Enzymes in the Dairy Industry

Cherno Okafor Aida Stefani SBI4U Octover 20th, 2012 Assignment 1: Cellular Biology furthers technology-Enzymes in the Dairy Industry Since ancient times, enzymes have played an important role in food production. Especially in the diary industry, some enzymes are required for the production of cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products, while others are used in a more specialized fashion such as improving texture or flavour of the product. Enzymes are used to catalyze the desirable reactions in industrial processes. Today, enzyme applications in such processing get more difficulties because of the rare occurrence and high costs.The aim of using the microbial enzymes is to achieve this problem. Five of the more common types of microbial enzymes involved in the dairy industry involve: Rennet, Proteases, Lactase, Catalase, and Lipases. Milk contains proteins, especially caseins which maintain its liquid form. Proteases are enzymes that are added to milk during the process of cheese product ion, to hydrolize caseins, like kappa caseins, which stabilizes micelle formation and thus preventing milk coagulation. On the other hand, rennet and rennin are general terms for enzymes used to coagulate milk.The Chymosin enzyme which can be obtained from animal, microbial, or vegetable sources, is responsible for up to 70% of cheese production. It is now possible to produce chymosin in genetically modified fungi. These modified microorganisms contain the gene derived from the stomach of calves that is responsible for producing chymosin. When grown in a bioreactor, they release chymosin into the medium. Afterwards, the enzyme is extracted and purified, yielding a product that is 80%-90% pure. Natural rennin contains only 4%-8% active enzyme.Chymosin produced by genetically engineered microorganisms is now used to produce cheese in many different countries. Rennet (Chymosin) has owed to an increase in demand for cheese production worldwide. Rennin acts on milk in two stages, by enzy matic and by nonenzymatic action, resulting in the coagulation of milk. In the enzymatic phase, the resultant milk becomes a gel due to the influence of calcium ions and the temperature used in the process. Many microorganisms are known to produce rennet-like proteinases, as mentioned above, which can substitute the calf rennet.Good yields of milk-clotting protease may be obtained in a medium containing 4% potato starch, 3% soybean meal, and 10% barley. During growth, lipase is secreted together with the protease. Therefore, the lipase activity has to be destroyed by reducing the pH, before the preparation can be used as cheese rennet. Protease is another notable enzyme. Cow milk contains a number of different whey proteins such as lactoglobulin and lactalbumin. The denaturing of these whey proteins, using proteases as catalysts, results in a creamier yogurt product. The denaturing of whey proteins is also essential for cheese production.In addition, proteases reduce allergic proper ties of cow milk products for infants, which produce healthier milk for them. Lactease is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that decomposes lactose into its constituent sugars of galactose and glucose. Lactose intolerant individuals can result from insufficient production of lactase enzyme in the small intestine. Feeding lactose-containing milk to lactose-intolerant individuals can result in discomforts such as: cramps, gas, dehydration, diarrhoea in the digestive tract upon ingestion of milk products, or maybe even death.Lactase provides relief for lactose and tolerant individuals because it can be used commercially to prepare lactose-free products, particularly milk by the process of hydrolysis of the lactase into glucose and galactose. In addition, lactase enzymes can be used in preparation of ice cream to make a creamier, sweeter-tasting product and improving digestibility. Finally, this reduces sandiness due to crystallization of lactose in concentrated preparations. Also, cheese ma nufactured from hydrolyzed milk ripens more quickly than the cheese manufactured from normal milk.Another problem presented by lactose is its low solubility. This prevents the use of concentrated whey syrups in many food processes as they have an unpleasant sandy texture and are readily prone to microbiological spoilage. Adding to this problem, the disposal of such waste whey is expensive due to its high biological oxygen demand. These problems may be overcome by hydrolysis of the lactose in whey; the product being about four times as sweet, much more soluble and capable of forming concentrated, microbiologically secure, syrups.Technologically, lactose crystallizes easily which sets limits to certain processes in the dairy industry, and the use of lactase to overcome this problem has not reached its fullest potential because of the associated high costs. Moreover, the main problem associated with discharging large quantities of cheese whey is that it pollutes the environment. But, t he discharged whey could be exploited as an alternate cheap source of lactose for the production of lactic acid by fermentation. In the production of cheese, hydrogen peroxide is a potent oxidizer and toxic to cells.Catalase enzymes are used are used instead of pasteurization, when making certain cheeses such as Swiss, in order to preserve natural milk enzymes that are beneficial to the end product and flavour development of the cheese. Due to pasteurization, these enzymes would be destroyed by the high heat. Therefore, Catalase enzymes are typically added to convert to the hydrogen peroxide to water and molecular oxygen which will enhance final production. Finally, there are the lipases in the dairy industry. Lipase enzymes are primarily used to break down milk fats and give characteristic flavours to cheeses.The flavours come from the three fatty acids produced when milk fats are hydrolyzed. Hydrolysis of shorter chains of fatty acids is preferable as it results in desirable taste s of many cheeses unlike the hydrolysis of longer chains of fatty acids which could result in soapiness or no flavour at all. It is notable to mention egg products. Many industrially produced cream products used dried egg powder instead of fresh eggs. The enzymes of lipase and glucose are implemented in order to preserve egg powder and maintain its colour.These enzymes are often produced with the assistance of genetically modified microorganisms. Genetically modified microorganisms result in better yields in simply systems. Several cheese making experiments have been carried out with recombinant chymosin and the general aspects of recombinant chymosin have been dealt with. Since most of the rennet (>90%) added to cheese milk is lost in the whey, immobilization would considerably extend its catalytic life. Several rennets have been immobilized, but their deficiency as milk coagulants has been questioned.So, there is a fairly general support for the view that immobilized enzymes canno t coagulate milk properly, owning to inaccessibility of the peptide bond of K-Casein, and that the apparent coagulating activity of immobilized rennets is due to leaching of the enzyme from the support. Different types of conventional cheeses have been successfully made by using recombinant rennet on an experimental scale. No major differences have been detected between cheeses made with recombinant chymosins or natural enzymes, regarding cheese yield, texture, smell, taste, and ripening.Cheese ripening is a complex process mediated by biochemical and biophysical changes during which a bland curd is developed into a mature cheese with characteristic flavour, texture, and aroma. The desirable attributes are produced by the partial and gradual breakdown of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins during ripening, mediated by several agents (i) residual coagulants, (ii) starter bacteria and their enzymes, (iii) nonstarter bacteria and their enzymes, (iv) indigenous milk enzymes, especially proteinases, and (v) secondary inocula with their enzymes.Proteolysis occurs in all the cheese varieties and is a prerequisite for characteristic flavour development that can be regulated by proper use of the above agents. Cheese ripening is essentially an enzymatic process which can be accelerated by augmenting activity of the key enzymes. This has the advantage of initiating more specific action for flavour development compared to use of elevated temperatures that can result in accelerating undesirable nonspecific reactions, and consequently off flavour development.Enzymes may be added to develop specific flavours in cheeses, for example lipase addition for the development of Parmesan or Blue-type cheese flavours. The pathways leading to the formation of flavour compounds are largely unknown, and therefore the use of exogenous enzymes to accelerate ripening is mostly an empirical process. Moreover, there are Proteolytic enzymes of lactic acid and bacteria in fermented milk product s.This system is composed of proteinases which initially cleaves the milk protein to peptides; peptidases which cleave the peoptides to small peptides and amino acids; and transport system responsible for cellular uptake of small peptides and amino acids. Lactic acid bacteria have a complex proteolytic system capable of converting milk casein to the free amino acids and peptides necessary for their growth. These proteinases include extracellular proteinases, endopeptidases, aminopeptidases, tripeptidases, and proline-specific peptidases, which are all serine proteases.Aminopeptidases are important for the development of flavour in fermented milk products, since they are capable of releasing single amino acid residues from oligopeptides formed by extracellular proteinase activity. Nevertheless, the other minor enzymes having limited applications in dairy processing include: glucose oxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, sulphydryl oxidase, lactoperoxidase, and lysozymes. Glucose ox idase and catalase are often used together in selected foods for preservation. Superoxide dismutase is an antioxidant for foods and generates H2O2, but is more effective when catalase is present.Thermally induced generation of volatile sulphydryl groups is thought to be responsible for the cooked off-flavour in ultra high temperature processed milk. Use of sulphydryl oxidase under aseptic conditions can eliminate this defect. The natural inhibitory mechanism in raw milk is due to the presence of low levels of lactoperoxidase, which can be activated by the external addition of traces of H2O2  and thiocyanate. The societal impacts of some dairy enzymes are that chymosin, a high quality enzyme, is available at an attractive price.This helps assure available of extra cheeses at a reasonable cost. Due to the lipases, there is a wide variety of flavourful, high-quality cheeses. To sum up, I think that it is amazing that there is a wide variety of alternatives of dairy products as a resu lt of these enzymes that aid the dairy processes. The lactase enzymes can now help individuals enjoy the nutritional benefits and sensory pleasure of dairy products without gastrointestinal side effects by selecting lactose-free or lactose-low dairy products or by providing commercially available lactase to dairy products in the home.It is interesting how these enzymes sustain processes that enable higher yields, more enzyme production; and higher activity, more efficient, affective, dynamic enzymes. Bibliography Category. â€Å"Enzymes in the Dairy Industry – Uses for Enzymes in Food Preparation – Enzymes and Dairy Products. †Ã‚  About. com Biotech and Biomedical Pages. About. com, n. d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.

