Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Gandhi s Theory Of The Indian Subcontinent s Enslavements

In 1906, a young Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi, carried out his earliest deed of Satyagraha—a doctrine to practice passive or nonviolent resistance. He was successful in standing up against the Transvaal province’s government in the Republic of South Africa. It was only two years later when Gandhi gained access to a letter written by the renowned Russian author, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy to the editor of the Free Hindustan newspaper in South Africa. In this letter, referred to as Letter to a Hindu, Tolstoy addresses the roots of the Indian subcontinent’s enslavements by the British as well as methods to alleviate it. Intrigued by the letter, Gandhi wrote to Tolstoy, asking for permission to translate the letter to Guajarati, in an effort to share Tolstoy’s wisdom with the others in the community. Gandhi continually sought advice from Tolstoy from that point onwards; the correspondence between the two went on until 1910 when Tolstoy passed away. The letter profoundly shaped young Gandhi’s Satyagraha ideology, setting a robust basis that Gandhi further develops. Tolstoy starts each segment of the letter with a quote from one of the four Vedas, the Bible, Vivekananda, the Hindu Kural, or Krishna. Each quote speaks of the chief themes addressed in Tolstoy’s letter: nonviolent resistance and love. Krishna, for instance, is the god that personifies love and obliterates obscenity and agony. Born to institute love, Krishna is the most quoted of the five. Vivekananda is a 19thShow MoreRelatedJohn Brown And Thomas Cobb2182 Words   |  9 Pagesseveral theories of racism and slavery but a few of them are universally accepted. Two universally accepted theories has been mentioned and discussed in this work along with the influences of each of them over other and upon the society. The comparison, understanding and contrast of these theories of John Brown and Thomas Cobb has been elaborated completely. The research done in this paper is all about the compassion and contrast in the two ideologies of racism and slavery. The theories of John BrownRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagestraffic during the seventeenth century. The same was true in the largest migrations of any period before the mid-nineteenth century: the move of 10 million African slaves across the Atlantic and of a similar number across the Sahara Desert and the Indian Ocean.11 The movement of Chinese and South Asians before 1820 was generally freer, dominated by traders and short-term debt arrangements. But slave raiding was still common in the waters of Southeast Asia and, like African slavery, grew increasingly

Monday, December 23, 2019

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Essay - 1033 Words

Charles Dickens, the greatest novelist of the Victorian period, is well known for his skillful use of irony in moments of coincidence and chance within his stories. In one of his most famous books, A Tale of Two Cities, he showcases this skill by forming small connections between various characters throughout the story. These minute connections end up playing important, plot-twisting roles in the story. Dickens’ use of coincidence and chance weaves and enhances the plot, making readers consider how all of the precise details come into play as the plot thickens and shows that even the smallest detail can change a person’s fate. Dickens’ proficient use of irony through chance is shown through detailed character descriptions, the†¦show more content†¦Later on, coincidentally, Darnay and Lucie get married, and Carton becomes very involved with their family. In the end, Carton switches places with Charles Darnay, the man he once hated, to save his life for Lu cie’s happiness. Therefore, if Sydney Carton had not recognized the parallels between Charles Darnay and himself, the life of Charles Darnay would not have been spared, and Lucie Manette would have lived a disconsolate life. However, the fate of the innocent man is soon to be altered by a rekindled relationship between three important people. Charles Darnay’s fate is changed again by an impromptu reunion of a certain brother and sister, John Barsad and Miss Pross. On an afternoon in Paris, Miss Pross, Lucie’s caretaker, and Jerry Cruncher, the honest tradesman, walk through the streets of Paris, and stop by the Defarge’s wine-shop on the streets of St. Antoine. Dickens writes, â€Å"After peeping into several wine-shops, she stopped at the sign of the Good Republican Brutus of Antiguity† (227). Out of all the wine-shops in Paris, Miss Pross coincidentally ends up in the same wine-shop that her estranged brother John Barsad is in, too. This is an example of chance because two characters, that have not seen each other in many years, happen to reunite because of one, minute decision on Miss Pross’ preference of wine. Sydney Carton also enters the wine-shop, after following John Barsad fromShow MoreRelatedA Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens1420 Words   |  6 Pageshistory – th e best of times and the worst of times. The violence enacted by the citizens of French on their fellow countrymen set a gruesome scene in the cities and country sides of France. Charles Dickens uses a palate of storm, wine, and blood imagery in A Tale of Two Cities to paint exactly how tremendously brutal this period of time was. Dickens use of storm imagery throughout his novel illustrates to the reader the tremulous, fierce, and explosive time period in which the course of events takesRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1024 Words   |  5 PagesAt the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens writes, â€Å"every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other (14).† Throughout the novel, Dickens incorporates the theme of secrets to connect characters and add mystery to the story. The three characters with the significant secrets are Charles Darnay, Alexandre Manette, and Madame Defarge. Darnay, Manette, and Defarge are all of French blood, living in either France or England in the heat of the FrenchRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1704 Words   |  7 PagesA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a novel set during the time of the French Revolution in England and France. The Revolution is a time of great danger and constant change. Dickens’ novel expresses the theme of fate through metaphors in many different ways. These metaphors connect the fates of Dickens’ characters that are intertwined in some way whether they are aware of how they are connected or not. Charles Dickens illustrates to his readers that fate is predetermined as shown throughRead MoreCharles Dickens Tale Of Two Cities1079 Words   |  5 PagesFated Coincidences Charles Dickens was a distinguished writer during the 1800s and was inspired by Thomas Carlyle’s book French Revolution. Dickens was influenced by this book to write his novel Tale of Two Cities. Even though he wrote the book seventy years after the French Revolution, he studied many different books from two wagons from Carlyle which he sent as a joke. Throughout the book Tale of Two Cities, Dickens has a recurring theme of fate. Dickens illustrates that everyone’s lives areRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1831 Words   |  8 Pagesthese horrific acts, there was a revival of French spirit after the Revolution had ended, in the sense that the French are resurging after being an inch from death. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens shows the reader that the general idea of resurrection can occur at any given point of time. The novel is set in two cities, London and Paris, during the French Revolution. The story begins with Mr. Lorry, an official from Tellson’s Bank in London, and Lucie Manette as they make their way to ParisRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens987 Words   |  4 PagesIn a Tale of Two cities. Dickens juxtapositions suspense and humor in a intricate tale of love and loyalty. The book takes place in the late 18th century, during the french revolution. the book is set in England and France, more specifically London and Paris. These are the two cities that the book centers around. In the city of London, the neighborhood of SoHo, and Paris, the french countryside, and city of Dover. b city houses, palace of Versailles. The house in Paris where the Darnay s stayedRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1363 Words   |  6 PagesTale of Two Cities A Tale of Two Cities is a 19th century novel that conveys the terror of the French Revolution through the story of the Manette and Darnay family. Charles Dickens intertwined characters throughout the novel to convey the equivocal viewpoint of the citizens throughout England. The ambiguous characters of Charles Darnay, Madame Defarge, and Mr. Carton, work to show both the innocence and savagery of the revolution. Charles Darnay spent the early years of his life as nobilityRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pagesanxiety, and misery, the French Revolution was a trying time for all involved, even the characters crafted by Charles Dickens’ imagination. Charles Dickens’ strongly enforces the hardships of this arduous era in his remarkable novel, A Tale of Two Cities, while exhibiting his keen ability to leave hints for the readers, allowing them to predict upcoming events in his skillfully fashioned plot. Dickens utilizes vivid imagery to construct menacing settings. He presents his characters as impulsive to indicateRead MoreA Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens1398 Words   |  6 PagesHuman Cruelty is a Result of Hatred Charles Dickens is a very famous novelist, who was born on February 7, 1812, in his home of Portsmouth, England. He was a very dedicated man with a great imagination, and he shows his writing skills in his book A Tale of Two Cities, a historical fiction that focuses on the French Revolution. In this book Dickens uses both atmosphere and imagery to describe how brutal and inhumane men can be to each other. He uses scenes of a man’s need for tyranny, a man’s needRead MoreA Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens1381 Words   |  6 PagesOf the extraordinary amount of literary devices available to authors, Charles Dickens uses quite a few in his novel A Tale of Two Cities, which is set during the French Revolution. One of his more distinctive devices is character foils. The five sets of foils are Carton and Darnay, Carton and Stryver, Darnay and the Marquis de Evremonde, Madame Defarge, and Mr. Lorry and Jerry Cruncher. Dickens uses foil characters to highlight the virtu es of several major characters in order to show the theme of

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Place You Most Loved to Spend Time as a Child. Free Essays

? Topic: The place you most loved to spend time as a child. Ma Vio’s Kitchen Today, nineteen years after the passing of my grandmother, her kitchen looks the same with its walls in the same pastel orange and green she had painted it in so many years ago. The floral patterns that were done by my cousins and I using ochoes that she had cut in half and potatoes which she carved flowers from to make stamps that we gleefully dipped in containers of paint and placed on the wall hap-hazardly to form various patterns. We will write a custom essay sample on The Place You Most Loved to Spend Time as a Child. or any similar topic only for you Order Now I remembered her being so delighted in the end product that I don’t think there was a neighbour, friend or visitor that my grandmother didn’t boast to about her beautiful kitchen wall hat was so artfully decorated by her clearly talented grand children. I look at those walls to day and sometimes laugh at what persons out side of her family may have thought of her walls of art that anyone could have see were decorated by children all under the age of eleven. Walls that have been laquered to preserve what Ma Vio, as she was lovingly called by everyone, considered a ‘masterpiece that not even the most renowned of painters could have done with such perfection’. My fondest memories however, are not of the many different art projects that Ma Vio encouraged us into doing on her huge kitchen table but of the aromas drifting out of that little haven off of her livingroom. I remembered how she used to have these large bottles filled with all different types of homemade treats lined off on top of the kitchen counter†¦.. ed mangoes, stewed tamarind, tulum, benee balls, sugar cake, fudge you name it Ma Vio made it. Boy! Don’t even get me started on her bread bin that never seemed to run out of mouth watering cakes and pastries†¦. coconut tarts, lemon bread, drops, peanut butter cookies and my favourite banana bread. Mmmhmmm †¦. I can smell it all now†¦. fresh out of the oven. Her pound cake and whole grain bre ad were what my brother used to call ‘the bestest in all of Trinidad and Tobago’, you couldn’t find a bakery for miles with anything that good. You ever had homemade bread where you felt as if you had anything at all with it you’d spoil the taste? That’s how everyone felt about Ma Vio’s bread. It’s good when accompanied by a filling but it’s best when eaten by itself. Ma Vio’s Kitchen smelled like christmas morning almost everyday as she was always busy making or baking something. Her kitchen was my own little ‘snack heaven’ where everything that came from there seemed to taste extra good. By Havilanna Davidson How to cite The Place You Most Loved to Spend Time as a Child., Essays

