Lillian Chang Essays - French Nobility, Epistemologists,

Lillian Chang Michel de Montaigne The Essays Purity: The world is a place of chaos nowadays. At every turn of a corner, there is desolation triggered from humanity's sidetracked views of what the world is about. With all this deception and superficiality, pureness in the human soul seems almost non-existent. Michel de Montaigne recognizes the essential need of this purity for the improvement of society in his Essays. Although the main topics he is focusing own are his own nature, own habits, and own opinions, he uses these personal vignettes to illustrate larger truths about man and his behaviors, his strengths and weaknesses. He subtly forces us to see the materialistic ideals that supposedly make us happy and dares us to see how it has tainted our minds and souls. Through his work he sets out to encourage man in the careful study of himself, in order to understand life and the world around him. The meaning of purity in humans to Montaigne is expressed in his short note to the reader, to live under the sweet liberty of Nature's primal laws (3). To have purity meant to have simplicity, to live contently with what Mother Nature has given us and as little artifice as possible. What does Montaigne mean by artifice? Artifice is the unnecessary magnificence which drains away immediately from use or money (334). In On Coaches, we see Montaigne's frustration with society's tendency to attempt to gain respect with deeds of the purse-string rather than true deeds of virtue (338). He asserts that this type of generosity doesn't have any real influence because of the tainted intentions behind it. Montaigne urges us to see the limits of the mind that is shaped by shallowness and materialistic possessions. He speaks with a harsh tone, and against the ides of a universe which flows on while we are in it, how puny and stunted in the knowledge of the most inquisitive men (341), trying to wake society out of he oblivion of artifice it has settled itself on to. In To philosophize is to learn how to die he compares the span of human lives to the span of mountains and rivers, as well as to insects whose lives lasts a single day. Carnal aspects influence even the general fear of death humans' feel. I truly believe that what frightens us more than death it self are those terrifying grimaces and preparation with which we surround it (35). At times it seems as if he was writing in a state of frenzy because of human's ignorance of the insignificance issues they deem to be significant when compared to the powers of nature. His frustrations make him scold us in the place of Mother Nature. Why do you complain of me or of Destiny Do we do you wrong? Should you govern us or should we govern you? (35). He struggles to let us see that purity lies in nature, and when we rid ourselves of materialistic bonds, our fear of death, which is a duty of nature to give us, will also fade, setting us free. Montaigne begins his essay That we taste nothing pure with the statement The imbecility of our condition is such that things cannot, in their natural simplicity and purity, fall into our use. In where his sophisticated society fails however, Montaigne finds refuge in the native people of Brazil. In On Cannibals, he shows a more precise example of what he is proposing for his own society when he talks of pureness. He compares these natives, which he finds so amazing and pure, to fruits wild when then are produced by Nature in her ordinary course (82). He is hungry for knowledge at the society they live in, which is the society he believes to be ideal, they are governed by the laws of nature (83). The pure ignorance which they live, is what Montaigne urges his own society to have. To not know the meaning of fear in battle. To have a simple set of morals that involves only the necessity. He is able to defend these 'savages' whom practice cannibalism Throughout his writing, he constantly uses examples and quotes from other readings to give us a better view of the big

