Ethics in Accounting Essays - Economy, Business, Accounting Scandals

Ethics in Accounting Assessing the Role of Ethics in, and the Impact of Recent Issues on, the Practice of Accounting : An Analysis of Unethical and Illegal Practices Leading to the Downfall of Corporations and Companies By: October 12, 2016 BAF3M Unit 19 & 20 (Accounting Careers and Ethics) Mrs. Hruska Ethics in Accounting An Analysis of Unethical and Illegal Practices Leading to the Downfall of Corporations and Companies The two main jobs of an accountant are to classify and record financial information and to provide useful financial information to assist in decision-making. This information is used by people around the world to make decisions that affect both the company the accountant works for and the person that makes the decisions in the first place. Through the accounting system, it is possible for an accountant or company to purposely change or fake information which could lead to a profit for the company. This practice is both illegal and unethical. In the past 20 years, numerous corporations and companies have been caught by auditors, almost always leading to the bankruptcy of said corporation/company. I will analyze the actions of ENRON, Adelphia Communications, and WorldCom that, in the end, caused significant losses or bankruptcy. Finally, I will discuss possible solutions for these problems, small steps businesses can take to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Enron was an American energy company founded in 1985. It was one of the biggest energy companies ever, claiming to have over 100 billion dollars of revenue. In 2001 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong? Well it turns out that Enron was actually hiding billions of dollars in debt in off-the-balance-sheet accounts, accounts that don't need to be shown on the balance sheet. The executives at Enron \"cooked the books\", using loopholes in accounting and poor financial records which eventually lead to the public noticing. In 5 months Enron's stock fell from $90 to $1 and soon after Enron was bankrupt. This caused thousands of people their jobs. The government learned from this and new laws were put in place to make a second Enron scandal more difficult. Adelphia Communications was a cable television company in Pennsylvania. Founded by John Rigas in 1952, it quickly became the fifth largest cable company in all of the United States. Overtime Rigas ' family started other businesses such as the Family-Owned farm, an interior design shop, and a private car dealership. In 2002, John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in jail at the age of 78 for multiple accounts of fraud including violation of the RICO act, waste of corporate assets, breach of contract, conversion of corporate assets, among others. Soon after, Adelphia went bankrupt. Rigas transferred 2.3 billion dollars in funds from the company to himself. These were made through journal entries that gave Adelphia more debt and the Rigases millions of dollars of cash or other assets at no cost at all. By manipulating the books to meet expectations of auditors, analysts and investors he was also able to inflate the stock price or the company. Revenues from Adelphia were taken from the company and used for the family's personal expenses. Rigas also used the previously mentioned other companies to make fake transactions to his smaller companies that would then go directly to his personal account. For example, Rigas used his car dealership to \"lease\" vehicles to Adelphia at an inflated price; m ost of the time Adelphia wouldn't even receive the vehicles. On a balance sheet or income statement , the transaction would look fine , perfectly legal and ethical. However, this transaction was just a method to transfer money from the company to the Rigas family and avoid detection from auditors. Even after all this, Rigas still wanted more money so he would journalize transactions with fake companies . Thereby keeping the accounts in balance ; t aking the money going to the fake companies for himself. During the 1980's, when the telecommunications industry was rising, WorldCom was founded and the corporation steadily increased in size, mainly because of the demand. However, in 2000, WorldCom (and its stock) suffered great losses when its proposed merger with Sprint was denied. To stop further losses CEO Bernard Ebbers decided to \"enhance

China and Argentina Natural Resources Essay

China and Argentina Natural Resources Essay China and Argentina Natural Resources Analysis Essay Example China and Argentina Natural Resources Analysis Essay Example China and Argentina: Beyond the Quest for Natural Resources The relationship between China and Argentina is referred to as Sino-Argentine relations. This relationship was initially difficult to establish due to Argentina’s close proximity to the Unites States and the U.S sphere of influence. Furthermore, Argentina considered China as an unfriendly country due to its Beijing Communist regime. However, the two nations managed to overcome the difficulties mentioned and have established a bilateral relationship, which has blossomed over the years. Consequently, this bilateral relationship has formed a basis for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between the two nations (Yongnian 34). In addition, this bilateral relationship has witnessed the development and cooperation in various sectors such as agriculture, trade, politics, military, cultural and technological sectors. The most significant reason behind this deepened relationship is China’s economic development, which has grown over time to become one of the world’s lar gest economies. Therefore, the relationship between these two countries is one of integral strategic significance. The states mainly cooperate in areas such as migration, investment, trade, military sphere, science and education, culture and politics. In addition, the nations enjoy close ties in international conferences and organizations. This paper highlights the historical events in the relationship between China and Argentina and critically analyses them. The Major Historical Events between China and Argentina The 1972 Agreement