My Tuesdays With Morrie Essays (1015 words) - Self-help Books

My Tuesdays With Morrie My Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, is flipping through his TV stations one night and he heard these words come from his TV set, Who is Morrie Schwartz? And Mitch went numb. Mitch found out through the TV show Nightline that his life long friend and teacher is dying and Mitch knows that he has to go and see him. Mitch goes to see his old college professor and what starts out as a one-day meeting turns into a four-month class. The class is conducted in Morries house in the suburb or Boston, there are no books or any other students, just Mitch and Morrie. Throughout this class Morrie teaches Mitch the lessons of life; lessons such as death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness, and a meaningful life. As Morries conditions worsen, Mitchs condition is getting better; Mitch is becoming a better person. Finally Morries life comes to an end, and Mitch graduates from Life 101. I felt the seeds of death inside his shriveling frame, and as I laid him in his chair, adjusting his head on the pillow, I had the coldest realization that our time was running out (59). That is what Mitch, a journal writer for the Detroit Free Press, said as he lifted his old college teacher from his wheelchair to his recliner. Morrie Schwartz is dying from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig disease. As the book goes on, Morrie reaches out to people who want to talk and he teaches them about the real lessons of life, while he is lying on his deathbed. Tuesdays With Morrie is an excellent book because Morrie teaches Mitch lessons about marriage, greed, and family that young adults can learn from. Love each other or perish(149). This quote sums up all of Morries views and beliefs on the topic of marriage and love. I feel that young adults can learn a very big lesson from this short quote. Love and marriage are very important because we all need someone to love and to love back, if we dont we are going to live a very lonely and unhappy life. There is a set of rules that Morrie stated in this book that I feel young adults could learn a lot from. Morrie said that, your going to have a lot of trouble if you dont respect the other person if you dont now how to compromise if you cant talk openly about what goes on between you if you dont have a common set of values in life(149). And the biggest one of those values is your belief in the importance of your marriage. I think that everything that Morrie says in that passage is very true. When he talks about if you dont know how to compromise then you are going to have a lot of trouble. If you cant work and give up some things to make th ings succeed with the person that you love then you are going to have a lot of problems. I really feel that young adults can learn a lot from that passage as well as throughout the book about marriage. Another issue that Morrie talks to Mitch about that I feel young adults can learn from is greed, and how we as people put our values in the wrong things. I also feel that this is true in todays society. We do put our values in the wrong things, we put our values in money, cars, cloths, and many others, but we all know that that is the wrong place to put our heart. Im sure that we have all heard the quote, When we die, you cant take it with you (124). Since this has been mentioned so much I dont need to go in depth about it, but I really feel that this is true, we need to realize that we cant take our material things with us when we die. What I learned from this chapter is that a person doesnt go through their whole life putting their values in the wrong things and then when you get older realize that they where wrong and should have put their values in something

Seismic Activity essays

Seismic Activity essays California has 200 or more faults capable of producing large earthquakes. Some of the faults are hidden and some visible at the surface. The biggest concentration of faults are in the San Adreas fault zone and the San Jacinto fault zone. Because of Californias large amount of Fault lines the United States Geological Survey, the California division of mines and Geology, the California Institute and other agencies have developed the Southern California Earthquake Center and TriNet Seismic network. This organization monitors the earthquake activity. The seismographs are linked to a computer using a mix of GPS and Landlines . The seismography records are sent to a computer within a few minutes. The information is a available to the public via the Internet. Data at this site is saved to a catalog that are searchable by various parameters. After creating the project using ArcView GIS or Arc View 3D analyst, the next step was to determine the projects objective and scope. Once the data was obtained and converted, maps could be created and analysis performed. The projects objective was to ascertain whether there was a pattern to the earthquakes in Southern California. The area chosen stretches approximately 67 miles by 50 miles. The time frames was 6 months. The SCEC Data center Earthquake and Hypocenter and Phase database was queried for data. Available search parameters were data about magnitudes, start and end date, minimum and maximum depths and Longitude and Latitude. A second site from Cal Tech and the USGS was also used. Time measurements from the SCEC site were converted to Pacific standard time for use with Cal Tech/USGS data. Latittude and longitude measurement in degrees from Cal Tech site were converted to decimal degrees. The highway and street data (from arcview) were used. The highways around the area was selected. Data from the internet was used to determine where ...

Authorpreneurs and VC Publishers

Authorpreneurs and VC Publishers Authorpreneurs and VC Publishers The WannabesI was listening to Joanna Penn talk at an Apple event in Covent Garden a few days ago, and I was surprised that the sentence she repeated the most was: â€Å"Writing is hard! It’s extremely hard. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.†I immediately drew a parallel to starting a company. Everyone knows it’s hard, but keeps forgetting it. Why? Because, technically, anyone can do it. You sit down and write. You fill out a form and incorporate your company. No special skills required.What does that mean? Well, you end up with thousands of â€Å"wannabes†. The I’ll-write-someday-you’ll-see-ers, the I’ve-had-this-great-startup-idea-for-awhile-and-I’m-working-on-it-ers. I don’t have the numbers, but I guess less than 10% of these â€Å"wannabes† become authors, or entrepreneurs.The AuthorpreneursThis took me back to an article by the same Joanna Penn that I read a few weeks ago: The Arc Of The Indie Autho r Journey. From First Book To CEO Of Your Global Media Empire. Penn writes: â€Å"You don’t have to know everything now. You can learn on the job. We all have to. None of us are born with the knowledge of how to do these things – we just find out along the way.† That’s what I do every day at Reedsy. I learn along the way.Indie authors are entrepreneurs in addition to being authors. This is what makes independent authorship particularly difficult, and definitely thrilling for some. â€Å"Taking control† is a dream for many; some are even incredibly good at it. But success takes a lot of self-discipline, a business mentality, boldness and a natural (or very well-trained) ability to promote yourself.Oh, and money. Editing and cover art, if done well, are not cheap (nor should they be). So either you keep your day job for a while, or you try your luck on Kickstarter (the former is highly recommended).That’s a lot of requirements. The good thing is, if you’re committed, you â€Å"learn along the way†. But what if you’re not? What if you just want to write?The Future of traditional publishingIf you don’t have an entrepreneurial mentality, you don’t start your company and you don’t self-publish. It’s as simple as that. Many people don’t want to take control, don’t want to have to choose their editor, cover designer, publicist, etc. They excel at writing, and at that only.In my opinion, that’s what publishers are (or should be?) for. Not to pin down those who want to fly with their own wings, but to help those who can’t.If we keep the parallel to entrepreneurship, we can consider that a few decades ago, it was impossible to start your own company without a lot of money. You shopped your idea around until you found a partner to finance your operation and in return you gave up a hefty majority of your company’s equity. Only as technology has adva nced, most startups are able to prove their concept with almost $0. You can raise millions in the early stages of your company without giving massive chunks of equity away.The emergence of self-publishing is a very similar phenomenon. Technology has lowered the barrier to entry, and authors are able to â€Å"show traction† (i.e., sell thousands of books) without support from publishers.You can only ask 80% of a company when the company has no choice. Today, startups and authors have a choice.But let’s be honest. These successful â€Å"indies† would sell ten times more if they had a publisher backing them and opening bookstores to them. Hugh Howey and the whole self-publishing community know it. Publishers are slow to realize it.Some are starting to offer print-only deals. Some others offer 50% net royalties instead of 25%. â€Å"Exceptions†, some might say. Well, the future is made of today’s exceptions.We’re also on Twitter!   Follow  R icardo  and  Reedsy!

