How to Start an Essay

How to Start an Essay For many students, the biggest challenge they face is how to start an essay.   This should come as no surprise, since the introduction to your essay is probably the most important part of any writing project.   It sets the tone for the reader, introduces them to your topic, lets them know what type of essay they will be reading, and also lets them know if the essay will be interesting or a chore to read.   In addition, your introduction needs to manage to do all of this while being interesting and concise.   That is why we quizzed our best writers to ask them for their top tips on â€Å"How to Start an Essay. Tips  to Starting an Essay Be You in Your Writing We think that one of the reasons so many students have a difficult time starting their writing assignments is that they are trying to fit their own personal style into a preset mold.   While we are going to give you some wonderful tips for how to rise to the challenge of writing a great introduction for your essay, remember that these tips are here to help you find your voice. Do Not Start by Writing Your Introduction While your introduction will be the first thing that the reader encounters when reading your essay, it probably should not be the first thing that you write.   Developing the body of the essay first allows you to develop an understanding of your topic, how you established any claims you intend to make in your introduction, and the tone that you decided to take in your writing.   You want your introduction to reflect all of these aspects, therefore it is often best to wait and write your introduction after you have finished writing your body paragraphs.   Skipping to the body paragraphs, which are often easier to write, can also help you deal with any writer’s block that you may be facing as you begin to work on your essay.   So, if you are having a problem deciding how to start your essay, save the first for last and begin by working on the body of the essay. In fact, the relationship between the first and last paragraphs to your essay is an important one to consider if you are having a difficult time getting started.   Write the body of your essay and then write your conclusion paragraph.   The same information that you felt necessary to include in your conclusion paragraph should probably appear somewhere in the introduction of your essay.   That is because the conclusion and the introduction are mirror sections.   While your introduction prepares the reader for the essay, the conclusion reminds the reader of the points you have introduced and reinforces any positions that you took in the body of the essay.   Therefore, your conclusion paragraph can serve as a great starting point for your introductory paragraph. Outline Your Paper Before You Begin Writing While you do not have to start writing your paper with the introduction, you do want to lay a foundation for your paper before you start writing.   We strongly suggest writing an outline before you tackle the body of your paper.   Your outline can be a formal outline or it can be a few words or phrases that help you organize your thoughts into information for your essay.   Whatever format you choose for your outline, you can refer back to it when writing your introductory paragraph, because if you are writing in a technical or academic style, the introductory paragraph should serve as a sort of outline for the body of your paper.   You can easily check to see if it does by comparing the format of your introductory paragraph to the format of your outline.   If they do not match, then look through your paper to see if you deviated from your outline or whether you have omitted something you need to include in your introductory paragraph. Look for an Essay Hook You’ve probably heard people talk about the hook sentence, but you may not know what it does.     The job of a hook sentence is to encourage the reader to continue reading, so it needs to somehow pique the reader’s curiosity, usually by leading the reader to ask a question about the topic.  Ã‚   Literature is full of really amazing hook sentences that reach out and grab ahold of the reader, but one of our personal favorites is: â€Å"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.†[i]   As soon as we read this line, we are full of questions about this Eustace Clarence Scrubb, his terrible name, and what he could have done to deserve it.   For an academic essay, you may not be able to develop a hook sentence quite as compelling as C.S. Lewis did, but you can come up with one that leaves the reader with the kind of questions that encourage them to continue reading to get the answers. There are several ways to grab the reader’s attention.   You can begin with a memorable line, find an interesting quote, present an interesting statistic or fact, say something startling, or ask the reader to contemplate a question.   For non-academic writing, when the audience is not a captive one, the hook sentence is critically important, because a disinterested reader is not likely to continue beyond the first few sentences of an essay.   In academic writing, you may have a captive audience, but you still want the reader to feel engaged and interested when reading your work.   For a more detailed exploration of hook sentences, please see our Easy Guide to Writing Amazing Hook Sentences. Introduce Your Readers to the Body of Your Essay While the hook grabs the reader’s attention, the job of the next few sentences in your introduction is to give the reader a preview of the content of the essay.   How do you do this?   Well, a great way to start is by explaining how that compelling hook sentence is related to your essay.   You want to spend a sentence or two explaining how the hook is related to the essay, which usually involves taking the narrow focus of a hook sentence and expanding it to encompass your entire topic.   