Voices from Vietnam :: essays research papers

This reader’s rating for this book is average. It is a very well written book but it may not appeal to some people. If the reader was familiar with the war then this would be a wonderful book to read. This reader thought it was interesting but not as enthralling as it should be. The book was mainly made out of quotes or dialogue from the men in the war. This was a very different way of writing but it was interesting. Many of the veterans had interesting stories to tell and how it felt like to be in the war. Overall it was a book to consider if you’re into war stories. The things this reader likes about this book is that it was interesting in the fact that it had real stories from real veterans in the war. Some of the stories were explained in gruesome detail in which this reader thought was very disturbing. It is disgusting to know what happened to some of the Vietnamese and veterans during that war. What this reader also liked was how they explained the war while showing the opinions of some of the veterans. The least thing this reader liked about this book was that it didn’t keep you on the edge. Even though this was a war story it didn’t captivate me as much as I would have wanted it to. It became boring at parts when they explained how the war started and how the Chinese were trying to take control of Vietnam. What the author should have done was explain the war with minimum detail and have many comments from the people who were actually involved in it. In this reader’s opinion this book should be good for older people. Older people would understand the meaning of the war better and how it started. Also older people would probably find it interesting and actually want to read into it. Since older people have most likely lived during the Vietnam War they would appreciate this book much more than a teenager would. Voices from Vietnam is not even close to simple. With the exception of the dialogue the words used in the book were a little advanced for a teenager. This reader didn’t enjoy much of the book because of this reason. The book is also quite long since it explains the war and contains comments from the veterans.

The Folly Of Logic, The Freedom Of Truth :: essays research papers

Logic can very often restrain us from recognising the truth when it is presented to us. Allow me to begin by asking a question. What is man? Who are we indeed? We struggle, we grapple, we strain, grasping for truth that is always there, but we feel is out of our reach. We make ourselves prisoners by our own embankment of logic, an instrument that we work too hard. An ox that we send to the field, but provide no water for, driving it on, past exhaustion; a tool that we abuse without having even a miniscule sentiment of remorse. Who are we to think that we can fit our world, our emotions, our lives, our beliefs into neatly packaged little boxes? What right do we have to fit anyone or anything else into our own little spheres we have somehow managed to contrive? Us and our logic! What pharisees we are, what fools we can be! We think we know best; we make our little plans and we analyse our little strategies until there’s nothing left but jargon. We argue our points away until our memory is lost as to what our question was is the first place. Who cares about answers! They won’t help! Answers are of no use. I just want my opinion out there and my voice to be heard. Well, a lot of help that is when everyone is screaming so hard that all becomes numb and meaningless and silent. Just watch then as our individual universes we’ve been able to construct explode into oblivion, leaving us broken, desolate, torn. We are then left begging for love, starving our spirits in desperation, frantically stripping away our own will. What simpletons we can be! Can we not see the truth that has all this time been staring us blatantly in the eyes? Stop grasping, I ask you, be still! Stop bellowing and just be calm! The truth is simple. The truth is bare. We need only to shred those strategies, burn those boxes, and clear the table to see the truth we’ve left buried there, watching us, hoping we will acknowledge it.

