Racism: a Comparison and Contrast of Two Literary Works Essay

The words, purpose and identity are familiar with mankind. These words can mean many things to many different individuals. Each person on this Earth is uniquely made with unique DNA patterns and fingerprints that cannot be matched with any other individual among the billions of people that occupy this planet we call Earth. Why is prejudice so common among people if everyone is unique and special? This question remains unanswered. Many authors have written essays, stories, and poems about negative judgmental and biased views of people in hopes to understand unfair treatment towards mankind and promote changes in human behavior that will bring solutions of peace. This paper will reflect on the stories, Country Lovers, by Nadine Gordimer and The Welcome Table, by Alice Walker. Gordimer and Walker have become activists for fair and unbiased treatment among mankind. Both authors have been rewarded numerous honorary awards for promoting peace. Ironically, Nadine Gordimer is a white woman born and raised in South Africa and Alice Walker is an African American but both authors have kindred spirits and are celebrated for their commitments to fight the cruel elements of racism. Nadine Gordimer’s Country Lovers is a story about Thebedi, a black girl, and Paulus, a white boy, who fell in love. Gordimer wrote the story from a third-person point of view. The point of view is objective; the characters’ thoughts are not exposed as in the omniscient point of view. The point of view allows the reader to concentrate on the characters’ actions, creating a more dramatic effect. Thebedi and Paulus’ attraction to each other was unforbidden and socially not acceptable in the South African culture in which they were raised. Both children were raised on a South African farm, one that was owned by Paulus’ parents. Thebedi was one of the many black hired hands, slaves, or servants who worked on the Eysendyck’s family farm. The story does not clearly give a time period when the events unfolded, but the era of white dominance that existed over the black people was clearly defined, as the story states, â€Å"The farm children play together when they are small, but once the white children go away to school they soon don’t play together any more†¦so that by the time early adolescence is reached, the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an  easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). Paulus and Thebedi exchanged gifts and their attraction for each other grew. Thebedi proudly wore a pair of hoop earrings given to her by Paulus but could not tell of the giver’s real identity and stated the earrings came from â€Å"the missus† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 3). Likewise, Paulus wore a bracelet made of elephant hair that was given by Thebedi but told everyone that one of the workers from his father’s farm had given him the gift (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 2). The fact that each person hid each other’s identities about the gifts suggest that their friendship was not acceptable because of their differences in racial and social statuses. As Thebedi and Paulus grew older, they frequently met at a remote dried river bed, each one walking a measureable distance from each other so that they would not be seen together. Paulus often spoke about his adventures away from home, as he was home for the holidays from a boarding school. Thebedi would ask questions and listen intently, enjoying Paulus’ company and laughing together (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). The friendship grew stronger and became sexual (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraphs 5 and 8). The couple continued to sneak around and see each other secretly, sometimes at Paulus’ home while his parents were away, as expressed in the line, †The door of the parents’ bedroom was locked and the empty rooms where the girls had slept had sheets of plastic spread over the beds. It was in one of these that she and the farmer’s son stayed together whole nights almost: she had to get away before the house servants, who knew her, came in at dawn.† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 8). The mood of the story quickly begins to change when Thebedi, at age 18, enters an arranged marriage union with Njabulo, a fellow black worker on the Eysendyck farm (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Thebedi’s father was also a worker on the Eysendyck farm and saw Njabulo worthy of marrying his daughter; Njabulo was of the same social status as Thebedi’s family. Thebedi did not tell Paulus about her engagement to Njabulo, nor did she speak of her pregnancy, which was in the seventh month at the time she  married Njabulo (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Soon, Thebedi gives birth to a healthy daughter, and with no surprise to the reader, the baby was light skinned (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). Njabulo’s disposition is one of high regards, as the story describes him as making no complaint, but â€Å"Out of his farm labourer’s earnings he bought†¦a pink plastic bath, six napkins, a card of safety pins, a knitted jacket, cap and bootees, a dress, and a tin of Johnson’s Baby Powder, for Thebedi’s baby† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 9). The author points out that the baby belongs to Thebedi, not Njabulo, but Njabulo assumes the role as father and provides for the child whole heartedly. The story’s plot comes to the climax when Paulus comes home from veterinary school and discovers not only is Thebedi married, but she has a child. Paulus visits the infant and immediately realizes he is the father of Thebedi’s baby. His reaction was a disturbed and embarrassed one, as the story explains, â€Å"He said nothing. He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger, and self-pity† as he asked Thebedi, â€Å"You haven’t been near the house with it?† (Clugston 2010,section 3.1, paragraphs 11 and 12). The reader sees the heart of Paulus at this point. It. The baby is referred to an it. Not a person but a thing that would bring him and his family shame and disgrace if anyone should find out. Paulus’s heart is further exposed with his commands to Thebedi, â€Å"Don’t take it out. Stay inside. Can’t you take it away somewhere. You must give it to someone—â€Å". Paulus left Thebedi’s home with the words, â€Å"I feel like killing myself† coming from the depths of his heart and out of his mouth (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 19). Paulus returns to Thebedi’s home shortly after and the reader discovers that Thebedi’s baby has been poisoned to death. The autopsy revealed intestinal damage not consistent with natural reason of death (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 22). Thebedi appears at an initial examination for the murder charges against Paulus, wearing the hoop earrings that Paulus had given her during their summer romance (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 24). Thebedi stated she had seen Paulus pouring something into her daughter’s mouth at the initial examination but later changed her story at Paulus’ trial, stating  she did not see anything that took place in her home. Thebedi wore her hoop earrings at both events, suggesting to the reader that she would always cherish Paulus and the affair they had together (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 25). Thebedi brought along her newborn baby at the time of the trial, suggesting to the reader that Thebedi had to go on with her life and concentrate on her new husband and her new baby; while Thebedi still cherished the memories that she and Paulus made together, those memories were only in the past. The reality was that Thebedi and Paulus had no chance of a future together. Paulus was found not guilty of the murder charge and Thebedi was interviewed by the Sunday papers. The author carefully points out that the newspapers â€Å"spelled her name in a variety of ways† suggesting that Thebedi was a common person and viewed in society as an individual with little importance (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 30). The story ends with Thebedi’s comment, â€Å"It was a thing of our childhood. We don’t see each other anymore† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 30). The author of Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer, spoke out against racism in her interview presented by the Nobel Peace Organization on October 3, 2007. Having been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, an unnamed spokesperson asked Gordimer about the turning point in her life in which she became an activist for racism. Gordimer explained, â€Å"It was unthinkable for me to know black people whom would share my interests. It was always a servant/master basis. Even if you were the child of the master or mistress, you still had this particular position. But being troubled about it†¦I was beginning to find out there was something called racism in this world, and I was living in it. I was part of it. And then when I was older, training at Witwatersrand University, and there for the first time I met.there was one or two†¦there were a few young black members of the University, of course was whites only†¦there were certain courses that were not available in the black universities. And then as concession of post graduate level a few blacks would come in. I met one or two black people with whom I had far more in common than I had with the young whites that I knew at the time. There were young people who were trying to write, who were beginning to write. We had this enormous approach to life. I began at that age to make black friends. I moved into and entered into a fitting of incredible distortions of racism.  