Thursday, October 31, 2019

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

Accounting - Coursework Example Our analysis will cover the main factors that may encourage unethical accounting practices at the managerial level. Greed for money appears to be the most convenient explanation. Personal gain is probably why malpractice is performed in the first place. With accounting being a practice revolving entirely around money, greed is likely to strike at any level, whether it be an individual accountant or at a member of the executive board. Financial information is manipulated as managers and accounting specialists search for loopholes in standards either for misrepresentation or for direct monetary benefit. Pressure to meet profitability targets is another important factor as to why management may choose to enter the grey area of accounting. In certain scenarios meeting analysts’ expectations regarding company performance becomes more important than contractual obligations, as the company is reputed to adhere to its market predicted growth trends. Therefore, capital market pressure may just be significant enough for managers to resort to unethical means to financial reporting. (Serwer, et al., 2002) have construed in a similar context: â€Å"over time so much focus has been placed on levitating companies stock prices that many executives will do almost anything--legal or otherwise--to make it happen† (Rosen, Al, 2009) regards executive compensation as the key to the dubitable practice of misrepresentation in financial reporting. Executive compensation can occur either via share-based compensatory benefits (as share prices rise) or inflated profitability by over-stating revenues. Corporate culture plays a significant role in devising managerial ethics. If in order to achieve ‘company’ gains the executive management is known to practice manipulation with financial information, subordinate staff is likely to use unethical means for personal benefits too (StrategicDirection,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Church to Connect Essay Example for Free

Church to Connect Essay â€Å"Our future is not to be found in our preservation but in our investment† (19). â€Å"The best way to predict the future is to create it† (20). â€Å"Fewer people are attending church because of the diminishing influence of Christ on the church itself. † â€Å"We equated being a good citizen with being a good Christian. We lived without persecution and soon found ourselves without conviction. We didn’t lose America; we gave her away! In our panic and powerlessness we turned to political means to seek to regain what we once had through spiritual awakening . Yet as a moral majority we could not accomplish what God could through Gideon’s few† (28). â€Å"Once we were called Christians by an unbelieving world and now we call ourselves Christians and the world calls us hypocrites. Is it possible that it wasn’t the nation that was becoming dangerously secular but the church? We were neither relevant nor transcendent. We have become, in the worst of ways, religious. We are the founders of the secular nation† (29). â€Å"The church became a refuge from the world rather than a force in the world. Predictability and stability became dominant themes†¦. The gospel shifted from a church on a mission to a church that supported missions† (30). â€Å"How could we ever think that the Christian faith would be safe when its central metaphor is an instrument of death? It is not a coincidence that baptism is a water grave depicting death and resurrection. It is no less significant that the ongoing ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is a reminder of sacrifice. How did we ever develop a safe theology from such a dangerous faith? †(33) â€Å"Institutions preserve culture while movements create culture† (34). â€Å"For years the bulk of American Christians who were committed to missions could only participate through giving and praying. Today, the call to crosscultural ministry doesn’t even require going; it just requires staying with a purpose† (45). â€Å"Where once the pagan lived in the country and the danger of the city was to be Christianized; now Christians tend to live away from the cities and view the urban dweller as the true pagan† (46). â€Å"Gideon was focused on mass; God was focused on momentum† (69). â€Å"It’s hard to believe that a movement born of visionaries and dreamers would become dominantly known for its traditions and rituals† (138). â€Å"Just because a person cannot read doesn’t mean she lacks the capacity to learn. One’s present condition is not an indication of potential, but of development† (211). III. SALIENT POINTS/ANALYSIS 1. The Need for the Church to Connect with this Generation The author speaks about how in the past 40 years communities have changed dramatically yet many local churches have stayed the same. This explains the irrelevancy and bankruptcy of the church in regards to being salt and light and functioning as agents of change for culture. Even the way the gospel is communicated has to be changed if we are going to reach this present generation. One of the dramatic changes in our environment is the shift from words to images. To do church in a way that is entirely textdriven is the kiss of death. People don’t read, they simply observe. Beyond the emergence of a postliterate society, we have a culture raised on entertainment (17). As McManus states, â€Å"While not many churches perform their services in Latin today, our language, style, music, and methods are pretty much Latin to the unchurched population† (81).

