Women like Chanel Bags Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Women like Chanel Bags - Essay Example In a period when luxury products have been the subject of intensive discussion and debate, current consumers are willing to offer considerably higher amounts of money for luxury products as a display of a particular product brings prestige to the owner apart from the functional utility. Luxury items are becoming a necessity as more than 51 percent women in Tokyo purchase Chanel bags. It is further important to mention that luxury consumption is influenced by factors such as brand image, quality, fashion, store atmosphere and patron status. There are contrasting views from Vigneron and Johnson who believe that categorization of luxury products, hedonist and perfectionists are more interested in pleasure derived from the use of luxury products and less interested in price rather than the quality of product, and its performance which leaves the debate open for discussion whether luxury products are bought for quality or just for the sake of prestige. The market for a luxury product is increasing with increasing income among the middle and high society which forces the manufacturers to provide fashionable items to its consumers which are durable and utilized optimally. Schroeder (1291) mentioned that typical turns in an art, artists, and aesthetics in management and marketing often involve ill-defined groping for innovation, creativity or play. The viability of a fashion brand is dependent upon the efficacy and appropriateness of the decisions of those responsible for its management.

How a Guitar Works Essay Example for Free

How a Guitar Works Essay A guitar can be defined as a musical instrument having â€Å"a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides† (Kasha, 1968) and believed to exist over 4000 years ago. The instrument was believed to be derived from the Greek instrument kithara, â€Å"a square-framed lap harp or lyre† (Guy, 2001). Today the guitar comes in many different forms but still follows the same dynamics to create beautiful melody. Music classifies a guitar as a chordophone or a string instrument. Physics describe a chordophone is any â€Å"instrument whose standing wave constraint is that at each end of the medium there must be a node† (Lapp, p. 61). A guitar has four essential components namely its hollow body, its neck, the head and its six strings. The body is the enclosed part of the guitar composed of the soundboard, a flat wooden piece that comprises the front of the body, supported by the wooden ribs and braces connected to the back board of the guitar to form the body cavity where air vibrates. The soundboard is etched with the sound hole, the hole where which the sound from the vibration travels out into the air. The bridge, which is mounted on the lower part of the soundboard, anchors each of the one ends of the six strings of the guitar. A thin piece is attached to the bridge, which is called the saddle, on which the strings rest. The guitar neck is made up of the fingerboard, the face of the neck where the fingers of the player are placed while pressing on a string. Frets, pieces the separate the fingerboard at definite intervals, are also part of the neck of the guitar. The end of the neck is made up of the nut, on which the other end of the strings rest, functioning similarly as the saddle. The head of the neck are where the ends of the string are affixed. The strings are tied onto a string post which can be freely rotated through worm gears. The tuning knobs provide for the control of the movement of the worm gears. Turning these knobs, enables the player to increase or decrease tension in the strings. The strings are the one who provides the tone that the guitar plays. Guitars have strings with different thickness for steel string guitars or densities for nylon string guitars, having its thickness or density increase gradually from top to bottom. The vibration of the strings determines the sound that the guitar plays. The vibrating strings alone are hardly audible. In order for the sound produced to be recognizable, the structure of the guitar is made as such in order to transfer the string vibrations to the plate of the soundboard through the bridge and saddle. The body then vibrates in all directions; however the ribs inside the body cavity keep the plate flat, despite these disturbances. Amplification, in the strictest definition of the word, is never the function of the guitar body. The small volume of sound produced due to string vibration is mostly due to the inefficient conversion of the energy from the plucking of the string into sound energy. The guitar body provides an efficient medium for this energy conversion due to its large surface area. The simple schematic below, cited as Fig. 1, demonstrates the transfer of energy as a guitar string is plucked. Figure 2. Energy Transfer in the Guitar Physics in Guitars Sound is any fluctuation is pressure resulting from the displacement of matter. However, what men recognize as being heard are tones, which are sounds that are repeated at a specific frequency. Humans can only recognize tones with frequencies between 20Hz and 20kHz. Musical notes, however, are