Human Rights in Saudi Arabia and its Representation in the Media Research Paper

Human Rights in Saudi Arabia and its Representation in the Media - Research Paper Example What is meant by this statement that the understanding of human rights within the Western world is something of a public relations game relates to the fact that the nations in which the West regularly integrates and has close business/economic interests are relatively unbothered by human rights complaints from the outside world. In such a way, the sad reality of the situation is that many nations within the Western and/or developed world have the unique opportunity to bring about societal and systemic change within nations that exhibit a very poor track record of human rights. However, rather than leveraging their respective positions as a means of bettering the lives of individuals the world over, oftentimes these nations choose instead to continue the beneficial relationships they have with oppressive and repressive regimes. ... In such a way, the author will attempt to analyze the current situation with regards to human rights and Saudi Arabia; analyzing the way in which human rights is portrayed in the media, both domestic Saudi media and world media, discuss the issue of censorship within Saudi Arabia, and analyze the means by which alternative media/social media has allowed the Saudi individuals, and those arguing for a greater degree of human rights liberalization, a platform in which to adequately have their message the past. Furthermore, as a function of analyzing each of these aspects, it is the hope of this author that reader will come to a more full and complete understanding of the way in which human rights are currently exhibited within Saudi Arabia as well as the means by which individuals within and without Saudi Arabia understand these can rights, and the level to which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is willing to go in order to respond to the unique needs that are being exhibited within the King dom. Before delving directly into specific human rights abuses that Saudi Arabia is guilty of, it must be understood that Sharia law defines the way in which the nation’s judiciary operates. Ultimately, appreciating an understanding of the nuances of Sharia law would require a dissertation length response. However, for purposes of this brief analysis, it can and should be understood that Sharia law most necessarily refers to the law that is lain out in the Koran; Islam’s most holy book. Moreover, due to the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not have a Constitution, the rights and privileges to which the accused is beholden is necessarily solely defined within the Koran.

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Essay The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and published in 1927, three years before his death. They are the last stories recounting the adventures of the brilliant, enigmatic detective, Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr, Watson. Extremely popular in Victorian and Edwardian England, these crime mysteries have remained popular throughout successive generations and Sherlock Holmes himself is perhaps the most famous of all fictional detectives. In total, Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty- six short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, beginning in 1887 with his short story, A Study in Scarlet. He went on to write: The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear and His Last Bow. Desperate to concentrate on more serious work, Conan Doyle had attempted to kill off Holmes in The Final Problem, but had revived him in 1904 with The Return of Sherlock Holmes and again in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, so great was the Victorian publics desire to read more stories about Holmes with his cold, scientific approach to crime solving. The setting is Victorian England, primarily Victorian London and Holmess address of 221B Baker Street. The dialogue is formal, as Holmes mixes with the upper strata of society. The descriptions are vivid and detailed, often using metaphor or simile: A red-veined nose jutted out like a vultures head and two fierce grey eyes glared at me from under tufted brows (The Blanched Soldier) The first story is that of The Illustrious Client. Baron Adelbert Gruner was a cunning devil, who was planning to marry Violet De Merville, daughter of General De Merville. The illustrious client asks for Holmes to help prevent the marriage taking place. In his attempt to do so, he suffers a monstrous attack by Gruner. But, in the end, the handsome Gruner is horrendously disfigured and the truth of his wickedness disclosed. Watsons account of the attack is particularly harrowing: The vitriol was eating into it everywhere and dripping from the ears and chin The features, which I had admired a few minutes before were now like some beautiful painting over which the artist had passed a wet foul sponge. The passage vividly and grotesquely describes the transformation from beauty to monster. Gruner becomes physically the monster he is mentally. In The Blanched Soldier, James Dodd employs Holmes to find the whereabouts of his friend and former comrade, Godfrey Emsworth, with whom he had served in the Boer War. It is Holmes, and not Watson who, for once, tells the story of how by analysis and deduction, he locates the soldier: That process, said I [Holmes] starts upon the supposition that when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then what remains, however improbable, must be the truth Hence, the ghostly face at the window is actually the real Emsworth, protected by his parents, because of his suspected leprosy, which fortunately turns out to be only pseudo-leprosy or ichtbyosis. It is suggested that fear alone may have produced the white blotches his mental state had altered his physical state. It is the above process that defines Sherlock Holmess method of detection by deduction and is the forerunner of todays forensic science. The method of deduction stems directly from Doyles own experiences as a student under surgeon who employed similar techniques for diagnosis. So, Sherlock Holmes is the main protagonist in this, at times disturbing, selection of stories. He is the clear- headed, analytical detective; interested only in the cold facts of the case, however minor they seem. Hence, he wanted to know what newspaper was being read by the little man in the house in the grounds of Tetbury Old Park. He is always remarkably observant and objective. Watson, his friend, is very different and a more sympathetic character. But all the characters are believable, colourful and interesting within the settings of the stories. Unfortunately, the stories were difficult to actually become interested in, due to the slow start, which did not inspire me to continue reading. Initially I found the formal style of writing and the language somewhat difficult. Also, some are rather too grisly, but this obviously appealed to the Victorian mentality willing to be thrilled by the very worst crimes and intrigues. Undoubtedly, they are great crime mysteries and I did enjoy them.

