Accounting Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting Concepts - Essay Example Under the money measurement concept, these items can be recorded as a land worth $100,000, a building (containing 10 rooms and conference hall) worth $500,000, 250 chairs at $50 each, and so on The money measurement concept assumes that money is a stable unit of measurement and therefore the value of money does not change with time. Going concern concept The going concern concept implies that accounting transactions are recorded keeping the view that the business will exist for a long period of time. More precisely, a business enterprise is considered to be a going concern but not a liquidated one. As per the going concern concept, asset valuation is done at historical cost or replacement cost. The going concern concept is a fundamental principle to the preparation of financial statements (Rajasekaran 2011, p.18). In case of short term business projects like building construction, the business comes to an end once the construction of the particular building is completed. In contrast, some business entities that operate in the automobile or consumable goods industry exist for a long period and they will continue their business activities in the foreseeable future. According to this concept, business enterprises treat prepaid expenses as assets in their balance sheets even though they are not saleable practically. Dual aspect concept Dual aspect concept is one of the fundamental accounting concepts and assumes that every transaction has a two-fold aspect – giving certain benefits and receiving certain benefits. The underlying principle of the double entry system is that every debit has an equal and corresponding amount of credit (Johnston & Johnston 2006, p.54). From the accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities+Capital), it is... The object evidence concept says that all accounting activities must be objective evidence based. In other words, there should be adequate verifiable documents to support the reliability of every transaction recorded in the books of accounts. This is the very essential for auditors to verify the reliability of accounts prepared. It is to be noted that the verifiable evidences must be objective but not subjective. For instance, a business entity has to keep receipts for the building rent paid. From the above discussion, it is clear that all the ten accounting concepts explained are greatly beneficial for accountants to prepare universally comparable, understandable, reliable, and relevant set of accounts. These accounting concepts give a standard structure to books of accounts prepared globally. â€Å"The accrual concept is an accounting system which recognises revenues and expenses as they are earned or incurred, respectively, without regard to the date of receipt or payment†. In simpler words, revenue is recorded in the books of accounts on its realisation but not its actual receipt. In the same way, expenses have to be recognised when they are incurred but not when the payment is made actually. To illustrate, a business unit paid $5,000 in rent for the building and machinery a year whereas it had owed only $4,500 in rent. That means the company prepaid $500 in rent. At the end of the accounting period, the prepaid rent is recorded on the asset side of the balance sheet.

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors Assignment

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors - Assignment Example CMS aids organizations in managing content deployed through the internet. Organizations use web CMS in integrating the presence of their web with their other operations (Deo, 2010). This ensures that the content is current, relevant and refreshed. CMS also allows business to gain greater return and extract value from web channel, web communication and web marketing endeavors (Deo, 2010). This paper seeks to identify three CMS vendors, and compare and contrast their purchase and maintenance cost. This paper will identify three Course Management Systems Vendors; compare and contrast the functions and explain how they meet the needs and expectation of users. The first CMS vendor is the Database Vendors. This vendor include dynamic websites in which content is stored and separated from other particulars like format, style, supporting data and access rights. For example the Oracle which has had their own CMS offerings developed. This type of CMS vendor is expensive compared to the others if both maintenance and purchase. Database Vendors have understated and significant misalignment consumer group who has restricted their success in the product class (Deo, 2010). The customer model also has direct access to competent trained IT professionals who directly communicate within the organization to content producers. The second CMS vendor is the Internet Service Provider; this includes website hosting and registration of commodity business with competent and intense price which also allows switching costs. Businesses using this vendor are mainly interested in means of adding value to customers and help in what may avoid switching between vendors. This CMS vendor delivers products of content management and site building and delivery of site hosting, domain registration and site development. The products of this vendor are however conceived poorly because they are not the major game of the operation. Purchase and maintenance costs are however relatively low compared to Data base Vendors (Deo, 2010). The third CMS vendor is the Enterprise CMS Majors. This includes vendors like Vignette and EMC Documentation which produces document management among other manipulation tools and content aggregation. This vendor is used in managing non-web content. The vendor suits organizations moving documents for collaborative authoring within the organization for carefully publishing and version control (Deo, 2010). The vendor then allows content to be expanded and published in the internet. However, the application’s development path makes them completely proprietary and complicated. Installation of Enterprise CMS Major requires change management, extended timeline, financial expense, detailed training, and a committed organization in order to ensure success. This makes the cost of purchase and maintenance relatively high compared to the other types of vendors (Deo, 2010). Generally, all the three discussed CMSs are effective and meet the needs of users in vario us ways. The users benefit from these three CMSs due to their features such as: production of web pages (Chaudhari, 2009). They produce, edit and deploy web pages; systemization of web pages; turns production and web management into a system of activities delivering efficiency; simplification of website production activities. They internalize technical, communication and design complexity in the production of websites; user management as they manage users at different levels. It regulates who sees what on the site and who can edit and

