Homeless: Who Are They? Essay

In 2005, NCH (National Coalition for the Homeless) estimated 3.5 million people experience homelessness in the US every year (NCH,1). But what is homelessness? Jim Baumohl, a noted author, explained in Homelessness in America, the most common definition of homelessness used by researchers is the â€Å"absence of belonging to a specific place or to people† (NCH, 3). However, there is no set definition, due to the variety of living conditions a homeless person encounters, and the opinions of the researchers. As Baumohl pointed out, â€Å"homelessness is but the latest of many research topics in which the population of interest is not clearly defined† (NCH, 15). Even though there is no clear definition of the homeless, the questions still linger, who are they? Though the image of the homeless is viewed in a negative, there are many homeless persons who are struggling to receive help. Alcoholics, drug addicts, sexual abusers, and gang members have cast an image on homelessness that scares people away from helping. Mary Ellen Hombs, Deputy Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, wrote, â€Å"At the beginning of the decade the prevailing stereotype of a homeless person was that of a middle-aged, white male alcoholic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hombs, 4). This description is a common view of a homeless man, however, the nation does not see the other minorities crying for help. Homeless persons are growing in numbers in the areas of mentally ill, children, and families. Society is unaware of the problems many of these people are facing, due to the negative image created. These groups go unnoticed and rarely receive the attention and help they need to survive. David Levinson, a noted cultural anthropologist, remarked in Encyclopedia of Homelessness, â€Å"Alice Solenberger classified homeless society in her book as ‘homeless old men, chronic beggars, wanderers, and tramps’† (Encyclopedia, 475). One of the most common-viewed images of a homeless citizen is of an alcoholic or drug abuser. Coincidently, Levinson noted, â€Å"In Finland, until recently, the word for ‘homeless’ and ‘alcoholism’ was puliukko, which derived from the words ukko (old man) and puli (a cheap liquor)† (Encyclopedia, 7). Homeless persons have raised the numbers in substance abuse drastically in the past years. Thirty-eight percent of homeless were dependent on alcohol and 26 percent abused other drugs in 2003 (NCH,1). Homelessness is usually caused by money spent on substances, which then leads to loss of housing. Substance abuse can be looked at as both a cause and a result of homelessness. Alcohol and drug abuse can be the result of homelessness, while being without a home can cause substance abuse to occur. Although the numbers of abusers is over half of the homeless population, there is an explanation to the high percentages. Levinson added that alcohol is generally seen as an adaptation to life on the streets and a way for the homeless to cope with their difficult situations (Encyclopedia, 9). After reviewing the statistics of substance abuse among homeless persons, it is safe to say the homeless population has portrayed an image of negativity towards alcohol and drugs, and will continue to live with this image until the rate of numbers decreases and the minorities are shown the attention they need. Mental illness has generally been a minority among homeless citizens; but with growing numbers in substance abuse, mental illness has also taken a climb up the number ladder in the past years. â€Å"Most studies have found 30 percent of homeless have some mental illness† (Hombs, 43). People affected by mental illness may neglect taking precautions to prevent disease, due to being uneducated about the disease they’re living with (NCH,1). When the mental health problems are combined with poor hygiene and lack of education, many cannot properly care for themselves. The most common mental illness among homeless is schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (NCH,1). Unfortunately, these two diseases put an individual in vulnerable situations and are the most dangerous mental illnesses to live with. They are almost impossible to recover from. NCH explained â€Å"Many programs for homeless with mental illnesses do not accept people with substance abuse disorders, and programs for homeless substance abusers do not treat people with mental illnesses† (NCH, 2). Since substance abuse and mental illness usually coincide among the homeless, treatment facilities are making it nearly impossible for the homeless to acquire correct treatment and housing. Along with mental illness, comes physical health problems; the most occurring disease among homeless persons is HIV/AIDS. People with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of becoming homeless and people who are homeless have a higher risk of contracting the disease. There are multiple reasons for the homeless to be the most commonly found with the disease(s). Many homeless people are ones with HIV because of the discrimination shown to the citizens with the illness (Hombs, 49). People with HIV are likely to lose their job, which then