Children and Gender

They learn to think by association and knowledge acquired from those that are most often around them. This can lead to negative views on non-specific gender roles, allowing only for a more society-based approach. Sandra BEMA, a psychologist specializing in gender studies, later goes on to define specific features of gender schematics: â€Å"1. Gender schemas develop through an individual's observation of societal classifications of masculinity and femininity, which are evidenced In human anatomy, social roles, and characteristics. 2.Males and females cognitively process and categorize new information in the environment based on its maleness or femaleness. . Self-authorship is displayed by an individual's categorization of and conformity to the sets of elements that belong to either definition of masculinity and femininity' (Hoist 1). As children develop, they learn to associate things by said â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness† based on society. They are taught that as a male and female, they should do things specific to each gender, setting a foundation for later learning and behavior.According to Deborah Rhode, a Professor of Law at Stanford University, most research shows â€Å"Children receive strong cultural messages about sex-appropriate rats, tasks, and behaviors† (21). At such an early age, when cognitive skills are developing and when children are learning by viewing what Is around them, children start to figure out how to act based off of their certain gender. Boys are taught that they must be forceful and girls need to be motherly, while seeing advantages and disadvantages to being of a certain sex.A study In Michigan on elementary students showed that the children were able to acknowledge the fact that there are indeed â€Å"gender hierarchies† or better or worse genders (Rhode 22). â€Å"When 1,100 students ere asked to describe what life would be like If they were the opposite sex, over 40 percent of the girls saw a dvantages to being male: they would have better Jobs, higher incomes, and more respect. Ninety-five percent of the boys saw no advantage to being female, and a substantial number thought suicide would be preferable† (22).How is it that at such a young age, the idea of suicide has already been associated with being female? Children are being taught this way, even If indirectly; children learn by seeing and hearing. Rhode even declares that â€Å"by age two, toddlers have ex-linked toy preferences; by age three they can identify certain occupations as more appropriate for each sex; and between ages four and six they separate into same-sex groups† (23). Gender Identity comes at such an early age before â€Å"escalate[d] with anatomical differences† (23).When children are learning that gender is related to all of these other things before even learning the physical, 1 OFF makeup of a person that makes them either male or female, which should be the factor for this as sociation. Gender schematics refers to organization based on feminine and masculine disagrees. Most parents allow their children to recognize this (not as the term but as the concept) by â€Å"offer[ins] differential opportunities for learning based on their children's sex† (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 2).In practice, children tend to remove themselves from situations where learning becomes â€Å"gender-inappropriate† for them (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 2). In a study of 178 kindergarten and grade four students and their parents, girls showed signs of being less gender-schematic than boys. â€Å"Simple comparisons indicated that boys with gender-typed fathers and non- ender-typed mothers were more schematic than girls with the same parent gender classification, than girls with non-gender-typed mothers and gender-typed fathers, and than boys with two non-gender-typed parents† (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 1).Gender typing is when children acquire masculine or fe minine roles and identify with these said roles. When children are heavily influenced by their parents, and one parent is gender typed, then typically this will have an impact on the child. Children should not be taught how to act based upon certain gender-related reminisces, but instead the more androgynous approach. This approach, or combination of gender-related characteristics, will give them the middle ground to choose for themselves as they further develop.David Opened, marriage sociologist, insists that when raising a child, parents should overlap parental roles. â€Å"Men should become more nurturing and share homemaking activities† as women â€Å"in the workplace† (Opened 5 and 6). He suggests that gender roles of parents are learned and can easily be translated into mothers and fathers doing both gender-specific roles. Opened also claims that while renting should take on a more androgynous approach, traditional mother-father roles should not be forgotten. â⠂¬Å"Family organization based on (†¦ ) biological differences between men and women† (Opened 6).This is an appropriate way to combine newer and more traditional parenting styles so that children will be able to grow in an environment not solely based on the roles of any specific gender. There is sure to be opposition to this, with many suggesting that the nuclear family should be kept intact with all the initial principles that go along with it. However, when children re seeing the value in being one gender over another based on society's idea of gender-specifics, then the nuclear family is the last thing that should be worried about.The gender schema theory allows people to â€Å"simplify a large body of knowledge and apply this knowledge easily to themselves and to others† (Attenuate et al. 137). We are able to determine the gender of someone due to â€Å"cues (†¦ ) culturally created gender cues (†¦ ) biological† (Attenuate et al. 137). For obvi ous reasons, it is more difficult for children to assess the gender of other children based on biological aspects. Therefore, they must use these culturally created gender cues to analyze this (I. E. Hair style, colors, etc. . Studies were done to attest to this notion, trying to reach more unconventional conclusions as to what makes a boy a boy and a girl a girl. Small children were asked to draw a picture off boy and a girl, and later gender schemas do not develop before their unconventional gender schemas† (Attenuate et al. 137). The younger children in the studies came up with reasons for each being of a certain gender not based on stereotypes, but more in unconventional, such as â€Å"no legs† or â€Å"she's a pirate† (Attenuate et al. 142).The children a few years older came to the conclusion that girl's had long hair and wore pink while boys had short hair and wore boy clothes. This knowledge of what it means to be a boy and a girl has to start from an ear ly age. From the time a child is born, they are subjugated to stereotyping typical boy/ girl behaviors. Parents want to let the world know if they have a son or a daughter, and this is easily done through dressing a child; a girl is given pink things while a boy s given blue. This inserts gender-specific knowledge into their mindset that only develops over time.This negative approach puts any form of androgyny into the background, thus becoming an outcast to an infant. â€Å"Parents encourage sex-typed activities (†¦ ) doll-playing and housekeeping for girls and trucks and sports for boys† (Witt 253). This encouragement only gives them further reason to gender-type jobs in society, making women appropriate for keeping up the house and family, while men are out working. Children should be taught that these Jobs can be interrelated between both genders and that Job qualification does not refer to what sex you are born as.Witt states that children even as young as two have an â€Å"awareness of adult sex role differences† (253). In today's society, it is quite common to see both genders participating in activities that were once considered gender-specific only. Women run for president, are doctors, are top sports players, etc. On the other spectrum, men are engaging in managing the upkeep of homes, salon employees, nurses, etc. The barriers are slowly becoming hazy and the apprehension of the wrong gender in he workplace is slowly deteriorating. What needs to be considered first and foremost is that this all starts with family.

