tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39468929216415392122024-03-13T13:09:08.251-07:00Writing an analytical paperNortheastern 2015 Essay Topicsmargaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-63486339065679839732020-08-24T11:33:00.001-07:002020-08-24T11:33:05.336-07:00animal testing speech essayscreature testing discourse papers People are the main trackers who slaughter when not ravenous. This statement by Steven Spielberg alludes to the a huge number of creatures that are murdered each year due to unecessary testing. What number of you here have creatures at home? I myself have a few mutts at home that I love profoundly. Occasionaly, one of them will become ill and the vet will give me a fluid medication to give them. Presently, my mutts won't drink this willfully so the vet gives me a little syringe to place toward the edge of my canines mouth to make them swallow it. I feel terrible enough driving my mutts to take something that will support them. I can't envision attempting to compel something down their throat to hurt them., which is scientists main event to a huge number of creatures consistently. Today, Im here to convice you that testing on creatures with the end goal of people isn't right, pointless and furthermore incorrect. What I need to discuss throughout the following couple of minutes is, first, how inacurrate it is. Second, why it isn't right and superfluous, and, third why it must change. They question on numerous people groups minds-should creature testing be lawful? Indeed or no ? Lets start with the realities. I think creature testing is an awful thought; they get all apprehensive and offer an inappropriate responses. This is a statement by an obscure creator refering to the mistake of creature testing. So for what reason do companys and industrys burn through a huge number of dollars a year on these tests?, that is something I might want to know. Rodents are quite often the creatures utilized in disease look into, in any case, rodents are just 37% powerful in deciding the reason for malignancy in people. You could flip a coin and be increasingly precise. Likewise, under 2% of human diseases are ever found in creatures. 95% of medications passed by creature tests are immediatly disposed of as pointless or risky to people and 90% of creature test resul... <! margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-6979620850097420112020-08-22T01:14:00.001-07:002020-08-22T01:14:17.048-07:00SAE supermileage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 wordsSAE supermileage - Essay Example Nanotechnology is a front line innovative progression which has advanced the improvement of different fields, for example medication, vitality, gadgets and assembling. Numerous players have put resources into nanotechnology to improve methods for creation and product offering broadening through nanotechnology innovative work. These players have made sure about their items and creation forms through the utilization of licenses and copyrights (Chen and Roco 24). In the field of medication, CytImmune Sciences joining and NanoBio Corporation are the major enlisted firms that have added to significant forward leaps in nanotechnology innovative work. They have acquired licenses for their items to increase a serious edge in the market. CytImmune sciences Incorporation are clinical stage nanomedicine organizations whose center is to create and popularize tumor focused on treatments. NanoBio Corporation, an enlisted organization that is based at the University of Michigan, has acquired a patent for the creation of nanoemulsion immunizations in the US, with the patent number 7314624. The CytImmune inc. holds the sole commercialization privileges of its items, for example, the Aurimune CYT-6091, pegylated colloidal gold bound TNF with paclitaxel CYT 21001. It has gotten licenses, for example, the nanotherapeutic colloidal metal creations and techniques with the patent number 20090104114. IBM, an American innovative organization, has created silicon nanophotonics that utilization light to move enormous volumes of information at fast improving data move, decreasing clog, incredibly improving the degree of proficiency in their items that can likewise. To expand its opposition through this advancements they have acquired licenses, for example, the Optoelectronic gadget with germanium photograph indicator in the US, with the patent number 7790495, the single divider carbon nanotubes in the US with the patent number 5424054, the CMOS perfect coordinated margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-5418796401826027982020-07-20T08:08:00.001-07:002020-07-20T08:08:03.122-07:00LafayetteLafayette Lafayette lä?feet ´, laf?eet ´ [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 23,501), Contra Costa co., NW Calif., a residential suburb in the San Franciscoâ"Oakland area; settled 1848, inc. 1968. The city is a horse raising and agricultural trading center, especially for walnuts; there is also light manufacturing. 2 City (1990 pop. 43,764), seat of Tippecanoe co., W central Ind., on the Wabash River; inc. 1853. A manufacturing city in a grain, livestock, and dairy area, it has food processing and automobile assembly plants. Other products include building materials; electrical, transportation, and heating equipment; metal, paper, and rubber products; wire; chemicals; animal feeds; and pharmaceuticals. The nearby site of the battle of Tippecanoe (Nov., 1811) is a state memorial. Of interest is the rebuilt blockhouse of Fort Ouiatenon (1717). 3 City (1990 pop. 94,440), seat of Lafayette parish, S central La., on the Vermilion River (which is linked to the Intracoastal Waterway ); settled 17 70s by exiled Acadians, inc. 1836. Known as the hub of Cajun Country (see Acadia ), it is a commercial, shipping, and medical center for an area producing sugarcane, rice, cotton, dairy cattle, livestock, and petroleum. Manufactures include apparel, jewelry, and building materials. The area's oil and natural gas boom contributed to a large population increase and an influx of new businesses to the city in the 1980s and 90s. The Heymann Oil Center is headquarters for several oil companies. Of interest are St. John's Cathedral (1916), a Carmelite monastery, a planetarium, natural history and children's museums, and the Cajun Dome stadium. The Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette is there, and the city is the scene of an annual Mardi Gras and the Festival Acadiens. Evangeline Downs racetrack and casino and the Cypress Island Preserve are nearby. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia artic les on: U.S. Political Geography margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-29265574754305413832020-05-21T22:31:00.001-07:002020-05-21T22:31:04.426-07:00Animal Testing Should Not Be Banned - 1278 Words Animal testing or animal experimentation is the use of non-human species such as animals, in experiments to test the affect of controlled variables on the subjects behaviour or physical appearance. The use of animal testing in science is a controversial issue that has divided the public for many centuries; between immense passion and emotion from those opposing the practice, and those that preach its integral part in the advancement of science. The divide in the topic is between the scientific community and animal activists. The scientists, who are strongly in favour of the animal testing believe that human life is superior to animal life, and if lives are saved animal testing is justified; whereas, the philotherianââ¬â¢s see it as being a cruel and an inhumane practice. The use of animals as test variables in biomedical research is a practice that is long dated and widely practised amongst many cultures. Some of the researchers that do follow animal testing, have used the techniq ue to study approaches that could prevent major diseases and pandemics. The use of animal testing is not a new phenomenon, according to the scholarly journal Animal Testing and Medicine, animal experimentations origins dates back to the ââ¬Å"early Greek physician-scientists, such as Aristotle, (384 ââ¬â 322 BC) and Erasistratus, (304 ââ¬â 258 BC)(Hajar).â⬠This scientific technique had come to provide researchers with a way to advance their understanding of the anatomy, and psychology of humans. Animal testingShow MoreRelatedShould Animal Testing Be Banned?844 Words à |à 3 PagesShould animal testing be banned? Nowadays, a lot of animals has been tested on a range of experiments over the world. You could be supporting animal teasing cruelty without knowing it. Have you ever check if thereââ¬â¢s animal testing on the cosmetics before you buy it? Today, a lot of cosmetics has been testing on helpless animals and there are about 1.4 million animals die each year from animal testing ( CatalanoJ, 1994). Most of the experiments that are completed in the laboratories are very cruelRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned880 Words à |à 4 Pagesdepending on animals testing. Therefore, if people talk about laboratories, they should remember animal experiments. Those animals have the right to live, according to people who dislike the idea of doing testing on animals; the other opinion, supports the idea of animal testing as the important part of the source of what has reached medicine of the results and solutions for diseases prevalent in every time and place. Each year huge numbers of animals a re sacrificed for the science all these animals, whetherRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned776 Words à |à 4 PagesAnimal Testing Should be Banned à ¨Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisioned and abused in US labs every yearà ¨ (à ¨11 Facts About Animal Testingà ¨). Imagine if that was someones animal getting tortured in labs just to test things such as beauty products and perfume. Animal testing was first suggested when, à ¨Charles Darwin evolutionary theory in the mid 1850s also served to suggest that animals could serve as effective models to facilitate biological understanding in humansà ¨ (Murnaghan)Read MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned940 Words à |à 4 Pages1). Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year. 2). 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials. (DoSomething ââ¬Å"11 Facts About Animal Testingâ⬠). There are currently no laws combating the testing of cosmetics on animals, but the practice is harmful and must be ended. As evidenced by the statistics above, millions of animals are tortured and murdered in the United States every year for virtually no reasonRead MoreShould Animal Testing Be Banned?1665 Words à |à 7 PagesTesting Cosmetics on Animals Companies around the world use animals to test cosmetics. Animals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice, are used to test the effects of chemicals on the eyes and skin. While animal testing is not mandatory, many companies use it. About Cosmetics Animal Testing by the Humane Society International talks about the different options companies have that do not require the cruel use and eventual death of animals. The article also talks about the overallRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1572 Words à |à 7 PagesAnimal Testing Every year, over two hundred million innocent animals are injured or killed in scientific experiments across the world. Of those animals, between seventeen and twenty million are used in the United States alone. It is said that an animal dies in a laboratory every three seconds (Animal Testing 101). Those in favor of animal experimentation say they are taking animalsââ¬â¢ lives to save humans. It is not necessary to subject animals to torturous conditions or painful experiments in theRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1581 Words à |à 7 PagesAnimal testing is being used by different organizations all over the world to prevent specific diseases, especially cancer. Americans see animal testing having a harmful effect but it is one of the main reasons why society has most cures for some illnesses. This topic is important because people need to know what goes on during animal testing and why it is very beneficial. Animal testing needs to be used to find all cures. Some ani mals such as chimps/ monkeys have 90% of the same DNA humans haveRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1721 Words à |à 7 Pages â⬠Today, more animals are being used in experiments than ever before: around 100 million in the United States aloneâ⬠(3). Animal testing is now an international issue, and it is becoming a major story. Currently, animals are often used in medical testing, make-up testing, and other consumer product testing. Animals used in such product testing are often abused and suffer from serious side-effects. Animal testing can be painful for the animals, testing results are usually not even useable forRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned1364 Words à |à 6 Pagesbenefit. Using animals for these experimentations usually does not come to mind. Animals are often abused, suffer, and even die during laboratory testing for the benefits of people to make sure medications, household products, newest procedures, and cosmetics are safe and effective for human use. Humans have benefited from animal testing for years while these animals suffer consequences with no positive outcomes for themselves. Even if a product or procedure is deemed successful, these animals are frequentlyRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned Essay1632 Words à |à 7 Pages Animal Testing Should Be Banned Throughout the decades, animals have been used in medical research to test the safety of cosmetics including makeup, hair products, soaps, perfume, and countless of other products. Animals have also been used to test antibiotics and other medicines to eliminate any potential risks that they could cause to humans. The number of animals worldwide that are used in laboratory experiments yearly exceeds 115 million animals. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-35451859096105783302020-05-06T23:54:00.001-07:002020-05-06T23:54:20.720-07:00Claudius the Machiavelli - 1652 Words Claudius the Machiavelli There are many kinds of people in the world. Some people are kind, generous, caring, etc. But there are the kinds of people who are selfish deceiving and very cruel to those around them and only puts themselves before other people, these are characteristics of a Machiavellian character. In the story of Shakespeare, Hamlet, shows a great example of a Machiavellian character Claudius. Claudius is the type of man who is willing to go to the extremes in order to keep high position of power. He doesnââ¬â¢t care for the well being of others and only cares about himself. In Hamlet Claudius faces many threats to his position of power that has brought out his Machiavellian characteristics. Some of which are his willingness toâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Therefore prepare thyself/ the bark is ready, and the wind at help , thy associates tend, and everything is bent for England.â⬠(Shakespeare IV. III 43-49) in this scene of the play Claudius tells Hamlet he is sending Hamlet to Engla nd in order to reflect upon himself and his actions, but his true intention is being hidden which is Hamletââ¬â¢s execution in England. This proves that Claudius is a Machiavelli because he is very deceitful to and disloyal to Hamlet by lying to Hamlet telling him that he is getting a sometime away from the kingdom in England for his own benefit but is actually being sent off to get executed just so Claudius can keep his position of power and his life. There is more than one time Claudius has shown his Machiavellian traits through trickery, betrayal and lies. One part in the play Claudius says to Laertes: ââ¬Å"To thine own peace. If he be now returned,/ As checking at his voyage, and that he means/ No more to undertake it, I will work him/ To an exploit, now ripe in my device,/ Under the which he shall not choose but fall./ And for his death no wind no wind of blame shall breathe,/ But even his mother shall uncharge the practice/ And call it an accident.â⬠( Shakespeare IV VII 66-73). During this quote the story has progressed to which Claudiusââ¬â¢ first plan to get hamlet killed has failed and Hamlet has come back from England. In these lines Claudius reveals that he is going to trick Hamlet to which will bring hamlet to hisShow MoreRelatedAPPEARANCE vs. REALITY IN THE PRINCE AND HAMLET1614 Words à |à 7 Pages3. Reality and appearances, or if you prefer, being and acting, are important themes for both Machiavelli and Shakespeare. Why? How do their perspectives on this subject agree or differ? APPEARANCE vs. REALITY IN THE PRINCE AND HAMLET One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is the appearance vs. reality. We find ourselves asking the question of what is genuinely real, and what is viewed merely as just an appearance, and not real? It becomes difficult when we assume there isRead MoreA Machiavellian Ruler Of Shakespeare s Hamlet1196 Words à |à 5 PagesShakespeareââ¬â¢s play, Hamlet through King Claudius. King Claudius, is a classic example of the type of ruler Machiavelli discusses in his book The Prince. According to Machiavelli, love is better than fear for a leader. However, the real question is how you instill this fear into the people. Is it through murder or treachery or war? Either one can work well depending on the circumstances. Such as, too much fear which may come back to haunt one. For King Claudius, he is lucky that he is not hated or fearedRead More A Comparison of Shakespeares Prince Hamlet and Machiavelliââ¬â¢s The Prince1099 Words à |à 5 PagesA Comparison of Prince Hamlet a nd Machiavellis The Princeà à à à à à à à à à à à à Machiavelli states that it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case. Machiavellis ideas both compare and contrast to the methods used by Hamlet. Hamlets desire to drive the king mad and eventually kill him, is what he thinks he must do in order to set things right. Hamlet struggles to maintainRead MoreClaudius in Hamlet Essay909 Words à |à 4 PagesClaudius in Hamlet ââ¬Å"Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.â⬠- Nicolo Machiavelli, from The Prince Italian political theorist Nicolo Machiavelli speculated that the strongest leaders are ones who are able to carefully balance appearances to his benefit, strategically using them to strengthen his regime. If Machiavelli was indeed correct, then ClaudiusRead MoreA Brief Note On Indian Poetry After Islam Essay1435 Words à |à 6 PagesPetrarch believed that humanity could once more reach the heights of past accomplishments. The doctrine he espoused became known as humanism, and formed a bridge from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Machiavelli, The Prince: The Prince began with an address to Lorenzo de Medici, in which Machiavelli was explaining that he is seeking favor with the prince. He had planned to do so by offering him some of his knowledge. He then proceeded to classify the various kinds of states. Republics, hereditaryRead MoreMachiavellian Evaluation of Hamlet2623 Words à |à 11 PagesNiccolo Machiavelli is undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic figures in the long evolving history of political thought of modern Europe. No other doctrine of any other political theorist has been so intensely dissected, read, reread and researched upon even after five hundred years. Machiavelli has been accused and accepted, revered and rejected, celebrated and condemnedÃâ¦very few political theorists have actually managed to cause such diverse reactions in the minds of people all over the world. Read MoreElements of Religion in the Renaissance Portrayed in Hamlet by William Shakespeare751 Words à |à 4 Pagesking of the lower beings, by the acuteness of his senses, by the discernment of his reason, and by the light of his intelligence. . .â⬠Also in Act II Scene II, the loveletter of Hamlet to Ophelia is being discussed by Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonious. Although thought of as a ploy by Hamlet to make everyone think he is mad, the first few lines may have some distinctive significance: ââ¬Å"Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun dothRead MoreThe Conflict Between Good And Evil1426 Words à |à 6 Pagesrelationships and religion. Claudiusââ¬â¢ rise to power in Denmark, as well as how he chose to use his power and the end of his rule are depictions of political and moral corruption, as well as Hamletââ¬â¢s treatment of Ophelia and the religious fixation of the characters provides a concrete base for the conflict between good and evil forces. The first instance of the battle between the influences of good and evil occurs within the political atmosphere created by Claudius. Claudiusââ¬â¢ origins in power, in otherRead MoreThe Balance Of Rationality And Spirituality1241 Words à |à 5 Pagesknowledge in affecting the world, which is a slight move away from the belief that fortune and God ordered the universe and indefinitely decided manââ¬â¢s fate. As Vergerius stated, ââ¬Å"To a man of virtuous instincts knowledge is a help and an adornment; to Claudius or a Nero it was a means of refinement in cruelty or in folly,â⬠(Vergerius, ââ¬Å"The New Educationâ⬠). Thus the Renaissance saw the development of Humanitas, a form of liberal education which did not exclude theological study but included grammar, poetryRead More Characteristics of a Machiavel in The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet1163 Words à |à 5 Pagesvehicle for her desire to avenge don Andreas death. It is arguably the case that she is the most devio us, intelligent and manipulative (Therefore machiavellian) character in The Spanish Tragedy. Finally come the villains: Villupo, Lorenzo and Claudius. These characters represent the most blatant (and therefore failing) machiavels. They attempt to do things, through or to other people in order to establish themselves. It can be argued that Pedringano is a machiavel, though I believe that he would margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-5831297051549156952020-05-06T08:47:00.001-07:002020-05-06T08:47:03.473-07:00Development of the Aztec, Akkadian and Hittite Empires Free Essays Chris Scarre ( 2013, p.198 ) suggests that the development of imperiums was driven by the desire for security, or for economic addition or by the mere personal aspiration of swayers and elites. To what extent do you hold with this statement? Answer utilizing grounds from, and doing mention to, at least three of the undermentioned imperiums: the Aztec, the Roman, the Chinese, the Akkadian and the Hittite. We will write a custom essay sample on Development of the Aztec, Akkadian and Hittite Empires or any similar topic only for you Order Now The purpose of this paper is to find as to whether I agree or disagree with the above statement. In order to find the extent of agreement/disagreement, a scope of goaded forces will be explored environing the imperiums of the Aztecs, the Akkadians and the Hittites. To get down with, the word imperium will be defined to give a unequivocal apprehension and how it fits into the three aforementioned imperiums. Empire is defined as: ââ¬Ëa group of states or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful crowned head or authorities: normally a district of greater extent than a land, as the former British Empire, Gallic Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman ââ¬Ë . ( Oxford Companion to Archaeology, 2012 ) Evidence of suggested forces behind the constitution of imperiums and their possible death will be used to back up any agreement/disagreement. The first imperium to be covered is the Aztecs, which existed during the late Post-Classic period, and located in the dumbly populated basin of Mexico. The Aztecs came to command big countries of Mesoamerica North of the Gulf of Tehuantepec and were the last of the Chichimec folk to go forth their place at Aztlan by drouth or overaÃâ ?population which my have been the driving force to the constitution of the imperium. The desire for wealth seem to hold progressed when the Aztecs served as soldier of fortunes through which a series of confederations and rebellions formed, ensuing in growing of wealth and metropoliss. To farther confirm the rise of an imperium, the Aztecs took control of an country of 200 000 square kilometers with a public of about 10 million. This