on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations As mentioned above, in the beginning, Argentina was very hesitant about establishing relations with China due to its Beijing communist policy. However, later on Argentina realized the advantages it could receive as a country if it established diplomatic relations with the Asian giant. As a result, the two nations started making plans to achieve this goal (Bell 56). The need to establish political relations between the two states was fuelled by their need for adequate diversity of external links. In addition, both China and Argentina shared similar ideologies in various international forums. Their political relationship was necessary for the purpose of economic growth of both nations. Before 1972, there were a few diplomatic relations between China and Argentina. In 1945, the Latin American and Asian giant entered into initial negotiations aimed at establishing diplomatic ties between them (Wouters, Defraigne, and Burnay 40). However, these negotiated diplomatic ties were not very active while there were not many diplomatic exchanges taking place between them. Despite this fact, 1972 marked the most significant change in China-Argentina diplomatic relations (Brown 27). This is the year when full diplomatic relations were established between the two states. It happened during the China-Argentina negotiations for normalization of diplomatic relations, which took place in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Following the summit meeting between the leaders of China and Argentina in Bucharest, a joint communiquà © by the two countries was held. It was announced that the two governments had signed an agreement to set up diplomatic relations. From the time this announcement was made, the diplomatic ties between the two nations continued to expand, and the states fortified their overall relations. For instance, the political, economic, and cultural ties between China and Argentina have grown rapidly since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972 (Womack 71). Analysis The new diplomatic relations represented the first landmark in bilateral relations between the two countries. In a move to obtain diplomatic representation of Argentina in China, the Latin American country opened its embassy in Beijing, China’s capital. In addition, to further solidify its diplomatic ties with its Asian partner, Argentina opened a consulate-general in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai (Edwards 85). The establishment of the embassy and the consulate has been very crucial in shaping the present immigration relationship between China and Argentina. At present, Chinese immigrants are the main Asian immigrants to Argentina. Similarly, this diplomatic relations between China and Argentina played a significant role in the establishment of close political ties between the two countries despite their differences in ideological views. These diplomatic ties enabled the two countries to provide support to each other in international forums. For instance, in 1982 China supported Argentina in the Malvinas/Falklands war when it abstained from voting in the United Nations Security Council (Ellis 60). Similarly, Argentina returned the favor by refusing to join the other western countries in imposing sanctions against China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Lastly, the existence of diplomatic ties has enabled the smooth development of bilateral trade between China and Argentina. There has been an increase in trade activities between Argentina and the Asian giant, a key factor to the economic growth experienced between the two trading partners (Williams 75). One of the reasons behind this deepening economic relationship is better negotiating conditions, which facilitated reaching an understanding between the two economies. Today, Argentina is one of the major trading partners of China in Latin America. With regard to China and Argentina’s diplomatic ties, I think that the main connecting factor between these two countries is the mutual economic benefits. This is supported by the fact that a large percentage of bilateral agreements signed between the two countries mainly consist of trade agreements (Brown 72). Moreover, the two economies are constantly trying to discover new ways of improving and increasing their bilateral trade ties. The Historical Signing of China and Argentina’s First Trade Agreement Before the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972, the trade between the Latin American and Asian giant had been developing at a slow rate (Hearn and Leon-Manriquez 78). The absence of diplomatic dealings between the two countries was the major obstacle to the development of economic ties as well. As a result, there were very few trade and investment ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires. This was mainly due to the lack of proper trade mechanisms to provide guidance to trade activities between the two nations. With the lack of clear means to control trade activities between them, trade was therefore forced to grow at a snail’s pace. The trade between China and Argentina continued at a slow pace. However, this slow evolution of trade between Argentina and China advanced considerably when the Chinese and Argentine governments entered into negotiations with the aim to improve their trade and investment relationship. These negotiations between the two countries were successful and consequently resulted in the signing of the first bilateral trade agreement between the Government of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Government of Republic of Argentina in 1977 (Williams 84). Analysis The signing of the first trade agreement between China and Argentina was significant in establishing bilateral trade ties between the two nations. This trade agreement created mutual beneficial economic ties between the two states. Since then, there has been smooth development of bilateral trade ties between the two countries. These bilateral trade ties have reached unprecedented new horizons over time, and today China has become Argentina’s third largest trading partner after South America and the European Union. The two trading partners