Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Process When Making an Act of Parliament

The Process When Making an Act of Parliament Making law is one of the core functions of Parliament. Laws begin as bills and must progress through a number of set stages in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Only Parliament can make new laws, or change existing ones, that affect the whole of the UK and so proposals are brought to Parliament by the Government and by individual Members of Parliament . These are called ‘Bills’. There are 3 different types of Bills, these are Public Members’ Bills, Private Members’ Bills and Hybrid Members’ Bills.Most Public Bills are introduced into Parliament involve public policies which will either effect the whole country or a large section of it, these Bills are known as Public Bills, for example, the Legal Services Act 2007. Public Bills change the law which applies to the population and are the most common type of Bill in Parliament Government Bills, and those put forward by MP’s or Lords, al so known as Private Members’ Bills. A Private Bill is a Bill designed to pass a law which will only affect individual people.A Private Bill does not make law for the whole country. However, a Private Members Bill is a Bill which is introduced by an indivual Member of Parliament. Very little Private Member Bills become laws, but there have been some important laws passed, for example the Abortion Act 1967 and the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003. MPs and Lords can introduce as many bills as they want, but most of them will have little chance of becoming laws. A ballot is present at the start of each parliamentary session.Sometimes an MP will use the Ten Minute Rule to make a short speech on the advantages of a bill they want to introduce, which is often a way of drawing attention to an issue rather than saying the advantages of their chosen bill. Bills can be introduced to either the Commons or the Lords first, every Public Bill has to be passed through stages in both Houses until it can become a law. The first stage is the bill’s official introduction to the House. It is made up of the short title of the bill being read out by the Clerk in the chamber.Then, then bill is given a date for the second stage, which is the second reading and an order made for it to be officially printed, making it available to all Members and the public. The second reading is when the main purpose of a bill is discussed and voted on. This is the first opportunity for MPs or Lords to say their concerns on areas where they think changes are needed. If the bill passes this stage, it moves on to the committee stage. The committee stage is where a detailed examination is said. It usually starts within a couple of weeks after the bill’s second reading.A Public Bill Committee is appointed which is usually able to take evidence from experts from outside Parliament. Changes for discussion are selected by the chairman of the committee and only members of the committee c an vote on the changes. This is when it is agreed on, changed or removed from the bill. A small amount of bills are dealt with by a Committee of the Whole House which takes place in the main chamber, where every MP is able to take part. The Lords Committee stage usually takes place in the main chamber and there is no time limit on discussion of amendments.The report stage is when a bill is returned to the House after the committee stage, this is where the whole House reviews the amended form of the bill. The third reading is the final opportunity for each House to debate and to vote on the bill as a whole. Debate on the bill is usually short, where changes can’t be made at the third party reading. The third party reading is the final vote on the Bill as a whole. There is a further debate on the Bill if six or more MP’s request it. If this happens, the Bill passes to another House where it will have to go through the same stages again.The power of the Supreme Court is l imited. When the Supreme Court makes changes to the Bill, the changes will be considered by the House of Commons before the Bill goes to its final stage. If the Supreme Court refuses to pass a Bill, the House of Commons can introduce the same Bill in the next Parliamentary session, if it is passed by the House of Commons for a second time it can then receive the Royal Assent and become a law without the agreement of the Supreme Court. The Royal Assets is a monarch has to approve the Bill and give their agreement for it to become a law.The last time the Royal Asset was refused was in 1707 when Queen Anne refused to agree to the Scottish Militia Bill. The doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty means that any statute passed by the Parliament can’t be challenge. It is associated with Dicey, who defines sovereignty as the right to make any law and the principle that there is no competing legislative body of Parliament. Parliament does not have time to debate every small detail of c omplex regulations. Making regulations through delegated legislation saves Parliamentary time.Society has become very technical, this makes it impossible that members of the Parliament cold have all the knowledge needed to control technology, ensuring environment safety, dealing with different industrial problems or operating complex taxation schemes. Delegated legislation allows the Government to make changes to a law without needing to push through a completely new Act of Parliament. Consultation is important for rules with technical things, where it is necessary to make sure that the regulations technically work.The process of passing an Act of Parliament can take time and in an emergency Parliament may not be able to pass law quick enough. However, Orders in Council can be made very quickly. Delegated legislation can be revoked easily when necessary so that the law can be kept up to date. This can be useful when monetary limits have to change each year, for example the minimum w age or the limits for legal aid. The main criticism is that delegated legislation takes law making away from the House of Commons and allows non-elected people to make law.This criticism can’t be made of laws made by the local authorities since there are elected bodies and accountable to the local citizens. Another problem is sub-delegation, this means that the law making authority is handed down another level. The large amount of delegated legislation is also a disadvantage as it makes it difficult to discover what the present law is. The delegated legislation shares with the Acts of Parliament the same problem that can cause difficulty in understanding the law. The UK joined the European Union on 1st January 1973.European law is mainly concerned with trade and work, but this affects areas of law, such as agriculture, company law, consumer rights, employment rights and environmental law. Since the UK joined the European Union, the highest court in our legal system is the Eur opean Court of Justice. The European Union law is made by the European Court of Justice is binding on all courts in England and Wales. The European Union doesn’t affect all area of our law, such as our criminal law, for this law the highest court is the Supreme Court. Parliament is seen as being the supreme law maker for England and Wales.The UK entering the European Union has affects Parliament’s supremacy, as the European laws take priority over any national law. This was decided even before the UK joined the European Union in the Dutvh case of Van Gend en Loos in 1963. Parliament can still be said to be supreme, since it is only through Parliament passing the European Committee’s Act 1972 that European law has effect in the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998 joined the European Convention on Human Rights in British law. This means that anyone taking a court case in the UK can rely on the rights given in the Convention as part of their case.The Act makes it impossi ble for a public authority to act in a way that is incompatible with a Convection right. Public authority is anyone who has some public function, this does not include Parliament. The right to life is the most fundamental of human rights. This is everyone’s right to life and is protected by the law, if this is breached then there is a breach of the Convection, this was seen in the case of McCann v United Kingdom in 1995. The aim of the Human Rights Act 1998 is to give  further effect to rights and freedoms under the European convention on human rights.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Company accounting ch1 tut working Essay

