Organic vs. Conventional Grown Food Flavor Essay

Ever wonder what truly goes in to the food that is produced and sold in our grocery stores. You would be surprised as to what is used to grow the food we eat. Conventionally grown foods can use trace amount of nicotine and arsenic to keep food pest free. Conventionally grown food can be pumped with hormones that allow the crops and animals to grow larger or produce more fruit and vegetables. By using all of the artificial products in conventionally grown food we change the flavor, size and color of fruit, vegetables and animals, including their byproducts. People may not realize what is used to grow these huge vegetables and chicken breasts. Organically grown food is not only tastier but also has more health benefits when compared to conventionally grown food. We will discover the benefits and disadvantages to both organic and conventionally grown food. This will provide the reader with tools to make a decision on to whether to use organic or conventionally grown food. In order for food to be called organic, it must be grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Although organic foods carry very minute levels of toxin naturally present in them, they are not harmful to us at these levels. By not using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, organic foods can naturally develop the nutrients and vitamins that a person needs to maintain a healthy, well balanced diet. Keeping these foods the way they naturally grown allows them to develop larger and more full of these valuable items that would be reduced because of the many chemicals and pesticides used to grow the convention foods. As to whether organic food is tastier, is up to the individual. Many professional chefs and home cooks prefer to use organic food when possible because they feel the flavors are stronger and taste more natural. Organic food is richer in color; therefore making the dishes not only taste better but help also to create a more appealing presentation. To them organic food has a fresher taste and a more natural flavor because the food is allowed to grow naturally and develop the way it would occur as nature intended it to. Organic food does cost more because of the time it takes to prepare the soil and let the food grow as nature intended. This cost more in labor and time so that the price for these can be inflated. When you take into consideration the health benefits of not putting in harmful chemicals and better taste of the food, they outweigh the cost of purchasing these products Conventionally grown foods are grown with a large amount of chemicals and pesticides that can be harmful to consumers in the long wrong. Now there are arguments that the levels of these products are so small that they are not harmful to consumers; but there are plenty of signs to the contrary. Look at how rapidly and early boys and girls are maturing compare to those of the past. This can be accounted for or â€Å"blamed† on the amount of hormones fed to animals to grow them larger and enhance them, so that they produce more by products, such as eggs and milk. The chemicals used to grow larger crops and protect them from rotting and pest also has negative effects. It has caused a rise in allergies that was just not prominent twenty or thirty years ago. The shorten times of growth that conventionally grown foods have can stunt the development of vital nutrients that they would produce if they were to be grown in the normal periods they would have. This can really have a negative effect on having a balanced diet because consumers will have to add supplements, like synthetic vitamins, to get their daily nutrient levels. Again, as to whether conventionally grown food taste better or worse, is up to the individual but most professional chefs feel it does not taste as fresh or has natural flavors like those in organic food. The flavor in conventionally grown food is not as developed because it has shortened growth time. Fruit, vegetables and animals need time to naturally develop and grow as nature intended them to so they can develop all of the good stuff we love. Conventionally grown food does cost less because it is grown so fast and in mass quantities without care for the environment or any harmful effects to the consumers. The short-term side effects are not as bad to the long-term side effects that will be passed on to generations upon generation. Saving a dollar at the risk of a person’s health seems to me to be a very large risk that is not necessary. Organically grown food is a much better choice because more naturally nutrients, better developed flavors and appearance even if the cost of purchasing them is higher. Conventionally grown food is the exact opposite. The chemicals and hormones are resulting in early development in our children and an increase in the levels of people with allergies. Professional chefs prefer organic food to conventional food because it develops the flavor profiles of their dishes more and improves the appearance of it as well. Just because the cost of conventionally grown food is lower than that of organically grown food, the disadvantages of them are much higher. Risking the future of our children is simply not worth saving a few dollars. It is up to the individual as to where to choose organic food but choosing it will provide the tools for a brighter tomorrow and a healthier today. We need to teach our children healthier ways to eat and live, if we expect them to grown up and live productive lives.

British North American colonies prior to 1700 Essay

The New World was first established because a group of people in England did not agree with the religious and political ways of life advocated. Different religious groups left England to pursue more religious freedom in America. As they moved to the New World, the three different regions of the North American colonies greatly impacted not only their lifestyles but also the extent of religious freedom allowed prior to 1700. The first arrivers in the northern colonies were Puritans who came to America because they didn’t agree with the Anglican Church. These early colonist yearned for a place where they could indulge in religious freedom as opposed to the extreme contrast to the strict religious persecutions they experienced in England. But the Puritans had very strict rules regarding membership into the Protestant Church and religion was viewed very strictly. The Puritans believed that they were â€Å"a city upon a hill† and were to be a model of a holy society for humankind. Thus they were very rigid in thought and were also very prejudiced against other religions. This group who had come seeking religious freedom soon became the most religiously intolerant group in the Americas. Quakers, who denied the authority of the Puritan clergy, were persecuted with fines and banishment. Sometimes they were even hanged. Dissenters like Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were banished and Rhode Island was established by Williams as the first colony to have complete freedom of religion. In his â€Å"sewer† colony, Jew, Catholics, and Quakers were all sheltered and treated equally. The Middle Colonies was an extremely religiously mixed region because of the amount of diverse people who settled there. The first to settle the region were the Dutch, in New Netherlands which would later become New York after the English took control. The Dutch practiced the Dutch Reform Church which was basically a branch of Lutheran. South of the Dutch were the Swedes practicing their own branch of Lutheran known as the Swedish Reform Church. They were later defeated and absorbed by the New Netherland colonists. But the English regarded the Dutch as the Dutch regarded the Swedes; as intruders and in 1664, Charles II granted his brother, the Duke of York, a squadron that defeated the Dutch. Although the English were now in control of the region and brought with them the Anglican Church, they did not seek  to enforce it because the Dutch made up almost half of the population. Then the establishment of Pennsylvania allowed German, French, Dutch, and English colonists entry into the New World under William Penn’s broad view of religious tolerance. With so many ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse groups in the region, there can be nothing but immense religious toleration. The Southern Colonies, were the earliest colonies to be settled, but didn’t strive for the religious haven the New England Colonies desired. The only settlers in the South were from the Church of England so that was the predominant faith. But because the south’s economy was based on agriculture and farming on large plantations and most things were business-oriented, there were few towns which meant few churches. Poor white farmers with small land areas did not have the money or resources to build churches and the large plantation owners did not have churches on their plantations so they basically did whatever they wanted. Religious tolerance was not high but the dominant religion itself was not rigidly enforced. In the midst of such religious indifference, the evangelist religions were born. Although immigrants to the New World all came with intentions of pursuing religious freedom never experienced in their native countries, the regional differences and religious views soon spread them far apart from each other. The New Englanders were mostly Puritans who believed in tight communities and so they remained as they were, fervent worshippers of God and intolerant of other religions. The Middle Colonies, with its wide range of races and the fact that it was established for business and trade ventures, dealt with immense religious diversity and thus immense religious tolerance. The South, preoccupied with the large-scale planting of tobacco had no time to enforce the Anglican Church. Such diverse thoughts of religious tolerance in the three regions that made up America before 1700 greatly impacts the America that we know today.

