COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v Paul David CREWS Research Paper

Essential Questions Free Essays

While the North veered toward a mechanical fate of effectiveness and innovation the Southern reliance on their cotton industry kept them at a halt. By 1877 earlier t o the trade off which finished Southern Reconstruction the Southern monetary framework was in a consistent decrease as improve for cotton gradually moved while the North’s interest for fabricated products proceeded with its consistent slope. Peopling: How did the development of mass relocation to the United States and the railroad an impact settlement designs in the urban communities in the west? The development of mass relocation to the United States caused gigantic populace n changes which would in general delayed as migrants subsided into huge towns and urban areas close or revolve red around the developing railways which guaranteed life and fortune to the imminent America Politics and Power: Why did the endeavors at bargain before the war neglect to forestall the perpetrate? Whatever degree and in what ways, did the Civil War and reproduction n change American political and social connections? The endeavors at bargain fizzled in light of the fact that no government official was ever ready to full y address the issues of bondage in a manner that would keep going forever. We will compose a custom paper test on Fundamental Questions or on the other hand any comparable theme just for you Request Now In addition the way that no Southern geek was happy to surrender their lifestyle on account of a northerner who didn't know t he estimation of bondage. America in the World: How was the American clash over bondage part of bigger worldwide occasions? As the European forces developed and left servitude for industry America was the la SST of the forces to achieve a fix of bondage easing back the turn towards industry. With developing ball Zionist developments the perspectives on the world concentrated on subjection in the south. Condition and Geography: How did the finish of subjection and innovation and military improvements change nature and settlement designs in the so the and the west? Toward the finish of the common war with the finish of bondage and the acquaintance of milt beam rule with the south there was an enormous change in settlement as liberated slaves started ventures Eng all through the south to discover lost friends and family. Presentation of â€Å"modernized military strategies and different advances lowed the progression of populaces inside the American South. Thoughts, Beliefs, and Culture: How did the regulation of show predetermination influence banters over regional extension and the Mexican war? How did the Civil War battle shah pep Americans convictions about equity, majority rules system, and national predetermination? The tenet of Manifest Destiny caused a great deal of discussions concerning the privilege of American extensions in the west while every single other nation could no longer guarantee any of t he land. The aftereffects of the common war formed and upheld American confidence in the heavenly nature of their activities of spreading majority rule government from sea to sea. Instructions to refer to Essential Questions, Papers Basic Questions Free Essays Europeans even thought about the Americas, Native American clans were the primary occupants. These first occupants were a social order joined by family relationship and called Pale-Indians and they settled in the Americas somewhere in the range of twelve and fifteen thousand years back. Huge warm blooded creatures and a plenitude of plants attracted tracker gatherers to the Americas, which gave the food important to endurance. We will compose a custom exposition test on Basic Questions or then again any comparable point just for you Request Now Horticulture grabs hold in a segment of the Americas between 1000 to 1200 AD, yet spreads further and all the more widely by 500 AD. Agribusiness in the Americas was very different than in Europe and different nations. In the Americas, yields, for example, corn, beans, and squash were developed and there were no creatures included. Mid fifteenth century, Europe was an interwoven of little realms and territories, and Europe started to venture Into Muslim nation and gained a longing to exchange merchandise with Asia, so they went about investigation of other than past structures and wound up In America, without knowing It. Not long after Columbus showed up, Spanish travelers took a premium and furthermore started to Lonnie, and continued to butcher enormous quantities of Indians in make easy money endeavor. Additionally evangelists checked out changing over the Indians to Christianity, which brought about mixed adaptations of Catholicism that exist today. Conquistadors, Spanish pilgrims under a man named Cortez, vanquished the Aztec and started Indian work framework. Due to the shortage of workers in the Americas, Portuguese and Spanish homesteaders sought Africa for dark slaves. Spanish colonization and abuse of Indians brought about the Pueblo rebel against the Spanish. Europe before long followed their pioneer Columbus to the Americas, bringing illnesses and debilitated pigs, this occasion Is currently called the Great Dying. The Indians started to oppose the intensity of the Spanish and before long existed together with them, receiving their societies and learning the Spanish language. Coming to America: Portrait of Colonial Life The New World, the Americas, turned into a magnet for every single ethnic gathering. Individuals wanted to go to the Americas that they would arrangement themselves with the goal that they could pay for their entry to the Americas. Journeys to the New World were ungenerous and numerous kicked the bucket on the journey, while the most youthful and most beneficial were sold on shipboard. In New England, family connections were of a lot of significance. A wedding service was made by the Puritans who additionally settled commitments that should have been satisfied by the male and female In every relationship. Separation likewise turned into a privilege If a mate defied the guidelines. The leader of the house was to have moral request and remedial request and enthusiastic steadiness. Men were relied upon to work in the fields and ladies went along with them during harvest time, however made cleansers, Step by step instructions to refer to Essential Questions, Papers

How Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) Treats PTSD

How Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) Treats PTSD PTSD Treatment Print Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Can Help PTSD By Matthew Tull, PhD twitter Matthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. Learn about our editorial policy Matthew Tull, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Daniel B. Block, MD on January 23, 2020 twitter linkedin Daniel B. Block, MD, is an award-winning, board-certified psychiatrist who operates a private practice in Pennsylvania. Learn about our Medical Review Board Daniel B. Block, MD Updated on February 05, 2020 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview Symptoms & Diagnosis Causes & Risk Factors Treatment Living With In Children Westend61 / Getty Images Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is being examined as another way to help people recover from  PTSD.??  VRET is a type of  exposure therapy  that has increasingly been used to treat a variety of anxiety disorders, including specific phobias???.  Before learning how VRET treats PTSD symptoms, however, its important to have a handle on what exposure therapy is. Exposure Therapy Exposure therapy  is considered to be a  behavioral treatment for PTSD. Exposure therapy targets behaviors that people engage in (most often  avoidance) in response to situations or thoughts and memories that are viewed as frightening or anxiety-provoking.?? For example, a rape survivor may begin to avoid relationships or going out on dates for fear that she will be attacked again. If not addressed, avoidance behavior can become more extreme and interfere with a persons quality of life. Avoidance can also make  PTSD symptoms  stick around longer or even become worse. Because people with anxiety and phobias often avoid certain situations, thoughts, and emotions, they dont have the opportunity to learn that these situations may not be quite as dangerous or threatening as they seem. Avoidance also interferes with people working through their thoughts, memories, and emotions. The goal of exposure therapy then is to help reduce a persons  fear and anxiety, with the ultimate goal of eliminating avoidance behavior and increasing quality of life. This is done by actively confronting the things that a person fears most. By confronting feared situations, thoughts, and emotions, a person can learn that anxiety and fear will lessen on their own.?? Find Help With the The 9 Best Online Therapy Programs Now, for exposure therapy to be effective, it is very important that people confront a situation that closely maps onto what they fear most. However, this may not always be possible for a person with PTSD.?? For example, a veteran who developed PTSD as a result of combat exposure would not be able to confront a combat situation again. It would unsafe to do so. This is where virtual reality technology comes in. Rates of PTSD in Military Veterans Using Virtual Reality for Exposure In VRET, an individual is immersed in a computer-generated virtual environment, either through the use of a head-mounted display device or entry into a computer-automated room where images are present all around.?? This environment can be programmed to help the person directly confront feared situations or locations that may not be safe to encounter in real life. There is some evidence which shows that VRET may be useful for treating several different anxiety disorders and anxiety-related problems. Some examples include claustrophobia,  fear of driving,  acrophobia  (or a fear of heights), fear of flying,  arachnophobia  (or a fear of spiders), and  social anxiety.?? In addition, a couple of studies have been done that test how useful VRET may be for PTSD. VRET for PTSD has primarily been examined in  Vietnam War combat veterans. Therefore, the virtual environment in which a person is immersed has included imagery that a soldier may come into contact with during combat, such as helicopters and jungles. These studies found that, following VRET, soldiers experienced a reduction in their PTSD symptoms. Some studies have also examined whether VRET may be effective in reducing PTSD symptoms among soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Similar to what was found among Vietnam veterans, it  appears as though VRET can reduce PTSD symptoms  in such vets. Treatment Options for PTSD Finding a Therapist Who Uses VRET VRET is an expensive technology. So, not all clinicians currently use this procedure. Until VRET is more widely available, it is important to know that exposure therapy (without virtual reality) remains a very effective way of reducing PTSD symptoms, and there are many therapists who do exposure therapy.?? How to Find the Right Therapist

A Good Man Is Hard For Find And Everything That Rises Must...

Flannery O’Connor, undoubtedly one of the most well-read authors of the early 20th Century, had many strong themes deeply embedded within all her writings. Two of her most prominent and poignant themes were Christianity and racism. By analyzing, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge,† these two themes jump out at the reader. Growing up in the mid-1920’s in Georgia was a huge influence on O’Connor. Less than a decade before her birth, Georgia was much different than it was at her birth. Slaves labored tirelessly on their master’s plantations and were indeed a facet of everyday life. However, as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, slaves were not easily assimilated into Southern culture. Thus, O’Connor grew up in a highly racist area that mourned the fact that slaves were now to be treated as â€Å"equals.† In her everyday life in Georgia, O’Connor encountered countless ci tizens who were not shy in expressing their discontent toward the black race. This indeed was a guiding influence and inspiration in her fiction writing. The other guiding influence in her life that became a major theme in her writing was religion. Flannery O Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family. The region was part of the Christ-haunted Bible belt of the Southern States. The spiritual heritage of the region profoundly shaped O Connor s writing as described in her essay The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South (1969). ManyShow MoreRelatedGood Man Is Hard And Find And Everything That Rises Must Converge By Flannery O Connor926 Words   |  4 PagesNightingale. The stories â€Å"Good Man Is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge† both stories written by the author Flannery, O’Connor are stories that implies how the morality and immorality affects the social lives. The story â€Å"Good Man Is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor is a story that define what the word â€Å"Good† is, but everybody has a personal opinion of what’s good or not. In contrast, the other story by Flannery O’Connor â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge† implies how the immoralityRead MoreParkers Back by Flannery OConnor1146 Words   |  5 Pagessignificance of Flannery O Connor s Parker s Back can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent. Her short stories routinely end in horrendous, freak fatalities or, at the very least, a character s emotional devastation. Flannery O Connor is a Christian writer, and her work is message-oriented, yet she is far too brilliant a stylist to tip her hand; like all good writers, crass didacticism is abhorrent to her. Unlike some more cryptic writers, O Connor was happyRead MoreFlannery OConner and the use of grotesque character in Good country people and a good man is hard to find1226 W ords   |  5 Pagescentury writing (Holman 61). Almost all of O Connor s short stories usually end in horrendous, freak fatalities or, at the very least, a character s emotional devastation. People have categorized O Connor s work as Southern Gothic (Walters 30). In Many of her short stories, A Good Man Is Hard To Find for example, Flannery O Connor creates grotesque characters to illustrate the evil in people. Written in 1953, A Good Man Is Hard To Find is one of O Connor s most known pieces of work and hasRead MoreFlannery OConnor Essay988 Words   |  4 PagesFlannery O’ Connor’s method of writing is extraordinary with the right amount of religion. She writes in a way in which the reader can easily comprehend. Nonetheless, let us first discuss her short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† in this particular piece of writing O’ Connor gives us a sense of irony and suspense throughout the reading. One can easily recall when the family was passing by the beautiful scenery of Georgia and the grandma had made a racist remark of a Negro child standing in frontRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Flannery O Connor s Good Country People 1787 Words   |  8 PagesA Critical Character Analysis of Flannery O Connor s â€Å"Good Country People†, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to find†, Everything That Rises Must Converge. You can never forget the time you re living in because the past is the past and it will never come back. So to adjust your philosophy and creativity in fashion to the time you re living in is the most important thing. - Donatella Versace In each of Flannery O’Connor’s stories there is a very different perspectives in the stories also in theRead MoreFamily, By Flannery O Connor1803 Words   |  8 Pagesauthor named Flannery O’Connor. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†. It was about a dysfunctional family who encounters a criminal named â€Å"The Misfit†. The grandmother which is the main character is very judgmental towards others and sometimes her own family at times. This story starts off with a disagreement on where to go for a family trip, but they decide on going to Florida for the family trip after a while of arguing. On this trip, it showed what type of family they are. They talk about everything with oneRead MoreSummary Of Things That Rises Must Converge By Flannery O Conner2247 Words   |  9 PagesTyler Shumaker Eng 206 9am MWF November 25, 2014 Dr. Sykes â€Å"Flannery O’Conner† Human conflict is going to happen in the world no matter the situation. It is sought out to resolve these matters without tragic aftermath, but in some cases that cannot be so. Flannery O’Conner writes two short stories â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† using characterization, setting, and irony to show the racial and egotistic ways of the 1950s and 60s in the South. The theme of raceRead MoreReview Of O Conner 1350 Words   |  6 Pagesread multiple stories by Flannery O’Conner, there are many similar qualities in the works. O’Conner pays special attention to the realistic detail and finds the truth that lies beneath the surface of language and self image. She often uses violence that shocks the reader to uncover this truth. Although different in each work, she is able to incorporate a moment of grace in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge. O Conn or consistently produced fictionRead MoreEffectiveness of Juvenile Incarceration1357 Words   |  6 Pages11/18/10 Research Paper â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† by Flannery O’Connor who is a Southern American novelist and short story writer, O’ Connor’s career expanded in the 1950sand early 60s, a time when the South was dominated by Protestant Christians.O’Connor was born and raised a Catholic. She was a fundamentalist and aChristian moralist whose powerful apocalyptic fiction is focused in the South.Flannery O’Connor was born March 25, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. O’ Connorgrew up on a farm with herRead MoreA good man is hard to find2182 Words   |  9 PagesThe Use of Religion in Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery O Connor is a Christian writer, and her work shows Christian themes of good and evil, grace, and salvation. O’Connor has challenged the theme of religion into all of her works largely because of her Roman Catholic upbringing. O’Connor wrote in such a way that the characters and settings of her stories are unforgettable, revealing deep insights into the human existence. In O’Connor’s Introduction to a â€Å"Memoir of Mary