Capital Gains or Losses Tax

There are certain sales made by Dave in the financial year 2015 and the task at hand is to calculate the capital gains or losses arising from it. He received 850,000 from the sale of his two storeyed house in St. Lucia which was purchased for 70,000. This means that he made a gain of 780,000 in this sale if we don’t account for the expenses incurred in the commission expenses. However, the proceeds received by Dave from sale of his residence at St Lucia is fully exempted from capital gains tax because as per ATO proceeds from a sale of personal home are fully exempted if the individual has been living it for the duration for which he/she has owned the property and the property hasn’t been generating any assessable income. The proceeds received from the forfeiture by a buyer is also application for exemption under capital gains as it as part the capital proceeds from the disposal of that asset which was exempted due it being a main residence of the taxpayer. Hence even t he forfeited amount wont attract any capital gains tax liability. The painting is not eligible for exemption as neither was it purchased under $500 nor was it acquired before 16 th September,1995 hence the net capital gains are taxable. So the net gains of 110,000 are to be taxed under capital gains tax. The figure of 110,000 dollars is the selling price less the acquiring price which are 15,000 and 125,000 respectively. The taxable amount arisen due to the benefit provided can be calculated using either of the two methods prescribed by the ATO i.e. indexing method or the discount method whichever yields the lowest value subject to the constraint that it satisfies the conditions laid down to use a particular method for discounting. Since the asset has been held for more than a year and since the asset was acquired before September,1999 he can apply the indexation method to calculate the discount. The indexation factor is given by CPI (Consumer Price Index) in which the sale was made divided by the CPI for the quarter in which the initial investmen t was made. CPI values were obtained from the website of ATO and the indexation factor calculated to the fourth decimal point is obtained as 2.6952. Since the sale was made in 3 rd quarter 1985 the indexation factor for this was 39.7 and that for the sale was 2 nd quarter 2015 for which the indexation factor was 107.Hence the cost of the painting would be increased by that factor to get the capital gain. Hence now capital gain would be 84,572 as the cost for calculating capital gain would be 40,428 dollars which is 15,000 multiplied by the indexing factor. But the discount factor gives a better result as under the discount method the capital gains are discounted by 50% hence under this method capital gains would be 55,000 dollars which is the net gains of 110,000 discounted by 50%. Since the discount method gives the better result which in this case is the lower value we would use this method to calculate the capital gain at 55,000 dollars.   The capital gain can be reduced only after all the capital losses for the income year have been applied. It is imperative to mention here that net losses from collectables can only be deducted from capital gains made from collectables, not from other capital gains. The capital loss on the boat boat which was purchased in 2004 would be calculated using the other method which would give the highest possible result of 50,000 dollars. The amount is obtained by subtracting the sale price of 60,000 dollars from the acquisition cost of 110,000 dollars. For the capital gain tax on the shares, the other method will be used. The cost base would include the cost price of shares and also the brokerage paid on the shares and the stamp duty. Hence total cost would be 71,000 dollars and since the shares were sold for 80,000 dollars the total capital gain is 9000 dollars. It’s explicitly mentioned that the interest charges are not to be included in the cost base. The net capital gain or loss is given by total capital gains for the year less the capital losses for the year further brought down by any discounts allowed. Hence, the net capital gain from sale of painting and shares is 64,000 dollars or 93,372 dollars depending on the method used for the painting. Net capital loss from sale of boat is 50,000 dollars Hence net capital gain of 14,000 dollars or 43,372 for Dave for the current year. Since Dave has had a net capital gain of 14,000 dollars he can use this to deduct the net capital loss carried forward from the previous year which amounts to 50,000 dollars. His net capital loss would now stand at 36,000 dollars as the capital gain this year would be deducted from the carried forward capital gain loss. If Dave has a net capital loss it would be added to the capital gain loss carried forward from last year. Hence now his total capital loss would stand at 50,000 dollars and the additional capital loss incurred this year Capital loss cannot be used to offset the tax liability and would be carried forward and can be used to deduct it against capital gains in the coming years. To calculate a car fringe benefit, an employer must work out the taxable value of the benefit using either of the below mentioned methods as per ATO. Even if a different method was used in the previous taxable year, the method to be used this year would be determined by the method which gives the lowest value. However, if the required documentation for the operating cost method (for example, log books) have not been kept then the statutory formula method must be used. The operating cost method requires the company to maintain a log book which specifics the usage of car in terms of business and non-business use. Since this has not been maintained the statutory method of valuation would be used to evaluate the taxable value of the fringe benefit arising from the use of the car. Under the statutory formula method, the steps involved are estimating the cost of the car, estimating the statutory rate and determining the number of days the car was used for private purpose. The taxable value is then given by A*B*C/365 where A is the base value of the car, B is the statutory rate and C is the number of days in use of the car in a given assessment year. The statutory rate for calculating the fringe benefits tax would be 20% since ATO prescribes a flat tax rate of 20% for calculating the benefit provided if kilometres travelled are less than 15,000 kilometres. In fact, for any benefits provided after 2011 the tax structure is a flat rate of 20%. The car held by Emma for a 11 month period which constituted 336 days. During the 11-month period or the 336-day period from 1 st may to 31 st March no days would be deducted in determining the number of days of usage of car as ATO clearly lists that annual maintenances are to be listed as days when it is available for use and whenever it is garaged at the employee’s house would also be not deducted, in this case when Emma was interstate would not be deducted, Keeping the above factors in consideration the tax liability would be calculated at 20% of the cost price of the car which is 33,000 and it would be factored by 336/365. Hence 6075 is the taxable value. A company is said to provide a loan fringe benefit if it extends to its employee a loan and charges no interest or a low rate of interest. Any interest rate lower than the prescribed or the benchmark interest rate qualifies as a loan fringe benefit. The  benchmark interest rate  for the Fringe Benefit Tax for the assessment year ending March 31,2015 is given as 5.95% by ATO. Hence for the given scenario since the loan is provided by Periwinkle to Emma at 4.5% it qualifies as a loan fringe benefit. The taxable value of a loan fringe benefit is the difference between: Since Emma uses the loan for purchase of a holiday home and for lending it to her husband the entire amount is to be taken into consideration. For the given scenario the taxable value of the loan fringe benefit is the difference between the two amounts 29,750 dollars and 22,500 dollars which is 7,250 dollars. While the former is the rate of interest charged by the company to Emma, the latter is the interest to be paid in accordance with the statutory rate in 2015. There is no specific information regarding cheap sale of its own products to its employees and neither is it under any exempt category but since the price Emma paid for it is anyways more than the manufacturing cost we exclude it from our scope of taking out the fringe benefits provided to Emma. Hence the total taxable value of the fringe benefits is the loan fringe befit of 7,250 dollars and the car fringe benefit of 6,075 dollars which is a total of 13,325 dollars. Hence the total fringe tax liability would be 6262.75 dollars as the fringe benefit tax is 47%. Had the 50,000 been used by Emma herself instead of being lent to the husband to buy the shares it would be eligible for deduction. ATO prescribes that the taxable value of a loan fringe benefit may be reduced in accordance with the 'otherwise deductible' rule, subject to the constraint hat the investment is made by the employee himself or herself rather than an associate which was the case in first place. Putting it simply it implies that the taxable value would be reduced to the extent to which interest payable on the loan is, or would be, allowable as an income tax deduction to the employee. We look at an example to understand the implications better. Supposing an employee uses a loan from his/her company wholly to invest in interest bearing financial instruments, then the interest that he would have to pay the company is deductible fully for tax purposes. Hence what the mentioned scenario implied is that under this rule the taxable value of the fringe benefit provided would be ze ro, irrespective of the rate of interest charged by the company on the loan. Therefore, where the otherwise deductible rule applies, the taxable value of a loan fringe benefit is: Hence for the given scenario the taxable amount under loan fringe benefit would be reduced by the differential interest paid on 50,000 dollars since this would now be deductibe for tax purposes. This would mean that the loan fringe benefit would now be 6525 dollars instead of 7250 dollars and the total taxable amount under fringe benefit tax would be 12,600 dollars. ATO, 2016. Capital Gains Tax. [Online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Capital-gains-tax/ ATO, 2016. Fringe benefits tax. [Online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Fringe-benefits-tax-(FBT)/

Selected theories of international relations in Iraq Essay

Selected theories of international relations in Iraq - Essay Example Therefore within the state of nature Hobbes assumes that there would be a perpetual state of violence and no protection for individual rights. Therefore the government exist as a means of protecting the rights of individuals. The extension of this theory to the state level indicates that states are either aggressive in attempts to extend their empire, or defensive in attempts to protect their empire (Scheuerman 2010, 252). Each scenario creates the need for a military through which states either enter into conflict with an imperialist aggressor, or one in which two isolated states enter into an arms race out of fear of future aggression. A clear example of this is the cold war. The history of the existence of states tends to prove the fact true that the international arena is in a constant polarized state. While international organizations exist as a means of mitigating conflicts between states, these organizations are made up by states themselves, which means that it is difficult to force states to concede to the collective interest of others, because governments will always vote in favor on actions that best protect their self interest (Ashley 1981, 222). Realism as a theory of international relations extends beyond the militaristic ambitions of a state, it also refers to the collection of resources. States attempt to secure resources for their citizenry, as well as to secure a comparative advantage in trade with other nations. This sheds light on the economic state of being with states in a realist framework. In fact, economic warfare has been waged on countries as a means of deploying soft power techniques within the realist framework. In the context of... A clear example of this is the cold war. The history of the existence of states tends to prove the fact true that the international arena is in a constant polarized state. While international organizations exist as a means of mitigating conflicts between states, these organizations are made up by states themselves, which means that it is difficult to force states to concede to the collective interest of others, because governments will always vote in favor on actions that best protect their self interest (Ashley 1981, 222). Realism as a theory of international relations extends beyond the militaristic ambitions of a state, it also refers to the collection of resources. States attempt to secure resources for their citizenry, as well as to secure a comparative advantage in trade with other nations. This sheds light on the economic state of being with states in a realist framework. In fact, economic warfare has been waged on countries as a means of deploying soft power techniques within the realist framework. In the context of international relations there is no viable alternative to realism even being discussed providing the necessity and interdependency for such a theory (Ashley 1981, 223). Even in a world where the state collapses there is nothing to replace realism allowing it to re-emerge. It is entrenched in human nature. Even if they win a shift in ideologies within the current system they don't functionally change the essence of human nature in the sense of these international politics.

How do you account for the global decline in trade union membership in Essay

How do you account for the global decline in trade union membership in the past 25 years . Critically assess whether this is a trend to be welcomed or deplored - Essay Example They face problems of retaining quality members. It has been found that there is substantial erosion not only in the membership but also in the bargaining power of the unions. For developing close understanding with the recent trends in the fall of the trade union membership, it has been intended to enlighten the present scenarios of two countries- United Kingdom (UK) and Australia. It has been found that the trade union membership has been reduced over the previous two decades in the UK. According to the statistics of 1979, there were 13.3 million people under the membership of trade unions which refers to 55% of the overall employees. Decline in the trade union membership during the period of 1995 to 2006 can be exhibited through a diagram. Several reasons are there for the decline in the memberships. Firstly, the drastic reduction in the number of jobs mainly in the manufacturing industries that acquire traditionally higher amount of union membership can be blamed. Secondly, increasing level of unemployment is also held responsible for the decline. Recent trends say that traditional full time employment has been reduced whereas an increase in the part time workers has been noticed which is not beneficial to the increase in trade union membership. In small organisations, it is difficult to form trade unions and a sharp amplification in the proportion of employed workforce has been observed. Hostile legislation can be considered as another reason of decline in the UK (TUC, 2010). Across Australia, a sharp decline in the trade union memberships has been noticed. The declination is a result of significant transformation in the ‘industrial relations environment’. Data reveals that 46% of the entire employee force in the year of 1986 belonged to the trade unions. Opening up of individual and collective bargaining and gaining prominence of decentralised bargaining, has reduced the importance of the unions in the

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CAM Therapy - Essay Example Heat therapy helps to ease pain on the back by dilating blood vessels of the lumbar spine muscles. Consequently, the flow of oxygen as well as nutrients to the muscles is increased, which in turn contributes to the healing process of the damage that caused the pain (Theodoridis & Krämer, 2009). Further, heat therapy stimulates skin receptors, thus pain signals are transmitted to the brain offering partial pain relief. According to Ebnezar (2003), heat therapy ensures that the relaxation of soft tissues around the spine thus reduces muscle stiffness, hence reducing pain and boosting back flexibility. Heat therapy has minimal side effects unlike other forms of therapies, thus it is a safer choice. The doctor recommended that short duration of heat application on my back, about 15 to 20 minutes. He recommended that I use hot, damp towel or heating pad on my back whenever I feel the pain. I intend to follow the instruction because it works for

