Region – Cagayan Valley

Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The Cagayan River, the country's longest, runs through its center and flows out to Luzon Strait in the north, in the town of Aparri, Cagayan. The Babuyan and Batanes island groups that lie in the Luzon Strait belong to the region. Cagayan Valley is the second largest region of the Philippines in terms of land area. Ibanag, Itawes and Ilocano (in varied shades and intonations) and Malueg are the major dialects of Cagayan. Migration made Ilocano the dominant language spoken in the province, composing 67. 3% of the total population. (Dios nicamu ngamin in Ybanag greeting, Good Day to all), Itawes comprise 13. 5%, Ybanag 15. 3%, and Malaueg 1. 7%. Other ethnic groups that migrated speak their own dialects. A person in places where literacy is high speaks and understands English or Filipino (Cagayan, 87). It’s Culture People in the valley dressed very simply. Old women used the saya and kimono while men used the camisa de chino or the barong tagalog. Some of the houses that withstood the Japanese occupation were historical houses made of hard wood. Some were bahay-kubo. Most typical homes were strong and typhoon-resistant. For agriculture, today, there are only a few have modern agricultural implements. The majority still use traditional implements like animal-drawn tools. Filipinos are characterized by its close family ties such that majority of married couples with children lived with their parents. The value of bayanihan, sharing, cooperation, brotherhood, self-responsibility, respect, love, peace, and dignity, are still very much alive in Cagayan. Old songs, proverbs, and poems are still sung today, alongside the instruments Kuribaw, tulali and the kuritang produced by Ibanags. These produced warlike or sad music. It also exhibits the beauty of the unoni, the berso, and the pabattang (proverbs and the advises through songs) which convey Ibanag history and their mores that the ethnic group keep sacred and inviolable. The following are samples of the Unoni as described by the Ibanags: â€Å"maguray y mapporay, mesipo y massipo, mawawan y carwan† (the brave leads, the lenient are included and the rest gets lost).

Night World : Huntress Chapter 3

Jez burst through the door and turned immediately into the small library off the front hall. Her uncle was sitting there at his desk, surrounded by built-in bookcases. He looked up in surprise. â€Å"Uncle Bracken, who was my mother? How did my parents die?† It all came out in a single rush of breath. And then Jez wanted to say, â€Å"Tell me the truth,† but instead she heard herself saving wildly, â€Å"Tell me it's not true. It's not possible, is it? Uncle Bracken, I'm so scared.† Her uncle stared at her for a moment. There was shock and despair in his face. Then he bent his head and shut his eyes. â€Å"But how is it possible?† Jez whispered. â€Å"How am I here?† It was hours later. Dawn was tinting the window. She was sitting on the floor, back against a bookcase, where she'd collapsed, staring emptily into the distance. â€Å"You mean, how can a vampire-human halfbreed exist? I don't know. Your parents never knew. They never expected to have children.† Uncle Bracken ran both hands through his hair, head down. â€Å"They didn't even realize you could live as a vampire. Your father brought you to me because he was dying and I was the only person he could trust. He knew I wouldn't turn you over to the Night World elders.† â€Å"Maybe you should have,† Jez whispered. Uncle Bracken went on as if he hadn't heard her. â€Å"You lived without blood then. You looked like a human child. I don't know what made me try to see if you could learn how to feed. I brought you a rabbit and bit it for you and let you smell the blood.† He gave a short laugh of reminiscence. â€Å"And your little teeth sharpened right up and you knew what to do. That was when I knew you were a true Redfern.† â€Å"But I'm not.† Jez heard the words as if someone else was speaking them from a distance. â€Å"I'm not even a Night Person. I'm vermin.† Uncle Bracken let go of his hair and looked at her. His eyes, normally the same silvery-blue as Jez's, were burning with a pure silver flame. â€Å"Your mother was a good woman,† he said harshly. â€Å"Your father gave up everything to be with her. She wasn't vermin.† Jez looked away, but she wasn't ashamed. She was numb. She felt nothing except a vast emptiness inside her, stretching infinitely in all directions. And that was good. She never wanted to feel again. Everything she'd felt in her life-everything she could remember-had been a lie. She wasn't a huntress, a predator fulfilling her place in the scheme of things by chasing down her lawful prey. She was a murderer. She was a monster. â€Å"I can't stay here anymore,† she said. Uncle Bracken winced. â€Å"Where will you go?† â€Å"I don't know.† He let out his breath and spoke slowly and sadly. â€Å"I have an idea.†

Language of ‘Abigail’s Party’ Emily Huntley Essay

Mike Leigh used to be one of a kind, famous for creating movies through an unusual process that involves extensive rehearsals and improvisations with his actors; a process that begins weeks before anyone picks up a camera. In each of his plays, he has depicted the often-uneventful lives of ordinary people. The results are always far from conventional. And it is through his success that many directors are now using his techniques to capture the texture of everyday life. Leigh achieves this commonness in the majority through his language, although the whole play is based on naturalism, he uses this technique to capture the essence of each characters persona. I think this technique is particularly successful, as the audience finds it easy to relate themselves to the evening unravelling before them, and manage to put themselves in the situations of the characters. Lawrence My first impression of Lawrence was that he was an well-educated, cultured man, who was simply a good social mixer but this is the aim of Leigh. He wanted the audience to believe the opposite of Lawrence and then have their thoughts ‘dashed’. In a way I believe that this makes the audience feel vulnerable as if they’ve been deceived and they then seek comfort in one of the other characters which seem simple and honest and therefore they find themselves ‘delving’ into the play further. Lawrence speaks in a polite and precise manner ‘Ah, yes-now, when would you be best for you? †¦No, no, I’ll fall in with you, Mrs Cushing.’ (Page 2) this enforces the idea of him being a well brought up man and hopefully in his eyes achieving the idea that his guests consider him of a high social class. Leigh also used the language of the character Lawrence to make him persuasive and condescending, ‘I don’t only like Minis-I like lots of other cars. But I find the Mini economical, efficient and reliable.’ (Page 8) this is a good example of the ‘rule of 3’ a strong persuasive technique, this is how he enforces his ideas on others and appears so domineering and always seems to be right as no one has the courage to object. Generally Lawrence’s speech is direct and focused, he speaks when spoken to and rarely initiates a conversation, unless asking probing questions to prove his wealth and class over the other guests Ã¢â‚¬Ë œYou have a car, do you? (Page 8). Although Lawrence’s vocabulary is relatively simple, he still uses this to his advantage by trying to better himself and prove his supposedly higher social status ‘Macbeth. Part of our heritage’. This also links to Lawrence’s frequent ‘name dropping’ this is in an attempt to try and appear culturally educated, with references to ‘Van Gogh’ ‘Shakespeare’ ‘Lowry’ etc. Lawrence also frequently uses questions in his dialect, this is to distract guests from a previous topic that may be a bit ‘uncomfortable’ for him, and so that he feels as though he is remaining control, he can choose what subject to initiate a conversation with ‘You’ve got footballer’s legs, though, haven’t you? †¦ Talking of Paris, Sue, do you like art?’ Another technique Leigh used in Lawrence’s character, are put-downs. This is achieved by the use of rhetorical questions. ‘What would you know about taste? (Page 48). And also by repetition of the persons name who he’s talking to. ‘I’ve seen to the drinks, thank you, Beverly!’ (Page 42), in this is example it is used as a ‘put down’ to remind Beverly to look around and compose herself. Throughout the play, Leigh rarely uses poetic language or imagery, with few metaphors and no symbolism. Lawrence is a prime example of this as he is a simple dialect character. Beverly When I initially read the play, I thought the whole plot pivoted around Beverly and how bad a hostess she was. I later found this not to be true. After seeing the play I realised that Beverly is actually a very good host, this is proved when she leaves the room, and the conversation withers. She also dominates the play, with her monologues, and comical ‘mickey’ taking of Lawrence. In Abigail’s Party Beverly is the only character to frequently swear with no apparent acknowledgement for her guests. ‘Oh sod off Lawrence’ (Page 49). This although may be offensive to some, shows the extreme contrast between the ‘nouveaux riches’ and the true middle class, such as Sue. Throughout the play Beverly uses a patronising tone, but I feel this isn’t a condescending technique, but rather being too honest ‘Please don’t be offended when I say this, but, you’re wearing a very pretty dress, If I may say so; now, you see that pink ribbon down the front? If you’d chosen, Ang, a colour slightly nearer that pink, I think it would have blended more with your skin tones;’ (Page 10). In this example, I feel that she is trying to make Ang feel better in herself. Although this does prove how materialistic Bev is as she thinks that making yourself look better solves all problems. Beverly babbles incessantly, is garrulous, and uses a lot of personal anecdotes in her dialect. ‘Now my bloke had told me to turn left, right? Now we come to the first give way, and the bloke in front slammed his brakes on. Now, I’m going behind him and I suppose I’m going a little bit too quick with me nerves; so I slam on my brakes and I went slap into the back of him.’ (Page 9). This is a clear example of Beverly’s long and complex sentences, although she also uses short simple sentences ‘Lawrence you’re going to get heartburn’ (Page 2). Beverly is also very colloquial in the way that she speaks, and this makes it easier for the audience to familiarise themselves with her. Similarly to Lawrence, Beverly also ‘name drops’ to appear culturally educated ‘Beaujolais’ (Page 11) although from the quote ‘Oh it’s Beaujolais. Fantastic! Won’t be a sec, I’ll just pop it in the fridge.'(Page 11) You can tell that Bev clearly has no idea about wine etc. like we originally thought. Generally speaking Beverly is the main character to initiate conversation, she keeps everyone involved and the conversation flowing. She also reiterates a lot to confirm and seek approval, assurance and affirmation. Beverly has a few peculiarities of speech, including the adjectives ‘Great’ and ‘Fantastic’. These are character phrases enable the audience to link these certain words to her, and expect them, I feel this makes the audience feel more at ease with Bev, or simply more irritated by her. Similarly to Lawrence, Beverly also never uses imagery, symbolism, metaphors or poetic language. But unsurprisingly for her character there are frequent sexual innuendoes ‘He’s got a firm handshake, hasn’t he?’ (Page 5) ‘Tone, you can’t do much with a bed-head, can you?’ (Page 7). Angela As a person, Ang is a simple and satisfied working class newly wed. Her sentences can be long, but this is purely due to her rambling and not knowing when to stop. ‘Oh, what a lovely table. This is just what we need. It’s the next thing we’re going to get. ‘Cos at the moment we’re eating off our knees. It’s unusual, isn’t it – with the wooden top and modern legs.’ (Page 22) Her conversation seems to be pretty pointless as she doesn’t seem to have anything of any value to add to the discussion. But similarly to Bev she also includes simple sentences to make her dialect feel more naturalistic. When comparing the characters I think it is possible to state that Ang is the most colloquial of all of them, as she is most informal, and although her grammar is a little ‘shakey’ it seems to be easier for the audience to accept her on face value as she is too honest and genuine to be hiding anything. Ang uses questions to seek assurance, and also to encourage people to engage with her, as it provokes a response. ‘Isn’t she?’ Ang uses personal anecdotes to inform the audience of her character, although the comic element that Leigh included was how she seems completely oblivious to her boundaries, and therefore makes herself look foolish. ‘Tony had a bad experience in an Indian restaurant – this was before I knew him†¦He had a nasty dose of gastro-enteritis after he’d had a curry, and you see that put him off. (Page 25). This medical reference shows hoe educated she is and reflects her job as a nurse. I feel it is the fact that Ang is too blunt and open to use any form of innuendoes, or symbolism, that makes it so easy for the audience to accept her. Tony Tony is a very reserved character; he rarely uses full sentences, but rather one-word replies, this makes him appear constrained and unnatural which is why I believe it is not so surprising when he raises his voice at Ang as the audience can see the tension building inside him. He never initiates conversation, as that would mean replies to more questions. He often uses slang, or colloquial language ‘top’ ‘ta’. Leigh also included various imperative or instructive verbs ‘leave it’ ‘stand up’ ‘turn that fucking record off’ (Page 51), but these are only ever commanded at Ang, and explains why the audience and guests never agree with Ang when she seems to find him domineering. Tony’s humour seems to be very ‘dry’ in that he finds his own things funny, rather than sharing a universal joke. Tony is the only character to use silence as a defence and attack mechanism. As we’ve seen with Bev and Lawren ce they’d rather shout at each other to resolve problems. Tony uses silence to create a tension and most often with Ang and therefore making her look stupid, in front of their company, clearly showing an imbalance in their relationship. Sue It is clear from the beginning of the play that Sue is of the highest social class in the group. Originally I though Sue was a well brought up and highly well mannered person, but when studying the play I realised the opposite. I felt that Sue is very rude and off-putting to the people around her as she has a lack of curiosity, she doesn’t seem to show any interest in them and clearly doesn’t want them to show any in her. She only speaks when spoken to, and never repays the question. When she does answer questions it’s always unexpansive, short; clipt one-word answers ‘Yes’. It is clear from her dialect that she is uncomfortable and intimidated by the other characters. Her language is very unnatural and similar to that of a guide book. Her vocabulary is old fashioned, formal, and grammar school style. ‘Daren’t’ ‘Aren’t’. Otherwise it’s quite simple and easily understood so it doesn’t require any explanations. She never uses colloquial or slang vocabulary. She rarely uses questions in her dialogue as this would initiate conversation. She keeps herself to herself and doesn’t want to probe or get involved into either of the troublesome marriages in front of her. Her character phrases seem to be reliant on her politeness ‘Yes please’ ‘No thank you’. It is possible to say that she is trapped by her own politeness, She doesn’t have the nerve to leave the party, which she clearly doesn’t want to be at. Throughout the play she remains completely unassertive right until the end when her guard drops, and she tells Bev to ‘Shut up’ (Page 53). Language is a key tool that all playwrights use to distinguish the differences and similarities between each of the characters. The character phrases and accents help the audience to realise the different backgrounds and diversity of the characters. Contributing to the visual aspects, lines give a sense of place and person and how the characters interact with one another.

