drama and literature, philosophy, science, and medicine. It was very wealthy and had beautiful, extravagant temples. The boys of Athens went to school between the ages of five and eighteen, where they learned reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics. The girls stayed at home and learned spinning, weaving and domestic arts. Athens had well educated men, a good sense of art, and an all-powerful navy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sparta developed the most powerful military oligarchy of their time. They had a very strong army and were the most feared city-state to fight on land. Sparta was a member of the Peloponnesian League and was the most powerful people in it. Its excellent military conquered many territories, which they controlled with slaves. Sparta’s sole achievement, other than military supremacy, was that its people possessed a simple life style, with no care for the arts of Athens. GREECE :: essays research papers Greece   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two most dominating city-states in Greece of their time, Athens and Sparta, were great rivals with two very different ways of life. Sparta’s overbearing military and Athens’ impartial justice system and government are models for many modern day countries. Even though these two city-states differ greatly from one another, they share many characteristics of their country and their time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful Greek territories of their time. Like most cities of the same country, they have the same Greek culture, worshipping the same Greek gods and speaking Greek. Like all Greeks, their people loved to talk and tell stories. Although they fought against each other, their citizens equally had great amounts of pride for their entire country as well as their city-states. The two rivals were both devoted mainly to agriculture and based their wealth, but not their success, on agriculture. Both also participated in the annual Olympics, an ancient Greek national athletic competition which is now a worldwide tradition. These to Greek city-states were the most feared city-states in all of Greece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though Athens and Sparta were similar, they were also very different. Athens was the first democracy, and it was also the first to govern with trial by jury. Athens’ main accomplishment was that it had a very strong Navy. It was the command of the sea and the head of the Naval Alliance, or the Delian League. Athens was the most feared city-state to fight at sea. Its other achievements were that is had excellent forms of art, architecture, drama and literature, philosophy, science, and medicine. It was very wealthy and had beautiful, extravagant temples. The boys of Athens went to school between the ages of five and eighteen, where they learned reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics. The girls stayed at home and learned spinning, weaving and domestic arts. Athens had well educated men, a good sense of art, and an all-powerful navy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sparta developed the most powerful military oligarchy of their time. They had a very strong army and were the most feared city-state to fight on land. Sparta was a member of the Peloponnesian League and was the most powerful people in it. Its excellent military conquered many territories, which they controlled with slaves. Sparta’s sole achievement, other than military supremacy, was that its people possessed a simple life style, with no care for the arts of Athens.

Every Child Deserves a Blissful Life. Essay -- child abuse, parents, ab

Most parents and other caregivers do not intend to hurt their children, but the effect on the child defines abuse, not the motivation of the parents or caregiver. Abuse comes in many forms and the statistics prove how alarming the issue is, â€Å"Every year there are 3.3 million reports of child abuse involving nearly 6 million children†.(Source F) It is immensely difficult to imagine what would make adult use violence against a child. Parents have the responsibility to nurture, raise, and discipline an offspring. However, the definition of the term discipline is differently interpreted by parents. Children will misbehave and teaching the difference between right and wrong and not resulting to forms of abuse .Some go to extreme measures to discipline a child, thus creating deep physiological problems. Child abuse needs to be prevented and the government should intrude to insure the safety of the children and of future generations. Caused by different things, abuse comes in many forms and can be preventable. Verbal and emotion abuse often coincide with physical abuse and neglect. â€Å"Child abuse usually starts with a desire for the abuser to have control†. (Source E) In order to gain control with the child the abuser results to violent and abusive tactics. Different people might have different ideas of what a child should experience, do, and become therefore â€Å"Unrealistic expectations of a child†. (Source E) often coincides with forms of abuse. Parents and caregivers take out anger on a child and create an unhealthy environment to live in. Instead of bringing up a child with love and happiness â€Å"This family member, who most likely is supposed to take the role of protector and provider, is instead hurting his or her children physically and... ...ren for the real world parents should bring up their children to respect others, take on responsibilities and treat others kindly. No parent should ever hurt their child and to better protect children at the risk of severe harm, the federal government should stricken child protection laws and work for change. Every child deserves a worry-free life. Children are the future and child abuse prevents kids from growing up in a safe and healthy environment. Discipline is necessary in parenting however a line needs to be drawn where the discipline stops and the abuse begins. Any form of abuse is horrifyingly wrong and needs to cease to a stop. Children need to be protected from the monsters that hurt them. â€Å"1,545 children died as a result of abuse and neglect†. (Source F) There is no need for that many deaths. A child is a child, and that child deserves a happy life.

