The Bankruptcy Of Marxist Ideology The Dilution And...

Topic 4: The Bankruptcy of Marxist Ideology: The Dilution and Variability of Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theory in the Post-WWI Era Introduction: This economic study will define the dilution and variability of Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theory in the post-WWII era. The slow dissolution of Marxist theory as as a 19th century economic concept defines the rise of capitalism and the neoliberal ideology that has permeated the latter half of the 20th century. The fall of communism in the late 1980s reveals the bankruptcy of communism as a state ideology in the U.S.S.R., since the Unite States and other first world nations triumphed as a global capitalist ideology. More so, the dilution of Marxism also occurs in the increasingly cultural and social abstractions of Marxist ideology that stray from the objective â€Å"materialism† of traditional Marxist analysis, which shows a moderate rationalization for capioti8alism in the Neo-Marxist theory. Various institutions and Neo-Marxists theorists, such as Max Weber and Antonio Gramsci, tend to moderate the effect of capitalism on the economy through social trends and value systems a s a way to negate the materialistic realities of economic inequality. Marx initially argued as a point of historical materialism in the 19th century, yet these objective economic values were diluted well into the neoliberal era of economics of the latter 20th century. This form of Neo-Marxism provided a pathway for the neoliberal model of globalist capitalism thatShow MoreRelatedA Marxist Evaluation Of Feminism And Gender Equality Essay1572 Words   |  7 PagesA Marxist evaluation of feminism and gender equality is another failure of the Neo-Marxist system to generate any serious change in a neoliberal capitalistic model. Feminism, since the 1970s, has become a subjective and distorted version of what it was meant to be—a system that sought to raise the rights of women out of the home (as domestic servants) and into the workplace. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the idea of Marxism as a system of economic analysis for women to dissect the inequalitiesRead MoreMarke ting Management130471 Words   |  522 Pagesmaterial objects produced by its people. It is the accumulation of shared meanings and traditions among members of a society. A culture can be described in terms of its ecology (the way people adapt to their habitat), its social structure and its ideology (including people s moral and aesthetic principles). Culture refers to the set of values, ideas and attitudes that are accepted by a homogeneous group of people and transmitted to the next generation. Subculture refers to the norms and values of

Perception Of Aging And Eventual Death - 1049 Words

Introduction Aging is a controversial and multifaceted subject of which we know relatively little. However, our perception of aging and eventual death is a subtopic that has been addressed for many millennia past. Following, we endeavored to dig deeper into the perception of death and how that perception changes with age. To do this, we designed an observational study performed with a survey which was intended to capture a complete and detailed sample so that we may draw a useful and reliable conclusion from the collected data. These conclusions will hopefully contribute to the subject of perception of aging over a lifetime. Hypothesis: There exists a significant difference in the desired ages of death between persons less than forty years of age and persons more than forty years of age. Method As stated, to gather data concerning our hypothesis, we published a survey on Facebook that was set as â€Å"public† so anyone could view and respond to the survey (see Appendix 1). The design of the survey, while testing only a single hypothesis, posed multiple questions so we could analyze background information alongside the primary questions. This collection of background information was included after we identified some potentially confounding variables. Therefore, in addition to the three primary questions concerning age, desired age of death, and age of death with which a responded would be â€Å"content,† we inquired about such factors as the respondent’s current age, income, debt,Show MoreRelatedSonnet 73 Metaphors1165 Words   |  5 Pagesbut a few still remain. This development of the image of autumn, creates the perception of the speaker entering old age. Continuing, Shakespeare interlaces another metaphor for the speaker growing old, â€Å"Upon tho se boughs which shake against the cold†. The crucial words in that line are â€Å"against† and â€Å"cold†, â€Å"against† means that the boughs are moving of their own accord and â€Å"cold† is a metaphor itself for old age, or death. The metaphor compares the limbs of a tree moving in the cold to an old manRead MoreThe Relationship Between Gender And Alzheimer s Disease1386 Words   |  6 Pagesof ageing. Nevertheless, it is mainly associated with ageing. Studies reveal that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease doubles every few years. This indicates an undoubted exponential increase in risks with the increase in age (Duthey, 2013). An aging population contributes immensely towards the expansion of the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. A 2014 report on the epidemiology of the disease had some extraordinary findings. The report expresses fears that approximately fifteenRead More The I-Function And Alzheimers Disease: Where is The Person?1243 Words   |  5 PagesThe I-Function And Alzheimers Disease: Where is The Person? Alzheimers disease (AD) is a serious form of dementia that involves the destruction of brain cells, and ultimately leads to death (1). What makes AD such a frightening disease, for both the patient and their family members, is the loss of self associated with the dementia. Those afflicted with AD cant understand the changes going on within themselves. Family members are upset by the loss of the person they once knew. It is commonRead MoreFood for Thought Essay1092 Words   |  5 PagesThe aging brain can play host to numerous neurological diseases. While some can be brought about due to genetic predisposition, nutrition plays an important roll in the development and eventual aging of the brain. In fact, the brain shrinks and can lose 5-10% of its weight with age. According to the Framington Offspring Cohort Study; smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity can accelerate brain shrinkage. While good diet choices and exercise can slow the effects of aging on the brain.Read Mo reThe Buddhas Four Noble Truths: a Logical Basis for Philosophy1688 Words   |  7 Pagescollection of five skandhas or aggregates. These include rupa (matter), vedana (sensations), sanna (perceptions), samkhara (mental formations), and vijnana (consciousness). The aggregate of matter encompasses all tangible aspects of the world. The aggregate of sensations is akin to the process of sensory input; e.g., the activation of retinal cells in the eye. Vedana does not include the process of perception, however; the act of perceiving the senses, i.e., recognition of external sensations, is withinRead More The Buddhas Four Noble Truths: A Logical Basis For Philosophy1651 Words   |  7 Pagescollection of five skandhas or aggregates. These include rupa (matter), vedana (sensations), sanna (perceptions), samkhara (mental formations), and vijnana (consciousness). The aggregate of matter encompasses all tangible aspects of the world. The aggregate of sensations is akin to the process of sensory input; e.g., the activation of retinal cells in the eye. Vedana does not include the process of perception, however; the act of perceiving the senses, i.e., recognition of external sensations, is withinRead MoreEssay about Healthy Aging Interview1812 Words   |  8 Pagesstruck Maxine in the fall of 1928. The relentless weather combined with the struggle to harvest the dwindling crops resulted in Joseph developing pneumonia. The pneumonia took Josephs life and Maxines father, when she was only two. Her fathers death forced this single parent family to relocate to the city to seek employment. In 1930, Ruby accepted employment with as a seamstress at a shirt factory in Wytheville, Virginia. During 1935, Ruby was transferred to Christiansburg, Virginia wereRead MoreAway from Her Assignment Essay5454 Words   |  22 Pageshe believed Fiona was getting back at him for his infidelity. Aubreys wife Marian decided to take Aubrey back to her home because of her inability to continue paying Meadowlakes, which brought both Fiona and Aubrey great pain and eventual depression. Grants eventual reaction was to find a way to bring Aubrey back in order to ease Fionas depression, rather than have her remain in the same state for the rest of her life. He visited Marian in order to try and convince her to bring Aubrey back toRead MoreReality and Illusion4098 Words   |  17 PagesReality versus Illusion Texts: Life of Pi King Lear Heavenly Creatures Blade Runner Pans Labyrinth Research Questions: 1. How does each character’s situation influence their perception or ideas of reality versus illusion? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the main character’s situation in each text? 3. What insights relating to reality and illusion can be gained from each text? Resources: Title: Life of Pi Author: Yann Martel Question 1: Pi survives his ordealRead MoreEssay about Unit 4 P12506 Words   |  11 Pagesyears- self conscious about their physical appearance -May overreact to parental questions or criticisms -Risky behaviour/rebellious -16+ years- rely on peer group support -examination of others; values; beliefs, forms identity by organising perception of one’s attitudes -Less affection shown toward parents; May sometimes seem rude or short-tempered. Conditioning- In the 1906, ivan pavov publishished his work on conditioned learning in dogs. Pavov became interested in how the dogs learned

The Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Analysis Free Essays

The communication of this invitation through Gatsby suggests initially to Nick that ‘something was up’. The air tension is increased by Fitzgerald’s use of pathetic fallacy: the weather is â€Å"Hot!†¦Hot!†¦Hot!† so that it, like the atmosphere in the chapter ‘hovered on the edge of combustion’. It is almost the last day of summer, appropriately. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby: Chapter 7 Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now There is a feeling that the last chance for Gatsby; that the darker days of autumn and winter are on their way; that things are drawing to a close with the demise of the summer. The telephone call received by Tom at luncheon (from Mrs.Wilson) adds to the air of expectancy and tension. It is also the first time the reader has seen all of the main characters of the play gathered together, adding to the idea that the climax is due soon. Daisy and Jordan’s skin is powdered over, suggesting a papering over of cracks, and the falsity of the situation. Nick contemplates ‘the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles’, almost palpably desiring an escape. Daisy’s public kissing of Gatsby, suggests that she is ready to make the relationship public, but her ‘clogging’ on the fireplace suggests an almost hysterical desperation. Tom notes the change in the footing of their relationship, as Daisy exchanges apparently trivial comments that betray their intimacy : â€Å"you always look so cool†. His response to this is an attempt to shield Daisy from Gatsby, by trying to have her travel in his car to New York. He clearly recognises that ‘she had told him that she loved him’. Daisy’s ‘presentation’ of her child, Pammy, to Gatsby and the assembled company has striking effect upon Gatsby; she is concrete proof of the marriage between Tom and Daisy, inescapable evidence that Daisy has shared the last 5 years of her life with someone else. Tom agrees to Daisy’s suggestion that they go to town as a welcome distraction from the almost surreal scene that appears to be brewing at the house. As the girls prepare for the outing, Nick notes ‘the moon hovered already in the Western sky’, suggesting that time is again running out. As Tom gets whiskey, Fitzgerald has Gatsby explain the irresistible allure of Daisy’s voice: â€Å"her voice is full of money†, This clarifies the whole moral stance of the characters in the text: drawn to the money in her siren’s song. Nick thinks of her at this moment as † high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl† in a vision that simultaneously draws together the multiple images of silver, gold and white that Fitzgerald has used throughout the text to suggest money and wealth. The drive to town provides another opportunity for Gatsby and Daisy to be alone together as Daisy evades Tom’s suggestion that he drive her ‘in this circus wagon’ – Gatsby’s car. This description clearly demonstrates the contempt of the patrician for the vulgar display of wealth by Gatsby, the parvenu. How to cite The Great Gatsby: Chapter 7 Analysis, Papers

Strategy in Digital Business

Question : Discuss about the Strategy in Digital Business ? Answer : Introduction: The study is based on the analysis of the law and economics of Microsoft, forming a milestone of cases of antitrust intervention in the industries of network. The United States department of Justice bought a case against Microsoft by claiming that Microsoft monopolized the marketplace for operating systems of personal computers and undertook the anti-competitive activities to unlawfully uphold its policy (Gehani, 2013). The department of United States alleged that it monopolized the marketplace of internet browsers, as those browsers would produce rivalry for computer operating systems. Strategies of Microsoft: Accessibility, as a part of overall usability is considered as fundamental considerations for Microsoft at the time of designing developing, evaluating and releasing its product. Microsoft engages in the strategy of accessibility, planning, researching, testing and documentation. Microsoft accessibility strategy is considered as long standing commitment in developing innovative accessibility solution. Microsoft has formulated a simple strategy of earning greater amount of profits (Mukhopadhyay Ye, 2016). The business of software is considered as natural monopoly business since the average total costs constantly falls with the increased output. One of the first and foremost strategies of Microsoft is network marketing. The reason behind this is that each windows product is compatible with other Microsoft window products. One of the more intriguing strategies of Microsoft is that the market in which it operates leads to innovations of new operating systems and office suites leading to monopoly positions as the eventual outcome. Nonetheless, after analysing the strategy of Microsoft it is understood that it would do well to consider not just what is successful antitrust enforcement against Google might do for the Microsofts intermediate market position. Product differentiation and pricing behaviour: A disparity in the system effects has led to lower cost theory, which provides rapacious taste to Microsofts strategy. The pricing behaviour of Microsoft is to attract customers and produce effects of network; it also plans to amplify the cost in the future (Hoberg Phillips, 2016). Such kind of presumption is considered as improbable since Microsoft rules the Personal Computer Market and over the years, its share in the market has double folded without raising the cost for the windows at the same time increasing its functionality. Studies suggest that an organisation can exercise predation without even raising the cost however simply benefiting from the potential effects of network. Hence, such plan is impossible to differentiate from an accurate aggressive strategy and cannot be regarded as predatory. Ironically, the chief process, which Microsoft has used to smother rivalry, is predatory pricing by allocating its product at no obvious cost to the consumers. The software industry has transformed the business along with the people to co-ordinate and work (Chen Huang, 2015). The global revenue software represents 16% share of the Microsoft. Oracle and IBM represented a share of 7%. SAP on the hand represented a share of 5% with Symantec had the share of 2%. Principally by original equipment manufacturer distribution (OEM) it can standardise its software as this can allow Microsoft to charge cost, which could yield highest proceeds on the outlay of consumer. The maximum amount of damage which is caused to the consumer is price gauging, an issue which is not even being addressed under the current antitrust trial. One of the best facts that suggests that Microsoft is a monopoly and shielded from price rivalry is its excess amount of profit. Microsoft sets values with regard to the competitive prices, which is the reason where the products of Microsoft are regarded as the most expensive office suite (Baker, 2014). However, Microsoft products are value setter. Forced by the market opportunity Microsoft does not elevate prices therefore, it only preserves historically high prices while providing the least value for the money. Product differentiation: One of the important strategies of wining competition in the business is the differentiation strategy. This creates a strong emphasis on the certain brands in comparison to the competitive brands. There are several alternative office suites that has indulged themselves in the price discrimination bandwagon. Microsoft finds it difficult to indulge in product and price differentiation since they were generating huge amount of cash from their monopoly. Microsoft is considered as the monopolistic in the operating system for their products (Smith, 2014). The marginal cost used to generate the incremental level of software and other goods is zero however the fixed cost remains substantial and Microsoft is price setter since they sell price products that covers their fixed cost but allows them to make large amount of profit without causing distress to several consumers. Microsoft Office provides a good-looking and simple to use interface (Wan et al., 2017). Several participants in the marketplace might have one or two abilities or features but Microsoft outperforms its participants by satisfying the needs of everyone from personal desktop usage to the usage of large corporations. They also had to offer certain kinds of market segments with lower prices since there was huge amount of privacy. Microsoft started to realize that they were leaving money on the table since they did not take dramatic steps to price discriminate with the help of product differentiation. Microsoft Cost Structure: The fixed cost of business is considered as the business cost that does not alter in total but varies for each unit when the quantity of production changes. The facility cost for instance are the depreciation, rent, salary, property taxes and insurance forms the example of fixed cost. The variable cost represents the changes in different proportion of cost of production. Upon analysing the variable cost and fixed cost of Microsoft, it provides operating leverage. Organisations having higher amount of operating leverage are the organisations that have higher amount of fixed cost of operations in relation to the variable costs of operations. A massive amount of cost structure of Microsoft is fixed. Microsoft cost is also restricted to marketing costs and development (Hollensen, 2015). Whether Microsoft sells one copies of its software or over 100 million of copies of the latest version of its windows the cost for the company remains the same. Once the company sells the sufficient number of its copies of software to cover the fixed costs while the additional sales is identified as profits. This represents that Microsoft higher amount of fixed cost. Were Microsoft indulged in competitive price or not? On the findings of the fact, it is found that Microsoft dominated its x86 based personal computer operating systems market, which constituted monopoly, and Microsoft had initiated the act of crushing the threats to that monopoly (Gavil First, 2014). The judgement was split in two parts. On 3rd April, 2000 the court issued conclusion of law which constituted that Microsoft had committed monopolization, attempted monopolization and tried to violate section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Economist have cited that the case of antitrust lodged against Microsoft set a hazardous example that indicated rising regulations of the government and the future of technological progress in the industry will get impeded. Benefits from Bundling of IE and Browser Software: The economic benefits of bundling can be assembled into two primary groups. One benefit arises from the manufacturing side and other coming from the consumption. Bundling efficiencies arises from the economic scope of consumption, which represents the advantage for the consumer in purchasing the products, which are complementary instead of purchasing from two separate suppliers. Consumers are provided typically provided with options of pre-installation of variety of Microsoft commodities along with few non-Microsoft commodities while ordering from OEMs. If Internet Explorer or media players were unbundled, there would have been no difficulty in permitting the customers with an option amid the commodities of competing companies for each of the merchandise groups (Ferrell Fraedrich, 2015). Other arguments concerning the benefits of consumers arising from software bundling is not sufficiently supported. On few occasion it is claimed that effectiveness arises from higher amount of anticipated superiority or functionality during the time when constituents have functioned together. Customers might perceive that using the web browsers generated by the software firms causes the operating system to crash than those of competitors with less recognizable operating systems. Microsoft has put forward its argument that technical bundling of its internet explorer browser and its windows operating systems is an example of economies (Shao Li, 2017). Therefore, it is widely accepted that designing programmes that can share codes amongst the two goods could hypothetically have possible benefits if the programmes performance is enhanced. Competition of Microsoft: The software market demanded everyone to put emphasis on the single OS and Microsoft had well positioned itself to fill up that demand. Other competing firms such as Apple or Amiga focused working on computers whereas Microsoft emphasised greatly on making its OS available to every PC clones manufactured by several other companies. For example if consumers wanted the products of Apple OS they had purchase the Apple computer, which would only use Apple add-ons. All of these add on became very expensive than their PC counterparts (Moulin, 2014). On the other hand, if consumers bought MS-DOS they could use it on several other platforms and can purchase supplementary hardware under the competitive environment having lower price. By keeping the price of unit very low and through aggressive Microsoft dominated the marketed as large number of people jumped with on the MS bandwagon so that it could enable users to inter-operators to connect with other users. Therefore, it can be said that when Microsoft initially produced MS Dos it was not monopoly instead it was just another company, which was trying to compete in the computer software market. With the introduction of Microsoft windows version 3.0 Microsoft cemented its position as a software monopoly. Application of game theory and Nash Equilibrium: Game theory and Nash equilibrium is a useful tool to study the decision of the managers. To explain the Nash Equilibrium it is important to have the concept of dominant strategy. A dominant strategy is that strategy which produces higher amount of payoff than any other strategy as the player can make the use of every possible combination of its rivals strategy (Huisman, 2013). For example, considering a situation where Apple and Microsoft have an identical product, which they aspires to introduce in the market. One decision, which they need to consider, is the price of the product. Both Apple and Microsoft need to choose a higher price or a lower price. Assuming that Apple OS software costs 1500 dollars while Microsoft software cost 900 dollars. The primary step in determining the pricing strategies, which both the companies is likely to use in the market, is the dominant strategy. If Apple makes the choice of high price then Microsoft will go for lower price as they will wish to make a profit of $1200 instead of $600. On the other hand, if Apple makes the choice of low cost, Microsoft will also choose lower price, since they will favour to generate a profit of $900 instead of $300. Microsoft will select a lower price strategy regardless of what Apple chooses and therefore, it can be concluded that Microsoft has dominant strategy as it has lower price. Benefits for Followers: By virtue of their efforts in branding other following firms can determine the point of price which tends to be very high than the perfectly competitive firms. It will further enhance the ability of the organisation to improve the quality of the product through their branding (Moulin, 2014). Thus, branding provides the much needed strength to maintain quality depending upon the business financial stake of the followers. Conclusion: The antitrust trial has put Microsoft under huge pressure. If Bill did not control Microsoft, gates and his employees in the short term Microsoft may have compromised and may have harmed the interest of the shareholders in the long term. One of the major loss of Microsoft is the constant antitrust scrutiny which do not provides the opportunity of making noteworthy acquisitions in telecommunications and internet sectors in United States at the time of interest antitrust scrutiny. Despite the consequences of the ultimate outcome, the impact created by U.S v. Microsoft is more likely to be felt over a long period of time. However, if the break-up happens, it is most likely to inflict gloomy shadow of fundamental antitrust interference on the entire industry of computer. Reference list: Baker, M. J. (2014).Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan. Chen, F., Huang, J. (2015). A study on the degree of product differentiation of the platform and the pricing strategy in two-sided markets.Review of Industrial Economics,2(002). Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J. (2015).Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Nelson Education. Gavil, A. I., First, H. (2014).The Microsoft antitrust cases: competition policy for the twenty-first century. MIT Press. Hoberg, G., Phillips, G. (2016). Text-based network industries and endogenous product differentiation.Journal of Political Economy,124(5), 1423-1465. Hollensen, S. (2015).Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education. Mukhopadhyay, S. K., Ye, G. (2016). EFFECT OF CSR ON PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION IN THE PRESENCE OF COST ADVANTAGE. InEconomic and Social Development (Book of Proceedings), 17th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social(p. 289). Niyato, D., Hoang, D. T., Luong, N. C., Wang, P., Kim, D. I., Han, Z. (2016). Smart data pricing models for the internet of things: a bundling strategy approach.IEEE Network,30(2), 18-25. Ray Gehani, R. (2013). Innovative strategic leader transforming from a low-cost strategy to product differentiation strategy.Journal of technology management innovation,8(2), 144-155. Shao, L., Li, S. (2017). Bundling and product strategy in channel competition.International Transactions in Operational Research. Smith, B. D. (2014). Capturing an elusive phenomenon: developing and testing a multiple perspective model of marketing strategy implementation.Journal of Strategic Marketing,22(1), 16-40. Wan, J., Zhao, L., Gupta, S., Lu, Y. (2017). Evaluating App Bundling Strategy for Selling Mobile Apps: An Ambivalent Perspective.Information Technology People,30(1). Moulin, H. (2014).Cooperative microeconomics: a game-theoretic introduction. Princeton University Press. Huisman, K. J. (2013).Technology investment: A game theoretic real options approach(Vol. 28). Springer Science Business Media. Geckil, I. K., Anderson, P. L. (2016).Applied game theory and strategic behavior. CRC Press.

