Political Institutions Essay

The parliament which is officially known as the European Parliament is the only union’s body that directly elected. It is made up of 785 members who are elected for five year terms by universal suffrage and are determined by the political loyalty. By virtue of being the only elected body of the union, parliament reflects the more than 500 million citizen’s wishes, however, it has relatively weaker power as compared to the council in some areas such having the absolute legislative   powers. Its powers include co-owning the legislative and budgetary authority of the union with the council. Further, it has power over the commission which the council do not enjoy and hence earning it the praises that it is the most powerful and democratic legislature in the globe. [Parliament overview, 2007] Its current president who also doubles as its speaker is Hans-Gert Pottering elected in 2007. The council of the European Union which was also known as the Council of Ministers due to its composition, it is composed of national ministers, one per nation, who meets various capacities depending with the issue to be discussed e.g. if it is security matters being discussed then the respective ministers in charge of security matters in every nation attends the council. It co-holds both the legislative and budgetary powers with the parliament, and further it holds the executive powers, making it the main decision making organ of the EU. The power of the council is however, kept at bay through a rotating kind of its leadership, its presidency rotates between the member states every six months and therefore preventing any attempts to override the mandate of the council over the other unions institutions. Again, the decision making is subject to voting with majority or unanimity being set as the requirements, with the votes being allocated by the ratio of population. The council’s power also extends to the control of the other two pillars of the union namely; the common Foreign and Security Policy and the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal matters. [The Council of the European Union, 2007] The commission of the European Communities forms the executive arm of the union; its composition includes one member each from the union’s states i.e. twenty seven. The members are elected on condition that they will not represent their respective national interests. The body’s main duty is to draft all the law of the union and has a monopoly of legislative inventiveness within the European Community pillar; however, the laws are subject to approval by both the parliament and the council. Again, its powers extend to overseeing the daily  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   activities of the union and also it has got a duty to up hold the law and treaties and hence playing the role of a â€Å"Guardian of the Treaties† that makeup the union. Its powers are put to check by the fact that the president who is the commissions head is nominated by the council and approved by the parliament. Other members of the commission who are known as the commissioners are proposed by member states in consultation with the commission’s president and again approved by the parliament. The commission’s current president is Jose Manuel Baroso who together with his commission was elected into office in 2004. [Institutions: Commission, 2007]   This is the supreme court of justice of the European Communities also known as the European Court of Justice; it acts on Union law matters. It is composed of twenty seven judges one apiece from the member states, the court president is chosen (elected) from among the 27, currently Vassilos Skouris is the occupier of the post. The courts major role is to make sure that the Union law is adhered to by all the member states, its supremacy is seen on the fact that the Union law overrides national laws of members nations. For instance in 2001 it ruled that a section of the national constitution of Germany was not in order with the Union law because it barred women from engaging in military roles. [20] The court of justice does not act all alone in matters concerning the Union law; it is assisted by two lesser courts known as the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (CFI) and Civil Service Tribunal. [Institutions: Court of Justice, 2007] The sensitivity of fraud cases and the fact that the Union’s Budget involved large amounts of money, an auditing body was necessary; the court of auditors is responsible for the monitoring of the expenditure of the union and preparing yearly audits on the Union’s budget. Its name does not necessarily imply any legal or judicial powers but it gives views on legislations that involve financial matters. It is composed of one member apiece from the union members and who are appointed by the council every six years, with the president being elected every three years from among them, currently Hubert Weber occupies the seat. [Institutions: Court of Auditors, 2007] With new laws and treaties being enacted chiefly to accommodate new members and new ideologies and partly to streamline the functioning of the Unions institutions, new institutions have been proposed to be created. Under Lisbon Treaty of Changes the following institutions are proposed; the European Council, which has been formerly acting as an informal body under the Council â€Å"of ministers†. Its inception will see it assuming the executive powers that were initially the preserve of the council of ministers and therefore becoming the highest political body of the Union. Other powers will include delineating the Union’s policy agenda and creating the momentum for integration, other features will be similar to that of the council of ministers. The other proposed institution is the European Central Bank, this bank is tipped to represent the interests of the euro-zone i.e. the fifteen states that have adopted the euro, and the main idea behind the formation of this body is to induce fiscal controls in order to sustain price stability. Its governance will include a board made national bank governors and a president appointed by the European Council; currently Jean-Claude Trichet is the president. [Draft Treaty modifying, 2007] The European Union system of government though unique can be likened to other models of governance, for instance, Germany’s federalism and the Swiss federal council where power is principally shared between the state and the federal government with the states having a principal say in the decision making process even at the federal level unlike in US where powers are clearly divided between the state and the federal government with the state having limited say over decision making process. The rotating presidency, the choice of lesser cities to host the headquarters of the Community Institutions, the spreading of executive powers between the institutions, are some of the   equal representation measures employed by the EU. [Borzel, Tanja A, 2002]    References:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   EU Law Blog, available at;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://eulaw.typad.com, accessed on November 26, 2008 Merging of the executives, available at;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.enalu?lang=2&doc=473, accessed on November 26, 2008 EUR-Lex: Treaties, available at;

Different Genres Of Films And Their Impact On The Spectators Essay

No other art form has had quite the impact on our lives that the motion pictures have. Everybody loves stories. We want to watch different movies, depending on the mood, temperament and circumstances. The most important thing is to choose the right genre. The term genre is used a lot around the movie industry to break down the type of film into categories. It’s difficult to place a lot of films in a single category. For this reason a lot of films have multiple genres. They are classified by the description, theme, variety, or story idea that is determined by how the movie is written. There are a lot of genres. For example: comedy, drama, horror, western est. A comedy is meant to make us laugh, by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. A mystery may want us to think and try to solve a crime. Watching the film, you can cry or laugh or be scared. Filmmakers know this, and depending on what they want to achieve they choose the genre to remove. On TV start to show war films, in anticipation of anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. There are a lot disaster movies on TV because of the rumors about the end of the world. All is accidental. TV is a big industry. Sometimes it is good sometimes it’s not but you have a choice whether you want to fall for this trick or not. If you want an adventure, then you should choose an Adventure films or Westerns. They are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry . They are one of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). If you want something romantic, it would be better to select melodramas or dramas. They are serious, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. But if you’re nervous you needn’t to watch thrillers and horror movies, because Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us. Epics include costume dramas, historical dramas, war films, medieval romps, or ‘period pictures’ that often cover a large expanse of time set against a vast, panoramic backdrop. Everyone has their favorite genre, favorite movie that is generally characterize a person. Movies influence on people. The more you watch good, thought-provoking and making to reason movies, the more you have positive emotions and develop as individuals. Similarly, choosing the opposite action movie or a horror film you faced likely with violence and fear. So take you choice.

