Substitute Folder - Creating a Teacher Packet

Substitute Folder - Creating a Teacher Packet A substitute folder is an essential resource that all teachers should have prepared and clearly labeled on their desk in case they are absent. This folder should provide the substitute with important information to help them teach your students throughout the day. What to Include in Your Substitute Packet The following list includes  general items to include in your substitute teacher packet: Class List:  Provide a class list and place a star next to the students that can be trusted to help the substitute with any questions they may have. Teacher Schedule:  Provide a schedule of any duties that the teacher may have (bus duty, hall duty). Attach a map of the school and mark the spots where theyre assigned to go. Class Schedule/Routine:  Include a copy of the daily routine. Provide information such as how attendance is taken and where it should go, how student work is collected, when students are able to use the restroom, how students are dismissed, etc. Classroom Discipline Plan:  Provide your classroom behavior plan. Inform substitutes to follow your plan and leave you a detailed note if any student has misbehaved. School Policies:  Include a copy of the school behavior plan, what to do in case of an early dismissal, playground rules, lunchroom rules, tardy procedure, computer usage, and rules, etc. Seating Chart:  Provide a copy of the class seating chart clearly labeled with each students name and any important information about each child. Emergency Procedures/Fire Drills:  Include a copy of the schools emergency procedures. Highlight escape  routes and exit doors, so that the substitute will know exactly where to take the children in case of an emergency. Important Student Information:  Provide a list of students food allergies, medical information (such as medicine) and any other special needs. Time Fillers:  Select a few five-minute activities in case the substitute has a few extra minutes to spare. Emergency Lesson Plans:  Select at least a weeks amount of emergency lessons in case you are not able to complete a lesson for them. Include spare worksheets and review sheets with enough copied for the whole class. Colleagues Contact Information:  Include a list of names and numbers of the surrounding classroom teachers and faculty. A Note from the Sub:  Provide a worksheet for the substitute to fill out at the end of the day. Title it A Note From_______ and have the substitute fill in the blanks for the following items: Date:____My day was____The following students were helpful______Some problems I had throughout the day were_____Additional Comments______ Additional Tips Use a three-ring binder with dividers and clearly label each section. Some options for organizing your binder are:Use a divider for each day of the week and place detailed lesson plans and procedure for that day.Use a divider for each essential item and place contents in the appropriate section.Use a divider and color coordinate each component and place contents in each section. Place important items in the front pocket such as office passes, hall passes, lunch tickets, attendance cards, etc.Create a Sub Tub. Place all essential items in a color-coordinated filing tub and leave on your desk each night, just in case.If you know you will be absent then write the daily routine on the front board. This will give the students and the substitute something to refer to.Lock up personal belongings; you do not want the students or substitute having access to your personal information.Clearly, mark the folder and place it on your desk or in an obvious location.

Using the PHP Rand() Functions to Generate Random Numbers

Using the PHP Rand() Functions to Generate Random Numbers The rand() function is used in PHP to generate a random integer. The rand() PHP function can also be used to generate a random number within a specific range, such as a number between 10 and 30. If no max limit is specified when using the rand() PHP function, the largest integer that can be returned is determined by the getrandmax() function, which varies by operating system.   For example, in Windows, the largest number that can be generated is 32768. However, you can set a specific range to include higher numbers. Rand() Syntax and Examples The correct syntax for using the rand PHP function is as follows: rand(); or rand(min,max); Using the syntax as described above, we can make three examples for the rand() function in PHP: ?phpecho (rand(10, 30) . br);echo (rand(1, 1000000) . br);echo (rand());? As you can see in these examples, the first rand function generates a random number between 10 and 30, the second between 1 and 1 million, and then third without any maximum or minimum number defined. These are some possible results: 20442549830380191 Security Concerns Using Rand() Function The random numbers generated by this function are not cryptographically secure values, and they should not be used for cryptographic  reasons. If you need secure values, use other random functions such as random_int(), openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(), or random_bytes() Note: Beginning with PHP 7.1.0, the rand() PHP function is an alias of mt_rand(). The mt_rand() function is said to be four times faster and it produces a better random value. However, the numbers it generates are not cryptographically secure. The PHP manual recommends using the  random_bytes() function for cryptographically secure integers.

Composer report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Composer report - Essay Example analysis because of his multifaceted performance since he was not only outstanding composer, but also talented conductor, poet-playwright, publicist and theorist of musical theatre. Almost alone, Wagner created an entire trend such as musical drama. The most distinguished thing that a lot of his works are characterized with is a prominent role of mystical symbolism, which always inspired composer and fascinated intellectual audience. Wagner’s contribution to the world culture is defined, first of all, with operatic reform, which led to the dominant implementation of recitative style, popularization of symphonic operas with the help of leitmotifs and refusal from tradition operatic forms like aria or ensemble. The centre of Wagner’s performance is a synthesis of arts representing combination of music, poetry and theatrical play that are able to create overall picture of events. The music of Wagner is saturated with painful search for happiness, intention for heroic deeds and recurrent presence of deception, violence and treachery that often darken the real life. The composer’s style is characterized with excessive tragedy and actualization of myths. While listening to Wagner’s music, it is possible to feel grandeur, power, potency, audacity and determination of the creator. Wagner is miscellaneous in his representations. Hence, â€Å"Spring Waltz† is airy, light, melodic, playful and exciting set of notes, while â€Å"Die Walkure† attracts with its loudness, anxiety and expressiveness that merely cause heartache. This is typical for Wagner to be ostentatious and even scandalous right in a focus of public attention. Such nature of composer can be easily tracked and reflected in his music that presents a great surge of emotions for the

Intro and conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Intro and conclusion - Essay Example Greece is one of the prominent countries in the European Union. However, unlike many other countries in EU, Greece is currently struggling a lot because of financial problems. EU is doing everything possible to revitalize Greece’s economy. However, the depth of the financial problems facing by Greece seems to be big. However, Greece still offers enough opportunities to foreign direct investments. Greece realized that internal resources are limited to streamline the economic progress in the right path. Currently they are trying hard to attract Foreign Direct Investment as much as possible to escape from the financial problems. New products and existing products have equal opportunities in Greece at present. Because of the blind faith in the abilities of Americans, American products are accepted with both hands by Greeks. Product manufacturers in America can capitalize on such attitudes of Greek people. We have planned to develop a new multipurpose product; alarm clock/ smart phone charger / coffee maker and market it in Greece. This paper is written as a marketing plan for the newly developed alarm clock in Greece. The current population in Greece right now is 10,767,827 (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). There are currently 4,704,248 people that makes up our products target market, which is roughly 44% of the total current market (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). Over the past three years, Greece’s economy has been on the decline and with the recently raised income taxes, there has been a decline in disposable income as well (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). For the average adult, the normal work week consists of 40 hours, but during this time, Greeks do not take normal lunch breaks (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Instead they take multiple shirt breaks throughout the day in which they get coffee or a quick snack (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Coffee has become apart of Greek culture where its is a daily routine. Greeks

Effect of Video Games Essay Example for Free

Effect of Video Games Essay A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word videoin video game traditionally referred to cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two or three dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles .These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry. The input device used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, and varies across platforms. For example, a controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, while another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer games often needed a keyboard for game play, or more commonly, required the user to buy a separate joystick with at least one button. Many modern computer games allow or require the player to use a keyboard and a mouse simultaneously. A few of the most common game controllers are gamepads, mouse’s, keyboards, and joysticks. Video games typically use additional means of providing interactivity and information to the player. Audio is almost universal, using sound reproduction devices, such as speakers and headphones. Other feedback may come via haptic peripherals, such as vibration or force feedback, with vibration sometimes used to simulate force feedback. In the early days of cartridge consoles, they were sometimes called TV games. Early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U.S. Patent 2455992. Inspired by radar display tech, it consisted of an analog device that allowed a user to control a vector-drawn dot on the screen to simulate a missile being fired at targets, which were drawings fixed to the screen. Other early examples include: * The NIMROD computer at the 1951 Festival of Britain * * OXO a tic-tac-toe Computer game by Alexander S. Douglas for the EDSAC * in 1952 * Tennis for Two, an interactive game engineered by William Higinbotham in 1958 The term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is also commonly used. In common use a PC game refers to a form of media that involves a player interacting with a IBM PC compatible personal computer connected to a video monitor. A console game is played on a specialized electronic device that connects to a common television setor composite video monitor. A handheld gaming device is a self-contained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a users hands. Arcade game generally refers to a game played on an even more specialized type of electronic device that is typically designed to play only one game and is encased in a special cabinet. These distinctions are not always clear and there may be games that bridge one or more platforms. In addition to personal computers, there are multiple other devices which have the ability to play games but are not dedicated video game machines, such as mobile phones, PDAs and graphing calculators. With the advent of social networking and other online applications hubs, the term platform started being used to refer to the online service within which the game is played, regardless of the actual hardware on which it is executed. A games platform could simply be Facebook, whether it is played on a Windows PC, Mac, Smart TV, or smartphone. Statement of the problem : 1.) What is the negative effects of video games to teenager? 2.) What is the positive effects of video games to teenager? 3.) Does game violence make teens aggressive? Scope and limitation Development in technology brings many things that people dont have many years back. One of these things is online gaming that is provided by the internet. Online gaming is one of the widely used leisure activities by many people. Teenagers who are playing these online games said that they are playing these games just for fun, to keep away from the heat of the sun, without knowing that there are a lot of effects of playing these games that are more than what they think. Playing online games, according to some research is beneficial. It enables the mind of the players to be more active , especially those puzzle-based games. It helps the player to come up with decisions in tight situations, especially those adventure games that keep the players to be alert, active and strategic. Playing these types of games makes the player experienced different feelings because it is as if the player is really the one taking the challenges. Despite those benefits, playing these games also bring negative effects. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE RELATED LITERATURE â€Å"Computer Gaming Effects to the Academic Performance among High school students† The internet and online gaming industry has grown considerably over the past decade. As the advent of internet occurs, online gaming is undisputedly popular to the students and that online gaming has become high school students’ favorite leisure choice. Most of the High school students in these times are seen on internet sites and spending their money for them to be ready on their battle online. Because of this widespread, parents and educators are concerned about the doable effects on the academic performance among high school students. The most common question discusses about how it affects the academic performance of the gamer. Not surprisingly, gaming culture has become a polarizing force in our society, as well. â€Å"The Effects of Computer Games to the Academic Performance of Aims Students† Computer addiction is a relatively new term used to describe a dependency on one s computer. Computer addiction is not limited to personal computers (PCs). It covers video games and the Internet and has already been given a label by psychologists, namely Internet addiction disorder (IAD). People can grow addicted to a variety of substances, and there is usually a substantial amount of help available to treat them. Alcohol, drugs and sex have all been known to bring out the addictive personality trait in some people, but other forms of addictive behavior, such as exercise, watching television or spending too much time on a computer, have only recently been recognized. Computer addiction, like any addiction, can creep up on a person without one being aware of it. Talk shows are full of people whose relationships have been torn apart by one partners computer addiction. Spending hours chatting online, surfing the web or playing computer games can cause relationships to deteriorate as other parts of a person’s life are neglected.

