Stem Cell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stem Cell - Research Paper Example The intentions of this study are stem cells, the cells found in multi-cellular organisms, both humans and animals. The cells have the ability to renew through miotic cell division where they differentiate into specialized cell types. The stem cell exists in two types, namely the embryonic stem cell and the adult stem cells. The cells have the ability to treat a wide range of diseases which has resulted in many technologies being employed to study their viability and effectiveness. The study of stem cells has become common due to the ability of the stem cells to perform several functions. This is due to the fact that the stem cells have the ability to specialize into any desired cell type. Genetic diseases have become a serious issue in the world today. It is therefore, important to understand how the genetic diseases occur and what can be done to remedy the situation. Genetic diseases caused by chromosomal anomalies’ can be rectified by using stem cells. This is due to the fac t that stem cells have differentiation and proliferation effects that can help in addressing the situation. Stem cell application is therefore important in the prevention and correction of the genetic diseases. Scientific research has shown that stem cells are important in the treatment of several types of diseases that people suffer from. Stem cells are mainly used in the treatment of diseases that require organ transplant. This is due to their ability to differentiate into cells that exhibit special characteristics. ... Stem cells are mainly used in the treatment of diseases that require organ transplant (Hayat, 2011). This is due to their ability to differentiate into cells that exhibit special characteristics (Klimanskaya, Chung, Becker, Lu & Lanza, 2006). Stem cells are currently being used to carry out cancer therapies for those who are diagnosed with the disease. Cell therapy in this case is carried out to replace the tissues affected by the disease with the stem cells. This has helped in the treatment of cancer of the breast and skin. The stem cell is also used in the treatment of brain and blood diseases, and in tissue and organ regeneration (Hayat, 2011). Understanding Human and Animal Development Human beings develop from stem cells. Stem cell study is important as it helps people in understanding how human beings and animals develop from conception to death (Viegas, 2003; Takahashi & Yamanaka, 2006). This is due to the fact that there are some diseases that affect humans as a result of abn ormal cell differentiation and proliferations. Due to this fact, abnormal stem cell division may cause certain diseases. Therefore, it is important to have a good understanding of stem cells will assist in the prevention of abnormal changes in the stem cells and assist in getting better treatment for diseases associated with poor stem cells such as cancer. Arguments against the Use of Stem Cells Ethical considerations Despite the many benefits of the stem cells, there are some cons associated with their application. The use of the embryonic stem cell goes against human dignity and right to life. This is because the embryos are considered to be living beings and should be left to develop uninhibited to become an adult. Human life is very valuable and should never be voluntarily destroyed

The Cove Documentary Film Studies Essay

The Cove Documentary Film Studies Essay In order for a high-quality documentary to capture an audiences attention it must tell a story. There are three elements to a good documentary. The first is it has to have a set up, this guarantees that that the audience watching the documentary will become emotionally or mentally invested into the characters portrayed on film. Secondly the documentary has to take the audience on a journey, emotionally or mentally, throughout occurrences in the characters lives. Thirdly there must be an inevitable closing of the film that pays off for the characters and the audience. This is exactly what the director Louie Psihoyos does in the documentary The Cove. The directed Louie Psihoyos is a profound photographer for National Geographic (Psihoyos. The Cove). From this experience he knows that in order for this story to be told, he needs to create a human touch in order to captivate the audience. He does this my presenting Mr. OBarrys story into the film. Mr. OBarry is a former dolphin trainer w ho created the world recognized TV show flipper (Psihoyos. The Cove). By bringing this show into worldwide consciousness and causing it to popularize so drastically, he feels like it is his obligation and responsibility to save and protect the dolphins (Psihoyos. The Cove). Throughout this film it is shown that he will do anything and everything to protect these animals from being brutally murdered by the fisherman in the cove. This film shows an act of heroism and courage, not just from OBarry but also from all the volunteers in this film that put their lives on the line to help end the slaughter of the dolphins. The Cove takes us right behind enemy lines to see the risky and dangerous activities taking place. This is what I like to call an eco-thriller. This cove is not only completely hidden by walls of jagged cliffs, but it is monitored and protected by droves and troops of Japanese policemen. Making the shot to see what is behind all of this almost impossible to capture. Due to the difficulty to find access into the cove, the documentary quickly picks up speed and becomes a thriller. Throughout the film there are bad guys like a man labeled private space, there are chase scenes and secret missions done at the dead of night and a number of investigations done by the Japanese government on the cast and crew of the film. All through this film there are two sides shown; good vs. bad. Almost automatically it is made clear in this documentary that there is a conflict and much resistance to the crews presence in Taiji, Japan. The crew is not only monitored and confronted by the Japanese government, but are as well in threat of being arrested. Which causes much fear and panic for not only the filmmakers, but also the audience watching th e film. Under Japanese law, you can be in jail for many months and even years without a hearing or trial for why you were arrested in the first place. The film sets up like a James Bond movie. The crew plans to go against Taijis authorities and to covertly set up remote control cameras and audio devices that will record and expose what the fisherman in the cove are in reality doing. Due to the use of high-tech equipment, such as underwater and infrared cameras, it not only gives this already unique film a completely new appearance and view of things but as well keeps the audience interested and on their feet by using these high-tech devices. The handheld and thermal cameras produces the audience to feel a part of the danger created by the activists to expose the slaughtering. The director integrates scenes from dolphin shows and smiling dolphins entertaining large groups people. He uses this to show that the smile of a dolphin is much like an illusion, as it hides their real feelings, as OBarry describes in the film. Along with the many film techniques used in the film, the film as well uses many diverse emotions of music during di fferent scenes to highlight the moods felt in the scene, which then incorporates the audience to feel the mood in the certain scenes. Not only music is used in the film but also the sounds of dolphins communicating underwater during the slaughter are recorded. These sounds are played over and over in the film causing the sounds to become somewhat implanted into the audiences head. Due to the high-tech cameras being able to capture the slaughters of dolphins to vividly, the audience sees exactly what filmmakers see, no re-enactments, staging or imagination is needed to know whats happening to the dolphins. In every documentary the view of the director is shown in each interview or camera shot, but the distinction between other documentaries and this one is that the raw footage of the dolphin slaughter can only show the perspective and view of the dolphins not the director. Not only is this film worthy of James Bond but also it encompasses everything like a spy-thriller would. This film causes the audience to root for OBarry, who symbolizes the good guys. Throughout this film the audience is constantly questioning whether the cast and crew will be caught or found out and will have to cease the documentary and their mission to expose the fisherman and the government. Most of all the audience is constantly wondering what will happen to the dolphins. This drama not only uncovers the emotional elements of this film, but also reveals intellectual elements. This documentary is strengthened by documentary evidence such as the coverage of International Whaling Commission conferences, interviews with animal experts, doctors, and politicians. The set up and logistics of the operation in this film, which are captured by high-tech equipment, creates a sense of danger, skill and creativity that resembles that of an adventure film. Not only are the consequences high , spending a year in prison perhaps, but also the film will cause the audience to neither enjoy or miss their next visit to watch dolphins performing at marine land. Many people are uncertain and vary to watch documentaries. Many of there reasons come down to two main reasons. The first is because simply they think they will be boring. The second is that they believe the documentaries will force them to change their minds or reconsider their actions. Ignorance is bliss in some cases may be true, choosing our battles only to sustain our sanity but, in other cases there are things that can be done that will not only better you and people around you but as well the world we live in. The prevention of the slaughter of dolphins might seem like a large and inconceivable task but the answer is simple, make people aware of the problem occurring and stop the demand. This is not a huge sacrifice when comparing to 20,000 dolphins slaughtered each year (Psihoyos. The Cove). But, like most things in life there are two sides and in order to understand one side you must as well study the other side. To somewhat defend Japan and their people; countries like the United States have many practices that could be seen at evil, inhumane or corrupt. The slaughtering of dolphins in Japan can easily be compared to the factory farms and slaughterhouses in the US. Animals like cows, pigs and chickens are treated just as poorly, but we dont think of their deaths as tragic as the dolphins death because they have become domesticated animals that are eaten often and that are no longer wild. When we look at dolphins we relate them close to humans and they as well have large quantities of mercury in their bodies, so Westerners would never think of eating them. Since the cove does not expose the audience to the slaughtering of cows, pigs and chickens, it gives the audience a chance to point fingers at others, like Japan, rather than themselves and issues happening in their c ountry. If a group of Japanese doctors were very concerned about the obesity problem among western children and a documentary film was made about it where they exposed the lies and double standards of the fast food industry, what would probably happen is it would anger and enrage westerners. An example of this is Michael Moore who focuses on issues where he lives, which causes quite the debate. The film directly attacks Japan, not only as a nation, but also on the policies, values and customs, which the Japanese have been brought up on. This is apparently shown in the coverage of Japans whaling policies. Which is a target for the audience to project their own bad feelings onto. The filmmakers created this target by showing footage that would shock the audience and would make them point fingers at Japan rather than onto themselves. Through this the audience was influenced to think and feel a certain way, such as anger, guilt, suspense, and moral superiority. Due to this the audience feels that they are entitled or have a right to attack Japan on what they are doing. A good example of moral superiority in this film is when OBarry sees the Taiji people as barbaric. He says in the beginning of the film, Today they would kill me if they could. Im not exaggerating. If these fishermen could catch me and kill me, they would (Psihoyos, The Cove). As well later on he says, The way th e law works in Japan, they can keep you in jail with no charges for 28 days. 90% of the convictions in Japan are obtained by confessions during those 28 days because they can torture you legally (Psihoyos, The Cove). The whole reason for saying these things is to portray the Japanese in a bad light and to characterize them as uncivilized. The fact that in the US the murder rate is 8 times high than in Japan is ignored. Clearly this objective of this movie is not to be necessarily fair. Only the facts that suit the filmmakers ideas, values and thoughts are used. Most of this manipulation is done not only so the directors view will be dominant, but that more money will be made and thus the better for Hollywood. If this movie were attacking Americans as well, there would much less of a demand or want to see this film. Due to this film becoming so popular in the entertainment industry the cove have used this to their advantage by creating a PSA (public service announcement) to raise awareness on the Dolphin slaughter in Taiji (The Cove PSA). This PSA feature a wide cast of celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Naomi Watts, Paul Rudd, James Gandolfini, and many more (The Cove PSA) . In this day many actors, musicians and filmmakers associate themselves with causes like this one in order to help their career and to market themselves. Much of activism done today is a type of entertainment. Instant gratifications are in favor rather than objective or balanced views. For self-serving people like some of these celebrities, the causes they speak about are no more than a fashion statement to boost their careers and identities. It seems that the more you can relate something to yourself or the greater the similarity, the more you feel like it deserves to be treated the same as you. This is one of the reasons why we respond so strongly to seeing the slaughtering of dolphins. This is a way of people reacting to their own self-preservation. The attitude of  Youre either with us, or against us  manipulates people by forcing them to rush to judgment for fear of being labeled as against them and by the use of this manipulation, for good or bad. The images of the film and the actions of the audience are often disconnected because, ecologically, problems tend to be so big any given person feels powerless. But  The Cove  breaks all of these conventions by using high-quality, high-budget techniques to bring the audience to a conclusion. The Cove does a good job of building up the moment of when the dolphins are slaughtered; infusing education and intensity into the preceding frames, but you simply cant be pre pared to see exactly what happens inside the natural cove. By using all the Hollywood cameras and equipment the most powerful scene in the film is when an underwater camera, showing the waters turning instantly red from all of the dolphins blood. While most of the better socially conscious documentaries are forced to look at a tragedy with years of hindsight,  The Coves issues are happening as we speak. This is a film that screams of the present urgency to do something, which makes viewers like us want to get involved. The Cove successfully stays with the audience long after the credits, due to its raw reality.