Marketing 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing 2 - Assignment Example g undertaken also they designed teaser campaign for the firm’s rebranding process also a graphic was released which showed the repealing of old and evolution of a new identity on ’01.01.01’ (date of launch)(Rebranding and Repositioning a global brand. 29 legal firms all around the world were coming up with marketing strategies and advertisements which repeatedly captured the rebranding of Andersen Consultancy and the idea that firm was evolving into a bigger and better place. Through this extensive research and massive marketing the firm transferred its brand equity from Andersen to Accenture which itself was derived from two words ‘assent’ and ‘future’, the idea of providing more and broader services than ever before. (Accenture) (Accenture, 2002) A. The shift in the Brand name as mentioned previously was a result of a legal decision which if not handled properly might have resulted in the collapse of a giant of that time. This rebranding was not a result of an innovation or anything. Criteria to evaluate the new brand name revolved around the question, that what innovation was the firm offering after this huge makeover. Business reengineering, Business Integration, Specialist in Technology, More and broader services, Masters in the field and Leaders of Future were the six agenda’s set by the firm at the time of rebranding. In the light of these criteria Accenture is the perfect fit for the company since its name in itself speaks of future and is innovative in nature too. The conversion was no less then reengineering and transforming the firm into a whole new platform, for people to look up to with a guarantee of receiving the best at their footsteps. (Accenture, 2002) A. Accenture used this opportunity of renaming itself to reposition the brand in a whole new dimension. While this process of repositioning was undertaken the company and its legal and marketing advisors kept this fact in mind that the services of consulting being performed by the

Management Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Problem - Essay Example If the leader/manager cannot handle such situations, company’s productivity and development would surely be hindered. Solving the problems within the company is not a one way process, the leader/manager is not the only picture on the image, rather it should be the leader/manager and the labor force. This paper will give focus on the management problem of Mr. Charley Newton on his new assignment. It will center primarily on the challenges of his leadership skills on how he will address the poor sales performance in southeast region. His ability on how he will manage his new appointment as vice president of southeast region determines his future career in Cabot Corporation. According to Fernandez, â€Å"80% to 90% of the sales are made by 20% of the sales force." This statement is very disappointing to know on what has been contributed by the 80% sales force. It relates to the problem of Mr. Newton in his new assignment in southeast region which is a serious issue that determines his future career. He had handled various assignments in his 10 years of stay in Cabot Corporation that is why the management has high expectations on him. He is being assigned to a worst performing region expecting that he can settle the problems in terms of the sales performance. It had been a problem for the corporation knowing that southeast region has a huge number of perspective customers (farmers), but still it ranks to be at the lowest, and fails the management expectations. The unsatisfactory sales performance of the region is one of the problems that Mr. Newton has to face. He also needs to perceive why is that the 26 divisional offices of the regions considered the mselves autonomous. The product produced by Cabot Corporation is positively viewed as a good one that is why it is being accepted in the entire world; therefore, this could not be the cause of the problem. Buyers are also not the reason given that there are so many farmers in southeast region. Thus, the cause

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Reading response - Essay Example Pointing out what is wrong always with people or the work they perform will lead to people taking you for an unkind and unreliable individual. It is, therefore, expedient to understand that it people are not always necessarily wrong and a better look at things may reveal that you are the one on wrong. Understanding this possibility calls for intuitive desire to understand the other person’s point of view which gives us the cue of why the individual acted as s/he did. Such a mere action can go a long way into giving significant understanding of the other person. It is always a challenge for most people to see both their point of view and that one of the other party. A basic human need is the feeling of importance. Making someone feel important is a desirable way to start any communication. The person usually will be grateful for such acknowledgement establishing a good ground to get something in return for appreciation. That becomes a key strategy in business especially in marketing. Making the customer feel important to the business will foster a feeling of ownership and belongingness and increased confidence of the customer. Participation is encouraged when the party involved feels that they are considered intelligent or important. Someone will tend to like you the more for a positive complement. Continuous and constant acknowledgement and compliments will have a tremendous desirable outcome of the other party or even customer behavior. A business venture should strive to make customers feel important rather than insisting their importance to the customer. Such an act attracts respect from customers and automatically awards influence to the b argaining chips. Failure to appreciate others can provoke them to venture into extremes of behavior, become criminals and even insane. They will tend to live in their imagined worlds where they feel important rather than facing the rearing reality of

Persuasive Message Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Persuasive Message - Coursework Example Money should not be the only determining factor when you are faced with a tough decision about the welfare of your beloved pet. That’s why we would like to call your attention to the possibility of purchasing a pet insurance policy. Most insurance policies do not cover routine office visits or shots, but they can cover more than half of the total cost should [Fluffy] require any type of major procedure. Having a pet insurance policy means you can make decisions based on the welfare of your pet rather than the restrictions of the cost. Many clients have asked which policy Dr. Munson recommends. Although she does not have any financial interests in any pet insurance provider, there are three that stand out as having had good track records with our office: Whether you use one of these plans or another, we hope you will consider obtaining insurance for your pet. While we all hope [Fluffy] will never need extensive medical care, better decisions can be made for [his] welfare if you have prepared in advance. As always, you can call the office any time you have concerns or

