Long Essay Essay

Support, Modify, or Refute: The Monroe Doctrine ushered in a new era of US foreign policy The Monroe Doctrine was established in the early 19th century written by, of course, James Monroe. This document ushered in a new era of US foreign policy by stepping their foot down and showing the rest of the world how powerful they could be. This was when the US was slowly figuring out the power they could hold. This document stated that the US will not permit the following: Interfering with affairs in the Western Hemisphere, attempts to create new colonies in the Western Hemisphere, and the overthrowing of new colonies. These were said to be, â€Å"Dangerous to our peace and safety.† These statements clearly support how the US wanted to flex their muscles and flaunt independence. Foreign policy before the Monroe Doctrine was put into place is almost a polar opposite of foreign policy after the doctrine was put into place. Before the Monroe Doctrine, the US showed multiple examples of neutrality. For instance, on April 22nd, 1793, George Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality, which in turn declared the nation neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain. After the Monroe Doctrine was put into place, Macon’s Bill No. 2 (passed by Madison) went into effect, which was an opposite extreme of Washington’s proclamation of neutrality. With Macon’s Bill, the US is now agreeing to trade with everyone (even France), except for Great Britain (The bill was originally passed to motivate both France and Britain to stop seizing American Vessels). This obviously causes copious amounts of tension between countries, and is yet again, a sign of strength and power coming from the US. Napoleon saw Macon’s Bill No. 2 as a great chance for him to move along his, â€Å"Continental Plan.† Now that Britain was unable to trade, this meant they were weak as a whole, but mainly their economy was in turmoil. Macon’s Bill No. 2 was the main cause of The War of 1812. This was a war between the US and Great Britain and Ireland (British ally). The war was basically a conflict because neither country could get over their ego’s, which is yet again, another example of how the US showed great strength (and a little stubbornness) in this period of time.

Radio Shack Compensation Problem Essay

RadioShack is one of the largest electronic chain stores across America. They employ up to 34,000 employees and according to their corporate website (www.radidoschack.com) they offer the â€Å"Complete Package : Incredible work environment, highly qualified employees and competitive compensation , including upon hire: paid time off , merchandise and wireless discounts, credit union, career progression , continued learning and development , educational discounts ,401(k) Plan. Medical, Dental and Vision Plans Flexible Spending Accounts, Life/AD&D Insurance, Short and Long Term Disability. This all sounds great, they offer things we all look for in an employer ; a competitive compensation and perks. So how does this huge corporation become rated number 3 top worst places to work for? The Problem According to 24/7 Wall St, they examined employee reviews at online job site Glassdoor.com. To make the cut of worst company, companies need to have a minimum of 300 reviews. Based on these ratings, 24/7 Wall St. identified RadioShack as the number 3 worst company to work for. Any company receiving a score of 2.7 or lower, ranks them in the bottom 10% of the 202 companies they measured. RadioShack rating was 2.4 and has 560 reviews. Reviewers were consistently unhappy about the retailer’s sales commission structure and the long hours. The reviews also indicated that the company limits commissions to certain products, instead of paying based on sales. â€Å"Over the years compensation has turned into a big joke. You MUST perform in all metrics (service plans, batteries, cell phones, etc) to get any sort of bonus as an associate.† stated a former RadioShack employee. (www.glassdoor.com) Conclusion These remarks paint a completely different picture than what is listed on the corporate career web page. In my paper, my focus will be on the challenging monetary compensation of the company and to offer strategies on how to improve this problem.

Bluebells of Scotland

Bluebells of Scotland â€Å"Bluebells of Scotland† is a piece written and composed in the late romantic era around 1899 by Arthur Pryor. The piece was composed from a traditional Scottish folk song for the trombone and orchestral accompaniment. In the late 1800s the trombone was not viewed as an instrument that could perform particularly difficult pieces. Compelled by society’s negative opinion of the trombone, Pryor composed â€Å"Bluebells of Scotland† in order to display the capabilities of the trombone and to emphasize that it could play very difficult pieces.This piece is a little more upbeat and physical than other pieces of the same time period, but what makes this piece particularly unique is that it is the only piece with a high level of difficulty for trombone that was composed in the time of its conception. The piece is intended to be accompanied by an orchestra but can be played with piano accompaniment as well. The characteristics of this piece are v ery dynamic and free. The expressivity of the piece is left up to the interpretation of the performer which allows for a large amount of freedom and creativity.There are quite a few cadences that allow the performer to take control of tempo and dynamics. â€Å"Bluebells of Scotland† includes both very slow and lyrical passages as well as many very quick and difficult runs, double-tonguing, octave jumps, lips slurs, and a vast amount of high register notes. The introduction of the piece begins with a triumphant cadence peaking at a high register C, which slowly decays into a very lyrical melodic sequence that takes the shape of the original lyrics, which read: â€Å"Oh where, tell me where, is your highland laddie gone?Oh where, tell me where, is your highland laddie gone? He's gone with streaming banners where noble deeds are done. And it's oh! in my heart I wish him safe at home. † The piece then moves into a much more difficult technical variation of the original mel ody and progressively builds in speed until the also very triumphant ending. Around the time the then eighteen or nineteen year old Arthur Pryor composed â€Å"Blue Bells of Scotland†, he had only been playing the slide trombone for three to four years.Pryor was given the slide trombone as a payment to a debt and taught himself to play it fairly quickly. Amazingly, Pryor wrote the piece with the knowledge of only a few slide positions and would use false tones and alternate positions for notes in the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions. Despite this, â€Å"Blue Bells of Scotland† is still one of Pryor’s most memorable pieces and is still widely known today. A few years after composing â€Å"Bluebells of Scotland† he arrived in New York by invitation of John Philip Sousa.After arriving to be in Sousa’s new concert band, Pryor was offered by Frank Holton the position of principle chair trombonist. When Holton left the position, Pryor became the featu red soloist of over 10,000 solos as principle trombonist for Sousa’s band. â€Å"Blue Bells of Scotland† serves as a constant reminder of the trombone’s capabilities as a very lyrical instrument and its ability for technical prowess as well. Arthur Pryor inspired interest in the trombone with his virtuoso playing, and â€Å"Bluebells of Scotland† in particular has been a standard of trombone literature for decades and a favorite challenge for advanced players†(Kleiner). The piece will always have a special place in the hearts of all trombonists, both past and future. Works Cited http://www. celticscores. com/sheet-music/628_Blue_Bells_of_Scotland http://bluebellstrilogy. com/blog/2010/05/arthur-pryor-blue-bells-and-trombone/