The Objective Of Financial Reporting And Qualitative Characteristics And Constraints Accounting Essay

The Objective Of Financial Reporting And Qualitative Characteristics And Constraints Accounting Essay 1 Introduction The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), namely the Boards, jointly published a Discussion Paper and received 179 responses. The Exposure Draft was created from the Boards redeliberations regarding issues being raised by respondents. The Boards published this common Exposure Draft for the public to comment and it is the Boards broader conceptual framework. The Boards are considering their frameworks: to provide standards that are consistent, converge their standards, to develop a general and enhanced conceptual framework. The Boards decided that a reconsideration of concepts would not be efficient because many aspects of the frameworks are consistent and do not need fundamental revision. The Boards are focused on improving and converging their existing frameworks. The conceptual framework for financial reporting established by the Board displays the concepts that underlie financial reporting. This conceptual framework consists of 2 chapters: the objective of financial reporting and qualitative characteristics and constraints of decision useful financial reporting information useful financial reporting information. 2 Chapter 1: The Objective of Financial Reporting This conceptual framework establishes the objective of general purpose financial reporting by business entities in the private sector, which is the foundation of the framework. The objective of general purpose financial reporting is to provide financial information to current capital provides to make decisions. This information might also be useful to users who are not capital providers. The general purpose financial reporting develops superior reporting standards to help in the efficient functioning of economies and the efficient allocation of resources in capital markets. General purpose financial reporting focuses on an extensive range of users needs that lack the ability to obtain financial information needed from the entity. It should be broad enough to comprehend information for the various users. Therefore, the financial report is where they depend on to acquire information. Diverse users may require different information which might go beyond the scope of general purpose financial reporting. The financial reports are prepared from the entitys perspective (deemed to have substance on its own, spate from that of its owners), instead of the entitys capital providers. An entity attains economic resources (its assets) from capital providers in exchange for claims to those resources (its liabilities and equity). Capital providers include Equity investors Equity investors normally invest economic resources in an entity expecting to receive a return on, as well as a return of, the resources invested in. Hence, equity investors are concerned with the amount, timing, uncertainty of an entitys future cash flows and the entitys competence in generating those cash flows which affects the prices of their equity interests. Furthermore, they are concerned with the performance of directors and management of the entity in discharging their responsibility to make efficient and profitable use of the assets invested. Lenders Lenders usually expect to receive a return in the form of interest, repayments of borrowings, and increases in the prices of debt securities. Lenders have similar interests as the equity investors. Other creditors Other creditors provide resources because of their relationship with the entity, instead of a capital provider; no primary relationship. Employee salary or compensation Suppliers extended credit Customer prepay for goods and services Managers responsible for preparing financial reports Capital providers make decisions through useful information provided in financial reporting by particular entity. Financial reporting usefulness in assessing cash flow prospects depends on the entitys current cash resources and the ability to generate sufficient cash to reimburse its capital providers. Besides, financial reporting usefulness in assessing stewardship includes the managements responsibilities to protect the entitys economic resources (assets) from unfavourable effects. Management is also liable for safeguarding the assets of the entity which conforms to the laws, regulations and contractual provisions; thus, the importance of managements performance in the decision usefulness. The general purpose financial reporting is limited to information which does not reflect pertinent information from other sources that should be considered by the users. Financial reporting information is based on estimates, judgements, and models of the financial effects on an entity of transactions and other events in which, is only ideal for preparers and standard setters to strive. Achieving the frameworks vision of ideal financial reporting to the fullest will be difficult in the short term because of technical infeasibility and cost constrains. Financial reporting should include information about: the economic resources of an entity (assets), the claims of the entity are (liabilities and equity), the effects of transaction and any events or circumstances that can affect the entitys resources and claims and provide useful information about the ability of entity to generate its cash flow and how well the entity meets its management responsibilities. The usefulness of financial reporting to the users: Provide useful information about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flow To identify the entitys financial strengths and weaknesses (especially for capital providers) To indicate the potential of entitys cash flow for its economic resources and claims To identify the effectiveness of the entitys management responsibilities To assess availabilities of the entitys nature and quantity of the resources for the use in its operation To estimate the values of the entity. The quantitative measures and other information regarding the changes in entitys economics resources and claims in the financial report can help the users to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of its cash flow; and indicate the effectiveness of management responsibilities. Furthermore, the entity must provide a positive return on its economic resources in order to generate net cash inflows; and return the earning to its investors. Other information like variability of returns, past financial performance, and managements ability can be used to assess the entitys future financial performance. The information regarding the accrual accounting in financial reporting can better provide the users to assess the entitys past financial performance and future prospects in generating net cash inflows without obtaining additional capital from its investors. The entitys cash flow performance in financial reporting assist the investors to understand the entitys business model and operation through assessing how the entity obtains and spends cash. Information about its borrowing, repayment of borrowing, cash dividends and other distribution to investors, as well as the factors of entitys liquidity and solvency, can also assist the investors to determine the entitys cash flow accounting. Besides, information about the changes of entitys resources and claims not resulting from financial performance may assist the investors to differentiate the changes that are results of the entitys financial performance and those that are not. The information of management explanation should be included in financial reporting to assist users for a better understanding about management decision in any events and circumstances that have affected or may affect the entitys financial performance. It is because the internal parties know about the entitys performance than the external users. 