Market Failure and Government Intervention :: Papers

Market Failure and Government Intervention This essay will examine the concept of market failure and the measures that governments take remedy the failure of the market. The concept of perfect market allocation of resources was in W. Baumol's (1988,631), view largly theroretical. Baumol believed that economic models relied upon the concept of the invisible hand first discussed by Adam Smith. In these models, the perfectly competetive economy was able to allocate resources efficiently, without the need for market intervention by outside agents, including governments. However, there were significant weaknesses in these models particuarly in the area of ensuring equity of acess, social objectives and in the provision of public goods. Ensuring equity of acess, meeting social objectives and providing public goods.were considered the main reasons why the public sector provided goods. Why governments intervened in the market was due mainly to charactoristics of the market place. If the market place was to function efficiently, several conditions needed to exsist, including, * Freedom of choice * Certainty of demand * Miniminal externalities * Excludability In addition to these prerequisites, the perfect market required perfect consumer and supplier information, no rent seeking behaviour and no moral hazard existed. If these conditions were not met, market mechanisms would fail to produce the efficient allocation of resources. P. Groenewegen (1990,2) argued that governments intervened in the market place with the, ... Public sector... being engaged in the providing sevices (and in some cases goods) whose scope and variety are determined not by the direct wishes of the consumers, but by the the decisions of government bodies. This view implies that governments intervene for many reasons, including the redistributional and stablisation functions. While market failure is one reason for intervention, other considerations, including questions of equity and social justice determined the nature and the extent of government intervention. This point was expanded upon by Groenewegen (1990,2) who argued that the extent of market intervention in the supply, distribution and redistibution of goods and services are not dictated by purly political and ideological considerations, other considerations may play a role including the failure of the market in certain instances to ensure efficient, equiable allocation of resources. Another reason why governments intervened in the market place was to ensure the provision of public goods. Public goods are generally comodities that are socially desiralbe but cannot be financed through the private sector. Market Failure and Government Intervention :: Papers Market Failure and Government Intervention This essay will examine the concept of market failure and the measures that governments take remedy the failure of the market. The concept of perfect market allocation of resources was in W. Baumol's (1988,631), view largly theroretical. Baumol believed that economic models relied upon the concept of the invisible hand first discussed by Adam Smith. In these models, the perfectly competetive economy was able to allocate resources efficiently, without the need for market intervention by outside agents, including governments. However, there were significant weaknesses in these models particuarly in the area of ensuring equity of acess, social objectives and in the provision of public goods. Ensuring equity of acess, meeting social objectives and providing public goods.were considered the main reasons why the public sector provided goods. Why governments intervened in the market was due mainly to charactoristics of the market place. If the market place was to function efficiently, several conditions needed to exsist, including, * Freedom of choice * Certainty of demand * Miniminal externalities * Excludability In addition to these prerequisites, the perfect market required perfect consumer and supplier information, no rent seeking behaviour and no moral hazard existed. If these conditions were not met, market mechanisms would fail to produce the efficient allocation of resources. P. Groenewegen (1990,2) argued that governments intervened in the market place with the, ... Public sector... being engaged in the providing sevices (and in some cases goods) whose scope and variety are determined not by the direct wishes of the consumers, but by the the decisions of government bodies. This view implies that governments intervene for many reasons, including the redistributional and stablisation functions. While market failure is one reason for intervention, other considerations, including questions of equity and social justice determined the nature and the extent of government intervention. This point was expanded upon by Groenewegen (1990,2) who argued that the extent of market intervention in the supply, distribution and redistibution of goods and services are not dictated by purly political and ideological considerations, other considerations may play a role including the failure of the market in certain instances to ensure efficient, equiable allocation of resources. Another reason why governments intervened in the market place was to ensure the provision of public goods. Public goods are generally comodities that are socially desiralbe but cannot be financed through the private sector.

Future of Indian Democracy Essay

For the use of the term â€Å"democracy† as referring to a system involving multiparty elections, representative government, and freedom of speech. Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. India is the largest democratic country in the world. All around the world, India’s democracy is taken as an example for the countries all over the world. But the real question is this type of democracy really beneficial for our country. Where is it taking our country in the near future? What is the future of Indian democracy? In India anybody can stand for elections and win to became member of legislative assembly of that area. Anybody can become prime minister, chief minister. But is this a good thing? Developed Countries like USA have highly educated people as their leaders. For a developing country like India where proper measures need to be taken for development, uneducated officials are useless for the development of the nation. The future of our country is in the dark as most of the ministers and leaders are less qualified or uneducated. Corruption is in the roots of our system. Most of the money sanctioned for development of the country such as roads, schools l, colleges, etc is consumed by oh our corrupt leaders. Most of the money we pay as taxes is eaten by our leaders. There is no strict measure for verifying or trying these leaders. The five year form of government is a curse for our country. All the ruling partiers enjoy the ruling power for the first four years and In the last year many rules are implemented to lure the voters and gain votes of the people. In thinking about Indian democracy and its future prospects, commentators have lavished far too much attention on â€Å"politics† in the narrowest conception of the term. There is much speculation, for example, on whether India might move towards a two-party system or some variation of it, with the Congress and the left parties constituting one bloc and the other bloc being constituted by BJP and its allies. But this kind of scenario has little room for parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), which together dominate politics in Uttar Pradesh, where efforts by the Congress to reinvent itself do not hold much promise of success. In the General Elections of 2004, the Left Front won 60 seats and came to hold the decisive swing vote. While so far the left has shown little inclination to revolt, and West Bengal is rapidly retooling itself to become attractive to the corporate world and foreign investors, the possibility of genuine and irreconcilable differences developing between the Congress and the Left Front should never be minimized. The wisdom and resilience of ordinary people has been exemplified not only at the ballot box, but in grassroots movements and cultural practices of syncretism. Secondly, the Constitution of India remains, despite attempts to subvert its emancipator provisions, a document and a vision that continues to hold out the promise of equality, justice, and opportunity. It has survived the wreckage of an authoritarian executive and will outlive the Supreme Court’s present disposition to allow massive land grabs in the name of progress and development. Thirdly, though Mohandas Gandhi’s assassins never seem to rest, the specter of Gandhi remains to haunt, guide, and inspire Indians who are resistant to everything that passes for â€Å"normal politics† and have not entirely succumbed to the oppressions of modernity. As I have elsewhere written, Gandhi took great risks and was not in the least cowed down by history, the sanctity of traditions, or scriptural authority. Some six decades ago, Indians entered into a tryst with destiny. Now is the time to gamble everything on the unique experiment that constitutes Indian democracy

Prequel to Of Mice and Men Essay

   Said George.. †The must beautiful woman ive ever seen in my sad and lonely life†, answered Jackson. Jackson paused for a moment and stared, †Quick come ‘ere†, said Jackson as he waved Lennie and George towards the door,. †Set your eyes on that boys†. Lennie and George rushed to the door and peered out, they could see a perfectly figured woman with slick brown hair wearing a rosy red dress down to her knees with her crafted legs shining in the Californian sun, she seemed like a fairy tale walking with a red wild orchid in her hand. George said, †Who is she? What’s a beautiful gal like that doing in a hell hole of a place with a ranch? †. †She’s the boss’s daughter I believe, she doesn’t come here often, she just comes to visit her father once in a while, she loves it here, all peaceful and all o’ men, the hell I do for a gal like her†, Jackson replied with a sigh. †then why don’t you go out there and talk to her? † asked Lennie still staring at the beautifully coloured girl. †Hell no, if the boss finds out I been talking to his daughter he’d kick me out of the ranch without any pay! it’s a fools game to go playing around with any boss’s daughter†. George with his hands on his hips turned away and said, †Yeah well that’s just another thing guys like us cant have in this world†. Jackson looked at George and sighed once more and walked out past Lennie who was still stood at the door. †What you doin’ Lennie? †. Lennie looked straight to the floor and replied, N.. n†¦ nothing George I was, I was jus’ looking at that pretty lady out on the†¦. the†, before Lennie could finish George interrupted and walked up to Lennie and said in a unwelcoming manor, †Listen Lennie, you stay away from her you hear me? † †Yes George†, said Lennie in an apologetic sense. †I mean it Lennie, stay away from her and stay out o’ trouble†. †Ye ye yes George I promise†, stuttered Lennie. † Lets get some sleep, gone be a hard day tomorrow†, George said assertively. Lennie walked towards his bed with his hand in his pocket, he turned to face the wall, George looked at his back and could see his arms twitching as if he was moving his fingers, †What you doing Lennie? † George said sternly. Lennie jumped and put something in his pocket and quickly stood up, †What’s that you just put in your pocket Lennie? † †Nothing George†. †I said what’s that in your pocket Lennie! †, repeated George raising his voice. †Empty your pocket! †, George exclaimed. Lennie slowly put his hand in his pocket and picked out a little mouse that seemed to be dead, †Lennie what have I told you about those damn mice, you killed the poor little thing by petting it too damn hard, you got to be careful, you cant go round killin’ little animals all the time†,. †I didn’t mean to George it was just in my pocket and I†¦ †, Lennie said in a stutter George grabbed the mouse from Lennies strong hands and threw it out the window, when George turned round he saw that Lennie had moved onto his bed all curled up and facing the wall. George sighed and tucked himself into bed. The next morning the men were woken up by a bell and the sun was shooting through the tattered window of the ranch house, birds were singing and there was a gentle breeze in the air to comfort the stabbing rays of sunlight bearing down on the vast brown crop filled landscape5/10/2007. Lennie and George got up for breakfast and were happy to finally have a nice warm day. George was getting ready putting his gloves on to start carrying grain bags when he noticed that his partner Lennie was with him, George carried on working because he knew that the boss wouldn’t be happy if he stopped working. Soon the lunch break came and George was worried about if Lennie got lost of in trouble of some sort, George went searching for him all over the ranch and he came to the barns where they keep important machinery and stacks of hay weighing tonnes 20 feet high, George could hear talking in one of them, he stopped outside and listened and he could hear that it was Lennie talking inside with also a soft womans voice aswell. †Whats a big boy like you doing in this barn? †, asked the girl. †I was just looking for , for a mouse I saw run in here†, replied Lennie with his eyes gazing at the floor not even looking at the girl. †A mouse? Why you looking for a mouse? Aren’t you supposed to be working? †, asked the girl, Lennie looked up and could see it was the girl he saw last night and she was wearing that same rosy red dress that he couldn’t keep his eyes off, †I like your dress†, said Lennie smiling with a huge smile on his face, †Why thank you young man†, the girl said starting to blush, the girl moved closer to Lennie and Lennie shot his head facing the floor again. †What’s the matter big guy? †, asked the beautiful girl, Lennie looked up again and stared at the girls dress for a moment, he reached out his hand and touched the bottom cloth of the dress and he has a smile of his face that could have been seen miles away, suddenly the girl cried out squawking is disarray as if she had been attacked, George rushed in and could see Lennie holding onto this girls dress and his face all confused and scared, as the girl was fighting Lennie just gripped on tighter because he didn’t know what to do, George shouted at Lennie, †Let go Lennie! Leg go! †. Lennie wouldn’t let go, he was all messed up about the whole thing, in the end George had to sock him over the head to make him let go, the girl ran off shouting to the top of her voice, George drabbed Lennie and told him, †We gotta get out o’ here now Lennie you stupid son of a bitch! †. George could hear more shouting coming from the fields and dogs barking, George shouted at Lennie , †You always have to touch things don’t ya Lennie, anything you like you just have to touch! †. George and Lennie ran towards the empty ranch house and grabbed what they needed quickly, the barking dogs were getting louder and closer and they knew that they had to leave Weed fast. They made their way behind the ranch house into a long but narrow barley field that hadn’t been harvested yet, there were small irrigation ditches either side of the field filled with murky stagnant water which had been boiling in the baking heat of the midday. Lennie and George sprinted as fast as they could running down the left edge of the field, the dogs and the angry mob were just popping over the view of George and Lennie, †Quick down here†, George shouted as he grabbed Lennie’s arm and tugged him into the warm unpleasant water, there was a big splash as Lennie entered the water, †Come to the edge Lennie quick! †, ordered George, Lennie scuttled moving great forces of water to reach George. They both cooped themselves tight against the bank hiding among reeds hoping not to be seen by a passing patrol, †Now keep quiet Lennie, we don’t want to get into any more trouble†, Said George, †Ok George im sorry I didn’t mean to get in no trouble I didn’t†, Lennie answered while covering his head with wild grass. The day went on longingly, with them still hiding from the men back in the ranch who still pursued their search. To the south west there was a great wood filled with pine trees standing tall, the sun was setting casting a reddened shadow across them. †When it gets dark enough Lennie were going to make our way over in them trees†, George said sternly, †Ok George ok†. The sun set still leaving a glow over the vast landscape, George and Lennie made their way into the woods. A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas river drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Without Cease