Using available documentary resources, you are required to write a Essay

Using available documentary resources, you are required to write a proposal for a research topic of your choice - Essay Example Many theories have been propounded by experts in the field of investment to help making investment decisions rationally. These rational investment decision theories stem from standard finance/ neoclassical economics. However, investment decisions by individuals are influenced not only by rational theories but irrational/behavioral theories as well. This acknowledgement develops a new branch of knowledge-behavioral finance- which deals with how investment decisions are taken in line with behavioral aspects of individuals. Behavioral finance has become one of the disciplines of great interest to investment firms and wealth management professionals. It is commonly understood as the application of psychological aspects of investors to financial planning and decision making. With the growth and development of UK economy, the need for planned investment among common investors has become a necessity and as a result the demand for wealth management has become phenomenal. Wealth management is the process of channelizing the funds of clients by professional wealth managers in conformity to the formers’ financial requirements and choice. The insights of personal financial planning and theories of rational finance are extensively used to make planned personal investment decisions. The rational finance which stems from neoclassical economics postulates that the economic decisions of investors are determined by the principles of perfect self-interest, perfect rationality, and perfect information. This is not going to be a logical view point as described by behavioral finance. Behavioral finance states that people are neither perfectly rational nor perfectly irrational: they possess diverse combinations of rational and irrational characteristics that govern their decisions on investment. This behaviour has been experienced and documented from the practical experience of wealth management professionals and investors. Thus,

An Analysis of Neologism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

An Analysis of Neologism - Research Paper Example On February 1, 2004, the American television station CBS aired the event which culminates every season of the National Football League (NFL), the Super Bowl. Broadcast to 90 million people, the Super Bowl has a nationwide audience of viewers of all ages and backgrounds. During this game, the halftime show entertainment featured a duet between pop music entertainers Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. At the end of their song, Timberlake completed a choreographed move where he tore at Jackson’s clothing. This motion caused an unexpected and actual tear of her costume thus causing a few seconds where her breast was exposed to the audience. Nearly instantly, public outrage ensued over the broadcast nudity, which resulted in Jackson now famously blaming the incident on a wardrobe malfunction. As Joe Flint of the LA Times wrote, this example of neologism represents â€Å"a phrase that became part of the lexicon† almost instantly. Upon Jackson’s description of this in cident of a wardrobe malfunction, this phrase has infused into all aspects of common usage as it now describes any clothing slip-up. The latest example of a wardrobe malfunction in action was seen at the 2011 Oscars where actress and singer Jennifer Lopez accidentally exposed her breast while wearing a dress with a very low cut, revealing neckline. With the background and origin of the neologism term â€Å"wardrobe malfunction† established, this paper can now progress to discuss how the research on this topic was completed. Key Words Upon choosing the term â€Å"wardrobe malfunction† for this assignment, it was necessary to develop a list of key words for the purpose of research. Given the recent origin of this term, the key words used for this search include specific incidents as well as government regulations on the topic itself. The key words searched included: - wardrobe malfunction - federal communications commission (FCC) - CBS - indecency - broadcast regulations - Super Bowl 2004 - Janet Jackson interview - Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson duet - 2004 Super Bowl halftime show - FCC regulati ons With the understanding that the term â€Å"wardrobe malfunction† was created as a result of a pop culture event, it seemed most pertinent to conduct research within the scope of pop culture publications in an effort to document the reactions to this event as they happened, in a sense. In order to ensure that the research found is from sources that are considered to be ethical and have a high sense of integrity, I searched for news sources that had covered stories which featured my key words in the topics. I chose well-known and established newspapers, government policies and court coverage. The bibliography at the end of the assignment lists the six sources used for this assignment in addition to how they are featured in the text. Directions for Future Research Along with the bibliography of references and background information on the neologism term of â€Å"wardrobe malfunction,† the choice of sources allows for the continued monitoring of how this concept is use d in popular culture. The importance of following the use of this term is to determine what the lasting effects of this example of neologism will have on society. It is also worth nothing that

Daily Assignment 8&9 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Daily 8 - Assignment Example They claim that paternalism is essential when preferences do not match the choice frame and paternalism is guided by the failure to validate the preference of welfare to liberty. According to Thaler and Sunstein, Paternalism occurs when organizations or planners adopt policies or decisions that have positive impacts on the options of the non-planners. They argue that paternalism is inevitable since people do not want to make their own decisions even after being coerced by planners to do so. People are also unable to assess the benefits of the decisions they make and the planners are always benevolent such that if two options are available and only one is beneficial to both parties, they will adopt that one. Thaler and Sunstein believe that paternalism should not be coercive and morally demeaning. They assume that individuals behave according to the expectations of the economic models and do not act voluntarily and rationally for their own benefit. The argument that 60% of Americans are either obese or overweight shows that they believe that people do not make beneficial decisions. Every human being knows that obesity poses risks to heart attacks, and it would be misguiding if one assumes that most of the Americans choose their diet optimally. They argue that peoples choices are influenced by the legal and organizational

Philosophy of Mind Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of Mind Essay Since centuries, our philosophers have been trying to unravel mysteries of our memory, thought processes, different emotions, will power and imaginations culminating into what is known as different intellectual and conscious part of our personality.   Our mind, as our great literary figures have posited, is a stream of our consciousness and is a part of our brains inherent processes. Our mind is a place where our reasoning power gets the shape and takes the practical form. As also said in Indian Vedic philosophy, He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge). – (Chhandogya Upanishad, V-i-5.) Different studies by our philosophers have been compounded into various theories each delving into the depth of various aspects of our mind processes. Its earliest studies have been found in the works of Zarathushtra, Mahatma Budha, Plato, Aristotle, Adi Shankara and many more ancient Greek and Indian Philosophers.   Many of the pre scientific philosophers based their theories on relationship between the mind and the soul, supernatural elements of faith, having a feeling of closeness with divinity or god, but on the other hand modern theorists based their theories on their research and scientific studies of the brain. These theories rely heavily on the fact that the mind is a phenomenon of the brain and is a tantamount of consciousness. The study of the relationship between the body and mind is the most central aspect to the philosophy of mind, despite of the fact that there are number of issues related to the nature of the mind which does not take into consideration its relationship to the physical body. The most crucial and complex differences of thoughts are arising among different theorists regarding the exact and most appropriate theory of mind. Though various theorists have developed their own different versions to make us understand our own functioning of mind yet as more and more theories are coming up, more and more it is getting difficult to come out with the best theory of all. As all theories are able to capture the intensity of readers to make us understand the core of our mind and thoughts, yet it is very challenging to understand â€Å"Which is the best?† Here I am trying to unravel the mystery to understand which theory-Dualism, mind-brain identity or functionalism is a correct theory to understand all about mind. Dualism is a most important school of thought that has tried to solve the most paradoxical and most important relationship of mind and body problems. It has tried to make several attempts to sure that mind and body in some way or the other detach from each other. Roots of Dualism dates far back to Plato, Aristotle and the Sankhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy but in a most precise way it was understood by Rene Descartes only in the 17th century. His philosophical disposition is based on the fact that the mind is independent in itself and constitutes two different kinds of substances like â€Å"res extensa meaning extended things, physical things† and â€Å"res cogitans means thinking things†, (Descartes, Online Edition ). The thinking things are beyond the dimensions of time and space and are thus separate in itself whereas Property dualists thinks that there are several independent properties known to us. It is quite clear from his disposition that he is trying to explain the importance and concept of soul, giving religious discourse. But in this all, he has tried to explain that there is an interaction of mind in pineal gland, from where there is a control on bodily actions and receive sensory perceptions. But this approach of Dualism is not without criticism as its properties are more of dubious in nature. Their theory is based on religion and their ardent faith but no element of scientific fact is found in this. If we visualize and understands that if there is a soul in our physical body and the soul can have drastic effect then it is quite natural that it should be able to generate new energy to bring the bodies into moment.    It is argued that if the soul exists and it can affect the body then it must be able to create new energy to move the body, but this is sheer violation of the theory of the conservation principle.   Owen Flanagan, in his The Science of the Mind says,†If the mind according to Descartes is not a physical system therefore it also could not have any energy to prove herself but in-order to increase this physical energy, the need of the hour is to get it transferred from other physical system but it is not possibl†e. (Owen Flanagan, pp. 21, Mind creators.com). To overcome the limitations of the Dualism, several philosophers and psychologists began to ignore the very concept and existence of mind itself and by doing so their expectations to touch the cord of mind began to flow towards the realistic parts of our lives. Therefore in the beginning the new generation of philosophers came up with what is known as Type Identity Theory.  Ã‚   They posters the view that though the structure of every person’s brain is similar yet in the brain of every person there are certain differences therefore it is not possible to find oneself in a position of same neurological state. Therefore this theory soon took the shape of Token Taken theory implying that if there are two people having different neuropsychological states, then what is it that brings them into the same mental state? And to this they answered that it is due to the function of those two states only that had created them same. This leads to functionalism theory, which says that, â€Å"Two different brain-state tokens would be tokens of the same type of mental state if the two brain states had the same causal relations to the input stimulus that the organism receives, to its various other mental states, and to its output behavior†. (Functionalism, online edition). In simple words, he said that there were supposed to be two thoughts, which are same, and all of the inputs, internal and external, lead to the same output. With this statement, psychologists tried to bring all the conditions of the mind set in equilibrium. This leads to the functionalism theory. Though there are several problems to this approach too yet we can very say that if this theory of functionalism is adopted, it will take us into next major breakthrough, but all is not well with Functionalism too as it failed to explain in clear terms the fact that even if there are conditions of different physical states which gives different material phenomenon, then there is no possibility of different physical structures to regain equality.  Ã‚   . While there is a great controversy to come at the concrete conclusion about which one is correct theory of mind,, but it is a matter of fact that functionalism is the most popular theory among scientists as well as philosophers of today. According to this theory, all the aspects of mental state like beliefs, pains, hopes, fears, etc. depends and are divided on the bases of their activity and are characterized by the jobs they do, or in other words according to the functions that they perform. Just like computers understands the main idea behind our thoughts process in the same way our brains captures our thought processes from our mind and induces us to act accordingly. WORKS CITED Anderson, David. â€Å"Introduction to Functionalism† Consortium on Mind/Brain Science Instruction. Internet. (2006) Available: http://www.mind.ilstu.edu/curriculum/functionalism_intro/functionalism_intro.php?modGUI=44compGUI=1403itemGUI=2447, March 5, 2008   Cofer, David. â€Å"Dualism† MindCreators.Com Internet. (2002) Available:   http://www.mindcreators.com/Dualism.htm, March 5, 2008 Cofer, David. â€Å"Functionalism† MindCreators.Com Internet. (2002) Available: http://www.mindcreators.com/Functionalism.htm, March 5, 2008 McAdoo, Oliver. â€Å"Critically discuss the idea that mental states are identical to physical states† arrod.co.uk Internet. Available: http://www.arrod.co.uk/essays/mind-brain-identity.php, March 5, 2008 Chance, Tom. â€Å"Mind-brain identity theory† Internet. Available: http://tom.acrewoods.net/research/philosophy/mind/identitytheory, March 5, 2008 Swamy   Sivananda, â€Å"Mind Its Mysteries Control†, The Divine Life Trust Society, 1994, World Wide Web Edition, 1998, A Divine Life Society Publication, Internet Available, http://www.dlshq.org/download/mind.htm Flanagan, Owen (1991). The Science of the Mind, 2nd edition. MIT Press. pp. 21.

