Toothpaste and Colgate- Palmolive

1. 0 Introduction Colgate- Palmolive is one of the leading consumer product organizations that have been dealing its products in worldwide. Colgate- Palmolive is an America based company and has many branches all over the world. One of the branches is located in Malaysia. Colgate- Palmolive (M) Sdn Bhd focusing their product segment on toothpaste and toothbrush. Both products are very competitive presently in Malaysia market. At the present, Colgate is implementing Activity-Based Costing (ABC) method.ABC is a system had been practices in many organizations for being a tool to measures the cost and performance of the activities and the cost objects. Hence, the management should look into ABC system which uses to provide more accurate information for decision making in determining costs by cost object such as product, customer, and location and the cost pool of the company. 2. 0 Keys Areas for Improvement According to Reuben Mark (2003), Colgate Palmolive has highlighted its strategy o f developing and launching innovative new products globally continues to strengthen the company’s market leadership positions around the world.Hence, it does apply to Colgate Palmolive Malaysia. Indeed the implementation of activity based costing by Colgate Palmolive (M) provide information for achieving its plans since the ABC is costing technology that traces cost to products according to activities perform on them. Accurate cost information is produced as to such purposes; focusing company strategy, designing products to increase customer value, and continuously improving activities on the operation throughout the company (Peter, 1989).In general, the ABC system cover such following area of activities including product design and processes, storage of raw materials, set up of machinery to ensure a smooth flow in the production line, machine operating time as well as cleaning of machine after each production. Product design is crucially for Colgate Palmolive (M) to survive in the market and leading the position. Innovation allows the company to continue doing business and thus create the competitive advantage as to product differentiation. The research and development indeed plays role for this rocess such example where Colgate Palmolive worked on improving soap packaging through quality engineering (Boehmer, 2008). Meanwhile, storage of raw materials ensures the effectiveness of the company on handling its inventory. Chilshom (2000) stated that the potential areas for optimization in production is through shortening of product lead times in which leads the Colgate Palmolive (M) to an increase in machine capacity, a reduction of inventories, shorter, and a higher customer satisfaction thus also leads to increased revenues in a demand driven-market.Besides, by improving unit costs where a reduction of the units costs can be achieved by a high degree of machine capacity utilization. Having accurate cost data will allow Colgate Palmolive to identify acti vities which are not efficient and important, eliminate waste and reduce costs while improving the quality of the products. 3. 0 Steps for Each Activity There are arguments stated that traditional costing (TC) method can misrepresent a cost of the product where it might have deceive the management doing the resolution relating products (Briers, M. , Luckett, P. and Chee, C. 1997). According to Mansur, N. N. , Tayles, M. and Pike, R. (2012), the TC method apportion the indirect costs based on a single element when the deciding a product cost. The element such as number of direct labour hour or number of machine hour was used to apportion the indirect costs. This has created unfairness in costs apportionment into product as different activity provides different incurrence of cost. Furthermore, different product consumed different level of costs in different activities. Therefore, ABC method is formed to solve the traditional costing flaw.ABC method emphasizes on each of the activity c onsumption that needed for producing a product. For the overhead costs to be incurred into the products, the resources, activities, costs and quantities are to be identified (Mansur, N. N. , Tayles, M. and Pike, R. , 2012). The allocations vary to products consumption in different activities. Therefore, management can makes decisions accurately. 3. 1 Cost Object Cost object can be customer, product, service or any other work unit for which a separate cost measurement is desired. The ideal cost object is â€Å"products† which are individual items that are sold to customers.Linking the cost of activities directly to the products that consume the activities is the basis for product costing using the ABC system. To operate effectively, cost drivers should be selected with specific product. Besides that, the customer costing which is the calculation of the total of the total cost of serving a customer makes it possible to assess the profitability of possible either individual or g roup of customers. Hence, the cost object is different for different companies but there are similarity cost object within the industry which is products and customers. (Gunasekaran, A. , 1999) 3. 2 Cost DriverBefore a cost driver is selected, the management needs to gather up the activities in the manufacturing process which then needs to report the cost of each activity and later choose the suitable driver for the activity (No, J. J. and Kleiner, B. H. , 1997). *A cost driver is a factor that has direct influence on the cost and performance of the activities. The cost drivers provide the best explanation of why the costs in an activity cost pool change over time. The activity cost pool is the total cost associated with an activity. Cost driver is a variable used as denominator in the rates used to apply activity costs to product or cost objects.In practice, it is possible that the number of cost drivers exists for the same cost pool. For example, purchasing activity’s cost pool has different cost drivers such as the numbers of orders, number of suppliers and number of parts ordered. (Gunasekaran, A. , 1999) 3. 3 Calculation of Total Cost and Cost Drivers Colgate-Palmolive has numerous products with numerous activities and different cost drivers and taken toothpaste and toothbrush as an example for ABC calculation. Assume the following was the information of toothpaste and toothbrush production.                                     |                                                               |Toothpaste                      |Toothbrush                      |                           | |Number of units produced                                                                |30000                            |20000                               |                           | |Direct Materials                                                                            |450000                            |350000                            |                           | |Direct Labours                                                                               |350000                            |50000                               |                           | |Activity                      |Cost Driver                                              |Cost Driver Volume                                                 |Total                   | |Setup                            |Number of setups                                        |150                               |50                                  |200                      | |Making                         |Machine Hours                                           |3000                               |2000                               |5000                      | |Inspection                   |Number of inspection                                  |100                               |100                                  |200                      | Table 3. 1 Information of relating toothpaste and toothbrush Activity                                                                                                          |Overhead Costs                                                                   | |Setup                                                                                                             |150000                                                                               | |Making                                                                                                             |750000                                                                               | |inspection                                                                                                       |100000          à ‚                                                                     | |Total Overhead Costs                                                                                        |1000000                                                                            | Table 3. 2 Overhead costs for toothpaste and toothbrush If calculate the unit cost by assuming using machine hours as the element. |overhead costs/ machine hour                                                                         |=          |1000000                                                                | |                                                                                                                     |             |5000                                                                   | |                                                                                                                     |=          |200 / machine hour                                              |                                                                            |Toothpaste                                                       |Toothbrush                                           | |Direct Materials                                                    |450000                                                       à ‚      |350000                                                 | |Direct Labours                                                       |350000                                                             |50000                                                 | |Overhead costs                                                       |600000                                                             |400000                                                 | |Total Costs                                                             |1400000                                                          |800000                                        à ‚         | |Number of units produced                                        |300000                                                             |200000                                                 | |Unit Cost                                                                |4. 67                                                                |4                                                       | Table 3. Statement showing calculation of unit cost using traditional method Below show the calculation of unit cost using ABC method. |Activity                            |Cost per driver                                                                                                                                              | |Setup                               |750 per setup (150000/200 setups)                                                                                                                   | |Making                               |150 per machine hour (750000/5000 machine hours)                                                                                              | |Inspection                         |500 per inspection (100000/200 inspections) | Table 3. 3 Calculation of driver for each activity.                                                                                           |Toothpaste                                           |Toothbrush                                        | |Direct Materials                                                                   |                           |450000                      |                           |350000                   | |Direct Labours                                                                      |                           |350000                      |                           |50000                   | |Overhead Costs                                                                      |                           |                              |                           |                           | |Setup (750 per setup)                                                          |112500                |                              |37500                   |                           | |Making (150 per machine hour)                                              |450000                |                              |300000                   |                           | |Inspection (500 per inspection)                                           |50000                   |                              |50000                   |                           | |Total Overhead Costs                                                             |                           |612500                      |                           |387500                   | |Total Costs                                                                         |                           |1412500                   |                           |787500                   | |Number of units produced                                                       |                           |300000                      |                           |200000                   | |Unit cost                                                                            |                           |4. 7083                      |                           |3. 9375                   | Table 3. Statement showing calculation of unit cost of toothpaste and toothbrush using ABC method. |Particular                                                    |Toothpaste                                                    |Toothbrush                                                    | |Traditional Method                                        |4. 67                                                             |4                                                                   | |ABC Methods                                                    |4. 7083                                                          |3. 9375                                                          | Based on the calculation shown in the table above, product toothbrush price is under traditional method and the product of toothpaste is underpriced in using the traditional method.Even though, the price between both products are not much in difference but it can be claimed that ABC system more accurately measurements the resources consumed for both products. 4. 0 Increased on National Market Share in Context of Cost Leadership and Product Differentiation Bhimana, A. , Horngren, C. T. , Datar, S. M. , Forster, G (2008) state that the cost leadership is one of strategy in a business offer the average product at lower costs for a broadest possible market. Product differentiation is the strategy to focus offers the unique product by creating new products (innovation). Therefore, Colgate Palmolive is considering and focusing to these challenges through two basic of strategies: differentiating its product a nd achieving the cost leadership.It can see that Malaysia had chosen by Colgate Palmolive because has higher market share of tooth brush and tooth paste. In fact, Colgate was selling more than 30 kinds different products of tooth paste and it’s most popular brands’ name in Oral care. By differentiating the products, this company creates the different new product form the other competitors such as focusing on the design and packaging of the tooth brush should be innovative, colourful and unique then make customer interested and touched to those products. The cost of tooth brush and tooth paste usually based on the quality of products, and it may allow Colgate to charge a higher price.Here, the solution is to reduce the costs and designing the new brand of product and technologies. Obviously, Malaysia has successful cost leadership could generally increase Colgate Palmolive Sdn Bhd’s market share and make this company to grow up. 5. 0 Advantages of ABC System One of the advantages of ABC is that this system gives more accurate costing. ABC system is the method which is useful for all types of business (Hansen, D. R. and Mowen, M. M, 2007). For instance, Colgate Palmolive uses the ABC software that can evaluate the cost of its activity and cost object. The reason of Colgate Palmolive adopted the ABC system is to provide the more accurate revelation of the cost of program and services.Moreover, Colgate Palmolive implemented the ABC system which helps the manager easily understand the impact of products and customers variety on profit margin. After that, this ABC system took the difference in how this company entered orders from its customers, how the packaged orders, how delivered orders, and spent time to deliver it to each customers location. This ABC system has helped Colgate Palmolive acquire the large national customer because it has identified ‘the specific manufacturing, distribution, and handling costs related with serving this c ustomer†. Furthermore, ABC provide support on performance measurement whereby the information provided on cost drivers and cost driver rates shows great influential power on staff behaviour and used as performance measurement.Cost drivers provide volume measures on different aspects of operational performance which reflect the effectiveness of the activity concerned. When linked to costs, the cost drivers can help in assessing the efficiency with which activities are carried out. Colgate- Palmolive can In addition, the detailed information by ABC system assists management in making decisions about product profitability. This is because ABC using unit cost rather than the total cost on making decision. Management can evaluate how the current product and process designs affect activities and costs as a way of identifying new designs to reduce costs. Colgate can do investigation based on the current product costs to do adjustment on the new products that going to be launch. 6. 0 ConclusionThe activity based costing is one of the tools of strategic management accounting which allow the Colgate Palmolive (M) to measure the cost and performance of the activities and the cost objects. It does provide more accurate information for decision making in determining costs by various cost object. The implementation of ABC system by Colgate Palmolive (M) is closely in line with the objective of the company to leads in the market of oral, health and care industry in Malaysia. Innovation in its products and having a lower cost in the market with a good quality always get into the attention of the company as these product differentiation and cost leadership are the key for the competitive advantage.