collection of tones with specific frequencies that were found pleasing to one’s senses. The basic notes of the musical scale and their specific frequencies are as follows: 264Hz is middle C or middle do; 297Hz is D or re; 330Hz is E or mi; 352Hz is F or fa; 396Hz is G or so; 440Hz is A or la; 495Hz is B or ti; and 528Hz is the higher C or higher do. The masterful combination of these basic set of frequencies by musical composers enabled the conception of melodic harmony and symphony. The vibration of the strings of the guitar can be characterized as standing waves. The standing wave condition needs that the ends be terminated by a fixed node. The frequency of the vibration is determined by the length of the string and the tension experienced by the string. Therefore, in order to produce the different musical notes, the different frequencies of vibration should be achieved by the strings. The first mode of vibration or the fundamental harmonic of the string can be illustrated by the Fig. 2, where L is the length of the string and ? represents the wavelength, the length of one cycle of vibration, an upward movement and its corresponding downward movement along the string. Figure 2. Fundamental Harmonic of String (Lapp, p. 62) ? can be found to be twice of the string length, L. Since frequency is the ratio of the speed of vibration and the wavelength and the tension of the string is the product of the mass density or mass per unit length of the string and the speed of vibration, an expression of the frequency of vibration, expressed as f, in terms of the string tension, expressed as T, mass density of the string, expressed as ? , and L can be derived, thus the expression: These factors determine the frequency of the vibration, thus the tone that is played. An increase in ? and L decreases f, which results in a lower pitch. On the other hand, an increase in T, increases f, resulting in a higher pitch. The guitar provides control for all these factors. The difference in the density of the strings from top to bottom provides control for ?. The tuning knobs manage T while L is controlled by the player by pressing on the string against the fret. However, as the guitar string is struck, it does not vibrate solely on its fundamental frequency. Instead overtones are formed, which are harmonics with frequencies that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, which can be demonstrated by Fig. 3. These overtones provide the richness of sound, which seem to reverberate in one’s ears, instead of a flat sound of a tone with only a single harmonic. Figure 3. (from top to bottom) 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overtones (Hokin, 2001) â€Å"The guitar can be considered to be a system of coupled vibrators† (Fletcher Rossing, 1998, p. 240). Along with the vibration of the string as it is plucked, all other parts of the guitar vibrates, and with it energy is transferred through them as demonstrated in Fig. 1. A significant part of the production of tones of a guitar is the vibration of the body along with air inside its cavity. The movements and modes of vibration of the guitar body and the air inside it, in response to the string being plucked, are referred to as internal resonances, which provides for the increase in volume of the tone produced similar to hitting a snare. The frequency of thses internal resonances of the guitar body are determined by the volume of air that the body encloses and the size of the sound hole, one of which that has lowest frequency is termed as Helmholtz resonance. These modes of the vibration can be observed through the use of lasers in holographic interferograms, as exemplified by Fig. 4, wherein the vibrations are manifested as ripples in the guitar body. Figure 4. Guitar Body Resonances (Fletcher Rossing, 1998, p. 246) However, these resonances can affect the quality of the tone produced when its frequency is close to harmonics that the plucked string produces. Certain harmonics are attenuated further than usual resulting in higher or lower pitches. The appropriate placement of the ribs and braces inside the guitar body, aside from supporting the soundboard, keep these resonances at a minimum. The ribs and braces of the guitar are illustrated below. Figure 5. Bracings of a Guitar (Billington, 1999) The masterful combination of the components of a guitar through its development has enabled it to be a source of beautiful melody throughout generations. The guitar is concrete evidence how man can create harmony from chaos. References Flectcher, N. H. Rossing, T. D. (1998). The Physics of Musical Instruments. 2nd ed. New York. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. Billington, I. (1999). The Physics of the Acoustic Guitar. Retrieved from http://ffden-2. phys. uaf. edu/211. web. stuff/billington/main. htm. University of New South Wales. Guitar Acoustics. Retrieved from http://www. phys. unsw. edu. au/music/guitar/. Hokin, S. (2002). The Physics of Everyday Stuff. Retrieved from http://www. bsharp. org/ physics/ stuff/guitar. html. Lapp, D. R. The Physics of Music and Musical Instruments. Retrieved from http://www. tufts. edu/as/wright_center/workshops/workshop_archives/physics_2003_wkshp/ book/pom_book_acrobat_7. pdf. Brain, M. How Acoustic Guitars Work. Retrieved from http://entertainment. howstuffworks. com/guitar. htm. Guy, P. (2001). A Brief History of the Guitar. Retrieved from http://www. guyguitars. com/eng/ handbook/BriefHistory. html Parkkali, R. (2006). A Well Compensated Guitar. Retrieved from http://www. newmillguitar. com/ millen2. htm

