Friday, November 29, 2019

Super Techno Essays - Forteana, Web Search Engine, The Unexplained

Super Techno BULLSHITYahoo! Site Matches (1 - 6 of 6) Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena * Extraterrestrial Life Are We Alone In The Universe? - discover some of the most intriguing UFO mysteries of this century, and possibly walk the path to becoming an astronaut to discover the vast corners of our universe. Science * Space * Deep Space Mysteries of Deep Space - from black holes to supernovas, PBS examines the unexplained facets of the universe. Business and Economy * Companies * Books * Shopping and Services * Booksellers * Religion and Spirituality * Titles * Spirituality Meaning of Life, The - addresses matters of the Soul, mysteries of the universe and life's everyday challenges. Science * Astronomy Tour the Cosmos - a multimedia foray into the mysteries of the universe. Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena Supernatural Realm, The - a site about the paranormal and mysteries of the universe. Includes discussions on ghosts, vampires, aliens, and werewolves. Society and Culture * People * Personal Home Pages Schwartz, Brian - Samubri's Suite of Sin - enter here to find out the mysteries of my universe as well as cool links to NIN, Antonio Banderas, and more! Go To Web Page Matches Categories Web Sites Web Pages Related News Net Events advanced search - help Other Search Engines Alta Vista - GoTo.com - Infoseek - Deja.com - HotBot - More... Yellow Pages - People Search - City Maps - Get Local - Today's Web Events & Chats - Image Surfer - More Yahoos Copyright ? 1994-1999 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved. - Company Information - Help - Search Feedback Yahoo! Site Matches (1 - 6 of 6) Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena * Extraterrestrial Life Are We Alone In The Universe? - discover some of the most intriguing UFO mysteries of this century, and possibly walk the path to becoming an astronaut to discover the vast corners of our universe. Science * Space * Deep Space Mysteries of Deep Space - from black holes to supernovas, PBS examines the unexplained facets of the universe. Business and Economy * Companies * Books * Shopping and Services * Booksellers * Religion and Spirituality * Titles * Spirituality Meaning of Life, The - addresses matters of the Soul, mysteries of the universe and life's everyday challenges. Science * Astronomy Tour the Cosmos - a multimedia foray into the mysteries of the universe. Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena Supernatural Realm, The - a site about the paranormal and mysteries of the universe. Includes discussions on ghosts, vampires, aliens, and werewolves. Society and Culture * People * Personal Home Pages Schwartz, Brian - Samubri's Suite of Sin - enter here to find out the mysteries of my universe as well as cool links to NIN, Antonio Banderas, and more! Go To Web Page Matches Categories Web Sites Web Pages Related News Net Events advanced search - help Other Search Engines Alta Vista - GoTo.com - Infoseek - Deja.com - HotBot - More... Yellow Pages - People Search - City Maps - Get Local - Today's Web Events & Chats - Image Surfer - More Yahoos Copyright ? 1994-1999 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved. - Company Information - Help - Search Feedback Yahoo! Site Matches (1 - 6 of 6) Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena * Extraterrestrial Life Are We Alone In The Universe? - discover some of the most intriguing UFO mysteries of this century, and possibly walk the path to becoming an astronaut to discover the vast corners of our universe. Science * Space * Deep Space Mysteries of Deep Space - from black holes to supernovas, PBS examines the unexplained facets of the universe. Business and Economy * Companies * Books * Shopping and Services * Booksellers * Religion and Spirituality * Titles * Spirituality Meaning of Life, The - addresses matters of the Soul, mysteries of the universe and life's everyday challenges. Science * Astronomy Tour the Cosmos - a multimedia foray into the mysteries of the universe. Science * Alternative * Paranormal Phenomena Supernatural Realm, The - a site about the paranormal and mysteries of the universe. Includes discussions on ghosts, vampires, aliens, and werewolves. Society and Culture * People * Personal Home Pages Schwartz, Brian - Samubri's Suite of Sin - enter here to find out the mysteries of my universe as well as cool links to NIN, Antonio Banderas, and more! Go To Web Page Matches Categories Web Sites Web Pages Related News Net Events advanced search - help Other

Monday, November 25, 2019

Body Piercing Essays - Fashion, Body Modification

Tattooing/Body Piercing Essays - Fashion, Body Modification Tattooing/Body Piercing There are various aspects through which people, especially youth, identify themselves. People are always sending some sort of communication out at all times, whether it is subconscious or not. Images and styles are adopted which communicate meanings about the individual to his/her peers and to society. Styles of dress, language, music, and dance are some of the ways that portray one's own unique symbols, values, and meanings. One other such signifier of identity is through body modification, particularly tattooing and body piercing. In today's society people have adopted the new style or trend of body modification. There are many reasons in which people obtain piercings and tattoos. Those who modify, manipulate and mutilate their bodies do so for many reasons. Some say it's simply exciting and pleasurable, or part of the latest fad. Others place it in the context of art, ritual or self-expression-they say it's an act with cultural and social significance. In contrast, many people can 't understand why someone would choose to put so many holes in their body or cut their skin. They see body modification as self-destructive, much like anorexia or bulimia. Below I will talk about why, what, where, and how people modify their body and how people look upon them. Youth and adolescence is one of, if not the most, significant and influential moments in one's life, when youth are seeking their identity of who they are. Tattooing and piercing are one of the many ways through which youth may express their identity, for they are symbolic representations of how the self is conceived or understood. People may also want themselves to be portrayed as someone who they are not. For example, someone gets a tattoo or earrings just to look tough or cool. Getting a piercing or tattoo symbolises a certain change in ones life. These changes, no matter how minuscule they may seem, have a huge impact on a person's identity. Usually when a youth gets a tattoo or earring, they are symbolising their maturity by finally being able to make a decision on their own and taking matters into their own hands. Body modification is clearly a means by which youth seek to displace authority and etiquette. Most youth don't think about the lasting affect it has on there later life when they begin to modify their body. Yes, piercings you can take out but tattoos will always be there, especially in the business world, tattoos are nothing to be desired and that you could possibly risk a job because of it. Body piercing is believed to be a self-imposed rite of passage. By this I mean that people, in general, feel an instinctive drive to undergo some sort of a rite of passage. If society denies them this, they may create one for themselves in order to feel as though they have a place in society. Almost everyone has been tempted to get a tattoo or piercing, but did you ever ask your self why you wanted one? This theory tries to explain that it is natural and instinctive and possibly even necessary in order to find your place in society. Along with this idea, there is a concept that deals with the issue of pain. Because culture in Western society only allows for pain in instances of accidents and pregnancy, people find other ways of experiencing such pain. This pain cannot help but change one's outlook on life in some way. Everyone will experience some sort of pain in his or her life, whether it is physical or emotional. After any such experience, you are bound to look at life in a differ ent, and possibly better way. Tattooing and piercing can also be blamed on the idea of hopping on the bandwagon. The media plays the number one role in the influence of this. Look at our role models: Dennis Rodman, successful basketball play; most of the music industry, professional skateboarders and snowboarders. All of these people have some sort of body modification. What does a kid think when their favorite basketball player or music group are pierced and tattooed from head to foot? He wants to be just like them and all the talk from their elders about not being