AIDS Is It A Modern Plague Essays - HIVAIDS, Pandemics

AIDS: Is it a Modern Plague? Donna Kundu In some parts of the world there are still wars being fought and dictators in power. There are societies which consider themselves at the peak of evolution and progress. They are able to create state of the art automobiles, luxurious homes, efficient and organized industries, complex computerized machinery and atomic weapons. Many societies are governed by a democratic system which herald a belief in freedom. All societies, regardless of their political and economic makeup, are also ruled by a special class of dictators; these dictators are unseen to the naked eye, and are invincible. These invisible tyrants are microorganisms. Underdeveloped countries, technologically advanced countries, and those in between are at the mercy of these microorganisms, which come in many forms - viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. The most dangerous of these forms is the virus. Some viruses, such as the common flu, are considered to have a fairly detrimental capacity. The flu can incapacitate a human for several weeks with various symptoms such as bodily soreness, fever, bronchial complications, and even pneumonia. But while these conditions can be painful and frightening, we are usually confident that proper medication and rest will take care of the matter. However there is a much more severe and indiscriminate tyrant, with enormous corrupting influence, capable of infiltrating all of civilization. Scientifically, it is a submicroscopic pathogen consisting of a particle of nucleic acid, enclosed in proteins, and able to replicate only within a living cell. Socially, it is responsible for an enormous amount of chaos and fear in the world today, and pronounces the human fault of ignorance. Can it be considered to be a modern plague? This complex and confusing king of all tyrants is called Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. HIV is a retrovirus. Retroviruses are commonly identified in many animal species, but HIV and its variants, such as HTLV I, HTLV II, HTLV III are among the rare retroviruses found in humans. It is transmitted through blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. HIV is a retrovirus of the Lentivirus group and is the etiologic agent of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS was first recognized as a disease syndrome in 1981; HIV was identified as its cause in 1984. AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is at present a sentence of slow but inevitable death. There currently is neither a cure, nor an effective treatment, and no vaccine either. But there are things that have been proven immensely effective in slowing the spread of this hideously lethal disease. Scientist believe that the disease originated somewhere in Africa about 20 years ago. HIV antibodies were found in serum drawn in parts of Africa in the early 1970, leading many investigators to believe that the disease originated in Africa, spreading to the Caribbean, and then to the United States. In Africa it first appeared as a mysterious ailment afflicting primarily heterosexuals of both sexes. It probably was spread especially fast by female prostitutes living there. AIDS has already become a crisis of staggering proportions in parts of Africa. In Zaire, it is estimated that over twenty percent of the adults currently carry the virus. That figure is increasing. On a global scale, the AIDS epidemic is rapidly expanding. Africa, which represents about 10 percent of the global population, now accounts for more than 60 percent of the total HIV infections among adults worldwide. In comparison, North America and South America combined account for less than 20 percent of the adult HIV infections. More than 90 percent of HIV infections in Africa are due to heterosexual transmission. An AIDS epidemic is also emerging in Asia, where new HIV infections increased by 80 percent in the last three years, and estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that AIDS in Asia will cause unprecedented rates of infection and death. The major strain of HIV in the North America, Europe, and central Africa is known as HIV-1. In western Africa, AIDS is also caused by HIV-2, a strain of HIV closely related to HIV-1. Other distantly related strains of HIV-1 have been identified in various areas of the world. Although some of these strains cannot be detected using the current blood-screening methods,

