Consolidating U.S. and Foreign subsidiary financial statements Research Paper

Consolidating U.S. and Foreign subsidiary financial statements - Research Paper Example Is Consolidating U.S. and Foreign-based Financial Statements Hides Useful Information? The author makes a conclusion that consolidating U.S. and foreign-based financial statements withholds some information to both the public and their foreign counterparts. This is evident in many situations within their many business transactions and statements. The first case where crucial information about financial statements is masked is while translating foreign currency. According to the author, the literature that shows foreign currency translation is usually categorized into four groups. The first group shows surveys issues related to the many changes that occur in the management behavior. The second, on the other hand researches on effects that come after using alternative methods of translating financial statements. The third literature is one which studies the market and the many emerging behaviors related to market patterns, and the final study reveals different preferences that are used as translating methods, this is done by making early adoption and embracing SFAS. However, studies that are made in the first category, a study were conducted on almost 70 Multinational Companies from different parts of USA. It was found out that that most management of these companies were not speculative and were very defensive as far as rate variations were concerned and were not willing to give comprehensive reports about their translational losses. It seems like these managements felt more insecure by giving out real financial statements about their standing financial status (Rodriguez 70). In respect to this, they were ready to pay big costs which would be much higher than the existing average exchange depreciation. Houston in a different report states that managements of MNCs tend to decrease their financial exposure as they adopt SFAS # 52 (Houston 52). They have been very unpleased with the newly passed translational rules as they advocate for financial openness and transp arency (Choi 54). This is a clear indication that most Multinational Companies to a greater extent hide some important financial information that relates to their current financial status. Example 2: If there exists a foreign debt to equity ratio of 5 in the US and the parent company’s ratio is 1.25, the two of them shows different market positions at different time. Though the ratios seem vastly different from one another, it may be said that they are healthy. This is always in reference to the environment at that particular period of time. This consolidated ratio however, is given to be 2. Practically, this number is too low for a good financial environment and it can be said to be extremely high in USA. Thus, the consolidated debt in elation to prevailing equity ratio does not give us the reality in the two environments. It is clear that it contains very little and insignificant knowledge, which in fact, might be misleading. The only best way that can be employed to clearl y interpreted and analyze this debt to equity ratio is through disaggregate, which means, consolidating, and later interpreting separate numbers in respect to particular environments (Rodriguez 92). In a nutshell, consolidating US and foreign financial statements masks some of its important information. This has been proved to be true by the many cases where transparent in as far as release of

Berlin Wall versus “The Wall” Essay Example for Free

Berlin Wall versus â€Å"The Wall† Essay In this novel, the narrator mentions about the Wall that is built across the church which force some people in Gilead getting separate from the others. Margaret Atwood uses the reference of the Berlin wall to describe the wall in this novel. The Berlin wall was built by the Democratic republic to separate Germany into East Berlin and West Berlin. Proves of that will be the similarities of both wall including the barriers that placed around these walls and the consequences of the rebellions who against the public policies and usage of these walls. From the novel, Offred describes the wall as â€Å"the gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on metal posts above it, and barbed wire along the bottom and broken glass set in concrete along the top.† (Page 40). This description matches the security status of the Berlin Wall: guard towers were placed along large concrete walls, many kinds of â€Å"anti-vehicle trenches† and other defences were built around the wall. These two walls had a common purpose which is to prevent people to cross the line between social statuses or to prevent people from massive emigration and defection. Also many people who tried to cross the Berlin Wall ended up dead, because those people are trying to go against the rule made by the Germany Democratic Republicans; the same thing happened in the novel, when people tries to go against the rule which made by the Gilead government, for example, the Guardians who committed the Gender Treachery (Page 53) receives death penalty and their body are hanging onto the wall which reminds everyone about the authority. Therefore, the wall from the handmaid’s tale is referenced from the Berlin wall because both of the walls are the legacy of separation within the nation. The Gilead The name of the formal U.S.A. is Gilead, it is originally comes from the bible. Margaret Atwood uses this name because from the Bible, it describes Gilead as a country that is always in the war, this matches the situation from the novel, the handmaids’ talks about the war all the time: â€Å"â€Å"The war is going well, I hear† she says. â€Å"Praise be,† I reply.† (Page 24).  Furthermore, the country Gilead from the novel was very spiritual, which connect to the bible.