Installing A Car Stereo System :: essays research papers

Installing A Car Stereo System Throughout this project, each component will be required to be compatible with the other components chosen. The dual purpose for this is to keep cost factor low and facilitating installation. Several adaptors can be eliminated by having compatible components. Five major components will be used in this system, the head unit, the front speakers, the rear speakers, the subwoofer, and the subwoofer amplifier. Head Unit The head unit is the most important component and must have certain features to make it adequate for this system. Some of the features we will not be using immediately but will require in case expansion is later desired. There are four major features required in the head unit, they are internal amplifier, Pre-amp out RCA jacks, CD controller and a face-off security feature. The head unit must have an internal amplifier that can produce at least 25 watts-per-channel so it can adequately power a decent pair of speakers. Reproduction of higher frequency sounds (i.e. violin, flute) as well as lower frequency sounds (bass violin, tuba) require more power to be heard at the same level as a midrange sound (voice, trumpet). The internal amplifier in the head unit must be able to generate enough wattage for the SPL (sound pressure level) of the higher frequencies to be heard clear in a space the size of the AEROSTAR. Pre-amp Out RCA Jacks To allow for low-level amplification without using an in-line power reducer, the head unit will require low level pre-amplification output jacks. Head units ordinarily come with either front and rear, or just rear RCA jacks. This situation will only require rear jacks since the head unit produces enough wattage sufficient for the front speakers. The sub-woofer system will be powered by an additional external amplifier by using these jacks. CD Controller Although cassettes are more versatile at this point in time, CD's are readily available and deliver a more quality sound. It would be a very good choice to assure that a CD Controller is built in. One that controls more than just a specific multi-CD player. Face-off Security Full-Panel detatchable security feature will also be required. Most head units have this as a standard feature making this feature, although indisposable, readily available. A unit that has mechanical fast-forward, rewind, and eject buttons will be preferred over a unit that has all these as electronic features. The reason for this comes apparent if ever a cassette tape is left in the unit and the tape is to be ejected without having the ignition key to power the unit. In the tuner section of the unit, local/distance switchting , dolby Installing A Car Stereo System :: essays research papers Installing A Car Stereo System Throughout this project, each component will be required to be compatible with the other components chosen. The dual purpose for this is to keep cost factor low and facilitating installation. Several adaptors can be eliminated by having compatible components. Five major components will be used in this system, the head unit, the front speakers, the rear speakers, the subwoofer, and the subwoofer amplifier. Head Unit The head unit is the most important component and must have certain features to make it adequate for this system. Some of the features we will not be using immediately but will require in case expansion is later desired. There are four major features required in the head unit, they are internal amplifier, Pre-amp out RCA jacks, CD controller and a face-off security feature. The head unit must have an internal amplifier that can produce at least 25 watts-per-channel so it can adequately power a decent pair of speakers. Reproduction of higher frequency sounds (i.e. violin, flute) as well as lower frequency sounds (bass violin, tuba) require more power to be heard at the same level as a midrange sound (voice, trumpet). The internal amplifier in the head unit must be able to generate enough wattage for the SPL (sound pressure level) of the higher frequencies to be heard clear in a space the size of the AEROSTAR. Pre-amp Out RCA Jacks To allow for low-level amplification without using an in-line power reducer, the head unit will require low level pre-amplification output jacks. Head units ordinarily come with either front and rear, or just rear RCA jacks. This situation will only require rear jacks since the head unit produces enough wattage sufficient for the front speakers. The sub-woofer system will be powered by an additional external amplifier by using these jacks. CD Controller Although cassettes are more versatile at this point in time, CD's are readily available and deliver a more quality sound. It would be a very good choice to assure that a CD Controller is built in. One that controls more than just a specific multi-CD player. Face-off Security Full-Panel detatchable security feature will also be required. Most head units have this as a standard feature making this feature, although indisposable, readily available. A unit that has mechanical fast-forward, rewind, and eject buttons will be preferred over a unit that has all these as electronic features. The reason for this comes apparent if ever a cassette tape is left in the unit and the tape is to be ejected without having the ignition key to power the unit. In the tuner section of the unit, local/distance switchting , dolby