Values in Workplace

Values in Workplace Work is the place where people spend most of their time. Coming there early in the morning and leaving late in the evening, many people work at night and spend weekends there trying to achieve results.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Values in Workplace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Work is the way to become financially independent and successful for many people, others consider work as the way to enjoy the things they like. Anyway, different people have various values in the workplace. As for me, I consider motivation, result and healthy environment in the workplace as the greatest values. I can easily explain why I have such belief. Motivation should be one of the strongest values in the company. I am inclined to think that if people are not motivated accordingly, their working performance becomes lower, they fail some tasks, clients are dissatisfied and it brings to many specific problems which create additiona l complications for the company in the means of gaining profit. Highly motivated employees work better. They have better mood and all the work they perform they do with pleasure. There are different ways how employees may be motivated, financially, by career development, by means of the personal growth, and other specific conditions aimed at satisfying the employees’ needs.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, motivating employees, it is possible to achieve better work performance and higher efficiency for the company. Result is another value which is to be considered. The desire to achieve result should be the primary purpose in the company. Working either individually or in team employees should spend much time on planning the possible outcome of the performance and working on the goal achievement. Result should be valued for many reasons. First of a ll, this is the main condition for getting income; second, result is the last stage of the task performance which is important. Employees should see what they have achieved. Third, result is one of the main measures of the working performance. It helps understand the efficiency of the working process, the competence of the employees and their interest in the work. Bringing value on a result, the employees show their interest in the company success. Finally, the healthy environment in the company should be highly valued. The healthy environment involves many specific measures and conditions aimed at achieving the only result, at making sure that all the employees are satisfied with the work and with the people they are surrounded with and at reducing negative feelings. The value of the healthy environment at the workplace shows that the company managers take care of their employees and want to make sure that the conflicts are absent.Advertising We will write a custom essay sa mple on Values in Workplace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The companies with unhealthy working environment have many difficulties in work performance and result achieving. Healthy environment covers supportive relationships, successful ethical norms and legal behavior in the company. Therefore, it may be concluded that having various values, I highly appreciate the companies which appraise motivation, result and healthy environment at the workplace. Being the central values for the company, these issues help successfully complete the working process, develop personally and professionally and remain satisfied with the work which are the most important aspects in the rush and highly depressive world we have to live in. Spending much time in the working place, it is essential to be satisfied with what one does as it is going to influence human condition and life performance.

How to Make the Ultimate Colored Smoke Bomb

How to Make the Ultimate Colored Smoke Bomb The classic smoke bomb is a great project for the home or lab, producing lots of safe smoke, with purple flames. If you get dye and consider the shape of your creation, you can make a smoke bomb that billows clouds of brightly-colored smoke. Adult supervision is required. Colored Smoke Bomb Materials 60 g (3 tablespoons) potassium nitrate (sold as saltpeter in garden supply shops)40 g (2 tablespoons) sugar1 teaspoon baking soda60 g (3 tablespoons) powdered organic dye (such as synthetic indigo or an aniline-based dye, found in some craft hobby shops; not common water-based dye)Cardboard tube (best is an iced push-pop tube (eat the treat first), or you could use a toilet paper roll or section of paper towel tube, or even a rolled/taped paper tube)Duct tapePen or pencilFirework fuse (hardware, rocketry, construction, or hobby shops, or scavenge it from a firework)Cotton ballsSaucepan Make the Colored Smoke Bomb Mixture Mix 60 g potassium nitrate with 40 g sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Its a 3:2 ratio, so if you dont have grams, use three large spoonfuls of potassium nitrate and two large spoonfuls of sugar (3 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons, if you feel the need to be precise).The sugar will carmelize and brown. Stir the mixture continuously until it resembles smooth peanut butter.Remove the mixture from heat.Stir in a spoonful of baking soda (a rounded teaspoon is fine). The baking soda is added to slow down the combustion when the smoke bomb is ignited.Add three large spoonfuls (3 tablespoons) of powdered organic dye. Blue dye and orange dye are said to produce better results than the other colors. Stir to mix well.Construct the smoke bomb while the mixture is still hot and pliable. Assemble the Smoke Bomb Fill a cardboard tube with the warm smoke bomb mixture.Push a pen or pencil down into the center of the mix (doesnt have to be all the way to the bottom but should be enough that the pen stands in the mixture). You could use a different shape, but the cylinder works really well.Let the mixture harden (about an hour).Remove the pen.Insert a firework fuse. Push pieces of cotton balls into the hole to tamp the fuse securely inside the smoke bomb. Be sure there is fuse left outside of the tube so that you will be able to light your smoke bomb.Wrap the smoke bomb with duct tape. Cover the top and bottom of the tube, too, but leave the hole area with the cotton and fuse uncovered.Go outside and light your smoke bomb! Tips for Success The key to producing vibrant colored smoke is using an appropriate dye. The color is produced by vaporizing a dye from the heat of the smoke bomb, not from burning a pigment, which always produces normal smoke.Getting a good display also depends on the geometry of the smoke bomb. When the dye is vaporized, the pressure from combustion forces it out to produce the smoke. There needs to be enough pressure inside the smoke bomb to push the smoke out, but not too much pressure or else it will burst. This is why cardboard and tape are used. You can control the opening for the smoke. The materials are strong enough to contain a certain level of force  but will rupture rather than explode if the pressure is too great. Disclaimer: Please be advised that the content provided by our website is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Fireworks and the chemicals contained within them are dangerous and should always be handled with care and used with common sense. By using this website you acknowledge that ThoughtCo., its parent About, Inc. (a/k/a Dotdash), and IAC/InterActive Corp. shall have no liability for any damages, injuries, or other legal matters caused by your use of fireworks or the knowledge or application of the information on this website. The providers of this content specifically do not condone using fireworks for disruptive, unsafe, illegal, or destructive purposes. You are responsible for following all applicable laws before using or applying the information provided on this website.