More Than One Reality Essay

Reality is kind of like a memory. Everyone has their own di? erent ideas of what it should be but none are necessarily the truth. For example two people who were both in the great depression could have totally di? erent thoughts on the di$cult %mes. While one could have lived on the streets struggling every day to ‘nd food and water, the other could have been among the few rich people and lived in luxury. Both of them would have very di? erent memories about how %mes were back then. The same goes for reality. While we all might agree on what is real or not our thoughts on reality could be on di? erent sides of the spectrum. The de’ni%on of reality is â€Å"the state or quality of having existence or substance. † If something is real to me then that’s my reality and same goes for someone else, so who’s to say that there isn’t more than one reality and why is humanity so interested in reality? I believe that humanity is so interested in reality because we are naturally curious. They say curiosity killed the cat and I believe that saying is very true. We as humans always want our ques%ons answered be it a simple ques%on like two plus two or a complex ques%on like what is reality with no real answer yet. This curiosity is just part of our nature and it can lead to obsessions. Some people are so obsessed with ‘nding the answer to ques%ons that they devote their whole life to it and this obsession consumes them. Even if we found the answer to reality, how much would it change our everyday lives? The ques%on that we so longed for the answer to wouldn’t even make a mark on how we live our lives and the person who found this answer would have commi1ed his en%re life to ‘nd this now insigni’cant answer. I’m not saying that I’m not curious about the answer because. I am but I know that this curiosity is much more dangerous than the answer is worth. Let’s say that there is an answer to reality; it is so far away from our knowledge right now as humans. It would be like trying to explain consciousness to animals. We as humans know who we are and are aware about ourselves and others this is what separates us from animals. Even if we could somehow communicate with animals it would be nearly impossible to explain our feeling of consciousness to them. It would be like an alien who travelled to earth trying to explain faster than light speed travel to us. It would be too much for us to handle. Instead of trying to ‘nd the one true answer to reality everyone should have their own concept of reality and what they believe. We already have examples of this today. We have atheists, Chris%ans, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and more that all have their own concept of reality. But all of them try to force their concepts on others. None can just accept that some people have di? erent views. Personally I am a Chris%an mostly because I asked myself if I were to die right now I would like to believe in something that would help me in the a8erlife. If I died and God asked me why he should let me into heaven being an atheist wouldn’t help my case. With me being a Chris%an though I s%ll acknowledge that we try to put our views on other people too. Just because people a$liate with a di? erent group doesn’t mean they have the same concept of reality as them. Even though I associate myself as a Chris%an I wouldn’t consider my concept of reality the same as theirs, we just share common main ideas of reality. Just as Americans share things about reality that other people in di? erent countries don’t. For example we believe we landed on the moon while people in other countries might think it is a hoax for fame. The area we grow up in, our parents, and even things such as what we look like can a? ect our ideas of reality. What I know to be an illusion can be someone else’s en%re reality. The people in North Korea live in an illusion to us but to them it is their reality. They believe that Kim Jung Un is the best thing since sliced bread, while we believe he has brainwashed them into thinking that by censorship and other methods. It’s not right for us to tell them what to believe but this shows how reali%es can overlap from things such as where one lives. Another example that is now an illusion to us was magic back in medieval %mes. They believed people could control things that no one else could through magic, but we now know that these people we tricked through science. Some science is very hard to believe so the only logical thing to them was to label something that you don’t understand as magic, but we now know as science. Now even science is used to explain things we don’t understand. Every religion and science has their own ideas on how we came to be. Science has used the big bang theory and evolu%on to explain how humans came to be even though they don’t have signi’cant evidence to make this a fact. They cri%cize religion for not having proof when they don’t have much themselves. I’m not saying that idea is wrong I’m just saying that what we once used science for is gone. We used science to stop the idea of â€Å"magic† by making a system where you have to provide evidence, enough to make it a fact. Now we just make something we don’t understand into a scien%’c theory. Science has almost become a new religion. I have no problem with a new religion but I think that we should keep science separate from religion. Science is what we used to produce facts and religion is a serious of beliefs that act on faith and not evidence. I love science but I also believe in religion and by de’ni%on they are two di? erent things. Science could one day be used to ‘nd out the ques%on of what is reality but it can’t do that if it acts like a religion. Instead of answering the ques%on of what reality is I decided to show how there can be more than one reality because everyone has their own reality. Since everyone has their own reality I don’t believe there will ever be a %me where everyone agrees on one concept of reality, but if there comes that day science will be needed to explain the truth of reality and for that reason science needs to stay separate from religion. I believe that by having our own reali%es this helps separate us individuals and shows our unique power as humans. Just because your reality overlaps or disagrees with someone else’s doesn’t mean they need to change. This just shows that you are actually closer to their reality than someone whose reality doesn’t have anything to do with yours, and who knows they might be the only one with the real answer to the ques%on what is reality.

Unit 2 IPIntroduction to American Court System Essay

Unit 2 IPIntroduction to American Court System - Essay Example risdiction is the power provided to the court that it can only hear cases which are brought to the court, or the cases which the court has been limited to, not anything else. Subject matter jurisdiction limits the power of the court so that it can only hear cases which the laws of jurisdiction permit it to. (Subject matter jurisdiction) Personal jurisdiction allows the court to make decisions against or in favor of people who are involved in the case. Every court in a state can exercise personal jurisdiction over the people who live in that state, but not on people who belong to some other state. Therefore, courts cannot implement authority beyond their territories. The government allows the court to pass judgment to all residents of the state and also to those who have been away from the state for a brief period. Residents of other states, who have been in the state for a short period, are also answerable to the court. Moreover, a court which has jurisdiction in a state, also have authority over companies who have opened their offices in that state. The corporations are required to take permission from the court before they can continue their business in that area. The criteria of ‘minimum contacts’ differs in every case. In situations where the case involves a defendant’s contact with the state, the number of contacts required to form personal jurisdiction may be less. If a non-resident in a state does something wrong, the court of the state then, in order to protect its residents, can authorize personal jurisdiction on that person. (Personal Jurisdiction in Federal Courts) Although the courts are allowed to practice personal jurisdiction, there are certain laws, statutory and constitutional, which limit the power of the courts. Because of statutory restrictions, the court should examine the state law to ensure whether it can properly implement personal jurisdiction or not. However, there are three types of personal jurisdiction: Firstly, In Personam