By the end of the third sentence, the reader should know the topic of your essay, though not your thesis sentence, which you will traditionally place at the end of your first paragraph. In addition to introducing the topic, you want to let the readers know what type of essay they are reading.   Is your essay argumentative, persuasive, expository, narrative, or a compare and contrast essay?   By the middle of your introductory paragraph, the readers should be developing a feel for the type of essay that they are about to read.   Therefore, if you are going to take a position in your essay, begin to take it.   If you are going to compare or contrast things in your essay, begin to compare or contrast them.   You want the first paragraph to serve as a thumbprint guide to the rest of your essay, so do not hesitate to introduce the style of the essay in the first paragraph. Define the Structure of Your Essay For most forms of academic writing, you are probably going to be working off of a modified five-paragraph paper structure.   In that structure, your first paragraph is going to serve as a sort of outline for the rest of your paper.   Therefore, go ahead and let your first paragraph show your reader how your essay will function.   Outline the subtopics that you will address in the paper, letting readers know what type of information they will be receiving and the order of that information. However, keep in mind that the modified five paragraph structure is not appropriate for all forms of essay-writing.   If you are working on a creative fiction essay, you will probably deviate substantially from that formal structure.   In those instances, outlining your essay in your introductory paragraph can do more than have a negative impact on the tone of your writing; it can ruin any surprises or plot twists you intend to introduce.   Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that the general rules for a great essay introduction do not apply equally to all types of writing. Remember That Structure Depends on Essay Type When you are defining the structure of your essay, you are telling your readers what to expect and should be reinforcing the type of essay that you are writing.   How you do this is going to depend on the type of essay that you are writing.   Even essays with the same topic should have differing structures, depending on the essay type. Argumentative Essay Introductions Should Outline the Argument Many academic essays are of the argumentative or persuasive variety.   Assuming that you are tackling your argumentative or persuasive essay in a traditional five paragraph format, then you need to establish three arguments to support your position.   (Of course, shorter or longer essays will mean greater or fewer arguments).   It helps if you think of the essay as a tripod.   Your thesis statement needs to rest on the legs of your tripod.   If you fail to develop any of those legs, then the thesis statement is not supported.   Therefore, in your introductory paragraph, you want to introduce your reader to each of the arguments that will form the legs of your tripod: Only six of every 1,000 perpetrators of sexual assault ever end up in prison.[ii]   While this number is partially due to low reporting rates, the fact that sexual assault perpetrators are less likely to face incarceration than other violent offenders suggests that society view sexual offenses as somehow different than other violent offenses.   This difference perspective is referred to as rape culture, but many people scoff at the idea that rape culture exists.   However, there are several well-established truths that support the idea that the United States does have a rape culture.   Estimates suggest that, depending on the demographic, between 1 in 3 to 1 in 5 women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime.   Sexual assault victims are often blamed for the assault, whether that blame comes in the form of questioning their clothing or questioning their behavior at the time of victimization.   Finally, even convicted rapists are treated leniently by court systems , which seem more concerned about preserving rapists’ futures than protecting victims or punishing them for their offenses.   Taken together, these aspects of American society make it clear that rape culture is alive and thriving in the United States.      In our example essay, we open with a startling statistic about sexual assault in America; that is our hook.   Then, we show how the hook is related to the meat of the essay and introduce our topic, which is rape culture.   Then we let the reader know that the essay will be a persuasive or argumentative essay, by acknowledging that some people do not believe that rape culture exists, and then stating that we are going to provide some facts to demonstrate it does.   Each of the color-coded sentences is then a foot for the tripod of facts.   Tripod one is the sexual assault rate experienced by American women.   Tripod two is the treatment victims receive when they report sexual assaults.   Tripod three is the lenient treatment of rapists by the criminal justice system.   Finally, the opening paragraph concludes with the thesis sentence. Descriptive essay introductions should let the reader know what you will be describing and how you will be describing it. Descriptive essays paint a picture, so your introduction should let the reader know how you intend to paint that picture.   What are you going to describe in your essay?   What senses are you going to engage to describe it?   Because descriptive essays are usually less technical than other forms of academic writing, you do not need to develop your introduction the same way as the tripod-stand format of an argumentative or persuasive essay introduction.   However, you can use that structure if it is one with which you are comfortable.   