Accounting information systems Annotated Bibliography

Accounting information systems - Annotated Bibliography Example This journal provides accounting information concerning the ability a company to perform based on the kind of data, software used and the kind of people that use this data in order to make informed decisions. The researchers of this journal use empirical data from small business enterprises in order to determine how an organization performs based on information fed on an accounting information system. For example, the researchers highlight that managers and other users like analysts, auditors, investors and consultants rely on financial information, there is need to use high quality software in order to make informed decisions. Furthermore, software programs can be built to be able to uniquely satisfy a company’s needs based on various factors like company size, complexity or sensitivity of financial information. Generally, the journal highlights that accounting information system software enables users to access reliable information in an effective manner. Interested readers can use this journal to acquire knowledge on the performance measures of an information system.

Microsoft Office Licensing Essay Example for Free

Microsoft Office Licensing Essay The 2007 Microsoft Office Suites can be purchase under different types of licenses according to the requirements of the purchaser. These different types of licensing are Retail or Full Package Product (FPP) licensing, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licensing, Volume licensing, and Academic and Academic-Volume licensing terms (Microsoft Office Suites, 2007). When the Office Suite is purchased from a retail outlet or downloaded from the network, it comes with a retail or FPP license. Retail licenses are comparatively expensive and come with shorter period of support from Microsoft. When the software is pre-installed in a newly-purchased computer system, it comes under OEM licensing. The OEM license is bounded with the machine and cannot be used in a different machine. The license loses its validity once the machine is non-functional or stops working. Microsoft volume licensing programs are tailored to meet the requirements of companies of different sizes starting from companies having as few as five desktops (Volume Licensing, 2007). The volume license programs offer increasing savings and other benefits with the increase in number of computer systems. Volume licenses are further classified into Open License, Select License, Enterprise Agreement and Enterprise Subscription Agreement. Microsoft Volume Licensing for educational institutions or Academic Licenses are available to educational institutions having requirements of at least five copies and mores. The academic licenses are offered at discounted prices. There are four types of academic licensing: Campus Agreement for higher educational institutions, School Agreements for K-12 schools and districts and pre-schools, Academic Open for academic institutions of any size and Academic Select for medium to large academic institutions (Education, 2007).

Immanuel Kants Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals Essays

Immanuel Kant's Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals In his publication, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant supplies his readers with a thesis that claims morality can be derived from the principle of the categorical imperative. The strongest argument to support his thesis is the difference between actions in accordance with duty and actions in accordance from duty. To setup his thesis, Kant first draws a distinction between empirical and â€Å"a priori† concepts. Empirical concepts are ideas we reach from our experiences in the world. On the other hand and in contrast, â€Å"a priori† concepts are ideas we reach as an end point of reasoning prior to or apart from any experience of how things occur in the world. Kant then claims that moral actions are supposed done for the reason of morality alone. This train of thought leads to the conclusion that an understanding of morality must be based on â€Å"a priori† concepts of reason. Truly moral ideas are then universally valid if and only if they are based on â€Å"a priori† concepts. From this idea of â€Å"a priori† concepts, Kant begins his thesis with the notion that the only thing in the world that is a qualified good is the â€Å"good will†, even if its efforts bring about a not necessarily good result. A â€Å"good will† is good because of the willing that is involved. Two main implications arise with this idea of the â€Å"good will†. The first implication is moral actions cannot have impure motivations. There are many impure motivations but Kant tends to focus mainly on the motives of the pursuit of happiness and self-preservation. Second, moral actions cannot be based on the speculations of the probable results. This action is not good in itself but good because it brought about a more desirable outcome. Thus, Kant arrives at the conclusion that for an action to be considered to have genuine moral worth its motive must be that of dutifulness to moral law. In Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant lays out three propositions about duty. The first is the will is a morally good action if it is done in accordance from duty, as opposed to an action done in accordance with duty. The second proposition is that actions are judged by the "maxim" or principle that was the motivation behind the action. If someone undertakes an action with the only motivation being that of a sense of duty, they are followin... ...viously that you will be more probable to engage and look to engage in more actions that will give you this appeal and instant gratification. This is not an ideal situation because placing a slight neglect to a duty or obligation that you might not find appeal in defeats the purpose of completing all of the obligations set for us to go through with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kant’s thesis has strength in the fact that the universal law seems closely related to the golden rule, which is do on to others as you would have others do on to you. With a statement as such it is awfully arduous to not perform a moral action. The weakness still lies in the fact Kant takes little to no consideration to humans’ natural emotions and feelings. Leading a moral life does not have to be a melancholy life, one in which you are bound to an endless amount of duties that you can seek no joy in. Whether or not Kant intended to make morality seem like torture, it appears it comes off in this manner. Kant’s overall view of morality appears near flawless. If there was a manner in which he could have incorporated a leeway for some emotions, I feel his thesis is in actuality how each individual should lead his or her life.

Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Language Study

It has its origins in the sass as a conscious reaction to Chomsky linguistics, tit its emphasis on formalistic syntactic analysis and its underlying assumption that language is independent from other forms of cognition. Increasingly, evidence was beginning to show that language is learned and processed much in the same way as other types of Information about the world, and that the same cognitive processes are Involved In language as are Involved In other forms of thinking.For example, In our everyday lives, we look at things from deferent angles, we get up close to them or further away and see them from different vantage points and with efferent levels of granularity; we assess the relative features of our environment and decide which are important and need to be attended to and which are less important and need to be backgrounder; we lump information together, perceive and create patterns in our environment, and look for these patterns in new environments when we encounter them.As we will see in this volume, all of these processes are at work in language too. The two key figures who are associated with the inception of Cognitive Linguistics are George Alaska and Ronald Linebacker. Both, t should be remembered, started their careers as members of a group of young scholars associated with the radical new approach spearheaded by NOAA Chomsky. By the sass, however, both Alaska and Linebacker were becoming increasingly disaffected with the formalistic approach to syntax associated with the Chomsky school.Both scholars turned their attention, Instead, to semantic Issues, which had been relatively neglected within the Chomsky framework. Alaska raised fundamental questions with regard to ‘objectivism' SE antics that is, theories which maintained that entente meaning maps onto objectively verifiable states of affairs in the world. He argued, instead, that semantic content is mediated by how speakers construe and conceptualize the world. An important aspect of co nstrual is how we categorize the things in our environment.Taking up the notion of prototype category developed by cognitive psychologist Eleanor Roach, Alaska argued that words do not name classically defined categories, that Is, categories constituted by a set of necessary and sufficient conditions. Rather, entitles can be good, or less good, members of a category. In a crucial and highly influential move, Alaska then proposed that the a syntactic construction, might also be analyses in terms of a central, prototypical member, and a number of extended, or more peripheral senses.A noteworthy milestone here is the dissertation by one of Alaska s students, Claudia Bergman, on the polymers of the preposition (Bergman, 1981). Bergman argued that t he ‘central', ‘prototypical' sense combines the meanings of ‘above' and ‘across', as in The bird flew over the yard . Extended senses, related in virtue of some common shared features, include the ‘above' sense , as in the electric is hovering over the hill, the ‘across' sense, as in Sam drove over the bridge , the ‘covering' sense She spread the tablecloth over the table, the dispersal sense, as in The guards were posted all over the hill , and several more.Bargeman's thesis (presented in Alaska 1987: Case Study 2) not only inspired a plethora of -studies, it also provided a template for polymers studies more generally. La Coffs second main contribution was to id entity a number of ‘conceptual metaphors' that underlie our abstract concepts and the way we think about the world and ourselves (Alaska and Johnson 1980, 1999).For example, one of the most important conceptual metaphors is the idea that ‘good' or ‘active' things are ‘up' whereas ‘bad' or ‘static' things are ‘down', which allows us to say that we're feeling IoW or having ‘down time', that things are or that that they are ‘up and going' . This metaphor was taken to r eflect our basic experience with the world that we have as children; when we fall over we feel bad; when we lie down we are stationary, when we get up we are active, and when we are feeling good, we literally ‘stand tall'.As discussed in a later chapter, conceptual metaphor theory has come in for a good agree of criticism in recent years and the theory has been refined to take account of empirical psycholinguistic findings as well as more socio-cultural approaches to language, but the basic tenets remain the same: language tends to reflect our physical