leads to lack of income (NCH, 1). With no money and no health care, treating the disease is rarely an option. Another reason for the disease to be so common among homeless is because of survival. NCH publicized, â€Å"Many homeless adolescents find that exchanging sex for f ood, clothing, and shelter is the only way for survival† (NCH, 2). If the only way for an adolescent to survive on the street is to exchange sexual activity, the minorities will never find a stop to the spread of disease. A homeless child known as â€Å"street youth,† faces dangerous situations and resides in risky locations everyday of their life (Encyclopedia, 540). The most common challenge a child has to cope with is lack of cognitive and motor development (Encyclopedia, 75). Missing these important stages of developing the brain will lead to mental illnesses down the road. Growing up with violence and crime will also put them in troubled adult lives. Many homeless children come from troubled families, domestic violence, or neglect. The majority of street youth are with a single parent, most commonly a female (Encyclopedia, 75). With trouble at home, many resort to running away or becoming caught up in drugs or alcohol to deal with the pain of the situations they are faced with. Just like adults, disease is another problem among children. Many children’s parents lack hygiene or education on disease, and many simply cannot provide the correct care for their children. Martha Burt, a noted author and publicist, reported in Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve, â€Å"Among homeless clients in family households, 10 percent reported that their children needed a doctor but were not able to do so† (Burt, 23). With this being noted, it is clear that children who are born into poverty stricken or homeless families will more than likely never see a doctor. Recently, due to immigration, the race of the homeless population has changed. African-Americans and Latinos are a growing number in homelessness, while whites are falling behind. NCH announced, â€Å"U.S. Conference of Mayor found that the homeless population is 47 percent African-American† (â€Å"Who† 3). African-Americans have dominated almost half of homeless persons but struggle more than whites. Whites are far better off in job markets and income than blacks. Whites have better chances of receiving greater incomes, which puts other minorities into poverty and eventually homelessness. This is why the numbers have gone up and the face of â€Å"homeless persons† is changing. Many different types of homeless categories have been viewed. Unfortunately, the ones needing help are hardly known. Homelessness has wrapped itself up in a negative way and has blocked out the helpless people with negativity. Alcohol, drugs, crime, violence, sex, and white males still dominate the face of homelessness and will continue to until change is made within those negative ways of living. When sexual abuse, crime, substance abuse, and spread of disease decrease among homeless persons, it will then be the start of changing the ways for minorities. The homeless have brought negativity on themselves by presenting their part of society in a stereotyped way. After seeing the facts, it is valid to state that alcohol and crime dominates homelessness and these factors block out the individuals needing help. Works Cited: Burt, Martha R. (1999). Homelessness: Programs and the people they serve. Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org.pdf Hombs, Mary E. (1990). American homelessness. Santa Barbara : ABC-CLIO, Inc. Levinson, D. (2004). Encyclopedia of homelessness . (Vol. 2). Sage Publications, Inc. National Coalition for the Homeless. (2007). Hiv/aids and homelessness . National Coalition for Homeless Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org National Coalition for Homeless. (2009). Mental illness and homelessness . National Coalition for Homeless. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org National Coalition for Homeless. (2007). Substance abuse and homelessness. National Coalition for Homeless Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org National Coalition of Homeless. (2007). Who is homeless?. National Coalition for Homeless. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org

Emily dickinsons nature poems Essay

Emily Dickinson’s use of nature imagery in her poetry incorporates elements of both romanticism and realism. These usually contrasting visions allow Dickinson to express a duplicity of perception, a duplicity which can be considered as a part of nature itself, as expressed through human consciousness. Although the overall impact of Dickinson’s nature imagery is romantic and reveals perception of nature as a mode of transcendence, the imagery and diction of Dickinson’s poems also establish a convincing realist tone, which separates her work from strictly transcendentalist nature-poets such as Emerson or Thoreau. It is not difficult to pinpoint individual poems by Dickinson where nature emerges as an obvious transcendent force. Her poem #214 â€Å"I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed† (Perkins, 990) utilizes an obvious metaphorical