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Case analysis - Essay Example Thus, Yurukova has a responsibility to come up with a brilliant strategy that can be implemented in order to improve the fundraising process. At the moment, Trinity University mainly relied on using telefundraising channels. This is a marketing approach that uses telephone to reach different people in different parts of the country. The targeted people are mainly graduates from Trinity University. Mariya is contemplating segmenting the targeted donors by using different strategies in order to make generate as much money as possible. One of the segmentation methods is to target the people by either alumni or by graduation year. The other strategy used to segment the targeted people is by using their faculties. It has also been envisaged that the targeted people can also be segmented on the basis of extracurricular activity as well as Trinity University involvement. The other marketing strategy used is direct marketing and this involves face to face interaction with the targeted people. The marketing mix approach (price, place, product and promotion) of the university involves different strategies. The price for conducting clients using direct mail is pegged at $0.88 while the price of doing the same using telefundraising is estimated to be $5.60. The product involves donations made by the targeted people to the university. The place for this activity is centralised since it is coordinated from the institution while targeting people from different places across the country. As part of its promotion strategy, the university is also contemplating to use direct mailing strategy where direct mails are sent to the people found in the institution’s database. The other promotion strategies include online giving and telefundraising. The real issue is finding and training quality telefundraisers. At the moment, the university is relying on a single individual alone. This initiative requires the the efforts of many

Network administration capstone project Case Study

Network administration capstone project - Case Study Example There was also the need to analyze the components and features of the software in relation to the demands of the department. Result of the component and system analysis is what has been presented in this capstone project. Like all other forms of major institutional projects, the usage of the present project, which was the internalization of software, was taken through a number of development levels. There were three major development levels identified and these are the search level, implementation level and evaluation level. At the search level, developers were tasked and at the same time offered the opportunity to undertake comprehensive research and feasibility study about the intended project. This was done with the aims and objectives of the project in mind as data and information were searched on how to ensure that the usage of the present software would meet the standards on the estimating software market, and if possible become a new model that will also set a new and higher s tandard for the market. This was followed by the implementation level, which was an action driven point of the actual development whereby all the paper works were put into action. This involved all software and hardware managers operating from their different areas of expertise to ensure that the construction of the software was done according to the stipulated standards that were set ahead of the implementation stage. To ensure that the finished work matched up the planned purpose of the project, a comprehensive evaluation level was instituted. The evaluation of the task was made up of a comprehensive critic and appraisal of the finished work to ensure that there were no areas or aspects of it that produced sub-standardization. What is more, it was to ensure that the system specifications were working as planned. Project Description The present project involves the process of internalizing purchased software to solve the everyday estimation tasks that is undertaken by the company. By this, reference is being made to the fact that, because the system was not internally created by the department, it is important that is will be adjusted to fit the requirements and needs of the department. Therefore, two major roles are involved in describing the project. The first is in giving a vivid identity to how the creator of the software designed it to work and how it is currently being re-created to take up quotes for the customers who would presently be using it for their own estimations most importantly however, it is worth emphasizing that due to the fact that the purchased product was designed purposely for the task of estimation, it did not take much work to be done by the company in getting new features fixed to make the software ideal for the department. All in all, in describing the project, an overall identity that can be given to it a SQL based software that has come to compliment and replace the old DOS and Excel estimating system that is currently used by th e sales department of the company. The project, and for that matter the software has some specifications that distinguishes it from other estimation software and the old DOS and Excel estimating system. One of such is the fact that the present project guarantees more detailed, professional and accurate estimation tasks that were otherwise seen as weaknesses of the old estimation system. These detailed, profes

MANAGERIAL TRAITS AND SKILLS Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MANAGERIAL TRAITS AND SKILLS - Dissertation Example The trait of being self-confident and tolerant to stress plays a very important role to be creative and tactfully handle situation. Dominant nature of the individual helps to lead a team and organise managerial activities in his/her own way of working. The trait of being ambitious facilitates the process of achievement of certain task for the leader. As a researcher how would you establish if those traits are fundamental to the effectiveness of the leader? A leader should have the traits within to be successful in the implementation process. An informative leader has the capability to understand the methods and the processes to manage the technical aspects of the managerial activities for the different organisational units. The conceptual skill of the person grows the creativity and foresight involves in the process of judgment and manage critical situation in the organization. The interpersonal skill of an individual helps to understand the human behaviour or any processes and take decision according to the motives of the others and will be able to communicate with the surroundings. These are the traits required by a person to be a successful leader in the long run. Reference Changing Minds.org. (2011). Trait Theory.

