Monday, August 24, 2020

napster Argumentative Essay Example For Students

napster Argumentative Essay James A. IrvinBUSI 472Case #5Napster: The Debate Over Copyright InfringementIn mid 1999, Shawn Fanning, a Northeastern University rookie, made Napster programming. That late spring he made it accessible for nothing through his Napster.com site. Napster is a distributed innovation, which makes it workable for clients to uninhibitedly share their music records through the web with different clients everywhere throughout the world. In particular, this is the manner by which Napster works:1.)A client sends a solicitation for a tune. 2.)Napster checks its database of music to check whether the tune is on the PC hard-drive of another Napster client whose PC is turned on (Note: No music is put away onNapster servers). 3.)Napster finds the tune. We will compose a custom article on napster Argumentative explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now 4.)Napster sends the melody in MP3 configuration to the client who requestedOn December 6, 1999 the record business sued Napster in Federal District Court for copyright encroachments, and appealed to that court to close down Napster. On July 26, 2000 the adjudicator gave a transitory directive to close down Napster, and the following day Napster bid the decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The next day the Appeals Court allowed Napster brief relief against directive so they could additionally audit the order demand. On October 2, 2000 the contradicting parties introduced their supporting contentions under the steady gaze of the Court. The case was at long last settled on February 12, 2001 when a decision by the District Court of Appeals maintained the first decision that Napster knew its clients were trading copyrighted materials. In this way, Napster was requested to quit permitting its a large number of clients to trade copyrighted material without a charge. There are a few moral issues associated with this case. First is the burglary of the copyrighted music delivered by specialists who have not given Napster the option to transmit their music. Also, is the privilege of Napster to offer a genuine support to purchasers, and how that privilege has been assaulted by specialists in the chronicle business. There are, undoubtedly, different sides to this story. The partners associated with this case are the specialists, the chronicle business all in all, retailers, and shoppers. These partners are influenced similarly in this issue. The specialists, recording industry, and music retailers face significant loss of salary if shoppers acknowledge, and choose, that they can basically download music as opposed to buying it. In like manner, the shopper currently has the chance to get music for nothing for which they in any case would have needed to pay, maybe a falsely significant expense. Among the Biblical measures present for this situation are trust, regard, obligation, reasonableness, and citizenship. As for trust, Napster claims that it has placed trust in its clients that they won't download or share copyrighted material. Despite the fact that Napster itself doesn't take any copyrighted material, it has been demonstrated that, as a rule, its clients do. Napster clients have not demonstrated regard for the independence of the specialists who produce the copyrighted music that they are downloading. Despite the fact that the organization is accepting a lot of analysis, Napster has given some similarity to obligation, reasonableness, and citizenship. Napster has shown obligation by offering $1 billion to the account business to settle its claim. It has exhibited decency and citizenship by helping out the fair treatment of the law and complying with the orders of the Court. The organization was sued, at that point documented an intrigue to the choice passed on by the court, lost its allure, lastly complied with the courts administering. One option Napster could seek after is work with the music business to convey certain example tracks to the public.These tracks could be appropriated sovereignty free as advancement for the collection, or Napster could consent to pay eminences. A helpful exertion with the music business has the upside of being absolutely lawful and halting all contentions among Napster and the RIAA. Be that as it may, such a model would mean an extraordinary decrease in the quantity of tunes accessible and would dispose of the sharing part of the program. .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .postImageUrl , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .focused content territory { min-stature: 80px; position: relative; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:hover , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:visited , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:active { border:0!important; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 { show: square; change: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-progress: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; murkiness: 1; progress: haziness 250ms; webkit-progress: obscurity 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:active , .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:hover { darkness: 1; change: mistiness 250ms; webkit-change: mistiness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .focused content zone { width: 100%; position: relati ve; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .ctaText { outskirt base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: striking; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; text-design: underline; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391 .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; fringe: none; outskirt range: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; text style weight: intense; line-tallness: 26px; moz-fringe span: 3px; text-adjust: focus; text-improvement: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-tallness: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/straightforward arrow.png)no-rehash; position: outright; right: 0; top: 0; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .u18da4055289a79b5f 89b65e4cbf49391 .focused content { show: table; stature: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .u18da4055289a79b5f89b65e4cbf49391:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: Menschenschreck Analysis EssayAnother choice for Napster, however it would be unscrupulous, would be that being embraced by other comparable data sharing applications like Freenet and Gnutella is to make record moves over the application unknown. Adding to that, the way that the focal servers themselves don't need to contain any copyrighted records, finding clients penetrating copyright enactment will be unbelievably troublesome. Bit of leeway of the unknown shared model is that if no company, individual or other substance claims possession, nobody can be sued. What's more, in light of the fact that no records are put away on the fo cal server, no copyright is being encroached there. The weakness of this strategy, would be that Napster would in any case be violating the law, and without a doubt new enactment would be gotten and measures would be taken to stop the administration. Moreover, on the off chance that Napster couldn't assume praise formally for their product, at that point they couldn't benefit from it, something they have to do, thinking about the interest in the organization. Maybe the ideal answer for Napsters issue is the chance of a satellite TV type installment. Clients pay a specific month to month charge for all the downloaded music they needed. They could visit with their preferred specialists, get first case on show passes, and peruse conceivable downloads by kind. The new framework would pay the craftsmen their eminences and sell a huge number of more seasoned titles that at present are sitting in vaults in light of the fact that no stores will give them rack space. This alternative has the upsides of collaboration between the music business and Napster. Napster clients will have a similar sort of administration as they do now, with additional items so they wont need to go to no-charge choices (Gnutella and Freenet). Music organizations will have the option to utilize the Internet for deals of all their product. On the off chance that music organizations can bundle a superior encounter individuals will pay for it. In an ongoing study of understud ies multiple thirds of the respondents would pay for a $20 dollar month to month charge of a comparable help. The main predictable drawback of this arrangement is the believability of the record organizations coordinating in such an exertion.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Einstein And Life Essays - Albert Einstein, Sigma Xi,

