The Hijacking of Food and Farm Policy

Diet For a Small Planet, that I made my way from Vermont to California to volunteer for her Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First. There has been a lot to celebrate since then. In every corner of the country, demand for locally and sustainable grown food is rising, with farmers and ranchers growing more chemical-free, healthier food for our nation's schools, universities, restaurants and supermarkets.Since 2005 the number of farmers markets has doubled, with more than 8000 markets open for business round the country. New local ownership and distribution structures are popping up everywhere, including more than 200 food hubs that are working in innovative ways to get more local, sustainable food to market. More than 180 local food policy councils are transforming food systems from the bottom up. The organic sector, with more and organic acreage has been growing steadily In recent years.More Information on these Impressive trends can be found In the slides that I presented during my keynote speech to the Women Food and Agriculture Network Conference in Iowa earlier this month to a wonderful crowd of mostly women farmers, landowners and loathe food system advocates. As great as these accomplishments are, the tens of thousands of projects and farms that are building a healthier, more sustainable food system around the country cannot grow quickly enough to counteract the tremendous damage to public health and the environment caused by the existing profit-driven Industrial food system.Two key messages In Lap ©'s book remain more relevant today than ever. The first?and the basis for my lifelong commitment to eating low on the food chain— is that it is inefficient and resource-intensive to rely on meat as our primary rotten source. It is clear that we cannot solve our global water, energy, climate change and public health challenges without changing how we produce meat and drastically reducing how much of it we eat.While we still have a long way to go, we are making slow but steady progress in reducing Americans' meat consumption?which is down four years in a row?mostly driven by consumers' concern for health and animal welfare. Yet It's clear that we wont achieve the far-reaching reforms needed to Improve the way produce feed and raise animals?until we fix the bigger problem plaguing our DOD system?a problem that struck me as the second and most important message not caused by scarcity of food but scarcity of democracy.Nearly forty years later, the lack of democracy not only continues to be a fundamental cause of hunger, but also a source of many other serious problems in our food system. Big food and industrial farming interests are hijacking our democracy and public policy at a huge cost to public health and the environment. And sadly, the Obama administration is complicit in this hijacking scheme.On several fronts, the administration is ignoring civil society calls for reform on several fronts and is giv ing rarity to industry financial interests over those of public health, the environment and welfare of animals, workers and consumers. Despite a clear and compelling need, it has failed to ban antibiotic use in well animals, pass effective factory farm regulations, or enact federal labeling and stricter regulation of genetically engineered food. No recent example of the administration's failure to put the public interest ahead corporate interests is clearer than the U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed poultry rule. This rule would reduce the number of USDA inspectors in poultry acclivities by 75 percent, accelerate assembly lines pace to 175 birds per minute and intensify the use of toxic chemicals to clean the birds being processed. Who profits from this appalling proposal? No surprise there. As Tom Philter reported in Mother Jones magazine, Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride, Purdue, and Sanderson, the nation's leading poultry companies, stand to gain more than $1 billion over the next 5 years.As well, Congressional lawmakers are ignoring the public interest as they hash out a farm bill that will continue to give away billions to wealthy, profitable farms and agribusiness while slashing programs that promote nutrition, conservation, healthy food and organic agriculture. Because the good food movement lacks political muscle, there is far too little investment and effective federal policy to support?and help scale up good food projects and organic farming.And because big food and industrial agriculture companies have so much power, the federal government has too many bad policies that are doing far too much to support and enshrine the status quo, making it harder for sustainable agriculture to compete. The proposed farm bill is a perfect case in point. The bill currently being negotiated n conference committee would channel more than $13 billion a year to support and promote chemical-intensive, diversity-destroying monocots that mostly provide feed for animals and v ehicle fuel, with less than $200 million annually going to support local and organic diversified agriculture.The dominance of corporate and large-scale commodity interests in our political system is nothing new?but as the economic power of these industries has become more concentrated, their political clout has grown stronger, and the consequences, Just recently, the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published an in-depth analysis to assess the status of industrial farming five years after the publication of the seminal Pew Commission Report on Industrial Farm Animal Production.It found that the problems have actually gotten a lot worse. When Civil Eats asked Ralph Logics, an author of the Pew Commission report, to explain the lack of progress, he blamed † the overwhelming influence and power of the animal gag industry†¦ Whether it's affecting members of Congress, whether it's denting and nearly breaking the regulatory process, or whether it's too much influence over academics. Everywhere you look there's too much influence by the industry. In order to counteract that influence and put the public interest back into policy- making, the good food movement must channel more of the energy it devotes to building a healthy food system into blunting the power of industrial agriculture and building a healthier democracy. Otherwise, we will fail to make our vision for a healthy, Just and sustainable food system a reality for everyone. Stay tuned for Part 2, in which I explore the steps that are needed to blunt the power of industrial gag and build greater food democracy.

