Causes of Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Causes of Climate Change - Essay Example Greenhouse gases are crucial in sustaining life on earth. They allow rays from the sun to enter but stop them from escaping to outer space. However, individuals cause the release of more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere making the greenhouse effect stronger. As a result, the earth’s climate begins to change because more heat is trapped (Directgov 2012). Changes in the energy output of the sun cause the climate to change. This is because the sun is a vital source of energy that drives the climate system. This effect is referred to as solar irradiance. Research has indicated that variability in solar energy has played a major role in the previous climate changes. However, there is not sufficient evidence to support the effect of solar irradiance on the current global warming (NASA 2012). The earth’s climate is changed and influenced by natural causes such as ocean currents, volcanic eruptions, solar variations, and changes in the earth’s orbital. For instance, volcanic eruptions produce gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, causes climate change but its effects are minimal compared to the emissions caused by humans (Climatechangechallenge.org 2012). In conclusion, there are two causes of climate change, human and natural causes. Human causes have led to the increase of greenhouse gases in the air which causes a change in the climate. Natural causes also lead to changes in climate, but their effects are minimal compared to the human causes. The effect of solar irradiance on the climate is also

Accounting Audit: Case Study

Accounting Audit: Case Study The inventory valuation is done on cost basis, while the NRV (Net realizable value) is 10% below the cost. As per the accounting standards in Australia governed by the AASB, the inventory valuation is done based on the basis of lower of cost or realizable value, whichever is lower, which is as per the guidelines laid down under the provisions of AASB 102. However, since the cost is of higher value in comparison to the realizable value, the system followed here reflects the inventory at higher value, which is not the fair value of inventory and contravenes AASB 102. This is the just and fair opinion of independent auditor. In view of this, the audit opinion expressed is fully justified. The inventory should reflect the fair value of the inventory and the cost basis does not reflect the fair value of the inventory as per acceptable accounting principles. Hence the system of accounting followed should be subjected to fair audit, and corrective measures should be taken for rectification. Further, the opinion expressed by the auditor should be an adverse opinion, since the accounting systems and practices followed by the company contravenes the principles and concepts of accounting and the provisions as per AASB and the Corporations Act, 2001 given the materiality of the information and facts reported by the company and the fairness in the reporting of the financial statements. The client has entered into a real estate contract of purchasing some property and developing shopping complex, and further selling the same to an unrelated third party at a profit-based (cost-plus) basis of settlement price. As the real estate markets fell and the rates had dropped, the purchaser sued the client on the basis that as he relied on markets and rates forecasted by the client, he was not getting the forecasted prices in the market because of recessionary conditions in the market. In view of the uncontrollable market conditions resulted due to no fault of the client, the auditor opined that the client need not pay any damages as he is not liable for any loss due to uncontrollable factors in the market over which client has no control. In view of this, the opinion of the auditor is just and fair. Moreover, when the transaction that has taken place between the purchaser and the client, the client is supposed to have information about the risks such transactions are exposed to. The market risk is covered under AASB7, which deals with the various risks arising under financial transactions. In view of the above, the auditors opinion with regard to client liability for loss is fair and fully justified. However, sensitivity analysis has to be conducted with respect to the variable parameters and the methods followed for the sensitivity analysis. The impact of the price analysis or forecasting is studied on the basis of the changes in these variables. In this case, as the client is not part of the final transaction pertaining to the sale after the completion of the deal, the client and its management is not liable. The entire risk in this case is to be borne by the purchaser himself who has to bear the entire market risk. Market risks are not part of any deal between parties. Hence, the auditors opinion that the client is not liable for the damages legally is fair and correct. Moreover, since there is always the probability of (market) risk involved due to price fluctuations, it is the presence of market forces which could have gone either way. The probability of loss to the client in the event of the markets falling could not be underestimated. Hence, the opinion here of the auditor should be a disclaimer opinion (a category of Qualified opinion) since the best forecast of the estimates could go wrong and hit either side and the auditor could not be held liable for the estimation or forecasting based on market factors (external), given the information and facts available to the auditor for forming an opinion about the companys accounting policy. (iii) In this case, there is a small NFP or Not-for-profit organization, which can be characterized by a high % (completion) of total revenue and, in such a organizational framework, the internal control degree is low. In view of this, the % completeness of revenues and the risks associated with auditing are also high. Larger the size of the NFP organization, lower the completion % of total revenue and better control over internal control and in turn, lower the risks associated with As the degree of internal controls is low, the auditors assertion of poor audit evidence and lack of control over the revenue completeness is correct and fair. Hence, the opinion issued by the auditor is one of disclaimer type in view of the limited scope or horizon and the limitations of the auditor in terms of the audit evidence provided or made available to the auditor to give the fair and independent opinion and the materiality of the information given. So there is a limitation of scope of the auditors examination. (iv) The company is follows the accounting policy of not disclosing the directors fees in its financial reports. Since the disclosure of directors fees is mandatory as per Corporations Act, 2001, (Australian corporation and securities legislation, 2001), the assertion and opinion of the auditor with regard to the materiality or otherwise of the fees does not hold well. The Materiality arises when it affects (i) decision making with regard to resource allocation (ii) accountability of management. The point of materiality is covered under AASB 1031 of the Australian Accounting Standards Board. Since as per the Govt. of Australias guidelines issued with respect to disclosure of directors fees is mandatory, non-compliance with the same or non-disclosure may lead to penalties for non-compliance on the part of the management and the auditors of the violating company. Hence, in view of contravention and non-compliance with the acceptable financial reporting policies, the auditor needs to give a qualified report. (v) The management of the company estimates the provision for bad debts at $550000. The audit arrives at the fair and reasonable estimate at 655000. The management of the company has refused to accept the figures of estimated given by the company for it would reduce the ne profit to the extent of $105000. Bad and doubtful debts are classified into recoverable and irrecoverable debts. Under the accounting norms for bad debts as per the Corporations Act, 2001, the irrecoverable debts are written off. The recoverable debts are those which are likely to be recovered and provision in respect of which is make in the financial statements of the year. Provision for Doubtful debts is under Section 237 of the Corporations Act, 2001 and AASB 124. In the Income Statement, the provision for doubtful debts is shown as a loss, while in the Balance Sheet, the provision is reduced from the Trade debtors as Net Debtors and is shown under current liability on its own (Current liabilities and provisions). A udit of accounting estimation follows the procedure collection of audit evidence, ascertaining and assessing the reasonability or otherwise of the accounting estimates, revising and renewing the estimates, and reviewing the subsequent events. As the materiality factor is involved in the accounting for the estimated figure of provision for doubtful debts, the report would not give a fair view of the financial report for the period and hence the auditor should give an adverse report indicating that the accounts do not reflect fairness in its state of affairs and financial position. (vi) In the case, the company has cash balances maintained in a foreign bank account situated in a foreign country or location. In this case, since there is no substantial audit evidence to enable the auditor to form an unbiased, independent opinion, the auditor can only give a subjective, qualified (limited scope) opinion on the reasonable grounds of his best professional expert judgment and experience, which may even be based on reasonable assumptions born out of facts available. Since the materiality figure is given, and the cash balance in the foreign account is just close to that figure, quantitative figures of materiality in the case do not hold good. Hence, the classification by the auditor of the entire cash balance held in the foreign account in the foreign location as current asset (asset required to meet short term obligation) is fully justified and the opinion given by him would be classified as disclaimer opinion, since the opinion does only reflect the best under the given circumstances and the facts. PART- B Introduction The auditor gives opinion of three types, in case of audit reports, namely, adverse, disclaimer, and qualified opinion in respect of the companys accounting norms, procedure and systems. Further, the audit of accounting estimates of the companys accounting procedure and practices would be generating modified, unqualified and qualified audit reports Executive Summary Under this report, we shall locate three annual reports from the appropriate sources mentioned in respect of three Australian companies listed in the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) and also available in the CQU website. In these audited reports, the auditors opinions qualified opinions, unqualified opinions, and modified opinion with a Matter of emphasis as expressed by the auditors in these reports are shown. The detailed opinions are written in respect of the three companies annual reports considered for reporting on the Audit analysis of the financial reports of companies. Finally, conclusions are drawn based on the analysis of these reports. Report Now let us discuss the various opinions expressed by the auditors in respect of the three annual reports of the companies (Refer Appendix) as under: QUALIFIED OPINION: A Qualified opinion may be issued where there is a disagreement with management concerning appropriate accounting policies, a conflict between applicable financial reporting frameworks, or a limitation on the scope of the audit. A Qualified opinion can be used only when the auditor believes that the overall financial report is fairly satisfied. (Arens, at.al, 2010) I have found the following company with the Qualified Audit opinion. Gerard Lighting Group Ltd: Gerard Lighting is a listed Australian Company in the power sector. As it is the major company in its product line, I have taken this company as an assignment subject so that the companys accounting policies and practices, a strong company in the infrastructure sector can be thoroughly studied and reviewed. The annual report of the company for Year ended 2009 has been studied and the features of its auditors report are as under: Audit of its accounting estimates of expenses (Fielder, 2010) incurred during the period. Evaluation and assessment of efficiency and adequacy of its processes and controls Independence of the external auditor has been certified and ensured despite the auditor being engaged in the non-audit professional activities A review of the directors forecast (historical), historical pro-forma financial statements and best estimates assumptions, based on external factors (judgmental and subjective) beyond ones control and scope, has been carried by the auditors, which is done as per the audit evidence and financial data available to the auditors which is insufficient for the purpose of audit, hence the auditors clearly state that this is just a review of the management activities and forecasting based on its core performance factors, not a complete full-fledged audit. Hence there is no opinion made by the auditors on the audit report in view of insufficient audit evidence with the auditor as per information provided by the company for the purpose of audit which indicates that the auditor does not undertake any responsibility and the auditors opinion is known as disclaimer opinion, (Arens, et. al, 2010) a classification of qualified opinion, having insufficient audit evidence to form unbiased, clear opini on. The independent external auditor KPMG of Gerard Lighting Group Ltd has expressed their satisfaction over the financial report prepared and presented by the board of directors. The auditors have assessed and verified the statement of comprehensive income of the group, change in equity and statement of cash flow on date of year ending as well as the summary of all the significant accounting policies that has been followed by the company and the notes presented by the company. The auditors have found that the board of directors has discharged their duties in fair way. They have ensured that company follows the appropriate policies. As an overall view of the auditor this report is true, fair and free from any material misstatement. UNQUALIFIED OPINION: An Unqualified opinion is the most common type of auditors report. An unqualified opinion is issued when the independent auditor believes that the companys financial statements are sound; that is, the statements are free from material misstatements. This is different from a qualified opinion which is issued when the independent auditor discover something in the financial statements that is subject to major concern. Harvey Norman Holdings This is a leading Australian listed company in the product segments integrated retail, banking and franchise. As a company based on very sound policies, principles and practices, we have considered it for the study. The annual report of the company for the Year ended 2009 have been studied. The features of its annual report are as under: The audit of the financial position for the year has been made as per the audit procedure and carried in terms of provisions laid down under the Corporations Act, 2010 (Australian corporation and securities legislation, 2001)and the Australian Accounting Standards Board. The independence of the auditor being certified and ensured despite the auditor engaged in non-audit professional activities. The compliance with the standards and opinion about the fairness of the financial position by the auditor. Given the sufficiency of audit evidence and financial information, the audit carried represents a full and fair position of the financial standing of the company, in the opinion of the auditor with regard to the auditors report. This is an unqualified report expressed with regard to the unbiased independent opinion of the auditor on the financial position of the company. Finally, the auditor gives an unconditional, unqualified opinion based on data made available for forming an independent opinion and has classified the reports as unqualified reports The Independent auditor Ernst and Young of Harvey Norman Holdings have found that the financial report for the year ending 30 June 2009 has been satisfactory under various rules and have expressed an unqualified opinion on the report. The auditors have found enough audit evidences from various judgments and procedures that the financial report prepared and presented by the management is true. As a whole the auditors has expressed their opinion that this financial report is true, fair and free from any material misstatements and has been prepared by complying with all the relevant rules and laws of land. MODIFIED OPINION: An Unqualified audit report with an emphasis of matter is appropriate for an audit with satisfactory results and a financial report that is fairly presented, but where the auditor is required to provide additional information (Arens, et. al, 2010) The company with Modified opinion with an emphasis of matter AXA Asia Pacific holdings: This is a major listed Australian company in the financial (insurance) sector and is considered for the purpose of the study due to its key market position and sound financial practices. The annual report of the company for Year ended 2009 has been studied and following are the features of its auditors report are: Audit of its accounting systems and procedures. Evaluation and assessment of sufficiency of audit evidence. Independence (Roebuuck Martinov-Bennie, 2010) of the external auditor has been certified and ensured despite the auditor being engaged in the non-audit professional activities. The auditor has expresses an unqualified report on the financial position and expressed compliance with the AASB1039 (Australian accounting standards board). (Audit of Accounting estimates issued by AARF on behalf of ASCPA ICAA AUS516, 1995) Materiality (Pflugrath, 2010) with regard to the facts and figures presented has been checked and ascertained by the auditor and their conformance with the Australian accounting standards has been ensured. The forecast data based on judgmental assumptions and the subjective decisions made by directors of the company have not been reviewed or subjected to any kind of review. Hence, this is an aspect of a modified opinion with matter of emphasis. Considering the adequacy of sufficient information for giving true position of the financial state of affairs of the company, unqualified opinion has been given in the auditors report. The auditor Price Waterhouse Cooper has expressed their satisfaction over the independence of the external auditors and the financial reports of the AXA Asia Pacific prepared by the management under the Corporations Act 2001 and Australian accounting Standards as well as International Financial Reporting Standards. The auditors has found enough auditing evidences those indicates that this financial report of AXA Asia Pacific is true and has been complied with all the ethical and regulatory norms stated under Corporation Act 2001, Australian Accounting Standards while preparing financial reports. The auditors have said that this report is free from any material misstatement. On overall basis the auditors have found the financial report true, fair and free of any material misstatement and has complied all the rules and laws that governs and are relevant for a corporation having business in Australia (Annual Report, 2009 AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited). Conclusions We have studied a report based on the audit opinions expressed by the auditors regarding the accounting records based on the sufficiency of the audit evidence supplied and the audit plans carried out by the auditor. In all the cases, to the extent of the information supplied, they (auditors) have made independent opinions with regard to compliance with the Accounting standards of Australia (AASB) and compliance with the Corporations Act, 2001 and have qualified their opinions to the extent of the forecast and best estimates made by the management based on their subjective judgment and perception and also made opinions with regard to the fairness of these financial reports. From the analysis and review of the above companies, we can draw the following brief inferences with regard to Qualified, Unqualified, and Modified reports: GLG Qualified opinion HRH Unqualified opinion AAPH- Modified opinion with matter of emphasis.

