Monday, September 30, 2019

Why Should Rich Countries Help Poor Countries

If Arab people have the right to go back in time to the life before the Arab Spring, will they use this opportunity? The Arab takes the action of the revolutions to get liberated from the repressive regimes, corruption, and so on. Human who born free should die with freedom? It is the norm to the countries that get through political transformations to have decline in their values and disciplines The Arab spring as it made quantum leap for Arab countries; it also has negative effects in the economy, political, and social life. First, The economy is something substantial for any country, so the Arab countries were complained about their economy before and tried to amend it. Unfortunately, their economy gets the worst stage after the revolutions. The stock market crashed led to draining billions of dollars according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2012). High unemployment rate is another significant crises. Most of the companies closed, which means workers, lost their jobs. For example, Egypt recorded a high volume of unemployment in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 12. 4% . The unstable situation forced the foreign investor to leave the country that led to shrinking in the foreign investments. The lack of investments made a huge shortage in the foreign currency. Second, the people in the effected countries by what called Arab spring are living in verities of unsolved political problems. The strife between the political parties to take the power is the major issue. Each party of the conflict is trying to show his strength, so when a problem get closed to be solved by one party the other one ruined it to deform the reputation of the first one. Moreover, Security plays an essential roll in the society. No one can live in a place that can’t be trusted. The insecure country creates a better environment for the terrorism. The growing of the activities of al-Qaeda and jihadist movements in the Arab Spring countries is because the existence of appropriate ground. This proper environment for al-Qaeda initiated because of the loose of security especially after the revolution. To illustrate, al-Qaeda are expanding in Yemen, Libya, and Tunis, which are Arab spring countries that is going through lawlessness. Third, loose of the principles and values in the social life caused by the Protests. After the Arab spring Families coming apart are one of the major social issues. A lot of families got separated because of the contradictory political concepts. For instance, a famous family in Yemen, one of the effected countries, got in a big conflict. One of the uncle join to the revolution against the government while his brother were with the government side, so they have fought each other. They split the family in two sides. Strife between tribes is another significant social issue. Neural tribe is taking place in most of the Arab countries. One of the tribe’s norms is to show their respect and pleasure to others. A member of any tribe will fight for his tribe whether it is in the right side or the wrong side because these are their principles and values. This seems to a good discipline, but after what just occurred, almost all their traditions have been modified. Thus, many tribes initiated a negative treatment among each other. The social life is facing a very big issue which the conflict between the sunned and the Shia to take the control. Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife are violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of religion within a society. Religious segregation often plays a role in sectarian violence. Sauna And Shia is the perfect example of that kind of conflicts.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

