Article Analysis Essay Example for Free

Article Analysis Essay Write a short, clear summary of the article: The article argues that the West should apply economic sanctions coupled with security pressure in order to prevent Iran from further development of its nuclear program. The author believes that sanctions would work better than incentives through not providing rewards for inappropriate behavior. The author concludes that, in case sanctions fail, preemptive strike is not the best solution, but it is more preferable to the situation in which Iran acquires nuclear weapons. What is the context of the article? The article, published in winter 2007 issue of Middle East Quarterly, appeared in the midst of the heated debate on the possible measures used to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program. At that time, several approaches were on the table (e.g. American, European, and Russian suggestions), and an unbiased analysis of the projected effectiveness of each approach was highly needed. What seems to be the author’s purpose? The author’s purpose is to present his stance on the situation in Iran and explicate the rationale behind the beliefs he holds concerning this matter. He also aims to persuade audience of the necessity to adopt the suggested approach. In what type of publication did this appear? Describe it. The article appeared in Middle East Quarterly. It is quarterly journal devoted on Middle Eastern affairs. The publication has been referred to as a useful resource of information on political, economic, and cultural developments in the region for politicians, academics, and journalists. Main types of articles published there include in-depth studies, interviews, commentary, and reviews. Write a brief analysis of the author’s credentials and possible expertise or bias. If no information is available on the author, try to take a guess based upon his or her knowledge and writing ability, which you might derive from the article. The author of the article is Patrick Clawson, senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly, is director for research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is a well-established expert on Middle Eastern affairs and the author of more than seventy articles about regional affairs that appeared in reputable publications like New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Iranian nuclear program has been his focus for several years already; one of his books is titled ‘Getting Ready for a Nuclear Ready Iran.’ Who seems to be the target audience? Be specific. The target audience of this article encompasses members of public-at-large interested in world politics and Middle Easters affairs. This publication is not intended for professionals dealing with the issue of Iran or academics: it does not operate terminology or data that needs particular expertise in international relations. However, the article presumes that the potential reader is aware of the development of the situation in Iran since it refers to certain well-known facts and opinion concerning the problem. The author also assumes that the target audience has sufficient education level and enough knowledge of international affairs to be able to grasp certain historical examples or evaluate data supplied by international organizations. In short outline form, show the author’s stance. Then, explain and evaluate the presentation of the author’s stance. In other words, what’s the thesis? What reasons are given for this stance? Are the reasons supported well? The author argues that the West should opt for exerting economic pressure on Iran. He argues that the country is dependant on international economic transactions in securing its well-being. The author suggests a list of measures that might be effective in dealing with Iran, such as harshening restrictions concerning financial operations and trade, pressuring charities that work closely with Iranian leaders, discouraging the investment in Iran’s oil and gas industry, decreasing the presence of international firms and financial institutions in the country. These sanctions will be effective since the primary concern of Iranian government now is delivering its promises in terms of raising quality of life and well-being of the nations. However, economic sanctions are not enough and should be coupled with security inducement through showing how a decision to denounce the nuclear program might contribute to the viability of the country. In the concluding section, he argues that using preemptive military force is not the best option. Explanation for that is found earlier in the text: attack on Iran can be used to rekindle the lost fervor of revolutionary days. Analyze the writer’s language. What is the writer’s tone? Why might he or she have chosen this tone? Is it effective? What words are defined or left undefined? Give examples. Writer’s language and tone are both effective if we keep target audience in mind. The language of the article is easily accessible yet very official. Some rhetorical devices (i.e. rhetorical questions) are used to reinforce writer’s thesis. However, the article relies on logical rather than emotional appeal. As for the terms, ‘security inducements’ referred to in the last chapter before the conclusion are loosely defined, especially as compared with ‘economic sanctions’ which are listed and discussed in detail. Based upon your analysis, is this a credible piece of writing? Explain. It is possible to conclude that the article is a credible piece of writing. Lacking in-depth analysis or innovative approach, it provides a comprehensive summary of main arguments on the issues and has no factual mistakes. Finally, and in detail (really think about this—refer to specifics) how do the stance and language choices relate to the author’s purpose and target audience? Explain. Since the article is a persuasive essay, the author explains his argument carefully and consistently. Taking into account that the target audience consists of members of public-at-large rather than academics, every argument is backed by accessible analysis and abundant factual data (such as figures, quotations, and historical examples). Since the educational level of target audience is high, the author keeps within the limits of official and quasiscientific style of writing.

Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers fc

The Horror Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel where the main character Marlow is telling a story of a trip to the Congo. This novel is said to possibly be an autobiography of Conrad’s life at sea. This is said because Conrad was a seaman for a many years and went into Africa many times. The story is so powerful that even after 100 years, we still struggle with its meaning. This story has been retold by Francis Ford Coppola in the film Apocalypse Now. Chinua Achebe has recently explored Conrad’s ideas on imperialism. Achebe believed Conrad’s book presented a racist view of the people of Africa and Achebe in his own book, Things Fall Apart, presented imperialism through the eyes of the Africans. The story of Heart of Darkness is being told to four men on the deck of the Nellie. The story being told is about one of Marlow’s expeditions to the Congo in search of an Ivory hunter named Kurtz. When Marlow found Kurtz in the Congo, Kurtz had "gone native" Marlow found, "a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole," outside of Kurtz’s house and Kurtz had been hunting with tribes in the area (Conrad, 73). When Marlow arrived Kurtz, was ill and dying. Kurtz cried out the words "The horror! The horror!" right before he died (Conrad, 85). These words cried out by Kurtz as he died created the most important passages in Heart of Darkness. The way this one passage is interpreted determines how the book is interpreted. One interpretation is that the "horror" is death and Kurtz is realizing he is dying. Kurtz is horrified at the thought of dying and is crying out in pain of the realization. Kurtz may be afraid to die in the heart of darkness. Kurtz may be afraid to die knowing that he will never see his intended again and he may feel guilty for leaving his intended for his savage life. This interpretation shows a book about lost love and guilt for finding a new life. This interpretation is one of the less complex and uninteresting interpretations. Now here is a more interesting and complex interpretation. Some view Heart of Darkness as a racist book. This interpretation comes from the view that the "horror" Kurtz is identifying is his being brought "down" to the African ways. This interpretation sees the African ways as uncivilized and horrid to Kurtz when he realizes he was at their level.

Sarbanes Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Contents Overview3 Enron3 Sarbanes-Oxley Act3 11 Titles4 Major Sections of SOX5 Section 3025 Section 4046 Section 4096 Section 9027 Section 9067 After SOX: What has Sarbanes-Oxley Accomplished & Issues that Remain7 Conclusion8 Overview The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law in 2002 by President Bush. Sarbanes- Oxley came to be because of corporate level accounting scandals that had then, recently occurred. The most common of these scandals include: Adelphia, Enron, Peregrine Systems, Tyco and, WorldCom. This act â€Å"introduced major changes to the regulation of financial practice and corporate governance. Enron The Enron Scandal is one of many that prompted the obvious need for reform of accounting practices. It began in November 1997 when the company bought stake in another company to create a sub company of Enron. The new company, Chewco, was run by an Enron officer who enabled Enron to run a series of transactions through Chewco and ultimately, funnel deb t from one company to another, even though they were both Enron. By 2001 â€Å"CEO Jeffery Skilling resigns, becoming the sixth senior executive to leave in a year. † In October, Arthur Andersen’s legal counsel advised auditors of Enron to destroy â€Å"all but the most basic documents2. So, the cover up began. Arthur Andersen was once amongst the â€Å"Big 5† accounting firms and the provided tax, audit and consulting services to corporations like Enron. Their reputation plummeted after they were admittedly aware of â€Å"possible illegal acts† committed by Enron and ultimately, Arthur Anderson was dissolved. Sarbanes-Oxley Act Enron and other scandals cost investors billions of dollars. Stock prices were at all time lows and the people were beginning to lose faith in corporate leaders. Something had to be done to restore faith and tighten standards.Sarbanes-Oxley was named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley. Oxley introduced t he act to the House of Representatives calling it the â€Å"Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act of 2002† on February 14, 2002. With minor changes to the name at the Act itself occurring over the span of a few months, Sarbanes-Oxley was officially signed into law on July 30, 2002 by President George W. Bush. Bush called the legislation â€Å"the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.The era of low standards and false profits is over; no boardroom in America is above or beyond the law. † The turnaround of this act was very quick. It was obvious that something needed to be done and it needed to occur quickly. 