The Between Religion And Science - 1651 Words

In Apocalyptic Science Fiction, a major theme is the relationship between Religion and Science. Technology being like a religion is able to infer consequences that by being so consumed by it or self-dependent on it, that it can in fact negatively affect spirit or ethics. A work of Science Fiction has the capability to translate concerns that are religious or spiritual. The Machine Stops, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and Blade Runner all translate concerns that relate to religion and technology and how they demand a enormous dependence on them to live day to day. There is an implied dependence on a technological system or appliance that is equal to dependence on religion. The machines used for technology, are worshipped in similar†¦show more content†¦Much like how fear is instilled in people of Catholic religion of not upholding regular church services, or saying the Lord’s name in vain for fear of going to hell. The character, Vashti, believes the Book as be ing the true guide of life and follows all its teachings. Even Kuno believes that she is in denial because she is in fact worshiping the machine and not admitting so. She states the need for the Book, saying â€Å"all the fear and the superstition that existed once have been destroyed by the Machine†¦ The Book says so† (Forster 10). Her existence is ruled by the Book and the systems that respond to Vashti’s needs, on both a physical and non-physical basis. She evangelizes the existence of the Machine to the existence of the Divine. This is quite similar to how people of catholic religion, or Judaism, submit themselves to religion and let it rule their lives. In the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, animals are worshiped, as they had become a rarity due to nuclear war destroying the planet, along with most of its other lifeforms. This is in parallel to Hinduism; which deems animals, such as cows, as being very sacred and to be worshipped for the gifts th ey bring human life. In Blade Runner, the characters in the film parallel biblical characters. Eldon Tyrell is cast in the part of â€Å"God,† as he created the Replicants. The four Replicants that Deckard hunts down in the file are Roy, Pris, Zora and Leon, which act as

The Hunters Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Nine Free Essays

Stefan hadn’t had a plan when he agreed to stay in Matt’s place. He just knew he had to save Matt, and now he hoped Damon would come for him. Stefan’s wrists ached with a dul , throbbing insistent pain that was almost impossible for him to ignore. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Nine or any similar topic only for you Order Now He tried once more to pul against the ropes that were holding him to the chair, turning his hands from left to right as far as he could to try and loosen his restraints, but it was hopeless. He couldn’t shift them. He looked around dazedly. The room looked both serene and mysterious again now, as it had when he first kicked in the door. A good place for a secret society. Torches burned brightly, flowers were arranged around the makeshift altar. The Vitales had taken the time to clean up after binding him and kil ing the pledges. The ropes were crossed over his chest and stomach and wound around his back; his ankles and knees were tied to the chair legs, his elbows and wrists to the arms of the chair. He was Welltrussed, but it was the ones around his wrists that hurt most, because they lay against his bare skin. And they burned. â€Å"They’re soaked in vervain so that you’l be too weak to break free, but I’m afraid it must sting a bit,† Ethan said pleasantly, as if he was explaining an interesting element of the secret chamber’s architecture to his guest. â€Å"See, I may be new at this, but I know al the tricks.† Stefan rested his head against the back of the chair and looked at Ethan with fervent dislike. â€Å"Not all of the tricks, I suspect.† Ethan was cocky, but Stefan was pretty sure he hadn’t been a vampire for very long. If Ethan was stil human, if he had never become a vampire, Stefan guessed he would look more or less the same as he did now. Ethan crouched down in front of Stefan’s chair to look up into his face, wearing the same warm, friendly smile as when he’d tried to convince Stefan to join them. He looked like a pleasant fel ow, someone you wanted to relax with and trust, and Stefan glared at him. The smile was a lie. Ethan was a kil er whose mask was less obvious than those of the other Vitale vampires, that was al . â€Å"You’re probably right about that,† Ethan said thoughtful y. â€Å"I imagine there are al kinds of tricks you’ve picked up in, what is it, more than five hundred years? Tricks that I don’t know yet. You could be very useful to me in that way, if you decide to join us after al . There are lots of things you can teach us about al this vampire stuff.† He flashed that appealing smile again. â€Å"I’ve always been a good student.† Vampire stuff. â€Å"What do you want from me, Ethan?† Stefan asked wearily. It had been a long night, a long few weeks, and the vervain-soaked ropes were hurting his arms, muddying his thoughts. Ethan knew how old he was. Ethan knew what to offer him when they first talked about the Vitale Society. It wasn’t a coincidence that he was the one in this room, then; Ethan wasn’t looking for just any vampire. â€Å"What’s your plan here?† Stefan asked. Ethan’s smile grew wider. â€Å"I’m building an invincible vampire army, of course,† he said cheerful y. â€Å"I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but it’s al about power. And power’s never ridiculous.† He licked his lips nervously, showing a flash of thin pink tongue. â€Å"See, I used to just be one of the ordinary little people. I was just like everyone else on campus. My biggest achievements were good grades on exams or the fact that I had the leadership of some secret col ege club. You wouldn’t believe how lame the Vitale Society used to be. Just white magic and nature worship.† He made a little self-deprecating grimace: See how silly I was once. I’m telling you something embarrassing about myself, so trust me. â€Å"But then I figured out how to get some real power.† One of the black-clad figures came up behind Ethan, and Ethan held up a finger to Stefan. â€Å"Hang on a sec, okay?