Islam in the Ottoman Empire

Islam in the Ottoman Empire THE ISLAMIC CHARACTER OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE â€Å"In what ways was the Ottoman Empire Islamic?† ________________________________________________________________________ Part I: Introduction: This paper seeks to make an analysis of the ways in which the Ottoman Empire was Islamic. It seeks to establish the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Islam, the religion on which it was founded. Part II: Summary: At the core of this narration is the fact that the nature of enforcement of Islamic tenets in the length and breadth of the Empire kept shifting with time. Although Islam and the Ottoman Empire were inseparable, since the very foundation of the Empire was Islamic, the actual manner in which Islam was enforced in the Empire varied in relation to time and geographical space. The pattern in which Islam was enforced altered from that of a brutal version at the beginning of the Empire to one that moderated greatly as the decades and centuries progressed. In other words, the dispensation shifted from Jihad to Dhimma. [1] The nature and reasons for this metamorphosis forms the heart of the paper. Moreover, Islam in its unadulterated form could not be enforced in a monolithic, homogeneous fashion in all the centuries of Ottoman rule, because the territories they governed were vast and disparate. In view of this complex scenario, this paper, due to the severe constraint of space, tak es up only two important aspects of Islam that were more or less a constant in the Empire as it grew –the treatment of non-Muslim subjects, and of women. In these, an overwhelmingly large part is devoted to the former, because administration enjoyed greater primacy, while the latter is referred to in passing. On account of this dearth of space, a unique element of the Ottoman Islamic military, the Janissaries, is left out. Part III: Discussion: The ascendancy to power of the Ottomans took place in the backdrop of the waning of authority of the Seljuk dynasty, the dominant power of Asia Minor until then.[2] In the given situation, since the political situation was very volatile, and opportunity was afforded to building an empire to one who succeeded in this unstable milieu, what was needed was brute force to achieve these ends. The period saw a novelty –the formation of a band of savage and predatory men calling themselves the Ghazis. Fanatically dedicated to Islam, these warriors derived their authority from the Islamic notion of Jihad –Holy War. The earliest Ottomans were typical examples of Ghazis. This concept enabled the Ottomans, who till then had been an insignificant vassal of the Seljuk dynasty, to now establish their authority in the region. This is how the establishment of the Ottoman Empire was based entirely on a primitive interpretation of and resort to militant Islam. (Turnbull, 2003, p. 10) From these beginnings, over the years, the Ottomans displayed towards non-Muslim subjects a sense of tolerance that would put Europe to shame. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, when events such as the Inquisitions were becoming milestones in Europe’s history[3], the Jews found refuge in the Ottoman Empire. This was the predominant destination to which the persecuted Jews milled, and were able to practice their way of life without any hindrance. A Hapsburg ambassador in the court of Suleiman the Magnificent had this to say about the Ottoman Sultan’s attitude towards his empire’s non-Muslim subjects: It is by merit that men rise in the service, a system which insures that posts should be assigned to the competent . . . . They do not believe that high qualities are either natural or hereditary . . . , but that they are partly the gift of God, and partly the result of good training, great industry, and . . . zeal . . . . Honors, high posts and judgeships are the rewards of great ability and good service. This is the reason that they are successful in their undertakings. (Levy, 1992, p. 15) Reasons for the change in attitude: Some major reasons can be attributed for this benign treatment of these subjects. As inheritors of the pristine tenets of Islam, these rulers considered Christian and Jewish people their theological predecessors; on account of this, although the Koran was considered the final and purest revelation, the same Koran, the ultimate fountainhead of wisdom to the Muslims, also placed upon Muslim rulers an obligation to protect their non-Muslim subjects, under the covenant of the Dhimma. (Levy, 1992, pp. 15, 16) For this protection, these subjects had to pay a tax, and were required to live under some restrictions, such as acceptance of Muslim superiority, being banned from riding animals that Muslims rode, and being made to wear distinguishing dresses or badges. (Lewis, 1982, p. 5) Other restrictions included being obliged to build houses lower than those of Muslims, being proscribed from residing in the neighbourhood of a mosque, and allocation of the pl ace of dispute resolution between minorities.