Without Cease Without Cease Without Cease By Maeve Maddox One of my illustrations in a recent post, The wind has blown without cease for three days. struck some readers as odd. This from Brad K. I would have used â€Å"ceasing† for the wind, an action verb that conveys more of a sense of continuing over time. If Id been writing a descriptive passage, I might have gone with ceasing and not cease. As it was, I was simply reaching for a sentence and the idiom without cease is what sprang to mind. According to the OED, cease used as a noun is obsolete, except in the still occasional without cease, without end, incessantly. (Cf. F. sans cesse.) Dictionary.com gives this for cease as a noun: n.  Ã‚  Cessation; pause: We worked without cease to get the project finished on time. From Merriam-Webster: CESSATION usually used with without I kept an eye upon her without cease R.L.Stevenson> Ill have to concede that the expression without cease is a little old-fashioned, but then my diction tends to be so. Here are some fairly current examples of the idiom that I found with a little web browsing: Poverty†, the Pope said, â€Å"is a plague against which humanity must fight without cease†¦ (2005) ï ¿ ¼Most of the early civilisations had similar stories: images from China three millennia ago tell of a land under the wheeling stars, beyond endless untravelled wastes, where gales blew without cease, and furry creatures, half animal and half human devoured one another. p. xix of the Foreword to The Arctic:Environment, People, Policy (2000) Ed. by Terry V. Callaghan Book title: Without Cease The Earth Faintly Trembles By Amanda Marchand (2003) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1Difference between "Pressing" and "Ironing"20 Ways to Cry

Love In Pain

Love In Pain Love Is PainWhen something goes away everything around you doesn't matter anymore. You don't care about anything. Everything around you is black and white. You're sitting in the corner of the dark room, full of memories about him. Memories that make you sad and make you want to cry. You think : "Here came the day that you have expected to come, the day of suffering, of pain and tears had come." And it seems that life ends for you in this very day. He is away and you do not know if he is ever going to come back. You don't know if he is going to look at you with his beautiful brown eyes, to hold you with his strong arms, to kiss you with his juicy lips. You look at one point and ask yourself what are you going to do from now on. Should you go on and fight with life or put an end of everything? You start losing the thread slowly.oh god, you devil . . .Are you suffering as much as I do? I don't know, but I want to see you, to hug you, to hold you in my arms, to feel that you are near me and never let you go. Why does it hurt so much? Every time I think about us, those days when we were together appear in my mind. They might not be so much but they meant something for me! Oh God, how I wish the things between me and him were different. I wish everything was like when we first met. You looked at me and I started to shiver. It was so nice. And now you look at me like a stranger and it's like you want to say: "I can't go on like this, everything is...

Denegacin papeles a cubanos por inadmisibilidad

Denegacin papeles a cubanos por inadmisibilidad El rechazo de las peticiones de las visas CMPP o de las tarjetas de residencia confunde a muchos cubanos. Sin embargo, hay una causa que frecuentemente est detrs de este problema. Destacar que en la actualidad ya no se admiten ms solicitudes de visas CMPP, si bien se tramitan las pendientes de resolucià ³n final. Requisitos para que la CMPP y la tarjeta de residencia sean aprobadas para los cubanos Es necesario que se cumplan los requisitos que se piden para todos los solicitantes de una tarjeta de residencia, cualquiera que sea su nacionalidad. Por lo tanto, tanto la green card -tambià ©n conocida como tarjeta o permiso de residencia- como la visa CMPP sern rechazadas si el que la pide es inadmisible  segà ºn las leyes de los Estados Unidos. Y es aquà ­ donde los cubanos suelen encontrar un gran obstculo porque afecta a un gran nà ºmero de ellos: membresà ­a en el partido comunista. Cuando una persona rellena la peticià ³n de residencia permanente o de visa CMPP debe contestar la verdad sobre si ha pertenecido a un partido totalitario o al partido comunista o a alguna organizacià ³n relacionada (hay que entender juventudes comunistas y similares). En los casos en los que el solicitante tenga un pasado de militancia comunista el USCIS puede rechazar la aplicacià ³n de la visa CMPP o de la tarjeta de residente. Hay alguna alternativa para evitar el rechazo de la visa CMPP o de la tarjeta de residencia? En determinados casos pueden aplicar excepciones a la regla general, con lo cual sà ­ se aprobarà ­a la peticià ³n, o incluso cabe solicitar un perdà ³n. Serà ­a posible beneficiarse de una excepcià ³n a la aplicacià ³n de la regla general cuando: Han transcurrido dos aà ±os desde que se causà ³ baja en el partido comunista, que se aumentar a cinco se trata de ciudadanos de paà ­ses regidos por el partido comunista, como es el caso de Cuba o China. La inactividad, como dejar de pagar las cuotas al partido o dejar de participar en sus actividades se puede considerar como que se ha renunciado a la membresà ­a comunista. La afiliacià ³n fue involuntaria, porque era necesaria para conseguir alimentos, trabajo u otros bienes esenciales. Si bien este punto tiene la dificultad de la prueba en muchas ocasiones.La membresà ­a en el partido comunista no era sentida y simplemente era un vehà ­culo para conseguir una ventaja. Este punto tambià ©n puede ser complicado de probar. Es là ³gico esperar que el asunto del pasado comunista està © presente en cualquier entrevista con un oficial consular o de inmigracià ³n y que se pueda pedir al solicitante informacià ³n o documentacià ³n adicional. Adems, si el USCIS niega la solicitud por esta causa, es posible apelar la decisià ³n. Para tener claro cul es la causa concreta del rechazo verificar el nà ºmero y unas letras que aparecen en el documento en el que se notifica el mismo. Si es 212(a)(3)(d), la razà ³n es el pasado comunista. Perdn o waiver Se puede pedir un perdà ³n, tambià ©n conocido como waiver o permiso, cuando el solicitante es: Padre o madre, esposo/a, hijo/a, hermano/a de un ciudadano americano.Esposo/a, hijo/a de un residente permanente legal. En estos casos el oficial consular notificar quà © planilla debe completarse para solicitarlo. Si no es concedido, es posible apelar la decisià ³n. A tener en cuenta Resaltar que si se  miente y posteriormente se descubre la verdad, el mentiroso puede ser demandado y puede quitrsele la documentacià ³n (green card o, si han pasado los aà ±os y se ha naturalizado incluso el pasaporte americano). Mentir en una planilla federal es una idea muy mala con consecuencias que pueden ser gravà ­simas. Incluso si se miente al solicitar la visa se puede estar arrojando a la basura toda posibilidad de conseguir cualquier otro visado hacia los Estados Unidos. Las consecuencias son igual de malas si se le miente de palabra a un agente federal. Situacin legislacin que afecta a cubanos Entre las à ºltimas actuaciones del presidente Barack Obama se encuentra el haber puesto fin a la polà ­tica de pies secos pies mojados y a las visas CMPP. En la actualidad sigue vigente la Ley de Ajuste Cubano, segà ºn la cual se puede solicitar la tarjeta de residencia permanente (green card) al aà ±o y un dà ­a de presencia fà ­sica en Estados Unidos, siempre y cuando el ingreso se hubiera producido de forma legal.   Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Is American education only about competing to be the best or improving Research Paper

Is American education only about competing to be the best or improving citizen's future - Research Paper Example In this competition the exact motive of getting education has left behind and technologies have developed a battle field among different countries. (National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Future Technologies for Army Multimedia Communications - Technology & Engineering, 1995). This paper will describe how this race began and still progressing in world among different kingdoms. The evolution of modern education took place when John Eliot, a graduate from Jesus College, Cambridge arrived in Boston in 1633. He gave some ideas for improving education system by teacher training as a result of which evolution started. By the passage of time and changing conditions, the influences of this theory were appeared and the development starts from colonial period and continue up till now. Latin Grammar School transformed from secondary to modern high school. Later other normal schools also emerged as professional schools and the whole system get revolutionized. (Dickson A. Mungazi, 1999 p 121) In 1998, an international NGO group was established named as Global Nomads Group (GNG) that design interactive global programs for students focusing global issues. In these programs four types of videoconferences were held i.e. PULSE, current, innovation and Rapid Response. In these conferences students took active part, they learn and discuss issues arising around the world related to teachers and students. It develops a new creativity in the minds of students. All the programs that are held by GNG are directly related to school prospectus in addition to teachers training. The topics include civics, social and global studies, geography, world history, science, economics and politics. In the last ten years this group has organized programs in more than forty countries. Each year about ten thousand students take part in these programs and are awarded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and United States Distance Learning Association. They are also