Friday, December 6, 2019

Credit Risk in Liability Measurement †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Credit Risk in Liability Measurement. Answer: Introduction The term liabilities are mostly comprehensive in that it makes no trial in distinguishing between commitments and liabilities and instead include all obligations from an organization contracts. They are usually viewed as the present obligation in a given firm that might ascend from its historical events, whose settlement is predictable or anticipated to bring about some expenditure from the firm of capitals symbolizing its economic benefits. They represent bargained prices or standard of the recorded costs applying on both side of statement of the financial position in an organization (Upton Jr, 2009). The amount of liabilities ought to represent present value of future cash outflows to which an organization would not be committed in case debentures were not issued at all. Further, liabilities usually result from the previous transactions or other previous occurrences. In this sense, description of the liabilities does not restrict the liabilities to conditions where there are some l egal obligations (Hodder, Hopkins Schipper, 2014). This means that liabilities are to be recognized in specific situation where equity dictates that an obligation to the external parties presently exists. With these considerations, this paper aims to presents the broader understanding of liabilities, how these liabilities are measured as well as some of the issues of measurement of liabilities based on the IASB framework. In addition, the paper also presents relationship that exists between measurement of the liabilities and decision useful information based on JB Hi-Fi annual report. Liabilities are usually viewed as the present obligation in a firm that might come from its previous proceedings, whose settlement is anticipated to bring about some drainage from a form of capitals symbolizing its economic benefits (Costa Guzzo, 2013). As per AISB 44, p.26 liabilities are the present obligations of an organization arising from the previous dealings, settlement of which are anticipated in resulting in outflow from an organization of the capitals symbolizing the economic welfares. As per this for liabilities, there should be anticipated future disposition of the economic welfares to the other firms, there should also be present obligations as well as the past transactions should have created some obligations. Further, definition of the liabilities does not limit liabilities to conditions where there is some legal obligations. They should be recognized in specific conditions where usual business undertaking or equity dictates that all the obligations are to be external parties. Therefore, as per AISB paragraph 4.15, subsection 28, liabilities could include obligations which are legally enforceable and obligations which are deemed as constructive and equitable. Obligations or liabilities arise from the normal business operations, desire and customer in maintaining decent operations or act in reasonable way. For instance, an organization might decide to correct errors in goods whenever these are deceptive once guarantee period expires, these sums are usually anticipated to have expended whenever products sold are liabilities. Liabilities usually result from the previous transactions or other previous occurrences (Deegan, 2016). For instance, acquisition of products and use of services provid e trade payables unless the amount is paid on delivery and receipt of the financial institution loans result in obligation to repay loans. In this sense, description of the liabilities does not restrict the liabilities to conditions where there are some legal obligations (Hodder, Hopkins Schipper, 2014). This means that liabilities are to be recognized in specific situation where equity dictates that an obligation to the external parties presently exists. Prior to issue of the AASB 13, measurement of the liabilities was mainly based on amount needed to settle present obligations. Therefore, as per AASB 13, definition of the fair value is viewed as amount repaid in transferring liabilities. In this case, measuring liabilities at fair value make assumptions that liabilities are transferred into other market paricipants at measurement date. In essence, transfer of the liabilities under AASB 13, 34 (a) assumes that liabilities remain outstanding and market transferee would be needed to fulfill all these obligations. In this case, liabilities are said to remain in existence with market participant assuming liabilities are transferred at the measurement date. In essence, liabilities are measured in numerous means based on the class of liabilities which has some direct implications for the profit reported. For instance, liabilities could be measured at fair value, present value or on amortized cost passed on type of liabilities being considered (Deegan, 2016). Liabilities are usually measured at the amortized cost unless these liabilities are needed to be measured at the fair value where an organization has chosen measuring liabilities at the fair value vial profit or loss (Henderson, Peirson, Herbohn Howieson, 2015). For instance, liabilities for salaries and wages for JB Hi-Fi are recognized in provision for the employees benefits and measured at present value. These are usually measured as the present values of the anticipated or projected future payments that have to be completed in respects of the services offered by personnel to end of reporting period. On other cases, liabilities are measured at fair value whereby it is assumed that liabilities are usually transferred to the market participant at measurement period and that nonperformance risk in relation to liabilities are assumed as being similar after and before the transfer. Thus, reporting organization should consider impacts of credit risk on fair value of liabilities in all times in which liabilities is mostly measured at the fair value. This impact might vary reliant on liabilities, for instance, whether liabilities is the obligation in delivering cash or obligation in delivering nonfinancial liabilities and terms of the credit enhancement in relation to liabilities. For instance, JB Hi-Fi liabilities are approved under AASB 13 at fair value measurements. Furthermore, liabilities are usually measured based on the original transaction value which is the historical costs (Costa Guzzo, 2013). This is the current cash equivalent or cash that is received in exchange for assuming liabilities. For instance, if JB Hi-Fi borrowed $ 2 million cash promised to repay this cash in future, liabilities for the company would be valued at around $2 million, cash received in exchange. In addition, JB Hi-Fi account payables are usually measured at contract-price whereby the amount agreed to be paid for the trade payable is paid in actual amount stated on the initial agreement (JB Hi-Fi, 2014). A crucial feature of liabilities is that an organization has present obligations. These obligations are the duties or responsibilities to perform or act in particular manner. They might be legally enforceable as consequences of statutory requirements or binding contract. The present AISB framework requires estimated of liabilities, resulting from the past occurrence and that are more likely to result in the outflow of the economic resources being treated as the liabilities (AASB, 2004). In essence, according to AISB framework, provisions for overhaul, as well as maintenance would not be taken into account as liabilities of the reporting organization due to absence of obligation to the external organization. There are few disagreements or issues on how liabilities are measured. For instance, liabilities represent bargained prices. Thus, standard of the recorded costs is usually applied on both sections of statement of the financial position. Furthermore, it is argued that amount of liabilities represent present value of future cash payments in which an organization could not be committed in case debentures are not issued (Deegan, 2016). This means that interest rate is presented as current market rate of the interest for the securities of same type. Further, there are some issues in measuring liabilities in that by measuring liabilities is usually to determine burden or weight of obligations on the statement of financial position which is deemed lowest for which obligation should be efficiently discharged. This means that liabilities are measured in a manner that is relatively attuned with measurement of the assets. Components of the AASB frameworks which have been issued give no signal of how the liabilities are to be measured. Some of the most likely techniques provided are current cost, market value and historical costs. Nonetheless, choice of measurement for liabilities has to be determined in reference to objectives or goals of the general purpose financial reporting as well as qualitative features of the financial data. Another issue in measuring liabilities is that it faces an objection to current cash equivalent technique in measuring liabilities since it is said to assume behaviors which are unlikely to take place (Deegan, 2016). In this case, the technique tends to assume that the total liabilities would be settled at end of financial reporting period whenever they are more likely to be permitted to run into maturity. In addition, measurement of liabilities covered by IASB framework particularly contingent liabilities has been quite difficult due to lack of transparency regarding nature of these contingencies and diversity in the application of accounting guideline in relation to measuring and recognizing these liabilities (Pieri, 2010). Further, measuring liabilities at fair value reflects price that would come in reasonably efficient market and provided that the prior empirical study finds support for the market efficiency being the impediment of financial distress, there is an argument that measurement of liabilities at fair value has evolved without any coherent theoretical basis, hence; there is some issues on how standard setters of IASB framework manages to operationalize these complexity of fair value measurement reflecting the efficient price. This means that measurement of liabilities at fair value lack any unified theory as it only employ some complex assumptions. Measurement of liabili ties at fair value also have some issues in that when credit risks in the liability measurement increases, the reported value of the liabilities is said to decrease, with variation in the value reported as the income statement profit. These gains or profit are said to be counterintuitive making the area of measurement of liabilities at fair value a questionable measurement approach (Costa Guzzo, 2013). Another issue in measuring liabilities is showing the impact of the own credit risks for the liabilities recognized at the fair value; that is, variation in the value as a result of variation in liabilities credit risks. This could result in some gains being recognized in the income whenever liabilities has had credit downgrade or losses being recognized when credit risk improves. This issue is problematic in case IASB had adopted a technique same to measurement and classification of the assets, where the hybrid instruments are accounted for at the fair value (Teixeira, 2014). Liabilities treatment and categorization results in any payment of instruments being treated as interests or being charged to the earnings. This might affect an organizations capacity in repaying its dividends on shares. Liabilities are recognized in the annual report whenever it is possible that drainage of the capitals symbolizing the economic welfares would arise from the payment of the current obligations and sum at which payment would take place could be measured dependably. In determining whether liabilities are in existence, actions or intentions of the management has to be taken into consideration (Beke, 2013). This implies representation or actions of an organization governing body or management, or variation in economic environment, that might directly influence actions or reasonable expectations of those outside organization, and even if they do not have any legal entitlement, they could have some other sanctions which could leave an organization with unrealistic alternati ves in making particular future sacrifice of some economic benefits. These obligations are at times referred to as the constructive or equitable obligations. In determining whether constructive or equitable obligations really exists, and thus whether liability has to be recognized in balance sheet of an organization, it is relatively tricky than identifying the legal obligations and at many instances judgment is needed in determining if constructive or equitable obligation exists (Deegan, 2016). The most important considerations is mainly on whether an organization has realistic alternatives in making any future sacrifice of the economic benefits. Liabilities are also categorized into non-current and current liabilities. The non-current liabilities comprises of those liabilities that an organization anticipate to settle after a short period from reporting date whilst current liabilities are those liabilities an organization anticipate to repay before one year ends from reporting date (Barker McGeachin, 2011). In the annual report, those liabilities categorized as non-current liabilities includes debenture and long-term debt or loans while current liabilities include bank overdraft, tax payable, trade payables as well as short-term loans. This is mainly based on liquidity expected timing of future sacrifice, level of the security of the guarantee, conditions attached to liabilities as well as source of the liabilities. Basically, in JB Hi-Fi annual report 2016, liabilities are categorized into current liabilities and non-current liabilities. In this case, current liabilities are trade and the other payables, provisions, the current tax liabilities, deferred revenue as well as other current liabilities totaling to around $1,257.2 million (JB Hi-Fi, 2014). On the other hand, non-current liabilities for JB Hi-Fi comprised of borrowings, provisions, deferred revenue as well as other non-current liabilities totaling to $555.3 million. A decision by an organizations management in acquitting assets does not give rise to the present liabilities. Instead a liability is said to arise whenever assets are delivered or an organization enter into some irrevocable agreement in acquiring assets. Therefore, liabilities could also be measured by utilizing significant degree of the approximation which is useful in decision making process (Australian Accounting Research Foundation, 1998). Further, liabilities are usually documented at sum of the profits acknowledged in exchange of obligations or at sum of the cash equivalents or cash estimated to be repaid in order to gratify liabilities in normal operations of an organization this significant in decision making information since it assist in ascertaining whether an organization in having significant amount of liabilities or not. They are also carried at undiscounted amount of cash equivalent which would be needed in settling obligations (Deegan, 2016). Basically, liabilities ar e usually logged at present discount value of the net cash outflows which is expected to be needed in settling liabilities in normal operations of the business this is significant when it comes to decision making information. This is because by measuring liabilities at present discount value the company would be getting relevant information that is crucial for decision making process. The nonperformance risks are those risks where an obligation or a liability would not be fulfilled and impacts value at which liabilities are transferred. Thus, fair value of liabilities is crucial since it indicate nonperformance risk in relation to liabilities which is crucial during decision-making process in an organization (Deegan, 2016). Furthermore, measurement of liabilities at the fair value via profit or loss is closely related in decision making information since specific liabilities are usually needed to be at the fair value via the profit or loss like liabilities held for derivatives and trading whilst others are usually measured at the amortized cost unless these liabilities has some embedded derivative or an organization elects fair value option. According to Upton (2009), liabilities are said to remain in existence and are dealt with by market participants making assumption of the liabilities transferred at the measurement period. Further, for some liabilities, it is found that observable market might exist and the quoted price might be used in measuring fair value of liabilities. Nonetheless, in case such case is not available, the assessment methods have to be utilized. The main goal of using fair value measurement for liabilities when applying valuation methods is to appraise price which would be repaid in transferring liabilities in between the market players at measurement period under the current market situations. Therefore, in all scenarios, an organization has to maximize utilization of the most significant observable inputs as well as minimize utilization of the unobservable inputs. In other cases, measuring of liabilities is help as the assets by other firms which is useful in decision making of an organization. F or instance, loans are recognized by JB Hi-Fi as debts, where the measurement of these loans is mostly at fair value and is computed from perspective of the market player which holds identical items as the asset at the measurement date (JB Hi-Fi, 2014). These are also crucial for decision making since they help in evaluating the liquidity level of JB Hi-Fi where the total value of its liabilities or debts is related with its total assets in order to obtain total debt to assets ratios which is used in evaluating long-term solvency level of the company. In addition, measurement of liabilities is related to decision making information since it provide useful information on how an organization use to repay its liabilities which is crucial in decision making. Conclusion In conclusion, liabilities are usually viewed as the present obligation in a firm that might come from its previous proceedings, whose payment is anticipated or anticipated to bring about some drainage from a firm of capitals symbolizing its economic benefits. They represent bargained prices or standard of the recorded costs applying on both side of statement of the financial position in an organization. This means that liabilities are to be recognized in specific situation where equity dictates that an obligation to the external parties presently exists. Further, it can be concluded that there are numerous disagreements on how liabilities are measured. This is based on the fact liabilities could be measured at fair value, present value or on amortized cost passed on type of liabilities being considered. For instance, in our case, liabilities on salaries and wages payables for JB Hi-Fi are recognized in provision for the employees benefits and measured at fair value. There are few di sagreements or issues on how liabilities are measured. For instance, liabilities represent bargained prices. Thus, standard of the recorded costs is usually applied on both sections of statement of the financial position. Furthermore, it is can be concluded that amount of liabilities represent present value of future cash payments in which an organization could not be committed in case debentures are not issued. Further, there are some issues in measuring liabilities in that by measuring liabilities is usually to determine burden or weight of obligations on the statement of financial position which is deemed lowest for which obligation should be efficiently discharged. This means that liabilities are measured in a manner that is relatively attuned with measurement of the assets. Another issue in measuring liabilities is that it faces an objection to current cash equivalent technique in measuring liabilities since it is said to assume behaviors which are unlikely to take place. References AASB, F. (2004). Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements. AASB (AASB). Australian Accounting Research Foundation (AARF), (1998). Measurement in Financial Accounting, Accounting Theory Monograph, AARF, Melbourne, p. 36. Barker, R., McGeachin, A. (2011). The recognition and measurement of liabilities in IFRS. Beke, J. (2013). International Accounting Standardization. Chartridge Books Oxford. Clor-Proell, S., Koonce, L., White, B. (2015). How do financial statement users evaluate hybrid financial instruments?. Costa, M., Guzzo, G. (2013). Fair value accounting versus historical cost accounting: A theoretical framework for judgement in financial crisis. Corporate Ownership Control, 11(1), 146-152. Deegan, C., (2016). Australian Financial Accounting, 8th edition, North Ryde : McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9781743764022 (pbk) Henderson, S., Peirson, G., Herbohn, K., Howieson, B. (2015). Issues in financial accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU. Hodder, L., Hopkins, P., Schipper, K. (2014). Fair value measurement in financial reporting. Foundations and Trends in Accounting, 8(3-4), 143-270. JB Hi-Fi. (2014). JB Hi-Fi annual report 2014; Retrieved at 8th May 2017 from; https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/J/ASX_JBH_2014.pdf Pieri, V. (2010). The relevance and the dynamics of goodwill values under IAS/IFRS: empirical evidences from the 2005-2009 consolidated financial statements of the major companies listed in Italy. Teixeira, A. (2014). The International Accounting Standards Board and evidence-informed standard-setting. Accounting in Europe, 11(1), 5-12. Upton Jr, W. S. (2009). Credit risk in liability measurement. Staff paper accompanying Discussion Paper DP, 2.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Lets Change College Sports Essays - Youth, Student Athlete