Truman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar World Essay

Truman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar World ABSTRACT Historians have questioned the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Evidence shows that President Truman weighed not only military information in his decision to use the bomb, but also considered postwar politics and foreign policy when he considered dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. An analysis of his personal papers offers a different reasoning for using the bomb than what was commonly known at the time. The discrepancy between Truman’s public and private reasoning will be discussed. Many cultural and racial beliefs about the Japanese played into the decision to drop the atomic bomb. The private papers of President Truman as well as the diaries of other political and military figures offer helpful insights. Personal accounts of the scientists at the Trinity test site are also used in examining the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Herein, there is an analysis of post-war US foreign policy from an atomic perspective which allows a person from my generation to understand the policies that were created by and followed from the Cold War. Assumptions About Dropping the Bomb 1. Many American soldiers would have died in a land invasion of Japan. Absolutely. Casualty estimates ranged from 250,000 American casualties to more than 5,000,000 Japanese casualties in a land invasion of Japan’s home islands. The real question is was a land invasion necessary? 2. We had to use the atomic bomb in order to defeat Japan. False. There were a few options available to the United States at the time. The USSR was supposed to enter the Japanese war, blockade and (aerial sorties) bombing was an option ... ... "[M]y own opinion was that the time now and the method now to deal with Russia was to keep our mouths shut and let our actions speak for words. The Russians will understand them better than anything else. It is a case where we have got to regain the lead and perhaps do it in a pretty rough and realistic way. They have rather taken it away from us because we have talked too much and have been too lavish with our beneficences to them. †¦This was a place where we really held all the cards. I called it a royal straight flush and we mustn't be a fool about the way we play it. They can't get along without our help and industries and we have coming into action a weapon which will be unique [the atomic bomb]. Now the thing is not to get into unnecessary quarrels by talking too much and not to indicate any weakness by talking too much; let our actions speak for themselves."

Koger Properties, Inc

Koger Properties, Inc The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims that Michael Goodbread had violated independence rules set forth by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Professional Code of Conduct and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). AICPAs Professional Code of Conduct considers an impairment of independence if during the engagement an auditor has â€Å"any direct or material indirect interest in the client. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1988) Because Goodbread held shares of Kroger common stock and carried on with the audit assignment of Kroger, he violated the AICPAs professional code of conduct in relation to independence. To comply with the rules of conduct, Goodbread should have disclosed to his employer, Deloitte & Touche, that he was financially invested in Kroger. The other option Goodbread had was to terminate the relationship with Kroger by selling his stock immediately. The GAAS auditing standard on independence was also vi olated by Goodbread connection to Kroger. GAAS general standards require the auditor to maintain independence in mental attitude in all areas of the assignment. They also require that the auditor complies with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, 2001) The SEC aims to protect investors by ensuring financial statements are reliable which is why they require independence. The SEC recognized that Goodbread violated independence rules by being invested in Kroger at the same time being an audit engagement partner for the assignment. Materiality is defined by the FASB as a â€Å"concept that relates to the qualitative characteristics, especially relevance and reliability. † (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2008) They further discuss a scenario where an investor might not disclose amounts that are small and do not make a difference. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires an investor to document at acquisition the classification of an equity security. [FASB 320-10-25] The FASB requires entities to explain within their financial statements the rights and privileges of outstanding securities. FASB 505-50-30] If there were any common stock dividends both Kroger and Goodbread would have to recognize the dividend on their taxes. Because of the recognition of the investment on both sides it would be a material investment for Goodbread. Given that there is a direct material interest in the client there is in violation of independence rules get by all the accounting governing bodies. In order for Goodbread to serve as the audit engagement partner for the Kroger engagement he would have had to disclose that he was not giving an independent opinion. AU Section 504- Association with Financial Statements states that if an accountant is not independent any of the actions taken for the engagement would not be compliant with GAAS. The accountant should give an opinion on the client’s financial statements specifically stating the opinion is not an independent opinion. (Auditing Standards Board, 1979) Another action that could have been taken by Goodbread would have been to sell his shares of Koger before getting started on the engagement. The AICPAs Professional Code of Conduct states that independence would be impaired if the auditor does not dispose of any financial interests in the client. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1988) If there was not the opportunity to disassociate his business in time for the audit in 1988, he could have served as the audit engagement partner on a future engagement. During the 19th century in Great Britain, auditors were able to have equity interest in their clients and on occa sion required to invest in their clients. This practice would benefit the client especially in times of financial distress; the auditing firm would be able to assist them financially. Having an investment with the client would ensure that the auditing firm acts in the best interest of investors since them themselves are investors of the company. In today’s business environment this practice would not be rational. In order for investors to make fair investment decisions the auditing firm should be independent. If the auditing firm is invested in the client it could appear that the client is doing better financially than they are. It might cause an investor to invest strictly because the auditing firm is associated. This practice could also open the door for the auditors to be pressured into making the financial statements appear more attractive for unethical purposes. From an ethical standpoint independence allows for a completely unbiased opinion which is better for both the client and investors. Resources American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (1988, January). Code of professional conduct responsibilities to clients. ET Section 101 – Independence. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://www. aicpa. org/Research/Standards/CodeofConduct/Pages/et_101. spx#et_101 Auditing Standards Board. (1979, November). AU Section 504. Association With Financial Statements. Retrieved October 2011, 29, from http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU504. aspx#ps-pcaob_94fa4359-1212-4ad6-a901-f7eb90bd34c9 Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2008). Statement of Financial Accounting. Concepts No. 2. Retrieved October 2011, 29, from http://www. fasb. org/cs/BlobServer? blobcol=urldata&blo btable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1175820900526&blobheader=application%2Fpdf Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) (2011). Investments- Debt and Equity Securities 320 – Overall 10 – Section 25 Recognition – Paragraph 2. http://asc. fasb. org Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). (2011). Equity 505 – Overall 10 – Section 50 Disclosure- Paragraph 3. http://asc. fasb. org Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. (2001, December 15). Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. AU Section 150. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://www. aicpa. org/research/standards/auditattest/downloadabledocuments/au-00150. pdf Koger Properties, Inc Koger Properties, Inc The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims that Michael Goodbread had violated independence rules set forth by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Professional Code of Conduct and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). AICPAs Professional Code of Conduct considers an impairment of independence if during the engagement an auditor has â€Å"any direct or material indirect interest in the client. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1988) Because Goodbread held shares of Kroger common stock and carried on with the audit assignment of Kroger, he violated the AICPAs professional code of conduct in relation to independence. To comply with the rules of conduct, Goodbread should have disclosed to his employer, Deloitte & Touche, that he was financially invested in Kroger. The other option Goodbread had was to terminate the relationship with Kroger by selling his stock immediately. The GAAS auditing standard on independence was also vi olated by Goodbread connection to Kroger. GAAS general standards require the auditor to maintain independence in mental attitude in all areas of the assignment. They also require that the auditor complies with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, 2001) The SEC aims to protect investors by ensuring financial statements are reliable which is why they require independence. The SEC recognized that Goodbread violated independence rules by being invested in Kroger at the same time being an audit engagement partner for the assignment. Materiality is defined by the FASB as a â€Å"concept that relates to the qualitative characteristics, especially relevance and reliability. † (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2008) They further discuss a scenario where an investor might not disclose amounts that are small and do not make a difference. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires an investor to document at acquisition the classification of an equity security. [FASB 320-10-25] The FASB requires entities to explain within their financial statements the rights and privileges of outstanding securities. FASB 505-50-30] If there were any common stock dividends both Kroger and Goodbread would have to recognize the dividend on their taxes. Because of the recognition of the investment on both sides it would be a material investment for Goodbread. Given that there is a direct material interest in the client there is in violation of independence rules get by all the accounting governing bodies. In order for Goodbread to serve as the audit engagement partner for the Kroger engagement he would have had to disclose that he was not giving an independent opinion. AU Section 504- Association with Financial Statements states that if an accountant is not independent any of the actions taken for the engagement would not be compliant with GAAS. The accountant should give an opinion on the client’s financial statements specifically stating the opinion is not an independent opinion. (Auditing Standards Board, 1979) Another action that could have been taken by Goodbread would have been to sell his shares of Koger before getting started on the engagement. The AICPAs Professional Code of Conduct states that independence would be impaired if the auditor does not dispose of any financial interests in the client. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1988) If there was not the opportunity to disassociate his business in time for the audit in 1988, he could have served as the audit engagement partner on a future engagement. During the 19th century in Great Britain, auditors were able to have equity interest in their clients and on occa sion required to invest in their clients. This practice would benefit the client especially in times of financial distress; the auditing firm would be able to assist them financially. Having an investment with the client would ensure that the auditing firm acts in the best interest of investors since them themselves are investors of the company. In today’s business environment this practice would not be rational. In order for investors to make fair investment decisions the auditing firm should be independent. If the auditing firm is invested in the client it could appear that the client is doing better financially than they are. It might cause an investor to invest strictly because the auditing firm is associated. This practice could also open the door for the auditors to be pressured into making the financial statements appear more attractive for unethical purposes. From an ethical standpoint independence allows for a completely unbiased opinion which is better for both the client and investors. Resources American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (1988, January). Code of professional conduct responsibilities to clients. ET Section 101 – Independence. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://www. aicpa. org/Research/Standards/CodeofConduct/Pages/et_101. spx#et_101 Auditing Standards Board. (1979, November). AU Section 504. Association With Financial Statements. Retrieved October 2011, 29, from http://pcaobus. org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU504. aspx#ps-pcaob_94fa4359-1212-4ad6-a901-f7eb90bd34c9 Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2008). Statement of Financial Accounting. Concepts No. 2. Retrieved October 2011, 29, from http://www. fasb. org/cs/BlobServer? blobcol=urldata&blo btable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1175820900526&blobheader=application%2Fpdf Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) (2011). Investments- Debt and Equity Securities 320 – Overall 10 – Section 25 Recognition – Paragraph 2. http://asc. fasb. org Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). (2011). Equity 505 – Overall 10 – Section 50 Disclosure- Paragraph 3. http://asc. fasb. org Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. (2001, December 15). Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. AU Section 150. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://www. aicpa. org/research/standards/auditattest/downloadabledocuments/au-00150. pdf