† He rose and turned to talk to his lieutenant. After tying Stefan up, Ethan had efficiently gone back to draining the pledges, one after another, dropping the bodies as soon as he finished with them. They had al gone through their transitions now and were back on their feet. They seemed irritable and disoriented, growling and snapping at one another and gazing at Ethan with undisguised adoration. Typical new vampires. Stefan eyed them warily. Until they had fed thoroughly, they would hover on the brink of madness, and it would be easy for Ethan to lose control of them. Then they would be even more dangerous. â€Å"The pledges need to eat,† Ethan said calmly to the robed woman behind him. â€Å"Five of you should take them out and teach them how to hunt. You lead the hunting party and pick whoever you want to go with you. The rest wil stay here and help guard our guest.† Stefan watched as the Vitales sorted themselves out. Eight of Ethan’s fol owers remained, stationing themselves by the sides of the room. Stefan had managed to kil one other during the fight, ripping her throat out, but the body had been tidied away somewhere. Stefan gave a little involuntary moan. It was hard to think straight – he was so tired, and the vervain was starting to hurt him al over, not just on his aching wrists, but anywhere the ropes touched him through his clothes. Damon, please come quickly. Please, Damon, he thought. â€Å"You’re going to unleash nine newly made vampires on the campus?† he asked Ethan, his mind snapping back to the matter at hand. â€Å"Ethan, they’l kill people. People who were your friends, maybe. You’l draw attention to yourselves. There are already police al over campus. Please, take them to the woods to hunt animals. They can live on animal blood.† He heard a pleading note enter his own voice as Ethan only smiled absently at him, as if he was a child begging to go to Disneyland. â€Å"Come on, Ethan, it hasn’t been very long since you were a human, too. You can’t want to stand by and have innocent students murdered.† Ethan shrugged, patting Stefan lightly on the shoulder as he started to walk over to confer with another of his henchmen. â€Å"They need to be strong, Stefan. I want them at their peak by the next equinox. And we’ve kil ed plenty of innocent students already,† he said over his shoulder. â€Å"Equinox? Ethan,† Stefan shouted after him in frustration. He looked frantical y at the door by which the pledges and their escort had left. It would take them a while to select victims. Not as many students were walking the campus alone at night these days. If he could get free, if Damon came now and freed him, they could stil stop the slaughter. If al these brand-new vampires were al owed loose on campus, there would be a massacre. Ethan couldn’t have changed the rest of the Vitale Society al at once, he realized. The number of murders they would have committed newly made as a group would have been impossible to disguise as a few disappearances. This must have been the first mass initiation. And who had made Ethan? he wondered. Was there an older vampire somewhere on campus? Damon, where are you? He had no doubt that Damon would come if he could. Despite their rift over Elena, things had changed enough between him and Damon that he knew he could rely on his brother to rescue him. He had saved him before, after al , when they fought Katherine, when they fought Klaus. There was something rock solid between them now, something that wasn’t there a year ago, or in the hundreds of years before that. He closed his eyes and heard himself give a dry, painful chuckle. It seemed like an inopportune moment to start having revelations about his own family issues. â€Å"So,† Ethan said chattily, returning to his side and pul ing up a chair, â€Å"we were talking about the equinox.† â€Å"Yes,† Stefan said, an acid bite to his tone. He wasn’t going to let Ethan see how he was yearning toward the door, expectant. He needed to keep his cool, so that Damon could have the element of surprise on his side. He should keep Ethan talking, keep him distracted in case Damon came, so he fixed an expression of interest on his face and looked at Ethan attentively. â€Å"At the time of the equinox, when day and night are perfectly balanced, the line between life and death is at its most weak and permeable. This is the time when spirits can cross between the worlds,† Ethan began dramatical y, moving one hand in a wide sweep. Stefan sighed. â€Å"I know that, Ethan,† he said impatiently. â€Å"Just cut to the chase.† He might have to keep Ethan distracted, but surely he didn’t have to feed his ego. Ethan dropped his hand. â€Å"You remember Klaus, don’t you?† he asked. â€Å"The originator of your bloodline? We’re resurrecting him. With him at the head of our ranks, we’l be invincible.† Everything went stil for a moment, as if Stefan’s slow-beating heart had final y stopped. Then he sucked in a breath. He felt as if Ethan had punched him in the face. He couldn’t speak for a moment. When he could, he gasped, â€Å"Klaus? Klaus the vampire who†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He couldn’t even finish the sentence. His mind was ful of Klaus: the Old One, the Original vampire, the mad man. The vampire who had control ed lightning, who had bragged that he had not been made, that he just was. In Klaus’s earliest memories, he had told Stefan, he carried a bronze axe; he was a barbarian at the gate, among those who destroyed the Roman Empire. He claimed that he began the race of vampires. Klaus had held Elena’s spirit hostage and tortured innocent Vickie Bennett to death for fun. He turned Katherine, first into a vampire, then into a cruel dol instead of a person, changed her until she was vicious and mindless, eager only to torment those she once loved. Stefan, Damon, and Elena kil ed him at last, but it was nearly impossible, would have been impossible without the spirits of a battalion of unquiet ghosts from the Civil War tied to the blood-soaked battlegrounds of Fel ‘s Church. â€Å"Klaus who made the vampire who made you,† Ethan said cheerful y. â€Å"It was another of his descendants who I found in Europe this summer on my trip abroad. I convinced her to turn me into a vampire. She taught me some tricks, too, like how to use vervain, and how lapis lazuli can protect us from the sun. I put lapis lazuli in the pins we wear now, so al the members have it on them at al times. She was very helpful, this vampire who changed me. And she told me al about Klaus.† He smiled warmly at Stefan again. â€Å"See, you should like me, Stefan. We’re practical y cousins.