Cyberworlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cyberworlds - Essay Example Their avatars would come over and help me clear a field or build a house, even run a business. This added to the social interactivity of the game. By helping each other out in the tasks, we managed to get to know each other quite well in the cyberworld that we functioned in. It was fun to relate to one another in this world because we could not see what the other looked like at the moment and we did not care. As long as the game avatars did as they were told by their controllers, the game was a peaceful and friendly one. That is perhaps the reason why I sometimes find myself spending as much as 12 hours in a day playing the game. My friends and I go on adventurous treks through the forests in this game and accomplish a lot thanks to the power of cooperation. Due to the numerous fun activities that can be done within the virtual world and the fact that I can interact with other people in the social world who may or may not be in my friends list, I find that I enjoy being a part of this virtual reality. It is because of the easy access that my friends and I have into each others virtual world that I found myself coming to the realization that a virtual world can actually exist and the place becomes real, because my friends and I can see it on our monitors and we can touch each other through the virtual world action lists. This means that what is virtual to most has become reality to us. That is why I disagree with the statement from our reading that dictates that : â€Å"... place† and â€Å"virtual† cannot coexist: there is no â€Å"place† in the virtual beyond the metaphor. â€Å" The two places can actually exist because the technology exists to make the place real for the game participants. Everything from the headset microphones to the personalized avatars allows us to communicate with one another instantly and share concerns that for the bystanders are â€Å"virtual† concerns but

The Organization of African Unity Now known as African Union Research Paper

The Organization of African Unity Now known as African Union - Research Paper Example Thesis statement: The organizational set up, responsibilities and social services provided by the African Union proves to be successful within the scenario of social work in Africa (special references to the social services provided by African Union in Africa and its involvement in current issues). African Union: Organizational set up   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First of all, almost all the African nations have membership in African Union (AU). For instance, excluding Morocco, present strength of African Union is 53. African Union, a social work organization for creating unity among the African nations was established in the year 2002. Besides, Organisation of Africa Unity (AOU) was the mother organization of AU. Okoth (2006) opines that â€Å"Some of the guiding principles of the AU are similar to those of its predecessor, the OAU† (p. 325). The organizational set up of AU is based on centralization and concentration of power which is fully vested in the center but with equal power to the member states. For instance, the decision making force of AU is the Assembly of the African Union. Badejo (2008) states that â€Å"The AU carries out its business through many organs, agencies, and non-governmental organizations† (p. 39). The secretariat (say, African Union Commission) of AU is in Addis Ababa, which is situated in Ethiopia.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The AU is divided into two bodies: political and administrative.  Ã‚   As pointed out, the decision making process is principally vested upon the Assembly, which consists of members/representatives from member states. The present chairman is Bingu wa Mutharika, who represents Malawi. Besides, the representative body of AU, namely Pan African Parliament includes 265 members. Idriss Ndele Moussa is the present president of Pan African Parliament.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Executive Council’s duty within AU includes the preparation of decisions to be taken by the Assembly. Besides, the Execu tive Council is an important political institution within the AU. The Permanent Representatives Committee, another political institution includes the ambassadors of member states within AU. The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a consultative body, is under AU. Moreover, the AU Commission, the secretariat or political head is presently chaired by Jean Ping.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The African Union Commission is the most important administrative wing within AU. The other administrative bodies of AU include African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (to resolve human rights issues among the member states), and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) (aiming to accelerate development of the member states). The Pan-African Parliament is another important governing body which accelerates the smooth functioning of AU as an influential organization. So, one can easily identify that the AU follows the centralized mode of power division. But this centralization of power does not limit the power of the member states because decision making power is solely vested upon the Assembly, which consists of member states. In short, the centralization of power within a single authority and the decision making power vested upon the assembly proves that the same is the best possible way that can be adopted by any social