History and Memory Essay

The interrelationship of history and memory show that each is individually limited- memory presents limited perspective while history presents limited account- this conflicting nature ensures that without considering both we have a less reliable history. This concept is portrayed in the prescribed text â€Å"The fiftieth gate† by Mark Baker that involves an individual’s journey into the past to reconstruct his parent’s experiences. Baker’s explores the idea that both history and memory are essential to validate, illuminate and add emotion and colour to the other in order to ultimately form a true representation of history. Through the study of this text one can come to understand that the ultimate role of history is to find self-identity and unlock the barriers of the past. Memory is shaped by and composed of individual emotions and self-reflections; as a result it is influenced by bias and is highly subjective. Therefore memory only provides one bias and subjective perspective of history, making the representation of history to be less reliable and limited. This is portrayed in the line â€Å"It was cold, winter, we had winter boots on, the ones with money sewn inside. He says it was cold. Winter. But it was warm. Autumn†. Here the use of direct speech engages the audience into Yossl’s situation. The audience is then able to realise that the experiences of fear, torment and paranoia that Yossl went through in the holocaust has shaped and influenced his memory. As a result his perspective of history is less reliable and thus highly limited. This is portrayed in the line â€Å"I remember this exactly like yesterday: there was a church with some hills†¦can you see my legs through there? Here through the use of a narrative device, an interview, Baker engages the audience’s attention through the use of first person language and direct speech. This then conveys the idea that memory is limited in representing history because it is influenced by individual experiences that will change their perspective of history. In addition the spontaneous responses add a personal sense to further emphasize the limitation of memory that it can fail at any time. History is shaped by collective memory, providing a common representation of an event, personality or situation. As a result the representation of history is less reliable because it does not account for the views and perspectives of those that are a minority or have been forgotten. Baker uses a wide range of textual features to communicate to the audience how documented evidence paints a picture of the past. The use of archival documents, letters, school reports, council reports and Yiddish and German lullabies engage the reader but also adds a sense of authencity and historical presence. However through Baker’s self-journey in the book, the audience is able to realise that documented evidence cannot account for all stories, this is especially seen with Genia’s story of the holocaust. This is explored in the line â€Å"does history remember more than memory?†¦ I only recognise suffering in numbers and lists and not in the laments and pleas of a human being, of a mother, screaming for acknowledgment† The use of a rhetorical question builds suspense as the audience realises that the persona has come to a stage of realisation where Baker has understood that memory is just as important as the documented evidence that validates it. Documented evidence is able to validate as well as illuminate memory, while memory adds self-emotions and reflections to fill the gaps of documented evidence. In collaboration they create a more reliable and truthful history. Baker uses archival documents, school reports, lullabies, council reports and letters to illuminate hidden fragments of his parent’s memory. This is shown in the line â€Å"I thrust his report card under his eyes and command him to read. He obeys, like an intimidated school child†¦He smothers an involuntary laugh, hiding the thoughts that lie behind it. † Baker through the use of a simile compares his father to a child. This conveys the idea that the documented evidence has allowed Yossl to step back into his youth and bring forward the significant memories of his past. In addition the use of emotive and descriptive language through â€Å"Laughing† and â€Å"intimidated† creates a warm and personal atmosphere to emphasises the idea to the audience of how memory can add emotions to documented evidence, and thus together to create a more reliable and truthful history. Together both documented evidence and memory allow for an â€Å"exchange of pasts† to create a more reliable, valid and truthful history. Through this Baker has shown the interplay of history and memory. Baker has shown that the importance of the interplay of history and memory is to create a reliable history allowing one to explore the recreation of the past to make sense of who they are, where they are and the journey they have gone through. In â€Å"The fiftieth gate† the journey into the past of his parents has allowed Baker to undergo a self-journey of learning. At first Baker observed the past of his parents with an historian point of view, seeking documented evidence to validate and make true his parent’s memory. However the experiences with the past of his mother, made Baker realise the importance of memory in the representation of history. This is shown in the juxtaposition of the line â€Å"His was a past written on a page of history shared by other survivors. My mother could not point to anyone† with the line â€Å"What are these papers anyway except echoes of the past, dark shadows without screams, without smells, without fear†. The juxtaposition of the lines shows the change in attitude of Baker as he realises the importance of memory in the representation of history. The use of emotive language such as dark shadows† creates a dark atmosphere to emphasise the anger and torment he feels because of his ignorance to listen to his Mother’s story of the holocaust. Baker has used a circular structure to convey the idea that the journey into history and memory is a circular one. This is demonstrated in â€Å"The fiftieth gate† through the repetition of the line â€Å"It always begins in blackness, until the first light illuminates the hidden fragment of memory† at the beginning and end of the book. This conveys the idea that the journey will allow for greater insight and understanding of your past and yourself. This will further inspire a self-journey of change and understanding. This has been shown through the changing attitude of Baker himself in the novel. This is demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the lines â€Å"His was a past written on a page of history shared by other survivors. My mother could not point to anyone† with the line â€Å"What are these papers anyway except echoes of the past, dark shadows without screams, without smells, without fear†. This conveys that at first observed the past of his parents with an historian point of view, seeking documented evidence to validate and make true his parent’s memory. However the experiences with the past of his mother, made Baker realise the importance of memory in the representation of history. The use of emotive language such as dark shadows† creates a dark atmosphere to emphasise the anger and torment he feels because of his ignorance to listen to his Mother’s story of the holocaust.

Human resouces function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human resouces function - Essay Example This made me spend much of my time looking for another computer with the appropriate program. Once through we were given question papers with question, we were supposed to answer within thirty minutes. The questions were particularly tough involving calculations and grammar. We were taken to the firms’ clinic for blood samples to test for drugs upon completing the tests. I tried to object but was informed that it was a requirement according to the organizational policy and this would be conducted upon suspicion and applies to all employees. When the test results were out I was ranked the second best, but laboratory drug test were not given to us in the group. This marked the start of the panel interview. The first person got in, and I was truly nervous as I waited outside. After twenty, minutes, he emerged from the room, but I did not get an opportunity to ask him the possible question I was likely to be asked. I was called in, and when I stepped in and closed the door and I m anaged to greet the panelists with a smile and waited to be assigned a seat. I was shown to my seat which I responded with "thank you." When we were all seated formal introductions followed with all panelists introducing themselves. I was requested to hand over my resume. The human resource manager asked me: â€Å"So you are (name)? â€Å"Yes sir† â€Å"Tell us more about yourself† â€Å"I am a third year students pursuing a human resource management degree. In high school, I attained a GPA of 2.1. I'm from a family of three and am the only child. I have served as a class leader and a team leader in various groups within the classroom set up. I also actively participate in other co-curricular activities such as swimming, helping the needy in the society and making social friends†. â€Å"What do you think are your major contributions to this company?† Though we have other people interested in this same position who have similar qualifications, I believe I have a personal drive that enables me to work beyond the expected limits. I also pay attention to details a factor I believe is highly significant in managing human resources. With these qualities, I believe I can manage to help the organization move towards the attainment of their set goals and objectives. â€Å"What is your greatest weakness?† â€Å"In one instance during our class lessons the teacher asked my views about equal employment opportunities. I responded that the physically challenged and people of other races should only be given jobs once the whites and the physically fit have already gotten jobs. I felt that they were not able to perform just like the white. However, I have tried to change this perception by interacting with the physically challenged and people of other races that have enabled me to realize that they have capabilities and potential that lack in some of the physically fit and white individuals.† After a series of other questions in rela tion to discrimination, employee rights, and job analysis, I was requested to leave the room and wait for the results outside. I stood up, thanked all of them and left the room. When the results were out I emerged the best. Objective II During the interviewers sought to understand my level of understanding and expertise in the field of human resource management. For any organization to be able to select the right

The Colbert Show, Culture and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Colbert Show, Culture and Politics - Essay Example Research by Amarasingam revealed that, numerous television programs follow the same format in reviewing top news stories as well as analyzing politicians and the media through satires (15).Symbolically, my document explores the effects of the Colbert show in today’s culture. In addition, the document highlights numerous ways in which the elite have used the show to sway people towards varied opinions and its impact on the views. Research by Schiller has postulated that, the Colbert show has profoundly influenced on people’s culture (Schiller 15). It asserts that, the Colbert show play two critical roles in communication. Research by Amarasingam postulated that, the Colbert show transmits information by objectively reporting news hence transmitting information to the masses without including external viewpoints. Significantly, the show disseminates information in packaged formats across vast distances. Notably, the show employs numerous ritualistic viewpoints of communic ation in presenting its message. Accordingly, it places its communication in a cultural context. Particularly, it subjectively report news in numerous ways in order to portray its information. Consequently, the Colbert show integrates numerous cultural viewpoints in its reporting of news. Therefore, it creates an element of a community amongst its audience. Additionally, the show creates change on the value views of the audience. For instance, the cheering of the audience during the report on the segments illuminates the community’s feelings. In addition, due its excitable attitudes in is reporting, the show creates numerous feeling of passion hence causing deeper emotional connections with its reporting news events. Moreover, the show pushes limits on journalism and gives the audience a critical look on prevalent affairs in the society. Jones’ research revealed that, Colbert comedy has significantly influenced our daily culture (Jones 115). For instance, it has mobili zed its viewers to participate in numerous activities such as voting; especially the time 100 online polls (Jones 117). Consequently, its impacts have significantly enhanced international markets. In response, numerous entrepreneurs have embraced the show for its intrinsic worth. It has also engaged its viewers in numerous projects that demonstrate figurative resistance and questioning the authorities. For instance, some people have created remixes of the Colbert’s show content, while others have propagated its neologisms. Moreover, numerous viewers have helped the Colbert in formulating new neologisms. Politically, the Colbert show has significantly altered numerous opinions of various people’s. Accordingly, various elite use it to sway the masses towards numerous opinions. For instance, its partisan message has profoundly influenced American politics. The Colbert support politicians regardless of their party allegiances. In addition, the character betrays his conserv ative ideologies for the sake of his personal achievements (Schiller, 21). Symbolically, he celebrated the victorious success of the Democrats during the 2006 elections. As an ultra-conservative, he should have been disappointed at the results, but instead, he celebrated. Significantly, this marks a turning point in American politics. Additionally, the show explores myriad ways on how people can restore sanity and fear.

