An Analysis Of Howard Nemerov s The Vacuum - 892 Words

A Husbands Loss ‘The Vacuum’ is a poem that was written by Howard Nemerov. The poem uses the theme of symbolism to convey the relationship between a vacuum cleaner and a widower. The poem can be seen as a symbolic description of the experience he is going through after the demise of his beloved wife. The sentence structure and the type of figurative language requires one to evaluate and analyze the poem effectively to understand the meaning. The line in the poem â€Å"The vacuum cleaner sulks in the corner closet, its bag limp as a stopped lung† (Mays 580) is indicative of the symbolism that his wife was the housekeeper and when her lungs stopped, the vacuum cleaner also stopped, because she was the one that used the vacuum. Nemrov’s poetry shows a consistent emphasis on thought and his poems relate a broad spectrum of emotions and a variety of concerns (Web 1). In ‘The Vacuum’, Howard brings out the emotions of an elderly man after he lost his wife, which ushered him in a life of loneliness and sorrow. The writer used the ‘Vacuum’ pun to distinguish between the obvious homemaking profession of his wife and despair of the obvious grieving by her husband. Nemerov did not use the vacuum cleaner symbol as a primary personification since it could have limited the manner in which he outlined the emotions of the gentleman in the poem. However, the use of the vacuum symbolism was perfect in an elucidating emptiness that was caused by the death of the wife. The author uses the vacuum

Discuss the Impact the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Has Had on...

Discuss the impact the Stephen Lawrence inquiry has had on the Criminal Justice System? This essay will screen through the changes made in major areas of Criminal Justice System after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report published and attempts to address changes that have already implemented, the supposed and actual outcomes, and effectiveness of these changes in tackling institutional racism mainly based on qualitative academic debates. The murder of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager, in a racist attack in 1993, resulted in a detailed inquiry published in 1999 outlining the existence of institutional racism and as many as 70 recommended changes in policies regarding how police should communicate with ethnic minority†¦show more content†¦Apart from periodically publishing stop and search records, supervisors and managers of police force are now required to closely monitor such statistics and take timely actions if something wrong is being observed. Also stricter rule s on stop and search have since been imposed, along with the requirement of police officers writing a detailed report on spot about every single incident which subjects to review seems helpful in improving police conduct (Fyfe 1979; Skogan and Frydl 2004 in Miller 2010). While stop and search practice has been somehow improved, racial discrimination can still be seen in stop and search statistics. The notion of â€Å"Black and minority ethnic groups, particularly black people, have for many years been disproportionately at the receiving end of police stop and search—a fact associated with profound community resentment towards the police† (Bowling and Phillips 2002 in Miller 2010) still largely applies today. Miller’s (2010) analysis indicate that black people are about 6 times more likely to be stopped and searched, while it is about 2 times more likely for Asians. Similar idea is seen in Bennetto’s (2009) report, which draws on police statistics that sho ws in 2009 â€Å"black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white†, worse than Miller’s analysis with the most recent figures in 2008. No official explaination is provided by Police, but Bennetto (2009) assumes this may be caused by simply discrimination ofShow MoreRelatedHate Crime And The United Kingdom3275 Words   |  14 PagesWhilst hate crime has been represented in the media and legislation for many years, particularly in the US, definitions of the term have been transient and changing. The Home Office issued a report in 2013 which demonstrated to both the public and law enforcement officials the most recent formal definition of ‘hate crime’ in the United Kingdom: â€Å"any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personalRead MoreThe For The Home Office3173 Words   |  13 Pagesdefinition of racially motivated vict imisation is â€Å"any incident, including any crime, which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice, based on a person’s race or perceived race†. 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How can Wal-Mart Keep Low Prices Free Essays

When Sam Walton opened his first store, the Five and Dime, he had no idea that he would become a success. He started his first store with one vision – to keep prices as low as possible. He knew that by keeping the prices low, his profit would not be as large as his competitor’s but he also knew that he could compensate this by the volume of sales. We will write a custom essay sample on How can Wal-Mart Keep Low Prices or any similar topic only for you Order Now Soon he was opening new stores in other states and its sales reached millions of dollars. At present, Wal-mart is the biggest corporation surpassing its competitors (Jim Hightower) It has over more than a hundred retail stores all over the world making the Waltons some of the richest people in the world. S. Robson Walton is ranked by London’s â€Å"Rich List 2001† as the wealthiest human on the planet having more than $65 billion surpassing Bill Gates. (Jim Hightower) Its present status was however not attained overnight. There were several strategies adopted by Wal-Mart which made it the world’s largest retailer. The first is the use of technology. Wal-Mart was the first to use the Universal Bar Code system. As the largest retailer, Wal-Mart was able to force manufacturers of products to adopt a common labeling called the bar code. The bar code contains details about the product which tells the retailers information such as how many of the said products have been sold and how many are still remaining. This system helped improve the way inventories are done in stores. With the bar code system, retail store owners no loner need to hire employees to conduct the inventory and the inventory system is now more accurate. Another business strategy adopted by Wal-Mart to keep prices low is its adoption of the corporate culture of frugality. The Waltons were very careful about spending their money and they lived a very simple lifestyle. They also demanded frugality from their employees. Frugality is so imbedded in its culture that even the company’s headquarters is located in Arkansas which is very old and looks dull. The executives of the company do not ride in fancy limousines and nor do they reside in expensive hotels. Instead, the executives shared budget-hotel rooms with their colleagues. (Caroline Wilbert) The corporate culture of frugality was manifested in the way the wages of their employees are being paid. It is said that the company pays an average wage of $9. 