Differences Between The Impacts Of Hurricane Katrina And Cyclone Nargis

Tropical revolving storms have a marked influence on the areas they consume. Whether it’s at the point of striking (our primary effects) or the secondary factors days/months/years afterwards: they impact on the social, environmental and economic stature of an area. This is evident when comparing two of the most notable tropical revolving storms in the last decade. Hurricane Katrina hit the MEDC coast of Louisiana and the Mississippi in the form of a category 5 storm and the category 4 cyclone Nargis hit the LEDC nation, Burma, particularly the Irrawaddy delta.Despite similar magnitudes the impacts of these two tropical revolving storms varied- so how and why was this? A telling factor of the impacts is the initial effect on the people in the event of the storms. Significantly hurricane Katrina had its most serious effect on the densely populated area of New Orleans. The storm burst the banks of the Mississippi with gusts of wind up to 345km/h and caused widespread flooding par ticularly to the vulnerable low lying regions of the lower 9nth ward, this quickly became the major cause of death with up to 90% of initial deaths as a result of drowning with powerful current s sweeping people away.In total with the combined force of floods and wind up to 1 million people became homeless and 1,833 died. When looking at the same factors in the Irrawaddy delta, Nargis caused almost 10x the amount of death: 138,000 lost their lives with 2. 4million immediately homeless as a result of again strong 220km/h winds and flooding. Immediately then we can see a profound difference on a relatively similar impact region. This is where the infrastructure of an MEDC comes into place.To reduce the initial impacts 50% of the New Orleans population evacuated using their private cars or school buses after being warned by advanced early warning systems in place across the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally many buildings around New Orleans many of the buildings were high-rise brick/concret e constructions therefore escaped the effects of flooding, so not as many homes were completely destroyed. Alternatively in a LEDC (Burma) the area has little infrastructure or no means of evacuation: helicopters, cars, buses were not available.Buildings too did not meet the same building regulations in the USA so strong winds destroyed many homes. So how did these initial social impacts conspire to the coming days/months/years? What were the secondary effects on the people? There is evidence that shows political influences of both the USA and Burma actually worsened the social impact on the people. In Burma the state is controlled by the military or ‘Junta’ and to preserve national pride (amongst other reasons) they did not initially allow for emergency aid. This resulted in a weak slow response leaving over 2. 4 million people with no shelter, water or food, and basic sanitation.Finally 7 days later the Junta allowed the most basic supplies from the UN and other East Asian countries. Added with the poor infrastructure of an LEDC by this time thousands more had died from starvation as well as outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera so in terms of long term social affects those who had survived grew weaker by the day. Moving further in the future it’s believed more than 7% of the current Burmese population are living permanently in plastic shelters as a result of low GDP per capita, characterising LEDCs as a whole, the secondary social impacts were large also.How about the MEDC then? In the event of hurricane Katrina we can see how the USA’s- despite the world’s largest economy (at the time) – government influences slowed the relief effort which in result impacted the social impact. Firstly the federal government’s relief budget could not be accessed immediately due to no emergency congress occurring before the storm hit. The Louisiana state government too were criticised for reacting slowly as well as t he overall amount of relief workers was reduced by up to 60% as a result of the war in Afghanistan.So similarly with Burma the areas with up to 90% destruction faced shelter, water, food and sanitary issues. However with the economic power of USA and improved infrastructure and advanced emergency services including the US coast guard and fire services many people homeless initially took refuge in emergency shelters and even the New Orleans super dome meant over 100,000 found the basic needs quickly- reducing the death and disease characteristic in cyclone Nargis. Although with MEDC’s capacity of wealthy property: crime and looting was a real problem in New Orleans especially after one of the main prisons being evacuated.Something that was less prominent Burma. Socially then, both long and short term, for the basic needs cyclone Nargis had a more profound impact on the people as New Orleans suffered differently as a result of different economic stature in the USA. From the soc ial effects then, we can clearly see that many homes in both the Irrawaddy delta and New Orleans were destroyed to leave so many homeless, yet the impact of both Katrina and Nargis had a wider spread effect on the environment.The US geological survey has estimated 217 square miles of land was transformed by flooding caused by Katrina- and within this many communities, businesses, and public services were destroyed, with 80% of all dwellings damaged in some way. Other significant effects include 20% of all local marshes being permanently damaged, 16 national wildlife refuges damaged and 7 million gallons of oil being leaked into water systems.Drawing in the social effects again we can see how the effect on the initial environment impacts made up to 1 million people homeless however when we start to look at the secondary factors I believe the impacts where minor. Once the people were evacuated and received emergency aid the main environmental impact in the coming weeks/years (evidence d above) was on the wildlife or the economy- despite this being important (as I will elaborate later) it did not have any immediate danger to the people long term.In stark contrast the vast flat environment of the Irrawaddy delta is the life support system that feeds, cleans and pays the people of south Burma. The 3 main environmental factors were impacted on hugely by cyclone Nargis: the shrimp industry was 100% damaged immediately with the destruction of boats and shallow delta waters, over 200,000 livestock were killed which were used for meat or milk or as crop harvesters, and 80-90% of all rice crops were destroyed by sea waters.This then immediately meant people died so the primary environmental impacts were huge. Unlike Katrina in the USA the environmental impact then worsened in the secondary stages. With no boats the shrimp industry has still not returned to full strength to this day and the rice paddies damaged could not be used up to 12 months afterwards with no full harv est till the following year- today many of the paddies have been completely destroyed and there was a large shortage of livestock in the years following Nargis.So then the impact on the environment for the people of Burma was far more detrimental than the environmental impacts of Katrina again enhanced by the LEDC status, but we can see how these effects transpired into the social effects we saw before and indeed economic impacts. Economic impacts always tend to be a secondary issue but both Katrina and Nargis were given an estimated figure for the scale of damage on the economy- and this is certainly telling when looking at the differences in impacts of the two tropical storms. Cyclone nargis was estimated to cost $10 billion –Katrina: $150 billion.This is a clear difference and in many ways, unlike the social and environmental impacts, the LEDC is far better off. AS I mentioned before LEDCs have less infrastructure therefore when cyclone Nargis hit Burma there was far less in terms of economic value to destroy, eventually to replace. Whereas in the USA the sustained infrastructure (distinctive in a MEDC) means there is far more to destroy: so there’s more to replace. Even 8 years after Katrina both on and an individual basis and internationally the USA are still paying for Katrina.The richer people were forced to use savings and insurance to rebuild homes, whereas federal run development programmes, such as the reconstruction of the lower 9nth ward are still taking place putting a huge burden on the federal and state governments. Smaller businesses have gone bust and even public services, like fire stations or forensic labs have shortfalls of millions of dollars to once again become operational. Nationally the economic impact is thought to have also influenced the prolonging of USA’s national recession to, which in turn has affected other trading national like the UK.On the other side in the LEDC of Burma despite similar shortfalls of mo ney to restore the nation to former ‘glory’ the process has more simple. International aid has eventually covered a much higher percentage of the damage costs because of this simplicity and overall cheaper cost- therefore with this aid money pledged by the UN and the Junta it has been a much easier process for the nation and individually. so we can see how long term these economic impacts are actually more ‘manageable’ for Burma after Nargis than those for the USA after Katrina.Concluding then, we can clearly highlight the differences in impacts as a result of hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis: socially, environmentally, and economically- both primarily and secondarily. I have noticed a difference in impacts based on the previous economic state of a country, when looking at these two tropical storms. Socially the impacts of Nargis far superseded that of Katrina both primarily and secondarily and I do not think this would have differed removing the poor p olitical influence both nations had.Whereas environmentally despite the initial impacts seeming worse in New Orleans as a result of Katrina, we can see that in Burma as with many LEDC’s the effect on the environment is far more detrimental in the years/months to come. I think this is because of the pure economic power of an MEDC like USA, it has the money to rebuild the environment in a matter of years- nevertheless this is the downfall of MEDC’s as we saw when looking at the superior economic impacts of Katrina compared to Nargis’s. Thus the severity of impact of these two tropical storms differs, not because of the magnitude, but because of the economic state.

