Reckoning essay on Wechlers Vermeer in Bosnia Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reckoning on Wechlers Vermeer in Bosnia - Essay Example I did not know the people who died in the Moscow subway, yet my friend quite rationally assumed that it would touch me more, considering it happened in my home town. His rationality was built on the assumption that because I lived there, I was somehow closer to the mental concept of the tragedy. Perhaps I was, but I do not think I felt anything more exceptional than my friend did for those people. It seemed like something you ought to feel sad about, yet in the end we both went to get our afternoon coffee. I think about why we, as people, think that just because we belong to a certain geographical place, the events unfolding there should matter to us more. Perhaps the event would have mattered to me more if I had been in Moscow still. Just like Vermeer who was visibly affected by the war; the war resulted in the â€Å"devastation of the Dutch economy and Vermeer’s own †¦ bankruptcy† (Weschler 15), which eventually may have even caused him to die at the young age of 42. Yet, in his paintings, one finds a sense of calm and peacefulness. This sense of calm is so apparent that Antonio Cassese, an Italian judge presiding over the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal, confides to Weschler that his way of keeping his sanity in front of all the madness and chaos of the Yugoslav war, and listening to the vivid stories of the inhumanity of humans, is to go â€Å"to the Mauritshuis museum, in the center of town, so as to spend a little time with the Vermeers† (Weschler 14). The paintings of Vermeer in the Mauritshuis museum offer something akin to that to Weschler as well. He is sure, as are others who have had the chance to gaze upon the paintings and try to find a deeper meaning to them, that something like peace and tranquility is transmitted through these paintings. Albeit there are those (like Snow) who find a very different, and sexual, meaning to the paintings, however, Weschler feels that, surrounded by chaos, Vermeer was trying to

SEMESTER PROJECT Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SEMESTER PROJECT - Thesis Proposal Example The food chain is famous for customising and evolving as per the consumer preferences. This philosophy helped McDonalds succeed in 119 countries, including culturally-sensitive Arabian and South-east Asia nations. Thus, it can be described as unstable. Subway, though an International fast food chain, spread over 98 countries, is narrower than McDonalds, as the former targets the health-conscious customers, who propose to eat fresh. Its nutrition focus made it possible to establish franchises in churches, hospitals etc too. Comparatively, the menu also speaks the same, as the product portfolio includes sandwiches, salads, burgers, sides and soft drinks (Doctors Associates Inc., 2009). But for the minor modifications to suit the local religious beliefs, not many changes are made in the menu. So, Subway has a more or less stable outlook, as compared to McDonalds. Coming to the boundaries, McDonalds is highly permeable and attracts customers, right from its clown, Ronald and its golden arches welcoming them. The seating arrangement, ambience, the first part of their tagline, ‘Get them in’ reinforce this ideology. The turnover rates at store level are found to be low, showing its impermeability in this aspect (Francis, 2011). The logo, flashy ‘open’ board and long working hours bring customers to the outlet. But, the limited number of tables and less store space make Subway unlikely destinations for catching up with friends. It operates more on take away mode and therefore less permeable than McDonalds. High employee attrition rates have also been observed at Subway, mainly due to low levels of satisfaction, which declare its permeability (Schlosser, 2001). McDonalds has a complex activity system, which guarantees competitive advantage (Pride & Ferrell, 2007). The laborious and long procedures also make it inflexible. Subway heavily relies on franchising. The complex and inflexible activity system is thus transmitted to the all levels, emphasizing the

The Big Bang Theory Essay Example for Free

The Big Bang Theory Essay The beginning of the universe is explained in the big bang theory. It is proved beyond doubt that our universe had a beginning and that its origin was as a singularity about 13 billion years ago. This singularity was infinitely hot, small and dense. It had undergone a series of changes, which includes expansion and cooling to become the present form of universe. This theory is called the big bang theory. According to this theory the process of cooling and expansion is still continuing. There are several evidences as well as arguments supporting this theory as well as opposing it. The main intention of the present paper is to analyze these arguments in search of its validity. History of this theory, its religious interpretations as well as the features of the universe according to this theory also will be discussed in this paper. The big bang theory was proposed by scientist and Roman Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre and his called his theory as hypothesis of the primeval atom (Hubble, 1929). The framework for this model was based on the Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Most of the astronomers today believe in this theory mainly because of the red shift that was observed in the near by galaxies. Scientists believe that the universe is still expending because of the presence of dark energy (Big bang Theory, 2009). There are several features of the universe which support big bang theory. The abundance of light elements such as hydrogen and helium and less occurrence of the heavy elements or heavy metals in universe is actually in support of this theory. This is because it is proved beyond doubt that at such a high temperature that persisted at the time of origin of the universe, the