Friday, November 22, 2019

Discussion Topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Discussion Topics - Essay Example The America became restless to defend this position to appoint involvement in war as seen in the Persian Gulf War and the craving to influence the Middle East and its oil supplies (Patterson, 2005). Terrorism: It diverted attention to crucial domestic issues e.g. education, economy and Social Security to war against terrorists (after the president decreed War on Terror). The terrorism claimed many lives (approximately 3,000 people, more than that of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 died), it led to war on Afghanistan and later Iraq, and economic recession lastly followed; different industries, employment opportunities and oil prices were affected. These led to a vast financial crisis the Americans have had since the Great Depression. Financial fall down: Financial fall down is a breed of many problems in a country. It is said that since terrorists attack to date, US is in debt for $14.3 trillion dollars. In addition to dept, unemployment rate, poor health care, slow development rate and down fall of the GDP may be experienced, even the strength of US dollar against other currencies may lost. All these may weaken the US

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Black Test Car by Masumura Yasuzo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Black Test Car by Masumura Yasuzo - Essay Example Such screenshot occurs to justify its effect in the view of the audience from whom to expect mixed sentiments of tension, suspense, and desperation at the sight of a principal character whose constant presence seems to evolve in shadows or in a state of thick gloom while the other part of the atmosphere receives a faint amount of light to indicate how transitions take place. Masumura Yasuzo evidently knew which perspective suits the scene that must evoke an image of stealth and treachery via a choice of lighting where the dark side makes a sharp contrast with the bright side. At an angle where the back of the man in focus forms the black before the others that make the white counterpart with their faces revealed, it feels that somewhere, something is bound to establish and sustain the conflict. Equivalently, the musical score in this portion of the story suggests undertones of pressure because of the human nature or instincts being portrayed by the conferring characters in a spot hidden from public notice. One necessarily observes herein that the manner in which dialogues blend with instrumentation rather sounds like there would be a consequence of opportunity or of mystery based on how words and music flow together to communicate the complex thoughts and sensitive gestures that could either make or break a plan in the end. Moreover, all the men in this thematic image generally project an appearance void of pleasant expressions which I think further contributes to the heavy and serious air of encounter between them.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Causal analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causal analysis - Essay Example A murderous event appears normal to the villagers. This depicts the innate evil of human nature. The pretense of the villagers is extreme especially when they are preparing for what appears like a celebration but turns out to be a murder. This paper focuses on the reasons why leaders will always be able to relate the story The Lottery and be scared. As depicted by the immediate reaction after its release, The Lottery is a story that scares the readers due to the ingenuous way it depicts the nature of humans. The story cannot be ignored due to the emotions it creates in the reader. The story generates very many questions left for the reader to analyze. The author does not explain the reason why the villagers conduct the lottery. This triggers the author to conceive the irrationality that can arise when people follow ideas they do not approve just because they have been in existence for long. The author does not give the name of the village where the ritual is occurring. The anonymity helps the reader to relate with the idea that the vicious event could be happening anywhere in the society (Jackson 4-8). The wicked nature of humans displayed in this story gives the reader a reason to be scared. From the start of the lottery, the participants act like if they are in a celebration. A person reading the story would expect that the winner would be rewarded. However, the villagers are aware of the consequences awaiting one of them. The reader only comes to this realization when the villager start collecting stones to kill one of his or her own (Anonymous 11-13). Another reason why the reader will always relate to the story and be scared is the level of hypocrisy depicted in the story. For several years the villagers engage in such a terrible and inhuman act, which none of them seems to question. It is possible that some are opposed to the event but remain silent not to be criticized for questioning the traditions. This is petrifying and it demonstrates the extent to w hich humans are willing to go to avoid being isolated from their families and friends. Although most show anxiety towards the event, they do not object. The anxiety amongst the villagers is depicted by comments such as â€Å"Don’t be nervous Jack† (Jackson 28). Irrespective of the anxiety revealed by some of the villager, they all go along with most of them feigning enthusiasm (Jackson 12-15). Although the villagers do not declare their opinions, it is clear that they disapprove the event since "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset tradition as was represented by the black box." The box after so many years is "Faded and stained" (12). Just as they are scared of upsetting their traditions, they participate in the event out of fear, which makes them hypocrites. The extent of hypocrisy in humans as demonstrated in the story is terrifying. However, it clearly depicts the effects of peer pressure when the influence is negative. Activities such as those perpetrated by gang families dealing with drugs are good examples on the inhumanity amongst humans (Jackson 16-21). Another reason why readers will relate with this story is the level of irony depicted. The name given to the event makes the reader associate the event with reward as is usually the case in a lottery. However, the person who succeeds in the event turns out to be a

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Internet Governance Is The Development Media Essay

