Are The Ethics of Business a Concern for The Auditing Function

Question: Are the ethics of business a concern for the auditing function?Discuss the ethical requirements relating to the audit of a financial report as detailedwithin the current set of auditing standards.Define Audit quality and detail steps on how increasing audit quality can address the audit expectation gap.Management has responsibility for prep ing the financial statements albeit part of the auditors role is to ensure that they comply with generally acceptable accounting principles (GAAP). In light of the following pictures discuss GAAP and how these principles can and are audited. Answer: Role of ethics in the function of audit The auditors and the professional accountants have to follow the sound code of ethics that have been established internationally by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants or IESBA. The conceptual framework of an audit is set on the following: Integrity Objectivity Professional competence Due care Confidentiality Professional behaviour The code of ethics illustrates as to what is expected in the profession form the professionals. The existence of awareness sis just not enough. The audit firms and the setter of the standards are engaged continuously so as to expand the knowledge base of the professional staff.Accounting and auditing are the 2 most complex and technical processes. When compared with ethics, it is considered to be the simplest form. The main point in ethics is knowing what is required to be done and knowing how to needs to be done. For ethics to be persistent, there must be an existence of the following traits: Truthfulness Honesty Care Loyalty Integrity There is a need to attract decent people into the professional so the following of the ethics could be made sure of.The Accountants come across the times when face the conflicts of upholding the values that are central to their profession and demands that exits in this world. There are some competing demands that speaks of the profession in contrast to having a simple job or performing a function. The professional are expected to exercise their judgement and experience that they have gathered during their tenure to perform their roles so that when the ways and the road gets challenging, they do not resort to the ways that could lose their judgement and the faith of the public. This will only bring disrepute to the profession. Objectivity Professional competence Due care Confidentiality Professional behaviour Integrity So that the faith in the profession is not lost. There are times when an auditor may be put under the pressure and face the difficult situations. These challenges may go on to revolve around the ethics, commercial pressures and the burden of regulation. Code of ethics in auditing The code of ethics is applicable on both the entities as well as on the individuals that perform the function of auditing.In order to ensure that the requirements of the ethical standards are followed, there is an independent standard setting body that serves the public by setting the robust and internationally appropriate standards of the ethics and includes the independence of the auditor for the professional accountants worldwide. This is also known by the name of the Ethics board, The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. The code of ethics revolve around the following principles: Integrity: this means that the auditors must ensure a degree of trust and provide basis for their reliance on their judgement. The auditors are expected to be straight forward, honest and fair in all their professional commitments. Any person who acts with honesty and truthfulness and his actions are not influenced by anyone or by any act of the others, are described as having an integrity. Objectivity: this means that the auditors are required to exercise their highest level of degree, professional objectivity while gathering, communicating the desired information about the activity or the processes that are being examined. The auditors are required to make a balanced assessment of all the relevant circumstances that are not influenced by their own interests or other while framing their judgements. Objectivity means as to not allowing the bias, conflict of interest and not coming under the undue influence of the others. The main idea behind this is the fact that when a person is influenced by the others, then he may end up in making wrong judgements. Confidentiality: the auditors have to respect the value and must make sure that no piece of information is disclosed that they have gathered during their period of employment. They must adhere to this but an exception to this is when they are required to divulge the details in order to comply with the legal obligation. This means that no information must be disclosed unless and until it is either permitted by the entity, required by law or is permitted or is required by the professional right. Competency: they are required to apply their knowledge, skills and experience while dealing with their assignment. Adequate professional competence and due care must be exercised so that the high level of expertise could be offered to the client. And to make sure that the entity receives the services of the competent professional services that are in line and in conformity with the latest developments in the practice and the legislations and techniques. They must act due diligently and work in accordance with the technical aspects and the professional standards. As per the Auditing standard 102, Compliance with Ethical Requirements when Performing Audits, Reviews and Other Assurance Engagements too, the following are the fundamental principles of the professional ethics and the whole idea of professional ethics revolve around the same: Objectivity Professional competence Due care Confidentiality Professional behaviour Integrity The auditor independence is defined as the following of the integrity and an objective approach in the process of audit. Definition of audit quality The quality of an audit is defined as the meeting of the expectation of the investors of producing an independent and reliable audits and communicate robust communications on: Financial statements and this includes the related disclosures Assurances about the internal controls