Albert Camus and “The Stranger”

Albert Camus is a French writer and philosopher, Nobel Prize winner in 1957, an author who is usually referred as existentialist (although he rejected this), a   man who was called â€Å"Conscience of the West†. Camus was born in 1913 in Algeria in a family of a French settler and a Spanish woman.His father died during the First World War in 1914. Camus mother moved to the suburbs of Algiers where the family had to survive in poor living conditions. However in 1923 Camus was accepted into the lycà ©e and afterwards managed to gain entrance to the University of Algiers. At this time Camus became interested in football, yet tuberculosis has put an end to his hobby.During his studies Camus continued to experience material problems and so he had to take odd jobs like a clerk or a tutor. Those hardships still did not prevent purposive Camus to present his master thesis on Neo-Platonism in 1936.While in the University Camus joined the communist movements of various kinds and then the anarchist party. Camus wrote numerous publications on anarchism and founded a Worker’s Theater in 1935. Political publications cost him job in 1939. In 1940 he decided to join the French army to fight against the Nazi, but he failed due to tuberculosis. Camus did not die at war with the Germans as his father, and had to witness Nazi parades in Paris and the execution of Gabriel Pà ©ri – an event that crystallized Camus anti-German views.In 1942 he returned to Algeria where he stayed until the Allies returned to Paris. During the Was Camus joined a cell of Resistance movement and published and underground newspaper.   Anarchism remained in Camus mind for the rest of his life. He supported anarchists during Spanish civil war and later in the 50-s during anti-communist apprising in Germany, Poland and Hungary.In 1951 he published â€Å"The Rebel† – a philosophical analysis of rebellion which demonstrated his alienation from communism and resulted in breach of his friendship with Sartre, however, strengthened his friendship with George Orwell, with whom he opposed totalitarianism of both East and West.Together with Orwell and others he organized the European Federalist Movement in 1945 and welcomed the ideas of UN and European federation, which later failed as a result of domination of Churchill’s idea of European Union.At the time Camus became known as a dogmatic opponent of restrictions of freedom of any kind, and a principal antagonist of death penalty, which he castigated in â€Å"The Plague† and especially in â€Å"The Stranger†. Camus was also one of the first cultural activists who protested against nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as nuclear weapons themselves.Family life of Camus was not so stable, as his political opinions. In 1934 he married Simone Hie – a woman who was addicted to morphine, however, he soon divorced her as a result of infidelities of both. In 1940 he marri ed for the second time. This time his wife was Francine Faure, talented pianist and mathematician.Love of Camus to Francine was so passionate that he even rejected his own anarchist views on marriage as unnatural institution. After marriage Camus had numerous affairs with other women, which he did not even try to hide. Still on September 5, 1945 Francine gave birth to twins Catherine and Jean.Camus life ended in a traffic accident on January 4, 1960 near Sens. France. His close friend and publisher Michel Gallimard drove the car and also perished. Camus grave in the Lourmarin Cemetery, Lourmarin, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Cà ´te d'Azur, France. The twin children of Camus still hold copyright on all of his works[1].[1] O. Todd. Albert Camus: A Life. Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed edition. 2000.

My Personal Philosophy of Early Childhood Education

Belief Statement The home and the early childhood education center happen to be the most important places for the socialization of the child.   As a matter fact, both the home and the early childhood education center are responsible for developing the child – a complete individual.   The child represents the future of my nation and the world at large.   What I want children to be is therefore identical to my vision of an ideal society.   As an early childhood educator, I want to provide the best possible education for my students so they would create the ideal society we all have collectively envisioned. Philosophical Statement All students are capable of learning.   Even so, every child is an individual with learning needs that differ from the needs of his or her peers.   As an early childhood educator it is important to me to teach children with respect to their developmental stage.   At the same time, however, I do not overlook the fact that some of my students could be slower than the rest, while a few may even be gifted.   Nonetheless I would like all my students to get to love learning as much as I do.   For this reason I believe that educators must continue to conduct research on the art and science of teaching, and develop themselves so as to help their students learn as effectively as possible. I further believe that hands-on learning in early childhood education centers is crucial to the development of children.   Human beings learn by doing.   All the same, certain children seem to need more time to reflect on the activities that are assigned in the classroom.   I do not discourage individuality in the classroom, even as I realize that hands-on activities help most students with their social and linguistic skills. In my classroom there are 28 students and the room is not big enough to accommodate center areas.   However, we have made adjustments.   Centers are done at their tables.   Every day, each table does a new center.   (I create 5 per week).   I also have other activities for my students, such as white boards, phonics puzzles, ABC's on cookie sheets, and activities that are exclusively available in dishpans that we refer to as buckets.   When students are done with assigned activities, they get a bucket and find a spot on the floor.   It seems to be working well, as they are learning. I additionally trust the fact that young students need to learn by watching.   I model for my students before we can practice together, after which they complete the activities on their own.   It amazes me how quickly most children are able to learn by watching.   Moreover, it empowers me as an early childhood educator seeing as I am able to influence their thinking in profound ways.   This is the very reason why ethics play a vital role in early childhood education.   Indeed, the early childhood educator must be careful to teach the young only that which he or she would like to experience in the outside world. Raw minds of little children must be nurtured with great gentleness and care.   I consider this a significant issue to discuss with the parents of my students.   After all, early childhood education cannot be complete without the environment that the child is exposed to outside the classroom.   Thus, I am confident that the advice and support of parents helps to make early childhood education more effective.               

Demonstrate where you have advocated on behalp of a service user with Essay

Demonstrate where you have advocated on behalp of a service user with any disabilities - Essay Example It advocates a support system that empowers the people with disability with informed choice so that they can opt for best possible care that meets their individual requirement. These are critical imperatives that are greatly facilitated by the intervention of social workers who become major linkages for the people with disability to access the facilities. Healthcare providers like nurse, physicians and their assistants, social service professionals assess client’s life in detail for correct diagnosis, line of treatment, type of intervention etc. for best service delivery. Appropriate linkages are provided to the client to meet his/her assessed need. Social workers for advocacy are common linkages that help recipients to help personalize their care. Advocacy for the case would be discussed. The client X was a refugee who was bed ridden after a car accident in which her lower part of body had got paralyzed. She was from different ethnic group and neither spoke nor understood English. The client wished for direct payments as she was dissatisfied with the current level of services as provided by the council and social work department. She had identified one of her friend as her personal assistant. As a social work student, currently on placement at a local council, I have advocated on behalf of client X. As I am dealing with the direct payment and personal budget, her case comes under my purview and, therefore, I have volunteered to advocate her case. Advocacy is a vital concept in social work. It promotes understanding for the requisite physical and emotional support, intrinsic to the welfare of the disabled person. As advocate, it was hugely important for me to empower my client with relevant information regarding direct payment and for employing a personal assistant of her choice. Hence, my work as advocate/facilitator involved myriad functions conforming under the strict guidelines and processes of

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1 - Essay Example Thus, the lessons learned at the early age become the foundation for an individual’s growth in the professional life. In addition, the experience gained in life within a shorter period of time is also imperative towards shaping the professional life of an individual. In my case, it was engineering and for Mr. Ramsay’s case it was the field of sports. Such decisions are taken at so early age, that there is hardly any self- knowledge or experience to support, whatever the decision has been made is the best and justifies the background to which an individual belongs. Thus, the best thing in this aspect is to expect that the future will be bright and will offer loads of opportunities. This study aims to shed light on the qualities of an entrepreneur and evaluate whether I posses those qualities or not. In order to verify it, the study will pursue different techniques. Once the characteristics and definition of entrepreneurship is being identified, a known entrepreneur will be chosen and his qualities will be compared with mine. A General Enterprising Tendency (GET) Test will be also carried out. Furthermore, interview session will be also held to get deeper insights. On the basis of the findings, a conclusion to the study will be drawn. Introduction – What Entrepreneurship Means to Me From the childhood days, I had a fascination on technology and as a result of that I have always been enthralled with new technological innovations. It is the interest in technology, which made me feel that innovation and discovery has been the fuel of comprehensive development of the society. My early role model was Charles Babbage, who is also known as the father of computers and the inventor of computers. However, with the course of time it shifted from an inventor to an entrepreneur. As I came to know about the life story of Bill Gates and understood the contribution made by him in the society, I contentedly considered him to be my role model. In addition, I a lso consider the recent sensation, Mark Zuckerberg to be one of my role models. When I slowly started to gain knowledge on social science, my perception of an entrepreneur was a person who has the ability to take risk and open a new firm. Although, the meaning of entrepreneurship, which I identified later, was much broader, this definition was not fully impractical. Rather, it was supported by a renowned scholar, where he states that entrepreneurs are the person who undertakes the risk of new enterprise (Mohanty 1). However, later I realized entrepreneur to be someone who has the ability to make correct judgmental decision pertaining to the coordination of sparse resources. In addition, I have also identified that an entrepreneur is an individual and not a committee, team or an organization. With deeper thought, I have been also able to identify that there are two types of entrepreneur namely successful entrepreneur and unsuccessful entrepreneur. Now, when I compare myself with succ essful entrepreneurs, I found that I also have the tendency to become self-suffice. However, I do not consider myself to be entrepreneur as I am yet to develop a firm which is self sustaining. Moreover, I also believe that a huge different exists between â€Å"thinking of becoming an entrepreneur† and ultimately â€Å"becoming a successful entrepreneur†. The challenge for every potential successful entrep

