IT Evolution in Global Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT Evolution in Global Banking - Essay Example The customers can also access their bank accounts, withdraw cash, pay bills, get bank statements, deposit cash and even buy products without having to visit their bank branches. Indeed, what technology has facilitated is the reduction of physical conduct between the customer and the banker bringing in a new phenomenon known as virtual banking. Information technology can offer a bank a competitive edge over other banks (Singer, Ross & Avery 2005) The internet invention was the greatest breakthrough for banks in carrying out their transactions with customers (Wanderi 2012). As internet access is enhanced, more and more banks are turning to online banking services. Such services are more convenient to customers and the banker, they also save time and costs and increase efficiency. Banks that do not adopt technology are likely to be unpopular among the customer base. Automated teller machines, television banking, virtual banking, internet banking, mobile banking, online pay bill, mobile commerce, social media payments, credit cards and debit cards are some of the examples of how technology is changing the banking industry (Kendrick 2011). This paper will discuss the evolution of information technology in the banking industry with emphasis on internet banking, growth of e-commerce and virtual banking and new delivery channels such as PC banking, mobile banking and TV banking. Discussion The most important concept is the internet. In early years of internet, banks normally used the internet for internal purposes such as publishing of corporate data and offerings. At this time, internet was mainly used in banking as a tool of information dissemination to customers and the general public. This was then followed by banking internet services such as checking account balances online, paying utility bills online and online transfer of funds. Many banks feared transacting over the internet because of the security threats. However, with the growth in software and information technology infrastructure many banks have embraced this technology (Vaidya 2009). Internet has enabled banks to open up websites where customers can now access their products and services. The banks do not need to put up advertisements in the media or do customers have to go to the banks in order to learn about the products and services of banks. All they need to do is just access the website and learn about the banks products and services. These calls on banks to embrace information technology because not doing so might make their products and services unpopular. Internet has facilitated a new concept called virtual banking in the banking industry. In this case, the banks offer their products and services only through electronic means without any physical contact with their customers. This is gaining popularity as the global economy grows and access to the information technology is enhanced throughout the world. This model normally operates without many branches because they do no t need to physically interact with customers. Given that they do not require many personnel and the maintenance costs are low, they normally offer competitive prices for their products and services. The people around the world are getting busier and have no time to spend on bank transactions and hence there is a shift from traditional banking to virtual banking.

Report on the Analysis of Ineffective Communication in the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Report on the Analysis of Ineffective Communication in the Workplace Essay This report will analyse and examine issues of interpersonal behaviour in the workplace. It will describe a scenario observed concerning communication and will include an analysis of the problems that occurred. A conclusion will be made which will lead to recommendations to prevent this situation from recurring. 2. 0 The scenario The main conflict in this scenario transpired between persons B and C (see appendix 1) on the shop floor of B Q. Person B had previously spoken rudely about person C to person D. Persons D and C are good friends, therefore person D informed C about the incident. Person C then discussed the issue with Person A who had a one-to-one meeting with person B. The outcome of the meeting was that Person B should have an informal meeting with person C to resolve the issue. However, person B avoided holding this meeting and instead chose to speak to person C on the shop floor in the presence of customers. (See appendix 2 for the transcript of the scenario). 3. 0 Transactional Analysis and Effective Communication Transactional Analysis assists when evaluating this situation as the model is a popular way of explaining the dynamics of interpersonal communication. It was developed by Eric Berne in 1949 and has two fundamental assumptions; all the events and feelings people experience are stored within them and can be replayed, and that personality is made up of three ego states that manifest themselves in gesture, tone of voice and actions. The child ego state is described as the ‘feelings state’ and involves people behaving as they did when they were a child. This includes three sub-states which are the ‘free or natural child’, the ‘little professor’ and the ‘rebellious child’. The free or natural child state focuses on genuine feelings, acting on impulse and letting others know how we feel. The little professor state is creative, questioning and experimental. As the name suggests, the rebellious child state invokes rebellion, frustration and withdrawal. The adult ego state involves behaviour that concerns thought processes and can be defined as ‘the thoughtful’ state. This state focuses on data collection, reality testing and objectiveness. The parent state is described as the ‘taught’ state and consists of two sub-states; the nurturing and the critical parent. In this state, people take responsibility and tend to behave in ways learnt from parental figures. The nurturing parent state involves caring for other people, whereas in the critical or controlling parent state people have a tendency to lay down rules and boundaries and insist on their own method of getting the job done. Exclusions of ego states occur when someone is permanently using one ego state and cuts off the others (see appendix 7). There are three types of transactions in communication; complementary, crossed and ulterior (see appendix 3). When both parties’ ego states match, this is a complementary transaction and communication can continue. Crossed transactions occur when one party addresses a different ego state to the one the other party is currently in. The communication in crossed transactions disintegrates and can result in bad feelings. Ulterior transactions involve a crossed transaction on a psychological level, however on the surface the ego states seem to match leading to people playing games with one another. Strokes are units of recognition and are given and received via the five senses. Positive strokes are life and growth encouraging, whereas negative strokes are the opposite and cause the recipient to feel dejected. Transactional analysis assumes that our characteristic ways of feeling and behaving derive from the way we feel about ourselves in relation to other people. These are referred to as the four life positions and consist of â€Å"I’m not OK, You’re OK†, â€Å"I’m not OK, You’re not OK†, â€Å"I’m OK, You’re not OK† and â€Å"I’m OK, You’re OK† (see appendix 4). Body language is another method used to communicate and can assist when deciphering an underlying message that someone is trying to purvey. According to Pivcevic, â€Å"it is commonly agreed that 80 per cent of communication is non-verbal† (Mullins, L. J, 2010, pp 235). Effective communication is achieved by attending, reflecting and following (see appendix 5). This benefits both the listener and the speaker as it aids the listener in thoroughly understanding what the speaker is saying. Attending is non-verbal communication that signifies someone is paying careful attention to the person talking. Attending includes body posture, gestures, eye contact and an environment free of distractions. Following skills require the listener to offer openers and encouragements. Openers are non-coercive invitations for the speaker to talk and include judgemental, reassuring and advice statements. Opening questions and silence can be used as they encourage and concentrate on the concerns of the speaker rather than the listener. Reflecting skills avoid both speaker and listener problems. Words are perceived differently to people and listeners can often become distracted. Reflective responses are non-judgmental and help the listener to grasp the feelings of the speaker. Guirdham’s cycle of perception and behaviour can also aid in analysing communication as perceptions can alter the way in which we behave, thus having an effect on communication (see appendix 8). 4. 