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Analysis - Case Study Example Even more importantly, however, is the fact that a business will face innumerable set-backs, and passion is required to keep up drive in the face of failure. 3. Though this can often lead entrepreneurs down the wrong path, perhaps someone should have thought to ask why no one was monetizing these sporting events in ANY way. Furthermore, if people get to watch professional sports on TV, will they pay for amateur sport commentary? People tend to be very unwilling to pay for media that is usually ad supported. 4. I think that the basic business model of YouCastr was flawed, which means saving it would have taken a basic re-thinking of how things were done. One possibility: monetize through inserting ads in the broadcast, more like other traditional sports media. 1. There are a number of reasons that this company was successful – one of which was certainly a bit of luck – they hit on a formula that people didn’t just like, but loved. They never would have had the chance to get lucky, however, without persistence – persistence that came from a love of what they do. Their love for game making was apparent – doing it first as a hobby, entering into contests, and then making a remarkable 51 relatively unsuccessful games before the launch of angry birds. 2. Part of it is good design – the game features bright, funny characters that are enjoyable to play with, a funny name, and game play that encourages people to play frequently and not put it down. More important, however, is probably that people picked it up and made it go â€Å"viral† – it was at the right place at the right time, and tickled people to the point that they showed their friends. 3. I think that, given something I was enjoying doing, I definitely would have been able to hang in there. The trick is that one must realize that rejection and

Critical Success Factors For Innovation Management Research Paper

Critical Success Factors For Innovation Management - Research Paper Example Innovation is important for all organisations to improve and develop, as innovation creates a unique positioning and differentiation opportunity that can give a business more market presence. What is an innovation? Innovations are unique business practices, exclusive product offerings, or any other activity that is ground-breaking or pioneering in an industry. If an organisation does not innovate, it will not have longevity as more innovative competitors will begin to outperform a business that is complacent by doing business as usual without creating inventive strategies. This report highlights the critical success factors for innovation management. Innovation management practices Sebell and Terwilliger (2011, pp.1-3), managing partners at Creative Realities, Inc., believe there are nine distinct success factors for innovation management. These include: 1. Having a compelling case for innovation. 2. An inspired and shared vision for the future 3. A fully aligned strategic agenda for the innovation. 4. More visibility of senior management in the innovation process and operations 5. A decision-making model that builds teamwork 6. A fully sourced, multi-functional team dedicated to meeting strategic goals 7. Open-minded exploration of the marketplace drivers of innovation 8. Have a willingness to take risks and see value in absurdity. 9. A well defined, yet flexible execution process.... In this case, the business must have a case to justify sweeping product changes and determine a new market entry strategy to provide a product that brings revenue gains unique from competition. A business case is critical to coming up with a strategic plan for new innovation offerings. Having an inspired and shared vision of the future is highly important in innovation management. Fairholm (2009) describes the importance of having transformational leaders in the organisation, those who constantly iterate mission and vision, using relationship development techniques in the social environment to gain commitment and loyalty in teams. A new innovation, whether product-based or human capital-based, will often mean the business is now taking on a new direction in its market. Innovation management, in this case, means developing an organisational culture that is focused, united and dedicated to team philosophy. This often means that senior management officials must be more visible, as was i dentified by Sebell and Terwilliger (2011). In many organisational models, there is a recognition that change resistance often occurs that stems from differing principles, values or work ethics of different employees in a diverse organisation. In order to get the innovation planned, produced and ultimately launched, team philosophy is critical and this could require decentralising the organisation or creating a more socially-bonded environment for group working. In the case where an innovation is product-based, the organisation must understand the drivers of marketplace competition. For instance, a technology company that has revolutionised telephony communications would need

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example The paper aims to refute all arguments against freedom of speech and provides arguments against any restrictions on freedom of speech in certain countries like Canada. Freedom of speech provides people with different views about life, political condition, people, education, society and the whole world. This freedom is not aimed to defame anyone or anything but people provide their deepest thoughts and perceptions about different issues. These varying ideas and opinions provide the uninformed with a wide range of possibilities and sufficient grounds to make their own judgement. Hence freedom of speech, in this context, must remain untied with restrictions and laws. The criticism against freedom of speech is the fact that people may use this right in order to defame other people, develop controversies and negatively change people’s arguments. The criticisers believe that restrictions must be imposed in order to protect people’s privacy and reputation from the abusers of this freedom. The justification to their criticism is the increasing debates over political, social and religious issues. The increasing conflicts and worsening law and order situation provide them with the chance to stand against such freedom. In my opinion, all these arguments are, to a great extent, baseless. Milton describes in Areopagitica two kinds of people: the prudent ones and others who are imprudent. Prudent class of people are able to distinguish between good and bad, reasonable and unreasonable; imprudent, on the other hand, are unaffected by any judgements. In other words, we may say that prudent class has the power to analyze, asses and judge every event, claim or argument; whereas, imprudent do not have their own opinion and they lack the power of expressing and judging. Hence, imprudent remain unaffected by the opinions and expressions of others and prudent accept the claims only if they have any instance of truth in them. Moreover, it is

ITM301 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ITM301 SLP - Essay Example Evidently the user-friendly structure and the dependability of the site are the major reasons why Wikipedia has become the highest ranking sites. Overall appeal Wikipedia is a professionally designed website for its simple whiteboard and well optimized content and images. The absence of promotional content also enhances its professional appeal. The article on ‘distance education’ published on the site can be taken as an example for its outstanding level of content and external link feasibility. At the same time, the well-bound internal linking structure also makes the specific article page and the entire site extraordinary. As in every case of Wikipedia articles, the ‘distance education’ also provides readers with hundreds of keywords and phrases which work as internal and external links for further research. Strengths of the site The website is rather interactive for it allows users to contribute to the content development and editing. Although it tends one to be skeptical of the reliability of the information, today inaccuracy is less likely to happen because of its strong self-control. The Wikipedia gives number of other options like contents, featured contents, current events, and random articles at the left hand side of the web pages which help users to trace required information quickly.

The impact of new technology on family and work Research Paper

The impact of new technology on family and work - Research Paper Example Technology forms a crucial part of our life since it constitutes the fuel that propels our lives. It is an integral part of human life because it benefits the society by promoting comfort both at work and in families (Freeland 1). Moreover, technology has greatly reduced and saved human effort as well as time spent in doing daily activities. In US, 88% of the American adult population posses a cell phone, 58% own a desktop, 61% posses a laptop, 18% own a tablet computer while 18% posses an e - book reader (Brenner 1). Therefore, technology has improved human life and increased standard of living. This, to some extent has reduced misery and stresses of life. However, since all things on earth have both advantages and disadvantages, technology has greatly affected human life a negative way (Freeland 3). It has been both a miracle and a burden all together. Some of the problems that human beings face are due to the inventions of technology. Human beings face these problems both at work and in the family set up and this contributes to misery. Thus, technology has had both positive and negative impacts on family and work. Positive impacts of technology on family and work Increased connectivity and accessibility In the current world, several technologies are not only wants but also form a necessity of life. Computer technologies have been widely accepted and used in the entire world. Man uses computer technological functions such as SNS, online face – face communications in video chatting, mailing among others. The use of computers and smart phones for internet surfing has eased information accessibility since workers and family members can browse on anything they want from the internet. (Goyder 21). Such information might be vital for workers performance and for the well-being of family members. Moreover, since most workers and family members join social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook Skype among others, they use computers and smart phones to access such services. The social networking services provide opportunities for people to access information, share, and offer their opinions concerning a given issue that might affect their lives (Hjorth 50). Due to such opportuniti es, both workers and family members have increased connectivity with fellow workers and other members of family. This is because the social networking sites connect friends, colleagues at work and other family members thus, enabling communication and information sharing. Moreover, both internet surfing and social networking sites help workers and family members by making them updated with current events, thereby getting information at the right time (Hjorth 55). This ensures that they can use such information to plan on activities, which can improve their living standards. For instance, workers can access job vacancies from the internet while students can access information pertaining to disciplines or subjects they want to pursue or they currently undertake. Consequently, the introduction of TVs and the internet has increased accessibility of workers and family members to information. People can watch movies through You Tube, watch news on their televisions, as well as read news po sted online from media houses (Lytras & Isabel 112). Moreover, people are exposed to happenings and thus, remain ever informed. This leads to improved living standards and ensures their well-being. Ease of data management as well retrieval The invention and use of computer both at work has greatly improved data storage, organization, management, and retrieval (Winston & Ralph 15). This is because computers have the capacity to process large amounts of data within a short time. Moreover, it can retrieve the same data whenever required, and in the most convenient way possible. This enhances efficiency as well as productivity since little time is used in doing a given activity. Increased innovation and invention The introduction of computers has greatly increased innovatio

Response to a classmate's post Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Response to a classmate's post - Assignment Example For me, I felt that the work lacks a clear definition of concepts and proper outlining of facts that bring out the issue of race. Also, you did not include any thesis statements in the essay. You simply explained the various characteristics that the Homo sapiens have such as the color of the skin, shape and the type of hair. Nonetheless, it is commendable how you note how anthropologists find it meaningless to use the term race since the term has been overtaken by events. I think this gives a strong point in the defense of your answer. You also give a clear explanation of the disparities of the different genetic variations such as polytypic and polymorphic variations. It is also good that you mention the emerging trends in the humans, such as mutations of the human race. It would be good if you add a conclusion that summarizes the major thoughts in the essay. Your paragraphing is also wanting. Though the work has strong points, you would have made the work better through a proper org anization of thoughts.

