How are the going concern assumption and the historical cost attribute related?

The going concern assumption is that a business is planned to continue existing for some span of time into the future, usually assumed to be at least 1 year. In order to be a going concern, a business must either be profitable or at least be running a loss small enough that current assets will suffice to keep the business solvent during that period. Most accounting systems require that all businesses must be going concerns to file normal accounting statements, and otherwise must file for bankruptcy.

The historical cost method means that whenever a business purchases an asset, they report the value of that asset in future accounting reports as the actual amount paid when the asset was bought. The alternative is current cost accounting, on which assets are "marked to market" and accounted at their current market value.

Since most assets depreciate, the historical cost can overestimate what those assets would be worth if they were sold today, though most accounting methods do include depreciation for this reason. The problem is that depreciation for accounting purposes may not be the actual rate of depreciation of that asset in the market.

Thus, a company that appears to be solvent under historical cost accounting could actually be insolvent if all of its assets were sold today. Historical cost accounting could make a business appear to be a going concern even though it should really be bankrupt.

The opposite is also possible, if the asset has appreciated; a business that appears insolvent at historical cost accounting could in reality be solvent. This is less of a problem, however, as the business could simply sell the asset at the higher market price and receive the capital gain in cash, thus proving their solvency.

What was Hephaestus' domain?

Hephaestus (Vulcan in the Roman form) was the Greek god of blacksmithing, craftsmanship and metallurgy. Thus, his domain was fire, smithing, and forge. According to the prevailing Greek myth as described in the Iliad and the Odyssey, Hephaestus' parents were Zeus and Hera. Hephaestus was lame (he had a deformed foot), so Hera (or Zeus, depending on the myth) threw him off Olympus.

Hephaestus later returned to Olympus (he is the only Olympian to have been exiled and yet been able to return later), and he crafted magical armor for most of the Olympian gods and goddesses, as well as their thrones. He also crafted armor for a few select mortals and demigods, including the armor Achilles wore in the Iliad.

Since his primary craft is blacksmithing, Hephaestus is usually symbolized by a blacksmith's tools: an anvil, hammer, and tongs.

How does Dill change from the start to the end of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

At the start of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Dill is young, energetic, and imaginative. His youthful innocence is portrayed in the fact that he is the only one of the three children who cries during Tom Robinson's cross-examination by Mr. Gilmer. However, by the time Dill accompanies Jem, Atticus, and Calpurnia to Helen Robinson's home to inform her of her husband's death, we see he has lost all imagination and strong emotions.

Dill's energetic imaginativeness is reflected in all the games and stories he makes up. One example is seen when, on the night he is discovered having run away from Meridian to Maycomb, he tells Scout a story about where babies come from. According to Scout's narration, Dill tells her, "There was a man [he] had heard of who had a boat that he rowed across to a foggy island where all these babies were; you could order one--" (Ch. 14).

During the trial, when Dill cries because he feels Mr. Gilmer is treating Robinson horribly, Mr. Dolphus Raymond says he understands why Dill is crying; it's because such treatment "just makes you sick, doesn't it?" (Ch. 19). Yet, Mr. Raymond also warns that as Dill grows up, "[H]e won't get sick and cry" (Ch. 20). He'll realize something is wrong, but it won't make him cry any longer. By the time we learn about Helen Robinson's reaction to her husband's death, we see that Mr. Raymond's prediction was correct and was even fulfilled much sooner than we would expect.

We learn of what Dill recounts to Scout of Helen's reaction through a flashback Scout has one evening after Dill had returned to Meridian at the end of summer. Through Scout's flashback, we learn that Dill's story was extremely truthful and straightforward; he did not embellish the story in any way, as he normally would have done. He described black children playing marbles in the front yard. He also described a young girl's hair as being full of "tiny stiff pigtails, each ending in a bright bow" (Ch. 25). Most importantly, he described Helen as falling to her knees without even being told the bad news. What strikes the reader is that Dill does not cry while reciting this story even though the story is full of the consequences of social injustices.