Internet Governance Is The Development Media Essay Few Internet users will deal with how an e-mail around the world is sent or how clicking on a hyperlink a WWW page arrives. Nevertheless, history knowledge of the Internet and underlying technology is of significant value to those who want to intervene in regulating the Internet. This is because the Internet is strong as a result of the rapid development and it differs from other existing forms of media. The explosive growth of the Internet, however, with its many technical innovations and international reach was hardly a parallel adaptation of the different state rules. The development of the Internet was associated with a previously unparalleled standardization process. Internet governance is the development and  application  by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet. The internet has allowed the world population to express themselves as well as their thoughts and ideas and communication has never been so accessible. With the ability to run an international firm 24/7 due to information passed through emails, wikis, etc. Additionally, the accessibility of current affairs updates as and when they happen enables the majority of the world to engage more than ever before. Taking this into account, a study has shown that there is a large amount of younger users within the UK that use the internet daily. In addition to this, for every age bracket that it increases, the daily usage decreases. This shows that as time goes on the users will continue to grow as well as the skills and knowledge related to the internet. In order to govern the internet on a global scale, there needs to be constant change and alterations to the governing bodies in order to adapt to the increasing liberal views of the younger generations. Governance of the internet, as with the network itself, is something that will never stop being of importance. For the governing of it to keep at a similar rate of change to the system, the governing bodies need to decide among the areas of issues which are most important. This would be best determined by considering what areas are developing the quickest within the internet platform. This essay will compare and contrast the difference between East and West ideas and whether there will ever be a governing body that has complete control of the internet and if there will ever be a global understanding in relation to the accessibility of everything. GO WEST Freedom of speech The internet is an open door to express opinions, thoughts, ideas and beliefs. The issue with governing this is that everyone has different views on what should and shouldnt be allowed. Social networking is a main way that online users can freely voice themselves and with the number of users using this platform as a way to communicate, talking the situation of what is and isnt accepted worldwide. As mentioned previously, this is hard to monitor due to people connecting with each other globally and updating others on their life. Social networking and other ways of cross border inflows make it hard to govern this. Until now, the management of the Internet is largely dependent of the U.S. company Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which determines, for example, the endings of such addresses Com and organized linking memorable web addresses with readable computer numerical codes. The U.S. wants to continue to manage Internet addresses, while others prefer this task the United Nations or any other body shortly before the start of a UN conference on the information society is not a solution to the simmering conflict for years over control of the Internet in sight. The European Union would like to find the middle ground at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). But in the face of growing resistance to the U.S. observers see little chance of this happening. Founded in 1998, ICANN is based in California and is under the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Contrary to previous expectations, the U.S. government has recently announced its intention to retain this control in the future. It is a non-governmental organisation in the company, engineers, scientists and simple Internet users are represented and which will help to clarify the organisational and technical issues. ICANN will decide in the near future including the introduction of new address spaces as a supplement. Before ICANN, the U.S. government regulated practically alone along with contracted companies or volunteers to organise the global computer network. The U.S. dominance was in line with the origins of the Internet as a research and education network in particular in U.S. universities, but not enough in the age of global expansion of the network and has been regarded as critical in many countries. The European Union supports itself a UN proposal providing a multinational management of the Internet, so that the World Wide Web will be democratic and transparent organisation. The United States considers the control threatened by an international body and thus an agreement appears unlikely. It was mentioned by the U.S. delegation head at the recent World Summit that it would be better not to come to an agreement than to end with a bad one. CYBER CRIME Unfortunately, ICANN is often seen as an agent of the US government of which the functions would easily be able to be achieved by a UN body. The issue of variations in internet usage worldwide arent addressed by the body nor does it design technical standards for the internet. ICANN certainly has its limitations. The year 2012 has proven one thing with regard to cybercrime; not only weak passwords can be cracked easily, even well-secured accounts are not safe from hackers. New security measures are urgently required in order to try and make the data placed online safe. To criticise the governing body furthermore, ICANN doesnt regulate any internet content; whether that may be pornography, spam or cybercrime. For the fact that there arent any governing bodies for a global security for cybercrime, there should be no reliance on web pages and passwords keeping secret. It is currently recommended to use multiple passwords in order to minimise such risks that if a hacker was able to access something, then there wouldnt be a way of accessing something else. The year 2012 renounced largely on massive data bank robberies just like the Playstation Network-collapse of 2011. There were 6.5 million stolen passwords from LinkedIn, followed closely by 1.5 million stolen passwords from eHarmony, 450,000 stolen information for logins from Yahoo Voice, and loads of data taken from other sources too. Dropbox had problems in 2012 regarding spam. Dropbox users were suddenly sent a large sum of spam messages and it was only when the issue was looked into that they found out that it was due to hacking into an account. The hackers had managed to access one of the employees accounts and consequently gained access to a document containing many email addresses of the users. Although there was minimal damage, if there was governance in place, this sort of problem wouldnt have occurred. PIRACY Look East Freedom of speech China Although freedom of speech is accessible through the internet portal, China and other communist countries enforce rules within the countries that only allow the population to view certain websites. China built the Great Wall of China to keep the place secure, but also to keep influences away. China now uses censorship and internet filtering as a way to do the same through information. This is known as the Great Firewall of China. Normally, a firewall will protect your computer from malicious websites or programs, whereas in China it works vice versa. A whole country is cut off by the Great Firewall of important information, as well as of free reporting of social communities, where a free exchange of ideas is possible. The country is connected by a single node in Shanghai with the World Wide Web, and there are data centres set in place by the Communist government to monitor all traffic. What does not fit with the standards in place is filtered out. The Chinese government requires its 500 million Internet users to register with their real names. A new law states that they must identify themselves to the Internet service providers and this new regulation serves the greater protection of private information and the safeguarding of public interests. As well as this protection against outsiders, the Chinese government even create their own platforms of social networking, such as Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter), in order to allow the Chinese population to express themselves but simultaneously be monitored. By keeping these forms of platforms to a smaller scale it means that it can be easily controlled, but there are certain topics that are not allowed to be voiced even when they are restricted to the country. Russia In Russia, there is a law that came into force, which ensures that the Internet service provider blocks future websites and content that is currently available. Before it was put into action there had been much criticism, the Russian Wikipedia protested with a 24-hour strike before the adoption of the law, but without success. But the law gives another, more profound change with it, which is the implementation of using a technology that makes it possible to monitor the entire Internet traffic, residents of Russia users, permanent and automated E-mails, website views, chats. This allows all of the authorities to continue to record with minimal effort or even manipulate. The principle of Internet censorship for Russian authorities is nothing new like with many of the Eastern part of the world. This allows the government to still dictate what is viewed by the people in these places and, in doing so, keeping control of what goes on within the reality and the virtual. Mission Impossible? The dispute over the access to the Internet takes place between the United States and Europe on the one hand and countries such as Russia and China on the other. While Western states used for maintaining the open, decentralised and non-state structure of the network, other countries require a stronger influence of the ITU, which operates under the umbrella of the United Nations. The focus of the eleven-day conference is a revision of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), This is an attempt to transfer the telecommunications model to the Internet, said the vice president of the Internet Society (ISOC), Markus Kummer, before his departure to Dubai. Since we overlook seemingly unaware that the internet works very differently. During the conference, there was an effort to counteract the criticism of it. The ITU-General Hamadoun Tourà © mentioned that the WCIT was not about to take over the internet, but to connect more people to the internet that are currently offline. The ITU-General called for an approach in which the involvement of all parties is sought, among them the Internet users. The ITU had no intention to play a central role in Internet functions such as the regulation of Internet addresses which the ICANN non-governmental organisation already governs. The Russian delegation stated that its proposed ITR additions were based on an understanding of the Internet as a new global information infrastructure, and also as part of the national communication infrastructure of each individual Member State. Internet activists are also concerned with a proposal from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), a restriction of the freedom of information. The association is also to ensure that in future companies such as Skype or Google to pay fees for the use of the data network. The 193 countries represented have filed more than 900 amendments pertaining to the internet, mobile and fixed networks. Results of the conference must be reached by consensus. The federal government has argued against regulation of the Internet as part of the conference and that unrestricted access to the Internet is essential to society. For the Federal Government, the objectives of openness, transparency and freedom of the Internet conditions, ensure that the Internet keeps its prominent role as the engine of social and economic development. Basic human rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly must be protected on the internet just like in the offline world. Conclusion The internet is something that has only been around forà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Years and for this reason there will still be further development with regards to the platform itself and the bodies that govern it. Developing countries are only starting to have more access and with it there will be other aspects to consider that wouldnt have perhaps been an issue before. Like with the development of phones, the internet could be viewed in a way that would have previously never been imagined. With this in mind, as the internet develops to adapt for new users and to provide a better platform for communicating as an example, the governance will also need to change and adapt itself rather than be stuck in its ways. Due to the different styles of governance within countries, there is unlikely to be a global agreement to what is acceptable to be shown on the internet. Especially with the countries that follow a communist regime, the governments would like to limit the information that is able to be seen. Cultural differences also play a part to this, but users dont necessarily view the content that they find offensive. If the institutions become outdated and there is no such adaptation, as the network sees continuation in growth, new institutions will be created and take on the rules and regulations from the older institutions and use them in respect to the current situation. Likewise with the collection that ICANN took on. There will never be an ultimate body that controls everything due to the contrasting views. Another reason is because of national sovereignty because it means that until every country is open to every point of view, the government within a country can stop the information and people will be punished for going against this. Cross-border information flows are clearly making it hard to prevent everything being controlled, but for every piece of information that is against the regulations of a place, the government soon blocks the access. Perhaps in the future there will be a shift in the governments within the Eastern part of the world and as a result will mean that the internet will be a platform that is open for all to use.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Portrayal of Men and Women in Indian Television Advertising :: Advertisements India Culture Media Essays

