Effects of Industrialization on Artist Essay

The countries of the world have largely embraced the goal of industrialization which explains the reason why there is the label of developing and developed countries. The implications of the 19TH century has put the developed western world as the model of industrialization on the planet (Masten, 2008). The face of industrialization affected a number of fields in the scientific attempt to improve the economies and subsequently, raise the overall standards of living . Art was one of the disciplines that benefited from the effects of industrialization, and it came as a hope for many artists around the world (Locker, 1999). This paper therefore attempts to compare and contrast whether the rise changed the modern world leaving the natural world as the sole object of fascination to artists. Industrialization as a process sought to promote social and economic changes with the human societies transforming from pre industrial to industrial(Davis,2000). It saw the wider apart of modernization leading to overall social changes and economic developments mostly related to technological advancement. More cities were development following the rise modernity, as a result of large scale metallurgy and energy production (Basye and Holt, 2000). Philosophical changes also marked the emergence of industrialization leaving people in the western world with a more yearning to obtain different attitudes towards nature and artistic orientation (Novello, 2000). Accordingly, there is substantial research on the prevailing effects of industrialization on modernization and enterprise development . Artists have got an opportunity of expanding their careers following the expansion of commerce and the prevalence of skills that helps them in the exploitation of the abundant natural resources (Shields, 2006). This somehow happens at a relatively low cost, adaptability of labor and continual supply of their products to a wide range of market (Plaura, 2001). The radical changes in the 19th century involve the production of the electric power: an element that is succinctly fundamental to the continuous growth of economy as well as advancing the skills required for a particular job (Basye and Holt, 2000). In a survey done in some countries in Africa, middle East and Latin America, it was found out that there is relative open trading systems that can stimulate industrial innovation and cost efficiency across the board, leading to the readily available markets and free and flexible labor (Novello, 2000). As a result, positive work ethics mixed with skills, effectively used scientific discoveries and technological in boosting the production and subsequent increase in income levels. It is true that a number of major cities in the western world were widely modernized bringing about the effects of urbanization. To serve this house working populations, urbanization facilitated the concentration of labor (Davis, 2000). Artists therefore found themselves without splendid natural resources for them to exploit because of the population upsurge in cities. Consequently, they resorted to the natural worlds which had hitherto not felt the effects of industrialization for their resources (Masten, 2008). Another impact that followed industrialization was change in family structures and effects on the environment. Environmental stressors such as noise, water pollution, impersonal lifestyles and a myriad of health problems set into play (Locker, 1999). Many artists in the present world continue to grow in terms of their careers simply because, they have been able to advance all their artistic orientations (Shields, 2006). Prior to the 19th century, many paintings in America often dealt with the serene landscapes, idealized craftspeople and a host of other people. However, after the effects of industrialization had taken place, the whole scope of photographs and painting changed. Art was basically the reaction to the social and industrial conditions that prevailed (Masten, 2008). Later on, artists was obliged to create art for two audiences. Generally, artists of this important period in the history of mankind avoided painting many scenes portraying the new outfit of modernization and as such, this did not imply that they failed to create an art about the industry. Moreover, the deep enjoyment of art became the pastime for both the upper and middle class people (Davis, 2000). These were the people who essentially, preferred not to clutch over the hard work that may have been done by the lower class, let alone hanging any artistic socials commentary on their walls. Instead there was mere need for a picturesque that portrayed a neutral political landscape (Plaura, 2001). According to (Basye and Holt, 2000), several literatures enabled artists to access a medium where many of their engravings were published but the controversy that followed saw many middle class people opposing the view of the artists and eventually disapproving their works. Irrespective of the upper and middle class reaction against the artistic package of social commentary, many artists continued experiencing the strong urge for expressing themselves through art (Locker, 2000). They then resorted to the natural world where they found a lot of fascination for their works because of two major reasons. Depending on the specific needs of a particular artist, the natural word provided an avenue for artists to explore a host of untapped resources or aptly, got a ready and uncritical audience for their art (Masten, 2008). This basically strengthened their ambitions leading to affair ground for art. For instance, majority of the artistic collections portrayed the hard work of ordinary rural folks giving hem the urge to continue doing even better in their pursuit for economic survival. With this regard, several portraits were painted. They involved persons sewing a dress or a blacksmith hammering a horseshoe. particulrtly, such portraits depicted a blacksmith as possibly the man in charge of an enterprise. It showed a young man in the back, presumably an apprentice or the blacksmith’s assistant. Both were posed with their tools, with drops of sweat other cheeks seemingly proud of their trade. A factor like this one often encourage the general population because, despite the conditions for working being harsh, the portrait depicts clean, bearable and inviting scenario that give the people enthusiasm and pride altogether (Novello, 2000). In addition, the views of American urban life as well as industrialization were manifested through the channel of photography. Using a succinct comparison of the rural life, city life was pictured using sky crappers mushrooming everywhere (Shields, 2006). In this scenario, a chaotic combination of people and carriages filled the city street eliciting a feeling that city life is eventually becoming more foreboding for life and work hence, underscoring the importance of rich environmental conditions found in the rural life. Overly, the dawn of industrialization