3 Chapter 2: Qualitative Characteristics and Constraints of Decision-Useful Financial Reporting Information Fundamental qualitative characteristics distinguish useful financial reporting information from information that is not useful or is misleading. For information to be useful, it must have two fundamental qualitative characteristics: Relevance capable of making a difference in the decisions made by users as capital providers. Information is relevant when it has predictive value, confirmatory value, or both. Predictive value information that is assists the capitals providers to form their own expectations about the future. Confirmatory value information that confirms or changes past or present expectations based on previous evaluations. IASB said that information is relevant when it influences the economic decisions of users by helping them evaluate past, present or future events or confirming, or correcting, their past evaluation. FASB believes that to be relevant, accounting information must be capable of making a difference in a decision by helping users to form predictions about the outcome of past, present, and future events or to confirm or correct expectations. Since some users may have been obtaining information elsewhere other than financial reporting, and emphasizes the relevance of information in their decisions, relevant information does not really make a difference in the past or in the future. Any information that might be able to make a difference is said to be relevant. Faithful representation depiction of an economic phenomenon is complete, neutral, and free from material error. Complete includes all information that is necessary for faithful representation of economic phenomena. Neutrality information which is bias free. Freedom from error estimation of the economic phenomena is based on the appropriate inputs and each input must reflect the best available information. Relevance is concern with the connection between economic phenomena with the decisions of capital providers and not their depictions, therefore should be consider first. Then, the faithful representation is applied to determine which depictions of economic phenomenon best corresponds to the relevant phenomenon. Enhancing qualitative characteristics improves the decision usefulness of financial reporting information that is relevant and faithfully represented. They are used to distinguish more-useful information from less-useful information. The enhancing qualitative characteristics are comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability. Comparability Comparability is the quality of information that enables users to identify similarities and the differences between two sets of economic phenomena. Since the essence of decision making is to select between alternatives, the information is more useful if it can be compared with similar information about the other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some other period. Comparability should not be confused with uniformity. Overemphasizing on uniformity may reduce comparability by making unlike things look alike. The IASB Framework actually discusses comparability as a qualitative characteristic which is equally important as relevance and faithfully representation. However, FASB concludes that comparability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic because regardless of how comparable the information may be, it will not be useful if it is irrelevant to users decisions and does not faithfully represent the economic phenomena. Verifiability A quality of information that helps to assure users that information faithfully represents the economic phenomena that it purports to represent. If the information is verifiable, the knowledgeable and independent observers could come to the general consensus. The verifiability of the information focuses on whether the recognition or measurement method is correctly applied. Verification can either be direct or indirect. An amount or other representation itself verified such as by counting cash or observing marketable securities and their quoted prices are called direct verification. An example of verifying the carrying amount of inventory by checking the inputs (quantities and costs) and recalculating the ending inventory using the same cost flow assumption (accounting convention or methodology average cost and first-in, first-out) is indirect verification. IASB Framework does not include verifiability as an explicit aspect, yet FASB does. FASB observed that some of the information which is faithfully represented may not necessarily be verifiable. Therefore, if the information is verifiable, it is generally more useful. Thus, FASB concluded that verifiability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic. Timeliness Timeliness means having information available to decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions. A lack of timeliness can rob information of its potential usefulness. The IASB Framework discusses timeliness separately, as a constraint that could rob information of relevance. However, FASB concluded that reporting information in a timely manner can enhance both the relevance and faithful representation of the information since information can be reported in a timely manner but has no relevance, or information delayed in reporting remains its relevance. Understandability Understandability is the quality of information that enables users to comprehend its meaning. When the information is classified, characterized, and presented clearly and concisely, the understandability will be enhanced. Although the reporting information has to be understandable, the users of the financial report should also review and analyze the information with reasonable diligence as the users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and to be able to read the financial report. Enhancing qualitative characteristics should improve the usefulness of financial information and should be maximized to the extent possible. However, if the information is irrelevant or not faithfully represented, the enhancing qualitative characteristics cannot make that information useful for decision. Besides, the application of the enhancing qualitative characteristics is an iterative process which does not follow the prescribed order. In addition, FASB considered whether some other qualitative characteristics should be added, such as transparency, true and fair view, credibility, internal consistency, and high quality. FASB concluded that it would be redundant if transparency is added as one of the qualitative characteristics. True and fair view is not a qualitative characteristic itself, but it should result from applying the qualitative characteristics. FASB concluded that it should be the goal to achieve high quality to which financial reporting and standard setters aspire. By adherence to the objective and qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information, the goal can be achieved. Therefore, the characteristics mentioned in not added as the qualitative characteristics of the financial reporting