U.S. Progress Toward IFRS

There has been much discussion about the FASB and the IASB and their joint efforts to create a new set of accounting standards. There is also much debate over which set of accounting standards, U.S. GAAP or IFRS works best for corporations in the U.S. and for financial accounting purposes. The following is a discussion of the pertinent and relevant points made by those who are for IFRS, those who are for GAAP, and those who are for a mixture of the two sets of standards. These arguments all tend to fall under one of the following umbrellas: ignore IFRS, adopt IFRS, converge with IFRS, endorse IFRS, and the new approach of Condorsement. While the process of working towards creating a new set of accounting standards has been going on for years, the support from the public and organizations such as the SEC and the AICPA seems to have subsided as other issues have taken top priority. With a change in administration and the financial crisis that began in 2008, the SEC no longer appears to be a strong supporter of IFRS. There is now more of a discussion of whether or not the U.S. should adopt or converge with IFRS. Since the SEC pushed back its timeline of when IFRS will be converged in the U.S., it leads to the question of whether or not IFRS will be required for U.S. accounting purposes and if so, when

Evidence For p53-Mediated Induction of WRAP53a in Response to DNA Damage

p53 is a powerful tumor suppressor mutated in approximately half of all cancers. Its mRNA is stabilized post-transcriptionally via complementary base pairing with the transcript of its antisense gene, WRAP53α; without this interaction, p53 protein cannot accumulate enough to carry out its many functions related to apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and DNA damage repair. Previous studies have shown that WRAP53α is induced in response to DNA damage. The purpose of this study was to determine which transcription factors might be responsible for this induction. After identifying three putative p53 binding sites on the WRAP53α promoter, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation and site-directed mutagenesis and found that p53 appears to bind several sites on the WRAP53α promoter in a manner dependent upon the type of DNA damage. Similarly, we found that deletion of these sites leads to a loss in induction. Although more experimentation is needed, these findings indicate a regulatory positive feedback loop between WRAP53α and p53, which may be important in mounting a proper DNA damage response. This positive feedback loop may be used in targeted cancer therapy

From 2D Images to 3D virtual reality: a digital application in cultural heritage

The digital documentation and preservation of historic and cultural sites are urgent needs for local governments due to concerns regarding structural damage and deterioration over the long term. With new technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MxR), enabling 3D, immersive, virtual experiences become feasible. In this poster presentation, we outline a novel methodology that allows site owners to capture, digitally preserve, and then view these historic sites in the virtual environment. To this end, 2D photographs of a historic site are first taken and then generated into a 3D point cloud in Agisoft. Thereafter, we investigate an affordable online platform (Sketchfab) to allow users to view the 3D point cloud through a VR headset. We further verify the proposed methodology through a historic arch stone bridge in the US Territory of Guam. The workflow presented in this poster would be an effective way to create a 3D virtual experience of historic structures; and is easy to be followed by historic site owners

Voluntary Involuntary Disclosure.

Prior examination of financial disclosures associates increasing linguistic complexity with poor firm performance, but cannot differentiate between competing signaling and managerial obfuscation hypotheses. In order to assess whether the lexical properties of written language signal discloser quality, I analyze borrower submitted free-form descriptions of anonymous peer-to-peer loans and find that borrower misspellings predict lower funding rates, longer time to fund, higher default rates, and lower yields to lenders. My findings suggest that the lexical properties of writing are a signal of the writer’s quality.PhDBusiness AdministrationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113335/1/rjhucks_1.pd

A Preaching Program To Instill Social Consciousness in African-American Churches in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Problem In Adventist African-American churches in the Dallas/Fort Worth (D/FW), Texas, Metroplex, there has been a dearth of preaching to issues pertaining to social consciousness. This dearth is due to the utilization of preaching models that are incapable of addressing all the needs of African-Americans who are constantly buffeted by the stresses of life. The primary focus of preaching has traditionally been upon longterm salvation and spiritual formation, as opposed to community concerns—especially as they relate to preaching in the African-American communities of the D/FW Metroplex. As a result, many Blacks in this region are not being reached as effectively as they could be via the preaching event. Method A model for preaching to the social consciousness of churches in the D/FW Metroplex was developed which includes a foundation of theological, sociological, demographic, and linguistic studies. Sermons were preached to two church congregations, and a training seminar was presented to a group of pastors who oversee congregations in the D/FW Metroplex. A qualitative study of the responses of the church members was conducted, and the pastors completed a variety of surveys both before and after the implementation of the seminar. Conclusion There is a need for a homiletic approach that strongly and actively incorporates elements of the “now,” while not overlooking the necessity of addressing the “not yet.” Such an approach will give greater success to reaching African-Americans who are resistant to traditional homiletic approaches that involve addressing the spiritual side of African-Americans, while overlooking the wholistic nature of those same African- Americans

“Don’t Get it Twisted!”: James Cone, His Black Theology of Liberation, and What It Means for 21st Century Adventism

Fifty years ago (1970) saw the publication of James Cone’s seminal second book, A Black Theology of Liberation. Though not the first black to question a Eurocentric spin of the biblical record, Cone is viewed by many blacks as the greatest African-American systematic theologian of the 20th century. Largely dismissed as standing to the far left of mainstream Christian thought, Cone’s writings have experienced a renaissance among the casual followers of his theology due to the twin factors of his 2018 death at age 79, and the 50th anniversary of his first book, written in 1969, Black Theology and Black Power. Might there be something that 21st century Adventism can learn from someone that many consider to be a 20th century prophet to Christianity? This paper seeks a better understanding of Cone’s views on the content of theology and the sources and norms of Black Theology, and how such a theological interpretation could impact the Adventist Church and society

Are we There Yet? What Air Travel Teaches Us about Sermon Appeals

Preaching a sermon resembles air travel in several ways, with each element of the flying experience finding a counterpart in the sermon—from arriving at the airport for the flight to departing the last airport after finally arriving

Hydraulic gradient and pressure drop on a perforated plate

Thesis (M.S.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 1951.Bibliography: leaf 71.by Robert T. Hucks, Jr. and William P. Thomson.M.S