Meteorology assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Meteorology - Assignment Example Review the sounding data available from the online repository to estimate the value of CAPE just prior to the occurrence of the Angus tornado. The atmosphere was predisposed to wards severe weather since the Environment Canada had issued tornado warnings for several communities in the area as a line of severe thunderstorms with embedded tornadoes moved into the Lake Simcoe region. On Tuesday at around 5:20 pm, a cold front spawned a number of strong to severe thunderstorms across the southern Ontario. This was said by the environmental of Canada in the storm summary early on Wednesday. i. Suppose lightning was observed in Angus, and that you had a clear line of sight from York University to it. How long would it take for you to hear the thunder corresponding to the Angus lightning? State any assumptions required for this estimation. After the storms, several thousands of homes and businesses I Angus were without power. More than 24 hours, customers in Ontario were still not having electricity. The thunderstorm went out in the following sequence, at 8:47 a.m., the first severe thunderstorm went out, then 10:54 a.m., 2:25 p.m., 2:37 p.m., 3:03 p.m. - 4:54 p.m. then the tornado warning replaces severe thunderstorm warning. According to Environment Canada, the tornado was associated with severe thunderstorm. It was accompanied by large hail, wind gusts greater than or equal to 50kts, or tornado. In other words, it was an Ordinary Cell Thunderstorm. http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/tornado-rips-through-angus-ontario-several-homes-damaged-no-major-injuries-reported/29754/. The tornado is approximated to travel at a wind speed of between 180-220 km/hr. and with limited wind shear. http://globalnews.ca/video/1475249/return-home-timing-uncertain-for-tornado-victims-in-angus. Tornadoes are very destructive as from the video link above, it led to the death of several people for instance the severe

Watchdogs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Watchdogs - Coursework Example Research conducted on fraud has revealed that fraud perpetrators and experts of embezzlement against their employers usually do this as a result of pressure, rationalization and opportunity. In this case, it is evident that pressure, rationalization and opportunity that results in fraud are as a result of poor internal control commonly referred to as sleeping (napping) watchdogs. In the case of opportunity, the perpetrator identifies a loophole in the control system and believes that they can fraud and goes undetected. Those who perpetrate fraud as a result of rationalization do it as a result of uncontrolled personal code of conduct. Perpetrators who respond to pressure usually have financial predicaments that motivate them to steal This analysis highlighted above indicates that watchdogs are responsible for abating fraud crime. In this case, strict measures should be implements in order to accost irresponsibility in the control departments. To address this, watchdogs in corporations should be charged together with the perpetrators. In this case, when a person is caught having embezzled corporate fund, a litigation should not only be brought against them, but also those in charge of preventing such case. The site, Corporate Accountability International, provides a platform where these corporate crimes of fraud and embezzlement of fund can be prevented. The organization, backed by members, activist, volunteers and allied organizations, is positioned to be instrumental in realizing a corporate scene free from white-collar crimes. With a mission of bringing to an end the life-threatening cruelty by global corporations, they ideally positioned to restore a sense of responsibility and accountability to public institutions around the world. Having recognized how global corporations have increasing been operating beyond

Martin Luther and his Theology on Worship in the Church during the Research Paper

Martin Luther and his Theology on Worship in the Church during the Reformation - Research Paper Example â€Å"Luther thought music to be a gift from God and considered it of the highest importance next to the preaching of the Word (i.e., theology)1† . Luther’s theological views on music and his instigation of different methods of worship in the Catholic Church have helped Christians during the reformation era revitalize their faith. Catholicism is  not  compatible with Lutheran’s brand of liturgy because their religious principles are widely distinct. Catholicism embraced superstition. Catholicism’s worship was grounded on tradition, rather than on the Word of God. Catholicism’s worship remained locked in an incomprehensible language to the masses. Catholicism’s liturgy was static, predictable, meaningless and therefore, not spiritually edifying to the congregant. With such doctrines as the Eucharist, purgatory, the worship of relics, indulgences and Latinized readings, the masses were not being fed nourishing spiritual food which would be salvific in nature and lead to their salvation. Catholicism instructed the multitudes in errors, primarily concerned with death, which warped their perceptions of God, causing them to deviate further from the truth. The Eucharist service is one in which Catholic believers are encouraged to equate the presence of the Lord Jesus with the bread and wine of Communion. The Communion celebrates the death of Christ and in Catholicism, congregants observe more emphatically the sacrifice of the Savior without impressing upon the people’s minds the reality of Christ as a risen Lord. The Catechism affirms that Christ Jesus†¦ â€Å"is present .  .  . most  especially in the Eucharistic species†2 Devotion in honor of the dead is another prevailing conviction advocated in Catholicism. The idea was held in wide currency that the dead somehow acquire divine power when called upon can help the living in distress, because of the alleged virtue of now residing in heaven. For t he Catholic service â€Å"another common practice was the worship of relics, or physical objects such as bones or keepsakes of famous saints†3 . Adherents firmly believed that the possession and worship of relics would sanctify them in some manner and improve their opportunities at being saved. The deception was that the relics were in reality the bones of dead animals which the clergy designated as the bones of saints. Another doctrine forwarded by Catholicism was purgatory. In the Catholic liturgy â€Å"through congregational participation the people could effectively work themselves and their deceased loved ones out of purgatory and into heaven †¦such celebrations included requiem masses, vigils, the common week, and All Souls’ Day†4 (Dieter). Purgatory is the teaching that the souls of the dead are in a state of limbo between heaven and hell. To rescue the deceased souls, the faithful were expected to pay large sums of money for extra masses and prayers so that the dead would be redeemed and enter heaven’s gates. Indulgences is another liturgical rite in which â€Å"pieces of parchment were said to possess the power to credit the buyers with the merits of Christ together with the superabundant merits of all the saints† to deliver the beloved dead from perdition in purgatory. These rounds of superstition only confirmed the belief in error and steered the flock from the principles of justification by faith, the word of God and Jesus Christ alone. As a result, the Reformation rose

Organization and Structure of Japanese Government Essay

Organization and Structure of Japanese Government - Essay Example He also appoints the Prime Minister and the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court as designated by the Diet and the Cabinet respectively. In this respect, the position of the Emperor in postwar Japan differs from that in the prewar days when the Emperor was the source of sovereign power. Sovereignty is now is the people's domain. The Imperial Throne is dynastic and descendant from father to son. According to the data in Wikipedia.org, Emperor Akihito (born December 23, 1933) is the current Emperor of Japan and the 125th according to the traditional order of succession. He is the world's only reigning emperor. In Japan the reigning emperor is never referred to by his first name, but rather is referred to simply as tenn heika ("His Majesty the Emperor"). The era of Emperor Akihito's reign bears the name "Heisei" and by custom, after his death, he will be renamed "Emperor Heisei". The Diet, composed of two Houses, na... The citizens of Japan over 20 years of age are eligible to vote. The House of Representatives is composed of 500 members. The minimum eligible age to be elected to it is 25.The term of office of members of the House of Representatives is generally four years. The representatives are elected directly by the people. They go on to complete their term of office unless the House itself is dissolved. The House of Councilors is composed of 252 members who are also elected directly by the people. Their minimum age requirement is 30 years. Their term of office is six years, and a half of them is elected every three years. Both Houses have more or less the same power but in some exceptional cases the decision of the House of Representatives takes precedence of that of the House of Councilors. Each House has the Secretariat and the Legislation Bureau. The Diet begins its 150-day ordinary session from January each year. The Prime Minister is chosen by the Diet from among its members. The Prime Minister then forms a Cabinet, and the Cabinet controls the executive branch of government. Although Japan is still considered a very Conservative nation, there is no discrimination because of race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income. The Cabinet The cabinet is the Executive part of the State. It is headed by the Prime Minister and comprises of a maximum of 20 Ministers of State. This would include the Cabinet Secretary and some Ministers without a portfolio as well. They are held responsible to the Diet. The Cabinet has to resign en masse when the post of Prime Minister becomes vacant. If the House of Representatives passes a no confidence resolution or rejects

Why my family is important Essay Example for Free

Why my family is important Essay Together with family, household is considered one of the basic groups of social aggregation. Information on household numbers and composition aids in identifying groups within the population such as Indigenous households or the number of people living alone. For the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement (CSHA) data collections, the number of tenancy agreements is a practical proxy for calculating the number of households receiving housing assistance. The persons in the group may pool their incomes and have a common budget to a greater or lesser extent: they may be related or unrelated persons, or a combination of both. Only usual residents of the household are included as members of the household. Visitors to a household are, by definition, excluded from the household. Blood is always thicker than water. I learnt that phrase when I was much younger, but I never appreciated it until now. My brother was the only one who stood by me when I was being bullied in school at one time. He saw me cornered by a boy whom he knew to be a school bully and he did not wait a second more before stepping in to prevent me from being beaten by that boy. Once I quarrelled with my best friend, who was popular and everyone else was against me for quarrelling with him. My parents consoled me and encouraged me to be happier. They gave me the sound advice of believing in myself. I cannot thank them enough for the support that they have given me so far. My parents are also responsible for my love of learning in life. They make me feel intelligent and well-loved. I know that I am someone important to them. My family will always be there for me while friends are transient. After so many experiences with friends, I realise that I can always choose my friends. It also takes a long time to find a sincere and true friend. With family, it is different because my family cares for me no matter what happens. My brother and I may have our differences but we always manage to make matters work somehow.