Florence Nightingale...To pledge or Not to Pledge Research Paper

Florence Nightingale...To pledge or Not to Pledge - Research Paper Example Lystra Gretter first wrote the Nightingale Pledge in the year 1893. Lyster was a nursing instructor at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit. The Nightingale Pledge was first used by graduating class of Harper hospital in 1893 (Nightingale & McDonald, 2005). It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians.it is a way of nurses expressing their intentions of fulfilling their responsibilities. Every graduating student nurse must recite this oath.   Gretter  named the pledge after Florence Nightingale as a sign of respect because she is the mother of nursing. This pledge is still the symbol of nursing and it represents the nurses’ values (American Nurses Association, 2006). By reciting, a nurse pledges to be faithful in her practice her profession and to exercise proper ethical values (Nightingale & McDonald, 2007). However, the nursing community still debates on this oath about its importance to nursing as a profession. Its relationship to the old oath of medicine is quite plain. The pledge has undergone some changes over a period. This pledge states that nurses are health missionaries who take full responsibility for the health of their patients. It has also brought to light a new direction to healthcare provision (ANA, 2012).   Mrs. Cadwalader Jones, who is member of the Board of Managers of the City Hospital in New York, is the author of another version of the Hippocratic Oath. The oath is as follows: the nurse swears to be loyal to the doctors under whom they serve, as a soldier is loyal to his or her seniors, the nurse swears to be fair and liberal to all other members of the medical profession be helping them where necessary( Wolf,2014). The nurse swears to lead the nursing profession in honor. The nurse swears to resist any form of temptations whatsoever in any field during nursing practice to ensure the sick receive proper care. Lastly, the nurse

Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning - Essay Example It is simply identifying the objectives of a company and finding the best ways of how to achieve them. Strategic planning starts from the desired end and its steps go backwards to get to the current status. On the other hand, long term planning begins with the current status and moves forward to meet the desired future needs. According to Adekola et al 2007, strategic planning looks at the big picture, and is flexible in determining its means as compared to other types of planning. At Michal Jones & Company strategic planning has been practiced in various ways. These ways include: pure planning and financial planning. Planning determines where an organization will be in the future, how it will get there, and how the organization will establish itself if it got there or not. Planning serves different functions in Michal Jones & Company. It has provided a clear focus for the organization, therefore, producing effectiveness and efficiency (Burtonshaw-Gunn et al 2009). Planning has also been the reason why the productivity of the organization has increased significantly due to increased effectiveness and efficiency. Planning has also been used in the solving of major problems in the organization. This is because a predetermined problem is solved before its occurrence due to effective and strategic planning. Moreover, at Michal Jones, planning has enabled the creation of a base for the company’s hence all deviations have been corrected to avoid major blows occurring in the organization. For effective planning to be established, the management at Michal Jones & Company has identified the purpose, which happens to be the key objective of the company. Lusthaus et al 1999 argues that, through the use of the organization’s mission statement elaboration has been made to the public and the potential buyers as a whole on what Michal Jones & Company seeks to achieve. The situation has been analyzed and is now an already existing program. Its defects are amended and the viable changes made. Alternatives present at Michal Jones & Company have been identified leading to a variety of ideas, activities, and solutions (Michael Jones & Company 2010). Creativity reigns in an effort to enhance brainstorming and members’ involvement in the formulation of the plan. The resources have been reviewed, and they have been listed down with regard to available time, money, human and physical resources (Paladino 2010). This ensures that the plan formulated conforms to the ability of Michal Jones & Company and not based on mere assumptions. Some of the impediments that have been witnessed at Michal Jones & Company with regard to effective planning are that planning leads to rigidity. This is because the set conditions may change, and this may contrast prevailing conditions at that particular time. When such a point comes by, flexibility is encouraged in an effort to negate the rigidity. Moreover, strategic planning is not easily facilitated in dynamic environments. Strategic planning also entails finances. No company or organization can be able to plan about the future without the knowledge of where to get the finances from (Reading 2004). In essence, finances go hand in hand with the planning strategy. At Michal Jones & Company, finances were solicited from the Banks as loan payable back in interest rates within a period of one year. Financial statements are very important in every

