Donald Woods and the Death of Activist Steve Biko

Donald Woods (born December 15, 1933, died August 19, 2001) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and journalist. His coverage of Steve Bikos death in custody led to his exile from South Africa. His books exposed case and were the basis of the movie, Cry Freedom. Early Life Woods was born in Hobeni, Transkei, South Africa. He was descended from five generations of white settlers. While studying law at the University of Cape Town, he became active in the anti-apartheid Federal Party. He worked as a journalist for newspapers in the United Kingdom before returning to South Africa to report for the Daily Dispatch. He became the editor-in-chief in 1965 for the paper that had an anti-apartheid editorial stance and a racially integrated editorial staff. Uncovering the Truth About the Death of Steve Biko When the South African black consciousness leader Steve Biko died in police custody in September 1977, journalist Donald Woods was at the forefront of the campaign to get the truth revealed about his death. At first, the police claimed that Biko had died as the result of a hunger strike. The inquest showed that hed died of brain injuries received while in custody and that hed been kept naked and in chains for a prolonged period before his death. They ruled it held that Biko had died as a result of injuries received after a scuffle with members of the security police in Port Elizabeth. But why Biko was in jail in Pretoria when he died, and the events attending his death werent explained satisfactorily. Woods Accuses the Government over Bikos Death Woods used his position as editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper to attack the Nationalist government over Bikos death. This description by Woods of Biko reveals why he felt so strongly about this particular death, one of many under the apartheid regimes security forces: This was a new breed of South African—the Black Consciousness breed—and I knew immediately that a movement that produced the sort of personality now confronting me had qualities that blacks had been needing in South Africa for three hundred years. In his biography Biko Woods describes the security policemen testifying at the inquest: These men displayed symptoms of extreme insularity. They are people whose upbringing has impressed upon them the divine right to retain power, and in that sense, they are innocent men—incapable of thinking or acting differently. On top of that, they have gravitated to an occupation that has given them all the scope they need to express their rigid personalities. They have been protected for years by laws of the country. They have been able to carry out all their imaginative torture practices quite undisturbed in cells and rooms all over the country, with tacit official sanction, and they have been given tremendous status by the government as the men who protect the State from subversion. Woods Is Banned and Escapes to Exile Woods was hounded by the police and then banned, which meant he was not to leave his East London home, nor could he continue to work. After a childs t-shirt with a photo of Steve Biko on it posted to him was found to have been impregnated with acid, Woods began to fear for the safety of his family. He stuck on a stage moustache and dyed my grey hair black and then climbed over the back fence, to escape to Lesotho. He hitchhiked some 300 miles and swam across the flooded Tele River to get there. His family joined him, and from there they went to Britain, where they were granted political asylum. In exile, he wrote several books and continued campaigning against apartheid. The movie Cry Freedom was based his book Biko. After 13 years in exile, Woods visited South Africa in August 1990, but never returned to live there. Death Woods died, aged 67, of cancer in a hospital near London, UK, on August 19, 2001.