Einstein And Life At the point when I was a genuinely gifted youngster I turned out to be altogether dazzled with the vanity of the expectations and strivings that pursuit most men fretfully through life. Additionally, I before long found the cold-bloodedness of that pursuit, which in those years was significantly more deliberately concealed by fraud and sparkling words than is the situation today. By the minor presence of his stomach everybody was sentenced to take part in that pursuit. The stomach likely could be fulfilled by such investment, yet not man to the extent that he is a reasoning and feeling being. As the primary a long distance was religion, which is embedded into each kid by method of the conventional instruction machine. In this manner I came - however the offspring of completely skeptical (Jewish) guardians - to a profound strictness, which, be that as it may, arrived at an unexpected end at twelve years old. Through the perusing of famous logical books I before long arrived at the co nviction that much in the narratives of the Bible couldn't be valid. The outcome was a decidedly enthusiast blow out of freethinking combined with the feeling that young is deliberately being beguiled by the state through untruths; it was a devastating impression. Doubt of each sort of power became out of this experience, a suspicious demeanor toward the feelings that were alive in a particular social condition a mentality that has never again left me, despite the fact that, later on, it has been tempered by a superior knowledge into the causal associations. It is very obvious to me that the strict heaven of youth, which was consequently lost, was a first endeavor to liberate myself from the chains of the just close to home, from a presence ruled by wishes, expectations, and crude sentiments. Out there was this immense world, which exists freely of us people and which remains before us like an extraordinary, everlasting conundrum, at any rate halfway available to our investigation a nd thinking. The consideration of this world allured as a freedom, and I before long saw that numerous a man whom I had figured out how to regard and to respect had discovered internal opportunity and security in its interest. The psychological handle of this extra-individual world inside the casing of our capacities introduced itself to my brain, half deliberately, half unknowingly, as a preeminent objective. So also inspired men of the present and of the past, just as the bits of knowledge they had accomplished, were the companions who couldn't be lost. The way to this heaven was not as agreeable and appealing as the way to the strict heaven; however it has shown itself dependable, and I have never lamented having picked it. History Essays