“History vs Hollywood: The Truth Behind Braveheart” Essay

For the most part the History surrounding â€Å"Braveheart† is accurate, but there are several significant people and events which simply do not match up historically. After watching the movie and reviewing the history behind it, it becomes clear that Hollywood felt they needed to alter several things in order to make the film more entertaining to their viewers. It is interesting to compare the depiction of the characters and events portrayed in the movie to the actual history that surrounds them. The story behind the movie â€Å"Braveheart† focuses on the historic tale of Sir William Wallace of Elerslie, One of Scotland’s greatest heroes. During the 12th century King Edward I of England, also known as Longshanks, ruled Scotland. After returning to his childhood home, William Wallace planned on becoming a farmer and raising a family. After English soldiers had murdered his wife however, his attention became focused on the English occupation of Scotland. United together with other Scottish warriors, Wallace decides to bypass negotiations and fight the English on his own terms (Clater-Roszak 12). William Wallace did indeed lead a rebellion against English occupation in 1296, and was victorious at the battle of Stirling Bridge and lost at Falkirk. After he was captured, he was tried and executed as shown in the film. Several other aspects of his life were not accurately depicted however. Wallace was portrayed as a poor man who was secretly married right before he got in trouble with the English. Actually, he was a commoner who was well educated, and if he wasn’t involved with the war he may have been a scholar. All landed men were required to sign the Ragman Roll, which bound everyone who signed it in loyalty to England’s King Edward I. Those who refused, like Wallace, were outlawed (William Wallace’s†¦42). In response, Wallace and Andrew Moray organized other outlawed men into an army. Moray was killed at Stirling Bridge and was pretty much forgotten, he was not even mentioned in the film. This seems like a rather large omission considering Moray was Wallace’s co leader, and played a fairly large part in the early resistance. Wallace was involved in a romantic relationship, but he wasn’t able to settle down because he was spending most of his adult life at war or in hiding. He was with her when the English discovered his hiding place, and  she stalled them to give Wallace time to escape. Unfortunately she was killed along with the rest of the household because they helped Wallace (Clater-Roszak 12). One aspect of the film that I discovered to be very inaccurate was with the character Robert the Bruce. In the film he betrayed Wallace at the battle of Falkirk by knocking him of his horse, but there is absolutely no evidence of Wallace ever being betrayed during Falkirk. In fact, there are no accounts of Bruce even being involved with the battle of Falkirk. If he was, he most likely didn’t do anything significant. In my opinion this can really hurt the reputation of Robert the Bruce, who was one of Scotland’s bravest and most heroic kings. It is true that Bruce joined the English ranks for a short time, but he most likely did nothing drastic. Bruce actually finished what Wallace had started after returning to Scotland. Another aspect of Bruce that didn’t seem right was when he decided to fight the English at the last minute before submitting to them. I think this was just another attempt at Hollywood to try and spice up the movie a little more. In the film it was Robert the Bruce’s father who convinced him to side with the English, but there is also no evidence that would support this either. Bruce and his father did have some disagreements, but historically they didn’t fight nearly as much as depicted in the film (ALBA-Robert†¦). Overall I think Robert the Bruce as a character was portrayed pretty accurately