Diabetes Websites

INTRODUCTIONDiabetes websites are only one form of the many sources produced by technology. The usage of websites in obtaining information is now widely credited because it is fast, up-to-date and efficient while on the comfort of home. When using the internet, the available facts are always ready for printing and research use. Like any other illness, diabetes is a wide known subject and almost all ages can have this disease.On the other hand, internet utilization does not choose its consumers. Elderly, children and the adults use websites due to its informative format and easy programs. Let us look on two websites that give data about diabetes. The examination on the accuracy, objectivity, timeliness, coverage and user-friendliness of the two website will determine the strengths of internet usage for diabetes patients.BDDIABETES.COM.USThe Bddiabetes.com.us licensed under U.S. laws and regulation is a site that gives information on diabetes and products and services for patients. Out side the U.S. users are warned by the site upon using their website. They affirm that the laws do not legally cover any access to their site from outside the U.S. In addition, products and services intended for U.S. citizen will not be available outside the U.S. or different from their offered product in a respective country. (bddiabetes.com, 2002)The website asserted that their site is not, of any form, compliance to Medical Advice. They are providing different information’s about diabetes but still consulting a physician is necessary to avoid further damage. The site also affirmed their stand as an informational site not to be substituted for professional assistance nor diagnosing a disease. Treatment or such information’s displayed on the site are for general purposes only because of its summarized form. Furthermore, the site advises those individuals who have read anything on their site that might be helpful in answering their consultative situations not to delay u pon seeking a doctor or to consider it as a medical advice. (bddiabetes.com, 2002)Concerning accuracy on their products and information’s, the BDDiabetes formed their Terms and Condition with which one should comply. The website acknowledges any innovative designs on products and technologies that have legal patents or the submitter having fixed the patents of their designs. On the contrary, the company and its employees do not accept unsolicited informations and promotions, new advertisements, marketing plans and materials. The objective of this regulation is to prevent probable errors or disagreements that might be similar with BD’s products and marketing plans. Whenever someone still submits an entry of unsolicited information, the company will use the information free and in any manner, they want.The site also covers bulletin boards, which they prefer to as â€Å"public areas† and Public Information, where comments or suggestion sent on their data. The compa ny affirms that they have no accountability whatsoever on these comments’ contents like pornography, error, defamation, obscenity, falsehood or inaccuracy. However, the site reviews and observes every detail of sent messages concerning feedbacks and forums and if these messages will contain any unlawful act that will make up or advance conduct considered a criminal offense, the company will subject the person to the laws covering this offense. Furthermore, the site prohibits children less than 18 years of age to send unsolicited and public information on their site. (bddiabetes.com, 2002)The site changes their content from time to time in accordance with Federal Security Laws. These alterations are future revenues, income, products, events and developments that BD anticipates in the future. Several factors may affect changes to the innovative statements regarding the products of the site. These are competitive factors, economic changes like foreign exchange rates, sales and b usiness forecasts, availability of raw materials and amendments on health care and other government decrees. (bddiabetes.com, 2002)JOSLIN.ORGThe Joslin Diabetes Center is a website licensed under the U.S. Federal laws and by foreign laws. This site is a diabetes-related site that gives information about diabetes, products, bulletin boards, forums and emails about the disease. As stressed by Bddiabetes.com, this site also supplies information for diabetes and not for medical diagnosis. It is not to be referred as treatment or advice for the illness. In addition, the discussion boards and emails are not reliable sources in providing treatments for emergency cases. However, they believe that all the supplied information about diabetes is accurate and up-to-date. (joslin.org, 2007)Informations on Joslin.org are protected by Federal laws and could not shared, sell or disclose unless asked with permission. The website gathers its information in emails sent and feedback from users. The Jos lin site also offers an information sheet that will ask some important information about the user and if he or she purchases a product at this site, the survey sheet will be provided. This method of Joslin is to know their liabilities and suggestion from consumers. Mailing lists and registration lists from Joslin are offered to consumers who want to receive newsletters about diabetes and other updates about the site’s information. In addition, people who are included in the mailing lists are sent with surveys to be filled up in order to add information on their diabetes and improve health care. (joslin.org, 2007)User’s information are protected whether on an on-line or off-line state. When a client orders a product on-line by using a credit card or any encryption number, the site will not divulge this to anyone and restricted to the employees assigned in this work. The outside orders from U.S. are in the hands of authorized online site of Joslin likewise the informatio n sent on this site is not disclosed or shared with other people than the employees working in that field. (joslin.org, 2007)The users are notified if there are sudden changes with the policies and functions of the site. An example is