The board of directors has resolved to change the accounting policy for treatment of advertising expenditure. Previously, advertising expenditure has been expensed as incurred. Following extensive market research, the board has taken the view that benefits from advertising expenditure in the form of product awareness and increased sales will be received by the company over a 3-year period following the expenditure. Due to a recent fire and water damage to the company’s accounting records, details of advertising expenditure in prior years have been destroyed. Required: The board of directors has approached you for advice regarding the disclosures, if any, which are required for this change in accounting policy. As the change in accounting policy was voluntary, the provisions of paragraph 29 of AASB 108 are applicable as follows: the nature of the change  the reasons that applying the new accounting policy provides reliable and more relevant information to the extent practicable, the amount of the adjustment for the current and previous periods to each financial statement line item affected and, if applicable, the basic and diluted earnings per share the amount of the adjustment relating to periods prior to those presented to the extent practicable if retrospective application is impracticable, the circumstances that led to the existence of that condition and a description of how and from when the change in accounting policy was applied. To comply with paragraph 29, the change in accounting policy note may be worded as follows (other variations are possible): The board of directors has resolved to change the accounting policy for  treatment of advertising expenditure. Previously, advertising expenditure had been expensed as incurred. However, following extensive market research, the board has taken the view that benefits from advertising expenditure in the form of product awareness and increased sales and will be received by the company over a 3 year period following the expenditure. Accordingly, the board believes the new accounting policy will provide reliable and more relevant information. Retrospective application of this change in accounting policy is impractical following a recent fire and water damage which has destroyed the company’s accounting records. Note, insufficient information was provided in the case study to determine: the amount of the adjustments for the current period to each financial statement line item affected; calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share; and how and from when the change in accounting policy was applied. Case Study 3 – Materiality Antelope Ltd is a catering company specialising in providing catering services to remote area mine sites. The company has operations in Australia but during the current year it acquired significant long-term contracts in Pakistan and Nigeria. AASB 8 Operating Segments requires entities to disclose material segment information but Antelope Ltd has failed to comply with this requirement Required: Discuss whether the non-disclosure of information about operations in Pakistan and Nigeria would be material. Information is material if its omission or misstatement would influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial report (the Conceptual Framework, paragraph QC11). The non-disclosure of information relating the existence of long-term contracts in both Pakistan and Nigeria would be material to the users of Antelope’s financial statement. Both countries are politically and economically unstable so there is a significant risk that these operations could be disrupted exposing Antelope  Ltd to potential losses on the contracts and other losses if corporate employees are harmed or property is destroyed. Disclosing the information allows users to factor in such risks into their predictions about the company’s future performance and position and ensures an informed decision is made. Furthermore, paragraph 12 of AASB 1031 notes: In deciding whether an item or an aggregate of items is material, the size and nature of the omission or misstatement of the items usually need to be evaluated together. In particular circumstances, either the nature or the amount of an item or an aggregate of items could be the determining factor. For example: an entity expands its operations into a new segment which affects the assessment of the risks and opportunities facing the entity (paragraph 12(b)(iii)). Practice QuestionsQAEWRT QUESTION 12.1 NOTE: This solution is only one possibility. Students may use alternative or average base amounts. 1.Unrecorded creditor’s invoices These invoices understate Expenses (purchases and service related expenses) and Accounts Payable by $62 150. Base Amount Error as % of base Profit before tax $352 000 17.7% (62 150/352 000) Payables (current) 316 000 19.7% (62 150/316 000) As the error is greater than 10% of both base amounts it is material and must be adjusted. If the invoices all relate to purchases within a perpetual inventory system the accounts affected are Inventories (current asset) and Accounts Payable (current liability) and there will be nil profit effect. 2.Sales invoices not processed These invoices understate both Sales Revenue and Accounts Receivable by $50 000. Additionally, Cost of goods sold (expense) is understated and Inventory (current asset) is overstated by $36 000. The profit effect is $14 000 ($50 000 – $36 000). Base Amount Error as % of base Profit before tax $352 000 4.0% (14/352) Sales Revenue 3 600 000 1.4% (50/3 600) Receivables (current) 621 000 8.1% (50/621) Inventory (current) 345 000 10.4% (36/345) The omitted invoices are material in relation to inventories and should be adjusted. 3.Bankruptcy of Debtor after reporting date The adjustment will increase Bad Debts expense by $89 120 and decrease Accounts Receivable by $89 120. Base Amount Error as % of base Profit before tax $352 000 25.3% (89 120/352 000) Receivables (current) 621 000 14.4% (89 120/621 000) The overstatement is material in relation to both base amounts and must be adjusted as it relates to conditions existing at reporting date. QUESTION 12.3 The significant variances between the provision for warranty and the actual repairs in the two years indicate that either the policy of using a percentage of net credit sales as a means of estimating warranty costs is not appropriate, or the percentage used is not adequate. The company needs to look at changing either its policy or perhaps simply increasing the percentage used. Past claims as a percentage of past net credit sales should provide a reliable measure. If a new percentage is adopted it will be applied prospectively (from 2015-16 on) according to AASB 108 paragraph 36. If the variance for 2014-15 was due to an error in calculation then, providing it is material, the figures for 2014-15 should be retrospectively corrected (according to AASB 108 paragraph 42) by the following entry: Retained earnings (1 July 2015)Dr 8 000 Provision for WarrantyCr8 000 Additionally, this would indicate that the variance in 2013-14 may be a one-off aberration. QUESTION 12.5 Release of investigator’s report on 1 August 2015 The release of the report and the decision that damages were payable by Antelope Ltd provide new information about conditions existing at the end of the reporting period given that the release of the noxious gases occurred in June 2015. At $750 000 the amount is clearly material (in relation to profit before tax of $360 000) and the following adjustment should be made: June 30Damages expenseDr750 000 Damages payableCr750 000 (Recognition of damages liability) Credit notes raised on 9 July 2015 As these credit notes relate to sales which occurred prior to the end of the reporting period this provides more information about conditions existing at 30 June 2015 and will (or may, depending on materiality) require adjustment by journal entry. However, as the credit notes represent only approximately 4% of profit before tax ($15 000/$360 000), it could be argued that no adjustment is necessary on the grounds of immateriality. The journal entry (ignoring materiality considerations) is shown below: June 30Sales returns and allowancesDr15 000 Accounts receivableCr15 000 (Credit notes relating to June sales) Liquidation of debtor As the liquidation was caused by an event after the end of the reporting period no adjustment will be made as this information does not change the situation that existed at 30 June 2015. However, the $52 000 loss (80 cents in the dollar x $65 000) will be material to next year’s profits based on  the current year’s profit before tax ($52 000/$360 000 = 14%), and must be disclosed by note. Antelope Ltd Notes to the financial statements year ended 30 June 2015 Note X:Events occurring after the end of the reporting period In September 2015, a debtor owing $65 000 went into liquidation. The company expects to recover only 20% of the amount owing.QUESTION AASB 108, paragraph 36 requires that the effect of a change in an accounting estimate shall be recognised prospectively by including it in profit or loss in the period of the change. New information in the form of debts which actually went bad during the year ended 30 June 2015 proved that the estimate of doubtful debts as at 30 June 2014 (last year) was inadequate and should have been $17 600 rather than $12 000. The amount of $5 600 ($17 600 – $12 000) in bad debts written off that was more than allowed for last year has been added to bad debts expense for the current year (i.e. prospectively) in accordance with paragraph 36. The balance of the bad debts expense for the current year, $23 400, is comprised of $17 800 (allowance for doubtful debts as at 30 June 2015 based on an analysis of outstanding account receivable balances) plus $5 600 (adjustment for underestimation of allowance for doubtful debts as at 30 June 2014). The key issue here is whether or not the change in the way Mousedeer Ltd estimates its doubtful debts is a change in an accounting policy. AASB 108, paragraph 35 states ‘A change in the measurement basis applied is a change in an accounting policy, and is not a change in an accounting estimate. When it is difficult to distinguish a change in an accounting policy from a change in an accounting estimate, the change is treated as a change in an accounting estimate.’ The asset here is Accounts Receivable, a financial asset which is measured at the lower of nominal value and recoverable amount. Where a debt is not expected to be collected in full it is  disclosed in the financial statements at its expected amount via the allowance for doubtful debt adjustment. The change in the way this ‘recoverable amount’ is estimated does not change the measurement basis and is therefore not a change in accounting policy. Mousedeer Ltd should disclose the nature and amount of any change in an accounting estimate (according to AASB 108 paragraph 39), usually in its accounting policy note.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Porter Five Analysis of the European Airline Industry Essay

While the business model existed for some time (first such in 1973 US), the appearance of these in the European market needed the liberalization brought forth by the EU, implementing the „Freedoms of the air† in three stages. In 1997 the first LCC (Low Cost Carrier), the Ryanair began its operation, and in a few years a few more followed, which gave the national and network airlines a new problem to the existing economic problem, shrinking market and others such as 9/11. By today the changes in the past two decades have shifted and diversified the industry, which was once a mature and to some level declining in structure. The new regulations, companies, investors and consumers have brought new life, the industry once again mature with fragmented characteristics. The ideal tool for the assessment of the airlines industry is Michael Porter’s five force model. It aims to find and demonstrate the forces in the microenvironment which influence the industry, internal and external as well. Threat of new entrants (barriers to entry) †¢High capital investment ? †¢Capital intensive ? †¢Airport slot availability ? †¢Predatory pricing ? †¢Brand loyalty/frequent flyer ? †¢Economies of scale ? Limited number of routes ^ The threat of new entrants, due to the barriers mostly set by the nature of the industry and by the existing companies, are very low. Yet sometimes when the possibility arises, new companies start: in the past few years many national companies went bankrupt leaving a market to take by the existing companies or new upstarts. Bargaining power of suppliers †¢Ai rcraft manufacturers †¢Relatively low number of suppliers ^ †¢Suppliers are concentrated ^ †¢Airlines are valued customers ? †¢Airports †¢Slot availability ^ †¢Alternatives to the primary airports ? The bargaining power of suppliers is mostly two-legged, and both have a medium threat. For both parties it is best to find a mutually working solution on a long term, because it is a industry with relatively small number of players loosing even one can have an impact on both sides. Threat of substitutes †¢Alternative transport (bus, car, train) ^ †¢Videoconferencing ^ †¢Global environmental awareness ^ The threat of substitutes includes a broad variety for the different needs. All-in-all it still only gives a medium threat, since the quick transport to a distance has no alternative. Bargaining power of customers †¢Price ? †¢Internet/social media ^ †¢Customer orientation ? †¢Choice ^ With the first LCCs the customers had no bargaining power: if you choose to go with this low price, accept the services as it is. However, nowadays with more alternatives and the ever-reaching internet and social media a bad customer satisfaction can be a disaster. This can however be mitigated with customer orientation, but still customer had the choice, it is a medium high level. Rivalry within the industry †¢Between LCC and national/network airlines ^ †¢Between LCCs ^ The rivalry within the industry is high due to the high number of big and medium sized companies. The airlines industry is highly competitive, with very high barriers and medium to high threats within. While there is a relatively low threat from a new market entree, the existing international competition is fighting over all the resources: more and better airports possibly with mutually excluding contracts, picking up the customers fed up with their previous carrier or starting a price war on a selected destination, binding the newly aquired flyers with brand loyalty programmes. Unless there is an opportunity, it is not an attractive industry to enter due to the high number of barriers. However, once established a foot, it is a very interesting and very intensive industry with good possibilities. The major LCCs depending on how low cost they are making good profit and there is still room for growth. The key factors for success should include: †¢Efficiently utilizing the resources (financial, time, human resources) †¢Utilizing a network of business partners (complementary) †¢Timely expansion (trying new destinations, increasing frequency) †¢Customer orientation (with following trends eg. ocial media) These above should be observed by both LCCs and traditional airlines. The industry standards are given, those companies will become successful which can effectively utilize them.

