Huntington's Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Huntington's Disease - Essay Example This disease can develop at any age, however, it is most common between the ages of 30 to 50. HD was previously known as Huntington’s chorea. Chorea means jerky, involuntary movements. This paper provides a description of Huntington’s disease including its causes, symptoms, and treatment. Causes HD is caused by a genetic defect on chromosome 4. This disease causes part of DNA, known as a CAG repeat, to replicate itself more than it is supposed to (Lawrence, 2009). In normal conditions, this part of DNA section is repeated 10 to 28 times. However, in HD patients, it is repeated 36 to 120 times. Since this is a hereditary disease, the number of repeats tends to get bigger down the subsequent generations. Therefore, children having a larger number of repeats tend to develop symptoms of this disease at early ages. This condition affects basal ganglia that control balance and movement in human beings (WebMD, 2011). In the region of basal ganglia, HD mainly targets neurons of the striatum, especially those in the pallidum and caudate nuclei. There are two types of Huntington’s disease: adult-onset Huntington’s disease, which is the most common, and an early-onset form, which begins in childhood or adolescent stages of development (Lawrence, 2009). How HD is inherited HD is a disease that is passed from parents to children through misspelling or mutation in the normal gene, and it is found in every part of the world. A single abnormal gene can lead to the development of this disease. Genes are made up of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): which is a molecule that exists as spiral ladder (HDSA, 2008). Every strand of DNA is made up of two paired chemicals known as bases. These bases include adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G). Bases usually pair together, and combine with other pairs to form coded messages. Genes, therefore, exist as long strands of paired bases in various combinations. A normal human being has approximately 30, 000 genes, which determine a person’s traits and characteristics (HDSA, 2008). The effect of genes on determining an individual’s characteristics depends on whether it is dominant or recessive. When a gene is dominant, only a single chromosome is needed to produce its effect, and when it is recessive, pair of chromosome copies is required to produce a characteristic or trait. HD is a dominant disorder that is caused by a copy of a defective gene, which is inherited from one parent (HDSA, 2008). The defective gene that produces HD is a sequence of DNA on the chromosome 4, which is made up of several base pairs that repeat themselves many times. A normal gene is usually composed of three DNA bases, made up of the sequence CAG. In HD patients, this sequence normally repeats itself several times, and the number of repeats becomes larger in the subsequent generations. Parents have two copies of chromosomes each, but they only donate one copy to each child (HDSA, 2008). A ch ild born of HD parents has 50-50 chance of developing this disease. Any child, who does not inherit a copy of HD gene from parents, can never develop this condition, and he or she cannot pass it to the next generations. Children who inherit HD gene may not show symptoms of this disease in early ages, but later in their lives. It has also been shown that some people develop this condition even if there is no family history of HD. It is believed that this is caused by a new genetic mutation, a process

Would you expect an increase in a minimum wage to help or hurt Essay Example for Free

Would you expect an increase in a minimum wage to help or hurt Essay Increasing the minimum statutory wage has much far-reaching implications . Research indicate that this has a major impact on the business, employment and labor market. Studies done on its impact show that the increase very probably leads to reduction of employment more so for the young and unskilled who typically get engaged in lower income jobs. So if the increase in minimum wage is not beneficial to the general economy, is it helpful to the labor force it ought to benefit? On a positive note or rather short term the increase will mean that the workers will have an increased disposable income therefore they will be in a position to meet their needs more comfortably than they did before the increase. On the other hand the increase is just minimal therefore it adds very little to the income of the workers in general. This method has been found to be an ineffective tool for poverty reduction due to such negative impacts which mainly affect the people it ought to benefit. (Neumark, D and Wascher, W 1992) An increase in minimum wage forces the employers to respond in certain ways, studies indicate that when minimum wages increase the employers often tend to reduce the fringe benefits for the workers and at the same time reduce trainings for the employees. They embark on a cost cutting measures so as to fill the gap created by the funds which go towards the increment. Such a move will affect the worker as he or she will enjoy less benefits. In a matter of fact they might continue taking home the same amount of money or even less due to reduction or withdrawal of benefits. The cost cutting measures may deny a worker a chance to progress in a career when on job training as a benefit is done away with. On the same note to manage the business spending the employer may even end up reducing the hours of work further reducing the wage. (Neumark, D and Wascher, W 1992) An increase in the minimum statutory wage may be a good thing in the short term, but it has a negative impact to the worker since the employers will have to act in a certain way to ensure that they continue to enjoy the same profits margin as they did before. Reference Neumark, D and Wascher, W (1992) Employment effects of minimum and sub minimum wages: Panel Data on State Wage Laws, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol 46

The Morality of Euthanasia Essay -- mercy killing essay

People have the right to medical care, but pain and suffering for a person has to be one of the toughest things in life to deal with. In the health care world, few topics create a debate as heated as euthanasia. Euthanasia comes from the Greek word meaning good death. Euthanasia is the practice of ending the life of a person either by lethal injection or the suspension of medical treatment. Most religious beliefs say that God is the only one that has the right to decide the termination of any life. Euthanasia should be a person’s right of choice legally and ethically. People are faced with choices on a daily basis throughout their lives. Having the choice of euthanasia allows a quick, humane, and painless way to end pain and suffering. Even though a religious belief in God to end life and a person’s right to receive treatment, euthanasia should be a person’s choice because it is quick, humane, painless, and ends pain and suffering. Within the past twenty years th ere are presently countries or states that allow euthanasia as a means to end pain and suffering as a person’s right of choice. The newest state to add to the chart below is Montana in 2010. Religious beliefs make a persuasive argument against euthanasia. Religious beliefs are against euthanasia for God’s will to make the decision for a person’s final hour, yet a person should not suffer. According to most religions a person is not allowed to commit suicide and a person is not allowed to kill another. A person choosing euthanasia to end their pain and suffering would be a form of suicide. â€Å"Euthanasia is the logical form course of action for anyone who is not living a life of faith, hope, and love- that is, for the vast majority of the population on this planet. The on... ...es to help debunk ‘lies’. The Christian Century, 126(19), p18. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from Thompson Gale database. Collier, R. (2009, October 13). Euthanasia debate reignited. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 181.3, 462-463. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from Thompson Gale database. "Euthanasia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved February 05, 2010 From Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-euthanas.html Walker, D. (2009, October). Regarding the pain of others. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, 196, 2-3. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from Thompson Gale database. Williams, G. (2009, October). Assisted suicide and euthanasia: A natural law ethics approach. King’s Law Journal, 20.3, 553-556. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from Thompson Gale database.

All societies and cultures place a great emphasis on the differences between males and females