Valuation Methods of Inventories: Advantages Disadvantages

Valuation Methods of Inventories: Advantages Disadvantages The subject of this paper is the valuation of inventories. We have looked at the rules of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Dutch rules. The Dutch rules can be dividend in Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW) which is a part of the Dutch law and the recommendations made by the Raad voor de Jaarverslaggeving (RJ) which are giving a interpretation of the Dutch law, but which are not a part of the Dutch law. The research question of this paper is: Which valuation methods of inventories are allowed or not and what are their advantages and disadvantages? Before we are starting with this question we tell you about the general lay out of the different rules and standards in chapter 2. In chapter 3 we will explain the methods based on the historic cost price. This chapter tells you about costs of purchase, costs of conversion and methods to assign costs. We will explain the differences between fifo, lifo and hifo. Chapter 4 deals with fixed transfer price. Chapter 5 describes the fair value (or actual value). Chapter 6 describes one interpretation of fair value, namely the replacement value. Chapter 7 describes net realizable value and the difference with fair value. Chapter 8 will tell you in short about the selling price. At the end of this paper in chapter 9 we will give our opinion about which methods should be used. General laws and standards The use of IFRS is for the consolidated statements of listed companies. All other companies in the Netherlands can opt for the application of IFRS or Dutch Law in Title 9 of Book 2 of the BW and the rules which were made by the RJ.  [1]   IAS 2 (IFRS) IAS 2 sets out how to deal with inventories. Paragraph 6 defines inventories as follows: Inventories are assets: held for sale in the ordinary course of business; in the process of production for such sale; or in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in the production process or in the rendering of services.  [2]   IAS 2 is not applicable for all kinds of inventories. Work in progress arising from construction contracts, including directly related service contracts, financial instruments and biological assets related to agricultural activity and agricultural produce at the point of harvest has their own IAS. IAS 2 paragraph 9 prescribes that inventories must be measured at the lower of the cost and net realizable value. This leads to a requirement for impairment test. Paragraph 10 prescribes that the costs of inventories shall contain all costs of purchasing, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition. Paragraph 6 prescribes that the net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. Book 2, Title 9 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (Civil Law of the Netherlands) The Dutch Law defines in article 2:369 BW about the next four types of inventories: Commodities and consumable supplies; Work in progress; Finished goods and goods for trading; Prepayments on inventories.  [3]   Article 2:384 lid 1 BW allowed the purchase price, the manufacturing price and the actual value to use for valuation of the inventories. Article 2:384 lid 7 BW gives an own regime for financial instruments, other investments and agricultural inventories. In the Besluit Actuele waarde the rules of Book 2 title 9 are further explained.  [4]   Raad voor de Jaarverslaggeving The Raad voor de Jaarverslaggeving (RJ) gives the following definition of inventories: Assets which are  held for sale in the ordinary course of business;  in the process of production for such sale; or  in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in the production process or in the rendering of services. The RJ prescribes in rule 220.301 RJ that inventories must be valuated based on the cost-price or the lower market value or actual value. 220.201 RJ defines when an inventory item has to be recognized. The inventories are only assets if it is probable that the future economic benefits in according to the assets will be for the company and the costs of the assets can be solid measured. Comparing the rules The definition of inventories is the same in IAS 2 and the rules of the RJ. Book 2 BW is applicable on every type of inventory. IAS 2 is not applicable for every type of inventory. Excluded inventories have their own IAS. Actual value is allowed in the Dutch rules, but not under IAS 2. There are not any differences between the Dutch BW and the RJ about valuation techniques. This is logical, because the RJ has to deal with the Dutch BW. Historic cost price Although there is much criticism about his system, this one of the most used method of valuation of inventories. When you think of historical cost, you immediately think about costs of purchase. But that are not the only costs. Think of transport costs, administrative costs, taxes and other cost. Factories even have cost to complete the products. We call these costs of conversion. Costs of purchase Costs of purchase are not only the price paid for the product. There are more costs that you have to pay. For example import duties, administration cost and shipping cost. Value added tax can be recoverable by the entity from the taxing authorities  [5]  . These taxes are therefore no costs and cannot be added to the inventory. All other costs that are directly related to the product can be added to the inventory (according to IFRS). It is important that also revenues from discounts are deducted from the total costs of purchase. We shall make an example. Let assume there is a company in the Netherlands. They want to buy oranges in Africa. The oranges normally costs 2 euro per kg, but the company gets a discount (because they buy a large quantity). They cost now à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,50 per kg. The company buys 500kg. Value added tax is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0,50 per kg (based on the discounted price). To ship the oranges to the Netherlands there are costs: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬100. The company also needs to pay import duties: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬50,-. The costs of purchase can be determined as followed: Price: 500kg x à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,- = 1,000 Discount (500kg x à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0,50) = (250) VAT (500kg x à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0,50) = (250) Shipping cost = 100 Import Duties = 50 Cost of purchase = 650 Note that you really pay à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬900,- in total. But 250 will be returned to you by the tax authorities. Costs of conversion Costs of conversion are the costs that occur when a manufacturing entity makes products out of raw materials. You do not only have the raw materials. Think of the machines in the factory and employees. These are examples of direct costs. But they are not the only costs. There are many costs that cannot be directly linked to a product: administration, electricity, depreciation of machinery and so on. But which costs should you assign to the product (and inventory). This is a topic that is very much discussed in management accounting. There are basically 4 types of methods to allocate costs to the products. Throughput costing, direct costing, absorption costing and activity based costing. Throughput costing Throughput costing traces the least amount of cost to the inventory. Throughput costing only assigns only the direct costs. These direct costs are based on unit-level. This is an advantage because otherwise managers would have an incentive to overproduce  [6]  . Managers do that because you are able to lower the average cost per unit when you produce more. We shall give an example: A company produces 10.000 products. 5000 products will be sold. Fixed costs are $ 50.000 and variable costs are $ 1 per unit. Selling price = 15 We assume that there is no beginning inventory. We can see that in this example the profit is much higher under absorption costing. In this example is the production higher than the actual sales. Note that if the production is equal to the sales, there would be no difference. If the production is lower than the sales, you need to have a beginning inventory and profit under absorption costing is lower. This is because you take a part of the last years fixed cost and takes that this year. So it looks like throughput costing is a good system because you cant steer the profit, but it violates the matching principle. That is why this method is not allowed for external reporting purposes. Direct (or variable) costing In this system all variable manufacturing costs are allocated to the inventory. All other costs flow into the expense of the current period. The variable manufacturing costs include direct material, direct labor and variable overhead. Variable overhead can be for example the electricity needed to operate machines. Absorption costing In absorption costing all of the manufacturing cost (fixed and variable) capitalized in the inventory. As we mentioned earlier, this means that the cost will not be an expense until the product is sold. The only costs that are taken at cost when incurred are selling and administrative costs. This is the system that is mostly used for external reporting. This is because it is aligned with the matching principle. Today, this system is now increasingly used also for internal reporting. But as mentioned earlier, this system has a great disadvantage that it might encourage a manager to overproduce. Activity based costing Activity based costing is invented to improve traditional costing systems. The system provides more accurate product costs. You have to first assign costs to activities and then to goods and services based on how much each good or service uses the activity. You can say that activities consume resources and products consume activities You can determine the cost of goods and service in four steps: Step 1: Search for activities that are related to the companys products. You need to make a list of activities and classify them as unit-level, batch level, product level, customer level or facility level. There are varies ways to do this: You can use the top-down approach. The organization use specials ABC teams of people at the middle-management or above. Advantage of this method is that generating the activity dictionary is quick and inexpensive.  [7]   You can also use the interview or participative approach. In this method you interview operating employees. So you have to rely on their knowledge. And last but not least you can use the recycling method. In this method you have to reuse documentation of processes used for other purposes. Step 2: Estimate the costs of the activities that you identified in step 1. Step 3: Calculate a rate for each of the activities that you indentified in step 1. For example machine cost is caused by hours it is used. So you need to calculate a rate per machine hour used. Step 4: Assign the activity cost to the product. For instance: measure how much hours you used and calculate total cost assigned to the product. Do this for all of the activities. As you can see it is a very time-consuming and therefore expensive method. But you get the advantage of detailed information. Therefore a company needs to evaluate whether the extra information has a higher value than the costs. As you can see, fixed costs are included in this system to. The system treats all costs as variable. ABC is not used for external inventory valuation, but for decision-making purposes. This is because selling and administrative costs are also included. Activity based costs are therefore also not charged to the inventory accounts. Thats why most of the companies that use the ABC method have an IT-system. This system is separate from the companies accounting system used for external reporting. Normally the process of identifying is done once per year, or when changes are made in the production process. Main difference with other costing systems is that other costing systems the manufacturing costs are allocated to products on the basis of production volume related measurement such as direct labor hours. ABC uses both production volume and non-production volume related bases. In ABC an attempt is made to assign all costs to products including engineering, marketing, distribution and administrative costs  [8]  . Methods to assigning costs Historical cost price is only a valuation at first recognition. For subsequent measurement you have different methods for assigning costs to inventory on sale. Fifo We begin with fifo. Fifo means first in first out. According to this method you assume that items that were first purchased are first sold. This is not literally. This method makes more sense in businesses where actually the first purchased products are first sold. This is the case in for example a supermarket. In this method the remaining inventory comes near to replace value. Because the inventory is valued for the price that you have paid last time. If this was not a long time ago, this last price is the replace value. When products decrease in prices (deflation), fifo gives a lower income. This can be an advantage when you have to pay tax. But when there is inflation, fifo gives a higher income. LiFo Lifo means last in first out. It is basically the same as fifo, but in this method you assume that the last purchase goods are first sold. When goods do not have an expiry date this is a method that makes sense. For example think of a warehouse full with steel. You grab the first one you can reach. Steel will not decrease in value over time. It is a lot more work to grab the last one. In that way you actually first sell the product that you bought last. When you use lifo, the cost of goods sold comes near replace value. This is because you use the newest purchase cost. But the inventory is valued according to the oldest products purchased. When there is inflation, lifo gives a lower income. This gives an advantage when for example you have to pay