Egypt’s pyramid Essay Example for Free

Egypt’s pyramid Essay Egypt one of the earliest civilization is a nation embellish with rich culture and tradition, the pyramids being is a witness to their grandeur. Egypt’s pyramid is one of their pride; it depicts the power and glory of those ancient rulers and their influence. The pyramids’ brilliance is known to every individual but little of us knew how the pyramids were erected, what form of tools where used, how did they conduct the calculations considering that every angle of the triangle is perpendicular with each other, and what does the earliest pyramids look like. The Egyptian pyramid certainly has origin, how did they polish such wondrous creation and why pyramids vary in sizes. What is the underlying principle in building such tomb. Several studies were conducted in unleashing this pyramids enigma, yet some still was a mystery. The Pyramids of Egypt is distinct from among the wonders of the world. It has its certain characteristics, incomparable in magnitude, not only that it is the oldest man made creation from among the wonders of the world it conceals numerous historical records, the pyramid being is the door to unlock the secrets of Egypt’s antiquity. We have already uncovered some few material things on Egypt’s long forgotten past, but that is only a part of the larger feature of Egypt. The pyramids have in it some several encryptions which convey us about their tradition and belief in magical spells and hymns written in hieroglyphics form. It depicts the journey of the pharaohs in the afterlife. This compilation of hieroglyphics is called the Pyramid Texts. Aside from the ancient texts carved within the walls of the pyramids, pyramids also vary from each other on the physical aspect, such as its structure, its height and designs. The Pyramid of Cheops and Cephren is one significant example. We have witnessed in the records of history how ancient people revere much the final resting place of their loved ones. Similarly, in Egypt the pyramids are one of the most important objects conveying their belief in the afterlife. The pyramids that we used to have now only belongs to the greatest ruler of Egypt hence the Great Pyramids of Egypt, none of the pyramids ever survived that belong to other least rulers during the ancient time. Not only that the pyramids gain attraction on its concealed past, through the pyramids, some scientists dig the scientific engineering used at the time when the pyramid was built. It is genuine worked made by a brilliant mind. These are among the content of this paper. Based from previous researches, we will have to draw a general conclusion that will help address this problem. Body The Pyramids. Unlike many other temples that served as a house for the living, the pyramid serves as the eternal resting place of Egyptian kings and queens’ body and also a place for religious activity. According to ancient Egyptian belief, the pyramid where the mummy was placed provides for the monarch to pass the afterlife. The ruler’s body was carefully treated and wrapped to preserve it as a mummy. To pray for the soul of the dead ruler, the priests in nearby temples performed religious rituals in order to nourish the spirit, it is believed that the when the ruler died, the spirit remains to the body right after death. The Pyramid Texts were written in the walls of the pyramid to safeguard the soul during its journey. In the Egyptian Old Kingdom, most kings and queens draft for a design of their tomb usually with complicated structure made up of large stone and blocks. Yet probably because the materials were too costly, the size and quality of built pyramids decreased. In the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians build pyramids out of mud brick. In the tradition, all pyramids were aligned to the cardinal directions which refer to the north-south and east-west location. Most pyramids were found in the desert plateaus on the west bank of the Nile River where the sun sets. According to belief, the dead monarch’s spirit will left the body and shall travel through the sky with the sun each day. When the sun will set in the west, the spirit will now settle into their tomb to renew their selves. Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Before the pyramids, the pharaohs were buried in tombs called the mastabas. It is a big, roofed, square building with walls that sloped gently inward. In the center of the building, a deep shaft was cut to which the burial chamber is located. There they stored the pharaohs’ significant possessions. In building the mastabas (â€Å"bench), the pharaoh needed much worker to work for his project. When there is dearth of workers, he sent out word to all his governors from different provinces. The governors in turn will send the word to every town and village and farmers from all over Egypt in order to come and work for the pharaoh’s project. The earliest known pyramid is the pyramid of King Djoser (Zoser) of the third dynasty. It was build with a giant steps like six mastabas stacked one on the top of the other looking like a rectangular wedding cake with six layers. Other pharaoh’s after him design their own pyramids trying to furnish a better pyramid than that of Djoser. Djoser Step Pyramid architecture was Imhotep. He commissioned a court official to design and build him a unique burial tomb. Accordingly, the building of the pyramid required two things which had never been done before: â€Å"the first was provided by a pacified and united country while for the second a unique human genius was required,† (Mendelssohn, 1979). Imhotep has advantage to this. Although he is not of royal blood, his official title as a purely self-made man was â€Å"Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, First after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary Nobleman, High Priest of the Heliopolis, Builder, Sculptor and Maker of Vases in Chief†, and he was an engineer before the word ever existed (Thomas, 2005). Imhotep brilliancy was praised by many intelligent minds during his time. He developed and controlled the logistics and persuades a group of thousands of men into a well-organized workforce capable of producing suppose to be the world’s tallest pyramid by a factor of twenty. Imhotep has long solved the problems such as the balance of the lateral forces in the gigantic pyramidal weight while pressing down on a square base. To address the problem, his masons slanted the inner stones of Zoser’s pyramid towards the apex to help balance it out. This designed is considered as grossly overlooked with the introduction of Meidum pyramid. (Ibid. ). Nevertheless, Imhotep’s step pyramid was the first stone structure in the history and is the oldest surviving pyramid today. Several nature factors affect the pyramids’ brilliance, but none of it had overcome the clarity of mind of Imhotep. The fact that his structure stand today is a clear indication that he had overcome nature’s changing environment. Yet Imhotep brilliancy is almost trivial, we had little information on his intelligence and none of the records ever survived in justification of his eminence. Meidum Pyramid. The Meidum pyramid was introduced in the year 2600 BC. It is in the shape of tetrahedron. It started as a step pyramid with inward leaning walls and eight levels. The pyramid construction at Meidum became unsuccessful because there is probably lacking in the design of the pyramid. The interior support of the pyramid partially was collapsed and massive rubble mounds were found beneath the base of the pyramid. Bent Pyramid. After the failure of the Meidum Pyramid, King Sneferu, the father of Khufu started designing his pyramid. He actually started with the Meidum pyramid but for unknown reasons he moved his burial chamber north to Dashur, at the Giza Plateau with a different design. The foundation of the pyramid was a big flat area of limestone bedrock. Also as an advantage, in the nearby area there was a limestone quarry, a place where they could cut two to three ton limestone block to be used in building the pyramid. His pyramid was made of stone blocks leaning inward. In constructing the base of the pyramid, the stone cutters leveled the foundation of the pyramid providing indications as to where the pyramid would be located. The sun and the stars serve as their guiding point to align the pyramid facing exactly towards the four cardinals, the north, south, east and west. They aimed at leveling the sides of the pyramid equal to all angles. Each of the side using modern measurements is 755 feet and 8 inches long; the length is less than two inches of the four sides. However, during the construction of the pyramid, the weight of the upper portion started to inflate causing the pyramid to be not in proportion. It had slowly sink; the weight and angle of the stones where much heavier than in its base. To address the problem, the builders put up an outer supporting wall cutting off the 60 degrees angle to 55 degrees. The upper portion is only 43 degrees. This is where the pyramid got his name, the Bent Pyramid. During the construction, the architects tried to polish their work by applying what they have learned in building the bent pyramid. They must have laid down horizontal layers of larger stone and blocks. In order to vindicate their erroneous design, they construct again another giant pyramid for Sneferu called the North Pyramid. Sneferu returned to Meidum and refined the Meidum pyramid by adding outer level using new approach in constructing it. Sneferu’s new technique somehow became successful. His new technique became the foundation of the 4th dynasty pyramids and the Great Pyramid at Giza. Indeed, something did. Imhotep’s buttresses, while always at the base step pyramid of other true pyramids, were not extended to include the buttressing of the structurally significant outer casing. Pyramids built later than Meidum demonstrate this slanting of the outer casing. (Thomas, 2005) Khufu’s Pyramid. The proliferation of pyramid gradually decline in the 5th dynasty when irregularities seem to pervade in the whole kingdom of Egypt. Perhaps, one significant attribute of the so called chaotic period in Egypt called the First Intermediate Period is crossing the alley of yore to the Middle Period where new techniques and materials were applied. Parallel to it, when the building of pyramid was once restored, the pyramids’ beauty was converted into gross physical appearance to lucidity. Khufu, son of King Sneferu becomes pharaoh. To build a legacy on the surface of the Earth, he set out to design the largest pyramid. Sneferu’s three pyramids laid new important techniques in maintaining Khufu’s pyramid throughout the time. That is to build a pyramid with a solid stone foundation. In onset of the pyramid’s construction, Khufu ordered his governors to seek workers out of forty-two towns of Egypt. He require ten working men or boys each town to accomplish his ambitious pyramid. During Khufu’s reign, there are some speculations that massive slave workers were forced to work in building the pyramid. However in Herodotus account, the workers were not compelled to work for the pyramid. In contrary to his statement, he said however that there is dearth of workers, thus some forcible action is impliedly conducted. There was no account yet being surfaced to warrant the situation. Accordingly, most of the men were proud to work for Khufu; there is so much honor in building the eternal home of the god-king. Men formed into 20-30 teams and also have given their teams a name such as â€Å"Khufu is Bright†. Evidences lie in the hidden parts of the pyramids where modern archaeologists have found them. The construction of the pyramid began. The base forms a nearly perfect square having 19-cm. This huge square is almost exactly leveled out. In the core of the pyramid, it probably has a hill of unexcavated rubble making it difficult to determine the exact number of blocks. According to research, the Great Pyramid’s blocks are estimated to 2. 3 millions of blocks having an average weight of 2. 5 metric tons. Hundreds of men worked for quarrying, moving, setting and sculpting the huge amount of stone used to build the Great Pyramid. A total of 25, 000 men and women worked in the construction site for a couple of years. According to one account, there were no slaves who worked in finishing the project. Most probably were farmers, architects, masons, metal workers and carpenters. The architects of Khufu selected a site in Giza on surface of bedrock not sand which will provide a steady foundation. The workers lower the stones in a horizontal level, on one top of the other. The stone used in the interior area was out of quarried blocks in the south of the construction site. The exterior part which is finely finished was out of white limestone quarried across the Nile River. To transport the materials, the workers have to cut the limestone and transported by a river barge to Giza. The rest of the materials were used in building edifices in Cairo. Dating from the earlier failure of the architects, they had failed to recognize the symmetry of the stones placed on top of the other. Khufu’s pyramid however applied the rule on symmetry. Workers have marked all the blocks indicating the angle of the pyramid wall and trimmed the surfaces so that all blocks will fit together. On the sides of the pyramid, workers built large ramps to help drag their materials to the sides of the structure. Those ramps being used were probably of desert clay mixed with water tighten by limestone debris leftover from the construction work. The final exterior phase f the pyramid is the installation of the pyramidion or the cap stone of the pyramid. In order to reveal the full majestic view of the pyramid, workers must dismantle the ramps on the surface of the pyramid. Thereafter, the pyramid had displayed its real beauty. For the interior part of the pyramid, it is compose of complex chambers where a series of passages will lead to master chamber where the body of the King shall be placed. The pyramid’s entrance is about 17 m intended to be used during Khufu’s funeral. The entrance of the pyramid will likely lead you to the Descending Passage and shall reach the Subterranean Chamber. The Descending Chamber is intersected with the Ascending Passage. The Ascending Passage is the conduit to Queen’s Chamber as so called by the Arabs. But according to some archaeologists, this is where the king statue is located representing his ka, his spirit. The Ascending Passage intersects with the Grand Gallery which housed some large stones used to plug passages after the king’s funeral. At the upper end of the Grand Gallery intersects to the King’s Chamber, a simple rectangular room covered entirely with red granite. Now, what remains is the granite sarcophagus of King Khufu buried near the western wall. Some portion of pyramids’ myriad passage was still mysterious. There are some pyramids that have satellite pyramids and queens’ pyramid. The satellite pyramid’s function is still unknown. Some argued that it must have contained the ka of the king. The queens’ pyramid was smaller version of the kings pyramid intended to be a burial site for the king’s principal wives. The two Great Pyramids beside Khufu’s pyramid belongs to Khafre and Menkaure, Khufu’s son and grandson. Other Great Pyramids. Other pyramids built with the same technique to that of the Khufu’s pyramid is the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure. In the later years, the building of great pyramids began to decline when Egypt’s resources began to deplete. Several smaller pyramids were design by later rulers however in different location. There are also some smaller pyramids that serve as a burial site for queens and secondary wives of the kings. Later pyramids constructed were the pyramid of Djedefre at Abu Rawash, the pyramid of Sahure at Abu Sir, the pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai at Abu Sir, the pyramid of Nyuserre Ini ate Abu Sir, the pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht, the pyramid of Senusret I and Senusret II at Lisht and the pyramid of Amenemhet III ate Hawara.