Ida B. Wells Essay -- essays research papers

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was a newspaper editor and journalist who went on to lead the American anti-lynching crusade. Working closely with both African-American community leaders and American suffragists, Wells worked to raise gender issues within the "Race Question" and race issues within the "Woman Question." Wells was born the daughter of slaves in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862. During Reconstruction, she was educated at a Missouri Freedman's School, Rust University, and began teaching school at the age of fourteen. In 1884, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she continued to teach while attending Fisk University during summer sessions. In Tennessee, especially, she was appalled at the poor treatment she and other African-Americans received. After she was forcibly removed from her seat for refusing to move to a "colored car" on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected her suit against the railroad fo r violating her civil rights in 1877. This event and the legal struggle that followed it, however, encouraged Wells to continue to oppose racial injustice toward African-Americans. She took up journalism in addition to school teaching, and in 1891, after she had written several newspaper articles critical of the educational opportunities afforded African-American students, her teaching contract was not renewed. Effectively barred from teaching, she invested her savings in a part-inte...

Solution to Auditing and Assurance Service: 1,12,B, 3

SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS 1. 1Business risk is the collective risk faced by a company that engages in business. It encompasses all threats to and organization’s goals and objectives. It includes the chance that customers will buy from competitors, that product lines will become obsolete, that taxes will increase, that government contracts will be lost, or that employees will go on strike. 1. 2The conditions of complexity, remoteness, time-sensitivity, and consequences increase demands by outside users for relevant, reliable (useful) information. They cannot produce the information for themselves because of these conditions. Company managers and accountants produce the information. 1. 3Information risk, in contrast to business risk, is the risk (probability) that the information (mainly financial) disseminated by a company will be materially false or misleading. This risk creates the demand for objective outsiders to provide assurance to decision makers. 1. 4Students can refer to the AAA and AICPA definitions in Chapter 1. Some instructors may want to extend the consideration of definitions to include the internal and governmental definitions (located in Module D). In response to â€Å"What do auditors do? ,† students can refer to Exhibit 1. 2 and respond in terms of: (1) obtaining and evaluating evidence about assertions management makes about economic actions and events, (2) ascertaining the degree of correspondence between the assertions and the appropriate reporting framework, and (3) providing an audit report (opinion). Students can also respond more generally in terms of â€Å"lending credibility† to financial statements presented by management (attestation). 1. An attest engagement is: â€Å"An engagement in which a practitioner is engaged to issue or does issue a written communication that expresses a conclusion about the reliability of a written assertion that is the responsibility of another party. † To attest means to lend credibility or to vouch for the truth or accuracy of the statements that one party makes to another. The attest function is a term often applied to the activities of independent CPAs when actin g as auditors of financial statements. 1. Assurance engagements are independent professional services that improve the quality of information, or its context, for decision makers. Since information (financial statements) are prepared by managers of an entity who have authority and responsibility for financial success or failure, an outsider may be skeptical that the information is objective, free from bias, fully informative, and free from material error, intentional or inadvertent. The services of an independent-CPA auditor helps resolve those doubts because the auditor’s success depends upon his independent, objective, and competent assessment of the information (e. . , the conformity of the financial statements with the appropriate reporting framework). The CPA’s role is to lend credibility to the information; hence the outsider will likely seek his independent opinion. 1. 7CPAs serve as independent intermediaries who lend credibility to information. Hence, assuranc e services are natural extensions of the well-regarded audit and attest services. CPAs can use their expertise in internal control and measurement methods. Assurance services are natural extensions of attestation services, which earlier evolved from financial statement audit services. Attestation and audit services are highly structured and intended to be useful for large groups of decision makers (e. g. , investors, lenders). On the other hand, assurance services are more customized and intended to be useful to smaller, targeted groups of decision makers. In this sense, assurance services bear resemblance to consulting services. 1. 8There are four major elements of the broad definition of assurance services: Independence. CPAs want to preserve their attestation and audit reputations and competitive advantages by preserving integrity and objectivity when performing assurance services. Professional Services. Virtually all work performed by CPAs is defined as â€Å"professional services† as long as it involves some element of judgment based in education and experience. Improving the Quality of Information or its Context. The emphasis is on â€Å"information†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ CPAs’ traditional stock in trade. CPAs can enhance quality by assuring users about the reliability and relevance of information, and these two features are closely related to the familiar credibility-lending products of attestation and audit services. â€Å"Context† is relevance in a different light. For assurance services, improving the context of information refers to improving its usefulness when targeted to particular decision makers in the surroundings of particular decision problems. For Decision Makers. They are the â€Å"consumers† for assurance services, and they personify the consumer focus of new and different professional work. They may or may not be the â€Å"client† that pays the fee, and they may or may not be one of the parties to an assertion or other information. The decision makers are the beneficiaries of the assurance services. 1. Accountants record, classify, and summarize (report) a company’s assets, liabilities, capital, revenue, and expense in financial statements. Auditors gather evidence related to the assertions management makes in financial statements and render a report. Accountants produce the financial statements; auditors audit them. 1. 10There are three major classifications of ASB assertions with several assertions in each c lassification: Transaction Assertions: Occurrence assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions giving rise to assets, liabilities, sales and expenses actually occurred. Key questions include â€Å"Did the recorded sales transactions really occur? † Completeness and cutoff assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all transactions of the period are in the financial statements and all transactions that properly belong in the preceding or following accounting periods are excluded. Completeness also refers to proper inclusion in financial statements of all assets, liabilities, revenue, expense and related disclosures. Key questions related to completeness include: â€Å"Are the financial statements (including footnotes) complete? and â€Å"Were all the transactions recorded in the right period? † Accuracy assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions have been recorded at the correct amount. Key questions relate to â€Å"where the expenses recorded at the proper dollar amount? † Classification assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions were posted to the cor rect accounts. Key questions relate to â€Å"was this expense recorded in the appropriate account/† Balance Assertions: Existence assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that balance represents assets, liabilities, sales, and expenses that are real and in existence at the balance sheet date. Key questions relate to â€Å"does this number truly represent assets that existed at the balance sheet date? † Rights and obligations assertion: The objectives related to rights and obligations are to establish with evidence that assets are owned (or rights such as capitalized leases are shown) and liabilities are owed. Key questions related to this assertion include: â€Å"Does the company really own the assets? nd â€Å"Are related legal responsibilities identified? † Completeness assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all balances of the period are in the financial statements. Key questions related to completeness include: â€Å"Are the financial statements (including footnotes) complete? † Valuation assertion: The objective is to establish with evidenc e that balances have been valued correctly. Key questions include â€Å"Are the accounts valued correctly? † and â€Å"Are expenses allocated to the period(s) benefited? † Presentation and Disclosure assertion: Occurrence assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that transactions giving rise to assets, liabilities, sales and expenses actually occurred. Key questions include â€Å"are we properly presenting and disclosing transactions that occurred during this period. Rights and obligations assertion: The objectives related to establishing with evidence the proper presentation of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses to which the company has a legal right or a legal obligation Key questions related to this assertion include: â€Å"Has the company properly presented the assets in its possession? nd â€Å"Are related legal responsibilities identified and properly disclosed? † Completeness assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that all balances of the period are presented and/or disclosed in the financial statements. Key questions related to completeness include: â€Å"Are the financial statements (including footnotes) complete? † Accuracy and valuation assertion: The objectives are to establish with evidence that balances presented and disclosed in the financial statements have been recorded accurately and have been valued correctly. Key questions include â€Å"Are the accounts valued correctly? † and â€Å"Are expenses allocated to the period(s) benefited? † Classification and understandability assertion: The objective is to establish with evidence that presentation and disclosures are properly classified on the financial statements and that financial statements including footnotes are understandable to the financial statement users. Key questions relate to â€Å"Is this account properly presented in the correct financial statement category† and â€Å"are the footnote disclosures presented to promote an understanding of the nature of the account† . 11The ASB’s assertions are important to auditors because they are the focal points for audit procedures. Furthermore, audit procedures are the means to answer the key questions posed by management’s assertions. The ASB assertions are in more detail than the PCAOB assertions and are categorized into transaction assertions, bala nce assertions, and presentation and disclosure assertions. They include the following additional assertions: cutoff, accuracy, valuation, classification, and understandability. Exhibit 1. 4 explains the difference between ASB and PCAOB assertions. . 12Holding a belief that a potential conflict of interests always exists causes auditors to perform procedures to search for errors or frauds that would have a material effect on financial statements. This tends to make audits more extensive for the auditor and more expensive for the client. The situation is not a desirable one in the vast majority of audits where no errors or frauds exist. However, errors and financial reporting frauds have happened too often. Users of financial statements and audit reports expect auditors to detect material misstatements. . 13Some examples of assurance engagements include: †¢ Internet Website certification (CPA WebTrust) †¢ Accounts receivable review and cash enhancement †¢ Third-party r eimbursement maximization †¢ Rental property operations review †¢ Customer satisfaction surveys †¢ Benchmarking/best practices †¢ Evaluation of investment management policies †¢ Fraud and illegal acts prevention and deterrence †¢ Information systems security reviews (SysTrust) †¢ Internal audit strategic review . 14Major areas of public accounting services: †¢ Assurance services (including audit services and other attestation engagements) †¢ Tax consulting services †¢ Consulting services 1. 15Operational auditing is the study of business operations for the purpose of making recommendations about the economic and efficient use of resources, effective achievement of business objectives, and compliance with company policies. The AICPA views operational auditing as a type of management advisory service offered by public accounting firms. 1. 6The elements of expanded-scope auditing include: (1) financial and compliance audits, (2) economy and efficiency audits, and (3) program results audits. 1. 17Compliance auditing involves a study of an organization’s policies, procedures, and performance in following laws, rules, and regulations. An example is a school’s policies, procedures, and performance in determining eligibility for a free meal program. 1. 18Other kinds of auditors include IRS agents/auditors, state and federal bank examiners, state insurance department auditors, and fraud auditors. 1. 9The purpose of continuing education is to ensure that CPAs in practice maintain their expertise at a sufficiently high level in light of evolving business conditions and new regulations. For CPAs in public practice, 120 hours of continuing education is required every three years, with no less than 20 hours in any one year. For CPAs not in public practice, the general requirement is 120 or fewer (90 in some states) every three years. 1. 20Everything cannot be learned in the classroom, and some on-the-job experi ence is helpful before a person is foisted off on the public as a licensed professional. Also, the experience weeds out some persons who do not want to take the trouble to be involved in accounting work. 1. 