Therefore, if you intend to use sight, smell, and sound to paint a picture, then it is perfectly acceptable to foreshadow this for the reader in your introduction: The smell of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, the ticking whirr of the spinning wheel on The Wheel of Fortune, or the sight of a climbing red rose are each enough to bring to mind my grandparent’s house in the summertime.      Narrative essay introductions should let the reader know you will be telling a story. Narrative essays can be fiction or non-fiction, but they are a more creative approach to essays than other formats.   You may choose not to outline your essay for the reader in your introduction, because doing so could compromise any surprises or twists in your essay.   However, you still want to give the reader an idea of what you are writing about. I was twelve years old the first time I saw a man die.   His name was Mark Johnson.   He was a drug smuggler, and my father was the one who killed him.   However, this story is not really about Mark and how he died, but about the events that led up to that fateful night in the summer of 1994. Looking at that paragraph, you see an interesting hook sentence.   The next few sentences relate the hook the rest of the essay and give the readers more details.   However, the final sentence of the introductory paragraph lets the reader know that the narrative is not going to focus on the murder of the victim by the writer’s father, but another story that might help explain how those events came to pass. Expository essay introductions should prepare the reader to be informed. Most lower-level academic writing focuses on the expository essay.   While most writers agree that the expository essay is the least-interesting type of essay to write, it is a type of writing that recurs in the professional context.   Journalists use a modified form of expository writing to relate facts to their readers.   Technical or scientific writing is also generally expository in format.   Therefore, in your introduction, your job is to tell your reader what you are going to tell them.   It may seem like a repetitive way to approach an essay, but expository essays are a proven way of conveying information to the reader in a concise and effective manner.   One commonly used expository writing assignment is to create a how-to document, and we love to use recipes when we write how-to essays: The best chocolate cake I have ever tasted has an unexpected ingredient: mayonnaise.   You can make this delicious cake in three easy steps.   First, you collect the ingredients.   Second, you prepare the cake.   Third, you make the icing.   In less than an hour, you can be eating hot and delicious homemade chocolate cake.   Is this introduction exciting or complicated?   Not particularly.   It does start with an interesting hook; people who are not cooks may not be aware that mayonnaise is often used in baked goods to provide moisture.   The next sentence relates that fact to the body of the essay, which is going to be a description of how to bake the cake.   Then, each of the following sentences lets the reader know how the recipe will be sub-divided into paragraphs. Conclude with your thesis statement. In a five-paragraph format, the introductory paragraph is generally going to conclude with a thesis statement.   The thesis statement is a short one-or-two sentence statement that concisely describes the point or goal of your essay.   The thesis statement is more than a statement of the topic; it goes a step further to state why this topic is relevant or to let the reader know your position on the topic.   If you look through the examples above, you will see how the thesis statement not only ensures that the reader knows the topic of the essay, but also that the reader know what type of essay they are reading.   The examples will also show you that not all essay types include a thesis statement.   For example, the narrative essay above does not have a thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. After you have written your first paragraph, read it along with the rest of your essay.   Does the tone of your introductory paragraph match the tone of the rest of your essay?   This is especially important if you are tackling a creative writing, descriptive essay, or narrative essay assignment.   It can be easy to lose the carefree tone of the body of your essay in an introductory paragraph by making the introductory paragraph too rigid or dry.   So, do not feel like you must conform to the tips that we have provided or to any other writing â€Å"rules.†Ã‚   There is no one right way to write; if you have established a tone and a voice you like in the rest of your essay and your introductory paragraph does not have the same feeling, then change your introductory essay so that it does. Have someone else read your paper. Whenever possible, always have another person read over your writing assignments.   This is important because proofreaders can often catch grammar or spelling mistakes that spellcheck misses and can let you know if your introductory paragraph does a good job of introducing your topic.   They can also help you decide if your introductory paragraph is too wordy.   Great introductory paragraphs are concise, but you do not want to be so concise that your reader cannot follow your logical processes or has the wrong kind of questions about what is coming in your essay. Conclusion Starting your essay can feel overwhelming, but it does not have to be a challenge.   Remember that you may not want to start at the beginning when you start your essay.   Body paragraphs are often much less challenging to write than the introduction.   In addition, the introduction, which should serve as a preview to the rest of the essay, can be easier to write when you have already written the rest of that essay.   You want to start your work with a hook, but be sure to relate that hook to the rest of your topic.   Then, let your reader know what you are going to discuss, why you are going to discuss it, and how you are going to discuss it.   If you follow these tips, you will finally be able to answer the question of â€Å"How to Start an Essay.† [i] Lewis, C.S.   (1952).   The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. [ii] RAINN.   (2017).   Statistics.   Retrieved May 11, 2017 from: https://www.rainn.org/statistics