Debate2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Debate2 - Coursework Example Free trade arguments have in past times received support from majority of global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO). As part of the argument in this paper, it will examine how removal of trade barriers induces higher level of economic growth and efficiency within the global economy (Quinlan & Stevens 1998b). None of the countries, in recent decades, has accomplished economic success, in regard to substantial improvement in its people`s living standards, without opening up its economy and engaging in free trade with the rest of the globe. For example, trade opening together with opening economies to foreign direct investment, constitute an important element in the growth of economies of East Asia. The average import tariff in these economies has fallen to 10 percent from 30 percent over the last 20 years. Several Asian countries have become more successful since they opted to participate in the global trade w hich has also helped them in attracting the bulk of direct foreign investment in developing countries as an expansion of their market. This is undoubtedly true of India and China since they both have embraced trade liberalization as well as other market-oriented reforms. China currently invests and trade with East African countries as a result of free trade agreement between the nations. Trade liberalization offers the ideal policy prescription since the economic benefits that accrue from free trade are relatively simpler to illustrate. Countries in the world are generally confronted with just two prices for goods and services within the global economy: the world prices and the domestic price. In a situation where the world price is lower than a country`s domestic price, say Brazil, then domestic consumers from Brazil will purchase the services and good offered by other international markets since they are cheaper. However, firms in Brazil can respond to the effect of free trade by seeking government support through imposing import tax or apply for investment incentives. In addition to the argument that free trade functions best in promoting efficient allocation of resources, it has also been asserted to occasion additional long-run benefits like; economies of scale, improved productivity since prices for intermediate services and goods decrease, and growth externalities via technology transfer. Economies of scale apply to industries which require a very huge volume of production prior to reaching the lowest average cost (AC). Examples of these industries are the movie and film industries of Nigeria and Hollywood. Without no doubt, such industries will hardly arise in an environment that free trade is restricted because, based on the reality that such industries definitely need large markets so as to be efficient, their market will be narrowed only to domestic market (United States, 2004). Growth externalities means the production benefits which may originate from the incorporation of recent technologies acquired by other globe`s production firms through enhanced interaction with foreign countries as a result of free trade. Therefore, free trade offers numerous opportunities for innovation and learning, which are necessary for the global economic growth and strength of international economies, than are offered by a system of closed economy or managed trade (Maddison, 2001). An example of these growth externality

(Context) large international contracting company from a country where Essay

(Context) large international contracting company from a country where there was little or no recession trying to enter the European market - Essay Example Their objective is to tap into UK’s know-how in the industry so as to improve on their competitiveness. This follows its reputation for technology in construction services, including technological advancement, such as the Building Information Modelling, BIM and architectural endowment (BIS 2013). Further to this, the number of graduates in the construction industry keeps growing, an indication of greater opportunities for growth in the future. However, the UK still grapples with trade deficit in the construction industry. BIS (2013) observe that in 2012, it had a trade deficit amounting to about  £6.2 billion. It has been noted that a small portion of UK construction contractors are exporters as compared to the other sectors of the economy. Specifically, the 2012 statistics show that only about 6% of construction SMEs engaged in export trade. It was observed that a majority of these constructors lacked the knowledge of exports in construction, thus the trade deficit. Moreover, UK contractors still face the challenge of having to deal with financial institutions which still perceive the construction industry as risky. This hinders them from accessing the requisite financial services. Therefore, the UK is well placed to benefit from the myriad opportunities it has in the construction industry but has to input greater effort to curb its challenges. Department for Business and Innovation Skills 2013, UK construction: an economic analysis of the sector, viewed 22 March 204,

Creating Healing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creating Healing - Assignment Example With this kind of trend, it is not easy to remain healthy (Malliori, 2010) One Saturday afternoon, I decided to visit a conservation park and take some time alone to mediate over things that had been happening and how I could deal with them. As I walked through, I reached a certain section which was basically inhabited by the monkeys. I stood from a distance and watched them go about their activities. There were four monkeys which had young ones. One of them sat peacefully on one branch feeding the sibling. On the other hand, the others jumped from one branch to the other. Occasionally, those with young ones would stop to feed them but only for a few minutes before they joined the rest in jumping from branch to branch. In all this, one was able to keep its position for a long time and feed and care for the young one. The observation made me wonder if this was what was happening to me. I found it very similar to my situation. Every time when I seemed to be having a lot of responsibilities at work and at home, my mind always wanders as I keep thinking about how I will do all of them. I keep on being distracted with my concentration jumping from one subject to the other just like the monkeys were jumping form one branch to the next. With such shifting concentration, it is usually hard to accomplish responsibilities and these impacts directly on one’s overall wellbeing (Ellen, 2010). According to Dossey and Keegan (2013), for one to say that he has optimal health, he must be able to balance all the aspects of his life as a person. This is something I was not able to do since while at work, I kept thinking about the responsibilities I had to fulfil at home. While at home I also thought about the unfinished work that I had. I believe I can do this by taming my mind from wandering so as to calm down and concentrate on a single task. The situation raised is very much applicable to case three that has

Stress among college freshmen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Stress among college freshmen - Essay Example The results of this study indicate that social media is proving effective at reaching a myriad of customers throughout the United Kingdom in ways that traditional forms of advertising simply no longer can accomplish. Social media allows the small business owner to effectively target a specific demographic group often and with consistency, and with a minimum of expense. At the same time, social media also enables prospective customers to virtually interact with small business owners to gain answers to their questions before visiting a shop, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will not only become a customer, but a loyal one at that. This qualitative and exploratory study has been conducted to discuss the changing behaviours of the UK consumer and to have a conversation related to the efficacy of social media marketing for small businesses moving forward. The global marketplace today is increasingly competitive and fierce. Businesses are no longer competing with one another in a specific geographic locale, but they are literally up against shops of a similar orientation nations away. The small business is particularly impacted because of the difficulty they often experience in attracting and maintaining customer loyalty. Customer behaviour is such today that individuals desire a business that caters to their specific needs and meets them where they are. As a result, the reality of the situation today is that small businesses are literally in a fight for their lives that only the fittest will survive. The problem is compounded in saturated areas, such as in the United Kingdom, where it is often difficult to get a marketing message heard over the myriad of voices competing for a limited number of customers (Damoiseau, Black, & Raggio, 2013). While it is true that there are many possible solutions to this dilemma,

Organization Justice , Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Organization Justice , Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example There are many steps that are taken to manage ethics in the company. Firstly, the code of ethics is designed and practiced efficiently. The code of ethics is the first most important aspect which has to be covered by any company. It is a document which sets up and monitors the ethical practices of the organization. This code of ethics are reviewed by a committee on a regular basis and checked. Secondly it is essential to ensure that the employees understand the code of ethics and thus the company trains and educates its employees for ethical behavior and gives them the potential to understand the meaning of the code of ethics (Suhonen, 2011). Thirdly, the company provides their employee with the facility of reporting complains and ethical issues wherever they occur. In order to ensure that a company is managing ethics and operating ethically, these three important steps must be taken. These steps would help in establishing organizational ethics which are understandable by every employee and the employees have the surety that all their complaints will be heard and resolved. With such policies and ethical practices, all companies can successfully enact ethically and solve all ethical challenges that come their

Stress among college freshmen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Stress among college freshmen - Essay Example The results of this study indicate that social media is proving effective at reaching a myriad of customers throughout the United Kingdom in ways that traditional forms of advertising simply no longer can accomplish. Social media allows the small business owner to effectively target a specific demographic group often and with consistency, and with a minimum of expense. At the same time, social media also enables prospective customers to virtually interact with small business owners to gain answers to their questions before visiting a shop, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will not only become a customer, but a loyal one at that. This qualitative and exploratory study has been conducted to discuss the changing behaviours of the UK consumer and to have a conversation related to the efficacy of social media marketing for small businesses moving forward. The global marketplace today is increasingly competitive and fierce. Businesses are no longer competing with one another in a specific geographic locale, but they are literally up against shops of a similar orientation nations away. The small business is particularly impacted because of the difficulty they often experience in attracting and maintaining customer loyalty. Customer behaviour is such today that individuals desire a business that caters to their specific needs and meets them where they are. As a result, the reality of the situation today is that small businesses are literally in a fight for their lives that only the fittest will survive. The problem is compounded in saturated areas, such as in the United Kingdom, where it is often difficult to get a marketing message heard over the myriad of voices competing for a limited number of customers (Damoiseau, Black, & Raggio, 2013). While it is true that there are many possible solutions to this dilemma,

Rquiem por un campesino espaol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Rquiem por un campesino espaol - Essay Example With his portrayal of the novel's two main characters Senders clearly shows us that while society does have a substantial role in influencing how we choose to live our lives, there are certain human traits that are inherent from birth. While the novel's characters are clearly symbolic of various social archetypes in Spain at the time, a novel of purely social critique could not reach the depths of human behaviour as this novel does, most specifically as the novel's two main characters, Msen Milln and Paco el del Molino, do. 'Rquiem por un campesino espaol' is in part a reflection of experiences lived by Senders during childhood and young adulthood in Spain. On various opportunities the novelist claimed that he was greatly affected by a visit in childhood to a cave much like the one in the novel (Mgica, E, p. 2). Senders was as captivated by historical influences as human existence and he claimed that, "'Lo que hay que hacer [. . .] no es actuar como hombres de una clase social sino como ser humano elemental y genrico.'" (qtd in Ramn J. Sender novelista y crtico 1901-1982) Which leads us to conclude that, "a Sender le interesaba un proceso de inversin metafsica a travs del cual subrayaba las fuerzas elementales que subyacen en las acciones humanas." (Ramn J. Sender novelista y crtico 1901-1982) It is important to note that this small masterpiece is not written in the heat of the moment but rather some fifteen years later. This would provide time enough for Senders to think on the terrible moments he passed during the civil war, including the executions without trial of his wife and his brother. While Senders was in exile he claimed that he would not return to Spain until all of his works were published, a promise he made good upon. When he did return to Spain he surprised the anxious Spanish populace and his admirers "por su anticomunismo, su defense del 'american way of life', su autodefinicion como anarquista cristiano y su rechazo a pronunciarse sobre la situacion poltica espaol." (Betriu, F 2001) Social Structure in Spain Set in early twentieth century Spain 'Rquiem por un campesino espaol' is a testimony of the process leading up to the advent of the Second Republic and subsequently the Spanish revolution. It is a time when the semi feudal practice of los bienes de seorio are still firmly entrenched and Paco el del Molino is fated to enter into a struggle for the land with a duke he has never seen and will never see. "Vamos a sacar la hierba al duque (p. 18)." This proclamation sums up the plot of Sender's most acclaimed work. Here we see the struggle between two sectors of society, those who wished for change in Spain and those conservative elements of society who greatly feared change, most specifically with regard to agrarian reform. In Sender's novel we see a Spain dominated by the old order and great inequalities. The rise to power of the Republicans would result in the short-lived redistribution of lands and rebellion against practices that dated back to medieval times. It is a time when Paco optimistically claims, "parece que a los duques les ha llegado su San Martin (p. 19)." Yet, Paco's optimism soon finds its end when the landholding class, the church and the military unite alongside the rise in facism. Probably the scene that best represents the deep social divisions takes place during Paco's wedding. In the midst of festivity and under the