information from a third party used by the site. The company will immediately inform the user through mail and if the user disagrees with the utilization of his/her data, the company assures of the client’s information comply with the privacy policy. The site does not handle any data from children 13 years old and below. If the site identifies the user to be a child, the information will be disregarded. (joslin.org, 2007)CONCLUSIONThe diabetes website reflects how people and computers help achieve the fulfillment of knowledge. People are wise enough to invent things in making impossible things possible. The internet really disregarded the word time. With just one click, you can have access to any information you want. The snail mail, for example is now an email. Sending a mail with just one click for free plus it is not a domestic fad but a worldwide service. Access to mail could be of any age group or gender. Another is the messenger or instant messaging, in nonprofessional’s term, chat.This kind of communication is in a live form compared to email. It is a two-way communication that enhances file transfer and overseas communication. All these technology are but just a click away. The most popular of all are the search engines, which replace directories, encyclopedias and dictionaries. Several search engines made their names in World Wide Web like Google and yahoo. These search engines give solutions for instant finding of every need like shopping internationally. Payment made easy by internet in bills, shopping and membership fees on other sites.People with disabilities have specialized programs that cope up with utilizing computers. In some Microsoft programmed computers there are what they call speech tools that are for people who could not use the keyboard. In addition, handwriting software can type words that are written by the hand using the mouse. The blind can also use the computer with specialized keyboard that have Braille markings.Even if there are advantages concerning internet use, there are also numerous disadvantages of internet use. To name a few are personal information, spamming and pornography. Pornography can be easily accessed in the internet as the World Wide Web covers everything. Children nowadays have unlimited access with computers and with pornography at site, they can retrieve pornography agents. Personal information, on the other hand, can be divulged to any user. Even though the technology’s advanced approach give protection to these factors, we still cannot reassure the entities pursuant of stealing this information. Lastly is spamming that clogs up the system and damages the computer.In third world countries, cost of this brand of technology is of concer n. In areas like the Philippines, most teenagers addicted to online gaming spent their allowances on games. Instead of purchasing something to eat, teenagers go to the internet shop for a one hour game. Next are the legal issues of internet crimes. In developing countries, there are no sufficient laws that could control the internet crimes like prostitution in the internet and pyramiding scams.To sum it all up, internet’s use are in many ways, advantageous. Health and education benefit from the internet because of no geographic barriers. But some use this technology in doing illicit activities harming people and their properties.REFERENCESTerms of Use and Disclaimer. (2007) Joslin Diabetes Center. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from http://www.joslin.org/SiteMap_2679.aspTerms and Conditions. (2002) BD Diabetes. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/main.aspx?cat=1&id=601

corporate and business law Essays

corporate and business law Essays corporate and business law Paper corporate and business law Paper corporate and business law BY etu20110952 GASPARD vjrgile LAFITTE Pierre AC504E External auditing Take home case Pacific Sunwear of California Inc Executive summary † 3 The Sarbanes Oxley act: a compliance plan 4 Overview: 4 Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley 4 The Sarbanes-Oxley act: † 404: Checklist: 5 Auditing standards n05: description of the procedures to comply with the section 5 International standards of auditing in reference with the 6 Processes to comply with the Section case How to comply with the 7 Procedures section 404? mplemented by Pacific Sunwear.. 8 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the process implemented by 9 Impact of the information disclosed on the stock PacSun † 10 Costs and benefits of Sarbanes- Oxley † 13 Recommendations for 15 References. 16 Appendix A : Deadline for the compliance with the different sections of internal the act.. † . 17 Appendix B: Certification required by the SEC about . 9 Appendix C: Certification required by 2 0 the SEC about disclosure controls Executive summary Pacific Sunwear of California entered in the stock market on Nasdaq in 1993. The Sarbanes Oxley act redacted in 2002, established new or enhanced standards for listing companies in the US markets and in particular the section 404 about the creation of an internal report each year, in response to a number of major corporate In this report, we will establish the impact of this United States federal law on PacSun by analyzing the process engendered, influence of the disclosures on the stock price, and the cost/benefits relation. The Sarbanes Oxley act: a compliance plan The Sarbanes-Oxley act enacted in 2002 is a United States federal law to respond to some major corporate and accounting scandals such as Enron, Tyco international or World com. These scandals cost billions of dollars to investors when stock prices collapsed and decreased the public confidence about nations securities markets and auditing standards. So, this standard established new or improved standards and regulations, for all US public company and all foreign companies listed in the US stock markets. This act contains 11 sections and required the Securities and Exchange Commission (US regulator which regulates the securities industry and the stocks and options markets) to implement the rules and comply with the new law. The deadlines to implement SOX are exposed in Appendix 1 . Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley act: Then, we are going to describe quickly the different sections of the SOX act (except the section 4 explained below): 1 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): the objective of this board is to register and regulate all public accounting firms to implement compliance standards 2 Auditor independence: creation of standards for external auditor ndependence to reduce conflicts of interest 3 Corporate responsibility: defines the relation between external auditors and corporate audit committees 5 Analyst conflicts of interest: evokes practice to create a new public confidence in the reporting 6 Commission resources and authority: highlights practice to create a new public confidence in the financial analysts 7 Studies and reports: SEC has to make various studies and explain their findings 8 Corporate and criminal fraud accountability: describes criminal penalties for fraud 9 White collar crime penalty enhancements 0 Corporate tax returns requir ed to be signed by the Chief Executive Officer 1 1 Corporate fraud accountability: identified corporate fraud and records classified as criminal offenses The Sarbanes-Oxley 404: Checklist: The section 4 is about enhanced financial disclosures and increases requirements for financial reporting like off-balance sheet transactions. It requires internal controls to offer the accuracy of financial reports and disclosures. An internal control system is failures, or weaknesses in the system that must occur. The section 404 is the cornerstone of the section 4 and demands that each annual eport contain an internal control report. This additional report assesses the responsibility of management for establishing and implementing adequate procedures for financial reporting. This report must include: assessment of effectiveness of internal control structure and procedures, any code of ethics and contents of that code. Consequently, this section is really decisive because it implies extra costs to comply with this requirement for registered public companies in the US stock markets. The Appendix 2 and 3 sum up the certifications required by the SEC. Auditing standards 05: description of the procedures to comply with the section 404 Issued the 24th may 2007, the Auditing standards n05 substitutes the Auditing standards n02. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board releases the AS n05 to describe the procedures to comply with the section 404: o Highlights a top-down risk based approach (financial risk assessment) o Places greater reliance on entity-level controls o Focuses on understanding and testing controls related to risks for significant accounts and disclosures o Allows for greater ability to rely on work of others o Changes definition of material weakness and significant deficiency: Material weakness: a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the companys annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Significant deficiency: A deficiency or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important to merit the attention by those responsible for ove rsight of the companys financial reporting. o Simplifies the auditors opinion by eliminating opinion on managements ssessment of internal control 5 International standards of auditing in reference with the case The section 404 referred to some ISA standards: ISA 230 about audit documentation ISA 300 about planning an audit of financial statements ISA 330 about the auditors procedures in response to assessed risks ISA 500 about audit evidence ISA 600 about using the Work of Another Auditor 6 Processes to comply with the Section 404 After evoking the requirements of the section 404, we will describe the processes implemented by Pacific Sunwear first and by the other listed companies in general. Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley is complex; compliance requires a multiple approach involving many departments and many people which will be detailed below. How to comply with the Section 404? Generally, according to Sanjay Anand an internal control in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley is following an eight-step process: 1 Establish a compliance committee which is specialist of the compliance with Sarbanesoxley and can have a general overview of the company about the risk and the solutions. The objective of this committee is to commit the various departments, to provide training and to communication about the objectives. Assess risk in order to identify the magnitude and potential impact of each risk in order to create a risk portfolio. 3 Set reporting objectives by determining the probability of risks and errors to define decision rules and reporting objectives. For ensuring internal control compliance, these areas need to be created: personnel control, system and resource controls, strategic planning controls and business service controls. 4 Prepare a formal implementation plan, which is a transition plan to move from project step to a day-to-day operation for an internal control system. Communicate the ongoing procedures by presenting clearly and effectively with the focusing on understanding, acceptance and observance. 6 Provide training implemented by the compliance committee in internal policies, practices and procedures. 7 Document processes and risk management certified by the Chief Executing Officer and the Chief Financial Officer so as to demonstrate the efficiency of the internal control system. Perform continuous evaluation performed by the manager in order to establish and maintain controls and to ensure the appropriate compliance. 