Portrayal of Men and Women in Indian Television Advertising Abstract Although gender role portrayals in advertising have been extensively studied in Western and other Asian countries, very few such analyses have been done in India. The study does a systematic analysis of the role portrayal of men and women in Indian television advertising. 128 male role portrayals and 196 female role portrayals are content analyzed for the years 1996, 1999 and 2002. Results show that Indian advertising depicts men and women in traditionally assigned roles of the culture. In several respects, role portrayals in Indian advertising are different from the West but similar to other Asian countries. Role Portrayals of Men and Women in Indian Television Advertising The advertising industry in India is estimated to be Rs 11,000 crore ( ¡Ã‚ §Advertising: Back in Business ¡Ã‚ ¨ Businessworld, August 23, 2004) and growing at a robust pace every year. The expenditure in advertising is used to promote a wide range of products ranging from automobiles to washing machines to personal care products. Although the primary function of advertising is to inform consumers about product attributes and benefits, advertising also functions as a vehicle of socio-cultural communication (Courtney and Whipple 1983). Advertisements link the functional benefits of a product to emotional and social benefits thus creating cultural meaning in the course of communication (Aaker, Batra and Myers 1992). The potential of advertising to reflect cultural roles and norms has been recognized by marketing professionals, who have described advertising metaphorically as a  ¡Ã‚ ¥mirror ¡Ã‚ ¦ of social values (Holbrook 1987; Pollay and Gallagher 1990) or the  ¡Ã‚ ¥looking g lass of masses' (Lantos 1987). Researchers who have analyzed gender portrayals in advertising have found that a society ¡Ã‚ ¦s gender roles and cultural norms are manifested in its advertisements (e.g. Wolin 2003). Gender Role Portrayals in Western advertising Early studies on gender role portrayals in US print advertising documented the presence of a number of stereotypes in the way women and men were depicted in advertising (e.g. Belkaoui and Belkaoui 1976; Courtney and Lockeretz 1971; Sexton and Haberman 1974; Venkatesan and Losco 1975). Studies found that women were found primarily at home or in domestic settings. Women were under represented in working situations and were shown in a narrow range of occupations typically in secretarial, clerical, or blue-collar positions. A large majority of advertisements showed women as preoccupied with physical attractiveness and as sex objects. Men, on the other hand, were shown in a range of occupational roles in settings away from home such as work or outdoors.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Women and Environment