[4] (Gà ¶Ãƒ §ek , 1996, p. 35) However, essentially, as pointed out by Lewis (1982), during the course of their history, the Ottoman Turks outgrew their initial tendency to maraud and slaughter at will, and were predisposed towards building an empire through a well-knit system of administration that derived from the Koran; over the years, they graduated to retaining their warm relationship with non-Muslims out of practical considerations. (Lewis, 1982, p. 5) For example, in most of the lands the Ottomans ruled, Christians and Jews had lived for centuries. Where conversion of these people, especially the numerically superior Christians was impossible, forcing conversion would almost certainly have invited revolt; because of this, most Ottoman rulers decided that it was wiser to leave these minorities to their own religion. In addition, allowing them to practise their own religion also gave the administration much needed taxes. In this sense, the presence of the minorities was actually an advantage to some Ottoman s ultans. These minority religious groups usually were classified under a system of local administration called the millet. Literally translating to nation, these units were helpful in keeping the Sultan informed about the state of affairs of the minorities. (McCarthy, 1997, pp. 127, 128) As a result, although there were some infrequent tensions in the form of humiliation and derision, by and large, the relationship between the Muslims and non-Muslims in the entire length and breadth of the Ottoman Empire, almost throughout the six centuries of its existence, was characterised mostly by goodwill, making the Empire a medley of various religions and cultures. This contrasted starkly with the ghettos and exile of the Jews in Europe. The occasional strains that arose were more for economic and social reasons rather than purely religious. (Lewis, 1982, pp. 5-7) Women in the Ottoman Empire: When it came to their treatment of women, the Ottomans derived from the various traditions they inherited, and Islam was one of them. While the lineage was patriarchal, their regional and tribal inheritance showed up in various aspects of their relationship with women, as precisely described here: â€Å"the Ottomans did make rational choices and draw upon a number of traditions in establishing the imperial household. The legacy of acquiring women through â€Å"raids† most likely came directly from a central Asian tradition; the employment of polygyny, that is multiple wives, probably derived from Islamic sources; the Ottomans may have learned of concubinage from the Persians; and they may have adapted from the Byzantines the idea of securing alliance and treaty through marriages.† (Goffman, 2002, p. 40) Part IV: Conclusion: Islam was the soul of the Ottoman system of governance; yet, this was by no means a repressive regime. Contrary to the treatment of non-Muslims in most parts of the world that came under Muslim rule[5], the Ottoman Empire, the largest Islamic empire in history, (Karsh, 2003, p. 25) displayed a fair degree of tolerance towards its non- Muslim subjects. Whatever may have motivated this, the fact is that this speaks of the completeness of their evolution from the days of the Ghazi to that of a rule that had a generally salutary effect on the minorities of the empire. Overall, the Ottomans turned out to be a relatively far more tolerant empire than the Christian regimes of Europe of the same period. This perhaps was to lay the foundations of the modern Turkey as we know it today. References Goffman, D., (2002), The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. Gà ¶Ãƒ §ek , F. M., (1996), Rise of the Bourgeoisie, Demise of Empire: Ottoman Westernization and Social Change, Oxford University Press, New York. Karsh, E., (2003), Rethinking the Middle East, Frank Cass, London. Levy, A., (1992), The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire, Darwin Press, Princeton, NJ. Lewis, B., (1982), Introduction, in Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, Braude, B. Lewis, B. (Eds.) (pp. 1-32), Homes Meier Publishers, New York. McCarthy, J., (1997), The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923, Longman, London. Turnbull, S., (2003), The Ottoman Empire, 1326-1699, Routledge, New York. ZeEvi, D., (1994), â€Å"The Sufi Connection: Jerusalem Notables in the Seventeenth Century† in Papers from CIEPO IX, Jerusalem Papers from CIEPO IX, Jerusalem, Singer, A. Cohen, A. (Eds.) (pp. 126-142), Hebrew University, Jerusalem. 1 [1] This blend of militarism and religious doctrines is best illustrated by Marshal Hodgson, in whose words the basic feature of the Ottoman Empire was that it was â€Å"a military- sharÄ «a alliance† (ZeEvi, 1994, p. 136) [2] Information on the early history and the structure of governance of the Ottoman Empire is neatly summed up in the following link: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/OTTOMAN/ORIGIN.HTM Although this site cannot be treated as a great scholarly work, it is a good account that can be used as a kind of concise guide to this aspect of the power vacuum in the founding of the Empire, and the relationship of the state and its structure with Islam. [3] The following link is an excellent source for a detailed account of the blood-soaked history of the Inquisitions: http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/inq/inqcont.htm [4] On the subject of jurisdiction of dispute settlement between members of the minority communities, this author offers an interesting recorded instance, in which there is no contradiction about a situation such as this: â€Å"if Zeyd the Jew goes from Istanbul-proper to Galata to conduct business and if Amr the Christian, claiming (Zeyd the Jew) needs to settle a transaction, takes him to the Islamic court of Galata, would Zeyd the Jew have the right to state that he wants the case heard instead by the Islamic court in the neighborhood of Galata-proper.†(Gà ¶Ãƒ §ek, 1996, p.35) [5] An interesting case for the study of treatment of non-Muslim subjects in a state ruled by Muslims is that of India. The Muslims were the dominant ruling class for about 10 centuries, but this reign was far from even. Islamic kings’ treatment of the majority Hindus saw no uniformity, and is a matter of heated and emotive debate to this day in the country.

