Monday, September 30, 2019

The American Enlightenment

The Start of Our Nation â€Å"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. † Located in our United States Declaration of Independence, these are the words that were written by Thomas Jefferson. He is indeed the author of our declaration to gain independence against Great Britain. But what if these words did not come straight from Jefferson? Looking at the big picture, what if our whole constitution and government is based on ideas that were discovered, preached, and outlawed around that time? The Enlightenment Period (around the seventeenth and eighteenth century) changed the ideas of how we should create a stable and new type of government.The man that started this beloved period was named John Locke. The ideas of John Locke and the Enlightenment Period caused a few philosophers and people who were outspoken about freedoms and rights to shape the American government. Locke was raised in Britain, and across the English Channel most of Europe was not following Great Britain. Mo st governments at that time were absolute monarchies, which means the King had complete control over all of the country. What made Britain was so different was after an England Civil War. This is when the King of England, King Charles, was in disagreement with the nobles about how much power he should have.The country broke out into a civil war and the nobles, led by Oliver Cromwell, won the war and beheaded Charles (Klekowski). Seeing all this, Locke’s love for democracy was created. Living in a newly created constitutional monarchy, On the side of the nobles, Locke spoke out for a type of government that did not have the King do everything (Philosophy Timeline). He wanted all the citizens to have rights, and uphold these rights, which was not the normal thing in the time era. Locke’s ideas led him to write a book called Essay Concerning Human Understanding.In this book, he shared with the public the Social Contract Theory. This is the theory that as citizens it is th e citizen’s duty to rid yourself of the government if the government is unfair towards the citizens (Uzgalis). This belief was no surprise because that is what they did in the English Civil War. Natural Law is another theory of Locke; if you are a person, natural laws should come with being alive like free speech and religious tolerance. He also attempted to prove to the kings and churches that divine right, which means the king has right because he has holy blood nd is appointed by God, is not in the Bible at all (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). His quote summed everything up by saying people deserve â€Å"Life, liberty, and the right of property† (Uzgalis). His second book was titled Common Place Book, and was all about religious tolerance. Each one of his books shared his opinion and ideas on citizens rights. On his exile to England, the famous or infamous (depending where you lived) Volaire learned and studied about these books. This French philosopher, whose real name was Francois-Marie Arouet, was exiled for writing satirical comments about a rich noble in Paris.After reading Locke’s writings and studying the type of government that Great Britain had, Voltaire never quit insulting France (Shank). He spoke out about the type of rule that France had, disagreeing with how much control and rule the Catholic Church had. People had to pay money to get into heaven, and to pay for the loved ones in purgatory. He wanted religious tolerance in France and wanted religion to become separate from the government. This argument ended up being Voltaire against the French government and that is what made everything he wrote so popular.He would write plays and books in a satirical manner so they could not prosecute him. Overall, he fought against absolute monarchy and the Catholic Rule of France. Voltaire changed the way many people looked at Absolute Monarchy. If you did not read or learn about Locke’s Social Contract Theory during this Enlightenment Period, then you probably heard it from Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His books shared information covering a wide variety of subjects. He was a well rounded writer, philosopher, and scientist. A man mainly influenced by Locke, Rousseau changed the way political philosophy was looked at.He preached all the things that Locke had spoken about but focused on one thing in particular. He wanted a republic (Philosophy timeline). He wanted a fair way to live, own a buisness, and have government rule. Like Locke, Rousseau did not like an absolute monarchy and made his views known publicly. Fighting for separation of powers, he took on the government’s â€Å"one person rule† head on(Mills). His books shared information covering a wide variety of subjects. He was a well rounded writer, philosopher, and scientist. But all these philosophers were from Europe, where does America come into this?How can these men influence a country that is across the Atlantic Ocean? The Ameri can colonies had a philosopher of their own: Thomas Jefferson. And he was a genius during his time. From creating a plow to creating a macaroni noodle maker, Jefferson was doing it all (Thomas Jefferson Facts). He also worked politically, attempting to give the colonies independence from their English ruler. During this time, the English and American people were in a war. Because of the way England taxed them, the Americans fought to become a new nation. Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence, an article against England's rule.The ideas of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau filled this historic document. The start of The Declaration of Independence even begins with an Enlightenment statement: When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle the m. The words, â€Å"Course of human events† and â€Å"separate and equal station† all involve Enlightenment statements.They are using Locke’s idea that every human has a given right, and The Declaration of Independence list the rights that they have and that England has broken. Jefferson changed Locke’s original quote â€Å"Life, liberty, and the right of property† (Philosophy timeline). He liked how it showed what the citizens should fairly have. This Declaration of Independence was an important and monumental document, but the United States Constitution is what we still follow today. This document, the oldest of its kind, also followed very enlightened ideas. Within this document, Rousseau’s idea of separation of power was included.Still working today, we have three branches: The Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial branch. Rousseau fought for that because he was against an absolute monarchy. Later on, the Bill of Rights was added on to the Constitution. The First Amendment in this Bill of Rights. Voltaire fought for Religious freedom which showed up in the First Amendment. Freedom of speech is also something Voltaire wanted. He wanted to create plays without having to worry about what the government would say. The other parts of the Bill of Rights are enlightened ideas that have branched off the ideas of these three men.These men have changed the way our country is run. Even though they were not a part of America, they took part in the Enlightenment, starting and continuing to change the way we live for all citizens. Whether it was Locke’s civil rights, or Voltaire’s religious freedom, each important idea that has come from the Enlightenment has created a government for us. It fills our government full of freedoms. Living in America, I use my rights every day, practicing my religion, speaking out about topics I believe in, and it looks like the ideas those men have shared will continue to be us ed for a lifetime.Works Cited Declaration of Independence. † The Declaration of Independence. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. Delany, James J. â€Å"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. † Rousseau, Jean-JacquesA. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 21 Oct. 05. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. â€Å"Facts on Thomas Jefferson. † – Inventions, Quotes and Fun Facts. American History. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. â€Å"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. † Locke, JohnA []. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 17 Apr. 2001. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. Klekowski, Libby. â€Å"CHARLES I, PARLIAMENT, AND THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR. England's Civil War. The Connecticut River. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. Mills, Kelly T. â€Å"Teaching Issues: Rousseau. † American Historical Association. Historians. org. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. â€Å"Philosophy Timeline. † Enlightenment Philosophy. Cengage Learning. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. Shank, J. B. â€Å"Voltaire. † (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. † U. S. CONSTITUTION. United States Government. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. Uzgalis, William. â€Å"John Locke. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Standford. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Discuss what Lady Macbeth’s persuasive language in 1.7 reveals to the audience about her character Essay