That the relationship between people and the environment is not gender-neutral became clear in the mid-1980s. Some organizations, focusing on the day-to-day lives of communities, argued that the position and concerns of women were invisible in environmental debates and programmers. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE based in New Delhi, India, in their The State of India’s Environment Report – or the Second Citizens Report of 1984-1985 argued that: Probably no other group is more affected by environmental destruction than poor village women.Every dawn brings with it a long march in search of fuel, fodderand water. It does not matter if the women are old, young or pregnant: crucial household needs have to be met day after weary day. As ecological conditions worsen, the long march becomes even longer and more tiresome. Caught between poverty and environmental destruction, poor rural women in India could well be reaching the limits of physical endurance. (CSE 1985) In that same year of 1985, the second UN Decade for Women Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya.The Environment Liaison Centre (presently the Environment Liaison Centre International or ELCI) organized a series of workshops on women, environment and development at the NGO Forum. These workshops were aimed at developing a better understanding of the relationship between women and the physical environment. More than 25 women leaders from all parts of the world – with an audience of women and men many times more – presented their local and regional case studies on women and the global environmental crisis, as well as on women and forests, energy, agriculture, and water management at local level.One of the main conclusions from the workshops was that women bear the highest costs of the environmental crisis because of their roles in providing water, food and energy at family and community levels. On the other hand, it was shown that women could potentially also make a larg e contribution to the solution of the crisis, precisely due to their role in the management of those primary resources. The increase in women’s power and the sustainability of development are ecologically tied.It is therefore imperative that women are enabled to participate and be involved at all levels of development planning throughout the industrialized and developing worlds, according to the ELC statement to the UN Women’s Conference in 1985. Female Participation in the Labor Force over the last century, the issue of women in the workplace has been a tumultuous one. Early in the 20th century, few women participated in the labor force. A woman's place was at home, taking care of the family and managing the domestic world.It was seen as unfit for women to be in certain professions, and most women did not work, other than going about their daily chores around the house. The Great Depression magnified this fact, as unemployment reached its highest levels in history but women, more than ever, stayed home to look after their husbands who now found themselves without work. World War II brought a complete reversal to this trend. Productivity boomed and the men left their homes, some to work, most to join the war effort.Women, in large masses for the first time, also hit the labor market. Dubbed â€Å"Rosie the Riveter†, these women worked at manufacturing plants and at other technological industries that had previously seen only male employees. With the men off at war, these companies needed women to fill their shoes, and women streamed into the business. Since then, they have not looked back, as women employment in the labor force grew steadily in the four decades after World War II. It was not until very recently that female employment growth rates have leveled out.I hope to explain why this has happened, as well as examining different sectors of the economy and comparing women employment and men employment. Just after World War II the civil ian labor force participation for women was a paltry 32%. Today, however, some six decades later that rate has climbed in excess of 70%. For four solid decades after the war, this rate increased at an astounding rate. Early in the 1990s, however, this rate leveled off. This brought about much speculation as to whether or not women were thus starting to leave the labor force and, if so, what the causes of that might be.In order to look at this hypothesis more closely, we first need to break down the women in the labor force by age: 16-24 year olds, 25-34 year olds, 35-44 year olds, 45-54 year olds, and 55+ years. In the mid 1940's, 35-44 year olds were engaged in the labor force more than any other age group. In the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, this was still the case. Over the last 25 years, however, the younger age groups have exploded onto the work scene, drastically shooting up from a percentage (of women that age in the labor force) of 40 percent in 1970 to nearly 75 per cent in the early 1990s.Until the 1970's, a graph of female participation rates in the labor force would look like an â€Å"M†, with a large dip coming between the early 20's until the later-child bearing years, the mid 30's. However, with all age groups now actively participating in the labor force, that graph now looks like an upside down â€Å"U†. In the early 1990s participation rates of women abruptly flattened out. Initially much thought was given to the fact that more mothers were exiting the labor force temporarily in order to look after their children or become homemakers.Thus analysts turned to specific age groups. They found that there was a significant drop off in labor force participation rates of women ages 16-24. Historically, rates of this age group did follow business cycles, so why the sudden change? The explanation was that more females that age were enrolling in schools. School enrollment between 1987 and 1993 increased nearly 28 percent, and women in school were less likely to be employed in the labor force. Other age groups continued their slightly upward trend, with the only exception being the 16-24 year olds.One explanation as to why these women decided to attend school rather than remain in the labor force is the recession of the early 1990s. There was a recessionary job market, so the younger, less stable women chose to go back to school rather than seek alternate employment. Since the early 1990s, however, the growth of women entering the labor force has resumed. The makeup of the group of women in the labor force has been influenced more recently than ever before on family structure. In the last ten years, mothers have accounted for most of the rise in women's overall labor force rate.For mothers with children between the ages of 6 and 17, an astonishing 77 percent are in the labor force. With children under 6, this percentage understandably dips to 62 points, but both largely higher than a decade ago. For mothers wit h infants less than a year old, the percentage entering the labor force has grown nearly 20 percent over the last decade. This trend is a strong reflection of today's societal norms: working for pay is an integral part of many women's lives, as opposed to early in the 20th century when housework was the norm.The 1996 Welfare Reform Bill passed by Congress had an effect on poor and single mothers in the workplace. By trying to move women from welfare to work, the bill encouraged these women to find jobs, thus entering the labor force. Additionally, the real wages of met earning lower incomes has remained stagnant or even slightly fallen in recent years. The cost of a wife sitting around the house and taking care of the children has risen, so the wives have much more incentive, and need, now to go out and earn on their own. This, in turn, also puts pressure on single mothers to go out and work as well.These women do not necessarily work full-time year-round, but their entrance into th e marketplace is a positive for not only them but the women's movement in general. It has gotten to the point, however, that marriage and children (except a pre-school aged child, where mothers tend to stay at home or work minimal hours) now have little effect on whether a not a woman works, and for how long she works. This is the societal norm, although access to other income (e. g. husband's earnings, single vs. married woman) still has a large effect on a woman's employment options.Women now spend a couple of hours more in the workplace per day than they do caring for their children as opposed to 20 years ago, yet many mothers are still not committed to full-time year-round employment. Throughout the entire 20th century, women's wages have constantly lagged behind men's wages. If a woman and mad were both hired to do the same task, the man would be paid more than the women. That has been and continues to be the trend in the American capitalist state. One explanation has always be en that the men are not only more qualified at the jobs but more efficient.Thus, the argument goes, they should be paid at a higher premium. Today, however, the wage gap is still existent, and very few would find that argument valid. So why do women still earn less than men, and why are women often discriminated against in the workplace? When a child enters a family, it is the woman who, much more often than not, stays at home and cares for the new baby. When the women exits the labor force, she does not gain the seniority that she would have otherwise gotten had there been no child.When women return to the labor force, they are less likely to receive on the job training, and thus less like to increase their productivity and thus level of pay. The absence from the work force, even if only for several months to take care of a newborn child, can depreciate the job skills of women, so when they return back to work they are not as sharp and take some time to regain pre-birth efficiency in the office. Knowing this, employers are less likely to hire women who are in their prime years for giving birth. This also stands for women applying for new jobs; if they left the labor force nce before for a child, chances are good that they might do it again. An employer will see this and thus shy away from hiring the woman, instead perhaps deferring to a man who would remain at work. Employers may even view those who do not take time away from work as more dedicated than women who do, regardless of the reason, and this could be reflected in reduced promotion possibilities, different job assignments, and other actions that could have salary implications. This is certainly not fair to women: it is not their fault that they are biologically the ones who give birth and must frequently look after the children.Regardless, the trend is that those women who do take time off from work often are overlooked for more competitive jobs and receive less pay. I have just established that wome n are now in the labor force more than ever before. But now that they are working, what kinds of jobs are they doing? In private industry, the breakdown of women compared to men is interesting. In 2000 there were 44 million workers in private industry in the United States, 23. 5 million of which were male, 20. 5 million female. A more specific breakdown, however, shows some astounding differences.There were twice as many male officials and managers than there were females (3 million as opposed to 1. 5 million). Officials and managers are described as â€Å"occupations requiring administrative and managerial personnel who set broad policies, exercise overall responsibility for execution of these policies, etc. † Yet the number of workers defined as ‘professionals' gives females the numeric advantage, 3. 6 million to 3. 