All societies and cultures place a great emphasis on the differences between males and females. When a child is born we categorise its gender as being either male or female, or of either being a girl or a boy, and depending on which of these categories you fall in to will have a huge bearing on how your life will evolve. Some basic facts can serve as starting points. The unique reproductive capacities of females normally mark their lives by menstruation, pregnancy, parturition, lactation, and menopause. Males are, on average, larger and have greater physical strength than females in the same population. The burden of evidence also indicates that males are more aggressive, although this is not as well established as the facts of physical morphology and reproductive capacity (Nadelson, pg 3, 1991) However, as Nadelson states none of these capacities or apparent predispositions are uniformly translated into adaptive outcomes across human populations because of variations in technology, socioeconomic organisation, and cultural values. Female reproduction can be halted by celibacy or infertility or delayed by the use of contraception, and lactation can be avoided by using infant formula. The strength of males can diminish as machinery becomes available to do the heavy work. The aggressiveness of young males, though valuable for defence can become socially disruptive if there is no need for local troops. Behavioural differences between boys and girls can be reduced in later childhood when they are raised together and boys perform tasks defined as feminine. Thus the existence of gender specific capacities does not predict how or to what extent they will be used for purposes of adaptation. (Nadelson, pg 4, 1991) Field work carried out by anthropologists within non Western societies provide support for this point, in the East African highlands, where ploughs and animals are absent, the heavy work of cultivation is done largely by women. The same women carry 50-pound loads on their heads over considerable distances, in addition to bearing and raising children and managing their homes. Anthropologists use the term socialisation as a concept to mean the teaching that prepares the young to be competent members of their society. Training children to fit gender roles and to internalise the benefits and values appropriate to performing their roles in all situations and social instructions is a primary job of socialisers the world over. (Herdt, pg 68, 1987) Throughout history many people have long since argued to what extent culture can shape gender and what influences gender identity. The physical appearance of someone, the way they dress and how they act are all supposed to be characteristics of being either male or female. All cultures have acceptable roles based on the sex of the individual and these roles are determined by a person's position within their family and society. Many argue that gender roles are culturally rather than biologically produced and whiles a person's sex refers to biological differences between male and females, it is through gender socialisation that a person acquires his or her gender. It is through this process that a person learns what is masculine and feminine, and how to act accordingly, dependant on the surroundings he or she is in. (www. sociology. org. uk/tecelth. htm) Giddens states that when speaking of sexual differences we are distinguishing between males and females, when speaking of gender it is between masculine and feminine. The content of the male / female distinction is genetically determined and largely universal, whereas the content of the masculine / feminine distinction is culturally determined and highly variable. Giddens, pg 148, 1987) Depending on the society in which we live depends on the activities and characteristics donated to males and females, and while these may be deemed as natural within their own unique culture this may not be so throughout all of society. An example of this being the rituals carried out within the Sambia, an initiation takes place were the main purpose is to make boys big and strong and to make them aggressive warriors. They have to be removed from their mothers and other females as this will also remove their feminine traits, such as shyness and crying. The initiation process involves ridding them of these feminine traits and unlearning all of their so far learnt behaviour. They have to learn how to be masculine. However, this is also a slight two fold initiation in that the Sambia believe that as the male body is incapable of producing semen it has to be externally acquired, as the presence of semen in the body is a sign of masculinity. The semen is digested orally, provided by older members of the men's secret society. The boys will never be allowed back to theirs mothers again and will remain with the other male members of the tribe throughout their childhood, teenage years and early manhood. The female is seen as weaker and the boys can not be allowed to be weakened by her. (Herdt, pg 68, 1987) As has already been identified different societies define gender roles in a variety of different ways, however what is evident is that regardless of culture or society, males tend to always have more power and more authority than women. Giddens, pg 149, 1987) Anthropologists such as George Peter Murdoch argue that biological differences such as the greater physical strength of men and the fact that women bear children lead to a sexual division of labour in society. Murdoch surveyed 224 societies and found that tasks such as hunting, lumbering and mining are usually part of the male role, while cooking and child care were usually assigned to the women. Murdoch states that women were handicapped by the physiological burdens of pregnancy and nursing. (Haralambos, pg 267, 1986) The rise of the Women's Liberation Movement have contributed to the criticism that gender roles are shaped by biology, and more are now arguing that the roles of men and women are determined by culture and are therefore learned as part of the socialisation process, and ultimately there is nothing natural about the roles that women play. It is all learnt behaviour, and as Marjorie Garber states in Vested Interest (1991) the reason that that female to male transgendered people are not generally seen as that remarkable as their male to female equivalents is because it is quite normal in our male dominated culture for a woman to want to become a man, as it is still recognised that social power is most often attached to being male. Even Sigmund Freud's theory on gender was based on the idea that the ownership of a penis reflects masculinity and power, and being female means simply being absent of a penis. Girls, he states suffer from â€Å"penis envy† and due to this they under value their mother's position in the family because she lacks a penis. The father is therefore generally in power and makes all females within the family adopt a submissive attitude. This is referred to by Freud as the Electra Complex. Freud's theory comes in for a lot of criticism by many, as most of his analysis is based solely on biological differences, namely the ownership of a penis. However, as Mark Johnson discovered whilst carrying out fieldwork in the Southern Philippines the ownership of a penis is not always a sign of masculinity and it is rather what is done with it. The ‘bantut' he discovered was thought of by almost all of the community as a man who was either sexually impotent in some way, or who had a small penis, or who was unable to have or sustain an erection (Johnson, pg 94, 1997) It could not be conceived that the ‘bantut' chose this way of life and the desire to be elegant and sensual, to take care over their appearance, to appreciate beauty, to be vulnerable and protected, to be tender and caring, to be coy and flirtatious. As in many cultures there are two types of gender, male and female, masculine or feminine. Transgender is a term that has over recent years entered the vocabulary as a term to designate to anyone not covered by the term, man or woman (www. glbthistory. org/about/ourstory/tg-at-hs. lasso) However, it should be noted that transgender people, along with homosexuals, women and any number of racial and ethnic groups have joined the ranks of being publicly recognised minorities. www. badsubjects. com/issueno7/1993/annaleenewitz) In Cross-Dressing and Re-Dressing: Transvestism as Metaphor, Gilbert and Gubar remark that both Violet Trefusis and Vita Sackville-West wrote about their experiences of there being more than one possibility of opposite genders: In 1920, when Vita Sackville West looked back on her exuberant impersonation of the wounded soldier, ‘Julian' during the height of her post war love affair with Violet Trefusis, she was bemused. She had experienced herself, she remembered, as inhabited by several sexes: â€Å"I hold the conviction that as centuries go on the sexes will become more nearly merged on account of their increasing resemblances† (Gilbert & Gumar, pg 324, 1989) Clearly, this has not happened, eighty six years on and although, although it is not illegal for a man to wear women's clothing, we would certainly not appear to be moving towards a gender free, multi-gender or even gender-balanced society, despite living in an age were hairstyles and clothing have such a huge impact on how we perceive a person and their individuality. Why in the twenty first century is it still more acceptable for a man to carry a knife than to wear women's clothes, and why is it still so clear that they are women's clothes. (Suthrell, pg 9, 2004) The area of gender is a very confusing and at times very cloudy one. It appears that studies throughout history have shown that there are explicit differences between sex and gender and that it is society which transforms biological males and females into sociological men and women. Children it appears discover their gender identity from their parents and parents construct their identity by ensuring that they pursue interests and adopt mannerisms that are stereotypical of a male or female within their society. This means that from a very early age the child knows which gender category he or she falls into. In Western society it could be argued that the media plays a huge role in depicting how males and females should behave, with women usually portrayed in the traditional role of mother and wife, or damsel in distress. Indeed, many fairytales, which have a huge influence on children still tend to portray men as the heroic male, who along with saving the planet will ultimately also have to save the female too. Even in non Western societies were the media have very little or no influence gender roles are still very apparent, Ian Hogbin's account of childbirth and the role of men in a New Guinea villages gives an account of men supposedly being too clumsy and unskilled to minister to a tiny infant, and therefore, the father does not touch his young offspring. After about two weeks the women may give it to him for a few minutes, but six months elapse before he holds it for any length of time. (Hogbin, pg 58, 1963) From birth this child will know his or her place within the village and thus history continues to repeat itself. Nobody within the village will question why things are done this way and social pressure will ensure that this is how things continue. It could therefore be assumed that it is in fact social pressure which ensures that most within society conform to the gender role bequeathed to them, a role which they are led to believe is â€Å"normal† and this is why those who elect their own gender, whether that be male, female or something entirely different are usually pushed out of society and not accepted.

Cloning human Beings is not ethical Essay

† Here Dickens abruptly changes the atmosphere and creates one of sadness and regret, and so he uses his mutual technique to change the atmosphere in reflection to Scrooges feelings, and he does this here to link the moral message with emotive feelings the reader is experiencing, to make it more powerful. Here he is aiming to imply that you will regret not giving money and love to the more unfortunate than you, even if you don’t feel that way at the time. Further on in this chapter, Dickens creates powerful atmospheres to develop his moral message further. He most notably does this when Scrooge enters his joyful old boss’ (Fezziwig) warehouse where he was apprenticed. Whilst Dickens is describing the Christmas event as happy and ecstatic, this develops a powerful atmosphere by numerous significant ways. For example, whilst the event is happening, he repeats over and over again: â€Å"In came†¦ in came†¦ in came†¦ in came,† to describe the entry of the guests at Fezziwig’s event, and Dickens uses this to develop an atmosphere and a theme of joyfulness and togetherness, and that consequently shows, due to Dickens’ recurring technique, that the intended effect on the reader is to make him/her feel happy. This suggests that nearly everyone was keen to be celebrating Christmas together by all appearing one by one at this event. He is intending the reader therefore to feel part of the happy occasion, and this is emphasized by the fact that lots of people are coming, which essentially suggests that everyone is welcome. This conveys richly with the spirit and meaning of Christmas that Dickens is attempting to put forward in his moral message, through the use of this atmosphere. He is expressing that Christmas time is a time for sharing and spending time with your family and friends, which is reflected in Scrooge’s youth, but contrasts with Scrooge’s life at present. Therefore, this makes Scrooge, due to the ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’, think more about how he is acting at the present, where he is anti-social and refuses to acknowledge that he has to be sharing and caring during Christmas time. As well as successfully creating, building, and developing atmospheres to develop a moral message in chapter two, Dickens uses suspense in chapter 4 to try and make the effect of the moral message more powerful to the reader by using a darker theme. Dickens creates a spookier and sinister atmosphere straight away at the start of chapter four, and he does this so the reader can then appreciate the suspense. Dickens does this because he intends the reader to get gripped into the darker theme and storyline, and as said above, this makes the moral message more influential to the reader. For instance, he does this at the start of chapter four, when Dickens describes the entrance of the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ as he writes: â€Å"The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. The very air through which this Spirit moved seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. † This creates sudden suspense and it also creates a dark theme to lay the foundations for this chapter. Then, Dickens creates more suspense by not making the ghost/phantom talk. By doing this, Dickens is deliberately developing suspense by leaving the reader in the unknown, and is equally implying by this that everyone is going to die at some point, due to the dark theme and the places this ghost takes Scrooge to. In addition, making the ghost just use its hands to guide the way for Scrooge makes him as a result become more timorous and this adds to the suspense and atmosphere. Dickens uses even more clever techniques to draw the reader’s attention and make them even more aware of the moral message. He writes: â€Å"`It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral,’ said the same speaker;’ for upon my life I don’t know of anybody to go to it. Suppose we make up a party and volunteer. ‘ `I don’t mind going if a lunch is provided,’ observed the gentleman with the excrescence on his nose. `But I must be fed, if I make one. ‘† The man’s attitude here is that he does not take Scrooge’s death seriously and is using it as an opportunity to make a joke out of. Dickens uses powerful dramatic irony as the reader knows that those people were talking about Scrooge, however, Scrooge is not aware of this until later. Dickens does this appropriately in the light of the darker theme, because he intends to again powerfully convey his moral message to the reader, and because he portrays those people to be talking carelessly about Scrooge, and approaching his death with a considerable amount of blasi , he hopes to indirectly tell the reader that if you spend your life keeping all your riches to yourself and not being generous and kind-hearted, nobody will care about you and show respect for you when you are dead. – Scrooge is used as an example to what the fate is of those who do not follow Dickens’ moral message. Another example of suspense and atmosphere revealing this moral message is when ‘old Joe’ and ‘Mrs Dilber’ are pictured having stolen a bundle of Scrooge’s possessions and are looking through them. Dickens builds on the uncanny atmosphere and theme he has created in chapter four, and writes about more people talking indifferently about Scrooge’s death: â€Å"`If he wanted to keep them after he was dead, a wicked old screw,’ pursued the woman,’ why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime. If he had been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself. ‘† This later extract ceases to be dramatic irony once Scrooge has found out that these people had been talking about his death, and therefore it plays an important part in the development of Scrooge’s characterisation, because after having seen the consequences of his unkind and selfish behaviour with all three ghosts, his reactions to this dialogue suggest that he wants to change his character, and this is confirmed soon after when he wakes up in chapter five, and greets everyone a ‘Merry Christmas’ in the street.. In conclusion, it would be fair and accurate to say that this novel was written solely for the purpose of getting the people of Victorian Britain to change their attitudes towards the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving poor’, through the use of haunting and ghosts. It was intended to deliver its moral message through the use of atmosphere and suspense, and to convey this message through varying themes. On the whole I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, especially chapter two whilst looking through Scrooge’s past, as it reveals a lot of what his true inner personality is, regardless of what his spiteful character is described as in chapter one. I also like this novel as it has a fitting end regarding the moral message, which is, in this case, we all have the possibility to change our personality for the good. My opinion is that Dickens without a doubt achieves all his intentions with the successful use of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come being the key in Scrooge’s characterisation and Dickens’ utter proficiency in the art of the English language enables us to depict his novel as a fine one. And, as for Scrooge’s journey, it is a lesson to be learnt from by all of us, in any era.