Lets Change College Sports There is not a better feeling in the world to an athlete than suiting up for a game and playing their heart out. Being an athlete involves strength, stamina, critical thinking, and a passion for the sport they are playing. Colleges offer many sports that range anywhere from Rowing and Polo to Football and Baseball. College sports have gained a lot of attention over the years due to the athlete's passion and desire to be involved in sports. Being nationally televised and making it to big tournaments can provide funds to colleges and universities, that they can respectfully cash in. While these funds provided by tournaments and bowl games are a strong advantage for the schools, athletes gain no income from their hard work and natural abilities. It is not fair that athletes do not receive any benefits for their countless hours and dedication they put into sports. Therefore, college athletes should be paid for their duties. Being an athlete and a college student can be difficult to juggle and balance. Many times being an athlete conflicts with the scheduling of classes." Athletes don't have have free choice of what major they take if the classes conflict with their practice schedules"(qtd. Cooper 1 ). By eliminating a large chunk of an athlete's free time, and expecting the athlete to be fully dedicated to that team, there needs to be some sort of reward in return for this loyalty and dedication. Jobs use this same tactic by providing their employees with pay checks in order to get necessary work done. Since athletes are providing work, like in a job, they should be paid, like a job. Athletes experience a lot of struggles in their college careers. According to Robert McCormick, who was an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board under President Jimmy Carter, stated, " There are more demands put on these young men than any employee of the university" (qtd. in Cooper 1). Robert McCormick said it be st without having to go into detail of the grueling practices, and time consuming homework assignments that affect these young players. With all this work being done, student athletes cant help but to feel, " somethings gotta give." These athletes more than work for or earn their pay. Student athletes not only have the pressure of being successful in sports, but also in their studies. To be part of the team, must maintain certain grades and show up to every practice for multiple hours. The stress these athletes go through is enough to make any person want to give up. Colleges and sports programs can greatly benefit from sports. Because colleges and sports programs benefit from the work the athletes do, many athletes feel they should be rewarded. Sports programs make extreme revenues due to certain players, and the work they do. " The NCAA reported $ 871.6 million in revenue for the 2011-2012 academic year." (Tarbush 1). Without players working hard to boost college athletic programs, the programs would not be able to manage this type of income. Athletes should be rewarded with an income as well since everyone else benefits from their talents. Not only networks but also the college receive revenue generated from college sports. " College football and men's basketball generate revenues of more than 6 billion every year ." (Bagaria, Akash, Birkenes 1). If schools are making this type of money from their athletes, there is no reason the athletes cannot make something from the college or university. Colleges and universities not only benefit from the games but also from the players themselves. By placing the numbers on jerseys and hats, colleges are able to sell highly popular merchandise to the fans. If a player's talents are good enough to entice the fans to spend tremendous amounts of money, then the colleges and/or universities should be willing to reward the player with some sum of money. College athletes may bring in tremendous amounts of money for their schools, but they are under appreciated and treated unfairly. Athletes feel mistreated because they provide a service that is in high demand for no pay. According to, Andrew Zimbalist, an Economist, " No other industry in the United States manages not