demonstrates the push for growing in set uping a powerful imperium. Having exp lored the development affecting the growing of the Aztec imperium. The societal complexness every bit good as the handiness of historical grounds of stuff remains are found amongst the ruins stating the narrative as it unfolded at the clip. To confirm archeological grounds I shall concentrate on the capital, Tenochtitlan ( C. AD 1325 ) , which grew to be the largest and most complex metropolis in the new universe. Archaeological grounds suggests that much of Tenochtitlan was destroyed in 1521 or subsequently demolished by the colonial Spaniards. It was non until the terminal of the fourteenth century that several twelve warring metropolis provinces existed, one in peculiar which demonstrates the desire for wealth is that of Mexica-Tenocha having a portion of testimonial from combined military triumphs. Further grounds of the desire for power and aspiration by the swayers during the twelvemonth 1519 whereby the mature Aztec imperium dominated some 400 antecedently independent civil o rders through bullying, confederation, and outright conquest. Such procedures of military, wealth, confederation and land size is for me a requirement to the formation of an imperium. The Aztec imperium at the clip showed no marks of failing, was extremely organised, hierarchal and warlike. With the rise of an imperium came its autumn from grace as the imperium proved delicate and did non last the reaching of aggressive European incomers who efficaciously disrupted the top degree of the societal hierarchy and so broke the coercive forces that held the imperium together. ââ¬ËThe Aztec Empire came to an disconnected terminal on 13 August 1521, when Hernan Cortes and his Spanishconquistadorstook the Aztec capital and its emperor Montechzuma ( Montezuma ) II ââ¬Ë (The Aztec Empire: Guggenheim Museum, 2012 ) .Having explored factors impacting a scope of driving forces, I am certain that Scarre has provided a grade of simplification and has non omitted any factors that do non back up the development of imperiums. Not limited to the Aztecs, the rise of imperiums occurred on a planetary footing which brings us on to the second of the imperiums to be discussed which is the Akkadians. The Akkadians were initiated by the swayer Sargon, who was driven by pitiless aspiration through the conquering of the metropolis of Sumer, developing into an enlargement into the universe beyond. It can besides be argued that the Akkadians were besides driven by economic addition through the connexions with the lands of Dilmun, Magan, and Meluhha. Within this desire for economic addition it can be a plausible and a simplified procedure of economic growing and security for the people. Although the imperium was established, the capital, Akkad, has non been located archaeologically. The statement made by Scarre relies on driving forces and taking into history the Akkadian imperium, the readings made through archeological surveies seem to carry through the procedures required in the development of an imperium. Sargon a nd his replacements besides conquered the great city state of Elba, to obtain goods and natural stuffs. The cardinal site of Troy where a great trade of activity was seen from seven consecutive metropoliss, Troy I to Troy VII clearly demonstrates to lift and autumn of an imperium through natural to warfare. The wealth of Troy was apparent when a monolithic cache of about 9000 objects that have become known as the Treasure of Priam connoting power and wealth but fell merely as the Akkadian imperium did. ââ¬ËArchaeological grounds has shown that the Akkadian civilisation collapsed suddenly near 4170 à ± 150 calendar year B.P. , possibly associating to a displacement to more waterless conditions ââ¬Ë ( Cullen, 2000 ) . Although records detailing this are rare, the alterations in regional fruitlessness are preserved in next ocean basins. There is besides grounds of volcanic ash sherds which may hold held a direct but temporal nexus between Mesopotamian aridification and societal prostration. With this sudden displacement to a more waterless status within the part, this may hold besides been a lending factor to the autumn of the Akkadian Empire. Not merely did the imperium prostration from environmental factors but besides by occupying forces from the E. Although I tend to hold with the procedures of imperiums lifting and the drive force behind them, it is more hard to confidently support factors imputing to their ruin. The Akkadian imperium is known to hold risen through conquer ing and economic addition but with two changing factors of natural and semisynthetic forces, we can non presume that warfare or environmental factors played a remarkable portion in the prostration of that imperium. I am non convinced that warfare brought down the Akkadian imperium and am non convinced that environmental factors played a exclusive portion in their death. A cardinal site which besides reinforces the desire for wealth and power. Small is known about the following imperium, the Hittites who were lost to history. What we do know are found on clay tablets (Explore/World Cultures: Hittities British Museum, 2013 ) . It was during the periods from approximately 1650/1600 to 1200 BC that the male monarchs of Hattusha ruled an imperium that reached across the wide lands of Anatolia, widening at times even into the North of Syria. ââ¬ËThey conquered Babylon, and Troy was seemingly one of their vasals. Besides Egypt and Assyria/Babylonia, the Hittites were the 3rd world power of the Ancient Near East ââ¬Ë ( The Excavations at Hattusha, 2011 ) The Hittites as with any other imperium established the capital Hattusa which comprised beginnings of both written and archeological grounds, nevertheless, research into this part is still ongoing. As small is known, one thing nevertheless does come into light which surrounds the aspiration of the male monarch. It was Hattusili I who at the clip became the first male monarch to establish a run in Northern Syria. Such a run implies that the king knew of the importance environing the desire to hold entree to the sea and for the take-over of trade paths. It was through this run that the male monarch was driven strictly by economic addition through trade and power. Due to little other grounds, there is small to indicate to any concrete informations on the degrees of societal complexness either through archeological findings. From what grounds we have, there is no indicant of any complexness of growing giving the feeling of simpleness in the constitution of the imperium. Although the prostration of the Hittites is non really clear, grounds does demo devastation and forsaking which occurred around 1200-1185 BC at the terminal of the bronze age. One other indicant points to about 1200 BC when the imperium was overwhelmed by encroachers, the individuality of whom is unsure but who were likely portion of the general motions of people in the period of agitation in the Mediterranean at the clip. To reason, I can see no disagreement in Scarres statement and to the full support and agree that imperiums were and are still driven by power, economic addition, security and personal aspiration. If we take into history the procedures involved, I do non believe that there are any complexness. Social and proficient ability does nevertheless find the advancement of a civilisation but as with any other imperium, the leading determines its stableness and length of service. The greater the leader, the greater the imperium. Archaeological grounds exists sing imperiums through the Roman and Greek ruins foregrounding the desire for wealth and the push for power through warfare. I can flatly state that I agree with the statement in that imperiums do lift and fall as evidenced with the Roman imperium, the British imperium in India and the three listed above and that all are driven by one manner or another even to this twenty-four hours. ( 1588 words ) Bibliography Asher, N. ( 2012 )The Oxford Companion to Archaeology( 2nd Ed ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //dictionary.reference.com/browse/empire? s=t Accessed: 31 January 2014 Cullen H.M. et Al ( 2000 ) A scholarly article on the prostration of the Akkadian imperium from Geology, April 2000, volume 28, no. 4 ; pp.379ââ¬â382. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //leilan.yale.edu/pubs/files/cullen2000.pdf ( Accessed: 1 January 2014 ) Scarre, J. ( Ed. ) ( 2013 )The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies3rdEdition London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 454, 455, 456, 457 Scarre, J. ( Ed. ) ( 2013 ) The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies 3rd Edition London: Thames and Hudson, p. 198 The Guggenheim Museum, Exhibitions-The Aztec Empire-Overview Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //pastexhibitions.guggenheim.org/aztecs/overview.html. ( Accessed 1 January 2014 ) The British Museum, Explore/World Cultures ( 2013 ) [ Hittites ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.britishmuseum.org/explore/cultures.aspx ( Accessed 28 December 2013 ) The Excavations at Hattusha ââ¬â A undertaking of the German ArchaeoIogical Institute ( 2011 ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hattuscha.de/English/english1.htm ( Accessed 31 January 2014 ) 1 How to cite Development of the Aztec, Akkadian and Hittite Empires, Essay examples margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-26990929987752888002020-04-26T14:47:00.001-07:002020-04-26T14:47:02.460-07:00Pollution Solution Script Essay ExamplePollution Solution Script Paper The sun naturally produces ozone with immense energy and over time. To do the same, we will be looking at using immense energy too. The only way to do that is to remove the excess chlorine and bromine from the stratosphere. And the only way to do that IS to stop making CIFS and several other chemicals. Again, candidate #2, miss Toni rose slogging. Candidate #3, candidate #3 is miss She represents the water. In her own words in Dealing with water pollution is something that everyone needs to get involved with. Learning about the issue is the greatest and most important step to take. According to her, Never throw rubbish away anyhow. Always look for the correct waste bin. Use water wisely. Do not throw chemicals, oils, paints and medicines down the sink drain, or the toilet. In this case, you can lessen the pollution in water. Again, candidate #3, miss Candidate #4, candidate #4 is miss Beatrice Rosa. She represents the air. She believes that,Solution efforts on pollution is always a big problem. This is why reversion interventions are always a better way of controlling air pollution. This is because lots of fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, and so if we can cut down the use, we will also cut down the amount of pollution we create. For her the best solution of air pollution is to use everything wisely. We will write a custom essay sample on Pollution Solution Script specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pollution Solution Script specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pollution Solution Script specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Candidate #5, candidate #5 is miss daisy knoll. She represents the nature, she wants to help others in preventing the pollution by the help of the plants. She agreed that the best way to do is to plant more trees because it can help to balance the gases in the atmosphere. And also, it can prevent flash floods hen it is raining. And gives us fresh air with a little shade when it is sunny day. Again, candidate #5, miss daisy knoll. And last but not the least, Candidate # 6, candidate #6 is miss She represents the ocean. She believes that if you are aware you can also take a part to do something. Be part of competitions, organizations and societies that aim to preserve and defend natural resources including water. And she also said, that do not be afraid to tell someone who has a power when you see a fisherman using illegal deeds. In that small way, you can save a lives. Again, the gorgeous candidates with their dresses. 5. My husbands lover . B. Philippians These candidates does not have only beauty but they are also intelligent enough to answer the judges question. Candidates, when you hear this sound (beep) it means your time is up. Candidate # plus choose to this envelope and Will read your chosen one. And to clarify something, your answer will be rank 1-10 by our respectful judges (tattoo mega judge) k heres our question (sound sound an) (bigamy Eng judge nag total rank Eng candidates Kay Iodine) k, here it is. In this envelope is the 1st runner of B. Philippians and the title B. Philippians. k ladies, when I call our name plus step forward and go to the sight corner of this stage. margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-50298060721086431522020-03-18T22:31:00.001-07:002020-03-18T22:31:04.655-07:00Free Essays on Cat In The RainIn the short story ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠, Hemingway portrays/ describes a relationship at risk and infers that the relationship will not survive. Hemingway contrasts the male and female characters against the background of a rainy day in Italy, because of the weather, the differences between them are brought out, her being restless and him being passive. The characters are an American couple apparently on vacation. The story opens with George the husband lying in bed neglecting the needs and wants of his wife The American girl. The American girl lonely and neglected spots something outside her window. By George neglecting his wife from the beginning we can reflect that the rainy day in Italy has set Georgeââ¬â¢s tone and showââ¬â¢s his neglecting of responsibilities as a husband. The American wifeââ¬â¢s feelings of dissatisfaction are focused on a cat she sees outside sheltering from the rain. At that very moment she realizes that the cat was the only thing that can make her feel warmth inside or maybe was she thinking about the padrone. Thinking about herself, she continuously annoys her husband with the idea of her having a cat. Leaving her room walking slowly down the hall she stumbled upon the padrone. ââ¬Å"The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he waned to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands.â⬠(line 30-33). Was all this talking in her head the way of telling herself that there are other people that really care about her? Still walking she reaches the door, was this the door that was about to change her life. As she walks outside she noticed the table under the window but no cat. Devastated and almost heart-broken she walks back into the hotel and feels a sense of real importance from the padrone, for that one special moment she truly felt the way sheââ¬â¢s been wanting to feel but ha... Free Essays on Cat In The Rain Free Essays on Cat In The Rain Ernest Hemingwayââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠Hemingwayââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠is a short story depicting a couples stay in Italy. The woman in the story sees a cat stranded outside in the rain and wants to bring him to her hotel room. When she goes to retrieve the cat, it is gone. However a short while later the cat is delivered to her room by the hotelkeeper. Hemingway helps the reader to appreciate ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠through his use of setting, writing style, and character. Ernest Hemingway uses the setting in the short story ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠to set a unique feeling. In the story ââ¬Å"it was raining. The rain dripped from the palm leaves.â⬠(Hemingway 408). The hotel is where the whole story takes place. The hotel was not very active on the rainy day. ââ¬Å"There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room.â⬠(Hemingway 408). The Italian atmosphere with the American guests in it gives definite volume to the setting. Ernest Hemingway also uses his writing style in ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠to aid the reader in understanding and interpreting the short story. The point of view Hemingway tells ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠from is very sexist. Hemingway displays his sexist attitude in the short story when the man, George, compliments the woman saying, ââ¬Å"You look pretty darn nice,â⬠(Hemingway 409), then in his next breath degrades her by telling her to ââ¬Å"shut up and get something to read.â⬠(Hemingway 409). Hemingwayââ¬â¢s opposition to women is one of his notorious traits. Hemingway is also known to use little description in his works but rely confidently in the dialogue. In ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠Hemingway balances both description and dialogue quite well. When describing the woman finding the cat, Hemingway writes: The American wife stood at the window looking out. Outside right under their window a cat was crouc... Free Essays on Cat In The Rain In the short story ââ¬Å"Cat in the Rainâ⬠, Hemingway portrays/ describes a relationship at risk and infers that the relationship will not survive. Hemingway contrasts the male and female characters against the background of a rainy day in Italy, because of the weather, the differences between them are brought out, her being restless and him being passive. The characters are an American couple apparently on vacation. The story opens with George the husband lying in bed neglecting the needs and wants of his wife The American girl. The American girl lonely and neglected spots something outside her window. By George neglecting his wife from the beginning we can reflect that the rainy day in Italy has set Georgeââ¬â¢s tone and showââ¬â¢s his neglecting of responsibilities as a husband. The American wifeââ¬â¢s feelings of dissatisfaction are focused on a cat she sees outside sheltering from the rain. At that very moment she realizes that the cat was the only thing that can make her feel warmth inside or maybe was she thinking about the padrone. Thinking about herself, she continuously annoys her husband with the idea of her having a cat. Leaving her room walking slowly down the hall she stumbled upon the padrone. ââ¬Å"The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he waned to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands.â⬠(line 30-33). Was all this talking in her head the way of telling herself that there are other people that really care about her? Still walking she reaches the door, was this the door that was about to change her life. As she walks outside she noticed the table under the window but no cat. Devastated and almost heart-broken she walks back into the hotel and feels a sense of real importance from the padrone, for that one special moment she truly felt the way sheââ¬â¢s been wanting to feel but ha... margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-23192948725275124612020-03-02T14:18:00.001-08:002020-03-02T14:18:02.370-08:00How to make your writing at work engagingHow to make your writing at work engaging How do you make writing engaging? How can you make your writing engaging? Or, more specifically, how can you make your business writing engaging? Why, surely thats a contradiction in terms! Right â⬠¦? A lot of people do seem to make a distinction between 1) Work Writing, and 2) Pretty Much Every Other Kind of Writing. It essentially amounts to this: type 2 has the potential to be entertaining and engaging and type 1 doesnt. After all, prestigious prizes are awarded for literature, journalism and non-fiction writing. Meanwhile, the kind of writing they have to do at work can be, yes, functional ââ¬â but probably also dry. Thats just how it is. You may be unsurprised to hear we dont think thats true. OK, you might not win a Pulitzer Prize for your latest proposal, this months management report or that email you wrote to Stuart in Accounts. But you can make the reading experience for your potential client, the management team or old Stu a more interesting one. Better still, doing so will make a huge difference to how successful and effective what youve written is. We live in a world of too many documents and too little time, and anything thats actually a pleasure to read already has an advantage. So heres how you can help topple the myth that business writing has to be B-O-R-I-N-G: Begin at the beginning Begin with your reader. This is always our number one rule, simply because who youre writing for should colour all the decisions you make when writing. A reader is much, much more likely to be engaged by what youve written if it feels relevant to them. Lets face it, if someone concludes by sentence three that this particular document or email has no relevance to them, what do you suppose the odds of them continuing to read are? Yep ââ¬â not good. Ideally, youd be writing about a topic that already interests them, naturally ââ¬â but there again, you may not have a choice. And even if you know theyre unlikely to be instantly gripped, you still have the chance to find a way to make it seem as important as you can to them. Ask yourself these questions every time you write, to prime yourself. And it might sound obvious, but be clear on what you want to say before you get going. Plan the structure first. Combining the thinking and writing processes tends to result in a message that meanders all over the place. And (tough love time), you cant expect anyone to follow you round the houses on the off-chance they find a point along the way. Hook em in Engaging writing has to engage from the start. Those first lines are when your reader is weighing up whether to keep going or do something else instead (like reading another document or email, checking social media or simply leaving their desk and grabbing a coffee). Its at this point that you set their mood for facing the rest. Clearly, it doesnt bode well if their reaction to the first few lines is, Wow, this is going to be a slog. So make your introduction work hard to captivate from the beginning. Its the gatekeeper to the rest of your work. Of course, the reader isnt the only one who may find this section problematic. You will still be getting into the swing of writing when you compose your introduction (unless youre writing it in a panic at the end). This makes it easy to start out a bit long-winded, waffly or flat. But an introduction must have impact. So keep your first sentence or two tight, and definitely dont go in with reams of background. One great technique you can use to kick off is the surprise intro: a strong statement that ââ¬â youve guessed it ââ¬â will come as a surprise and shake the reader out of autopilot. Something like More than 60 per cent of Acme Widgets business comes from just 20 customers or One in six people are at risk of flooding in England has a good chance of making them want to read on to find out more. Invisible ink Hands up everyone who likes working really hard to understand something. Thought so. Its very important to make your writing effortless to read. The best writing is invisible. This means that the language used doesnt draw attention to itself ââ¬â its just a stealth vehicle for the message, which then seems to arrive in your readers head as if from nowhere. And how do you achieve this? Using simple language is a good place to start. Make short words your first choice. Mind you, what this doesnt mean is that you shouldnt ever use longer words. It means, when you do, you do so because the longer word is the best fit, not because it seems like a high-class upgrade. So, you might put utilise in place of the shorter use for its specific meaning of employing something to do a job it wasnt necessarily designed for. But replacing help with ameliorate wont gain you extra points or frequent flyer miles ââ¬â it just might lose you readers. The points less about always using the shortest word and more about choosing words that are familiar ââ¬â theres where your knowledge of the reader comes in. Try to avoid a word thats likely to send them off to the dictionary, or that could make them feel frustrated, small or stupid because they dont know it. Treat jargon words the same way, and ban any that wont be understood. (Do use ones that youre sure will be a useful shorthand, though ââ¬â again, its about knowing whats appropriate for the reader.) In fact, try to write more or less as youd speak in a meeting: professional but