Dividend Policy and Share Prices

Introduction In this paper the impact of dividend policy of the companies on the firm’s share prices is analysed and different views in the context of the semi-strong form of the efficient market hypothesis are contrasted. The overview of the traditional and most recent empirical investigations of the stock market reaction to the dividend announcements is provided and different findings are discussed and compared. Three companies have been selected from the FTSE All share price index. These companies are Tesco, Burberry and Vodafone. These firms belong to different sectors of the economy.Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK, Burberry is a fashion firm and Vodafone is the telecommunication services company. The dividends and accounts have been retrieved from annual reports of the companies (Tesco, 2011; Burberry, 2011; Vodafone, 2011). The share prices were sourced from Yahoo Finance (2012). The copies of the company accounts are provided in the appendices. Dividend Policies of Companies These three companies were chosen for the following reasons. Firstly, it was intended to choose large companies that have an established dividend policy and revenue of more than ? billion a year. Secondly, the companies from different industries had to be analysed. Thirdly, both services sector and goods sector were intended to be analysed. Finally, it was interesting to compare both pro-cyclical firms (e. g. Burberry) and counter-cyclical firms (e. g. Vodafone). The former are very sensitive to the effects of the economic recession whereas the latter are less sensitive because consumers would still have to use mobile phones and services regardless of their financial position.The dividend payout ratio has been calculated for these companies for the period from 2007 to 2011. The following formula was used: Dividend payout ratio = dividends per share / earnings per share The results are summarised in the following figure. Figure 1 Dividend Payout Ratios Source: Annual Re ports of Tesco (2011), Burberry (2011) and Vodafone (2011) The payout ratios indicate different dividend policies adopted by the three companies. Tesco’s policy is aimed at maintaining a constant dividend payout ratio, which is very common for mature industries such as retailing.In these industries the majority of the large companies are â€Å"cash cows† for the investors and therefore the dividend policy tends to show constant payout ratios, which inspires trust in the company and expectation of future stability. In contrast, the dividend policies of Vodafone and Burberry are not aimed at a constant payout ratio. In fact, as the following figure demonstrates, the policies of Vodafone and Burberry are aimed at dividend growth. Figure 2 Final DividendsSource: Annual Reports of Tesco (2011), Burberry (2011) and Vodafone (2011) However, whereas Vodafone demonstrates a â€Å"steady dividend growth strategy†, Burberry demonstrates the a strategy that does not show a specific pattern but can be interpreted as a signal to the market because in 2009 the company announced the dividends that were equal to the dividends announced in the previous year in spite of the accounting losses suffered by the firm which were reflected in negative earnings per share (Appendix C).This move can be interpreted as a sign that the management attempted to signal the market that the losses are temporary and the company was expected to recover quickly. It is interesting to note that the latter policy is inconsistent with the position that dividends should be paid out of earnings rather than accumulated capital or reserves. Furthermore, the companies could undertake an alternative dividend policy which would imply linking the dividend payout to the investment opportunities that could be managed by firms (Brealey and Myers, 2003).If the company has many projects that offer positive net present value, then it would be recommended that dividends could be retained and reinv ested in the firm. Only residual earnings, which are left after investments in all positive NPV projects could be distributed as dividends (Bodie et al, 2009). Dividend Announcements and Share Prices Dividend announcements and their impact on share prices can be explained by the semi strong form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH).Efficient market hypothesis implies that the only thing that may impact the stock prices is new information, since all other possibly influencing parameters are already included in the firm’s stock price (Palan, 2004). The efficient market hypothesis may be divided into three forms: the weak form, the semi-strong form, and the strong form. The weak form implies that share prices bear or reflect the past prices and trade volume information, the semi-strong form adds publicly available information to the weak form, and the strong form adds even insider information to the efficiency approach (Harder, 2008).Empirical evidences show that successive changes in stock prices are independent and this independence is in line with the efficient market hypothesis, as markets promptly react to the new information (Fama et al. , 1969). In this context it may be assumed that dividend announcements convey particular positive information about the company and provide signals about future performance of the firm. The decision about paying dividends is made by the firm’s managers and often supported by shareholders’ voting.Since dividend announcements bear useful information, from the efficient market hypothesis view point this information is reflected in the share price changes immediately after the public announcement (Bodie et al, 2009). The three companies that were chosen have been used to test the semi strong form of the EMH and whether the dividends announcements made by Tesco, Vodafone and Burberry had a significant impact on shareholder returns and share prices. So, the null hypotheses of the analysis are the followin g:H0: Dividends have a positive and significant effect on the share prices H0: Dividends have a positive and significant effect on the weekly stock returns. The alternative hypotheses are the following: Halt: Dividends do not have a significant effect on the share prices Halt: Dividends do not have a significant effect on the weekly stock returns. According to EMH in its semi strong form, the information on dividends should be quickly absorbed into the stock prices during the first week and hence the acceptance of the null hypotheses will be consistent with the semi strong efficiency.However, if abnormal returns persist in the longer run, e. g. three months, the EMH in the semi strong form can be rejected. Empirical evidences also provide support for the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis, implying that stock market efficiently and quickly adjusts to new information about dividends (Aharony and Swary, 1980). However, the research of Amihud and Li (2006) finds that the reaction of stock market to dividend announcement is not constant. It is concluded that cumulative abnormal returns promoted by dividend announcements decline to zero in due course.The findings suggest that dividend announcement are less informative over time, and this may be related to the reluctance of managers to pay extra expenses related to dividends (Amihud and Li, 2006). Moreover, the recent decrease in propensity of companies to pay dividends is sometimes related to the lower informational contend of dividend announcements. Since institutional investors are normally better informed and tend to play key roles in public firms, the costly dividends have become a less popular way to provide information (Baker, 2009).The study of Asquth and Mullins (1983) also suggests that stock prices and shareholders’ wealth are impacted by initiation and increase of dividends. Moreover, the effect of dividend increase is stronger than the influence of dividend initiation. The results are in lin e with assumption that dividend announcements bear valuable information for investors. Dividend policy may be used as a simple way to signal managers’ view of the company’s recent and future performance (Asquth and Mullins, 1983). However, it must be stated that dividend policies are not directly influencing share prices and lead to their changes.Instead, dividend policies are changed by managers when some fundamental developments in company’s performance are expected, and these developments cause the change of the share prices. Thus, dividend announcement is only the way for investors to obtain information about these fundamental developments. Similarly, there are no evidences that a company value may be increased through increase of dividends, since dividends only convey signals about fundamental changes in the company and are viewed as only by-products of the changes (Moles et al. 2011). Nevertheless, the study of Shiller (1981) challenges the efficient marke t hypothesis suggesting that the volatility of stock prices are too high to be explained by the future dividends. A more recent investigation of Mehnidiratta and Gupta (2010) supports the semi-strong form of efficient market hypothesis concluding that stock prices promptly and accurately react to the publicly available information, particularly to dividend announcements. The two-stage study tests the share prices response to dividend announcement.The first stage included the evaluation of beta based on post facto returns on stock and market index and predicted returns on every of the stocks. The second stage these values were used to calculate abnormal returns around the day of announcement. The results provide information that though investors do not obtain significant value prior to the dividend announcement day or on the event day, they do gain value after the announcement. Investors move their security positions on the announcement day which implies that after the event day ther e is informational value in dividend announcement.The evidences prove that the increases in dividends imply more positive abnormal stock returns, and this supports the efficient market hypothesis (Mehnidiratta and Gupta, 2010). But there are also empirical evidences of little stock market reaction to dividend announcements at some periods (Hasan et al. , 2012). The event study methodology was used to evaluate the effect of cash dividend announcements on the share prices. The data about abnormal returns around the event day was analysed and the events before, on, or after the announcement day were pooled.The tested assumption states that payment of cash dividends is the most significant factor that impacts all prices around the event days (Hasan et al. , 2012). In the following figures the results of the regression analysis and statistical tests applied to the regressions are presented. Table 1 Effects of Dividends on Investor Weekly Return Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coeffici ents Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) .012 .009 1. 375 .175 Dividend -. 002 .002 -. 143 -1. 030 .308 Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate imension0 1 .143a .020 .001 .03489 a. Predictors: (Constant), Dividend According to the first regression, dividends do not have a significant impact on the weekly stock returns and hence the null hypothesis related to stock returns is rejected. However, the output from the regression of share prices on dividends demonstrates that the former have a statistically significant positive influence on the share price performance. This was evidenced with the t-test. Table 2 Effects of Dividends on Share Prices Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 151. 362 47. 949 3. 157 .003 Dividend 45. 955 9. 186 .574 5. 003 .000 Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate dimension0 1 .574a .329 .316 191. 66266 a. Predictors : (Constant), Dividend Thus, the null hypothesis related to the effects of dividends on the share prices is accepted. R-squared test has revealed that the second regression had a better fit. Conclusion As the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis suggests, new information including dividend announcement is quickly reflected in the company’s stock prices.Some empirical evidences support the hypothesis (Fama et al. , 1969; Aharony and Swary, 1980). Other findings suggest that the impact of the announcements may decline in the course of time (Amihud and Li, 2006). The recent empirical studies that were reviewed support the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis and find that dividend announcements produce abnormal returns and are positively related to the share prices (Mehnidiratta and Gupta, 2010). But another event study displays different reaction of stock prices to dividend announcement in different years (Hasan et al. , 2012).The analysis in the paper was conducted in th e context of three UK based companies from different sectors. The dividend policies of these companies have been analysed. Furthermore, the relationships between the share prices and the dividends were tested. It was found that the dividends produced a positive and statistically significant effect on the share prices but no significant effect on weekly returns. References Aharyny, J. and Swary, I. (1980) â€Å"Quarterly Dividend and Earnings Announcements and Stockholders’ Returns: An Empirical Analysis†, The Journal of Finance, 31 (1), pp. 1-12. Amihud, Y. nd Li, K. (2006) â€Å"The Declining Information Content of Dividend Announcements and the Effects of Institutional Holdings†, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 41, pp. 637-660. Asquith, P. and Mullins, D. W. Jr. (1983) â€Å"The Impact of Initiating Dividend Payments on Shareholders’ Wealth†, The Journal of Business, 56 (1), pp. 77-96. Baker, H. K. (2009) Dividends and dividend po licy. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Bodie, Z. , Kane, A. and Marcus, A. (2009) Investments, Hoboken: McGraw Hill Professional. Brealey, R. and Myers, S. (2003) Principles of Corporate Finance, New York: McGraw Hill.Burberry (2011) Annual Reports and Accounts, [online] Available at: www. burberryplc. com/bbry/results-centre/respre/rep2011/ [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Fama, E. F. , Fisher, L. , Jensen, M. C. and Roll, R. (1969) â€Å"The Adjustment of Stock Prices to New Information†, International Economic Review, 10 (1), pp. 1-21. Field A. (2005) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, London: Sage Publications. Gujarati, D. (1995) Basic Econometrics. 3rd ed. , New York: McGraw-Hill. Harder, S. (2008) â€Å"The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Application to Stock Markets†, Scholarly Research Paper, Germany: GRIN Verlag.Hasan, S. B. , Akhter, S. and Huda, H. A. E. (2012) â€Å"Cash Dividend Announcement Effect: Evidence from Dhaka Stock Exchange†, Research J ournal of Finance and Accounting, 3 (2), pp. 12-24. Maddala, G. S. (2001) Introduction to Econometrics. 3rd ed. , Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Mehnidiratta, N. and Gupta, S. (2010) â€Å"Impact of Dividend Announcement on Stock Prices†, International Journal of Information Technology and Knowledge Management, 2 (2), pp. 405-410. Moles, P. , Parrino, R. and Kidwell, D. (2011) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance – European Edition. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Palan, S. 2004) â€Å"The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Validity in Today's Markets†, M. A. Thesis. Germany: GRIN Verlag. Shiller, R. J. (1981) â€Å"Do Stock Prices Move Too Much to be Justified by Subsequent Changes in Dividends? †, NBER Working Paper No. 456. Tesco (2011) Annual Report and Accounts [online] Available at: ar2011. tescoplc. com/ [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Vodafone (2011) Annual Report and Accounts [online] Available at: http://www. vodafone. com/content/index/investors/reports/ann ual_report. html [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Yahoo Finance (2012) Weekly Share Prices [online] Available at: finance. yahoo. co. uk [Accessed 6 February 2012].