The Effects Of Drug Abuse On Sports - 779 Words

For my supporting article I will be researching my topic on drug abuse in sports. I have found many topics to talk about and the first one I have chosen to write about is steroids in sports. I wanted to choose this topic because I’m a very athletic person myself and I thought that this topic is perfect for me, I found my research on www.health.ny.gov/publications/1210/ and from here this is how I got all my information from. Many athletes now a days are taking steroids, why is that? Is it to make a squad, or impress a member of the opposite sex? There really isn t a right or wrong answer to why athletes feel the need to take performance enhancing drugs. However ones psychological state, genetic mishaps, or even performance pressures from the coaching staff, can lead an athlete to steroids. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are man-made substances related to male sex hormones. Anabolic generally relates to muscle building while androgenic refers to increased masculine characteristics. Steroids are available legally, but under certain circumstances. They are legally available only by prescription from a doctor, to treat conditions that occur when the body produces unusually low amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence. They are also prescribed by doctor to treat body wasting in patients with diseases such as AIDS that result in loss of lean muscle mass. Abuse of anabolic steroids can lead to serious or even fatal health problems. Steroids areShow MoreRelatedPerformance Drugs Should Not Be Legal1498 Words   |  6 PagesPerformance Drugs Should not be Legal The Center for Disease Control and Prevention did a survey on high schoolers grades 9th through 12th and found out the 4.4% to 5.7% of boys and that 1.9% to 3.8% of girls have used illegal steroids (Fernandez and Robert). High schoolers are not the only ones that take performance enhancing drugs, all sorts of athletes and even nonathletes take them. Taking performance enhancing drugs harms the human body in so many different ways like it harms the Hormonal SystemRead MoreShould Athletes Use Performance Enhancing Drugs?935 Words   |  4 PagesRoy Shurn Jr English 12 Ms. Terry 11/20/14 PED users in sports Everyone wants to win and everyone loves a winner. Athletes are a competitive group and if you are good enough to get into professional sports, you can achieve fame and fortune would you cheat to accomplish? This is the question that many athletes have to answer? What do I mean by cheating? I mean the use of performance enhancing drugs. How many records were made and broken by athletes that used these enhancements. â€Å"AccordingRead MoreSteroids And Other Performance Enhancing Drugs1407 Words   |  6 PagesSteroids in Sports Introduction The debate over athletes using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs has always been a hot-button issue in the sports world. From major league athletes in baseball and football; to track stars and bicyclist in the Olympics, the use of steroids in sports has been a wide-range problem. Those who disagree with the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs say that the athletes who use them are breaking the rules and getting an unfair advantage overRead MoreCase Study : Mr. Big Of New Zealand 1624 Words   |  7 Pagesslurred speech and hard-to-follow thought processes) to spread a message before he dies. That message is: DO NOT ABUSE ENHANCMENT DRUGS AND STEROIDS. Justin’s primary method of achieving his size was to experiment with whatever enhancement drug he could get his hands on including steroids. He basically turned his body into his own scientific guinea pig experimenting with enhancement drugs of all kinds to find the quickest way to gain size and strength. Justin is only thirty-nine years old and probablyRead MoreAnabolic Steroids : Use And Performance Enhancing Drugs1516 Words   |  7 Pagesperformance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids has been a debatable topic in the United States as early as the 1950’s. Former U. S. Representative Howard Berman expresses that â€Å"Steroids can seem necessary to compete at the highest level, and the quick rewards may seem to outweigh the long term consequences to users.† The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that countless athletes, both young and old, face life threatening illnesses due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, some of whichRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drug Abuse1511 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance enhancing drug abuse is a growing problem in adolescents and athletes. According to the Partnership for Drug – Free Kids, more than five percent of teens use performance enhancing drugs, or steroids increase muscle. Performance enhancing drug abuse creates addiction, the mental tension and pressure that coaches and peers bring to inferior athletes this draws teens and athletes to engage in these products, further encouraging teens to partake in the use of performance enhancing drugs, with long-termRead More Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay examples1507 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drugs in Sports When involved in sports, you have to be competitive. You need to win more than anybody else. However, athletes are taking winning to the extreme. As the use of performance enhancing drugs is becoming more popular amongst athletes, many of them do not understand the risks involved in taking these drugs. Many people are looking for a quick way to build muscles, or to get stronger the fastest way possible. Using these performance aids may very well be aRead MoreHow Athletes Can Compete On A Level Playing Field1238 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish-111-26 6 December 2015 Doping in Sports â€Å"It s important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they ll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.† This was said by Paula Jane Radcliffe, English long-distance runner and Olympian. Cheating is and never has been a good thing. In sports there are many different formsRead MoreAnabolic Steroids: and the High School Athlete1528 Words   |  7 Pagesthe High School Athlete Anabolic steroid abuse has become a national concern among high school athletes. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of athletes using these performance enhancing drugs in high school almost double the number using since the 1980s. These athletes feel that steroids gives them the competitive edge that they think they need to boost themselves past the competition. Steroids have been used in bodybuilding and other sports since the 1950s. Nowadays, athletes fromRead More Anabolic Steroids and the High School Athlete Essay1495 Words   |  6 PagesSchool Athlete Anabolic steroid abuse has become a national concern among high school athletes. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of athletes using these performance enhancing drugs in high school almost double the number using since the 1980s. These athletes feel that steroids gives them the competitive edge that they think they need to boost themselves past the competition. Steroids have been used in bodybuilding and other sports since the 1950s. Nowadays, athletes from

Can Money Buy Happiness Free Essays

In our society, people often put great emphasis on materials and possessions. Many believe that having more money would make them happier in life; but does money really provide true happiness? Having the money to provide food, clothing, and shelter is essential for everyone’s well-being and happiness, but after those basic needs are fulfilled more money just offers materials not necessarily happiness. There are many ways I think money does buy happiness. We will write a custom essay sample on Can Money Buy Happiness or any similar topic only for you Order Now Money increases quality of life which in turn buys happiness. This is only true if one lives within his means, lives a modest life style and pursues happiness the right way. I think most people believe happiness is bought in a store. People overestimate how much pleasure they’ll get when they buy something luxurious. We really don’t need all these extravagant luxuries around us. Are they necessities to life? Are they just things to show your vanity? Or are they just trying to keep up with the Jones’s? In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individual’s economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not realize is that money, might in fact do just that, buy happiness. On the other hand, those who have pockets as heavy as themselves think that money Is nothing but a burden and a complication in life, which is too networked to figure out. First of all, a comfortable life can be brought if we are rich. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see people complain about their low standard of living. The low educated groups always have to worry about their living. They may worry about losing their jobs as they always work as low skilled workers. Their jobs are not stable at all. They may not be able to cope with their daily lives, let alone being happy. Under such circumstances, money can buy happiness. If they have got more money, they no longer have to worry all the time. The idea of money buying happiness is interesting. Yes, most people feel they do need more money to be happy, but what is that â€Å"happiness† they are speaking of? If that idea means owning newer appliances than before, then money can buy you happiness. If that idea is going out to eat dinner more often, then money can buy you happiness. But, if happiness is truly living one’s life to the fullest, then money cannot buy happiness. People know that this idea of happiness is materialistic and shallow, and they are quick to point it out in others, but cannot see it in themselves. Money cannot buy happiness, unless happiness is measured by possessions. Happiness from money is very short lived. While the happiness of people who receive large sums of money might rise immediately after they receive that money, that happiness declines to only slightly above or equal to their level of happiness before the money came to them. Different people have different beliefs of what happiness really is. However, money is often the bane of happiness, as is evidenced that affluent societies are often considerably more unhappy than poorer (not necessarily poverty stricken) countries. This is a sign that too little, or too much money is not a good thing. A balance needs to be struck between earning money and more fulfilling activities. This is because happiness is not a state to be ‘achieved’ but a virtue, and all happiness is relative. Happiness is a virtue. Happiness cannot be ‘achieved’ or ‘attained’ through earning money. Money can be seen as the opposite of happiness. The rich often wield power, due to their wealth, which in turn corrupts their morals. How to cite Can Money Buy Happiness, Papers