Discussion Q Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Q - Assignment Example Third, personality traits can be used to predict people’s behaviour and values tend to influence behaviour through conviction of what is morally right. Finally, the paper explains how consultants can leverage values and personalities of leaders through motivation. Emotions are expressed in varying forms of human experiences that occur in episodes and often unconscious. They are activated from the environmental interactions with people or situations and cause certain physiological conditions that influence bodily reaction towards a subject of the situation. Attitudes on the other hand entail a system of beliefs that influence an individual’s judgement through their conscious logical reasoning of the assessed situation. In subordinate coordination theory of emotions, Haselton and Ketelaar claim that emotional experiences influence the human’s system of perception, activate inferences and regulate behaviour (2005). As people get sensory information in their brain, based on their perception, they attach emotional markers to it and form emotional responses like happiness, sadness, fear and anxiety. Under the logical reasoning process, the formed emotion will be used to shape ones thoughts and beliefs towards the subject of interest. Here, the attitudes influence the judgement. Merging of the two (emotion and attitude) tend to determine one’s supportiveness, collaboration, willingness, involvement and rejection towards a situation or subject. Reaction behaviour can be expressed through bodily movement, facial expression or in tones. Change initiatives can either be successful when embraced by employees or fail if rejected. Normally, people perceive change to come with re-structuring of organizations, disruption in patterns and habits in a setting. This may introduce a stress factor, which requires coping mechanisms to adjust to the changes. Vakola and Nikolaus research in organizational change â€Å"revealed that highly

The July plotters of 1944 were not courageous men whose purpose was Essay

The July plotters of 1944 were not courageous men whose purpose was honourable but reckless men who acted out of their own self interest How valid is this assessment of the July Plot of 1944 - Essay Example storted political circumstances of the country in Germany wiped out the war situation and Hitler’s public interaction has reduced in monthly visit in Berlin. The leaders of the conspiracy included Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, General Ludwig Beck, Lieutenant Colonel Claus, and Count Schenk von Stauffenberg, The conspirators like Himmler and Stauffenberg were suspicious and they had their own personal intentions than the unified goal. Stauffenberg took the responsibility to carry out the assassination attempt. During the time of German Campaign against Soviet Union, Stauffenberg became frustrated with Hitler’s misrule. Beginning of his career Stauffenberg has revealed his loyalty and responsibility to Hitler and to Nazi Germany. But towards the end of 1930s, like others Stauffenberg began to think that Hitler’s misrule pull the nation in to the disaster. Stauffenberg’s plan was to plant a briefcase with the bomb in Hitler’s conference room. Stauffenber g’s words reveal his will power and intention. The article remarks;† In August 1942, he told a friend: â€Å"They are shooting Jews in masses. These crimes must not be allowed to continue† (Peter, 2004 P. 2). After the unsuccessful attempt of July plot Stauffenberg was honored as a courageous warrior who made an unending fight against Hitler’s despotic rule. A dreadful reality is that the purpose of the conspirators has changed and it came to be observed by some of them as achieving the military honors themselves. Most of them have worked under Hitler’s administration in their past. Martin Collier, Philip Pedley state that; â€Å"In Berlin, the conspiracy was paralyzed by indecision and vacillation† (Martin Collier& Philip Pedley, 2005 p. 122) Field Marshal Witzleben was a soldier who participated in the event of July plot 1944. Witzleben and others were found guilty and sentenced to hang. His dreadful death proves that he was a courageous fighter. The following comment about the conspirators underlines

Briefing note on crime prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Briefing note on crime prevention - Essay Example The treatment for prisoners used to be inhuman, severe and even merciless, and they languished in solitude till the completion of their prison terms. The mode of correction and retributive actions varied from disciplinary confinements and exile to painful lashes or even death. (Prisoners' Rights) [1] Every right thinking citizen in society hopes for the day when the surface of the earth will be crimeless and whatever is left of crime get nipped in the bud. But as of now, everyone is aware this is, at best, a distant dream. The Geneva Convention of 27 July 1929 comprising 97 articles, laid down general principles for humane treatment of prisoners at all times. It was a historical landmark which recognized the basic rights of the prisoners such as food and clothing, hygiene, mental and physical recreation, contact by mail with the near and dear ones, and their religious practices. It particularly emphasized on protection of the inmates from acts of violence, insults and public curiosity. (Geneva Convention) [2] The silver lining of the present time is that there is a growing school of professionals and social activists who are firm in the belief that it is possible to prevent crime to a large extent, and in many cases where it has taken place, it is possible to apply corrective measures without resorting to custodial confinement within the four walls of a prison. (Rehabilitation of Offenders) [3] Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974 In England, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974, is the landmark legislation towards this effort. It seeks to provide the offender, particularly the youth a second chance to get back on track and join the mainstream with a sense of responsibility and purpose. This act provides opportunity, under some conditions, to the ex-offender to 'wipe the slate clean' and begin all over as if he had not committed any criminal act at any point in his lifetime. Nonetheless, this happens after a period of rehabilitation depending on the gravity of the offence and the custodial sentence awarded as consequence. A rehabilitation period is the length of time set from the date of conviction. Once this period is over, subject to certain conditions and exceptions, an ex-offender does not have to mention his conviction when applying for a job. The Act is likely to help people facing minor convictions. People with many convictions, especially serious convictions, may not find the Act beneficial unless the last convictions are very old. For someone with a criminal record and on the lookout for work, it is necessary to know about the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974, which explains the legal requirements for both employers and employees, and the rules associated with the rehabilitation period. It is quite a complicated Act and as such, it is advisable to go through it with someone who is familiar with the act. Under this legislation, the conviction is said to be "spent" after the period of rehabil

UNIT 4 DISCUSSION BOARD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

UNIT 4 DISCUSSION BOARD - Essay Example Stockholders of the firm that is about to have another company within its folds as the strategic partner are the ones who are hit financially as well as otherwise in this alliance as they feel neglected in the whole deal. They lose out on the benefits that might entail from the partnership as well as feel left out of the whole equation as a matter of fact. The real reason behind acquiring other firms lies in the rationale that they bring with them huge amounts of revenue, investment opportunities as well as manpower. Another aspect suggests that they also bring forward target markets which were unheard of in the past ad was literally impossible for the company’s business to reach in the present as well as past scheme of things. A long term as well as a short term investment is thus made due to the fact that these companies are acquired and thus they work hand in hand with each other. The reasons for purchasing other firms lies on the basis that a company wants to reach to newer target audiences and for that it needs to take help and assistance from the other company. This means more and more alliance with potential partners as well as different conglomerates are formed up as a result. The mergers and acquisitions are also made up so as to predict foreseeable profits and rewards for both the parties concerned and thus end up as a strategic partnership that would garner benefits for all concerned. Acquired corporations are being paid too much in the wake of all these acquisitions that one is left bewildered at the amount of investments happening in this sector. Of course these would mean benefits for the whole industry present in a region but the same does not happen as the major players seem to have a win-win deal out of all this. The small parties are always left on the mercy of the big fish and thus they lose out big time. The need of the hour is to decrease these losses for the small investors or

Goodbye Mother by Reinaldo Arenas Research Paper - 1

Goodbye Mother by Reinaldo Arenas - Research Paper Example The short story opens with the death of the personas mother. The mother is portrayed as a powerful figure that has overall authority over her children. He recalls how the mother was strict and looked after them with an iron fist. The mother is symbolic of the country, Cuba. They loved their country, but with the revolution, it is constantly changing from the beautiful place they once knew to an ugly, terrible state â€Å"haven’t you notice the smell, the flies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦?† The country is now ruled by dictators, and all the good things are slowly dying (Arenas, pg.316). They have been replaced by beetles, flies, rats and maggots, which have been used metaphorically to refer to the oppressors. Since the coming of the Cuban revolution to power, the people have been oppressed. After the collapse of their motherland, the citizens display their loyalty to their country by choosing to die for it. He is gives a detailed description of the disgraceful behavior of the oppressors by using the flies and maggots to give a vivid a picture. After days of decomposition, the bodies have a started to rot and maggots have invaded it. It displays the rot in the revolution and how the oppressors are devouring the countries resources and mistreating the citizens. After the death of the mother, the sisters stab themselves to death as a sign of solidarity. This signifies the collapse of the pillars of the country. The social and economic aspects of the community are all eroded â€Å"watch how we gracefully glide over the field and garden doomed†¦.† During the revolution era, the country experiences so many calamities (Arenas, pg.316). Cuba suffered massive abuse of power and mistreatment by the dictators. In the Short story, flies have been used metaphorically to compare them to the behaviors and style of leadership employed by the dictators. The dictators have executed and massacred the martyrs, and the young adolescent boys shot in the firing squad. They are

Explaining a concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explaining a concept - Essay Example Perennialism can be understood to be the â€Å"conservative† approach in that it argues that the same tried and true methods and subject matter should continue to be taught to the next generation of students do the fact that it is both tried and true and has informed the preceding generations. On the other hand, progressivism takes the more â€Å"liberal† approach in positing that individuality, progress, and change are key cornerstones of a truly great education (Labaree 281). As a means of providing an explanation for the concept of progressivism, this brief paper will to approach this particular educational approach in a way which will seek to shed light on whether such a concept is in fact the best concept to engage students with and to provide a higher degree of educational success and interaction. The progressivist concept of education places a high degree of emphasis upon the experience of the individual as well as the changing ways in which new material and old material alike can help to better hone the quality of education that the student is able to achieve. At its core, the concept engenders the belief that individuals will most benefit by studying those materials which most directly impact upon their own lives. Although such an approach is most certainly less concrete than that of the perennialist’s approach to education, it nonetheless is able to take into account the transforming needs that our society and the world in general is placing upon the educational system and the individual student. A secondary component of the concept is the understanding that it is necessarily a more visual concept than that of the perennialist’s approach. This is mainly due to the fact that the perennialist’s approach hinges upon the primary data sources and methods of learning that have been in existence since the dawn of knowledge. However, the fact of the matter is that these rather stodgy and non-visual means to engage the pupil have

