Sarbanes Oxley Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sarbanes Oxley Act - Essay Example The degree of disclosure of financial information is also a main reason. Mostly the corporate running bodies do not find them answerable in front of any regulatory body; therefore they keep on trying 'innovative' ideas for which others have to pay. (Maclean, 2005) Financial information in the form of audited accounts can prevent the system slipping into corruption (Sunlight is the best detergent), but it is not clear why, for example, a superior US financial reporting infrastructure did not help us detect Enron. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745 (July 30, 2002), is a United States federal law also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (and commonly called SOX or SarbOx). With the major financial reforms in most of the countries of the world the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in the United states in order to deal with the issues such as establishment of the public company, the level of auditor's independence, proper monitoring of the accounting practices of the company under a board, corporate social responsibility and enhancement in the financial disclosure to the prescribed level by the act. The law is seen as the major reform in the after the New Deal passed in 1930. The act revolutionized United States securities laws. The House approved act with the majority of 423-3 and Senate by 97-0. The act increased the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission powers. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act's requires the companies to make their financial reports certify by the chief executive officers and chief financial officers. According to the act the Executive officers and directors are not allowed to take personal loans. The act prescribed the companies for the extended disclosure of the financial information in order to improve the shareholders and stakeholders accountability. The act also increased the jail sentence duration and increased the fine amount in case of violence of the securities law or misuse. The corporate executives misstating the financial information will also have to face increased sentence time duration and higher amount of penalties. The act also prohibited the audit firms to provide any services additional to that of the auditing to the companies they are working for. The compensation of the Chief executives and other higher executives are also required to be reported. The act also accelerated reporting of trades by insiders and prohi bition on insider trades during pension fund blackout periods. (Wikipedia, 2006) Reference Maclean, P., (2005). Power Play - Robert McCullough was interviewed for an article covering Enron's role in the California power crisis and its aftermath, Portland Monthly, May 2005, Retrieved 05/005/06 from Wikipedia, (2006). Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Retrieved 05/005

Apology by Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apology by Plato - Essay Example Socrates on page three denies practicing this type of philosophy, although he does not want to disrespect its practitioners. 2) â€Å"Socrates makes the worse argument into the stronger argument† (Apology,2). Socrates maintains that men of position who are examined by â€Å"young men of the richer classes† (6) who have learned his methods are humiliated. Their response is to slander Socrates: â€Å"Those who are examined by them [the young men] instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me. This confounded Socrates!†¦--and then if somebody asks them, why, what evil does he practice or teach? They do not know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (6). In order to save face, these men accuse Socrates of sophistry.(6). 3) Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young. I will summarize Socrates’ examination of Meletus concerning this accusation: The laws improve the youth. All of the judges know the laws. Therefore, all the judges improve the youth. All Athenians improve the youth, according to Meletus. Socrates is an Athenian. But, according to Meletus, Socrates alone is their corrupter. This is an invalid argument. If all Athenians improve the youth, and Socrates is an Athenian, then he should also improve the youth. I understand the second argument as follows: It is better to live among good citizens, because they do good. Everyone wants to be treated well. Socrates corrupts the youth intentionally, turning them bad. Bad people do evil. Therefore, Socrates wants to be treated badly. (Apology,7-9). â€Å"But either I do not corrupt them† says Socrates,† or I corrupt them unintentionally†¦If my offence is unintentional, the law has no cognizance of unintentional offenses† (Apology, 9). 4) Socrates does not believe in the gods of the city. Socrates out-argues Meletus on this accusation: M: â€Å"you are a complete atheist† S: â€Å"Do you mean that I do not believe in the godhead of the sun or moon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  M: â€Å"I assure you, judges, that he does not believe in them; for he says that the sun is stone and the moon earth† S: â€Å"you have but a bad opinion of the judges, if you fancy them ignorant to such a degree as not to know that those doctrines are found in the books of Anaxogoras† (Apology,9). The argument continues: S: â€Å"can a man believe in spiritual and divine agencies, and not in spirits or demigods?† M: â€Å"He cannot† S: â€Å"You swear in the indictment that I teach and believe in divine or spiritual agencies†¦but if I believe in divine beings, I must believe in spirits or demigods;--is that not true?† M: â€Å"Yes, that is true† (Apology,10). On the first charge, that of Socrates practicing natural philosophy, I would find not guilty. Socrates is falsely characterized in Aristophanes’ play. He is falsely accused by Meletus of believing that the sun is stone, etc. Meletus did not bother to get his facts straight. The natural philosophers at that time were trying to explain phenomena in terms of quantities that could be studied, i.e.: Anaximenes’ theory that â€Å"all things were made of air through expansion and condensation† (http://www.academic.mu/phil/jonesj/). This type of early scientific inquiry was seen by those in power as a threat to the theocracy. The belief that the gods ruled the earth, and that the politicians could trace their lineage to the gods was a stabilizing force in society. Socrates maintains that God and the gods are wise, and that his actions are dictated by his belief in them. On the second charge, that Socrates makes the worse argument into the stronger argument, I would find not guilty. Socrates does not practice sophistry, which is a form of argument used for persuasion. The Sophists used this form of