Warnings on the going concerns. The expectation gap is defined as the difference that exists between the levels of the performance that is expected as has been visioned by the independent accountant and by the users of the financial statements.The expectation is said to have the following components:Reasonableness gap: this is the gap between to what the society expects the auditors to achieve and what the auditors reasonably expect the auditors to accomplishPerformance gap: this is the gap that exists between what the society reasonably expects the auditors to accomplish and what the auditors perceive to achieve. An audit committee will go on play a very important role when helping the management so as to align the management and the board when it comes to mitigating the risks that are really important.This role has also gained momentum because some of the stakeholders of the company have elevated the expectations of the board so as to reduce or eliminate the risks that are most critical, fraud.The establishment of the audit committee is very important and will come into play when the management will fail to respond to the recommendations of the audit. The following are the main reasons behind the failure of the auditor to identify the red flags: Over reliance of the auditor on the representations made by the client Lack of awareness and recognition on the conditions that are observable that indicates the fraud Lack of experience Existence of the personal relationships with the clients Lack of the desire to know The failure to brainstorm the potential fraud schemes and the scenarios. The gap is expectation is usually driven by the variables such as the ability of the auditor to detect fraud and the ability of the efforts made by the auditor to detect frauds. An auditor does have the required skills and the experience that could help him in the detection of the fraud but he prefers to undertake the shortcuts in order to detect the fraud.Or in other cases, the auditor may have an access to the variety of the techniques that could help him in the uncovering of the red flags but he is unable to do so since he may lack the relevant experience.In such cases, the following are the ways that could help him in covering the expectation gap: Training and awareness Brainstorming Interviewing skills Discussing the various points with the management Meaning of GAAP and audit practices that could be followed in order to ensure the truthfulness of the management GAAP is the set of the broad and the specific guidelines that the companies must follow when the information has to be measured and reported in the financial statements and the related notes.It is the duty of the management to prepare the financial statements and it is the duty of the auditor to assess that the management has prepared the financial statements with the utmost reliability.SOX requires that the management must give in writing that they have prepared the financial statements.The following are few of the areas that could be examined: Existence of the accounts and the information: this could include the information like as to what is included in the accounts and whether inventory exists in all the locations where the amounts have been indicated. Whether the data is complete: it must be ascertained whether all the transactions have been recorded during the year. For example, whether all the legal expense that have been incurred have been duly recorded in the financial statements or has the firm forgotten to take the same into account. Value that the company owns: what is the value of the assets and the liabilities that the company owns and owes to the outsiders? In order to illustrate this, the value of the real estate, buildings, loans that the company owns and owes to the outsiders. The rights and the obligations of the company: the rights and the obligations of the company. This could include the title, the obligations that are owed to the outsiders at any given point of time. There are sometimes legal rights such as the rights of the leased assets that are required to be capitalised in the books of accounts of the lessee. This takes place even when the legal tile remains with the lessor. Disclosure of the information: the balances in the books of accounts must not only be adequately measured but must be described and disclosed. For example, the trade receivables, the advances that are given to the employees, the loans that are given to them and the loans that are extended to the related parties. But the presentation of the individual characteristics of the transactions on the business are very different.The audit procedures that are usually followed by the management involve the testing of the system, the testing of the transactions, the reviewing of the confirmation, the observing of the physical inventory, making the inquiries as and when the questions arises. The audit report hen produced will indicate as to whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the GAAP and whether they represent the true and a fair financial position of the company or not. In order to indicate the fairness of the financial statements, the auditors may include the qualified or a modified opinion that would state the aspects of the report when they are different from the requirements of GAAP. References Comlaw.gov.au, (2015). ASA 102 - Compliance with Ethical Requirements when Performing Audits, Reviews and Other Assurance Engagements - October 2009. Highered.mheducation.com, (2015). The Development of Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards. Icaew.com, (2015). Auditor independence | Ethics | Technical | ICAEW. Ifac.org, (2015). IESBA | International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants Ifac.org, (2015). Roles and Importance of Professional Accountants in Business Nysscpa.org, (2015). Reducing the Expectation Gap. Oag-bvg.gc.ca, (2012). 1031 Ethical Requirements Relating to an Assurance Engagement. Oapen.org, (2015). Professional ethics. pcaobus.org, (2015). DISCUSSION AUDIT QUALITY INDICATORS. Researchgate.net, (2015). Research Gate. www.pli.edu, (2015). GAAP. www.professionsforgood.com, (2015). Ethics, Trust and Auditing Conceptualizing a Tripartite Framework. www.pwc.com, (2015). How to close the expectation gap related to fraud prevention? Try enhancing the IA brand.