Leadership Must Be Empowerment To Empower Its Teams Management Essay

Leadership Must Be Empowerment To Empower Its Teams Management Essay Goleman (1998) argued that during the last decade interpersonal skills have focused on effective leadership. Where the leaders controlled, planned and inspected the organizations operation, in recent more service oriented industries, leaderships responsibilities include motivate employees, promote positive attitudes in workplace, and make a sense of participation among employees (Hogan et al., 1994). Most researchers analyze leadership effectiveness regarding to the result of the leaders performance for employees and companys stakeholders, but the consequence variables of each researchers have been different from the others. The principals of these variables are depend on how immediate they are and whether they have subjective or objective measures. These consequences which are negatively correlated, are very difficult because of the complex trade-offs among them. In order to analyze the effectiveness of leadership many criteria should be taken in to the account to handle these complexities and variation between stakeholders preferences (Yuki, 1998). Researchers have stressed that the relationship between managers and employees has an important role in effective leadership. Qualified relationship and open interaction motivate and empower employees (Boyd and Taylor, 1998; Brower, Schoorman, and Tan, 2000). Drinks (1995) and Nonaka (1988) believed that the type of leaders interaction may lead them to take advantage from their difference and learn from each other. Ensley et al. (2003) argued that conventional view of a single leadership is based on the concept that leadership is a specialized role that cannot be shared with group. This perspective is stood for more hierarchical leadership in which the leaders supervise and control all activities. In the other hand, in shared leadership all members of the team are empowered to share the tasks and responsibilities of leadership. Yuki (1998, p.3) who view leadership as shared process cited that important decisions about what to do and how to do it are made through the use of an interac tive process that involves many different people who influence each other, not by a single person. Managers have different relationships with their employees and as Boyd and Taylor (1998) argued the quality of these relations may have influence on their success. When they improve the quality of their relationship, employees can be more productive on their task and more encouraged to contribute in organizational activities. Argyris and Schon (1978, 1996) have claimed that supportive interaction is the basis of effective leadership. Such interaction can be a strong motivation for organizational learning (Drinks, 1995; Nonakd, 1998). Bandura (1974) emphasized that successful leaders have capacity to motivate, encourage and empower their employees. Empowerment improves employees task innovation and continuation. Empowered employees make more contributions, they accept more difficult situations, and perform more confidently. They make more effort on their given task. According to Hofstede (2001) in organizations, such as any other social units, it may be found some inequality of employees capacities and powers, or unequal distribution of power over the employees. Cotta (1976) believes that power inequality is necessary in organization, and Hofstede (2001) claimed that the distribution of power in most organizations is formed in hierarchies, and the foundation of these hierarchies is the relationship between the managers and employees. Power distance is a measure of the interpersonal power or influence (P.83) between managers and employees. The acceptance and supporting of power distance by social environment is strongly related to the national culture. The culture determines the level of correlation among managers and employees. He expressed that the effect of employees participation on the outcome variables of organizational contribution, job satisfaction and efficacy was altered by particular level of power distance. Employee empowerment or participative decision making is not a simple or new concept of management. More than 50 years of research has approved that employee contribution is a complex management tool, that if apply properly, it can improve the performance, productivity and job satisfaction (Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Cohen, Chang and Ledford (1997) argued that employee must be engaged if they comprehend the necessity of creativity and if they are interested in changing their behaviors in work in improved way. He believes that the most significant concept of organizational effectiveness and positive employee perceptions is the employees involvement. One type of employees involvement in workplace is their participation in decision making (PDM). Nykodym, Simonetti and Welling (1994) have presented four areas for employees participation. The first area is goal setting. Employees can participate in setting up a goal for their task, planning a job and the appropriate time for job execution. In the second area employees can contribute in making choice between alternative series of tasks such as: working hours, placement of supplies or options among alternatives to perform an ordinary task. Next, employees can participate in problems solving that include clarifying the subject and determining the alternative series of activities. Finally, participation may include organizational changes, such as setting company policies that may involve hiring, layoffs, profit sharing or investments. Companies can take part in any or all of these areas in any time. The first three methods of participation can be used for all areas of contribution. Employees can participate individually to make decision and determine their own target, or they may get together with a manager to make decision making team. All employees may take part in decision making group with their coworkers or managers. This participation may be formal as in quality circle or informal as a group of employees declaring their opinions to gain the general agreement. Employees contribution in decision making can be directly or indirectly through a representative elected to express the groups ideas. There are some conditions that influence the success of participative leadership, and if these conditions do not manage properly, the efforts for participative management will fail. One of the most important set of these conditions is include the values, attitudes and expectations of an organizations employees. If employees do not want to take part in decision making, any attempt to force them would fail. For successful participation an organization must have a corporate culture that express the participative leadership. Another condition is the design of current task that must be done. If the workers task depends on each other to be complete, it can encourage the independent individual participation. If employees do not trust their managers, the participation in group decision making of employees and managers may not be successful. The last set of conditions is related to the environment. According to the rapidly changing technology, governmental laws, and strong competition, employ ees participation in decision making cannot be effective unless the members have the essential technical skills. These groups must also be capable to work with each other effectively in order to make a proper decision (Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Yuki (1998) believes that shared leadership is expected to occur self-managed teams, because of the employees are independent in developing group processes. In self-managed teams employees have more authority and responsibility to make decisions which related to their tasks (Katzenbach Smith, 1993; S.G Cohen, 1991). Self-managed teams are able to make decisions, determine goals, assign work, set schedule, and so on (Yuki, 1998). However the necessity of leadership in not questioning as the team is self-managed. Barry (1991) stressed that the role of leadership in self-managed teams is more important than traditional teams. He declared that in addition to needing task-based leadership such as project definition, scheduling, and resource gathering; self-managed teams require leadership around group development processes (developing cohesiveness, establishing effective communication patterns, and so forth) (p.32). Braford (1976) suggested that the teams members with shared leadership a re more satisfied with their teams, and Katzenbach and Smith (1993) claimed that teams involved in shared leadership are more effective and productive in regard to performance. In addition Perry, Pearce and Sims (1999) argued that shared leadership improves the interpretation of teams requirements. Recently many researchers have become interested in the concept of self-managed group (Stewart and Manz,1995; Cohen and Ledford, 1994; Mohrman et al., 1995; Manz, 1986, 1992; Manz and Sims, 1980,1990). According to the idea of socio-technical systems developed by Emery and Trist (1969), during the recent years, the self-managed work groups are used as a form of work system, specifically as pressures of high educated workforce for more responsibility and empowerment through group based shared management are exerted on organizations (Pearce and Manz, 2005). Also, there is another pressure that applied for organization to become more responsive to the recent competitive environment and global economy (Wriston, 1991; Druskat and Wheeler, 2003). Self-managed teams are independent to make important decision that related to their team processes (Katzenbach Smith, 1993; S.G. Cohen, 1991; Yuki, 1998). Murry et al. (2002) emphasized that leadership is a key in team process, without leadership team members may not be able to identify with team goals. Self-managed teams as Barry (1991) argued need more leadership than traditional teams in both task-related and team development problems. There are some attributes for self-managed work teams. Under the Wall and Clegg (1986) presentation, self-managed team build of a small group of individuals who are responsible for making the unit of task, executing a variety of works and using various skills that the group possesses. Job feedback is important for work team so the difference from goal achievement can be supervised by group member in specified task area boundary. Several case studies proved the advantages of the implementation of self-managed work teams such as increased employee satisfaction, heightened socialization in the work place, increased autonomy, opportunity to learn new skills, and some other benefits include reduced absenteeism and increased performance and motivation (Cohen and Ledford, 1994; Wall and Clegg, 1986; Pearce and Ravlin, 1987). However some researchers believes that self-managed work teams have some disadvantages in actual work (Versepey, 1990; Mohrman et al., 1995). Some case study in the USA has demonstrated that one of the most important factors in self-managed work teams failure is the reluctance of the manager to transfer the power and control to the team member (Hackman, 1989; Manz and Sims, 1987). So the role of leadership in self-managed work teams is critical. Elloy (n.d.) argued that the leadership in self-managed work team has an important role that has received little attention during past years for they often they supposed that role of external leader is redundant. There are few researches on external leader and its influence on groups operations. The fundamental opinion of self-managed work teams declares that the group members have control over their work environment and responsibility for all their duties in the team. However, research by Manz and Sims (1984, 1986, 1987, and 1990) revealed that leadership exit from traditional form of supervision and control to highly facilitative form of management, less direct but necessary for the productivity and effectiveness of the group. Many authors cited Kanter (1979) as the source of knowledge about the efficacy of employee empowerment. Kanter (1979) believes that shared management and empowered employee can increase the organizational power. The power of the leader in such situation not only reduces but also may enhance especially if the organization performs better. He also mentioned that employees, who are equipped with tools, information, and support, can make better decision. Bowen and Lawler (1995) declared that empowerment lead to more satisfied customers and employees. They also provided additional evidence, considerable research unpracticed such as gain sharing, communication programs, work teams, job enrichment, skill based pay, and so on, has shown the results of these practices are consistence and positive (p.75). Randolph (1995) indicates that employee empowerment can is improved trust in the organization. In such organization employee respond positively and they will set challenging goals which when they achieve those goals they will define the goals at higher level. In the other hand managing participation does not come without potential problems in the case of initiation, structure and management, choice of issue, team work, and evaluation. When organizations begin the participation program, the managements who are at higher level direct employees to contribute in establishing task forces and teams. In addition, managers who are handled to accomplish this activity will be assessed on the success of their teams. Another problem of participation is how the organization declares the program to the employees. Managers sometime present contribution in decision-making as a luxury rather than a result oriented tool. Furthermore, if management explains clearly what they want to obtain from concept of participation, employees can accept it more rapidly. The next problem is concern with employees who are involved in participation practices. If participation depends on volunteers, it is not representative, if it does not; it is compelling (Nykodym, Simone tti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Fox (1998) believes the most important problem in empowerment program as that may affect profitability of the organization is managements fear of letting employees make decisions. Even Kanter (1979) who is cited as providing evidence of the effectiveness of empowerment indicates: One might wonder why more organizations do not adopt such empowering strategies. These are standard answers, that giving up control is threatening to people who have fought for every shred of it; that managers fear losing their own place and special privileges in the system, and so on forth. But I would also pot skepticism about employee abilities high on the list. (p.74) In addition, Nykodym et al. (1994) mentioned that some problems in participations are related to the structure and management. An effective empowerment needs an obvious structure. It is essential to establish all basis rules and limitation boundaries from the beginning of the program. In the other word, empowerment program requires an effective leader who can motivate the employee and set constraints. Another problem with structure and management is that managers must engage to arrange activities, support employees and reconsider the consequences. A manager cannot assign the tasks to a team without monitoring them. They must also find and manage the time needed for participation. Middle managers often oppose to employee empowerment as they think that the program will remove their power, which Blanchard and Bowles (1998) called it hazing theory of management. He believes that managers must modify the control over the employees. The reason that initiation programs and hazing are still a part of fraternal companies is that the employees want the chance to act as was acted to them. These changes are performed through training. Managers must understand that they still have a position even the authority being shared with employees. Their new role includes mentoring, coaching, and facilitating. Proper training improves managers skill of coaching and mentoring, because empower employee are often leaded in to self-managing teams need someone to facilitate their discussion until their skills are improved. This facilitating is the role of manager in self-managed team. Many managers need training in order to increase their capacity for facilitating discussions (Fox, 1998 ). Next dilemma that Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling (1994) referred is the issue of choice that is concerned which issue is included in participative decision making. Researchers have demonstrated that employees prefer to take part in problems that are related to their primary job operation, or their quotidian problems. But it is important not to make presumption about what problems are most significant to employees, they should be asked. As the participation has passed its experimental stage, employees may request compensation or recognition for their time and ideas. Employees must feel that they profit from participation in the effectiveness of the company. Bowen and Lawler (1992) note some management objections such as: higher required investment in selection and training, greater labor costs, incompatible service deliveries which are resulted by these changes. Other management objections mentioned by Conger and Kanungo (1988) are empowerment may lead to overconfidence and misjudgment on the followers. Appropriate training may defeat some of these objections, but not all of them. However, Fox (1998) believes that the advantage of employee empowerment exceed the disadvantages. In the other hand, employees are often opposed to empowerment program. Aeppel (1997) argued that one of the objections by Eaton employees is the responsibility of the group for each employee. He believes that when everyone mentoring everyone else it seems that having a hundred bosses. Another employee complaint that declared by Fox (1998), is that they dont want extra task than their ordinary responsibilities. He considers that employee with such objection is not motivated and he/she is not aware of the benefit of his/her task for the organization. Eurotec Company is a subsidiary of the Schott Group which is a large German glass manufacturer. According to the rapid production expansion, the company faced a number of problems, and in order to moderate these issues, the company decided to implement empowerment program. The references revealed the successful use of empowered autonomous work team to remove the problems (Sykes et al., 1997). As argued in the article, the staffs are now motivated to come along with challenges. Employees are trained to increase their technical and communication skills and they feel more involved. In conclusion, although the implementation empowerment is the biggest challenge of any organization in terms of its initiation, structure, and evaluation and so on, it is profitable for team progress, because there are more leaders to mentor teams performance, and employees motivate each other. In such environment employees are more satisfied about their job and as a result the productivity, performance and task innovation will be improved. For achieving these goals, managers have a key role to lead the organizations effectively and motivate employees to participate in decision making.