by Angus MacFadyen, but many of the events that surrounded him were not. During the battle of Falkirk, it shows Wallace going into battle against the wishes of the other Scottish commanders. Based on the accounts I have seen, it appears that this isn’t very accurate. Wallace actually didn’t want to fight at Falkirk, he felt that the field didn’t provide the same advantages presented at Stirling Bridge. When the battle of Falkirk began during the film, all of the Scottish nobles abandoned Wallace which ruined his plans and may have cost him the battle. Historical documents say that the cavalry did indeed withdraw, but the circumstances are unknown (William Wallace: Welcome†¦). It seems Hollywood wants us to assume that Wallace was simply abandoned just as they wanted us to assume that Wallace was betrayed by Robert the Bruce. As for the character of Isabella of France, many historical liberties were taken with her as well. There is no evidence that Wallace and Isabella even met, let alone had a romantic relationship together (William Wallace’s†¦ 43). Hollywood always thinks they have to include some kind of Romance in their movies, and I suppose they felt this was their only opportunity to do so in this film. Not only that, but the fact that Isabella marries Edward II during the time of Sir William Wallace is just ridiculous. He wasn’t even alive when that happened. History shows that Wallace was executed in 1305, while Isabella married Edward II three years later in 1308 (Clater-Roszak). One final note on Isabella is that she seemed ashamed of the cruelty that the English displayed towards the Scots. In reality she had her husband, Edward II, imprisoned and murdered as alluded to in the film, but then launched her own attack on Scotland (William Wallace: Welcome†¦). As far as the actual battles, they seemed pretty authentic except for a few details. First of all, the Scottish warriors did not stand in one big group as shown in the film, but in circular formations called Schiltrons. This is a formation that Wallace actually perfected. In one scene it appears to the viewer that Wallace has invented the use of spears against the cavalry out of desperation, but this is actually a very ancient practice used during the Roman times (William Wallace: Welcome†¦). Other than these few instances the battle scenes seem pretty accurate. It is very obvious that Hollywood changed around some of the History surrounding â€Å"Braveheart†, but this is to be expected. In order to make a successful film they felt they needed to add what’s exciting while omitting what isn’t. The film was obviously a huge success because of its entertainment value, but this is unfortunately at the expense of the actual History behind the story. To be fair there are many aspects of Sir William Wallace’s life that are unclear or unknown, and the essence of the majority of the characters is correct. This does not excuse some of the major inaccuracies however, and it is unfortunate that some people’s perception of this era and its respective events are solely based on this film. Braveheart. Dir. Mel Gibson. Perf. Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, and Brendan Gleeson. Paramount Pictures, 1995. Clater-Roszak, Christine. â€Å"Sir William Wallace ignited a flame†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Military History, Oct97, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p12, 3p. 16 Nov 2003. Academic Search Premier â€Å"William Wallace’s adventure through time†. British Heritage, Oct/Nov96, Vol. 18 Issue 6, p42, 2p. 16 Nov 2003. Academic Search Premier â€Å"ALBA- Robert the Bruce†. Highlander Web Magazine. Aug 1998. 16 Nov 2003. < http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/bruce.htm> â€Å"William Wallace: Welcome to the Truth†. Highlander Web Magazine. Aug 1998. 16 Nov 2003. < http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/thetruth.html>