Interpreting Essay Samples

Interpreting Essay SamplesAn interpretive essay sample is just one of the ways that you can improve your writing skills. It should not be the only one of course, because there are many things you should learn as well as several that you cannot learn in school. You need to develop the other aspects of your skills as well and this is one way of doing so.Interpretation is an interpretive art form. This means that you are attempting to describe the results of a process in words. This will come about through interpretation and learning how to use what you have learned to make you more effective in your career.You can choose to research, to look at examples, to look at both sides of a story or to look at the best information that you have accumulated over time and form it into a clear picture of what really happened. There are many ways that you can study. You may go to a library and learn from a few books on the subject. You may look for one in particular and come across it and reread tha t book.Research in itself requires researching and will take you to many places. You may find the details of a story you want to write about, or you may look at a documentary to learn more about what you need to know to help you to write about that subject. In order to do this effectively, you must know how to look at the research and interpret it.When writing your interpretive essay sample, you should make use of strong body language, relevant vocabulary and relevant facts. You will also have to deal with specific situations as they present themselves. If you want to know what could have happened in a certain situation, you will have to make use of your knowledge to understand the situation.To help you do this effectively, you can choose to research what happened. Read a book on the subject. Look at a documentary about the subject to find out what really happened.Make use of the interpretive essay sample as a way of studying. When you do this, you will develop your own unique skill set will be different from that of other writers. When you take this approach, you will not be limited to a certain type of writing that other writers like you might take.

Jesus had a special mission to the marginalised Essay Example

Jesus had a special mission to the marginalised Essay Jesus had a special mission to the marginalised- explain this using examples from the gospel, and say why this provoked a hostile reaction from some Jews.A marginalised person is someone who for whatever reason is on the edge of society.Jesus always had a special place in the hearts of all the marginalised people he came in contact with. Jesus role was always clear. He treated each and every one of the marginalised as he would have liked to have been treated himself.In Jesus time a lot of people were marginalised just like in todays society, for exampleLepers were marginalised they were considered outcasts in their community because of their dreaded skin disease. Sickness was often seen as punishment from God for sin.Tax collectors were marginalised they were considered outcasts in their own community because they often cheated people into believing they had to pay more money for tax. People do not like being cheated out of hard earned money and thats why people rarely socialised w ith these tax collectors.Samaritans were marginalised- they were seen as outcasts in their own community because they had married pagan invaders, and they had built their own Temple on Mount Gerezim.An example of how Jesus treated the marginalised is in the story (Luke 5: 12-14) Jesus heals a leper Jesus was in a town were there was a man with a dreaded skin disease. When the man saw Jesus he threw himself down at Jesus feet and begged Sir if you want to u can make me clean Jesus replied I do want to, be clean- the disease left the man and Jesus said Dont tell anyoneAnother example Jesus set for us in our treatment of the marginalised is (Luke 18: 35-53) Jesus heals a Blind Beggar who has faith- A blind man heard that Jesus was passing and he cried out to Jesus Jesus son of David! Take pity on me, he was told to keep quiet by the crowd, but he shouted even louder. Jesus heard his cry and said what do you want me to do for you? he said I want to see again Jesus replied then see, y our faith has made you well he could see again, and followed Jesus giving thanks to God.The Jews would never associate with these people and when they saw that a man named the Messiah did this puzzled and annoyed them greately.As these two examples show Jesus treated each and every marginalised person that he came in contact with a lot of respect and love. We should try to follow this example that Jesus has set for us all.Jesus attitude through out his life often provoked a hostile