The fact that, by the end of the book, Dill tells a straightforward story without any embellishments and does not cry despite the fact that the details of the story are tragic shows that, as a result of witnessing the trial, Dill has lost his innocence and has become hardened. As a result of losing his innocence, Dill loses his imaginativeness and some of his sensitivity.

This is biology related.. Describe the origin and effects of air, soil and water pollution.

There are various sources of environmental pollution. Industrial and domestic discharges are the chief sources of air, water and soil pollution. Our industries, especially the manufacturing sector, generates solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. Inadequate treatment and inappropriate discharge of these waste products into our environment causes pollution. For example, a battery making industry will produce waste containing acids, which if discharged into environment without treatment, may end up in our rivers, thus polluting it. Low pH waste (acidic waste) will decrease the pH of water and causes ion imbalance. Organic wastes will reduce the dissolved oxygen level in the water, thus killing phytoplankton and zooplankton. These effects will also render water unfit for drinking or swimming, etc. When such wastes are discharged into agricultural fields, they contaminate the soil and decrease its fertility, while also harming the native microbial community. Industries also discharge a lot of harmful gases (such as CO2, methane, etc.) into the atmosphere, thus polluting it. These are generated as a result of burning of materials, esp. fossil fuels. When they escape into environment, they make breathing difficult and can also cause acid rain. One big effect of air pollution, esp. by CO2, is enhanced greenhouse effect, causing global warming. 

Hope this helps. 

How are villainous characters presented in Shakespeare's Macbeth and Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

In Macbeth and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, villainous characters are presented through their indulgence in guilty pleasures.  For example, Macbeth becomes consumed with the idea of being king and proving himself a man.  He seeks to eliminate all doubt from others regarding his position, so he gets yet a second prophecy from the witches and kills anyone whom he believes might challenge him.  Macbeth is consumed by becoming and staying king.  Similarly, Jekyll's evil persona Hyde abuses a child on the street and kills an old man for no reason.  Jekyll has wanted to divorce himself from this evil side rather than take the responsibility of dealing with it, and now the evil has taken on a life of its own.  Like Macbeth, Hyde is consumed with evil and acts accordingly.  So the villainous characters in these two texts are motivated by their own guilty pleasures.

Why did Burris Ewell only come to school on the first day?

Burris Ewell only came to school on the first day because his truancy officer required him to be in attendance one-day out of the school year. After Miss Caroline witnesses a "cootie" crawl out of Burris' hair, she tells him to bathe before coming to school the next day. Burris responds by saying, "I was on the verge of leavin'---I done done my time for this year." (Lee 35) Scout tries to explain Burris' situation and tells Miss Caroline that school attendance throughout the year is not required for the Ewells. When Miss Caroline asks about Burris' parents, the class tells her that the Ewell family has no mother and their father is "contentious." Burris proudly states that he's been coming to school on the first day for three straight years, and never attends any other days of school. Burris then argues with Miss Caroline after she tells him to sit down and threatens to report him to the principal. As Burris is leaving the school, he shouts insults toward Miss Caroline, which make her cry.

The Cask of Amontillado: In what ways was Montresor either right or wrong to kill Fortunato?

In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" the narrator, Montresor, is clearly a sociopath. He is a cold-blooded killer whose only reason for murdering Fortunato is because of an "insult." He has absolutely no hesitation or remorse in carrying out the diabolical deed of walling up a man in the catacombs below his house.

In the first paragraph, he reveals his deranged thinking. He says that he must commit this crime so that no one figures it out but that the victim should know exactly who murdered him. Montresor says,

At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

Indeed, the crime is never discovered. It is perfect in its sinister nature and could only be carried out by a man who felt no empathy for his fellow man. Even at the end when Montresor says for a split second that his "heart grew sick" we quickly learn it is not out of guilt but because he is cold.