Essay examples --

In psychology intelligence if often debated, but there are many different views on what intelligence is. Some say you have to have a wide range of abilities. Other opinions are intelligence is strictly based on upon the knowledge of subjects. For example Charles Spearman and Louis Thurstone had different views on the topic. These two men differed in opinion on how IQ and intelligence should be measured. They also had different opinions on what made a person smart. In order to examine this they first had to understand the human brain and how it works. They had to examine the human study habits along with the human test taking habits. Spearman thought that if all mental tests are mutually related then there is some common factor that causes this. Spearman developed a method called factor analysis that shows that these mutual relations between mental ability tests were the direct result of a common factor among them. Spearman used factor analysis to prove that certain groups of mental ability tests can measure a common mental ability. In the 1900’s Charles Spearman came up with the t...

Like the Government and Corporations, Man Essay examples -- American S

When I first read the â€Å"The Power Elite† by C. Wright Mills, I saw the title and immediately approached it cautiously. I am a born skeptic, and to me the title conjured images of hippies passing around reefer talking about like, the Illuminati man. However as I read Article 56, chapter 13 of Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader, I was struck by rationally Mills approaches a complex and controversial subject. Particularly effective is his systematic approach of breaking his thesis down into observable facts and logical ideas. â€Å"The Power Elite† begins by defining who or what a power elite is. Mills then examines the crucial areas they dominate as well as the system that exists to support and propagate their influence. He ends by examining the situations that led to the creation of the power elite, how institutions contribute to their formation, and the historical context of the ever increasing concentration of power that has made this status possi ble. As I read this article many passages and ideas seemed to jump out at me. The first is when Mills seeks to define who the power elite are and how they perceive themselves. Mills defines the power elite rather broadly, â€Å"They rule the big corporations, they run the machinery of the state...they direct the military establishment† (Anderson et al. Page 465). However, it is what Mills says next that struck me as particularly poignant. He explains that the power elite do not actually see themselves as particularly powerful. Instead he says that they, â€Å"are uncertain about their roles† and that â€Å"No matter how great their actual power, they tend to be less acutely aware of it than to the resistances of others to its use† ( Anderson et al. Page 465). I find it humorous and some... ...posure of high level politicians, which is still incredibly disproportionate to the amount of influence they have, most of the power elite are unknown outside of the circles of their colleagues and those in the know within their respective fields. In essence, the power elite have had such an influence on pop culture, and their celebrity distractions are so effective, that the general population no longer cares about the huge decisions and possible ramifications that are made for them on a daily basis. One is often left to wonder how much more Fahrenheit 451-ish our society can get. References: Andersen, Margaret et al, comp.Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 464-468. Print. Kendall, Diana.  Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2010. 166-179. Print.