Not only the impression of blacks but the distortions in my personality and my mind as a white. These became very part of my life and indeed started my way to freedom from racism† (Nobelpeace.org, 2007). Gordimer, a native from Springs,South Africa, undoubtedly wrote Country Lovers based on experiences she dealt with firsthand growing up. In addition to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, she has been awarded with several honorary degrees, ranging from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and holds degrees from University of York in England and Witwatersrand in South Africa among many other schools (Nobelpeace.org, 2005). Some of the many honors extended to Gordimer have included being an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Honorary Member of the American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honour of the Republic of Chile (Nobelpeace.org, 2007). Alice Walker’s The Welcome Table also presents a theme of racism. Walker is best known for her novel, The Color Purple, which led to Walker’s award of the Pulitzer Prize for the literary work (Clugston 2010, section 3.1,). The Welcome Table is told from a third-person omniscient point of view, carefully giving details of the thoughts of the main character, an elderly, rejected black woman, and those of the snobbish, prejudiced white people. The third-person omniscient point of view allows the reader to understand the deepest thoughts of the characters. The story begins introducing the old woman as one who has known suffering and who is looking for peace, dressed in her best Sunday clothes intending to worship at a local church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). The unusual thing about the black woman’s presence is that the church is in an all- white community. The white people do not want the woman at their church and the narrator is quick to disclose the peoples’ thoughts, And so they gazed nakedly upon their own fear transferred; a fear of the black and the old, a terror of the unknown as well as of the deeply known† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 1). The narrator adds that â€Å"some of them there saw the age, the dotage, the missing buttons down the front of her mildewed black dress†¦Those who knew the hesitant creeping up on them of the law, saw the beginning of the end of the sanctuary of Christian worship, saw the desecration of Holy Church, and  saw an invasion of privacy, which they struggled to believe they still kept† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 2). The white people’s prejudice against the black woman suggest that this time period was when Civil Rights laws were being ma de and the white people did not want to accept the new laws that gave the right to black people to be in public places (Cheever J. and Mason B., 2012). Cheever and Mason add that â€Å"Privacy did not really mean privacy. They wanted to maintain their unequal social system and their own privileges at all costs† (Cheever J. and Mason B., 2012). The narrator tells the reader that the woman had walked a half of a mile to get to the church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 3). The determination of the elderly woman contrasts with the character Thebedi from the previous story in that the unnamed woman does not give in to the white people’s dominating views, as she presses on to the white church. However, Thebedi knew her place within the society that was dominated by the white people. Thebedi accepted that she would not ever be able to fit into the white people’s world and have a future together with Paulus; subsequently, she proceded to marry Njabulo, even though she was carrying Paulus’ child. The next paragraph of The Welcome Table states that even the reverend of the church disapproved of the black woman’s presence (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). The people â€Å"stared at her as they came in and sat down near the front†¦the site of her, sitting there somehow passionately ignoring them, brought them up short, burning Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 4). An usher came up to the woman and told her to leave. (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 5). The Welcome Table and Country Lovers both introduce the reader to white people’s prejudiced and biased views toward black people. The black woman was looked down as on outcast in The Welcome Table, much like Paulus’ response when he saw his daughter, a product of a lowly, black servant girl. Paulus’ remark that he wanted to kill himself tells the reader that he thought his situation was so embarrassing and disgraceful that he would rather end his life than be exposed that he was a father to a half black daughter. Paulus wanted to send Thebedi away or have Thebedi give the baby to someone far away- so that no one would know about Thebedi and Paulus’ affair. The white people in The Welcome Table did not  kill anyone as Paulus did but they had hatred in their hearts and they might as well have killed the black woman. They literally picked her up and tossed her back outside into the cold air. The narrator describes the incident as â€Å"It was the ladies who finally did what to them had to be done. Daring their burly indecisive husbands to throw the old colored woman out they made their point†¦Could their husbands expect them to sit up in church with that? No, no, the husbands were quick to answer and even quicker to do their duty (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 5). The next paragraph describes the removal of the woman, â€Å"Under the old woman’s arms they placed their hard fists†¦Under the old woman’s arms they raised their fists, flexed their muscular shoulders, and out she flew through the door, back under the cold blue sky (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 6). The narrator explains that the woman had been singing in her head when she was rudely interrupted and thrown out of the church (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 7). This woman was singing. She had joy in her heart. She was daring and brave to come to the white people’s church but it should not have been a risk. It’s God’s people who are supposed to be lovable and accepting towards people-all people of every race, color, and tribe. The use of the third-person omniscient point of view engages the reader to feel the discomfort and the agitation towards the biased white people who threw someone out of the church simply because of the color of a person’s skin. It is one of the most disgraceful and wrong sins church people could commit. The narrator states that the woman looked down the highway and saw Jesus himself approaching her (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 8). The white people met together for church meeting in their best Sunday clothes, most likely carrying their bibles and sang of God’s love, yet God was not in their church. God was with the black woman and showed compassion by sending His Son Jesus to meet the woman and comfort her in her time of need. As Jesus approached the woman, he simply stated, â€Å"Follow Me† (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 10). The author must have known about the bible because Jesus told his disciples many times throughout the bible to follow him. Jesus also stated, â€Å"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me† (John 10:14) and â€Å"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,  and they follow me† (John 10:27). The words, Follow Me were very appropriate for this story. The woman gladly followed Jesus. The narrator states, â€Å"Jesus gave her one of his beautiful smiles and they walked on. She did not know where they were going; someplace wonderful, she suspected. The ground was like clouds under their feet, and she felt she could walk forever without becoming the least bit tired (Clugston 2010, section 3.1, paragraph 11). Not only is the woman walking side by side by Jesus, she is strengthened and her energy is renewed. The character, Njabulo in Country Lovers can be compared to the loving father like figure Jesus was to the old woman in The Welcome Table. Both Njabulo and Jesus met the needs of those around them. Njabulo was a great provider and bought several of the babies’ needs from his small income earned on the farm and was a great support to Thebedi throughout the story. Jesus accepted the elderly black woman and was everything she needed, taking care of all her needs. Alice Walker, the author of The Welcome Table, has dedicated her entire life in helping people. She has been very active in the Civil Rights Movement, promoting equal rights for black people (Jokinen 2006, p.1). She has also been an activist for the women’s movement, anti-apartheid movement, anti-nuclear movement, and has opposed female genital mutilation (Jokinen 2006, p.1). Walker has received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for her novel, The Color Purple, the Lillian Smith Award, The Rosenthal Award, the Front Page Award for Best Magazine Criticism, and the Townsend Prize and Lyndhurst Prize (Jokinen 2006, p.1). In the story, Country Lovers, the character Paulus was also educated and could have been influential in his community as an activist for black people but Paulus was more concerned about his social status. The thought of having a biracial child was degrading and unthinkable to Paulus. There has been recent attention to biracial identities in America. Kelly Rockquemore and David Brunsma teamed up together to write Beyond Black; Biracial Identity in America (Harris 2003, p. 436). The two authors presented a new approach to studying biracial profiles, arguing that previous projects by others assumed that all biracial individuals thought of themselves as merely biracial but, in reality, biracials claim they think of themselves as always white, always  black, sometimes white, sometimes black, or even raceless (Harris 2003, p.436). One could suspect that biracial studies as the ones conducted by Rockquemore and Brunsma would promote black and white people to live together in peace, merging communities, families, and hopefully, churches. South Africa, the setting of the story, Country Lovers, has actually had to address the issues of racism and has made changes to its government to promote equal rights among the people. In 1994, South Africa adopted a democratic form of government (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p. 69). The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, made into law in 1996, states â€Å"full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms’ and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and gender† (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p. 69). It has been said that non-racialism was one of the key founding values in making the new Constitution (Lefko-Everetti, 2012, p.79). Lefko-Everetti adds that, â€Å"the goal of pursuing a non-racial society accepting of diversity is embodied in the Constitution and continues to be embraced by many South Africans† (Lefko-Everetti, p.79). Authors Alice Walker and Nadine Gordimer have dedicated themselves for fighting for active rights of the people. Both authors have been awarded with numerous awards and have been recognized publicly for their written works against racism. Many other authors have written about racism and have joined their efforts with Walker and Gordimer to promote peace among mankind and to recognize that every individual deserves to be respected and not to be judged upon the color of their skin, nor of their religion preference, or their ethnicity. The stories, The Welcome Table and Country Lovers are prime examples of literary works that point out the sad and ugly realities of racism’s presence in communities. REFERENCES Cheever, J. and Mason, B. (2012) Alice Walker:Fiction and the Human Experience. Retrieved from http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/pardee/li220- 05/protected/lessons/notes/notes6.htm Clugston, R.W. (2010) Journey Into Literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education Inc. Harrris, D.R. (2003) Beyond Black:Biracial Identity in America (review). Social Forces, Volume 82, Number 1, September 2003, pp.436-437. Oxford University Press. Retrieved From Project MUSE at http://muse.jhu.edu Jokinen, A. (1996 ) Anniina’s Alice Walker Page. Retrieved from http://www.luminarium.org Lefko-Everetti, K (2012). Beyond race? Exploring indicators of (dis)advantage to achieve South Africa’s equity goals. Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, Number 79, 2012 pp.69-92. Retrieved from Project MUSE at http://muse.jhu.edu Nobelprize.org (2005) The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991 Nadine Gordimer Biography. Retrieved from www.nobelprize.org/nobel/prize.org/Nobel_prizesliterture/laureaates/ 1991/gordimer-bio.html Nobelprize.org (2007) Nadine Gordimer on racism 10-3-07(shown on YouTube). Retrieved From http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v+VWcxSsd8NsM