Using an example of your choosing, critically discuss the impact of Essay

Using an example of your choosing, critically discuss the impact of boycotting campaigns on your chosen international company,will upload a file of specific questions later - Essay Example This paper will discuss the effect of boycotting campaigns on an international company. It will elaborate on types and definitions of consumer boycotting and consider how it affected the international company. Finally, the essay will look at the principle strategic elements affected by the boycott. This paper will explore Nestlà © Company as the boycotted international company. The baby milk action IBFAN based in the United Kingdom has been in the front row advocating boycott on Nestlà © products. It is because of the unwarranted suffering and deaths of infants as a result of marketing baby formulas that do not conform to the international marketing standards around the universe (Baby Milk Action 2014: para 1). The baby Milk Action collaborates with partners from the International Baby Food action Network to watch the operations of business organisations. The bone of contention is in the use of marketing phrases such as ‘gentle start’, ‘protect’ babies and ‘natural start’ by Nestlà © in formulas. The reality is that the infants fed on the formula are at high risk of getting sick or dying compared to the babies that are breastfeeding. The breast milk has the potential of preventing deaths that occur in children below the age of five. On the other hand, the expensive baby formulas lead to malnutrition because of poverty. The company expose the young babies feeding on the foods at risk because it does not put warnings that the formula is not germ-free. As a result, most infants get bacterial infections, and there are no appropriate instructions on the course of action to be taken (Baby Milk Action 2014: para 5). The Nestlà © company baby products are promoted through health workers, pregnant women and mothers with young babies to increase their sales. The objective of the boycott campaign is to pressure the company to make amendments and at the same time sensitising individuals on

Assessment Techniques for Evaluating Student Progress Essay

Assessment Techniques for Evaluating Student Progress - Essay Example While formal assessment offers accountability in an education system that calls for measured results, informal assessment is a method that can bring about improvement since it gives a student the ability to evaluate self and to see individually how further learning can lead to success. The two major types of formal assessment are 1) norm-referenced tests and 2) criterion-referenced tests. Both depend on a particular standard, but norm is based on a comparison with other students taking the same test, and criterion-referenced tests measure student ability within a course of study. The student's performance is compared to an established level of achievement for each task or unit of the curriculum (Rothenbacher & Leconte, 1990). The broad definition of curriculum as it relates to this paper is "all the learning planned and guided by the school, whether in groups or individually inside or outside the school" (Kelly, 1983). This type of assessment depends on standardized tests, which are administered annually by school districts and provide a ready source of data. These tests are administered across a large number of students for the purpose of comparing individual performance to the rest of the group. Also, because test publishers provide information about the tests' reliability and validity, the results are generally accepted by educators and the community. In addition, in a structured classroom setting, students have immediate access to assistance and might enjoy the social environment a formal classroom provides. A.2 Criterion-referenced Assessment This method offers a quick analysis that measures students against a set objective or criterion. It also eliminates competition and because the student is not measured by how his or her peers are doing, self-evaluation can bring about a higher level of self-esteem. Based on standardized testing, a result can be determined by a standardized checklist or rubrics, which offers validity within the system. Criterion-referenced assessment might be categorized as either formal or informal. Disadvantages of Formal Assessment Techniques B.1 Norm-referenced Assessment The test results, because they are compared to the results of other students, don't always determine the ability of the individual student. A standardized test is discriminatory because the curve favors high scorers, and lower-scoring students are automatically placed at the bottom. Therefore the actual ability of the test taker is not measured. Standardized tests, especially norm-referenced tests, are the same across all student levels and geographical areas and therefore set up an unrealistic result with the assumption that all students are the same. B.2 Criterion-referenced Assessment Although this system offers more areas of evaluation for individual students, the end result is a standard measurement. Educators sometimes base their evaluation of a student's ability on the overall results instead of looking at an individual's response to different units within the curriculum. A set standard, no matter how informal it may seem, is still structured and the

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE OF THE WRITINGS OF JOHN PIPER AND N.T Thesis Proposal - 1

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE OF THE WRITINGS OF JOHN PIPER AND N.T. WRIGHT ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH - Thesis Proposal Example The study of the doctrine of justification5 is considered the cornerstone of Christianity6 by many Christian scholars. It is, according to Luther, the article by which the church stands or falls,7 The challenge between Piper and Wright concerns the implication of their views on imputed or incorporated righteousness on justification8 to Christian faith, especially concerning Soteriology.9 On the one hand, Piper’s perspective is that imputed righteousness on justification does not consist merely of belief in Christ alone for salvation, but also submission of every area of one’s life to Christ’s Lordship.10 Thus, Piper unwittingly affirms both â€Å"faith alone† and â€Å"faith not alone† referring to justification, which according to Lybrand constitutes the intrinsic incongruence of these assertions in his (i.e., Piper’s) practical interpretations and teachings.11 This inconsistency could be explained in the way Piper distinguishes justification from sanctification,12 wherein he proposes that to man is given the right to stand with God on account of faith alone.13 Again, Piper maintains, this is something given. Nevertheless, Piper insists that man must live a life that he considers a deadly battle against sin.14 The manner by which he fights such a battle––according God’s will––constitutes s anctification.15 Also important on Piper’s position is the argument that sin has been fought, and won over with the death of Jesus.16 One might contend that if sin has been won over based on Christ’s sacrifice, Piper would not be able to justify his â€Å"faith not alone† portion of his argument. However, he maintains that the right to stand with God is only achieved by eliminating the sin––the one that was already won over on the cross––by way of dying â€Å"in Christ.†17 This is central to his righteousness imputation theory,18 and distinguishes his position from that of Wright’s who proposes, â€Å"incorporated righteousness† as a more