Chapter 1 Course Notes

Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis 10e Chapter 1 – The Development of Accounting Theory What is Theory? Webster defines theory as â€Å"Systematically organized knowledge, applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances; a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature of behavior of a specified set of phenomena. † Why is the development of a general theory of accounting important?The development of a general theory of accounting is because of the role accounting plays in our economic society. We live in a capitalistic society which is characterized by a self-regulated market that operates through the forces of supply and demand. What is the relationship of accounting research to accounting theory? The goal of accounting theory is to provide a set of principles and relationships that explains observed practices and predicts unobserved practices.That is, accounting theory should be able to explain why companies elect certain accounting methods over others and should enable users to predict the attributes of firms that elect various accounting methods. And as in other disciplines, accounting theory should also be verifiable through accounting research. Accounting research is needed to attain a more general theory of accounting, and in this regard the various theories of accounting that have been posited must be subjected to verification. The Early History of AccountingZenon Papyri * Accounting records have been found to date back several thousand years in various parts of the world. Discovered in 1915, the Zenon Papyri contained information Apollonius private estate for a period of about 30 years concerning construction projects, agricultural activities, and business operations during the 3rd century B. C. According to Hain, this â€Å"surprisingly elaborate accounting system† was used in Greece since the fi fth century B. C. â€Å"Zenon’s accounting system contained provisions for esponsibility accounting, a written record of all transactions, a personal account for wages paid to employees, inventory records, and a record of asset acquisitions and disposals. In addition, there is evidence that all the accounts were audited. † The Impact of the Renaissance * It wasn’t until approximately 1300-1500 the need arose for more accurate records due to the Italians merchants vigoursly pursing trade and commerce. Italian merchants borrowed Arabic numeral system and the basis of arithmetic and an evolving trend toward the present double entry book keeping system developed. In 1494 an Italian monk, Fra Luca Pacioli, wrote a book on arithmetic that included a description of double-entry bookkeeping. Pacioli’s work, Summa de Arithmetica Geometria Proportioniet Proportionalita, did not fully describe double-entry bookkeeping; rather, it formalized the practices and ideas that had been evolving over the years. Double-entry bookkeeping enabled business organizations to keep complete records of transactions and ultimately resulted in the ability to prepare financial statements. The evolution of joint ventures into ongoing businessesAs ongoing business organizations replaced isolated ventures, it became necessary to develop accounting records and reports that reflected a continuing investment of capital employed in various ways and to periodically summarize the results of activities. By the nineteenth century, bookkeeping expanded into accounting, and the concept that the owner’s original contribution, plus or minus profits or losses, indicated net worth emerged. However, profit was considered an increase in assets from any source, as the concepts of cost and income were yet to be developed.Another factor that influenced the development of accounting during the nineteenth century was the evolution in England of joint ventures into business corporations. Under the corporate form of business, owner s (stockholders) may not be management. Thus many individuals, external to the business itself, needed information about the corporation’s activities. Moreover, owners and prospective owners wanted to evaluate whether stockholder investments have yielded a return.As a consequence, the emerging existence of corporations created a need for periodic reporting as well as a need to distinguish between capital and income. The impact of the industrial revolution and the progressive movement The industrial revolution and the succession of the Companies Acts in England also increased the need for professional standards and accountants. In the later part of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution arrived in the United States, bringing the need for more formal accounting procedures and standards. Railroads became a major economic influence.These companies created the need for supporting industries, which in turn led to increases in the market for corporate securities and an in creased need for trained accountants as the separation of the management and ownership functions became more distinct. The concept of capital maintenance The major concern of accounting during the early 1900s was the development of a theory that could cope with corporate abuses that were occurring at that time, and capital maintenance emerged as a concept. This concept evolved from maintaining invested capital intact to maintaining the physical productive capacity of the firm to maintaining real capital.In essence, this last view of capital maintenance was an extension of the economic concept of income (see Chapter 5) that there could be no increase in wealth unless the stockholder or the firm were better off at the end of the period than at the beginning. The accountant as a protector of business interests World War I changed the public’s attitude toward the business sector. Many people believed that the successful completion of the war could at least partially be attributed to the ingenuity of American business. As a consequence, the public perceived that business had reformed and that external regulation was no longer necessary.The accountant’s role changed from protector of third parties to protector of business interests. Critics of accounting practice during the 1920s suggested that accountants abdicated the stewardship role, placed too much emphasis on the needs of management, and permitted too much flexibility in financial reporting. During this time financial statements were viewed as the representations of management, and accountants did not have the ability to require businesses to use accounting principles they did not wish to employ. The result of this attitude is well known. In 1929 the stock market crashed and the Great Depression ensued.Although accountants were not initially blamed for these events, the possibility of governmental intervention in the corporate sector loomed. Accounting in the United States since 1930 Meetings bet ween NYSE and AIA One of the first attempts to improve accounting began shortly after the inception of the Great Depression with a series of meetings between representatives of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Institute of Accountants. The purpose of these meetings was to discuss problems pertaining to the interests of investors, the NYSE, and accountants in the preparation of external financial statements.The cooperative efforts between the members of the NYSE and the AIA were well received. However, the post-Depression atmosphere in the United States was characterized by regulation. There was even legislation introduced that would have required auditors to be licensed by the federal government after passing a civil service examination. AAA Similarly, in 1935 the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting changed its name to the American Accounting Association (AAA) and announced its intention to expand its activities in the research and develop ment of accounting principles and standards.The first result of these expanded activities was the publication, in 1936, of a brief report cautiously titled â€Å"A Tentative Statement of Accounting Principles Underlying Corporate Financial Statements. † The four-and-one-half-page document summarized the significant concepts underlying financial statements at that time. SEC (Securities And Exchange Commission) Two of the most important pieces of legislation passed at this time were the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The SEC was created to administer various securities acts. Under powers provided by Congress, the SEC was given the authority to prescribe accounting principles and reporting practices. Nevertheless, because the SEC has acted as an overseer and allowed the private sector to develop accounting principles, this authority has seldom been used. However, the SEC has exerted p ressure on the accounting profession and has been especially interested in narrowing areas of difference in accounting practice. * Securities Act of 1933A federal piece of legislation enacted as a result of the market crash of 1929. The legislation had two main goals: (1) to ensure more transparency in financial statements so investors can make informed decisions about investments, and (2) to establish laws against misrepresentation and fraudulent activities in the securities markets. * Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 was created to provide governance of securities transactions on the secondary market (after issue) and regulate the exchanges and broker-dealers in order to protect the investing public.Committee on Accounting Procedure The AICPA’s Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) was formed in 1936. The committee had authority to issue pronouncements on matters of accounting practice and procedure in order to establish generally accept ed practices. CAP was relatively inactive during its first two years, but became more active in response to the SEC’s release of ASR No. 4. One of the first responses was to expand CAP membership from 7 to 21. Major concerns were: * Use of the historical cost model of accounting.The then-accepted definition of assets as unamortized cost was seen by some critics as allowing management too much flexibility in deciding when to charge costs to expense. * The impact on inflation on reported profits. Lobbies were held by several companies in the 1940s for the use of replacement cost depreciation. Both CAP and the SEC rejected the efforts. This decade long debate didn’t until Congress passed legislation in 1954 amending the IRS Tax Code to allow accelerated depreciation. CAP works were originally published in the form of Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs).The pronouncements did not dictate mandatory practice and received authority only from their general acceptance. The Acc ounting Research Bulletins were consolidated in 1953 into Accounting Terminology Bulletin No. 1, â€Å"Review and Resume† and ARB No 43 through 51 was published from 1953 until 1959. The recommendations of these bulletins that have not been superseded are contained in the FASB Accounting Standards Codifications. Accounting Principles Board By 1959 the methods of formulating accounting principles were being questioned as not arising from research or based on theory.The CAP was also criticized for acting in a piecemeal fashion and issuing standards that, in many cases, were inconsistent. Additionally, all of its members were part-time and as a result their independence was questioned. Finally, the fact that all of the CAP members were required to be AICPA members prevented many financial executives, investors, and academics from serving on the committee. As a result, accountants and financial statement users were calling for wider representation in the development of accounting principles.The AICPA responded to the alleged shortcomings of the CAP by forming the Accounting Principles Board (APB). The objectives of this body were to advance the written expression of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), to narrow areas of difference in appropriate practice, and to in the method of establishing accounting principles was quickly squelched when the first APB chairman, Weldon Powell, voiced his belief that accounting research was more applied and pure and that the usefulness of the end product was a major concern.The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. 4 (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. Financial Accounting Standards BoardDue to the growing criticism of the APB, in 1971 the board of directors of the AICPA appointed two committees. The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of financial statements. The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. In contrast to the APB, whose members were all from the AICPA, this new board was to comprise representatives from various organizations.The members of the FASB were also to be full-time paid employees, unlike the APB members, who served part-time and were not paid. the Accounting Principles Board Formation and structure The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Types of pronouncements * APB Opinions Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. The flap over accounting for the investment tax Credit This controversy was over the proper method to use in accounting for the investment tax credit. In the early 1960s the country was suffering from the effects of a recession. After President John F. Kennedy took office, his advisors suggested an innovative fiscal economic policy that involved a direct income tax credit (as opposed to a tax deduction) based on a percentage of the cost of a qualified investment.Congress pas sed legislation creating the investment tax credit in 1961. The APB was then faced with deciding how companies should record and report the effects of the investment tax credit. It considered two alternative approaches: 1. The flow-through method, which treated the tax credit as a decrease in income tax expense in the year it occurred. 2. The deferred method, which treated the tax credit as a reduction in the cost of the asset and therefore was reflected over the life of the asset through Rule 203The lack of support for some of the APB’s pronouncements and concern over the formulation and acceptance of GAAP caused the Council of the AICPA to adopt Rule 203 of the Code of Professional Ethics. 10 This rule requires departures from accounting principles published in APB Opinions or Accounting Research Bulletins (or subsequently FASB Statements and now the FASB ASC) to be disclosed in footnotes to financial statements or in independent auditors’ reports when the effects of such departures are material.This action has had the effect of requiring companies and public accountants who deviate from authoritative pronouncements to justify such departures. Criticism of the APB 1. The independence of the members of the APB. The individuals serving on the board had full-time responsibilities elsewhere that might influence their views of certain issues. 2. The structure of the board. The largest eight public accounting firms (at that time) were automatically awarded one member, and there were usually five or six other public accountants on the APB. 3. Response time.The emerging accounting problems were not being investigated and solved quickly enough by the part-time members. The financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Wheat Committee The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The AICPA quickly adopted the Wheat Committee recommendations, and the FASB became the official body c harged with issuing accounting standards. The Trueblood Committee The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of fi nancial statements.The FASB was established The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. The structure of the FASB The structure of the FASB is as follows. A board of trustees nominated by organizations whose members have special knowledge and interest in financial reporting is selected. The organizations originally chosen to select the trustees were the American Accounting Association; the AICPA; the Financial Executives Institute; the National Association of Accountants (The NAA’s ame was later changed to Institute of Management Accountants in 1991), and the Financial Analysts Federation. In 1997 the board of trustees added four members from public interest organizations. The board that governs the FASB is the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). The FAF appoints the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), which advises the FASB on major policy issues, the selection of task forces, and the agenda of topics. The number of members on the FASAC varies from year to year. The bylaws call for at least twenty members to be appointed.However, the actual number of members has grown to about thirty in recent years to obtain representation from a wider group of interested parties. FASB Mission The FASB’s mission is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. In attempting to accomplish this mission, the FASB seeks to: 1. Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability and on the qualities of comparability and consistency 2.Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and changes in the economic environment 3. Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be improved through the standard-setting process 4. Promote the international comparability of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting 5. Improve the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports Type of Pronouncements * Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts Statements of Financial Accounting Standards * Interpretations * Technical Bullentins Originally, the FASB issued two types of pronouncements, Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFASs) and Interpretations. Subsequently, the FASB established two new series of releases: (1) Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts (SFACs) and (2) Technical Bulletins. SFASs conveyed required accounting methods and procedures for specific accounting issues and officially created GAAP. In terpretations were modifications or extensions of issues pronouncements.SFACs are intended to establish the objectives and concepts that the FASB will use in developing standards of financial accounting and reporting. To date, the FASB has issued seven SFACs, which are discussed in depth in Chapters 2, 6, and 7. SFACs differed from Statements of Financial Accounting Standards in that they did not establish GAAP. Similarly, they are not intended to invoke Rule 203 of the Rules of Conduct of the Code of Professional Ethics. It is anticipated that the major beneficiary of these SFACs will be the FASB itself.However, knowledge of the objectives and concepts the board uses should enable financial statement users to better understand the content and limitations of financial accounting information. Technical Bulletins were strictly interpretive in nature and did not establish new standards or amend existing standards. They were intended to provide guidance on financial accounting and repor ting problems on a timely basis. Emerging Issues One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems.During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments. These and other new issues need immediate resolution.On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB establi shed the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standards Overload One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems.During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments.These and other new issues need immediate resolution . On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB established the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standard setting as a political processA highly infl uential academic accountant stated that accounting standards are as much a product of political action as they are of careful logic or empirical fi ndings. 