elements of mass numbers more than 5 and their isotopes would have been unstable. This might have resulted in the formation of more light elements at that time. Presence of more matter than antimatter is another feature that supports the theory. Even now the scientists are not able to find a reason for this phenomenon. However, many scientists consider the asymmetry in the decay of some mesons as the reason for this phenomenon. Another feature of the universe is that it is composed of several galaxies and these are separated by cosmic voids. The presence of a radiation in all directions which is quite even or uniform throughout is another factor that supports the theory which explains the origin of universe from a fire ball ( Big bang theory, 2009) One of the argument against big bang theory is that universe had its origin as an explosion. However according to experts it is better to imagine universe as a balloon with an infinitely small size and continuously increasing its size so as to reach the current size. It would be difficult to imagine the universe as a balloon bursting and throwing off its contents. Another argument against this theory is that it universe e originated as a fireball in space. But according to the Einstein’s theory of relativity there could not be anything, space or time or matter or energy before the origin of universe. Thus this argument also has been proved to be baseless (Big Bang Theory An Overview, 2009). There are many arguments or evidences that support this theory. Most of the people believe that universe had an origin. Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies are moving away from us at speeds, which are directly proportional to the distance from us. This provides evidence for the expansion of the universe, which was originally very small. The discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965 provided evidence that universe was initially very very hot as it is explained according to the big bang theory. Another important evidence is the profusion of hydrogen and helium in the observable universe. This also supports the big bang origin of universe. According to the recent research by NASA and ESA, the universe had its origin from the remnants of a universe, which existed previously. This is called loop quantum gravity theory (Zyga, 2008). This theory also supports the origin of the present universe as a singularity as in big bang theory. Still the arguments regarding the models to explain the origin of universe is continuing between great scientists. But one thing that has to be remembered is that whatever might be the arguments, there would always be a philosophical criterion involved and therefore these arguments are never going to end (Gibbs, 1995). Therefore as long as no one is certain about anything that happened at that time, the arguments would continue. An important factor that has to be considered in the big bang theory is its religious interpretations. Origin of Universe is an area where science and theology places opposite views. According to Islam, Allah is the creator and Evolver of every thing in this universe. Of course the development of the universe to the present stage is something that is super natural and therefore there is nothing wrong in believing that there is a super natural force behind all these evolution and that supernatural force is God. The theologians as well as majority of people believe that it is not possible to evolve something from nothingness. Estes (2009) has put it in a different manner. According to him this explanation of origin of universe is as absurd as believing that when there was an explosion in a place all the metal pieces joined in the air to form a car. He further explains that it cannot be believed that the different parts of the oldest computer one day exploded and then joined to form the most advanced computer now. This development took place as a result of long years of research by human beings. In the same way the development of universe to the present form, required the intelligence of someone who is super natural and that is God himself. When we look at the stars, sun, moon and the galaxy as a whole, we see that they are all moving with accurate speed and timings in such a way that they do not collide each other. The earth is having the exact requirements for the life of man on it. All the requirements of the man are met through the other organisms as well as physical and chemical properties of the earth. It is very difficult to explain all these facts based on big bang theory (Estes, 2009). There is another school of thought in the Islam itself in support of the big bang theory (Huda, 2009). The idea of singularity is present in the Quran also, where it is said that heaven and earth existed as a single unit originally. According to the big bang theory, the elements, which constituted the universe, had come together, cooled down and finally formed into the present shape. This is what exactly said in Quran, the only difference is that it was Allah who gave commands to these elements to behave in the way it had behaved. Come together, willingly or unwillingly. They said: We come (together) in willing obedience' (41:11). The concept that Universe is expanding is also there in Quran. The heavens, We have built them with power. And verily, We are expanding it (51:47). The fact that the universe is continuing to get expanded has been discovered only recently and it was the answer to the long debates by Muslim scholars on the exact meaning of this verse in the Quran. An argument in Islam against the big bang theory is that in Quran it is written that the creation of the universe was completed in six days. But in Quran itself it is written that one day of Allah could be 50,000 years for man. In another place it is written as 1000 years. Thus the day could be regarded as an era with a fixed length of time. And six days could be six such eras, the length of which no body knows. Thus in this way also Quran is not