Preservation vs Conservation Essay Example for Free

Preservation vs Conservation Essay John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold are three influential figures responsible for shaping the foundations of the ideologies of the modern environmental movements. However, although Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold represented the grave environmental concern, they also represented the rift between preservationists and conservationists. This ideological divide among environmental groups arose from widely-differing assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes on how nature and the environment should be seen in the one hand, and how human role in relation to nature and the environment should be defined. Thus, despite the fact that Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold were among the most important environmentalists of their time, irreconcilable ideological differences kept them from successfully working together for environmental causes and initiatives. In â€Å"The Mountains of California,† John Muir provides a detailed description of the mountainous features of the Sierra Nevada and natural formations in the Yosemite Valley, including the animals and plants that are found in these habitats. Muir informs the readers not only of his impressions of the play of light on the slopes of the mountains but also describes his awe of the beauty of nature found in the California mountain range. In this sense, Muir advances the idea that human beings should not be allowed to destroy the things created by nature. Along this line, Muir suggests that wildlife and other things in nature should not be subject to human activities that aim to make a profit out of natural resources. Meanwhile, Aldo Leopold uses the descriptions of his encounters and experiences with nature in â€Å"A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There† to illustrate the fact that modernization and industrial development has alienated human beings from the biotic community. He further argues that human intervention and activities in the aim of making nature more profitable or less hostile to human beings, such as killing deadly predators, have managed to offset the natural balances which have had catastrophic results for animal and plant life in many habitats. Leopold therefore advocates for human beings to establish a harmonious relationship with nature based on the â€Å"land ethic,† which emphasizes the human obligation to preserve the dignity of the earth and everything found in it and not to do anything that would degrade and harm the natural environment. In an essay excerpt from his work â€Å"The Fight for Conservation,† Gifford Pinchot states his concern about the impact of environmental devastation on business activities and human life and argues for greater state intervention in managing natural resources to ensure sustainable use and to deter unscrupulous exploitation of these resources. In essence, Gifford advocates for a reform not only in how modern American society viewed its natural resources to be inexhaustibe but also for a concrete reform in natural resource policy to implement measures to manage forests and other resources. Hence, Gifford argues for the implementation of management programs in the aim of averting future natural resource depletion crises that would have adverse effects on the national economy and private enterprise. Gifford’s framework for his advocacy was based on the premise that the imports of raw materials were often costly and therefore unpractical for many businesses, which made state management of resource materials more cost-efficient and cost-effective. It is clear from these selections that all three authors were against the wanton expoitation of natural resources. Likewise, Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold acknowledged the role of human activities in the degradation of the environment. For instance, Muir’s descriptive essay of Sierra Nevada and its surroundings is very much similar to Leopold’s musings on the diversity found in nature and how human beings should work to preserve the integrity of their natural environment. In the same manner, all three authors called attention to increasing environmental problems wrought about by the reckless use and abuse of ecological resources such as forests and grasslands. However, a deeper look at the writings of Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold’s present the distinctive ideas and assumptions that inform the arguments and positions of the three authors. It is in these details that the critical reader ultimately sees the clash in the preservationist and conservationist stance of the three authors. For instance, Pinchot’s conservationist perspective is emphasized by his focus on the management of resources to maximize the benefit to humans, based on the assumption that nature and the things or beings found in nature existed for human use. Likewise, most of Pinchot’s arguments are premised on the idea that human beings are the center and the goal of conserving nature and its bounty. In contrast, Muir’s preservationist belief is characterized by the view that nature and wildlife should be kept in the same state of being pristine and untrammelled by humans. Similar to Muir’s perspective, Leopold suggests that humans should see themselves as part of the biotic community instead of seeing themselves as the center of all creations. The writings of both authors are influenced by the basic assumption that nature and wildlife, as living beings, have innate rights and accordingy, humans have the obligation to ensure that these rights are enjoyed or protected. Thus, the basic and most significant difference between the preservationist and conservationist camp stemmed from the belief and attitude towards nature wherein the former believed that nature should be protected for nature’s sake, while the latter espoused the protection or management or nature for human being’s sake. The three author’s basic arguments and underlying assumtions are further revealed in their narratives. Both Muir and Leopold clearly write from the perspective of someone who has experienced a close connection with nature. This is evident in the ability of these authors to describe the scenes of nature and the wildlife found in it down to the minute details, to recall their most personal feelings in their encounters of the beauty and wonder of nature, and in their reflections and thoughts about these encounters. Pinchot, on the other hand, writes in a manner that is devoid of any sentimentality about the intrinsic characteristics of nature but calls forth self-serving human interests for continued survival and societal development to argue for natural resource management. Clearly, the three authors represent the major strains of thought in environmental preservation and conservation. Muir, with his emphasis on the total preservation of nature and wildife and his insistence on distancing human life from the works of nature, represents the ecological rights perspective in environmental preservation. In the same manner, Leopold’s argument about seeing the bigger picture in terms of wildlife and nature preservation encapsulates the basic premise of the ecosystem approach in natural resource management. Meanwhile, Pinchot’s focus on the conservation of nature through efficient use and the maximization of available resources is at the heart of sustainable resource management approaches. Therefore, it is not surprising that despite being contemporaries as significant environmental theorists and activitists of their time, Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold were kept apart by basic differences in their assumptions and viewpoints. This is because the basic assumptions that underlined their beliefs in either preservation or conservation not only determined their stance on the environment but also addressed the crucial question of how nature should be used—or if it should be used at all—for continued human development. References: Leopold, Aldo. (2008). Excerpt from ‘A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. ’ In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 10-12). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Muir, John. (2008). Excerpt from ‘The Mountains of California. In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 5-7). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Pinchot, Gifford. (2008). Excerpt from ‘The Fight for Conservation. ’ In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 8-9). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