Looking Beyond “Black Skin, White Masks” Essay

In recent years the world’s toleration for different cultures and races has increased, however in light of this, the issue of black and white has not faded. There is still a large division between both races due to the sentimental and resentful anguish that the past has brought. I recently read the essay â€Å"Black Skin, White Masks† by Franz Fanon, in which the author discusses psychological and sociological issues surrounding the black race. I feel like the authors underlying message throughout the story is the role of the black man in white culture, and how in today’s society the past is used to determine the future. In this essay, I will explore the idea that the past has affected the relationship between both races and how moving on and looking at the future will create â€Å"ideal conditions of existence† (764). Throughout his piece, Fanon is persistent on the idea of moving on from the past and looking towards the future. This is an idea that is relatable regardless of skin colour. Fanon says, â€Å"In no way should I derive my basic purpose from the past of the peoples of colour. †¦ I will not make myself a man of past. I do not want to exalt the past at the expense of my present and of my future† (761). In regards to the black man, their history of slavery and mistreatment has led to a resent not easily eased by an apology. Many still live in the past, holding grudges against those who offended them so many years before. I consider this a rather unpleasant way to live; to have resent held in one’s heart for so many years takes a toll on how they carry themselves and how that person treats others. Perhaps Fanon’s ideology of moving forward is an accurate one, and perhaps it is the key to erasing the line between the black race and the white race. â€Å"Black Skin, White Masks† also explores the role of the black man in white culture. The title itself is an indication of how Fanon feels about the role; how black people wear white masks in order to feel more accepted within society. This often means giving up their traditions and way of life in order to assimilate into the culture that rules society. Fanon makes the statement â€Å"I as a man of colour do not have the right to seek to know in what respect my race is superior or inferior to another race† (762). The author makes it clear that he does not consider himself to be above or below the white man, or any other race for that matter. The black man can be considered a man just as much as the white man is in society and equality is the only way to merge the two races together. In his analysis Fanon stressed the importance of moving forward. He wants the black race to be able to put the suffering they experienced behind them. Fanon points out that just as the black people shouldn’t â€Å"claim reparations† (762), they should also not hope â€Å"there will be a crystallization of guilt† (762) in the white man. Fanon makes the statement â€Å"There is no Negro mission; there is no white burden† (762). In that, he describes that the white man should not feel obligated to help the black race by assimilating them just as they did decades ago. By placing themselves in others’ shoes, each race might be able to see beyond their own surroundings and into the bigger picture. It is this notion that will help create a more communicative connection between the two races. It is safe to say that merging two races together after years of racism is a difficult task, and it is clearly visible between the black race and the white race. Fanon expresses his ideas on the subject by saying that people should look beyond the past and into the future. He describes the place of the black man in white society, and how in order to bridge the barrier between the two, equality must be a factor. Regardless of when Fanon wrote his analysis, one can see that his ideologies apply to today’s society and that the issues still remain.