saw a marked reduction of human working conditions to unacceptable level. Active artists and photographers aligned to politics used art to comment on the industrial progress to their audience. However, there was stiff competition that forced some artists not to make enough fortune or just find a satisfactory audience for their works. They were therefore attracted to move to the rural world, where they got audience and commercial benefits for their activities. Somehow, they used the modern mechanized age to obtain a source of creativity which is paramount to the work of art. Without a creatively compelling work, their will be audience to stand all sorts of unattractive, and redundancy even if your work has the very best of the message (Plaura, 2001). There is a general history of artist getting more fascinated to the natural world. With the advent of industrialization, many artistic movements sprang up each with a unique reaction to the feeling of the movement it took after and time (Davis, 2000). Neoclassic which had taken lead form the Greek and Roman art, paved way for a more parallel period called romanticism. At this level, many artists became more imaginative with the rise of individualism, emotional intensity, and freedom describing the underlying the perceptual shift from the modern life to getting oriented to the natural world (Masten, 2008). Realism which followed brought about the realist artists who created artistic works that captured objectives and figures as they appear in real life. Artists found the natural world more ideal in portraying truthful visions of everyday life; an idea tat was much welcome to rural folks that the modern ones (Novello, 2006). Many artists felt the need to explore their relationship with nature by traveling through a wilderness. But because urban life had less or no fascinating wilderness, artists resorted for the rural world and found it more fascinating in delivering the exploration objective through a natural world (Plaura, 2001). For example, Mark Catesby, as English artist moved to the rural Northern America and found that it was the most true immersion into the American seaboard and other areas still unexploited and unknown to many Americans. He began photographing and drawing natural and social sceneries that had not suffered any natural disintegration, and hence, his works attracted a large scale audience (Shields, 2006). Another artist and explorer, Karl Bodmer, is a testament to the reason moving to natural world. he says that the most fascinating factor in the so regarded lost world is the boundless enthusiasm that artists get when they venture into worlds unknown to many, because there seem to be abundant opportunity and astonishment in those lands (Locker, 1999). The overall benefit is the reminder these places give in acknowledging that at some point, they had stopped at the crossroad of horrible, natural and sacred phenomena. They somewhat develop a relationship with the earth, facilitated by the nature, culture and their sense of fulfillment (Davis, 2000). Furthermore, the natural world is more attracting to artists because; it provides the ground that satisfy the curiosity and creativity of many artists. At the heart of every artistic symbol lies the expression of meaning. Artists tend to search for lager meaning in small aspects of life (Basye and Holt, 2000). According to the documentations in archives, the significance of artistic history is logged in the fissure between wilderness and civilization and this point out the primary focus of artists on rural worlds. Notwithstanding, rural world represents culture and nature and how it is reconciled with the modernization. Therefore, the imaginative role of art pulls out the existing radiance in capturing double meaning encased in the metaphors. When they finally take their products to urban setups, they somehow manage to prompt the city residents into the world of imagination embedded in the images formed in their minds as a resulted art (Masten, 2008). Moreover, artists use the natural worlds to find sources that subsequently define the unique artistic identities. This is clearly captured in the sentiments of a German poet, Rainer Maria. He believes that as a primary condition for writing a captivating verse, it is imperative that they see a myriad of cities, nature, men and several other things. Accordingly it is perquisite that one should know different flights of birds, animals, not forgetting gestures that flowers make especially when they open and close. The fundamental role of all this condition is to portray the accounts as creative as possible with the unique ability to come up with the work of art that suits in the context of everyday life. The only available source of the adventure is the natural world that is least affected by industrialization (Novello, 2000). Similarly, there is more attraction to the natural world. Artists think that by going there they provide a link between city life and rural life. All the opportunities of industrialization are made open to village folks giving them a chance to keep a breast with what is happening across the world (Plaura, 2001). For example, there was a painting in rural Indiana which showed an angel looking as though he is about to walk away from something he is acutely contemplating. It depicted the angel staring with his mouth wide open and the wings flung spread. This is the way artists presents issues in varying worlds and the serenity found in natural world promotes the efficient delivery of the message (Shields, 2006). The painting reinforces the religious teaching that God watches over us and somehow, strengthens the spirituality; an aspect that is under the threat of industrialization. Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the dawn of industrialization in the 19th century was accompanied by the sharp shift in the economical, social and ideological differences that paved way for new lifestyles. Individualism, which became rife as a result of urbanization, left artist with a host of intellectual orientation in terms of creativity. It is evident that the market for their art products got strained obliging them to get attracted to the rural world that had hitherto not adversely suffered from the effects of industrialization. Bibliography Basye, E and Holt, G 2000. Art and Architecture: The Advent of Industrialization, Yales, Yales University Press. Davis, A. 2000. A Social History of Graphic Art and Works Industry. New York, McGill-Queens Press. Locker, N. 1999. Science and Nature: An International Journal of Science. Vol. 23 Issues 56, London, Macmillan Publishers. Masten, A. 2008. Artwork in the Nineteenth Century. Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania University Press Novello, A. 2000. The Face of Art in the Nineteenth Century. London, Prentice Plaura, N. 2001. Art and Nature: Interelationship, Oxford, Oxford University Press Shields, S. 2006. Artists at the Continents End: The Peninsula Art Colony. Michigan, Routledge