Organisational development and human resource management Essay

Organisational development and human resource management - Essay Example The acquisition of other similar industries would enable them to expand their activities and reach a wider variety of customers. The developments of an organization along with the management of their human resources are vital methods in ensuring that an organization achieves its set objectives2. The organizations ability of reaching a wider market would greatly have assisted in augmenting their profitability while enabling them to carry out their activities more effectively3. The article stipulates the main objective of Templeton Hardware as making its presence felt in the market through them becoming the retailer that leads in the provision of all al fresco items. Under the leadership of their CEO, the company goes on to acquire ownership of several companies that include the caravan manufacturers known as ‘The Great Outdoors’ and soon rename it to ‘Templeton caravans’. The company also acquires another firm that is known as the ‘Lodestone Landscapes’ at around the same period. Both businesses that are acquired by the company were formerly owned privately by certain families though the former company controlled business enterprises that had long been established. The latter was a contract operator and was established much later than the outdoors company. Lodestone landscaper, the first company to become franchised, had an additional fifty franchises that were located in New Zealand along with Australia and was also a participant in the country’s stock exchange4. The CEO mistakenly relocated all lodestone landscaper’s offices and rebranded them with their name by calling them ‘Templeton Landscape Solutions’. The employees of the company were however offered their jobs but ended up leaving the company. The employees in the other company that had also been acquired by the CEO also quit after the acquisition was

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Anaheim CAFR Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Anaheim CAFR - Coursework Example Government activities and business type activities have been reported on different columns so as to bring out the net statement. They include housing authority, Total Governmental funds, and Non-major Governmental Funds. For the major governmental funds, Transient occupancy tax is the ultimate source of funds for the Major governmental organization (Moreno, 2012). In general governmental funds, intergovernmental revenues are the key source of funds. Expenditure In the statement, Expenditure, has also been classified in a system that segments the section into three. They include housing authority, Total Governmental funds, and Non-major Governmental Funds. The largest categories of general funds entail police, fire, and then public work. There is no financial source that has been recorded in a separate section of the Expenditure, and Change in Fund Balance for Governmental fund. Capital project funds have been tasked with the obligation of community development and dept services, and interest charges. Capital project funds are sometimes regarded to as funds budget. They bring a profound understanding of the dept funds and use of money that makes up the state’s legal entity. It is the predominant figure in the annual budget analysis and enactment from the focus of the capital project funds. Leasing of funds or capital is considered to be done under a legal government so as it enhance trust and loss of capital. The dept service function is the ratio of total or average debt to total assets available, expressed in percentage, and it can be interpreted as the company proportion of an asset that are outlined and financed by debt. All dept service fund and non-major financial funds are the service funds. Management entails covering up for the financial risks that might be encountered, and formulating the most effective way of

Saturday, July 27, 2019

The Influence of Marketing through Culture and Tradition in Kuwait Research Paper

The Influence of Marketing through Culture and Tradition in Kuwait (Gulf) - Research Paper Example The origin of Kuwait culture comes from diverse backgrounds and is very rich. In addition, the influences of marketing on customs and traditions of Kuwait is widespread as observed in many firms (Ahmed 16). This calls for conscious marketing especially for the international marketer since what a certain culture accepts may be regarded as a taboo in another. This paper will focus on the influence of marketing on culture and traditions in Kuwait. The importance of culture in marketing cannot be underestimated, the traditions, values, attitudes and religious beliefs of a people can affect greatly the promotion of a product. Most of the marketing mix components can only achieve great outcomes if the culture and traditions of the people is well understood, respected, and tolerated especially that of the target market. For instance, promoting a product is expected to increase customers and consequently the profits, therefore to achieve greater profits through promotion it is imperative tha t a company puts into consideration a people’s culture and traditions in order to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and be able to produce and market the products that suit their needs. The language of a people is a vehicle of culture and affects the consumer behaviour considerably (Victor 142). One of the marketing strategies is promotion; consumer acceptance of a product requires a language to promote the product. Therefore, promotional methods such as personal selling, advertising, publicity and sales promotion can only be successful through the use of a language. In Kuwait, Islamic is the commonly used language which among the most influential cultural elements (Ahmed 67). Other elements include religious beliefs and ethnic values, all these cultural elements have an effect on the marketing mix, pricing, promotion, product, and price. This requires multinational firms to make their promotions and products adaptable to the environment they exist to ensure persuasi ve marketing. A cultural bound firm is the one that is consumer-oriented, this is evidenced by cultural groupings, and inclinations that tend to purchase certain products calling for marketers to be responsive on cultural influences on their marketing strategies. In Kuwait, culture is related to all dimensions of the society (Ahmed 23). Therefore, appropriate marketing strategy has gained more focus from marketers who wish to promote their products in an effort to increase their market share. Culture and tradition has become a key component of advertisements for most products and services to attract more customers and retain existing ones. Some of the business that have embraced marketing through culture and traditions include the National Bank of Kuwait, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, and Zain which is one of the best telecommunication companies in the country. The use of cultural strategies to market themselves has not only helped these companies increase their sales but also attract new consumers while at the same time achieving and increasing customer loyalty. Another important aspect on the influence of marketing through culture and traditions in Kuwait observed in organizing employees principles as a national culture in order for them to understand their work and what is expected out of it and the manner in which the expect to be treated. This means firms have to act in

Friday, July 26, 2019

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 129

Essay Example Du Bois believed the intellectual elite inherent in the black people should qualify them for integration into the American society. Du Bois held that the black people possessed intellectual prowess to advance and actualize racial equality while seeking assistance from the whites (White 52). Du Bois was among the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that advocated equality and inclusion of the black people in the social, economic, educational, and political matters (White 53). In contrast, Garvey utilized black nationalization to lead the African-Americans towards racial purity and culture. Garvey used the Universal Negro Improvement Association to uplift the people of the African origin. Using the association, Garvey championed for respect for humanity regardless of race (White 92). He advocated the economic self-determination of the black people. Both Marcus Garvey and William E.B Du Bois championed for the preservation of the black cultural her itage, pan-Africanism, and economic nationalism. UNIA collaborated with the Klu Klux Klan although the latter championed for white supremacy (White 93). The Negro World, a weekly publication, highlighted the significance of race consciousness, black pride, and independence. Similarly, KKK did not support the NAACP because the movement targeted to divide the blacks and Jews while promoting the white supremacy. Although they utilized different philosophies, Garvey and Du Bois advocated the preservation of the black cultural heritage, pan-Africanism, and economic nationalism. Du Bois believed the intellectual prowess of the black should facilitate the incorporation of the race in the American society. Garvey held that racial purity and culture were significant in fostering respect for humanity. The Great Depression that started in 1929 destabilized the American society. In 1932, the Great Depression was a huge crisis in the whole nation, and a quarter of

Thursday, July 25, 2019

The nature of perfectly competitive markets Essay

The nature of perfectly competitive markets - Essay Example The paper is objective to present two ways of observing at what the perfect competition mean in terms of neoclassical economics. The very first focus should be on the lack of ability of one agent for affecting prices. This matter can be justified by the fact that one consumer or firm is very small if compared with the entire market and the presence or absence of the firm or consumer does not affect the equilibrium price. The hypothesis of impact of each and every agent on the equilibrium price was done by Aumann in the year of 1964. There are some differences between the approach of Aumann and the normal textbooks (Robert, 1966). The firms or consumers have their own power to decide the prices of their own products but the thing is it does not affect the market. Secondly, the consumers and agents consider the price as their parameters. The results of both the approaches are almost same. Another approach of perfect competition can be achieved in terms of the consumers taking advantage by eliminating the some exchange opportunities that are profitable. The competition in market increases when the arbitrage takes place in market faster. The average market price can be adjusted if the market is more competitive. It also depends on the supply and demand of the products. According to this approach, the meaning of perfect competition is the adjustments occur instantly in perfect ways. Firstly, the notion of the perfect competition needs to be understood. The following properties must be ensured so that a "perfect competition" is possible: many buyers and sellers homogeneous goods full market transparency prevails all market participants are "price taker" market participants have no influence on the price of the goods No transaction costs No taxes free market access In a perfect market, supply equals demand. Thus, there is only one price where the market is cleared. This is called the equilibrium price. On the basis of market transparency, it is not possible to achieve excess profits. This means no profits on the pay related factors (rent, interest, and wages) beyond production. The provider cannot rate any higher price because they would find no buyers and the buyer can not demand a lower price because no company in the market would offer a lower rate. A market consists of potential buyers, who determine what amount of a commodity should be brought into the market (O'Sullivan, 2003). The demand from retailers determines the supply of goods. The market is not tied to a particular place but can be seen as abstract. There are different considerations which are provided in a perfect competition market. The problem with perfect competition markets is that after the companies have entered or left the market, equilibrium sets in. This does not let profits to increase and all the companies involved are stuck in a situation with no improvement. A demand curve can be used to explain this. The following demand curve D shows the relationship between commodi ty prices and the quantity demanded by the consumer. The demand is determined by the price of the goods. Price is on the Y axis and quantity is on the x axis. Law of demand curve states that other things being equal; the demand decreases if the price rises and if the price drops. Thus, the negative demand depends on price. Demand curve refers to a single company, and measures the correlation between output and market price. The demand curve is not only dependent on the

