Saturday, December 28, 2019

Analysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein - 1841 Words

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells a strange and tragic tale of a mere human named Victor creating life and the consequences of this act. Throughout the novel, we see Mary Shelley using Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster emphasize a theme of loneliness and the effect it has on a person. It seems that humans have a persistent need for social interaction and acceptance. Mary Shelly shows this to us with the interactions of Victor, Robert and the monster. Throughout the novel, we see how isolation serves as the starting grounds of conflict, particularly in the case of the monster. Frankenstein begins with four letters written by Robert to his sister. This is the first appearance of the theme loneliness, as he is†¦show more content†¦He is on a dangerous trip to the north pole with no one to vent to. He is worried that should his dreams and expedition not work and his only human contact on the ship was his letters to his sister. Robert and his relations with his crewmates are minor and kept to the minimum. His other major human relation was Victor Frankenstein, who he meets later in the novel on his expedition. From his ship Robert has saw Victor on a dog sled passing the ship and Victor approached the ship that Robert was on and asked what direction the ship was heading. He latter boards the ship and Robert learns that Victor was chasing a someone that had passed the ship the previous day. Robert and Victor spends a lot of time on the ship and their relationship grows stronger. Victor Frankenstein can be said to be the protagonist of the novel but he also has a major problem of isolation and loneliness. Victor has a loving family and close companions such as Elizabeth and Henry. Mary Shelley also described the fact that Victor’s family desire to keep in contact with him, dissipate the fact that Victor does not make an attempt to build a positive relationship. One major time that we saw Victor in self-isolation was when he went to university in Ingolstadt. Victor stated â€Å"And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to

Friday, December 20, 2019

American Imperialism America s Quest For Dominance

The start of a country we know today as America was started with a few different ideologies. One of them is a new start away from Britain and the other was the continued encroachment against the native population. It started off with the need of survival and it continued until the destruction of an entire people and culture was nearly complete. Soon, after the civil war Americans began pushing west in the name of â€Å"manifest destiny, the belief that the United States had a ‘God-given’ right to aggressively spread the values of white civilization and expand the nation from ocean to ocean† (Roark 14). This is the start of American imperialism that lasted over a century, during the time; genocides and countless death are milestones in America’s quest for dominance. I am defining American imperialism is the policy expand one’s influence through economic, democratic or military force with the belief of the benefit to the country. American imperialism p lays in important role through history as the cause of not only the genocides of the Native Americans, but the ultimate cause of the holocaust and even racism. The destruction of native life was systematic in nature and destructive by force. Soon after the civil war many people wanted to settle out west but were unable to because of the indigenous people, who were living in the area at the time. In an attempt to relocate them the United States created Indian reservations. Due to poverty and the terrible conditions of theseShow MoreRelatedThe Impact of the Cold War on Developing Nations Essay1175 Words   |  5 Pagesearly 1940’s to late 1990’s. United States wanted to flex its political muscle and try to curtail the spread of Soviet Communism in the developing nations. Most of the nations in developed world had already made their political and socio-economic stand regarding the form of governance and leadership pursued. 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Thursday, December 12, 2019

