Fluent Essays

1. Throughout this course, many discussion opportunities come up where you need to respond to other peoples opinions and comments. Address the Discussion topic after you have completed your reading. Creating an Accounting Information System You are the CEO of a newly incorporated retail firm that will sell DKNY® and Tommy Hilfiger® along with other designer clothing. Your job is to set up an accounting information system to maintain appropriate records needed in the eventual preparation of financial statements. Certain principles should be followed in the development of an accounting information system. Identify and explain each of the principles. 2. Throughout this course, many discussion opportunities come up where you need to respond to other peoples opinions and comments. Address the Discussion topic after you have completed your reading. Accounting for Merchandising Businesses Computers have become a staple in the lives of most people. There are many companies that provide computers on the market. Assume that you are planning to purchase a new laptop for your classes, work and home use. Please go to the websites of two major United States computer manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard®, Acer®, Apple®, etc. and make a selection. Once you have made your selection, please complete the following items and questions: · Compare the following items for your selections: · Price · Delivery Charges · Financing Options · Discounts · Coupons · Warranties · Installation Offered · Recycling of Old Components Offered · What are some factors that can impact the gross profit of a merchandise company? · One item that can help investors understand the relationship between net sales and net profits is the gross profit rate. The calculation explanation for this financial ratio is found on pages 5–19 of the textbook. Find the financial information needed to calculate the gross profit rate for your two selected companies. · Which company has the better ratio? · Why do you think this is the case? Please use the most recent annual report available. Also, make sure to use the same year’s annual report for your companies. 1. Genetic Inheritance and Mutation Mutations are changes that occur within the genes of an organism. Sometimes these mutations impact a single gene, while other mutations impact the number or structure of entire chromosomes. Since many mutations change just one tiny piece of information in one single piece of DNA, they usually do not cause any problems. For example, imagine if someone sent you a long email and accidentally misspelled the word friend as freind. You would still understand the email and would probably still even catch the original meaning - this is a good analogy for what happens with a point mutation, where just one part of a gene is changed. However, sometimes a single mistake can make a big difference. Imagine if, while composing a long email, you accidentally select and delete an entire paragraph or perhaps auto-correct changes a critical word. You can imagine (and perhaps have even experienced) how such a mistake might cause great confusion and miscommunication. Many genetic disorders are caused by changes to a single gene in the form of a point mutation or due to a chromosomal abnormality like a chromosome disorder. Sometimes these mutations are passed from one generation to the next, just like other harmless traits like eye color and blood type. These mutations may cause specific disorders, or they may predispose a person to a common disease like cancer or heart disease. Review the  Discussion resources  to learn more about genetics and the implications of our genetic knowledge: During the week, discuss the following with your classmates. Be sure to use the provided course materials and feel free to share additional information you find in the PG Library or through your own research. Imagine that you have a particular genetic trait and that you have four children. Two of the four children also possess this trait. Meanwhile, the other biological parent of your children does not possess the trait. · Explain why you think the trait in the scenario is dominant or recessive. · Based upon your response, describe why it would or would not be possible for the trait in the scenario to “skip” a generation. · Patterns of inheritance within organisms like pea plants, fruit flies, mice, and others are somewhat easy to determine since their mating practices can easily be controlled. Apart from controlling who mates with whom, what other characteristics make species like these ideal for studying genetics? · Select and describe a health problem that you believe has a genetic component at least partially inherited. If you do not identify an inherited health condition within your family, choose a disease that interests you or impacts a friend or other family member. · Would you be interested in having genetic testing to determine whether you carry a genetic mutation for a particular disorder or a genetic predisposition for a disease? Why/why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of determining your predisposition? · Explore the current state of research for the health problem you selected. Focus on one of the following to discuss as they relate to the genetics of the disease: · Cause · Testing/Screening/Prevention · Treatments/Therapies/Cures 2. Learning from our ancestors You have a modern lens through which the world is viewed. This can influence how you look at and interpret data, particularly in archaeology where researchers are often trying to piece together what an ancient person’s life might have been like. Scientists from Europe during the Victorian era might interpret artifacts found during an excavation in a different light than modern European scientists even though both are trying hard to be objective and learn more about the ancient world. This has a lot to do with advances in technology, but it is also due to differences in culture and worldview. Scientists raised in different cultures might also see the same artifacts in a different light. Scientists throughout time have asked questions such as “Where did we come from?” and “How did my ancestors live?” These are difficult questions to answer, particularly for anything that happened before there was a written record. Even when ancient cultures had writing it is hard to know if everything written down is accurate or that the modern interpretation of what was written is correct. The farther back in time you go, the less accurate ancient activities and behaviors become due to a lack of data. Sometimes people and objects were preserved intentionally such as with mummies in Egyptian tombs. But more often, people and objects were not intentionally preserved, and it is only by luck, due to where they were laid to rest, that they survived and were found by researchers. One famous and well researched modern discovery is Ötzi the iceman who was found on the border between Italy and Austria in 1991. Initially people thought he was a modern victim, but soon realized that instead, he had been lying in the ice for thousands of years. His remains are now kept at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. Do an internet search on Ötzi to learn more about him. The museum’s site is a good source of information with sections on the discovery itself, milestones in past research, and descriptions of current research on the iceman. However, he is not the only ancient discovery. You can explore others here: The Perfect Corpse Mummies 101 If the discovery of Ötzi had taken place in 1891 rather than 1991, the way his remains were handled and the research that could be done would have been very different. Identify and describe one modern analysis/technique that has been performed to learn more about Ötzi that could not have been done in the 1800s. · It stands to reason that researchers in 2091 will have more technologies at their disposal to research a discovery like Ötzi. Should research on his remains be limited today so that he can be preserved and studied in the future? Provide one pro and one con of conducting research now rather than waiting. Discuss one benefit and one negative of putting research off until a much later date. Advances in biotechnology have revolutionized the study of ancient remains. In Ötzi’s case, a genetic study showed that his DNA most closely matched up with people that currently live in Sardinia. One hypothesis for this is that at Ötzi’s time, a group of people with similar DNA spread throughout Europe including Sardinia. Sardinia is somewhat isolated so the DNA of the population living there has changed very little since that time. On mainland Europe, where his remains were found, there was more mixing of populations so there have been changes to the DNA profiles of the people living in that region. · Based on the genetic results, do you think Ötzi should be considered Sardinian even though he lived in the Alps? Why or why not? · Today you can have your DNA sampled and you can learn more about which genetic groups you are most closely matched to – just like was done with Ötzi. Is this something you would be interested in knowing? Why or why not?