The cybernetic model of organization

The cybernetic model of organization This paper provides a conceptual approach to solve problems of governance, management, and leadership in an academic institution in order to improve on; accountability, student enrollment, and cost reduction. An institution should develop a new approach to governance, management and leadership that is based upon a cybernetic model (Birnbaum, 1991).Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The cybernetic model of organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The cybernetic model approach is important because it suggests how other subsystems in an institution function simultaneously, in all types of colleges and universities, to enhance a self correcting institution. The self correcting process of an institution focus on a control structure that is defined in terms of a signaling mechanism to monitor acceptable changes that can enhance fundamental changes within an institution. There are four main models of instituti onal governance that are crucial in the evolving literature of higher education. These models include; the institution as a bureaucracy, a collegial system, a political system, and an organized anarchy. These models assist in the analysis of an organizational structure of an institution. Organizations are composed of three levels of control and responsibility. These comprise of the technical level, the institutional level, and the managerial level. The managerial level is important because it provides a link between the technical level and the institutional level and buffers the technical level against problems of funding, fluctuations in student enrollments and political interference (Birnbaum, 1991). According to Birnbaum (1991), the technical level should ensure rationality in decision making and should also encompass bureaucracy in management. The technical level in an institution comprises of elements that turn inputs, such as, students, finances, and societal expectations, int o outputs, such as, graduates, knowledge, service and status. In an educational institution, inputs in an open system are more complex and encompass various components like; different ideologies, individuals, resources, as well as, other subsystems (Birnbaum, 1988). Moreover, a faculty should make transformations in response to the technological advancements and the institution should develop an effective administrative system, technical system, and improve the learning environment. Putting more emphasis on the technical system ensures that an institution will transform the inputs into outputs in a process through which teaching, research and other services are accomplished. Teaching and research are the most basic elements that pose a greater degree of uncertainty to most institutions. According to Birnbaum (1991) an academic institution should work in an environment that uses modern technology with an effective governance system. An Institution should respond to an environment tha t provides a new face on both economic and social terms, as well as, political and physical character.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The differences in a college environment are equivalent to its technical subsystems, therefore, an institution should improve on teaching, research and services, in order to, enhance technological innovations by allocating more effort to the technical level. School enrollment should be based on a policy that supports open admissions and that puts emphasis on remedial education that is not present in other selective institutions. In addition, an institution should hire more PhD holders in order to realize professionalism in service delivery. According to Birnbaum (1991), this will enhance a distinct pattern of technology in the institution’s operations. The technical chore and the managerial systems should work together by in corporating technology to improve the process of institutional management. A stable management system is appropriate when change is not frequent in an institution and in situations where problems persist. Therefore an institution should incorporate a centralized decision making process with specific planning to achieve its vision and mission. This calls for a cybernetic model to be utilized in the technical level in this type of an environment. When an institution experiences frequent problems, technology will be required in order to realize minimized centralization. Thus, in order to manage finances, increase student enrollment, increase the use of information technology, and to foster accountability in the management of an institution, adaptive technology provides the best option. An institution should design an organizational structure that comprises of a coordinated management process, in order to, achieve its plans and to enhance accountability within its operations. Furthermor e, students’ enrollments and economic cost reductions can be improved by hiring adjunct faculty. An institution should transform its organizational structure, in order to, meet the modern faculty requirements. Therefore, an instructional model is important than the learning model because it leads to fundamental changes in the responsibility of a faculty. The faculty should facilitate the creation of an appropriate environment for students from diverse backgrounds to learn. This will entail the use of technology to include the application of distance learning that will enhance a new measure of productivity.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The cybernetic model of organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, an institution should hire professionals to operate in a decentralized manner, in order to, realize fundamental changes in organizational structure. These will foster a fundamental c hange in the role of the technical core that comprises of the structure and design, technology and operations, as well as, human resources. In conclusion, the cybernetic model is an important tool that can be employed to achieve the desirable changes in an institution. It provides direction through self-regulation that may be accomplished through the use of cybernetic controls. It is a self correcting mechanism that closely monitors an organization’s functions by providing signals to participants when things are not operating well (Marcus, 1997). A cybernetic institution provides an effective leadership that functions according to the cybernetic principles. The cybernetic principles can influence an organizational constraint and when the model is combined with effective leadership skills, it creates an environment that fosters fundamental changes in an institution (Alfred, 1998). References Alfred, R., L. (1998). Shared governance in community colleges. Education commission o f the states: Policy paper, 1-8. Birnbaum, R. (1988). How colleges work: The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Birnbaum, R. (1991). Effective administration and leadership in the cybernetic institution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Marcus, L., R. (1997). Restructuring state higher education governance patterns. The review of higher education, 20(4), 399-418.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Is Capitalism a fundamentally Western concept or system, and if so, Essay

Is Capitalism a fundamentally Western concept or system, and if so, how can we account for its spread and entrenchment in non-Western areas of the world - Essay Example The development of industrialization in West is also considered as the organic growth of the capitalist thoughts and philosophy as capitalism presented an alternative channel of achieving social good in a more comprehensive manner. The pace of industrialization therefore was considered as the epitome of capitalist society and as such the domain of social and economic development achieved its highest status under the development of capitalism in Western countries. What is however, also critical to note that capitalism does not only restricted itself to the Western countries and as such it spread across the non- Western countries also. Since 19th Century, the process of colonialism as well as well as rapid rise of imperialization as well as globalization ensured the rapid spread of capitalism in non-Western countries also. What started as a purely Western Phenomenon therefore soon emerged in non- Western countries too due to various factors. Capitalism rose as a result of the rise in industrialization in 18th century which witnessed the British society turning from a feudal society to more capitalist society. Capitalism in its essence advocates the use of private property rights and indicates that in a society, means of production shall be privately owned for the best possible use. As such capitalism is not only an economic system but it also a social system which regulates the society in an entirely different manner. The basic elements of capitalism therefore include private ownership of the means of production, exchange of goods and services in the market for the sake of profits as well as determination of prices and wages by the market forces is basically constitute the main ingredients of the capitalism.(Morton,2005) What is however, critical to note that capitalism started in Western countries as a result of rapid achievement of technological sophistication and industrialization however, it also

National Healthcare Services Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

National Healthcare Services Management - Essay Example It provides comprehensive health care universally on the basis of need, and is financed out of general taxation and national insurance. It is one of the largest employers in the country, and is a major consumer of public expenditure. In UK, NHS undergoes drastic changes which have a great impact on the structure, functions and effectiveness of healthcare delivery. These failures are caused by lack of strategic vision and lack of budgeting, inadequate structure of NHS and inability to meet coming changes. The main problem of the strategic level is lack of coherence and consistency in planning process and goals. Government agencies seek to achieve their goals by attempting to build political consensus, and by incorporating key strategic actors in the creation and execution of policy. Thus, public administration cannot provide the co-optation of all institutions and groups, and state policy (in education, health, welfare and so on) and collaboration between producers and consumers. The problem is that "organizations fail to respond to requirements for engaging community in planning and development" (Publications and Reports NHS 2007). During the last five years, the politics of the NHS have varied in their intensity and nature, and conflicts have developed around a diversity of issues at different times (Moran 1999).. These have included the possibility of devising planned programs for specific health-care needs; the balance between acute medicine and care of the elderly, mentally ill and mentally handicapped; the organization of acute medical care; the national and regional redistribution of resources to equalize facilities and services; the scope of private medicine in NHS hospitals; the co-ordination of statutory agencies; tiers of administration and types of management; working conditions and pay levels for NHS staff; and cost-containment. Failures in NHS policies are cause by the fact that "NHS bodies on the patch do not have the commitment or the plans in place to ensure financial balance is achieved" (Publications and Reports NHS 2007). Ever since the inception of the NHS there were problems in identifying and measuring costs within hospitals, but by the late 1990s the measurement of costs and efficiency became a major source of concern for government. David Cameroon comments: "His (Gordon Brown's) great experiment in tax and spending has failed. He is an out-of-date politician wedded to state control. The question everyone is asking is, 'Where has the money gone" (Russel 2007). As central government attempted to contain health-service spending, tighter controls were applied to local Health Authorities; special emphasis was given to improvements in efficiency, and healthcare services were required to make 'efficiency savings' in their budgets (Petit-Zeman, 2005). Cost improvements or efficiency savings in the clinical sphere have not, to date, been established, but there have been systematic attempts to devise techniques for measuring and evaluating medical output, and intensive efforts to develop better accounting, budgeting and costing procedures. A major and long-standing difficulty in the NHS, largely due to the absence of market pressures, is that clinical costs were rarely the subject of detailed

Theory of the experiment Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Theory of the experiment - Lab Report Example This can be said to be a compromise between the Class A amplifiers and the Class B amplifier topologies. These amplifiers combines the sound quality provided by the class A simplifiers and the efficiency provided by the Class B amplifiers. This is achieved by having both transistors biased to have them conduct a signal close to zero. Figure 1.3 shows a class AB amplifier and its associated input and output waveforms. When small signals are applied, both transistors will be active, making the amplifier to function like a Class A amplifier. When a large signal is applied, only one transistor becomes active. This makes the amplifier to operate like a Class B amplifier. Class AB speaker amplifiers gives a high SNR and a low THD+N. they are also about 65% efficient. These amplifiers are used in making portable media players, tablets, cameras, and so on where high fidelity is required.Class D amplifiersThese amplifiers use PWM (pulse width modulation) to produce a rail to rail output signa l. This signal has a variable duty cycle that is used to approximate the input signal which is analog in nature. These amplifiers are highly efficient and have an efficiency of about 90%. This is so because the output transistors used are fully turned on/off in a normal operating. Use of this approach eliminates the need to use the transistor’s linear region that brings in inefficiency in the other types of amplifiers. Figure 1.4 shows a basic class D amplifier and a possible waveform. Since this class of amplifier has a high efficiency.