reaction from some Jews, as he would often challenge their laws and way of life. He condemned their behaviour towards one another and this displeased them greatly. They felt Jesus was a threat to their good name, and they set about changing this. An example of how Jesus would anger them is (Luke 14: 1-24) Jesus heals a sick man on the Sabbath Jesus was at a leading Pharisees house and people were watching him closely. A man whose legs and arms were swollen came to Jesus begging to get healed. So Jesus sa id to the Pharisee Does our law allow healing on the Sabbath or not? the Pharisee could not answer Jesus then healed the man and sent him on.The Pharisees were looking at Jesus and he said to them if anyone of you had a son or ox fall into the well on the Sabbath would you not pull him out at once? they were unable to answer this question. Jesus often put the Pharisees in positions like this, and over time they got so outraged that they plotted to get Jesus crucified. The Pharisees and other religious leaders of this time were not as good hearted as Jesus, and they couldnt compete with him. They accused him of blasphemy and this is why he outraged them and caused a hostile reaction.

12 requisitos para patrocinio de visa niñera para EE.UU

12 requisitos para patrocinio de visa nià ±era para EE.UU Trabajar como nià ±era (au pair) en Estados Unidos requiere seguir unas directrices estrictas establecidas por el gobierno para sacar la visa J-1 para ese programa especà ­fico. Adems, las agencias autorizadas para contratar extranjeros para esa posicià ³n pueden establecer sus propias preferencias. En este artà ­culo se informa sobre los requisitos legales y tambià ©n sobre los que habitualmente piden las agencias autorizadas para contratar. Adems, se mencionan otras programas alternativos pensados para jà ³venes extranjeros que quieren pasar una temporada corta en Estados Unidos aprendiendo inglà ©s y disfrutando la experiencia americana. Puntos clave La visa para nià ±eras extranjeras es la J-1, programa de au-pairSolamente agencias autorizadas por el gobierno de EE.UU. pueden patrocinar la visaAunque se habla de nià ±era, lo cierto es que se puede ser mujer o varà ³nEl tiempo mà ­nimo de estancia en EE.UU. es de un aà ±o y el mximo de 2. 8 requisitos legales de visa J-1 para trabajar de nià ±era en EE.UU. Para poder aplicar con à ©xito para una visa J-1 en el programa especà ­fico para nià ±eras es obligatorio cumplir con requisitos de edad, estudios y experiencia. Los principales son los ocho siguientes: Tener entre 18 y 26 aà ±os de edad, gozar de buena salud, no tener rà ©cord criminal y haber completado, como mà ­nimo, los estudios de secundaria. Adems, es necesario poder demostrar experiencia de al menos 200 horas de trabajo cuidando nià ±os. La manera de probarlo admite muchas variantes, desde haber trabajado en una escuela o guarderà ­a a tener muchos hermanos pequeà ±os o participar como voluntario en campamentos infantiles, escuelas dominicales, etc. Tambià ©n se exige no haber estado previamente en Estados Unidos como au pair, es decir, nià ±era. Asimismo, es necesario entender y hablar, como mà ­nimo, un inglà ©s de nivel intermedio. Finalmente, las reglas de esta visa exige a los candidatos comprometerse a vivir con una familia estadounidense un mà ­nimo de un aà ±o. Este periodo se puede extender por tres, seis o doce meses. 4 requisitos de las agencias para patrocinar la visa de nià ±era Estos requisitos son obligatorios, desde un punto de vista legal, pero lo cierto es que para las agencias es mucho ms fcil colocar en una familia a una au pair que los reà ºna y, por lo tanto, suelen pedirlos. Entre los ms frecuentes destacan los siguientes: En primer lugar, ser mujer. Es un hecho, las familias prefieren a una muchacha antes que a un varà ³n para trabajar en sus casas cuidando de los nià ±os. En segundo lugar, tener licencia de manejar. Hay que tener en cuenta que en muchà ­simos lugares de Estados Unidos el transporte pà ºblico puede ser inexistente y que las distancias son enormes. Facilita mucho la contratacià ³n el saber que una persona sabe manejar. En tercer lugar, ser flexible en cuanto al rea geogrfica en la que se quiere vivir y tambià ©n en relacià ³n al nà ºmero de hijos que debe tener la familia de acogida. Una au pair que quiera ser contratada en zonas muy populares como California o Nueva York y en casas con un sà ³lo menor puede tener ms dificultades a la hora de encontrar una familia. Y, en cuarto lugar, no fumar. Estos son los Estados Unidos de Amà ©rica. Va a ser realmente difà ­cil y tomar su tiempo antes de que se encuentre a una familia dispuesta a contratar a una nià ±era fumadora. A tener muy en cuenta para evitar problemas migratorios Para los extranjeros sin papeles para trabajar