The Events That Occurred At The 1972 Olympics - 1614 Words

1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games The events that occurred at the 1972 Olympics were the result of a long conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews dating to the end of the nineteenth century. Although the two groups have different religions (Palestinians include Muslims, Christians and Druze), religious differences are not the cause of the strife. The conflict began as a struggle over land. From the end of World War I until 1948, the area that both groups claimed was known internationally as Palestine. Following the war of 1948–1949, this land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and the Gaza Strip. It is a small area—approximately 10,000 square miles, or about the size of the state of Maryland. The situation can’t be reconcilable if one group has exclusive political control over all of it. Jewish claims to this land are based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, on the fact that the land was the historical site of the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judea, and on Jews’ need for a haven from European anti-Semitism. Palestinian Arab claims to the land are based on their continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority until 1948. They reject the notion that a biblical-era kingdom constitutes the basis for a valid modern claim. Arabs maintain that since Abraham’s son Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs, then God’sShow MoreRelated1972 Munich Olympics Essay1578 Words   |  7 PagesNevertheless, this rapid swarm of new stories and facts begs the question - how reliable are these news outlets that are providing coverage of events around the world? Do news sources invest time and work into their reports, or do they release reports teeming with bias and unproven facts solely for money and satisfactory ratings? The massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics shocked the world and its citizens, and newspa pers responded by producing a variety of biased reports of coverage from the attack and itsRead MoreOlympic Games And Its Impact On Society1494 Words   |  6 Pagesgreatest sporting events capture the interest of billions of people. No one sporting event is greater than the Summer Olympic games, for it brings together athletes from all across the globe to compete and represent their respected nations. Winning an Olympic gold medal can create a widespread feeling of patriotism and unite a nation. Unfortunately, the events of the 1972 Olympic Games were a catastrophic disaster. Consequently, the following will reveal the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games tragedy andRead MoreThe World Shook With Terror1593 Words   |  7 Pageswith terror September 5, 1972, when a group of eight Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli Olympic team members and took nine hostage, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Prior to the hostage crisis, the games had run smoothly and were into their second week of competition. The games were used to present a new identity of democracy and optimism for Germany. This was the first-time Germany had been allowed to host the games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which still loomed in internationalRead MoreTerrorists in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games1241 Words   |  5 PagesOn September fifth, 1972, the terrorist group, Black September, took nine Israeli athletes hostage during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Black September was a small group of Palestinian militants, almost unknown to the world before the Munich Games. The group belonged to the PLO, or the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The origin of Black September’s anger goes back to the long-lasting conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, which dates back thousands of years . Black September hadRead MoreThe Munich Massacre : A Survivor s Story1487 Words   |  6 PagesInternational sporting events continually face political terrorism, bringing fea r to those who gathered for entertainment. According to articles published in the Guardian, Time Magazine, and CNN, the most detrimental disruption by politics in the Olympics occurred at the 1972 Germany Summer Games. On 5 September 1972, the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Israeli athletes’ quarters armed with guns. The 21 hour standoff, more famously known as the Munich massacre, resulted in 17 deathsRead MoreThe 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Essay1719 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1972 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event. Another name for that Olympic Game was the 1972 Olympics Massacre. It was the 20th Olympic Games. It was held in Munich, Germany from August 26, 1972 to September 11, 1972.The 1972 Olympics were the second Olympics to be held in Germany. The first Olympic Games that were held in Germany occur in 1936 in Berlin, which occurred during the Nazi regime. The Olympic Committee in West Germany was hoping to get rid of the milit ary image ofRead MoreFamous Incidents in US History841 Words   |  3 Pagesexperiences and are able to overcome the hard trials that are placed in front of them and then there are those who unfortunately fall victim to a horrible situation. Over the past couple of decades there have been a number of incidents that have occurred where incidents have taken a turn for the worse. While some people claim that this is occurring because of horrible decision making and others disagreeing and