information. In a nutshell, the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information in this draft can be categorized into fundamental qualitative characteristics and enhancing qualitative characteristics as shown in the following: Figure 1 Compared to the conceptual framework issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB) in 2007, most of the qualitative characteristics are identical to the characteristic discussed in this draft. However, the most distinctive aspect which can be found is MASB did not categorize the qualitative characteristics into fundamental and enhancing qualitative characteristics. The qualitative characteristics concluded by MASB are shown in the figure below. Figure 2 MASB concluded that the relevance of information is affected by its nature and materiality while FASB discusses materiality under the constraints of financial reporting. MASB provides that the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements could be influenced when the omission or misstatement of the information is material. Thus, materiality provides a threshold or cut-off point rather than being a primary qualitative characteristic which information must have for it to be useful. Besides, MASB also discussed about substance over form and prudence under the characteristic of reliability. MASB provides that if information is to represent faithfully the transactions and other events that it purports to represent, it is necessary that they are accounted for and presented in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. However, FASB did not identify substance over form as a component of faithful representation as it would be redundant to do so. In addition, FASB did not conclude prudence as a qualitative characteristic because it might conflict with the quality of neutrality. MASB discussed the characteristic of timeliness as a constraint on relevant and reliable information. If there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. Management may need to balance the relative merits of timely reporting and the provision of reliable information. However, FASB concluded timeliness as an enhancing qualitative characteristic of the financial reporting information. There should be a balance between the qualitative characteristic as the IASB Framework says: In practice a balancing, or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. Generally the aim is to achieve an appropriate balance among the characteristics in order to meet the objective of financial statements. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments. The information provided by financial reporting is limited by materiality and the cost of providing. Materiality Materiality depends on the nature and amount of the item judged in the particular circumstance of its omission or misstatement. It is important to consider the materiality of information because material omissions or misstatements will cause information to contain error, making it biased and incomplete. However, it is hard to specify a uniform quantitative threshold at which the information is material. Concepts Statement 2 and IASB Framework define materiality similarly but discuss materiality it differently. IASB describes materiality as an aspect of relevance and does not indicate that it has a relationship to other qualitative characteristics. On the other hand, Concepts Statement 2 provides that materiality should be considered together with qualitative characteristics (not only relevance). Thus, the Boards conclude that materiality is pertinent to all of the other qualitative characteristics. Cost The Boards emphasized the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Costs of providing information: Cost of collecting and processing Cost of verifying Cost of disseminating Cost of analysis and interpretation Cost resulted from omission of decision-useful information Benefits of financial reporting information: More efficient functioning of capital market Lower cost of capital Improved access to capital market Favourable effect on public relations Better management decisions However, the major problem for the standard setters in conducting rigorous cost-benefit analyses is the difficulty in qualifying the benefits of a certain reporting requirement. Besides, it is also difficult to obtain complete, quantitative information about the initial and ongoing cost of a requirement and impose them. Nevertheless, standard seekers should take into account both benefits and costs of proposed financial reporting requirements. There are 3 constraints of financial reporting information mentioned by the MASB: Balance between benefit and cost As mentioned in FASB, cost is one of the constraints of financial reporting information and the Boards emphasizes on the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Balance between qualitative characteristic MASB provides that, In practice a balancing or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments. The FASB also mentions, In assessing whether the benefits of reporting information are likely to justify the costs, it is necessary to consider whether one or more qualitative characteristics might be scarified to some degree to reduce cost. Timeliness MASB mentioned that a constraint which is not mentioned in the conceptual framework of FASB; timeliness. MASB provides that if there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. To provide information on a timely basis it may often be necessary to report before all aspects of a transaction or other event are known. On the other hand, if reporting is delayed until all aspects are known, the information may be highly reliable but of little use to users who have had to make decisions in the interim. Management may need to balance the timely reporting and the provision of reliable information.

Symbolism in Fuentes Aura Essay -- Carlos Fuentes, Aura Essays

On the surface, Fuentes' Aura is a very strange and eerie book. It draws you in and keeps you there, forcing you to read the book to its very end. Just below the surface, a world of symbolism, words and parallels lead to a greater understanding of what is happening throughout this captivating tale. Skimming the surface of the story, an abundance of symbols can be signaled out, but a recurrence of symbols is very important. One of the most prevalent symbols found in this story is the darkness of Senora Consuelo's old colonial mansion. The house is so dark the characters must learn to maneuver by sound and touch. The darkness sets the tone for the whole story. Senora Consuelo's room is not bathed in light but filled with "perpetual shadows". Of course darkness and shadows are a staple of the Gothic, but darkness could also be suggestive of the unknown or not being able to think clearly. Shadows could be interpreted as that which is clouded, hard to grasp, or just beyond clear vision. Did the darkness and shadows contribute to Felipe?s state of mind and make him more susceptible to Senora Consuelo's will? The rooms where the action of a story takes place are also very important. Some the rooms used in the book are bedrooms, the dining room, the parlor, and the enclosed garden patio. The first room we see inside of this old house is the garden patio. This room is interesting because the smell from the patio is always associated with the title character. Felipe looks for her in this garden; he smells the patio plants in her hair. Symbolically, the garden can be associated with the mind, with the unconscious, or it may give you clues to your own inner state. The plants, flowers, and fruit found in the garden may also enhance t... ...book. These symbols and recurrences are not coincidental or superficial, but upon investigation, give deeper insight into how deeply the mindset of our main character was affected. We now know that Felipe had almost no choice and was lulled into this household. Then there is a plausible explanation about the true relationship between Aura and Senora Consuelo. This book turns out to be a very strange life/death cycle that still leaves questions that need to be answered. Work Cited Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. Trans. Lysander Kemp. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. Fuentes, Carlos. "Worlds Apart." Modernism/Postmodernism. Ed. Peter Brooker. London: Longman, 1992. 244-46. Gillespie, Kathleen " A literary Legend Speaks ? Carlos Fuentes at the Askwith Education Forum" 1 de Diciembre de 2003 http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/featrures/fuentes12012000.html