Annotated Biography Essays - Sport Club Do Recife, Sport

Annotated Biography Dayton, Kels. "Ask a Coach: Should I Specialize in One Sport in High School?"SportzEdge. News 8, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. http://sportzedge.com/2013/09/16/ask-a-coach-should-i-specialize-in-one-sport-in-high-school-2/>. I used this article to support my claim that playing more than one sport in high school is good for athletes. You get a firsthand look at what college coaches look for from an actual college coach who knows about recruiting and has been doing so for 20 plus years. You also get examples of great athletes who played multiple sports in high school who are sports super stars such as LeBronJames Fakehany, Tom. "ONE-SPORT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES."1 Sport Athletes. 18 Dec. 1995. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. http://home.earthlink.net/tfakehany/1sport.html>. This article counters my claim that playing multiple sports is beneficial. The article states that even though schools support playing multiple sports focusing on one main sport is the best way to get recruited forthatsport.Frollo, Joe. "Playing Multiple Sports Builds Better Athletes." Playing Multiple Sports Builds Better Athletes. 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. http://usafootball.com/blogs/health-and-safety/post/8942/playing-multiple-sports-builds-better-athletes>. This article supports my claim that playing multiple sports will benefit more than hurt athletes in the long run. In the article there are examples of how playing multiple sports can help them develop duplicate skills to help them a better all-around athlete. "One Sport Athletes."High School Sports Stuff. 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. http://highschoolsportsstuff.areavoices.com/2015/01/20/one-sport-athletes/>. This article supports my claim that playing multiple sports is good.thearticle includes great points about skills picked from different sports that can be used in another sport. It also includes points about athletes who are not looking to be recruited, but who play for the fun of playing. Oz, M.D., Mehmet, and Michael Roizen, M.D. "Kids Should Play More Than One Sport."Newsmax. 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. http://www.newsmax.com/health/Dr-Oz/oz-dr-sports-children/2014/10/08/id/599330/>. This article supports my claim that playing multiple sports is good. The article includes facts from doctors about over repetitiveness from playing just one sport is a very high risk for injury. Satterfield,Lem. "Coaches Recognize Competitiveness in Players Who Play Multiple Sports."ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 4 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Dec.2015. http://espn.go.com/high-school/lacrosse/recruiting-road/story/_/id/7057666/coaches-recognize-competitiveness-players-play-multiple-sports>. This article supports my claim that playing multiple is very beneficial for athletes. In this article collegecoaches give their reasons for wanting to recruit multiple sport athletes because of their competitiveness. Wippel, Teresa. "Should Your Child Play Just One Sport?"-ParentMap. 1 Mar. 2007. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. https://www.parentmap.com/article/should-your-child-play-just-one-sport>. This depicts my claim that playing more than one sport is beneficial. The article includes points about the pressure being too much for kids to handle with doing more than one sport.

The rights revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The rights revolution - Essay Example The country has had a lot of trouble incorporating the Quebec and non-Quebec nation into the political framework. As a result of the forced incorporation of such elements as women’s rights, and aboriginal land claims into the 1982’s Charter of Rights and Freedom, Canadian culture has become extremely distinct with respect to people’s rights. Canada is a socially democratic society that places special emphasis on the group rights as reflected both in the Quebec’s Charte de la langue francaise and in the agreements of treaty which acknowledges the rights of aboriginal people upon the land and resources. Canada is one of very few countries which stipulates the terms and conditions regarding the distortion of federation in the decisions of Supreme Court as well as in the federal legislation. Such an overt expression of concerns regarding secession increases its susceptibility to happen. Nevertheless, rules have been defined clearly in order to avoid ambiguitie s and violation by mistake. Besides, clear dictation of the secession laws reduces the chances of breakout of civil war. The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding secession identifies two primary concepts about rights. The first idea says that conflict is frequent while the second idea realizes the purpose of the rights language in the conditions of conflict which is to promote peaceful adjudication. Canada has also influenced the world with her rights talk.

Why I want to be a Medical Assistant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I want to be a Medical Assistant - Essay Example One of the major problems in the healthcare industry is the shortage of manpower. At the same time, the number of patients who take shelter in hospitals because of chronic diseases is growing day by day. There are three major reasons which motivated me to select the career in the field of medical assistants: American patients are facing difficulties in communicating properly with foreign hospital staffs, America is losing huge amounts because of outsourcing of clerical and administrative hospital jobs to foreign countries and Medical assistant profession is highly secure and decently paid profession. Most of the people working in American health sector are foreigners. Because of the shortage of Americans in the healthcare industry, patients are facing problems in communicating effectively with the foreigners. It is difficult for an American to communicate effectively with a foreigner, even if the foreigner has some knowledge in English.

Understanding Stock Options Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Understanding Stock Options Information - Essay Example Understand how accumulation or distribution (Accumulation, the buying of stock, distribution is the sale of stock.), forecast the future expectation of stocks or options. Ascending and Descending tops P. 15 International Encyclopedia of Technical Analysis Page 15 and 16,), these illustrations show ascending and descending price top transitions, from time period- to- time period, that trail stock directions.Volatility charts show extremes —specifically, option volatility charts show relationships between puts, calls, strike prices, and expiration dates. Assumption associations are derived from historical patterns, price patterns,and supply and demand relationship. Historical relationships signal the likeness of direction, whereas, price patterns point to quantity of decrease and increase. â€Å"Market factors (Interest rate changes, economic conditions, political factors, announced pending acquisitions.), are already incorporated into current market price per share. If demand exceeds supply, the stock price will increase, and vice versa.†(International Encyclopedia Page 16 and 17, J. Siegel, J. Shim, A Qureshi, J Brauchler). Charts are technical, and fundamentals play little or no roll when the technician makes decisions to buy or sell. He’s only interested in charts — usually 50 or 200 day moving average charts, volume, and the accumulation or distribution of a stock. WHAT ARE OPTIONS?Options have basic uses. One, to hedge—using options to safeguard against the underlying stock reducing in value.... Understand how accumulation or distribution (Accumulation, the buying of stock, distribution is the sale of stock.), forecast the future expectation of stocks or options. (Ascending and Descending tops P. 15 International Encyclopedia of Technical Analysis Page 15 and 16,), these illustrations show ascending and descending price top transitions, from time period- to- time period, that trail stock directions. Volatility charts show extremes -specifically, option volatility charts show relationships between puts, calls, strike prices, and expiration dates. Assumption associations are derived from historical patterns, price patterns, and supply and demand relationship. Historical relationships signal the likeness of direction, whereas, price patterns point to quantity of decrease and increase. "Market factors (Interest rate changes, economic conditions, political factors, announced pending acquisitions.), are already incorporated into current market price per share. If demand exceeds supply, the stock price will increase, and vice versa." (International Encyclopedia Page 16 and 17, J. Siegel, J. Shim, A Qureshi, J Brauchler) Charts are technical, and fundamentals play little or no roll when the technician makes decisions to buy or sell. He's only interested in charts - usually 50 or 200 day moving average charts, volume, and the accumulation or distribution of a stock. WHAT ARE OPTIONS Options have basic uses. O ne, to hedge-using options to safeguard against the underlying stock reducing in value. Much the same way as an insurance policy pays upon death, a put option pays (Or goes up in value.) as the underlying stock goes down.

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

Cv - Essay Example I am proactive and have a strong determination to succeed. I am competent, reliable, enthusiastic and energetic. I have good convincing ability that was aquired through my prior job experiences which required me to handle various individuals. I possess good analytical and conceptual skills. I believe these attributes can prove to be extremely beneficial for the organizations I work for. I am a motivated and confident individual with a willingness to learn. I am adaptable and flexible and am adept at handling changes. Relevant Skills I possess extremely good communication skills which were acquired through my academic experience during which I had to make presentations. I have good convincing ability and during my job as an assistant in ‘The Nido Student’, I was able to improve my persuasive and negotiation skills. I am a team player and have the ability to work in cooperation and coordination with my team members to achieve the team’s goals. I could improve on thi s particular skill through my experience of working in teams during my university education. I am a self starter and make sure that tasks are accomplished with perfection. I was entrusted with the responsibility of planning and organizing various tasks and allocating the tasks to the various team members. I strictly adhered to deadlines and accomplished the assigned tasks within the stipulated time period. During my previous jobs, I have worked as a team member as well as a team manager. I have successfully fulfilled my responsibilities demanded by the various roles that I had to undertake in the teams. I had worked as the Student Ambassador and Student Representative in the London Metropolitan University. Computer Skills I am computer literate and have working knowledge of computers. I have an in depth knowledge of various word processing packages and Microsoft Office. Language Proficiency I am proficient in English and Arabic and possess slight knowledge of Italian. However, I am a quick learner and have the ability and the interest to learn new languages. Key Strengths I possess extremely good interpersonal skills and I am good at presentations. In my prior jobs, these skills have helped me to perform well since I have had direct interaction with customers and it requires good communication skills. I am a quick learner and can quickly adapt to changes. I am proactive and always take the initiative to accomplish tasks to perfection. I am capable of performing well in teams as well as individually. Mobility I am free to travel anywhere as demanded by my job. Academic Qualification Duration Year Degree Course College/University 2010- 2011 Third year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2009-2010 Second Year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2008-2009 First Year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2007-2008 Business Foundation Programme London Metropolit an University 2007-2008 Student Representative London Metropolitan University 2006-2007 Certificate of Advanced level of English EC London College, London 2001-2005 Intermediate Diploma in Accounting Libyan College Training Undergone I have received training in customer services, leadership and entrepreneurship from London Metropolitan University. I had also undertaken a security course for the position of a door supervisor

Personal Responsibility and Individual Accountability Essay - 2

Personal Responsibility and Individual Accountability - Essay Example He was appointed as the Creative Team Member and thus his responsibility was to understand the creative elements within the campaigns and assist the remaining team members as per the ‘consistency’ theme within those campaigns. (Moses, 2000) Alan’s strengths were his ability to recognize the difference between the aesthetically sound designs and the ones which could not propagate many variations within the consumerism avenues. He knew what will sell and hence advocated his designs in such a manner that the element of commercialism was depicted in his work. He also remembered designs pretty well and this can also be marked as one of his major strengths. He could differentiate whose work meant a certain theme and which designer was well-equipped to handle a particular kind of task. On the job, Alan learned a great deal about being responsible, getting things done in an effective and efficient way, to liaise with the remaining team members, to manage his own self, gain interdependence and properly align his working regimes with the time slots which were devoted to his individualized as well as team’s works. (Keigher, 1996) Alan taught me that it was all about the passion to do something in a particular field and to have a certain belief that a person can actually do it. He taught me that being responsible does come from within, more so if the destination is in sight. Also, motivation is a much-cherished aspect that one could have for his own betterment. Alan’s story is somewhat similar to mine. I had been reckless in the past but now I have taken a leaf out of Alan’s book. I have taught myself that it is good to be persistent within a task and dedicate one’s own self whole-heartedly towards a task – as this alone will mean success.

