Biography Joe Slovo, anti-Apartheid Activist

Joe Slovo, the anti-Apartheid activist, was one of the founders of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, and was general secretary of the South African Communist Party during the 1980s. Early Life Joe Slovo was born in a small Lithuanian village, Obelai, on 23 May 1926, to parents Woolf and Ann. When Slovo was nine years old the family moved to Johannesburg in South Africa, primarily to escape the increasing threat of anti-Semitism which gripped the Baltic States. He attended various schools until 1940, including the Jewish Government School, when he achieved Standard 6 (equivalent to American grade 8). Slovo first encountered socialism in South Africa through his school-leaving job as a clerk for a pharmaceutical wholesaler. He joined the National Union of Distributive Workers and had soon worked his way up to the position of shop steward, where he was responsible for organizing at least one mass action. He joined the Communist Party of South Africa in 1942 and served on its central committee from 1953 (the same year its name was changed to the South African Communist Party, SACP). Avidly watching the news of the Allied front (especially the way in which Britain was working with Russia) against Hitler, Slovo volunteered for active duty and served with South African forces in Egypt and Italy. Political Influence In 1946 Slovo enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand to study law, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Law, LLB. During his time as a student, Slovo became more active in politics and met his first wife, Ruth First, the daughter of the Communist Party of South Africas treasurer, Julius First. Joe and Ruth were married in 1949. After college Slovo worked towards becoming an advocate and defense lawyer. In 1950 both Slovo and Ruth First were banned under the Suppression of Communism Act - they were banned from attending public meetings and could not be quoted in the press. They both, however, continued to work for the Communist Party and various anti-Apartheid groups. As a founder member of the Congress of Democrats (formed in 1953) Slovo went on to serve on the national consultative committee of Congress Alliance and helped draft the Freedom Charter. As a result of Slovo, along with 155 others, was arrested and charged with high treason. Slovo was released with a number of others only two months after the start of the Treason Trial. The charges against him were officially dropped in 1958. He was arrested and detained for six months during the State of Emergency which followed the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, and later represented Nelson Mandela on charges of incitement. The following year Slovo was one of the founders of Umkhonto weSizwe, MK (Spear of the Nation) the armed wing of the ANC. In 1963, just before the Rivonia arrests, on instructions from the SAPC and ANC, Slovo fled South Africa. He spent twenty-seven years in exile in London, Maputo (Mozambique), Lusaka (Zambia), and various camps in Angola. In 1966 Slovo attended the London School of Economics and gained his Master of Law, LLM. In 1969 Slovo was appointed to the ANCs revolutionary council (a position he held until 1983 when it was dissolved). He helped draft strategy documents and was considered the ANCs main theoretician. In 1977 Slovo moved to Maputo, Mozambique, where he created a new ANC headquarters and from where he masterminded a large number of MK operations in South Africa. Whilst there Slovo recruited a young couple, Helena Dolny, an agricultural economist, and her husband Ed Wethli, who had been working in Mozambique since 1976. They were encouraged to travel into South Africa to undertake mappings or reconnaissance trips. In 1982 Ruth First was killed by a parcel bomb. Slovo was accused in the press of complicity in his wife death - an allegation which was eventually proved unfounded and Slovo was awarded damages. In 1984 Slovo married Helena Dolny - her marriage to Ed Wethli had ended. (Helena was in the same building when Ruth First was killed by a parcel bomb). That same year Slovo was asked by the Mozambican government to leave the country, in accordance with its signing of the Nkomati Accord with South Africa. In Lusaka, Zambia, in 1985 Joe Slovo became a first white member of the ANC national executive council, he was appointed general-secretary of South African Communist Party in 1986, and chief-of-staff of the MK in 1987. Following the remarkable announcement by President FW de Klerk, in February 1990, of the unbanning of the ANC and SACP, Joe Slovo returned to South Africa. He was a key negotiator between various anti-Apartheid groups and the ruling National Party and was personally responsible for a sunset clause which led to the power-sharing Government of National Unity, GNU. Following a bout of ill health in 1991, he stepped down as general-secretary of SACP, only elected as SAPC chairperson in December 1991 (Chris Hani replaced him as general-secretary). In South Africas first multi-racial elections in April 1994, Joe Slovo gained a seat through the ANC. He was awarded the post of Minister for Housing in the GNU, a position he served under until his death form Leukaemia on 6 January 1995. At his funeral nine days later, President Nelson Mandela gave a public eulogy praising Joe Slovo for all he had achieved in the struggle for democracy in South Africa. Ruth First and Joe Slovo had three daughters: Shawn, Gillian, and Robyn. Shawns written account of her childhood, A World Apart, has been produced as a film.

