Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Online Business - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1368 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? 2.4.4 Navigation For the online store layout design, character organization and ease of use or accessibility, navigation is an important aspect to the userà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interface. Nielsen and Norman(2000) state that consumer cognition of the trust of e-vendors and attitude is highly influenced by the website interface design. The interaction of products or service information between clients and e-vendors will be influenced by user interface of e-store in website. a well-designed user interface could minimise cost of searching to clients and reduce the used time for online shopping. When the internet is fast, online shopping is fun and pleasurable, unmixed easy to follow steps by clients, will reduce time spend on shopping and clients find out how to purchase better according to their needs, Li Zhang (2002). Also, the help function should be put in navigation, which will assist clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to deal accordingly with the problems they face. Se rial navigation applications such as search engine and site maps are made available to clients to assist them in choosing and purchasing products online by many e-stores. 2.4.5 Online security In e-commerce the security of online transaction is seen as the key factor which is repeatedly debated on, Elliot Fewell (2000). Furnell Karweni (1999) expressed that due to lack of faith in online marketers, clients tend to be more concerned with their personal information all these due to the insecurity brought about by the online market. Financial statements and privacy is seen as the most important to clients compared to other things. The well being of a clientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s personal information is not well explained and the procedure of how it is done not elaborated on even as the online stores sites give policies for protection of customer personal information and claim secure online transaction. Gaining the faith of clients by online marketers is still a big problem even th ough information technology has highly evolved to insure high security levels, Roy et al (2001). Online clients are afraid of the security system of third party cheating characters, especially when they are not assured of their credit cards information safety, observed Miyazaki Fernadez (2001). Clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ financial information and identity codes may be leaked during a transaction, and this is a scenario that really exists in online transaction environment. Even when online shopping has many advantages such as relatively low prices and a variety of products to choose from, customers may opt for traditional purchase of goods just because of their information insecurity, Brown Muchira (2004). 2.5 Information risks E-commerce in the 21st century is an unavoidable trend; the biggest hindrance to influence its development being the risk, China is still in its starting stage in the development of electronic trade and has a clear understanding that to take the risk is essential. From the characteristics of e-commerce, the risk can be divided into internal risk and external risk, the risk of information belongs to the external risk. Information risk is seen as in the information sharing process, the accuracy of the information, hysteresis or other hard result from information in-division and the severity of information pollution phenomenon according to Chen Qin (2008). Generally, information risk is from information asymmetry and information insecurity. 2.5.1 Information Asymmetry The problem in controlling the outcome that causes evasion of risk by a business partner is known as information asymmetry, Kumar van Dissel (1996). Moreover, it can be elucidated as where different business parties dealing with each other understand the information differently; the vendor is more enlightened while the client is less informed. Briefly, information asymmetry is that in market transaction, when one party of the transaction cannot observe or sup ervise the act of the other party, or the observation and supervision are expensive, the information gotten may also be incomplete, hence, both parties of the transaction will understand asymmetrical information differently. In information asymmetry in the market there are generally two kinds: the vendors have more information than the clients, and the buyers are more enlightened than the vendors, Salam et al (2003). The first one is the main form in many goods market. In the process of online purchase, customers need to research for many goods information to decide, add the accurate products function description, the best price information, the trustworthy commodity information from website forum, credit card information security on the website etc. The Internet just like an information hodgepodge, many e-marketers give invalid information driven by selfishness and inconsideration to the clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests. The result of information asymmetry includes adverse selec tion risk and moral risk. 2.5.1.1 Adverse selection risk Theoretically, one of merits of online transaction is through many of network technology clients are enable to get all the needed information conveniently and within very limited period of time, hence enable information sharing, Chen Qin (2008). However, the business enterprises often from their selfishness end up hiding important product information like commercial secret from clients. Consequently, the vendor has more product information but the customer has only limited information, this makes the client to lack to make accurate evaluation of the quality and cost of products, with this average kind of market, the outcome is vendors being left with the high quality products. 