† Stefan shut his eyes for a moment. â€Å"Klaus was insane,† he tried to explain. â€Å"He won’t work with you, he’l destroy you.† Ethan sighed. â€Å"I real y think I can work it out with him, though,† he said. â€Å"I’m very persuasive. And I’m offering him soldiers. I hear he likes war. There’s no reason for him to turn us down; we want to give him everything he wants.† He paused and looked at Stefan, stil smiling, but there was a note now in that wide smile that Stefan didn’t like, a false innocence. Whatever Ethan was going to ask Stefan now, he already knew the answer. â€Å"Does this mean you’re not interested in joining our army, cousin?† he asked with mock surprise. Gritting his teeth, Stefan strained against the ropes once more, but they didn’t budge. He glared up at Ethan. â€Å"I won’t help you,† he said. â€Å"Never.† Ethan came closer, bent down until his face was level with Stefan’s. â€Å"But you wil help,† he said lightly, a trace of self-satisfaction in his eyes. â€Å"Whether you want to or not. See, what I need most of al to bring back Klaus is blood.† He ran his hands through his curls, shaking his head. â€Å"It’s always blood for this kind of thing, have you noticed?† he added. â€Å"Blood?† asked Stefan uneasily. Young vampires were never sane, in his opinion – the initial rush of new senses and Powers were enough to bewilder anyone. He was starting to think, though, that Ethan’s grasp on sanity might not have been that strong to begin with. He’d convinced someone to turn him into a vampire? â€Å"The blood of his descendants, specifical y.† Ethan nodded smugly. â€Å"That’s why I was so delighted to find that you were right here on campus. I made a hobby of tracking down the descendants of Klaus this summer, after I’d talked the first one I met into changing me into what she was. Some of them gave me blood wil ingly, when they heard what I wanted to do. Not al of Klaus’s descendants are as ungrateful as you. I only need a little more, and then I’l have enough. Yours, of course,† and his eyes flicked up toward the door that Stefan had been surreptitiously watching al this time, waiting for Damon, â€Å"and your brother’s. I assume he’l be here any minute?† Stefan’s heart plummeted, and he stared openly at the door. Damon, please stay away, he thought desperately. How to cite The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Nine, Essay examples

Application of Accrual Accounting †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Application of Accrual Accounting. Answer: Introduction: The key users of the financial reporting are potential and present investors, creditors and lenders, who make use of this information in making their decisions as to whether they should purchase, hold or sell equity and providing or settling some financial loans. The key statements in an organization are statement of comprehensive income, cash flows statement, balance sheet as well as statement of shareholders equity (White, Braentner Towery, 1993). In this case, this section would concentrate on statement of comprehensive income and would present its purpose to users. Statement of comprehensive income is usually the report an organization financial performance is presented. It helps in providing summary on how an organization incurs sales and expenses via both the non-operating and operating activities. It is usually divided into non-operating as well as the operating section with the operating section disclosing info on proceeds and operating expenses which are openly resulting from organization regular operations (Kakani, Ramachandran Chatterjee, 2010). On the other hand, non-operating portion helps in disclosing revenues and expenses on activities which are not related directly to an organizations operations. Interestingly, the primary users of the financial information are therefore in need of income statement in assessing the organizations prospects for the future net cash inflows and also in assessing how efficiently and effectively management could be discharging their responsibilities in utilizing organizations existing resources (Kothari Ball, 1994). Statement of comprehensive income or the income statement is very important in providing relevant information to different user on financial performance or health of a given firm over a specific accounting period (Zack, 2013). As financial performance is usually concerned with profitability of an organization, users require information on organizations financial performance in order to evaluate probable changes or variation in its economic capital as well as its ability to generate some cash from all its resources. In addition, statement of the comprehensive income is crucial for different user in evaluating how efficient any extra resources could be utilized in an organization. Further, statement of comprehensive income is useful since it displays how much cash an organization made within a defined period. Another purpose of statement of comprehensive income is that the statement helps in determining whether an organizations earning are sufficient in repaying its loans. In addition, statement of comprehensive income is crucial in highlighting some of the weaknesses and strengths in an organization over a given period of time (Kakani, Ramachandran Chatterjee, 2010). Statement of comprehensive income is also crucial since it shows readers and financial users how much loss or profit an entity generated within the reporting period. Such information is crucial when statement of comprehensive income from numerous period are all put together, such that trends in revenue and expenses is viewed. In addition, given that statement of comprehensive income gross profits is usually gotten by netting sales and cost of the goods sold, the information contained in this statement provide a signal of the capacity of the firm in setting price points which clients could easily accept and in maintaining costs of products and services which it offers. Further, statement of comprehensive income is crucial for investors since it help them evaluates the consistency of profit which proves viability of an organization (Kothari Ball, 1994). It is also help lenders in evaluating the probability of an organization to generate adequate income in paying off its interest expenses. Income in the statement of comprehensive income is the total amount received after deducting all the operating expenses, taxes and interest