en EE.UU. sà ³lo es posible pasar una temporada como au pair en Estados Unidos participando en el programa a travà ©s de agencias autorizadas por el gobierno. Si hay una familia dispuesta a patrocinar a una extranjera como nià ±era, la familia deber hablar con una agencia autorizada para patrocinar visas J-1 de au-pair y el papeleo debe hacerse a travà ©s de ellas. En otras palabras, una familia estadounidense no puede patrocinar directamente una visa J-1 de esta categorà ­a. Para asegurarse de que se trata con una agencia legà ­tima y que no se est ante un caso de fraude, se recomienda verificar que est incluida en el listado de la pgina oficial del Departamento de Estado para estos efectos. Si es una agencia ubicada en fuera de los Estados Unidos, verificar para quà © agencia autorizada en Estados Unidos est trabajando. Las au pairs recibirn una visa J, que son de intercambio. Debern respetar sus caracterà ­sticas generales que aplican a todos los programas incluidos en esa categorà ­a de visa.   Adems, para recibir la visa no es suficiente con tener en mano la oferta de la familia y la intervencià ³n de la agencia autorizada. Si se es inelegible o inadmisible para recibir la visa, la peticià ³n de esta ser negada por el oficial consular. Por à ºltimo, se recomienda encarecidamente no mentir sobre los conocimientos de inglà ©s. En el momento de la entrevista en la Embajada o consulado se determinar si realmente se tiene el nivel de inglà ©s requerido. Si no se tiene, la visa ser denegada, el dinero de la aplicacià ³n no se regresa y la mentira quedar en el rà ©cord de la solicitante para las autoridades consulares y migratorias de Estados Unidos. Opciones a la visa de nià ±era Los jà ³venes de otros paà ­ses que desean pasar una temporada en Estados Unidos trabajando y aprendiendo inglà ©s pueden optar a distintos tipos de programas dentro de la categorà ­a de visas J-1, por ejemplo: Prcticas o pasantà ­as en una ONG.Estudiante de high school durante un aà ±o acadà ©mico completoPrcticas profesionalesVisa para trabajar y viajar en veranoTrabajo en un Summer Camp  como staff de un campamento de verano. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

American Music and Protest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Music and Protest - Essay Example In essence, artists such as Haggard, Sandler, Dylan and Lennon used music to express what they were going through as a reaction to what they saw their society go through. Music became a medium of expression for all manner of thought and emotions to go beyond the common feelings of love and sorrow towards more complex emotional states such as regretting the actions of a nation or taking the death of innocents in stride. As discussed by (Rodnitzky,1999, Pg. 56), â€Å"Protest music began as a merger of topical political songs and union songs†. Protest music certainly did not become a mainstream genre of music but there were several notable songs which can be discussed with regard to how some musicians saw war protestors and how they reacted to the idea of war. With war, comes support for the war or protests against the war and it is about these very war protestors that Merl Haggard’s Okie from Muskogee has been performed. Haggard seems to have no patience with the individuals who were protesting against the war in Vietnam since the first line of the song makes it clear that people in Muskogee don’t smoke Marijuana. Similarly, Haggard mentions that the taking of LSD and burning draft cards is only an activity such protesters would engage in. The image of the war protester given by Haggard is a person who is promiscuous, and behaves as the hippies do in San Francisco. In comparison Haggard takes the city of Muskogee in Oklahoma to be a city where people remain patriotic even if they do not believe in the war. They may protest, but they are not against American cultural or social values as noted in the song, â€Å"We dont smoke marijuana in Muskogee;/ And we dont take our trips on LSD. (Haggard, 1969, Pg. 1)†. In fact, even famous protest song writers recognize that by leading people to do something, the performers may actually become what they hate. As discussed by Peddie (2006), remaining true to the ideals was difficult for Dylan himself who

WITH REFERENCE TO NATIONAL ASTHMA GUIDELINES, DISCUSS THE IMMEDIATE Essay

