Monday, December 30, 2019

Inventions and Inventors of the 18th Century

The 18th century, also referred to as the 1700s, marked the beginning of the first Industrial Revolution. Modern manufacturing began with steam engines replacing animal labor. The 18th century also saw the widespread replacement of manual labor by new inventions and machinery. The 18th century was also part of the The Age of Enlightenment,  a  historical period characterized by a shift away from traditional religious forms of authority  and a move towards science and rational thought. The effects of 18th-century enlightenment led to the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. The 18th century also saw the spread of capitalism  and the increased availability of printed materials. Here is a timeline of the major inventions of the 18th century.   1701 Jethro Tull invents the seed drill. 1709 Bartolomeo Cristofori invents the piano. 1711 Englishmen John Shore invents the tuning fork. 1712 Thomas Newcomen patents the atmospheric steam engine. 1717 Edmond Halley invents the diving bell. 1722 French C. Hopffer patents the fire extinguisher. 1724 Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the first mercury thermometer. 1733 John Kay invents the flying shuttle. 1745 E.G. von Kleist invents the Leyden jar, the first electrical capacitor. 1752 Benjamin Franklin invents the  lightning rod. 1755 Samuel Johnson publishes the first English language dictionary on April 15th after nine years of writing.   1757 John Campbell invents the  sextant. 1758 Dolland invents a chromatic lens. 1761 Englishmen John Harrison invents the navigational clock, or  marine chronometer,  for measuring longitude. 1764 James Hargreaves invents the  spinning jenny. 1767 Joseph Priestley  invents carbonated water, or  soda water. 1768 Richard Arkwright patents the  spinning frame. 1769 James Watt  invents an improved steam engine. 1774 Georges Louis Lesage patents the electric telegraph. 1775 Alexander Cummings invents the  flush toilet.Jacques Perrier invents a steamship. 1776 David Bushnell  invents a submarine. 1779 Samuel Crompton  invents the  spinning mule. 1780 Benjamin Franklin invents  bifocal eyeglasses.Gervinus of Germany invents the circular saw. 1783 Louis Sebastien  demonstrates the first parachute.Benjamin Hanks patents the self-winding clock.The  Montgolfier brothers  invent the hot-air balloon.Englishmen  Henry Cort invents the steel roller for steel production. 1784 Andrew Meikle invents the threshing machine.Joseph Bramah  invents the safety lock. 1785 Edmund Cartwright invents the  power loom.Claude Berthollet invents chemical bleaching.Charles Augustus Coulomb invents the torsion balance.Jean Pierre Blanchard  invents a working parachute. 1786 John Fitch  invents the  steamboat. 1789 The  guillotine  is invented. 1790 The United States issued its first patent to William Pollard of Philadelphia for a machine that roves and spins cotton. 1791 John Barber invents the gas turbine.Early bicycles are invented in Scotland. 1792 William Murdoch invents  gas lighting.The first  ambulance  arrives. 1794 Eli Whitney  patents the cotton gin.Welshmen  Philip Vaughan invents ball bearings. 1795 Francois Appert invents the preserving jar of food. 1796 Edward Jenner develops the  vaccination  for smallpox. 1797 Amos Whittemore patents a carding machine.A British inventor named Henry Maudslay invents the first metal or precision lathe. 1798 The first soft drink is invented.Aloys Senefelder invents lithography. 1799 Alessandro Volta  invents the battery.Louis Robert invents the Fourdrinier Machine for sheet papermaking.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

President Obamas Child Farm Labor Bill - 1086 Words

President Obama wanted to pass a bill that would prevent young farm workers from participating in farm-related activities and chores. Billed as an anti-child labor act, the bill was quickly censured. As Leven puts it, the proposal drew heavy criticism from rural-state lawmakers and agricultural leaders, who cast the rule as government overreach that would erode the traditional American family. The traditional American family in this case is a rural one, which is an under-represented segment of the population in federal politics. In addition to the way the bill harms traditional rural life, it would also have significantly harmed the American economy at a time when the economy needs a boost. Farm families rely on a continuity of labor, so that the young people on the family can learn the trade as early as possible to support their future careers. Moreover, the bill represents an unnecessary encroachment of both the government and big labor on farming practices. Part of the bills provi sion was to create a government intervention to oversee occupational safety, when there are already independent organizations committed to meeting the same objectives. President Obamas proposed child farm labor bill was untenable because it would damage traditional rural family life; harm a significant part of the American economy; and enable government and big labor to intrude upon the lives of Americans. President Obamas child farm labor bill would apply child labor laws to childrenShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of National Relations Labor Act ( Nlra ) And The Fair Labor Standards Act1181 Words   |  5 PagesLabor Legislation in the 20th Century Much of what we know about the improvements in the workforce came from 20th century advancements with the workforce that we know today. Important developments came in the form of methodology and data collection efforts. The 20th century was a remarkable period for the American workers. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Gay and Lesbian Theater Free Essays