The Role of Mrs. Morel and Miriam in Paul’s Life

The role of Mrs. Morel and Miriam in Paul’s life The relationship between Paul and Miriam is one of the central themes in â€Å"Sons and Lovers†, since it is through this relationship that Paul faces his issues regarding his mother’s role in his life and women. Even though Clara is later part of the theme of Paul, women and his difficulty in committing, it can be argued that Mrs. Morel, Paul and Miriam are somewhat a love triangle. The fact that Miriam shares certain personality traits with Mrs. Morel is what leads to Mrs.Morel dislike of her. For instance, both women have a desire to love and take care of Paul in an overprotective and spiritual way. In Mrs. Morel case, her controlling attitude towards Paul is a result of Mr. Morel’s absence and the death of William, who was the object of her affection. Miriam’s love can be seen the same way as Mrs. Morel’s, that is, a spiritual type of love, since she is reluctant to have a physical relation ship with Paul and is more centered in a platonic and intellectual area.The type of love that Miriam feels for Paul is clearly shown on chapter 7: â€Å"If she could be mistress of him in his weakness, take care of him, if he could depend on her, if she could, as it were, have him in her arms, how she would love him. † Even though the idea of â€Å"having Paul in her arms† might suggest physical desire, in Miriam’s case it reflects her yearn to take care of Paul, like somebody that saves his life. Although she and Paul eventually have physical intimacy, she sees such intimacy as a sacrifice, something she must do in order to be with Paul. One the reasons why Mrs.Morel disapproves of Paul’s relationship with Miriam is the fact that she regards her as a rival. In other words, Mrs. Morel sees in Miriam somebody that can replace her role as a â€Å"mother† who is in control of Paul’s life. Mrs. Morel’s dislike is clearly shown in the rema rk she makes on chapter 7: â€Å"She [Miriam] is one of those who will want to suck a man’s soul out till he has none of it left. † as well as in chapter 8, when Mrs. Morel cries: â€Å"She exults—she exults as she carries him off of me. She is not like an ordinary woman who can leave me my share in him. † It can be argued that Paul’s soul belongs to Mrs.Morel which means that by sucking Paul’s soul out and carrying him off of Mrs. Morel, Miriam would be distancing Paul from her. Mrs. Morel sees Miriam as a competitor for Paul’s love. An interesting aspect present in the â€Å"triangle† formed by Paul, Mrs. Morel and Miriam, is the constant presence of Paul’s feeling of guilt and his mixed emotions towards both women. Miriam’s intensity constantly disturbs Paul, because he knows, unconsciously, that once Miriam’s spirituality â€Å"trapped† him, she would be able to reach the depths of his soul, whic h is controlled by his mother.Paul’s view of Miriam’s love is evident in the following passage: â€Å"In contact with Miriam, he gained insight, his vision went deeper. From his mother, he drew the life-warmth, the strength to produce; Miriam urged this warmth like a white light. † As much as Paul appreciates both women in his life because they add positive aspects to his character, he is quite aware of the existing conflict between them; he knows that both women want him in the same way, spiritually and emotionally. He feels guilty because being in a relationship with Miriam hurt his mother and he also feels guilty by the way he treats Miriam at times.In other words, guilt is a common occurrence in Paul’s life that affects him deeply throughout the novel, from when he is in a relationship with Miriam to when his mother falls ill. Such guilt comes mainly form his mixed emotions towards both women. Although he recognizes the importance of both women, menti oned earlier, he also hates them at times. His hate for Miriam is apparent on chapter 8 when he criticizes Miriam: â€Å"You're always begging things to love you as if you were a beggar for love. Even the flowers, you have to fawn on them – You don't want to love – your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved.You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as if you must fill yourself up with love, because you've got a shortage somewhere. † Paul’s hate for his mother, on the other hand is evident by his realization on chapter 13, that Mrs. Morel controlled much of his life: â€Å"Sometimes he hated her, and pulled at her bondage. His life wanted to free itself of her. It was like a circle where life turned back on itself, and got no farther. She bore him, loved him, kept him, and his love turned back into her, so that he could not be free to go forward with his own life, really love another woman. In other words, Paul becomes conscious that Mrs. Morel has influenced him deeply, to the point where it affects his relationships with other women. An interesting point in the novel is that Mrs. Morel complains in the first chapter that she wasn’t in control of her life: â€Å"It doesn’t seem as if I were taken into account. † and yet does not take Paul in account when it comes to Paul’s relationships; she is more concerned with how a relationship is going to affect her as opposed to wishing Paul happiness and letting go of him so that he can make his own decisions. Sometimes life takes hold of one, carries the body along, accomplishes one’s history†¦but leaves oneself as it were slurred over. † Such passage in the first chapter demonstrates that Mrs. Morel was a victim for not being in control of her life, but later on in the novel she transforms from victim into perpetrator by not letting Paul be in control of his life. The end of the novel represents a moment of epiphany/awake ning. Paul realizes that much of his life has been controlled by Mrs. Morel and that his decisions and actions have been shaped by her desires.Paul, as devastated as he is by his mother’s death, understands that he needs to change: â€Å"He would not take that direction, to the darkness, to follow her. † Had he not changed his perspective in life, Mrs. Morel would still control him, even after her death. Paul’s decision of not marrying Miriam in the end shows the readers that Paul finally feels the need to break away and be in charge of his life. Nevertheless, the reader does not get an answer whether or not Paul will succeed in his attempt to be in control of his own life. The â€Å"triangle† is over, but the reader is left to wonder if Paul will be able to take care of himself on his own.

Aging Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aging - Research Paper Example Aging refers to the biological process of growing old and developing physical characteristics that are associated with old age (Oswald, Jopp, Rott & Wahl, 2011, p 239). Aging is a multidisciplinary phenomenon that encompasses studies from various fields such as biology, genetics, sociology and psychology. Aging can also refer to the individual’s change in roles and responsibilities such as roles towards the family and society. Another meaning of aging is the physical changes that reduce the efficiency of body organ systems such as heart, blood circulation system and lungs. This occurs due to decline in rate of cell replications as an individual gets older (Oswald, Jopp, Rott & Wahl, 2011, p 245). Gerontological nursing refers to the study of the aging processes as individuals progress from middle age to later life. Gerontology studies the mental, physical and social changes associated with older people and changes in social policies aimed at taking care of the aged population (Scheibe & Carstensen, 2010, p 143). Gerontology nursing applies to community nursing through integrating advanced knowledge and skills in delivering quality and safe health care to the aged in the community. The branch of nursing focuses on health screening, counseling, and crisis intervention in order to provide quality care to older people (Oswald, Jopp, Rott & Wahl, 2011, p 248). According to U.S Census Bureau statistics released in 2010, the country’s age composition changed greatly between 2000 and 2010. Individuals aged between 45 to 65 years increased by 31.5 percent and accounts for about 26.4 of the total population. The number of Americans aged 65 years and above numbered 40,267,984 in 2010 and represented almost 12.4percent of the total population (Oswald, Jopp, Rott & Wahl, 2011, p 248). Accordingly, the aged individuals increased by 15.3 percent or 5.4 million citizens since 2010. Surprisingly, there were 53, 364 people aged more than 100 years. Target goals of Healthy People 2010 aims at reducing tooth loss, ensuring the aged receive flu vaccine every year and ensuring 90 percent of adults aged 65 years and older receive pneumonia vaccine. Accordingly, the target goals aim at getting colorectal cancer screening at the age of 50 years and ensuring 70 percent of women receive a mammogram at the age of 40 years. The targets aim at preventing falling through ensuring the aged citizens have healthy bones, increasing leisure and ensuring the aged increase intake of fruits and vegetables (Scheibe & Carstensen, 2010, p 143). There are numerous community issues affecting the elderly population. One of the issues affecting elderly people is poverty since majorities of these individuals depend on social security benefits. Another issue affecting this group is high risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart related diseases. The elderly also suffer from sensory impairments and poor oral health problems such as vision impairment, hear ing impairment and loss of tooth. Other issues include lack of adequate access to vaccinations, poor diet quality, inadequate physical activity, obesity, inadequate physical activity and cigarette smoking behaviors (Scheibe & Carstensen, 2010, p 144). Community nursing practices must offer quality and safe nursing care to the elderly through carrying out an assessment of nursing needs. The assessment phase must collect data about each elderly person, the disease symptoms, surrounding environment such as close family members, access to recreational facilities and income level of the elderly person (Wick, 2010, p 121).

The Credit Default Swap of Central East European Countries Essay - 4

The Credit Default Swap of Central East European Countries - Essay Example The risk in entailment of equity investment is high in Central European countries compared to Countries of Western Europe and this is mainly due to factors such as the weak rule of the governments, difficult and complicated financial accounts of organizations, currency risks, the transparent rule in government institutions etc. Economic performance of each country is unique and therefore equity risk premium is different for each country.The currency board is the controller of interest rates and provides financial stability to the country. The CDS premium is a powerful instrument in the credit derivatives market because it is a direct tool for measuring the credit default spreads. CDS spreads is in proportion to the pure valuation of defaulting risk of the primary body. Credit risk is tested by approximating the equity price and the volatility jumps in the financial market. CDS spread commonly referred is the premium payment for a CDS. Credit Default Swap spreads is a yardstick for pricing and hedging insecurities. â€Å"Risk premiums for Central Europe have increased substantially over the past two years and may well come down again when confidence returns to global financial markets. This may represent an excellent buying opportunity, as risk premiums tend to rise or even overshoot during turbulent financial markets.† (Nemethy 2009). The main objective of this dissertation is to examine the differences in the risk premium reflected in the CDS of CEE countries, especially Bulgaria. Bulgaria has a currency board restriction. Countries which have a currency board restrictions faceless degree of inflation and experience more GDP growth. The idea of this dissertation is to convince that risk premiums in CDS have an impact on the economy and has differences in the risk premium. Credit default swaps are an indicator of global financial crisis.

Dario Argento Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dario Argento - Essay Example In Titanic, in the depiction of the ship sinking, the imagery that resulted from the decor was so real, it’s like Cameron actually rebuilt the whole ship again and destroyed it, especially when the ship tilted and broke into two, and the diming of the lights in the whole ship. In Avatar lighting, the way the imagery in the battle was perceived was due to great combination of intensity, direction, and very high lighting quality. Since light affects the way colors are rendered, this was used to focus attention predominantly on particular aspects, for example, the eyes of both Jake and Quaritch. This captured fully the flaring emotional moment. In Titanic, lighting was used to show the clarity of the disaster and details of the ship wrecking, especially when almost half of the ship was submerged, while the other half was still above the water but slowly being engulfed. In Avatar, space, depth, proximity, size and proportions of both Jake and Quaritch were well manipulated in 3D. The acrobatics in the battle were enhanced primarily by this careful manipulation. It effectively determined the mood between them. Titanic’s shear size was also captured well in 3D, displaying magnificent details, especially when the ship slanted. ... Titanic’s depiction in aspects of costume in the scene was mainly in the falling off of passengers of different class as per their clothes, who were desperately clinging to the railings as the ship capsized (Passarella 10). In relation to implicit and explicit meaning in Avatar, viewers easily notice a very thinly veiled case scenario on the Iraq war, the US policy regarding terrorism, the inhumane actions based purely on greed in corporations, and environmental concern. There seem to be a reflection of the Israeli/Palestine conflict, as Jake depicts inferior fights, while Colonel Quaritch is seen using heavily armed and armored machines. Jakes decision and passion to fight his own way in defense of the Omaticaya is intriguing. Despite of having years of personal experiences with his kind, for example with colonel Quaritch, especially by virtue of being soldiers while having basically insignificant personal experiences with the Na’vi, Jake recognized the barbaric acts b eing committed against them and acknowledged the lack of correspondence between what he signed up to do, in relation to what his superiors like Quaritch were demanding of him. In Titanic, the ship was thought to be unsinkable, thus before setting out; a compromise was made regarding the number of lifeboats aboard the ship. When it began sinking, the richest got the first priority on the lifeboats, which did not carry the full passengers it could accommodate. While they waited in half-full lifeboats, they witnessed cries of people freezing to death, and didn't offer to help them. Since it came out in 1997, this film seem to depict the 1995 Rwanda genocide, which the able nations of the world just watched and did nothing to prevent the senseless killings of the poor people, since the rich already

