Monday, September 30, 2019

Poverty and Crime Essay

Poverty can be defined as the deprivation of basic needs or necessities. These are things that are required by human beings for them to survive for example shelter, clothing, food and water. Poverty causes pain and stress to those who suffer from it but according to the Christians, it is seen as a positive thing that makes them more faithful and lack of these properties is deemed virtuous. On the other hand, crime is seen as the violation of rules and regulations of the state. When this is done, the culprit is regarded as a criminal. Acts of crime are punishable by law if one is convicted guilty of committing a particular offense. see more:essays on crime Poverty and crime are interrelated as poverty is an independent variable while crime is the dependant variable and manipulation of one has an effect on the other, that is if poverty is reduced the rate of crime would definitely go down. This research paper is geared towards brining to the light the relationship between poverty and crime. Do they have a correlation? There have been claims that poverty leads to crime and this cannot be denied as in America today, crime prevalence is registered in zones that are inhabited by the poor Americans. It is not a usual thing for a place to have high rate of crime without the cause for it. Poverty is not only confined to the poor third world countries as even in America, United Kingdom and other developed nations there are people who live in penury. In the United States, the poor live in housings known as ghettos and the most affected are the African Americans. Many people refute the claim that poverty is the causal factor of crime. For example in Boston, in the 1830s there were very many cases of crime, which to many was attributed to poverty. This became a challenge to the inhabitants who in a bid to reduce the level of crimes formed charity organizations that were meant for helping these poor people. Many people thought that the poor people are the ones who commit mistakes so these organizations that were formed were designed to reduce the number of African Americans in the war. (Sampson RJ. 1987) In the United States of America, it is reportedly said that the number of blacks in prisons is much higher than those that are in educational institutions. In Boston, it was assumed that because women were the ones who went for charity items, which were given for free by the Boston’s charity organizations. Here, this was not the case as in Boston as the number of women who were imprisoned was 12. 25 percent and not forgetting that this figure comprised women of all nationalities. This research contradicted the much-theorized belief that poverty and crime are related. Some crimes that are associated with poverty do not have a correlation when they are closely scrutinized. These are crimes such as vandalism, arson and wanton destruction of properties. Why would a poor person destroy some properties that could he/she could use? Poor people are forced by poverty to turn to crime. In most assault cases, the victims claim that they lost their properties so it can be confidently be said that the perpetrators are people who cannot afford those commodities and so they think that the only way they could access them is only through assaulting the rich and becoming robbers. According to sociologists, there is a very strong connection between, the crime rate and the families break ups in the United States’ towns and cities. Cities that are occupied by the blacks have reported increase in violent crime rate and this is attributed to the prevalence of the female-headed families. Pager D. 2001) As per the 1980s research, the ratio of whites to blacks that were engaged in violent crimes was not in proportion. According to the 1983 statistics, more murder and assault cases in Chicago took place in areas that were inhabited by the African American and the Latino residents who were low-income earners. This attests to the fact that there is a relationship between crimes and poverty and this is undeniable, if this is not the case, then why is it that areas that are occupied by the poor register so many crimes? The past researches that were done in the 1980s expressed a connection between single parent headed families with crime prevalence and especially in black households. In 1984, all the black families were under female parents and this trend is still growing as the numbers of families with two parents are constantly on the decline. Of all the 360,000 families that lived on five thousand dollars and below, females headed fifty seven percent of them. The ratio of families that were headed by single women between the blacks and the whites were 74 percent to 26 percent. In Chicago, females own most of the poor households and especially the ghettos. So the increase in female households and most particularly those in the ghettos have a relationship between the high rate of dependency and poverty. (Pridemore W. A. and Kim S. W. 2007) A statistical analysis that was done in hundred and fifty cities in America attributes rise in female-headed families to poverty. This is because when men are not employed they move out of these cities and go to look for jobs leaving behind their wives and this causes family disruptions. In turn, this family break-up leads to the rise in crime rates and especially in blacks residential places. Low income contributes to marriage separations as well as divorce cases. Children from families that are headed by a female parent are prone to indulge themselves in juvenile delinquency. When children are raised in poor households they do not even have the proper education that they deserve and this becomes a vicious circle whereby poverty is caused by lack of relevant skills and education. This makes it hard to secure oneself a good job that can help one to achieve their needs thereby becoming even poorer. Marital and family break ups weaken the social control mechanisms that are vital in reducing the crimes rate. When these social control means are in force people look at each other as their brother or sister, they develop a ‘we feeling’ and they protect each other properties. They also help one another to resolve their disputes but when family bonds are weakened, this problem is transferred to the society that is made up of families. The result is that socialism is substituted by individualism or in other words, people become egoistic and everything they do is meant of them and only them. People devise short cuts of acquiring wealth and this means robbery, assault and murder as per the situation demands. George F. Et Al. 2008) When family bonds are strong, both parents assist each other in taking care of the children and they are well socialized to know the social expectations but when households are headed by only one parent, the attention that should be given to the children is divided among other things and it is obvious that when a child lacks proper attention, guidance and counseling, they become juvenile criminals. Therefore family disruptions as a result of poverty leads to rise in female headed families, which in turn leads to juvenile delinquency. In the United States of America, there are some states that have very high crime rate and yet the residents are not poor and there are some states where people are very poor and yet the crime rate is very low. This makes the debate over whether poverty has a relationship with crime very controversial. These claims are contradicted by the research findings on other areas findings in other areas where 53 percent of all the inmates are people from poor areas where they earned about less than 10,000 U. S dollars in a year. According to the economic theory, people weigh options before they commit crimes. It is said that people engage themselves in crime only and only if the anticipated gains are more than the loss. (George F. Et Al. 2008) The obvious logical conclusion that can be inferred from this is that people who are poor and those who live in poverty-stricken households are more prone to community crimes than those who are not poor. Those people who are wallowing in poverty are more likely to commit crimes such as larceny, robbery, burglary and selling drugs and surveillance delinquency. If this is the case, then poor households and prisons should do something to reverse the situation. This is because if poverty level goes up so does the crime rates and this in turn impacts on the prisons that get highly populated with criminals. The government should come up with measures that would help in breaking this relationship because this trend affects the correctional departments. There is no way you can correct the behavior of poor people because they are situational criminals. It is only that they are forced by circumstances to commit crimes. The only viable option of controlling or reducing the crime prevalence is to economically empower the poor citizens. The fact that poverty and crime are interrelated is evident in the case of Detroit city, which is among the poorest cities in the United States of America. Poor citizens inhabit the surrounding area of this town. The system is marred by extreme poverty and loss of social control mechanisms. Most of the students who join campuses never graduate because before they could graduate, they get involved in criminal acts that render some of them in jails. Another thing that leads to the rise of criminal activities is the fact that in societies there are two extreme ends, and these are the rich and the poor. In the United States the gap between the haves and have-nots is very high something that intrigues poor people to steal or engage in other forms of criminal activities just to earn their living. If a rich person is living in close proximity to the poor households, there is high probability that he/she will become a victim of assault, loss of properties and even robbery. This happens because the poor thinks that the rich are the ones who are making them poor and therefore they develop some bitterness that is only resolved by attacking them. (George F. Et Al. 2008) There are various causes of poverty and some of them are high living standards. In most developed notion such as Japan, United States and others, it is not easy to live in cities if you depend on a low paying job. People might be employed but the living standards should be very high. This situation impoverishes the citizens for they find it hard to make the both ends meet. What the government should do is that it should provide those poor American households that belong to the poor with some house allowance so that they can lead a normal life. This would help in reducing the bridge gap the gap between the rich and the poor which unless something is done soon, the gap is still widening. The lack of proper skills and education, limits ones chances of getting a good job Poor people cannot afford to provide for their children with good education that would make them competitive and this is why we should break the vicious cycle of poverty. Many Americans are poor because they cannot secure themselves some good jobs probably because there are no jobs or they do not academically qualify for those jobs. The government should devise ways and means of breaking this cycle. Bursary system or subsidized education for the poor should be provided. This would offer the poor a chance to compete with those from the wealthy households. If this is done the high drop out rate from schools would be reversed as this is what has led to increased juvenile crimes because young children who should be in schools go to loiter in the streets as they cannot even afford to be in school. When these children receive high quality education, they would be able to look for well paying jobs that would help them in uplifting their living standards thereby breaking the vicious cycle. Poverty is partly caused by lack of employment. Another thing that the government should do is to enforce the laws that deal with crimes. The judicial systems should make some reforms that would help it to ensure that justice is upheld. In the 1980s, the judicial system was very reluctant such that criminals received lesser punishment than they deserved something that greatly contributed to the rise in crime. The criminal laws should be made stronger though that they could bite hard. From the research findings, it is evident now that there is a relationship between the rate of poverty and crime rates. Though there have been arguments that indicate otherwise, much of the evidence that has been collected point to the fact that the relationship between the two does exist. There have been claims that there are some states that are very poor and yet there are no high crime rates and that there are others that are among the highest in crime levels any yet the inhabitants not poor. This evidence cannot be downplayed for in every case there must be some exceptions and assumptions that have to be made. Both claims should be weighed well to know which one is truthful and in this case, the truth is that poverty lures people to become criminals.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