Rage Against Machine Three Rebels Essay

The protagonists of the novels Emma by Jane Austen, My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain all share a rebellious streak that both serves them well and causes them trouble in their respective novels. However, these protagonists didn’t operate with a wild disregard to the rules of their society and times. Rather, all three characters are constrained in the end by the mores of Victorian England, Orthodox Jewish society and 19th century Southern values respectively. Exploring such aspects of Emma, My Name is Asher Lev, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as theme, historical context, and psychological traits, it will be shown that despite Emma Woodhouse’s disdain for the institution of marriage, Asher Lev’s living in the two seemingly opposite worlds of art and Jewish society, and Huckelberry Finn’s lack of respect for social refinement and rules, the three protagonists did not entirely succeed in their goals of living lives that went against the grain of their societies. Emma Woodhouse was described in the pages of Emma as a â€Å"†¦ handsome, clever, and rich†¦ † (Austen, p. 1, 1816) young woman who was the apple of her doting father’s eye and the mistress of Hartfield, their family estate. Taking credit for the union of her former governess and a Mr. Weston, Emma decided to further hone her â€Å"matchmaking† skills by setting up her friend Harriet Smith with various men of higher social status. This interest in Harriet Smith’s marriage prospects directly contradicts Emma’s own quest to remain single in a society that offered women only bleak alternatives to marriage. Despite Emma’s twin resolves to remain single and find Harriet a suitable mate, Emma eventually caved into the demands that were made on women of high social status when she gets engaged and realized that Harriet marrying a farmer named Robert Martin would forever alter their relationship. Asher Lev, the protagonist of My Name is Asher Lev, had loved to draw ever since he was small. His father, an important figure in the Ladover community, tried to discourage his son from getting too serious about his art while his mother implored Asher to draw pictures that were â€Å"pretty†, an assault to her son’s melancholy artistic temperment. Despite reading in an art book that an artist should be free of religion, country, etc, Asher decides that he will try to balance being a devout Jew with being a passionate artist. Under the guidance of Jacob Kahn, a non-practicing Jewish artist, Asher’s art and his knowledge flourishes as he explores the use of crucifixes in his work. Asher is uneasy about showing the crucifixion pictures in a show, but he goes through with it, being true to his calling as an artist. The crucifixes ultimately prove to be Asher Lev’s undoing as he is shunned by his parents and the Ladover community in general. Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is an adolescent boy who enjoys looking for trouble with his friend Tom Sawyer way more than trying to become a civilized boy at the hands of the widow and Miss Watson. After running away from his drunkard father, he decides to travel with Jim, who left Miss Watson’s house after he found out that Miss Watson was thinking of selling him. Even though Huckleberry Fin grows attached to Jim, he harbors doubts throughout the story about hiding a runaway slave. He even thinks about turning Jim in before deciding that having a conscience just wasn’t worth the mental agony of losing his friend. In the end, the protagonist’s rebellious act of helping a slave escape his captors prove to be for nothing as Miss Watson, his former master, decides to set him free. All three novels have themes that somehow relate back to rebellion or freedom. In Emma, the protagonist told her friend Harriet Smith that she never intended on getting married, a bold pronouncement in Victorian England. Her reasons are simple: â€Å"Fortune I do not want; employment I do not want; consequence I do not want; I believe few married women are half as much mistress of their husband’s house as I am of Hartfield†¦ † (Austen, p. 74, 1816) What Emma was saying was that her social status allowed her the freedom to chart her own course throughout life, an option given to few women at the time. Another way that Emma tried to rebel against the social customs of Victorian England was to find her friend Harriet a mate of high social status. Since Harriet’s bloodline was unknown, most people would have scoffed at a pairing of Harriet with a man like Mr. Elton or Frank Churchill. Mr. Knightley echoes this sentiment when talking to Mrs. Weston: â€Å"Hartfield will only