68 an hour which is definitely not enough for the employees to maintain a decent standard of living. (Gregory Heires) There have been complaints that the said company even compels its employees and managers to work overtime without paying them additional compensation for overtime work. The employees do not have adequate health care insurance and other benefits. Health care insurances are essential especially for employees who are earning barely enough for their daily living. Even if these employees get sick they will get some help from health care providers for their medicine and hospitalization expenses. Research, however, shows that â€Å"Wal-Mart’s health insurance covers 44% or approximately 572,000 of its 1. 3 million U. S. workers. [In comparison, Wal-Mart rival Brown Cole Stores insures approximately 96% of its 2,000 eligible workers. Further, Wal-Mart spends an average of $3,500 per employee for health care, 27% less than the retail-industry average of $4,800. †(â€Å"Wal-Mart†) Wal-Mart adopted an aggressive policy against labor unions. The role of unions in workplaces is very important. They ensure that the employees are given the wages and benefits which the law gives them. It is said that in North America, Wal-Mart has thwarted efforts to create union through aggressive anti-union tactics such as managerial surveillance and pre-emptive closures of stores or departments who choose to unionize. (â€Å"Wal-Mart†) Initially, Wal-Mart advertised the â€Å"Buy American† campaign. However, in order to maintain its low prices, Wal-Mart had to look for other suppliers which offered products for a lesser price than the suppliers in the United States. Eventually Wal-Mart began looking at other countries for the cheapest source of production. In 1995, Wal-Mart said that 6 percent of its total merchandise was imported. A decade later, experts estimated that Wal-Mart imported about 60 percent of its merchandise. (Caroline Wilbert) Today, Wal-Mart is considered the largest importer of Chinese-made products in the world, buying $10 billion worth of merchandise from several thousand Chinese factories. (Jim Hightower) There is, however, a price for the success of this management policy of Wal-Mart. For the company to maintain low prices for its buyers and customers, it has to reduce its expenses in the barest minimum – including wages, benefits, working conditions, supplies and products. As a result, Wal-Mart has been criticized worldwide for its business policies by other business organization, religious organization. Among the issues raised against it are: a) low wages it pays to its employees, cases of union busting, lack of health care and employee benefits, use of foreign labor, discrimination against women, It bears stressing that the current management policy of Wal-Mart is devastating for the millions of its employees worldwide. Though it may have generated employment, it has also created unemployment insofar as the employees of their competitors are concerned. For its existing employees, their working condition is far from being ideal. The purpose of this research project is to prove that it is possible for Wal-Mart to improve the wages and benefits it gives to its employees and at the same time maintain the prices of their products low. The philosophy is clear and definite – Wal-Mart can maintain the low prices of its products without hurting its employees. The persons who will be interested in this research project are not only the employees who will be benefited by the increase in their wages and benefits but also the consumers who desire to ensure that the prices of products in Wal-Mart remain the same. II. I believe that it is possible for Wal-Mart to improve the wages and benefits it gives to its thousands of employees and at the same time maintain the prices of their products low. As proof, I aim to use studies made by economists and researchers. One potential secondary source that will prove the said point is the studies conducted by the Economic Policy Institute which is cited in the article of Emily Kaiser entitled â€Å"US: Wal-Mart Could Hike Pay and Keep Prices Low: Study. † Researchers have also concluded that if only Wal-Mart would reduce its profit margin to about 2. 9%, where it stood in 1997, from the 3. 6% margin it recorded last year that would free up about $2. 3 billion to pay workers without raising prices. † (Emily Kaiser) The primary research tool that could be used for this research is the examination into the Income Statement of the Wal-Mart Inc. These are public documents which could be looked into by any citizen. By examining the company’s Income Statement, we will be able to find out just how much money the company is earning in a year. If a small portion of these earnings will only be equitably distributed, then the employees will experience an improvement in their living condition. Another primary research tool are Internet sources which shows the extent of the complaints, criticisms and suits against Wal-Mart. By looking into the information from these sources, one can conclude that the wealth and success of Wal-Mart was made at the expense of its employees. How to cite How can Wal-Mart Keep Low Prices, Papers