claiming it to be best decision that could be made. Regardless of one’s point of view,Read MoreThe War During The Cold War Essay1408 Words   |  6 PagesAmericans engaged in throughout the Cold War. While a considerable amount of attention in historical academia has been given to the proxy wars, space race, and arms build-up both states took part in, parallel to said competitions were those at the Olympics. Rider did an excellent job of exploring the role of sports, athletes, and particularl y the media in the propagandist battle both states waged, discussing the numerous individuals, various committees, and notable confrontations between the USSR andRead MoreEssay On Mega-Events982 Words   |  4 PagesAs a result of the high cost and potential to impact the region that is hosting sporting mega-events, the idea of legacy—the developmental paybacks generated by the event—has typically played a central role in planning them. Some scholars have suggested that the infrastructure that is required for these mega-events is believed to be integral to stimulating more economic development, which consequently contributes to business vitality and showcasing the ability of the region or city to compete inRead MoreThe Massacre Of Israeli Delegates At The Summer Munich Olympics910 Words   |  4 PagesThe events of the past have a way of transforming themselves over time. Something that occurred mere minutes ago can evolve over the next few hours, and an event that s eemed so straight-forward many years past finds itself a new meaning within the greater context of the period. The same concept applies to a specific event a mere 45 years ago, namely the massacre of Israeli delegates at the summer Munich Olympics of 1972. This event is now portrayed in standard textbooks as being part of a larger

Substitution and Income Effects of the Working Tax Credit on Labour Supply Free Essays

Labour essay: Having considered the implications for the WTC, we can now analyse the effects of the policy on labour supply by determining the substitution and income effects. It’s clear that the effect of the working tax credit on work behaviour depends upon how much a worker is currently working. To analyse these effects we will only look at one type of individual; a lone parent in the labour force. We will write a custom essay sample on Substitution and Income Effects of the Working Tax Credit on Labour Supply or any similar topic only for you Order Now This will simplify our analysis such that we can divide the diagram below into 3 sections and describe the effects separately. draw:frame} Figure 1: Diagram showing how the imposition of the WTC affects the individuals labour supply decision When the lone parent is either not working at all, or working less than 16 hours (Labelled A in the diagram), her current wage rate and therefore income is unaffected by the WTC. This is simply because they have not yet received any tax credit and therefore have no added incentives to work. However, if they work over16 hours, the programme will raise their overall take home wage as they receive a lump sum payment, shown by the first vertical blue line. Therefore, at this low level of work, there is a very small, or 0, income effect, and a positive substitution effect, thus increasing the individual’s labour supply. These effects are the same as would be under an increase in the wage rate, shown diagrammatically in Figure 2. {draw:frame} Figure 2: Diagram showing the effects of a wage increase The movement around the original indifference curve from A to C is the substitution effect; this arises due the change in price of leisure relative to hours of work, holding utility as constant. As the wage rate has increased the opportunity cost of leisure opposed to work has risen. The substitution effect encourages the worker to decrease his hours of leisure. The movement from C to B donates the income effect illustrating the workers response to an increase in real income. Overall, the substitution effect dominates the income effect and therefore increases labour supply from L1 to L2. There is also the possibility that the income effect may overpower the substitution effect resulting in a decrease in the supply of labour. However, this depends on the position of the indifference curves, hence the worker’s preferences for work and leisure. On the other hand, it is unlikely at this low wage rate for the worker to choose leisure over the opportunity to earn a higher wage. Section ‘C’ of our WTC diagram shows the area at which an individual works more than 30 hours. The worker’s net income is now higher at this point, however the worker’s marginal wage is lower which is demonstrated by the gradient of the WTC line being shallower than gradient of the No WTC line. The Substitution and Income effects here are the same as would be with a decrease in wage. Both the Income and substitution effects work together to reduce the amount of labour; shown in Figure 3: {draw:frame} Figure 3: Diagram showing the effects of a wage decrease The substitution effect is shown by the movement around the old indifference curve, from A to C. The income effect is shown by the movement from A to B. Although the substitution effect is stronger, both effects work together to reduce the hours of work from L1 to L3. Lastly, section ‘B’ represents the area at which an individual works between 16 and 30 hours. Here, the effects of the WTC on labour supply are much more complex. Despite the gradient of the WTC line being the same as section C, this time there is the possibility of increasing work to above 30 hours and receiving the additional payment. This therefore results in lone parents bunching around the 16 and 30 hour marks in order to gain the greatest benefit from the WTC payment. Some will therefore substitute leisure for work and work longer hours to gain the additional bonus at 30 hours, whilst others will choose to forgo work for leisure and be content with the benefit of working over 16 hours. How to cite Substitution and Income Effects of the Working Tax Credit on Labour Supply, Papers