Using publicly available resources and other references compare and Essay

Using publicly available resources and other references compare and critically analyse the UK marketing strategies of Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee - Essay Example Costa Coffee which is the leading company has 1,770 outlets; Starbucks has 790 outlets while the third company, Caffe Nero has 560 outlets. The three remains the leading brands controlling 54% of the coffee market. One of the notable aspects that make the UK coffee shop market to be robust is the predictable nature of the coffee consumption pattern in the country. For example, Allegra Strategies definitive report indicated that one out of five coffee shop customer must visit the outlet every day. This makes the producers to adopt effective strategies aimed at creating strong positive consumer-brand relationship resulting to the expansion of the market. This paper aims at comparing and critically analyzing the UK marketing strategies of Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee. Caffe Nero is a European based company that is headquartered in London. Having being established by Gerry Ford in 1997, the coffee house has expanded its market as a way of increasing the number of customers and raising sales. Currently, Caffe Nero operates in UK, Cyprus, US, Ireland, Poland, UAE AND Turkey. One of the major aspects that make the company to remain competitive and face off Costa Coffee and other rivals in the UK market is product diversification. For example, in addition to traditional Espresso-based brands, Caffe Nero has introduced brands such as Frappe, Fruit Boosters, Hot Chocolate Milano, Latte, Caramelatte, White Chocolate and pasta salads among others. According to Mulhern (2009), for any company to have a competitive edge, it must invest in research and development as well as brand innovation. Caffe Nero has also adopted an effective marketing mix that takes into consideration the needs of the UK consumers. As noted earlier, Caffe Nero has significantly invested in various brands. With more than 20 types of brands, Hilton (2013) indicates that the company has been in a position to meet the needs of its customers. In addition, the strong brand name,

Nursing Informatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing Informatics - Essay Example The affiliation of the sponsors are outlined in the copyright section where the website delineates affiliation to credible sources such as the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version, A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, Patient Education Institute, Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, ORLive, HealthDay and Reuters, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There isn’t a link identified that will allow the user to contact the author however, Medline Plus has provided a contact form to answer users’ queries and if user’s browser does not work with forms, alternative emails and phone number are provided to communicate queries directly to the customer service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Funding. Most of the content of Medline Plus website is available at no charge. That is because the primary purpose of Medline Plus website is merely educational and not to sell product or service. Commer cial funding is not stated in the website but in the disclaimer section, it has been stated that the U.S. government provides fund for the website. Some advertisements are present in the website but Medline Plus makes sure that advertisers follow the advertising policy of Medline Plus by clearly stating the difference between content and advertising. Advertisers or sponsors must not play a role in selecting or editing information (Medline Plus, 2011). Advertisements and directories of health professionals, services, and facilities might be included in the website but Medline Plus does not recommend or endorse these services. In addition, any potential conflict of interest with the users will exclude linked organizations and Web sources from the... This essay discusses the connections between profesional nursing work and an Internet source named Medline Plus that is a most common and helpful today for health care employees. It is stated that some nurses prefer the Internet in answering clinical questions and searching for updates in the field of health care. In this case, nurses who are often using Internet searches are encouraged to develop a list of trusted health-information websites known for credibility. Several advance skills are necessary to evaluate and appraise a health-related website as well as a criterion guide to ensure the quality of websites being accessed routinely. The researcher develops the website critique which will be evaluated the Medline website in terms of source, funding, and validity. Medline plus caters links to different sources which specified individual authors of various specific articles. Medline Plus is being sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Most of the nurses around the globe vi ewed Medline plus as a credible source of information due to the reason that the information. The researcher also uses The Thede and Sewell criterion in critiquing a Website that is a very important tool not only for the health-allied professionals but also to the general users. The researcher then sums up that this website offers safety and security of information of users, credibility of author, protection of users’ interests, updated information free from biases, and preservation of users’ privacy.

Leading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leading - Essay Example Leaders see a vision and communicate that vision to their followers or subordinates. They focus on tomorrow rather than today. They inspire action and change. They are characterized by their people’s skills, their ability to motivate and get the last ounce of effort from their staff in time of crisis (McGovern, et. al 2008). On the other hand, they frequently dislike detail and routine, and can appear wildly disorganized to their colleagues. Leaders are optimistic, self-motivated, persuasive, convincing and goal oriented personnel. They are needed in all workplaces because of their ability to lead and to motivate the employees in different times. They help the management in bringing about a change. They facilitate the employees to move in a direction which is considered important by them. The leadership that is considered attractive and effective is that kind of leadership that keeps the capacity of persuasion. Effective leaders are always able to motivate people in their set direction. The leaders make people do their suggested jobs, as they exercise a certain power on employees on the basis of their effective motivation and encouragement (Parry and Hansen 2007). There are eleven kinds of leadership styles, as leaders are not all alike. They differ from one another on the basis of their opted strategies for leading people. There are bureaucratic leaders who have well thought-out and considered tasks, these kinds of leaders negate the innovatory ideas as they are stick to some set of rules and principles and also make sure that the principles and laws are not overruled (McGovern, et. al 2008). Another kind of leadership style is charismatic leadership in which, the leaders are mostly interested in inculcating energy and fervor in the employees due to which, they take deep interest in a task. Autocratic leadership is a form of leadership in which, the leader has the authority to exercise all his power in