0 Analysis of the scenario By applying the Transactional analysis model, it is evident that when person B approached C, she was speaking from her critical parent ego state. This state is condescending and admonishing and can cause the addressee to feel discouraged. When replying, person C speaks from her adult ego state which is objective and rational, presenting a crossed transaction as B was addressing a different ego state to that of which C is currently in (see appendix 3). Person B should have shifted to an adult ego state to ensure that the states matched, amending it to a complementary transaction. However, B replies she has no time denoting that she is speaking from her critical parent ego state and sending out negative strokes. Her abrupt and loud tone insinuates she is defensive and angry. Her body language also gives an implication of her underlying message as she is walking away from the situation with her arms crossed, suggesting she is uninterested. Person C is rational and relaxed with her body language, making constant eye contact and positioning herself closely to person B, signifying she is listening intently. C’s ego state shifts to a rebellious child state when B’s body language and attitude is perceived as rude, abrupt and unconcerned. This subliminal communication causes an argument to break out and C begins to speak vociferously. The clenching of her fists and words spoken infer this shift in ego state. A change in behaviour occurs due to C’s perceptions of B’s behaviour (see appendix 8). Person A then interrupts the conversation and speaks from a nurturing parent ego state; this is presumed as he interjects with a question, â€Å"are you okay guys? † He places a hand on person C’s shoulder, signalling a display of power over her. At this point, person B begins to fiddle with her pen, suggesting a transition out of her comfort zone and showing she is uncomfortable in the situation. By this point, person C is very distressed and is deep in a rebellious child ego state. Her body language conveys feelings of anger and frustration as she is frantically waving her arms. Person B is reluctant to apologise or be sympathetic throughout the incident, indicating her ego state has not changed. This implies that she is currently in an arrogant life position as she feels she is not in the wrong (see appendix 4). She walks away, with her arms crossed expressing hostility and disregard to the situation. Person C reverts back to an adult ego state towards the end of the conversation and realises that she needs to calm down and clear her head. She also displays anxiety as she begins to bite her lip. Person A has maintained a nurturing parent ego state throughout as he is caring and tries to control and pacify the situation. 5. 0 Conclusion In conclusion, person B has inadequate communication skills. The crossed transaction, exclusion of other ego states and current life position (see appendix 4) of person B combine together to make her appear arrogant and uninterested, leading to conflict between the two parties. Attending, following and reflecting skills (see appendix 5) should have been applied to the conversation on B’s part to ensure effective communication took place. Person B’s disregard to instructions given to her by A could be due to the age gap between the two. According to Hart (Mullins, L. J, 2010, pp 101), age gaps can lead to conflict in the workplace as there is a dispute between age and experience. 6. 0 Recommendations To avoid this situation recurring, person B should receive training on interpersonal skills (see appendix 6), attending, following and listening (see appendix 5), enabling her to understand her own behaviour, other points of view and improve communication skills. Person A should hold an informal, one-to-one meeting with B and discuss possible outcomes of the meeting, such as training. Person A should identify whether B is in a constant ‘arrogant or cosmetic’ life position as she could have been having a bad day when the argument broke out. If it is found that her constant life position is ‘I’m OK, you’re not OK’ then an attempt should be made to modify this as it has a negative effect on communication. Person A should ensure this is carried out in a conscientious manner to prevent another conflicting situation from occurring. Person A should avoid singling out B as this could demotivate her from joining work shop training, so should offer the opportunity to every employee. This informal, fun atmosphere may help to improve person B’s opinions of others and alter her current life position. Another method of altering person B’s life position is to offer counselling but should be suggested at a later date if workshops fail.

Impact of Fair Value on Creative Accounting

Impact of Fair Value on Creative Accounting 1 Introduction As Blake and Lunt (2000, p.375) rightly surmise within their work on accounting standards, the term â€Å"creative accounting,† was originally coined by the media, and it was particularly prevalent around the time of the Enron financial disaster. It was partially because of the financial collapses of firms like Enron and the major debate that followed these events, that International Accounting Standards were introduced. Amongst the main objectives of these standards, which were intended to make financial statements easier to understand and provide for more transparency (Alfredson et at 2007, p.6), one of the aims was curtail future opportunities for creative accounting. The IASB, when designing these standards started from the premise that corporate business had an obligation to account to investors, creditors and other stakeholder on a regular basis, usually within the annual financial statements, about the â€Å"performance, situation and future prospects of that business† (Alfredson et al 2007, p.4), which the focus being on the accuracy of this information. It thus sought to legalise this obligation and, through the standards, ensure that this result was achieved. However, despite the introduction of the standards and regulations, as Mulford and Comiskev (2002), Blake and Lunt (2000) have observed, irregularities in financial statements are still occurring. Many academic and professional observers are of the opinion that the measurements introduced by the IASB is serving to â€Å"obscure concrete evidence† in financial statements (Swanson and Miller 1989, p.1). In particular these concerns are centred around the boards movement away from historical cost accounting to a system of â€Å"fair value† accounting (Alfredson et al 2007, p.48), the introduction 4 of which was against the wishes of many stakeholders (Williams 2006). Fair value is intended to improve the accounting measurements used in financial statements by ensuring that these reflect relevant and current valuations of the business (Blake and Gowthorpe 1998, p.1). However, the argument against fair value, quite apart from the fact that it takes up an inordinate amount of management time (Scott 2003, p.2), is that it provides opportunity for manipulation and misuse and thus increases the potential for creative accounting. This is particularly prevalent in the area of asset valuation. The intention of this study is to investigate the arguments and debate that continues to surround the concepts and practices of creative accounting and the impact, if any, that â€Å"fair value† has had upon this issue. In particular, the study will concentrate upon these elements in relation to their use in the valuation of property, plant and equipment and investment property, which can in many companies, form a major part of their current balance sheet valuation. The objective is to assess and evaluate whether the introduction of the fair value concept has led to the intended improvement of financial reporting in these specific areas of the financial statements, or if creative accounting methods and processes are still being used to circumvent these improvements. It has been decided to conduct this research by using a literature review format. 2 Definitions, meanings and theories of creative accounting 2.1 Definitions and meanings Before being able to assess the extent to which the concept of â€Å"fair value† has impacted upon the reporting accurate values of assets in financial statements and the reduction of the prevalence creative accounting following the introduction of new standards and measurements, if any, it is important to understand the meaning and theories of creative accounting. Furthermore, understanding the reasons why these actions are being taken by so many corporate organisations is of equal relevance. Within the wealth of literature surrounding accounting and accounting standards, there are a wealth of diverse definitions for the term creative accounting Hey Cunningham, D (2002). For example, from an academic viewpoint Blake and Lunt (2000, p.375) define it as â€Å"that which does not faithfully represent the underlying commercial activity and is therefore not neutral.† Amat et al (1999, p.3) use even stronger terms to define creative ac counting, which they indicate is â€Å"a process whereby accountants use their knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate the figures reported in the accounts of a business.† As is perhaps to be expected, other stakeholders have been more forthright in their definitions and opinions. A business journalist, Ian Griffiths (quoted in Amat et al 1999, p.3), reveals the media view when he stated, â€Å"Every set of published accounts is based on books which have been gently cooked or completely roasted† commenting further that â€Å"It is legitimate. It is creative accounting.† An Investment analyst, Terry Smith, interviewed by the same authors (Amat et al 6 1999), also showed the level of concern felt about creative accounting in this segment of stakeholders. He commented, â€Å"We felt that much of the apparent growth in profits which had occurred in the 1980s was the result of accounting sleight of hand rather that genuine economic growth.