tax. Collective LiFo (periodic LiFo) In collective LiFo, the amount of inventory is determined periodically by conducting a physical count and multiplying the number of units by a cost per unit to value the inventory on hand  [10]  . This makes a difference with normal LiFo. This difference can be best explained with an example: A company buys on 1/1 500products à ¡ $1,50 Buys 1/4 200products à ¡ $1,60 Sells 1/5 600products Buys 1/7 300products à ¡ $1,40 Sells 1/9 200products LiFo: When the company sells on 1/5 the purchase cost of that 600products are: 200 x 1,60 + 400 x 1,50 = $920,- There are 100products left in the inventory with the worth of $1,50 each= $150,- When the company sells on 1/9 the purchase cost of that 200 products are: 200 x 1,40 = 280. Total costs of purchase for the period = 280 + 920 = $1200 The worth of the inventory on the end of the period = 100 x 1,40 + 100 x 1,50 = $290 Collective Lifo: This time we do not look at when the company sells, but only at the end of the period. At the end of the period there are 800 products total sold (800+200). The purchase cost of that product can be calculated as follows: 300 x 1,40 + 200 x 1,60 + 300 x 1,50 = 1190 The worth of the remaining inventory = 200 x 1,50 = $300 As you can see this makes a difference of $10. In this example it is not that much. But think of a company that buys and sells every day. In that case the difference can get much bigger. Collective Lifo is a good example of a periodic method. Lifo is a perpetual method. As you saw in the perpetual method the inventory are updated each time a transaction involving inventory takes place. In the periodic method the amount of inventory is determined by conducting a physical count  [11]  . Unfortunately despite the advantages, this method can only be used for homogeneous products. The perpetual method is a much more time consuming method. Therefore the cost is higher. But this method has advantages. You can get anytime you want information about the cost of purchase and the value of the remaining inventory. Therefore management can make better decisions. Because of the better control that you have, you will immediately see differences in stock. These differences can come from multiple reasons, for example they can be stolen or spoiled. Management can examine why there is a difference and can take action. Hifo Hifo means highest in first out. In this method you assume that the goods with the highest value will be sold first. In this case the company records the highest cost of goods sold as possible. Therefore, this method decreases your income. This is an advantage for companies, because they have to pay less tax or have less attention from for example environment associations or government. For example shell will not make too much profit. Otherwise government would raise taxes because it is polluting for the environment to produce oil. The cost for having this attention is called political cost. You need to minimize that cost. This method can also be Lowest in, First out. It works the same way. Only in this way you maximize your profit. This can be an advantage for managers whose income is dependent of the profit. Average costing method The inventory is based on the average costs of all products. This can be a weighted average; this is the average of a period. The average can also be a moving average. In this case the average is changed every time the company buys new products or when there is a purchase return. This method makes the assumption that all products are homogeneous. Therefore it makes sense to use it in companies that have homogeneous products. The method has the advantage that is very easy to apply. Because it is an average, you eliminate unusually high or low materials prices. This can help for better or stable cost estimates. Fixed transfer price (Dutch: vaste verrekenprijs) When purchase prices changes a lot it is very time consuming to register individual purchase price. It is even more time consuming when a company has a lot of transactions. That is why a fixed transfer price can be used. The fixed transfer price is based on a fixed purchase price plus cost of purchase and cost of inventory. At the beginning of the period, an average purchase price, average purchasing cost and average inventory cost is estimated. Because it is an estimation, there will be differences in the real cost and the estimated cost. The difference must be recorded on a separate account called: price differences at purchase.  [12]   An example: Company Bert sells chairs. The fixed transfer price is $ 200,-. This price consists of: Purchase price $ 160 Purchasing cost 10 Inventory cost 30 $ 200 The company buys 50 chairs for a total price of $ 8200. The following journal entry has to be made: Inventory $ 10000 (50 x $ 200) Price differences $ 200 a/ revenue purchasing department $ 500 a/ revenue inventory department $1500 a/ creditors $8200 Price differences are only based on the difference between expected purchasing price and real purchasing price. Therefore price differences is 8200 (50 x 160) = 200. In this case the difference is an asset, because you actually paid more than the worth in your inventory. But sometimes you evaluate your inventory to high, because actual price is lower. For example: Company Bert buys 50 chairs for total price of $ 7800. Journal entry will be: Inventory $10000 a/ revenue purchasing department $ 500 a/ revenue inventory department $1500 a/ creditors $7800 a/ price differences $ 200 You can see that inventory did not change. Thats why FTP has the major advantage that inventory is easy to valuate. You can immediately calculate how much units you have (Inventory divided by FTP). When you sell your products the sale will be calculated on actual price. The difference will disappear. For example you sell 40 chairs of the 50 chairs you bought. You sold them for $400,- per chair. Journal entry will be: Cash 40 x $ 400,- = $16.000 a/ Sales $16.000 Cost of goods sold (8700/50) x 40 = $ 6960 Price differences = $ 1040 a/ inventory 40 x 200 = $ 8.000 Cost of goods sold is valuated at actual price (in this case). This can also be on average price. The remaining price difference only consists of the 10 remaining chairs in inventory. If they are sold too, the price difference is 0 again. Price differences are a correction on the inventory. When you use average cost price you create a special situation. Because then price differences are not only a correction on the inventory but also on the cost of goods sold. Therefore you have to make a distinction between price differences that go to the balance sheet and that go to profit and loss account, at the end of the period. Fair value (or actual value) Paragraph 6 of IAS 2 gives the following definition of fair value for inventories: Fair value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arms length transaction. How works the fair value accounting method? Fair value isnt laid in one conception. The basis of fair value is that the value of an asset or liability is the value for what the asset can be traded between well informed, independent parties which want to do the transaction. The best indication of fair value is the quoted price on an active market. But not every asset has a quoted price on an active market. If an active market isnt available, than you can look to the last transaction. This is just a good indication if the economic situation has been the same. At least you can use valuation techniques to determine the valuation. Other fair value conceptions are value in use and replacement value.  [13]   Is the fair value accounting method allowed for inventories? IAS 2 doesnt prescribe fair value as a valuation method. The RJ allows the use of fair value for valuation of inventories in 220.301 RJ. Art. 2:384 lid 1 BW allows the use of fair value.  [14]   IAS 2 gives an explanation of the conception of fair value, because it explains that net realizable value may not equal to fair value minus selling costs. Article 8 of the Besluit Actuele waarde explains that you can use the replacement value for inventories, besides the agricultural inventories. If the gain value is lower than the replacement value, than you have to use the gain value. If it is probable that the inventories will be replaced, than you have to use the gain value. For agricultural inventories which are valuated by actual value, you have to use the realizable value. 220.331 RJ describes if the inventories will be valuated by the actual value and that is probable that the inventories will be replaced, than must the actual value be based on the replacement value or the lower realizable value. 220.332 RJ says if the inventories will be valuated by the actual value and it is not probable that the inventories will be replaced, than must the actual value be based on the realizable value. The replacement value and the realizable value will be explained in another part of the paper. What are the advantages and disadvantages of fair value? The general advantages of fair value accounting for inventories are: More transparency Providing more information (about the market prices) Financial reports are less subject to earnings management.  [15]   Disadvantages are: Fair value accounting can be expensive. Implementation and maintenance of a fair value accounting system will cost time and resources. Fair value accounting for inventories is allowed by the RJ and the BW, but not by the IFRS. This can be confusing for some companies. We think that it will be good if the Dutch rules and the IFRS will be the same, because this makes it more clear for the companies if the allowed or not to use fair value accounting for inventories. We dont think that fair value must substitute the other methods, because for some companies is it not easy to measure the fair value. Replacement value There are two variances of the replacement value method: replacement value with a normal inventory and replacement value without a normal inventory. First we will give an example of the replacement value with a normal inventory: base stock value (ijzeren voorraadmethode). After this example we will explain the replacement value without a normal inventory. The function of the replacement value method is inventory valuation. Replacement value with a normal inventory How works replacement value with a normal inventory? An example of replacement value with a normal inventory is the use of a base stock. The base stock is the inventory which the company needs for a continued process of the company. The base stock can exist of a physical inventory and an economic inventory. The economic inventory consists of the physical inventory plus the orders and minus sales which are not delivered. The company has a price risk on the economic inventory.  [16]   The company can valued the base stock by the next three values: The price paid in the past; Or the lower buying price on the balance date; Or the lower net realizable value on the balance date. The base stock is valued by an established price. It is possible that the actual inventory differs from the base stock. There are two types of differences: a manco or a surplus. There is a manco when the actual inventory is lower than the base stock. The difference between the actual inventory and the base stock has the company to buy as soon as possible and must be valuated by the using the replacement value. The replacement value is the price which the company has to give if she buys today the inventory to solve the manco. There is a surplus if the actual inventory is higher than the base stock. The surplus must be valuated by using the minimum valuing rule. The company has to use the lowest of the following values: The last paid price (Fife method); Buying price on balance date; Selling price on balance date. The reason of this rule lies in the prudence principle.  [17]   This system doesnt take into account changes of the value of money. The system is used to determine the profit which can be pay out.  [18]   There is a profit on the selling on e. of 50 (e-/-b) and a profit on the selling on f. of 50 (f-/- 0,5c). The total profit is 100. Is it allowed to use the replacement value with a normal inventory? IFRS doesnt allow the use of the replacement value with a normal inventory. In the Netherlands has the Hoge Raad decided that the base stock method still acceptable is for the calculation of the taxable profit.  [19]   220.204 RJ says that a method which uses the economic inventory cant be a basis for valuation. 220.301 RJ prohibits methods which are using a normal inventory; one of these methods is the base stock method. The reason behind this idea is that the balance has to reflect the physical inventory. What are the disadvantages of this method? A disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to make a definition of the normal inventory. Another disadvantage is that you have to deal with results of price speculation. The use of a normal inventory method leads to differences between the physical inventory and the normal inventory. This is sometimes confusing.  [20]   Replacement value without normal inventory The second method of using replacement value doesnt know a normal inventory. How works replacement value without normal inventory? Replacement value is the value which you have to give if you want to replace your asset for another asset with the same economic value.  [21]   If the price of the inventory increases you make a revaluation reserve with the same value as the price increasing. An example: Company Y has 1000 pieces as inventory. Every pieces has she has bought for 5 euro. The price increases to 6 euro. The company has to make a revaluation reserve for 1000 euro. (1000 x à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1)  [22]   If the replacement value of the inventory decreases, than you must the change deduct from the revaluation reserve. If the revaluation reserve isnt big enough, than you must the decrease subtract directly from the profit- and loss account.  [23]   When is it allowed to use the replacement value without normal inventory? IAS 2 doesnt allow the use of the actual value, and implicit the use