Differences in Laminated Dough Essay Example for Free

Differences in Laminated Dough Essay Laminated dough is made by incasing fat in dough and taking it through a series of folds, rolling and turns. These things produce the layers of fat in between sheets of dough. The leavening in laminated dough comes most from the steam generated by the moisture from the fat. Three main types of laminated dough are danish, croissant, and puff pastry. So if all these doughs are laminated dough, what makes them different from one another? Croissant dough and danish dough are very similar, both containing yeast. Croissant dough is considered lean dough because the detrempe contains only flour, salt, water and yeast. Danish dough, however, is considered rich because it contains eggs, dairy, and sometimes sugar. Detrempe refers to strictly the dough part of the pastry before the RIF (roll in fat) is added. Puff pastry differs from croissant and danish dough because it contains no yeast and is risen only by the steam created from the moisture of the fat. Puff pastry containing more butter and no yeast results in a product that has a flaky and buttery texture that almost melts in your mouth. Danish and croissant dough containing yeast, results in a chewier texture that has slightly less flakiness to it. Some people go as far as substituting danish dough for puff pastry dough but when making classic pastry its best to stick to the dough that is originally used. After all, these doughs are made of different components resulting in slightly different flavors and textures. Works Cited: CakeSpy. Seeking Sweetness in Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. http://www.cakespy.com/blog-old/2008/6/29/dough-you-love-me-a-laminated-pastry-dough-faq-and-a-daring.html. Lamination. Baking Recipes. Learn to Bake. Baking Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. http://baking911.com/quick-guide/baking-terms/lamination.