History of Fashion Essay -- essays research papers

History of Fashion Fashion has changed a great deal over the past three centuries. As history changes it seems that fashion in some aspect changes with it to adapt to the era. Even today fashion continues to change as the years go on. Looking at fashion even 20 years ago we can see a difference from what we see in our everyday lives. For the purpose of this essay Fashion will be divided into three centuries, since not every era of clothing can be touched upon. The first era of fashion history includes 500 BC- 1450 AD. Near the beginning era fashion was relatively simple, since it was more about practical function than style. This era was referred to as the Ancient Time Period. Garments were always loose fitting, never tight. Tunics were the main clothing choice. Usually tunics would be covered with other layers of fabric, and this was worn by both men and women. Fabrics were usually always plain which meant they had no pattern or vibrant color (white and off-white were the most popular.) Near the fifth century clothing began to include a wider range of colors. Even though clothing was relatively simple, women adorned themselves with jewelry such as bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings fashioned from earthy materials. Cosmetics were also around in this era. Women’s hair would usually be seen braided or draped fabric covering the face like a hood. As it moved into the Medieval Time Period it then evolved into militaristic for men , which incorporated tunics, capes, and ...

Health Risks of Genetically-Modified Foods Essay

Genetically modified (GM) foods, introduced to the American Public in 1996, involves taking the genes of the DNA of one plant or animal and transferring them to another species creating a new organism. Justification for this scientific manipulation revealed promises to eliminate world hunger, make plants resistant to pests and disease, and produce healthier foods. Agribusiness giants, like Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta include some of the companies first to bring products to the market. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) took the stance, that it is the food producer responsible for assuring food safety. Companies producing GM foods ultimately regulate themselves. These companies kept their research secret and not available for public scrutiny. Insufficient data illustrate the need for ongoing exploration by independent scientists to deem the products safe for human consumption. Jeffrey M. Smith discussed these issues in his book, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Geneically Engineered Foods. GM of certain crops cause them to produce their own insecticide. A research study not performed by the manufacturer, involved GM potatoes fed to rats. â€Å"They developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, inhibited development of their brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver, enlarged pancreases and intestines, and immune system damage† (Smith 22). Additional information is warranted clarifying the exact cause. Another study revealed Monsanto’s MON 863 Bt corn fed to rats produced â€Å"significant changes in their blood cells, livers, and kidneys which might indicate disease† (Smith 26). Monsanto defends their GM corn as safe and deems it unnecessary to pursue further testing. No research conducted to date and the corn gained approval. Government and big industries continue with the development, endorsement and marketing of GM foods despite the potential health warnings. Study after study cited in Genetic Roulette by Jeffrey M. Smith , reveal health problems from every body system and even death. One investigations proved given a choice, animals would not eat GM foods. Rats that would not eat the GM tomatoes were force fed the tomato through a gastric tube. Several developed stomach lesions and seven of the forty died. The GM of the DNA of species results in widespread mutations. Soy allergies skyrocketed after the introduction of GM soy. Over half of the processed foods in the supermarket contain something made from soy. GM peas generated an allergic-inflammatory response. With some of the GM crops that produce their own insecticide, the fear of creating â€Å"super weeds† exists. â€Å"The United States and Canada do not have GM labeling requirements† (Smith 257). Exposing millions of people to unpredictable dangers of GM foods represents playing roulette. â€Å"The connections between the FDA and large agribusiness corporations are disturbing† (Teitel, Wilson 69). Large contributors to the Democratic and Republican parties include Monsanto and others. These companies employ trade and environmental administrators and government appointees in lucrative positions.