Spectrophotometry Techniques and Devices

Spectrophotometry Techniques and Devices I. INTRODUCTION Spectrophotometry Infrared Spectrophotometry is designed to identify or determine the sample by measuring absorption of infrared radiation of wave numbers in a region of 4,000 to 400 cm-1, at various wave numbers, when it passes through the sample. This method uses the property that the infrared absorption spectrum of a substance is Characteristic of its chemical structure. Infrared spectra are shown in charts drawn by plotting the wave numbers on the abscissa and the transmittances or absorbances on the ordinate. i. Spectrophotometer Spectrophotometry involves the use of a spectrophotometer. A spectrophotometer is a photometer (a device for measuring light intensity) that can measure intensity as a function of the color (or more specifically the wavelength) of light. Important features of spectrophotometers are spectral bandwidth and linear range of absorption measurement. Perhaps the most common application of spectrophotometers is the measurement of light absorption, but they can be designed to measure diffuse or specular reflectance. The use of spectrophotometers is not limited to studies in physics. They are also commonly used in other scientific fields such as chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. [2] They are widely used in many industries including printing and forensic examination. ii. Design There are two major classes of devices: single beam and double beam. A double beam spectrophotometer compares the light intensity between two light paths, one path containing a reference sample and the other the test sample. A single beam spectrophotometer measures the relative light intensity of the beam before and after a test sample is inserted. Although comparison measurements from double beam instruments are easier and more stable, single beam instruments can have a larger dynamic range and are optically simpler and more compact. Historically, spectrophotometers use a monochromator containing a diffraction grating to produce the analytical spectrum. There are also spectrophotometers that use arrays of photosensors. Especially for infrared spectrophotometers, there are spectrophotometers that use a Fourier transform technique to acquire the spectral information quicker in a technique called Fourier Transform Infrared The spectrophotometer quantitatively compares the fraction of light that passes through a reference solution and a test solution. Light from the source lamp is passed through a monochromator, which diffracts the light into a rainbow of wavelengths and outputs narrow bandwidths of this diffracted spectrum. Discrete frequencies are transmitted through the test sample. Then the intensity of the transmitted light is measured with a photodiode or other light sensor, and the transmittance value for this wavelength is then compared with the transmission through a reference sample. In short, the sequence of events in a spectrophotometer is as follows: The light source shines into a monochromator. A particular output wavelength is selected and beamed at the sample. The sample absorbs light. Many spectrophotometers must be calibrated by a procedure known as zeroing. The absorbency of a reference substance is set as a baseline value, so the absorbencies of all other substances are recorded relative to the initial zeroed substance. The spectrophotometer then displays% absorbency (the amount of light absorbed relative to the initial substance).[2] II. UV IR SPECTROPHOTOMETRY i. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry The most common spectrophotometers are used in the UV and visible regions of the spectrum and some of these instruments also operate into the near-infrared region as well. Visible region 400-700nm spectrophotometry is used extensively in colorimetry science. Ink manufacturers, printing companies, textiles vendors, and many more, need the data provided through colorimetry. They take readings in the region of every 10-20 nanometers along the visible region, and produce a spectral reflectance curve or a data stream for alternative presentations. These curves can be used to test a new batch of colorant to check if it makes a match to specifications e.g., iso printing standards. Traditional visual region spectrophotometers cannot detect if a colorant or the base material has fluorescence. This can make it difficult to manage color issues if for example one or more of the printing inks is fluorescent. Where a colorant contains fluorescence, a bi-spectral fluorescent spectrophotometer is used. There are two major setups for visual spectrum spectrophotometers, d/8 (spherical) and 0/45. The names are due to the geometry of the light source, observer and interior of the measurement chamber. Scientists use this machine to measure the amount of compounds in a sample. If the compound is more concentrated more light will be absorbed by the sample; within small ranges, the Beer-Lambert law holds and the absorbance between samples vary with concentration linearly. In the case of printing measurements two alternative settings are commonly used- without/with UV filter to control better the effect of UV brighteners within the paper stock. Samples are usually prepared in cuvettes; depending on the region of interest, they may be constructed of glass, plastic, or quartz ii. IR spectrophotometry Spectrophotometers designed for the main infrared region are quite different because of the technical requirements of measurement in that region. One major factor is the type of photosensors that are available for different spectral regions, but infrared measurement is also challenging because virtually everything emits IR light as thermal radiation, especially at wavelengths beyond about 5ÃŽ ¼m. Another complication is that quite a few materials such as glass and plastic absorb infrared light, making it incompatible as an optical medium. Ideal optical materials are salts, which do not absorb strongly. Samples for IR spectrophotometry may be smeared between two discs of potassium bromide or ground with potassium bromide and pressed into a pellet. Where aqueous solutions are to be measured, insoluble silver chloride is used to construct the cell. III. INFRARED Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between 700nm and 300Â µm, which equates to a frequency range between 1THz and 430THz—a span of more than three orders of magnitude. Its wavelength is longer (and the frequency lower) than that of visible light, but the wavelength is shorter (and the frequency higher) than that of terahertz radiation microwaves. Bright sunlight provides an irradiance of about 1kilowatt per square meter at sea level. Of this energy, 527 watts is infrared light, 445 watts is visible light, and 32 watts is ultraviolet light. The infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum covers the range from roughly 300 GHz (1 mm) to 400 THz (750 nm). It can be divided into three parts: Far-infrared, from 300 GHz (1 mm) to 30 THz (10 ÃŽ ¼m). The lower part of this range may also be called microwaves. This radiation is typically absorbed by so-called rotational modes in gas-phase molecules, by molecular motions in liquids, and by phonons in solids. The water in the Earths atmosphere absorbs so strongly in this range that it renders the atmosphere effectively opaque. However, there are certain wavelength ranges (windows) within the opaque range which allow partial transmission, and can be used for astronomy. The wavelength range from approximately 200 ÃŽ ¼m up to a few mm is often referred to as sub-millimeter in astronomy, reserving far infrared for wavelengths below 200 ÃŽ ¼m. Mid-infrared, from 30 to 120 THz (10 to 2.5 ÃŽ ¼m). Hot objects (black-body radiators) can radiate strongly in this range. It is absorbed by molecular Vibrations, where the different atoms in a molecule vibrate around their equilibrium positions. This range is sometimes called the fingerprint region since the mid-infrared absorption spectrum of a compound is very specific for that compound. Near-infrared, from 120 to 400 THz (2,500 to 750 nm). Physical processes that are relevant for this range are similar to those for visible light.[4] IV. Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy) is the subset of spectroscopy that deals with the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It covers a range of techniques, the most common being a form of absorption spectroscopy. As with all spectroscopic techniques, it can be used to identify compounds or investigate sample composition. Infrared spectroscopy correlation tables are tabulated in the literature. A common laboratory instrument that uses this technique is an infrared spectrophotometer. i. Background and theory The infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is divided into three regions; the near-, mid- and far- infrared, named for their relation to the visible spectrum. The far-infrared, approximately 400-10cm−1 (1000-30ÃŽ ¼m), lying adjacent to the microwave region, has low energy and may be used for rotational spectroscopy. The mid-infrared, approximately 4000-400cm−1 (30-2.5ÃŽ ¼m) may be used to study the fundamental vibrations and associated rotational-vibrational structure. The higher energy near-IR, approximately 14000-4000cm−1 (2.5-0.8ÃŽ ¼m) can excite overtone or harmonic vibrations. The names and classifications of these subregions are merely conventions. They are neither strict divisions nor based on exact molecular or electromagnetic properties. Infrared spectroscopy exploits the fact that molecules have specific frequencies at which they rotate or vibrate corresponding to discrete energy levels (vibrational modes). These resonant frequencies are determined by the shape of the molecular potential energy surfaces, the masses of the atoms and, by the associated vibronic coupling. In order for a vibrational mode in a molecule to be IR active, it must be associated with changes in the permanent dipole. In particular, in the Born-Oppenheimer and harmonic approximations, i.e. when the molecular Hamiltonian corresponding to the electronic ground state can be approximated by a harmonic oscillator in the neighborhood of the equilibrium molecular geometry, the resonant frequencies are determined by the normal modes corresponding to the molecular electronic ground state potential energy surface. Nevertheless, the resonant frequencies can be in a first approach related to the strength of the bond, and the mass of the atoms at either end of it. Thus, the frequency of the vibrations can be associated