expenses for the financial obligations. In essence, income is the amount of money an organization generates by providing services or selling products. An example of income is the discounts or negotiating rebates with the venders. According to the conceptual framework, income is the increase in the economic benefits within an accounting period in form of the inflows or enhancements of the assets or declines of the liabilities which result in rise in equity, other than the items relating to the contributions from the equity participants. Expenses on the other hand are total amount of expenditures incurred by an organization while conducting its normal production or selling operations (Zack, 2013). This is the total amount of money incurred or spent in an entitys effort for generating expenditures representing cost of conducting a business. These range from salaries of the employees to office suppliers, cost of gods sold to material expenses. They might also be form of cash payment, amount taken from earnings such as bad debts as well as depreciation (Kakani, Ramachandran Chatterjee, 2010). In conclusion, statement of comprehensive income is usually the report an organization financial performance is presented. It helps in providing summary on how an organization incurs sales and expenses via both the non-operating and operating activities. Further, the statement of comprehensive income or the income statement important since it provides relevant information to different user on financial performance or health of a given firm. It is also since it helps in evaluating how efficient any extra resources could be utilized in an organization. In addition, it assists in determining whether an organizations earning are sufficient in repaying its loans. General Purpose of Statement of Financial Position The statement of the financial position is the financial statement that grants financial health or soundness of an organization. It comprises of three primary elements, liabilities, equity and assets. Statement of Financial position is said to be very important since it highlights financial standings of an organization at specific period (Zack, 2013). In addition statement of the financial position comprise of liabilities, equity and assets. This is crucial as it assist users of the financial statement is assessing or evaluating financial healthy or soundness of an organization in terms of financial risk, business risk, liquidity risk as well as credit risk. While assessing or evaluating an organization over a longer period, this statement assists in identification of underlying trends in financial position of an organization (Accounting-simplified.com, 2017). Thus, statement of the financial position is significant for readers in determining state of an organizations level of risk. In addition, when used with other statements, the statement might assist in identifying trends and relationship that are indicative of probable issues or areas that require further improvements. Therefore, statement of financial positions has wide purpose as it assist users in predicting amount volatility and timing of an organizations upcoming incomes. Generally, statement of the financial position is crucial in that it inform readers on the current status of an organization where this information is then utilized in predicting or projecting liquidity, debt position and funding of an organization. Assets are those resources an organization controls or own at a provided period. In addition, assets are resources owned by an organization to assist it in deriving some economic benefits from their use. There are two different types of assets; non-current and current assets. Current assets comprises of cash as well as inventories, cash equivalent, account receivables, as well as the prepaid expenses. These are assets that could deliver economic benefits to an organization within a year. They are those resourced expected to be loaned out, consumed, sold or leased in creating some income within a year of balance sheet date (Kothari Ball, 1994). On the other hand, non-current assets comprises of assets that cannot be easily or quickly transformed into cash. These include property and equipment, land, furniture, vehicles, buildings, fixtures and others. In essence, non-current assets are those assets that deliver economic benefits to a given firm over a long period (White, Braentner T owery, 1993). These are resources not recoverable, meaning that the monetary value of such resources is extracted from these resources is no longer important, till over one year past balance sheet period. These can also be classified as intangible and tangible assets. In this case, those amounts of assets with some physical substances are usually categorized as the plant, property and equipment while those one that do not have physical material are usually categorized as the intangible assets. Liability on the other hand represents the total amount an organization owes others. In essence, liabilities are the financial obligations which an organization owes to other individuals or organizations and its repayment comprises of transfer of the cash or any other resources (Zack, 2013). In this case, liabilities comprise of two main parts; that is, current and non-current liabilities. Current liabilities are those obligations an organization is required to repay within one year which includes note payables, current maturities debts, bank overdraft, account payables and accrued expenses. In essence, these are financial obligations in an organization that could be settled over short-term (Ou Penman, 1989). On the other hand, non-current liabilities are those obligations which become due within one year or more. These include mortgages, long-term note payables, long-term loans, bonds and others. Basically, these are financial obligations that are to be settled over long-term. Equity represents what shareholders or the owner of an organization owns. It is usually a type of liability since it represents finances owned by an organization to owners or shareholders. In essence, equity is the resources an organization owes to owners or shareholders. They are usually derived by subtracting liabilities from its assets. Hence, signifies residual interests in an organization which goes to proprietors. They are usually offered under share capital which presents amount that needs to be reinvested by shareholders in an organization (Sinha, 