How Does Spielberg create fear and humour within ‘Jaws’?

The film â€Å"Jaws† was made in 1975 and was the film that brought the director Steven Spielberg his first major success. The film, with Spielberg as director, won three academy awards for editing, sound and original source. Spielberg, as a result of the film, became one of America's youngest multi millionaires. Spielberg was given $7,000,000 to spend as the films budget. This may not seem a large sum of money compared to the sort of money that is spent on films nowadays but, it was a very large sum of money to spend on a film in those days. The film received mostly positive reviews, there was the odd bad review, which was critical of Jaws not being able to make the audience feel sorry for the victims. The film is based on Peter Benchley's best selling novel, in which Jaws centres around the fictional North Atlantic resort island of Amity. A gigantic great white shark terrorizes the island. There are two killings at the beginning of the film, which brings in Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, an ichthyologist and oceanographer that is taken to Amity to help, using his expertise. Later on in the film, Amity's most respected and most feared shark hunter, the enigmatic, vaguely malicious Quint teams up with Matt Hooper and the chief of the Amity Police Department, Brody, to find and kill the enormous shark and save the town from financial disaster. Jaws has one of the best anti-heroes movies have ever seen, Quint played by Robert Shaw is humorous and is frightening all at once. His soliloquy in which he tells the others about the tragic sinking of the USS Indianapolis is a most chilling and unforgettable performance. As well as analysing the storyline and plot, many other aspects of the film should be analysed such as: digetic and non-digetic sound, camera angles and their effects and the use of props and setting. It would be impossible to analyse the entire film in such depth without producing an epic piece of writing, therefore for the purpose of this essay an indepth analysis of the second attack will be used to show how fear and humour are used. John William's had to make the music scary as the shark is not seen at the beginning therefore it needs the music to build suspense. It is instantly recognisable and almost as famous as the music from Physco. One of the reasons the music had to create the idea of the shark effectively was because, obviously Spielberg could not use a real shark. There was a mechanical model of a shark built (it was nicknamed â€Å"Bruce†). It created many problems. â€Å"Bruce† was made of polyurethane, was 24ft long and weighed 11/2 tons. On â€Å"Bruce's† first test, he sank, and on his second, he exploded. An inspection of the shark revealed that the shark was cross-eyed and its jaws would not shut. These problems compelled Spielberg to be more inventive and to hide the shark for as long as he could throughout the movie. The Stravinskian rhythms of John Williams's remarkable score created the idea of a menacing underwater killer. The fear that William's created meant that the horror of the Shark is left to the audience's imagination which is far scarier than anything the most creative special effects department could create. In the second attack, the camera is placed in front of Brody and characters walk in front of the camera, we get an interrupted view of the sea, like Brody does and this creates tension. There is an over the shoulder shot of a girl screaming, this prepares the audience for the attack. There is also digetic sound, such as splashing and the sound of laughter helps to build atmosphere of calm and fun. The close up of the people in the sea and screams build up the tension. The dog owner shouting his dog lets the audience know the shark is around. When we see the stick floating in the sea, that the owner of the dog has thrown, it is confirmed that the dog has been attacked, this builds the fear and tension for the audience as we know the little boy on the lilo is still out at sea. The non-digetic sound is the music and its effect is that we know the music represents the shark, we don't have to see it. The underwater shot also represents the shark with the views of children's legs which creates fear without seeing the shark itself. The climax of the music lets you know the attack will happen. The zoom in on Brody further heightens the fear. The victims are coded, Dog owner wears yellow, boy goes out to sea on yellow lilo and his mother wears a yellow hat. The police chief's nervousness and refusal to go near the water is first seen in comic terms by the islanders, but is gradually vindicated by a slow slippage of menacing imagery- a disappearing dog, an anxious mother and a sudden, gushing fountain of red that signals a fatal attack. This contrast between tension and humour creates a wave-like rollercoaster of emotion for the audience which has the effect of increasing the tension. Overall the film creates a rollercoaster effect, with the humour in the film given the audience a short respite in the tension. Which later further heightens the more tense movements and the attack. This is all done very cleverly because the use of non-digetic sound and shark view camera angles create tension and fear without actually seeing the shark and without seeing the attacks.