Her First Ball Essay Example for Free

Her First Ball Essay My first impression of Leila simply from the first page of â€Å"Her First Ball,† was that she was an innocent girl that wasn’t completely satisfied with her current situation in life. Leila was portrayed as having a weak/inexperienced heart. For example, â€Å"†¦she couldn’t have helped crying because she was an only child, and no brother had ever said ‘Twig? ’ to her† (265), and for the fact that being different from the others bothered her. Despite her innocence and immaturity, she attempts to compose herself and act mature than she is capable of by â€Å"trying not to smile too much; she tried not to care† (265). Her life up to now wasn’t eventful or memorable in any way and she has a desire to cling onto the present/momentary excitement and not let go. â€Å"She would remember forever. It even gave her a pang to see her cousin Laurie throw away the wisps of tissue†¦as a keepsake, as a remembrance† (265), shows her emotions on how she wants to keep hold of every little detail of this first ball. I made the connection of this ball being her first in relation to not only the actual ball, but numerous ‘first times’ down her path of becoming mature. First time interacting with the opposite gender, feeling the lack of maturity amongst the other girls in the ladies’ room and first time in being hit in the head with reality, a frightening image from the fat man that Leila had never considered before, resulting in a somewhat loss of her previous innocence. I was able to relate to Leila’s situation of having missed out on the experiences of the ‘real world,’ such as the comparison between Leila and the Sheridan girls. Having lived in Abbotsford for my entire middle school life, I believe I missed out on experiences that I would have had if I lived out in the city (Surrey), seeing that Abbotsford is relatively an isolated/country city. Although I wasn’t as isolated as having the â€Å"nearest neighbor for fifteen miles† (265), I felt I could relate to Leila’s uncontrollable excitement that she felt while she was taking in her new surroundings. The impactful last sentence of the story, â€Å"She didn’t even recognize him again† (270), I found it almost eerie regarding the fact that it seemed like her memory was wiped blank. I questioned that even though her innocence was already long gone, whether that meant she would have to go through the same horrible process of being hit on the head by reality, as the first time she met the fat man and how she will be able to cope with the shock and sadness she feels every time. Throughout the reading, her style of writing, her word choices portrayed Leila’s perspective of her first ball in a magical/fantasy way. The presentation of a perfectly set up ball, â€Å"she clutched her fan, and gazing at the gleaming, golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns, the stage at one end with its red carpet†¦how heavenly; how simply heavenly (267)! Every little detail was attractive and well suited to her fantastical desires. Leila was not yet revealed to the somewhat frightening reality that comes along with her magical world that is inevitable.