conversational. Reading your work aloud can help to check your written voice is as natural as your speech. Doing this will also remind you to pick verbs over the noun equivalent where you would say something using verbs ââ¬â we agreed rather than we reached an agreement, for example. The same goes for favouring the active voice, where you put the doer before what he, she or it did: we discussed the matter not the matter was discussed by us. (But if you would naturally say it in the passive, use the passive.) Two-way conversations You can draw on more conventions of conversation to engage a reader as you would a listener. Borrow its directness. Would you ever refer to yourself ââ¬â or the other person ââ¬â in the third person if you were having a chat? Catie would like to determine if a cup of tea would be of value to the addressee. No-one wants to sit next to that person in the office. Yet we often switch to this kind of indirect, detached language when we write. Weve all seen it. Management would appreciate it if colleagues comments were received by Friday, says the memo to no-one in particular, as if written by a disinterested outsider. But guess what? To be engaging, you have to engage with people. So use you to address the reader if you can, plus the odd I, or we for the company. Youll sound much more human too. And try using questions. Even closed ones with a simple yes/no answer can be powerful, as you cant help but answer them in your head (can you?). Make them see it, feel it and believe it A common piece of advice in fiction writing is show, dont tell ââ¬â but it applies just as well to business writing. Showing is more visual and convincing than just proclaiming a fact and hoping youll be believed. Check if youre relying too heavily on describing words, whether theyre describing things or actions. Either way, they can sound a bit thin if theres nothing backing them up. So dont just say sales have been impressive, get specific: say theyve doubled or increased by 30 per cent in a month. And dont just call your team of trainers experienced ââ¬â say how many years theyve been in the industry or whom theyve successfully helped. What did that success look like? Did they increase productivity or sales? Be sure to put numbers in a context people can actually relate to. Commit to what youre saying. Confident words are compelling, while continually using hedge words like perhaps, its possible, and it is our intention to will chip away at your readers faith in you. Find your rhythm When it comes to the sound of your writing, think less techno and more jazz. Mix up the length of your sentences to vary the rhythm and keep your reader (who will hear your words in their head) interested. You probably can ââ¬â and should ââ¬â go much shorter with your sentences than you think, sticking to a maximum of 35 words and an average of 15ââ¬â20. But variety is key. If theyre all similarly longish, itll be dull; all short and the effect is like that of being on a bus during rush hour ââ¬â endless stop-starting, a sense of nausea and a desperate desire to escape. Use punctuation to keep the rhythm interesting too ââ¬â a strategically placed dash (like that one), for example, can add a nice dramatic pause. Meanwhile, brackets give the sense of an aside. If youre feeling particularly creative, you can play with some literary techniques thatll make your writing more visual and memorable. One is alliteration ââ¬â repeatedly using the same letter, as above in stop-starting and desperate desire. The other is the power of three. No-ones sure quite why, but three does indeed seem to be the magic number. One way you can exploit this is by illustrating with three examples, as (again) with those side effects of riding a bus, or the subheading Make them see it, feel it and believe it. Theres no need to overdo these last two tricks, but they do give your writing a bit more punch and staying power ââ¬â which is why advertisers use them. And finally One last thing: remember that for your writing to be engaging, you have to be engaged while youre writing it. Going through the motions wont result in anything that sounds fresh, especially if youre still getting used to trying out these techniques. With all that in mind, lets go forth and be engaging ââ¬â yes, even at work. As well as giving everything we create the best chance at success, we just might make the world of business writing a bit more interesting. And that would indeed be something to prize. Image credit: A and N photography / Shutterstock margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-72949362388516534272020-02-15T05:44:00.001-08:002020-02-15T05:44:03.050-08:00Poverty alienation through increased private sector or state controlin EssayPoverty alienation through increased private sector or state controlin Nigeria...what is the way forward - Essay Example Despite providing 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings and about 60 per cent of government revenues, the oil sectorââ¬â¢s contribution to GDP is less than 25 per cent. The agriculture sector is largely subsidized and has made a 26.8 per cent contribution to GDP in 2005. Industry and services contributed by 48.8 and 24.4 per cent respectively. Although, Nigeria had once been a large net exporter of food, it is now importing some of its food products. Nigeriaââ¬â¢s economic progression has been disturbed by corruption, political instability and poor macroeconomic management for years. Following the restoration of democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria is now undergoing substantial economic reform (Anthony Maduagwu, 09/09/00). During the period 2003 to 2007, Nigeria put into effect National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) which aimed towards raising the standard of living of the people by establishing macroeconomic stability through deregulation of the economic environment privatization of government ventures, economic liberalization and accountability. This initiative also addressed the basic deficiencies such as unreliable power supplies, poor infrastructure and lack of fresh water for household and irrigation. It was also aimed towards creating 7 million employments, boosting non-energy exports, increasing industrial capacity utilization, improving agricultural productivity and diversifying the economy. Similar initiative called State Economic Empowerment Development Strategy was also implemented at the state level. The UN sponsored the National Development Goals program for Nigeria, as a long-term economic development program, covering the period 2000-2015. Under this program Nigeria is committed to achieve number of set targets in the areas of poverty reduction, gender equality, health, education, environment and international development cooperation. Despite these efforts and with the presence of enormous margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-41270165499303920532020-02-02T05:13:00.001-08:002020-02-02T05:13:02.700-08:00International Business- Foreign Direct Investment EssayInternational Business- Foreign Direct Investment - Essay Example Vertical FDI involves locating different stages of production in different countries. Oil companies showcase vertical FDI through production/drilling, product refining and distribution in different countries. Lastly, conglomerate FDI where a firm acquires controlling interests in a firm operating in a different country. FDI brings the advantage of job provision, injection of cash into the economy, income to governments through taxation and infrastructural/technological development (Nehaus 42-45). However, the firms may concentrate the top and crucial management positions with expatriates while also repatriating profits to their home countries (Kapil 629). Besides, financial downturns such as the recent global economic crisis would see the firm close the foreign investments first. Nehaus (142) discusses the OLI paradigm of attracting FDI- Ownership advantages, Locational advantages and benefits of Internationalization, where locational influences can be determined by the host country. Here, big markets, removal of market entry barriers, subsidies and lower costs, good infrastructure, trade openness and economic and political stability promote FDI. At all times, the country has to be aware that it is competing with other countries to receive the margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-23617913986694929822020-01-25T01:37:00.001-08:002020-01-25T01:37:02.669-08:00Irving Textual Analysis of The Legend Of Sllepy Hollow Essays Textual Analysis of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" 1.) Romantic Description: a. pg. 715 - "there is a little valley, or rather lap of land, among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world.à A small brook glides through it, with just a murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility." Irving describes nature as an untouchable force.à He ignores the realism of nature and reveals only the beauty it holds.à It is the stereotypical description of Mother Nature.à Irving makes it sound so tranquil as if this place doesnââ¬â¢t exist in this world. c. pg 731 - "Its limbs were gnarled, and fantastic, large enough to form trunks of ordinary trees, twisting down almost to the earth, and rising again into the air. The tree is almost created into somewhat of a creature.à With the limbs twisting out and rising into the air.à Irving takes ordinary earthlike objects and changes the perspective of them into imaginary matter. 2.) Avoidance of Controversy/Digressions: a. pg 717 - "...some little, tough, wrong-headed, broad-skirted Dutch urchin, who sulked and swelled and grew dogged and sullen beneath the birch.à All this he called "doing his duty by their parents;" and he never inflicted a chastisement without following it by the assurance, so consolatory to the smarting urchin, which "he would remember it, and thank him for it the longest day he had to live."à When school hours were over..." Irving constantly made fun of the Dutch, and this is one of those examples.à He calls them wrong-headed and mocks their appearance by criticizing theirà broad-skirted dress.à Then to avoid the controversy he changes the subject and goes straight into the next thing. b. pg 728 - "The musician was an old gray headed Negro, who had been the itinerant orchestra of the neighborhood for more than half a century.à His instrument was as old and battered as himself." Here, Irving tries to avoid the subject of slavery and human rights. He tries to stay neutral on the issue.à He described the black man as battered and old showing the inequality of the two races, in a sense avoiding the whole slavery situation during that time period.à 3.) American Character Types: a. pg 722... ...cts women as a bit lazy because in the passage they jut sit around talking, eating, and having a good time and have no work to do. Therefore, implying that men do all the work and the women just lounge around. 8.) Use of American History: a. pg 719 - "He was, moreover, esteemed by the women as a man of great erudition, for he had read several books quite through, and was a perfect master of Cotton Mather's history of New England Witchcraft, in which, by the way, he most firmly and potently believed. Irving refers to an actual historical event by mentioning that Ichabod was a firm believer in Cotton Mathers writing about the Salem witch trials. Irving is pretty accurate because it is actually a real book and was commonly read.à He references to the literary works of the time and the thoughts that people had about the world during the time. b. pg 728 - "The British and American line had run near it during the war; it had, therfore, been the scene of marauding, and infested with refugees, cow-boys, and all kinds of border chivalry." Irving does use an historical American setting, America and the British were engaged in war at the time and had battles around that.à margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-19513910932708363612020-01-16T21:59:00.001-08:002020-01-16T21:59:04.470-08:00McDonaldization of Society EssayThe book of George Ritzer, has taken certain elements from Weberââ¬â¢s work and presented a critical analysis of the impact that is felt by the social structural change on human interaction and identity. According to the book, Ritzer claims that the fast food business and its structure is responsible for the present organizational force and this process or rationalization has disseminated into the everyday lives of the individuals and their interaction levels. As has been defined by Ritzer himself: â⬠¦Mcdonaldalization,â⬠¦. is the process y which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the world. (ritzer,1993:1) If one was to perceive the growth of this franchise, the fact that it has thousands of outlets worldwide and is located in the suburbs, military bases, malls. And even the highway exchanges present the extent to which our lives have been taken over by this process. It is not only the fast food chains which represent this issue but even the other chains such as those connected to Toys, Bookstores, newspapers and child care amongst several others. There have been instances-increasing in number-that the newer areas of business expertise are making use of this process. Everything is handled and managed in a way to control the perceptions and mindset of people. There have been five dominant themes which were outlined by Ritzer in his book which center on the idea of efficiency, calculability, predictability, increased control, and the replacement of human by non-human technology. The first one deals with the notion of efficiency and it is basically translated as the use of means in order to reach a goal or aim with the least amount of time and effort. The idea of efficiency can be seen by the way the people in different business or industries perceive it to be as it can differ for different business structures. This is viewed as a benefit and advantage to the customer in all respects and forms. The different ways that this is achieved can be seen through the use of the ATM machine, voice mail, and drive-up window services salad bars etc which all cater to reducing the time required for that business purpose. The customer might not be aware of this but in this process; he actually conducts various sorts of services and pays for them as well which were available to him before on demand. It might seem as a noteworthy service but in reality it is just a way of cutting time and costs for the firm and increasing the cost for the customer. It requires learning the usage of these newer services, and in order to apply and make use of them the customer has to bear the extra costs for these value- added services. Another theme which comes across is the idea and notion of calculability. In order to define this notion, the words of Ritzer would be put to effective use: ââ¬Å" this involves an emphasis on things that can be calculated, counted , quantified. Quantification refers to a tendency to emphasize quantity rather than quality. This leads to a sense that quality is equal to certain, usually (but not always) large quantities of thingsâ⬠. (Ritzer, 1994:142). There are several examples which can be used to explain the idea of making use of quantity- some of the fast food offerings such as the Big Mac, Big Whopper, Wnedyââ¬â¢s Biggie meals etc which all point to the fact that quality has been effectively replaced by quantity. Another pertinent area which comes to the notice of the reader is the fact that time-saving plays an integral role in this process as well. There are newer and improved recipes which allow for the food to be made in much shorter time and the microwave food products cater to the need of such time conservative individuals. Another theme which is presented effectively is predictability. It is in reference to the attempt that is played by the attempts that are made in order to structure our environment and hence, surprise cannot have any effect on our sensible nature. Those who act sensibly and use their logic will always have an upper hand as they would be well prepared in advance for any problems and issues that might come their way. The customer of this sort would expect the same taste, quality and requirements that he got from one area product to be applied elsewhere. The example of the entertainment industry can be used in this regard as the audience is made to water movies upon movies either regarding the same theme, sequels or even series regarding the same issue. Therefore, a sense of predictability has become a prominent feature of all our lives and we operate by it. Whether it is going to the office from 9 to 5, going for some sort of entertainment on the weekends-we do follow a course which more or less is decided and is hence, predictable. The human race is being doctrine by the idea of predictability and any deviation has become a source of risk. The other theme which was taken on by the author of this book was the idea of control through the substitution of nonhuman for human technology. In Ritzerââ¬â¢s own words: ââ¬Å"these two elements are closely linked. Specifically, replacement of human by nonhuman often oriented towards greater control. The great source of uncertainty and unpredictability in a rationalizing system are people ââ¬âeither the people who work within those systems or the people who are served by them. â⬠(Ritzer 1994:148) For the human per see, everything is planned and done for him before hand and he operates as a mere obedient automation machine which operates as ordered by machine with no thinking on his behalf being carried out. If one was to look at the different areas of oneââ¬â¢s life, it could be seen that from the kitchen to the living room, all of us make effective use of technology in one way or another. The machines do the tasks for us and us being treated as mere handlers of them. As per the claim of Ritzer: ââ¬Å"the next step in this development is to have the customer do the scanningâ⬠Ritzer (1994: 150) This comment clearly indicates the fact that the humans have over time allowed the machines to overtake them in this case of managing and carrying out the work. The computer and machines have been accepted as the measurement criteria by which we assess ourselves and our skills. What is being seen as a development is that the human skills and capabilities are being rapidly eroded in the fact of development and the humans are merely being used in order to facilitate the processes of the machinery. The last theme which was analyzed and discussed by the book would be that of the irrationality of rationality. This theme mocks the rationality of these systems which are a source of the pride of the owners of these product companies. This book represents a view that if analyzed properly it could be seen that under these rational systems or so called-there lies an edge of irrationality. In Ritzerââ¬â¢s own words: ââ¬Å" most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny their basic humanity, the human resource, of the people who work within are served by them. (Ritzer, 1994:154) All of us have been victims at different points at time when we have had to wait quite long for the food, groceries which make us question the rationality of the fact that though more is being paid for the efficient -ness and effectiveness of these systems, yet at the end those very systems are being undermined by the essence of rationality. We make use of the products and services which are aimed at providing us with better services and results only to provide us with less than desired results. The dependency increases of all on these very systems and in effect, it becomes a mere trap as the humans rely heavily on these for their different purposes and aims. However, this same vicious cycle creates an even worse effect as the environment which is sued for the basic purposes of breathing is polluted and affected in a number of detrimental ways. In Ritzerââ¬â¢s book: ââ¬Å"the communal meal is our primary ritual for encouraging the family to gather together every day. If it is lost to us, we shall have to invent new ways to be a family. It is worth considering whether the shared joy that food can provide is worth giving up. (Visser, 1989:42, in Ritzer, 1994:156). The easy availability of readymade meals etc have made things much more easier for the present generation and hence, a number of important elements which were present initial have seen to be fading. The world is becoming heavily dependent on manmade objects and services which in effect is making it lose its own individuality. The above part of the paper effectively discussed the elements of the book and the following paper would critically analyze these themes and ideas. The author of this book has presented some quite simple views and understanding of the various themes. The author presents an understanding that the human values are an unnecessary area which does not require exploration and what actually requires attention are those systems which are endangering the humansââ¬â¢ ability to think. Through his analysis, Ritzer is able to apply his principles to a wide range of phenomenon which includes the economic and social aspects as well. What comes across is a failure in order to explore the cultural dimensions and though his analysis is a social analysis-it yet fails in a number of ways. what is clearly required is a cultural perspective and in order to add to the normative stance of Ritzer, certain important areas such as the strategies of resistance and critical perspectives need to be focused on as well. One of the weaknesses which are inherent in this book is the fact that by representing McDonald as the paradigm of McDonaldization the actual progress is negated and undermined in a lot of ways. There comes across an excessive dependence on the Weber theory and that what can be used to overcome the problems is the multiperspectivist approach. The rationale of the book clearly comes as a method of presenting the sociological theory of Weber to rationalize the theory with a number of empirical data usages. He adds to the analysis of Weber which was further carried out by this book as he tries to restructure a vast array of areas which extend from the general social dynamics and the larger structure of the social organizational structure. What comes across as a strong concept throughout the book is the concept of consumption and the area of production which plays an important area in the McDonaldization process is actually ignored. The concept of profit is touched upon is certain cases ( Ritzer 1996:44,62F)although it could have been better handled if the author had aimed it at through the rationalization process of production and consumption. Being part of a rationalization process, McDonaldization is a phenomenon through which the world markets are being rationalized and reorganized in order to maximize the capital accumulation. The cultural dimension and aspect of the McDonaldization process which the corporate word makes effective use of in order to create the family values and attract the attention of the viewers and readers. Therefore, the company and franchise McDonaldââ¬â¢s is not merely selling services and products but in fact is selling certain cultural values and inculcating them as well. The process of purchase etc is merely a small part of the actual value chain. Therefore, McDonaldization is in fact part of a social phenomenon which has its own cultural values and codes which have been largely ignored by the book and its author. The US is actually a race which consists of the values such as family etc which are catered to by these franchises as they promote these national values and validate them to the entire nation. Therefore, the author undermines the different aspects and methods of McDonaldââ¬â¢s which is an ideological and cultural phenomenon as well as being an economic one. The cultural dimension is largely overlooked and ignored by the author in the pursuit of portraying the economic process. The theory of homogenization is also presented in a highly generalized manner and the standard of the process of McDonaldization is portrayed throughout the book and what is ignored is the fact is the variety and diversity of the consumer practices in the different areas and regions of the world. Each different region and area has its product offerings which differ to a large extent and that has been largely