Summary of Facts of the Case Study free essay sample

For most of those years, the firm’s name was synonymous with trust, integrity, and ethics. In its earlier days, Anderson sets standards for the accounting profession and advanced new initiatives on the strength of its then undeniable integrity. The Chicago-based accounting firm closed its doors in 2002 that is after 90 years of business. 1. 2 The Advent of Consulting Leorned Spacek joined the company in 1947 following the death of founder Arthur Andersen. Anderson began providing consulting services to large clients such as General Electric and Schlitz Brewing in the 1950s. Over the next 30 years, Andersen consulting business become more profitable on per-partner basis than its core accounting and tax services business. The company linked its consulting business in a joint cooperative relationship with its audit arm, which compromises its auditor’s independence, a quality crucial to the execution of a credible audit. Andersen’s consulting business becomes recognized as one of the fasters growing and most profitable consulting networks in the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Facts of the Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Ten years later, Arthur Anderson merge it’s operational and business systems consulting units and set up a separate business consulting practice in order to offer clients a broader range of integrated services. Throughout the 1990s, Anderson reaped huge profits by selling consulting services to many clients whose financial statements is also audited. In 1998, then SEC chairman Arthur Levitt publicly voiced this concern and recommended new rules that would restrict the non-audit services that accounting firms could provide to their audit lients that is a suggestion that Andersen vehemently opposed. Nonetheless, in 1999 Andersen chose to split its accounting and consulting function into two separate and often competing units. In August 2000, following an arbitration hearing, a judge rule that Andersen’s consulting arm could effectively divorce the accounting firm and operate independently. By, that time Andersen’s consulting business consisted of about 11,000 consu ltants and brought in global revenue of nearly $2 billion. Arthur Anderson as a whole employed more than 85,000 people worldwide. The new consulting company promptly changes its name to Accenture the following January and the court later order to better represents its new global brand of accounting services. Meanwhile, in January 2001, Andersen named Joseph Berardino as the new CEO of the U. S. audit practice. 1. 3 Baptist Foundation of Arizona The Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA), which Anderson serves as auditor, lost $570 million of donor funds. BFA, an agency of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, is founded in 1048to raise and manage endowments for church work in Arizona. The foundation also offered estate and financial planning services to state’s more than 400 southern Baptist churches, and was one of the new foundations to offer investment to individuals. BFA invested heavily in real estate, a more speculative investment strategy than other Baptist foundations in the state traditionally used and the foundation officials allegedly concealed losses from investors beginning in 1986. In addition, more than half of the foundation’s employees were laid off. Finally, the foundation petitioned for chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in 1999, listing debt of about $640 million against assets of about $240 million. Andersen, in a February 2000 statement, responded that it sympathized with BFA investors but stood the accuracy of its audit opinion. However, during nearly two years of investigation, reports surfaced that Andersen has been warned of possible fraudulent activity, and the firm eventually agreed to pay $217 million to settle the shareholder lawsuit in May 2002. 1. 4 Sunbeam Andersen’s troubles over Sunbeam Corporation began when its audits failed to address serious accounting errors that eventually led to a class-action lawsuit by Sunbeam investor and the ouster of CEO Albert Dunlap in 1998. Boca-based Sunbeam is the maker of such home appliance brands as Mr. Coffee, Mixmaster, Oster, Powermate and others. The company was also accused of using improper â€Å"bill and hold† transactions, which involve booking sales month ahead of actual shipment or billing, temporary inflating revenue through account receivable, and artificially boosting quarterly net income. As a result, Sunbeam was forced to restate six quarters of financial statements. In August 2002, a federal judge approved a $141 million settlement in the case. In it, Andersen agreed to pay $110 million to resolve the claims without admitting fault or liability. Losses to Sunbeam shareholders amounted to about $4. 4 billion, with job losses of about $1,700. 1. 5 Waste Management Overstated earnings $1. 4 billion at waste management was found by Andersen itself in court over questionable accounting practice. This charged Waste Management was complained filed by the SEC with a huge crime financial fraud over a period of more than five years. This complaint include the company management help and abetted others violations of antifraud, reporting and record keeping provisions of federal securities laws, resulting in a loss to investors of more than $6 billion. In that case Andersen was name as having assisted in the fraud by repeatedly issuing unqualified audit opinions on waste management materially misleading financial statement. SEC documents state that there were amount of fees that capped from Waste Management that would pay Anderson’s auditing services. Andersen identified improper accounting practice and presented to Waste Management official report called â€Å"proposed adjusting journal entries† that is outlined entries that needed be corrected to avoid understanding Waste Management’s expanses and overstating its earning. In other side, waste management refused to make the corrections and entered a closed-door agreement with Anderson to write off the accumulated errors over a 10 years period also change its underlying accounting practices. This agreement was viewed by SEC as an attempt to cover up past frauds and to commit future frauds. Andersen was paid some $220 million to Waste Management shareholder and $7 million to the SEC for this case. Four Andersen partner were waiting for approval and an injunction was obtained against the firm. Andersen also was forced to promise not to ign off on spurious financial statements in the future. After this matter settled, Waste Management shareholder lost $20. 5 billion and bout 11,000 employees were laid-off. 1. 6 Enron Enron is one of the biggest clients of Andersen. Andersen’s new CEO, Joseph Berardino had perhaps viewed the $1 million a week in audit fees of Enron. Andersen also able to make 80 percent of companies in oil and gas industry as its cli ents. On November 8, 2001 Enron was forced to restate five years worth of financial statements that Andersen had signed off on that is accounting for $586 million in losses. Enron had filed for bankruptcy within a month. In January 2002, Andersen was investigation by Justice Department and found that Andersen clients were prompting and its employees jump to ship. Eventually the auditing firm admitted to destroying a number of documents concerning its auditing of Enron which led to an indictment for obstruction of justice. On June 15, 2002 Andersen was found as the first accounting firm ever to be convicted of a felony. 1. 7 Trouble with Telecoms WorldCom was the largest client of Andersen and it had improperly accounted for nearly $3. billion of expenses and had overstated earnings in 2001 and the first part of 2002. Investors was launched a barrage of lawsuits that sent the telecom into bankruptcy court. Andersen was blamed WorldCom for the scandal. However, WorldCom also pointed the finger at Andersen for failing to find the accounting irregularities. SEC filed fraud charges against WorldCom that bring fired of its CFO. There were more telecommunicatio ns firm scandal related to Andersen such as Global Crossing and Qwest Communications. This case is related to the issue of fake asset swaps, in which the accused telecom companies allegedly exchanged fiber-optic broadband capacity at inflated prices in order to show huge gains. Global Crossing was lawsuit but investor and alleging Andersen that artificially inflated audit opinions on their financial statements even though it knew or failed to discover that they contained material misstatement. Qwest was avoid to bankruptcy court and had been admitted of using improper accounting methods and was forced to restate profits. 1. 8 Corporate Culture and Ethical Ramifications From the details of the investigations into accounting irregularities and fraud it appears that Andersen more concerned about its own revenue growth than where the revenue came from. This is because of corporate cultures that have been numerous inexperienced business consultants and untrained auditors were sent to client sites that ignored the company policies. There have another factor include in this matter that is partner’s limited involvement in the process of issuing opinions. When the company grew, the number of partners also stagnated. There also have evidence that Andersen had limited oversight over its audit teams and visibility also balance could not identified when audit teams had strayed from accepted policies. Andersen was hired former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker to institute reform and helps him restore its reputation. After Volcker came, Anderson was offence for obstruction of justice related to the connection with shredding of Enron documents. Andersen was trying to negotiate a deal with international partnerships and salvage what was left. However, the company was forced to begin sell of various business units and ultimately laid off more than 7,000 employees in US. On that time, Alaska Air Group that is an Anderson client restated that an increase in shareholder equity of $31 million. This restatement was made on the recommendation of its new auditor that is Deloitte and Touche which had replaced Andersen. Andersen was fined $500,000 among other penalties. Anderson also had agreed that to stop auditing public corporations. Nowhere, the world Andersen can be found is at Accenture’s website. In 2005, Supreme Court was thrown out his conviction of obstruction of justice. Anderson was found guilty by federal jury for â€Å"corruptly persuading† works to shred document related to alleged improprieties by Enron. However, the court did not rule on whether Andersen’s shredding was wrong rather the case revolved entirely around the adequacy of the jury instructions at the company’s trial. Some expert believes that the court ruling was strictly based on technical issues rather than the fact available during the trial. Many business executive believe that quick rush to down Arthur Andersen’s accounting and auditing business may have negative impact on competition and the cost of auditing for all public corporations. On the way, Anderson’s involvement in many accounting fraud cases should have caused regulatory agencies to overreact. 