2012). Secondly, they are presented under retained earnings which comprises of total income in an organization after distribution to owners in dividends. They are also presented as revaluation reserve which comprises of net spare of mounting reassessment of plants, property or equipment recognized straight in equity. Equity for the sole traders is quite different from the limited companies. This is evident by the fact that equity se ction in a sole trader is simple as compared to limited companies. In conclusion, statement of the financial position is the financial statement that presents financial position of a given organization. This statement is found to be very crucial since it highlights financial position of an organization at specific point in time. It is also crucial since it assist users of the financial statement is assessing or evaluating financial healthy or soundness of an organization in terms of financial risk, business risk, liquidity risk as well as credit risk. Thus, it can be concluded that statement of the financial position is significant for readers in determining state of an organizations level of risk. Accrual Basis of Accounting under GAAP GAAP are mainly mutual accounting values, procedures and standards which an organization has to follows whenever they compile the financial reports. It is usually the mixture of the commanding values and generally accepted means of reporting and recording accounting info. It usually improves clarity of communicating financial information (Guthrie, 1998). In addition, GAAP ensure minimum level of consistency in financial statement, which in turn makes it a bit easier for the potential investors to extract and analyse useful financial information (Scott, 1941). With these considerations, there is need to evaluate accrual basis under GAAP and why it takes place. Accrual basis of the accounting is usually the concept or process of recording sales when earned as well as expenses as they are incurred (Roje, 2006). This accounting concept is different from cash basis where revenues are usually recorded whenever cash is received and the total expenses are only recorded once cash has been paid (Lapsley, Mussari Paulsson, 2009). For instance, an organization operating under accrual basis would record its revenues soon as it issues invoice to its clients. Accrual basis is usually advocated under the IFRS and GAAP. Both of these frameworks offer guidelines on how to account for expenses and revenues in absence of cash payment or receipts (Dechow, 1994). In essence, accrual basis offer more even recognition of the expenses and revenues over time, and is therefore considered by potential investor as the most valid accounting concept for ascertaining outcomes of financial position, cash flows and operations of an organization. Basically, accrual basis mainly support matching principles of GAAP under which the related expenses and revenues are recorded within same reporting period, where by it is make possible to view full extent of losses and profit linked with particular organization transaction within a specific reporting period (Blndal, 2003). On the other hand, accrual basis is also said to support revenue recognition principle which state that income statement has to reflect true extent of the revenue earned within the period it is earned irrespective of whether the money from such transaction is received or not. This implies that revenue is recognized only when seller transfer all the risks to the buyer. Further, based on historical cost concept, revenue is based on the past proceedings and it needs consistency as well as comparability which require transaction to be recorded at historical costs. In this case, revenue is not recognized as increase in the asset value except where it is required or allowed by the accounting s tandards. Finally, time period concept principle, revenues are only reported or recognized over standard period of time, which could be monthly, or annually. Once the period has been established, transactions are then recorded within a given or set period. In conclusion, accrual basis usually needs an organization to record all its transactions during the period when a financial event takes place. Therefore, in case GAAP utilized cash accounting, the transactions could not be recorded for some time after a product leaves the inventory. In essence, accrual basis is crucial and thus the reason why GAAP make use of the accrual basis since it provide accurate reporting in between the period. In addition, accrual basis usually carries matching principle in between the expenses and revenues, which is a significant component for the GAAP. References Accounting-simplified.com. 2017, Statement of Financial Position [Balance Sheet]; Viewed at 12th May 2017 from: https://accounting-simplified.com/financial/statements/statement-of-financial-position.html Blndal, J. R. (2003). Accrual accounting and budgeting.OECD Journal on Budgeting,3(1), 43-59. Dechow, P. M. (1994). Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance: The role of accounting accruals.Journal of accounting and economics,18(1), 3-42. Guthrie, J. (1998). Application of accrual accounting in the Australian public sectorrhetoric or reality.Financial accountability management,14(1), 1-19. Kakani, R. K., Ramachandran, N., Chatterjee, T. (2010). Financial statement analysis. Kothari, S. P., Ball, R. (1994).Financial statement analysis. Mcgrew-Hill Companies. Lapsley, I., Mussari, R., Paulsson, G. (2009). On the adoption of accrual accounting in the public sector: a self-evident and problematic reform. Ou, J. A., Penman, S. H. (1989). Financial statement analysis and the prediction of stock returns.Journal of accounting and economics,11(4), 295-329. Roje, G. (2006). The role of accrual financial reporting and budgeting basis in public sector financial management reforms: Croatian experience and international trends. In8th AIDEA YOUTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE:; Improving business reporting: new rules, new opportunities, new trends;. Scott, D. R. (1941). The basis for accounting principles.Accounting Review, 341-349. Sinha, G. (2012).Financial statement analysis. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. White, B., Braentner, L., Towery, E. (1993).Financial Statement Analysis. New York: Wiley. Zack, G. M. (2013). Financial Statement Analysis.Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation, 209-213.

