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South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
versão On-line ISSN 2222-3436
versão impressa ISSN 1015-8812
S. Afr. j. econ. manag. sci. vol.14 no.4 Pretoria Jan. 2011
A comparison of ethical perceptions of earnings management practices
Leonie Jooste
School of Accounting, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
In 1990, Bruns and Merchant (1990) surveyed earnings management practices and asked the readership of the Harvard Business Review to rate the acceptability of those practices. Prior to the Bruns and Merchant (1990) study, the morality of short-term earnings management was of little concern to researchers and accounting practitioners. However, in the light of increased financial frauds and failures, new and increased emphasis has been placed on the importance of the concepts of earnings quality and earnings management practices.
Despite increased research focusing on business ethics since 1990, there is little evidence that business schools and the profession are educating accountants about earnings management practices. Therefore, this study, similar to other studies, continues to use the Bruns and Merchant survey and compares the results of studies on students and business managers on earnings management practices. Students and business managers were surveyed at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and these results were compared to four studies prior to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 in the US. The expectation will be of changes in attitudes towards earnings management since the financial scandals and passing the Act. Therefore, the aim of the study is to determine if there have been changes in attitudes towards earnings management practices. No surveys using the Bruns and Merchant (1990) questionnaire are available in SA. Therefore, the study in SA was compared to available studies in the US.
Keywords: Bruns and Merchant study, business managers, business schools, earnings management, ethics, students
1 Introduction
Bruns and Merchant (1990) was the first to conduct a survey of the readership of the Harvard Business Review on the acceptability of practices in earnings management. The survey required the readers to rate the acceptability of 13 earnings management practices. The authors were shocked by the results and observed that where a practice is not explicitly prohibited or where there is a slight deviation from the rules, it seems that it becomes an ethical practice regardless of who might be affected by the practice or the information that flows from it (Bruns & Merchant, 1990). This means that anyone who uses information on short-term earnings is vulnerable to misinterpretation, manipulation, or deliberate deception as some of the earnings management practices can be immoral and unethical (Bruns & Merchant, 1990).
In later years, companies like Enron and WorldCom that were once viewed as icons and symbols of success became images of greed and unethical behaviour. As a result of the financial scandals and fraud of these companies and the subsequent demise of Arthur Anderson, business ethics has become a much researched and discussed topic. Business ethics has not only revived academics' and accounting practitioners' interest in ethics and earnings management practices but it also supports the view that there is a lack of ethics and ethical behaviour on the part of businesses and management (Karassavidou & Glaveli, 2006). Rather, in many companies, there is a concern for the bottom line or 'making the numbers' which seems to override any concern for ethical values (Verschoor, 2002).
Public confidence in the accounting profession has been shaken by the financial frauds and failures in these companies and the fraud charges brought against management. For its 2002 Annual Meeting, the American Accounting Association chose the Quality of Earnings Project as its main theme and, in turn, academic journals have invited and published research articles that focus on earnings management practices (Giacomino & Akers, 2006). Following the scandals, the United States (US) Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (South Africa followed with Corporate Governance) that holds executives personally responsible and criminally liable for certifying financial statements (Elias, 2004).
Earnings management and business ethics also has implications for academia. Leading accounting associations, since the 1990s, have called for increased emphasis on ethics education in accounting curricula. They recommend that business and accounting curricula should emphasise ethical values by integrating their development with the acquisition of knowledge and skills to help prevent, detect, and deter fraudulent financial reporting (Fischer & Rosenzweig 1995). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the ethical perceptions of a survey in South Africa (SA) differ from surveys in the USA that used the Bruns and Merchant (1990) study prior to the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US and Corporate Governance in South Africa. The aim is to determine whether the demand for and introduction of courses in ethics in business schools changes the ethical perceptions of students and business managers.
2 The research problem
As scandals of public companies come more to the fore one realises that people, and not accounting, are responsible for the major losses suffered by innocent people. Business schools, which are considered a basic source of providing managers and entrepreneurs, seem to be blamed for much of the unethical behaviour in business (Karassavidou & Glaveli, 2006).
However, earnings management is not a new phenomenon and has been used for many years. Since the seventies researchers stressed the importance of ethics in accounting. Bernstein and Siegel (1979) agree that earnings figures should have integrity and should not be the product of manipulations designed purely to increase the reported income of an entity. Earnings should also be reliable and provide a good indication of the earning power of the company. Since then, many cases of financial fraud and failure in companies have come to light throughout the world. The failure of a company is not simply a matter of accounting and auditing but the involvement of a convergence of factors including personal values, integrity and ethics (Akers, Eaton & Giacomino, 2004).
The problem with earnings management practice is that it also has consequences for accounting educators. They are the main suppliers of business managers. Educators should attempt to minimise the difference between students and business managers as conflicting opinions begin to develop during undergraduate business education. This results in students often adopting the attitudes of their professional reference groups before they even commence their professional careers (Giacomino & Akers, 2006).
This study therefore compares a recent survey on the ethical perceptions of students and business managers and compares it to four similar surveys (Clikeman, Greiger & O'Connell, 2001; Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995; Rozenzweig & Fisher, 1994; Merchant & Rockness, 1994) performed in the US prior to the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The aim is to determine whether the introduction of the Act and educational interventions in business ethics courses effectively improved the ethical perceptions and skills of accounting students and practitioners.
3 Purpose of the study
Research has focused on detecting earnings management practices but the ethical perceptions of students and business managers are also important. The question is how a student will react when confronted with an ethical conflict in the business world. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare a survey on ethical perceptions of selected earnings management practices in SA with surveys performed in US prior to the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. Sufficient time has passed since the publicity of cases such as Enron and WorldCom that changes in the views on the morality of earnings management may be expected throughout the world.
4 Literature study
Defining earnings management
Earnings management has been practiced for many years. It occurs when managers use judgement in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports either to mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers (Healy & Wahlen, 1999).
This definition focuses on the exercise of judgement in financial reports to mislead stakeholders who either do not or cannot do earnings management and also to make financial reports more informative to users. There is therefore a good and a bad side to earnings management. The bad side is the cost created by misallocation of resources and the good side is the potential improvements in management's credible communication of private information to external stakeholders, improving resources allocation decisions.
Belkaoui (2004) agrees that various definitions have been offered to explain earnings management as a special form of 'designed' rather than 'principled' accounting. Earnings management may be seen as a purposeful intervention in the external reporting process with the intent of obtaining some private gain by either a selection of accounting methods within GAAP or by applying given methods in particular ways (Belkaoui, 2004).
Earnings management may also be seen from either an economic (or true) income perspective or an informational perspective. The true income perspective assumes firstly the existence of a true economic income which is distributed by a deliberate earnings management and/or by measurement errors embedded in accounting rules, and secondly as noisy unmanaged earnings acquire through earnings management of new properties in terms of amount, bias or variance. However, the informational perspective assumes that earnings is one of the signals used for decisions and judgements, and furthermore that managers have private information which they can use when they choose elements within GAAP under different sets of contracts which determine their conversation and behaviour (Belkaoui, 2004).
Managers manage earnings through their choices of accounting policies, judgements, or their timing or selection of operating decisions. Furthermore, managers' actions are related to a number of their incentives. In this regard, an association was found between accounting accruals and the incentives managers received from earnings-related bonus plans. Managers also have a tendency to decrease earnings when earnings are extreme in either direction, or to overstate earnings because they have not been performing well, or to boost earnings by squeezing reserves (Merchant & Rockness, 1994).
Earnings management activities include accounting-based activities or operating-based activities. As an example of an accounting method, a manager may unjustifiably adjust the amount of a reserve thereby changing income. On the other hand, when a manager postpones discretionary expenses into the future in order to improve current income, it will be an example of an operating method (Kaplan, 2001).
Not all earnings management actions are illegal and many are within the manager's prerogatives. The ethical perspective, however, raises the question as to whether it is the right thing to do. Although an individual's moral code should prevent earnings management actions, if it does not, the individuals engaging in these actions are acting in a socially unacceptable way (Merchant & Rockness, 1994).
Ethics in the accounting curriculum
The Treadway Commission (Cohen & Pant, 1989), called for changes in accounting education that would increase the extent to which ethical issues are incorporated into classroom practices. The Commission argued that the responsibility of the accounting profession and their accountability to the public requires a much broader exposure to ethics. Business schools should include ethics discussions in every accounting course and, ideally, it should be part of all business courses. Business and accounting curricula should emphasise ethical values by integrating their development with the acquisition of knowledge and skills to help prevent, detect and deter fraudulent financial reporting (Cohen & Pant, 1989).
Fisher and Rosenzweig (1995) also supported the Treadway Commission to address their concerns by identifying specific topics in ethics and accounting for curricular development. Earnings management practices are one such topic to be included because of ethical ambiguities associated with these practices. If the educational curricula of accountants and managers can inculcate ethical sensitivity to earnings management, then perhaps it can help to reduce the tendency to engage in these practices (Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995).
It is therefore important for educators to be familiar with current attitudes of students towards earnings management practices if they are interested in integrating ethical concerns into accounting programs. In response to this concern, many business schools have begun to review the role of ethics in their curricula and many have initiated new business ethics courses, developed cases, conducted workshops and seminars to put the spotlight on the need for principled leadership. Woo (2003) stresses that one of the primary goals of educators should be to help students understand how they might react when presented with an ethical conflict, no matter how big or small.
Karassavidou and Glaveli (2006) believe that a lack of ethics and ethical behaviour on the part of businesses, leaders and managers seems to pervade the societies universally having a direct outcome on leadership and organizational effectiveness, employees' job satisfaction and turnover, orginisational justice and in general on businesses' ability to compete, create jobs and contribute to a country's economic development and social prosperity. Furthermore, the authors blame business schools for much of the unethical behaviour in business because they are considered the basic source of providing leaders, managers and entrepreneurs. Therefore, many universities and business schools are increasingly requiring form their students to take courses in business ethics (Karassavidou & Glaveli, 2006).
Chang and Leung (2006) agree that whilst much research has concentrated on ethical reasoning and ethics education to enhance the ethical conduct of accountants, it is also important that the profession and researchers also direct their attention and efforts to cultivating the ethical sensitivity of accountants.
Surveys in earnings management
In response to corporate scandals and the loss of confidence in the accounting profession, researchers embarked upon similar research as Bruns and Merchant (1990) in earnings management practice and corporate-ethical values. Bruns and Merchant (1990) prepared a 13-action questionnaire that consisted of practices that the authors considered short-term earnings management practices. This questionnaire was used by Merchant and Rockness (1994) where general managers, staff managers, operation-unit controllers, and internal auditors were sampled in two entities. In their study, accounting manipulations were judged more harshly.
Rosenzweig and Fischer (1994) found that respondents with more years of experience and higher levels of responsibility (partners) judged practices less harshly than accountants with less than six years experience and at the entry and junior levels.
Fischer and Rosenzweig (1995) surveyed undergraduate students, MBA students, and practicing accountants on their attitudes on the ethical acceptability of earnings management practices and found that operating manipulations were judged less ethically by accounting practitioners. Clikeman et al. (2001) surveyed students and made comparisons by culture, based on national origin and gender. However, in their study, no significant differences were found. Furthermore, Elias (2004) surveyed certified public accountants (CPAs) and reported on their low perceptions of corporate ethical values.
Kaplan (2001) did not utilise the Bruns and Merchant (1990) questionnaire. He presented two groups of respondents, managers and shareholders, with only three earnings management actions. It involved an operating activity gain through deferral of discretionary expenses, an accounting activity gain by requesting an invoice from a consulting firm to be delayed, and an accounting activity loss through an unnecessary increase in the obsolescence reserve. The results indicated that managers rated operating manipulations more ethically than accounting manipulations, whereas the shareholders rated both as unethical.
Another survey was performed by Karassavidou and Glaveli (2006). They investigated the ethical orientation of undergraduate business students in Greece. The researchers found that academic dishonesty is positively related to students' attitudes towards unethical managers' behaviour in the business context.
Chang and Leun (2006) surveyed 156 accounting undergraduates to investigate the ethical sensitivity of accounting students and the effects of their ethical reasoning and personal factors on their ethical sensitivity. They found no significant relationship between accounting students' ethical sensitivity and their ethical reasoning. Their survey also indicated that an accounting ethics intervention may have positive effect on accounting students' ethical sensitivity development.
Giacomino and Akers (2006) surveyed students and business managers to measure their perception of specific earnings management actions. The questionnaire was similar to that used by Bruns and Merchant (1990) but an additional seven practices were included, totaling 20 items relating to ten earnings management practices. Their results showed no significant difference between students and business managers and also between genders. The findings of the 13 practices similar to the Bruns and Merchant (1990) study were used to compare their study with four studies using the Bruns and Merchant (1990) questionnaire prior to 2002. The average of the prior studies was determined and the comparison indicated that the respondents in their study had stricter views.
Jooste (2010) proceeds with a similar study as Giacomino and Akers (2006) and surveys the ethical perceptions of students, business managers and gender on 20 short-term earnings management practices. The results indicated no significant difference between genders but found a significant difference between students and business managers. Business managers rated the practices less ethically than students. See Annexure 2 for the actual questionnaire the respondents completed.
5 Methodology