continuously sign additional trade deals with one another, leading to the growth of the bilateral trade volume. For instance, by 2011 the Chinese and Argentine trade volume rose to $17 billion (Jilberto and Hogenboom 78). To further reinforce economic ties and promote the growth and development of trade with China, Argentina set a trade promotion center in Shanghai in 2000 (Brown 67). The two nations export and import various products between their borders. The export structure from Argentina to China is strongly concentrated on soy products, more explicitly on soy oil and soy beans. Soy beans and soybean oil make up about 76 percent of total exports from the Latin America country to China (U.S. International Trade Commission 45). The other products exported to China from Argentina mainly consist of agro-industrial products. Finally, various bilateral trade agreements signed between China and Argentina are the main reason behind the skyrocketing investment ties between the two countries. They set up various investment enterprises, which played a crucial role in the economic development of both countries. For instance, by the end of 2002, about 28 Chinese-invested enterprises had been registered in Argentina (Schirokauer and Brown 22). These enterprises are mainly involved in economic activities such as processing and production, exploitation of resources, agriculture and fishery. By 2014 the bilateral trade agreements between the two countries had evolved to include investment in hydroelectric power, railway and ship building. In my opinion, the signing of the first trade agreement between China and Argentina was the key factor that opened up trade between them. Without this trade agreement, the economic relationship between the two countries would not have developed to the extent it is today. Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla’s Historical Visit to China In 1980, Argentina’s President Jorge Rafael Videla paid an official visit to China. It was the first Argentinean official presidential visit to China (Kavalski 87). The visit played a momentous role in the expansion of bilateral relations between China and Argentina. The President’s five day visit to Beijing included official talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss various matters concerning their diplomatic relations. During these official talks the heads of the states discussed the importance of the need to improve their economic partnership. In addition, President Videla commended China’s people in their efforts to safeguard their sovereignty and develop their economy. The heads of the states signed a comprehensive agreement involving trade, culture and financial cooperation. Since then, China and Argentina have had frequent mutual visits. For instance, since the 1990s, there have been about 50 official visits by government representatives from China and Argentina (Locatelli 90). Analysis President Videla’s state visit to China was historical because it was the first official visit by the Argentina’s President to China. It was an indicator of development of bilateral cooperation between Argentina and China. More specifically, the visit had a great bearing on the expansion of trade between the two countries. Subsequently, after this historical visit the Chinese and Argentine economic relationship underwent rapid development within a short period of time. Consequently, the two economies started to sign various strings of bilateral trade agreements aimed at increasing their economic collaboration (Schirokauer and Brown 45). The two countries had just discovered the fundamental trade benefits for both of them. Since the discovery of the potential mutual benefits that the Chinese and Argentine economic cooperation could provide, the two countries put additional efforts towards the expansion of trade between them. Thus, they tried to find ways to elevate their bilateral trade ties to a new level. They did this by increasing their collaboration in the fields such as fishing, agriculture, mining, animal husbandry and the processing of wine. By exploring these new fields, the two economies were able to enter into various new bilateral trade deals with each other (Yongnian 89). The strong China-Argentina economic collaboration had officially been inaugurated by this entry into new economic fields. Overall, China and Argentina continued to enjoy numerous benefits brought about by their continuously evolving trade partnership over the years. Their bilateral trade relationship has advanced into a variety of new phases over a long period of time. At the moment, the investment and trade ties between China and Argentina have expanded to almost all sectors of economy. In my opinion, President Videla’s visit to the Asian country was a step made by Argentina to obtain China’s favor in terms of trade. It was obvious that Argentina needed China more since its economy was struggling while China was developing into an economic giant at a rapid pace. His visit was therefore aimed at strengthening the economic ties between them for Argentina’s benefit. Chinese President Yang Shangkun’s State Visit to Argentina In 1990, President Yang Shankun visited Argentina at President Carlos Saul Menem’s invitation (Wouters, Defraigne, and Burnay 56). The two presidents held talks in Buenos Aires and signed an agreement to carry out cultural exchanges between their countries. These cultural exchanges have greatly expanded over time to include fields such as art, sports, education, science and technology, and the media. In addition, the two governments signed an agreement on promotion and establishment of joint ventures and political consultation mechanism between them. This agreement resulted in political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two states. Analysis President Yang Shangkun’s state visit to Argentina in 1990 played a considerable role in the integration of Chinese and Argentine culture (Brown 44). The joint efforts of the two sides have greatly expanded cultural interactions. China-Argentine culture has grown to incorporate such fields as art, science and technology, education, film and TV programs. China and Argentina have held several cultural activities to