† 2.2 Acceptance and reasons Acceptance levels and appropriateness in regards to the performance of creative accounting also show similar differences of opinions depending upon which particular stakeholder views are garnered. Whilst many say that manipulation, which is at the foundation of creative accounting, is an inevitability that cannot be addressed, whilst others believe that is the weakness of rules and measurements that allow this practice to continue (Langendijk et al 2003, p.31 and p.350). It is apparent that the media and investors support the latter of these opinions. However, according to a survey conducted by Amat et al (1999, p.13) as part of their research into creative accounting, the auditor profession not only believed that it was inevitable, with 91% of UK respondents believing that it could not be solve, but also over a third were of the opinion that it was a â€Å"legitimate business tool.† As indicated earlier, it is also felt that the introduction of the â€Å"fair value† concept as a measurement that would reduce the incidence of creative accounting is criticised as not being capable of fulfilling this role. The consensus is that this concept is expensive to implement, difficult to determine and verify, due mainly to objectivity characteristics, and is therefore easy for the opportunistic organisation to manipulate (Benston 12008, p.103). 2.3 Manifestation and methods of creative accounting Historically, creative accounting methods are used in a number of ways, all of which are designed to influence the financial statements and results produced by commercial organisations. Irrespective of whether these are directed towards the profit and loss account or balance sheet, all of these methods will have the effect of altering, or manipulating, the value of the business. One popular method is that known as â€Å"income smoothing† (Alfredson et al 2007, p.682). The objective of this method is to avoid the appearance of volatile changes in profit growth levels. For example, if a business moves from  £1 million profit in one year to  £2 million in the next, but it is expected that the third year profits would fall by 25% in comparison to year two, income smoothing may be implemented in this year. The smoothing effect is designed to show a more controlled and sustained level of growth The smoothing process can be achieved in a number of ways. One of the most obvious routes of achieving this situation is by the manipulation of provisions or accruals (Antill and Lee 2005, p.129). In the case described above increasing accruals or reducing debtors would have the desired effect of moving profit from the second year into the third, thus smoothing out the volatile look of the profit curve that previously existed. As some of these provisions are based upon estimations, manipulation is difficult to verify (Alfredson et al 2007, p.682). For example, within the financial statements of financial institutions such as banks, there is a requirement to provide for existing and potential bad debts. As an significant element of the bad debt provision calculation is based upon judgement, which can be biased, it is possible for these figures to be manipulated to show a more favourable position than might in reality be the case. Another method of manipulating the financial results is related to earnings management. In this case the management of the business will have a particular target in mind (Mulford and Comiskev 2002, p.15). One target might be to move earnings from one year to another with the specific intent of manipulating the profitability of the business for that particular year. An example of this is given in the research of Amat et al (1999), where they took an existing investment that had a historical cost of  £1 million but a current value of  £3 million. As the business managers in this situation have the freedom to choose exactly which year they can sell the investment and realise the profit, they have the ability to manipulate the financial statement results by their decision. Alternatively, sometimes a special â€Å"one off† charge may be included within the accounts, which will depress the profits and earnings. For example, if the payment of a lawsuit has been agreed to be completed over a period of years, it is possible that the management will decide to include all of these payments within one year. The management is then able to explain away part of the poor performance as result from this exceptional event. The difficulty is that, upon further examination of some exceptional items in corporate financial statement, it is often difficult to justify them being excluded from normal business operations. Therefore, it could be argued that they are, in effect, simply attempts to â€Å"window dress† the figures in an effort to put a more positive view on the results (Stolowy and Beton 2004). One element of earnings management that has proven popular with corporate management is the â€Å"big bath† scenario, which is seen by academics as an opportunistic method of creative accounting (Reidl 2004, p.823). The theory behind the â€Å"big bath† is particularly useful when an organisations management can foresee that the results for a current year are going to be poor. To limit the impact that this might have upon the future, and effectively to show that this situation will soon be reversed, management will seek to increase these losses. In other words, they will â€Å"dump† as much expense as they can into the bad year (hence the term big bath) so that the next years profit show a more significant improvement in the companys fortunes. Often this method of creative accounting will be used where there has been a change of management during the year. By affecting the big bath method, the new CEO is able to pass the blame for poor results onto the previous m anagement team (Riahi-Belkaoui 2004 p.58). Of course, the manipulated improvement to the following years profits will have the benefit of improving the new teams reputation with investors and other stakeholders. Another example of creative accounting is apparent in the methods used by corporations to move items off balance sheet, particularly in the case of debt and financing (Pierce-Brown and Steele 1999, p.159). For example, where corporations sell property portfolios through a process of sale and leaseback, profits can be enhanced by manipulating the value of the portfolio. The downside of this process is that increases the rental amount but, the advantages are that this is spread over a number of years and, in addition, the increased values will have an immediate positive effect upon the current value of the business. In addition, companies are also afforded the ability through these processes to violate and circumvent debt covenants (Mulford and Comiskev 2002, p.91). As Pierce-Brown and Steele (1999, p.162) suggest, all it requires to achieve this situation is a change in the accounting policies put in place for the organisation. In a number of creative accounting methods described within this section, particularly those relating to fixed assets, the key element of the method is its reliance upon judgement. If corporations therefore wish to manipulate their results in any of these ways therefore, all they have to do is ensure that the judgement secured is biased in the direction they require (Alfredson et al 2007, p.259). With auditors, actuaries and other experts having differing standards by which they would estimate valuations, for example some would be more cautious than others, influencing financial results in a particular direction is not impossible to achieve. One of the concerns that have been expressed following the change to fair value is that, rather than reducing the opportunity for manipulation and creative accounting that previously existed, in certain areas this measurement has increased the potential. This is particularly seen to be the case in terms of business assets (Antill and Lee (2005) and Stolowy and Breton (2004)). For example, as with other areas of manipulation, the ability to be able to choose between some elements of asset valuations being based upon the historical cost basis, or using the fair value method of revaluation, this area can also be seen to have the potential of being influenced by biased judgements. 2.4 Purpose of creative accounting We have seen that the main result achieved from using the various methods of creative accounting is to change the revenue, earnings and value of the business, but the real question is for what purpose is being employed? In other words, which stakeholders does it benefit or disadvantage? The answer to these questions, as the literature being reviewed has indicated, the purpose of creative accounting has different objectives for each segment of stakeholders (Blake and Lunt 2000). Firstly, many academic have concentrated upon the effect and benefit that creative accounting might have for the one group of stakeholders who are closest to the corporate operations, which would be the management team. The salaries, bonuses and other rewards for most CEOs and senior management are linked to the performance of the business and, if these performance levels are not reached, the rewards will not be forthcoming. However, there is no negative impact on salaries related to the amount by which targets are missed, for example, whether the results are  £1 million of  £5 million below target salaries will remain the same. Therefore, if the CEO believes that in a particular year the business will not reach the required target, it is to his or her advantage to shift earnings from that year into the next in order to enhance and improve the potential size of future rewards (Investopedia 2008). Furthermore, as has already been indicated in the previous section, management earnings manipulation is also a useful tool in enhancing the reputation of the management team itself. In addition to the benefits available to a new CEO and team as outlined, it is also possible that the same process will be used by management teams exiting the business to improve their attraction to future employees (Riahi-Belkaoui 