11 Titles Sarbanes-Oxley is comprised of 11 Titles, each with subsidiary sections. The eleven titles each focus on one main topic and the changes that are implemented by Sarbanes-Oxley under their heading. The names of the titles are as follows: 1. Public Company Ac counting Oversight Board (PCAOB) – this section establishes and provides the need for independent auditors.So now, a corporation could not solely publish audits that were conducted internally. 2. Auditor Independence – establishes the standards that need to be followed when conducting an external audit in order to eliminate conflicts of interest. 3. Corporate Responsibility – Title 3 states that senior executives must take individual responsibility for the lawfulness and correctness of their financial records. The hope here is that higher up executives will not turn the other way when fraudulent activity occurs for fear that they could be prosecuted on a personal level. . Enhanced Financial Disclosures – In this title, the new reporting requirements are laid out for corporations. The new requirements are much more thorough and leave little room for leaving out relevant information. 5. Analyst Conflicts of Interest – This is the shortest title of th em all and aims to help restore investor confidence. It requires any conflicts of interest to be disclosed. 6. Commission Resources and Authority – The goal of this section is to try and restore confidence in securities analysts and states the SEC’s power to bar analysts from practice. 7.Studies and Reports – The Comptroller General and the SEC are required to conduct studies and then report their conclusions and findings. 8. Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability – This title gives specific penalties based on various crimes that may be committed and also provided protection for whistle-blowers. 9. White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement – White-collar crime is punished more based on the law described here, stronger sentencing is key. 10. Corporate Tax Return – The basic requirement here, being only one section, is that the Chief Executive Officer signs the company return.This way, the CEO can’t claim that they didn’t see t he tax return before it was filed. 11. Corporate Fraud Accountability – The SEC is granted the ability and authority to freeze an account where payments seem unusual. Looking for large or unusual transactions allows fraud to be more easily detected. Major Sections of SOX Each of the 11 titles mentioned above are comprised of sections. Some titles only have one section but some have up to nine. In this section I will attempt to summarize the five most important sections: 302, 404, 409, 902 and, 906. Section 302Section 302 outlines the Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports. It is composed of steps that are taken by the company and specifically ensuring that the CEO is very involved and informed when it comes to the financial statement process. The CEO must sign off on the financial statements and the reports when they are complete. By making the CEO the final eye to see the statements SOX is attempting to ensure that the CEO cannot claim ignorance if a fraud is committ ed. When the major corporate scandals were occurring at places like Enron, CEO’s frequently claimed they had no idea what was going on in their company.This section aims to hold CEO’s responsible for their company reporting, a form of internal control. Section 404 Section 404 is entitled: Management Assessment of Internal Controls. With the implementation of Section 404, companies are now required to include an additional report, an Internal Control Report. The purpose of this report is for management to take responsibility for a proper internal control structure and also for management to vouch for the usefulness and accuracy of this control. If the internal controls that are in place do not suffice, the faults are required to be reported as well.Section 409 Section 409 addresses timeliness when reporting. â€Å"Companies are required to disclose on almost real-time basis information concerning material changes in its financial condition or operations. † This i s a way, because of this legislation, for investors and people outside the company to be as informed as possible with changes inside the company. These changes may or may not be significant but, there is always a chance, from the perspective of an investor, that day to day decisions affect stock prices. Now, stockholders can be almost immediately aware of the changes taking place.Section 902 Section 902 falls under the white collar crime title and describes the illegality of altering, destroying, manipulating or concealing documents. The intent of the fraudster here would be to â€Å"impair the objects integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding. † Section 906 Section 906 also falls under the white collar crime category and specifically, the penalties that will be endured to any person that certifies a misleading or fraudulent financial report. In this section, it is stated that penalties can be up to $5 million and 20 years in prison.I believe this section is put in to make it clear that CEO’s are going to be held responsible for â€Å"signing off† so, it is in their best interest to thoroughly look over statements and reports. After SOX: What has Sarbanes-Oxley