4 million. Professionals are described as â€Å"occupations requiring either college graduation or experience of such kind. Thus even though the women la bor force tends to be slightly more educated than the male labor force, it is the males who, by a 2:1 ratio, are in managerial and authoritative positions! In other generic fields, there is also a stark contrast between males and females. Women outnumber men by roughly a 3:2 ratio in sales, and for office and clerical workers in private industry in the United States in 2000, there were over 5 million females and only slightly over 1 million males. This is no doubt a stereotype, the female secretary or clerical workers, but according to these statistics this stereotype seems to hold true.What reasons are there that so many more females are attracted to, or rather hold, secretarial jobs? There are many. On the flip side, however, there were six times as many male craft workers (skilled labor) than there were female craft workers in 2000. Perhaps females are not attracted to the demanding physical labor of such jobs, much the way males do not like clerical tasks. Historically, males ha ve been overwhelmingly dominant in the field of physical labor. When some women were forced to work in factories for personal financial reasons, they were often despised and treated unequally.This, I am sure, led many females to be extremely not attracted to such professions. Likewise, females have always dominant as office secretaries and the like. Back when women first entered the labor force, these were often the only types of jobs available so they took them. Today, women still flock to these clerical jobs. Looking at more specific job fields, these same general observations seem to hold true. In the field of engineering and management services, male office officials and managers greatly outweigh female managers.There are more than twice as many male technicians as female technicians, and over 12 times as many male skilled laborers than female skilled laborers. However, the number of female clerical workers is more than four times that of male clerical workers. Even male operati ves (semiskilled workers) outnumber by three times the number of female operatives. These numbers show overwhelmingly that the technical aspect of engineering is enjoyed more by males, while the women are still confined to the office. In the field of legal services, females outnumber males by a 1. 7:1 ration.Nearly two thirds of all females in this profession, however, are in fact office and clerical workers. Male professionals outnumber female professionals by a wide margin, and the trend shown in the general population holds true here, too. In the field of computers and office equipment, twice as many males as females hold jobs in this area. As usual, the number of female clerical workers greatly outweighs the number of male clerical workers. It comes as no surprise that, in the field of computers, male professionals, technicians, and skilled laborers greatly outweighs the number of female workers in these areas.The same trends can be seen in other areas such as communications. On e profession bucking this trend, however, can be found in hospitals. Women hospital employees outnumber male hospital employees by more than a 3:1 margin. Additionally, the number of female officials and managers, professionals, and technicians outweigh the numbers for the males, not just in raw numbers but also in terms of percentages. Males, however, still comprise the vast majority of skilled laborers in this area. It is nice to see, however, an area that goes against the general trend.Even though women seem to be dominant in a few fields of work and very scattered throughout many others, this is a change from a couple generations ago when most women were not even in the labor force. For women, this fact is definitely a step in the positive direction. Most women now hold jobs in the workplace, and are sustaining them for longer amounts of time than ever before. The next step is for women to immerse themselves in all fields of the labor force, rather than just concentrating on a s elective few.This brings responsibility to males, too, to allow for women to reach the upper echelons of the labor force. In a labor force that has been historically dominated by males, this proves to be an intriguing situation over the next decade as more and more women aspire to the officials and managers that they are not today. Women's education from past till now Social Relevance Education has been the stumbling block keeping women from attaining equal status in society, separating them from their male counterparts. It has also been the door to this elusive dream of equality.Before women gained the right and privilege of higher education they were believed to be lower-class citizens, not worthy of voting or owning property, or any number of other â€Å"inalienable rights†. It was not only men who believed that women should hold a lower position than they. Queen Victoria said: † I am most anxious to enlist everyone who can speak or write to join in checking this mad , wicked folly of ‘Women's Rights', with all its attendant horrors, on which her poor feeble sex is bent, forgetting every sense of womanly feelings and propriety. Feminists ought to get a good whipping.Were woman to ‘unsex' themselves by claiming equality with men, they would become the most hateful, heathen and disgusting of beings and would surely perish without male protection. â€Å"(Victorian Station)  Without education to empower them, many women believed that they should not hold the power to influence politics or even make decisions about their own property. Women were stripped of their dignity and privileges by men of the community and even by their own husbands. However, they were finally able to break free from these social constraints through education. It is telling that most of he early feminists were set apart from their complacent sisters by education. They were educated, and through this knowledge gained a sense of self-worth and the power to change history. Higher education is the foundation of the empowered women of today. The struggle for women’s education has been an uphill battle that has not yet reached its citadel. This journey took root in the Victorian period and branched even to modern times. During the mid-eighteen hundreds women were expected to live up to a feminine ideal. This ideology required women to be â€Å"pure, pious, domestic and submissive† (Eisenmann Apendix).None of these ideals would be achieved through education. In fact, receiving an education in the Victorian Period was considered an â€Å"act of nonconformity†(Solomon xviii). A woman could not fill her preordained place in society if she wasting her time gaining knowledge. Education was thought to make women discontented with their current status, and possibly even irritated with men (McClelland 12). Education for women was thought to disrupt the social balance of the time. On the contrary, the earliest push for Victorian women to become educated was because they were mothers of men and eventually teachers of men (Solomon xviii).It was not until the twentieth century that women began to desire knowledge for themselves as individuals. History of Women in Education In order to understand the women’s education movement, it is important to have a brief background of its history. During the time of the ideal subservient woman a few bold women and events stand out as milestones in history. The first is in 1833; Oberlin College was founded. It was the nations first university to accept women and black students. The next important event was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This convention added fuel to the flame of education and suffrage.The Seneca Falls Declaration has been called â€Å"the single most important document of the nineteenth-century American woman’s movement†. At the convention a declaration concerning women’s rights was adopted modeling the Declaration of Independen ce. Appearing in addition to issues of suffrage were issues of education and employment. The Declaration of Sentiments states: He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction, which he considers ost honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known. He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education – all colleges being closed against her. (Schneir 77) This event is of utmost importance to the women’s rights movement. It laid the foundation for future achievements even though suffrage was not achieved until 1920. After the Seneca Falls Convention women continued to achieve milestones in education. In 1877, Helen Magill became the first woman in the United States to earn her Ph. D.By 1880, women comprised eighty percent of all elementary school educators, and by 1910 women made up 39 percent of all collegiate undergraduate students and even 20 percent of all college faculty. Finally, in 1920 women’s suffrage was achieved, giving women a secure foothold in society. In 1945, the first woman was accepted to Harvard Medical School, and by 1972 Title XI was passed to help end the discrimination based on sex for any educational program that received federal funding. In 1980 women equaled men in numbers enrolled in colleges with 51 percent.Finally, in 1996 Virginia Military Institute was forced by the Supreme Court to become coeducational (Eisenmann appendix). There are many other events along the path to education that helped women achieve the status they enjoy today. This brief chronology merely traces a few of the hundreds of thousands of victories women had to win in order to become educated. Reasons for Oppression One of the main values that necessitated all of this arduous labor in order to simply become educated was that, people feared t hat the social system would break down if women were allowed to be educated.They worried that women would cease to fulfill their traditional roles if they received a higher education. It was even thought that a woman risked brain fever or sterility if she became educated (Delamont 109). These Victorian ideas seem ridiculous from a twentieth century perspective, but educated women today still have to deal with a certain measure of social stigma. It is often overlooked, however, because it has been adapted to fit the social constraints of today. They are forced at times to choose to live up to the dreams of their education or to live up to the societal implications of being a mother and wife (Solomon xix).This is only one of many reasons that the fight for adequate woman’s education is far from over. University of Texas Compared to Cambridge The fact that the need for reform in women’s education is not over is illustrated in two parallel cases. During the early feminist movement and the beginnings of the reform of women’s education, the best case to study is Cambridge in England. At the time this university had established authority in academia there was not a comparable university in the United States.Therefore, it is necessary to compare universities across the boundaries of nations. Women first gained notoriety at Cambridge when in the 1860’s Emily Davies was successful in her campaign to allow women to attend Cambridge University. However, they did not have the same status as the male students there (Acker 51). Even though Cambridge was one of the first universities to encourage women to study they did not award women the same degrees as men upon completion of the same tests (Vicinus 117). This is a testament to the slow but steady progress of women in education.These women were dedicated and willing to study despite sub-par compensation upon completion of school. It was not until 1947 that women were admitted to Cambridge as equa l members (Acker 51). While it was a promising start for women in the Victorian period to even be allowed to study, it is necessary to evaluate the staggering length of time this progress took to occur. It took almost a century for women to gain the same recognition as men. In light of these facts, it is dangerous to assume that women today have equal educational opportunity.As little as fifty-five years ago women were celebrating the fact that they could finally earn a degree at Cambridge University. That is not a very distant past. When asked if women at The University of Texas still face issues of educational bias, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Women make up almost half of the undergraduate student population at forty-nine percent. Sadly, these women are outnumbered in fields that have traditionally been male-dominated such as architecture and medicine. However, the average grade point average of women is higher than men in every field of study(Office of Inst. . This makes it clear that it is not a discrepancy of ability that keeps women from pursuing these vocations.There must be some sort of lingering Victorian attitudes that keep women from living up to their potential. Women today aspire to more diverse areas of study and vocation. However, they are realistic about what the world has in store for them and therefore gravitate towards more typically female professions (Kramarae 489). Another important fact is that the percentage of women faculty is a meager 33 percent (Office of Inst. Research has found that students tend to seek out classrooms and vocations in which they will feel comfortable and successful. Some students report avoiding courses that are overwhelmingly male because of the unwelcome feeling they experience in the classroom. How can women feel comfortable pursuing any field of study when male mentors and educators surround them and when the only contributions taught are those of males (Kramarae 498)? The battle for women’s educa tion will not be won until women feel free and comfortable to pursue any academic field.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Adolf Hitler and Japanese Canadians War