2004). In other words it is being used for self interest purposes by the management (Scott 2003, p.91). Wealth transfer is another popular reason for manipulation (Stolowy and Breton 2004). This is especially prevalent where there is a group situation with a number of subsidiary companies involved, where it is not difficult to manipulate the accounts by moving earnings or assets from one of the businesses to another. Such a scenario might be seen as favourable where part of the corporate assets, in terms of one of the group corporations, might be being groomed for possible tak eover or flotation. Furthermore, in the case of a multinational, this method of Creative accounting is useful in transferring wealth from a business located in one country to that operating in another national location. In this case it can be helpful in combating political pressure that might be being exerted to transfer wealth away from the corporation (Pierce-Brown and Steele 1999, p.161). Further evidence of manipulation for political purposes was examined in the work of Stolowy and Breton (2000, p.13). In this case they looked at this mode of creative accounting as related to corporations within the oil industry. What they found was that, during periods such as the Gulf War, which resulted in increased retail prices of fuel, these corporations adopted accounting policies that were designed to reduce their revenue. The purpose of this exercise was to limit the potential â€Å"political consequences† that might result from their organisations being seen to make higher profits during this period. Finally, and perhaps the most important reason for creative accounting methods, it is the impact that these changes have upon current and potential investors that is often the focus of these actions. Most academic and professional researchers and observers, including Tweedie and Whittington (1990), Antill and Lee (2006), Barker (2001) amongst others, see this purpose as being the prime objective of creative accounting. Manipulating revenues and balance sheet items, as well as earnings management are intended to present the corporation to the investor in a good and positive light, encouraging them to make and/or retain the investment (Stolowy and Breton 2000, p.10). These methods can also be used to have a positive impact upon investors decision making indicators, such as the P/E ratio (Barker 2001, p.2) and cash flow statements (Mulford and Comiskev 2002, p.354). One of the adverse problems of this manipulation process is that it also has an effect upon the â€Å"accounting for risk† (Babbel et al 2003, p.16) and this can affect a whole industry. A typical example of this happening in practice can be witnessed in the current credit crunch (2008). There are those who argue that the effects of this event were exaggerated because of the financial institutions propensity for manipulating bad debts. It can be argued therefore that, whatever the immediate benefits are of creative accounting, and irrespective of which stakeholders receive those benefits, at some future stage there is likely to be witnessed an adverse reaction that will eliminate the short-term benefits. Furthermore, as the current bank crisis has indicated, the potential losses from this future reaction can threaten the continued existence of the corporation. 3 Accounting measurements and controversial issues The international financial reporting standards, as indicated previously, were designed to reduce creative accounting. Two areas which were singled out for particular attention within this situation were the accounting standards to be used for the valuation of property, plant and equipment and investment property as these were seen as areas of the financial statements that have a significant influence upon the value of a corporation (IASB 2008). 3.1 Methods of measurements There have been a number of measurements used in the past to arrive at a realistic value for these assets. The most commonly used was the historical cost method. This method used the initial cost of the asset as a starting point and then, as it was used within the business, depreciated that asset over what was considered its useful life, often using what was known as the direct line method of depreciation or amortisation. Foe example, if a particular item of equipment cost  £10,000 and its life expectancy within the firm was set at 5 years, that asset would depreciate at  £2,000 per annum. However, as Mulford and Comiskev (2002, p.321) rightly observe, the drawback to this system is that it often does not â€Å"correlate with assets whose value did not diminish predictably over time.† In the case of the  £10,000 item used above, it might be that, at the end of its useful life to the company it was sold for  £2,500, which means that, if this is received at the end of th e useful life period, profits for the business for that year were enhanced by this amount. The argument against this system is that during the course of the previous four years the true value of the asset was not being reflected in the financial statements and this had an adverse effect on the value of the firm (Blake and Lunt 2000). Another method of measurement that was used within some financial accounting environments was replacement value (Lindsell 2005). This method takes the cost of replacement as its marker for valuation rather than the historical price paid. It also relies upon the current value of the used equipment to provide a calculation of the difference. Using the example of the  £10,000 asset as an example, if the replacement cost was  £11,000 and the amount receivable should the used asset be sold is  £9,000, there is a difference of  £2,000 to be accounted for. This differential would effectively replace the depreciation reserve used within the historical cost method and was deemed by some to be more appropriate in that it reflected known values (Bens and Heltzer 2004). The only risk element in using this method is taking into account the judgement on the sale of the used asset. A further method of measurement was introduced that relied upon exit value. The basic concept of this method was that it used the sales value of the corporations assets (Barker 2001, p.87). The calculation of this value might for example, be used in the case of the business being acquired by another or its value upon failure. The difficulty with both of these situations is that unless either situation was imminent, judgements and estimations had to be used to assess these values. One issue that arose with exit value, particularly in respect of the valuation of assets such as property, was the inclination to undervalue the asset for tax reasons (Mulford and Comiskev 2002, p.131). Others have referred to the asset sale element of this measurement as the net realisable value (NRV). This takes into account the market for the asset, the maximum return likely to be achieved, then deducts the cost of transportation and other ancillary disposal costs before arriving at the NRV value (Van Zij i and Whittington 2006, p.3). Prior to the settlement on fair value as being the most appropriate measurements, one measure that most academics thought would be favoured by the â€Å"Standard setters† was the deprival value approach (Van Ziji and Whittington 2006, p.3.). The intention of this process was to determine the cost of the asset based upon the removal effect that it would have upon the business, in other words what cost would the business incur if it was deprived of that asset. As indicated, many academics thought this method would produce the accurate results. However, the professionals were not of the same opinion (Van Ziji and Whittington 2006) and, through the process of consultation and lobbying it was their voice that one the day. One has to wonder whether to threat to manipulation and creative accounting had any influence upon the decisions made by professionals. Fair value was the concept introduced with the introduction of the IASB standards and measurements. The intention of fair value is to ensure that the financial statements produced by a corporation are a true representation of the physical values that could be achieved for the business assets and liabilities should these be liquidated at the date those statements were submitted. In this respect it differs from the historical cost method in that the most important statement under fair value is the balance sheet rather than the profit and loss account (Penman 2007, p. 8-9). Similarly, it favours realism rather than the conservative approach that was apparent in some of the previous methods (Swanson and Miller 1989, p.93). As most academics and professional observers are agreed, fair value has now become the most popular choice of all the available methods used within financial reporting statements (Stolowy and Breton 2000, Bens and Heltzer 2004, Staff team 2004 and Blake and Lunt 2000). However, one of its main disadvantages is its subjectivity. Those opposed to this method argue that â€Å"subjective valuations do not work when account objective values are what is needed† (Penman 2007, p.14). Although some believe that fair value has a use for investors (Schroeder et al 2005, p.310), there are others that argue the â€Å"lack of verifiability of the inputs necessary to implement such a system potentially adds noise and bias over and above the more traditional historical cost estimates† (Bens and Heltzer 2004, p.2). Even the fact that, in appropriate instances, the fair value still allows corporations to use the historical cost approach, as is the case with some asset valuations, rather than reducing the concerns over this method, it is felt that the mixed measurement can do more harm to values (Swanson and Miller 1989, p.90 and p.160). One of the major elements of the subjective argument is that fair values relies upon expert judgements and opinions, and that bias or error could lead to increased â€Å"volatility in financial statements† (Barth 2006, p.323) and also reduce the ability to be able to compare results across a specific industry or range of industries (Staff team 2004). As Antill and Lee (2005, p.67), the fact that fair value is reliant in most cases to expert opinion and natural bias means that the estimations included within the financial statements may differ from the actual values received for the assets, a position that will not be realised until the sale has taken place. Therefore, from the literature reviewed it is true to say that, irrespective of its increasing popularity, issues remain to be addressed in respect of the fair value method (Alfredson et al 2007, p.48). As Barker (2001, p.148) indicates, although the intention of this process is either to ensure there is a genuine relations hip between the asset and the profitability of the corporation or, by indicating an overpayment eliminate its value, the current concerns relating to judgement and verification of values brings the practical implementation of these objectives into question. 