ignored by the author of this book. The social rationalization and the different phenomena which is experienced by the various races and creeds are not presented at all which presents a major flaw and weakness of this book and the author effectively. The subjective process of the process are ignored in the pursuit of the theory of rationalization and the presentation of Ritzerââ¬â¢s ideas are clearly too objective and fail to highlight the various subjective and cultural values of McDonaldization. Ritzer argues that the concept of Modernization (Ritzer, 1994:148f) is what McDonaldization is perceived as but one has to analyze that whether it truly is that or is the reality actually different. There are aspects of this process which are clearly interlinked with the traditional values and the claims of the author of the McDonaldization process being the cause of the modernists is undermining this important area and aspect of the McDonaldization process. While the rationalization process of production and consumption are areas and aspect of the McDonaldization process, they clearly do not overtake the entire meaning and existence of the entire process. In fact, the reality of the process is the fact that the McDonaldization process does not only relate to Weberââ¬â¢s theory of rationalization and Marxââ¬â¢s theory of commodification but there are other postmodern elements which are connected to it. Ritzerââ¬â¢s attempts to distance the analysis of post modernity from the McDonaldization process are in connection to his failure to bring out the connections between the cultural dimension and the McDonaldization process. An important area of the postmodern theory is the cultural aspect which has been linked with the transactional culture that is enacted upon this McDonaldization process and created even further. The connection that is created between this process on a global and local scale might have been analyzed by this book but what has been ignored is the social functions, different meanings and experiences that are generated by the McDonaldââ¬â¢s in a number of regions. This paper has not only represented the themes but also represented the flaws and weaknesses inherent in this book and what could have been done in order to improve the understanding of the process. References The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-8812-2) McDonaldization: The Reader by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-8767-3) The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-5540-2) McDonaldization of Americaââ¬â¢s Police, Courts, and Corrections by Matthew B. Robinson McCitizens by Bryan Turner Resisting McDonaldization, ed. Barry Smart Golden Arches East: McDonaldââ¬â¢s in East Asia by James L. Watson Sociology of Consumption: Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos, ed. George Ritzer The McDonaldization of Higher Education, ed. Dennis Hayes & Robert Wynyard Enchanting a Disenchanted World by George Ritzer Ritzer, George (2008). The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. ISBN 0-7619-8812-2. McDonaldââ¬â¢s UK. ââ¬Å"Questions Answeredâ⬠. Make up your own mind. . Retrieved on 2007-09-15. ââ¬Å"Due to the global scale of the McDonaldââ¬â¢s business, many commentators seek to use its brand and international presence to support various positions and theories that they wish to put forward. â⬠Sociological Beginnings: On the Origins of Key Ideas in Sociology, McGraw-Hill, 1994. The McDonaldization of Society, Pine Forge Press, 1993. The quote from Margaret Vissner, taken from Ritzerââ¬â¢s presentation is found in: ââ¬Å"A Meditation on the Microwave,â⬠Psychology Today, December 1989, pp. 38ff. Alfino, Mark, Caputo, John S. , and Wynyard, Robin, McDonaldization Revisited: Critical Essays on Consumer Culture, Westport: Praeger, 1998 Emerson, Robert L. , ,Fast Food: The Endless Shakeout, NY: Lebhar-Friedman Books, 1979 Halberstam, David, The Fifties, NY: Fawcett Columbine, 1993 Hogan, David Gerard, Selling ââ¬â¢em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food, NY: New York University Press, 1997 Kroc, Ray, Grinding It Out, Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1977 Luxenberg, Stan, Roadside Empires: How the Chains Franchised America, NY: Viking, 1985 Ritzer, George, The McDonaldization of Society, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1996 Ritzer, George, The McDonaldization Thesis, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 1998 Reiter, Ester, Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer, 2nd ed. , Buffalo: McGill-Queenââ¬â¢s University Press, 1996 Severini Kowinski, William, The Malling of America, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc, 1985 Fletcher, Liz. (1993, February). Is there a chance for a standardised user interface? The Electronic Library, 11 (1):29-32. Manley, W. (1981, June). Facing the public. Wilson Library Bulletin, 55 (10): 762-763,798. Martin, Marilyn J. (1991, May). Academic libraries as information consumers: Implications for policy making. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 17 (2): 93-98. McManus, N. (1995, November). The browser wars: Netscape and Microsoft battle to control World Wide Web formatting standards. Digital Media, 5 (6):11. Ritzer, G. (1996). The McDonaldization of Society. Revised ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Pine Forge. 265p. Schlack, M. (1996, October). Wanted: New software. Byte, p. 14. Tibbets, J. & Berstein, Barbara. (1995, July). Microsoft monopoly? Never! Information Week, 538: 112. Thorner, Marvin Edward, Convenience and Fast Food Handbook, Westport; The Avi Publishing Company, Inc. , 1973 Wasson, Chester R. , Consumer Behavior: A Managerial Viewpoint, Austin, TX: Austin Press, 1975 margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-63986366612171546982020-01-08T18:22:00.001-08:002020-01-08T18:22:04.887-08:00Justice and the role of accounting - Free Essay Example Sample details Pages: 29 Words: 8601 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Justice and the role of accounting What is Justice? Justice means different things to different people. It is very much a culturally determined concept that requires an innate understanding of a particular person or group of people. For the purpose of this research paper justice is defined as the judgment and process involved with making something that is wrong or bad, right and good. Justice helps us as a society distinguish wrong from right and corrects what is wrong by making it right. Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Justice and the role of accounting" essay for you Create order But what is right and what is wrong? What is fair and what is just? If something is wrong or unfair, how should society make it right? Such questions have been asked since the beginnings of human interaction. Perhaps under a monarchy justice, for right or wrong, is more easily determined as it is simply what the supreme ruler (or monarch) feels is just or fair. Under a monarchy or aristocratic rule, there is only one ruler and what that individual feels is right, just, or fair, simply is and often cannot be questioned. However, within the realm of more contemporary political systems such as democracy, the ideology of justice, while arguably more fair, can be much more difficult to establish and understand. Democracy, at least in theory, grants the power to the people and therefore places the burden of justice or defining what is fair or equal upon the masses. Since different people have different belief systems they are often in disagreement on what is right or what is fair and have differences of opinion when it comes to justice. Without the aristocracy, justice becomes a very argumentative and ambiguous concept. Philosophy, the Various Schools of Thought, and their Influence on the Ideology of Justice Disagreements over what is fair (or just) have been around since the beginning of time, almost certainly since the very first of human interactions. At first glance we probably think we have a fairly uniform understanding of what justice might or should be. For example if someone commits premeditated first degree murder, most would probably agree the individual should be jailed and, depending on your belief system, either face a life sentence in jail or the death penalty. If someone embezzles money from their company, most would insist the individual should be forced to make restitution and face additional criminal or civil penalty. But even in the seemingly straightforward examples above, and within the realm of a relatively homogenous audience (those reading this paper), one can already start to see how complicated the ideology of justice can be. For example, some have very strong feelings about the death penalty and insist that no crime, even murder, would justify ending another persons life. Additionally, some feel that crimes such as embezzlement are a form of victimless crime and would never warrant a punishment as severe as jail time since no one individual had been harmed. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 527) Within the relatively straightforward scenarios above, one can already begin to imagine the diversity of opinions as to what is just and fair. Should the murder be murdered? Should the embezzler be jailed? What if he only stole the money to pay for chemotherapy for his dying wife? Luckily, numerous philosophers and historians have provided us with rich literature that helps us decipher the complex ideology of justice. In fact, it is only after studying and critically evaluating several of these philosophers, their different schools of ethical and moral thought, and the way they define justice that one can start to understand the differences in perceptions of justice around the world. The next sections provide brief introductions into several of the various schools of ethical and moral thought and provide some insight into the individual philosophers that have undoubtedly helped to shape ours and others understanding of justice. It is only after considering the various schools of thought that we can start to understand the differences in the perception of justice that exist around the world. Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a utilitarian and insisted that justice is doing what will produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. (Justice a Reader pg. 9) The utilitarian school of thought considers the principle of utility as the basis of moral law. Bentham defines utility as whatever promotes pleasure or prevents pain. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) The major criticism / objection to Benthams utilitarian principals come from the perspective that maximum utility, or collective happiness, may come at the expense of violating individual rights. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) In order to refute some of the criticisms of Benthams utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) argued that the idea of justice rests ultimately on utilitarian considerations but also requires a respect for individual rights. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) But even with Mills approach to justice, it becomes extremely difficult to choose and/or decipher between individual rights and the majority or maximum utility. This often leaves us with questions of where to draw the line between the greatest good for the majority and the protection of individual rights. Libertarianism Milton Friedman and other libertarian thinkers were advocates of free markets and critics of government regulation. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Underlying their (libertarians) laissez-faire stance is the idea that each of us has a fundamental right to liberty à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å" a right to do whatever we want with the things we own, provided we do not violate other peoples rights to do the same. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Contrary to utilitarian thought, libertarians would never sacrifice individual rights for maximum utility or the benefit of the majority. According to the Libertarians, only a minimal government is necessary. In essence the government should only be put in place such that it enforces contracts, protects private property, and keeps the peace. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Justice would ensure that we own ourselves and the fruits of our labor, and therefore, as the proprietors of our own person, each of us has the right to decide what to do with our bodies and our labor, with the money we earn, and the goods we possess. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Justice would be the protection of those rights as well as the individual rights of others. The biggest challenges to libertarian policy usually come in the form of paternalist and/or redistributive laws. Paternalist and redistributive laws typically are enacted such that a society can tax the rich to help the poor. While utilitarian principles strongly favor such laws, Libertarians typically argue that such laws are a form of coerced charity that makes every person the property (perhaps even the slave) of the majority. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Pure Libertarianism teaches that welfare is a violation of individual rights. Liberationists believe that while the poor should have every right to better themselves, that right should not come at the expense of anyones individual right to what they own or produce. Egalitarian A third school of thought that attempts to define the role of justice in society is egalitarianism. John Rawls (1921-2002) was often described as an egalitarian liberal (Justice A Reader pg. 263) and defined justice as fairness. Rawls believed that justice is a social contract in which people come together to choose the basic principles that will govern their society and proposed that the way to think about justice is to ask what principles would be chosen by people who came together behind a veil of ignorance that temporarily deprived them of any knowledge about where they would wind up in society. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) Accordingly, Rawls moral reasoning requires us to be abstract from the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves (Justice A Reader pg. 203), and justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) Rawls rejected utilitarianism and believed that certain individual rights are so fundamental that utilitarian considerations should not override them. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) However, contrary to Freidman and the libertarians, Rawls did not believe that the results of a free market are necessarily fair and was not opposed to the taxation of the privileged to help the poor. In Rawls opinion it would be acceptable, under certain circumstances, to take from the privileged as long as it were helping the underprivileged. Accounting and Justice Regardless of how you define justice or what school of thought you most closely relate to, it is clear the accountant plays a significant role in the establishment and preservation of justice for society. Accounting is the language of business (Bloomfield, 2008) and without it justice cannot exist. Since the beginnings of specialization, when humans stopped being self sufficient and started specializing, bartering, and trading, accounting has become a critical part of human interaction. In todays society accountants serve in many roles critical to the defense and preservation of justice. For example, in the U.S., IRS accountants ensure that citizens pay the appropriate amount of tax, forensic accountants provide investigative services for criminal and civil proceedings, and many of the FBIs anti-terrorist agents use their accounting backgrounds to trace terrorist funding. History of the Spanish Empire One only has to look back a few hundred years to see a perfect example of how the role of an accountant can protect and help preserve, or fail to protect and preserve, an entire civilization. In his book For Good and Evil à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å" The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization, Charles Adams describes how tax fraud lead to the demise of one of the largest and most wealthy empires found in modern times à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å" Imperial Spain. Around the time Christopher Columbus discovered the new world (the 14th and 15th centuries), the Spanish Empire was the strongest empire in the world which has never been equaled in terms of size or money. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 529) It controlled significant portions of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania (Australia and the Pacific Islands), and at its peak Spains conquered overseas empire was the largest the world has ever known. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 529) However, in the 17th century the vast empire started to disintegrate. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it was not the English fleet defeating the Spanish Armada that brought down the Empire, rather it was tax evasion and revolt by the masses against the patronage system that ultimately lead to the bankruptcy of the empire. After several revolts from within the empire, and long civil war, the Spanish Empire was forced to increase taxes to pay soldiers to put down the various rebellions. As a result, many of the people in the colonies engineered what was probably the best system of fraud and evasion that history has ever known. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) When the Spanish authorities tried to tax goods that passed through the major ports, the Spanish businessmen created complicated schemes to have silver and gold shipped to alternate ports away from the customs officials, even laundering it through foreign countries. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) In order to avoid the Royal Fifth à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å " a 20% customs tax and a 35% convoy tax on good from the colonies, the Spanish businessmen transformed commerce into one massive smuggling operation by avoiding the authorities and therefore the taxes. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) The Empire tried to stop the smuggling and division of money and goods away from the taxing authorities but simply did not have the means to control and stop the smuggling and tax evasion. As a result, the overseas empire could not defend itself and stealing the colonies of Spain became an international sport as most of the colonies were lost to the British, Dutch, and eventually the United States. Contemporary Accounting and Justice Given its role as the language of business, accountings integral role in society continues to grow as global economies grow and become increasingly interconnected. World GDP has grown from $1.34 trillion in 1960 to $60.6 trillion in 2008. (The World Bank, 2009). The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that in the U.S. 7% of total GPD is lost to fraud and injustice. (ACFE, 2008) When applied to a global GPD of $60.6 trillion loses resulting from fraud and injustices are estimated to have been $994 billion in 2008. $994 billion is a staggering number but in fact may be understated as many developing countries face an even higher percentage of fraud due to the lack of infrastructure and the ability to combat fraud. According the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the U.S. ranks 19th (with 1st indicating the least amount of corruption) out of 182 countries surveyed for the amount of perceived corruption within a particular country indicating that, on a global scale, losses probably well exceed the trillion dollar mark annually. So who is best equipped to protect and defend the innocent from the injustices of fraud? The answer is simple, the accountants around the world. Accountants understand the language of business better than anyone and therefore are best suited to be the defenders of justice and fight the injustices that exist across the globe. Just or unjust, they may have even been able to preserve the Spanish Empire. Distributive Justice Another manner in which accountants play an integral role in society is through distributive justice. Utilitarian principles have led to many governments and societal systems that incorporate and rely upon paternalist or redistributive laws. For example, the U.S. and many other countries tax their wealthy citizens and use the funds to run social support programs for the poor such as welfare, unemployment, section 8 housing, etc. Such programs are a form of distributed justice. Robert Nozick describes distributive justice as follows: In contemporary political theory, distributive justice is primarily about the allocation of income, wealth, and opportunity. (Justice A Reader pg. 263) If distributive justice does represent the allocation of income and wealth, than who other than that accountant, who understands the language of business and taxation, would be best equipped to establish and preserve distributed justice? Another example of distributive justice and the role that an accountant plays is the concept of price gauging. Michael Sandel uses a great example in his teachings at Harvard when discussing the events that often transpire in the aftermath of a hurricane. Often, in the days following a major hurricane, for example Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, local retailers charge prices for common goods such as bags of ice and gas powered generators in excess of 1000% of their normal price. (Justice, 2009) Should such practices be considered simply the effects of supply and demand or is it injustice on the part of the retailer in the form of price gauging? Regardless of your opinion on price gauging laws, it is evident the accountant is best equipped to understand and determine whether or not price gauging exists and how to best allocate monies. Who other than the accountant would understand all the transactions taking place between retailers and consumers? In both cases above, the enforcement of paternalistic laws and analysis of price gauging activities, accountants are the ones that ensure monies are appropriately being collected and allocated, thereby defending justice as a society sees fit. Justice and the Role of the Accountant Globally Increasingly, corporations and businesses are taking on the global environment. This requires that accountants and auditors be able to identify the different risks associated with international interconnectedness and be able counteract these risks with the necessary precautions. The global environment adds additional complications for the role of the accountant and actually increases the responsibilities as the defender of justice. In a global spectrum, there are many different laws and regulations and thus, the role of the accountant changes depending on the environment in which the rules are generated. Culture is a huge influence on accounting regulation. Additionally, culture is intertwined within the market and political forces that help to shape the resulting accounting system. The different interaction of these forces in an environment helps to determine the place of the accountant in the economic system, which has a direct effect on the accountants role as the defender of just ice. Justice can only prevail in a society that embraces it. Perceived levels of corruption can be indicative of the state of the economy of a particular country which can help to define or determine the role of the accountant. If there are very few cases of fraud, but high levels of corruption perception it can be an indication that the appropriate level of justice is not being achieved. If enforcement of laws and regulation is inconsistent then a tougher approach may be needed to combat corruption. Transparency International states that in order to minimize corruption there needs to be strong oversight by governments, law enforcement, media, and the society. If a country is lacking oversight, corruption can continue to get worse. As a result, the role of the accountant in these environments would be limited since rules, laws, and regulations are not embraced and enforced. Regulation is only part of the battle. Change will only be effective if it comes from a commitment that is made by businesses and governments of all sizes. Stronger institutional