2.5.1.2 Moral risk Moral risk is mostly done as a cheating character. Like the behaviours of the internet, the clients get information that is posted and broadcasted by vendors, and then decide on the costs, use of products which may include incorrect information based on that information. For example, clients cannot receive the goods after payment, or the vendors provide the poor quality products to customers and they keep changing the description and also do not carry out their parts after the purchase according to the deal. Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) reported that 56.4% of consumers have met the unauthenticated information when shopping online, 40.9% customers had encountered the commitment of online service but the e-vendors failed to fulfil their end of the bargain, and 36.1% online customers stated that it was impossible to contact the customer care centre or their complaint via the phone or email was ignored point blank. More so, some fraudsters use non trustable emails or false website to cheat shoppers, then victimsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ financial information such as credit card number, account detail is usually shared. The scammers usually hide their identities as bank staff, online retailers or credit card co mpanies to attract users to give personal information, once they key in the information; it is stolen by disguised viruses. Research indicates that more than 5% of people who see the scams will respond to them among them being some who have already being cheated before, Contantinide (2004). Clients tend to lose trust in online shopping due to all these cheating characters. Hence, e-marketers should provide trustworthy and secure information environment to minimize the situation of information asymmetry. 2.5.2 Information security risk Recently, scholars have not come to an agreement on how to generally explain online shopping risk but the security of information security is mostly known as field of e-commerce risk, Ngai Wat (2005). Greenstein (2000) views risk as risk information linked with possible physical, mental or financial lose of confidential data or its destruction, generation or making use of data or programs that can harm the other party. Information insecurity may cause client indecision, when dealing with online purchase especially. Information security and privacy are important to the indecision linked with how personal information is dealt with by e-vendors and who is allowed to access it, Tsai Yeh (2010). Personal information in a numerical form can be easily duplicated, shared, and used, which enable e-marketers to establish and be more enlightened about clients. Hence, this information could bring about serious insecurity of inappropriate clients with personalized services and other merits, Malhotra (2004) It is through open network of online purchase that, the computer system is widely used to store, transmit and transact information like statement information, invoice information, information to negotiate and personal business documents. The threats of information security are mostly usually from a variety of things that keep evolving. Forsythe et al (2006) stated that the most common threats are hacking, malicious attacks and co mputer virus; other aspects are like physical damage, personal destruction and natural calamities. Hence, client information security needs to be guaranteed as the information security technology of network system is very important in the e-purchase environment. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Online Business" essay for you Create order

Monday, December 23, 2019

Buddhism in Sculpture Essay examples - 801 Words

Image that is recognized all around the world, name that does not take time remembering when that image is seen, a half naked man sitting in a meditative pose - some god, as seen by most people, Buddha is a messenger of internal peace that has as much of a story behind him as Jesus or Allah. Religions iconography and gods represented in sculptures always have a great deal of symbolism involved in them. Nothing ordinary person would look into these days until the topic is confronted unavoidably through a class or a show in a museum, which I was lucky enough to take a part of recently. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Every Buddhist statue tells a story of its own. Educated person can say where the statue comes from and which time period it†¦show more content†¦Although Buddha figures’ natural look, look that indicates life in the body made of rock, Asian statues’ shapes are still abstracted in some way. Chinese representations of Buddha are usually puffier and look inflated if compared to the images originating from such neighboring states as India and Japan where the form looks sharper and the shoulder-to-waist ratio is higher. Despite the abstract form statues’ expressions are still representative of Buddha’s meditative, neutral state of midlife, which captures his state of enlightenment and inner piece. One can only imagine how many statues there had been made over the centuries of philosophy’s existence. Besides the amount that has been destroyed with time there are thousands, probably millions that still exist and are available for public view and research. Minneapolis Institute of Art offers a wide array of examples that vary in styles, origins and time of production. I cannot leave unmentioned the fact that out of all the exhibits I have not seen enough examples of statue capturing Buddha’s moment of enlightenment under the sacred fig tree called Bodhi. Just like the cross Jesus was crucified upon, signifying the most important event in Christian history, that was an essential