Saturday, July 25, 2020

100 Must-Read Books Translated From French

100 Must-Read Books Translated From French French is a rich language, and its literature is richer still. Where to start with getting to know this literature? In honour of Bastille Day and Belgiums National Day in July, I humbly suggest the (non-exclusive) list of books below. Theyve all been translated into English (sometimes multiple times) and are must-reads for different reasons. Maybe they are oft-studied classics, or written by popular contemporary authors, or the language is beautiful, or the themes are important, or they are representative of a genre that is done well by Francophone writers. There are poems, plays, novels, essays, and bandes dessinées. There are books from Québec and Belgium and various French-speaking African countries as well as France itself. (Thanks to wordswithoutborders.org, frenchculture.org, and various university syllabi for helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge.) A Bag of Marbles, by  Joseph Joffo A Dilemma, by Joris-Karl Huysmans, transl. Justin Vicari A Novel Bookstore, by Laurence Cossé, transl. Alison Anderson   A Very Long Engagement, by Sébastien Japrisot, transl. Linda Coverdale After the Crash, by Michel Bussi, transl. Sam Taylor Algerian White, by Assia Djebar, transl. David Kelley Ambiguous Adventure, by Cheikh Hamidou Kane, transl. Katherine Woods Antigone, by Anouilh, transl. Barbara Bray Apocalypse Baby, by Virginie Despentes, transl. Sian Reynolds Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne, transl George Makepeace Towle Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief, by Maurice Leblanc Asterix in Britain, by René Gosciny and Albert Uderzo, transl. Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge Bel-Ami, by Guy de Maupassant, transl. Douglas Parmee Benny Shrimp, by Katarine Mazetti, transl. Sarah Death Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan, transl. Irene Ash Candide: Or, Optimism, by Voltaire, transl. Theo Cuffe Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, transl. Lowell Bair Dangerous Liaisons, by Pierre-Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos, transl. Helen Constantine Destination Moon, by Hergé, transl. Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper Dreams of my Russian Summers, by Andreï Makine, transl. Geoffrey Strachan Elise or The Real Life, by Claire Etcherelli, transl. JP Wilson Exercises In Style, by Raymond Queneau, transl. Barbara Wright Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, by Assia Djebar, transl. Dorothy S. Blair Fear and Trembling, by Amélie Nothomb, transl. Adriana Hunter For Bread Alone, by Mohamed Choukri, transl. Paul Bowles French Women Poets of Nine Centuries: The Distaff and the Pen, by Norman R Shapiro Germinal, by Emile Zola, transl. Roger Pearson Gods Bits of Wood,  by Sembène Ousmane, transl. Ros Schwartz How to Talk about Books You Havent Read, by Pierre Bayard, transl. Jeffrey Mehlman Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gavalda, transl. Alison Anderson I Am Fifteen and I Dont Want to Die, by Christine Arnothy If Only It Were True, by Marc Levy, transl. Jeremy Leggatt In the Name of God, by Yasmina Khadra, transl. Linda Black Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, by Faïza Guène, transl. Sarah Adams Last Love Poems of Paul Eluard, by Paul Eluard, transl. Marilyn Kallet Eugelionne, by Louky Bersianik Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, transl.  