A psychological and sociological perspective to demonstrate an Essay

A psychological and sociological perspective to demonstrate an understanding of these perspectives and evaluate in what way there application enhances your unde - Essay Example e lives; nevertheless, it is a fact that society has to accept single parenting, because in future, with present stress on individuality, more and more children are likely to be brought up by single parents. Parents who find themselves abandoned by partners are supported by social care and children, who will learn to react to the circumstances and environments, will find difficulties in dealing with social and psychological problems. According to the case study, Michael and Kate were having problems during her third pregnancy because of Michael’s attitude towards his family. He has taken to drinking and was physically assaulting Kate, to the extent that she had to live with Social Care. Michael, in spite of recent behaviour, continues to be fond of their children, visits them often, buys presents, but does not want to shoulder day-today responsibilities bringing them up. Kate, being pregnant and financially dependent on Michael, was finding the situation difficult. Michael moved out of the family home and Kate moved into Grimesbar from Social Care, as it was easy to find accommodation in Grimesbar. She now lives in a four storey tenement with common entrance that is not particularly secure, and the building is scheduled for demolition. That being the case, many of the flats are empty, and Kate lives in an insecure and isolated building. Kate, being a non-practising Roman Catholic, considers other Church going single mothers as ‘holy.’ She does not particularly keep in touch with social workers and in the meantime, becomes friendly with local community activist Frances Kane, who helps Kate in looking after children. She has two teenage children of her own, a daughter training for a career and the boy in armed forces. Her husband Bill, a Lorry driver, stays away from home a lot due to his work schedule. Frances likes to look after Jade and Scott, and Kate leaves them more and more in her care, because Kate has started working and finds it almost impossible

Child-rearing practices the Hispanic and West Indies cultures Research Paper

Child-rearing practices the Hispanic and West Indies cultures - Research Paper Example The paper tells that culture and personality cannot exist without each other and they work to balance and define different societies. By defining the different societies it means that the society will have its codes and practices that define it and so it will be defined as a culture. The similarities and differences in the two cultures will be established in terms of kinship and the familial relationship and upbringing, division of labor and how the two cultures handle the issue as a whole, the roles of the males and females in the society, economic organizations and political organizations of the societies in two cultures. The Hispanic culture is found in many societies in America and other parts of the world mainly due to the Spanish influence and the use of the language in many parts of the world. In America, it is spoken in many countries as the national languages in countries like Mexico and Argentina. The formal and local setups of the people in the different societies that are Hispanic differ greatly due to the geographical disparity and so our focus will be on the overall differences and similarities. Anthropologists have argued that we gain intelligence and ability to learn from the way the early environment impacts on our lives. In fact, he proposes that everything an adult will do is a function of the dynamic interaction between the person’s perceptions of the environment that s/he is living in.