promote each other’s culture. For instance, in October 2000, China held the Beijing Culture Week in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Similarly, Argentina held the Buenos Aires Culture Week in China the following year. Currently, the Chinese culture has grown to become a large part of the modern Argentine culture. For example, the development of a relatively small Chinatown in Buenos Aires is a clear indication of the increased Chinese-Argentine presence. Furthermore, the presence of the Chinese culture has been intensified by the increased use of Mandarin Chinese language (Hearn and Leon-Manriquez 90). A lot of Argentineans study Chinese because of the growing Chinese market and diplomacy in Argentina and around the world. Overall, China-Argentina cultural integration has already been lined into their culture and continues to increase, further bringing the two nations closer. In addition, this visit marked a milestone in the development of bilateral relations between China and Argentina as it broke China’s diplomatic isolation. The China’s communist system of government caused its isolation from the rest of the world. President Yang Shangkun’s state visit to Argentina was very significant in China’s integration into the rest of the world (Locatelli 102). Since then the countries have maintained close bilateral relations and over time their economies have become highly complementary. In my opinion, this visit was a move by China to strengthen its presence in Latin America through Argentina. By visiting Argentina, China aimed to show that it could have friendly relations with Latin Americans and thus to encourage other Latin American countries to establish ties with it, fulfilling its longtime wish to increase its presence in Latin America. Historical China’s Visit of Argentine President Fernando de la Rua In September 2000, Argentine President Fernando de la Rua visited China. The invitation was made by Chinese President Jiang Zemin (U.S. International Trade Commission 23). The head of the state and his delegation were honored at a welcome ceremony hosted by President Jiang. Thereafter, the two presidents held talks with each other covering mainly bilateral ties between their two nations and the ways to provide support to each other. The five day state trip played a significant function in Argentina’s decision to support China’s need to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Consequently, the two governments signed an agreement that resulted in China finally becoming a member of the WTO. It is also important to highlight that the two presidents also signed an agreement on technological cooperation. As a result, a memorandum of understanding between an Argentine Internet company and a Chinese radio station, China Radio International (CRI) was signed in April the following year, which was essential in promoting information technology collaboration. Since the signing of the agreement on technological cooperation between China and Argentina, their collaboration has grown tremendously to include fields such as astronomy, agriculture, and research (Williams 44). Analysis President Fernando de la Rua’s visit to China was important to China’s accession to the WTO. His meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin facilitated negotiations regarding China’s application to the WTO. China had been involved in lengthy negotiations, involving its wish to become a member of the global trade organization. As a result of the meeting, an agreement was finally reached and signed, granting China a membership position in the WTO on December 2001 (Womack 81). The visit was equally significant in the advancement of technological alliance linking the two nations. The signing of the first technological agreement signified the evolution of China and Argentina technological relations. Currently, China and Argentina’s technological ties have advanced to comprise areas in the military, information technology (IT), and in state research institutions, commonly referred to as digital triangles. The trade and investment ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires have deepened over years. Chinese companies are operating freely in Argentina, with businesses ranging from fishery, energy, finance and mineral exploration. Similarly, Argentina carries out several economic activities in China. Today, China has grown to be Argentina’s third largest source of investment and its second largest trading partner (Bell 77). In my opinion, China’s decision to invite Argentina into their country was a calculated move to secure Argentina’s help in achieving their desperate desire to join the World Trade Organization. It is during this visit that an agreement to secure China’s membership in the global trade organization was signed. Therefore, China initiated the visit only to benefit from it and not necessarily to strengthen ties. Conclusion In conclusion, Sino-Argentine relations have greatly expanded since the establishment of diplomatic ties between them in 1972. China and Argentina have continued to enjoy closer relations with each other, which have skyrocketed in recent years. To understand the nature of these relations, one should explore all ties between the two nations. Bilateral relations between China and Argentina involve political, economic and trade, cultural and military ties. Presently, the cooperation between the two nations has deepened and grown to include such areas of collaboration as science and technological advancement in the field medicine, astronomy, research and agriculture. Despite the development of these new areas of cooperation between the two states, their bilateral trade agreements remain the most significant. China and Argentina have entered into numerous bilateral trade agreements over the years, which have proved beneficial for both countries. In order to maintain strong relations betwe en the two countries, it is crucial to continue valuing each other’s role in their respective economies. China has shown how much it values its partnership with Argentina by continuing to trade with the Latin American country despite its visible economic struggles, further strengthening their Sino-Argentine relations.

