The Paradox of the Software Essay Example for Free

The Paradox of the Software Essay When believing in a certain god, people become biased towards justifying and asserting the greatness of their god. Naturally, a person like Thomas Aquinas would not have been dubbed a Saint if he did not have an immense faith towards his god, so therefore he would have a way to justify his god against this paradox, just as critics can find faults and inconsistencies to argue his reasoning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to him, divine omnipotence is not merely being able to do anything any everything conceivable or inconceivable, but rather being able to do everything that is a logical possibility; the compatibility of the predicate to its subject. An effect can only be deemed possible if it has a logical cause. However, god’s omnipotence or what is logically possible for a divine being like him cannot be measured in terms of what is humanly possible. It would be very hard for someone with such devotion to god as that of a saint to accept that his omnipotence can be diminished by something as mundane as a computer software. Therefore, for a person like him, god, without question will always be omnipotent. To back that claim, saint Aquinas would argue that god being beaten by a software in chess is illogical, a predicate that is not compatible with its subject, and inconceivable, therefore, god’s omnipotence cannot be challenged by whether he could be beaten by a software or whether he could create such a software. There is a saying that a teacher’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his student. It would mean that the student has learned everything he could from the teacher and even more than the teacher could teach him. That could also apply to a creator; a creator’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his creation. It will always be possible for a creator for create something greater than him, because he would know his own limitations, therefore he could improve those in his creation. The only question is whether he would allow himself to be surpassed by something that came from him or if he will deliberately limit the capabilities of his creation thus maintaining his superiority over it. As I had mentioned earlier, people will always find ways to defend what they believe in; such as the case of Saint Aquinas’ philosophies regarding his god. The way he agued god’s omnipotence seems as if he just asserts gods divinity and that his greatness cannot be questioned or diminished. Given the earlier argument regarding the creator and his creation, it only seems that there is an omnipotent god because god himself may only be limiting the capabilities of his creations to a level lower than that of his to maintain his power over them. References Martin, C. J. F. (1997). Thomas Aquinas: God and Explanations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Paterson, C. Pugh, M. S. (2006.), Analytical Thomism: Traditions in Dialogue. Ashgate. Selman, F. (2007). Aquinas 101:A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Brians Song Essay -- Brians Song

Brian's Song   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is a true story about how 2 men, Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, completely different from each other from and inceperable bond. The 2 men are seperated by about everything that you can think of: they come from 2 different parys of the country, one is white, one is black, 1 liked to talk, the other was shy. Pretty much the only thing they had in common was that they both were competing for the same job.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book takes place in and around the Chicago area. Gale and Brian are both trying to get the spot as the Chicago Bears starting halfback. They both are rookies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins on the training camp field of the Chicago Bears. Gale pulls up in a taxi. Brian immediately comes up to him and greets him. Brian tells Gale to go talk to Halas (Bears Head Coach). Brian also tells Gale that Halas is deaf in his left ear so stay on the right side when he is talking to him. Gale procceds to go to the coaches office. When Halal and Gale are speaking Gale keeps manuevering to get to the coaches right ear. Halas notices this akward behavior and askes him what he is doin. he alsmost tells his coach but he has realized he has gotten tricked. Next, the team is in the dining hall when Brian is volunteered by a coach to sing his almamaders (Wake Forest) fight song. This is how the books gets its title.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I fast forward to after practice JC Caroline has to have a meeting with Gale. He notifies Gale the him and Brian will be rooming together. T...