2. 0 Implications for Regulation and Accounting Ethics Many clients of Andersen going into bankruptcy court because of accounting scandals. This also helps spur a new focus on business ethics, driven largely by public demands for greater corporate transparency and accountability. Other than that, congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new guideline had been established and direction for corporate and accounting responsibility. This act was enact to combat securities and accounting fraud and includes, among other things, provisions for a new accounting oversight board, stiffer penalties for violators, and higher standards of corporate governance. Sarbanes-Oxley emphasizes on the accounting profession about auditor independence and quality, restricts accounting firm’s ability to provide both audit and non-audit services for the same clients, and requires periodic reviews of audit firms. Sweeping legislative and regulatory reform may e occurring too quickly in response to intense public and politic pressure. This reforms may not have been given enough forethought and cost-benefit consideration for those public corporations that operate within the law, that comprise the vast majority of those public corporations that operate within the law, which comprise the vast majority of corporate America QUESTION 1: Describe the legal and ethical issues surrounding Andersen’s auditing of companies accused of accounting improprieties. In this case, Andersen was more concerned about the revenue earned but did not take note where the revenue came from or whether its independence as an auditor had been compromised because of the changes of the company vision and the corporate culture. As a result, Andersen has involved in the illegal issues and unethical issues. Legal Issues * Perpetuate the accounting fraud. The Baptist Foundation of Arizons (BFA) alleged concealed losses from investors beginning in 1986 by selling some properties at inflated prices to entities that had borrowed money from the foundation and were unlikely to pay for the properties unless the real estate market turned around. The investor lawsuit against Andersen accused the auditing firm of issuing false and misleading approvals of BFA’s financial statement, which allowed the foundation to perpetuate the fraud. At last, Andersen agreed to pay $217 million to settle the shareholder lawsuit in May 2002. Its audit failed to address serious accounting errors of Sunbeam Corp. The serious errors include fraudulent accounting strategies such as â€Å"cookie jar† revenues, recording revenue on contingent sales, and accelerating sales from later periods into the present quarter, using â€Å"improper bill and hold† transaction which involves booking sales months ahead of actual shipment or billing. In August 2 002, a federal judge approved a $141 million settlement in this case. In it, Andersen agreed to pay $110 million to resolve the claims without admitting fault or liability. * Questionable accounting practices. For this issue, Andersen was named in the case as having assisted in the fraud by repeatedly issuing unqualified audit opinions on Waste Management’s materially misleading financial statements. Andersen has did â€Å"special work† to earn additional fees, which outlined entries that needed to be corrected to avoid understating Waste Management’s expenses and overstating its earnings. At last, Andersen has paid some $220 million to Waste Management shareholders and $7 million to the SEC. It was also forced to promise not to sign off on spurious financial statements in the future. * Obstruction of justice. On November 8, 2001, Enron was forced to restate five years’ worth of financial statements that Andersen had signed off on, accounting for $586 million in losses. On June 15, 2002, the jury found Andersen guilty of obstruction of justice in case of Enron. It admitted to destroying Enron’s audited documents, which led to an indictment for  obstruction of justice. * Fail to find the accounting irregularities. WorldCom, Andersen’s largest client. Andersen has admitted to improperly account for nearly $3. 9 million of expenses and had overstated earnings in 2001 and the first part of 2002. Besides, Andersen failed to find the accounting irregularities of WorldCom. Ethical Issues * The first issue is Andersen did not audit properly the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA) which causes the bankruptcy. BFA invested heavily in real estate, the profits from investments were supposed to be used as donation at churches but that real estate began down fall but at the same time the foundation’s top officers still continued to receive six-figure salaries. * The inaccurate information and unqualified audit opinions that provided by Andersen on Waste Management is one of the ethical issue too. It is because investors will make the investment decision based on the audit report. Any misleading information may overstate client’s revenue or hide the inaccuracy information. * The third issue is about the â€Å"unqualified† opinions on Sunbeam’s 1996 and 1997 financial statements despite of Sunbeam’s accounting and disclosure improprieties, where record â€Å"cookie jar† revenues, recording revenue on contingent sales, and accelerating sales from later periods into the present quarter. * The last issue is about compromise the independent of audits according to American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In 1950s, Andersen provides both auditing and consulting services in a corporation in order to earn more profit. It has been compromised the independent of audits and it is not an acceptable standard of stakeholder. QUESTION 2: What evidence is there that Andersen’s corporate culture contributed to its downfall? * After having an overview of this case study, we found there are many evidence caused Andersen’s corporate culture contributed to its downfall. First, Andersen more focuses on growth of revenue in his company and compromise of its independence as an auditor. It caused his company become a confusion of its corporate culture. Actually, independent audit of a client is the expression of an opinion on the fairness with the financial statements and free of material misstatement occurred in company. * Second, many inexperienced business consultants and untrained auditor were send to customer company. It caused Andersen’s become confusion of its corporate culture because all of them are unclear condition about customer company policies. Moreover, lack of understanding about company policies will also caused them make an errors in financial statement. Third, when the company becomes bigger and bigger, number of partners’ also will increase. It will caused limited involvement of partners in the process of issuing opinions. Limited involvement in issuing opinions process will also seriously make confusion of its corporate culture among them. * Lastly, Andersen had limited oversight over its audit teams in his company. Moreover, lack of such visibility was damaged by a lack of checks and balances that could have identified when audit teams had strayed from accepted. It will incur many problems. For example, audits failed to address serious accounting errors such as recording revenue on contingent sales and accelerating sales by using incorrect business transaction. Besides that, it will also lead to many doubtful accounting practices such as unqualified audit opinions will misleading financial statement in company. How can the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act help minimize the likelihood of auditors failing to identify accounting irregularities? In 2002, Sarbanes-Oxley Act has provided several Acts to minimize the likelihood of auditors failing to identify accounting irregularities. The act have enacted to combat securities and accounting fraud and includes provision for a new accounting oversight board, stiffer penalties for violators and higher standards of corporate governance. * According to Section 104: Inspection of registered Public Accounting Firms, it verifies that financial statements are accurate. It could prevent the questionable or illegal accounting practices. According to Section 201: Services outside the scope of auditors; Prohibited activities helps enhancing the accounting profession and emphasis auditor and analysts’ independence and quality, restrict accounting firms’ ability to provide both audit and non-audit services for the same clients and requires periodic reviews of audit firms. Thus, reduce likelihood of compromising good audit for more revenue. * According to Section 203: Audit partner rotation, rotate partners assigned to client, so fresh eyes see work papers. The rotation requirement of the audit partner helps avoiding of the â€Å"partner in crime† relationship. According to Section 204: Auditor Reports to audit committees, auditors must report to committee, who work for the board, not the company. This is to powerless of auditors by giving board power to investigate and rectify. This Act also prevents companies from publishing misleading statements. * According to Section 303: Improper influence on c onduct of audits, it allows to removes power from company personnel. This is to withholding of information from auditors by making the act illegal. Generally, the Act helps to improve the improper illegal and ethical problem introduced by the auditors and its corporation. It does help to minimize the likelihood auditors failing to identify accounting regularities. * According to Section 404: Management assessment of internal control, it gives auditor a voice outside of the audit to attest to policies demonstrated by the company. This Act prevents the information slipping by stakeholders by giving more visibility to the firm. * According to Title VIII: Corporate and criminal fraud accountability act of 2002, it makes a felony to impede federal investigation and provides whistleblower protection. It prevents the destruction of documents and will allow investigators to review work of auditors. * According to Section 1102: Tampering with a record or otherwise impeding an official proceeding, public company companies must also report on a rapid and current basic material changes in the financial condition or operation person acting to corrupt or destroy evidence liable for extended prison term, this is to other from attempting to interfere in an official investigation.