21State boards administer the state accountancy laws. State boards make physical arrangements to give the CPA examination, collect the examinations, receive the grades from the AICPA grading activity, and notify candidates whether they passed or failed. After satisfying state requirements for education and experience, successful candidates are awarded the CPA certificate by a state board. At the same time, new CPAs must pay a fee to obtain a state license to practice. Thereafter, state boards of accountancy regulate the behavior of CPAs under their jurisdiction (enforcing state rules of conduct) and supervise the continuing education requirements. 1. 22After becoming a CPA licensed in one state, a person can obtain a CPA certificate and license in another state. The process is known as reciprocity. CPAs can file the proper application with another state board of accountancy, meet the state’s requirements, and obtain another CPA certificate. Many CPAs hold certificates and licenses in several states. From a global perspective, individuals must be licensed in each country. Similar to CPAs in the United States, â€Å"Chartered Accountants† (CAs) practice in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and India. Efforts are currently underway through NASBA to streamline the reciprocity process so that CPAs can practice across state lines without having to have 50 different licenses. SOLUTIONS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE-QUESTIONS 1. 23a. IncorrectThis is an attestation to the prize promoter’s claims. b. IncorrectThis is an audit engagement to give an opinion on financial statements. c. IncorrectThis is an assurance engagement on newspaper’s circulation data. . IncorrectThis is an assurance engagement on the performance of golf balls. e. CorrectSince attestation and audit engagements are subsets of assurance engagements, all are assurance engagements. 1. 24a. CorrectThis statement characterizes professional skepticism. b. Incorrectâ€Å"Exclusively an auditor† is not an idea that seems to speak of â€Å"skepticism. † c. IncorrectProfessio nal obligations† is not an idea that seems to speak of â€Å"skepticism. † d. IncorrectThis is more an assumption of necessity than of skepticism. 1. 25a. Incorrect While work on a forecast is covered by the attestation standards, the auditors should give assurance or a disclaimer. b. Correct This is the basic definition of attestation–giving a report on reliability of an assertion one party makes to another. c. Incorrect Tax work is not an attestation service. d. Incorrect Litigation and expert witness services are not attestation services. 1. 26a. IncorrectThe objective of environmental auditing is to help achieve and maintain compliance with environmental laws and regulations and to help identify and correct unregulated environmental hazards b. IncorrectThe objective of financial auditing is to obtain assurance on the conformity of financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles. c. Incorrect The objective of compliance auditing is the entity’s compliance with laws and regulations. d. CorrectOperational auditing refers to the study of business operations for the purpose of making recommendations about the economic and efficient use of resources, effective achievement of business objectives, and compliance with company policies. 1. 27a. IncorrectWhile not the primary objective of an operational audit, auditors should still be concerned about compliance with financial accounting standards. b. CorrectThis statement is part of the basic definition of operational auditing. c. IncorrectAn operational audit does not focus on the financial statements. d. IncorrectAnalytical tools and skills are an important part of financial auditing. 1. 28a. CorrectThe proper reference is to the appropriate reporting framework. b. IncorrectThe AICPA does not refer only to the FASB for the appropriate reporting framework. c. IncorrectThe reference to the SEC is wrong. d. IncorrectThis is an abstract of the AAA definition. 1. 29d. CorrectWhile â€Å"complexity,† â€Å"remoteness,† and â€Å"consequences† are good answers, â€Å"skepticism,† or potential conflict of interest, generally drives the demand for audited financial statements. 1. 30d. CorrectSarbanes-Oxley prohibits the provision of all of the services listed in answers a, b, and c, therefore, d (all of the above) is the best response. 1. 31a. IncorrectAuditors do not reduce business risk. b. CorrectAuditors give some assurance that the information risk is low. c. IncorrectComplexity creates demand for accounting services, but is not an audit objective. d. IncorrectAuditors only indirectly control the timeliness of financial statements. 1. 32d. CorrectAnswers a, b, and c refer to a financial statement audit, an internal controls attestation engagement, and an operational audit, respectively. Compliance refers to following laws, rules, regulations, and policies. 1. 33d. CorrectWhile answers a, b, and c are true, experience, education, and successful completion of the Uniform CPA are all necessary to be licensed as a CPA. 1. 34d. CorrectThe mission of the U. S. Government Accountability Office is to ensure that public officials are using public funds efficiently, effectively, and economically. 1. 35b,d CorrectThe two categories of performance audits are economy and efficiency audit and program audits. 1. 36c. CorrectReview of credit ratings of customers gives indirect evidence of the collectibility (valuation) of accounts receivable. 1. 37a. IncorrectRhonda’s representations are not sufficient evidence to support assertions made in the financial statements. b. IncorrectDespite Rhonda’s representations, Jones must gather additional evidence to corroborate Rhonda’s assertions. . IncorrectRhonda’s representations are a form of evidence (albeit weak) that should neither be disregarded, nor blindly regarded without professional skepticism. d. CorrectRhonda’s assertions need corroboration. 1. 38a. IncorrectAlthough there is a high level of risk associated with client acceptance, this phrase was created by the au thors. b. CorrectInformation risk is the probability that the information circulated by a company will be false or misleading. c. IncorrectMoral hazard is the risk that the existence of a contract will change the behavior of one or both parties to the contract. d. IncorrectBusiness risk is the probability an entity will fail to meet its objectives and, ultimately, fail. 1. 39a. CorrectCompleteness includes cutoff which refers to accounting for revenue, expense, and other transactions in the proper period (neither postponing some recordings to the next period nor accelerating next-period transactions into the current-year accounts). 1. 40d. CorrectThe objective related to rights and obligations is to establish with evidence that amounts reported as assets of the company represent its property rights and that the amounts reported as liabilities represent its obligations. . 41b. CorrectManagement’s existence assertion states that reported assets, liabilities, and equities actually exist. 1. 42a. IncorrectUnder Sarbanes-Oxley, professional service firms are prevented from acting in a managerial decision making role for an audit client. b. IncorrectUnder Sarbanes-Oxley, professional service firms are prevented from auditing the firm’s own work on an audit client. c. IncorrectUnder Sarbanes-Oxley, professional service firms may only provide tax consulting service to an audit client with the audit committee’s approval. d. CorrectSarbanes-Oxley prevents professional service firms from engaging in any of the above listed capacities. 1. 43 d. CorrectReciprocity refers to the process through which CPAs licensed in one state can obtain a CPA certificate and license in another state. 1. 44a. CorrectAuditing is a subset of attestation engagements that focuses on the certification of financial statements. b. IncorrectAuditing is a subset of attestation that provides higher assurance than that provided by an attestation engagement. c. IncorrectConsulting engagements focus on providing clients with advice and decision support. d. IncorrectAssurance engagements are designed to improve the quality of information, or its context, for decision makers. 1. 45d. CorrectAlthough auditing is a subset of attestation, and attestation is a subset of assurance, the focus of the engagements tends to be very specific. 1. 46d. CorrectCredibility, advancement, and monetary rewards are all reasons to become certified. SOLUTIONS FOR EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 47. Audit, Attestation, and Assurance Services Students may encounter some difficulty with this matching because the Special Committee on Assurance Services listed many things that heretofore ave been considered â€Å"attestation services† (long before assurance services were invented). Maybe this is a good vehicle for discussing the considerable overlap between attestation services (attestation standards) and assurance services. †¢ Real estate demand studies — Assurance service (listed by SCAS but not in the textbook chapter) †¢ Ballot for awards show — Assurance service (listed by SCAS but not in the textbook chapter) [But PwC attested to the Academy Awards ballot results long before assurance services were invented] Utility rate applications — Attestation service (or maybe a consulting service; I’m somewhat surprised the SCAS did not list it as an assurance service. ) †¢ Newspaper circulation audits –Assurance service (listed by SCAS but not in the textbook chapter) [But this work has appeared in prior years in examples of attestation services] †¢ Third-party reimbursement maximization — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Annual financial report to stockholders — Audit service Rental property operations review — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Examination of financial forecasts and projections — Attestation service (but also listed by SCAS as an assurance service) †¢ Cus tomer satisfaction surveys– Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Compliance with contractual requirements — Attestation service (but also listed by SCAS as an assurance service) †¢ Benchmarking/best practices — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) Evaluation of investment management policies — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Information systems security reviews — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Productivity statistics — Attestation service (but also listed by SCAS as an assurance service under various descriptions) †¢ Internal audit strategic review — Assurance service (listed by SCAS and listed in the textbook chapter) †¢ Financial statements submitted to a bank loan officer — Audit service 1. 49 ASB Assertions PCAOB Assertion |Corresponding ASB ass ertion |Nature of assertion | |Existence or Occurrence |Existence |Balance | | |Occurrence |Transactions | | | |Disclosures | |Rights and Obligations |Rights and Obligations |Balances | | | |Disclosures | |Completeness |Completeness |Transactions | | | |Balances | | | |Disclosures | | |Cutoff Transactions | |Valuation and Allocation |Accuracy |Transactions | | | |Disclosures | | |Valuation |Balances | | | |Disclosures | |Presentation and Disclosure |Classification |Transactions | | | |Disclosures | | |Understandability |Disclosures | 1. 52Identification of Audits and Auditors The responses to this matching type of question are ambiguous. The engagement examples are real examples of external, internal and governmental audit situations. You might point out to students that the distinctions among compliance, economy and efficiency and program results audits are not always clear. The â€Å"solution† is shown below in matrix form, showing some engagement numbers in two or t hree cells. The required schedule follows. |Type of Audit | | |Financial Statement | |Economy, Efficiency |Program | |Auditor | |Compliance | |Results | |Independent CPA |2, 10 | | | | |Internal Auditor | |6, 8 |4, 8 | | |Governmental (GAO) | | |1, 3 |1, 3, 9 | |IRS Auditor | |5 | | | |Bank Examiner | |7 | | | |Proprietary school’s training expenses |Economy and Efficiency Program Results |Governmental (GAO) | |Advertising agency financial statements |Financial statement |Independent CPAs | |Dept. f Defense launch vehicle |Economy and Efficiency or Program Results |Governmental (GAO) | |Municipal services |Economy and Efficiency |Internal auditors | |Tax shelters |Compliance |IRS auditors | |Test pilot reporting |Compliance |Internal auditors | |Bank solvency |Compliance |Bank examiners | |Materials inspection by manufacturer |Compliance or Economy and Efficiency |Internal auditors | |States’ reporting chemical use data |Program goal |Governmental (GAO) | |Sports compl ex forecast |Financial statement |Independent CPAs | SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS 2. 1For independent (external) auditors of financial statements, practice standards are issued by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (in the form of Statements on Auditing Standards) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (in the form of Auditing Standards). Statements on Auditing Standards are appropriate for the audits of nonpublic entities, while Auditing Standards are appropriate for the audits of public entities. For governmental auditors, the Government Accountability Office issues Government Auditing Standards (also known as the â€Å"Yellow Book†). For internal auditors, the Institute of Internal Auditors issues Statements of Internal Auditing Standards (also known as the â€Å"Red Book†). For fraud auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners issues Professional Standards and Practices for Certified Fraud Examiners. For auditors in other countries, the IFAC International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board issues International Standards on Auditing and Assurance. 2. 2Generally accepted auditing standards are standards that identify necessary qualifications and characteristics of auditors and guide the conduct of the audit examination. Generally accepted accounting principles represent the requirements for the preparation and presentation of financial statements and accompanying footnote disclosures. These two types of standards are related to one another because a primary objective of a GAAS audit is to allow auditors to conclude whether an entity’s financial statements are prepared and presented in conformity with GAAP. 2. 3The three fundamental principles are: 1. Responsibilities, which involves having appropriate competence and capabilities, complying with relevant ethical requirements, maintaining professional skepticism and exercising professional judgment. 