Why We Celebrate Womens History Month In March

On February 28, 1980, President Jimmy Carter wrote: From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this Nation. Too often, the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. These words, part of his message establishing the first Womens History Week in 1980, marked the beginning of a new chapter in American history; one in which recognition of women and their work, and the promotion of their rights became a more explicit concern. That initial effort was expanded in 1987, when March was designated as Womens History Month. The Beginning: Womens History Week In 1978 in California, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women began a Womens History Week celebration. The week was chosen to coincide with International Womens Day, March 8. The response was positive. Schools began to host their own Womens History Week programs. The next year, leaders from the California group shared their project at a Womens History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Other participants not only determined to begin their own local Womens History Week projects, but agreed to support an effort to have Congress declare a national Womens History Week. Three years later, the United States Congress passed a resolution establishing National Womens History Week, which had ample bipartisan support. This recognition encouraged even wider participation in Womens History Week. Schools focused on special projects and exhibitions honoring women. Organizations sponsored talks on womens history. The National Womens History Project began distributing materials specifically designed to support Womens History Week, as well as materials to enhance the teaching of history through the year, to include notable women and womens experience. Womens History Month In 1987, at the request of the National Womens History Project, Congress expanded the week to a month, and the U.S. Congress has issued a resolution every year since then, with wide support, for Womens History Month. The U.S. President has issued each year a proclamation of Womens History Month. To further extend the inclusion of womens history in the history curriculum (and in everyday consciousness of history), the Presidents Commission on the Celebration of Women in History in America met through the 1990s. One result has been the effort towards establishing a National Museum of Womens History for the Washington, D.C., area, where it would join other museums such as the American History Museum. The purpose of Womens History Month is to increase consciousness and knowledge of womens history: to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will soon come when its impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions. Sources National Womens History Week Statement by the President. February 28, 1980.

Soyuz 11 Disaster in Space

Space exploration is dangerous. Just ask the astronauts and cosmonauts who do it. They train for safe space flight and the agencies who send them to space work very hard to make conditions as safe as possible. Astronauts will tell you that while it looks like fun, space flight is (like any other extreme flight) comes with its own set of dangers. This is something the crew of Soyuz 11 found out too late, from a small malfunction that ended their lives.   A Loss for the Soviets Both American and Soviet space programs have lost astronauts in the line of duty. The Soviets biggest major tragedy came after they lost the race to the Moon. After  the Americans landed  Apollo 11  on July 20, 1969, the Soviet space agency turned its attention towards constructing space stations, a task they became quite good at, but not without problems.   Their first station was called  Salyut 1 and was launched on April 19, 1971. It was the earliest predecessor for the later Skylab and the current  International Space Station missions. The Soviets built Salyut 1 primarily to study the effects of long-term space flight on humans, plants, and for meteorological research. It also included a spectrogram telescope, Orion 1, and gamma-ray telescope Anna III. Both were used for astronomical studies. It was all very ambitious, but the very first crewed flight to the station in 1971 ended in disaster. A Troubled Beginning Salyut 1’s first crew launched aboard Soyuz 10 on April 22, 1971. Cosmonauts Vladimir Shatalov, Alexei Yeliseyev, and Nikolai Rukavishnikov were aboard. When they reached the station and attempted to dock on April 24, the hatch would not open. After making a second attempt, the mission was canceled and the crew returned home. Problems occurred during reentry and the ship’s air supply became toxic. Nikolai Rukavishnikov passed out, but he and the other two men recovered fully. The next Salyut crew, scheduled to launch aboard Soyuz 11, were three experienced fliers: Valery Kubasov, Alexei Leonov, and Pyotr Kolodin. Prior to launch, Kubasov was suspected of having contracted tuberculosis, which caused the Soviet space authorities to replace this crew with their backups, Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev, who launched on June 6, 1971. A Successful Docking After the docking problems that Soyuz 10 experienced, the Soyuz 11 crew used automated systems to maneuver within a hundred meters of the station. Then they hand-docked the ship. However, problems plagued this mission, too. The primary instrument aboard the station, the Orion telescope, would not function because its cover failed to jettison. The cramped working conditions and  a personality clash between the commander Dobrovolskiy (a rookie) and the veteran Volkov made it very difficult to conduct experiments. After a small fire flared up, the mission was cut short and the astronauts departed after 24 days, instead of the planned 30. Despite these problems, the mission was still considered a success. Disaster Strikes Shortly after Soyuz 11 undocked and made an initial retrofire, communication was lost with the crew far earlier than normal. Usually, contact is lost during the atmospheric re-entry, which is to be expected. Contact with the crew was lost long before the capsule entered the atmosphere. It descended and made a soft landing and was recovered on June 29, 1971, 23:17 GMT. When the hatch was opened, rescue personnel found all three crew members dead.   