Overview of Accounting Essay Example for Free

Overview of Accounting Essay The audiences of financial statements and managerial reports include the shareholders, employees, prospective employees, customers, suppliers, the government, the stock exchanges, investors, lenders and the public at large. What is important is that each audience has a different perspective in reading the financial statements and managerial reports. For example, a lender would like to know the leverage of the company, if it has the capacity to service debt and if the loans to the company would be well secured. There are several purposes served in preparing financial statements and managerial reports. The financial statements are designed to show its audience, the companies finances, that is how the company got its finances, what it was used for and where is it being currently used (Luecke, R. 2002). For this purpose there are four main financial statements that is the income statement, the cash flow statement, the balance sheet and the statement of shareholders equity. In general an income statement has the purpose of showing how much revenue a company earned in a period of time, the balance sheet shows the company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders equity, the cash flow statement shows the inflow and outflow of cash and the purpose of the statement of shareholders equity is to show changes in the ownership of company’s shareholders over a period of time. The nature of the income statement is in the form of a report that shows the costs and expenses that the businesses incurs in order to earn its revenue. It gives the net earnings of the company. The nature of balance is such that it provides point wise information about the assets, liabilities and shareholders equity. The nature of a businesses balance sheet is such that it is set up like the basic accounting equation. Usually on the left hand side the companies list the assets and on the right hand side they list their liabilities with the shareholders’ interest at the bottom. This arrangement differs from country to country. For instance, in some countries the assets are listed on the right hand side. However, the basic nature of the balance sheet remains the same. The nature of the cash flow statement is such that it can inform its audience if the business generated cash or not. The cash flow statement is a report that shows cash changes over time instead of exact currency amounts at a point in time. It simply uses and rearranges information from the balance sheet and income statement of the business. The most important report that is issued by the management of a company is the annual report (Stittle, J. 2003). The nature of this report is such that it has detailed financial and business information required by law of the country in which the company is registered, modern annual reports have impressive pictures and stories that eulogize the company’s performance in the past year. The information contained in this report can help the audience make informed and ethical decisions. In the USA the SEC requires that the audited annual report be sent to every shareholder at the end of the year. In this the management comments about the future. Form 10-K required to be filled in the USA ha more detailed financial information. The company’s financial performance is described in a section of the quarterly or annual report that is called â€Å"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation,† In this section of the Annual Report the management describes its own understanding of the financial condition of the company. The management in this section of the annual or quarterly report describes what it understands of the current financial condition of the business. It also gives its view of the relevant trends and challenges that the business faces. This allows the audience to see the financial condition of the business from the perspective of management and allows the audience to make informed and ethical decisions. In other words it provides the audiences the background that is required to study and understand the financial statements. Financial accounting information can be used in making informed and ethical business decisions. How? The income statement shows the earning per share, a calculation that tells you how much you as a shareholder would receive if the company distributed all its earnings. This allows you to make an invest/ non invest decision. Giving more information about the financial health of the company is the cash flow statement. It divides cash flow into flows from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities. This informs not only the investors but also the management, employees, suppliers and customers about the source of cash for the company and allows them to make better decisions. The footnotes of the reports give important information that helps make efficient and ethical decisions. The footnotes refer to stock options, pension plans, income taxes and important accounting policies and practices. For example, a company may be showing an inflated profit figure because its accounting practices have changed but reading the footnotes helps the audiences make better decisions and ethical decisions with regards to the company. To make ethical and informed decisions it is important to read between the lines of these reports. How is this accomplished? By doing ratio analysis! Commonly the ratios that are examined are debt-to-equity ratio, inventory turnover ratio, operating margin ratio, P/E ratio and working capital. Consider this, well before the Enron scam exploded; several investors were able to smell by examining the ratios that something was wrong with the company. They decided to sell off their stocks and avoided losses. To sum, the intention of the financial statements and management report is to inform the different stakeholders of a business. If these statements are carefully analyzed and understood they help these stakeholders make an informed and ethical decisions.