2. Performance, which requires auditors to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free of material misstatement by: (1) planning the work and properly supervising assistants; (2) determining and applying appropriate material levels; (3) identifying and assessing the risk of material misstatement; and, (4) obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence. 3. Reporting, which requires the auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. Auditing procedures relate to acts to be performed during the engagement. Auditing standards deal with measures of the quality of performance of those acts and the objectives to be attained. Auditing standards are less subject to change and provide the criteria for rejecting, accepting, or modifying auditing procedures in a given circumstance. An example of the relative stability of standards and procedures is found in the change from non-computerized information systems to computerized information systems. New auditing procedures were required to evaluate computerized information systems, but auditing standards remained unchanged and were the criteria for determining the adequacy of the new auditing procedures. 2. 4Independence in fact represents auditors’ mental attitudes (do auditors truly act in an unbiased and impartial fashion with respect to the client and fairness of its financial statements? ). Independence in appearance relates to financial statement users’ perceptions of auditors’ independence. Auditors can be independent in fact but not perceived to be independent. For example, ownership of a small interest in a public client would probably not influence auditors’ behavior with respect to the client. However, it is likely that third-party users would not perceive auditors to be independent. 2. Due care reflects a level of performance that would be exercised by reasonable auditors in similar circumstances. Auditors are expected to have the skills a nd knowledge of others in their profession (known as that of a prudent auditor) and are not expected to be infallible. 2. 6Professional skepticism is a state of mind that is characterized by appropriate questioning and a critical assessment of audit evidence. Professional judgment is the auditors’ application of relevant training, knowledge, and experience in making informed decisions about appropriate courses of action during the audit engagement. Auditors are required to demonstrate professional skepticism and professional judgment throughout the entire audit process. 2. Reasonable assurance recognizes that a GAAS audit may not detect all material misstatements and auditors are not â€Å"insurers† or â€Å"guarantors† regarding the fairness of the company’s financial statements. The following characteristics of an audit do not permit auditors to provide absolute assurance: †¢ Mistakes and misinterpretations may occur †¢ Management judgments an d estimates affect financial reporting †¢ Audit procedures cannot always be relied upon to detect misstatements †¢ Audit engagements must be conducted within a reasonable period of time and so as to achieve a balance between benefit and cost. 2. 8Three elements of planning and supervision considered essential in audit practice are: †¢ A written audit plan. †¢ An understanding of the client’s (auditee’s) business. Policies to allow an audit team member to document disagreements with accounting or auditing conclusions and disassociate him or herself from the matter. 2. 9The timing of the auditors’ appointment is important because auditors need time to properly plan the audit and perform the necessary work without undue pressure from tight deadlines. 2. 10Materiality is the dollar amount that would influence the lending or investing decisions of users; this concept recognizes that auditors should focus on matters that are important to financial statement users. Materiality should be considered in planning the audit, performing the audit, and evaluating the effect of misstatements on the entity’s financial statements. 2. 1Auditors obtain an understanding of a client, including its internal control, as a part of the control risk assessment process primarily in order to plan the nature, timing and extent of substantive audit procedures. A secondary purpose is because of auditors’ responsibilities for reporting on client’s internal controls under Auditing Standard No. 5. 2. 12As the client’s internal control is more effective (a lower level of control risk), auditors may use less effective substantive procedures (a higher level of detection risk). Conversely, when the client’s internal control is less effective (a higher level of control risk), auditors must use more effective substantive procedures (a lower level of detection risk). 2. 13Audit evidence is defined as the information used by a uditors in arriving at the conclusion on which the audit opinion is based. 2. 4External documentary evidence is audit evidence obtained from another party to an arm’s-length transaction or from outside independent agencies. External evidence is received directly by auditors and is not processed through the client’s information processing system. External-internal documentary evidence is documentary material that originates outside the bounds of the client’s information processing system but which has been received and processed by the client. Internal documentary evidence consists of documentary material that is produced, circulates, and is finally stored within the client’s information processing system. Such evidence is either not circulated to outside parties at all or is several steps removed from third-party attention. 2. 5In general, evidence that is completely external in nature is most reliable, because the client has not influenced its processing . In contrast, evidence that is completely internal in nature is least reliable, as it may represent a fictitious transaction created or modified by client personnel to enhance perceptions of the client’s financial statements. 2. 16As auditors need to achieve lower levels of detection risk, more appropriate evidence needs to be obtained. Thus, auditors should gather higher quality evidence (more reliable evidence). For example, auditors may choose to obtain evidence from external sources rather than internal sources. In addition, for lower levels of detection risk, auditors need to gather more sufficient evidence. Because sufficiency relates to the quantity of evidence, a greater number of transactions or components of an account balance should be examined. 2. 17A financial reporting framework is a set of criteria used to determine the measurement, recognition, presentation, and disclosure of material items in the financial statements. The financial reporting framework is related to auditors’ reporting responsibilities because this framework serves as the basis against which the financial statements are evaluated and the auditors’ opinion on the financial statements is expressed. 2. 18Four types of opinions and their conclusions: Type | |Conclusion | |Unqualified opinion | |Financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP. | |Adverse opinion | |Financial statements are not presented in conformity with GAAP. | |Qualified opinion | |Financial statements are presented in conf ormity with GAAP, except for one or | | | |more departures or issues of concern. | |Disclaimer of opinion | |An opinion cannot be issued on the financial statements. | 2. 19The auditors’ report is dated at the point when all significant procedures have been completed by auditors and auditors have gathered sufficient appropriate evidence. This date is referred to as the audit completion date. 2. 20Public accountants should issue a report when they are associated with financial statements because users may mistakenly assume that an audit has been conducted and that the entity’s financial statements are fairly presented according to GAAP. 2. 21The purpose served by the attestation standards is to guide work in attestation areas and engagements other than audits of financial statements. 2. 22The major differences between attestation standards and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) lie in the areas of practitioner competence, materiality and the risk of material misstatement, and reporting. GAAS presume knowledge of accounting and require competence and capabilities as auditors (meaning auditors of financial statements). The attestation standards are more general, requiring training and proficiency in the â€Å"attest function† and knowledge of the â€Å"subject matter of the assertions. † The attestation standards have no specific requirement for determining materiality levels or obtaining and understanding of the entity and its environment to assess the risk of material misstatement. Because attestation engagements may cover information not confined to accounting and financial assertions, these activities may not be appropriate for all attest engagements. Reporting is different because attestations on nonfinancial information do not depend upon generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, GAAS do not address two reporting issues (stating significant reservations about the engagement and indicating that the report is only intended for specified parties) that are important reporting aspects for attestation engagements. 2. 23A system of quality control provides firms with reasonable assurance that the firm and its personnel (1) comply with professional standards and applicable regulatory and legal requirements and (2) issue reports that are appropriate in the circumstances. The six elements of a system of quality control are: . Leadership responsibilities for quality within the firm (â€Å"tone at the top†) 2. Relevant ethical requirements 3. Acceptance and continuance of clients 4. Human resources 5. Engagement performance 6. Monitoring 24. In deciding whether to accept or continue an engagement with a client, firms sho uld consider: †¢ The integrity of the client and the identity and business reputation of its owners, key management, related parties, and those charged with governance. †¢ Whether the firm possesses the competency, capability, and resources to perform the engagement. †¢ Whether the firm can comply with the necessary legal and ethical requirements. If firms decide to withdraw from an engagement, the firm should document significant issues, consultations, conclusions, and the basis for any conclusions related to the decision to withdraw. 25. Typically, firms that audit nonpublic companies have peer reviews conducted through the AICPA’s Center for Public Company Audit Firms Peer Review Program. While firms that are subject to PCAOB review requirements can elect to have peer reviews conducted under this program, most choose not to do so. 2. 26The PCAOB’s monitoring role for firms providing auditing services to public entities includes registering public accounting firms and conducting inspections of registered public accounting firms (similar to peer reviews). 2. 7The frequency of PCAOB inspections depends upon the number of audits conducted by member firms. For firms performing audits for more than 100 public companies, inspections are required on an annual basis. For those performing audits for fewer than 100 publi c companies, inspections are conducted every three years. SOLUTIONS FOR MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS 2. 28a. CorrectGathering audit evidence is a component of the performance principle. b. IncorrectWhile reasonable assurance is related to gathering audit evidence, this is not one of the categories of principles c. IncorrectThe reporting principle relates to the contents of the auditors’ report d. IncorrectThe responsibilities principle relates to the personal integrity and professional qualifications of auditors. 2. 29a. IncorrectThis practice relates to accountants’ competence and capabilities, not due care. b. IncorrectThis practice relates to the reporting principle. c. IncorrectSufficiency of evidence relates to the performance principle and not due care. d. CorrectThese practices are a part of due care. 2. 30a. IncorrectGAAS relates to the conduct of audit engagements and not overall professional services. b. CorrectStandards within a system of quality control are firm- (rather than auditor-) related. c. IncorrectGAAP relates to accounting and financial reporting, rather than auditing practices. d. IncorrectInternational auditing standards govern the conduct of audits conducted across international borders. 2. 31a. IncorrectRelying more extensively on external evidence is related to the appropriateness (or quality) of evidence. b. IncorrectFocusing on items with more significant financial effects on the financial statements is related to materiality. c. CorrectProfessional skepticism is characterized by appropriate questioning and a critical assessment of audit evidence. d. IncorrectFinancial interests are most closely related to auditors’ independence. 2. 32a. CorrectAuditors study internal control to determine the nature, timing, and extent of substantive tests. b. IncorrectConsulting suggestions are secondary objectives in an audit. c. IncorrectInformation about the entity’s internal control is, at best, indirect evidence about assertions in the financial statements. d. IncorrectInformation about the entity’s internal control provides auditors with little opportunity to learn about changes in accounting principles. 2. 33a. IncorrectExternal evidence is considered to be relatively reliable. b. CorrectManagement representations should least affect auditors’ conclusions, as they have not been validated or corroborated by external parties. c. IncorrectAuditor-prepared evidence is considered to be the most reliable form of evidence. d. IncorrectAlthough a representation of a client employee, inquiry of the entity’s legal counsel is considered more reliable than that of entity management. 2. 34a. IncorrectInquiry of management should least affect auditors’ conclusions. b. IncorrectAlthough very persuasive, auditors’ personal knowledge (choice d) provides the most persuasive evidence c. IncorrectObservation of a client’s procedures provides evidence on the effectiveness of the client’s internal control, but not the existence assertion for newly-acquired computer equipment. d. CorrectAuditors’ personal knowledge provides the most persuasive evidence. 2. 35a. IncorrectInquires of client personnel are the least reliable form of evidence. b. IncorrectWhile more reliable than inquiries (choice a), inspection of internal documents is relatively low in terms of reliability. c. IncorrectWhile sales invoices are documents created by external parties, the fact that these documents were received from client personnel decreases their reliability. d. CorrectBecause the statements were received directly from outside parties, this is a more reliable form of evidence than choice (c). 2. 