interactions with the world and abstract concepts are linked to physical experiences through metaphor. Linebacker's contribution is perhaps more fundamental than Lassoes .His Cognitive Grammar (Linebacker 1987, 1991, 2008) offers a radical re-think of basic issues concerning the nature of linguistic meaning and its relation to the surface form of utterances. He proposed a ‘minimalist' approach, whereby the only elements in linguistic description are (a) phonological representations, concerning the overt form of an expression (whether spoken, written, or signed), (b) semantic representations, roughly, meanings, broadly understood to include pragmatic, situational, and encyclopedic aspects, and (c) symbolic relations between elements of (a) and elements of (b).On this basis, a language comes to be characterized, quite simply, as an inventory of phonological, semantic, and symbolic units, and language acquisition is a matter of a speaker's increasing command of these units. Importantly, the units differ along a number of dimensions. Thus some units are internally complex, while others are schematic to some degree or other.For example, the expression can-opener is internally complex, while the component unit can is an instance of the more schematic unit Noun, the whole expression being an instance of the complex schematic unit [N V- ere] and its associated semantics (roughly: ‘ a device that can be used for V- ins Ins'). The schematic unit can sanction an open-ended set of instantiations; in this way, Cognitive Grammar is bled to handle syntactic and morphological generalizations.It should also be noted that the unit has other semantic values (think of examples such as dog-lover , which denotes a person, not a thing, and , where the initial noun designates the place where a person dwells); in other words, the unit is polygamous, Just like the words of a language. The mechanics of Cognitive Grammar are discussed in more detail elsewhere in this volume. Three aspects, however, may be singled out for special mention here: The first concerns the way in which ‘grammaticality (or ‘acceptability- cognitive insists see little reason to distinguish the two concepts) is to be understood.Grammaticality, namely, has to do with the extent to which an expression is sanctioned, or legitimated, by an already existing schematic unit, or possibly by several such units, in the langu age; the fit, needless to say, need not be perfect, neither will different speakers of the language always assess the matter in the same way. * The second observation concerns the idea that syntactic organization is inherently symbolic and therefore meaningful, and that syntactic structures – Just like individual words ND morphemes associate a form and meaning.An early indicative study concerned the passive construction in English (Linebacker, 1982). Rather than being seen as the result of syntactic transformations, the construction and its various components, such as the verb be the verbal participle, and the by phrase, were argued to have semantic content, which contribute cumulatively to the semantic and pragmatic value of the passive construction. Thirdly, the Cognitive Grammar approach is sympathetic to the notion that linguistic knowledge, rather than residing in a small number of very road, high-level abstractions, may actually be rather low-level and ‘surface or iented', consisting in multiple memories of already encountered usage and relatively shallow generalizations over these remembered instances.In practical terms, this means that linguistic knowledge will tend to be centered on individual lexical items and their idiosyncratic properties, concerning the syntactic environments in which they occur and their stylistic or pragmatic values. Similarly, the representation of syntactic and word-formation constructions will incorporate knowledge of the lexical items which typically occur in hem, in addition, once again, to information about the kinds of situations in which they are likely to be used.Although it represents a radical departure in some ways from many established ideas in linguistics (such as the formerly widely held view that syntax, semantics and pragmatics were largely independent of one another), the principles underlying Cognitive Linguistics resonated with many traditional concerns one thinks of classics such as Gustavo Steer 's Meaning and Change of Meaning (1931), C. S. Lewdest Studies in Words (1960), and various works by Stephan Almsman (e. G. , Almsman, 1964)