The Development Of Accounting In Malaysia Accounting Essay

The Development Of Accounting In Malaysia Accounting Essay A tendency towards adopting the style of accounting institutions and practices of western developed countries that colonized the developing countries has been dominated in the latter countries (Ali, Lee West, 2008). Apparently, the Malaysian accounting development is strongly influenced by the accounting framework that the United Kingdom (UK) applied. The British colonial presence can be considered as a key phrase that brought about the noteworthy influences and changes on the Malaysias history. Such influences and changes can be traced back to the 1785, the time that the approval of occupying island of Penang and building fort in there is granted to the Francis Light, a former British naval officer and private trader, from the sultan of Kedah. In 1786, Light established the settlement of George Town on the island of Penang. The contribution of turning Penang Island into a state with free-trade policy that Light made helps the Malacca to be the premier trader center in the Malay Peninsula. Presence of British colonial is continuously expanded by the official of British East India Company, Thomas Stanford Raffles, and Tengku Hussein, a contender for the throne of Malacca, on the Malay Peninsula in 1819. An agreement of consenting the British settles and establishes trading port in Singapore is reached between Stanford Raffles and H ussein in exchange for the formal recognition of Hussein as the sultan of Malacca. The advantageous geographic location and free-trade policy that Singapore possesses assist in attaining the astonished financial success. In 1945, British resumed its control for the purpose of establishing themselves as a durable administrative power. Because of the ethnic tensions often influence political arrangements, therefore, British proposed and implemented the Malayan Union plan in 1946. However, the problem of ethnic tensions still exists even though the British has taken action to promote the national unity among different ethnic groups. An Alliance partnership is established and which comprises United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) from 1952 to 1955. In fact, the Alliance won the municipal, local and the federal elections and thus emerged as an agent for unified Malayan interests. Malaya gained independence from Br itish in 1957 (Library of Congress, 2006). The independence of Malayan State since 1957 has transformed the Malayan economy into a new era of development. History of accounting system in Malaysia marks its opening of the use of accounting standards and practices after the pullout of Britain with subsequent accounting development significantly influenced by the after-effect of British colonization. The Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) has became the first accounting bodies to be established in the Malayan State in 1958 with the aim of advancing accounting professions in all aspects and to educate the appropriate accounting practices and standards to businesses in Malaysia. Subsequent efforts have also been made in line with the British colonial effect as the government has passed the Companies Act 1965 and Accounting Act 1967 that are both based on the laws and regulations developed in the UK during the 1960s. Apart from this, compromise of the non-Malay rights could not be hindered by prejudicial legislation or governmental intervention is reached because of the British colonization. As a member of the Commonwealth, it is almost inevitable that Malaysia is highly influenced by any changes in the legal, economy, culture and politics environment of UK. This is especially true as the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) constantly reviews and updates the Malaysian accounting standards if the accounting standards in UK have made any amendments. The cultural-based theory of the Hofstede-Gray framework is applied for the aim of explaining the differences or deficiencies in accounting practices. In fact, the Hofstede-Gray theory is widely used by a number researcher as the accounting values and the cultural dimension is associated with the theory. Based on the surveys that the researchers conducted, it is noted that the Grays approach is probably the most well-known exponent of the cultural approach to understand the nature of accounting practices, while the Hofstedes approach is just one of a number of ways to study culture. The use of the Hofstede-Gray theory helps the researchers to understand the way the national accounting practices are formed (Parera, 1989) (Gerhardy, 1990) and to determine normatively whether the accounting techniques are appropriate to the particular countries (Baydoun Willet, 1995). According to Figure 1, it can be seen that the Hofstede-Gray theory is a combination of, Grays accounting values which include professionalism, uniformity, conservatism and secrecy with the Hofstedes cultural values which comprise power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity. Basically, there are two different perspectives to determine the culture and classification, to be precise, one from the Gray perspective and another from Hofstede. From the perspective of Gray, Malaysia is a country with high statutory control and uniformity in terms of authority and enforcement. While from the view of measurement and disclosure, Malaysia is a state with high secrecy and conservatism and which can be evidenced from Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively. However, Malaysia scored high on the power distance and masculinity, yet scored low on the uncertainty avoidance and individualism on the Hofstedes standpoint. According to the survey conducted by Itim (2012), Malaysia scored 104 on the dimension of power distance. It can be explained that hierarchical order is acceptable for the Malaysian and hence inherent inequalities as well as centralization are possible to be reflected, but leadership and gaps of authority are challenging if there is hierarchy in the organization. Furthermore, with a score of 50, Malaysia can be considered as a masculine society, a highly success-oriented and driven. Generally, equity, competition and performance are the main concern in the masculine society. For instance, attitude of ferocious and no holds barred battles might happen between candidates during the election. Moreover, Malaysia is a low preference for uncertainty avoidance as it scored only 36. In such dimension, there is no any ambiguous or unknown situations exist due to the culture of relaxed attitude permeates. Besides, a mark of 26 is scored and it means that Malaysia is a collectivistic society. T herefore, a low degree of interdependence manifests that there is a close long-term commitment among members and the culture of loyalty is the uppermost concern and overrides most of the societal rules and regulations. Regulatory framework of accounting is established for the purpose of providing high quality and reliable information to satisfy the needs of external users. In fact, it plays a major role to ensure that the financial statements are prepared by the organizations in accordance with the rules and regulations (Collis Hussey, 2007). In Malaysia, existing companies are required to comply with the rules and regulations such as Companies Act 1965, Financial Reporting Act 1997, Accounting Standards, Income Tax Act 1967, the Securities Commission Guidelines 1995, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Listing Requirement and Bank Negara Malaysia Guidelines, etc during the process of preparing and presenting financial statements. Thus, it is obvious that regulatory framework is developed in the field of accounting profession, company law, auditing, taxation as well as stock exchange and implementation is taken in order to provide a true and fair view. It is known that there are four professional accounting bodies in Malaysia, namely, Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) and Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF). Fundamentally, MIA is a statutory accounting profession which is established according to the Accountants Act 1967. The establishment of such accounting body is to regulate and develop the accountancy profession in Malaysia. Hence, MIA is responsible to meet and maintain the education, quality assurance as well as enforcement for the aim of ensuring that credibility of the profession is maintained and the public interest is continuously upheld. In addition, MIA also has the ability of monitoring the international and local accounting trends and developments as well as consulting regularly with the government and regulatory bodies. According to the MIA Official Website, it is noted that MIA not only plays a signi ficant role in the Malaysia, but also international and regional arena. Evidence of the involvement in ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to develop and advance the global accounting professional bodies can be proved. Furthermore, such involvement also enables MIA to work for the betterment by bringing home to the latest developments in the overseas. Indeed, there is a requirement provided under the provisions of the Act and stated that the person who is registered as a member of MIA only can be recognized as an accountant. Because of being as a member of International Auditing Practices Committee (IAPC), therefore, MIA is responsible to support the IFRCs work and also determine International Accounting Standards (IAS) as the basis of approved standards in the auditing field of Malaysia (MIA Official Website). On the other hand, MICPA is the accounting profession who is established in 1958 according to the Companies Ordinances and is formally called as The Malayan Association of Certified Public Accountants; while MASB is established as an independent authority according to the Financial Reporting Act 1997. The MASB and the FRF make up the new framework of financial reporting in Malaysia. Basically, FRF has no direct influence on standard setting as such duty is solely rest on MASB. Therefore, FRF is responsible for the oversight of, such as MASBs performance and initial source of view for proposed standards. Moreover, there is also a professional body for company secretary and administration, that is, Malaysian Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries Administrators (MAICSA). Besides, the Malaysian Association of Accounting Administrators is the profession who is formed to recognize the two-tiered of professional accountant and is sponsored by MIA. Companies Act 1965 (CA 1965) is published by the Commissioner of Law Revision yet the Company Commission of Malaysia enforces and administers it. Basically, it is the principle legislation developed to govern the formation and procedure of companies existing in Malaysia. The CA 1965 not only provides formal rules on accounting such as presenting financial statements in a true and fair view, but also enacts a provision to protect the rights and interests of shareholders and investors. For example, according to the section 167 of CA 1965, all of the Malaysian existing companies are required to keep and maintain proper accounting records so as to have the ability to explain companies transactions and financial position sufficiently and subsequently enables the true and fair view from all of the accounting information. Apart from this, the requirement of preparing accounts and reports based on the Approved Accounting Standards (AAP) that MASB issued as well as complying with the disclosu re requirements of the Ninth Schedule of CA 1965 are developed for every company for the purpose of delivering the companies affairs with a true and fair view. According to the CA Malaysia, there is a need for the appointment of approved auditors to audit the companies accounts and present true and fair view as well as stress on the auditors independence for companies that are operating in Malaysia and registered under the Companies Commissioner of Malaysia. A standard setting body with the ability of functionally independent is established by MIA and which is operating under the assistance of the latter accounting profession and is called the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). AASB plays an important role in the development of accounting and auditing field in Malaysia. It can be evidenced from the need of promoting and ensuring high quality professional standards to be adhered and subsequently lead to the international convergence of standards. In addition, AASB also has the responsibility of the consideration for the new or revised International Auditing and Assurance Standards that International Auditing and Assurance Standar ds Board (IAASB) issued for Malaysia to adopt. Furthermore, AASB is required to review and deliberate any issues and developments that are derived from other jurisdictions that is relating to auditing practices in Malaysia. Moreover, the Audit Act 1957 also states that there is a close link between accounting and auditing, for instance, auditors are responsible to audit accounts that are prepared by professional bodies. It is generally known that types of tax in Malaysia include personal and corporate income tax, goods and service tax (GST) real property gains tax (RPGT), etc. In fact, Malaysia is a self-assessment tax regime (SAS) as it is shown in the Year of Assessment 2010 (YA 2010) that different classes of people is subject to different percentage of tax rate. Basically, the establishment of Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA 1967) is to determine the chargeable income and the tax payable and ascertain whether it is reasonable to the tax payers. The imputation system is used by companies to compute the tax. In fact, taxes paid by the companies on its profits are used to frank dividends paid to shareholders. In Malaysia, the RPGT is re-introduced and which is stated in the Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2007, only for the disposal of real property held for five years or below is subjected to the RPGT of 5% and it is only applicable to the capital land transaction In terms of the GST, i t is the indirect tax or value added tax (VAT) that imposed on both local and imported goods and services. It is proposed by government for the purpose of replacing sales and service tax, but implementation has not been taken. It is noted that taxation is considered as parts of the business expenditure. Thus, it is important for the companies to comply with the ITA 1967 during the process of preparing and presenting the financial statements as well as the statement of computation of chargeable income. Companies are required to prepare both statements due to the double deduction, non-taxable, non-deductible and deductible issues. KLSE is the stock exchange holding company in Malaysia and is developed in accordance with the section 15 of the Capital Markets and Service Act 2007. In 2004, it is renamed and is currently called as Bursa Malaysia Berhad. The establishment of Bursa Malaysia Berhad is to allow the activity of trading of shares can be provided in the market and subsequently assists in enhancing competitive position as well as responding to global trends. There is no authority and legal power for the Bursa Malaysia Berhad to execute compliance. Hence, penalty of reprimanding, suspending and de-listing in the stock exchange would be imposed to the errant companies. For example, listing companies have to follow the rules and regulations of the clause 335 of the listing manual during the process of preparing and presenting companies annual audited accounts and making sure that all of the companies accounts are prepared based on the CA 1965 as well as the AAS. The listing requirements are set by the Bursa Malaysia Berhad in order to regulate the public limited companies (PLC) in terms of the submission of reports and additional disclosure. Apart from this, there is also another requirements which established by the Bursa Malaysia Berhad for the purpose of enhancing the disclosure of information on corporate governance via the promotion