Monday, November 25, 2019

To what extent do market failures result in a similar optimal allocation of resources to the innovation process Essays

To what extent do market failures result in a similar optimal allocation of resources to the innovation process Essays To what extent do market failures result in a similar optimal allocation of resources to the innovation process Essay To what extent do market failures result in a similar optimal allocation of resources to the innovation process Essay Innovation has a crucial impact on the standards of living in particular economy. It is generally agreed that research and innovation are the main sources of growth and job creation in market economies. i. e. output is increased through greater acquisition of knowledge. Subsequently, 2 things matter for economic growth: savings and the state of the productive knowledge (i. e. shows how productivity the extra capital will be used). The production function diagram below can illustrate this Where labour productivity per worker experiences diminishing marginal returns This diagram shows how economic growth can be realised by accumulation of capital and/or higher levels of knowledge. It should be noted that productivity growth is the difference between the growth of inputs and the growth of outputs and that technological progress is measured as residual-so that any problems with measuring inputs or outputs, will be transferred onto measuring technological progress. There are 2 movements on the diagram: a to b due to the accumulation of capital and b to c due to the growth of productivity or technical progress. The difficulty with this is that if knowledge had not changed, the movement from a to b will not have been experienced. The only reason capital has been accumulated is due to the increase in technical progress. Generally speaking technological progress generates new wealth in two ways: either through innovative process which help to increase the productivity of labour and capital and thus enable production levels to increase and/or to save available resources, or through innovative products which lead to the creation of new markets and industries and give a boost to investment and create jobs, Hence the principal source of growth is innovation. A general consensus states a positive incidence of technological progress on growth, competitiveness and employment. Enormous amounts of money are spent on innovation and studies reveal that the economic return on innovation is very high in relative terms. Reviewing the diagram on returns to innovation below can see this. Graph2 The demand curve indicates the marginal valuations of this particular product and it is assumed that a single monopoly supplier produces the goods with constant marginal costs c and sets prices above marginal costs at P. The private rate of return is B as the firm exploits its product and receives a private rate of return extended over time against the cost of innovation. The social rate of return is larger as it is the sum of the private return and consumer surplus i. e. (A+D). Better measures can be seen empirically as Nadiri (1993) concluded that the private return on innovation was usually around 20 to 30% and the average social return close to 50%. This begs the question, why are such less resources devoted to innovation even though the rate of returns to society is so high? There are many reasons to this, which I shall discuss later, but crucially it depends on the view of markets and competition. There are 3 types of views: classical (emphasis on the rate of return equalises at the competition level), the dominant view of neoclassical state of equilibrium underpinning welfare economics and economic allocation) and the dynamic view of Austrians (looks at markets as creative and focuses on innovation as an economic process and entrepreneurs as key agents). In the early 1960s various specialist agreed perfect competition was incompatible with innovation as it required huge resources and exploitation of innovation suspected increasing returns. It was typically found that industries that regarded innovation as important were concentrated industries not perfectly competitive which were consistent with Pareto optimality, Hence the reason why neoclassical firms did not optimally allocate resources to organise and fund innovation. Numerous authors like Arrow (1960), Mansfield (1968) and Nordhaus (1969) pointed to market failure- that prevent the attainment of pareto equilibria by violating one or other of the conditions for perfect competition and explained that absence of the government in the free operation of the market would lead companies to under invest in basic innovation. Market failure may be explained in terms of four aspects: uncertainties (missing markets), appropriability, indivisibility and public goods. The innovation process both generates and is influenced by uncertainty and this aspect of market failure is particularly damaging to the possibility of a Pareto-efficient allocation of resources to invention and innovation. It is the inherent level of uncertainty, which most distinguishes an R+D project from a traditional industrial investment project. Innovation entails numerous scientific, technological and commercial uncertainties, which make it difficult for financial bankers to forecast results and monitor their investment project. Put briefly, missing or future markets for contingent claims in an uncertain world do not exist in any sense sufficiently for individuals to take risks in an optimal fashion. In addition to the uncertainties, providers of capital face another major difficulty: this derives from the intangible nature of innovation and the fact that investment cost is not recoverable. Consequently, the percentage of innovation projects, which are successful and generate a return on a large investment, is usually low. Thus financial backers insist on real guarantees to cover themselves if the investment fails. It is difficult to ascertain optimal levels of innovation in an uncertain world due to the existence of information asymmetries; Stiglitz (1991) makes it clear, that the resulting unequal distribution of knowledge creates problems of adverse selection and moral hazard, which deny the possibility of Pareto-optimality. Fundamentally, innovation and information asymmetries can be regarded as one, stating not only a trade-off between static and dynamic efficiency but also that innovation and pareto-optimality are incompatible. Another market failure is appropriation externalities. They have always been recognised as a major constraint on the incentives to innovate, as investors cannot appropriate to themselves the full amount of profits, which result from their funding of research and innovative activity. Furthermore, applied and/or industrial R+D is not altogether free of this imperfect appropriablilty of profits, which investors have. Despite advances in intellectual property rights in recent years, innovative processes and products developed by companies can easily be imitated by others and in some cases with relatively little effort and capital cost. For instance, studies in Europe put the total losses as a result of imitations alone of EU companies at nearly 50billion ECU in 1994. This led to lost earnings and huge numbers of job losses. However efficient the level of protection afforded by international law, there is no question of investors being able to appropriate the entire profits from their investment in innovation; not only for the reasons stated already but also because of the powerful external factors affecting innovation activities and the indirect spin-offs from them. As, had been stated earlier, the social rate of return may exceed private rates of return, private investors only receive a small return on their investment, and therefore it is necessary for governments to act to close the gap between private and social yields on technology investment. Next, the indivisible nature of the innovation process constitutes another major obstacle to optimum allocation of private capital. If R+D activity were perfectly divisible and it were possible to predict the social and private impact of each project, it would no doubt have been easier to separate funds required between public and private capital. However, phases of the innovation process are independent and the results are often unpredictable. Also indivisibilities inherent to the innovation process imply that there are increasing returns to the exploitation of technology and that it will be necessary for firms to retain some market power if they are to recover the costs to innovation. At best, an innovating industry can be monopolistically competitive, and from this different angle, Pareto efficiency and innovation are seen to be incompatible. The, last case regards science and technology as public goods i. e. non-rival, in the sense that the marginal cost of reproducing these is negligible and their owners exercise little control over the way in which they are used. In the free market economy it makes sense for the government to find the production and/ or dissemination of scientific knowledge. But this justification of the government role in funding basic research has been challenged by recent innovative approaches because the public good attributes of scientific and technological knowledge implies that market solution to the allocation of resources to innovation will not be efficient. Economists have identified other sources of market failure such as transaction costs, the national features of some corporate governance models, the reluctance of monopolies to fund innovative work, etc. The EU introduced a science and technology policy as to corrective for pervasive market failures and also due to the emergence of the single European market. The policy emphasised obvious areas of collaboration for R+D and innovation in order to be more competitive with USA and Japan and to compete with the low wages in South America. Currently, member states are spending 1. 9% of their resources on innovation compared with 2. 5% in Japan and 2. 7% in USA. Recently, the EU set the target at an overenthusiastic 3% The policy corrects market failures in uncertainties by appropriating price structures in the missing markets and thereby reducing distortions. Moreover, missing markets imply the need for agents to form expectations on the likely private values of their questions, expectations which policy can certainly influence. Given all these difficulties, which arise from the innovation process, it would seem to be wishful thinking to imagine that scientific and technological progress could be adequately funded in all the market economies without some form of government assistance. However one needs to recognise that government intervention can fail as well. Such examples are, imperfect information, the benefit between those who pay and those who benefit, bureaucratic capture and pressure group activity. It does not automatically follow that government policy will be welfare-improving. This is particularly so with respect to innovative activates, the formulation of which entails access to detailed microeconomic and social information