Islam and Western Europe Essay Example

Islam and Western Europe Essay Example Islam and Western Europe Essay Islam and Western Europe Essay WHAP CH. 9 10 Reading Instructions: Copy this exam into a word document answer the questions. Email me your document. Due by 11:59 on 12/10 (Tuesday Night). Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. C 1. Islam had roots in which set of religious or philosophical traditions? A) Hinduism, Buddhism, and Manichaeism B) Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism C) Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism D) Sufism, Sikhism, and Greek rationalism D 2. In Western Europe from 1000 to 1300, power was divided among A) ords, vassals, and serfs. princes, warriors, and farmers. the pope, royal officials, and scholars. kings, nobles, and church leaders. D 3. What initiated the division within Islam between the Sunnis and Shias? A) Fear that Muslims in conquered lands were going native and abandoning Islamic teachings B) The imam Alis new revelation and elaboration of the teachings of Islam C) The belief that Husayn, the son of All, was the real messiah D) Disagreement over who should assume leadership in the Islamic world C 4. Which of the following statements expresses a view of women found in the Quran? A) Women were always to remain veiled and secluded. Women were solely to blame for the existence of evil in the world. C) Women were spiritually equal to men. Women were socially equal to men. B 5. Disagreement over which of the following contributed to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church? A) A church hierarchy of patriarchs, bishops, and priests Veneration of icons The missionary impulse The religious authority of the Bible B 6. Which of the following is an example of the Byzantine Empires influence on Eurasia? A) Acceptance of Latin as the international language of diplomacy B) Transmission of ancient Greek learning to Western Europe and the Islamic world C) Control of the trade routes along the Silk Roads and across the Sahara D) Spread of Eastern Orthodox Christianity to North Africa and Central Asia D 7. In the eleventh century, the religious culture of the Byzantine Empire had a significant impact on A) the rulers of the Axum state in Ethiopia. the Nestorian church in China. e Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. Slavic-speaking peoples in the Balkans and Russia. B 8. Which of the following characterizes the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe from 500 to 1000? A) Christian missionaries destroyed pagan temples and idols. Earlier cultural practices were absorbed into the Christian tradition. C) The Church focused on converting people in the countryside. Coercion was never used because th e Church did not condone the use of force. B 9. Which of the following was a long-term impact of the Crusades in Europe? A) I ne crusades weakened slgnlTlcantly tne Innuence 0T lurKlc-speaKlng peoples In Islamic world. B) Spain, Sicily, and the Baltic region permanently Joined the world of Western Christendom. C) Animosity from the Crusades ended the flow of Muslim learning into Europe. D) People from the Middle East migrated to Europe in large numbers. C 10. Which of the following is an example ofa role assumed by the ulama? A) Rulers Warriors Judges Doctors A 11. During the period from 1000 to 1300, the rulers in which region held the least power? A) Western Europe The Byzantine Empire China Russia B 12. What advantage did the Byzantine Empire have that enabled it to survive as a political entity for a thousand years longer than the western part of the Roman Empire? A) Assimilation to Germanic culture More territory under its control A longer frontier A stronger military C 13. Besides Islam, which of the following was also a target of Western European crusaders? A) Protestantism Roman catnollclsm Eastern Orthodox Christianity Buddhism D 14. Why was the city of Mecca important? A) Jews, Christians, and Muslims all regarded it as the Holy Land. B) It was the only city in pre-lslamic Arabia that enjoyed a high degree of social equality. It was a crossroad for all the major long-distance trade routes. D) It was the site of the Kaaba where pilgrims congregated. In contrast to the spread of Buddhism and Christianity, the early spread B 15. of Islam A) occurred at a much slower pace. gave rise to a large empire. was limited to the immediate vicinity of its birthplace. was checked by surrounding older civilizations. B 16. Which of the following describes the relationship between politics and eligion in Western Europe from 500 to 1300? A) Rulers were appointed by the pope of the Catholic Church. Rulers provided protection for the Church in return for religious legitimacy. C) The ruler was the head of both the state and the Church. The pope was the head of both the state and the Church. A 17. The Arab Empire that accompanied the spread of Islam stretched from A) Spain to India. Mesoamerica to Madagascar. the Andes to the Himalayas. the Gulf of Mexico to the Red Sea. wnlcn 0T tne Tollowlng was period from 600 to 1 500? A) Anatolia West Africa India Southeast Asia tne most tnorougnly Islamlzea region In B 19. Sufi practitioners facilitated the conversion to Islam of people living in Anatolia and India by A) promoting the enforcement of the sharia by local Islamic rulers. B) emphasizing personal experience of the divine, rather than the law. C) initiating campaigns to close Christian and Hindu schools. freeing large numbers of slaves who agreed to convert. C 20. Which of the following religious traditions blended elements of Hinduism and Islam? A) Sunni Islam Shia Islam Sikhism Sufism

The Fall Of Germany In World War I Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

The Fall Of Germany In World War I Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers The Fall of Germany in World War I None of the European power wanted World War I, but they feared Germany. Germany was newly unified, and was beating the European powers in population and Industry. France wanted to recover the Alsace-Lorraine. Britain was a country used to being on the ocean, so they felt threatened by Germany's colonial expansion and William II's insisting on a large navy. Russia and Austria feared pressure on their unstable empires. In 1887 William II refused to renew the Reinsurance treaty with Russia, but continued the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. In 1894 Russia made an alliance with France, and Great Britain settled it's differences with France in the Entente Cordiale in 1904 forming the Triple Entente. The assassination, with Serbian Knowledge, of the liberal Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinan in Sarajevo in June 1914 was the spark that set off the war. Germany assured Austria full support, which resulted in an Austrian ultimatum that Serbia could not accept. Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilized to defend Serbia, then Germany declared war on Russia. Germany also declared war on France. Germany wanted a quick defeat of France. To avoid the French frontier, German forces moved through neutral Belgium thinking they would take Paris by surprise. The Germans encountered more resiezce than expected in Belgium, giving France time to prepare. [Caidin 207] This violation of international law destroyed all sympathy for the Central Powers. Although German forces nearly reached Paris, the British and French Miraculously turned back the Germans at the Battle of Marne. The two sides dug trenches for a war that would last four years. The Russians then attacked sending Germany into a two front war. The Germans defeated the Russians Many times on the east, but the Allies blockaded the Germans on the east by cutting off food and raw materials, The Germans became desperate to break the blockade, so they declared unrestricted submarine warfare. [Villiers 176] After several American ships were sunk, the United States entered the war in 1917. The Russians were in the middle of several revolutions so they were not a threat to Germans. In 1918 when the Germans did not have to worry about the east, they launched an all out offensive attack in the west, but the United Allies slowly turned the tide. Realizing the situation was hopeless the German High Command urged William to let a new civil government sue for peace. Woodrow Wilson, U.S. President from 1913 to 1921, insisted on dealing with citizens. William grudgingly appointed Prince Max of Baden as chancellor. Even Though Wilson was negotiating with the chancellor there were still many problems. Fighting continued, sailors mutinied, socialist staged strikes, workers and military formed Communist councils, and revolution broke out in Bavaria. [Grolier] Prince Max announced the abdication of William II and resigned. When Germany surrendered and changed its government, it expected a negotiated peace rather than the harsh terms of the Versailles treaty of 1919. The allies were determined to receive reparations for their losses and to see that Germany was never in a position to harm them again. Germany lost the Alsace-Lorraine to France and lost West Prussia to Poland. It also lost all its colonies and had to give up most of its coal, trains, and merchant ships, as well as its navy. Germany had to limit its army and submit to Allied occupation of Rhineland for 15 years. Worst of all, the Germans had to accept full responsibility for causing the war and, consequently pay its total cost. The Germans did not consider themselves anymore guilty than anyone else and could not possibly pay all of the costs demanded. The Versailles treaty seemed fair to the Allies point of view, but it did not ensure a lasting peace. By accepting the treaty the German Government gained a bad name among its people. [Encarta96] The war reparations put a enormous strain on a country already bankrupted by four years of war. In Weimar in 1919 a nationalist assembly, led by the Social democratic party, wrote a democratic constitution for the new German Reich. But the prospects of the Weimar Republic, as it was familiarly known, were dim. For most Germans the government was

How to Raise Your Hand in Class

How to Raise Your Hand in Class Do you get the urge to sink into your chair when you know the answer to a question that your teacher has asked? Of course you already know how to raise your hand. But do you avoid it because its scary? Many students find that their entire vocabulary (and ability to think) disappears when they try to speak up in class. If this sounds familiar, youre not alone. But there are a few reasons why you should build up that courage and express yourself. For one thing, youll find that you become more self-assured every time you speak up (as painful as it may seen at the time), so the experience gets easier and easier. And another good reason? Your teacher will appreciate it. After all, teachers enjoy feedback and participation. By raising your hand in class, youre showing the teacher that you really care about your classroom performance. This can pay off at report card time! Difficulty Hard (scary sometimes) Time Required From 5 minutes to 5 weeks for comfort Heres How Do your reading assignments before you go to class. This is important for giving yourself a strong sense of self-confidence. You should go to class with an understanding of the topic at hand.Review the previous days notes right before class. On the margins of your notes, write down key words that will help you locate a certain topic quickly. Once again, the more prepared you feel, the more at ease youll feel when you speak in class.Now that youve done all the necessary reading, you should feel confident about the lecture material. Take excellent notes as your teacher lectures. Jot down key words in the margins of your notes if you have time.When the teacher asks a question, quickly locate the topic using your key words.Take a moment to breath and relax. Sort your thoughts by creating a mental outline in your head.With your writing hand, jot down a brief outline of your thoughts in response to the teachers question if you have time.Raise your other hand in the air.Dont feel pressured to blurt out your answer quickly. Look or think over your outline. Answer deliberately and slowly if necessary. Tips Dont ever be embarrassed by your answer! If its partly right, youve done a good job. If its completely off-base, the teacher will probably realize that he/she needs to re-word the question.Keep trying, even if you turn red and stammer at first. Youll find that it gets easier with experience.Dont get cocky! If you get lots of answers right and you get proud and cocky about it, others will think youre obnoxious. That wont do you any good. Dont alienate yourself by trying to impress the teacher. Your social life is important, too. What You Need One hand.A pencil and paper.Good class notes.The confidence that comes with doing the readings.A little courage.