of greater transparency and accountability. In 19th November 2011, MASB established the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) for the purpose of bringing the Malaysian accounting standards to be fully International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) compliant. Basically, MFRS framework make up of the existing as well as the new and revised accounting standards that are issued by International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). The primary objective of such convergence is to reduce the gap between Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) between the IFRS and subsequently facilitate the transparency and the comparability of the companies financial statements. However, there is several inconsistency exist such as IAS 41 Agriculture and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and hence are not adopted by the MASN during the process of narrowing the gap between FRS and IFRS. In terms of the presentation of financial statements, MFRS 101 or FRS 101 stated that PLC that operating in Malaysia is required to prepare and disclose the financial statements including, statement of financial position, statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, statement of cash flows and the notes to account. In fact, the MFRS 101 or FRS 101 is the same with the IAS 1, which is the presentation of financial statements. Basically, MFRS 127 or FRS 127 is established for the purpose of enhancing the relevance, reliability and comparability of the information in the parents separate financial statements as well as the groups consolidated financial statements. In Malaysia, a requirement of using uniform accounting policies for reporting is set for the group to follow. Furthermore, there is a need for entity to follow the IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement if it is required to present separate financial statements or investments in subsidiaries by the local regulations. The MFRS 127 or FRS 127 is consistent with the IAS 27, Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements. In 1974, Malaysias top 80 firms in the KLSE have half of it shares owned by foreigners while the other half is mostly controlled the Malaysian Chinese. However, government has gradually transformed these firms into stated owned enterprises which have almost 40% of the Malaysias market shares owned by the government. Major changes came in during the 1990s where most of these state owned companies have went into privatization. Till now, companies have been developed into several forms mainly the sole proprietor that business is solely owned by an individual, partnership where two or more persons jointly owned the business with unlimited liability, private limited company that must at least have 2 and maximum of 50 members, public limited company that is able to be listed in KLSE to offer subscription of shares to public. Foreign currency translation has been one of the uprising factors that companies in Malaysia are needed to take note of because of the increase and extensiveness of globalization in the business context. Foreign currency translation can be defined as the conversion of currency accounting figures from one country to another due to differences financial reporting requirements. This means that different countries would have different functional currency and multinational companies are required to translate its foreign operations or transactions that use functional currency into the required presentation currency for its financial statement. Malaysia needs to pay extra attention to the accounting development in relation to the aspect because Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil and crude oil producer which both are mainly transacted in USD around the world. Most of these companies would use USD as their functional currency which induces translation risk when it is converted into the p resentation currency. Thus, the accounting standard of foreign currency translation which is MFRS 121 will take into account the effect of the currency translation changes or risk that the companies faced with the use of appropriate recognition and measurement method developed by IFRS. It is a known fact that the accounting development in Malaysia over the last 15 years has been based on the accounting principles that MASB adopted while recent accounting practices has seen accounting profession exercising its responsibilities that are comply with MFRS. MFRS is nevertheless the latest accounting principles that Malaysia accounting is accounted for which equivalents with IFRS and apply in any accounting period from or after 1 January 2012. This marks the first time adoption of MFRS for annual periods in Malaysia and is an effort by MASB to implement Malaysias accounting policy to be in line with the convergence project initiated and developed by IASB and FASB. The previous FRS is then replaced by MFRS to place full convergence on Malaysia accounting standard in order to cope with globalisation and to ensure Malaysias business is on the same field at international level. Some major elements of MFRS have been listed below. MFRS 8 is adopted from IFRS 8 that has replaced IAS 14 of Segment Reporting. The main change made is on its requirement of segment identification and the measurement and disclosure of operating segment information. Any company in Malaysia that adopted MFRS 8 will automatically be considered as adopting the international accounting standard of IFRS 8. This particular standard has provide the definition of an operating segment that qualifies in the financial statement and its identification is required to be based on the company internal report that assessed and reviewed the allocation of resources and performance of that segment as according to the latest changes. Besides, the standard also provides the measurement purpose of the amount of operating segment recorded which is for resources allocation and performance measurement purposes of the operating segment. Lastly, the disclosure of operating segment information must be based on the core principles that requires information disclo sed to enable users to make informed decision on the nature and financial effect and its economic environment that the company is operating in order to aid Malaysian companies with operating segments operating in different locations or management. MFRS 118 Revenue is one of the major elements that MASB has included by the adoption of IAS 18 that the IASB has issued and amended but is still under the development of the convergence project. Companies in Malaysia are considered adopting the international accounting standard of IAS 18 if MRS 118 is applied in its financial statement. The MFRS 118 mainly adopted from IAS 18 has included important guidance on accounting practices for revenue by stating the objectives, scope and definition of revenue. These are described in relation to the definition of income in the Framework of Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements that stated revenue as an income that is in the ordinary course of business activities. The measurement and identification of revenue is also included while different type of revenue from sales of goods, rendering a service, royalties, interests and dividends are also provided with guidance and disclosure requirements where Malaysian companies mostly posse ssed of. The MFRS 120 Accounting for Government Grant and Disclosure of Government Assistance is developed to aid business in Malaysia that needs to account for its grant or assistance provided by Government. It is equivalent to IAS 20 with the issuance and amendments made by IASB and Malaysian companies that adopt MFRS 120 will simultaneously comply with IAS 20. Basically, this standard provides guidance on the definition of government grant and government assistance and its disclosure on the presentation of grants that is relating to asset or income as well as its repayment method. The approaches and reasons for accounting of government grant using income approach or capital approach are also given in order for users to clearly identify the government intention on providing grant or assistance to any Malaysian companies. However, this standard does not apply to government grants covered by MFRS 141 Agriculture and other exceptions such as the participation of government in the ownership of business. The MFRS 141 Agriculture apply on its own as evidenced in MFRS 120 that excludes this sector because agriculture is consider an essential sector for the Malaysia economy and accounting must placed its emphasis on it. MFRS 141 is adopted from IAS 41 and will be simultaneously applied to any Malaysia companies that adopt MFRS 141. This standard mainly prescribe how should the agriculture activities and biological assets should be accounted for, measured, presented, and disclosed by the management of the company. The measurement for biological assets is complicated and required specific guidance provided by the standards such as the initial recognition that requires the use of reliably measured fair value and any changes in fair value less costs to sell is included in profit and loss. Nevertheless, agricultural activities land is not covered under this standard but in IAS 16 while government grant for biological activities is included. MFRS 121 is adopted from IAS 21 has that has made changes to replace SIC-11, SIC-19 and SIC-30 that mainly focuses on the definition and changes of reporting currency, functional currency and presentation currency. The adoption of MFRS 121 by any Malaysian companies would also means it is adopting IAS 21 in accordance to international standards. This is an important standard especially for companies that operates internationally or have dealings in different currency. Mainly, the standard applies its accounting treatment on any transaction and balances of foreign currencies but not derivative transaction and the translation of foreign operation into reporting currency or consolidation purposes. The method of reporting and disclosing the changes of foreign exchange transaction, balances or operations is also included. The MFRS 123 is an equivalent standard to IAS 23 issued by the IASB while any Malaysian company that applies MFRS 123 is also considered as adopting the IAS 23. This standard has its scope limited mainly to borrowing costs that is relating to capital expenditure such as the acquisition, construction and production of an asset to expand business that is considered part of the cost to obtain the relevant assets. The standard has prescribed the definition of a qualifying assets and the eligibility of borrowing costs as capitalisation. The recognition and measurement for borrowing costs is also provided as well as the disclosure requirement relates to the borrowing costs amount and its capitalisation rate. This relevant standard that relates to investment property is of importance to the Malaysia accounting practices due to the booming of property house prices that induces substantial increase in property for investment. MFRS 140 is developed in accordance to IAS 40 and many changes have been made to IAS 40 such as lease related property, the measurement approach of investment property and its disclosure requirement. Nevertheless, MFRS 140 provides guidance on the treatment for accounting of investment property in Malaysia and its disclosure method excluding accounting for lease property. Definition to include property as investment nature has been provided while measurement method of fair value model or cost model for investment property is prescribed clearly with distinction between initial recognition and post recognition. The MFRS 112 is developed by the MASB based on IAS 12 with several revisions made on the recognition and disclosure of income taxes especially deferred tax assets and liabilities. Any Malaysian company that adopts MFRS 112 is equivalent to adopting IAS 12. The income tax in Malaysia is important especially in its treatment for tax consequences as tax evasion is considerably high while tax law is not stringently enforced. The standard provides guidance for accounting treatment of income taxes in Malaysia by prescribing the definition, recognition and measurement for current tax expenses, assets and liabilities with emphasis on future settlement of deferred tax assets and liabilities. Examples of income taxes accounting treatment has been provided in detail to assist users in understanding the complexity of income taxes while presentation and disclosure requirements are also included. MFRS 124 mainly relates to the disclosure requirement of party that is related to the ordinary course of business which is adopted from IAS 24 that is issued and revised by IASB. Revisions has been made in 2009 to simplify the definitions and meanings of related party and allowed certain exceptions of related parties for disclosure especially when it is government-related. Basically, the standard requires the disclosure of transaction between the company and any related parties or any transaction between parents and subsidiaries. Most importantly, this would enable user to pay attention on the financial effect of related party transaction on the companys financial position and profitability. The accounting development in Malaysia has never been lacking of frauds and embezzlements due to related party and this standard would provide enhanced transparency to prevent related party unauthorised transactions. The MFRS 119 is an adoption of IAS 19 that is issued by IASB and Companies in Malaysia that uses MFRS 119 would automatically be considered to adopt the international standard of IAS 19. The purpose of MFRS 119 is to provide guidance for entity to be able to recognise appropriately the liability and expenses in relation to employee benefits provided by the entity. The accounting treatment provided by this standard encompasses recognition and measurement of short term and long term employee benefits, termination benefits and post employment benefits that includes defined contribution plan and defined benefits plan. Example illustrating accounting treatment has been provided clearly and the difference of recognition and measurement for the post employment benefits is also clearly stated. Undeniably, it is important to the Malaysia economy as the culture of Malaysia is considers to be emphasizing on the employee benefits that the company is able to provide recently. It is undeniably that the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 not only introduces the importance of CG but also exposes the weaknesses of Malaysian CG practice to the public attention. Since then, Malaysia has taken initiative to implement schemes such as High Level Finance Committee on CG (HLFC) which have published the Report on Corporate Governance that provides definition of CG in the Malaysia context and laid the basis for the establishment of Code of Corporate Governance in 2000. Although the code itself is not mandatory, it further became a consequence of the listing requirement in Malaysia to include statement of corporate governance to attract more foreign investment due to globalisation and enhance the Malaysia economic growth. Basically, the code has enacted a series of principles and best practices of CG to improve the regulatory framework of the CG in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the reforms of corporate governance in Malaysia still exist to enhance shareholders value and protect the interests of all stakeholders especially the minorities by improving the corporate ethics and accountability. The Security Commission Malaysia has launched a five year CG Blueprint to provide a platform for CG in Malaysia to be enhanced through market and self discipline of company while promoting the standard of CG by instilling the essence of CG into the culture of company rather than a mere compliance requirement. AS a result, the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance 2012 is developed with further recommendation on duties and responsibilities of board of directors, the management of shareholder expectation

