Examining methods for allocating overhead costs

Examining methods for allocating overhead costs Overhead cost is an ongoing  expense  of operating a business and is usually used to group expenses that are necessary to the continued functioning of the business, but cannot be immediately associated with the products/services being offered as in the costs do not directly generate  profits. Overhead cost includes indirect product cost or indirect cost of responsibility centre. Indirect product cost is known as manufacturing overhead whereas indirect cost of responsibility centre is known as non-manufacturing cost. Manufacturing overhead is those manufacturing costs that are incurred to a variety of products. It cannot be traced to individual products like depreciation and insurance of manufacturing equipment, cost of occupying, managing and maintaining a production facility. Manufacturing overhead is the cost that could be traced to individual product but it is not worth the trouble to like cost of lubricants and glue used. Manufacturing overhead also include cost that is more appropriately to be treated as cost of all outputs like overtime premium, cost of idle time, utilities cost. Non-manufacturing cost includes customer service, marketing and research development cost. ALLOCATING OVERHEAD COSTS Normally, only manufacturing overhead is allocated to products. However, depending on the industry the business is in and to obtain more comprehensive estimates of product cost, management accountant may allocate non-manufacturing cost to products. One example is Apple Co. with high research development cost, to obtain accurate product costing, they allocate part of the research development cost to product cost. ABSORPTION COSTING Production overhead, or usually refer to as manufacturing overhead, is recovered by absorbing them into the cost of a product. This process is known as absorption costing. Absorption costing means that all of the manufacturing costs are  absorbed  by the units produced. In other words, the cost of a finished unit in inventory will include direct materials, direct labor, and both variable  and  fixed manufacturing overhead. As a result, absorption costing is also referred to as full costing or the full absorption method. Absorption costing is often contrasted with variable costing or direct costing. The fixed manufacturing overhead costs are not allocated or assigned to (not absorbed by) the products manufactured under variable or direct costing. Variable costing is often useful for managements decision-making. However, absorption costing is often required for external financial reporting and for income tax reporting. Absorption costing includes 3 stages, namely apportionment of overheads, reapportionment or allocation of service (non-production) cost centre overheads and also absorption of overhead. For apportionment of overheads, there are no hard and fast rules for which basis of apportionment to use except that whichever method is used to apportion overheads, it must be fair. Unlike direct cost, indirect cost is usually allocated to cost objects and is not directly traced to cost objects. Cost object is defined as item that is assigned separate measure of cost. To facilitate allocation of overhead cost, overhead cost that have common allocation base is pooled together and is known as cost pool. For each cost pool, bases of apportionment are chosen. Bases of apportionment are some factors or variables that allow us to allocate costs in a cost pool to cost objects. The selection of the base of apportionment should be on causal-and-effects grounds, which mean it should be a cost driver. Some examples of bases of apportionment include floor area, net book value of fixed assets and number of employees. Floor area is usually used for rent and rates overhead. It is assumed that the greater the floor space occupied by the production centers, the more rent, cleaning and electricity usage are consumed. Net book value of fixed assets is used for depreciation and insurance of machinery. It is based on the assumption that Number of employees is used for canteen cost. The assumption is when the number of employees increases, the canteen cost will increase. Example: ABC Ltd has two production departments (Assembly and Finishing) and two service departments (Maintenance and Canteen). The following are budgeted costs for the next period: The second stage of absorption costing is reapportionment or allocation of service cost centre costs overhead to production cost centers. Service cost centers (departments) are not directly involved in making products. Therefore the fixed production overheads of service cost centers must be shared out between the production cost centers using suitable basis. Examples of service cost centers or also referred to as support department cost centers include maintenance department, payroll department, stores and canteen. In contrast to operating or production department which engages in production of the products and directly adds value to a product or service, support or service department provides the service that assist and complements the smooth functioning of the production departments in the company. Methods of allocating support or service department cost to production department include direct method, step-down method and reciprocal method. DIRECT METHOD The  direct method  is the most widely-used method where it allocates each service departments total costs directly to the production departments. It ignores the fact that service departments may also provide services to other