Weak People in the Bible

Regard For Those Who Are Weaker In Society Written in Torah are lessons and stories about how God created Earth, animals, plants, day and night, the sun, and also how God created man to dominate over all living things. Within Torah is a story of Abram and his relationship with God. Abram or Abraham had a covenant with God. God promised to bless the nation and Abraham. Abraham had no rules or law to follow he simply had to have faith in God and believe in him. God said to Abraham â€Å"†¦ You shall be the ancestor of nations.No longer shall your name be Abram but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, all t he land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God† (Genesis 17:4-8).The covenant between Abraham and God said that Abraham was blessed and so his descendants shall be blessed, so they were. Moses, one of Abraham’s descendants, was spoken to by God and he was told to go into Egypt and rescue the Israelites from slavery. Moses did what God had asked of him and rescued the Israelites; they were weak, poor and in bad shape. God had mercy on them and he heard their cries and helped. He made another covenant and this time it was a bit different. He promised to make the Israelite his treasured people if they would agree to follow and keep his commandments.This was good for the Israelites because they came from a place where times were hard and God saved them and made them his people. Torah instructs the Israelites to follow the laws given to them through the covenant between themselves and God. Morally the Israelites are to treat others as they would like to be treated. They were once slaves to the Egyptians and treated very poorly. The Israelites should have mercy on others less privileged because God had mercy on them. When Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt they were not completely grateful.They complained to Moses. The Israelites said â€Å"If only we had died by the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger† (Exodus 16:3). With the complaints and cries from the Israelites, God sent them bread to eat and gave them only one rule. They were not to take more than a day’s worth of bread at a time. Even though God gave the Israelites laws he still had mercy on them and helped them when they cried out.The laws were a test of faith and trueness between God and the Israelites. God helps those in need, when they are really in need of help. Since the Torah is written to the Israelites it should be read as a lesson and the lessons should be taken into consideration to the readers. There are many commandments that the Israelites are instructed to follow. A lot of them have to do with regard for those who are weaker in society. Just like God had mercy on the Israelites, the Israelites should have mercy on others because they once were the weaker persons in society.