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Battle of Tours Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Battle of Tours - Essay Example The Battle of Tours occurred in October of 732. The participants were the Frankish leader Charles Martel and Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi of the Umayyad Empire. The Franks were one of the first Germanic tribes to convert to Christianity and the Umayyad Empire was the strongest Muslim empire of the day. The Franks were located in Central and Eastern France. They forged a close alliance with the remnants of the Christian Church located in Rome. The Church helped provide money so that Charles Martel could train his soldiers year round. This was necessary because of the advances of the Muslim Caliphate into Western Europe (Wood, 1999). The Umayyad Empire was established after the original Muslim Empire founded by the Rightly Guided Caliphs collapsed. The Umayyad Empire conquered the whole of the old Persian Empire, much of the Byzantine Empire and all of Northern Africa. They crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and slowly conquered the while of the Iberian Peninsula. Ever seeking to expand the E mpire and Islam, general Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi built upon the acquisition of lands on the other side of the Pyrenees Mountains. His plan was to push North and East, eventually surrounding Rome and ending the presence of Christianity in Western Europe. The only army that was large enough to withstand the assault of the Muslim invaders was that of Charles Martel (Cantor, 1994). Rome was still reeling from the German invasions of the century before. The Roman Empire was defunct, so Charles Martel and his army of 30-40 thousand soldiers was the last line of defense for European Christianity. Some historians today argue that the Battle of Tours is overrated. They say that it was really nothing more than the defeat of a small Muslim exploratory party. The fact is Muslim and Christian historians and chroniclers of the battle have produced many sources that dispute these modern day historians. The Battle of Tours was very important for the history of Christianity. Part of the reason Charl es Martel was able to win the Battle of Tours was the element of surprise. The Franks had leaned from experience that the only way they could battle the military might of the Umayyad forces was to catch them overconfident and off guard. Duke Odo had done this nearly two decades earlier at the Battle of Toulouse. Under siege, he surprised the Muslim warriors with a counter attack that took advantage of their sloppy preparation and overconfidence. It was Odo’s recent defeat on the battlefield that convinced Charles Martel to organize his troops for a surprise attack on the invaders. After forcing a pledge of allegiance from Odo, Martel began the expansion of the Carolingian empire by organizing his troops for counterattack against the Umayyad troops. Charles Martel organized his troops on a semi-wooded hillside near where two small rivers converged in the Loire valley. He needed this place because it gave him the high ground and the trees provided cover for his troops. The tree s served the purpose of breaking up the charges by the Umayyad cavalry and concealing the true number of his troops. When the Muslim troops arrived in the plain at the food of the plateau he occupied, they were completely surprised to see their way blocked by the Franks. One stroke of luck enjoyed by Charles Martel was the fact that the rapid advancement of the Umayyad troops up the Loire valley had separated them from their supply chain. As a result, the entire army had broken into several

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Mexican Politics and Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mexican Politics and Culture - Research Paper Example Since it gained independence from Great Britain, America has chosen the federal presidential form. Canada has long been federal parliamentary. Mexico on the other hand, seems to base its government structure with America. The United Mexican States (commonly known as Mexico) has no royal families unlike Canada. Mexico appears to have a very similar political system with United States due to the following factors: (1) presidential system (2) three autonomous branches (executive, legislative and judiciary) with checks and balances (3) federalism with a good amount of local autonomy. Notably, despite their sameness in political system, America and Mexico do not have the same economic status (Stacy, 2002). Like Canada, United States is one of the developed and industrialized countries of the world whereas Mexico belongs to the developing nations (Stacy, 2002). In lieu of that fact, this research paper will explore the respective political system of Mexico and United States. This will be f ollowed by a brief analysis of their similarities. At the end, an assessment shall be provided on whether or not their similar political structure is the reason for their economic disparity. The Mexican Political System Rogelio Hernandez-Rodriguez (2003) described the Mexican government as authoritative and the most successful to maintain a system which is dominated by one party. The PRI or the Institutional Revolutionary Party has long been controlling Mexican politics. This political party has ruled Mexico for almost seventy-one years (Klesner, 2005). Majority of the elected government officials of Mexico are affiliated with PRI. The authoritative nature of Mexican government is attributed to this fact. Nevertheless, despite the hegemony of PRI, Mexico has been politically stable (Rodriguez, 2003). The other political parties have done nothing bad for the government. It has been stressed that the country’s single party and presidential type of government are the major eleme nts of its effective institutional structure (Huntington, as cited in Rodriguez, 2003, p. 97). This is quite logical since a political party which continues to rule for several years can always focus on implementing its platforms. A one-party system promotes continuity of projects and more social services. Nonetheless, it does not allow other parties to contribute ideas to a great degree. The interest of the dominating party is always at the forefront of every political move. In fairness to Mexican citizens, they have been observed to recognize the reign of a single political party. Social acceptance of this reality has been imminent (Rodriguez, 2003). It could even be asserted that to a certain point, these citizens have been passive about the party’s dominance. Significantly, PRI experienced defeat in the last 2000 presidential election. The outcome of the election has shocked many journalists and politicians (Klesner, 2005). It was almost unbelievable on the part of Instit utional Revolutionary Party. One possible reason for the party’s defeat is the Mexican citizens’ discontentment or dismay with the administration largely controlled by PRI. The National Action Party’s (PAN) Vicente Fox won that particular election and served as Mexican president from 2000 to 2006 (Klesner, 2005). In the 2006 presidential race, a PAN candidate was also elected named Felipe Calderon (Klesner, 2005).

Monday, November 18, 2019

What will it take for you to be where you want to be 25 years from now Essay

What will it take for you to be where you want to be 25 years from now - Essay Example It must be obvious to see that the goal require investments now and this would prompt me to make a list of where will I get the resources to finance my education in school. The minimum kind of education that a successful psychologist should have should include finishing a graduate and post graduate degree. I will take up my undergraduate degree in psychology at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) in the fall. The resources during my undergraduate which would have to come primarily from my parents and loved one with some self-help in case I will decide to work as well as study. More than the financial resources, of course, is the emotional support of my parents and loves ones to build on virtues for success which I will discuss in this paper. After finishing my undergraduate degree I plan to get a work experience of two to three years before I will make graduate degree to be followed by a post-graduate.1 This is a long journey and it would take a combination of patience and perseverance as necessary virtues to be able to be what I want to be 25 year from now. What it means to be patient can be seen in the life of a turtle. The turtle may be slow moving but its every move is calculated and it can use its scales for survival and protection as well as adjustment. By comparing my desired characteristics to be successful to that of a turtle, the same would mean having to use my â€Å"scales† which I equate with my positive outlook in life with high sense of realism. If I would have to burn the midnight oil when I have to do my school works and assignment, I will have to. In school I know there would be many assignment, research works and projects that must be accomplished before deadlines and impatient people cannot simply have them accomplished. I believe the best way to prepare for them is the virtue of patience. A