Discuss what Lady Macbeth’s persuasive language in 1.7 reveals to the audience about her character & relationship with her husband In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he portrays Lady Macbeth as a strong female character whom is equal to Macbeth and sometimes even stronger than Macbeth which was unusual for the time as at the time, men were considered to be above women as they believed in the divine order of the universe which stated that men came before woman and that women should only be there to serve men and obey their husband and their father and not question their husband’s decision. In Scene 1.7, Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth’s language and sexual parts to persuade her husband into killing Duncan so that she can become Queen. She even goes as far as question Macbeth’s manhood. One of the quotes which supports my point is ,†We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail.† which Lady Macbeth said to Macbeth after he questioned him and not obeying him. She used a rhetorical question which is seen in the above quote to scould him as would a child which is going against all of the things that a wife should be at that time and she is talking to him like a child when she tells him to get his courage up and reassures him that they will not fail which is all influenced by the rhetorical question. She also questions his manhood in the quote,†When durst do it, then you were a man,† by scolding him and saying that he is not a man now as he didn’t dare to do it and this has made him more feminine which is a great insult to give someone in Shakespearean times, which proves my point that Lady Macbeth does not want to give up and she f ft ff people into doing whatever she wants him to do. I believe that this quote is one of the strongest quotes which proves my opening point. Another quote which I believe proves my opening point is,†What beast was’t then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do i t, then you were a man.† This states that Lady Macbeth is hurt as Macbeth broke a promise to her. She uses repetition in the quote and she repeats the word ‘you’ which you could infer as making an accusation against Macbeth or you could infer that she is honestly hurt by Macbeth as she expresses hurt by her use of language in this quote. In this quote she also uses a rhetorical question which you could infer that she is so hurt and angry, she does not want him to answer the question and she ends with a very strong insult which a â€Å"loving† wife would never make to her husband, especially in the Shakespearean times. She further evaluates the importance of a promise to her in the quote, â€Å"know how tender tis’ to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling at my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done this.† This quote proves that Lady Macbeth would do anything if it would uphold her promise even if it would mean killing her own child to uphold a promise. This quote also shows how truly hurt Lady Macbeth is and how angry and how fearful she is and her dertermination to get what she wants. This is quite masculine of her but I will cover more on that after this. A quote which shows how devious and courageous Lady Macbeth is, â€Å"Who dares receive it other , as we shall make our griefs and clamour roar upon his death?† This quote proves that Lady Macbeth is doing whatever she can to get what she wants. She uses persuasive language such as ‘dares’ which is a very strong word as it involves taking a risk and a risk which could ultimately stab you in the back. This quote also shows Lady Macbeth putting on a false face and pretending to grief and mourn for the King’s loss however in actual fact, it was her which set up the King to be killed. This shows that Lady Macbeth will be decisive and manipulate whoever she wants to get what she desires. A quote which I have mentioned before but I want to go more into detail is, â€Å"know how tender tis’ to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling at my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you ha ve done this.† I strongly believe that this is the quote which really well establishes Lady Macbeth is a brutal and a character which will do anything to get what she most desires and not to care about anything or anyone else, just to get on top. This quote portrays Lady Macbeth as a mother which is a role which you need to care only about the baby and nurture the baby and bring it up as your own. This quote mentions that Lady Macbeth knows what it is like to breastfeed a baby but the play has not mentioned anything about Lady Macbeth and a baby, but I will get to that in further detail in my conclusion. This quote also mentions her killing the baby in the most brutal way: when it is it’s most vulnerable. During a breastfeeding. This shows that Lady Macbeth will do anything to keep a promise and you could infer that because of her incredibly detailed description, that she has done this before. One more quote which I believe solidifies my first point is, â€Å"And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting â€Å"I dare not† wait upon â€Å"I would† like the poor cat i’th’ adage? † This quote shows that Lady Macbeth is angry and full of adrenaline which really provokes her use of language in this quote by calling her husband a coward for backing out of his commitment and letting him live in the shame of not doing his deed which also interrupts the divine order and being a good wife in the Shakespearean times. She defies all this when she does not listen to her husband and takes on the role of the husband in the relationship in this quote and in this whole scene. In conclusion, I believe that Lady Macbeth is full of anger, grief and betrayal as she confronts Macbeth in this scene by saying that he is not a man and by calling him a coward and informing or reminding him of what she would do if she promised him. She would even go as far as killing her own child if that is what she has promised which means that she has built up a lot of trust in this relationship and she does not want to lose it now. By saying she knows how it feels to love a baby who she has breastfeed could imply that she and Macbeth had a baby and it died or it got murdered. If it got murdered or it got killed because of a promise she made, which she has proven is the most important thing to her, probably fuels her anger and hurt in this scene which makes this scene make so much sense that it is my final implied conclusion. The reason that I have inferred is that Lady Macbeth is so passionate and angry in this scene is because she had a baby and it died because of a promise she made which is why she made such an important and a significant reference to this is because this happened to her and she does not want it to happen again.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Financial Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Business - Essay Example This type of financing is known as Debt financing. Businesses also raise funds by offering their stocks or shares to different financial institutions including banks and insurance firms, governments and general public at a defined ‘Par or Stated’ value with or without a premium depending upon the market prices. A firm can issue a maximum number of shares that are known as Authorized shares and can’t exceed that limit. Shares issued are known as Outstanding shares. Dividends are paid to shareholders who have owned the shares. Short term loans can be either ‘secured’ that means that specific assets such as inventory are pledged as collateral or they can be unsecured that means the firm has not promised any assets as collateral. These loans are usually acquired from different financial institutions such as commercial banks, insurance companies or from financial groups such as private investors, individuals with savings and small/medium banking institutions at relatively higher interest rate to meet their current needs of finance. A commercial paper is an unsecured debt (in other words a ‘promissory note’) taken by businesses to finance the inventory purchases and various short-term liabilities such as wages, rent, fuel etc. Undoubtedly, they mature in less than 9 months or 270 days and have a lower interest rate than what a bank normally charges from its clients. Only the large businesses with extensive financial resources, strength and power are able to sell commercial papers compared to small and medium scale enterprises, which do not enjoy extensive capital resources. Sales of stocks and bonds are a major source of finance for public limited companies, multinationals and large scale corporations. The sale of shares results in cash inflows for the issuing firm and the buyer receives an ownership in that firm. Whereas, the sale of bonds receives an interest payment (calculated through the interest rate) along with the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Sexuality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexuality - Research Paper Example Particularly, advertisement through billboards was considered by the research respondents to be most offensive of all mediums of advertisement. A number of French Reports have also emphasized upon the promotion of sex through advertisements, saying that the advertisements have used overtones of violence to degrade women and project bestiality and inferior role of women in sex. Such an attitude towards women creates a very distressed situation which should be immediately addressed so that dignity of those women on different levels could be restored. â€Å"Sexist advertising affects the shaping of people's identities and is counter-productive to society's goal of achieving gender equality† (â€Å"Sweden mulls ban†). This paper analyzes such an ad by Calvin Klein and discusses how the female model in the ad has been used as a source of sexual appeal for the audiences. In the end, there is a brief discussion of the guidelines that if followed, may help eradicate this practi ce. Women are being overly sexualized in different advertisements and fashion magazines, which is not only building negative perceptions about the character of women in the society but is also playing a role in derogating the society on moral grounds. Research done by sociologists lately suggests that sexploitation of women seen on the cover of one of the mainstream fashion magazines Rolling Stone suggests that women are far more potently targeted sexually than men over the last few years and such a negative attitude definitely does not deliver a positive message to the society at large. Sexploitation through advertisements in such an open manner not only holds very negative ramifications for understanding the concept of female dignity but also leads to exploitation of women. ... Sexploitation through advertisements in such an open manner not only holds very negative ramifications for understanding the concept of female dignity but also leads to exploitation of women. Media has definitely exploited women on many levels by portraying them as sexual objects so that product sales could be increased. As a result of such advertisements in which provocative images of women’s often partially clothed bodies are shown and female sexuality is used as an effective tool for gaining public attention and increasing product sales, a lot of pressure is put on common women to be sexually attractive and also sexually active (Media Awareness Network). In the advertisement by Calvin Klein for promoting its trademark unisex fragrance CK one (Lunch), a half naked girl is shown standing immediately against a male model who is also half naked so that their bodies are touching each other’s as well as their mouths. With one outstretched arm, the male model is seen grabbi ng the female model and holding a CK one perfume bottle in his hand. The image shown in this fragrance advertisement is no doubt very provocative and fraught with all kinds of sexual suggestions. Both models have been made to pose so proximal to each other that it seems more like a pornography ad than a fragrance ad. Women definitely get exploited by such kinds of advertisements which show no respect for female sex and also such media actions deliver very negative images to the people who start accepting such ideas and believe it is normal for a woman to act provocatively. Culture is especially targeted by such advertisements in which women are over-sexualized so that it is left badly mutilated because no culture can sustain if the society shows no respect for women. Respect in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Works of art as inspiration grade 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Works of art as inspiration grade 8 - Essay Example nts in describing the picture, identifying details that could tell about the circumstances during that time, recognize things, places, people or facial expressions that would inform about the setting. It also aims to develop the children’s critical thinking, expressing their criticisms in words in an organized fashion, naming things they observe in the picture and relating what is happening in the picture to their experiences and observations. In addition, the students should be able to infer from the picture what it is all about and discuss with their classmates whatever information they grasped from the picture. The lesson will start with an introduction of the painter and his painting: Paul Kane is one of Canada’s most popular painters who was born in Ireland in 1810 but emigrated to York, now known as Toronto, by the age of nine. He travelled a lot to many places to learn from the masters in the field of painting which enhanced his skill and allowed him to meet people who eventually inspired him in his work. Scene in the Northwest is just one of Kane’s many paintings which became very famous because it is now recorded to be the most expensive painting from a Canadian artist doubling the price of the second most expensive Canadian painting (National Gallery of Canada Archives). Presenting the picture, the lesson will be executed in a similar fashion to this: Student C: The ice is thick and it is impossible for cars to travel because they might sink in or get stuck on the road. Also, there are not many people in the area so there are probably not much stores or gasoline stations where they can buy their needs or ask help from in case their car can not move. Student C: The area behind the people is very wide but there are no other people or houses besides those we can see. I think they are in a place like the northernmost or southernmost parts of the globe where only scientists go to, to study the weather there or find new discoveries that can make them

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Data Transmission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Data Transmission - Essay Example Noise includes intermodulation, thermal, impulse and crosstalk. Noise is mainly expected at the link; hence the signal power at the receiver has to be larger as compared to the power added noise to the signal in the path of transmission(Stallings, 2006). Data rate involves the bit number that a system is capable of transmitting in a time unit. Data rate is constrained by bandwidth, availability of impairments and the acceptable error rate. Bandwidth that is effective is the band within which signal energy is mostly concentrated. A channel is able to accommodate limited frequency band. If in bandwidth that is effective, input signal is larger than the system transmission bandwidth, signal at the output will be highly distorted(Stallings, 2006). Bandwidth of signal should match the bandwidth being supported by the communication channel. Error rate can be seen as the rate whereby errors can occur. An error is a reception of 1 when 0 was channeled or a reception of 0 when 1 was channeled (Stallings, 2006). Main factor characterizing channel capacity is the bandwidth. A great bandwidth of signal results to great information carrying capacity. While designing facility for communication one should consider signal bandwidth, digital information data rate, noise amount and acceptable error

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Cell Structure (Bio slp Mod 1) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cell Structure (Bio slp Mod 1) - Essay Example Additionally, the majority of prokaryotes are unicellular with an exception of a few such as cyanobacteria while eukaryotes are multicellular. These are single-celled prokaryotic organisms that differ from bacteria and eukaryota in many ways. Their size and shape resemble that of bacteria but contain genes and metabolic processes similar to those in eukaryotes. Unlike bacteria, some archaea have irregular shapes. These are prokaryotic organisms that derive their energy from inorganic sources. They are subdivided into two major groups; ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) that oxidize ammonia to nitrite, and nitrate oxidizing bacteria (NOB), which oxidize nitrite to nitrate. Examples of the AOB group are the Nitrosomonas Sp while Nitrobacter Sp belong to the NOB group. These are chemolithotrophs bacteria that utilize ammonium as a source of energy. They oxidize ammonia to nitrite. Examples include the Nitrosomonas, Nitrosococcus, Nitrosospira, and Nitrosolobus species. Gram negative bacteria are bacteria that have a thin peptidoglycan (polymer) matrix, which comprises the cell membrane of the organism. Consequently these bacteria do not retain the crystal violet dye used in gram staining technique. On the other hand, gram positive bacteria contain a thick layer of this polymer matrix, thus retain the primary stain in gram staining giving them purple appearance. These are organic compounds consisting of carbon and hydrogen elements. These compounds are abundant in nature and occur mostly in the form of crude oil. Hydrocarbons, therefore, are the main source of energy readily available as a combustible fuel. This is a scientific assay that employs the use of live organisms to determine the biological activity of a test substance. These tests are useful in investigating the effects (toxicity) of an element accidently introduced in an ecosystem. For instance, the effect