Chi-Square Test

Chi-Square Test Chi-square is a statistical test commonly used to compare observed data with data we would expect to obtain according to a specific hypothesis. For example, if, according to Mendel's laws, you expected 10 of 20 offspring from a cross to be male and the actual observed number was 8 males, then you might want to know about the â€Å"goodness to fit† between the observed and expected. Were the deviations (differences between observed and expected) the result of chance, or were they due to other factors.How much deviation can occur before you, the investigator, must conclude that something other than chance is at work, causing the observed to differ from the expected. The chi-square test is always testing what scientists call the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant difference between the expected and observed result. The formula for calculating chi-square ( [pic]2) is: [pic]2= [pic](o-e)2/e That is, chi-square is the sum of the squared differ ence between observed (o) and the expected (e) data (or the deviation, d), divided by the expected data in all possible categories.For example, suppose that a cross between two pea plants yields a population of 880 plants, 639 with green seeds and 241 with yellow seeds. You are asked to propose the genotypes of the parents. Your hypothesis is that the allele for green is dominant to the allele for yellow and that the parent plants were both heterozygous for this trait. If your hypothesis is true, then the predicted ratio of offspring from this cross would be 3:1 (based on Mendel's laws) as predicted from the results of the Punnett square (Figure B. ). Figure B. 1 – Punnett Square. Predicted offspring from cross between green and yellow-seeded plants. Green (G) is dominant (3/4 green; 1/4 yellow). To calculate [pic]2 , first determine the number expected in each category. If the ratio is 3:1 and the total number of observed individuals is 880, then the expected numerical value s should be 660 green and 220 yellow. [pic] Chi-square requires that you use numerical values, not percentages or ratios. [pic] Then calculate [pic]2 using this formula, as shown in Table B. . Note that we get a value of 2. 668 for [pic]2. But what does this number mean? Here's how to interpret the [pic]2 value: 1. Determine degrees of freedom (df). Degrees of freedom can be calculated as the number of categories in the problem minus 1. In our example, there are two categories (green and yellow); therefore, there is I degree of freedom. 2. Determine a relative standard to serve as the basis for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis. The relative standard commonly used in biological research is p ; 0. 05.The p value is the probability that the deviation of the observed from that expected is due to chance alone (no other forces acting). In this case, using p ; 0. 05, you would expect any deviation to be due to chance alone 5% of the time or less. 3. Refer to a chi-square distribution table (Table B. 2). Using the appropriate degrees of ‘freedom, locate the value closest to your calculated chi-square in the table. Determine the closestp (probability) value associated with your chi-square and degrees of freedom. In this case ([pic]2=2. 68), the p value is about 0. 10, which means that there is a 10% probability that any deviation from expected results is due to chance only. Based on our standard p > 0. 05, this is within the range of acceptable deviation. In terms of your hypothesis for this example, the observed chi-squareis not significantly different from expected. The observed numbers are consistent with those expected under Mendel's law. Step-by-Step Procedure for Testing Your Hypothesis and Calculating Chi-Square 1. State the hypothesis being tested and the predicted results.Gather the data by conducting the proper experiment (or, if working genetics problems, use the data provided in the problem). 2. Determine the expected numbers for each observation al class. Remember to use numbers, not percentages. [pic] Chi-square should not be calculated if the expected value in any category is less than 5. [pic] 3. Calculate [pic]2 using the formula. Complete all calculations to three significant digits. Round off your answer to two significant digits. 4. Use the chi-square distribution table to determine significance of the value. . Determine degrees of freedom and locate the value in the appropriate column. b. Locate the value closest to your calculated [pic]2 on that degrees of freedom df row. c. Move up the column to determine the p value. 5. State your conclusion in terms of your hypothesis. a. If the p value for the calculated [pic]2 is p ; 0. 05, accept your hypothesis. ‘The deviation is small enough that chance alone accounts for it. A p value of 0. 6, for example, means that there is a 60% probability that any deviation from expected is due to chance only.This is within the range of acceptable deviation. b. If the p value fo r the calculated [pic]2 is p < 0. 05, reject your hypothesis, and conclude that some factor other than chance is operating for the deviation to be so great. For example, a p value of 0. 01 means that there is only a 1% chance that this deviation is due to chance alone. Therefore, other factors must be involved. The chi-square test will be used to test for the â€Å"goodness to fit† between observed and expected data from several laboratory investigations in this lab manual. Table B. 1 Calculating Chi-Square    |Green |Yellow | |Observed (o) |639 |241 | |Expected (e) |660 |220 | |Deviation (o – e) |-21 |21 | |Deviation2 (d2) |441 |441 | |d2/e |0. 68 |2 | |[pic]2 = [pic]d2/e = 2. 668 |. |. | Table B. 2 Chi-Square Distribution |Degrees of | | |Freedom |Probability (p) | |(df) | | |   |0. 95 |0. 