Edge Wave Formation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Edge Wave Formation - Essay Example They can occur in a selection of different scales: high-frequency waves reverberate by the confrontation wind waves (Guza and Davis, 1974), enforced by incident wave groups (Schffer, 168) and very low-frequency waves of oceanographic level (Munk et al., 127-132). Edge waves may participate in an important role in coastal dynamics, as they are associated to the creation of split currents (Bowen and Inman, 5479-5490) or beach cusps (Guza and Inman, 1975). Recently, Ciriano et al. (2000) have made known that edge waves may tempt resonant vibrations inside harbors with the entrance being opened to the beach. (3680-3691) The occurrence of topographically trapped waves in promontory and estuaries has been studied tentatively by Stoker and Johnson (1991), whose consequences agree with field interpretation by Schwing (157-180). Edge wave theory dates back to Stokes' (1846) clarification for a wave trapped on a plane inclined beach. Eckart (1951 p.99) implemented the linear low water theory and demonstrated that Stokes' answer symbolized only the first of other likely manners. Ursell (1952) achieved the exact results to the linearised edge problem. (79-97) Green (1986) summarized the solution of the problem of an edge wave proliferated along a seawall.(119-125) Neu and Oh (1987) offered a method to solve the type of edge wave troubles where the near coast topography is characterized by a series of linearly unstable depth sections. (227-240) They wrote the explanation in terms of Kummer's functions and regarded as two beach reports: a regular beach slope ended with a constant depth area and the case of an offshore piece. A conventional explanation in coastal engineering to stops the erosion of a beach or to have the power of the alongshore deposits transport is to assemble a groin upright to the coastline. This arrangement, built with gravel or as raised area, is leaky. In addition, some seashore has a berth vertical to the seashore in order to have entrance to deeper waters. In this paper, the circulation and conversion of an incident edge wave in the course of a permeable coastal formation will be investigated in a manner that be similar to the one dealt by Stoker and Johnson (1991). The edge wave difficulty has originated subsequent Neu and Oh's result. A beach outline with a sheer foreshore and a flat surface slope ending with a straight shelf with an upright permeable formation extending from the beach up to far offshore is measured. Because the distance across of the groins evaluated to the edge wave length is exceptionally small, usually less than 1/50, dissipation within the formation is primarily due to the unexpected narrowing and spreading out of the flow and depends generally on the Keulegan-Carpenter number distinct as UT/a, where U is a representative speed at the gaps, T is the wave period and a is a distinguishing dimension of the holes. For groins, UT/a is a large number and consequently head loss can be adequately deliberated with a form ula quadratic to the local speed (Mei et al., 217-239). As the edge wave disseminated through the coastal formation, part of it's alongshore force is replicated, part is spreaded and part is degenerated on the formation. The replicated part obstructs with the arriving wave, creating up a

Penn State University Application Essay Example for Free

Penn State University Application Essay Ever since middle school, I was already interested in hotel management. I am always fascinated with the way things were done so arduously by the hotel officers and staff, yet they still managed to look so amazingly fresh and attractive for the guests. I have had a very good grade in my hotel management subject during high school and an award for excellence too. Being so inspired to pursue what I have always wanted, I took a year internship at Holiday Inn and passed it with flying colors. After my internship, the AmeriSuite employed me for six months and I moved to a bigger hotel afterwards. I have given a lot of effort in improving my English skills because I believe that hotel management requires more than just interpersonal skills, it requires good communication skills even more. I work at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suite for 2 years now and I enjoy it so much. I am assigned to oversee the front desk, manage the reservation department, and of course, be of service to the hotel guests at all times. I have received awards and recognition for the diligence, dedication and effort that I give to my job. I see to it that my guests feel at home, relaxed, comfortable and happy at the hotel and its crew. At the end of the day, I feel proud of being able to put smiles on the faces of my guests. This work has taught me many things in life: responsibility, management of time and money and diligence. Given an opportunity to be accepted in your prestigious university, I am confident that my optimism, work ethics, background, and experience will benefit not just myself, but also the other students that I may interact with at Penn State University. I have proven to myself that I can adapt to any difficult situation. I know that there is no challenge too difficult that even hard work cannot overcome. I look forward to being part of Penn State University and begin the next level of my academic pursuit.