Internal Audit Deparment Background description about TJX Company Essay

Internal Audit Deparment Background description about TJX Company - Essay Example Similarly, the audit department is involved in making optimal recommendations on the improvements that should be established to the senior management and audit committee. The audit director of TJX reports to John Caban in updating him on the auditing process and plans that need to be implemented (TJX.com, 2). John Caban is supposed to report to the CFO of TJX company who is known as Scott Goldenburg. In addition, Caban is responsible of approving the audit plan prepared by the audit department. Similarly, the chief audit chief is responsible of updating the audit department of the organization through the quarterly reports during the regular meetings held in the organization (TJX.com, 1). One of the aspects that have enabled the auditing department of TJX organization to expand significantly in the past is the close relationship it has developed with the management. The management of the organization usually requests the audit department to undertake special auditing apart from the r outine audits to measure the compliance level of the organization. This has enabled the department to comply with the established accounting regulations, financial and operational audits. Consequently, the objective of the TJX auditing department is to conduct accounting audits that are independent and designed to test compliance to the procedures and policies. In addition, the department goal is to ensure the control standards and securities are complied in the financial reporting of the various transactions encountered in the organization. Similarly, the auditing department helps the management of the company in meeting the internal control objectives of the organization. Owing to the numerous objectives and responsibilities that the audit department of TJX is expected to meet, a number of operation scope have been established to ensure the audit department improves the financial reporting of the organization. One of the capacities the auditing department is supposed to undertake is to review the integrity and reliability of the operational and financial information provided. In addition, the department is supposed to review the various means that can classify, report, and measure the financial and operational information provided by the various departments. Another scope of the department is evaluating the systems that have been established in ensuring that plans, laws, policies, regulation and procedure compliance that can affect the operation of the organization. Similarly, the auditing committee of the organization undertakes a review on the various means that can secure vital organization assets like computer data and investigating if the data is in existence. Furthermore, the department evaluates the efficiency, security and control of the IT system investment to ensure it enables the organization to comply with the established procedures. In addition, the auditing department reviews and appraises the efficiency and economy in the utilization of the av ailable resources. Moreover, the department evaluates the certainty of the financial results in determining they are consistent with the founded goals and objectives. Accordingly, the auditing department of TJX Company has been able to ensure the financial and accounting reporting complies with the founded regulations, laws and policies. Audit Staff Description The auditing

World Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World Literature - Essay Example Anyone failing to work through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is therefore determined to be destined for hell, simply because he did not work through the accepted channels. This assumption has been heavily questioned by the intelligentsia of various ages, though, as the directives in the Bible and the legends proposed by the Catholic Church continued to be at cross-purposes to themselves and as science and technology provided more concrete and reliable solutions to age-old problems in other arenas. This form of questioning the true nature of redemption can be found at the beginning of the nineteenth century with the publication of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic poem Faust as well as in the twentieth century with T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland. Goethe’s poem was published in two parts, the first appearing in 1808 and the sequel not being completed until just before the poet’s death in 1832. While there have been many interpretations of the basic storyline over time, including several circulating well before Goethe adopted it, Goethe’s Faust is presented as a character seeking fulfillment in terms of finding absolute truth and the meaning of existence as opposed to the more typical representation of a self-absorbed scholar interested only in increasing his own power. While Goethe’s character retains the sense of the dissatisfied scholar, he also demonstrates the higher existential longings of the new age of science and intellectualism. His dissatisfaction is illustrated upon his first introduction in the poem: â€Å"I have, alas! Philosophy, / Medicine, Jurisprudence too, / And to my cost Theology, / With ardent labour, studied through. / And here I stand, with all my lore, / Poor feel, no wiser than before.† While he has spent his life educating himself and others in every possible field of knowledge, Faust still finds he is no wiser than

CMC Midterm Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMC Midterm - Article Example The benefit of having an online outlet is that one can vent one’s frustrations with certain social issues and so forth. The online factor is helpful because it shields one from the verbal barbs that might come with face-to-face parlance. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ No, I don’t think this has anything to do with gender. Just the format of these various sites did not appeal to me at all, and I don’t necessarily think it had anything to do with the gendering of the sites or not. SecondLife is very colorful and filled with a lot of images (especially of women) that use a lot of bright colors, while Twitter seems more geared towards men. Twitter’s homepage is blue, which many people typically associate with the male gender. Visuals include colors. For example, brighter colors are gendered towards women, since, in olden times women had to have better color vision than men in order to complete the task of food-gathering. Women are also appealed to by text-based cues like pretty or girly fonts, whilst men are appealed to by the usage of simple fonts and basic colors. I would say that the color blue most closely resonates with everyone, not just men. Blue is most peoples’ favorite color, and so it would make sense, for example, that Twitter’s homepage would use blue as its primary

Judgment of Auditors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Judgment of Auditors - Research Paper Example The auditor has to be independent and objective during all the instances that he has to rely upon his judgment to assess the impact of any evidence and should be careful that his independence and objectivity is not impaired. In the start of the audit, the auditor plans his course of work that has to be performed during the audit of any client. During the planning, the auditor accounts for the client business risk, operations, position of the client, financial health and other audit determiners. The level of work that is to be performed by the auditor provides the auditor to plan the work and allocate the working hours of the audit for which the previous year’s hours are taken as a base and a time budget is prepared for the audit to be conducted in a timely manner.   During the preparation of the budget, the managers, as well as the seniors, lay emphasis on the cost control because of the fact that their motivation is provided through the evaluation of their performance. The firm also communicates it to the seniors as well as the managers regarding the fees that the firm will obtain from a particular client and this is communicated well before the preparation of the time budgets so that the short term profitability can be kept in mind. This approach of the auditors impairs the judgment and therefore the independence and the objectivity of the audit as the auditors pay less attention to the audit and exercise lesser judgment and expertise due to lack of time and pressure to complete the work on time. The increased fee pressure tends to decrease the positive impact on the risk assessment of the auditor and that has a direct consequence on the auditor’s judgment which may later impair the objectivity of the audit.

Strategic management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic management - Assignment Example As Atkinson (2011) reports, in November 2011, the Citigroup planned to sell EMI Group’s recorded music sector to Universal Music Group and music publishing division to Sony/ATV consortium. This paper will use a number of strategic management theories including SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces model, and BCG matrix to assess the level of competitiveness of EMI and identify the need for strategic change in the digital competitive environment of 2012. SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong global presence is one of the major strengths of the EMI group because this factor assists the company to spread its risk elements. In addition, EMI is one of the world’s leading music corporations with 12.6% global market share (Light Speed Research, 2012). The group has a roster of over 1300 artists and many of them are world class artists like David Bowie and Norah Jones. The merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company in 1931 resulted in t he formation of EMI Ltd. Weaknesses The EMI Music’s poor performance in the US market, the world’s largest recorded music market, seems to be its most potential weakness. Since EMI is an independent music industry, it has to find its own resources without any assistance from a parent company. Declining global market share is another weakness of the organisation. Financial data indicate that the firm’s global market share dropped from 13.4% in 2002 to 12.6% in 2003 and eventually 9.55% in 2005 (Bridgewell, 2004). Opportunities Joint ventures offer greater expansion opportunities for the company. The company has often enjoyed potential advantages from its joint ventures with other larger multinationals such as Apple and Yahoo. Liberalisation of mergers and acquisitions in the music industry would significantly promote the company’s growth (Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2010). In addition, the fast development of internet applications also crea tes a range of potential opportunities for the firm. Threats Declining scope of recorded music is identified to be the biggest threat to the EMI Group. The recent global recession drastically affected the global economy and this condition appears to be an impediment to the growth of the music industry as well. Evidently, music piracy and aggressive market competition also threaten the further development of EMI. PESTLE Analysis Political factors The EMI Group maintains good relations with foreign countries to expand its business territory and thereby improve global market share. The company obtains good support from the political spectrum as it has designed many employee benefit schemes such as flexible working hours, family policies, and other financial incentives. Economic factors The global economic landscape is not much appealing because of the drastic effects of the recent global recession. Many of the EMI’s markets are still under the process of recovery. Hence, the eco nomic factors are not favourable for the organisation. Social factors The EMI website claims, â€Å"whatever the culture, whatever the society, wherever there are people, there is music† (EMI, 2012). In addition, EMI gives more focus on specific cultural aspects of each country where the company has a music market. Hence, social factors are less likely to affect the EMI’s business. Technological factors The technology sector has been performing outstandingly over the

Study on what drives potential employees who are currently studying Dissertation

Study on what drives potential employees who are currently studying business in Foundation Campus (UK) to choose a job that offe - Dissertation Example endations 30 APPENDICES 34 Appendix 1: Questionnaire 34 Appendix 2: Interview 36 CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview The area of this research is human resource management. This area is made up by several fields which includes reward and motivation (Boddy, 2008). Human resource management refers to the use of modern science approach to "train, organize, and allocate some people"(Stone and Stone-Romero, 2008). People's thought, psychological and behavior of the appropriate induction, control and coordinate. To create people’s self-image and to improve people’s motivation of working, it is good to keep balance of employee e and material resources. Human resource management is the â€Å"effective use† of people so that can â€Å"boost organizational performance† (Simons 2011). Managers use employees to finish task effectively so that to make company performance better. Managers can give opportunities to motivate employees to work better. It is a way to use people to work hard. For example, manager reward, recruits, train and verbally punish their employees (Thussu and Freedman, 2003; Ruppel, 2010). The field of this research will be based on reward, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Mmotivation is a â€Å"process of allocating energy to maximize the satisfaction of needs† (Pritchard and Ashwood, 2008). Motivation is the driving force in order to employees to keep their goals. For example, employees hope to have their own car. They will be motivated by their own desire. They will earn enough money to buy it. Motivation can also be defined as a recurrent concern (McClelland, 1985, p.590). The goal state acts like workers to do something very well or having impact. For example, if people feel hungry, they will find food from different places. The aspect of human resource management is interesting as the research seeks to reward employees in intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Reward is that" work ana lysis, making plan of human resource needs and recruit; training and exploiting" (Adair, 1996). It is a good way to know what the employees need when they work in a company and how the employers can meet the needs of employees. Intrinsic motivation refers to inside an individual "interesting" (McClelland, 1985). Workers enjoy job itself and the challenge is offered a sense of pleasure. Inside desires to finish a special task, people do some activities because it can give them pleasure. Meanwhile, it develops particular skill of employees. Extrinsic motivation factors are external rewards such as salary for workers or grades for students (McClelland, 1985). This type of motivation provides satisfaction and pleasure even though the task itself can be discussing. People are motivated by money and