Research Utilization Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Utilization - Research Paper Example This happens in different forms and kinds, including in the breast. Cancer that affects the breast is called breast cancer. This is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer. Although breast cancer is said to have been first reported in Egypt around 122 B.C, there are no accurate statistics that can clearly prove its earliest reported cases. However, according to the journal, Phenomenal Woman, Hippocrates was the first to give a logical and medical explanation of breast cancer in 460 B.C (2008). This development was further expanded by the works of Galen at around 200 A.D. Since then, more studies and medical research have been done to discover explicit knowledge about the disease. Breast cancer is caused by a number of factors commonly called breast cancer risk factors. Breast Cancer Breast cancer is one of the types of cancers. It manifests itself in the breast. It originates from the milk ducts or lobules of the breast. Although it typically occurs in women, breast cancer can also attack men as well. Breast cancer occurs in the form of a lump on the breast or the side of an armpit. This lump contains thick tissue which is not uniform with the rest of the breast tissue. It can be noticed by simply touching the breast gently to feel the thickness of its inner tissue. Another way of detecting breast cancer is through the observation of any abnormal growth or development in the breast. Such abnormalities are physically observable features of a breast. For instance, some breast cancer cells cause the nipple of one breast to be inverted in such a way that it seems to grow towards the inside of the breast rather than the normal way of growing towards the outside. There could also be skin dimpling or change in skin color at the part of the breast where cancer has attacked the breast tissue. One of the breast cancer risk factors is the transfer of genes responsible for certain types of cancers from parent to child. Breast cancer can be passed from a child bearer to t he baby. This means that the breast cancer cells can be passed from one generation to another through the genes. In such cases, if a mother or father has breast cancer cells, then they can be passed to their offspring or to subsequent generations of their offspring. Another major cause of breast cancer is contributed to lifestyle. This means that the way people conduct their day to day activities has an influence on their chances of getting or preventing breast cancer. Smoking of tobacco has been identified as one of the major lifestyle causes of breast cancer. Lack of breast feeding after child birth also increases a woman’s chances of suffering from breast cancer. In addition to that, abortion also increases the chances of a woman suffering from breast cancer. A poorly conducted abortion procedure can easily result in breast cancer. Breast cancer is typically classified on a number of bases. For instance, when classified according to origin, we have ductal cancer and lobula r cancer. Ductal originates from milk ducts while lobular cancer originates from lobules. When classified according to the stage of the development and spread of the cancer cells, the TNM system is used. The level T is when the cancer cells have only attacked the armpit. The level N is when the cancer cells have spread from the armpits to the whole breast while the level M is when the cancer

A Framework for Thinking Ethically Essay Example for Free

A Framework for Thinking Ethically Essay The article â€Å"A Framework for Thinking Ethically† analyzes the main concept of ethics. The authors explores the arguments of what ethics is and what ethic is not, why ethics is important, five sources of ethical standards, and advises a 10-step framework for making ethical decisions. First, this article helps identify what ethics is not. It points out that ethics is not based on the law and culturally accepted norms; it is neither religion nor a science; and it is not the same as peoples’ feelings. Moreover, the authors describe that many philosophers and ethicists around the world proposed five sources of ethical standards to help understand what ethics are based on. Secondly, the article identified the following five sources of ethical standards: the Utilitarian Approach, the Rights Approach, the Fairness or Justice Approach, the Common Good Approach, and the Virtue Approach. The authors state that using these five approaches helps peoples define what standards of behavior can be considered ethical. Once one puts all these approaches together, there are still problems to be solved. One of the problems is that it is almost impossible to agree to the same set of human and civil rights, and another is that the approaches to ethical behavior do not have the same explanation for particularly difficult situations. Finally, the authors recommend a 10-step process for making the ethical decision. This 10-step process include five activities; 1) Recognize the Ethical Issue, 2) Get the Facts, 3) Evaluate Alternative Actions, 4) Make a Decision and Test it, and 5) Act and Reflect on the outcome. Step 1 and 2 ask to consider the impact and repercussions of the decision. Step 3-5 stress getting all relevant information. Step 6 asks to evaluate the dilemma based on the different approaches. Step 7-8 forces to choose the best approach, and look at it objectively. Finally, Steps 9-10 urge the carefulness needed to implement the decision, and the honest reflection that must follow upon putting the decision to action. This 10 step process gives the decision maker a pragmatic way to debate, mull over, and thoughtfully consider when making ethical decisions.