90 | Source: R. A. Fisher and F. Yates, Statistical Tables for Biological Agricultural and Medical Research, 6th ed. , Table IV, Oliver & Boyd, Ltd. , Edinburgh, by permissi on of the authors and publishers.Main Page | Introduction and Objectives | Scientific Investigation | Experimental Procedures | Writing Procedures | Mendelian Inheritance |   Monohybrid and Dihybrid Exercises | Reference | Miscellaneous | Scientific Writing | Chi-Square Test | Graphing Techniques Chi-Square Test Chi-square is a statistical test commonly used to compare observed data with data we would expect to obtain according to a specific hypothesis. For example, if, according to Mendel's laws, you expected 10 of 20 offspring from a cross to be male and the actual observed number was 8 males, then you might want to know about the â€Å"goodness to fit† between the observed and expected. Were the deviations (differences between observed and expected) the result of chance, or were they due to other factors.How much deviation can occur before you, the investigator, must conclude that something other than chance is at work, causing the observed to differ from the expected. T he chi-square test is always testing what scientists call the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant difference between the expected and observed result. The formula for calculating chi-square ( [pic]2) is: [pic]2= [pic](o-e)2/e That is, chi-square is the sum of the squared difference between observed (o) and the expected (e) data (or the deviation, d), divided by the expected data in all possible categories. For example, suppose that a cross between two pea plants yields a population of 880 plants, 639 with green seeds and 241 with yellow seeds. You are asked to propose the genotypes of the parents.Your hypothesis is that the allele for green is dominant to the allele for yellow and that the parent plants were both heterozygous for this trait. If your hypothesis is true, then the predicted ratio of offspring from this cross would be 3:1 (based on Mendel's laws) as predicted from the results of the Punnett square (Figure B. 1). Figure B. 1 – Punnett Square . Predicted offspring from cross between green and yellow-seeded plants. Green (G) is dominant (3/4 green; 1/4 yellow). To calculate [pic]2 , first determine the number expected in each category. If the ratio is 3:1 and the total number of observed individuals is 880, then the expected numerical values should be 660 green and 220 yellow. [pic]Chi-square requires that you use numerical values, not percentages or ratios. [pic] Then calculate [pic]2 using this formula, as shown in Table B. 1. Note that we get a value of 2. 668 for [pic]2. But what does this number mean? Here's how to interpret the [pic]2 value: 1. Determine degrees of freedom (df). Degrees of freedom can be calculated as the number of categories in the problem minus 1. In our example, there are two categories (green and yellow); therefore, there is I degree of freedom. 2. Determine a relative standard to serve as the basis for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis. The relative standard commonly used in biological rese arch is p ; 0. 05.The p value is the probability that the deviation of the observed from that expected is due to chance alone (no other forces acting). In this case, using p ; 0. 05, you would expect any deviation to be due to chance alone 5% of the time or less. 3. Refer to a chi-square distribution table (Table B. 2). Using the appropriate degrees of ‘freedom, locate the value closest to your calculated chi-square in the table. Determine the closestp (probability) value associated with your chi-square and degrees of freedom. In this case ([pic]2=2. 668), the p value is about 0. 10, which means that there is a 10% probability that any deviation from expected results is due to chance only. Based on our standard p > 0. 05, this is within the range of acceptable deviation.In terms of your hypothesis for this example, the observed chi-squareis not significantly different from expected. The observed numbers are consistent with those expected under Mendel's law. Step-by-Step Proced ure for Testing Your Hypothesis and Calculating Chi-Square 1. State the hypothesis being tested and the predicted results. Gather the data by conducting the proper experiment (or, if working genetics problems, use the data provided in the problem). 2. Determine the expected numbers for each observational class. Remember to use numbers, not percentages. [pic] Chi-square should not be calculated if the expected value in any category is less than 5. [pic] 3.Calculate [pic]2 using the formula. Complete all calculations to three significant digits. Round off your answer to two significant digits. 4. Use the chi-square distribution table to determine significance of the value. a. Determine degrees of freedom and locate the value in the appropriate column. b. Locate the value closest to your calculated [pic]2 on that degrees of freedom df row. c. Move up the column to determine the p value. 5. State your conclusion in terms of your hypothesis. a. If the p value for the calculated [pic]2 is p ; 0. 05, accept your hypothesis. ‘The deviation is small enough that chance alone accounts for it. A p value of 0. , for example, means that there is a 60% probability that any deviation from expected is due to chance only. This is within the range of acceptable deviation. b. If the p value for the calculated [pic]2 is p < 0. 05, reject your hypothesis, and conclude that some factor other than chance is operating for the deviation to be so great. For example, a p value of 0. 01 means that there is only a 1% chance that this deviation is due to chance alone. Therefore, other factors must be involved. The chi-square test will be used to test for the â€Å"goodness to fit† between observed and expected data from several laboratory investigations in this lab manual. Table B. 1 Calculating Chi-Square    |Green |Yellow | |Observed (o) |639 |241 | |Expected (e) |660 |220 | |Deviation (o – e) |-21 |21 | |Deviation2 (d2) |441 |441 | |d2/e |0. 68 |2 | |[pic]2 = [pic] d2/e = 2. 668 |. |. | Table B. 2 Chi-Square Distribution |Degrees of | | |Freedom |Probability (p) | |(df) | | |   |0. 95 |0. 90 | Frequency DistributionsOne important set of statistical tests allows us to test for deviations of observed frequencies from expected frequencies. To introduce these tests, we will start with a simple, non-biological example. We want to determine if a coin is fair. In other words, are the odds of flipping the coin heads-up the same as tails-up. We collect data by flipping the coin 200 times. The coin landed heads-up 108 times and tails-up 92 times. At first glance, we might suspect that the coin is biased because heads resulted more often than than tails. However, we have a more quantitative way to analyze our results, a chi-squared test. To perform a chi-square test (or any other statistical test), we first must establish our null hypothesis.In this example, our null hypothesis is that the coin should be equally likely to land head-up or tails-up ev ery time. The null hypothesis allows us to state expected frequencies. For 200 tosses, we would expect 100 heads and 100 tails. The next step is to prepare a table as follows. |   |Heads |Tails |Total | |Observed |108 |92 |200 | |Expected |100 |100 |200 | |Total |208 |192 |400 |The Observed values are those we gather ourselves. The expected values are the frequencies expected, based on our null hypothesis. We total the rows and columns as indicated. It's a good idea to make sure that the row totals equal the column totals (both total to 400 in this example). Using probability theory, statisticians have devised a way to determine if a frequency distribution differs from the expected distribution. To use this chi-square test, we first have to calculate chi-squared. Chi-squared = ? (observed-expected)2/(expected) We have two classes to consider in this example, heads and tails. Chi-squared = (100-108)2/100 + (100-92)2/100 = (-8)2/100 + (8)2/100 = 0. 4 + 0. 64 = 1. 