Who are the Amish essays

Who are the Amish essays If you are interested the values and lifestyle of the nineteenth century, here is a great example: The Amish, is a group of religious people who live in settlements in 22 states and (Ontario), Canada. The roots of the Amish come from Mennonite community, a part of early Anabaptist Movement in Europe, which took place at the time of the Reformation. At that time, this movement were seen as heretical and the members of the movement oppressed and people were cruelly put to death by both Catholics and Protestants. As a result, of this oppression from larger religious groups and having a different point of view in terms of interpretations of Christianity, the Amish fled to the rural areas and isolated themselves from the others. This separation from the others can be the best answer to why the Amish have insisted on being different from the contemporary world. The Amish continue emphasizing the basic values of the nineteenth century. Their distinctions from other minorities in America are their different beliefs, community structure and their simplistic Until 1972 the Amish were forced to complete high-school, at which point the supreme court overturned this ruling to allow them to discontinue after elementary school. Their lack of faith in the American school system was made them to want withdraw their children from school. They feared that U.S. high school would spoil the children's peaceful, simple tendencies and push them into crime and violence. Instead of public high school they have their own schools, staffed with teachers from Amish backgrounds. In the words of researcher John Andrew Hosstetler, "The Amish school has generally been successful in preparing young people to be honest, hardworking and conscientious adults, capable of earning a living, raising Christian family, and contributing to the Amish community." (29). Most Amish schools today have one room a...