The secret society - illuminati Essay Example for Free

The secret society illuminati Essay This article is about the secret society. For the film, see Illuminata (film). For the Muslim esoteric school, see Illuminationism. For other uses, see Illuminati (disambiguation). Adam Weishaupt (1748–1830), founder of the Bavarian Illuminati. The Illuminati (plural of Latin illuminatus, enlightened) is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776 to oppose superstition, prejudice, religious influence over public life, abuses of state power, and to support womens education and gender equality. The Illuminati were outlawed along with other secret societies by the Bavarian government leadership with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church, and permanently disbanded in 1785.[1] In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution. In subsequent use, Illuminati refers to various organizations claiming or purported to have unsubstantiated links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies, and often alleged to conspire to control world affairs by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations to establish a New World Order and gain further political power and influence. Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories, the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels, movies, television shows, comics, video games, and music videos. The movement was founded on May 1, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria) as the Order of the Illuminati, with an initial membership of five,[2] by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830),[3] who was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt.[1] It was made up of freethinkers as an offshoot of the Enlightenment and seems to have been modeled on the Freemasons.[4] The Illuminatis members took a vow of secrecy and pledged obedience to their superiors. Members were divided into three main classes, each with several degrees, and many Illuminati chapters drew membership from existing Masonic lodges. The goals of the organization included trying to eliminate superstition, prejudice, and the Roman Catholic Churchs domination over government, philosophy, and science; trying to reduce oppressive state abuses of power, and trying to support the education and treatment of women as intellectual equals.[1] Originally Weishaupt had planned the order to be named the Perfectibilists.[2] The group has also been called the Bavarian Illuminati and its ideology has been called Illuminism. Many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members, including Ferdinand of Brunswick and the diplomat Xavier von Zwack, the second-in-command of the order.[5] The order had branches in most European countries: it reportedly had around 2,000 members over the span of ten years.[1] It attracted literary men such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder and the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar. In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent of Enlightened Despotism and his government banned all secret societies including the Illuminati. Internal rupture and panic over succession preceded its downfall.[1] A March 2, 1785 government edict seems to have been deathblow to the Illuminati in Bavaria. Weishaupt had fled and documents and internal correspondences, seized in 1786 and 1787, were subsequently published by the government in 1787.[6] Von Zwacks home was searched to disclose much of the groups literature.[5] Barruel and Robison Between 1797 and 1798 Augustin Barruels Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism and John Robisons Proofs of a Conspiracy both publicized the theory that the Illuminati had survived and represented an ongoing international conspiracy, including the claim that it was behind the French Revolution. Both books proved to be very popular, spurring reprints and paraphrases by others[7] (a prime example is Proofs of the Real Existence, and Dangerous Tendency, Of Illuminism by Reverend Seth Payson, published in 1802).[8] Some response was critical, such as Jean-Joseph Mouniers On the Influence Attributed to Philosophers, Free-Masons, and to the Illuminati on the Revolution of France.[citation needed] Robison and Barruels works made their way to the United States. Across New England, Reverend Jedidiah Morse and others sermonized against the Illuminati, their sermons were printed, and the matter followed in newspapers. The concern died down in the first decade of the 1800s, though had some revival during the Anti-Masonic movement of the 1820s and 30s.[2] Modern Illuminati Several recent and present-day fraternal organizations claim to be descended from the original Bavarian Illuminati and openly use the name Illuminati. Some such groups use a variation on The Illuminati Order in the name of their organization,[9][10] while others such as the Ordo Templi Orientis use Illuminati as a level within their organizations hierarchy. However, there is no evidence that these present-day groups have amassed significant political power or influence, and they promote unsubstantiated links to the Bavarian Illuminati as a means of attracting membership instead of trying to remain secret.[1]