Lucent Technologies Deferred Taxation

Executive Summary This memorandum is intended to communicate the deferred tax issues of Lucent Technologies Inc. on the basis of analysis of the veracity of the situation according to the reporting framework’s guidelines to anticipate unfavorable implications that had been resulted due to poor performance of the company over the past years. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the recognized body for making pronouncements as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) in the United States.The FASB has promulgated Statement of Financial Accounting Standard # 103 â€Å"Accounting for Income Taxes† which specifically prescribes the treatment of income taxes of corporate entities and guidance for how deferred taxes should be recorded either an asset or a liability in the financial statements. It also provides assistance in certain cases requiring a valuation allowance to be used to reduce the carrying value of any deferred tax asset for which it was †Å" more likely than not† that the asset would not be realized.The main reason behind the issue is the impact of cut-throat competition in the telecom industry and downturn in the economic conditions which had adversely affected the company’s overall financial performance as a result deferred taxes amounting to $ 7. 6 billion as of September 30, 2011 have been recognized against deductible temporary differences, operating losses and tax credit carry forwards. However, under the prevailing circumstances, it is apparent that the company will not be able to generate positive taxable income in the future periods to offset the losses.Accordingly, as per FAS # 109 the valuation allowance has to be reviewed against potential tax assets and for any items in which it is more probable through persuasive and reliable evidence that the asset will not reduce future taxable income Analysis Since after the inception of its operations in November 1995, the quality production and innovat ion were key business success factors. However, eventually with the passage of time the entry of new firms in the telecom industry such as Alcatel, Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson, and Motorola Inc. , have intensified the level of competition.As a result of this most industry participant opted to strengthen their relationships with large service providers, as they represented over 70% of global carrier spending. The collapse of competitive local exchange carriers and other competitors of incumbent carriers had resulted in fewer customers. In addition the large service providers, has been consolidating, thus giving the remaining service providers additional buying power. Furthermore, as service providers continued to reduce their capital spending, fewer sales opportunities existed.Moreover, a number of its existing competitors were very large companies with substantial technical, engineering, and financial resources, brand recognition and established relationships with global service provider s. These competitors were able to offer low prices, additional products or services, or other incentives. These potential competitors were also in a stronger position to respond quickly to new or emerging technologies and to undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing policies, and make more attractive offers to potential customers, employees, and third-party agents.During the company’s financial year ending September 30, 2001, Lucent had lost $16 billion placing its retained earnings into a net deficit. Subsequently, in the first and seconds quarters of fiscal 2002, the trend continued with losses of $423 million and $495 million respectively. As of September 30, 2001, Lucent had tax credit carry forwards of $898 and federal, state and local, and non-U. S. net operating loss carry forwards of $ 1,640 (tax effected), most of which expire primarily after the year 2019.As of September 30, 2001, Lucent has recorded valuation allowances totaling $ 742 against these carry forwards, primarily in certain states and foreign jurisdictions in which Lucent has concluded it is ‘more likely than not’ that these carry forwards will not be recognized. The components of deferred income tax assets and liabilities are as follows; Year Ended September 30, | 2001| 2000| |   | $ in ‘000’| $ in ‘000’| Deferred Income Tax Assets|   |   | | Bad Debt and customer financing reserves| $ 1,004| $ 2|   | Inventory reserves| 685| 314| | Business restructuring reserves| 632| -|   | Other operating reserves| 536| 407|   | Postretirement and other benefits| 2,386| 2,352|   | Net operating loss/ credit carry forwards| 2,538| 240|   | Other | 636| 364| | Valuation allowance| (742)| (197)| Total deferred tax assets| 7,675| 3,562| |   | | |Deferred Income Tax liabilities| | | | Pension| 1,971| 2,480| | Property, plant and equipment| 5| 417|   | Other| 521| 734| Total deferred tax liabilities| $ 2,497 | $ 3,631| Keeping in view the above figures, it turned out that the company’s remaining deferred tax assets amount to $ 5. 2 billion and since it is a substantial amount the company’s management may however believe that it would be realized based on forecasted taxable income.However, as per FAS # 109, paragraph 17, issued February 1992, whereby it stipulates that a valuation is required when it is ‘more likely than not’ that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be recognized. Therefore, forming a conclusion that a valuation allowance is not needed is difficult when there is negative evidence such as cumulative losses in past recent years as mentioned above. Hence, cumulative losses weigh heavily in the overall assessment.During the fiscal 2002 third quarter end review, the company should need to consider several significant developments in determining the need for a full valuation allowance including; * The continuity and recently more severe market decline * Uncertainty and lack of visibility in the telecommunication market as a whole * A significant decrease in sequential quarterly revenue levels * A decrease in sequential earnings after several quarters of sequential improvements The necessity for further restructuring and cost reduction actions to attain profitability As a result of this assessment, the company has established a full valuation allowance for its remaining net deferred tax assets as at June 30, 2002. Lucent recorded a non-cash charge of $ 5. 83 billion, or $ 1. 70 per share, to provide a full valuation allowance on its remaining deferred tax assets as June 30, 2002. This charge was partially offset by a third quarter income tax benefit of $282 million on a pro forma basis, and $ 505 million on as-reported basis.In order for the company’s management to determine whether a valuation allowance is required, managers should consider all available evidence. FAS # 109 divides this evidence into negati ve (that is, the asset is unlikely to be realized) and positive evidence. Negative evidence includes items such as cumulative losses in recent years; a history of operating loss carries forwards expiring unused, losses expected in early future years, or assets expected to reverse in a single year in a cyclical business.The statement declares that forming a conclusion that a valuation allowance is not needed is difficult when there is negative evidence. In contrast, positive includes a strong earnings history (exclusive of any current loss), existing contracts that will produce taxable income in the period of the asset turnaround, or a large excess of appreciated asset value over a tax basis and tax planning strategies.Accordingly, based on the two types of evidences mentioned above, the views of the SEC staff with respect to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and the types of questions that they might ask if they reviewed the Lucent’s financial reports are as follows ; * With respect to valuation allowances the SEC is likely to look at the basics for having or not having a valuation allowance, the timing of recording changes, or consistency with other forward-looking information * Comments relating to the adequacy of disclosures, the actual descriptions of rate reconciliation items, deferred tax assets and liabilities, uncertain ax positions, timing of reversals, or expiration of net operating losses in various jurisdictions. * The SEC may also ask questions relating to contractual obligations * The SEC may also ask for clarification related to management’s material estimates and/or judgments. It is important that changes in estimates be well documented. * Disclose the amount of pretax income that the company needs to generate to realize the deferred tax assets. The SEC staff may ask to include an explanation of the anticipated future trends included in the company’s projections of future taxable income. Confirmation to them that t he anticipated future trends included in the company’s assessment of the realizability of its deferred tax assets are the same anticipated future trends used in estimating the fair value of your reporting units for purposes of testing goodwill for impairment and any other assessment of your tangible and intangible assets for impairment. Disclose that the deferred tax liabilities that the company is relying on in its assessment of the realizability of its deferred tax assets will reverse in the same period and jurisdiction and are of the same character as the temporary differences giving rise to the deferred tax assets. * Indicate the nature of the uncertainty and the nature of each event that could occur in the next twelve months that would cause the change for each significant tax position.Conclusion It has been evident from the above analysis that Lucent has been facing poor performance and as many of its assets have very long lives but it’s still not indicative of f uture viability of these assets. Until an appropriate level of profitability is reached, Lucent should not expect to recognize any significant tax benefits in future results of its operations.The company must use judgment in considering the relative impact of negative and positive evidence. The weight given to the potential effect of negative and positive evidence should be commensurate with the extent to which it can be objectively verified. The more negative evidence that exist (a) the more positive evidence is necessary and (b) the more difficult is to support a conclusion that a valuation is not needed for some portion or the entire deferred tax asset.

