Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Accounting information systems development Essay

Accounting information systems development - Essay Example The company in this scenario is a small, local CPA firm. The personnel at the organization include three new CPAs and an office manager. Primarily, the company's business consists of tax and write-up work.However, recently the company has required a new client: a homeowner's association with a total of 150 homeowners.The firm has agreed to provide the homeowner's association with several services. There are six service areas that the company has agreed to service the homeowner's association with: billing, collection, payments, reporting, tax, and advisory. With billing, each homeowner will be sent an itemized bill each quarter, dues being payable by the month. Late fees accumulate at one percent of the unpaid balance each month that passes. On the first day of the last month of the quarter, bills are mailed out to the homeowners, and payment is expected by the quarter's end.With collection, the accounting firm is responsible for collecting the payments from the post office box that i t has rented specially for the homeowner's association. They are also responsible for depositing the checks they collect.With the large, new client, the company is hoping to expand that area of their practice by computerizing the main functions of their system. The goal of the company is to computerized the system's main functions. The main focus of the computerization will be on billing and reporting. Other than the actual interface of the new system, the checking account, financial statements, and tax preparation parts will not be computerized at this time. Instead, the billing and collections portions of the system will be computerized. The System and Manual Functions (Inputs, Outputs, and Controls) BusinessTown (2008) tell us to "Think of the accounting system as a wheel whose hub is the general ledger (G/L). Feeding the hub information are the spokes of the wheel. These include accounts receivable, accounts payable, order entry, inventory control, cost accounting, payroll, and fixed assets accounting." Each of these items is a subledger of the general ledger, and each summarizes the entries and then feeds that information to the general ledger. There are a few differences between manual and automated ledgers. In order to consider this, think of the general ledger as a piece of paper that shows assets, liabilities, income, and expenses where all transactions are recorded by hand in a manual fashion. While some of the entries from the different subledgers flow upwards, others are entered manually through the utilization of a general journal entry. "The same concept of a sheet of paper holds for each subledger that feeds the general ledger. A computerized accounting system works the same way, except that the general ledger and subledgers are computer files instead of sheets of paper. Entries are posted to each and summarized, then the summary is sent up to the G/L for posting" (BusinessTown, 2008). Billing is the first component that will be computerized at the firm. This will be highly beneficial to the organization since "Accounting firms can improve their profitability and relations with clients by automating client billing with computers. Accounting firms c

Monday, October 28, 2019

The argument from religious experience for the existence of God Essay Example for Free