Strategic Management Accounting

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING This report will attempt to explain what Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) is, how it developed, why Traditional Management Accounting (TMA) is not sufficient to provide information for strategic decisions and the difference between SMA and TMA. It will further outline some of the essential analytical tools or techniques in SMA such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). SMA is an extremely broad concept, so in order to give a bird’s eye view of the subject this report mainly focus on comparing SMA to TMA and finally describes the importance and criticisms of SMA.What is Strategic Management Accounting? â€Å"A form of management accounting in which emphasis is placed on information which relates to factors external to the firm, as well as non-financial information and internally generated information. † (CIMA Official Terminology) â€Å"Strategic management accounting is a crucially important activity beca use it is outward-looking. It focuses specifically on the market, hence its common description as market-driven accounting. The main data it produces is on customers, products and competitors.This is softer in form than the hard numbers associated with financial reporting, but it forms a part of the inclusive strategy process that is linked to the pursuit of competitive advantage. † (Roslender and Hart, 2006) As mentioned above, SMA emphasis on information external to the firm, such as information about competitors and customers, and non-financial information such as product quality and customer satisfaction, along with emphasising on firm’s internal factors such as information regarding company’s overheads and management of raw materials.The professional strategic management accountant engages with the organization’s top management team and contributes to strategy development and implementation with the aim of creating customer value and a strong competit ive position for the organisation. The business environment has undergone significant changes due to globalisation and developments in information and production technologies (Burgstahler et al. 2007). Trading on a global stage with exponentially advancement in technology has indirectly and radically ffected the traditional management system. These sudden changes have generated the need for Traditional Management Accounting, which is preoccupied with numbers and accounting measures to shift to the next level, which is to focus on value addition and integration within a company. Strategic Management Accounting VS Traditional Management Accounting The three main limitations of Traditional Management Accounting (TMA) are, first, TMA information was acquired from the existing financial accounting information systems.As a result the focus generally remained on annual periodical targets and internal accounting systems thus failing in providing accurate and holistic information that mirror s the technology, products, and complexity of the operational processes on the one hand and on the other hand failing in integrating these for operating in a highly competitive environment (Baines and Langfield-Smith, 2003). Second, its aggregated form renders it less useful for a manager who wants information to be customised according to the specific managerial needs.Third, the window dressing applied by financial accountants to make it look good to the external users makes it less reliable for managerial decision making. Just as TMA was developed and introduced as a recipe for the shortcomings of the traditional cost accounting textbooks, SMA has, arguably, been launched by the accounting scholars as the new state of the art discipline. It has been claimed that the development of the field of SMA would render the old fashioned TMA extinct as the newer version focuses not only on the internal financial information, but also upon the external aspects of the business operations (Smi th 2005).Simmonds (1981), who is credited with phrasing SMA, differentiates it from TMA on the basis of its greater focus on the comparison of the business with its competitors. Bromwich, (1990) contends that SMA enables the management to have a bird’s eye view of the competitors’ procedure and business techniques business and to take decisions accordingly. In this way a major hallmark of SMA is its inclusion of non-financial aspects for the purpose of decision making. Lords (1996) identifies the following functions which are commonly associated with SMA: 1.Collecting information related to the competitors. 2. Using accounting for strategic decisions. 3. Cutting costs on the basis of strategic decisions. 4. And, gaining competitive advantage through it. Wilson and Chua (1993) tabulate ten key differences between MA and SMA as following: | Traditional MA| Strategic MA| 1| Historical| Prospective| 2| Single entity| Relative| 3| Introspective| Out-ward looking| 4| Manufac turing focus| Competitive focus| 5| Existing activities| Possibilities| 6| Reactive| Proactive| | Programmed| Un-programmed| 8| Data orientation| Information oriented| 9| Based on existing systems| Unconstrained by existing systems| 10| Built on conventions| Ignores conventions| Critics have regularly complained that TMA focuses too much on internal business functions of accounting in order to meet the requirements of the internal managers. Some argues that while special attention is given to the internal affairs of the business sight is lost of the external opportunities and potential business threats.The underlying assumption of this discipline is that it improves upon the traditional management accounting by enlarging its scope and realigning it more tightly with other disciplines such as strategy and marketing. Some of the analytical tools which were developed in the fields of strategy and marketing, which are now considered an essential part of SMA toolbox, are: Attribute Costi ng: In this costing system the attributes of a product are emphasised, including the products features, certain purchase agreements, or after-sale services.The information inspected, however, has to be relevant to current or future competitors. Competitor Cost Assessment: Taking advantage of the increasing trend of readily accessing available information, the competitors’ costs (production, labour, raw materials) are keenly analysed. Bromwich (1990) stresses the need for studying competitor’s costs as understanding them helps in managing a business’s own costs. Competitor Appraisal Based on Financial Statements: It is another effective oncept as it permits comparison and benchmarking, information contained in financial statements can be strategically used with the help of ratio analysis. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC): The BSC was proposed by Kaplan and Norton (1992) in which financial and non-financial measures were integrated for strategic performance management purpose. It aimed to create a balance by linking vision and strategy of the business with multi-dimensional perspective of customers, internal business processes, learning and growth, and financial position.Strategic Costing: A further concept of relevance as costs are broken down to measure them for strategic relevance, such as matching the amount competitors spend on areas such as marketing and pricing. Valuing Customers as Assets: It is a concept that illustrates the importance of a customer or particular group of customers, Guilding and McManus (2002) state that it can be assessed through a method where the present values of estimated profits are discounted from the trading correlation of particular customers.Value Chain Costing: The technique has been developed from value chain analysis proposed by Porter (1985) for gaining competitive advantage. In this analysis all value-creating activities related to the development of a product or service is linked in the form of a chain. Those activities which are vital for adding value are given more importance. Activity Based Costing (ABC): The ABC is a costing system in which manufacturing overhead costs are assigning to products through a cogent approach, as opposed to allocating the costs on the basis of a predetermined rate.It initially assigns costs to an activity that is directly linked to overheads; and subsequently assigns the costs to those products that require the production activities. Disadvantages of Strategic Management Accounting Some argue that Management accountants do not have a set of policies and procedures to follow, as financial accountants follow accounting procedures and principles outlined by IFRS committee or GAAP. Strategic accountants form their own standards and therefore information cannot be compared from company to company as in financial accounting.Another form of criticism is that strategic accountants focus mainly on quantitative information, and quantitative information obtaine d are very rational. The drawback with focusing mainly at rational information is that other relevant and crucial information may be ignored. For example, they might determine a new office should be built at a specific location because wage and taxes are lower; however they might have failed to look at the bigger picture by only focusing on quantitative information.Since there is no standard procedure or principle to follow, strategic accountants add their own personal beliefs and feelings into making decisions. Free of bias is next to impossible but even if there is one, requires individuals that can focus on the entire job at hand and take all factors into consideration. Expensive Conclusion: Strategic Management Accounting involves major decisions, business choices, and actions of organisation by using both financial and non-financial information with a greater focus on the comparison of the business with its competitors.Implementation of SMA tools provides a sustainable competit ive advantage for the company to build a stable economic position within the industry. TMA focuses too much on internal business functions and that result in lost of the external opportunities and potential business threats. Despite the disadvantages mentioned above, it can be concluded that SMA improves upon the traditional management accounting by enlarging its scope with other disciplines such as strategy and marketing. Bibliography: 1. Baines, A. And Langfield-Smith, K. 2003), ‘Antecedents to management accounting change: a structural equation approach’. Accounting Organizations and Society, 28 (7-8). 2. Burgstahler, D. , Horngren, C. T. , Schatzberg, J. , Stratton, W. O. And Sundem, G. L. (2007), Introduction to management accounting, 14th ed. , Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 3. Smith, M (2005), Performance measurement and management: a strategic approach to management accounting, SAGE, London. 4. Simmonds K, (1981), ‘Strategic Management Acco unting’, Management Accounting, 59(4), 26-29. 5. Bromwich, M. (1990).The case for strategic management accounting: The role of accounting information for strategy in competitive markets. Accounting, Organisation and Society. 15 (1-2), 27-46. 6. Lord, R. (1996). Strategic Management Accounting: The Emperor’s New Clothes? , Management Accounting Research, 7 (3). 7. Wilson, R. M. S. And Chua, W. F. (1993) Managerial accounting : method and meaning/Richard M. S. Wilson, Wai Fong Chua ;series edited by Richard M. S Wilson Chapman &Hall, London ; New York: 8. Kaplan, R and Norton, D (2002). The balanced scorecard. USA: Harvard Business Press. 92-225. 9. Guilding, C. , and McManus, L. , (2002), The Incidence, perceived merit and antecedents of customer accounting: an exploratory note, Accounting, Organization and Society, 27, 45-59. 10. Ehow. The disadvantages of strategic management accounting http://www. ehow. com/list_6793416_disadvantages-strategic-management-accounting. html 11. Robin Roslender, Susan J. Hart, (2006) â€Å"Interfunctional cooperation in progressing accounting for brands: The case for brand management accounting†, Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 2 Iss: 3, pp. 229 – 247