Strategic management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic management - Assignment Example As Atkinson (2011) reports, in November 2011, the Citigroup planned to sell EMI Group’s recorded music sector to Universal Music Group and music publishing division to Sony/ATV consortium. This paper will use a number of strategic management theories including SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces model, and BCG matrix to assess the level of competitiveness of EMI and identify the need for strategic change in the digital competitive environment of 2012. SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong global presence is one of the major strengths of the EMI group because this factor assists the company to spread its risk elements. In addition, EMI is one of the world’s leading music corporations with 12.6% global market share (Light Speed Research, 2012). The group has a roster of over 1300 artists and many of them are world class artists like David Bowie and Norah Jones. The merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company in 1931 resulted in t he formation of EMI Ltd. Weaknesses The EMI Music’s poor performance in the US market, the world’s largest recorded music market, seems to be its most potential weakness. Since EMI is an independent music industry, it has to find its own resources without any assistance from a parent company. Declining global market share is another weakness of the organisation. Financial data indicate that the firm’s global market share dropped from 13.4% in 2002 to 12.6% in 2003 and eventually 9.55% in 2005 (Bridgewell, 2004). Opportunities Joint ventures offer greater expansion opportunities for the company. The company has often enjoyed potential advantages from its joint ventures with other larger multinationals such as Apple and Yahoo. Liberalisation of mergers and acquisitions in the music industry would significantly promote the company’s growth (Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2010). In addition, the fast development of internet applications also crea tes a range of potential opportunities for the firm. Threats Declining scope of recorded music is identified to be the biggest threat to the EMI Group. The recent global recession drastically affected the global economy and this condition appears to be an impediment to the growth of the music industry as well. Evidently, music piracy and aggressive market competition also threaten the further development of EMI. PESTLE Analysis Political factors The EMI Group maintains good relations with foreign countries to expand its business territory and thereby improve global market share. The company obtains good support from the political spectrum as it has designed many employee benefit schemes such as flexible working hours, family policies, and other financial incentives. Economic factors The global economic landscape is not much appealing because of the drastic effects of the recent global recession. Many of the EMI’s markets are still under the process of recovery. Hence, the eco nomic factors are not favourable for the organisation. Social factors The EMI website claims, â€Å"whatever the culture, whatever the society, wherever there are people, there is music† (EMI, 2012). In addition, EMI gives more focus on specific cultural aspects of each country where the company has a music market. Hence, social factors are less likely to affect the EMI’s business. Technological factors The technology sector has been performing outstandingly over the

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Essay Example fMRI measures brain activity indirectly, namely by measuring change in oxygen content; this is called the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism. However, fMRI has certain limitations. For instance, the fMRI signal reflects changes in oxygen content with high but insufficient spatial-time resolution. Hemodynamics in response to neuronal activity is revealed on a spatial-temporal scale far longer than the neuronal activity itself. Here, so-called temporal "blurring" of the fMRI signal is caused by both inertance and residual effects. In spite of such obstacles, changes in neural activity associated with individual trials or components of a trial in a task can be observed. Moreover, it is possible to capture brain activity associated with a single momentary cognitive act of mentally rotating a stimulus, without recourse to averaging over events (Buckner & Logan 2001, p. 31). Special fMRI experimental designs such as event-related fMRI designs are required in these cases. There are numerous difficulties in separating the processing roles of specific brain areas. Usually such separation is provided either by well matched task comparisons or through convergence across multiple studies. However, brain activity changes can be relative changes between pairs of tasks, gradual or even nonlinear changes across a series of tasks, or correlations between different tasks. How can tasks and trials within a task be constructed to separate brain cognitive operations This is a key problem of fMRI experimental design. There are several approaches for its solving. The basic approach is to have subjects engage in a target behavioural task for a period of time and then contrast that task period with periods where subjects perform a reference task. Here, the subject might perform a target task, and the measurement obtained during the performance of that task would be contrasted with a measurement obtained when the subject performed a matched reference task. How to substantiate this approach It is obvious that brain activity will change between the two task states and therefore will correlate selectively with the manipulated task demands. When using fMRI, images are taken of the brain repeatedly and in sequence. Brain areas of activation are identified by examining which specific regions change signal intensity as the task state changes from the reference condition to the target task. Then, statistical procedures ranging from direct comparisons between task states to more sophisticated estimations of correlations among task states can be employed to identify those regions whose activity change is unlikely to occur by chance. Unfortunately, tasks designed by such approach may cause differences in the processing strategies adopted by subjects during task performance by means of the blocking of trials, which may result in differential patterns of neural activity that do not have to do with the item-specific processes elicited by the individual trials. This issue can appear in delicate forms in cognitive paradigms where subject strategies may be

Managing In Hospitality Essay Example for Free

Managing In Hospitality Essay To convince the management, the owner must be able to communicate his ideas and perceptions clearly. The owner might face a bit of difficulty doing this, since the managers have been around for long, and they probably know their trade well. It is still possible, however. One of the things that the owner can do is gain the trust of his managers. However, it cannot be the calculus-based trust or identification-based trust—it has to be through organizational citizenship behavior. Specifically, he has to make sure that each member of the management is treated fairly. For instance, with this issue, he must give each and every one a chance to voice out their opinion regarding the upgrading of the hotel, and explain why they are against it. This will let them know that even though the owner’s ideas may be in conflict with those of the management’s, the owner still values their knowledge and respects their position as managers. Once they all get their chance to share their thoughts, the owner should then explain his side, but trying not to compete with his managers as to which is the better plan, as this will only create friction, in the form of substantive conflict, and it will be even more difficult to convince the management to upgrade the hotel. Instead, the party should negotiate, or bargain, and try to find a common ground. Since everyone has had his side heard by this point, they can address the questions surrounding the issue of why upgrading to a 5-star hotel might be a bad idea, and what can be done to turn this around or to compensate for it. Lastly, the owner should try to control his emotions when explaining his side. No matter how harsh or how blunt the management may be, regarding his decisions as â€Å"unnecessary†, the owner must remain emotionally stable. The same goes for the management—if one of them suddenly starts raising his voice, he should be calmed down before proceeding with the meeting. They should also be reminded of their positions—they are managers, not owners—and should respect the owner’s authority over them. The owner himself should not push his weight around. Works Cited Hunt, Courtney. â€Å"Interpersonal Behavior in the Workplace.†

Aggressive Driving Can Lead To Road Rage Essay -- essays research pape

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It starts with just a moment of tailgating, or maybe the guy in front of you cut you off or wouldn’t let you into the fast lane. In some cases it appears that incidents of road rage are caused by simple misunderstandings between drivers. A driver may make a momentary error of judgment but the perception of another driver is that he or she is driving aggressively. Then suddenly it turns into World War III on the highway. It matters little what causes it; a bad day at the office, a love affair going bad, credit cards maxed to the credit limit. All it takes is a sudden movement of someone else’s wheels, and within seconds a normally mild mannered motorist is consumed with a red-eyed, mouth-foaming surge of anger that grabs more of us every day. Road Rage, something that has always simmered on the back burner of motoring America, is now going off like fireworks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Motorists who have snapped and committed incredible violence are mostly men and women with no known histories of crime, violence, or alcohol and drug abuse. They are the people typically described by neighbors â€Å"the nicest woman or man† or â€Å"a wonderful mother or father.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Father, mother, son, daughter, they all have their own ways of getting mad. Some slam on the brakes, jump out of their cars, open the trunks and grab anything that they get their hands on. Others use baseball bats, knives, mace, pepper spray, fists, or some simply pull out a pistol and start firing away. Why are these drivers turning their anger and frustrations into road rage and what solutions can we propose to stop this road rage?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some say that one of the main causes of aggressive driving which usually leads to road rage is highway congestion. The road construction on the major interstates adds to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   lane closures and distractions to motorists. A motorist is driving the speed limit and then immediately has to slam on their brakes because another motorist sees the lane closures and decides to cut in front of them. This type of driving makes motorists mad because they know tha... ...sp;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We can attack and reduce the dangers of aggressive driving. Each of us should take a look at our own driving habits and those of our friends and loved ones. The government can help with road improvements and law enforcement, but solving this problem will require people to change their behavior. Working together, we can make our roads safer and prevent deaths and injuries. Works Cited Bowles, Scott and Overberg, Paul. â€Å"Aggressive driving: A road well-traveled.† USA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TODAY 12 July 1999. USA TODAY on America Online. America Online. 27 September 2000. Ledford, Joey. â€Å"Women taking their rage to the road.† Post-Dispatch 19 Sept. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Post-Dispatch on America Online. America Online. 21 Sept. 2000. Leiser, Ken. â€Å"ROAD RAGE: COMMUTER COMBAT IN AMERICA.† Post-Dispatch   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  19 June 2000. Post-Dispatch on America Online. America Online. 19 September 2000.