Art Notes: Living With Art

Art Megaliths are large stones that are surrounded by a circular ditch. The monument is presumably the marking of graveyard and once was accompanied by other monuments. The Neolithic era is known for the uses of new tools and constructive materials such as hardening clays using a flame. Pottery was used to create bowls, food Jars, cups, and a variance of other objects. Each culture characterizes art in its own way. Artists perform tasks such as create places for some human purpose, create extraordinary versions of ordinary objects, record and commemorate, give tangible form to the unknown. Eves tangible form to feelings and Ideas. And refreshes our vision and help us see the world in new ways. Vincent Van Gogh was a â€Å"painfully disturbed, tormented man who, in spite of his anguish, managed to create extraordinary art. † He was born In Grotto Sunders, Holland. By the time he became intense into art he only had ten years left to live. Creativity is the ability to create some thing that is â€Å"innovative and useful†. Researchers say that creativity can definitely be Improved.Selective perception Is the focusing on the visual Information needed for the task at hand and being able to zone out that of the background. The nature of perception suggests that one of the most important aspects is to notice details and visual relationships, recognize associations and emotions they inspire. Chapter 2 What is Art? Art museums are a source of civic pride. Many artists left behind extravagant examples of just how much they too valued art. Vincent Van Gogh painted Wheat Held and Cypress Trees which demonstrated his genius. Art and beauty art greatly linked.In the 1 8th century when art became a widely approved category, art and beauty were used together to describe a feeling of pleasure. Philosophers hardhearted this pleasure as an â€Å"intellectual pleasure/we perceive through a special kind of attention called disinterested contemplation. † Beauty i s linked to qualities such as symmetry, simple geometrical shapes, and pure colors. Compelling visual power and urgent messages are used to recognize art. Art can Invoke great pleasure as well as Inspiring sadness, horror, pity, awe, and other emotions.Representational includes a broad range of approaches as naturalistic and abstract. A personage is a fictional character. Stylized defines representational art that imitates to a preset style. Nonobjective is a descriptive of art that does not represent or otherwise refer to the visible world itself. What is art? Art is always about something, embodies meaning. Form is the way a work looks. Content is what a work of art is about. Subject matter Is the content the objects or events the work depicts. Iconography Involves Identifying, describing, and Interpreting subject matter In art.Chapters 3 and 4 Notes Chapter 3 Themes of Art word count: 202 All works of art are about something no matter what form whether it is a painting, textile, building, or ceramics. The areas of â€Å"beauteous† are considered themes. A many themes. Art throughout history has played a role in people's relationships with the sacred. Art described politics, social orders, and stories and histories. There are many works depicting deeds of heroes, lives of saints, and folktales. Most of which were passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes it is enough Just to look around ourselves and notice what our life is like here, now, in this place, at this time. † The earliest images of daily life that survived were in tombs of Egypt. Many rituals have been developed to honor ancestors and appease their spirits. However, here is really no ritual that would ever compare to the deep seated feelings with a human. During the renaissance, theorists linked art with poetry. They created images through their descriptive words. They weren't literally painting a picture. Some actual paintings were created to go along with poems.Nature and the human relationship to it have greatly been themes of art works. Chapter 4 The Visual Elements Word Count: 210 The first element of art is line. Line is plainly defined as a path traced by a moving point. An outline defines a two dimensional shape. Contour lines are the lines used o draw or record boundaries of three dimensional forms. Lines are also used to direct movement within a piece. When you look at a piece your eyes tend to follow the lines. Shape is a two dimensional form. Mass is a three dimensional form that occupies a volume of space.A figure is a shape we detach and focus on. The ground is the surrounding visual information the figure stands out from. Figures are considered as positive shapes, and the ground is considered negative shapes. Values are shades of light and dark. Chiaroscuro is an Italian style from the Renaissance period. Hatching involves closely spaced parallel lines. Cross hatching is used to show darker values with an extra set of parallel lines goi ng in the opposite direction. Stippling is also used to suggest values by condensing areas using dots.Simultaneous contrast is used to make complementary colors appear more intense when placed side by side. Texture describes surface quality, smooth or rough. A vanishing point is where forms seem to diminish in size as they recede from us. Chapters 5 and 6 Notes Chapter 5 Principles of Design Word Count: 206 In two dimensional art the organization odd line, shape, mass, light, value, color, texture, space, and motion is called composition. Unity is the sense of oneness, of things belonging together and making up a coherent whole. Variety is the difference which provides interest.Visual weight refers to the heaviness of lightness of the forms arranged in a composition, as gauged by how insistently they draw our eyes. In symmetrical balance, the forms of a composition mirror each other across a central axis. Asymmetrical composition has two sides that do not match. Emphasis means that our attention is drawn more to certain parts of composition than to others. If the means that certain area of composition are purposefully made less visually interesting so that the areas of emphasis stand out. Scale is the size in relation to a standard or normal size.Proportion refers to the size relationships between parts of a whole or between two or more perceived as a unit. The use of a scale to indicate relative importance is the hierarchical scale. Rhythm is based in repetition and it is a basic part of the world we find ourselves in. Chapter 6 Drawing Word Count: 233 The drawings we have been looking at are all on paper, a material we associate closely with drawing. Many other surfaces have been used to draw on. The oldest are eve drawings, caves carved with a hard stone, and using charcoal.Pigment is a coloring material, and binder is a substance that allows it to be shaped into sticks. Graphite is a soft crystalline form of carbon. It is a naturally occurring drawing medi um. Metal-point is the ancestor of the graphite pencil. It is an old technique that was especially popular during the Renaissance. A ground is a base coating of paint. Charcoal is charred wood. Pastel consists of pigment bond with non-greasy binder. Drawing inks generally consisted of ultramarine particles of pigment suspended in water. Wash is ink diluted with water and applied with a brush.A rapid-graph is a metal-tipped instrument that channels a reservoir of in into a fine line. The soft and supple brushes used for watercolors can also be used with ink. The concept of using a brush for drawing shows how difficult it can be to define where drawing leaves off and painting begins. Rectangular shapes sliced from newspaper and from a roll of imitation wood grain wallpaper have been incorporated into a charcoal drawing of a cafe © table set with wine glass and a bottle. This was the new age of more literal art through representation.Chapter 7 and 8 Notes Chapter 7 Painting word coun t: 215 Pigment is powdered color, compounded with a medium or vehicle, a liquid that holds the particles of pigment together without dissolving them. The vehicle generally acts as or includes a binder, an ingredient that ensures that the paint even when diluted and spread thinly. Without a binder pigments would simply powder off as the paint dried. Paints are applied to a support, which is the surface in which the artist works. This may be canvas, paper, wood panel, or a wall. Tempera shares qualities with both watercolors and oil paint.Geese is a mixture of white pigment and glue that sealed the wood and could be sanded and rubbed to a smooth, berrylike finish. Oil paints consists of pigment compounded with oil, usually linseed oil. The oil acts as a binder, creating as it dries a transparent film in which the pigment is suspended. Glazes are thin veils of translucent color applied over a layer of opaque paint. All prima is the name of the technique of opaque colors on the white gr ound. Water color consists of pigment in a vehicle of water and gum Arabic, a sticky paint substance that acts as the binder.Gouache is watercolors with inert white pigment Chapter 8 Prints Word Count: 244 A matrix is a surface in which a design is prepared before being transferred through pressure to a receiving surface such as paper. The term relief describes any printing method in which the image to be printed is raised from the background. Wood engraving uses a block of wood as a matrix. In this case the surface is cut along the grain. A linoleum cut, or linocuts, is very similar to a woodcut. Linoleum is much softer than wood, making it easier to cut, while limiting the number of crisp impressions.Engraving is the oldest of the intaglio techniques, engraving developed room the medieval practice of incising linear designs in armor and other metal surfaces. Dropping is similar to engraving, except that the cutting instrument used is a dropping needle. Mezzanine is a reverse proce ss, in which the artist works from dark to light. Etching is done with acids, which â€Å"eat† the lines and depressions into a metal plate much as sharp tools cut into those depressions in other methods. Aquatint is a way of achieving flat areas of tone-gray values or intermediate values of color.Photographer can print continuous tones, tones that shade evenly from light to dark. To achieve this, a fulfills positive transparency of the photographic image is placed over a sheet of light-sensitive gelatin tissue and exposed to ultraviolet light. Lithography is a bibliographic process. The printing surface is flat not raised as in relief or depressed as in intaglio. Chapter 9 and 10 Notes Chapter 9 Camera and Computer Arts Word Count: 221 Camera and computer technologies are essential to business, advertising, education, government, mass media, and entertainment.ABA All Has Bin al- Haitian, or otherwise known in the west as Alkaline, conducted an experiment in which he conclude d correctly that light travels in straight lines. He also theorized that the human eye worked on this same principle: light reflected from objects passes through the narrow opening of the iris, projecting an image of the outside world onto the surface of the dark interior. Dagger's light sensitive surface was a copper plate coated with silver iodide, and he named his invention the daguerreotype.Photographs bearing witness to events appear in newspapers and magazines all over the world. Dada was formed in 1916 as a reaction to the unprecedented slaughter of World War l. The word dada itself has no meaning, it refers to the art movement that Hoc belonged to. An auteur is a director whose films are marked by a consistent, individual style, Just as a traditional artist's painting or sculptures are. Just as radio had been invented to allow sound captured by a microphone to be transmitted over the air, so video was invented to do the same for moving images captured by a camera.Art that us es the Internet as a medium is known as Internet art, or more casually, net art. Chapter 10 Graphic Design Word Count: 201 On the most basic level, we communicate through symbols. Visual communication is also symbolic. Letters are symbols that represent sounds; the lines that we use to draw representational images are symbols for perception. A word mark or logotype is granted the status of art, letters for public architectural inscriptions have been carefully designed since the time of ancient Romans, whose alphabet we have inherited. A typeface is a style of type.Among the services offered by early printers in the 1 5th century was the design and printing of single sheets called broadsides. Handed out to town dwellers and posted in public spaces, broadsides argued lattice or religious causes, told of recent events, advertised upcoming festivals and fairs, or circulated woodcut portraits of civic and religious leaders. With the development of film and television, graphic design was set in motion. Words and images worked together in film titles, television program titles, and advertisements, all of which needed to be designed.Many art museums maintain collections of graphic designs, which overlaps with art in interesting ways. Many artists have worked a graphic designers, and many graphic designers also make art. Chapter 11 and 12 Notes Chapter 11 Sculpture and Installation Word Count: 211 Amman is a sculpture in the round, a freestanding work that can be viewed from any angle, for it is finished on all sides. A low relief, also otherwise known as a bas-relief, is a technique in which the figures project only slightly from the background. A sculpture that forms project more boldly from their background are called high relief.Modeling and assembling are considered additive processes. Carving is a subtractive process I which one starts with a mass of material larger than the planned sculpture and subtracts material until only the desired forms remain. Casting inv olves a mold of some kind, into which liquid or similitude material is poured and allowed to harden. Modeling is familiar to us in forms such as play dough. Fired clay is also known as terra cotta. Casting is a more indirect method of creating a sculpture. In casting, smother more rounded shapes can be achieved, and also be very shiny.Ceramic is cast in a liquid form called slip, made by mixing powdered clay with water and a defalcation. Assembling is a process by which individual pieces or segments or objects are brought together to form a sculpture. The human figure is one of the widely basis for sculptures of many times and cultures. Chapter 12 Art of Ritual and Daily Life Word Count: 206 Ceramics, from the ancient Greek word kormas, meaning â€Å"of pottery', is the art of making objects from clay, a naturally occurring earth substance. When dry clay has a powdery consistency; mixed with water, it becomes plastic, that is, moldable and cohesive.The vase is made of porcelain, a ceramic made by mixing kaolin, a fine white clay, with finely ground Petersen, also known as porcelain stone. If clay is one of the most versatile of materials, glass is perhaps the most fascinating. The most familiar way of shaping a hollow glass vessel such as a bottle is by blowing. The glass artist dips up a mass of molten glass at the end of a long metal tube and, by blowing into the other end of the tube, produces a glass bubble that can be shaped or cut technique used for windows, lampshades, and similar structures that permit light to pass through.Stained glass is made by cutting sheets of glass in various colors into small pieces, then fitting the pieces together to form a pattern. Forging is an ancient metal working technique using a hammer to shape the metal. Notes Chapters 13 and 21 Chapter 13 Architecture rod count: 200 Tensile strength refers to the amount of tensile or stretching stress a material can withstand before it bends or breaks. It especially concerns the abi lity of a material t span horizontal distances without continuous support from below.Another term for load bearing construction is â€Å"stacking and piling†. This is the simplest method of making a building, and it is suitable for brick, stone, adobe, ice blocks, and certain modern material. Load bearing structures tend to have few and small openings, if any, in the walls, because the method does not readily allow for support of material above a void, such as a window opening. Post and lintel construction is the most elementary structural method, based on two uprights, the posts, supporting a horizontal crosspiece, the lintel or beam.Hypotheses halls comes from the Greek word for â€Å"beneath columns. † A dome is an architectural structure generally I the shape of a hemisphere or half globe. I f a ceiling is coffer, it is ornamented with recessed rectangles, coffers, which lessen its weight. Concrete is an old material that was known and used by the Romans. Like all area of human creativity, architecture has been affected by the evolution of digital technologies. Chapter 21 The Modern World word count: 206 Romanticism was not a style so much as a set of attitudes an characteristic subjects.The 18th century is sometimes known as the Age of Reason, for its leading thinkers placed their faith in rationally, septic questioning, and scientific inquiry. The first art movement to be born in the 19th century was Realism, which arose as a reaction against both Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Realist artists sought to depict the everyday and the ordinary rather than the historic, the heroic, or the exotic. Artists admired many aspects of Impressionism, especially its brightened palette and erect painting technique. But they reacted in various ways to what they perceived as its shortcomings.Their styles are so highly personal that we commonly group them together under the neutral term Post-Impressionists, meaning simply the artists that came after Impressi onism. Europe remained America's artistic touchstone during the 19th century, for America viewed itself then as a continuation of European culture. American artists often went to Europe for part of their training, not only to study with European teachers, but also to see the collections of the great museums. Broadly peaking, expressionism describes ant style where the artist's subjective feelings take precedence over objective observation.Cubism poured all its energy into formal Notes Chapter 22 and 23 Chapter 22 From Modern to Postmodern Word Count: 210 Painters associated with the first major postwar art movement are commonly referred to as the New York School. The New York School was a convenient label under which to lump together a group of painters also known as the Abstract Expressionists. A critic of the time coined the term action painting to describe the work of Pollock and others, for their paintings are not images in the traditional sense UT traces of an act, the painter' s dance of creation.The variety of Abstract Expressionism is sometimes known as color field painting. By the middle of the asses, Abstract Expressionism had been the â€Å"new' style or fifteen years. Many artists felt that it was time to move on. While the artist of Pop turned their attention to imagery, other artists continued to explore the possibilities of nonrepresentational art. One direction that attracted many painters was hard-edge painting. Pop art's focus on imagery in the mass media inspired artists to look more closely at photographs. In a rend called Photorealism, they began to paint what they saw there.In a variety of interrelated trends, artists variously reacted against aspects of developed possibilities that it suggested. Collectively, these trends are known as Factionalism, which unfolded from the mid asses through the mid asses. Chapter 23 Opening Up to the World Word Count: 233 Beginning in the 19th century, transportation and communications technologies made p ossible by science and industry opened up new possibilities for human interaction, compressing our experience of distance and quickening the pace of daily fife. Born in Egypt, she moved to France with her family at the age of eleven.Since 1996 she has been based in New York. Aimer has created installations an performance pieces, but she is best known for paintings such as The Black Bang. We stumble on a secret world within the world we thought we knew. When we step back, the painting comes back into focus, but we can never quite see it in the same way again. Aimer cautions against interpreting her work too narrowly, either as a feminist statement or as a critique of Islam. Recently Murrain generally has broadened his object matter to embrace traditional Buddhist imagery, folding screen motifs, and abstraction.Murrain generally does not execute his own works. They are usually realized to his exacting designs, every outline drawn, every color specified, by employees of Kaki Kaki, Ltd. , a company he founded. In contrast to Murrain's international enterprise, Mexican artist Gabriel Rocco does not have a studio at all. A global wanderer with apartments in Mexico City, Paris, and New York, he prefers instead to work in temporary spaces or in the confines of an apartment amid the furnishings and accumulations of everyday life.

The seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure

User – The User Domain is the critical backbone of our network and we must pay close attention to user activity and shape user behavior on our network. I list this as a high priority due to the fact that it is the one that will most likely open up threats on our network from file downloading and surfing the web. My proposal for a solution for this would be to restrict web browsing to only required users. This will allow us to focus our concentration on those users, monitoring for potential network vulnerabilities.I also suggest we implement a basic training course on the proper use of sensitive data and best common computer practices. Workstation – The Workstation Domain is where we can focus our energy on maintaining a clean network. We should do nightly anti-virus scans which will report any found issues back to the IT Department. This will then allow the IT Department to track down the user responsible for infecting the network and allow us to pursue corrective actio n. LAN – For the wired portion of our network, I propose a few solutions that will help secure our network.First we will need to ensure the safety of our equipment from tampering. We should have all switches and sensitive equipment (i. e. Servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS) Devices) in a room that is locked at all times. If available, we can use a card access system to monitor employees that gain access to this portion of our network. Wireless connections open our network to potential threats. We should do everything possible to limit the number of allowed wireless devices on our network. I suggest that we enforce a policy of a primary and secondary wireless network.This would allow us to give our employees the functions they need while maintaining a secure network. Our primary network will be secured with Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2) and the user of a complex passphrase to prevent brute force attacks. This section of our network will have a limited number o f users allowed, with each users activity being closely monitored. The second wireless network will be an isolated network which will allow all approved employees and clients to gain outside access on their mobile devices, without compromising our network.Another step would be to implement security on the network side by locking down each switch port to a specific mac address. This will help circumvent someone from removing the cable from a computer and plugging in another device. While this doesn’t completely eliminate threats of that kind, it will lessen the chance of having an unknowing user infect our network with a virus brought from another destination. LAN to WAN – The bridge between our outside network or WAN to the internal network should be monitored closely.As mentioned in the WAN section above, we should focus on restricting access to our network to help prevent unwanted attacks. I suggest that we implement a hardware firewall on our network. A hardware fir ewall will give our network a much needed layer of security against potential threats. WAN – For this domain I suggest that we implement Virtual Private Network (VPN) servers for any of our employees or clients that are trying to access our network remotely.We should also ensure that all unused ports on our network are blocked which would help limit attacks on our network. We should approach it from the stance of what we need, not what we do not need and start our outbound firewall with all ports closed. Only open the ports that are needed to have our network function. Remote Access – The Remote Access Domain should be monitored closely with each connection and activity extensively logged. Allowing access to our network from an outside source, opens up many possible threats to our network.I suggest that we create a separate server and network for our remote access, keeping it isolated from our primary network. We could implement server and storage mirroring for both ne tworks. This would allow employees to work on projects from a remote location, or clients see the progress of project and not put our network at risk. Systems/Applications – Since the system/ application domain consists of all of a business’s mission-critical systems, applications, and data it is important to ensure that this domain is secure at all times.Failure to do so will result in large amounts of sensitive information as well as the threat of having productions cease to function. Unauthorized physical access is gaining access to a physical entity without permission. This is potentially dangerous because if an individual were to gain such access they could destroy the systems and data within the systems. This threat is centered on access to such places as data centers with a great deal of sensitive information. To prevent unauthorized physical access policies, standards, procedures and guidelines must be followed.For example, all guests must be escorted by an emp loyee at all times. Staff should immediately report any suspicious activity and question persons that do not have an employee ID or badge visible. Data loss occurs when any stored data is destroyed. This is considered the greatest risk to the system/ application domain. To combat data loss, backups should occur regularly. The backups should be stored at an off- site location to allow full data recovery in the event of data loss.

Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract Law - Essay Example In some cases, it occurs that an individual fraudulently represents themselves to the other party as the owner of goods of another identifiable person. The law on the cases relating to such kind of conducts euphemistically describe them as cases of â€Å"mistaken identity†. However, such a description is often insufficient and unsatisfactory. A considerable number of judges are reported saying that the United Kingdom law is in a â€Å"sorry condition â€Å"regarding this legal aspect and that it is only the Parliament or the Lordship House that can remedy the situation.3 This paper focuses on these arguments by analyzing a case law, legal issues involved in it, and the legal issues involved in the case. Particularly, the paper will focus on Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson [2003] UKHL 62 and the legal issues involved in the situation described by Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead. The law of contract describes a mistake as a belief erroneously created in a contract that specific facts relating to all or some parts of the contract are true whereas they are not. Usually, if such a mistake is found to exist in a contract, then that particular contract is rendered void.4 Lord Denning, in the case of Lewis v Avery held that a contract can be void if the plaintiff can prove that at the time of entering the agreement, he or she had believed that the identity of the defendant (the other party) was of critical importance because a plain belief is not adequate.5 The common law has identified only three forms of mistakes that can arise from a contract: the common mistake, the mutual mistake, and the unilateral mistake. From this identification it is clear that the mistake of identity does not exist. It is important to point out that none of the identified mistakes has adequately covered mistake of identity. This explains why there has been increasing concern regarding the description of the case by law as being unsatisfactory.6 A closer look of the case law shows that mista ken identity cases are few in number and do not occur in increasing frequency like the other types of mistakes. Nonetheless, this does not mean that mistaken identity is not a critical legal aspect in law of contract. As a matter of fact, mistaken identity cases are very crucial as they (just like other types of mistakes) amount to breach of contract if they occur and therefore it is important that it is addressed once and for all. Besides, a key objective of law is to achieve equity and justice. As such, failing to remedy the â€Å"sorry condition† of law covering mistaken identity cases will defeat the very of law as it may lead to unjust rulings.7 Often, cases of mistaken identity happen in simple contracts, that is, contracts formed without involvement of any legal formalities. Partnership agreements and sale of goods contract mostly take the dimension of simple contracts. Sales of goods are the most prone and mistaken identity cases frequently arise from sale of goods co ntract. The principle of nemo dat non quod habet forms the major interplay in the mistaken identity cases. This principle is a fundamental legal axiom that implies â€Å"no one [can] give what one does not have† and that â€Å"a person can only give as good a title as one possesses†

Chinese Culture and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Chinese Culture and Identity - Essay Example Taking the analogy of the body and its parts, we can clearly understand how the family problems or joys also become the joys or problems of the society. The body is a whole and it has units such as a hand, leg, head, etc which coordinate their functionalities to aid the body function as a whole. If a leg is hurting, there are changes that will be noted in the whole body's functionality even though it is only one part (the leg) which is affected. Similarly, the family can be likened to the leg and the whole society, to the entire body. If the leg (family) is experiencing problems, then the entire body (society) will automatically feel the impacts of the leg's problems because the two are connected (family builds up society just the same way the leg is part of the structure of the body). This paper seeks to pay particular attention to the Chinese culture focusing on the cultural aspects such as marriage practices, family formation and family structure. The paper also highlights the cha llenges the culture is likely to face or actually faces in multi-cultural environment such as Canada. Gender, ethnicity, and culture are very str... Individuals are different because they do not share the same culture, ethnicity or gender. If this was the case, then the people world offer will think, behave and even act the same way. This is not possible because we, world over, can never share these factors. It is important that we understand what these factors are before we move on to understand the effects and influences they have on an individual. Culture refers to the values, beliefs, symbols and meanings which are common and distinct to a given society and are passes on from one generation to the next. Ethnicity on other hand refers to the common ancestral linage and sense of belonging. It is and is a key factor in community identity (and consequently individual identity) which communities use to develop a common value systems which beach member subscribes to. Finally, gender is the concept of being masculine or feminine and the associated roles. Therefore, gender roles are those roles assigned to individual by virtue of the m being male or otherwise. Such roles, in the absence of the individual can tell us whether the individual is male or female. These factors have the potential of shaping one's thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and belief systems (Dolores et al, 2005). Since this is possible, a strong implication is put forth which pre supposes that the same factors, consequently, will have and impact on how one relates with people and deals with things, issues and even problems. For instance, these factors can have a very far reaching, either within the positive or negative territory, effects on an individual's handling or working with a family. Chinese Culture The historical development of Chinese culture has been handled by a number of researchers but one thing that predominates is