Autonomy and Responsibility in the Nazi Regime: Germany 1933-1939 Essay

Autonomy and Responsibility in the Nazi Regime: Germany 1933-1939 Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles reads: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies."(1) These words fueled the Nazi Party's rise to power and ignition of a Second World War. After World War I, the Allies dissected, punished, and disarmed Germany to prevent the outbreak of another brutal war. Consequently, German lands, acquired by Nazi force, were given back to their original countries, and Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was responsible for paying immense retribution to all of the Allied Forces, causing German money to lose its value. The result of the Treaty of Versailles was a weakened Germany, both martially and economically. The Weimar Republic, a liberal government set up after Germany's defeat, was inefficient in handling Germany's massive problems. Germany's ill state was the curtain call for a change in the Weimar administration, and Adolf Hitler led the push for a transformation. Once in power, Hitler designed laws that redefined the responsibilities of the citizen. The citizens' duties would allow the Germany to regain her autonomy in the eyes of the world. Although the citizens worked to increase Germany's overrall welfare, the State did not attempt to improve individual well-being. The State held one responsibility. It must protect the lives of its people, so that the people can, in turn, carry out their duties for the S... ...ver, I carefully viewed its contents and found that it provided valuable information on Nazi propaganda, writings and speeches. The images I used in this report were taken from this site. In addition, many references are provided for further reading. http://nsdapmuseum.com This site is an unbiased historical perspective of the Nazi era. It provides valuable information about Nazi leaders, Nazi institutions, and Nazi propaganda. Also, links to other sites and biographies of the authors are listed. http://historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/index.htm This site, dedicated to students and teachers, is updated daily. The organization of the site is haphazard, but the information provided is excellent. Detailed explanations of the Hitler's life and rule are included. Furthermore, links to other historical sites are listed at the History Place's site.

Environmental Factors That Affect Trade Between United States And Mexico Essay

Global business environment is increasingly being determined by prevailing environmental concerns. Trade regulations between countries are being benchmarked on the decisions made on environmental policy. Even though there exists an underlying inadequacy in negotiating international trade agreements in conjunction with multilateral environment agreements, formulation of trade policy has been forced to move hand in hand with requisite environment policy creating a situation that only promotes a complimentary of the policies for sustainable economic development. In the same fray is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA which includes several guidelines that detail environmental related provisions. The accord as agreed provides trilateral cooperation on matters concerning the environment and it also contains specific provisions that seek to pressurize members to enforce environmental law. The United States and Mexico has also instituted a bilateral establishment called the Boarder Environment Cooperation Commission. Together with the North American Development Bank communities around the boarder areas are financed to enable them complete environment infrastructure projects. Despite the agreement these are still ongoing discussions on NAFTA’s possible environment effect, implementation of pending NAFTA’s provisions and border funding modalities (may Tinmann, 2000) During the negotiations carried out in the context of liberalizing investment and trade rules between the two countries, environmental issues arose due to the existence of a more stringent standards on one country while the other country had only weak environmental protection measures. Such differences could be challenged with notable success as non tariff barriers that only serve to stifle trade between the two countries. Another issue was whether the existence of weaker environment protection measures on one side could created an unfair competitive advantage and hence encourage businesses to relocate production to areas that are least regulated in terms of environmental protection measures. Strict environmental regulations on the United States soil pose a considerable non tariff trade barrier hence the requirement for the need of harmonization of environmental provisions, health and safety standards. Relocation of industries to least environmentally regulated zones created a new challenge with increasing population. To offset this a mechanism had to be put in place to regulate all border environmental projects. Under the auspices of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on which NAFTA operates new environmental issues are arising. In 1991 a dispute arose after the United States banned importations of tuna as Mexico had violated GATT’s trade rules. The ban imposed under the Us Marine Mammal Protection Act sought to limit the killing or the causing of serious injury to dolphins together with other marine animals in the course of commercial fishing. Mexico contested the ban but the court order was not lifted. Following the hearings of the case it was proposed that congress would lift the ban temporarily and Canada made a 5 year moratorium commitment that stated on March 1, 1994. Presently proposed changes on key environmental provisions that affect trade are focusing on non tariff barriers and the expansion on GATT discipline for Agriculture. (Trade and the Environment, 1993) There is no certainty to the conclusion of NAFTA debates and discussions taking into account that they had stalled several times earlier. The effects of additional changes are likely to brew new wave of conflict between GATT and environmental provisions. The relationship between international environmental agreements and GATT is another concern. Included in the International environmental agreement are 17 multilateral environmental agreements. These agreements cover key environmental problems such as stratospheric ozone depletion, hazardous waste and endangered species. There is concern that other multilateral environmental agreements such as limits to green house gas emissions may be included in the trade agreements further straining Mexico trade as importation of products that do not comply with both the GATT provisions and multilateral environment provisions will be banned. At the moment it still remains to be seen whether another GATT member can successfully challenge a trade measure leveled upon it by another member in pursuant of the multilateral environmental agreements. The growth of conflicts may in the future discourage GATT from acquiring agreements that would make trade impossible in addition to making GATT’s resolutions ineffective and difficult to enforce (Trade and Environment, 1992). There is need to reduce the functions between trade and environmental concerns. The North American Free Trade Agreement seeks to increase economic activity in Mexico and Boarder regions of the United States by negotiating a trade agreement that is agreeable to all the trade partners. However, there are concerns that unless the agreement puts in place adequate environmental safeguards, additional economic growth would worsen the already serious environmental health problems. There are also concerns that these trade agreements may weaken or undermine the existing United States Environmental standards. Mexico’s commitment to environmental legislation and protection and commitment to attaining high environmental compliance is important. The laxity of the Mexican authorities to enforce strict environmental standards has seen some United States’ industries migrating to Mexico’s duty free export zones. These factories relocate mainly to erode the strict United States Environmental Protection Standards and also to utilize cheap labor in Mexico. Their proximity to the United States markets creates a competitive advantage as compared to the industries operating in the United States If all trading partners agree and conduct environmental reviews affecting Trade agreements as a unified standard procedure the environment and underlying economic implications will be adequately analyzed through expert opinions and public debate. In line with environment, health and safety standard risks from traded products can be curtailed. However, this required a standardized method of that product risk assessment and testing is done strictly to the recommended stringent domestic and international guidelines. (Paul Cough, 1993) New interpretations of GATT guidelines could threaten domestic regulatory regimes hence posing a new risk to trading partners. There are environmental concerns that inadequate regulation and low levels of environmental regulation in pursuit of trade liberalization may be used as an incentive to attract foreign investment as the production costs would be very low compared to countries with stringent guidelines. There are those who argue that environmental problems have limited impact on international competitiveness however if countries could impose a large carbon tax aimed primarily at reducing the emission of green house gases, the impact would be considerably huge. Conflicting interests particularly the Trade and the Rio Declaration declares that all states have got the right and sovereign authority to exploit their resources according to their own national environmental and development policies so long as their activities do not offer an environmental threat to that of other states or areas beyond their jurisdiction. The underlying fact that some states might lower their environmental protection measures is a threat to agreements that struggle to foster free trade between countries. This paper analyzes such concerns and offers recommendations to the extent of the present regulatory frameworks. Border waste Trade between the United States and Mexico The United States border lies within the jurisdiction of six Mexican states and four United States. Even though each state preserves and governs its won jurisdiction there has always been a very central and longstanding environmental pollution issue that is exacerbated by industrial and municipal wastes being discharged to the rivers that flow from the Mexican frontiers to the United States. Mexican wastes municipal treatment system are obsolete or non existent. This is further worsened by companies that operate in a less strict environmental regulatory jurisdiction. These companies are inclusive of United States companies and they engage in illegal dumping of untreated wastes into the river systems. This has created a disparity in the levels of development as well as fresh concerns on priorities of development and trade with specificity to the use of underground and surface water that are becoming increasingly polluted. There is another problem of illegal dumping sites that pose a threat to health of inhabitants of the cities along the United States-Mexico border. The Border Environmental cooperation Agreement has been mandated to coordinate boarder water quality and sanitation services. However, disputes are ripe and every country is presenting its own interpretations of treaty. This has worsened the trade between countries as discussions and debates carried out under the auspices of NAFTA though fruitful have failed to provide an innovative, comprehensive and internationally binding agreement to forestall the potential health effects of continued trade.