7 Procedures implemented by Pacific Sunwear The most expensive costs of compliance were those linke d with the section 404: costs about internal controls over financial reporting. The procedures of compliance are only described for the two first years in the case study: 2004 and 2005. Before the compliance, PacSun had not internal control system. They only created it in mid 2003 and they paid the services of a Big-4 auditing firms as required by the section 404. They expanded the internal control department at the end of 2004. About the procedures they implemented in 2004, PacSun followed a process in five steps: 1) Scope and plan the evaluation 2) Document the controls nd correct deficiencies 5) Reports on internal control They identified also 21 major business processes assigned to an owner with the objective to develop detailed process narratives. These major business processes were divided into sub processes with the detail of the business objectives and the risks. At the end of 2004, they had identified a total of 238 key controls and they managed to highlight a significant deficiency about the revaluation of deferred leases which can affect by definition the reliability of external auditing data. Then, all public officers had to certify in their area that the control was effective. The CEO and CFO certified then of the fairness and reliability of the financial statements. In 2005, the process became easier because all the information had already been created. They reduced the number of key controls to 222, only a 7% decrease, in comparison with larger companies (19% of decrease). They discovered a new significant deficiency because they didnt recognize liabilities about the companys loyalty program. 8 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the process implemented by PacSun Strengths: Enables to discover two significant deficiencies which misstate the financial statements Enable to create an efficient internal control system, which reduces the risks and increases the efficiency of the global system Implementation of a double control : internal control and Big-4 auditing firms control Better assessment of risks implied Significant reduction of the costs after the first year of implementation of about 40%, comparable to the other companies Commitment of all the employees which can increase the motivation and the corporate culture Better disclosure of financial information for financial analysts and investors Weaknesses: Compliance costs of $2 million in 2004 and $1. million in 2005 Additional costs associated with the training of the staff with the necessary creation of a SOX program training The compliance is very time-consuming with an increase of the formalization Competitive disadvantage in comparison with the other competitors not listed Overall, PacSun had efficiently implemented the compliance and the weaknesses will tend to reduce over the long term. However, PacSun management believed that the costs are greater than the benefits engendered. The costs implied and generally the time spent to respect the compliance rules, can Justify this opinion. Impact of the information disclosed on the stock prices In 2005, PacSun need to restate his prior two years financial statements, which resulted in no material change to net income. Auditors Judge restatement like deficiencies but they dont agree about the type of deficiency: two of the Big-4 firms judge this particular type of restatement as only a significant deficiency, i. e. a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, that adversely affects the companys ability to be in accordance with GAAP. The others two Judge it to be a material weakness, i. e. significant deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, that result in more than remote likelihood that a material misstatement of financial statements will not be prevented or detected. by the PacSun loyalty program called Pac Bucks. In fact, the liabilities and expenses of this program were not recognizing in the proper quarter. This accounting problem was considered by external auditors like a significant deficiency, but not a material weakness. Thus, in FY 2005, PacSun received clean financial statement and 404 opinions. What is the impact of Information Disclosure provided by these deficiencies n PacSuns stock price? In this graph, we can see that the PacSuns stock price is very volatile between 2005 to 2007 (Beta higher than 1) when the NASDAQ is regularly up. This volatility can be explained by 10 the convergence of PacSun to SOX and the substantial increase of information provided on the firm. But it is very hard to have a real opinion of the impact of Information Disclosure on stock Market Returns with a unique firm. Thus we will answer with papers which study this impact on a large sample of US Company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is one of the , if not the, most important pieces of egislation affecting corporations traded on the US stock exchanges, since the Securities Act of 1932 and Securities Exchange Act of A934 were enacted (Gordon et al. 2007). The SOX act introduced significant changes to financial practice and corporate governance regulation, including new rules designed to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws. And the part of the Act having the most impact must be Section 404, which requires management to submit to the SEC with the companys annually filed financial statements, an internal control report, an assessment of the ffectiveness of the internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting, and finally an audit report which include a description of material weakness in such internal controls and of any material noncompliance. Furthermore, where significant deficiencies exist, they need to be identified as required under SOX like we saw in the PacSun case. Many studies demonstrate that the passage of mandatory government regulation like SOX may be altering the operation of capital market by affecting the stock performance of firms. In 2007, Balakrishnan et Al. , examine, by a dataset on stock arket abnormal returns and consists of 300 firms, how the stock market reaction varies for 8-K filling and how this reaction have changed since the passage of the SOX act. The result is that the SOX have the particularity to increase the information flow of a firm. Thus when a disclosure of a deficiency is promulgated, the information is quickly announced by media and have a direct negative impact on the stock market price. Inversely, when a firm received clean financial statement and 404 opinions, we can think that stock price is positively impacted because its an evidence of a very ood internal control of the firm. Another interesting dimension to consider would be the size of the firm. The effect of Sarbanes-Oxley on the firms information environment is expected to vary with the size of the firm (Ghose et al. 2006). In fact, international firm, but in the US sportswear market, this size is important. In a stock market where diversification is one of the solutions to leverage the risk, PacSun can be a blue chip. Thus, a special attention is paid to it by media. 