English & American Literature an Overview Essay

A.INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS Literature is said to be one of the passages of emotions and feelings to the environment – an expression of thoughts, opinions and the things they want to aspire and change and to all things a person is sensing. It is also a way to make a passive way of expression, like what Dr. Jose Rizal did to build flames of independence in our country. It is also like art or music, but literature is said to be more expressive and elaborative, yet not other people can be pleased by any form of audio-visual forms. Literature is said to be any kind of written text that expresses whole expression and feeling. A simple sentence, a word or even a symbol like and apostrophe or a period can also be considered as a literature. Other forms of literature include: a sweet lullaby your mother used to sing when you as a baby, a rock song you are like or a novelty song that made a major trend in the entire planet, or a simple hum. See, there are a lot of examples of literature and we are living with it since we were born until our last breath. This research will discuss an overview about the two of the most influential countries and their literature: the English and American literature. It is said that these countries became the rivals of the 1st generation of the Earth according to the historians. Englishmen or the people of England and the Americans have distinct cultures, types of government and the literatures that they are progressing up to now. These countries progress in their own ways by means by their own perspective of history and culture that affects their food, music and most especially their literature. B.STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The main focus of this research is about the distinct differences of two cultures in terms of the literatures: the English and American literature. English Literature, literature produced in England, from the introduction of Old English by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century to the present. English literature shows the historical traces of their country. American Literature, on the other hand, was influenced by the British during their colonization in the early times. C.PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study is to know the difference of English and American Literature and how they influenced each other’s perspective of creating literature. It also focuses on the importance of the two types of literatures that the readers will be interested to know and it builds interest on the things that the literatures have in common. D.RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS The research questions for the study will be: 1.What is English Literature? 2.What is American Literature? 3.Is there a significant difference between English and American Literature? What factors affected their differences? 4.Is there a significant relationship between English and American Literature? 5.What is the importance of knowing the difference and relationship of two literatures? 6.How can it influence the readers and our country? E.SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS This research focuses the difference, importance and influences of English and American literature. It limits the study in other forms of literature around the world or a part of the world except the literatures of England and America. CHAPTER 2 – BACKGROUND A.LITERATURE REVIEW In this part of the chapter, we are going to explore the literatures of both countries, from the moments of past to the modern times. English and American literature’s differences and relationship can be scrutinized if the research will start at the beginning of existence of both literatures. A.1 ENGLISH LITERATURE According to angelfire.com, â€Å"English Literature, literature produced in England, from the introduction of Old English by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century to the present. The works of those Irish and Scottish authors who are closely identified with English life and letters are also considered part of English literature.† the basis of the English language today is based on the Anglo-Saxon language. The British people started to explore and invade lands during the 5th century. English poetry is focused on â€Å"bold, strong in form and spirit† themes and the use of alliteration in their poems. The classic poetical piece, Beowulf was written during the 8th century. It was one of the critically-acclaimed pieces of history. Because of the poem Beowulf, there were other poems written that time such as â€Å"Dream of the Rood† by Cynewulf, â€Å"The Wanderer† and â€Å"The Seafarer†, which were considered to be the most beautiful poems. English pros e, on the other hand, influenced by Christianity. The imposing scholarship of monasteries in northern England in the late 7th century reached its peak in the Latin work Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 731) by Bede were considered to have the greatest influence in English literature. During the Middle period, some Italian and French literary pieces were influenced the English literature. There was the weakening of English literature until the Renaissance age (1485-1660) came. Vast literary pieces were published and influence the way how British read and create literary pieces. Works of some authors like Sir Thomas More and his work Utopia (1516) passively expressed the most influenced words to the Englishmen. There is also the famous works of William Shakespeare, breaking records and brought the most influence through his literary works. Some of which is â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†, Hamlet (1601?), Othello (1604?), King Lear (1605?), Macbeth (1606?), and Antony and Cleopatra (1606?)—look deeply into the springs of action in the human soul. There were a lot of changes after the existence of Shakespeare’s tragedies and dramas but there is still the influence of the Holy Bible and the church in most of their poetry and prose. A.2 AMERICAN LITERATURE The influence of English language truly dominated the American soil. According to Wikipedia,†The first item printed in Pennsylvania was in German and was the largest book printed in any of the colonies before the American Revolution.† The Spaniards and the Frenchmen had the biggest colonies in America and the literary works that can be published in English language are only available in England. Native American tribes have also their literary works that they used as rituals for ceremonies and celebrations.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Arkansas/Arkansaw Book Review