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener - Essay Example This was through a campus  club  known as AIESEC. This experience changed my life profoundly and sparked a level of  awareness  that I  previously  did not have. A good number of the movies I had watched while growing up presented campus as  a place  to have mad fun. Caution  was thrown  to the wind as the students explored and experimented with their lives.  Whereas I am not claiming  conclusively  otherwise, I  feel  that there is a  side  of campus movies the movies totally ignore; the constructive side.  Oblivious of this view of campus, I had joined the  place  when  ready to  experience  the thrills I had seen in the movies.  Out of chance, I had joined this student’s  business  club, AIESEC. The  club  concerns itself with offering a  platform  to develop agents of positive change and leaders, with strong interests in business, entrepreneurship and project management. The  club  also offers its members oppo rtunities to  visit  business establishments to  witness  the best practices at work. It was during one of such activities in AIESEC that my life changing  experience  occurred. ... The level of  efficiency  arising from such  proper  organization  was clearly  discernible. Besides, the factory seemed to have an  unspoken  culture  as there was no one barking orders and reprimanding junior staff. The  second  thing I came across was the  commitment  to sustainability and environmental awareness. I do not claim to be the most environmentally  unaware  individual  at that time, but I had not seen such levels of active pursuit of sustainable practices and eco-friendliness, epitomized by  production  of the Prius and massive cuts on energy expenses. Massive research  had been done  into the most  efficient  technologies and building designs, while  ordinary  practices  were adopted  during  everyday  roles. While the capital costs would appear restrictive, the benefits in cost saving, motivation and customer  admiration  are  invaluable. The third and  last  impact  of the trip to TEMA was sparking my  global  awareness. The company is clearly a  global  leader; identifying  global  trends and how they affect Toyota; training staff to be  global  business leaders among other  global  perspectives. An experience is not life changing if one fails to act on it. I built upon the impact of the trip to TEMA first through undertaking research on the concepts learnt from the visit. Thus, I gained  an understanding  of the Toyota Way Culture and Lean management systems that brought about the efficiency, hard work and  motivation  I had observed (Toyota-Global). In fact, most other firms use a Toyota Way  variant  referred to as Six Sigma to optimize performance (Liker and Hoseus 37). I also gained much  interest  and understanding on sustainability and eco-friendliness, and how to build a

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 2

Term paper - Essay Example In addition, industrial hazards vary depending on the nature of the work environment and outcomes of work performed. Industrial hazards include fire and explosion, biologic hazards, ionizing radiation, heat stress, chemical exposure, electrical hazards, oxygen deficiency, noise, safety hazards, and cold exposure. These hazards among other incidents or situations in the contemporary industrial sector require the skill of an industrial hygienist. Furthermore, events such as the anthrax scares, terrorist attacks, and the potential use of â€Å"dirty bombs† enhance the importance for the awareness on the principles of industrial hygiene. The framework or main principles of industrial hygiene and toxicology include recognition, anticipation, control, and evaluation of workplace hazards. As such, an industrial hygienist must take into consideration these principles to ensure safety and health in the workplace. This paper will discuss ionizing radiation, a physical agent in industria l work environment. It will also discuss its effects on exposure, control, principles, and regulations. Ionizing radiation constitutes particles that hold sufficient energy to free an electron from a molecule or atom, thus ionizing it. This radiation is produced through nuclear reactions, natural or artificial, and by extremely high temperature. Ionizing radiation is also generated through high-energy particle production using particle accelerators, nuclear decay, or charged particles acceleration through electromagnetic fields created by innate processes such as supernova explosions and lighting (Wilson para.10). As such, natural sources of ionizing radiation include the supernova explosions, lightning, the sun, and artificial sources that include x-ray tubes, particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Ionizing radiations includes x-rays, gamma, beta, alpha, and cosmic rays. There are three harmful radiation emitted by radioactive materials, which

Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shakespeare - Essay Example Two well known film interpretations are Roman Polanski’s 1971 classic and Geoffrey Wright’s 2007 modern version. These two films have been made with contrasting values and attitudes, yet are true to the original text. Wright’s version is however more suitable for a younger audience than Polanski’s classic version as Wright has set it in a contemporary context. The movie’s fast paced narration, its theme of underground Melbourne gang and trendy costumes make it far more appealing to young viewers than Polanski’s seventeenth century approach. Polanski has made one of the grittiest Shakespeare films with some realistic period costuming of Zeffirelli and a cold and clammy castle set for a location. Director Geoffrey Wright in his version attempts to make Macbeth contemporary by setting it in the contemporary Melbourne underworld. Here swords are substituted by guns and royalty by gangsters. Wright’s Macbeth is gritty, violent but critically flawed at times. Roman Polanski has set his play in the middle Ages whereas Geoffrey Wright moves the action into the present with an Australian background. Luxus und Dekadenz sind geradezu spà ¼rbar.Wright’s movie portrays luxury and corruption. The actors are stylish, always fashionable dressed whereas Polanski replicates the Middle Ages with some realistic costuming by Zeffirelli. Fitting a play which was written hundreds of years ago into a modern film with a contemporary setting is difficult, but Wright has done it extremely well. The original play is about Kings, Lo rds and Ladies. Wright modernises this by transforming King Duncan into the Drug Baron and the Lords as members of his gang. The weapons are also replaced by machine guns and the horses and carriages by Audis and dirt-bikes. Technology too is evident in the movie. Macbeth’s house is equipped with security cameras and monitors. This makes the audience feel that the

Male Role in Female Empowerment

Male Role in Female Empowerment This paper looks at the issue of womens empowerment, the role of men in empowering women, women and feminist reaction to their involvement, their own reaction as men, how they can be efficiently and effectively involved and the way forward. Until the 19th century, women accepted their mediocre status in society as they lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them challenge the prevailing social order. Attempts to right the inequalities between men and women necessitate the empowerment of women economically, socially, politically and culturally. Women must be given the educational and economic resources that will free them from mens domination, patriarch, oppression, violence and servitude. Like the case of vaccines where weakened or dead microbes of the kind that cause a disease is administered to stimulate immune system to produce antibodies against that disease, if men are seen as the perpetrators and the cause of women problems, then it is simply wise to effectively and efficiently involve them in solving societal inequalities that exist between men and women. Once feminists, advocates, activists and women in general view men everywhere as inherently part of the problem, efforts at empowering women must involve and engage men, hence the proliferation of an interest in men and masculinities in recent years. The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, there was a call on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote mens support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and shared responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health. Research has shown that, partnering with men is an important strategy for advancing womens empowerment. Again, the need for the involvement of men has been precipitated by a series of global processes such as the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the status of Women (CSW), which discussed the role of boys and men in achieving womens empowerment and gender equality. This need for mens involvement is underscored by the fact that mens power over women in many contexts necessitates working with men to change the conditions of womens life; for mens power in society is exercis ed from personal decision regarding family size to the policy and programme decisions taken at all levels of government. Again, men as perpetrators arouses the need for their involvement, that is in treating the disease of womens disempowerment, ignoring the cause will only make the fight, a back and forth unprogressive agenda and as such to remedy the situation , the real cause-men, must be involved in the whole process. Also empowering women, calls for the pulling together of many resources for its accomplishment and these resources unfortunately are largely controlled by men who determines its distribution, beneficiaries and accessibility and hence it makes greater sense to pull them along on the pathway of womens empowerment to be able to assess and enjoy the resources needed in the process. Last but not the least, it is important to involve men due to the fact that, they are largely the leaders in society serving predominantly as decision makers, opinion makers as well as publi c figures who the younger generation both male and female emulate as part of their socialization and as such for womens empowerment to be achieved, men as leaders must be reached, encouraged and mobilized to become committed to gender equality in all aspects of human interactions and relationships to serve as good examples to the younger generation to acquire a wholesome socialization that view both men and women as equal and not as one being superior and the other inferior. It is worth noting that the exemplary life of men as leaders in the socialization of boys and girls is very vital in achieving and ensuring gender equity on the backdrop that they (boys and girls) are more susceptible to change and mental restructuring. It is therefore against these backgrounds that mens involvement in womens empowerment is deemed as very crucial and influential. On the