Comparing and Analysing The Gift and Frankenstein :: The Gift Frankenstein Movies Film Essays

Comparing and Analysing The Gift and Frankenstein We watched a video called â€Å"The Gift†. This was a story of a girl called Annie, aged 16. She was a keen sportswoman and played football regularly. However, she began to develop balance difficulties. These difficulties began to escalate, Annie and her mother, Barbara, decide to go to the Doctors. They find out that Annie has a sever condition named Friedricks Attaxia in which your muscles waste away. Annie is told that her condition will deteriorate and she will eventually die. On hearing this news, Annie’s brother, Ryan, who is fourteen, wants to be tested for the disease. Ryan finds that he is a carrier of the disease. The film now goes forward in time to the year 2012. Annie, Ryan’s sister, s now dead. Ryan is married and wants to have a child but is concerned as to whether his wife is a carrier of Friedericks Attaxia, she is tested and found as a carrier. This means that there is a chance of their child being born with this disease. Ryan wants to make sure that their child does not have the disease. Ryan persuades his wife to let him select a child, using advanced technology, which does not carry the Friedericks Attaxia gene, on condition that that is the only thing that he selects. However, as a geneticist, Ryan can read and understand the gene odes which are presented to him, Ryan decides to pick a child without the Friedericks Attaxia gene, but also selects a boy who is good at sport (in memory of Annie). The story again goes forward in time. Now in the year 2029, Ryan is now divorced and their son, Mark, is now 16. He is a tennis champion. However, he discovers he cannot qualify for an award because he was a ‘Designer baby’. Mark now confronts his father, Ryan, who reveals the truth. The film ends with a talk show, debating whether designer babies should be allowed, in which Ryan, his ex – wife, Mark, and a scientist are interviewed. Ryan and the scientist are clearly for the proposal; Ryan’s ex wife is against. They debate the pros and cons of Genetic Engineering. These included increased quality of life for the pros, but it was argues that designer babies took away the foetus’ right to live. We talked about the issues, characters and their viewpoints. Ryan (when he was young) was very jealous of Annie, and all of the attention she was receiving. However, he was devastated by Annie’s condition. Ryan turns out to be a very clever, determined man, who, although he took it too far, tried to use genetic engineering for

Black Culture and Black Consciousness in Transition Essay

Negative Construction French Marxist thinker, Louis Althusser, established a crucial theory which illuminates how and why ‘myths’ and ‘ideologies’ are constructed throughout time and history. In his celebrated essay, â€Å"Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,† Althusser makes a convincing argument in concerns with ‘ideology’ and its influence on individuals or ‘subject’ which are created through specialized institutions (i.e. religious, educational, political, and family, trade union, communication, et al.). Althusser aptly declares that, â€Å"Ideology is a ‘representation’ of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence† (Althusser, 1994). In addition, Althusser wants to clarify the significance of ideologies imposed on individuals: â€Å"Ideology is conceived as a pure illusion, a pure dream, i.e. as nothingness. All its reality is external to it. Ideology is thus thought as an imaginary construction whose status is exactly like the theoretical status of the dream among writers before Freud†¦There is a cause for the imaginary transposition of the real conditions of existence that cause is the existence of a small number of cynical men who base their domination and exploitation of the ‘people’ on a falsified representation of the world which they have imagined in order to enslave other minds by dominating their imaginations† (1496, 1499). Now take Althusserian’s notion on the construction of ‘ideology’ and apply it to the myth of the ‘American dream.’ Within the socio-historical context of the American dream, the idea that people can start with little more than determination and cunning and leave a legacy of wealth and accomplishment is perhaps the most persistent hope for Americans. As an ideology constructed over history, the subjective/cultural/social construct of the ‘American dream’ shapes how many Americans see their successes or failures and, equally significant, demonstrates the many contours of U.S. society. For African-Americans (including women and ethnic groups), however, were not fully ‘assimilated’ into every aspect of American society, especially since the American dream ideology specifically referred or geared towards ‘white males,’ for several reasons. If we look at American history, blacks (like women and other minorities) had dreams of obtaining equal rights and independence that was privileged to the ‘common man.’ The slaves were constantly being told to postpone or wait-for their freedom would come. Even the declaration of independence states â€Å"all men are created equal†¦endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights†¦among those life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,† but the slaves of this time were disappointed because this defining of ‘all men’ excluded blacks. In fact, it excluded pretty much everyone, except white men with land. In this postponing of freedom, slavery, discrimination, racism, Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, riots and so on. Thus the ‘American dream,’ to quote from Langston Hughes, has been deferred. â€Å"Deferred† because blacks had to wait, delegate to others who could promote change. Since most minorities were not fully integrated into American life, some managed to ‘successfully’ pass by within the rigid structure of society. Case in point, Macon Dead and rapper Shawn Carter (aka Jay-Z) should be interpreted as accultrationist rather than assimilationist with respect to the American dream for several reasons. First and foremost, the term acculturation carries three definitions: it is seen as the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure, all the knowledge and values shared by a society and, lastly, the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture. Ultimately, acculturation is the obtainment of â€Å"culture† by an individual or a group of people. The latter two definitions, however, provide greater insight into Macon Dead’s characteristic as an acculturationist. Living in an unjust capitalist system, resides in an era where most Americans failed to acknowledge the presence of blacks (and other minorities) by deliberately and blatantly pass frivolous laws and regulations. Macon Dead, as a patriarch/hard-nosed businessman, is defined as an individual of substance who has acquired property in which he rents to black underclass tenants. Consequently Macon Dead is described in the context of trying to emulate and ‘adopt’ similar behavior patterns from ‘white’ society considering America excluded blacks (and other minorities) in every conceivable way (i.e. socially, politically, cultural, etc). For instance, Morrison carefully describes Macon’s appreciation for materialistic possessions in another scene when the rest of his family takes an excursion on Not Doctor Street: â€Å"These rides that the family took on Sunday afternoons had become rituals and much too important for Macon to enjoy. For him it was a way to satisfy himself that he was indeed a successful man†¦Macon Dead’s Packard rolled slowly down Not Doctor Street, through the rough part of town (later known as the Blood Bank because blood flowed so freely there), over the bypass downtown, and headed for the wealthy white neighborhoods. Some of the black people who saw the car passing by sighed with good-humored envy at the classiness, the dignity of it† (Morrison, 32). This scene illustrates Macon’s ability to purchase a wealthy vehicle (i.e. Packard) which functions as a means of communicating, ‘achievement’ and ‘opulence’ to the public. Therefore in order to achieve this myth/ideology/concept of the ‘American dream,’ Macon Dead truly has to abandon himself and, equally significant, his ‘true’ identity by emulating the hated white people of America around that time. Macon Dead is less sympathetic to his own culture by taking a ‘white man’s role’ (i.e. dominant culture) as a cutthroat businessman which also solidifies his reputation as an ‘outsider’ within the black community. In the contemporary context, Jay-Z is the postmodern version of what constitutes an acculturationist by virtue of the hip-hop aesthetics (whereas John Coltrane, Miles Davis or any black jazz musician can be defined as the modernist version of accultrationist). William Eric Perkins, author of ‘the rap attack,’ details the influence of hip-hop culture and its signification towards inner-city teens and America (in particular, African-American and Latino kids): â€Å"Rap music and hip hop culture’s ongoing bewildering love/hate relationship with American society requires a fresh evaluation of the role street culture plays in the continuing evolution of American popular culture† (Perkins, 1). As Jay-Z was raised from the underprivileged neighborhoods of Brooklyn, especially at a time where hip-hop (as an urban phenomenon) reached its second wave of talented MC’s from the inner-city neighborhoods of South Bronx, Harlem, and throughout NYC (with the likes of LL Cool J, Kool Moe Doe, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B and Rakim, KRS-One, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Ultramagnetic MC’s, to name a few), Jay-Z understood the integral relationship between hip-hop and street life by ‘adopting’ certain ‘behavior patterns’ within the musical genre.

Architecture: Classical Greek vs. Medieval Gothic

Architecture: Classical Greek vs. Medieval Gothic Wendy DeLisio HUM_266 September 24, 2012 Taniya Hossain Architecture: Classical Greek vs. Medieval Gothic Looking at the design of different structures throughout the world, one may not realize the beauty of the art in each of them or the ideals on which they were constructed. For example the classical Greek era, 480 BCE – 330 BCE that held the ideals of order, balance, and God like perfection. This type of idealist architecture is seen in the Parthenon temple built in 447-432 BCE (Ancient-Greece. rg, 2012). The temple is built in tribute for the Goddess Athena, Goddess of war and wisdom. It is a post and lintel structure with columns fashioned in Greek Doric style. There are also the beautiful cathedrals built during the Middle Ages in gothic style that give society insight into the culture of that age. The architecture of these times were heavily influenced by religion and Christianity and designed to elevate the spirit of ma n toward God (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2012).One example of this time is the architectural design is the Amiens Cathedral. Originally built in 1152 BCE but was destroyed by fire; reconstruction started in 1220 CE and was completed in 1245 CE (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2012). In the design of this cathedral it is evident that the architect is influenced by the Christian religion, from the three archways representing the trinity and the middle archway adorned with a statue of Christ, it was built as a place of worship.These remarkable structures, each a piece of art, are both built with divine intentions, stand in stark contrast to each other, influenced by the culture of the age. Although both classic Greek and gothic architectures are built to define the ideals and beliefs of their age and have differences, the classic Greek architecture of order and balance has influenced and are used within the gothic medieval constructions. There are differenc es between the formal and stylistic characteristics of the classic Greek architecture and the gothic rchitecture of the medieval age. Classic Greek architecture is made of stone resting on stone with nothing but pressure holding them together. This is best exemplified in Greek temples, such as the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a post and lintel structure, built of lime stone and marble which were the common building materials of that age (Sporre, 2010). Using these types of materials limited the architect’s use of space. In order for the building to stand without the roof collapsing many columns were needed to hold the roof up.These columns, known as Doric columns because of their style, were made of marble and the pressure of the stone roof resting on them held them together. The Parthenon was with many beautiful states, from the metopes that are a series of carved panels forming the Doric frieze telling stories of the history and battles of the Gods, to the towering statue of the Goddess Athena for which it was built. The Parthenon and other Greek temples were meant to be revered from the outside as a center piece of the city, a monument to the Gods of that age. Gothic architecture, unlike classic Greek, used stone masonry.By using stone masonry they were able to create arches and redistributed the pressure of the stones enabling the structures to be built taller. They also created what is called a buttress and used this to hold up walls and arches as reinforcement. Gothic architecture was considered ethereal and focused on the use of space (Sporre, 2010). A beautiful example of gothic architecture was the Amiens Cathedral. Towering into the heavens, with strong arches, symmetrical lines, and ornate workmanship, this cathedral was a show piece for the city in which it was built and exuded spirituality.These cathedrals were meant to inspire one to look toward the heavens with extremely high ceilings and ornate stain glass window placed strategically towa rd the roof causes one to look upward. Like classic Greek temple, they were adorned with beautiful statues. However, the states were of the Christian Saints, and other religious symbolism. The Amiens Cathedral was meant as place to enter and worship, as were all cathedral of the medieval era. Even though there are differences between these two styles of architecture, they are a testament to evolution of how societies have grown and evolved.One can see this in the similarities of these two styles. Classic Greek architect’s used repetition in the arrangement of the columns holding up the roof of the Parthenon. Gothic architect’s used repetition in the creation of the arches on the facade of the Amiens Cathedral. The gothic cathedrals are built with order and as are the Greek temples. One can see that gothic architecture evolved out of classic Greek. The most interesting aspects of the classic Greek architecture were the way the buildings were constructed with marble ston es and no use of mortar or cement and the beautiful engravings on the metopes are mesmerizing.Gothic architecture is gorgeous. The creation of colored lighting through the placement of stained glass and the construction of the arches holds one captivated. Both styles of architecture are fascinating because of the elaborate detail and styles of construction that it took to create the beautiful structures during those eras. Even though each of these styles have their differences, clearly the classic Greek influences can be seen in the buildings of the medieval time period and in today’s architectural structures.References Ancient-Greece. org. (2012). The Parthenon. Retrieved from http://www. ancient-greece. org/architecture/parthenon. html Apollo Group, Inc. (2012). Medieval Gothic Cathedrals [Online Video]. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/UOPHX/HUM266/art_through_ages. html Sporre, D. J. (2010). Reality Through The Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentic e Hall. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2012). Amiens Cathedral. Retrieved from http://whc. unesco. org/en/list/162