contradicting the big band theory, which suggests that the origin was 13 billion years ago, and since then the formation of different organisms as well as the shape of the universe were gradual (Huda, 2009). Another aspect where Quran supports big band theory is that the process of evolution or the creation as Islam takes it, is never ending. It is clearly mentioned in Quran that Allah is continuing his creation. This is what we see everyday, as a new child or as a new plant which is quite different from both parents (Huda, 2009). Considering all these facts the Muslims of the modern world believe that big bang theory is genuine and that the universe is ever changing. The only difference is that they believe that all these are happening according to the command of Allah and that everything that happens in the universe reveals the super natural power and majesty of Allah. It is stated that the creations are to be viewed upon, as tremendous power of Allah and His name has to be glorified. Thus it could be seen that the Big Bang theory of the origin of Universe is the most widely accepted theory of cosmic origin. It is based on the Einstein’s theory of relativity. There are several features that the universe exhibits which supports this theory. Most of the arguments against this theory by different scientists have already proved to be baseless. More and more discoveries have been made in the last and present century, which supports this theory. Regarding the religious interpretation of this theory, in Islam, the origin of universe and earth and everything on it is explained in the same manner as the big bang theory. Only difference is that, in Quran it is explained to have happened as per the command of God. It is quite logical to believe that there is a super natural power that is regulating all these happenings in the way it is happening so that we could exist happily and peacefully on this earth. References Big Bang Theory An Overview (2009). [online] Available at: http://www. big-bang-theory. com/default. htm (accessed on 11th June 2009) Big Bang Theory (2009). [online] Available at: http://www. answers. com/topic/big-bang-theory (accessed on 11th June 2009) Estes, Y.. (2009). Big bang. [online] Available at: http://scienceislam. com/bigbang. php (accessed on 11th June 2009) Gibbs, W. W. (1995). Scientific American, October 1995, 273: 55. Hubble, E. (1929). A Relation Between Distance and Radial Velocity Among Extra-Galactic Nebulae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 15: 168–173. Huda (2009). Creation of the Universe Six Days or Long Periods of Time [online] Available at: http://islam. about. com/od/creation/a/creation. htm (accessed on 11th June 2009) Zyga, L. (2008). Before the Big Bang: A Twin Universe? [online] Available at: http://www. physorg. com/news126955971. html (accessed on 11th June 2009)

American Express Quality Management Marketing Essay

American Express Quality Management Marketing Essay Problem Statement- American Express using Quality Management to Excel in a Highly-Competitive Niche Market. Business Executive Exclusive Perks Card from U.S. Express (The BEEP Card) Do we launch with current levels of Business commitment in the field? Organizational Background American Express is a diversified global financal services company that was founded just prior to the American Civil War. It is best known for its business line of charge cards, travelers checks, and in fact, holds about 25 percent of the total credit card transactions in United States, largely because of its perks and programs focusing on American business (Chenault, 2009). American Express does not really sell anything tangible. Yes, they have some merchandise, but their primary focus for the consumer is to get as many American Express cards into the hands of qualified customers as possible. Money is generated through the fees charged to retailers and credit card clearing houses. But, American Express is essentially branded as a service-oriented business topnotch service that customers receive in their interaction with all U.S. Express staff (Bihlmier, 2002). One of the reasons American Express has been so successful to date, despite the ups and downs of the economy, is its focus on customer experience and branding that experience into something that feels tangible, even though it is not tangible. They have done this through enhancement of the customer experience from initial contact through final payment, tagging celebrities for endorsements, and branding the experience (McCarthy, 2005; Davis, 2010; americanexpress.com). Thus, for many businessmen, American Express is more of an experience they can call the company 24/7, 365 days per year in an emergency, have funds delivered or charges authorized by phone; they can received discounts on hotels, car rentals, meals, and even special events. Being an American Express member has its perks. And, with the new BEEP card, specifically designed for that upper echelon of corporate executive, the experience offered will be even more customized and special. Literature Review Even with billions in global assets, however, American Expresss business model is tied to the economic pulse of the business world. As one of the top rated charge cards for business and corporate use, the fiscal crises of the last few years has negatively impacted the company, and in November 2008, American Express won Federal Reserve System approval to covert its operation to a bank holding company, which made it eligible for government subsidies under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which, at that time consisted of over $127 billion (Lanman, 2008). This troubling trend was serious enough for the Fed to waive its typical 30-day waiting period, and was the result in credit-card holders failure to repay loans at almost twice the rate of 2007. Indeed, one of the major strategic weaknesses of American Express is its tie to the economic health of the global financial markets American Express following the trends