Richard Gagnon at Granston Energy Inc Case Study

Richard Gagnon at Granston Energy Inc - Case Study Example There are mainly two things to be analyzed – First one, why was Gagnon reprimanded by the CEO? And the Second one, what would have been the alternative way out to the above discussed complex situation? Basically, if we consider the issues from each individual’s viewpoint then we can say that everyone is correct on their part. The Product Manager Mr. Meadows rejected the previous work done by the printing firm & also he, didn’t accept the higher price charged by the firm for the new assignment, therefore it can be said that it’s a right step taken as because it is always expected from an employee that he would try to lower his employer’s expenses. He stated that the job which needed to be re-done doesn’t need to incur so much of cost as the set-up to be used would remain the same. So it can be concluded that from the business & legal perspective, he is absolutely correct. But if we look at the human perspective then it can be said that Mr. Meadows is a completely business oriented person & he doesn’t know how to behave nicely nor does he consider someone else’s problem. On the other hand, Mr. Gerrard had to do the job again & that too within a short time. For this extra effort, his employees would be working overtime & he needs to pay them. Therefore he charged a higher price for the job & we can say that he had a strong logic for charging the higher price. Also, he didn’t wish to lose a big business like Granston & therefore he agreed upon to the terms of Gagnon. It’s clear that he got involved in some illegal activities for the sake of his business. Mr. Gagnon was acting as the middleman between his client & his supplier. Both were important for him. He can’t afford to lose any of them at any cost. Also, he is well known in the company for getting things done with high responsiveness & creativity.  

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Philosophy of teaching paper - Assignment Example Thus, firstly I found necessary to provide students with the most basic knowledge, which later they may need to explore a professional field by themselves. I make students learn and understand a wide range of notions, theories and strategies which are commonly considered as classical and also are most commonly implied in professional practice. Despite that it’s a very traditional methodic of teaching, I’m not trying to impose a traditional way of thinking during my lectures. Oppositely, I constantly reveal the strong and the weak sides of every classical concept I’m talking about, and in this way with my own example, I impose the tradition of a critical thinking among student. I encourage questions during lectures and group discussions during seminars, appreciating a new development above a traditional point of view. What defines this new development is a unique impact each student can make on a professional field. Every human being has a unique circle of interests, unique experience and unique environment which make him/ her think the way he/ she thinks. Thus secondly, despite a common lecture material and group dissuasions I provide during my lessons, I encourage students on individual exploration of every topic. There is never a strict limitation on homework assignments and/ or topic limitations on individual projects, and I appreciate the most creative and unexpected cross-topics and/ or cross-field connections students are able to make within the assignment. The only criteria I expect is a practical involving, because â€Å"scientific breakthroughs also come from trying to solve a practical problem† (Shuell). Thus, I encourage students to make connections between a topic and their day-to-day life experiences and â€Å"take advantages of all resources available in the environmentâ₠¬  (Shuell). Yet the more individual and more surprising a point of view is,