Medical School Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medical School Essays - Essay Example My undergraduate course at the UC-Berkeley, Public Health, has given me thorough exposure to social issues that affect the provision of healthcare. Given the opportunity, I would like to share my expertise with a large, metropolitan city (i.e. inner city). This setting would be ideal for gaining practical medical expertise, due to the thorough exposure to a wide variety of medical needs. Perhaps, more importantly, this opportunity would permit me to develop accountability and autonomy, commensurate with my abilities. Moreover, this setting will allow me to help as many people as possible, especially those in deprived areas who do not have access to proper medical care. Apart from helping them through my medical expertise, I also want to develop them spiritually and morally. Again, this setting would allow me make a difference in more lives. I have a wealth of experience living in an urban setting, which is accounted for by my eight years of residence in San Francisco. During this time, I went to school, worked full-time and engaged in volunteer opportunities. My volunteer experience at the California Pacific Medical Center and the American Red Cross Mobile are noteworthy, because I have seen first hand the suffering that is undergone by the underprivileged, including disease, lack of basic commodities and resources, and even discrimination. My volunteer experience at the American Red Cross Bloodmobile gave me the opportunity to use my proficiency in the Spanish language to help minority blood donors understand and clarify their concerns with medical staff and fellow volunteers. It is also during these experiences that my resolve to pursue a medical career has been reinforced. I feel fulfilled interacting with patients from diverse and multi-cultural backgrounds, and has allowed me to personally witness the existing dis parities in the urban healthcare system. I have

Economic Development and Wilderness Preservation in Australia Essay

Economic Development and Wilderness Preservation in Australia - Essay Example This essay outlines the importance of maintaining the balance between economic development and preservation of wild nature in Australia. Economic development and wilderness preservation are two concepts that go hand in hand. If the wilderness is not protected, economic development is hard to achieve and vice-versa. Efforts to protect the wilderness in the region seem to have been completely frustrated over the years. The Aboriginal Australians have adopted the paradigm in their attempt to embrace the benefits associated with western lifestyles. For instance, the infrastructure that has been installed to service both the mining operations and the remote communities is threatening the wilderness of Northern Australia. With no strategic measures towards wilderness protection within and outside the northern part of Australia, the relatively sparse population of the region will end up with a disproportionate impact on the wilderness. The remote and aboriginal communities of the northern part of Australia have a significantly growing ecological footprint that has had an enormous impact on the wilderness areas. For instance, every Aboriginal community must have a telephone communication network and associated infrastructure. The infrastructures are linked to the major towns of the area through the roads network and a growing fleet of motor vehicles. The establishment of the power lines has seen economic development realized in some areas of the wilderness that were previously remote and with no significant development

Finance and accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Finance and accounting - Assignment Example In contrast, the income distribution for women is highly skewed towards higher income range. The median for men’s income is 2217.5 while the media for women’s income is 1437.5. On the other hand, the mean for men’s income is 2635.95 and the mean for women’s income is 1417 signalling a large difference in income between both groups. Men as well as women see highest income frequency for incomes between 1500 and 2000. In the case of men’s income, the outliers are present beyond the income level of 7000. In the case of women’s income, the only outlier is in the 3500 to 4000 range. Men’s income is more affected by outliers as expressed by the standard deviation of 1701.16 while women’s income is not as deeply affected by outliers as expressed by the standard deviation of 751.55 (Freeman et al., 2007). Outliers for men’s and women’s income distribution can be dealt with by employing statistical corrections such as by converting the data to a normal distribution. Moreover, the outliers in the case of men can be seen as aberrations from the normal distribution of wealth and can be neglected altogether given the fact that these deviations affect the population sample’s credibility. The outliers are not only placed well away from the regular distribution but present an insignificant proportion of the overall sample set. It could be reasoned that these samples originate from clients who do not otherwise fit into the socio-economic group being studied. The same is true of women’s income. The aberration results in small frequency counts that are placed well above the regular income distribution pattern. Similar to the men’s case, the outliers in the case of women can be ignored to produce better results. The answers for part (a) and part(b) tend to differ from each other based on the use of a normal distribution curve and the use of the actual sample. Using the

Definition Of Energy Crisis Importance Of Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