Accounting and Tax

The world is increasingly adopting an extremely commercial approach to operations (Paulson 99). Every aspect in the economic environment and social systems is increasingly becoming more commercialized as the capitalistic mental has taken over a number of key areas in operations (Paulson 99). The role played by taxation and accounting systems is on the increase due to commercializations and liberalization of operations and markets. Different modes of operations and complexity in modern operations have led to the need for development of different modes of accounting and taxation (Paulson 99).Original definitions and systems are being replaced by new ones that are deemed to be more relevant to modern day operations. The policies supported by political leaders with regards to these economic factors are seen to be important to the perception that the voters have on them. The overall public, due to improvements in information systems and education levels, have become more aware of the impo rtance of good and relevant policies to not only the development of the economy but to individual development.It is no longer left for the professionals to understand the complexities and changes in accounting and information systems be it at the policy or implementation level for ordinary citizens are continuously seeking to know more on these concepts (Paulson 73). This paper looks at some of the current trends in accounting and taxation systems in the US. and the impact they have on the development of US. as a nation. The paper looks at a issues in Private and public Company Financial Reporting and their convergence with the international standards.The other areas that the paper addresses are Cost or Equity Method of Accounting, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Importance of Segregation of Duties, Income tax accruals, Deferred Income taxes and McCain's Vs Obama's tax plan. Introduction Developed economies and especially America's are highly reliant on the development of the business s ector (Pratt & Niculita 22 ). The business sector in some of these developed economies contributes immensely to their large domestic income levels. Financial reporting is an aspect that is integrated into every business system be it profit or non-profit making.Financial reporting is a very important aspect in ensuring accountability and developing the confidence that is of high importance in a capitalistic economy that are characterized by high levels of competition. Financial reporting does not in itself guarantee success in business but helps in providing information that is critical in the development and implementation of economic decisions. Company Reporting The standard used in financial reporting in the US is the GAAP standard (Talbott 63).The main reason behind financial reporting for public entities is to meet the needs of external stake holders who due to their positions lack the ability to get the information. Even though the external users of company financial reporting may have access to information, most private companies still choose to prepare the general financial statement. Even though the GAAP financial accounting standards are aimed at providing the end user with the required information, the management of the company often finds such documents to be of great importance (Talbott 63).Many private companies implement a system where the financial statement include an independent accountant report which is drafted after the report has been audited, reviewed or compiled. The government is not directly responsible for the formulation of the accounting standards in most developed countries and it was until 2002 that the federal government intervened largely on accounting standards (Talbott 35). This non-interference is common system in most countries under common law where it is believed that the private sector is well informed and has a good resource backing.It should be noted that the GAAP is not a law that has to be followed though some key fin ancial authorities have made it compulsory for public companies to adhere to standard (Ricardo & Kolthammer 53). It should be noted that the GAAP standards for the private sectors are set by different bodies which operate under different assumptions, principles and constraints from those of the public sector. The basic objective in financial reporting is providing information; this is done by making a number of assumption, application of a series of principle and subjecting a number of constraints.Assumptions ? The business entities are assumed to be separate from its owners and other related businesses. In preparation of financial records personal expenses are kept separate from company revenues and expenses (Ricardo & Kolthammer 51). ? Another key assumption made is that the business will continue operating indefinitely. This assumption is made to justify the validation of asset capitalization, depreciation and even amortization. This going concern assumption is only overridden wh en it is certain that the company will be liquefied (Ricardo & Kolthammer 51).? Since one of the objectives in the preparation of financial records is to ensure ease of evaluation a measure must be used. In the US, a monetary unit that is assumed to be stable is used as the unit of record. It is accepted by the FASB that the nominal value of the dollar unadjusted to take care of the inflation should be used as the main unit of measure (Ricardo & Kolthammer 51). ? A major assumption in the preparation of financial records is that the economic and financial activities of a company can be divided into time units. This is the time period principle (Ricardo & Kolthammer 51).There are a number of principles that have been adopted by the FASB in preparing financial records. The principles govern how the actual preparation of the records will be handled. Some of these principles include: ? Companies are required to account and report on the basis of acquisition prices rather than current ma rket prices. This principle applies to all recordings be they assets or liabilities (Ricardo & Kolthammer 54). This principles ensures that the information provided is reliable by eliminating bias that would have otherwise been accrued by using the perceived value.However, there are changes in this system as a number of debts and securities are being reported on the basis of their fair price or market values. ? Principle number two is referred to as the revenue principle and it requires companies to record revenues either when they are realizable and earned or when they are realized. This accrual approach to accounting eliminates recording at receip (Ricardo & Kolthammer 54)t. ? The matching principle dictates that the expenses and the revenues have to be matched as long as there is sufficient ground for pairing.Expenses are only recognized when the product or service that they have help create earns some revenue (Ricardo & Kolthammer 54) The principle further states that if a situa tion should arise where no connection can be established between an expense and a revenue then the expenses can be charged on the existing period. This system is useful in ensuring accuracy and robustness in evaluating actual performance and profitability levels because the principle clearly shows how much was spent in earning a given revenue.? The disclosure principle is one that governs the amount of information that can be disclosed. According to this principle, the amount of information that can be disclosed should be based on a trade off analysis (Ricardo & Kolthammer 54). Disclosure of large information is often associated with increased cost in the preparation and use of the financial records. Therefore, the information disclosed should be enough for judgment while ensuring that the costs are kept low. Information in the financial records are either presented in the main body of the statement, notes or as supplementary material.A number of constraints have also been placed in coming up with financial records and reports. The constraints are aimed at reducing errors and ensuring reliability. They include: ? The objectivity principle which states that the financial records should be based on objective evidence (Ricardo & Kolthammer 54). ? The significance of an item is only considered when it has been reported. The materiality principles therefore considers information to be of significance if it can in one way or the other affect the decisions made by a reasonable human person (Ricardo & Kolthammer 55).? There is also need for consistency in the accounting principles used by a company. The companies should ensure that they use the same principles year in year out. ? When choosing between two alternatives the prudent principle states that the solution that is likely to understate the income and assets should be given first priority (Ricardo & Kolthammer 55). Comparison Even though the differences may not be clear a key differences arises in the aspect of stakeholders. The investors will always want to be informed on how their investments are fairing on.In a private company, systems may be developed where the investors who are often few and closely related can access financial records and the performance of their investments at particular times (Einhorn 23). Furthermore, the private nature of such businesses exempt them from mandatory disclosure and there are no restriction on the materials they can disclose. However, the story is quite different in public companies where disclosure is a must. Public companies are of national interest and therefore issues regarding their financial status affect a considerable proportion of the general public (Lewis & Pendrill 32).Development in financial systems are aimed at protecting the investors from the failure of such financial institutions. The law therefore dictates that such companies must disclose their financial records and in so doing the materials disclosed should be such that they provi de enough information as per the investors' requirements (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 35). Therefore, while a private company financial records may only be a page the public companies often develop booklets and mountains of documents as their financial records.In general, preparation of financial records in public companies is more resource intensive relative to private company due to the time and financial resources that have to be channeled to the preparation of the rather comprehensive records. The similarities are countless. The principles employed, assumptions made and constraints are generally within the GAAP principles (Haber 24). The principles are within the stated framework and therefore bears a lot of similarities.Disclosure is stressed on by both private and public companies for the sake of their investors. In either case, the importance of financial reports to the management of the companies and to creditors who may require the company's financial information is of equal importance. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 The area of financial disclosure and development of financial reports is of key concern to the entire economy. The government and the legislative system is often concerned with the overall wellbeing of the people; at least that is what they have made people believe.Disclosure and financial reporting is an area that is of key importance to the overall development of not only the company whose records and transactions are being disclosed but also to other companies that may be related to the said company in one way or the other. The federal system broke its liberalization of the accounting systems when in 2002 it enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Hamilton & Trautmann 44 ). The act was aimed at protecting the investors and was enacted into federal law in 2002.Previously issues regarding financial disclosure and preparation of financial records were governed by standards rather than law. The move was aimed at dealing with the increase in the levels scandals that hit a number of major corporations namely Tyco and Worldcom among others (Shanley 21). These scandals were very costly on investors and had a major bearing in the capital markets as share prices dropped considerably. The effects of the scandals were felt by both participants and non-participants as the confidence in the stock markets suffered and irrecoverable blow.The reforms that were brought by this act are considered the most far reaching changes in the business environment in decades. These new legislations did not affect the private sector and were aimed at developing enhanced standards for the public sector players including public accounting firms (Shanley 49). Its adoption was a controversial step and led to major divisions on its perceived benefits. A number of people who were and still are for its implementation state that it has led to an increase in investor confidence on the stock market while ensuring better standards and controls for corporate accounting standards.The act led to the developments and enaction of PCAOB which is charged with regulating, inspecting and ensuring relevant disciplinary measures are taken against accounting firms that are ascertained to have flawed some of the principles and standards set by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Pratt & Niculita 85 ). Some of the key features of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 include: ? The first title establishes the PCAOB as a board that will provide the required oversight for accounting firms that provide audit services.This first title also creates a central board that is tasked with ensuring procedure compliance by the boards, registration of auditors, definition of processes and procedures for compliance, quality control and management and enforcing compliance as per its mandate that are provided for in the act (Einhorn 19). ? The second title establishes the standards that will ensure the independence of external auditors so as to minimize the risk of conflic t of interest. This title also puts up new auditors approval qualifications, partner rotation and reporting requirements.One of the notable features of this second title is that it bars audit firms from providing non-audit services for same clients (Einhorn 19). ? The responsibility for accuracy and completeness of financial records is placed on senior executives. This third title further defines how the external auditors will be expected to interact with the audit committees. A quarterly certification of the integrity of the financial reports by the corporate executives is required by this title (Einhorn 19). ? The fourth sections requires the inclusion of off balance sheet transactions and transactions of corporate officers.This is to ensure enhanced financial reporting and ensure accountability at the highest levels of corporate leadership. The fourth title further requires the placement of internal controls that will ensure the accuracy of the financial reports. Timely reporting in case of change in financial conditions which must also be accompanied by a review of SEC or its agents, is advocated for by this title. ? The fifth section includes measures that are aimed at restoring the confidence of the investors on the reports brought forward by securities analysts (Einhorn 77).The code of behavior for the security analysts are defined in this section and they are further required to disclose any conflict of interest that may be in their knowledge. ? The sixth section is closely related to the fifth as it defines practices that will help in the restoration of investor confidence. The SEC's authority is also defined in this chapter and their power to bar securities professionals from dealing is brought into proper perspectives by definition of cases where their power is applicable (Einhorn 22).? The seventh section places more emphasis on the manner in which research that is aimed at enforcing actions against violators will be conducted. The reports and reas ons that have been identified as being of importance in the research include the effects of consolidation on accounting firms, securities violation, role of credit rating agencies and enforcement actions. This chapter further suggested investigations on whether the investment banks played a role in obfuscating the financial positions of some of the corporations that failed.? The eighth title describes the specific penalties for fraud by either manipulating, destroying or altering financial records. This title further defines the penalties associated with interfering with the course of investigation while providing a considerable level of protection for whistle blowers. ? The ninth title increase the penalties associated with white collar crimes and conspiracies to commit financial crimes. One of the key recommendations of the title is that stronger punishments should be provided for financial crime offenders.A key addition is that failure to certify corporate records is declared a c riminal offense (Einhorn 19). ? The chief executive officer or the senior most corporate officer is required to certify and sign the company's tax returns in the tenth title. ? The definition of corporate fraud as a crime within the law is found in the eleventh title. Record tampering is also included as a criminal offense and the specific penalties are also defined in this section. Sentencing guidelines are revised in this chapter and the penalties are made harsher.SEC is also given the power to freeze large or suspect payments (Einhorn 18). There are a number of factors that led to the adoption of the rather controversial measures towards ensuring disclosure and accuracy of financial records. Prior to the implementation of the SOX the auditing firms were self regulated (McAlevey 45). There was considerable levels of conflict interest as they were involved with companies in more than one way. They were therefore not in a position to challenge the companies on financial matters for it may have led to poor work relations in other areas they were involved in.Audit committees were also blamed for the crisis that led to the development of the SOX as they did not perform their responsibility as investor representatives with maximum efficiency (McAlevey 56). A number of causes for failure and collapse of some of the corporations were in the line of negligence of duty and lack of the required expertise in handling business complexities. Management also had a considerable degree on audit committees and thus the integrity of their reports was questionable even before they were presented. The SEC was underfunded before the American public realized its importance to the overall development of the economy.The federal allocations to this programs have since doubled as a way of ensuring that they effectively deal with issues and threats to the financial stability of public corporations. Securities analysts had multiple roles that presented a conflict of interest (Niskanen 1 23). The security analysts could make recommendations on whether to sell or buy and at the same time provide financial assistance for companies who are in need of financial assistance. There is the possibility that the analysts could make decisions and recommendations that will ensure that he unfairly gains from the deals.Misleading bank practices may also lead to confusion by other investors. For instance, when a number of banks lend money to a corporation other investors may assume that the financial position of such a company is guaranteed (Griffin & Walton 10). When such companies collapse as it was the case in Enron, investors in the bank and those who had invested in the corporation suffer losses. Moreover, stock volatility coupled with the bonus and stock option practices increased the pressure on companies to manage their earnings. Segregation of DutiesOne of the major recommendation of the SOX was the need to segregate duties (Griffin & Walton 29). The need for segregation is often seen to be associated with increased accountability as the overlaps associated with non-segregation are eliminated. Furthermore, the risk of inappropriate action on individuals or groups is minimized since each and everyone has clearly defined roles and failure in their part can be traced to them. The first step in ensuring accountability is adopting a segregation approach. The segregation of jobs must be adopted by the entire organizations and documentation of its adoption ensured.Segregation of duties is not all about the physical implementation of tasks since the flow of finances has to be described fully, clarifications made and assurances that no one person has overall control over all aspects in any financial transaction made. The process of formulating such a diverse and rather complex system of operations requires time and expertise if the systems is to achieve any success. It is worth noting that though the implementation of the system may be near perfect, if the i nitial formulation is done ineffectively the whole systems will lack in aspects that may prove to be critical in ensuring its success.The organization has to be studied and analyzed before any changes are proposed. Since these are changes that are per the requirement of the law for public institutions there is little that organizations can do to avoid implementing this law (Griffin & Walton 92). The organizations must analyze their processes and their outcomes including their behavior. The qualifications of the available human resource has to be ascertained and the organization's ability in implementing a segregated approach ascertained.A thorough