Argos online retailer, United Kingdom. Web Development Assignment

Argos online retailer, United Kingdom. Web Development - Assignment Example Many of these shops are Argos superstores that have later opening hours and a comprehensive range of both Argos Extra catalogue and Argos catalogue goods for buyers to make a choice from before the purchase. Many people in the UK live within ten Kilometers from the nearest Argos store and it has the popularity of top brands delivery at low prices to the clients. There is ready access to the Argos full range of products on the online store for home delivery and purchase. The online service store additionally provides information on products and services such as Argos wedding list service, insurance and others-either online or offline. On one hand, Argos has its own out of the ordinary set of marketing challenges and opportunities. While the roots of marketing, unique advantages that customer cares to have, are similar for most online businesses, some ideas work well for Argos as a business in contrast to another. Small businesses have the advantage of knowing their customers on a more personal level and have easier time turning them into fans as compared to large businesses, such as Argos store. Giving the clients more than they expect is the beginning down the success road and they do the marketing to others (Cockrum 2011). In order for your web site to be productive, users must find useful information or accomplish tasks. In a goal-oriented design you must balance the needs of the users and the needs of your organizations (Concepcion 2002, p. 81). This can be achieved by setting a full set of usage scenarios for each persona. One can the use the scenarios to test the site structure making sure it offers and experience that includes all the basic elements that are needed by the users to reach their goals. In this day, marketing takes an important role in many facets of an online business’ life and process (Krug 2005). It can be defined as a management process where goods and services are provided well to reach customer needs and satisfaction. It is a way of attracting people’s attention, arousing their interests, motivating and activating their desire to take action. One strategy that can be very useful to satisfy customer needs more easily and lead a company towards success is a set of effective internet marketing tools. In simple language a website is much more than a sum of its constituent parts. One of the criteria to judge a website is the content. This evaluates the information provided in terms of usefulness, degree of information, interaction and presence of valuable graphics, audio or video (Mcneil 2008, p. 28). Structure and navigation of the website is also an important feature to look for. This refers to the framework of a website, prioritization of information, organization of the content and the method which you move through the website. Visual design with high quality appearance is also a feature to consider. The first impression a website gives is important and it often influences the visitor’s interes t in the website. This is defined by the URL length, download time, plug-ins requirement, home screen view and depth of site. Functionality of the website is also a prominent criterion. It defines the use of technology on the site where good functionality means the site works well. The presence of live links, quick load time is a factor. Also a site that works cross-platform on different browsers is an important factor. A highly functional site will anticipate the diversity of the user requirements from file format, file size and download speed. Last but not least is the interactivity and overall experience. This is the way that a site allows you to achieve an intended goal. Allowing a user to give and receive and having the user participate is important. A user with a good overall experienc

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Project Implementation plan - Research Paper Example For DC power supply, the company will provide power cables together with the appropriate connectors. The implementation team should refer to the appropriate documents that carry specific installation procedures. A lot of care must be taken to ensure that all the parts of the equipment are fitted appropriately. Under this task, the equipment provider shall check and verify that the cabling do not block the flow of air or access of the equipment. Moreover, the equipment shall be labeled with an appropriate host name on both sides. All the serial numbers are indicated on the invoices accompanying the equipment. The equipment provider will confirm and verify these numbers whether they are consistent with the ones on the shipping invoice. The company will confirm that there are correct circuit designations between the patch panel and the equipment. Moreover, it will verify that the cabling between the patch panel and the equipment is correctly done. The implementation team will switch on all the power supplies and confirm that the DC supplies are within the range. This will be followed by a confirmation that the equipment starts the power-up cycle. The implementation team will connect each computer to the WAN using the VT100 terminal and confirm a successful connection. Additionally, the computers will be connected to the router and software verification shall be made. Thereafter, any variations in the connection shall be corrected. The implementation team shall confirm the system’s installation test in line with the installation material. This will be done to prove that every piece of the equipment is working perfectly. Any failure shall be recorded and

International Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Operations Management - Essay Example This will then go on to discuss the level of internationalization the company needs to engage in to develop the necessary level of relationship in the new international structure. In this, we will focus on how the level of relationship is affected as the internationalization of the organization broadens. The company selected for this report is Marks and Spencer. Nature of Marks and Spencer’s Business Marks and Spencer was established in UK in the year 1884 and since its inception, the company has been very successful in catering the local market. Now it is planning to expand its operations in a new market internationally. It will offer its textile products including men’s, women’s, and children wear, bedcovers, sheet sets, comforters and ready-made curtains and wall hangings. In the last couple of decades, its clothing line has seen exponential growth (Marks & Spencer 2012). Assumptions Marks and Spencer’s management feels that this clothing line can be pr omoted internationally, especially in the South Asian market. The company plans to target all age groups especially, new born babies and young kids within the age group of one to twelve years. The reason for selecting this as a target group is because the birth rate in South Asian markets is very high and the range of clothing has a high disposal rate, as they are targeted towards a growing age of children. Marks and Spencer plans to export its merchandise initially and assess the market demand for its clothing products. If the demand is positive, the company plans to build a manufacturing concern, as the setup and labour costs are very low. In addition, the company is already exporting raw cloth from South Asian markets, and by incorporating a factory internationally; they can exploit the availability of cheap raw materials. Furthermore, if the company is able to establish itself strongly within the international market, it gradually plans to introduce its other textile and bedding products in the foreign market, respectively. Internationalization Strategies Internationalization strategies require an organization to undertake observational, economic, learning and networking efforts to understand the foreign market. Once the companies learn a culture and the imperfections of the international market, it allows the company to provide products and services, which are expected to satiate the needs and requirement of the target group within the foreign market. In addition to international knowledge, it helps in assessing the capital and network resources within that market, so that it can use its finances efficiently to be thriving in that market (Bradley 2005). As the process of internationalization entails the company to be motivated to go beyond borders, which allows them to select a profitable market, and develops strategies to enter and sustain the competition in that foreign market. Marks and Spencer has successfully done all of it; with ample research, it h as collected various statistics that has inclined them to enter and compete within the South Asian market (Marks & Spencer 2012). Application of Learning Internationalization Strategies The essence of the entire internationalization process can be interpreted through the Learning Internationalization strategies. Any organization planning to expand globally will require its management to conduct various studies and researches to gain knowledge on different areas, for example, business culture and ethics,