This study is similar to the study by Giacomino and Akers (2006) where the authors compare a 2006 survey of students and business managers from Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA, with four US studies (Clikeman et al., 2001; Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995; Rozenzweig & Fisher, 1994; Merchant & Rockness, 1994) prior to 2002 (hereafter referred to as prior studies). The objective, given the publicity of cases such as Enron and WorldCom, was to determine if there have been changes in attitudes towards earningsmanagement practices. The authors argued that sufficient time has passed since the fraud cases and the issuance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, that they might expect some change in the views on the morality of earnings management.
The fraud cases in the US received worldwide publicity, even in SA. Furthermore, the King report and Corporate Governance in SA followed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US. SA universities also introduced ethics courses in business studies. Therefore, this study aims to determine if perceptions changed towards earnings management practices. Due to a lack of similar studies in SA, this study, similar to that of Giacomino and Akers (2006), compares a survey from NMMU in SA with the four US studies (Clikeman et al., 2001; Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995; Rozenzweig & Fisher, 1994; Merchant & Rockness, 1994) prior to 2002.
This study will use the average of the prior studies determined by Giacomino and Akers (2006) to compare 13 earnings management practices actions (the same 13 as in the Bruns and Merchant study). The aim of this comparison is to determine whether there have been changes in the attitudes of respondents in SA since the highly-publicised cases of Enron and WorldCom and the issuance of Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 and Corporate Governance in SA.
6 Research design
The average of the studies from the study by Giacomino and Akers (2006) will be used (see Annexure 1). The means of the NMMU survey (Jooste 2010) will then be compared with the average of the prior studies. The findings will be analysed to determine if there are changes in perceptions on earnings management practices.
Two groups were surveyed, undergraduate accounting students at the NMMU and business managers. The business managers were students in an MBA course at the NMMU and qualified accountants employed by accounting firms.
Demographic data
Business managers (BM)
Not answered (5 students; 2 BM)
Total :
Prior studies
Four studies (Clikeman et al., 2001; Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995; Rozenzweig & Fisher, 1994; Merchant & Rockness, 1994) subsequent to the Bruns and Merchant (1990) study have utilised the Bruns and Merchant questionnaire.
Annexure 1 lists the mean values from the four studies' responses and the study at NMMU for 13 practices. The 13 practices correspond with the original Bruns and Merchant questionnaire. The average of the prior study for each of the 13 actions is also provided in Annexure 1.
The questionnaire
Bruns and Merchant (HBR, 1989) study prepared a 13-action questionnaire based on practices that the authors considered short-term earnings management practices. The practices involve the choice and timing of operating events and the choice and timing of recognition of specific revenues and expenses, therefore covering operating manipulations and accounting manipulations. The respondents were informed that the questionnaire referred to a $1 billion company consisting of different divisions which has a January-December fiscal year. Each division has a turnover of $100 million and net profits before taxation of $12 million. The respondents were required to rate each question on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 as follows:
Ethical Practice (mean below 1.5).
Questionable Practice. I would not say anything to the person involved, but it makes me uncomfortable (mean between 1.5 and 2.5).
Minor Practice. The person should be warned not to engage in the practice again (mean between 2.5 and 3.5).
Serious Infraction. The person should be severely reprimanded (mean between 3.5 and 4.5).
Totally Unethical. The person should be fired (mean between 4.5 and 5).
On the questionnaire's first page the respondents were informed that the questionnaire consists of a short description of a variety of actions that individuals have taken. Some of these actions are clearly ethical. Others are judged by some or most people to be unethical, and the judgments as to the degree of severity of the infraction may vary (HBR, 1989). In Table 1, the 13 earnings management practices are listed as well as the averages of the mean values from prior studies and the mean value from the NMMU study.
Research method
This descriptive study compares surveys to determine the changes in ethical perceptions subsequent to the Enron and WorldCom scandals and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, followed by Corporate Governance in SA. The results on how the respondents rated 13 earnings management actions at NMMU and the average of four studies prior to 2002 were compared. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the survey groups.
The mean values of NMMU are above the average of the prior studies for eight of the 13 actions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12). This indicates that the respondents in the NMMU study have stricter views than the respondents in the prior studies for these actions. In five of the 13 actions (8, 9, 10, 11 and 13) the respondents in the prior studies had stricter views. The greatest difference in the mean values is 0.99 (action 7), namely, Sell excess assets to reach budget target. The smallest difference is 0.03 (action 12), namely, Request deferred billing from supplier for $30 000. The overall average rating for all 13 actions for the NMMU was 2.88, which is 0.27 higher than the overall average of the prior studies.
In the comparison by Giacomino and Akers (2006), such a small difference is not rated as a substantial difference, which indicates that the perceptions regarding earnings management have not changed substantially since 2002. According to Giacomino and Akers (2006), small differences in mean values suggest that the results are consistent with the findings of the Bruns and Merchant study conducted in 1990 and the prior studies. This indicates that perceptions regarding earnings management practices have changed, but they have not changed significantly owing to events such as the issuance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the financial frauds and failures of Enron and WorldCom.
The overall response showed a significant lack of agreement and the dispersion of ratings varied considerably. The surveys suggest that the 13 earnings management practices are not acceptable, since only two practices (1, Paint ahead of schedule, and 7, Sell excess assets to reach budget target) were rated as ethical practices by prior studies. Although NMMU has the stricter view, the following similarities were found:
• Totally Unethical: The person should be fired (mean between 4.5 and 5)
No practice was rated as totally unethical by both groups.
• Serious Infraction: The person should be severely reprimanded (mean between 3.5 and 4.5)
Two practices were rated as a serious infraction by NMMU of which one was rated the same by the prior studies. The practice is:
Request deferred billing from supplier, $500 000 (13)
NMMU rated one more practice as a serious infraction, whereas the prior studies rated it as a minor infraction, which is:
Defer supplies expense by delaying recording invoice (4)
• Minor Infraction: The person should be warned not to engage in the practice again (mean between 2.5 and 3.5)
Five of the seven practices rated by NMMU were also rated by the prior studies as a minor infraction, namely:
Prepay expenses to reduce income by $60 000 (8)
Increase reserve for obsolescence, reduce income $700 000 (9)
Reduce reserve for obsolescence to continue work (10)
Reduce reserve for obsolescence to meet budget target (11)
Request deferred billing for supplier, $30 000 (12)
NMMU rated one more practice as a serious infraction, whereas the prior studies rated it as a minor infraction, which is:
Defer supplies expense by delaying recording invoice (4)
• Questionable Practice: I would not say anything to the person involved, but it makes me uncomfortable (mean between 1.5 and 2.5).
Two of the four practices rated as a questionable practice by NMMU received the same rating by the prior studies, namely:
More liberal credit terms to reach budget target (5)
Work overtime to reach budget target (4b)
The NMMU also rated Paint ahead of schedule (1) and Sell excess assets to reach budget target (7) as a questionable practice. Both these actions were rated by the prior studies as an ethical practice. The prior studies rated the following actions as a questionable practice:
Defer expenses to meet quarterly budget (2)
Defer expenses to meet annual budget (3)
• Ethical Practice: (mean below 1.5)
Paint ahead of schedule (1), and Sell excess assets to reach budget target (7), were rated by the prior studies as an ethical practice.
In this comparison, further interesting earnings management findings were evident. It was found that for some of the practices, the dollar amount, timing of the action, the method used, and the extent of the budgets affected the respondent's views.
• Dollar amount
Both actions 12 and 13 request the supplier to defer a bill, for $30 000 and $500 000 respectively. Where the dollar amount is $500 000 both the NMMU and the prior studies rated the action more serious. This is also consistent with those of Giacomino and Akers ((2006). The prior studies also reported that materiality was a factor and that large amounts were judged more seriously than small amounts.
• Timing of the transaction
In both actions 2 and 3 discretionary expenses were deferred to meet different budgets. Where the action was to meet the annual budget both the NMMU and the prior studies judged the action more harshly than where the action was to defer discretionary expenses to meet quarterly budgets.
Totally Unethical:
• Method used
The prior studies also reported that the methods used to reach budget targets affected the views of the respondents even though the result turned out the same. Action 5 called for more liberal terms to reach the budget target, whereas action 6 required working overtime, and action 7, to selling excess assets to reach the budget target. Both the prior studies and the NMMU study rated more liberal credit terms as less acceptable than working overtime or the selling of excess assets.
• Quarterly or annual budgets
In actions 2 and 3 the deferral to meet the annual budget is viewed as more serious by the NMMU than the deferral to meet the quarterly budget. These findings are also consistent with those of the prior studies and the studies by Bruns and Merchant (1990) and Giacomino and Akers (2006).
Overall, these results seem to be consistent with the findings of the Bruns and Merchant (1990) study as well as the prior studies by Merchant and Rockness (1994), Rozenzweig and Fisher (1994), Fischer and Rosenzweig (1995), and Clikeman et al. (2001). This similarity was also found in a survey by Giacomino and Akers (2006).
This study also found that the respondents do not support the acceptability of these earnings management practices, since only two (by the prior studies) were rated as an Ethical Practice. However, the greatest concern of the findings was the total lack of agreement as no action was unanimously rated as unethical.
7 Implications for academia
Although this study shows that there have been some changes in perceptions regarding earnings-management practices since 2002, the changes seems to be insignificant. This means that business students still need more exposure and an understanding of methods used to manage earnings, as was suggested by Fischer and Rosenzweig (1995). Therefore, this has implications for academia and becomes the responsibility of universities and business schools. They are the basic source of providing leaders and managers and also seem to be blamed for much of the unethical behaviour in business (Karassavidou & Glaveli, 2006).
Giacomino and Akers (2006) suggest that business publications should continue to report fraudulent financial reporting in the media and academic journals on a regular basis. Fraudulent reporting is often the result of earnings management. Fisher and Rosenzweig (1995) suggest that greater emphasis be placed on earnings management practices in the accounting curricula. Although difficult, it should be integrated into business courses, or be a separate business ethics course or an accounting course taught by accounting and business ethics academia.
Furthermore, Giacomino and Akers (2006) suggest that the 'real-world' aspects of earnings management practices be enhanced and that experienced business professionals become an integral part of accounting courses. In addition, differences between business managers and students should be minimised as conflicting opinions begin to develop during undergraduate business education. Students appear to adopt the attitudes of their professional reference groups before they even commence their professional careers. Therefore, by using experienced business professionals during lectures and making discussions of earnings more realistic, the differences between students and business managers may be reduced with reference to perceptions of earnings management practices.
8 Conclusions
Ethics in accounting has been an issue for many years. In earlier years, the Treadway Commission (Cohen & Pant, 1989) called for changes in accounting education and called on business schools to include ethics in every accounting and business course.
Furthermore, Bruns and Merchant (1990) did a survey on earnings management that revealed unfavourable results. Therefore they suggest that the key to moral behaviour is the obligation to look beyond self-interest and to focus on the concerns of others. They regard the morality of doing otherwise questionable and the ethical perspective therefore raises the question as to whether earnings management practices are moral. This followed with the bankruptcy of Enron and WorldCom in 2001 that shocked the business world and resulted in serious harm to all stakeholders.
As a result, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was introduced in 2002 (followed in SA by Corporate Governance). The concept of earnings management practices has received considerable attention in the accounting literature, and sufficient time has passed since the financial scandals and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act so that one would expect some change in the ethical perceptions towards earnings management. Therefore the question to be raised, in the light of all the research, is whether the ethical perceptions of accounting students and practitioners have changed since 2002.
Many accounting practitioners and students think that ethics is a list of rules, such as the Ten Commandments or explicit organisational codes of ethics. Hence, the assumption is that if something is not expressly prohibited, there is no need to worry about ethics (Giacomino & Akers, 2006). Based on this view, earningsmanagement practices are not problematic if no rules are broken by engaging in it. However, if a respondent has this rule-based view of ethics, he or she would judge accounting manipulations (a violation of accepted accounting practice) as more unethical, since they violate explicit rules, while operating manipulations do not (Fischer & Rosenzweig, 1995). It seems from the surveys in the study that ethics is still viewed in this light.
This study compared a survey performed at NMMU with US studies prior to 2002 using the Bruns and Merchant (1990) questionnaire. The results indicated that since 2002 there has not been a substantial change in the views of students and business managers regarding earnings management practices. The US studies were used in the comparison as no SA studies using the Bruns and Merchant (1990) survey exist.
This still has implications for educators and business schools to increase changes in accounting curricula and to include greater ethics discussions. Therefore, it is suggested that the survey should also be repeated in the future to determine if there are changes in the ethical views of accounting students. The results may enable accounting educators to understand what students feel and how they may react to earnings management practices when in practice. Furthermore, if courses are introduced to address aspects of earningsmanagement practices, a further survey can determine whether it contributed towards changing the ethical views of the students or if the attitudes of students towards earnings management practices can be improved. Akers et al. (2004) found that very little research and few curricular activities have been done with respect to the role of personal values in accounting. Their study (Akers et al., 2004) includes a step-by-step discussion of how accounting programmes can apply intervention methods to change students' personal values toward a desired end. The intervention methods include programmatic, curriculum and classroom activities. These intervention methods were introduced at a comprehensive, private university in the Midwest of the US. Their aim was to introduce an effective tool that can be used by accounting educators to positively influence the next generation of accountants. To date no further studies have been published by the authors in this regard.
The results of this NMMU study need to be interpreted in the light of possible weaknesses. The respondents in the study may not be representative of students and business managers of the local country. Overall, business managers were found to view the earnings-management practices less favourably than the students. This may be due to the fact that students have fewer risks than business managers and also the possibility that students may not fully understand the wording of the questionnaire on earnings management.
It is suggested that a follow-up survey be performed in SA using similar respondents. This could indicate, amongst others, whether the introduction of King 111 in South Africa has contributed towards changing the ethical perceptions of students and business managers.
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ROSENZWEIG, K. & FISCHER, M. 1994. Is managing earnings ethically acceptable? Management Accounting, 75(9):31-34. [ Links ]
VERSCHOOR, C. 2002. It isn't enough to just have a code of ethics. Strategic Finance, December:22-24. [ Links ]
WOO, C.J. 2003. Personally responsible. BizEd. May/June:22-27 . [ Links ]
Accepted: Septemer 2011