Charles Wilbour Madame Bovary, by Flaubert, transl. Lydia Davis Maigrets First Case, by Georges Simenon, transl. Ros Schwartz Mission to Kala, by Mongo Beti, transl. Peter Green Moderato Cantabile, by Marguerite Dumas, transl. Richard Seaver My Fathers Glory My Mothers Castle: Marcel Pagnols Memories of Childhood, by Marcel Pagnol, transl. Rita Barisse Nedjma, by Yacine Kateb, transl. Richard Howard No Exit, by Jean-Paul Sartre, transl. Stuart Gilbert Losing North: Essays on Cultural Exile, by Nancy Huston, transl. Nancy Huston Oscar and the Lady in Pink, by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, transl. Adriana Hunter Poems of Emile Verhaeren, by Emile Verhaeren, transl. Alma Strettell Rhinoceros, by Eugène Ionesco Sarahs Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay Savage Seasons, by Kettly Mars, transl. Jeanine Herman Selected Poems, by Emile Nelligan, transl. P.F. Nelligan Silent Day in Tangier, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. D. Lobdelli So Long a Letter, by Mariama Bâ, transl. Modupe Bode-Thomas Sphinx, by Anne Garréta, transl. Emma Ramadan Submission by Michel Houellebecq, transl. Lorin Stein Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky, transl. Sandra Smith Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas, by Patrick Modiano, transl. Mark Polizzotti Swanns Way, by Marcel Proust, transl. Lydia Davis The Cid, by Pierre Corneille, transl. John Cairncross The Complete Essays, by Michel de Montaigne, transl. M.A. Screech The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, transl. Robin Buss The Dark Child by Camara Laye, transl. Ernest Jones and James Kirkup The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby, transl. Jeremy Leggatt The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, transl. Alison Anderson The Exchange of Princesses, by Chantal Thomas, transl. John Cullen The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe, by Romain Puertolas, transl. Sam Taylor The Fairies are Thirsty, by Denise Boucher, transl. Alan Brown The Flowers of Evil, by Charles Baudelaire, transl. James N McGowan The Foreign Student, by Philippe Labro The Grand Repudiation,  by Rachid Boujedra, transl. Golda Lambrova The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo The Illusionist, by Francois Mallet-Joris, transl. Terry Castle The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere, transl. Henri van Laun The Library of Unrequited Love, by Sophie Divry, transl. Sian Reynolds The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, transl. Richard Howard The Lover, by Marguerite Duras, transl. Barbara Bray The Meursault Investigation, by Kamel Daoud, transl. John Cullen The Poor Mans Son by Mouloud Feraoun, transl. James D Le Sueur The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, transl. Roger Gard The Red Collar, by Jean-Christophe Rufin, transl. Adriana Hunter The Rights of the Reader, by Daniel Pennac, transl. Sarah Ardizzone The Sand Child, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. Alan Sheridan The Savage Night, by Mohammed Dib, transl. C. Dickson The Scar, by Bruce Lowery, transl. Bruce Lowery The Scorpion: Or, The Imaginary Confession, by Albert Memmi, transl. Eleanor Levieux The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir, transl. Constance Borde The Simple Past, by Driss Chraibi, trans. Hugh A. Harter The Song of Roland, by Unknown Author, transl. Dorothy L Sayers The Stranger, by Albert Camus, transl. Matthew Ward The Suns of Independence, by Ahmadou Kourouma, transl. Adrian Adams The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, transl. Tom Gauld The Wound, by Laurent Mauvignier, transl. Nicole and David Bell The Wretched of the Earth, by Frantz Fanon, transl. Richard Philcox The Year of the Elephant, by Leila Abouzeid, transl. Barbara Parmenter Thérèse and Isabelle, by Vioilette Leduc, transl. Sophie Lewis Tom Is Dead, by Marie Darriesseucq, transl. Lea Hills Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne, transl. Scott McKowen Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Beckett, transl. Samuel Beckett Will You Be There?  by Guillaume Musso With Downcast Eyes, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. Joachim Neugroschel