Monday, September 23, 2019

Operation Management (Assignment) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operation Management (Assignment) - Essay Example The present context narrows our interest lies in focusing to two of the points, these are: In all industry and services the supervisor has traditionally used some form of measurement to lay down norms or objectives for the workers to attempt to achieve. These objectives were based on arbitrary averages of the past performance and while some workers found it easy to achieve these, some just could not cope. This method put a limit to what could or should be accomplished based on the supervisors perception of what was good or bad for the organization. Deming pointed out that counting and inspection of the end product presumed that there would be defects and mass inspection would only identify the defect that would need to be reworked or the product scrapped. There is no way that identifying a defect or shortage at the end of the process can help in improving quality. Management should instead shift focus to inspection of the systems and processes that go into the production of the article or service. Numerical quotas or norms or objectives do not assist in identifying the capability of the workers and systems they only measure what exists. Historically management has looked at producing larger volumes under the mistaken impression that more volumes meant lower cost of production per unit. In the push to produce larger quantities quality was lost sight of. The second error that was made was to measure a product or service against preconceived ideas of quality, determined internally, without understanding what the customer wanted. This resulted in the process now producing larger volumes of re-work and scrap and the worst of all, a product that the customer did not want. Cost of poor quality can be 25-30% of sales revenue (Ross, 1999, p167). This leads us to the next mantra of the TQM gurus, 'Don't inspect the product - Inspect the process' but what does 'inspection of the process' imply Information is the key to understanding any situation or process and any action taken on the basis of such information shall be directly in proportion to the quality of the information, its relevance, authenticity and timeliness. Information needs to be gathered and collated in the form of data that lends itself to easy interpretation, identification of trends and analysis. Data is fact recorded as numbers and no one can argue with numbers. Data instils a sense of confidence and, is the only way to 'change' all that which is blocked by entrenched perceptions (Jurow, 1993, p113-115). Most of all data helps in motivating everyone involved in the process when they see the progress being made enabling them to identify with the change and push to extend their individual capabilities as also of the organization. 'Measurement is just a habit of seeing how we're going along' Philip Crosby, TQM guru (Jurow, ibid, p 115) Measurement also helps in deciding the feasibility of a particular effort. If it is not possible to measure critical elements of the present situation then how will we ever know how well or indifferently we are progressing and how will it ever be possible to know when we arrive at the desired goal. Finding

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Saving-investment Behaviour in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Saving-investment Behaviour in Pakistan Essay Saving and investment are two key macro variables with micro foundations which can play a significant role in economic growth, inflation stability and promotion of employment especially if seen in the context of a developing country. For self-reliance and growth objectives, mobilization of domestic resources and their efficient utilization are the two major policy-oriented focuses today (Khan 1993). National savings are critically important to help maintain a higher level of investment which is a key determinant for economic uplift. Thereby, necessitating the analysis of saving-investment behavior and its determinants for policy implications; this is a demanding area because of continuing debate on the potential role of their determinants. In the United States, the total investment rate rose throughout the 1990s, reflecting mostly a rapid acceleration in the purchase of machinery and equipment by the business sector, notably in real terms. In contrast, the national saving rate remained flat during the 1990s, masking significant offsetting changes in the public and private sector components. As a result, the US current account deficit widened to 4.5 percent of GDP in 2000, before narrowing somewhat in the downturn. In Japan, although both national saving and investment rates trended down during the 1990s, their levels are still well above the OECD average. Such high levels are not easy to justify, especially in the case of the investment considering the weak output growth performance. In the case of saving also, it is not clear that the substantial demographic transition ahead, together with other factors, can fully account for the high saving rate. Parallel declines in saving and investment have left the Japanese current account surplus in a range of 2 to 2.5 percent of GDP. (www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/40/2726831.pdf). According to this website, there are factors driving developments in investment and saving. The rise in total investment in most countries during the 1990s was largely concentrated in the business sector, where spending on capital goods accelerated sharply, especially in volume terms. In fact, after moving more or less in line with real output throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, real business investment pulled away in the following years in some Countries. The other factor is development in saving rate. After being on a trend decline throughout the 1970s and 1980s, gross national saving rates have stabilized or risen in a large number of OECD countries since the early 1990s. Notable exceptions to this pattern are Germany, where the national saving rate continued to decline until 1995 and has remained flat since then, and Japan, where it has trended down throughout the past decade, although it remains higher than elsewhere. Developments in public-sector saving have been the dominant influence on the direction of changes in national saving in the 1990s. In most countries, both actual and cyclically-adjusted budget deficits have either turned into comfortable surpluses or at least moved in a direction that has contributed to an increase in total national saving. At the same time, the rebound in the government saving rate in the second half of the 1990s has been accompanied by a substantial decline in private-sector saving, in a few cases completely offsetting the rise in public saving. Africa achieved relatively high growth rates in the first decade of the twenty-first century, culminating in a continent-wide average growth rate of 6.1 percent in 2007. Although rates varied across the continent, this relatively fast growth was generally shared, with several countries experiencing growth rates that exceeded their population growth rates, thus leading to increases in per capita income. This rapid growth was generally due to increased investment financed by high commodity prices, resource extraction, foreign direct investment (FDI) and inflows of other foreign resources, as well as macroeconomic stability and better economic management.( Economic Report on Africa 2010 ) According to this report, although, there is scant evidence that inflation reduction in many African countries achievements was accompanied by increased investment, economic growth and diversification, and robust employment creation in these countries. Investment increment contributed to the significant decline in inflation rates in many countries. In Ethiopia, Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been increasing during the last ten years. Out of the total investment projects licensed during 1992-2002, FDI’s share was about 20%. Ethiopia remains an untapped and unexploited market for investors compared to neighboring countries like Sudan and Uganda. France, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States are the major sources of FDI. Out of the total 392 FDI projects licensed by 2003, 12.7% were in agriculture and mining, 46.57% in manufacturing and processing, and 40.7% in trade, hotels, and tourism. (An investment guide to Ethiopia opportunities and conditions, 2004) According to this investment guide, there is untapped and unexploited Area of investment opportunity. Basically, these opportunities are available in Agriculture and related activities, Health services, Mining, Hydro power, Tourism and Manufacturing for both domestic and abroad investors. Particularly Ethiopian investors also can invest in the financial sector in the country. To support and appreciate investment practice in Ethiopia there is Technical and financial support. The Ethiopian Investment Commission, the Ministry of Trade, the Development Bank of Ethiopia and other government institutions provide financial and technical support for research projects, provide market information, and monitor production and export statistics for the industry. The Ethiopian Manufacturing Industries Association and the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce provide the relevant trade and technical information. The Government also encourages floriculture by allocating land and providing infrastructure. (An investment guide to Ethiopia opportunities and conditions, 2004)

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Professional Ethical Standards Essay Example for Free

Professional Ethical Standards Essay This paper intends to look into the professional code of ethics of investigators, a career which I am most likely to pursue later. A Career in Criminal Justice that Interests Me   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I am most likely to become a criminal investigator. This is probably the career in criminal justice that I am most likely to pursue as it interests me greatly. Job Description for the Position   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An investigator seeks information, analyzes it, and provides it to authorities like lawyers, for instance (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n. p.). He or she looks for clues that may help â€Å"uncover facts, about legal, criminal, financial, or personal matters† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.). An investigator has so many services to offer including: â€Å"executive, corporate, and celebrity protection; pre-employment verification; and individual background profiles† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.). He or she may also cover the following: â€Å"computer crimes, such as identity theft, harassing e-mails, and illegal downloading of copyrighted material† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.).   In addition to that, they also provide the following: â€Å"assistance in criminal and civil liability cases, insurance claims and fraud, child custody and protection cases, missing persons’ cases, and premarital screening† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.). Plus, they also willingly help out in cases wherein infidelity should be established (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An investigator works around in computers much as their work involves â€Å"recovery of deleted emails; recovery of deleted documents; getting evidences that will prove prior â€Å"arrests/convictions, civil legal judgments, telephone numbers, motor vehicle registrations, association/club memberships, as well as, photographs† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Part of their work is to go on surveillance or search, for instance, they research on how much an individual is making or where he or she works by calling or visiting the workplace of the individual; they also pretend to be somebody else just to carry this out (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.). He or she may also install â€Å"photographic and video cameras, binoculars, and â€Å"bugs† on phones, and others that investigators often use for surveillance purposes to gather information on an individual† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meanwhile, the duties and responsibilities of an investigator is dependent upon the â€Å"needs of the clients†, if for instance, he or she is investigating a case on fraud, then he or she will stick to this for as long as the client wants or until the case is considered closed   (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, investigators have certain specializations and some of these are the following: â€Å"1) intellectual property theft, wherein their task is to investigate and document acts of piracy, help clients stop illegal activity, and provide intelligence for prosecution and civil action; 2) others specialize in developing financial profiles and asset searches wherein their reports reflect information gathered through interviews, investigation and surveillance, and research, including review of public documents; 3) others are known as â€Å"Computer forensic investigators† who specialize in recovering, analyzing, and presenting data from computers for use in investigations or as evidence and they determine the details of intrusions into computer systems, recover data from encrypted or erased files, and recover e-mails and deleted passwords; and 4) legal investigators who assist in the preparation of criminal defenses, locating of witnesses serving of legal documents, interviewing police and prospective witnesses, and gathering and reviewing evidence and they may also may collect information on the parties to the litigation, take photographs, testify in court, and assemble evidence and reports for trials† (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008, n.p.). Professional Code of Ethics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The professional code of ethics of investigators entails the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First of all, they are obliged to seek the truth (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second, they are supposed to be fair and just at all times (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third, they are supposed to treat others nicely (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fourth, they are not supposed to use their power in a manner that is abusive (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.). Even if they are authorized to investigate on a certain case or issue, they are still obliged to â€Å"follow the Federal, State, and Local laws† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fifth, they are also obliged to â€Å"know how to collect evidence properly so that they do not compromise its admissibility in court† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sixth, they should be generous enough to cooperate with other investigators and other professionals especially in the â€Å"exchange of information and experience so long as the interest of his client are not compromised† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seventh, they are not allowed to flaunt their works and skills in an unethical way which may â€Å"injure/lessen the dignity and honor of his profession† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eighth, they are obliged to inform the public (if necessary) how they may play a role in serving justice (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ninth, they may be allowed to express their own opinion but only based on the facts that they have gathered (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tenth, they may not â€Å"disclose, relate or betray, in any fashion, the trust or confidence placed in them by clients, employers, or associates without consent† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eleventh, they may not advocate, recommend, overlook or partake, in any fashion or degree, for any purpose whatsoever, in setting up another individual (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Twelfth, they cannot accept a certain case/assignment â€Å"if a personal conflict of interest lies therein† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thirteenth, they are obliged to inform their client what they are going to do exactly to solve the case/assignment and will tell the client what their charges/payments are for in a detailed manner (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fourteenth, they shall refrain from using techniques or methods that may endanger the lives of other people (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fifteenth, they are prohibited to let their personal emotions and judgments meddle with â€Å"factual and truthful disclosures† on the assignments (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sixteenth, they are not allowed to â€Å"directly or indirectly injure the professional reputation, prospects or practice of another investigator† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seventeenth, he or she is obliged to report an investigator who is â€Å"guilty of unethical, illegal or unfair practices or designs and he or she will present this information to the proper authority for action† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Last but not least, they are prohibited to â€Å"criticize another investigators work except in the proper forum for technical discussion and critique† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.). Unique Ethical Standards for the Profession   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are several unique ethical standards for the aforementioned profession and these are the following: They cannot accept a certain case/assignment â€Å"if a personal conflict of interest lies therein† (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.). They are supposed to be fair and just at all times (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.). They are supposed to treat others nicely (South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators, n.d., n.p.). Two Examples of Potential Ethical Dilemmas Specific to this Profession and the Code of Ethics that it Meant to Discourage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If for instance, an investigator is requested to investigate a woman who is thought to be cheating his husband and the woman happened to be a former girlfriend of the investigator who was cheated upon before may pursue the case not for the sake of proving or disproving infidelity but the investigator may just pursue it for the sake of vindication and vengeance. Since there is a conflict of interest, the case may only be jeopardized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another example that may pose as a potential ethical dilemma that’s specific to this profession is this: if an investigator happens to meet a person who may play a large role in the closure of a certain case he is working on and the person does not want to cooperate fully, then the investigator may be obliged to treat the individual unfairly, for instance, he may harass the person just so the individual will help him with his case. References Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2008). Private Detectives and Investigators.    Retrieved April 6, 2008 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/content/ocos157.stm South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators. (n.d.). Code of Ethics.    Retrieved April 6, 2008 from http://www.scalinv.com/ethics.htm

