How One Takes Life for Granted Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How One Takes Life for Granted - Essay Example Both however, exposed an understanding of the truth and what lies beneath the surface. 'Richard Cory' had a universal speaker, using "we" throughout. This helped to set him apart from "we", the ordinary people who looked at him as "a gentleman from head to crown" (l. 3). The tone contains irony, awe and envy: "we thought that he was everything/To make us wish that we were in his place." (l. 11-12). The metaphor and visual imagery in "and he glittered when he walked" (l. 8) create pictures of somebody bedecked in gold and precious jewels, symbols of wealth. The envious tone changed later to bitterness with the words: "So on we worked.And went without the meat and cursed the bread." (l. 13-14), as if this was all life could be for them, the difference between rich and poor. The last line exposed how taking life for granted was a big mistake. This untouchable, aristocratic man who seemed to have it all, "Went home and put a bullet through his head." (l. 16). The poem had a lilting, easy, almost ballad type style, up until the shocking final line that was in stark contras t to how Richard Cory was perceived. The clear message was that people and life should never to be judged by outward appearances, or apparent circumstances. Though similarly like a song, in contrast, 'My Papa's Wa

Organizational Planning Verizon Wireless Essay Example for Free

Organizational Planning Verizon Wireless Essay Organizational Planning: SWOT Analysis for Verizon Wireless Before planning can begin, a framework should be built to guide the decision making process by identifying what the overall goal is to be. At Verizon Wireless, the mission statement, or credo, is broken into 5 sections that are the pathway for leadership within the company, as well as for internal stakeholders, to ensure the success of the company. Verizon Wireless identifies strengths as being a high quality provider of communications services, being committed to customers through teamwork, and acknowledging that just being the biggest is not the same as being the best. By identifying weaknesses such as being reactive to competitor offerings, pricing structure of plans, and the perceived lack of a global presence, reviewing the credo can initiate change to address these weaknesses and create opportunities from them. Identifying the opportunities of network infrastructure growth, simplification of pricing plans for both businesses and consumers, and providing varied equipment pricing options allow the company to address some of the weaknesses. Threats are identified as competition from other providers, market penetration for services, and proposed regulations from the F.C.C. with regard to net neutrality. As a whole, these identified areas provide the roadmap to achieve success for both the internal and external stakeholders. When setting a long term goal, or strategic plan, the credo is consulted to ensure that the areas identified in the SWOT are being addressed. With a strategic plan in place, Verizon Wireless can set long term goals on how they plan to broaden their strengths, lessen their weaknesses, capitalize on their opportunities and minimize the threats. One of these strategic plans in place is to grow market share by gaining additional customers. Long term growth of customers is fundamental to the longevity of the company. Without new customers the company becomes stale and profits may fall. Both the internal and external stakeholders would be unhappy if Verizon Wireless did not provide a value to them either  monetarily or through the service itself. Review and confirmation of programs being offered to customers is constantly being revised as changes within the marketplace dictate. This long term strategic planning will be fluid as the needs of the customer change. An operational plan has a shorter time line to achieve the goal. The target of initiating new growth through new products and service can be accomplished through the Verizon Wireless Partner Program. The adoption of new technology and integration of devices ensure Verizon Wireless to achieves this goal going forward by partnering with companies to provide equipment and services. According to Partnerships Verizon (n.d.), Verizon’s award-winning Partner Program focuses on better serving the needs of customers by enabling them to simplify how they consume communications and IT services in a way that best meets their needs, while giving them access to the full Verizon portfolio. Whether teaming with Verizon directly, indirectly through program members, or as a hybrid, customers can take advantage of Verizon’s next-generation services portfolio.† (2). These types of partnerships build from the commitment that Verizon Wireless has stated, â€Å"We hold ourselves to a very high standard of performance. We prize innovative ideas and the teamwork it takes to make them happen. We never stop asking ourselves how we can make the customer experience better, and every day we find new answers.† (Commitment Values, n.d.) In this operational plan, the internal stakeholder is satisfied because the company is initiating new growth, and the external stakeholder is satisfied because the new products and services are providing additional revenue. With both strategic and operational plans in place, Verizon Wireless is poised to achieve success in both the near term as well as far into the future. Reference Verizon Wireless. (n.d.). Commitment Values. Retrieved 2/28/15 from http://verizonwireless.com/about/commitment-values Verizon Wireless. (n.d.). Partnerships Verizon. Retrieved 2/28/15, from http://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/partnerships/ (2)

Capital Punishment is Not the Answer Essay -- social issues