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Sorry, Aussies. Looks like Madonna is just not that into you.
Per the BBC, Madge's concert promoter, Live Nation, confirmed the cancellation of her Australian tour dates on Tuesday but didn't give a reason why.
"Madonna's [MDNA] tour will end in South America in December as planned. That's all we can say," a spokesperson said.
U.S. & World
MORE: Madonna Just as Hot, Attention-Seeking as Ever in "Turn Up the Radio" Video
The Material Girl hasn't toured Down Under in 20 years. Shortly after her Sticky &Sweet tour ended in 2009, her manager Guy Oseary said the singer "really needs to go to Australia."
"Unfortunately, it didn't work out for this tour," he said. "She appreciates her Aussie fans coming to many of the shows...We are long overdue for a trip Down Under and apologize for that. It will happen."
For the sake of our Aussie friends, we sure hope it does someday.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bills approved by state lawmakers could have an impact on a lawsuit that accuses Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan of discouraging competition by insisting on unfair terms with hospitals.
Lawyers for Blue Cross and the government have called a time-out through Jan. 8 in Detroit federal court.
The bills would prohibit so-called "most favored" clauses, which can force Blue Cross competitors to pay higher prices at hospitals. Those provisions are at the heart of an antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross by the U.S. Justice Department. The government says patients end up paying more.
The lawsuit, filed in 2010, is pending. The bills haven't been signed by Gov. Rick Snyder.