by posting several quarter profit declines even with some segments showing upturns. Given the continued volatility in the financial markets, we want to be best positioned to take advantage of the various programs the federal government has introduced. We will [also] continue to build a larger deposit base to broaden our funding sources (CEO Kenneth Chenault, Ibid). American Express is a large enough company, with core values in banking, financial services, travel, and corporate/personal credit and charge cards. They have a Strategic Planning Group that operates consulting services to management of all its business units, and also services as a conduit for executive level recruiting. (American Express Strategic Planning Group). The business model for American Express consists of several major sections, (See Figure 1) with the top grossing centers: 1) Discount Revenue from card transactions (53%); 2) Interest from card member lending services (revolving charge cards) (13%); 3) Fees from cards, travel, and other holding feeds (23% combined) (American Express Summary, WikiInvest). American Express acknowledged that 2008 was a tough year and that they are tied very closely with the spending patterns of businesses and executive cardholders in particular, the dismal performance of both the 2007 and 2008 Holiday seasons in luxury goods. Additionally, the impact of the ENRON, Arthur Anderson, and even Automobile Industry issues may force additional oversight and regulation upon American Expresss financial services division. Tactically, the company has instituted several short- and mid-range solutions to improve its financial volatility: 1) Adjust models in lending to reduce high-risk, cancel certain accounts, reduce lines of credit, and limit new cardmembers; 2) Manage risk to improve profits; 3) Enhancing services for businesses and cardmembers experiencing difficulty in order to prevent defaults (2008 Annual Report, p. 5). Strategically, the company has decided on the actions of: Reengineering Control of costs, cut back spending in every area of the business; increase efficiency and reduce or eliminate activities that were not supporting the companys highest priorities, including the elimination of 10% of the global workforce (7,000 jobs). Benefits of $1.8 billion are expected as a result of this reengineering. Partnerships Forging new Co-Branded partnerships in key international markets, primarily in the Far East and Australia. Signing 13 new partnerships and launching 130 new products with banks that issue American Express-branded cards globally. Servicing Improving servicing aspect and offering more opportunities than competitive products this resulted in earning the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Award. Business partnerships Even in a down economy, partnerships with businesses will continue to help American Express grow its revenue partnering in the B2B aspect will improve the ready income, while continuing to provide greater incentives for additional partnerships. (Ibid, p. 8). American Express has been through recessionary times before, and has emerged even stronger utilizing its core values and strategies. Marketing And Advertising On of the key factors in the improvement of American Express in the market is the continual thrust of its brand. American Express has taken branding to a new level one who has moved from the outmoded mold of 1960s marketing, humorously described in the III Series MADMEN,  [1]  to a more centered approach that makes every employee, essentially, a brand manager: American Express. American Express does not actually sell anything tangible. Yes, they have some American Express merchandise, but their primary focus for the consumer is to get as many American Express cards into the hands of qualified customers as possible. Money is generated through the fees charged to retailers and credit card clearing houses. But, American Express is essentially branded as a service-oriented business top notch service that customers receive in their interaction with all American Express staff (American Express Joe Bihlmier interview, 2002). American Express has done this w ith a few simple, yet very powerful, changes to its business paradigm: Customer Contact Every step of the American Express experience has been refined to be different and competitive from all other credit and charge card companies. Employees are highly trained, speak English in a professional manner, and rather than take the offensive on certain situations, begin the discussion with the customer as the #1 priority. Accuracy of Statement American Express statements are double and triple checked for accuracy, with an ease of back up data available at a moments notice. Since American Express realizes that most use is for business, they have organized their statement into categories that make it easier for the employee to report. Business Cards American Express wants large businesses, and has made it easier for company employees to receive cards and generate only their receipts back to the company. American Express will customize reports, by employee and category, for larger companies accounting management, and for some, even deliver it electronically based on their individual needs. Ease of Disputing a Charge Again, American Express assumes the client is right, and with a simple phone call, will act as an advocate for any unauthorized charges (AmericanExpress.com). Utilizing celebrities as role models Instead of having a celebrity simply pitch a product, American Express has taken two different views of improving its brand using celebrities. The celebrities actually USE the product, their names are printed on the card, and not only are they shown in their particular field of expertise (e.g. Tiger Woods, Robert DiNero, etc.), but the company has ads that play off popular archetypes (e.g. the movie CaddyShack, etc.) (McCarthy, 2005). Differential Branding Now, not only does American Express offer the Gold and Green cards, but a blue and