What could have happened? Space tragedies require thorough investigation so that mission planners can understand what happened and why. The Soviet space agencys investigation showed that a valve which was not supposed to open until an altitude of four kilometers was reached had been jerked open during the undocking maneuver. This caused the cosmonauts oxygen to bleed into space. The crew tried to close the valve but ran out of time. Due to space limitations, they were not wearing space suits. The official Soviet document on the accident explained more fully:   At approximately 723 seconds after retrofire, the 12 Soyuz pyro cartridges fired simultaneously instead of sequentially to separate the two modules .... the force of the discharge caused the internal mechanism of the pressure equalization valve to release a seal that was usually discarded pyrotechnically much later to adjust the cabin pressure automatically. When the valve opened at a height of 168 kilometers the gradual but steady loss of pressure was fatal to the crew within about 30 seconds. By 935 seconds after retrofire, the cabin pressure had dropped to zero...only thorough analysis of telemetry records of the attitude control system thruster firings that had been made to counteract the force of the escaping gases and through the pyrotechnic powder traces found in the throat of the pressure equalization valve were Soviet specialists able to determine that the valve had malfunctioned and had been the sole cause of the deaths. The End of Salyut The USSR did not send any other crews to Salyut 1. It  was later deorbited and burned up on reentry.  Later crews were limited to two cosmonauts, to allow room for the required space suits during take-off and landing. It was a bitter lesson in spacecraft design and safety, for which three men paid with their lives.   At latest count, 18 space fliers (including the crew of Salyut 1) have died in accidents and malfunctions. As humans continue to explore space, there will be more deaths, because space is, as the late astronaut Gus Grissom once pointed out, a risky business. He also said that the conquest of space is worth the risk of life, and people in space agencies around the world today recognize that risk even as they seek to explore beyond Earth. Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Autonomy and Responsibility in Nazi Germany - 1435 Words

Autonomy and Responsibility in Nazi Germany Throughout history, the struggle of people finding their rights in society has played a major role, especially in the Nazi ideology. During this struggle, societies tried to determine who had rights, what a person owed to society and the duties of an individual. Nazis believed in the Volk, which meant people in the sense of a race, not individuals. Nazis saw the Volk as the major component in society, and therefore based the rest of their beliefs on a persons place in the society on the idea of preserving the pure Volk. The rights a person obtained were based on achieving this goal of preserving the Volk as well. The Nazi view of autonomy and responsibility of the individuals in†¦show more content†¦Thus, they eliminated all rights these non-citizens had in the nation, including the right to exist. The extermination of the non-Germans was seen to them as a way of preventing contamination of the German culture. They were afraid that Jews wanted to take over the world and that would destroy the platforms of the nations. They believed that à ¬Jews destroy the peoples both in religion and moralsà ® and exterminating them was the only way to keep German power.3 In order to exterminate these people, the Final Solution was enacted in 1935. The Final Solution began with the Nuremberg Laws. These laws denied citizenship to Jews, based a persons race on their ancestry, prohibited Jews from marrying Germans, ended exemptions on restrictions for Jewish veterans, prohibited the employment of Germans by Jews, and required that all Jews wear the star of David at all times for easy identification.4 The second step came in 1938 when Jews, Gypsies, Communists, and Socialists were shipped to concentration camps and the real extermination began in the gas chambers.5 The Nazis saw peo ple not of the main volk as nothing and therefore did not even think that they had the right to live. 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The Implementation of Total Quality Management - Two Key Alternatives Case Study - 2