Hedda Gabler By Henrik Ibsen - 926 Words

Hedda Gabler Hedda Gabler is a play written by Henrik Ibsen about a daring woman and her relationship with those around her. Ibsen portrays the way the pressures of society affect a person and how Hedda Gabler personally deals with it. Hedda is indeed a complex and fascinating character and the audience’s opinion can differ as many see Hedda as a selfish coward while others can see her as a brave, independent person. In the play, she is faced with these two judgements: she can show an act of bravery by breaking out of society’s limitation which results in her suicide or she can continue living in a world that forces her to suffer with society’s confinement. Hedda Gabler should be seen as a brave and independent person because she takes extreme and courageous measures in order to finally break out of the pressures and expectations from society. In Hedda Gabler the main character, Hedda, struggles with the manner in which society pressures her and expects her to be as a person. As the play progresses, it is evident that Hedda feels suffocated by the expectations of society to be a woman and a housewife to her newlywed husband, Tesman. Because of her suffocation, she feels the desire for power and in Act II, she says: â€Å"For once in my life I want to feel that I control a human destiny† (Ibsen 226). As she is a surprisingly intelligent and brave individual, this desire for control and power drives her throughout the whole play and she takes extreme measures to fulfill thisShow MoreRelatedHedda Gabler By Henrik Ibsen1325 Words   |  6 Pagesand so much more. However, women of today s day and age don t hold a candle next to the Victorian Era’s Hedda in the play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Hedda Gabler, although a heinous person at heart, is an extremely powerful woman who uses that power to mask her own fears. So why is it that Hedda Gabler displays herself in such a manner? Within this essay the reader will learn how Hedda acts, the for ms in which she controls those around her, in what ways she gets exactly it is that she wantsRead MoreHedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen906 Words   |  4 Pages The play â€Å"Hedda Gabler† revolves around the life of a socially deprived woman living in the late 1800s. Hedda Gabbler’s crippled emotionally draining life is the epicenter of the entire body of work. As Ibsen wrote of Hedda’s emotional state and life he revealed the distinct role women played in the late nineteenth century. Manipulation and the reputation of the protagonist, Hedda Gabler reveals the message Henrik Ibsen was trying to send out. Hedda Gabler lived in a world of repressed feelingsRead MoreHenrik Ibsen s Hedda Gabler Essay2029 Words   |  9 PagesPAPER: HENRIK IBSEN’S â€Å"HEDDA GABLER† Part 1: Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20th, 1828 and grew up in a Norwegian coastal town of Skien, as the oldest of five children. His Father, Knud, was a successful merchant providing a plentiful life for his family, while his mother, Marichen, played the piano and loved theater. Ibsen showed little interest in theater as a child until his family went into bankruptcy and eventually into poverty. That tragic event in his life made Ibsen put hisRead MoreAnalysis Of Hedda Gabler By Henrik Ibsen914 Words   |  4 Pagesis shown in many works of literature. For example, Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen shows the ways of character moral ambiguity and its way in deceiving others; this is shown through the character Judge Brack. Judge Brack is portrayed to be a good friend of George Tesman and Hedda Gabler Tesman, a psychological trickster and manipulator who is ultimately revealed to be a morally ambiguous character. Judge Brack is introduced into Hedda Gabler as a man of authority, which allows him to able toRead MoreHedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen652 Words   |  3 Pageshalf empty or half full. Your choice will determine how you look at things. In Hedda Gabler, I think that her approach to living life was looking at the glass as half empty. She was negative about everything and she was also a very manipulating, ungrateful, crazy woman. I wish I got to go on a 6 month honeymoon like she did!! She didn’t seem to appreciate her long honeymoon. Not many people get a 6 month honeymoon. Hedda looked at suicide as a beautiful thing and that is not having a positive lookRead MoreHedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen556 Words   |  2 Pagesmay say that Hedda Gabler is a perfect example of twisted femininity because she despartely wanted to be in control and was an asset to Lovborg’s death. She despised being Tesman’s wife and manipulated people for no apparent reason except for her own per sonal gain. Undermining her husband with her coldness, denying her pregnancy, destroying Theas life-work, burning Lovborgs manuscript, and committing suicide are all the attempts she made to try and satisfy her thrist for life. Hedda was not theRead MoreHenrik Ibsen s Hedda Gabler902 Words   |  4 PagesTrue Narcissist in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler Within Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler the protagonist pushes the boundaries of what people are able to do and get away with. Some may consider Hedda