Enron Scandal: Impact on Accounting

Enron Scandal: Impact on Accounting Accounting for Enron 1. Why is accounting being blamed for the losses sustained by investors as a result of the collapse of Enron? Is this criticism fair and do financial accounting and reporting practices need to be reformed? Accounting has been blamed for the losses sustained by Enron, as it allowed the company to hide details of its dealings from its investors, until the company’s financial situation was so bad that the firm was forced to go bankrupt almost overnight. Enron’s downfall has been characterised as â€Å"excessive interest by management in maintaining stock price or earnings trend through the use of unusually aggressive accounting practices.† (Healy, 2003) As part of this, Enron used â€Å"‘mark-to-market accounting’ for the energy trading business in the mid-1990s and used it on an unprecedented scale for its trading transactions.† (Thomas, 2002) Under mark-to-market accounting practices, companies with outstanding derivative contracts or purchases on their balance sheets when accounts are being prepared must adjust them to â€Å"fair market value† (Thomas, 2002) As a result, predicted long term gains or losses on these contract are applied to the company’s profits immediately, similar to depreciation, or asset write downs. The main difficulty encountered when doing this for long-term futures contracts in energy markets is that â€Å"there are often no quoted prices upon which to base valuations. Companies having these types of derivative instruments are free to develop and use discretionary valuation models based on their own assumptions and methods, as Enron did.† (Healy, 2003) Another accounting technique Enron used to hide significant debts was the use of special purpose entities (SPEs), which Enron took to â€Å"new heights of complexity and sophistication, capitalizing them with not only a variety of hard assets and liabilities, but also extremely complex derivative financial instruments, its own restricted stock, rights to acquire its stock and related liabilities.† (Thomas, 2002) Enron also used these SPEs to hide details of assets which were excessively declining in value, thus avoiding having losses from asset write down and depreciation charges on the company books. This practice was applied to â€Å"certain overseas energy facilities, the broadband operation or stock in companies that had been spun off to the public.† (Thomas, 2002) The accounting treatments around SPEs meant that the losses sustained on these asset write downs would not appear on Enron’s accounts. Enron promised share issues to the investors in the SPEs to co mpensate them for taking these assets on but, as the value of the assets fell even further, Enron found itself unable to meet these commitments from share issues. These creative accounting techniques began to be suspected by investors in October 2001, when Enron several new businesses failed to perform as well as expected. Enron was hoping these new businesses would cover its losses on the SPEs but, in October 2001 the company was forced to announce a major series of write-downs of its own assets, including â€Å"after tax charges of $2.87 million for Azurix, the water business acquired in 1998, $180 million for broadband investments and $544 million for other investments.† (Healy, 2003) These write downs amounted to twenty two percent of the capital spent by Enron on developing its business between 1998 and 2000. In addition, Enron sold Portland General Corp., the electric power plant it had acquired in 1997, for $1.9 billion, at a loss of $1.1 billion over the acquisition price. (Healy, 2003) The losses incurred as a result of this caused investors to question whether Enron’s strategy was feasible in the long tem, and in market s other than derivatives. In summary, whilst the accounting concepts and strategy underlying the gas derivatives trading was a reasonable attempt to produce value for investors, â€Å"extensions of this idea into other markets and international expansion were unsuccessful.† (Healy, 2003) However, whilst the mark to market and SPE accounting techniques used by the company helped hide this fact from investors, the stock markets as a whole were guilty of â€Å"largely ignored red flags associated with Enrons spectacular reported performance† (Thomas, 2002). This aided and, in the eyes of the management at Enron, vindicated the company’s expansion strategy by allowing Enron access to plenty of capital cheaply and easily. As such, accounting cannot be entirely blamed for the losses sustained by investors, as the investors themselves simply assumed that the value Enron appeared to be generating â€Å"would be sustained far into the future, despite little economic basis for such a projection.â €  (Thomas, 2002) As a result, whilst accounting made it easier for Enron to mislead its investors, the facts show that investors themselves were more concerned with Enron’s reported profits and growth, than analysing the roots causes and business model. 2. Does it matter what accounting policies are adopted by a company as long as they are adequately disclosed? A â€Å"very confusing footnote in Enrons 2000 financial statements† (Thomas, 2002) described the transactions in question one, however according to analysts, â€Å"most people would be hard pressed to understand the effects of these disclosures on the financial statements, casting doubt on both the quality of the companys earnings as well as the business purpose of the transaction.† (Thomas, 2002) By early 2001, several market analysts had begun to question the clarity and transparency of Enron’s disclosures. One analyst was quoted as saying, â€Å"The notes just dont make sense, and we read notes for a living.† (Thomas, 2002) Enron publicly denounced and abused these analysts however, because of these actions, investors began to view Enron’s accounting policies, and disclosures, with greater and greater scepticism. Indeed, despite the fact that Enron’s disclosures were adequate in the regulatory framework, they were still not in the spirit of managerial responsibility to shareholders. In another example of inadequate disclosure policies, Satava et al (2003) examined the celebrated Royal Mail Case and the implications of the case for the accounting practice today. Satava’s arguments claimed that the case was â€Å"not about the utilization of secret reserves, but about the non-disclosure of repayments by the Inland Revenue of over provisions for tax, and that defence counsel for the auditor succeeded because of the weak factual case presented by the prosecution.† (Satave et al, 2003) In summary, the duty of accountants to adequately disclose their accounting policies can often conflict with attempts by the same accountants to use these policies to benefit the company. As a result, these conflicts of interest often result in only materially adequate disclosures of substandard accounting policies. 3. To what extent did Enron use off balance-sheet financing in its operations? Were these transactions appropriately treated and adequately disclosed in the financial statements of the company? What consequences did the accounting treatment of these transactions have for Enron and its investors? The main way Enron used off balance sheet financing was in its extensive use of SPEs to give it ready access to finance without having to report any debts it incurred in its accounts. The company contributed assets, and debt secured against those assets, to an SPE in exchange for control of the SPE, and the SPEs then borrowed large amounts of capital which was used to finance Enron, without any debt or assets showing up in Enron’s accounts. Enron also sold assets to the SPEs at above market value, and thus reported profits on these sales. Enron used huge numbers of SPEs in this way, the most well known of which were LJM Cayman LP and LJM2 Co-Investment LP. â€Å"From 1999 through July 2001, these entities paid Enron managers more than $30 million in management fees, far more than their Enron salaries, supposedly with the approval of top management and Enrons board of directors.† (Healy, 2003) The SPEs in turn created yep more SPEs, known as the Raptor vehicles, which enabled Enron to invest heavily in a bankrupt broadband company, Rhythm NetConnections, during the dotcom boom. To finance this investment Enron made a share issue worth $1.2 billion. However, in order to complete this deal, Enron increased shareholders’ equity to reflect this transaction, which has been claimed to violate accounting standards and principles. Additionally, accounting rules actually meant that Enron should have included information from the LJM and Raptor SPEs in their accounts, rather than continue to use them as off balance sheet financing. (Healy, 2003) In addition to these minor violations, Enron revealed in October 2001 that several other SPEs had violated the accounting standard that required at least 3 percent of the entities to be owned by other investors, with no interest in the parent company. Again, by ignoring this requirement, Enron kept the financing it obtained from these entities off its balance sheet, enabling it to understate its liabilities and losses on this source of financing. However, on October 16, 2001, Enron announced that â€Å"restatements to its financial statements for years 1997 to 2000 to correct these violations would reduce earnings for the four-year period by $613 million (or 23 percent of reported profits dating the period), increase liabilities at the end of 2000 by $628 million (6 percent of reported liabilities and 5.5 percent of reported equity) and reduce equity at the end of 2000 by $1.2 billion (10 percent of reported equity).† (Thomas, 2002) In addition to the accounting failures, Enron only disclosed the minimum amount of details on its investments in the SPEs, and the amount of financing it had gained from them. The company claimed that it had hedged some of its investments using special purpose entities, but failed to inform investors that Enron shares were being used as part of this hedge. Moreover, Enron allowed several of its senior managers, including its chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, to become partners of the special purpose entities. Thus, these employees were able to make large amounts of profit, in both cash and shares, from the off balance sheet financing provided by companies they partly owned. (Thomas, 2002) This was a clear failure to fulfil their fiduciary responsibility to Enrons stockholders, and contributed to the extent of the company’s downfall. 4. Would similar treatment of off balance-sheet transactions be permissible in the UK? Tollington (2001) is one of the foremost academics claiming that financial accounts no longer provide a true and accurate representation of the value of a business, due to the widening between the values accounting policies place on assets, and the market values of said assets. His paper argues that â€Å"the definitional requirement for ‘transactions or events’ appears to restrict their recognition,† and therefore disclosure on balance sheets, which enables similar off balance sheet transactions in the UK. Equally, ‘white-collar crime’ has massively increased in recent years, with some estimates stating that over half a trillion pounds of criminal proceedings are laundered through the world’s financial markets each year. (Mitchell et al, 1998) The majority of this is moved in large quantities, and this cannot be done successfully without willing accountants, who can use creative accounting to hide any money laundering outside the scope of company accounts. However, new money laundering regulations mean that accountants, and related professionals, are now supposed to report any fraud or money laundering wherever they find it, and this applies as much to illegal activity the UK as to anywhere else. Whilst securitization, which incorporates the use of SPEs for off-balance-sheet financing, has been extensively reviewed in recent years, there are still concerns over the extent to which off balance sheet financing can be abused, both in the UK and abroad. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently introduced new standards, and modified their existing standards, in order to more rigorously define the acceptable accounting treatments for securities. (Satava et al, 2003) Whilst some accountant and analysts are still hoping to move towards a single, global, set of accounting standards, this is likely to take several times. Other jurisdictions are also keen to create a globally accepted set of standards, and in the UK the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) is converging with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), commonly referred to as IAS, to minimise the extent to which off balance sheet financing can be practiced. Two other factors have combined with the restructuring of financial and other industries in a way that has placed additional stress on the corporate governance function, and off balance sheet transactions: greater complexity of business structures and greater emphasis on stock prices. In the last decade or so, business has experienced a surge of fluid organizational arrangements as well as a routinisation of complex transactions, with alliances, joint ventures, multifaceted sale arrangements and hybrid, structured finance arrangements becoming commonplace. (Monks and Minow, 2003) The net effect is the economic boundaries of the firm have become ambiguous and extremely fluid, a phenomenon reflected in the wonderfully euphemistic phrase â€Å"off balance-sheet financing,† where the firm structures transactions and relationships to avoid their explicit recognition in traditional accounting displays. A typical example is a firm that holds a portfolio of mortgages. It places the po rtfolio in a free-standing legal entity with distinctly limited scope, a Special Purpose Entity, but continues the transaction processing and possibly provides credit enhancements. In different variations, inventory, research and development or even rights to future revenue cash flows are parked in Special Purpose Entities (Griffiths, 1995). Reporting regulations allow the Special Purpose Entity to be kept off of the firms formal financial statements; as long as it is disclosed, provided substantive risk has been shifted to an independent third party. (Nelson, 2003) General Electric, an aggressive purveyor of these arrangements, for example, reports sponsored Special Purpose Entities with assets in excess of $50 billion in its 2001 financial report. The â€Å"independent third party† must have (among other things) a minimum of 3 percent ownership of the Special Purpose Entity’s equity and debt, although the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the US has recently tightened these requirements to resemble that of the UK. (Demski, 2003) However, Special Purpose Entities are only one aspect of this wave of organizational and financial innovation. This greater degree of complexity has interacted with a corporate governance environment that has been placing heightened emphasis on shareholder value (Nelson, 2003), including an explosion in the use of option-based compensation. A substantial portion of the greater complexity appears to be motivated by a concern for financial presentation, for example, â€Å"beautifying† ones balance sheet In some cases, the effect may be as simple as a matter of timing: for instance, the timing of selected expenditures and shipments can affect current period financial results, just as can the time at which a sale is formally booked or a loan is consummated. With the assistance of hybrid financial and organizational transactions, a lease can be structured so it does, or does not, show up on the lessees balance sheet, thereby affecting the total debt that a firm reports, through other methods than off-balance sheet financing. However, fundamentally, Enron, used Special Purpose Entities to di sguise significant amounts of debt as commodity prepay transactions. Through a series of circular or round-trip prepaid transactions, this Special Purpose Entity was the centerpiece in â€Å"allowing† Enron to borrow money but to record the amount borrowed as cash generated by operations, because prepaid commodity contracts are generally booked as trades, not loans, a distinction which would have been clearer in the UK (Deminski, 2003). 