MARK TWAIN :: essays papers

MARK TWAIN Mark Twain also known as Samuel Clemens. He was born in Florida, Missouri on Nov 30,1835, the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. Several years later, in 1839, the family moved to nearby Hannibal, where Clemens spent his boyhood years. Clemens boyhood dream was to become a steamboatman on the river. Clemens' newspaper career began while still a boy in Hannibal. In 1848, a year after his father death, he was apprentice to printer Joseph Ament, who published the Missouri Courier. Did tragedy make Samuel Clemens (Cox Clinton). Missouri Courier only last for a few weeks before he started working for his brother at Orion's Western Union, for which he wrote his first published sketches and worked as a printer. Over the next two years he continued at the Western Union, occasionally taking stints as editor in Orion's absence. In 1852, Sam published several sketches in Philadelphia's Saturday Evening Post. Clemens left Hannibal in 1853, at age 18, and worked as a printer in New York City and Philadelphia over the next year. During his trip east he published letters in the Hannibal Journal. Upon returning to the Midwest in 1854, Clemens lived in several cities on the Mississippi: the most prominent of these was Keokuk, Iowa where his brother Orion founded the Keokuk Journal. In April 1861 came the start of civil war river traffic on the Mississippi was suspended, and Clemens steamboat career came to an end. He joined a volunteer militia group called the Marion Rangers, which drilled for two weeks before disbanding. Sam accompanied Orion to the Nevada Territory by stagecoach: President Lincoln had appointed Orion as secretary of the new Territory, and Sam was to be his secretary. (Cox Clinton). During the 1880s and early 90s, Clemens became heavily involved with investing in the Paige Compositor, an automatic typesetting machine. He poured great amounts of money in the machine, and even founded a company in 1886 to manufacture and distribute it. The advent of the linotype machine, however, sent the Paige Compositor to its doom. After the second model of the machine failed a test run at the Chicago Herald in 1894 where 32 linotypes were running smoothly, the machine was scrapped. Clemens contributed to the bankruptcy of his publishing company when he shifted funds from that firm into the compositor.

On different cultures and traditions Essay

From the selection of poems based on different cultures and traditions, compare and contrast any TWO that you find particularly interesting or enjoyable. (you must choose poems by different poets) ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ by Moniza Alvi, and ‘Search for my tongue’ by Sujata Bhatt, are two poems which I have selected from the selection of poems based on different cultures and traditions. I have selected these poems, because both poems are about one person who is recalling their homeland using objects and thoughts to explain, how much they overlook their homeland, including culture. Both poets have expressed their feelings deeply about their cultures and traditions, using things that they miss and want. For example, Moniza Alvi, in ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ uses clothes, jewellery, presents, etc†¦ to express who she is. Where as, Sujata Bhatt, in, ‘Search for my tongue’, uses her mother tongue, Gujarati, of how much she misses her homeland. Also, both cultures are quite alike, so it is very easy and understandable, for me, the reader, to read. In, the poem written by Moniza Alvi, she has used many words, which are said, exactly the same in Gujarati, and sometimes English. This shows the similarities in cultures. Here are some examples from the poem: * ‘They sent me a salwar kameez’ * ‘My aunts chose an apple-green sari’ As Moniza Alvi wrote her complete poem in English, together with the Indian words written as English. Sujata Bhatt wrote half in English and half in Gujarati, but under each line there was a translation in English of how to read it for people who cannot read Gujarati. So, what both poets are trying to state is that, it does not matter if you are not in your own country, even if you are absent from your homeland, your culture will always stay with you, no matter what. Even though the two poems are similar in most ways, these poems differ from each other in some ways. Firstly, Moniza Alvi’s poem, ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is based on a young girl, who feels as if she is the odd one out, as she is living in England, but wears and acts as if she was in Pakistan. However in Sujata Bhatt’s poem, ‘Search for my tongue’, she is saying how she thought, by living in a different country, than her homeland, she would forget all mother tongue and everything about her culture. A further variation, between the two poems, is that one poem is written all in English, where as the other is written half in English and half in Gujarati. Also, the poet Moniza Alvi has set out her poem in different stanzas, and sometimes she has started the beginning of a line half way through, away from the margin. Another thing is that, she carries sentences into the next lines. While Sujata Bhatt, just wrote her poem in one long stanza. All of her lines were short and simple, and each line was linked to the next, in some way, or another. Finally, another difference is that, the first poet used objects to help the reader understand the poem; where as poet two used her mother tongue, Gujarati. The poet called Moniza Alvi wrote ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’. ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is about a young girl who receives all types of presents, from her aunts in Pakistan. Most of these presents are things that are only, mostly worn in Pakistan. After receiving these gifts, she feels that she is very different from everyone else surrounding her, like friends from school. This is cause she dresses differently to others. This makes her feel kind of uncomfortable, because, even though she really likes these presents from her aunts, she sometimes feels, that she would like to look the same as the rest of her mates. Moniza Alvi’s poem is mainly showing her feelings to us by using the presents given to her, as examples. ‘ I longed for denim and corduroy. My costume clung to me and I was aflame, I couldn’t rise up out of its fire, half-English, unlike Aunt Jamila.’ ‘My salwar kameez didn’t impress the schoolfriend who sat on my bed, asked to see my weekend clothes.’ Above were two examples, which showed part of her feelings. In these two stanzas, it shows how she really felt, and what she actually wished for, or wanted. Moniza Alvi has set this poem, ‘Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan’ in England, because it is a perfect example of a foreign country, for Pakistan to be compared to. Also, the setting of a poem is very important, as it is the main scene of the poem. Another thing is that, as the poem is set in England, it helps me, the reader to understand what is happening. I also think that England was a terrific idea to set the setting, because in England there are many different types of people, which have come from other countries. This poem shows an example of a normal muslim family, which live in an area which they very familiar with, but like to carry on living as they would in Pakistan. I felt, after reading this poem a couple of times, that there is not one particular mood set to this poem, but there is a mixture of moods. I found that, in some cases Moniza Alvi was showing a sense of sadness, in the atmosphere, but tried to make herself feel happy, by changing the subject slightly. Where as in some cases she showed a lot of happiness and pleasure in the atmosphere. An example of her sadness changing, slightly into happiness is, ‘ Candy-striped glass bangles snapped, drew blood. Like at school, fashions changed in Pakistan-‘ At first, when I was reading this poem, I felt that she was so happy, but as I got nearly half way through the poem, I felt that this happiness was now changing into sadness, and, this is where her true feelings started to come out. ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is the type of poem which, when reading it, has to be read in different tones of voice. I thought that this poem went from being very settle, to, something, which was quite serious, to a child no a days. ‘Search for tongue’, written by Sujata Bhatt, is about a young lady who thinks, that, by living in a different country she will forget all her homeland, cultures and traditions. Especially her mother tongue, Gujarati. In this poem she is saying that, she thought that each person had a different tongue, for each different language they speak. And that she thought she had lost her tongue forever. But one night, she says that her language comes back to her in her sleep. Sujata Bhatt explains, in Gujarati, how your language is like a flower, which just blooms in your mouth, naturally. The main theme of this poem, I think, is that no matter where you live, your traditions and cultures, especially mother tongue, will stay with you. ‘Search for my tongue’ is similar to ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’. The two poems are connected mainly by religion. The following point about the two poems is probably half a similarity, and half a difference, from my point of view. Firstly, Moniza Alvi has written her poem in English, but for the gujarati words, she has written them, so that the word is said in gujarati, but read in English, where as Sujata Bhatt has actually written part of her stanza in gujarati, but to help the reader read the gujarati, she has, underneath written the word in English, so it is written in English, but said in gujarati. The tone of this poem is sort of the opposite of the first poem, as ‘Search for my tongue’ is like a question, answer poem, as she asks a question, through her poem, but does not actually want you to answer it. Below is an example of my question, answer theory, from the poem, ‘I ask you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth,’ ‘Search for my tongue’ is set in Sujata Bhatt’s dream. This is where she is explaining how; she thinks everything has come back to her, through a dream. Also, the mood of this poem is quite different to the first as, this entire poem is filled with enjoyment, and happiness, where as the first poem was a happy feeling poem, hidden with sadness. From these points mentioned, there are many differences between the two. To begin with, one poem was set in their dreams, as the other was set in England. Secondly, the first poem was all about a young child feeling really upset, and different, where as the second poem is about a young lady, thinking she has lost an important part of her, but has it all along. ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ was written in first person. As the poem was written in first person, it made me, the reader to understand the poem, quite easily. Because if the same poem was written in second or third person, it would be very difficult for the reader to understand it. It would also become very confusing, where as, this way everything is short and simple. In the first poem, Moniza Alvi has used many adjectives to describe all the gifts she has received. This helps, me, the reader to picture the image in my mind. From doing this, it helps give a better understanding of what the poet is talking about. Below are a few examples of, Moniza Alvi describing her clothes, which she received.