The New Chinese Woodcut Movement, revolutionizing art as a voice

The New Chinese Woodcut Movement, revolutionizing art as a voice Learning from the west: The New Chinese Woodcut Movement, revolutionizing art as a voice of the people At the turn of the twentieth century, voices supporting modernization were on the rise. Politically, although the Xinhai Revolution replaced the Qing monarchy, there was still no real democratic rule established. People still didnt have a voice and they were by no means free or having an improvement in life. Externally, China was under constant threat and aggressiveness of Japanese imperialism and internally, Chinas political condition is extremely unstable as its under absolute rule by ruthless warlords who fight with each other all the time. As an attempt of self-salvation, Chinese intellectuals and artists started the New Cultural Movement and various art reforms. Lu Xun started the New Chinese Woodcut Movement and looked into western art forms as models and inspirations as an attempt to save their culturally-deteriorated country, revive their weakened tradition and send modernization messages to the masses. This essay will focus on the woodcut print, To The Front!by Hu Yichuan, w hich is a part of the New Chinese Woodcut Movement and is a good example to illustrate the impact of the import of western prints technique and styles on Chinese woodcuts during the 1930 and how the production and purpose of art had been revolutionalized and publicized. At the time of chaos, Lu Xun and his colleagues saw the potentials of woodblock printing became a tool of enlightenment. Woodblock printing is by natural a low-cost art with high availability as the tools: knife, paper, ink and a piece of wood are materials that could be found almost anywhere. Moreover, it did not require machines or any mechanical processes that were only available in large cities and were most suitable for revolutionaries hiding from the authorities. Also of great importance, its ability to reproduce millions of copies was exactly what was needed for spreading quick and powerful revolutionary and modernization messages to the public, including those who were illiterate. The New, Creative Chinese Woodcut Movement got its name by its differentiation from the duplicating woodblock of traditional production by adopting western techniques and styles in woodblock printing. In order to send a powerful message and distinguish themselves from traditional woodcut prints (Figure 1 2) which appeared in Buddhist devotional arts, nianhuas and folk tales, young artists from the New Woodcut Movement learnt from western woodcut artists that they should work in the form of an individual artist and the artist should convey their ideas and attitudes find expression not only when he produces the original design but also in different types of marks he makes with his knife and chisel when he carves the block in contrast to the production of traditional print where engraving and printing were separate processes performed by different people and the creators of traditional prints were viewed as artisans, not artists.. In To The Front!(Figure 3) a woodcut of 1932, Hu made this woodcut to persuade his nation to fight against the Japanese. At the time, China was struggling under Japanese aggressions that started with the Manchurian Incident in 1931. Drawing on the emotional intensity and style of German Expressionist art, he produced a powerful image using the stark contrast of black and white and strong angular lines to depict realistic people under hardship. The main figure dominates almost  ¾ of the picture. His size added with his outstretch hands make him very powerful. His existence was depicted with broad slashes, which echoes the artists urgency in uniting the masses and fight against the Japanese. The mask-like figures in the background convey the power of the masses. This image was a call to a different life. During that period of time, artists only made woodcuts on people either going to the field or suffering hardship. They never use utopia images to persuade the people to fight as they were looking for powerful, dramatic images that could immediately bring out the urgency of needing to fight back. By learning the styles of leftist western woodcut artists and using powerful and realistic imageries to deliver messages to the masses and focusing on social ills of their time, young artists including Hu, see themselves as part of an international leftist arm community. And in To the Front!, we can see a big influence of Kathe Kollwitzs work, a woodcut artist from the German Expressionalism. Instead of finding beauty in physical attractiveness, what Kollwitz tried to reflect through the illustration in the human body is the physical reflection of the labors, the efforts, the cares and concerns, the loves, losses, and griefs that made up the lives of real and ordinary people. (Figure 4). It was from Kollwitz that artists realized the power of the physical actions of the human body. The strong, diagonal lines of the was echoing the main figures body and the movements of the peasants in Outbreak(Figure 5), The use of broad slashes and simplicity of the depiction of human figures is cha racteristic of the period and it was directly taken from the simplicity of human figure represented by Kollwitz in Memorial to Karl Liebknecht(Figure 6). In both Memorial to Karl Liebknecht and To The Front!, the artists used black to set the mood. In Memorial to Karl Liebknecht,the people were all bowing down to the dead body, conveying a sense of downward motion which signifies sadness and in To the Front The upward outstretch hand of the main figure and the diagonal walls at the back brings out the chaos that the Chinese people were facing at that time. Although To the Front! had taken much cues from German expressionist artists, the construction of the print which consists of a full frontal, dominating stong man leading the revolt was an original idea. Compared with Li Huas Arise!