5. Are principle based types of accounting standard like FRS 5 more effective in dealing with accounting abuses than the more rule based standards of the US? Although the foundation of financial accounting and auditing has traditionally been based upon a rule based framework, the concept of a principle based approach has been periodically advocated since being incorporated into the AICPA Code of Conduct in 1989. Enron and similar events indicated that the accountants and auditors involved have followed rule based ethical perspectives, however these rule based standards have failed to protect investors from accounting abuses. Satava et al (2003) thus described how â€Å"rule based traditions of auditing became a convenient vehicle that perpetuated the unethical conduct of firms such as Enron and Arthur Andersen.† They presented a model of ten ethical perspectives and briefly described how these ten ethical perspectives impact rule based and principle based ethical conduct for accountants and auditors, concluding by identifying six specific suggestions that the accounting and auditing profession should consider to restore public trus t and to improve the ethical conduct of accountants and auditors. Their conclusions showed that principle based standards were less open to abuses that rule based standards, provided the principles were well defined. Indeed, the publication of a recent amendment to Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) 5 by Great Britains Accounting Standards Board, sought to clarify how to account for SPEs and similar entities, with emphasis on how the principles of the FRS 5 will apply to transactions conducted with these entities. Accountancy (2004) claimed that by publishing an amendment to FRS 5, the United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board was attempting to stop the flow of off balance sheet accounting, despite concerns expressed surrounding the amended FRS 5. The article provided information on an amendment to FRS 5, â€Å"Reporting the Substance of Transactions†, namely the addition of â€Å"Application Note G, Revenue Recognition†. The note has been prepared in response to the need for clarity in respect to questions that arise concerning the treatment of revenue and, in particular, the treatment of turnover. The amendment was published as an Exposure Draft in February 2003 for public comment and, in finalizing the document; the Accounting Standards Board took into consideration the comments received in response to the draft and has consulted interested parties. In FRS 5, in the list of contents immediately preceding the summary, the list of Application Notes is extended by adding at the end, G Revenue Recognition and sets out basic principles of transaction and revenue recognition which should be applied in all cases This thus has increased the extent to which the principle based accountancy legislation in the UK can control the extent of off balance sheet transactions, and correspondingly increased the necessary amount of disclosure. (Accountancy, 2004) However, it has been argued by some theorists that the reform efforts may have been unwise (Culp and Nickanen, 2003), due to a need to recognise that accounting is retrospective, and Enron’s problems were evident to investors if they used more forward looking information. The share price was declining long before the disclosures, quick surveys of four issues: the state of wholesale electric markets before and after Enron, the state of regulation of wholesale electric markets before and after Enron, online trading before and after Enron, and whether swaps need regulation, shows that accounting abuses must still have an underlying business reason. It has also been argued that Enrons use of special entities for off-balance-sheet financing is a perversion of a useful, and often appropriate, accounting technique and such perversions can equally be applied to other techniques under principle-based standards. Equally, it has been recognised that the latitude inherent in principles, or concepts, based standards can be a double-edged sword. â€Å"Such latitude allows managers to choose accounting treatments that reflect their informed understanding of the underlying economics of transactions.† (Nelson, 2003) This latitude, however, also permits managers to â€Å"advocate reporting treatments that do not reflect the underlying economics of a transaction.† (Maines et al, 2003) Both managers and accountants must have strong ethical principles in order for their accounting under principle based standards to reflect the true value of their business, especially in difficult times Both the SEC and the Auditing Standards Board in America support this view with their focus on the quality, as opposed to simply the acceptability, of financial reporting, as well as placing strong emphasis on â€Å"the need for expert judgment and unbiased reporting† (Maines et al, 2003) Concepts-based standards have the potential to promote the financial reporting goals of the regulatory bodies in ways that rules-based standards cannot. However, in order for this to happen, individuals must possess a conceptual framework for financial information in order to use this information appropriately in decision making. Principle-based standards reflect a more consistent application of conceptual framework, and thus enhance individuals’ understanding of the frameworks. Thus, a concepts based approach is consistent with the FASBs stated goal to â€Å"improve the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports.† (Maines et al, 2003) Also, principle-based standards are consistent with the stated goal of the FASB to promote convergence of accounting standards worldwide. The European Commission has recently proposed that the U.S. abandon GAAP in favour of the more flexible IAS, which emphasizes ‘substance over form’ in auditors inspection of the accounts. (Ampofo and Sellani, 2005) As a result, a concepts-based approach likely will lead to greater agreement in standard setting between the FASB and IASB and thus will also promote international harmonization. (Maines et al, 2003) 6. What has been the overall impact on corporate reporting of Enron and other recent financial scandals? The events surrounding the demise of Enron have led to corporate reporting procedures being called into question all over the world. It resulted in critics questioning how adequate the disclosure legislation was at the time, and also to query how a major accounting firm could conduct independent audits of a firm they were engaged in major consulting work for, when the audit fees were tiny in comparison to the consulting fees. The â€Å"scandal threatened to undermine confidence in financial markets in the United States and abroad; and the accounting profession and regulatory bodies were forced to act.† (Swartz, 2005) In a characteristic move, the SEC and the public accounting profession were among the first to respond to the Enron crisis. In a piece for the Wall Street Journal, the SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt called the outdated reporting and financial disclosure system the financial â€Å"perfect storm.† (Thomas, 2002) He stated that â€Å"under the quarterly and annual reporting system in place at the time, information was often stale on arrival and mandated financial disclosures were often, ‘arcane and impenetrable’† (Thomas, 2002) In order to reassure investors and restore confidence in financial reporting, Pitt called for â€Å"a joint response from the public and private sectors to strengthen regulations and prevent a recurrence of these events.† (Thomas, 2002) As a result, since the Enron debacle, the global corporate reporting regulators were quick to move to stem the rising tide of public interest against their profession, displaying the banner â€Å"Enron: The AICPA, the Profession, and the Public Interest† on its Web site. (Shwarz, 2005) It announced the imminent issuance of an exposure draft on a new audit standard on fraud, the third in five years up to 2002, providing more specific guidance on corporate reporting standards than was found at the time in SAS no. 82, ‘Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit.’ The Institute also promised a â€Å"revised standard on reviews of quarterly financial statements,† (Thomas, 2002) as well as the issuance, in the second quarter of 2002, of an exposure draft of a standard to improve the audit, transaction reporting and disclosure process. The major piece of legislation to come out of the Enron scandal was the Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) report, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2002 in response to the demise of Enron and the WorldCom scandal. SOX requires firms to vouch for accounting controls and disclose weaknesses to shareholders, and almost all concerned parties have agreed that the SOX was a necessary and useful piece of legislation, that helped restore faith in U.S. companies and their financial statements. (Swartz, 2005) However, whilst no one disputes the benefits, business leaders have often complained that â€Å"the costs associated with Section 404 compliance are much higher than expected, and are an undue burden on most companies.† (Swartz, 2005) Many major companies, and some analysts, have criticised the large increases in auditing expenses, as these expenses create no direct value for businesses, and act to remove money from the economy which would otherwise be invested. Business lobbyists have a lso begun lobbying government bodies in the major financial centres, claiming that SOX slows business expansion and the growth in the number of available jobs (Swartz, 2005) The level of complaints from companies about the increased costs associated with the new corporate reporting standards prompted U. S. auditing regulators, in May 2005, to move to ease the auditing expenses companies were forced to engage in, however regulators also said that the law has greatly benefited investors and there is no need for the U.S. Congress to change it at this time. (Swartz, 2005) Despite the obvious benefits that the increased level of reporting and disclosure provides to investors, many companies have complained that the compliance costs are too high, and that auditors force them to go through expensive corporate reporting procedures that accomplished little than to line the auditor’s pockets. References: Accountancy (2004) November 2003 Amendment to FRS 5 ‘Reporting the substance of transactions’: Revenue recognition. Vol. 133, Issue 1325, p. 128. Ampofo, A. and Sellani, R. (2005) Examining the differences between United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and International Accounting Standards (IAS): implications for the harmonization of accounting standards. Accounting Forum (Elsevier); Vol. 29, Issue 2, p. 219. Culp, C.L and Nickanen, W.A. (2003) Corporate aftershock: the public policy lessons from the collapse of Enron. Demski, J. S (2003) Corporate Conflicts of Interest. Journal of Economic Perspectives; Vol. 17, Issue 2, p. 51. Griffiths, I. (1995) New Creative Accounting. London: MacMillian. Healy, P. M. and Palepu, K. G. (2003) The Fall of Enron. Journal of Economic Perspectives; Vol. 17, Issue 2, p. 3. Maines, C. L. A. Bartov, E. Fairfield, P. Hirst, D. E. Iannaconi, T. E. Mallett, R. Schrand, C. M. Skinner, D. J. and Vincent, L. (2003) Evaluating Concepts-Based vs. Rules-Based Approaches to Standard Setting. Accounting Horizons; Vol.17, Issue. 1, p73. Mitchell, A. Sikka, P. and Willimott, H. (1998) Sweeping it under the carpet: the role of Accountancy Firms in Money Laundering. Accounting, Organizations Society; Vol. 23, Issue 5/6, p. 589. Monks, R. A. G. and Minow, N (2003) Corporate Governance: 4th edition Oxford: Blackwell. Nelson, M. W. (2003) Behavioural Evidence on the Effects of Principles- and Rules-Based Standards. Accounting Horizons; Vol.17, Issue 1, p91. Satava, D. Caldwell, C. and Richards, L. (2003) Ethics and the Auditing Culture: Rethinking the Foundation of Accounting and Auditing. Journal of Business Ethics; Vol. 64, Issue 3, p. 271. Swartz, N. (2005) Executives Praise SOX but Seek Changes. Information Management Journal; Vol. 39, Issue 4, p. 22. Thomas, C. W. (2002) The Rise and Fall of Enron. Journal of Accountancy; Vol. 193, Issue 4, p. 41. Tollington, T. (2001) UK Brand Asset Recognition Beyond â€Å"Transactions or Events†. Long Range Planning; Vol. 34, Issue 4, p. 463.