Friday, May 22, 2020

Essay on Machiavelli and the Roman Empire - 1489 Words

Machiavelli argued, as Hegel would later, that one must look to history and the accounts of previous nations events in order to quot;sense...that flavor that they have in themselvesquot; in common with those from the past (Discourses 6). This seems to follow the adage that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, yet for Machiavelli he seems more concerned with actually emulating history in order to repeat success than looking out for particular things to avoid. For this reason, he pulls examples from an eclectic range of histories in order to demonstrate how his principles in both The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, when followed, will lead to a successful state. In particular, he refers to the Roman Republic†¦show more content†¦Starting out as a principality, one prince after the other begins to quot;surpass the others in sumptuousness and lasciviousness,quot; prompting the people to overthrow him to rid themselves of his tyranny. An aristocracy , which Machiavelli means as a rule of the Good, then takes control, but shortly thereafter they too succumb to the temptation of exploiting their power. Again, the masses must usurp the rule of the few and, still remembering what events had transpired in the past, they keep the power for themselves and establish a popular state. In spite of their good intentions, the people soon find they cant keep a firm control on the populace (quot;a thousand injuries were done every dayquot;) so they regress to a principality. Such a sequence of events would likely go on ad infinitum if the transitions didnt weaken the state to such a degree that its lasting one complete turn of the cycle is less likely than becoming quot;subject to a neighboring state that is ordered better than itquot; (Discourse 11-13). The history of France during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is exemplary of how a state, fortunate to not have been overtaken, will cycle through different types of rule due to the eventual erosionShow MoreRelatedPolitical Ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and Thomas Hobbes692 Words   |  3 PagesPolitical Ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and Thomas Hobbes The sections that I will be presenting are 73, 74, and 75. I will discuss the political ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and Thomas Hobbes during the time of Florence Republic. First, Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy in 1469 at a time when the country was in political upheaval. 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Friday, May 8, 2020