red card, with different cards supporting credit customers (as opposed to charge customers), and the Product RED, which supports the fight against Aids, and other environmental causes. For example, one AmEx commercial shows a sexy model near a traditional Masai warrior; the model holds the RED card and says, It doesnt make you feel so guilty about spending your money! (American Express, 2007). Thus, for many businessmen, American Express is more of an experience they can call the company 24/7, 365 days per year in an emergency, have funds delivered or charges authorized by phone; they can receive discounts on hotels, car rentals, meals, and even special events. Being an American Express member, has its perks (See Appendix A Examples of American Express Branding). American Express seems to excel at creating the strategy from the outside in, rather than the typical product management idea of inside out this strategy has shown an increase in brand recognition, whether or not those consumers utilize the product at present. Thus, that recognition, as the population ages and is able to afford participating in the American Express experience is more of a marketing investment strategy, long-term, than it is a complete short-term blip (Atstiel, 2005). The Problem/Challenge The design and conformance quality are both strategic management issues that, for a company with a demographic like American Express, are vital for the success of their product. For a merchant, American Express is significantly more expensive than MasterCard or Visa, takes longer to be reimbursed, and has less flexibility in discount rates. Instead, it is the very design and conformance (value of the product and the degree to which product promises and specifications are realized) in the marketplace that makes it even worthwhile to merchants. In many cases, corporations use only American Express, and thus their employees are motivated to use that card, typically billed directly to the home office, without the same necessity for reimbursement and TE Expense Reporting. Because American Express already invested in POP materials, already shipped those materials to its list of businesses who accept the card, the key clearly was not whether the marketing folks at Ame rican Express had done their job. They had but only partially for all the collateral in the world is for naught if it is not posted, thrown away, or put into storage. That being said, the metrics of Six Sigma, and the defined error acceptance helped American Express hone in on the root of the problem regarding POP and the research behind it, as well as a means to mitigate the situation. Simply put, the current research was simply not working in terms of identifying the issues surrounding use of the card in small businesses. Opportunities/Recommendations American Express hired a research vendor to call on businesses to uncover what POP materials were being used, why or why not, and how these materials could translate into an increase value relationship for the consumer and business. Unfortunately, the data uncovered by the research vendor was fraught with inaccuracies: from poor call rates to a disconnect in research opportunities that, in fact, worked contrary to the needs of the company in providing a service to its business clients. American Express uncovered two primary causes for this disconnect by shadowing the vendor and putting principles of Six-Sigma into place to find a potential set of solutions. The two primary causes for the unacceptably high uncallable rate for American Express research were a disconnect between time of research and store hours and the ability of the research to identify individual businesses that were in compliance with American Express POP requirements. Both resulted in a loss of time and money, an unacceptable error rate, and considerable redundancy (returning to recheck). However, the research vendor was given the list by American Express. When the business signed up with American Express, they not only listed the type of business (e.g. retail, restaurant, etc.) but also their hours and days of operation. A simple Boolean search would have provided the research firm a sort of appropriate businesses and an adjustment of hours. Six Sigma already asks for statistical checks to be mad e when viewing data, had the methodology been in place within the marketing research area, the initial disconnect would not have occurred. It was not incumbent upon the vendor to know details about the client beforehand. Further, operating in a Six Sigma manner would have put a more robust vetting upon the research project prior to placing it into the field. In addition, the research protocol should have been written so that the purpose of the visit was plain to the vendor analysis of POP. If the analysis was possible without actually visiting the business (e.g. viewing the POP on the door or register), redundancies would have been eliminated (Hayler and Nichols, 2007, 55-9). Still, Six Sigma is a tool, it is not an edict. Like many tools, it is dependent upon two things: 1) How it is used, and 2) The quality of the data. Six-Sigma was originally designed for use by Motorola in the early 1980s. It was put in place in order to not only uncover, but to solve, certain manufacturing processes that were not working appropriately. It improved the company by defining a clearly focus on measurable issues that could be quantified and linked to profitability. It also increased an emphasis on managements commitment to utilizing the strategic planning system to actually implement a cause-effect relationship within the manufacturing model. However, when all the bells and whistles come off, and all the statistical data and measurement are broken down, the model is really a quality improvement template. It is not designed for any subjectivity and often fails to take into account that margin of error is different on divergent products and services (e.g. a surgical instru ment or medical device should have a lower rate