Friday, September 20, 2019

Overview Of The Site Preparation Process Construction Essay

Overview Of The Site Preparation Process Construction Essay Site preparation is the first task that lays before any Engineer to start new project in site that is unfriendly to the project. It a challenging activity that must be began with. In civil engineering projects, the site preparation can be soil clearing, soil testing site plan designs, zoning restrictions environmental concern and how everything on the matter should run. Preparing your site well to begin with means a much safer, more productive working environment Steps of Site Preparation. Site Clearing:- this is the first task of site preparation. The site should be in a supposed condition. It involves the removal of trees, demolishing buildings and any other obstacles that might affect the construction process in the future or hinder the project to be done. Site Surveying: If your building block is not clearly identified by survey pegs, you cannot be certain that you are building on the correct block. A surveyor will survey the site for a reasonable cost. Better to be safe than sorry. Surveying is the translation of a contractors set of construction plans into a physical representation on the project site. It not only includes surveyors locating and setting physical markers, usually a lathe, pin, or survey stake in a horizontal position, but also communication to the contractor as to the actual elevation and the required cut or fill necessary to obtain the design elevation. It also includes the checking of improvements and temporary construction items placed to construct those improvements to verify the horizontal and vertical location to the construction plans. Soil Testing:- soil testing is very important task that need to be done before the site is purchased. The composition of the soil must be known so as to examine the ability to withstand structure and to test the ability to absorb water. As a site Engineer, it s very important to do all necessary soil testing before commencing any structural task on the soil. If the soil at the site is not suitable for the future project, then it gives no choice but to look for another site which its soil is suitable for the project. Site Plan Design:- After the soil testing is done all necessary drainage and septic tanks is installed, the next step to drawn the design to indicate placement of septic systems and all necessary fixtures. Nothing can be done without designing the site, all features are drawn in hand or by using Autocad to make easy for the contractors do their job. The site plan will show access roads for construction vehicles, The site plan will also depict where the building should be after it is built. Unlike other steps taken in site preparation, the site plan is carried out in office by consultants. Site investigation The site I chose to do the site investigation is Geotechnical industry. Geotechnical site investigation is to characterize soil, rock and groundwater condition of the proposed site. A geotechnical site investigation is the process of collecting information and evaluating the conditions of the site for the purpose of designing and constructing the foundation for a structure, such as a building, plant or bridge. The steps taken to do Geotechnical site investigation are as follows. Good planning for and management of a geotechnical site investigation is the key to obtaining sufficient and correct site information for designing a structure in a timely manner and with minimum cost for the effort needed. The collection of geotechnical data and the preparation of a report for a proposed structure should be considered in four stages, namely. 1-Project definition prepared by the owner in conjunction with an architect if selected. The project definition consists of architectural/engineering foundation criteria such as loading and settlement; on or above ground structure; service life of structure, and proposed design/construction schedule. 2-Preliminary site and project evaluation conducted by the geotechnical consultant selected for the geotechnical site investigation. It consists of preliminary site review of past geotechnical investigations of nearby sites and a selection of likely foundation design(s) based on published literature and the geotechnical consultant knowledge of the site. This preliminary evaluation and a consensus by the owner are used to develop the detail of the proposed geotechnical site investigation. It will also determine if this phase would be done in one or two steps. In the case of small buildings located on good ground conditions, this phase could be done by means of an office evaluation to be followed by the geotechnical site investigation. In the case of a major building and possible difficult permafrost, this phase could be done in two steps. It would include a preliminary site visit by a geotechnical engineer with permafrost experience to collect visible data and performance information of existing buildings in order to complete the office phase of the evaluation and discuss the findings with the owner and architect, if selected, to prepare the detailed site program. 3-Geotechnical site investigation (test holes and sampling) and laboratory testing for soils characteristics. 4-Geotechnical report preparation with recommended foundation system options. The client may consider incorporating peer review in the overall process for projects that are large and/or located in difficult permafrost conditions. This should not be viewed as a confrontational exercise but as an additional resource to develop the best foundation design. The scope of these guidelines is to plan a geotechnical site investigation in frozen soils, report the results from field exploration and laboratory testing in terms of internationally recognized classification systems, and provide foundation design and construction recommendations that address both the building requirements and climate change. Bad Site Layout As seen in the above, the site is not safely and neatly put. Offices are so close to the construction place. Offices are supposed be installed some distance from the site to secure the safety of the people working inside the office. Furthermore, the store is at the middle of the construction site where its supposed to be at the corner of the site. This will hinder the movement of the vehicles. Last but not the least, there is not fencing barrier at the construction site. This is very important for both the people working at the construction and the pedestrians.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Rohypnol :: essays research papers

In the 1950s it was commonly know as slipping someone a Mickey Finn. By the mid-1980s it was called H-Bombing: prostitutes slipped the sleeping pill Halcion into a customers drink and robbed them after they would pass out. But the recent introduction of the illicit doping drugs, rohypnol promises to take the dangerous practice of doping unsuspecting victims into new depths. Today I am going to talk about rohypnol or other wise known as the â€Å"date rape drug†. I will tell you what it is, its effects, and the steps people can take to avoid rohypnol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the May 98 issue of Clinical Pediatrics, rohypnol is a sedative-hypnotic benzadiazepine manufactured by the Hoffman La Roche Company in Europe and Latin America, and is prescribed in those places for treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Although the drug is not manufactured or prescribed in the United States, it is homemade or smuggled into the country and distributed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rohypnol is the trade name for the drug flunitrazepam a benzadiazepine which is a central nervous system depressant like Valium but 10 time more potent. The marketed drug looks like aspirin, but has a single or cross-scored on one side with ROCHE spelled across it with the number 1 or 2 encircled underneath it on the other side. The drug is a 1 or 2 mg pill that is shipped in bubble packaging or blister packs that appear very similar to aspirin also. Street prices one-milligram tablet is $1and $5 for a two-milligram tablet. Street names for rohypnol are roche, la roche, rope, roofies, rib, ruffies, stupefi, and the most common the date rape drug. When dissolved in alcohol, soft drinks, water, or any other liquid the drug is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because of this rohypnol can easily be slipped into the drink of an unsuspecting sexual assault victim by an assailant. The result is that the victim remembers nothing of the sexual assault or that they knew something was happening but could not do anything about it. Effects of rohypnol begin within 20 minutes after ingesting then last up to 8 to 24 hours. Rohypnol intoxication is generally associated with impaired judgment and impaired motor skills, and the combination of alcohol and rohypnol is also especially hazardous together because their effects on memory and judgments are greater than effects from either of them taken alone. Other effects include visual impairment, drowsiness, confusion, decreased blood pressure, memory impairment, gastrointestinal disturbances and urinary retention.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Feminism Essay -- Womens Right, Equality

The past century saw women in Britain gain control of their fertility, acquire access to education and establish their status as equal citizens. The British social order came a long way from 1890s when women in Britain were legally restricted to the point they could not enter a contract, own property or have parental rights; unmarried women were challenged by society and pressured in to marriage (British History Oxford, 2007).The women’s rights and suffrage movements in the period between 1832 and 1918, which is known as ‘The first feminist wave’, aimed to challenge the idea of women being the inferior sex and demanded equal rights. This ‘so called’ first wave ended with the ‘Royal Assent to the Representation of the People Parliament Act’ being passed in 1918, which granted women the ability to vote and recognised females as equal citizens (Fraisse, 1993). Following work will assay the position of women in today’s society and barr iers that prevent gender equality. The focus will be on the conflict between feminist ideals, assumptions and demands behind what known as feminism. Feminism has evolved dramatically over time, which makes finding a widely accepted set of feminist ideas an impossible task. However, Webster’s dictionary (2007, p230) defines feminism as a theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Therefore, feminism is based around the idea of men and women being equal. On the other hand, feminist is also defined as ‘an organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests’ (Webster 2007, p.230). This highly ambiguous definition suggests that any socially or politically active woman can be considered to be a feminist, so the ideas of feminists do not always coincide with the philosophy o... ...en’s favour. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to determine what gender receives the larger income over a lifetime. With this in mind, modern feminism appears to be aimed at total equality, where every adult receives same wage and employers are controlled by the government. The feminist philosophy, on the other hand, preaches equality purely in legal and political rights. A number of conservative feminists believe the battle for equal rights was won when in 1928 women were enfranchised (British History Oxford, 2007). It caused social transformation in Britain and liberated women. This philosophy is relevant in modern society because it can be beneficial in any country where women experience hard ship due lack of legal equality. Further legislation aimed at improving equality in the UK needs to consider possible side effects, and should promote equality for all.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Legal Research Essay