36a. IncorrectDocumentation of this nature would not be related to independence. b. IncorrectWhile the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the documentation might provide information about competence and capabilities, choice (c) is more appropriate. c. Correct Initials of the preparer and reviewer provide evidence that the documentation was reviewed, which relates to planning and supervision. d. IncorrectWhile the quality of the documentation and the conclusions included in the documentation might provide information about sufficient appropriate evidence, choice (c) is more appropriate 2. 37NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the requirement that is not included in attestation standards, the response labeled â€Å"correct† is not included in attestation standards and those labeled â€Å"incorrect† are included in attestation standards. a. IncorrectAttestation standards require adequate knowledge of the subject matter. b. CorrectAn understanding of the client’s environment (including internal control) is not required under attestation standards, because internal control may not always be relevant to the subject matter of the attestation. c. IncorrectAttestation standards require sufficient evidence to be gathered. d. IncorrectAttestation standards require independence in mental attitude. 2. 38NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the concept that is least related to due care, the response labeled â€Å"correct† is least related to due care and those labeled â€Å"incorrect† are more related to due care. a. IncorrectDue care requires the level of skills and knowledge of others in the auditors’ profession, which would require independence in fact. b. IncorrectSee choice (a) above. c. IncorrectDue care refers to the performance of a â€Å"prudent† auditor. d. CorrectDue care recognizes that mistakes and misinterpretations may occur during the audit. 2. 39a. IncorrectInternal documents are a relatively low quality of evidence. b. IncorrectManagement representations (and the related verbal inquiries) are the lowest quality of evidence. c. IncorrectWhile direct, external evidence is of reasonable quality, it is of lower quality than direct personal knowledge of the auditor (choice d). d. CorrectDirect, personal knowledge of auditors is the most appropriate form of evidence. 2. 40a. IncorrectWhile it may increase auditors’ knowledge about the client, obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence auditors’ competence and capabilities. b. IncorrectObtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly influence auditors’ independence. c. IncorrectObtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control does not directly help satisfy the quality control standard about audit staff professional development. d. CorrectThe primary purpose of obtaining an understanding of a client’s internal control is to plan the nature, timing, and extent of substantive audit procedures on an engagement. 2. 41d. CorrectIndependence confirmations would ensure that all firm personnel are independent with respect to that firm’s clients, which is related to the â€Å"Relevant Ethical Requirements† element of a system of quality control. It would not relate to acceptance and continuance of clients (a), engagement performance (b), or monitoring (c). 2. 42b. CorrectGovernment auditing standards are issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Governmental accounting standards are issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. 2. 43a. CorrectConsultation with a specialist demonstrates due care if auditors do not have expertise in the area in question. b. IncorrectAuditors are experts in financial matters, not areas of art (and other collectibles) valuation. c. IncorrectGAAS applies to all audit engagements, including audit engagements for not-for-profit organizations. d. IncorrectSince (a) is correct, (d) cannot be correct. 2. 4NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Since this question asks students to identify the topic that is not been addressed in the auditors’ report, the response labeled â€Å"correct† is not addressed in the auditors’ report and those labeled â€Å"incorrect† are addresse d in the auditors’ report. a. IncorrectThe responsibilities of the auditor and management are provided in the introductory paragraph. b. CorrectAuditors provide reasonable (but not absolute) assurance in an audit engagement (this is noted in the scope paragraph of the auditors’ report). c. IncorrectA description of the audit engagement is provided in the scope paragraph of the auditors’ report. d. IncorrectThe auditors’ opinion on internal control over financial reporting is provided in the internal control paragraph of the auditors’ report. 2. 45a. CorrectAttestation standards differ from generally accepted auditing standards in that they apply to engagements other than those on historical audited financial statements. b. IncorrectAttestation standards require that the practitioner be independent. c. IncorrectAttestation standards may apply to prospective â€Å"what if† financial statements. d. IncorrectAttestation standards include requirements related to evidence. SOLUTIONS FOR EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 2. 47Performance Principle The important elements of the performance principle and their relation to the C. Reis Company audit are: 1. Auditors must plan the work and appropriately supervise any assistants. Fulfilling this element would include the preparation of an audit plan for accounts receivable and reviewing it with the assistant prior to beginning the examination. These tasks were not done. Also, the completed audit documentation should have been reviewed to determine whether an adequate examination was performed. The illustration states that this procedure was followed. 2. Auditors must determine and apply appropriate materiality levels throughout the audit. This scenario did not address the process through which materiality levels were determined, so potential strengths and weaknesses related to materiality cannot be assessed. 3. Auditors must identify and assess risks of material misstatement. This element requires auditors to obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and its environment, including its internal control, to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements whether due to error or fraud, and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures. The case presented did not reference any work on the internal control. Complete reliance upon prior-year audit documentation in lieu of an evaluation of the existing internal control is improper, because changes may have been implemented to the system and controls by the client. 4. Auditors must obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. The assistant’s preparation of audit documentation, confirmation requests, and other procedures seem to fulfill the requirements of this standard if the audit work is properly performed and is of sufficient scope. 2. 48Time of Appointment and Planning From a theoretical viewpoint (and, in fact, from a practical viewpoint as well) such short notice of a request for an audit causes difficulties with planning the audit work, establishing staffing requirements, and reviewing the work; all of these features are important elements in the exercise of due care. The December 26 – January 20 period is a serious time constraint for an initial audit engagement. The greatest difficulties involve due care as well as the ability to appropriately perform the engagement (planning and supervision, determining materiality levels, identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement, and obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence). In view of the short notice and the time constraint, there may be some question as to whether an audit could be adequately completed by January 20. 2. 55Principles Case Study | | | | |Responsibilities | | | | | | | |1. Auditors are responsible for appropriate competence and | |1. It was inappropriate for Holmes to hire the two students to | |capabilities to perform the audit. | |conduct the audit. The examination must be conducted by persons | | | |with proper education and experience in the field of auditing. | | | |Inexperienced persons can assist, if they are supervised. | |2. Auditors are responsible for complying with relevant ethical | |2. To satisfy the independence requirement, Holmes must be | |requirements. |without bias with respect to the client under audit. Because of | | | |the financial interest in the bank loan, Holmes is neither | | | |independent in fact nor appearance with respect to the assignment | | | |undertaken. In addition, because of a number of actions (hiring | | | |unqualified individuals, failure to supervise those individuals, | | | |etc. ), Holmes did not appear to exhibit due care. | | | | | | | | | | |3. The fact that Holmes merely accepted the financial statements | | | |without questioning any evidence demonstrates lack of professional| |3. Auditors are responsible for maintaining professional | |skepticism (as well as a lack of good professional judgment). | |skepticism and exercising professional judgment throughout the | | | |planning and performance of the audit. | | | | | | |Performance | | | | | | | |1. The auditor must adequately plan the work and must properly | |1. This element recognizes that early appointment of auditors has | |supervise any assistants. |advantages for auditors and the client. Holmes accepted the | | | |engagement without considering the availability of staff. In | | | |addition, Holmes failed to supervise the assistants. The work | | | |performed was not adequately planned. | | | | | |2. The auditor must determine and apply appropriate materiality | |2. There was no discussion that appropriate materiality levels | |level or levels. | |were determined or applied for the audit by either Holmes or the | | | |two accounting students. Thus, compliance with this element is | | | |difficult to assess. | |3. The auditor must assess the risk of material misstatement based| |3. Holmes did not study the client’s internal control nor did the | |on the entity and its environment. | |assistants. There appears to have been no audit examination at | | | |all. The work performed was more an accounting service than it was| | | |an auditing service. | | | | | |4. The auditor must obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence | |4. No evidence was obtained to support the financial statements. | |about whether material misstatements exist. | |The auditors merely checked the mathematical accuracy of the | | | |records and summarized the accounts. Standard audit procedures and| | | |techniques were not performed. | | | | |Reporting | | | | | | | |1. Based on evaluation of the evidence obtained, the auditor | |1. Because a proper examination was not conducted, the report | |expresses an opinion in accordance with the auditor’s findings, or | |should indicate that no opinion can be expressed as to the fair | |states that an opinion cannot be expressed, in the form of a written | |presentation of the financial statements in accordance with | |report. The opinion states whether the financial statements are | |generally accepted account ing principles. |prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the | | | |appropriate financial reporting framework. | | | | | | | 2. 57System of Quality Control a. Leadership responsibilities for quality within the firm b. Engagement performance c. Human resources d. Monitoring e. Human resources f. Relevant ethical requirements g. Acceptance and continuance of clients h. Leadership responsibilities for quality within the firm i. Engagement performance SOLUTIONS FOR REVIEW CHECKPOINTS 12. Management prepares a report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. The auditors prepare reports on (1) the entity’s financial statement and other disclosures and (2) the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. These can be presented as two separate reports or a combined report. 2. Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting consists of the following major components: †¢ A statem ent indicating that management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. †¢ A statement identifying the framework used by management to assess the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. Management’s opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control, including an explicit statement as to whether the internal control over financial reporting is effective. †¢ A statement that the registered accounting firm auditing the financial statements (auditor) has issued an attestation report on the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. 12. 3The auditors’ report serves to communicate to users three specific statements with respect to the financial statements, the conduct of the audit, and the entity in general. First, the report indicates whether the financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP. Second, auditors use their report to indicate any un usual aspects of the audit examination. Third, even if the financial statements are fairly presented and no problems were noted in the conduct of the audit, the auditors can use the report to communicate information useful to decision makers that may not appear on the face of the financial statements. 12. 4Nine important elements of the auditors’ standard report are: 1. Title. The title should contain the word independent, as in â€Å"Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm† or â€Å"Independent Auditors†. 2. Address. The report shall be addressed to the client, which occasionally may be different from the auditee. 3. Notice of Audit. A sentence should identify the financial statements and indicate that they were audited. This appears in the introductory paragraph. 4. Responsibilities. The report should state management’s responsibility for the financial statements and the auditors’ responsibility for the report. These statements are also in the introductory paragraph. 5. Description of the Audit. The second paragraph (scope paragraph) should declare that the audit was conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and describe the principal characteristics of an audit, including a statement of belief that the audit provided a reasonable basis for the opinion. 6. Opinion. The report shall express an opinion (opinion paragraph) regarding conformity of the financial statements with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 7. Internal Control. The report should reference the auditors’ examination, report, and opinion on the client’s internal control over financial reporting. 8. Signature. The auditors (partner of the audit team) shall sign the report, manually or otherwise. 9. Date. The report shall be dated using the date