Assess the View The Modern Family Is Child Centrded Essay

Assess the view that the modern family has become more children centred. Some sociologists argue that the modern family has become more children centred. This is mainly due to the changes in laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work. This is because from about the 10th to the 13th century the idea of childhood did not exist. According to Aries in the middle ages childhood as a separate age-stage was short. Children entered wider society on the same terms as adults. Even the laws we have today to protect children were not applicable, the law often made no distinction between children and adults and they faced the same punishment as adults. However Aries theory can be deemed as unreliable as he used evidence from paintings and diaries to understand childhood and family life in the past. Another reason some sociologist argue that the family has become more child centred is due to the introduction of compulsory schooling for all children in 1880. This benefited mostly the poorer children as some upper class children had already been receiving education. According to Aries some elements of the modern notion of childhood gradually began to emerge from the 13th century onwards. This is because school came to specialize in the education of children. However conflict sociologists such as Marxist argue that inequalities among children of different classes still exist even if all children go to school. The opportunities and risks they face still differ as many children remain unprotected and badly cared for. The view that the modern family has become more children centred can be explained with declining family size and lower infant mortality rates.

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Strategic management - Essay Example On the supply side of the old thought, the production technology employed was unique to both within and outside markets. Another alternative thought detailed the firm as a unit that consolidates financial surplus from the different profit sources both inside and outside a given economy matrix. On the demand side, the old issue was also winning the name plate competition between substitutable end products. The emerging trend is about capturing expenditure on a function as it trickles down from the firms and households into substitutable and complementary products and services (Froud 2006, p.7). At this juncture, the sector matrix is a form of opportunistic and multifaceted thinking on the side of management spearheaded by financialization and starting from a totally different set of assumptions to the concept of supply chain industry (Froud 2006, p.100). Some of these assumptions detailed: that the household and corporate demand for the related products and services will be the starti ng point of the analysis; the boundary of the matrix is to be defined by the unique function, for example, motoring, healthcare and mobility; the boundary might have a tendency of shifting with time, as it responds to regulatory, social and economic changes (Froud 2006, p.101). This is based on the assumptions that the financial firm is persistently looking to increase its profits; that there is no restriction of competition only to group of firms producing similar products, although there is extension also to other firms that aspire to position in the matrix (Froud 2006, p.100). Analysis of motoring matrix The major illustration of sector matrix is a motoring matrix. It highlights the new used car relation as well as the overall importance of non manufacturing activities. The matrix allows us to give a new definition to the competition that is common in car companies. It clearly shows that this is not a contest the manufacturing systems. It also highlights that it is not a competit ion between social; settlements so that the Americans and Europeans must lose due to their high salaries and social costs. It then affirms that the car business is merely a business contest (Froud 2006, p.257). This is to see how these logic and assembly can be modified through the consolidation of non-manufacturing activities. Breaking from the value chain approach requires adoption of two wider assumptions in the process of constructing a matrix of framework. First, on the demand side, rather than limiting this to expenditure on the new product by an individual consumer, the definition should include all the household expenditure. Secondly, on the supply side, rather than limiting the definition of a business operating in an industry defined by the same technology and identical finished products, the definition should be widened in such a way that the definition of the business is by financial consolidation of a range of activities cutting across all industrial sectors (Froud 2006 , p.95). Extended examples illustrating sector matrix From the above analogy, another grid can be drawn for any complicated product. This centers on whether it requires supporting infrastructure or needs consumption coupled with ancillary services. A healthcare matrix is such an example. Here in the matrix, the primary and secondary healthcare can replace the new and

Right to Die - Financial Objections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Right to Die - Financial Objections - Essay Example And each new day makes it less and less likely. Her eyes are closed, but its not just that. Her face seems dead. She just has the same look all the time, like she was when she first collapsed. Its sort of a smile, but I think its a grimace. But it never responds, never changes. Its like looking at a corpse thats just barely breathing. Then the money problems make it so much harder. I wouldnt want my Mom to die because its hard to pay for her, but it just is. Her money is starting to run out. The ventilator, the doctor visits, the nurse checkups... they cost, and insurance doesnt cover it all. Im working two jobs to cover it. One of my jobs has insurance, but one pays just about minimum wage. I work the graveyard shift. I cant even be there to hold her hand because it costs so much money. American Hospice Foundation. â€Å"Coma and Persistent Vegetative State: An Exploration of Terms†. Cheryl Arenella, MD/MPH. http://www.americanhospice.org/articles-mainmenu-8/caregiving- mainmenu-10/50-coma-and-persistent-vegetative-state-an-exploration-of-terms . Web. Accessed

Survey Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Survey Description - Essay Example The demographic questions only focused on the gender and educational level of the participants. The informational questions focused on getting participants opinion on what their thought was about their major, their satisfaction level of the major they are undertaking and whether it was easy for the members to choose their major. For example, the last informational question ask the students whether the preparatory year in college can help a student in selecting the major to pursue. The survey was conducted through writing questionnaires and sending them to students and faculty at English Language Center, using the well-known survey website Survey Monkey. The small number of questions encouraged the students to take part in the survey since it did not consume a lot of their time. There was a total of 16 students taking part with a majority, 14, being female, and only two male students participated in the survey. From the survey 6 were graduate students, 4 were undergraduate and the remaining 6 specified other as their educational level. The major finding from the survey are as follows: Many people start thinking about the major they are going to take at elementary school level. A majority of the student, 71.43%, are satisfied with the major they are taking. Almost half of the participants believe that preparatory year sometimes helps a student choose a

Why Tom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Tom - Essay Example This story show us that dreams have limits and have their own laws which is something Jay Gatsby learns to his unfortunate detriment at the end of the story. This is why Daisy chose Tom: she realized that Gatsby was too poor and too delusional. Daisy is a character who grows throughout the story and realizes what dreams can do. Gatsby may be rich, but in a way he is living a dream. He thinks he can go back in the past and make the wrong things right again, he thinks he can make Daisy love him again. In a way Gatsby is delusional. He has bought into a dream that financially rewarded him, but the substance of the dream is gone—all that is left is the material husk, shiny and rich, but with nothing real inside it. He has bought the shape of the dream, but not the American dream itself. Tom and Gatsby are different kinds of men. While Tom is outwardly more successful, he has less ambition than Gatsby. Gatsby wants to succeed even if that lie is a success. America is known as the new world, a land of immigrants. So many people came to America, leaving their poor old lives behind. They came from countries with few economic opportunities, with little freedom. Some came with only five dollars in their pocket. In America, because of capitalism, they could become almost anything if they worked hard and had a good idea. In one generation a family could change from peasants or paupers to a rich and well-heeled family. There was enough money for almost everyone. This was all part of the good side of the American dream: that if you worked hard you could achieve anything for yourself and your family. Tom is one of the lucky American who has been born into everything and doesnt have to work hard or be ambitious. However, there is also a sadder, darker side to the dream. The side that Gatsby represents. Some people fall in love with the dream

Why Is Homeschooling Better than Public Schools Speech Essay - 10

Why Is Homeschooling Better than Public Schools Speech - Essay Example In less than two months, all of us we will be through with our assignments and syllabus. No influence from other children and outsiders, the health of our children will be under close monitoring of the parent and every stage of the child development will be noted (Stevens, 2001). If you have not guessed of what I am touching on, I am talking about homeschooling. In 2013 alone more than 2.05 million US students were homeschooling. This was an increase of 75% from 1999. Not only in the US where homeschooling has been adopted, in Indonesia as indicated by Home School Legal Defense Association, more than 3000 families have now turned to homeschool as their best way to educate and shape their children. a. It is obvious that the major difference between homeschooling and public school is that the former is safer since the parent is with her or his child all the time. In public schools, bullying is very common, a vice affects the motivation of the children leading to poor performance. While parents who take their children to public school are not aware of what may happen to the child, parents who educate their children at home closely monitor their children and in case of any behavioural deviation, they address it on time. a. A major misconception about homeschooling is that it makes the children not to be exposed to life experiences. This is not true as far as I am concerned. Homeschooling children have adequate time to go for outing and meet their friends for example during the weekends (Welner and Kevin, 1999). Through social media, they can intermingle with their colleagues. There is no discrimination based on race, religion or nationality at home. Just by being comfortable during and after studying, the children are motivated to study the following day and they do not worry school as compared to their public school counterparts. b. More than 70% of homeschooling children take the career they choose. They are not influenced by their friends neither do the parents force them.

Civil war Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil war - Case Study Example Q1. The scramble for Africa incorporated the entrance of African slave traders into African interior. The countries that were primary colonizers of Africa included the French and the British. Enlightenment, new science, and industrial revolution influenced Europeans regard for Africa by the superior military in machine guns and a colony of boundaries drawn in the exploitation of tribal, religious and linguistic differences. Q1. The significance of Haitian revolution is that it became the second republic in W. Hemisphere. Haitian constitution of 1801 reflects enlightenment by Article 29, which states in future each governor names after five years and allowed to continue after every five years if overseen by the proper administration. On the other hand, it does not reflect the enlightenment through since Article 5 does not exist distinctions other than those based on virtues and talents (Carnes 15). Q2. The significance of Monroe Doctrine 1823 was the assortment if itself as the dominant force in Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt Corollary 1904 significance was financial involvement in Central and South American countries facing economic and political

Report about Cedar Breaks Park Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Report about Cedar Breaks Park - Term Paper Example It feels as which you are touching the sky as this park is 10,000 feet above a cliff edge with a spectacular view of forests, meadows, deserts and rocky spires. This breath-taking scenery was completely a treat for me as I had never seen such an amazing, well-kept park which was an amazing source of recreation for all of us. Cedar Breaks Park got the name ‘Cedar’ because of abundance of cedar in the forests surrounding this mesmerizing piece of land. This park is open all year and we visited during the same peak timings in between 6am-10pm. basically, this park is operated by the very efficient US Army Corps and they are remarkably performing their duties and maintaining the park well. History: This heaven on earth-Cedar Breaks Park could not have been constructed if this beautiful place could have been declared as National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 12th, 1992. People have been actually visiting this place 9000 years before and these were call ed as the first visitors of Cedar Break who came to this place for many things and activities (Laine and Laine 521). After the creation of Cedar Break Lodges, Cedar Break Park Company lodges were also constructed. Park tour buses used to stop for dinners at these lodges seating around 120 people at one time. In this way, people started to visit this place and got to know about this amazing place. As now, Cedar Break was in sight of many people, many groups of people started to utilizing this beautiful scenic beauty into some useful project. After Franklin’s Deceleration, this place was now ready to be considered as national monument. Once this was done, the idea of constructing Cedar Break Park clouded in the minds of many people and with time, these thoughts became reality which now we can clearly see in front of us. Cedar Break’s Climate, animals and plants-making it an unforgettable place! Cedar Break Park is one of those places which do not offer a great time to re lax in the lush green meadows, recreation due to numerous fun activities but also the animal and bird lovers can have a great time as this park can also be seen as a mini zoo. When I visited this place, i was so amazed to see the wide range of animals and birds being exhibited in this well-maintained park. Animals including different birds, insects, spiders, millipedes, mammals etc. are found in this park. Various varieties of birds like grouse, juncos, kinglets, finches, thrushes, warblers and many others were caged, providing a great source to amuse children and many adults who adore birds. The rhythmic chirping of the birds produced a beautiful background music which relaxed every bone of my body. I was not able to stop looking at these beautiful, small, colorful birds who sat behind the wires of the cages. When it comes to talking about insects and creepy crawlies found in the park, one will always encounter spruce bark beetle in this park. This is a beetle which lay its eggs in Spruce trees which acts like a renewal in the old forests. As I walked along the park, I saw great numbers of dead spruce trees. After enquiring from one of the staff members of the park, I got to know that the same beetle is actually responsible for the death of these trees as it cuts off the flow of water and nutrients to the tops of the trees. Moreover, our recreation continued when we visited the cages of the extensive