Role of Internet in Today’s World

Question: Discuss the role of internet in todays world. Answer: Introduction In the past few decades, use of Internet has brought a revolution in almost all aspects of Human Life. The increased usage and adoption of Internet has effect on all spheres of life, key being (but not limited to) education, health services, financial, communication, retail, business model etc and thus has irreversible impact on growth and development of each individual whether directly or indirectly. Other areas that needs to be considered and surely will have long lasting impact are social and moral (values) impact. the practice of Internet has bring in many advantages including highly competitive environment, faster reach, ease of Information access leading to more value proposition. But there is a great quote - "There are two sides of a coin" which is also reflecting in below saying: "Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before we commit ourselves to either" (Aesop, n.d) Any advanced technology creates new threats as well as new potentials. The Internet offers enormous opportunities, which are being exploited by communities, and increasingly also by business enterprises. It also harbours risks to the privacy of personal data and communications, as marketers seek to profile their electronic customers, and governments seek to impose themselves on people they see as miscreants (Cyberspace Invades Personal Space, 1998). This paper describes the kinds of threats that exist and are emerging. On these lines this work will reflected on the disadvantages of Internet within the periphery of Information privacy. Role of Internet in Todays world Internet today plays a key role in every walk of life. Let us try to articulate the role of Internet in everyday life: Business: with the evolution of Internet the business model (especially for retain) has changed drastically. Eg: Amazon, alibaba.com etc are online giants in retail segment which have leveraged the introduction of internet for their business model. Healthcare: The readily available healthcare based information has been a boon to this industry leading to efficiency in treatment and research in this segment. Communication: with the rapid pace of Internet technology upgrade, this domain has seen a large growth and increased usage. Introduction of VOIP and online chatting app like whatsapp and telegram are examples to name a few. Education: With the aid of Internet, the self-paced computer assisted learning plays a key role in encouraging, motivating, developing and evaluating students. Computer based learning provides flexibility in skills acquisition and can meet the goal of lifelong learning. Geography: Internet has been key in breaking geographical barrier, with Internet offering ease of Information flow and connecting people across region, culture and various ethnic groups. Entertainment: Internet has significant impact on the entertainment industry especially with regard to games, movies and music. For games, through Internet individual across the globe can play and compete again one another. Movies segment has also gained pace with internet with online promotion and marketing going viral these days. Players like Netflix have business model for Internet based movies. Music reach has expended drastically with the introduction of online music stores like Apples iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, Napster and Rhapsody. Briefly internet has been a revolutionizing phenomenon and part of play in every walk of life as represent in picture below highlighting the increased trend in Internet penetration. Figure (a) "Number of internet users 2005-2015 | Statistic", 2016 This graphical representation gives information on the total number of worldwide internet users from 2005 till 2015. As can be seen, the number of internet users worldwide has reached to 3.17 billion in 2015, up from around 1 billion in year 2005. Another illustration of increased Internet trend is implied by the below statistics which shows that market capitalization of Internet based companies has increased from $16,752 (As of December 1995) to $2,415,867 (As of May, 2015). Figure (b) "Growth of Internet Companies | Morgan Stanley, Capital IQ, Bloomberg", 2015 Privacy The significance of privacy and usage of internet are co-related and have evolved time to time together in discussions around the topic. It is therefore not possible to accept or deny the notions about privacy without emphasizing Information security/ data protection considering the ways internet based applications, mobile penetration and online world has evolved. Personal information or data of an individual comes in the periphery of private information. Examples include (but not limited to...) Name, Origin, date of birth, address, and gender. Also details like IP address of computer used by an individual, financial data, card details, and passwords are part of private information (Privacy and Information Technology, 2014). Every individual has Private space and wants to retain it. Key aspects for Privacy include: Privacy is practice that a person wishes to retain 'personal space' which is free from intervention from others, public and associations Privacy has various flavours including privacy of personal information, privacy of communication, privacy of data. Privacy is about giving an Individual right to exercise substantial degree of control over data and its use Below is a diagrammatic representation of the areas of privacy concern. Figure (c) "Area of privacy concern | CSI", 2016 Impact Analysis on Privacy Under this head we will analyse the impact of internet on Information Privacy. Data Leakage: Data transmitted over Internet is subject to various risks like: It does not reach the intended recipients It reaches to unintended recipients It is accessed by unauthorised person It may be interpreted and modified during transfer so as to defeat the purpose of transfer It may be vulnerable to virus attack and threats The sender may deny about sending the message The receiver may deny about receiving the message The data leakage might lead to security threat as well as may lead to financial or legal impact Under all these circumstances of cases of data leakage or data theft over Internet, most important is the access to content to unauthorised authority which leads to an opportunity to intercept the message and thus leading to security breach and hence exposes the sender to risk. Approach to deal with this threat can be that the message transmission may be based on sender/receiver confirmation. Also the data can be encrypted and then encrypted data can be passed over Internet. Decryption logic at receiver end can be used to get the actual message. This minimises the risk of data theft. b. Education Internet has played role of double edged sword for Education domain. though it provides information and easy access to knowledge articles and subject area, in other way it also hampers the main purpose of Education to bring overall development in student so that they become responsible and qualified citizens for tomorrow. With Internet around children expects instant reposes and gratification. The knowledge is easily available and Internet provides results instantly with no waiting or minimal effort (Lynch, 2008). In this situation as the know-how is easily obtained via Internet, children do not value the importance of concepts and thus their problem solving skills are not developed in long term. This is in concurrence with a great saying given below which implies that if something is achieved easily (without hard work) then the achievement is not valued. Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty (Roosevelt, n.d) Internet has eroded the traditional classroom culture and thus the Guru based methodology has been converted to a model where a there is no Guru (Teacher), rather an instructor who just server his clients (students). This vast variation in teaching pedagogy to Internet penetration has drastically reduced effectiveness of Education system. Other negative impact of Internet on Education can be seen that the average attention span of teens today has reduced. the constant supply of information , entertainment leads to lost focus of student and thus they do lack the capability to do in-depth analysis of work problems. Internet also hampers by facilitating the wrong modes of assignments, work as children these days can easily access test, assignments over Internet thus defeating the purpose of education system. c. Identity theft Identity theft is a scenario where the information on the basis of which an individual is identified is acquired by an unauthorised person and is used in a way that the unauthorised person can act or operate as though they are same person. This is equivalent to steal a wallet or valuable item of a person. Internet has been a medium of this type of identity theft. Examples include Phishing websites, mail theft, getting details from online loan and application form etc. Online transaction details of an Individual can be obtained via use of cookies [refer Appendix(b)], (or the application of powerful client-side programming languages), such as the relatively well-behaved Java, and the Active-X control which exposes risk to personal data or transaction details. Some internet based control can provide location details of an individual, which may be annoying and unpleasant for some who do not want to be social. Other risks that Internet poses are like Spam [refer Appendix (c)], tracking IP address of a machine connected to internet and thus hacking to gain undue advantage of someones personal space or information. d. Business and Financial impact Businesses have been impacted by Internet in invariable fashion in which key issues has been illegal file sharing through which one acquires individual copyright data. Additionally this violates the business ethics and these practises have been raised as concern in one or other form example copyright media such as music/ movies shared, illegal software downloaded from Internet etc Below is an articulation of the negative impact of Internet in business: Small business cannot survive as they do not have resources and technology to compete with giants like Amazon which are bigger online retail store. thus these small scale brick and mortar retail store end up going out of business. Some times when a customer goes for online shopping, the product image depiction vis-a-vis actual delivered product varies and thus customer ends up complaining about inferior product quality Online companies sometimes follow deceptive sales practices to gain targets which leverages on Internet based automated system Internet provisions invasion of privacy through questionable data collection practices associated with advertising Business relationships are impacted with use of online chats and Skype. Personal aspects of doing business are getting ruled out with the increasing use of Internet Internet being quick and easy way to access information is one of the key factors for decline in print news usage and thus Newspaper publishing companies are finding difficult to stay afloat Music, Movies, Videos and Television serials are freely available on internet and can be illegally downloaded from internet. This effect the economic interest as artistic material or product is downloaded for free and thus the royalties of the work is not paid. One of the major problems with Businesses based on internet is that unavailability of Internet impacts business negatively. Business that is build up with internet as fundamental part of operations will move out of business in case internet unavailability is frequent. With internet it gives capability to hackers to interrupt operation of a business. It open doors for hackers and one lone hacker can completely shut down the whole company. Investors and stakeholders risks of losing the money invested in such business in a single shot. Oversupply of information leads to less productivity. Studies [refer Appendix (a)] show that excessive information results in poor and risky decision making. With lots of data to analyse employees sometimes, in order to save time, ignores data and stick to the first data set and thus interpreting results wrongly and taking wrong decision. Thus although the belief is that Internet provides huge data is a plus factor whereas actually it is opposite. e. Impact on Society Social relations are badly impacted by the use of gadgets based on internet. Today, social gathering have reduced drastically as Internet has taken up place for major mode of connections and communications. Children do not sit with Parents as they are most of the time hooked to gadgets and prefer to be involved in activities like connecting with friends on facebook, text messaging, chatting etc. Rarely they meet manually and get bonded to people around them, thus people these days are connected only virtually in virtual world. Below is a diagrammatic representation of statistics which reflects how teens are increasingly getting engaged in internet social networking sites. Figure (d) "Teen and adult use of social networking sites change over time| The Pew Research Centre", 2013 f. Moral Values This is one of the biggest problems created by growing usage of Internet. Internet is a curse because of which moral values are getting thin day by day in culture. Teens, instead of using Internet in productive manner are using it as source to discover adult content. Below is a diagrammatic presentation of the concerns from parents for online activity using internet: Figure (e) "Parental concern over child's online presence | Pew Research Centre, 2013 Other factor that reflects the deterioration of moral values is that across all socioeconomic groups and geographic locations, teens are equally as likely to report lying about their age to gain access to websites and online accounts. This has been shown below with increasing children lying over Internet. Figure (f) "Lying about age, by age | Pew Internet Parent/Teen Privacy Survey" 2012 This loss in moral values due to Internet is irreparable and far more as compared to economic loss (which can be quantified in monetary terms). Conclusion and Assessment Respecting a person's privacy is to acknowledge such a person's right to freedom and to recognize that individual as an autonomous human being. The Internet provides a whole new set of specific ways in which people's privacy may be intruded upon, and adds new dimensions to existing problems. It necessitates the negotiation of a whole new set of balances among the various interests (). Internet based administrative practices, aided and abetted by information technologies, have dramatically increased the incidence of dataveillance [refer Appendix (d)], and created enormous threats to information privacy. Privacy remains a critical element for individuals doing business or engaging online. While it is understandable there are distinctions between industry sectors and their privacy practices but still the gaps highlighted under the section "Impact Analysis on Privacy" can be catered by creating and adopting policies that covers the risks and issues identified. Individuals and consumers also have strong expectations in relation to areas of data breach notification and it is time that Regulations and policies resulting in control and responsibility are designed and put in practice, particularly in the area of social networking. References Aesop, Greek writer Aesop (620-564 BCE) in the fable The Mule. Cyberspace Invades Personal Space by Roger Clarke, Visiting Fellow, Department of Computer Science, Australian National University.May/June 1998. Number of internet users 2005-2015 | Statistic. (2016). Statista. Retrieved 5 June 2016June 2016. Privacy and Information Technology by van den Hoven, Jeroen, Blaauw, Martijn, Pieters, Wolter and Warnier, Martijn, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2016 Edition), Edward N.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Corporate Governance and Its Importance-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Governance and its importance. Answer: Introduction In view of Marc Palker (2016), who is the Principal at MPP Associates and also is the IMA Chair of the Global Board of Directors, accountants are the gatekeepers of financial reporting and governance. Through the effective communication of the corporate governance structures in the entire organization, particularly across its hierarchy levels, the organizations can easily facilitate ethical and more accurate information. When the businesses operate in a corporate umbrella, a number of business basics are presided by the results and practices of accounting. Accounting is the thing which helps the companies in tracking their income and expenditure and in establishing the correct picture of the entire financial status. Thus, the accounting helps the companies in running their operations in a smooth manner, which have legal, practical and ethical basis, and also helps in laying down the foundation stone towards the continues success and growth (Ray, 2018). However, the blunders of the recent past, particularly the scandals which took place in HealthSouth, Enron, WorldCom and Tyco are the examples where the role of accounting is misused and the ultimate loss is to be dealt by the stakeholders. The widespread failures in the financial reporting have been the key blame holder over the feeble internal controls. The investors lost their faith and the ultimate impact was seen on the stock market plummeting (Browning Weil, 2002). This discussion is focused on highlighting what exactly corporate governance is and the importance it holds. The role and the professional duties which have to be properly discharged by the accountants to maintain the good governance practices would also be highlighted, along with the lack of ethical behaviour of these individuals resulting in reporting failures. The discussion, before concluding, would highlight the manner in which the ethical issues impact the public interest. Corporate governance and its importance Corporate governance, as a term, can be defined from two perspectives, i.e., the narrow and the broad one. From the narrow perspective, corporate governance is related to the relationship present between the directors, varied stakeholders and corporate managers. When the broad perspective of corporate governance is looked at, it covers the combination of listing rules, voluntary private sector practices which allow the firm to attract capital, generate profit, meeting legal and societal expectations, perform efficiently, laws, and regulations (Gregory Simms, 2005). As per Okeahalam and Akinboade (2003), corporate governance refers to the public and private institutions which include accepted business practices, laws and regulations, which govern the relationship between entrepreneurs and corporate managers in market