Saturday, November 16, 2019

NMR Spectrometer: Applications, Components and Functions

NMR Spectrometer: Applications, Components and Functions Describe briefly the major components of a NMR spectrometer and their function. The Magnet The capability of an NMR instrument is critically dependent upon the magnitude and homogeneity of the static magnetic field and on the bore size of the magnet. There are three main types of magnet; permanent, resistive, and superconducting. (Gadian, 2004) The Gradient System The generation of magnetic resonance images relies on the appropriate use of pulsed magnetic field gradients. These gradients are generated in the same way as those produced by the shim coils, i.e. by specially constructed coils mounted within the bore of the magnet, designed to produce field gradients of the required strength and linearity. (Gadian, 2004) The Transmitter The transmitter generates radiofrequency pulses of the appropriate frequency, power, shape, and timing. It contains a frequency generator, a waveform generator shape the pulses as required, a gate which switches the transmission on and off at the required times, and a power amplifier which boosts the radiofrequency power to the values that are required in Fourier-transform NMR. (Gadian, 2004) The Radiofrequency coil(s) The Radiofrequency coils are used for transmitting the B1 field into the region of interest, and for detecting the resulting signal. In some cases, the same coil is used for transmission and reception, while in others it may be preferable to use separate transmit and receive coils. (Gadian, 2004) The Receiver The design of a modern digital receiver centres around an analog to digital converter (ADC), which samples the analog NMR signal and converts it into digital format. Important characteristics of the ADC are its conversion bandwidth and resolution. The Computer The computer has a wide range of function. Its main functions are: (i) to control the radiofrequency and field gradient pulses; (ii) to accumulate the data; and (iii) to process and display the data. (Gadian, 2004) The magnet produces the Bo field necessary for the NMR experiments. When nuclei interact with a uniform external magnetic field, they behave like tiny compass needles and align themselves in a direction either parallel or anti parallel to the field. The two orientations have different energies, with the parallel direction having a lower energy than the anti parallel. Immediately within the bore of the magnet are the shim coils for homogenizing the Bo field. Within the shim coils is the probe. The probe contains the Radiofrequency (RF) coils for producing the B1 magnetic field necessary to rotate the spins by 90o or 180o. This will be done by the RF transmitter shown in figure 1. The RF coil also detects the signal from the spins within the sample. These signals will be detected by the RF receiver in figure1. The sample is positioned within the RF coil of the probe. Some probes also contain a set of gradient coils. These coils produce a gradient in Bo along the X, Y, or Z axis. The heart of the spectrometer is the computer. It controls all of the components of the spectrometer. The RF components under control of the computer are the RF frequency source and pulse programmer. The source produces a sine wave of the desired frequency. The pulse programmer sets the width, and in some cases the shape, of the RF pulses. The RF amplifier increases the pulses power from milli Watts to tens or hundreds of Watts. The computer also controls the gradient pulse programmer which sets the shape and amplitude of gradient fields. The gradient amplifier increases the power of the gradient pulses to a level sufficient to drive the gradient coils. The operator of the spectrometer gives input to the computer through a console terminal with a mouse and keyboard. Some spectrometers also have a separate small interface for carrying out some of the more routine procedures on the spectrometer. A pulse sequence is selected and customized from the console terminal. The operator can see spectra on a video display located on the console and can make hard copies of spectra using a printer. Comment on the nature, volume, condition, etc. required of a sample for nmr studies on biofluids. An important aspect of conducting NMR spectroscopy on biological fluids and tissues is suppression of large interfering resonances, in particular from water, buffers and cosolvents (in the case of extracts). It is also important to be able to apply accurately shaped (non-rectangular) r.f pulses and/or magnetic field gradients across samples to enable diffusion measurements, multidimensional NMR experiments, and the latest solvent suppression approaches. (Gadian, 2004) In any kind of NMR probe, there are two sample volumes to consider. First is the total volume of sample required (the sample volume) and second is the active volume or the volume of sample that is exposed to the r.f coils. For probes with the commonly used saddle coil, the ratio of active/sample volume is ~0.5. Typical sample volumes for metabonomics applications range from 120 to 500  µl, a range that is normally adequate for commonly available biofluids such as urine or plasma from anything larger than a mouse. There are also numerous examples of small volume probes (1-30 µl) that could have potential uses in certain applications on rare or hard to-obtain biofluids such as CSF or synovial fluids from small laboratory animals. (Gadian, 2004) No pre-treatment of the sample is required. The metaobiltes which are present in sufficiently mobile form and at sufficient concentration to give detectable signals. For in vivo studies a minimum concentration of 0.2mM is normally required. The amount of sample to be analysed itself is limited by instrument/magnet design but for simple solution studies a typical maximum volume is 0.5 -1 ml. For the less sensitive elements therefore it is desirable to have more concentrated solutions Hydrogen NMR spectra can be obtained in less than one minute depending on concentration of analytes in sample. 8 combined scans (each of 1-2 seconds duration) is usually enough to give a clear signal. Other nuclei are less sensitive and require more combined scans eg 13C can require a few hours of repeated scanning before signals are clear. Comment on technical aspects such solvent interferences, exchangeable Hydrogens,experiment duration, etc that are specific/relevant to NMR of biofluids. The presence of a water (HDO) peak will only serve to degrade the quality of NMR spectra. The concentration of water in an aqueous solution is about 55M and therefore the signal from water itself usually dwarfs/masks weaker signals. in a normal spectrum but a technique of water-suppression is commonly used to reduce the dominance of this peak and protons in the sample that exchange with water. In order to remove any interferences from solvent signals during NMR analysis, solvent suppression techniques are employed, the main ones being presaturation and WET (Water suppression Enhanced through T1 effects). The former is a long-standing method that uses shaped pulses to saturate the solvent resonance(s). The WET method uses selective pulses to excite the solvent resonances then dephasing gradient pulses to destroy them. The two techniques take 0.5-2 s and 50-100 ms, respectively, so the WET method is preferred for continuous-flow NMR. The time to acquire a spectrum depends most critically the number of accumulated scans and hence on the sensitivity of the nucleus under investigation and correspondingly the concentration of the sample. In general, as molecules become increasingly immobilized they produce broader signals. Therefore spectra of living systems revel narrow signals from metabolites which have a high degree of molecular mobility, whereas macromolecules, which are highly immobilized (such as DNA and membrane phospholipids), produce very much broader signals.1 H NMR spectroscopy imposes particularly stringent requirements. High field spectrometers that are used for studies of solutions may have field homogeneity as 1 part in 109, although of course this is over a much smaller sample volume (e.g. 0.5ml) than the volumes characteristic of in vivo studies. Much better spectral resolution can be achieved using high field system study relatively small volumes of body fluids or of cell or tissue extracts. A great deal of information can be derived from such studies. (Gadian, 2004) The poor sensitivity of NMR imposes limitations on the concentrations of compounds that can be detected, and upon the spatial resolution that can be achieved. Because of the large number of variables, it is difficult to give anything other than an order-of-magnitude estimate for the concentrations that are required and for the spatial resolution that can be achieved. Typically, however, we can anticipate that, for metabolic studies in vivo, minimum concentrations of 0.2mM and above will be required in order for a metabolite to give a detectable signal. One of the most remarkable features of magnetic resonance is the extensive range of pulse sequences that have been developed, with a view to enhancing the quality and information content of spectra. For example, innovative pulse sequences have contributed in many ways to improvements in image contrast, spectral localization, suppression of unwanted signals, and visualization of specific structural, biochemical, or functional properties. The existence of the chemical shift enables us to use NMR to distinguish not only between different molecules, but also between individual atoms within a molecule. When used in conjunction with intensity measurements and spin-spin coupling data, chemical shifts of the spectral lines of a molecules provide a great deal of information about its structure. (Gadian, 2004) Identify the major observable components in the control samples of human urine (see 1H spectrum obtained for a healthy adult at the session and compare with that of the 7 month old child in the Canavans disease case study in the lecture notes) Creatinine (Crn) is already identified for you. Canavans disease is an autosomal recessive disorder in which spongy degeneration of white matter is observed. Several groups have shown a large increase in the NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios in children with Canavans disease, consistent with enzyme deficiency. The metabolites monitored were those that are present in sufficiently mobile form and at sufficient concentration to give detectable signals. The urine of patients with Canvans disease shows an unusual signal that can be attributed to NAA. Quantification of this signal from timed urine samples allows an assessment of the rate at which NAA is being removed from the brain. Sketch the molecular structures of each of the major components in urine and of Vitamin C. For each molecule indicate which hydrogen atoms are likely to give rise to distinct signals in a water suppressed 1H NMR spectrum (repeat for Vit C and compare with its reference spectrum provided) Indicates which hydrogen atoms are likely to give rise to distinct signals in a water suppressed 1H NMR spectrum Components in urine There are four different types of H but only two signals as two are bound to N Creatinine (Crn) Betaine (Bet) Hippuric acid (Hip) Acetate (Ace) Lactic acid (Lac) Alanine (Ala) Citrate (Cit) Oxalic acid (Ox) Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (not normally present in urine!) There are six different types of H but only two signals as four are bound to O Identify the major spectral changes observed in the spectrum of urine obtained after ingestion of 10g/day Vitamin C over three days. What information do these spectra provide on the extent of Vitamin C metabolism and on the identities of the major excreted metabolites this is important do not gloss over it. The crn peak stays consistent throughout the 3 day period, as do the other excreted metabolites (Hip, Bet, Cit, Ace). This suggests Vitamin C has no effect on the excretion of other metabolites. The standard and healthy dosage of Vit c is 75 milligrams per day. Therefore at this dosage there is excess Vit c which is unmetabolised and excreted in the urine as shown in fig 4. The diagrams in figure 4 show more Vit c being excreted with each day that passes. Using the standard it is clear to see there is an increase in the peak at the position associated with vitamin C. The area around the peak also generates several smaller peaks. These are not vitamin C but are products with similar structures. These will probably be intermediates in the pathway which breaks down ascorbate acid and contain the same CH2-CH molecular unit intact that was present in the parent ascorbate structure, and this is the bit that gives the NMR fingerprint. Ascertain (Web of Knowledge or similar search would be appropraite) the generally agreed metabolites (excreted or otherwise) of Vitamin C (there are more than two and this is probably the most important aspect of the report so it needs some investigation!) Discuss whether these could and/or would be identified in the 1H nmr spectrum of urine after a prolonged high dosage of vitamin C. What common feature persists throught the degradative pathway- does this match your results? The generally agreed metabolites of Vit C are dehydroascorbate (DHAA), 2-O-methyl ascorbate, 2-ketoascorbitol as well as those in figure 5 (L-Threonic acid, Oxalic acid, Lactic acid). ASCORBATE BREAKDOWN Dehydroascorbate, if not reduced back to ascorbate, decomposes with a half-life of a few minutes, since this  compound is unstable at physiologic pH. The product of the hydrolysis is 2,3-diketo-L-gulonate, which does not possess antiscorbutic effects any more. 2,3-diketo-L-gulonate is decarboxylated to L-xylonate and L-lyxonate. These 5-carbon compounds can enter the pentose phosphate pathway and the L- to D-conversion is suggested to occur through xylitol. Another minor pathway of ascorbate catabolism is a carbon chain cleavage yielding oxalate and 4-carbon intermediates. Pentose phosphate pathway enters the glycolytic/gluconeogenic sequence at triose phosphates and fructose-6-phosphate. Ascorbate and dehydroascorbate, according to the previous assumptions, can be rapidly metabolized to glucose in isolated murine hepatocytes and in HepG2 cells. When glutathione-dependent recycling is inhibited by the oxidant menadione or by the glutathione synthesis inhibitor buthionine sulfoximin e, gluconeogenesis from ascorbate is stimulated. The participation of the non-oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway has been demonstrated by the administration of oxythiamine, a thiamine antagonist which inhibits transketolases. In hepatocytes gained from oxythiamine-treated mice glucose production from dehydroascorbate is lower, and a pentose phosphate cycle intermediate, xylulose-5-phosphate is accumulated. This path of ascorbate catabolism could be demonstrated even in cells unable to synthesize ascorbate, i.e., in cells of human origin and in non-hepatic murine cells. In murine and human erythrocytes-which are unable to synthesize glucose (glucose-6-phosphatase is lacking)-ascorbate or dehydroascorbate addition resulted in the increase of lactate, the end product of anaerobic glycolysis. Lactate production could be stimulated by the addition of menadione or inhibited by oxythiamine treatment of the cells indicating that the pentose phosphate pathway is involved in as corbate catabolism both in hepatocytes and in erythrocytes. These results show that ascorbate does not get lost but is effectively reutilized even in case of diminished recycling and it should be taken into account not only as a vitamin, but also as a source of energy. (Banhegyi, Braun, Csala, Puskas, Mandl, 1997) It would be hard to identify the metabolites of Vit c in the 1H nmr spectrum of urine after a prolonged high dosage of vitamin C as figure 6 shows a large peak of unmetabolised Vit c which is excreted in the urine. This peak, surrounded by intermediates of the pathway which breaks down ascorbate acid, dominates the 1H nmr spectrum and masks weaker signals. Therefore the metabolites which are produced by the breakdown of some of the Vit c are hard to identify. The common feature which persists throughout the degradative pathway is the CH2-CH molecular unit which is part of all the intermediates within the pathway, and this is the bit that gives the NMR fingerprint. This is shown in figure 6 with several smaller peaks around the Vit C peak. These are the intermediates of the pathway which contain the CH2-CH molecule which is present in the parent ascorbate acid and therefore have a similar structure and appear as peaks around Vit C. These will probably be intermediates in the pathway w hich breaks down ascorbate acid and contain the same CH2-CH molecular unit intact that was present in the parent ascorbate structure Comment on the human bodys requirement for vitamin C, its role in prevention/treatment of disease (briefly), the required daily intake/doseage, etc. How does this relate to the results dicussed above? Recommendations for vitamin C intake have been set by various national agencies: 75 milligrams per day: the United Kingdoms Food Standards Agency The key importance of Vitamin C is supporting the immune system and forming a structural component known as collagen. It is also required for synthesis of the neurotransmitter, required for brain function and mood change. Vitamin C aids in synthesis of a small molecule, carnitine. Carnitine is required for fat transportation to cellular organelles known as mitochondria, potentially, producing energy. Vitamin C has the ability to enhance bodys resistance to varied diseases. It aids in stimulating the action of antibodies and immune cells like phagocytes, resulting in a stronger immune system. Vitamin C metabolite L-threonic acid or its calcium salt, calcium threonate (the form of L-threonic acid found in Ester-C), increases vitamin C uptake of cells. Essentially, with calcium threonate, vitamin C has been shown to be absorbed more quickly, reach higher levels and is excreted more slowly. Now the studies confirm that the vitamin C uptake of the cells is greater with the metabolite L-threonic acid present. identify the advantages and disadvantages of using NMR over other common analytical methods used in Biomedical Sciences (or elsewhere). In NMR spectroscopy, only a very small excess of the spins are in the low energy state. The net result of this is that NMR is rather insensitive technique relative to many other analytical methods. Typically, even todays spectrometers require a minimum of several nanomoles of material for anaylsis in reasonable times. Poor sensitivity has been the bane of bioanalytical uses of NMR and increasing NMR sensitivity has been the focus of most of the technical developments that have occurred over the past four decades. However, in contrast to the low intrinsic sensitivity in the applications of NMR to biofluids, the non-selectivity of NMR makes it a very powerful tool for surveying the molecular content of a sample without prejudging which analytes to search for. This advantage can also be a nuisance. Scarce analytes often need to be measured and although above the limit of detection, these lower level species may be fully or partially obscured by analytes at much higher concentrations. (Gadian, 2004) A comparison of NMR spectroscopy with HPLC shows a variety of advantages of NMR over HPLC method. The primary advantage of NMR is its efficiency due to the lack of any preparation times. The analyte has to be weighed and dissolved in the solvent only and afterwards the analyte can be measured immediately. The experimental time depends on the concentration of the analyte. Using HPLC for the determination of an analyte much time has to be spent for the equilibration of the column. The column has to be washed every day after the measurements have been taken to prolong the lifetime of the column. When using the HPLC technique, often much time has to be spent for sample preparation e.g. derivatization of the analyte. A further disadvantage is the large amount of solvent necessary for the HPLC separation. NMR is also more efficient than the conventional HPLC techniques. (Wawer, Holzgrabe, Diehl, 2008)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Online Communities Essay -- Technology, Media