School’s Registration System Thesis

Until now, several schools were note introduce in computer technologies and its efferent systems that's why the proponents decided to develop their school registration system that will help them to organize a student's information instantly. Amazing Grace Academy-Tagging Inc. Was the chosen beneficiary of the proponents. It was founded on 2005 by Pastor Monies Battle and run by his wife Principal Arlene Bat Ill The Christian school was built by pastors of different churches because of their passion about teaching children of Christian gospels and also beyond it.So they decided to build a school that will help one's child intelligence and knowledge about Christian gospels. Then, they created a Christian school named Jesus the Lord and Savior – Foundational Learning Center. As time pass by, it was developed and renamed as Amazing Grace Academy-Tagging Inc. Currently, this school was continually accepting and molding young generation through academic excellence and moral values. Background of the Study The proponents discovered several difficulties about their existing system.It is experiencing different complications through organizing, managing and sorting data by doing it manually. It also consumes a lot of time and effort to reach specific student's information in order for them to edit and add information. Faculty teachers spend a lot of time by writing every students information to their record book as their verification that the students were officially enrolled in Amazing Grace Academy – Tagging Inc. Fortunately, by the concern of the proponents, a new and improved system will be created. This will help them to manage several students' information easily and in a quickest way.It will also lessen the time and effort to document all of the student's information to be their record as their official dents. Admit can easily find, edit and add student's information by searching the student's number, name, section or students school level, and other information of the student using computers owned by the school. Admit can also determine if the student, were transferred from other school, their medical records and school records. Furthermore, the admit can verify an official student by having a registration form in each student.Conceptual Framework Theoretical Framework The act Of recording data or information Of a certain person is called registration. Registering is very useful in recording information for us to know the fact about the person. Usually something is registered to claim more rights, or to protect ownership, or because the law says it must be registered to be used legally. It was use in Births, Deaths and marriages to prove the date and the event happened, in Motor vehicles to prove who owns the vehicle and to identify them and in Books to show the date when copyright protection starts.It was also created to fight crimes. To turn back to 1760 is to realize just how much the world has changed since Load's Register was founded. At that time the sailing ship was the only reliable and speedy form of transport and the steam engine's full potential was only just being developed. Industrialization of the western world had not yet accelerated to encourage the wide-spread exploitation of natural resources such as oil and gas, and the nuclear and jet ages were not even envisaged.The Society for the Registry of Shipping was set up in 1760 by customers of Edward Load's Coffee House in Lombard Street, London. The aim was to give merchants and underwriters recorded information on the quality of their vessels. The Register Book listed vessels rated, or classed, after the condition Of their hulls and equipment had been surveyed. The subscriptions generated by the Register Book paid for the surveyors to carry out the work. This was the true beginning of classification and the Society was the world's first classification society.With its base in one of the world's leading manufacturing nations, the expertise and reputation of Load's Register became attractive to many organizations overseas eager to have assurance on the quality of goods being produced in and shipped from the UK. The First World War brought further opportunities to demonstrate the effectiveness of inspection as means to provide an assurance of quality, from shell steel made for the French, to copper pipes and other products made for shipping in the USA.By 1934 surveyors were inspecting ten million cubic feet of cold storage, not just in the UK but in places such as Antwerp and Basal, Leopoldville and Mated in the Congo, and Singapore. During the Second World War the demands of war accelerated the pace Of change in shipping and industry and Load's Register helped validate many of the innovations. Reconstruction work following the war allowed Load's Register to gradually revive its activities overseas. The mid-shoos saw a long boom in shipping with many new challenges as shipping and shipbuilding influence shifted towards the east.Load's Register saw remarkable growth of its non-marine operations. In the decades following 1960, Load's Register facilitated change as the shipping boom contain due. Ships became ever larger and centralization changed the world by revolutionize the flow of goods. The oil crisis of the early sass led to a deep depression in shipping, but Load's Register rode the tort through its involvement with the expanding energy industry and offshore business, led by the pioneering development for extraction of oil and gas under the North Sea.There followed another difficult period as shipping scarcely grew in terms of tonnage until 1990. At the same time the offshore industry suffered from a collapse in oil prices. Nevertheless, Load's Register strengthened its position in Asia, diversified its offshore operations around the world and consolidated its position as the leading classification society for passenger ships and liquefied natural gas (LONG) carriers. One of the most striking developments was the success of Load's Register Quality Assurance (LIRA), a management systems business established in 1985.A consultancy-based rail business was first considered in the early 1 sass and Load's Register Rail was formed in 1996. Real growth began only a decade later as governments around the world invested massive sums in major rail projects from the Netherlands to Dublin and Taiwan. In the past decade, Load's Register has undergone a cultural transformation to ensure greater financial and commercial awareness. The organization mutinous to grow and serve client needs, remaining competitive in a rapidly changing world.On 2 July 201 2, Load's Register converted its status from an industrial and provident society to a company limited by shares, called Load's Register Group Limited. The shares in Load's Register Group Limited are owned by a new parent, Load's Register Foundation, a registered charity. Scope and Limitations The proponents are in the process of creating Am azing Grace Academy – Tagging Inc. Registration System which allows the user to add, edit, save and record the student's information. It holds a large amount of different dent's information. This stores different information for a long period of time.The user can instantly look for the student's information by using the search engine. Lastly, it is able to print the summary report Of the information of different students. Restrictions were discovered by the proponents while creating their School's Registration System. They discovered that the administrator of the school is merely capable of accessing the School's Registration System and design for the students and staff of Amazing Grace Academy – Tagging Inc. The user is capable of accessing the system by using the application given by the represents.If the user misspelled his/her password while typing, he/she is able to attempt three (3) times to access the School's Registration System. While the user is accessing the system, he/she is allowed to register students from nursery level to grade 6 levels. Finally, the Registration System is merely capable of accessing for Windows 7 and Windows 8. Statement of the Problem Based on the proponents, the general problems Of the study are the following. 1 . What are the software and hardware requirements for the School's Registration System? 2. How many information of the students will be stored n the proponent's system? . How does the proponent's system will improve the work of the user? 4. How does the developed system can maintain every records of the student? 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Significance of the Study This study will be significant to the main users of the Amazing Grace Academy – Tagging Inc. It will help them to process a large amount of students information in a faster and accurate way. At the same time, a bunch Of students can accommodate conveniently. Personnel who are assigned to register different information of the students can also aim the convenience aired by the proponent's system.Despite the fact that it can bring convenience to the users; it minimizes the time and effort of the users to register a lot of essential information. This study can also provide ideas to the researchers regarding with proponent's study in understandable way. This will serves as a fresh ground for the researchers who study will be related in the field of Computer Science. Furthermore, it helps the ability of the proponents on how to build a comprehensible computerized system. This will provide them as a challenge to do a better system.