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Youth Violence Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Youth Violence - Dissertation Example Recent arrest data show that 2.14 million juveniles were arrested by law enforcement agencies in 2005 (Carr, 2008). These arrests covered the full range of crimes including, homicides, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Furthermore, youth accounted for one in every six arrests for all violent crimes in the United States (Snyder, 2000). Background Prior research suggests that an association between race and violent offending exists with racial minorities offending at a disproportional rate compared to Whites (Thornberry et al., 1998). Plausibly, this relation exists because racial minority peer groups mediate the race-violence relationship. Alternatively, because racial minorities tend to be among the population that is most impoverished, minorities may be more likely to be antagonistic due to their aversive social and economic conditions (Bernard, 1990). Ultimately, the influence of peer association and socioeconomic status could have a greater influence on Blacks than no n-Blacks. Literature Review Relationship between Race and Violent Crime in Youths Several longitudinal delinquency studies examine the causes and correlates of youth delinquency. The Denver Youth Study used a sample of 1,527 boys and girls from high risk neighborhoods in Denver. These 1,527 boys and girls were a sample of 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 year olds in 1987 (Huizinga, et al., 1998). The Denver Youth Study found that over a 5 year period (1987-91) most of the Black youths in the sample were in fact both victims and perpetrators of violent crime (Huizinga, et al., 1998). Loeber, et al. (1998) conducted research on 1,517 inner city boys from Pittsburgh in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. The sample consisted of first, fourth, and seventh graders from inner city Pittsburgh where 30 percent of sample were pre-screened students who exhibited especially disruptive behavior. The remaining 70 percent were a random sample selection of the remaining population. The Pittsburgh Youth Study found h igh levels of involvement in serious delinquency among its sample. No differences between Black and White boys were found at age 6, but differences gradually developed with prevalence of serious delinquency at age 16 reaching 27 percent for Blacks and 19 percent for Whites (Loeber, et al., 1998). Criminal violence is an enduring issue in urban America and this concern may not be equally serious for all communities. One of the more overt differences is between the violence levels of Blacks and Whites (Krivo & Peterson, 2000). Black violent offending has ranged from 6.2 to 9.5 times that of Whites over the past twenty years. Krivo and Peterson (2000) argued that one possibility for the racially differing rates of offending occurring is because the crime-generating processes are conditioned by the social situations of Blacks and Whites. Possible Mediators of the Race-Violence Relationship Socioeconomic Status Elliott (1994) with results from the longitudinal National Youth Survey posit ed that racial differences in violence varied across socioeconomic status, where employed Blacks and Whites had similar, continuous violent behavior in contrast to unemployed Blacks who were significantly more likely to behave more violently than unemployed Whites. It is certainly plausible that the nature of socioeconomic status has great influence on the violent behavior of people. Paschall, et al. (1998) found that impacts of socioeconomic disadvantage on violent behavior were clearly more profound for Black young adults than White young adults. Socioeconomic status could perhaps provide another explanation for differences in exposure to both violence and violent peers. Racial differences in violence may be a result of the lower socioeconomic sta

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

On the debates pertaining to inference of an effect from its cause Essay

On the debates pertaining to inference of an effect from its cause - Essay Example 172). Taking off from Hume, John Stuart Mill â€Å"held that causal inference depends on three factors: first, the cause has to precede the effects; second, the cause and effect have to be related ; and third, other explanations of the cause-effect relationship have to be eliminated† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 182). In other words, the notion of causation and effect that can be found in the ideas of John Stuart Mill is that causation requires precedence of the cause from the effect, correlation, and that rival hypotheses are ruled out. For Cook and Campbell (1979), however, the most significant contribution of John Stuart Mill to the theory of causality pertains to his notions of the criteria, principles, or â€Å"methods† of agreement, differences, and concomitant variation. The principle of agreement â€Å"states that an effect will be present when the cause is present† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 182). The principle of difference â€Å"states that the effect will be absent when the cause is absent† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 182). Finally, the principle of concomitant variation â€Å"implies that when both of the above relationships are observed, causal inferences will be all stronger since certain other interpretations of the co-variation between the cause effects can be ruled out† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 182). According to Cook and Campbell (1979, p. ... 183) pointed out that â€Å"the concept of a control group is implicit here and is clearly central in Mill’s thinking about cause.† In 1913, Bertrand Russell â€Å"looked to physics and astronomy of his day as the most mature sciences, and he noted their lack of concern with unobservables and explicitness and parsimony of the functional relationships that physicists sought to test† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 172-173).1 However, Russell had asked that asked whether the concept of cause continues to be relevant given that cause â€Å"is not implied by functional relationships of mathematical form† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 173). The Russell viewpoint is positivist â€Å"rejecting unobservables (like cause), and seeking to establish explicit functional laws between continuously measured variables in a closed system† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 173). Positivists like Russell believe that â€Å"causation is unnecessary because it is unobservable† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 175). The essentialist viewpoint â€Å"argue that the term cause should only be used to refer to variables that explain a phenomenon in the sense that these variables, when taken together, are both necessary and sufficient for the effect to occur† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 177). The essentialists â€Å"equates cause with a constellation of variables that necessarily, inevitably and infallibly results in the effect† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 177). In contrast, those â€Å"who restrict cause to observable necessary and sufficient conditions (or sufficient conditions that operate when all the necessary conditions are met) reject as causes those factors which are known to bring about effects sometimes, but not always† (Cook and Campbell 1979, p. 177).

Economic Factors That Influence Manager Decision Essay

Economic Factors That Influence Manager Decision - Essay Example As the paper explores it is important to understand that economic factors refer to the changes that take place in cost and prices of commodities, the exchange rates, inflation rate, and interest rates among others. In simple terms, they hamper the ability of an organization to generate profits thus often require to be monitored closely. According to the report findings organizations look at their budgets before setting out to start a project. This is because it will be able to give them an overview of the finances they have to carry out the project. However, there have been instances where organizations did not look at the resources they have due to myopic vision. Most of these leaders were driven by the interests that had been forecast if the project succeeds but did not want to look on the other side of what happens to the organization when the project fails. Take the case of Apple Inc in the 1990s when it was on the brink of bankruptcy because of the decisions that were being made by the management. It forced the board of members to employ back Steve Jobs who had parted ways with the organization. Therefore, this is just but an illustration of the importance of an organization working within its budgets in relation to the resources available. The aim of any business entity is to make profits, and if this does not take place, then there is no need of operating because it will mean that losses will be frequently incurred. This does not mean that the organization forgets there is a need to have a balance between maximization of profits and minimization of costs

Monday, July 22, 2019

Education and Teachers Essay Example for Free

Education and Teachers Essay Teachers in Taiwan enjoy higher occupational prestige and great job satisfaction.In Germany teachers enjoy teaching. Teachers in China are highly respected. Those within the Indian culture feel that teachers are next to God. American teachers believe that teaching helps societys well-being. Teachers in England are poorly regarded. Teachers are constant companions and they mold student’s personality. They are role models and they motivate the students. However,according to individual experience there are different kinds of teachers some are friendly ,some are strict and others are ideal teachers. The first kind of teachers are friendly teachers. They combine both the guidance of a teacher and the understanding of a friend. Friendly teachers act like philosophers and guides. A friendly teacher helps the students to choose the right path . These teachers are closer to the students and better educators because they understand students needs and help them accordingly. Personality development and positive attitude of the each student is their first priority. Friendly teachers never criticize their students in the class ,and they are always gentle with them. My 8th grade math teacher is the perfect example for this. He was very friendly with us. He used to stay after school to help with our math problems. He used to meet our parents on regular basis. I really enjoyed his teaching methods. He is one of my favorite teachers. So friendly teachers are very important for the students future. The other kinds of teachers are strict teachers. Strict teachers are very tough on students. They dislike any mistakes or carelessness. These kind of teachers have high expectations for their students. Disciplining their students is important for the strict teachers. Students have to be extra cautious about these kinds of teachers. For example, my 6th grade music teacher was very strict. He wanted us to memorize each note. I was nervous when I started that class. I wanted to quit the class because of his strictness. After I realized that he was just helping me through tough times, I admired him. Because of his discipline, I continued the music class. Even though strict teachers are rough sometimes,some students need these kind of teachers. The third kinds of teachers are ideal teachers. Some teachers sacrifice their lives to help the students. They are humble, self -disciplined, helpful, honest ,creative and available to all the students. By respecting the students and giving self confidence to their students, these teachers help the students to become good citizens. They are perfect role models and they also have great hearts. Anne Marie Murphy, 52 is the perfect example for these kinds of teachers. She was a Sandy Hook Elementary teacher who died to protect her students during the shooting. She sacrificed her life for her students. She was the perfect role model. Students who have these kind of ideal teachers are very lucky. Teachers do not all teach same way. Students like their teacher according to their own individual preference. The relationship between teachers and their students is the key element in creating an educational atmosphere that is both pleasant and effective. Teachers are different, however, they all have something in common, and that is the desire to help their students.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Food Safety Is An Important Issue Biology Essay