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis Introduction: Our choice of storybook is The Great Big Turnip edited by Bob Williams, published by KohWai and Young. This book is appropriate for children aged four to six as it is specially designed and created to assist children who have mastered basic reading skills. Marchado (2010) states that the success of any book for young children depends on its presentation of basic human tasks, needs, and concerns based on childrens perceptions, and at a level at which they can respond (p. 289). Thus, after examining our selected choices of books, we decided to choose The Great Big Turnip because it has met many aspects of selecting the right book for young children. The story revolves around a farmer who had discovered a giant turnip in his garden. He could not pull it out alone hence he sought help from his family members and other animals in the house. Together, they managed to pull the turnip out of the ground and enjoyed plenty of food for many years. From this synopsis, the story is able to inculcate the value of teamwork in the readers as it teaches that joint effort makes it easier to complete a task. Its print and vibrant illustrations had captivated us instantaneously. The language used is age appropriate for children to learn and comprehend. The moral of the story is that we should always help others when they are in need, even if you may think that your help is insignificant. Literary elements: Plot: The plot is good because it creates suspense in the story to develop the childrens interest in reading the book. It is also simple and straightforward as it focuses on how the farmer gets help to pull the giant turnip out of the ground. Machado (2010) states that simple plot necessitated by the length of a picture book allows young children to become involved immediately in action, discover problem, and understand the resolution (p. 289). The story is in a chronological order as it unfolds sequentially. In the beginning on page 3, it talks about the farmer planting turnip seeds on the ground. In the middle on page 7, the farmer asked his wife for help when he could not pull the turnip out all by himself. Eventually, they still needed more people to help out. On page 14, it reveals how the turnip was pulled out from the ground. From the plot, readers are able to pick out problem-solving skills from the characters, such as asking for assistance. The climax of the story happens on page 13 when six more characters were involved in pulling the turnip out of the ground, and it arrests the childrens attention to find out how the characters overcome the situation. Characterization: The characters in the storybook are life like as they appear like normal living being. Machado (2010) states that characters should be portrayed realistically and have experiences and emotions with which children can immediately identify (p. 289). Thus, this book has definitely met the book selection criteria. The protagonist in the story is a farmer. As the story continues, other characters develop one after another throughout the story to help the farmer. The story does not talk about the characters past, present and future as it focuses on how the farmer gets help from his family to pull the big turnip out of the ground. Based on the farmers dialogue, it shows that he is a jovial person. On page 5 and 7, the farmer was elated to find out that his plant had grown into an enormous turnip. At the end of the story on page 16, the farmer shows a sense of happiness as it states that the happy farmer ate turnip for years (William, 2002). Besides, this book also portrays an array of emotions based on the other characters dialogue on page 7, 9 and 11. It shows excitement yet their struggles in pulling out the turnip. Setting: The farmers garden is the main location where the story took place during daytime. Based on a western context, readers are able to visualize a realistic event that occurred in the story which helps to build on their prior knowledge of the images. Theme: The theme of the story is able to relate to childrens understandings, needs and interests because underlying concept educates the importance of teamwork and unity. The farmer would not be able to pull the big turnip out of the ground without the help of his wife, son, daughter, dog, cat and mouse. It shows the significance of working towards a goal in harmony; oneness of mind. Style and Diction: The language used is simple and age-appropriate for children aged four to six. The language used is able to create mood from text such as exclaimed, cried and excited. The story involves a careful choice of words and rhythm such as they all pulled and pulled, but the turnip still would not come out! With a predictable text, children are able to participate by reading aloud to themselves or a storyteller. And the book contains good diction as it contains phrases like eyes popped out from her head, luckily, fell backwards in a heap. Point of View: The author used a third person point of view to write the story using pronoun like He, She and They. Objective point of view was used in the story as the author only tells what happen without stating more than [what] can be inferred from the storys action and dialogue (Literature, No Date). Stereotypes: It is not reflected in the storybook. Personification: It is not reflected in the storybook. Visual elements The picture-books visual variety would kindle the interests of the children and arrest their visual attention. It is slightly smaller than an A4-sized book which words inside are of Arial font and appropriate font size. The space in between words and line spacing are not cluttered. Hence, this popular fairytale facilitates easy one-on-one readings and independent reading. Cover page: On the cover page, yellow, embroidered images on the borders of The Great Big Turnip give volume to the title and front illustrations. Every word in the title is capitalised and dark turquoise in colour. Below the title is a bright and colourful cartoon of the climax of the story, which is also slightly similar to the cartoon on page 14 and page 15. The clever illustration will intrigue readers as it shows just the giant turnip spinning out of the soil and several characters falling behind. It allows readers to think about what happened in the story. Texture: Illustrations are two-dimensional which gives a visual texture and promotes imagery development. Line: Heavy lines used give more precision and curved lines used depict fluidity which brings the characters to life. Jagged lines can be found on page 15s illustration of the spinning turnip, which enables the readers to sense danger. Colour and Shape: Furthermore, the cartoon characters stand out more as additional colours and geometric shapes are used to allow the reader to clearly differentiate all of them. Illustrations from page 13 are good examples, as when the characters are pulling the turnip out, the reader would not focus on other things such as the house far away or even the forest in the background. Colours such as brown used compliment the settings like the farmers wooden house and the soil in his garden. There is also more assertion and rigidity in the illustration of the farmer due to the geometric shapes used (Scott, 1989). Free-form shapes such as the cursive ends of the turnip on page 15 enable the reader to imagine the great amount of force when the turnip was pulled out (Scott, 1989). All in all, the visual elements of the picture-book nurture visual literacy which builds on the language development of child. They allow the facilitating readability and influencing recall of the text (Machado, 2010).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Depleting Ozone and Its Effect on Society Essay -- Environment