Investment Portfolio Analysis

B6201 – Investments/portfolio theory| Investment Portfolio Analysis| Course Project Task 6| | Crystal Watkins| 10/17/2012| This paper will Identify and explain the major factors driving the market during this week. It will also identify and explain causes of changes in the market and the index. As well as developed investment objectives and defined risk tolerance levels. I will also include a snap shot of my investments and an explanation of why I choose those particular companies. |The trends that I noticed that were going on with my investments this week were: * Apple – Apple  has asked  Foxconn  to tighten quality control measures while manufacturing the iPhone 5 after complaints of scratches on the device’s body, and that has worsened  its supply shortfall. Stricter benchmarks are affecting production of the anodized aluminum housing used in the device, delaying orders for the  phone,  Bloomberg  said. Apple consumers started complaining of nick s and scrapes to the body of the new phone soon after its launch last month, with some saying there were scratches even before the device was unpacked.While the company said in response to the complaints that it was â€Å"normal† for an aluminum product to â€Å"scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color,†Ã‚  internally, it expressed its displeasure to Foxconn. (Rathee, 2012) * Microsoft – Microsoft  is  reportedly  bringing its flagship product, Microsoft Office to both Apple and  Google's  Android-based devices. This comes from Microsoft's Czech Republic Team, and Petr Bobek, a Microsoft Office productivity manager.Microsoft has been hesitant in the past to bring its software outside of the Windows ecosystem, with the noted exception of haphazard versions of Microsoft Office being available for Mac. Bringing Office to iOS and Android, the two dominant mobile operating systems, would be a change in philosophy for Microsoft. (Ciaccia, 2012) * Johnson & Johnson – The delay for Eliquis is perhaps not unexpected given the size of the trial and the mass of data collected. No matter, it is widely believed to be more efficacious and safer than its  Johnson & Johnson’s  Xarelto and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa.If approved, it will likely see strong sales growth. The delay will no doubt please JNJ shareholders whose rival drug Xarelto is only just establishing sales. Its partner Bayer has been forecasting peak sales of over Euro 2 billion for Xarelto even after the FDA refused to expand its indications. If these sorts of numbers are baked into JNJ’ forecasts and Eliquis (if approved) starts to grab market share then this will be a blow. (Samaha, 2012) * Pfizer – Pfizer had four major events expected. It had one success (Inlyta), one failure (bapineuzumab) and two delays.As ever with pharma the patience of a Saint is needed. The two biggest drugs (Eliquis and Tofacitinib) saw poten tial approvals delayed until November and March next year respectively. Both are expected to be blockbusters. (Samaha, 2012) * Nike – Corporate Responsibility Magazine has named Nike one of its top corporate citizens. The magazine ranked the Top 10 Best Corporate Citizens  in categories including consumer items, consumer stables, energy and health care. Nike topped the consumer items list, sharing the honor with Mattel and Gap.The rankings were determined using public data related to companies' responses to climate change, employee relations, environment, governance and human rights, among other variables. [ (Journal, 2012) ] * Sprint – Sprint Nextel Corp. ’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse, who took over in December 2007, has worked to fix the mess he was handed after Sprint’s $36 billion acquisition of Nextel in 2005 failed, causing 3. 1 million subscribers to leave the carrier. Now he says that Sprint is on track to return to the black in 2014. Wal l Street has shown increasing faith.Sprint shares are up more than 122% this year, but Hesse is quick to qualify his optimism. I tell the team here, â€Å"You’re not going to see any mission  accomplished  signs anywhere on this campus. †? Bloomberg Business Week reported, that this is a long process. (Marin, 2012) * Verizon – Earlier in the year, wireless carrier  Verizon said  it was planning on expanding its 4G LTE coverage to span over 400 markets by year's end. That was an aggressive goal considering it started the year with only about 190, meaning it was looking to more than double that figure