Is Critical Thinking Overrated Or Under Developed

Is Critical Thinking Overrated or Under-Utilized in Higher Education? By Dr. Bruce A. Johnson | Submitted On December 27, 2015 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter 1 Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Dr. Bruce A. Johnson Critical thinking is listed as a desired skill or preferred outcome within many higher education courses. It is something that students are expected to demonstrate through their involvement in the class and learning activities. It may be listed in a rubric and/or stated in the course syllabus, depending upon the requirements of the program or the school itself. There may be varying degrees as to how it is demonstrated and then evaluated, ranging from occasionally to always within a rubric description. It is a common practice to provide students with the course rubrics at the start of class; however, the question becomes: Do students usually know what critical thinking means? Do instructors or schools provide a standard definition? Additional questions that arise include: Do instructors understand the meaning of critical thinking and are they provided with an explanation by the school? These are questions that I sought to answer and I spent over two years talking to instructors andShow MoreRelatedQuestions On T H T Company1899 Words   |  8 Pagesovercome the problem of heuristic processing of the human mind, an individual has to repave such response with more accurately computed response, by mostly knowledge gap in learning the information or the rules. This would bring about less rational thinking errors made by the human mind. 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That school was somewhat displaced in theRead MorePerformance Appraisal17716 Words   |  71 Pagesways-by directing employee behaviour towards organizational goals, as was done by the second beekeeper (see opening case), and by monitoring that behaviour to ensure that the goals are met. Making Correct Decisions As stated above, appraisal is a critical input in making decisions on such issues as pay raise, promotion, transfer, training, discharges and completion of probationary periods. Right decision on each of these can contribute to competitive strength of an organization. If promotion, forRead MoreTyco Scandal Essay9472 Words   |  38 Pages become CEO in 1992, and became chairman of the board in 1993. Kozlowski was known for his vicious acquisitions, and gained a lot of attention by his extremely lavish lifestyle. Mark Swartz was the Chief Finance Officer of the company and worked under Kozlowski. It was determined during trial that the two had worked synonymously in committing fraud, and working against the shareholders. Both of them ended up receiving the same punishment for their dual efforts in committing the crimes. By the timeRead MoreItsc 2439 Ch1-12 Study Guides Essay28023 Words   |  113 Pagesadvantage of assigning primary responsibility for user support to the IT department is that all computer activities are combined and users know who to contact about various computer problems. ____ 36. A disadvantage of organizing user support under the IT department is that IT staff often have priorities other than user support that they feel are more important. ____ 37. The outsourcing method of support may be combined with an in-house support function in some organizations. ____ 38. SupportRead MoreMID TERM STUDY GUIDE Essay16611 Words   |  67 PagesNormal child development brings with it a variety of tasks such as achieving independence and forming basic values. (T) 7. Children in todays world are more protected than earlier generations and are not expected to mature as quickly or make critical decisions as early. (F) 8. The resilience approach to understanding children provides one example of looking at the deficiencies of human beings (F) 9. Children, as well as adults, need to be treated as worthwhile individuals who can think

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Natural Resources and Energy in the Rainforests Free Essays