Variable Cost and Net Operating Income

ASSIGNMENT P 6-16 , P6-17 PROBLEM 6-16 Variable and Absorption Costing Unit Product Costs and Income Statements; Explanation of Difference in Net Operating Income [LO1, LO2, LO3] Wiengot Antennas, Inc. , produces and sells a unique type of TV antenna. The company has just opened a new plant to manufacture the antenna, and the following cost and revenue data have been provided for the first month of the plant's operation in the form of a worksheet. Because the new antenna is unique in design, management is anxious to see how profitable it will be and has asked that an income statement be prepared for the month.Required: 1. Assume that the company uses absorption costing. a. Determine the unit product cost. b. Prepare an income statement for the month. 2. Assume that the company uses variable costing. a. Determine the unit product cost. b. Prepare a contribution format income statement for the month. 3. Explain the reason for any difference in the ending inventory balances under the tw o costing methods and the impact of this difference on reported net operating income. PROBLEM 6-17 Variable and Absorption Costing Unit Product Costs and Income Statements [LO1, LO2] Nickelson Company manufactures and sells one product.The following information pertains to each of the company's first three years of operations: p. 262 During its first year of operations Nickelson produced 60,000 units and sold 60,000 units. During its second year of operations it produced 75,000 units and sold 50,000 units. In its third year, Nickelson produced 40,000 units and sold 65,000 units. The selling price of the company's product is $56 per unit. Required: 1. Compute the company's break-even point in units sold. 2. Assume the company uses variable costing: a.Compute the unit product cost for year 1, year 2, and year 3. b. Prepare an income statement for year 1, year 2, and year 3. 3. Assume the company uses absorption costing: a. Compute the unit product cost for year 1, year 2, and year 3. b. Prepare an income statement for year 1, year 2, and year 3. 4. Compare the net operating income figures that you computed in requirements 2 and 3 to the break-even point that you computed in requirement 1. Which net operating income figures seem counterintuitive? Why? LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR ASSIGNMENT.LO1, LO2, LO3 OVERVIEW OF VARIABLE AND ABSOPTION COSTING As you begin to read about variable LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1 and absorption costing income Explain how variable costing differs from statements in the coming pages, absorption costing and compute unit focus your attention on three key product costs under each method. concepts. First, both income statement formats include product costs and period costs, although they define these cost classifications differently. Second, variable costing income statements are grounded in the contribution format.They categorize expenses based on cost behavior—variable costs are reported separately from fixed costs. Absorption costing income statements ignore variable and fixed cost distinctions. Third, as mentioned in the paragraph above, variable and absorption costing net operating income figures often differ from one another. The reason for these differences always relates to the fact the variable costing and absorption costing income statements account for fixed manufacturing overhead differently.Pay very close attention to the two different ways that variable costing and absorption costing account for fixed manufacturing overhead. Variable Costing Under variable costing, only those manufacturing costs that vary with output are treated as product costs. This would usually include direct materials, direct labor, and the variable portion of manufacturing overhead. Fixed manufacturing overhead is not treated as a product cost under this method. Rather, fixed manufacturing overhead is treated as a period cost and, like selling and administrative expenses, it is expensed in its entirety each period.Consequently, the cos t of a unit of product in inventory or in cost of goods sold under the variable costing method does not contain any fixed manufacturing overhead cost. Variable costing is sometimes referred to as direct costing or marginal costing. Absorption Costing As discussed in Chapter 3, absorption costing treats all manufacturing costs as product costs, regardless of whether they are variable or fixed. The cost of a unit of product under the absorption costing method consists of direct materials, direct labor, nd both variable and fixed manufacturing overhead.Thus, absorption costing allocates a portion of fixed manufacturing overhead cost to each unit of product, along with the variable manufacturing costs. Because absorption costing includes all manufacturing costs in product costs, it is frequently referred to as the full cost method. p. 231 EXHIBIT 6–1 Variable Costing versus Absorption Costing Selling and Administrative Expenses Selling and administrative expenses are never treate d as product costs, regardless of the costing method.Thus, under absorption and variable costing, variable and fixed selling and administrative expenses are always treated as period costs and are expensed as incurred. Summary of Differences The essential difference between variable costing and absorption costing, as illustrated in Exhibit 6-1, is how each method accounts for fixed manufacturing overhead costs—all other costs are treated the same under the two methods. In absorption costing, fixed manufacturing overhead costs are included as part of the costs of work in process inventories.When units are completed, these costs are transferred to finished goods and only when the units are sold do these costs flow through to the income statement as part of cost of goods sold. In variable costing, fixed manufacturing overhead costs are considered to be period costs—just like selling and administrative costs—and are taken immediately to the income statement as period expenses. Variable And Absorption Costing—An Example To illustrate the difference between variable costing and absorption costing, consider Weber Light Aircraft, a company that produces light recreational aircraft.Data concerning the company's operations appear below: As you review the data above, it is important to realize that for the months of January, February, and March, the selling price per aircraft, variable cost per aircraft, and total monthly fixed expenses never change. The only variables that change in this example are the number of units produced (January =1 unit produced; February = 2 units produced; March = 4 units produced) and the number of units sold (January = 1 unit sold; February = 1 unit sold; March = 5 units sold).We will first construct the company's variable costing income statements for January, February, and March. Then we will show how the company's net operating income would be determined for the same months using absorption costing. Variable Cos ting Contribution Format Income Statement To prepare the company's variable costing income statements for January, February, and March we begin by computing the unit product cost. Under variable costing, product costs consist solely of variable production costs.At Weber Light Aircraft, the variable production cost per unit is $25,000, determined as follows: LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2 Prepare income statements using both variable and absorption costing. Since each month's variable production cost is $25,000 per aircraft, the variable costing cost of goods sold for all three months can be easily computed as follows: p. 233 And the company's total selling and administrative expense would be derived as follows: Putting it all together, the variable costing income statements would appear as shown inExhibit 6-2.Notice, the contribution format has been used in these income statements. Also, the monthly fixed manufacturing overhead costs ($70,000)have been recorded as a period expense in the mont h incurred. EXHIBIT 6–2 Variable Costing Income Statements A simple method for understanding how Weber Light Aircraft computed its variable costing net operating income figures is to focus on the contribution margin per aircraft sold, which is computed as follows:The variable costing net operating income for each period can always be computed by multiplying the number of units sold by the contribution margin per unit and then subtracting total fixed costs. For Weber Light Aircraft these computations would appear as follows: Notice, January and February have the same net operating loss. This occurs because one aircraft was sold in each month and, as previously mentioned, the selling price per aircraft, variable cost per aircraft, and total monthly fixed expenses remain constant. . 234 Absorption Costing Income Statement As we begin the absorption costing portion of the example, remember that the only reason absorption costing income differs from variable costing is that the me thods account for fixed manufacturing overhead differently. Under absorption costing, fixed manufacturing overhead is included in product costs. In variable costing, fixed manufacturing overhead is not included in product costs and instead is treated as a period expense just like selling and administrative expenses.The first step in preparing Weber's absorption costing income statements for January, February, and March, is to determine the company's unit product costs for each month as follows1: Notice that in each month, Weber's fixed manufacturing overhead cost of $70,000 is divided by the number of units produced to determine the fixed manufacturing overhead cost per unit. Given these unit product costs, the company's absorption costing net operating income in each month would be determined as shown in Exhibit 6-3.The sales for all three months in Exhibit 6-3 are the same as the sales shown in the variable osting income statements. The January cost of goods sold consists of one u nit produced during January at a cost of $95,000 according to the absorption costing system. The February cost of goods sold consists of one unit produced during February at a cost of $60,000 according to the absorption costing system. The March cost of goods sold ($230,000) consists of one unit produced during February at an absorption cost of $60,000 plus four units produced in March with a total absorption cost of $170,000 (= 4 units produced Ãâ€" $42,500 per unit).The selling and administrative expenses equal the amounts reported in the variable costing income statements; however they are reported as one amount rather than being separated into variable and fixed components. EXHIBIT 6–3 Absorption Costing Income Statements p. 235 Note that even though sales were exactly the same in January and February and the cost structure did not change, net operating income was $35,000 higher in February than in January under absorption costing. This occurs because one aircraft produc ed in February is not sold until March.This aircraft has $35,000 of fixed manufacturing overhead attached to it that was incurred in February, but will not be recorded as part of cost of goods sold until March. Contrasting the variable costing and absorption costing income statements in Exhibits 62and 6-3, note that net operating income is the same in January under variable costing and absorption costing, but differs in the other two months. We will discuss this in some depth shortly. Also note that the format of the variable costing income statement differs from the absorption costing income statement.An absorption costing income statement categorizes costs by function—manufacturing versus selling and administrative. All of the manufacturing costs flow through the absorption costing cost of goods sold and all of the selling and administrative costs are listed separately as period expenses. In contrast, in the contribution approach, costs are categorized according to how they behave. All of the variable expenses are listed together and all of the fixed expenses are listed together.The variable expenses category includes manufacturing costs (i. e. , variable cost of goods sold) as well as selling and administrative expenses. The fixed expenses category also includes both manufacturing costs and selling and administrative expenses. Reconciliation of Variable Costing with Absorption Costing Income As noted earlier, variable costing and absorption costing net