Capital Punishment is Not the Answer Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as many people. Public support for the death penalty has decreased only a little in the last years. Meanwhile, many countries have outlawed the practice - capital punishment doesn't exist in the European Union countries - and strict laws about who may be executed are becoming more common. Despite of all this capital punishment is racially, socially and economically biased and allows the possibility of the execution of innocent persons, too. Furthermore, there is no benefit to society that would make it necessary to continue it. For these reasons, the death penalty doesn't support what the ideal criminal justice system tries to achieve and therefore must be abolished. Capital punishment cannot be a collective act of revenge. It must never be allowed to become a release for collective anger. Bud Welch lost his twenty-three year old daughter, Julie, in the Oklahoma bombing in 1995. "I'm opposed to the death penalty. It's vengeance that doesn't do my heart any good..."-said Mr. Welch. Capital punishment is no answer to the major challenges we face as a society. Moreover, it has not proven to be a deterrent to violent crime, and it has mainly occurred to the poor, and more to minority poor. This is not surprising, since a well-paid, high-powered defense team can make all the difference. In the United States there lives a conception of justice: a figure of a blindfolded woman holding scales in one hand and a sword in the other. The scales symbolize the careful investigation of evidence, the sword represents the speed with which justice is dealt with, and the blindfold symbolizes the unprejudiced reach of decision. This has the message that the poor, uneducated defendant has the same opportunity for a quality defense, and has the same chance for justice as the wealthy one. Yet, this could be questioned. Wealthy defendants are able to pay for false witnesses and expensive tests that are not available to poor defendants. The ill-paid Counsel of Defense may not really pay attention at the trial missing important evidence, so they result in their client being sentenced to death. Capital punishment is biased not only this way but also racially. The color of the skin of the accused and victim alike decides whether the death penalty wi... ...n for no reason must also be handled equivalently. There is a problem with a society that allows such a corrupt institution. In the year of 2000, 3058 people were sentenced to death in 65 countries from which 88% took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and in the USA. These numbers are terrifying! No longer should it be believed that executing a person is the only way to ensure that they do not get released from prison and kill again. It would be more necessary to increase the prison sentences of murderers. Imprisonment without the possibility of parole could be the sentence of those who would be sentenced to death under the current system. Such a move would help to calm down the fears of recidivism and would send a strong message to lawbreakers. The abolition of the death penalty would mean the end of executions and that the government wouldn't put any more prisoners to death. It should be recognized that murder is wrong in and of itself. Beyond that, it is wrong even as a secret plan within the heart. It is as old a human problem as Abel's death by his own brother, Cain. We should really keep ourselves away from the spiral of violence because violence begets violence. Capital Punishment is Not the Answer Essay -- social issues Capital Punishment is Not the Answer Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as many people. Public support for the death penalty has decreased only a little in the last years. Meanwhile, many countries have outlawed the practice - capital punishment doesn't exist in the European Union countries - and strict laws about who may be executed are becoming more common. Despite of all this capital punishment is racially, socially and economically biased and allows the possibility of the execution of innocent persons, too. Furthermore, there is no benefit to society that would make it necessary to continue it. For these reasons, the death penalty doesn't support what the ideal criminal justice system tries to achieve and therefore must be abolished. Capital punishment cannot be a collective act of revenge. It must never be allowed to become a release for collective anger. Bud Welch lost his twenty-three year old daughter, Julie, in the Oklahoma bombing in 1995. "I'm opposed to the death penalty. It's vengeance that doesn't do my heart any good..."-said Mr. Welch. Capital punishment is no answer to the major challenges we face as a society. Moreover, it has not proven to be a deterrent to violent crime, and it has mainly occurred to the poor, and more to minority poor. This is not surprising, since a well-paid, high-powered defense team can make all the difference. In the United States there lives a conception of justice: a figure of a blindfolded woman holding scales in one hand and a sword in the other. The scales symbolize the careful investigation of evidence, the sword represents the speed with which justice is dealt with, and the blindfold symbolizes the unprejudiced reach of decision. This has the message that the poor, uneducated defendant has the same opportunity for a quality defense, and has the same chance for justice as the wealthy one. Yet, this could be questioned. Wealthy defendants are able to pay for false witnesses and expensive tests that are not available to poor defendants. The ill-paid Counsel of Defense may not really pay attention at the trial missing important evidence, so they result in their client being sentenced to death. Capital punishment is biased not only this way but also racially. The color of the skin of the accused and victim alike decides whether the death penalty wi... ...n for no reason must also be handled equivalently. There is a problem with a society that allows such a corrupt institution. In the year of 2000, 3058 people were sentenced to death in 65 countries from which 88% took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and in the USA. These numbers are terrifying! No longer should it be believed that executing a person is the only way to ensure that they do not get released from prison and kill again. It would be more necessary to increase the prison sentences of murderers. Imprisonment without the possibility of parole could be the sentence of those who would be sentenced to death under the current system. Such a move would help to calm down the fears of recidivism and would send a strong message to lawbreakers. The abolition of the death penalty would mean the end of executions and that the government wouldn't put any more prisoners to death. It should be recognized that murder is wrong in and of itself. Beyond that, it is wrong even as a secret plan within the heart. It is as old a human problem as Abel's death by his own brother, Cain. We should really keep ourselves away from the spiral of violence because violence begets violence.