Auditing Standards Executive Committee

Question: Discuss about the Auditing Standards Executive Committee. Answer: Introduction: IFRS Practice Statement -Application of Materiality to Financial Statements was drafted with the aim of assisting the management in determining what entails materiality when applying this concept to general purpose financial statements ('American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,' 2006). Ideally, information or data would be considered material if misstating or omitting it could influence the decisions of users to make about a particular reporting entity, that is, the perception of the users of that entity. For instance, if material information is misstated, the users of the financial statements may have a wrong impression about the company making them invest in the firm and thus realizing a financial loss in the future. This draft provided guidance on materiality characteristics, and application of the concept of materiality in deciding whether to present and disclose information. Besides, provided guidance on assessing whether omissions and misstatements are material (Aren s, Elder, Mark, 2012). This question of this research paper provides an analysis into these three areas as well as the recognition and measurement of materiality. Characteristics of Materiality According to IFRS, information is material if omitting or misstating it could change the perception or the decisions that the users of the financial statements make based on that financial information about the entity that is reporting the financial statements (Arens, Best, Shailer, Fiedler, Elder, Beasley, 2007). Ideally, the purpose of an audit is to enhance the confidence of users in the financial statements of an organization. The auditor, therefore, has to express an opinion on the true and fair view of the financial statements of the reporting entity stating whether in all material aspects the financial statements have been prepared in agreement with IFRS. The information would, therefore, be considered material if the magnitude of its misstatement or omission would make it probable that it would affect the judgment of a reasonable person that relies on that information. Materiality has four key features, namely: pervasiveness, relevance, reliability, and whether some informat ion has been omitted or misstated. Information is considered reliable if it assures the users of the financial statements that it is free from any biased or error and that it represents what it was supposed to represent. Apparently, if that information was not free from any error or biasedness and it was used by the users of the financial statements, then it would be regarded to be material (Boynton, Johnson, 2006). Information is relevant if it has a high capacity to influence the decisions of the users of the financial statements in that the information could help the users make predictions about the past, present and future events of the entity. The information will be considered pervasive if the benefits of the users of the financial statements using it outweigh the costs. Ideally, each user of the financial information will perceive the value attached to the quality information in a unique way (Cosserat, Rodda, 2009).Ultimately, a standard body such as the IFRS has to assess the information presented and disclosed to the public to ensure that it meets their needs. Besides, the body must be aware of the calculus of costs and benefits and make sure that the information presented and disclosed meets this calculus. To justify the need for a particular disclosure, the IFRS must ascertain that the benefits perceived to be derived from that disclosure exceed the costs associated with it. The last characteristic of materiality is to ensure that some information has been misstated, omitted, it contains error or biasedness. This calls for an auditor to perform an analysis on the financial statements of the reporting firm and as asc ertain whether any information has been misstated or omitted, that is, whether the financial statements presented portray an accurate and fair view of the financial reporting of the firm and does not mislead its users. Application of the Concept of Materiality when Making Decisions about Presentation and Disclosure of Information In preparing the financial statements, the management of the reporting entity ought to consider their objective. The main aim of firms is providing information that is useful to its users to enable them to assess the prospects of the company for its expected cash inflows in the future and to allow them to evaluate the stewardship of the resources of the entity. If a particular information that has been generated by the business affects the decisions of a user, then that information ought to be presented and disclosed in the financial statements. To apply this concept, one must also consider if the financial reporting is pervasive (Hayes, Wallage, Gortemaker, 2014). The information will be ubiquitous if the benefits of using it outweigh the accrued costs. This is a concept that can be used to apply the concept of materiality when making decisions about the presentation and disclosure of financial