African Music and Culture Creative Exploration

African music is developed largely by the civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa. Their traditions give emphasis to singing. This is because songs are used as means of communication.Many languages in Africa are â€Å"tone languages†.   Pitch level identifies meanings. Meanwhile, melodies and tempo of their songs go after the intonation and rhythms of the text of the songs. In general, African songs are in form of call-and-response, as if they are really talking. This shows the relationship between the music and linguistic in sub-Saharan Africa. (Genesis 1996-2006)One major effect of the Arab conquest in North Africa is in religious aspect. Islam proliferated immediately in that part of the continent. They were calling Muhammed, along with their god’s name Allah, five times in a day from thousands of towers near the mosque, which are called minarets. These minarets were spread in North Africa, South-Western Europe, and Western and Central Asia. But in other parts of Afric a, Islamization was quite a slow process. (Doi 1998)Africa is the birthplace of our habit of making music. The continent can be divided in five regions musically. North Africa has musical connection with the Arab and Islamic world. European colonization influenced music in West Africa.This region is known for classical and court music in sub-Saharan Africa. With their traditions, they preserved splendid musical heritage. (Africa 1996-2006)In Madagascar, generally, more metrical songs can be found on the coastline. Songs that are more soothing and slower are from the interior part of the place. In linguistics, it is quite mysterious.Their spoken language, Malagasy, is widely used in the country despite of the island’s large size and cultural diversity. In additional, Malagasy originated in Indonesia.   (WildMadagascar.org 2004-2006)After the resettlement of former African slaves, they got educational and job opportunities in urban areas. They engaged in cultural and scholarl y activities.They had published some newspapers and journals. They excelled in this field later. Examples of these successful Africans are Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet-novelist, and Claude McKay, a black poet and novelist who first attracted a large number of white audience. (AFRICANS-AMERICANS 2006)REFERENCES:Africa 2006. National Geographic Society 1996-2006 [cited September 9 2006]. Available from http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/region/content.region/africa_1AFRICANS-AMERICANS 2006. The History Channel website 2006 [cited September 9 2006]. Available from http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=200351.Doi, Prof. A. Rahman I. 2006. Islam and Africa. Dr. A. Zahoor 1998 [cited September 8 2006]. Available from http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/islafrica.htmGenesis, African. 2006. African People & Culture africaguide.com 1996-2006 [cited September 8 2006]. Available from http://www.africaguide.com/culture/music.htm.WildMadagascar.org. 2006 . Malagasy, the language of Madagascar Rhett Butler 2004-2006 [cited September 9 2006]. Available from http://www.wildmadagascar.org/people/malagasy.html   

Mt Saint Helans essays

Mt Saint Helans essays height: 2,549 meters or 8,364 feet - 9,677 feet before May 18, 1980 Number of eruptions in past 200 years: 2-3 Latest Eruptions: Between 1660-1700, around 1800-1802, 1831, 1835, 1842-1844, 1847-1854, 1857, 1980-? Present thermal activity: strong steaming Remarks: continuous intermittent activity since 1980 with occasional eruptions of steam and ash; occasional pyroclastic flows; intermittent dome forming. MSH is considered a young volcano that developed over the last 40,000 years and is one of the most active volcanoes in the Cascade Range. Geologists predicted that the volcano would erupt before the year 2000. The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount SH was the most destructive in the history of the United States. In a matter of hours, MSH caused loss of lives and widespread destruction of valuable property because of the avalanche, lateral blast and mudflows. On March 20, 1980, starting with an earthquake that was followed by many others, MSH became active again after a quiet period of 123 years. On March 27, 1980, there was a huge explosion and MSH began blowing ash and steam. This lasted until May 14, 1980. The explosion in March opened up two craters that quickly became one huge crater. While this was happening, an enormous bulge on the north side of the mountain top appeared. It grew about six feet each day. Geologist kept measuring the bulge, recording the earthquakes and sampling the ash and gases. By May, the bulge was 300 feet wide and more than one mile in length. On May 18 at 8:32 in the morning, Mount St.. Helens erupted taking the top 1,200 feet off the volcano. The eruption went on until nightfall. The area of destruction was 230 square miles and was one of the largest landslides ever recorded in history. The blast was preceded by two months of intense activity that included over 10,000 earthquakes, hundreds of small phreatic (steam blasts) , explosions and the north side bulge. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake bel...