wife Realationship

In â€Å" the husband-wife relationship: variation in love, intimacy, and sexual jealousy. The article describes cross-cultural differences in how married couple’s act towards one another. In American culture, love is seen as the most important aspect of marriage, while in many other places, love is seen as an aspect of marriage that is not of great importance. The article mentions that in a recent worldwide study 88% of the world shows the capacity to love, whether in songs or folklore. Love is discouraged from being a strong reason for marriage because in many societies in three distinct conditions. The first condition is that the extended family is more concerned with how the person who married into the family interacts with the extended family than how the married couple gets along. The second condition is that one of the spouses must do the majority of the crop growing and subsistence, their purpose for the marriage, as opposed to love. The third condition is tha t in some societies men have more sexual freedom than women, discouraging love in favor of sexual rights. The article mentions that foraging societies have more intimate couples than herding societies. As far as sexual jealousy goes, it appears that men are more likely to become violent, and are more concerned with men they see as rivals for their mates. When reading this article we must remember to take into account cultural relativism. Not every culture is going to be like the one we live in, and this is evident when the article mentions that not every culture places a high value on love within marriages. A person who does not keep an open mind may assume that the people in cultures who do not marry for love are callous, uncaring people, without taking into account the huge part cultural relativism plays in understanding another culture. Also, we see how important the extended family is in determining how important love is within a marriage. These anthropo... wife Realationship Free Essays on The Husband/wife Realationship In â€Å" the husband-wife relationship: variation in love, intimacy, and sexual jealousy. The article describes cross-cultural differences in how married couple’s act towards one another. In American culture, love is seen as the most important aspect of marriage, while in many other places, love is seen as an aspect of marriage that is not of great importance. The article mentions that in a recent worldwide study 88% of the world shows the capacity to love, whether in songs or folklore. Love is discouraged from being a strong reason for marriage because in many societies in three distinct conditions. The first condition is that the extended family is more concerned with how the person who married into the family interacts with the extended family than how the married couple gets along. The second condition is that one of the spouses must do the majority of the crop growing and subsistence, their purpose for the marriage, as opposed to love. The third condition is tha t in some societies men have more sexual freedom than women, discouraging love in favor of sexual rights. The article mentions that foraging societies have more intimate couples than herding societies. As far as sexual jealousy goes, it appears that men are more likely to become violent, and are more concerned with men they see as rivals for their mates. When reading this article we must remember to take into account cultural relativism. Not every culture is going to be like the one we live in, and this is evident when the article mentions that not every culture places a high value on love within marriages. A person who does not keep an open mind may assume that the people in cultures who do not marry for love are callous, uncaring people, without taking into account the huge part cultural relativism plays in understanding another culture. Also, we see how important the extended family is in determining how important love is within a marriage. These anthropo...