service departments. Under this method, there is no interaction between service departments prior to allocation. Example: Machining and Assembly are the only production departments that used the services of the Human Resources Department in March. Costs from Human Resources are allocated based on the number of new hires. Machining hired seven employees in March and Assembly hired three employees. Human Resources incurred total costs of RM93, 000 in March. Allocation of H.R. Department costs to Machining:70% of RM 93,000 = RM 65,100 Allocation of H.R. Department costs to Assembly:30% of RM 93,000 = RM 27,900 No information is necessary about whether any service departments utilized services of the Human Resources Department is the characteristic feature of the direct method. It does not take account whether no other service department hired anybody, or whether three other service departments each hired five employees (implying that more than 50% of the hiring occurred in the service departments). Service department to service department services are ignored, and no costs are allocated from one service department to another when using the direct method. STEP-DOWN METHOD Thestep-down methodor known as sequential method allocates the costs of some service departments to other service departments. However, once a service departments costs have been allocated, no subsequent costs are allocated back to it. The choice of which department to start with is very important. The sequence in which the service departments are allocated usually effects the ultimate allocation of costs to the production departments, in that some production departments gain and some lose when the sequence is changed. Hence, production department managers usually prefer over the sequence. The most defensible sequence is to start with the service department that provides the highest percentage of its total services to other service departments, or the service department with the highest costs, or the service department that provides services to the most number of service departments, or some similar criterion. Example: Human Resources (H.R.), Data Processing (D.P.), and Risk Management (R.M.) provide services to the Machining and Assembly production departments, and in some cases, the service departments also provide services to each other: The amounts in the far left column are the costs incurred by each service department. Any services that a department provides to itself are ignored, so the intersection of the row and column for each service department shows zero. The rows sum to 100%, so that all services provided by each service department are charged out. The company decides to allocate the costs of Human Resources first, because it provides services to two other service departments, and provides a greater percentage of its services to other service departments. However, a case could be made to allocate Data Processing first, because it has greater total costs than either of the other two service departments. In any case, the company decides to allocate Data Processing second. In the table below, the row for each service department allocates the total costs in that department (the original costs incurred by the department plus any costs allocated to it from the previous allocation of other service departments) to the production departments as well as to any service departments that have not yet been allocated. After the first service department has been allocated, in order to derive the percentages to apply to the production departments and any remaining service departments, it is necessary to normalize these percentages so that they sum to 100%. For example, after H.R. has been allocated, no costs from D.P. can be allocated back to H.R. The percentages for the remaining service and production departments sum to 92% (7% + 30% + 55%), not 100%. Therefore, these percentages are normalized as follows: For example, in the table above, 59.78% of RM136,000 (= RM 81,304) is allocated to Assembly, not 55%. The characteristic feature of the step-down method is that once the costs of a service department have been allocated, no costs are allocated back to that service department. As can be seen by adding RM 105,522 and RM 134,478, all RM 240,000 incurred by the service departments are ultimately allocated to the two production departments. The intermediate allocations from service department to service department improve the accuracy of those final allocations. RECIPROCAL METHOD Thereciprocal method is the most accurate among the three methods for allocating service department costs. It is because it recognizes reciprocal services among service departments. However, it is also the most complicated method, because it requires solving a set of simultaneous linear equations. Using the data from the step-down method example, the simultaneous equations are: H.R. =RM80,000 + (0.08 x D.P.) D.P. =RM 120,000 + (0.20 x H.R.) R.M. = RM40,000 + (0.10 x H.R.) + (0.07 x D.P.) Where the variables H.R., D.P. and R.M. represent the total costs to allocate from each of these service departments. For example, Human Resources receive services from Data Processing, but not from Risk Management. 8% of the services that Data Processing provides, it provides to Human Resources. Therefore, the total costs allocated from Human Resources should include not only the RM 80,000 incurred in that department, but also 8% of the costs incurred by Data Processing. Solving for the three unknowns (which can be performed using spreadsheet software): To illustrate the derivation of the amounts in this table, the RM36,423 that is allocated from Human Resources to Machining is 40% of H.R.s total cost of RM 91,057. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN METHODS AND PROBLEMS USING THE METHODS Direct method allocates support cost only to operational departments and there in no interaction between support departments prior to allocation. On the other hand, step down method allocates support costs to other support departments and to operating departments that partially recognizes the mutual services provided among all support departments. Under this method, there is one-way interaction between support departments prior to allocation. Reciprocal method allocates support department costs to operating departments by fully recognizing the mutual services provided among all support departments. It is full two-way Interaction between support departments prior to allocation. Direct, step-down and reciprocal methods of support department cost allocation gave slightly different total overhead cost and overhead rates for each production department. It is because of the different recognition that each method gives to support relationships. The direct method does not recognize any relationships that exist between support departments whereas step-down method gives only partial recognition to these relationships. Reciprocal method gives the most accurate results when allocating of multiple service departments costs to operating departments. The power of reciprocal method over other methods (direct method, step-down method) lies in its considering the mutual services provided among all service departments which means the costs of service departments are allocated to each service department (except the service provider) besides operating departments. However the application of this more powerful method is rare. It is because it is more complicated than other methods and it requires sophisticated computer aid. Some firms that use ERP software since this method requires additional modification in coding. Therefore most of the companies prefer employing either of direct or step down methods. Reciprocal method considers mutual services provided among all service departments, direct method and step-down method ignore this point. Moreover service department cost used by other service departments are also ignored in direct method. The drawback of direct method is partially reduced by step-down method by following a hierarchy among service departments while considering cost allocation. There is a ranking among service departments as to which department to begin allocation according to different rules which in turn yields different allocation figures. The drawback of step-down method to reciprocal method is that once the cost accumulated in the first in ranking service department is allocated, that department does not take any share from other service departments. Two main rules determine the raking. The first approach considers the number of departments served by the service departments to judge on which service department to begin allocation and which ones to move on. The service department that serves to the highest number of departments is the first department to begin allocation. In case of more than one department serve the highest number of departments, the department with highest accumulated costs is the first in the ranking and so on. The second approach adopts the percentage of service in determining the ranking of service department to begin with and to carry on. The service department with highest percentage of service to other departments is the first in the ranking and so on. In case of more than one department with equal the highest service percentage, the one with higher accumulated costs is set as the first and so on. Lastly reciprocal method or algebraic allocation method (REC) considers all served departments including service departments and operating departments by a service department except the one whose costs are allocated. There is a two way interaction among service departments unlike step-down method. The method yields equations with multiple unknowns which are equal to the number of service departments since the method considers all the costs of the service departments to be allocated. As the number of service departments increase the number of equations with multiple unknowns increase and hence a computer aid is required to solve the equations simultaneously. CONCLUSION Out of the 3 allocation methods to allocate service/ support department cost to production department cost, reciprocal method is said to be the most precise method. It is also the most complicated method as it requires solving a set of simultaneous linear equations. However, direct and step-down methods are simple to compute and easy to understand. Nonetheless, direct method is the most widely used in industry. Direct method allocates each service departments total costs directly to the production departments, and ignores the fact that service departments may also provide services to other service departments. The direct method and step-down method have no advantages over the reciprocal method except for their simplicity, and the step-down method is sometimes not very simple. Nevertheless, the reciprocal method is not widely used. Given advances in computing power, the reciprocal method would seem to be accessible to many companies that are not using it. Presumably, these companies b elieve that the benefits obtained from more accurate service department cost allocations do not justify the costs required to implement the reciprocal method.