Entrepreneurship the purist most challenging application of the art and science of business. Essay Example for Free

Entrepreneurship the purist most challenging application of the art and science of business. Essay Corporate America repeatedly cites the ‘lack of entrepreneurial skills’ as the single biggest deficiency in MBAs – something that we fix in this course. Entrepreneurial skills and knowledge are mandatory for creating your own venture (for-profit or non-profit) , creating a new business unit within an existing enterprise, creating a new product or service offering and  launching it, or for just being a much more inventive and creative desk jockey in a lumbering, bureaucratic human cesspit of non-productive activity. The conception and start-up stage of a new organization is a critical stage of the company’s life-cycle. It is the time for the venture to pull itself together and get up and running in time for ‘opening day’. It is an extremely busy time in the venture’s life, requiring a thorough understanding, application, and execution of your MBA concepts skills. In this capstone course we examine the idea of entrepreneurship, its symbiotic existence with Corporate America, the origin of new (company) concepts, setting up the new legal entity, raising funding from outside investors or donors, developing and writing a comprehensive business plan, and pitching your concept to a panel of seasoned investors or potential donors. Some key topics include: (1) demographics for small businesses, (2) conceiving and understanding a sound ‘business model’, (3) financial forecasting and modeling for new start-ups, (4) cash flow management in start-ups, (5) term sheets, (6) the venture capital business, (7) multiple funding rounds, (8) start-up company valuations, (9) liquidation preferences, (10) leveraging strategic alliances, (11) the role of the Board of Directors, (12) restricted stock, stock options, and 83(b) elections, and (13) creating and leveragor) presentation that will be delivered to a panel of professional investor/donors at the conclusion of the course. CAP5802 will be delivered as a combination of lecture and discussion. The instructor demands active participation from the class members. COURSE OUTLINE Important note: The detailed descriptions of all assignments along with all exercises are found on the (new) Moodle course site. Session 1: Monday, 26 August 2013 Introduction and Orientation How the course will be conducted Classification of businesses Small business demographics What is entrepreneurship and why should you be highly interested in this subject? Major assignments and due dates †¢ Concept Description Abstract – Due on 23 September 2013 †¢ Business Plan Outline – Due on 7 October 2013 †¢ Interview with Entrepreneur Write-Up – Due on 14 October 2013 †¢ Prospectus – Due on WEDNESDAY by NOON, 4 December 2013 †¢ Final Business Plan – Due on MONDAY, 9 December (in class) 2013 †¢ Live PowerPoint Presentation – 9 December 2013 [No class on Monday, 2 September – Labor Day] Session 2: Monday, 9 September 2013 The Entrepreneurial Mind and Process Entrepreneurial Resilience during Challenging Times How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies That Work Apple’s Core Case Study Iggy’s Bread of the World Case Study Session 3: Monday, 16 September 2013 Recognizing and Screening the Opportunity Background Note: Note on Business Analysis for the Entrepreneur ZOOTS: The Cleaner Cleaner Case Study Session 4: Monday, 23 September 2013 The Business Plan HBR Article: How to Write a Great Business Plan Business Plan for Room for Dessert Case Study Your Concept Description – Abstract Due Session 5: Monday, 30 September 2013 The Founder and the Team – HR Matters NanoGene Technologies, Inc. Case Study Session 6: Monday, 7 October 2013 Legal Matters the Start-Up Ecosystem Background Note: Legal Matters and Entrepreneurship †¢ Corporate law firms †¢ Intellectual property (IP) law firms The Start-Up Ecosystem †¢ Certified public accountants (CPAs) †¢ The Board of Directors †¢ The Advisory Board †¢ Key business partners Smartix(A): Dancing with Elephants Case Study Smartix(B): The Last Dance Smartix(C): Rethinking the Negotiations Smartix(D): Reflections from the Other Side of the Table Business Plan Outline Due Tonight Session 7: Monday, 14 October 2013 Financing the Venture PunchTab Inc. Case Study Interview with Entrepreneur – Write-Ups Due Fall Break is 15 – 18 October 2013. Session 8: Monday, 21 October 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 1 Session 9: Monday, 28 October 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 2 Session 10: Monday, 4 November 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 3 Session 11: Monday, 11 November 2013 Growing the Business What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong Facebook Case Study Gordon Biersch Case Study Gordon Biersch – New Challenges and Opportunities Case Study Session 12: Monday, 18 November 2013 Investment Decision Making Walnut Venture Associates (A): RBS Group Investment Memorandum Walnut Venture Associates (B): RBS Due Diligence – Customers Walnut Venture Associates (C): RBS Due Diligence – Market Size Walnut Venture Associates (D): RBS Deal Terms Thanksgiving Week break is 25 – 29 November 2013. No class on 25 November. Session 13: Monday, 2 December 2013 Documentary (movie): â€Å"Start-Up.com† Session 14: Monday, 9 December 2013 Final Presentations COMMENTS ON CAP5802 – ENTREPRENEURSHIP IMPORTANT: YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN HARD COPY IN CLASS ON THE SPECIFIED DUE DATE. LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE MARKED DOWN—SEE GRADING POLICY BELOW. Your workload in this course will be ‘above average.’ That we meet only one time per week for three hours implies that you will have a week’s worth of homework to do in between class meetings – unlike the homework load that you would receive in a course that meets multiple times per week. Specifically, †¢ I expect you to attend all of our classes. †¢ I expect you to arrive on time and remain in class until we are finished with the session. †¢ I expect you to arrive with your material fully prepared – this requirement is critical. †¢ I expect you to participate actively and effectively in class. †¢ I expect you to demand of yourself and your fellow class members complete fidelity to high personal ethical standards. †¢ I expect you to keep your cellular telephone out of our classroom – or with you, but powered off. †¢ I do not expect you to ever leave the classroom to accept or return a telephone call. †¢ I expect all team work and responsibilities to be evenly distributed among the team members. †¢ I expect all individual-specified exercises to be completed by you independently with no assistance received from anyone else. CAP5802 GRADES There is no final exam in CAP5802. Instead, we have the final presentations from each start-up concept. Four factors play into your grade computation in CAP5802: (1) your homework scores – watch those tricky computational problems, (2) your write-up of your interview with an entrepreneur, (3) your completed business plan – which should be sufficiently tantalizing to cause the general partners of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield (who successfully funded Genentech, Amazon, and Google, among others) to salivate, and (4) a stunning live presentation during our final class meeting – which should convince even the most risk averse grandmother to allocate a chunk of her retirement stash to fund your promising venture. (1) CLASS PARTICIPATION We have 23 articles/case studies that we use to supply some of the vital content to this course. I expect you to give every one of them a thorough read and analysis. I encourage you to discuss them with your team members. I will call on you in class – whether or not you raise your hand – and ask you to answer questions or to explain concepts/situations in the assigned readings. I will score your response on a three-point scale as follows: 3: brilliant 2: adequate 1: needs improvement (2) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS Your home work assignments are due in class in hard copy on the specified due date. I will penalize you for late homework assignments. That is how the real business world works. If you are going to be out of town, always complete and turn in your assignment EARLY. When you are LATE with your homework assignments, you lose points in the computation of your final grade. No appeals allowed. The point value for each homework question is noted in (*) next to the question. You will find all of the homework assignments on the course site. (3) INTERVIEW WITH ENTREPRENEUR Each team will find an authentic entrepreneur – someone who has started their own business/organization and currently is running the business or non-profit organization. The business/organization can be anything ranging from an ice cream truck to a non-profit social service organization that provides outplacement services to displaced investment bankers. I will provide you with the list of questions for the interview. You only need to find the willing entrepreneur (they generally love to talk about their businesses) and complete the interview – then write it up. (4) COMPLETED BUSINESS PLAN FOR YOUR VENTURE Each team will compose a comprehensive, professional-quality business plan for their business concept. There are two important milestones/due dates for the business plan assignment: (1) the brief plan outline due date, (2) the completed plan due date – the last class meeting. (5) CORPORATE OVERVIEW PRESENTATION OF YOUR VENTURE Your team will present your ‘corporate overview/launch plan’ during our final class meeting. You will be graded on the originality, content, and delivery of your concept. We expect to have a judging panel present – comprising demanding, unreasonable investor-types – to critique your concepts CAP5802 GRADE COMPUTATION There are five sources of points that are used in your final course grade computation: (1) Class participation points – as noted above. I will tally up your points, and normalize your grand total over 50 possible points. (2) Homework Assignment points – as noted with each HW assignment question. I will add up your total homework points, divide this total by the total possible homework points, and arrive at a final percentage score for your homework. (3) 50 points for your entrepreneur interview write-up (4) 100 possible points for your business plan, distributed as follows: Quality of idea = 10 pts Compelling market opportunity = 10 pts Organization of plan = 10 pts Clarity of plan = 10 pts Financial analysis = 10 pts Marketing plan = 10 pts Sales and distribution plan = 10 pts Competitive analysis = 10 pts Sales/revenue forecast = 10 pts Surviving CAP5802 = 10 pts (5) 100 possible points for you final presentation, distributed as follows: Originality and cleverness of the presentation = 20 pts Running within the allotted time = 20 pts Richness of content = 20 pts Presentation delivery = 40 pts Note that your presentation scores will be a compilation of our guest judges’ scoring. History indicates that the judges are rather severe scorers. I will assign final course grades based on your final total point tally: Total possible participation score (%): 50 points Total possible homework (%): 100 points Total possible interview with entrepreneur: 50 points Total possible written business plan: 100 points Total possible live presentation: 100 points A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Urbanism and Architecture Concepts