a) Moore v. Richardson, 332 Ark. 255 (1998). Ms. Moore and Mr. Richardson divorced and Ms. Moore was granted custody of their minor daughter. Mr. Richardson was required to pay child support accordingly and have visitation rights. The case is good law. It is binding to Arkansas court. Clearly, Arkansas court made the final judgment about the custody of the child and visitation by the father. b) Glanding v. Industrial Trust Co., 45 A.2d 553 (1945). The Court of Chancery is not given the jurisdiction to award penalties on government cost recovery cases as it is of limited jurisdiction. Therefore its laws are not mandatory as it can be honored by The Supreme Court who will make the decision. Therefore any cost recovery action is not available at equity. Similarly, private cost recovery actions should be addressed at the Superior Court. c) People v. Jackson, 150 Cal. App. 3d Supp. 1 (Cal. App. Dep’t Super. Ct. 1983). The case is mandatory. The required proceeding should be brought forth during the trial and appellate processes. A party has a right to appeal and the courts have the obligation of giving the party permission to change facts during the appeal as long as there is reasonable evidence and facts. Infringement of personal should not occur and statements should be made depending on standard of evidence. However a party is not to change theories in the trial and appeal court. d)Landers v. Staten Island R. Co., 53 N.Y. 450 (1873). Criminal jurisdiction and civil jurisdiction brings about the protective jurisdiction of courts. They necessitate the occasions for instituting the proceedings. Further criminal and civil jurisdiction therefore implies with  respect to the mature of the subject matter and civil or criminal mature of the actions. Such an action therefore does not aim in the creation of another authority. Territorial aspects may come in hand, however the nature of the action determines the jurisdiction the case will be handled. It merely extends the limits of the particular jurisdiction. It is therefore not mandatory. e) Merriman v. Crompton Corp., 282 Kan. 433; 146 P.3d 162 (2006). There are certain analyses that can be determined depending if a court has jurisdiction over a defendant. A person can be submitted to a particular jurisdiction if the person is a citizen or not and depending on whether he/she committed a criminal act in that jurisdiction or whether he/she was transacting any business in that state.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Earning Management