Free sample - Dreaming. translation missing

Dreaming. DreamingIn Kelly Bulkley’s mystical dreaming, analysis on the patterns in form, content and meaning has been carried out based on a non-experimental research study based on religion. Interviews were carried on 100 Americans whereby four major hypothesis were put forward on: mystical experiences are derived from abnormal and pathological brain functioning; they are characterized by the Jamesian marks ineffability, anoetic or knowledge-gaining, quality, transience, and passivity; mystical experiences are cultural constructions enhanced by an individual’s history, religion, language and the social environment one is exposed to; and leading towards consciousness or absolute unitary being. This presents a basis for contrasting on the appropriate level of analysis of mystism be it physical or phenomenological and whether mystical dreams are real or apparent presenting an argument on pluralism versus universalism. This, unlike previous studies, has been based on findings of dr eam research. Findings provide further support for these hypotheses and also show that mystical dreams are more prevalent in women in comparison to men.   The study was carried out through personal interviews on family life, political afflictions and religious convictions.   The variables investigated were the respondent’ details, settings, color and emotions experienced in the dream. 65 women and 35 men ranging from 19-86, with an average age of 46, were interviewed for one to five hours. There were however several limitations on scope, the age range, religious composition, breadth of an individual’s experience and occupational diversity. Findings tabulated showed that 94% of the participants were able to describe their most memorable dream. At least 89% experienced sexually arousing dreams which were positive and enjoyable with the number of women being slightly higher at 91% in comparison to 87% in men. Dreams on visitation were quite prevalent at 69% with women experiencing 50% in contrast to the men’s high of 79%. Dreams on self-awareness and lucidity were more prevalent in men.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dreams on evil presence were evenly common at 53%. However, mystical dreams were considerably more experienced by women rather than men who had the lowest frequency at 40% in comparison to any other type of dream experienced. Mystical dreams experienced involved unusual and non-human characters, friendly interactions, positive emotions, and good fortunes. This is in contrast to non-religious dreams which involve negative content and emotions coupled with aggressive social interactions and misfortunes. The individual’s interpretation and understanding as to the motif of the dream have been observed in the study of 42 core dreams which have been either on single or multiple occurrences. These motifs were death, Christianity, light, precognition, reassurance, nightmare, epistemological uncertainty, and impact–no memory. Psychologists view dreams to be filled with strange, bizarre and supernatural phenomena. However, they are neither disjointed, nor fragmented and vague but are coherent, vivid and consistent with real-life emotional, social and religious experiences. These further serves to illustrate that dreams are not random and irrelevant but are an expression of human experiences through imagination. The abnormal/pathological brain function theory was supported by three people who experienced their dreams when ill. However, most of the people sampled were perfectly healthy at the time the survey was conducted hence the dreams could not have been caused by brain defe cts. A Jamesian mark on ineffability is contravened by the fact that most people can precisely describe the details of their dreams. Most of the dreams were found to be coherent, memorable and enduring. However, the dreams were anoetic since the persons regularly described them as sources of true insight and knowledge. Therefore, James’ claim as a whole is contravened. The culturalist approach is widely supported by the study. Christian motifs serve a basis for religion whereby they represent a symbolic world. The dreams were strongly felt although they were spiritually mystical. It seems that most dreams are influenced by multiple factors of culture, religion, history, and language.   The â€Å"pure consciousness† view by which mystical experiences are regarded as varying approximations of a unitary mode of being have not been widely supported in the light motif.   (Bulkeley) In an experimental procedure provided by Brigitte Holzinger, Stephen Laberge and Lynne Levitan on the Psychophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming, the study sought to electrophysiological differences between lucid and non-lucid dreams in REM sleep have been explored. This has been classified as an experimental study since the causal effect of REM periods has been investigated against theta power, alpha power, beta-1 power, beta-2 power, total power, heart rate, eye movements and muscular activity. Lucid dreaming was found to be vital in therapeutic settings such as solving recurrent nightmares. The hypothesis is that lucid dreams are associated with higher frequencies in the EEG spectrum. This study involved a sample of seven men and four women experienced lucid dreamer volunteers ranging from 21 to 37 years who underwent polysomnographic recordings for two consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory. The subjects were full aware of the dream state, the possibility of making free decisions under clear consciousness, perception by all senses, full memory of waking life, full memory of all lucid dream experiences in the waking state and in the lucid dream state and awareness of the meaning of symbols. Eye movements, heart rate, blood pressure, and skin potential in lucid and non-lucid dreams were compared. There were a number of physiological variables such as lucid REM periods recorded through EEG data onto an Ampex analog tape recorder while others on polygraph paper.   Later, the EEG data were digitized, using a BECKMAN polygraph and a CODAS computer interface, with a sampling rate of either 100 or 125 points per second. A computer program read in the digitized EEG da ta as well as the averaged calibration, applying FFT. The program then summed the spectral analyses into the appropriate frequency bands such as DELTA, THETA, ALPHA, BETA-1 and BETA-2. In this study methodology, light stimuli were used for lucid dream induction whereby a sleep mask was equipped with two extra-bright red light-emitting diodes. The stimulus was triggered through pressing a button 7 minutes after each REM onset of eight flashes in 2 seconds (4 Hz) determined by polysomnography. Response was initiated through eye movements such as LR2 ( left-right left-right) in order to indicate lucidity and LR4 (left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right) to indicate a waking state. The subjects were all aware as to what constituted a lucid dream and its volitional control. This was further enhanced by eye signals initiated once a dream state was achieved.   If a response was not initiated, the light stimulus was then re-triggered after each REM onset. If there still was no response, the subjects were then awakened after 30 seconds and asked to record their experience and rate the dream either as lucid or non-lucid. Else, if a subject signaled, the light st imulus was not re-triggered. A false awakening was detected when an LR4 signal was made when the subject was still asleep.  Ã‚   Lucid dreams were hence identified by an LR2 signal visible in polysomnography and an actual account reported by the subject.   Differences between lucid and non-lucid epochs consisting of 7.5-second time units, a discriminant function analysis and MANOVA were carried out. The ANOVA approach was then used to contrast between the onset of lucidity and the non-lucid state.   Findings showed that lucid dreams occurred during periods of increased physiological activation. The essence of the experimental study was to find out on the existence of psychological differences between lucid and non-lucid REM epochs which consisted of various variables: theta power, alpha power, beta-1 power, beta-2 power, total power, heart rate, eye movements and muscular activity (EMG).A discriminant function analysis yielded six variables, splitting the data set with a Canonical Correlation of 0.494 and Chisquare of 10.419. Criteria of non-lucid epochs were the means of the eye movements, total power of the right parietal hemisphere and beta-1 of the right frontal lobe, whereas criteria of lucid epochs were beta-2 and beta-1 of the right parietal lobe and beta-1 of the left frontal lobe. Discriminant function analysis produced a predicted group membership of 69% for non-lucid epochs and 77.8% for lucid ones. (Levitan et al) References Levitan, B. H. Psychophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming. Psychology of Dreams. (2009, October 4). Retrieved November 9, 2010, from Buzzle.com

Navajo Adolescent Health Promotion Proposal Example

Navajo Adolescent Health Promotion Proposal Example Navajo Adolescent Health Promotion Proposal – Book Report/Review Example Navajo Adolescent Health Promotion Proposal Navajo Adolescent Health Promotion Proposal According to Collier, (2005),there is a significant relation between race and most health conditions. This implies that certain diseases affect particular races more than they do others. Age is another fundamental factor that seems to contribute to prevalence of certain diseases. The adolescents in Navajo are extremely vulnerable to obesity. There needs to be an intense promotional campaign on the health of Navajo adolescents. Experts who participate in such programs need to study the dietary intake of adolescents and their blood pressure. Proposals that intend to address the health of adolescents in this area should be supported. This is because such programs will help in eradication of such conditions as obesity (Griffiths & Weafer, 2004). A proposal that attempts to promote the health of adolescents in Navajo considers the causes of obesity. It also includes collaborations with significant heal th departments, for example, the Indian Health Service (IHS). This is because such departments offer significant amounts of funds that make such health proposals successful (Griffiths & Weafer, 2004). Navajo Indians will benefit when such proposals are successful because the health of adolescents will equally improve. There will also be prevention of further cases of obesity among the Navajo adolescents. Proposals that focus on fitness levels of the Navajo adolescents are significant in the entire promotion proposal phenomena (Weiner, 2013). Health promotion proposals in Navajo should focus on several interventions that include the same adolescents. The interventions should also educate them on the benefits of healthy feeding. Apart from this, the proposals need to consider inclusion of support groups to the obese adolescents.ReferencesGriffiths, C. T., & Weafer, L. F. (2004). Native North Americans: Crime, conflict, and criminal justice : a research bibliography. Vancouver, B.C.: C riminology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University.P.F. Collier, Inc. (2005). Health & Medical Year Book. New York: People Weekly Book.Weiner, I. B. (2013). Handbook of psychology: Volume 1. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

The Legend of the Chevy Nova That Wouldnt Go

The Legend of the Chevy Nova That Wouldn't Go If youve ever taken a class in marketing, chances are youve heard how Chevrolet had problems selling the Chevy Nova automobile in Latin America. Since no va means it doesnt go in Spanish, the oft-repeated story goes, Latin American car buyers shunned the car, forcing Chevrolet to embarrassingly pull the car out of the market. But the Problem With the Story Is... Chevrolets woes are often cited as an example of how good intentions can go wrong when it comes to translation. There are literally thousands of references to the incident on the Internet, and the Nova example has been mentioned in textbooks and often comes up during presentations on cultural differences and advertising. But theres one major problem with the story: It never happened. As a matter of fact, Chevrolet did reasonably well with the Nova in Latin America, even exceeding its sales projections in Venezuela. The story of the Chevy Nova is a classic example of an urban legend, a story that is told and retold so often that it is believed to be true even though it isnt. Like most other urban legends, there is some element of truth in the story (no va indeed means it doesnt go), enough truth to keep the story alive. Like many urban legends, the story has the appeal of showing how the high and mighty can be humiliated by stupid mistakes. Even if you couldnt confirm or reject the story by looking into history, you might notice some problems with it if you understand Spanish. For starters, nova and no va dont sound alike and are unlikely to be confused, just as carpet and car pet are unlikely to be confused in English. Additionally, no va would be an awkward way in Spanish to describe a nonfunctioning car (no funciona, among others, would do better). Additionally, as in English, nova, when used in a brand name, can convey a sense of newness. Theres even a Mexican gasoline that goes by that brand name, so it seems unlikely such a name alone could doom a car. Other Spanish Mistranslation Legends GM, of course, isnt the only company to be cited as making advertising blunders in the Spanish language. But upon closer examination, many of these tales of mistranslation prove to be as unlikely  as the one involving GM. Here are some of those stories. The Tale  of the Vulgar Pen Story: Parker Pen intended to use the slogan it wont stain your pocket and embarrass you, to emphasize how its pens wouldnt leak, translating it as no manchar tu bolsillo, ni te embarazar. But embarazar  means to be pregnant rather than to embarrass. So the slogan was understood as it wont stain your pocket and get you pregnant. Comment: Anyone who learns much about Spanish learns quickly about such common mistakes as confusing embarazada (pregnant) for embarrassed. For a professional to make this translating mistake seems highly unlikely. Wrong Kind of Milk Story: A Spanish version of the Got Milk? campaign used  ¿Tienes leche?, which can be understood as Are you lactating? Comment: This might have happened, but no verification has been found. Many such promotional campaigns are locally run, making it more likely this understandable mistake could have been made. Wrong Kind of Loose Story: Coors translated the slogan turn it loose in a beer ad in such a way that it was understood as slang for suffer from diarrhea. Comment: Reports differ on whether Coors used the phrase suà ©ltalo con Coors (literally, let it go loose with Coors) or suà ©ltate con Coors (literally, set yourself free with Coors). The fact that accounts dont agree with each other make it seem unlikely that the mistake actually happened. No-Coffee Coffee Story: Nestlà © was unable to sell Nescafà © instant coffee in Latin America because the name is understood as No es cafà © or It isnt coffee. Comment: Unlike most of the other accounts, this story is demonstrably false. Nestlà © not only sells instant coffee under that name in Spain and Latin America, but it also operates coffee shops with that name. Also, while consonants are often softened in Spanish, vowels are usually distinct, so nes is unlikely to be confused for no es. Misplaced Affection Story: A slogan for Frank Perdue chicken, it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken, was translated as the equivalent of it takes a sexually aroused man to make a chicken affectionate. Comment: Like tender, tierno can mean either soft or affectionate. The accounts differ on the phrase used to translate a strong man. One account uses the phrase un tipo duro (literally, a hard chap), which seems extremely unlikely.