Propaganda Posters WW1

Propaganda Posters WW1 The propaganda posters of World War 1 had several different purposes. One of these purposes was to obtain man power for the battles of the war. Another reason was to obtain money for financing the war. A third reason for the posters was to spark nationalism within the respective countries of which the posters were made. Getting laborers in the shell factories was also a cause for the propaganda posters. A final reason was to justify the reason for why the countries were involved in the war so that the people dont rebel against the war. The people who were probable targets for the posters were men, women, and even children. For example, posters that showed how women were being murdered by the enemy sparked a sense of honor in the hearts of the men and it influenced them to fight for their country to protect it and their women. Some posters targeted childrens parents by saying My dad bought me a bond, did yours? or something equivalent. By targeting these specific groups, the posters made everyone involved in total war. The posters suggested many ways for the people of the countries to be involved in the war. Posters suggested that people buy liberty bonds or military bonds in order to help the country financially. They also called for the men to fight and to go the front. Moreover, people, primarily women, were drawn to the factories so that they can help with the shells of the bombs and sometimes with the guns. People were also urged to provide things such as food and clothing for the soldiers on the fronts. By suggesting these types of things, posters made everyone fight as the posters were suppose to do. I think that the role of the propaganda in World War 1 was to get people directly involved into the war and to get money to finance the war. The propaganda made people feel nationalist about their countries and they wanted to fight and help in the war. Liberty bonds or war bonds were money that were given to the government to finance the war, and at the end of the war, the people would get the money back with interest. These bonds were important because the governments needed money to be able to pay the soldiers and to wage the war on the front. By getting money from the people, the country had enough money to finance its economy and also it was a good investment for the people who invested in the war. A wide range of images is used in the World War 1 posters. One example was Lady Liberty leading the American troops into battle. Another image was the Australian flag which said for the king and the country. This image made Australians feel nationalistic about their country. A third image that was shown was the German gorilla which made people fear the destruction of Germany and therefore they wanted to fight against Germany. A German propaganda poster portrays how Jesus is blessing the German army. Other German posters also show a soldier to make the men want to fight. Finally, an Austrian poster shows how a child is putting in money for the war. This was another way to make men and women buy bonds for the war. Several good symbols were used during the World War 1. A gorilla portraying Germany was used to show how ugly and evil Germany was. Another British symbol showed Germany as a skeleton that is drinking the blood of the fallen soldiers. These images made people want to fight Germany and to end its terror over Europe. Australia used a fallen soldier pointing at the viewer of the poster to make men want to avenge the death or wounding of the soldiers who give their lives on the front. Germany made its people join the war by showing how the army was blessed by Jesus which symbolized that it was destined for greatness. They also used the symbol of a soldier on a horse, with a oval around his head which in Orthodox Christianity in particular that portrays him as a saint. In general, the Germans were so confident that they would win, that they showed how glorious their army supposedly was. All of the symbols were used to make the people of the countries fight their enemies. Allies Posters Similarities Central Powers posters Their messages were short and simple. Said true statements. Portrayed German brutality. Both wanted resources. Both guaranteed wins. Both urged men to enlist in the fighting. Long messages that said a lot and not very effective. -Contained lies because the army was not as blessed as the newly enlisted soldiers thought. Showed army to be mighty and blessed by God. My favorite poster is the one from Australia which showed how Freedom is in a tug of war with the Oppression. I liked this poster because it was an original way to show how the war was going and in a way it made it seem less dramatic than it really is. I also think that Australians had the most interesting posters in general because their posters were more elaborate and more interesting than the rest of the countries in the war.

Tuberculosis :: Health, Diseases

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that can attack any part of the body, but it is normally found in the lungs (Huether, McCance, Brashers and Rote, 2008,). TB is an infection caused by a acid-fast bacillus also know as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Huether et al. 2008) It is one of the leading causes of death in Asia, China, Indian, Indonesia and Pakistan (Huether et al. 2008). These countries show that in most cases the incidence rate is highest in young adults, and are usually the result from re-infection in recent infections. The spread of TB is attributed to the emigration of infected people from high-prevalent countries, substance abuse, poverty, transmission in crowd places, and the lack of proper medical care for the infected individuals (Huether et al. 2008). Tuberculosis is transmitted from person to person through airborne droplets, when a person that is infected with TB coughs, sneezes, talks, and/or sings letting tiny droplet to be released into the air(Bare, Smeltzer, Hinkle, and Cheever, 2008). TB cannot be spread through touching inanimate objects, food, or drinks (Bare et al. 2008). The person must be in the same area an affected individual is in and inspirate the droplets to be affected. Once the bacillus is inspired into the lungs, the bacilli start to multiply causing lung inflammation also known as nonspecific pneumontis (Huether et al. 2008). To cause an immune response the bacilli will travel through lymphatic system and become lodged in the lymph nodes (Huether et al. 2008). Lung inflammation causes the activation of the alveolar macrophages and neutrophils (Huether et al. 2008). Granulomas, new tissue masses of live and dead bacilli, are surrounded by macrophages, which form a protective wall. They then transform into a fi brous tissue mass, the central portion is called a ghon tubercle (Bare et al. 2008). The bacterial then necrotic, forming a cheesy mass, this mass may become calcified and form a collagenous scar (Bare et al. 2008). At this point, the bacteria becomes dormant and there is no further progression of the active disease. The disease can become active again by re-infection or activation of the dormant bacteria (Bare et al. 2008). TB can be classified as latent or active (Bare et al. 2008). TB that is a latent is bacilli that are isolated with a tubercle can remain, dormant, causing no symptoms. Active TB occurs when live bacilli escape into the bronchi or if the immune system is weaken by diseases such as HIV or Cancer (Bare et al.

Mental Health Panopticon Essay -- prison systems

Prisons act as a total institution where inmates are put on a strict schedule and fall under one of the most gruesome forms of social control. Because of this, many inmates rebel resulting in prisons having to increase security and impose stricter punishments. As a result of this, less effort has been put into helping mentally ill inmates. The term panopticon, coined by Bentham illustrates the concept that the prison design would allow guards to see into cells but not allowing prisoners to see out. Thus, this would allow guards to have omniscient power over the inmates. Fortunately, this never worked as a prison, however prison has created a type of mental health panopticon. This allows for mentally ill parents to feel like they are always being observed; similarly to that of an experiment. Despite prisons best attempt to equally serve all inmates to the best of their ability, prioritizing security and punishment has lead to a mental health panopticon. As a result, prisons environm ents have exacerbated negative behaviours, created an inhumane environment for prisoners and lack the means to aid in mental health. First, the prison system exacerbates negative behaviour such as drug use, self-harming behaviour and suicidal thoughts and actions. One of the most significant ways that the prison community worsens drug use, self-harming behaviour and suicidal thought is providing minimal amount of harm reduction. Accordingly, Lines makes note that higher instance of HIV/HVD and other transmitted disease are a cause on mental health issues within prison, this harm reduction measures would improve the overall health of individuals in prison (Lines at Al. 2005). Thus, the prion systems all intersects: much like society, the happier the i... ...t work. Instilling fear into people works to conform behavior to a degree but it ultimately creates prisons with exacerbated negative behaviours inhume and unfit environments. Works Cited Brown, Michelle. (2012). Empathy and Punishment. Punishment & Society 14(4): 383-401. Lamb, H. Richard., Weinberger, Linda E., & Gross, Bruce H. (2004). Mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system: Some Perspectives. Psychiatric Quarterly 75(2): 107-126. Lines, Rick., Jurgens, Ralf., Betteridge, Glenn., & Stover, Heino. (2005). Taking action to reduce injecting drug-related harms in prisons: The evidence of effectiveness of Out of control [Television series episode]. (2010). In The fift estate. CBC. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2009-2010/out-of-control Sapers, H. (2008). A Preventable Death. Available at: http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/rpt/index-eng.aspx

Ernest Hemingway :: essays papers

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to help the reader gain a better perspective of how the protagonist feels in his story. Symbolism occurs when the author uses one thing to represent another. This helps to give the reader a better idea of the situation or feeling in a given scene. There are several types of symbolism utilized by authors. One type is conventional symbolism. Conventional symbolism is common to the area where the story takes place. While another type is personal which simply is closely tied to the individual. Still a third type of symbolism is universal, which hold a widely understood meaning. As we examine "Hills Like White Elephants" we notice how Hemingway integrates both personal and conventional symbolism in order to help the reader relate to the situation. As the story begins the reader is thrust into the lives of two individuals who wait in a small bar for their train to come. The symbolism is evident as early as the description of the setting when the introduction says, "The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees†¦". This opening statement describes the actual landscape and also describes the situation that the two characters face which is dismal and dark. The reader might possibly wonder about what the other side of the hill looks like. The opening sentence might also be used as conventional irony since the hills are local to the setting of the story. The opening description of the setting later goes onto say, "†¦the station was between two lines of rails in the sun". This also relays the current situation of the protagonist as being stuck between to sides. The reader experiences personal symbolism as the story advances. While focusing on her decision, she looks at her life says, "That's all we do isn't it-look at things and try new drinks". In this reflection, she is mentioning how monotonous her and her boyfriend's lives are with no change and no responsibility. Apparently the boyfriend enjoys this way of life in that he is the one pushing her towards his way of thinking without openly appearing to push her. The editors express their feelings of the symbolism used by Hemingway in saying, "Clearly the child begun in the girl's womb is a 'white elephant'"(book Arp, 184).