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Leff Rakk (Ft. Manage) - Too Late [No Love] *Toronto Rappers* [Unsigned Hype]
Follow Us on Twitter @LeffRakk @M4Manage http://www.LeffRakk.com Toronto Rappers. This is off the upcoming Mixtape "Daily Course Vol.1 - Breakfast"
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Narratives, photographs, reflections, research…Global Voices has it all! Click here to access this years issue and to enjoy the work of DePaul University's talented multilingual community.
Global Voices is an annual e-magazine published by the Collaborative for Multilingual Writing and Research, which seeks to showcase cultural and linguistic diversity.
Look for a new issue each spring and contact us at email@example.com if you would like to submit your work to next years edition.


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
- Media Zone
- Social
- Shop
- Donate Now
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 11, 2009) - The ETSU volleyball team saw its three-game win streak come to an end as the Bucs were swept by Florida Gulf Coast Saturday at Brooks Gym, 3-0 (21-25, 17-25, 20-25).
Junior Lauren Baufield (Plymouth, Minn.) posted double-digit kills for the second straight match with ten against the Eagles. Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) had a good all-around performance with eight kills, seven assists and four digs.
"In knowing the type of offense Florida Gulf Coast runs we knew it was going to be faster, and unfortunately our players did not make the changes to stop or control that kind of offense," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "That is a valuable lesson for us as we progress in conference. Our team knows that to be successful we need to be that team that doesn't wait until to the middle of the end of the match to make changes. It was good to see Lauren have another good offensive performance for us today."
Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) tallied 20 assists and two blocks in the match, while Alysa Long (Romulus, Mich.) had six kills and three blocks.
FGCU took four-straight points to start the first set, but the Bucs battled back to cut the Eagle lead to 7-6. The Eagles then went on a 6-3 run to extend their lead to 13-9. Both teams traded points down the stretch until with FGCU up 23-21 the Eagles got a kill and a block from Jacqueline Cowden to take the first set 25-21.
In the second set, FGCU jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead, but saw its lead cut to 10-8. Later in the set, the Eagles used a 5-1 run to increase their advantage to 19-11. FGCU closed out the set 25-17 on a kill by Emma Racila to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The Eagles carried their momentum into the third set as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead. ETSU cut the lead to four points a couple times, but could not even the set as FGCU went on to take the third set 25-20 on an ETSU attack error.
ETSU (3-6, 2-1 A-Sun) is back in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. as the Bucs host in-state rival Chattanooga at Brooks Gym. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball and all other athletic news, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.


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|Rimfire Firearms .22, .17 and other Rimfire Handguns and Rifles
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
How to Determine Scope Ring Height
I have seen quite a few questions on the subject of how to determine ring size for scope mounting so thought I'd share this easy method. Its just arithmetic, not calculus. Hope this helps someone.
1. Measure outside diameter of the front Objective.
2. Divide the measurement by 2.
3. For a 1 diameter tube subtract 1/2
4. Add 1/8 for barrel clearance, 1/4 if you will install lens covers.
5. You now have the height that you need from the top of the scope mount or dovetail to the saddle of the rings.
6. Most if not all scope ring manufacturers provide these dimensions on their WebSite.
Example for 1 scope tube:
1. Front Objective outside diameter = 2.0
2. Divide by 2 = 1.0
3. Subtract 1/2 = 1/2
4. Add 1/8 for barrel clearance = 5/8 (Height of rings from top of scope mount or dovetail to the saddle of the rings.)
4a. Add 1/4 for barrel clearance and lens cover = 3/4 (Height of rings from top of scope mount or dovetail to the saddle of the rings.)
5. If a Weaver/Pictanny type scope rail is used, measure the height of the rail above the barrel and subtract that from the scope ring height determined in step 4 or 4a.
For scopes that have different size tubes such as 30mm, measure the tube diameter in inches and divide by 2. Substitute that value for the value in step 3 of the example.
A final note. For some scopes the size of the Ocular (rear eye piece) can interfere with the cycling of the bolt on some bolt action rifles. CZ rifles have a fairly high bolt throw so beware of this issue on a scope that has a large Ocular.
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


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It sure seemed as if Brandon Jacobs was trying to talk or tweet his way off the 49ers roster and trying to angle his way back to his former team, the Giants, a team in need of depth at running back.
Jacobs did all he could to get the 49ers to cut him, and if they did it would have been very interesting to see if the Giants gave him another look — especially since the 49ers figure to be one of the teams to beat in the NFC playoffs.
The 49ers clearly have had enough of the increasingly frustrated Jacobs but they weren't going to allow him to go to a contender, and so yesterday they suspended the disgruntled power back for the final three games of the season.
The suspension, for conduct detrimental to the team, is without pay. Jacobs makes $55,882 per week on his $950,000 base salary and so getting docked three weeks would cost him $167,647. He is going to file a grievance through the players' union, according to reports, attempting to get reinstated by the team, recoup his money or — and this is probably his desire — to get the 49ers to release him. He's maintained a strong relationship with the Giants — he glad-handed his former teammates in the visitors' locker room at Candlestick Park after the Giants beat the Niners 26-3 on Oct. 14.
Jacobs, sidelined by a knee injury early in the season, has barely played, appearing in two games and getting just two rushing attempts. He recently took to social media to express his frustration, writing that he is "rotting away" and that this is "by far the worst year he's ever had.''
That prompted 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh yesterday to address the situation, or, more precisely, not to address the situation.
Harbaugh, according to the Sacramento Bee, issued a string of "No comments'' when asked about Jacobs. Asked if Jacobs is still part of the team, Harbaugh said "I'll go with the fifth amendment. I have no comment on that."
Not much later, Harbaugh's comment rang loud and clear with the decision to suspend Jacobs.
The Giants are thin at the running back position and recently signed two players with NFL experience, Kregg Lumpkin and Ryan Torain, to fill out the depth chart after Andre Brown was put on injured reserve with a broken leg. Ahmad Bradshaw yesterday underwent a battery of tests to determine the extent of the damage to his left knee, which he hurt in the 52-27 victory over the Saints.
At the moment, rookie David Wilson, who enjoyed a breakout performance against the Saints, is the only fully healthy halfback who has been with the team all season.
Jacobs has not been shy about expressing his frustration. He recently posted a picture of himself in his old Giants uniform, which did not sit well with 49ers fans. Jacobs wrote in Instagram "I am on this team rotting away so why would I wanna put any pics up of anything that say niners This is by far the worst year I ever had, I'll tell you like I told plenty others."
Jacobs also wrote on Instagram, "They won't let me out, I tried."
Jacobs on Twitter explained his posting of his picture in a Giants uniform: "I don't understand why people are angry at me because I wanna do what I am paid to do, I am a competitive person, I think people should be mad if I didn't wanna play, but I forgot the people that's pissed they don't have a athletic bone and their body. As for all of my Instagram photos I don't have any niner pics, if you'll find me some pics I'll put them up."


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Watcher's Council submissions for May 16, 2013
(A small addendum here: This may well be the best week of material I've ever read in my time on the Watcher's Council. I usually suggest you read this stuff. Today I urge you to read it. You can only imagine what a hard time I'm having casting my vote here.)
This is the fascinating stuff I'm reading today preparatory to casting my vote. Please join and enrich your mind, as I improve mine:
Council Submissions
- The Noisy Room – Invaders Guarding the Watchtower
- The Colossus of Rhodey – "Morality and Conscience"
- GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD – The Difference It Made
- The Political Commentator – Cartoon, Video: Hey recent college graduate, congratulations?
- Joshuapundit–Who Really Is Really Savagely Destroying Palestinian Children?
- The Right Planet – Exasperation: A Nation on the Brink
- Gay Patriot – Only the president can end the Benghazi "sideshow"
- Rhymes With Right – A Lawless Agency In Need Of A Special Prosecutor
- VA Right! – A Word on Supervisor Elton Wade Appointing Norm Sulser to the Hanover School Board
- The Glittering Eye –What Did They Know and When Did They Know It
- The Razor – The Ignored Will Not Be Silenced
- Bookworm Room – Obama and Henry II; Obama and Martin Niemöller; and Obama and Al Capone
- The Mellow Jihadi – Michelle Bachmann, Jihadi Foods, and the US Navy
- Simply Jews – When in Rome or the best and the worst of that trip
Honorable Mentions
- Ask Marion – You Cannot Honor What You Don't Know Or Miss
- The Pirate's Cove – Obama's True Concern With All The Scandals
Non-Council Submissions
- Sultan Knish –With Blood On Their Hands submitted by The Noisy Room
- Douglas Ernst – 3D printing drives statists crazy; expect tyrants to double their efforts submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
- Cindy Storer/Global Public Square – Why al-Qaeda Isn't Dead submitted by GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD
- Rezah Kahlili/WND –Terrorist Super Axis To Strike Within U.S. submitted by The Political Commentator
- /Khalid Abu Toameh/Jewish Press – Kerry Betting On The Wrong Horses submitted by Joshuapundit
- Godfather Politics – 40 Ways to be a Good Democrat submitted by The Right Planet
- Commentary –Obama Doubles Down on Benghazi Denial submitted by Gay Patriot
- PJ Media/Zombie – Progracists submitted by Rhymes with Right
- PJ Tatler – A Quick Guide to the Four Major Scandals that May Bring Down the Obama Administration submitted by VA Right!
- Downgrade Diary – The Moral Disaster of Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS submitted by The Glittering Eye
- Newsmax –Liberal Group ProPublica Says IRS Leaked Documents to Them submitted by The Razor
- Richard Epstein/Defining Ideas–Watching ObamaCare Unravel submitted by Bookworm Room
- Shelly Palmer –3D Printing is Way Scarier Than Plastic Guns submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
- Michael Totten – Why the Syrian War Could Last Ten Years submitted by The Watcher
- Michelle Malkin – A Brief History of Slimy Dem Snoops and Dumpster Divers submitted by Watcher