Varieties of English: Effects on Teaching English

Varieties of English: Effects on Teaching English The Varieties of English and Its Affects on Teaching English as a Foreign Language English is considered to be the most important language and has gained importance internationally. The English is treated as a means of communicating in the areas of the economy, technology, science, arts, tourism, and sports. English language can be described as a truly global language that people all over the use more than any other language and it functions as an international or world language and it serves as lingua franca for facilitating communication between people who do not share the same first (or even second) language (Harmer, 2007). Since English is considered to be the most important tool for communication globally, the understanding of its varieties also becomes necessary. To give clear view of the use of English in different countries, Kachru (1992) presents the three concentric circles of language. The inner circle represents the places where English is used as first or native language such as Britain, the USA, Australia etc. According to Crystal (2006), there are 400 million native speakers of English language. The outer circle includes the places, such as India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore etc, where English is used as an official language or second language. Crystal (2006) states that there are 400 million speak English as a second language. The Expanding circle represents the countries where English plays no special status but widely used as a lingua franca or medium of international communication and studied as a foreign language, for example, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia etc. There are around 600-700 million people use English as a foreign language around the world (Crystal, 2006). These circles clearly show the high status of Englis h language as it becomes an official or second language in more than 100 countries. There are about 2 billion people, one third of the world population speak English all over the world. Varieties of world English include American English. British English, Singapore English (Singalish), Indian English, Australian English, Philippine English, Scottish English, Spanglish, Taglish etc. The existence of different varieties of English around world is because of the spread of English. The spread of English is the result of a number of historical and pragmatic factors (McCrum, 2010). The first factor is the expansion and the influence of British colonization to many parts of the world in the nineteenth century. The second factor is the great influence of United States in world economy and military and Harmer (2013) states that these influences make English to become one of the main language of international businesses. Thirdly, according to Crystal (2003), American technology takes a leading role in the world technology. Besides, the great deal of advertising, broadcasting, popular music and literature around the world use English to express the ideas around the world. Moreover, in education, the most of the academic discourse use English language and it can be one of the main reasons why many countries use English as the foreign language or medium of instruction in schools. Therefore, it is obvious that English becomes a global language as it is the most commonly used in many important fields such as business, education, media, science and technology. According to Greenbaum and Quirk (1991), there are five reasons why varieties of English has evolved: regional, social group, field of discourse, medium and attitudes. The variation occurs in the distinctive features of English which include spelling, pronunciation, lexis, grammar and preferred usages. The varieties of English, as shown in the verbal structures, which express the variations in the aspects are commonly seen in all the varieties around the world. Pronunciation and morphology can be classified in accordance with the frequency of variation seen in the non-standard forms of the English language. The variation in vocabulary is restricted to two types. First, the presence of archaic words and second, the presence of flora and fauna words. The phonological, morphological and syntactical features are the three main features which show the variations in the English language as compared to be the standard form of the language. Out of all the countries around the world, Britain and America are the two main countries that have used a standard form of English. In Britain, the standard form is called as received pronunciation (RP), and in America, the standard form is called by various names, but most common being- general American and network American. Maximum people in America, use General American while speaking. Whereas, a very few people in Britain, use Received Pronunciation while speaking. Other than these two standard forms of English are considered to be the varieties of English. The varieties of English (Fairclough,2014) spoken out of Britain and America are called to be overseas or extraterritorial varieties. English is considered to be an official and often native language. English fulfills the function of a lingua franca (ELF). Many countries, like Nigeria, have used English as a lingua franca (which means a general means of communication). More attention shall be given to the varieties in ELT from various perspectives like grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary (Pennycook.2014). The variations are least at the level of grammar. Thus, are not to be addressed in the English language classroom in detail. But if we talk about pronunciation, the case is totally different. It requires to be studied in detail. The role of varieties of English in ELT to some extent also depends on the teacher. It has been seen that the prospective teachers of ELT are not prepared properly for coping up with the variety-related problems that arise in the classroom. Due to lack of proper training, teachers hesitate to include varieties of English in ELT as they consider it a complex thing (Llurda, 2016). Also, varieties are not considered important by teachers as they usually are not important in exams. The challenges of variation of English language in ELT context can be overcome by strengthening the regional and social varieties in the areas where English is used traditionally as the traditional language by the majority of the population, by growing the self-confidence of the native and non-native users of English to use the regional varieties in the English language without sticking to the norms of using the traditional language as standard as exposing students to as many varieties of English as possible would do more to ensure intelligibility than trying to impose a single standard on everyone (DSouza, 1999) and by adopting ELF in the ELT, due to globalization as English learners will most likely to communicate in English with other non-native ELF speakers in ELF interactions. Although it is impossible and unnecessary to teach all varieties of English in the classroom, students should be given proper training to be able to understand the speakers from different geographical and social differences which needs to include more exposure to varieties and variety-related training in ELT to create awareness, for example, teaching listening skill with the recordings of different speakers with different accents. To conclude, because of the spread of English in British colonization and the influence of USA in economic and military and a wide use of English language in different areas to share the ideas with the world such as media, technology, science and education can make English to become global language. As English become global language, there are many users of English around the world and this lead to different varieties of English. The existence of varieties of English influence in teaching English as the role of varieties in the ELT classroom has gained major importance and thus, can be said to be the most promising way to provide users of English an education which makes them highly competent in terms of communication globally.