What is intellectual culture and how do college students and teachers Essay

What is intellectual culture and how do college students and teachers might promote it - Essay Example Culture on the other hand relates to the way of life of a certain group of individuals that possess similar characteristics in the manner they approach issues or behave. From the college concept, intellectual culture will therefore entail developing culture that ensures value as well as supporting an intellectual approach to problems while it may also imply adopting concepts as well as methods comprising of cultures agreeable from an intellectual perspective. College students and teachers might promote intellectual culture through overcoming stereotypes, advocating on team work and adhering to rules. Overcoming stereotypes certainly an essential factor to ensure achievement of intellectual culture. Teachers knowing the students and understanding their academic capabilities while students understand their teachers is essential. Overcoming these stereotypes is essential as all parties become well positioned without barriers to effective learning that as a result ensures creation of an intellectual culture where the students and teachers work towards a common goal of academic excellence. Other than overcoming stereotypes, enhancing team work is an essential factor in creating intellectual culture within a College institution. Creation of team work ensures innovation, developing of learning approaches and critical thinking. Working together as a team ensures team members develop their learning approaches relating to how they tackle questions relating to various questions as they learn from their peers (Ferrari 79). Innovation is also enhanced among team members owing to the fact that a team finds it easier to start a project as opposed to an individual. Since group work involves discussions, and analysis of projects through presenting ideas or brainstorming, critical thinking is ensured among the group members. While overcoming stereotypes and teamwork prove essential in ensuring promoting intellectual culture, adhering to rules

April 9th Whiteness Reading + Questions Coursework

April 9th Whiteness Reading + Questions - Coursework Example The selection of areas to live, friends to associate with and the feeling of discrimination by the affirmative action indicates the power of racism in the society. 1. There are some issues that are not visible or conceivable to the author but could be used to identify the challenges in society. One of the most important approach as depicted by the author is the power of choice. Despite the existence of affirmative action, personal choices still indicates the influence of race in choice of friends, possession, employment area and the living area. The situation is evident by the number of areas occupied by whites or blacks as compared to the hybrid and cosmopolitan areas. My personal choices clearly indicated the power of race unconsciously creating a feeling of discomfort when reading the article because it is the truth. 2. Before reading the article, I had not evaluated several issues that may be racism. The key issues that the article address is the role of personal choices in facilitating racism. This view has not been taken by the majority because we tend to look at people’s actions instead of our personal choices, which indicates the highest degree of racism. 3. The major area of concern after reading the article is on how personal choices can be changed to reduce the showing of racist behaviour. The challenge is on personal evaluation which may not reflect the true nature or impact of racism because it does not employ the standard evaluation actions. The main question is; â€Å"what can one do to change his personal choices to reflect acceptance of the races in the society? This is the real dilemma that creates serious confusion between affinity to the race and acceptance of the dynamic society. Favourite quote is â€Å"Racists for innocence† (Pierce 53). The article addresses the issue of personal choice and the power of perception. The same situation is depicted in the movie Crash released in

April 9th Whiteness Reading + Questions Coursework

April 9th Whiteness Reading + Questions - Coursework Example The selection of areas to live, friends to associate with and the feeling of discrimination by the affirmative action indicates the power of racism in the society. 1. There are some issues that are not visible or conceivable to the author but could be used to identify the challenges in society. One of the most important approach as depicted by the author is the power of choice. Despite the existence of affirmative action, personal choices still indicates the influence of race in choice of friends, possession, employment area and the living area. The situation is evident by the number of areas occupied by whites or blacks as compared to the hybrid and cosmopolitan areas. My personal choices clearly indicated the power of race unconsciously creating a feeling of discomfort when reading the article because it is the truth. 2. Before reading the article, I had not evaluated several issues that may be racism. The key issues that the article address is the role of personal choices in facilitating racism. This view has not been taken by the majority because we tend to look at people’s actions instead of our personal choices, which indicates the highest degree of racism. 3. The major area of concern after reading the article is on how personal choices can be changed to reduce the showing of racist behaviour. The challenge is on personal evaluation which may not reflect the true nature or impact of racism because it does not employ the standard evaluation actions. The main question is; â€Å"what can one do to change his personal choices to reflect acceptance of the races in the society? This is the real dilemma that creates serious confusion between affinity to the race and acceptance of the dynamic society. Favourite quote is â€Å"Racists for innocence† (Pierce 53). The article addresses the issue of personal choice and the power of perception. The same situation is depicted in the movie Crash released in

Polanski & Spielberg Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Polanski & Spielberg - Term Paper Example The directors made films that hit the public both emotionally and dramatically. Their work was loved by all due to their sense of portraying the war and the post events of the war. The Pianist was released in 2002 written by Ronald Harwood and starred by Adrien Brody. The film is a biographical account of a pianist who is a Polish Jew. While the story truly depicts the hardships faced by the Jewish people in the World War II, it keenly takes in account the life of Szpielman being torn apart, his family being taken away from him, and his existence being vanished. Saving Private Ryan is an American film released in 1998. It is a war film based on the invasion of the Normandy in the World War II. The story is written by Robert Rodat who was inspired by the monument he saw which was built for the eight siblings killed in the American civil war. Thus, he wrote a narrative of the siblings in the World War II who had fought against the Germans. The film had received much of the praise from the audience as well has the critics, and won many awards too. These films have been a clear picture of what the World War II brought for the people and how cleanly the directors have pictured it. Comparison of the two films: Both the films have many similarities in their plots and their use of graphics. Since both the films are based on wars, they are more towards the horror aspect. They give the viewers a look of horror, suspense and thriller. The actors in both the films have done an outstanding job, the stories are strong and the use of graphics and screenplay makes the most out of the films. The difference in the films are the ways the directors have created the directed and the stories and how they have taken the stories along to reach the audience and to win their attention. Despite having the same theme, the directors have managed to give a wave of emotions in a different way that the audience of each movie would have felt something different after watching the movie. In the critical aspect, both the films have been immensely appreciated and praised by the critics and the audience and have successfully won the hearts of many. Both the works have been written in a war scene and they show the stories plotted on the World War II and the lives affected at that time. The films are known for their graphics and their depiction of the war scenes. Thus, the scenes of the war which are in most of the two movies can be compared and contrasted with each other. Both movies do not just show some scenes, in fact the whole movie of around two hours is based on a war scenario with different features of the war. There is a clear scene of the war in Saving Private Ryan where the Captain is looking for Ryan and enters the zone of war with his group. While he is searching for Ryan, and even after finding him, they face many of the troubles of the war together. In The Pianist, the scenes are also in the zone of war and show the struggles of the pianist during the war time. In this film, the main focus is made on the pianist with however, lesser scenes of the war than in Saving Private Ryan, but the scenes of the war have been presented pretty well. In the second aspect when we look at both of the films, we can see that not only do they show the similarities in the scenes of war, but they also show a plot on which the emotional lives

Brand Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brand Management - Assignment Example Through, successfully implementation of this methodology, firms can win loyal customer at a reasonable rate. Brand management practice is applicable across various industries, because of its perceptive dimension (Lienert). However, the positive product or brand image could be built in a fraction of seconds, when salesperson highlights the importance and applicability of a certain product in customer’s life; but the hard part is to backup this perceived value with actual product performance. All of the major automobile companies are attempting to lower their operational costs, because of Japanese competition (Mannering and Winston). But, they are taking this challenge in a wrong direction, because Japanese are not just selling vehicles, they are giving away comfort, low maintenance and high quality. Thus, they are providing more real value to the customer that enables them to charge some extra cash. The competitors should concentrate on enhancing the value provided to the custo mer, in order to counteract Japanese competition. ... In this way, the company will be able to provide incentive to facilitate sales. Another unique aspect of brand endorsement is its center of attention, which is more abstractive in nature. It emphasizes on improving the quality of life of an individual through a product, thus brand management is all about increasing consumers’ comfort through adding new and meaningful products in their life. Brand managers believe that customers do not purchase clothes; they pay for good looks, which these clothes will provide them. The above mentioned argument fits well, within the industry of cars that this paper will analyze in the coming section. Such consumers are interested in fuel consumption, convenience and elegance, thus require a travelling solution not just a car. Fait, which possesses the managerial rights of Chrysler, is planning to lower their value chain costs through streamlining their dealership network, by combining small to medium size dealers with larger ones. This strategy will help them in lowering the number of dealers; therefore their transportation costs will drop significantly. The use of centralized dealers points towards the intention of top management on gaining a price advantage. In the history, Fait attempted to introduce its products as luxurious ones. But, this decision caused its offerings to compete in a different market, in which Honda and other similar companies had established brands. Therefore, Fait failed to make a name in this segment; mainly, because of its products’ low quality. The customers consider Chrystal’s products as economical and designed for middle class; due to this market perception best cost marketing strategy will be ideal for promoting these products.

Accounting writing assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting writing assignments - Essay Example In order to obtain detailed financial information about the company, it is necessary to analyse consolidated balance sheet and other financial statements of the company. The company’s financial data clearly indicates that Ford has achieved $128,954 million in sales for the fiscal year 2010. The company could effectively survive the impacts of 2009 global financial crisis and it attained a net income of $6,561 million in 2010. The annual report 2011 shows that the company’s earnings per share is $1.66 although it has not issued dividends to shareholders. The consolidated balance sheet of the company illustrates that Ford’s total assets/total liabilities for the fiscal 2010 were $164,687 million. In addition, total shareholders’ equity of Ford was $-642 million. According to the â€Å"management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations†, most powerful feature of the Ford is its flexibility to integrate with various market situations (Ford Motor Company). The company distributes its costs and expenses under two categories such as cost of sales and selling, administrative and other expenses. This section clearly reflects that effective cost monitoring and control mechanisms have assisted the company to improve its profitability. The management report indicates that the ongoing global economic recovery has greatly benefited the company to improve its financial condition, which was very weak in the previous year (Ford Motor Company). In addition, the Ford possesses an efficient management team that effectively forecasts changing consumer tastes and specifications and thereby greatly aids R&D team to design innovative car models. The general tone of the management’s comments points that the company is passing through an economic recovery phase, and the micro-macro environments of the Ford offers potential opportunities to the company for the upcoming years (Ford Motor Company). At the same time, intense market competition is

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International marketing - Essay Example In adaptation, however, there is less risk of consumers rejecting a product or service because research will have been done to identify their preferences before products and services can be created for them. In many cases, multinational corporations such as McDonald’s owe their success to adapting their marketing mix strategies to suit the local preferences. While effectiveness and greater profits tend to be the result if standardization, customer orientation also brings acceptance to companies that use to expand to international markets. Both standardization and adaptation have their uses within the international business arena. The Marketing Strategy of Cell Phone Carriers in Africa. There are different environmental factors that cell phone carriers in African nations take into consideration when establishing new branches. Some of these include: Strategic Risk: The cell phone firms have to take into account the competitors in the mobile industry, as well as the purchasing po wer of their targeted consumers. Sometimes they may encounter intense competition from other previously established distributors that have government backing. Such business rivals can adversely affect a new company that is seeking to establish itself. Operational Risk: This has to do with faulty infrastructure or imperfect logistics. In many African nations, there may not be enough roads or transport facilities to ensure that raw materials are accessed and products created on time. This is something that ends up adversely affecting productivity. Political Risk: Political instability is something that has plagued many African nations in the past. This means that companies have to either ensure that they have government backing, in order to discourage would be attackers, or... Operational Risk: This has to do with faulty infrastructure or imperfect logistics. In many African nations, there may not be enough roads or transport facilities to ensure that raw materials are accessed and products created on time. This is something that ends up adversely affecting productivity. Political Risk: Political instability is something that has plagued many African nations in the past. This means that companies have to either ensure that they have government backing, in order to discourage would be attackers, or are located in a secure environment. On the other hand, they could simply purchase their own security teams. This, however, ends up being an additional cost. Country/Culture Risk: When a country has been plagued in political strife for a long time, its citizens usually begin to view violence as being a normal part of life. This means that recklessness, the lack of law and order, and crimes such as stealing are seen as being normal. Theft of company resources, in such cases, can cause a company to use more capital than was originally planned, just to buy more assets and get adequate security.