Realism in 21st Century

Realism in 21st Century The world, in view of the fact that it was created is changing. With the changing desires and demands of today’s standard of living, individual needs to be in sync with the demands and trends of modern day living. Not too long ago, people were seen doing stuffs that have turned out to be more of a routine in today’s humankind. Every single day a new type of technology is been introduced in today's world. So, the question arises that is theses changes necessary in today's world? If yes, does it have a good or a bad impact to the human society in today's world? We need to talk about in which approach hi-tech advancements that pace into our daily lives have altered our lifestyles in the very last few centuries. In today’s world each and every single people rely on new and advance technologies. Everyone loves new technologies and gadgets that promise innovative and better ways of living. A pace of life is frequently increasing with the increase in new technologies. Nowadays somewhat more a quarter of the earth’s population can be found in the industrialized societies. And half of the population still lives on past agriculture, but they are also relying on machines. The remaining of the world’s population, however, is no longer of either the past or the present. They live in the future, within the most important centers of cultural and technological change, in New York, California, Cambridge, London and Tokyo (Toffler, p. 38). A new part of technology is like a new relationship to an individual, it will be cool and thrilling at the first, but sooner or later it gets addictive to the people. I doubt technology’s give your word to improve the quality of life, makes our life easier and simpler, but it gets more addictive and makes one lethargic. People have turn out to be physically and psychologically dependent on many behaviors and substances for centuries. The compulsive and frequently use of these technologies have negative impact on our daily lives. The key life areas that appear to be impacted are relationships, health, employment, and financial status. In the present day people find their reality have changed because they have to get used to the new culture and behavior according to the pace of technology. Presently people like to live in this current industrialized era but some of them are overwhelmed by the change of new technologies and inventions. Changes in the life are important, but the acceleration of changes leads to the victim of overchoice and impacts on our personal and psychological, as well as sociological, consequences (Toffler, p. 2). Philip Morris now it is Altria Group, for example, when it was introduced in USA in 1954, it only sold a single major brand of cigarettes i. e. Marlboro specifically to men. By now Altria Group has introduced additional 16 new brands with so many options with respect to size and flavors (Toffler, p. 265). Not only in cigarettes there are many overchoices in food, clothing, gasoline, and many more. There is a huge diversity in education industry too, students have a huge selection on what field they want to study and nowadays students can even get their degree online. More often than not society does not leave freedom for avoidance and as a result one need to adjust and learn about the new technologies that become part of our lifestyles. These days when people are faced with having to decide one option out of many popular choices, they will start on to think about imaginary trade-offs. The people do make their best choice out of the variable products, but afterwards it affects their level of satisfaction they had from the one before. The people now can’t escape this situation of freedom because they are not committed to the choice they make. People don’t know that the current loads of choice over and over again lead to feelings of loneliness and depression. The creation of the Internet has been the main source of innovative information, connectivity, and possibilities to create new private freedom. There are presently more than a billion web pages of information on the Internet about every topic that you can think of. The Internet users around the world have been increased by 444% since the starting of the 21st century (Internet Usage Statistics). In this era, computers and Internet are an important part of everyday life. Computers are used everywhere. Today Internet and computers can exactly take us to the different worlds and different realms of reality by a thought referred to as virtual reality. Inception is the latest â€Å"virtual reality† movie of this time. In this movie Leonardo DiCaprio plays an unlawful with the technology to plan himself into the dreams and ideas of others. The characters spend an important amount of time entirely powerless with beeping tools nearby. In the meantime their minds are busy occupied navigating avatars in a virtual world of Inception. In this movie, a machine would let you to connect to a virtual atmosphere by getting into someone’s dream. Even in the movies â€Å"The Matrix† and â€Å"Avatar† was computer generated and were in the different world of imagination. In â€Å"Plowing the Dark† by Richard Powers, on one side of a story a band of researchers in Seattle working on a 3D reality on how an empty white room that can become a jungle, a painting, or a Byzantine cathedral. And the other follows an individual kidnapped and held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon in an empty white room, equipped only with his imagination and memory. In the novel, the two stories overlap, but the people in the different stories do not know one another and never communicate. But at the end, the imaginative experience of Adie and Taimur intersect, with Taimur’s control leading to an unexpected change in Adie’s life and Adie inspiring Taimur at a serious moment. In this novel, the author addresses this issue of creating an inspiring character of life in an unreal environment that becomes frightening real to us (Powers). The novel â€Å"Plowing the Dark,† alludes to several poems including â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† by W. B. Yeats. In this poem, Yeats highlights the aspect of world he lives in, is scared of