Throughout history a debate has raged on whether sense of community, and more broadly community itself, is crumbling. [INSERT two quotes from early and late doomists] What I see in arguments both for and against the ability for sense of community to persevere is a tangled mess of media. Media play varying roles in arguments both for and against the survival of sense of community, but their presence should not be ignored. In some cases media are blamed for declines in sense of community. In others new media technologies are seen as saviors that can bring about a sense of community rebirth. More broadly, media are central to communities—their formation, purposes, and means of connecting. Newspapers inform small and large communities of what is going on—and simultaneously create an imagined community of news-readers who are spread out but engaged and linked through the stories they read. Towns send text messages notifying residents of weather or emergency situations. Online gamers meet up in cafes with their guild members, or teammates, to socialize. Yet these criss-crossing community interactions are often overlooked in discussions of community. Of all the research I have read, it is funny that the work that resonates with me the most is something I mostly disagree with. Turkle’s (1995) exploration of MUD (Multi-User Dungeons)—online social or gaming spaces connecting multiple users—communities for the most part concentrates on the ability of individuals to experiment with new identities, an assumption that is increasingly argued to be a false starting point (Leander, 2008). However, her concept of â€Å"synthetic† reality struck me as the perfect explanation for all of the discord in comparing online and offline communities. If all o... ...e of community has most popularly been brought to the public’s attention through Robert Putnam’s (Putnam, 2000; Putnam & Feldstein, 2003) research on social capital. The best-selling book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community not only attracted the attention of the general population but also led to governmental involvement in the re-engagement of community based on Putnam’s finding that civic engagement was declining (Putnam, 2000). Although Putnam’s analysis showed that participation in civic life was declining, it also revealed a desire for greater emphasis on community (Putnam, 2000). Links between community and mental health, physical health, and economic prosperity point to some of the reasons why there is so much interest in understanding the bonds of community and concern about reviving community (Putnam, 2000; Shinn & Toohey, 2002)

Monday, November 11, 2019

Understanding Bodybuilding

If Greek mythology existed, bodybuilding would be the sport made for the gods. It is a sport that demands more than most can give. Bodybuilding is not for the faint of heart, nor the weak minded. To be successful is this grueling sport you must have the mentality of success imprinted on your thoughts everyday. Once you have achieved this mentality you no longer spend idle time pondering empty thoughts, but instead you learn to use your mind consciously, every day, as if being in a constant state of meditation, with your thoughts fixed on the end result.Having that end result be the ability to unveil something that is more then beautiful. Before I sold my soul to my education, I was an active bodybuilder who loved everything about the sport. I was introduced to this sport when I was 12, although I remember it like it was yesterday. I went with my mom to the grocery store to try and convince her that buying Reeses would somehow be a great idea. As we were walking I decided to look for the biggest bag I could find. I cut through the section with all the magazines to get to the candy isle as quick as possible.It was in that isle, on a muscle mag magazine that I first saw a picture of a man named Dorian Yates. A man that stood 6’1, 270lbs, with what looked like only muscle. I remember staring at the front cover for what felt like a lifetime, I knew from that second, that’s what I want to look like. I no longer wanted to be a pro football player, or a pro basketball player; I wanted to be a professional bodybuilder. I forgot completely about the candy, found my mom and asked if I could push the cart from then on.Of course, at that time I was too young to venture into anything that resembled a bodybuilding lifestyle, yet I still used my little weights every night. It wasn’t until I was 18 that my bodybuilding mentality took over my mind. Going into my first year of high school I met this girl who slowly became my upmost passion. We started dating before I could even drive, until my first semester in college, she was my world. I loved everything about this girl and was certain she was that one I would spend the rest of my life with. However, mid way through my first semester in college she decided it was best to go our separate ways.Completely devastated, and young, I came up with the idea I wasn’t enough, that if I had could become something more then great she would have never left. I then turned to bodybuilding, first in the mentality of hate, channeling my emotions through the pain of lifting. But as time went by my idea of doing this for her transformed to having bodybuilding became infused into who I was. Everything I read, everything I thought about was bodybuilding. I went from spending money on going out and clothes, to supplements and protein.No matter what life through at me, no matter how upset I became, I could always set foot in a gym and forget the worries of the world. Walking into a gym was like steppi ng on a battle field, I knew I would have to fight my way through heavy sets of iron resistance to come out on the other side victorious. With weight stacked against me I would sit down on the closest bench, eyes closed and music blaring, concentrating on the task I had before me. I would think to myself: pain is temporary, but glory is forever. That no matter what, I was going to get this weight up even if it destroyed me in the process.By the time I opened my eyes I had become so focused on that I had to do that I could only see the weight I needed to overcome. It was as if I summoned all the strength I had in me to be ready to take on the world. I then would perform the exercise. As I brought the weight down to my chest I knew I was in for a fight. And then it began, as I pressed the weight off my chest with all my strength I had I told myself ignore the pain, become great. Seeing a bodybuilding yell as he is trying to finish a repetition is more then beautiful to me. It’s our on way of saying I’m not giving up till I’ve won.To me, each time I perform an exercise is one step closer in becoming great. I feel that most everyone has a misunderstood concept of what bodybuilding is and means. This sport isn’t a hobby, or something you can do on the side. This has to be a lifestyle, a passion, and a desire. When I was an active bodybuilder I viewed myself as an artist working on a masterpiece. It’s the mind not the body that determines your success as a bodybuilder; it’s mental aspect that allows you to press past the pain barrier, to enjoy being in the gym for countless hours, and to lust for more.Your mind is what sculpts your body into art. I also believe people view bodybuilders somewhat gross, or obsessed. I feel like everyone is so used to seeing someone who is in average shape, with little to no definition, someone who doesn’t have the time or discipline to sculpt their body. This makes bodybuilders look fre akishly, and unattractive, rather then beautiful, and full of hard work and sacrifice. These are the people who don’t understand what is actually involved in this sport. Bodybuilding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It is a great challenge, and a great success.There are many aspects in becoming a great bodybuilder like, having good nutrition, a choice of good supplements, good training hours, preparation for competition, and a good mind frame. If all these aspects are met then there is a future. Most people stereotype bodybuilders as a â€Å"meat head† or someone who lifts religiously and gains mass. Although this is true in almost every case, lifting weights is only responsible for a quarter of the results. Nutrition is a large percentage of a bodybuilder's success; it determines how well they effectively apply knowledge to nutrition.The limiting factor to the ultimate success of your workout is what happens after you leave the gym. This is one of th e biggest misunderstood concepts for someone who is trying to excel in this life style. Nutrition consists of macronutrients and micronutrients. The macronutrients consist of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and water. The micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. The best source of nutrition is through whole foods. A bodybuilder should never allow the use of supplements to overshadow the consumption of whole foods.For a bodybuilder the most confusing part about the sport is making sure of good nutrition and diet. Another fundamental element of success is allowing your body to recover. A bodybuilder gains size when torn muscle fibers are reconnected or â€Å"patched† with new muscle tissue. The added tissue gives you that swollen look that every bodybuilder lusts for. Bodybuilding, in all its aspects, has many similarities with a lot of activities we find ourselves consumed in. As football players strive to achieve new skills in practice, so do bodybuilders in a gym.It takes just as much focus and willpower to not only play this sport, but to continue it everyday. It requires as much focus and determinate as a college student trying to excel in his classes. There was one point in my life where I was completely consumed by bodybuilding. I started out with a fragile frame, consisting of a mere 125 pathetic pounds. Not knowing much of anything about this sport, I would stay up at night in search of the greatest motivational quotes to help me maintain on my path. Regardless of what I had in front of me, my mind was constantly fixed on my workout session that was to come.The greatest feeling for me was to wake up in pain; with that pain meaning I put in enough effort in the gym for my body to realize it. I loved every aspect of lifting, from buying bigger clothes to the research of supplements. After obtaining three very hard and grueling years, and falling into an addiction to steroids, I was finally shaping into a monster. Standing only 5†™11, I achieved to grow to a massive 220 pounds. I remember vividly the reaction of friends and family members that hadn’t seen me in some time.Astonished, some reacted in a positive way telling me how impressive it was, I can only remember however, the people who told me I had taken this idea to an extreme. Id be lying if I told you this didn’t bother me. I had put in so much effort and sacrificed so much to become what I was. So many asked â€Å"why do you do it, why do you like it, the process looks so painful. † For so long I couldn’t fathom to try to put a reason into words. After many failed attempts to explain why I gave up trying to explain to so many eager to understand.It wasn’t until I read a quote from a bodybuilding magazine that an athlete had stated after he had one a competition could I explain my obsession for greatness. The quote, â€Å"the reason I do all that, put my body through all that†¦is because I love it. † A s little as that explains to many, it was the perfect explanation to me. The reason I put myself through all the pain and sacrifice, was because I loved it. Bodybuilding was my passion, my obsession; it had became so great in my life that it captivated me. After all was said and done, I was met with disappointment, as I came to realize the worlds opposition on bodybuilders.I wish I could tell you that I stayed true with my dreams, or that I didn’t let the world decide what looked best, but I did. For as long as I can remember, all I wanted was to be Dorain Yates, to be great. I wish I could explain what it felt like to accomplish a dream only to have it turn against you. For the first time in what felt like forever, I no longer wanted to be great, I wanted to be â€Å"normal. † Maybe I had taken it too far, maybe they were right, or maybe they all had a misunderstood concept of what bodybuilding is really about.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Historical Piece essays