in just one year.Turns out that Big Red wasn't just being overly ambitious, and is actually reaching that goal ahead of time. Speaking at MobileCon, a conference all about mobile IT, Verizon CTO Nicola Palmer said  the carrier is launching LTE in a handful of markets on Oct. 18, bringing its total tally up to a whopping 417, further extending its LTE lead a gainst rivals  AT;T  and  Sprint Nextel. (Evan Niu, 2012) * Target – Radio Shack's partnership with  Target Corp. to place its employees in Target electronics departments is a money-losing deal that Radio Shack should consider ending.The deal, signed in 2009 and  expanded upon in 2011, hasn't replaced the revenue generated by an earlier agreement Radio Shack had to run kiosks in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Radio Shack's Target business lost $17 million more than it did in 2010, Chai said. But the two companies are apparently working to improve things. Radio Shack's kiosks now get placement in Target circulars, and Radio Shack is boosting training of its staff. [ (Journal S. P. , 2012) ] * Wal-Mart – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world’s largest retailer, rose to the highest ever after the company’s U.S. merchandising head said the back-to-school season was â€Å"very strong. † The shares climbed 3. 3 percent to $76. 59 at 12:46 p. m. in New York af ter earlier reaching $76. 73, the highest intraday price since its initial public offering in 1970. The stock also gained after  Costco Wholesale Corp. posted fiscal fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates. Costco rose 3. 5 percent to $103. 08. (Townsend, 2012) * Toyota – Toyota  is issuing a safety recall for 7. 43 million vehicles across the globe. The Japanese car manufacturer said 2. million of the vehicles with potential window problems are in the U. S. The issue involves the power window master switches of some of the company's most well-known brands, including Camry and Corolla sedans and RAV4 sport utility vehicles, built between 2005 and 2010. Toyota  said in a press release that commercial lubricating agents applied to a â€Å"sticky† window switch could potentially melt the switch or even cause a fire. [ (Carroll, 2012) ] Dow  Ã‚  0. 95%  Nasdaq  Ã‚  1. 21% Your portfolios: WatkinsC Total Value $1,001,095. 54 Today's Change 7 ,944. 81  0. 80% SYMBOL| PRICE| CHG  ;  % CHG| 52-WK RANGE| SHARES| MKT VALUE| GAIN  ;  % GAIN| AAPL| 649. 7925| 15. 03| +2. 37%| 363. 32| 705. 07| 150| $97,468. 87|   $15,001,156. 13|   99. 35%| JNJ| ^69. 55| 0. 95| +1. 38%| 61. 05| 69. 80| 1,464| $101,821. 20|   $146,113,831. 92|   99. 93%| MSFT| 29. 49| -0. 02| -0. 07%| 24. 30| 32. 95| 3,247| $95,754. 03|   $324,418,062. 99|   99. 97%| NKE| 97. 24| 1. 63| +1. 70%| 85. 10| 114. 81| 990| $96,267. 60|   $98,795,822. 40|   99. 90%| PFE| ^25. 80| 0. 23| +0. 90%| 18. 15| 25. 92| 4,144| $106,915. 0|   $414,099,477. 12|   99. 97%| S| ^5. 69| 0. 00| +0. 00%| 2. 10| 6. 04| 19,493| $110,915. 17|   $1,949,171,346. 20|   99. 99%| TGT| 62. 90| 1. 09| +1. 76%| 47. 25| 65. 80| 1,549| $97,432. 10|   $154,687,926. 41|   99. 94%| TM| 77. 32| 1. 11| +1. 46%| 60. 37| 87. 15| 1,222| $94,485. 04|   $121,996,414. 80|   99. 92%| VZ| 44. 08| -0. 42| -0. 94%| 35. 32| 48. 77| 2,207| $97,284. 56|   $220,552,175. 14 |   99. 96%| WMT| ^76. 91| -0. 24| -0. 31%| 54. 81| 77. 60| 1,336| $102,751. 76|   $133,318,224. 24|   99. 92%| Total| | | | | | | $1,001,095. 4|   $3,578,154,437. 34|   99. 97%| The above chart is a snap-shot of my portfolio for the week of October 17th as you can see I made a 0. 80% increase or $7,944. 81  cash profit since my initial investment, which is a $ 7069. 02 positive difference and a huge increase from last week’s profits. Works Cited Carroll, D. (2012, October 10). Toyota Recalls 7. 43 Million Vehicles. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Mootley Fool: http://www. fool. com/investing/general/2012/10/10/toyota-recalls-743-million-vehicles-globally. spx Ciaccia, C. (2012, October 10). Here's Microsoft's Most Bullish Move in Years. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Street: http://www. thestreet. com/story/11733394/1/heres-microsofts-most-bullish-move-in-years. html? puc=yahoo;cm_ven=YAHOO Evan Niu, C. (2012, October 10). Verizon's Big Red Footprint G ets Bigger. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Mootley Fool: http://www. fool. com/investing/general/2012/10/10/verizons-big-red-footprint-gets-bigger. aspx Journal, P. B. (2012, October 9). Nike on ‘Best Corporate