Young Offenders, Crime, and Globalization Essay

Young Offenders, Crime, and Globalization - Essay Example Juvenile delinquency is often an issue of concern among parents, educators, and society in general. A review by Cohn outlines statistics in regards to juvenile delinquency. In the year 2000, juveniles accounted for 17 percent of all arrests and 16 percent of all violent crime arrests in the United States that year. A considerable growth in the number of juvenile violent crime arrests began in the late 1980s and reached its peak in 1994. However, 2000 marked the sixth consecutive year that the rate juvenile arrests for the Violent Crime Index Declined. The timeframe between 1994 and 2000 marked a 41 percent decrease in the juvenile arrest rate, which was the lowest since 1985. The juvenile murder rate also decreased dramatically between 1993 and 2000. The juvenile murder rate in 2000 was at its lowest since the 1960s. In the year 2000, juveniles were involved in 9 percent of murder arrests, 14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, 33 percent of arrests for burglary, 25 percent of rob bery arrests, and 24 percent of arrests for weapons charges. Girls were involved in one-third of all arrests of young people ages 13-15. The racial composition of the juvenile population, in general, was 79 percent white (including Hispanics), 16 percent black, 4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1 Percent American Indian. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes, 55 percent involved white youths and 42 percent blacks. These numbers are extremely disproportionate the racial groups’ representation in the general population. ... In the year 2000, juveniles were involved in 9 percent of murder arrests, 14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, 33 percent of arrests for burglary, 25 percent of robbery arrests, and 24 percent of arrests for weapons charges. Girls were involved in one-third of all arrests of young people ages 13-15. The racial composition of the juvenile population in general was 79 percent white (including Hispanics), 16 percent black, 4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1 Percent American Indian. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes, 55 percent involved white youths and 42 percent blacks. These numbers are extremely disproportionate the racial groups' representation in the general population. Even though the facts point to a decrease in acts of juvenile delinquency, it still remains a cause for concern, and its causes and prevention must be addressed. Another item to consider is that fact that casual factors in juvenile delinquency seem to be consistent throughout the world as far as what the theories are behind the crimes. Therefore, globalization has helped to bring this concept to light. What are the causal factors involved in juvenile delinquency There has been continuous debate and extensive research concerning this question. Some purport that juvenile delinquency is biologically determined, and that anything short of pharmacological intervention has any beneficial effect. Others claim that environment plays the key role in determining whether a young person is likely to commit delinquent acts, and that changes in the environment result in changes in regards to delinquent behavior. Yet another perspective claims that delinquent behavior stems from psychopathological problems that are present due to various factors, and that a combination

Written response; What is the purpose of Mama's retelling of familiar Essay

Written response; What is the purpose of Mama's retelling of familiar stories, specially the cuentos, during afternoon coffes - Essay Example Cofer shares the significance of Mama to her in these words, â€Å"I saw her as my liberator and my model. Her stories were parables from which to glean the Truth† (Cofer 69). The characters in Mama’s stories might be fake, but they were knit into stories that depicted the realities of life. The girls were in the age of adolescence and thus, in a state of transition from childhood to adulthood. They needed an interesting way of being informed of the challenges lying ahead in their lives, and Mama’s cuentos exactly addressed that concern. Cofer shares how she would reflect upon Mama’s stories together with Sara to draw conclusions from them in these words, â€Å"Sara and I discussed everything we heard the women say, trying to fit it all together like a puzzle that, once assembled, would reveal life’s mysteries to us† (Cofer 70). Mama’s house was a very suitable place for the cuentos to be narrated in as there was no intrusion of any sort from men in there; â€Å"Then Mama’s house belonged only to us women†¦and the women telling their lives in cuentos are forever woven into the fabric of my imagination, braided like my hair that day I felt my grandmother’s hands teaching me about strength, her voice convincing me of the power of storytelling† (Cofer 70). The stories Mama narrated depicted, in one way or another, realities of the lives of her own daughters. Storytelling not only provided Mama with a unique and interesting way of developing a strong connection and understanding with the young grand-daughters, but also of raising them into well-educated, civilized, and decent girls who would not trust the love of men until they signed the contract of marriage with them. Mama’s stories had lessons hidden in them. Giving those stories deep thoughts would lead Cofer to the realization that a woman loses to nothing and nobody but her own self by letting herself fall into love; â€Å"We understood that neither the name nor any of the facts were

Segregation in the 21st Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Segregation in the 21st Century - Essay Example The media perpetrates segregation or white supremacy at every turn.   Social stereotypes also prevail in the American media.   Even though these themes are subtle, they are strong.   Even in cartoon movies, these stereotypes exist.   For example, â€Å"Dumbo (1941), the crows that teach Dumbo how to fly â€Å"are too obviously Negro caricatures† (Avila 132).   The portrayal of black crows as crude, ignorant, and with a bad southern accent is ridiculous.   White people from the south can be crude and ignorant.   Most Southerners have southern accents, whether they are black, white, red, or yellow.   Disney movies seem to have bad representations of ethnic people.   Pocahontas and Mulan are feeble attempts to be politically correct, but manage to portray them very stereotypical.   Most of the heroes are white, Prince Charming, John Smith, and numerous others.   The media perpetrates segregation or white supremacy at every turn.   Social stereotypes also prevail in the American media.   Even though these themes are subtle, they are strong.   Even in cartoon movies, these stereotypes exist.   For example, â€Å"Dumbo (1941), the crows that teach Dumbo how to fly â€Å"are too obviously Negro caricatures† (Avila 132).   White people from the south can be crude and ignorant.   Most Southerners have southern accents, whether they are black, white, red, or yellow.   Disney movies seem to have bad representations of ethnic people.  

The Role of Strategic Human Resource Management in Small Sized Firms Research Proposal

The Role of Strategic Human Resource Management in Small Sized Firms - Research Proposal Example This project will take a quantitative approach in which statistical data will be collected and analyzed before coming up with amicable conclusions. The project is expected to take a span of two months after which the results will be presented. For the purpose of this research, 20 small firms will be surveyed and data collected from two members of the human resource department. Questionnaires and oral interviews will be used to collect data. If affirmed, this project is expected to cost approximately $5,000 which will be used to meet the expenses of the whole process. The institution will also request for an office in which will be used as the center of research for the two months that the project will last. Other materials such as the recording instruments and stationery will be obtained from the institution’s bookshop. This survey will investigate the significance of strategic HR in small business firms. If affirmed, the findings of this research will help small business organizations to reform their HR to achieve better production from their employees. In the 21st century, the ability of a business organization to engage effective strategic management is a necessary competence. Pearce and Robinson (1994) define strategic management as the process of designing, implementing and evaluating the functional structures of a business organization that are necessary to meet the organizational goals. The human resource management forms part of the top level management that is involved in the implementation of strategic management. This research seeks to investigate the role of human resource managers in small business firms. Over time, strategic management is a term that has evolved to refer to all the operations conducted by the organizational heads that contribute to the productivity of the organization. Beaver (2007) and McCarthy (2003) noted that business that the concept of strategic management has evolved to be a term relevant only to large  business organizations.  

Banking Regulatory reforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Banking Regulatory reforms - Essay Example A few months later, the Franklin National Bank of New York had to shut their operations due to substantial foreign exchange losses. The turmoil in the financial sector prompted the governors of the central banks of G10 countries to decide upon measures on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices. Later, this came to be known as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision with a purpose to extend cooperation among its member countries in the matters related to banking supervision. Initial objectives were to set minimum supervisory standards; exchange information on supervisory practices and improve the techniques of supervision on their banking system. The Central banks of the each member country represent their countries in the committee. It must be noted that the committee's decision has no legal bearing. The committee formulates standards and recommends them to their member countries for its implementation. The committee's sole aim is to have common standards for regulatory and adequacy measures. The 1988 accord among the member countries, with regard to the regulation and supervision of banking sector, continued until 1999 when the Committee decided to further improve the capital adequacy framework. Current Regime under Basel II The revised capital framework came into force in 2004 called Basel II. The Basel II was aimed at creating an international standard for regulators to decide upon how much capital the banks must have to safeguard themselves in the event of any financial crisis. Sufficient consistency of regulations was focused at to ensure that this does not become a reason of competitive inequality for some of them. Their advocates believed that such a regulatory framework is needed to prevent failure of banking system should such crisis emerge in the future (Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2013). Basel II, in theory at least, attempted to set up capital and risk management requirements so that banking failures could be avoided. For this, Basel II created disclosure requirements so that all market participants could know about the capital adequacy of a financial institution. They also ensured that market risk, credit risk, and operational risk are articulated based on available data. Basel II focused on minimum capital requirements, market discipline and adequate supervision (Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2013). Though Basel II regulatory measures were in force yet it could not prevent 2008 international financial crisis. Post 2008 crisis, the Central banks came out pointing various reasons of financial failures and about the weaknesses that existed in Basel II accord. An urgent need was felt by all concerned to address weaknesses in Basel II. That is why the Basal committee on banking supervision decided to create a new comprehensive accord that could further reform and address the issues that were instrumental in causing the 2008 financial crisis (Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2013). It will be interesting to see how Islamic banks, in the context of Basel II manage the capital adequacy and risk exposures. Islamic banks do not use money markets and that is why they are susceptible to liquidity risks. Their inability to borrow for short-term fund needs make them vulnerable to market fallouts. The situation necessitates that Islamic banks must maintain higher liquidity than any conventional banks. Basel