moment of Buddhist philosophy. The fact that there are not enoughShow MoreRelatedThe Rise And Spread Of Buddhism954 Words   |  4 PagesThe rise and spread of Buddhism brought about many radical changes throughout Asia. This included many new styles and inspirations for Asian art. The infl uence of Buddhism affected many art forms, particularly sculptures and architecture. For those who adopted Buddhism, it became a way a life, it changed the way they wanted to live. This in turn, influenced the artistic aspect of life in Asia. This can be easily shown in several art pieces, such as the Lion Capital, the Bull Capital, as well asRead MoreThe Role Of Buddhism And Its Arts1304 Words   |  6 PagesIndia were the artist of the Buddha sculpture titled as Teaching Buddha which represents the second miracle of Srasvasti wherein the Buddha performed his superiority over kasyapas. This piece of sculpture was made in second or third century as a seated Buddha on an inverted lotus throne supported by two elephants and a lion. This sculpture’s present location is at The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in Berkeley California. The sculpture is placed on the table which looks moreRead MoreRadical Changes On The Views Of Buddhism1415 Words   |  6 PagesChanges on the Views of Buddhism in One Century As time progresses, our views and perspective on certain topics may start to change, in order to adapt to our dynamic society. 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Of course I am not saying the tw o are the same because that wouldn’tRead MoreArtistic Shifts During the The Kamakura Period698 Words   |  3 PagesIn Japan during the Kamakura period, a shift in sculpture towards realism occurred and a new school of sculpture called the Kei School emerged. Stylistic influence from China’s Song Dynasty was apparent and realistic portrait sculpture also developed at this time. The Kamakura Period in Japan existed between 1192-1333 C.E. It began when Minamoto Yoritomo emerged victorious from the civil war that had plagued the country for years. Instead of claiming the throne himself, he created the title of ShogunRead MoreChristianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, And Judaism1644 Words   |  7 Pages The following religions Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism are among the top religions when evaluating the number of followers they encompass worldwide (Henderson, 2005, p.1). Through assessing these major belief systems and their views, diversity between them is apparent. These multiplicities range from Hindus who acknowledge multitudes of gods to Muslims who believe in one God, Allah. Although the variety of beliefs and practices exist their remains some central concepts suchRead MoreEssay Buddhist Japanese Art1447 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduced by a mission from Korea in 552 C.E., Buddhism has long been a central theme in Japanese artwork. Since the king of Paekche, a kingdom in the South East of the Korean peninsula, first gave the Japanese emperor a bronze Buddha statue, the Buddhist art forms that were periodically introduced from China and Korea were tempered in the crucible of local custom and usage, to yield a rich tradition of religious art. The role of Buddhism in Japan was greatly amplified during the life and reignRead MoreEssay: Formal and Stylistic Analysis of Buddha Amit746 Words   |  3 Pages! Essay: Formal and Stylistic Analysis of Buddha Amitabha Naiwen Zhang 02/10/2014 Professor Jones ! The sculpture Buddha Amitabha is a typical Sui Dynasty style art piece that represents the will of people who wish to have peace and joy. Their life goals is achieve enlightenment. Their believe of the existence of the western paradise where they will suffer no more from anything. It is also a piece of love and good fortune that was sent from the women to their family. ! Buddha Amitabha is a bronzeRead MoreBuddhism And The Buddhist Art1289 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism is actually more of a philosophy or way of life than a religion. Approximately 350 million people around the world are Buddhists. It began about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gautama at age 35, known as the Buddha, was â€Å"awakened or enlightened†. Buddhism basically means you must lead a moral life, be aware of your thoughts and actions and try to develop wisdom and understanding. It explains a purpose to life, tries to explain injustice and inequality and provides a way of life that leadsRead MoreWhen Asia Was the World Book Analysis Essay1110 Words   |  5 PagesGordon’s When Asia Was The World, I found the story of Xuanzang very interesting. Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk who traveled all over to learn more about Buddhism until he became confused and decided to go to the center of Buddhism, along the way he faced many difficulties, he decided to go back to Chin a and share what he had learned. Buddhism began in India; it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince, born in Nepal. Siddhartha Gautama wandered around for awhile acting like a beggar to figure

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Should Democratic Promotion Be a Top Priority of the United States Free Essays