Family and Child Law: Negotiation

Family and Child Law: Negotiation Introduction Addressing the position of the parties on these facts, their views as to desired outcome are completely opposed in respect of where the children should be live. It is interesting to note however, that whilst Isabelle wants to relocate to Canada,[1] she suggests that she may remain in England if the children cannot move with her. In other words, she may be open to staying to have a better relationship with the children. The importance of this is that Isabelle is not completely inflexible. Initial Discussions with Isabelle Two important initial points must be made clear to Isabelle. The first, is that the Court will only make an order in respect of children if it believes that it is necessary for the childrens best interests.[2] Secondly, it is the childrens wellbeing that is paramount in all considerations for these issues.[3] Even though previously the Courts may have suggested that the effect on a parent not being able to relocate should be given great weight,[4] this approach is now considered wrong and the impact on the parent is only one of several factors taken into account when assessing the effect on the childs welfare.[5] In this respect, the welfare-checklist factors[6] are relevant considerations.[7] To this end, Isabelle must, prior to commencing negotiations, be made aware that she should approach the matter by considering what approach the Court might take. The CAFCASS report, whilst not making any specific recommendations, suggest that an order may be necessary in this circumstance and therefore, whilst the Court is not obliged to make an order of the type sought by the parties,[8] is likely to do so. This means that Isabelle should be made aware that if she does not reach a negotiated settlement, the Court may make orders of the type sought by Russell. It may not do, of course, but it would be wrong for Isabelle to enter negotiations believing that the Court will favour her position in any way. This approach may assist Isabelle in being more open to compromise. Furthermore, Isabelle, in her email, demonstrated a degree of anger towards Russell in respect of her assertions regarding to affairs and drug use. Isabelle also shows a great deal of animosity towards Destiny. She should be made aware that this kind of approach will not assist in terms of engendering co-operation from Russell, and may ultimately be damaging should the matter proceed to Court.[9] In this respect, the authority on these matters will consider the true reason for the wish to relocate,[10] and may consider that Isabelles real reason for wishing to take the children is to limit their contact with Russell, rather than her suggested intention that the move would give them a new start and a better standard of living.[11] Isabelle would also be extremely ill advised to mention Russells alleged drug use, given that she freely admits that she has used drugs recreationally. Negotiation Options Contact, is a fundamental right for children[12] and parents.[13] It seems clear that Isabelle will not convince Russell that the children should be allowed to leave with her unless she is able to provide a robust solution in respect of contact.[14] To this end, she must offer contact for all or most of the childrens school-holidays,[15] and must be open to indirect-contact(Skype)[16] in Canada at other times. It also seems sensible that she should consider addressing the issue of how daily contact can be affected given the time difference. Although the children are perhaps a little young, offering to provide them with some way of contacting their father whenever they want may assist. It seems that she may also have to accept that the children will have contact with Destiny and that they enjoy the contact they have. Whilst this approach may assist Isabelle, it seems that the CAFCASS report is moderately in favour of retaining the status-quo[17] and, because this is something that the Courts consider very important in respect of welfare,[18] (this approach is reflected throughout the welfare-checklist comments made by CAFCASS) it is possible that Isabelle may need to make concessions beyond simply allowing extensive contact. It is, at this stage, that Isabelle may be faced with a difficult decision and it may be appropriate to expressly ask her prior to negotiations whether moving to Canada, promotion and Pierre are more important than regular contact with the children.[19] This may shock her, but will clarify the position in her mind. If Isabelle decided to move to Canada alone, it seems reasonable for her to be able to assert that similar robust contact arrangements are put in place. It also seems that, based on the CAFCASSs view that the children enjoy contact with their maternal grandparents that such an approach may be acceptable to the Court and ought to be accepted by Russell. If Isabelle decides to remain in England, the position becomes less complicated, in that the current residence and contact provisions can be maintained. It seems reasonable that if Isabelle can show that she can alter her work patterns accordingly, she could seek to extend this contact, but since she asserts that the children spend 50% of their time with her already, she may have difficulty in justifying further contact. It is important to stress to Isabelle that the fact that she does not like Destiny is irrelevant because, according to CAFCASSS, the children like her and she can take care of them.[20] Conclusions If Isabelle is intransigent regarding relocation, the only concession she can make is to offer extended contact. On balance, the Courts may favour the status-quo and prevent the children leaving for Canada. Presuming that Russell is properly advised and aware of this, it seems likely that he will retain his current position. In this circumstance, Isabelle must attempt to secure her regular contact with the children. This will be the case regardless of whether she chooses to remain in England or leave for Canada without the children. It seems likely that the Court would support contact. 1000 Words Bibliography Primary Sources Table of Cases K v K (Relocation: Shared Care Arrangement) [2011] EWCA Civ 793 K v K [1992] 2 FLR 98 M v F [2016] EWHC 3914 (Fam) Payne v Payne [2001] EWCA Civ 166 Re AR [2010] EWHC 1346 Re B (RO: Status Quo) [1998] 1 FLR 368 Re F (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882 Re H (Children) (Residence Order) [2007] 2 FCR 621 Re L (A Child) [2016] EWCA CIV 821 Re W [2005] EWCA Civ 1614 Table of Legislation: UK Children Act 1989 Table of Legislation: EU European Convention on Human Rights 1950 The United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 Secondary Sources Table of textbooks Gilmore S and Glennon L, Hayes and Williams Family Law (5th edn, OUP 2016) Herring J, Family Law (Longman Law Series) (7th edn, Pearson 2015) Lowe N and Douglas G, Bromleys Family Law (11th edn, OUP 2015) [1] Children Act 1989, s 8(1). [2] Children Act 1989, s 1(5). [3] Children Act 1989, s 1(1). [4] Payne v Payne [2001] EWCA Civ 166. [5] Re F (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882 [49]. [6] Children Act 1989, s 1(3). [7] Re F (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882. [8] Children Act 1989, s 1(3)(g). [9] K v K [1992] 2 FLR 98. [10] Payne v Payne [2001] EWCA Civ 166 [40] (LJ Thorpe). [11] K v K (Relocation: Shared Care Arrangement) [2011] EWCA Civ 793. [12] United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, Art9(1). [13] European Convention of Human Rights 1950, Art8. [14] Re AR [2010] EWHC 1346. [15] Re L (A Child) [2016] EWCA CIV 821. [16] M v F [2016] EWHC 3914 (Fam). [17] Re B (RO: Status Quo) [1998] 1 FLR 368. [18] Re H (Children) (Residence Order) [2007] 2 FCR 621. [19] Re W [2005] EWCA Civ 1614. [20] Children Act 1989, s 1(3)(f).

Quality Issues In System Development :: essays research papers fc

Quality Issues In System Development The period between the 1970's and 1980's was a time of great advancement in computer hardware technology which took an industry still in it's infancy, to a level of much sophistication and which ultimately revelutionised the information storage and processing needs of every other industry and that of the entire world. However, it was also during this period when the shortcomings of implementing such technology became apparent. A significant number of development projects failed which resulted with disastrous consequences, not only of an economic nature, but social aswell. Seemingly, although hardware technolgy was readily available and ever improving, what was inhibiting the industry was in the methods of implementing large systems. Consequently, all kinds of limited approaches materialized that avoided the costs and risks inherent in big-systems developments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Times have changed, and with it our understanding and experience as how best to develop large systems. Today's large systems yield greater benefits for less cost than those of previous decades. Large systems provide better, more timely information, the ability to integrate and correlate internal and external information, the ability to integrate and facilitate streamlined business processes. Unfortunately, not every system that information workers develop are well implemented; this means that the computer system which was originally intended to make a company more efficient, productive and cost-effective, is in the end doing the exact opposite - namely, wasting time, money and valuable manpower. So even with all the lessons learned from the 70's and 80's, our vastly superior methodologies and knowledge of the 90's is still proving to be fallible, as suggested in the following examples. System Development Failures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Britain, 1993, an incident occurred which forced the London Ambulance Service to abandon its emergency system after it performed disastrously on delivery, causing delays in answering calls. An independent inquiry ordered by British government agencies found that the ambulance service had accepted a suspiciously low bid from a small and inexperienced supplier. The inquiry report, released in February 1993, determined that the system was far too small to cope with the data load. For an emergency service, the system error would not only cause the loss of money, but more essentially, fail to dispatch ambulances correctly and promptly upon the arising of critical situations. Thus, the implications of such a failure are apparently obvious, both socially and economically. Since the failures, the ambulance service has reverted to a paper- based system that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another failure was the collapse of the Taurus trading system of the London Stock Exchange. Taurus would have replaced the shuffling of six sorts of