Y2k; Millennium Bug Essays - Calendars, Software Bugs, COBOL

Y2k; Millennium Bug The Millennial sun will first rise over human civilization in the independent republic of Kiribati, a group of some thirty low lying coral islands in the Pacific Ocean that straddle the equator and the International Date Line, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. This long awaited sunrise marks the dawn of the year 2000, and quite possibly, the onset of unheralded disruptions in life as we know it in many parts of the globe. Kiribati's 81,000 Micronesians may observe nothing different about this dawn; they only received TV in 1989. However, for those who live in a world that relies on satellites, air, rail and ground transportation, manufacturing plants, electricity, heat, telephones, or TV, when the calendar clicks from '99 to '00, we will experience a true millennial shift. As the sun moves westward on January 1, 2000, as the date shifts silently within millions of computerized systems, we will begin to experience our computer-dependent world in an entirely new way. We will finally see the extent of the networked and interdependent processes we have created. At the stroke of midnight, the new millennium heralds the greatest challenge to modern society that we have yet to face as a planetary community. I am describing the year 2000 problem, known as Y2K (K signifying 1000.) Nicknamed at first The Millennial Bug, increasing sensitivity to the magnitude of the impending crisis has escalated it to The Millennial Bomb. The problem begins as a simple technical error. Large mainframe computers more than ten years old were not programmed to handle a four digit year. Sitting here now, on the threshold of the year 2000, it seems incomprehensible that computer programmers and microchip designers didn't plan for it. But when these billions of lines of computer code were being written, computer memory was very expensive. Remember when a computer only had 16 kilobytes of RAM? To save storage space, most programmers allocated only two digits to a year. 1993 is ?93' in data files, 1917 is '17.' These two-digit dates exist on millions of files used as input to millions of applications. Programmers did whatever was required to get a product up and working; no one even thought about standards. The same thing happened in the production of microchips as recently as three years ago. Microprocessors and other integrated circuits are often just sophisticated calculators that count and do math. They count many things: fractions of seconds, days, inches, pounds, degrees, lumens, etc. Many chips that had a time function designed into them were only structured for this century. And when the date goes from '99 to '00 both they and the legacy software that has not been fixed will think it is still the 20th century -- not 2000, but 1900 Y2K Date calculations affect far more millions of systems than those that deal with inventories, interest rates, or insurance policies. Every major aspect of our modern infrastructure has systems and equipment that rely on such calculations to perform their functions. We are dependent on computerized systems that contain date functions to effectively manage defense, transportation, power generation, manufacturing, telecommunications, finance, government, education, healthcare, and more. The list is longer, but the picture is pretty clear. We have created a world whose efficient functioning in all but the poorest and remotest areas is dependent on computers. It doesn't matter whether you personally use a computer, or that most people around the world don't even have telephones. The world's economic and political infrastructures rely on computers. And not isolated computers. We have created dense networks of reliance around the globe. We are networked together for economic and politica l purposes. Whatever happens in one part of the network has an impact on other parts of the network. We have created not only a computer-dependent society, but, also an interdependent planet. We already have had frequent experiences with how fragile these systems are, how failure's cascade through a networked system. While each of these systems relies on millions of lines of code that detail the required processing, they handle their routines in serial fashion. Any next step depends on the preceding step. This serial nature makes systems, no matter their size, vulnerable to even the slightest problem anywhere in the system. In

Free Essays on Murder In The First

Murder in the First â€Å"A society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings. An execution is a violent public spectacle of official homicide, and one that endorses killing to solve social problems - the worst possible example to set for the citizenry. The benefits of capital punishment are illusory, but the bloodshed and the resulting destruction of community decency are real.† Hugo Bedau, in The Case Against the Death Penalty In American society, the threat of capital punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a criminal. The moral ramifications of the taking of another life, whether it be by murder or as legally accepted punishment, remains an unresolved conflict between Americans. Despite the fact that capital punishment, otherwise known as the "death penalty", is legal in only a handful of countries in the world, the majority of Americans regard it as acceptable retribution. In the 1981 Gallup Poll, two-thirds of Americans voiced general approval of capital punishment. By 1994, the same poll concluded that a tremendous 80% of Americans approved of capital punishment (Moore, 1994:5). It is no wonder that many of our countries leaders endorse the death penalty. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, believes that mass executions of "27 or 30 or 35 people at a time" would be effective in the reduction of the importation of illegal drugs in to America (Taylor, 1995). In 1972, capital punishment was eradicated in the United States when the Supreme Court declared that under then existing laws "imposition and carrying out of the death penalty... constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th and 14th amendments." (Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238). This decision, however, was repealed in 1976 by the Supreme Court. Advocates of capital punishment claim that it is an effective deterrent against cr... Free Essays on Murder In The First Free Essays on Murder In The First Murder in the First â€Å"A society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings. An execution is a violent public spectacle of official homicide, and one that endorses killing to solve social problems - the worst possible example to set for the citizenry. The benefits of capital punishment are illusory, but the bloodshed and the resulting destruction of community decency are real.† Hugo Bedau, in The Case Against the Death Penalty In American society, the threat of capital punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a criminal. The moral ramifications of the taking of another life, whether it be by murder or as legally accepted punishment, remains an unresolved conflict between Americans. Despite the fact that capital punishment, otherwise known as the "death penalty", is legal in only a handful of countries in the world, the majority of Americans regard it as acceptable retribution. In the 1981 Gallup Poll, two-thirds of Americans voiced general approval of capital punishment. By 1994, the same poll concluded that a tremendous 80% of Americans approved of capital punishment (Moore, 1994:5). It is no wonder that many of our countries leaders endorse the death penalty. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, believes that mass executions of "27 or 30 or 35 people at a time" would be effective in the reduction of the importation of illegal drugs in to America (Taylor, 1995). In 1972, capital punishment was eradicated in the United States when the Supreme Court declared that under then existing laws "imposition and carrying out of the death penalty... constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th and 14th amendments." (Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238). This decision, however, was repealed in 1976 by the Supreme Court. Advocates of capital punishment claim that it is an effective deterrent against cr...

Consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con USCIS

Consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con USCIS Si un migrante recibe una citacià ³n del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) para presentarse en una de sus oficinas tiene la obligacià ³n de acudir a la misma el dà ­a y a la hora indicada. Sin embargo, si no puede presentarse en esa fecha, puede intentar cambiarla.  ¿Para quà © envà ­a el USCIS la citacià ³n? El USCIS puede enviar una carta (appointment letter, en inglà ©s) para comparecer en un Centro de Apoyo de Aplicaciones (ASC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) o en una de sus oficinas, conocidas como Field Offices. La razà ³n es que necesitan entrevistar a la persona citada o realizar otra labor sobre una solicitud o aplicacià ³n pendiente. Por ejemplo: examen para la adquisicià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a americana por naturalizacià ³ntoma de huellas digitales y otros datos biomà ©tricosentrevista de esposos para remocià ³n de condiciones de green card, etc. Quà © hay que hacer si no se puede acudir a la cita con el USCIS el dà ­a seà ±alado En primer lugar, deben seguirse las instrucciones que puede haber en la carta en la que se hacà ­a la citacià ³n. Probablemente, se pida el envà ­o de una carta explicando la razà ³n para cambiar la fecha. Adems, si habà ­a que presentarse en un Field Office se puede llamar al telà ©fono de Servicio al Cliente marcando al 800-375-5283. Si se tiene problemas auditivos, se puede utilizar el servicio TDD llamando al 1800-767-1833. En todos los casos, la razà ³n para pedir un cambio de la cita debe ser urgente y grave. Ser el propio USCIS quien decide si acepta o no posponer la cita. Y tambià ©n si hay que mostrarle evidencia de la razà ³n por la que se solicita el cambio es cierta. Cabe destacar que, frecuentemente, en los casos en los que USCIS pospone la fecha lo hace por menos de 30 dà ­as aunque depende de la carga de trabajo de la oficina correspondiente. Consecuencias del cambio de dà ­a en la citacià ³n Si el USCIS est de acuerdo en cambiar la fecha de citacià ³n, la à ºnica consecuencia del cambio es que se producir un pequeà ±o retraso en la tramitacià ³n de la aplicacià ³n. Adems, dependiendo del caso es posible que niegue temporalmente el derecho a recibir algà ºn tipo de beneficios. Sin embargo, si el USCIS no accede a cambiar la cita  y, a pesar de eso, la persona citada no acude es posible que eso signifique la negacià ³n de la solicitud o peticià ³n que se està © tramitando. Obligacià ³n de notificar el cambio de domicilio Nunca se podr alegar ante el USCIS que no se recibià ³ la notificacià ³n para presentarse en sus oficinas porque hubo un cambio de vivienda  y no se recibià ³ la carta en la nueva si no se ha notificado el cambio de domicilio.   Todos los extranjeros que estn legalmente en Estados Unidos por ms de 30 dà ­as tienen la obligacià ³n de informar al USCIS de todos sus cambios de domicilio permanentes, es decir, no por vacaciones. La regla general es llenar y enviar el formulario AR-11, que se puede descargar gratuitamente de la pgina oficial de USCIS o llenar electrà ³nicamente en la misma. Cabe destacar que los estudiantes internacionales y sus familiares con visa F-2  y los visitantes extranjeros con visas de intercambio J-1 y sus derivados J-! tienen sus propias normas. Finalmente, esta obligacià ³n de notificar los cambios de domicilio tambià ©n aplica a los ciudadanos estadounidenses que han firmado un affidavit of support en favor de un familiar o amigo en el proceso de peticià ³n de una tarjeta de residencia. Informacià ³n importante a tener en cuenta Si USCIS cita a un migrante indocumentado es recomendable asesorarse con un abogado. En la situacià ³n actual que vive el paà ­s se han dado casos de detenciones en oficinas migratorias. No confundir las consecuencias de no presentarse a una cita con el USCIS a las de no acudir a una cita con la Corte de Inmigracià ³n. Esta à ºltima es muy grave ya que podrà ­a suponer una declaracià ³n de una orden de deportacià ³n in absentia.   Finalmente, si un migrante no se siente cà ³modo hablando en inglà ©s y tiene una entrevista en Inmigracià ³n, puede ir con un intà ©rprete. Puntos Clave: Cita con USCIS Si un migrante recibe una carta de USCIS citndole a una de sus oficinas debe presentarse o intentar un cambio de fecha.El cambio de fecha se solicita siguiendo las instrucciones de la carta en la que USCIS notifica la cita. Siempre debe ser por causas justificadas.Si el USCIS accede al cambio de fecha, frecuentemente pospondr la cita un mximo de 30 dà ­as.Si un migrante no se presenta a una cita, su solicitud puede ser negada.Los migrantes deben comunicar a USCIS los cambios de domicilio, excepto por vacaciones. Esta regla no aplica a indocumentados. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

MEMO style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MEMO style - Essay Example Therefore, Saturday night is a perfect time for me, and there won’t be any inconveniences. Despite my acceptance of this invitation, I still have some reservations. This is basically because you are not clear on the time, your address, what to wear, and what to bring at this party. In your letter, you just mentioned that the party would occur on Saturday night. This is rather confusing, since I am eager to know at what time exactly would the party start, and the time that the people invited should assemble. This information would help me arrive early, at the venue. Another important issue that emerges is the address. It would be difficult for me, to attend a party, that I don’t know its address. It is therefore prudent that you give us the address ton your house. As this is a swimming/barbecue party, I am also concerned into knowing whether you would provide us with the costumes, or not. This would help me in coming up with a decision on whether to come up with my costumes or not. Furthermore, you failed to tell us on what to carry, in addition to the issues that I have mentioned in this

QUANTITY SURVEY PRACTISE-COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT Essay