H.W 8 GSC125-01 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

H.W 8 GSC125-01 - Essay Example Answer: Coriolis Effect reverses direction between the hemispheres so that the large scale winds in the Southern Hemisphere swerve to the left rather than to the left. This reversal is related to the difference in an observer’s sense of earth’s rotation in the two hemispheres. To an observer looking down from high above the North Pole, the planet rotates counterclockwise, whereas to an observer high above the South Pole, the planet rotates clockwise. For the observer measuring motion relative to a coordinate system anchored to the rotating Earth, this reversal in the apparent direction of rotation between the two hemispheres translates into a reversal in the direction of the Coriolis Effect. Answer: The counterclockwise and inward spiral of cyclone in Northern hemisphere converge surface winds towards the center of the low. Air ascends in response to converging surface winds and diverging winds aloft. The adiabatic expansion of ascending air within a cyclone lowers the temperature and saturation vapor pressure, thereby increasing the relative humidity of unsaturated air. Clouds and precipitation may eventually develop, so that cyclones are typically stormy weather

English commentary creative writing Essay Example for Free

English commentary creative writing Essay I based the beginning of my story on a physical but also mental journey a man goes on while he is on his own hitchhiking home. I felt this was suitable for the topic journeys and pilgrimages which also liked in with the book Chaucer. As it is the beginning of a story the audience could really be any age. As it is a piece to entertain I would say it is suited better for the young. The purpose of my story was to entertain people, but also informing people about how one man is able to hitchhike. In order for me to write a story about hitchhiking I had to do some research into the topic. I found a book called round Ireland with a fridge by Tony Hawks which really inspired me and helped me grasp the language technique to use in order to entertain. To think in with Chaucer and the way he writes I have used stereotypes in my writing, for example I have does the typical blond as being stupid and naive. I have also used the idea about how the people in Chaucer went on a journey. The man I write about goes on a journey by himself from Lancashire back to Bristol, in which he also finds himself and learns a lot more about the world around him. I wanted to portray the man as a typical Bristol lad, with a slight arrogant edge. In order to do this I had to use a slight sarcastic tone of voice which I hoped would also entertain the readers. I also used phonetic lexis to help create an idiolect of the man. I used a Bristol accent and changed words like alright to ite and also ya instead of you. Which changing his dialect to fit his accent I also done this with other characters in the story, for example the Yorkshire girl he meets. For instance when she says Wheor are yee headin creates a sense of her accent to the readers. The language I used was very informal and personal. It was from the point of view from a man writing himself so the tone was very calm but at times comical. The structure was the usual story telling layout, with several small and large paragraphs, with a wide range of short sentences to add emotion and feeling to the man. Okay, maybe not.(after a line about wanting to fulfil his life) is an example of the idiolect I used from him, and shows the way he comes across as a simple man but with a funny entertaining side. I also linked my writing to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I did this by using the disaster of the father in the road as a starting point of describing the man and his journey hitchhiking with so little and all by himself.

Support and Care for Geriatric Issues

Support and Care for Geriatric Issues TASK I- Identify and critically analyse the kinds of support and access to community support services in Kindly Residential Care Rest Home clients with these types of geriatric problems may need. You are required to prepare a report for the next board meeting. Elderly patients who have degenerative diseases, specifically dementia, have the right to be involved with the decisions about their care, like for instance the medical interventions, nursing interventions, the kind and amount food that are given to them, the ambulation, the routine care, and the hospice care. When you ask for a consent to do examinations and medical interventions, you have to bare in mind that that the patient is able to manifest their ability to account the advantages and disadvantages of the decision. Whether or not an individual has the capacity to assimilate information , make a decision and accountable for the consequences of the decision is a clinical evaluation; it is not a question of legal capacity. Furthermore, persons with mild-to-moderate dementia are to make some decisions. They may be able to participate in decision making but impaired memory recall might preclude their ability to demonstrate that they understand the treatment options (Moye et al., 2004). Consequently, it is always better to discover the patient’s authentic wants, needs and preferences rather than to immediately resort to significant others or other teams to take over for decision making. Patients whose cognitive status is unclear or fluctuates need protection from two types of mistakes: first, mistakenly preventing capacitive patients from directing the course of their healthcare; second, failing to protect incapacitated patients from the harmful effects of their decisions (Sherry A. Greenberg, PhD(c) MSN, GNP-BC New York University College of Nursing, 2012). There is no criterion for capacity determination. A Folstein Mini-Mental Status Examination score below 19 or above 23 is one proposed means to differentiate those with capacity from those who lack capacity for healthcare decision making (Karlawish et al., 2005). The patient’s ability to appreciate the consequences of a decision is a highly valued standard of decision making among healthcare professionals (Volicer Ganzini, 2003). However, there are also support organizations in New Zealand that caters health services to elderly with dementia. There are actually a lot of these organizations but I chose only 5 of them. The organizations are as follow: Alzheimers New Zealand Incorporated One of the non-for-profit organizations is the Alzheimers New Zealand Incorporated. It has 21 Alzheimers member organisations throughout the New Zealand which provides support, datas, learning programmes and services applicable within their affiliate environment. They intend to give information and recommend high standards of teaching and instruction for people with dementia, their carers and families and health professionals. They also look forward to the needs of the people with dementia with regards to their careers through provision of national advocacy and they also raise government awareness over them. In addition, they provide support to all member organisations, and most of all they give importance to the Treaty of Waitangi by developing a working relationship with MÄ ori in the provision of dementia services. SuperGold Card The SuperGold Card is like an ATM card as you can see it physically. It is not inserted through any machine but instead, this card gives discounts and concessions for veterans in New Zealand as a recognition of their contribution to the society. The SuperGold Card offers fa range of businesses like when you buy something in grocery stores, pharmacies or any other departments. This card also gives a reduced price for government privilege including public transportation and discounted services from local agency. Deaf Aotearoa The path to and promotion of New Zealand sign language is the main focus of this organisation. They promote awareness to elderly with hearing disability on how to use the accepted and universal sign language for them to communicate to other individuals. Deaf Aotearoa also helps impose the rights of deaf people. They also give the people the self-esteem to be an functional part of the general public. Deaf Aotearoa, like Alzheimers New Zealand Incorporated, is also a non-for-profit organisation. They are the only provider of services to Deaf people and gives information on a class of services, including legal counsel, learning opportunities and employment concerns in New Zealand. Service coordination, employment consultancy, equipment services, community relations and transition programmes are Deaf Aotearoa’s primary services. They also cater access to information and services, encourages Deaf New Zealanders to follow favorable circumstance that will enhance their lives, be self-reliant and to follow their dreams, facilitates ongoing scholastic analysis and provides measure for local and national government. They also boost for a better pathway to opportunities and services. 4. Age Concern Age Concern is dedicated to help or encourage individuals especially elderly to a better health and well being, their rights, admiration and nobility for aged people. Through a domestic office and a nationwide system of connection of 35 Age Concerns, they provide an act of helpful activity, facts and agency to older people in response to their needs. Their vision is to value older people and live in a comprehensive environment. This means that golden-aged people should be treated equally and that they live a quality of life where everyone is whole and benefit abundantly from the fullness of life. Though New Zealand hasnt achieved this yet, but they are doing their very best by conducting meetings and gatherings in order to uplift the standards of their organisation, as well as resolving some issues in connection with them. 5. Nelson Grey Power Association Nelson Grey Power is a hallway organization encouraging to promote the felicity and healthfulness of those people who reached 50 years old and above. Grey Power are publicized as â€Å"the voice of the over 50s† and have prosperously implemented to enhance the drivers licensing process for the senior citizens even those who aged 50 years old and above. In addition, Grey Power has enormous impact and influence in the Country (New Zealand) due to the countless number of senior citizens population. On the other hand, there are also service provisions that gives services and assists the elderly with dementia. Like for instance, the hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, independent living and early intervention. Hospitals all around New Zealand does not only cater help and remedy to those who are in pain, injured and sick. They also specialise and assist on some disorders like those who experiences dementia and other degenerative diseases that occur during aging. They have what they called dementia unit inside the hospital where they are being took good care of by the healthcare providers. These healthcare providers include the medical doctors who specialise dementia, nurses, healthcare assistants, medical technology and caregivers; all who keep in touch in course of managing the patients condition. These multidisciplinary team work hard to lessen the symptoms felt by the patient as this, dementia, really progresses badly. They treat every patient wholly and equally in any walks of life. Other establishments that provide services to the elderly are those in the Hospice. From the word hospice, it literally means a place that provides care for people who are dying. This is an adjunct or supplementary care given to those people whose living days can be counted by the fingers. Hospice gives patients and their significant support and care from an multidisciplinary team that includes experts in end-of-life care. Hospice interdisciplinary team are learned enough about common signs and symptoms that may happen in patients with severe Alzheimers disease. Nursing home is the common house for elderly in New Zealand. Due to various and loads of work for the productive-aged individuals, they tend to send their loved ones (ages 60 and above) to such nursing homes. Elderly sent at nursing home dont mean they are unable to do their daily routine. They are able but they need assistance of another person. That help can be done by their significant others or they can hire a caregiver at home, but, the setting inside the nursing home is very therapeutic to elderly most especially if they need other companions in their lives. The Early Intervention Service medical team gives central nationwide buildup and appointment to Tairawhiti, Hawkes Bay, Whanganui, Tairawhiti, Whanganui, Wairarapa and MidCentral, as well providing the medical services for District health board (Kapiti ,Wellington and Porirura) and Hutt District Health Board. The Early Intervention Service is an ‘Early Intervention in Psychosis’ assistance. This means that they helping young people who is experiencing psychosis. They also provide a assistance to people from aged 13 to 25 who are going through psychosis for the first time, or who have not received any treatment for such condition. Independent Living Service in New Zealand promotes self-worth for elderly. With this service provsion, they are being taught how to do their daily routine with some assistance. It is important that they are still able to do the activities of daily living so that they will feel how the world will value them, and that the community sees how vital their roles are in the society. TASK II- Identify the impacts on the relationships between these stakeholders provide alternative measures to support, minimise or remove the identified negative impacts. â€Å"Dementia; a Cancer?† Not all what you knew is true and correct. You know what dementia is, but you dont know the whole thing about it. Yes! you heard it right. There many mythical or unclear beliefs about the disease that produced into a Stigma. The way you treat a person with Dementia is so poor. It seems like a person is dying because he/she is having a Cancer. But that shouldnt be that way. There are some certain things you need to know about the disease. Due to these negative opinions that brought about by these normal people, it created a bad, big impact to those who are affected by such condition. Such stigma impacts are as follows: a. Social isolation of the individual and their family People who are affected with dementia should not feel isolated. They should be kept in touch with their loved ones and the world, especially with the community. Let them feel their self-worth thru giving them reasons why should they have to live in this world. Show to them how world and the community needs them and that you have valued a lot their contributions to our progressive country. b. Assumption of automatic lost of independence Elderly with Dementia should be treated fairly. They are not incapacity to treat them like a child. You can assist them with their daily activities in life like changing clothes, taking a bath or performing their necessities. Do not do everything on your own because they are still able, especially those who are in mild dementia and moderate dementia category. You can even assist them during decision making and determine their options so that you will know where to intervene. The first thing you have to remember when making a decision is always their safety and security. Unable to make decisions about own care When you say dementia, it has three categories. The mild, moderate and severe dementia. Elderly with mild and moderate dementia are able to make their own decisions but they should be guided. They are also trainable but you should always have an eye for them in order to be safe. d. Dissatisfying interactions with the medical community As normal individuals we should always have to remember that we are the functional system in the community as well as any other area we are. As a productive ones, we should always give favor to those who are not. Like the elderly with dementia, they are ill but they are still conscious about the environment. They are having hard times understanding about something but you should always bare in mind that you are there to assist them. As a healthcare provider, it is in your responsibility to be therapeutic to your patients. So you should remain to be in that way. No matter how bad the experience may be, you should always have to give them chance to interact with you. e. Uncertainty of support services and treatments Dementia is not a cancer and there are certain assistance, support and treatments to those who are affected by it. The notion of bring hopeless situation to those who are affected by it are just a hearsay. Never ever believe on it. You have to read more about dementia and you can merely conclude the truth about the disease on your own. One day you will realize that the the things you knew your good at might be wrong. Reading is a good hobby, and a hobby will become an excellent habit. The best teacher is ourselves alone; learn it from your experience and relate it with your intelligence. Recommendation â€Å"Prevention is better than cure† I would like to recommend this work to everyone since having dementia can occur in an early stage of life. To prevent such disease, we should always bare in mind the things that we are doing right now, if these things can contribute to this degenerative diseases and how can we, as individuals, prevent these degenerative diseases. I specifically recommend this to the secondary students, because this is the stage in life where the act of bullying is more common. This is to help them prevent such act and will also help them understand what dementia is really all about, and if they happen to see elderly in the community who wanders every time, they wont be that surprised to see it in actual setting. On the other hand, I also would like to recommend my work to the adults so that they will be knowledgeable enough about the disease. We are also going through the same pathway as our elderly have been before, and they may be experiencing such degenerative disease in the future. I also would like this to be read by health professionals like the nurses, healthcare assistants down to caregivers who are working in an establishments where heaps of patients are affected by such condition. Conclusion Generally speaking, Dementia can happen to anyone. It doesnt choose people. Even rich people can be affected by such disease as we aged. We have to be mindful of the things around us. We all have to work hand in hand for our treasures (elderly) in life. The better way to make life harmonious to live is to accept and love more our grandmothers and grandfathers. We have to take good care of them and respect them as much as we respect ourselves, so that we will receive the same amount and may be more about the things we want to receive in the future, as we aged. Bibliography WHO (1990). Dementia: a public health priority. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/dementia_report_2012/en/ Joan M. Erikson (1998). The Generational Link. The Life Cycle Completed Extended Version, pages 66-71 Alzheimers New Zealand (2012). What is Dementia?. Retrieved from http://www.alzheimers.org.nz/about-dementia/what-is-dementia