information. It would be useful in deciding whether to disclose in that any information that is perceived to be pervasive is material to the financial statements and therefore it should be tested for material misstatement to ascertain that it is free from any biasedness or error. Assessment of whether Omissions and Misstatements of Financial Information are Material In assessing the materiality of the financial statements, one must identify that the omissions and distortions could influence the economic decisions of the users of the financial statements. Judgments about whether the omissions and misstatements would be material to the financial statements are based on surrounding circumstances and are affected by the size and nature of the distortion (Ismail, Haron, Nasir Ibrahim, Mohd Isa, 2006). To identify whether the omission or misstatement is material, an auditor must assess the information needs of the users of the financial statements. For instance, an investor would be interested in the financial statements to ascertain whether the money that he lends to a business is being used for the right purpose as stated in their Memorandum of Association. The auditor's determination as to whether the omission or misstatement of financial information is material is dependent on his professional judgment. When an auditor understands this, he will b e able to assess what omission or misstatement is material. Recognition and Measurement Finally, the IFRS Practice Statement states that the IFRS recognition and measurement requirements need to be applied to ascertain that the omission or misstatement of the financial information is material to the financial statements (Porter, Simon, Hatherly, 2014). This would call for the auditor recognizing the material misstatement in his report and the extent to which it affects the users. An auditor is mainly concerned about two issues, namely: Big Data' and End-to-End Software Integration.' Big data describes an extensive portfolio of a firm that contains unstructured and machine-generated data. The point is that big data will have an impact on risk management, which is an area of primary concern to auditors (Rennings, Ziegler, Ankele, Hoffmann, 2006). Ideally, big data and analytics have the potential of enabling auditors to identify errors, fraud, financial reporting, and business risks and to deliver a more consistent audit. The first issue concerning big data is data capture. Many companies strive to invest in protecting their data. This is a matter since it makes it hard for auditors to obtain client's approval on the data. Moreover, auditors encounter companies with different accounting systems and embracing big data would mean extracting the sub-ledger information and thus familiarizing themselves with the various accounting systems used. This, therefore, inc reases the complexity of data extraction. Using data analytics to obtain audit evidence may be difficult, as auditors are required to find a balance between their personal judgment and the results of the analytics. They, therefore, have to consider substantive analytical procedures, validation of the data for analytics purposes, and defining of the audit evidence, which is time-consuming, and thus a primary issue. Another problem that is inherent to auditors is End-to-End Software Integration. End to end software integration in auditing perspective entails ensuring that the user interfaces meet their needs and ensure that there is a smooth flow of information from the company to the user (Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2010). Ideally, a perfect end-to-end software integration allows customers limitless capabilities, communication, and dynamic change of business logics. End to end software integration may be an issue to auditors since the audit approach that they use, whether auditing through the computer or auditing around the computer, may leave some loopholes unattended. End to end software integration contains transmission of big data and performing an audit of that big data may be time-consuming. This is because the auditors may be required to have an understanding of the different accounting systems used by the firm and thus retrieve sub-ledger information, which may be complicated for those auditors who are not conversant with the various accounting systems. Ultimately, the audit firms may be necessitated to train their staff on the different accounting systems used by companies thus leading to wastage of time and resources. For the audit committees, time has never been more challenging. Cybersecurity and other technological disruptions, economic volatility, a political and regulatory risk that affect today's corporate boards including oversight of risk have filtered down to the audit committee. The disruptive trends context, in this case, looks at the technological risk, political and economic risk, the evolution of financial reporting, and the increasing complexity of the regulatory landscape (KPMG.com, 2016). Technical Risk The technological risk is a major concern for the audit committees such as the cyber security risk. With the advancement of cyber attacks, cyber security remains a major oversight for the audit committees (Rittenberg, Johnstone, Gramling, 2010). Ideally, they are more concerned with challenges such as data protection, social engineering, auditing of third parties, cyber insurance, and remediation procedures. Political and Economic Risk Second, the political, and economic risk is also a major disruptive trend for the audit committees. With the fall in the prices of oil, a weak dollar, and an increase in political uncertainty