Urbanism and Architecture Concepts â€Å"Dwelling is the combination of architecture and urbanism† Dwelling, as a place to live, can be a house, a flat, an apartment or other place of residence. It is a place where human spent of most of their time while indoors. The concept of dwelling has been changed over the last hundreds years, in that period, the many dwelling building in different place of the world represent an unique local culture with different interior, exterior, structure, etc. However, in modern days, most of these symbols and architectural styles had already disappeared, dwelling buildings on this planet all blend into one style – Urbanism. It becomes more of an urban spaces, a place offers convenience and rest instead of an art product within its unique architectural style. Remmert Koolhaas was born in 1944 in Rotterdam, one of the greatest modernism architecture in the world. In early years he was a reporter and scriptwriter. After studying architecture between 1968 and 1972 in AASchoolArchitecture, and in Cornell University, with Zaha Hadid, Elia Zenghelis they established OMA. During his architecture life his famous works include Villa of Bordeaux, CCTV Headquarters in Beijing and Seattle Central Library in USA etc. In 2000, He acquired the Pritzker Architecture Price. His works are heavily based on surrealism combined with neoplasticism. Furthermore he adds the unique feature of the environment and society into building’s shape and structure in order to express different ideas and thoughts from human. Villa of Bordeaux is a perfect example showing Rem’s style dwelling, combining urbanism’s convenience and technology and beauties of the architecture. â€Å"Now we are left with a world without urbanism, only architecture, ever more architecture.† In the book â€Å"S, M, L, XL†, â€Å"What ever happened to urbanism†, Rem Koolhaas suggests that â€Å"Now we are left with a world without urbanism, only architecture, ever more architecture.†(S, M, L, XL, Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 967). Of course urbanism still exist today, but the urbanism we have is the one different to what Rem Koolhaas described, it is the one impact by the modernization, it is a failure of urbanism. Nowadays urban expanding so quick with the negative impact from 20th century’s modern movement, in the past decades global economy and financial growth are slowly destroying traditional urban and its quality. This leads to the urban today where city is the form of citizen’s present needs as Rem described as â€Å"Exile to the virtual world†. (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 967) When architects designing cities, buildings or landscapes, too many things that cannot be controlled. Therefore architectu re is necessary or even essential for new urbanism. Rem suggests several points for the ideal ‘new urbanism’ should â€Å"no longer be concerned with the arrangement†¦ no longer aim for stable configurations†¦ denying boundaries†¦ discovering hybrids†¦reinvention of psychological space†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 969-971). In Bordeaux, an old couple wanted a new house after the husband experienced a car accident and has to spend the rest of his live on the wheelchair. Rem was the designer. Considering husband’s inconvenience, an elevator was added to the house as a representation of the urbanism, and turns into his personal world where he can find the sense belonging. In the villa he made the elevator a movable floor slab. Elevator moves among underground floor, ground floor and relatively enclosed first floor, beside is a wall vertically through the entire building, with all husband’s personal stuff, the arrangement is R.Koolhaas/OMA, Lemoine house, Floirac, near Bordeaux, 1994-98, In collaboration with Ove Arup. Preliminary sketch no longer a concern. While it is moving, this elevator becomes husband’s personal place and an independent space in the building. This becomes a type of urbanism’s â€Å"reinvention of psychological space†, denying boundaries of the floor. To husband’s point of view, the building is no longer separated as three different floors but as one structural space. Furthermore, this villa feature of hybrid of new urbanism by using different sorts of material is different parts of the building. Building was located on the top of the hill, surrounded with peaceful grass land and bush. Therefore the ground floor and first floor was mainly built by glass wall so that person live inside the villa can have the great view of Bordeaux city. Above the glass wall is the bedroom made by concrete, appear as a heavy box floating in the air determining a certain solution for layout of the building and quality of the space. However, glass wall cannot afford the weight of the conc rete slab, Rem use a special structure to solve the problem: A steel portal and a hollow piloti with a large diameter in reinforced concrete, reminiscent of the ones in the project for Agadir. To introduce a further, decisive degree of visual instability. (Roberto Gargiani, 2008, pp. 212). On the top of the concrete piloti is a long shiny stainless steel structure with the large concrete box on one side, on the other side is a large over-hanged concrete block buried in the patio garden, achieving equilibrium and make the top concrete box seems to float even more vividly. This technology is connected with the tradition launched by ledoux with the house pended. The perfect combination and hybrid of glass wall and concrete wall structure again express Rem’s ideal urbanism. The over-hanged concrete block buried in the patio garden. â€Å"Instead of enforcing coexistence, Bigness depends on regimes of freedom, the assembly of maximum difference.† It sounds impossible for an architect or even architects to control a large thing like skyscraper, large landscape or even a city. When the modernized urbanism meets architecture, the problem of the large occurs. â€Å"Beyond a certain scale, architecture acquires the properties of Bigness.† (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 494-516). Nowadays, between modernizations which is what citizens need and acquire, and architecture which is the art of the building, urbanism choose what citizens need and this is when architecture start to fall. Art and beauty of architecture is useless against urbanism. However, bigness is a solution, â€Å"it is the one architecture that can survive, even exploit†. (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 494-516). Just like what Rem said, Bigness is the solution or maybe the only solution for urbanism and architecture’s assembly. â€Å"Instead of enforcing coexistence, bigness depends on regimes of freedom, the ass embly of maximum difference.† Suggests Rem’s idea: by using bigness, freedom and large space to combine architecture and urbanism. Evoke the idea of bigness is to offer everyone live under urbanism maximum space, freedom and privacy. There are several uses of the bigness and in Rem’s residential work – villa of Bordeaux, such as elevator. In the theory of bigness: â€Å"The elevator – with its potential to establish mechanical rather than architectural connection.† (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 494-516). The art of architecture become useless in the large size building. To avoid this Rem turn the traditional elevator into a movable giant floor slab. Instead creating a single room for the husband, this elevator makes the all three floor as a space for husband, remain the technology of bigness and the ‘art’ of architecture at the same time. The R.Koolhaas/OMA, villa Lemoine, Floirac, near Bordeaux, 1994-98, in collaboration with Ove Arup. Elevator-living room with the mobile platform. elevator can move from opening public living room to private bedroom, gives him enough space but at the same time – regimes of freedom. Another example is the Glass wall under the concrete box bedroom. With a brief look from outside, the building looks like typical modernised urbanism type house. However the comparison of the top concrete close up type bed room and opening ground floor with glass wall surrounded represent the assemble of two different concepts and ideas. This villa has more than 400 metre square land and three floors. The large space combined with glass wall enlarge the sense of freedom and â€Å"The seeming failure of the urban offers an exceptional opportunity† Modernization heavily impact on urbanism on the negative side. Within globalization in urbanism, dwelling building all over the world are becoming more and more similar, some unique feature are decreasing. More buildings share same structure, same shape and same style. These took the original ‘urbanism’ away from the city, instead, urban become a solemn place full of steel framed building. This is the where Rem Koolhaas pointed out that â€Å"In a landscape of increasing expediency and impermanence, urbanism no longer is or has to be the most solemn of our decision; urbanism can be lighten up, become a Gay Science – Lite Urbanism.† (S, M, L, XL Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, 1995, pp. 961-971). In modern days, under the fail urbanism, the new environment of urban is no longer a series place for living but a place where people can find themselves belong to, a place that not only bring them convenience and comfort, but also a simple place where they find enjoy to s tay, where they can find happiness and care. R.Koolhaas/OMA, villa Lemoine, Flo-rac, near Bordeaux, 1994-98, in col-aboration with Ove Arup .Intermediate upper-level plans;cross section In that case, Villa of Bordeaux can be the representation of ‘Lite urbanism’, building itself was a product of urbanism, offer people who live inside a place to rest, elevator offer husband who has to spent his life on wheel chair convenience, On the wall of the floating box, several holes with different height enable people at different level to look at the view outside. Furthermore about urbanism, house was locate on the top of the hill surrounded with no other building but quite grass land and bushes, different from the normal dwelling building locate in the city. Evokes an idea of the owner of the building who wants to take root of this place and live in seclusion. Without the crowd and noise, villa of Bordeaux becomes a representation of â€Å"Lite Urbanism†. Although the failure of the urbanism brings negative effects to cities, still Rem Koolhaas treats it as an opportunity at the same time and he designed lots of amazing architectural buildings such as Vil la of Bordeaux. Rem Koolhaas, 1996. Rem Koolhaas: Conversations with Students (Architecture at Rice). 1 Edition. Princeton Architectural Press. Roberto Gargiani, 2008. Rem Koolhaas/OMA (Essays in Architecture). 1 Edition. Rouledge http://wp.architecture.com.au/venicebiennale/venice-events/

Dr. Seuss The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War Essay -- Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War Dr. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. His stories are children’s classics that are fun to read and also tackle some real life issues. Dr. Seuss’s political views are very apparent in his some of his books like The Butter Battle Book, which discusses the issues of the Cold War. In The Butter Battle Book, two groups, the Zooks and the Yooks, are at odds with the way they butter their bread. One group, the Zooks, have their bread butter side down. The Yooks have their bread butter side up. In this book they are at a point where the â€Å"crisis† has reached its peak. Each group has come up with weapon after weapon to keep the other group out. Both groups then have a Bitsy Big-Boy Bomberoo and they are at a standoff. The story ends as the two are ready to drop the Bomberoo. Dr. Seuss ends the book at a stalemate. We never find out how the Zooks and Yooks end the whole disagreement. In reality, Dr. Seuss takes a look at the stalemate that was occurring between the United States and the former Soviet U...