Classical Mythology Essay -- essays research papers

Classical Mythology What would one think if he goes back in time to a period where myths were common? Would one believe it to be true or hold his own opinion? I would say it depends on the situation and on what type of myth it is. Classical period was full of myths. There were many aspects to mythology that were held important in the classical era. One of the most significant aspects of the Greek mythology was that it was the primary concept to put humans at the midpoint of the universe. Not like the animal deities of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the gods of the Greeks were human in form. Not only did they have human physical character, but they symbolized the touching flaws of humans as well. Unlike the gods of other ancient civilizations, Greek gods were not much omniscient and all-powerful, manifesting typical humans. To the Greeks, the life of the gods so closely resembled human life that the gods felt real and touchable, rather than impenetrable and distant. Even the most magical of Greek myths contain real-world elements: the supernatural Hercules lives in the very real city of Thebes, and the goddess Aphrodite is born in a spot any ancient tourist could visit, off the island of Cythera. In general, Greek myths involve less strange and frightening magic than the myths of other ancient civilizations. In this more normal world, individuals become heroes by virtue of bravery and strength rather than supernatural powers. Even though Greek myth lacks wizards and demoni... Classical Mythology Essay -- essays research papers Classical Mythology What would one think if he goes back in time to a period where myths were common? Would one believe it to be true or hold his own opinion? I would say it depends on the situation and on what type of myth it is. Classical period was full of myths. There were many aspects to mythology that were held important in the classical era. One of the most significant aspects of the Greek mythology was that it was the primary concept to put humans at the midpoint of the universe. Not like the animal deities of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, the gods of the Greeks were human in form. Not only did they have human physical character, but they symbolized the touching flaws of humans as well. Unlike the gods of other ancient civilizations, Greek gods were not much omniscient and all-powerful, manifesting typical humans. To the Greeks, the life of the gods so closely resembled human life that the gods felt real and touchable, rather than impenetrable and distant. Even the most magical of Greek myths contain real-world elements: the supernatural Hercules lives in the very real city of Thebes, and the goddess Aphrodite is born in a spot any ancient tourist could visit, off the island of Cythera. In general, Greek myths involve less strange and frightening magic than the myths of other ancient civilizations. In this more normal world, individuals become heroes by virtue of bravery and strength rather than supernatural powers. Even though Greek myth lacks wizards and demoni...

Essay --

Aaliyah Calloway Mrs. Rhodehouse AP English III, Period 5 September 12, 2013 Bibliographic Information Author: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Born in 1896 in St. Paul, Florida Died 40 years. old from a heart attack(1940) Yale Graduate Title: based on personal experience from prior residence in Long Island Publishing City: New York City,NY Publisher: Charles Scribner DOP: 1925 Character List Nick Carraway narrator from Minnesota goes to new york to learn business bonds honest loyal neighbor of gatsby Jay Gatsby protagonist wealthy lonely born on a farm in N. Dakota in love with Daisy criminal dishonest Daisy Buchanan nick’s cousin fell in love with gatsby but married Tom beautiful social cynical superficial materialistic Tom Buchanan wealthy husband of Daisy social club member at Yale with Nick arrogant hypocritical racist sexist having an affair with Myrtle Jordan Baker Daisy’s friend Nick’s love interest competitive golfer â€Å"new woman† cynical boyish beautiful dishonest George Wilson Myrtle's husband owns a auto shop iodilize Mrytle jealous of T... ... comes to loving someone. "If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock." Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.†(Chapter 5) - To have someone like Gatsby to love Daisy is so sweet. He will never give up even when she’s married to Tom. His passion and desire to be loved by someone that can’t love him back is heart breaking.

Mood of Passage in Snow Falling On Cedars Essay -- essays research pap

In the passage be ginning â€Å"They had picked†¦Ã¢â‚¬  from the novel Snow Falling On Cedars, the author, David Guterson, uses many techniques to give the passage a depressing, and frightening mood. He uses vivid imagery to describe Carl’s dead body. He also uses figurative language, such as metaphors and similes to show the severity of the situation. Finally, his diction shows the reader how reading about a crime scene can seem real if the word choice is right. All the techniques Guterson use help the reader to feel as if they were actually at the scene when Carl’s dead body was found in the ocean.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The words that Guterson uses create vivid images in the reader’s mind thanks to his use of imagery in the passage. For example, when one reads about the â€Å"bubbles of seawater coursing under† Carl’s shirt, and his â€Å"icy but brilliant pink† skin that looked as if the sea had parboiled in the sea, they might be disgusted. The imagery lets readers actually imagine a dead Carl in their mind, which can be very depressing. Death is also a very scary subject for some, so imagining this would even frighten some. If Guterson would have just said that he was dead and the officers pulled him out of the water, it would not have been as effective. The reader might not have even got any mood out of that, but the mood is also determined by other factors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Figurative language is used abundantly in the passage. Guterson uses metaphors such as Carl’s h...