analysis of the collected information will ensure the development of teams and allocation of responsibilities for each and every member of the organization who will then be answerable on all issues relating to these responsibilities they have been assigned. The implementation of such a system is as important as the formulation phase. The a pplication of relevant controls and milestones to be met will ensure that the developments achieved as a result of the implementation of such systems is quantified and relevant corrections or improvements made to ensure continued success.The controls should ensure that whistle blowers and those that are unwilling in promoting illegal activities are protected from the wrath of ‘criminals ‘(Griffin & Walton 24). Therefore, the adoption of systems that will ensure whistle blowers are protected should go in line with the formulation and implementation of the segregation approach. Convergence to International Standards The implementation of the SOX led to improvement in laws and policies regarding financial disclosure that made them more similar to international standards.Furthermore, there is increased effort by the FASB, which develops accounting standards for local use to converge the standards to the IASB (Eisen 42). It should be noted that even though the IASB standards are increasingly being adopted by a number of countries the FASB has significant control on their standards. One notable difference in the standards is that the LIFO systems is not used in the international standards while they are allowed by the US. Standards, thus reporting of income statements takes on different format which may affect the analysis of financial statement by investors and stakeholders (Eisen 42).Moreover, the international systems is more principle based when compared to the US systems which can be considered to be rule based. The FASB bases their approach on the fact that the real accounting world has infinitely many exceptions and a principle based system will never be able to give a full description of actions that may be employed in all situations (Eisen 43). Equity Method of Accounting Accounting is a diverse area of study that is continuously changing as per operations requirements (Eisen 34).Financial irregularities and fraud has taken on a new dimension an d thus the accounting principles and procedures have also been forced to change in order to address the change in financial trends. Investment in common stock is one of the fastest growing areas, many investors are channeling their resources to acquiring common stock and IPOs have become national events while the capital markets is one of the most highly traded market there is. The equity method of accounting is used for investments in common stock if the investor possesses over one fifth of the outstanding voicing stock of another company in which he has significant influence.Generally accepted accounting principles require that reporting using the equity method when an investor corporation has significant control over the operations and finances of an investee corporation. Significant influence is determined by representation on the board of directors, active participation in formulation of policies, intercompany transactions, interchange of managerial personnel and dependence on technology. It is generally assumed that an investor has significant control if over 20% of the outstanding common stocks of the entity are in his possession.This holds true unless there is sufficient evidence to prove otherwise (Eisen 100). The equity approach to accounting reflect more on the economic aspects than the legal aspects involved in investing in legal stocks of other companies. When the equity approach to accounting is employed, the initial records of the stock investments is done at cost. The investments accounts will then have to be adjusted to ensure that the investor share of income and losses after the date of acquisition are up to date. This investor share is used in coming up with the net income of the investor in the period as reported by the investee (Eisen 51).The methods is in line with the accrual method of accounting for its implementation ensures the recognition of revenues when they are earned and losses when incurred. Dividends received by the investors are not reported as dividend income but are a reduction on the carrying amount associated with investment. Therefore, the application of equity methods of accounting ensures that investments accounts give a reflection of the investors equity relative to investee net assets. An exception to this rule of revenue recognition is the recognition of revenue without change in working capital (Eisen 34).In the investors statement of income, the proportion of the share of the net income of the investee is reported as a single line entry except inn situations where the investee possesses extraordinary materials that would affect the investor's net income statement. Such materials would be reflected as extraordinary materials in the investor's income statement. The method therefore eliminates intercompany profits and losses (Eisen 43). Any excess paid for shares over their book value of the purchased subsidiary must be identified and if need be amortized or depreciated (Eisen 90).In cases wher e the investor owns over half of the investee's outstanding stock a consolidated financial statement for the group is presented (Eisen 110). The relationship is considered an affiliation as the investee can exercise control over the operations of the investee (Eisen 111). The equity method is used in the presentation of financial reports for unconsolidated subsidiaries in a consolidated financial report. If the parent company is preparing unconsolidated reports then the investments in the subsidiaries are reported through the use of equity accounting.The application of equity accounting methods is continuously being adopted in accounting circles due to an increase in corporate ownership. Capitalism is characterized by increased investments in joint ventures and therefore it is becoming common place for major corporations and private investors to have stake in more than one company. Multinational companies may have considerable influence on local companies whose stock they posses and therefore the application of equity accounting finds relevance in such cases. Income tax accruals and Deferred Income taxesOne of the most important decisions that has to be made by businesses before they start operations regards the basis of their bookkeeping which can either be on an accrual or cash basis. The accrual system is where the income is recorded as when it is earned without considerations on whether it will be received or not. The expenses are also recorded as per when they were accrued without considerations on whether they will be paid. Taxpayers are not necessarily required to use a specific method by the Internal revenue service (IRS) (Eisen 32).However, the stock markets and other bodies may require public companies to strictly use the accrual basis in stating their incomes (Eisen 60). The IRS requires that the method used when a taxpayer first files his tax returns should be used consistently thereafter and any changes in the system must be approved by the IRS. I f an investor own more than one business the use of different methods of accounting is allowed, though they must be kept separate from each other as each business is treated as separate entity.Even though the use of any method is allowed there are restriction to the use of the cash method in that corporations with a gross receipt of over $5 million excluding the S corporations, partnerships that partners with such corporations and tax shelters are all excluded from the use of cash system of accounting (Eisen 22). When using the accrual method, incomes must be reported in the tax year they were earned and expense deducted in the same manner. The time of payment is disregarded in either case and has no bearing on the nature of the results.For taxation purposes, income is reported when earned, due or payment is received depending on which one comes first. Therefore, recording of income is done when events that lead to their reception have occurred and the amount associated with the rev enue or expense can be determined with pinpoint accuracy. Advance payments for services that will be received later are charged in the same years that they are received. This scheme changes if there is an agreement that the completion of the service will be in the next fiscal years thereby the recognition of the income is included in the next years records.The postponement of advance payments cannot go beyond one year. If any part of the service will go beyond the next year, all advance payments will have to be recorded in the year the receipt will be made and none of it would appear in the next year's records. Advance rent income can only be recorded in the years that they are received and can never be postponed. If a business provides a business agreement for a property that it owns, advance income associated with such property can be postponed.However, this is only applicable in cases where the business also earns income from properties that do no have service agreements in their course of operations. There are a few special rules that have been formulated with regards to handling advance payments regarding agreement for future sales. Under normal considerations the payments are recorded when they are received but this is not so in this alternative system. Under the alternate system the advance payments in earlier years and the recordings include payments in gross receipt according to the rules of the method used.Furthermore, it is advisable to record the advance payments in the years that any part of the advance payments has been included. Under the accrual system expense are reported when liability has been fixed, the amount involved has been determined clearly and economic performance has occurred. If expense is incurred in receiving a service, economic performance is considered to have been incurred when the service is provided. When property has been delivered, economic performance is said to have been incurred (Pratt & Niculita 102 ).For expenses that are related to interest, the passage of time marks economic performance. In areas of compensation of services, economic performance is said to have occurred when the contractors are rendering their services. Moreover, under the accrual system expenses are only deductible in the years they apply though they can still be charged on the years they are paid if the benefits they generate are applicable for a time of over one year. If business expenses or interest are owed to persons related as per the definition of related in income tax, and the related person handle