Henry David Thoreau and Resistance to Civil Government Essay

Henry David Thoreau was the most active participant in the Transcendentalist movement. He was a student and mentee of Ralph Waldo Emerson. While Emerson had transcendental ideas, Thoreau would act on them and fully practice them. Hence, he felt that he and others should resist America’s Civil Government. I heartily accept the motto, â€Å"That government is best which governs least†; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. (Thoreau) Thoreau starts out his famous essay with the statement that government should be weak and the people strong. He was a strong advocate of the individual the rights of the individual. To him, a person should be self reliant, as Emerson taught. He felt that the more citizens relied on their government for their needs, then the stronger the government would become and that could be dangerous. He felt that being controlled by a government, or anything else for that matter, was a tragedy in a person’s life. The main reason that Thoreau wrote Resistance to Civil Government was because he was completely tired of a government that could allow slavery to exist. Slavery was an institution in the Southern states where people actually owned African Americans. He felt that if it was wrong for a government to have to much power over the individual and his/her rights, then surely it was wrong for another human to own another. In the institution of slavery, the slave has no rights at all. Slaves were made to work extremely hard. Thoreau had nothing against hard work for an individual’s own self-reliance, but the slave did not benefit from his/her work. The owner reaped all of the profit. They did not get to choose their profession, it was illegal to teach them to read or write, many owners beat them, and they could be sold away from their families at any time. The owner controlled everything about them even life and death. Slavery went against everything that Thoreau believed about government and the individual. If it was true that it government should have as little control as possible, then it was an abomination that this kind of power could control another. Thoreau was so appalled that a government that claimed in its constitution that all men were created equal, could turn a blind eye to the institution of slavery. He decided that since his tax dollars went to a government that supported such an institution, he would no longer pay his taxes. He hoped that he could inspire others who proclaimed abolitionist thoughts would do the same. However, they did not. In fact when Emerson came to the jail to post his bond, he asked Thoreau why he was in jail. Thoreau responded by asking Emerson why he was not in there with him. Thoreau’s idea of civil disobedience to a government that is not of the people has been successful for several generations after Thoreau’s death. He impacted the lives of such great men as Ghandi and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. King used Thoreau’s method and turned a nation around and forced it to recognize the civil rights of all people by Resistance to Civil Government. Thoreau and his idea of peaceful protest will remain an affective way to change governments for generations to come.