Are we humans the product of nature or nurture? Essay

Nature is how much of your personality is genetic, what you were born with. Nurture is how much of your personality was caused because of your environment, how you were raised. So does nature or nurture contribute more to someone’s personality and behaviour? Or do they both play a role in shaping our lives? I hope to come to a conclusion with this debate in the end of my thesis. With nurturing, people tend to observe others actions and behaviour, and try to be like others. As a result, the human behaviour is the result of experience and imitating. The social learning theory suggests that we learn through imitation and observation. It also suggests that people learn within the environment and get approval from the public by learning through an influential model. Bandura, a known psychologist found that according to this theory, a model can be the main cause for learning new actions. However, when there is a role model that illustrates bad behaviour, that behaviour could be imitated by young children. A few psychologists criticised Bandura’s theories- where children behaved more aggressively after observing violent acts from their family members. This meant that children, who witness their parent’s aggressive behaviour, have a higher risk of being abusive later on in their life. This theory is also questionable as there could be other factors, like genetics, which affect the behaviour. Our behaviour is more influenced by the genes we inherit than the environment we are brought up in. When socialisation does affect our identities, genetic and hormonal factors have a greater impact. For instance, there was a twin study, where the research twins had been separated at birth and adopted by different families. They both had met a wife with the same name, and their dogs had the same name, with many other striking similarities. They met 39 years after being separated. This proves that intelligence and talents are more likely genetic than environmental. Some scientists say, when contrasts are made between genetically connected twins, it is simple and easy to take account on the similarities and then overlook the behaviours that are distinct. For a person’s physical features; the appearance, genes play a bigger role. Yet, in the making of one’s individuality and behaviour, it can be nothing more than the environment they are raised in and how they are nurtured. People are sometimes taught into a certain style and norms. Evidently, in religions, whether you’re Christian or Muslim, you are raised up with the customs that follow the religion. So its indoctrinated to you when growing up. Some people may say, no two people have the exact same genes. So everyone is genetically one of a kind. Also, people may have been raised in similar environments, so they are nearly the same nurture-wise. Then, nature could have a bigger impact. The actions of someone’s life can occur without being learned by the individual. It is believed that inherent or innate behaviour comes from the genetic structure of an individual. For instance, alcoholism, bipolar disorder or depression are all psychological disorders that can be passed heritably from a parent to the child. Studies show that children who have alcoholic parents with similar genetics are 4 times more likely to become alcoholic than children with parents are not alcoholic. The question still arises, born or raised an addict? Some would disagree with the fact that it is all in the genetics. Maybe the people around you are the bigger influence in you wanting to take a swig of the booze. And that’s where the social factors come in to play. Likewise, the media could portray the fact that over drinking can be acceptable. With everyone having their own judgments, there is no exact answer to this. In the end, not everyone may come into agreement with this debate. The nature and nurture of an individual can fluctuate to a great extent. Some things are hard to decide if they are inherited or learned by the surroundings. I believe that genes can bring about certain behaviours in an individual. Moreover, that the environment and upbringing can help make the behaviour precede to something more than just behaviour, possibly a talent. For example, a boy may be good at tennis. He will need the proper surroundings where he can develop his skills to play more tennis. Nature and nurture work  hand in hand. Nature needs nurture to convey the behaviour of an individual. Thus, the known terms of this distinguished debate should not be ‘nature versus nurture’ but ‘nature and nurture’. ï » ¿Are we humans the product of nature or nurture? Essay Nature is how much of your personality is genetic, what you were born with. Nurture is how much of your personality was caused because of your environment, how you were raised. So does nature or nurture contribute more to someone’s personality and behaviour? Or do they both play a role in shaping our lives? I hope to come to a conclusion with this debate in the end of my thesis. With nurturing, people tend to observe others actions and behaviour, and try to be like others. As a result, the human behaviour is the result of experience and imitating. The social learning theory suggests that we learn through imitation and observation. It also suggests that people learn within the environment and get approval from the public by learning through an influential model. Bandura, a known psychologist found that according to this theory, a model can be the main cause for learning new actions. However, when there is a role model that illustrates bad behaviour, that behaviour could be imitated by young children. A few psychologists criticised Bandura’s theories- where children behaved more aggressively after observing violent acts from their family members. This meant that children, who witness their parent’s aggressive behaviour, have a higher risk of being abusive later on in their life. This theory is also questionable as there could be other factors, like genetics, which affect the behaviour. Our behaviour is more influenced by the genes we inherit than the environment we are brought up in. When socialisation does affect our identities, genetic and hormonal factors have a greater impact. For instance, there was a twin study, where the research twins had been separated at birth and adopted by different families. They both had met a wife with the same name, and their dogs had the same name, with many other striking similarities. They met 39 years after being separated. This proves that intelligence and talents are more likely genetic than environmental. Some scientists say, when contrasts are made between genetically connected twins, it is simple and easy to take account on the similarities and then overlook the behaviours that are distinct. For a person’s physical features; the appearance, genes play a bigger role. Yet, in the