Micro-organisms and Diesease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Micro-organisms and Diesease - Essay Example They are colonial or unicellular. Role- cause disease to organisms. There are also useful plants pathogens that play various roles such as restricting plant distribution, regulating population, increasing/reducing diversity and creating canopy gaps. Direct contact- organisms are transmitted from one individual to another (For instance, when there is the physical contact of closed or open body or through a skin opening, sexual contact and through directly breathing in pathogens from an infected individual). Indirect contact- organism transfers from an object to the other, either an intermediate host or a vector. For instance, the organism can be transferred through contaminated substances like air, soils, feces, equipment and clothing. Penetration areas- skin, sebaceous glands or hair follicles to cause boils and sties or teat canals and lead to staphylococcal mastitis, arthropod bites, conjunctiva, through respiratory tract’s mechanism, microorganisms or urinogenital tract. First, there is the existence of the pathogenic or infectious agents such as fungus, virus, bacterium, protozoa or prion. Microorganisms exit from the reservoir through the skin, respiratory tract, genitourinary tract and blood and across the placenta and take a mode of transmission to the next host. The transmission occurs either indirectly or directly. Infection definition- a process by which bacteria, fungi or other organism enter a host and attach to a cell and multiply. To do this, the organisms should overcome or evade the body’s natural defense at every step; though mostly the infected individual does not get sick. Often not all infections cause illness. Treatment- tests for the diagnosis including Chest X-ray, Mantoux skin test, QuantiFERON-TB Gold test and sputum testing and treatment should be done outside the hospital and takes long because the disease organism grows and die

South East Asian Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

South East Asian Financial Crisis - Essay Example Its primary function was to develop economic growth, social progress and cultural development. National resilience refers to all aspects of nation building - social, cultural, economic, ideological and political. It deals with security of nation emerging from the strength of national building. The member countries are ready to neglect short term losses in favor of long term achievements and friendships. ASEAN practice non-interference. It does not mean that the countries are indifferent to one another or close their eyes on member countries. The countries refrain from criticizing the other countries but support them in all their needs. In some ASEAN countries economic development has been given preference over income distribution and employment creation. This has resulted in poverty and income disparities existing along with economic growth. The creation of ASEAN was politically motivated. Its initial objective was to promote harmony among member nations as most of the nations were under security threat. Economic integration was the next priority. ASEAN Free Trade Area was to be formed in 2003 comprising all the 10 South East Asian countries. AFTA was earlier established in 1992 as a political and economic entity. The objective of ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC) is to ensure peace in the region and live in harmony respecting the geographic and historical boundary. (Hank, Lim (2005), Regional trade agreements and conflict: the case of Southeast Asia, available at, http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-132673-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html ) The countries thought that free trade would benefit their economy. It was decided that zero tariffs should be the ultimate goal of AFTA. Originally, only Singapore was in favor of a free zone. Obviously, because, unlike other countries, it is without natural resources and is an export based entrepot economy. The motive behind the formation of AFTA was to attract foreign investments. But AFTA started running into problems right from the beginning itself. That is because some countries were more interested in protecting their domestic industries. AFTA has been considered as a developmental form of regionalism unlike open regionalism which is for globalization. In fact it is between open regionalism and resistance regionalism which tries to protect industries from globalization. However it is closer to open regionalism. Though almost all the countries were in favor of a free zone, at least some of them were against their home industries with high economic status being put at risk. For e xample, rice in Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia and sugar in Indonesia and Philippines. Automobile industry is bound to suffer because of lack of tariff protection. Singapore is likely to suffer because of the unwillingness of ASEAN countries to accept AFTA. Singapore backs up not only APEC but also WTO. Creation of growth triangular natural economic territories also establishes security of economy. Apart from that they ensure political stability and friendliness between nations. It is being pointed that some of the members of the triangles were bitter enemies in the past. ASEAN has been successful in reducing conflicts among its member nations. AFTA went a step further by going for lower tariffs, which would boost intra regional trade and cement better relationship among

Managing Creativity and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Creativity and Change - Essay Example The pyramid scheme structure looks reflects the organization of authority. The hierarchical organization structure is common in both the public and private sectors. In a typical private organization or public institution, departmental heads, as well as, unit managers report directly the general managers or the vice presidents, who in turn report to the president (Marlow, 2011). In small businesses, the layers are lesser than the layers in the large organizations. Although hierarchical organizational structures may be effective as far as managing thousands of employees is concerned, they have numerous weaknesses, which will result in them being less evident in the future. In today’s business world, the level of competition in every industry is growing rapidly. One of the key factors behind the ever-increasing competition is the fact that globalization is ever increasing. In other words, the ever-increasing interconnectedness has substantially contributed to the rapidly increasi ng competition. Companies are spreading their operations outside the local borders to take advantage of new markets. Another key reason why countries are going global is to take advantage of the hap labor especially in the emerging markets including China, India, and Brazil among other emerging economies. Firms that are taking advantage of the cheap labor in today’s competitive world are enhancing their competitiveness. Production using cheap labor translates into competitive prices for the goods and services. Therefore, for all the global organizations that have shifted some of their operations to some of the cheap labor economies are becoming more competitive. This is because they are able to supply their goods and services at competitive prices in both the local and international markets (Dutz, 2011). The global economy has significantly changed in many ways. Countries are more dependent on each other than ever before. The world has become a global village and an external effect on a single major economy or region has direct, as well as, indirect effect on the global economy. For example, a major economic outcome in the U.S. could positively or, negatively affect the whole world. This is because of the increased interconnectedness and dependence amongst nations. If there were an economic boom within the U.S., other countries including the small ones would benefit from the high demand of goods and services in the world’s largest economy. On the other hand, a recession in the world’s largest economy could adversely affect the rest of the world. For example, following the 2007/2008 global financial crisis, the poor economic state in the U.S. affected the entire global economy (Ofd.ncsu.edu, 2013). The world’s economy is shifting from hierarchical organization structures to flat organization structures. The expectations amongst employees are different under the tall and the flat structures. For example, under the hierarchical structu res, employees feel that they have a job security. This is because of the fact that this type of organizational structure is present in large organizations, which have attained a higher level of stability. In these organizations, the level of innovation is lower, compared to organizations that embrace flat structures. This is because of the fact that the senior high-level management keeps a close eye to the employees. In other words, there is more

Rhet 1000- internet harms social interaction Essay

Rhet 1000- internet harms social interaction - Essay Example Due to advancements in modern technology, which can overcome a wide range of obstacles related to space and time, it is possible to deduce that such technology should be used in more important ways including understanding multiples of cultures, as well as communicating effectively with other people. Use of the internet has dominated today’s global communications, which has led to a wide range of negative impacts on social interaction. Although the use of internet may have positive impacts, the level of negative impacts depends on the nature of people’s online activities and the different activities that they give up in order to spend time socializing using the internet. The use of the internet as a platform that supports social interaction encourages individuals to spend considerable time socializing through online mediums at the expense of companionship and face-to-face communications. In this sense, interaction socially could be hindered by the dominant use of the int ernet and other online social platforms. Given the dominance in the use of the internet in the contemporary world, and its subsequent domination of social interaction, several issues arise. Pertinent issues related to impacts of the internet on social interaction include isolation. Evidently, the internet creates a world in which communication occurs in a virtual environment. The internet acts as an electronic mode that drives people out of the physical world and into a virtual space. Through connections in the virtual space, communicating parties may interact without challenges as if they are in a physical world (Cavanagh 36). As a result, the quality and number of physical social relationships that people develop is subject to compromise. There is a great difference between online relations, based on social media, and physical interactions. People do not expect any more consequences from virtual relationships, apart from the communication

Domestic Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Domestic Violence - Essay Example Several factors do involve why family violence is kept secret by the family members. It is in this way he/she can tolerate his/her acts of family abuse. Domestic violence is also termed as intimate violence. To consider a misdemeanor as domestic violence, there is the requisite of intimacy between the offender and the aggrieved party. Hence, domestic violence is not only true at the doorstep of the family, but to any relationships or affairs as well. There has been a vast campaign against domestic violence since then, most especially to women and children. Women and children are considered as the weakest human being and often entrenched to physical abuse. The prevailing condition of the society imbibed the legitimacy of man’s figure as the superior form of human being which shall maneuver the society. Women’s activist pushed through in establishing the woman’s figure and worth in the society. Furthermore, since there is an implied paternalism, the criminal justic e has lesser focused on domestic violence. This transfiguration has been contested by many individuals to honor and legislate laws and statutes that shall protect and safeguard women and children’s right. Domestic violence has different variations, the most common type is the physical abuse, and the other form is through emotional abuse. Physical abuse entails the use of force or objects in perpetrating the acts. The physical agility of men display their dominance over their partner, thus it is easy for them to inflict harm to their partners. There has been no postulated reason why men usually beat their wives or partners, but some probable cause or motives is due to financial matters. Grassroots families are more likely to be exposed in domestic violence mainly due to financial constraints. Instead of procuring a job, they turn their anger to their