Explore the presentation of revenge in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Explore the presentation of revenge in Hamlet Essay Revenge is a key theme in Hamlet. It is not only essential to understanding Hamlets character, it forms the structure for the whole play, supporting and overlapping other important themes that arise. Though it is Hamlets revenge that forms the basis for the story, tied into this is the vengeance of Laertes and Fortinbras, whose situations in many ways mirror Hamlets own. By juxtaposing these avengers, Shakespeare draws attention to their different approaches to the problem of revenge and how they resolve these. see more:theme of revenge in hamlet The idea of revenge is first introduced by the appearance of the ghost in act 1 Scene 5, and linked to this is the theme of hell and the afterlife. At the end of this scene, Hamlet is irreversibly bound to revenge for the duration of the play, speak, I am bound to hear So art thou to revenge. The ghost appears with the sole aim of using his son to obtain revenge on his brother, and so every word he speaks is designed to enrage Hamlet and stir in him a desire for vengeance. He uses very emotive language to exaggerate the enormity of the crime, and he concentrates Hamlets attention on the treachery of Claudius. His description of the murder itself demonises Claudius and contains many references to original sin, the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown. Hamlet, who has been brought up with absolute notions of good and evil, is susceptible to these religious references, o all you host of heaven! O earth! And shall I couple hell? It is ironic that the ghost refers to his own torment, trapped in purgatory, in order to demonstrate to Hamlet the injustice of the situation, yet this serves only to warn Hamlet of the possible consequences of revenge. Instead of enraging him, Hamlet is now wary of acting rashly or without proof as it could place him in a similar situation to his father. The other revengers in the play do not have this wariness, they act immediately without considering the spiritual consequences and it is unclear whether Hamlet would have had a similar attitude had he not been inadvertently alerted to this danger by old Hamlets ghost. Though Hamlets immediate reaction to news of his fathers murder is one of anger and a desire for action, by the end of the scene his desire for revenge is already blunted, for a number of reasons. Unlike Laertes and Fortinbras, Hamlet receives the information of his fathers murder from a secret and unreliable source, which means that not only is he unsure of the truth, he is forced to act out his revenge in secret. Throughout the play, Hamlet frustrates the audience with his lack of action, especially as all around him his contemporaries are visibly taking their own revenge. Fortinbras is in a similar situation to Hamlet, as his father had been murdered by old Hamlet and his land taken. The land itself is worthless and Fortinbras stands to lose more than he can gain; yet like Hamlet it is a matter of honour. Both are exacting revenge for something that nobody else cares for or remembers; a dead king for whom nobody grieves and a patch of worthless land. Part of Hamlets dilemma is the moral question of whether his desire for revenge is worth disrupting and endangering the lives of all those around him, whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them However, unlike Hamlet Fortinbras does not pause to contemplate the idea of revenge; he acts on it, sharked up a list of lawless resolutes and marched on Denmark. The difference in their characters is obvious; Fortinbras character matches his name, strong in arm. He is a man of action, not of words, he has a strong presence and a commanding attitude which demands obedience, Go captain, from me greet the Danish king I will dot my lord. Fortinbras situation is infinitely less complex than Hamlets own; the boundaries between good and evil, personal and public, right and wrong, are for him, clearly defined. He is able to act openly, uninfluenced by friends and family. Hamlet on the other hand is surrounded by people who have obligations to both himself and the king, and is therefore unsure of whom to trust. Hamlets dilemma is founded on this; that any action he takes carries with it risks and possible consequences which could destroy the foundation of his very existence, so he hesitates and does nothing, all the while hating himself for his inaction, makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of. The problem for Hamlet is that the murder is too close to home, so he is unable to define the boundaries between personal and public. He cannot publicly confront Claudius without proof because he risks losing his claim to the thrown, alienating his friends and family and being exiled from Denmark, as it would be seen as an attempt by the prince to regain the throne, rather than a son avenging his fathers murder. On top of this Hamlet hopes to avoid jeopardising his relationship with his mother, but at the same time he wants revenge on her for her betrayal. In order to fully understand Hamlets psyche and therefore the reasoning behind his actions, it is important to understand how religion affected all aspects of life in Elizabethan times. It was believed that a person who was able to confess his sins before death would be absolved and therefore go to heaven, but if a person were unable to do this their soul would be condemned to purgatory until they were able to confess and repent. Old Hamlets soul is in purgatory and Hamlet wants Claudius to suffer the same fate, a villain kills my father and for that, I his sole son do this same villain send to heaven. Why, this is hire and salary not revenge. For this reason Hamlet has to wait for the opportune moment to kill Claudius, when he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, at game, a-swearing or about some act that has no relish of salvation in it. However, the other problem which religion creates is that of Hamlets own afterlife. If murder for revenge is wrong then by killing Claudius, Hamlet condemns his own soul along with that of Claudius. On the other hand, Hamlet is honour bound to exact revenge for his fathers murder, and the consequences of not doing so could be even more drastic. Even suicide offers no solution, as the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others we know not of. Hamlets indecisiveness is not just a result of his uncertainty about the consequences his actions will have. He is in emotional turmoil at this point in the play, and is feeling betrayed and rejected by those whom he had relied on so far in his life. His anger and frustration at his mothers behaviour is amplified by her lack of grief, and his desire for revenge at the start of the play is mainly fuelled by his own grief and a sense of injustice. His anger towards Claudius diminishes, as he is distracted form revenge by more immediate concerns, such as his relationships with Ophelia and with his mother. Part of Hamlets feelings of isolation stem from what he sees as betrayal by his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and his lover Ophelia. Hamlets critical relationship with Claudius forces all three to take sides, and decide to whom they owe the strongest allegiance. Ophelias father Polonious, Claudius right hand man, instructs her to shun Hamlet and, as his dependant she is forced to obey him. Women were viewed as property during Shakespearian times, and without a male protector her future prospects were slim. Also, the emphasis placed on family duty and loyalty was far greater, so to disobey her father would be tantamount to treason. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were given a direct order from their king, so to disobey would actually have been treason. Added to this was their ignorance of Hamlets situation due to both Hamlet and Claudius deceit, which meant that they were unsympathetic with Hamlets mental instability and obsession with old Hamlets death. Hamlet refuses to recognise the impossible situation his friends were placed in, and resents them for abandoning him when he needs them most, even though it is his feud with Claudius that has forced them to into it. Feeling betrayed, he has no compunctions in using them to further his own gains. All three are, ultimately, fatalities of Hamlets vendetta against Claudius, as Hamlet brings about the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and drives Ophelia to madness and suicide. Ophelia especially is very much a victim, as in obeying her father she loses Hamlet, and when Hamlet kills Polonious she loses him as well. With Laertes away, she has no-one left to protect her and is very much alone. In many ways, Hamlet himself is a victim of revenge, as he used as a tool by his father, to instigate revenge against old Hamlets killer. By placing this obligation on Hamlet, on top of all his emotional instability, Old Hamlet effectively pushes his son over the edge and renders him incapable of decisiveness. It is unsurprising that Hamlet is unable to take revenge or in fact make any significant decisions, as he is under considerable emotional and mental strain. Laertes is in a similar situation, as Hamlet his friend has murdered his father and driven his sister to madness. His vulnerable state of mind makes it easy for Claudius to use him as a tool against Hamlet, so the two friends become instruments in the power struggle between the two brothers, a struggle which crosses the divide between life and death. Laertes situation resembles Hamlet in other ways. They are joined by their love for Ophelia, Hamlet as a lover and Laertes as a brother. When Laertes returns to find his father murdered, he faces the same dilemma that Hamlet originally had in that, as far as he knew, the king of Denmark had murdered his father. Unlike Hamlet who promptly chose to employ deceit in order to combat Claudiuss deceit, when Laertes discovers this he immediately confronts Claudius. By doing this he achieves his revenge far sooner than Hamlet, but consequently becomes a tool for Claudius against Hamlet. These two revengers differ in their approach to revenge, but ultimately they come to the same end. They both fall victim to the corruption that surrounds the court of Denmark, with Claudius at the centre. Claudius use of deceit throughout the play hides the truth under a veil of dishonesty. Claudius uses other people as tools to achieve his aims, so if they fail he escapes the brunt. He uses Polonious, he uses the king of Norway against Fortinbras, and finally he uses Laertes against Hamlet himself. His corrupting influence means that nobody in Denmarck knows the truth, and Hamlets only attempt to break this veil of deceit causes the death of Polonious instead of Claudius. In act 3 scene 3, Shakespeare uses the curtain concealing Polonious as a metaphor for the corruption surrounding Denmark, making it impossible for Hamlet to take revenge as he is unaware of the truth. Though Hamlet tries to cut through the curtain, he fails and ends up killing the wrong man. This shows him that it is no good trying to confront the problem, he must remove the cloak of deceit and reveal Claudius for what he truly is before he can take his revenge. Though Hamlet tries to get around this problem by being deceitful himself, and Laertes tries to confront the problem face on, both end up being used as weapons in a fight that kills them both. The ending of the play is very satisfying despite, or perhaps because of, the deaths of nearly all the characters. For a neat ending, it was necessary that all the characters achieve their revenge, and as there were so many intertwining strands of revenge, it was inevitable that a large proportion of characters would be killed. The play ends with a new beginning, as the corruption at the heart of Denmark dies with Claudius and Hamlet. Hamlet succeeded in taking revenge on Claudius and revealing the truth about his character, and Laertes succeeded in killing Hamlet but died in the process. All this clears the way for Fortinbras, who we see is far more suited to leadership than the indecisive Hamlet. Fortinbras was more successful in his revenge than Hamlet and Laertes for a number of reasons. He is not held back by the dilemma that freezes Hamlet; of having to choose between betraying his fathers trust or losing the throne and alienating everyone he loves. Hamlet is held back by his proximity to Claudius and the situation, whereas Fortinbras is free to act uninfluenced by the people around him. Another factor in Fortinbras favour is that, unlike both Hamlet and Laertes, Fortinbras made the decision to take revenge alone, so it was entirely his responsibility. Revenge has to be nurtured in Hamlet and Laertes, and both are used as tools in the ongoing feud between the two brothers. Fortinbras is a man of action, and doesnt waste time pondering the philosophy behind the revenge mentality, as Hamlet does. And unlike Laertes, he plans and organises his revenge, he doesnt rush straight into confrontation unprepared. In fact, he represents the best qualities of both of them, so it is fitting that it is he who emerges with not only his life, but the throne of Denmark to go with it.