Produce an Interactive Multimedia Application Essay Example

Produce an Interactive Multimedia Application Essay Example Produce an Interactive Multimedia Application Essay Produce an Interactive Multimedia Application Essay The assignment will show the different technical issues involved in the development of the interactive multimedia application. This report will talk about the different media assets that have been used and how well they have integrated within the environment. This report will also assess the technical requirements of using media assets in the application. 3.0 Operation Instruction Introduction Page Open the Movie.exe from the CD drive, which will firstly display the following screen: This page displays an introduction to the assignment. There is also an option where the user can skip the introduction by clicking on the enter button straight away while the introduction page is playing a short tune will be played in the back ground and constantly looped the tune will play for 30seconds after the end of the animated text in the introduction. Figure 1 Introduction Page Main Menu Page After clicking on the enter button the user will reach the main menu. This page contains four animated blades spinning around as well as two graphical images (fig-2). A small tune at 30% of original volume will be played in the background and constantly looped while on the menu page. The spinning blades are the buttons on the page, the user can discover what these buttons are by hovering over the button with the mouse, the role over effect shows the user which page that button is going to lead them to (see fig-3). From the main menu page the user can visit the following pages: * Story page * Image page * Sound page * Video page (Figure-2 main page) (Figure-3 role over button) Story Page Once the user clicks onto the story button animated text appears on the screen describing the story of blade, the same tune will carry on playing in the background, until a graphic of blade appears from that point the sound will change. The user will then only have one option which is to go back to the main menu (fig-4) . (Figure-4 screen shot of the story pages) Image page The image page will give the user the option of viewing three images the image menu will contain the same back ground images as the menu page. All the spinning blades then fade into the back ground and are replaces with three animated symbols which keep changing shape (fig-5). When the user roles over the symbol with his curser he is able to tell which image the animated symbol represents (fig-6). Once the user chooses an image the animated symbol will remain frozen on the specified page so that the user knows which image they are viewing. Sound page The sound page has three sample sounds on it one is from the blade theme tune and the other sounds are sounds that have been used in the application, one is from the introduction menu and the other sound is the same music which is constantly being played in the background (Figure-7). The sound page is similar to the image page the user has to role over and click on to one of the three animated symbols to play the sound file, the role over effect will show which sound number they are about to listen to. Once clicked on the desired sound number, the animation will freeze so that the user knows that it is indeed the sound that they have chosen. Images have also been included in this section, once the sound file starts playing a different image will loads up onto the screen for each sound file. A volume control and a stop button have also been added onto each different sound file. The volume can be controlled by dragging the graphic from right to left(Figure-8). Video Page Two videos have been included in this application they both run in the quick time format. Once the user clicks onto the video option. The option to play both videos is give on the video screen (Figure-8). Two identical images cover the section where the videos will play. Then the user clicks to play the first video, the video plays and the second image remains the same and vice-versa (Figure-9). Interaction Diagram Interaction Diagram Story Interaction diagram images Interaction diagram Sound Interaction diagram Video The problems encountered I encountered many problems while doing this assignment. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this module. In this module I have learned a great deal about Director and Flash. There were many things I discovered that were not allowable in director. For example I had a movies, which I really wanted to play in my Director movie, but was not able to do so, as Director did not accept the format of the videos (.ram format). I did not expect any coding in Director, however the Lingo was not difficult to pick up. Also when I wanted to import an AVI movie in the Director the Play and Stop buttons were playing fine, however the Fast Forward and Rewind buttons were playing rather slow, even when I tried to change the numbers in the scripting to play at different speeds. Doing further researched I found that the AVI files are highly compressed and as a result of this they slow down once they are imported into Director. I then reverted back to my original idea of using quick time videos. I have tried to apply number of different functions to the Director movie, purely because I wanted some form of experience of creating a same effect, but in a different format. For example by rolling a cursor over the spinning blades in the main menu, the role