Accounting writing assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting writing assignments - Essay Example In order to obtain detailed financial information about the company, it is necessary to analyse consolidated balance sheet and other financial statements of the company. The company’s financial data clearly indicates that Ford has achieved $128,954 million in sales for the fiscal year 2010. The company could effectively survive the impacts of 2009 global financial crisis and it attained a net income of $6,561 million in 2010. The annual report 2011 shows that the company’s earnings per share is $1.66 although it has not issued dividends to shareholders. The consolidated balance sheet of the company illustrates that Ford’s total assets/total liabilities for the fiscal 2010 were $164,687 million. In addition, total shareholders’ equity of Ford was $-642 million. According to the â€Å"management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations†, most powerful feature of the Ford is its flexibility to integrate with various market situations (Ford Motor Company). The company distributes its costs and expenses under two categories such as cost of sales and selling, administrative and other expenses. This section clearly reflects that effective cost monitoring and control mechanisms have assisted the company to improve its profitability. The management report indicates that the ongoing global economic recovery has greatly benefited the company to improve its financial condition, which was very weak in the previous year (Ford Motor Company). In addition, the Ford possesses an efficient management team that effectively forecasts changing consumer tastes and specifications and thereby greatly aids R&D team to design innovative car models. The general tone of the management’s comments points that the company is passing through an economic recovery phase, and the micro-macro environments of the Ford offers potential opportunities to the company for the upcoming years (Ford Motor Company). At the same time, intense market competition is

An Inconvenient Truth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Inconvenient Truth - Essay Example The author of the paper tells that in the video â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†, it shows how the world’s temperature has skyrocketed in the last decade, 2005 being the hottest. The dramatic rise in temperature in several places in the world has caused numerous devastating environmental disasters and catastrophes. Places all over the world have desiccated and dried up, such as Patagonia and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Multiple storms have exacerbated and have gotten worse and worse. The Arctic’s ice and snow have melted significantly, causing an increase in the sea level. When the height of the seawater increases, a great number of lives will be affected. States such as Florida and major cities such as Shanghai in China, Kolkata in India and Manhattan in New York will drown and be buried by underwater. The community of scientists has collectively given their opinion and judgment on global warming and they believe that we are the main cause of global warming. Through Al Goreâ⠂¬â„¢s presentation, he persuades and tells us that if the immediate course of action will be taken by citizens globally, then we might all still have a chance in saving the Earth from global warming, and saving ourselves. From the trailer of this documentary film, it definitely concerns me regarding the future of the Earth and the future of the people.

The Perfect Job Concept Essay Example for Free

The Perfect Job Concept Essay ‘The perfect job† is only a fantasy, but one which everyone wishes to have. It is a dream that every man or woman wants to be fulfilled, at each point of their career. Like a self fulfilling prophesy, everyone chases that one shadow. They set high standards for themselves along the line of remuneration, ease of access, prospect of becoming the boss in no time, and other wild dreams that can only cone true in the dreamland. Like blood through their veins, â€Å"the perfect job† runs many thousand miles in the minds of every young graduate, who is willing to carve a niche for themselves in whatever profession they have chosen. Many get college degrees, some, doctorate degrees, while yet, others continue to arm themselves with such kinds of knowledge that are not taught in the books- they see themselves as smart and capable of achieving anything they want in life. They simply think they can get whatever job they want with six-figure salaries and other paraphernalia attached. In visualizing   ‘the perfect job’, individuals often paint rosy pictures of fat salaries. Everyone agrees that there is no other motivation that can replace a good value for whatever service an employee is offering to their employer. Individuals often think that having the appropriate pay for the job is an essential motivation to compensate for all the stress and hard work that one has to go through in order to satisfy the demands of the job. People often fail to recognize that individual capabilities differ and that not everyone can be rated as good as the other g guy. This might lead to dissatisfaction with the job at the end of the day. Money creates a certain kind of security for some people. Also another component of ‘the perfect job’ is the satisfaction which is derived from doing the particular job. Everyone have their various motivating force. For some, it is the passion and commitment with which they do their job. They just love doing it. For people like this, they simply cannot take up other career opportunities aside from the one they are really passionate about. Its either they do it or they are not ready to do other things. These kinds of individuals have long term career goals and once they get to the profession, they continue to strive hard so that they meet up with their long term goals. They are eager to get to the top of the ladder. This is an achievement based motivation and only few people dare to have it.   Many people tend to look at the short term benefits, under which the remuneration will come. Also, an individual’s ability to work with others speaks a lot of the level of satisfaction that they derive from the job. A lot of people derive the pleasure of working closely with other people. They are achievers that always want to bring the best out of their relationship with others. Such individuals derive pleasure from working with other people. These people are strongly motivated to succeed in their careers. This cannot be compared to motivation, only based on money.

E.E. Cummings :: essays papers

E.E. Cummings is characteristically American. He is a famous, well known American author. I found that his writing style is of a stereotypical American. What is it to be stereotypically American? Well I found that one of the main things is that you can say or write whatever you want and not feel threatened about if what your saying is the right thing or not. Also a lot of Americans will use sarcasm. Also you don’t have to come right out and say whatever you mean. Some will talk about something completely different then what they are really trying to say. Cummings used a good amount of sarcasm in his writing. He sort of made fun of things in his poems without coming out and saying it. He also doesn’t just come right out and say what he means. I haven’t been able to figure out many of his poems at all. The things he says just makes no sense at all. Even after analyzing his work I haven’t been able to understand what he means. I think that is one thing that most Americans do in one way or another. Cummings also wrote a large amount of poems that probably would have offended people in one way or another. But freedom of speech is one thing that all Americans have. We can say whatever we want and not have to answer to anyone about it. If we were in another country that freedom of speech isn’t allowed he possibly could have been thrown in jail for some of his writings. He was known for his lack of correct punctuation and capitalization in his writings. Very often he would write his name as "e.e. cummings", not even capitalizing his own name. He basically had his own style of writing things even though they were not written correctly. He never followed any of the rules which might have been one of the reasons he was so remembered. He was born in Cambridge Massachusetts. He grew up there and worked at a mail-order publishing company for a short time. He decided to volunteer for the Norton-Harjes Ambulance group in France. He was imprisoned for three months in a French Detention camp. While being there

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Gun Buyback Programs Essay -- Gun Contr

Gun buyback programs have become a commonplace law enforcement practice since their creation in the 1970s. These buyback programs are a method of proactive policing against gun crime and are used as a means by law enforcement in an effort to curb gun violence. Generally, police offer incentives to community members in exchange for firearms. These incentives are most commonly money or gift certificates, but may also be merchandise. The programs rose to popularity in the 1990s due to widespread public support. However, as far as weapons policies go, gun buyback programs have been criticized as an ineffective means of curbing or preventing firearm violence. Thus, one must ask does the purchase of firearms from private citizens by law enforcement impact the rate of gun crime, or would other means be more effective in combating this type of crime? According to the Journal of Economics there are more firearms in the United States than people. Furthermore, the majority of homicides are committed with a firearm (Levitt, 2004). This may indicate that the availability of firearms contributes to gun violence. Individuals acquire guns in a variety of ways, from inheritance, purchasing, or theft. Regardless of the means of attainment, the possession of firearms is widespread in the United States. Those who possess guns do so for many reasons such as for sport, protection, or illegal activities (Bilchik, 1999). Gun buyback programs receive weapons from all types of individuals, regardless of how they originally acquired their firearms or why. The first gun buyback program was employed in Baltimore in 1977 to curb violence perpetrated by the use of firearms (Carter, 2002). Over the course of three-months, over 13,000 firearms we... ...Retrieved from Senate website: Cook, P. J., & Ludwig, J. (2000). Gun violence: the real costs. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding why crime fell in the 1990s: Four factors that explain the decline and six that do not. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(1), 163-190. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/3216880 Orlean, S. (2012). Saturday night. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Walker, S. (2008). Sense and nonsense about crime, drugs, and communities. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Wellford, C. F., Pepper, J. V., & Petrie, C. V. (2005). Firearms and violence. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