becoming older and complains about the world he lives in, so he decides to escape to the city i. e. Byzantium where the poet can achieve immortality. In all the movies (â€Å"Inception,† â€Å"The Matrix,† and â€Å"Avatar†), the novel â€Å"Plowing the Dark,† and the poem â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† the people wants to escape the real world and wants live in their own virtual mind and places they created. Virtual reality is becoming more prominent and dangerous as the days passes. One can assume a second identity in their imaginary world through the Internet. In 2003, a game called â€Å"Second Life† appeared on the Internet, is an online virtual world mainly targeted to the children who are aged thirteen and over, and as of 2011 â€Å"Second Life† has more than 20 million egistered user accounts (Secondlife). They can get married, have children, rob banks, and shoot people all in the name of fun. Virtual reality makes it a good tool for education because it allows children to learn in a more interactive environment where they are m ore likely to retain information. But it also has some negatively psychological and social effects. These days many students are showing a decrease in usual emotion and affection due to their stable communication with lifeless cyber friends. Cyberspace can be a help out, but when used in the wrong behavior it can be very damaging to our physical and mental well-being. Virtual reality in fact minimizes the significance of our physical bodies and encourages people to misuse their time. It causes people to get lost from exact relations by focusing on the mind freezing effects of video games and online cyber world. In this generation, the Internet is so ingrained into our lives that life without the access of Internet is completely unimaginable. The use of the Internet offers a variety of benefits to every person in today’s world. Internet has a giant amount of information added on it every day and it’s developing as the most powerful source of information. Also, use of the Internet makes easier to find jobs in a minute. One can also buy and sell things on the Internet. Last, the Internet is one of the most important tools in educations seeing as it provides a massive amount of information and is the greatest source of reference for teachers and students. The Internet has influenced, and is still influencing the way culture communicates in a lot of different ways. The rise of the Internet has caused people to communicate differently in areas never dreamed of before the Internet came into existence. In the book, â€Å"The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,† by Nicholas Carr argues that surfing the World Wide Web is causing the damage to your brain. This book has been expanded from the article, â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid,† by the same writer Nicholas Carr. In this book, Carr describes how human thought has been changed through the centuries by â€Å"tools of the mind† – from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer (Carr). This all tools are very useful in this 21st Century in getting directions, determining time and finding information on the computer through the Internet which is very faster and saves a lot of time. This all tools are easy and convenient in today’s life, but the effect of all this tools is that it is breaking the focus and the creativity of the human brain. Carr in the article, â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid,† stated that one he was a scuba diver in the sea of words, but now he zips along the surface like a guy on a jet ski. This is nothing but the Internet, which, with its search engines, blogs, social network such as Twitter and Facebook, pornography and online games has chipped away the capacity for concentration and contemplation. I totally agree with Carr, that when we use the Internet, we totally enter into a different environment; we enter into the world which is not real, that leads us to quick reading and diverts our thinking and distracts our brain. Right now, you can take example of me, as I am writing this paper or whenever I find myself assigned with a research paper for class I get simply unfocused from looking up references online and manage to find myself on completely unrelated websites. The pop-ups and the advertisement usually get our mind diverted. Then after half an hour of researching I find myself on checking the emails, uploading status or new photos on Facebook or either playing games on the computer. Then I realize that I have wasted almost an hour doing nothing instead using the time sensibly. Yes, Internet is the main source of information, but is actually affecting our brains. Not only Internet, the smart phones, TVs, online video games and many other digital technologies also damage our brain. According to a survey published by Forrester Research, Americans are now spending a large amount of their time using the Internet than watching television, and the amount of time people spend on the Internet has increased 121 percent in excess of the last five years (Joshua). The amount of time spent on the Internet not only has been increased by the teenagers or adults, but also have been increased by up to six to eight hours a day among the people over 66 years. But the rapidly increase in the use of Internet has not affect a drop in television consumption for the reason that the Internet, and mostly the mobile Internet, cleanly creates additional facilities and opportunities for the nation to consume media. In today’s world, TV is still important, but the content where the people are getting from is changing. Nowadays, most of the people are getting the content from the use of the mobile Internet. Smartphone and tablets are a life changing to many users since it is so personal, in terms of how and how frequently the device is carried and how it is used to connect and to expand relationships. Smart phones went from being a luxury and became an everyday tool for students, employees and the businessmen. For a lot of us, communicating with friends and family used to mean writing letters and cards via mail and have to wait for weeks for the response. But now we communicate with each other through