string(206) " organization were stunned when witnessing minorities being asked to provide two forms of identification when only one was needed and African Americans being intimidated by Republican lawyers at the polls\." Promoting democracy has been a key part of the United States foreign policy prescription for more than forty years. After the defeat of the fascist regimes during the second world war and the fall of the Soviet Union after the cold war, the United States government latched on to the idea of democratization because it became widely accepted that this is how our national security is best protected. This new ideology is very different when compared to what Secretary of State John Quincy Adams stated in 1821: â€Å"Where the standard of freedom and independence has been unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Democratic Promotion Be a Top Priority of the United States or any similar topic only for you Order Now But she does not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. † The United States has not always forcefully campaigned change, but led by example in order to try to inspire the world (Hook 2008, 383-7). While this type of approach to international relations may not fit our current time period, it is beginning to look as if our current policy approach is fading into history as well. Here is the issue at hand: should promoting democracy abroad be a top United States priority? Argumentatively, no, it should not. Democratic nations are said to be less prone to making war, more economically stable, and more peaceful internally. This premise comes from what is known as the â€Å"democracy-peace theory. † Unfortunately, this theory is not completely sound. Democracies are just as likely to participate in warfare, especially if they are a newly democratized state. Studies show that within the first ten years of being established, new democracies are likely to engage in conflict with other democratic states as well as with authoritarian states (Bin. 2007). America began its road towards democracy while fighting for its freedom in the Revolutionary War. A short distance down the time line, the northern and southern parts of the country were divided in a civil war, proving that even America had a rough start in the beginning. Transitioning over to democracy is not easy; actually, it is quite dangerous. The expectations of citizens living in a country undergoing the transformation may not be met as quickly as they would like, thus creating doubt in the new government’s ability to create positive changes. The end result is a rebellion against democracy (Bennett 2010, 43-60). Once the democracy has failed, leaving behind a country with no direction in sight, there is room for other institutions to seize control by preying on the sentiment of the citizens. Nazi Germany after the Weimar Republic and militaristic Japan after the Taisho democracy are a few examples that led to devastating outcomes (Bin. 2007). In these instances, democracy was tried, failed, and then another political institution took over, causing chaos, and causing the rest of the world to spend large amounts of money rebuilding and mending a broken country. Keep in mind that the United States has already built up a 12. trillion dollar deficit, which has increased $3. 87 billion dollars daily since September 28, 2007. To put that into perspective, if that number is divided by the entire population of the United States, that leaves about $40,000 dollars that every United States citizen shares in debt (U. S. National Debt Clock). I do not think that the United States has money to spare on ris ky foreign policies. Democracy is typically believed to enhance relationships between nations and make cooperation with them easier. We need to take into consideration that even though we preach that beneficial outcomes are more likely to arise, what if they do not? Suppose that we do everything correctly in establishing the necessary components for a democracy to be successful: create honest leaders, promote better education, establish a better economy, establish the rule of law, and instill the concepts that our Bill of Rights have established for our own country, it is possible that we could still end up with a country that is unfriendly to the United States and the rest of the world. For example, the democracy in Palestine that the United States accepted for many years elected a terrorist group by the name of Hamas in 2006 to be their leader. This group has an intense hatred for Israel, one of our closest allies. Now we have the pleasure of dealing with a democratically elected terroristic leadership that will be nearly impossible to work with. Democracy obviously did not consider our national interest in this case (Rosenbaum. 2007). Another good example of how democracy does not always serve America’s best interest is the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. It is questioned whether or not Venezuela is a democracy but the fact is, the Venezuelan people continue to elect Chavez as their leader. This makes them a democracy (Jordan 2007). Even though this country is a democracy, relationships with them are not satisfactory due to Chavez’s defiance in spawning relationships with American enemies such as Cuba, Iran, and Libya (About. com). Regardless of the democratic state of these two countries, they have bred unfavorable situations for the United States, proving that democracy is not always the cure for the disease. If democracy is not guaranteed to produce countries that we can cooperate with and if we are unable to accept when a democracy is not in our favor, then why continue to pour valuable resources into promoting this policy? This question is worth consideration in a world that is beginning to view international relations with the United States as a joke. The United States has developed a hypocritical image in promoting democracy. In 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell invited the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an organization that the United States worked through to advocate democracy in previous communist states, to witness the presidential election. Members of the organization were stunned when witnessing minorities being asked to provide two forms of identification when only one was needed and African Americans being intimidated by Republican lawyers at the polls. You read "Should Democratic Promotion Be a Top Priority of the United States" in category "Papers" Representatives from Belarus, one of the least democratic countries in Europe, took this opportunity to justify their own corruption by pointing out the United States lack of democracy and respect for human rights (Parry. 