around the globe, exercising an oversight on the political and economic risk has to become a priority (Wang, Chow, Wang, Ren, Lou, 2013). It is a disruptive trend since as companies seek to enter the emerging markets, they have to balance between the exposure to bad and good risks given the current economic challenges. For instance, in some industries such as the oil and gas sector, the fundamental question of disruption and risk such as corporate survival and operational problems becomes a more pressing issue. The audit committees, therefore, have to narrow down their agenda to the going concern level that can enable these companies to sustain in the worse economic period. Evolution of Financial Reporting The development of financial reporting is a third disruptive trend that the audit committees need to include in their agenda. With the ongoing changes in the corporate world, companies are mandated to ensure strategic reporting (Wang, Wang, Ren, Lou, 2010). Here, the board of directors is required to discuss the main trends and factors that are likely to affect future development, financial position, and performance of their company. Ideally, the board is required to use financial and non-financial metrics such as the balanced scorecard and the Strategic Performance Measurement System (SPMS) to highlight the trends and factors (Zadek, Evans, Pruzan, 2013). This is a disruptive trend since it requires the audit committees to ensure that companies present and disclose Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in their annual reports. The Increasing Complexity of the Regulatory Landscape Lastly, the increasing complexity of the regulatory landscape has proved to have a disruptive trend or effect of companies as well as their audit committees (William Jr, Glover, Prawitt, 2016). The main aim of this increasing complexity of regulations is to prevent the occurrence of another global financial crisis like the one that occurred in 2008. Some emerging regulatory issues include aligning of classification and measurement of financial instruments with risk management, recognition of revenue from contracts, accounting for leases, re-classifying of insurance contracts, anti-money laundering, and privacy legislations (Yang, Jia, 2013). As a result, the audit committees ought to equip themselves with knowledge on these emerging and disruptive trends of the regulatory landscape. References American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Auditing Standards Executive Committee. (2006).Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards. Commerce Clearing House. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Arens, A. A., Elder, R. J., Mark, B. (2012).Auditing and Assurance services: an integrated approach. Boston: Prentice Hall. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Arens, A. A., Best, P., Shailer, G., Fiedler, B., Elder, R. J., Beasley, M. (2007).Auditing and assurance services in Australia: an integrated approach. Pearson Education Australia. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Boynton, W. C., Johnson, R. N. (2006).Modern Auditing: Assurance services and the integrity of financial reporting. Wiley. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Cosserat, G. W., Rodda, N. (2009).Modern auditing. Wiley. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Hayes, R., Wallage, P., Gortemaker, H. (2014).Principles of auditing: an introduction to international standards on auditing. Pearson Higher Ed. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Ismail, I., Haron, H., Nasir Ibrahim, D., Mohd Isa, S. (2006). Service quality, client satisfaction, and loyalty towards audit firms: Perceptions of Malaysian public listed companies.Managerial auditing journal,21(7), 738-756. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. KPMG.com. (2016). Audit Trends 2016. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017 from https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/05/Audit-Trends-2016.pdf/ Porter, B., Simon, J., Hatherly, D. (2014).Principles of external auditing. John Wiley Sons. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Rennings, K., Ziegler, A., Ankele, K., Hoffmann, E. (2006). The influence of different characteristics of the EU environmental management and auditing scheme on technical, environmental innovations and economic performance.Ecological Economics,57(1), 45-59. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Rittenberg, L. E., Johnstone, K. M., Gramling, A. A. (2010). Auditing: A business Risk Approach. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Wang, C., Chow, S. S., Wang, Q., Ren, K., Lou, W. (2013). Privacy-preserving public auditing for secure cloud storage.IEEE Transactions on Computers,62(2), 362-375. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Wang, C., Wang, Q., Ren, K., Lou, W. (2010, March). Privacy-preserving public auditing for data storage security in cloud computing. InInfocom, 2010 Proceedings IEEE(pp. 1-9). IEEE. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. William Jr, M., Glover, S., Prawitt, D. (2016).Auditing and Assurance services: A systematic approach. McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Yang, K., Jia, X. (2013). An efficient and secure dynamic auditing protocol for data storage in cloud computing.IEEE transactions on parallel and distributed systems,24(9), 1717-1726. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017. Zadek, S., Evans, R., Pruzan, P. (2013).Building corporate accountability: Emerging practice in social and ethical accounting and auditing. Routledge. Retrieved on 23rd January 2017.