Sterilization by Saturated Steam | Experiment

Sterilization by Saturated Steam | Experiment Introduction Many microorganisms are non-pathogenic and can live in harmony with humans as they do not cause disease. However pathogenic microorganisms can be deadly and therefore need to be eliminated from certain environments. These environments can be hospitals; individuals are already unwell and their immune systems are compromised making them susceptible to infection, water treatment, food and pharmaceutical production; supply available to communities making everyone susceptible, and laboratories; contamination of microorganisms can cause conflicting results. In order to eliminate microorganisms, sterilization of equipment, hospital supplies and production sites are necessary. Sterilization process may involve different methods using heat sterilization, radiation sterilization, filtration, and chemical sterilization. Radiation involves sterilising using gamma waves or ultraviolet light. Chemical sterilization involves using toxic chemicals such as ethylene oxide to sterilise equipment. Filtration sterilises by filtering out microorganism residues from gases and liquids that are sensitive to heat, making them unsuitable for heat sterilization (Goering et al., 2007). Heat sterilization is classified under dry heat and moist heat. Dry heat involves using heat to sterilize by causing denaturation of proteins and oxidative stress onto the cell (Goering et al., 2007).. Moist heat involves using heat and liquid to destroy microorganisms. The most common sterilization method is the use of moist heat in steam sterilization. Steam is considered an easy and effective sterilant, as it is economical, fast working and is harmless to users. Steam is non toxic and economical as it is simply pressurised water in gas phase. Steam sterilization is a fast working process as steam production does not consume a lot of time and high pressure allows exposure to the entire compartment quickly. Steam sterilization is an effective process as it can destroy living microorganisms and at high temperatures it can prevent regermination by destroying endospores as well. Steam sterilization acts by denaturing proteins within cells thereby killing the microorganism. Water vapour releases large amount of heat during condensation, this heat allows penetration of endospores to occur thereby killing endospores. The steam steriliser works using gravity and is therefore often called a gravity sterilizer. The steam sterilizer can have steam be generated from external source or can be produced from a water reservoir internally. Initially the water from a water reservoir or steam from external source enter the steriliser and is heated using a heating element. The steam being produced rises to the top of the chamber leaving cooler air at the bottom. There are drains at the bottom of the autoclave so the cool air can exit the compartment. As the steam fills the steriliser the thermostatic steam trap located at the bottom of the compartment closes. This allows the pressure of the system to build up causing high pressured steam. The timer begins at this point measuring the time set for sterilisation. To maintain the temperature and pressure at set point the heating element turns on and off. After the set time has finished the steam can be removed either to the water reservoir to cool and allow water to condense and be collector before venting to the room, or can be vented straight into the room or a designated safe zone (Dondelinger, 2008). Problems may occur in steam sterilization where it may not work. This can be due to a variety of technical problems such as leaks in the steam line. To monitor the function of steam sterilisers a Sterikon ® plus Bioindicator vial is added to every batch. Sterikon ® plus Bioindicator is made of essential nutrients needed for bacterial growth including sugar, Bacillus stearothermophilus spores and a pH indicator. In a working steriliser these pores should be destroyed in steam at temperature of 121 °C and pressure of 1 bar (VWR, 2002). When all the pores have been killed the vial should stay a pink/red colour. However if the sterilization did not work, in the next 24 hours the B. stearothermophilus spores within the incubated vial will get the opportunity to regerminate. The growth of B. stearothermophilus is facilitated by sugar fermentation producing acid. This acid causes the pH indicator to change colour to yellow and due to the microbe growth the vial will become turbid. (VW R, 2002). This provides an understanding if the steam steriliser is working to safe conditions and helps keep everything sterile. Another method to monitor steam sterilization is the use of Thermalog strips. Thermalog strips are made of two different outer layers, one side is made of foil and the other made of paper, this paper side allows steam to enter. Within these outer layers there is a chemical enclosed with a paper indicator. This chemical liquefies when steam and heat reaches it allowing it to flow along the paper indicator. The length this chemical moves is dependent on the time of exposure to steam, the temperature of steam and the volume of steam (3M, 2010). On the paper side there are two boxes labelled unsafe and safe. If the steam sterilisation occurs properly the chemical will move into the safe window of the strip. However if it does not there must have not been enough steam produced, not high enough temperature or not enough time within steriliser. This experimental report addresses the necessities needed for complete steam sterilization and producing safe equipment. In order to understand the requirements needed for steam sterilization, the experiment is conducted using different methods and conditions for B. stearothermophilus spore strips. The experiment is important as steam sterilization has important applications in preventing spread of disease within the community by sterilising medical equipment and giving reliable results by sterilising laboratory equipment. Hypothesis: Moist heat may be more effective than dry heat in sterilization process as moist heat plays a substantial role in sterilising spores. Steam sterilization is the most used method of sterilization yet its affectivity may be dependent on specific operation conditions. Steam sterilization needs to be monitored as problems may arise with its function, determine these methods of monitoring steam sterilization process. Materials and Methods: Refer to: BMS2052 Microbes in Health and Diseases Practical Class Notes (2010), Department of Microbiology, Monash University. Pages 35 -37. Results: Results 1.1 Thermalog strips were placed in Schott bottles, one with water and loose cap and the other tightly capped with no water added. After 15 minute sterilization at 121 °C the Thermalog strips read either safe or unsafe in relation to microbial presence. Results 1.2 Two bioindicators, initially pink, were separated one underwent steam sterilization and the other had no sterilization. After incubation for 3 days at 56 °C the bioindicators colours were recorded. Results 1.3 All four screw-capped bottles had one strip of B. stearothermophilus spores inside. These four bottles underwent different conditions, e.g. underwent steam sterilization or had liquids added. All these bottles underwent incubation for 3 days at 56 °C. Discussion Steam sterilization experiment shows the affectivity of steam sterilization, the operation conditions and monitoring the process using Thermalog strips and Sterikon plus Bioindicator vials. In order to determine the requirements needed for steam sterilization Thermalog strips are used to measure affectivity of steam sterilization. In the experiment the Schott bottle with water that was loosely capped had a reading on Thermalog as safe. This is due to steam having direct contact to Thermalog strip as water inside the Schott bottle vaporises when inside steriliser and the loose cap on the bottle allows steam to enter during sterilization. However the other Schott bottle that has no water and is tightly capped has a reading on Thermalog strip as unsafe. The Thermalog strip remains in the unsafe window as it has not had enough contact with steam as the cap was tight thereby not allowing steam from the steriliser into the bottle and there was no water within the bottle so steam could not be produced within the bottle either. Thereby this shows for complete sterilization to occur there needs to be direct contact between equipment being sterilised and steam, a high enough temp erature and enough time in the steriliser, all these properties are monitored by Thermalog strips. Thermalog strips are affective at monitoring temperatures and time exposure to steam yet it does not prove that say heat resistance pores will be destroyed at the specific conditions. Therefore Thermalog strips should be used but in combination with other monitoring items. Steam sterilization monitoring can also be done with Sterikon ® plus Bioindicator vials. This experiment shows how the Bioindicator vials work and how effective they are at monitoring the process. Bioindicator vials have B. stearothermophilus spores in a nutrient broth with a pH indicator. Initially both these vials appear to be clear and pink in colour. The Bioindicator vial that is placed in the steriliser stays pink and clear whereas the vial that was not sterilised became cloudy and yellow. This means that the Bioindicator vial sterilised has no bacterial growth, as regermination has not occurred while the vial not steam sterilised did have regermination. Regermination of spores allows formation of bacteria. These bacteria facilitate their growth by fermenting sugar. This fermnattion process generally procuces acidic end products, family of Bacillus do mainly produce lactic acid as an end product. As these products are acidic the pH indicator will change colour in respose to th e formation of these products. The pH indicator changes colour from pink to yellow. The bacterial growth will also cause the vial to look cloudy due to turbidity within. The results showed the Bioindicator vials work consistent with what was expected showing that they are an asset in monitoring steam steriliser function as they show Monitoring the needs to facilitate complete steam sterilisation occurs in the third part of the experiment. Bottle 1 is used as the control showing that the B. stearothermophilus spores have the ability to regerminate from the initial spore strip. If bottle 1 had not shown microbe growth the results obtained would not prove steam sterilization has occurred as the spores may not have had the potential to regerminate at all. Bottle 2 shows that steam sterilization can occur when water is added to the bottle. As the heat within the steam steriliser increases the water within the bottle will vaporise forming steam. This steam will have direct contact with the spores allowing the spores to be completely eradicated. Bottle 3 was tightly capped and had no liquid added to it making it impossible for steam to have direct contact with the spore strip. As the spores were still alive during incubation the spores regerminated and formed bacterial growths within bottle 3, viewed as cloudy. Bottle 3 as it had no contact with steam had only dry heat sterilization working within which is not effective in killing of spores and thereby is less effective than steam sterilization method in bottle 2. Bottle 4/5 was tightly capped and had paraffin oil added to it. It would be expected that this bottle would have bacterial growth as there is no steam in direct contact with the spore strips. The oil could even act as a barrier for any steam, entering through the tight cap, to get in contact with the spores. However the results obtained in the experiment showed that there was no bacterial growth in bottle 4/5. This is most likely due to experimental errors where the spore strip was not completely submerged in paraffin oil and the cap of bottle 4/5 was not tight enough. This would allow steam to enter the bottle and have direct contact with the spore strip as the oil was not covering the whole strip. This experiment showed that for effective steam sterilisation to occur the equipment and instruments must have direct exposure to steam. Steam sterilization experiment has showed that for steam sterilization to occur direct contact with steam is needed; this can be from direct steam from steriliser or water within vaporising. Steam sterilization experiment could have included a few more alternative conditions such as a loosely capped bottle with no water and a loosely capped bottle with oil. This would have showed steam can enter a bottle and cause sterilization. Also a loosely capped bottle with oil would have been able to tell the effect of oil on direct steam sterilization. Steam sterilization is a more effective and time efficient process than dry heat sterilization techniques. Steam sterilization can manage to kill heat resistance bacterial spores whereas most dry heat sterilization cannot. There is a dry heat sterilization method that is effective in killing bacteria regerminating from spores called Tyndallization. Tyndallization involves heating equipment and instruments for a certain time ranging from a few minutes to an hour depending on temperature of heating for three to four days. Initially this will kill all existing bacteria and other microorganisms. On the second day the spores would have regerminated allowing the second row of bacteria to also be killed. The third day will allows time for the late germinating spores to regerminate and heating allows them to be killed (Aminot and Kerouel, 1997). This procedure despite its affectivity this procedure still takes several days to complete therefore steam sterilization is the better option. Sterilization is an important process in hospitals, water treatment facilities, food and pharmaceutical production and laboratories. In hospitals sterilization can prevent the spread of diseases caused by opportunistic pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia (Goering et al., 2007). Steam sterilization is therefore an ideal form of sterilization in hospitals to prevent spread of disease with the aid of Bioindicator vials to monitor function in every batch and occasional use of Thermalog strips. Conclusion Steam sterilization can only occur if the equipment being sterilised has direct contact with steam from steam provided in steriliser or from heat causing water within to vaporise into steam. Without steam contact the equipment is having only sterilization by heat which is an ineffective sterilization method on spores. Oils, fats and other hydrophobic substances should cause barriers for steam penetration making sterilisation less likely. It is important to monitor steam sterilisers as many mechanical interruptions could prevent complete sterilisation. Sterikon plus Bioindicator vials are an effective way to monitor steam sterilisers as they produce consistent results showing whether sterilisation has occurred or not. Thermalog strips can also be used to monitor if steam sterilising machines are reaching conditions that allow safe sterilisation to occur, for example the right amount of steam, temperature and pressure.