(Figure 7) which had patterned the style and content from Kollwitzs Outbreak, To the Front! bore more Chinese characteristics with the man wearing Chinese style clothing and looked Chinese. In Arise! The peasants and soldiers could be of any nationality and although it also had a strong message. To the Front! would be more associable to the Chinese people. As ONeil had stated in his book, it was ironic that Lu Xun and young artists like Hu Yichuan should turn first to European woodblock printing for inspiration on how to redevelop this ancient Chinese artistic and technological practice, which by that time, European artists had just started to make them an art form from its own right. It was more ironic in the sense that Chinese traditional woodprints were once a tool for Chinese propaganda against the west in the 1860s. In the Anti-Christian print (Figure 8), we can see a very traditional woodcut which had flat figures with simple outlines. The power of the use of black was not recognized and it was simply a substitute for colour. In terms of the usage of lines, Hu had used strong diagonal lines and upward lines to convey the urgency while the artist who made the Anti-Christian print didnt choose lines to convey a sense of motion. The construction of the two prints are also startling different. To the Front! was very dramatic, with a big figure dominating the painting while the construction of the Anti-Christian print was very simple and the people were drawn not in proportion. In terms of space, the dominating male acts as a leader walking in the front and the crowds which diminishes at the back persuasively suggests a depth of space. In the Anti-Christian print, the sense of space was very subtle and not persuasive as it was only signified by the diagonal lines of the table and that the little peo ple were placed. In terms of message, Hus woodcut could only be fully understood if viewers were aware of the context and history background of the time as the enemies of those people were not drawn. However, in the Anti-Christian Print, we know clearly who the enemy was as it was a rebus painting, pig meaning Jesus and sheep meaning westerners. The pig was hanged on the cross and shot with arrows and the sheep were tied to the ground and going to be killed. The westerners were depicted as bad and it seemed injustice to prosecute them. While Yu chose to used the black tone and the diagonal lines to represent the anger to the foreigners and urgency to fight back. He was trying to arouse their eagerness to fight by powerful images but not direct attack on the enemy. In other words, Anti-Christian Print was a message from the court transcended to the mass, feeding them hatred to the west, rather than appealing to their situation and suffering because of the enemies like Hu did and provoke their power to fight back from that. Besides the great difference in style, content and the way to arouse public consciousness that are evident, the most striking difference between To the Front! and Anti-Christian Print signifies the groundbreaking element in the New Chinese Woodcut Movement, revolutionizing art as a voice of the people. Traditionally, woodcut prints had not only been used for propaganda but also a tool for enlightenment and raising awareness. However, the traditional ways were using idealized examples to praise Confucius, governement approved virtues and feeding ideas of rigidity of social order in the form of illusionistic peace and happiness. For example, Five Sons Successful in Examinations(Figure 9) is propaganda for the old-fashioned and stubborn Chinese examinations. The artist twisted the idea and chose to focus on the glory of having five sons being successful in examinations. This way, people would tend to forget the rigidity of the examinations. The depiction of the characters in this image is highly unrealistic and the decorative, colourful imagery is in great contrast to Hus woodcuts. These people were very happy and like in tradition of Chinese nianhuas and no hardships or sufferings can be seen on their faces. The rigidity, the great time required to learn for the exam and the corruptn ess were never mentioned. The reason why Lu Xun and the artists of the New Chinese Woodblock Movement were called revolutionary was that they depicted social sufferings as it was and added an addition of critical consciousness to these educational art. As mentioned above, there seemed to be much irony as these young artists should lean from the west which were less experienced in woodcuts and were their enemies. However, it was precisely because they had been bullying and easily defeated them for so many times since the 1840s that open-minded Chinese intellectuals such as Lu Xun realized that in order to revive their dying country, the only way was to learn from the enemy and modernize. One way to do it was the redevelopment of woodprints and it proved to be successful. Though the masses might held hesitation in fully accepting these very foreign style of woodcuts, the messages that these prints sent were bright and clear. These woodprint artists were the first ones to represent the real people in these mass production prints. Across the country, a large number of woodcut societies united individual artists and formed important organizations that supported the production of exhibitions, publication and manifestos. They found their voice and the emotions aroused from being bullied by warlords and foreigners that they learnt to express through art signified dignity among the Chinese people and ignited the fire in the heart of Chinese people to fight against evil powers together as a nation.