operating incomes may not be the same. In the case of Weber Light Aircraft, the net operating incomes are the same in January, but differ in the other two months.These differences occur because under absorption costing some fixed manufacturing overhead is capitalized in inventories (i. e. , included in product costs) rather than currently expensed on the income statement. If inventories increase during a period, under absorption costing some of the fixed manufacturing overhead of the current period wil l bedeferred in ending inventories. For example, in February two aircraft were produced and each carried with it $35,000 (= $70,000 à · 2 aircraft produced) in fixed manufacturing overhead.Since only one aircraft was sold, $35,000 of this fixed manufacturing overhead was on February's absorption costing income statement as part of cost of goods sold, but $35,000 would have been on the balance sheet as part of finished goods inventories. In contrast, under variable costing all of the $70,000 of fixed manufacturing overhead appeared on the February income statement as a period expense. Consequently, net operating income was higher under absorption costing than under variable costing by $35,000 in February. This was reversed in March when four units were produced, but five were sold.In March, under absorption costing $105,000 of fixed manufacturing overhead was included in cost of goods sold ($35,000 for the unit produced in February and sold in March plus $17,500 for each of the four units produced and sold in March), but only $70,000 was recognized as a period expense under variable costing. Hence, the net operating income in March was $35,000 lower under absorption costing than under variable costing.LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3 Reconcile variable costing and absorption costing net operating incomes and explain why the two amounts differ. p. 36 In general, when the units produced exceed unit sales and hence inventories increase, net operating income is higher under absorption costing than under variable costing. This occurs because some of the fixed manufacturing overhead of the period is deferred in inventories under absorption costing. In contrast, when unit sales exceed the units produced and hence inventories decrease, net operating income is lower under absorption costing than under variable costing. This occurs because some of the fixed manufacturing overhead of previous periods is released from inventories under absorption costing.When the units produced and u nit sales are equal, no change in inventories occurs and absorption costing and variable costing net operating incomes are the same. 2 Variable costing and absorption costing net operating incomes can be reconciled by determining how much fixed manufacturing overhead was deferred in, or released from, inventories during the period: The reconciliation would then be reported as shown in Exhibit 6-4: EXHIBIT 6–4 Reconciliation of Variable Costing and Absorption Costing Net Operating IncomesAgain note that the difference between variable costing net operating income and absorption costing net operating income is entirely due to the amount of fixed manufacturing overhead that is deferred in, or released from, inventories during the period under absorption costing. Changes in inventories affect absorption costing net operating income—they do not affect variable costing net operating income, providing that variable manufacturing costs per unit are stable. p. 237 EXHIBIT 6â₠¬â€œ5 Comparative Income Effects—Absorption and Variable CostingThe reasons for differences between variable and absorption costing net operating incomes are summarized in Exhibit 6-5. When the units produced equal the units sold, as in January for Weber Light Aircraft, absorption costing net operating income will equal variable costing net operating income. This occurs because when production equals sales, all of the fixed manufacturing overhead incurred in the current period flows through to the income statement under both methods.For companies that use Lean Production, the number of units produced tends to equal the number of units sold. This occurs because goods are produced in response to customer orders, thereby eliminating finished goods inventories and reducing work in process inventory to almost nothing. So, when a company uses Lean Production differences in variable costing and absorption costing net operating income will largely disappear. When the units produced e xceed the units sold, absorption costing net operating income will exceed variable costing net operating income.This occurs because inventories have increased; therefore, under absorption costing some of the fixed manufacturing overhead incurred in the current period is deferred in ending inventories on the balance sheet, whereas under variable costing all of the fixed manufacturing overhead incurred in the current period flows through to the income statement. In contrast, when the units produced are less than the units sold, absorption costing net operating income will be less than variable costing net operating income.This occurs because inventories have decreased; therefore, under absorption costing fixed manufacturing overhead that had been deferred in inventories during a prior period flows through to the current period's income statement together with all of the fixed manufacturing overhead incurred during the current period. Under variable costing, just the fixed manufacturin g overhead of the current period flows through to the income statement. Advantages Of Variable Costing And The Contribution Approach Variable costing, together with the contribution approach, offers appealing advantages for internal reports.This section discusses four of those advantages. Enabling CVP Analysis CVP analysis requires that we break costs down into their fixed and variable components. Because variable costing income statements categorize costs as fixed and variable, it is much easier to use this income statement format to perform CVP analysis than attempting to use the absorption costing format, which mixes together fixed and variable costs. Moreover, absorption costing net operating income may or may not agree with the results of CVP analysis.For example, let's suppose that you are interested in computing the sales that would be necessary to generate a target profit of $235,000 at Weber Light Aircraft. A CVP analysis based on the January variable costing income stateme nt from Exhibit 6-2would proceed as follows: Thus, a CVP analysis based on the January variable costing income statement predicts that the net operating income would be $235,000 when sales are $500,000. And indeed, the net operating income under variable costing is $235,000 when the sales are $500,000 in March.However, the net operating income under absorption costing is not $235,000 in March, even though the sales are $500,000. Why is this? The reason is that under absorption costing, net operating income can be distorted by changes in inventories. In March, inventories decreased, so some of the fixed manufacturing overhead that had been deferred in February's ending inventories was released to the March income statement, resulting in a net operating income that is $35,000 lower than the $235,000 predicted by CVP analysis.If inventories had increased in March, the opposite would have occurred—the absorption costing net operating income would have been higher than the $235,00 0 predicted by CVP analysis. p. 239 Explaining Changes in Net Operating Income The variable costing income statements in Exhibit 6-2 are clear and easy to understand. All other things the same, when sales go up, net operating income goes up. When sales go down, net operating income goes down. When sales are constant, net operating income is constant. The number of unit produced does not affect net operating income.Absorption costing income statements can be confusing and are easily misinterpreted. Look again at the absorption costing income statements in Exhibit 6-3; a manager might wonder why net operating income went up from January to February even though sales were exactly the same. Was it a result of lower selling costs, more efficient operations, or was it some other factor? In fact, it was simply because the number of units produced exceeded the number of units sold in February and so some of the fixed manufacturing overhead costs were deferred in inventories in that month.Th ese costs have not gone away—they will eventually flow through to the income statement in a later period when inventories go down. There is no way to tell this from the absorption costing income statements. To avoid mistakes when absorption costing is used, readers of financial statements should be alert to changes in inventory levels. Under absorption costing, if inventories increase, fixed manufacturing overhead costs are deferred in inventories, which in turn increases net operating income. If inventories decrease, fixed manufacturing overhead costs are released from inventories, which in turn decreases net perating income.Thus, when absorption costing is used, fluctuations in net operating income can be due to changes in inventories rather than to changes in sales. Supporting Decision Making The variable costing method correctly identifies the additional variable costs that will be incurred to make one more unit. It also emphasizes the impact of fixed costs on profits. Th e total amount of fixed manufacturing costs appears explicitly on the income statement, highlighting that the whole amount of fixed manufacturing costs must be covered for the company to be truly profitable.In the Weber Light Aircraft example, the variable costing income statements correctly report that the cost of producing another unit is $25,000 and they explicitly recognize that $70,000 of fixed manufactured overhead must be covered to earn a profit. Under absorption costing, fixed manufacturing overhead costs appear to be variable with respect to the number of units sold, but they are not. For example, in January, the absorption unit product cost at Weber Light Aircraft is $95,000, but the variable portion of this cost is only $25,000.The fixed overhead costs of $70,000 are commingled with variable production costs, thereby obscuring the impact of fixed overhead costs on profits. Because absorption unit product costs are stated on a per unit basis, managers may mistakenly belie ve that if another unit is produced, it will cost the company $95,000. But of course it would not. The cost of producing another unit would be only $25,000. Misinterpreting absorption unit product costs as variable can lead to many problems, including inappropriate pricing decisions and decisions to drop products that are in fact profitable. p. 240 Adapting to the Theory of ConstraintsThe Theory of Constraints (TOC), which was introduced in Chapter 1, suggests that the key to improving a company's profits is managing its constraints. For reasons that will be discussed in a later chapter, this requires careful identification of each product's variable costs. Consequently, companies involved in TOC use a form of variable costing. Variable costing income statements require one adjustment to support the TOC approach. Direct labor costs need to be removed from variable production costs and reported as part of the fixed manufacturing costs that are entirely expensed in the period incurred .The TOC treats direct labor costs as a fixed cost for three reasons. First, even though direct labor workers may be paid on an hourly basis, many companies have a commitment—sometimes enforced by labor contracts or by law—to guarantee workers a minimum number of paid hours. Second, direct labor is not usually the constraint;therefore, there is no reason to increase it. Hiring more direct labor workers would increase costs without increasing the output of saleable products and services. Third, TOC emphasizes continuous improvement to maintain competitiveness.Without committed and enthusiastic employees, sustained continuous improvement is virtually impossible. Because layoffs often have devastating effects on employee morale, managers involved in TOC are extremely reluctant to lay off employees. For these reasons, most managers in TOC companies regard direct labor as a committed-fixed cost rather than a variable cost. Hence, in the modified form of variable costing use d in TOC companies, direct labor is not usually classified as a product cost.