Analysis Rocking-Horse Winner Essay

People in life who are unware of how they affect others, brings out their struggle with ignorance. This ignorance can hit every aspect of their life. In the short story by D. H. Lawrence, â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner†, a young boy named Paul encounters a rough lifestyle due to fact that nothing is ever good enough for his dear mother, Hester. He takes the burden on himself, and tries to reclaim everything that his mother desperately longs for. As young as Paul is, he takes a huge responsibility in resolving the financial burden of his family. Paul is a crucial character element to the plot and this relationship between the two helps the story unfold. The relationship between Paul and his mother is very unusual compared to your average mother son connection. Being an innocent child, Paul feels that his mother just doesn’t have the luck in life to be happy. From his point of view he felt that the way to get to happiness for himself and his family was to provide monetary materialistic pleasure. Thus ultimately leading to his epic journey for contentment. Hester, Paul’s mother, doesn’t recognize how much of an influence she is on her son’s life. Even though her actions of bad parenting habits and lack of a self-filter, she doesn’t realize that her outlook on life is critically affecting her child’s livelihood. She has a rare way of seeing things, belief in that luck is what brings you money and that without that it you won’t be prosperous. The reasoning behind this is that Paul is constantly hearing the phrase â€Å"There must be more money†, whispering throughout the house. Between the whispering and his mother, Paul witnessing actions of this sort pretty much corrupt himself by the end. Paul has many interactions between himself and the family gardener named Basset on the topic of horseracing. Basset is a veteran at placing bets on horses and he loves it. Paul and Basset come to be great friends when, Paul finds that he is able to come up with the winner of the upcoming derby. Using this to his advantage, Paul enlists the help of Basset to help himself to start winning money. Uncle Oscar gets word of the betting and wants in on the partnership, which is great because Paul finds Uncle Oscar lucky. These interactions between these three characters help secure Paul with a small fortune. Even though Basset and Uncle Oscar never forced him to come up with the winning horse, there were consequences that could not be foreseen. Paul rode his rocking horse hard and put lots of effort into it, sometimes hours upon the horse. Keeping in mind that the reason he did this  was to please his mother with a monetary gain. Sadly before a big derby, Hester finds Paul thrashing upon his rocking horse, falling off in a heap. He yells out the winning horses name â€Å"Malabar† and becomes unconscious. Paul unknowingly took his life for the sake of his messed up mothers eternity. The setting in this particular short story was fairly stagnant. The majority of the time, the setting was at the family’s house in England. Then, a small segment was at a horse race in which Uncle Oscar took Paul to. Setting was relevant to the character Paul, because it mainly revolved around what he was doing. For example, he is the one that wants to provide for the family, so the story follows him and his journey. An important element to â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† is the relationship between the character and how the plot is patterned. The plot is set up in order of sequence of events, Lawrence wrote to where he could follow the thoughts and actions of Paul through a third person point of view. For instance, Paul realizes he can get money for his financial burdened family through the horse races. So in turn, he starts riding his rocking horse for the major derby’s coming up. The author D.H. Lawrence establishes character to bring out the conflict and resolution into the story. Conflict is brought upon the main character, Paul by his mother relating to the fact that the family does not have enough money for what they desire. Her desire for more financial wealth lies at core of all the conflict that happens in the story itself. Paul is the one that is trying to resolve this issue by using his special power of prediction. This story as a whole is a closed plot. Paul eventually ends up dying at the end with his final hurrah of â€Å"Malabar†, making the story have a definite ending. Personally I am satisfied with the way the story ended. It went out with a bang and it’s nice to not be puzzled on how the story could end that way. I am though interested in how the family would survive without not only Paul but the huge money supply he left the family. Wealth is one thing people can go crazy over. Hester is a great example of how ignorance can ruin someone’s life and even majorly affect other people around. Paul was just doing what he thought was morally correct to help his mother and the family. He did his deed without them knowing and never got any appreciation. This unappreciated hero helped give plot to the story and life to the characters.