WITH REFERENCE TO NATIONAL ASTHMA GUIDELINES, DISCUSS THE IMMEDIATE TRETAMENT OPTIONS AND LONGER TERM ISSUES FOR A 15 YEAR OLD FEMALE PRESENTING WITH AN ACUTE A - Essay Example Once the wheezing is controlled and the patient is brought home from the hospital, she must have follow up visits on a regular basis in order to minotor her condition. Since Jane has been admitted on an emergency basis with severe difficulty in breathing, the first step is to dilate the airways. The lack of oxygen can be corrected through the use of high concentrations of inspired oxygen (40-60%) using a high flow mask such as the Hudson mask(BTS:6.3.1). ABG and PEF levels must be maintained at above 92% and 50% respectively. If PEF levels are not rising fast enough, continuous nebulisation may also be considered using B2 agonists (BTS:6.3.2). To provide instant relief in breathing the use of ipratropium in association with salbutamol or terbutaline may also be considered. This helps to release blocked airways and bring the asthma attack under control(Plotnick and Duchrame 2003). The combination of ipratropium with salbutamol or tetrabuline works faster since they go straight to the lungs (National Institute 2001:1-13). Once Jane is stabilized and out of the hospital, there is no need to continue the use of ipratropium, since it will not be beneficial. (Stoodley et al 1999:8-18). The main aim of the long term treatment is to bring some measure of control over the wheezing attacks, so that Jane can sleep well at night and engage in moderate levels of activity without getting an attack. Since anxiety also brings about an attack, the aim of long term treatment must be to provide a supportive psychological environment for Jane, so that she does not get easily stressed. Jane must be reassured that her condition is curable, even though she has had it for so long. Because of her long history with asthma, Jane is likely to consider herself as a sick child who cannot play or be active. But she must first be counseled that she can also lead a fairly normal life, with a proper regimen of

The History Of The Liberal Neutrality Politics Essay

The History Of The Liberal Neutrality Politics Essay The question is should all government decisions be made on a neutral basis or is there a point where the government should be able to make a decision that they believe if for the best interest of the individual? This issue is discussed by multiple authors and looked at from different angles. John Stuart Mill discusses his opinion of government authority as it affects an individuals interests in his essay On Liberty. Joseph L. Sax discusses his opinion of government authority as it affects the national parks and individuals different interests within the parks in his book Mountains without Handrails. Both Mill and Sax look at government involvement and decision making in two different ways. One as it applies directly to any interest of an individual and the other as it applies only to an individuals interests in a specific area. The main topic of Mills essay is civil or social liberty. He defines social liberty as the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual (Mill, 5). Social liberty allows an individual to govern themselves to a certain point. This point is where they potentially could cause harm to others. Once an individual has reached this point, society or the government can step in to prevent harm of another person. Society is neutral in an individuals interests until this point has been reached and they have the authority to interfere with an individuals interest if they deem it harmful to others. This is the idea of the harm principle. Mill says the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others (Mill, 14). In one sense social liberty follows the idea of liberal neutrality but it has a loop hole that allows for some bias decision making by society to protect others. Where society does interfere with an individuals interest it is doing so for the best interest of the rest of society and preventing harm to them. The negative effect of interfering with a single individuals interests is outweighed by protecting one or more individuals from harm that is not necessary for them to endure. All decisions come down to choosing between protecting the interests of an individual or society as a whole. One topic that Mill discusses is the struggle between liberty and authority. Liberty was put in place as means of protection for people from their political rulers. At the time people were born into power and liberty was kind of like a clause if the ruler became a tyrant. Authority is needed to prevent individuals from taking actions that would be morally wrong (causing harm to others). Society then changed and all rulers were no longer born into power, they were chosen to represent the people. The representatives of the people were to represent the best interests of the individuals and this would eliminate the need for some forms of liberty and authority since the people would be need to be protected from their own will. One thing that was over looked was the fact that a single group of representatives cannot accurately represent the entire population, they can only represent