Essays on The Implementation of Total Quality Management - Two Key Alternatives for Lots of Vital Issues Case Study The paper â€Å"The Implementation of Total Quality Management - Two Key Alternatives for Lots of Vital Issues" is an outstanding example of a case study on management. The ever-increasing international business competitiveness has mandated companies to build up approaches to turn into low-cost producers and to make different their goods and services from their trading rivals. Total Quality Management is one approach that has been praised globally given the impact it had in turning around Japanese Companies into key competitors.Today’s organizations are surrounded by a rising dealing global environment where numerous essentials have developed into a custom that may not have been of distress to organizations in the earlier times. This includes the emergence of computers and telecommunication and information channels such as the internet. For organizations, these are fresh aspects they have to mull over and apply Total Quality Management into.Today, the implementation of Total Quality Management is vital. However, putting Total Quality Management into operation is not easy and poses a key challenge to the present day top management of most organizations. This forms the basis of this research. The research employs a case study approach.The research reveals that top management commitment to Total Quality Management execution is crucial. However, the top management has to deal with deep-rooted issues such as lacking adequate human resources, choosing the best quality method, modeling techniques, and the most fitting technology mix.To deal with some of these issues, the top management must be committed to Total Quality Management implementation. Also, they ought to consider the opinion of several experts in implementing Total Quality Management, be problem-focused and engage all stakeholders.The ever-increasing international business competitiveness has mandated companies to build up approaches to turn into low-cost producers and to make different their goods and services from their trading rivals. These approaches include Total Quality Management, Self-Directed Work Teams, Total Productive Maintenance, Just-in-Time, Business Process Re-engineering, and Manufacturing Resources Planning. However, the leading confrontation of all businesses is finding a holistic management approach that will get better their competitiveness in international trade. Total Quality Management is one approach that has been praised globally given the impact it had in turning around Japanese Companies into key competitors (Yusof Aspinwall, 2000a).Product Quality is a management concept that has its roots in Japan. The concept was founded by Americans working there in the late 1940s and 1950s: They are Feigenbaum, Juran, and Deming. These three Americans set the fundamentals of Total Quality Management. According to Magutu (2010), Total Quality Management progressed from a lot of dissimilar management practices and upgrading processes. Essentially, Total Quality Management evolved through several stages starting with Inspection/Supervision, Quality Control, and Quality Assurance to the present Total Quality Management. Different authors have defined Total Quality Management in several ways. In this paper, Total Quality Management simply entails a management plan that involves each one member of an organization, at all levels, in producing better standards of product or services that they offer in the marketplace. This essentially entails the administration and control of quality all over a whole organization.Different researches and authors have too identified various dimensions of Total Quality Management but the key dimensions take account of top management support, personnel management, employee involvement, customer rapport, supplier rapport, teamwork, product design process, quality assurance as well as process flow management. Total Quality Management generally lays emphasis on customer focus and satisfaction (Dahlgaard et al 1998).

Accounting Gross Revenue Calculation and Net Revenue Calculation

Question: Discuss about theAccountingfor Gross Revenue Calculation and Net Revenue Calculation. Answer: Depicting the Accounting Policy that Might be use by CGC for Recording the Revenue at Gross Amount or Net Amount when FB Credit Agreement Becomes Active: The current scenario mainly states that an effective recoding keeping method could be used by CGC to effectively maintain the transactions conducted on the virtual world. In addition, the scenario effectively depicts that Facebook with CGC will provide the relative credits for purchase of products in the virtual world. Moreover, the scenario also states that Facebook takes the actual cash and provides virtual credited to its users. In addition, Facebook only keeps 30% of the cash that are collected from the users and sends the other 70% to CGC. Radebaugh (2014) stated that companies mainly use different type of accounting method for their virtual, which could in turn help in segregating virtual profits from actual profits. On the other hand, Slemrod (2013) criticises that companies dealing in online shopping system are not able to comprehend the changing business environment. Gross revenue calculation and net revenue calculation is mainly stated, which could be used by CGC for effectively recording. However, the income of CGC has effectively divided its revenue in 70% (CGC) and 30% (Facebook). However the income that is been generated by the company is mainly provided by Facebook after sale of credits. Thus, the company might effectively us the net revenue system to depict its financial statement and portray the overall income that is been generated from sale of Facebook credits. In this context, Cooper, Edey and Peacock (2013) stated that net revenue method is mainly used by companies that have a fixed commission on its sales. On the other hand, Bucheli et al. (2013) criticises that net revenue system mainly loses its friction if the company does not operate under commission method. The scenario also depicts that Facebook, while receiving payment from its clients incurs a financing cost. The financing cost mainly occurs from PayPal, which is 3.5% of the gross amount paid by its customers. However, the fees that is been given to PayPal is effectively paid by Facebook as the cash transaction is the companies responsibility. However, the service charge is mainly deducted from the gross income that is generated from sales of Facebook credits. In addition, charges are