assumption that humans in general are resistant to change, particularly to their norms values and belief systems, it is not surprising that some men have and are still fighting against the notion of womens empowerment based on the hidden reason of trying to defend their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits that they perceive womens empowerment would involve and also their resentment of what they see as attention and resources being given disproportionately to women. For some other men, the blame-game strategy of some feminists and seeing them as so evil deters them from changing their personal masculinities and also join in the struggle for women empowerment. On the other divide, the attention being paid to men on their involvement in addressing their superiority ideologies, over-emphasized masculinities, violent and abusive behavior in stimulating changes in their relationships with girls and women has been met with the feminist ideology of on our terms/conditions indicating a limited space for mens involvement and tangible participation. Although male involvement in womens empowerment has been of recent concern, many women working in the field remain unconfident, uncertain, antagonistic and very hostile to the idea that men might be or are partners in the fight for gender equality. Thus the emergence of men as advocates for womens empowerment has been received with a lot of suspicion, within some feminist circles; they are viewed as competitors for the limited funds available for womens rights and not as a supporting initiative. Some argue that men were coming to take over with the aim of wiping out feminist movement whilst others see men as competitors in empowering women rather than complimentary to their efforts and advocacy. Interestingly, in the mens fraternity, men working as aids to womens empowerment are seen as betraying their fellow men and sometimes referred to as men who are sat on by women in their communities. Mens role in the promotion of womens empowerment has therefore become topical and yet contested in various quarters among feminist and women who work in the field. Many feminist have viewed the involvement of men in womens empowerment with so much suspicion emanating from the distrust for men and their fear that men will try to use subtle and deceptive means to defend and maintain their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits thereby undermining the fight for womens empowerment. Men have been seen as the cause and perpetrators of the down trodden image of women and therefore it is quite uncomfortable for some feminist at involving them in their fight. Perhaps questions like why these men should be involved in the first place, how are they to be involved, whether they are willingly and will be truly committed to the fight, why on earth will men be interested in empowering women considering the superiority, power and autonomy they enjoy, and what solutions, measures and prescriptions do they have to offer in empowering them as women repeatedly clouds the minds of many feminist. This suspicion also arise s from the issue of whether men will really welcome the idea and state of women being equal to them in terms of status, power, and leadership and decision-making, are men really determined to work with women without setting or prescribing boundaries and limitation to how, which form and the extent to which women can be empowered. It is therefore against this background that many if not all women view mens involvement in their empowerment with much suspicion, hostility and hesitations. For some their hostility arises from the fear that the involvement of men in their empowerment would overshadow their efforts with them selling out to a watered down agenda. Again, in working with men to empower women, most development institutions lack the needed determination and focus of working towards a more equal world where men will not be seen as superior to women. Certainly the way in which work with men has been taken up by development institutions has often been lacking in ambition and devoi d of political intent, preoccupied with creating more equitable men, rather that galvanizing mens activism for a more equal world.( Cornwall et al, Dialogues on womens empowerment). Gender equality work with men cannot expect to participate in efforts to secure gender justice simply on the basis of men being the other half of gender but an interdependent part. Personally, for the empowerment of women to be achieved, the role of men can never be overemphasized due to the fact that the lives of men and women are intertwined such that whatever affects one directly or indirectly affects the other. It is worth noting that men even in the most traditional and patriarchal societies believe and support womens empowerment and would want to see their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives live in a society where equity and justice is paramount. Many more men in our view are ready to lace with their women folk in their empowerment- this can clearly be seen around us with the increase in the number of feminist men who have joined in the battle. However if women and feminist want men to be truly committed and involved in their empowerment, then these men should be seen as allies and not competitors, thus men should be seen as complimentary to their efforts rather their challengers or rivals. Again, the tagging men as evil and destructive must stop; othe rwise men will continue to be defensive and resistant to the