to be a true romantic longing for a little excitement but beneath the mask behind which she hides, lies a truly selfish and arrogant woman. Hedda Tesman’s dark personallity can be easily observed within her interactions with her husband George Tesman and his aunt Juliana Tesman. Hedda treats her husbandRead MoreHedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen and Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert742 Words   |  3 Pagesand the limitations society holds on its residents. In the two literary works, Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, they share a common portrayal: the main heroine faces the complications of societal restraints. The novella by Ibsen and Flaubert’s novel emphasize upon women that struggle with what can and cannot be done in their society. The protagonists Hedda Gabler in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and Emma Bovary of Flaubert’s Madame Bovary are estranged individuals thwarted by societyRead More Freud and Hedda Gabler: The Wolf Behind the Protagonist1369 Words   |  6 Pageslupus’ form of instinct suggest a more aggressive side of humans with the tendencies of not interacting with people but merely using people. Henrik Ibsen, through his use of the character Hedda Gabler, illustrates Sigmund Freud’s homo homini lupus form of instinct and uses that as a means of drawing out of the flaws of civilization at large. Henrik Ibsen always had the persistent theme of placing that one character within the setting that did not fit into the natural societal confines. This wasRead MoreHedda Gablers Character Analysis Essays1550 Words   |  7 PagesHedda Is Not a Housewife The reflection of women in literature during the late eighteen-hundreds often features a submissive and less complex character than the usual male counterpart, however Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler features a women who confines herself to the conformities that women were to endure during that time period but separates herself from other female characters by using her intelligence and overall deviousness to manipulate the men in her life and take a dominant presence throughout

The Case of Physician Disclosure of Information Free Essays

Any medical information especially those which are involved in the practice itself or in the process of medical operations are just as important, or shall we say critical, as the information needed in an investigation by the police or the testimonials needed by lawyers in court or just any kind of information the human’s inquisitive minds require in understanding things. The on-going debate regarding the disclosure of physicians’ information which includes disciplinary records, hospital privileges and most especially the disclosure of medical errors, has yet to come to a close. Scholars and experts from different universities and institutions have been reviewing a lot of published related literature with the goal of coming up with the right decision regarding the case (University of Iowa, 2006). We will write a custom essay sample on The Case of Physician Disclosure of Information or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to Science Daily (2009), although a lot of physicians have gone to protest, still some have been participating in the investigation by joining surveys and focus group discussions that would contribute to the study’s progress. It is the right of the physicians to disagree with what the study is proposing. At one point, records of errors which possibly may not be caused solely by the practitioner, is not enough for clients to use as judgment for the physician’s capability. In addition to this a study has shown that the lack of feedback when sending to report systems is one of the main reasons why doctors are not motivated to disclose their errors (bio-medicine. org, 2006). Given the fact that the experts who are primarily involved in the situation have already expressed thoughts regarding the case, it is still anybody’s responsibility to reveal important information especially the ones needed in the process of investigating what went wrong. According to Lauris Kaldjian, M. D. , Ph. D. , associate professor of internal medicine in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, â€Å"The patient should be the main fous of the physician, but when a medical error has occurred, the professional involved is also to be considered† (bio-medicine. org, 2006). The physicians themselves as well as the hospitals, through disclosing information, should inform their clients well to be able to work closely with them in providing medical care. The Hillsboro Area Hospital could be an example as the details and affiliations of each physician can be accessed by clients through their website (. hillsboroareahospital. org, 2008). References: University of Iowa (2006, August 3). Studies Examine Physician Disclosure Of Medical Errors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2009. http://www.hillsboroareahospital.org/physiciandisclosure.php How to cite The Case of Physician Disclosure of Information, Papers

Financial Reporting Telstra Corporation Limited