making of one’s individuality and behaviour, it can be nothing more than the environment they are raised in and how they are nurtured. People are sometimes taught into a certain style and norms. Evidently, in religions, whether you’re Christian or Muslim, you are raised up with the customs that follow the religion. So its indoctrinated to you when growing up. Some people may say, no two people have the exact same genes. So everyone is genetically one of a kind. Also, people may have been raised in similar environments, so they are nearly the same nurture-wise. Then, nature could have a bigger impact. The actions of someone’s life can occur without being learned by the individual. It is believed that inherent or innate behaviour comes from the genetic structure of an individual. For instance, alcoholism, bipolar disorder or depression are all psychological disorders that can be passed heritably from a parent to the child. Studies show that children who have alcoholic parents with similar genetics are 4 times more likely to become alcoholic than children with parents are not alcoholic. The question still arises, born or raised an addict? Some would disagree with the fact that it is all in the genetics. Maybe the people around you are the bigger influence in you wanting to take a swig of the booze. And that’s where the social factors come in to play. Likewise, the media could portray the fact that over drinking can be acceptable. With everyone having their own judgments, there is no exact answer to this. In the end, not everyone may come into agreement with this debate. The nature and nurture of an individual can fluctuate to a great extent. Some things are hard to decide if they are inherited or learned by the surroundings. I believe that genes can bring about certain behaviours in an individual. Moreover, that the environment and upbringing can help make the behaviour precede to something more than just behaviour, possibly a talent. For example, a boy may be good at tennis. He will need the proper surroundings where he can develop his skills to play more tennis. Nature and nurture work hand in hand. Nature needs nurture to convey the behaviour of an individual. Thus, the known terms of this distinguished debate should not be ‘nature versus nurture’ but ‘nature and nurture’. ï » ¿Are we humans the product of nature or nurture? Essay Nature is how much of your personality is genetic, what you were born with. Nurture is how much of your personality was caused because of your environment, how you were raised. So does nature or nurture contribute more to someone’s personality and behaviour? Or do they both play a role in shaping our lives? I hope to come to a conclusion with this debate in the end of my thesis. With nurturing, people tend to observe others actions and behaviour, and try to be like others. As a result, the human behaviour is the result of experience and imitating. The social learning theory suggests that we learn through imitation and observation. It also suggests that people learn within the environment and get approval from the public by learning through an influential model. Bandura, a known psychologist found that according to this theory, a model can be the main cause for learning new actions. However, when there is a role model that illustrates bad behaviour, that behaviour could be imitated by young children. A few psychologists criticised Bandura’s theories- where children behaved more aggressively after observing violent acts from their family members. This meant that children, who witness their parent’s aggressive behaviour, have a higher risk of being abusive later on in their life. This theory is also questionable as there could be other factors, like genetics, which affect the behaviour. Our behaviour is more influenced by the genes we inherit than the environment we are brought up in. When socialisation does affect our identities, genetic and hormonal factors have a greater impact. For instance, there was a twin study, where the research twins had been separated at birth and adopted by different families. They both had met a wife with the same name, and their dogs had the same name, with many other striking similarities. They met 39 years after being separated. This proves that intelligence and talents are more likely genetic than environmental. Some scientists say, when contrasts are made between genetically connected twins, it is simple and easy to take account on the similarities and then overlook the behaviours that are distinct. For a person’s physical features; the appearance, genes play a bigger role. Yet, in the making of one’s individuality and behaviour, it can be nothing more than the environment they are raised in and how they are nurtured. People are sometimes taught into a certain style and norms. Evidently, in religions, whether you’re Christian or Muslim, you are raised up with the customs that follow the religion. So its indoctrinated to you when growing up. Some people may say, no two people have the exact same genes. So everyone is genetically one of a kind. Also, people may have been raised in similar environments, so they are nearly the same nurture-wise. Then, nature could have a bigger impact. The actions of someone’s life can occur without being learned by the individual. It is believed that inherent or innate behaviour comes from the genetic structure of an individual. For instance, alcoholism, bipolar disorder or depression are all psychological disorders that can be passed heritably from a parent to the child. Studies show that children who have alcoholic parents with similar genetics are 4 times more likely to become alcoholic than children with parents are not alcoholic. The question still arises, born or raised an addict? Some would disagree with the fact that it is all in the genetics. Maybe the people around you are the bigger influence in you wanting to take a swig of the booze. And that’s where the social factors come in to play. Likewise, the media could portray the fact that over drinking can be acceptable. With everyone having their own judgments, there is no exact answer to this. In the end, not everyone may come into agreement with this debate. The nature and nurture of an individual can fluctuate to a great extent. Some things are hard to decide if they are inherited or learned by the surroundings. I believe that genes can bring about certain behaviours in an individual. Moreover, that the environment and upbringing can help make the behaviour precede to something more than just behaviour, possibly a talent. For example, a boy may be good at tennis. He will need the proper surroundings where he can develop his skills to play more tennis. Nature and nurture work hand in hand. Nature needs nurture to convey the behaviour of an individual. Thus, the known terms of this distinguished debate should not be ‘nature versus nurture’ but ‘nature and nurture’.