History of networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of networking - Essay Example The said necessity can be attributed to the advent of the computer technology since stored data in different units of are needed to be shared within a local are or to another remote located. The said need that been realized through the onset of the different networking technologies that made data management faster and more efficient (Morley and Parker, 2009, p.322). The study is aimed to present the history of networking technologies by discussing the chronological development of the different systems that contributed to the present utilizable networking tools. Toward the Development of the Connectionless Computer Networks 1960s: 1. Development of the ARPANET The ARPANET is one of the first networking technologies considered as the precursor of the internet technology. It had been developed in 1969 by a group under the United States Department of Defense known as the Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and known as the ‘first operational packet-switching network’ (St allings, 2007, p.25). ... The original ARPANET design can be seen in Figure 1. From the said circle of users and groups connected to the ARPANET, the number of hosts grew to hundred millions and the number of users grew to billions. In 2007, there are 200 countries that were connected to the network (Stallings, 2007, p.25). From the said official use, the utilization of the system extended to college students. Thus, the ARPANET at that time was being applied for military purposes and for the exchange of information among the groups included in the circle. Through the inclusion of the students, though, a new purpose had been born considered as unintended. Computer games began during that time (Morley and Parker, 2009, p.322). Figure 1. Original ARPANET design. (Source: Tanenbaum, 2003, p.52) Basically, the networks continued to expand through the years. It became massive that it included the different types of hardware from the earliest to the latest such as the ‘DOS-based computers, the Windows-based co mputers, the Apple Macintosh computers, and the UNIX systems. The evolution, development and connection to the ARPANET can be considered as the early stage internet that the world has today (Morley and Parker, 2009; Stallings, 2007). The ARPANET uses the technology contributed by the different participants in the group such as the European networks including Cyclades in France and EIN. This collaboration led to the main system used, which was the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). The protocol suite then became TCP/IP, the main foundation in the development of the Internet (Stallings, 2007, p.26). 1970s: 1. Development of the System Network Architecture (SNA) The SNA which had been launched in 1974 was developed by IBM. It is a layered

Monsters Are Real Donnie Darko Essay Example for Free

Monsters Are Real Donnie Darko Essay DarkoIn storytelling, monsters are used to express the fears and worries of humans. They allow us to discover our values by questioning our morals through imagination and illusion. In both Donnie Darko and Pan’s Labyrinth illustrating real-life monsters Captain Videl and Jim Cunningham enhances our fear of monsters. These villains symbolize the vulnerability we feel as we identify ourselves with the victims of the attack. We can relate each example of monsters to an evolution of our fears throughout our lives. The fear we have of monsters stems from the idea that our moral imaginations shape the danger inside these beastly beings. As children, our vulnerability came from our fears of losing security. The monsters hiding under our beds taunted us with the threat that we’d be eaten and would never see our parents or that our most valued possession would be taken from us. This juvenile fear is illustrated in Pan’s Labyrinth through Captain Videl. He encompasses the threats we felt as children by being controlling and dominating, as he manipulates Pan and she loses her innocence. As we mature and the limits of our moral boundaries widen, the term â€Å"monster† evolves into something more complex. As we enter into adolescence, and later into adulthood, our fears become something less to do with security and more to do with a threat to our happiness. Our moral imagination evokes fears of defeat and failure, a fear that we formulate in ourselves. As we grow older, we also fear the world and others that we cannot control. In Donnie Darko, Jim Cunningham, embodies our fears of a predator. He is the real-life monster we fear everyday with his complex, dark and twisted secrets. Ultimately, both Donnie Darko and Pan’s Labyrinth effectively embody our illusions of fear from childhood to adulthood.