dynamic: the speaker of the poem is â€Å"drunk† on elements of nature: â€Å"Inebriate of Air — am I — / And Debauchee of Dew –† (Perkins, 990) and the exuberance of the speaker is meant to be both humorous and extreme. The poem strikes a comic tone, due to Dickinson’s belief that â€Å"the comic or humorous is no less serious than the tragic† (Eberwein 150) and in her mind, the â€Å"depths of human existence could never be climbed, would never be plumbed, without a humorous attenuation to the world† (Eberwein 150). The humor in poem #214 is meant to emerge from the irony of a speaker blatantly celebrating their drunkeness. Despite the poem’s comical overtones, the theme of the poem is, in fact, quite serious. The poem’s theme is that nature is a â€Å"gate† through which ecstacy is reached. The true irony of the poem is that liquor is superfluous to true ecstacy; all that is needed is nature itself. In this way, Dickinson is casting a criticism on her society’s reliance on â€Å"artificial† stimulants. Nature will endure where actual liquor runs dry: â€Å"When `Landlords` turn the drunken Bee/Out of the Foxgloves door –/When Butterflies — renounce their `drams` –/ I shall but drink the more! † (Perkins, 990) The seriousness of the poem’s theme is in the implied isolation of the speaker, who is acknowledged only by the â€Å"Seraphs† and â€Å"Saints† (Perkins, 990) who watch â€Å"the little Tippler / Leaning against the — Sun -† (Perkins, 990). It is impossible to escape the feeling that â€Å"Leaning against the — Sun† (Perkins, 990) is a dangerous position even fro an ecstatic poet; so while the poem demonstrates transcendence, it also expresses isolation and alienation. By contrast, Dickinson’s poem # 328, â€Å"A Bird came down the Walk –† (Perkins, 995) begins with a sense of alienation and rigid realistic description and opens toward the end to a transcendentalist vision of nature. The beginning line describe how a bid hopped on the speaker’s walk and â€Å"bit an Angleworm in halves† (Perkins, 995). The poet’s observation that the bird â€Å"ate the fellow, raw,† (Perkins, 995) suggests anything but a transcendental vision of nature. rather, the scene evokes a stark, biologically precise depiction of natural processes. Nevertheless, a duplicity of perception is hinted at in the following lines â€Å"And then he drank a Dew /From a convenient Grass –/ And then hopped sidewise to the Wall/ To let a Beetle pass –† (Perkins, 995) where the previously predatory scene gives way to one of â€Å"civility† and calm. The duplicity of perception is extended by the phrase â€Å"Like one in danger, Cautious† (Perkins, 995) which â€Å"may modify either the preceding â€Å"He stirred his Velvet Head† or the following â€Å"I offered him a Crumb,† hence either the bird or the speaker or both† (Eberwein 85) and, as such, admits an ambiguity into the poem’s diction which is foreshadowed by the imagery. This ambiguity is not quite resolved, but merely turned toward an image of transcendent nature in the poem’s closing lines: â€Å"Too silver for a seam –/Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon/ Leap, plashless as they swim† (Perkins, 995). Whereas poem #214 began with a blatant expression of intoxicated transcendence and ended with an ambiguity of isolation and alienation, poem # 328 begins with a sense of alienation and even violence,but resolves in a harmonious, transcendental uplift of diction and imagery. Obviously, Dickinson aim in her poetry was to represent the duality of human perception and the duality of the natural world which can be resolved in aesthetic expression, but not by methods based solely on rationalism or realism. Works Cited Eberwein, Jane Donahue, ed. An Emily Dickinson Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Perkins, George; Perkins, Barbara. The American Tradition in Literature 11th Edition 2007

Analysis of Labor and Capital Tensions in Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City

The â€Å"devil† of Erik Larson’s gripping The Devil in the White City is not just the murderer Henry J. Holmes, who serves as the terrifying counterpoint to architect Daniel Hudson Burnham’s efforts to conceive and construct the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Instead, Larson explores many different devils that plague Chicago as a whole. Larson paints a portrait of a city besieged by economic and labor struggles, the stress of technological development, a flood of immigration, and crime.Chicago, perched at the end of the Gilded Age, is an American city not only trying to establish an identity, but desperately trying to hold itself together against the ever-widening rift between labor and capital. As presented by Larson, Chicago is a city that exploits this rift, giving rise to a battlefield between the two. Larson comments that â€Å"the thing that entranced me about Chicago in the Gilded Age was the city’s willingness to take on the impossible in the name of civic honor† (393).This â€Å"civic honor† is the heart of The Devil in the White City, revealing a great deal about the city’s nature and determination to carve out an identity for itself. The downside of Chicago’s ambitions to stage a six-month