Independence Auditing Assurance Services †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Independence Auditing Assurance Services. Answer: Introduction: Chris acting in the capacity of LTHs CEO which is an existing client to the given audit company, expresses that board of the company is satisfied with the services provided by the audit company and intends to renew the audit contract subject to one favor which is that Geoff would need to give a speech at the upcoming seminar in a bid to enhance the overall investor interest in the company. Further, Chris also mentions that this is a little in deviation with the policies and conduct of the member firm but the same was insisted b the board to be a necessary condition for the obtaining of audit contract. The threat relevant to the conversation is highlighted in s. 200-6 and known as advocacy threat. As per this threat, the involvement of the audit partner in a promotional event would at large dilute the perceived independence especially in the modern day where instances of collusion between auditors and management have become sizable. While actual independence may not be impacted but with severe erosion of perceived independence, this threat poses a significant challenge to the auditor independence and hence adequate safeguards must be present to avoid Geoff from entertaining such a request (APES, 2010). With a view to continue a smooth relation between the client firm and audit team, Chris extends that LTH, the client intends to provide a voucher for a 14 day trip ti Greek Isles which would be completely sponsored by the client. Additionally, families can also be taken and this is for Geoff and myself. The threat relevant to the conversation is highlighted in s. 200-6 and known as familiarity threat. One of the key circumstances which lead to the onset of the above threat is when the members tend to accepts gifts of material value from the client firm. The threat to independence is significant as outsiders will question so as without reason why the client firm would incur such an expense. Further, even in terms of actual audit independence, failure in accepting this gift is pivotal for ensuring objectivity and considering the material nature of threat, requisite firm and client level safeguards are advisable (APES, 2010). In the new audit team being framed for LTH, one of the new additions is Michael who has been selected by Geoff. When Michael learns about this inclusion, he is obviously very elated and believes that his addition to the team would be quite useful as his father was employed in the capacity of financial controller at LTH. The threat relevant to the conversation is highlighted in s. 200-6 and known as familiarity threat. One of the conditions highlighted in this section relates to family member of one of the audit team members present in a position of significance at the end of the client firm. In this situation, if Michael is continued on the team, it is fair to foresee that conflict of interest would arise considering if any material fault with the financial statements is detected, it may jeopardize the career growth of Michaels father which would restrain him from either noticing any errors or reporting the same to his team. This would in turn lead to a higher audit risk and is counterproductive to the end objective of the audit process and requires to be addressed considering that this is material (CPA, 2013). In the new audit team being framed for LTH, one of the new additions is Annette who has been selected by Geoff. When Annette learns about this inclusion, she is obviously very elated and believes that the audit process would be over quickly considering her involvement in offering taxation and accounting services to LTH till recently (one month back). The threat relevant to the conversation is highlighted in s. 200-5 and known as self-review threat (APES, 2010). It is apparent that considering the nature of services extended to LTH, it is highly likely that during the audit process some of the records, ledgers and financial statements that would need to be scrutinized would have been prepared or checked by Annette during her tenure as employee with LTH. It is unlikely that the same would be critically analyzed in a detailed way using requisite technique as there is a tacit conclusion on her part even before the audit process has started that the books of the company are in order and hence the audit process would get over quickly. Approaching the audit process with such judgments adversely impacts the minimization of audit risk and hence adequate safeguards should be put in place to avoid inclusion of former employees in the audit team of the same company (CPA, 2013). Having identified the applicable threats based on the relevant facts of the conversation, the objective is to erect various barriers to resolve the threat using appropriate safeguards outlined below. A firm level safeguard is appropriate here. Such a safeguard should be based on having a model code of conduct and also the internal policy both of which need to endorse the conduct expected from members as per APES 110 guidelines. Thus, a clause would exist which would deter the audit partner along with any other member to indulge in any such activity which the firm believes would compromise either in terms of perceived or actual independence (Arens et. al., 2012). The appropriate safeguard for managing the auditor independence threat identified above would have to be implemented both at the level of audit firm and also on behalf of the client. As identified above, the model code of conduct and internal policy should derive sanctity from APES and thereby would comply with the practices identified therein. Hence, it would permit acceptance of any material gift from the client with indifference to the underlying intent on clients part. Further, the client firm considering the importance that shareholders and other stakeholders give to the auditor independence, the client must have a policy in place with regards to dealing with external auditors and which must clearly denounce the practices of extending any form of gift unless it has a token value only (Gay and Simnett, 2012). The appropriate safeguard has to be enacted at the level of audit firm. This would involve that all members of the audit firm need to offer a disclosure at the time of assuming employment with the firm. This disclosure should mention the employment details of all immediate members of the family. Additionally, annual disclosures afterwards would need to be submitted in case of any changes in employment