The argument from religious experience for the existence of God Essay Examine the argument from religious experience for the existence of God. To what extent does it support the probability of God? Richard Swinburne summarises religious experience for many by saying, experience of God or some other supernatural thing. Others would state that it is simply an experience of something beyond themselves. On the other hand, William Jamess focus is on the individual, taking the route of a psychologist to determine the validity of an experience. However it is defined, the topic of religious experience has been under scrutiny for centuries, with records of experiences dating back to before Christ; for example the burning bush in the Bible. However the evidence in place from those times appears to be on the same level as it is today. So are religious experiences real, and do they support the idea of God? The two main types of religious experience are special revelation and general revelation. Special being when people think/feel that God has made Himself known to them directly, perhaps through visions, dreams, prayer, miraculous healing, conversion or charismatic phenomena. General revelation is where people think/feel that God is revealing Himself indirectly to them. This is normally through the beauty of nature, although it could also be through things like religious writings and moreover in other people. This is basically seeing God through Gods creations, such as you can see the wonder of an artist through his fine artwork. Reports of religious experiences have tended to exhibit similar characteristics. For example many who have undergone near death experiences claim to have seen their lives flashing before their eyes before seeing a bright white light. In fact these scenes are so common; they have become the stereotype for film depictions of near death experiences. Many would argue that if so many people have experienced comparable sightings, then is there some truth to be found in this? Psychologists may argue that since one or two have announced this, others may have simply conjured a similar image from their brain as they believe that that is what the experience should appear as. There are four classifications of religious experience, which were formulated by William James in 1902. The first of these is Ineffability; which is a state of experience that is difficult to describe as it is unlike any other. The second being Noetic Quality; which is said to be where the experience reveals insights that are beyond the scope of normal human reason. The third classification is Transciency. This is said to not last very long, and are vaguely remembered. The final classification is Passivity, which is described as the person having a profound sense of being taken over. Also, whilst undergoing the experience they are said to lose control to a more powerful being, namely God. This experience can also be described as being beyond human control. When he formulated these classifications, James was trying to create a classic description of religious experience, and identified the four key features that they tended to have. However, there are faults with each classification. The fault with ineffability is that if an experience is ineffable, then it is hard to examine because you wouldnt know what you were examining. The problem with the second classification is if it is Noetic then any truth gained from the experience cannot be subjected to reason, as you cant verify it (apart from by other people who have had one). Thirdly, if an experience is transcient then it cannot be tested. With the forth classification, James has jumped to an assumption, because even if passivity may indicate the presence of another being it does not have to be God. As just explained religious experiences tend to be out of the ordinary as people describe being in the presence of an awesome power. Religious experiences more often have positive feedback, encouraging people to better themselves as theyve had an awakening past the realms of our material world. Being a very individual and personal experience which seems to be somewhat unique for everyone, it is difficult for the individual to explain the experience. This leads to difficulties in checking the validity of the experience. With these ideas in mind we can now discuss the argument that religious experiences can be used as evidence for the existence of God. This topic has been debated for centuries, gathering attention from many philosophers whose views I will be using to support both sides of this argument. Supporters of this argument include Brian Davies and Richard Swinburne. Davies approaches this argument very open mindedly, with the view that the claim might be correct, so it is at least possible. Swinburnes approach is very much more one sided, should accept unless one has some reason to question. Like the majority of ethical theories, there are more objectors than supporters. Some of these being C.R. Davies and, from a different perspective, Feuerbach, Freud and Marx. C.R. Davies says that people who claim to have had a religious experience may be unreliable, and on the basis that they may be either lying or were hallucinating due to drugs or alcohol. Freud believes that supposed religious experiences are just wishful thinking brought about by personal beliefs, normally as a way to deal with fears or desires. Feuerbach and Marx also take a psychological approach. My personal opinion, tends to side with Feuerbach when he says, It fails to make a distinction between feeling that I am right and actually being right. There is most probably a psychological explanation for what the person has experienced, and as there is no conclusive evidence that the experience did in fact happen, one should not make blind leaps into falsities. The argument from religious experience has been criticised on many grounds, such as that the proof it is based on (religious experiences) is not actually valid evidence. One of the top issues is that there so many different religious around the world, each of which claims to have religious experiences of their particular deity. The fact that the being revealed is almost always the God of the believed faith seems to be stigmata. However, a response to this is that yes, even if the God that is revealing itself to them is claimed to be a different one through the different religions, it doesnt make the experience less real to the person. Examples of this are Buddhas enlightenment, Saul on the road to Damascus and Guru Nanalis experience of God. Another criticism that people have is that religious experiences are too vague; they are experiences from which inferences are made and assumptions that it was God. In turn, this raises questions about the source of the experience. The response to this is simply then what kind of experiences can we trust? This links us back to transciency, experiences do not last long and are imperfectly remembered, which is a problem when it comes to validating experiences; leading us to believe that we cannot trust any experiences, as we have no way of testing them empirically. Furthermore, psychologists have raised questions by examining the mental explanations to experiencing revelations, etc. The human mind is so powerful that it is possible that one could simply conjure a vision or revelation, and with the knowledge about the human mind increasing all the time, this view is becoming more popular with scientists. Freud shares this view as he feels that religious experiences are illusions associated with repressed sexual memories and interest in religion is a psychological obsession. Whereas Feuerbach feels that people invent religion as a crutch as they are dissatisfied with their actual lives. He also influenced Marx, who had the view that religion is used by the capitalist class to control people and maintain the status quo. He also believes that religious experiences are a persons conscious or unconscious choice that reflects the persons needs or desires. After studying both the strengths and weaknesses of this argument, I have come to the conclusion that religious experiences fail to convince me. As previously stated, they are unable to produce empirical evidence, some are vague, even in classification, and they are unreliable to be tested as they oppose all the rules of nature. The fact that there are more weaknesses than strengths means we cannot reliably validate religious experiences, and therefore they cannot be given as solid valid evidence for the existence of God. Bibliography: * Dialogue Articles * Class Notes * http://www.religion-online.org * http://www.reference.com * http://www.radicalacademy.com