Depleting Ozone and Its Effect on Society Is there a reason for us to be concerned? Can ozone depletion really be connected to something that is truly harmful to humans? How are we directly affected by ozone depletion? How much do we actually know about the ozone and the things that are going on in the atmosphere? There are many questions that arise when talking about the ozone depletion in relation to skin cancer. Today both environmentalists and researchers alike focus on the increasingly dangerous affect that ultraviolet radiation has on present day society. In order to understand how the ozone affects us we must first understand what the ozone is. What is the ozone? The ozone’s essential duty is to protect society from harmful ultraviolet rays by acting as a filter. The ozone is a layer in the middle of the stratosphere that protects the earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. The ozone layer acts as a shield and prevents the sun’s deadly ultraviolet rays from penetrating to the sur face of the earth. The ozone layer protects humans in ways that are difficult to predict The main reason that the ozone is depleting is because of the very nature of human activity. The ozone is being destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons. Chlorofluorocarbons, widely know as CFC’s, are a human-made chemicals that are composed of carbon, chlorine and fluorine atoms. It is the chlorine in chlorofluorocarbons that breaks down the molecule in the ozone causing it to slowly deplete. It is this man-made chemical been the main cause of ozone depletion high up in the atmosphere. There are several different types of CFCs. They were first developed in the 1930s, and since then have been widely used in refrigerators, aerosol cans and ... ...ting because it is the ozone layer that protects us from the very deadly and dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is very pertinent that our society recognizes that the ozone is thinning and that it is imperative that we take action, no matter how difficult it may be, so that the safety of future generations is ensured. Works Cited Books Gore, Albert. Earth in the Balance. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Harper, Charles L. Environment and Society:Human Perspective on Environmental Issues. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. Aguado, Edward. Burt, James E. Understanding Weather and Climate. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Internet http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/effects.html http://www.ciesin.org/docs/001-503/001-503.html http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/ozone.html http://www.who.int/uv/publications/proUVrad.pdf

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Sociology and Correct Answer