of error than a new hardback novel). Further, some of the standards are arbitrary and force management to plug in data (as in the American Express market research). That being said, it is both possible to overanalyze certain ineffectual data; in other words, making certain Six Sigma data more important than it really is to ROI. However, it does effectively help management identify areas of needed improvement, of inefficiency, and of redundancy (Prasad, 2009, 32-40). Conclusions Such market gurus as Warren Buffet continues to invest in American Express and believe that it is a solid company with a solid business plan. American Express does have weaknesses, but because the do not offer tangible products, their success or failure in the marketplace is a result of their continual ability to get consumers and businesses to use their products. They have established a global service sector, they have established an extremely strong brand, they have established recognition that is top within its industry, and almost top in the era of advertising; the perception of the card remains positive; but the company is faced with an uncertain few years while the economic downturn changes globally. Luckily, the company is well-positioned to handle the slowdown, stakeholders seem patient to allow the company to restructure and refocus, and the strategic plan remains solid (Hagstrom, 1997; Evans, 2005). ? Six Sigma is a tool, it is not an edict. Like many tools, it is dependent upon two things: 1) How it is used, and 2) The quality of the data. Six-Sigma was originally designed for use by Motorola in the early 1980s. It was put in place in order to not only uncover, but to solve, certain manufacturing processes that were not working appropriately. It improved the company by defining a clearly focus on measurable issues that could be quantified and linked to profitability. It also increased an emphasis on managements commitment to utilizing the strategic planning system to actually implement a cause-effect relationship within the manufacturing model. However, when all the bells and whistles come off, and all the statistical data and measurement are broken down, the model is really a quality improvement template. It is not designed for any subjectivity and often fails to take into account that margin of error is different on divergent products and services (e.g. a surgical instrument or medical device should have a lower rate of error than a new hardback novel). Further, some of the standards are arbitrary and force management to plug in data (as in the American Express market research). That being said, it is both possible to overanalyze certain ineffectual data; in other words, making certain Six Sigma data more important than it really is to ROI. However, it does effectively help management identify areas of needed improvement, of inefficiency, and of redundancy. In the case of American Express- the Six Sigma model did uncover redundancy and most certainly does point to the need to expand and develop new market segments, thus a nswering the question of launching a new product piece into the marketplace.

A Critique of O. P. Dwivedis Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of Hinduism :: Environment Environmental Papers

A Critique of O. P. Dwivedis Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of Hinduism In his article Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of Hinduism, O. P. Dwivedi argues that we must reawaken religious values if the world is going to reduce the current level of environmental degradation. He suggests that religious beliefs can serve as a crucial foundation in helping to create a self-consciously moral society which would put conservation and respect for Gods creation first, and relegate individualism, materialism, and our modern desire to dominate nature in a subordinate place. Dwivedi further argues that religion helps to make humans aware of the limits of our control. He uses the example of Hindu religious beliefs to explain how reawakening religious beliefs might create a change in attitudes toward nature. Although I agree with Dwivedis contention that religious values can serve to support environmental movements, I would argue that his article presents an overly simplistic view of the power of religion. Dwivedi fails to address the constantly changing nature of religious traditions. In addition, he does not address the fact that India (a predominantly Hindu country) is severely polluted today. I felt that Dwivedis argument was weakened by his failure to deal with these issues. As a result, I would like to explore some of the gaps in Dwivedis article. I will also deal briefly with Guhas article and the need for a reawakening of religious values to be accompanied by a simultaneous change in social and economic realities. According to Dwivedi, the Hindu religion is one of many religious traditions which support ecological preservation and respect for the Earth. He argues that many of Hinduisms basic tenets reflect the idea that humans are meant to care for their environment. Although I do not disagree that this is one interpretation of the Hindu texts, I would suggest that Hinduism (like many religions) can also be presented as encouraging human control over the earth. Yes, many of the texts do support non-violence and care for the earth but there are also some passages/texts which support violence and human control over the earth (examples include The Bhagavad-Gita and passages with the RgVeda). Overall, I would say that Dwivedis argument for the ecological consciousness of Hinduism is the more accurate interpretation of the texts. However, it is crucial to recognize that there are alternative and opposing interpretations.In his article, Dwivedi writes as if incorporating religious values into the secular world will necessarily support environmental preservation. Although it is possible that this could happen, it is also possible that religions could be used to argue the other side of the issue.