Groups And Group Development Commerce Essay

Groups And Group Development Commerce Essay Many people used the word team and group interchangeably, but there are actually a differences between the word team and group. It is much easier to form a group than a team. In group, they could be grouped according to gender, experience, age or other common factors. Although the effectiveness of the group may be variable, but forming a group just based on a certain commonality is not particularly difficult. A groups strength may come from sheer volume or willingness to carry out a single leaders commands. On the other hand, a team can be more difficult to form. The members will selected for their complementary skills, not a single commonality. In a team, each member has a purpose and a function. So the overall success depends on a functional interpersonal dynamic. When working together in this way, there is usually not as much room for conflict. A teams strength depends on the commonality of purpose and interconnectivity between individual members. GROUPS AND GROUP DEVELOPMENT Although most groups arent formed for such dishonest purposes, the success of this group at its task was impressive (Stephen and Mary, 2007). Managers would like their groups to be successful at their tasks and the first step is understanding what is a group and how its develop. 2.1 Group Definition According to Stephen and Mary (2009), a group can be defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals. . Although a groups often have goals, but theres not state that group members must share a goal or motivation. 2.2 Types of Group There are two types of group which is formal group and informal group. Formal group will designated work assignments and specific tasks directed at accomplishing organizational goals and defined by an organizations structure. There are four examples of formal work groups ( Sidin J.P, 2011) : Command group groups that are determined by the organization chart and composed of individuals who report directly to a given manager. Task group groups composed of individuals brought together to complete a specific job task. Cross-functional teams groups that bring together the knowledge and skills of individuals various work areas of groups whose members have been trained to do each others job. Self-managed teams groups that are essentially independent and that, in addition to their own tasks, take on traditional managerial responsibilities, such as hiring, planning and scheduling, and evaluating performance. While informal groups are group-based social elements. These groups occur naturally in the workplace and is more concerned with friendship and common interests. A friendship group is friend who do many activities together and it is relatively permanent and informal, and its benefits from the social relationship among its members. Meanwhile, the common interest such as bowling group and womens network is relatively temporary and is organized around an activity or interest shared by its members. 2.3 Stage of Group Development http://gmx.xmu.edu.cn/ews/business/management/ABrobbins4_15_09.gif Exhibit 2.1 Stage of Group Development ( Sidin J. P. , 2011) 2.3.1 forming Forming stage is the first stage in group development. This stage has two phases. In a formal group, people join because of some work assignment. The second phase begins when the people joined the formal group. Then these people define the groups purpose, structure, and leadership. This stage is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group. 2.3.2 storming When group members get to know each other better, the storming stage begins. This storming stage named because of the intragroup conflict that occurs over who will control the group and what the group needs to be doing. This stage is characterized by a bid for power. There are six characteristics of the storming stage which is competition, strained relationships, leader is challenged, tension and disunity, differences are uncomfortable, and the issues of autonomy vs. control support vs. competition influence decision-making. When this stage is complete, there is a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership and agreement on the groups direction. 2.3.3 norming The norming stage is one in which close relationship develop and the group become cohesive and has begun to be effective. Theres now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie. This stage will be complete when the group structure has been assimilated as a common set of expectations about behavior and become solid. There are some characteristics about this stage : Issues of strengthening relationships, open communication, positive/constructive feedback. Increased cohesion Emerging trust More collaboration Appreciation of differences 2.3.4 performing The fourth stage of group development is performing. Many groups never reach the performing stage. Â  This is the stage at which would be an excellent customer service and to create an impressive examples. The group structure is in place and accepted by group members. In this stage, characteristics include productivity, full development of the potential of the group and the individuals in the group, harmony and effective problem-solving. This is the last stage of development for permanent work groups. 2.3.5 adjourning The final stage is adjourning. In this stage, the group prepares to disband. Group members will react in some way that is independent of a confident and excited about the performance of their group. While, others may be sad over the loss of camaraderie and friendship. Thats why more attention is focused on wrapping activities rather than task performance. WORK GROUP PERFORMANCE AND SATISFACTION A work group is include the organizations strategy, authority relationships, formal rules and regulations, the availability of resources, employee selection criteria, the performance management system and culture, and the general physical layout of the groups work space. Thats mean a work group was affected by external conditions (Stephen and Mary, 2009).Exhibit 3.1 Group Performance Satisfaction Model (Sidin J. P. , 2011) 3.1 Group Member Resources Group member resources is a groups performance potential that depends on a large extent on the resources each individual brings that group. These resources include personality traits, knowledge, skills, and abilities. They will determine what members can do and how effectively they perform in that group. There especially conflict management and resolution, communication, and collaborative problem solving in interpersonal skills. Its consistently emerge as important to perform well in a work group. The group performance also affected by personality traits because they strongly influence how an individual will interact with the other group members. 3.2 Group Structure Work group arent unorganized crowds. They have an internal structure that shapes members behavior and influences group performance. The structure defines roles, norms, conformity, status systems, group size, group cohesiveness, and leadership. Roles A role refers to behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit. In an organization, managers arent the only one individual who play the various roles. In a group, individuals are expected to do certain things because of their position in the group. Besides that, the different expectations of these roles, make the employees face role conflict. 3.2.2 Norms All groups have norms. A norm is a standards or expectations that are accepted and shared by a groups members (Stephen and Mary,2009). Norms that exist within the group structure emphasizes such things as punctuality, work output, absenteeism, speed to complete the work, and the amount of socializing at work. Norms that exist within the group structure will enhance the action of antisocial individuals. Conformity Each individual would like to be accepted by the society around. As well as individuals who are in a group in the organization. However, they are too afraid not accepted by other group members, then the vulnerability pressure to conform. Early experiments done by Solomon Asch demonstrated the impact of the conformity has on an individuals attitudes and judgment. Next, people tend to find it more pleasant to agree than to be disruptive even it will improve the groups effectiveness. So we conform. But conformity can go too far when an individuals opinion differs significant from the others in that group. When this happens, a phenomenon that known as groupthink will appear. Groupthink will occur when there is a clear identity, group perceives a collective threat to positive image and members will hold this positive group image that they want to protect. Exhibit 3.2 Examples of Aschs Cards ( Sidin J. P. , 2011) Status Systems Status systems are an important factor in understanding groups. Status is a position, rank within a group and a prestige grading. Status can be formally and informally. Status is formally and its important to employees believe that the organizations formal status systems is congruent. Theres consistency between the status symbols he or she receives from the organization and the perceived ranking of an individual. While, the informally of the status systems is may be conferred by characteristic such as skill, education, or experiences. Anything can have status value if the members of the group evaluate it that way. Group members have no problem to placing into status category. Usually the group members will agree about who has low or high status. Group Size According to Moorhead and Griffin (2001), group size is the number of members of the group and have an important effect on performance. Group size will affect the number of resources available to perform the task, but the effect depends on what the group is supposed to accomplish. One important research finding related to group size concerns social loafing ( Stephen and Mary,2009). Social loafing is the tendency of some members of groups to put forth less effort in a group than they would when work alone. The implications of social loafing are significant. When managers use groups, they must identify the individual effort. If not, group productivity and individual satisfaction may decline. Group Cohesiveness According to Moorhead and Griffin (2001), group cohesiveness is the extent to which a group is committed to remaining together. Group cohesiveness very important because its related with a groups productivity. Some research has generally shown that cohesive groups are more effective than less cohesive ones (Stephen and Mary, 2009) and the relationship between cohesiveness and effectiveness is complex. The more the members follow its goal, the more cohesive for that group. A cohesive group is more productive than a less cohesive group when the goals are desirable. But, the productivity will decrease when the cohesiveness is high and attitudes are unfavorable. In this case, theres no significant effect on productivity when cohesiveness is low and goals are not supported. Exhibit 3.3 Group Cohesiveness and Productivity ( Sidin J. P. , 2011) Group Processes Group processes are important to understanding work group because they will influence the performance and satisfaction positively or negatively. The synergy of four people on marketing research team who are able to generate more ideas than work individually is an example of positive process factor. While, the group that have negative process factor such as social loafing, poor communication and high levels of conflict, that may hinder the effectiveness of the group. There are two important group process : Group decision-making Its an organization that doesnt use task forces, review panels, study team or other similar groups to making a decision. In group decision-making, there are such of advantage to do it. Some of that is groups can generate more knowledge and compete information for their work. Besides that, they will have an experience when work in group to make a decision process that an individual cannot. In addition, groups will increase legitimacy. Decision made in a group more legitimacy than decisions that made by self. While, the disadvantage to do this group decision-making is that almost group always take more time to reach a solution than would an individual. Another disadvantage is the critical thinking that group think can determine will harm the quality of final decision. If we want to determine whether groups are effective at making decision, it depends on the criteria that used to assess effectiveness. The group decision may work best when its creativity, accuracy, and degree of acceptan ce are important. Beside of that, the decision effectiveness is influenced by the group size. Exhibit 3.4 Creative Group Decision Making ( Sidin J. P. , 2011) Conflict management Conflict is perceived incompatible differences that result in interference or opposition (Stephen and Mary, 2009). In conflict management, there are three different views such as traditional view of conflict, human relations view of conflict, and interactionist view of conflict. The traditional view of conflict is the view that all conflict is bad and must be avoided. Meanwhile, the human relations view of conflict is the conflict that is natural and inevitable outcome in any group but has potential to be positive force in contributing to a groups performance. The interactionist view of conflict is the most recent view. Its proposes that not only be a positive force in a group, but some conflict is absolutely necessary for the group to perform effectively. Exhibit 3.5 Conflict and Group Performance (Sidin J. P. , 2011) There are more conflict such as functional conflicts, dysfunctional conflicts, task conflicts, relationship conflicts, and process conflict because the interactionist view doesnt suggest that all conflicts are good. Exhibit 3.6 Conflict- management Techniques ( Sidin J.P, 2011) 3.3 Group Task Group task are either simple and complex. Simple task are standardized and routine. While, complex task tends non-routine or to be novel. Its appear when the more group benefits from group discussion about alternative work methods, so the more complex of that tasks. In this situation, group members will rely on standard operating procedures and no need to discuss such alternatives for a simple task. Thus, the tasks are complex and interdependent when effective communication and controlled conflict are most relevant to group performance. 4.0 TURNING GROUPS INTO EFFECTIVE TEAMS From group there will turning to teams. In teams all of the members will working together to achieve the common goals. A team is not just a people who work at the same time in the same place. Most of the people that work in a team are not all equal in talent, education, or experience, but they are equal in one vitally important way. Team relationships fulfill that basic needs. 4.1 Teams Definition According to Williams (2007), work team is a small number of people that work together with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for pursuing a common purpose, improving interdependent work processes and achieving performance goals. In many industries, teams are importance because they help organizations respond to challenges and specific problems. 4.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Work Team In work as a team, there will have a lot of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages when work as a team is: Improved customer satisfaction Improved product and services quality Improved speed and efficiency in product development Employee job satisfaction Better decision making and problem solving Meanwhile, the disadvantages of work as a team is : Initially high employee turnover Social loafing Disadvantages of group decision such as groupthink, inefficient meetings, domination by a minority, and lack of accountability. 4.3 Groups Versus Teams Work teams Work groups Leadership role is shared. One leader clearly in charge. Accountable to self and team. Accountable only to self. Team creates specific purpose. Purposed is same as broader organizational purpose. Work is done collectively Work is done individually. Meetings characterized by open- ended discussion and collaborative problem-solving. Meetings characterized by efficiency; no collaboration or open-ended discussion. Performance is measured directly by evaluating collective work output. Performance is measured indirectly according to its influence on others. Work is decided upon and done together. Work is decided upon by group leader and delegated to individual group members. Table 4.1 Source: J. R. Katzenbach and D. K. Smith. The Wisdom of Teams, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2005, p.161. 4.4 Types Of Teams Teams can do all of things. They can design products, coordinate projects, offer advice, provide services, negotiate deals, and make decisions (William, 2007). Work teams is a groups whose members work intensely on a specific, common goals, individual and mutual accountability, using their positive synergy, and complementary skills. There are several types of teams: Types of team Explanation Problem-solving teams A team from the same functional area or department thats involved in efforts to solve specific problems or improve work activities. Self-managed work team A type of work team that operates without a manager and is responsible for a complete work segment or process. Cross-functional team It is a work team composed of individuals from various specialties. Virtual team Its a type of work team that uses technology to link physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goals. Table 4.2 Types of team ( Sidin J. P. , 2011) 4.5 Creating Effective Work Teams Teams are not always achieve high levels of performance and also not always effective. However, research on teams provide insight into the characteristics typically associated with effective work teams. There are nine of characteristics of effective teams: Exhibit 4.1 Characteristics of Effectiveness Teams (Sidin J. P. , 2011) Characteristic Explanation Clear goals It is a high performance team that has clear understanding of the goal to be achieved. The members in the team will know what theyre expected to accomplish, committed to the teams goal, and understand how they will work together to achieve these goals. Relevant Skills Effective teams are composed of competent individuals that have the necessary interpersonal and technical skills to achieve the desired goals while working well together. This is important because not everyone who is technically competent has the interpersonal skill to work as a team members. Mutual Trust The effective teams are characterized by high mutual trust among the members. The members must believe in each others ability, integrity and character. This is because trust is fragile. So, maintaining trust requires careful attention by the managers. Unified Commitment This characteristic is characterized by dedication to a teams goals and a willingness to expend extraordinary amounts of energy to achieve them. Good Communication All of the effective teams will characterized by the good communication. Members convey messages, verbally and non-verbally, between each other in ways that are readily and clearly understood and the feedback will helps to guide team members and correct misunderstanding. Negotiating Skills Effective team will making adjustments to who does what and this requires team members to posses negotiating. This is because the problems and relationships are regularly changing in teams, and members need to be able confront and reconcile differences, Appropriate Leadership By clarifying goals, demonstrating that change is possible by increasing the self-confidence of team members, overcoming criteria, and helping members to more fully realize their potential. Internal Support The team should have sound infrastructure, which means proper training, a clear and reasonable measurement systems that team members can use to evaluate their overall performance, a supportive human resources system, and an incentive program that recognizes and rewards team activities. External Support In external support, managers should provide the team with resources needed to get the job done. Table 4.3 Characteristics of Effective Teams and The Explanation (Stephen and Mary, 2007) CHALLENGES IN MANAGING TEAMS Managers can build effective teams by understanding what influences the satisfaction and performance. But, manager will also face some current challenges in managing team, primarily to those that associated with managing global teams and with understanding organizational social networks ( Stephen and Mary, 2007). 5.1 Managing Global Teams There are two characteristics of todays organizations are obvious such as global and work is increasingly done by teams. That means that any manager would like to manage a global team. There are drawbacks and benefits in using the global teams. Drawbacks Benefits Disliking team members. Greater diversity of ideas. Mistrusting team members. Limited groupthink. Stereotyping. Increased attention on understanding others ideas, perspectives, etc. Communication problems. Stress and tension. Table 5.1 Global teams (source: based on N. Adler, International Dimensions in Organizational Behavior, 4Th Edition, pp.141-147) In addition, by using our group model as a framework, we can see some of the issues associated with managing global teams such as: Group Member Resources in Global Teams. In global organizations, understanding the relationship between group performance and group member resources is especially challenging because the unique cultural characteristics represented by members of a global teams (Stephen Mary, 2007). In addition, managers need to be familiar with the team members abilities, skills, knowledge, and personality to clearly understand the cultural characteristics of the group members that they manage. Group Structure. Some of the structural areas where we see differences in managing global teams include social loafing, cohesiveness, status, and conformity. Social loafing has a Western bias(Stephen Mary, 2007). Its consistent with individualistic cultures, such as the U. S. and Canada, which is dominated by self-interest but not consistent with collectivistic societies, in which individuals are motivated by group goals ( Sidin J. P., 2011). Cohesiveness is another group structural element with which managers will face the special challenges and its often more difficult to achieve because of the higher levels of mistrust, miscommunication, and stress. For status, it is important in France and depends on social origin and also the countries that have differ on the criteria that confer status. Besides that, to manage global teams, conformity also findings generalizable across culture. As might as expected, conformity to social norms tends to be higher in collectivistic cultures than in individualisti c cultures ( Sidin J.P., 2011). Group Processes. The process that global teams use to do their work can be particularly challenging for managers and for one thing communication issues often arise because not all team members may be fluent in the teams working language (Sidin J. P., 2011). This particular situation will lead to inaccuracies, inefficiencies, and misunderstanding. However, managing conflict in global teams isnt easy, especially when those teams are virtual teams because conflict can interfere with how a team uses information (Stephen Mary, 2007). The Managers Role. There are things that managers can do to provide a group with an environment in which effectiveness and efficiency are enhanced. First of all, because communication skills are vital, so managers should focus on developing those skills (Sidin J.P., 2011). Also, managers must consider cultural differences when deciding the type of global team to use. Finally, its vital that managers be sensitive to the unique differences of each member of a global team ( Stephen Mary,2007). CONCLUSION As a conclusion, work as a group will have a strong, clearly focused leader who had individual accountability and also have a purpose thats the same as the broader organizational mission. While, work as a team have some following characteristic such as, shared leadership roles, specific team purpose and so on. From this chapter, we know that group is two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals ( Stephen Mary, 2007). While, team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to common purpose, common performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Griffin, 2006). Ginny V Lee in his article From Group to Team have said that in teams, they will shared the common purpose and goal. Besides that, team members also are interdependent because they understand that they need to work well as a unit inorder to complete their task. Ginny also said that skilled facilitation moves a group from a collection of individuals to an effective team.