Food Safety Is An Important Issue Biology Essay Food safety is an important issue. The trust of consumers, food safety and quality, and this will be they expected to. Consumers also expect to be able to provide the information; you can help them make informed decisions about the composition of the food, this information, whether it is on the product label or by advertising, not false or misleading. Food safety is a discipline describing handling, preparation and storage of food to prevent food borne illness. The statistics on food borne illness speak for themselves. Regulatory officials and their management of retail and food service industry must cooperate with each other, if we are to prevent or reduce food borne illness. This Manual was prepared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, industry, academia and consumers, to help you operators of the retail and food service establishments, your efforts to produce safe food. This includes many routine s that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards. In this line of thought is the safety of the track between the industry and the market, between the market and consumers. Considerations in food safety, including consideration of industry market practices, the origin of the food, including on food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and pesticide residues practice, as well as biotechnology and food policies and government import and export management guidelines for food inspection and certification system. Consider the market of consumer behavior, it is usually thought that the food should be on the market should be safe, concern consumer food safe delivery and preparation. 2.0 Answer of Question 1 As a food safety expert, what considerations that needs to advocate to ensure a food safe facility is the steps of receive until serving are the most important part. When you have followed the steps nicely then it can avoid from being affect by bacteria. And if you already follow the steps then it will sure your food will be cleanness and healthier. The steps for the food safe facility are very important. Below retail on common steps, in order to assist in your decision-making, and steps you through the procedures in this document. All of the steps are receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding and serving. 2.1 Receiving The receiving food safety is an important step. In the receiver, the main concern is the contamination of pathogens, and the formation of harmful toxins. The importance of the proposed control measures in steps are rapidly into cold storage at the proper temperature and food spoilage of food and access to food, food additives and packaging materials from legitimate sources. Ready to eat, potentially hazardous food received special attention. This will not be cooked before the food service, the growth of pathogenic bacteria, refrigerated in this step, the food can be eaten at any time can be considered to be an important risk. Prerequisite programs, in order to control the temperature of the product is generally of the hazard, these products are mostly in the receiving sufficient control. At a suitable temperature, and when it arrives, if there is a potential danger if it is at a temperature of 5Â °C or below freezing, if it is at a temperature of 60Â °C or above heat and it is the frozen hard, rather than partially thawed. When this problem happens, then reject potentially dangerous food to pass internal temperature between 5Â °C and 60Â °C. Unless the supplier can prove a time segment, in which the food has been at 5Â °C and 60Â °C not impair food security. In addition to checking the temperature of the product, you should check the appearance, smell, color and condition of the packaging. 2.2 Storage When the food in refrigerated storage, food safety management system should focus on maintain temperature control to limit the growth of pathogenic bacteria that may be present, in the preparation of food products and store food, such as ready to eat foods, cross-contamination of raw animal foods to prevent. When determining the storage temperature and the frequency of monitoring in refrigeration products, you may decide to set the temperature lower than what is required by local regulations. Set temperature is lower than what your regulatory requirements, the bacteria begin to grow small upward bias temperature detected by frequent monitoring, can be quickly corrected. For example, if you are storing potentially dangerous, ready to eat food under refrigeration, you may decide to set critical limits of the refrigeration unit to run in 38Â °F. This provides a safety cushion, you have the opportunity to see the trend of more than 41Â °F and the appropriate corrective measures to inte rvene before the bacteria begin to grow to dangerous levels. Ready to eat food, it is best to check the temperature inside the control procedures. You should assess whether it is realistic and feasible for you to do this depends on your food storage volumes. You can choose your monitoring system based on air temperature refrigeration equipment as a prerequisite for the program. How often you should monitor the air temperature depends on your capacity and the use of refrigeration equipment and the number and type of food stored in the cold storage units. 2.3 Preparation Of all the operational steps, preparation has the greatest variety of activities that should be controlled, monitored, and in some cases, documented. This is impossible, including a summary of the manual covers a variety of menus, the skills of the staff and facilities design, influence the preparation of food. The preparation step may involve a plurality of procedures, including thawing, mixing together ingredients cutting, chopping, slicing, or breading. Preparatory steps, the premise of the program can be developed, to control some of the hazards, and assist in the implementation of food safety management system, to minimize the growth of bacteria and from the staff and equipment contamination. Prepared in small quantities for controlling bacteria growth it because the restriction of the amount of food prepared is an important tool that allows the growth temperature, maintained at the time of food minimized. The pre-planning of the volume of the food and minimize the time for prep aring the desired time the food is in the dangerous temperature region, the steps in this operation. The thawing of the frozen food products to maintain the proper temperature and time management is the primary control, to minimize bacterial growth. Procedures should be in place to reduce the potential for microbial, chemical and physical contamination during thawing. 2.4 Cooking Animal derived food cooking is the most effective steps to reduce or eliminate biological contamination. Cooking time specified to the proper temperature will kill most harmful bacteria and parasites. Therefore, frequent cooking temperature monitoring, it is strongly recommended. You should be determined to ensure that the proper cooking temperature and time to achieve the best system to use. Cooking raw animal foods, special consideration should be given to the time and temperature. In the development of the HACCP plan or prerequisite, it is important to understand the critical limit is a particular product in the cooking steps. For example, security cooking temperature or time for the poultry is 165Â °F is 15 seconds; 15 seconds with 155Â °F minced beef is safe cooking temperature. 2.5 Cooling If you want to cook, you intend after cooling and the use of potentially hazardous food, and then you need food cooled to 5Â °C or lower temperature as quickly as possible. Possible, even if it has been cooked foods cause food poisoning bacteria. These bacteria are able to grow faster cooling time limit or the formation of toxins. Cooling cooked potentially hazardous food, within a period of cooling food are from 60Â °C 21Â °C within in two hours and from 21Â °C to 5Â °C within a further four hours. This means that you have a cold food for up to six hours, from 60Â °C to 5Â °C or below. If you do not know how your food fast cooling, using a probe thermometer to measure the most warm food usually in the center section. Rapid cold food, break it down into smaller parts in shallow containers. Be careful not to contaminate the food when you do so. 2.6 Reheating If the food does not correct the temperature is maintained at a sufficiently long time, the pathogens have the opportunity to breeding dangerous figures. Appropriate reheating provides an important control to eliminate these organisms. Remember although proper reheating will kill most organisms of concern, it does not eliminate the toxins in the body, such as Bacillus cereus food borne viruses produce. Immediate use of any potentially hazardous food has been held between 5Â °C and 60Â °C, and more than two hours, but discarded food, has been held more than 5Â °C and 60Â °C for 4 hours. 2.7 Holding When cooking process to eliminate the bacteria, the spore-forming bacteria should be destroyed. If not at the proper temperature, without temperature control, held at the appropriate time in the cooked food, the rapid growth of this spore-forming bacterium is a big problem. Keeping food products at 135Â °F or above during hot holding and keeping food products at or below 41Â °F is effective in preventing microbial growth. As an alternative, the temperature control details of Food Code action, when used alone as a control, including a comprehensive monitoring and food labeling system to ensure food safety. 2.8 Serving Food before it reaches the customer, which is the last step of the operation. When employees work with food and food contact surfaces, they can easily spread bacteria parasites and viruses. Manage personal hygiene is important to control these hazards. Recommend employees personal health management program, implemented to solve the following proper hand washing procedures, appropriate use of gloves and dispensing utensils and the control bare hand contact with ready to eat food. Specific program recommends that customers self-service displays, such as to protect food from contamination of salad bars and buffets. Special consideration should be given to prevent cross-contamination, contaminated equipment and equipment to minimize pollution customers. 3.0 Conclusion of Question 1 In conclusion, when you cook or have a food then you should follow the steps that mention above. You take positive measures to improve the security you establish food sales. As we know, food is very important for us and it may cause us healthier or death. So that we should follow the steps nicely and make sure that the food is clean and make sure it safe to eat. Bacteria is the most difficult thing to prevent when you want to cook, bacteria will around any place and we cannot feel it or touch it but it can easily make the food become unhealthy. If you follow the steps that mention at above then it sure will help prevent those bacteria and also can easier cook out a healthy food. 1.0 Introduction of Question 2 In order to strengthen food security, food production per stage is from are receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding and serving strict monitoring should be carried out. Food security has already become important and most of the proprietor or customer will be attach importance to this food security. The HACCP system is a scientific, systematic approach to identify assess and control hazards in the food production process. HACCP system, food safety control is integrated into the design process, rather than relying on the testing of the last product. Therefore, the HACCP system in food safety, it can prevention and cost-effective way. 2.0 Answer of Question 2 The Codex Alimentarius Commission sets out seven principles for the basis of HACCP systems. Applies only to the seven principles of HACCP has completed a preliminary step in the development of the HACCP plan. 2.1 The seven principles of HACCP 2.1.1 Principles 1-Conduct a Hazard Analysis The application of this principle relates to the steps in the listing process and identify significant harm is likely to occur. HACCP team will focus on hazards is to prevent, eliminate or control the HACCP plan. Reported reasons include or exclude the danger, and to determine the possible control measures. 2.1.2 Principles 2-Identify Critical Control Points (CCP) Critical Control Point (CCP) is a point, step or procedure can be applied to control the food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level. HACCP team will use the CCP decision tree to help determine the critical control points in the process. The critical control points can control more than one food safety hazards, or in some cases, it is necessary to control a single dangerous more than one of CCP. CPC needed depends on the number to ensure that the required processing steps and control of food safety. 2.1.3 Principles 3-Establish Critical Limits Critical limits (CL) is a CCP, in order to prevent, eliminate or reduce to an acceptable level, biological, chemical or physical parameters of food safety hazards must be controlled at the maximum and or minimum value. Usually a key restriction measures, such as time, temperature, water activity (Aw), pH value, weight, or some other measure is based on the scientific literature and or regulatory standards. 2.1.4 Principles 4-Establish Monitoring Procedures Once you have determined the critical control points and critical limits, someone needs to keep track of critical control point, food flows through operation. Monitoring, including direct observation or measurement of critical control point is under control, insist on the establishment of critical limits. 2.1.5 Principles 5-Establish Corrective Actions Occasional processes or procedures in monitoring critical control points will not be able to comply with the established critical limit. This step establishes a plan for what happens when a critical limit has not been met at a critical control points. The operator can determine the action of these actions is to convey to the employees, and train them to make the right decisions. This preventive approach is the heart of the HACCP. Problems, but you need to find them, correct them before they lead to illness or injury. 2.1.6 Principles 6-Establish Verification Procedures This principle is to ensure that the system is the science of sound, effective control of hazards. In addition, this step ensures that specified when the system is running according to plan. Specified personal favorite manager regularly observe the activities of staff supervision, calibration equipment and temperature measuring devices, review of records or actions with employees to discuss the program. The purpose of all these activities is to deal with the issue of food security to ensure that the HACCP plan, if not, check to see if it needs to be modified or improved. 2.1.7 Principles 7-Establish Record Keeping Procedures There are written records or documents needed to verify that the system is working. These records are usually involved in the HACCP plan and any monitoring, corrective action, or calibration records of the operation of the HACCP system in the production. You can also include verification records. Maintenance records, records in the HACCP system is an ongoing, effective system is in place. Record keeping should be as simple as possible, so that more staff will have enough time to keep the records. 2.2 Risk Analysis Food safety risk analysis is essential, not only to the production or manufacture of goods and products of the highest quality, to ensure the safety and protection of public health, also in line with international standards and national standards, market regulations. 2.2.1 Risk Assessment The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department adopts the risk analysis framework promulgated by international food safety authorities in controlling food safety. The risk analysis consists of three functions, namely, risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. The risk assessment can control the scientific basis for action. Risk assessment should incorporate the four steps of risk assessment example is hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. Experienced in the risk assessment process, with the food or food ingredient hazard assessment and the potential risks of the population to be evaluated in order to develop appropriate risk management measures and risk communication information to protect public health. 2.2.2 Risk Management The risk assessment and risk communication, risk management is an important part of the risk analysis. This introduces a factor of the process of the successful implementation of the risk management needs. It describes the steps to identify and assess food safety risks, evaluate all available options to manage these risks, implementation of risk management decisions, and to ensure that the decision was the most appropriate. Risk management should take a comprehensive view of possible human health risk management. The process of risk management and decision-making should be transparent and appropriate records for different audiences. The risk management needs of a wide range of communication, coordination and collaboration, risk management and risk assessment, and with external stakeholders. 2.2.3 Risk Communication Therefore, if this is very important, in the end what is a food safety risk communication? While risk communication is a very complex subject, it is very simple in nature. Food safety risk communication is a three-step process, began to conduct a risk assessment, food safety scientists and statisticians part of the assessment of the likelihood of public health risk. The second step is risk management, health officials, scientific experts, food manufacturers and retailers work together to determine exactly what steps you need to ensure public safety. The third step is to risk communication, sharing of information and advice, with the consumption of the general public, and with the other parties in the production and preparation of food, food distribution and sales. From their experience in risk communication, International Food Information Council has developed a set of guidelines to help ensure that the right information reaches stakeholders and consumers, enabling them to make infor med decisions about the food they eat, their security. It is Understand and addresses the public concern and communicates with clarity and sympathy. 3.0 Conclusion of Question 2 Nowadays, food safety has become very important. Most of the proprietor and customer are attach importance to the food safety. Because when restaurant make out the food with not safety and the customer having the stale food then it may cause food poison or more serious it also can cause death. So to avoid this thing happen then HACCP is the better way to help you prevent the bacteria. Those seven principles are very important; all of restaurant, supplier should follow the principles to prevent bacteria and provide a healthy food. And then about risk analysis also one of the important thing for us. So, if you want make food safety then you should follow the steps of HACCP with nicely.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Safety Of Blood :: essays research papers fc