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July 07, 2014
Book Review - Perfect by Rachel Joyce
This is by the author of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' which I totally adored. This is good .. perhaps not as good for me as Pilgrimage was. The stories are not connected but what does link them is the author's consideration of what can happen when a life is derailed by a single incident, especially for people who are detached from a close social circle for whatever reason. Her descriptions of place and her uncanny use of each character's voice are superb, as are her gentle and penetrating observations. "It occurred to Byron that over the summer holidays Diana had become someone else. She was not like a mother anymore. At least not one who told you to clean your teeth and wash behind your ears. She had become someone who was maybe more like a friend of your mother's or her sister; if only she'd had either of those. She had strayed into being someone who understood it was not always pleasant or interesting to keep cleaning your teeth or washing behind your ears, and turned a blind eye when you chose not to do them. It was a gift to have a mother like this. He was lucky. But it was also unsettling. It left him feeling slightly out in the wind, as if a wall had fallen down that was something to do with why things kept going. It meant he wanted to ask sometimes if she had remembered to clean her own teeth or wash behind her ears." Wendy
Posted by Camden Council Library Service at Monday, July 07, 2014
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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At Work the Metal, you don't just shop. You explore—you never know what you'll uncover.
We're vigilant in our hunt for the latest trends and our stock of unique and eclectic modern clothing, jewelry, accessories, & home décor is ever-changing.
Always sophisticated. Always Smart. And always affordable, too.
Buy Our New Andy Beshear Earrings (#beshearrings) and socks to help support the Team Kentucky Fund!
My favorite store in Louisville! They have everything from gifts to home decor to accessories and clothing!
Quinley Etheredge -
"Love this place! So many things so unique ☺ I can't wait to go back!"
Ashley May -
"I love it and find something awesome every time I go!"
Becky McMartin -
"Beautiful store with great, fun very reasonably-priced products and the service is just as wonderful! My favorite shopping find of 2015!"
Nancy Blass Hollingsworth -
"Awesome place with reasonably priced merchandise. The owners and staff are always kind and helpful. One of my favorite places in town to shop for gifts."
Greg Tronzo -
"Love the huge unique selection of earrings and everything else here."
CaryAnne Mascio -
"Fabulous store! Love the clothes, jewelry, and more! Staff is great!"
Bethany Tiesman - Themeforest Customer
"What an amazing store! This is my one stop shop for all gifts. And it's so reasonably priced!" - Matt Jamie
Matt Jamie -
"My daughter goes to college in Louisville and brought me here when I was visiting her. Very cute place with a lot of great things!! Prices are good, too! I will definitely be back!!" - Jennifer Vanover
Jennifer Vanover -


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The world depends on mariners. Mariners depend on SCI. And we depend on you.
Photos from SCI's "Pork" of NY & NJ Festival on Thursday, July 31, 2014 at the Institute's International Seafarers' Center in Port Newark, NJ.
Photos by David Rider, President & Executive Director.
Special Events are an important source of funding for the Seamen's Church Institute's programs. If you would like to receive information or invitations to our events, please email SCI's Special Events Team or telephone 212-349-9090.


text:
Welcome to poly-p-ux
Where to start
So you're new here? Check out the
Mailing List
This is WAY too important for the news section: I now have a mailing list!
Click here
for the mailing list page. Please join!
Latest News
for all the news - 16 more items):
I finished up my new logo. Basically, just simplified down to 4 colors, actually used inkscape the right way this time.
The distro is on hold for a while more - it's hard to test when your testing boxes are 300 miles away. I'll let you know what's up when it's up.
State of poly-p-ux
Currently, poly-p-ux is in very, very early development. Some strange bastard version of it is on my 486 right now. I have early crap compiled for 486's, and expect 386 and 586 (Pentium) builds whenever the next version is finalized.
The crap system tarballs out now unpack to about 7.9mb (486, others vary), but that is a powerful 7.9mb. It contains busybox, uclibc, kernel modules for just about every piece of (old) hardware imaginable, a basic package-management system (with install and uninstall in-package, and unified check-dependencies), grub, and much, much more. Yeah, there's some stuff missing, but just look in packages
Overall, it's a usable test right now, mostly as a proof-of-concept of the buildroot stuff. Pretty soon, some of my really cool stuff will be relevant - I have a new INIT replacement, some nice smallness hacks, and some day, a small linux-3 kernel and some nice boot disks.


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Well, let me tell you how GRATEFUL I am... or let me say how grateful my husband is... finally someone else to listen to me go on and on and on.
Well, what other way to jump start my ONE YEAR CELEBRATION than to reflect. Reflect on what I've done around this brand new home we've lived in.... I could let the list go on and on... But I'd like to keep you guys around for another year.
I'll keep my favorite projects limited to a list of 5 (+1 sssshhh)).
Have you been around the whole year? Are you already familiar with all these projects? If so, I applaud you - this is why my one year celebration is about YOU guys.. and not me. I handle myself everyday, I'm celebrating the fact YOU GUYS have listened to me for a whole year :)
My most favorite of favorite projects:
The Kitchen Pantry Makeover
Why do I love it?
Master Bedroom Makeover
Why do I love it?
I still smile at it every night when I am crawling into bed
Pushing myself to start and complete so many DIY projects
J's Locker
Why do I love it?
A fun piece made just for J
Lyrics Wall Art
Why I love it
Jump started my love of making signs
Personable piece of art
One of a Kind
Hide Away Printer
Why I love it?
Saves space
Why I love it?
It's been a good year! I cannot WAIT to see what else I cross off my To Do list in the next year of blogging. It was a good year, I hope to make the next one even better!
Thanks for all the love and support from each and every one of you. While I may do these projects even without this blog, it's you guys that keep getting me off my bum and get to these projects, so Thank You!
I have an awesome week lined up for you guys!!! I truly wanted my One Year Celebration to be about my favorite experiences, people, and companies of my first year of blogging and to share them with all my readers. I have three amazing giveaway bundles over the next three days. Each day will be a new giveaway with one winner – each giveaway is jam packed with amazing prizes from amazing people.
Here's the schedule:
Guest Line Up: Purdy Brushes, Cutting Edge Stencils, Everyday Vinyl
Wednesday May 23rd: "The Big Blogger Blowout Giveaway"
Guest Line Up: Kristen Duke Photography, SAS Interiors, Simply Klassic Design, White House Black Shutters
Thursday May 24th: "Etsy Shops I Heart Giveaway"
Guest Line Up: Blessed Design Studio, Saressa Designs, The Shine Project, PB&Jcreations
Plus, I'll be finishing off the week with some more end of the year reflections and looking back on my year and sharing how far I feel I've come, and what I've learned.
Hope to see everyone back here tomorrow and the rest of the week for all the exciting things coming! Let's get this party started


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The world today is struggling with learning to use advancing technology and also with all sorts of issues dealing with personal privacy. Sometimes those new ideas are diametrically opposed. For instance, which is more important: the right to learn about your ancestry, especially when inherited medical issues are involved, or the right to personal privacy?
A bioethics expert at Ghent University in Belgium claims that personal privacy outweighs the right to know who your ancestors are.
Men in the United Kingdom were allowed to donate sperm anonymously until 2005 and could now have their identities discovered by people researching their family trees. This, according to Professor Guido Pennings, a bioethicist at Ghent University in Belgium, constitutes a violation of the father's privacy. He made the comments in the scientific journal Human Reproduction.
In the article in Human Reproduction, Guido Pennings writes:
"Anonymity is a multifaceted term. Anonymity is rarely eternal or absolute. The use of genetic databases increases the risk of identification of previously anonymous donors. Searches through genetic databases jeopardize the privacy of people who did and did not register on them. Three types of searches can be distinguished in the context of gamete donation: offspring looking for their donor, offspring looking for donor siblings and donors looking for their donor offspring. All three types of searches violate the rights of recipients and donors. It is argued that despite the existence of genetic databases, anonymity maintains the same function as it had before: it expresses a wish for distance and privacy by both donors and recipients and, even if not enforceable, should be respected by all parties in good faith."
What do you think? You might read the article by Sam Blanchard in the Daily Mail at https://dailym.ai/2KZww6j and also the scientific article by Professor Guido Pennings in Human Reproduction at http://bit.ly/2UPIa8k. (Like most other scientific journals, access to Human Reproduction requires payment.)