Ian Wilmut and the Cloning of Dolly Essay -- Science Genetics Papers

Ian Wilmut and the Cloning of Dolly Definitions of creativity vary based on different people’s interpretations, yet most people agree that creative individuals produce new ideas that can completely change or invent a domain. According to Howard Gardner, creativity is not limited to a single domain, but is unique for all seven domains. Creativity is based on three core elements: the relationship between the child and the master, the relationship between an individual and the work in which he/she is engaged, and the relationship between the individual and others, such as family and friends (Gardner, 9). I believe that Ian Wilmut is a creative master in the logical mathematical domain because in July 1996, he completely changed his field by successfully cloning the Finn Dorset lamb, Dolly, from an adult cell. Since I am a pre-med or pre-vet zoology major, Wilmut’s discovery has truly inspired me and has exposed me to the endless possibilities in genetic engineering and medical research. Ian Wilmutâ€⠄¢s controversial discovery stunned the world by proving that cloning from an adult cell is possible and it opened doors to future cloning research. His dexterous discovery has shown potential for human cloning and supports the fact that Ian Wilmut is a master in the Logical-mathematical and Naturalist domain because of his scientific and genetic impact on the world. Ian Wilmut’s discovery is so significant and undoubtedly warrants him as a master in the scientific world as well as in the logical mathematical intelligence. In order to clone Dolly, Ian Wilmut invented an extremely complex process. Click here for a pictorial summary of the cloning process. Prior to Wilmut’s shocking revelation, most scientists were sure that succ... ...ids. Internet. 3 May 2000. â€Å"Professor Ian Wilmut.† BBSRC News and Events. Oct. 1999. 23 Nov. 2001 http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/features/99oct/99_10_record.html â€Å"Roslin Institute, Edinburgh.† 2000. 23 Nov. 2001 www.roslin.ac.uk. â€Å"Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Tutorial.† 22. Nov. 2001 http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/courses/mb427/2001/projects/09/transfertutorial.htm. Travis, John. â€Å"Cloning Hearing Creates Media Frenzy. Science News 160: Aug. 18, 2001. 4 Dec. 2001 http://www.sciencenews.org/20010818/note11.asp Travis, John. â€Å"Dolly Was Lucky.† Science News 160: Oct. 20, 2001. 4 Dec. 2001 http://www.sciencenews.org/20011020/bob15.asp Wills, Christopher. â€Å"A Sheep in Sheep’s Clothing?† Discover Jan. 1998: 22-23. Wilmut, Ian. â€Å"Cloning For Medicine.† Scientific American. Dec. 1998: 58-63+. Wilmut, Ian. â€Å"Dolly’s False Legacy.† Time. 11 Jan. 1999:74-77.

Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes :: Media Stereotypes Stereotyping

Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes People being generalized based on limited and inaccurate information by sources as television, cartoons or even comic books (Tripod). This is a definition that seems to go against many public standards. The above words are the exact definition of stereotypes. Stereotypes as understood from the definition, goes mostly hand in hand with media -- only not the regular meaning of the innocent media we know. Media propaganda is the other form of media that is rather described as media manipulation. In this paper, the following will be discussed: first, how stereotypes of ethnic groups function in propaganda, why does it function so well, and finally, the consequences of these stereotypes on the life of Egyptians in particular in society. A fair examination will be conducted on this example of stereotypes through clarification examples and research results from researches conducted from reliable sources. The real association between Egyptians’ stereotypes and propaganda discussed in this paper shall magnify the association of stereotypes and propaganda in general. It seems necessary for this paper to start with some clarification of the terms associated with propaganda. Propaganda can be thought of as a foster parent for stereotypes. Propaganda is known to be the intentional manipulation of public opinion through hidden messages in advertisements and other media functions. Thus, propaganda uses many techniques to be able to deliver theses hidden messages to the public and influence their opinion. Fear, brainwashing, name calling, glittering generality, misinformation and much more are some of the techniques that propaganda uses to influence and manipulate the opinions of the majority. Propaganda finds the usefulness of stereotypes in the fact that it’s easy, fast and straight to the public. In the case of stereotypes about ethnic groups, Egyptians in this case are being portrayed as uneducated, unethical, ignorant, desert animal raisers, terrorists and uncivilized ethnic group. These name calling and misinformation techniques are what p ropagandists use to manoeuvre the society to portray Egyptians as humans of the underworld and Egypt as a deserted country that hunger and illness are its residents. The previous are all stereotypes that are propagandas of the media to convert such generality into truth and facts. Racial stereotypes specifically function mostly through propaganda of the media, due to the unlikelihood of every man travelling to every country, using the technique of ‘misinformation’ through movies, shows, and news reports. Egyptians have been stereotyped as desert residents for many years regardless of the reality and actual state of Egypt as a country.