Language acquisition Essay

Chapter 1 Invitations to Linguistics 1. 1Why study language? 1. Language is very essential to human beings. 2. In language there are many things we should know. 3. For further understanding, we need to study language scientifically. 1. 2What is language? Language is a means of verbal communication. It is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 1. 3Design features of language The features that define our human languages can be called design features which can distinguish human language from any animal system of communication. 1. 3. 1Arbitrariness Arbitrariness refers to the fact that the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meanings. 1. 3. 2Duality Duality refers to the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization. 1. 3. 3Creativity Creativity means that language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursiveness. Recursiveness refers to the rule which can be applied repeatedly without any definite limit. The recursive nature of language provides a theoretical basis for the possibility of creating endless sentences. 1. 3. 4Displacement Displacement means that human languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of conversation. 1. 4Origin of language 1. The bow-wow theory In primitive times people imitated the sounds of the animal calls in the wild environment they lived and speech developed from that. 2. The pooh-pooh theory In the hard life of our primitive ancestors, they utter instinctive sounds of pains, anger and joy which gradually developed into language. 3. The â€Å"yo-he-ho† theory As primitive people worked together, they produced some rhythmic grunts which gradually developed into chants and then into language. 1. 5Functions of language As is proposed by Jacobson, language has six functions: 1. Referential: to convey message and information; 2. Poetic: to indulge in language for its own sake; 3. Emotive: to express attitudes, feelings and emotions; 4. Conative: to persuade and influence others through commands and entreaties; 5. Phatic: to establish communion with others; 6. Metalingual: to clear up intentions, words and meanings. Halliday (1994) proposes a theory of metafunctions of language. It means that language has three metafunctions: 1. Ideational function: to convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to the hearer; 2. Interpersonal function: embodying all use of language to express social and personal relationships; 3. Textual function: referring to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spoken and written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences. According to Hu Zhuanglin, language has at least seven functions: 1. 5. 1Informative The informative function means language is the instrument of thought and people often use it to communicate new information. 1. 5. 2Interpersonal function The interpersonal function means people can use language to establish and maintain their status in a society. 1. 5. 3Performative The performative function of language is primarily to change the social status of persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the sentencing of criminals, the blessing of children, the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, and the cursing of enemies. 1. 5. 4Emotive function The emotive function is one of the most powerful uses of language because it is so crucial in changing the emotional status of an audience for or against someone or something. 1. 5. 5Phatic communion The phatic communion means people always use some small, seemingly meaningless expressions such as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day, etc. , to maintain a comfortable relationship between people without any factual content. 1. 5. 6Recreational function The recreational function means people use language for the sheer joy of using it, such as a baby’s babbling or a chanter’s chanting. 1. 5. 7Metalingual function The metalingual function means people can use language to talk about itself. E. g. I can use the word â€Å"book† to talk about a book, and I can also use the expression â€Å"the word book† to talk about the sign â€Å"b-o-o-k† itself. 1. 6What is linguistics? Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one language of any one community, but the language of all human beings. 1. 7Main branches of linguistics 1. 7. 1Phonetics Phonetics is the study of speech sounds, it includes three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, and auditory phonetics. 1. 7. 2Phonology Phonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. 1. 7. 3Morphology Morphology studies the minimal units of meaning – morphemes and word-formation processes. 1. 7. 4Syntax Syntax refers to the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a language, or simply, the study of the formation of sentences. 1. 7. 5Semantics Semantics examines how meaning is encoded in a language. 1. 7. 6Pragmatics Pragmatics is the study of meaning in context. 1.  8Macrolinguistics Macrolinguistics is the study of language in all aspects, distinct from microlinguistics, which dealt solely with the formal aspect of language system. 1. 8. 1Psycholinguistics Psycholinguistics investigates the interrelation of language and mind, in processing and producing utterances and in language acquisition for example. 1. 8. 2Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is a term which covers a variety of different interests in language and society, including the language and the social characteristics of its users. 1. 8. 3Anthropological linguistics. Anthropological linguistics studies the relationship between language and culture in a community. 1. 8. 4Computational linguistics Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language. 1. 9Important distinctions in linguistics 1. 9. 1Descriptive vs. prescriptive To say that linguistics is a descriptive science is to say that the linguist tries to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language-community actually conform and does not seek to impose upon them other rules, or norms, of correctness. Prescriptive linguistics aims to lay down rules for the correct use of language and settle the disputes over usage once and for all. For example, â€Å"Don’t say X. † is a prescriptive command; â€Å"People don’t say X. † is a descriptive statement. The distinction lies in prescribing how things ought to be and describing how things are. In the 18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. However, modern linguistics is mostly descriptive because the nature of linguistics as a science determines its preoccupation with description instead of prescription. 1. 9. 2Synchronic vs. diachronic A synchronic study takes a fixed instant (usually at present) as its point of observation. Saussure’s diachronic description is the study of a language through the course of its history. E. g. a study of the features of the English used in Shakespeare’s time would be synchronic, and a study of the changes English has undergone since then would be a diachronic study. In modern linguistics, synchronic study seems to enjoy priority over diachronic study. The reason is that unless the various state of a language are successfully studied it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development. 1. 9. 3Langue & parole Saussure distinguished the linguistic competence of the speaker and the actual phenomena or data of linguistics as langue and parole. Langue is relative stable and systematic, parole is subject to personal and situational constraints; langue is not spoken by an individual, parole is always a naturally occurring event. What a linguist should do, according to Saussure, is to draw rules from a mass of confused facts, i. e. to discover the regularities governing all instances of parole and make them the subject of linguistics. 1. 9. 4Competence and performance According to Chomsky, a language user’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules is called the linguistic competence, and the actual use of language in concrete situations is called performance. Competence enables a speaker to produce and understand and indefinite number of sentences and to recognize grammatical mistakes and ambiguities. A speaker’s competence is stable while his performance is often influenced by psychological and social factors. So a speaker’s performance does not always match his supposed competence. Chomsky believes that linguists ought to study competence, rather than performance. Chomsky’s competence-performance distinction is not exactly the same as, though similar to, Saussure’s langue-parole distinction. Langue is a social product and a set of conventions of a community, while competence is deemed as a property of mind of each individual. Saussure looks at language more from a sociological or sociolinguistic point of view than Chomsky since the latter deals with his issues psychologically or psycholinguistically. 1. 9. 5Etic vs. emic Being etic means researchers’ making far too many, as well as behaviorally and inconsequential, differentiations, just as often the case with phonetics vs. phonemics analysis in linguistics proper. An emic set of speech acts and events must be one that is validated as meaningful via final resource to the native members of a speech community rather than via appeal to the investigator’s ingenuity or intuition alone. Following the suffix formations of (phon)etics vs (phon)emics, these terms were introduced into the social sciences by Kenneth Pike (1967) to denote the distinction between the material and functional study of language: phonetics studies the acoustically measurable and articulatorily definable immediate sound utterances, whereas phonemics analyzes the specific selection each language makes from that universal catalogue from a functional aspect. Chapter 2 Speech Sounds 2. 1Speech production and perception Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. It includes three main areas: 1. Articulatory phonetics – the study of the production of speech sounds 2. Acoustic phonetics – the study of the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech 3. Auditory phonetics – the study of perception of speech sounds Most phoneticians are interested in articulatory phonetics. 2. 2Speech organs Speech organs are those parts of the human body involved in the production of speech. The speech organs can be considered as consisting of three parts: the initiator of the air stream, the producer of voice and the resonating cavities. 2. 3Segments, divergences, and phonetic transcription 2. 3. 1Segments and divergences As there are more sounds in English than its letters, each letter must represent more than one sound. 2. 3. 2Phonetic transcription International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): the system of symbols for representing the pronunciation of words in any language according to the principles of the International Phonetic Association. The symbols consists of letters and diacritics. Some letters are taken from the Roman alphabet, some are special symbols. 2. 4Consonants 2. 4. 1Consonants and vowels A consonant is produced by constricting or obstructing the vocal tract at some places to divert, impede, or completely shut off the flow of air in the oral cavity. A vowel is produced without obstruction so no turbulence or a total stopping of the air can be perceived. 2. 4. 2Consonants The categories of consonant are established on the basis of several factors. The most important of these factors are: 1. the actual relationship between the articulators and thus the way in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract (manner of articulation); 2.where in the vocal tract there is approximation, narrowing, or the obstruction of the air (place of articulation). 2. 4. 3Manners of articulation 1. Stop/plosive: A speech sound which is produced by stopping the air stream from the lungs and then suddenly releasing it. In English, [? , ? , ? , ? , ? , ? ] are stops and [? , ? , ? ] are nasal stops. 2. Fricative: A speech sound which is produced by allowing the air stream from the lungs to escape with friction. This is caused by bringing the two articulators, e. g. the upper teeth and the lower lip, close together but not closes enough to stop the airstreams completely. In English, [?, ? , ? , ? , ? , ? , ? , ? , ? ] are fricatives. 3. (Median) approximant: An articulation in which one articulator is close to another, but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced. In English this class of sounds includes [? , ? , ? ]. 4. Lateral (approximant): A speech sound which is produced by partially blocking the airstream from the lungs, usually by the tongue, but letting it escape at one or both sides of the blockage. [? ] is the only lateral in English. Other consonantal articulations include trill, tap or flap, and affricate. 2. 4. 4Places of articulation 1.Bilabial: A speech sound which is made with the two lips. 2. Labiodental: A speech sound which is made with the lower lip and the upper front teeth. 3. Dental: A speech sound which is made by the tongue tip or blade and the upper front teeth. 4. Alveolar: A speech sound which is made with the tongue tip or blade and the alveolar ridge. 5. Postalveolar: A speech sound which is made with the tongue tip and the back of the alveolar ridge. 6. Retroflex: A speech sound which is made with the tongue tip or blade curled back so that the underside of the tongue tip or blade forms a stricture with the back of the alveolar ridge or the hard palate. 7. Palatal: A speech sound which is made with the front of the tongue and the hard palate. 8. Velar: A speech sound which is made with the back of the tongue and the soft palate. 9. Uvular: A speech sound which is made with the back of the tongue and the uvula, the short projection of the soft tissue and muscle at the posterior end of the velum. 10. Pharyngeal: A speech sound which is made with the root of the tongue and the walls of the pharynx. 11. Glottal: A speech sound which is made with the two pieces of vocal folds pushed towards each other. 2. 4. 5The consonants of English Received Pronunciation (RP): The type of British Standard English pronunciation which has been regarded as the prestige variety and which shows no regional variation. It has often been popularly referred to as â€Å"BBC English† or â€Å"Oxford English† because it is widely used in the private sector of the education system and spoken by most newsreaders of the BBC network. A chart of English consonants |Manner of |Place of articulation | |articulation | | | |Bilabial |Labio- |Dental | | | |dental | | | | | | | | | | | | 2. Its advantages. Through IC analysis, the internal structure of a sentence may be demonstrated clearly, any ambiguities, if any, will be revealed in that IC analysis emphasizes not only the linear structure of the sentence but also the hierarchical structure of the sentence. E. g. the sentence Leave the book on the shelf. is ambiguous. It has two meanings: (1) Put the book on the shelf; (2) Don’t touch the book on the shelf. These two meanings can be shown by the following tree diagrams. (Omitted. See the textbook p125~128. ) 3. Its problems However, IC analysis has three disadvantages. First, at the beginning, some advocator insisted on binary divisions. Any construction, at any level, will be cut into two parts. But this is not possible. E. g. Old men and women is ambiguous in that it may mean old + men and women or old men + and women. It’s impossible to combine with only the preceding part or only the succeeding part. Second, constructions with discontinuous constituents will pose technical problems for tree diagrams in IC analysis. E. g. the phrasal verbs like make up, turn on, or give up will cause problems in that when the object is expressed by a pronoun, it will interrupt the phrasal verb as in make it up. The most serious problem is that there are structural ambiguities which cannot be revealed by IC analysis. E. g. the tree diagram and the labels can only do one analysis for the love of God. 4. 2. 