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Sustainable Electrical Construction Research Paper

Sustainable Electrical Construction - Research Paper Example e industrial process whereby the various processes that go on in manufacturing and production will be treated with a sense of urgency for the conservation of the environment (ZinCo Worldwide, 2011). Detailed reason why this is so will be discussed later but it would be noticed that the rate of industrialization has left us all with very few options other than manufacturing as many of the goods and products we need as possible. In the present paper, the electrical construction industry shall be used as a case study whereby a critical analysis of the industrial process that takes place during electrical construction shall be undertaken to understand the options of sustainability available for industry players and how best they have played their roles in ensuring that these roles are well played. Why Industrial Process is a focus for Sustainability The United States and other countries commonly referred to as the power houses of industrialization continue to depend on massive industrial development for the running of their economies. Interestingly, it is when some of these powerhouses survive in their economic dealings that the global economic climate becomes stable and sound (Diadem USA, Inc., 2011). But as much as it is important to embrace industrialization, it is equally important to understand the risks and challenges that industrialization carries so that when these challenges and risks are known, the needed risk management interventions would be developed towards them. Indeed, industrialization is highly associated with industrial processes whereby manufacturing and production takes the larger part of industries. Meanwhile, the means or source of energy in powering most of these industries in the industrial processes demand the use of energy sources that have long been known to be very threatening to the environment (Ludwick, 2011). Apart from the source of energy, the waste produced in the course of industrial processes such as smoke has also been identifi ed to be highly harmful to the environment. Even more, the byproducts of most of the industrial processes have been suspected to be ill-treated and wrongfully disposed (Intelligent Design Group, 2011). Usability among end users also accounts for some instances of industrial process’ risk against the environment. This is because most end users have very limited knowledge on the best ways to handle the products they buy such that the products will not end up becoming a threat to the environment. It is against the backdrops listed above that it has become so necessary that industrial process becomes a focus for sustainability in the current research paper. Electrical Construction and the Environment Electrical construction is mainly concerned with the production of electricity and electricity products (Glavinich, 2007). This is often than by electricity construction companies. Lately, oil and gas companies have also been highly involved in this process. Depending on the locality and resources available to an electrical construc

Friday, September 27, 2019

Corporate Social Responsibility-GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Research Paper

Corporate Social Responsibility-GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - Research Paper Example The healthcare industry is also projecting increased drug consumption after the introduction of healthcare laws. Currently, the mission of the business is more complicated than creating profits for the shareholders. The firms are judged not only on profit but also their principles (Jackson & Nelson, 2004). Organizations have a responsibility in fulfilling employees’ obligations, community, and the environment (Martin, 2002). In order for organization to maintain or restore public trust, it should practice corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is regarded as a commitment that aligns with the corporate strategic goals concerning pressing societal issues, and portraying awareness of the community need in which the business works. Pharmaceutical industries have been pressured to practice corporate social responsibility, especially regarding the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Leisinger, 2005), and product recalls. GlaxoSmithKline has made several commitments in an effort to practice corporate social responsibility. It has introduced a Least Developed Country Patent Pool for tropical diseases medicines, which have been neglected due to lack of feasibility. Also, it will reduce prices of patented medicinal products in the least developed countries to 25%.In addition, increase funding for research on diseases in developing