oversight is needed across the world. There needs to be strict legal frameworks and more alert regulation by enforcement agencies in addition to accountants and auditors that ensure lower levels of corruption. As noted in an article issues by Transparency International, persistently high corruption in low-income countries amounts to an ongoing humanitarian disaster. According to the CPI index, China has improved over last year showing that their efforts to reduce corruption by enacting reforms, the implementation of forceful investigation, and intense sentencing have created less perceptions of corruption than before, but still remains a very serious problem. Norways score indicates that as a result of some serious scandals that have emerged over the last few years there is a significant problem in the private and public sectors. However, a growing number of cases being investigated and prosecuted demonstrates that they are at least trying to make headway. Italy is declining in the corruption index because of severe fraud and corruption that exist in the public health system and because of the recent arrests of politicians and public officials in the Abruzzo region. France also has also seen several cases of public officials that were connected to corrupt activities surface recently. Somalia, having the lowest CPI score highlights that there is a link between economic and political collapse. Additionally, Iraqs score of 1.3 shows the importance of establishing solid and functioning institutions capable of preventing corruption and implementing the rule of law. In all cases, the examples provide insight and indicate a need for regulation and an increased role for accountants because justice is not being found. Accounting Regulation Globally Accounting rules can indicate a lot about a country. Accounting rules are created in such a way that they fit the environment that they exist in, which varies across countries and cultures. If society wishes to protect the investor, the accounting system will have disclosure rules that enable investors to gain information and protect themselves. While some countries are developing regulations that contain investor protection improvements, in many cases much more work needs to be done. The manner in which markets function and the way politics are conducted greatly affect accounting systems and often lead to drastic differences across countries. The role of the accountant and, furthermore, the way that justice is enforced will also vary greatly amongst countries. Common law countries differ from codified law countries because common law countries have an independent body to interpret the law. Accounting rules in common law countries are determined by the private sector and require lengthy disclosure since there are no close relationships with corporations. However, code law countries require that corporations be heavily involved the government. The government often includes banks, labor unions, and major suppliers in rule-making decisions. As a result, transactions in these countries tend to be focused more on private information. There are institutional differences between all countries. Institutional differences enable economic and accounting systems to differ, thus the role of the accountant and the justice that results will differ amongst these countries. Accounting regulation in Germany allows more discretion on the accountant because it is written in more general terms. However, in France the regulation is more rigid, enables less discretion, and thus provides less wiggle room on the part of corporations. In Switzerland there are very few disclosure requirements, which can facilitate the reporting of smooth earnings through the usage of hidden reserves. Further, some accounting systems are difficult to compare because they do not fit within any particular mold. For example, the accounting system in Finland was created specifically for use by the foresting industry. By looking at international comparisons of accounting systems, it is evident there is no single way of performing accounting. As a result, the accounting rules are different and change to become an integral part of the markets and politics of each country and culture. Market demand affects the financial statements because the corporations must pay to prepare them. The political environment is important because the government has the ability to control regulators and possibly interfere with regulation. In order to perform and understand the different accounting processes, accountants must be aware of the different forces that exist in a particular country. By being aware of the different forces, accountants will be able to more aptly ensure that justice prevails in the country they operate. As evidenced above, accounting regulations vary across countries, time, and cultures which causes significant variations in the role of the accountant. While countries have been extending efforts to strengthen accounting rules and oversight, this alone cannot and will not prevent future fraud. (Leuz, 2002). But there are many benefits to implement strong laws and enforcement in order to protect shareholders rights. U.S. firms are not the only ones experiencing problems, as many firms globally are suffering from accounting irregularities. Some countries experience self-dealings and misappropriations of profits because of weaker legal measures. Weak legal measures create a greater incentive to manipulate the financial statements to conceal poor business performance. Manipulation is less apparent in places where outside investors have legal rights to vote out corrupt managers. However, manipulation is predominant in places like Austria, Italy, Germany, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Ta iwan, because they do not have investor protection. East Asian Perspective The East Asian countries, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand can help accountants see the way that accounting standards interact with the incentives of managers and auditors. (Ball, Ashok, et al, Incentives versus standards) The accounting standards in these countries come from a common law environment. Common law countries generally create high quality financial reporting. However, in these countries the preparers incentives generate low quality financial statements. The preparer incentives again, depend on the market and political forces and how these forces interact with one another. Market forces are dependent on the demand for high-quality financial reporting. The political forces depend on the government involvement in the creation and enforcement of the regulation. The interaction of these forces with the accounting system can drastically change the role of the accountant in these countries. The standards themselves are viewed as high-quality, but the institutional s tructure creates incentives for preparers incentives to issue low-quality financial reports. Financial reporting in East Asia generally exists with an incentive structure that is similar to a code-law model. However, the East Asian countries do not follow that model. Their governments have code-law reporting incentive features, but also have indications that the environment reduces the financial reporting quality. The large amount of family-owned businesses and enterprises is a cause for the low need of quality financial statements. One family generally owns investments that are inter-related. These networks are commonly referred to guanxi networks. These networks attempt to take away the demand of required disclosures and timely loss recognition and it also reduces the communication required with stakeholders. The extent of government involvement in the standard setting and the financial reporting practice differs across these countries. Political factors can create an incentive to hide large profits and losses. The political environments in these East Asian countries have a tendency to want companies to succeed, so they recommend companies hide losses. They also are afraid of other countries becoming involved in their practices because they do not want to be held accountable for any misstatements. The companies are also expected to report smooth earnings, which reinforces the desire to report, cover, and hide losses. Litigation is minimal in these countries since there is a large incentive to hide earnings, which the government reinforces. There have been very few cases of judicial actions in these countries. Audit quality in these countries is poor primarily due to lack of auditor independence. The influence and independence of the accounting profession is an indicator of ineffective enf orcement of accounting standards. Considering the financial incentives for managers and auditors there is a greater incentive for reduced timeliness and conservatism in accounting earnings. Fraud is continuing to go undetected in Hong Kong. Although there is a 22% incidence of fraud, much more is expected to be going on given the different forces that are currently having an effect on the country. As a result, currently more scrutiny is being given to the monitoring of financial transactions and corporations are beginning to make it a priority. There are currently programs that are offered for certification in forensic accounting, which is having an impact on fraud detection. Most of the fraud cases that exist in Hong Kong are internet banking fraud, computer fraud, misuse of corporations credit card, and electronic funds transfer fund. There is a need for more forensic accountants in Singapore in order to ensure sufficient justice as many significant fraud cases are going undetected. Two important fraud cases involved Fibrechem Technologies and Oriental Century. In the Fibrechem Technologies audit, Ernst Young Singapore were not certain of the cash and trade debtor balance. KPMG had the same problem with Oriental Century. Another notable case is one in which a Singapore monk, who was in charge of Singapores well-known charities, received 10 months in prison for committing fraud. In Malaysia, the role of accounting in the fight for justice is very small. Crimes are beginning to become more and more complicated and controlled but forensic accounting is viewed as a service that only larger companies can afford. This makes catching fraud more difficult. Cases that are investigated are generally handled by the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Division. This group was able to catch a large fraud that involved the CEO and two others of Transmile Group Bhd for publishing misleading financial statements and has often been called Malaysias Enron. Fraud and forensic accounting is a relatively new topic in Thailand. According to an Ernst Youngs global survey, more than half of the companies in Thailand have suffered significant fraud. The management of the corporations was responsible for over half while employees ranked second, responsible for 45% of the fraud incidents reported. Asset misappropriation was the biggest concern. (MPA Program: Forensic accounting project) The commercial crimes in Thailand are becoming more and more complicated and organized. Forensic accounting is used to combat this to an extent, but is only utilized in the public sector. It is also noted in Thailand that there remains an enormous amount of well documented corruption related to the government amounting to billions of US dollars. There are many cases where Thailands auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, was able to bring about cases against members of the government but there are even more cases linked to the military involving loans from politicia ns. Chinese Perspective This accounting profession is still at the early stage of development in China, and a lack of skilled professionals creates problems for regulators. To a large extent the accounting standards and practices in China lack conservatism Doupnik and Perera note in their International Accounting textbook. There are also no sound interpretations of the relevant requirements that need to be implemented to have an effective accounting system. The theory of true and fair presentation and transparency may not be clearly understood by Chinese accountants. Until the 1980s, those who carried out accounting work were not held in high regard which had a very negative effect on the development of the accounting profession in China. Unlike in other countries, accounting and auditing have taken different paths in their development as rival disciplines with the support of different government agencies. However, there has been some growth in the accounting profession due to the recent economic reform pro gram and the demand for financial information from investors has increased. There are many fraud cases evident in China. One high-profile case that deserves mentioning was with Zhu Xiaohua who was the chairman of state-owned company, Everbright Group. Zhu was convicted to 15 years in prison for taking $500,000 in bribes. These bribes were taken between 1997 and 1999. The bribes were for the purchase of shares in a company that resulted in large losses. Another example of fraud in China was when a business woman, Du Yimin, was sentenced to death for running a Ponzi scheme that cheated investors out of YUAN700m ($102 million). (Lin, 2009) According to Lin, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has been stepping up such prosecutions and says there are now 1,416 similar cases open, involving YUAN10bn ($1.5 billion) in investors money. In China it is still possible to receive the death penalty for fund-raising fraud, however, if a Chinese person is charged with collecting money illegally from private investors, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. In Chi na is evident that ethics are not being followed across the board. Japanese Perspective Japan also differs from other cultures and has a different role of the accountant and effectively different need for justice. The Japanese attitudes towards external auditors and the audit function are different from others. This is due to the cultural value orientation of not trusting someone from outside the group. Companies are not under pressure from their main providers of finance to disclose information publicly and companies are reluctant to provide information voluntarily. As a result, the accounting profession is not strong in Japan and it has only played a minor role in regulating accounting and financial reporting as Doupnik and Perera state. Japan does not have a strong demand for accountants and accounting is viewed as a relatively low social status. However, the financial reporting standards by Japanese companies have been criticized for their failure to produce information in a transparent manner. In the mid-1990s, the Japanese government initiated a program of financi al reform, which included a series of major changes aimed at aligning Japanese financial reporting regulations. It can be said that Japan is a country with significant fraud and there have been financial deceptions comparable to the Bernie Madoff fraud. Most frauds that are found today took about two to three years to create. A large number of frauds started during the time that there was a lot of foreign investment in Japan with little research or due diligence. One notable scandal in Japan was one in which the Marubeni Corporation was involved in a fraud with other high-ranked political and business men, including the Minister of Finance Eisaku Sato and the chief of staff for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, Minoru Genda. Another notable scandal that started in 1957 and was discovered on February 6, 1976 indicated that Lockheed had paid approximately $3 million in bribes to Kakuei Tanaka who was the Japanese Prime Minister. Tanaka was found guilty not of bribery, but for violations of foreign exchange control laws. He was sentenced to four years in jail, but was able to appeal. AN Empirical Analysis of Cultures Impact on Global Accountings Systems As previously discussed, the interpretation of justice is highly dependent upon culture. Along these lines, the role the accountant will play in maintaining justice will also depend upon culture. When analyzing an accounting system and its ability to maintain justice, it becomes evident that the highly affective cultural component may inherently foster corruption. To consider the amount of corruption that may lie within the cultural system of the accountant acting as a defender of justice, one will want to first take a global look at the relationship between culture and corruption. If there are certain cultural characteristics that drive corruption, then one could see how those characteristics mold accounting systems and interpretations of justice. This investigation could derive a profile of what accounting systems and perceptions of justice will in fact foster corruption, and thus, which cultures are more prone to corruption as a result of their accounting systems and concepts of justice. To analyze the relationship between culture and corruption, one would begin by compiling cultural measures. A widely used measure of cultural values is Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Framework. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com) Hofstede used five cultural dimensions to portray a country; Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term Orientation. Data was taken from 68 different countries and regions. Each dimension is measured on a 100 point scale with each side of the scale representing extremes. The Individualism dimension, for example, would represent a completely individualistic region with a score of 100 while a score of zero would represent a completely collectivist region. After a compilation of cultural values, one would then need to find reliable measures of corruption. For the purpose of this study Transparency Internationals CPI was used as the primary measure of corruption, with use of fraud per capita as a complementary measure to determine if the relationship between Hofstedes Dimensions and CPI was reasonable. The CPI is an annual report that demonstrates the perception of corruption found in the public sector of over 180 countries, and is determined via surveys and experts. The CPI measure, as discussed earlier in the paper, can be highly indicative of how corrupt a country is. The CPI is a 10 point scale where the highest scores are given to the least corrupt (New Zealand at 9.4) and the lowest scores to the most corrupt (Somalia at 1.1). (https://www.transparency.org/) The complementary resource of fraud per capita is a measure of the amount of frauds that occurred in a country per 1000 people. This data came from the Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems. (https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/seventh_survey/7sv.pdf). As stated before this measure was used to reinforce the relationships found between the comparison of Hofstedes dimensions and the CPI. A data table was compiled containing the 68 regions and countries with their respective scores on Hofstedes cultural dimensions and the corruption perception index, in addition to the amount of fraud per capita found in that region. To determine whether there was a correlation between the cultural values and corruption, an ordinary least-squares regression was performed using each cultural value as an independent variable (X-value) and the CPI score as the dependent variable (Y-value). The primary outputs of interest from the regression were the R2 value, T-statistic, and the P-Value. General definitions and guidelines for these values are given below: * The R2 Value represents the coefficient of determination. This value tells you what fraction of variation can be explained by a model. In other words, how well one variable (X) can predict another variable (Y). The size of significance depends on the circumstances. * Value of the t-statistic tells you how many estimated standard errors of the mean separate the mean of your sample from what the mean of the population would be, if the null hypothesis were true. (myweb.liu.edu/~nfrye/psy53/ch9.ppt) Basically the T-statistic tells you how different the relationships between variables are from a normal distribution, meaning the greater the value the greater the likelihood of accuracy in the correlation. A higher t-statistic implies strong coefficient accuracy, and a higher likelihood of correlation. * The p-value represents statistical significance, which describes how confident one can be that there is a correlation between each independent variable (X) and dependent variable (Y). More technically speaking the p-value is the measure of evidence against the null hypothesis (there is change or effect in the dependent variable resulting from the independent variable), meaning the lower the p-value the more confident one can be in the correlation. Typically, and for this analysis p-values less than .05 are deemed significant. In summary, these three values, the R2, t-statistic, and p-value, give the analysts ability to determine the accuracy and confidence of the correlation between variables, thus in our case the correlation between Hofstedes cultural values and level of perceived corruption. Hofstedes Dimensions Regressed Against the CPI Power Distance Hofstedes power distance represents the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more likely they are to respect the power hierarchy of superiors. A regression of the regions power distance score against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 45% (0.449257452) T-Statistic: 7.34 (7.337452412) P-Value: 4.05E-10 (.00000000040557) The R2 Value demonstrates that around 45% of the time power distance can predict the CPI score. This is a fairly significant percent and would indicate that the power distance dimension could be a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 7.34 indicates that there is reasonable evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of .000000004 is much less than the .05 p-value threshold which provides strong confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.1 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Individualism Hofstedes individualism dimension represents the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts, and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more individualistic they are. The lower a country ranks the more collectivist they are. A regression of the regions individualism dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 44% (0.438768910732183) T-Statistic: 7.18 (7.18321774352694) P-Value: 7.64E-10 (.000000000764284158685651) The R2 value demonstrates that around 44% of the time the individualism dimension can predict the CPI. This is a fairly significant percent and would indicate that the individualism dimension, to a similar extent of the power distance dimension, could be a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 7.18 indicates that there is reasonable evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of .000000008 is much less than the .05 p-value threshold which provides strong confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.2 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Masculinity Hofstedes masculinity dimension refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more masculine they are, meaning they are more assertive and materialistic. The lower a country ranks the more feminine they are, indicating a more modest and caring attitude. A regression of the regions masculinity dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 2% (0.0209165330555311) T-Statistic: 1.19 (1.18742710960879) P-Value: 0.24 (0.239315245832292) The R2 value indicates that around 2% of the time the masculinity dimension can predict the CPI. This is not a significant percentage and would indicate that masculinity is not a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 1.19 indicates that there is a lack of evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is below the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of 0.24 is also larger than the 0.05 p-value threshold which provides very little confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.3 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Uncertainty Avoidance Index Hofstedes uncertainty avoidance index deals with a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to mans search for truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more risk adverse they are, demonstrating they prefer structure and specificity such as rules and regulations and are more emotion driven. The lower a country ranks the more comfortable they are with unstructured situations and have a higher risk appetite. They are not as concerned with the ambiguities of life. A regression of the regions uncertainty avoidance dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 6.8% (0.0677077506253647) T-Statistic: 2.19 (2.18934963896892) P-Value: 0.032 (0.0321126251698556) The R2 value indicates that around 6% of the time uncertainty avoidance can predict the CPI. While this is superior to the masculinity dimension, it is not a significant percentage and would indicate that one would not want to rely on uncertainty avoidance to predict corruption. The t-statistic of 2.19 indicates that there is some evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is slightly above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of 0.032 is less than the 0.05 p-value threshold which provides some confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.4 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Figure 1.4 represents the fact that there is some correlation between the uncertainty avoidance and corruption. The t-stat and p-value portray the accuracy of the correlation and the confidence one can place in it, however the correlation itself is not strong or significant enough to gain much merit. However, if one had to make a judgment from the graph they may lean slightly toward the idea that the more avoidant a country is of uncertainty the more prone they are to corruption. Long-Term Orientation Hofstedes fifth and most recent dimension is long-term orientation which basically indicates whether or not a cultures tendency to focus on the future or on the now. During analysis, regression was performed on this value, however only 23 countrys were assigned a value for this dimension making the sample significantly smaller as compared to the previous. While none of the regression statistics were significant (R2 = 2.2%, T-Stat = .76, P-Value = .46), one may feel uncomfortable theorizing on how this cultural dimension impacts corruption. The statistics will be included in following analyses; however, they will hold little weight in the final assumptions made on the impact of culture on accounting systems and the perceptions of justice. Fraud per Capita Analysis Fraud per capita was available for 38 of the regions covered by Hofstedes cultural dimensions. As mentioned above, fraud per capita was utilized as a comparative tool to see if the cultural dimensions that correlated with CPI would also correlate with fraud per capita in a relatively similar manner. The Table 1 below shows each of Hofstedes cultural dimensions and their respective CPI and fraud per capita values. Table 1 R2 (CPI) R2 (FPC) T-Stat (CPI) T-Stat (FPC) P-Value (CPI) P-Value (CPI) Power Index 0.449 0.189 7.337 2.853 0.000 0.007 Individuality 0.439 0.218 7.183 3.123 0.000 0.004 Masculinity 0.021 0.001 1.187 0.220 0.239 0.827 Uncertainty Avoidance 0.068 0.020 2.189 0.837 0.032 0.408 Long-Term Orientation 0.022 0.166 0.757 1.669 0.456 0.117 Table 1 demonstrates in bold the statistics that would be deemed significant in relation to commonly held thresholds discussed in the Analysis as follows: R2 15-40% (Case to case basis) T-Stat 2.0 P-Value 0.05 Cultural Impact on Corruption: Conclusion As mentioned in the analysis it would appear that the two cultural dimensions that most drive and or impact corruption would be Hofstedes power distance and individualism. Based on this and the relationship directions indicated in the linear trend graphs, one could reach the following conclusions: * The greater the inequality, and furthermore the greater the acceptance and respect of that inequality, the greater the chance for corruption * The larger the focus on the organization (the group), and the less concern for individual goals, the greater the chance for corruption To ensure that these assumptions are not completely independent from each other in their impact, a multivariable regression was run with these two cultural dimensions against CPI. The regression results were as follows: R2 Value: 55% (0.551249967178789) T-Statistic: 3.84 (3.84360352599126) P-Value: 0.00028 (0.000278186657268688) The R2 value of 55% is greater than either of the individual R2 values found in the single variable regressions. The t-stat and the p-value are also significant, indicating that these two values together, will be the best predictor of corruption in a culture. Corrupt Accounting Systems Using the power distance dimension coupled with the individualism dimension, one could profile an accounting system that would be vulnerable to corruption. First one can look at the characteristics of an accounting system resulting from a cultures high power distance. Accounting systems will be developed to reflect a highly rule based system as opposed to a principle based system. The accounting system will also reflect a strong hierarchy where lower level employees will have little or no say in the development or management of the accounting system. The reporting will be primarily be for use by the higher-ups, and lower level employees will not oppose their superiors even if problems arise, thus authority may be required at various levels within the system. Next, one must look at the impact a high collectivist culture will have on the accounting system. The system will be integrated to serve the whole society, and thus will be highly impacted by the beliefs and the views of the soc iety within which it operates. Thus if there is a national religion or deeply seeded traditions they will govern the development and operation of the accounting system. Loyalty to the societys value (religion, government, tradition, etc) will always supersede personal objectives and each employee will accept and respect other employees and superiors. Why Do these Accounting Systems Enable Corruption? With the knowledge of what cultural dimensions impact corruption, and more so how these dimensions affect accounting systems and what these impacts are, one could delve deeper to get an understanding of why these factors foster corruption. The high power structure allows the important decisions to be made from the top. These decisions will not be opposed as employees will do as they are told even if it may seem wrong. The collectivist dimension only furthers this sentiment as they will follow their superiors orders in order to do what is best for the whole (be it the organization or the society). Arab countries for example have these two dimension values (high power distance and low individuality) as they answer to their highest authority, Allah and the Quran. The Arab countries may perform accounting practices that the U.S. deems corrupt; however they may feel as if their actions are ethical and or moral because they serve a higher power. The collectivist culture also provides shel ter for corrupt activities as employees will save face and protect one another as they work together for the whole. Collusion makes corruption significantly harder to detect. In addition, if corruption is detected, high power/collectivist societies will be more prone to cover up corruption in order to preserve the corporations status or relationship with higher authority. This can be seen by looking at specific countries, such as Malaysias low likelihood to report on corruption (discussed earlier) as a result of their high power distance and collectivist nature. Examples of which countries are most prone to fraudulent accounting are shown below in Figure 3.1. This figure contains the 10 countries that fit the high power distance, low individuality criteria. Some of the countries found in Figure 3.1 were, along with their corruption transgressions, described in detail already in this paper. The findings mirror each other, lending credibility to the fact that cultural impacts on accounting systems can adversely affect the ability of an accountant to act as the defender of justice. Conclusion To understand the relationship between the accountant and the concept of justice, one must consider many diverse dimensions. The extent of consideration needed will encompass the understanding of culture, regulatory environments, economic markets, political forces, and the schools of thought that make up the context in which the relationship is cultivated and maintained. By assessing these factors, it becomes easier to understand what kind of accounting systems exists and how they impact the ability of the accountant to function as a defender of justice. These impacts will include the way justice is interpreted and how and to what extent it is enforced. When analyzing the aspects of each dimension, one can perceive what drives adversities of justice and subsequently understand why and how these drivers allow injustice to arise. Thus, the ability of an accountant to act as a defender of justice will rely not only upon his or her skill set, but more importantly the framework in which s aid skills are applied. Works Cited ACFE Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2008) Report to the Nation https://www.acfe.com/documents/2008-rttn.pdf Audits find fraud is rampant among Chinese businesses https://www.asianresearch.org/articles/1835.html Ball, Ray. Making Accounting more International: Why, How, and How Far will it go? Ball, Ray, Ashok Robein, and Joanna Shuang Wu. Incentives versus standards: properties of accounting income in four East Asian countries. https://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ray.ball/research/Papers/2003%20Incentives%20versus%20Accounting%20Standards%20-%20East%20Asia.pdf Bloomfield, Robert J. (2008) Accounting as the Language of Business. Accounting Horizons Corben, Ron. Thailands Tax Fraud Verdict Markets New Trend.' https://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200808/s2323048.htm Doupnik and Perera, International Accounting, 1/e ,Ãâà © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2007, Chapter 5 Forensic accounting helps prevent commercial fraud https://www.archive.org/details/ForensicAccountingHelpsPreventCommercialFraud-CareerTimes Hanlin, William A. Jr. (2004) Fraud Prevention: What are we waiting for? 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Lawrence, White-Collar Crime in China : Rank Corruption https://www.fsa.ulaval.ca/personnel/VernaG/EH/F/noir/lectures/white-collar_crime_in_china.htm Leuz, Christian. Feeling burned by Accounting Scams in the US? Just look over seas. https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=585 Lewis, Leo. Lawyers sound alert about rising Japanese fraud. https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/japan/article6261356.ece Lin, Anthony, Punishing white collar crime, Chinese Style. 16 Jan 2009 https://ww.legalweek.com/legal-week/blog-post/1531524/punishing-white-collar-crime-chinese-style Lockheed bribery scandals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals Malaysia charges 3 in Transmile Accounting Fraud Case. https://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0198-411784/Malaysia-charges-3-in-Transmile.html Sandel Michael J. (2009) Justice à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å" A Reader Sandel, Michael J. (2009) Justice à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â¬Å" Whats the Right Thing to Do? Singapore 2007 Crime and Safety Report, Singapore https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=63288 Singapore monk gets 10 months for fraud, https://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/singapore/2009/11/22/233787/Singapore-monk.html Transparency International, Persistently high corruption in low-income countries amounts to an ongoing humanitarian disaster https://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2008/2008_09_23_cpi_2008_en margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-57895344646661376092019-12-31T14:48:00.001-08:002019-12-31T14:48:03.551-08:00An Overview of Chinas Traffic Troubles China hasnââ¬â¢t always had a problem with traffic, but over the past couple of decades, as China rapidly urbanizes, the countryââ¬â¢s urban denizens have had to adapt their lives to a new phenomenon: gridlock. How Bad Is Chinaââ¬â¢s Traffic Problem? Itââ¬â¢s really bad. You may have heard about the China National Highway 10 traffic jam on the news back in 2010; it was 100 kilometers long and lasted ten days, involving thousands of cars. But outside of the mega-jams, most cities are plagued with daily traffic that rivals the worst gridlock in Western cities. And thats despite a plethora of affordable public transportation options and anti-traffic legislation in many cities that mandates (for example) that cars with even and odd-numbered license plates must drive on alternating days, so only half of the cityââ¬â¢s cars can legally take to the road at any given time. Of course, Chinaââ¬â¢s urban traffic jams are also a major factor in its pollution problems. Why Is Traffic in China so Bad? There are a number of reasons for Chinaââ¬â¢s traffic congestion woes: Like most older cities around the world, many of Chinas cities were not designed for cars. They were also not designed to support the massive populations they now boast (Beijing, for example, has more than 20 million people). As a result, in many cities, the roads are simply not big enough.Cars are considered a status symbol. In China, buying a car often isnââ¬â¢t as much about convenience as it is about showing that you can buy a car because youââ¬â¢re enjoying a successful career. Lots of white-collar workers in Chinese cities who might otherwise be satisfied with public transportation buy cars in the name of keeping up with (and impressing) the Joneses, and once theyââ¬â¢ve got the cars, they feel obliged to use them.Chinaââ¬â¢s roads are full of new drivers. Even a decade ago, cars were far less common than they are now, and if you go back in time twenty years. China didnââ¬â¢t break the two million vehicle mark until around the year 2000, but a decade later it had more than five million. That means that at any time, a significant percentage of the people driving on Chinaââ¬â¢s roads only have a few years of experience. Sometimes, that leads to questionable driving decisions, and that can cause gridlock when those decisions lead to blocked roads for one reason or another.Chinaââ¬â¢s driver education is not great. Driver education schools often only teach driving on closed courses, so new graduates are literally taking to the roads for the first time when they get behind the wheel. And because of corruption in the system, some new drivers havenââ¬â¢t taken any classes at all. As a result, China has a lot of accidents: its traffic fatality rate per 100,000 cars is 36, which is more than double the United States, and several times more than European countries like the UK, France, Germany, and Spain (which all have rates under 10).There are just too many people. Even with great driver education, wider roads, and fewer people buying cars, traffic jams would still be likely in a city like Beijing, which is host to more than twenty million people. What Does the Chinese Government Do About Traffic? The government has worked hard to create public transportation infrastructure that takes pressure off cities roads. Nearly every major city in China is building or expanding a subway system, and the prices of these systems are often subsidized to make them extremely enticing. Beijingââ¬â¢s subway, for example, costs as little as 3 RMB ($0.45 as of March 2019). Chinese cities also generally have extensive bus networks, and there are buses going virtually everywhere you could imagine. The government has also worked to improve long-distance travel, building new airports and rolling out a massive network of high-speed trains designed to get people where theyââ¬â¢re going faster and keep them off the highways. Finally, city governments have also taken restrictive measures to limit the number of cars on the road, like Beijingââ¬â¢s even-odd rule, which stipulates that only cars with even- or odd-numbered license plates can be on the road on any given day (it alternates). What Do Regular People Do About Traffic? They avoid it as best they can. People who want to get where theyââ¬â¢re going quickly and reliably generally take public transportation if theyââ¬â¢re traveling in a city around rush hour. Biking is also a common way of avoiding the gridlock if youââ¬â¢re headed somewhere nearby. People also tend to be accommodating when it comes to the realities of rush-hour traffic in China; taxis, for example, often pick up more than one passenger at a time during busy hours to ensure theyââ¬â¢re not spending hours sitting in traffic with a single fare. And Chinese subways get jam-packed with passengers during rush hour. Itââ¬â¢s uncomfortable, but people have put it with it. Spending 30 minutes getting home in an uncomfortable subway car beats spending 3 hours in a slightly-more-comfortable regular car, at least for most people. margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-36250092567285096642019-12-23T10:35:00.001-08:002019-12-23T10:35:03.384-08:00The Evil Empire - 1318 Words Courtney Professor English 1302 20 September 2013 An Analysis of Ronald Reaganââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Evil Empire.â⬠Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Orlando, Florida on March 8, 1983 called, ââ¬Å"The Evil Empire.â⬠This speech was intended for the ears of all Americans and is one of the best known presidential speeches ever given. In his speech, Reagan uses multiple rhetorical strategies such as; metaphors, allusions, rhetorical questions, tone, pathos, and uses references from the bible. He talks about all the main points of abortion, teenage sex, drugs, the Soviet Union, and the practice of praying and God in our public schools. His speech was very well written, moving, and extremely influential. This speech shows the presidentââ¬â¢s belief that theâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The first use of metaphors in this speech is, ââ¬Å"Yes, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing streamâ⬠(Reagan 5). The use of this metaphor is referring to everlasting justice and righteousness in what Reaga n believes as the spiritual awakening that is about to initiate in the United States of America. Reagan also uses a simile in ââ¬Å"The Evil Empireâ⬠speech. The simile he uses is, ââ¬Å"We know that living in this world means dealing with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil or, as theologians would put it, the doctrine of sinâ⬠(Reagan 5). The use of this simile in this speech is stated to show that no matter what we do or what happens we will never be able to fully rid the world of evil. It is inevitable. Human kind will always have to face evil. It is just up to us to battle evil the best way that we can. The final two rhetorical strategies I found in ââ¬Å"The Evil Empireâ⬠speech given by Ronald Reagan was the usage of pathos and logos. An example of pathos in this speech is when Reagan refers to the abortion matter that was taking place in this time period. He states that, ââ¬Å"Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is no t a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protectedâ⬠(Reagan 4). The use of this sentence is to appeal to the audienceââ¬â¢s emotions and get the audience to start thinking about what abortion really is. Reagan wants the American people to realize whatShow MoreRelatedIs The Evil Empire `` Speech Propaganda?952 Words à |à 4 PagesCameron Schwartz 5/6/15 Literature Final Paper Is the ââ¬Å"Evil Empireâ⬠Speech Propaganda There are many different definitions of propaganda that people use. Propaganda is politicians deceiving the public into what the politicians want them to know or believe (Altschull). This definition is used to show how politicians can use propaganda. There are many ways to use propaganda. They are used to convince people to buy a certain product, to convince people to not buy a certain product, to convince a certainRead MoreEssay on Was the British Empire a force for good or for evil?1438 Words à |à 6 PagesThe British Empire is the largest empire ever seen on the face of this planet. The empire was divided into two. The first part of the empire revolved around the British colonies in America that were popularly known as the thirteen colonies. These gained independence from Britain in 1783. The second part of the empire, which developed from the first empire, came later. It started during the Napoleonic wars and survived throughout the nineteenth century and the first half of th e twentieth century.Read MoreDescriptive And Values Of The People1525 Words à |à 7 Pagesadhered to this religion were the Persians of the Persian Empire that dated from 550 - 330 B.C. and was located from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. The Persian society was patriarchal but the women were seen as very valuable in society and experienced much more equality than any other women of different empires. The economy was mostly based on trade which brought the provinces and the entire empire together and more integrated. Urbanized Zoroastrians governedRead MoreThe Evil Of Imperialism In George Orwells Shooting An Elephant1023 Words à |à 5 Pagesââ¬Å"Shooting An Elephant,â⬠Orwell recreates his experience as a soldier trying to end imperialism in the country of Burma by shooting an elephant. George Orwell recreates this experience of imperialism being evil through the use of literary devices. Orwell opens his essay by reflecting upon the evil of British imperialism before shooting the elephant. Orwellââ¬â¢s hatred for imperialism is exemplified when he mentions ââ¬Å"was hated by large numbers of people,â⬠revealing that the British were outnumbered byRead MoreThe Evil of Armenian Genocide Essay836 Words à |à 4 Pagesyears ago the horrific Genocide of the Armenians took place. Turkey has shown a classic example of the evil that can result by human beings. Millions of Armenians were slaughtered and murdered in front of their family members. 