Should Organisations Transition Towards a Green Supply Chain Research Proposal

Should Organisations Transition Towards a Green Supply Chain - Research Proposal Example The aim of this paper is to avail action plan and facilitate knowledge among supply chain professionals who need to embrace Green strategy efficiently and communicate these efforts to their commodity consumers, public and partners. Despite the public focus on the environment, benefits attached to reducing a firm’s environmental impacts are never at the forefront of supply chain executives’ minds. It seems that many executives are still unaware of that enhanced environmental performance implies fewer environmental-permitting fees, lesser waste-disposal and training costs, and, quite, lessened material costs. Optimistically, the interest in green issues and environmental concerns by the public will never decline as economic issues become more significant due to the irresolute economy (Charter, Kielkiewicz-Young, et al. 2001). Organizations are at loggerheads in deciding whether to embrace green supply chain management due to lack of proper skills in strategic management of green supply chain. Strategic management of Green supply chain entails gathering and analyzing environmental regulations and customer needs, deliberating on the relevant environmental issues with the procurement, manufacturing an d quality control department across the supply chain organizations and collapsing into development and communication of the green supply chain policies to all stakeholders of the supply chain ranging from supplier to customer’s customer. Such a lengthy and elaborative procedure presents problems for most organizations despite the intense pressure exerted by their respective governments and consumers who have turned to such firms that have not incorporated Green strategies. The academic in proper knowledge endowment on adopting and implanting green supply chain in firms strategic planning and operation thus possess a major threats to those static firms due to lack of increased

Advantages and Cost of Adoption in Australia of International Financial Reporting Standards Essay Example for Free