The Genetics of Language Essay Example For Students

The Genetics of Language Essay -ildar- The tabula of human nature was never rasa. W.D. Hamilton Language is defined as the Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Yet this alone cannot sum up the importance and vastness of this magnificent gift human own. Language is one of the most amazing features of human culture and personality; its roots have remained unchanged since the start of civilization. It is the basis of all communication in the world and in its best is the most complex form of expression. Language has always been assumed to be blatantly cultural lying at the heart of human social evolution, but this could not be farther from the truth. Language owes as much to instinct and innateness as it does to culture. Darwin once described language as an instinctive tendency to acquire an art; this view of language was re-revealed to the world through Noam Chomsky, in his book, Syntactic Structures. Chomsky argued that language is shaped through culture, but the underlying ability to learn and understand it, is innately built into the human psyche. We will write a custom essay on The Genetics of Language specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Chomsky concluded that there were obvious underlying similarities in all languages, bearing witness to a Universal Human Grammar. We always use this ability to learn and use language, but we are not consciously aware of it. Vocabulary cannot be innate, because if it were were, we would all speak one, unvarying language. But lets take for example, a child; as it learns vocabulary, innate mental rules tell that child how to properly use that vocabulary. Lets take, for instance the sentence, Sa mmy will buy groceries from the store. You can turn that sentence into a question by moving the will to the front, making the sentence, Will Sammy buy groceries from the store. Young children can comfortably use this rule, even though never having been taught about the grammar involved in making a sentence like that, they just seem to know the rule. As psycholinguist Steven Pinker put it, to learn a human language, requires a human language instinct. Language is not learned through imitation; if it were then why would children who have been using the word went for a year or so, start saying goed. The truth is that children start learning to speak themselves, at a much younger age regardless of our help. Children are a large part of developing a language; this was shown in a famous experiment conducted by Derek Bickerton. In the experiment Bickerton studied a group of foreign workers that were brought together on Hawaii. In Hawaii they developed a pidgin language (mixture of words and phrases allowing for simple communication) so that they could easily communicate with each other. The language lacked consistent grammatical rules and complex but simple in what it could express. This changes as a new generation of children learned the language, they shaped it and innately gave it rules and grammar, making it more complex and turning it into a Creole. If this instinct is genetic then it would seem that the language gene might turn off as we age and minimize our ability to learn languages which explains while people find it hard to learn a language after a certain age. Scientists think they have identified the gene for language. They have located it on chromosome seven. This gene gives the brain the ability to understand and learn underlying rules of grammar. When the gene or parts of the brain are damaged language disorders sometimes develop. One such disorder is Williams Syndrome, which is caused by a mutation in a gene on chromosome 11. Affected children have very low intelligence, but have an addiction to using language. They constantly ramble, using very rich and long words, long sentences and complex syntax. But besides this the child is mentally retarded and cannot comprehend anything outside their form of silent language. .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .postImageUrl , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:hover , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:visited , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:active { border:0!important; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:active , .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974 .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u070af78d47632631f08c9328ea936974:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Essay on The Consequences of Hurricane Katrina Essay Parts of the brain, when damaged can also hinder language ability. Damage to the Wernickes area of the brain. People with Wernickes disorder produce a rich but senseless stream of words, so you can conclude that the Wernickes area of the brain instructs the brain what speech to generate. Brocas aphasia occurs .

Society in Jubilee and Gone With The Wind essays

Society in Jubilee and Gone With The Wind essays The book Jubilee by Margaret Walker, and the movie, Gone with Wind", based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, both take place during slavery, the Civil War, and reconstruction. The book and movie take place in the same time period, but show different views of those times. Four themes emerge in these two novels, the transformation of Southern society, the overcoming of adversity with willpower, the importance of land, and finally the intelligence and capabilities of woman. These four themes best describe the two novels. In the book, Jubilee the Souths society changes dramatically. The South was a place where land was important and where crops prospered. There were beautiful fields to show how strong the country was. Southerners were more famous for how many slaves they owned, as it contained a slave owning states. This meant the plantation owners could own slaves like property. This all changed during and after the Civil War. Everything that was beautiful went dark due to all the damages the war caused. The land died off due to all the slaves that were being sent to fight for the war. When there were no slaves to help keep the land in good shape, the South lost a lot of crops, including cotton which was there biggest crop. The South changed more when the Ku Klux Klan emerged. Slavery was keeping the slaves alive and since it was gone after the war they had no one left to protect them. Willpower to overcome adversities is shown by slaves in the book, Jubilee. Vryr is someone who overcomes so many adversities. She had to deal with the fact her own slave owner was her father, and he never acknowledged that or even attempted to. Vyry had to deal with the harassments Big Missy gave her while she was a young slave in her house. Big Missy gave everyone a hard time but more to Vryr because she was the daughter of the slave owner, and she despised that. Vyry also had to deal with the fact she ...