Aging in America Essay -- Senior Citizens Papers

Aging in America Today, America is an older society. Everyone that was once young is getting to that ripe old age. There are many problems that are associated with getting older. It is estimated that 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other form of abuse. This is an outrageous number! It is also estimated that for every case of elder abuse there are five cases that go unheard of. A problem that our older generation faces is financial issues. This also can include healthcare, but it has many, many more issues. Take for example social security. This is what older and retired people are forced to live off of. What happens if there is not enough to go around? Our society is not conducive to the aged unless wealthy. You see many older people working these days, if they can, to make ends meet. It is sad that when you go and see Grandma and Grandpa, they have to take off work or you have to work around their schedules. I thought it was the other way around. What is it going to be like when the younger generation retires? The biggest problem that faces the elders in America is general health decline. Older Americans so not have the money to provide for healthcare. There are barriers that can contribute to this problem. The lack of parity for mental health services in private insurance and Medicare, poor diagnosis and referral services in primary care, and an insufficient geriatric mental health workforce. This can make it hard for older Americans to get the healthcare that they need. Take for example, eye care. The most common sight threatening dise... ...t disorder, many older adults will have experienced previous bouts of depression and will be at increased risk. Risk factors for late-onset depression include: widowhood, physical problems, educational attainment less than high school, impaired functional status, and heavy alcohol consumption. Depressed older adults tend to utilize health services at high rates, engage in poorer health behaviors, and evidence what is known as "excess disability." The older Americans are facing some hard times. Some say it is as hard or harder than fighting in some of the wars many of them fought. The most important issue that is facing them today is abuse. In our group, we all agreed this was the worst. It is sometimes hard to detect abuse. Most older folks who are abused are afraid to say anything for feat of the abuser.

The Benefits Of Income Smoothing Accounting Essay

When entities experience exogenic or endogenous dazes they turn to the finance section to decide the issue, due to fiscal instability. It is of import to cognize what income smoothing is and the benefits and costs it can convey to a concern. This essay will critically measure and place the nature and effects of income smoothing. What is income smoothing and what are the nature and effects of it? Income smoothing is defined as, â€Å" the procedure of pull stringsing the clip profile of net incomes to gaining studies to do the reported income less variable, while non increasing reported net incomes over the long-term † Riahi-Belkaoui ( 2007 ) . Income smoothing would be used by houses to take volatility in net incomes by equilibrating the fluctuated extremums over the old ages. Its primary aim is to smooth income variableness, by take downing income during good old ages and as a consequence postpone them for usage during the bad old ages, Beidleman ( 1973 ) . Beidleman suggested two grounds why direction would desire to smooth income. First, a stable earning can back up a higher degree of dividends than a variable net incomes watercourse. Second, the ability to counter the cyclical nature of reported net incomes are likely to cut down the correlativity of a houses expected returns with returns on the market portfolio. This shows that income smoothing will profit houses in the short term as it can assist the house achieve a stable fiscal place. Companies can retain their repute and accomplish company aims, such as short tally net income maximization ( MC=MR ) . This can be achieved by changing some accounting policies and pu ll stringsing accumulations. However, in the long tally houses will be extremely hazardous and may confront settlement jobs. If a house wants to smooth its income, it needs to be consistent? However, one may inquire is this accomplishable? It is non accomplishable because there are other factors, which would necessitate to be considered which could act upon a house ‘s determination. Income smoothing can be traced back to the book of entries, and will be internally done by direction, as this is the initial point of income smoothing. Firms may besides pull strings stock list figures to smooth income. It is of import that the stock lists sums are accurate, and comply with the relevant accounting criterions ( IAS2 ) . â€Å" †¦ the define patterns, to contract the differences and fluctuations in those patterns and to guarantee equal revelation in the histories † Elliot & A ; Elliot ( 2007 ) . The nature of income smoothing can be identified by using the Eckel ‘s ( 1981 ) â€Å" Income variableness method of analysis † . The method makes two differentiations. First differentiation is made between an knowing or designed smoothing and a natural smoothing. The 2nd differentiation is to sort the knowing or designed smoothing with either an unreal smoothing or a existent smoothing, Riahi-Belkaoui ( 2007 ) . Eckel ‘s suggested that income smoothing can happen due to â€Å" window-dressing † figures. This shows that income smoothing will non take into consequence external influences and will non hold any consequence on hard currency, because figures are merely manipulated, which means there is a displacement in costs and/or gross from one period to another. He suggested that income smoothing can be accomplished by â€Å" picks and timing of buying, engaging production investing, gross revenues, capital budgeting, research and development, advertisement and other determinations † Ibid ( 2007 ) . From a house ‘s position, a house may change its income, in order to better their public presentation for future, based on their past public presentations during the fiscal period. Besides, the authorities would desire to cognize how the houses are