Advantages and Cost of Adoption in Australia of International Financial Reporting Standards Essay The issue of adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRSS) in Australia has been controversial issue since the first time Australian Financial Reporting council (FRC) announced the policy in 2002. Many believe that IFRSS adoption will lead to great advantages such as enhance financial report comparability, improve quality of financial reporting, attract more foreign investor, and other significant advantages. However, some also believe that the adoption merely result in disadvantages and cost for Australian business, accounting profession and even Australian government. Before deciding to fully adopt IFRSS, in 1996, the AASB issued Policy Statement 6 International Harmonization Policy with objective to ‘pursue the development of an internationally accepted set of accounting standards which can be adapted in Australia’. There were several considerations why government decided to do so: 1. ‘The existing arrangements for accounting standard setting are confusing, inefficient and not conductive to stakeholder participation 2. There is duplication between the AASB and PSASB 3. Australian Accounting Standards are not understood in, and are out of step with, the major capital markets in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and Europe, resulting in higher costs of capital for Australian Business 4. The standards setting process is perceived to be dominated by the accounting profession and there is no real accountability to its users 5. Accounting standards do not reflect modern business practice, being too prescriptive and overly technical that imposing excessive costs on business 6. The process involved in standard setting have failed to attract broad input and the necessary level of financial support, with the result that accounting standards are not meeting the demands of constituents’ (CLERP 1997, pp. 11-12, cited from Pickeet. al, 2006). Despite those reasons, IFRSS adoption is promoted because several claimed benefits potentially arising from the policy especially for Australian Business. The most claimed benefit is attracting foreign investors due to lowering cost of capital. Cost of capital can be decreased because IFRSS adoption can diminish ‘premiums associated with the risk of not fully understanding the financial report’ (Collet et. al, 2001, cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. ). Another hypothesis is that IFRSS adoption can reduce ‘home bias’ that discourage investors from making cross border investment. One of factors contributing to home bias itself is the expensive cost of information about foreign investment (Kang and Stulsz, 1997 cited from Cofrig,V. M. , Defond, M. L. , Hung, M. , 2007). By adopting IFRSS, it is hoped that information about foreign investment can be easily obtained and understood because it is generated from universal standards that are more familiar for investors. In addition, high accounting quality, transparency and comparability are commonly associated with financial reporting produced based on IFRSS that is internationally recognized and represent worldwide best practices. Those attributes alleviate ‘information asymmetries between managers and outside investors, thus increasing liquidity and ultimately lowering the required rate of return’ (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991, cited from Daske, Holger, 2006). Association between higher accounting quality and IAS/IFRSS itself has been examined by Barth,M. E. , Landsman, W. R. , Lang, Mark H. in 2008. They investigate firms from 21 countries that applied IAS and found that those firms generally ‘evidence less earnings management, more timely loss recognition and more value relevance of accounting amounts’. It has been suggested that IFRSS adoption benefits Australian business trough saving in reporting costs. This benefit especially applies for Australian Business that wants to list their stocks in other countries’ stock exchanges. It is obligation for companies to fulfill specific different requirement regarding financial reporting of each countries where the companies are listed. By adopting IFRSS, companies do not need to generate more than one set of financial reports to comply different requirement and regulation. It is also easier for multinational companies to consolidate their financial statement, thus it saves time and money. Beside easy consolidation, IFRSS adoption also simplifies appraisal process of companies to takeover or merger with overseas enterprises and improves management control due to increased comparability internal management report between different segments or branches. For multinational companies, it will ease transfer of accounting staff across countries as well (Uddin, M. S. , 2005). Furthermore, a reduction in audit cost might be experienced by companies, because adoption of global standards (IFRSS) merely require global audit tandards, tools or systems that usually cheaper than specific products or services. This audit commoditization will close the expertise gap between the big five and force them to reduce audit fee. (Perera et. al, 2003,cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. ). For Australian government, fully adopting IFRSS is highly likely result in cost saving because the government does not need to spend money for AASB. It is evidence that Australian government spent huge amount of money for domestic accounting standards formulation. Another advantage is that the government can ‘distance itself from any future corporate collapses, which tend to raise questions about the role of accounting and the quality of accounting standards in such incidents’ (ibid). Take example of HIH collapse. Furthermore, it can avoid miscalculation of investors’ tax liability, particularly tax related to income from overseas sources accepted by multinational companies (Uddin, M. S. , 2005) (global acceptance). Despite cost saving, IFRSS adoption might also increase overseas companies listing in the ASX (Haswell McKinnon, 2003, cited from Gerhardy, P.G. , n. d. ). It also retains Australian companies listed on ASX. It is argument of Stoddart (1999, cited from McCombie, K. ,n. d. ) that ASX’s rigorous support on full adoption of IFRS is due to ASX’s ambition to become ‘the main exchange in the Pacific Rim’. Despite those enormous advantages, it has been argued that IFRSS adoption lead to significant costs. The main argument is that IFRSs do not consider local needs and priorities as every country has their own ‘business environment, legal systems, cultures, language and political environment’ (Henderson and Peirson, 2000 cited from Malthus, S. 2004). However, to overcome this problem, IASB can accommodate flexible reporting standards that enable companies to choose alternatives that are more suitable for their external condition. It is opinion of some opponents of IFRS adoption that IAS is ‘insufficiently detailed’ (Uddin,M. S. , 2005, p. 4) that require accountants’ and auditorâ€℠¢ professional judgment. However, overly detail might be contra productive and not flexible in anticipating every changes and differences. Education for stakeholders related to changes in financial statement is considered as significant as well. In a way, companies have obligation to ensure these users understand the changes. Companies also need to provide education and training for staff to adapt changes from preparing account using national standards to international standards. Since changes not only affect external reporting system, but also internal reporting such as budgeting system, this training might require huge amount of money. Often, companies need external experts in anticipating the changes such as actuaries and valuation experts that also need a lot of spending. However, this transition cost is only initial investment that is short term; the cost will be diminishing once companies have already been stable with the new systems. Learning from UK, based on a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, majority companies in the UK suggested that transition from local accounting standards to international standards would not require high costs (Malthus, S. , 2004). Coming to the accounting profession, it has been argued that IFRS adoption also bear costs due to the policy. Those costs might come from the need to re educate members of the accounting profession itself. However, this argument is questionable because as a profession, accountants should improve their capabilities by ongoing training and education no matter what. Negative impacts of adoption of IFRS on rule makers such as Federal government and AASB have been public’s concern as well. Regarding federal government, it is argued that support devoted by federal government for IFRS adoption (Brown and Tarca, 2005) might put government ‘under political pressure not to impose rules on Australian companies that are inconsistent with those applied to companies in other countries’. In term of AASB, adoption of IFRSs raised questions about the role of the body. By adopting IFRS that replace local standards, AASB might lose its status and role. This loss arguably hurt nation’s sovereignty because Australia somehow is ‘one of the world’s leading authorities on accounting’ (Haswell and McKinnon, 2003 cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. , p. 24). AASB might also have limited influence on the standards formulation process under IASB, thus Australia’s interest and relevant environment might not be covered by international standards. However, this costs can be diminished as suggested by Carrol (2003d, cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. , p. 75) ‘that if Australia is to ensure that future standards developed by the IASB are relevant to the Australian environment it is necessary that Australia is positioned ‘as an influential leader in the international business environment’’. Having considered both advantages and costs, I would argue that benefit arising from IFRS adoption will be in the longer term worth the effort. The main reason for that is huge economic benefit arises from the IFRS adoption. On the surface, economic benefit is merely enjoyed by multinational companies and investors. However, it will trigger Australian economy development because multinational companies represent greater percentage of Australian economy sources that absorb high number of employment. Small medium companies (SME) that is argued might become parties bearing most cost will benefit from multinational companies as a business partners such as supplier, particularly if Australia promote specific regulation to encourage the mutual partnership. This will be domino effect that boost another sectors, thus benefit whole community. In addition, education cost that is claimed as significant cost only borne for short term and will be diminished in the long term. Education and training itself is inseparable part of accounting as a profession that need ongoing training to enhance capability and professionalism. The last reason is that IFRS adoption might be inevitable due to globalization that diminish border across nations and increase interdependency between nations.