1 Finally, we can say that disclosure of these deficiencies have had a negative effect on irms stock price but, on the contrary, clean financial statement certification and Good 404 opinion have a positive impact on stock price. In addition, a firm can decide to increase the speed with which information reaches investors by publicizing it in me dia articles. Its a good way to build a loyal firms brand image i. e. increase the investor recognition and limited the impact of bad news on the stock price. 12 Costs and benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley PacSun executives seem convinced that the costs of complying with SOX were greater than the benefits to the company. Though, according to a survey entitled Oversight Systems financials Executive Report conducted with 222 corporate finance leaders, 74 percent said their company benefited from SOX, 79 percent reported significantly stronger or somewhat stronger internal controls as a result of SOX, 46 percent said SOX compliance benefits the company by ensuring accountability and 75 percent said they would vote to keep Section 404 if they were members of Congress. In fact, the benefits of SOX Compliance are multiple: There is a positive influence on maintaining investor confidence (and long-term share price) through increased ransparency and fewer surprises. Financial reporting is more timely and reliable. Overall control culture and corporate governance process are improved. Outdated, redundant and inflective processes and controls are eliminated. Employee on- boarding process is easier Then, why did PacSun not benefit from the compliance process to the same extent as some other companies? Or were their compliance costs too high? The main issue of PacSun is this medium size ($1 billon in market capitalization). The high cost of SOX implementation is financially draining many firms. The SOX doesnt ake a distinction between large-cap billion-dollar companies and small-cap; $75- millon companies (the minimum cap to be obliged to apply SOX). Therefore, the Act requires all public companies to comply with the same regulations; it doesnt take into consideration that small companies arent as complex in organizational structure as large companies. Because large corporations have complex business models, more complicated accounting practices, they already have a lot of controls in place to ensure the efficiency of their operations that are required by SOX. In other hand, maller companies have simpler organizational structures and, thus, have slighter accounting practices, which generate simpler financial statements. These small firms require less internal controls. Therefore, since small companies have simpler subject to the same internal control and external auditing requirement of large companies. In the case of PacSun, this business model and accounting practice are closer from a small firm as shown this number of key controls (222 versus an average of 540 for the large companies). In addition, the SOX were created to fight against corporate scandals like Enron. But the majority of these scandals have occurred in large corporations with thousand of shareholders by the intermediary of retirement/pension fund. PacSun doesnt have the same type of shareholders and doesnt require the same level of protection for the shareholder interests. Therefore, although shareholder interests should be protected, SOX regulations arent needed for smaller firms that have simple business structures and a small number of shareholders that are unlikely to fraud themselves (entrepreneurs who start the company, their families, and public shareholders without any link between them). Implanting SOX is a long and costly process for companies. In the case of PacSun where his market is not occupied by large companies but especially by little firms (under the $75-million cap) which dont apply SOX, this implantation creates for PacSun a competitive disadvantage and stumps their growth by requiring them to spend excessive amounts of money and time to implement regulation. As example of costs, we have the cost of training, the implementation of a strong internal control, an increase of the size of finance/accounting departments, the fees of the audit firms ; he required amount of money is disproportionately larger in comparison with the largest firms. Thus in conclusion, we can say that SOX were designed in priority for large and complex companies. These costs are too high in relation with the engendered benefits for small caps. 4 Recommendations for PacSun Continue the work to reduce the number of key controls and try to improve a large part of them (better define it and really find an utility) Check the conformity between all marketing projects and internal control before a launching Optimize the balance between internal and external auditors to reduce the work of he external auditors Change your mind: SOX is an advantage to improve internal control Create a training and development program with an e learning module for example References Anand, S. (2006), Sarbanes-Oxley guide for finance and information technology professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition Balakrishnan, K. , Ghose, A. and Ipeirotis, P. 2007), the Impact of Information Disclosure on Stock Market Returns: The Sarbanes- Oxley Act and the Role of Media as an Information Intermediary, University of Cambridge Bowling, D. Julien, R. and Rieger, L. (2003), Implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley S 404: Ensuring Compliance, Leveraging Opportunities Ghose, A. and RaJan. U. (2006) The Economic Impact of Regulatory Information Disclosure on Information Security Investments, Competition, and Social Welfare Proceedings of the Workshop on Economics of Information Security, University of Cambridge Gordon, L. , Loeb, M. , Lucyshyn, W. and Sohail, T. (2006), The Impact of the Sarbanesoxley Act on the Corporate Disclosures of Information Security Activities. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25(5) pp. 503-530. Grinberg, E. 2007), The impact of Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 on Small Firms, Pace University Ramos, M. (2004), How to comply with Sarbanes-Owley Section 404. Assessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Available on: http:// books. google. fr/books? id=GAMR23qTQUC=process+to+comply+with+section +404=frontcover=bl= LaTJJAf1 e 1 16 Appendix A : Deadline for the compliance with the different sections of the actl professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition, page 63/64 17 18 Appendix B: Certification required by the SEC about internal controls2 professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition, page 68

Earth Day Origins

Earth Day Origins Earth Day is celebrated annually by millions of people worldwide, but how did Earth Day begin? When was the first Earth Day? This is a trickier question than you might think. There are actually two official Earth Day celebrations every year, and both got their start in the spring of 1970. The First Widespread Earth Day Celebration The Earth Day most often celebrated in the United States- and in many other countries around the world- first took place on April 22, 1970. It was a nationwide teach-in about the environment, dreamed up by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson.  A Democrat from Wisconsin, Senator Nelson had been instrumental earlier in introducing conservation in John F. Kennedys presidency.  Gaylord Nelsons Earth Day was modeled on the anti-war teach-in demonstrations that Vietnam war protesters had used successfully to educate people about their issues. On the first Earth Day, more than 20 million people turned out at thousands of colleges, universities and communities all across America for an environmental teach-in day, which sparked a global environmental reawakening. More than half a billion people in 175 countries now celebrate Earth Day on April 22. The April 22 date was chosen for its fit within the American college calendar, before end-of-semester exams but when the weather is likely to be relatively pleasant nationwide. Conspiracy theorists relish the fact that April 22 is also the birthday of Vladimir Lenin, seeing in that choice more than the mere coincidence that it is. A Second Claim to First Earth Day Yet, it may surprise you to learn that April 22, 1970 was not the first Earth Day. A month earlier, San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto had issued the first-ever Earth Day proclamation on March 21, 1970. Mayor Aliotos action was inspired by John McConnell, a San Francisco publisher and peace activist, who a year earlier had attended the 1969 UNESCO Conference on the Environment where he proposed an international holiday focused on environmental stewardship and preservation. McConnell suggested that Earth Day coincide with the March equinox- the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, March 20 or 21 depending on the year. It is a date filled with all the symbolism associated with spring, including hope and renewal. That is, until one remembers that south of the equator that date signifies the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. About a year later, on February 26, 1971, then-UN Secretary General U Thant supported McConnells proposal for an annual global Earth Day celebration at the March equinox, and issued a proclamation to make it official. Today, the United Nations rallies with Senator Nelsons plan and every year promotes an April 22nd celebration of what they call Mother Earth Day. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Erich Hartmann - World War II Ace - Luftwaffe

Erich Hartmann - World War II Ace - Luftwaffe Erich Hartmann - Early Life Career: Born April 19, 1922, Erich Hartmann was the son of Dr. Alfred and Elisabeth Hartmann. Though born in Weissach, Wà ¼rttemberg, Hartmann and his family moved to Changsha, China shortly thereafter due to the severe economic depression that struck Germany in the years after World War I. Residing in a house on the Xiang River, the Hartmanns lived a quiet life while Alfred established his medical practice. This existence came to an end in 1928 when the family was forced to flee back to Germany following the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War. Sent to school in Weil im Schà ¶nbuch, Erich later attended schools in Bà ¶blingen, Rottweil, and Korntal. Erich Hartmann - Learning to Fly: As a child, Hartmann was first exposed to flying by his mother who was one of Germanys first female glider pilots. Learning from Elisabeth, he received his glider pilots license in 1936. That same year, she opened a flying school Weil im Schà ¶nbuch with the support of the Nazi government. Though young, Hartmann served as one of the schools instructors. Three years later, he earned his pilots license and was permitted to fly powered aircraft. With the beginning of World War II, Hartmann entered the Luftwaffe. Commencing training on October 1, 1940, he initially received an assignment to the 10th Flying Regiment in Neukuhren. The following year saw him move through a series of flight and fighter schools. n March 1942, Hartmann arrived at Zerbst-Anhalt for training on the Messerschmitt Bf 109. On March 31, he violated regulations by performing aerobatics over the airfield. Sanctioned to confinement and fines, the incident taught him self-discipline. In a twist of fate, the confinement saved Hartmanns life when a comrade was killed flying a training mission in his aircraft. Graduating in August, he had built a reputation as a skilled marksman and was assigned to Fighter Supply Group, East in Upper Silesia. In October, Hartmann received new orders assigning him to Jagdgeschwader 52 in Maykop, Soviet Union. Arriving