The Safety of Blood A five-year old girl is riding down the street, on her way to her best friend's house. She doesn't have a care in the world and is quietly humming to herself. Suddenly a car whips around the corner and swerves to avoid the child, but he looses control and squarely hits the girl, causing the her to fall and get trapped between the car and her battered bicycle. A main artery in her leg has been severed and blood fills the gutter of the street. As she gets rushed to the hospital in the ambulance, a pint of blood is given to her to attempt to replace some of the life giving fluid that is pouring out of her leg. In the end she received four pints of blood and made a full recovery. Although everything turned out all right for the girl, things could have been much different. What if that blood hadn't been there because the nation's blood supply was low? What if the blood that she received had been infected with a deadly disease such as Syphilis or HIV? These are pressing concerns for today's society. Even though one in every five people will need a blood transfusion and the risk of contracting a disease such as AIDS is practically negligible, people are still concerned that the blood that they receive may have harmful or deadly diseases and that today's blood supply is not "safe." However, "safe" means different things for different people. For some, safe is an absolute security from any danger. This is an extreme viewpoint, though, because most people realize that one can never be completely safe. Another, and more popularly held connotation of "safe," is the probability of not getting hurt. This is a much more reasonable and plausible definition and therefor will be used throughout this paper. However, even though the overwhelming probability is that nothing will go wrong, people still fear that the nation's blood supply is unsafe. They are incorrect in this belief, though, because much is done to assure that the nation's blood supply is, in fact, safe. One requirement to having a safe blood supply is to have an extensive reserve, because this allows for the option of discarding any blood that is potentially unsafe. The assurance of an ample blood supply begins with the donation process. Most of the people in this country have the capability to donate blood. However, only 4 percent of the eligible population actually donates.1 There are few restrictions and the reason why there are blood shortages is because people don't want to donate as opposed to can't donate.

Chaucers Parody To Courtly Love Essay -- English Literature Chaucer E

Chaucer's Parody To Courtly Love After the Knight tells his story, the Miller insists very rudely to tell his tale. Chaucer uses the aspect of courtly love which is found in the Knights tale and makes a parody of it; He uses the Miller?s character to mock the Knights idea of courtly love. Miller describes the heroine of his story Alison, as a wife of an older man and also an infidel. She?s compared to a ?wezele? sly and cunning. The description of Alison clearly indicates that she is very different from an innocent girl from courtly love stories instead she?s well aware of her husbands jealousy and wears elaborate cloths to show off her beauty. ?Of col-blak silk, withinne and eek withoute? Alison shows off that she?s rich by wearing the most expensive fabric of silk at the time, again this adds to the opposite side of courtly love romances in which the girl would not show off but in fact stay unaware of such matters as the character of Emily in the Knights tale. Miller then uses two male Characters who show great admiration for Alison but unlike the love ...

Friday, July 19, 2019

Looking for God :: Papers

Looking for God Where are you supposed to look for God? How are you to look for God, and does it help to decide what sort of thing you are looking for first? What kind of thing is God? Looking from the perspective of someone with no previous faith, looking for general revelation, I would have to say you have to perceive what you think is God-like first. If you ask the majority of people with a faith what God is like, they would probably say 'all good and all-powerful'. So are you looking for general signs of goodness, beauty, power and awe? If you are then you can rule out finding God in evil, ugliness, weakness and un-impressiveness. Or can you? I know that black isn't white, but people thought Hitler was 'good'; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so an 'ugly' person to me might be stunningly 'beautiful' to someone else; the queen bee is supreme over mere drones, however it looks a bit pathetic in comparison to even simple humans; and David Beckham's match and free kick against Greece last year left thousands of footy fans awe-struck, yet my brother just couldn't see what the fuss was about. God is deeply personal, so will be found in different places for everyone. If you thought that 'The Miracle Of life' was completely un-earthly, and could only be explained with a super-human being, then I bet I could find half a dozen more that just think we are here accidentally. [IMAGE][IMAGE][IMAGE]If you are solely looking for good, you can still find it in atrocities. In Sept. 11 you could find God in the 'power' and 'awe' of it all, but also in those brave people whose spirit never wavered, in those volunteers determined to help, in those fore-fighters who gave their life to save others, those selfless rescuers, counsellors, vicars, children. Osama tried to devastate American spirit and attitude as well as massacre, but he failed in crushing the love and goodness in people's heats and minds.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory and the CSI Effect on Jurors Essay