world’s fair, Larson suggests, is that it threatens to undo an already-tenuous social structure. Chicago, however, is full of pride following the Great Fire of 1871. â€Å"They had not merely restored it; they had turned it into the nation’s leader in commerce, manufacturing, and architecture† (Larson 16).Chicago, in the last nineteenth century, barrels forward in the name of progress and is resolved, almost blindly, to come out from under the shadow of New York City. The Devil in the White City, while it follows architect Burnham and murderous doctor Holmes on their antithetical missions, is much more concerned with the American dream. That is, the dream that Larson (as well as many h istorians) feels America has abandoned. Historian Jack Beatty, in his book Age of Betrayal, traces how the dream of â€Å"free soil, free labor, free men and free land† (14) has been traded for the favor of big corporations.During the Gilded Age, Beatty sees an America corrupted from within. The disparity between the rich and the poor has never been greater, he says, with a virtual elimination of the middle class. The dream established by Lincoln during the Civil War is submarined by a partnership between government and business—one that is, at the time, questioned by very few Americans. Chicago is an excellent lens through which to view the fall of the Gilded Age, mainly because of the city’s â€Å"explosive growth† (Larson 23). It is a city that cannot keep up with itself in many ways.As the skyscrapers grew taller and transportation became more effective, Chicago â€Å"also grew dirtier, darker, and more dangerous† (Larson 28), pointing toward t he dark side of progress. There are prices to pay for progress, which forms an ever-present undercurrent of unease in Larson’s depiction of Chicago. Ambition informs Chicago’s â€Å"civic honor† of staging the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The fair, when completed, would cover over 600 acres of land, complete with new buildings, European architecture, and exhibits from cultures from around the world.Everything about the fair was designed to â€Å"out-Eiffel Eiffel,† referring to the Eiffel Tower, which was introduced at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. This speaks to an overwhelming desire for the world’s immediate recognition of greatness. For example, when plans were being drawn up for the fair’s multitude of exhibits and wonders, the ideas were driven by size and stature. The fair, being America’s first, was steered in the direction of not only being memorable, but so grand of vision as to be intimidating.Im possibly large towers were proposed, even from Gustave Eiffel himself, until George Ferris came up with the idea of a spinning wheel, which would become the first â€Å"Ferris wheel. † The Chicago World’s Fair was a forced reflection of great amount of ingenuity and innovation that occurred during the Gilded Age. Chicago, however, was still beset by the problems of all growing big cities. In fact, the city’s ambitions to compete with New York City brought on unexpected (and unwelcome) parallels:[New York journalist Jacob] Riis had toured Chicago’s foulest districts and announced them worse than anything he had seen in New York. In his talk he noted the fast approach of the exposition and warned his audience, â€Å"You ought to begin house cleaning, so to speak, and get your alleys and streets in better condition; never in our worst season have we had so much filth in New York City† (Larson 212). Through the Gilded Age and Larson’s book, Chic ago constantly struggles to maintain its identity against New York City.In Blair A. Ruble’s insightful book, Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka, Ruble explores the plights of three cities that are the second-largest ones in their countries. Ruble posits that all three cities, near the turn of the twentieth century, were the fastest-growing, most innovative ones. He argues that each city, such as Chicago, faced insurmountable challenges, such as how to manage the growing disparities between the working class and the cultural elite.The ways in which the elite handled each problem, Ruble believes, said something about their fate. In Chicago’s case, Ruble focuses on the rapid expansion of the city against its inability to create an effective transportation system. Chicago was not only flooded with immigrants, but it was markedly overcrowded. It was practically bulging at the seams. Ruble focuses on mayor Carter Henry Harrison, who in Larson’s book was noted for â€Å"establish[ing] Chicago as a place that tolerated human frailty even as it nurtured grand ambition† (213).Ruble credits Harrison for being a true visionary and keenly aware of the problems his city faced. However, Ruble’s notion of â€Å"pragmatic pluralism† plays into his ultimate assessment of Chicago (and Harrison) at the turn of the century. For Ruble, Chicago demanded a leader who understood and applied â€Å"pragmatic pluralism†: a unique (and rare) ability to satisfy everyone’s interests. It is a talent for balancing the interests of the wealthy and the poor, as well as making compromising for the sake of the city’s future development.