QUANTITY SURVEY PRACTISE-COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT - Essay Example This is because this will be the ideal thing to do so that the project is completed in good time to deter the anxiety of your clients. In the letter, he directs that i advice you on the implications of the letter. On this regard, I advice, that you initiate the project as directed. This is in view of the fact that it is your duty to do that, failure to which the client may initiate a legal complaint against your firm. It is more so important because of the history of the client in being quick to seek legal redress on slight delays. As it is in the public domain, the client sued Yanda property developers in the year 2007 for failure to initiate a project (Delay of one month). On this note, it is my humble opinion that you carry out your contractual obligations as soon as possible. (Aqua Group, 2007) I write on behalf of my client, Oligarch Investments, in reference to a letter dated 28 September 2012 14:23. Our client has, in receiving the letter, undertaken to fully carry out their obligation in time. My legal opinion is that this will be detrimental to your firm if the funding problem is not sorted out in time. This is because it is your legal obligation to carry out the project as stipulated in the contract. I write in reference to your letter dated, 8 October 2012 08.30, acknowledging receipt of the letter from the architecture and communication from your backers. The implication of this could be delay of the impending project. Subsequently a legal tussle may ensue. However, our firm would like to advice that we write to the relevant firms and authorities to seek extension of time to avoid

The Moral Decline Essay -- pornography, morality, economy, family, divo

Is our society in a state of moral decline? To answer this question we have to define the word â€Å"moral† first. In Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of the word moral is â€Å"Concerning or relating to what is right and wrong in human behavior.† From this definition we can understand that a moral decline is a decline in knowing the different between right or wrong. In another word our moral is like a guide for every choice we make in our life. Therefore anything could affect our moral reasoning would affect our life. So is our society is a state of a moral decline? I think yes our society in a state of a moral decline because of the raise of pornography, the increasing divorce rate, and the economy. First of all, the rise of pornography is one of the reasons that our society is in a state of moral decline. According to the IFR, a new pornographic video is created in the United States every 39 minute. Pornography rapes people from their identity and deliver them as a body part. For example, looking to the women as a sex object. â€Å" A 2009 study at Princeton that used MRI scans to document how pornography encourages men to perceive women â€Å"more as objects than as humans.†(Desmond) This will cause a sexually aggressive behavior toward women because a sex object is they only thing that the man see the women as. On the other hand we don’t see any objecting to the male in the pornographic industry because they are not cheap enough. This double stander will address a male are superiors, which will affect our equal society. Pornography is sending massage to the women that your body is what you are. An example of that are the magazine covers of nude women in a perfect shape. When a 17 year old over weight girl looks at that picture, firs... ... K. Crowder and J. Teachman. 2004. â€Å"Do Residential Conditions Explain the Relationship Between Living Arrangements and Adolescent Behavior?† Journal of Marriage and Family 66:721-738. Manning J., Senate Testimony 2004, referencing: Dedmon, J."Is the Internet bad for your marriage? Online affairs, pornographic sites playing greater role in divorces." CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm Kelly, J. B. and Emery, R. E. (2003), Children's Adjustment Following Divorce: Risk and Resilience Perspectives. Family Relations, 52: 352–362. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00352.x E. Mark Cummings, a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. With USA News June 15, 2012 http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/15/parents-fighting-may-have-long-lasting-effect-on-kids

Extremist Group Essay

Makenssey Brinkman Mr. Feudo English 1 Pre-AP – 6th 22 April 2010 The Dangers of The Extremes Extremist groups go above and beyond to get what they want. They go to extreme measures, even disregarding people’s safety and turning groups against each other to reach their goal. They are a great hazard to mankind. Despite the fact that people have the right of free speech and assembly, the banning of Extremist groups will better society because they promote hate and violence and turn people against each other. Topic Sentence 1) Extremist groups shower hate all over the groups of people who oppose them, and they become relentless in their attempt to do so. (Evidence 1) – â€Å"Anti-choicers harassed [George Tiller’s] patients, day in and day out. They bombed his clinic. They shot him once before. They filed lawsuit after lawsuit and even convinced local prosecutors to launch criminal investigations and trials. † (Analysis 1) – The Extremist pro-li fe group attacked the abortion doctor with hate.By harassing his patients and trying to convince prosecutors to go against him, they set a solid, horrid example for others that do not share the same views as Tiller. These hateful attacks ultimately led to Tiller’s murder by gun at The Reformation Lutheran Church. (Evidence 2) – â€Å"To recruit members and spread its beliefs, the American Front has collaborated with various neo-Nazi and skinhead groups to stage protests and rallies that demonize Jews, blacks, and other minorities. (Analysis 2) – Just to try and get members into the group, the Extremist group staged many protests and minorities put down many minor groups, They promoted hate into the people who listened to and watched them as they did so, and therefore spreading the hate all they could. (Example 3) – â€Å"Anti-Semites and racists have found video-sharing websites, such as YouTube and MySpace Video, an effective means to promote propagand a and hateful material that might not otherwise be seen by the public.Internet users who search video-sharing sites will often find anti-Semitic and racist videos when looking for information completely unrelated to the videos due to misleading tags and titles that extremists attach to the videos when uploading them to the sites. † (Analysis 3) – Extremist group are using the internet to spread hatred of other groups worldwide. By doing so, it makes it even easier for them to promote the hate and then hide the evidence if their website or video is caught. This must be stopped. Topic Sentence 2) Extremist groups use violence in reaching their goals and emphasizing the point they are trying to make. (Example 1) – â€Å"On June 10, 2009, a white supremist who believed it was â€Å"time to kill the Jews† took his gun to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D. C. , and stated shooting upon entering. † (Analysis 1) – In believing he was doing the ri ght thing, this Extremist tried to make his point by attacking the Holocaust victims museum. By attacking this museum, he made a big stand by basically showing with his violence that he supported what happened in the Holocaust. Example 2) – â€Å"[ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna)] has waged a relentless campaign of violence against the Spanish state, targeting politicians, policemen, judges, and soldiers. In 1980 alone, ETA was blamed for 118 deaths, and in 1995 it nearly succeeded in assassinating Jose Maria Aznar, then leader of the opposition, now Spain’s prime minister. † (Analysis 2) – The Extremist group ETA is taking their beliefs to an extreme extent. By killing and trying to assassinate a respected leader, they are using the violence to try and scare off and weaken their opposition. Example 3) – â€Å"Since 1977, there have been at least 17 attempted murders, 383 death threats, 153 incidents of assault or battery and three kidnappings committe d against abortion providers in North America. † (Analysis 3) – These are solid facts that exemplify all of the violence that have taken place from just one Extremist group. The groups cause pain and suffering in North America, and they feel as though using violence is one of the only ways to get their point across. (Topic Sentence 3) – Along with all the hate and violence that these groups reate, Extremist groups try tearing people further apart with their actions and words. (Example 1) – â€Å"The Kach movement was most famous for its platform calling for the removal of the entire Israeli-Arab population from Israel and transferring them â€Å"elsewhere. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Analysis 1) – The Jewish Defense League is another Extremist group that prizes themselves over all people. By trying to kick the Israeli-Arab population out of their homeland so they can take over, they cause horrible tensions between the people. These tensions would almost most certainly lead to more hate and more violence. Example 2) – â€Å"One man from Brockton, Massachusetts – who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites – is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. † (Analysis 2) – By using the internet as a source to get to people, the Extremist groups have given false information and got what they wanted from it. They scared the man into believing that he was in danger, so he decided to take action and go against the other races. (Example 3) –

The Slave Boy Experiment in Platos Meno

One of the most famous passages in all of Platos works—indeed, in all of philosophy—occurs in the middle of the  Meno. Meno asks Socrates if he can prove the truth of his strange claim that all learning is recollection (a claim that Socrates connects to the idea of reincarnation). Socrates responds by calling over a slave boy and, after establishing that he has had no mathematical training, gives him a geometry problem. The Geometry Problem The boy is asked how to double the area of a square. His confident first answer is that you achieve this by doubling the length of the sides. Socrates shows him that this, in fact, creates a square four times larger than the original. The boy then suggests extending the sides by half their length. Socrates points out that this would turn a 2x2 square (area 4) into a 3x3 square (area 9). At this point, the boy gives up and declares himself at a loss. Socrates then guides him by means of simple step-by-step questions to the correct answer, which is to use the diagonal of the original square as the base for the new square. The Soul Immortal According to Socrates, the boys ability to reach the truth and recognize it as such proves that he already had this knowledge within him; the questions he was asked simply stirred it up, making it easier for him to recollect it. He argues, further, that since the boy didnt acquire such knowledge in this life, he must have acquired it at some earlier time; in fact, Socrates says, he must have always known it, which indicates that the soul is immortal. Moreover, what has been shown for geometry also holds for every other branch of knowledge: the soul, in some sense, already possesses the truth about all things. Some of Socrates inferences here are clearly a bit of a stretch. Why should we believe that an innate ability to reason mathematically implies that the soul is immortal? Or that we already possess within us empirical knowledge about such things as the theory of evolution, or the history of Greece? Socrates himself, in fact, acknowledges that he cant be certain about some of his conclusions. Nevertheless, he evidently believes that the demonstration with the slave boy proves something. But does it? And if so, what? One view is that the passage proves that we have innate ideas—a kind of knowledge we are quite literally born with. This doctrine is one of the most disputed in the history of philosophy. Descartes, who was clearly influenced by Plato, defended it. He argues, for instance, that God imprints an idea of Himself on each mind that he creates. Since every human being possesses this idea, faith in God is available to all. And because the idea of God is the idea of an infinitely perfect being, it makes possible other knowledge which depends on the notions of infinity and perfection, notions that we could never arrive at from experience. The doctrine of innate ideas is closely associated with the rationalist philosophies of thinkers like Descartes and Leibniz. It was fiercely attacked by John Locke, the first of the major British empiricists. Book One of Lockes  Essay on Human Understanding  is a famous polemic against the whole doctrine. According to Locke, the mind at birth is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. Everything we eventually know is learned from experience. Since the 17th century (when Descartes and Locke produced their works), the empiricist skepticism regarding innate ideas has generally had the upper hand. Nevertheless, a version of the doctrine was revived by the linguist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky was struck by the remarkable achievement of every child in learning language. Within three years, most children have mastered their native language to such an extent that they can produce an unlimited number of original sentences. This ability goes far beyond what they can have learned simply by listening to what others say: the output exceeds the input. Chomsky argues that what makes this possible is an innate capacity for learning language, a capacity that involves intuitively recognizing what he calls the universal grammar—the deep structure—that all human languages share. A Priori Although the specific doctrine of innate knowledge presented in the  Meno  finds few takers today, the more general view that we know some things a priori—i.e. prior to experience—is still widely held. Mathematics, in particular, is thought to exemplify this sort of knowledge. We dont arrive at theorems in geometry or arithmetic by conducting empirical research; we establish truths of this sort simply by reasoning. Socrates may prove his theorem using a diagram drawn with a stick in the dirt but we understand immediately that the theorem is necessarily and universally true. It applies to all squares, regardless of how big they are, what they are made of, when they exist, or where they exist. Many readers complain that the boy does not really discover how to double the area of a square himself: Socrates guides him to the answer with leading questions. This is true. The boy would probably not have arrived at the answer by himself. But this objection misses the deeper point of the demonstration: the boy is not simply learning a formula that he then repeats without real understanding (the way most of us are doing when we say something like, e mc squared). When he agrees that a certain proposition is true or an inference is valid, he does so because he grasps the truth of the matter for himself. In principle, therefore, he could discover the theorem in question, and many others, just by thinking very hard. And so could we all!

How Government Policies Are Developed Unit 1 M4 Public...