put her out of conceit with all the other places she belongs to. She will grow just refined enough to be uncomfortable with those among whom birth and circumstances have placed her home. † (Austen, p. 31,1816) Freedom is the overarching theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the beginning and end of the novel, the protagonist yearns to be free from the rules and civilization of 19th century polite Southern society. For a boy that seemed to be hemmed in by clean clothes and spelling lessons, floating on a raft must have seemed like heaven: â€Å"Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft. † (Twain, p. 134, 1985) The novel even ends with Huckleberry Finn promising to run away looking for more adventures, claiming that he â€Å"been there before† (Twain, p. 296, 1985) with the civilized life. One of the themes of My Name is Asher Lev is the protagonist’s struggle between life as a devout Jew and life as an artist dedicated to his craft. This battle is evident on the first page as Asher Lev introduces himself to a reader that is already familiar with his work. In this passage, Asher tears himself apart yet defends himself at the same time, showing uncertainty years later with his decision to show the crucifixes: I am an observant Jew. Yes, of course, observant Jews do not paint crucifixions. As a matter of fact, observant Jews do not paint at all-in the way that I am painting†¦ I am a traitor, an apostate, a self-hater, an inflicter of shame upon my family†¦ Well, I am none of those things. And yet, in all honesty, I confess that my accusers are not altogether wrong; I am indeed, in some way, all of those things. (Potok, p. 1, 1972) It was established earlier that Emma rebelled against Victorian society by resolving to stay single and fix up her friend Harriet with a man above her social status. As the novel ended with Emma’s engagement to Mr. Knightley and Harriet’s engagement to Robert Martin, Emma realized that rebellion wasn’t quite her cup of tea, deciding to let her friendship with Harriet fall to that of social goodwill: â€Å"The intimacy between her and Emma must sink; their friendship must change into a calmer sort of goodwill†¦ † (Austen, p. 435, 1816) At the start of the novel, Emma wanted to live her life according to her rules, but by the end became caught up in the social mores of Victorian England. Sharing the psychological trait of rebelliousness with Emma Woodhouse, Huckleberry Finn did everything he could to escape the stifling life of rules and convention, even traveling the length of the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. However, the protagonist almost gave in to social conventions several times when he seriously thought about turning Jim in to the authorities. Huckleberry Finn even wrote a letter to Miss Watson telling her of Jim’s whereabouts, feeling better afterward. However, as Huckleberry Finn thought of all the things that Jim had done for him, he tears up the letter, saying â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell† (Twain, p. 223, 1985) The rebellious streak in Asher Lev started early. Even at a young age, Asher was willing to defend his gift, no matter the situation. For example, when Asher was called into the mashpia’s office for drawing a sinister picture of the Rebbe, Asher boldly stood up for his art to his disapproving father, something a polite Orthodox Jewish kid did not do in those times: â€Å"Foolishness is something that’s stupid†¦ Foolishness is something a person shouldn’t do. Foolishness is something that brings harm to the world. Foolishness is a waste of time. Please don’t call it foolishness any more, Papa. † (Potok, p. 129, 1972) Like Huckleberry Finn, Asher Lev knew how he wanted to live his life at a very young age. Also like Huck Finn, Asher was willing to thwart social conventions in order to communicate this. Despite the rebellious streaks of Emma Woodhouse, Huckleberry Finn, and Asher Lev, the time periods in which the three novels take place largely serve to mute the three protagonists’ individuality. In Emma, for example, women of her class were expected to be married. Those who didn’t were largely seen as pathetic beings on which to take pity. The character of Miss Bates was presented as a ridiculous character, seen as a clown-like figure by Emma and others, and seen as an object of sympathy such characters as Mr. Knightley. Even Harriet Smith saw Miss Bates as someone to be pitied. However, Emma, Harriet, and even Jane Fairfax, thought to be doomed to a governess position, escaped Miss Bates’ fate by marrying according to the social customs of Victorian England. Rebellious in her youth, Emma realizes the â€Å"error† of her ways and did her womanly duty. The vile tradition of slavery provided a subtle color to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yes, the protagonist became close friends with a runaway slave. However, it was obvious that Huckleberry Finn was conflicted about this friendship. One example of this conflict occurred when the protagonist meets his friend Tom Sawyer , who was on his way to visit relatives. When Tom suggests that they steal Jim away from the Phelps’ farm, Huckleberry Finn is flabbergasted: â€Å"Well, I let