Consequence of Self Deception

The consequence of self-deception can be disastrous. Self-deception can be defined as a misconception that is favoured to the person who holds it. In an attempt to justify ones behaviour, we often, unknowingly, gloss over or even alter the truth of our past, in order to escape the feelings of guilt, embarrassment, shame, or even to protect the people around us. However, consequently, the act of self-deception can be disastrous, not only for the delinquent, but also for those around them.This is continuously depicted in Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar named Desire, as the protagonist, Blanche Dubois, spins a web of deceitful lies to escape the painful truth of her past. It isn’t only Blanche, however, that find them self a victim of their own self -deception, struggling to free themselves from the strong hold, eventually leading to their disastrous downfall. On the other hand however, as self-deception can be extremely dangerous in certain cases, it can also help a ssist in delaying/preventing disasters from occurring.As such, the act of self-deception can leave ever lasting damage, whilst, for some, preventing it, as they attempt to protect the ones they love. Remembering the past, may often be a painful and traumatic experience, as unpleasant events are recalled. As such, certain individuals may tend to try to fabricate these past events, in order to steer clear of shame or embarrassment, and escape the harsh blows of reality. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar named Desire, the protagonist, Blanche Dubois, is depicted in a manner where she comes across as a deceitful liar as she only tells what ‘ought to be the truth’.Blanche is somewhat ashamed of her traumatic past and the ancestor’s epic fornications lead to the loss of the family home in Belle Reve, as well as Blanche, searching for love and affection in strangers. Blanches deception to herself and the people around her, lead to her ultimate tragic downf all as she doesn’t search for realism, she wants magic in her life. Throughout the course of the play, Blanche is convinced and has deceived herself, but not the people around her, and as the light is shun over and her unpleasant past is brought to light, Blanche spirals down, consequently leading to her downfall.In certain circumstances, an individual may attempt to supress or repress an event if it is possibly distasteful to their current reality. By choosing to supress a fraction of the truth in the event, one may hope to simply continue on living in their current reality, forcing themselves to believe what they hope to be real. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar names Desire, Stella Kowalski decides to repress her thoughts, when her sister Blanche Dubois informed her of how she was raped by Stella’s husband Stanley.Stella believes that if she does chose to believe what her sister has told her about her husband, Stella cannot continue living in her curr ent reality with Stanley Kowalski. Stella however, decided to continue living a life, with the man she loves whilst having to make her own truth of the story she was told by her sister Blanche. Although, through the act of self-deception, Stella manages to continue on, living the life she loves, with the man that she loves, steering clear of the disaster she may have otherwise faced.