A Brief History Of The Governmental Fraud - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2820 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Politics Essay Level High school Tags: Government Essay Did you like this example? Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper will give the readers a brief history of the governmental fraud of what is currently happening and how does governmental fraud impact on economy. Government accounting is another ball game altogether where a lot of things like frauds happens all of a time. It will tell what are the issues of governmental fraud and what are the governmental frauds that currently happens as a huge issue. This research paper will help to examine frauds in local government by illustrating whether a local governments control to its incidents of fraud. We would synthesize to have better understanding of a fraud that highlights the most issue that impact the economy negatively. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) studied in 2009 about the impact of weak economy based of off the numbers of frauds that the being detected by CFEs, called Occupational Fraud. Throughout the whole research paper, it would define what are the issues and what caused them to do fraud and how might the government solve. Many large corporation fraud led to many certain illegal things like cheating, etc. About 49 percent discovered a huge money loses due to fraud. Even though government shouldnt be cheated by other but still fraud can be by misusing the very standards that are supposed to protect the publics interest. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Brief History Of The Governmental Fraud" essay for you Create order Introduction Fraud is often defined as wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. The impact of fraud ranges from financial loss to declines in organizational performance, credibility, and public confidence. As a result, risk management strategies and internal control systems should be implemented, monitored, and modified as necessary by management and governing bodies. Prevention and detection. Have you ever heard the saying, Dont be that guy? Well in this case, Dont be that government. In a recent study, 1 government and public administration was the second most likely industry to be impacted by fraud. A finding from that study showed the presence of anti-fraud controls is associated with reduced fraud losses and shorter fraud duration. Management and those charged with governance are responsible for ensuring these controls are in place. This article will explore common fraud schemes and provide prevention and detection controls that can be put in place to help mitigate fraud risk. There are many types of frauds in government make by govt. servants and also ministers.In research now a days fraud ratio increase in govt. sector.Research fraud explain by current issue given below Recent cases of research misconduct In April 2016, a former University of Queensland professor, Bruce Murdoch, received a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to 17 fraud-related charges. A number of these arose from an article he published in the European Journal of Neurology, which asserted a breakthrough in the treatment of Parkinsons disease.The sentencing magistrate found that Murdoch forged consent forms for study participants and that his research was such as to give false hope to Parkinsons researchers and Parkinsons sufferers. She found there was no evidence at all that Murdoch had conducted the clinical trial on which his purported findings were based. Murdochs plea of guilty and evidence that he was suffering from severe depression and dealing with a cancer diagnosis were factors that resulted in his jail sentence being suspended. In 2015, Anna Ahimastos, who was employed at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, admitted to fabricating research on blood-pressure medications pu blished in two international journals. The research purported to establish that for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), intermittent claudication (a condition in which exercise induces cramping pain in the leg) treatment with a particular drug resulted in significant improvements. It had significant ramifications for treatment of PAD and, presumably not coincidentally, also for uptake of the drug. Ahimastos research was later retracted from the Journal of the American Medical Association following an internal investigation by the Baker Institute. However, while she lost her employment, she was not criminally charged. As radical criminology continues to gain popularity among a new generation of scholars, there are several troubling developments that ought to be met with caution. In recent years, other research fraud cases have been reported around the world, such as that involving anesthesiologist Scott Reuben, who faked at least 21 papers on his research on analgesia therapy. His work sought to encourage surgeons to move away from the first generation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) to multi-modal therapy utilising the newer COX-2 inhibitors. Reuben was a prominent speaker on behalf of large pharmaceutical companies that produced the COX-2 drugs. After it emerged that he had forged the name of an alleged co-author and that in a study that purported to have data in relation to 200 patients, no data existed at all, he was charged with criminal fraud in relation to spurious research between 2000 and 2008. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment after the plea on his behalf emphasis ed the toll that the revelations had taken upon his mental health. In 2015, in the most highly publicised criminal case in the area so far, biomedical scientist Dong Pyou-Han, at Iowa State University, was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment for fabricating and falsifying data in HIV vaccine trials. He was also ordered to pay back US$7.2 million to the government agency that funded his research. Accountability issue It is easy to dismiss such examples of intellectual dishonesty as aberrationsrotten apples in an otherwise healthy scholarly barrelor to speak of excessive pressures on researchers to publish. However, there is a wider accountability issue and a cultural problem within the conduct and supervision of research, as well as with how it is published. A review of the 2,047 retractions listed in PubMed as of May 2012 found that 67.4% were attributable to misconduct. This included fraud or suspected fraud (43.4%), duplicate publication (14.2%) and plagiarism (9.8%). This does not prove that the incidence of retractions is rising, and it may be that researchers and journal editors are getting better at identifying and removing papers that are either fraudulent or plainly wrong, but it strongly suggests that the checks and balances are too often inadequate until problems are belatedly exposed. As for cultural issues, a 2012 survey by the British Medical Journal of more than 2,700 researchers f ound that 13% admitted knowledge of colleagues inappropriately adjusting, excluding, altering or fabricating data for the purpose of publication. Harm caused by fake research More commonly, though, instances of comparable fraud have not resulted in criminal chargesin spite of the harm caused. In the Netherlands, for instance, over 70 articles by social psychology celebrity psychologist Diederik Stapel were retracted. His response was to publish a book, entitled in English Derailment, telling all about how easy it was to engage in scholarly fraud and what it was that led him to succumb to the temptation to do so. The book gives memorable insights into the mind of an academic fraudster, including his grandiose aspirations to be the acknowledged leader in his field: My desire for clear simple solutions became stronger than the deep emotions I felt when I was confronted with the ragged edges of reality. It had to be simple, clear, beautiful and elegant. It had to be too good to be true. And then theres the notorious case of the Japanese scientist Haruko Obokata, who claimed to have triggered stem-cell abilities in regular body cells. An inability to replicate her findings resulted in an investigation. The inquiry revealed not just fraud in her postdoctoral stem cell research, but major irregularities in her doctorate. This resulted in the removal of her doctoral qualification, retraction of the papers, professional disgrace and resignation from her employment. But the ripple effect was much wider. Obokatas co-author/supervisor committed suicide. There was a large reduction in government funding of the research establishment that employed her. Her line of research into cells that have the potential to heal damaged organs, repair spinal cords and treat diseases such as Alzheimers and diabetes was discredited, and grave questions were asked about the academic glitches that allowed her to obtain her PhD. Despite this, Obokata too published a book denying impropriety and displacing responsibility for her conduct onto others. Researchers tempted to fake results The temptation for researchers to fake their results can take many forms.It can be financialto acquire money, to save money and to avoid losing money. It can be to advance ones career. It can also be a desire to attract or maintain kudos or esteem, a product of narcissism, and the expression of an excessive commitment to ambition or productivity. It can be to achieve ascendancy or retribution over a rival. Or it can be the product of anxiety about under-performance or associated with psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder. What all of these motives have in common is that their outcome is intellectual dishonesty that can have extremely serious repercussions. A difficulty is that research fraud is not difficult to perpetrate if premeditated. Peer review The check and balance of peer review in publication has, at best, a modest prospect of identifying such conduct. In peer review, the primary data are not made available to the reviewer. All that the reviewer can do is scrutinise the statistics, the research methodology and the plausibility of the interpretation of the data. If the fraud is undertaken professionally, and a studys results are modestly and sensibly expressed, the reviewer is highly unlikely to identify the problem. In 1830, the mathematician Charles Babbage classified scientific misconduct into hoaxing (making up results, but wanting the hoax at some stage to be discovered), forging (fabricating research outcomes), trimming (manipulating data) and cooking (unjustifiable selection of data). Experience over the past 20 years suggests that outright forging of results is the most successful mechanism employed by the academically unscrupulous, although those who engage in forging often also tend to engage in trimming, cookin g and plagiarismtheir intellectual dishonesty tends to be expressed in more than one way. Removing temptations The challenges include how we can remove the temptations of such conduct. Part of the answer lies with clear articulation of proprieties within codes of conduct. But much more is required. A culture of openness in respect of data needs to be fostered. Supervision and collaboration need to be meaningful, rather than tokenistic. And there needs to be an environment that enables challenge to researchers methodologies and properties, whether by whistleblowers or others. Publishers, journal editors and the funders of scholarly research need to refashion the culture of scholarly publication to reduce the practice of gift authorship, whereby persons who have not really contributed to publications are named as authors. The issue here is that multiple authorship can cloud responsibility for scholarly contribution and blur responsibilities for oversight across institutions by ethics committees. Journals need to be encouraged to be prepared to publish negative results and critiques and analyses of the limitations of orthodoxies. When allegations are made, they must be investigated in a way that is going to command respect and confidence from all stakeholders. There is much to be said for the establishment of an external, government-funded Office of Scholarly Integrity. This could be based on the model of the US Office of Research Integrity, which is resourced and empowered to investigate allegations of scholarly misconduct objectively and thoroughly. Finally, there is a role for