Ict Impact on Accounting Essay

Introduction  The purpose of this commentary is to explore how information and communication technologies (ICT) have forever changed many aspects of business and accounting practice and, as a result, offer new and exciting research opportunities to accounting professionals and academics. In today’s computerized, interconnected, global business environment, the accounting profession must deal with a host of complex issues that never existed in the past—for instance, how to capture and record new business transactions and events, develop value-added business and information processes, create new value-chain and supply-chain opportunities, disseminate useful knowledge to a wide array of information consumers, and provide assurance services across the entire spectrum of economic activities reflect some of the more compeUing topics of interest. Accounting researchers can add value to the profession by investigating these issues, among others, and presenting scientific results in a clear and understandable fashion to practicing accountants. An important message of this commentary is that researchers in accounting information systems (AIS) and other areas of accounting, such as financial, auditing, tax, and managerial, should work together on projects, as each party can learn a great deal from the other. Synergistic relationships arising from such teamwork hold great potential to yield high-quality research results that can have notable impact on the accounting profession. THE NEW BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING LANDSCAPE Over the past centuries, business practices and accounting procedures developed and matured a great deal, yet at a relatively predictable, slow, and controlled rate. We stand squarely, proudly, and respectfully on the broad shoulders of those who came before us, as their guidance, wisdom, and insight masterfully steered us to this place and time in the profession. However, in the apparent twinkling of an eye, ICT has disrupted our peaceful existence by radically transforming the manner in which ^^ Accounting Horizons/March 2002 business is conducted across the world and alerting us to the many challenges that lay ahead. How Technology Affects Business Practice There is little doubt that ICT has contributed immensely to the magnitude, speed, and acceleration of change in business practice over the past three decades. Rapid changes in the business world place immense pressure on business executives to stay ahead of the competition hy leveraging ICT to dramatically and continually redesign business processes and models. Using ICT to Create a Digitally Integrated Entity Figure 1 depicts an ICT infrastructure that envelopes and permeates the inputprocess-output value chain of a business entity. Encapsulated by this ICT infrastructure, digitally integrated business entities capture economic events as they unfold, process information with instantaneous speed and ubiquitous availability, and disseminate valuable decision-making information and knowledge throughout the organization. The blending of ICT and business process integration manifests itself in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, which serve as the foundation for linking multiple, related business entities into integrated supply chains. Using ICT to Integrate the Conventional Supply Chain When related entities link their internally integrated information systems to one another, the value ofthe interconnected network potentially becomes greater than the sum ofthe participating firms* isolated systems. The supply chain illustrated in Figure 2 depicts how a digitally integrated business environment might look, assuming that conventional relationships among upstream and downstream partners remain intact. Suppliers can monitor upcoming production schedules of manufacturers to ensure that the proper amount and mix of raw materials arrive on time where needed. Upon receipt of raw materials, the manufacturer could send electronic payment to the suppliers. Conversely, the manufacturer might look upstream to ensure that primary and secondary suppliers have sufficient capacity to meet its upcoming production demands. Looking  downstream, a manufacturer can monitor inventory balances and movement patterns ofits product hnes to ensure that distributors have sufficient quantities of products on-hand. When new patterns emerge, for instance the activity rate for product A increases significantly for distributor X but decreases for distributor Y, the manufacturer can adjust its production and shipping schedules accordingly. Looking further downstream, distributors can monitor shelf patterns at retail locations, thereby making sure that product stock-outs do not occur. Finally, retailers can monitor changing consumption patterns of customers and adjust product mix and shelf locations correspondingly. Using ICT to Create New Business Models When ICT first arrived on the business scene, managers initially automated existing processes, rather than envisioning how ICT could be used to conduct business in new and innovative ways. Eventually business managers hegan to understand the potential of ICT to support radical changes in internal business practices; hence, they viewed the development and implementation of ERP systems as value-added endeavors for their business organizations. To some extent, business entities are experiencing a similar evolutionary adaptation to ICT in the realm of integrated supply chains. That is, the previous example reflects how business managers are using ICT to automate existing Blending Information and Communication Technology ujitk Accounting Research 67 FIGURE 1 The Digitally Integrated Business Entity Qualitative & Business & information & Quantitative Information Knowledge / Inputs Processes Low Value High Value Value-Chain FIGURE 2 The Digitally Integrated Conventional Supply Chain Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors Retailers Customers supply-chain models. However, ICT further allows new supply-chain and business models to emerge. For example, the hybrid supply chain shown in Figure 3 depicts a scenario where manufacturers deal directly with retailers, thereby bypassing the entire distributor network. For instance, assxime that a manufacturer receives real-time inputsfromretailers, via shelf sensors and cash registers, regarding the shelf location of each product, the rate at which the product is being purchased, the types of discount coupons being redeemed, and the number of units remaining on store shelves. Leveraging on such intelligence 58 Accounting Horizons/March 2002 FIGURE 3 The Digitally Integrated Hybrid Supply Chain Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors Retailers Customers gathering, the manufacturer could monitor stocks and flows at retail stores, and continuously fine-tune its production and shipping schedules. Additionally, manufacturers and retailers could enter into agreements where manufacturers assume stocking responsibihty and retain legal title until the products are sold. A scenario of this nature, often referred to as â€Å"vendor managed inventories,† gives manufacturers greater control over their  products, while reheving financial and human resource burdens heretofore imposed on retailers. Taken one step further, manufacturers might begin to wonder why they use retailers at all, since they can create virtual storefronts on the Web, thus dealing directly with customers and allowing for creation of the virtual supply chains illustrated in Figure 4. Such economic arrangements, legitimatised under terms and conditions specified in â€Å"collaboration partner agreements,† are very efficient, as they reduce the number of layers from suppliers and customers, thereby dramatically increasing the firm’s response time and adaptability. Last, but certainly not least, ICT offers new and exciting business models previously not possible, such as virtual enterprises depicted in Figure 5. Using this type of ecommerce configuration, a virtual enterprise can establish complex interdependencies with suppliers, manufacturers, and customers, thus offering a wide array of goods and services to consumers. The virtual enterprise is organic in nature because the structures, relationships, rules, procedures, and houndaries of business relationships can adapt to ever-changing environmental conditions. ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS—SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES The emergence of ICT over the past few decades led to a new business and academic discipline—information systems (IS). Given that the vast majority of business event processing in organizations deals with accounting transactions, it is no surprise that the disciplines of accounting and IS share a high degree of commonality; yet key differences exist between the two disciplines as well. Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research 59 FIGURE 4 The Digitally Integrated Virtual Supply Chain Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors Retailers Customers FIGURES The Digitally Integrated Virtual Enterprise Similarities between Accounting and Information Systems The input-process-output value chain of a business entity sbown in Figure 1 reflects one area of convergence between the accounting and IS disciplines. For instance, both disciplines examine ways to maximize tbe efficiency and effectiveness of recording economic data, wbere issues sucb as editing and validating input data are of paramount concern. Additionally, botb disciplines investigate various approacbes to automating the immediate capture of economic events at their source as they occur via ^^ Accounting Horizons /March 2002 computer-to-computer interactions, point-of-sale applications, self-service features, and so on. Regarding tbe processing of economic events, botb disciplines seek to integrate ICT into business processes and ensure the security of corporate databases. Tbe accounting and IS disciplines also endeavor to disseminate reliable and timely information to decision makers, and advance understanding witb respect to managing business knowledge tbrougbout tbe organization, Tbe accounting and IS disciplines also seek ways to improve modeling techniques aimed at conveying semantic representations of intra- and inter-enterprise systems. Scbolars wbo engage in intellectual pursuits of this nature categorize tbeir researcb as design science. Such researcb is vitally important to tbe creation of sound â€Å"architectural drawings† and â€Å"engineering plans† for building reliable systems. Tbe accounting and IS disciplines furtber investigate issues tbat fall into the realm of social science. For insttmce, at tbe individual level, researcbers explore various ways to involve users in systems  development and implementation projects, improve decision making via decision-support and group-support systems, and create system interfaces designed to enbance tbe efficiency and effectiveness of human-to-computer interactions. At the organizational level, the ultimate goal is to create information systems tbat best leverage firm resources to maximize profitability and competitiveness, Witb this objective in mind, researchers strive to use ICT in ways tbat support business process (re)design efforts, improve intelligence gatbering, sucb as data warebouses, data marts, and knowledge bases, and produce tbe new business models reflected in Figures 2 througb 5. Differences between Accounting and Information Systems Accounting can be viewed as a specialized information system aimed at recognizing, measuring, recording, processing, and reporting economic events affecting business entities. A noticeable divergence between tbe accounting and IS disciplines centers on the economic implications of business events. Tbe accounting discipline expends a great deal of effort deciding wbicb economic events must be recognized and how they sbould be measured. Economic concerns of tbis nature are not addressed in tbe IS literature, as event and measurement rules are taken as given. Once these important issues are resolved and codified, qualified economic events must be recorded, processed* and reported. As mentioned earlier, botb disciplines investigate similar intra-enterprise issues; however, tbe IS discipline is most concerned witb technical aspects of incorporating ICT into organizations, whereas tbe accounting discipline is most interested in leveraging ICT to improve business performance wbile simultaneously maintaining effective internal controls. With respect to system design matters, accountants help to insure that sound internal controls are developed and integrated into information systems, such as (1) editing and validating input data, (2) tracking the integrity of information tbrougbout processing, storage, and retrieval activities, (3) maintaining reliable audit trails, and (4) securing operating systems, networks, software applications, and databases so tbat only properly autborized individuals bave access to financial information. To the extent tbat internal controls of this nature cannot be incorporated into tbe system, accountants must design compensating controls around the system. Regarding business process (re)design efforts, IS researcbers again tend to focus on tecbnical matters, sucb as how to build  systems tbat are adaptable to various business process models. In contrast, tbe accounting discipline focuses on developing innovative Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research 61 ways to (re)design business and information processes to improve the reliability, relevance, and timeliness of financial and nonfinancial business reporting. For example, accounting researchers might redesign business processes to incorporate a more comprehensive set offirmperformance indicators, such as balance scorecard metrics, whereas IS researchers concentrate on how to technically capture and process such input. On the output side ofthe value chain, the business vs. technical distinction between the accounting and IS disciplines emerges once again. The accounting discipline takes a â€Å"decision usefulness† approach to reporting business information. Researchers in this area expend a great deal of effort identifying the nature of financial and nonfinancial information needed by decision makers, translating critical business information into knowledge, integrating knowledge bases throughout the organization, and designing individual- and group-level decision support systems. Although the IS discipline is also involved with information dissemination, knowledge management, and decision support, IS research focuses not on content issues, but on the technical aspects of using ICT for such purposes. Business process (re)design efforts cEin extend beyond the intra-enterprise boundary to include inter-enterprise linkages, such as those represented by Figures 2 through 5. Creating and maintaining externalities of this nature beget a host of business and accounting risk issues for trading partners. For instance, because trading partners are concerned about potential business interruptions during the implementation and operation of inter-enterprise systems, contingency and backup plans must be developed and tested. Trading partners also monitor and control external transactions and agreements to ensure that all parties in the inter-enterprise network live up their trading partner arrangements, else a weak link in the chain couid have serious business and financial implications for all interdependent trading  partners. While the accounting discipline focuses on these types of implementing, monitoring, and controlling issues, the IS discipline concentrates on the technical aspects of establishing and maintaining inter-enterprise relationships. Finally, the accounting discipline provides public assurances regarding the extent to which financial statements fairly refiect the financial position ofthe enterprise and the ICT infrastructure is reliable. The information systems discipline is uninvolved with providing such assurances. These similarities and differences between the accoimting and IS disciplines form the basis for the accounting value chain, presented next. THE ACCOUNTING VALUE CHAIN The accounting value chain shown in Figure 6 adapts and extends concepts imbedded in enterprise (Porter and Millar 1985), assurance (Elliott 1994), and information (Elliott 1995) value cbains. Using the accounting value chain as a guide, this section addresses one ofthe most important questions and challenges to the accounting profession. That is, how can accountants add vEilue to business organizations in today’s computerized, interconnected, global business environment? Capturing Economic Events On the low-value end of the spectrum fall the traditioned functions of identifying, measuring, and recording accounting transactions as they pierce the boundary of the entity. Since most of these functions are routine and predictable, cleverly written computer programs can handle most of these activities. Sometimes, economic events unfold that are new or unusual to thefirmand require that a properly trained accountant intervene. 