Attitude Formation

†¢ The affective component consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by the object of the attitude. †¢ The behavioral component consists of predispositions to act in certain ways toward an attitude object. The object of an attitude can be anything people have opinions about. Therefore, individual people, groups of people, institutions, products, social trends, consumer products, etc. all can be attitudinal objects. †¢ Attitudes involve social judgments. They are either for, or against, pro, or con, positive, or negative; however, it is possible to be ambivalent about the attitudinal object and have a mix of positive and negative feelings and thoughts about it. †¢ Attitudes involve a readiness (or predisposition) to respond; however, for a variety of reasons we don’t always act on our attitudes. †¢ Attitudes vary along dimensions of strength and accessibility. Strong attitudes are very important to the individual and tend to be durable and have a powerful impact on behavior, whereas weak attitudes are not very important and have little impact. Accessible attitudes come to mind quickly, whereas other attitudes may rarely be noticed. †¢ Attitudes tend to be stable over time, but a number of factors can cause attitudes to change. †¢ Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group. †¢ A prejudice is an arbitrary belief, or feeling, directed toward a group of people or its individual members. Prejudices can be either positive or negative; however, the term is usually used to refer to a negative attitude held toward members of a group. Prejudice may lead to discrimination, which involves behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group. Psychological factors involved in Attitude Formation and Attitude Change 1. Direct Instruction involves being told what attitudes to have by parents, schools, community organizations, religious doctrine, friends, etc. 2. Operant Conditioning is a simple form of learning. It is based on the â€Å"Law of Effect† and involves voluntary responses. Behaviors (including verbal behaviors and maybe even thoughts) tend to be repeated if they are reinforced (i. e. , followed by a positive experience). Conversely, behaviors tend to be stopped when they are punished (i. e. , followed by an unpleasant experience). Thus, if one expresses, or acts out an attitude toward some group, and this is reinforced by one’s peers, the attitude is strengthened and is likely to be expressed again. The reinforcement can be as subtle as a smile or as obvious as a raise in salary. Operant conditioning is especially involved with the behavioral component of attitudes. 3. Classical conditioning is another simple form of learning. It involves involuntary responses and is acquired through the pairing of two stimuli. Two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused and before long the person responds in the same way to both events. Originally studied by Pavlov, the process requires an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that produces an involuntary (reflexive) response (UCR). If a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired, either very dramatically on one occasion, or repeatedly for several acquisition trials, the neutral stimulus will lead to the same response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. At this point the stimulus is no longer neutral and so is referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response has now become a learned response and so is referred to as a conditioned response (CR). In Pavlov’s research the UCS was meat powder which led to an UCR of salivation. The NS was a bell. At first the bell elicited no response from the dog, but eventually the bell alone caused the dog to salivate. Advertisers create positive attitudes towards their products by presenting attractive models in their ads. In this case the model is the UCS and our reaction to him, or her, is an automatic positive response. The product is the original NS which through pairing comes to elicit a positive conditioned response. In a similar fashion, pleasant or unpleasant experiences with members of a particular group could lead to positive or negative attitudes toward that group. Classical conditioning is especially involved with the emotional, or affective, component of attitudes. 4. Social (Observational) Learning is based on modeling. We observe others. If they are getting reinforced for certain behaviors or the expression of certain attitudes, this serves as vicarious reinforcement and makes it more ikely that we, too, will behave in this manner or express this attitude. Classical conditioning can also occur vicariously through observation of others. 5. Cognitive Dissonance exists when related cognitions, feelings or behaviors are inconsistent or contradictory. Cognitive dissonance creates an unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their dissonance by changing their cognitions, feel ing, or behaviors. For example, a person who starts out with a negative attitude toward marijuana will experience cognitive dissonance if they start smoking marijuana and find themselves enjoying the experience. The dissonance they experience is thus likely to motivate them to either change their attitude toward marijuana, or to stop using marijuana. This process can be conscious, but often occurs without conscious awareness. 6. Unconscious Motivation. Some attitudes are held because they serve some unconscious function for an individual. For example, a person who is threatened by his homosexual feelings may employ the defense mechanism of reaction formation and become a crusader against homosexuals. Or, someone who feels inferior may feel somewhat better by putting down a group other than her own. Because it is unconscious, the person will not be aware of the unconscious motivation at the time it is operative, but may become aware of it as some later point in time. 7. Rational Analysis involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular attitude. For example, a person may carefully listen to the presidential debates and read opinions of political experts in order to decide which candidate to vote for in an election. Attitude Formation †¢ The affective component consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by the object of the attitude. †¢ The behavioral component consists of predispositions to act in certain ways toward an attitude object. The object of an attitude can be anything people have opinions about. Therefore, individual people, groups of people, institutions, products, social trends, consumer products, etc. all can be attitudinal objects. †¢ Attitudes involve social judgments. They are either for, or against, pro, or con, positive, or negative; however, it is possible to be ambivalent about the attitudinal object and have a mix of positive and negative feelings and thoughts about it. †¢ Attitudes involve a readiness (or predisposition) to respond; however, for a variety of reasons we don’t always act on our attitudes. †¢ Attitudes vary along dimensions of strength and accessibility. Strong attitudes are very important to the individual and tend to be durable and have a powerful impact on behavior, whereas weak attitudes are not very important and have little impact. Accessible attitudes come to mind quickly, whereas other attitudes may rarely be noticed. †¢ Attitudes tend to be stable over time, but a number of factors can cause attitudes to change. †¢ Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group. †¢ A prejudice is an arbitrary belief, or feeling, directed toward a group of people or its individual members. Prejudices can be either positive or negative; however, the term is usually used to refer to a negative attitude held toward members of a group. Prejudice may lead to discrimination, which involves behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group. Psychological factors involved in Attitude Formation and Attitude Change 1. Direct Instruction involves being told what attitudes to have by parents, schools, community organizations, religious doctrine, friends, etc. 2. Operant Conditioning is a simple form of learning. It is based on the â€Å"Law of Effect† and involves voluntary responses. Behaviors (including verbal behaviors and maybe even thoughts) tend to be repeated if they are reinforced (i. e. , followed by a positive experience). Conversely, behaviors tend to be stopped when they are punished (i. e. , followed by an unpleasant experience). Thus, if one expresses, or acts out an attitude toward some group, and this is reinforced by one’s peers, the attitude is strengthened and is likely to be expressed again. The reinforcement can be as subtle as a smile or as obvious as a raise in salary. Operant conditioning is especially involved with the behavioral component of attitudes. 