economy on one hand, and the ones who invest in the resources of the companies on the other hand. It is related to the creation of a balance in between the social and ec onomic objectives, and in between the community and individual objectives, where the use of resources is encouraged, accountability in using stewardship and powers, and aligning of the interests of the different stakeholders is undertaken. Corporate governance is a concept which is gaining a lot of attention, due to the events which transpired in the recent history. It is a mechanism through which the stakeholders of the company are able to exercise control on the corporate managers and are also able to provide an overall direction to the company, particularly in such a manner that the interests of the stakeholders are protected (Larcker Tayan, 2015). When such happens, the company is able to operate in a more responsible and profitable manner; the relations of the company are enhanced with the different stakeholder groups including suppliers, employees, policyholders, society at large, and most importantly, the shareholders; the company starts thinking long term; the quality of the executive and that of the non executive directors is improved, there is proper monitoring of executive management to protect the interest of the shareholders; and the informational needs of all of the stakeholders are properly fulfilled. I n this setting, the role of the accountant is the maintenance of equilibrium in between the different components of the system, for making certain that the accounting and the auditing tools play the requisite governance role, and that the good governance procedure pillars are properly placed (Tricker, 2015). Role and professional duties of accountants When it comes to the question on what exactly is done by the accountants, the reply is that they act as the independent auditors and the tax agents. The role which is performed by the accountants is often not understood properly and is also forgotten. The significance of the role of accountants in the business scenario in context of ensuring that the quality of financial reporting is upheld cannot be emphasized enough. The accountants often take centre stage in safeguarding the financial reportings integrity. The quality of financial reporting is to be defended by the professional accountants at the very source, where the figures and numbers are born. The accountants play a key role in making contributions towards the overall progress and the stability in society (Jeffrey, 2011). A competent account is deemed as an invaluable asset in the business and an inquiring mind is employed by the accountants to the work based on their knowledge of the financials of the company. They make use of their intimate understanding of the company and the skills, along with of the environment in which they operate. The accountants basically ask the challenging questions. They adopt an objective and a pragmatic approach for solving the problems. This becomes a very valuable asset for the management of any company. The accountants in the business helps in corporate strategy where the advice is provided and the businesses are helped in reducing the costs, in mitigating the risks and in improving the top line. The role of the accountants includes the one as the board directors, where they govern the organization in terms of the approval of annual budgets and the accounting to the stakeholders for the performance of the company. They also appoint the chief executive, along with dete rmining the compensation of the management. In their role as internal auditors, they provide independent assurance to the management regarding the risk management of the company, its internal control processes and the governance in an effective manner. As the chief financial officers, they have the oversight on all matters which relate to the financial health of the company. Included in this is the creation and driving of the strategic direction of the business to create, analyse and communicate the financial information (Jui Wong, 2013). The basic statutory duty of the accounts is to report to the shareholders on the annual accounts of the company being prepared in a proper manner, to give a true and fair view, and on the report of director being consistent with the accounts; and also of the variance in these (ECGI, 2018). In the multifaceted role of the accountants, it is their duty towards the public to protect their interest. This is due to the fact that the accountants are given the privileged position in the society and amongst the different roles given to the accountants; the theme continues to protect the public interest. This requires maintenance of high standards but also in helping the company to act in an ethical manner. The accountants would not be able to get the name of being the protectors where the public interest is not on them. In the very basic manner, the confidence in financial data, which the accountants produce, creates the roots of public value and trust. Accountants are also faced with compet ing demands which makes it crucial for them to balance these demands and perform their roles ethically. By following the ethical codes of accountants, these individuals are compelled to work in a manner where their duty of protecting public interest is met (Jui Wong, 2013). Lack of ethical behaviour of accountants The requirement for good corporate governance stems from the need of protecting and enhancing the value of shareholders, in meeting the obligations of the company to the employees and for securing the interests of the stakeholders present in the corporate environment. The main objective is to protect against such abuses which could result in financial crisis and corporate scandals which poses a threat to the corporate relations in the last decade. There is a lack of ethical behaviour in the accountants which results in the reporting failures (Plessis, Hargovan Harris, 2018). There are a number of reasons for the ethical lapses in the corporate scenario by the accountants. The first one is the self interest metamorphosing in selfishness and greed, where the focus shifts towards the short terms profit maximization in place of long term. There is also the stunted moral development on part of management and corporate officials, where the key purpose of the business becomes to earn more for the shareholders, thereby legitimizing any action which is undertaken to get to that objective. There are also such instances where the individuals equate the moral behaviour with the legal one, and disregard the fact certain actions are not unlawful but immoral. At times, the push to act in an unethical manner comes from the client where the demands of client wither the individual responsibility (Osisioma, 2013). Corporate reporting is deemed amongst the most significant functions which the companies need to take care of, and also require the adherence to higher code of ethical behaviour. This is particularly true for the public entities in which the reports of company helps in determining the decision of the shareholders in the financial instruments and financial decisions of the company. These statements help the users who are not in such a position where the entity could be required to form a report which suits the information requirements. These statements help the users in making rational credit decisions, investments and the other decisions. Even though the users of financial statements assume to be judicious in business, yet they do not have the full insight over the actual affairs of the company. This puts the reliance on financial reporting practices to make the decisions and judgments, making the role of accounts all the more important. The true and fair statements are taken as the foundation for the decisions and for promoting confidence in the financial reporting. However when unethical reporting is done, major issues are caused in the company, which even have an impact over the economy of the nation (Badshah, 2015). The misadventures and the corporate scandals which caused the global meltdown had far reaching and dramatic implications for the profession. To show the manner in which the reporting failures are caused due to the lack of ethical behaviour of the auditors and accountants can be further illustrated through the famous examples. WorldCom is famous for its accounting failure where the company, from the outside, looked like a strong leader. However, it was later on revealed that the company had been indulged in fraudulent reporting where it stated that it had earned a profit of $3 billion, when it reality it had incurred a $0.5 billion loss. The investigations revealed misstatements of $11 billion (Scharff, 2005). Focusing on the role of auditors and accountants played in this blunder, there was a lack of independence and also of the awareness of Board. The chairman of the audit committee, Max Bobbitt was Ebbers loyal. The members of the audit commit chose to ignore the fraudulent misstatements from 1999 to 2001. The committee, as per the estimates, oversaw $30 billion revenue generating company, which even after meeting for 3-6 hours annually did not raise any issue (Ashraf, 2011). There was a virtual non existence of accounting controls. The committee did not pay heed to the policies, internal controls or the audit programme of the company. Even when Arthur Andersen had defined the company as a maximum risk client, and had told the audit committee regarding the misapplication of the GAAP in case of some of the investments, nothing was done by the committee, which ultimately led to a clean and unqualified opinion being given by Arthur Andersen (Zekany, Braun, Warder, 2004). It is important t hat the committees fulfil their duties by overseeing the internal control structure of the company, and making certain that the company followed the laws, standards and the regulations (Romney Steinbart, 2008). There are a number of other corporate accounting scandals which explains the manner in which the lack of ethical behaviour amongst the auditors and accountants result in reporting failures. The waste management scandal of 1998 in which $1.7 billion were reported in fake earnings is an example. This had the company falsely increasing the time length of depreciation for the assets. The Enron scandal of 2001 is another example, where huge debts were kept off balance sheet and this resulted in the shareholders losing $74 billion, employees losing their job, and investors losing their retirement accounts. The Tyco scandal of 2002 saw stealing of %150 million and inflation of company income by $500 million. Another famous scandal which had a key role of the auditors of the company was Lehman Brothers scandal of 2008. And the recent one in Satyam where the revenue was falsely boosted by $1.5 billion is another scandal where the accountants failed to uphold their professional standards (Acco unting Degree, 2018). Enhancing public interest: ethical issues Leung and Cooper (2005) have highlighted that there are three ethical issues which play a crucial role in maintenance of ethical standards, i.e., the proposal of clients to evade tax, the proposal of the clients to manipulate the financial statements, and the presentation of the financial information in the manner that the users are not deceived. These are the key in enhancing the public interest when it comes to the financial reporting. Though, these issues have technicality in them as they are related to the matters of accounting and financial statement. These issues are deemed as ethical issues due to the conflict which the accountants are faced with in choosing between the needs of the clients and in protecting the public interest. The professional accountants are under an obligation to fulfil the wishes of their clients irrespective of their personal feelings. However, where ethics are not adopted when the accountants are faced with such ethical issues, the faith of the public i n the work of professional accountants would be lost. Further, this would make way for the blunders like WorldCom and Enron. As a result of providing their services to the business community and the general public, the professional accountants are required to conduct their business in a manner which can be best deemed as ethical. This is the reason why the codes have been developed, so that the members can deal with such issues. The greatest concerns of the professionals are in terms of the proposal of the client to evade tax and to manipulate the financial statements. This is the reason why in Australia, the majority of professional accounting bodies adopt Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, which have been developed by the APESB, i.e., the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board. These help the accountants in protecting from the different ethical dilemmas. Where these ethics are not followed and the work is done by the accountants for personal gain, in the long run, the professionals would be the ultimate losers. This makes it crucial to uphold the standards where the public is assured that the ethical decision would be undertaken; and where the proposals are made by the clients for evading tax, the same would not be followed. These become crucial also for the public to have faith on the financial reporting and to trust the reports created by the professionals. Not doing the same resul ts in incidents like WorldCom and Enron (Bazley, Hancock Robinson, 2014). This is where the role of corporate governance becomes more significant and takes the centre stage. The professional accountants are required to fulfil their roles in the manner where the work is done for the clients and general public and a balance is maintained. In such cases where the accountants are faced with ethical issues, there is a need to give supremacy to the needs of general public, in order to continue the faith in the accountants and their profession. This is the reason why the accountants identified the aforementioned ethical issues are the most significant one. The theme of corporate governance in terms of being honest and working with eternity is crucial for the accountants especially in such cases (Leung Cooper, 2005). Conclusion Thus, based on the discussion carried in the previous segments, it can be concluded that the corporate governance is a concept which holds a lot of significance in the role played by the accountants. The accountants are required to work with integrity and in an honest manner, so that a true and fair financial position is presented. This helps in maintaining the faith of the general public in the investments they make and also in the accounting professionals. Where the incidents like Enron, Satyam, WorldCom, or Lehman Brothers take place, the faith of the people in the accountants and in their profession are lost. This ultimately has an impact over the entire economy. Thus, the role played by accountants is very crucial and there is a high need for the accountants to be ethical in their work. For this purpose, the standards formed by the leading bodies of the nation have to be followed. The reason for putting so much focus of corporate governance on the accountants stems from their ro le and duties in maintenance of the good governance practices. Corporate governance, along with the ethics, helps the accountants in keeping true to their profession and also towards safeguarding the interests of the different stakeholders who put their faith in the accountants. Even when the accountants are faced with ethical issues, which is quite common as per the literature, there is a need to analyse the situation and make the ethical decision, even when it involves declining the proposal of the clients for evading tax, as in the long run, it proves disastrous not only for the clients but for the accountants as well. References Accounting Degree. (2018). The 10 Worst Corporate Accounting Scandals of All Time. Retrieved from: https://www.accounting-degree.org/scandals/ Akinboade, A. O., Okeahalam, C. C. (2003). A review of corporate governance in Africa: Literature, issues and challenges. InA Paper Presented at the Global Corporate Governance Forum, 15, 1-34. Ashraf, J. (2011). The accounting fraud at WorldCom the causes, the characteristics, the consequences, and the lessons learned. HIM 1990-2015. 1107 Badshah, K. (2015). Corporate Reporting Ethics Failure and Corrective Measures. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/corporate-reporting-ethics-failure-corrective-measures-kamran Bazley, M., Hancock, P., Robinson, P. (2014). Contemporary Accounting: A Strategic Approach for users. Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia. Browning, E. S., Jonathan, W. (2002). Burden of doubt: Stocks take a beating as accounting worries spread beyond Enron, Wall Street Journal, A1. ECGI. (2018). Accountability and audit. Retrieved from: https://www.ecgi.org/codes/documents/hampel28.pdf Gregory, H.J., Simms, M.E. (2005). Corporate Governance: What it is and Why it Matters. In Cattrysse J. Reflections on Corporate Governance and the Role of the Internal Auditor. Roeselare, Belgium: Roularta Media Group. Jeffrey, C. (2011).Research on professional responsibility and ethics in accounting. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing. Jui, L., Wong, J. (2013). Roles and Importance of Professional Accountants in Business. Retrieved from: https://www.ifac.org/news-events/2013-10/roles-and-importance-professional-accountants-business Larcker, D., Tayan, B. (2015).Corporate governance matters: A closer look at organizational choices and their consequences. New York: Pearson Education. Leung, P., Cooper, B. J. (2005). Accountants, ethical issues and the corporate governance context.Australian accounting review,15(35), 79-88. Osisioma, B. C. (2013). Good Corporate Governance: The Role of the Accountant. Retrieved from: https://works.bepress.com/prof_ben_osisioma/10/ Palker, M. (2016). Understanding the Accountants Role in Corporate Governance. Retrieved from: https://www.ifac.org/global-knowledge-gateway/governance/discussion/understanding-accountant-s-role-corporate-governance Plessis, J.J.D., Hargovan, A., Bagaric, M. (2018). Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ray, L. (2018). The Role of Accounting in a Corporate Governance. Retrieved from: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/role-accounting-corporate-governance-16067.html Romney, M. B., Steinbart, P. J. (2008). Accounting information systems. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. Scharff, M. M. (2005). WorldCom: A failure of moral and ethical values.Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship,10(3), 35. Tricker, B. (2015).Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Zekany, K., Braun, L., Warder, Z. (2004). Behind closed doors at WorldCom: 2001. Issues in Accounting Education, 19(1), 101-117.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