Nonhuman Animal Rights Essay -- Ethics, Tom Regan

In regards to animals, the issue of rights and whether they exist becomes a touchy subject. In the essay, â€Å"Nonhuman Animal Rights: Sorely Neglected,† author Tom Regan asserts that animals have rights based upon inherent value of experiencing subjects of a life. Regan’s argument will first be expressed, later explained, and evaluated in further detail. Lastly, that fact that Regan thinks rights are harbored under the circumstance of being an experiencing subject of a life will also be discussed in terms of the incapacitated, etc. Regan positively argues that both human and nonhuman individuals are experiencing subjects of a life. Experiencing subjects of a life have an inherent value, which is nevertheless, equal among the populace. One’s usefulness is not a factor in regards to one’s inherent value, and they have an equal right to be treated with respect. Nonhumans have rights based upon denoted inherent value, thus the use of the individual in an exploitive manner, compromises the moral foundation of rights. Regan claims that both human and nonhuman individuals are experiencing subjects of a life. Basically, if something is â€Å"a conscious creature having an individual welfare† (Regan 69), then it is a subject of a life. The usefulness of said individual is not important in this instance but will be further discussed. Utility is unimportant in the grand scheme of the moral equality of value. Regan argues that subjects of a life â€Å"want and prefer things, believe and feel things, recall and expect things†¦all make a difference to the quality of our life†¦they [animals] too must be viewed as the experiencing subjects of a life, with inherent value of their own† (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Individuals and animals are not diffe... ... fact that the subjects of a life claim draws nonhumans into the view of having rights morally, Regan inadvertently sections some of the humans off of this foundation. In an attempt to expand his view on what deserves rights, he may have just narrowed the field at the same time. Regan sums up worth and rights with his abstract view of inherent value. How is said value measured? Although some areas of Regan’s argument seem a bit fuzzy, his attempt to align rights to more than just humans is satisfying. Works Cited "The Moral Status of Animals." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 13 Sep 2010, Web. 23 Feb 2012. entries/moral-animal/>. Regan, Tom. â€Å"Nonhuman Animal Rights: Sorely Neglected.† You Decide!: Current Debates in Contemporary Moral Problems. Ed. Bruce N. Walker. New York: Pearson, 2006. 64-71.

The Divine Comedy: Dante Essay examples -- essays research papers

The Divine Comedy: Dante   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The character of Dante in The Divine Comedy who descended into the inferno caused me to stop and think about this awful place. As the reader I got to take an imaginary journey with Dante to a horrible place where I do not care about going. While Dante descended into hell I plan on ascending into heaven someday. Dante had a choice to make whether or not to get back on the right path. It came down to heaven or hell - choose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think it was willed for Dante to see this place while he was still living. By seeing hell while he was alive Dante could be sure and make the right choices to find his way back to the straight path. Being on the right path in his lifetime would ensure he would not spend eternity in such a miserable place. I believe the whole purpose of this journey into hell was to let Dante see the anguish there and choose. Perhaps this was a divine warning. In Canto 2, Beatrice, the symbol of Divine Love, an angelic spirit was sent to help aid Dante from his error and help him return back. This is purely love and compassion at its best. Sending someone into hell to rescue another person out of there. Great lengths were taken to help Dante return back to the straight way. I do not believe such action was taken if Dante was to end up in hell all along.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For some reason midway in Dante's life's journey he had gone astray and at this point was searching for...

Should Animals Be Used for Scientific Research or Testing?

Should animals be used for scientific research or testing? Agli Panci Instructor: Eva Prifti Course: Composition I Time: Thursday, 15:00-18:00 From the early time humans survival was depended on animals, either as food or for transporting. Today we are using animals for a new kind of survival, we are using them for testing and experimenting medicines that we need for different diseases. All along this time, this experiments has helped a lot for discovering of new kind of diseases and medicine to cure them. I think that stopping of this experiments will bring limitation in scientific progress. However there are o lots of organization that try to protect animal rights but anyway for the moment is the only what that we have to test and experiment new way curing new or existing deceases. Although that many organization of animal rights think that animals should not used in medical research data shows that there are a lots of medications that we use today are invented due to animal research, because there are some animals who have similar body functions with humans. Reducing the human suffering as much as we can must be our firs priority, and then our second priority must be reducing of animal suffering or death. Is not the same as using humans and animals in medical research for discovering new diseases that my affect both animals and human beings, in this case we must use animals for research so we avoid human suffering as much as we can and after that our priority should be animals. For death bringers deceases like HIV or different tumors we need to do experimenting and tests with animals because it is the mos efficient way to find new ways to cure without having human suffering. Regarding to the second part that says that we must do our best to have the minimum of animal suffering has to a lot with ethics of the scientists that are doing this experiments. Regarding a survey conducted in the American Medical Association show that 99% of all active physicians in the U. S think that animal testing is the only way yo medical advancements. With today technology we can keep animal suffering in the absolute minimum. We can use anesthetics to minimize the suffering. Also to reduce animal suffering can be done by keeping them comfortable and in clean and healthy environment conditions. In other words is clearly possible to use animals in research without being cruel to them. New technologies of scanning that exist today like magnetic resonance, which make possible for doctors to learn about a certain disease from animals without making them suffer. According to studies there are thousands of death bringers diseases that are discovered from 1600's to 1990's due to animal experimentation. According to Animal Use and Abuse Statistics, more than 25 million vertebrate animals are used annually, and the number of invertebrates may extend to billions in United States. Above the scientific ethics of the scientist is the technology that is available to him, so our part is to do our best to avoid not needed hurting or testing. So we must take our benefits from this experiments but also to protect this animals from death. According to the US based, Foundation for Biomedical Research: â€Å"Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century – for both human and veterinary health. From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to organ transplantation, from vaccinations to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically every present-day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained through research with lab animals. Humans genes are 99% like chimpanzees, and many other basic functions like eating, seeing, smelling are in humans like in animals. As a result of this similarity , the feedback of these animals are a very good guide to possible reactions of human patients. It is very possible that humans and animals can get o lot of the same diseases, because of this we can make the research in animals and test new medicines in them firs and after this we can produce for humans. As we know from the theory of evolution animals feel pain and pleasure,because we share with them our emotions. So the people using animals for experimenting or different purposes should treat them with respect. Also the purposes for witch they are used should be legitimate. The groups defending animals have tried to distort the truth about what animals are used for. They refuse the fact that these researchers are important and declaim that animals shouldn’t be used for any reason. They argue that medical community doesn’t support the fact that animals are used in research and it is obvious that it isn’t the truth. Besides the modern technology used in animal testing not all the experiments finish successfully and millions of animals die each year. Another point is that there are a lots of medicines that are tested in animals but they have side-effects in humans. So this kind of experiments bring suffering and deaths in both sides, in animals and in humans. Because different species reaction differently on different medicines. Animal rights organization have tried to dis inform public about the different fact in animal research. They do not accept the fact that use of animal in research has given a very useful contribution in curing different diseases. Today about 95% of U. S medical schools do not use animals to experiment new medicines or for testing purposes. They are trained using the human stimulation that the today technologies can offer and doing didactic work. While there are trying to find other ways to animal testing and experimenting, what the best scientist can do for now is try to reduce the number of animals being tested. They are using modern technologies and new types of scanning to see the animal organism so they don’t actually need to apply surgery. Though it is hard to completely stop the animal resting, what we can to is prevent unnecessary tests by stopping certain products that don't require animal experimenting. In order that the pathogenesis of different diseases could be studied,doctors need animal experimentation as the only way at te current level of knowledge ,and it undertakes drug trials,vaccines to alleviate suffering for human and animals. To conclude, humans must try can to reduce the number of animals being harmed in these experiments aimed at benefiting society. References Cook, K. (2006, March 29). Facts about Animal Research . Message posted to http://www. pro-test. org. uk/2006/03/facts-about-animal-research. html PETA. Animal Testing Is Bad Science: Point/Counterpoint. Retrived from http://www. peta. org Research Animal Resources. Ethics and Alternatieves. Retrived from http://www. ahc. umn. edu University of Georgia. Animals Used in Experiments. Retrived from http://www. uga. edu

10 Interpretation of Jose Rizal’s Poem Essay

1. Mi Ultimo Adios He adores the beautiful country that he and others are fighting for. He wants his fellowmen to pray for others who also have died and suffered for the country. In the last part of Mi Ultimo Adios, he said â€Å"In Death there is rest!† which means that he, being ready to be executed, is happy to die in peace. 2. Himno Al Trabajo He states that the Lipeà ±os will always be willing to work hard for the country. The men encourage others to farm. The wives, are taking care of the household chores and educating their children. The children yearn for the adults to teach them on how to work productively. 3. Awit ni Maria Clara In this poem it expresses the love for the native land. The experience of living in one’s own country to the comforts felt from a mother’s presence. 4. Sa aking mga kabata This poem tries to awaken the Filipino Youth, to love our country and respect people. It also tells the significant role of the youth for the betterment of the country. 5. Our Mother Tongue This poem talks about love and taking pride of one’s own language to acquire a sense of freedom and identity. 6. My Retreat He describes the surroundings of his place of exile in Dapitan. He reminisce his past, and he mention his desire returning home. 7. To the Virgin Mary It tells the gratitude for whatever we have is a powerful prayer or calling. 8. Kundiman This poem shows a person’s love for his country and delivers a message of hope to his countrymen. 9. Education Gives Luster to Motherland He describes that education makes a country more beautiful. He mentions that it is a Christian education that always endures. 10. Goodbye to Leonor He wrote this poem as a goodbye, to Leonor Rivera for his departure to Europe.