The Historical Piece essays It seems like every time you buy a new home you always have something you do not like. It can be anything from an eyesore to a color in a room to the size of a room. One specific kind of an eyesore is an old barn that is on the property owned by my family. Any time you have a barn that needs some work, you have to make a decision whether to tear the old one down and build a new one or restore the old one to keep history and memories alive. Ray Mullins is my mentor, and he used to work on old houses and things that needed to be restored. Ray Mullins said that a barn may not mean anything to you, but it may mean something to someone else in your town. That is why you should get some opinions from older residents who have been there the longest (Mullins). When restoring a building, it is important to know its history along with some architectural information before selecting the best materials and actually starting the work. The history of the barn is the most important part to it. Our barn used to be called Wayne Feeds. That name is still visible on the right side closest to the road. A long time resident named John Schafer said that Bill Mitten (who was the owner) started his business in 1926, but did not build the building until that year or the next year. Schafer said, The feed mill was going good in the 1930s. Another long time resident named Edna Ruth Smith said that the owner and managers name was Bill Mitten. Smith said, He did not have a lot of help. She added that her husband, Carroll Smith, worked for Bill. Carroll was still going through school when he worked for Bill (Smith). Smith said, Carroll got paid one dollar per day while going through school. Schafer mentioned a lot of people who were workers such as Loranie Havaland, Paul Stantz, Marian Wells, Billy Fiskey, and himself. Loranie and Paul only worked there for a little while. Marian worked in the mill. For about 25 to 30 yea...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Free Essays on Out Sourcing To India

â€Å"Outsourcing to India† In times of cutting back on cost in order to maximize profit, India seems to be the outsourcing hotspot of choice for American companies. As reported in the â€Å"Wall Street Journal†, US could send six million jobs to India over the next 10 years. With Microsoft opening its second Headquarters in India and even rumors of secret software sharing with Indian companies the outsourcing craze seems to be unstoppable. As I read in the â€Å"Wall Street Journal†, Companies like Dell, Intel, AMD, and even American Express moving majority of there customer service departments oversees to India because costs are a third there, and the companies offering outsourcing are better. Hungry of opportunities and willing to work to just survive, the average Indian citizen makes one tenth of the average Americans salary, Making it almost be impossible to foresee a reason for any American companies to stay put in America. In comparison to other issues, India creates two thirds more IT engineers and boffins a year then America does. You definitely feel the level of life rising in India with this explosion of jobs, money and education more vastly available to its citizens. As Bill Gates was quoted for saying â€Å"Twenty percent of engineers working for Microsoft are Indian†. Realizing how vital the Indian community is to his company Bill Gates has gone on record to be one of the biggest supporters of India also Arguing the 150 million dollars a year America was giving India wasn’t enough. A few of the downfalls of close connections to India for company like Microsoft would have to be dealing with piracy and breach of copy right laws. With no real laws in place to prevent either or from occurring, and growing anger of Americans for jobs lost to other countries these problems are some of the few which keep almost all remaining American companies from outsourcing to India. With thousands of American jobs being lost everyday ... Free Essays on Out Sourcing To India Free Essays on Out Sourcing To India â€Å"Outsourcing to India† In times of cutting back on cost in order to maximize profit, India seems to be the outsourcing hotspot of choice for American companies. As reported in the â€Å"Wall Street Journal†, US could send six million jobs to India over the next 10 years. With Microsoft opening its second Headquarters in India and even rumors of secret software sharing with Indian companies the outsourcing craze seems to be unstoppable. As I read in the â€Å"Wall Street Journal†, Companies like Dell, Intel, AMD, and even American Express moving majority of there customer service departments oversees to India because costs are a third there, and the companies offering outsourcing are better. Hungry of opportunities and willing to work to just survive, the average Indian citizen makes one tenth of the average Americans salary, Making it almost be impossible to foresee a reason for any American companies to stay put in America. In comparison to other issues, India creates two thirds more IT engineers and boffins a year then America does. You definitely feel the level of life rising in India with this explosion of jobs, money and education more vastly available to its citizens. As Bill Gates was quoted for saying â€Å"Twenty percent of engineers working for Microsoft are Indian†. Realizing how vital the Indian community is to his company Bill Gates has gone on record to be one of the biggest supporters of India also Arguing the 150 million dollars a year America was giving India wasn’t enough. A few of the downfalls of close connections to India for company like Microsoft would have to be dealing with piracy and breach of copy right laws. With no real laws in place to prevent either or from occurring, and growing anger of Americans for jobs lost to other countries these problems are some of the few which keep almost all remaining American companies from outsourcing to India. With thousands of American jobs being lost everyday ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Audit Committee and its importance Literature review

The Audit Committee and its importance - Literature review Example The aim of this essay has been thus concentrated on reviewing selected literatures based on the importance of audit committee in the modern day business context, working as a monitor as well as a guarantor of viability in corporate financial reporting. The ultimate objective of the essay will further emphasise the power held by audit committee to affect the corporate financial operations following critical evaluation of secondary evidences. Discussion Historical Background Gendron & Be?dard (2006) revealed that it is owing to this rising pressure that organisations are driven towards maintaining transparency at every level of the managerial processes. Correspondingly, as financials hold considerable importance in managerial processes, the influence of audit committee also expands to a substantial extent. Drawing from this inference made by Gendron & Be?dard (2006), it can be affirmed that comparative to the traditional business contexts, competition and influences of external forces have increased in manifolds in the 21st century. These external forces, such as rising competition, globalisation, changing customers’ behaviour and governmental interventions further increase pressure on the organisation to perform and sustain in the industry. Emphasising the significance of audit committees, Cohen & et. al. (2002) further revealed that corporate governance, as a regulatory body of modern organisations, also imposes substantial impacts on the audit process’ significances and correspondingly on audit committees’ functioning. Notably, corporate governance itself is a modern concept of effective organisational management. Therefore, correlating the supervisory functions of corporate governance with the growing significance of auditing and audit committees shall be deemed rationale, when justifying the post modern advancements of corporate financial performances in comparison to the traditional forms. Considering these aspects, audit committees hav e been argued as a mosaic of corporate governance by Cohen & et. al. (2002), acting as the segment responsible for deterring fraud in the process of ensuring effective financial reporting. Making critical evaluations based on this presumption, Turley & Zaman (2007) revealed that the audit committees’ influences work stronger and more apparent outside the formal system followed when operating in alliance with corporate governance participants in an organisation. Turley & Zaman (2007) further argues that audit committees can be used for positive as well as negative intentions to gain governance control through political incentives within the organisation apart from applying its functions to raise transparency in the corporate reporting procedure. Based on the study of Turley & Zaman (2007), it can thus be inferred that on a positive note, audit committees may pressurise corporate participants to maintain transparency, but from a negative viewpoint, it also acts as a tool to obt ain greater power in the authoritative construction of the organisation. However, in either ways, audit committee is signified to hold considerable power in influencing the overall organisational effectiveness. Methodologies Cohen & et. al., (2002) initiated an