The Arab-Israeli Conflict and its Correlation to Cold War Tensions Term Paper

The Arab-Israeli Conflict and its Correlation to Cold War Tensions - Term Paper Example History has been a direct witness to the fact that the powerful economies of the world, mainly the colonizers have redrawn the political boundaries of nations all around the globe, to serve their selfish needs. Even after the closure of the Second World War, British and French forces colonized the rest of the Mediterranean mainly, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. When Jewish populations were recovering from the Nazi storm that ate up three fourths of their population, Britain took the decision to create a separate land that would be called home of Jews. Israel was created as a Jewish national state and was founded in 1948. Everyone hoped for a bright future of the new state as the timing was parallel to when freedom was granted to large countries like India (which attained independence in 1947). Britain has been criticized for the cruel treatment of ethnic cleansing that it originally meted out to the Jewish populations after the World War I. However, since other populations like Germans and Italians were also experiencing the brunt of the British Empire (Dimitrakis, 2012, 78), they also resorted to ethnic cleansing, a mindset that led to the Second World War and the Holocaust (Ogilvie & Miller, 2006, 67). Britain’s anti-Jew and pro-Jew roles have been always criticized since, being a world power, it had initially done nothing to stop the ethnic cleansing of European countries. When the World War took immensely horrific shape, only then did Britain decide to take the side of the side that seemed to do the right thing, which in this context was the United States. The procedure of uprooting existing Palestinian populations to make way for a new land for the Jews had to always have a negative impact on the peace of the Arab world. The erstwhile Soviet Union was supportive of the new Jewish national state. However, when major Arab populations started

Sales Role Play Report Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sales Role Play Report - Term Paper Example The company values the importance of proper storage facilities for herbal products. Therefore there exists a spacious warehouse with required temperature conditions. The corporate office and the manufacturing facility of the company are situated in Philadelphia. Healthy Hair professionals are backed by rich industry experience, exposure as well in depth knowledge makes. Factors such as thorough quality checking, sophisticated infrastructure, skilful team of professionals, timely delivery, customized solution and the ease of payment modes makes the company the most sought after herbal product manufacturers. Natural Hair Care accelerates the growth of hair. It provides strength to the hair, prevents hair fall and dandruff. It also tends to have a cooling effect on the eyes and reduces headache. Natural Hair Care is n excellent herbal hair oil that can be used as ordinary hair oil also. Natural Hair Care contains pure herbs and coconut oil. This is a one of its kind and acknowledged by those who used the product sample. Whole Foods Market is a retail supermarket chain located in Austin, Texas. The company is famous for providing natural and organic food product of greatest quality. The company maintains strict guidelines and quality standards. Whole Foods market is best known for the unshakable commitment for sustainable agriculture. The company was founded by John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy. Since the humble beginning in 1980 the company has come a long way as there are over three hundred outlets in North America and UK. The company food department can be classified in to beer, bakery, bulk, cheese, Coffee and tea, Floral, grocery, prepared foods, seafood, wine, whole body. Whole Foods Market is the market leader in the organic food business. However the company now seeks for diversification. But the company wishes to do so by keeping their core commitment towards agriculture and

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Personal Statement Example My interest in the field of organizational behavior study connected with the experience I have obtained while working in the settings. There people and the corporate cultures within the companies were different and I have found that there was as well a significant difference in people’s behaviors and the organizations. I found it important to leverage the success of the organization and its employees in managing people and their behavior. Thus, acting without procedures or direct instructions lead to the misunderstandings and misperceptions among the supervisors and employees. That is why I think it is worth implementing the employee empowerment within the organizations to establish proper behavior of their employees. I would very much like to learn more about these trends.   Possessing a proactive outlook on life, I am able to seek and go after the things I want to accomplish in life. This is my commitment toward the people and I want to be an example  to others with my contribution to the society. My first knowing with human resource management started as a result  of my ability to get detailed understanding of the roles human resource play in undertake human issues and further the organizational success.  In this light, I have decided to apply for the program in Human Resource Management, as I am interested to study more about the role it plays in obtaining an organizations goals, which are the recruitment process, training and development of the employees and dealing with their good performance. Allen, M. Ericksen, J. Collins, C. 2013. Human resource management, employee exchange relationships and performance in small businesses, Human Resource Management, Vol. 52, No. 2. Available from

Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development Essay

Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development - Essay Example The credit crunch has implications both on recruitment and selection on one hand and training and development on the other hand of human resources across organisations in the United Kingdom such as Standard Chartered (Amyx, 2004, pp121-9). The rate of unemployment increases releasing the tensions associated with shortage of skills. But where the skill shortages result from the constraints of supply side, then the tension remains. Similarly, the skills arose from buoyant demand will disappear (Venugopal Reddy, 2010, pp256-289). The tight search for talents will continue after recession at a comparatively lower level. Additionally, the management of talents is focused on the retention of strategic personnel. The rate of growth for wages will be moderate, but will shrink mostly in sectors where a significant proportion of the pay benefits comprise bonuses due to the need to reduce costs (Allison, 2013, pp178-234). The company will have to revise its current salary schemes as it tries to look for cheaper means to finance its activities. The earnings of the public sector will trigger industrial unrest as negotiations for wages will become more difficult with the trade unions. Marx explains the credit crisis from the perspective of the business cycle. The business cycle refers to the booms and slumps in an economy. He explains the occurrence of the boom as when invest heavily while anticipating generation of huge profits. This results into competition among the firms. Consequently, output expands rapidly. The investments by firms to widen their profit bases again create an opportunity for other firms which supply them with capital goods, for example machinery, and other products. The economy experiences booms as more output is produced and reduced unemployment rates (Amyx, 2004, pp121-9). This boom does not last as accumulation of capital with time reduces the profits made by the companies. According to Marx, the

Discuss the implications of the increasing length of annual reports Coursework

Discuss the implications of the increasing length of annual reports - Coursework Example Information on market prices is used as a reflection of publicly available knowledge concerning a company. Financial reporting of market prices enhances efficiency through provision of more disclosure despite some anomalies that occur in the process of reporting. Experimental literature supports the fact on displaying financial information such as comprehensive income, which have influence on investor’s decisions. Consequently, financial statistics provide useful facts such as earnings and financial ratios that at times prove more costly to extract since they are never revealed by market prices. However, demand for financial information arises from the requirements posed by pending decision task. Such demand requires some level of information processing capacity that is determined by simplicity in presentation and information load (Deloitte, 2010). According to Hall (2009) sheer volumes of disclosures within International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has substantially increased the length of annual reports (Morunga and Bradbury, 2012). There are adequate results showing the impact of information overload on processing strategies and outcome of annual reports. The increase in length is further attributed to increase in the size of financial section of the entire report. There is substantial increase in the notes explaining the accounts and accounting policies. Information on IFRS reconciliations and accounting policies on transition accounts for nearly over 5% of annual reports despite the items not necessarily required on a continuing basis. Elimination of such transition items still gives space for accounting policies as well as note disclosures under IFRS which consumes close to 20% of total space. Therefore, there is significant proof that different components of accounting policy such as general, IFRS transition, f inancial instruments as well as

My Summer Vacation Essay Example for Free

My Summer Vacation Essay The dream summer vacation of every person only comes once in a lifetime. In the summer of 2014 i had just completed my first year of college and my parents wanted to take me some where Ill always remember for my profound work. I had no clue of what their intentions were or what to even expect from them. My parents had invited just about all of our closes relatives and family friends to come along and celebrate the occasion with us. Majority of those that came brought gifts and money to encourage me to do well. Of course this made me the most thrilled person in the world, because I not only had family and friends over to celebrate but they also spent the night over for the trip my parents had put together to take us on. The following morning my Father woke everyone up at 2oclock in the morning to get situated and hit the road for the airport by 3oclock. How ironic they had everything planned out from the bathroom time to the seating in the vehicles. But yet each and every time I pampered the question in their heads as to where we were going they never answered me. Anxious to know I was, so i began thinking of all the possibilities of the places theyd consider going. I began to get drowsy from how early I woke up and all the curiosity running through my veins. After getting to the airport at 4oclock our flight finally left at 6:45am and we arrived at our destination into Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We collected our bags and was on our journey once again this time it had felt as if we had been driving forever. I had woken up to screams and shouting from almost everyone around me, yet I still had no clue as to what was going on. As my dad was trying to find a parking spot I started to look out the window in search of any clues that could help me figure out where exactly we were. Once we pasted the entrance my eyes blew up when I saw the words Carnival Cruise Lines. After seeing all the commercials with all the festivities that occur, all the famous people that appear in person, the amazing games and family activities, the theatre and food that was on board, this was indeed the place I would give the world to go to. When asked by my parents how I liked my gift, I became lost for words and could only smile for how happy and filed with joy I was.