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- 1 3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt plus additional for seasoning
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained 3 times
- 6 baby golden beets, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup 1/2-inch pieces orange bell peppers
- 1 cup 1/2-inch pieces red bell peppers
- 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup 1/2-inch pieces trimmed baby zucchini (about 6 ounces)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Recipe Preparation
Bring broth and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to boil in medium saucepan; add quinoa. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is tender and broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; fluff with fork. Cover and reserve.
Meanwhile, bring 1 1/4 cups water to boil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add beets. Cover and cook until beets are tender, about 8 minutes. Uncover; cook until any water in skillet evaporates. Increase heat to medium-high. Add olive oil and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add all bell peppers, asparagus, and zucchini. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Sauté until just tender, about 8 minutes. Add cooked quinoa, green onions, and parsley to vegetables in skillet; toss to combine. Season with sea salt and pepper.


text:
Start your search here
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Listings and Events in Berkeley
Netivot Shalom Preschool
in Preschools, Jewish Preschools, Childcare
Congregation Netivot Shalom Preschool seeks to create a stimulating and enriching educational environment for each and every child. We are devoted to helping children learn socialization skills, building their self-confidence and teaching them the p
1316 University Avenue
Berkeley, California 94702
United States
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Little Elephant Too!
in Preschools, Childcare
2.5 Yrs - 6 Yr Olds
2008 McGee Ave
Berkeley, California 94703
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Free First Thursdays
in Art, Museum Events, Movies & Films
UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
2155 Center St
Berkeley, California 94720
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Sarah's Science Summer Day Camp
in Technology Camps, Science Camps, General and Traditional Day Camps, CIT Programs, Arts and Crafts Camps, Animals Nature and Outdoor Camps, Adventure Camps, Academic Enrichment Camps
The Bay Area's premier summer day camp for curious and creative children ages 4+. Beautiful outdoor locations in Oakland and Berkeley. Weekly sessions from June 1 - August 21. Join us for hands-on science projects, swimming, hiking, music, and art!
Tilden Park
2501 Grizzly Peak Blvd
Berkeley, California 94708
United States
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Camp Winnarainbow
in Teen Focused Camps, Performing Arts Camps, Overnight and Sleepaway Camps, Music Camps, Gymnastics Camps, Dance Camps, Arts and Crafts Camps, Academic Enrichment Camps
The Camp Winnarainbow Kids Camp program is driven by its two core philosophies (The Show Show and The Life Show) and all of its activities are designed to reflect their goals.
1301 Henry Street
Berkeley, California 94709
United States
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Bayhill High School
in Special Needs Schools, High Schools
Bayhill High School educates and empowers students with learning differences to succeed in high school, college, and other post-secondary endeavors.
1940 Virgina Street,
Berkeley, California 94709
United States
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The Crowden School
in Middle Schools, Elementary Schools
Children who love music have a home at The Crowden School for grades three through eight. Since 1983, Crowden's ensemble-based curriculum has instilled in our students the collaborative, creative, and critical-thinking skills to succeed in life.
1475 Rose Street
Berkeley, California 94702
United States
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Camp Brainy Bunch
in Technology Camps, Science Camps, Academic Enrichment Camps
Fun academic summer day camps throughout the Bay Area
1700 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, California 94709
United States
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Free First Wednesdays
in Nature, Museum Events
UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens
200 Centennial Dr
Berkeley, California 94720
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Berkeley City Ballet Summer Dance Camps
Weekly Dance Camps from 9am-3pm culminating in performance!
1800 Dwight Way
Berkeley, California 94703
United States
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The Vennbahn is the name of a railway that once connected Aachen with northern Luxembourg. Today cyclists follow the disused railway line through the Eifel region, the Ardennes and the Hohes Venn nature reserve.
With hardly any notable climbs, the railway tracks meander along the German-Belgian border, which they regularly cross. Upland moors and heaths dominate the landscape in the Hohes Venn (High Fens) nature reserve. Around Monschau, Robertville and Weywertz, huge hedges offer protection from high winds. The route also passes through the picturesque Our valley with its gently rising uplands and narrow ravines. The Vennbahn Route is nothing if not diverse – with UNESCO World Heritage sites in Aachen and an idyllic old town in Kornelimünster.
Terrain: family-friendly route on disused railway lines, with hardly any notable climbs. The paths are mainly on asphalt and mostly traffic-free.
Scenery: the route crosses the Eifel region, the Ardennes and the Hohes Venn (High Fens) nature reserve, as well as landscapes featuring hedge-framed pastures, riverscapes and reservoir lakes.
To nyttige hurtigtaster for å zoome i nettleseren:
Forstørre: +
Forminske: +
Mer hjelp får du fra nettleserleverandøren ved å klikke på ikonet:


text:
Though Miley Cyrus denied splitting from fiancé Liam Hemsworth on Wednesday, she was spotted later that night without her engagement ring.
Seen leaving an L.A. recording studio late that night, Cyrus was photographed with two rings on her engagement finger, but neither were the one Hemsworth gave to her when he proposed last May.
Celebrity couples: Can you believe they dated?!This is not the first time Cyrus has been spotted without the bauble — she was previously photographed without it last month — and according to People, a source close to Cyrus maintains the wedding is still on.The source does acknowledge that the couple "have had some problems that they are working through," including recent rumors of infidelity on Hemsworth's part.
Check out the most shocking celebrity breakups"I am so sick of LA. And sick of the lies that come with it," Cyrus tweeted Wednesday. "I didn't call off my wedding. Taking a break from social media. #draining""my new music is gonna shut everyone up," she added, before saying she would only discuss her music from there on out.Hemworth is currently in Australia with no planned return date. But according to the source, his trip to his home country was already planned and not a result of relationship issues.


text:
COSMOS 1.1M1 Announce
COSMOS 1.1M1 is NOW available
At a glance
COSMOS 1.1M1 provides the following new features and improvements:
- SDD support
Tools and runtimes that provide support for the Solution Deployment Descriptor (SDD) standard on OASIS. SDD support was previously in research status, but is expected to be fully available in COSMOS 1.1. Included in M1:
- A build time generator (BTG) that generates SDDs from many sources. The BTG will generate conformance level two SDDs.
- A runtime driver is available, but still in development. With this driver, one can run the example COSMOS SDD through the runtime to install the COSMOS payload.
- SML support
- Tools that support systems management data conforming to the Service Modeling Language (SML) and SML-Interchange Format (SML-IF) standards, version 1.1, including SML and SML-IF document validation, SML-IF editing, import of SML-IF documents and export to SML-IF documents. SML support was previously in research status, but is expected to be fully available in COSMOS 1.1. This driver includes numerous defect fixes.
- CMDBf 1.0 support and infrastructure
- Integrated contextual help with MDR toolkit
- Reconciliation taxonomy
For a list of features that were included with the COSMOS 1.0 release, please read the previous announcement.
COSMOS 1.1 is currently targeted for a September 2009 release.
Download COSMOS 1.1M1 here.
As always, we welcome your participation and feedback via eclipse.technology.cosmos and email@example.com, and also hope you will take the time to report bugs and feature requests via Bugzilla.
The COSMOS Team


text: Adult Partial Hospitalization Service The Adult Partial Hospitalization Program of the Department of Psychiatry provides short-term intensive psychiatric services for patients ages 18 and older in need of crisis intervention and stabilization. Program participation may function in lieu of inpatient psychiatric treatment, or as a necessary transition after a brief inpatient hospitalization. The program serves patients with a full range of psychiatric disorders. Your Treatment The program provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach that includes milieu treatment, individual and group treatment, psychiatric evaluation, medication monitoring, and case management. It is a time-limited, focused approach with emphasis on psycho-education, stabilization and relapse prevention. We encourage family member involvement. Staff members collaborate closely with outpatient providers in order to ensure continuity of care. Access Appointments may be arranged through our Central Intake office by calling 413-794-5555 (Baystate Medical Center, Springfield) or 413-773-4444 (Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield) between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.