62 Accounting Horizons / March 2002 FIGURE 6 The Accounting Value Chain Implementing, Monitoring, & Controlling Externalities entifying, . Measuring & Recording Accounting Phenomena Designing. ^ Generating. Integrating \ Managing & Innovating & Integrating Business/Information / / Business Processes // Knowledge Developing, Providing & Reporting Assurance /: Low Value IT Can Perform †¢ Computerized, Interconnected, Global Business Environment High Value IT Can Assist †¢ However, on the whole, data-capturing tasks performed by accountants in the past have been supplanted by infonnation technology. Because real-time event-capturing processes are mature and reliable, accounting researchers have few opportunities in this area to add incremental value to exttint theory or practice. Processing Economic Events The next phase of the accounting value chain deals with converting data into meaningful information streams. As with input activities, computerized processing of accounting transactions is routinely automated. Reliable accounting controls are built into most infonnation-processing systems, hence the integtity of such systems is quite high. For instance, automated checks and balances, coupled with security features, can insure that data are not lost, corrupted, or altered during processing, storing, and retrieving activities. Future research in this area will not concentrate on ICT alone; rather, it will focus on how to leverage ICT to develop and integrate innovative business process models. Disseminating Business Knowledge The high-value side of the accounting value chain deals with generating, managing, and integrating business knowledge. As suggested by Elliott (2001), knowledge leveraging is the most important and distinguishing competency of professional accountants. While many information technology tools exist to assist in this regard, such as database query languages, data warehouses, and data marts, it is humans who ultimately apply reason, judgment, and interpretation to informational patterns—which in turn begets new knowledge. Accountants can play valuable roles in identifying, Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research 63 processing, and utilizing business knowledge, and disseminating such knowledge to other information consumers inside and outside ofthe organization. Developing Externalities A relatively new arena where accountants can add value to the business organizations concerns the development of external linkages to other firms in the environment. As discussed previously, business networks of this nature allow for the formation of emerging e-commerce models across value and supply chains. However, the creation of externalities evokes a host of implementing, monitoring, and controlling concerns relevant to accountants. For example, when a firm establishes digital connections with another firm, the rules of engagement must be carefully specified. That is, an exchange protocol must be agreed upon and collaborative partner agreements must detail the responsibilities, authorizations, and restrictions of each party. Once external linkages are in place, each party must monitor and control informational flows and exchanges to insure that the privacy, confidentiality, and security rights of affected parties are protected. Since the development of external digital linkages has significant internal control implications, accounting researchers face a host of new opportunities in this regard. Providing Assurance There are many new and exciting opportunities where the accounting profession could add value to managers, investors, and society through an expanded line of assurance services. The most notable, yet traditional, form of assurance is manifest in the auditor’s opinion regarding the fairness offinancialreporting. However, the heavy dependency on ITC within and across business organizations has opened doors to an entirely new line of potential assurance services. For instance, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) considered business-to-consumer assurance in the form of WebTrust^†. More recently, the AICPA/CICA rolled out a product called SysTrust^†, which reflects a type of business-to-business assurance. Other assurance services will Hkely emerge over time, such as assurance over the quality and reliability offirms*business and information processes, located in the  middle ofthe accounting value chain, and assurance over knowledge management tools and techniques, located on the upper end ofthe spectrum. Last, but certainly not least, a new breed of e-commerce assurance service opportunities will likely emerge as firms begin to link their internal systems to one another, thereby forming unique and innovative e-commerce models. Synergistic Research Opportunities in Accounting The accounting value chain illustrated in Figure 6 provides a structure for pondering and framing a wide array of research questions for accounting scholars. The more prominent issues investigated by accounting information systems researchers are reflected in an upcoming AIS research monograph sponsored by the Information Systems Section of the American Accounting Association.’ Since most of these issues have been directly or indirectly addressed above, this section identifies representative areas where accounting information systems and other accounting researchers can collaborate on research projects. ‘ Arnold, V, and S. Sutton, Researching Accounting as an Information Systems Discipline, Information SyBtems Section of the American Accounting Association, forthcoming. ^Accounting Horizons/March 2002 Business Reporting Taxonomies The AICPA, among dozens of supporters, is involved with developing a technologybased framework to allow for the automatic extraction and exchange of financial and nonfinancial information across multiple, disparate software applications. Realization of this framework will facilitate many desired goals, such as the creation of global supply chziins, immediate dissemination of financial statements to the public, transmission of regulatoryfilingsto governmental agencies, and so on. The technology behind this framework is called extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), also known as the digital language of business. More infonnation about XBRL can be found at httpi/Avww.xbrl.org. In order to realize the full potential of XBRL, each data item in a corporate database must be precisely defined and related to other data items. The end result of this mapping process is called a taxonomy. For example, if all firms engaged in producing widgets agree on a standardized taxonomy for their industry and map their corporate data accordingly, then financial and nonfinancial information could fiow freely across the industry, regardless of the types of software and hardware being used by the firms. Taken a step further, if trading partner firms involved with the industry’s supply chain have access to the taxonomy, then they, too, can easily share business information. This example can be extended to a global setting as well. Research opportunities in this area seek to develop taxonomies to be used for various industries, regulatory agencies, accounting jurisdictions, supply chains, and so on. For instance, AIS researchers could collaborate with financial accountants on the development of XBRL taxonomies focused on financial reporting, including global taxonomies, and with managerial accountants on taxonomies dealing with internal reporting and supply chains. Continuous Financial Reporting In an effort to be more responsive to information consumers, publicly traded companies are considering the merits of providing financial statements on a more frequent basis than the current quarterly reporting period. Many issues and concerns arise with respect to continuous financial reporting, such what is meant by continuous (e.g., monthly, weekly, daily), how to deal with accruals, deferrals, and estimates in a continuous reporting environment, and the impact of continuous reporting on the capital market. Regarding the latter issue, financial and AIS researchers could simulate and compare various reporting frequencies, such as quarterly-to-monthly vs. quarterly-toweekly, and conduct either behavioral or experimental economic studies to investigate the impact of more frequent reporting on stock price valuations and market volatility. Continuous Assurance To the extent that continuous financial reporting becomes a reality, the accounting profession must deal with the concomitant demand for continuous, or at least more frequent, assurance. The potential research issues in this area include: (1) the type of assurance to render—audit or review, (2) the marketplace demand for continuous assurance, (3) the impact of continuous assurance on the audit process, and (4) ways that audit firms can leverage ICT to render an effective yet efficient audit under these circumstances. For example, auditing and AIS researchers could collaborate on projects investigating the efficacy of various types of ICT, such as embedded audit modules, for monitoring client transactions and activity levels and insuring that firms  do not change financial information on their Internet sites eifler the auditors have provided assurance. Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research 66 Quality of Earnings The possibilities of continuousfinancialreporting and related assurance beget questions concerning quality of earnings. For instance, to what extent will more frequent reporting affect a firm’s ability to manage earnings since accruals, deferrals, and estimates must be more closely tied, in real-time, to related economic events? Could a credit sale transaction captured at a cash register include estimated allowances for doubtful accounts and returned goods based on a percentage ofthe sale amount? Will more continuous assurance affect the nature and extent of earnings management attempts if the firm believes that auditors are more likely to detect such activity in a continuous assurance scenario? AIS and audit researchers can certainly team up to tackle such issues. Market Value of Accounting Systems The impact of ICT on accounting systems has evolved from fairly simple general ledger applications to extremely complex ERP systems. When firms adaptfromone type of system to another, they typically incur huge outlays offinancialand human capital. Questions arise regarding the underlying value of embarking on enormous capital projects of this nature. One aspect of â€Å"value† can be viewedfromthe perspective of investors. For instance, how do investors respond when a firm announces that it plans to adopt an ERP system? While this question deals with investors’ initial beliefs regarding ERP adoption, a follow-up question could focus on the extent to which ERP systems actually improve firm performance over time. Recently, AIS and financial accounting researchers joined forces to examine the first question (Hayes et al. 2001). Reading a study of this nature can help AIS and non-AIS researchers envision the end result of such collaborative efforts. Internal Value of Accounting Systems In a similar vein, researchers could investigate the value of enterprise-wide information systems to internal decision makers and business processes. For example, to what extent do ERP systems improve the timeliness, reliability, and  relevance of decision-making information throughout thefirm?Do enterprise-wide systems offer a realistic framework for creating value-added data warehouses and data marts? To what extent can the firm attribute quality improvements in critical success factors, such as services, products, processes, and morale, to enterprise-wide systems? AIS and managerial accounting researchers could collaborate on these and related issues. Decision Support Systems Advances in ICT facilitate the development of a host of potential decision-support systems at both the individual and group level. For instance, decision-support systems can be developed to help design effective internal control structures, configure optimal business processes, and assess business and audit risks. Issues such as interface design, information content, training value, and user reliance are some ofthe more fruitful areas of inquiry. Depending on the context ofthe proposed decision support system, AIS researchers can work with financial, managerial, tax, and audit researchers. Knowledge Management One of the more promising areas of value creation for oi^emizations is to capture, store, process, and disseminate business knowledge. Firm- and industry-spedfic knowledge is accumulated over time on key issues such as research and development, marketing strategies, customer relations, process quality, and so on. A â€Å"best practices’* knowledge base dealing with topics of this nature can be developed so that institutional 66 Accounting Horizons /March 2002 knowledge can be transferred across persons, settings, and time to facilitate organizational and individual learning and growth opportunities. AIS and managerial researchers can investigate critical design issues in knowledge management systems and ways to encourage employees to rely on such systems as electronic colleagues. Risk Assessm.ent and Management When firms switch from one accounting system to another, say from a traditional general ledger system to an ERP system, the nature and extent of business, internal control, and audit risks can change considerably. For instance, ERP systems are more likely than general ledger systems to cause business interruptions due to the tightly integrated nature of ERP systems coupled with programmed workflow automation from one business process to another. In addition, security risks are often heightened with ERP systems, since corporate information is stored in a relational database and a compromise ofthe database, via viruses, hackers, employees, and the like, can ripple throughout the organization. Company managers and internal and external auditors must be aware of risk differentials across accounting systems and revise contingency strategies, internal controls, and audit plans accordingly. AIS, audit, and managerial scholars can develop projects aimed at delineating risk profiles of various technology-based accounting systems. Once unique risks are identified, AIS and audit researchers can examine the extent to which external auditors are aware ofthe unique risks posed by different systems and how they either do or should adjust audit plans in response to differential risk profiles. A recent study by Hunton et al. (2002) represents an example how AIS and audit researchers are working together in this area. Systems Reliability Assurance The new SysTrust^† assurance service proposed by the AICPA/CICA holds great potential as a revenue generator for CPA/CAfirms.SysTrust^† attests to the rehability of a firm’s information systems. For example, company management would make assertions about one or any combination ofthe following reliability dimensions of its information systems: availability, security, and integrity and maintainability.^ Additionally, management can narrow the scope ofthe system to which the assertions apply, such as accounts receivable only, all financial applications, or the entire ERP suite of applications. Then, independent auditors are hired to test for compliance with stated assertions and offer related assurances to the public in the form of an opinion. A firm could voluntarily request a SysTrust^† engagement to provide comfort to current and potential trading partners, or a potential trading partner might demand that the other partner receive such assurance before entering into a contractual arrangement. AIS, audit, and financial researchers can collaborate on projects designed to investigate various issues, such as (1) the perceived value of placing assurance on various combinations of systems reliabihty dimensions, (2) how companies and audit firms can conduct cost-benefit analyses of SysTrust^† engagements, and (3) risk factors affecting the market demand for systems reliability assurance. These four dimensions of systems reliability represent the four principles of SysTrust^**. Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research 67 SUMMARY As highlighted throughout this commentary, information and communication technologies have radically transformed the nature of business and accounting practice. Accordingly, the manner in which accountants can potentially add value to economic entities and society is undergoing a metamorphosis. As suggested by the accounting value chain shown in Figure 6, many traditional accounting tasks dealing with recording and processing of accounting transactions can be reliably automated. Thus, accountants add little incremental value to organizations in this regard anymore. Rather, an accountant’s worth is now reflected in higher-order critical-thinking skills, such as designing business processes, developing e-business models, providing independent assurance, and integrating strategic knowledge. Many of the research issues reviewed in this commentary are interlaced with related topics in financitd accounting, auditing, managerial accounting, and taxation. Methodological approaches used to investigate accounting information systems research questions, such as scientific modeling, archival analyses, and behavioral experiments and qualitative inquiries, are also common across accounting domains. Given such complementary interdependences, the academic community would be enriched if AIS scholars were to collaborate on research projects with other accounting reseairchers, where possible, as resulting synergistic relationships will most certainly produce highquality, relevant studies that could drtimatically shape the future of the accounting profession and business practice. REFERENCES Elliott, R. K. 1994. Confronting the future: Choices for the attest function. Accounting Horizons 8 (3): 106-124. , 1995, The future of  assurance services: Implications for academia. Accounting Horizons 9(4): 118-127, . 2001. A perspective on the proposed global credential. Accounting Horizons 15 (4): 359372, Hayes, D,, J. Hunton, and J. Reck. 2001. The impact of ERP announcements on stock prices. Joumal of Information Systems 15 (1) (Spring): 3-18. Hunton, J., S. Wright, and A, Wright. 2002. Unique internal control issues in ERP environments. Working paper. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Porter, M. E., and V, E, Millar. 1985. How information gives you a competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review 63 (4): 149-160.