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Greed Economics :: essays papers

Greed Economics Pokemon, Microsoft and the Economics of Greed Greed Economics: The uplifting or debilitating effect of the excessive desire of gain on the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services. Solid proof that â€Å"greed economics† lives and breathes was recently found in Newswek’s Novmber 8th issue in an article entitled â€Å"Puffy’s Crowded Orbit†. Sean (Puffy) Combs is founder and CEO of the extremely profitable Bad Boy entertainment. In the billion dollar a year rap music industry, he is the cognac in a world of beer. In 1997, his first album, (carried by the hit â€Å"Missing You†), sold an extraordinary 6 million copies! But Comb’s who is known as much for his business savvy as for his musical talent, ignored the rules of â€Å"greed management† and recklessy expanded into publications, clothing lines and restaurants. The sale of his recent album â€Å"Forever†, despite a red-hot reputation and a 32-city promotional tour, was â€Å"weaker than weak†. Newsweek reports that in the first week of November â€Å"the album was No.27 on the charts.† The same article places his last years earnings at $5 3 million; well off his tyical $100 million-a-year earnings of the mid 1990’s. Sorry â€Å"Puff† the law is real. Greed affects quality. Inner-city America finds it of some interest that this law does not favor the rich, the politically plugged in, or the â€Å"white† of this world. America’ richest man, Bill Gates received a stunning setback earlier this month when Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled against the $500 billion software company Microsoft, declaring that it violated antitrust law and was in fact a monopoly. In a Newsweek article dated November 15th rntitled â€Å"Bill Takes it on the Chin†, Judge Jackson stated: â€Å"Microsoft has demonstrated that it will use its prodigious market power and immense profits to harm any firm that insists on pursuing initiates that could intensify competion†. Why couldn’t Billy be satisfied with say a $100 billion company? The penalty for ignoring the law of â€Å"reed rationing† may include having the software giant broken down into a bunch of little midgets. Are you listening William? Greed attracts powerful enemies. Well why not remove greed out of the equation altogether? Isn’t it ALL poison? Can’t we find a few cheerleaders for total greed celibacy? Not on your life. Why? Because economically speaking, greed isn’t all that bad. Take for example the hugely successful video game-toy phenomena Pokemon.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Best of Times the Worst of Times