Composting and Plant Growth Essay Example for Free

Composting and Plant Growth Essay Vermicomposting, as an industrial process, was originally developed to remove unwanted organic materials from the agricultural and industrial waste streams. The derived product: earthworm castings, is now recognized as a high value material which, when blended with soil, can restore soil tilth by correcting the imbalances caused by the over-utilization of petrol-chemical based fertilizers; thus enabling crops and plants to naturally combat pests and diseases, all resulting in increased crop production and general plant health. Using European technology we began researching production processes and the potential of Vermicomposting over 20 years ago. In 1991 we built the first American flow through Vermicomposting processor in Portland Oregon which continues to handle more than 2,000 tons of food waste per year at an annual cost savings of approximately $70,000.00. The Worm Castings are sold as an Organic soil amendment or mixed to form valuable plant growth media, as well as providing a natural pesticide and fungicide. In 1997: Awarded our first of three Phase I, and Phase II USDA-SBIR grants enabling advanced engineering, design and process modifications to be made in order to achieve a greater understanding of the production process and the products potential. In collaboration with Ohio State University, and Professor Clive Edwards, these grants supported extensive field and greenhouse trials using Vermicompost on a wide range of fruits, vegetables and ornamentals. The results clearly demonstrated that the affects were nutritional as all experimental plants received the same full range of nutrients – and remarkably small quantities of Vermicompost promoted enhanced germination, growth, flowering and yield on a variety of crop plants. Agricultural wastes, food and garden wastes, paper waste, and bio-solids from waste water treatment plants, when processed by earthworms, all showed similar results. With the aid of two additional USDA-SBIR grants again collaborating with OSU and Dr. C. Edwards we investigated a range of structural and functional comparisons between Vermicompost and traditional types of compost. * The continuous-flow production process does not allow nutrient leaching as occurs with conventional thermophilic composting and some less efficient methods of Vermicomposting * There were large physical, chemical and biological differences, all seemingly related to leachate control and the organic waste passage through the earthworms gut. * Vermicomposting was far more efficient in controlling odors and other vector issues. * With high worm populations and optimum conditions Vermicomposting is much faster than most conventional composting processes. * The percentages of Nitrogen, Potassium, Potash, Magnesium, and Calcium in forms readily available for plant uptake are much greater in Vermicomposts. * Microbial activity is much greater in finished Vermicompost; maintaining many types of bacteria and fungi that contribute to soil health and fertility. Our research showed in laboratory, greenhouse and field trials that a specific amount of Vermicompost, added to commercial potting mediums suppressed diseases, insect populations and insect damage to and on plants grown in Vermicompost treated soils. It is now widely accepted that the readily available micro organisms available in Vermicompost are the likely source of the plant growth regulators and Humates now known to be responsible for the increased germination, flowering and yields found in the plant growth trials. The project then focused on investigating the reason why the smaller particle size and greater moisture holding capacity in Vermicompost contributed to a decrease in soil nutrient leaching when Vermicompost was added to soils; demonstrating the destruction of viable weed seeds through Vermicomposting and the destruction of humane pathogens in contaminated organic wastes during Vermicomposting. This second part of the Phase I, Phase II: Plant Pest, Disease and Human Pathogen Control results, according to the EPA 503 Regulations, achieved Class A material in 60 days with bacterial levels for Salmonella, Ecoli, and viable Helmath Olva were all non-detectable. We developed our operational protocols from this research, and this research and operational training goes with every system. Other investigations concentrated on the properties of Vermicompost that increased plant growth. The increased plant growth observed greatly exceeded any of the nutrient inputs applied and all recent plant growth trials received balancing levels of nutrient inputs to ensure nutrients were not the cause. * Small additions of Vermicompost decreased the incidence of various plant diseases and the numbers of plant parasitic nematodes were suppressed. * Further research investigating production methods (Third part of Phase I and II) and effective practical applications of water soluble elutriates for foliar application for immediate disease and pest control are ongoing. Initial results were completed in June 2009 : Liquid Extracts for Disease and Pest Control. * Heat sterilization of finished Vermicompost was shown to remove all plant growth enhancing properties, but these could be restored by the addition of aqueous extracts of un-sterilized Vermicompost. This demonstrates the key factor is clearly microbial, most likely associated with plant growth regulators and increased levels of humic acid and folic acid found in Vermicompost. * Results showed increased growth effects were more frequent and more pronounced at specific concentration levels and application rates. When plants were grown in less specific blends or in mixes of greater concentrations of Vermicompost the beneficial growth, disease and pest control was greatly reduced or lost completely. * This result was unexpected, but confirmed by detailed and rigorous studies using a wide range of Vermicompost substitutions in a commercial plant growth media and in a wide range of plant species. * Optimum germination, growth, flowering, and heavier fields occurred only in a specific formulation that included nutrients other than what is in the Vermicompost. * This takes us down a path that suggests that the chemical or biological agent that is providing the disease control and triggering the plants ability to respond systemically to pest and disease issues is either a soluble uptake or has to be manufactured by the plant as an antagonist. * Conclusion: too much Vermicompost can block the functions that triggers these responses; similar to the way too much nitrogen locks in the leaves and does not allow the proper function of the plant. * Lastly, vigorous, healthy plants, as were observed when grown with Vermicompost, are far less susceptible to attack by plant pests and diseases. Tolerance, resistance, suppression, or the ability to manufacture an antagonist to plant pests or diseases are sometimes difficult to distinguish, but decreases in lesions and other symptoms, and decreases in the numbers of causative organisms have been found. Aquaculture of Chanos chanos Milkfish aquaculture first occurred around 800 years ago in the Philippines and spread in Indonesia, Taiwan and into the Pacific. Traditional milkfish aquaculture relied upon restocking ponds by collecting wild fry. This led to a wide range of variability in quality and quantity between seasons and regions. In the late seventies, farmers first successfully spawned breeding fish. However, they were hard to obtain and produced unreliable egg viability. In 1980 the first spontaneously spawning happened in sea cages. These eggs were found to be sufficient to generate a constant supply for farms. Fry are raised in either sea cages, large saline ponds (Philippines) or concrete tanks (Indonesia, Taiwan). Milkfish reach sexual maturity at 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), which takes 5 years in floating sea cages, but 8-10 years in ponds and tanks. Once 6 kilograms (13 lb) is reached (8 years) an average of 3-4 million eggs will be produced each breeding cycle.[1] This is mainly done using natural environmental cues. However, there have been attempts using gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-A) to induce spawning.[3] Some still use the traditional wild stock method. This involves capturing wild fry using nets. Milkfish hatcheries, like most hatcheries, contain a variety of cultures, as well as the target species. For example rotifers, green algae and brine shrimp. They can either be intensive or semi-intensive. Semi-intensive methods are more profitable with it costing $6.67 US per 1000 fry in 1998, compared with $27.40 per 1000 fry for intensive methods. However, the experience required by labor for semi-intensive hatcheries is higher than intensive. Milkfish nurseries in Taiwan are highly commercial and have densities of about 2000/liter. Indonesia achieves similar densities but has more backyard-type nurseries. The Philippines have integrated nurseries with grow-out facilities and have densities of about 1000/liter. There are three methods of outgrowing: pond culture, pen culture and cage culture. * Shallow ponds are found mainly in Indonesia and the Philippines. These are shallow 30–40 centimeters (12–16 in), brackish ponds with benthic algae, usually used as feed.[1] They are usually excavated from ‘nipa’ or mangrove areas and produce ~ 800kg/ha/yr. Deep ponds (2-3m) have a more stable environment and began in 1970. They so far have shown less susceptibility to disease than shallow ponds. * In 1979 pen culture was introduced in Laguna de Bay, which had high primary production. This provided an excellent food source. Once this ran out, fertilizer was applied. They are susceptible to disease. * Cages culture occurs in coastal bays. These consist of large cages suspended in open water. These rely largely upon natural sources of food. Most food supply is natural food (known as ‘lab-lab’) or a combination of phytoplankton and macro algae. Traditionally this was made on site; food is now made commercially to order. Harvest occurs when the individuals are between 20-40cm (250-500g). Partial harvests remove uniform sized individuals with nets or gill nets. Total harvest removes all individuals and leads to a variety of sizes. Forced harvest happens when there is an environmental problem, such as depleted oxygen due to algal blooms and all stock is removed. Possible parasites include parasitic nematodes, copepods, protozoa and helminthes. Many of these are treatable with chemicals and antibiotics. Vermicast Process Vermicast renews the soil and is used as a natural fertiliser. It is made by recylcling organic waste which is transformed into natural fertiliser by using earth worms. The process of how these worms are utilised will be explained below. The process uses a variety of left over products such as grass cuttings, compost, vegetable cuttings and manure from cattle, pigs and chickens. They will then be placed into the following systems: Wind Row System Food is placed on the right hand side of the row and kept moist. Vermicast is then scraped off the opposite side because the worms will gravitate towards the direction that you feed them on. Therefore you are able to remove the vermicast from the left and it wont contain any of the worms. Pond System Start at the bottom-15cm compost. Keep adding 15cm compost at a time till pond is full. Remove whole pond to wash. Wind Rows Undercover Food is placed on front and kept moist. Vermicast is scraped off the opposite side. Feed from the front, worms keep moving forward so what you remove from the back wont contain any of the worms. This is usually done in sheds and on a smaller scale. Once the earth worms have eaten all the food given then the following steps will be taken: 1) Washing the Worms (As seen in the middle picture)Vermicast containing the worms is put in a tank of water, it is stirred, the worms are separated by the circulating force of the water to the outside. Once everything is mixed up, the vermicast is suspended in the water and the worms disperse to the outside of the tank which are then caught on the racks. 2) Catching Worms (As seen in the bottom picture)