How Government Policies are developed. In this assignment I am going to analyse how government policies are developed, covering all aspects of the policy making process. There are many different levels of government which exist and have a direct or indirect impact on people’s lives. The levels of government are Central, (which involve the Monarchy, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords), Regional, (which involve Devolved parliaments) and Local, (which involve Local authorities, country councils and Metropolitan councils). Each level contains a variety of different organisations and branches of government which help to keep the country and the public services running smoothly and effectively. All branches of the government†¦show more content†¦From these discussions parliamentary subcommittees are formed to look at different parts of the idea. Subcommittees are smaller discussions which have less MP’s involved. If the idea is considered to be worthwhile after these discussions then the idea is put onto a ‘green paper’. A green paper is a document that contains the new idea discussed in government meetings, and is given to government parties to discuss in meetings and debates. These debates are known as public meetings, specialist consultation meetings or enquiries. This is when the public has the chance to get involved in the policy making process. Sometimes the discussions around a green paper result in the idea being not needed and the policy process stops there. However, sometimes the discussions show that there is a need for the law and it moves ahead to the next stage, which is known as a ‘white paper’. A white paper will have the new policy written in detail, and it will be given to the House of Commons where the idea will be discussed further. White papers are the drafts of what will become known as ‘Bills’ in later stages of development. A Bill is a formal document on a policy and the proposal for a piece of legislation. A Bill has a number of stages that it goes through before it is presented to the Queen to be signed. It starts off as a discussion in the House of Commons, and if decided to be an effective new policy idea then it is sent off

Surgical Wound Infection Essay - 1519 Words

According to Walker and Avant (1995), concept analysis allows nursing to examine the attributes or characteristics of the concept. * Concept Analysis of the Surgical Wound Infection ? I will like to identify patients conditions and other factors contribute to the development of Surgical Wound infections. * Determine the aims or purposes of analysis The purpose is to understand the effect of environment in surgical wound infections. Prevention of infection requires the application of the principles of microbiology and accept practice. Measure of this concept is based on the stages of wound healing and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines defining surgical site infection as occurring 30 days†¦show more content†¦Koch (Professor of Hygiene and Microbiology, Berlin, 1843-1910) first recognized the cause of infective foci as secondary to microbial growth in his 19th century postulates. Semmelweis (Austrian obstetrician, 1818-1865) demonstrated a 5-fold reduction in puerperal sepsis by hand washing between performing postmortem examinations and entering the delivery room. Joseph Lister (Professor of Surgery, London, 1827-1912) and Louis Pasteur (French bacteriologist, 1822-1895) revolutionized the entire concept of wound infection. Lister recognized that antisepsis could prevent infection.[1] In 1867, Lister placed carbolic acid into open fractures to sterilize the wound and to prevent sepsis and hence the need for amputation. In 1871, Lister began to use carbolic spray in the operating room to reduce contamination. However, the concept of wound suppuration persevered even among eminent surgeons, such as John Hunter, 1728-1793.[2] As late as the 19th century, aseptic surgery was not routine practice. Sterilization of instruments began in the 1880s as did the wearing of gowns, masks, and gloves. Halsted (Professor of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, United States, 1852-1922) introduced rubber gloves to his scrub nurse (and future wife) because she was developing skin irritation from the chemicals used to disinfect instruments. The routine use ofShow MoreRelatedSurgical Wounds and their Correlation to Surgical Technology Essays861 Words   |  4 PagesSurgical Wounds and their Correlation to Surgical Technology Surgery is one of the most common medical practices across the United States. Patients of all ages that undergo surgical procedures are left with some sort of surgical wound. Every surgical wound can be classified by the type of surgical procedure and will have a type of wound healing. Although only approximately 2.6% of surgical wounds become infected, surgical wounds can manifest into serious complications for a patient (HarbarthRead MoreFactors Contributing to the Wound Healing Process Essay568 Words   |  3 PagesWound healing is a very important aspect of the postoperative process. Depending on many different factors pertaining to a postoperative wound; different steps can be taken to decrease a patient’s chance to develop an infection. The one goal a surgical team wants to achieve is to leave a less noticeable scar and no infection in a wound. There are different challenges and situations a Surgical Technologist and the surgical will have to work around. The wo und healing process all depends on theRead MoreEssay On Wound Drainage729 Words   |  3 Pages The orthopedic literature has a long history of investigating the use of postoperative wound drains (Cobb, 1990). In total joint arthroplasty, wound drains were associated with increased rates of transfusion (Hallstrom and Steele, 1992; Quinn et al., 2015) but not a decrease in the rate of wound complications. A systematic review of the orthopedic literature comparing closed suction drainage systems with no drainage system for all types of elective and emergency orthopedic surgery found that thereRead MoreThe Importance Of The Treatment Of Wounds856 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion: 4.3- Discuss the importance for the treatment of wounds: 4.3 A. Sterile vs. Clean technique As it was well stated by Barber et al (3) it may be difficult to determine whether to use a clean technique or a sterile technique when dealing with the different types of wound one encounters. As mentioned in the same article, it is important to consider the policies of the hospital. The the type of wound, bone exposure and an immunosuppressed state would also require sterile technique. ResearchRead MoreThe Effects Of Dressings On Post-Surgical Patients1325 Words   |  6 PagesDoes the use of closed-incision negative-pressure therapy (CINPT) dressings on post-surgical patients reduce wound infections and other complications verses traditional dressings? Post-surgical infections and complications are a major problem for both patients and hospitals. Complications can reach 66% with high risk patients(XX). Surgical site infections (SSI) and other complications delay patient recovery resulting in longer hospital stays and increased healthcare costs. Patients who developRead MoreSu rgical Treatment Of Surgical Site Infection1435 Words   |  6 PagesSurgical site infections are estimated to occur in 3% of surgical patients and cost the healthcare system billions of dollars every year. Surgical site infection contributes to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing a surgical procedure. This paper will present preventative evidence-based practice undertaken by healthcare personnel to prevent the occurrence of surgical site infection. These practices include but are not limited to the appropriate administrationRead MoreTaking a Look at Cervical Spondylodiscitis778 Words   |  3 Pagesspondylodiscitis is a rare and serious illness that can arise from various causes, such as pyogenic infections, iatrogenic infections and complications after swallowing foreign bodies. No cases of cervical spondylodiscitis caused by a penetrating neck injury have been published in the literature. It is difficult to treat patients with penetrating neck injuries (induced by stab wound, gunshot wound or by accidents) in the emergency department. Diagnostic and treatment options depend on the cardiopulmonaryRead MoreRegistered Nurses Play A Big Role913 Words   |  4 PagesCare-Associated Infections one of the most common infections are Post-operative in the healthcare system, these are known as Surgical Site Infections (SSI). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 1 to 3 out of almost every patient that has surgery an infection does develop (FAQS about Surgical Site Infections) What is it? Surgical Site Infections (SSI) is a type of infection that occurs after a surgery at the body part that the surgery was taken place at. The infections are knownRead MoreAssessment And Management Of Leaky Wounds Following Prosthetic Joint Replacements729 Words   |  3 PagesAssessment and management of leaky wounds following prosthetic joint replacements: a retrospective study of prospective surveillance. Authors: Sudhir Kannan, Jason Wilson, Grahame Taylor University Hospitals Of Leicester. Department of Musculoskeletal Surgery (Leicester General Hospital). Introduction: Persistent wound discharge following joint replacement is a known complication. Any discharge from the wound for 4 days is defined as persistent leakage. Our literature showed that theRead MoreThe Joint Commission Accreditation Body Evaluates Health Care Organization s Compliance With National Patient Safety Goals1722 Words   |  7 Pagescare being performed (Chassin, 2008). Infections occurring in surgical sites of patients account for 15% of all infections that transpire in a hospital setting, and the risk of death doubles in patients who develop infections. The dangers of surgical site infections include superficial, deep, and organ or space infections. The different infections include cellulitis, gangrene, MRSA, and wound sinus, which can lead to amputation, organ removal, and death. Infection was resulting from errors that include:

Coso Presentation Free Essays

string(415) " plans The study also cites â€Å"temptations† for employees to engage in improper acts: – Nonexistent or ineffective controls, such as poor segregation of duties in sensitive areas, that offer temptations to steal or to conceal poor performance – High decentralization that leaves top management unaware of actions taken at lower organizational levels and thereby reduces the chances of getting caught\." COSO REPORT SUMMARY CHAPTER 1: DEFINITION Internal Control is a process, effected by an entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories: – Effectiveness and efficiency of operations – Reliability or financial reporting – Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Internal control is: – A process; Internal control is not one event or circumstance, but a series of actions that permeate an entity’s activities. These actions are pervasive, and are inherent in the way management runs the business. We will write a custom essay sample on Coso Presentation or any similar topic only for you Order Now Business processes are managed through the basic management processes of planning, executing and monitoring. They should be â€Å"built in† rather than â€Å"built on†. â€Å"Building in† controls can directly affect an entity’s ability to reach its goals, and supports businesses’ quality initiatives. – People; Internal control is effected by a board of directors, management and other personnel in an entity. Internal control affects people’s actions. These realities affect, and are affected by, internal control. – Reasonable assurance; Internal control, not matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance to management and the board of directors regarding achievement of an entity’s objectives. The likelihood of achievement is affected by limitations inherent in all internal control systems, such as human judgment. Objectives; Every entity sets out on a mission, establishing objectives it wants to achieve and strategies for achieving them. Objectives fall into three categories: – Operations – relating to effective and efficient use of the entity’s resources – Financial reporting – relating to preparation of reliable published financial statements – Compliance – relating to the entity’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations Components Internal control consists of five interrel ated components: Control environment; The core of any business is people – their individual attributes, including integrity, ethical values and competence – and the environment in which they operate – Risk assessment; The entity must be aware of and deal with the risks it faces. It must set objectives, integrated with the sales, production, marketing, financial and other activities so that the organization is operating in concert. It also must establish mechanisms to identify, analyze and manage the related risks. Control activities; Control policies and procedures must be established and executed to help ensure that the actions identified by management as necessary to address risks to achievement of the entity’s objectives are effectively carried out. – Information and communication; Surrounding these activities are information and communication systems. These enable the entity’s people to capture and exchange the information needed to cond uct, manage and control its operations – Monitoring; The entire process must be monitored, and modifications made as necessary. In this way, the system can react dynamically, changing as conditions warrant. There is a direct relationship between objectives, which are what an entity strives to achieve, and components, which represent what is needed to achieve the objectives. Internal control is relevant to an entire enterprise, or to any of its unit or activities. Effectiveness Internal control can be judged effective in each of the three categories, respectively, if the board of directors and management have reasonable assurance that: – They understand the extent to which the entity’s operations objectives are being achieved. Published financial statements are being prepared reliably. – Applicable laws and regulations are being complied with. While internal control is a process, its effectiveness is a state or condition of the process at a point in time. Although all five criteria must be satisfied, this does not mean that each component should function identically, or even at the same le vel, in different entities. The following chapters should be considered when determining whether an internal control system is effective. It should be recognized: – Because internal control is a part of the management process, the components are discussed in the context of what management does in running a business. – The principles discussed apply to all entities, regardless of size. – Each component chapter contains an â€Å"evaluation† section with factors one might consider in evaluating the component. CHAPTER 2: CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The control environment has a pervasive influence on the way business activities are structured, objectives established and risks assessed. It also influences control activities, information and communication systems, and monitoring activities. The control environment is influenced by the entity’s history and culture. It influences the control consciousness of its people = â€Å"tone at the top†. Integrity and ethical values An entity’s objectives and the way they are achieved are based on preferences, value judgments and management styles. Those preferences and value judgments, which are translated into standards of behavior, reflect management’s integrity and its commitment to ethical values. Because an entity’s good reputation is so valuable, the standard of behavior must go beyond mere compliance with law. Integrity and ethical values are essential elements of the control environment, affecting the design, administration and monitoring of other internal control components. Top management must balance the concerns of the enterprise, its employees, suppliers, customers, competitors and the public. Balancing these concerns can be a complex and frustrating effort because interests are often at odds. Managers of well-run enterprises have increasingly accepted the view that â€Å"ethics pays†- that ethical behavior is good business. Ethical behavior and management integrity are a product of the â€Å"corporate culture†. Corporate culture includes ethical and behavioral standards, how they are communicated and how they are reinforced in practice. Official policies specify what management wants to happen. Corporate culture determines what actually happens, and which rules are obeyed, bent or ignored. Top management – starting with the CEO – plays a key role in determining the corporate culture. Individuals may engage in dishonest, illegal or unethical acts simply because their organizations give them strong incentives or temptations to do so. Emphasis on â€Å"result,† particularly in the short term, fosters an environment in which the price of failure becomes very high. Incentives cited for engaging in fraudulent or questionable financial reporting practices and, by extension, other forms of unethical behavior are: – Pressure to meet unrealistic performance targets, particularly for short-term results – High performance-dependent rewards, and – Upper and lower cutoffs on bonus plans The study also cites â€Å"temptations† for employees to engage in improper acts: – Nonexistent or ineffective controls, such as poor segregation of duties in sensitive areas, that offer temptations to steal or to conceal poor performance – High decentralization that leaves top management unaware of actions taken at lower organizational levels and thereby reduces the chances of getting caught. – A weak internal audit function that does not have the ability to detect and report improper behavior – An ineffective board of directors that does not provide objective oversight of top management. Penalties for improper behavior that are insignificant or unpublished and thus lose their value as deterrents. In addition to the incentives and temptations just discussed, the aforementioned study found a third cause of fraudulent and questionable financial reporting practices: ignorance. The study found that â€Å"in many of the companies that have suffered ins tances of deceptive financial reporting, the people involved either did not know what they were doing was wrong or erroneously believed they were acting in the organization’s best interest†. This ignorance is often caused by poor moral background or guidance, rather than by an intent to deceive. The most effective way of transmitting a message of ethical behavior throughout the organization is by example. A study some years ago noted that a formal code of conduct is â€Å"a widely used method of communicating to employees the company’s expectations about duty and integrity†. Of particular importance are resulting penalties to employees who violate such codes, mechanisms that exist to encourage employee reporting of suspected violations, and disciplinary actions against employees who fail to report violations. Commitment to competence Competence should reflect the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish tasks that define the individual’s job. Management needs to specify the competence levels for particular jobs and to translate those levels into requisite knowledge and skills. There often can be trade-off between the extent of supervision and the requisite competence level of individual. Board of directors or Audit Committee The control environment and â€Å"tone at the top† are influenced significantly by the entity’s board of directors and audit committee. Factors include the board or audit committee’s independence from management, experience and stature of its members, extent of its involvement and scrutiny of activities, and the appropriateness of its action. Another factor is the degree to which difficult questions are raised and pursued with management regarding plans or performance. Interaction of the board or audit committee with internal and external auditors is another factor affecting the control environment. Because of its importance, an active and involved board of directors, board of trustees or comparable body – possessing an appropriate degree of management, technical and other expertise coupled with the necessary stature and mind set so that it can adequately perform the necessary governance, guidance and oversight responsibilities – is critical to effective internal control. It is necessary that the board contain outside directors. Management’s philosophy and operating style Management’s philosophy and operating style affect the way the enterprise is managed, including the kinds of business risks accepted. An informally managed company may control operations largely by face-to-face contract with key managers. A more formally managed one may rely more on written policies, performance indicators and exception reports. Organizational structure An entity’s organizational structure provides the framework within which its activities for achieving entity-wide objectives are planned, executed, controlled and monitored. Activities may relate to what is sometimes referred to as the value chain: inbound (receiving) activities, operations or production, outbound (shipping) marketing, sales and service. There may be support functions, relating to administration, human resources or technology development. Significant aspects of establishing a relevant organizational structure include defining key areas of authority and responsibility and establishing appropriate lines of reporting. An entity develops an organizational structures suited to its needs: centralized, decentralized, direct reporting lines, matrix, product line, geographical location, distribution or marketing network, governmental, or not-for-profit structure. The appropriateness of an entity’s organizational structure depends, in part, on its size and the nature of its activities. A highly structured organization, including formal reporting lines and responsibilities, may be appropriate for a large entity with numerous operating divisions, including foreign operations. However, it could impede the necessary flow of information in a small entity. Whatever the structure, an entity’s activities will be organized to carry out the strategies designed to achieve particular objectives. Assignment of authority and responsibility This includes assignment of authority and responsibility for operating activities, and establishment of reporting relationships and authorization protocols. There is a growing tendency to push authority downward to bring decision-making closer to front-line personnel. Alignment of authority and accountability often is designed to encourage individual initiatives, within limits. Delegation of authority, or â€Å"empowerment,† means surrendering central control of certain business decisions to lower echelons – to the individuals who are closest to everyday business transactions. A critical challenge is to delegate only to the extent required to achieve objectives. Another challenge is ensuring that all personnel understand the entity’s objectives. Increased delegation sometimes is accompanied by or the result of streamlining or â€Å"flattening† of an entity’s organizational structure, and is intentional. Purposeful structural change to encourage creativity, initiative and the capability to react quickly can enhance competitiveness and customer satisfaction. The control environment is greatly influenced by the extent to which individuals recognize that they will be held accountable. This holds true all the way to the chief executive, who has ultimate responsibility for all activities within an entity, including the internal control system. Human resource policies and practices Human resource practices send messages to employees regarding expected levels of integrity, ethical behavior and competence. Such practices relate to hiring, orientation, training, evaluating, counseling, promoting, compensating and remedial actions. It is essential that personnel be equipped for new challenges as issues that enterprises face change and become more complex – driven in part by rapidly changing technologies and increasing competition. The impact of an ineffective control environment could be far reaching, possibly resulting in a financial loss, a tarnished public image or a business failure. While every entity should embrace the concepts, small and mid-size entities may implement the control environment factors differently than larger entities. Their own integrity and behavior, however, is critical and must be consistent with the oral message because of the first-hand contact that employees have with them. Usually the fewer the levels of management, the faster the message is carried through an organization of what conduct is acceptable. Evaluation should be based on these 7 aspects CHAPTER 7: LIMITATIONS OF INTERNAL CONTROL In considering limitations of internal control, two distinct concepts must be recognized: – First, internal control – even effective internal control – operates at different levels with respect to different objectives. But it cannot provide even reasonable assurance that the objectives themselves will be achieved. – Second, internal control cannot provide absolute assurance with respect to any of the three objectives categories. The first set of limitations acknowledges that certain events or conditions are simply outside management’s control. The second has to do with the reality that no system will always do what it’s intended to do. The effectiveness of controls will be limited by the realities of human frailty in the making of business decisions. Some decisions based on human judgment may later, with the clairvoyance of hindsight, be found to produce less than desirable results, and may need to be changed. – Breakdowns; Personnel may misunderstand instructions. They may make judgment mistakes. Or they may commit errors due to carelessness, distraction, or fatigue. – Management override; An internal control system can only be as effective as the people who are responsible for its functioning. Even in effectively controlled entities – those with generally high levels of integrity and control consciousness – a manager might be able to override internal control. Management override means here, overruling prescribed policies or procedures for illegitimate purposes with the intent of personal gain or an enhanced presentation of an entity’s financial condition or compliance status. Management override should not be confused with management intervention. – Collusion; The collusive activities of two or more individuals can result in control failures. Individuals acting collectively to perpetrate and conceal an action from detection often can alter financial data or other management information in a manner that cannot be identified by the control system. – Costs versus benefits; Resources always have constraints, and entities must consider the relative costs and benefits of establishing controls. Cost and benefit measurements for implementing controls are done with different levels of precision. The complexity of cost-benefit determinations is compounded by the interrelationship of controls with business operations. Cost-benefit determinations also vary considerably depending on the nature of the business. The challenge is to find the right balance. CHAPTER 8: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Internal and external parties contribute, each in his or her own way, to effective internal control. Parties external to the entity may also help the entity achieve its objectives through actions that provide information useful to the entity in effecting control, or through actions that independently contribute to entity’s objective. Internal parties: Management Management is directly responsible for all activities of an entity, including its internal control system. Naturally, management at different levels in an entity will have different internal control responsibilities. More than any other, the chief executive sets the â€Å"tone at the top† that affects control environment factors and other components of internal control. The CEO has influence over the selection of the board of directors. The CEO generally fulfills this duty by: – Providing leadership and direction to senior managers. – Meeting periodically with senior managers responsible for the major functional areas – sales, marketing, production, procurement, finance, human resources, etc. to review their responsibilities, including how they are controlling the business. Senior managers in charge or organizational units have responsibility for internal control related to their units’ objectives. They provide direction, more hands-on role. Often these managers are directly responsible for determining internal