Question 1 0 out of 10 points Which of the following is an example of an application of midrange theory? Answer Selected Answer: analyzing how a shopkeeper interacts with customers Correct  Answer: exploring the role of churches in rural areas Response Feedback: Feedback:   Recall that midrange theory attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function. ? Question 2 10 out of 10 points Justin decides to conduct research for a class project by recording and assessing how people choose where to sit on a public bus. Which type of sociology is this? Answer Selected Answer: microsociology Correct  Answer: microsociology Response Feedback: Feedback:   Recall that microsociology seeks to understand local interactional contexts and focuses on face-to-face encounters ? Question 3 10 out of 10 points Which of the following is an example of a social institution? Answer Selected Answer: all of the above Correct  Answer: all of the above| Response Feedback: Feedback:   Social institutions do not have to be established by any particular organization or group and do not necessarily have physical locations. ? Question 4 0 out of 10 points Which of the â€Å"founding fathers† of sociology put forth the idea that sociologists should examine social behavior from the perspective of those engaging in the behavior? Answer Selected Answer: Emile Durkheim Correct  Answer: Max Weber ? Question 5 0 out of 10 points Sociology is the study of _____. Feature Article –  Sociology Test Answer Selected Answer: human society Correct  Answer: all of the above ? Question 6 10 out of 10 points Which of the following describes a difference between sociology and psychology? Answer Selected Answer: Sociology focuses on social structures and group interactions, while psychology focuses on the urges, instincts, and mind of the individual. Correct  Answer: Sociology focuses on social structures and group interactions, while psychology focuses on the urges, instincts, and mind of the individual. ? Question 7 10 out of 10 points Sociology is distinct from other academic disciplines in its attempt to _____. Answer Selected Answer: detect patterns in how different societies handle or respond to similar phenomena Correct  Answer: detect patterns in how different societies handle or respond to similar phenomena ? Question 8 10 out of 10 points Examining the interactions between people with a focus on how the people talk, dress, and use body language is an example of which theory? Answer Selected Answer: symbolic interactionism Correct  Answer: symbolic interactionism Response Feedback: Feedback:   Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level approach that focuses on how face-to-face interactions create the social world. ? Question 9 10 out of 10 points The examination of everyday human social interactions on a small scale describes _____. Answer Selected Answer: microsociology Correct  Answer: microsociology ? Question 10 10 out of 10 points Social identity is _____. Answer Selected Answer: a way that individuals define themselves in relation to groups they are a part of or groups they choose not to be a part of Correct  Answer: a way that individuals define themselves in relation to groups they are a part of or groups they choose not to be a part of ? Question 11 0 out of 10 points Paradoxically, using our sociological imagination helps us _____. Answer Selected Answer: create an image of how people in other societies live Correct  Answer: make the familiar strange ? Question 12 10 out of 10 points Which of the following contributors to the development of sociology argued for the importance of identifying scientific laws that govern human behavior? Answer Selected Answer: Auguste Comte Correct  Answer: Auguste Comte ? Question 13 0 out of 10 points Which of the following is an example of using one’s sociological imagination? Answer Selected Answer: creating different hypotheses to explain an individual’s behavior Correct  Answer: being puzzled by how people in another country greet one another and then thinking about how people in your own country greet one another and why they do it the way they do Response Feedback: Feedback:   Using your sociological imagination allows you to recognize how the social world works and why. ? Question 14 10 out of 10 points Justin enters a clothing store and a security guard immediately notices him and follows Justin’s actions on a security monitor. Justin is aware of the security guard's actions and adjusts his own behavior to avoid potential confrontation with the security guard. This is an example of which sociological concept? Answer Selected Answer: double consciousness Correct  Answer: double consciousness Response Feedback: Feedback:   Recall that having a double consciousness takes the external opinions of an often racially prejudiced onlooker into consideration. ? Question 15 10 out of 10 points A social institution can be described as _____. Answer Selected Answer: a group of social positions, connected by social relations, that perform a social role Correct  Answer: a group of social positions, connected by social relations, that perform a social role ? Question 16 0 out of 10 points Your friend Allison is concerned with the messages that young girls and boys receive about careers that are suitable for them from their elementary school teachers. Based on Allison's position, it is likely that she is a(n) _____. Answer Selected Answer: functionalist| Correct  Answer: feminist Response Feedback: Feedback:   Feminist research focuses on inequalities based on gender categories and researchers study women's experiences at home and in the workplace. ? Question 17 10 out of 10 points The Chicago School of American Sociology emphasized the importance of _____. Answer Selected Answer: the environment in shaping people’s behavior and personalities. Correct  Answer: the environment in shaping people’s behavior and personalities. ? Question 18 10 out of 10 points According to Karl Marx, throughout history social change has been sparked by _____. Answer Selected Answer: class conflict Correct  Answer: class conflict ? Question 19 10 out of 10 points Which of the following American sociologists applied Durkheim’s theory of anomie to explain African American crime rates? Answer Selected Answer: W. E. B. DuBois Correct  Answer: W. E. B. DuBois ? Question 20 10 out of 10 points Questioning the reasons why people choose to attend college and the importance of a college degree is an example of _____. Answer Selected Answer: using the sociological imagination Correct  Answer: using the sociological imagination Response Feedback: Feedback:   Using your sociological imagination allows you to recognize how the social world works and why. ? Question 21 0 out of 10 points Postmodern theorists argue that _____. Answer Selected Answer: people cannot agree on how to define basic terms Correct  Answer: all phenomena have multiple meanings and no one meaning can be more valid than another