3.2 IFRS standards and measurements In its introductory framework document to the IFRS standards, the IASB (2001) identified the four main characteristics of quality to be exhibited within financial statements as being â€Å"understandability, relevance reliability and comparability.† It further identified that the elements of the statements to be concentrated upon were: a) An asset is a resource controlled by the entity because of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity. b) A liability is a present obligation of the entity arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow from the entity of resources embodying economic benefits. c) Equity is the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all its liabilities. in relation to the balance sheet and, in terms of the profit and loss account â€Å" The elements of income and expenses are defined as follows:† a) Income is increases in economic benefits during the accounting period in the form of inflows or enhancements of assets or decreases of liabilities that result in increases in equity, other than those relating to contributions from equity participants. b) Expenses are decreases in economic benefits during the accounting period in the form of outflows or depletions of assets or incurrences of l iabilities that result in decreases in equity, other than those relating to distributions to equity participants. In the early editions of the standards, references and definitions of the â€Å"fair value† method of measurement to be used were sparse. However, following consultations (IASB 2007 a and 2007 b), efforts were made to address this situation. This resulted in the creation of the following fair value definition: That fair value is â€Å"the amount for which an asset could be exchanged between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arms length transaction† (Van Ziji and Whittington 2006, p.6). The previous lack of guidance available was seen as a flaw in the standards (Alfedson et al 2007, p.7). This, together with the fact that the ISAB gave in to pressure from American corporations to give up on many of the changes that would have affected the asset of goodwill (Weil 2000 and Mard and Hitchner 2007), did not endear the system and standards to any experts, as continuing criticism from all sides has evidenced (Lee 2006). Both prior to and since the definition of fair value being introduced there has been strong criticism of the measurement systems and advice give for the need to resolve these issues (Tweedie and Whittington 1900 and Lindell 2005). Although regular consultations and improvements to the standards are ongoing, to date it is felt that the measurements still fail in their intention to increase transparency and comparability. This is particularly felt to be the case in terms of property, plant and equipment, and investment property, which will be discussed in th e following sections. 3.2.1 Measurements of property, plant and equipment The measurement and its definition relating to assets that belong within the group entitled as â€Å"Property, Plant and Equipment† are outlined within the summary of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 16. In this standard it defines the assets to be included in the financial statements in this section as being those which will produce a â€Å"future economic benefit† to the business. In terms of cost upon acquisition, the standard indicates that this will be calculated to include its purchase price and any other costs that are associated with transporting and installing the asset at the corporations premises. In relation to the measurement to be used in financial statements subsequent to the date of cost, the standard allows corporations to choose between the cost (historical approach) or the revaluation method (fair value) (IAS 16). The revaluation method requires an expert judgement of what the asset value would be at a given date. From this would be deducted any depreciation and impairment losses that had attached to the asset to the date of revaluation. It is also advised that this process should be carried out at regular intervals and certainly close to the date of the financial statements preparation. The fair value definition in this case is considered as being reliant upon the definition given in the previous section of this study (see page 19). 3.2.2 Measurements of investment property In many respects, for example, with the choice of measurements, the IAS 40 standard relating to investment property is similar to IAS 16. For example, in this case the choice is between: a) A fair value model, under which an investment property is measured, after initial measurement, at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss; or b) A cost model. The cost model is specified in IAS 16 and requires an investment property to be measured after initial measurement at depreciated cost (less any accumulated impairment losses). An entity that chooses the cost model discloses the fair value of its investment property. The definition of investment property is considered to be â€Å"property (land or a building—or part of a building—or both) held (by the owner or by the lessee under a finance lease) to earn rentals or for capital appreciation or both, rather than for: a. use in the production or supply of goods or services or for administrative purposes; or b. sale in the ordinary course of business.† (IASB 2008). It should be noted at this point that the fair value indicated within this IAS standard would incorporated the same revaluation process as was explained within the previous section regarding IAS. 3.3 Issues arising from IAS 16

Religion and advertising :: essays research papers

Advertising and Religion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anyone who seems to be in the business of promoting themselves or their product is turning to religion to gain a larger audience. Take the religion of Kaballah for instance, five years ago many of us would openly admit that we had never heard of the religion before. But now, thanks to the media many of us know Kaballah is the religion practiced by such celebrities as Madonna and Britney Spears. In all actuality Kaballah is a more spiritual branch of the Jewish religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many religions are now branching out and using the media to market their religion and sparking serious debates in the process. Many feel that it is slightly immoral for churches to use the media to market themselves in the mainstream. Some believe the religions should simply sell themselves, but not literally. As Americans we now see television commercials for churches and services on regular broadcast channels. Another fairly recent trend that we see are churches in strip malls or plazas. Next to our favorite outlet cigarette shop, local retail store, Bingo hall, or fast food chain there are churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Much of the advertising we see for religions is on a smaller scale and not so mainstream. The religion of Jehovah’s Witness often sends its members door-to-door to spread their word, give out information, in hope to maintain new members. Those of us who have been privileged with a visit know that they are early risers and like to travel in pairs, so as to take turns overwhelming us with spoken word and pamphlets. One of the largest trends of advertising that we have seen is the wearing of a cross. What used to be a symbol of ones’ beliefs and values has become a mere fashion accessory. In the world of celebrities and â€Å"bling-bling,† a word associated with the amount of visible jewelry shown, a platinum cross medallion adorned with diamonds and/or jewels is a sign of wealth and defines your degree of celebrity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However not everyone is into advertising religion in the mainstream. In January 2005 an article was published in USA Today about a conflict between Rolling Stone Magazine and Zondervan Bible, one of the largest Bible publishers over an ad targeted at â€Å"spiritually intrigued,† 18-to-34-year-olds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rolling Stone, which rejected the ad just weeks before its scheduled run date, cited an unwritten policy against accepting ads that contain religious messages. Executives for Zondervan say Rolling Stone was a key part of its $1 million campaign targeted at young adults.