emails and text messages in a fraction of seconds. Now younger generations have forgotten how to write and spell a complete sentence due to rapid increase in text messaging. Teenagers are totally reliant on simple tenses and a limited use of vocabulary, and that to with the help of spell check. At the same time there is also a reduction in a personal face to face communication. Nowadays, people just text message their friends, chat online, do discussion on the blogs, and they even date online. Due to these changes; the people have mentally changed their communication skills. People don’t know that more and more use of the technologies gets addictive to them and changes the mental and physical shapes of the brain, and can lead to a decrease in the sense of self and human identity. Our neurological systems are actually being spoiled, and we are less able to process and remember information, even if we are continually reading, or surfing, online. The person who spends more of their time playing games and reading web pages are experiencing visual problems. Most people are clueless that how the cell phones affects their brain by the radiation. In J. D. Salinger's â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye†, the main character of Holden Caulfield views the humankind as a place where the most human behaviors such as love, sympathy and kindness are all been overridden by the power of money and technology. Holden Caulfield is desperately holding to the concept that necessary human kindness is far more vital to a joyful way of life than material wealth and technology. Holden in the novel feels similar to a loner or a rebel in an environment where the people are dishonest and corrupted, and he is badly looking for someone to talk to that will make him happy. In the beginning of the story, Holden says, â€Å"As a matter of fact, I'm the only dumb one in the family† (David, p. 67). In the whole story, Holden describes himself as a failure and immature, and also has been told by his parents, friends, and teachers number of times but still, Holden every time hangs to his ideals and looks his failings as almost laughable. In the story, Holden is suffering from mental and emotional problems due to his attitudes and behavior. The only thing that can â€Å"cure† Holden, as stated in the story, is to get more and more interaction with the people around him. From the novel, â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye†, possibly one can learn from the main character, â€Å"Holden Caulfield†, that in regards to corruption, wealth and the dream, foes not matter how expensive and attractive it is, but only the true pleasure and satisfaction can only be establish from within. Holden also oversimplifies the whole lot and in his view children are straightforward and innocent image of wholesome life compared to adults who are by now influenced by the accepted public way of life, which adjusts or fakes everyone’s realism. An individual in our society today feels that, they are separated from one another and has lost the interaction between people same way, as Holden in the novel, â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye†. †¢JOSHUA, BRUSTEIN. â€Å"American Internet Use Catches Up With TV Use. † (2010): Web. 2 May 2011. . †¢Ã¢â‚¬ INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS. † (2011): Web. May 2011. . †¢TOFFLER, ALVIN. Future shock. Bantam, 1984. 38. Print. †¢TOFFLER, ALVIN. Future shock. Bantam, 1984. 2. Print. †¢TOFFLER, ALVIN. Future shock. Bantam, 1984. 265. Print. †¢CARR, NICHOLAS. â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid? â€Å". Atlantic Magazine July/Aug 2008: Web. 2 May 2011. < http://www. theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2008/07 /is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/>. †¢DAVID, JEROME. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company, 1951. 67. Print. †¢POWERS, RICHARD. Plowing the Dark. Picador USA, 2001. Print. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Secondlife. † Web. 2 May 2011. <

Ethics Chapter 1 Quiz

Appendix 2 Instructions: Click on the box in front of your selected answer. When completed, save and post as an attachment. 1. Which term is used to refer to a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant group have over theirs? a. minority group b. majority group c. stratified group d. social group 2. In sociological terms, a majority is the same as a a. numerical minority. b. numerical majority. c. dominant group. d. subordinate group. 3. Members of a minority or subordinate group . generally marry outside their group. b. become a part of the group voluntarily. c. are political equals of the majority group. d. share physical or cultural characteristics that differ from the majority group. 4. All of the following are processes that may create subordinate groups except: a. immigration b. extermination c. annexation d. colonialism 5. Which term is used by sociologists to describe a group that is set apart from others because of obvious physical differences? a. social group b. ethnic group c. racial group d. formal group 6. Which of the following is considered a racial group? a. Puerto Ricans b. Jews c. African Americans d. all of these 7. The U. S. has used skin color as the standard for race designation with a. two categories: Black and White. b. an elaborate system describing various combinations of skin color, facial features, and hair texture. c. a continuum of most Black to most White. d. a focus on cultural differences. 8. Which term is used to describe a group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns? a. ocial group b. ethnic group c. racial group d. formal group 9. Ethnicity refers to a. racial differences. b. differences in physical and mental characteristics. c. cultural differences. d. citizenship. 10. Which of the following is considered an ethnic group? a. Puerto Ricans b. Irish Americans c. Mexican Americans d. all of these 11. Which of the following is NOT considered an ethnic group? a. Puerto Ricans. b. Italian Americans. c. Muslims. d. Polish Americans. 12. African American sociologist W. E. B. DuBois said in 1900 that the century’s major problem would be . class differences. b. the color-line. c. wars. d. poverty and disease. 