over changes to, story, images, sound and Video. Images Throughout all of this assignment I have used jpeg images. The reason for this that the image size can be kept small and you can still retain the same image quality. The following is a comparison of two images one is a jpeg and the outer is a .. Animation One of the problems that I had when designing my menu page was that I wanted the animation to move to the top right had corner when clicked on. I had great difficulty in achieving this at first as I thought that I would need to do it in flash and I may have to redo all my buttons. I discovered that within director I could get an image or graphic to move towards a sprite. I did this by creating a small transparent spot and putting it onto sprite 7. I then made which ever button was clicked on to move towards this spot. Sound With regards to sound I had difficulty locating the sound track from the BLADE movie. Once I had managed to find the soundtrack of the internet. The sound file was very large. I had to take large portions of the sound track out so I was left with the sound that I wanted. I also realised that if I converted the sound into mp3, the sound file was substantially smaller yet still the same quality. So there for I have used the mp3 format for sound through out the application. Video I have included two videos in this application both videos are in the quick time format, I have kept them in quick time because this is the format, that I feel works best and the video size is smaller. The main major problem that I have encountered was after the creation of the application. As I have sound playing through out the application, the projector file was starting to freeze up especially when you clicked onto the enter page at the beginning of the application and when ever you clicked onto the sound button or video buttons. I rectified the problem by streaming. Time Management Throughout this assignment I spend a lot of time on getting all of my animations to work correctly, all the animations where done in flash. It was only after I had imported them into director, did I discover that some of the animations could have easily been done in director and in half the time taken in flash. For example the spinning blades that are on the menu screen where done in flash, but these could have easily been done in director by using the library pallet and by choosing the rotate Continuously button as shown in figureX Figure X the video page; The fire on the text page; The rotating world on the main menu; The rotating ball on the sound page and the cinema. Technology Analysis Multimedia Asset Wave file A Wave file is an audio file format, created by Microsoft, that has become a standard PC audio file format for everything from system and game sounds to CD-quality audio. A Wave file is identified by a file name extension of WAV (.wav). Used primarily in PCs, the Wave file format has been accepted as a viable interchange medium for other computer platforms, such as Macintosh. This allows content developers to freely move audio files between platforms for processing. For example in addition to the uncompressed raw audio data, the Wave file formats stores information about the files, number of tracks, sample rate, and bit depth. Graphics Interchange Format A GIF (the original and preferred pronunciation is DJIF) is one of the two most common file formats for graphic images on the World Wide Web. The other is the JPEG. On the Web and elsewhere on the Internet, the GIF has become a standard form of image. Technically, a GIF uses the 2D-raster (sequence of horizontal lines that are scanned rapidly with an electron beam from left to right and top to bottom) data type. An animated GIF is a graphic image on a Web page that moves for example, a twirling icon or a banner with a hand that waves or letters that magically get larger. In particular, an animated GIF is a file in the Graphics Interchange Format specified as GIF89a that contains within the single file a set of images that are presented in a specified order. An animated GIF can loop endlessly (and it appears as though your document never finishes arriving) or it can present one or a few sequences and then stop the animation. JPEG A JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a graphic image created by choosing from a range of Compression (reduction in size of data) qualities. When you create a JPEG or convert an image from another format to a JPEG, you are asked to specify the quality of image you want. Since the highest quality results in the largest file, you can make a trade-off between image quality and file size. Together with the GIF file formats, the JPEG is one of the image file formats supported on the World Wide Web, usually with the file suffix of .jpg. You can create a progressive JPEG that is similar to an interlaced GIF. Assets used Introduction Flash intro Bit map A bit map (often spelled bitmap) defines a display space and the colour for each pixel or bit in the display space. A GIF and JPEG are examples of graphic image file types that contain bit maps. A bit map does not need to contain a bit of colour-coded information for each pixel on every row. It only needs to contain information indicating a new colour as the display scans along a row. Thus, an image with much solid colour will tend to require a small bit map. Because a bit map uses a fixed or roaster graphics method of specifying an image, the image cannot be immediately re-scaled by a user without losing definition.