Does the Commercial Banking Industry of UAE Practice Earnings Management Dr. Mohammed Obeidat Introduction It is the right of external users of accounting information to be provided with more adequate information to protect their interests. Many questionable issues concerning the term of earnings management are still available. Auditors, accountants, financial analysts, and other concerned parties may hold the responsibility of detecting external users from the practices of earnings management. Many questionable issues are still available regarding the term of earnings management.Some people may have no enough idea about what practices are classified under earnings management, and what practices can not be classified under this term. Users of accounting information are different but few of them have the ability to detect the practices of earnings management. Because there are different methods of practicing earnings management, detecting the practices of earnings management is one of the difficult issues. The common practice of earnings management by firms and the negative effects of these practices on external users of financial accounting information justify the investigation of this issue.Many users may lose some of their wealth as a result of practicing this phenomenon. Many financial crises appear in our world from time to time, and some reasons of these crises are related to incorrect announced financial information. The problem of the current study will be simpler, if it is presented through the following question: How investors can detect the practices of earnings management, in order to have the ability to protect themselves from the negative effects of these practices?The answer to this question may seem more difficult, so the current study present an example from the Commercial Banking Industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Studying the phenomena of practicing earnings management is important, because this will highlight why managers may practic e this phenomenon. Many incentives may be available to managers and promote them to practice earnings management. These incentives will be highlighted later on in the current study, but when investors are knowledgeable with some of these incentives, they can consider and analyze the financial information of their entities more.Moreover, when users are aware with the methods that are followed by managers to practice earnings management, they will be more eligible to detect these practices. The current study will explore the most available methods of practicing earnings management. The importance of the current study is increased, because it highlights how investors can determine whether there is a practice of earnings management or not. The objectives this study is looking to achieve are as follows: 1. To highlight the incentives standing behind the practice of earnings management by managers. 2.To inform users about the methods available to firms' management to manage the earnings. 3. To determine the qualitative and quantitative available procedures that can be used to detect the practices of earnings management. 4. To determine whether the Commercial Banking Industry of UAE practices or does not practice the phenomenon of earnings management. 5. In a case of earnings management is detected, this study aims to detect whether these practices were upward or downward practices. Our study makes a unique contribution to the literature by using data from the announced financial statement of Commercial Banking Industry of UAE.This study differs from the prior studies in its location, methods, objectives, and nature of data used in the analysis. Because the current study involves the commercial banks of ABU Dhabi, and because all of these commercial banks are listed in Abu Dhabi Stock Market, this study is unique in its location. Just few studies outside Abu Dhabi followed quantitative method to investigate whether there are practices of earnings management or not, t he current study is also different from other prior researches.This study depends on cross sectional data because a time series data will misstate the data, so it is unique in its inputs of data. This paper is organized as follows: The first section defines earnings management, and describes the incentives of its practices by commercial banks, in addition to that, it explores the methods of practice and how these practices can be defected. The second section explores the most related prior researches. The third section presents the hypotheses of the current research. The fourth section describes the followed methodology in the current study.The fifth section presents the results, while the fifth explores the findings. Literature Review and Prior Researches Many people believe that the term of earnings management is understandable in its simple form, but most of those unable to determine whether a selected practice is an earnings management or not. Understanding what earnings managem ent constitutes and why it takes place is important for all users of accounting information. This study highlights the different aspects of earnings management, so it identifies clearly this term, and presents the incentives standing behind its practice.Moreover, the current study determines the methods of earnings management used by firms, and explores how these practices can be detected. Earnings management is defined as the â€Å"intentional misstatement of earnings leading to bottom line numbers that would have been different in the absence of any manipulation (Mohanram, 2003). Based on this definition, the practice of earnings management is an intentional behavior, and if this practice occurs unintentionally, it can not be classified under the practices of earnings management.Moreover, this definition states that the practice of earnings management phenomenon leads to users' misstatement. In other words, practitioners of earnings management have different purposes and they cha nge some accounting numbers to affect users in order to achieve these objectives. Healy and Wahlen (1999) state that earnings management â€Å"occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reporting accounting numbers†.This definition states that this practice is also intentional and purposeful. This definition mentions that contractual issues are incentives for managers to manage earnings. But we have to remember Some concerned people believe that earnings management mean upward manipulation. Actually, earnings management may be exercised either upward or downward. In most cases, the target of earnings determines to a large degree, whether the management of the firm practices earnings management upward or downward.Some people also believe that the all the practice of earnings management are illegal, and no legal practice exists. Actually, there are different practices of earnings management do not violate the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For example, speeding the size of sales during the last month or the fourth quarter is in agreement with the GAAP. Moreover, activating sales during the last month of the accounting period through granting discounts to customers is also in agreement with the GAAP, and is not a violation to the accounting standards.There are different incentives to managements of firms to practice the phenomenon of earnings management. Most of these incentives are related to benchmarks of earnings. Sometimes, the previous period's performance may be the benchmark to the firm. In other cases, the benchmark to the firm may be the expectations of financial analysts. The promised compensations to the firm's management may be the most important incentive of the practice of earnings management. Benchmarks are ne cessary for the determination whether the management deserves or does not deserve the promised compensation.Sometimes, the desire of the firm's management to increase the stock market price may also be one among the incentives to earnings management, especially, when the management is looking for more compensation. The normal positive relation between earnings and stock market price means that as the amount of announced earnings increases, the common stock market price is also increases. Therefore, when a desire exists to the firm's management to affect the common stock market price, the management will manage its earnings. Reducing the amount of income tax may also be one among the incentives of practicing earnings management.In many countries, business entities are subject to high income tax rates, where different categories of expenses are deducted from the income. When these entities are looking toward reducing the amounts of taxes, they practice the phenomenon of earnings manag ement. The practice of earnings management in this case may be through increasing the amounts of tax deductions, or through the decreasing the amounts of earnings. Sometimes, firm's management may manage earnings to simplify the issue of receiving credits from banks and other financial issues.In addition, firms may also manage earnings to reduce the cost of this credit, because when earnings are reasonable, the firm can receive credit smoothly without such obstacles, and at lower costs, but when the firm's earnings are unreasonable, this firm will face many obstacles to receive credit, and it may receive credit at higher costs. These are some of incentives or reasons of the practice of earnings management, but other incentives may be available to some firms, depending on the financial conditions of the firm's management itself.Managements of firms can follow different methods to manage earnings. Changing the assumptions for accounting standards is one of the most common used methods in managing earnings. It is already known that the GAAP are highly flexible, so managements can employ the high degree of flexibility available in these standards. Examples of this flexibility are the inventory flow methods which managements can use one among these, and the available options to depreciate some of the firm's assets, in addition to these; firms can review the assumed lives of these depreciable assets.As a result a variety of options are available to management whenever a desire to manage earnings exists. Managements can manage earnings through the determination to the bad debts provisions. For example, whenever there is a need to announce earnings higher than its actual value, management can determine these bad debts at amounts lower than their actual, while it can announce lower amounts of bad debts whenever there is a need to reduce the announced income. Managing transaction is one among the available options to management when there is a desire to manage earnings. For instance, management can grant high discounts during the last few days of the accounting period to recognize more revenue through sales under the accrual basis. One option is available to managements of firms is to activate sales or services during the last days of accounting period through the adoption to more sales on credit, and through longer period of payment are given to customers. Two approaches are available to detect the phenomenon of earnings management. The first is qualitative, while the second is quantitative approach.Using the two approaches together when this possible leads to more certain conclusions whether a firm or a group of firms manage earnings. Several steps have to be followed when there a need exists to detect earnings management through the qualitative methods. These steps are presented below: (Mohanram, 2003). 1. Identifying the key accounting policies of the firm or industry. Regarding the industry of the current research, the issues of credit risk an d interest rate risk are of crucial importance to banks. 2. Assessing the firm's accounting flexibility.The level of accounting flexibility may be high to some firms or industries, whereas, it may be low to other firms and industries. 3. Evaluating the firm's accounting strategy, and determining how this strategy differs from other competitors. 4. Assessing the firm's quality of disclosure. 5. Identifying the potential red flags. The following is an example of red flags: |Unexplained accounting changes, especially when performance is bad. | |Unexplained profit boosting transactions, such as sale of assets. | |Unusual increase in accounts receivable in relation to sales increase. |Increasing gap between net income and cash flow from operations. | |Increasing gap between net income for reporting and tax purposes. | |Unexpected large asset write-offs or write downs. | |Large fourth quarter adjustment. | |Qualified audit opinion or change in auditors. | |Large related party transactions . | 6. The final step is to undo accounting distortions by reversing out the impacts of dubious accounting wherever possible. Earnings management can be also detected analytically, based on the firm's accruals, which can be defined as the difference between net income and cash flow operations.In occasion, firms with high level of accruals are likely to have inflated earnings. Firms practice the phenomenon of earnings management can be determined through segregating discretionary accruals from non-discretionary accruals. In this case, Jones (1991) model can be used to segregate discretionary from non-discretionary accruals. In the current study we use this model to determine whether, or not, the Commercial Banking Industry practices the phenomenon of earnings management. This model is presented below:Where total accruals can be computed by finding the difference between income before extraordinary items and cash from operations in year t. Revenuest is revenues in year t, while revenu est-1 is the revenues at the end of year t-1. Total assetst-1 is total assets of year t-1. Gross PPEt is gross property, plant, and equipment at the end of year t, and B1, B2, and B3 are industry and year specific parameters to be estimated. The residual value in Jones's Model is the discretionary accruals for a firm in a given year, while the fitted value gives an estimate of the non-discretionary component of earnings.Researchers in the accounting literature have often focused on earnings management. Many researchers studied the issue of earnings management; most of these are focused in the Western or Far East Countries. A study titled † earnings Management: Do Large Investors Care? † and carried out by Senteza, Njoroge, and Gill (2005), deserves to be mentioned in the current study. This study mentions that institutional investment activity and behavior is an area that has become more interesting in recent times and so much work has been done so far.The contribution o f this study in the area of earnings management can be summarized in its documentation to the effect of earnings management activity on institutional investor ownership, especially through distinguishing the ownership changes in response to the direction of earnings management efforts. This study finds that institutional investors increase ownership in firms that manage earnings upwards and decrease ownership in firms that manage earnings downward before end-of-year reporting.Moreover, this study finds that the increases observed during an observed upwards earnings-managing activity are followed by decreases in ownership in these firms in the subsequent quarter, which may suggest resource allocation between large and small investors. In his comments at the practice of earnings management phenomenon, Simon (2005) argues that managing earnings is a wrong practice, in his paper titled â€Å"Earnings Management as A Professional Responsibility Problem†.The author of this paper st ates that managers of public companies often want an increase in current reported earnings per share; though they sometimes prefer a current decrease in the earnings they would otherwise report when it will allow them to show a smoothly increasing pattern of earnings in the future. He adds, on his comments on Schwarcz's paper, that â€Å"the ‘limits of lawyering' are the constraints of law, but having said that, the question remains-what do we mean by law? If we take a narrow, predictive conception of law, the limits will be less restrictive than if we take a broader, purposive view. . He also states that the more ambitious conception is most compatible with the idea of lawyering as a dignified calling. Caramanis and Lennox (2007), carried out a study titled â€Å"Audit Effort and Earnings Management† in their trial to determine the effect of audit hours on the practice of earnings management by the Greece Firms. To measure earnings management, the authors use the Jone s (1991) model based on the balance sheet approach rather than the cash flow statement approach because most Greek companies do not provide cash flow statements.There are three main findings of this study. First, companies are more likely to report income-increasing abnormal accruals than income-decreasing abnormal accruals, when audit hours are lower. Second, the magnitude of income-increasing abnormal accruals is negatively related to audit hours. Third, companies are more likely to manage earnings upwards to just meet or beat the zero earnings benchmark, when auditors work fewer hours. Moreover, this study finds weak or insignificant associations between audit hours and the magnitude of negative abnormal accruals.A study titles â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management† for the purpse of evaluating alternative accrual-based models for detecting earnings management is carried out by Dechow and Sweeney (1995). This paper evaluates the ability of alternative models to detect earnin gs management. Concerning this issue, the paper finds that all the models considered appear to produce reasonably well specified tests for a random sample of event-years. When the models are applied to samples of firm-years experiencing extreme financial performance, all models lead to misspecified tests.The second finding of this paper is that the models all generate tests of low power for earnings management of