Question: Describe about the Financial Reporting for Telstra Corporation Limited. Answer: Introduction Telstra Corporation Limited is the largest telecommunication company in Australia. Incorporated as early as 1901, Telstra has a long history. By 1990s the deregulation of telecommunications industry in Australia opened up new opportunities and with Telstras marketing strategy, it has remained on the top leaving its competitors Optus and Vodafone far behind. It has consistently performed well and has ensured dividends and earnings growth. As it is operating in a dynamic environment, customer is the top priority as the company caters to the ever changing customer demands and satisfaction. Technological advancement is also dynamic and competitive transforming the world we live in. Financial Analysis As the assignment requires the analysis from the view point of a lending institution, the basic principles to be touched upon are relevance, reliability and faithful representation. Though there are a lot of items on the financial statements, the analysis has been narrowed down to three areas of potential importance. The financial statements are general purpose financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Australian Corporations Act, 2001, the applicable Accounting Standards and the various other pronouncements of the AASB. Property, Plant Equipments (point no ii) Property, plant and equipment is recorded at its cost and depreciated over straight line basis over the estimated service life of the asset. All costs incurred in the construction of the asset and bringing it to its location and to a condition necessary for the operation of the asset are also included in the cost of the asset (Graham Smart, 2011). Management judgment and estimation is required in determining the costs that are to be capitalized in case of constructed assets and internally generated assets. This is a significant point of audit as the management might for its own benefit and for the benefit of the company, chooses to capitalize a few such unreasonable costs. So the audit should be conducted to rule out the possibility of such instances. A suitable comparison with a similar transaction with an outside party can potentially reveal the arms length price of the transaction and the profits hidden in the same. The assessment of costs directly attributable to the construction requires more vigilant supervision. This would satisfy the quality of relevance and reliability of the financial statements. The various assets are reviewed on an annual basis and this is to ensure that the assets are still in a good form and capable of completing the projects on hand. This is a reasonable proposition as technological advancements are making assets redundant earlier. The resultant loss arising from any such write offs is accounted under impairment gains and losses account (Laux, 2014). Deprecation is charged on the asset when it is installed and ready for use. Depreciation is on a straight line basis over the service life of the asset. This service life of the asset is the management estimation and the service lives are reviewed every year to ensure that the required changes in the lives of the assets are incorporated and applied accordingly (Laux, 2014). The management does this assessment by comparison with the international trends and this helps in determination of when the asset can become obsolete or supersede the technology. The residual value of the assets is also reviewed by the management every year. There are specific standards and tests to be satisfied to be classified as a leased asset and these requirements are in line with the requirements of the Accounting Standards (Palepu et. al, 2007). Thus these are the measures used to determine the value of Property, plant and equipment on the financial statements. These measures are reasonable and it is also valid to add the items. The Total amount displayed under the head Property, plant and equipment is interpreted as the Acquisition Cost of the Asset less accumulated depreciation till the balance sheet date and this is tested against the residual value or the net realizable value for accounting of impairment (Telstra, 2015). In short, this figure depicts the true and fair value of the assets adjusted for all the additions and deletions on the balance sheet date. Intangible Assets (point iv) Intangible assets are those which cannot be seen or touched but carry a value. Hence the recognition of the same is required and for this reason it should either be separable or arise from a contractual or legal contract or obligation. The most popular intangible assets are goodwill, softwares, internally generated assets, acquired intangible assets and deferred revenue expenditure (Whittington, 2008). The company has set out the criteria for the recognition of these assets and these tests are applied for recognition, measurement and valuation of the intangible assets. Goodwill is usually recognized when an acquisition or a joint venture takes place and the amount paid as the acquisition price is more than the fair value of the assets acquired and so this difference is accounted and recognized as Goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized but tested for impairment on an annual basis. Internally generated intangible assets are usually the research costs and development costs and the management judgment is required for the assessment and measurement of the same. Software assets are for use by the company and so this is amortized on a straight