â€Å"Gay and Lesbian Theater† Gay and Lesbian themes were introduced into the theater before the 1960s. Long before homosexual characters were seen in American plays on a regular basis, there were isolated incidents when a gay or lesbian appeared in the plot; they were called freaks when doing so. Many people were often offended by homosexuality. We will write a custom essay sample on Gay and Lesbian Theater or any similar topic only for you Order Now Cross dressing was used in performances that raised concerns about sexual and gender roles: men dressed in drag and women wore men clothing. Festivals were used to educate and entertain audiences. The theater festival was introduced to spread awareness on issues, themes, and problems that deals with gay and lesbian lifestyles in the theater. Edward Albee, William Inge, and Tennessee Williams all introduced works in the mainstream. The mainstream theatre is embracing theatre with Gay and Lesbian themes. Sometimes the move forward is furiously examined by Gays and Lesbians, like for the various performances of straight Vivienne Laxdal ‘s Karla and Grif. Many gays and lesbians found it offensive for its stereotypical lesbian characters and others found it refreshing for its depiction of the fluidity of sexuality. Other works such as The Boys in the Band has been successful at bringing out this sexuality. In 1980 a play as such was proven to be enjoyable and considered a new kind of play. Dealing with issues of gays is being expressed more often. In certain dramas, lifestyles of gays and lesbians were forthrightly presented. A sense of urgency was engendered by the AIDS crisis and gay rights as another concerned issue. Viewing a play like this myself tells me that it’s very true. Many people came out to see La Cage Aux Folles when I believed it would not be interesting or crowded. Other people know if actors are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but few people would disagree that the theater world is friendly toward a variety of nonconformist than most professional fields. Same-sex love has been associated with acting for over 2000 years in the west during Roman times. It has been said that these types of relationships are accepted in this type of profession because it’s considered the least respectful environment. Viewers are less likely to accept same-sex lovers than the company who hires them. The text stated that gay, lesbian, and bisexual actors support the Queer Theory considers the â€Å"performative† nature of gender: the idea that gender â€Å"identity† is actually nothing more than a â€Å"role† actor learns to do what’s necessary. Actors may be more skilled at their role with this type of experiment and not be judged by society, if that statement is true. Living double lives in the theater wasn’t very hard to do. Publicist often manipulated the media making easier for actors to do so. Actors such as Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, and Randolph Scott lived these constricted lives. The text stated that 29 percent of Americans would be â€Å"less interested† in seeing their favorite actor perform in a movie or TV show if they learned that he or she was â€Å"gay† in 1995. Many actors who were gay often didn’t want their named linked to anything they choose to provide to the media. Gay and lesbian actors are more seen in films and on stage a lot more today. Sexuality is still a question rather it should be should treated as heterosexuals would still remains. You can enjoy an ordinary film the same you would a film with homosexuals. As I stated early I’ve viewed a play with men dressed in drag as well as men dating women in a play. Their acting skills are just the same. Who or how they choose to live their personal lives doesn’t affect their acting skills. Some viewers still don’t agree with it along with critic but it’s amongst our society within all cultures. Bibliography Hischak, Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. â€Å"Gay and Lesbian Theatre in America. † 2004. The Oxford Companion to America Theater. 20 April 2010 ;http://www. encyclopedia. com;. ;. Hudson, Steve Hogan and Lee. Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia. Markham: Henry Holt and Company Inc. , 1998. Wilson, Edwin. The Theatre Experience. 11th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. How to cite Gay and Lesbian Theater, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Case Study Analysis of Volkswagen - Free Assignment Sample