â€Å"Pragmatic pluralism† speaks to the best, long-run interests of everyone, not the short-term interests of a few. Ruble charges Harrison with doing well at managing certain crises, but losing sight of the goal line. He is portrayed not as a failure, but a victim of economic and social circumstances that befall other cities of rapid expansion and developmental growth. Chicago, just like Moscow and Osaka, failed to deliver on its promises and further reflect the American dream. Chicago’s idealism, Ruble says, had been corroded by a relationship between business and government (213).This tension between labor and capital plays itself out in The Devil in the White City in many fascinating ways. Larson is particularly good in crafting a book that underscores these tensions in both highly dramatic and skillfully subtle ways. First and foremost, he tells twin stories of the fair, focusing on the fair’s architect (Burnham) and the calculating doctor (Holmes)—two stories that run contrary to one another. Larson portrays both of them as brilliant men in their own regards—geniuses at accounting for every detail, anticipating every contingency, and staying one step ahead.Larson’s book l ays out all of the obstacles that stand in the way of Burnham and Holmes’s ambitions. The impossibilities that both men overcome is almost as staggering as the fair itself—a dreamlike world populated with characters as diverse as Buffalo Bill, Thomas Edison, and Frank Lloyd Wright. It is easy to get swept up into the unreality of it all, of which Dora Root wrote â€Å"I should never willingly cease drifting in that dreamland† (Larson 253). This dreamlike quality, echoed by others in the book, is used by Larson to offset the harsh reality of the world beyond it.The fair’s eventual end seems to echo the end of the Gilded Age in many ways—a symbolic shift from the ideal to the real. When columnist Teresa Dean says, â€Å"It seems cruel, cruel, to give us such a vision; to let us dream and drift through heaven for six months, and then to take it out of our lives† (335), one gets the feeling that Larson is using her quote to comment on the collap se of the American dream itself. Labor and capital disappear against the World’s Fair, their tension ceasing to exist in the unreality of it all, but rear their head in another fundamental way.While some could argue that the inclusion of Henry H. Holmes in The Devil in the White City is nothing short of a marketing ploy, Holmes is actually central to the power of Larson’s book. Burnham and Holmes should be viewed as symbols, rather than historical figures: the idealist versus the opportunist, the laborer versus the capitalist. Burnham believes that all things are possible, even when faced with the challenge of staging a fair where â€Å"failure was unthinkable† for fear of the nation’s honor being â€Å"tarnished† (Larson 33). He is a man who believes in himself and those around him.Burnham is the laborer, working to sustain the American dream and keep it alive. He is, quite literally, the architect of America’s future. Holmes, on the other hand, has a completely different agenda. Holmes is the capitalist, looking to exploit weakness and profit for himself: Holmes understood that powerful new forces were acting upon Chicago, causing a nearly miraculous expansion. The city was growing in all available directions, and where it abutted the lake, it grew skyward, sharply increasing the value of land within the Loop. Everywhere helooked he saw evidence of the city’s prosperity. †¦ Holmes knew— everyone knew—that as skyscrapers soared and the stockyards expanded their butchery, the demand for workers would remain high, and that workers and their supervisors would seek to live in the city’s suburbs†¦ (Larson 44-45) As such, Holmes seized upon the idea of the â€Å"World’s Fair Hotel,† which was actually a crematorium and torture palace. He could essentially bend young women to his will, take their money and their trust, and have an endless supply of them visiting his hotel d uring the fair.It is almost an unthinkable series of crimes, especially in Holmes’s ability to evade suspicion, though the Chicago Times-Herald notes that his story â€Å"tends to illustrate the end of the century† (370). This quote informs the entire book and the Gilded Age at once: opportunism and evil masquerading as something benign and trusted. Closely recalling Holmes’s demeanor, the government—entrusted by the people to lead them—sold itself to the corporations. Both Holmes and the government are complicit in failing to deliver the American dream to the people and, instead, employing it for their own gains.The Gilded Age seems remarkably similar to the contemporary world. In fact, many parallels could be drawn between then and now. Presidents and politicians are controlled by the lobbyists and those who have funded their campaigns. The money that has helped put them in office will continue to shape policy and determine our country’s c ourse of action. In light of these realities, Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City is not just a fascinating piece of history, but it is a cautionary tale that seems more relevant than ever before.