Electronic Commerce

Electronic Commerce – often shortened to E-commerce – is the name given to selling and buying things using the Internet. E-commerce is important because: – * Many people now have Internet connections. Information about goods and services for sale can be put on the World Wide Web. Setting up a company website and doing business through it can be a lot more cost effective than using purely traditional shops. * Companies can have a national or even international customer â€Å"reach† with a website. * People do not leave their homes to shop using E-Commerce. * The costs of delivery of goods are low and many carriers are available. * People can find exactly what they need without hunting round shops or phoning around. Traditional Business Practices Many people have an aspiration and have the resources to go out and do traditional shopping Traditional business practises are easy to exploit and cheap to do for example marketing is a lot more easy to exploit as you generally have a idea who you target audience is You can look at your product try it out and even negotiate lowering the price Advantages for e-commerce disadvantages concerning traditional business practices * Larger market and more options for consumers. This creates more market competition, thus driving down prices and forcing better retail practices. * Don't have to leave home and fight traffic†¦delivered to door * In many cases, a larger selection is available. * Consumers are able to research a product and its competitors more thoroughly before purchase and compare many prices from different retailers. * No sales tax. * Open 24 hours a day / seven days a week, which is very beneficial to those who can not find time to go to a store and for those who just want to shop whenever they feel like it. * Do not have to deal with the sales atmosphere. * Friendlier: no rude salespeople who ignore customers * Can find what you are looking for a the touch of a button – sizes, colours, etc Disadvantages for e-commerce advantages concerning traditional business practices * Waiting for a shipment to arrive in the mail * Shipping Charges * Lack of confidence in personal information transfer on-line * Ease of fraudulent retailers and sites. The fluctuation and instability of Internet retailers makes it difficult for new retailers to establish a reputation because many do not survive. Therefore, there is a lack of confidence that exists in trusting Internet retailers. * Lose the traditional shopping experience and the instant gratification that many really enjoy. * Lack of taxes reduces the tax revenues that states and cities might otherwise collect from traditional retailers. * Traditional retail stores are at a disadvantage to Internet retailers due to the lack of Internet sales tax. * Many are still to computer-illiterate to take advantage of this avenue of commerce * KNOWLEDGE OF D.P.A The law is catching up with the online world. The progressive migration of business to the web is forcing reappraisal of intellectual property rights and their protection, and clarifying the meaning of intellectual property in a connected world. Any customer purchasing or using goods or services has certain rights through legislation and regulation of which impact upon their relationship with the organisation selling the products and service. The implication of the customer rights will be different for manufacturers compared for example with a retailer under the trade description 1968 and 1972 any description of goods and services given by a person acting in the trade or business should be accurate and not misleading failure to do so is a criminal offence. The sale of goods act 1979 places obligation on the buyer and seller on products and services. The seller of goods must ensure the goods are they own legal ownership. Products are of merchantable quality. Fit for the person for normal use meets the description and are delivered on time. The customer once agreed to buy a product has entered a contart with the seller and obliged to pay for the price agreed at the timeof contract. If the goods are faulty, the customer has a r ight for a full refund. If the fault is identified to the customer at the time of contract the customer cannot cause a case Customers have no rights if they change their minds about goods or damage goods themselves Manufacturer guarantee may add to customer right under the supplier and seller act 1982 any goods supplied under contract must confirm to terms and conditions under the consumer protect 1987 people injured by faulty or defected goods have the right to sue The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Internet The new Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000. The Act has received considerable publicity, both because its ambit is wider than its predecessor, the 1984 Data Protection Act is, and because of the greater and more flexible powers given to the Data Protection Commissioner and to individuals to enforce the Act. The Act has significant implications for the Internet and for e-commerce in particular. As the European Commission Working Party on data protection commented: ‘The Internet is not a legal vacuum. Processing of personal data on the Internet has to respect data protection principles just as in the off-line world'. Obtaining consent Under the new Act, it is often necessary or advisable for ‘data controllers' (organisations which obtain, store, or use personal data about an individual) to obtain the individual's consent to these activities. What amounts to consent in cyberspace is a difficult, largely unresolved issue. The more serious the consequences of data processing for the individual, the more careful the organisation must be to ensure that the individual is in possession of any information which he or she requires to give not just consent, but ‘informed' consent. This information should be provided in a way, which is clear, prominent, and easily accessible. If the information is scattered over various disparate website pages, informed consent may not have been given. E-commerce traders must think carefully about whether, in each case, failure to click on an ‘opt-out' box will be sufficient, or whether a specific ‘opt-in' box should be provided. Obtaining consent from minors is a difficult area for e-commerce traders, particularly those retailing goods or services, which are attractive to children and teenagers, such as computer games. The Data Protection Registrar has indicated that, as under-18s cannot generally be bound to a contract under English law, they can also not be deemed to have consented to the processing of their personal data. However, can a third party, even a parent or guardian, consent to processing on behalf of a minor? In addition, how does an organisation know when it is dealing with a minor in cyberspace – no tell-tale handwriting here! The US government has adopted a Children's On-line Privacy Protection Act, which deals with the point expressly, but there is no indication that the UK government intends to address the issues in a similar way. Privacy policies Many companies have adopted a ‘privacy policy' or ‘statement' which is published on their website as a useful way of addressing data protection issues. Privacy policies typically state who the data controller is, what personal data is being collected, and what will happen to it, in particular to whom data may be transferred. A privacy policy may also give information about the right to opt-out of direct marketing; details of any mechanism for individuals to update or amend their personal data; information about the use of ‘cookies' and invisible data capture; and a disclaimer for third-party sites linked to the website. To be effective, it is important that privacy policies are clear, prominent, and easily accessible from relevant pages. If you rely on a privacy policy alone to demonstrate that the subject has consented to precessing, then you should take steps to ensure that they must scroll through the page before providing their data. Invisible data capture Concerns have been raised about the data protection implications of invisible data processing during web browsing. For example, many companies use techniques which gather information about a website visitor, such as their IP address, the type of browser and operating system they use, and previous sites they have visited. This information has been described as a ‘clicktrail' about an individual, recording the pattern of their Internet use. There is some debate as to whether this information, which is largely anonymised, qualifies as personal data. The European Commission Working Group adopted a bullish view in its 1999 Recommendations, regarding IP addresses, for example, as personal data. Website owners wishing to make use of invisible data capture metyhods are advised to bring them within their data protection procedures. Website hosts Often an external host or web manager will oversee the running of the server on which a website is hosted. For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, the commercial entity which ‘owns' the website will normally be the ‘data controller' in relation to personal data obtained via the website, whereas the host will be a ‘data processor' processing data on its behalf. Under the new Act, data controllers are liable for processing undertaken on their behalf by such data processors. The data controller must actively police the data protection procedures of any person processing data on its behalf, and must enter into a written contract with its data processors, requiring them to maintain certainty security measures and to process personal data only in accordance with instructions. Extra-EEA transfer Website proprietors must pay particular attention to the eighth data protection principle, concerning the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area. Initially, there was concern that merely sending e-mails, which, for example, may travel from one side of London to the other via the United States, would frequently infringe this principle. However, the Data Protection Commissioner distinguishes in recent guidance between the ‘transfer' and ‘transit' of data, and states that, provided an electronic transfer of data starts and ends in an EEA country, the principle will not be infringed. Conclusion As with many provisions of the new Act, the distinction between ‘transfer' and ‘transit' of information is ambiguous and uncertain. The Data Protection Registrar has said that she appreciates the difficulties in understanding and applying the new Act. To begin with, therefore, she is unlikely to enforce the new provisions to the letter, if data controllers try to comply with the spirit of the Act. However, given that it will ultimately fall to the courts to decide what amounts to compliance, and that individuals may now police processing themselves, those dealing with personal data on the Internet must take the new rules very seriously. Legal Issues Under UK law, consumers have the same rights as in any other forms of trade. The government are also striving to change existing laws to help to clear up any ambiguity in current law to help e-commerce and ultimately consumer protection across the Internet. So, if you are unfamiliar with any of the following laws and regulations, now is the time to find out. * The Data Protection Act 1998 * The Consumer Protection Act 1998 * British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion * The Distance Selling Regulations 2000 * The Unfair Contract Act 1977 and 1999 regulations * The sales of Goods Act 1979 * The Consumer Credit Act 1974 * The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 Qualify your intentions In 1999, the government set up a self-regulatory scheme to develop and enhance confidence in UK e-commerce. Its aim was to act as a symbol of good web trading via an agreed â€Å"minimum standard† for online trading. For the small business, this can mean that you are accredited as â€Å"good† online e-service. This organisation is known as TRUSTUK. For any company who has been accredited by TrustUK can display the TrustUK hallmark on their website. For the small business, this gives credibility and can boost consumer confidence greatly. TrustUK have also linked up with other organisations who also offer accreditation for websites adhering to set TrustUK standards, these are known as â€Å"code owners†. If your small business takes many issues similar to the ones discussed, then you should have no problem gaining accreditation. To find out more visit the TrustUK web site The impact of technological innovations on e-commerce The Internets potential for e-commerce The evidence supporting e-commerce growth and potential can be staggering when one considers the accomplishments in this field just over the last few years. The potential impact, and issues surrounding, e-commerce and the practising accountant. E-commerce is seen as a major area of growth over the next few years and virtually every well-known retailer is developing some form of web presence, for example WHSmith has recently launched an online book selling service. In addition, there are a number of high profile web-only retailers such as Amazon.co.uk. The commercial viability of these ventures is yet to be established, although stock market values would have us believe they will be highly profitable. One of the main factors seen by many as holding back the further and faster development of e-commerce, certainly outside the high profile names, is the lack of trust by consumers in the on-line retailer. This covers issues such as the existence of the company, the delivery of goods ordered, the ability to return unsatisfactory goods and perhaps, most importantly, the security of personal information and credit card details. A number of specialist organisations now attempt to provide assurance to consumers, on some or all of the trust issues outlined above. When a business meets the qualifying criteria established by such an organisation, it may display a seal of approval on its website. The consumer is able to click on the seal to obtain further information regarding the meaning of the seal. One such seal is CPA Web Trust (www.cpawebtrust.org). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants developed this product. The Institutes of Chartered Accountants in the UK and Ireland have obtained a licence to cover these territories. To obtain a Web Trust seal, a business will be subjected to an audit, by an accredited firm, of its business processes and security issues. Where the Web Trust criteria are satisfied a seal (which must be renewed on a quarterly basis) will be issued. ACCA investigated fully the benefits of obtaining a Web Trust licence to enable its firms to offer this service, but the decision was taken that this was not appropriate for a number of reasons: The cost to the professional body of obtaining a licence from AICPA/CICA Research carried out by the European Consortium for Web Assurance and Trust (ECWAT) group (in which ACCA participates) indicates that in business-to-consumer e-commerce, the well-known traditional retailer or web retailer has a large advantage over the unknown retailer, even where the unknown retailer carries a seal. This would indicate that outside much specialised markets the client might need to have a significant profile built through marketing to make e-commerce viable. These clients are unlikely to be common to small practices ECWAT research indicates that consumers would place significantly more reliance on a seal provided/backed by a Consumer Union/Association than by an accountant Carrying out a Web Trust audit requires the firm to obtain a licence, undertake training and have a level of technical expertise that may not exist, now The US experience suggests that Web Trust has not yet taken off as a service despite it having been available for around 18 months. Recently there were 18 organisations on the list of current Web Trust sites – of these, four are professional accounting bodies There are competitors to Web Trust, which potentially will be in a very strong position. For example, Entrust Inc is focusing on the issue of digital certificates to vouch for the authenticity of sites. This is being done in conjunction with the browser technology of Microsoft, AOL and Netscape. These browsers will automatically recognise Entrust.net website certificates when visitors connect to a site The Consumers Association has launched a which? Web Trader seal which is designed to offer assurance to consumers and unlike the Web Trust seal is issued free of charge. Further details can be found at http://www.which.net/webtrader/index.html. Given that ACCA is not able to offer members the Web Trust licence, how should members become involved in e-commerce? It is clear that e-commerce is a growing market, but it is expected that the principal area of growth will not be a consumer buying over the internet (although this market will be substantial) but in the area of business-to-business transactions. The business to business market may not have the same issues relating to trust, as businesses are likely to look to form on-going relationships, and there are already established means of making electronic payments. It is unlikely that businesses will move to payment with order, as is the case with much business to consumer e-commerce. A likely scenario is that important customers will want to be able to order online, check stock availability, prices and delivery times and be confident that the order will be delivered as expected. The accountant could play an important role in advising his/her client on this transformation, by assisting in areas such as integration with existing accounting records and processes, ensuring security and back-up procedures are maintained properly, and generally that efficient and best use is made of information technology. A 1 Cycles is Committed to developing e-commerce and enabling practitioners to participate in this exciting market. Look out for further developments in future issues of In