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Semiotic interpretation of an image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Semiotic interpretation of an image - Essay Example With the signs in photos open for interpretation, an observer can be able to appreciate the denotative and connotative signification. The caption that has been provided is a photo of the Olympic event. It captures the moment where the participants involved are awarded with medals after victory in the sports they had participated. When awarding the Olympic participant, the protocol is that the winner is awarded with a gold medal then the first runner up is awarded with silver followed by brass for the second runner up. After receiving the medals, the next stage involved playing of the national anthem in front of everyone. Only the person who takes the gold is awarded the chance of having his or her country’s national anthem played. From the background of the picture provided, there is a possibility of stating that the event is not a recent one and may have taken place somewhere in the middle 1900s. An aspect that brings out the background of the photo is the ‘black power’ salute that the two of the participants posed. During the 1960’s, there were many instances where the black Americans fought against what they believed to be racism from the original citizens in the country. From this, it is clear to deduce that the time the Olympic event in the picture is taking place might be the 1968 summer Olympics. This aspect then is possible to award the photo with both the denotative and connotative values (Bathes, 35). There is a connotative value that the ‘black power salute’ poses awards the photo. This value is in the unity of the black Americans. The two Olympic participants can be said to be sending a message to the other black people. The message here is not only directed to the black Americans but to all the black people all over the world since Olympics is an international event. The first African country to participate in the Olympics was South Africa in the year 1904; this was under the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Report - Coursework Example Moreover, when accounts are manually maintained it is usually kept pending until the last minute and that too for the purpose of filing tax returns. Accounting is not used as a business tool to keep track of where the business is heading and results is loss of control during the financial period. Bookkeeping software is also a manual system but within the defined parameters it is possible to produce essential information. The first advantage of using software is that small business would tend to maintain regular accounts than those which do not use software for bookkeeping (Articlebase, 2011). The bookkeeping software has a set of disciplines due to which it is able to produce data and records that are essential to exercise control over the business. It also helps in preparing the financial statement at the end of the year including for filing of tax returns. Records are less likely to lost or misplaced when maintained through software. Moreover financial performance can be improved through better financial control. In effect, book keeping software automates the manual maintaining of accounting and financial records. Accounting software saves time as it eliminates manual account calculations and record-keeping (Highland, 2011). The software handles chores in minutes which would take up a good number of man hours and hence can save on fixed salaries.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Could love change people life love between friends, family, couples Essay