Definition Of Energy Crisis Importance Of Energy Environmental Sciences Essay An energy crisis is any great blockage in supply of energy resources to an economy. It often refers to a decrease in the supply of electricity as compared to its demand. None can deny the importance of energy in todays world. Energy drives mans domestic life, industry, agriculture, and his automobiles, etc. Whenever there is a storage of energy all walks of life are affected. Pakistan face a severe energy crisis these days. Present energy crisis has passed all the previous ones. Pakistan has installed capacity of about 19500MW. The major contributors of this figure are WAPDA, KESC, IPPs and PAEC. WAPDA generates 11327MW and minority shares in the total population of energy in the country. KESC contributes 1756MW, PAEC 427MW and IPPs 5500MW. The country takes this amount of energy from three main sources: HYDREL, THERMAL, and NUCLEAR. HYDREL power is 6444MW, from which Tarbela power plant, Mangla power plant and Ghazi Barotha power plant. The main contribution towards the country tota l power is from thermal source. This type of energy is produced by Rental power plant(RPPS) and Independent power plant(IPPs) under authority of private power board. Pakistan atomic energy commission (PAEC) is generating electricity from nuclear fuel sources. Karachi nuclear plant and chashma nuclear power plant are producing 472MW of electricity. Pakistan has capacity to generate 50,000MW energy from hydrel source only but it produced only 6444MW out of this figure. The country has total coal reserve is 185 billion tones which can serve the country energy situation for centuries. The coastal belt of Sindh separate 1046 Km has wind energy potential of 50,000 MW according to some estimates. Pakistan has sunlight duration of about sixteen hours a day and twelve months a year and this sunlight can generate about 100,000 MW of electricity for Pakistan, almost free of cost. The current power production of country from all sources is about 13000 MW, Whereas demand is about 17500 MW. Thus this significant equality between the demand and supply of power and this disparity has pushed the country in crisis. It has been estimated that total energy requirements of the country in 2030 will be around 160,000 MW, Whereas present generation capacity of the system is only 19,000MW. Fortunately Pakistan is capable of this meeting target with the potential at its disposal. For example, its hydrel potential is close to 40,000MW, Gas can produced 50,000MW, coal can produced more then 50,000MW, and the balance of 1000MW can be produced by nuclear power plants. Only the need of time is better policy making. Energy crisis has its far reaching ravages from economic to social life. The factors which had led to this situation would be discussed in the pervious paragraphs. Industrial growth accordingly the demand of electricity has been multiplied in the past few year but, the government and concerned authorities have failed to keep pace with the growing demands of industrial sector and agriculture sector. Agriculture sector has grown over the years with its own strain over the power distribution equation but not anticipated by the policy. Agriculture consumption of electricity was about 11% in 2005-2006 which rose upto 14%, according to FBS. The rate of increase in demand is many times greater than the rate of generation of power. So, the result is energy shortage. Another factor responsible for energy crisis is corrupt practices of the masses in collaboration with the concerned authorities. Electricity theft is contained particularly in far flung areas. The employees of wapda and kesc are involved in this power theft by providing illegal connections to the people. People also enjoy more than one meter in the same home to evade tariff, It has divided the collection of revenue and also causes loss of power. Line losses of electricity during its distribution from the site of production to the ultimate consumer are high in Pakistan owing to its factors. The distribution lines are in Pakistan either outdated and damaged, there is no proper maintenance of these lines. Line losses from 20% of the total power transmitted through the lines. It means 20 units of every 100 units is wasted and not paid by the consumer. The roots of the energy crisis can be found to almost two decades back with advert of highly generous 1994 policy for independent power producer (IPPs). With this policy a dramatic shift occurred in the generation source and it made the country hostage of an irregular rising and falling in number or amount in international oil and gas prices. The present cause of energy crisis is over reliance on expensive imported fuel mix. Before the implementation of 1994 policy the country electricity generation was trusted on fuel mix approximately 70 or 30 in support of hydro thermal. This changed dramatically over the next decade and fuel mix become 30percent hydro an 70percent thermal by the end of 2010. The cost of this policy could be understood with the following comparison. Wapda is generating electricity from hydro source at Rs.1.03 kwh, While in public sector thermal power plant provided the same at Rs.8.5 kwh. However the (IPPs), provided the same at Rs.9.58 kwh. This cost increased fo r the consumer due to line losses and theft in the transmission and distribution systems. Not only single megawatt of electricity has been added to Pakistan national grid stations since 2000 record breaking economic growth and population expansion. In this land, blessed with fast flowing rivers, there is no reason for us to not increase our hydel capacity to lower electricity cost, Inter central trust shortage, regarding the location of dams is a major cause of this low hydel production. More importantly, those down rivers dont want to see their share of sources of water reduced. The project of kala bagh dam was conceived(responsible) almost half century ago. Had it been constructed on time Pakistan would not faced the energy problem that it is challenged today. Similarly gavader maga project has been built by china and balochistan is its biggest beneficiary but its own provincial leadership is raising all kinds of serious objections to make it controversial. World over coal based power is cheap and largest source of power generation. The abundance of this cheap power in the power mix of a country pulls down the average price of power and more electricity cheap and affordable. Coal based power is not rocket science. It is intermediated technology and takes an average of 36 months for a coal power plant project to come on stream. The demand for power is ever increasing but no maga project has been started since the start of energy crisis. According to some estimates the demand of power is increasing at a rate of 9% while the production rate has increased by 7% only. It has contributed to energy crisis. Not only the new generation capacity was added to the system but also the transmission and distribution network was upgrade. Pakistan has witnessed a population explosion over the years. It had population of about 84,254,000 in 1981 with 28.8% people living in cities. Current population of the country is estimated to be 17,800,0000 with 32.2% people living in urban areas. But the generation of power and population increase have remained out of this phase with one another leading energy shortage.