changes that women desire in them for their empowerment. If we want to reach out to men to influence change, we cannot portray men as evil, since no man identifies himself as such Instead, non-judgmental messages which can provoke thinking and reflection among men for change must be employed. Also, feminist suspicion of men on their involvement in the fight for womens empowerment must give way to trust through restructuring of their thought pattern and channeling their energies in reaching, encouraging, empowering and mobilizing men to become part of the movement which is committed to womens empowerment. Furthermore it is important to educate and sensitize boys in their formative years through both formal educational system and in informal setting through peer programmes and also efforts must be made to incorporate attention of men and boys in legislation, policies and programmes on womens empowerment and to develop ways t o ensure active participation. Last but not the least, many more men can be brought on board if they are encouraged, expose and educated on the need to empower women by their peers. It will be an easier effort if men speak to men on womens empowerment because men feel more comfortable discussing such issues with their peers and are more convince when their peers informs them on issues. Despite all the drawbacks and challenges outlined above, no responsible man would love to see the children and wife become paupers or marginalized. Considering the important role women play in the development agenda, it is only proper men get involved irrespective of how some women activist view it. Women have the primary task of child rearing and therefore need all the resources to execute this task in other to break the cyclical transmission of poverty from generation to generation. Women transmit values to the next generation therefore, to make the biggest impact on development; society must empower and invest in its women. The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, it is no wonder that when the call was made on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote mens support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and share d responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health many men accepted. With mens power in public and private life, their cooperation is indispensable in the domestic and community spheres, national politics, finance and governance. Consequently, the empowerment of women is very crucial for the development of any society considering the roles they play in society and the fact they form more than half of the human resource of a nation but their empowerment cannot materialize without men being involved. Men have been at the centre stage of the issue of societal inequalities and hence remedying the situation requires their involvement. However, some feminist have met this development with much suspicion, hostility and distrust for these men. On the other hand, some feminist are advocating for the involvement of men as a way of addressing gender inequalities and mobilizing resource for womens empowerment. Accordingly, there is the need for those who work in the field to reach, encourage, empower, and mobilize men to become part of the fight to achieve greater success.

Deciphering Low-Carb Diet Jargon :: Nutritio

Deciphering Low-Carb Diet Jargon The medical world is a complicated one with constant changes in what is recommended for good health. Trying to keep up with current information is challenging enough, but deciphering the technical jargon can be the most confusing part. The low-carb diet craze exploded into the media with Atkins, The Zone, and the South Beach Diet. Accompanying these names are words such as glucose and fructose with many people know are different forms of sugar. But what do some of these other common words and phrases mean? What are insulinemia, glycemia, and a glycemic index? They are frequently used, but what do they mean?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, the goal of the low carb bars and snacks is to reduce the postprandial (after a meal) insulin levels. Insulin levels are important for health reasons, particularly diabetes. It is well- known that there is increasing concern over the rising obesity and diabetes rates in this country. Glycemia is the presence of glucose in the blood. Hypoglycemia is an abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood. It is important to test people with diabetes regularly for their glycemic status because they have certain glycemic goals of where their blood sugar level needs to be and this can vary from person to person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is where the glycemic index comes into play. The glycemic index is a ratings system for food based on their glycemic response, which is the speed at which a food is able to increase a person’s blood glucose level. White bread is an example of a food with a high glycemic index. Foods with a high glycemic index break down into sugars more quickly than those with a low index. Studies show that foods with a low glycemic index may help to manage diabetes by helping to control glucose levels. With the growing diabetes trend this information could e crucial for maintaining health for those with diabetes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Insulinemia is the presence of an abnormally high concentration of insulin in the blood. Insulin is important in order to get the sugars out of our blood and into organs or storage.