with a particular bond type. Simple diatomic molecules have only one bond, which may stretch. More complex molecules have many bonds, and vibrations can be conjugated, leading to infrared absorptions at characteristic frequencies that may be related to chemical groups. For example, the atoms in a CH2 group, commonly found in organic compounds can vibrate in six different ways: symmetrical and antisymmetrical stretching, scissoring, rocking, wagging and twisting: The infrared spectrum of a sample is collected by passing a beam of infrared light through the sample. Examination of the transmitted light reveals how much energy was absorbed at each wavelength. This can be done with a monochromatic beam, which changes in wavelength over time, or by using a Fourier transform instrument to measure all wavelengths at once. From this, a transmittance or absorbance spectrum can be produced, showing at which IR wavelengths the sample absorbs. Analysis of these absorption characteristics reveals details about the molecular structure of the sample. When the frequency of the IR is the same as the vibrational frequency of a bond, absorption occurs. This technique works almost exclusively on samples with covalent bonds. Simple spectra are obtained from samples with few IR active bonds and high levels of purity. More complex molecular structures lead to more absorption bands and more complex spectra. The technique has been used for the characterization of very complex mixtures. ii. Adjustment and Instrument Use a dispersive infrared spectrophotometer or a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer. Before using the infrared spectrophotometer, adjust it as specified in the operating manual. The linearity of the absorbance between 20% and 80% of transmittance (%) should be within 1%. The reproducibility of the transmittance should be within 0.5% in two consecutive measurements. The reproducibility of wave number should be within 5 cm-1 at about 3,000 cm-1 and within 1 cm-1 at About 1,000 cm-1. In addition, adjust the instrument so that a spectrum exhibits absorptions at the wave numbers as indicated in the following figure when measurement is made on a polystyrene film (about 0.03 mm thick).[5] iii. Preparation of Sample According to an appropriate one of the methods below,Prepare the sample so that the transmittance of the most intense absorption bands should be within a range of 20 to 80%. For the optic plate, use sodium chloride, potassium bromide, or thallium iodide bromide. Potassium Bromide Disk Method Place 1 to 2 mg of a solid sample and 100 to 200 mg of dried potassium bromide for infrared spectrophotometry into an Agate mortar, quickly reduce to fine particles protecting from moisture, mix Completely, and transfer into a die. Press the surface of the disk at 500 to 1,000 N/cm2 under reduced pressure of not more than 0.7 kPa for 5 to 8 minutes, and use this disk for the measurement. Solution Method Prepare a solution of the solid or liquid sample in the Specified solvent, inject the solution into a fixed cell for liquid, and use this cell for the measurement. Place the similar cell containing the same solvent for the Compensation beam. The thickness of the fixed cell is generally 0.1 mm or 0.5 mm. Paste Method Crush finely a solid sample and knead well with liquid Paraffin in the mortar. Hold the paste between two optic plates without any air gap, and measure. Liquid Film Method Hold 1 to 2 drops of liquid sample as a capillary film Held between two optic plates, and measure the liquid layer between the plates. If it is necessary to thicken the liquid layer, place rings of aluminum foil or a similar material between the two optic plates so that the liquid sample lies between the plates. Thin Film Method Dissolve the sample in the specified solvent, and apply it to one optic plate. Evaporate the solvent by drying with hot air, and measure the thin film adhered on the plate. If the sample is a film with a thickness of not more than 0.02 mm, measure the film just as it is. Gas Sample Measurement Put the sample gas in a gas cell with a light Path of 5 to 10 cm in length, previously evacuated, under pressure specified in the individual monograph, and measure. A long cell with the light path of not shorter than 1 m is also used if necessary. iv. Conventional method A beam of infrared light is produced and split into two separate beams. One is passed through the sample, the other passed through a reference which is often the substance the sample is dissolved in. The beams are both reflected back towards a detector, however first they pass through a splitter which quickly alternates which of the two beams enters the detector. The two signals are then compared and a printout is obtained. A reference is used for two reasons: This prevents fluctuations in the output of the source affecting the data This allows the effects of the solvent to be cancelled out (the reference is usually a pure form of the solvent the sample is in) v. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a measurement technique for collecting infrared spectra. Instead of recording the amount of energy absorbed when the frequency of the infra-red light is varied (monochromator), the IR light is guided through an interferometer. After passing through the sample, the measured signal is the interferogram. Performing a Fourier transform on this signal data results in a spectrum identical to that from conventional (dispersive) infrared spectroscopy. FTIR spectrometers are cheaper than conventional spectrometers because building an interferometer is easier than the fabrication of a monochromator. In addition, measurement of a single spectrum is faster for the FTIR technique because the information at all frequencies is collected simultaneously. This allows multiple samples to be collected and averaged together resulting in an improvement in sensitivity. Virtually all modern infrared spectrometers are FTIR instruments. Summary of absorptions of bonds in organic molecules vi. Uses and applications Infrared spectroscopy is widely used in both research and industry as a simple and reliable technique for measurement, quality control and dynamic measurement. It is of especial use in forensic analysis in both criminal and civil cases, enabling identification of polymer degradation for example. It is perhaps the most widely used method of applied spectroscopy.[citation needed] The instruments are now small, and can be transported, even for use in field trials. With increasing technology in computer filtering and manipulation of the results, samples in solution can now be measured accurately (water produces a broad absorbance across the range of interest, and thus renders the spectra unreadable without this computer treatment). Some instruments will also automatically tell you what substance is being measured from a store of thousands of reference spectra held in storage. By measuring at a specific frequency over time, changes in the character or quantity of a particular bond can be measured. This is especially useful in measuring the degree of polymerization in polymer manufacture. Modern research instruments can take infrared measurements across the whole range of interest as frequently as 32 times a second. This can be done whilst simultaneous measurements are made using other techniques. This makes the observations of chemical reactions and processes quicker and more accurate. Techniques have been developed to assess the quality of tea-leaves using infrared spectroscopy. This will mean that highly trained experts (also called noses) can be used more sparingly, at a significant cost saving. Infrared spectroscopy has been highly successful for applications in both organic and inorganic chemistry. Infrared spectroscopy has also been successfully utilized in the field of semiconductor microelectronics[8]: for example, infrared spectroscopy can be applied to semiconductors like silicon, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, zinc selenide, amorphous silicon, silicon nitride, etc. V. USES IN ORGANIC A technique to identify materials including organic polymers. An infrared spectrometer directs infrared radiation through a sample and records the relative amount of energy absorbed by the sample as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the infrared radiation. The method is applicable particularly to organic materials, because the vibrational frequencies of the constituent groups within the molecules coincide with the electromagnetic frequencies of the infrared radiation. Therefore, the infrared radiation is selectively absorbed by the material to produce an absorption spectrum. The spectrum produced is compared with correlation spectra from known substances. VI. SPECTRORADIOMETERS Spectroradiometers, which operate almost like the visible region spectrophotometers, are designed to measure the spectral density of illuminants in order to evaluate and categorize lighting for sales by the manufacturer, or for the customers to confirm the lamp they decided to purchase is within their specifications. Components: The light source shines onto or through the sample. The sample transmits or reflects light. The detector detects how much light was reflected from or transmitted through the sample. The detector then converts how much light the sample transmitted or reflected into a number. CONCLUSION In this topic which is infrared spectrophotometry I have introduced what is spectrophotometry. And it is used in a device called spectrophotometer which is explained in the above thesis. Followed on single beam spectrophotometer is also explained with its design working. Spectrophotometry is generally of two types UV IR spectrophotometry, UV spectrophotometry is explained in short but IR spectrophotometry is explained briefly. The word INFRARED is explained i.e. what it means, infrared region is explained in EM radiation. In EM spectrum there comes a topic infrared spectroscopy which is explained briefly with its background theory. Its preparation of sample followed by conventional method of it. There is other phenomenon called FITR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) is a measurement technique for collecting infrared spectra. FTIR spectrometers are cheaper than conventional spectrometers. Uses application is also explained in the above thesis. At last but not the least its use in organic is explained. The idea of Spectroradiometers is also given, which operate almost like the visible region spectrophotometers. This is end of the conclusion of my thesis infrared spectrophotometry.