13. Subordinate groups include a. Roman Catholics. b. women. c. deaf people. d. all of these 14. The concept of race is a. determined by blood type. b. predicated by skin shade increments. c. biologically based on genetically isolated groups. d. socially constructed. 15. Races can be clearly distinguished on the basis of a. skin color. b. blood type. c. genetic resistance to malaria. d. none of these 16. Traditional IQ tests tend to be biased against a. lower-class people. b. rural residents. . racial minorities. d. all of these 17. The hierarchical system for possession of wealth, prestige, or power is called a. ethnic groups. b. stratification. c. age. d. functionalism. 18. Which of the following theoretical perspectives tends to emphasize how the multiple parts of soci ety are structured to maintain its stability? a. conflict theory b. functionalist theory c. macrosociological theory d. labeling theory 19. Which of the following perspectives on race and ethnicity tends to emphasize group tensions between the privileged and the exploited? a. onflict b. macrosociology c. microsociology d. functionalist 20. The conflict perspective emphasizes a. social change. b. the redistribution of resources. c. the exploitation of minorities by dominant groups. d. all of these 21. Exaggerated generalizations about the characteristics of members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group are known as a. stereotypes. b. pluralities. c. scapegoats. d. self-fulfilling prophecies. 22. Stereotypes are applied to a. gamblers. b. lesbians. c. people with disabilities. d. all of these 23. In certain situations, we may respond to stereotypes and act on them, with the result that false definitions become accurate. This is known as the a. functionalist theory. b. exploitation theory. c. self-fulfilling prophecy. d. authoritarian personality 24. The formation of a subordinate-group-dominant-group relationship emerges through a. annexation. b. colonialism. c. migration. d. all of these 25. Which term refers to the physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social functions? a. assimilation b. amalgamation c. segregation d. pluralism

The End of an Era for The Encyclopaedia Britannica

The End of an Era for The Encyclopaedia Britannica The End of an Era for â€Å"The Encyclopaedia Britannica† The End of an Era for â€Å"The Encyclopaedia Britannica† By Mark Nichol The Encyclopaedia Britannica, for two and a half centuries considered in the public eye the reigning resource for scholarly research, recently announced that it was ceasing publication in print and would henceforth be available only in electronic form. As usual, the doddering dinosaur is behind the curve. The company had had the chance to go high-tech in 1985 with a Microsoft partnership; somewhat understandably, it declined to partner with the then fledgling software company which released its Encarta, its own, successful, encyclopedia on CD-ROM in 1993. The Encyclopedia Britannica company did launch a CD-ROM in 1989, four years before Encarta came along, but it did so under the name of Compton’s, another encyclopedia brand it owned, so as not to tarnish the venerable Britannica brand. That product, which received positive reviews, was nevertheless not the first computer-based encyclopedia; Grolier’s had come out with a DOS version in 1985. Britannica’s print encyclopedia continued to dominate the market even after Grolier’s innovation, of course, because the proportion of prospective encyclopedia customers who desired a high-tech version was very small. However, six years after Britannica’s revenues peaked in 1990, it declared bankruptcy (though it was bought by a Swiss businessman and survives but barely to this day). People, it seems, were just not buying print encyclopedias like they used to. And why bother? The Encyclopaedia Britannica, though a formidable feat of scholarship, had long been overhyped. It was certainly always impressive looking and still is: The final print edition, published in 2010 and still for sale (â€Å"while supplies last!†), consists of forty-four million words packed into thirty-two volumes. It has, however, long been mostly a prestige product, meant to be admired by visitors to one’s home who marvel at the sophistication of parents who would spend four figures to be sure that their children have nothing but the best trove of knowledge at their fingertips. (The 2010 edition retails for about $1,400.) But those fingertips, it seems, rarely touched the meticulously prepared, exhaustively researched encyclopedia; one survey determined that few customers consulted it more than once a year. For many, it was just another feature of home decor, another mark of status. Britannica Online and the DVD version are presumably more well thumbed, and several years ago, Britannica announced plans to develop a content model more along the lines of Wikipedia, in which the public would be able to submit new content to Britannica or revise existing content, although it would be clearly distinguished from content produced by Britannica’s staff and scholarly contributors. (A cursory examination of Britannica’s website shows no reference to such content, however.) What does the epochal end of Britannica’s presence in print mean for writers, editors, and editorial researchers and fact-checkers? You tell me when was the last time you cracked the spine of The Encyclopaedia Britannica? For many years, we have been able to go straight to the (online) source for a great deal of information, checking information against government, business, and organizational websites. And when we want objective information, we consult news sites, and online compendia like Wikipedia. And though I note in this post that Wikipedia is regrettably inferior to The Encyclopaedia Britannica in writing quality, is was found in a study to be essentially just as accurate – that is, highly, but not flawlessly, accurate. Print publications just can’t compete with online sources for immediacy. If you want to know the state of knowledge or attitudes about a particular phenomenon in 1912, certainly, you can hunt for the eleventh edition of The Encyclopaedia Britannica and enlighten yourself. But new editions necessarily take years to produce, whereas websites can be updated on demand. History books, in whatever perhaps unbooklike form they may take in the future, will note this period as a significant turning point in information production, processing, and retrieval. In the meantime, we’re living in the transition; I still read many books, but I read not just research online extensively, too. (And I rarely touch a print magazine or newspaper.) We must be nimble and accept the future with good grace. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?50 Latin Phrases You Should Know5 Erroneously Constructed â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Sentences