USSC Audit Income

USSC Audit Income Case 1.11 United States Surgical Corporation Q3. Prepare common-sized financial statements for USSC for the period 1979-1981. Also compute key liquidity, solvency, activity, and profitability ratios for 1980 and 1981. Given these data, identify what you believe were the high-risk financial statement items for the 1981 USSC audit. U.S. Surgical Corporation Common Size Income Statement 1979-1981 (000s omitted) 1981 % Sales 1980 %Sales 1979 %Sales Net Sales 111,800 100 86,214 100 60,876 100 Costs and Expenses COGS 47,983 43 32,300 37.5 25,659 42.1 Selling, General And Admin. 45,015 40.3 37,740 43.7 23,935 39.3 Interest 5,898 5.2 4,063 4.7 3,403 5.6 98,896 88.5 74,103 85.9 52,997 87.0 Income Before Taxes 12,904 11.5 12,111 14.0 7,879 12.9 Income Taxes 1,120 1.0 4,226 4.9 2,750 4.5 Net Income 11,784 10.5 7,885 9.1 5,129 8.4 U.S. Surgical Corporation Common Size Balance Sheet 1979-1981 (000s omitted) Current Assts 1981 %Assets 1980 %Assets 1979 %Assets Cash 426 .21 1,243 1.04 596 .85 Receivables (net) 36,670 17.7 30,475 25.6 22,557 31.9 Inventories Finished Goods 29,216 14.1 9,860 8.3 5,685 8.1 Work in Process 5,105 2.5 2,667 2.2 1,153 1.6 Raw Materials 20,948 10.1 18,806 15.8 7,365 10.4 55,269 26.7 31,333 26.3 14,203 20.1 Other Current Assets 7,914 3.8 1,567 2.4 1,820 2.6 Total Current Assets 100,279 48.4 64,618 54.3 39,176 55 Assets 1981 %Assets 1980 %Assets 1979 %Assets Property, Plant, Equip Land 2,502 1.2 2,371 2.0 1,027 1.5 Buildings 32,416 15.6 18,511 15.5 13,019 18.5 Molds and Dies 32,082 15.5 15,963 13.4 8,777 12.4 Mach. Equip. 40,227 19.4 23,762 20.0 12,362 17.5 Allowance for Depreciation (14,953) (9,964) (6,340) Other Assets 14,786 7.1 3,842 3.2 2,499 3.5 Total Assets 207,339 119,103 70,520 Liabilities 1981 %Liability/ 1980 %Liability 1979 %Liability Stock.Eq. Stock. Eq. Stock. Eq. Accounts Payable 12,278 5.9 6,951 5.8 6,271 8.9 Notes Payable 1,596 2.3 Income Taxes Payable 1,685 1.4 Current L-T Debt 724 .35 666 .56 401 .57 Accrued Expenses 5,673 2.7 5,130 4.3 5,145 7.3 Long-Term Debt 80,642 38.9 47,569 39.9 33,497 47.5 Deferred Income Tax 7,466 3.6 2,956 2.5 1,384 2.0 Liabilities 1981 %Liability/ 1980 %Liability 1979 %Liability Stock.Eq. Stock. Eq. Stock. Eq. Stockholders Equity Common Stock 1,081 .52 930 .78 379 .54 Add. Paid-in Capital 72,594 35.0 34,932 29.3 10,736 15.2 Retained Earnings 32,665 15.8 20,881 17.5 13,189 18.7 Translation Allowance (1,086) Deferred Compensation- Issue Restricted Stock (4,698) (2,597) (2,078) Total Stock. Equity 100,556 48.5 54,146 45.5 22,226 31.5 Total Liabilities/ Stockholders Equity 207,339 119,103 70,520 Financial Ratios for U.S. Surgical Corporation 1981 1980 Cash Ratio .0228 .0861 Current Ratio 5.37 4.48 Accounts Receivable Turnover 3.33 2.57 Inventory Turnover 1.11 .75 Gross Profit Percent 57% 62% Profit Margin 11.5 14.1 Return on Assets 7.9 7.4 The common sized income statement was prepared to display all items as a percentage of sales. On the income statement we can see that there was a decrease in cost of goods sold from 1979 to 1980. Cost of goods sold went from 42.1% of sales to 37.5% of sales even though net sales increased. This information along with the increase in the current asset inventory account on the balance sheet indicates a significant increase in inventory held by USSC. Another high risk income statement item was the selling, general and administrative expenses. Included in this category of expenses are research and development costs. The amounts of research and development costs reported dropped significantly. In 1980 they were reported at $3,020,000 and dropped to $1,337,000 in 1981. Also the entire category of selling, general and administrative expenses which included these RD costs decreased as a percent of sales from the previous year. The USSC openly admitted to undergoing a large research and devel opment program to create new products and technology in 1981. The major decrease in costs reported for research and development in 1981 should have caused further investigation by the auditing team. The common sized balance sheet was prepared to display each asset as a percentage of total assets. The percentages for the cash and accounts receivable accounts in 1981 decreased significantly from the previous years while the inventory account increased. This indicates a decrease in liquidity of assets which is also supported by the change in the cash ratio from 1980 to 1981. Another high-risk item would have been the other assets account. United States Surgical Corporation included their patents in this other assets account. They were capitalizing costs associated with the legal defense of a patent that should not have been capitalized. There was a significant increase in this account, $3,842,000 in 1980 to $14,786,000 in 1981. Another red flag would be the significant increase in total long term assets. In 1979 long term assets accounted for 45% of total assets, in 1980 it was 45.7% of total assets and in 1981 long term assets accounted for 51.6% of total assets. USSC was capitali zing costs associated with patents that should not have been capitalized, charging inventoriable production to a long-term assets account molds