Factors Contributing the Unplanned Pregnancy Among College Students Essay

Being a mother is the most important and challenging role for a woman. A woman should be financially and emotionally ready to get pregnant, give birth, and raise her child. However, at present there are many risks of unwanted pregnancy among young female university students, as the majority of today’s university students have prematurely engaged in sexual intercourse. Consequently, without preparation, some of them face with unwanted pregnancy while studying. Unwanted pregnancy among university students can cause many serious problems which can affect the body, mind, and social status of female university students who are not yet ready to be a mother. Unwanted pregnancy sometimes forces university female students to face a tragic or dead end in their lives. They are nervous as they can’t solve the problem and their parents may not accept this. Some female students may finally seek illegal abortion which can cause their lives. Even though they do not terminate their pregnancy, some of them are too young to give birth and they may have problems of miscarriages or great pains and difficulties when giving birth. These can affect the health of both the mothers and their children. Pregnant university students in some way are directly or indirectly forced to quite their studies to stay at home until they give birth. These unprepared young mothers often inevitably encounter financial problems. Stress and worries can harm their mentality. Many of them lack knowledge to deal with the problem and don’t know how to take care of their children. The problem can be two-folded. Typically, young people aged 10-20 years are not ready to become parents. Both financial stability and emotional maturity are the problem for parenting or caring responsibilities. Getting back into the education system is very difficult. University female students have to worry about losing the educational opportunities. They have to quit university to escape the pressures of society while university male students can still go to university regularly. Therefore, women are responsible for the problem unilaterally and live in society difficulty. Unwanted pregnancy among university students is caused by sexual intercourse which is they will be pregnant while they are not ready in all aspects. So, they should realize that unwanted pregnancy can cause many serious problems. Despite modern methods of family planning, and idespread information about how to use it, unplanned pregnancy is one of the most common medical problems faced by sexually active women under 45. Abortion, the most usual solution to the problem of unplanned pregnancy, is the most common operation among women in the fertile age range. It is impossible to calculate precisely just how many pregnancies each year are accidental. When medical sociologist, Anne Fleissig, asked a number of women who had given birth six weeks previously about whether their pregnancy was planned, she found that 31 percent of them were not. She concluded in a paper subsequently published in the British Medical Journal that almost a third of births could be the consequence of accidental pregnancies. If this were the case it would mean 310 000 accidental pregnancies in Britain every year. In fact, this is likely to be a conservative estimate. Because Anne Fleissig conducted her research into the circumstances in which women’s new babies were conceived, her sample did not include women who had conceived but ended the pregnancy by an abortion. When these unplanned pregnancies are considered as well, it suggests the real extent of accidental pregnancy is even higher than, perhaps as high as 50 per cent of all conceptions. According to the Olaitan Olukunmi Lanre, 2011, Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 5: 336-339, the findings were that unprotected sexual intercourse and poor parental care are the causes of unwanted pregnancy while termination of educational programme and medical complications for both the mothers and children are the effects of unwanted pregnancy. Abstinence and adequate teaching of sex education have been seen as measures to prevent unwanted pregnancy among the adolescents. It was recommended among others that sex education should taught as a subject at the secondary level and government should enact laws to compel parents to take proper care of their children to avoid all forms of immorality among the adolescents.