economically plausible magnitudes. Moreover, this paper reveals that all models reject the null hypothesis of no earnings management at rates exceeding the specified test-levels when applied to sample of firms with extreme financial reporting. The most important finding of this paper is that a modified version of the model developed by Jones (1001) has the most power in detecting earnings management.Kerstein and Rai (2007), carried out a study titled â€Å"Working Capital Accruals and Earnings Management†. The purpose of this study is to reexamine market reactions to large and small working capital accruals. This study involves three hypotheses. First, negative or positive large working capital accruals have no impact on the earnings response coefficient of firms reporting positive small earnings surprises. Second, Positive or negative large working capital accruals have no impact on earnings response coefficients of firms reporting small earnings declines.Third Positive or negative large working capital accruals have no impact on earnings response coefficients of firms reporting large earnings increases or declines. The authors focus on nonlinear relations between returns and large working capital accruals and use raw returns computed as the compounded monthly returns from nine months prior to the fiscal year-end to three months after the fiscal year-end as the dependent variable. They find that the market discounts unexpected earnings when there are small increases in earnings using negative large working capital accruals or negative large wo rking capital accruals.They also find little or no evidence that positive or negative large working capital accruals lead to lower earnings response coefficients in the remaining six situations. In his study titles â€Å"Earnings Management, Earnings Manipulation: Evidence from Taiwanese Corporations†, (2008), Chai-hui Chen differentiates between earnings management and earnings manipulation among the Taiwanese companies. In this study, Chai examines 7 hypotheses based on a sample of 90 public firms throughout 1999-2004.The main findings this study concludes that: (1) unlike the control group, earning manipulators face greater capital market and contract motivations to manage earnings; (2) earnings manipulators are more inclined to appoint fewer independent directors to their boards, to appoint fewer independent supervisors to their supervisory boards, and to posses considerably less managerial ownership; and (3) earnings manipulators are more likely than the control group to express aggressive attitudes and rationalizations to manage earnings changes before interests and taxes, or both.To examine the effect of firm's stock price sensitivity to earnings news, as measured by outstanding stock recommendation, on incentives to manage earnings, Abarbanel and Leahavy (2003) carried out a study titled â€Å"Can Stock Recommendations Predict Earnings Management and Analysts' Earnings Forecast Errors†. This study examines hypotheses concerning (1) the effect of introducing equity-market-based earnings targets on firms' earnings management, and (2) the effects of such earnings management actions on ensuring analysts' forecast errors.In this study, quarterly unexpected accruals are calculated using the modified Jones (1991) model. This study finds evidence that a firm's stock price sensitivity to earnings news, as measured by outstanding stock recommendation, affects its incentives to manage earnings and, in turn, affects analysts' ex post forecast errors. Moreover, this study finds a tendency for firms rated a Sell (Buy) to engage More (less) frequently in extreme, income-decreasing earnings management, indicating that they have relatively stronger (weaker) incentives to create accounting reserves.In contrast, this study finds that firms rated a Buy (Sell) are more (less)likely to engage in earnings management that leaves reported earnings equal to or slightly higher than analysts' forecasts. Zhang (2002) carried out his study titled, â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management – Evidence from Rounding-up in Reported EPS†, for the purpose of evaluating a comprehensive list of metrics propsed for detecting earnings management in a setting where managers manipulate earnings to round up reported earnings per share (EPS).This study provide the evidence that adds to the debate on the abilities of accrual-based models to detect earnings management of small magnitude. The study cast doubt on the abilities of accrual-based models to c atch minor offenses, which is likely to be the norm, rather than exception of various forms of earnings management. The metrics under evaluation of this study are deferred tax expense and discretionary accruals computed from DeAngelo Model, Healy Model, Jones Model, Modified Jones Model, Cross-sectional Jones Model, and Forward-looking Jones Model.This study finds that deferred tax expense is able to detect earnings management in the rounding-up setting while discretionary accruals models are not. Moreover, this study provides the evidence that firms manipulate bad debt expense for the purpose of rounding-up reported EPS. Chan, Jegadeesh, and Sougiannis (2004) carried out a study titled â€Å"The Accrual Effect on Future Earnings† in an attempt to clarify whether current accruals affect future earnings. The authors find a strong negative relationship between accruals and the aggregate future earnings.This study mentions that if firms manage accruals upward by $1 today while h olding current earnings constant, aggregate future earnings will decline, on average, by $ 0. 096 over the following three years and $0. 202 in the long run. This study also examines the accrual effects classified by firm characteristics to test the source of the negative relationship between accruals and future earnings. The study shows that high price-earnings stocks experience an enormous accrual impact on their future earnings, with 39% of current accruals reversing in the long run.Moreover, this study shows that firms with high market-to-book ratios also have large accrual reversals, so when this is grouped by accruals, the accrual effects are significantly stronger for high accrual firms than for low accrual firms. Among the additional important findings of this study is that Jones model significantly underperforms the CF-Jones model in explaining the cross-sectional accrual variability, with only 24% of mean adjusted –R2 for the Jones model compared to 57% for CF-Jones Model.This result shows the CF-Jones model superiority in identifying the manipulated earnings. The most recent study concerning the detection of earnings management relates to Miller (2009) and titled â€Å"The Development of the Miller Ratio (MR): A Tool to Detect for the Possibility of Earnings Management (EM)†. In this study, Miller uses new technique to detect earnings management called â€Å"Miller Ratio†, based on net working capital (NWC) and cash flow from operations (CFO). Miller also compares between the esults reached through his own model and the results revealed based on Modified Jones Model. In this study, the author states that the large body of literature on the topic of earnings management provides discussion of total accruals, discretionary total accruals, and current accruals. The findings of this study indicate that neither the Miller Ratio nor the Modified Jones Model predicted the possibility of earnings management at a statistical acceptable le vel of confidence on the body of data with acknowledged earnings management. .Caramanis, A. , and Lennox, C. , (2008), â€Å"Audit Effort and Earnings Management†, Journal of Accounting and Economics 45, PP. 116-138. 2. Jones, J. , (1991), â€Å"Earnings Management during import relief Investigations†, Journal of Accounting Research 29, pp. 193-228. 3. Dechow, M. , and Sweeney, P. , (1005), â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management†, The Accounting Review, Vol. 70, No. 2, PP 193-225. 4. Kerstein, J. , and Rai, A. (2007), â€Å"Working Capital Accruals and Earnings Management†, Investment Management and Financial Innovation, Vol. 4, Issue 2, PP. 33-47. 5. Chen, C. , (2008), â€Å"Earnings Management, Earnings Manipulation: Evidence from Taiwanese Corporations, Available on Line: 6. Abarbanell, J. , and Lehavy, R. , (2003), â€Å"Can Stock Recommendations Predict Earnings Management and Analysts' Earnings Forecast Errors? â€Å", Journal of Accounting Research , Vol. 41, No. 1, PP. 1-47. 7. Zhang, H. (2002), â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management – Evidence from Rounding-up in Reported EPS†, Available on Line. 8. Chan, K. , Jegadeesh, N. , and Sougiannis, T. , (2004), â€Å"The Accrual Effect on Future Earnings†, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 22, PP. 97-121. 9. Miller, J. E. , (2009), â€Å"The Development of the Miller Ratio (MR): A Tool to Detect fot the Possibility of Earnings Management (EM)†, Journal of Business ; Economics Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, PP. 79-90. Earning Management Does the Commercial Banking Industry of UAE Practice Earnings Management Dr. Mohammed Obeidat Introduction It is the right of external users of accounting information to be provided with more adequate information to protect their interests. Many questionable issues concerning the term of earnings management are still available. Auditors, accountants, financial analysts, and other concerned parties may hold the responsibility of detecting external users from the practices of earnings management. Many questionable issues are still available regarding the term of earnings management.Some people may have no enough idea about what practices are classified under earnings management, and what practices can not be classified under this term. Users of accounting information are different but few of them have the ability to detect the practices of earnings management. Because there are different methods of practicing earnings management, detecting the practices of earnings management is one of the difficult issues. The common practice of earnings management by firms and the negative effects of these practices on external users of financial accounting information justify the investigation of this issue.Many users may lose some of their wealth as a result of practicing this phenomenon. Many financial crises appear in our world from time to time, and some reasons of these crises are related to incorrect announced financial information. The problem of the current study will be simpler, if it is presented through the following question: How investors can detect the practices of earnings management, in order to have the ability to protect themselves from the negative effects of these practices?The answer to this question may seem more difficult, so the current study present an example from the Commercial Banking Industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Studying the phenomena of practicing earnings management is important, because this will highlight why managers may practic e this phenomenon. Many incentives may be available to managers and promote them to practice earnings management. These incentives will be highlighted later on in the current study, but when investors are knowledgeable with some of these incentives, they can consider and analyze the financial information of their entities more.Moreover, when users are aware with the methods that are followed by managers to practice earnings management, they will be more eligible to detect these practices. The current study will explore the most available methods of practicing earnings management. The importance of the current study is increased, because it highlights how investors can determine whether there is a practice of earnings management or not. The objectives this study is looking to achieve are as follows: 1. To highlight the incentives standing behind the practice of earnings management by managers. 2.To inform users about the methods available to firms' management to manage the earnings. 3. To determine the qualitative and quantitative available procedures that can be used to detect the practices of earnings management. 4. To determine whether the Commercial Banking Industry of UAE practices or does not practice the phenomenon of earnings management. 5. In a case of earnings management is detected, this study aims to detect whether these practices were upward or downward practices. Our study makes a unique contribution to the literature by using data from the announced financial statement of Commercial Banking Industry of UAE.This study differs from the prior studies in its location, methods, objectives, and nature of data used in the analysis. Because the current study involves the commercial banks of ABU Dhabi, and because all of these commercial banks are listed in Abu Dhabi Stock Market, this study is unique in its location. Just few studies outside Abu Dhabi followed quantitative method to investigate whether there are practices of earnings management or not, t he current study is also different from other prior researches.This study depends on cross sectional data because a time series data will misstate the data, so it is unique in its inputs of data. This paper is organized as follows: The first section defines earnings management, and describes the incentives of its practices by commercial banks, in addition to that, it explores the methods of practice and how these practices can be defected. The second section explores the most related prior researches. The third section presents the hypotheses of the current research. The fourth section describes the followed methodology in the current study.The fifth section presents the results, while the fifth explores the findings. Literature Review and Prior Researches Many people believe that the term of earnings management is understandable in its simple form, but most of those unable to determine whether a selected practice is an earnings management or not. Understanding what earnings managem ent constitutes and why it takes place is important for all users of accounting information. This study highlights the different aspects of earnings management, so it identifies clearly this term, and presents the incentives standing behind its practice.Moreover, the current study determines the methods of earnings management used by firms, and explores how these practices can be detected. Earnings management is defined as the â€Å"intentional misstatement of earnings leading to bottom line numbers that would have been different in the absence of any manipulation (Mohanram, 2003). Based on this definition, the practice of earnings management is an intentional behavior, and if this practice occurs unintentionally, it can not be classified under the practices of earnings management.Moreover, this definition states that the practice of earnings management phenomenon leads to users' misstatement. In other words, practitioners of earnings management have different purposes and they cha nge some accounting numbers to affect users in order to achieve these objectives. Healy and Wahlen (1999) state that earnings management â€Å"occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reporting accounting numbers†.This definition states that this practice is also intentional and purposeful. This definition mentions that contractual issues are incentives for managers to manage earnings. But we have to remember Some concerned people believe that earnings management mean upward manipulation. Actually, earnings management may be exercised either upward or downward. In most cases, the target of earnings determines to a large degree, whether the management of the firm practices earnings management upward or downward.Some people also believe that the all the practice of earnings management are illegal, and no legal practice exists. Actually, there are different practices of earnings management do not violate the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For example, speeding the size of sales during the last month or the fourth quarter is in agreement with the GAAP. Moreover, activating sales during the last month of the accounting period through granting discounts to customers is also in agreement with the GAAP, and is not a violation to the accounting standards.There are different incentives to managements of firms to practice the phenomenon of earnings management. Most of these incentives are related to benchmarks of earnings. Sometimes, the previous period's performance may be the benchmark to the firm. In other cases, the benchmark to the firm may be the expectations of financial analysts. The promised compensations to the firm's management may be the most important incentive of the practice of earnings management. Benchmarks are ne cessary for the determination whether the management deserves or does not deserve the promised compensation.Sometimes, the desire of the firm's management to increase the stock market price may also be one among the incentives to earnings management, especially, when the management is looking for more compensation. The normal positive relation between earnings and stock market price means that as the amount of announced earnings increases, the common stock market price is also increases. Therefore, when a desire exists to the firm's management to affect the common stock market price, the management will manage its earnings. Reducing the amount of income tax may also be one among the incentives of practicing earnings management.In many countries, business entities are subject to high income tax rates, where different categories of expenses are deducted from the income. When these entities are looking toward reducing the amounts of taxes, they practice the phenomenon of earnings manag ement. The practice of earnings management in this case may be through increasing the amounts of tax deductions, or through the decreasing the amounts of earnings. Sometimes, firm's management may manage earnings to simplify the issue of receiving credits from banks and other financial issues.In addition, firms may also manage earnings to reduce the cost of this credit, because when earnings are reasonable, the firm can receive credit smoothly without such obstacles, and at lower costs, but when the firm's earnings are unreasonable, this firm will face many obstacles to receive credit, and it may receive credit at higher costs. These are some of incentives or reasons of the practice of earnings management, but other incentives may be available to some firms, depending on the financial conditions of the firm's management itself.Managements of firms can follow different methods to manage earnings. Changing the assumptions for accounting standards is one of the most common used methods in managing earnings. It is already known that the GAAP are highly flexible, so managements can employ the high degree of flexibility available in these standards. Examples of this flexibility are the inventory flow methods which managements can use one among these, and the available options to depreciate some of the firm's assets, in addition to these; firms can review the assumed lives of these depreciable assets.As a result a variety of options are available to management whenever a desire to manage earnings exists. Managements can manage earnings through the determination to the bad debts provisions. For example, whenever there is a need to announce earnings higher than its actual value, management can determine these bad debts at amounts lower than their actual, while it can announce lower amounts of bad debts whenever there is a need to reduce the announced income. Managing transaction is one among the available options to management when there is a desire to manage earnings. For instance, management can grant high discounts during the last few days of the accounting period to recognize more revenue through sales under the accrual basis. One option is available to managements of firms is to activate sales or services during the last days of accounting period through the adoption to more sales on credit, and through longer period of payment are given to customers. Two approaches are available to detect the phenomenon of earnings management. The first is qualitative, while the second is quantitative approach.Using the two approaches together when this possible leads to more certain conclusions whether a firm or a group of firms manage earnings. Several steps have to be followed when there a need exists to detect earnings management through the qualitative methods. These steps are presented below: (Mohanram, 2003). 