Varieties Of English Accents Cockney English English Language Essay

Varieties Of English Accents Cockney English English Language Essay Cockney English is probably the most commonly known variety of English in Modern day times. Cockney English is the type of English that is generally found in many movies so that directors can help the audience to distinguish between the working class and the upper, richer class when watching said movies. Although it is true that Cockney English is generally that which is spoken by the working class, Cockney English has a long and extensive history which most people know little about. The earliest record of the use of the word cockney was found in the book the Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman By William Langland. The term cockney was first found in Middle English. It was created from two separate words, cocken meaning rooster and eye meaning egg. This then gave us the meaning of a small, deformed egg. The word then later experienced a change in spelling and appears as cockenay. This word as well as evolving and changing the word itself has also taken on new meanings. It now means a homosexual man, a timid person (milksop) or a child who is said to be childish. The idea for this word being used for a homosexual man continued and in 1521, it became a derogatory term for these people as well as for male prostitutes. Finally, in the 1600s, the word had another semantic shift and as far as history can tell, a shift in the way the word was spelt. It is now spelt as we know it to be now, cockney, and it is now used to describe those Londoners who are born in th e vicinity of Bow Bells. Bow Bells are those rang in the historic church of St Mary-le-Bow in London. In this time, it was said that for a person to be considered a true Cockney, they must live within earshot of these Bow Bells. Nowadays, the area in which people with Cockney accents are said to reside has not been clearly outlined by any historians. The belief, as stated in the previous paragraph, is that one must live in the vicinity of the famous Bow Bells. In todays society, it is now believed that the Cockney people are those of the working class and it is therefore believed that people with Cockney accents are the working class of London living in the east End of London. However, due to migration and emigration of people who have Cockney accents, a migration of the Cockney dialect has occurred. In the 18th century, the area in which people had Cockney accents was limited, but due to this Migration and emigration, the accent and its dialect has spread across not only London, but through other countries as well. Within a short amount of time during the 18th century, areas in London which had other dialect influences such as Kentish were taken over by this Celtic dialect. In todays society however, areas which were highly associated with Cockney English are slowly declining in their use of the dialect and the Cockney accent is slowly dying out due to the preference of the proper English dialect due to its higher level of classiness. Nevertheless, many of the idioms associated with Cockney such as the famous glottal stops and double negatives are still commonly used in todays society. People with Cockney accents are very distinct from those who have the more popular, general English accent. The Cockney accent itself also has very distinct features such as rhyming slang and the use of the double negative. Although it is believed that many of the word in Cockney accent were made up by the people with said accent, many of their words, like other languages, were borrowed from other languages including Yiddish, a dialect of High German. Words that were borrowed from Yiddish for example were Kosher meaning legitimate and Stumm meaning quiet. These words, although seeming meaningless, were an important part of the Cockney Dialect. Some of the more well known features of the Cockney accent are; the dropping of the letter R e.g. if a person is a sinner, if a person had a Cockney accent, they would be a sinna. Cockney English also includes the famous Glottal stop. This means that the consonant is stopped quickly and the speaker then moves straight to the vowel e.g. this can be found in the word uh-oh which people use in everyday life. The speaker cuts of the h consonant and move directly onto the o vowel. Another common feature of Cockney English is the changing of the th syllable to an F e.g. the word beneath becomes beneaf due to the changing of the th syllable. Another famous stylistic marker of Cockney English is the dropping of the consonant H. One of the more famous examples of this is in the musical My Fair lady when Eliza Doolittle calls Henry Higgins Enry Iggins due to her Cockney accent. An example of Cockney English that people still use today is the double negative e.g. I dont got no pens. The use of the words dont and no are both negative and therefore cancel themselves out. In the years of Shakespeare, the double negative was used in his performances for humour but in the Cockney accent, it was used unintentionally. People with Cockney accents were considered to be those of the working class and therefore had very little education. They used the double negative not knowing what they were doing. Nowadays, the double negative is considered to be a mistake. Rhyming slang, another feature of Cockney English is still known in todays society but not as well as it once was. Rhyming slang such as Dear Horse, Tomato Sauce is an example of rhyming slang. This idea of rhyming slang is slowly dying out of society and eventually will probably not be known at all. As time went on and the word Cockney experienced its final known semantic shift, the accent of Cockney was looked down upon by many people as it was believed to be the accent of the working class and therefore it was seen to be inferior to that of the proper, upper class accent. Cockney English was that which was spoken by the working class and homeless due to their lack of education. Nowadays, the Cockney accent as such is not longer looked down upon by people. It is now believed to be an important part of British culture. This was shown in a survey conducted on 2000 British people by Coolbrand in autumn of 2008. The Cockney accent was voted the equal fourth coolest accent, with 20% of the total votes. This shows that although people prefer the accent of the Queen, that of the upper class, people no longer believe that Cockney is an accent that should be looked down upon and therefore the Cockney accent should continue to live throughout society for many years to come.

Time And Technology Essay -- essays research papers fc

RESEARCH QUESTION How did telecommunications advance from the end of the 1800’s to the end of the 1900’s ? THESIS Telecommunications have revolutionized business and communication between people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the beginning of time communication has always been a crucial part in our societies for development. Without communication there was no or little development, people did not know what was out there, and what was available. It is communication that has developed our large and very intricate societies with different institutions communicating for the welfare of our people. People have always strived for contact with other people. Man wants to know his surroundings and with the arrival of telecommunications this became possible very quickly all over the world. Telecommunications is one of the reason we live in such a fast-pace and high-tech society today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first invention in the telecommunications field is the telegraph. It was invented by Samuel Morse and utilizes an electrical current to send signals in the shaped of dot and lines called the Morse Code. It was first used in 1844 and it was mainly reserved for companies which needed information quickly such as banks, this helped them grow and more efficient. With the telegraph one could pass a message across any distance almost effortlessly and it was cheap, so the need for this kind of communication was already there. This new medium also meant that even people which were not rich could send a message very far without having to pay incredible amount of money. The whole world began to expand their telegraph networks and soon Europe and the United States had connecting transatlantic marine lines under the Atlantic. Information has always meant power and wealth and it is no wonder that telegram traffic became an important economical as well as political tool. In earlier times it would takes days if not weeks for news to reach certain countries or other parts of our world and in some cases this proved to be disastrous for business and economy, but now the whole world could pinpoint every event that happened around the world in a matter of hours if not minutes. Business deal could be closed quicker and markets could grow with international influence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then in about 30 years or so in the mid 1870’s the telephone was inven... ... the world is becoming a smaller place. The question is what is next?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Never before have people communicated and done business as much as now, and as frequently as now. After researching about the telecommunications it is fair to say that telecommunications did have a huge impact on the way our society communicates, and in the way we conduct our lives. It was hard to find any contradicting evidence to my thesis statement and most of the information I found concluded that business and communications have been revolutionized by telecommunications. The outcome of wars, business transactions, relationships have changed and depended upon communications, and together with this great change of communications so did these events change. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lorenz. D. â€Å"How the world became smaller†. History Today. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telegraph† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telecommunications† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994). 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telephone† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994).

Connectivity, Reading/Writing, and the Cyber Age :: Technology Technological Essays

Connectivity, Reading/Writing, and the Cyber Age I own a cell phone. And a desktop computer. And I carry this old laptop around to all the coffee shops and bars in whose noise I try to drown out the mean little voices of writerly anxiety so I can just get my fucking homework done. At work I use a touch screen ordering system to get my drinks from the bar and artichoke dip from the kitchen. I check my horoscope online (as well as those of the men I’m interested in—blushing with shameJ,) stay in touch with friends via email, and use my college’s online services to register for classes. I do a great deal of my research for class via the electronic databases Eastern Michigan maintains, I have a blog, I’ve tried to get my poetry published at online literary magazines. With the help of a very patient friend, I even filed my federal taxes online this year. The internet and wireless technology make my life easier to move through quickly. I am grateful. But somewhat ashamed. In the same way that I feel guilty every time I drive the old pollution-mobile a mile and a half to work, using all this high-speed information technology feels like being seduced away from my principles by the lure of ease. I believe in slowness. I love speed. It’s a difficulty. I am not the only person struggling with the conflict between the speed modern life demands and that at which actual life happens. Women’s magazines are full of tips on organizing the kitchen, the carpool, the craft supplies, so that more time can be found for the important things in life—hanging out with the kids, spending time with parents, maybe even having sex with partners. Advertising companies pitch scads of products as time-savers, from meals-in-a-bag to blocks of cleanser that clean the toilet with every flush. All my friends complain about not having enough time to get everything done. My girlfriend who is working on her PHD and Master’s degrees at the same time doesn’t have enough time to see her lover and spend time with her mother in the nursing home. My other dear girlfriend with two [fabulous] kids, a husband [that’s out of this world,] a house, two cars, and two jobs doesn’t have enough time for anything. Most of my men friends don’t have enough time to work their jobs, take care of their bodies, support their ladyfriends in whatever way and still know what they’re feeling from moment to moment.