Could love change people life love between friends, family, couples - Essay Example In this paper, few factors shall be given that prove the fact that love can cause changes in one’s life and change the aims and goals in life in a positive way. 2. Power of Love Love gives a sense of belonging to someone and thus gives comfort and sense of security. The emotion of love which is linked with family is said to provide more sense of belonging than the other types of love. Fisher stated that the sense of belonging and the emotion of love tend to benefit since individuals are seen to become healthy and confident in life (20). The sense of belonging related to friends tends to improve the social life of individuals in the society. It leads to the linking of feelings of comfort and love with those friends. Hagerty et al. quoted a statement from a famous paper by Lindgren (1990). Hagerty explained Lindgren’s statement and said that the sense of belonging makes one realize that they are valued, associated to a certain group of people and mutual obligations (173). If a person is loved by people, then he does not want to disappoint them or take offensive directions in life. Fisher discussed her research in her paper in 2004 and gave some interesting medical facts about the emotion of love (1). She studied the brain chemistry of a sample that had 40 women and men. Half of the individuals in the sample were in love and having successful relations while the other half had recently gone through broken relationships. However, the individuals with the unsuccessful relations still loved their partners very much. The participants of the research study were given the pictures of their loved ones and brain activities were measured. The measurements gave interesting patterns that explained that the people went through an increment of activity in a specific area in the brain. This area is known to give out dopamine to various parts of the brain. It then increases the energy levels of the body, improving the concentration levels and motivating the individ ual to achieve greater goals in life. This scientific finding provides support for the fact that love tends to motivate the individuals to achieve higher rewards and making their life better, rather than getting busy in negative activities in life. Other than research papers and literature, the world of entertainment has also made many movies on the topic of love. Almost every movie has the aspect of love and the strength that comes from love. The movie Philadelphia was based on the journey of a man who falls ill with AIDS. He gets strength and the motivation from his partner, friends and family to file a suit against a huge organization for firing him upon the news of him falling ill. He does not take up a negative approach in life. He does not even continue to stay depressed for his remaining days. He rather stands tall with the support and love of the people around him and wins the case against his employer. Martin Luther King wrote a famous book with the title, â€Å"Stride tow ard Freedom – The Montgomery Story†. In this book, he explained the meaning of love as a powerful emotion that helps people get security and peace for themselves. King stated, â€Å"the chronicle of 50,000 Negroes who took to heart the principles of nonviolence, who learned to fight for their rights with the weapon of love, and who in the process, acquired a new estimate of their own human worth’’ (King, 9). The brotherly love between all the African Americans gave them

Monday, September 23, 2019

Good Things About Designed by Groupism Case Study

Good Things About Designed by Groupism - Case Study Example Despite the negative experiences, I believe there are good things about designing by groupism. Sometimes, each person able to do what he does best. Everyone feels a part of project. The results of project were much better. There are good things about designing by groupism like each person able to do what he does best. Some students better with writing. Others better with speaking. Some better with doing. I was better with doing. So I did the code. Mary was better with writing. She kept notes and wrote the paper. Casey was best with speaking. He presented our project to the class. Sometimes, each person is able to do what he does best in groupism design. This is what happened in our group. We worked well together. It helped to have a good manager in the group. Other good things about designing by groupism are each person feels part of project. We each made suggestion about website. Some we used. Some we did not, but everyone made points that were used. Mary and I helped with layout. Mary and Casey did content. We all worked on code together. Each felt a part of project design by groupism. Casey really helped it all go smooth. At the end of the project, we all felt happy about how everything happened. The website was great. We were very proud of our work. The best thing about designing by groupism is the results of project were much better.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Case study- Netflix 2012 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case study- Netflix 2012 - Essay Example Substitute products have a very strong influence over the organization because firms in other industries are producing substitutes to what Netflix is offering. These products are also comparatively priced to attract more customers. Bargaining power of suppliers is strong because there are very few content and studio providers available in the industry. Furthermore, the suppliers are significantly differentiated and the overall procedure of contracts is long-term and expensive. It is now easier for few firms to enter in to the market primarily because demand is constantly increasing and there are very low barriers for entrance, for instance, unrestricted regulatory policies, less capital requirements, low degrees of customer loyalty and brand preferences etc. (Peteraf). Based on the above analysis it can be summarized that movie rental industry is significantly attractive to make huge profits. This is firstly because customers are increasing rapidly and the new technological developments are encouraging them towards live streaming and DVDs. Although this is highly competitive market but if the organization applies right strategies then profits can be increased. The overall concept of movie rentals has drastically changed with the development of internet technology. Previously we used to get our movies from physical stores but today millions of people subscribe to websites such as Netflix in order to rent DVDs and watch movies. Netflix has also given significant customer facilities. In the near future customers are expected to switch completely to live streaming and online video libraries while paying a small amount as rent. The long term growth rate of Movie Rental Industry: In the last two decades customers using online movie rental services have significantly increased which has actually influenced the long term growth rate of the entire industry. It is evident that young people specifically from 14-34 years of age are now