Aquaculture And Fishing Industries Environmental Sciences Essay

Aquaculture And Fishing Industries Environmental Sciences Essay What are aquaculture and fishing industries? Aquaculture is the art, science and business of rearing aquatic organisms in fresh or marine water under controlled or semi-controlled conditions. The fishing industry activity concerned with culturing, processing, preserving and marketing of fish and fish products. Next, there are many types of aquaculture. For example, types of aquaculture are extensive farming or cage farming and intensive aquaculture. Furthermore, the types of fishing industries includes commercial fishing, fish farming, fish processing, fish products and fish marketing. Besides of types of aquaculture, there are also includes methods of aquaculture. Examples for methods of aquaculture involved open net pens or cages, ponds, raceways, recirculation systems and shellfish culture. However examples for methods of fishing industries included pole/troll fishermen, purse seining, gillnetting, traps and pots, harpooning and trolling. Aquaculture and fishing industries are considered as developing sectors in Malaysia. These industries are contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economic growth and providing jobs opportunity to communities as well as to enhance the welfare and quality of life. Aquaculture is the art, science and business of rearing aquatic organisms in fresh or marine water under controlled or semi-controlled conditions. Furthermore, the definition of aquaculture can be break down to two components such as the term aquatic refers to a variety of water environments which including freshwater, brackish water and marine and the term of Aquatic organisms that means the interest with regard to human food include a wide variety of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates. Aquaculture also is the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms such as finfish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants. It is also known as aqua farming. For examples, aquaculture involves cultivating aquatic populations under controlled conditions and contrasted with commercial fishing which is the harvesting of wild fish. 1.3 Type of Aquaculture There are two general types of fish farming which are extensive farming and intensive farming. What is extensive farming. Extensive farming means the farming which is easier to set up and maintain because no need for advanced water quality control systems. Ocean waters near the shore with good tidal flushing are the place that most suitable for extensive farming. However, reliance on nature for water management make environmental problems happened. For example, the algae bloom is happened by concentrated waste and nutrients. The ways to prevent and reduce the risks to the environment are more exposed sites and attention to cage density can be establish for those countries that have the species already native in that area. Another type of aquaculture is intensive aquaculture. Intensive aquaculture encourages the use of intensive and closed-loop systems for aquaculture. In these systems, almost all the water is recycled with at most 5%-10% of water being replaced each day. Furthermore, as the water is in a closed loop, the waste from the fish will not impact the surrounding environments. The ability to stack shallow tanks makes intensive farming particularly well suited to flat fish such as flounder. The primary downside is the complexity of the recycling systems. However, intensive aquaculture also provides an opportunity for landlocked nations to become involved and stacking tanks that allows for large numbers of fish in a single facility. 1.4 Methods of Aquaculture There are five methods of aquaculture that included by open net pens or cages, ponds, raceways, recirculation systems and shellfish culture. Firstly, Salmon, the fish enclose in open net pens or cages that mostly exist in offshore coastal areas or in freshwater lakes. The high-impact aquaculture method commonly refers to net pens. This is because the waste from the fish can passes freely into the surrounding environment and contaminate wild habitat. Farmed fish can flee and compete the natural resources with wild fish or interbreed with wild fish of the same species that will compromise the wild population. For examples, diseases and parasites can spread to wild fish through swimming past net pens. Next, ponds is the place that enclose fish in a coastal or inland body of fresh or salt water. This manner is use to raise shrimp, catfish and tilapia. After that, wastewater can be contained and treated. The surrounding environment and groundwater can be polluted by the discharge of untreated wastewater from the ponds. Moreover, the construction of shrimp ponds in mangrove forests has destroyed more than 3.7 million acres of coastal habitat important to fish, birds and humans. Raceways allow farmers convert water from a waterway, like a stream or well and to make it easily flows through channels that containing fish. Furthermore, farmers usually diverting it back into a natural waterway after treating the water. If the farmers untreated the water, wastewater from the raceways can affect waterways and spread out disease. Farmed fish can potentially escape and compete with wild fish for natural resources. Besides this, escaped fish can interbreed with wild fish of the same species which lead the health of wild population at risk. Recirculation systems raise fish in the tanks where the water must be treated and recycled through this system. All the types of finfish species like striped bass, salmon and sturgeon can be raised in recirculation systems. Recirculation systems can address many environmental concerns associated with fish farming in which fish cannot escape and wastewater is treated. However, the costs of treatment for wastewater are expensive and very rely on electricity or other power sources. Shellfish culture means that the types of shellfish such as oysters, mussels, and clams can grow on beaches or suspend them in water by ropes, plastic trays or mesh bags. Mostly, farmers use filter feeders and clean water to thrive. This is because filter feeders can filter excess nutrients out of the water but the farming shellfish with high densities in areas with tidal flow can lead the waste accumulated. 1.5 Species Groups Species groups of aquaculture include finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, echinoderms and algae. The farming of finfish consider as the most common in aquaculture because it raised fish in tanks, ponds or ocean with the main purpose that is to meet the demand for food. Fish hatchery is an adoption that used to release immature fish into the wild for recreational fishing. For examples, salmon, carp, tilapia, catfish and cod are the types of fish hatchery. Secondly, abalone and oyster farming is the types of shellfish farming. Abalone farming began in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Japan and China. Since the mid-1990s, this industry has become increasingly successful. Next, over-fishing and poaching have reduced wild populations to the extent that farmed abalone now supplies the most abalone meat. Thirdly, crustacean farming involve shrimp farming and fresh water prawn farming. Virtually all farmed shrimp are penaeids (shrimp of the family Penaeide). There are two species of shrimp that involved the Penaeus vannamei (Pacific white shrimp) and the Penaeus monodon (giant tiger prawn) account for roughly 80% of all farmed shrimp. These industrial monocultures are very susceptible to disease which has decimated shrimp populations across entire regions. Echinoderm farming is one of the methods of aquaculture. Commercially harvested echinoderms include sea cucumbers and sea urchins. For examples, sea cucumbers are farmed in articial ponds as large as 1,000 acres (400 ha) in China. Last but not least, algae farming such as microalgae also referred to as phytoplankton, microphyte or planktonic algae constitute the majority of cultivater algae and macroalgae that commonly known as seaweed. Despite seaweeds have many commercial and industrial uses but they are not easily cultivated on a large scale. 1.6 Benefits of Aquaculture The benefits can be categorized into three general types that are economic, social and environmental. In the case of aquaculture, the potential for financial gains was the initial cause of growth in the industry. Social and environmental benefits are also being totaled as valid reasons for growing aquaculture sector in the United States. First of all, economic benefits gain from aquaculture. The income of country is generated for the communities and countries by aquaculture. For examples, exporting of aquaculture product to the foreign country can provides security to our economies and cultures. Next, many job opportunities are provided by fish farming from the view of social benefits in aquaculture nowadays. Aquaculture is the potential agriculture to provide those fishermen put out of their works as well as new recruits with a job in aquaculture. Lastly, environmental benefits will decrease the pressure on wild fisheries. The fisheries in many worlds are categorized at unhealthy or unsustainable levels. A growing aquaculture sector can decrease the pressure on wild fish stocks and provide market demand for farmed fish as great as the demand for wild fish. However, fisheries economics and policies have implications for the ability of aquaculture to replace or provide an alternative to wild catches. 1.7 Impacts of Aquaculture The main impact of aquaculture is the pollution of inland and coastal waters. Aquaculture is different with mollusk farming because there are many species of fish rely on a diet of synthetic feed in pellet form. This feed is broadcast onto the surface of the water and feed by the fish as it settles through the water column. Due to not all the feed is consumed, a great deal of feed can reach the bottom where it is eaten by the benthos or break down by microorganisms. This modification of the natural food web structure can significantly affect the local environment. Many studies have indicated feeding exceedingly in fish farms is the effect of changes in benthic community structure because a high food supply may favor some organisms over others. Moreover, tame animals may die in water diminish of oxygen resulting from microbial break down while the mobile population may transfer to other areas. Next, eutrophication is the second impact of concentrate fish culture where the water surrounding raising pens or the rivers receiving aquaculture effluent. Fish waste matter and fecal wastes mix with nutrients released from the breakdown of overfeed to raise nutrient levels well above normal, creating an ideal environment for algal blooms to form. The way to compound the problem is most feed that formulated to contain more nutrients than necessary for most applications. When algal blooms die, they settle to the bottom where their decomposition can reduce the oxygen. There is potentially that algal toxins are produced before they die. Then, the impacts of aquaculture is on natural stocks. Clearly, feeding fish is a fish leads to a net loss of protein in a protein-short world and directly effect on natural stocks, but aquaculture may have a plenty of indirect impact on the natural environment. Almost all the marine or brackish water culture is relying upon natural fisheries for some aspect of operations. Although more and more hatcheries are being constructed to provide seed for shellfish and finfish culture, most farms still capture wild animals for brood stock or for a source of larvae. In some cases, collection of wild-caught shrimp larvae to stock ponds has damage thousands of other larval species in the process. The full effect of removing natural fish stocks from food webs is difficult to predict. When fish are removed to make fish meal, less food may be available for commercially valuable predatory fish and for other marine predators such as seabirds and seals. This effect exacerbates large-scale problems caused by global warming and the El Nino phenomenon. The El Nino of 1997-1998 is considered to be the second strongest warm event in the tropical and subtropical Pacific this century. The shift in water temperature make a severe decline in biomass and total production of small pelagic fish leading to change food webs and a lack of fish meal and fish oil. Furthermore, there is habitat destruction in mangrove forests. There are over 400,000 hectares of mangroves have been altered into brackish water aquaculture for the cultivating of shrimp in Asia. For examples, farmed shrimp is used to raise the earnings of a developing countrys foreign exchange. Tropical mangroves are the habitat that prevent erosion, good quality of coastal water and cultivate many marine organisms. A sustainable and renewable resource of firewood, timber, pulp, and charcoal from mangrove forests are contributed for the local communities. These habitats are destroyed and it is very difficult for the rehabilitation is the one of the ways to build the bank of ponds for shrimp farming. Unfortunately, shrimp ponds are profitable only for a short term because they are limited demand in the shrimp market. Besides that, socio-economic is also one of the impacts of aquaculture. There are many countries that accept the aquaculture because income generated from the export of aquacultures products that can substantially can lead to a long-range social benefits. Furthermore, many rural communities also enjoy the employment opportunities which related to aquaculture but there are some conflicts happened when crash occurred between traditional employment and the aquaculture industry. The important is resource ownership of aquaculture locations is questionable. The economic benefits are more emphasizes compared to the issues of pollution and social problems. 