2005). If we desire to see change in the rest of the world, then we must lead by example and take our own advice domestically. In 2009, 1. 75 billion dollars of the foreign affairs budget was specifically for promoting democracy, which included funds for voter and civic education abroad. While this was a positive for those countries, a portion of that money should have been used to fund programs such as these in our own education system. According to a report done in 2000 by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, students at fifty-five of the top colleges in the United States managed to earn their degree without ever taking a course in American history. Our elementary educational system is also significantly frail in teaching world history, geography, and languages other than English (Johnson. 2003). The National Assessment of Educational Progress for civics most recently discovered that in grades four, eight, and twelve, only about 21% of students had proficient civic knowledge. Funding was increased to the Center for Civic Education, but in 2005, President Bush proposed a request that all funding for the CCE be reduced in light of the funds going to the war in Iraq and other programs overseas (Quirk. 2008). We are prepared to fund programs such as the CCE in other countries but are reluctant to do it for our own future leaders of democracy. The United States also funds programs abroad encouraging citizens to participate in their government democratically by voting. Unfortunately, when compared to other countries that we actively campaign this message to, the United States ranks twenty out of twenty-one in voter turnout (Quirk. 2008). We are obviously paying too much money and attention to the rest of the world in regards to education and democratic participation because as everyone else continues to rise, we slowly decline. If we forget about our own citizens while focusing on others, what will happen to our own democracy? In conclusion, instead of making democracy promotion a top priority of our foreign policy, the United States should put democracy as an issue that needs attention domestically. If there are internal problems within our own country that are visible by foreign nations, the United States will never make progress in promoting democratic â€Å"American-style† values. Once the United States has tended to its own weak areas domestically and attempted to improve them, only then will our image as a world leader begin to take positive form again, and only then will it become easier for us to promote our values. We cannot lead by example if we are setting a bad example and we cannot clean up the world if we have not washed our own hands. Annotated Bibliography About. com: US Foreign Policy. The Relationship of the United States with Venezuela. http://usforeignpolicy. about. com/od/countryprof4/p/usvenezuela. htm. This website provided straight forward information about the relationship status of the United States and Venezuela. It provided brief information on why and how this relationship was created and what sort of path that the Venezuelan president is taking. I believe that the purpose of this website is for basic questions of research but not for in depth research. It did provide other links that were relevant to the topic, but I think that a website such as Wikipedia. com would be more reliable and have more detailed information. I was able to find this website through Google with the search terms being United States relationship with Venezuela. Bennett, Andrew, George Shambaugh. 2010. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in American Foreign Policy. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. This book contains issues that are typically controversial in American Foreign Policy. The authors provide an introduction to each issue, both sides of the argument, and closing remarks on the argument. This book was the starting point of my paper because it is where my topic originated. The introduction to the issue actually contained more useful information for me to get started with rather than the actual argument itself. This edition of this book was published in 2010, which makes it a very reliable source. The authors specifically include a note to students explaining that these arguments are not one-sided and that the purpose of this book is to better educate people on these views and to encourage involvement. This book was a required reading for the course that this paper is intended for. Bin, Yu. 2007. Making Democracy Safe for the World. Foreign Policy In Focus, (November 8), http://www. fpif. org/articles/making_democracy_safe_for_the_world (accessed February 15, 2010). This article was right on target with why democracy is not perfect. It explains how the â€Å"democracy-peace theory† failed to consider the other side of the spectrum when preaching that democratic states are less likely to participate in warfare. The author makes sure to point out that democracy is not negatively correlated with warfare, but that nations transforming to democracy are vulnerable. I think it is good that the article gave examples of democratic tries that failed, resulting in the taking over by an authoritarian regime because it helped to prove a new democracy’s vulnerability and that we should learn from the mistakes of history. This article was done 3 years ago, which is still recent, and right in the middle of the changing tides in President Bush’s foreign policy popularity. This article was on a website called Foreign Policy In Focus, and I found this website through a required reading for my American Foreign Policy class. I used the key word â€Å"democracy† to find this article. Hook, Steven W. 2008. U. S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power. 