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Logical Fallacy in Journalism Essay Example for Free

Logical Fallacy in Journalism Essay The effectiveness of journalism hinges largely on its effective representation of the facts. This is not to argue that a news story cannot be inherently biased by such factors as culture, perception and even the intended audience of a specific journalistic outlet. However, it is to suggest that any claim made and unsubstantiated will serve only to diminish or discredit the value of a journalistic purpose. Such is a point notably evident in Clarence Page’s 2000 article, originally published in the Sacramento Bee and entitled â€Å"Keeping the Faith. . . To Yourself. † At the heart of this article is the assessment that the separation of church and state which Americans have long valued as a means to preserving individual religious freedoms is being eroded today by a resurgence in some contexts of what the editorialist refers to as zealotry. Page, who has a long a respectable resume as a nationally syndicated writer for the Chicago Tribune and as a frequent guest on such television news programs as The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and Hardball with Chris Matthews. (Wikipedia, 1) Having established himself with a considerable degree of recognition and credibility, Page is possessed of the responsibility to engage his subject matter with the utmost of objectivity. However, the concise editorial presented here fails in this effort, proceeding toward its point regarding the fading line between church and state by crutching upon a series of rational fallacies. These fallacies run the gamut of categorical errors in logic, ultimately reducing the article to rhetorical expression and opinion. There is little to recommend it as an empirical case examination or as a cultural study in American factionalism, though it seems to recommend itself as such. Indeed, the anecdote which stimulates the article is compelling enough. In a thought-provoking incident at a football game in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Page reports that when small group of students in the bleachers began chanting â€Å"The Lord’s Prayer,† it was only a matter of utterances before 4500 individuals where collectively engaged in prayer. Informal and culturally inherent in one regard and founded upon the indoctrination which Supreme Court decisions, Page reports, no longer entitle in public schools, this would suggest a remarkable undercurrent of religious commitment. It is Page’s intent to discuss with justified concern the implications of this natural occurrence to the importance of maintaining an atmosphere in our public schools which is comfortable and non-threatening to individuals of all religious dispositions and faiths. To the discredit of this article, Page does not employ a great deal of research or referenced support to endorse any of his claims, which renders a great many of them as outsized or disproportionately stated. While certain aspects of his argument seem rational and worthy of our consideration, the haphazard approach taken to the expression of information here suggests a less-than-journalistic value system in place. For instance, there is immediately a glaring absence of documented source support in instances where the nature of claims would seem to suggest that such is needed. Particularly, the article’s intent suffers from Insufficient Data. At the resolution of the article proposed, Page slips into a brief and theretofore unsuggested diatribe about the importance of America’s free market and the relationship of this market to religious freedom. Though not an objectionable statement, its phraseology is questionably hyperbolic given the absence of any definable support or pretense. Page contends that â€Å"America’s vitality owes a lot to its free market place of ideas, including religious ideas. It is a major reason more people clamor to get into this country than clamor to get out. The best way for the marketplace to keep its vitality is for us Americans to seek to understand each other’s belief, not coerce each other into joining ours. † Particular statements such as â€Å"major reason† and â€Å"the best way† are fully unqualified and the stated proportion which determines that there is a specific effector (i. e. religious freedom) which causes more people to clamor for entrance than exit from America. In this latter statement, there are two assessments made with unequivocal resolution that have no give evidence to support them and, upon statistic reflection, could even be held as incorrect. This is a clear journalistic shortcoming. So too is the frequency with which Untested Assumption mars the pertinence of Page’s argument. Essentially, the work is committed to the restatement of the theme that while the author does not wish to discredit faith or prayer, he does wish to recommend that religious leaders take a more sensitive and less public approach to encouraging and embracing it. There is, in this argument, a gesture which seems almost over-compensatory, by which Page attempts to assert the high esteem in which he hold religion and prayer even as he coins various phrases which portray organized religion with condescension. This is on clear display in his determination as to the likelihood of cooperative restraint on the part of Christian prayer advocates where he states, â€Å"I don’t expect to see much reduction soon in efforts by various believers—most of them quite well-meaning—to push their beliefs on others. † Among the more blatant of Untested Assumptions here is that which denotes that most Christians are well-meaning. Again, here is a statement which at its core does not necessarily provoke a sense of journalistic scrutiny. However, in its overstatement or in the failure to substantiate such as statement with closer inspection, the article diminishes the veracity of what might otherwise be considered a perfectly acceptable statement. It also tends to underscore the contradiction within the statement, which also voices explicitly (‘I don’t expect. . .) a professed knowledge as to that of which others are intended upon or capable. This could be conceived as a somewhat antagonistic or inflammatory bating of the Christian parties at subject in the discussion, ultimately producing an assumption which betrays ideological prejudices on the part of the journalist. The prejudices become inherently problematic to the intended value or veracity of the statements carrying the editorial. And even more troubling, in the rare instance where the article does reflect on some verifiable account of information or historical case, it has descended into the fallacy of False Analogy. Namely, it appears that little thought has been placed in the selection of examples by which to support the claims of the article. Particularly, we might expect that a useful analogy would compare the author’s desire to see a reduction in public display of prayer to another instance in which the public and governmental will had agreed to maintain the separation of Church and State. Instead, the author refers in a somewhat self-defeatist manner to examples of exactly the opposite. He notes that â€Å"past court decisions have ruled that â€Å"in God We Trust,† which began appearing on currency in 1860, has been in use so long as to have lost its religious significance. Obviously, it has not lost is religious significance in some minds. † In addition to the use, once again, of an untested assumption in the last statement which assumes that it is true and even obvious that there is a religious significance to the phrase â€Å"in God We Trust,† the false analogy here actually proves a greater cultural proclivity toward the mainstreaming of the practices which Page decries. Thus, it is a confusing and awkward choice of analogies. On the sum, the Page article proceeds to diminish the viability and appeal of a perspective which, if founded upon supportable statements rather than categorical fallacies, would be otherwise agreeable. Works Cited Page, C. (2000). Keeping the Faith. . . to Yourself. The Sacramento Bee. Wikipedia. (2008). Clarence Page. Wikimedia, Ltd. Inc.