Power And Interdependence In The Information A Media Essay

Power And Interdependence In The Information A Media Essay Introduction: In the article Power and Interdependence in the Information Age, Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr.1 focused on the idea of complex interdependence2 in international system this concept is characterized by an increase in interconnections and the decline of military forces in order to achieve cooperation between states and various actors. This article aimed to provide further evidence to what extent is the international politics transformed by interdependence in modern global environment. It also highlights that the contemporary globalized world is significantly driven by information technology and the Internet, because soft power3 is becoming more utile for states and non-state actors. Keohane and Nyes approaches to the Information Age and to faces of power are bound up with neoliberal theories so the principal focus is the neo-liberal institutionalism. 1 Robert O. Keohane is a professor of International Affairs at Princeton University and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences.  (Princeton University, 2008) Joseph Nye Jr. is current dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former Under-Secretary of State. (Harvard Kennedy School, 2009) 2 Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. define complex interdependence as a state of affairs where institutions and interstate reliance play an important role such that it transforms the nature of the relationships between states and possible strategies that choose to pursue. (Future of European Foreign Policy Seminar, 2007, p.2) 3 Soft power is the capability to achieve required goals because others agree with what one wants. It grounds largely on the persuasiveness of the free information that an actor seeks to transmità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦information technology, broadly defined, is likely to be the most important power resource. (Keohane Nye, 1998, p.86-7) Summary: Over the 20th century, modernists pronounced that the technological progress will lead to transformation of world politics where states and their control of force will dwindle in importance but non-state actors will experience boom. Whereas futurists assume that the information revolution results in a cyber-feudalism where the government is replaced by communities aspiring to achieve citizens allegiance. States are more tenacious and continue to control peoples loyalties and frame politics in an information age, but they tend to be far more credible to a public. Critique: First of all, Keohane and Nye assert that earlier transnational flows were heavily controlled by large bureaucracies like multinational corporations and institutions.4 However, in these days, there is practically no institutionalized control over the free dissemination of information the power is widely spread to individuals and private organizations (NGOs) who undermine the monopoly of traditional bureaucracy 5, and governments possess less control of their agendas.6 Therefore the easy availability of technology and the Internet plays a key role in the decline of initial need for official institutions in the Information Age. Secondly, the main weakness of the article is the assumption that the information technologies are mainly located in the West. This seems to be irrelevant nowadays because the article was written ten years ago and from that time very significant shift in technological development has taken place throughout the world. For example in 2008 China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 338 millionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ helping China overtakes the United States as the worlds biggest Internet  market [253 million].7 (China Today, 2009) Both authors primarily concentrated on the future progress of Western countries and underrated the emerging powers, such as China and India. 8 Furthermore, Keohane and Nye assumed that the dominant American market share in  ¬Ã‚ lms and television programs in world markets isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to continue 9 but this prediction proved to be inaccurate. 4 Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye (1998), Power and Interdependence in the Information Age, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77, Issue 5: pp. 83. 5 Nye S. Joseph (2002), The Information Revolution and American Soft Power, Asia-Pacific Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1: pp. 61. 6 It is essential to realize that the persuasion and influence increases as more channels of contact between societies and organizations are created and states have to recognize other key actors in world politics. 7 China Today, 1/06/2009, China Statistics. http://www.chinatoday.com/data/data.htm, accessed 9 November 2010. 8 Chinas biggest Internet companies, including Baidu, Sina, Tencent and  Alibaba, are thriving, and in many cases are outperforming the China-based operations of American Internet giants like  Google,   Yahoo   and   eBay. (Barboza in New York Times, July 26 2008) According to Screen Digest research, in 2005, India produced 1,041 feature films, compared to 699 films made in USA. 10 These figures clearly indicate that other nations have increased their competitive ability and surpassed Hollywood. Apparently, the evolution of West modernity seems to be superseded by more rapacious East Asia. 11 Lastly, according to Keohane and Nye democratic states are more likely to familiar with the free exchange of information 12 because they are able to form information and use soft power. 13 The article emphasizes the necessity of ideology, context, credibility and transparency in democracy to form a truth and relevant information. However some scholars argue that democracy as well as totalitarianism could not be possible without the mass communications. 14 Unlike democratic states, totalitarian states repress competitive sources of information and are not reliable and transparent enough. But authors ignored that the sovereignty of democracies is influenced by free information flow because the decision-making of political leaders may be affected by other actors. Conclusion: In conclusion, it has to be admitted that the article is quite critical towards political realism and focuses mainly on the development and progression of Western world in the Information Age. Further studies and theories must be taken into account to present a current situation and improve our understanding concerning the complex interdependence as well as neo-liberalism in the Informative Revolution. Despite obsolete presumptions, the article has provided some detailed insights to demonstrate the values of power and the importance of interdependence in the Information Age. 9 Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye (1998), Power and Interdependence in the Information Age, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77, Issue 5: pp. 88. 10 Screen Digest, June 2006, World Film Production/ Distribution: http://www.fafo.at/download/ WorldFilmProduction06.pdf, accessed 9 November 2010. Most prolific feature film producing nations in 2005: China 260 films; Brazil 90 films; Russian Federation 160 films; Latin America 275 films. (Screen Digest, June 2006, p. 206) 11 Despite the fact that China still controls the assess to the Internet and monitor a certain number of users (Keohane and Nye, 1998, p.93), it has maintained a dominant position in the Information Age. 12 Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye (1998), Power and Interdependence in the Information Age, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77, Issue 5: pp. 93. 13 The Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 serves as an example of American soft power in action when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the fact that CNN was an American company helped to frame the issue, worldwide, as aggression. Had an Arab company been the worlds dominant TV channel, perhaps the issue would have been framed as a justi ¬Ã‚ ed attempt to reverse colonial humiliation. (Keohane and Nye, 1998, p.91) This case shows that CNN acted its role of reliable source of information very skillfully; it gained a respected international reputation due to its credibility and professionalism to frame the issue. (Keohane and Nye, 1998, p.91) 14 Nye S. Joseph (2002), The Information Revolution and American Soft Power, Asia-Pacific Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1: pp. 61.

Arguments :: essays research papers

Discussions on various topics come up anywhere there is people with certain thoughts. These discussions will come up from out of nowhere and from anywhere. When a discussion becomes a heated debate as two parties utter back and forth then it is an argument. Winning those arguments, whether you know or do not know what you are talking about, is a great feeling. Here is how to win arguments, when you have no clue of what the argument entails, by making things up, using meaningless but weighty-sounding words and phrases, and by using snappy comebacks. Making things up is harder than it seems. Made up phrases just cant be off the top of your head, they have to be thought out. Suppose, in a Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that YOU are underpaid, and you are damned if you are going to let a bunch of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: "I think Peruvians are underpaid." Say: "The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is $836.07 before the mean gross poverty level." This second statement suggests the same thought, yet expresses it in a way that sounds more sophisticated and in turn the arguer looks better. Next, use meaningless but weighty-sounding words and phrases. To do this, a list needs to be entered into memory. Stylish words and phrases include: let me put it this way, in terms of, vis-Ã  -vis, per se, as it were, qua, and so to speak. Memorize Latin abbreviations such as "Q.E.D.," "e.g.," and "i.e." These are all short for "I speak Latin, and you do not." Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say: "Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money." Nobody wins arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say: "Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-Ã  -vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D." Only a fool would challenge that statement. Finally, use snappy and irrelevant comebacks. Having an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevant phrases to fire back at opponents when they make valid points is great for a final blow.

The Spanish Influenza Epidemic :: Journalism Epidemics Health Essays

The Spanish Influenza Epidemic Los Angeles, October 28--The effects of the Spanish influenza outbreak from its date of original contamination, September 13(1), to now have been widespread and horrific. With more than 4500 new cases being reported today, the total for California is now above 60,000.(7) Not even two days prior to this printing, San Francisco witnessed its worst day, with over 2000 new cases reported accompanied by 96 deaths.(6) The once thought of "army epidemic" now has a firm grip on civilian life. Following a trend set by many East coast cities over a month ago, many public facilities remain closed. Operational theaters and moving picture shows are now quite difficult to find, public schools are said to remain closed until at least November 6, and the City of Los Angeles' Liberty Fair has be postponed indefinitely.(5) Many churches have had to stop congregations and Sunday schools, and generally any unnecessary places of public gatherings have been shut down. Earlier this month the Balloon School in Arcadia tried taking preventative measures by enacting a quarantine of its students to the surrounding cities where no cases of influenza were reported.(3) The ban was lifted on October 5, with the school remaining clear of the epidemic. Employment has been an issue for not only citizens but employers. Many workers are unable to continue duty, while the unemployed are not being hired for fear of contamination. Only two weeks ago a call for civil service workers from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. was halted until the epidemic calms down, not only hurting civilians looking for work but also impairing the United States military machine in its effort to win the war. The specific agent responsible for this outbreak is still unknown, but the symptoms seem to be clear. As quoted from Surgeon General Blue, "The disease has a sudden onset ... people are stricken on the streets, while at work in factories, shipyards, offices, and elsewhere." He continues, saying "First there is a chill, then fever with temperature from 101 to 103, headache, backache, reddening and running of the eyes, pains and aches all over the body, and general prostration." It is commonly suggested that if feeling these symptoms, one should quickly get into bed and isolate oneself, then call a physician. Common advice to prevent infection from this malady has been to stay active, eat well, sleep well, and spend as much time in open spaces as possible as to have the most amount of fresh air around. The Spanish Influenza Epidemic :: Journalism Epidemics Health Essays The Spanish Influenza Epidemic Los Angeles, October 28--The effects of the Spanish influenza outbreak from its date of original contamination, September 13(1), to now have been widespread and horrific. With more than 4500 new cases being reported today, the total for California is now above 60,000.(7) Not even two days prior to this printing, San Francisco witnessed its worst day, with over 2000 new cases reported accompanied by 96 deaths.(6) The once thought of "army epidemic" now has a firm grip on civilian life. Following a trend set by many East coast cities over a month ago, many public facilities remain closed. Operational theaters and moving picture shows are now quite difficult to find, public schools are said to remain closed until at least November 6, and the City of Los Angeles' Liberty Fair has be postponed indefinitely.(5) Many churches have had to stop congregations and Sunday schools, and generally any unnecessary places of public gatherings have been shut down. Earlier this month the Balloon School in Arcadia tried taking preventative measures by enacting a quarantine of its students to the surrounding cities where no cases of influenza were reported.(3) The ban was lifted on October 5, with the school remaining clear of the epidemic. Employment has been an issue for not only citizens but employers. Many workers are unable to continue duty, while the unemployed are not being hired for fear of contamination. Only two weeks ago a call for civil service workers from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. was halted until the epidemic calms down, not only hurting civilians looking for work but also impairing the United States military machine in its effort to win the war. The specific agent responsible for this outbreak is still unknown, but the symptoms seem to be clear. As quoted from Surgeon General Blue, "The disease has a sudden onset ... people are stricken on the streets, while at work in factories, shipyards, offices, and elsewhere." He continues, saying "First there is a chill, then fever with temperature from 101 to 103, headache, backache, reddening and running of the eyes, pains and aches all over the body, and general prostration." It is commonly suggested that if feeling these symptoms, one should quickly get into bed and isolate oneself, then call a physician. Common advice to prevent infection from this malady has been to stay active, eat well, sleep well, and spend as much time in open spaces as possible as to have the most amount of fresh air around.