28 Now we have to c onsult a table of critical values of the chi-squared distribution. Here is a portion of such a table. |df/prob. | Types of Data: There are basically two types of random variables and they yield two types of data: numerical and categorical. A chi square (X2) statistic is used to investigate whether distributions of categorical variables differ from one another. Basically categorical variable yield data in the categories and numerical variables yield data in numerical form. Responses to such questions as â€Å"What is your major? † or Do you own a car? † are categorical because they yield data such as â€Å"biology† or â€Å"no. In contrast, responses to such questions as â€Å"How tall are you? † or â€Å"What is your G. P. A.? † are numerical. Numerical data can be either discrete or continuous. The table below may help you see the differences between these two variables. |  Data Type |  Question Type |Possible Responses | |  Categorical |  What is your sex? |male or female | |  Numerical |Disrete- How many cars do you own? |two or three | |  Numerical |Continuous – How tall are you? |  72 inches | Notice that discrete data arise fom a counting process, while continuous data arise from a measuring process.The Chi Square statistic compares the tallies or counts of categorical responses between two (or more) independent groups. (note: Chi square tests can only be used on actual numbers and not on percentages, proportions, means, etc. ) 2 x 2 Contingency Table There are several types of chi square tests depending on the way the data was collected and the hypothesis being tested. We'll begin with the simplest case: a 2 x 2 contingency table. If we set the 2 x 2 table to the general notation shown below in Table 1, using the letters a, b, c, and d to denote the contents of the cells, then we would have the following table: Table 1. General notation for a 2 x 2 contingency table. Variable 1   Variable 2 |   Data type 1 |  Data type 2 |  Totals | |  Category 1 |  a |b |a + b | |  Category 2 |  c |d |c + d | |  Total |a + c |b + d |a + b + c + d = N | For a 2 x 2 contingency table the Chi Square statistic is calculated by the formula: [pic] Note: notice that the four components of the denominator are the four totals from the table columns and rows. Suppose you conducted a drug trial on a group of animals and you hypothesized that the animals receiving the drug would show increased heart rates compared to those that did not receive the drug.You conduct the study and collect the following data: Ho: The proportion of animals whose heart rate increased is independent of drug treatment. Ha: The proportion of animals whose heart rate increased is associated with drug treatment. Table 2. Hypothetical drug trial results. |   |  Heart  Rate |  No  Heart  Rate |Total | | |  Increased |  Increase | | |  Treated |  36 |  14 |  50 | |  Not treated |  30 |   25 |  55 | |  Total |  66 |  39 |  105 | Applying the formula above we get:Chi square = 105[(36)(25) – (14)(30)]2 / (50)(55)(39)(66) = 3. 418 Before we can proceed we eed to know how many degrees of freedom we have. When a comparison is made between one sample and another, a simple rule is that the degrees of freedom equal (number of columns minus one) x (number of rows minus one) not counting the totals for rows or columns. For our data this gives (2-1) x (2-1) = 1. We now have our chi square statistic (x2 = 3. 418), our predetermined alpha level of significance (0. 05), and our degrees of freedom (df  =  1). Entering the Chi square distribution table with 1 degree of freedom and reading along the row we find our value of x2 (3. 418) lies between 2. 706 and 3. 841.The corresponding probability is between the 0. 10 and 0. 05 probability levels. That means that the p-value is above 0. 05 (it is actually 0. 065). Since a p-value of 0. 65 is greater than the conven tionally accepted significance level of 0. 05 (i. e. p  >  0. 05) we fail to reject the null hypothesis. In other words, there is no statistically significant difference in the proportion of animals whose heart rate increased. What would happen if the number of control animals whose heart rate increased dropped to 29 instead of 30 and, consequently, the number of controls whose hear rate did not increase changed from 25 to 26? Try it. Notice that the new x2 value is 4. 25 and this value exceeds the table value of 3. 841 (at 1 degree of freedom and an alpha level of 0. 05). This means that p < 0. 05 (it is now0. 04) and we reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis – the heart rate of animals is different between the treatment groups. When p < 0. 05 we generally refer to this as a significant difference. Table 3. Chi Square distribution table. probability level (alpha) |Df |0. 5 |0. 10 |0. 05 | |  A |  10 |  42 |  52 | |  a |  33 |  15 |  48 | |  Totals |  43 |  57 |  100 |The penotypic ratio 85 of the A type and 15 of the a-type (homozygous recessive). In a monohybrid cross between two heterozygotes, however, we would have predicted a 3:1 ratio of phenotypes. In other words, we would have expected to get 75 A-type and 25 a-type. Are or resuls different? [pic] Calculate the chi square statistic x2 by completing the following steps: 1. For each observed number in the table subtract the corresponding expected number (O — E). 2. Square the difference [ (O —E)2 ]. 3. Divide the squares obtained for each cell in the table by the expected number for that cell [ (O – E)2 / E ]. 4. Sum all the values for (O – E)2 / E. This is the chi square statistic. For our example, the calculation would be:    |Observed |Expected |(O — E) |(O — E)2 |(O — E)2/ E | |a-type |15 |25 |10 |100 |4. 0 | |Total |100 |100 |   |   | Suppose you have the following categorical data se t. Table . Incidence of three types of malaria in three tropical regions. |   |  Asia |Africa |South America |Totals | |  14 |  23. 04 |  9. 04 |81. 72 |3. 546 | |  45 |  36. 00 |  9. 00 |81. 00 |2. 5 | |  2 |  20. 64 |  18. 64 |347. 45 |16. 83 | |  5 |  15. 36 |  10. 36 |107. 33 |6. 99 | |  53 |  24. 00 |  29. 00 |841. 00 |35. 04 | |  53 |  34. 40 |  18. 60 |345. 96 |10. 06 | |  45 |  25. 60 |  19. 40 |376. 36 |14. 70 | |  2 |  40. 00 |  38. 00 |  1444. 00 |36. 10 | Chi Square = 125. 516 Degrees of Freedom = (c – 1)(r – 1) = 2(2) = 4 Table 3.Chi Square distribution table. probability level (alpha) Df |0. 5 |0. 10 |0. 05 |0. 02 |0. 01 |0. 001 | |1 |0. 455 |2. 706 |3. 841 |5. 412 |6. 635 |10. 827 | |2 |1. 386 |4. 605 |5. 991 |7. 824 |9. 210 |13. 815 | |3 |2. 366 |6. 251 |7. 815 |9. 837 |11. 345 |16. 268 | |4 |3. 357 |7. 779 |9. 488 |11. 668 |13. 277 |18. 465 | |5 |4. 351 |9. 236 |11. 070 |13. 388 |15. 086 |20. 517 | |Reject Ho because 125. 516 is greater than 9. 488 (for alpha ’ 0. 05) Thus, we would reject the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between location and type of malaria. Our data tell us there is a relationship between type of malaria and location, but that's all it says.Follow the link below to access a java-based program for calculating Chi Square statistics for contingency tables of up to 9 rows by 9 columns. Enter the number of row and colums in the spaces provided on the page and click the submit button. A new form will appear asking you to enter your actual data into the cells of the contingency table. When finished entering your data, click the â€Å"calculate now† button to see the results of your Chi Square analysis. You may wish to print this last page to keep as a record. Chi Square, This page was created as part of the Mathbeans Project. The java applets were created by David Eck and modified by Jim Ryan. The Mathbeans Project is funded by a gran t from the National Science Foundation DUE-9950473.