Environmental Change and Infectious Diseases Relationship

Environmental Change and Infectious Diseases Relationship Changes in the natural environment through human activities will have broad impacts on global health and human habitation. The links between rapid environmental change and novel pathogens suggest we are entering a new transition in the history of emerging infectious disease. Scientists, however, have not reached consensus regarding an increase of emerging infectious diseases under the broad conditions of environmental change and climate change. This is an area of intense scientific scrutiny. An emerging infectious disease [EID] is one that that has newly appeared in a population or that has been known for some time but is rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range. Familiar examples include Influenza, E. coli, HIV, SARS, Tuberculosis, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus, but there are many others. Influenza is the most common. This bibliographic essay focuses on the emergence of novel pathogens, highlighting areas of scientific agreement as well as controversy. These selections can serve as a guide for the informed general reader as well as for health professionals. They draw from international books, articles and websites that provide the most engaging histories, authoritative sources, and current information. The themes in this essay begin with broad topics and become increasing more specific. These EID themes include: Microbes through History; Past Pandemics; Zoonoses focus on Avian Influenza; Ecological Factors; Links to Climate Change; Public Health Preparedness Strategies; Impacts on National Security; and Strategies for the Future. Emerging Infectious Disease Microbes through History The first known texts related to infectious disease were part of the Hippocratic corpus written in the fourth and third centuries B.C.E. Airs, Waters, Places was on environmental health and On Epidemics contains descriptions of contagious and other diseases of public health importance during the ancient period. These texts appear in Hippocratic Writings, edited by G.E.R. Lloyd. The epidemiological transition model describes the changing relationship between humans and their diseases. Based on this model, the first transition occurred with the shift to agriculture about 10,000 YBP, resulting in a pattern of infectious diseases still evident today. In The Changing Disease-Scape in the Third Epidemiological Transition, Kristin Harper and George Armelagos, medical anthropologists, propose that during the last two centuries, some populations have undergone a second transition with a decline in infectious disease and rise in degenerative disease. The authors maintain that we are now in a third epidemiological transition, in which a resurgence of familiar infections is accompanied by an array of novel diseases, all of which have the potential to spread rapidly. Several books and articles are appropriate for historians and medical researchers. Lois Magner, a distinguished medical historian, produced a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the development of medical microbiology. In A History of Infectious Diseases and the Microbial World, the author places modern infectious diseases within their historical context, and highlights the links between disease and social, cultural, political, and economic factors. In Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped our History, Dorothy Crawford combines tales of epidemics with science and history. Crawford is Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh. She reveals how microbes have evolved with humans over the millennia, shaping civilizations through infection, disease, and pandemic. In Conquest of Epidemic Disease: a Chapter in the History of Ideas, Charles-Edward Amory Winslow traces the human understanding of the causes and control of epidemic communicable diseases. Winslow had a rich knowledge of public health, history, and philosophy. According to Joshua Lederberg, molecular biologist and Nobel Prize winner, the success of the wonder drugs of the 1950s led many to believe that the war on microbes had been fought and won, but the emergence of new infectious agents shattered that illusion. Infectious History is a very engaging global history of the cohabitation of humanity and microbes. Ultimate survival, Lederberg suggests, may require humans to embrace a more microbial point of view, in which microbes and their human hosts constitute a superorganism. In a related argument, the Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress, and Biological Change by Renà © J. Dubos emphasizes that the process of living cannot be separated from the disease process. The book is primarily concerned with the limitations of medicine in the search for the solution of health problems. Dubos, a microbiologist and environmentalist, argues that humankind should not ignore the dynamic process of adaptation to a constantly changing environment that ever y living organism must face. A. J. McMichael, a notable expert on the environment and emerging infectious disease, reports similar conclusions in Environmental and Social Influences on Emerging Infectious Diseases: Past, Present and Future. McMichael urges that humankind come to terms with the fact that microbial species help to make up the interdependent system of life on Earth. He claims that humans and microbes are engaged in amoral, self-interested, co-evolutionary struggle. Pandemics from the Past There are several books on pandemic disease that would appeal to historians and medical professionals. Historians Tamara Giles-Vernick and Susan Craddock edited Influenza and Public Health, an investigation of past influenza pandemics