only conducted on credit cards and PayPal transactions, which could change the overall net revenue that is been generated by both Facebook and CGC. Weil, Schipper and Francis (2013) mentioned that net revenue method does not allow the company to adjust the overall expenses that is been incurred from online payments. Thus, after the effective evaluation of the scenario CGC needs to use the gross revenue method to depict the exact expenses incurred of the transaction that is been conducted from PayPal and credit cards. The use of gross revenue calculation method could help CGC to segregate the expenses of 3.5% for each transaction and divide the exact amount of net revenues. In addition, as per the evaluation 2014 revenue should be recorded based on gross amount to depict the exact net revenue generated from transactions after the FB credits agreement have been active. Reference: Bucheli, M., Lustig, N., Rossi, M. and Ambile, F., 2013. Social Spending, Taxes, and Income Redistribution in Uruguay.Public Finance Review, p.1091142113493493. Cooper, R., Edey, H.C. and Peacock, A.T., 2013.National income and social accounting. Routledge. Radebaugh, L.H., 2014. Environmental factors influencing the development of accounting objectives, standards and practices in Peru.The international Journal of Accounting Education and Research. Urbana,11(1), pp.39-56. Slemrod, J., 2013. Buenas notches: lines and notches in tax system design.eJournal of Tax Research,11(3), p.259. Weil, R.L., Schipper, K. and Francis, J., 2013.Financial accounting: an introduction to concepts, methods and uses. Cengage Learning.

The Digital Divide free essay sample

To what extent is there a global dimension to this divide? Is the divide narrowing or widening? The digital divide marks the gap between those who have access and utilize Information communication technologies and those who lack access or ability (reference). Causes for this division have traditionally stemmed through economic circumstance. Due to the existing disproportions between countries economic situations, a large global dimension exists within the digital divide. Socio-demographic factors also significantly affect ones positioning on the spectrum of the digital divide. Through examination it becomes clear that the gap in some senses is showing signs of narrowing. On the other had however, these factors are enhancing the gap and widening the divide for some. The increasing advancements within Information communication technologies and explosion of Internet possibilities within developed countries are leaving developing nations behind. The 21st century has not hindered concern surrounding this digital divide within international agencies such as the United Nations Development Program (Norris 2000). The disparities between developing societies and advanced are considered to be increasing and gap widening. This lends itself to putting countries at an economic advantage or disadvantage, leading to many flow-on effects. Poorer nations such as India, Africa, and southern parts of Asia have been in large, unable to invest in the internationally growing technologies, which would allow their nation to have and maintain Internet access, due to the initial start up investment necessary (Reference). A country not having Internet access in today’s digital age leads to a number of economic consequences. This can be highlighted through; schools being unable to educate or teach students IT skills, preventing them from taking advantage of the huge amounts of information accessible through the web. Therefore people are not growing up with the skills required to get ahead or keep up with this digital era. Ultimately this lack of IT skills results in the inability to compete within the global market or at an international level. Contrasting to this, richer countries are taking advantage of these advancing ICTs, benefiting from more highly trained people who will ultimately lead to higher economic growth (reference). At a fundamental level, this concept illustrates the significant consequences for countries without access to the ICTs and the way in which the revolution of these has allowed developed countries to gallop ahead of those developing who still lack access. In correlation to this divide, at the disadvantage of the poor, the rich get richer. The digital divide works along side other forms of social inequality and is effecting people not only globally but with in a national sense also (Korupp amp; Szydlik 2005). It has been indicated that groups that are the most venerable in society are those who lack access to a computer. They run the risk of being excluded from possible social, educational, cultural and economic benefits. This may have adverse effects on their educational outcomes, employment prospects and other aspects of wellbeing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003). These marginalized people have been deemed to fall into categories of; low income, elderly, lacking in education, and minorities (Winter 2000). The flow on effects of this proves to become more complex than one might initially perceive. Those who are able to afford access to the most advanced technologies and efficient versions are able to capitalize on their existence. Findings support, in 1998, households with an income of $75,000 and above, were nine time as likely to have computer access, and twenty times more likely to have internet access than those of lower income levels (Norris 2000). This disparity can lead to increasing divides in an economic sense as mentioned, but also in a social context. For example, a West German, well educated male has a significantly higher chance of being on the favorable side of societies digital divide, in comparison to the likes of a Turkish women with a lower income and education (Korupp amp; Szydlik 2005). Whilst there currently is lacking evidence to indicate a decline in other forms of social disparity