3Endocentric and exocentric constructions An endocentric construction is one whose distribution is functionally equivalent, or approaching equivalence, to one of its constituents, which serves as the center, or head, of the whole. It is also called headed construction. Typical endocentric constructions are noun phrases, verb phrases and adjective phrases. They may be further divided into two subtypes: subordinate and coordinate constructions. Those, in which there is only one head, with the head being dominant and the other constructions dependent, are subordinate constructions. In the coordinate construction, there are more than one head, e. g. boys and girls, in which the two content constituents, boys and girls, are of equal syntactic status, and no one is dependent on the other. The exocentric construction is defined negatively as a construction whose distribution is not functionally equivalent to any of its constituents. There is no noticeable center or head in it. Typical exocentric constructions are prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, English basic sentences, and the verb plus object constructions. 4. 3The generative approach 4. 3. 1Deep and surface structures In transformational generative grammar (a. k. a. T-G grammar), the deep structure may be defined as the abstract representation of the syntactic properties of a construction, i. e. the underlying level of structural relations between its different constituents, such as the relation between the underlying subject and its verb, or a verb and its object. The surfaces structure is the final stage in the syntactic derivation of a construction, which closely corresponds to the structural organization of a construction people actually produce and receive. The example for the surface structure is The newspaper was not delivered today. The deep structure of the above sentence would be something like: (negative) someone (past tense) deliver the newspaper today (passive). The items in brackets are not lexical items but grammatical concepts which shape the final form of the sentence. Rules which describe deep structure are in the first part of the grammar (base component). Rules which transform these structures into surface structures (transformational rules) are in the second part of the grammar (transformational component). 4. 3. 2The standard theory and after What is the trace theory? [I think this is difficult. It is too abstract for me. – icywarmtea] After the movement of an element in a sentence there will be a trace left in the original position. This is the notion trace in T-G grammar. It’s suggested that if we have the notion trace, all the necessary information for semantic interpretation may come from the surface structure. E. g. The passive Dams are built by beavers. differs from the active Beavers built dams. in implying that all dams are built by beavers. If we add a trace element represented by the letter t after built in the passive as Dams are built t by beavers, then the deep structure information that the word dams was originally the object of built is also captured by the surface structure. Trace theory proves to be not only theoretically significant but also empirically valid. 4. 3. 3Government, binding, etc. 1. Constituent command / C-command: ? c-commands ? if ? does not dominate ? and every ? that dominates ? also dominates ? , as shown in the diagram below: | |?| | | | | | | | | | |? | |? | 2. Binding theory: Part of the government / binding theory. It examines connections between noun phrases in sentences and explores the way they relate and refer to each other. (1)An anaphor is bound in its governing category. (2)A pronominal is free in its governing category. (3)An r-expression is free. 3. Binding: The notion binding is borrowed from logic, which refers to the relation between a quantifier and a variable, that is a variable is bound by a quantifier. In the generative approach, binding refers to the relation between different referring word and the subject of a sentence  containing it. 4. Anaphor: A process where a word or phrase refers back to another word or phrase which was used earlier in a text or conversation. In a narrow sense, it used to include only reflexives like myself and reciprocals like each other. 5. Pronominal: A pronominal refers to pronouns other than reflexives and reciprocals. 6. R-expression: A r-expression, as the abbreviation of a referential-expression, covers all the other r-expressions except anaphors and pronominals, e. g. John, Bill, the man. 7. The D-structure and the S-structure. In Government / Binding theory, the D-structure is an abstract level of sentence representation where semantic roles such as an agent (the doer of an action) and patient (the entity affected by an action) are assigned to the sentence. Agent is sometimes also referred to as the logical subject and patient as the rheme of the sentence. E. g. (in simplified form) Verashootintruders Agent or logical subjectpatient or rheme The next level of sentence representation is the S-structure where syntactic / grammatical cases such as nominative / grammatical subject and accusative / grammatical object are assigned. E. g.(in simplified form)Vera (agent)shootintruders (patient / rheme) Grammatical subjectgrammatical object The phonetic form (PF) component and the logical form (LF) component are then needed to turn the S-structure into a surface sentence. The PF component presents the S-structure as sound, and the LF component gives the syntactic meaning of the sentence. 4. 4The functional approach 4. 4. 1Functional sentence perspective 1. Functional sentence perspective (FSP) The functional sentence perspective (FSP) is a type of linguistic analysis associated with the Prague School which describes how information is distributed in sentences. FSP deals particularly with the effect of the distribution of known information and new information in discourse. The known information (known as theme), refers to information that is not new to the reader or listener. The rheme refers to information that is new. FSP differs from the traditional grammatical analysis of sentences because the distribution between subject-predicate is not always the same as theme-rheme contrast. E. g. (1)Johnsat in the front seat Subjectpredicate Themerheme (2)In the front seat satJohn. Predicatesubject Themerheme John is the grammatical subject in both sentences, but theme in (1) and rheme in (2). 2. Communicative dynamism (CD) By CD Firbas means the extent to which the sentence element contributes to the development of the communication. 4. 4. 2Systemic-functional grammar 1. The material process (a process of doing): the representation of outer experience. 2. The mental process (a process of sensing): the representation of inner experience. 3. The relational process (a process of being): the relation between one experience and another. 4. The behavioral process (a process of behavioring): physiological and psychological behavior. 5. The verbal process (a process of saying): any kinds of symbolic exchange of meaning. 6. The existential process (a process of happening): a representation of something in existence or happening/ These six processes form a circle as follows: (omitted. See textbook, p. 155) Chapter 5 Meaning 5. 1Meanings of â€Å"meaning† 1. Meaning: Meaning refers to what a language expresses about the world we live in or any possible or imaginary world. 2. Connotation: The additional meaning that a word or phrase has beyond its central meaning. 3. Denotation: That part of the meanings of a word or phrase that relates it to phenomena in the real world or in a fictional or possible word. 4. Different types of meaning (Recognized by Leech, 1974) (1)Conceptual meaning: Logical, cognitive, or denotative content. (2)Associative meaning a. Connotative meaning: What is communicated by virtue of what language refers to. b. Social meaning: What is communicated of the social circumstances of language use. c. Affective meaning: What is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the speaker / writer. d. Reflected meaning: What is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression. e. Collocative meaning: What is communicated through association with words which tend to occur in the environment of another word. (3)Thematic meaning: What is communicated by the way in which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis. 5. The difference between meaning, concept, connotation, and denotation Meaning refers to the association of language symbols with the real world. There are many types of meaning according to different approaches. Concept is the impression of objects in people’s mind. Connotation is the implied meaning, similar to implication. Denotation, like sense, is not directly related with objects, but makes the abstract assumption of the real world. 5. 2The referential theory 1. The referential theory: The theory of meaning which relates the meaning of a word to the thing it refers to, or stands for, is known as the referential theory. 2. The semantic triangle theory Ogden and Richards presented the classic â€Å"Semantic Triangle† as manifested in the following diagram, in which the â€Å"symbol† refers to the linguist elements (word, sentence, etc. ), the â€Å"referent† refers to the object in the world of experience, and the â€Å"thought† or â€Å"reference† refers to concept or notion. Thus the symbol of a word signifies â€Å"things† by virtue of the â€Å"concept,† associated with the form of the word in the mind of the speaker of the language. The concept thus considered is the meaning of the word. The connection (represented with a dotted line) between symbol and referent is made possible only through â€Å"concept. † Concept / notion Thought / reference [pic] ———————- Symbolobject Wordstands for reality Signifierreferent. Codesignified 5. 3Sense relations 5. 3. 1Synonymy Synonymy is the technical name for the sameness relation. 5. 3. 2Antonymy Antonymy is the name for oppositeness relation. There are three subtypes: gradable, complementary and converse antonymy. 1. Gradable antonymy Gradable antonymy is the commonest type of antonymy. They are mainly adjectives, e. g. good / bad, long / short, big / small, etc. 2. Complementary antonymy The members of a pair in complementary antonymy are complementary to each other. That is, they divide up the whole of a semantic filed completely. Not only the assertion of one means the denial of the other, the denial of one also means the assertion of the other, e. g. alive / dead, hit / miss, male / female, boy / girl, etc. 3. Converse antonymy Converse antonyms are also called relational opposites. This is a special type of antonymy in that the members of a pair do not constitute a positive-negative opposition. They show the reversal of a relationship between two entities, e. g. buy / sell, parent / child, above / below, etc. 5. 3. 3Hyponymy Hyponymy involves us in the notion of meaning inclusion. It is a matter of class membership. That is to say, when x is a kind of y, the lower term x is the hyponym, and the upper term y is the superordinate. Two or more hyponyms of the same one superordinate are called co-hyponyms, e. g. under flower, there are peony, jasmine, tulip, violet, rose, etc. , flower is the superordinate of peony, jasmine, etc. , peony is the hyponym of flower, and peony, jasmine, tulip, violet, rose, etc. are co-hyponyms. 5. 4Componential analysis Componential analysis defines the meaning of a lexical element in terms of semantic components. That is, the meaning of a word is not an unanalyzable whole. It may be seen as a complex of different semantic features. There are semantic units smaller than the meaning of a word. E. g. Boy: [+human][-adult][+male] Girl: [+human][-adult][-male] Son: child (x, y) & male (x) Daughter: child (x, y) & -male (x) Take: cause (x, (have (x, y))) Give: cause (x, (-have (x, y))) 5. 5Sentence meaning 5. 5. 1An integrated theory 1. Compositionality: A principle for sentence analysis, in which the meaning of a sentence depends on the meanings of the constituent words and the way they are combine. 2. Selection restrictions: Restrictions on the choice of individual lexical units in construction with other units. E. g. the word breathe will typically select an animate subject (boy, man, woman, etc. ) not an abstract or an inanimate (table, book, etc. ). The boy was still breathing. The desk was breathing. 5. 5. 2Logical semantics 1. Prepositional logic / prepositional calculus / sentential calculus: Prepositional logic is the study of the truth conditions for propositions: how the truth of a composite proposition is determined by the truth value of its constituent propositions and the connections between them. 2. Predicate logic / predicate calculus: Predicate logic studies the internal structure of simple propositions. Chapter 6 Language Processing in Mind 6. 1Introduction 1. Language is a mirror of the mind in a deep and significant sense. 2. Language is a product of human intelligence, created a new in each individual by operation that lie far beyond the reach of will or consciousness. 3. Psycholinguistics â€Å"proper† can perhaps be glossed as the storage, comprehension, production and acquisition of language in any medium (spoken or written). 4. Psycholinguistics is concerned primarily with investigating the psychological reality of linguistic structures. 5.  The differences between psycholinguistics and psychology of language. Psycholinguistics can be defined as the storage, comprehension, production and acquisition of language in any medium (spoken or written). It is concerned primarily with investigating the psychological reality of linguistic structures. On the other hand, the psychology of language deals with more general topics such as the extent to which language shapes thought, and from the psychology of communication, includes non-verbal communication such as gestures and facial expressions. 6.  Cognitive psycholinguistics: Cognitive psycholinguistics is concerned above all with making inferences about the content of the human mind. 7. Experimental psycholinguistics: Experimental psycholinguistics is mainly concerned with empirical matters, such as speed of response to a particular word. 6. 1. 1Evidence 1. Linguists tend to favor descriptions of spontaneous speech as their main source of evidence, whereas psychologists mostly prefer experimental studies. 2. The subjects of psycholinguistic investigation are normal adults and children on the one hand, and aphasics—-people with speech disorders—–on the other. The primary assumption with regard to aphasic patient that a breakdown in some part of language could lead to an understanding of which components might be independent of others. 6. 1. 2Current issues 1. Modular theory: Modular theory assumes that the mind is structured into separate modules or components, each governed by its own principles and operating independently of others. 2. Cohort theory: The cohort theory hypothesizes that auditory word recognition begins with the formation of a group of words at the perception of the initial sound and proceeds sound by sound with the cohort of words decreasing as more sounds are perceived. This theory can be expanded to deal with written materials as well. Several experiments have supported this view of word recognition. One obvious prediction of this model is that if the beginning sound or letter is missing, recognition will be much more difficult, perhaps even impossible. For example: Gray tie—— great eye; a name—–an aim; an ice man—–a nice man; I scream—–ice cream; See Mable—-seem able; well fare—-welfare; lookout——look out ; decade—–Deck Eight; Layman——laymen; persistent turn——persist and turn 3. Psychological reality: The reality of grammar, etc. as a purported account of structures represented in the mind of a speaker. Often opposed, in discussion of the merits of alternative grammars, to criteria of simplicity, elegance, and internal consistency. 4. The three major strands of psycholinguistic research: (1)Comprehension: How do people use their knowledge of language, and how do they understand what they hear or read? (2)Production: How do they produce messages that others can understand in turn? (3)Acquisition: How language is represented in the mind and how langua.