Arthur Millers A View From the Bridge Essay -- Arthur Miller View Bri

Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge Manliness, Hostility and Aggression are all important in "A view from the bridge" where Eddie Carbone plays the main character he is a longshoreman working on the Brooklyn docks in New York. He tries to keep his status as "the man" in his household. He is very hostile towards Rodolfo because he thinks he is a homosexual. Marco knows Eddie feels this way about Rodolfo and is unhappy that Eddie feels this way about a member of his family. This creates aggression from Marco throughout the play and results in various conflicts between himself and Eddie in which Marco demonstrates his masculinity over Eddie this makes Eddie feel threatened and insecure. Eddie has many different things that he considers to be manly e.g. "to be a breadwinner". He feels that Rodolfo does not conform to his idea of masculinity because of the way he cooks, cleans, sings and makes dresses. Which at the time of the play would not be considered to be things done by a man. Eddie also has strong views about the way that Catherine behaves. He shows this by criticizing the way she dresses and the way she behaves when he says "your walkin wavy" and "you're still a baby". He feels like she is still his little girl and he is unhappy that she is growing up so quickly. He is also unhappy with her job because of the neighbourhood it is in and he thinks she should stay at school for longer. I think he disapproves of this not because of the neighbourhood, or the fact she should still be at school, but because he thinks she is still a baby and he should still be looking after her when she is perfectly capable of doing it herself. Eddie behaves peculiarly when he asks Rodolfo if he can box which lea... ...ead the drama "A view from the bridge" it was initially intended to be performed on the stage this would have made the play more dramatic because the audience would feel like they are a part of it. The setting would cause problems because it is constantly changing so the stage set-up would have to be skilfully done so as little time was wasted as possible changing the set. We acted a small part of the play in groups which helped us to understand why Arthur Miller had so many stage directions in the script. It is because every little detail needed to be shown to reveal the authenticity of the play and to give it a feeling of what it was actually like to be there. When we acted our scene from the play it was difficult to keep up with all the different stage directions but once we practiced it became easier and it made the scene look much more realistic.