The beauty, majesty, and timelessness of a primary rainforest is indescribable. It is impossible to capture on film, to describe in words, or to explain to those who have never had the awe-inspiring experience of standing in the heart of a primary rainforest. Rainforests have evolved over millions of years to turn into the incredibly complex environments they are today. We will write a custom essay sample on Natural Resources and Energy in the Rainforests or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rainforests represent a store of living and breathing renewable natural resources that for eons, by virtue of their richness in both animal and plant species, have contributed a wealth of resources for the survival and well-being of humankind. These resources have included basic food supplies, clothing, shelter, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials, and medicine for all those who have lived in the majesty of the forest. However, the inner dynamics of a tropical rainforest is an intricate and fragile system. Everything is so interdependent that upsetting one part can lead to unknown damage or even destruction of the whole. Sadly, it has taken only a century of human intervention to destroy what nature designed to last forever. The scale of human pressures on ecosystems everywhere has increased enormously in the last few decades. Since 1980 the global economy has tripled in size and the world population has increased by 30 percent. Consumption of everything on the planet has risen- at a cost to our ecosystems. In 2001, The World Resources Institute estimated that the demand for rice, wheat, and corn is expected to grow by 40% by 2020, increasing irrigation water demands by 50% or more. They further reported that the demand for wood could double by the year 2050; unfortunately, it is still the tropical forests of the world that supply the bulk of the world’s demand for wood. In 1950, about 15 percent of the Earth’s land surface was covered by rainforest. Today, more than half has already gone up in smoke. In fewer than fifty years, more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests have fallen victim to fire and the chain saw, and the rate of destruction is still accelerating. Unbelievably, more than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. That is more than 150 acres lost every minute of every day, and 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues. It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year. If nothing is done to curb this trend, the entire Amazon could well be gone within fifty years. Massive deforestation brings with it many ugly consequences-air and water pollution, soil erosion, malaria epidemics, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the eviction and decimation of indigenous Indian tribes, and the loss of biodiversity through extinction of plants and animals. Fewer rainforests mean less rain, less oxygen for us to breathe, and an increased threat from global warming. But who is really to blame? Consider what we industrialized Americans have done to our own homeland. We converted 90 percent of North America’s virgin forests into firewood, shingles, furniture, railroad ties, and paper. Other industrialized countries have done no better. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, and other tropical countries with rainforests are often branded as â€Å"environmental villains† of the world, mainly because of their reported levels of destruction of their rainforests. Why should the loss of tropical forests be of any concern to us in light of our own poor management of natural resources? The loss of tropical rainforests has a profound and devastating impact on the world because rainforests are so biologically diverse, more so than other ecosystems (e. g. , temperate forests) on Earth. Consider these facts: †¢A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe’s rivers. †¢A 25-acre plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain more than 700 species of trees a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America. A single rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than are found in the entire United States. †¢One single tree in Peru was found to harbor forty-three different species of ants – a total that approximates the entire number of ant species in the British Isles. †¢The number of species of fish in the Amazon exceeds the number found in the entire Atlantic Ocean. The biodiversity of the tropical rainforest is so immense that less than 1 percent of its millions of species have been studied by scientists for their active constituents and their possible uses. When an acre of tropical rainforest is lost, the impact on the number of plant and animal species lost and their possible uses is staggering. Scientists estimate that we are losing more than 137 species of plants and animals every single day because of rainforest deforestation. Surprisingly, scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than they have of how many species there are on Earth. Estimates vary from 2 million to 100 million species, with a best estimate of somewhere near 10 million; only 1. million of these species have actually been named. Today, rainforests occupy only 2 percent of the entire Earth’s surface and 6 percent of the world’s land surface, yet these remaining lush rainforests support over half of our planet’s wild plants and trees and one-half of the world’s wildlife. Hundreds and thousands of these rainforest species are being extinguished before they have even been identified, much less catalogued and studied. The magnitude of this loss to the world was most poignantly described by Harvard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist Edward O.  Wilson over a decade ago: â€Å"The worst thing that can happen during the 1980s is not energy depletion, economic collapses, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a totalitarian government. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process ongoing in the 1980s that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendants are least likely to forgive us for. † Yet still the destruction continues. If deforestation continues at current rates, scientists estimate nearly 80 to 90 percent of tropical rainforest ecosystems will be destroyed by the year 2020. This destruction is the main force driving a species extinction rate unmatched in 65 million years. As human beings continue on the quest to find more efficient and economical ways of creating a better life, the world at large is feeling the effects. Searching for new land to build and to grow crops on has created a predictable disturbance to the biogeochemical cycle in rainforests. The biogeochemical chemical cycles in a rainforest rotates through both the biological and the geological world, this can be described as the biogeochemical process. Of course a rainforest takes hundreds of thousands of years to become lush and tropical, while it takes big business a matter of hours to demolish the land and begin building, farming or drilling oil wells on. The plants and animals in rain forest either remain undiscovered, become extinct or are lost to the destruction of the heavy machinery used to clear the land. This has an immense effect on the biogeochemical cycles in the rainforest. Reservoirs are affected and the trees of tropical rain forests are unable to bring water up from the forest floor that would naturally be evaporated into the atmosphere. This is a cycle that is necessary for the whole planet. Oxygen is released into the atmosphere by autotrophs during photosynthesis and taken up by both autotrophs and heterotrophs during respiration. In fact, all of the oxygen in the atmosphere is biogenic; that is, it was released from water through photosynthesis by autotrophs. It took about 2 billion years for autotrophs (mostly cyanobacteria) to raise the oxygen content of the atmosphere to the 21% that it is today; this opened the door for complex organisms such as multicellular animals, which need a lot of oxygen. (McShaffrey, 2006) This is typically the responsibly of trees in a rainforest to carry chemicals from the land into the atmosphere. Human beings are having a major impact on this action being completed. During the clearing of these rainforests, humans burn the area to be excavated and the carbon cycle in the area is then disrupted. Fossil fuels release into the atmosphere excess carbon dioxide. More carbon dioxide is then released into the air and the oceans eventually causing a common condition called global warming. Global warming simply means that the carbon dioxide produced in the atmosphere is permitting more energy to reach the Earth’s surface from the sun than is escaping from the Earth’s surface into space. Reference http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm How to cite Natural Resources and Energy in the Rainforests, Essay examples