Human Cloning Essay -- Ethical Issues, Cloning

Human Cloning Human Cloning comes with two dangerous processes, reproductive cloning (the creating of a new organism) and the therapeutic cloning (the creation of a new tissues or â€Å"other biological products†) which affects the ethics of human society. Scientists perceive cloning benefits all men and women, while religious leaders stress the idea of cloning to be an unethical process. Although human cloning serves as an aid to the children and parents with conflicts, cloning is completely unacceptable to convey human life as a product. Humans reproductively and therapeutically give the idea of people becoming a product rather than a living being. Siedler emphasizes that â€Å"reproductive cloning could also represent an enormous step in direction of transforming human procreation into human manufacture† (Siedler 91-92). In other words, reproductive cloning will create a world full of dolls that will remove every trace of living beings. Though it is hard to believe the world becoming a doll house for each family or community, it has come to a conclusion that the ability of cloning and â€Å"creating children† is questioning every person, â€Å"what does it mean to be a human?† (Yount 114). If it was not bad enough for this world to describe some of the people to be looked upon as nothing but a thing, cloning pushes the idea to a whole new level. â€Å"By opening the door to many things such as manipulation,† Yount states, as she desperately explains the fear in cloning, â€Å"of wanting to be someone else, it can treat them as objects instead of person,† (Yount 114). To even add the intensity of what cloning could do, therapeutic cloning delivers a new definition to fear. According to the ... ...). Parents suffer the mental issue of the child recieving â€Å"medium-term consequences including premature aging, immune system failures, and sudden unexpected deaths,† (Siedler 87-88). Therapeutic cloning sounds safe and ethical, â€Å"but it is no different from those that could be used in attempts to create cloned children† so why risk the process? (â€Å"Cloning† 94). Therapeutic and Reproductive cloning is used in a beneficial way in different circumstances, but the disadvantages overpowers the beneficial usage with the risk of corrupting the world and more. Reproductive cloning forms human manufacturing as well as a child to a parent who are unable to bear one, and therapeutic cloning give animals a repaired heart muscle, as well as the corruption of religion and social ideas in this world. Cloning comes with consequences and more are to come, so is it worth to clone?

Mao Zedong’s Legacy

Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung) was a Marxist theorist and soldier who led the Chinese communist revolution, later became the Communist Party’s leader and eventually became the head of state and Party chairman. While he did not entirely rule China on his own, he can be regarded as the modern China’s principal architect.[1]   Mao is largely credited for the programs the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution. Under Chairman Mao, China’s communism ideologically deviated from that practiced in the Soviet Union on account of the emphasis placed by the former on the role of the countryside peasantry in the communist revolution, a factor ignored in the Soviet paradigm centered on the urban classes. The Great Leap was an economic and social plan of Communist China under Mao Zedong to rapidly industrialize the then principally agricultural-based country. The plan hoped to modernize the communist state by turning it into an industrial-based economy.   It was however an economic debacle and aggravated by natural disasters, leading to the starvation and death of millions. The Cultural Revolution, on the other, was designed by Mao to get back at Party members who wanted to undermine his leadership.[2] Mao's policies were a mix of successes and failures. Millions died largely because of the inherent flaws of the Great Leap economic policy. Millions were executed under the reforms of the Cultural Revolution but in return, millions of proletariat farmers were awarded their own land to till. Among the long-term consequences of Mao's Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution policies was the decade-long widespread disruption in urban China of the education of many Chinese, giving their generation career and productivity disadvantages.[3] But Mao's programs did leave lasting advantages for China, including the legacy of a considerably successful space program, nuclear weapon capability and the acquisition of a strategic territory. [4]While the death toll under his leadership totaled to millions of Chinese who died either by executions or of famine, the architectural designing of China under his rule placed the country on the road to being a regional economic and political power that she is today. China is in fact currently being perceived by no less than the United States as a potential military threat. Pan, Esther.[5] References Giles, John.; Park, Albert; Zhang, Juwei. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Disruptions to Education, And Returns to Schooling in Urban China.   Retrieved 6 Dec. 2006 Kane, Thomas and Serewicz, Lawrence. China's Hunger: The Consequences of a Rising Demand for Food and Energy.   Parameters (Autumn 2001).   Retrieved Dec. 6, 2006 from the U.S. Army Accessions Command Website: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/01autumn/Kane.htm. Is China a Regional Military Threat. (18 October, 2005). Mao Zedong. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved December 7, 2006, from Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. Mao Zedong. (2006, December 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:47, December 7, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/ w/index.php?title=Mao_Zedong&oldid=92619408.       . [1] Mao Zedong. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved December 7, 2006, from Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD . [2] Mao Zedong. (2006, December 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:47, December 7, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mao_Zedong&oldid=92619408 [3] Giles, John; Park, Albert; Zhang, Juwei. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Disruptions to Education, And Returns to Schooling in Urban China.   Retrieved 6 Dec. 2006 from The William Davidson Institute At The University of Michigan Website: http://www.wdi.umich.edu/files/old/EDTS/Papers/ John_Giles_cultural_revolution.pdf. [4]Kane, Thomas and Serewicz, Lawrence, China's Hunger: The Consequences of a Rising Demand for Food and Energy. Parameters, ( Autumn 2001).   Retrieved Dec. 6, 2006 from the U.S. Army Accessions Command Website http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/01autumn/Kane.htm. [5] Is China a Regional Military Threat? 18 October, 2005. Retrieved from the Council on Foreign Relations Website: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9052/is_china_a_regional_military_threat.html.

Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes in the 19th Century report

Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes in the 19th Century report This article is entitled â€Å"Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes in the 19th Century† written by Rusty Bitterman. Elementary, this article focuses on wage labor amongst farm households especially in the Maritimes in early 19th century. Primarily, resource-based economies were prevalent in the maritime and they included agricultural and non-agricultural practices.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on â€Å"Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes in the 19th Century† report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There was plenty of land and therefore any person would access the land and make a living out of it. â€Å"With a wife and axe, an industrious man might carve out a handsome competence and become truly rich and independent† (Bitterman, 1993, p. 14). However, apart from farm household labors, people got involved in waged labor. Bittterman points out that the main reason why people got involved in waged labor was to institute and maintain their own farms. Farming requires resources to run it. For instance, for a farmer to start farming, he or she requires farm inputs and seeds on top of labor to get the farming underway. This need to have money to support such events explains why many farmers assumed two roles; that is, being casual laborers or wage earners and at the same time being farmers tilling their own lands. The article points out that, the fact that most of the people around the maritime had two jobs, class distinction between wage earners and farmers was outstandingly missing. Consequently, there was no clear-cut class identity in those times and neither could the prevailing environment allow establishment of the same. The ideal of an independent farmer was to cultivate his or her land, raise families, and be independent. Independence, wealth accumulation and raising families was the dream of every farmer in the maritime. Bitterman (1993) says one would become â€Å"†¦truly rich and independent† (p. 14). However, despite the desire to become independent, these farmers had to become wage earners; a move that seemed to take away their most craved independence. So, how did wage labor fit into the lives of families striving to attain this ideal in the Maritimes? In this article, Rusty Bitterman gives a valid explanation of why farmers engaged in wage labor and how this fitted in their lives to attain the ideal farmer status in the maritime.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More During this period of early 19th century, most farmers were illiterate and amateurs in any profession. Therefore, to become independent and rich, these people had to work as wage earners to partly support their farming practices and supplement their earnings from the poorly cultivated lands. The fact that these farmers were not skilled in any filed implies that even the farming they did they did it poorly and consequently the production was low. On the other hand, in the wage labor, unskilled labor dominated the arena implying that production was poor hence poor payment. Due to lack of education, there were no set employment rules that would counter check any form of exploitation. Therefore, these conditions starting with poor farming practices which, resulting into poor yields and faced with the need of every farmer to be independent and rich, forced the farmers to take up non-farming activities to earn some income that would maintain their farms and provide for their families as aforementioned. This phenomenon explains how wage labor fitted into the lives of farmers and their families and still maintained their ideal status in the maritime. However, the writer was not convinced by the author’s argument. There are some critical concerns that the writer raises in this case. Fo r instance, the claim that farmers were independent during that time is not substantial. The article stresses the fact that there was massive paternalism between employees who partly happened to be farmers and employers who were merchants and land rulers. With this regard, independence of the farmers remains in question because their wage earning part of livelihood lay in the hands of these prominent and rich coteries of the society. To say that the farmers were independent because they cultivated their farms is null. It is clear that the farmers were not producing enough farm products to sustain them and their families giving them the independence and wealth that they craved. Actually, the article points out clearly that the reason why many farmers engaged in wage labors was to supplement their poor incomes from farming. This implies that these same farmers had to go looking for wage labors from the same individuals who were out to exploit them. This implies that independence and r ichness was not anywhere close to these farmers as claimed in the article. The article to some extent insinuates that the only people who did not have independence were the working class. This holds some truth. However, the farmers were part of the working class because they got involved in waged labor at some point. Towards the end of the article Bitterman points out that, more farmers engaged in wage labor as time went on.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on â€Å"Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes in the 19th Century† report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Bitterman, there were two classes of people; wage laborers and farmers. However, a new class of wage earners cum farmers emerged and this is where independence of farmers got lost. As long as they worked as wage earners, they remained under the mercies of merchants and rich landowners and were subject to exploitation. Reference List Bitterman, R. (1993). Farm Households and Wage Labor in the Northeastern Maritimes In the 19th Century. Retrieved from, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25143668?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews

Regulations against Jews Rules and regulations placed upon the Jewish citizens during World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹ were the plan of Adolph Hitler, a nazi leader, to protect the  ¡Ã‚ §perfect ¡Ã‚ ¨ race. This is known to day as genocide. This is also, directly linked to racial profiling, and discrimination against a people or race. Some of these laws included were the Nuremberg Laws and the Dwork laws. These laws had a major affect on how people of Jewish descent would affect the world population. They also had a dominant influence of how the Jewish citizens were treated, and their outlook of the government. The Nuremberg Laws were passed on September 15, 1935 (Austin). The laws consisted of three main goals. These goals were each a different section to the document (World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹). The first is to fulfill the goal of clarifying the requirements of citizenship. The second section of the document is to clarify the position in society that Jewish citizens were to obtain. The third division was placed to protect the purity of the German blood (Austin). The first goal was to declare the requirements needed to be a German citizen. There were only two qualities that were needed to obtain citizenship. One being a citizen must be of German or kindred blood. It goes further to state that a person of  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ may also be eligible for citizenship. A person with  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ are those with grandparents that are racially of Jewish background, or religiously active in their communities. The second, is a personal trait, of being proud to be German and also proud of its heritage. The first quality is a racial quality which humans have no control over. This would in turn be a natural defect to the Jewish people. In addressing the second goal there were laws passed to keep civil rights foreign to Jewish citizens. Some rights that would be available to some citizens and revoked by others are the holding of politi... Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews Free Essays on Regulations Against Jews Regulations against Jews Rules and regulations placed upon the Jewish citizens during World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹ were the plan of Adolph Hitler, a nazi leader, to protect the  ¡Ã‚ §perfect ¡Ã‚ ¨ race. This is known to day as genocide. This is also, directly linked to racial profiling, and discrimination against a people or race. Some of these laws included were the Nuremberg Laws and the Dwork laws. These laws had a major affect on how people of Jewish descent would affect the world population. They also had a dominant influence of how the Jewish citizens were treated, and their outlook of the government. The Nuremberg Laws were passed on September 15, 1935 (Austin). The laws consisted of three main goals. These goals were each a different section to the document (World War Æ’Â ¹Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¹). The first is to fulfill the goal of clarifying the requirements of citizenship. The second section of the document is to clarify the position in society that Jewish citizens were to obtain. The third division was placed to protect the purity of the German blood (Austin). The first goal was to declare the requirements needed to be a German citizen. There were only two qualities that were needed to obtain citizenship. One being a citizen must be of German or kindred blood. It goes further to state that a person of  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ may also be eligible for citizenship. A person with  ¡Ã‚ §mixed Jewish blood ¡Ã‚ ¨ are those with grandparents that are racially of Jewish background, or religiously active in their communities. The second, is a personal trait, of being proud to be German and also proud of its heritage. The first quality is a racial quality which humans have no control over. This would in turn be a natural defect to the Jewish people. In addressing the second goal there were laws passed to keep civil rights foreign to Jewish citizens. Some rights that would be available to some citizens and revoked by others are the holding of politi...

Compair the thnen and christaller theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compair the thnen and christaller theory - Essay Example The desire to make geography more scientific, or at least more intellectually acceptable as a discipline, led to the adoption of statistical methods as a primary research technique. Location (or spatial) analysis, as this new aspect of geography is called, seeks to analyze and explain the factors that control humankind's spatial organization, specifically by statistical methods and models. Mathematically constructed models became tools useful to the geographer in coping with rapidly accumulating knowledge, and they could also be used to predict future trends or spatial patterns. This was not the first time statistics had been used for geographic research. As early as the 1920s and '30s, Torsten Hgerstrand in Sweden and Walter Christaller in Germany had used statistical techniques. Only in the 1960s, however, did significant growth in statistical methodology occur. Johann Heinrich von Thnen was born on June 24, 1783, was a German agriculturist. In 1826 he wrote Der isolierte Staat (The Isolated State), in which he proposed his theoretical model showing concentric belts of agricultural production surrounding a market center and demonstrating the relationship of commodity transportation costs to production location. Thnen laid the foundations of contemporary spatial theory. (Larry, 2004) This non-linear reformulation of the von Thnen model... model explicitly allows for input substitution and provides for the rate of production intensities to be determines endogenously by the profit maximizing behavior of the individual farmers. If the transport rate is constant and production occurs with constant returns to scale, then the rent function, under bid rent tenancy, or owner occupied farming, is indeed nonlinear and strictly convex to the origin. It is also possible to determine the spatial distribution of labor density as well as levels of crop yield in accordance with this basic model. It is not surprising that these results confirm the Dunn-Isard conjecture as the bid rent functions so determined assume a strictly convex form, and the intensity of cultivation does, in fact, increase toward the market center. Now the nonlinear von Thnen model can be formulated to conform to the logistics of industrial production in order to derive a non-agricultural rent function, also based on constant-returns-to-scale technologies. Firms in the urban sector go to the market center to obtain their raw materials, which were previously delivered there from the agricultural sector. Some firms specialize in the production of various intermediate goods which are also delivered to the market, where other firms purchase them for incorporation in their own products. Final goods are then delivered to the market for sale to the general public. Capital is introduced as a production input, the amount of which is explicitly governed by the price ratio of labor and capital. This "augmented" model ultimately generates comparable results with regard to the shape of the resulting rent function as well as the spatial distribution of levels of production and employment and therefore the densities of capital and labor. Although based on

Health and Long Term Policies and Programs in the Asian Cultures Essay

Health and Long Term Policies and Programs in the Asian Cultures - Essay Example China was worried then that it may have too many children to feed but after twenty-five years, it is now worried that an aging population may have too few workers to provide care services. Health care costs for both China and Japan can be expected to rise exponentially as fewer workers are present within the system to provide for a growing population of older citizens (Kaneda, 2006). Further, the problem of AIDS will certainly be an issue perhaps to the level of some sub-Saharan African nations which have found AIDS to be a growing menace. Human trafficking and the sex trade certainly adds to the problem and while the issue may not be that critical in Japan, it certainly is on the horizon for China and some other lesser developed countries in the Asian region such as Thailand and Burma. The government policies of creating awareness, educating the masses and providing positive social support could certainly help improve the matter (ASIP, 2008). On the other hand, the problem of an aging population may be a more critical one for China due to the devastating economic consequences it can have for the country as it seeks to become the economic superpower of the world. While the government has started to allocate more funds for the care of the elderly, a lot remains to be done and as reported by Kaneda (2006), â€Å"The rate of increase in health care costs has already exceeded the growth of the national economy and individual earnings (Kaneda, 2006, Pg. 1)†. In such a situation, the coming demographic shift for China would only worsen the situation as a whole generation of Chinese reach the age of retirement. It has to be understood that the trend of an aging population is inevitable for many countries and may even become accelerated where mortality rates as well as fertility are declining. However, the governments of Asia are focusing on policies which are geared