Analysis of American History X Essay

In this assignment, I was challenged to find important historical and cultural connections of the film American History X and analyze the important rhetorical of my findings. I went about choosing American History X by placing a poll on Facebook listing out the films that I had any slight interest in considering for this assignment and American History X won by a landslide. I was actually somewhat disappointed, because I wanted to do The X-Files, but I chose to stick to my promise and go with whatever text won. I watched American History X some years after its release in 1998. Although, I know I must have watched it sometime after I got out of high school because at the time of its release I was 12 years old and with the amount of violence in that film I know I did not watch it with my parents. From the little memory I had of the film from the first time, I could only recall that American History X had a lot to do with white supremacy and racism, that Edward Norton played the lead ro le and that the kid who played in the first Terminator was his brother and was all grown up. I hesitated watching the film again for quite sometime because I knew I would need to dedicate a solid two hours of mental energy towards it. One could argue that I was merely just procrastinating; however, I benefitted from having done so because future class discussions provided a foundation for how I could study the film. After reading about and discussing in class the topic of approaching a text organically, I decided to implement that mentality and view the film as objectively as non-object individual can. It is difficult to say whether it was that approach that ultimately led to my findings in the film, or if I would have discovered them anyway since it was my second time viewing the film. Everyone can appreciate that after the second and third time of watching any film you begin to pick up on things you missed the first time. In either case, I found the movie to be incredibly eye opening and I enjoyed having to research the history surrounding the film and, ultimately, the state of the nation during what was my childhood. American History X is a film that depicts a traditional white family in the mid 1990s, but spot lights the two brothers’ journeys into maturity. The movie focuses on the older brother Derek, played by Edward Norton, and how Derek’s Neo-Nazi associations in his life greatly influence his younger brother Danny, played by Edward Furlong. Fueled by rage of his father’s death, the film opens with a scene of Derek brutally killing three young black men who were attempting to steal his father’s truck. Derek is then sent to prison for 3 years during which time his younger brother Danny begins to follow in Derek’s footsteps with the Neo-Nazi organization. The movie flips between black-and-white scenes of the past and color scenes of the present. The black-and-white flashbacks attempt to illuminate Danny’s perception of Derek’s past life while intermittently presenting how Derek overcame is his own hatred. The color scenes portray the present and highlight the effects the hatred has had on the entire family. Overall, the movie critiques on not only the effects of urban racism and bigotry, but a lso the how minds of young people are so impressionable. The film even succeeds in creating a sense of sympathy for characters that are typically hated, Neo-Nazi racist skinheads, and paints them not as foolish, uneducated racist bigots, but instead as misguided intelligent human beings. On the surface the film discusses racism, violence, and bigotry, but upon closer examination I found a deeper message within the film. Watching it a second time, I realized that this film is really emphasizing the lack of critical thinking skills in young people, particularly in teenagers and young adults and how impressionable their minds are. Then, upon further research related to those very topics it touches on in the film, I discovered that the entire movie itself actually harbors an obscure form of racism that was reflected in many movies throughout the 1990s. Needless to say, even in today’s society we deal with these same issues of racism and intolerance for other people’s beliefs. However, within the most recent years it has evolved to focus more on the gay, lesbian and transgender community. History certainly can be seen as repeating itself as many of the arguments that gays and lesbians make regarding their civil rights and discrimination almost mirror the same arguments made back in the 1960s during the civil right movement. Reverend Dr. Phil Snider made this connection so blatantly clear in his speech that went viral on YouTube that he gave before the Springfield City Council of Missouri just a few weeks ago. In his speech, Dr. Snider cleverly took quotes directly from speeches given by white preachers in favor of racial segregation in the 1950 and 1960s and merely substituted select words and inserted ‘gays and lesbians’ (â€Å"Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech†). I think the twist of his speech highlights the main issues regarding any form of racism and discrimination and they most certainly could be applied to the issues of racism that America faced in the 1990s. The 1990s was saturated with debates over, court cases involving and numerous media outlets centering on the issues of racism and affirmative action. In May of 1992, Newsweek printed an article entitled â€Å"The Crossroads of Shattered Dreams† that summarized the conflicts of racism in the early 90s stating, â€Å"white[s] charge that affirmative action is unfair†¦blacks respond that it was unfair for them to be starved of opportunities by 300 years of slavery and discrimination.† That same year, the verdict of Rodney King’s case outraged the black community and sparked riots lasting six days with over 2,000 people injured and 55 people killed (â€Å"Riots Erupt in Los Angeles†). In March of 1996, the three white law school candidates charged that they were unfairly discriminated against and rejected for entrance into the school for less qualified minorities in the famous case Hopwood v. Texas Law School (â€Å"Hopwood v. University Texas Law School †). Just prior to the release of American History X in 1998, California enacted Proposition 209, which amended the state’s constitution to ban preferential treatment of any persons based on race or gender in public sector education, employment, and contracting (Parker). All of these enormously impactful events and numerous others shaped much of the discrimination that occurred in the 1990s. In fact, sociological research confirms â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects† or predispositions â€Å"linked to social stereotypes and does not so much stem from individual prejudices† (Tomaskovic-Devey). Nevertheless, the culmination of these types of incidents led to a demand for Hollywood to â€Å"headline positive characters of color† (Hughey 549). Producers and directors felt pressure to make-up for their own history of racist filmmaking and, consequently, this also gave rise to the development of a veiled type of racism within films referred to by Hughey himself as the â€Å"cinethetic racism†(550). Cinethetic racism in the 1990s was typically found in films that have a black character whose purpose in the film is to support the white protagonist. Typically this black character, coined the â€Å"magical Negro† by Hughey, was portrayed as the voice of reason, or having some other type wisdom, within the film and who selflessly helps the white character achieve his goals. â€Å"These films rest on friendly, helpful, bend-over-backwards black characters that do not seek to change their own impoverished status, but instead exhibit a primordial, hard-wired desire to use their magical power to correct the wrongs in a white world† (Hughey 556). The concept expressed in this quote is clearly evident in the film American History X during the many scenes of Derek in prison working in the laundry room with Lamont, a friendly black prisoner who attempts to befriend him. Eventually Derek is able let down his guard and the future interactions between them usually consist of Lamo nt humorously explaining how things work within the prison. There is one scene, however, that does somewhat contradict this concept of a â€Å"magical Negro† and, instead, causes Derek to experience a form of guilt. This contradiction is depicted in the scene of Lamont and Derek working in the laundry room and Derek very genuinely asks Lamont why he is in prison. Lamont explains how he was sentenced for assault on a police officer because he accidently dropped a TV on the officer’s foot that he was trying to steal. Derek initially resists and jokingly asks Lamont to tell the truth, but Lamont insists that he did not assault the police officer and only dropped the TV on the officer’s foot. This is the pivotal moment within the movie that shows Derek’s guilt and sympathy for the first time towards a black person. I think this is the most