and dies, and extending the useful lives of some assets and therefore understating depreciation. All of these actions would have caused a significant increase in total long-term assets. A more specific high-risk item was the long-term asset molds and dies. This account doubled in 1981 from the previous year; from $15,963,000 to $32,082,000. The SEC investigation later revealed that USSC was in fact capitalizing production costs and charging them to the molds and dies asset account. Financial ratios were also calculated to determine high-risk items. The current ratio for USSC in 1981 is a little high and has increased from the previous year. In 1981 the current ratio indicated that USSC had $5.37 in current assets for every dollar of current liabilities. This high ratio may indicate that United States Surgical Corporation was overstating their assets. The inventory turnover is low at .75 in 1980 and 1.11 in 1981. The auditing team would have wanted to investigate to find out why inventory was accumulating and not turning over as these numbers indicated. By preparing the common size financial statements and ratios we can identify the high-risk items when performing an audit. The major items for United States Surgical Corporation were the reduced research and development costs recognized despite the increase in research for new products, the major increase in the long-term asset account molds and dies and the other assets account. Q5. Regarding the costs incurred for USSC by Barden, identify (a) the evidence Hope collected that supported USSCs claim that the costs involved tooling modifications and (b) the audit evidence that supported the position that the costs were generic production expenses. What do generally accepted auditing standards suggest are the key evaluative criteria that auditors should consider when assessing audit evidence? Given these criteria, do you believe Hope was justified in deciding that the costs in question were for tooling modifications? Why or why not? The evidence that hope collected that supports USSCs claim that the charges in question were in fact for tooling modifications was the General Manager of Lacey Corporation (A division of Barden Corporation) goes back on his previous statement and confirms that the purchase orders and invoices were in fact for tooling modifications. USSC explained their position and said that they had instructed Lacey to make certain tooling changes that would result in improved efficiency in production of USSC products. When the audit team asked to take a tour of the Lacey plant to examine the actual production process the Lacey General Manger informed the audit team that personnel often mistakenly charge tooling jobs to production. There was more evidence that supported the position that the costs in question were just generic production expenses. Initially the audit team did not notice that the assets were being overstated and there was an issue with the classification. It was the company who does work for USSC that admitted that there were issues with some of the purchase orders and invoices. The Lacey general manager informed the auditors that invoices and purchase orders were being reviewed and that they were for general production work and not tooling modifications as USSC had previously stated. The chairman of the board of directors for Barden Corp. reported that an independent investigation by an outside law firm has concluded that the purchase orders and invoices were in fact for general production work and not for tooling modifications. Finally the Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Barden Corporation refused to sign confirmation that $1 million in charges were for tooling modifications on two occ asions. The key criteria for evaluating audit evidence are relevance, reliability and sufficiency. The evidence must be relevant to audit objective. The auditors must use procedures and documents that are relative to the audit objective. The evidence must be reliable, or must be believable and trust worthy. The sufficiency of evidence has to deal with the quantity of evidence obtained. In my opinion Hope was not justified in deciding that the costs were for tooling modifications. There was not sufficient evidence to come to this conclusion, just some complicated explanations from USSC and inaccurate purchase orders and invoices. The evidence was not relevant to the audit objective. The specific products with modifications should have been traced back to their purchase orders. Instead the auditors just took the explanation of these orders from management. Finally the reliability of the evidence was not high, USSC had a lot to lose if it was concluded that they were indeed general production and the General Manger for Lacey had changed his position numerous times. The only reliable evidence was that of the independent law firm that concluded the purchase orders and invoices were not for tooling modifications. References Knapp, Michael C., United States Surgical Corporation Contemporary Auditing. Real Issues Cases. Sixth Edition (2006), 137-146. Arens, R. Randal, M. Beasley, Auditing and Assurance Services. An Integrated Approach. (2008) 175-176.