WWII ESSAY TOPICS Please Note: You need to form an historical research question for your topic. The answer to your question is your thesis statement 1. How and why was Germany allowed to annex Austria and the Sudetenland? Was there any justification for Britain and France’s policy of appeasement? 2. Discuss the role that Italy played in World War II. How did the nation become involved in the conflict? How did its participation affect the direction of the war and Germany’s fortunes? 3. Discuss the issues surrounding the United States’ decision to use atomic bombs against Japan.What motives were behind this action, and what arguments have been made against it? 4. Explain how the situation in Europe immediately following the fall of Germany led directly to the Cold War. In your opinion, should the Western Allies have acted to oppose Soviet domination of Eastern Europe? 5. Consider the role of technology during World War II. Did it fundamentally affect the outcome of the war? If so, how? If not, why not? 6. Compare the roles of Germany and Japan during World War II. Generally speaking, were their aggressions fundamentally similar or fundamentally different? . Explain Germany’s mistakes in Russia and the ways in which they affected the outcome of the war. 8. Why did the British government give in to German demands regarding Czechoslovakia in 1938, but took a relatively firmer stand over Poland in 1939? 9. Compare Soviet and British policies toward Poland between 1943 and 1945, focusing on both aims and outcomes. 10. Did the nature of German rearmament between 1935 and 1939 support the view that Hitler was planning for a Blitzkrieg war? 11. Asses and explain whether the internment of Japanese Canadians justified during World War Two? 2. Discuss the major differences between how the allies treated Germany after World War Two with World War One and how it may have been better. 13. Compare the strategic significance of the Battle of Stalingra d and the Battle of Britain. 14. Discuss Blittzkrieg and the importance of this tactic during World War Two. 15. Assess and explain the role of women during WWII and compare them to WWI. 16. The Second World War had consequences for European society and the world at large that were every bit as profound as the changes wrought by World War I.Assess these consequences as they became evident in 1945 as the war ended as well as for the years following from the standpoint of physical losses (casualties, refugees, infrastructure, etc. ) as well as the political and territorial settlements in Europe and the world at large. 17. To what extent were the German’s people responsible for Hitler/ Holocaust. 18. Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars. Other topics to consider Appeasement (WLM King) IsolationismThe Treaty of Versailles The League of Nations (failure of) Dieppe D-Day (Juno Beach) Liberation of Holland Dunkirk (evacua tion of) Battle of Britain Battle of the Atlantic Role of Technology / Canadian war production Anti-Semitism in Canada Internment of Japanese Canadians War on the homefront – War production / Changing role of women TOPIC LIST Blitzkreig The Battle of the Atlantic Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (Wrens) Lebensraum The Brtsh Commonwealth Air Training Plan Canadian Women’s Auxiliary AirforceOccupation of the Rhineland Camp X The Munich Pact Cdn Women’s Army Corps D-Day The Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact The Battle for Normandy Canadian War Brides Dunkirk Treaty of Versailles The Royal Cdn Air Force Wm. L. Mackenzie King War on the Homefront War Propaganda The Home Front General Guy Simonds Canada and the Italian Campaign Conscription The Scheldt Estuary The Internment of Japanese Canadians Liberation of the Netherlands Canada and Hong Kong Juno Beach The Battle of the Atlantic VE Day Dieppe Verrieres Ridge