The Musicals History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Musicals History - Essay Example It became a very popular genre in American cinema. Production houses making musical films sprouted and soon it was a thriving industry. Warner Bros' The Jazz Singer in 1927 was among the first musicals that deviated from mere entertainment to a strong statement. Along with the strong appeal of music in the film, the narrative struck a chord with the Americans. This was a story of a young Jewish musician who breaks with his father and runs away to pursue his dream and emerges a roaring jazz singer. This was the time when jazz singing was not entirely free of stigma as its origins (in late nineteenth century) were believed to have been the brothels of New Orleans that provided music dancing as well as sex (A Passion for Jazz Musical History and Education The American movie-goers lapped it up. In a way it also helped jazz singing come out of the shadows it was under. This reflected an eagerness in the public mind to through off the shackles of genteel society and explore new frontiers of morality. Warner Bros' success spurned it on as one of the leading production houses of America. There was good deal of money involved and it soon incorporated a rigid structure in its functioning churning out films that grossed more than anything before. It had on its rolls a regular list of directors who were dedicated to the studio and picked up directing positions by turns. In order to curtail budget of the dazzling lights and costumes that were the hallmarks of musicals, there was a special technique adopted at this studio, low flat lighting concealed the not so flashy costumes. Busby Berkeley was one of these directors. There were three films that were released in quick succession in 1933 by Warner Bros, all three choreographed by this man, 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade. These musicals are considered to be milestones both in American cinema as well as in the musical scenario per se. So what was behind their spectacular success This period is considered as one of the darkest in American History, the Great Depression. With large scale unemployment reigning across the country, the mood was indeed sombre. The American people had started questioning the virtues of hard-core capitalism on the political front as well as the prevailing codes of morality.The public yearned for strong leadership, someone who show them the way out of the economic mess. The release of the three Berkeley films coincided with the coming of Roosevelt as the new American President. He brought in the New Deal encompassing a range of economic reforms. He was a champion of liberalism and also a hero to the diverse ethnic communities like the Afro-Americans, Jews etc. To the common man he sold the virtues of honesty, hard work, and justice. Although musicals were being written off as 'escapist' entertainment by critics, there were certain elements that were born out of the prevailing spirit of that time, virtues that fed the public disposition. "Mark Roth puts forward a simil ar theory; he notes

Conceptual Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conceptual Framework - Essay Example Apart from the public versus private project distinction there is very little to differentiate between them. Current accounting and auditing practices are basically centered on the primary and immediate concerns of the practitioners, i.e. accountants and auditors presume the importance of rule-based accounting practices to be the ultimate aim so that failures can be disregarded as technical variances. In other words compliance with accounting and auditing rules is of primary and immediate concern to the practitioner. The significance of this outcome is essentially seen in the modern compliance-centric accounting environments where hierarchically organized structures exert an extraordinary amount of pressure on the average accountant/auditor to comply with norms that have very little if any to do with such broader and more important concepts like corporate governance, quality of accounting and auditing practices, audit judgment, auditor behavior, business forensics concerning auditing and the corporate pricing policy of audits. Thus the inevitable outcome is that CF projects fail and despite these failures they are being undertaken purely in conformance with standard setting behavioral tendencies of boards and other governing bodies. The Board should decide often whether a piece of data should be recognized in the financial statements, when such an item should be recognized, and at what amount it should be recognized. The Board has depended on the conceptual framework of other standards setters and analogous examples from practice or previous standards to make such decisions in the past. This technique of decision making tends to give rise to certain inconsistencies in financial reporting standards and could bring about too much dependence being placed on accounting concepts which were not developed for a governmental environment (Taylor, & Dezoort, 2003). Analysis Therefore, the project on recognition and measurement attributes is necessary to give the GASB with conceptual guidance as to when elements of financial statements should be reported in particular financial statements and at what amount. This will bring about developing recognition criteria and will be inclusive of a discussion of when elements of financial statements are recognized using different measurement focuses. For the GASB to make consistent financial reporting decisions, it is needed to have (1) definitions of the elements of financial statements, (2) a method of finding out when elements of financial statements should be realized in the financial statements, and (3) a method for determining which measurement attribute (for example, historical cost or fair value) is suitable for reporting the elements. The GASB in recent times issued a Concepts Statement on the definitions for the elements of financial statements, and a conceptual framework project on recognition and measur ement attributes is needed to complete the conceptual basis for reporting items in traditional financial statements. I. Deficiencies in Financial reporting practices What messages are financial statements conceptually trying to put forward (That is, what is the story that the financial