How Does Medeas Personality Shift During the Play Essay Example

How Does Medeas Personality Shift During the Play ? Essay How Does Medeas Personality Shift or Change During the Play? In the play Medea, the mythical Greek hero , Jason abandons his wife Medea and prepares to marry Princess Glauce of Corinth to secure a throne and the power and wealth of the kingdom. These events trigger various transformations in Medeas character and emotional state; from suicidal despair at the beginning of the play, to apprehension and indecision when first faced with killing her children and finally to remorseless fury which leads her to undertake unnatural means to achieve her revenge. The play immediately introduces us to Medeas total despair after being abandoned by Jason, giving the audience new insight into how Medeas intense emotional pain turns her against those who inflict it (Jason) and all of his emotional attachments (Glauce and his children. ) Early in the play, Medea demands What use is life to me? (line 96), showing her sadness and helplessness in the wake of her abandonment by Jason. With this line Euripedes implores the audience to sympathize with Medea who appears to be victimized by Jasons callous behavior. Medeas conflicting impulses about killing her children are revealed in her monologue in lines 1018-1080. In line 1057 she exposes her desire to spare her children saying Let them alone, you miserable woman, spare your children. However despite her initial apprehension to the task, the monologue concludes with her definitive resolution to murder her children, I understand what evil I am about to do but my wrath is stronger even than my thoughts(lines 1078-1079). We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Medeas Personality Shift During the Play ? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Medeas Personality Shift During the Play ? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Medeas Personality Shift During the Play ? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer For the rest of the play, she will no longer question her decision. While it can be argued that her childrens deaths are fated from the beginning, this speech can be seen as definitive turning point in her thinking as a character, as she has become firm and resolute in her decision. Finally, her cruel and vindictive natures prevails and she declares to the audience her desire that They [her children] must die and since they must I who brought them into the world, will kill them. This declaration shows her certainty that her illogical behaviour is both deserved and just under the circumstances. Medeas vindictive nature causes her to wreak havoc on the Corinthian royal family as well as on her own family, especially her two innocent sons. Her complete conviction in her own actions and lack of remorse is shown when she declares to Jason, I have wrenched your heart as I had to do.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on Learning Organizations