Client/Server Architecture and Attributes :: essays research papers

Client/Server Architecture and Attributes The client/server software architecture is a versatile, message-based and modular infrastructure that is intended to improve usability, flexibility, interoperability, and scalability as compared to centralized, mainframe, time sharing computing. A client is defined as a requester of services and a server is defined as the provider of services. A single machine can be both a client and a server depending on the software configuration. This technology description provides some common client/server architectures and attributes. The original PC networks were based on a file sharing architecture, where the server downloads files from the shared location to the desktop environment. The requested user job is then run (including logic and data) in the desktop environment. File sharing architectures work if shared usage is low, update contention is low, and the volume of data to be transferred is low. In the 1990s, PC LAN (local area network) computing changed because the capacity of the file sharing was strained as the number of online user grew (it can only satisfy about 12 users simultaneously) and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) became popular (making mainframe and terminal displays appear out of date). PCs are now being used in client/server architectures. As a result of the limitations of file sharing architectures, the client/server architecture emerged. This approach introduced a database server to replace the file server. Using a relational database management system (DBMS), user queries could be answered directly. The client/server architecture reduced network traffic by providing a query response rather than total file transfer. It improves multi-user updating through a GUI front end to a shared database. In client/server architectures, Remote Procedure Call (RPC’s) or standard query language (SQL) statements are typically used to communicate between the client and server. The following descriptions provide examples of client/server architectures. A unique structure is a two-tier architecture. With two tier client/server architectures the user system interface is usually located in the user's desktop environment and the database management services are usually in a server that is a more powerful machine that services many clients. Processing management is split between the user system interface environment and the database management server environment. The database management server provides stored procedures and triggers. There are a number of software vendors that provide tools to simplify development of applications for the two-tier client/server architecture. The two-tier client/server architecture is a good solution for distributed computing when work groups are defined as a dozen to 100 people interacting on a LAN simultaneously.

Iron Jawed Angels Essay -- essays research papers Iron Jawed Essays

Iron Jawed Angels Iron Jawed Angels is a film which portrays the women's suffrage movement during the 1920's. The film is a documentary and a drama which uses live action and music to deliver the sympathetic and distressful mood the film creates. An example of the distressful mood is when the suffragists refuse to eat when they go to prison. This shows how passionate and distressed the suffragists are to get the 19th amendment passed, which would give women the right to vote. The films message, which is the hardships and adversity women had to withstand to get the 19th amendment passed, is effectively portrayed because the struggle the suffragists faced is accurately and beautifully depicted. As a tool of communication, the strengths of the film Iron Jawed Angels are its accurate portrayal of the 1920s women's suffrage movement and excellent depiction of the main suffragists, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. There are no real weaknesses in the communication of the 1920s women's suffrage movement in the fil m Iron Jawed Angels except for the music used, which is too modern to possibly be from the 1920s era.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the film Iron Jawed Angels shows the grief and struggle women suffragists endured, I believe the film maker wanted the audience to respond with sympathy and a greater understanding of the 1920s women?s suffragist movement. The film Iron Jawed Angels appeals to the emotions of the viewer because throughout the movie dark lighting and music create an atmosphere w...

Diego Rivera Essay -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera he is a Mexican painter who produced murals on social themes and who ranks one of my countries greatest artists. He was born in Guanajuato and educated at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts , in Mexico City. he studied painting in Europe between 1907 and 1921, becoming familiar with the innovative cubist forms of the French painter Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso. In 1921 Riviera returned to Mexico and took a prominent part in revival of mural painting initiated by artists and sponsored by the government . Believing that art should serve the working people and be readily available to them , he concentrated on painting large frescoes, concerning the history and social problems of Mexico, on the walls of public buldings.His works during 1930s included ...

Easter Island’s End

2013-04-16 ENGL 102 Essay #1 Longer summery In the article, â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond, he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. Easter Island can be used as a warning that cultural and environmental dangers exist due to overexploitation. Although, civilizations have vanished from the island it still has a remaining mystery and history to its untouched landscape. Easter Island was formed out of an ancient volcanic eruption; the island is only sixty-four square miles with habitable land and subtropical weather that makes the soil fertile.Easter Island is famous for its tight-lipped statues that stand across the island, which were erected by the native Rapa Nui people. These are ancient wonders of the world that are still being studied to get a full understanding of how and why these statues were created. From written history, the explorer’s first impression of the island was that it has nothing but a sand island, there were nothing left on the island except for hundreds of the Rapa Nui statues. According to Diamond, the climate and location of the Easter Island should create abundance of trees, soils and other natural resources.Many questions have arisen to Easter Island’s current existence. After many years of research, scientists and sociologists have come to a conclusion that the natural resources of the island were used by the islanders to survive their daily life, they cut down woods to transport those Rapa Nui statues and build canoes in order to find food. As time goes by, the population of Easter Island increased rapidly, and these islanders started to utilize all the natural resources abusively until the last tree was cut down.With today’s rising population around the world, we have been exhausting our limited natural resources, if we do not learn to conserve all the limited natural resources, we will have nothing left for our future generations. Longer summery reflection I was very interested in the Easter Island topic when I first saw the title of the article. I have always seen pictures of the statues on Easter Island and wanted to visit there someday. I thought this would be good information to know about, so I started to read the article â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond.After I finished reading it the first time, I think I understood most of the article. But I still didn’t understand how the islanders collapsed the Easter Island. So I went on google and did some research. I found a Ted talk by Jared Diamond about how human collapsed the natural and civilization. After watching the video, it helped me a lot in understanding how human are slowly destroying our own planet, similar to what happened on Easter Island. After viewing the video, I went back to read the article again, and started to write down notes.I divided my long summery into five sections, the first section consis ting of the main idea of the article, over population and over using the natural resources lead Easter Island to an end. The second section is about the history of Easter Island, and what was on the island before it was destroyed. The third section is about the condition of Easter Island after it was destroyed. The fourth section is the conclusion of the summery, we can see that Easter Island is the miniature version of our earth, if we don’t stop over using our limited natural resources, our earth will end up like Easter Island. Shorter SummeryIn the article, â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond, he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. Easter Island can be used as a warning that cultural and environmental dangers exist due to overexploitation of natural resources. The local inhabitants of Easter Island over-utilized the island's natural resources to the point of a complete extinction o f those very resources that were sustaining them. Easter Island can be thought of as a small scale model of the earth, and what could hypothetically happen if we do not exercise natural resource sustainability and management.Shorter summery reflection I found that writing a short summery is much harder than writing a longer summery, especially on keeping it under 100 words. At the beginning, I didn’t know how to start with the shorter summery, but I thought a good way to do it is to condense my longer summery and make it into 100 words. So I start with filtering out the least important information from the longer summery. First thing I took out was the history and introduction of Easter Island. Then I filtered out the information about the gigantic statues. Finally, I deleted the example of how they waste the natural resources.After I have the edited version of the summery, I read it again, and thought that the most important part is the author’s thesis, which is †Å"he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. † So I decided to keep the same sentence. In the article, the author clearly illustrate that the cause of the ending of the Easter Island is because of the islanders didn’t use their resources wisely. He wants to warn us that the Easter Island is a lesson for us and if we don’t want to end up like the islanders, we should stop abusing our limited natural resources.I expanded the information what I think I have learned from the article, and then make them into a academic form. This is how I put my shorter summery together. Critique and essay In â€Å"Easter Island’s End†, published by Discover Magazine in 1995, written by Jared Diamond, a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA, has shown us the beginning till the end of the former heaven, the Easter Island. In the article, Diamond illustrates that overpopulating and overusing natural resources will result in destroying our natural environment. Easter Island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.When the European explorers reached the island in 1722 they found a desolate landscape with less than 2,000 people existing there. They noticed that the islanders lived in caves and had a very limited supply of food. And they also found these gigantic statues that were carved out of stone. Those were evidence which proves that refined civilization once existed in Easter Island. Because of the unique location of the Easter Island, it has very good climate that creates abundance of natural resources. â€Å"In theory, this combination of blessings should have made Easter a miniature paradise, remote from problems that beset the rest of the world. (165) However, when explorers discovered Easter Island, it was a completely opposite of the â€Å"paradise†. It makes us wonder what happened in this Island. The first hypothesis the researchers considered was the fo rest was lost because of climate change, but evidence quickly pointed to the hypothesis that the people had gradually destroyed their own island. Researchers predicted that the trees provided wood, building material for houses and canoes, fruit to eat, fiber for clothing. Most importantly, lots of woods were used as the first resource to move the stone statues.These statues are 33 feet tall, and weighed up to 99 tons. Some of them are very far from where they were constructed in the quarries to the coastal sites where they were positioned. With the trees slowly been cutting down, rain would have eroded the soil away. Population raised rapidly over generations, people started to unmanageably use the limited natural resources on the overpopulated island. As a result the islanders turned against one another because of the shortage of food. â€Å"Gradually trees become fewer, smaller, and less important.By the time the last fruit-bearing adult palm tree was cut, palms had long since ce ased to be of economic significance. †(173)The life of paradise Easter Island has come to an end. In the article, Diamond has point out that we can consider our planet as a large version of the Easter Island. We have a potentially non-sustainable eco system. If we look at our progression over the last 300 years that we have inhabited North America, we will notice that we have removed many natural resources. Such as Trees in the Northwest, plains in the Midwest, the marshes of Florida, all of which have been devastated by humans in the past centuries.Our great grandparents did not notice the destruction, nor will I ever be able to actually notice some of it myself. We must learn from the lesson of the Easter Island and start to use our natural resources wisely. If we don’t preserve our environment by recycling, saving trees, and protecting land, we will be forced to face the same ending as the islanders. Natural resources are important and limited, if we don’t pro tect them, the nature will pay back to us and there will be nothing left for our future generation. Citation Diamond, Jared. â€Å"Easter Island's End. † Science and Society (2007): 164-74. Print.