Beowulf Research Paper Essays

Beowulf Research Paper Essays Beowulf Research Paper Essay Beowulf Research Paper Essay Essay Topic: Beowulf Im doing my three page research paper over Beowulf, the story of a warrior from ancient times when monsters, goblins, and demons still plagued the Earth that we live on still today. Beowulf was a tall tale told for many, years to children before they fell asleep at night. Its a story that has been around from 720-796 a. d. And hasnt gotten old yet, because it inspires people and tells people what real hero’ s are capable of and what theyre made of and the limits they can surpass all on their own will and strength. Beowulf isnt just a play, a movie, or a video game. ts also a poem that is considered to be the longest and most amazing poems in existence in Old English. It has been taken care of in the Cotton Vitellius A XV manuscript, in the British Museum, which was written around 1000 years ago scientists do believe. Scientists have not found a literary source for the amazing story of Beowulf. Many of the characters in Beowulf belong to the Germanic tradition of storytelling t hat has been shared throughout the years. The story of Beowulf, however, goes something along the lines of this.. Beowulf begins with a history of the great Danish King Scyld. King Hrothgar, Scyld’s great-grandson, is well loved by his people and successful in war. He builds a lavish hall, called Heorot, to house his vast army, and when the hall is finished, the Danish warriors gather under its roof to celebrate. Now Grendel is a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, and is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgars friends, family, and followers. He appears at the hall late one night and kills many of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years, the fear of Grendels fury and anger casts a shadow over the lives of the Hrothgar and his followers. Hrothgar and his followers cannot think of anything to calm the Grendels anger. Prince of the Geats, Beowulf, hears about Hrothgars trouble with the monster Grendel, puts together a band of warriors of the bravest Geat warriors he could find, and sets sail from his home in southern Sweden. The Geats are greeted by the members of Hrothgars court, and Beowulf boasts to the king of his previous battles won as a warrior, especially his success in fighting the monsters that once lived in the sea.. well until he killed them anyways. Hrothgar welcomes the arrival of all of the Geat warriors, hoping that Beowulf and his warrior friends will live up to the expectations that Hrothgar has for them. Because little did Beowulf know what he was up against this time around. On the same night that Beowulf and his warriors came, Grendel came in the pitch black of night and attacked! Beowulf, being the amazing and strong warrior that he is, bare handedly wrestled Grendel for his life and in the end Beowulf tore off Grendels arm and claimed it as a trophy of his glorious battle with Grendel. The wounded monster, knowing that it was time to retreat, hurried back to his watery hell of a swamp. As Hrothgar promised, for Beowulfs courage, bravery, and honor, Hrothgar gave Beowulf a great amount of treasure for his trouble and kindness. Little did Beowulf and his warriors know though that Grendel had a mother, and she was coming back with revenge. Grendels mother comes at night when all is quiet and all the warriors are sleeping, and she takes away with her one of Hrothgars followers in the dead of night. She also takes with her, her son’s claw that Beowulf had claimed from Grendel as a trophy. Beowulf, being the hero of this whole story, goes to track down this fierce beast. So Beowulf goes down deeper and deeper into the watery hell where Grendel once lived and his mother still lives, and he comes upon Grendels mother. Thank goodness that before Beowulf had lept into the sea his warrior friend gave him his sword, and he called it Hurnting. Once Beowulf found the mother the fighting began, after a horrible, epic battle Beowulf won, stabbing Grendels mother through the chest with a magical sward he had found on the wall, (blessed with strong magic from Giants, so huge and massive that no ordinary man could pick it up and hold it). Then, for good measure, Beowulf walks towards Grendels body and with his sward thats blessed with Giant magic, slices off Grendels head. After the fierce battle that he had won, Beowulf had to say goodbye to Hrothgar, but he goes home and tells his father of the great, epic journey he had taken. After the battle he had won Hrothgar had also presented Beowulf with more treasure than he has ever imagined. Beowulf had also told the Geats that if they are ever in rouble again or just need his help, that he will be there once again when they need him to be. That is the end of the first part of the story of Beowulf, the second part is about Beowulf when hes already been the king of the Geats for about 50 years and a guy steals a jewelled cup from a dragon and the dragon gets really mad and starts burning down everything in its path until it finds its cup. Then Beowulf becomes the hero once again and defeats the dragon. Though after the battle with the dragon, Beowulf dies and in his honor his best friend builds a tower for him and calls it â€Å"Beowulfs Tower†. Sites: beowulfepic. com/ http://csis. pace. edu/grendel/projf981e/story. html