The Need for the â€Å"LEARNING ORGANIZATION† The nature of the environment has changed dramatically due to significant economic, social and technological changes over the past decades. Organizations today are confronted with increasing environmental turbulence arising from global competition, the introduction of new technologies, shortened product lifecycles and political and social pressures. Organizations, today must be flexible and learn to anticipate changes and respond rapidly. Today, learning makes the critical difference among organizations. Learning can hardly be described as a new characteristic of organizations. Organizational learning is as old as organizations themselves. What is new, is an increased awareness of the connections between learning and competitive ability as well as better insight into the conditions for effective learning. In the long term it is said that learning will only provide competitive advantage to organizations that learn faster and better than their competitors. Changes in the business environment have significant implications for learning and its role: What is a Learning Organization? A learning organization is one that seeks to create its own future; that assumes learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members; and that develops, adapts and transforms itself in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside itself. At the heart of learning organization stands the belief that enormous human potential lies locked, undeveloped in the organizations. Central to this belief is the convinction that when all members of an organization fully develop and exercise their essential human capacities, the resulting congruence between personal and organizational visions, goals and objectives will release this potential. Peter Senge, known as Mr. Learning Organization, defines the learning organization as the organization â€Å" in which you cannot not learn because ... Free Essays on Learning Organizations Free Essays on Learning Organizations The Need for the â€Å"LEARNING ORGANIZATION† The nature of the environment has changed dramatically due to significant economic, social and technological changes over the past decades. Organizations today are confronted with increasing environmental turbulence arising from global competition, the introduction of new technologies, shortened product lifecycles and political and social pressures. Organizations, today must be flexible and learn to anticipate changes and respond rapidly. Today, learning makes the critical difference among organizations. Learning can hardly be described as a new characteristic of organizations. Organizational learning is as old as organizations themselves. What is new, is an increased awareness of the connections between learning and competitive ability as well as better insight into the conditions for effective learning. In the long term it is said that learning will only provide competitive advantage to organizations that learn faster and better than their competitors. Changes in the business environment have significant implications for learning and its role: What is a Learning Organization? A learning organization is one that seeks to create its own future; that assumes learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members; and that develops, adapts and transforms itself in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside itself. At the heart of learning organization stands the belief that enormous human potential lies locked, undeveloped in the organizations. Central to this belief is the convinction that when all members of an organization fully develop and exercise their essential human capacities, the resulting congruence between personal and organizational visions, goals and objectives will release this potential. Peter Senge, known as Mr. Learning Organization, defines the learning organization as the organization â€Å" in which you cannot not learn because ... Free Essays on Learning Organizations The Need for the â€Å"LEARNING ORGANIZATION† The nature of the environment has changed dramatically due to significant economic, social and technological changes over the past decades. Organizations today are confronted with increasing environmental turbulence arising from global competition, the introduction of new technologies, shortened product lifecycles and political and social pressures. Organizations, today must be flexible and learn to anticipate changes and respond rapidly. Today, learning makes the critical difference among organizations. Learning can hardly be described as a new characteristic of organizations. Organizational learning is as old as organizations themselves. What is new, is an increased awareness of the connections between learning and competitive ability as well as better insight into the conditions for effective learning. In the long term it is said that learning will only provide competitive advantage to organizations that learn faster and better than their competitors. Changes in the business environment have significant implications for learning and its role: What is a Learning Organization? A learning organization is one that seeks to create its own future; that assumes learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members; and that develops, adapts and transforms itself in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside itself. At the heart of learning organization stands the belief that enormous human potential lies locked, undeveloped in the organizations. Central to this belief is the convinction that when all members of an organization fully develop and exercise their essential human capacities, the resulting congruence between personal and organizational visions, goals and objectives will release this potential. Peter Senge, known as Mr. Learning Organization, defines the learning organization as the organization â€Å" in which you cannot not learn because ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Van Gogh's The Starry Night and Salvador Dali's Persistence of Time Essay

Van Gogh's The Starry Night and Salvador Dali's Persistence of Time - Essay Example The essay "Van Gogh's The Starry Night and Salvador Dali's Persistence of Time" compares "The Starry Night" by Van Gogh with "Persistence of Time" by Salvador Dali. Both paintings are now in the Museum of Modern Art or Moma in New York City. Van Gogh considered his now-iconic The Starry Night, which he painted from his barred window at Saint-RÃ ©my, a failed attempt at abstraction. Before leaving Saint-RÃ ©my, he wrote to Émile Bernard: "I have been slaving away on nature the whole year, hardly thinking of impressionism or of this, that and the other. And yet, once again I let myself go reaching for stars that are too big--a new failure--and I have had enough of it. In contrast, Salvador Dali’s painting of Persistence of Time was a product of Dali’s evolution as a multi-faceted artist. When the Persistence of Time was painted, Salvador Dali was dabbling in surrealism. But it is important to mention that while Salvador Dali was a leading figure in surrealism and me taphysical painting, he was also interested in science and religion especially after the Hiroshima bombing in the The Second World War where his interest in atom was heightened. Vincent Van Gogh only began painting during the last 10 years of his career. Unlike Salvador Dali who started his career early and already recognized at age 27, Van Gogh was virtually unknown in the artistic world during this lifetime. Van Gogh can also be said to be inclined with religion being a son of a Minister. Dali is more predisposed to science.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Cities and Economic Development Annotated Bibliography - 5

Cities and Economic Development - Annotated Bibliography Example The book A Brief History of the Western World covers some of the most important aspects of Western history, covering each era in some detail. Although the earlier sections do focus on prehistory and the times of the Roman Empire, the latter sections of the book do contain information about the â€Å"Rise of the West† and the influences that other cultures have had on Western history, philosophy and politics. Some of the most interesting sections explore the rise of Christianity, which had several influences beyond the West and still has a hold on Western ideals today. Additionally, much of the information on medieval culture provides information about how important Eastern philosophies (particularly those in the Middle East and from Iberia) were important in defining the new political era. Overall, the book shows that the West held growing importance in world history during this time, despite heavy influences from other cultures. Huntington, Samuel P. â€Å"The Clash of Civil izations?† Foreign affairs (1993): 22–49. Print. This paper was published in an attempt to use world history to outline the differences between civilizations all over the world. This paper is interesting because it shows the differences between the West and other cultures by showing how they evolved over time. It gives insight into the elements that the West â€Å"borrowed† from other cultures by integrating it into their own, including parts of philosophy, language, and culture. Although the paper is short, it does give a lot of insight into the topic of world history. It is useful for my research because it supports the hypothesis that the West has developed into being a strong global entity with a multitude of civilizations. It also supports the hypothesis that there are many different cultural elements in the West that have been developed through interactions with other cultures. Levi, Giovanni, and Schmitt, Jean Claude. A History of Young People in the West: Ancient and Medieval Rites of Passage. Harvard University Press, 1997. Print. This book focuses on how young people have been perceived throughout Western history and the rites of passage that they have gone through. This book is very specific to young people and youth, particularly focusing on how these people have been perceived and treated throughout history. Despite this specificity, this book underlines some of the major transformations the West has been through during the Middle Ages. It provides a useful point of comparison between historical youth and modern youth, and conclusions can be drawn about the evolution of this group of people from the book. Additionally, it is interesting to see how one group of people have affected and been affected by history.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Whole life paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Whole life paper - Essay Example My strengths include being hardworking and daring, and these factors have impacted my understanding and translation of the passion that I possess. Moreover, my goal-driven ambitions and optimism has made my values and engineering experiences outstanding and unique than those of other people. The major boost in my career is the knowledge and expertise that I have gained in tackling with the challenges of electronic and electricity as an engineer in a careful manner. Besides all the other expertise and knowledge, I have acquired various other skills that are useful and required by the career or jobs that an individual may choose. Few of many such skills include the good communication skills and teamwork skills which have proven to be vital for the performance of any job. Moreover, my strong abilities to perform in my own field and deal with challenges have made me successful at tackling numerous tasks. My dream career, and the one that suits my passion and fits my abilities and capabilities, is Electrical Engineering. Since, I possess sufficient energy and vibrancy to work as an electrical engineer, I have attempted to pursue for various academic programs and institutions which offer them to the seekers. The undergraduate programs, postgraduate programs, diplomas, and other certifications will be helpful in turning my passion into my career. I would opt for the degree programs in the capacity of Electrical Engineering. These would include underg raduate and postgraduate programs which would equip me with a thorough foundation in essential mathematical and scientific knowledge, and in abilities and skills that are suitable for preparation in the field. These courses include the interdisciplinary subjects which are placed carefully in order to facilitate the students with the required extent of the program. Then, the advanced technical courses can also be