Friday, September 20, 2019

An Introduction To Accounting

An Introduction To Accounting AIS is a system that collects and store accounting data, after that process the data into useful information used by the decision makers (internal and external users). The information produced by AIS can help decision maker to manage their business more efficiently strategically. However, accounting information system can be manual using the traditional way of recording business transactions manually using paper-and-pen. Today the term AIS referred to as compound computer base system that merges the ability of information technology together with traditional accounting principles and practices. Accounting information systems consist of six components: People: users who work on the systems Procedures and instructions: the process of collecting, managing and storing the data Data: data which is related to the company and its business. Software: application that processes the business data Information technology infrastructure: the physical devices like personal computer and systems Internal controls and security measures: which is employed to secure the data In the beginning, AISs were mainly developed in-house as legacy systems. These kinds of solutions are difficult to develop and require a high cost to maintain. In the present day, AIS are sold as prebuilt software packages from vendors. The most popular vendors for AIS are Microsoft, Sage, Group, SAP and Oracle where they customize the software to mach organizations business processes. Modern AIS follows a multitier architecture, which separate the application processing and data management in different layer from the presentation to the user. The presentation layer manages how the information is displayed and used by functional users of the system (through client application, web browser or mobile device). All the data in the system is stored and packed by a centralized database. this includes transactional data generated from the core business processes such as inventory, purchases etc. when a transaction occur from business event the data is collected and stored into the system database where it can be processed into useful information used by decision makers. A big benefit from computerize accounting information system is that they automate and make financial reporting more efficient. Accurate and summarized, timely information is a major tool for organizations decision making and financial reporting. The accounting information system pull imports data from the system database, process and transform it and eventually produces information and reports which can be easily consumed and analyzed by the users, managers and decision makers. These systems are required to ensure that the reports are timely and relevant so that decision makers are able to quickly and efficiently base on the information provided in the reports. Consolidation is one of the greatest characteristic of reporting as user does not have to go through a massive number of transactions. For example, at the end of the accounting period an accountant consolidates all payments by running a report on the system. The system application layer reclaims the data stored in the system database and produces a report with the total payments made to the vendors for that particular period. With large corporations which have huge volume of transactional data, generating a report without AIS can take day or even weeks. Case study background River Adventures is a fifteen years old company located in Cheddar, Somerset, owned and managed by Robin Forsythe. Until recently river adventures business has been highly seasonal offering 2 different kayaking instruction for beginners and Intermediate level as well as kayak and rafting trips down the river Axe in Somerset. They usually rent equipment to participant if they required. However, the company is facing an exciting challenge which will alter the size, the type of service offered and the seasonality of the business Financial management and business processes field Robin operating his business very informally using manual procedures in all areas. He always predicts the expenses for each course based on his working experience. He also manages the purchasing activities of the company and issue invoices for participants on the course. At the end of the year he determines his profit by his total revenue minus the total expenses during the year. Robin set the prices by consider his profit from the previous year, assess his competitors price and make adjustment for inflation. Robin employs an office administrator along with a number of kayak instructors and raft guides. The administrator manages Account Payable and Cash Receipts and records them in the Income Journal. He also maintains simple general ledger and payroll register for tax purposes only, and no use of this accounting data is made for financial planning or for operations control. River adventures advertise through leading outdoor magazine, he also advertises about the coming seasons program on popular kayak retail notice board. Problem Robin is not pleased with the arrangement of his business and he concern about how he will keep track on expenditure and revenues as the business get bigger. Robin feels that there is unnecessary wastage of the company resources as there is not real control over the cost of meals provided to the beginners course. In addition he notice that recently there is diminishing in the stock of camping as well as small items are also being lost. Robin has suspicion about the operation of marginally attended classes, but no analysis has been done to confirm his suspicion. Robin believes there is lack in his marketing activities and he can easily attract more customers by improving his marking activities. Business opportunity Robin know about 40% of kayaking course participants continue kayaking. As such his customer base reflects a target market for direct sales of kayaking and other equipment. He would like to expand his sales into a full scale direct mail/internet business. Doing so would enable him to provide year-round work for some kayaking personnel. Users of Financial Information Accounting information system objective is to identify record and communicate the economic events of an organization to the intended users. Accountant use this information to formulate reports and communicate financial information to the users. The type of information the user requires is dictated by the type of decisions they make. The information provided by the financial statements includes an organization resources and claims against those resources, as well as shareholders equity and changes in assets and liabilities. Financial information differs between the internal and external users. Accountants must understand the characteristics of information required by the different users of financial statements. In developing financial reporting standards, standard setters presume that those who use the resulting information will have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and be able to read a financial report (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006, p. 2). The aim of communicating financial information to user is to let accountants to address the needs and interest of users. There are many different users of financial information and this include: equity investors, suppliers, creditors, customers, employees, governments and their agencies and members of the public. Those users are identified as internal and external users of financial information. Internal Users Managers use financial information to plan, organize and operate their business. Managers include marketing managers and production supervisors. Managers should be able to understand financial information to answer such questions as Is the cash flow sufficient to pay their liabilities? and Which product contributes higher profit to the company? accountant produce internal reports to management for comparison and forecasting needs purposes; such examples include comparisons of operating alternatives, projections of long-term financial sustainability, and forecasts for annual cash needs. External Users There are quite a few types of external users of financial information and this includes lenders investors and tax authorities. Invertors (owners) use financial information to determine whether to buy, hold or sell their shares. Whilst suppliers and lenders view financial statement to assess the health of an organization and to ensure timely repayment of credit. Other external users include equity investors, customers, creditors, employees, general public and governments and their agencies and regulatory bodies.