executing, due to revenue enhancement intents. Firms may desire to minimize net incomes, so they can cut down revenue enhancement liabilities. By pull stringsing informations, the house can be in more danger and they could be in a revenue enhancement fraud. In an article â€Å" Is income smoothing ethical, † Gin Chong has identified three countries where income smoothing can profit houses. First, houses will hold to run into demand, and this can be achieved through prediction. As a consequence, meeting prognosiss will profit the house in short term, as they can do certain that demand is being met. A director ‘s aim may be to gain higher income, by spread outing the concern. However, sometimes directors can non to the full run into these prognosiss and they decide to smooth income. If income smoothing is managed expeditiously in accomplishing the house ‘s aims, so this would let directors to gain higher net incomes and fillips. However, if there is an organizational construction alteration, where direction is rotated, and so direction would alter. Therefore the determinations and direction manners and techniques would alter as directors would hold new aims for how they want the house to be managed. Furthermore, there a re several facets which can forestall directors from income smoothing. This can be like external influences like competitory markets, which would cut down the house ‘s opportunities of income smoothing. Second, houses will necessitate to run into public presentation aims. The importance of public presentation rating is that it can help the house to run into ends of the concern which are required to be to happen alternate methods of accounting for dealing. If directors are seeking to gain higher net incomes, so they can pull strings the figures, so that the statements show that the house is executing good. This would supply directors with a higher income wage, which would be an inducement for them. Therefore, from the director ‘s position, they have the authorization and control to transform the net incomes, so that they can gain a higher fillip. However, this top-down attack can be seen as unjust for others who are at lower degrees. As they could be working difficult to accomplish the houses aims and they would have low inducements and do de-motivation. Finally, houses would necessitate to avoid misdemeanors of debt agreements. The house would hold to take actions in order to avoid debt agreement. If a breach is found, so the other party may increase involvement rate and demand their money back instantly. This would do short-run hard currency flow issues for the house and in the long tally it can do the â€Å" traveling concern construct † for the administration. This can be avoided by smoothing income, by increasing net incomes. This would profit houses as it can assist them last in the short term. Aggressive net incomes direction is a cardinal issue which would necessitate to be considered. Firms may hold commercial force per unit area, which may coerce houses to pull strings informations to do histories look good. For illustration, the importance of run intoing marks to guarantee occupation security for managers, direction and employees would enable the direction to smooth income. However, this job with aggressive net incomes direction could be that the capital markets would be misled into the house ‘s public presentation and profitableness. This is because gross will non be recognised accurately, accumulations will be deceptive and liabilities will be estimated. When economic conditions are unstable, it can be assumed that houses would be more likely to utilize aggressive net incomes direction and income smoothing. Firms would be demoing one-year positive fiscal statements. In UK, harmonizing to the accounting ordinances â€Å" Companies Act 2006 † , when fixing one-year histories, an hearer is responsible for corroborating whether histories comply with the accounting criterion and demo â€Å" a true and just position of the company † . If histories are non following, so houses are transgressing the statute laws. The benefit of holding this ordinance, so that histories comply with regulations and income smoothing can be stopped. Accounting ordinances will hold a immense impact on the house ‘s histories, as some concerns will non follow with the international criterions due to frequent alteration. Accounting organic structures want to accomplish convergence in future, by making one worldwide set of criterions, which will be more compatible. Stakeholders like stockholders would be trusting on this type of information, as they would be interested in puting in the company. The high returns from the company would supply inducements for them to put, as they would be able to have higher dividends. Income smoothing would hold a negative impact for stockholders, as they will acquire a false feeling that the company is executing good. This would non profit them as they would hold taken a bad by puting into a company which manipulated informations. This would intend they would be extremely likely to lose the sum they invested into the company, if the house went into receivership. For that ground, it is critical to keep investor ‘s assurance in published one-year studies, as this will help towards growing of the house. The Auditing Practices Board ( APB ) can step in to take action on aggressive net incomes direction and income smoothing. They can assist to do certain the fiscal statements comply with the Company ‘s Act 2006 and besides, it can help the hearers to be more watchful and understand how they can better scrutinizing for future, by placing and reacting to aggressive net incomes and income smoothing faster. Grant ( 2001 ) Overall, the direction should see all stakeholders ‘ position and any determinations made should profit the house and guarantee the house will go on in being. However, in the existent life, it would be hard to happen whether any income smoothing methods have taken. Besides, to what extent the figures have been manipulated would be difficult to mensurate. Good income smoothing will take topographic point if the direction will be able to make a stable fiscal public presentation by sing all concern aims and taking into stakeholders demands, without transgressing any statute laws.