William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- Tragedy of Hamlet

William Shakespeare's Hamlet 'Hamlet' is a play written by William Shakespeare in late 15th or early 16th century. The main character Hamlet faces many difficulties, which cause him to doubt life, question death and look at human characters. The main problem, which in turn leads to others along his journey, is when he encounters his dead father in the form of a ghost. He tells Hamlet of his murder by his brother who is now married to his widowed wife, Hamlets Uncle and Mother. Hamlet spends the play trying to avenge his father's death and it is questionable to whether he does. In this essay I aim to examine Hamlet's state of mind and personality within four incidents. From there I will analyse any changes that I believe Hamlet to make and why I think they happen. My four chosen incidents are; Hamlets plan for a play (Act two Scene two), Hamlet's famous 'to be or not to be' speech and conversation with Ophelia (Act three Scene one), the death of Polonius in Gertrude's closet (Act three Scene four), and finally, when the news of Ophelia's death reaches Hamlet and leads into a confrontation with her brother, Laertes (Act five Scene one). To analyse the changes in the character of Hamlet it must first be considered how he deals with the news of his father's death before further revelations are revealed and then track his thoughts and actions as the play progresses. It must be determined if there is evidence of Hamlet being suicidal over the death of his father without such events as his 'antic disposition' in the way. We must also decide if Hamlet was insane, before or at any point through the play. Finally, why does Hamlet fe... ... very much alike, both nosey and very wordy. It provides mental recognition for Hamlet that he is changing and his childish way, from such scenes as Gertrude's closest, are not needed anymore. It also provides Hamlet with a thirst for blood and shows him what actions he is capable of. I believe it to be a second key scene for Hamlet. Finally, I think Hamlet is undeveloped emotionally and finds it very hard to deal with his father's death and to hear he was murdered destroys Hamlets life. I feel great empathy with him and understand why he may appear suicidal and mad to some, whereas I do not agree. I think he does remarkably well to deal with the situation and do no think that I could. I don't think he does revenge his father's murder but does not need to. He is a very interesting character who emerges victorious.

Divine Wind - Racism Essay -- essays research papers

The Divine Wind describes an Australia that is tarnished by racism, hatred and distrust, and yet the novel ends on an optimistic note. Do you agree? The novel is set during a World War. The tension and separation of races during a war seemed evident in Australia. As a multicultural country including Japanese and Aborigine population, conflicting attitudes towards these races had to be imminent. I entirely agree with the above statement due to the unequal treatment of the aborigines, tension between the Japanese population and characters such as Hart showing lack of trust over his lover Mitsy With a war against the Japanese was the trigger for racism in Australia. All throughout the novel elements of separation are presented. The Japanese are somewhat divided from white Australians. First of all Broome has a â€Å"Register of Aliens†, this was a register or list that kept track of foreign people. This implied that foreigners were seen as aliens and that they didn’t really belong in Australia. The Sennosukes’ names had to be changed because their original names seemed â€Å"†¦too foreign to our ears.† The Japanese living area is Chinatown shows the reader that perhaps whites have put the Japanese into their own little area. Chinatown contains houses that are far smaller and in general with little fortunes unlike the white Australians. It is the broad attitude towards the Japanese that creates a war and endlessly kills Alice. Aborigines are treated unequally and are downgraded in Broo...