with insights into possible transmission patterns, experiences, mistakes, and interventions. It explores several pandemics over the past century including the infamous 1918 Spanish Influenza, the avian flu epidemic of 2003, and the novel H1N1 pandemic of 2009. In Dread: How Fear and Fantasy have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu by Philip Alcabes a writer and professor of Urban Public Health, writes in an engaging style with comprehensive literary, historical and medical references. For readers interested in the history of great plagues and pandemics, there are a number of recommended books. John H. Powells Bring out Your Dead: The Great Plague of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793 is a historical account of the impact of a yellow fever epidemic that claimed the lives of over 10 percent of the population of Philadelphia and caused its virtual evacuation. Plagues and Peoples by historian William H. McNeill provides an account of the impact of epidemic diseases on the rise and fall of civilizations. Laurie Garretts The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance is an engaging survey of new and emerging infections the chapter on future history is especially good. There is a bit of good news among the gloom. Scientists from the National Institute of Health (David Morens, Jeffery Taubenberger, and Anthony Fauci) suggest that successive pandemics generally appear to be decreasing in severity over time. This reflects viral evolution that favors optimal transmissibility with minimal pathogenicity. However, the scientists suggest it is important to understand in greater depth the determinants and dynamics of the pandemic era in which we live. In related research, NIH researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (Miller et al.) that the signature features of past pandemics can help health authorities prioritize national strategies and provide aid to international collaborators. Zoonoses Case Study in Avian Influenza The incidence and frequency of epidemic transmission of zoonotic diseases, both known and newly recognized, has increased dramatically in the past 30 years. It is thought that this dramatic disease emergence is primarily the result of the social, demographic, and environmental transformation that has occurred globally. Most human pathogens also circulate in animals or originate in nonhuman hosts. Influenza is a classic example of a zoonotic infection that transmits from animals to humans. Smith et al., scientists from the Georgia Institute of Ecology, report that infectious agents specific to humans are broadly and uniformly distributed, whereas zoonotic infectious agents are far more localized in their geographical distribution. These results have critical implications for public-health policy and future research pathways of infectious disease ecology. As reported in Epidemic Dynamics at the Human-Animal Interface. Lloyd-Smith et al., maintain that understanding zoonoses requires a new generation of models that addresses a broader set of pathogen life histories and integrates across scientific disciplines. Outbreaks of pathogenic avian influenza have been relatively uncommon around the world in the last 50 years with limited spread within a country or region. There is one major exception, Asian lineage H5N1 that was first identified in 1996. According to David Suarez, a researcher with the U.S.D.A., this lineage of virus has spread to over 60 countries and has become endemic in poultry in at least four countries. As reported in Avian influenza: our current Understanding, this virus represents a public health threat, with some infected humans having severe disease and a high case fatality rate. Suarez maintains that it is a difficult disease to control because of its highly infectious nature and the interface of domestic and wild animals. Influenza surveillance in wild birds has established that the aquatic birds of the world are the source of influenza A viruses, which occasionally spread to domestic avian species and to mammals, including humans. In Avian Influenza Virus Surveillance and Wild Birds: Past and Present, Scott Krauss and Robert Webster report that much more attention has been given to understanding the ecology of influenza in wild aquatic birds. Robert Webster has been cited in over 400 articles on the influenza virus, particularly its link to wild birds. At Qinghai Lake in China, migrating birds are being tracked by satellite, part of a series of investigations that began after highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1 subtype) first swept the region in 2005. The studies are attempting to pinpoint the viral reservoir and the role that wild birds play in transmission. L. Jiao reports results in In Chinas Backcountry, Tracking Lethal Bird Flu that no reservoir for the virus has yet been found, but transmission routes have come into clearer focus. However, in another scientific report, New Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) in Wild Birds, Qinghai, China, scientist Yanbing Li reports that in 2010 the virus mutated into yet another viral subtype. This occurred in a wetland region very close to Qinghai Lake. This increases concerns about a potential pandemic and the likelihood that avian influenza virus will again spread and continue to increase its genetic diversity. Scientists stress that determining movements of wild birds from Qinghai Lake is essential to track H5N1. Wallenstein et al. investigated the transmission of H5N1 among people who had unprotected contact with infected wild mute swans in Dorset, England. Results in No evidence of transmission of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza to humans after unprotected contact with infected