status with regards to the employer or the position occupied. In order to further, plug any loopholes, undertaking has to be sought from each member of the audit team in relation to that no family member (close or distant) is occupying any position of significance in the client firm (Leung, Coram and Cooper, 2012). The appropriate safeguard has to be enacted at the level of audit firm. This would involve that all members of the audit firm need to offer a disclosure at the time of assuming employment with the firm. This disclosure should mention their employment details in the past which should include temporary or contractual employment as well. In order to further, plug any loopholes, undertaking has to be sought from each member of the audit team in relation to that they have not had any employment relation with the client firm ever in the past (Caanz, 2016). MSL is a supplier of various equipments and other services to the mining companies. The applicable business risks are discussed below. Demand estimation of spare parts may be inaccurate The company needs to fairly estimate the demand of spare parts as understocking and overstocking both would have negative impact on the overall profitability of the firm. If the firm is overstocked with spare parts, then there would be extra cost of inventory especially for carrying and maintaining the incremental inventory. Further, the suppliers are paid and essentially the money is blocked lying idle caught up in inventory resulting in opportunity costs (Caanz, 2016). On the other hand, if there is less stock of spare parts, then there would be incremental servicing costs coupled with inconvenience to the customers. This is because in accordance to the provided details, the mechanics in order to provide service have to sometimes go to remote locations to service the equipment which might be used at the mining site. It is pivotal that the mechanic must have all the common spare parts required so that there is no delay in providing services or extra logistics cost to ship the spare part to the site of the consumer. Also, the lead time in the process could be potentially high considering that these are imported from global manufacturers (Gay and Simnett, 2012). Incidence of spare parts fraud and related theft Fraud on account of spare parts is highly plausible in the business model of the company. Consider a situation whereby a mechanic goes to a remote location to service a client where the equipment is covered under warranty. The client also has another equipment of the same type which needs a spare part. The client and mechanic work out an understanding whereby the mechanic reports that the equipment under warranty required a replacement of spare part for which no charges were taken while in actuality the spare part is provided at a discounted rate to the client. Additionally, from the storage area, some thefts could also happen considering the value of these spare parts which then could be diverted to the existing clients for gains. Thus, this tends to adversely impact the business profitability especially when insurance cover is lacking in this regard (Arens et. al., 2012). The business risks outlined in section a impact s the audit risk and the associated accounts in the following manner. The components of audit risk related to incorrect estimation of spare part requirement would be detection risk and inherent risk. It is noteworthy that in the context of the spare parts essentially the contribution would be made to two separate accounts namely revenues and expense depending on the underlying situation (Arens et. al., 2013). For instance, any spare part replaced which is covered under warranty would be expense for the company while any spare part replacement for which payment is derived from the client would be categorized as revenues. Thus, distinguishing between the two needs to be done which can be complex especially because even under warranty certain spare parts may not be covered. Hence, an inherent risk exists with regards to recording these properly. Additionally, the auditor may also face a challenging job to figure out the exact schema of identification of spare part which potentially enhances detection risk. The two accounts obviously impacted through these audit risks would be the expense account and revenue account (Caanz, 2016). The possibility of fraud and thefts in relation to spare parts would tend to escalate the inherent risk and control risk. Inherent risk escalation tend to exist since the business practices are such that it provides potential for fraud as has been explained using the example of a client based in remote location. Control risk also exists since it seems that the company lacks the requisite measures to control the above risk which tends to aggravate the overall audit risk (Gay Simnett, 2012). Two accounts that could be materially misstated are the expense account and also the inventory account. Expense account is impacted because in cases of fraud, the mechanic would register the spare part as an expense when ideally it should have been contributed to the profit of the firm. Further, the inventory account misstatement could result on account of theft which go unreported and also there could be potential obsolescence and incremental maintenance cost which might not be reflected appropriately thus causing material misstatement (Leung, Coram and Cooper, 2012). References APES (2010), APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, APESB Website, [Online] Available at https://www.apesb.org.au/uploads/standards/apesb_standards/standard1.pdf [Accessed April 28, 2017] Arens, A., Best, P., Shailer, G. Fiedler,I. (2013). Auditing, Assurance Services and Ethics in Australia, 2nd ed, Sydney: Pearson Australia Caanz, S. (2016), Auditing And Assurance Handbook 2016 Australia, 3rd ed., Sydney: John Wiley Sons CPA (2013), Independence Guide, CPA Website, [Online] Available at https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/auditing-assurance/independence-guide.pdf?la=en [Accessed April 28, 2017] Gay, G. Simnett, R. (2012), Auditing and Assurance Services in Australia, 5th ed., Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education Leung, P., Coram, P. Cooper, B.J. (2012), Modern Auditing and Assurance Services, 4th ed, New York: John Wiley and Sons