Azande

We are strong Catholic believers, and we know there is ore to this world than just what our eyes can withhold. Much like the Agenda, I believe that there are people who have gifts given to them at birth as well. The Agenda people know that once they are born, they are given the gift of witchcraft. Just like some people In my culture have the ability to see, talk, and hear those who are no longer living. We both believe In the aspects and lurks about death. 2. Think about the ways in which members of your society are compelled to behave in socially acceptable ways.How do these differ from one another? The way I see this is that in our society we are all mixed and in different areas. We are all forced to learn about respect, and cooperation towards one another. In our society men and women can play the same roles, have same work ethic, and children. We are such a diverse country others might see this as a dishonor or Just straight up â€Å"unusual†. There could even be those who see our life style as a freedom. The Agenda people remind me as of being â€Å"old-fashioned†. Just for the fact that the men, play the big role in the family.They are the leaders basically the â€Å"big man on amp's† but for the family. Now the women stand by their men and take care of their children. In their community they all stick together and marry within them. They aren't so diverse like us; they even have websites so they could stay connected and together. In our society we do whatever we want basically, we really do not have much to follow but government policies. Agenda people have rules and standards they must be obeyed. We don't care and they respect their living situations. 3. Do you employ logic that Is similar or different when explain negative thoughts?I am the type of person who always thinks negatively, even when the outcome turns out to be a positive one, but I do believe that some Incidents are Just accidents. Thoughts are always luring in everyone 's mind, even when nothing bad Negative either could have stepped wrong or you couldn't have been paying attention. Necessarily, Just because that occurred doesn't mean it was planned or plotted against you. The Agenda believe that the simplest injury is never Just a coincidence or an accident, either its witchcraft or someone is against you.I can understand their viewpoint, but sometimes bad luck Just happens in life. Like say for those who are â€Å"accident prone† for instant, they are Just people who can't help but get injured in their own majestic ways. It is not that they have enemies; they are just not the most careful people in the world. I do think negative a lot, but in my standing point sometimes nature Just takes its course and things happen without our control. I'm probably the most negative person out there, but I do consider the saying â€Å"accidents happen†. . Is there several different â€Å"System of logic† that may be invoked, depending upon the circumstances? If you are depending on the situation, then yes there are different logics. Accidents do happen, but from another moral they aren't always a random act of kindness. This is a cruel world, and no one is going to hold your hand. You will always have somebody who dislikes, envies you, or Just wants you gone. Then this could possibly happen, some humans in this world will go beyond the circumstance to get there way.Agenda believe in attacking their enemy with the powers and magic f witchcraft. When someone gets injured or has a medical issue we'd all like to think it was not intentional, right? That isn't always the case now. When death takes place in our society, it is usually attempt of murder, actual murder, or suicide. Getting hurt now or hurting others isn't always an act of kindness, therefore the Agenda people do have a point when they are feeling victimized by one another. Everyone has different methods of reaction when it comes to their enemies, but they are not always a â€Å"wise† choice.

It’s anti-life Essay

Now I’m not going to delve into the argument of whether an unborn fetus is life because that’s a complete and utter waste of time. But I do want to know if life is as valuable as everybody claims. Do you really think about how valuable the life of a beggar is when you meet him or her down the street? Do you value the life of a murderer when you’re facing him at gunpoint? Do you value the life of a corrupt government official when he is using his power for profit? The truth is we only value life when the absence of life is there. The rest of the time we don’t really give a crap about it. We waste life, we self-destruct, we kill, we steal and yet when we see a loved one die or when we find out we’re dying we start valuing life. Isn’t that simply hypocrisy? The truth is, the only life that’s valuable to us is our own life and the lives of those who are close to us. You people rant about how important human life is yet when exposed in our vulnerable state all you see is a facade of hypocrisy to shield your irrational beliefs. You brag about valuing the human life yet all you really care about is your own selfish life. It isn’t life that’s important to humans. What’s important is the â€Å"person† inside each and every human being. You can tell me that the reason why some people don’t care about life is because there is good and there is evil when it comes to people. If that is so then that means that life is also either good or bad. And when it comes to human nature, people almost never put any value into anything that is bad. Euthanasia is defined as the practice of ending a life prematurely in order to end pain and suffering. The process is also sometimes called Mercy Killing. Euthanasia can fall into several categories. Voluntary Euthanasia is carried out with the permission of the person whose life is taken. Involuntary euthanasia is carried out without permission, such as in the case of a criminal execution. The moral and social questions surrounding these practices are the most active fields of research in Bioethics today. Many Supreme Court cases, such as Gonzales v. Oregon and Baxter vs. Montana, also surround this issue. Voluntary euthanasia is typically performed when a person is suffering from a terminal illness and is in great pain. When the patient performs this procedure with the help of a doctor, the term assisted suicide is often used. This practice is legal in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It is also legal in the state of Oregon, Washington and Montana. Passive euthanasia is carried out by terminating a medication that is keeping a patient alive or not performing a life-saving procedure. Active euthanasia involves the administration of a lethal drug or otherwise actively ending the life. These two types of procedures carry different moral and social issues. Euthanasia Debate Controversy There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of euthanasia and whether or not it should be legal. From a legal standpoint, the Encyclopedia of American Law categorizes mercy killing as a class of criminal homicide. Judicially, not all homicide is illegal. Killing is seen as excusable when used as a criminal punishment, but inexcusable when carried out for any other reason. In most nations, euthanasia is considered criminal homicide: however, in the jurisdictions mentioned above, it is placed on the other side of the table with criminal punishment. Arguments regarding the euthanasia debate often depend on the method used to take the life of the patient. The Oregon Death with Dignity Act made it legal for residents to request a lethal injection from a doctor. This is seen in other jurisdictions as being a criminal form of homicide. However, passive euthanasia through denial of drugs or procedures is considered to be legal in almost all jurisdictions. Those who argue for euthanasia feel that there is no difference. Those who are against it disagree. Euthanasia and Religion Many arguments also hinge on religious beliefs. Many Christians believe that taking a life, for any reason, is interfering with God’s plan and is comparable to murder. The most conservative of Christians are against even passive euthanasia. Some religious people do take the other side of the argument and believe that the drugs to end suffering early are God-given and should be used. One of the main groups of people who are involved with the euthanasia debate is physicians. One survey in the United States recorded the opinions of over 10,000 medical doctors and found that sixteen percent would consider stopping a life-maintaining therapy at the recommendation of family or the patient. Fifty five percent would never do such. The study also found that 46 percent of doctors believe that physician assisted suicide should be allowed in some cases. The controversy surrounding euthanasia involves many aspects of religion, medical and social sciences. As this is one of the most studied fields of bioethics, one can rest assured that more studies will be performed to learn more about this issue and how to best address it. Firstly, I disagree with your definition of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the putting to death, by painless method, of a terminally-ill or severely debilitated person through the omission (intentionally withholding a life-saving medical procedure, also known as passive euthanasia) or commission of an act (active euthanasia), as defined by the leanlegal dictionary online. I also find your first point confusing; in what way does the legalisation of euthanasia affect the close family ties in Filipinos? I, being a Filipino, can relate, and I fail to see your point. Secondly, define what you mean by â€Å"the doctor’s ethics†? In a case to case basis, a doctor will not be performing euthanasia if he/she is against it, therefore it is a fallacy to generalise to all doctors. Lastly, euthanasia is against the constitution, that is why the topic is should it be legalised. Saying it is currently not legal is restating the topic, no relevance. Now for my arguments. Firstly, the financial costs of keeping a person on a life support machine are enormous, not to mention hospital bills and 24-hour medical care. 80% of the Filipinos live in poverty, how many people can afford this? What happens then if the family cannot afford keeping the relative on life support? Do they get arrested? Secondly, the emotional distress that is caused by seeing your loved one in a vegetative state for an extended period of time while doctors continually tell you that there is no hope for recovery is potentially traumatizing. Some people who consider this as suffering for the vegetable loved one will want euthanasia, but they haven’t the option. Legalising this will not force everyone to take this course, but rather only provide an option. Lastly, the medical facilities and time that is devoted towards the vegetative patient with low chances of recovery could be spent helping someone else in greater need. Already in the Philippines we have a shortage of medical personnel and equipment, this additional burden will only cause more damage.