wild swans reveal that no evidence of transmission of H5N1 to humans was found. The incident provided a rare opportunity to study the direct transmissibility of the virus from wild birds to humans. Emerging Infectious Disease Ecological Phenomena Ecological approaches to the understanding of health and disease have a long history. The links between the environment and health are complex and can occur over long time scales that obscure those connections. Emerging zoonotic diseases have assumed increasing importance in both public and animal health, as the last few years have seen a steady increase of new cases, each emerging from an unsuspected geographic area and causing serious problems, often leading to mortalities among animals and humans. Investigating these pathogens as ecological phenomena can provide insights into why these pathogens have jumped species. In a highly recommended article by Samuel Myers and Jonathan Patz, Emerging Threats to Humans from Global Environmental Change, the scientists assert that changes to the natural environment are all accelerating with increased exposure to infectious disease. The authors maintain that these threats represent the greatest public health challenge humanity has faced. In Environmental Determinants of Infectious Disease, Joseph Eisenburg concludes that emerging and re-emerging pathogens have their origin in environmental change. However, in Causal Inference in Disease Ecology: Investigating Ecological Drivers of Disease Emergence, Raina Plowright maintains that few studies have rigorously analyzed the underlying environmental drivers of disease emergence. As an expert on ecological drivers of disease, Plowright reports that ecological change and disease emerge from complex, large-scale processes that are not amenable to traditional approaches to causal inference. Emerging Infectious Disease Links to Climate Change Paul Epstein of Harvard School of Public Health and been sounding the warning bell on climate change and infectious disease for over 10 years. In Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Disease he presented a theory that deforestation and climatic volatility are a potent combination creating conditions conducive to disease emergence and spread. In Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Effects of Eco-Climate Change: The Medical Response, Colin Butler and David Harley propose that the primary effects of climate change to global health include the acute and chronic stress of heat waves, and trauma from increased fires and flooding. Secondary signs are indirect, such as an altered distribution of vectors, intermediate hosts and pathogens. More severe future health consequences of climate change are classified here as tertiary effects: famine, war and significant population displacement. There is near unanimous scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity will change Earths climate. Yet, there is little hard evidence that recent global warming has already affected some health outcomes. Researchers, A.J. McMichael, Rosalie Woodruff, and Simon Hales, suggest in Climate Change and human health: present and future risks, that anticipation of adverse health effects will strengthen the case for pre-emptive policies and guide priorities for planned adaptive strategies. In a related argument in Climate Change and Infectious Disease in North America: the Road Ahead, researchers Amy Greer, Victoria Ng and David Fisman recommend that the best defense against increases in infectious disease related to climate change lies in strengthening existing public health infrastructure. In Biodiversity Loss Affects Global Disease Ecology, Montira J. Pongsiri et al. propose that climate change is a phenomenon that will require a biogeographic perspective to predict its affect on global disease. Currently, biogeography and disease ecology are disciplinary communities with little overlap. Not all scientists agree on climate change and emerging infectious disease. In The Ecology of Climate Change and Infectious Disease, Kevin Lafferty claims that although the globe is significantly warmer than it was a century ago, there is little evidence that climate change has favored infectious diseases. Lafferty reports that recent models predict range shifts in disease distributions, with little net increase in area. Researchers Bruce Wilcox and Duane Gubler link demographic and societal factors to land use, land cover change, and ecological factors to disease emergence in Disease Ecology and the Global Emergence of Zoonotic Pathogens. They report that the scale and magnitude of these changes are more significant than those associated with climate change, the effects of which are largely not yet understood. Joshua Rosenthal of the National Institutes of Health reports that the ability to predict the effects of climate change on the spread of infectious diseases is in its infancy. In Climate Change and the geographic distribution of Infectious Disease, the authors report that there are conflicting predictions. Emerging Infectious Disease and Public Health Preparedness In a 2010 report, Infectious Disease Movement in a Borderless World, David Relman and the Institute of Medicine report that infectious diseases (pre-pandemic stage) now emerge more frequently, spread greater distances, pass more easily between humans and animals, and evolve into new and more virulent strains. Literature from the U.S. Institute of Medicine intended for clinicians, researchers, and public policy makers includes The Impact of globalization on infectious disease emergence and control exploring the consequences and opportunities by Stacey Knobler. Keith Fukuda and The World Health Organization released Ethical considerations developing a public