3. Classical conditioning is another simple form of learning. It involves involuntary responses and is acquired through the pairing of two stimuli. Two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused and before long the person responds in the same way to both events. Originally studied by Pavlov, the process requires an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that produces an involuntary (reflexive) response (UCR). If a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired, either very dramatically on one occasion, or repeatedly for several acquisition trials, the neutral stimulus will lead to the same response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. At this point the stimulus is no longer neutral and so is referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response has now become a learned response and so is referred to as a conditioned response (CR). In Pavlov’s research the UCS was meat powder which led to an UCR of salivation. The NS was a bell. At first the bell elicited no response from the dog, but eventually the bell alone caused the dog to salivate. Advertisers create positive attitudes towards their products by presenting attractive models in their ads. In this case the model is the UCS and our reaction to him, or her, is an automatic positive response. The product is the original NS which through pairing comes to elicit a positive conditioned response. In a similar fashion, pleasant or unpleasant experiences with members of a particular group could lead to positive or negative attitudes toward that group. Classical conditioning is especially involved with the emotional, or affective, component of attitudes. 4. Social (Observational) Learning is based on modeling. We observe others. If they are getting reinforced for certain behaviors or the expression of certain attitudes, this serves as vicarious reinforcement and makes it more ikely that we, too, will behave in this manner or express this attitude. Classical conditioning can also occur vicariously through observation of others. 5. Cognitive Dissonance exists when related cognitions, feelings or behaviors are inconsistent or contradictory. Cognitive dissonance creates an unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their dissonance by changing their cognitions, feel ing, or behaviors. For example, a person who starts out with a negative attitude toward marijuana will experience cognitive dissonance if they start smoking marijuana and find themselves enjoying the experience. The dissonance they experience is thus likely to motivate them to either change their attitude toward marijuana, or to stop using marijuana. This process can be conscious, but often occurs without conscious awareness. 6. Unconscious Motivation. Some attitudes are held because they serve some unconscious function for an individual. For example, a person who is threatened by his homosexual feelings may employ the defense mechanism of reaction formation and become a crusader against homosexuals. Or, someone who feels inferior may feel somewhat better by putting down a group other than her own. Because it is unconscious, the person will not be aware of the unconscious motivation at the time it is operative, but may become aware of it as some later point in time. 7. Rational Analysis involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular attitude. For example, a person may carefully listen to the presidential debates and read opinions of political experts in order to decide which candidate to vote for in an election.

Health Policy Values Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Policy Values - Essay Example This paper intends to describe my personal values and believes in health care policy. Value is a term that describes the worthiness of something. In health care, value would describe the extent to which people need the service and its benefit to them. Value dictates cost incurred in acquiring healthcare services (Marmor, et.al. 2005). I believe that health care policies should address cost in relation to outcome. The question at this point would be â€Å"does the cost commensurate to the value of health care in terms of satisfaction of patient’s needs, access to service or profitability to the healthcare provider. I strongly feel cost incurred in healthcare institutions do not cater for the value provided in terms of service out comes. Cost measures usually address factors, which would lead to reduction of current costs involved in healthcare delivery (The Federation's Pages). This means that cost must address total care that a patient acquires while in health facility. In ad dition, cost reduction approaches must address factors such as satisfactory services, efficiency, and effectiveness. In my opinion, cost incurred in health does not match the kind of service that people receive. This means that an attempt to reduce cost should be in the pipeline. It is apparent that health care encompasses many providers who offer services at different rates. However, the most important issue in health is the quality of service that these providers offer (Porter, 2010). I believe that a high quality service would cost more because the patient would need an extra attention, which calls for more costs. For instance, a patient at a care unit should get value for the costs he or she has incurred. Experts believe that quality delivered depend on the value of an individuals money. I believe that quality should be a factor that drives the health care providers. Unfortunately, this is not the case in some instances. Many patients fail to get quality services because of myri ad arguments, which surround the health care sector. In my opinion, quality and cost are inseparable in the health sector. In this regard, health care policies must address quality and cost as factors that influence value of health care. Some people feel that when health care provision does not meet the patient demand, then quality provided is low. I believe that quality in health care sector can exist even if the health care provider has met the demand of the patient. Health experts have observed that health provision involve several stakeholders, which include physicians, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and others. Since the sector involves numerous units, inefficiency is likely to crop. This attracts proper measures, which intend to address value in terms of patient demand and cost incurred. I believe that patient requirement forms that foundation of measuring value in primary or preventive care. When patients of similar needs fail to achieve the requirement for their need it would b e apparent that value is absent in the health sector. For example, primary stages of healthcare provision offer advisory and preventive services, which prevent causes or reoccurrence of similar conditions. It is arguable that when this group of patients fails to achieve the core services at this level it would be apparent that value does not exists. Social issues such as insurance policies, poverty influence provision of health care. I believe