Question: Discuss about theCase Study Analysis Of Volkswagen. Answer: Possible Accounting Issues Faced by Volkswagen: The engine related scandal in relation of Volkswagen (VW) has major impacts on the accounting and financial reporting of the company. Accounting issues refer to the problems faced by a company in respect of its accounting practices that can even be highlighted in the auditors statement (Cucchiella et al. 2015). The engine scandal that came into light about VW has resulted in allocation of additional costs by the company to deal with the legal claims made by EPA. This allocation of additional funds requires separate accounting treatment by the company. Here, it is vital to understand if the company needs to show this additional costs in the income statement as a loss from business operations or in the form of administrative expenses or operational expenses. However, if the amounts are shown as an administrative or operational expenses then question can be raised as these payments are not recurring in nature. Similarly, unless the allocated expenses results in the outflow of cash it wo uld not be shown in the cash flow statement (Kothari and Lester, 2012). In addition, allocation of such funds needs to be spread over the entire period proportionately in which it is used. Other accounting issues could involve provision for doubtful debts on debtors because the spread of the information in the market might make dealers of VW hesitant to make payment due to high chances of poor sales in the coming years (El Kasmioui and Ceulemans, 2013). Other issues include probable high inventory level due to product recall. All these aspects might actually affect the profitability and financial position of VW. Adherence to International Financial Regulatory Standards (IFRS) could become difficult as well (Zhuang and Luo, 2015). This can be explained by the complexities involving the nature of transactions indulged in by VW as a result of the scandal affecting it for the past couple of years. Impact of the Scandal on Stakeholders: Stakeholders refer to the parties holding certain interests and powers in a particular company (Wang, 2014). A company operates with the cooperation of all these stakeholders. Therefore, it is the responsibility of a company meet the expectations of stakeholders. In current scenario, the major stakeholders of VW are shareholders, creditors, suppliers, employees and customers. These stakeholders are affected by the decision making of VW and the scandal taken place recently. On the other hand, Joshi et al. (2013) mentioned that analyzing the impact of a decision on the stakeholders is the best way of ensuring that the stakeholders can be satisfied. Focus on short-term gains seems to be the main factor behind VW engaging in providing unethical software in engines to pass environmental tests in a fraudulent manner. On the other hand, the strategy of the company to recall a large number of vehicles seems to be following Toyotas strategy earlier. On the other hand, VW seems to be regaining the trust of the customers and show that it cares for the customers and other stakeholders. The impact of the scandal on each of the above mentioned stakeholders are discussed here. Shareholders are those people who have invested money in a company to get suitable returns from there. Shareholders provide the required capital to a company. Thus, no need to say that the shareholders of a company holds immense power and strong interest in a company because the decision making of a company impacts the wealth of shareholders. Shareholders are mainly concerned with Earnings per Share (EPS), dividend payouts and others. The scandal of VW and actions taken by the company has badly affected its financial performance which would further have a negative impact on the shareholders. On the other hand, creditors are the providers of debt capital to a company. As mentioned by Doucette et al. (2012), creditors expect timely payment, bulk orders and long-term business contracts with firms. However, in the current scenario, the operations and financial position of VW has experienced a setbac k through additional costs to deal with the scandal and recall of a large number of vehicles. This might lower the purchase requirements of the company which would affect the suppliers. Similarly, weak cash flow position of VW can result in increase in the payment period to creditors (Stubbs et al. 2013). Good quality products is the principle expectation of customers and that customers hold considerable power to VW as customers are the source of direct revenue generation. In present context, VW has failed to keep with the trust of the customers. This can also cause customers to switch over to other brands. Thus, the customers of VW have been badly affected by the software related manipulation in the VW cars. In the view of Kraft (2014), no company can think of delivering excellent services to the customers without considering the employees as workforce is one of the greatest resource to any organization. Good salary increment, bonuses and job promotion are some of the common expect ations of employees. The employees of VW have also been badly affected by the scandal and decision taken by the company as the same might have a negative impact on their performance appraisal. There are various theories that might be applicable to VW considering the given scenario. The major theories are stakeholder theory, RBV theory and process