line basis over the finite useful life of the software (Telstra, 2015). The acquired intangible assets are recorded at their fair values on the date of acquisition and management judgment is applied in determination of the fair values of the assets. The intangible assets that have a finite life are amortized on straight line basis over the service life of the assets whereas the intangible assets that have indefinite lives are tested annually for impairment (Gibson, 2008). Conservatism requires that the company should account for all the impairment losses but not book gains on the same until there is virtual certainty regarding the realization of the same. This principle is suitably followed which is a good practice (Brigham Ehrhardt, 2011). The expensing off the intangible assets values to the income statement is a principle that is in line with the accounting standards and enables the shareholders to know the real profit. The financial statements should portray a true and fair view of the business and hence this impairment accounting and expensing off the expenses helps in the decision making for the shareholders (Gibson, 2008). This will not lead to the misevaluation of the shares selected but rather is more useful in forming an opinion. The company has followed the usual disclosure policy for providing information about the intangibles and provided explanations regarding the same in Notes to Financial Statements. Cash Flow Statement Analysis (point vi) Typically, according to the requirements of the AASB 107/IAS7, Telstra has prepared the Cash Flow Statement under three major heads namely Operating activities, investing activities and financing activities. As the Income Statement is a combination and mixture of all types of expenses, it becomes necessary to segregate the expenses into operating, financing and investing activities to know the performance of the respective segments and see which of these areas have a negative cash flow. The increase or decrease in the balance of Cash and Bank is more effectively understood by the relative movements of these items in the Cash Flow Statement (Hitchner, 2013). In a business organization, these are the three significant activities and operating activities depict a picture of the operations of the company for the current year, investing activities are usually indicative of a long term business decision taken by the company whereas financing activates can be either trading related activities or non trading activities (Telstra, 2015). This break down is required as the investors can have an in-depth view as for instance how a single sale of Unit has shot up the cash balance or a similar such acquisition has wiped out the entire cash balance (Telstra, 2015). The source and utilization of the funds can be better understood and interpreted by the cash flow statement. The rationale behind the management decisions is also portrayed by the various items on the cash flow statement. The Notes to Financial Statements should contain details and explanations about the cash realized from the disposals and cash spent on the various acquisitions. If a share buyback has taken place, then the details of the same have to be disclosed. Thus disclosures are decided upon the veracity, volume and significance of the items on the cash flow statement. It is usually seen that businesses follow credit policy and accrual basis of accounting. The Sales made is not necessarily equivalent to the Cash and Bank Balance of the company as the realization of the sales takes tie. The same is the case with expenses which depicts that some expenses might be deferred while a few others might be prepaid. The accounting of the incomes and expenses has to be done on an accrual basis ( Maines Wahlen, 2014). This gap between the accounting and realization is captured by this reconciliation between the accounting profit and net cash flow from operations. It helps in the decision making for the users in a way that the users get an idea about the non cash expenditures, the composition of the same and the relative proportion of the items. References Brigham, E.F. Ehrhardt, M.C. (2011). Financial Management: Theory and Practice (13th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Gibson, C.H. (2008). Financial Reporting and Analysis (11th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Graham, J. Smart, S. (2011). Introduction to Corporate Finance: What Companies Do (3rd ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Hitchner, J.R. (2013). Financial Valuation: Applications and Models. USA: John Wiley Sons. Laux, B. (2014). Discussion of The role of revenue recognition in performance reporting. Accounting and Business Research, 44(4), 380-382. Maines, L. Wahlen, J. (2006). The Nature of Accounting Information Reliability: Inferences from Archival and Experimental Research. Accounting Horizons, 20(4), 389-425. Palepu, K.G., Healy, P.M., Peek, E. Bernard, V.L. (2007). Business Analysis and Valuation: Text and Cases. UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Telstra (2015). Telstra Our company. Accessed October 28, 2016 from https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/our-company/ Whittington, G. (2008). Harmonization or Discord? The critical role of the IASB conceptual framework review. Journal of Accounting Public Policy, 27(6), 44-56