2.0 FISHING INDUSTRIES 2.1 Definition of Fishing Industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the FAO as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, and the harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or for use as raw material in other industrial processes. Fishing is defined by the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. The fishing industry is made up of a great number of independent operators who sell their produce as independent contractors to fish processing plants. It is also made up of fishermen and fishing boat crews working for commercial fleets some of which belong to processing companies. 2.3 Types of Fishing Industry Commercial fishing is the activity of capturing fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provide a large quantity of food to many countries around the world but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions. Large scale commercial fishing is also known as industrial fishing. Commercial fishermen harvest a wide variety of animals, ranging from tuna, cod and salmon to shrimp, krill, lobster, clams, squid and crab, in various fisheries for these species. Commercial fishing methods have become very efficient using large nets and factory ships. Commercial fishing gears today are surrounding nets, seine nets, trawls, dredge, hooks and lines, lift nets, gillnets, entangling nets and traps. There are large and important fisheries worldwide for various species of fish and crustaceans. However, a very small number of species support the majority of the worlds fisheries. Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture while other methods may fall under marine culture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. Fish hatchery is a facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species natural numbers. The most common fish species raised by fish farms are salmon, carol, tilapia, European seabass, catfish and cod. Increasing demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing has caused widespread overfishing. Fish farming offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein. Fish processing is the processing of fish and other seafood deliver by fisheries, which are the supplier of the fish products industry. Although the term refer specifically to fish, in practice it is extended to cover all aquatic organisms harvested for commercial purposes, whether harvested from cultured or wild stocks. The largest fish processing companies can have their own fleets. The products of the industry are usually sold wholesale to grocery chains or to intermediaries. Fish processing may be subdivided into two major categories that is fish handling and fish products manufacturing. Another natural subdivision is into primary processing involved in the filleting and freezing of fresh fish for onward distribution to fresh fish retail and catering outlets. The secondary processing that produces chilled, frozen and canned products for the retail and catering trades. Fish and fish products are consumed as food all over the world. Fish and other aquatic organisms are processed into various food and non-food products. Fish oil is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), precursors to eicosanoids that reduce inflammation throughout the body. Fish emulsion is a fertilizer that is produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for fish oil and fish meal industrially. Fish meal is made from both whole fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the whole fish or fish trimmings to remove the fish oil. It used as a high-protein supplement in aquaculture feed. Sea horse, star fish, sea urchin abd sea cucumber are used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Sea snails Murex brandaris and Murex Trunculus are used to make the pigment Tyrian purple. Some sepia pigment is made from the inky secretions o f cuttlefish. Fish marketing is the marketing and sale of fish products. It would require special facilities for transportation and holding in wholesale and retail markets. When they have to process before marketing it will undoubtedly be advantageous to link the production centre with transport, storage, preservation or processing system of general fish marketing. This will allow fuller control of market outlets and prices, allowing grater marketing flexibility. Method of Fishing First method is using a fishing pole and bait by pole troll fishermen to catch the fishes, encompasses from tuna to cod. This type of fishing is called pole troll fishing. It is environmental friendly and a good alternative to pelagic longline. Unlike pelagic longlines, the rate of bycatch I pole troll fishing is diminishing. Next, purse seining is use with a large wall of netting to enclose fishes. Fishermen pull the bottom of the netting closed like a drawstring purse to herd fish into the center. The types of purse seines used depend on which species of fish like sardines or other animals like school of dolphins. Gillnetting is a net that uses curtains of netting and hang with floats and weights. Function of floats and weights are to fix the net to the sea ground or make it to float at the surface of the sea. The purpose of this netting makes the fish invisible to it so the fishes will swim into it. Gillnets are used to catch sardines, salmon and cod yet the sharks and sea turtles accidently. Longlining is string with small lines of baited hooks and swinging at flat spaced intervals. It can be put near the surface or place on the sea ground to catch pelagic fish like tuna and deep dwelling fish. Lonlining also cause bycatch problem because some of the animals like sea turtle, sharks and seabird can be attracted to the bait. However, by lowering the longlining to deeper sea bycatch can be reduced. Trawls and dredges are nets set at different depths to catch fish. Trawl nets are dragged along the sea ground to catch fish like pollock, cod, flounder and shrimp. Meanwhile, dredging is carry out by locating a heavy frame that attached with mesh bag along the sea bed to catch animals which is living in the sand catches, such as scallops, clams and oysters. Both trawls and dredge activities intentionally can damage the sea floor and results in bycatch risk. Fishermen submerged wire or wood cages on the bottom ocean to attract fish with bait and hold them alive until fishermen return to haul in the catch. This fishing method is known as traps and pot. Mostly, fishermen catch lobsters, crabs, shrimp, sablefish and Pacific cod by this method. They have less negative impact if compare to trawls in unintended catch and sea floor impact. One of the conventional method for catching large fish and still used until today by skilled fishermen is harpooning. When a harpooner spots a fish, he thrusts or shoots a long aluminum or wooden harpoon into the animal and hauls it aboard. Harpooners catch large, pelagic predators like blue fin tuna and swordfish. Harpooning is an environmentally responsible fishing method. Bycatch of unwanted marine life is not a issue because harpoon fishermen visually identify the species and size of the targeted fish before killing it. Trolling is a hook-and-line method that hauls a fishing lines behind or alongside of a boat. Due to different depths, fishermen use different types of lures and baits to troll and attract for different kinds of fish. Trollers catch the fish such as salmon, mahi mahi and albacore tuna which will following a moving lure or bait. Trolling is a fishing method that will not destroy or harm the environment. Since the fishing lines are reeled in soon after a fish takes the bait, fishermen can release fish that is unwanted from their hooks immediately. Effect of Fishing Industries Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptance level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans. Ultimately overfishing may lead to resource depletion in cases of subsidized fishing, low biological growth rates and critical low biomass. For example, overfishing of sharks has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems. The ability of fisheries to naturally recover also depends on whether the conditions of the ecosystems are suitable for population growth. Dramatic changes in species composition may establish other equilibrium energy flows that involve other species compositions than had been present before. For example, remove almost all the trout and the carp might take over and make it nearly impossible for the trout to re-establish a breeding population. A sustainable fishery produces consistent output over an indefinite period without damaging the environment. It combines with some theoretical disciplines, for example preventing overfishing through a few techniques, like quota of fishing for individual, lowering the practices of illegal fishing. This can be done by implementation of related regulation and law, protected areas is created, restoring destructed fisheries and also organizing some campaigns and certification program. The main issue about sustainability is heavy fishing pressure, such as over exploitation and growth overfishing will cause the loss potential yield, stock structure will erode to the point where it loses diversity and resilience to environment fluctuation, and economic infrastructure and ecosystem will cycle between collapse and recovery. The resource usage in political goal usually is the weak part in the system of fisheries management because both having different objective in fisheries management. The political objective are to maximize sustainable biomass and economic yield, increase the employment in certain areas, and also secure the supply of food and production of protein. Ways to Reduce the Effect of Fishing Industries One of the ways to reduce the effect of fishing industries is stopping the slaughter. WWFs Global Marine Programmer is having cooperation relationship with all fisheries around the world with aim to reduce harm of ecosystem that caused by damaging and wasting fishing practices. They are focusing on work o f by catch since it was one of the greatest and most pervasive threats to the life in ocean. In the year of 2004, WWF created a Global By catch Initiative with respect to sustainable fisheries and species conservation. The initiative along with fishing industry, conservation organization, government and academia in searching the ways of reducing by catch and promote the ways to world. In order to reduce the negative impacts of fishing, the task includes combining conservation of fisheries management and strengthening fisheries policy, terminating the practices of destructive fishing and identifying selective fishing gear. The second way is to stop overfishing. In order to stop overfishing, a key area of World Wildlife Funds work on sustainable fishing is engaging with the fishing industry and governments to improve fisheries management. World Wildlife Fund also pay attention on incorporating ecosystem-based management into the way of fisheries are managed, such as reduce capacity of fishing to the levels that can sustain the marine ecosystems, reduce fishing pressure to allow over-exploited fish populations to recover and ensure the maintenance of healthy populations. Other than that, fisheries policy should be strengthen and promote fairer Fisheries Partnership Agreements for fishing in foreign waters and reduce illegal fishing. The following way is promoting sustainable seafood. World Wildlife Fund is promoting economic and consumer initiatives, and trade management measures that encourage sustainable fisheries. A main focus of work involves supporting the activities of the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent organization. It is recognizes via a certification programme, sustainable marine fisheries and their products. World Wildlife Fund established a Sustainable Seafood Choices project in 2005 to aim at the retail and market end of the seafood industry to support the MSCs work. In partnership with other Non Government Organizations, the project combines advocacy, strategic partnerships, and communications to raise the profile of sustainable seafood products with consumers and markets, and provide guidance on their purchase. 3.0 CONCLUSION In a nutshell, aquaculture will be one of the most feasible and practicable methods use to supply the demands of the world. But there are many challenges and difficulties for maintaining the profitability and environmental compatibility of aquaculture occurred. Many governments wish for the development, evolution and expansion of aquaculture which is concentrate and centralize on the economic growth. But some of the governments have started to enforce and actualize stricter regulatory recommendations addressing environmental and social issues to assure and fight on the sustainability of aquaculture. Malaysia has made evolvement and development in the establishment of legal and regulatory scheme which are having a positive effect on aquaculture growth at the beginning and with the requirements that people also have to maintain the balance of ecosystems. Fishing industries also play a significant role in contributed and fulfillment the various demands of people among the world. People can get sufficient and enough supply of fish at anytime and anyplace from global. Besides, it also provides a large number and potential jobs opportunity to the community and it will reduce unemployment eventually. Because of the high employment, income of the community and the income earn by country will increase and it will improve the quality of life directly.

