Questões de Concurso

Text 3: Extreme heat intensifies across south-west US

A heat dome over the US south-west has translated (1) into extreme heat warnings from coast to coast, which continue to affect more than 110 million people.

Temperature records could be broken in as many as 38 cities. In Las Vegas, the intense heatwave is threatening on Sunday to break or tie the city's record high of 117F (47.2C).

It comes as soaring temperatures are also hitting southern Europe and Canada is battling the worst season of wildfires in its history.

Scientists have long warned (2) that climate change linked to human activities will lead to an increase in the severity and frequency of extreme weather events.

Elsewhere in the south-western US, hundreds of firefighters have been battling brush fires in blistering heat and low humidity on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Extract from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66218321

By Clare Thorp12th July 2023

When Harry Styles was pelted with chicken nuggets while on stage at New York's Madison Square Gardens last summer, he took it in his stride. "Interesting approach," smiled Styles, who has also weathered kiwi fruits, Skittles and bunches of flowers while performing. But when a mystery object hit him in the eye at a concert in Vienna last weekend, he wasn't laughing but, rather, wincing in pain.

It was the latest in a string of incidents where audience members have hurled potentially dangerous objects at performers. Earlier this month Drake was hit on the arm by a flying phone. That came days after country singer Kelsea Ballerini was struck in the face with a bracelet. In May, Bebe Rexha was taken to hospital and needed multiple stitches after a phone hit her in the eye. A man, since charged with assault, told police he thought it "would be funny" to try and hit the singer.

It's not just live music seeing disruptive behaviour. In April, police were called to a performance of The Bodyguard musical in Manchester when rowdy audience members reacted with "unprecedented levels of violence" to staff. At other venues there has been everything from "heated arguments" to full-on brawls. And in the US, one fan's disruption of a Broadway play in December 2022 followed several other incidents of audience outbursts.

Across the cultural sphere, it feels like audiences are misbehaving. At a recent Las Vegas show, Adele weighed in, saying: "Have you noticed how people are like, forgetting … show etiquette at the moment? People just throwing shit on stage" – before warning fans not to try it with her.

Billie Eilish meanwhile, says this kind of thing, while "infuriating", is nothing new. "I've been getting hit on stage with things for like, literally, six years," she told the Hollywood Reporter. Dr Kirsty Sedgman, a senior lecturer in theatre at the University of Bristol who specialises in audience research, also cautions against calling it a new trend. "People have always thrown things on stage," says Sedgman, whose latest book, On Being Unreasonable, explores widening divisions in society over how we use public space. "Whether that's fruit as a way to signify displeasure, or softer items like underwear and flowers as a signal of adoration." Back In 1775, a performer in Sheridan's The Rivals stopped the show when he was pelted with an apple.

Adapted from: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230712

Technologies are evolving at an unprecedented pace and pose significant challenges and opportunities to companies and related parties, including the accounting profession. In today’s business environment, it is inevitable for companies to react quickly to changing conditions and markets. Many companies are seeking better ways to utilize emerging technologies to transform how they conduct business. We live in an age of information explosion, with technologies capable of making revolutionary changes in various industries and reshaping business models. At present, many companies view data as one of their most valuable assets. They amass an unprecedented amount of data from their daily business operation and strive to harness the power of data through analytics. Emerging technologies like robotic process automation, machine learning, and data analytics also impact the accounting profession. It is important for the profession to understand the impacts, opportunities, and challenges of these technologies.

Specifically, in audit and assurance areas, data analytics and machine learning will lead to many changes in the foreseeable future. Audit sampling is one such potential change. The use of sampling in audits has been criticized since it only provides a small snapshot of the entire population. To address this major issue, this study introduces the idea of applying audit data analytics and machine learning for full population testing through the concept of “audit-by-exception” and “exceptional exceptions.” In this way, the emphasis of audit work shifts from “transaction examination” to “exception examination” and prioritizes the exceptions based on different criteria. Consequently, auditors can assess the associated risk based on the entire population of the transactions and thus enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the audit process.

Adapted from the introduction to a study published in: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240591882200006X

      During the last century water infrastructure projects involving large dams played a major role in the socio-economic transformation of many countries. At the same time, in a significant number of cases the benefits were not shared equitably, and the negative impacts on the environmental and sociocultural structures were excessive. In some cases their economic performance was questionable. Diverging views have arisen on the merits and demerits of dams, the roles they play, and their alternatives in providing water and energy services. However, recognition that such roles are complementary rather than mutually exclusive has been growing as the dam debate has moved forward.

      It is envisaged that, as part of the global effort to improve water and energy supplies, more dams will be constructed, especially in developing countries, alongside other diverse alternatives. There will, consequently, be a need to enhance the benefits of dams and avoid many of their drawbacks by applying better decision-making processes within the overall framework of sustainability. There are complex issues around the planning and management of dams in the context of sustainable development which will need to be adequately considered and addressed to achieve sustainable outcomes.

      Dealing with the environmental and social challenges within the context of meeting water and energy needs is at the heart of the sustainability of projects involving dams. Dams are one of the options, structural or non-structural, available to meet specific water or energy needs. In many cases water and energy services are best provided through a mix of options. Each case is different. A decision to build a dam should emerge after a comprehensive assessment of the full range of available options, giving appropriate consideration to all aspects of sustainability.