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office presented a study in 2005 in which it examined the impact of the so-called â€Å"CSI effect† to its jurors. The data was gathered by means of surveying prosecutors who had jury trial experience, and from there, the study assessed the samples’ perceptions as to whether the â€Å"CSI effect† had played a part in the decision of some juries. Interestingly, although the â€Å"CSI effect† may be deemed an unlikely factor, the study showed that the â€Å"CSI effect† is real and may affect jury behavior (Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, 2005). Television watching, as some media theories have discussed, can create a psychological impact to its viewers especially as it can inevitably serve as an educational source; however, the problem lies in what television can actually teach (Condry, 1989). The presence of the â€Å"CSI effect† in justice and legal systems can be deemed significant especially as to how this may affect the judgment of the members of the jury. The idea that certain television genres, especially along the lines of the highly popular crime drama Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), can affect certain trial outcomes may seem outrageous, but the â€Å"CSI effect† has been established as a ground that connects the real-life justice and legal systems and products of media and entertainment (Smith, Patry and Stinson, 2008; Stevens, 2008; Mardis, 2006). As the effectiveness of the justice system also relies on the effectiveness of its jurors, the impact of the media and entertainment products towards people in this context may be deemed problematic (Stevens, 2008). This is why it is important to evaluate the impact of the â€Å"CSI effect† because of its implications thereby highlighting the relationship between the law and mass communications. The term â€Å"CSI effect† is based on the popular television show Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) and other shows that present the following basic premise: the ability of an (fictional) authoritative group in crime and justice that can expose the truth based on their systematic and sophisticated processes. However, since these shows are made for televisions, it is inevitable that these processes are glamorized and may not be realistic at all. The â€Å"CSI effect† therefore pertains to the influence of such television programs to the perceptions and behavior of the people, especially in relation to the justice and legal systems (Smith, Patry and Stinson, 2008). Stevens (2008) further explains that the â€Å"CSI effect† is based on fictionalized accounts as to what forensic science can do but, due to the twisted conceptions of reality of some viewers, there is the inescapable belief that these components of the shows are something happens in real life. Among the media and communication theories that can serve as fundamental framework of this assessment is Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory. The theory suggests that information sources such as television contribute to the cultivation of the individual and the social environment; therefore, conceptions of reality are formed (Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Gerbner, 1998). This theory can then be based on the concept that stories, as projected, tends to reflect a certain extent of reality, therefore, they animate a society’s cultural environment. As Gerbner (1999, ix) explained the functions of stories, they â€Å"illuminate the all-important but invisible relationships and hidden dynamics of life†; as these stories represent a degree of shared beliefs, the cultivation of these tales and representations therefore create a significant input to the perceived reality of individuals. The Cultivation Theory is also further supported by several studies conducted by Gerber and his colleagues with a focus on the impact of television to real world perceptions. This brings an interesting premise as the projected reality is based on fictional work; the impact of the cultivation thereby leads to behavioral effects. Television shows, as Gerbner (1998) pointed out, are important marketing tools that have affected not only the people’s perceptions but also their identity and expectations from the society. The validity of television can be based on its function, being a source of information and spectacle representing the shared images and history across many societies (Gerbner, 1998). This paper therefore aims to evaluate the relationship of Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory with the â€Å"CSI effect†, especially as to how this has affected and may affect juror perceptions and judgments. This study addresses this thesis by conducting a review of a series of related literatures that are deemed integral to a better and cohesive understanding between this phenomenon and the theory of cultivation. The findings and implications discuss the degree of impact of the â€Å"CSI effect† and whether this is something that the justice system should seriously consider and devote effort to. Furthermore, approaches towards the Cultivation Theory are also addressed especially in terms of its applicability to the â€Å"CSI effect† and juror behavior. The study then concludes with an analysis on how the findings may actually help in the formulation of a more effective jury screening process. Review of Literature Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory, the Media, and the Television A series of studies conducted by Gerbner and his colleagues tackled the effect of the television and its contribution to the formation of reality among its viewers which are, interestingly, found to be similar to the world in these television shows. Functioning under the umbrella of the Cultivation Theory, the studies also initiated cultivation analyses and the identification of cultural indicators that were also deemed to contribute to reality- and perception-formation among television viewers. As Gerbner (1998) explained these processes, the activity was spawned from the previous examinations on how stories, in general, may be formed for the purpose of manufacturing and marketing purposes. Television is therefore seen as an important medium in story-telling, especially how technological innovations seem to have continuously supported the role of the television in the society. As Gerbner’s studies (1998, 1999; Gerbner & Gross, 1984; Gerbner, Gross, Morgan & Signorelli, 1984) have emphasized the role and importance of television, the origins of cultivation found its venue in this particular technology and social tool. This is because media messages can be easily accessed through television, therefore the cultivation of social reality may be based on what the media feeds its viewers. However, as Gerbner (1998) noted, although the television may be an important tool, it merely plays an integral aspect in the overall dynamics of information processes and conception-formation. This is to say that, for instance, a person may be a huge fan of CSI because of its entertainment value, but the same person is also well-aware that what he or she is appreciating is fiction and not necessarily real and factual. Hence, it can be gathered from the cultivation theory that although television plays an integral role, its effect is not absolute as people are continuously exposed to many channels of information and messages (Gerbner, 1998). The cultivation, on one hand, is seen to be more effective is the viewer is experiences a repeated exposure to particular television images (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). The definition of cultivation is thereby defined as â€Å"the independent contributions television viewing makes to viewer conceptions of social reality. The ‘cultivation differential’ is the margin of difference in conceptions of reality between light and heavy viewers in the same demographic sub-groups† (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli, 1994, 23). An analysis towards Gebner’s theory is presented by Hughes (1980) who presented some shortcomings in the studies presented by the former and his colleagues in the context of the effect of violence in television to the perceived reality. The initial cultivation theory studies conducted by Gerbner in the1970s generally made use of the following controls: age, sex and education. Hughes pointed out that there were more factors that could affect the responses of the sample that participated in the General Social Survey such as race and income. This shows that the applicability of the cultivation theory is limited; hence, how television content may cultivate certain conceptions among individuals may be more minimal impact than expected. One of the studies that applied the notion of cultivation theory is a study conducted by Shrum (1999) where the author measured attitude strength and attitude extremity as implications of Gerbner’s cultivation theory. Shrum’s initial approach to the study was to weigh in theories along the lines of Gerbner’s work and its critics such as those presented by Hughes (1980). Basically, the author agreed with the identified shortcomings of Gerbner’s work although the criticisms were mostly based on the process Gerbner and his team used. Shrum also pointed out that one of the probable weaknesses of Gerbner’s work was the identification of the two main categories of samples in addition to the previously identified controls of age, sex and education: participants who were heavy television viewers and those who were light television viewers. The main purpose of Shrum’s study was to evaluate the impact of television towards the attitudes demonstrated. Although Shrum showed that what could limit Gerbner’s work was the issue on the lack of efficient design, the author approached the study in a similar manner — by comparing the results between heavy and light viewers — as a means to identify differences. The categorization between the heavy and the light viewers would prove to be simplistic yet substantial in the author’s approach especially as the samples he used fell in the same demographic categories which were students. The study’s result showed that it reflected Gerbner’s cultivation theory; apparently, heavy television watchers were found to have the tendency to perceive a â€Å"television world† as compared to the light television watchers. The study examined students who watched soap operas, hence, from the results, the sampled heavy viewers were found to have the tendency to experience more distrust and possibly, more marital problems. Shrum (1999) utilized regression approaches and analyses in order to come up with this conclusion. A similar study can be also found in Quick’s (2009) assessment of variation among patient response as based on whether they watch the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. The study found that patients who heavily watched the show are most likely to have positive associations in terms of their perceptions towards doctors. The perception, according to this study, is not necessarily based on the positive portrayal of the doctors but rather the show was seen as a credible reference to what happens in the hospitals and how doctors can be expected to behave in this space. Hence, despite the presence of both positive and negative portrayals of medical professionals, heavy viewers of this particular show count the courageous and compassionate aspects of the fictional characters, hence, the study found that these patient-viewers have a positive perception towards their physicians. Quick (2009) mentioned, however, that although this context does not necessarily provide harm, the problem is that the sensationalization of the show may further cultivate wrong or high expectations from patients. Quick (2009) further mentioned that the implications of such results can be used to communicate accurate depictions such as, in the case of Grey’s Anatomy, conveying important health-related information. In a sense, by using the fictional channel such as television, viewers are able to be more informed in important issues. This is discussed by Appel (2008) in which the television plays an integral role in just-world beliefs; as Appel mentioned, the cultivation of beliefs can be specially affective among those who heavily watch television. Appel (2008) supported this posit by conducting a comparison study between Austrian and German television viewers; the main purpose of this research was to determine the degree of just-world beliefs among television viewers. The study showed that fictional narratives can change the perceptions of the people, and interestingly, these narratives usually feature a world that is just. Basically, what can be attributed to this impact can be pointed at the content of the program. The effectiveness of these messages in the â€Å"television world† is due to the following factors: the stimulation of moral evaluation paired with the presence of resolution, and at the same time, the entertainment value of these programs (Appel, 2008). This is why, according to the author, heavy television viewers especially those who watch a lot of fictional narratives demonstrate a strong belief in a just-world as compared to viewers of infotainment and non-fiction where belief in the mean-world is seen to be more emphasized. From this, content evidently plays a role in the amount of influence to the viewers, but from this study, the fictional programs are seen to be a more effective venue in changing the beliefs of the viewers. When it comes to content, genre plays a very important role. An important point raised by Cohen and Weinmann (2000) is that the viewers themselves unconsciously â€Å"cultivate† themselves through television because the viewers choose which shows to watch. The selection can be based on many factors, from age, education, sex, personality and even life experiences. Since genres vary as based on content and certain plot norms, it can be gathered that social realities in these contexts also differ. Which is why, according to the authors, the view and representations on the world are not similar, and at the same time, these program contents may also present conflicting perspectives. Hence, in the aspect of cultivation, different attitudes and world-views can be formed; Shrum’s (1999) and Quick’s (2009) studies are only therefore applicable to the specific genres they focused on (soap operas and Grey’s Anatomy, respectively) and the results towards attitudes and viewer response may be different if the study evaluated viewer response towards different shows. Cultivation Theory and the Crime TV Genre When it comes to the cultivation impact in crime genres in television, Dominick (1973) examined Gerbner’s theory specifically his studies in cultivation when it comes to crime- or violence-related shows. Dominick mentioned that prior to Gerbner’s study published in 1972, there were already past studies as to the presence of crime-related shows as found on television. In fact, as the author mentioned, it was found that even in the majority of the television shows in the 1950s demonstrated many programs of this genre, and that law enforcers were already highly stereotyped. Dominick (1973) cited Gerbner’s previous study as a stepping stone to further analyze crime and violence on television; according to the author, Gerbner’s studies, which covered television shows in the later half of the 1960s, showed a significant amount of violence and crime on television yet, in reality, there was the noted decrease in violence among criminals but the law enforcers maintained a certain degree of violence. In reflection, Dominick noted that on television, the law enforcers were seen as the main authoritative figure that always saves the day. Hence, in agreeing with Gerbner’s study, Dominick’s analysis lead to further contribution as to the role of cultivation theory especially as to how the audiences are influenced on their stereotype perceptions, especially in crime- and violence-related shows. Stereotyping seems to be a common element in television crime shows especially as this genre play up certain norms when it comes to the supposed social reality of crime. What is interesting is that racial elements were found to be contributory to these portrayals. For instance, in a study by Dixon (2007), the author noted that responses from heavy television viewers of crime-related programs are most likely the ones to reflect a racial bias in the identification of the perpetrator and the police officer. This shows that even though fact-based programs such as the news present reality, as also adapted in fictional programs, there is the aspect of racialized portrayals. Hence, cultivation in this context has led to certain media imageries that have become a social reality based on the collective perception towards crime racial stereotypes. However, what challenges this is presented by a study conducted by Grabe and Drew (2007) in which the authors examined how crime in the media would actually successfully cultivate specific crime orientations. According to the authors, the study of crime in the media has been a prominent subject in studying cultivation. Grabe and Drew conducted a study among 505 selected adults located in Indiana, and from this, the study concluded that there was a significant variance depending on the many media genres and channels. Hence, the study showed that crime orientation among individuals may not be as strongly influenced by the media especially as viewers have different personal orientations that may affect their own worldviews. This is also reflected by a study executed by Diefenbach and West (2001) in which the authors tested the effect of cultivation theory when it comes to perceptions on violence and crime as seen on television. However, Diefenbach and West also showed results which point at the influence of light versus heavy viewers perceptions. The study showed that projections on crime rates are higher among heavy television viewers. On one hand, it should be also noted that in this study, as the authors pointed out, the samples were limited among the participants from a small North Carolina town with crime rates below the national average. The background of the participants can then be said to factor into perceptions, which is to say, for instance, that projections from samples from a small town may differ from those from the city who have a greater exposure to criminal incidences in their communities. Another variation of a study applying the cultivation theory in crime television is conducted by Heath and Petraitis (1987). According to the study, adapted perceptions projected from the â€Å"television world† were believed to be mostly realistic in distant settings and not in their immediate environment. The study concluded that the fear viewers feel towards crime are more apparent among viewers who see the possibility of such incidents in a distant urban setting rather than in their neighborhood. Basically, based on these applications of the cultivation theory in the crime genre, it can be observed that the varying results are due to the different impacts of many factors. It is evident that one of the crime genre norms is the utilization of stereotyped portrayals which, in the end, does lead the viewers to make certain conclusions thereby affecting their crime orientations. On one hand, other studies further look at the derivatives at the actual effect of crime television exposure among the viewers, and this shows that the cultivation theory is applicable only up to a certain extent. The validity of Gerbner’s cultivation theory still has to rely on the background of the viewers, the relevance of the show’s content to the viewers’ reality, and the amount of media exposure a viewer may have. Hence, it is possible that some viewers demonstrate a quintessential example or a manifestation of Gerbner’s cultivation theory, but as time went on and as can be seen in the more recent cited studies on audience response towards crime television, perceptions in this context are not homogenous. The impact of television towards perception and behavior can then be regarded on a case-to-case basis, especially as audience exposure is no longer limited to the offerings of television, in addition to the fact that there has been also the emergence of sub-genres among many other shows.