Indian Accounting Standards: Barriers and History

Indian Accounting Standards: Barriers and History Introduction In the year 2005, European Union made it mandatory for all the companies which were listed have to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) requirements when presenting their financial statements. This marked the beginning when International Accounting standard Board (ISAB) was professed as â€Å"legitimate’’. Ever since then IFRS has spread swiftly across the world. Initially there were few hindrances like by the end of year 2004 â€Å"full text of endorsed IFRS was not even available in several EU languages’’. This research examines the evolution and obstacles to convergence of Indian Accounting Standards to IFRS starting 1st April 2011 when all the listed companies in India, will be required to present their financial statements in accordance with IFRS regulations. This research also highlights the need for the country like India, to converge their Local GAAP to IFRS. American Writer Mark Twain once commented on  India and said  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the cradle of the human race ,the birthplace of human speech ,the mother of history ,the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of human speech of the tradition.’’ India is now seen as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The increase of number of Indian companies being listed at various stock exchanges may it be NASDAQ, NYSE or LSE, the takeovers of companies like Corus by TATA or the exponential increment of Foreign Direct Investment in the country does indicate that India is now the destination where everyone wants to be a part of it. The strong economic growth, technological advancements, inflows of foreign exchange and the ever-increasing interest of almost every nation to be a part of this growth embraces the requirement of a common language in financial statements. (Purvis, gernon, and Diamond [1991]). Various studies done by researchers have concluded that â€Å"principle based standards are better enforced than rule based† and this becomes one of the reasons why harmonisation is becoming more and more essential. As far as advantages and disadvantages in adhering a common accounting rule there are still concerns within a country leave apart the issue of international convergence (Ray Ball, 2006). Only time will tell whether this convergence really serve the purpose or it was just a decision made in haste to be a part of so called IFRS â€Å"brand names’’ countries. IFAC Compliance Programme IFAC was founded in 1977 with New York as its Headquarters. Its initial purpose was â€Å"the development and enhancement of a coordinated worldwide accounting profession with harmonised standards†(brennan,1979). Presently it is â€Å"a global organisation for the accountancy profession† and as at 10th August 2009 IFAC has 158 members from 122 countries representing 2.5 million accountants. â€Å"Its formal mission is stated as being â€Å"To serve the public interest,IFAC will continue to strengthen the worldwide accountancy profession and contribute to the development of strong international economies by establishing and promoting adherence to high quality professional standards ,furthering the international convergence of such standards and speaking out on public interest issues where the profession’s expertise is most relevant. To carry out this mission ,we work closely with our member bodies and regional accountancy organisations and obtain the input of regulators, standard-setters, governments and others who share our commitment to creating a sound global financial architecture†(IFAC,2006). IFAC does not set International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) are not set by IFAC rather these are set by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) . The IFAC Board formed â€Å"the Member Body Compliance Program† to ensure that all the members adhere to the standards set by IFAC for its membership. The primary objective of which was to encourage members and strive for improvement in this area of compliance. The IFAC Compliance program is overseen by the Compliance Advisory Panel. The primary objective of Compliance Advisory panel is to make sure that the IFAC compliance program is properly implemented as well as properly operated by the staff members of IFAC. Statements of Membership Obligations The IFAC Board through its Statement of Membership Obligations (SMOs) issue guidelines for the members to assist in implementation of â€Å"International standards† which are issued by IFAC and International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). The motto of SMOs is to provide pre-requisites for â€Å"quality assurance† and to investigate any disciplinary actions against any members. All the IFAC members also have to participate in a program which is in three parts. The main purpose of this programme is that it â€Å"seeks to understand whether and how the SMO requirements are being fulfilled†.  The information from this program helps the compliance committee to evaluate whether the members have prudently adhered to all the SMO requirements. These responses by the Members are taken on a periodical basis. Any changes in â€Å"legal and regulatory environment† or any other development made by any member is to be informed to this committee. This information is also updated in a questionnaire which is available online, by all  the members and if there are any changes  than the members are supposed to inform  the compliance committee which publishes these updated responses on IFAC website. Part 1 of this questionnaire is â€Å"Assessment of the Regulatory and Standard-Setting Framework†.  This Questionnaire provides information  from its members about their â€Å"regulatory and standard-setting framework in their jurisdiction†. Part 2 is â€Å"SMO Self Assessment† which requires members to fill  up a â€Å"self assessment questionnaire† which indicates how the members have incorporated or  implemented  international standards which are issued by IFAC and the IASB. This questionnaire also helps the committee to know whether all the members have adhered to professional standards set by the governing bodies. Part 3, of the questionnaire is about â€Å"Action Plans†. This questionnaire requires that members to â€Å"to develop action plans, including identifying tools, resources, and regulatory changes to address areas identified through the Part 2 self-assessment†. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 questionnaires are accessible to public at large. Literature Review â€Å"Harmonization, standardization, and uniformity are all terms used in the literature and in previous research† (Iordanis N.Floropulos, 2006). According to Van der  Tas (1988): â€Å"Materially measurable harmonization is an increase in the degree of comparability and means that more companies in the same circumstances are applying the same accounting method to an event or giving additional information in such a way that the financial reports of more companies can be made comparable.’’ Harmonisation can be understood as a procedure by which the gap between different accounting practices are reduced (Doupnik,1987). Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of International Accounting Standards Board said â€Å" If they all use the same methods and the accounting for one transaction is the same in Sydney, as in Seattle, as in Strasburg, and in Sheffield , then they will know where they are, and there is a demand for that type of certainty.†(FEI 2001). Mark T.Bradshaw and Gregory S.Miller(2007) also reiterated the same and argued that the evidences are in favour of a single set of Accounting Standards which will â€Å"increase the comparability of accounting information across the countries that differ economically, politically ,and culturally†. Emphasising the need for a â€Å"common set of accounting standards† IASB, laid three broad objectives: a)  Improvement : Improvement in existing standards, b)  Convergence : Reducing the gap between different accounting standards followed in different geographical regions, c)  Leadership : Addressing issues not resolved and developing new standards( Geoffrey Whittington,2005) â€Å"The principles behind the adoption of International Accounting Standards by different countries have always been the subject of controversy in accounting literature† (D.Zeghal, K.Mhedhbi, 2006).India’s decision to converge to IFRS is perceived by many researchers as premature decision. Although harmonisation of accounting standards not only enhances the quality of financial reporting, increases the comparability of financial statements but without considering of â€Å"country specific environment factors† the logic/reasons for such convergence will be forfeited. Talaga and Ndubizu (1986) insisted â€Å"that a country’s accounting principles must be adapted to its local environmental conditions†. In fact, Perera(1989a) went much ahead and stated that â€Å"the accounting information produced according to developed countries is not relevant to the decision models of less developed countries†. Case studies by different researchers with respect to developing countries have not reached any consensus whether the convergence or so called â€Å"follow the Bandwagon approach† for IFRS’s will have or is having any positive effect on economic growth. It is yet to be seen that whether India will adopt IFRS or will converge its accounting standards to IFRS. Larson (1993) studied the economic growth effect of African countries with and without these standards. His results show a positive correlation in economic growth rate with adoption of IFRS’s when adapted with â€Å"country’s local condition†. But Woolley (1998) researched the effect of such convergence or adoption of IFRS’s in Asian countries and he concluded that there are â€Å"no significant differences in the economic growth rates†. This again emphasises the fact that researchers have distinct opinion on whether IFRS adoption results in better economic growth or does not have any significant role. Researchers like Wolk, Francis ,and Tearney (1989) argued that ,harmonisation of accounting standards is â€Å"beneficial for developing countries because it provides them with better-prepared standards as well the best quality accounting framework and principles†. Chamisa (2000) studied the â€Å"usefulness of IAS’’ for developing countries. In his case study of Zimbabwe, he argued that these standards do have a positive impact on the emerging financial markets in the developing countries. â€Å"Economic conditions are a major determinant in the development of a country’s accounting system† D Zeghal, K Mhedhbi (2006). No doubt with the present economic growth in India  which is presuming better than in any other developing nation, IFRS will definitely boost this growth. India, by adopting IFRS gives a platform for itself where the financials can be compared easily with the peers across the globe.  According to Alhashim and Arpan (1992), who argued that â€Å"environmental forces influencing accounting are economic forces, social forces, the legal system, culture, and the political system†.   Though the legal structure or political system or culture might have an impact of financial reporting but there are other factors which have greater impact than these. One of these can be the education standards of the professionals in a country. As IFRS are more principle based so lots of prudence will be required from the professionals .  Cooke and Wallace (1990) added to these and argued that factors such as Size of business, education level, history of country, level of wealth, their development of financial markets may have influence on accounting standards. Accounting standards are governed by economics and politics( Watts,1977 ; Watts and Zimmerman,1986) so convergence has more or less enhanced integration of markets and politics across the borders (Ball,1995). D Zeghal, K Mhedhbi (2006) gave five hypotheses on the basis of these environmental forces. In his first Hypothesis he argues that if the country economic growth increases then the chances of adoption of the International Accounting Standards increases. This hypothesis correlates with the present status of a country like India which is exponentially growing. To maintain this growth rate it needs to be in line with global standards which will increase it â€Å"legitimacy†. As a result of which the foreign investments will increase. In the second hypothesis he argues that the probability of adoption of IFRS increases with the increase in education level. This simply means that there is a positive relationship between educational level and the competence of the professional accountants. This hypothesis indicates that â€Å"in countries where the educational level is low and expertise is weak, there is a real barrier to the adoption of IAS†.  This infers that if a country wants to adopt IFRS then it needs to strengthen its educational level. This raises few concerns if test this hypothesis with the current situation in India where there is scarcity of experts who have good knowledge of IFRS. In his third Hypothesis which states that if a developing country has â€Å"high degree of external economic openness it will be more inclined to adopt IAS†. India being one of the fastest growing nations with increasing foreign investments is an ideal case for adoption of IFRS’s as per this hypothesis. Sir David Tweedier, IASB Chairman restating uniformity of accounting standards argued â€Å"As the world’s capital markets integrate, the logic of a single set of accounting standard is evident. A single set of international standards will enhance comparability of financial information and should make the allocation of capital across the borders more efficient. The development and acceptance of international standards should also reduce compliance costs for corporations and improve consistency in audit quality.† Abdelsalam and Weetman (2003) argued that a factor like â€Å"familiarity and language† seems to favour countries which are Anglo-American because of obvious reasons. One being Anglo-American predominantly had a greater influence in the formulation and development of IASB and the other being, English being language of communication. Chamisa (2000) found that he anticipates that the developing countries which have â€Å"Anglo-American culture† will find it easier to adopt IFRS. This becomes the Fourth Hypothesis. In his Fifth and final hypothesis D Zeghal and and K Mhedbi states that developing countries which have capital markets are most likely to adopt/converge to IFRS. This hypothesis emphasises the need and why India as a country should adopt IFRS. With the present scenario where all capital markets are hitting new lows, Indian markets are performing far better than any other markets across the globe. But one should always In a recent report by world bank, it has been reported that Asian countries are recovering from the present financial crises.  Research done by Adhikari and Tondkar (1992) showed the similar results, that adoption of a â€Å"particular accounting system† is effected by the existence of capital market. Adhikari Tondkar (1992) specifically argued that â€Å"country’s level of economic growth has a positive effect on the development of accounting system and practices†. L.L.Rodrigues, R.Craig(2007) in their research by using â€Å"Hegelian dialectic concept of thesis, antithesis and synthesis† gave  innovative approaches for convergence of  local accounting standards with IFRS’s. They went on to and argued that â€Å"in modern society, the global harmonization of accounting standards might be regarded as uncontroversial, unremarkable, and inevitable†. Hegel in his â€Å"theory of dialectic† laid a concept which states that â€Å"contradiction is regarded as the root of all change† (hegal, 1969). He argued that change is inevitable and brings in a new structure or a concept( a thesis) which always have contradictions, which is always opposite to what stated (antithesis) but which brings in something new which is in-between both the concepts(synthesis). Referring to this concept L.L.Rodrigues, R.Craig argued that A thesis to be a â€Å"support for globalization of accounting† and Antithesis can be said to be â€Å"conflict area† that means opposing globalization of accounting. As a consequence of thesis and antithesis another view is generated this is referred as synthesis. They outlined few proposals which arose due to thesis and antithesis.  