Extraordinary Rendition And Terrorism Criminology Essay

Extraordinary Rendition And Terrorism Criminology Essay What is terrorism? Although it is difficult to come to a universal definition of terrorism, it can be described as warfare involving the use or threat of violence, typically against an influential noncombatant target, with the idea of creating fear in a broad audience (Domestic Terrorism 1). Terrorism emerges when a group of terrorists want to get their message across to a group of people with higher power, usually a government. The goal of the terrorists is to fight for rights, anti-imperialism, or any other cause deemed important by the group (Global Terrorism). The war on terrorism has been going on since the beginning of civilization. Terrorism attacks occur very often throughout the world, usually at least one almost every day. Occasionally the attacks make headlines worldwide. One of the most famous and well-known terrorist attacks took place on September 11, 2001. A terrorist group from the Middle East known as al-Qaeda flew planes into the Twin Tower buildings located in the United States. Many people were killed and it was a devastating day for the United States. To prevent attacks such as this from happening again, the practice of extraordinary rendition was adopted by the United States. Extraordinary rendition can be defined as kidnapping alleged terrorists from their homeland or another country and holding them for questioning in secretive bases located throughout the country (Extraordinary Rendition 1). Although the war on terrorism requires precautions, extraordinary rendition is morally wrong due to the fact that it is not always effective and it involves harsh tactics. Extraordinary rendition has been practiced by the United States C.I.A. for approximately 9 years. Before the September 11th terrorist attack in New York, there were practices used to obtain terrorists. However, these practices were not legalized until after the September 11th attacks. The stated purpose of extraordinary rendition is to obtain terrorists before they launch an attack (Extraordinary Rendition 1). This practice is hard to justify since the government usually does not have solid evidence proving if the suspect is a terrorist prior to taking him hostage. Surprisingly, extraordinary rendition is considered to be legal by the United States government. Ironically, this practice is not governed by any law (Extraordinary Rendition 1). It is believed to be a necessary tactic in the war against terrorism. The practices used by the C.I.A. tend to be very crude, but they are overlooked and considered to be non-torturous (Extraordinary Rendition 1). However, memos were leaked that showed evidence of violent practices used in interrogation (A crack in the wall of secrecy 1). Extraordinary rendition is commonly referred to as simply a precaution and nothing more (Extraordinary Rendition 1). On the other hand, if we take a person hostage and cruelly torture them for information they might not possess, wouldnt that make us terrorists as well? Other countries seem to agree that extraordinary rendition isnt a moral tactic. Throughout the world, it is heavily criticized (Extraordinary Rendition 1). The method of extraordinary rendition combines two illegal practices to make a legal practice. Countries throughout the world believe it is wrong due to the fact that it involves kidnapping and torturing, both crimes that are punishable under federal and international law (Extraordinary Rendition 1). It is double standard that the government is allowed to kidnap and abuse people; if a criminal were to do so, hed be convicted. Harsh tactics are one of the C.I.A.s top ways to obtain information from suspects. Possible terrorists are usually captured by the C.I.A. and either interrogated on United States soil or sent to another country to be questioned (The law: extraordinary rendition and presidential fiat. 8). Although that sounds safe, many of the foreign countries will use the torture method in order to obtain their information. For example, Egypt, Syria and Morocco have been identified as commonly using torture on their victims (Extraordinary Rendition 1). The current estimate number of prisoners is in the hundreds. As if that isnt bad enough, the government did not have warrants to take these prisoners hostage. The government simply believed the prisoners were terrorists, and decided that their hunch is good enough reasoning to arrest them. In addition to assuming people are terrorists, the techniques they use to acquire information are quite horrific. A commonly used tactic is called waterboarding. Waterboarding is when water is inserted into the prisoners lungs, resulting in him fearing the possibility of drowning. It is believed that this would cause him to reveal information he would not under ordinary circumstances. The government considers it to be a perfectly moral and legal practice. For example, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state during President George Bushs term, stated that this practice is completely acceptable and that the prisoners are treated with hospitality (Extraordinary rendition and the wages of hypocrisy 1). It is clear that the United States has a slim definition of torture, and the abusing of the supposed terrorists is overlooked. In addition to waterboarding, the C.I.A. also uses the long time standing technique. This entails the prisoner being forced to stand while their hands and feet are shackled. Their feet are then shackled to the floor as well. The person is then left to stand there until they become exhausted of standing and tell the government the information they seek. The C.I.A. states that the exhaustion and sleep deprivation is what makes the victim reveals information. They are so delirious they do not realize they are leaking important secrets. The long time standing practice is said to be one of the most effective in obtaining information from stubborn suspects. Although the techniques can be helpful, extraordinary rendition itself is not always effective. This practice involves taking the alleged terrorist hostage, and then interrogating him, usually with torture if he is not openly willing to reveal information with simple questions. If the prisoner is deemed to be innocent, he is then set free. Many times this occurs, and the government simply states they had the wrong guy. However, what if he really was a terrorist, and was just very good at lying? There is no way to be sure that what the prisoner is revealing is accurate information, and that it is not just a sneaky tactic to stay alive. At the same time, what if the government decides the prisoner is a terrorist when he is truly innocent? On numerous occasions, innocent people are accused of being terrorists or being involved in terrorist activities. For example Benamar Benatta fled his home country of Algeria on September 5th, 2001 because he feared death in his homeland. Benatta then settled in Canada. He was taken captive the night after the September 11th attack in New York City. Without being offered the chance to testify against his capture or being told where he was being taken, the Canadian police drove him over the border and handed him over to the Americans to be questioned. The only reason he was thought to be a terrorist was because he was a Muslim and he had once served in the Algerian military. Nevertheless, this accusation was false. Benatta spent approximately three years in prison where he claims he was tortured. He was finally released on July 20, 2003 and allowed to return to Canada. Although he is now a free man, he says this incident will haunt him for the rest of his life (Bitter anniversary for rendition victim 1). Another saddening example of an innocent person being taken hostage is the story of Binyam Mohamed. He was a 32 year old man of Ethiopian descent who came to the United Kingdom to find refuge. Mohamed was a cleaner who lived in London. He went on a trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he was arrested at the Karachi airport. According to sources, Mohamed was believed to be a member of the Taliban. Mohamed claims that he was taken around the world and tortured by officials who thought he was hiding information. Later on, Mohamed was deemed innocent and released from prison. (Bill for settling Guantanamo Bay torture cases could top [pounds sterling]30m 2). Richard Belmar was a British citizen. He converted to Islam in his teenage years and coincidently traveled to Pakistan right before the September 11th incident. He was captured in Pakistan. Later on, Belmar was taken to other places such as Bagram and Guantnamo where he claims he was mistreated by the officials interrogating him. Belmar was eventually released in January of 2005 without charge (Bill for settling Guantanamo Bay torture cases could top [pounds sterling]30m 2). These are just a few cases where an innocent person was misfortunate and accused of being a terrorist; there are many other instances known all around the world. Many of these hostages were only considered to be members of a terrorist group based on their background. Binyam was detained because he was Ethiopian. Belmar was arrested based on his religious background (Bill for settling Guantanamo Bay torture cases could top [pounds sterling]30m 2). Mohamed was accused simply because he was Muslim (Bitter anniversary for rendition victim). Just because someone is of foreign descent and lives in another country does not mean they are there for terroristic reasons. For example, when hikers from the United States were captured in Iran, the United States government thought it was ridiculous and believed they should be set free immediately. What they failed to realize is they tend to do the same thing to any foreigners in the United States that appear suspicious. It is quite racist of the United States to target people from the Middle East as possible terrorist suspects. In the U.S. each year, many of its own native citizens are in cahoots with terro rists all over the world. Why arent these people targeted as well? Is it simply because they were born in the United States? There is not always clear evidence that the suspect is a terrorist. When the government detains someone as a terrorist suspect, it is often within a few days after a terrorist attack. On the other hand, if they are hurrying to find possible suspects, they are probably thinking irrationally. Most likely they do not even perform a thorough background check on the suspect. It would take more than a few days to do so, and some of these victims are taken the day after or even the day of an attack. On many occasions, such as the ones above, there is no proof that the captive is a terrorist (Bill for settling Guntanamo Bay torture cases could top [pounds sterling]30m 2). If this is the case, they are set free, usually after being pointlessly tortured. To sum it all up, extraordinary rendition is not a dependable technique to obtain information from suspects. It seems to have more negative consequences than good. Although it is a smart idea to try and prevent terrorist attacks from occurring, perhaps the government should think more rationally. Before detaining someone, a thorough and complete background check is needed. There also must be solid evidence and good reasoning to justify taking a person hostage. Furthermore, something must be done about the harsh interrogation techniques. We cannot keep overlooking them as necessary in the war against terrorism. These techniques may be helpful, but there are more humane and equally effective ways to obtain information. For example, instead of controlled drowning, officials could try calmly reasoning with the suspects. Although it seems as if this would not be effective, it has been proven to work in ordinary criminal investigations. Harming a suspect may make them refrain from telling any helpful information they might possess. Doing so might also provoke hatred for the United States. Benamar Benatta, a man who did not show hatred for the United States prior to his detainment, appeared to feel bitter resentment towards the U.S. after his three year captivity (Bitter anniversary for rendition victim 1-2). Even if an innocent suspect wasnt previously involved in any terrorist attacks, it might compel him to begin getting involved to get his re venge. All in all, by using this technique the United States may be furthering their susceptibility of being attacked. Therefore, this proves that the practice of extraordinary rendition is insufficient, seeing as it may actually worsen the chances of terrorist attacks occurring instead of reducing them.