control procedures that address unit object ives. Financial offices. Of particular significance to monitoring are finance and controllership officers and their staffs, whose activities cut across, up and down the operating and other units of an enterprise. As a member of top management, the chief accounting officer helps set the tone of the organization’s ethical conduct; is responsible for the financial statements; generally has primary responsibility for designing, implementing and monitoring the company’s financial reporting system; and is in a unique position regarding identification of unusual situations caused by fraudulent financial reporting†. Internal parties: Board of directors Management is accountable to the board of directors or trustees, which provides governance, guidance and oversight. By selecting management, the oard ahs a major role in defining what it expects in integrity and ethical values, and can confirm its expectations through its oversight activities. Effective board members are o bjective, capable and inquisitive. Audit committee. Management is responsible for the reliability of the financial statements, but an effective audit committee plays an important role. The audit committee is in a unique position: it has the authority to question top management regarding how it is carrying out its financial reporting responsibilities, and it also has authority to ensure that corrective action is taken. The Treadway commission emphasized the value of audit committees and recommended that all public companies be required to established audit committees composed solely of independent directors. Other committees are: compensation committee, finance committee, nominating committee, employee benefits committee and other committees. Internal parties: Internal auditors Internal auditors directly examine internal controls and recommend improvements. Internal auditors should: Review the reliability and integrity of financial and operating information and the means used to identify, measure, classify, and report such information – Review the systems established to ensure compliance with those policies, plans, procedures, laws and regulations which could have a significant impact on operations and reports and should determine whether it is in compliance – Review the means of safeguarding assets and verify the existence of these assets – Appraise the economy and efficiency with which resources are employed – Review operations to ascertain whether results are consistent with established objectives and goals and whether operations are being carried out as planned. Organizational position and authority involve such matters as reporting line to an individual who has sufficient authority to ensure appropriate audit coverage, consideration and response; selection and dismissal of the director of internal auditing only with board of directors’ or audit committee’s concurrence; internal auditor access to the board or audit committee; and internal auditor authority to follow up on findings and recommendations. Internal auditors are objective, avoid potential and actual conflicts of interest and bias, rotate and not assume operating responsibilities. Internal Parties: Other entity personal – First, virtually all employees play some role in effecting control – Second, all personnel should be responsible for communicating to a higher organizational level problems in operations, noncompliance with the code of conduct, or other violations of policy or illegal actions External Parties: External auditors They bring to management and the board a unique independent and objective view, and contribute to an entity’s achievement of its financial reporting objectives, as well as other objectives. The auditor expresses an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, and thus contributes to the entity’s financial reporting objectives. Auditors conducting a financial statement audit do provide information useful to management in carrying out their internal control-related responsibilities: – by communicating audit findings, analytical information and recommendations for use in taking actions necessary to achieve established objectives – by communicating findings regarding deficiencies in internal control that come to their attention, and recommendations for improvement External Parties: Legislators and regulators Legislators and regulators affect the internal control systems of many entities, either through requirements to establish internal controls or through examinations of particular entities. They affect entities’ internal control system in two ways. They establish rules that provide the impetus for management to ensure that internal control systems meet the minimum statutory and regulatory requirements. And, pursuant to examination of a particular entity, they provide information used by the entity’s internal control system, and provide recommendations and sometimes directives to management regarding needed internal control system improvements. External Parties: parties interacting with the entity (customer, supplier, vendor) These parties provide information that can be extremely important for objectives. External Parties: Financial Analysts, Bond Rating Agencies and the News Media CHAPTER 3: RISK ASSESSMENT Objective setting is a precondition to risk assessment. There must first be objectives before management can identify risks to their achievement and take necessary actions to manage the risks. Objective setting, then, is a key part of the management process. At the entity level, objectives often are represented by the entity’s mission and value statements. Along with assessments of the entity’s strengths and weaknesses, and of opportunities and threats, they lead to an overall strategy. These subobjectives or activity-level objectives, include establishing goals and may deal with product line, market, financing and profit objectives. By setting objectives at the entity and activity levels, an entity can identify critical success factors. These are key things that must go right if goals are to be attained. Critical success factors exist for the entity, a business unit, a function, a department or an individual. Categories of objectives: Operations objectives: Operations objectives relate to achievement of an entity’s basic mission – the fundamental reason for its existence. Operations objectives need to reflect the particular business, industry and economic environments in which the entity functions. Management must see to it that objectives are based on the reality and demands of the marketplace and are expressed in terms that allow meaningful performance measurements. A clear set of operations objectives and strategies, linked to subobjectives, is fundamental to success. They provide a focal point toward which the entity will commit substantial resources. Financial Reporting objectives: Financial reporting objectives address the preparation of reliable published financial statements, including interim and condensed financial statements and selected financial data derived from such statements. Entities need to achieve financial reporting objectives to meet external obligations. Investors, creditors, customers and suppliers often rely on financial statements to assess management’s performance and to compare it with peers and alternative investments. Fair representation is efined as: – The accounting principles selected and applied have general acceptance – The accounting principles are appropriate in the circumstances – The financial statements are informative of matters that may affect their use, understanding and interp retation – The information presented is classified and summarized in a reasonable manner, that is, it is neither too detailed nor too condensed – The financial statements reflect the underlying transactions and events in a manner that presents the financial position, results of operations and cash flows stated within a range of acceptable limits, that is, limits that are reasonable and practical to attain in financial statements Compliance objectives: Entities must conduct their activities, and often take specific actions, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. These laws and regulations establish minimum standards of behavior, which the entity integrates into its compliance objectives. An entity’s compliance record with laws and regulations can significantly – either positively or negatively – affect its reputation in the community. An objective in one category may overlap or support an objective in another. Another set of objectives relates to â€Å"safeguarding of resources†. Although these are primarily operations objectives, certain aspects of safeguarding can fall under the other categories. The category in which an objective falls can sometimes depend on circumstances. Objectives should be complementary and linked. Not only must entity-wide objectives be consistent with the entity’s capabilities and prospects, they also must be consistent with the objectives of its business units and functions. Entity-wide objectives must be broken down into subobjectives, consistent with the overall strategy, and linked to activities throughout the organization. Where, however, objectives depart form an entity’s past practices, management must address the linkages or run increased risks. Activity objectives also need to be clear, that is, readily understood by the people taking the actions toward their achievement. They must also be measurable. It is useful to relate an activity’s overall set of objectives to resources available. A way to relieve further resource constraint is to question activity objectives that do not support entity-wide objectives and the entity’s business processes. Another means of balancing objectives and resources is to identify activity objectives that are very important or critical to achieving entity-wide objectives. Objectives provide the measurable targets which the entity moves in conducting its activities. The goal of internal control in this area focuses primarily on: developing consistency of objectives and goals throughout the organization, identifying key success factors and timely reporting to management of performance and expectations. Although success cannot be ensured, management should have reasonable assurance of being alerted when objectives are in danger of not being achieved. Risks The process of identifying and analyzing risk is an ongoing iterative process and is a critical component of an effective internal control system. Management must focus carefully on risks at all levels of the entity and take the necessary actions to manage them. Risk identification An entity’s performance can be at risk due to internal or external factors. Regardless of whether an objective is stated or implied, an entity’s risk-assessment process should consider risks that may occur. Risk identification is an iterative process and often is integrated with the planning process. Entity level: risks at the entity-wide level can arise from external or internal factors. External factors examples: – Technological developments can affect the nature and timing of research and development, or lead to changes in procurement – Changing customer needs or expectations can affect product development, production process, customer service, pricing or warranties. – Competition can alter marketing or service activities – New legislation and regulation can force changes in operating policies and strategies – Natural catastrophes can lead to changes in operations or information systems and highlight the need for contingency planning. Economic changes can have an impact on decisions related to financing, capital expenditures and expansion. Internal factors examples: – A disruption in information systems processing can adversely affect the entity’s operations. – The quality of personnel hired and methods of training and mo tivation can influence the level of control consciousness within the entity. – A change in management responsibilities can affect the way certain controls are effected. – The nature of the entity’s activities, and employee accessibility to assets, can contribute to misappropriation of resources. – An unassertive or ineffective board or audit committee can provide opportunities for indiscretions. Risk may be identified in connection with short- and long-range forecasting and strategic planning. What is important is that management considers carefully the factors that may contribute to or increase risk. Some factors to consider include: past experiences of failure to meet objectives; quality of personnel; changes affecting the entity such as competition, regulations, personnel, and the like; existence of geographically distributed, particularly foreign, activities; significance of an activity to the entity; and the complexity of an activity. Once the major contributing factors have been identified, management can then consider their significance and, where possible, link risk factors to business activities. Activity-level. In addition to identifying risk at the entity level, risks should be identified at the activity level. Dealing with risk at this level helps focus risk assessment on major business units or functions such as sales, production, marketing, technology development, and research and development. Potential causes of failing to achieve an objective range from the obvious to the obscure, and form the significant to the insignificant in potential effect. Risk analysis After the entity has identified entity-wide and activity risks, a risk analysis needs to be performed. The process – which may be more or less formal – usually includes: – Estimating the significance of the risk Assessing the likelihood (or frequency) of the risk occurring – Considering how the risk should be managed – that is, an assessment of what actions need to be taken. There are numerous methods for estimating the cost of a loss from an identified risk. Management should be aware of them and apply them as appropriate. However, many risks are indeterminate in size. At best they can be described as large, moderate or small. Once the significance and likelihood of risk have been assessed, management needs to consider how the risk should be managed. This involves judgment based on assumptions about the risk, and reasonable analysis of costs associated with reducing the level of risk. Sometimes actions can virtually eliminate the risk, or offset its effect if it does occur. Note that there is a distinction between risk assessment, which is part of internal control and the resulting plans, programs or other actions deemed necessary by management to address the risks. A key part of the larger management process, but not an element of the internal control system. Along with actions for managing risk is the establishment of procedures to enable management to track the implementation and effectiveness of the action. Before installing additional procedures, management should consider carefully whether existing ones may be suitable for addressing identified risks. Management also should recognize that it is likely some level of residual risk will always exist, not only because resources are always limited, but also because o other limitations inherent in every internal control system. It is often critical to the entity’s success. Managing change Every entity needs to have a process, formal or informal, to identify conditions that can significantly affect its ability to achieve its objectives. A key part of that process involves information systems that capture, process and report information about events, activities and conditions that indicate changes to which the entity needs to react. With the requisite information systems in place, the process to identify and respond to changing conditions can be established. Circumstances demanding special attention: Changed operating environment – A changed regulatory or economic environment can result in increased competitive pressures and significantly different risks – New personn el – high turnover of personnel, in the absence of effective training and supervision, can result in breakdowns – New or revamped information systems – Normally effective controls can break down when new systems are developed, particularly when done under unusually tight time constraints – Rapid growth – When operations expand significantly and quickly, existing systems may be strained to the point where controls can break down – New technology – when new technology is being incorporated, a high likelihood exists that internal controls need to be modified. – New lines, products, activities – unfamiliar situations, controls may be inadequate – Corporate restructurings – may be accompanied by staff reductions and inadequate supervision and segregation of duties. – Foreign operations – the expansion or acquisition of foreign operations carries new and often unique risks that management should add ress. To the extent practicable, mechanisms should be forward-looking, so an entity can anticipate and plan for significant changes. Early warning systems should be in place to identify data signaling new risks. However, as with other control mechanisms, the related costs cannot be ignored. No entity has sufficient resources to obtain and analyze completely the information about all the myriad evolving conditions that can affect it. It is often difficult to know whether seemingly significant information is the beginning of an important trend, ore merely an aberration. The risk-assessment process is likely to be less formal and less structured in smaller entities than in larger ones, but the basic concepts of this internal control component should be present in every entity, regardless of size. Risk assessment in smaller entity can be particularly effective because the in-depth involvement of the CEO and other key managers often means that risks are assessed by people with both access to the appropriate information and a good understanding of its implications. Action plans can be devised and implemented quickly with limited number of people. They can then follow up as needed to ensure that the necessary actions are being taken. CHAPTER 4: CONTROL ACTIVITIES Control activities are policies and procedures, which are the actions of people to implement the policies, to help ensure that management directives identified as necessary to address risks are carried out. Many different descriptions of types of control activities have been put forth, including preventive controls, detective controls, manual controls, computer controls and management controls. Following are certain control activities commonly performed by personnel at various levels in organizations. – Top level reviews – Reviews are made of actual performance versus budgets, forecasts, prior periods and competitors – Direct functional or activity management – managers running functions or activities review performance reports – Information processing – A variety of controls are performed to check accuracy, completeness and authorization of transactions. Data entered are subject to edit checks or matching to approved control files. Physical controls – Equipment, inventories, securities, cash and other assets are secured, physically, and periodically counted and compared with amounts shown on control records. – Performance indicato rs – Relating different sets of data – operating or financial – to one another, together with analyses of the relationships and investigate and corrective actions, serve as control activities. – Segregation of Duties – duties are divided, or segregated, among different people to reduce the risk of error or inappropriate actions. Control activities usually involve two elements: a policy establishing what should be done and, serving as a basis for the second element, procedures to effect the policy. But regardless of whether a policy is written, it must be implemented thoughtfully, conscientiously and consistently. A procedure will not be useful if performed mechanically without a sharp continuing focus on conditions to which the policy is directed. It is essential that conditions identified as a result of the procedures be investigated and appropriate corrective actions taken. Along with assessing risks, management should identify and put into effect actions needed to address the risks. The actions identified as addressing a risk also serve to focus attention on control activities to be put in place to help ensure that the actions are carried out properly and in a timely manner. Control activities are very much a part of the process by which an enterprise strives to achieve its business objectives. Control activities serve as mechanisms for managing the achievement of that objective. Such activities might include tracking the progress of the development of the customer buying histories against established timetables, and steps to ensure accuracy fo the reported data. Controls over information systems Two broad groupings of information systems control activities can be used. The first is general controls – which apply to many if not all application systems and help ensure their continued, proper operation. The second category is application controls, which include computerized steps within the application software and related manual procedures to control the processing of various types of transactions. Together, these controls serve to ensure completeness, accuracy and validity of the financial and other information in the system. General controls commonly include controls over data center operations, system software acquisition and maintenance, access security, and application system development and maintenance. These controls apply to all systems – mainframe, minicomputer and end-user computing environments. Application controls are designed to control application processing, helping to ensure the completeness and accuracy of transaction processing, authorization and validity. Particular attention should be paid to an application’s interfaces, since they are often linked to other systems that in turn need control to ensure that all inputs are received for processing and all outputs are distributed appropriately. Controls over system development requiring thorough reviews and testing of applications ensure that the logic of the report program is sound, and that it has been tested to ascertain that all exceptions are reported. To provide control after implementation of the application, controls over access and maintenance ensure that applications are not accessed or changed without authorization and that required, authorized changes are made. The data center operations controls and systems software controls ensure that the right files are used and updated appropriately. The relationship between the application controls and the general controls is such that general controls are needed to support the functioning of application controls, and both are needed to ensure complete and accurate information processing. The concepts underlying control activities in smaller organizations are not likely to differ significantly form those in larger entities, but the formality with which they operate will vary. Further, smaller entities may find that certain types of control activities are not always relevant because of highly effective controls applied by management of the small or mid-size entity. An appropriate segregation of duties often appears to present difficulties in smaller organizations, at least on the surface. Even companies that have only a few employees, however, can usually parcel out their responsibilities to achieve the necessary checks and balances. Controls over information systems, particularly general computer controls and more specifically access security controls, may present problems to small and mid-size entities. This is because of the informal way in which control activities are often implemented. CHAPTER 5: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION Every enterprise must capture pertinent information – financial and non-financial, relating to external as well as internal events and activities. The information must be identified by management as relevant to managing the business. It must be delivered to people who need it in a form and timeframe that enables them to carry out their control and other responsibilities. Information is needed at all levels of an organization to run the business, and move toward achievement of the entity’s objectives in all categories – operations, financial reporting and compliance. Information is identified, captured, processed and reported by information systems. The term â€Å"information systems† frequently is used in the context of processing internally generated data relating to transactions, such as purchases and sales, and internal operating activities, such as production processes. Information systems sometimes operate in a monitoring mode, routinely capturing specific data. In other cases, special actions are taken to obtain needed information. Keeping information consistent with needs becomes particularly important when an entity operates in the face of fundamental industry changes, highly innovative and quick-moving competitors or significant customer demand shifts. Systems support strategic initiatives. The strategic use of information systems has meant success to many organizations. Using technology to help respond to a better understood marketplace is a growing trend, as systems are used to support proactive rater than reactive business strategies. Integration with operations. The strategic use of systems demonstrates the shift that has occurred from purely financial systems to systems integrated into an entity’s operations. These systems help control the business process, tracking and recording transactions on a real-time basis, often including many of the organization’s operations in an integrated, complex systems environment. The effect of integrated operations systems is dramatic, as can been seen in the just-in-time (JIT) inventory system. The systems themselves order and schedule arrival of new materials automatically, frequently through the use of EDI (electronic data interchange). Many of the newer production systems are highly integrated with other organizational systems and may include the organization’s financial systems. Acquisition of technology is an important aspect of corporate strategy, and choices regarding technology can be critical factors in achieving growth objectives. Decisions about its selection and implementation depend on many factors. These include organizational goals, market-place needs, competitive requirements and, importantly, how the new systems will help effect control, and in turn be subject to the necessary controls, to promote achievement of the entity’s objectives. It is critical that reports contain enough appropriate data to support effective control. The quality of information includes ascertaining whether: – Content is appropriate – Is the needed information there? – Information is timely – Is it there when required? – Information is current – Is it the latest available? – Information is accurate – Are the data correct? – Information is accessible – Can it be obtained easily by appropriate parties? All of these questions must be addressed by the system design. If not, it is not probable that the system will not provide the information required. Communication is inherent in information systems. Internal In addition to receiving relevant data for managing their activities, all personnel, particularly those with important operating or financial management responsibilities, need to receive a clear message from top management that internal control responsibilities must be taken seriously. Both the clarity of the message and the effectiveness with which it is communicated are important. In addition, specific duties must be made clear. Without this understanding, problems are likely to arise. In performing their duties, personnel should know that whenever the unexpected occurs, attention is to be given not only to the event itself, but also to its cause. In this way, a potential weakness in the system can be identified and action taken to prevent recurrence. People also need to know how their activities relate to the work of others. People need to know what behavior is expected, or acceptable, and what is unacceptable. Personnel also need to have a means of communicating significant information upstream in an organization. Front-line employees who deal with critical operating issues every day are often in the best position to recognize problems as they arise. For such information to be reported upstream, there must be both open channels of communication and clear-cut willingness to listen. People must believe their superiors truly want to know about problems and will deal with them effectively. In most cases, the normal reporting lines in an organization are the appropriate communications channel. In some circumstances, however, separate lines of communication are needed to serve as a fail-safe mechanism in case normal channels are inoperative. Communication between management and the board of directors and committees are critical. Management must keep the board up to date on performance, developments, risks, major initiatives, and any other relevant events or occurrences. The better the communications to the board, the more effective it can be in carrying out its oversight responsibilities, and acting as a sounding board on critical issues and providing advice and counsel. By the same token, the board should communicate to management what information it needs, and provide direction and feedback. External There needs to be appropriate communication not only within the entity, but outside. With open communications channels, customers and suppliers can provide highly significant input on the design or quality of products or services, enabling a company to address evolving customer demands or preferences. Communications from external parties often provide important information on the functioning of the internal control system. Communications to shareholders, regulators, financial analysts and other external parties should provide information relevant to their needs, so they can readily understand the circumstances and risks the entity faces. Communication takes such forms as policy manuals, memoranda, bulletin board notices and videotaped messages, or transmitted orally. Another powerful communications medium is the action taken by management in dealing with subordinates. Managers should remind themselves, â€Å"actions speak louder than words†. Information systems in smaller organizations are likely to be less formal than in large organizations, but their role is just as significant. CHAPTER 6: MONITORING Circumstances for which the internal control system originally was designed also may change, causing it to be less able to warn of the risks brought by new conditions. Accordingly, management needs to determine whether the internal control system continues to operate effectively. Monitoring can be done in two ways: through ongoing activities or separate evaluations. Internal control systems usually will be structured to monitor themselves on an ongoing basis to some degree. The greater the degree and effectiveness of ongoing monitoring, the less need for separate evaluations. Usually, some combinations of ongoing monitoring and separate evaluations will ensure that the internal control system maintains its effectiveness over time. It should e recognized that ongoing monitoring procedures are built in to the normal, recurring operating activities of an entity. Because they are performed on a real-time basis, reacting dynamically to changing conditions, and are ingrained in the entity, they are more effective than procedures performed in connection with separate evaluations. Since separate evaluations take place after the fact, problems will often be identified more quickly by the ongoing monitoring routines. An entity that perceives a need for frequent separate evaluations should focus on ways to enhance its ongoing monitoring activities and, thereby; to emphasize â€Å"building in† versus â€Å"adding on† controls. Ongoing monitoring activities Examples of ongoing monitoring activities include the following: – Extent to which personnel, in carrying out their regular activities, obtain evidence as to whether the system of internal control continues to function. – Extent to which communications from external parties corroborate internally generated information, or indicate problems. – Periodic comparison of amounts recorded by the accounting system with physical assets. – Responsiveness to internal and external auditor recommendations on means to strengthen internal controls. – Extent to which training seminars, planning sessions and other meetings provide feedback to management on whether controls operate effectively. Whether personnel are asked periodically to state whether they understand and comply with the entity’s code of conduct and regularly perform critical control activities. – Effectiveness of internal audit activities. Separate evaluations While ongoing monitoring p rocedures usually provide important feedback on the effectiveness of other control components, it may be useful to take a fresh look from time to time, focusing directly on the system’s effectiveness. Scope and frequency. Evaluations of internal control vary in scope and frequency, depending on the significance of risks being controlled and importance of the controls in reducing the risks. Evaluation of an entire internal control system – which will generally be needed less frequently than the assessment of specific controls – may be prompted by a number of reasons: major strategy or management change, major acquisitions or dispositions, or significant changes in operations or methods of processing financial information. The evaluation scope will also depend on which of the three objectives categories – operations, financial reporting and compliance – are to be addressed. Who evaluates. Often evaluations take the form of self-assessments, where persons responsible for a particular unit or function will determine the effectiveness of controls for their activities. Then, all results would be subject to the chief executive’s review. Internal auditors normally perform internal control evaluations as part of their regular duties, or upon special requests of the board of directors, senior management or subsidiary or divisional executives. Similarly, management may use the work of external auditors in considering the effectiveness of internal control. The evaluation process. The evaluator must understand each of the entity activities and each of the components of the internal control system being addressed. It may be useful to focus first on how the system purportedly functions, sometimes referred to as the systems design. The evaluator must determine how the system actually works. The evaluator must analyze the internal control system design and the results of tests performed. The analysis should be conducted against the backdrop of the established criteria, with the ultimate goal of determining whether the system provides reasonable assurance with respect to the stated objectives. Methodology can be qualitative/quantitative (benchmarking) Documentation. The extent of documentation of an entity’s internal control system varies with the entity’s size, complexity and similar factors. Many controls are informal and undocumented, yet are regularly performed and highly effective. An appropriate level of documentation makes the evaluation more efficient, it facilitates employees’ understanding of how the system works and their particular roles, and easier to modify. Reporting deficiencies Deficiencies in an entity’s internal control system surface from many sources, including the entity’s ongoing monitoring procedures, separate evaluations of the internal control system and external parties. A deficiency may represent a perceived, potential or real shortcoming, or an opportunity to strengthen the internal control system to provide a greater likelihood that the entity’s objectives will be achieved. One of the best sources of information on control deficiencies is the internal system itself. A number of external parties frequently provide important information on the functioning of an entity’s internal control system. In considering what needs to be communicated, it is necessary to look at the implication of findings. A seemingly simple problem with an apparent solution might have far-reaching control implications. Findings of internal control deficiencies usually should be reported to the individual responsible for the function or activity involved, who is in the position to take corrective action, but also to at the lest one level of management above the directly responsible person. This process enables that individual to provide needed support or oversight for taking corrective action, and to communicate with others in the organization whose activities may be affected. Where findings cut across organizational boundaries, the reporting should cross over as well and be directed to a sufficiently high level to ensure appropriate action. Providing needed information on internal control deficiencies to the right party is critical to the continued effectiveness of an internal control system. Protocols can be established to identify what information is needed at a particular level for decision-making. Reportable conditions ( significant deficiencies in the design or operation of the internal control structure, which could adversely affect the organization’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the financial statements. SME ( more ongoing monitoring, less like to do separate (few people, notice quicker) How to cite Coso Presentation, Papers