Human Cogntive Architecture Pattern Recognition Essays

Human Cogntive Architecture Pattern Recognition Essays Human Cogntive Architecture Pattern Recognition Essay Human Cogntive Architecture Pattern Recognition Essay Essay Topic: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings One may be tempted to suppose that we, who experience the world through vision, experience a very different world from the worlds expereinced by bats or dolphins, who rely more on hearing, dogs or rats who make greater use of smell †¦ or spiders or scorpoins who are attuned to mechanical variations. But at sufficiently abstract level, our worlds are all the same three dimensional Euclidean world Roger Shepard (Solso 1994) (73) Visual pattern recognition influences several areas -computer vision, machine learning, robotics, neuroscience, psychology, biological vision, AI, cognitive science, biological perception, visual arts and all aspects of or daily life (object recognition). This paper focuses on visual cognition and pattern recognition; as these influences the human cognitive architecture more than tactile and auditory pattern recognition. Pattern recognition is the key phenomenon in visual cognition it distinguishes human cognitive architecture and bridges top-down and bottom up information processing approach. It also connects inside with outside. Thus connecting human wetware (mind brain complex) to wide-ware of the world. I have used visual arts and illusion to explain pattern recognition because in spite of being abstract and illusive they present interesting good case for schema construction using top-down and bottom up processing. I claim that in pattern recognition top-down processing plays a critical role. This paper is divided into following section: Brain Visual System Complex, Visual Arts, Pattern Recogntion in Non Humans and Instructional implication has been explained using the theories of visual literacy. Brain Visual System Complex Evolutionary story Soslo has depicted 248 million years of organic evolution using 31 day January month of 2000. Insects, dinosaurs, reptiles evolved a well-developed eyes during this period. On January 31 at 11. 59 am human like form appeared and within last 10 minutes falls the entire history if visual arts (Solso 1994) (24). Human eyes are not the most complex visual system the eyes of simple insects are more complex they have many lenses and receptors, while we have just one lens with receptors. Evolutionary biology emphasises that brain and visual system have evolved together as a visual cognitive complex in human. While simple brained animals have complex optical system; it seems complex brain offsets the need of a complex visual system in humans (Solso 1994) (14). Based on Darwinian Evolutionary Theory- human capability to identify, recognise and differential patterns (like dark, from light, blues, from greens, straight lines from curved and moving objects from stationary) has significantly increased the chances of survival. Cognitive psychology elucidates that raw data of sensory signals is meaningless and random. But when these signals fall on a decoding visual system and brain complex they weave a rich pattern of meaningful relation. Most intriguing part is the corresponding, concurrent and complimentary evolution of sensory system, brain and the central nervous system (Solso 1994) (47) Search for meaningful pattern recognition involves at least three parameters: ? What is an object? ? Where is it? ? What is it doing? Pylyshyn elucidates that behind the â€Å"smart† functionality of the visual system is messy yet sophisticated hardware: As the light sensitive surface of the eye are two dimensional, so the sense of depth in visual system comes from the source of information. After ecades of research we now know that part of information of depth comes from the difference between the patterns the two eyes receive. With all our understanding of stereo vision we are still far removed from understanding how does this difference in 2d vision translates to 3d experience? A very small part fovea has sufficient acuity to recognise pattern. Moreover eyes focal length differs for different colours. There is a blind sp ot 10-13 degrees away from fovea. To add the mess the eyes are in constant motion jumping around in rapid saccades several times in each second. Retina our primary contact with the world is not uniform nor it is flat and has uneven distribution of cones rods. Lastly it is continuously smeared with the moving information. However brain builds a uniform, detailed, gapless, 3d-video patterns from the sketchy inputs in the face of such dynamic and impoverished information processing system. Pyhshyn claims strategies like focal attention play a critical role in connecting vision and cognition (Pylyshyn 2003) (5). Evolutionary biology favours the case that top-down processing in pattern recognition is the key distinguishing factor of human architecture. True believers in real patterns Looking at history from twelfth century till date we find philosophers and thinkers instinctively find patterns in chaos right. Plato, Pythogorus, Euclid, Ptolemy, Coprinicus, Newton, Einstein etc all the thinkers have been searching ways to establish order in chaos. It seems that we love to accept linearity, smoothness and stability in the face of the world that is largely unsmooth and random. But are we looking for real patterns and are these patterns inside or they are out side and how do we assign meaning to these patterns. As per Dennett We use folk psychology interpretation of each other as believers, intenders and the like – to predict what people will do next. .. Folk psychology helps us understand and empathise with the others, organise our memories, interpret our emotions and flavour our vision in thousand ways, but the heart of all these is enormous power that predictive folk psychology. Without the predictive power we could not have any interpersonal relations at all; human activity would be just so much like â€Å"Brownian motion† (Dennet 1991) Dennett presents a interesting story which aims to answer the above questions. He claims objective pattern â€Å"pops out† when we view the world through appropriate lenses. Like in the consequence of 2, 4, 6, 8,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. are different yet when seen through arithmetic lens the exhibit a common pattern add 2 pops out. Similarly intentional stance is the only lens that can help recognise real patterns (Clark 2001) (52-53). Dennett uses an John Conways game of life to highlight real patterns make available potent generalisations and predictions further claims that to miss a pattern is to miss some thing real and explanatory useful, even though every thing that occurs depends on the underlying simple rules (Clark 2001). 52-53) This elaborates the point the intentional stance is crucial for us to believe and attach meaning to pattens. True believers will always believe in real patterns. Intelligence of the human information processing system lies on our capability to recognise, predict and generalise real patterns. Visual Arts: Symbol manipulation Kose in paper summarises the views of these three thinkers. For all symbols gets meaning from convention. Goodman thinks denotation is the primary vehicle for representing. Gardener stresses on specific set of skills in rder to produce or read meaning with a particular symbols system. Cassier emphasis art objects derive meaning from the process of creation for him action and psychology of the artist is the key to understand. I feel representation is the core of cognitive architecture and symbolism is at the core of representation but it is difficult to take reductionist view. It does not seem relevant to elaborate this debate here. However the discussion brings three key concepts to focus: conventionality, specific skill set and artistic/aesthetic experience. All the three points are relevant to process of pattern recognition. Illusion: Limits of Pattern Recognition Solso surmises critical role of experience and top-down approach in view art. The viewing of art causes an immediate conscious experience in people. We see colours, shapes, contours, objects, distances, and interactions (among other things) and, when all of these impressions are sensed, the brain brings meaning and comprehension to the art object. †¦Our mind supplies reasonable inferences to our consciousness about a visual scene, which may be, in fact, absent in the object. We ‘see’ behind occluded objects, feel motion, and react emotionally to provocative themes even though these things may not literally exist. In the cognition of art, our past knowledge supplies consciousness with context. Experience colours art. We understand Picasso’s Guernica, Michelangelo’s, Sistine Chapel, and Rembrandt’s Self-portrait (1658) better because we can feel the intensity of women and children being victimized in the embittered Spanish Civil War, know the Biblical story of creation and man’s fall from grace, and comprehend the weathered features of an old man’s face (Solso 2000). A viewer’s intention in viewing art and personal history strongly influences what he or she looks at in an object. This, in turn, determines which patterns of neural activity are aroused. In addition to situational demands, each person views art with a unique personal history which biases his or her attentional focus - a Nebraska farmer might attend to different features in Grant Wood’s American Gothic than would a New York fashion designer (Solso 2000). E H Gombrich illustrates core of top-down approach and important element of cognitive architecture the guided projection: It is without the support from any structure that the beholder must mobilise his memory of the visible world and project it into the mosaic of strokes and the dabs on the canvas before him. It is here, therefore principle of guided projection reaches its climax. The image, it might be said had no firm anchorage left on the canvas it is only conjured up in our minds. The willing beholder responds to the artist’s suggestions because he enjoys the transformation that occurs in front of his eyes (Gombrich 1986). Artists use various cues to fool the system to activate the relevant schema in viewers mind using top-down processing. When the pattern recognition (perception) departs from the external world, to disagree with the physical reality, it means one is experiencing an illusion. However illusion differs from the truth (Gregory 1997). Pylyshyn starts his book Seeing and Visualising with a honest statement by Galeolio: â€Å"†¦. if the man had been born blind, philosophy would be more perfect, because it would be more perfect, because it would lack many false assumption that have been taken from the sense of sight. † (Pylyshyn 2003) ( Preface) Illusion expose limits or the leaky architecture of two complex structures brain and the visual system. Top-down processing: Pattern recognition of the objects involves knowledge of the world as the sensory data is impoverished and hardly relevant (Gregory 1997). Bottom up Processing: Pattern recognition of the objects uses information from the optic array, which contains sufficient information to guide behaviour. Evolution has produced organisms that are sensitive to the invariants in the optic array and does not require prior knowledge (Gregory 1997). These two approaches cause different type of illusions. Cognitive Illusion due top-down processing resulting in misrepresenting of knowledge. Physical Illusion due to the disturbance of light, between objects and the eyes, are different from illusions due to the disturbance of sensory signals of eye, though both might be classified as ‘physical’. Physical causes: In human vision ‘top-down’ seems to be more important than ‘bottom-up’. This might be because there are more downwards fibres from the cortex to the lateral geniculate bodies LGN ‘relay stations’ than bottom-up from the eyes (Gregory 1997). Classification Visual illusions can provide evidence of object knowledge and working rules for vision, but only when the phenomena are explained and classified (Gregory 1997). A tentative classification is presented, in terms of appearances and kinds of causes in Appendix B (Gregory 1997). Types of illusions: Gregory divides appearances of illusions into classes based on errors of language ambiguities, distortion, paradoxes and fictions. There seems to deeper connection in language and visual system. It kind of connects Chomkys deep structure and surface structures theory. Ambiguities Perception changes while the input from the eyes remain same. A retinal image is infinitely ambiguus which could respond to infinitely possibilities but we see only one (Gregory 1997). Paradox False assumptions creates paradox. Distortions Illusion due to distortion of retinal signals, perspective, brightness, colour. Fictions Suggests fictional forms Opt- Art The pictures are extremely distrubing, Jazzing, moving and generating ghostly shapes (Gregory 1997). Model to understand top-down and bottom-up processing To the ‘bottom-up’ signals and ‘top-down’ knowledge, Gregory adds ‘sideways’ rules. Both top-down and sideways are knowledge. These can be considered as ‘ins-and-outs’ of [pic] Tentative ‘flat box’ of’ vision. As usual, signals from the eyes and the other senses are ‘bottom-up’. Conceptual and perceptual object knowledge are shown in separate ‘top-down’ boxes. Knowledge as embodied in the general rules. is introduced ‘sideways’. Perceptual learning seems to work largely by feedback from behaviour (Gregory 1997). The historical study of systematic misperceptions (illusions), combined with a recent explosion of techniques to measure and stimulate neural activity, has provided a rich source for guiding neurobiological frameworks and experiments to better understand the cognitive architecture (Eagleman 2001). Arts Brain: Search for essentials E. H. Gomrich highlights Plato from Sohpists and makes strong point on the very basis of representation â€Å"that we make a house by the art of building, and by art of painting we make another house, a sort of man-made dreams (pin-ups and comics) produced for those who are awake? † (Gombrich 1986) Zeki claims that like brain visual arts is search for essential. The pre-eminent function of the brain is the acquisition of knowledge about the world around us. Just as brain searches for constancies and essentials, so does art (Zeki 2002) (Preface). .. the artist can find the models that he depicts in his mind, his inner vision, not the external world. When artists try to fool the brain and its record, they can only do so with respect to its stored memory. Even when they don’t know much about the brain, artists were and are aware of the reality of perception and the appearance of the painting (Zeki 2002). V. S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein while explaining Peak Shift Affect take different view, art is a process of selection and amplification of the essentials. The purpose of art, surely, is not merely to depict or represent reality (western art) - for that can be accomplished very easily with a camera- but to enhance, transcend, or indeed even to distort reality. The word ‘rasa’ (might be similar Platonic ideal form) appears repeatedly in Indian art manuals and has no literal translation, but roughly it means ‘the very essence of. ’ So a sculptor in India, for example, might try to portray the rasa of childhood (Plate 2), or the rasa of romantic love, or sexual ecstasy (Plate 3), or feminine grace and perfection (Plate 4). †¦the peak shift effect: If a rat is rewarded for discriminating a rectangle from a square, it will respond even more vigorously to a rectangle that is longer and skinnier that the prototype. An evocative sketch of a female nude may be one which selectively accentuates those feminine form-attributes that allow one to discriminate it from a male figure; Finally, given constraints on allocation of attentional resources, art is most appealing if it produces heightened activity in a single dimension (e. g. through the peak shift principle or through grouping) rather than redundant activation of multiple modules. Consider the way in which a skilled cartoonist produces a caricature of a famous face, say Nixon’s. What he does (unconsciously) is to take the average of all faces, subtract the average from Nixon’s face (to get the difference between Nixon’s face and all others) and then amplify the differences to produce a caricature. The final result, of course, is a drawing that is even more Nixon-like than the original (Hirstein 1999). ADD DIAGRAM 3 A circle represent the loaf of bread (they are round in Viena), a curve added on top will turn into a shopping bag, two little squiggles on its handle will shrink into a purse, now by adding a tail here was a cat (Gombrich 1986). Gombridge uses the simple drawing game to emphasize the power of metamorphosis. Once the tail is added the purse gets destroyed and cat is created; you cannot see the one without obliterating the other. This is simply highlights our capacity to recognise, amplify and generalise a pattern (Gombrich 1986). The way the language of art refers to the visible world is so obvious (due to bottom up processing) and so mysterious (top down processing) that is still largely unknown except to the artists (high-stung on visual schema) themselves who can use it as we use languages – without needing to know its rammar and syntax (Gombrich 1986). So we see Zeki’s focus on Inner Vision, Plato’s emphasis on dream, Ramchandran principle of peak shift affect and Gombridge drawing experiment. All point to the same core function of the brain, using top-down approach to recognise, predict, amplify and generalise the pattern. Schema Development Gombrich in his book Arts and Illusion att empts to address the issue of art universals (schema) and peculiarities (creativity) in