text:
Well everyone is doing it, so I might as well too ... the New Years Resolution. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever made one and stuck to it. I think there was 1 year I said "I'm going to run a 10K" and did it and that's about it.
This year I hope to better at...
My working out.
So 2011 I had Troy, and there is a "New Mom learning curve", so I wasn't super good with my workouts until about October/November time frame. In November I signed up for the gym, so I got my weight lifting back (SO IMPORTANT FOR MOI!), and thankfully my mom is so flexible with watching Troy, so there is no excuse. This past month I've been really super good about working out, so I'd like to continue on what I've been doing. I'm really seeing things tighten back up, BOO YA! So 4 times a week. Shouldn't be hard to do since Nick's schedule is about to change so he has 3 days off a week now. Total side note - I will bust my ass all year to get my body just how I want it, only to probably get pregnant at the end of 2012/beginning of 2013, figures :)
Thank you/Thinking of you cards
Seriously, who doesn't like getting a piece of mail with their name on it that isn't a bill or "junk"? There is something so nice and refreshing this day and age to get a hand written card just because. No birthday or holiday in site, just "Hey, hope life is treating you well" or "Hey, lets grab drinks?" I want to be better about this.
Explore the world with him..
I'm really looking forward to this year with Troy. He is a full blown walker right now and its fun to take him outside and watch him explore this HUGE world. When he was itty bitty, it was a little tougher meeting up with the other moms at places since all their kids could actually participate in certain activities that day. This year, the little man will be able to :)
Grow more in my relationship with Him...
Run a half marathon
Yeah I said it. Already signed up for it in March. Ready or not, here I come pavement....and massage therapist
Go back here...
Thursday, December 29, 2011
2012 Goals
Well everyone is doing it, so I might as well too ... the New Years Resolution. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever made one and stuck to it. I think there was 1 year I said "I'm going to run a 10K" and did it and that's about it.
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, December 29, 2011 4 comments Links to this post
The Christmas Goodies
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, December 29, 2011 4 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sometimes and Always
Sometimes: I put up Christmas decorations up BEFORE Thanksgiving because I love Christmas that much and all the hoopla and excitement that goes with it.
Always: I take it all down the day after Christmas because I'm over the clutter and ready to start fresh
Sometimes: I talk a big game about how I'm going to order a huge chili cheese burger with extra chili and a side of chili cheese fries with sour cream because it sounds oh so good.
Always: I think about how fat my ass will get and every bit of cellulite will accumulate almost instantly if I dare to stray from my grilled chicken salads
Sometimes: I get crazy and think how I'd love to be pregnant again and have a itty bitty newborn
Always: Troy smacks me (literally) back into reality and the thought of getting my tubes tied becomes more and more attractive
Sometimes: If I haven't made it to the gym, I'll make a plan to workout with Jillian and the 30 day Shred so I get some sort of exercise in.
Always: After I put Troy to bed, the only weights I'll be curling is the remote or a glass of wine...sometimes both
Posted by californiadreamin at Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6 comments Links to this post
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas in advance lovely readers! I am going to be signing off for a day or two depending on how crazy things get with Christmas and Denver coming up. My MIL sent me a picture of the swing set they have in their backyard for Troy
I'm really hoping and praying just no snow on game day (Jan 1) and we will be able to fly out and in. I normally wouldn't mind, but I really don't want to have to entertain a 11 month old in an airport for any longer than I have to. Plus, I want to see these big anacondas without a long under armor shirt over them
Why yes, those would be my stalker/paparazzi pictures from a game last year with Tim Tebow has my prey haha! Every time we go to a game, I'm always determined to get a players attention and it has happened at all of them (except last year with my big ol preggo belly - discrimination I tell you!). My first game I ever went to was a Oakland Raiders game (back when I was on the dark side and liked them) and I got Randy Moss to look at me and smile! So, even if its a blizzard, I will get SOMEONES attention - preferably Tim Tebows, but lets be real, EVERYONE tries to get his attention I'm sure. I just simply want a high five or a "Hey Karli! You made it, good to see you"
Hope you all have an amazingly great Christmas and New Years Eve
Posted by californiadreamin at Friday, December 23, 2011 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: Christmas
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
WAAAAAH (Said in my Snookie voice)
I wanna go to a Christmas party. Like a "put on your cute little dress, with sexy heels" kinda party. Since I am a stay at work mom, I don't have an "office" to go throughout the year and then later attend a office Christmas party. Nickmeister does however, work for one of the richest companies in the WORLD - hint, it's a fruit. So why oh WHY has there not been a Christmas party planned and prepped for his department? Im reading all your blogs drooling over your adorable and fabulously put together outfits and throwing myself a pity party!
I got these phenomenal Chinese Laundry peep toe heels the other week at Marshalls - mama loves herself a bargain.
Image from here
For how much you ask? $15.00. Normally on sale for $39. So you see, I NEED to wear these somewhere. And lots not forget these babies I got for my birthday
They would go perfect with this dress I wore NYE circa 2007/2008 from Arden B
So ya see - I MUST go to a Christmas party. Tata for now ladies!
Posted by californiadreamin at Tuesday, December 20, 2011 4 comments Links to this post
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Wow - Who Knew?
Who knew that planning someones 1st birthday would be so overwhelming. My criteria - I want it small, intimate, boyish,and cheap. Too much to ask? I don't think so! I've been all over Pinterest this morning getting ideas. Part of me really wants to go with a fun sports theme (hello, we ARE a total football family), but then I saw these other really cute ideas.
One of my girlfriends babies birthday is in January as well and her theme for her daughters bday was "Winter ONEderland". I believe Ashley over at Stealing Baby Kisses had the same thing for her little man. So for that sort of theme I thought I could have a hot chocolate bar with different toppings, some cute wintery goody bags for the very few kids coming and little appetizers (think meatballs in a crock pot, crescent pizza rolls, veggie tray, chips and dip sorta deal). Then I thought how fun it'd be to have cupcakes instead of cake and then I could make Troy a giant special cupcake.
With a sports party I could decorate sporty (obviously), and then do sport food - chips and dip, crescent pizza rolls, nachos, maybe hot dogs with a condiment bar and then I could do football type cupcakes and baseball sort of cupcakes.
Other idea?
I still can't believe little dude is gonna be 1 in 2 short months! On Christmas Eve he will be 11 months old and we have gotten the okay from the doc to start introducing him to cows milk. My debit card will be much happier not buying formula as much. I just bought a big can of formula at Tar-jay and I am hoping it'll be the last one we have to buy *fingers crossed*
Posted by californiadreamin at Saturday, December 17, 2011 8 comments Links to this post
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Say "Hello"...
...to MY gorgeous family. Not that Im biased :) A couple weeks ago, we got our professional fancy shmancy pictures done and here are a few of my favorites as well as the one we chose for our Christmas 2011 card.
Posted by californiadreamin at Thursday, December 15, 2011 6 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Hold the Phone!
Wow wow wow. Pump the brakes Miss Vonn!
I woke up and read on Us Weekly's site that former Olympic skier, Lindsay Vonn is shooting down rumors that she and MY would be if I weren't madly in love- and- married- with a baby husband, are an item. She watched last Sundays game in his families personal box at the Broncos stadium - so jealous girl! I will be keeping my eye on you, woman!
Is it just me or does she look a lot like this hot mess?
Posted by californiadreamin at Wednesday, December 14, 2011 3 comments Links to this post
Monday, December 12, 2011
Glitz Blog Swap!
So check out my Glitzy swag I got from Miss Cathy who resides in a country above us - OH Canada!
Posted by californiadreamin at Monday, December 12, 2011 4 comments Links to this post
Labels: blogs, Christmas, Christmas presents
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Someone is unsure about Mr. Clause
PS. 13 days until Christmas is here. Are YOU ready?! I still have some shopping to do here and there, but nothing too stressful.
Posted by californiadreamin at Sunday, December 11, 2011 3 comments Links to this post


text:
There is a beautiful winter day here. A serenity lies in the air. Something is going on behind the scenes, but I don't now what yet. I just sense that it's g o o d... It's like santa and all the gnomes is working overtime to create an abundance of... good stuff! I spent some time in the forest close to my home today. I was standing there taking some photos and I just felt like looking up in the sky. Over me flew 9 white swans in a line, they didn't make any noise, just some ultra light swooshes from the feathers as they flew. For me that means a lot, not only the beauty of it, but other things. In my world nothing "just happens". Everything is connected in an intelligent and beautiful way. And you are right on the spot where you need to be.
Back to the swans, nine of them. Nine happens to be the number of enclosure, end of cycles (and a great moovie).
Im not surprised. The number nine have been showing up a little too often recently to not have a significant roll in my life where Im at right now. A great, huge process is coming to an end. They were snow white; the color of purity, healing, new beginnings, all things coming together and form something new (if you blend all colors you get white) and swans symbols of being messengers of new insights and creative inspiration. So it looks like I have something nice to expect for the future. ^_^
The theme for today has been my healing crisis. This perticular one is one that I've been struggling with since an early age, and it sits so deep, are so massive that the only way to handle it has been to release some steam every now and then by just go with the flow whenever I felt sad about this thing. It's like the space that is me, my essence is getting tighter. At the same time starting to fill up with things I have defined (dreams, identity, experiences, know how, all the steps behind me on my path..). So the space is getting crowded and there are simply no longer room for old wounds any more. The wounds are being forced out from the center to the surface where I can deal with them and heal. This doesn't only apply to me, this is something typical for the time we're in now. There are some work to be done, but most of the work, luckily, is behind us. The only way out is through... You got to dive deep into it and surf the waves of emotions with a sharp presence (you know, being the "Observer") and things will be getting smoother and smoother whatever there is that you need to face.
If you, at the same time, know within yourself that you are guided, loved, that you are utterly important beyond your wildest dreams, and that your journey is so, so beautiful with all that you are struggling with, then you might even have a pleasant healing crisis. But there are an exit door.. The exit consist of STOP STRUGGLING, but I know that a lot of you guys already know this, which is super-superb!
The best way to stop struggle is to accept things for what they are, which means, to accept the now, loving what Is. Just look at it without judgement, values, beliefs, convictions and that sort of mind-made rubbish. You don't need it anyway. Most of our beliefs and convictions are made during our childhood and the mere part of us are unaware of them, from where we got them and how they prison our daily lives. We deserve to be free as a white swan in the sky; open, true, receptive, connected, giving and receiving.
And now to the tiramisu. This was another eyes-rolled-back-in-his-head-dessert as I tested it on mr J. I remade the first batch and yes! My eyes were behaving the exact same way. It is called "food orgasm" in another word ;) Stairway to heaven, super-safe sex ;D
Have a nice week and see you soon!
Kisses and lots of Love~
And if you didn't pick up your free mini ebook yet, here's the link again.