15 This phenomenon exists because a variety of parties are interested in and affected by the development of accounting standards. Various users of accounting information have found that the best way to infl uence the formulation of accounting standards is to attempt to infl uence the standard setters. The CAP, APB, and FASB have all come under a great deal o f pressure to develop or amend standards so as to benefi t a particular user group.For example, the APB had originally intended to develop a comprehensive theory of accounting before attempting to solve any current problems; however, this approach was abandoned when it was determined that such an effort might take up to fi ve years and that the SEC would not wait that long before taking action. The Business Roundtable engaged in what initially was a successful effort (later reversed) to increase the required consensus for passage of a SFAS from a simple majority to fi ve of the seven members of the FASB.Congressional action was threatened over the FASB’s proposed elimination of the pooling of interest method of accounting for business combinations (see Chapter 16). Two of the most notable examples of the politicizing of accounting standards involved the issues of employee stock options and fair value accounting. Economic Consequences The increased pressure on the standard-set ting process is not surprising, considering that many accounting standards have signifi cant economic consequences. Economic consequences refers to the impact of accounting reports on various segments of our economic society.This concept holds that the accounting practices a company adopts affect its security price and value. Consequently, the choice of accounting methods infl uences decision making rather than just refl ecting the results of these decisions. Consider the release of the FASB’s pronouncement on other postretirement benefi ts (OPRBs) FASB Statement No. 106, â€Å"Other Post Retirement Benefi ts† (see FASB ASC 715-10-30, 60, and 80). The accounting guidelines for OPRBs required companies to change from a pay-as-you-go basis to an accrual basis for health care and other benefi ts that companies provide to retirees and their dependents.The accrual basis requires companies to measure the obligation to provide future services and accrue these costs during the years employees provide service. This change in accounting caused a large increase in recorded expenses for many companies. Consequently, a number of companies simply ceased providing such benefi ts to their employees, at a large social cost. The impact on our economic society of accounting for OPRBs illustrates the need for the FASB to fully consider both the necessity to further develop sound reporting practices and the possible economic consequences of new codifi cation content.Accounting standard setting does not exist in a vacuum. It cannot be completely insulated from political pressures, nor can it avoid carefully evaluating the possible ramifi cations of standard setting. gaap Evolution of phrase: * Changed wording of auditor’s certificate brought about by meetings between NYSE and AIA One result of the meetings between the AICPA and members of the NYSE following the onset of the Great Depression was a revision in the wording of the certifi cate issued by CPAs. The o pinion paragraph formerly stated that the fi nancial statements had been examined and were accurate.The terminology was changed to say that the statements are â€Å"fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. † This expression is now interpreted as encompassing the conventions, rules, and procedures that are necessary to explain accepted accounting practice at a given time. Therefore fi nancial statements are fair only to the extent that the principles are fair and the statements comply with the principles. * The APB’s definition * The Auditing Standards Executive Committee’s definition The current sources of GAAP consist of four levels described as A, B, C, and D by Statement of Auditing Standards No 69 he business reporting research project Steering Committee Working Group the role of ethics in accounting Ethics are concerned with the types of behavior society considers right and wrong. Accounting ethics incorporate social sta ndards of behavior as well as behavioral standards that relate specifi cally to the profession. The environment of public accounting has become ethically complex. The accountants’ Code of Professional Ethics developed by the AICPA has evolved over time, and as business transactions have become more and more complex, ethical issues have also become more complex.Accounting in Crisis – the events of the early 2000s On January 1, 2001, Enron’s stock was selling for over $90 per share. From that time until the early summer of 2001, nineteen investment research fi rms reviewed its performance and twelve had given it a â€Å"strong buy† recommendation, while fi ve others had recommended it as â€Å"buy. †27 Additionally, the company’s 2000 annual report indicated that its auditor had not found any signifi cant accounting problems. However, on August 14, 2001, it was announced that the company’s president, Jeffery Skilling, had resigned after only six months on the job for â€Å"purely personal reasons. Enron used what were termed special-purpose entities (SPEs) now termed variable interest entities (VIEs) to access capital and hedge risk. 28 By using SPEs such as limited partnerships with outside parties, a company may be permitted to increase its fi nancial leverage and return on assets without reporting debt on its balance sheet. 29 The arrangement works as follows: An entity contributes fi xed assets and related debt to an SPE in exchange for an ownership interest.The SPE then borrows large sums of money from a fi nancial institution to purchase assets or conduct other business without the debt or assets showing up on the originating company’s fi nancial statements. The originating company can also sell leveraged assets to the SPE and record a profi t. At the time these transactions took place, the FASB required that only 3 percent of a SPE be owned by an outside investor. If this guideline is met, the SPE d idn’t need to be consolidated and the SPE’s debt was not disclosed on the originating company’s fi nancial statements.Enron used SPEs to new degrees of complexity and sophistication, capitalizing them with not only a variety of fi xed assets and liabilities but also extremely complex derivative fi nancial instruments, its own restricted stock, rights to acquire its stock, and related liabilities. Additionally, as Enron’s fi nancial dealings became more complicated, the company apparently also transferred troubled assets that were falling in value, such as certain overseas energy facilities, its broadband operation, or stock in companies that had been spun off to the SPEs. As a consequence, the losses on these assets were kept off Enron’s books.To compensate partnership investors for assuming downside risk, Enron promised to issue additional shares of its stock. As the value of the assets in these partnerships fell, Enron began to incur larger and l arger obligations to issue its own stock farther down the road. The problem was later compounded as the value of Enron’s stock declined. On October 16, 2001, the company reported a third-quarter loss and its stock dropped to about $33 a share. On October 28, as some of the problems with the SPEs were made public, a special committee of the board of directors of Enron was established under the chairmanship of William C.Powers, dean of the University of Texas Law School. The Powers Committee Report concluded that some Enron employees were directly involved in the SPEs and were enriched by tens of millions of dollars they never should have received. The committee also found that many of the transactions were designed to achieve favorable fi nancial statement results and were not based on legitimate economic objectives or to transfer risk. International Accounting standards A truly global economy emerged during the 1990s, as many U. S. companies generated signifi cant amounts of revenue and profi ts in foreign markets.Multinational companies are faced with decisions on the allocation of resources to their most effi cient uses. These allocations cannot be accomplished without accurate and reliable fi nancial information. Companies seeking capital or investment opportunities across national boundaries face cost and time issues. Capitalseeking fi rms must reconcile their fi nancial statements to the accounting rules of the nation in which they are seeking capital, and investors must identify foreign reporting differences. The increasingly global economy requires that this process be simplifi ed.Thus there is a push to harmonize international accounting standards. The IASB is an independent private sector body that was formed in 1973 to achieve this purpose. Its objectives are 1. To formulate and publish in the public interest accounting standards to be observed in the presentation of fi nancial statements and to promote their worldwide acceptance and observanc e 2. To work generally for the improvement and harmonization of regulations, accounting standards, and procedures relating to the presentation of fi nancial statements33These objectives have resulted in attempts to coordinate and harmonize the activities of the many countries and agencies engaged in setting accounting standards. The IASB standards also provide a useful starting point for developing countries wishing to establish accounting standards. 34 The IASB has also developed a conceptual framework titled the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements. 35 The conclusions articulated in this release are similar to those contained in the FASB’s Conceptual Framework Project.That is, the objective of fi nancial statements is to provide useful information to a wide range of users for decision-making purposes. The information provided should contain the qualitative characteristics of relevance, reliability, comparability, and understandability. At t he time this book was published, the IASB had issued forty-one Statements of Accounting Standards (IASs) and ten Statements of Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). However, since it has no enforcement authority, the IASB must rely on the â€Å"best endeavors† of its members.Neither the FASB nor the SEC is a member of the IASB, so its standards have no authority in the United States at the present time. However, the SEC recently ruled that foreign companies that adopt IASB standards are eligible to list their securities for sale on U. S. stock exchanges (see Chapter 3 for a further discussion of this issue). As noted in Chapters 2 and 3, there is also a movement to have IASB standards become GAAP for U. S. companies. The emergence of multinational corporations has resulted in a need for the increased harmonization of worldwide accounting standards.The role of the IASB is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, and the IASB standards are reviewed throughout this text in chapte rs dealing with the issues addressed by each IAS or IFRS. Cases †¢ Case 1-1 Sources of GAAP The FASB ASC is now the sole authoritative source for all U. S. GAAP. a. What are the major goals of the FASB ASC? b. How is the FASB ASC expected to improve the practice of accounting? c. What literature is now contained in the FASB ASC? d. What should an accountant do if the guidance for a particular transaction or event is not specifi ed within the FASB ASC? †¢ Case 1-2 Accounting EthicsWhen the FASB issues new standards, the implementation date is frequently 12 months from date of issuance, and early implementation is encouraged. Becky Hoger, controller, discusses with her fi nancial vice president the need for early implementation of a standard that would result in a fairer presentation of the company’s fi nancial condition and earnings. When the fi nancial vice president determines that early implementation of the standard will adversely affect the reported net income f or the year, he discourages Hoger from implementing the standard until it is required. Required: a. What, if any, ethical issue is involved in this case? . Is the fi nancial vice president acting improperly or immorally? c. What does Hoger have to gain by advocacy of early implementation? d. Who might be affected by the decision against early implementation? (CMA adapted) †¢ Case 1-3 Politicalization of Accounting Standards Some accountants have said that politicalization in the development and acceptance of generally accepted accounting principles (i. e. , standard setting) is taking place. Some use the term politicalization in a narrow sense to mean the infl uence by governmental agencies, particularly the SEC, on the development of generally accepted accounting principles.Others use it more broadly to mean the compromising that takes place in bodies responsible for developing these principles because of the infl uence and pressure of interested groups (SEC, American Accounti ng Association, businesses through their various organizations, Institute of Management Accountants, fi nancial analysts, bankers, lawyers, etc. ). Required: a. The Committee on Accounting Procedure of the AICPA was established in the mid- to late 1930s and functioned until 1959, at which time the Accounting Principles Board came into existence.In 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board was formed, and the APB went out of existence. Do the reasons these groups were formed, their methods of operation while in existence, and the reasons for the demise of the fi rst two indicate an increasing politicalization (as the term is used in the broad sense) of accounting standard setting? Explain your answer by indicating how the CAP, APB, and FASB operated or operate. Cite specifi c developments that tend to support your answer. b. What arguments can be raised to support the politicalization of accounting standard setting? . What arguments can be raised against the politicalization of accounting standard setting? (CMA adapted) †¢ Case 1-4 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles At the completion of the Darby Department Store audit, the president asks about the meaning of the phrase â€Å"in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles,† which appears in your audit report on the management’s fi nancial statements. He observes that the meaning of the phrase must include more than what he thinks of as â€Å"principles. † Required: a.Explain the meaning of the term accounting principles as used in the audit report. (Do not in this part discuss the signifi cance of â€Å"generally accepted. †) b. The president wants to know how you determine whether or not an accounting principle is generally accepted. Discuss the sources of evidence for determining whether an accounting principle has substantial authoritative support. c. The president believes that diversity in accounting practice will always exist among independent entit ies despite continual improvements in comparability.Discuss the arguments that support his belief. †¢ Case 1-5 The Evolution of the Accounting Profession The nineteenth century witnessed the evolution of joint ventures into business corporations. Required: Discuss how the emergence and growth of the corporate form of business affected perceptions regarding the role of the accounting profession in fi nancial reporting in England and the United States. †¢ Case 1-6 Accounting in Crisis During the early 2000s, the role of accounting and the auditing profession changed and several accounting scandals were uncovered. Required: a.What conditions caused accounting and the auditing profession role to change during this time? b. What major changes occurred as a result of the accounting scandals at that time? †¢ Case 1-7 The FASB The FASB is the offi cial body charged with issuing accounting standards. Required: a. Discuss the structure of the FASB. b. How are the Financial Acco unting Foundation members nominated? c. SFAC No. 2 describes a number of key characteristics or qualities for accounting information. Briefl y discuss the importance of any three of these qualities for fi nancial reporting purposes. CMA adapted) FASB ASC Research For each of the following research cases, search the FASB ASC database for information to address the issues. Cut and paste the FASB ASC paragraphs that support your responses. Then summarize briefl y what your responses are, citing the paragraphs used to support your responses. †¢ FASB ASC 1-1 Variable Interest Entities In this chapter, we discuss how Enron and other companies use Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) to keep the effects of transactions and events off corporate balance sheets. 1. How does the FASB defi ne a VIE?In other words, how does an entity qualify to be a VIE? 2. Is a company that meets the defi nition of a VIE required to consolidate the VIE? †¢ FASB ASC 1-2 Status of Accounting Research Bulle tins Portions of ARB No. 43 are still considered GAAP. Three of the most important issues covered in ARB No. 43 are revenue recognition, treasury stock, and comparative fi nancial statements. Find the appropriate sections of the FASB ASC, originally contained in ARB No. 43, that address these issues. Cite the sources and copy the relevant information. †¢ FASB ASC 1-3 Accounting for the Investment Tax CreditThe accounting alternative treatments for the investment tax credit originally outlined in APB Opinions 2 and 4 are still considered GAAP. Find and cite the FASB ASC paragraphs and copy the relevant information. †¢ FASB ASC 1-4 Securities and Exchange Commission Comments SEC observers frequently provide comments at EITF meetings. Find, cite, and copy the observer comments on: 1. Revenue recognition—customer payments and incentives 2. Debt with conversions and other options 3. Software cost of sales and services †¢ FASB ASC 1-5 Generally Accepted Accounting Pr ocedure GuidelinesFind the guidelines for determining GAAP in the FASB ASC. Room for Debate †¢ Debate 1-1 Which Body Should Set Accounting Standards in the United States? Team Debate Team 1: Argue that the SEC should set accounting standards in the United States. Team 2: Argue that the FASB should set accounting standards in the United States. †¢ Debate 1-2 Should the Scope of Accounting Standards Be Narrowed Further? Team Debate Team 1: Pretend you are management. Argue against the narrowing of accounting choices. Team 2: Pretend you are a prospective investor. Argue for the narrowing of accounting choices.