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the state of Arkansas? Chances are, that as an Arkansan the thoughts are quite different than those of someone not born or raised here. Hillbilly, redneck, barefoot, and trailer are a just few of the common first words invoked in the minds of â€Å"foreigners† by the word Arkansas. In the non-fiction work, Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol Boys Defined a State, author Brooks Blevins provides readers with his idea of how Arkansass image began, and then perpetuated over time. He provides several examples of the creation and reiteration of this imagine, beginning as early as the 1800s and progressing all the way into the 2000s. Not every example provided in the book reflects a negative image, as Blevins is trying to prove that there are positive aspects, it has progressed over time, and is ultimately the Arkansans perception of it that determines its power. The books provided so much information of the state I am proud to call my home, and I believe that Brooks Blevins was successful in his presentation and purpose! I was pleased to find that Blevins writes this book as an Arkansas native rather than an opinionated outsider with no identity in the subject of his work. I feel that it is this factor alone that gives the book such a genuine feel. I was also pleased to find that Blevins once worked as a professor at Lyon College, which is located in my hometown. This gives me an even stronger sense of familiarity with him. The book is intended to be read by anyone interested in the subject, although it seems natural that interest would be primarily with historians and Arkansas natives. It is this readers interest that actually influences the effectiveness of Blevinss writing. Obviously, efferent readers and aesthetic readers will be seeking different things from the text and therefore take away different things from the text. But in the end, Blevins hopes that all readers will recognize the many ways in which Arkansas has fit into our nation as whole, both then and now. Blevins uses interesting techniques presenting the Arkansas image. The most unique and effective techniques is his vocabulary. â€Å"Arkansaw† is the word he uses â€Å"when referring to the states image and when invoking the mythical place conjured various stereotypes and caricatures† (5). This helps to distinguish general information from information directly related to â€Å"the mixture of fact, legend, and stereotype† that comes to mind when Americans think of Arkansas (5). Blevins also makes use of the word â€Å"Arkansawyer† to describe inhabitants and the â€Å"different reactions Arkansas people have to the Arkansaw image† (6). Another distinction in vocabulary that Blevins chose is the use of the word image in the place of identity, which implies an always active participation in the defining of a reputation. These methods contribute to the tone of the book as well as the readers understanding of the authors presentation. Blevins illustrations of Arkansass image span the course of hundreds of years. The first images presented in the books stem from early travelers to the state. The opinions of most of these travelers were mixed, with many of them describing neanderthal like conditions. Francios Marie Perrin de Lac of Arkansans, â€Å"They pass their time playing games, dancing, drinking, or doing nothing, similar in this as in other things to the savage peoples with whom they pass their time† (12). Other visitors describe humble dwellings, plain clothing, endless hunting and lots of weapons. Throughout most of the books first chapter Blevins recounts the experiences of several travelers who all seem to agree that Arkansas is a state full of lazy, violent people with no regard for the rest of the nations idea of civilization. Blevins suggest that much of the disparity in Arkansass definition of normal and the rest of the countrys comes from Arkansass geographical location. He says that because, at this time, Arkansas is blocked on the east by swamps and on the west by Indian territory it became â€Å"backwater†. Unfortunately much of Arkansass reputation at this time was negative. There are a few travelers that noted the simple goodness of Arkansans at this time. Travelers such as Friedrich Gerstacker and Washintgon Irving presented a softer side to the prominent savage-like image described by others. Gerstackers perception of Arkansans was descibed as primarily positive. He described the Arkansans he encountered as â€Å"honest and upright† and reported that Arkansas was his favorite of all the states in America. Irving said that Arkansans, â€Å"have none of that eagerness for gain, and rage for improvement, which keep our people continually on the move† (22). He had a respect for the slowed down, simple way of like Arkansans lived every day. Blevins depicts both positive and negative travel accounts and memoirs, although he believes that their impact is difficult to measure. As the book progresses through the years, Blevins begins to introduce several famous faces that call Arkansas their home, in what he calls the Heyday of the Hillbilly. He mentions everyone from musicians to actors, athletes to novelists, and intellects to political figures. For each one mentioned, Blevins describes their experience with the Arkansas image, whether they found a way to embrace it or let it bring them down. Its interesting that he does not limit this presentation to individuals born and raised in the state, and includes some that instead have â€Å"adopted† Arkansas as their home state. All of the Arkansans he describes have impacted or been impacted by the image of their state. My favorite part of the book is actually the conclusion. Blevins begins this by describing an incident that I actually remember. In 2000, while the governors mansion was undergoing extensive renovations, Governor Mike Huckabee and his family chose to stay in a triple-wide trailer. The move was quickly met with laughs and â€Å"I-told-you-sos† from all over the country. The best part of the story is that the Huckabee family embraced the situation and joined in the laughter! Huckabee said, â€Å"Let the people laugh. I think that the difference between an Arkansas and an uptight, wound-up northerner, is that were laughing with you, because we like the way we live† (186). This acceptance is what I believe is the central goal of Blevins writing. Through this book, what I think Blevins really wanted to achieve was an acceptance of the Arkansas image. He mentions what he calls the Arkansans inferiority complex and says that â€Å"people of Arkansas are probably more obsessed with their states image than are people of any other state† (186). Blevins suggests that although the nations reaction to the governors manufactured mansion implies that Arkansass hillbilly image still exists, it is no longer in the forefront of peoples mind that they think of Arkansas. Blevins goes on to identify statistics about everything from education to violence, with Arkansas â€Å"generally low where you want to be high and high where low might be a good thing† (188). However, the statistics he discusses show that Arkansas is not always the worst state in the nation. As an Arkansan, I was so shocked to read all of the negative things others about my state, although I have heard some of them myself a time or two. All Arkansans are aware that we are typically viewed in a â€Å"less civilized† light than the rest of the country. But one thing I have always held in my mind is that we cant possibly be nearly as uncivilized as the state of Mississippi.. I laughed to see Blevins use of the phrase â€Å"Thank God for Mississippi†. Part of having pride in your state is accepting that you will never be able to change an image that has been so widespread for so long. Its always better to just embrace it, join in the jokes, and no that no state is free from stereotypes or stigmas. It is a nationwide thing! Overall I was very pleased with Blevins argument in the book. The way in which he chose to approach the creation of the image was interesting and I enjoyed the various accounts he utilized. I also enjoyed learning about famous figures from my state that I had not previously known. He does a great job of presenting the information in a entertaining and real style. His pride in his home state shines through and inspires me to learn more about my state so that I can better embrace my title as a true Arkansan!