Income statements are of crucial importance to users of financial statements The WritePass Journal

Income statements are of crucial importance to users of financial statements INTRODUCTION Income statements are of crucial importance to users of financial statements INTRODUCTIONTHE MAIN PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH REVENUE RECOGNITIONVIEWS TAKEN BY THE TWO BOARDSREASONED CRITIQUE OF THEIR THINKINGCONCLUSION Related INTRODUCTION Income statements are of crucial importance to users of financial statements, particularly investors. It is vital that revenues are properly recognized when preparing income statements to give a fair view of profitability of the associated company/firm. Thus investors are not misled while making decisions and undertaking risks involved with the concerned company. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) joint project tries to remedy such problems, by eliminating inconsistencies and developing coherent conceptual guidance for revenue recognition. Both boards consist of professional accountants that aim to develop high quality/understandable accounting standards and principles to ensure a more accurate and consistent reporting. The IASB deals with the development, promotion and application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The FASB develops generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the interest of the public. Moving on, the main concerns of this report are problems involved in revenue recognition, views taken by the two boards and a reasoned thinking of their critique. THE MAIN PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH REVENUE RECOGNITION When it comes to revenue recognition transactions that begin and are completed in the same time period, cause considerably few problems. Real obstacles arise when customers prefer paying later on than when receiving the product or in cases where supplier might provide the promised good over several reporting periods. This earning process approach has led to problems for financial statements’ users and problems with GAAP and IFRSs. Building on the earnings approach, too many standards evolving revenue recognition has been formed by GAAP. The application of some of those standards by entities can produce inconsistencies for economically similar purposes. This can be a result of lacking a clearly identified earning process as well as people’s disagreements on how it applies in certain occasions. For instance think of a service provider that requires customers to pay an upfront fee plus monthly charges. In accordance with the SEC SAB 104, the provider does not account for the service as a separate earnings process and therefore does not recognize revenue for activation fees when the activation services are rendered. The fact that entities apply different earning process approaches to economically similar transactions reduces the comparability of revenue across entities and industries. In addition by applying revenue recognition standards designed by IFRS one can clearly observe that amounts in the financial statements might not correctly correspond to real economic phenomena. The underlying skepticism of this assumption is that revenue recognition of a product/service sale largely depends on when the rewards as well as risks associated with them are transferred from the owner to the client. Considering the IAS 18, circumstances can get even worse when goods and services are interrelated with the good transaction thus the entity views the transaction as a whole. Such circumstances involve recognizing all the revenue on the delivery of the good before the entity has fulfilled all of its obligations for the services like warranty. As a result revenue does not represent the delivery of all goods and services as stated in the contract. Additionally, IFRS lacks guidance on transactions involving delivery of more than one good or service also known as multiple element arrangement. IAS 18 does not clearly state whether an entity should recognize all the revenue for a multiple element arrangement by the time the first element is distributed or until the last element is distributed. IFRS also lacks guidance on how to measure the elements in a multiple element arrangement. According to IFRS another problem is created with revenue recognition because of the application of different approaches by entities when accounting for goods and services. Without any clear division between goods and services some entities undertaking service contracts were recognizing revenue throughout the service process. Some others though contracting for goods tended to recognize revenue by the time that risks and rewards related to the product were transferred to customer. Such gaps in guidance could be eliminated with the existence of clear principles; but principles of IAS 11 and IAS 18 are inconsistent. The first principle implies that revenue should be recognized while the activity of the contract still takes place and the customer does not have the risks and rewards of owning the product. On the contrary IAS 18 principle states that revenue should be recognized when the customer controls and undertakes risks and rewards of the ownership of the product. VIEWS TAKEN BY THE TWO BOARDS According to the board’s last meeting IASB and FASB discussed about 6 major topics involving revenue recognition. The first one involves identification of separate performance obligations. Under this topic the boards have decided that an entity should account for a collection of goods and services as one performance