the criminal law to discourage grossly unethical conduct in research. Where founders are swindled of their grants, institutions are damaged by fraud and research conduct is brazenly faked, such conduct is so serious as to justify the intrusion of the criminal law to punish, deter and protect the good name of scholarly research. This is social issue of research fraud in govt.frauds there are many aspe ct include. Who is responsible for fraud prevention? According to American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) auditing standards,2 the primary responsibility for prevention and detection of fraud rests with those charged with governance and management. There are a number of strategies to help management and public officials navigate the challenges associated with prevention and detection of fraud. Understand your organization and industry: Explore key drivers of revenue and related benchmarks, be active in the budget process and evaluate historical trends. Brainstorm with department heads, key members of management, external and internal auditors to identify fraud risks: Review material weaknesses, compliance findings, and control deficiencies related to the financial and single audits. Also consider decentralized operations. Examples of control weaknesses that contribute to fraud include: lack of internal controls, lack of management review, override of existing controls, poor tone at the top, and lack of competent personnel. Assess the tone at the top and the entitys culture: It is imperative that organizations set an appropriate tone at the top, one that demonstrates a commitment to honesty and ethical behavior. Create a whistleblower policy: Establishing a whistleblower hotline and/or policy is critical. History has shown that the initial detection of fraud most often occurs through a tip followed by management review, internal audit, or by accident. Understand the objective of a financial audit and a forensic audit: The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reports that less than 10% of frauds are discovered as a result of a financial audit conducted by an independent accounting firm. That is because a financial auditor is required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. There is a risk that, even though an audit is properly planned, material misstatements may not be detected. Whereas, the objective of a forensic audit is to determine whether fraud has/is occurring and to determine who is responsible. While management and governing bodies are typically trusting, simple blind faith in a trusted employee alone is not sufficient. Management and governing bodies need to also verify what they are being told or shown. This begins by promoting an organizational culture of honesty and ethical behavior and includes spending time foll owing through, holding others accountable, and asking probing questions. The simple tactic of verifying information can act as a deterrent, which could reduce the likelihood of fraud. What common fraud schemes look like and how to prevent/detect fraud It is easy to dismiss such examples of intellectual dishonesty as aberrationsrotten apples in an otherwise healthy scholarly barrelor to speak of excessive pressures on researchers to publish. Skimming. Money intended for the government that an individual takes for personal use. For example, cash receipts may never get entered into the system or they may be entered, but then voided/manipulated. This type of fraud is more likely to occur in unsupervised areas that lack controls over accepting cash. Limit unsupervised cash collection locations. For remaining unsupervised cash collection locations, implement procedures for reconciling receipts and ensure deposits are properly reviewed and supported. For all cash collections, track, reconcile, and review adjustments made to fees charged and collected, and analyze deposits over time to identify anomalies. Forgery or alterations. Includes checks, p-cards, vendor invoices, or employee payroll that are forged or altered. Be aware of a lack of security surrounding unwritten checks and signature stamps, little to no oversight or segregation of responsibilities, and the failure to account for all checks, wires, and electronic payments. Develop appropriate check processing and reconciliation procedures, and ensure the approval of disbursements includes accounting for the entire sequence of payments (checks, wires, electronic payments, etc.). Do not pre-sign checks. Require dual signatures. Finally, limit the number of bank accounts used by decentralized locations. Someone independent of check processing and distribution should reconcile all bank accounts. Unauthorized vendor distributions. Payments may be made to a fictitious vendor for goods never received or a legitimate vendor for personal goods. Vulnerable situations that allow for unauthorized vendor distributions occur in departments without effective oversight. Vulnerability may also stem from the lack of segregation between ordering, receiving, a nd approval functions. Therefore, create and update purchasing, procurement card, wire transfer, and vendor management policies. Purchasing policies should address limits and purchasing authority; as well as authorization for users, daily and transaction limits, and documentation requirements. When new vendors are created, limit access to select personnel who are not involved in the disbursement or approval process. Ensure all new vendors are appropriately reviewed and approved by a supervisor. Unauthorized payroll disbursements. This can include fictitious employees, unauthorized pay increases, or overtime. An inadequate review of employee timesheets or lack of reconciliation of payroll records to disbursements is another gateway to unauthorized disbursements. Enforce appropriate payroll process policies and controls. Similar to the creation of new vendors, creation of new employees or financial disbursements in the payroll system should be limited to select personnel who are not involved with the approva l process. A supervisor should review new employees added to the system on a regular basis, and review of payroll or financial disbursements should be assigned to someone independent of the process.