important scene throughout the entire film because it gives the audience exactly what they want: they want to see Derek experience this epiphany and for him to recognize how he has perpetuated discrimination against black people. But it does not take very long for the film to revert right back into the traditional cinethetic racist ways. In Derek’s last interaction with Lamont, the audience learns that during Derek’s stay within prison Lamont was protecting him from further beatings and rape after Derek chose to no longer affiliate with the Neo-Nazis within the prison. That scene ultimately preserves the concept of the â€Å"magical Negro† and that black people have this underlying desire to serve to the needs of white people. I liken this idea of cinethetic racism to what actors refer to the subtext of a script. Normally, the subtext refers to the underlying motives of a particular character, but this concept of cinethetic racism is like the â€Å"subtext† of an entire film. â€Å"Of greatest critical concern is how [magical Negro] films advantageously shore up white supremacist and normative orders while ostensibly posturing as an irreverent challenge to them† (Hughey 553). On the surface it appears to be a film that tries to defeat racism, but ironically there are hidden agendas that completely go against the moral of this story. Just as magical Negros are a disguised form of racism found in American films in the 1990s, there were also disguised forms of racism going on politically throughout the nation, more specifically in California. During the 1990s, racism and civil rights disputes were approaching the heights they reached in the civil rights era of the 1960s. However, after many decades of affirmative action policies attempting to right the wrongs minorities faced and with California experiencing an economic downturn, many whites became less tolerant of minorities receiving preferential treatment through affirmative action programs (Alvarez). Now the whites are claiming they were discriminated against in a form of â€Å"reverse discrimination.† What I find so interesting about the idea of â€Å"reverse discrimination† is that it implies that discrimination only naturally goes in one direction: whites against minorities. And, furthermore, that there will always be a certain level of racism, as if to suggest that there is a threshold for which it is acceptable, but also that it is the responsibility of the majority, white people, to keep it in check. Yet the moment any form of racism or discrimination is felt against whites, it is completely intolerable and demands political action. It was the supporters of Proposition 209 that argued that current affirmative action programs led public employers and universities to reject applicants because of their race, and that Proposition 209 would â€Å"return [us] to the fundamentals of our democracy,† as summarized in an article capturing the main arguments of Proposition 209 entitled â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination.† With in the same article it preached, â€Å"let us not perpetuate the myth that ‘minorities’ and women cannot compete without special preferences†¦vote for fairness not favoritism.† The fairness of Proposition 209 has been hotly debatably ever since it was enacted in 1997, but I think the dinner scene with Derek and his father in American History X most succinctly sums up the mindset of the many supporters of Proposition 209. The scene opens with a dinner table conversation between Derek and his father about the material he is learning for his English class. His father than expresses his distaste for such material with the following monologue: â€Å"All this stuff about making everything equal†¦ it’s not as easy as it looks†¦you gotta trade in great books for black books now? You gotta question these things Derek. We are not just talking about books here, we’re talking about my job. I got two blacks guys on my squad now that got their jobs over a couple of white guys who actually scored higher on the test. Does that make sense? They got their job because they were black not because they were the best? America’s about if you do your best you get the job†¦not this affirmative blacktion crap†¦.it’s nigger bullshit.† This dinner scene perfectly exemplifies the concept that 1) the moment whites feel they are being discriminated they instantly raise the red flag and 2) that â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects [†¦] and does not so much stem from individual prejudices,† as I stated earlier. Another aspect that I find so interesting about American History X was how writer David McKenna was able to pull directly from real life situations to add dialogue into this screenplay. McKenna and Edward Norton actually rewrote a portion of the script quoting from Governor Pete Wilson’s speech advocating Proposition 209 in 1995 (Goldstein). More importantly, it was used in a scene where Derek is trying to energize a group of young skin heads before they vandalize a grocery store owned by minorities. I find it so ironic that the character of a racist Neo-Nazi was reciting actual words from a speech promoting the removal of affirmative actions polices that were, allegedly, intended to reduce discrimination and increase equality. When I discovered this tidbit of information I was completely blown away. I had no idea how closely this movie reflected real problems going on in society in the 1990s. McKenna’s use of Pete Wilson’s speech is clearly an example of art ref lecting reality, but Pete Wilson’s speech was not the only source from reality in which McKenna got his inspiration. McKenna grew up in Southern California, where the film story takes place, and personally witnessed bigotry and racism (Bruce). From his encounters and extensive research, McKenna decided that the point he tried â€Å"to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist†¦[McKenna] wanted an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost† (Bruce). Personally, I think McKenna succeeded in having that be the main message of the film: the impressionability of a young mind and that all behaviors are learned. The film simultaneously follows Derek’s upbringing and how he becomes involved in the Neo-Nazi organization and how his involvement with that group greatly influenced his younger brother Danny. The dinner scene I detailed above is the key scene from McKenna’s screenplay that supports the idea that racism is a learned behavior stemmed from outside organizational practices. However, despite how well received the movie was and the numerous nominations Edward Norton received for his performance, that is not the original message the director intended. Tony Kaye was the director of American History X and, ironically, he also turned out to be a major competing persuasive force throughout the entire film making process. Kaye battled with directors, producers, writer David McKenna and Edward Norton himself claiming that New Line Cinema never allowed him to create his vision of the film going as far as to take out full page ads in trade magazines bashing the film and even requested to have his name removed from the film entirely and replaced with the pseudonym â€Å"Humpy Dumpty† (Goldstein). In a statement made shortly after the film’s release, Kaye contended that Edward Norton edited a majority of the film in order to increase his screen time in the film and that the producers did not allow Kaye an â€Å"opportunity to present a black voice to provide depth and balance to the film† and furthered that he wanted the film to be an â€Å"homage to free speech and responsibility† (Leinberger). I think the main reason why Kaye’s original vision never made it to the film was because it clashed so much with McKenna’s original message. McKenna wrote the film based off of his personal experience witnessing acts of racisms in Southern California in throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Whereas, Kaye is not only much older than McKenna, but grew up in United Kingdom and had only been living in the United states for a few years before he got involved in the film at all, and, therefore, did not quite have the same outlook for the script (Topel). It should also be noted that this was Kaye’s first feature film and his previous directing experience came from extensive work with TV commercials and music videos (Goldstein). And while McKenna himself may not have been directly involved during the filming process, as most writers are not, I think Edward Norton and the producers all believed in and followed McKenna’s vision because of how much it related to the struggles that America was facing at that time. This is not to suggest that Kaye’s vision for the film was wrong, but that producers have to consider what the audience wants and expects to see. From studying American History X, I have learned how racism evolved in a very peculiar fashion. As racism, specifically towards black people, became less and less accepted by whites over the last 150 years, certain segments of society