Monday, April 27, 2020

Revenue Recognition Fraud Essay Example

Revenue Recognition Fraud Essay Revenue Recognition Fraud: Methods and Reason In today’s corporate arena, fraud has taken its seat among the top priorities of those who make policies and set standards. The majority of large-scale fraud is perpetrated by the improper recognition of company revenues and is, in practice, generally simple. Revenue recognition fraud can be carried out by keeping the books open past the end of the accounting period, recording consignment goods as sales, improper bill-and-hold transactions, failure to record offsetting accruals, and many other methods that boost earnings. Internal auditors need to understand the types of revenue recognition fraud and the internal controls that prevent the use of improper techniques. This knowledge will allow them to help management and the board of directors in protecting the reliability of financial reporting. Techniques for Revenue Recognition Fraud Revenue recognition fraud is not always difficult to understand. In many cases it’s rather easy to see once someone points it out. In his article â€Å"Timing is of the Essence,† Joseph T. Wells explains that the most common method of revenue recognition fraud is holding the books open past the end of the accounting period. He states, â€Å"proper accounting cut-off tests prevent most of these problems, but not all,† [Wells 2001]. He goes on to explain that companies can stop time clocks and continue shipping goods until sales targets are met, but competent auditors should notice that something obvious or at least suspicious is happening. Playing with time is not the only way to improperly recognize revenue. Another way to commit revenue recognition fraud is by recording goods on consignment as sales. We will write a custom essay sample on Revenue Recognition Fraud specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Revenue Recognition Fraud specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Revenue Recognition Fraud specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Consignment goods are those that a party ships to a selling agent. The shipment of these goods to the selling agent should never be recorded as a sale because they are still inventory of the consigning company. This method of revenue recognition fraud is detected by the reversal of sales that must take place in order to correctly record the revenue. Again, auditors should be able to identify these situations and take necessary actions [Wells 2001]. Along with these two methods, bill-and-hold transactions can be used to prematurely recognize revenue. Douglas R. Carmichael, in his article â€Å"Hocus-Pocus Accounting,† says that bill-and-hold scams are â€Å"difficult to audit and have long been associated with incidents of financial fraud,† [Carmichael 1999]. In a bill-and-hold transaction, after the customer says they will purchase goods, the seller bills the customer and holds the goods until the customer requests delivery. Even though this is not a GAAP violation, the SEC does have a checklist stating requirements that a transaction must fulfill in order to recognize the revenue. A method of premature revenue recognition that is a violation of GAAP is the failure to record offsetting accruals. This is a GAAP violation because unless you have completed your services you cannot record the entire amount of revenue [Wells 2001]. There are many organizations that receive payment in advance for services that they have yet to complete. Apartment complexes, magazine companies, and others would benefit in the short run by eliminating the liability and increasing the revenues. The deterrent to this fraud technique therefore is the GAAP rule. These methods of improperly recognizing revenue are illegal, prevented by GAAP, or detectible by auditors. Yet this type of fraud today seems to be more widespread and newsworthy. Why are so many companies failing to meet the standard of business ethics that we are taught in school? Pressure. â€Å"Public companies feel pressure to report quarterly earnings that meet or exceed analysts’ expectations – after all, failure to meet those expectations can hurt companies’ stock prices,† says Carmichael [Carmichael 1999]. Companies determine their success to a great extent by their stock prices, and rightly so. Corporations and industries can rise and fall from the interest or trust of the investing public. This pressure from the public can create potential problems within organizations. The Control Environment’s Effect on Fraudulent Revenue Recognition The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, COSO, has established the widely accepted definition of internal control. This definition includes an area of internal control labeled the control or internal environment, which has seven components. Each of these components has an effect on every business that is in existence. There are two, however, that, if not taken into consideration, can lead to unethical decisions such as revenue recognition fraud. The first control environment component is commitment to integrity and ethical values, which means that management should strive for a culture that stresses integrity. Also, â€Å"top management should make it clear that honest reports are more important than favorable ones,† [Romney and Steinbart 2003]. If this were truly stressed in organizations, improperly recognizing revenue in order to boost profits would be a problem rarely found. The second and possibly more important component of the control environment is management philosophy and operating style. In an ideal organization this would be the channel through which commitment to integrity would flow. In this component it is stated that â€Å"the more responsible that management’s philosophy and operating style are, the more likely it is that employees will behave responsibly in working to achieve the organization’s objectives,† [Romney and Steinbart 2003]. However, in many instances this is not the case. Pressure from many directions causes a shift or change in management philosophy, and as the weakness in these two areas grows, the potential for revenue recognition fraud increases. Kyle Anne Midkiff gives an example in â€Å"Finding Fraud: Know the Warning Signs and Avoid the Problem,† where â€Å"in a division of a publicly traded company, management created an environment, in which achieving budgeted earnings was of paramount importance and needed to be accomplished at any cost,† [Midkiff 2003]. This philosophy is in striking contradiction to that desired by COSO, and therefore lacking a good control environment. This overwhelming stress on meeting budgeted goals and analyst’s expectations drives managers away from integrity and towards a success only mindset, which can lead to implementing one of the various methods of revenue recognition fraud. Conclusion Since the board of directors depends upon the internal auditors assessments of risks and controls, the internal auditors are crucial to maintaining a reliable financial reporting environment. The forms of revenue recognition fraud are many. Playing with time, recording consignment goods as sales, improper bill-and-hold transactions, and failure to record offsetting accruals are some of the many methods to improperly recognize revenue. These methods in practice are not terribly difficult to understand, and in many cases are limited by statue, policy, or audits. However, as Joseph T. Wells stated, â€Å"even adequate internal controls can be overridden by management,† [Wells 2001]. Therefore, the only way to eliminate revenue recognition fraud, in my opinion, is to change management philosophy to mirror that of COSO’s definition. For this to happen, pressure to meet expectations must not sit atop the pyramid, but instead be replaced by an unrelenting drive to secure the company’s integrity for its employees, shareholders, and customers. Works Cited Carmichael, Douglas R. â€Å"Hocus-Pocus Accounting. † Journal of Accountancy 188. (1999): 59-63. Midkiff, Kyle Anne. â€Å"Finding Fraud: Know the Warning Signs and Avoid the Problem. † The Legal Intelligencer 5 229. 95 (2003) Romney, Marshall B. , and Paul John Steinbart. Accounting Information Systems 9th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. Wells, Joseph T. â€Å"Timing is of the Essence† Journal of Accountancy Online Issues (May 2001) http://www. aicpa. org/pubs/jofa/may2001/wells. htm http://www. theiia. org/download. cfm? file=83856