the majority and the majority is made up of the individuals who are active in getting their voice heard and does not necessarily represent the entire population. This is the idea of tyranny of the majority. Tyranny of the majority occurs when the majoritys interests are placed above the minoritys interests and causes minorities to be discouraged in getting their opinions heard. This brings society back to the same struggle of liberty and authority and where to draw the line between the two. Individuals want to have the power to so as they please but there should be some guide lines or limits to this power. Mill does not explicitly state what all of these guidelines or limits should be with the exception of causing harm to others. Are more guidelines really needed than that? What is society as a whole just decided to do away with rules, regulations and all types of society authority with the exceptions of something that enforced not doing harm to others and just let an individual decide how they wanted to live their life? This is what libertarians advocate for, liberal neutrality. Having a society with no rules or regulations with only a few minor exceptions, would allow for an individual to focus on their interests and preferences and allow them to achieve their version of the good life since there would be not interferences from society. Having liberties can produce a positive effect in individuals if they are given the opportunity to effectively utilize their liberties. Although Mills essay was published in 1859, the ideas he presents are still currently being discusses such as in Mark Sagoffs Can Environmentalists be Liberals?, Cary Coglianeses Implications of Liberal Neutrality for Environmental Policy and Andrew Vincents Liberalism and the Environment. There is no wrong answer to the struggle between liberty and authority and there is a possibility of multiple right answers for this struggle. Mill discusses liberty in a broad sense, and does not apply it to a specific area of interest but to all areas of interest to an individual. Sax discusses liberty and authority as it directly affects national parks and the individuals who benefit from them. He tries to answer or at least present the different sides of answering the question should the national parks basically be treated as recreational commodities, responding to the demand for development and urban comforts that visitors conventionally bring to them or should they be reserves as temples of nature worship admitting only the faithful? (Sax, 2) Preservationists represent one side of this issue and want national parks to remain undisturbed by human activities. The preference for undisturbed nature and recreation in nature is merely just a matter of taste specific to each individual and no policy will be able to please all parties. One individuals interest and preference for a national park may contradict another individuals interests and preferences, which make it difficult for society to remain neutral n its decision making process. National parks are owned by the public and consist of remote and scenic land in large quantities. Parks were first preserved for the scenery they provided so the average citizen would be able to enjoy them. It was though that the more people who came to the national parks the more support there would be for the future preservation of other parks. People wanted different things from the parks though; some wanted them for sites for picnics and resorts while others wanted them preserved as museums. The parks could potentially provide engagement with nature which provides an opportunity for detachment from the submissiveness, conformity and mass behavior that dogs us in our daily lives; it offers a chance to express distinctiveness and to explore out deeper longings (Sax, 42). The nature within the park has the ability to stimulate reflectiveness and self-understanding. It provides a model of continuity, stability and sustenance, adaption, sustained productivity, diversity and evolutiona ry change. Humans can learn a lot by observing nature and applying it to their lives. If this nature is disturbed then these revelations cannot be observed and applies to other aspects of daily life. The problems of recreation can cause many conflicts in national parks. Recreation can be defined in different ways depending on the individual and can vary from hiking to snowmobiling and from five stat resorts to building your own lean to. A compromise has to be made between the many types of recreation. One possible compromise is to try fully to serve the quantitative demand for conventional recreation and to provide opportunities for all of the different kinds of activities the public wants, but not to assure those opportunities in locations