on the Eastern Front, he was placed in Major Hubertus von Bonins III./JG 52 and mentored by Oberfeldwebel Edmund Roßmann. Erich Hartmann - Becoming an Ace: Entering combat on October 14, Hartmann performed poorly and crashed his Bf 109 when it ran out of fuel. For this transgression, von Bonin made him work for three days with the ground crew. Resuming combat flying, Hartmann scored his first kill on November 5 when he downed an Ilyushin Il-2. He shot down an additional aircraft before the end of the year. Gaining in skill and learning from skilled compatriots such as Alfred Grislawski and Walter Krupinski, Hartmann became more successful in early 1943. By the end of April he had become an ace and his tally stood at 11. Repeatedly encouraged to get closer to enemy aircraft by Krupinski, Hartmann developed his philosophy of when he [the enemy] fills the entire windscreen you cant miss. Using this approach, Hartmann began rapidly increasing his tally as Soviet aircraft fell before his guns. In the fighting that occurred during the Battle of Kursk that summer, his total reached 50. By August 19, Hartmann had downed another 40 Soviet aircraft. On that date, Hartmann was aiding in supporting a flight of Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers when the Germans encountered a large formation of Soviet aircraft. In the resulting fight, Hartmanns aircraft was badly damaged by debris and he came down behind enemy lines. Quickly captured, he feigned internal injuries and was placed in a truck. Later in the day, during a Stuka attack, Hartmann jumped his guard and escaped. Moving west, he successfully reached German lines and returned to his unit. Erich Hartmann - The Black Devil: Resuming combat operations, Hartmann was awarded the Knights Cross on October 29 when his kill total numbered 148. This number increased to 159 by January 1 and the first two months of 1944 saw him shoot down another 50 Soviet planes. An aerial celebrity on the Eastern Front, Hartmann was known by his call sign Karaya 1 and the distinctive black tulip design that was painted around the engine cowling of his aircraft. Feared by the Russians, they gave the German pilot the sobriquet The Black Devil and avoided combat when his Bf 109 was spotted. In March 1944, Hartmann and several other aces were ordered to Hitlers Berghof in Berchtesgaden to receive awards. At this time, Hartmann was presented with the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross. Returning to JG 52, Hartmann began engaging American aircraft in the skies over Romania. Clashing with a group of P-51 Mustangs on May 21 near Bucharest, he scored his first two American kills. Four more fell to his guns on June 1 near PloieÅŸti. Continuing to run up his tally, he reached 274 on August 17 to become the top-scorer of the war. On the 24th, Hartmann downed 11 aircraft to reach 301 victories. In the wake of this achievement, Reichsmarschall Hermann Gà ¶ring immediately grounded him rather than risk his death and a blow to Luftwaffe morale. Summoned to the Wolfs Lair in Rastenburg, Hartmann was given the Diamonds to his Knights Cross by Hitler as well as a ten-day leave. During this period, the Luftwaffes Inspector of Fighters, Adolf Galland, met with Hartmann and asked him to transfer to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet program. Erich Hartmann - Final Actions: Though flattered, Hartmann declined this invitation as he preferred to stay with JG 52. Galland again approached him in March 1945 with the same offer and was again rebuffed. Slowly increasing his total through the winter and spring, Hartmann reached 350 on April 17. With the war winding down, he scored his 352nd and final victory on May 8. Finding two Soviet fighters performing aerobatics on the last day of the war, he attacked and downed one. He was prevented in claiming the other by the arrival of American P-51s. Returning to base, he directed his men to destroy their aircraft before moving west to surrender to the US 90th Infantry Division. Though he had surrendered to the Americans, the terms of the Yalta Conference dictated that units that had largely fought on the Eastern Front were to capitulate to the Soviets. As a result, Hartmann and his men were turned over to the Red Army. Erich Hartmann - Postwar: Entering Soviet custody, Hartmann was threatened and interrogated on several occasions as the Red Army attempted to compel him to join the newly formed East German Air Force. Resisting, he was charged with bogus war crimes which included killing civilians, bombing a bread factory, and destroying Soviet aircraft. Found guilty after a show trial, Hartmann was sentenced to twenty-five years of hard labor. Moved between work camps, he was finally released in 1955 with the aid of West German Chancellor Conrad Adenauer. Returning to Germany, he was among the last prisoners of war to be released by the Soviet Union. After recovering from his ordeal, he joined the West German Bundesluftwaffe. Given command of the services first all-jet squadron, Jagdgeschwader 71 Richthofen, Hartmann had the noses of their Canadair F-86 Sabres painted with his distinctive black tulip design. In the early 1960s, Hartmann vigorously opposed the Bundesluftwaffes purchase and adoption of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter as he believed the aircraft to be unsafe. Overruled, his concerns proved true when over 100 German pilots were lost in F-104-related accidents. Increasingly unpopular with his superiors due to continued criticism of the aircraft, Hartmann was forced into early retirement in 1970 with the rank of colonel. Becoming a flight instructor in Bonn, Hartmann flew demonstration shows with Galland until 1974. Grounded in 1980 due to heart problems, he resumed flying three years later. Increasingly withdrawing from public life, Hartmann died on September 20, 1993 in Weil im Schà ¶nbuch. The highest scoring ace of all-time, Hartmann was never downed by enemy fire and never had a wingman killed. Selected Sources Aces of World War II: Erich HartmannLuftwaffe: Erich HartmannWorld War II: Erich Hartmann

The Girl before Mirror by Pablo Picasso Research Paper