Ghosts in The Women Warrior Essay -- Literary Analysis

Envision yourself as encircled by strange, yet terrifying and evil spirits that trouble you in your worst nightmares. The spirits could desire something from you. In fact, they could aid you in locale of frightening you. Should you attend to them? What do you contemplate they are trying to notify you? In one of the inquiries above, notice the ironical use of the word â€Å"fact† that endeavors to obscure the fictitious nature of ghosts. It displays that the meaning of the word â€Å"ghost† is equivocal. In supplementary words, the word â€Å"ghost† is multivalued, that way that ghosts can purpose in extra than one way. The word â€Å"ghost† originates from the Aged English word â€Å"gast,† and its synonyms are â€Å"soul, spirit [good or bad spirit], existence, breath,† and â€Å"demon† (etymonline.com). In the book, The Woman Warrior, that is, ironically, subtitled as Memoirs of a Girlhood Amid Ghosts, the author, Maxine Hong Kingston, uses the word â€Å"ghost† as a metaphor to typify her confusion concerning discovering a difference amid reality and unreality – the difference that divides her American present that prefers and her Chinese past that her mother, Valiant Orchid, filters into her mind across talk-stories that steadily daunt her to cross her established bounds. Ghosts, in the book, change reliant on point of view. Anybody whose deeds deviates from what is satisfactory in one area is a ghost according to the associates of that society. To Chinese people, like Valiant Orchid, Americans are ghosts. On the supplementary hand, Chinese are ghos ts according to Chinese-Americans (including Kingston, who finds her past loaded alongside frightening Chinese ghosts). For Kingston, Ghosts, however, are not always scary; in fact, a little of them enthuse... ...Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. Random House, Inc, 1976. Print Bucci, Diane Todd. "Chinese Americans and the Borderland Experience on Golden Mountain: The Development of a Chinese American Identity in The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts." Ethnic Studies Review 30.1/2 (2007): 1-11. Ethnic NewsWatch. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. . Paman, Alex G. "Asian Ghost Stories." Yolk 31 Dec. 2000. Ethnic NewsWatch. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. . Rector, Monica. "Cross-Cultural Understanding: The American Ghost." Semioticon.com. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. . Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