In one of the proposals they argued that all the companies should follow their national accounting standards and prepare their financial statements accordingly. At the same time these companies should also enclose few annexure in the form of reconciliation with the International accounting standards (hoarau, 1995). In their second proposal they argued that countries should â€Å"seek regional harmonization of accounting standards† (European Union or ASEAN countries). Analysing the â€Å"regional paradigm† of harmonisation of accounting standards, Saudagaran and Diga (1997, p.2,16-7) claims that in 1997 European Union supported the idea of regional harmonisation and also in the year 1992-1993 AFA â€Å"pursued regional  harmonization as a policy objective†. Referring to The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) which is an â€Å"an Islamic international autonomous non-for-profit corporate body that prepares accounting, auditing,  governance, ethics and  shari’a standards for Islamic financial institutions and the industry†. These standards â€Å"are either mandatory or used as guidelines by the regulators in.the kingdom of Bahrain, Dubai International financial centre ,Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Sudan and Syria (http://www.aaoifi.com/overview.html). These arguments are in favour of â€Å"dual standards†. Also many countries have adopted IFRS but not for all companies rather they have two tier system. One for big corporate houses and the other for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). Because it is the cost factor which is bothering these smaller entities. But this view is not supported by the big international accounting firms, who caution that â€Å"a two standard system, where some companies continue to use national GAAP ,may be difficult to maintain in the long run.[and] governments and national setters [should] develop formal convergence plans to eliminate these dual standards†(Larson and Street ,2004,p.113). L.L. Rodrigues and R.Craig also argued that companies might think full adoption of IFRS but practically it will more like to have â€Å"ostensible compliance† that is â€Å"in the form of window dressing to appease capital markets or other users of financial information†. Chand (2005) throws a caution on Developing countries who are tempted to be a part of so called IFRS compliance members without evaluation the â€Å"cost and benefit involved in implementing IFRS†. He also emphasises the need to â€Å"improve the level of professional expertise in IFRS† before adoption or convergence to IFRS. Similar caution was advised by Shyam Sunder (2009) in his commentary â€Å"IFRS and the Accounting Consensus† stating â€Å"Get aboard if you do not wish to be left behind on the platform† cannot be a reason to converge or adopt IFRS. He argues that the standards should be developed not just as rules but rather it should be restricted to principles. Secondly a single set of accounting standards should be applied to companies especially those which are traded as it helps investors/stakeholders to compare them with their peers across the globe. Further he argues that there should be a body which must be consisting of professionals and experts which can act as a regulatory just as Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) does in United States. He emphasis the need of educating professional to a level that they can interpret IFRS’s in a prudent manner. Financial Accounting Standard No. 157 (FASB 2006) which states that the companies can value their assets in any one of the three methods given in this standard. These methods are mark-to-market or mark-to-model or mark-to-judgement. The last method gives liberty to companies to value â€Å"as they deem fit†. Warren Buffet called this as â€Å"mark-to-myth†. Clarifications on such concept of â€Å"fair† valuation are needed as it gives an opportunity for accountants to mislead the users of the financial statements. He argues that the standard setters should minimize this â€Å"need for judgement† by properly responding to the queries/objections/sug gestions raised by the professionals on these standards. Shyam Sunder (2009) also stated a practical reason as far implementation of IFRS’s goes. He states any professional anywhere across the globe â€Å"who has been drilled to memorize the specifies† of their own national accounting standards will find it quite difficult to now thoroughly understand and cope up with the clauses of IFRS’s. Also there is only one language in these internationally acceptable accounting languages and that is English only. So those nations like China, Japan or say Italian or German would not find exact version of these standards. And we are talking about a common language of Financial Reporting. One of the past presidents of The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) states â€Å"people who invest overseas naturally want to be able to keep track of the financial health of the securities issuers. Convergence of accounting standards is the only means to achieve this. Only talking the same language one can understand each other across borders†. N.C.Shil (2009) argues that though harmonisation will give an effect in the form of â€Å"global community as a single entity†. But there are major concerns when it comes to adoption of IFRS’s in United States where US GAAP is still functional. And it is yet to be seen as how far they will converge or they will just adopt. Secondly, different countries have â€Å"different legal, economic, social and cultural environments† and it is very essential to analyse these differences as they just cannot be written off just to make sure that we are in line with internationally acceptable reporting standards. Thirdly, they emphasised the need of implementation not just adoption. It is quite a tedious task to implement without adequate  regulatory authority. IFRS’s are principle based standards so again load of prudence will be required by the professionals who were implementing rules based accounting standards till date. Another issue which is inevitable is the scarcity of skilled manpower in developing countries. China has reported a â€Å"shortfall of 300,000 qualified accountants and is likely to require a further three million† in times to come (N.C.Shil, 2009). More or less the same is the condition if we talk about India. At present with the current state of affairs â€Å"The ROC Mumbai has over 150,000 registered companies out of which approximately 50 percent file their documents. Over 5,000 new companies are registered every year.ROC Mumbai has 4 staff who are employed to scrutinize these fillings, none of them of whom are Chartered Accountant or Company Secretaries’’.  Analyse the situation of now if India without a proper infrastructure (skilled manpower) adopt or converge to IFRS.   The concern at this hour is whether the adoption is â€Å"merely as a label† or there is a serious commitment to it. If the IFRS’s are adopted with such an  intension then this will lead to increase in  transparency , substantially  decrease â€Å"information asymmetry, uncertainty and estimation risk†, and as a will result in  Ã¢â‚¬Å"lower cost of capital and higher market liquidity†(Leuz and Verrecchia, 2000; Lambert et al., 2007a). This hypothesis was analysed by H.Daske,L.Hail,C.Leuz and R.Verdi (2007) who examined IFRS adoption by 24 countries between 1988 to 2004  and concluded that these the firms show a substantial decrease in cost of capital and exhibit â€Å"higher market liquidity† after converting themselves from their Local GAAP to IFRS.  The problem faced even by European countries was the lack of clarity at the time of first-time adoption of IFRS. This issue still persists and there are still no clarifications on â€Å"tra nsactions of specific nature such as pension and other post-retirement benefits† (R.K.Larson, D.L.Street 2004). â€Å"The focus tends to be on what the rules say, not on how they are implemented in practice’’  (Ray Ball, 2006). In practice this has been a major concern even in Europe where implementation is still a major concern. Developing countries like India need to understand that mere restructuring or reorganisation of the standard setting body would not resolve this crisis. But including Government agencies on their board will overcome this tedious task of implementation (Peter Carlson,1997). â€Å"The harmonisation of such standards is regarded to be neither practical nor truly valuable† (Goeltz, 1991, p.85) possibly because â€Å"investors may have developed adequate coping mechanism so that their financial decisions are not impeded†(Choi and Levich,1991,p.2) Because different users require different information it is difficult to satisfy their financial reporting needs with the constraints of a set of inter national accounting standards. A survey of 112 companies in India ,by Ernst Yong showed 67% of them welcomed the decision of convergence to IFRS. But majority of them were susceptible with the deadline set by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the reasons stated were quite obvious. One being the cost, whether it up gradation of IT software or cost of skilled manpower. The other reason was the jugglery in the statutory laws. The Tax laws, Companies Act 1956  and all other statutory laws are yet to be modified and in a manner that they are in line with the IFRS regulations. Taking a clue from the nations who have already transited to IFRS India as a country needs to analyse the cost benefit ratio before implementing these IFRS regulations. â€Å"UK companies recorded an average of  £ 625,000 for IFRS conversion training in 2005†. Also Securities Exchange commission has reported that â€Å"average US corporation will spend nearly $ 32 million in IFRS adoption cost†. Also there is a mixed feeling of whether India will follow full IFRS regulations or will opt for â€Å"modified country specific version† like in European Union ,Singapore, Japan or Australia. Ray Ball(2006) on â€Å"International Financial reporting Standards: Pros and Cons† argued that without any doubts the â€Å"high quality† standards have now been  adopted by more than 100 countries is in itself commendable. On the other side he predicts the problems with the â€Å"fascination† of IASB and FASB with â€Å"fair value accounting†. When market prices are available, for any assets, then the opportunity of manipulation by managers decreases. However there is a flaw that the managers can still manipulate by using â€Å"mark-to-model† accounting. This particular clause in IFRS increases gives an opening to managers to fabricate the valuations as per their discretion. However , IASB and FASB are determined to go move ahead with â€Å"fair value accounting† and FASB member L.Todd Johnson commented â€Å"The Board has required greater use of fair value measurements in financial statements because it perceives that information as more relevant to investors and creditors than historical cost information. Such a measures better facilitate assessing their past performance and future prospects. In that regard, the Board does not accept the view that reliability should outweigh relevance for financial statement measures† Ball, Robin and Wu(2003) investigated â€Å"the relationship between accounting standards and the structure of other institutions on the attributes of financial reporting system†. The study was based on four Asian countries namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. They argued that these countries have a greater influence towards International Accounting Standards which as a result should produce high quality financial reporting. But the â€Å"institutional structures that provide incentives to issue low quality reports† (Robert W. Holthausen, 2003). Hence Ball, Robin and Wu predicted that outcome of such structure will have a negative impact of financial reporting. Researchers are also of the view that the manner in which the European Union is formed, in the same manner Asian Countries can come together and come to a common consensus which allows â€Å"free mobility of capital, Labour and enterprises across the national borders of its member countries†.( Peter Carlson, 1997). Inida History and Overview India is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic country. It has a Government or rather â€Å"Parliamentary system of Government†. The President is the constitutional head .In the states it is the Governor who acts as a representative of the president. There are 28 states and 7 Union territories. Each and every part of the country has a different and unique â€Å"demography, history and culture, dress, festivals, languages etc†. India is â€Å"seventh-largest country by its geographical area, second most populous country and the most populous democracy in the world†. In India, responsibility of maintaining high standards in accounting, auditing and ethical standards are bestowed on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The Institute was established in 1949 under an act of Parliament. The headquarters of this accounting body is in New Delhi. The Institute also has five regional offices situated in Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata, and New Delhi, along with these regional offices the Institute has 117 branches across the country. The Institute has also 19 chapters outside India and an office in Dubai. Presently the Institute has enrolled 350,000 students and 140,000 members. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is presently the Second largest accounting Body in the world. The Institute has maintained high standards of applicability of Accounting and Ethical standards in India. Except the recent saga of Satyam Computers no major incidence of this stature had ever been reported from India. Applicability of IFRS in India Under the new system the following companies or entities will have to comply with the IFRS requirements: a)  Companies which are listed in any of the recognised stock exchanges. b)  Banks, Insurance companies and Financial Institutions c)  Companies which in the preceding year had a turnover or more than Rs 1 billion. d)  Companies which in the preceding year had borrowings in excess of Rs 250 million. e)  Holding or subsidiary of any of the above companies At present IFRS is not applicable to SME’s. Differences between the prsent regime under local GAAP and IFRS There are issues which really putting doubts in the mind of professionals or the users of financial statement which needs immediate attention. Following are few of them: 1)  As per the companies act 1956, there are specified rates for depreciation to be charged to assets by every company. The clause states that every company must charge a minimum rate of depreciation to each and every asset held. IFRS does not recognise this concept of â€Å"minimum depreciation†. 2)  In India, every amalgamation must be approved by the High Court. There is no such obligation in IFRS regulation. 3)  Clause 41 of the listing agreement clearly states that there should be a separate presentation of  extraordinary items in the financial reporting of the listed companies whereas IFRS prohibits such presentation of extra-ordinary items. 4)  IFRS conversion will have a direct impact on the reporting of Indian Banks. The transition to IFRS will affect reported net-worth, capital adequacy and available capital for all Indian Banks.  Report on â€Å"IFRS convergence: Challenges and Implementation Approaches for Banks in India† argues that there will be a â€Å"significant impact† on the Banking industry in India particularly in the reporting of Financial Instruments, Derivatives and provisions to be made in case of loss on loans and advances. The† Financial parameters† such as Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and â€Å"valuation metrics† on the basis of which the analysis is done, predictions on future aspects of the company are made will change drastically once IFRS is implemented.