buy custom Causes and Effects of Racism essay

buy custom Causes and Effects of Racism essay Racism refers to the belief that a certain racial group is superior or inferior to another, which causes them to be discriminated against based on their various inherent traits (Shah, 2010). Racism has a very long history in the society, infiltrating every aspect of our lives. It is unfortunate that even today racism still continues to exist and shows no sign of declining in the near future. It exists in different forms based on the difference of skin color, religion, culture, economic status etc (Shah, 2010). A better understanding of racism requires a closer look at the core cause which is an institutional ideology. It is more than just ill-treatment of certain people, or hatred; it is a vice that is cultivated and sustained by governments and institutions (Shah, 2010). The initial evidence of racism emerged at the end of the 16th century with the slave trade in America and Britain. The rich and the powerful used racism to justify this inhuman and most atrocious treatment of black people to gain material wealth. Towards the end of the 17th century, racism had become an established and organized justification for degrading and mistreating slaves (Shah, 2010). When slave trade declined, racism took a new form in the 1940s to justify the ideology of imperialism which reigned more than a century. The white mans burden concept was a trend started in England. According to it, British colonialists declared themselves as the father and mother of colonial children charged with the responsibility of their spiritual and material welfare. Colonialists used racism to justify their exploitation of the natives, stealing of their properties, as well as their capitalism expansion into various countries (Shah, 2010). This paper explores the causes and effects of racism. Causes of Racism The various causes of racism are discussed below: Feeling of Unworthiness A majority of racist people in the world tend to lack self-esteem and self-love, thereby making them feel unconfident. Consequently, they tend to venture their negative feelings toward people who are vulnerable and weak (Shah, 2010). It is important to note that people, who love and appreciate themselves, are in a better position to appreciate the feelings of others and understand them; hence, they are able to accommodate others more. Racists have a low-perception of themselves because they feel they lack the opportunities that others have, and, therefore, need to feel superior and exercise power over others, makes them treat others indifferently (Shah, 2010). Ignorance Ignorance is another issue that fuels racism. Children, who are taught that other people are less human, or inferior, grow up with the belief that racism is right and normal, especially when their peers demonstrate similar beliefs and conducts. Consequently, such people tend to see nothing wrong with their actions because they are validated by everybody else around them (Shah, 2010). Until they are aware of the consequences of their actions through education, they continue to remain ignorant of other peoples realities. Intolerance The failure to teach children about tolerance to different people has also contributed to racism. This is because, many schools are segregated based on gender, abilities, race, religion, culture, economic status etc. As a result, children grow up only used to interacting with other children whom they share common things with. When they grow up, they find it difficult to tolerate people who are different from them (Shah, 2010). Effects of Racism The effects of racism are numerous and varied as discussed below: Segregation Racism results in segregation, and was the reason behind the segregation witnessed in the United States between 1890 and 1940, which saw Jim Crow laws being enacted to segregate the black community from the white Americans. Consequently, all public facilities were separated for whites and blacks. Numerous African-Americans faced brutalism, frightening, and even killing for enrolling in schools and votting (Shah, 2010). Lynching of the black population by the whites for insignificant reasons was a common and widespread practice during those days. In healthcare facilities, black people were denied the same quality of health care given to the whites, and several black patients often died due to neglect by medical staffs. Racism also led to the South African Apartheid that resulted in legal segregation of the Africans from the Europeans (Shah, 2010). Racism also led to the mass killing of Jews and Gypsies by Hitler during World War II (Shah, 2010). Hitlers genocide was systematically planned, and sponsored by the Nazi Germany Government, and was aimed to kill all Jews and Gypsies who had occupied the Nazi territory. It is reported that about two-thirds of the twelve million (9 million women and 3 million men) Jews who lived in Europe perished. The most famous factories were Sobibor, Belzec, and Treblinka, where handicapped (physical and mental) Jews and Gypsies were taken and burned alive, when naked (Shah, 2010). Anger, Violence and Hatred Racism results in violence, anger and hatred among people. People who are discriminated against for instance, based on appearance, lack self esteem and confidence. However, since there is nothing they can do to change their appearance, they tend to harbor hatred and anger towards others, which when not handled properly can lead to violence (Shah, 2010). Such people are exceedingly hot-tempered and can turn violent at the least of provocations. Racism has existed since time immemorial and is still present in the current society. The past years of segregation, colonialism and extermination have all remained in our memories, making it difficult to forget everything and treat everybody equally. Though racism may be inevitable in the society, something can still be done to save the future generation from its effects. Education is the way forward. We have to explain to future generations that we share the same earth, so we must accept our differences, and learn to love and tolerate one another. Tolerance is the key word in the fight against racism. Buy custom Causes and Effects of Racism essay