health response to pandemic influenza. A product of expert international opinion, this publication is intended for public health and pandemic influenza preparedness activities at the national level. In Communicating about Emerging Infectious Disease: the Importance of Research, Bev Holmes reviews risk communication strategies for e merging infectious diseases. In The Generic Biothreat, Or, How we became Unprepared, sociologist Andrew Lakoff argues that over the course of the past three decades, a new way of thinking about the threat of infectious disease has coalesced. The problem of infectious disease is no longer only one of prevention, but one of preparedness. Jonathan D. Moreno, professor of Medical Ethics, wrote In the Wake of Terror: Medicine and the Morality in a Time of Crisis, a book intended for public health policymakers. He maintains that responses to bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases of the twenty-first century are destined to overwhelm the public health system. Emerging Infectious Disease and National Security In Contagion and Chaos, Andrew Price-Smith offers an examination of disease through the lens of national security. This book will be of interest to political scientists and those in public health and medicine as it highlights the interdependence between political science and public health. The author stresses that the association between the health of a population and perception of national security is ancient but largely forgotten. He argues that epidemic disease represents a direct threat to the power of a state, eroding prosperity and destabilizing both its internal politics and its relationships with other states. The danger of an infectious pathogen to national security depends on lethality, transmissability, fear, and economic damage. The author maintains that warfare and ecological change contribute to the spread of disease and act as disease amplifiers. Strategies for the Future There are several valuable data collection tools and collaboration networks in existence. To be useful, data must assist in the effort to identify population-based strategies for pandemics. Advance knowledge of which subpopulations are most likely at increased risk can lead to quicker public health response and disease control. Lessons from the past would suggest that public health preparedness include human health surveillance that is integrated with monitoring of climate and other environmental conditions that favor emerging infectious disease. In an important work by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Jeremy Hess, Josephine Mililay and Alan Parkinson), scientists considered the ways in which the concept of place the sense of human relationship with particular environments will play a key role in motivating, developing, and deploying an effective public health response. In Climate Change: the Importance of Place, they highlight the concepts of community resilience and risk management, key aspects of a robust response to climate change in public health and other sectors. Mark Woolhouse, faculty at University of Edinburgh in infectious disease epidemiology, reports in Emerging Diseases go Global that novel human infections continue to appear all over the world, but the risk is higher in some regions than others. Identification of emerging-disease hotspots will help target surveillance work. In Global trends in emerging infectious diseases, Kate E. Jones et al. provide a basis for identifying regions where new EIDs are most likely to originate (emerging disease hotspots). Currently, they claim that global resources to counter disease emergence are poorly allocated the majority of the surveillance effort is focused on countries from where the next important EID is least likely to originate. John Brownstein, a medical informatics researcher, reports that the existing network of disease surveillance efforts managed by public health institutes has wide gaps in geographic coverage and often suffers from poor and sometimes suppressed information flow across national borders. In Surveillance Sans Frontieres: Internet Based Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence and HealthMap project, Brownstein reports that valuable information about infectious diseases is found in internet-accessible information sources such as discussion sites and disease reporting networks. These data must be studied in depth, including false reports and reporting bias. Yet, this information holds potential to provide complementary epidemic intelligence context. This potential is already being realized, as a majority of outbreak verifications currently conducted by the World Health Organizations Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network are triggered by reports from these nontraditional sources. Conclusions It is clear that there is a relationship between environmental change and infectious disease, but these links are disease and location specific. Thus, the direct impact on human health is still unclear. Climate change may increase the prevalence of particular infectious diseases in some regions, while decreasing the prevalence in others. Many factors can affect emerging infectious disease, and some of these factors may overshadow the effects of climate. The potential health impacts underscore the need to reinforce response systems for infectious disease outbreaks, including public health preparedness and the capacity necessary to mount effective responses. There is no natural analog to the rapid increases of human-induced environmental changes that are emerging in the 21st century. The links between rapid environmental change and novel pathogens suggest we are entering a new transition in the history of emerging infectious disease.