Baptism :: essays research papers

Naimoi, a good friend of mine, who lives in Bermuda did not consider baptism to be merely an option . She attended a seventh-day institution were they believe that by baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in the newness of life. For more than a year she had eagerly studied the Bible, and longed to become a Christian. One evening she shared with her family the new information that she had learned, and they were glad for her. The time came for Naimoi to be baptized in the gravery waters. Peace filled her heart as she was baptized. The English word baptize comes from the Greek verb bapizo, which implies immersion, since it is derived from the verb bapto, meaning "to dip in or under." Baptism is simply a symbol of Christ's death and resurrection. If this was not so, baptism would have had no significance as a symbol of Christ's passion "if the apostolic church had practiced a mode of baptism other than immersion." Therefore "the strongest argument for baptism by immersion is a theological one. Baptism is virtually linked to salvation. Christ taught that "he who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). Even though baptism is linked to salvation it does not guarantee salvation. It brings about a newness of life, forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. I can remember my baptism like it was yesterday. I was all excited, filled with joy and happiness. After coming from under the water, I felt like a new person. I didn't feel isolated anymore, because I became part of Christ's church. Even though I was baptized didn't mean that I had reached my highest peak attainable to being a Christian. As we grow spiritually, we acquire Christian graces to be used in serving others on God's plan of multiplication: "grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Peter 1:2) We see that baptism incorporates new believers into the church with the context of "being born again." Therefore, the question is often asked if infants or children be baptized? Incorporation takes place at the "new birth," not at "infant birth." This is why believers wee baptized - "both men and woman"(Acts 8:12) "Nowhere in the New Testament," Karl Barth

Climate of Egypt Essay -- Cairo Egypt Africa Environment Essays Papers

Climate of Egypt Cairo, Egypt, located in Northern Africa between Libya and the Gaza Strip, is on the eastern bank of the Nile River. Egypt, which is comprised of 97% desert, experiences mild winters and hot summers, with an average temperature of 71.1 degrees Fahrenheit (21.7 degrees Celsius), and receives only 1inch of rainfall a year. With only 5% of the land occupied, Egypt has a population of approximately 69,536,644 inhabitants. Cairo, the largest city in Africa, as well as the capital of Egypt, is home to over 15 million people. Its overpopulation has led to many changes within the country which have had a great effect on the society and environment of Egypt. The desert climate region has experienced many changes throughout history, and there is a drying trend in the climate. Because the Egyptians were among the first to record data, Cairo has a well documented history of its society, and in particular, of the Nile River. Historically, Nile River played a large role in Egypt. The Nile has served, both historically and still at the present time, as a method of transportation and has dictated the agriculture and water supply. However, with global warming, the drying trend of the climate, and a boom of industrialization, the nature of the Nile and the Nile Valley has changed dramatically. Using Chad as an example, Lamb notes the drying changes in the Sahara Desert, and the evidence of there once being a population of animals: This assemblage of artistic evidence clearly implies that there were enough moist places in the Sahara in those times to sustain life, so that animals and men could roam about, and cross, what is now the world’s largest desert. This conclusion is supported by evidence of the dated forme... ...a history of environmental legislation, the past few years has brought a wave of new policies. In 1994, Law 4, for the preservation of the environment, was passed. Most importantly, from Law 4 two new programs dedicated to improving Egyptian environment were created: the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) works to institute plans for environmental management and regulate environmental standards; and the Environmental Protection Fund, which grants funs to solve solid waste management issues. The greatest environmental concerns facing Egypt today are air pollution, carbon emissions, energy consumption, and the preservation of the coastal regions. In order to combat these problems, Egypt is working, in conjunction with legislation, to educate its inhabitants on the environmental concerns, and the individuals’ responsibility to preserving natural resources.

What is Golf?