Friday, September 27, 2019

Electronic Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electronic Commerce - Essay Example This dissertation will overview a software architecture based on use of Web Services for dynamically binding data in Business-to-Business (B2B) software applications known as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It will carry out analysis of productivity issues for major components of Web Services that consist of four technologies in combination that provide an implementation of SOA: HTTP as the primary network protocol, SOAP/XML for the payload format, UDDI for service registry, and WSDL to describe the service interfaces. Partitioning ability directly enables the creation of application partitions. These partitions are created to enable a more targeted use of back end data, requiring less throw-away caching and improved write capacity to databases. While partitioning will not realize the claims surrounding performance and availability on its own, it is able to establish the foundation upon which these benefits are achieved. Multithreading is used to process multiple units of work asynchronously from a single Web service call. Multiple threads can be executed in parallel on many computer systems. Multithreading generally occurs by time slicing where a single processor switches between different threads, or by multiprocessing where threads are executed on separate processors. Cashing raises productiveness of computing ... Clustered Web systems are typically composed of two or more individual systems coupled together via a network. Clustering provides high-availability by moving applications between nodes (computers in the cluster) if a node fails. Asymmetric clustering has one node active and the other monitoring and waiting while symmetric clustering has all nodes active, able to take one more programs if one fails. Also suggestion for performance measure for software applications such as CRM, ERP, WMS, etc built on Service Oriented Architecture will be given. Contribution of the Project The project addresses the need for a more productive communications framework to allow any company to extend its existing legacy applications with minimal overheads that is especially important for developing countries. Service Oriented Architecture can address many of the industry failings allowing a developer to dynamically connect to Web service A and maybe later switch to Web Service C, without intervention. This work allows a Web Service to provide a more productive mechanism to connect users, vendors, and applications regardless of the technology or devices they use or their location. Based on industry standard protocols and universal vendor support that can leverage the internet for low cost communications as well as other offerings for mobile devices, allowing loosely coupled messaging, multiple connectivity and information sharing scenarios via services that are self describing and can be automatically discovered. This advancement will allow for a common uniform interface to build on their Web Services and deploy them in the UDDI registries for other companies to find them,

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thailand Baht Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thailand Baht - Essay Example The Thai government used a majority of their foreign reserves and bought the Thai Baht so as to give strength to its currency, people were selling Baht in mass numbers and this was further weakening the currency, this step of buying the Baht restored some much needed stability and financial order in the country. â€Å"It cost the Thai government $5 billion to defend the baht, which reduced its "officially reported" foreign exchange reserves to a two-year low of $33 billion. In addition, the Thai government raised key interest rates from 10 percent to 12.5 percent to make holding baht more attractive, but because this also raised corporate borrowing costs it exacerbated the debt crisis. What the world financial community did not know at this point, was that with the blessing of his superiors, a foreign exchange trader at the Thai central bank had locked up most of Thailands foreign exchange reserves in forward contracts.† (Competing in the Global Marketplace) After making several attempts to save the Baht the government of Thailand ran out of reserves and resources and finally accepted that the peg had become implausible to defend. They did make several efforts to save the Baht but they could not succeed. The Thai government had $1.14 billion in reserves and all of it was used and even then the currency could not be saved from a freefall. The government of Thailand made earnest several efforts to save the freefall of Thai Baht, the most important measure perhaps was buying the currency by using their foreign reserves, over a billion dollars were spent on purchasing the Thai Baht but even after spending all their foreign reserves the government fell short of idea and accepted their defeat. To conclude it is fair to say that the efforts were indubitably there but the Thai government got their strategy completely wrong and this is why the currency and the

Diversity in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diversity in Organizations - Essay Example Both these aspects are considered unhealthy for organization’s growth and sustenance. To tackle issues arising from discrimination, organizations have started to adopt diversity management as a tool to tackle discrimination at workplace. This can be best evidenced by the Kosek and Lobel’s model (1996), cited by Mor-Barak and Travis (2005), of diversity management approach through diversity enlargement, diversity sensitivity, cultural audit and strategies for achieving organizational outcomes. Diversity management policies to promote equality in organizations have been widely adopted worldwide, in compliance to legislation and also to derive better business results. However, the results are not uniform across all nations and across same organizations in different regions of the world. Various factors attributing to distinct results and impacts of diversity management policies point to the differing perceptions, attitudes, social behaviors, and interpretations of policies . All these factors describe the diversity climate within the organization. Diversity climate is defined as "organizational members' attitudes and perceptions toward people from cultural groups other than their own." It is important to assess the diversity climate in order for organizations to implement diversity management practices and/or bridge gaps wherever necessary. ... The main questions in the questionnaire include: 1. How would you rate your management/leadership support in terms of communication of opportunities and work performance. 2. To what extent is diversity addressed in formal policies like organizational mission statement, HR policies, practices etc. 3. To what extent do you get opportunities to refer your friends and other members belonging to diverse cultural groups for a job at your workplace? 4. To what extent do you and your colleagues get fair treatment by your supervisors/managers? 5. To what extent do you feel your workplace practices attempt to include all members of the organization. 6. How would you rate the way the organization and your leaders welcomed you when you joined. 7. Do you get adequate resources and support to carry out your work in an appropriate manner? 8. To what extent do the organizational activities encompass different cultural perspectives? 9. How would you rate your overall positive experiences with respect to diversity at workplace? 10. To what extent have you heard someone passing comments that depicted discrimination? This questionnaire could be measured on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 to 5 (1=Strongly disagree; 2=disagree; 3=neither disagree nor agree; 4=Agree and 5=Strongly Agree). Based on the rating, responses can be categorized into three main categories namely, benefits of diversity, inclusion of diversity policies, and justice with respect to discrimination. This categorization will help in assessing which aspect is outweighing the diversity climate within the organization. Accordingly, necessary actions can be taken in terms of training and diversity management practices. Kossek and Lobel’s