Comfort women were women and girls forced into a prostitution corps created by the Empire of Japan. [1] The name â€Å"comfort women† is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu ( ). [2][3] Ianfu is a euphemism for shofu ( ) whose meaning is â€Å"prostitute(s)†. [4] The earliest reporting on the issue in South Korea stated it was not a voluntary force,[5] and since 1989 a number of women have come forward testifying they were kidnapped by Imperial Japanese soldiers. Historians such as Lee Yeong-Hun[6] and Ikuhiko Hata stated the recruitment of comfort women was voluntary. 7] Other historians, using the testimony of ex-comfort women and surviving Japanese soldiers have argued the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were either directly or indirectly involved in coercing, deceiving, luring, and sometimes kidnapping young women throughout Japan's occupied territories. [8] Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Jap anese scholars[9] to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese scholars,[10] but the exact numbers are still being researched and debated.A majority of the women were from Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines,[11] although women from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and other Japanese-occupied territories were used for military â€Å"comfort stations†. Stations were located in Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, then Malaya, Thailand, Burma, New Guinea, Hong Kong, Macau, and French Indochina. [12] According to testimony, young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes.In many cases, women were also lured with promises of work in factories or restaurants. Once recruited, the women were incarcerated in â€Å"comfort stations† in foreign lands. [13] A Dutch government study described how the Japanese military itself recruited women by force in the Dutch East Indies. [14] It revealed that a total of 300 Dutch wome n had been coerced into Japanese military sex slavery[15] The Best of Times the Worst of Times Comfort women were women and girls forced into a prostitution corps created by the Empire of Japan. [1] The name â€Å"comfort women† is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu ( ). [2][3] Ianfu is a euphemism for shofu ( ) whose meaning is â€Å"prostitute(s)†. [4] The earliest reporting on the issue in South Korea stated it was not a voluntary force,[5] and since 1989 a number of women have come forward testifying they were kidnapped by Imperial Japanese soldiers. Historians such as Lee Yeong-Hun[6] and Ikuhiko Hata stated the recruitment of comfort women was voluntary. 7] Other historians, using the testimony of ex-comfort women and surviving Japanese soldiers have argued the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were either directly or indirectly involved in coercing, deceiving, luring, and sometimes kidnapping young women throughout Japan's occupied territories. [8] Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Jap anese scholars[9] to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese scholars,[10] but the exact numbers are still being researched and debated.A majority of the women were from Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines,[11] although women from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and other Japanese-occupied territories were used for military â€Å"comfort stations†. Stations were located in Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, then Malaya, Thailand, Burma, New Guinea, Hong Kong, Macau, and French Indochina. [12] According to testimony, young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes.In many cases, women were also lured with promises of work in factories or restaurants. Once recruited, the women were incarcerated in â€Å"comfort stations† in foreign lands. [13] A Dutch government study described how the Japanese military itself recruited women by force in the Dutch East Indies. [14] It revealed that a total of 300 Dutch wome n had been coerced into Japanese military sex slavery[15]

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

What Is Nationalism?