Of all the games ever invented by man, golf, in my opinion, is by far the greatest. Golf is different than other games. Golf challenges the mind, body, and soul. Golf is not a game that is meant to be played against other people or even against the course. It is a game that challenges the individual. It forces a person to make decisions that can lead to a feeling of great accomplishment or to a feeling of hopelessness and despair. To the average person golf may be just a game, but to millions of golfers worldwide, it is more than just a game, it is a way of life. It is something that is lived and breathed, it is royal and ancient, and it is the greatest game ever invented. Golf as we know it today originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife during the 15th century. Players would hit a pebble around a natural course of sand dunes, rabbit runs and tracks using a stick or primitive club. Golf is the greatest game ever played because of its history, difficulty, and views. Golf as we know it today originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland. Golf is one of oldest sports that we play here in America. The history of golf impacts how we play it today greatly. Golf is a game of integrity, honesty, and tradition. It is the only sport where you have to give yourself a penalty, even if no one saw it. we do this because golf is a game of gentleman and we are upholding the integrity of the game. Today's golf courses consist of 18 holes or a front nine and a back nine. However, prior to 1764 this was not the case. The Old Course at St. Andrews is the oldest known, and most likely the first course ever constructed. It consisted of 12 holes, 11 of which were played. The course started at the center of St. Andrews and followed the lay of the land out to the town of River Eden. After reaching the 11th hole, the players would turn around and play 11 holes back using the same greens and holes. Thus, a full round consisted of 22 holes and only 11 greens. In 1764, the Royal and Ancient rules committee cut four holes out of the course whic h reduced the amount of holes on a course to today's common 18. As more courses were built, course architects began to construct 18 separate greens to add both character and safety to the courses. A common joke is that the reason we have 18 holes is because there is 18 shots of whiskey in a bottle. Golf’s history is one reason why this game is so great, because we still try to play the game the same way our ancestors did. You would think since golf is so difficult that less people would play it. Well the reason people do play golf is because they want the challenge. A beginning golfer can go to the range and hit 300 hundred terrible golf shots and hate the game. As soon as he hits that one perfect shot he gets hooked again, because there is nothing better than seeing that golf ball soar through the air. Golf is the only game that an average person can do the same thing that a tour pro can do. In what other game, in what other walk of life, can you perform something that in that moment is as good as it can be? The average person cannot go to a major league ballpark and hit a grand slam to win a game, but when the average person makes a hole in one, it is a shot that no one, not Phil Mickelson and not Jack Nicklaus in his prime, could have done better at that moment in that place. The chance of, and quest for, perfection is what keeps golfers coming back. What makes this game so difficult is because we do it once and believe that we should be able to do it every time. This is what separates the average person from a tour pro. I have hit shots that tiger woods would be satisfied with, the only difference is that he does it much more often than I do. Golf is the most difficult game in the world but that is what makes it so satisfying and fun. Golf has some of the most amazing views in the world. Some baseball stadiums have good views of city skyscrapers. The rare college football stadium will glimpse a beautiful campus. Our indoor arenas increasingly all look alike and now they are louder than an airport runway. If you fish, hike, surf or ski, maybe you have an argument on this subject, but compared with all the mainstream sports, golf has no equal in terms of the setting. There are hundreds of golf courses that jut into the ocean, hundreds more that wind through forests, hundreds more with majestic mountain views and hundreds more that flow through parkland valleys. Stand on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach, a few feet from the Pacific Ocean with the spray from the waves landing softly on your shoulders, and you will never again wax poetic about the Citgo sign behind the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Ask any golf architect that a golf course isn’t just a golf course it’s a canvas where some of the greatest pictures have ever been painted. Golf isn’t just another game to a golfer, it is a way of life. There is no other sport that can frustrate you so much one shot but then you can be the happiest person in the world the next. There are many things that make golf great, but its history, difficulty, and the views you see are what make the game the greatest ever. No other sport compares and it’s a shame that many people wont give this great game a try because they think it’s an old man sport. They are missing out on one of the greatest experiences of their life.

Computer Task Group, Inc vs Brotby Essay

In 1995 William Brotby was hired by Computer Task Group, Inc. (CTG) as an information technologies consultant. Upon hiring, Brotby had to sign an agreement stating that he would be restricted to work for any CTG customers if he left the company. No more than two years later, Brotby left CTG and began to work for one of CTG’s customers known as Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. CTG, plaintiff, filed a suit against Brotby, defendant, in a federal district court alleging breach of contract. During the production of discovery, Brotby refused to fully respond to CTG’s interrogatories, never gave truthful answers, filed unwarranted motions, made flimsy objections, and never disclosed all of the information that CTG sought. Brotby was fined twice by the court and was issued five separate orders ordering him to cooperate. Because of Brothby’s continuous refusal to cooperate, CTG eventually filed a motion to enter default judgment against him in 1999. The court granted the motion; however, Brotby appealed to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Is continuous refusal of the defendant to produce discovery enough to warrant a default judgment by a federal district court? The federal district court granted CTG’s motion to enter a default judgment. The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the lower court. Therefore, the appellate court held that â€Å"in light of Brotby’s horrible record of discovery abuses† and his â€Å"abiding contempt and continuing disregard for the court’s orders,† the lower court properly exercised its discretion in entering a default judgment against the defendant. The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 allows the district court to enter a default judgment against a party who fails to comply with an order demanding discovery. In addition, the district court must weigh five factors in order to appropriately decide if a sanction of default for noncompliance with discovery is grounds for dismissal. These five factors are: â€Å"(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its ocket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the opposing party; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. † When a court order is violated, the first and second factors will favor sanctions whereas the fourth will challenge the order. With regards to the first factor, Brotby’s actions were deliberate; he intended his actions to be as they were. Moreover, in determining whether abolishing sanctions are appropriate in Brotby’s case is reliant on the third and fifth factors. Brotby violated court orders by failing to produce sufficient and factual documents, and by failing to pay one of the fines. These deceitful tactics delayed the litigation process while burdening the court, and prejudiced CTG. Brotby failed to produce documents ordered by the court, and most of what he did submit came after discovery. The withholding of important information and the time delay is sufficient prejudice towards CTG. There are three factors considered in deciding whether the district court adequately considered lesser sanctions: â€Å"(1) explicitly discussed the alternative of lesser sanctions and explained why it would be inappropriate; (2) implemented lesser sanctions before ordering the case dismissed; and (3) warned the offending party of the possibility of dismissal. † The district court judge appropriately considered the alternative of lesser sanctions by ordering Brotby to comply with CTG’s discovery request five times and imposing two lesser sanctions against him. However, Brotby never responded and therefore it is appropriate to discard lesser sanctions if the court anticipates continuous false misconduct. Brotby also had continuous awareness that his unwillingness to cooperate would eventually result in a default judgment against him; the judge warned him to â€Å"stop playing games† if he wanted to stay in the game. Therefore, the two monetary sanctions, five orders ordering him to cooperate, and repeated warnings proved enough notice that Brotby’s continued failure to comply would result in default.