Friday, November 15, 2019

Spatial Spread Of Multinational Corporation Economics Essay

Spatial Spread Of Multinational Corporation Economics Essay As capital accumulates, the situation of the worker be his payment high or low, must grow worseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.It makes the accululation of misery a necessary condition, corresponding to the accumulation of wealth. Marx Capital Vol I. Increased movement of capital cushioned by innovation in technology and communication characteristic of contemporary globalization has transformed mode of production as well as the organization of production. This footloose character of labor and capital has given rise to what is termed as internationalization of business and international division of labor. It is in thos context that Multinational companies have become one of the major progenitors that have taken advantage of economic restructuring and the opportunities made possible by rise of regionalism, free trade facilitated by institutions such as WTO and the opening up of financial, resources and labor markets. The changing role of national governments from initiators to facilitators of growth has furthered this process. This process has had both winners and as well as losers. The economic liberalism attributes diffusion of knowledge, technology and expertise to this spatial spread. MNCs due to their sheer size are able to capture economies of scale and are also characterized by efficiency in their modus operandi. Making available numerous employment opportunities in the host country is another feature highlighted. On the other hand are the critics who are skeptical of the nature of employment generation and welfare of workers. The footloose character of capital has enabled exploitation of cheap labor placed in developing countries that has given rise to proliferation of unorganized sector without social security net. The institution of free trade policies and structural adjustment programmes by the IMF, World Bank and WTO has resulted in highly unequal integration of economies over the world. The African cycle of debt, the Latin American and East Asian crisis due to the volatility nature of financial flows has affected labor in many of these countries. (Rhys, Jenkins 2004).Primary products which constituted a major portion of the exports of LDCs faced deteriorating terms of trade. For example in 1980s under the prescription of IMF and World Bank opening of economies led to a spurt in export of coffee exports but later depressing markets due to overproduction rendering 25million coffee planters growers (Thomas, 2008). Although developing countries have managed to diversify in manufacturing and services, the nature of work has limited value added in the production chain (assembly line production). Feminization of labor characterized by long working hours and meager wages has been one of the outcomes. The scourge across the globe in search for rich renewable as well nonrenewable resources has often led displacement of people from their homes. This has often resulted in what Michael Cernea has outlines the impoverishment risk as a result of this tendency: landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, food insecurity, increased morbidty and mortality, loss of access to common property resource and services and social disarticulation. (Cernea, Michael 1985) Other issues concern around the loss of sovereignty due to their the massive profit that is pumped into the host economy due to which governments of host countries make all possible provisions to attract Multinational Corporation. Governments are losing their ability to bargain with MNCs where national government autonomy is constrained by globalization. It is argued that impact of MNC depends on the way countries, firms and citizens participate in the global economy. (Mosley 2011). Clarke (1985) points out that MNCs have a stabilizing and destabilizing effect depending on the character of corporation, the region, the nature of venture and establishment itself. The above discussion reveals the different threads to look into the impact of MNC in the wake of contemporary globalization. The following paper is an attempt to examine the impact on local spaces due to the spread of MNCs globally. I have used meaning of space not just in terms of its concrete sense but also the occupational mobility of labor which inclusive of their well being. Multinationals: A Historical Background Multinational companies have been crudely defined as having oranisational presence in two or more national jurisdictions (Buckley and Ghauri, 2000). Glenn Morgan (2004) tries to trace out the history of origin of multinational corporations beginning in the late 17th and early 18th century like the East India Trading Company. Global operations started with as they started investment abroad and setting up of subsidiaries outside the home country. Thus it started out as portfolio investment and later there was development of foreign direct Investment (FDI). Companies related to agriculture, mining and oil were the prominent one. Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, Standard Oil and its successors, British amercan Tobacco, Rio Tinto, Dunlop, Lever Bros and Tate and Lyle. There was also increasing internationalization of manufacturing . eg Scottish thread manufacturer J.P coats, UK companies like Courtaulds, Nobel, Vickers and Pilkingtons. The Japanese, German and French began in late 19 80s.(Morgan:556). The FDI flows took place mainly between developed economies and also towards East Asia and Latin American economies. The flows were related to manufacturing and services. Even developing economies have entered this foray: China, India, Phillipines, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa and Egypt. Eg Chinese Lenvo that now owns the IBM pc brand, Indian Tata has taken over corus, Marcopolo (Brazilian company) that sells in more than 80 countries to name a few. (World Investment Report, 2006). China, India and Brazil are the sought after destinations for inflow of FDI (World Investment Report,2011). Nature of Operation MNCs internal operations have been described as sophisticated decision making, complex ownership strategies. Initially firms were vertically as well as horizontally integrated. However with globalization the cost of such integration became apparent and hence came the adoption of subcontracting and franchise sale. There was increase in joint venture and acquisition activities. cost effective measure was adopted in an environment of increased competition. There was establishment of a networked operation with the help of technological convergence. According to a survey conducted leading factors influencing location of industry have been shown in table 1. Table 1 Source : World Investment report 2011 This operation has resulted in global diffusion of knowledge that has enabled outsourcing, mass customization and deduplication. (Pervez and Ghari , 2000). Market servicing strategy involves ownership and location strategies where functions can be differentially localized. There has also been strategy of creating hubs that provides near markets and better source of information. If one market declines production can be switched to other markets provided the shocks affecting the national markets are independent and hub provides gains that only firms can achieve. (ibid:87). There has also been an establishment of global commodity chains buyer driven dominated by retailors and brand names; producer driven chains dominated by monopolies and Oligopolies. (Rodriguez 1986) Jill Rubbery points out the change in employment system from fordist to post fordist systems increased flexilbalisation of labor. The fordist model was characterized by standard employment contracts, hierarchical pay and standard working hours, labor acting as subordinate labor within the organization. This was established through trade union and collective organization backed by proper legislations and regulations. In case of post fordist employment structure there exists flatter hierarchies, flexible and extended working hours with diversity of employment contracts. 1980s and 1990s increased flexibility in labor hiring with the policy of hire and fire and proliferation of the informal sector. The flexible firm model (Atkinson 1984) was to provide firms with the segmentation of labor with experts in core areas given job security while those at the periphery performing unskilled jobs to be employed on flexible basis. This inturn has led to restructuring of labor supply. There has bee n an increased feminization of labor. They are segregated to specific occupations in the entire process of production as a part of flexible part time jobs. Morgan Glenn 2004, has tried to outline the approaches to study the nature of operations of MNC into hegemonic, hybridization and transnationalization. The first looked into how MNCs replicated their home based practices in the host country, the second approach looked into methods by which MNCs adopt and innovate according to host conditions, lastly translation provides an understanding of the internationalization of firms through embeddeddness in the local institutional context and standarisation and control from the headquarters. Ibid: 566. Impact on Space The critiques of spatial spread of MNC often relate it to the spread of capitalism and neoliberlaism. Works of Harvey, Sapna Banerjee Guha, Manuel Castell, dependency views tip in this direction. Harvey (2000) talks about a spatial fix referring to the over accumulation of capital along with creation of uneven spaces. In other words spatial fix refers to the restructuring of spaces in a globalised world that has resulted in uneven development. Physical displacement and Impact on livelihood of the evictees One of the notable examples in this context is the construction of industries by MNCs in the tribal belts of India in the name of development that has induced displacement. This industrial fervor has sidelined the real ends in favor of capital accumulation and double digit growth. Increased privatization is seen as a method of catching up with the developed economies by increasing efficiency un accounting the adverse impacts on local spaces. An estimated 40 million have been displaced since 1950 due to development projects of which 40% are adivasis and 25 % dalits, 75% are still awaiting compensation with deplorable plight of those without patta or land tittle. Around 70% of the total Indian population depends on agriculture for lively hood, burgeoning culture of SEZ (special economic zones) has created space on scarce land at the same time reduced occupational mobility of labor forcing him to sell his labor for meager wages in the absence of self owned means of production. Marginal and small farmers which constitute a majority of the agricultural population become helpless and tend to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Very often they are absorbed into the urban informal sector or rendered jobless reducing their sources of lively hood options. Further absence of labor legislations has forced labor to work in precarious conditions where they are subjected to hire and fire policy. Prior to SEZ act 2005 , there were 1143 units employing over 1.7 lakh persons, private investment was around Rs. 5626.24 crore, the current investment is around Rs. 83450 core employing 113426 persons. (Banerjee, 2008) There is heightened economic insecurity with displacement as the personal disposable income of the write more family is reduced. As mentioned above most rural households are engaged in agricultural activities who depend on land for livelihood. Once displaced they are left with very limited options particularly when they are not hired by the company that has displaced them un the first place. Men usually end up migrating to cities while the woman are left behind. Women in such conditions face high heightened insecurity and lack of work. Most tribals are engaged in forest related livelihood activities such as broom making, minor forest produce, bidi making, broom making and others. But with construction of factories and loss of forest area they are left with no source of income which often results in casualisation of labor. From a survey conducted in RR colony (2009) constructed by Vedanta in Jharasguda district in Orissa prior to displacement main livelihood activity was paddy cultiva tion and kitchen gardening. Displacement and loss of agricultural land has halted all agricultural practices. As a result the displaced have to buy food which becomes an extra strain on the family expenditure. Other primary activities such as domestication of animals is also limited due to neighborhood problems. Similar cases were found in another resettlement colony constructed by Bhusan at Thelkoloi, Sambalpur district of Orissa. Bidi and Broom making was no longer practiced due to absence of forest are and subsitance farming lost with acquisition. This shrinking can also be conceptualized in terms of their reduced opportunities for well being in in the face of limited choices. There is loss in terms of access to common property resources which inturn puts pressure on their budget due to limited availability of fuel wood, fodder, minor forest produce and water. There is often problem related to lack of sanitation and health . Very often resettlement colonies are built near factories spreading all harmful industrial affluents that could be a cause of serious health concern for the residents. Problem related to defecating, bathing become evident especially for women as they have to fix timings for such purpose which was the case before displacement. Communities in rural areas live in a close knit society where social networks act as support systems in offering services such as child care, economic assistance, protection, information, sickness in times of crisis and need (Parsuraman, 1993). With the displacement of the entire village community fragments with breakdown of social networks. In the absence of Resettlement and Rehabilitation act displaced groups become more vulnerable. In addition the RR policies fail to look into gender aspects coalesced with patriarchal environment further shrinks economic and social spaces of displaced women. Major multinational companies expected to engage in mining activities in India include Rio tinto (U.K), BHP (Australia), Alcan (Canada), Norsk Hydro (Norway), Meridian (Canada), Debeers (South Africa), Raytheon (USA), Phepls Dodge U.S.A. The drive for exploitation of resource rich regions by private players has wrecked havoc for the residents there most effected being the tribals. This situation is not just in India but other parts of the world where profits takes precedence over people.   