Financial Analysis of Microsoft Corp. Essay

This report is issued in order to inform the public about Microsoft Corporation. We analyzed the profitability and liquidity of this company. In addition, we were able to provide recommendations for investments or credits in Microsoft for the best interest of the public. Profitability ratios refer to the relative measure to what an actual created profit. Through these ratios the company is allowed to see how profitable the company. In addition it can serve as an examination of the overall performance of the company’s operations and how do these compare to past performances or other companies. The ratios in which accounting measures the profitability of a company are Profit Margin, Price over Earnings, Return on Equity and Return on Assets. In terms of Profit Margin it has a high ratio, which means that our company is turning 76.3% more of each dollar that we sell. The results of this could be the increase in the quantity sold, increase in the price, and decrease in costs. Compared to Apple, whose profit margin ratio is 46.2%, Microsoft is able to be more profitable in terms of profit margin. The Price over Earnings ratio helps to determine how much does a share cost is compare to how much the company is earning and it is interpreted as how long it will take you to earn back what you invested in a company. In this case for someone who invests in Microsoft it will take them approximately 15.3 years, compare to Apple’s 13.5 years, to earn back the amount that they will invest. The Return on Equity ratio helps to measure the profitability of a company for the investor and how it manages its equity. In this case, Microsoft experiences a 10.3% of Return on Equity. Ideally, a company would like to have a higher Price over Earnings ratio; compared to Apple’s 51.5% Return o n Equity, Microsoft stands at a lower percentage which might not attract others to invest in the company. Return on Assets ratio evaluates how a company is able to produce a profit before being on debt; it reflects on the efficiency of the management. In this case Microsoft’s 5.9% was again below Apple’s 33.4% in its ratio. Cash Flows are the inflows and outflows of cash in a company, which are directly related to the revenues and expenses in Microsoft’s income statement. The Net Income that Microsoft recorded for 2012 was $16,978.00 and its Cash Flows from Operating Activities equaled to 31,626.00. In this case the company recorded higher cash flows from operating activities compared to its net income. This was a result of the company’s management on its current liabilities and its current assets. Also, the addition in depreciation and amortization, goodwill, and stock-based compensation; these accounts are not part of the cash flows yet they still make an impact on the income of the company. Liquidity being, that which represents how fast the company is able to convert its assets into cash, is denoted with various ratios. The current ratio (D) takes the current assets of a firm and divides them by the firm’s current liabilities. Currently Microsoft’s current ratio is 2.9, showing that its current assets exceeds its current liabilities. Apple Inc., which is Microsoft’s contender, has 1.6 for its current ratio indicating that it’s not as quick in converting its assets into cash. Another liquidity ratio is the quick ratio (E); this ratio is calculated by subtracting inventory from current assets and dividing that difference by the firm’s current liabilities. Microsoft’s quick ratio is 2.6, showing that the company is still doing well in converting its assets into cash even after removing its most liquid asset –inventory. Apple’s quick ratio is 1.1, which shows how much inventory constructs the company’s current assets. Microsoft has been doing very well within its liquidity measures and meets its obligations as they become due. When discussing solvency, we analyze ratios that measure the long-term liability of a business to pay off its debts. The times interest earned ratio (H) is a solvency ratio; taking earnings before interest and tax, and dividing that total by the interest expense. Microsoft’s times interest earned ratio is 87.7, showing that this firm is very successful especially before any interest or tax is deducted from its overall earnings. Apple’s times interest earned ratio could not be calculated due to the fact that their data didn’t indicate a specific interest expense to complete the equation. Another solvency ratio is the debt to equity ratio (I); taking the firms total liabilities and dividing that total by owners’ equity. Currently Microsoft’s debt to equity ratio is 0.8, showing that there is less risk among the firm’s financials. This also means that the company doesn’t rely too much on external lenders. Apple’s debt to equity ratio seems to also be within good standing because it is .5, so it doesn’t rely too much on external lenders either. Overall, both liquidity and solvency ratios represent how financially stable this company is within converting its current debt into cash as well as its long-term debt. In most cases Apple Inc. falls behind Microsoft Corp. within its short and long term debt solvency. When analyzing Microsoft’s capital structure the percentage of liabilities that construct the firm’s total assets is 42.87%. Showing that less than half of the firm’s total assets are represented by liabilities. Now the percentage of the total assets that are represented by stockholders’ equity is 57.12%. Showing that stockholder’s equity represents slightly more than half of Microsoft’s total assets. When analyzing the capital structure of Microsoft’s competitor Apple, there are distinct differences. The percentage of liabilities that construct the firm’s total assets is 36.06%. Showing that unlike Microsoft’s percentage of liabilities to assets, there are a lot fewer liabilities representing the total assets of the firm. Now the percentage of stockholders’ equity that constructs the total assets of the firm is 64.93%. Showing that more than half of the firm’s total assets are constructed out of its stockholders’ equity. Apple seems to have fewer liabilities supporting its total assets and a higher percentage of stockholders’ equity. Overall, it seems that Microsoft Corp. has a significantly different capital structure than that of its competitor Apple Inc.. IFRS refers to the International Financial Reporting Standards; it is a set of accounting standards constructed by an independent, not-for-profit organization called the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IFRS provides regulation for the company to prepare its financial statements off of, rather than setting rules for industry-specific reporting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent, private-sector body based in London that currently develops and approves International Financial Reporting Standards. The IASB is thoroughly responsible for all technical matters of the IFRS Foundation including, the full discretion in developing and pursuing its agenda, subject to certain consultation requirements with the Trustees and the public, and exposure drafts, following the approval and issuing of Interpretations developed by the IFRS Interpretations Committee. Some of the differences between IFRS and GAAP is that IFRS is considered to be more of a principles based accounting standard whereas in contrast the U.S. GAAP is considered more of a rule based accounting standard. Under IFRS, the LIFO method for accounting for inventory costs is not allowed. Under U.S. GAAP, either LIFO or FIFO inventory can be used. The move to a single method of inventory costing could potentially enhanced similarities between countries, and removes the need for analysts to adjust LIFO inventories in their comparison analysis. The reporting for each would differ. For instance the treatment of intangible under U.S. GAAP is recognized at fair value, while under IFRS, it is only recognized if the asset will have a future economic benefit and has measured reliability. Under IFRS, if inventory is written down, the write down can be reversed in future periods if specific criteria are met. Under U.S. GAAP, once inventory has been written down, any reversal is prohibited. The potential adoption of IFRS is likely to impact not only reporting structures but also how individual transactions are captured and processed. In many cases, operating leases under GAAP could become finance leases under IFRS. Impacts could be mostly identified on taxes and balance sheet ratios. IFRS may generate running obligations sooner than under GAAP due to the â€Å"more likely than not† principle. Contracts would need to be evaluated carefully under GAAP. Based on the previous analyses of the company’s data I can say I would definitely loan money to Microsoft Corp. short-term and long-term. The liquidity of the company calculated using current ratio and quick ratio represents how fast the company is able to convert its assets into cash. Seeing that the firm showed signs of quick asset to cash turnover within both current and quick ratio, shows that they are able to pay off any loans they might incur. In contrast to Apple its contender, which had low ratios depicting negative signs of asset to cash turnover. When looking at the solvency measures, we can see the long-term viability of a business to pay off its debts. We used the times interest earned ratio and the debt to equity ratio to depict what trend this firm had with balancing debt. Microsoft seemed to show very high earnings before interest and taxes, which resulted in a high times interest earned ratio overall. This high ratio means that this firm has great ability in paying off its interest and debt; this serves to be another viable reason for Microsoft to be approved for a loan. Another solvency measure that was taken was through the debt to equity ratio, which represents the degree to which the assets of the business are financed by the debts and the shareholders’ equity of a business. This ratio showed that Microsoft’s overall business doesn’t rely too much on the external lenders of the company. It shows it can attain profit through its own activities, and therefore has overall less risk. Overall, due to the fact that Microsoft has quick asset to cash turnover, increasingly high earnings before interest and tax, and a low debt to equity ratio; Microsoft would be an ideal candidate for short and long term loans. When discussing whether an individual should buy, sell, or hold on the stock of this company, I would recommend the hold on stocks. Based on the profitability ratios, which help us calculate how a firm is performing, Microsoft, compared to its competition Apple, is behind in terms of profitability. Microsoft has a higher profit margin then Apple does; however, its price over earnings, returns on equity and returns on assets fall below its competition. This can be a discouragement for anyone who is interested in the company. Yet, even though Microsoft’s overall profitability is not as good as Apple’s profitability, there could be still a chance in which the company can provide investors with more profitable income since the company is not at risk. Thus, this could take longer then expected, that is why it is better to hold on the stocks of this company. So, I recommend this individual hold on their stocks and see how the turnout ends for the most recent advancements Microsoft has made as a company, and from those figures on either decide to sell or buy more stocks.