Factors Affect Supply and Demand of Acuvue Essay

This report’s focus is on analyzing the factors that affect the supply and demand of the products. There are several variables that can affect the supply and demand of a product, including consumers’ income, prices of substitute products, costs of inputs and so on. The product discussed for this report is Acuvue, I will analysis how the factors affect the supply and demand of Acuvue. Acuvue is Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care Product. It is one of the most popular eye contact lenses products for nearsighted correction and eye color alteration. Acuvue has a serial of products that depend on different replacement schedule, such as daily disposable, two weeks disposable, colors and so on. All ranges of the lenses of Johnson & Johnson’s are regarded as comfortable, convenient and good eye health product. (Johnson & Johnson, 2008 )1 In 2007, as a leader and pioneer of eye contact lens producer, there was a sales increase by 17. 6% prior to 2006. The annual expense for normal glasses is $200 dollars but the Acuvue daily disposable is about $480. Take China for example, the GDP of 2007 increased 11. 4% (Wiki, 2008)1, people earned more than before. When people’s income increased, those who could not afford to buy the Acuvue in the past can had enough money to afford it. Moreover, as income increased, people tend to replace their contact lenses much more frequently than before, and the demand of Acuvue increased accordingly. Also, nearsighted people may have much higher requirement for their life quality; so, for those who are tired of wearing glasses or who seek convenience by wearing eye contacts may try to change to use eye contact lenses, therefore, demand for the eye contact lenses will increase. Consumer Preferences Consumer preference is a significant factor which affects the demand of the Acuvue. People have different preference for lenses for nearsightedness correction, such as replacement schedule, material (hard/ soft), and safety. Some people prefer Acuvue Daily for its convenience, and it has no daily maintenance like other types of contact; the user can just throw it away after one day. (Bausch & Lomb, 2008) For some people, they prefer soft contact lenses to hard lenses. In addition, many people care about the safety of eye contact lenses, and daily contact lenses are regarded as the safest and healthiest way, so those people may choose the Acuvue Daily, and thus, the demand of the Acuvue increases. On the contrary, people who are afraid of getting keratitis (wiki, 2008)2 by wearing contacts will buy the glass, and then the demand of the Acuvue will decrease. Moreover, if the nearsightedness’ preference is more favorable to Acuvue, which probably means they have more loyalty to the products, so the existing consumers will seldom change to alternatives and more and more people will buy Acuvue. Price of Substitutes The Substitutes of Acuvue eye contact lenses are glasses and surgery. As compared before, wearing glasses is a more economical way to correct nearsightedness, and there will be lower risk of being involved in keratitis(wiki,2008)2 or other eye problems. Moreover, in the recent years, correcting nearsightedness by taking an eye operation became more popular in many countries. The costs for the surgery are high, and the average for getting the LASIK nearsightedness correction surgery is $2105 in 2008. (All about Vision, 2008) If the price of the surgery decreases, there will be more people choosing eye surgery instead of wearing inconvenient glasses or eye contact lenses; so, there will be less demand of Acuvue. Price of Complementary Goods If the complementary goods of Acuvue increase, the price of the Acuvue will increase accordingly. Complementary goods for Acuvue are the solution of the eye contact lenses or drops for eyes. For the past two years, with the rapid economic growth in China, people have more money to purchase eye contact lens, but if the average prices of the solutions increased dramatically, people who could afford to buy the lenses felt burdened to buy the solution. Advertising Promotion Advertising is a way of communication, Johnson & Johnson get more advertising is to try to persuade potential customers and consumer to purchase more Acuvue(wiki, 2008)3. Johnson & Johnson has released a series of advisements and promotions for Acuvue. They provide free trial pairs of eye contact lens for the potential consumers who can just fill a Free Trial Pair Certificate (Vision Care Inc. , 2008) from the Acuvue official website. In addition, when the â€Å"Acuvue 2 colours† entered the mainland China market, they chose an unknown model to perform the advertisement first, and the sales for the Acuvue 2 was unfavourable. However, then the Johnson & Johnson invite Chinese pop singer Angela Zhang for promotion on TV, then, this product became familiar with lots of youth in China, and more and more people known about the Acuvue and bought it. Consumer Expectations Johnson & Johnson is a well known and trusted company by millions of consumers all around the world. It pays much attention to the safety of their products. So consumers are confident with the Acuvue and more and more people buy it. When the AMO Complete Moisture Plus Muti-Purpose Solution (Anapol Schwartz, 2008) was recalled in May, 2007, people were concerned about the eye safety. From that time, people tented to buy less and use less eye contact lens in order to avoid infection. Number of Buyers If there are more and more potential consumers of Acuvue, demand for Acuvue will increase. For recent years, more and more people in the world have access the computer, and they use computers much more frequently and longer than the past. People are more prone to get nearsightedness. From Johnson & Johnson’s research, there are about 3 million new eye contact wearers in the US every year (Vision Care Inc. )2, so the number of potential buyers is increasing for consuming eye contact lenses year by year. In addition, with the development of technology, the material of contact lenses is getting better and safer, so more people will be confident with the eye-contact lenses so more potential buyers will buy the Acuvue, then the demand for buyers will increase. But if there is new technology that can take place of eye contacts lenses, the nearsighted may give up wearing contacts, so the number of potential buyers decrease which indicates the demand of Acuvue will decrease. Variables of Supply Costs of Inputs The world economy was very unstable since last year, and the price of raw materials kept on rising. Fortunately, there is no news about the raw material price fluctuation for eye contact lenses. If the price of storing contact lenses increases, the Acuvue’s producer Johnson & Johnson must find ways to control the production costs. The company may choose to reduce the production volume of the product and wait for producing that good when the price goes down, therefore the supply of Acuvue will decrease. However when the materials for making the eye contact lenses decreases, Johnson & Johnson will have more capacity to produce more eye contact lenses to increase its supply. Number of competitors The more competitors there are, the less the supply. Due to the property of the vision care industry, the requirement for entering this business field is fairly high. For the current market, there are four main producers and other several smaller producers which produce eye contact lenses. Johnson & Johnson is the largest eye contact lens producer in the world, making sales of $2. billion around the world (Johnson & Johnson, 2008) 3. In China, eye contact lens manufactures are increasing in the market, competition became fierce, raw material for making the contact lenses increased, and the market share became dilute, so although sales of Acuvue increase in China very year, the growth is not as large as expected. New Technology As we know Johnson & Johnson Vision Care first introduced the soft disposable eye contact lens for the world (Wiki, 2008), and this revolutionary product helped the Johnson & Johnson opened a new product field and access to expand their market to over 50 countries in the world. If there is new cheaper material for producing Acuvue, Johnson and Johnson will be capable of producing more Acuvue by the same investment as in the past, which means the supply of the Acuvue will increase. However, in the future, with the development in technology, some existing materials for making eye contact lensse may have potential risks for our eyes. When the Johnson & Johnson found that potential risks really do exist, in order to guarantee the product safety, they had to pay more for preventing the risks harmful to contacts wearer, or even reduce the supply of those products. Suppliers Expect that Future Sales Prices In recently years, there is a trend that more and more reports show that wearing daily disposable eye contact lens is much more comfortable, healthier and safer, because daily replacement lenses are healthier than other replacement schedule. With the expectation, the market for the Acuvue Daily disposable has much more potential than other Acuvue disposable lenses, and Johnson & Johnson will decide to produce more Acuvue Daily in according with the potential increase of the demand for Acuvue. Conclusion To sum up, those variables discussed above with the supply and demand of Acuvue finally affect the price of the Acuvue. As we know, the market price is the equivalent of the supply and demand. It is determined by an â€Å"invisible hand’ of both supply and demand. Therefore, it is impossible for those factors discussed before to singly handedly affect the supply and demand, because the market is complex, all those variables together contributed to our market price.

Ap Bio Unit Packet 38-40

Lissette Rivera Chapters 38-40 Answer all questions on looseleaf or type the answers in from the website and print. PART A: 1. Draw a general diagram of the life cycle of a seed plant. Indicate which steps are haploid and which are diploid. 2. Define microsporogenesis and megasporogenesis. In what portion(s) of the flower does each of these processes occur? What is the end product of each process? Microsporogenesis produces our microspores. It occurs in the sporangia of the anther in flowers.Four haploid microspores are produced when the mother cell undergoes meiosis. Each microspore develops into a pollen grain. Megasporogenesis occurs in the sporangium of the ovule of a flower. After meiosis, the embryo sac is produced (egg, nucei, antipodal cells, synergids). 3. Draw and label all parts of a complete flower. Indicate the functions of the major parts. 4. What is pollination? How does it differ from fertilization? Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the s tigma of the plant through wind, animals, insects, etc.It differs from fertilization in that fertilization is caused by pollination. Pollination also only occurs in plants whereas fertilization can occur to reproduction in all plants and animals. Pollination 5. Draw and label a mature ovule. Include the micro-pyle, integuments, nucellus, synergids, polar nuclei, egg, and anti-podals. Indicate the functions of each of these structures. 6. What stages of the life cycle are eliminated or bypassed when plants are cloned naturally? When plants are cloned on the farm or in the laboratory? The gametophyte generation is bypassed when plants are cloned naturally.When plants are cloned on the farm or in the laboratory, cutting small pieces of plants can be grown into a complete plant. 7. What does the science of plant biotechnology do that artificial selection and/or cloning practices don’t do? Biotechnology adds genes from other organisms to plants, which other artificial selection or cloning practices does not do. PART B: 1. One of the problems associated with growing plants in space is lack of gravity. a. How does gravity affect the normal growth of a plant’s roots, stems, and other parts? Explain the mechanisms involved.Under gravity, auxin accumulates on the lower side of the root and stems, and slows down elongation of cells in the roots under high concentrations. Auxin concentrations with 10-8 and 10-4 stimulate proton pumps. Enzymes break crosslinks between cellulose molecules and allow the cell to elongate. b. How would a lack of gravity affect normal growth? Seeds rely on the gravitropic responses when they’re underground under absence o flight. c. Propose mechanisms to overcome the problems associated with a lack of gravity. Plant orientation is impacted by light. It counteracts lack of gravity. Ap Bio Unit Packet 38-40 Lissette Rivera Chapters 38-40 Answer all questions on looseleaf or type the answers in from the website and print. PART A: 1. Draw a general diagram of the life cycle of a seed plant. Indicate which steps are haploid and which are diploid. 2. Define microsporogenesis and megasporogenesis. In what portion(s) of the flower does each of these processes occur? What is the end product of each process? Microsporogenesis produces our microspores. It occurs in the sporangia of the anther in flowers.Four haploid microspores are produced when the mother cell undergoes meiosis. Each microspore develops into a pollen grain. Megasporogenesis occurs in the sporangium of the ovule of a flower. After meiosis, the embryo sac is produced (egg, nucei, antipodal cells, synergids). 3. Draw and label all parts of a complete flower. Indicate the functions of the major parts. 4. What is pollination? How does it differ from fertilization? Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the s tigma of the plant through wind, animals, insects, etc.It differs from fertilization in that fertilization is caused by pollination. Pollination also only occurs in plants whereas fertilization can occur to reproduction in all plants and animals. Pollination 5. Draw and label a mature ovule. Include the micro-pyle, integuments, nucellus, synergids, polar nuclei, egg, and anti-podals. Indicate the functions of each of these structures. 6. What stages of the life cycle are eliminated or bypassed when plants are cloned naturally? When plants are cloned on the farm or in the laboratory? The gametophyte generation is bypassed when plants are cloned naturally.When plants are cloned on the farm or in the laboratory, cutting small pieces of plants can be grown into a complete plant. 7. What does the science of plant biotechnology do that artificial selection and/or cloning practices don’t do? Biotechnology adds genes from other organisms to plants, which other artificial selection or cloning practices does not do. PART B: 1. One of the problems associated with growing plants in space is lack of gravity. a. How does gravity affect the normal growth of a plant’s roots, stems, and other parts? Explain the mechanisms involved.Under gravity, auxin accumulates on the lower side of the root and stems, and slows down elongation of cells in the roots under high concentrations. Auxin concentrations with 10-8 and 10-4 stimulate proton pumps. Enzymes break crosslinks between cellulose molecules and allow the cell to elongate. b. How would a lack of gravity affect normal growth? Seeds rely on the gravitropic responses when they’re underground under absence o flight. c. Propose mechanisms to overcome the problems associated with a lack of gravity. Plant orientation is impacted by light. It counteracts lack of gravity.