Rising Immigration Rate of Canada

Immigrants make up a considerable proportion of the Canadian population. At the time of the 1991 Census, there were 4. 3 million immigrants living in Canada, which is 16% of the total Canadian population. (See Graph 1, Immigrants as a Percentage of Canada's Population, 1901-1996) Over the past decades the level of immigration in Canada has increased from an average of 137 000 immigrants arriving in Canada in the 1960s to an average of about 200 000 in 1998. See Table1, Annual Immigration Plan 1998) The largest share of immigrants admitted into Canada are in the economic class, in 1994, close to half of the new immigrants coming to Canada were economic class immigrants. Immigration is needed to maintain the Canadian population; â€Å"Canada will be an aging society with such a low birth rate that it will soon be unable to sustain its population without sustained immigration. † Immigrants are a source of labour to the Canadian economy; immigrants are as likely as people born in Canada to be employed, and many are skilled workers that the Canadian economy is in need of. Business class, investor and entrepreneur immigrant help to provide job opportunities in the economy, and also generate more economic activities and income for the Canadian economy. â€Å"Analysis of data from the household/family file of the 1981 Canadian Census of Population reveals that, regardless of origin, immigrants benefit the Canadian-born population through the public treasury. † Immigrants are an aid to the Canadian economy as a result of its ability to sustain the aging population, to provide labour, and job opportunities. Firstly, Canada, like other rich countries of the world, will become an aging society with such a low birth rate; Canada will soon be unable to maintain its population without taking in immigrants. The low birth rate will soon lead to a shortage of future workers for the labour force. As we enter into the twenty-first century, there will be more older people requiring pensions, and in need of extra health care, but there will not be enough young workers entering the job market to support these needs. The fertility rate in Canada is roughly 1. 66, which is below the replacement rate of 2. and less than half the fertility rate of 3. 63 during the baby boom. Despite the number of children is currently growing because the large number of baby boomers are having children, â€Å"this so-called echo effect will have run its course by the early part of the next century so that, in the absence of much higher immigration, Canada's population will begin to decline. † According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian population will stabilize at 31 million in 2026 if the fertility rate of 1. 66 is maintained and 140 000 immigrants are accepted per year, and it will then begin to decline. If the rate of immigration is raised to 200 000 per year, the population will stabilize in 2035, at 34 million, before it begins to decline. The immigrant population is older, on average, than the Canadian-born population because immigrants tend to arrive in their prime working years. Also, it must be noted that children born to immigrants are included in the Canadian-born population rather than the immigrant population. Secondly, of all immigrants accepted into Canada, close to 50% are in the economic class consisting of business immigrants and skilled workers. See Table 2, Immigration Levels, 1998 Canada, Quebec* and Other Provinces) Most immigrants tend to arrive in their prime working years. Immigrants living in Canada are more likely than people born in Canada to have a university degree, in 1991, 14% of immigrants aged 15 and over had a university degree, while only 11% of people born in Canada had a university degree. Immigrants with post-secondary qualifications are more likely than those born in Canada with post-secondary qualifications to be graduates of professional programs in engineering, mathematics, and applied science. See Graph 2, Economic Category Persons Admitted, 1994-1996) For example, in 1991, 17% of immigrant men were graduates of these programs, where there were only 9% of Canadian-born men were graduates of these programs. Immigrants are also more likely than people born in Canada to have full-time, full-year jobs. In 1991, 63% of employed immigrant men and 50% of employed immigrant women worked at full-time, full-year jobs, compared to 59% of Canadian-born men, and 45% of Canadian-born women. According to Employment and Immigration Canada, in 1989-95 the fastest growing occupations include computer programmers and system analysts, data processing equipment operators, and technical salespersons, as well as occupations in health care. But fact is that Canada does not have enough skilled workers to work in these fields, therefore Canada must import workers skilled in these fields, and immigration is the best way to import these workers. There is a higher percentage of immigrant men working in professional or management occupations then Canadian-born men. In 1991, 32% of immigrant men worked in these fields, while only 27% of Canadian-born men worked in these fields. (See Table 4, Comparison of Employment between Immigrant and Canadian-Born Workers) Canada, like other industrial countries will be facing a shortage in skilled workers; Canada will have to open its borders to increased immigration by foreign workers, especially workers with education and skills. â€Å"In fact, industrial countries could find themselves competing for certain types of foreign workers. â€Å"