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The script was written by George Lucas and was released in theatres on May 25, 1983 (IMDb.com). It was the third film released in the Star Wars saga, following Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (IMDb.com). At the time, Episode VI concluded the story of Luke Skywalker and his Rebel friends fighting against Darth Vader and the evil Empire. The entire plot of Return of the Jedi is the conclusionRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 1232 Words à |à 5 Pagesmajor strides toward mitigating his guilt regarding the incident that occurred many years earlier when he was a young man. In addition, Orwell is able to use his traumatic experience to address the evils of a much greater villain, imperialism. Orwell uses his confession of culpability to demonstrate the evils of imperialism by using the lesson he learned in slaying the elephant and attempting to educate the world the same lesson in an attempt to benefit mankind. By taking a troubling incident that occurredRead MoreRonald Reagans Positive Influences1149 Words à |à 5 Pagesto defend the United States from any nuclear weapon missile threat from other countries. This was proposed mainly to protect the U.S. from its extent threat, which was the Soviet Union at the time. Reagan wrote down in his diary addressing his Evil Empire Speech, ââ¬Å"I did the bulk of the speech on why our arms build up was necessary and then finished with a call to the Science community to join me in research starting now to develop a defensive weapon that would render nuclear missiles obsolete,â⬠(TheRead MoreThe Periods of Success and Decline in the Dynastic Cycle1121 Words à |à 5 Pagesculture. In The Analects, he preached how to be a go od man through living a life of filial piety, being a gentleman, and the way a ruler should govern his empire. The Han Synthesis used many of Confuciusââ¬â¢ ideas to be the guiding force in Chinaââ¬â¢s political ideology which contributed to the Dynastic Cycle of an empire, which stated that empires go through periods of success and decline. All of these highlight the cyclical nature of history in China, and its importance in the development of the state margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-8875238050355537222019-12-15T07:05:00.001-08:002019-12-15T07:05:05.044-08:00Act like a girl Free Essays I wanted to Interview a male who has experienced similar experiences with not being accepted because he was not the stereotypical ââ¬Å"man. â⬠In our Interview the other day, I asked you If you agreed or disagreed with this statement: ââ¬Å"Every child, boy or girl, should have the right to his or her own self image, and should not have to live by some gender rolesâ⬠(Freeman 36). You answered yes in agreement! I asked you why you said yes so quickly. We will write a custom essay sample on Act like a girl or any similar topic only for you Order Now Your answer was because growing up you faced situations when you wished you could simply be yourself thou the Judgment of others. You shared your thoughts of what the stereotype of a man Is to you. Some common Images of a man Is to be athletic, masculine, muscular, insensitive, and tough. Iââ¬â¢m sure you could have gone on with this list of characteristics expected of a ââ¬Å"manly man. â⬠Women are expected to be a particular way, also. Some of us Just donââ¬â¢t fall under those expected traits. Still, most people tend to hold common stereotypes of certain people in mind. We both went to the same high school and cheered on our Varsity cheer squad for 2 years together. I was glad that you decided to share this part of your life with me, I know It was hard to talk about. In high school you didnââ¬â¢t dress Like all the other boys, and you didnââ¬â¢t talk like all the other boys. You were a male cheerleader. You were the only male cheerleader. You expressed the hardship and ridicule our peers put you through. I felt a deep sorrow when you told me that our peers would tease you. Teasing is for elementary school, not high school. I could see the pain in your eyes when you would state the comments the students would make towards you. It Is definitely a common assumption for people to make that because a male Is a cheerleader, then he must be gay. You do not consider yourself to fit the gender role of a typical male, because you are very much the opposite. I felt it was necessary to ask you about your childhood. I wanted to know how you grew up and if there was any influences in your life pertaining to the topic of gender stereotypes. Growing up you said that you didnââ¬â¢t play with car toys, or ride motorcycle bikes, and wasnââ¬â¢t into sports. In Freemanââ¬â¢s essay he TLD play with parable dolls, or play tea party with the other little girls, and she loved playing basketball. When I asked you if you had played sports, you said no but you would play catch in the park with your dad. I am sorry to have heard that your father passed away when you were very young. I was surprised to hear that you do not think that your father passing away influenced you to be more in touch with your feelings. You have always been more in touch with your feelings even before that incident. Most people think that a boys father passing away will greatly Influence the During our interview, your brother, Corey came in to greet me. That was polite of him! I asked you how your relationship was with your brother, since you two are very opposite of each other. Your brother seems to fit the mold of our societyââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"man. â⬠I was devastated to hear that your relationship with your brother has been strained for years. It started when you became a cheerleader, because he doesnââ¬â¢t accept the fact that that is who you are and that is what makes you happy. Freeman and her motherââ¬â¢s relationship was also uneasy because of her motherââ¬â¢s lack of support. On the contrary, your relationship with your mother is beautiful, and stable. You expressed your thankfulness and appreciation for her in our interview. She has not turned her back on you, or Judged you. Your mother accepts you for who you are. You are her son and she loves you no matter what happens. I enjoyed our interview. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and discuss the questions I had for you. I am happy that you are absolutely content with yourself. We have been friends for a couple of years now, and I wouldnââ¬â¢t change you for anything. How to cite Act like a girl, Papers margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-10732304534500176962019-12-07T03:49:00.001-08:002019-12-07T03:49:05.208-08:00Investment Management Question: Describe about the Alternative Investment Classes and their Role in Investment Portfolios with examples, a selection of seven (7) alternative investments which are generally available on capital and other markets, the expected / realized returns and risks of each, and to consider how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Answer: Introduction In the present scenario investment management plays an important role in the entire economy, investment management is the professional management of different securities such as bonds, shares and other securities or other assets. The main aim of the investment management is to protect the interest of the investors (Bhala et al 2016). Alternative investment provides a wider investment opportunity for the investors, which includes private equity, venture capital, real assets, mutual fund, hedge fund, private placement debt, direct investments, etc. Every investor invests in different ventures to gain profits, but there also involves risk in such investments function by maintaining low correlation with the bonds and stocks, which makes them difficult to be valued and in compared to the traditional investments alternative investments are more liquid (TheStreet 2015). The main aim of this assignment is to highlight the different alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets. This assignment will also highlight the expected returns and risk associated with such investments and also studies how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Discussion Seven alternative investments (a) Private equity: In the present scenario, there are more numbers of private organisations than the public organisations and most of these private firm functions with the capital of the investors. Private equity is a wider concept that encircles the whole investment cycle of the private money markets, and various private equity business specialised in different investment strategies. Private equity organisations collect funds and take financial support from both institutional and non-institutional investors. Then the fund is used to invest in new up-coming private firms (Harris et al 2014). Private equity is also known as the equity securities that are not traded publicly. Private equity funds, which are expert in private equity investment has made this class of assets assessable for the different market participants and the institutional investors. This asset class has witnessed a rapid growth due to the early successes of some big private equity funds. Private equity includes investments in venture capital, start-ups and provides financial support to a firm during its growth phase. One example of private equity firm is Blackstone group, which is the world's largest private equity organisation (Harris et al 2014). In the case of private equity, the expected return is high, so that higher risk associated with private equity can be compensated. The higher value of Beta which is inherent in most of the private equity investments gives rise to extra return and extra risk (Caselli et al 2013). Private equity investments are used to minimise the risk in the investment portfolios. (b)Venture capital: The investment of capital in the promising companies and start-ups is known as venture capital investments. The investor or the venture capitalist in return for the investment made in the firm gets the ownership interest. There are many examples of firms that have many investments which are made by different venture capitalists. Facebook, Google, Intel, Apple, Compaq are few such firms (Lerner et al 2012). The venture capitalist by investing in the company is allowed to be closely related to the functioning of the firm. The capitalist can also provide assistance and ideas with planning and can also receive calls during the meeting. The venture capitalist not only invests money but also invest their time and skills in the company (TheStreet 2015). But at the end of the day, the core objective of the venture capital investment is to earn a profit by investing capital in the upcoming companies that have potential to grow and earns a profit for them (TheStreet 2015). The risk and expected return associated with investment in such companies are high because these investments are capitals that are invested in the firms that have a high component of risk related to them. These risks are related to cash flows, benefits, etc. usually, the venture capitalist invest in equity or shares which generate higher return because the risk associated with such investment is higher (Korteweg et al 2013). Venture capital investments are used to minimise risk in investment portfolios. (c)Real assets investments: The tangible or physical assets that have elemental value, they include oil, real estate, agricultural land and precious metal. Goods such as luxury and collectable goods also come under this category. Jewellery, art, rare coins wine and baseball cards are also included under this category. An investor can directly buy real assets or they can invest in a fund that is specialised in real assets (Campello et al 2013). Investors can potentially broaden their portfolio diversification; can also increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. In the recent years the demand for real assets have increased considerably but for all investors, it is not considered suitable. The risk involved in real assets investments is unique, for example, the company that are related to infrastructure are more volatile to government regulations, adverse economic, declining the value of real estate, financial instability, etc. There is no doubt that there involves a certain amount of risk in every investment. The real assets do not grow with constant rate and they may also witness negative growth (Campello et al 2013). Real assets help the investor to widen his portfolio diversification and also help them increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. (d)Hedge fund investments: Hedge funds collect capital from investors and invest them in securities and different types of investments with the aim to earn positive returns. Hedge funds are not supervised strictly as in the case of mutual funds and are more lenient than the mutual fund investments to undertake investment. Hedge fund investments are not suitable for all the investors because investment in hedge fund involves high fees and a greater risk of loss. The managers of the hedge fund raise capital and invest them in different financial instruments and different styles (Investor.gov 2016). The risk associated with hedge fund investments is higher because the hedge fund investments are not regulated strictly, so it exposes the investor to a greater risk of loss of investment. And all the investors invest in hedge funds with a motive to earn greater returns. Hedge funds are suitable for wealthier investors because the risk and the fee of hedge fund investment are higher (Bali et al 2014). (e)Mutual fund investments: Whenever an investor decides to invest, he comes across different investment options, which may include bonds, stocks, shares and money market securities and every investment options has its set of advantages and disadvantages. In the case of mutual fund investments, it gives the investor the opportunity to pool their capital and invest them in complex securities, which are managed by a fund manager. A mutual fund also offers creative products such as exchange-traded funds, funds of funds, Fixed Maturity Plans, etc. Investors get many benefits from a mutual fund; the benefits may be financial profit or convenience (The Times of India 2016). An investor can achieve greater inflation-adjusted returns with the help of mutual fund investments and they do not need to invest a lot of time and energy in it. The investors who are more inclined towards saving time and convenience should go for mutual fund investments. Mutual fund investments also offer its investor with low investment cost in comparison with direct investment in money markets. It also provides an excellent opportunity for investment to the investors with low investment capital. The returns generated from mutual funds are higher because it provides the investor with a wide range of companies and sectors to invest. (f)Private placement debt: Investment of capital in debt is also a great market. Just like the equity private placement debt investments are not mad available to public for trading purpose and they are also not rated by the rating agency. The private firms are financed with the help of mezzanine debt and promissory note, which provides the investors with a constant flow of cash (The Times of India, 2016). Only a few investors have the access to private placement bonds because these bonds are not registered and are offered privately. De Nederlandse is the largest investor in private bonds in Netherlands. In private bonds, the access to the primary market is restricted because of the nature of the private placement market. The cost offered by the private placement debt is lower liquid than the other investments. The private bonds are best for the medium to long term investment because private bonds are not traded publicly and have lower liquidity. They are also considered as buy-and hold investments. No doubt that private bond is less liquid but they compensate these by generating higher returns and also help the investor in widening their diversification. (g)Direct investment: Direct investments are the type of investments, where the investors directly invest in private companies and start-ups. These investments are also known as angel investing, the main aim of the investor is to earn a profit. They invest in the firms that have a high potential for growth and the returns generated from such investments are high. But there also involves greater risk. Private companies will find investors with the help of private placement which is based on some assured valuation. The investors of the retail can also contribute to this by exempting the registration for the private companies because they highly depend on the registration. The company keeps looking for investment throughout their entire life cycle. So the private companies look for the companies that are already well established (TheStreet 2015). The risk associated with such investment is higher because many start-ups end up shutting down their business. And direct investment also generates higher returns as the risk involved in such investment is higher. Direct investment helps the investor to diversify his investment portfolio and minimise the risk of investment. Conclusion So the above discussion clearly highlights seven alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets, and also highlights the expected/realised returns and risks of each, and also discuss how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. References Alquist, R., Mukherjee, R. and Tesar, L., 2014. Liquidity-driven foreign direct investment. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies WP, (17). Bali, T.G., Brown, S.J. and Caglayan, M.O., 2014. Macroeconomic risk and hedge fund returns. Journal of Financial Economics, 114(1), pp.1-19. Baumol, W., Goldfeld, S.M., Gordon, L.A. and Koehn, F.M., 2012. The economics of mutual fund markets: Competition versus regulation (Vol. 7). Springer Science Business Media. Bhala, K.T., Yeh, W. and Bhala, R., 2016. International Investment Management: Theory, Ethics and Practice. Routledge. Busse, J.A., Chordia, T., Jiang, L. and Tang, Y., 2016. Mutual Fund Transaction Costs. Campello, M. and Giambona, E., 2013. Real assets and capital structure. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 48(05), pp.1333-1370. Caselli, S., Garcia-Appendini, E. and Ippolito, F., 2013. Contracts and returns in private equity investments. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 22(2), pp.201-217. Harris, R.S., Jenkinson, T. and Kaplan, S.N., 2014. Private equity performance: What do we know?. The Journal of Finance, 69(5), pp.1851-1882. Investor.gov. (2016). Hedge Funds | Investor.gov. Korteweg, A. and Nagel, S., 2013. Risk-adjusting the returns to venture capital (No. w19347). National Bureau of Economic Research. Lerner, J., Hardymon, F. and Leamon, A., 2012. Venture capital private equity: A casebook. Mathur, A. and Singh, K., 2013. Foreign direct investment, corruption and democracy. Applied Economics, 45(8), pp.991-1002. The Times of India. (2016). Why Should You Invest in Mutual Funds?. TheStreet. (2015). 7 Common Alternative Investments That All Investors Should Know. margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-56289560610216906572019-11-29T15:31:00.001-08:002019-11-29T15:31:03.437-08:00Geore Essays - Cornish People, Richard Trevithick, Vehicle Geore 1783 The Montgolfier brothers invent the first hot air balloons 1787 Steamboat invented 1769 First self-propelled road vehicle invented by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot 1790 Modern bicycles invented 1801 Richard Trevithick invented the first steam powered locomotive (designed for roads) 1807 Isaac de Rivas makes a hydrogen gas powered vehicle - first with internal combustion power - however, very unsuccessful design 1807 First steamboat with regular passenger service - inventor Robert Fulton's Clermont 1814 George Stephenson invents the first practical steam powered railroad locomotive 1862 Jean Lenoir makes a gasoline engine automobile 1867 First motorcycle invented 1868 George Westinghouse invents the compressed air locomotive brake - enabled trains to be stopped with fail-safe accuracy 1871 First cable car invented 1885 Karl Benz builds the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal combustion engine 1899 Ferdinand von Zeppelin invents the first successful dirigible - the Zeppelin 1903 The Wright Brothers invent and fly the first engined airplane 1907 Very first helicopter - unsuccessful design 1908 Henry Ford improves the assembly line for automobile manufacturing 1908 Hydrofoil boats co-invented by Alexander Graham Bell & Casey Baldwin - boats that skimmed water 1926 First liquid propelled rocket launched 1940 Modern helicopters invented 1947 First supersonic jet flight 1956 Hovercraft invented margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-55709308594557779952019-11-25T17:59:00.001-08:002019-11-25T17:59:03.538-08:00Threads essaysThreads essays In Threads, a movie depicting a nuclear war, it was shown how some simple events could lead to almost total annihilation. The movie is started with a tranquil setting of two kids sitting in the countryside in a vehicle. Very subtly, they are announcing the events of an advance from Russia into the country of Iran. Russia is sending troops into Iran because they do not have a Communist Government ruling. Russia wants to correct this flaw and make it a Communist country. The United States of America hears news of the advances and threatens the Russian Government to pull out the troops and leave Iran alone. Russia, being stubborn, doesnt comply to the threats and withholds retreat. This reaction to the threat causes the US to threaten them with a war. The British government started to inform the leaders of the cites to go to the bunkers and start to plan for a war, plus come up with a plan to control the city after, if a war does occur. The US wanted to watch the actio ns taking place, so they sent some submarines over to the Persian Gulf to survey the motives of the Russian troops. One of the submarines that was in the area suddenly, without a trace, disappeared. The US suspected that Russia had somehow destroyed the submarine without any detection. This stunt was the leading element to the panic and wide spread fear throughout the world. People with fear of a war started to buy food and fuel. The tension heated up again when Russia decided to move nuclear weapons into their base in Iran. This is the stepping stone to the first nuclear explosions. The US sent over a fleet of B-52 fighter planes to bomb the base that they were in. Unfortunately, the US forgot that they had nuclear tipped missiles. Russia shot the B-52s out of the air with, just a few, of their ample supply of missiles. These actions started widespread panic, and people just started to go crazy and buy everythin... margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-36548928891393568672019-11-22T01:23:00.001-08:002019-11-22T01:23:03.341-08:00Quality Assurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1Quality Assurance - Essay Example Quality assurance is a vital aspect in any organisation that needs to offer unparalleled products or services. Quality assurance is the implementation of all systematic activities that are geared towards provision of quality products and services. All organisations that adhere to quality control are in a position to make a positive impact in the provision of products and services.This is an activity that is directed towards fulfilling the needs of the demand for the services and products. Quality control is mostly inclined towards satisfaction of those in need the services and products. In quality control, an organisationââ¬â¢s interests are not paramount. However, the interests of the consumer reign supreme. Quality Concepts An organisation that needs to apply quality control has to go through various procedures to attain the best. It is not an easy task to implement quality assurance and it will take time and other resources including finance and labour. First, the organisation has to carry out a concrete system analysis. Organisations have to come up with a system that will be operational in the organisation in order to meet the requirements. In this initial step, the organisation has to consult with concerned parties to come up with a functional system. This will involve consultation, meeting with other parties consulting research in making a strong system. This will be followed by development of the system to ensure it will function in the organisation. Analysing and developing a system that is not functional in the organisation will be a waste of time and resources. ... As such, there will be limited instances of conflict of interest. Secondly, there has to be procedures that will be followed in implementation of the system. Following procedures will ensure the system will be implemented in a standardised form. Some procedures will be vital and should be done before taking any other step in the system. Thirdly there will be a need for reference materials. The system should be backed up with materials that will be used in future in ensuring the system is followed appropriately. The last part of applying quality assurance is informing the concerned parties of the system in place. Passing information explicitly will be a benefit to the organisation as all the employees or people in the organisation will be prepared to execute the system. This will be followed by instructing the organisation on the possible measures that will be in place when implementing the system. Lastly, there will be a need to train the staff in ensuring the system is fully execute d. Since the workforce is directly involved, they will have to get ample training and preparation for the system that should be put in place. When considering the application of quality assurance in an organisation, there are several parameters that are considered. First, there is constant training of the concerned parties and employees. The employees are directly involved in ensuring quality standards are maintained. Therefore, constant training of the employees will ensure the quality of products or services are kept in high standards. In many instances, organisations that practice employee training are at the helm of making positive accrual in their line of service or products. Secondly, there is need for constant margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-8941940156745424732019-11-20T19:04:00.001-08:002019-11-20T19:04:03.941-08:00Organizational Culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 wordsOrganizational Culture - Assignment Example To treat its workforce appropriately, the company offers part time and full-time employees to access full benefits in health care, discounted stock purchase strategies/stock option, and other personal benefits. Starbucks offer friendly services, flexibility in working hours by the employees, and a welcoming atmosphere. The organization works with farmers who grow coffee beans to affect their lives positively, since coffee growing regions seem to be extremely poor yet the cost of coffee has slowed down due to oversupply. Baristas at Starbucks are proud of both the training they access and the company they work for. Upper management is evidently diverse as compared to most big companies in the United States. The companyââ¬â¢s reputation has been built by all this principles for a more liberal and progressive large corporation. The company believes in employing exceptional people who are enthusiastic to work and produce excellent outcomes. In exchange, they are committed to the development of their good people through identifying, developing, training, promoting, and rewarding those employees who are committed to moving the company forward. Its employees are also included in the decision making process of the company to allow honesty and transparency (Randle and Flamholtz, 2001). As a result, Starbuckââ¬â¢s reputation and organizational culture, its performance has greatly improved. It is an extensively profitable organization, its earnings in 2004 was an excess of $600 million and generated revenue above $5000 million in the respective year. It has been ranked as a global coffee brand based on a reputation for fine services and products with almost 9000 cafes within forty nations. Starbucks was among the fortune top 100 organizations to be employed by in 2005 since it is a respected employer that highly values its workforce. This satisfies it to be a margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-14776964423268839832019-11-18T20:28:00.001-08:002019-11-18T20:28:03.918-08:00Otherness in Moby Dick Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 wordsOtherness in Moby Dick - Essay Example The capacity to reveal human nature within fiction is especially true when demonstrating various ways of life, or aspects of social culture. Quality fiction, regardless of when it was written or the length of the written text, can reveal significant aspects of human nature and thus reveal us to ourselves as we identify various elements of the story with our everyday lives. Literature such as Melville's novel Moby Dick or The Whale remind us that even when we feel we belong within a society, there are often elements of otherness that keep us separate. One of the first examples of Otherness found within the book is Ishmael's enforced relationship with Queequeg. Otherness is established when Ishmael checks into a very crowded whalers' inn, the Spouter Inn, at which the only accommodation to be had is a shared bed with a harpooneer. Although he agrees to the necessity easily enough, Ishmael begins to have strong misgivings about the idea as the night draws forward and he has yet to meet the man, "the more I pondered over this harpooneer, the more I abominated the thought of sleeping with him" (18). His feelings are not eased by hearing the strange stories that are told of this man selling heads that he picked up in New Zealand. Given the opportunity to look around the room before Queequag's arrival, Ishmael is also surprised by the strange things the harpooneer has in his possession such as "a parcel of outlandish bone fish hooks on the shelf over the fire-place" (22) and a strange object draped over a chest. Queequag's appearance does nothing to help him blend in either, described as "a dark, purplish, yellow color, here and there stuck over with large blackish looking squares" (23), which gives Ishmael cause for brief alarm. This alarm is only heightened by Queequag's strange bedtime ritual with the idol. Like many individuals, Ishmael's first reaction to Otherness is not an attempt to understand as much as it is an instinct to fear and flee. In spite of his misg ivings regarding the Otherness of his mysterious roommate, though, Ishmael is willing to work through them to discover more. This becomes clear as he tries on Queequag's poncho, which Ishmael describes as a doormat with a hole or slit in the middle, "I put it on, to try it, and it weighed me down like a hamper, being uncomfortably shaggy and thick" (22). This willingness to try on the unknown persona of another is what enables Ishmael to overcome his original aversion to the man himself once he finally appears. Because of this earlier willingness to think through the strangeness, Ishmael is quickly able to overcome his initial reaction to Queequag's appearance, "what is it, thought I, after all! It's only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin" (23). Although he has numerous misgivings at first, Ishmael is able to recognize that Queequag's manner is gentle and kind. "For all his tatooings he was on the whole a clean, comely-looking cannibal" (26). Not only that, but Is hmael realizes Queequag is as much human as Ishmael himself and thus susceptible to all the same fears and misgivings Ishmael himself has been experiencing. Although he has come to accept Queequag's humanity by the next morning, when he wakes to find the savage's arm draped around him as margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-54863764823188680242019-11-16T09:01:00.001-08:002019-11-16T09:01:10.697-08:00Radiation Protection Personal Protective EquipmentRadiation Protection Personal Protective Equipment Introduction: The assignment, consist of three parts including this introduction, which mentions how the assignment will take shape. Ideas and concepts taken from elsewhere for the preparation of this document will be cited appropriately within the work. The document which will be given to staff will address the issues pertaining to the appropriate use of personal protective equipment(PPE), legislations associated with their use, the principles of physics behind their use. The document will briefly delve in to issues pertaining to radiation hazards and protection, legislations relevant to radiation work in United Kingdom and use of personal protective equipment. Principles of physics behind radiation protection methods will be addressed in the document. Commonly used PPE in radiographic departments will be explained with their appropriate use along with personnel dosimetry. Local rules aiding radiation protection and defining PPE use will be also addressed in the document. Radiation protection methods and appropriate use of PPE will be given in a tabular format explaining where, when and why these protection methods and PPE should be used for those situations. The third section of this work will include a conclusion which will include the reasoning behind the composition of the document. It will also briefly address other important radiation protection issues and methods which are not addressed in the documents and the reasoning behind it. It will demonstrate how the assignment brief has been addressed by the document. The conclusion segment of this assignment will also emphasise as to why understanding of the work produced is important. The main factors aiding the preparation and decisions made for the preparation of the document will also be included in the conclusion. At the end of the work all references used in the preparation of this work will be laid out in the Harvard system of referencing. Radiation Protection and the use of Personal Protective Equipment. Introduction: Being at the leading edge of radiation dose delivery, a radiographer has a unique professional duty towards himself and others around him for a reduction in the hazards caused by ionising radiation (Manning, 2004). Many radiation related fatalities and injuries suffered by radiation pioneers and scientific studies of the 1950s, which implicated low level doses to stochastic effects in radiation workers and patients led to the radiation protection regulations of today (Bushong, 2003). Radiation hazards When humans are irradiated, atomic interactions results in ionisation, this can lead to chemical and biological changes which are damaging to the cells and chromosomes. This radiation induced changes can lead to two distinct types of injuries at cellular level. Deterministic effects: Above a certain threshold dose, effects show up and the severity of the effects increase with dose Stochastic effects: Probability of occurrence of effects increases with increase in dose. The effects include cancer induction and hereditary effects in future generations (Martin and Harbison, 2006). These late stochastic effects, has led to the radiation protection regulations of today (Bushong 2003). What is Radiation protection and why do it In light of the hazards that could be caused by radiation, protection from unnecessary radiation gains paramount importance. All radiation workers and patients should be protected against these hazards by various methods and equipment, this process is called radiation protection. A system of linear non threshold (LNT) model for radiation protection is applied to all radiation practices (Martin 2004). There is also increasing opinion in favour of radiation hormesis(Carver 2006), but since there is no absolute evidence to suggest a lower threshold below which no damage occurs the LNT model as required by current legislations is considered appropriate to estimate risks at low doses(Matthews and Brennan 2008) The patient should only be exposed if the clinical evidence suggests that the patient is likely to benefit from the procedures. The law requires the doses to be kept to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), so the requirement of radiation protection is laid out by various legislations (Graham et al.,2007). The regulations relevant to radiographic work and the use of PPE in United Kingdom (UK) Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999(IRR 1999) Ionising Radiations (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 (IR(ME)R) Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995(RIDDOR 1995) Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) (Messer, 2009) The recommendations of The International Commission for Radiation Protection(ICRP), that radiation exposure to radiation workers and the patient should be As Low As Reasonably Achievable(ALARA) is generally accepted(Engel-Hills,2006), The recommendations of ICRP and the European union(EU) euratom directives have all had a significant impact on British law (Whitley et al., 2005) Principles of Radiation Protection IR(ME)R requires all medical exposures in diagnostic radiology to apply the radiation protection principles of justification, optimisation and dose limitation. (Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine(IPEM), 2002). These principles ensure patient dose is kept to the ALARP principle. The cardinal principles of radiation protection will be further discussed. Minimising Time: As the dose is directly proportional to duration of exposure, minimising the time of exposure results in reduced dose. Minimising the time spent near a radiation source also reduces exposure. This protection method finds its use in fluoroscopy. Other methods used in fluoroscopy, using this protection method to reduce exposure is pulsed progressive fluoroscopy and the regular interval reset timers (Bushong, 2001). Maximising Distance: The cheapest form of radiation protection is afforded by the inverse square law, which states that the radiation intensity varies to the inverse of the square of the distance (Farr and Allisy-Roberts 1997). This law holds true for the primary beam which is considered a point source of radiation. While using mobile x-ray units a radiographer can avail this principle of physics to get maximum protection by standing as far away from the source as possible with the aid of the long cable which should be at least 2metre from the x-ray tube during exposure (Bushong 2001). Dowd (1991) considers distance to be the simplest and most effective of radiation protection measures. Maximising Shielding: Maximising shielding between the radiation source and exposed personnel reduces radiation exposure considerably. The effectiveness of the shielding material is estimated in terms of its half-value layer(HVL), which is the amount of material needed to reduce radiation exposure in to half, and tenth-value layers(TVLs); which is the amount of material needed to reduce exposure to one tenth of its original amount. The preferred material for shielding is lead (Pb). The physics behind the usage of lead for protection is its high atomic number (82). This high atomic number ensures that a majority of scatter photons gets absorbed due to its high attenuation. PPE used in radiography departments: Lead Aprons: They are made from powdered lead incorporated in a binder of rubber or vinyl. They come in various lead equivalencies. If used as a secondary barrier to absorb scattered radiation an apron with lead equivalency of at least 0.25mm should be used. Lead aprons shall be at least 0.5mm of lead equivalent for fluoroscopy but can be higher to the range of 1mm of lead equivalence. The downside of greater lead equivalent aprons is the greater weight. Now manufacturers make aprons with composite materials-a combination of lead, barium and tungsten. They have reduced weight and provide better attenuation of radiation. Lead Gloves: They provide at least 0.25mm or more of lead equivalent protection. Used mainly in fluoroscopy or by people holding patients during examination. Thyroid Shields: Mainly for use while performing fluoroscopy, these offers protection to thyroid. Mobile Shields: These could be moved around and are sometimes used in angiography. Protective Eyewear: Protective glasses are used mainly in fluoroscopy to protect against the cataractogenic effect of radiation(Dowd and Tilson 1999). The concept used for radiation-protection practices is the effective dose(E). Effective dose considers the relative radio sensitivity of various tissues and organs. Effective Dose(E) =Radiation weighting factor(Wr) x Tissue weighting factor(Wt) x Absorbed dose (Bushong, 2001) Personnel Dosimetry: All classified radiation workers are routinely monitored for radiation exposures using personnel monitors. Though they do not provide any radiation protection on their own, they offer the quantity of radiation to which the person using the monitor was exposed. The commonly used dosimeters in diagnostic radiology are film badges, Thermoluminescent dosimeters(TLD) and the pocket dosimeter (Thompson et al.,1994). Local Rules which will include working procedures and protocols for the department should be always followed for the appropriate use of PPE Protective Methods/PPE usedng 2001,Bushong 2003) Conclusion: Writing an assignment about the appropriate use of PPE for radiation protection, the need to highlight radiation hazards was considered important and so the assignment started with a brief outlook of radiation hazards and subsequently radiation protection concept was discussed with emphasis on why staff and patients must be protected. The LNT dose response model for radiation protection and new concept favouring lower doses such as radiation hormesis was briefly addressed. The justification for using the LNT model for radiation protection was also emphasised. The legal requirement for radiation protection of patients and staff was discussed and legislations relevant to radiographic work in UK and other organisations influencing British law on radiation safety was discussed. Recommendations of ICRP, as low as reasonably achievable( ALARA) concept and the IR(ME)R requirements of radiation protection of patient through the principles of justification, optimization and limitation was also addressed. These introductory explanations, was considered important as they were the basis for the subject for radiation protection and highlighted the need for radiation protection in diagnostic imaging departments. Preparing the core of the work was not possible without addressing the cardinal principles of radiation protection, hence they were all discussed briefly, where these protection principles find its application for radiation protection in radiographic departments. Time, Distance, Shielding concepts of radiation protection was discussed. Distance and Shielding concept of radiation protection was discussed in detail as they find their use quite often in imaging departments. Material commonly used for shielding with the principles of physics behind its usage was also addressed. Concepts such as half -value layer(HVL) and tenth value layers (TVLs), used to define the effectiveness of the shielding material was also detailed. Personal protective equipment generally used in imaging departments such as lead rubber aprons, lead rubber gloves, thyroid shield, protective eye wear, mobile shield was discussed. Their appropriate usage in specific areas was also considered. Concept of effective dose was also briefly discussed as this was considered an important concept in radiation dose. Personnel dosimetry was discussed with a brief on the various types of personnel dosimeters used in diagnostic imaging departments, as these dosimeters play an important role in dose regulation and monitoring radiation exposure in staff. Radiation protection methods to reduce patient dose has not been elaborated and special arrangements for pregnant radiographer such as rotating out of high exposure areas such as mobile x-ray and fluoroscopy and wearing a secondary badge under the apron at waist level when involved in such examinations to measure foetal dose(Dowd and Tilson 1994) has not been addressed in the document, so as to keep the assignment within its permissible constraints. With all this being presented, it was decided to summarize the use of PPE and protection methods in various areas of a radiographic department; x-ray room, while using mobile x-ray equipment in wards and theatres, Fluoroscopy which is a major contributor of staff dose(Bushong 2001) and CT was considered. It was decided to project these points in a tabular format within the document for simplicity and to meet the assignment brief within the imposed limitations. It also demonstrates the appropriate usage of PPE and radiation protection methods. Adequate shielding in diagnostic imaging departments both primary and secondary shielding as required by legislations, means that a radiographer is sufficiently protected from the scatter, as long as they position themselves behind the protective barrier during exposure. This point is stressed within the tabular column in the document as this is considered an important radiation protection practice. X-ray tube incorporates lead shielding to attenuate the radiation travelling in any other direction other than the useful beam. The housing of the tube have a lead equivalent of typically 2.5mm (Farr and Allisy-Roberts 1997). This greatly reduces scatter or leaked radiation exposure to staff and patient. These and other protection measures incorporated with in modern x-ray machines such as collimation, beam alignment, filtration and other manual protective measures to reduce patient dose-including specific area shielding, such as contact shields and shadow shields which provide gonadal pr otection to patients have not been discussed in the document due to the scope and constraints of the assignment. All radiation protection methods employed to reduce patient dose bring down staff exposure as well, so good radiographic practice helps achieve reduced dose to both patient and staff (Graham et al., 2007) Local rules as required by IRR 1999, to be a part of all departments which involves working with ionising radiation has been addressed in the document briefly, but they are an important resource towards radiation protection as these rules include written systems of work, including protocols and procedures for the imaging department. Details of contingency plans and the names of Radiation protection advisers(RPA) and Radiation Protection Supervisors(RPS) are contained within the rules(Graham et al.,2007) Principles of physics, pertaining to the use of lead in the preparation of shielding materials have been discussed in the assignment. Reading the document will inform the reader about the appropriate use of PPE, as to where, when and why to use these PPE. It also informs the reader the various legislations associated with radiation protection and the use of PPE in UK. It also highlights the hazards caused by ionising radiation and the need for radiation protection. Hence the assignment brief has been addressed. Radiation protection is an important subject to be considered in the diagnostic radiography department (Moores, 2006) and hence a clear understanding of radiation protection issues is important. Ionizing radiation can cause real damage to current and future generations if not dealt with carefully, hence understanding radiation protection and the correct usage of PPE in aiding radiation protection through this work is considered important. Together with a wide range of resources, the valuable experience gained during the clinical placement in a radiography department, observing the safety practices and usage of PPE in the imaging departments and critical self evaluation of methods and practices using the aid of published works has helped me arrive at the key decisions which are addressed in the document. 1 margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946892921641539212.post-17642790432129360272019-11-13T21:32:00.001-08:002019-11-13T21:32:03.893-08:00measuring brain activity :: essays research papers Measuring Brain Activity à à à à à Most of the noninvasive imaging methods estimate brain activity by changes in blood flow, oxygen consumption, glucose utilization, etc. Discuss the potential problems with using this type of indirect measure. The brain is the control center of the human body. It sends and receives millions of signals every second, day and night, in the form of hormones, nerve impulses, and chemical messengers. This exchange of information makes us move, eat, sleep, and think. Obstructions such as tumors can interrupt normal brain activity, leading to deficits of normal reasoning, motor control, or consciousness. Many of the signs of neural damage are easily recognizable by an outside observer, but since the actual cause of these problems are internal, the symptoms can be vague. The real deficits can affect the brainââ¬â¢s anatomy, or the way signals are processed. A physician can only determine the real cause by examining the brain internally to find irregularities, either in structure or in functioning. Since the brain is extremely fragile and difficult to access without risking further damage, imaging techniques are used frequently as a noninvasive method of visualizing the brainââ¬â¢s structure and activity. Today's technology provides many useful tools for studying the brain. But even with our highest technology out there we do not know everything definitely. We do have fallbacks at times and these fallbacks can lead to serious problems. The recent advances in non-invasive brain imaging, increased computational power, and advances in signal processing methods have heightened the research in this area. As we make progress in interpreting noninvasive brain signals in time we will begin to explore applications that go beyond treatment. But for now these noninvasive methods of estimating brain activity is still something to be cautious about since it only measures the brainââ¬â¢s blood, oxygen consumption, glucose utilization, and more. These measurements may not be accurate enough to figure out one personââ¬â¢s problem. The problem again might be internal and measuring only the obvious would not aid in figuring it all out. à à à à à Other problems with using these noninvasive imaging methods of only few changes of variables in the brainââ¬â¢s activity are that maybe the problem does not reside in the blood, oxygen intake, or glucose utilization. It may be in other factors that we do not observe that is causing the trouble. By being limited to these estimations of brain activity does not really make our effort of correcting the problem that successful. margaretrey29http://www.blogger.com/profile/14185509834928764782noreply@blogger.com0