theory. Stakeholder theory deals with the problems that an organization faces in respect of managing its stakeholders. Stakeholder theory suggest that it is one of the principle responsibilities of an organization to meet the expectations of the stakeholders (Palea and Maino, 2013). However, an organization may also face certain challenges in this regard, agency conflict being the most common one. Resource Based View (RBV) theory deals with the resources or assets held by an organization. RBV theory states that an organization needs to identify its most valuable assets and work on using the same to increase its competitive advantage over the rivals in the market. As per the RBV theory, organizations need to conduct Valuable Rare Inimitable and Non-substitutable (VRIN) analysis to identify assets which are increasing its competitiv e advantage over the rivals (Rensburg and Botha, 2014). An organization should hold only those assets and dispose-off the ones which does not meet any criteria. On the other hand, process theory could be yet another interesting theory in context of the scandal of VW. Process theory of management lays stress on the decision making process rather than the decision itself. As mentioned by Peters (2009), process theory holds that if the decision making process is appropriate then the concerned decision would also be appropriate. This theory could help in understanding and evaluating the decision making process of VW in regards to the scandal. However, after discussing the above theories, the stakeholder theory seems to be most appropriate to the current situation as the same could help VW in managing the different needs, perceptions and interests of various stakeholders. This can also be justified by the fact that VW is facing good will risk, loss of reputation, fall in brand equity and similar other issues as a result of the scandal. Therefore, stakeholder theory could help the company in resolving the issues currently faced by it. In addition, application of stakeholder theory could also help the organization in addressing the concerns of its stakeholders and regain the confidence of the stakeholders on the company. As per the accounting theories, VW can show the additional costs incurred in connection with dealing the scandal over a long period of time. This could help in protecting the company from serious losses in the current years which could be tough to recover in future. Spreading the costs over couple of years would reduce the burden on profit margin of the company. On the other hand, there is a strong chance that the EPA might impose some high penalties on the company. This needs due consideration as per the doctrine of conservatism which suggests that a company should not recognize anticipated profits but should account for anticipated losses. Hence, it is advisable for VW to create a provision against potential penalties that might be charged by the EPA. Creating such fund could help the company in saving the cash flow position in the year in which such penalties are made. Reference List: Cucchiella, F., DAdamo, I. and Gastaldi, M., 2015. Financial analysis for investment and policy decisions in the renewable energy sector.Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy,17(4), pp. 887-904. Doucette, W.R., McDonough, R.P., Mormann, M.M., Vaschevici, R., Urmie, J.M. and Patterson, B.J., 2012. Three-year financial analysis of pharmacy services at an independent community pharmacy.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association,52(2), pp. 181-187. El Kasmioui, O. and Ceulemans, R., 2013. Financial analysis of the cultivation of short rotation woody crops for bioenergy in Belgium: barriers and opportunities.BioEnergy Research,6(1), pp. 336-350. Joshi, M., Cahill, D., Sidhu, J. and Kansal, M., 2013. Intellectual capital and financial performance: an evaluation of the Australian financial sector.Journal of intellectual capital,14(2), pp.264-285. Kothari, S.P. and Lester, R., 2012. The role of accounting in the financial crisis: Lessons for the future.Accounting Horizons,26(2), pp.335-351. Kraft, P., 2014. Rating agency adjustments to GAAP financial statements and their effect on ratings and credit spreads.The Accounting Review,90(2), pp.641-674. Palea, V. and Maino, R., 2013. Private equity fair value measurement: a critical perspective on IFRS 13.Australian Accounting Review,23(3), pp.264-278. Peters, G., 2009. Fixing the financial system.Business Strategy Review, 20(3), pp. 12-17. Rensburg, R. and Botha, E., 2014. Is Integrated Reporting the silver bullet of financial communication? A stakeholder perspective from South Africa.Public Relations Review,40(2), pp.144-152. Stubbs, W., Higgins, C. and Milne, M., 2013. Why do companies not produce sustainability reports?.Business strategy and the environment,22(7), pp.456-470. Wang, C., 2014. Accounting standards harmonization and financial statement comparability: Evidence from transnational information transfer.Journal of Accounting Research,52(4), pp.955-992. Zhuang, X. and Luo, Y., 2015. Relevance between the degree of industrial competition and fair value information: Study on the listed companies in China.Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management,8(3), p.894.