Pulp Fiction Essay -- essays papers

Pulp Fiction The puzzle pieces are carefully fitted together as director Quentin Tarantino intermingles three different story lines in his hit movie Pulp Fiction. The movie begins in a quiet little diner as two petty robbers discuss their next mission. The mission in question involves two lovebirds (Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth) holding up unsuspecting restaurants, instead of their usual liquor stores. As their plan falls into action, time alters and we find ourselves riding down the street with Vincent and Jules John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), two hit men on their way to work. As the men travel to work they discuss such worldly things as gourmet food, like the "Royale with cheese", and the sexual innuendoes involved when one gives a foot massage. These two intellects do the dirty work for the infamous Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Due to Wallace's lifestyle, the movie branches off into three separate stories. The first tale begins when Wallace has some overnight business he must attend to. While gone, he leaves Vincent in charge of entertaining his beautiful wife Mia (Uma Thurman). After a surprisingly pleasant evening of dinner and dancing, Vincent must revive Mia after her abusive episode with heroin. The second adventure involves Wallace and a washed-up boxer, Butch, portrayed by Bruce Willis. Wallace gives Butch a substantial amount of money to throw a fight. After receiving the cash Butch decides to double-cross a double-crosser. The final episode revolves around Vincent's accidental murder of a young black in the back seat of Jules' car. This hilarious scene develops when Jules is forced to ask the "Wolf" (Harvey Keitel) to act as a clean-up man. As the 2 ½-hour movie unfolds, one must keep very alert and place the pieces together just right to complete the final picture. Before Tarantino begins his clip, he attempts to focus the audience by quoting two dictionary definitions of pulp. "The first one is literal: the second is the figurative usage, derived from magazines of the past that were published on cheap pulp paper and specialized in lurid fiction of several genres" (Kauffmann 26). With the making of his Cannes Film Festival winner, Tarantino changes all the rules restricting genre. "Tarantino has lifted up the dark rock of crime cliche and found a brilliantly colorful world thriving undern... ...r night out on the town with Vincent. Vincent also feels a sense of responsibility for Mia because of his relationship with Wallace. Even Wallace's enemy, Butch, goes out of his way to save Wallace from being "man-handled". Since Wallace's faith is only in those he has control over, loyalty appears to have a price. Because Tarantino's film Pulp Fiction branches off into several separate stories, one must concentrate hard to get the full affect of his work. With great talent he blends three main scenarios and several sub-plots into one full-length movie. Once completed he tosses in chaos, and ready to serve is an award winning film. Bibliography: Ansen, David. â€Å"The Redemption of Pulp.† Newsweek 124. (October 10, 1994): 71. Ansen, David and Charles Fleming. â€Å"A Tough Guy Takes Cannes.† Newsweek 123. (June 6, 1994): 79. Corliss, Richard. â€Å"A Blast to the Heart.† Time 143. (June 6, 1994): 73. Johnson, Brian D. â€Å"Making Crime Play.† Maclean’s 107. (October 24, 1994): 57-8. Kauffmann, Stanley. â€Å"Shooting Up.† The New Republic 211. (November 14, 1994): 26-7. Travers, Peter. â€Å"Movies Tarantino’s Twist.† Rolling Stone. (October 6, 1994): 79-81.

Consumer Theory and X1

: Hal R. Varian. Intermediate Microeconomics, A Modern Approach. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1 BUDGET CONSTRAINT Consumer theory —- how consumers buy their goods? Economists assume: consumers choose the best bundle of goods they can afford. Two aspects: —-Consumers choose the most preferred goods. —-They are limited by economic condition. The Budget Constraint Consumption bundles: ( , ): a list of numbers of goods and services. X = (x1, x2, †¦, xn,) In the case of two goods: good 1 and good 2. Bundle of goods: X = (x1, x2) Prices of goods: (p1, p2),The amount of money the consumer has to spend: m. The consumer’s affordable consumption bundles, (x1, x2) satisfy p1x1 + p2x2 ? m. —-The budget set of the consumer ( ) . good 2 m/p2 O m/p1 good 1 Two Goods Are Often Enough Composite good —-take x2 as everything else, the dollars spent on other goods. For example, x1: consumption of milk in quarts per month. The budget constraint will take t he form p1x1 + x2 ? m. The case of n goods Budget constraint: p1x1 + p2x2+†¦+ pnxn ? m. Properties of the Budget Set Budget line( ): p1x1 + p2x2 = m. Vertical intercept: m/p2Horizontal intercept: m/p1. Slope: – p1/p2 Economic interpretation of slope: For the bundle (x1, x2): p1x1 + p2x2 = m. After a change in bundle (? x1, ? x2): p1(x1+? x1) + p2(x2+? x2) = m. good 2 x2 ?x2 ?x1 O x1 good 1 Subtracting the first equation from the second gives p1? x1 + p2? x2 = 0. This gives The number of good 2 the consumer must give up when he increases his consumption of good 1 by 1 unit, and keeps the money spent unchanged. Opportunity cost of consuming good 1—- in order to consume more of good 1 you have to give up some consumption of good 2.Budget Line Changes How the budget line changes when prices and incomes change? Change in income Change in m results in a parallel shift of the budget line. Intercepts m/p2 and m/p1 will change. Slope – p1/p2 keeps unchanged. good 2 m/p2 O m/p1 good 1 Changes in prices Increasing p1 will not change the vertical intercept, but p1/p2 will become larger. good 2 m/p2 O m/p1 good 1 What happens to the budget line when we change the prices of good 1 and good 2 at the same time? Proportionally: (tp1)x1 + (tp2)x2 = m.What happens to the budget line when we change the prices of good 1 and good 2 and the consumers’ income at the same time? good 2 m/p2 O m/p1 good 1 Proportionally: (tp1)x1 + (tp2)x2 = tm. Some observations: If one price declines and all others stay the same, the consumer must be at least as well-off. If the consumer’s income increases and all prices remain the same, the consumer must be at least as well-off as at the lower income A perfectly balanced inflation cannot change anybody’s optimal choice. 2 PREFERENCES Consumer Preferences( Consumer ranks consumption bundles by his satisfaction from use of goods, irrelevant to the prices. The case of two goods Given any two consumption bund les, X=(x1, x2) and Y=(y1, y2), the consumer can rank them in one of three possible ways: (x1, x2) is strictly better than (y1, y2); (y1, y2) is strictly better than (x1, x2); (x1, x2) and (y1, y2) are indifferent. Two basic relations: [pic]: strictly preferred( ), (x1, x2) [pic] (y1, y2): the consumer strictly prefers (x1, x2) to (y1, y2). ~ : indifferent ( ) (x1, x2) ~ (y1, y2). he consumer is indifferent between (x1, x2) and (y1, y2). A composite relation: [pic]: weakly preferred ( ) (x1, x2) [pic](y1, y2): the consumer prefers (x1, x2) to (y1, y2) or is indifferent between (x1, x2) and (y1, y2). Assumptions about Preferences Axioms about consumer preference (weakly preference): Complete( ). Given any X-bundle and any Y-bundle, consumer can say that (x1, x2)[pic](y1, y2), or (y1, y2)[pic](x1, x2). Reflexive( ). Consumer should say that any bundle is at least as good as itself: (x1, x2)[pic](x1, x2). Transitive ( ).If a consumer feels that (x1, x2)[pic](y1, y2) and (y1, y2)[pic](z 1, z2) then he feels that (x1, x2)[pic](z1, z2). Indifference Curves Weakly preferred set: all of the consumption bundles that are weakly preferred to (x1, x2). Indifference curves( ): —-The boundary of weakly preferred set; Good 2 x2 O x1 Good 1 Further assumptions Well-behaved preferences( ): Monotonicity ( )—- more is better. If that x1 ( y1, x2 ( y2 and that x1 ( y1 , x2 ( y2 at least one hold, then (x1, x2) [pic] (y1, y2) —-indifference curves have negative slope.A indifference curve is the set of bundles for which the consumer is just indifferent to (x1, x2). Good 2 O Good 1 Convexity ( )—- averages are preferred to extremes. If (x1, x2) and (y1, y2) are indifferent, then the bundle ([pic]x1+[pic]y1, [pic]x2+[pic]y2) is strictly preferred to (x1, x2) and (y1, y2). —-indifference curves are convex. Good 2 O Good 1 Examples of preferences Perfect Substitutes( ) The consumer is willing to substitute one good for the other at a constant rate. Goo d 2 O Good 1Perfect Complements( ) Goods that are always consumed together in fixed proportions. Good 2 O Good 1 Discrete Goods( ) x1 : a discrete good that is only available in integer amounts. Suppose that x2 is money to be spent on other goods. Good 2 O Good 1 The Marginal Rate of Substitution Marginal rate of substitution (MRS, ): slope of an indifference curve. —- measures the rate at which the consumer is just willing to substitute one good for the other. MRS = [pic] Note: MRS is a negative number. Good 2 (x2O (x1 Good 1 The other form of MRS MRS =[pic] Good 2 x2 O x1 Good 1 Behavior of the Marginal Rate of Substitution Describe the indifference curves by the MRS. Perfect substitutes: the marginal rate of substitution is constant. Perfect complements: the MRS is either 0 or infinity, and nothing in between. In general case: Monotonicity: indifference curves must have a negative slope, i. e. negative MRS. Convex: the marginal rate of substitution decreases as we increase x1, —-diminishing MRS. ———————– [pic]

Describe how the British government used propaganda to in fluency the British people in the First World War