What is Nationalism? The easiest way to define such a complex and broad term like nationalism is to start with the definition of a nation. A nation, as Ernest Renan clearly defined in 1882, is â€Å"is a conglomerate of people who share a common past and have derived a strong bond, with an agreement to stay together and be governed by mutual consent in the future. † In other words, a vast group of people living under the same type of government that share a common language, culture, history and a similar background overall. These nations become unified by sport events like the Olympics or World Cups.Nationalism is a possible definition of the happiness and pride lived during these games but the term is so complex that further explanation is needed. The origins of Nationalism, its characteristics, the types of nationalism that concern and the huge complexity of the term could all join in to create a perfect definition of such term. The causes that arouse the feelings of nationa lism can lead to a clear definition of this word. Short-term political causes like the American and French Revolution led to the unification of its people to fight for what was theirs.The vernacularization of language and an easy access to books or newspapers were some of the effects that resulted from Martin Luther’s 95 theses, the translation of the New Testament, or the invention of the printing press. Consequently, nationalism started emerging as a political ideology. In John Stuart Mill’s article â€Å"Of Nationality, as connected with Representive Government â€Å"expresses the causes of nationalism from his perspective. Mill begins his article by explaining how people, being part of a nation, should be linked by common sympathies, should cooperate with each other, and agree to live under the rules of the same government.In addition, he mentions the fact that geographical limits are also one of the causes of nationalism. People living in the same area will cons equently end up having a common language and/or religion. â€Å"But the strongest of all† Mill emphasizes on, is the identity of political antecedents: the sharing of a common history together and experiencing emotions of pride and humiliation or joy and regret at any point given. From John Stuart Mill to Eric Hobsbawn, various authors help identify the different characteristics with the help of their own opinions and ideas on the subject of nationalism.Mill’s view on nationalism is completely optimistic. He explains how countries, in order for them to be nations, should unite under the same needs and demands. This being, cooperation between their own people and an aim to be under the same system of government. In contrast, English journalist and novelist, George Orwell, had a different and negative theory on this topic. He views the nationalists as power-hungry and with the unique goal of forcing their customs on others. Orwell believes there are three characteristics to a nationalist thought: obsession, instability, and indifference to reality.Obsession: thinking your own country is superior to all the rest. The instability between the nationalist rulers or dictators. And finally, indifference to reality describes how nationalistic behavior blinds people from noticing facts of the real world. Additionally, in his article â€Å"Nations and Nationalism since 1780† historian Eric Hobsbawn explains how nationalism always comes before a nation and it helps it form and develop from it. He also believes both political and national systems should be equal. These altered points of view help change our beliefs on nationalism and shape the definition of nationalism even more.The different types of nationalism are clearly explained in George Orwell’s â€Å"Notes on Nationalism† article. Positive, negative and transferred are the three types the writer focuses on while talking about Britain’s nationalism throughout the years. Sub divisions such as: Neo-toryism, Celtic, and Zionism are specified by Orwell under the positive nationalism category. He states that Neo- tories are anti- American (and sometimes anti- Russian) that do not recognize that Britain’s power and supremacy have declined. Orwell describes Celtic Nationalists as anti- English but have nothing to do with Anglophobic.These Irish, Welsh, and Scottish nationalists are known for their racist beliefs. These discriminatory beliefs are also a common denominator for the Jews that are part of Zionism. George Orwell’s next grouping known as Transferred Nationalism fall divisions such as: Communism, Political Catholicism, Color feeling, Class feeling, and Pacifism. The difference between transferred and the other two types of nationalism is the fact that it isn’t as serious as the other two but people still believe in it and are somewhat influenced by it.Class feeling and color feeling are similar in the sense of superiority between races or class status. White people over black people or upper classes over lower classes are some examples of this dogmatism. Pacifism is described as â€Å"hatred of western democracy and admiration of totalitarianism† against Britain and the United States. Lastly, George Orwell subdivides Negative Nationalism into: Anglophobia, Anti- semitism, and Trotskyism. Against their own country, Anti- Jews (against Jews) and against Stalin are the main motives of these three examples.Nationalism is one of those words whose current definition is based on opinion and belief. The complexity of this term is due to time evolution. As different periods of time passed, nationalism went to from being negative to positive or vice versa. Showing pride for the United States by singing the national anthem at the beginning of a school day wasn’t the same thing as yelling â€Å"Heil Hitler† to a soldier in Germany during the Holocaust. Propaganda was another main influencer of the people. The government put up posters and television ads showing the â€Å"bad side† of their opponents in order to get their country’s support during war.Lastly, as George Orwell said, nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Nationalism is the will to imply or even force a lifestyle or customs on others whilst patriotism is the showing of pride and joy of one’s way of living and commitment to a certain place. There are many other opinions on this complicated word such as Perry Anderson’s wrong belief of thinking nationalism was â€Å"the desire of people to form their own independent nation-state. † There are no right or wrong definitions of nationalism because they are all expressed by people in their each and own unique ways.Their surroundings and their experiences both influence how the feelings of nationalism are defined. However, one does not deny that a definition for such feelings is obviously subjective†¦ Bibliography Easto n, Mark. â€Å"Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!. ’† BBC. N. p. , 14 June 2010. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. . Hobsbawm, Eric. â€Å"Nations and Nationalism since 1780. † ASM IB History 1. The American School of Madrid, n. d. Web. 30 Aug. 2012. . Mill, John Stuart. â€Å"Of Nationality, as connected with Representative Government. † ASM IB History 1. The American School of Madrid, n. d. Web. 30 Aug. 2012. . â€Å"The Origins of Nationalism. † CSU Bakersfield. California State University, n. d. Web. 30 Aug. 2012. . Orwell, George. â€Å"Notes on Nationalism. † ASM IB History 1. The American School of Madrid, n. d. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. . Renan, Ernst. â€Å"Qu’est-ce qu’une nation? † [â€Å"What is a nation? †]. ASM IB History 1. The American School of Madrid, n. d. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. . Savich, Carl K. â€Å"Nationalism and War. † MakNews. N. p. , 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. . Wolfson, Ben, ed. â €Å"Nationalism. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N. p. , 1 June 2010. Web. 31 Aug. 2012. .