A Brief History of Hieroglyphics

The word hieroglyph has been applied to the scripts of the Indus civilization and of the Hittites, who also possessed other scripts, in addition to the Mayan, the Incan, and Easter Island writing forms, and also the signs on the Phaistos Disk on Crete, but the strict meaning of the word is used only to describe the carvings on Egyptian monuments. The most ancient hieroglyphs can be dated back to the end of the 4th millennium BC. They describe scenes and are cut in relief, or into the stone, mostly in chapels or tombs. Although it is impossible to know, but these early signs are probably based on the same system that the later set of hieroglyphics, known as classical hieroglyphics is based. Hieroglyphic signs were representations of living beings or inanimate objects by simplistic drawings. Over the years, some of the representations fell out of meaning, such as clubs, which at one time were used as weapons, and other weapons took their place. But they glyph stayed. Sometimes the object described by the glyph completely fell out of daily use and the meaning eventually became lost or it was distorted beyond recognition. Always only a few people in a limited circle understood the script. Only those who needed the knowledge in their professions were able to acquire the task of writing and reading the glyphs. These people were, for example, officials, doctors, and priests. Since the glyphs were too complex for everyday use, hieratic script was developed. Easier abbreviated script was developed for writing by brush stroke on a medium such as papyrus. Classical hieroglyphics evolved through the need to identify a pictorial representation of an event, such as a hunt or a particular battle. Hieroglyphs were added to scenes to signify that the work of art was not just an unknown war or such, but a specific one. This also one of the first times that we see people interested in preserving their history for others to learn about in later times. It was this new attitude toward time and toward history as unique events in time led to the invention of hieroglyphic writing. Hieroglyphics dominated monumental and sacred writings and was accepted in the Greece until the situation was altered with the conversion of the area to Christianity in the nd and 3rd centuries AD. The new religion fought against the Egyptian polytheism and traditions, and with its victory, the Greek script triumphed. The ability to understand the script was lost for many hundreds of years until the failure of Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt turned up the Rosetta Stone on which was written the same statement in three languages, Classical hieroglyphics, Hieratic script, and Greek. With the discovery of thi s asphalt tablet, archeologists were finally able to begin to unlock the key to understanding the long dead written language of hieroglyphics.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Research Paper

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Research Paper Example The last program evidently receives the most attention in terms of payment for grants, as in 2007 it reached $1.22 billion and accounted for 61% of all donations (Gates Foundation, Annual report, 2007). Additionally, the Gates Foundation works to improve economic conditions around the world through agricultural developments, financial services, and technology services. In the United States, the Gates Foundation focuses on community grants in the Northwest, technology services in libraries, and education across the country (Hill, 2006). From the critical perspective, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation represents the modern ideal of giving and philanthropy, of what Payton and Moody eloquently described as "[it] is about ideas and values as well as about actionis always an effort to blend the idea and the practical" (Payton and Moody, 4). In 2000, the leadership of the Gates Foundation Education Division was committed to being the most publicly scrutinized philanthropy in American history. The main philanthropic goal of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Education Program is to increase significantly the number of low-income minority students who graduate high school with academic skills needed for success in post secondary education and in the workplace (Smerdon and Means, 1). In February of 2005, Bill Gates spoke at a governor's conference in Washington, DC regarding the condition of American high schools (Hess, 2005). The 45 governors in attendance listened as Bill Gates declared America's high schools obsolete. He elaborated by saying, "By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they're working exactly as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today" (Rhodes et al, 7). Additionally, Gates reviewed some troubling evidence to support his comments regarding the lack of success in Ame rican high schools. Gates made his point with the nation's governors by stating that only 71% of students graduated high school in 2002, and only 34% were minimally prepared for college (Rhodes et al, 7). In addition to improving American high school system, the Gates Foundation actively seeks to change public policy regarding American schools, which include implementation of transparency in school finance, multiple independent school providers, and performance-based accountability (Hill, 2006). The Foundation's commitment to increasing the number of smaller, personalized high schools, and a knowledge base for success in these schools, has led to the National School District and Network Grants Program. This program is taking a twopronged approach with regard to grantee organizations: (a) grantee organizations are developing new, smaller high schools; and (b) grantee organizations are converting larger high schools into smaller learning communities. As a part of the new high school initiative, the foundation provides grants for Early College High Schools (ECHSs) (Smerdon and Means, 1). The Early College High School Initiative focuses specifically on increased academic rigor through blending high school and college education (Smerdon and Means, 1). The ECHSs are purposefully designed to provide students with a high school diploma and an associate's degree, or 2 years of