go all holts, then, like I was shot. It was the most astonishing speech I had ever heard-and I’m bound to say Tom Sawyer fell, considerable, in my estimation. † (Twain, p. 235, 1985) In other words, it was ok for Jim to travel with Huck when they were in no danger of getting caught. Once caught, Jim was no longer Huck’s problem. He was even surprised that anyone would go to the trouble of breaking the law to help a slave escape. Huckleberry Finn wasn’t a bad person. He was just a victim of pre-Civil War America. Growing up an Orthodox Jew who was also a gifted artist in the mid 20th century was a unique situation for Asher Lev. Throughout My Name is Asher Lev, the protagonist had tried valiantly to combine being a devout Jew with being an even more devout artist. He observed the Jewish faith despite studying under a non-practicing Jewish artist and living in Europe for a while. At the end, something had to give in Asher’s struggle between Judaism and art, and it ended up being his place in the Ladover community. As Asher walked down the street after the Rebbe cast him out of the community, he contemplates his life thus far: â€Å"I was demonic and devine†¦ Asher Lev†¦ was the child of the Master of the Universe and the Other Side. Asher Lev paints good pictures and hurts people he loves. † (Potok, 367, 1972) From this passage, one can see how Asher Lev wondered whether the sacrifice was actually worth the love of his parents and his community. The protagonists of Emma, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and My Name is Asher Lev all sought to do things that were not really done in their times. Emma Woodhouse sought to raise the social status of her friend by marriage while remaining single herself in a time when both acts were looked down upon. Huckleberry Finn wanted to escape civilization while bringing along a runaway slave for company. Asher Lev wanted to combine the life of faith with the life of art in a time when no one would even think about the two concepts together. Ultimately, the times of the three rebel protagonists proved to be too much, dulling their mutinous acts.

Acct 504 Case Study 2

ACCT504 – Accounting and Finance: Managerial Use and Analysis| Case Study 2| Evaluation of LJB Company’s Internal Controls| | [Type the author name]| Due: Feburary 10, 2013| Table of Contents Paragraph Introduction1 Accounting regulations2 Establishing a Control Environment3 Segregation of duties4 Segregation of record keeping form physical custody 5 Policies for petty cash6 Pre-numbered invoices 7 Distribution of paychecks8 Hiring policies9 Independent internal verification 10 Conclusion 11The following is an evaluation of LJB Company’s internal controls, based on the information provided by the President of the company in an effort to prepare his company for the requirements needed to be a publically run company. First, I will establish the legal requirement needed and the importance of internal controls for an organization. Then I will review the current policies and establish better internal controls for each area of concern. Once these policies have been ins tituted by the LJB Company, they should be ready to proceed with their plan to go public.There are many accounting regulations required by a public company. All accounting reports must follow the FASB and SEC guidelines. However, the newest accounting guidelines fall under the Saranes-Oxley act of 2002. The Act mandates reform to improve financial disclosure from companies and to reduce fraud. It requires that senior management must verify the accuracy of the reported financial statement. Plus it requires that management and auditors maintain a system of internal controls and report the methods of these controls.If the company doesn’t comply with the requirements, they could be subject to hefty fines. Before establishing internal controls, it is essential that the company establishes their control environment. The company’s management must clearly outline its goals, standards and ethics since they â€Å"set the stage† for the atmosphere and integrity for the ent ire organization. With the control environment in place, management can then implement its internal controls. I will review what control activities the company is doing right and what the company will need to change.The following control activities will be reviewed; segregation of duties, establishment of responsibility, adequate documents and records, physical control over assets and records and independent checks on performance. Currently, the LJB Company has one person who serves as the Treasurer and Controller. His responsibility includes purchases and paying for all of the supplies. This policy leaves the company venerable to fraud and increases the chances of errors. The company must establish a segregation of duties.Responsibilities should be separate, so no employee should be in the position to both make and conceal errors or fraud in the normal course of their duties. Therefore, I would recommend one person should be in charge of purchasing the supplies and that all purchas es should be approved by a supervisor. Another person should be in charge of paying for the supplies and verifying that the purchase is accurate and