artists using science, psychology, and philosophy. Core of his version his is the theory of schemata development and correction. This is derived from the idea that the artist begins not with his visual impression but with his idea or concept and that the artist uses adjusts this idea to fit, as well as it can, the object, landscape, or person before him or her. Gombrich calls this theory making and matching. E H Gombrich while highlighting F. C. Ayers point claims that no artist can imitate reality without schema: The trained drawer acquires a mass of schemata by which he can produce schema of an animal, flower or a house quickly upon the paper. This serves as a support for the representation of his memory images and he gradually modifies the schema until it corresponds to that with which he would express. Many drawers who are deficient in schemata and can draw well from another drawing cannot draw from the object. The dry psychological phenomenon formula correction can tell us a good deal, not only about the essential unit between medieval and post medieval but also of their vital difference. To Middle Ages schema is the image; to post medieval artists, it is the starting point of corrections, adaptation, the means to probe reality and to wrestle with the particular (Gombrich 1986). .. For it is not only the scientists of the stamp of Camper who can examine the schema and test its validity. Since the time Leonardo, at least, every great artist has done the same, consciously, unconsciously. Upto 19th century artist where more like trained drawers and focus was on universal features ideal pattern (schema). However in late 18t h and early 19th Century artists turned against the traditional methods. Gombrige classifies this period as struggle against schema (Gombrich 1986). Gmobridge mentions a statement by Constable who is the centre of the struggle for schemata. Constbale explains elegantly his position in the history of visual arts: I have endeavoured to draw a line between genuine arts (peculiarities or uniqueness) and the mannerism (traditional schemata), but even the greatest painters have never been wholly untainted by manner. Painting is science and should be pursued as the inquiry into the laws of nature. Why, then, may not landscape painting be considered a branch of natural philosophy, of which pictures are but experiments? (Gombrich 1986) Gombridge – To a see patch on a close canvas as a distant mountain is to transform it in according to its meaning. These transformation explain the paradox that world cannot look like a picture, but a picture can look like a world. †¦ it is not the ‘innocent eye’ but the inquiring mind that knows how to probe the ambiguities of vision. Gombrich brings an interesting point to notice- Art is a story of schema creation by trial error and testing. A search for consistencies through anticipation and testing. Bruman and Postman- All cognitive process are represent making a hypothesis (pattern) and matching (pattern) (Gombrich 1986). Nuerological basis for schema in Artist in brain The eye (and other sensory organs) and brain are now thought to be onceptually related. Many theorists suggest that the eye is an extension of the primary visual cortex. Most visual signals follow a well known neurological route (from the retina, to the lateral geniculate bodies, to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe) (Solso 2000). The study was conducted on distinguished portrait artists and a novice. The artist selected for this task, HO, is one of Britain’s most. The non-artist used in this study who served as a control subject (AH) was a graduate student in psychology at Stanford University; 32 years old, right handed male with no formal training in art (Solso 2000). Findings: Study suggest two main findings. First they confirm that an area of the brain frequently associated with facial identification was specifically activated. Second, the lower level of activation of the artist indicates that he may be more efficient in the processing of facial features than the novice (Solso 2000). Thus, these two main findings considered together suggest that an expert portrait artist, who frequently sees and draws faces, dedicates relatively less energy to the processing of faces and more to the processing of these features in terms of their associated correlates. In a phrase, the artist thinks portraits more than he ‘sees’ them. Thus we see pattern recognition is more case of schema construction using top-down processing. Aesthetics: Celebration of Pattern recognition: Geyer makes an interesting argument substantiating the point that aesthetic celebration of celebration of our capability of pattern recognition. Geyer highlights Gombrich to state a point that the act of pattern construction is what makes us perceivers rather than mere responders to the stimuli. Lettvin has done close examination of the frogs visual system in his paper â€Å"What the frogs eye tells the frogs brain† Geyers refers to this paper to summarise Frogs visual system: Frogs have four types of visual receptors in the retinas of their eyes. On type responds to large contrast differences, another to changes in contrast, the third to changes in light intensity, and the fourth responds to small, dark, circular objects which are moving toward the frog. This last receptor is called the â€Å"bug detector†, and when it is triggered the automatic response is for the frog’s tongue to shoot out and catch the triggering object (Geyer 1988). The frog does not decide whether it is hungry or even whether the object is a bug, but just shoots out its tongue. All of the frog’s visual processing is â€Å"peripheral, in the retina of the eye. This peripheral sensory apparatus is a rudimentary stimulus/response mechanism, as opposed to our complex, central interpreting system (Geyer 1988). This discussion re-inforces that Frog’s visual system far more complicated than humans while humans brain is far more complicated than Frogs. Concept of focal attention or instinct to search for order/structure and this seems to be unique feature of human eye-brain complex. Geyer claims that while perceiving an aesthetics experience one assumes, predicts and attempts to realize (invent or discover) a existing pattern, when the pattern is actually found the aesthetic inquiry and the experience ends. However, perception in general is a necessary function for human beings, and perception is a process of editing and ordering information from the senses. Thus seeking order is a biologically necessary operation, as essential to our survival as eating and reproducing. Aesthetic experience, as seeking order just for the sake of seeking order, is a celebration of perception. The pleasure in this experience is primal, as it is in eating when hungry and copulating. It is there to encourage a basic need. No wonder evolution has favored perception in the aesthetic phenomenon (Geyer 1988). Neurological basis for aesthetic being a function perceivers processing Using interesting experimental settings Rolf Reber, Nobert Schwarz and Piotr Winkielman propose that aesthetic pleasure is a function of the perceiver’s processing dynamics. They review variables known to influence aesthetic judgments, such as figural goodness, figure–ground contrast, stimulus repetition, symmetry, and prototypicality, and trace their effects to changes in processing fluency. The mail claim is against theories that trace aesthetic pleasure to objective stimulus features per se, they propose that beauty is grounded in the processing experiences of the perceiver, which are in part a function of stimulus properties (Processing Fluency and Aesthetic Pleasure: Is Beauty in the Perceiver’s Processing Experience? (Rolf Reber 2004) Pattern recognition might be the key phenomenon to understand aesthetic phenomenon for what it is. Pattern recognition in Non-human Pattern recognition and object parsing experiments in human the experiments were conducted on humans by XU Carey Welch 1999; Needham Baillergeon 1998 and Spelk in 1993. This experiment conducted on humans was taken as the base to comapre object parsing in adult Rheshus Monkey and human infants. Four experiments are investigating how semi-free-ranging rhesus monkeys form representation of and inferences about visible object presented under natural conditions. Experiments use methods in previous training is required by monkeys. Preferential looking experiments which are common in human infants were used to allows direct comparisons. Experiment displays testing infant’s sensitivity spatiotemporal temporal or featural information (Yuko Munakata 2001). Findings Sensitivity to hands: Humans infants take account of the human hands in analyzing the moti on and objects. However monkeys show no sensitivity to the moving hands. Because human infants are endowed with the capability to attend to the ways inanimate objects are manipulated by other humans. Object boundaries: Adult monkey and human infant above 11 months of age use featural Information processing model to perceive object boundaries. Experiment suggests that monkeys categories food such that they are likely to have â€Å"food kind† (color and shape perception) representations (Yuko Munakata 2001). Successful use of featural information model by monkeys casts doubt on the thesis representation of objects is uniquely human capability. It further seems that even animals do top-down conceptual based processing. Diagrams: logic of pattern recognition The are irregular presentation that artists have been using to create meaningful spatial representation. Now lets see what is the case with the regular patterns so called diagrams. This section looks at issue why do we sue diagrams. Proving theorem is geometry is efficient and easy using diagrams as they provide spatial representation to abstract problems. David Hilbert makes a claim that digram based Euclidean geometry makes hidden assumptions hence it is an effective device for geometrical problems. However the question the whether diagrams are merely heuristic or can provide rigorous means of proving theorem is still a debatable topic. Though claim from (Allewein and Barwise 1996) has revived the argument in favour of diagram as rigorous means of problem solving (Pylyshyn 2003). The Venn diagram representation of sets, illustrates that certain properties of the visual system (the ease with which we locate an element in particular region) can be exploited to facilitate reasoning. Such externalisation exploit the perceptual system to help us recognise patterns (Pylyshyn 2003). Gardener (1982) provides a fascinating discussion of diagrammatic inventions of Leonhard Euler, Sir William Hamilton, Allan Marquand, Johann Lambert, Charles Peirce Lewis Carrol (Charles Dodgson), and Gerrit Marie Mes. There is something obvious about the vision that provides functions that are not as readily available in other forms of reasoning. Vision provides primitive operation for a number of functions (shape recognition, detection of relational properties) The usefullness if diagrams, graphs, charts, and other visual devices relies on the fact that people are good at visually detecting certain geometrical relations. Diagrams enable visual system to keep track of where the information is located in the real world rather than encoding it all in memory argued strongly by O’ Regan (1992). While examing diagrams we don’t look for general properties but also at what properties hold the resulting construction (Pylyshyn 2003) (445) Involvement of visual system is more than goes beyond merely recognising that a certain pattern is present in a particular drawing (Pylyshyn 2003) (446). Spatial metaphors facilitate communication of complex idea and working through bastract problems as diagrams use external memory to represent spatial patterns . (Talmy 2000) (Pylyshyn 2003) (445) In a nutshell, drawing a diagram enables in principle to see the relationships that are entailed by what you recalled, however sparse the set of explicitly noticed relationships might be. In prevision sections I have explained that top down processing in pattern recognition involved in representing meaning in visual arts and also responsible for the break down of patterns in illusion. Even in the abstract process like aesthetic experience key phenomenon is top down processing in pattern recognition. Finally in logical or regular use of visuals is also governed by top-down processing and the key phenomenon is pattern recognition. Right stated by Descartes in 17th Century â€Å" †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Instructional Implication: Visuals Literacy â€Å"Visually literacy is training for visual thinking†. This concept has many interpretations and is influenced by various areas like visual language, perceptual and cultural coding, creativity, visual and verbal relationships, deconstructionism, social, theoretical foundations and research. This concept has significantly from 1960 onwards (Dwyer 1994). Visualisation as Rehearsal Rehearsal may be considered to be any activity which causes the learner to hold the information longer in the short term memory. Weinstin and Mayer 1986: Rehearsal strategies are desigined to repeat information while it is in short term memory (Dwyer 1994). Murray and Mosberg 1982 indicated that longer and individual can be involved in rehearsal activities (taking notes, inspecting and interacting with visuals etc) in which he/she is actively processing information, the greater is the possibility that this information will be moved to the long term memory and thus resulting in schema development (Dwyer 1994). Information processing approach focuses on how the human memory system acquires, transforms, compacts, elaborates, encodes, retrieves, and uses information (Dwyer 1994). Gregory in model to explain top- down processing role of side ways role and qualia while misses out on memory structures while Klatzky 1980 focuses on the process of patter recognition in context to memory structures but it misses out top-down and qualia. Hence I present an adapted model that best explains the process of pattern recognition. Adapted from Klatzky Model 1980 and Gregory model of Top-down and bottom up processing. Challenges in the use of visuals as instructional The objective of the instructional strategy should be to develop guidelines for effective use of different kinds of visualisations. To meet educational objectives, guidelines would possess high degree of predictability for the design and visualisation, to ensure that majority of learners receive the intended message in effective manner. This goal is not easy to achieve as due to different kind of illustrations (line drawings, detailed, shaded line drawings, drawings of models, realistic photographs) are not equally effective in achieving different educational objectives for students with different background studying in different cultural/learning settings (Dwyer 1994). Hence there need for effective visual testing. Visual testing Instructional environment purposely designed to facilitate student acquisition, storage and retrieval of designated information. Even though visualization is commonly used to facilitate student information acquisition, most of evaluation strategies currently used are of verbal pencil and paper type (Dwyer 1994). Dwyer and DeMel: â€Å" probably the oldest learning is that any change in the retrieval (evaluation) environment from that which occurred in the original learning environment produces marked decrements in learner performance. Thus most important steps in the research focusing on cognitive information acquisition is the development of instruction unit which contains several different levels of learning (facts, concepts, rule/procedures, problem solving strategies) and appropriate type of tests must be designed to measure the problem solving at each level. Instructional Consistency/ Congruency Canelos presents a useful conceptual rationale for the development o f instructional module for research purpose. The paradigm assumes a hierarchy of learning objectives. Students will not achieve the rules/principle level if they do not posses pre-requisite conceptual base. However if the students possess the conceptual base and the instructional environment does not bring does not bring together relevant concepts in a manner which facilitates rule / principle level integration, learning will not occur. The process of working with objectives, interaction and testing provides instructional congruency while instructional consistency aims to verify that the prerequisite kinds of learning are present; it also requires that the objectives for each category be stated specifically. This Unit development is critical as it alerts the researcher to the fact that the learner are going to be processing information at a different intellectual levels and that different type of instructional experiences need to developed to facilitate the different levels of learning. Visual literacy is becoming less complex as the basic notion of learning with the visuals is becomes more universally accepted. However the field is becoming complicated because of new theories, and new technologies but has a significant implication instruction (Dwyer 1994). Phases in learning Hierarchy and Instructional Consistency/ Congruency Matrix Conclusion I have explained three points first intentionality in pattern recognition makes us unlike the dust particles in Brownian motion. Second- Illusion are good example to understand the leaky architecture of the visual system and brain complex. I have explained that illusion might be caused due to physical causes that bottom up processing dominating or they can be due to cognitive factors that is top-down processing dominates. History of illusion gives insight into the neural basis of visual system. Third- I have explained aesthetic experience, as is the most evolved feature of human beings.