text:
On Tuesday's edition of "The Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert opened the show with news that a horse co-owned by Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, may compete in an equestrian game at the 2012 Olympics in London.
"It's going to be a long drive to London on top of their station wagon," Colbert joked.
Ann Romney's horse, Rafalca, placed third in the United States Equestrian Federation National Dressage Championships in New Jersey, a qualifying event for the U.S. Dressage Team in the Olympic Games.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
"This is exactly what Mitt needs," Colbert said. "He's had a little trouble relating to Joe Six-Pack [given] the image of Romney as a privileged princling."
Horse dressage — also known as "horse ballet," as Colbert noted — will do just the trick, right?
Check out the full clip below via Comedy Central:
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive


text:
[email protected] 2.0
The Robert Koch Institute maintains a database of cases of notifiable diseases, and confirmation of pathogens, reported under the German Protection against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, IfSG). [email protected] 2.0 is an application that allows retrieval of aggregated data from a limited version of the German notification system database. Queries can be created individually or customized from pre-defined queries to generate tables, charts, and maps according to the user's needs.
The accessible data is updated weekly (generally on Wednesdays) and for some pathogens (§ 7.3 IfSG; e.g. HIV, Syphilis) monthly, respectively.
Date: 01.03.2016


text:
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To schedule an appointment, please use the form below to arrange a meeting time and method convenient for you or call us now at 479-872-5500. We look forward to serving you!


text:
Carpenters (Singles 1969-1981)
QRS Cat #662063
For All We Know
I Believe In You
It's Going To Take Some Time
We've Only Just Begun
Those Good Old Dreams
Rainy Days And Mondays
Goodbye To Love
All You Get From Love Is A Love Song
Top Of The World
Only Yesterday
Ticket To Ride
Hurting Each Other
Yesterday Once More
Touch Me When We're Dancing
Please Mr. Postman
I Need To Be In Love
I Won't Last A Day Without You
(They Long To Be) Close To You
For All We Know - Reprise
What You Receive: The original audio CD plus a 3-digit access code for this CD. This will access and synchronize the corresponding SyncAlong piano files for this CD, which are contained on the CompactFlash card shipped FREE to first-time SyncAlong CD purchasers. Free Updates to these Piano Files will be issued regularly via this website.
Piano Transcribed & Played by: Christopher Sierzchula
Carpenters (Singles 1969-1981)
QRS Cat #662063


text:
These 5pcs ear expander stretcher taper plugs are well designed ear ornaments. Colorful taper shape makes them favorite gear for pioneer of fashion. Wear these acrylic ear expander stretcher taper plugs, be the view of wherever you go.
- 5pcs ear stretcher expander taper plug of 5 different colors
- Double O-rings are hooped around the taper
- The easiest and least painful way to stretch your ears
- Fashion body piercing jewelry
- Material: Acrylic
- Color: Multicolor shown as the picture
- Size: 12G (2mm diameter)
- Length: Approx. 1.38 inch/3.5cm
Package Includes:
- 5 x Ear stretcher expander
Note: Please be reminded that due to lighting effects and monitor's brightness/contrast settings etc, the color tone of the website's photo and the actual item could be slightly different.


text:
Your cart is empty
Only 6 pieces in stock!
Colourful hairclip.Material: AcetateMeasurements: 2x7 cm
Free shipping on purchases above €150
If you are not fully satisfied with your order, don't worry: HVISK offers free returns within 30 days. The return applies from the date of receipt of the shipment. Please note that the product should be returned unused and with the original HVISK labels. Products returned without labels or products that are not in the same condition as they were received, may risk depreciation.As soon as we have processed your return, we will send a confirmation by e-mail, and we will refund the amount to the payment card you paid with. If you wish to exchange a product to another size or product, please place a new order on the webshop.
To create a return, please visit our return portal. In the return portal you will be guided through the return process. You will need access to a printer to complete your return.
To create a return, please download our return form, print it, fill it in and finally, put it inside your return package. Click here to download the return form. You choose the courier and the return fees will not be refunded by HVISK. We recommend that you choose a shipping method with track and trace, so you will be protected in case the package gets lost in transit. You will need access to a printer to complete your return.
HEAD OFFICEHVISKHovedvagtsgade 8, 2nd floor1103 Copenhagen KDenmark
CUSTOMER CAREOpening hours Monday - Friday 12 pm - 4 pm (Central European Time)
Phone: +45 31 10 22 firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Andreas Vesalius, a Flemish anatomist and physician of the 16th century, is considered by many to be the founder of human anatomy. He is known for refuting ideas that Greeks and many other anatomists believed about the human body. He contributed to knowledge about the ocular anatomy even though the tools used in the 16th century were not small enough to dissect minute parts. Vesalius refuted the ideas of Claudius Galen, a prominent Greek medical researcher who only dissected animals and drew conclusions for human anatomy. Galen was not allowed to use human cadavers because dissection of the human body was forbidden, so he was forced to use the carcasses of monkeys and pigs. Vesalius, aware of these animal dissections, decided that all of Galen's work did not apply to the human anatomy.
Vesalius graduated from the University of Padua in 1537 when he was 23 years old and shortly after became the Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at his alma mater. He gained access to human cadavers and started dissecting in the classroom with his students. Vesalius provided students and his colleagues with vital information about the human body and later wrote De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem (On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books.)
De Fabrica shows different muscles and bones of the body by first showing the skeleton and then the peelings of muscles. The muscles are shown as if they are folded away from the body to achieve a clearer understanding of the shapes of muscles. Vesalius labels each part of the body with a letter that corresponds to a table, which gives the detailed name of the part shown. Vesalius had the help of Stephen van Calcar, who was the artist of these bodies. "The bodies are posed in front of what appears to be the countryside around Padua: the first six frontal views [of the bodies] and six back views can be placed together to form a continuous landscape." These landscapes contrast with the lifelessness of the figures, even though their poses are rather dramatic and realistic.
Not only are the figures and landscapes an intriguing sight, the smaller drawings of female organs, veins, nerves, and other crucial elements to the body are meticulously drawn. Vesalius arrived at an interesting conclusion, which today seems like common knowledge. He determined that the brain was the center of the nervous system, not the heart, as previously believed. Vesalius gained much respect and fame for his findings on human anatomy. With his success came plagiarism of his work by fellow anatomists, who poorly copied his drawings and findings.
After the success of his book among the public and his colleagues, Vesalius was appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, as a court physician to the emperor. His lucrative position came with many enemies in the science and religious communities, pushing Vesalius to give up his anatomical studies. This caused Vesalius to burn all of his work, including various unpublished books.
Vesalius was a revolutionary thinker, who influenced modern medicine and proved former scientists wrong. Vesalius was a part of the Renaissance thinkers and remains well-regarded as one of the fathers of modern medicine and thought.
The P.I. Nixon Library owns a first edition copy (1543) of De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem. "Vesalius personally supervised the final stages of printing, resulting in a masterpiece with not a single typographical error." This raises the question: did Vesalius touch this book with his own hands? A man who created a historical and scientific masterpiece that is still remembered to this day, and it lies on the 5th floor of the Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Library. To me, that is truly amazing.
Please drop by to see this beautiful piece of history. The Nixon Library is open Monday – Friday 8AM-5PM. We prefer appointments, but walk-ins are always welcome. Any questions about this post, please send to Mellisa DeThorne at email@example.com or 210-567-2470.
Sarah Borque, Special Collections Intern


text:
Interested in posting news stories?
We're looking to assign some of those who are interested a designated role as a News Reporter here in the forum. You'll get a shiny new badge out of it, and the eternal gratitude and restitude of your fellow forum peers. Well, from me at least.
Unlike a lot of sites that ask for volunteers, there won't be any sort of article/view quota or other such nonsense. We just ask that you post stuff as you see fit, and as long as you post stuff with some regularity you'll be entitled to keep your rank.
Having a fair standard of written English would be great too, but if you aren't too confident on that, I am more than happy to proof read your submissions to a reasonable extent. The key thing here is that you are genuinely interested in the role, really. I used to have this role myself, in the forum's early days, and I'm keen to see it return.
Please let us know in here if you are interested in becoming a forum news reporter, and we'll go from there.


text:
The night Roy Oswalt dominated the Cardinals and took a metaphorical bulldozer to Busch Stadium. Apparently, that night, Astros owner Drayton McLane promised he would, if he beat the Cardinals, buy Oswalt a Caterpillar D6N XL bulldozer. Well, Oswalt, as you might remember, kicked ass that night.
And yesterday, Oswalt got his bulldozer. Not metaphorically this time; like, for real.
"Each year, with our players, I ask them what their goals are," McLane said. "I said, 'Roy, what is one of your goals?' He said, 'To own a bulldozer.' That kind of took me back a little bit. I had never heard that before."
To be fair, Roger Clemens did once request to be called for a "Ditch Witch", though we think he meant a goatee trimmer.
Roy Oswalt, You Do Make Me Laugh [High And Tight]