The Grim Reaper Floats

The bosh be adrift by Karen Brenna is about a char char charr who rout out miraculously float. She floats around the kinfolk day after day presumable to never leave. Her husband, however, seems completely unimpressed by her ability and sees her as a burden. A burden that he must have and take care of. It Is non desire Into the falsehood before she finds a rape and brings it into her put up. While this is happening another trading floor is existence t venerable about a char womanhood who meets Satan, and has a conversation with him in her house.The writer intended for only of these evets to relate to separately other, and in any case to have some secernate of deeper imageism. The woman who aimlessly floats finished the halls of her house does not have a choice, she Is detain. Her and all(prenominal) one else In the story Is departed and stuck In Purgatory walling for their unceasing fate to be decided. every(prenominal) of them experiencing death In a differ ent way, the man bitter and mean, the woman and kid oblivious, and the story of the woman who spoke to Satan is already destined for sanatorium.According to the brilliance depicted in twain Dents netherworld and The godly Comedy before landward 2 you enter hell at that stead Is a place called Purgatory. Purgatory is a place you go after death where you Walt for the determination on whether or not you go to the eternal resting place of heaven, or If your instinct Is damned for the re primary(prenominal)der of time In the pits of hell. Purgatory is where the majority of the story takes place. The woman does not k nowadays she is in Purgatory and that is why she is so amazed she can float. Floating is commonly a property given to the deceased, as in ghosts or spirits.The root too gave his nature this ability as to fart to her death. She is trapped in her house, which Is a symbol for Purgatory and that Is why she feels she cannot leave. l wish I could float at the superm arket or even out prat(a) beneath the stars, over the treetops which would be attractive from this angle. But I can only float through the retinue of my own house(Brenna 303). In this book of factsization the character is saying that outside is alluring and giving, but she is bound only to the rooms and halls of the house.Because the house is a symbol for Purgatory, the outside world is an allusion to even, and that is why she wants postal code more(prenominal) than to leave the house and fly among the stars. often Like person would Like nothing more than to be allowed to be free of the bonds of Purgatory and frolic In the paradise of Heaven. another(prenominal) hint in the text is when the germ writes about the main(prenominal) character vagabond through the halls, and thinking back on her life as if it was a bygone event.She thinks about how landwards 3 she arranged things on her coffee table severe to impress people, and have the silly objects ring on who she is and realizes how foolish it was. A hole of people gestate Tanat once you chip in on Tanat you are enlightens Ana all terrestrial possessions Ana desires are realized foolish. This is what the author is referring to, because she is now baseless she has been enlightened thus removing all of her earthly desires. The author similarly compared the main character to Chlorals betrothal couple, which are newly wed ghosts floating across the sheet of paper painted by the artist sign of the zodiac Chalks.This could be yet another allusion to her being dead. l float like Chlorals spousal couple alienates, past the huge oak mirror my grandmother bequeathed me where (Brenna 303). Besides the bridal couple reference the author as well mentions the main characters deceased grandmother manner of speaking the thought of death into the readers mind once again. All of these blatant messages of death shows that the author intended for the characters to be dead. The main character is not the only one who is dead in this story there is also the husband and the baby.As we know, the husband of the main character of the story seems to always be alter and cranky, there is valid causal agencying after part this. The wife and husband died at the alike(p) time, the husband knows that they are dead turn the wife is oblivious. This is why the Landwards 4 husband is so utterly unimpressed by his wifes ability to float. They can both do it, he is Just hard to protect her from the truth of their death. By not floating, the husband is letting his wife believe that they are still in the deathlike world, that is why she can float and he is unimpressed.This would also explain why he seams so irritated all the time. mean if you knew you were dead, while you were trapped in Purgatory and you need to pretend you werent for the sake of the person you love most in the world. This is an obvious reason as to why one would be mad. The baby in the story is also dead, The first laye r of hell is oblivion and it is where all the uninhabited babys go. The baby in the story died before it had a pretend to be baptized, that is why they found it in Purgatory because it is also deceased.The reason it went to Purgatory is because the babies fate has not yet been decided. The rye of hell appressed to Purgatory is limbo, Limbo is where all the uninhabited babies go and that is where this baby went, the back room where the baby is kept is Limbo. The punishment in Limbo is for all of the uninhabited babies to float through the river of Coacher for eternity, to feel sorrow and hopelessness forever. In the story the baby is put into a drawer lined with pitiful velvet, the blue symbolizes water, and the drawer stops the baby from mobile around as in Landwards 5 it traps the baby.Another part of the story mentions that the back room is where all he old photos are kept, all of the photos are souls trapped in a photographic tomb. The story also talks about how someone crac ked the window with a shooting gun, so the window needed to be cover with a sheet. The window was a tantalizing view of heaven until it was covered leaving the room completely subjugate of hope. The last story was of a woman who spoke with Satan and told him her life story this could also be interpreted in many ways. This last scenario of the story when the woman speaks to Satan in person is jolly straight forward.Whenever you hear of anyone speaking to the night lord, you generally assume they are sledding to hell. The woman Lucifer spoke to was the main character of the story, but this event occurred in the past as foreshadowing to the sharpen in time when she dies implying that the woman waiting in Purgatory is destined Tort Hell. All of this evidence points to the author writing a new and twisted version of The Divine Comedy. This twisted text makes you think that hell is everywhere and even if it isnt apparent you could be in Purgatory this instant waiting for your eternal damnation.