due to computer and Internet access, these members at the adverse end of social classes are not benefiting through this digital emergence. Thus their position is remaining the same. On the other end of the spectrum however, there are indicators suggesting this emergence is helping to secure or even increase the favorable social position of these in higher social classes. Thus the digital divide is arguable contributing towards further divisions among social classes, enhancing not only economic division, but social hierarchy on a national and international scale. Research suggest the environment in which a person is born into and raised, determines ones attitudes towards new technologies (reference). This is globally and most certainly influenced through geographic positioning, however also through the era in which one grew up. Sackmann and Weymann (1995), developed an approached, depicting four ideal types; the pre-technical generation (born before 1939), the generation of household revolution (born between 1939 and 1948), the generation of advanced household technology (born between 1949 and 1964), followed by the computer generation (born after 1964). Evidence suggests those who were born in the computer generation are considerably more inclined to advance with these new information communication technologies, enhancing potential to benefit both socially and economically. According to a 2008 survey, ninety percent of adults between the ages of eighteen to twenty nine use the internet, contrasting to this only thirty five percent of those over sixty five use the internet (Hwang 2008). This highlights the way the digital divide has widened as those from the pre-technical generation and generation of household revolution have fallen further and further behind (Korupp amp; Szydlik 2005). As a result, the division has worked at the advantage to those catorgised within the younger generation. It has enabled them with a potential competitive edge in the global market place. Through efficient use of these information communication technologies it is now easier than ever before to compete on an international scale (reference). Incorporating these devices into ones lifestyle so readily has equipped younger generations with empowering opportunities. The gap between age groups within countries is still a dividing factor within digital usage, however it must be noted that the significance of this is declining (Chen, Wellman 2004). People are now being born into a world where the digital technologies such as the Internet are considered a tool for daily life, more intergraded than ever before. Flow on effects of this have resulted in people incorporating a range of technologies into their lifestyle from a very young age, through this they are able to adopt with advancements made within technologies more readily (the children’s article). This the gap between digital divide within age groups is bridging as more and more people are being brought up surrounded by the concept, thus the divide in this sense can be seen to be narrowing. At the other end of the divide are those developing countries which lack access altogether. As mentioned earlier, the gap here has been widening and continues to do so, however It can be argued that ultimately these digital technologies could in fact be of the most benefit to these currently missing out. They have the abilities to provide them with the opportunity to strengthen the voice of such minorities. For example, the Internet offers broader communication, which could enable small businesses from the likes of Africa or India to sell their products directly to customers internationally. This would exclude the current costly middlemen necessary for these products to be exchanged. In turn, creating larger economic revenue and wider exposure with the opportunity to grow. In order for these countries to gain these potential benefits, a basic level of access is required which is still lacking, thus until this is occurs the gap will continue to widen (Norris 2000). Statistics do however show hope for these countries, which have initially been left with adverse effects of the digital divide. As Information communication technologies advance, basic assess becomes cheaper and more widely accessible. An example of this can be illustrated through the likes of South America. During the year of 2000 South America had a approximately only one in ten people online. This is contrasting to 2012’s figures, which estimate 48. 2% on the population engaging with Internet penetration (http://www. internetworldstats. com/stats2. htm 2012). Furthermore, worldwide Internet users jumped from 1 billion in 2005, to approximately 2 billion in 2010. This trend is through numerous factors including; the spread of mobile phones with web capabilities, cheaper technologies, the growth and range of internet providers, and adoption of government investments within digital industries (reference). Though there are still countries with entrenched digital exclusion such as Africa, which has a mere 15. 6%, online penetration, changes shown through the likes of South America, confirm that accessibility enhancement is occurring in a global dimension. The divide in this sense is continuing to widen between countries without access but narrowing in relation to the amount of countries and regions in which this is happening to. In summary a degree of causes, consequences on both global dimensions and national levels surrounding the digital divide are highlighted. There are of course further factors and consequences that are effecting this division, however at a basic level the above provides understanding to the factors surrounding the digital divide. Through these analogies it is fair to say that whilst the digital divide can be seen as narrowing in a domestic sense, on wider global sense the gap will continue to widen until access is more readily available for all.