Educational Theory of Teaching Writing Essay -- English Writing Teache

When I first encountered Paulo Freire’s work, I was struck with the hypocrisy of my own teaching. I had deluded myself into thinking, to a certain extent, that I was creating a democratic and equal space that was free from the influence of. It was a stark reminder last year when I encountered Richard Shaull’s introduction to Peter Freire’s The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. He writes, â€Å"There is no such things as a neutral educational process. Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the ‘practice of freedom,’ the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world† (Freire 16). Then, over the summer, as I delved into Lisa Delpit and Sonia Nieto’s work, I came face to face with the socio-econom ic reality of our education system, and how in some ways, I was not nearly as enlightened as I thought myself to be. According to Delpit, â€Å"Many liberal educators hold that the primary goal for education is for children to become autonomous, to develop fully who they are in the classroom setting without having arbitrary, outside standards forced upon them. This is a very reasonable goal for people whose children are already participants in the culture of power and who have already internalized its codes† (Delpit 28). I think that I fall into the category that Delpit discusses here. So many of my original assumptions about what I attempt to do in the classroom have been blown out of the proverbial water, and I am left with the question of what exactly am I doing in the classroom? I am specifically concerne... ... way in which I view grading my students’ essays. Despite the fact that I have found no clarity, perhaps it is the fact that I am still grappling with these issues, facing them on a daily level that keeps me an actively engaged teacher in the realm of teaching writing. Works Cited hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York, NY: Routledge, 1994. Delpit, Lisa. Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. The New Press, 1995. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum Press, 1970. Bartholomae, David. â€Å"Writing with Teachers: A Conversation with Peter Elbow.† Cross-Talk in CompTheory. National Council of Teachers of English, 1997. Elbow, Peter. â€Å"Being a Writer vs. Being and Academic: A Conflict in Goals.† Cross-Talk In CompTheory. National Council of Teachers of English, 1997. Educational Theory of Teaching Writing Essay -- English Writing Teache When I first encountered Paulo Freire’s work, I was struck with the hypocrisy of my own teaching. I had deluded myself into thinking, to a certain extent, that I was creating a democratic and equal space that was free from the influence of. It was a stark reminder last year when I encountered Richard Shaull’s introduction to Peter Freire’s The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. He writes, â€Å"There is no such things as a neutral educational process. Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the ‘practice of freedom,’ the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world† (Freire 16). Then, over the summer, as I delved into Lisa Delpit and Sonia Nieto’s work, I came face to face with the socio-econom ic reality of our education system, and how in some ways, I was not nearly as enlightened as I thought myself to be. According to Delpit, â€Å"Many liberal educators hold that the primary goal for education is for children to become autonomous, to develop fully who they are in the classroom setting without having arbitrary, outside standards forced upon them. This is a very reasonable goal for people whose children are already participants in the culture of power and who have already internalized its codes† (Delpit 28). I think that I fall into the category that Delpit discusses here. So many of my original assumptions about what I attempt to do in the classroom have been blown out of the proverbial water, and I am left with the question of what exactly am I doing in the classroom? I am specifically concerne... ... way in which I view grading my students’ essays. Despite the fact that I have found no clarity, perhaps it is the fact that I am still grappling with these issues, facing them on a daily level that keeps me an actively engaged teacher in the realm of teaching writing. Works Cited hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York, NY: Routledge, 1994. Delpit, Lisa. Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. The New Press, 1995. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum Press, 1970. Bartholomae, David. â€Å"Writing with Teachers: A Conversation with Peter Elbow.† Cross-Talk in CompTheory. National Council of Teachers of English, 1997. Elbow, Peter. â€Å"Being a Writer vs. Being and Academic: A Conflict in Goals.† Cross-Talk In CompTheory. National Council of Teachers of English, 1997.

Searching for Peace in Tulips Essays -- Tulips Essays

Searching for Peace in Tulips Throughout the poem â€Å"Tulips† by Sylvia Plath, the author seems desperately searching for peace and tranquility, and instead finds everything she despises, symbolized by the tulips she received as a get-well present.   The hospital setting, in which she is â€Å"nobody,† provides a place where she can â€Å"learn peacefulness, lying by myself quietly,† as Plath explains in lines 3-4.   She goes on to describe her room as very white and serene, and within the walls is a temporary escape from all the cares of the world outside, all the â€Å"baggage† she carries in relation to her family.   Then she receives the tulips, which contrast with the white so much that Plath says â€Å"they hurt me† in line 36.   The passage continues in this vein, relating that they â€Å"weigh her down† in line 40, in a similar fashion as her family does.   This is because the tulips make her â€Å"aware of my heart† in line 60, telling her that she is becoming healthy and will have to leave the hospital and again be weighed down by the obligations of the outside world.   The...

Forest of Voices by Chris Anderson

In Chris Anderson†s essay titled â€Å"Forest of Voices† he talks about the forest around his house and what it means to him. However there is a much deeper meaning to his essay. Throughout the essay, one can get a hint of human interference and human interaction with forests. Anderson once thought of the forest as a place to get away from things and go hike and explore. He, like many others, just saw the trees from his place in town as a line of timber. His thoughts were changed however when he moved up to the boundary of the forest. He started to learn about the trees and how they provide habitat for many animals and different things. Anderson wanted us to know that he supports forests without actually saying it. He gives many clues to this. He tells us his experiences in the forests with different people and hints to what he is feeling. He talks about human interference and what he has been seeing change in the forest. Take for instance the time when Anderson was walking in the woods and came upon a wedding. Another time he came upon a dirt bike race. Anderson came to realize that the forest near his house was a forest of voices. He began to see that the forest had a deep history and many voices to it. The forest also had a certain language to it. This showed him that the forest is a complex place, a natural place, not just something to acquire some financial gain from. The general perception is that trees are only good for three things. The first is lumber to build houses and other buildings. The second is paper for us to write on, and finally, to keep the childhood fear of a dark scary place in the forest stuck in our minds. Anderson came to realize that the forest is a much more complicated and interesting place. He started to experience the forest. He found that satellites now map out forests. He learned that the forest he lived by wasn†t there one hundred years ago, but actually it was a prairie that the Indians burned until the white men and there diseases killed them off. That is when the trees started to grow and a forest took the prairie†s place. Humans interact with forests all the time. Anderson learned of the different types of forest management. He learned that trees fall naturally, trees fall because of disease and trees fall because we cut them down. There are many types of cuts. The clear cut, the two story cut, the slash and burn, and patch cuts are a few examples that Anderson learned about and witnessed first hand. There are many reasons why forests are cut down. One is to benefit economically, with furniture and homebuilding. Anderson talks a little bit about reforestation throughout the essay. There are many methods for planning a forest. The simplest method of replanting a forest is to not plant at all and leave it to nature. A suitable seedbed in which trees will readily take root is integral for successful regeneration. Another method is reducing competition by eliminating grass, weed or shrubs securing a new crop of trees. These will sprout to produce seedlings. Though the weeds were eliminated before, they still grow back, and because of this, poor quality trees will grow. Another method though, is to create a planned forest, where new conifers are grown from seed in a special nursery. Following this is the planting. In many cases, planting is the only means of initiating a new forest. Usually immature forests have to be tended. This means continuing protection from fires, disease and insects and routine thinning to focus the growth on selected crop trees. Yes, it does take money to do all of the methods stated above, but it is worth it to human. In summary of the above, trees are very valuable to the human race economically and for health. Without trees, the environment could worsen to the point where we would be living on one large dessert. We must remember that forests do not grow as easily as they used to because of fires and other disasters. This is why many forests are planned, and cared for. This is also where technology comes into play. The satellites map out the forests that have been planted by us. We also have airplanes and helicopters that put out fires. America sends thousands of people to fight fires across the US all the time. Scientists have studied fires and we now know a lot about how they spread and there danger. Great amounts of money are spent on forests every year to protect it and to log it. There are many reasons why we should have reforestation. One being mostly that we need forest to live! There are not many arguments against reforestation, but there can be some opposition for the land being used by the University. Anderson feels replanting of forests is very crucial to the human race. At the end of the story, Anderson runs back to his home in the forest. This is where he is comfortable. We as humans need a place to go. We need beauty around us. Forests provide this and much more. He states that he wants local and personal knowledge. This means he wants people in the communities that are near forests to be aware of what†s in them. We live in an age of human interference, leaving behind us the past. With the past we are forgetting forests; we must make sure this doesn't happen.