Practice. Electronic Commerce Electronic Commerce – often shortened to E-commerce – is the name given to selling and buying things using the Internet. E-commerce is important because: – * Many people now have Internet connections. Information about goods and services for sale can be put on the World Wide Web. Setting up a company website and doing business through it can be a lot more cost effective than using purely traditional shops. * Companies can have a national or even international customer â€Å"reach† with a website. * People do not leave their homes to shop using E-Commerce. * The costs of delivery of goods are low and many carriers are available. * People can find exactly what they need without hunting round shops or phoning around. Traditional Business Practices Many people have an aspiration and have the resources to go out and do traditional shopping Traditional business practises are easy to exploit and cheap to do for example marketing is a lot more easy to exploit as you generally have a idea who you target audience is You can look at your product try it out and even negotiate lowering the price Advantages for e-commerce disadvantages concerning traditional business practices * Larger market and more options for consumers. This creates more market competition, thus driving down prices and forcing better retail practices. * Don't have to leave home and fight traffic†¦delivered to door * In many cases, a larger selection is available. * Consumers are able to research a product and its competitors more thoroughly before purchase and compare many prices from different retailers. * No sales tax. * Open 24 hours a day / seven days a week, which is very beneficial to those who can not find time to go to a store and for those who just want to shop whenever they feel like it. * Do not have to deal with the sales atmosphere. * Friendlier: no rude salespeople who ignore customers * Can find what you are looking for a the touch of a button – sizes, colours, etc Disadvantages for e-commerce advantages concerning traditional business practices * Waiting for a shipment to arrive in the mail * Shipping Charges * Lack of confidence in personal information transfer on-line * Ease of fraudulent retailers and sites. The fluctuation and instability of Internet retailers makes it difficult for new retailers to establish a reputation because many do not survive. Therefore, there is a lack of confidence that exists in trusting Internet retailers. * Lose the traditional shopping experience and the instant gratification that many really enjoy. * Lack of taxes reduces the tax revenues that states and cities might otherwise collect from traditional retailers. * Traditional retail stores are at a disadvantage to Internet retailers due to the lack of Internet sales tax. * Many are still to computer-illiterate to take advantage of this avenue of commerce * KNOWLEDGE OF D.P.A The law is catching up with the online world. The progressive migration of business to the web is forcing reappraisal of intellectual property rights and their protection, and clarifying the meaning of intellectual property in a connected world. Any customer purchasing or using goods or services has certain rights through legislation and regulation of which impact upon their relationship with the organisation selling the products and service. The implication of the customer rights will be different for manufacturers compared for example with a retailer under the trade description 1968 and 1972 any description of goods and services given by a person acting in the trade or business should be accurate and not misleading failure to do so is a criminal offence. The sale of goods act 1979 places obligation on the buyer and seller on products and services. The seller of goods must ensure the goods are they own legal ownership. Products are of merchantable quality. Fit for the person for normal use meets the description and are delivered on time. The customer once agreed to buy a product has entered a contart with the seller and obliged to pay for the price agreed at the timeof contract. If the goods are faulty, the customer has a r ight for a full refund. If the fault is identified to the customer at the time of contract the customer cannot cause a case Customers have no rights if they change their minds about goods or damage goods themselves Manufacturer guarantee may add to customer right under the supplier and seller act 1982 any goods supplied under contract must confirm to terms and conditions under the consumer protect 1987 people injured by faulty or defected goods have the right to sue The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Internet The new Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000. The Act has received considerable publicity, both because its ambit is wider than its predecessor, the 1984 Data Protection Act is, and because of the greater and more flexible powers given to the Data Protection Commissioner and to individuals to enforce the Act. The Act has significant implications for the Internet and for e-commerce in particular. As the European Commission Working Party on data protection commented: ‘The Internet is not a legal vacuum. Processing of personal data on the Internet has to respect data protection principles just as in the off-line world'. Obtaining consent Under the new Act, it is often necessary or advisable for ‘data controllers' (organisations which obtain, store, or use personal data about an individual) to obtain the individual's consent to these activities. What amounts to consent in cyberspace is a difficult, largely unresolved issue. The more serious the consequences of data processing for the individual, the more careful the organisation must be to ensure that the individual is in possession of any information which he or she requires to give not just consent, but ‘informed' consent. This information should be provided in a way, which is clear, prominent, and easily accessible. If the information is scattered over various disparate website pages, informed consent may not have been given. E-commerce traders must think carefully about whether, in each case, failure to click on an ‘opt-out' box will be sufficient, or whether a specific ‘opt-in' box should be provided. Obtaining consent from minors is a difficult area for e-commerce traders, particularly those retailing goods or services, which are attractive to children and teenagers, such as computer games. The Data Protection Registrar has indicated that, as under-18s cannot generally be bound to a contract under English law, they can also not be deemed to have consented to the processing of their personal data. However, can a third party, even a parent or guardian, consent to processing on behalf of a minor? In addition, how does an organisation know when it is dealing with a minor in cyberspace – no tell-tale handwriting here! The US government has adopted a Children's On-line Privacy Protection Act, which deals with the point expressly, but there is no indication that the UK government intends to address the issues in a similar way. Privacy policies Many companies have adopted a ‘privacy policy' or ‘statement' which is published on their website as a useful way of addressing data protection issues. Privacy policies typically state who the data controller is, what personal data is being collected, and what will happen to it, in particular to whom data may be transferred. A privacy policy may also give information about the right to opt-out of direct marketing; details of any mechanism for individuals to update or amend their personal data; information about the use of ‘cookies' and invisible data capture; and a disclaimer for third-party sites linked to the website. To be effective, it is important that privacy policies are clear, prominent, and easily accessible from relevant pages. If you rely on a privacy policy alone to demonstrate that the subject has consented to precessing, then you should take steps to ensure that they must scroll through the page before providing their data. Invisible data capture Concerns have been raised about the data protection implications of invisible data processing during web browsing. For example, many companies use techniques which gather information about a website visitor, such as their IP address, the type of browser and operating system they use, and previous sites they have visited. This information has been described as a ‘clicktrail' about an individual, recording the pattern of their Internet use. There is some debate as to whether this information, which is largely anonymised, qualifies as personal data. The European Commission Working Group adopted a bullish view in its 1999 Recommendations, regarding IP addresses, for example, as personal data. Website owners wishing to make use of invisible data capture metyhods are advised to bring them within their data protection procedures. Website hosts Often an external host or web manager will oversee the running of the server on which a website is hosted. For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, the commercial entity which ‘owns' the website will normally be the ‘data controller' in relation to personal data obtained via the website, whereas the host will be a ‘data processor' processing data on its behalf. Under the new Act, data controllers are liable for processing undertaken on their behalf by such data processors. The data controller must actively police the data protection procedures of any person processing data on its behalf, and must enter into a written contract with its data processors, requiring them to maintain certainty security measures and to process personal data only in accordance with instructions. Extra-EEA transfer Website proprietors must pay particular attention to the eighth data protection principle, concerning the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area. Initially, there was concern that merely sending e-mails, which, for example, may travel from one side of London to the other via the United States, would frequently infringe this principle. However, the Data Protection Commissioner distinguishes in recent guidance between the ‘transfer' and ‘transit' of data, and states that, provided an electronic transfer of data starts and ends in an EEA country, the principle will not be infringed. Conclusion As with many provisions of the new Act, the distinction between ‘transfer' and ‘transit' of information is ambiguous and uncertain. The Data Protection Registrar has said that she appreciates the difficulties in understanding and applying the new Act. To begin with, therefore, she is unlikely to enforce the new provisions to the letter, if data controllers try to comply with the spirit of the Act. However, given that it will ultimately fall to the courts to decide what amounts to compliance, and that individuals may now police processing themselves, those dealing with personal data on the Internet must take the new rules very seriously. Legal Issues Under UK law, consumers have the same rights as in any other forms of trade. The government are also striving to change existing laws to help to clear up any ambiguity in current law to help e-commerce and ultimately consumer protection across the Internet. So, if you are unfamiliar with any of the following laws and regulations, now is the time to find out. * The Data Protection Act 1998 * The Consumer Protection Act 1998 * British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion * The Distance Selling Regulations 2000 * The Unfair Contract Act 1977 and 1999 regulations * The sales of Goods Act 1979 * The Consumer Credit Act 1974 * The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 Qualify your intentions In 1999, the government set up a self-regulatory scheme to develop and enhance confidence in UK e-commerce. Its aim was to act as a symbol of good web trading via an agreed â€Å"minimum standard† for online trading. For the small business, this can mean that you are accredited as â€Å"good† online e-service. This organisation is known as TRUSTUK. For any company who has been accredited by TrustUK can display the TrustUK hallmark on their website. For the small business, this gives credibility and can boost consumer confidence greatly. TrustUK have also linked up with other organisations who also offer accreditation for websites adhering to set TrustUK standards, these are known as â€Å"code owners†. If your small business takes many issues similar to the ones discussed, then you should have no problem gaining accreditation. To find out more visit the TrustUK web site The impact of technological innovations on e-commerce The Internets potential for e-commerce The evidence supporting e-commerce growth and potential can be staggering when one considers the accomplishments in this field just over the last few years. The potential impact, and issues surrounding, e-commerce and the practising accountant. E-commerce is seen as a major area of growth over the next few years and virtually every well-known retailer is developing some form of web presence, for example WHSmith has recently launched an online book selling service. In addition, there are a number of high profile web-only retailers such as Amazon.co.uk. The commercial viability of these ventures is yet to be established, although stock market values would have us believe they will be highly profitable. One of the main factors seen by many as holding back the further and faster development of e-commerce, certainly outside the high profile names, is the lack of trust by consumers in the on-line retailer. This covers issues such as the existence of the company, the delivery of goods ordered, the ability to return unsatisfactory goods and perhaps, most importantly, the security of personal information and credit card details. A number of specialist organisations now attempt to provide assurance to consumers, on some or all of the trust issues outlined above. When a business meets the qualifying criteria established by such an organisation, it may display a seal of approval on its website. The consumer is able to click on the seal to obtain further information regarding the meaning of the seal. One such seal is CPA Web Trust (www.cpawebtrust.org). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants developed this product. The Institutes of Chartered Accountants in the UK and Ireland have obtained a licence to cover these territories. To obtain a Web Trust seal, a business will be subjected to an audit, by an accredited firm, of its business processes and security issues. Where the Web Trust criteria are satisfied a seal (which must be renewed on a quarterly basis) will be issued. ACCA investigated fully the benefits of obtaining a Web Trust licence to enable its firms to offer this service, but the decision was taken that this was not appropriate for a number of reasons: The cost to the professional body of obtaining a licence from AICPA/CICA Research carried out by the European Consortium for Web Assurance and Trust (ECWAT) group (in which ACCA participates) indicates that in business-to-consumer e-commerce, the well-known traditional retailer or web retailer has a large advantage over the unknown retailer, even where the unknown retailer carries a seal. This would indicate that outside much specialised markets the client might need to have a significant profile built through marketing to make e-commerce viable. These clients are unlikely to be common to small practices ECWAT research indicates that consumers would place significantly more reliance on a seal provided/backed by a Consumer Union/Association than by an accountant Carrying out a Web Trust audit requires the firm to obtain a licence, undertake training and have a level of technical expertise that may not exist, now The US experience suggests that Web Trust has not yet taken off as a service despite it having been available for around 18 months. Recently there were 18 organisations on the list of current Web Trust sites – of these, four are professional accounting bodies There are competitors to Web Trust, which potentially will be in a very strong position. For example, Entrust Inc is focusing on the issue of digital certificates to vouch for the authenticity of sites. This is being done in conjunction with the browser technology of Microsoft, AOL and Netscape. These browsers will automatically recognise Entrust.net website certificates when visitors connect to a site The Consumers Association has launched a which? Web Trader seal which is designed to offer assurance to consumers and unlike the Web Trust seal is issued free of charge. Further details can be found at http://www.which.net/webtrader/index.html. Given that ACCA is not able to offer members the Web Trust licence, how should members become involved in e-commerce? It is clear that e-commerce is a growing market, but it is expected that the principal area of growth will not be a consumer buying over the internet (although this market will be substantial) but in the area of business-to-business transactions. The business to business market may not have the same issues relating to trust, as businesses are likely to look to form on-going relationships, and there are already established means of making electronic payments. It is unlikely that businesses will move to payment with order, as is the case with much business to consumer e-commerce. A likely scenario is that important customers will want to be able to order online, check stock availability, prices and delivery times and be confident that the order will be delivered as expected. The accountant could play an important role in advising his/her client on this transformation, by assisting in areas such as integration with existing accounting records and processes, ensuring security and back-up procedures are maintained properly, and generally that efficient and best use is made of information technology. A 1 Cycles is Committed to developing e-commerce and enabling practitioners to participate in this exciting market. Look out for further developments in future issues of In Practice.