The Legal Drinking Age Act Of 1984 - 1758 Words

Alcohol is a legal, soothing drug which changes how an individual feels. Drinking level for men and women are different. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states the difference between men and women drinking alcohol as well as injuries and deaths as a result of excessive alcohol use. Some injuries and deaths as a result of disproportionate alcohol use includes: Men consistently have higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations than women, men are almost twice as likely as women to have been intoxicated among drivers in fatal motor-vehicle traffic crashes, excessive alcohol consumption increases aggression, and men are more likely than women to commit suicide, and more likely to have been drinking prior to committing suicide (CDC). In the United States, the legal age limit to drink alcohol is 21 because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. However, that age group accounts for 17.5% of consumer spending for alcohol nationwide and 90% of that is consumed through binge drinking (Tracy). The legal drinking age is one of America’s most frequently violated drug law. Furthermore, many have still not realized that having such a high minimum age is doing more harm than good (Tracy). Would would happen if the legal drinking age in America changed from 21 to 18? The members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving suggested lowering the drinking age, declaring that drunk driving fatalities increased substantially after many states lowered theirShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States Essay1500 Words   |  6 PagesThe legal drinking age in the United States was ruled to be 21 in 1984, setting the country apart from almost all other western nations. These past 30 years have contained as much problems regarding the consumption of alcohol as one of the country’s biggest failures ever, the 18th amendment, otherwise known as prohibition. Also, the legal drinking age in the United States can be considered violation of states liberties, as the national government, albeit with good intentions, has intervened and onlyRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered1732 Words   |  7 PagesThe definition of the word adult is: â€Å"a person who has attained the age of maturity as specified by law†(Dictionary.com). If this is so, then why is it that in the United States 18 year olds are legally considered adults in our society, but they can’t legally buy or consume alcohol? Yet at this age they are able to vote in an election, get married, serve on a jury, live on their own, purchase cigarettes, adopt a child, and defend our country. These are not easy tasks for one to take on, yet our governmentRead MoreMinimum Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered733 Wor ds   |  3 PagesMinimum Legal Drinking Age Should be Lowered â€Å"Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.† (Amethyst Initiative: Rethink the Drinking Age). The causes behind the minimum legal drinking age standardization nationally has not been alleviated in the past couple decades and should be repealed. The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered to the age of eighteen whichRead MoreFor Years, The Debate About Deciding A Minimum Legal Drinking1638 Words   |  7 Pagesyears, the debate about deciding a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) has plagued the United States. The arguments can include that intoxicated driving accidents will increase if the MLDA was lowered or that the current MLDA is not decreasing drinking among young adults at all. The torn arguments between ages eighteen and twenty-one have not proven one age to be the right answer to the problem of deciding a drinking age, but if the ML DA was lowered to age eighteen, it would be the most beneficial choiceRead MoreThe Generations Of People Who Were Born After 1984 Have1284 Words   |  6 PagesThe generations of people who were born after 1984 have only known the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to be 21 years old. But, it was not so long ago when the minimum legal drinking age was 18. In 1984 Congress passed the MLDA Act as a result of the rise in drunk driving accidents involving teens and alcohol related deaths. This Act ultimately made the states raise their MLDA to 21 from 18 for fear of losing federal highway funds. There have been many debates about it and whether or not it shouldRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States1479 Words   |  6 Pages The legal drinking age in the United States has been argued for many decades. The current minimal legal drinking age is twenty-one but some want to lower between eighteen and twenty. The main focus of the research conducted and opinions of people are based on the minimal legal drinking age of eighteen. The research is taken from the 1970s, when the twenty-sixth Amendment was passed in the Constitution (Wagenaar, 206). It was stated that eighteen is the â€Å"age of majority†, so thirty-nine of theRead MoreKeeping The Minimum Drinking Age864 Words   |  4 PagesKeeping the Minimum Drinking Age In 1984, the United States’ federal government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Under this act, the federal government gives highway funds to States that forbid people under the age of twenty-one years old from â€Å"purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages†(23 U.S.C.  § 158). The incentive created a sense of a standardized minimum drinking age when legally there cannot be a federal minimum drinking age. Even though this Act has been in effectRead MoreLowering The National Drinking Age1698 Words   |  7 PagesLowering the National Drinking Age Winston Churchill was infamous for his one liners and occasional drunken outbursts. One night at a party, he shocked a rather prominent woman with his drunken atrocities. Insulted, she turned to him and said, â€Å"Mr. Churchill, you are as drunk as a dog.† The Prime Minister returned, â€Å"Madam, I may be very drunk, but you are very ugly. But tomorrow,† he added, â€Å"I shall be sober† (Churchill, W). The use and abuse of alcohol is a centuries old vice that has circumnavigatedRead MoreKeeping The Minimum Drinking Age880 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Minimum Drinking Age In 1984, the United States’ federal government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Under this Act, the federal government gives highway funds to States that forbid people under the age of twenty-one years old from â€Å"purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages†(23 U.S.C.  § 158). The incentive created a sense of a standardized minimum drinking age despite the fact that legally there cannot be a federal minimum drinking age. Even though this Act has been inRead MoreThe Current Legal Drinking Age997 Words   |  4 Pagesof drinking until they reach the age of 21. Hence, when they encounter methods around this predicament-and most of them do-young adults often participate in the reckless consumption of alcohol in large quantities. II. Thesis: Essentially, the most obvious way to resolve this societal flaw is to lower the minimum legal drinking age and to commence educating our youth about mature alcohol use sooner. III. Credibility: Like many others, I have directly been affected by the minimum drinking age in

Internet Addiction Disorder - Short Essay - 707 Words

Internet Addiction Disorder Computer and the Internet become useful tools in every day life. People are able to work on-line, chat, play games, or do their businesses. Although Internet brings many advantages it also carry a variety of dangers, including the possibility of addiction. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is a new kind of addiction, which manifests itself in an excessive computer use that usually collides with person’s daily life. The fundamental problem of IAD is not a computer. Person is not addicted to the machine but to the emotional states that arise as a result of his/her own activities accomplished by the computer and through the computer. For instance, an on-line games player may become addicted to the strong†¦show more content†¦Dr. Kimberly Young, who is one of the first people working on research on IAD, writes that Internet addiction can be defined, as an impulse control disorder, yet does not cause intoxication. She created the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) to diagnose this disorder. Internet addiction has a significant impact on the deterioration in the following areas of human functioning: social, professional and psychological. Dr. Young specify the criteria of which five have to be met before someone is consider an addict. Questions diagnosing these criteria are: †¢ Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous or subsequent stays in the network)? †¢ Do you feel the need to use the Internet for longer periods of time? †¢ Have you had many unsuccessful attempts to control the time limit or stop Internet use? †¢ Did you feel restless, moody, irritated, depressed when you tried to reduce their time on the Internet or stop using it? †¢ Do you stay online longer than originally planned? †¢ Do you risk losing important relationships, work, career or study because of the internet? †¢ Have you tricked a family therapists, relatives or to hide the growing problem of Internet? †¢ Are you using the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or a way of aggravated mood (feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)? (www.netaddiction.com. 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