that have a special value for reflective recreation (Sax, 63). There is a demand for different types of recreation including intensive-use activities. A balance has to be determined on what types of recreation can take place where and to what extent do they damage the environment and prevent future usage. Sax described how he believes the national park ought to be. One important note that he makes is to discourage motorized travel within the national parks. He also mentions decreasing crowds and allowing visitors the opportunity to experience the park at their own pace. The problem with some of the ideas that Sax proposes is that there is no easy way to determine how to effectively please each individuals wants from the park. The park service is in a dilemma between too many people wanting to utilize the park and not enough park resources to go around and conflicting interests between multiple parties. Sax recommends dealing with this dilemma by separating the choices that have to be made from each other. This will allow clarity about each decision that is made and how it will impact future decisions made. All decisions made have to bear in mind that the park belongs to all individuals but some forms of activities that consume a lot of the resources for everyone should be avoided so m ore individuals can potential benefit. The parks are there to be utilized by the individuals but individuals attitudes contribute to decisions made directly affect the potential future of the park. A certain level of tolerance is required for all parties to allow for the most effective use of the park and its resources. In Saxs book he looks at the governments role in the preservation of the national parks. The government has the authority to put in place rules and regulations that would limit the activities allowed within the parks. This would interfere with an individuals liberties to make their own decisions to pursue their individual interests and preferences. Saxs opinion is to limit an individuals liberties within national parks and to allow for the government to have the authority to control what happens within the parks. Sax and Mill seem to stand on different sides of liberal neutrality. Mill agrees with liberal neutrality with the exception of causing harm to another individual. Sax disagrees with liberal neutrality and thinks that the government should enforce rules and regulations for the individuals within national parks even if they interfere with an individuals liberties and their versions of the good life. Although Sax is talking about a specific situation were liberty and authority conflict, it can be assumed that Mills argument applies to all aspects of an individuals life including national parks. Assuming both Mill and Sax are focused on national parks and an individuals liberties within the park they are really not all that different. Mill and Sax both want individuals to be able to pursue their interests and preferences within national parks. Mill allows for these interests and preferences to be followed until they will cause direct harm to another individual. Sax allows for these interests and preferences to be followed until they will cause direst harm to the environment and potentially cause indirect harm to other individuals trying to utilize the national parks resources. Sax allows an individual to govern themselves to a certain point and his point is where an individuals actions will potentially cause harm to the environment. Causing harm to the environment will limit the availability of current and future park resources for other individuals to enjoy and could harm them and not allow them to pursue their interest and preferences within the national park. In this sense preservationists and environmentalists are liberals and allow people to do as they please without interference form society until they reach the point of harm. The idea of liberal neutrality centers around being open to different individuals version of the good life and being neutral in the decision making process that will affect an individuals ability to achieve their version of the good life. Mills essay he defines liberty and discusses limiting the authority society has over the individual/ Saxs book focuses more on allowing society to have the authority to interfere with individuals liberties as they pertain to the national parks. Both Mill and Sax present different points about the struggle between liberty and authority, they both agree on the authority to interfere with an individual if they are going to cause harm to something else. Mills version of harm focuses on harm to other individuals while Saxs versions of harm focuses on harm to the environment which is a public good and could cause harm to others if not looked out for.