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Supreme Court And Government By The People Essays - Free Essays

The Supreme Court And Government By The People Essays - Free Essays The Supreme Court And Government By The People Jason I. Explain the distinction between substance and process and the importance of the distinction for the issues discussed in this course. Over the past few yearsthe courtholding that henceforth, before it can be determined that you Are entitled to due process at all, and thus necessarily before it can be decided what process is due, you must show that what you have been deprived of amounts to a liberty interest or perhaps a property interest. (Ely, p.19) Just as a skilled magician will deliberately show his empty top hat to the audience right before he pulls a rabbit out by its ears, so was judicial review pulled out of thin air. Judicial review has opened the floodgates of substantive procedures in the courts, which refer to content based decisions made by judges, as a tool employed in matters of judicial review and has become the dominant means of legislating in areas which would not otherwise be open to legal re-interpretation. In essence substance refers to the ability and right of judges to employ their own values in rendering decisions concerning a case at hand or in the past, reflecting a non-interpretivist approach to legislating. Such decisions are grounded in the Substantive Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (a doctrine created by Justice Taney in the Dred Scott case itself derived from the Fifth amendment), which ostensibly provides citizens protection from the state governments. Substance also refers to moral ity and decisions based on natural law as opposed to positivism. Process is at the heart of democracy because it reflects the legitimate method by which a community can enact laws in a system of representative democracy; to that end, the principal virtue of a process oriented political system is its independence of concurrent political, moral, or societal pressures. These issues are obviously paramount in studying social reform and the role of the courts (judges) as legislators or guardians of correct legislative practice. #2 Explain Elys account of prejudice and the role it plays in his theory of judicial review. So stereotypes, at least in the ordinary sense of that term, are the inevitable stuff of legislation.(Ely, p.156) Ely describes prejudice as a lens distorting reality, that blinds us to overlapping interests which in fact exist. In reference to the treatment of minorities and blacks in particular, prejudice in the legislative levels of government is the basis of laws which put a minority group without adequate, if any representation or voice at a disadvantage without reference to some worthy social goal and at the judicial level implies a consensus of solicitude among the judiciary toward such discrete and insular groups within society. The other type of prejudice involves suspicious classifications, or stereotypes that may disadvantage groups but still is within the boundaries of democracy; this type of classification is considered harmful by Ely when we consider the presence of undue stereotypes that are discovered in previous acts of legislation. Ely asserts a more interperetivist approach although he concedes the practical implausibility of such an approach because of the inability of the co nstitution to forsee all possible situations. In the final analysis, Ely thinks in a representative democracy laws should agree with those values which are fundamental in the constitution (and surrounding historical documents) and which obligates, without undue discrimination obligates all to obey, despite a plurality of perspectives. Finally, Ely offers up that because matters of racial, sexual, moral and other prejudices are essentially primae facia in terms of what constitutes discrimination, a process-based model for the Supreme Court would be optimal, the only difficult being hard cases. #3 Explain Dworkins critique of Elys theory. In qny case, judicial review of the political processes only polices democracy; it does not seek to override it as judicial review of substance doesMy point in this essay is that both ways end in failure, and in the same sort of failure. (Dworkin, p.34) Dworkin called Elys Democracy and Distrust interesting and he obviously saw some merit in Elys claims; however, Dworkin analyzed Elys four main assertions and accepted only the first (that judicial review should be concerned with process legislation rather than the substantive decisions made by judges). Dworkin disagreed with Ely on his second point,