The needs of the various populations served in the criminal justice Essay

The needs of the various populations served in the criminal justice profession - Essay Example The prosecutors notify the victims about trial proceedings. On top of this, the prosecutors represent the interests of the crime victims during court appearances. Similarly, the criminal justice profession provides services to the suspects under trials. During the prosecution phase, the criminal justice profession ensures that suspects enjoy the rights of legal representation and speedy trials (Neubauer & Fradella, 2013). In addition, the profession ensures that the alleged offenders receives information pertinent to the proceedings, and exercise the right to be heard. The judges oversee the trials to completion. The criminal justice profession caters for the needs of the inmates. The correction officers provide legal services to the inmates. Notably, the officers ensure a maximum security in the facility, supervises the inmates, and offer educational and counseling services (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2014). On top of this, the criminal justice profession has the mandate of providing quality medical care to the inmates. Moreover, the correction officers process the names of inmates intended for release from the institutions either on parole or after serving maximum term. The parole officers supervise the parolees. In this regard, the officers set conditions that control parolees while in the community. The staff has the responsibility to notify the parolees of their status, as well as upcoming release (Neubauer & Fradella, 2013). Moreover, the parole officers have a duty to inform the parolees about hearing dates and allow them to testify during the actual hearing. A section of the public does not know the mandate of the criminal justice profession. The profession is confusing, intimidating, and overwhelming to many people who work outside the criminal justice system. A huge percentage of the public holds that the sole mandate of the criminal justice profession is to deter any act of criminality

Response and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Response and Analysis - Essay Example The Capitol treats its citizens as slaves totally belonging to the machine of power, and in such circumstances human life is worth absolutely nothing. People can vanish, they can literally die on the TV screen and again nobody will be concerned. Totalitarian regimes are obsessed with the idea of possible revolution and overthrow that is why the Capitol aims to ensure its power by reminding people their place and their worth: â€Å"Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. â€Å"Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.† (Collins) As I already mentioned, the primary aim of the Capitol is to constantly remind people that their lives are worth nothing for the authority and that they can â€Å"disappear† anytime. And creating Hunger Games is very effective tool in imposing fear, but broadcasting them on TV has more serious meaning. By doing this the Capitol shows people`s their own worst instinctive qualities - violence and lust for blood. And so it turns out that on the one hand citizens are scared to become victims of the Capitol`s power but on the other, when they manage to save their lives, they become animals in their desire to see someone else`s glamorized death on the screen. So literally they join the Capitol in its obsession with violence becoming decent representatives of regime. There is no possibility to tell what is real on the TV show and what is fake, even such things as love and friendship: â€Å"It’s messing with my mind too much, trying to keep straight when we’re supposedly friends and when we’re

What do you think Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What do you think - Essay Example In the United States, political correctness in linguistics is founded on the intention to promote equality for everyone. However this intention has been lost, as I will detail in the following arguments: Our societys over-abidance with political correctness seems to hamper, even reverse the social progress that we have achieved. Our uptightness causes tensions within communities where there need not be any. To encourage politically correct language is to encourage censorship. Trying to hide the truth under the guise of politeness prevents people from getting personal for fear of offending others’ sensibilities. Therefore it does more harm than good. If one chooses to do something that dos more harm than good, it is considered unreasonable or unintelligent. Therefore politically correct language is unreasonable and unintelligent. Politically correct language emphasizes discrimination, rather than lessens it. In some cases it could even become a case of self-fulfilling prophecy, where an otherwise harmless expression, when deemed â€Å"offensive† by the powers that be becomes offensive simply because they say it’s politically incorrect. For example, the children’s rhyme â€Å"eenie meenie miney moe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is considered politically incorrect because it was at one time and in some areas in the United States associated with racist sentiments (â€Å"catch a nigger by his toe†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Political correctness supposedly promotes equality for everyone, but in this case, it promotes the discriminative element, rather than just let the phrase lose the â€Å"offensive† meaning. If it does not fulfill the goals that it intends to achieve, it does not make sense to follow it. Therefore politically correct language is pointless. People who try so hard to say the right thing in the name of political correctness they end up just looking foolish. For example, not using the term African-American for black people