obligation in cases where the entity provides a service combining both goods and services into a single item. Conversely an entity should account for goods and services as different performance obligations when: the good or service is sold apart or when the client can use a good/service individually or with existing resources available to the customer and when the pattern of transferring the good or service is diverse from the pattern of transferring other goods and services in the contract. The second one is about combining contracts. The boards decided that two or more contracts that are placed at closely related times with the same customers can be merged and accounted as one when contracts are offered as a package, when the amount of consideration of a contract depends on the other and when the design, technology and function of goods and services are interconnected. The next topic involves contract modifications. The boards concluded that if a contract is modified in such a way that it results to a separate performance obligation with a price matching the obligation, the entity should regard the contract as a separate one. Otherwise, the performance obligation should be reconsidered and the transaction price of each separate performance obligation should be reallocated. Moving on the next topic engages the breakage and prepayments of future goods and services. The boards decided that where it would be reasonable for the entity to estimate the amount of expected breakage, the effects should be recognized as revenue along with the rights exercised by the customer. Another discussed topic is burdensome performance obligations. The boards decided that in order to find out whether the performance obligations are heavy there should be a test, the onerous test which will be defined by the remaining obligations of the contract. Finally the last topic includes revenue recognition for services. The Boards concluded that in order to recognize the revenue of a service the entity must go through two steps; first it must determine that a performance obligation is assured continuously and secondly it must then choose a method of measuring progress in order to completely satisfy that performance obligation. The Boards have furthered their discussions into issues which arise when an entity uses an input method for the measurement progress to complete satisfaction of a performance obligation. The entity, in some instances will only obtain goods which are transferred at another time from related services. In such cases, the Boards decided that the entity should measure the progress for the transfer of such goods should be equal to the costs of the transferred goods. REASONED CRITIQUE OF THEIR THINKING The technical director of Shumate Mechanical, LLC strongly supports that segmented performance obligation approach will increase costs and result in unclear accounting information. This is due to changes of revenue from period to period, violation of costs and revenue matching principles, lack of clear information making it difficult to understand performance to total product and uninformed transfer of revenue to performance obligations. The application of this model of revenue recognition according to the construction industry will lead to more inconsistencies, unreliable financial information as well as difficulties in their preparation. Furthermore under the agreement where a service provider transfers services to a customer, the proposed standard revenue is recognized by the time services are provided, depending on the provider’s estimation on progress of the performance obligation. Thus revenue cost is recognized as it occurs. David P.Bohn, partner of LARSON, LUDWIG and STROKES LLP, correctly mentions that the proposed standard does not set any requirements that the recognized percentage of total revenue matches the recognized percentage of total cost of revenue, which some service providers would prefer to maintain. Recognizing different percentages of revenue would lead to misrepresentation of gross margin. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu finds the principle of combining two or more contracts really useful. But some concerns still exist according to the guidance around price interdependence which seems confusing. As mentioned in FASB and IASB’s exposure draft an entity should combine two or more contracts if the price of goods and services bought in a contract is dependent on the price of goods and services of another contract. Moving on it also states that in cases where a customer can benefit from discount on goods and services due to existing customer relationship mostly arrived from other purchases, then the price of the contract is not said to be interrelated with the price of another contract. These two paragraphs seem to contradict to each other. Therefore entities with similar types of revenue streams will arise. PricewaterhouseCoopers agree with board’s proposal that an entity should identify performance obligations differently in case that goods and services are distinctive. But they mention that it requires judgment and may be difficult to determine. Incomplete guidance is also given on identifying different performance obligations. Moreover they report that the boards omit distinct profit margin. Finally based on the exposure draft all performance obligations are identified first and separated into distinct performance obligations at a later stage making it difficult to reflect the economics of transactions. CONCLUSION Revenue recognition is a great issue and one can say that it might be unsolved. Because of many inconsistencies associated with it, FASB and IASB together have tried through their joint project to eliminate such inconsistencies. All the users of this standard have now come to criticize some of its principles even though they might be satisfied with the majority of other principles stated. There are still others that continue to believe that a lot of inconsistencies and omissions still exist. Some believe if the existing work done by the boards is furthered developed and modified through the publication of a comprehensive standard on revenue recognition, a clear and robust standard on revenue recognition can be formed.