The Iliad of Homer and Greek Heroes Essay -- essays research papers

The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero’s within the Greek way of life. A predominant and consistent theme of honor and glory reside throughout the poem. The motivation for any Homeric Greek is glory, or â€Å"Kleos†, that is to be honored and respected among their people. Emphasis is put on living by the heroic code. Honor is essential to the Greeks and life would not be worth living without it. When a warrior or hero is advised to avoid risking their life in battle it almost drives them even further towards the deed. It is better to be killed in action rather than to live and be thought a coward. By our rational standards one would certainly not be thought a coward if they didn’t rush into battle to almost certain death, the Greeks however, live by a different set of rules, a different set of standards and a different set of goals. The objective of attaining Kleos was the centerpiece of life. Kleos could only be attained beating your opponent, it could not be won if it’s offered voluntarily or as a dowry . On the flip side of the pursuit of glory and respect, is the avoidance of shame and humility for not taking part in war or not risking your life. To be shamed in life is far, far worse than to be killed in battle. A Homeric warrior would be greatly shamed if he were to turn his back on a battle or confrontation even if he is certain that if he fights, he will die. To you and I, this seems ridiculous and outright offensive to common sense and logic but such thoughts didn’t exist in those days, it was all about glory, it was all about respect. If you ran from battle you might as well keep running because you will be looked upon as a failure, as a scab, as an embarrassment to the native land and your family. You could be disowned, you could be exiled, or you can even be killed. It’s unfortunate in fact that such high standards were placed of the hero’s in this poem. Many great men perished during the Trojan war because it was not in their wishes to conceive defeat and fall back, they had to fight to the death, it was the only way. The hero often finds himself in â€Å"kill or be killed† situations where they are fighting their opponents will and desire for glory and their loathing and unacceptability of shame. When a battle took place, it was one on one. One hero vs. another, one man and his resume of victorie... ...willingly sacrifice the chance to live a long life for the opportunity to attain Kleos and their desperate desire to avoid Shame. Burial rights are taken especially seriously in Ancient Greek times, and Hektors family would feel particular shame if he was not to be taken back to his homeland and cremated properly. They went to great length and expense to retrieve his body after Achilleus allowed it. Shame and Kleos ran their lives, and the lives of those around them. These heroes pledged to a life long ambition to bring honor to themselves and avoid any smearing of their good name. The moral values were based on this acceptance and the society adapted. There was nothing more important than these two aspects of life; it was all that was important, and all that was on the agenda. This is how the Ancient Greeks and Trojans fought this war; by the very fabric of their lives they would do what they deemed necessary to satisfy their need for glory. And thus, a select few, till this day have their name sketched in history books as great warriors, and great men. That is precisely what they hoped for, and precisely what they got. To the victor, go the spoils.

Introduction to Economics

A want Is a desire for a good or a service. The desire may be to satisfy hunger or thirst, avoid heat or cold, be cured of Illness, be amused or entertained, or enjoy that latest product of technology. The item involved may not be within the means of the person who wants it. In economics it is assumed that a person's wants are unlimited. People are assumed to desire an unlimited array of goods and services. A need is a desire for a basic good or service.Needs are essential for survival. A person may not need ice cream, which is a want and a luxury, but they need food, which provides the essential vitamins and minerals. A person must satisfy their needs before they can satisfy their wants. As our income Increases many of the Items that we regarded as wants may well be regarded as needs. Most people would now regard a telephone as an essential. Characteristics of Wants Wants are unlimited because it is assumed that people have an endless desire for odds and services.Wants are competiti ve because to produce one good or service means that other goods and services are not able to be produced. Wants are changeable because a consumers desire for goods and services is constantly changing as a result of changes in income, technology, fashion, advertising etc. Some wants are complementary because the satisfaction of some wants leads to the desire for other wants: a car and trees is a good example. Finally wants can be recurrent cause they constantly have to be satisfied: For example there is a regular need for food.Goods and Services Goods are tangible objects that give people some utility or satisfaction. A service is non-material or intangible in nature. Services are provided when a business or person provides work of an intangible nature: a consultation with a doctor or lawyer for example. A tradesman that fixes a household defect is another example of a service. Services also create utility or satisfaction. Producers and Consumers A consumer is a person who uses good s and services to satisfy their wants and needs.When a consumer uses goods and services it is called consumption. Consumption means more than to eat food, It means to use any good or service to satisfy any want or need. When a consumer uses consumer goods they gain satisfaction which Is called utility. Consumers have to make choices regarding their consumption and are assumed to want to maxillae their satisfaction or utility. Consumers also need to decide how much to save. Saving is deferred consumption in

Why Online Shopping Is Making a Trend?

It seems everyone loves online deals, online discounts, online coupons and more! Millions of people are patiently browsing the web in search for the best online deals of the day and the best online discount websites. A realization settled in me then that in tough economic times, people become wiser. That somehow propelled consumers to browse for the best deals on the web. Life is now highly digitalized! Thus, online shopping and online coupon are now very popular and certainly a trend for years to come.Moms, budget enthusiasts, frugal people or shall I say wise consumers just can’t resist the convenience online coupons and online deals can offer. You can’t blame shoppers to find the best deals and eye-popping discount prices to maximize savings by going through the best online deal websites. Take ShopAtHome for instance, it provides online shoppers the best deals, best products with the best price with just a few clicks.The most amazing part of it, is its cash back prog ram where you can get as much as 50 percent of the price credited to your account which enable you to buy more needed items. Now who wouldn’t love deep discounts made possible by ShopAtHome and other online discount websites? Through them you can freely access catalogs, do comparison shopping, cash-back, exclusive daily deals from online retailers. Plus free shipping is recently a trend too.Coupons decline for almost a couple of decades and has just come back on track in 2009 which also mark the first year of coupon boom. Sometimes, things happen for a reason. The significant shift of the consumers shopping trend is undoubtedly caused by the the current economic status. People now opt to use the internet to find the hottest deals, online discounts, online coupons which also provide shoppers the best place to buy, how they buy and take advantage of promotions.

Microsoft Environment Analysis Essay

Abstract Windows of Vulnerability is defined as the ability to attack something that is at risk. Hackers search and pride themselves on finding vulnerabilities or creating their own within a system. A few examples of vulnerabilities that will be covered in this paper are CodeRed, Spida, Slammer, Lovesan, and Sasser. The worm named Code Red was observed on the internet on July 13, 2001. Computers running Microsoft IIS web server were attacked with this worm. Code Red worm did not infect the largest amount of computers until July 19, 2001 with 359,000 hosts being infected. The worm would spread itself in a vulnerability known as a buffer overflow. It would do this by using a long string of the repetition of the letter â€Å"N† to overflow a buffer. Spida worm infects via Microsoft SQL installations with administrator accounts that have no passwords defined. Microsoft recommends the â€Å"sa† account be set upon installation but many servers are not properly secured after installat ion. The main purpose of the Spida worm is to export an infected server’s Sam password database. SQL Slammer worm caused a denial of service on Internet host and slowed down general internet traffic. On January 25, 2003 it spread rapidly and infected 75,000 victims in ten minutes. The worm exploited the buffer overflow and would generate random IP addresses, send itself out to those addresses. If one of those addresses happens to belong to a host that is running an unpatched copy of Microsoft SQL Server Resolution Service, the host becomes infected and sprays the Internet with more copies of the worm. Lovesan worm A.K.A. MSBlast or Blaster Worm was a worm that spread to computers running Microsoft operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000. The worm spread using a buffer overflow. This allowed the worm to spreads without the users opening attachments simply by spamming itself. The worm would display a two messages reading â€Å"I just want to say LOVE YOU SAN!!Soo much.† This message gave the worm the name Lovesan; the second message read â€Å"Billy Gates why do you make this possible ? Stop making money and fix your software!!†. Sasser worm affects computers running Microsoft operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000. Sasser spreads through a vulnerable network port. It is particularly easy to spread without user intervention but is also easily stopped by a  properly configured firewall. The worm received the name Sasser because it would spread through a buffer overflow in the component known as LSASS(Local Security Authority Subsystem). References Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Code Red (computer worm) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Red_(computer_worm) IBM X-Force: Ahead of the Threat – Resources. advise118 . Retrieved from http://www.iss.net/threats/advise118.html Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. SQL Slammer – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL_Slammer Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Blaster (computer worm) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_(computer_worm) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sasser (computer worm) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasser_(computer_worm)