The Girl before Mirror by Pablo Picasso - Research Paper Example This work is cordially considered in terms of Picasso’s artistic erotic nature. Critiques, nonetheless, in different periods, have relentlessly offered their valuation of this artistic work and came up with an empirically wide range of reactions. This paper, therefore, explains the artistic painting of the Girl before Mirror painting. The young girl adversely recuperating the attention of every artist in the modernity was named Marie-Therese Walter and was painted several times during the 1930s by Picasso. Several versions of this painting by Picasso, in the 1930s, was exhibited because various artistic movements emerged hence there was an ideological advent of competition in this field. The girl before Mirror was painted in Picasso’s cubism period (Gottlieb, 2006). Picasso, as an artist, was competent and adversely recognized with the bold nature of his artwork. The backdrop background of Girl Before Mirror assists in the blending of the subject as per the required uniqueness in the artwork paintings. Picasso uses the backdrop background in his painting to make it intense and bring out clearly the main image’s focal point. Picasso was part of a life changing movement in the idealism era, which would, later on, be known as the modernism. Modernism artistic movement is a name, which liberally included numerous artistic styles as well as aesthetic responses. Modernism was additionally applied retroactively in certain artistic trends and literary epistemological studies at the new era beginning of the 20th Century. The unitarily disjointed sense of time, the endless fight against realism conventions, the complex and full adoption of the modernistic periods were inherently undertaken to provide the epistemologically new meaning of the world systems to the masses. The modernistic artistic view also illuminated the world in a new way and paved way differently in relation to the individualistic observation of the world (Umland & Museum of Modern Art, 2012).

World Trade Organization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World Trade Organization - Assignment Example   The WTO provides the framework by which governments create and implement legislation and regulations for domestic trade. It also provides a platform on which countries develop and improve trade relations (Buterbaugh, 2008). The Purpose or Functions of the WTO The main objective of the WTO is to assist in making the flow of trade smooth, free, fair and predictable. It does this by Administering trade agreements The organization is responsible for facilitating the implementation, operation, and attainment of the objectives of the trade agreements (Hajnal, 2001). Acting as a forum for trade negotiations The organization provides its members with a forum for negotiating their multilateral trade relations in accordance with the rules and regulations of WTO. It also provides them with a framework for which they can implement the outcomes of such negotiations as per the decision of the ministerial conference (Hajnal, 2001). Handling trade disputes WTO is responsible for settling any tra de disputes that may exist among its members. It encourages its member states to settle their disputes through consultation. Nations that feel their rights under the agreement are abused can report the dispute to the WTO. The organization can then interpret and analyze the agreements and make a judgment. It also assists its members in an understanding of the rules and regulations governing dispute settlement (Macrory, 2005). Reviewing national trade policies The organization periodically reviews the trade policies in order to improve transparency, understanding of the adopted policies and evaluate the impacts of these policies among its members. The review also acts as constructive feedback on the policies of many member countries (Macrory, 2005). Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes The organization provides provisions that encourage developed nations to assist trade of developing countries. Developing nations a re provided with transition periods to help them adjust to the more difficult provisions of the WTO. In addition, they are also given flexible market access concessions for their products (Macrory, 2005). Cooperating with other international organizations The WTO cooperates with other international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to achieve greater coherence in making international economic policies (Hajnal, 2001). Taking a Trade Dispute to the WTO The world trade organization procedures for resolving trade disputes are very important in ensuring that trade occurs smoothly. A dispute only occurs when a member state believes that its rights are violated by another country as per the agreement made in the WTO.  

Analysis Paper (Article) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis Paper (Article) - Essay Example There is an allegation of conspiracy between the lawyers to prevent the truth from coming out. Here, the jurors were instructed by the judge to enjoy their much awaited business trip and prepare for the next trial, while the two lawyers were summoned by the judge to clean-up their act and settle their issues while awaiting for the continuation of the trial. Thus, in the scenario presented by the author, it is clear that the chief prosecutor is remiss of his sworn duty when he tried to conceal the name of the next witness who is scheduled to give his testimony. According to him, the government had only promised to provide names of the witnesses within one day prior to their testimony. He further added that this will prevent the ensuing of a debate and avoid another stupid argument. However, the district attorney tried his best to settle for a compromise. He manifested his intention to provide a written record of his protest of the manner such case was prosecuted as he claims that mate rial evidence have been withheld in delay for a prolonged period of time. The fact that the prosecution failed to provide the names of the witness shall make the cross-examination process less effective.