1. Identifying the key accounting policies of the firm or industry. Regarding the industry of the current research, the issues of credit risk an d interest rate risk are of crucial importance to banks. 2. Assessing the firm's accounting flexibility.The level of accounting flexibility may be high to some firms or industries, whereas, it may be low to other firms and industries. 3. Evaluating the firm's accounting strategy, and determining how this strategy differs from other competitors. 4. Assessing the firm's quality of disclosure. 5. Identifying the potential red flags. The following is an example of red flags: |Unexplained accounting changes, especially when performance is bad. | |Unexplained profit boosting transactions, such as sale of assets. | |Unusual increase in accounts receivable in relation to sales increase. |Increasing gap between net income and cash flow from operations. | |Increasing gap between net income for reporting and tax purposes. | |Unexpected large asset write-offs or write downs. | |Large fourth quarter adjustment. | |Qualified audit opinion or change in auditors. | |Large related party transactions . | 6. The final step is to undo accounting distortions by reversing out the impacts of dubious accounting wherever possible. Earnings management can be also detected analytically, based on the firm's accruals, which can be defined as the difference between net income and cash flow operations.In occasion, firms with high level of accruals are likely to have inflated earnings. Firms practice the phenomenon of earnings management can be determined through segregating discretionary accruals from non-discretionary accruals. In this case, Jones (1991) model can be used to segregate discretionary from non-discretionary accruals. In the current study we use this model to determine whether, or not, the Commercial Banking Industry practices the phenomenon of earnings management. This model is presented below:Where total accruals can be computed by finding the difference between income before extraordinary items and cash from operations in year t. Revenuest is revenues in year t, while revenu est-1 is the revenues at the end of year t-1. Total assetst-1 is total assets of year t-1. Gross PPEt is gross property, plant, and equipment at the end of year t, and B1, B2, and B3 are industry and year specific parameters to be estimated. The residual value in Jones's Model is the discretionary accruals for a firm in a given year, while the fitted value gives an estimate of the non-discretionary component of earnings.Researchers in the accounting literature have often focused on earnings management. Many researchers studied the issue of earnings management; most of these are focused in the Western or Far East Countries. A study titled † earnings Management: Do Large Investors Care? † and carried out by Senteza, Njoroge, and Gill (2005), deserves to be mentioned in the current study. This study mentions that institutional investment activity and behavior is an area that has become more interesting in recent times and so much work has been done so far.The contribution o f this study in the area of earnings management can be summarized in its documentation to the effect of earnings management activity on institutional investor ownership, especially through distinguishing the ownership changes in response to the direction of earnings management efforts. This study finds that institutional investors increase ownership in firms that manage earnings upwards and decrease ownership in firms that manage earnings downward before end-of-year reporting.Moreover, this study finds that the increases observed during an observed upwards earnings-managing activity are followed by decreases in ownership in these firms in the subsequent quarter, which may suggest resource allocation between large and small investors. In his comments at the practice of earnings management phenomenon, Simon (2005) argues that managing earnings is a wrong practice, in his paper titled â€Å"Earnings Management as A Professional Responsibility Problem†.The author of this paper st ates that managers of public companies often want an increase in current reported earnings per share; though they sometimes prefer a current decrease in the earnings they would otherwise report when it will allow them to show a smoothly increasing pattern of earnings in the future. He adds, on his comments on Schwarcz's paper, that â€Å"the ‘limits of lawyering' are the constraints of law, but having said that, the question remains-what do we mean by law? If we take a narrow, predictive conception of law, the limits will be less restrictive than if we take a broader, purposive view. . He also states that the more ambitious conception is most compatible with the idea of lawyering as a dignified calling. Caramanis and Lennox (2007), carried out a study titled â€Å"Audit Effort and Earnings Management† in their trial to determine the effect of audit hours on the practice of earnings management by the Greece Firms. To measure earnings management, the authors use the Jone s (1991) model based on the balance sheet approach rather than the cash flow statement approach because most Greek companies do not provide cash flow statements.There are three main findings of this study. First, companies are more likely to report income-increasing abnormal accruals than income-decreasing abnormal accruals, when audit hours are lower. Second, the magnitude of income-increasing abnormal accruals is negatively related to audit hours. Third, companies are more likely to manage earnings upwards to just meet or beat the zero earnings benchmark, when auditors work fewer hours. Moreover, this study finds weak or insignificant associations between audit hours and the magnitude of negative abnormal accruals.A study titles â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management† for the purpse of evaluating alternative accrual-based models for detecting earnings management is carried out by Dechow and Sweeney (1995). This paper evaluates the ability of alternative models to detect earnin gs management. Concerning this issue, the paper finds that all the models considered appear to produce reasonably well specified tests for a random sample of event-years. When the models are applied to samples of firm-years experiencing extreme financial performance, all models lead to misspecified tests.The second finding of this paper is that the models all generate tests of low power for earnings management of economically plausible magnitudes. Moreover, this paper reveals that all models reject the null hypothesis of no earnings management at rates exceeding the specified test-levels when applied to sample of firms with extreme financial reporting. The most important finding of this paper is that a modified version of the model developed by Jones (1001) has the most power in detecting earnings management.Kerstein and Rai (2007), carried out a study titled â€Å"Working Capital Accruals and Earnings Management†. The purpose of this study is to reexamine market reactions to large and small working capital accruals. This study involves three hypotheses. First, negative or positive large working capital accruals have no impact on the earnings response coefficient of firms reporting positive small earnings surprises. Second, Positive or negative large working capital accruals have no impact on earnings response coefficients of firms reporting small earnings declines.Third Positive or negative large working capital accruals have no impact on earnings response coefficients of firms reporting large earnings increases or declines. The authors focus on nonlinear relations between returns and large working capital accruals and use raw returns computed as the compounded monthly returns from nine months prior to the fiscal year-end to three months after the fiscal year-end as the dependent variable. They find that the market discounts unexpected earnings when there are small increases in earnings using negative large working capital accruals or negative large wo rking capital accruals.They also find little or no evidence that positive or negative large working capital accruals lead to lower earnings response coefficients in the remaining six situations. In his study titles â€Å"Earnings Management, Earnings Manipulation: Evidence from Taiwanese Corporations†, (2008), Chai-hui Chen differentiates between earnings management and earnings manipulation among the Taiwanese companies. In this study, Chai examines 7 hypotheses based on a sample of 90 public firms throughout 1999-2004.The main findings this study concludes that: (1) unlike the control group, earning manipulators face greater capital market and contract motivations to manage earnings; (2) earnings manipulators are more inclined to appoint fewer independent directors to their boards, to appoint fewer independent supervisors to their supervisory boards, and to posses considerably less managerial ownership; and (3) earnings manipulators are more likely than the control group to express aggressive attitudes and rationalizations to manage earnings changes before interests and taxes, or both.To examine the effect of firm's stock price sensitivity to earnings news, as measured by outstanding stock recommendation, on incentives to manage earnings, Abarbanel and Leahavy (2003) carried out a study titled â€Å"Can Stock Recommendations Predict Earnings Management and Analysts' Earnings Forecast Errors†. This study examines hypotheses concerning (1) the effect of introducing equity-market-based earnings targets on firms' earnings management, and (2) the effects of such earnings management actions on ensuring analysts' forecast errors.In this study, quarterly unexpected accruals are calculated using the modified Jones (1991) model. This study finds evidence that a firm's stock price sensitivity to earnings news, as measured by outstanding stock recommendation, affects its incentives to manage earnings and, in turn, affects analysts' ex post forecast errors. Moreover, this study finds a tendency for firms rated a Sell (Buy) to engage More (less) frequently in extreme, income-decreasing earnings management, indicating that they have relatively stronger (weaker) incentives to create accounting reserves.In contrast, this study finds that firms rated a Buy (Sell) are more (less)likely to engage in earnings management that leaves reported earnings equal to or slightly higher than analysts' forecasts. Zhang (2002) carried out his study titled, â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management – Evidence from Rounding-up in Reported EPS†, for the purpose of evaluating a comprehensive list of metrics propsed for detecting earnings management in a setting where managers manipulate earnings to round up reported earnings per share (EPS).This study provide the evidence that adds to the debate on the abilities of accrual-based models to detect earnings management of small magnitude. The study cast doubt on the abilities of accrual-based models to c atch minor offenses, which is likely to be the norm, rather than exception of various forms of earnings management. The metrics under evaluation of this study are deferred tax expense and discretionary accruals computed from DeAngelo Model, Healy Model, Jones Model, Modified Jones Model, Cross-sectional Jones Model, and Forward-looking Jones Model.This study finds that deferred tax expense is able to detect earnings management in the rounding-up setting while discretionary accruals models are not. Moreover, this study provides the evidence that firms manipulate bad debt expense for the purpose of rounding-up reported EPS. Chan, Jegadeesh, and Sougiannis (2004) carried out a study titled â€Å"The Accrual Effect on Future Earnings† in an attempt to clarify whether current accruals affect future earnings. The authors find a strong negative relationship between accruals and the aggregate future earnings.This study mentions that if firms manage accruals upward by $1 today while h olding current earnings constant, aggregate future earnings will decline, on average, by $ 0. 096 over the following three years and $0. 202 in the long run. This study also examines the accrual effects classified by firm characteristics to test the source of the negative relationship between accruals and future earnings. The study shows that high price-earnings stocks experience an enormous accrual impact on their future earnings, with 39% of current accruals reversing in the long run.Moreover, this study shows that firms with high market-to-book ratios also have large accrual reversals, so when this is grouped by accruals, the accrual effects are significantly stronger for high accrual firms than for low accrual firms. Among the additional important findings of this study is that Jones model significantly underperforms the CF-Jones model in explaining the cross-sectional accrual variability, with only 24% of mean adjusted –R2 for the Jones model compared to 57% for CF-Jones Model.This result shows the CF-Jones model superiority in identifying the manipulated earnings. The most recent study concerning the detection of earnings management relates to Miller (2009) and titled â€Å"The Development of the Miller Ratio (MR): A Tool to Detect for the Possibility of Earnings Management (EM)†. In this study, Miller uses new technique to detect earnings management called â€Å"Miller Ratio†, based on net working capital (NWC) and cash flow from operations (CFO). Miller also compares between the esults reached through his own model and the results revealed based on Modified Jones Model. In this study, the author states that the large body of literature on the topic of earnings management provides discussion of total accruals, discretionary total accruals, and current accruals. The findings of this study indicate that neither the Miller Ratio nor the Modified Jones Model predicted the possibility of earnings management at a statistical acceptable le vel of confidence on the body of data with acknowledged earnings management. .Caramanis, A. , and Lennox, C. , (2008), â€Å"Audit Effort and Earnings Management†, Journal of Accounting and Economics 45, PP. 116-138. 2. Jones, J. , (1991), â€Å"Earnings Management during import relief Investigations†, Journal of Accounting Research 29, pp. 193-228. 3. Dechow, M. , and Sweeney, P. , (1005), â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management†, The Accounting Review, Vol. 70, No. 2, PP 193-225. 4. Kerstein, J. , and Rai, A. (2007), â€Å"Working Capital Accruals and Earnings Management†, Investment Management and Financial Innovation, Vol. 4, Issue 2, PP. 33-47. 5. Chen, C. , (2008), â€Å"Earnings Management, Earnings Manipulation: Evidence from Taiwanese Corporations, Available on Line: 6. Abarbanell, J. , and Lehavy, R. , (2003), â€Å"Can Stock Recommendations Predict Earnings Management and Analysts' Earnings Forecast Errors? â€Å", Journal of Accounting Research , Vol. 41, No. 1, PP. 1-47. 7. Zhang, H. (2002), â€Å"Detecting Earnings Management – Evidence from Rounding-up in Reported EPS†, Available on Line. 8. Chan, K. , Jegadeesh, N. , and Sougiannis, T. , (2004), â€Å"The Accrual Effect on Future Earnings†, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 22, PP. 97-121. 9. Miller, J. E. , (2009), â€Å"The Development of the Miller Ratio (MR): A Tool to Detect fot the Possibility of Earnings Management (EM)†, Journal of Business ; Economics Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, PP. 79-90.