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Local food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Local food - Essay Example The English introduced afternoon tea, fresh food salads, and sandwiches into the world today. While the French added drinks to the English dining table, the Indians added spices and new veggies. The English exploration and a rich heritage of food culture ultimately is an incredible masterpiece of local food for the English people. The English start their day with egg and bacon breakfast taken down with seasoned tea or coffee. The cuisine may also include fried tomatoes, mushrooms, bread and baked beans. Children eat porridge or boiled oats during winter and cereals in summer (F, 2007). Breakfast is served hot and taken heavy; a tradition carried down from the Romans one meal a day policy. Although much of the cuisine disappeared during the food rationing period following World War II, the preserved cuisines heavily represent the ancient English culture. The English local food far outsmarts most foreign cuisines in terms of ease to cook and benefit to the body. The fresh farm produces eaten raw provides vital vitamins and minerals as animal products like eggs and bacon help build the body. Bread is a daily meal in England and a key source of energy foods. The balance created by these foods attracts many food enthusiasts and outweighs most processed foods cuisines. Fish has a historical twitch with the English and is prepared to suite every meal. The English have perfected fish preparation and preserved it for light dinner or lunch (Christopher, 2011). Dry table wine is legendary to both the English and the Italians. Wine is taken to supplement food and usually taken at the end of the meal. Wine, however, is a preserve for the well to do and most prefer water or tea at the end of a meal. Salads make an important part in the local cuisines in England. Salads such as asparagus, carrots, and French beans take center stage at a dinner. Thanks to the India exploration, more salads like chilies, cucumbers and ginger have been added to the cuisine. After

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The four seasons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The four seasons - Essay Example Effects of the sun are therefore stronger. The temperatures are high with heat waves and the season brings drought and dry winds. These restrict people’s activities such as agriculture that depend on particular weather conditions. The season also identifies weathering of plants leaves in response to the dry condition so that the plants can minimize water loss to the atmosphere. The weather season also forces people to wear light cloths in order to maintain fair body temperatures. Autumn is another weather season that comes after summer. It is characterized by relatively shorter days than summer is. The weather is cooler and the environment has frost in the morning. It is a transition between summer and winter and can have mild characteristics of either the summer season or the winter season. Shading off tree leaves is another important characteristic of the season. Because of the cooler weather in summer, people change their dressing styles to heavier cloths that suit the moderate weather because changed weather does not favor the light summer cloths. The change in weather and anticipation of less dry conditions also means that people can engage in agricultural activities. The gradual change in weather condition that is witnessed in autumn increases in winter and extreme weather is experienced. The winter season is for example cold and snows are common. Rainfall is more frequent and the low temperatures make it snowy. These extreme environmental factors restrict people’s activities such as movements and means of transport are adversely affected. People are also forced to change their dressing styles to heavier clothes and may have to warm their rooms and houses in order to avoid negative effects of cold. Because of the adverse weather conditions, people restrict their movements and only travel when necessary. Spring follows winter and has less adverse weather conditions. The sun shines more than it does in winter and temperatures are relatively higher.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Strategic Information Technology Management Essay

Strategic Information Technology Management - Essay Example Giving a user-friendly experience to the customer with trusting environment was the main objective of the company. From the very beginning the company started earning profit. In the year 1998 eBay was declared public with $18 per share and in the very next year 1999 eBay share was traded at b$282 a share. Soon it became the most valuable retailer over internet and even surpassed the giant like Amazon.com in respect of market capitalization. The core business functionality of the company mainly depends on trust and faith which the company always look very seriously and deal each people as goods that drive the business. The honest environment and respect for everyone whether big or small business or an individual is very important for the firm to grow its reach to the customers. The sellers who are the pillars of the business are taken care of at every step. For long-term profitability, trust and loyalty are the core strategies for the market development. The idea of internet auction p latform even facilitated the process of e-commerce which helps trade people to trade on anything available in the market. The efficient and effective transaction process of eBay helped a lot to grab the market for which people without any worry can buy and sell products online just by few clicks. The growing company continued its business expansion with more and more products and services and even entered into bidding of cars and real estate in recent years (Gopalkrishnan, Gupta, n.d. p. 1). Information Communication Technology implementation In the modern world of technology information and communication plays a great role in the business process in various ways. Amongst the various technological implementations the most prominent role is played by the concept of e-commerce in the... ‘Strategic Information Technology Management’ uses for an example online retail giant eBay.com because it is one of the popular online market place which not only operates locally but also national and internationally. The core business functionality of the company mainly depends on trust and faith which the company always look very seriously and deal each people as goods that drive the business. The honest environment and respect for everyone whether big or small business or an individual is very important for the firm to grow its reach to the customers. The sellers who are the pillars of the business are taken care of at every step. For long-term profitability, trust and loyalty are the core strategies for the market development. The idea of internet auction platform even facilitated the process of e-commerce which helps trade people to trade on anything available in the market. The efficient and effective transaction process of eBay helped a lot to grab the market for which people without any worry can buy and sell products online just by few clicks. The growing company continued its business expansion with more and more products and services and even entered into bidding of cars and real estate in recent years. The eBay.com with its diversified items and technological advancement gives a great prospect for the company for the growth in e-commerce industry. E-commerce offers a great growth rate for any company than any other traditional way of businesses. EBay took this opportunity to grow by using its enhanced e-commerce based business and its electronic data interchange technique for secured transaction for the customers.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll Essay Example for Free

Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll Essay Elvis Presley had thousands, if not millions, of followers across America at the height of his career in the music industry. Some people say his charisma brought him a legion of fans while others say the music that he played is simply too irresistible to the ears. Whatever the case, the popularity of Elvis brought rock and roll closer to the hearts and attention of many regardless of whether they were devoted fans or fierce critics. Elvis changed the landscape of the music industry in the past and those changes were eventually carried into the present generation. Some of those changes paved the way for a more comprehensive understanding of rock and roll and its roots. However, some of those changes also led to several negative influences in today’s music scene. Elvis radically altered the course of music history by putting rock and roll on center stage. Today, rock and roll music continues to be an influential force in the music industry. Part of the process of Elvis making rock and roll a portion of mainstream music—intentionally or otherwise—is that it also led to a rise in the interest of the roots of rock and roll, which are the blues and jazz music genres (Fink, p. 138). Had it not been for Elvis, we might not be having a full awareness or at least awareness to a certain extent of blues and jazz. Or probably worse, without Elvis, the rich heritage of blues and jazz music might have not survived the years and might have simply got lost in time. Of course, that is not to say that Elvis alone should be credited for the contemporary presence of blues and jazz—even rock and roll. Rather, the point is that Elvis played a major role in letting blues, jazz and rock and roll genres persist through the many decades. Unfortunately, some of the changes brought forth by the popularity of Elvis and the music that he played were negative or were seen in a negative light at the least. The most common stereotype generally attributed to rock and roll music is the lifestyle of those who have sworn with their lives to live the music. The â€Å"rock and roll lifestyle,† as most people put it, is typically viewed as a life lived in terms of three core aspects: sex, drugs and rock and roll (Inglis, p. 62). Apparently, the rock and roll part of the lifestyle is easily seen through the music. However, the inclusion of sex and drugs in that lifestyle has give rise to several issues. One of those issues is the belief that drug addiction or dependency has become an integral part of the rock and roll lifestyle. For instance, some of the rock and roll legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, among others, are known to have been users of prohibited drugs. Through the years and after countless other rock and roll icons, the rock and roll lifestyle eventually became tied with drug use. Moreover, icons of rock and roll are known to have a number of partners in life, some of them even entering into extramarital affairs. One famous example is Eric Clapton who had an affair with the wife of George Harrison. Sex became the name of the game for several other rock and roll musicians which stems from the belief that icons in the music industry have the so-called â€Å"sex† appeal before the eyes of those who adored them. The influences of rock and roll have been far-reaching. It can hardly be denied that Elvis Presley had a significant role in all of those influences that have transcended time more than anything else. Had it not been for Elvis—a monumental icon tirelessly followed around by bevies of girls—the rock and roll lifestyle and the benefits reaped by today’s generation of music enthusiasts would have been entirely different than it is today. It might have been far better or far worse, the answer to which no one can really tell for certain. Apart from that, another interesting thing about the changes Elvis brought as a legacy, perhaps an unsolicited one at that, is that they have varying meanings to different people and to the society in general. Some people who know the negative sides to rock and roll still cling to the music despite having full knowledge of its dark sides. The fiercest contemporary critics of rock and roll may even point out that rock and roll as we know of it today is a bane to the minds of people, influencing their behaviors negatively. In the American society, however, rock and roll remains a stronghold in the music industry to the point that awards are given to so-called â€Å"legends† in recognition of their contributions to music. One of these award-giving bodies is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, a nonprofit organization that continues to uphold rock and roll music as a central part of the American society to this day. Not only have the shifts between the old and the contemporary rock and roll music and lifestyle impacted the society; they have also contributed to our very idea of modern culture. The image of Elvis continues to thrive today, proof of which is the fact that his physical image is one of the most easily recognizable—not to mention profitable—images in American culture. Other people imitate the way he looks, talks and sings. Various American television shows have sought to incorporate his profile into their episodes, from cartoons to comedy acts (Duffett, p. 396). There are hundreds of debates about the influence of Elvis Presley, yet not one of them can deny the fact that he and his music changed many different things about the public’s perception of rock and roll which, at this point in time, still linger. Works Cited Duffett, Mark. â€Å"Caught in a Trap? Beyond Pop Theory’s ‘Butch’ Construction of Male Elvis Fans. † Popular Music 20. 3 (2001): 395-408. Fink, Robert. â€Å"Elvis Everywhere: Musicology and Popular Music Studies at the Twilight of the Canon. † American Music 16. 2 (1998): 135-79. Inglis, Ian. â€Å"Ideology, Trajectory Stardom: Elvis Presley the Beatles. † International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 27. 1 (1996): 53-78.

Friday, September 20, 2019

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

James Rachels Death And Dying :: essays research papers fc

James Rachels' Death and Dying James Rachels is one of the most controversial philosophers talked about in today's society. One of his most talked about topics is whether a person has a right to die or not. Not much is known about Rachels expect for the many articles and books he has written. In the controversy of letting a person die or killing him, he does not try to explain which method is good and which method is bad. He however tries to explain why they both are bad to a certain degree. Rachels does not take one side, but tries to convince why one is better than the other. In his opinion, letting a person starve to death or just putting him out of his misery by killing him is an ongoing struggle. If you let a person starve to death, it might be putting that person through a lot of pain but he'll still be alive (who knows, maybe a miracle cure will be found.) If you killed him on the spot with a lethal injection, it would be a more peaceful death but you would be shortening that person's life. Putting a person to death in a peaceful manner is called euthanasia. Euthanasia is an ancient word that means "easy death." There is also the issue of morality. Would killing someone by their own will or suicide be a moral act? What about a patient that is suffering from cancer? Is it moral to let that person suffer? These are some of the many questions people have been trying to answer for year without success. Euthanasia is a very uncomfortable subject to talk about for most people because who wants to think about having to kill oneself or a person that is dear to his or her life. Even though nobody wants to go through the hardship of deciding whether a person should live or die, it happens everyday. There are two forms of euthanasia. There is an active euthanasia and a passive euthanasia (Jussim 7-13). This so-called distinction between active and passive was challenged by Rachels in a paper first published in 1975 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In that paper, Rachels challenges both the use and moral significance of that distinction. He argues that active euthanasia is in many cases is more humane than passive euthanasia. Rachels urges doctors to reconsider their views on active euthanasia. He writes: "To begin with a familiar type of situation, a patient who is dying of incurable cancer of the throat is in terrible pain, which can no longer be satisfactorily alleviated.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Tappan Zee Bridge Essay -- Road Route Roads Essays