Accomplished & Issues that Remain The Sarbanes-Oxley had good intentions. It’s goal was to restore faith in the public and to reduce company fraud. SOX has definitely restored public faith and perception. The titles and sections that SOX includes make it clear to companies and individuals outside the company that reporting standards have been increased.Because of this increase, and the penalties that are disclosed in this statute, it would be hard to believe that any person or company would risk committing a fraud. However, this only addresses the restoration or faith and confidence. Sarbanes-Oxley has not necessarily affected the inside the company policies and procedures. There are a number of people who scrutinize Sarbanes-Oxley for its shortcomings. â₠¬Å"Sarbanes-Oxley was intended to restore faith in the integrity of corporations and executives, yet it hasn't really had a measurable impact on fraud. The new rules that were implemented under SOX simply aim to increase the CEO’s awareness in what statements and reports are being published. However, when these documents are received, analyzed and signed off, there may or may not be an actual internal investigation going on to ensure the correctness of the documents. There is really no way to prove that the documents are fraud free when they reach the CEO. Conclusion The goal of this paper was to summarize the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. I discussed the titles that comprise SOX and further went into detail on the most important sections. I am not a critic of this act.I think as far as restoring public perception goes, Sarbanes-Oxley was extremely successful. Also, I think this legislation changed the views of the CEO’s. CEO’s were now explicitly aware of th eir accountability when it came to reporting. This was an extremely beneficial change as, CEO’s use to have the ability to claim ignorance and push the consequences down the corporate ladder. I am sure that if Congress would have taken more time when passing this legislation, it could have been improved upon, but, desperate times†¦ the corporate world needed a drastic change to restore faith and help the economy.There is undoubtedly still fraud occurring and therefore this battle to end it will go on. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. soxlaw. com/ [ 2 ]. http://www. time. com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2021097_2023262,00. html [ 3 ]. http://www. nytimes. com/2002/07/31/business/corporate-conduct-the-president-bush-signs-bill-aimed-at-fraud-in-corporations. html [ 4 ]. http://c0403731. cdn. cloudfiles. rackspacecloud. com/collection/papers/1940/1940_SEC_In vst_Advisors_Act/X. pdf [ 5 ]. ttp://www. sarbanes-oxley-101. com/sarbanes-oxley-compliance. htm [ 6 ]. http://www. soxlaw. com/s302. htm [ 7 ]. http://www. sarbanes-oxley-101. com/sarbanes-oxley-compliance. htm [ 8 ]. http://www. sarbanes-oxley-101. com/sarbanes-oxley-compliance. htm [ 9 ]. http://www. sarbanes-oxley-101. com/sarbanes-oxley-compliance. htm [ 10 ]. http://www. sarbanes-oxley-101. com/sarbanes-oxley-compliance. htm [ 11 ]. http://www. allbusiness. com/professional-services/accounting-tax-auditing/5220240-1. html#ixzz2D3ZIFMye

The Tragedy Of The Black Death - 1379 Words

Imagine a time where even if you sneezed on a relative, you killed them. Well this was the tragic reality for Europe in the fourteenth century. The Black Death was an epidemic which spread across almost all of Europe in the years 1346 – 53; the plague killed over a third of the entire population.1 Derived from the East, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 unleashing a rampage of death across Europe unprecedented in recorded history. ² Although it ravaged life in aspects such as religion, social climates, and science, it would later elicit groundbreaking societal advances that society utilizes today. Without the tragic occurrence of the plague, medical technology, religious perspectives, along with social structures would be primitive today. As the Black Death killed approximately 33% of Europe’s population , there was an urgent call for change. All of the physicians during this time have wrote about infectious diseases, but none had firsthand experience with the plague. ² Doctors thought that astronomy and astrology contributed to the plague. None of the medical observers during the time of the plague made the connection between the plague and the tremendous amounts of deaths in rodents that preceded the plague. What we now know, is that the Black plague is a disease of the black rat, and is spread from their fleas, to humans.1 Thus, Human beings are only at risk when climatic conditions encourage the breeding of rats.1 Moreover, newShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Black Cat 1650 Words   |  7 Pageslife. It is believed that all of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories were connected to his tragic life events. â€Å"The Black Cat† is one of Edgar’s well-known short storie s. It is about a man that endured a series of tragic events. This man was very feminine and his lack of masculinity soon got the best of him. 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