Food Irradiation Essay Example for Free

Food Irradiation Essay Food irradiation has the longest history, more than 40 years, of scientific research and testing of any food technology before approval. Research has been comprehensive, and has included wholesomeness, toxicological, and microbiological evaluation. Worldwide, 38 countries permit irradiation of food, and more than 28 billion lb of food is irradiated annually in Europe. It is important to note that food irradiation has a pretty remarkable list of national and international endorsements: ADA, American Council on Science and Health, American Medical Association, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, International Atomic Energy Agency, Institute of Food Technologists, Scientific Committee of the European Union, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Although the US food supply has achieved a high level of safety, microbiological hazards exist. Because foods may contain pathogens, mishandling, including improper cooking, can result in food-born illness. Irradiation has been identified as one solution that enhances food safety through the reduction of potential pathogens and has been recommended as part of a comprehensive program to enhance food safety. However, food irradiation does not replace proper food handling. So the handling of foods processed by irradiation should be governed by the same food safety precautions as all other foods. Food irradiation cannot enhance the quality of a food that is not fresh, or prevent contamination that occurs after irradiation during storage or preparation. But, treating foods with the irradiation of gamma rays offers benefits to consumers, retailers, and food manufacturers such as improved microbiological quality, replacement of chemical treatments, and extended shelf life. The spices and fumigant sprays used on fruits can be limited and eliminated through the use of irradiation. This improves the quality of the fruit. Pathogens in raw poultry or meat can be reduced by a dose of radiation. Also, smaller doses can disinfest grain and produce and can slow down the natural aging of fruit and vegetables. This all results in the reduced use or elimination of chemical treatments and proves that irradiated foods closely resemble foods in their fresh state. Irradiation has been compared with pasteurization because it destroys pathogenic bacteria. Because irradiation does not greatly raise the temperature of the food being processed, nutrient losses are small and are often much less than nutrient losses associated with other methods of preservation, such as canning, drying, and heat pasteurization and sterilization. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are not notably affected by irradiation. But certain vitamins are sensitive to food irradiation. Yet, nutrient losses can be minimized by irradiating food in an oxygen-free environment or in a frozen state. According to the Ames, Iowa Council for Agriculture Science and Technology Task Force Report No. 115, consumers consistently rate irradiated fruit as equal or better than non-irradiated fruits in appearance, freshness, and taste. With all of the facts listed above, it is obvious that irradiated foods are the best option instead of harmful chemical products. These chemicals usage and harm are a result of not using food irradiation to benefit consumers. And in an era of increasing concern about food safety, consumers must understand that irradiation is one method of enhancing an already safe food supply.