approved. This should reduce the risk of undetected errors and limit the opportunity for fraudulent behavior.In addition to the purchasing/paying duties, the accounting person also receives the checks and completes the monthly bank reconciliation. When one individual is responsible for both activities, the potential for errors and irregularities is increased. There should be a segregation of record keeping form and physical custody. The accountant should not have custody of the checks and be responsible for the monthly band reconciliation. There should be a policy in which the work is either separated or reviewed by a supervisor. Next, I will review the company’s policy for petty cash.The current system allows every employee access to the cash and they are only required to leave a note if they remove any funds. This policy violat es many proper internal control activities. The company needs to establish who is ultimately responsible for handling the petty cash. Only authorized personnel should have access to the funds. Expenses paid from the petty cash fund can only be made for the purpose the fund was authorized and must be supported by a receipt. When it is not in use, the petty cash box must be placed in a locked safe or cabinet.An independent count of the receipts and cash on hand must be performed regularly by an accounting officer or supervisor. The new policy of using pre-numbered invoices is an excellent way to insure that all documents are accounted for. It will also help errors such as, entering the record in more than once or missing entries entirely. Any gap in the numerical sequence may indicate a problem and possibly catch errors. I would also recommend the purchase of indelible ink machine to print checks. This will insure that the ink cannot be erased or washed away for fraudulent use.Next we will review the controls set up regarding issuing paychecks. The current procedure has the accountant picking up the paychecks and leaving them in his office for pick up. The checks are locked into a safe if he leaves for the weekend. When you pay employees, certain controls are needed to reduce the risk of fraud or errors. Whenever possible, the accountant should hand the checks directly to the employee, and always lock up undistributed paychecks. Another solution would be to have your employees set their paychecks to be automatically deposited directly into their personal bank account.The next step is to review your hiring policies. I would recommend counting the policy of having both the President and the accountant interview and make decisions on hiring an individual. However, I would also recommend implementing the following policies. If an employee handles cash, the company should have that employee bonded to protect the company from theft. A thorough background check should be run on each employee. All credentials should be verified by phone or by receiving a copy if applicable. After the employee has been vetted, be sure to cross train employees.This will be useful when you require employees to take vacations and rotate employee’s duties. All of these practices should lower the risk of employee theft. To ensure the reliability of the accounting information, an employee’s duties should be verified by others who do did not do the work themselves. I would also recommend that the company sets up a system for an independent internal verification. The company should audit data prepared by an employee periodically. This person should be independent of the activities or department of the person being audited.All discrepancies will need to be reported to management, so corrective action should be taken. In conclusion, establishing a system of internal controls will create a system of checks and balances that will reduce fraud, errors, increase ef fectiveness and insure they are fully compliant will all laws and regulation. Each internal control is the means by which an organization’s resources are directed, monitored and measured. These recommendations will help the company establish specific policies and procedures they will need to reach their goals of becoming a publically traded company. Resources

Literary Analysis of Fisherman by Kurt Brown Essays - Fisherman

Literary Analysis of Fisherman by Kurt Brown Essays - Fisherman Literary Analysis of Fisherman by Kurt Brown English 100 Effective College English I Prof. Stef Donev April 27, 2012 Literary Analysis of Fisherman by Kurt Brown In Kurt Browns poem Fisherman, he reveals how life can be related to the action of fishing in the ocean. The poet tries to interpret how a man goes about his daily life fishing, with hope of trying to find something greater within him. He states this in the first and second lines of the poem, A man spends his whole life fishing in him for something grand.