The Physical and Intellectual Isolation of the Americans Research Paper

The Physical and Intellectual Isolation of the Americans - Research Paper Example Communication has not only helped to raise the revenue of the Americans but also helped to reduce the communication gap, communication also improved between the rural and urban areas and this helped quite a lot in improving the economic conditions of the state and also in minimizing and eliminating the isolation of the people of America. With the introduction of the electricity in the rural areas by the Rural Electrification Act given by President Franklin technology greatly advanced as a result of which isolation and communication gap between the rural and urban areas reduced and have finally reduced to zero. With the introduction of electricity in the rural areas the people of these areas got access to television, computer, internet, industry and other sectors and due to this, research and advancements in the other fields greatly improved. The introductions of electricity brought advancements in many fields and also lead to the development and invention of many other appliances and devices. It has also contributed to bringing an end to the isolation of the American people by using electronic consumer goods (Oppenheimer, 2003). Slowly and gradually the Americans became addicted to technology as they observed that it was technology that helped them to come out of the dark ages and also to eliminate and completely eradicate isolation from the people of America. The most important benefit of technology is in the field of communication. Technology has also helped to aid the military operations and helped to win wars. The introduction of computers and internet helped to improve communication and fill up the communication gap between the people of America and the world. In this century technology has completely bridged the gap between the people and social isolation. Means of communication have increased to a quite a numbers like e-mail, chatting, communication through the internet, telephone, etc.  

Kodak and Fujifilm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Kodak and Fujifilm - Essay Example The founder of Kodak, George Eastman, an American, was dedicatedly fascinated on still photography and cameras. He patented photographic film to be stored in a roll in 1884 and after four years he had developed the first camera in the world of his invention and started operating in London. Subsequently, gradually the company became the global leader and started to dominate in the global market which has transcended beyond a century. In 1975, firstly, the company brought in significant change in the world of photography inventing digital camera. However, after 1984 in the photographic industry Kodak noticed profound changes in relation to the behavior of customers but still it remained indifferent about the changes in technologies and marketing strategies. As a result, in the 21st Century, it had to stop to manufacturing of a number of products one by one for being unable to sustain and owing to a lack of demand of the products. Finally, in the year 2012, the company filed for bankrup tcy (Beaudette & Palank, 2013). Fujifilm, a Japan based company was established in 1934 and within a decade it spread its landmark in the global market with the incorporation of effective strategies and continuous modernization of technology. In 1980, in keeping with customer requirements and to ensure its sustainability in the global market, the company made a switch from the film to digital market. As a result, it was able leverage huge amount of money from the film business and gradually reached the pinnacle of success in the photographic segment (Fujifilm Europe, n.d.). Core Business of Kodak and Fujifilm Kodak is a well known organization in the photographic film products, equipments, materials, digital imaging and services. Another principal business of Kodak is Kodak international-financial & banking business (Francis & Nias, 2012). The primarily business activities of Fujifilm entail to be involved in the development, production, sales and services of the color photographic film, digital cameras, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, graphic arts materials and equipments, medical imaging equipments, optical devices, photocopiers and printers. By the availability of these varied products, segmentation and innovation, it has captured a big global market after 1990s and has become a market leader in the photographic world in recent times (Fujifilm Europe, n.d.). Compare And Contrast About The Approach Of Management Of Both The Companies To Embrace Innovation And Management Differences That Have Impacted The Relative Success Of Kodak And Fujifilm In the global market perspective, the key dimensions of ‘change’ and ‘innovation’ are the key determinants of success to sustain in the competitive business world. These two factors are the main reasons for the downfall of Kodak and pinnacle of success for Fujifilm in the photographic market. Though Kodak entered in the market of Japan in 1905 but the management of the organization did n ot take the market seriously for strengthening the distribution system, marketing strategies, segmentation, and for making customers needs and demands assessment. After a long period in 1977, it started to focus to strengthen the marketing chain, distribution system and advertising. As a result, it became one of the best photographic product producers of the year in Japan by

Women in Chinese society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Women in Chinese society - Essay Example The influence of Chinese women of the Later Empire depended on their knowledge of collective ethos and their ability to appeal to the power of the communities. The changes made by women often could have affected their individual lives or those of their close relatives only indirectly, through the mediation of the institutes of the society. The most significant example is widows who ended their lives for the societal ideals, so that the relatives of such women could have been rewarded3. Even without equality with men, Chinese women occupied a significant place in the ethical system of the country. They could have had influence when they accepted the existing laws. However, sometimes they dared to oppose laws or use them cunningly against more powerful members of the society. Thus, the firstsection of this paper deals with the consequences of acceptance of women’s place in the Chinese social system; the second section is dedicated to the means to empowerment in rare cases of women’s resistance to dominant ethical norms. The title comes from the story of Widow Wu from the section â€Å"Women and the Problems They Create†4 about a woman rewarded for her chastity, hard work, and humble behavior. It is remarkable that this was the supreme spiritual authority that rewarded widow Wu, not the society. The widow was just supported, not given extra money for pleasure; her private life also did not change at all. Still, she had more significant achievement: namely, she reached the ethical ideal which was relevant for the representatives of all genders and social classes. In Chinese society, neither women nor men were treated as independent subjects valuable for their individuality, like it would be in Western countries. It follows from â€Å"Family instructions† that young girls and boys were equally part of territorial and generational unity; they had to be loyal to family and performed irreplaceable

DecisionMaking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DecisionMaking - Essay Example Generally, decision making consists of the following six steps (Glynn, Before taking the final decision, managers need to get an idea about the effectiveness of the course of action or remedy they intend to apply on a particular problem, so a post decision evaluation via feedback can be worth while. In the managerial decision making process, the management accountants play a decisive role although they neither indulge in making nor in implementing the final decision, the management accountant is held responsible for providing the information at each of the six stages mentioned above. Management is not concerned about how and from what procedures an accountant uses in his analysis and evaluation; eventually the main concern of the management is the information regarding the problems and on the basis of this information, management reaches on a decision (Steffan, 2008). Management accountant is responsible to elaborate the management that the data that is been taken is relevant to provide the information. Relevant data are the single most important ingredient in decision making (Drury, 2007). Relevant data usually consist of relevant cost and relevant revenue which must be considered by the accountants while choosing the alternative course of action; make sure only those cost and revenues will be incurred which are relevant to the decision making. BUDGETING: The budget is a quantitative expression of management objectives and a means of

Writing about Manchester( see the description) Essay

Writing about Manchester( see the description) - Essay Example This appeared very intriguing and prompted my interest to delve further into the history of Manchester. In the 16th century the city was important for wool trade, and then in the 18th century, with the onset of the industrial revolution, it became known for textile production (Answers.Com, 2008). In the second half of the 20th century, after being beset with urban and industrial problems, the city redeveloped, ushering in cultural renaissance. As the textile industry grew and large warehouses were built to store and display the spun yard and finished cloth, the population grew as well. The population grew from 25,000 in 1772 to 90,000 in 1800 (Spartacus, n.d.). With the opening of the Railways in 1830 the population further increased. The population increased to 455,000 by 1851 and the housing conditions were appalling. Formal education started in the city in 1851 when a cotton merchant, John Owens, died in 1946 and left most of his wealth to establish a further education college for men. The nonconformist business community in Manchester supported this projected and helped raise furt her fund. Manchester has always occupied a special place in the British culture. It has always displayed a sense of independence and fostered a do-it-yourself-spirit (Haslam, 2007). It has absorbed migrants from all over and draws energy from its surroundings. The city was primarily a warehouse city linked to the northern mill-towns like Blackburn Burnley and Rochdale. John Dalton and Samuel Arkwright helped create a thriving and vibrant economy during the Victorian times (Moss, 2002). With textiles and other trades a young dynamic city was created, whose symbol is the worker bee. This emblem is repeated in mosaics all over the floor of the Town Hall in Manchester. The city also enjoys a cultural mix of people from various lands. In the Victorian era there was more of the Nonconformist, Liberal Class. While popular culture

Convergence from GAAP to IFRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Convergence from GAAP to IFRS - Essay Example The paper will further discuss the benefits, which will accrue to United States firms, investors, and the economy as a whole, as a result of converging from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards. Convergence from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards Currently, International Financial Reporting Standards are used by more than 12,000 companies in the world and have been in use in over 100 countries around the globe. According to Kaiser et al. (2012), there are various ongoing projects, which were initiated by the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board with an aim of enhancing the International Financial Reporting Standards and America Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and eventually making the principles fully compatible. Majority of these projects covers the key components of the financial reports. Through these proje cts, the boards plan to enhance financial disclosure information for shareholders while also aligning U.S. GAAP and international bookkeeping standards. Revenue recognition, financial instruments, and leases are deemed as the priority projects largely as a result of existing difference of IFRS and U.S. GAAP and the necessity for enhancements, especially in the principles they are intended to replace. The boards have also concentrated on financial reports presentation and consolidations projects due to considerable implications they might have (Kaiser et al., 2012). According to Henson (2012), in late 2011, SEC Chief Accountant, James Kroeker, indicated that considerable progress had taken place on numerous IASB and FASB Memorandum of Understanding convergence projects encompassing other comprehensive financial and income reporting fair value guidance. In January 2012, the chairman of IASB, Hans Hoogervorst acknowledged that International Financial Reporting Standards pose several ch allenges for the SEC. U.S. uses a sophisticated, mature and time stated set of bookkeeping standards, and this makes it difficult to make the convergence decision. In June 2012, IASB and FASB agreed on lease bookkeeping model where all leases with a period of one year or more would be reported on the balance sheet. Hans Hoogervorst indicated that the two boards anticipate completing the convergence project by year 2013 (Henson, 2012). The considerable progress in the convergence projects requires the United States companies, to start examining the implications of the convergence on their operations. This would enable companies to plan how to adopt the changes, which will arise from the convergence. This implies that, at the beginning of 2014, the U.S. public traded corporations might be obligated to file financial reports with the SEC using the International Financial Reporting Standards. In my opinion, it is beneficial for the United States to converge from America Generally Accept ed Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards. The convergence has various challenges and advantages. The challenges facing the transition may be addressed appropriately by all stakeholders involved in the convergenc