seemed to find ways to continue a small, but undeniable level of racism since it was no longer socially acceptable among the general population to outwardly express it with for instance, lynching. Racism and discrimination has certainly come a long way over the last sixty years, but it has definitely not been eradicated. In fact, some would argue that now whites are beginning to experience a type of â€Å"reverse discrimination† due unforeseen effects from affirmative action programs. In regards to American films however, one would have to sit down personally with directors and producers of 1990s films to determine if they intentionally created these magical Negro characters in order to perpetuate racism. Aside from the fact that it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever openly admit to that, I personally think that cinethetic racism and the magical Negro were just an unintended consequence of a fad that was going on throughout Hollywood at the time, the fad being to have black people portray certain qualities of wisdom and â€Å"magical powers† within films. In either case, it is very curious that a movie such as America History X meets the qualifications for cinethetic racism. In my opinion, for a film that was intended to enlighten the audience of the problem of racism in America, yet ultimately perpetuated a veiled version of it, could no more flawlessly fit into this concept of cinethetic racism. Also, the argument of whether or not reality reflects art or if art reflects reality is just as frustrating to argue as whether the chicken or the egg came first. But in the case for this film, I would contend that American History X, art, is reflecting reality. In fact, the notion behind cinethetic racism and the magical Negro tie in so neatly with the arguments for Proposition 209 and Gov. Pete Wilson’s speech that it is just uncanny. With a closer look into both, one can see that each share their own masked form of racism veiled as though whites are helping minorities. Art was imitating the subversive racism that was occurring in r eality. As an actor myself, I think it is unfortunate for director Tony Kaye that, for whatever reason, he was not able to get his original vision of the film produced. I think because of the numerous racially historical events that were occurring the 1990s that producing a movie which centered on the freedom of speech around racism as Kaye originally intended, was the last thing any audience wanted to watch in a theatre. All in all, I think film did a fabulous job highlighting historical events and attitudes going on throughout society during the 1990s, despite the fact that the film may be perpetuating racism at a subversive level. Works Cited American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. New Line Cinemas, 1998. Film. Alvarez, R. Michael, and Lisa G. Bedolla. â€Å"The Revolution Against Affirmative Action in California: Racism, Economics, and Proposition 209.† State Politics and Policy Quarterly 4.1 (2004): 1-17. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Bruce, David. â€Å"Racism in America=Hating Others.† American History X: A Hollywood Jesus Film Review. HollywoodJesus.com, n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Goldstein, Patrick. â€Å"Courting Trouble.† Edward Norton Information Page. N.p., 13 1998. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School†. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012 . Hughey, Matthew W. â€Å"White Redemption and Black Stereotypes in â€Å"Magical Negro† Films.† Social Problems 56.3 (2009): 543-77. www.jstor.org. University of California Press, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Leinberger, Gisela. â€Å"Film Director Tony Kaye Makes Statement at Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate; Director of ‘American History X’ Speaks to Film’s Issues.† PR News Wire. N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Parker, Beth H. â€Å"The Impact of Proposition 209 on Education, Employment and Contracting.† ERA: Prop 209 Impact. Equal Rights Advocates, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. . Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech. Perf. Rev. Dr. Phil Snider. Www.YouTube.com. YouTube, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by State and Other Public Entities. Initiative Constitutional Amendment..† California’s 1996 General Election Web Site! . N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Riots erupt in Los Angeles.† 2012. The History Channel website. Oct 21 2012 . Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, and Patricia Warren. â€Å"Explaining and Eliminating Racial Profiling.† Contexts. American Sociological Association, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Topel, Fred. â€Å"Interview with Lake of Fire Filmmaker Tony Kaye.† About.com Oct 21 2012. Whitaker, Mark. â€Å"A Crisis Of Shattered Dreams.† Newsweek. 5 1991: 1. Web. 19 Oct. 2012..

King Arthur Vs Zeus Essays - Mythology, Fiction, Religion

King Arthur Vs Zeus Essays - Mythology, Fiction, Religion King Arthur Vs Zeus Inside the compilation of mythical stories of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, retold by Roger Green, and Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths, two major characters in each story that could be expressed in similar and contrasting ways are Arthur, the king and head of the knights of the Round Table, and Zeus, the supreme leader of all gods and mortals. Similar resemblances that can be found in both is their shadowy lineage, their major mortal flaws, and their nature to journey on epic quests. Even though they were very similar in some aspects, the two were also very different in other means. Arthur is much more kind to his people and cares about them, while Zeus does not view his subjects as worthy of him and treats them unjustly. An additional difference is Arthur is more mild and not taking harsh action all the time, though Zeus is known for being severe. There are many similarities as well as differences that are attributed to these two mythical characters. Arthur and Zeus can be noted for their mysterious childhood and ways they were treated at infancy. Both had prophesies of prosperity that led them into adulthood. When Arthur was born, Uther Pendragon, the leader of the Britons, killed a man and married his wife, Igrayne. Uther and Igrayne had one child, but not much longer after it was born, Merlin the enchanter took him away. Soon after, the boy was placed in the arms of Sir Ector, a noble knight. Later, the youth pulled the sword out of a stone that proclaimed that he was the king of all Britain. This young man would later on grow up to be King Arthur. Not unlike Arthur, Zeus also had a unnatural background. Before Zeus was born, there was a prophecy that stated that Cronos, the king of all gods, would be overthrown by one of his sons. When Zeus was born, he was concealed from his father. As time went by, Zeus waged a war against Cronos and defeated him. Though Zeus and Arthur came from entirely different locations and times, thei r childhoods were related on account of both of them being hazy. Even though some might not consider either of the two mortal, Arthur and Zeus had very notable human-like flaws. They both seemed to rush to judgements hastily, and were very passionate towards women. When Arthur hears about King Pellinore and how he is shamelessly killing knights, Arthur runs off to fight. Obviously, Arthur does not give himself time to think, and would have died if it was not for Merlin. Another example would be when Arthur runs off to the Castle of Tarn Wathelyne and pays no heed to Sir Gawains warnings. King Arthur ends up being tricked by Morgana Le Fay and would perish save a horrid woman who forced Sir Gawain to marry her for King Arthurs life. Many times King Arthur would have been killed if it werent for his friends such as Merlin and Sir Gawain. Zeus showed the same characteristic even though it played no part in death for himself. The mighty god jumped to his feet and killed when he found out that Ascelpsius was curing mortals headed to the underworld. Lat er, Zeus regretted his act of terror and brought Ascelpsius back to life. Passionate feelings for other women, and desire for romance were huge faults in Arthur and Zeus. Arthurs feelings for Guinevere led to the downfall of the Logres. At first, when Arthur saw Guinevere, he immediately fell in love with her. Through carelessness and desire for romance, Arthur neglected Merlins advice of not marrying the queen. When Guinevere and Lancelot had an affair, a war started, and the realm was destroyed. In Zeus case, the gods are not affected by romantic affairs, but the mortals they make love with are affected. Zeus approached many different gods or mortals, even though he is already married to Hera. Hera occasionally followed Zeus, and punished the ones with whom he had affairs. The mythical figures Arthur and Zeus both have major moral flaws: rashness and crave for passion. King Arthur and Zeus are best known for their