Berkshire Hathaway Essay

ISSUES Warren Buffet invoked the substance-over-form concept to justify accounting for the GEICO and General Foods transactions as dividends distributions rather than sales of stock. Do you agree with Buffet that the substance of each of the proportionate redemptions was a dividend and not a sale of stock? In deciding how to account for an unusual or unique transaction for financial reporting purposes, should one consider the tax treatment applied to the transaction? Did Peat Marwick have a right to change its position on the proper accounting treatment for the stock redemptions? What factor or factors may have been responsible for Peat Marwick’s decision to change its position regarding these transactions? FACTS In 1983, GEICO announced plans to purchase several million shares of its outstanding common stock for $60 per share. Among GEICO’s largest stockholders was Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., an investment company. Executives of the two companies decided that Berkshire would tender approximately 350,000 if its GEICO shares in the stock buyback plan, which would allow Berkshire to treat the transaction as a proportionate redemption. In a proportionate redemption, the percentage equity interest of on company in a second company is maintained at the level that existed immediately before the transaction. For federal taxation purposes, the proceeds received by the investor company in a proportionate redemption are taxed as dividends by applying the effective intercorporate dividend tax rate. In 1983, that tax rate was approximately 6.9 percent. Berkshire also chose to treat the proceeds from the redemption of the GEICO stock as dividend income in its 1983 financial statements. Berkshire’s audit firm, Marwick, Mitchell & Company, approved that accounting treatment. In 1984, another company in which Berkshire had a significant equity interest,  General Foods, announced a stock buyback plan. Again, Berkshire structured the sale of stock to General Foods so that the transaction qualified as a proportionate redemption. Berkshire also opted to report the proceeds received from General Foods as dividend income in its 1984 financial statements. In late 1984, representatives of Peat Marwick told Berkshire executives that the proceeds of the General Foods stock redemption should not be considered dividend income for financial reporting purposes. Instead, Peat Marwick maintained that the transaction should be recorded as a sale of stock with the difference between the selling price and cost reported as a capital gain on Berkshire’s income statement. This treatment of the transaction was less favorable for financial reporting purposes that the option preferred by Berkshire since it did not allow the total proceeds received from General Foods to be reported as revenue. Peat Marwick’s recommendation annoyed Berkshire’s executives. The accounting firm’s next decision irritated those executives even more. Marwick insisted that Berkshire restate its 1983 financial statements to reflect the GECICO stock redemption as a sale of stock rather than as a dividend distribution. Warren Buffet, Berkshire’s CEO, discussed the GEICO and General Foods stock redemption at length in his company’s 1984 annual report. Buffet disputed Peat Marwick’s contention that the transactions should be treated as sales of stock and not as dividend distributions. He then explained why he eventually agreed to accept the audit firm’s position by saying â€Å"†¦to avoid a qualified auditor’s opinion, we have adopted Peat Marwick’s 1984 view and restated 1983 accordingly.† Buffet as confirmed that Marwick’s decision had no effect on Berkshire’s business with GEICO or General Foods, their cash, taxes, and market value and tax basis of our holdings all remain the same. However, treating the General Foods transaction as a sale of stock reduced Berkshire’s 1984 net income by 8 percent. Applying that accounting treatment to the 1983 GEICO transaction reduced Berkshire’s previously reported net income for 19 83 by 1 percent. The Wall Street Journal reported the disagreement between Berkshire  executives and Peat Marwick that evolved from the proportionate redemption transactions. When asked to comment on Buffet’s criticism of Peat Marwick in his company’s 1984 annual report, a Peat Marwick partner simply noted, â€Å"It’s the client’s prerogative to disagree. Our report speaks for itself.† Another prerogative of an audit client is to change auditors. In 1985, Berkshire retained Touche Ross & Company to audit its financial statements. As required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire filed an 8-K statement with that federal agency to disclose the change in auditors. In that statement, Berkshire reported it was â€Å"dissatisfied† with Peat Marwick’s inconsistency regarding the proper accounting treatment for stock redemptions. AUTHORITY/ANALYSIS The substance over form accounting concept means that the economic substance of transactions and events must be recorded in the financial statements rather than just their legal form in order to present a true and fair view of the affairs of the entity. Preparers of the financial statements should use their judgment when employing the substance over form concept, which helps to derive the business sense from the transactions and events and to present them in a manner that best reflects their true essence. In some instances the legal aspects of transactions and events may have to be disregarded in order to provide more useful and relevant information to the users of financial statements. The concept of substance over form is imperative to the representation and reliability of information contained in the financial statements. A proportionate stock redemption is a transaction in which ownership interests are redeemed proportionate to the total shares outstanding. As a result, each shareholder owns the same percentage of the company after the redemption as before. Buffet was justified in recording each of the proportionate redemptions as a dividend and not as a sale of stock, because although GEICO and General Foods repurchased their stocks, Berkshire still maintained the same percentage of equity interest as it did before the transaction. Also, Buffet followed federal taxation purposes, which stated  that the proceeds received by the investor company in a proportionate redemption are taxed as dividends; therefore the transaction was recorded as dividends not sale of stock. By placing the responsibility on the preparers of the financial statements to actively consider the economic reality of transactions and events to be reflected in the financial statements, it will be more difficult for the preparers to justify the accounting of transactions in a manner that does fairly reflect the substance of the situation. According to the PCAOB’s AU Section 316.66, â€Å"†¦the auditor may become aware of significant transactions that are outside the normal course of business for the entity, or that otherwise appear to be unusual given the auditor’s understanding of the entity and its environment. The auditor should gain an understanding of the business rationale for such transactions and whether that rational (or the lack thereof) suggests that the transactions may have been entered into to engage in fraudulent financial reporting or conceal misappropriation of assets.† (PCAOB, 2002) AU Section 314.21 states that the auditors’ understanding of the entity and its environment consists of an understanding of several aspects, including industry, regulatory, and other external factors (PCAOB, 2002). Taxation would be an example of the regulatory aspect; therefore, one should consider the tax treatment when deciding how to account for unusual transactions. In the case of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., since the IRS considers proportionate redemptions to be equivalent to dividend distributions, and the proceeds from the repurchasing of stock are taxed as dividends; to ensure consistency, the transaction should have been recorded as dividends. The PCAOB states that the auditor should recognize an adjustment to correct a misstatement in previously issued financial statements to ensure the company’s financial statements remain consistent in the auditor’s report, especially if the matter has a material effect on the financial statements (PCAOB, AU 508.16, 2004). Since Peat Marwick was the auditing firm, it had the right to change its position on the proper accounting treatment for the stock redemptions, and since Berkshire wanted to preserve the unqualified  opinion, the company complied with the auditors. In order for Peat Marwick to maintain its reputation as professional auditors and providing quality audits, the firm decided it was in their best interest to record the GEICO and General Foods transactions as sales of stock by Berkshire, rather than as the receipt of dividends. Under this accounting approach, a portion of the cost of the Berkshire’s investment in the stock of each company would be charged against the redemption payment and any gain would be reported as a capital gain, not as dividend income. This is an accounting approach only, having no bearing on taxes; although, Peat Marwick agreed that the transactions were dividends for IRS purposes. Since the change in accounting treatment reduced Berkshire’s net income by 1% and 8% in 1983 and 1984, respectively, Peat Marwick might have deemed this as material and thought it was necessary to correct the way the transactions were recorded. According to the PCAOB, in evaluating consistency of financial statements, the auditor should evaluate a change in accounting principle to determine whether: the newly adopted accounting principle under GAAP, the method of accounting for the effect of the change is in conformity with GAAP, the disclosures related to the accounting change are adequate, and the company has justified that the alternative accounting principle is preferable (PCAOB, AU 508.17A, 2004). Any of these factors may have been responsible for Peat Marwick’s decision to change its position regarding these transactions. Although recording the stock redemption as a dividend complied with taxation rules under the IRS, it may not have been in accordance with GAAP. Berkshire may not have justified that recording the stock redemption as a dividend was preferable. Although it was preferable to Berkshire, because total proceeds from General Foods would have been reported as revenue, increasing Berkshire’s net income; it may not have been preferable to all the users of Berkshire’s financial statements, because net income would have been over stated. Lastly, in Berkshire’s letter to its shareholders, it stated that the GEICO and General Foods transactions were â€Å"virtually† identical, except  that General Foods repurchased its stock over a period of time in the open market, whereas GEICO had made a â€Å"one-shot† tender offer. In the General Foods case we sold to the company, on each day that it repurchased shares, but left Berkshire’s ownership percentage unchanged. Maybe this difference triggered Peat Marwick to look back into the stock redemption, where they found discrepancies with the accounting treatments and recommended that Berkshire make adjustments to report the transactions appropriately. RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS After Berkshire’s 1984 audit, the company released Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company as its auditing firm. Berkshire reported that it was â€Å"dissatisfied† with Peat Marwick’s inconsistency regarding the proper accounting treatment for stock redemption. Corporate non-liquidating distributions to shareholders are usually treated as dividends income; however, distributions that qualify as stock redemptions are treated the same as a sale of stock by the investor to the investee. Therefore, capital gain treatment normally results. Corporate shareholders prefer stock redemptions to be treated as dividend income, because corporate shareholders received the benefits of the dividends, which are deductible and in most cases escape taxation. Qualifying stock redemption results in capital gains that are fully taxable at the corporation’s highest marginal rate. Warren Buffet employed the substance over form concept while accounting for Berkshire’s stock redemption transactions. Since the IRS considers proportionate redemptions to be equivalent to dividend distributions and are taxed accordingly, Buffet justified the accounting treatment used to record these truncations. References http://www.accountax.us/Taxation-%20Corporations%20Lecture%20V.pdf http://www.aicpa.org/Research/Standards/AuditAttest/DownloadableDocuments/AU-00314.pdf http://pcaobus.org/standards/auditing/pages/au508.aspx http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/1984.html http://pcaobus.org/standards/auditing/pages/au316.aspx#au_316.52