(1-2) He gives the reader the emotion and feeling of ones persistent journey to discovering their worth in life but even though hes on a search to finding this, he has his own self doubts about himself. He gives you the sense of agony, confusion, and courage in the writing. Brown also conveys how finding something grand within ones self is like catching a big fish. But there are some things shadowing that and are unexpectedly preventing the fisher from accomplishing the big catch. The poet is metaphorically trying to portray that no matter what you encounter day by day, to keep striving and never give up. In the first lines of the poem opens up with A man spends his whole life fishing in him for something grand(1-2), figuratively refers to men as fisherman. For that reason, the fisherman is trying to discover something greater within and is constantly finding a means to improve himself for the better. This goes to show how one must keep striving, and not worrying about how difficult the path may be. As you continue reading the poem, the line Its like some lost lunker, big enough to break all records (2-3), represents how the fisherman contemplates on an attempt to overcome other fishermans achievements and exceed to do greater than their accomplishments. The poet portrays the determination to do so and keep his hopes high, in order to become better than the rest. The fisherman struggles and lacks confidence in himself which the poet states in the lines He only felt the shadow of something enormous darken is life. Or as he? (4-5) Brown tries to embody that its quite intimidating how other people can be better but when encountering any adversity, you should not stop no matter how challenging it is. The fisherman tends to continuously doubt himself, for the fact that there are many others being more successful than he is, which shows in the line Maybe its the shadow of other fish, greater than his, the shadow of other mens souls passing over him(6-7) Hes also indicating after the witnessing others being more accomplished than what he has completed, his self-confidence began to sink, questioning himself if one day he can become successful with finding his worth in life. The poet then presents Each day he grabs his gear and makes is way to the ocean. At least hes sure of that: Or is he? (8- 9), emphasizing that the fisherman does not give up and continues, striving to keep searching but undoubtedly shows a non-stop feeling of frustrating uncertainty constantly questioning himself. Through out the poem, the poet asserts that the fisherman is always facing that prolonging emotion of disbelief. Consequently, the poet stresses the fact that we are always faced with disappointment but we have to overcome that fact and succeed. Giving up is not an option but to maintain your will and have an on going fight is what He shoves off, feeling the land fall away under his boots (12), is trying to imply by the writer. Thinking negative will never get you anywhere, but having faith in yourself will definitely become a factor for completing what needs to be done and increase self worth in themselves. When the positive thinking begin to ease, the hope also grows which connects to It could be today: the water heaves and settles like a chest Hes not far out. (14-15) But the man still inclines that he is troubled and not so sure about moving forward. Therefore, continuing through the poem, the writer suggests that after one day of not finding his self worth, he moves on to discover what his unknown desires are at another

The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay Example

The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay Example The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay In the year 610 A.D. the Roman Empire had reduced to only that area east of Pannonia and the transition from a Pagan culture to a Christian culture was one in which the continuity of the empire was virtually nonexistent.We can follow these difficulties from the early migrations to Justinians quest for one God for the empire. In the beginning, the Roman Empire ruled by an extraordinary military and the subsequent expansion which could continually finance the empires many endeavors.This trend seemed to last until the third century. The Macomannian Wars put an end to expansion and produced disorganization in the political system.In addition to these problems, a manpower shortage, caused by both the lack of expansion and disease, hurt the economic status of the empire. Diocletian took control of the empire through a military coup in 284 A.D.He immediately recognized the need for the division of the vast empire.Diocletian divided the empire into halves and developed a tetrarchy to rul e the two regions.This, however, did not solve the problem of succession and after his retirement in 305 A.D. war ensued once again. Constantine took control in 324 A.D.He immediately reorganized the military structure in that he removed the jurisdiction of the praetorian prefects, nominated a magister militi, and developed the comitatus; a more mobile, more prestigious, central army.He also organized many new offices designed to carry out civil service.In addition to these changes, he also established Constantinople, formerly Byzantium, as the new capital in the East.His most important contribution to the fate of the empire was, however, his recognition of Christianity. The conversion of the empire to Christianity was a very difficult event.The empire possessed a tradition of Pagan forms and this transition would bring about contradictions and even denials toward its past.The conversion of Constantine himself is