Engineering Ethics Essay

The responsibility of an engineer is to counter to a need through creating or building something according to the stipulated set of guidelines which performs a particular a given purpose. the creation ,plan or device should perform its stipulated functions without fail. However everything must eventually fail in some way to do its given functions in terms f the level of performance. Therefore engineers must always struggle to design their works in such a way that they avoid failure and more so a catastrophic failure which can lead to loss of property, loss of life or possible injury and damage towards the environmental user of that technology through the study and analysis of engineering disasters modern designers in engineering can how to create with little or no chances of failure and what no to do or what is referred to as engineering ethics. This essay is going to focus on the application of engineering ethics and the differences between a good engineer and a poor engineer. It is not a good argument to say that engineers should emulate the public in taking risks because the engineering failure is considered to be an engineering disaster through the public perception of risks. For example almost the same number of people die from airplanes, bicycles and trains but the public perception of the risks associated with air travel is always relatively higher than that of for bicycles and also trains. This is facilitated by the fact that there is much news reporting on airplane accidents and mishaps compared to the rail and road accidents also think it is not a good argument because most of the engineering disasters are considered to be human factors which include ethical failure. Design flaw is also another cause because they mainly result from unethical practices. I don’t think the argument is good because the deficiency in engineering ethics is perceived to be one of the derivation causes of engineering failure. This is because n engineer as a professional bears a responsibility to both the client, the employer, to the general public and to their profession. This means that they should perform their responsibilities in a very conscientious manner. This will not include only acting in the bound of the law but as a n ethical engineer he will try to always avoid conflicts of interest. To avoid this conflicts of interest the ethical engineer will avoid misrepresenting his knowledge by not accepting those jobs which are outside his area of expertise, by acting in the best ever interest of the environment and society, by fulfilling the terms of his contract or agreements explicitly and also by promoting the education of the young engineers in the his field. Many failures reported in engineering ethics usually have many legal consequences (Matscieng. sunysb. edu, 2003). There is a relationship between risk and safety in terms of management and assessment. For example risk management is perceived to be a process that is used to evaluate the probability of harm occurring and also the severity of that harm the results of this risk assessment can then be used to determine how work can be performed safely. If the risk is not acceptable decisions must be made on how supplementary protective measures that will assist in keeping the porkers safe. Safety audit on the other hand is a process that is used to determine whether or not the risk reduction strategy is reliable with the results of the results made during the risk reduction portion of the risk assessment process. Each risk reduction measure should be validated to ensure that is being in accordance with the decisions which are made during the risk assessment. Risk management includes the systematic use of the results of risk decisions when making decisions regarding the best practicable strategy that will be used inn protecting the workers form harm. On the other hand safety management is the system used in ensuring that the risk levels acquired during the risk management are maintained (Industrialsafetyintegration. com, 2008). When accidents occur investigations should be thoroughly done to ensure that the cause is detected. If the cause of the accidents found to have emanated from the designing or creation of the thing then the engineer who designed the thing will be responsible for the accident. One of the dues of diligence to be undertaken in this case include physical assessment test (PCA). PCAs assess the possible costs which will be acquired during the life of a loan. Major electrical, structural, site improvements, HVAC components, and plumbing of each structure are cautiously and totally examined for condition, completion status, general code conformance, sufficiency for their intended use, life cycle costs and extent of depreciation and defection. The other due diligence to be applied is the Probable Maximum Loss (PML). It evaluates the financial loss of a construction on firm soil owing to the vibratory shift from the maximum probable earthquake. PML can be customized to integrate effects of the site state and the value or quality of the building construction. The maximum feasible earthquake used to analyze this loss is defined as the event that has a 10% chance of exceedance in a 50-year disclosure or exposure period, commonly identified as the â€Å"475-year event. † The PML is calculated as a damage proportion that equals the estimated repair charge divided by the substitution cost of the building. The final standard of due diligence to be applied is The Physical Needs Assessment Report (PNA) refers to the actual structural and mechanical requirements necessary for proper building maintenance. The PNA can be a crucial tool in influencing the subject site value and estimated cost in possible repairs or investment in the property. PNA reports can be customized according to a client’s specific inquiry. Upon conclusion of the physical evaluation of the property, AEI provides a synopsis report outlining the costs to correct the deficiencies which have been noted. AEI also devises and presents commendations together with a budget to increase the physical and artistic condition of the property to make best use of its position in the market place. There are various qualities of a good and a bad engineer. For example a good engineer possess a strong analytical attitude for he possesses excellent analytical skill and continuously examines thing he continually thinks of the ways of making work better through his inquisitive attitude. This is unlike poor engineers for they always continue on dwelling on the early knowledge and are lazy because they do not always take time to analyze things. They always lack perception and that is why many up them give out shoddy performances. A good engineer pay attention to all details for he or she knows the consequences of omitting any details. A bad engineer is most likely to be less attentive to all the details and that is why some of the work may have some errors. A good engineer has excellent communication skills for they can translate complex technical lingo into English and also communicates well verbally with clients. A bad engineer has no fluent communication skills and he might also cause miscommunication with his client. a good engineer takes part in continuing education . this is because he always wishes to stay on top of the developments in the engineering industry.. changes in technology happens so rapidly and a good engineer will tend to keep abreast of the new ideas and research a bad engineer rarely notices the changes happening in his job industry and he is also lazy in taking part in the developments taking place is always innovative by developing new systems and also finding new ways of making the existing thing work more efficiently. A bad engineer rarely brings any new ideas at work and he may also lack the motivation when it comes to the actualization of new ideas. A competent engineer shows the ability of thinking logically because he always possesses top- notch logical skills. he has the ability to make sense out of complex systems and always understands how things work and also how problems come about. Incompetent engineers usually have hard time in foreseeing problems and do not apply his ideas logically to ensure that thing flow smoothly in the organization. a good engineer is mathematically inclined. This is because he possesses excellent skills in mathematics for we all know that engineering is an intricate science that usually involves complex calculations of varying difficult. Incompetent engineers are not very sharp mathematically and therefore they are brought down by complex calculations thus giving miscalculated estimates at work. A good engineer possesses very excellent problem solving skills. This is because he detects any causes of the arising issues and solves them immediately to ensure that all things go smoothly. A poor or incompetent engineer rarely solves the problems accordingly. There might be a discontent in his problem solution ideas which may make work operations inefficient. A good engineer is a team player. This is because he understands they are part of a larger together to ensure the success of the project. A bad engineer rarely cooperates in team work for he believes he is the only one excellently qualified or capable. A great engineer has excellent technical knowledge for they tend understand a variety of computer programs and other systems that are commonly used during an engneeriong project (Engineeringschools. com, 2006). There is a very strong relationship between a good engineer and a good person. A good person has a lot of integrity because he is trustworthy and honest. A good engineer also has a strong integrity for he ensures that he is trusted by the people he comes into contact with. A good person is compassionate for he cares about all people in general. A good engineer is also compassionate for he does his work excellently to ensure that no one is hurt through poorly designed structures. A good person happens to be very reasonable and courage because he stands up for what is fair and also points at the right direction always. A good engineer is also courageous for he doesn’t follow the perception of risks according to the public and acts on his ethical standards. A good engineer is also very reasonable because he plans for his actions so that he may not take a wrong step which might be accompanied by a lot of negative consequences. A moral competent person possesses the ability to promote and even desire to secure well being and to diminish human suffering. This is because he or she responds with the appropriate sensitivity and moral feelings when he comes across human suffering. A moral competence person also distinguishes moral and natural harm, right and wrong a moral competent person also shows the willingness to take initiative for appropriate action. He also has moral imagination for he has the ability to come up with alternative courses of action (Cua, 2010). A morally competent person also bears moral persuasion for he has the ability to persuade and also to be rationally persuaded by others. It is very hard for people to make evaluations of moral competence because we know that human beings are always characterized by pretence especially when they want to achieve something. Again moral competence in people is mainly driven by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations which may be personal that the public can not identify. Moral competence evaluations are necessary because if dealing with people who lack moral values can really be frustrating because a person who lacks moral competence rarely acts accordingly (Wilson, 2003). References Matscieng. sunysb. edu. (2003) Engineering Disasters and Learning from Failure. Retrieved on May 18th from http://www. matscieng. sunysb. edu/disaster/ Wilson, A. (2003). Democracy and moral Skills, Retrieved on May 13 from http://webcache. googleusercontent. com/search? q=cache:85JzO3p-0GkJ:www. wcp2003. org/arnold%2520wilson. doc+moral+competent+person&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ke&client=firefox-a Engineeringschools. com. (2006). Top 10 Qualities of a Great Engineer. Retrieved on May 15th from http://www. engineeringschools. com/engineering-top-10. html. Industrialsafetyintegration. com. (2008). Industrial safety regulation. http://www. industrialsafetyintegration. com/risk-assessment-faq. htm Aeiconsultants. Com. (n. d). Engineering due diligence. Retrieved on May 18th from http://www. aeiconsultants. com/www/services_eng_due. html Cua, A. (2010). Competence, concern, and the role of paradigmatic individuals (chun-tzu) in moral education. Retrieved on May 18 from http://www. questia. com/googleScholar. qst;jsessionid=LyNG4rJ0bvDxQshkQ8QxrKd0d7WF2x0Wxm0Qp69L5qJt6NfQ0Hy5! 497373752! -1807481064? docId=95691114

John F Kennedy vs Lynden B Johnson essays

John F Kennedy vs Lynden B Johnson essays The question I am about to answer can not be answered in brief. To fully comprehend the similarities and differences between John F. Kennedys New Frontier and Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society you must understand their intentions first. John F. Kennedy was not an ordinary President. He was one with a certain charisma, as some put it. He was very blunt and knew how to get what he wanted. During his rain as President, he created the reform program know as the New Frontier. The New Frontier was developed to assure Americans of the upcoming sixties challenges. This was a program that affected all. Under the influence of the New Frontier Kennedy promised to defend freedom around the world. He stated: Let every nation know, whether it wish us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty. This we pledge and more. Soon Kennedys speech would be put to the test. The debate over communism or democracy was still going on. The Cold War had not yet ended. During his presidency Kennedy was determined to lower unemployment by creating more jobs. He expanded the space program and stimulated military spending. He also cut taxes to give Americans a little more money to spend. This tax cut lead to a period of prosperity. He proposed a medical care program for the elderly. It was rejected by congress. Kennedy appointed black officials to higher government positions to support a Civil Rights Law he was delaying to propose. Kennedys program was a big hit. A national poll indicated that at least 60% of Americans approved his presidential stature. However, Kennedy was soon going to learn that all of his good will and future plans would be evaporated. On November 22, 1963 John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated....