Examples include : Dinka and Nuer in Sudan whose lands are being taken for oil mining, Mistiko lands in Nicargua for gold mining, mining on aboriginal lands in Australia, industrial plantations in tropical forests of Dayak people in Indonesia, coffee plantation on Montagards land in Vietnam, mining in North American Indian lands affecting western shohone, Quenchan Nation, Mohawk and Zuni people. (Christopher Lakra ,1999) Limiting the Opportunities of Well being of Workers. The operation of MNCs are so strategically designed as to maximize profits at the cost of worker wellbeing. This is very well apparent in International Division of Labor that many dependency theorists conceptualized. The shrinking of the opportunities and deteriorating of standard of living is well evident in the working conditions characterizing sweat shops. International Division of Labor The global labor force has increased from 2.74 to 3.21 (1999-2009) billion with 56.3 % located in Asia with the annual rate of increase of 1.6%. ; at the same time global unemployment by 30 million (Economist Sept 15, 2010). Multinationals exploit region specific characteristics of poor countries on an international scale in the name of global production. -Guha,1996. It is important to note the nature of increased flow of capital in developing economies that creates volatile conditions which directly impact labor, impact on regional disparity, its relation with the governments of host countries and nature of employment they create. Multinationals claim that host countries would be benefitted by the entry of technology, management, capital as part and parcel of economic modernization that will further create employment opportunities. Critics on the other hand claim that the State has become subservient to international capital, creating geographies of underdeveloped enclaves and exploitative division of labor. Spatial spread of MNC is determined by its manpower, resources, market and material. Accordingly their activities have been situated globally depending on the place specific opportunities that in turn has resulted in international division of labor. Chandler and Reich (1961) conceptualize the production process into three levels of activities: Level I activities that involves the decision making or the headquarters mostly situated in metropolises of parent countries, Level II activities involves the coordination of regional activities located in the metropolis of host countries and Level III activities include lowest level day to day operations situated mostly in the regions of abundant cheap labor or resource rich areas. This divison in production process has resulted in division of labor operating in different ways in the capital and labor intensive sectors. Capital intensive skilled activities get clustered in highly unequal international space. MNCs higher engineers from Asian ec onomies at half the price that they would have to pay in their home countries. As a result it decreases demand of skilled labor in their home countries while hiring skilled manpower at low rates in host countries. In labor intensive operations has given rise to increased in formalization of labor and swelling of the unorganized sector through the strategy of subcontracting. Ettlinger has termed this as a non fordist stratedgy that involves use of both the organized and unorganized labor thus creating crises in the organized sector of both the home and host country. Eg Profits of MNCs ave increased but the employment has reduced. Between 1986-89, General Electrics employment fell from 373000 t0 292,000 while its revenue increased from 42 to 55 billion dollars. AT and T reduced employment while raising its rvenue by 3 billion dollars. IBM and Fiat trudged the same path of increasing revenue but trimming jobs. Since 1980s Procter and Gamble India has diversified its activities and enga ged in subcontracting hurting the organized labor in the factories. Most products of PG were now being produced by unorganized labor in Hyderabad and Mumbai as a result of which the Kalwa Plant in Mumbai closed down in 1994 making some 300 odd workers unemployed. (ibid: 23). Harvey points out that there has been a significant increase in workers employed in the export and import oriented industriesthat has created global market for labor where countries compete for cheap labor and global competition that has further pushed down wages. With this has come an increase human rights violations with poor woring conditions in areas of subcontracting. Labour Conditions within this Multinational operation. More than 70 workers were found wrking in virtual slave like condtions, behind barbed wire fences, producing million dollars worth garments for retailers ike Neiman Marcus, Filenes and Montomery Ward. (New York Times, 1995) Violation of labor rights takes place in the form of longer working hours, poor working conditions that has negative impact on the health and safety of workers. Reports of human rights abuse from Nike supplier factories, underpayment of wages by subcontractors in Indonesia, use of child labor in production of soccer balls in Pakistan, exposure of workers to dangerous chemicals in China and Vietnam. (Mosley2011). Such sweat shop like conditions are present across the globe and women workers are worse treated. This has also resulted in increased illegal trafficking of women; in a bid to escape poverty in home countries but in turn become slaves in such sweat shops. Eg trafficking of Thai women to Japan as cheap labors and are forced to work without pay till they have repaid their debts. (Human Rights watch, 2000 ). In central and South America similar sweat shops are present. In 2000 Bolivian girls were rescued out of textile factories in Buenos where they were being subjected to slave like conditions, underfed, working 19 hours and abused often. Guatemala coffee growers working on starbucks coffee plantations are underpaid. (ibid) Wal Mart has been accused for underpayment and poor working conditions in Chinese factories. Workers are paid a paltry $.13 an hour) (China Daily,2009). Thus, neither the U.S. government nor consumers are able to discern how bad the conditions really are. The Gap produces clothing in six factories in. cases where workers are paid as low as $.11 per hour and in Honduros Gap workers have to undergo pregnancy tests and work overtime making $4.00 a day. (Global Exchange 2000). William .P.Blade (1987) points out the problem for developing countries may not arise because MNCs are institutions of capital accumulation but when capital is diverted away from host countries. There has been increase in flow of capital towards developing countries since 1970s propelled by technological advancement and neoliberal policies. According to Tinbergen report MNCs extract 50-100 billion dollars from developing coutries annually. (Guha, 1990). A notable example in this case would be the impact of financial crisis on the Asias labor market. (Hyun et al, 2010). Exports have played a major role in the Asian success. Source: World Trade Organization Data Base, 2008 In 2008 as consumer demand in developed economies plunged Asias exports fell sharply. China 25%, Thailand 25%, Indonesia, Malaysia and Phillipines to 26-32%. As a result many firms resorted to cutting back productions through closures effecting labor and remittances flow that are major sources of income for poor households in developing countries 11% Tonga, 11 % in Phillipines and 5-10% in Bangaldesh, Srilanka, Vietnam and Mongolia. Decline in Exports of Asian Economies Source: ibid FDI that accounts for major share of the gross fixed capital formation of Asian economies also declined in 2008. FDI is expected to contract by 30%. As a result of the economic melt down employment in key export oriented sectors as part of the regional, national and global chain have shown a decline. In China 20 million have been retrenched and force to move to rural areas. There has been an increase in reverse migration and workers. In Malaysia there has been a for fold increase in the number of layoffs. In Indonesia bulk of layoffs was reported in the textile industry exceeding 2,37,000. In case of Cambodia employment in garment sector contracted by 15% , similar was the case in Thailand. Impact on Employment (Asian Economy) Source:ibid The largest change in the percentage of Unemployed has been Singapore followed by Japan and Korea. Casual workers have been the worst effected as it is easier to lay them off in absence of proper legislations as well as absence of social security nets. This has also led to shrinking of labor market for the youths as the large number of unemployed chase for scarce jobs. Many firms are also resorting to unpaid leave however such have a negative impact on those who donot enjoy employment benefits. More and more workers are thus getting absorbed into unorganized sectors. In Indonesia the numbers in the unorganized sector swelled by 7.3% as compared to the organized sector 1.4%. in Thailand the increase was 3.2% in own account workers and 3.3% for contributing family workers while the organized employment grew only by 0.6%. The result of falling incomes has resulted in rise in poverty. More than 52 million workers live just 10% above the poverty line ($1.25 per day) while more than 40 million live above 20% above that line. (ILO, 2008). In times crises poor households often cut back on expenditures on health and education, there has also been an increase in child labor as families resort to such alternatives. The number of workers in the unorganized sector in Asian region could range between 1.1 1.2 billion (2009 figures). Decline in Exports of Asian and African LDCs ILO Report, 2011 The above table reveals that merchandise exports for African and Asian LDCs slumped post 2008. Despite recovery the unemployment trends have persisted both the African and Asian countries. (table below) In both regions female labor has been more affected for Africa 7.5% and Asia 4.2% as compared to 6.3% and 3.9%. Employment in Asian and African LDCs Source : ibid Role of the state In this entire discussion of operation of global processes one cannot escape mentioning the role of State and its response. The spatial spread of MNCs also depends on the policy of the host countries and the investment friendly environment. It is impossible for an economy to remain isolated from the rest in this era of globalized world even though the terms of engagement may not be equal. Political economy of the world has created such conditions where governments of host countries are losing out in the bargaining process with the MNCs. During the era of import substitution and protectionist policies state exercised upper hand over the bargaining process to channelize the benefits of private investment to serve development objectives. Contemporary globalization and the push for neoliberal agenda has transformed the state from a initiator to facilitator of development. Haslam 2009, outlines three approaches to study the relationship between state and MNCs : the irrelevance of bargaining, displacement of bargaining and maximization of bargaining. The irrelevance of bargaining implies that the state and MNCs no longer share a conflictual relationship but rather a cooperative one. This can be seen in the adoption of more neoliberal policies and realizing the role of private players in promoting growth. The second approach talks about the displacement of bargaining from state firm towards between states during bilateral and multilateral trade where states protect the interest of the firms. Maximization approach points towards increasing bargaining power of MNCs or constraints on ability of the state to act. In Argentina till 1990 private players were virtually absent and mining was state activity, however Argentina abandoned the state led model with passing of huge legislative reforms in 1993. Government of Catamarca province tried to increase royalties from Bajo Dela Alumbrera project (private mining company) but met with resistance. The federal government fearing loss of investment sided with the mining company. In Chile change in power in 1973 led to privatization but it is only in 1 990s that Chile experienced a mining boom. There was a proposal to increase taxes but was here again it was met with stiff resistance and government had to abandon the proposal. (Haslam, 2007) Lenway and Murthy (1994) on the other hand see the state as a strategist making choices between : authority v/s market, communitarinism v/s individualism, political v/s economic objectives and equity v/s efficiency. (Pervez and Buckley 2000) This reveals that ability of state to bargain is highly constrained. Very often governments of host countries themselves facilitate this process. for eg In Korea labor reform introduced in 1996 that in away allowed casualization of labor along with hire and fire policy. The reaction of this legalization was massive unemployment since 1966 (Tat Yan Kong, 2006). Labor market in Taiwan resulted increased competition among workers as 42 state owned enterprise were privatized. This effort of labor market liberalization falling of employment from 3.1 to 2.3%. In Vietnam introduction of Doi Moi syatem caused labor restructuring due to privatization leaving 1 million workers in the state sector unemployed between 1988 -1992. The educational gap further s egmented the labor where the educated entered the state sctors and the less educated ended up in casual employment. Women were the hardest hit as work participation among women to be very high (It was 74% in 1989 that came down to 60% in 1996). They were forces to enter insecure jobs with loss of employment benefits such as maternity leave and child care provisions. ( Oudin, Xavier, 2004 ). Conclusion Given the shrinking spaces in terms of well being of workers and spatial spread of MNC under conditions of increased global competition that is out to utilize cheap labor; weaker state capacity and poor implementation of labor legislations are major reasons for deplorable condition of workers. This is evident from the fact that very few MNCs consider labor regulations as an obstacle towards investment in developing countries. The prescription usually advised is a step towards improving these conditions : firstly to recognize informal sector and the various forms of jobs that come under it. Secondly there is a need to improve social security benefits of workers more than increasing productivity in such activities that would improve their standard of living. There is also an argument that legislation in developing countries are stricter but without proper employee protection. Minimum wages is one of the tools used but it must also be noted that minimum wage legislation compliance, the penalties for non adherence, whether covering the informal sector etc. employment effect of minimum wage legislation can actually exacerbate unorganized sector employment while having a negative impact on the organized work force as employers look more towards cost cutting. Thus there needs to be more robust alternatives in the form of social security nets cushioned with minimum wages and more importantly unorganized sector must be included. This will thus mitigate shock to labor sector in terms of crises. With regard with the issue of displacement due to construction of setting up of extractive industry there needs be proper facilities provided post displacement to the evictees. Apart from compensation proper training facilities, employment facilities in the factory as well as proper resettlement colony with provision of al basic necessity must be provided. Here the role of the state must come in to ensure that such benefits and compensation are provided. The above discussion reveals the multitude problems emerging due to increased privatization where the state also becomes a business partner rather than placing welfare as a priority. However solutions to such issues are not easy and requires further study the area of MNC State relationship in a globalized world. Globalization is a process that one cannot choose to escape; unequal processes such as this spatial spread are a part of it. Perhaps a better approach towards examining the process would be to understand the global structure of inequalities in which LDCs are embedded into, whether structural adjustment is actually required? Whether receipt of loans from world Bank is worth succumbing to debt cycle ? if there is a need for setting up of large scale industries ta such massive rate? These questions do not have easy answers but still need to be probed as technical fixes are necessary but not sufficient.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Fantasy Sports on the Internet Essay -- Expository Essays Research Pap