2nd ed. Washington DC: CQ Press. This book’s purpose is to provide information on American foreign policy from the past to the present. Hook divides the book into chapters that are focused on the different components of foreign policy and in one chapter, there is a section that is dedicated to democracy promotion as a part of the foreign policy prescription. This section was helpful in comparing past approaches to this issue to current approaches to this issue in detail. I would use this book again as a reference if necessary when doing another paper in regards to foreign policy. I was able to use this book as a source because it was part of the required reading that was listed for my American Foreign Policy course. Johnson, Loch K. , Kiki Caruson. 2003. The Seven Sins of American Foreign Policy. PS Online, (January), http://www. aspanet. org. This article was assigned as a reading assignment in my American Foreign Policy course. The authors go into detail when explaining the seven wrongs that America commits in regards to foreign policy. They name ignorance, lack of empathy, isolationism, unilateralism, precipitate military action, presidential imperialism, and arrogance as the seven sins of United States foreign policy approach. The article provides examples of how each sin has been committed in order to show what needs to be changed and improved in foreign policy. The information on ignorance was particularly useful to me when explaining how education has declined in importance in the United States. Due to the detailed examples that are provided by the author, this article seems to be a reliable source. Jordan, James. 2007. Venezuela: Democracy or dictatorship. Green Left Weekly, (November 29), http://www. greenleft. org. au/2007/734/38002 (accessed February 18, 2010). This article, which was in question and answer form, was done by James Jordan, who is the emergency response coordinator for the US-based Venezuela Solidarity Network. He provides answers to questions in regards to Venezuela’s form of government and to what direct path that Hugo Chavez is taking their nation. I used this article to determine that Venezuela was technically a democracy in light of their continuous elections in favor of Chavez. The article comes from an online newspaper called Green Left Weekly, which is radical newspaper in Australia concerned with global issues such as the environment, human rights, and global peace. I found this article through Ask. com by asking if Venezuela was a democracy or not. Parry, Nat. 2005. U. S. Elections Undermine America in Eastern Europe. Foreign Policy In Focus, (September 30), http://www. fpif. org/articles/us_elections_undermine_america_in_eastern_europe (accessed February 10, 2010). This article shows the United States’ somewhat hypocritical image to the rest of the world in regards to democracy promotion. The author gives the 2004 presidential election as the example and describes what representatives of other nations witnessed as they observed the election. The author emphasizes that if America wants to be taken seriously when exporting American-style values, then America needs to practice these values. It is also emphasized that the 2004 election had a great deal of influence on the world’s perception of the United States. This article did a good job in helping me to produce my final points of my paper. It was written in 2005 but given how close in time that it was written to the 2004 election, I believe that this article is reliable and is useful in pointing out work that needs to be done domestically as well as foreign. Quirk, Patrick W. 2008. Democracy Promotion Doublespeak. Foreign Policy In Focus, (April 4), http://www. fpif. org/reports/democracy_promotion_doublespeak (accessed February 10, 2010). This article points out hypocritical practices of the United States especially in regards to education and democratic participation. It discusses how the United States funds many programs to improve these areas in other countries but is reluctant to fund programs in these areas for its own citizens, demonstrating that our own democracy could use some attention as well. The article provides statistics in voter turnout between the United States and other nations and also gives an example of how President Bush failed to recognize that the United States had areas to work on domestically. The author makes many good arguments in this article that most people probably do not think to consider. I also found this article on Foreign Policy In Focus. That website looks to be a great source of information on current and past events. Rosenbaum, Jason. 2007. Is Democracy Really In America’s Interests? (August 7), http://www. theseminal. com/2007/08/02/is-democracy-the-worlds-savior/ (accessed February 9, 2010). This article discusses how democracy promotion could lead to adverse effects in regards to the interests of the United States. The author points out that even if the United States did a superb job of promoting democracy, it could still produce governments that did not favor the United States. He emphasizes that before the United States continues with its current foreign policy approach to democracy, we need to consider whether it is worth the resources if the outcomes are not more likely to be in our favor almost 100% of the time. I found this article through Google. com by searching for the cons of democracy promotion. U. S. National Debt Clock. http://www. brillig. om/debt_clock/ (accessed February 18, 2010). On this website I was able to find the exact amount of the United States national deficit. The amount was even divided by the number of people living in the United States to show just how much each person has weighing on their shoulders due to irresponsible spending by the federal government. The site goes on to say that the national debt increases everyday by more than 3 billion dollars. This website is not a government website so its reliability is hard to judge, but by looking at the detail, the information seems valid. How to cite Should Democratic Promotion Be a Top Priority of the United States, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Auditor Independence and Audit Quality System