Propaganda is information designed to all in allow multitude to believe a certain file of view. It does not read to be lies. It wad be the truth, though it is only adeptness part of the truth. The British government started to put on propaganda at the before the world struggle angiotensin-converting enzyme. They utilize it to draw the British nation dislike the Germans and support the state of contend.Propaganda was utilise in world contend one to nurture the struggle effort. The government utilize propaganda for more or less deferent reasons. The government used propaganda at many polar times in the contendfare for many different reasons and some of the propaganda was not needed by the check of the war like recruitment poster. recruitment propaganda was used from the start of the war until tipple was introduced in 1916 .The British government do many recruitment posters to get hoi polloi interested in signing up to fight in the war. The government used m any different and my favourite one is a man sitting in an arm chair and has his daughter postulation him daddy what did you do in the outstanding War? this was make to get a normal family to sing up for the war it had a real big trespass on many family men it would make them feel a bit unlawful to his family that he did not help to nurse the uncouth.The government made theses posters to get state to sigh up for the war because the British troops was very small nearly 250,000 men comp ard to the French and German army what where conscription armys. We need help to flummox the evil Germans so we put up posters asking heap to join the army.Women were to a fault the target from propaganda either. Propaganda was targeted at them to try and get them to take up work in the places left by the vast moment of men what went to fight in the war. Or to try and make their husband, fight in the war.The news papers published barbarism stories closely atrocity stories what happened in Belgium. This stories where to distinguish to build up scorn toward the Germans. It was found on true fact and most of it was real entirely got mixed on the way to your ears. exclusively other stories are just made up. They were successful because people wanted some thing to hate the Germans for and this was a good thing for the British government.A British spy was killed by the Germans what was a very good valet de chambre of propaganda .But the composition told us that she was a substance aged nurse working at the western frontline serving our troop in the war in the Germans lines. It was in all of Germany power to kill her because she was spying and part British solider in prisoner of war camps escape to the frontline .It was a great pieces of propaganda for the introductory world war . But after the war the Germans did emit that it was a very big mistake to kill her precisely she could have been put in a prison.Raising funds for the war became more and more difficul t throughout the war. The government move many different ways of summit funds. At send-off they simply exhausted less money elsewhere in the county or raised taxes a bit. that as the war kept on growing they didnt have enough money to fund the war. The government found its self, acceptation money from other countries to fuel the war. They inflexible to issue an appeal for money in the way of propaganda to get the wealthier families and households to donate money to them. They asked people to take out war bonds that could be paid back at the end of the war. This was also coped by the US in WW2.The British army did have a secret weapon of the premiere World War it was the armoured combat vehicle. The Tank was a propaganda persons dream their was many new stories about it in the paper and many different pictures of it in the paper at first it was not that impressive in the war. But after time the army used them goodly and did much damage with them but. The tank did build up m uch depicted object pride and gave British people confide that we where going to win the war.The government did not only want to influence the views of Britain, but also those of friends and enemies abroad. America would be a great help if they would join the war for the allies. To help mobilise America for war the Foreign Office, who were in charge of propaganda to apathetic audiences, printed hundreds o books and leaflets to send to American newspaper editors. When the Luistania was sunk by a German U-boats torpedo in 1915, British propaganda made sure it was told about a lot.Without the propaganda the country would might not have won the war. It helped us many way . It was one of the crucial factors of us winning the war although be may of gave up on the war but the government used their ever growing experience in know what we want to see and take about the war (was better wisdom in them days).

Dutch Disease

(1. What is meant by the term? ) Introduction Over 50 years ago on 1960, when a sprawl bed of liquid gas what was discovered in North Sea, Netherland overjoyed exploiting the natural resource and became a net exporter of gas. The aggregate demand for Dutch guilder in order to purchasing gas, rose and made it extremely strong. It left a lot of currency to a level the manufacturing export was no longer competitive.To begin, low let us examine the indicators of the disease.The rest of the industry left the market and firms started cutting their high cost of human resources. Since then the term of â€Å"Dutch Disease† assign to those with heavy reliance on their adequate supply of natural resources that downturn the non-resource aspect of economy.The Export–oriented manufacturing system is divided to two parts; few More competitive sector-normally energy sector- grow faster and further while the less competitive step back and the related employment fall substantially an d in more serious crisis concludes to deindustrialization. Both mentioned event are correlated with exchange rate development.It might how have set up.

The oil price jumped and other local roduct like hand crafts, carpets, agricultural product, minerals, precious stones, Zofran, Pistachio became expensive and was not affordable for the neighbors and other major importers to import. Such small industries never sustained in the market and some of them wiped out. Iran became the largest importer of rice, wheat, carpets. That took many jobs and money out of economy.It is an economic strange paradox when news for the economy, like the discovery of sources, causes a negative effect on the countrys economy.In both situations, their intake of money from oil exportation is huge. It strengthens the Ruble wired and impact the export revenue as a whole. Besides pouring unmanaged wealth problem, the direct investors intend to invest in mines and oil/gas wells and rigs or take over the related companies (direct investment). Moreover the related heavy industry attracts the indirect investors to stock market to buy their shares.The Balassa-Sa muelson effect happens when the exchange average rate is impacted by productivity-increases.

Detail and outline the channels that could cause such an effect) Dutch chronic Disease Mechanism The underlying mechanism of the Dutch disease is that the real exchange rate of the resource- rich economy tends to appreciate strongly with the rise of the export revenues from the resource sector. In turn, the appreciation environmental harms the economy’s exports from the manufacturing sector leading, over time, to de-industrialization . Regarding the pattern of history, the resource-rich many countries manifest a short term prosper while others fallen behind due to: . Natural Resource scientific discovery and exploitation 2.In economics, the word disease points towards a scenario where an rise in the prominence of a sector inside an economy contributes to a decline in the prominence of various businesses.Resource price artificially inflate the hard currency 2. Run up in commodity price 3. Losing price competition in market 4. Become weak in scale manufacturing sector 5.Th e spike in petroleum industry resulted in the decrease of exports.

Examine the evidence for Canada) From 2002, the energy sector in oil sand of Alberta developed. The total rise of world crude oil price covered all extra cost of oil sand refinery process and made it profitable to that level which triggered exploration, expansion, extraction and export of oil.Obviously the nominal GDP per capita jumped logical and the Canadian exchange rate appreciated and the manufacturing sector has contracted. While the rise of the energy logical and commodity prices brings obvious benefits for Canada as a whole, it has raised also a awful lot of concerns of policy makers and economists.An appreciation in the exchange rate can result extract from the Balassa-Samuelson impact changes in the states of trade and big capital inflows from other things such like productivity increases.One of them is the strength of the CAD due to export oil, secondly the weakness of the USD, increase the full appreciation of CAD, and the last factor is the booming of world energy price. Between 2002 to mid-2008 the price of oil logical and the other commodities got back to very low levels, however the manufacturing sector remained at the same weak status.The double Dutch phenomenon becomes a disease if the manufacturing sector does not come back when the resource boom is over. (4.Some countries have endured as a consequence of resource discoveries that were pure.

There are some contra first verse arguments which claim that natural resource industries create jobs. Strong currency brings significant growth. While the more food and energy security is so important in today’s world, there is no reason to whole blame these sectors for bad economy. Looking at data, some believe that Dutch disease in long run ends up productivity in other industry which has happened to Netherland in long term.Many nations have got into problems.Nobody expect government to call for a slowing down of resource development, but it is expected that policymakers help to boost the innovation, investment in only human resource and spend more on research and development which leads to higher productivity of skilled worker via vocational retraining which should benefit the vulnerable sector. Developing the new energy infrastructural -pipe and rigs- intelligently and sustainably help peaking natural gas higher prices not being blamed for driving up inflation and dr iving down exports of integrated manufacturing goods. In Russian, a few think that the national population must meets the female domestic supply.They claim that they are not that much depends on export revenue.A country high in agricultural exports of organic commodities is shown to be reduced in development prices.

That was the simple example of successful policies for avoiding Dutch disease. Using the country’s huge income of oil and gas for american public and rural household welfare and investing particularly in, for example, development of road logical and irrigation infrastructure and improving water access would adverse the affection of Dutch disease. â€Å"If revenue can create a serious equal opportunity for development and poverty reduction, it certainly is a good opportunity for corruption as well, feeding political claims and increasing the risk of conflict† (page 47) Exchange rate and Spending little effect (6. ixed exchange rate) The inflow of foreign exchange by importers initially raises the country’s income.America has come a long way.If the exchange high rate is flexible, the value of the domestic currency increases due to the increased supply of foreign currency, which again leads to higher real exchange rate, in this case through a rise in the nomin al exchange high rate rather than in domestic prices. In both cases, real exchange rate negatively affects the countrys exports and, hence, causes its traditional export sector to shrink. This entire making process is called the â€Å"spending effect. † †¢Corden, W.The supply of wealth might be uneven.

1982. Booming Sector and De-Industrialisation in a Small more Open Economy.The Economic Journal, 92 (368) pp. 825-848.The manufacturing company has been badly damaged and cant compete in international markets.Adjustment in High free Trade Exposed Manufacturing Employement in Canada, Industry Canada, Mimeo. †¢http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2003/03/ebra.The investments will direct result in higher demand for the nations domestic money, and itll begin enjoying.