Fantasy Sports on the Internet The Internet is something that is common in today’s society. The internet’s uses vary from talking online to getting information on just about anything one wants. This new phenomenon was an instant hit and in the mid 90’s the internet was being found in more and more households. The internet opened up opportunities for many things such as easy access to any information, online shopping, being able to talk to people on the other side of the world with no cost, and it set up the whole fantasy world in sports. Internet was the key that made fantasy sports into the huge game that it is today. Fantasy leagues make it possible for millions of people to have pick and manage a team the way they think it should be done. However, some people soon realize that they would not make a good coach because they cannot even do well among their peers. The internet allowed for anybody to take place in these various fantasy leagues. Fantasy sports have been around for more than three decades. Fantasy sports like many other fads began in California in the 1960’s when a small group of men at a bar decided they could make better decisions than the coaches playing the game. (â€Å"Fantasy sports leagues score big on Internet†). This new fad caught on with many other guys and it was not too long until a lot of businesses started picking up this new sport. For the first time in history the common people started to get the sense that they could be a coach and manage how a team should be ran. However, this was a tedious task that took a lot of time for whoever ran these leagues. These people had to keep track of the player’s statistics that went on during that week. The internet made it a lot easier and faster to run and mai... ...abled a small group of friends or workers at a business to participate in the fantasy leagues. Without this medium fantasy sports as we know them today would not be anywhere as near as it is. It would still only have thousands of players instead of millions of players. Fantasy sport leagues offer something to the public that gives them a sense of control on how they think sporting teams should be ran. Sources: Works Cited Isidore, Chris. "The Ultimate Fantasy-profits" CNN/Money. 2 Sept. 2003 www.money.com/2003/08/29/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz "Fantasy Sports leagues score big on Internet." Dallas Morning News. 25 Sept. 2000. www.jsonline.com/bym/tech/news/sep00/fantasy26092500. "Fantasy Sports participation on the rise, association says." St. Louis Business Journal. 14 August 2003. www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2003/08/11/daily62.html

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Primate Behavior: Chimpanzees Essay

Million years ago, it is believed that the chimpanzees, unable to construct technology that makes migration possible, have remained marooned for more than five million years in a small corner of Africa. The popular assumption of a closeness between human and chimpanzee intelligence is that the fact that the brain of the chimpanzee has remained at about 500 cc while that of the human has advanced to about 1300 cc. Chimpanzee as believed is our closest relative, yet the human brain is more than two and a half time larger than that of a chimpanzee, a human intelligence is a thing part. The wild chimpanzee teaches it’s young very little. But does the young chimpanzee suffer? No. For everything the parent does the young chimpanzee learns to do itself, without parental training. Even the most complex acts of the adult chimpanzee –nut cracking, termite fishing, water sponging – do not depend on parental assistance. A chimpanzee mother allows her infant to eat the nuts she has cracked; she tolerates her infant as it leans heavily on her while she is busy doing her task; but she never turns away from her own successful nut cracking to watch the efforts of her infant. Although the chimpanzee mother does not assist her infant by acting as a watchful pedagogue, the manner of motivation is taken place by the repeating observation of her infant. In other words, by watching its mother, the infant â€Å"get hooked† on the problem and thus, as a result solving problem made easy. While these acts do not occur in all chimpanzees, they are nevertheless species-specific acts which all chimpanzees have a potential. With respect to temperament and sex behavior, bonobo and chimpanzee have no serious comparison in their cognitive performances. Copulation in bonobo acts in various positions whereas chimpanzee copulation is dorso-ventral position. This difference sometimes taken to indicate a lack of imagination on the part of the male chimpanzee is due to an anatomical difference . The sex skin of the female chimpanzee makes ventral-ventral copulation impossible, whereas the sex skin of the bonobo can accommodate all sexual connections. Bonobos are easier to work with and far less aggressive than chimpanzees. Sexual activity in the bonobo is not confined to adult heterosexual pairs but is commonly engaged in between adult and child, female and female etc. Bonobos are far less aggressive than chimpanzees, and thus are easier to work with. In conclusion, primate behavior can be compared with human behavior, a close one. Evolution as some books say, chimpanzees are our early relatives. Footprints show that they left evidence of closeness, a study wherein we have common ancestors.