The Ed Sullivan Show and the (Censored) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Ed Sullivan Show and the (Censored) - Essay Example However, the censorship of the creating party should not be accomplished through any form of governmental interference. There are only a few exceptions within this argument, but for the most part censorship should not exist in a society that is based on the ideologies of freedom. High levels of information censorship exists in countries that do not base their ideologies on basic democratic freedoms. As an example, in many countries in the Middle East the news is censored in order to control what is reflected about the nations in question. Israel censors the news that is released from occupied Palestine as a way to control information that comes out of this region (Bowne and Early 79). Censorship is a form of control that asserts the will of the governing party over that of the people. Information is power, and these types of governments want to retain that power within their own control. In this case, the act of censorship defines the roles of a nation through those who know and thos e who don’t know. However, it is not only through ideology, but through cultural understandings that censorship exists. The one certain example of universally accepted censorship is concerned with pedophilia. In the United States it is illegal to own material that is considered pederasty. To be even more specific, it would be common sense to believe that the use of a boy by a man would be condemned in every part of the world. However, this is untrue. In Sambia, New Guinea, it is considered part of the rites of passage for young boys to receive the ’benefit’ and ’nurture’ of the oral intake of fluids from their elders (Browning 26). Where in Western societies the exchange is considered feminizing, in Sambian religious and social ritual, this is considered a passage from the feminizing of the mother’s milk to the masculinity of the male fluids (Flood 540). While this type of exchange is considered foul and without any excuse, reason, or accept ance, the rites are considered a valuable part of the transition of boys to men. Where one society assigns value, another defines it as obscene, thus censoring it. This goes to prove that while the United States is a free society, the restrictions on the social interactions may seem to be base upon universal sensibilities of right and wrong, it is a Western cultural belief that this type of interaction is outside of accepted social practice. Freedom, in this case, extends to the point where innocent victims are used, thus creating a system in which each individual is only as free as it affects only themselves. However, this is not always the case either. Individual actions are censored, such as drug use and prostitution, because it is believed that these acts lower the integrity of the moral and ethical status of a society. Therefore, even a free society will have censorship of information and actions if it believes that those freedoms will lead to the overall detriment of society. In the United States there is a persistent state of censorship on entertainment. As an example, Ingles reveals that three performances on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s were censored with different outcomes. Bob Dylan was asked to change his performance and walked away, never to appear. The Rolling Stones were to sing their new single Let’s Spend the Night Together, but the insinuation made by the word Night was too suggestive and the word was changed to

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 2

Taxation - Essay Example The conceptual framework of accounting holds accounting theories related to taxation together. The framework establishes goal and objectives of financial reporting by businesses. Financial accounting information provides useful information for making business and economic decision such as taxation (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2005, p. 121). The theory that financial reporting should avail significant information for taxation recognizes that reporting does not exist out of the legal, economic, political, and social environment. The conceptual framework of accounting ensures that accounting information in relation to taxation is relevant, comparable, reliable, and consistent (Bebbington, Gray & Laughlin, 2001, p. 97). Comparability and consistency of taxation benefit from having  Generally  Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Adhering to financial statements to GAAP in relation to taxation means, they are consistent from year to year and the tax difference between various companies can be c ompared. Therefore, the accounting theories help in practical analysis of taxation in a business. The accounting theories of taxation function on four assumptions. The economic entity assumption illustrates that the practices of a business are distinct from the actions of the owner. It means that tax is computed separately for the company’s profit generation. In addition, the income tax of an employee is distinctively calculated in relation to the amount of salary gained. The going concern assumption states that when financial statements are prepared, the accountant assumes that the company will move without threat of dissolution or bankruptcy (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2005, p. 97). Therefore, it means that the likely taxable amount is already catered for in the financial statements hence in the event of taxation, the business does not feel any