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Understanding Finance Essay Example

Understanding Finance Essay Example Understanding Finance Essay Understanding Finance Essay Finance is the allocation of assets and liabilities over time under conditions of certainty and uncertainty. A key point in finance is the time value of money, which states that a unit of currency today is worth more than the same unit of currency tomorrow. Finance aims to price assets based on their risk level, and expected rate of return. Finance can be broken into three different sub categories: public finance, corporate finance and personal finance. Contents [hide] 1 Areas of finance 1. 1 Personal finance 1. 2 Corporate finance 1. 2. 1 Financial services 1. 3 Public finance 2 Capital 3 Financial theory . 1 Financial economics 3. 2 Financial mathematics 3. 3 Experimental finance 3. 4 Behavioral finance 3. 5 Intangible asset finance 4 Professional qualifications 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Areas of finance[edit] Wall Street, the center of American finance. Personal finance[edit] Main article: Personal finance Questions in personal finance revolve around Protection against unforeseen personal events, as well as events in the wider economy Transference of family across generations (bequests and inheritance) Effects of tax policies (tax subsidies and/or penalties) on management of personal inances Effects of credit on individual financial standing Planning a secure financial future in an environment of economic instability Personal finance may involve paying for education, financing durable goods such as real estate and cars, buying insurance, e. . health and property insurance, investing and saving for retirement. Personal Tlnance may also Involve paylng Tor a loan, or aeot ODIlgatlons. I ne SIX Key areas of personal financial planning, as suggested by the Financial Planning Standards Board, are:[l] Financial position: is concerned with understanding the personal resources available y examining net worth and household cash flow. Net wort h is a persons balance sheet, calculated by adding up all assets under that persons control, minus all liabilities of the household, at one point in time. Household cash flow totals up all the expected sources of income within a year, minus all expected expenses within the same year. From this analysis, the financial planner can determine to what degree and in what time the personal goals can be accomplished. Adequate protection: the analysis of how to protect a household from unforeseen risks. These risks can be ivided into liability, property, death, disability, health and long term care. Some of these risks may be self-insurable, while most will require the purchase of an insurance contract. Determining how much insurance to get, at the most cost effective terms requires knowledge of the market for personal insurance. Business owners, professionals, athletes and entertainers require specialized insurance professionals to adequately protect themselves. Since insurance also enjoys some tax benefits, utilizing insurance investment products may be a critical piece of the overall nvestment planning. Tax planning: typically the income tax is the single largest expense in a household. Managing taxes is not a question of if you will pay taxes, but when and how much. Government gives many incentives in the form of tax deductions and credits, which can be used to reduce the lifetime tax burden. Most modern governments use a progressive tax. Typically, as ones income grows, a higher marginal rate of tax must be paid. [citation needed] Understanding how to take advantage of the myriad tax breaks when planning ones personal finances can make a significant impact. Investment and accumulation goals: planning how to accumulate enough money for large purchases and life events is what most people consider to be financial planning. Major reasons to accumulate assets include, purchasing a house or car, starting a business, paying for education expenses, and saving for retirement. Achieving these goals requires projecting what they will cost, and when you need to withdraw funds. A major risk to the household in achieving their accumulation goal is the rate of price increases over time, or inflation. Using net present value calculators, the financial planner will suggest a ombination of asset earmarking and regular savings to be invested in a variety of investments. In order to overcome the rate of inflation, the investment portfolio has to get a higher rate of return, which typically will subject the portfolio to a number of risks. Managing these portfolio risks is most often accomplished using asset allocation, which seeks to diversify investment risk and opportunity. This asset allocation will prescribe a percentage allocation to be invested in stocks, bonds, cash and alternative investments. The allocation should also take into consideration the ersonal risk profile of every investor, since risk attitudes vary from person to person. Retirement planning is the process of understanding how much it costs to live at retirement, and coming up with a plan to distribute assets to meet any income shortfall. Methods for retirement plan include taking advantage of government allowed structures to manage tax llaOlllty Including: Inalvlaual (IRA) structures, or employer sponsored retirement plans. Estate planning involves planning for the disposition of ones assets after death. Typically, there is a tax due to the state or federal government at ones death. Avoiding these taxes means that more of ones assets will be distributed to ones heirs. One can leave ones assets to family, friends or charitable groups. Corporate finance[edit] Main article: Corporate finance Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with the sources of funding and the capital structure of corporations and the actions that managers take to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, as well as the tools and analysis used to allocate financial resources. Although it is in principle different from managerial finance which studies the financial management of all firms, rather than corporations lone, the main concepts in the study of corporate finance are applicable to the financial problems of all kinds of firms. Corporate finance generally involves balancing risk and profitability, while attempting to maximize an entitys wealth and the value of its stock, and generically entails three primary areas of capital resource allocation. In the first, capital budgeting, management must choose which projects (if any) to undertake. The discipline of capital budgeting may employ standard business valuation techniques or even extend to real options valuation; see Financial modeling. The second, sources of capital relates to how these investments are to be funded: investment capital can be provided through different sources, such as by shareholders, in the form of equity (privately or via an initial public offering), creditors, often in the form of bonds, and the firms operations (cash flow). Short-term funding or working capital is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit. The balance between these elements forms the companys capital structure. The third, the dividend policy, requires management to determine whether any unappropriated profit (excess cash) is to be retained for future investment / perational requirements, or instead to be distributed to shareholders, and if so in what form. Short term financial management is often termed working capital management, and relates to cash-, inventory- and debtors management. Corporate finance also includes within its scope business valuation, stock investing, or investment management. An investment is an acquisition of an asset in the hope that it will maintain or increase its value over time. In investment management in choosing a portfolio one has to use financial analysis to determine what, how much and when to invest. To do this, a company must: Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual goals, time horizon, risk aversion and tax considerations; Identify the appropriate strategy: active versus passive hedging strategy Measure the portfolio performance Financial management overlaps with the financial function of the Accounting profession. However, financial accounting is the reporting of historical financial information, while financial management is concerned with the allocation of capital resources to increase a firms value to the shareholders. Hnanclal rlsK management, an element 0T corporate Tlnance, Is tne practlce 0T reating and protecting economic value in a firm by using financial instruments to manage exposure to risk, particularly credit risk and market risk. (Other risk types include Foreign exchange, Shape, Volatility, Sector, liquidity, Inflation risks, etc. It focuses on when and how to hedge using financial instruments; in this sense it overlaps with financial engineering. Similar to general risk management, financial risk management requires identifying its sources, measuring it (see: Risk measure: Well known risk measures), and formulating plans to address these, and can be qualitative nd quantitative. In the banking sector worldwide, the Basel Accords are generally adopted by internationally active b anks for tracking, reporting and exposing operational, credit and market risks. Financial services[edit] Main article: Financial services An entity whose income exceeds its expenditure can lend or invest the excess income. Though on the other hand, an entity whose income is less than its expenditure can raise capital by borrowing or selling equity claims, decreasing its expenses, or increasing its income. The lender can find a borrower, a financial ntermediary such as a bank, or buy notes or bonds in the bond market. The lender receives interest, the borrower pays a higher interest than the lender receives, and the financial intermediary earns the difference for arranging the loan. A bank aggregates the activities of many borrowers and lenders. A bank accepts deposits from lenders, on which it pays interest. The bank then lends these deposits to borrowers. Banks allow borrowers and lenders, of different sizes, to coordinate their activity. Finance is used by individuals (personal finance), by governments (public finance), by usinesses (corporate finance) and by a wide variety of other organizations, including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments and methodologies, with consideration to their institutional setting. Finance is one of the most important aspects of business management and includes analysis related to the use and acquisition of funds for the enterprise. In corporate finance, a companys capital structure is the total mix of financing methods it uses to raise funds. One method is debt financing, which includes bank loans and bond sales. Another method is equity financing the sale of stock by a company to investors, the original shareholders of a share. Ownership of a share gives the shareholder certain contractual rights and powers, which typically include the right to receive declared dividends and to vote the proxy on important matters (e. g. , board elections). The owners of both bonds and stock, may be institutional investors financial institutions such as investment banks and pension funds or private individuals, called private investors or retail investors.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Auditing case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Auditing case study - Essay Example ’s best performing market with a 4% rise in sales even though its export sales recorded a 1% contraction when compared to the previous financial year. Overall group data reported that sales into the U.S.A market rose by 24% whilst the European market indicated a 12% decline. The company’s overall profitability was assisted by the strengthening of the US dollar when compared with the sterling pound during this period. 2. The company’s profit before tax stood at  £2,052,000 in 2012/13 when compared with 2011/12 whereby it stood at  £843,000 before the IAS 19 pension adjustment. The main expenditure stood at  £555,000. The other expenses were  £228,000 which was mostly related to executive transition costs. Looking at their major products, Technical Fiber Products had an operating profit standing at  £1,450,000 compared to 2011/12 when it stood at  £629,000. Their turnover figures grew by about 6% on the preceding year’s turnover figure of  £12,599,000. Sales in the Defense and Aerospace sectors represented an 18% and 20% of the overall sales respectively. The sales of TFP into the U.S.A increased by 16% and 17% in US dollar and Sterling terms respectively. The U.S.A represented the TFPs most important market with which accounted for about 55% of its turnover while it stood at 50% over the preceding year. It was however not so rosy in when looking at the same sales out o f the U.S.A which shrunk by about 6%. The company took several steps aimed at consolidating the US operations. It closed the Cincinnati facility in mid-2012 while it will take until the third quarter of 2013 for the new facility at Schenectady to achieve to several consumer programs. The Schenectady facility needed an investment about US$3million initially. In conclusion, there is heightened audit risk in revenue area. 1. According to the annual report, the company is undergoing major re alignments in its principle market in the U.S .The closures of the Cincinnati plant and future closure of

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Corporate Annual Reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Annual Reports - Essay Example Some landmark events such as acquisitions or additional issue of stocks also find a place in these reports. The stock market crash of 1929 resulted in stringent standards applied to the preparation of Annual Reports. Hence the report has to be audited by a qualified accounting professional. The auditors role is to check for any intentional or accidental errors in the companys accounts and give his/her stamp of approval if they are found truthful. In some countries it is mandatory for all publicly held companies to distribute their annual report to all shareholders. In addition to the annual report, shareholders can find more information about the corporation in their "10k" and "10Q" reports. 10K report is a detailed document on the corporations services, products, market share, competition, industry, its customer base, etc. On the other hand the 10Q report gives an elaborate analysis of the companys quarterly earnings. These documents are made easily accessible through the Security and Exchange Commissions website. There are three important financial components to annual reports. They are the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement. Apart from these major financial components, other information of interest is also included. For example, the Chairmans Address to the Shareholders, Highlighting of major achievements over the year, Managements assessment of the year, an auditors note and a summary of all financial information. Having said this, there is no universally accepted format for annual reports. This gives opportunity for corporations to show an impressive set of numbers, the reality of which can be deciphered only by reading the fine print. For example, some companies see annual reports as a marketing tool that projects the company in a kinder light. So much so that many corporations allocate huge quantities of money in adding frills to their annual reports, making the information look more