The Constitution Guarantees that Laws Passed will be necessa essays

The Constitution Guarantees that Laws Passed will be necessa essays The formation of the constitution was not only developed to change the American government but to enable the change in government as time changed the political and cultural face of the land. This allows the Constitution to adapt to the peoples needs for each generation and will continue to provide for them by making laws that reflect the peoples will. The framers of the constitution set up certain devices that would allow for these changes. Their legacy is evident today in the form of our amendments. The Constitutional Convention was called by Congress for delegates to assemble at Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. It was never intended to write a whole new constitution. The delegates knew the problems of the confederacy, but were no where close to agreeing as to what should be done about those problems. Life, liberty, and property continued to remain as their objective but they had no accepted political theory that would tell them what kind of national government would serve that goal. Congress called the Constitutional Convention for delegates to assemble at Philadelphia. They were to revise the Articles Confederation that was made earlier, but they were never expecting what really happened- the creation of the Constitution. The delegates knew the problems of the confederacy, but were no where close to agreeing on what should be done about those problems. Life, liberty and property continued to remain their prime objective. They had not yet accepted a political theory that would guide them and tell them what kind of national government would best serve their lofty goals of creating a democracy that would fulfill their needs. Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were perfect examples of what was wrong under the Articles of Confederation. The Pennsylvania constitution created the most radically democratic of the new state regimes. All power was given to a one house (unicameral) legislature called the...

How to Understand Mandarin Chinese Tones

How to Understand Mandarin Chinese Tones While residents across China use the same written character system, the way the words are pronounced differs from region to region. Standard Chinese is Mandarin  or Putonghua, and it consists of five pronunciation tones.  As a student of the Chinese language, the hardest part to differentiate is first, second, and fifth tones.   In 1958, the Chinese government rolled out its Romanized version of Mandarin. Prior to that, there were several different methods to sound out Chinese characters using English letters. Over the years, pinyin has become the standard around the world for those wishing to learn to properly pronounce Mandarin Chinese. This is how Peking became Beijing (which a more accurate pronunciation) in pinyin. Using characters, people simply know that that character is pronounced with a certain tone. In Romanized pinyin, many words suddenly had the same spelling, and it became necessary to designate tones within the word to differentiate them. Tones are of vital importance in Chinese. Depending on the choice of tone, you could be calling for your mother (maÌ„) or your horse (mă). Heres a brief introduction on the five vowel tones in the Mandarin language using the many words that are spelled ma. First Tone: ˉ This tone is designated by a straight line over the vowel (maÌ„) and is pronounced flat and high like the ma in Obama. Second Tone:  ´ This tones symbol is an upward slant from right to left over the vowel (maÃŒ ) and begins in the mid-tone, then rises to a high tone, as if asking a question. Third Tone: ˇ This tone has a V-shape over the vowel (mă) and starts low then goes even lower before it rises to a high tone. This is also known as falling-rising tone. Its as if your voice is tracing a check mark, starting at the middle, then lower then high. Fourth Tone: This tone is represented by a downward slant from right to left over the vowel (maÌ€) and begins in a high tone but falls sharply with a strong guttural tone at the end like you are mad. Fifth Tone: †§ This tone is also known as the neutral tone. Has no symbol over the vowel (ma) or is sometimes preceded with a dot (†§ma) and is pronounced flatly without any intonation. Sometimes its just slightly softer than first tone. There is another tone as well, used only for certain words and is designated by an umlaut or  ¨ or two dots over the vowel (lü). The standard way of explaining how to pronounce this is to purse your lips and say ee then end in an oo sound. Its one of the hardest Chinese tones to master so it may help to find a Chinese-speaking friend and ask them to pronounce the word for green, and listen closely!

A holistic health approach Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

A holistic health approach - Assignment Example Throughout the world, the incidence and prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing. The phenomenon to childhood overweight and obesity is a growingly serious public health concern, and despite advancement in knowledge about these conditions, definite biomedical interventions have failed to achieve any success in controlling these potentially morbid conditions which have proven serious health consequences in the adult health profiles. This has been reflected in trebling of the prevalence of these conditions in the last 20 years, and many children are affected with the negative health consequences of obesity. The prevention of childhood obesity is an active research area. It is now clear that management and prevention of childhood obesity is a problem that would need a strategic focus. Intervention through community programs have been suggested as important means. The childhood obesity research summit indicates the need to investigate the ways obesity intersects with the health care system. It has also been suggested that there is a need for focus on ongoing research and public health policy initiatives. The intervention at the family life course approach is an option; however, the exact interventions are not known, since the theoretical backgrounds of the etiology of childhood obesity are not distinctly and specifically known. Research investigating the pathophysiological parameters may serve as information to design interventions. They indicate that there may be three perspectives, the epidemiological, pathological, or homeostatic or energy balance perspectives. All interventions thus should be directed to control these factors. Control of current overweight in children at a behavioral level and sustained behavioral changes and their promotions would lead to reduction of excess fat and would thus reduce the risks of future disease. Need to Pursue the Research The most successful approaches to weight management in childhood have been indicated to be comprehensive interventions involving behavior management in relation to diet and physical activity, which have implications in long-term weight control and overall health status. The clinical trials that have investigated these approaches and interventions are limited in their abilities to determine the relative efficacies of individual strategies. The basic fact is that there exists an imbalance between intake of energy and expenditure. For example dietary pattern, addiction to television, tendency to have sedentary lifestyles, and an overall paucity of physical activities play key roles in creating these imbalances and thus represent an opportunity for intervention in a holistic fashion. If such interventions are applicable in the home environment, it would be most ideal. Therefore, a research is indicated and due which is being proposed here which would investigate the role of holistic fami ly-oriented treatment in reducing pediatric obesity. The Research Question What is the role of holis