Tappan Zee Bridge "A symbolic span over which Westchester and Rockland Counties will move virtually overnight, twenty years into the future" When Governor Thomas F. Dewey made this pronouncement in December of 1955, it does not seem as though even he knew how true his words would be. It took till 1989 and "Field of Dreams" to coin the phrase "If you build it they will come", but someone could have very well made the same observation during the 1950s in reference to Rockland County New York. Both of these statements cannot fully impress into the minds of readers that changes that came with the opening of a single roadway. After World War II ended there was a great difference between the number of people who wanted to buy houses and the number of houses that were available. This caused an increase of house building and a change in people's way of life. Those decades marked the beginning of the baby boom and the suburbanization of society. Areas around major cities were the most influenced by such changes and Rockland County, New York, a suburb of New York City, was no different. Every spot in Rockland County lies less then fifty miles from Columbus Circle in Manhattan. This close proximity, along with the "country-like" atmosphere, attracted many people to the area. This area was not easily accessible because it was cut off from New York City by the Hudson River. The building of the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1955 became the gateway to Rockland County and its country atmosphere. Many people flocked to this area and it soon changed dramatically from a rural landscape and agricultural economy to a bustling sub urb. The changes that came with this transformation including, population growth, land usage, and infrastructure forever cha... ...e the same dream. This dream crowds the suburbs, which are supposed to be open and roomy. Instead, growth creates mini-cities; pushing the dream suburb farther and farther out, away form the city. A prospective homebuyer seeking an affordable home on more then a quarter acre, in a country setting is rarely available. Instead prospective buyers in Rockland County see the same suburban sprawl that plagues Long Island and Westchester. Because the land has become so expensive it longer is profitable to build houses for families just starting out. Instead huge houses are built on small lots to take advantage of the land. This practice has now become the norm for developments around Rockland County. Today you can no longer look at Rockland County to fulfill that dream. Instead you must now go further and further north towards Orange or Dutchess Counties to find the subur.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Fullers Leila Essay -- Margaret Fuller Leila Papers

Methodological Introduction New historicism is premised upon an ideological attempt to wed the practice of history and literary criticism. In this type of textual analysis, the literary work is juxtaposed with historical events (characteristic of the time period in which the work was produced) in an effort to understand the implications within the text. This line of inquiry serves to recover a "historical consciousness" which may be utilized in the rendering of literary theory. "Poems and novels came to be seen in isolation, as urnlike objects of precious beauty. The new historicists, whatever their differences and however defined, want us to see that even the most unlike poems are caught in a web of historical conditions, relationships, and influences."[1] Such an introspective framework ultimately contributes to a wide variety of conceptualizations in literary analysis; such as Marxism, Feminist criticism, and post-structuralism. This attempt to contextualize literary works in a historical manner is also supp lemental to more conventional types of literary analysis such as deconstructionism. New historicism, however, tends to be representative of a postmodern project which inevitably leads scholars to question the application of historical concepts as an ideological tool in literary analysis. The attempt to establish a connection between a literary text and historical event is often reflective of the paradigms characteristic to the practice of writing history. These paradigms foster a notion of exclusivity which may actually hinder a literary analysis. Such an introspective framework ultimately contributes to a wide variety of conceptualizations in literary analysis; such as Marxism, Feminist criticism, and post-structuralism.... ...ted to sex-based discrimination as determined by the cult of domesticity. Because of the social implications of Transcendentalist thought, the actualization of Leila in the spiritual realm would serve to redefine nineteenth century gender-based exclusiveness within the social context. Bibliography Lawrence Buell. Literary Transcendentalism, Cornell University Press(Ithaca, 1973). Capper, Charles. Margaret Fuller: An American Romantic Life-The Private Years. Oxford University Press(New York, 1992). Murfin, Ross. "What is New Historicism?" in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston: Bedford Books of St Martin's Press, 1991. Kornfeild, Eve. Margaret Fuller: A Brief Biography with Documents. Bedford Books(New York, 1997). Steele, Jeffrey, ed. The Essential Margaret Fuller. Rutgers University Press(New Brunswick, 1992).

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Place of Nonhumans in Environmental Issues Essay

1) Do you agree with singer that, morally, animals have an ‘equal consideration of interests’ with humans? Explain the reason for your answer. The suffering and happiness is the main moral principles of equal consideration of interests. Humans and non-humans both have the ability to feel pain and pleasure, so they should be considered equal in regards to these two aspects. However, due to ‘Speciesism’ which is our society’s way of thinking that non humans are inferior and that we should favor the human species over them, is how we morally justify acts like, for example, experimenting of animals rather than on humans (Parenethical.com, 2014). Singer says that no matter if you’re human or non-human, if someone suffers or will suffer, it is important to consider this suffering and not find ways to morally justify them (Parenethical.com, 2014). Equal consideration does not mean treating everyone the same and place equal value on both humans and non-humans lives. It only means considering the interests of both sides and not just giving preference to humans. As mentioned above, if animals interests are considered, and their pain and pleasure are measured against the pain and pleasure of humans, things like factory farming can be considered immoral (Parenethical.com, 2014). Some people also morally justify speciesism because they misinterpret and think that animals feel less pain than humans do. For example, slapping a horse across its back and slapping a baby in the same way. Due to the horse’s thick skin, the horse wouldn’t feel as much pain as the baby would because babies have sensitive skin. However, this is not the same amount of pain between the two, the horse being hit with something harder, for example a stick, might then feel the equal amount of pain as the baby being slapped. So if we claim that it is wrong to inflict that much pain on a baby, we must then agree that it is wrong or immoral to inflict the same amount of pain on a horse (Stafforini, 2014). To conclude, it is important for animals to have equal consideration because of the fact that animals do suffer, so humans and non-humans do have the  same interest in avoiding pain and that there is no non-speciesist way to draw the line between animal interests and human interest (MacKinnon, 1995). 2) Do the economic interests of humans come before the well-being of animals? People see animals as sources of food and clothing. Experimenting on animals is also viewed beneficial to test the safety and effectiveness of drugs, detergents and cosmetics. In other words, animals are known as economic commodities (MacKinnon, 1995). In the case study, Singer talks about how people are willing to allow animals to live and endure in the bad, unsuitable conditions for the duration of their lives just so they can eat meat at low enough prices that they can afford. This is an example of how society would rather not pay extra money on meat for their own economic interest, over the interests of the animals. The other example in the case study is the timber industry, instead of obtaining timber from forests by cutting only certain dead and matured trees, they use clear cutting, which means cutting down everything in a given area which destroys wild animals habitat. Despite the fact that cutting down dead and mature trees will cause little disturbance. Timber companies use clear cutting method due to the fact that it is a lot cheaper than if they gave equal consideration to animals and went with selecting to cut the mature and dead tress instead (Barry, 1979). Other environmental issues are water and air pollution and other effect such as global warming. People and industries change the environment for their own economic interest. However, these changes not only affect the non-humans but also the humans. The case study gives an example of humans discharging cadmium into the bay and eating shellfish from the bay which can make people ill and can potentially be fatal (Barry, 1979). Due to speciesism and other factors, humans cause pollution and global warming which destroy habitats and tend to not give equal consideration of interests to animals because it results in an economic gain for them whether it is a short term gain or long term economic gain. References Barry, V. (1979). Moral issues in business. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co., pp.361-365. MacKinnon, B. (1995). Ethics. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co. Parenethical.com, (2014). Equal Consideration for Animals  « Introduction to Ethics. [online] Available at: http://parenethical.com/phil140sp11/2011/05/08/equal-consideration-for-animals/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014]. Stafforini, P. (2014). Equality for Animals?, by Peter Singer. [online] Utilitarian.net. Available at: http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1979—-.htm [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].