The Use of the Modifier More in English

The Use of the Modifier More in English The modifier more is commonly used in English in a wide variety of situations. You are probably familiar with the use of more in the comparative form, but there are other uses as well. Below you will find explanations of each of the different ways more is used to modify nouns, as well as in the comparative form and as an adverb. More is different than (the) most which you can learn about on this page dedicated to the uses of most in English. Comparative Form The most common use of more is in the comparative form. More is used with adjectives of more than one syllable - with the exception of adjectives ending in y - to express that there is more of a particular quality. Notice that the opposite less is also used in a similar manner to indicate that there is less of a particular quality (This hike is less dangerous than the one we took last week.) Examples: My history class is more interesting than my math class.New York is more expensive than Seattle to visit. More Noun Determiner More is placed before a noun as a determiner to state that there is more of something. However, it is important to note that the preposition of is not used when speaking in general. Remember that the plural form is used when speaking in general about countable items or people (There are more students this year). When speaking about uncountable objects, use the singular form (We need more rice). Examples: Its important to eat more fruit in your diet during the summer.There are more books to read in the next room. More of Determiner Noun More of is used with articles and other determiners when speaking about a particular thing or group. This is true for people as well as for objects. Remember that the is used to indicate a specific object that both the listener and the speaker understand, whereas a is used to speak about something listeners do not which specific instance is referred to. Examples: He is more of a thinker than you might realize.Ill have to use more of this class to explain the present perfect. More Alone In some instances, its clear which noun more modifies. For example, in a restaurant, a waitperson might ask you if you would like more referring to coffee, water, etc. If the context is clear the noun may be dropped. Examples: Would you like more? - Sure, Id love more. (Mom talking to a child concerning cake)I wish I had more, but the economy is tough these days. (Friend talking about money) Number More Noun Infinitive A number used with more followed by a noun and an infinitive expresses that how many/much more there are/is to do of a certain task. One more ... to do can be substituted with another ... to do. Examples: There are three more tests to correct today.Jennifer needs two more credits to graduate. More as Adverb More can also be used as an adverb to indicate an increase in an action or feeling. The opposite of this form is less (i.e. I like him more every day. OR I like him less every day.) Examples: I like him more each time I see him.She wants more every time I talk to her. More and More The comparative phrase more and more before an adjective is used to state that something or someone is increasingly becoming a certain way. In other words, when stating that there is a growing tendency towards something use the phrase more and more before an adjective. The opposite of this phrase is less and less to indicate that something is decreasing (i.e. Its getting less and less expensive to buy a computer.) Examples: Its becoming more and more difficult to find a job.Peter is getting more and more nervous about his final exam.

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example You may ask what war am I talking about and I will answer with gratitude that this war is the war for the rights, freedoms and liberty to speak and act as an individual. Very significant for our little research is the existence of the person named Edward Snowden. A lot of people heard about him and about things that he has done. Nevertheless I will briefly remind about this massive international espionage scandal. Snowden worked for the government (CIA and National Security Agency) and stole secret documents of strategic value. He then has been convicted by absence on the matter of stealing government property and espionage after which he escaped from country and now is hiding in Russia. The most interesting in this are the files that he stole. Secret documents that became public property after The Guardian and The Washington Post received them from Mr. Snowden consisted mainly from the cases of violation of the human rights on the matters of freedom of speech and private space. These documents included facts about surveillance and using wiretaps in order to spy on the people and not only in the USA but all across the world. This once again made peo ple rethink what illusory â€Å"free† and â€Å"democratic† world they live. Such pieces are only known facts and there are most probably a lot more than that. Where is the line between national security and security of an average citizen and his private life? Do we live in utopia or dystopia and therefore should look out for the cameras like the main heroes in George Orwell’s 1984? I will only add on this point that most recently (May 7th) court of the USA stated that mass surveillance on the people was illegal. That became possible only thanks to the â€Å"crime† of Mr. Snowden and the documents he provided. DOS attacks nowadays are the best way to confront government. Internet and computers are the only sphere where government can be exposed and unmasked. People nowadays live in a

TV shows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TV shows - Essay Example Though the movies have their aspects that set them apart from each other, making them two distinct tales, they share many similarities. They cover similar disasters, which involves a large object heading for Earth, how they decide to destroy the objects before they hit Earth, and men die for the sake of the people still living on Earth. In Deep Impact, a teenage stargazer, with the help of a professional astronomer, discovers that a seven-mile-wide comet is headed straight for Earth. In Armageddon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration learns that an asteroid the size of Texas, which is what remains of a meteor shower, is on a direct path for the planet. Both of these objects are large enough to completely destroy all life on Earth. Events such as these are referred to in these movies, as well as in real life, as ELEs, or Extinction Level Events. If plans are not formed and implemented in a timely manner to prevent the comet and asteroid from striking Earth, humanity will cease to exist as we know it. Both movies take a similar approach to solving their dilemma. In Deep Impact, it is determined that the only way to destroy the comet is for astronauts and scientists to plant many nuclear bombs beneath its surface and have them detonated. Armageddon refers to a similar method and decides that scientists and a drill operator should drill a single nuclear device towards the asteroid’s core. The goals are to completely destroy the comet and split the asteroid into separate pieces, which will bring about less destruction and even offer the possibility that the remaining pieces will completely miss the Earth or else burn up in the atmosphere. In both cases, the teams and their methods are only partially successful. Instead of being entirely destroyed, the comet is split into two pieces, with each piece still heading for Earth and just as dangerous when they were a whole. In Armageddon, the asteroid does break into two