Billy Budd †Foreshadowing Essay

Foreshadowing – in which a certain image or event may hint at something that becomes more significant later on in the story. Authors often use different literary devices to grab the reader’s attention, or to establish basis for plot development later on in the novel. In Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Melville uses the literary device of foreshadowing to allow the audience to be aware of Billy’s inevitable fate before the characters in the novel, thus creating a feeling of suspense within the novel. In chapter one, the incident with the Red Whiskers (12) functions as a foreshadowing of Billy’s confrontation with Claggart. This is very similar to what happens later between John Claggart and Billy (58). Melville uses the incident to show that although Billy Budd is a gentle man, unwilling to quarrel, he can become aggressive if provoked. This makes the later incident more believable, since the reader has already seen Billy behaving in this way. The Red Whiskers is similar to Claggart in a number of significant ways. Like Claggart, the Red Whiskers dislikes Billy, and out of sheer envy he â€Å"bestirs† himself to pick a fight with Billy. Melville begins using foreshadowing early in the novel when he describes Billy Budd as a tall handsome sailor that was well adored by mostly all who knew him. Melville makes Billy seems flawless until he informs the audience using straight, matter of fact sentences that Billy has a speech impediment that only seems to rear its ugly head whenever Billy has something of importance to say (17). The fact that Billy’s speech impediment only shows when he has something significant to say helps inform the audience that something of significant importance will happen later on in the novel (57). Billy’s inability to speak during times of emotion will mean that later, he cannot speak the truth and save himself. Vere’s nickname is ironic in a second way, although the narrator does not point this irony out explicitly. The character referred to as â€Å"Starry Vere† in the Marvell poem is a severe disciplinarian (24), whereas Captain Vere is anything but harsh or brutal in his conduct. But while the name seems ironic  at this point in the story, the passage quoted from the poem provides an important piece of foreshadowing. Vere does indeed impose an unexpectedly harsh discipline upon Billy, and his commitment to principle is what prompts him to be severe (60). Without the element of foreshadowing within Billy Budd it seems almost incoherent that the events of the novel would have come together. Melville’s use of foreshadowing allows him to take the audience on an unforgettable journey through the life and troubles of Billy Budd and allows the audience to get a full understanding of the situations leading up to Billy’s tragic end.