Monday, September 16, 2019

Regionalism in the World of Alistair McLeod Essay

Imagery is used fairly often in the eastern coast of Canada may have an unforgiving and rather harsh streak, but many Canadians choose to raise their families and practice their craft there. In both short stories by Alistair McLeod; The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and The Boat, the setting of the Canadian east coast is used to develop both the plot and the character. Along with the narration of the physical setting there is also the intricate dialogue spoken by the various characters. In combination, the various customs and traditions presented by the author through language and setting expand our ability to understand the plot. Without McLeod’s regionalistic writing form, the reader’s ability to firmly define the setting and characters would hinder them from his multilayered stories. Imagery is used fairly often in The Boat with the intention of not only giving the reader a sense of space and time but also an insight to the character. The father is displeased with his lack of education and current lifestyle along the coast, â€Å"the sea was behind him and its immense blue flatness stretched out to touch the arching blueness of the sky. It seemed very far away from him or else†¦he seemed too big for it. † (263) The author in this scenario implies the essence of the problem in the story; the narrator’s father is never unified with the sea he labors in, never achieves the connectedness that goes with working so closely with nature. As well, due to his higher aspirations, the father is too inquisitive and thirsty for knowledge to remain in such a simple place. In The Lost Salt Gift of Blood, imagery is used to relay the underlying story and theme to the reader. Fog is the best form of imagery used because of its close relation to the actions and their meanings beneath the surface of the story. The entire story seems rather foggy as it contains dialogue and reflection that occurs in the present rather than the narrator looking back and analyzing the meaning of events. Therefore, it is left to the reader to piece together the story, at times difficult when the story seems incomplete. For example, the fog plays a vital role in the story surrounding the mother’s death, â€Å"It be foggy all the day and everyone be thinken the plane won’t come or be able to land. And I says, small to myself, now here in the fog be the bad luck and the death but then there the plane be, almost like a ghost ship comen out the fog with all its lights shinen. I think maybe he won’t be on it but soon he comen through the fog. † (307-308) As the grandfather relays the story, he abruptly stops, yet never commences with further elaboration. His story hangs in the air like fog; inescapable, shrouding and unable to clearly define. The dialogue in The Boat has an educated style yet is brief and to the point. Each time McLeod allows a character to speak, only the most vital words needed are spoken. Though this story includes description from an analytical point of view, most of it remains with the reader piecing it together. It is during solemn moments that word are exchanged â€Å"you have given added years to his life. † (267) There are also no descriptions of raucous banter among the siblings. This is surprising as noise and arguments are inevitable to most large households. With the knowledge that the mother runs her household with precision, the lack of confrontational dialogue may be due to the tiring lifestyle. The father’s reaction is an example of this after the mother accuses him that it will be his fault if their daughters come home impregnated, â€Å"†¦reflecting the exhaustion of a man of sixty-five who had been working for eleven hours on an August day†¦he turned and went into his room. † This dialogue enhances the estrangement of the east coast; little is wasted, be it energy or words. The contrast in dialogue in The Lost Salt Gift of Blood is very insightful when comes to defining characters. The father is well educated and from Toronto. He met his son’s mother while researching for his university paper. On the other hand, it is revealed in the end that John’s grandmother and grandfather can neither read nor write. Just as John is the only connection the grandparents have to his father, the only halfway point between their linguistic capabilities and his father’s is John. More interestingly is the transformation of language and what it can tell us. In the beginning of the story the reader sees John’s grandfather speaking politely but simply to the father â€Å"well, it is a nice evening tonight†. As the night wears on a mixture of alcohol, fatigue and raw emotions alter his language to that of a rougher coastal slang â€Å"and the dog runned around like he was crazy, moanen and cryen worse than the swiles does out on the ice, and throwen hisself against the walls and jumpen on the table. † (307) The gradual change in language is a minor one, yet it conveys a multitude of distinguishing features. Such features lay ground to a better understanding of the region. Within both short stories, McLeod paints an even broader sense of the eastern Canadian coast using the domestic principles held there to describe the region. The homestead of John and his grandparents is one where things are not wasted, â€Å"cast-off tires also whitewashed and serving as flower beds†¦ originally broken†¦ [the grandfather] helped him fix them, nailing on new lathes and knitting new headings. † (295-296) Anything broken is repaired, redeemed or put to another use. The family is clearly linked with this way of living and deeply belongs in this place. The practice is also an important one considering the grandfather is teaching and including John in the processes. As well, the household in The Boat did not waste things, â€Å"a shelf which contained matches, tobacco, pencils, odd fish-hooks, bits of twine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (258) Items in this family had a place and a purpose. Even small items like twine are collected for a further use later. Along with the hard work in the sea and simple lifestyle, the narrator’s mother kept the house tidy; â€Å"everything was clean and spotless and in order. In the case of the traditional coastal living, the hard-netted earnings from the ocean do not allow for frivolity, waste or an abundance of parlour toys. As Alistair McLeod infuses regionalism to define the setting, an image of the lifestyle as well as the culture of the characters is revealed. The eastern coast of Canada may have a harsh climate and difficult way of life, but through the language used by the McLeod and his portrayal of setting, we are encouraged to understand this lifestyle and those who embrace it. In both short stories The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and The Boat, the plot and the characters are defined as individuals in their culture as well as participants of a larger practice. Along with the narration of the physical setting, an understanding of customs is elaborated through detailed descriptions. With this particular style of regionalism, McLeod left the reader to elaborate on characters and settings he defined, the culture however, remained true to the eastern coast of Canada. McLeod’s regionalism permits the reader to firmly define the setting and characters then allows them to explore the artfully crafted plots.