Question: Auditor Independence and Audit Quality System. Answer: Introduction: In the first situation, Clarke and Johnson (auditor) can become eligible for reappointment if it offers an effective speech to the stakeholders regarding the companys well doings. This is the case of intimidation threat to CJ by the CEO of the company. Thus, since CJ has a fear of losing its reappointment, an independent opinion cannot be provided on its part. In the second scenario, the companys CEO is providing gifts in kind to the auditor, together with the specified audit fees to obtain another smooth audit procedure like that of the previous This is the case of familiarity threat as the CEO intends to manipulate the auditors opinion in the companys favor due to a strong relationship already set between them. In the third scenario, Michael being the auditor is under an obligation to investigate the affairs of the company including that of his father, as he is the financial controller of the company. Since Michael has a self-interest in the audit process; he will not report any mi sconduct on the companys part, as it can result in loss of his fathers job (Holland Lane, 2012). In the last situation, Annette being appointed as an auditor is under an obligation to examine her own activities (tax computations and entry preparation) being conducted in the year 2015. Hence, this is a self-review threat that cannot offer a fair opinion, and such job must be delegated to some other professional. The best available safeguard in the first situation is the establishment of a corporate governance structure like an audit committee in order to attain effective oversight and communication regarding the services of audit firm (Tepalagul Lin, 2015). This safeguard can assist in mitigating the threat of intimidating an auditor to provide an unfair opinion. In the second situation, the most appropriate safeguard will be rotation and reassignment of auditors from the assignment of audit in order to mitigate the threat of close relationships (familiarity threat). In relation to the third situation, the best safeguard to encounter self-interest threat is to select the auditors in such a way that the appointed auditor does not possess any financial or personal interest in the company. Moreover, an additional qualified professional can also be hired who does not possess any such interest, thereby providing an independent opinion (Kalpan Williams, 2013). In the last situation, involving an additional qualified individual to review the work will be the most effective safeguard because one cannot simply review his or her own work and provide an unbiased judgement. The first business risk is the risk of theft or fraud. Since MSL (Mining Supplies Ltd) purchases its goods from international markets; it has to send its mechanics to provide maintenance services to the customers for fulfilling the warranty criteria. Hence, the auditor to ascertain any effective steps undertaken by the company must assess the quantum of risk (Gilbert et. al, 2005). Furthermore, in association with the purchase of equipment, the auditor must evaluate whether insurance policies have been agreed to by the company to tackle such risk. The second business risk is the overstatement or understatement of the requirement of spare parts. Since spare parts arrive from distant places, proper assessment of the quantum of purchase is vital as it can result in disrupting the smooth flow of resources, thereby minimizing the quantum of purchased equipment (Heeler, 2009). Further, the company financials would depict a wrong figure due to such complication, thereby resulting in loss of competitive advantage in the market because the adequate quantum of equipment would not be prevalent to cater to customers needs. Besides, the amount of interest income that could have been gained in lieu of correct anticipation of demand of spare parts cannot happen. For the first risk, the auditor must examine whether company equipment and spare parts are covered under insurance agreements because carrying of spare parts to customers places can lead towards theft or fraud. Besides, the auditor must also take the cost influence of such insurance into consideration. Further, the auditor must also observe whether the company to gain from insurance claims conducts unethical activities. Lastly, since mobile contractors go far areas, the auditor can himself travel to customers place to evaluate the cost, and compare the same with that of mobile contractors, thereby safeguarding companys trust upon the auditor and falsification of facts (Heeler, 2009). In relation to the second risk, the auditor must take corrective actions to identify whether the products sale price needs to be depicted as an expense in P/L account or whether must be minimized by expenses of the spare parts. Moreover, the auditor must also scrutinize the maintenance contracts in order to determine what parts can be shown as expenses and vice-versa (Cappelleto, 2010). This is because wrongly stating expenses of spare parts as revenue can enhance the companys revenues, and vice-versa. References Cappelleto, G. 2010, Challenges Facing Accounting Education in Australia, AFAANZ, Melbourne Gilbert, W. Joseph J Terry J. 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