Why Do Children Talk To Themselves? :: Psychology Psychological Papers

Why Do Children Talk To Themselves? Whether you are a parent, teacher, child care giver, or a child observer you may have noticed that many children talk to themselves. Laura Berk reports that, â€Å"private speech can account for 20-60 percent of the remarks a child younger than 10 years makes† (78). Why do children do this? Does it benefit the child as Vygotsky would say, or is it just that the child is making egocentric remarks that play no positive role in normal cognitive development as Piaget would claim? I am going to be looking at the differences between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s points of view. Then, I will look at Laura Berk’s findings in her article, â€Å"Why Children Talk to Themselves.† I will also talk about other findings concerning this topic. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky were developmental psychologists interested in the origins and processes of cognitive development. These two psychologists disagreed sharply on the role that private speech played in one’s cognitive development. Vygotsky called this private speech while Piaget called it egocentric speech. Piaget observed the activities of three to eight year old kindergarten children, and discovered such uses of speech as verbal repetitions of another individual, monologues during an activity, and non-reciprocal remarks in collective settings. In these instances their speech was not directed towards other individuals. In Piaget’s mind these patterns of speech showed evidence of egocentrism, a sign of cognitive immaturity, and an inability to share the perspective of another individual. However, he argued, as the children grow older they socialize increasingly more with others, and their speech becomes communicative. Their speech moves away from being self- to other-oriented, a sign that they are able to adopt the perspectives of others. A child overcomes egocentrism by beginning to think critically and logically, causing egocentric speech to fade away. Vygotsky believes that a child’s cognitive development originates in socialization activities, and then goes through a process of increasing individuation. He argued that self-directed speech did not show any cognitive immaturity, but did show some form of development. He claims that private speech represents a functional differentiation in the speech of a child, or that a child begins to differentiate between speech that is directed towards the others and speech that is self-directed.

The Power of Change :: Personal Narrative Writing

The Power of Change My best friend’s ex-boyfriend used to tell her â€Å"that’s the difference between you and me†¦you’re a tree and I’m a blade of grass. You’re problem,† he would say, (apparently never having learned that starting off any piece of advice with â€Å"your problem† is the kiss of death) – â€Å"your problem is that you need to learn to bend.† He might have questioned his desire to have her heed such advice some months later after she dumped him for his best friend and tossed the shredded bits of his world into thousands of irreparable pieces. And, as clichà © as his words of guidance may seem, I have now begun to think him rather astute, for in the months that followed their separation my friend transformed her behaviors in the most fundamental and opposing ways: she traveled more, replaced her old job with one she actually liked, gave herself over to the pleasures of a most memorable one night stand, and today smiles r andomly and with more charm than I have ever remembered. It is a fiction that we become less spontaneous and more rigid as we get older, that we are all blithe and adaptable children. As for me, I hated change as a child, resisted it like a dry naked body would sliding down a fire pole. I experienced each new thing as a betrayal. A new friend in the circle meant, not more love to go around, just less time for the old ones. It also meant going off the course, entering something unseen, welcoming an unknowable unfolding. Change was not transformation. It was exchange – this for that – an end for a beginning. How we come into this world– that is– the state in which we arrive is a complete mystery to me. While other children, my siblings included, relished new pets, or a new piece of furniture for their bedroom or the hope of a family vacation, I capitulated to a kind of juvenile asceticism. When I was eight I spent the whole of a trip to Disney World grumpy and brooding, not because I wanted something I was denied, but because I sensed that in the excitement that fueled everyone else – that in that exodus from our routine of school and homework and sports and homemade dinners – there was the prospect that anything could happen. And anything could change everything.

Chapter 18 Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking. â€Å"You're both mental.† â€Å"Ridiculous!† said Hermione faintly. â€Å"Peter Pettigrew's dead!† said Harry. â€Å"He killed him twelve years ago!† He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively. â€Å"I meant to,† he growled, his yellow teeth bared, â€Å"but little Peter got the better of me†¦not this time, though!† And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg. â€Å"Sirius, NO!† Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, â€Å"WAIT! You can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain –â€Å" â€Å"We can explain afterwards!† snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape. â€Å"They've — got — a — right — to — know — everything!† Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. â€Å"Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry — you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!† Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands. â€Å"All right, then,† Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. â€Å"Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You're nutters, both of you,† said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. â€Å"I've had enough of this. I'm off.† He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers. â€Å"You're going to hear me out, Ron,† he said quietly. â€Å"Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen.† â€Å"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!† Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him am pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin. â€Å"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die,† he said. â€Å"A whole street full of them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"They didn't see what they thought they saw!† said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands. â€Å"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter,† said Lupin, nodding. â€Å"I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies†¦Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry.† Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all — but why was Lupin playing along with him? Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. â€Å"But Professor Lupin†¦Scabbers can't be Pettigrew†¦it just can't be true, you know it can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Why can't it be true?† Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows. â€Å"Because†¦ because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework — the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things†¦and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list.† Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh. â€Å"Right again, Hermione!† he said. â€Å"But the Ministry never knew that here used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts.† â€Å"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus,† said Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. â€Å"I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer.† â€Å"All right†¦but you'll need to help me, Sirius,† said Lupin, â€Å"I only know how it began†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing. â€Å"No one there†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"This place is haunted!† said Ron. â€Å"It's not,' said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. â€Å"The Shrieking Shack was never haunted†¦The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me.† He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then said, â€Å"That's where all of this starts — with my becoming a werewolf, None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitter†¦and if I hadn't been so foolhardy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione, said, â€Å"Shh!† She was watching Lupin very intently. â€Å"I as a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform†¦I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. â€Å"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. â€Å"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school†¦.† Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. â€Å"I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house† — Lupin looked miserably around the room, — â€Å"the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous.† Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking. â€Å"My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor†¦Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it†¦.† â€Å"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black†¦Peter Pettigrew†¦and, of course, your father, Harry — James Potter.† â€Å"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her†¦I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth†¦.† â€Å"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi.† â€Å"My dad too?† said Harry, astounded. â€Å"Yes, indeed,† said Lupin. â€Å"It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will.† â€Å"But how did that help you?† said Hermione, sounding puzzled. â€Å"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals,† said Lupin. â€Å"A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed†¦Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them.† â€Å"Hurry up, Remus,† snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face. â€Å"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there†¦well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did†¦ And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs.† â€Å"What sort of animal –?† Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. â€Å"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?† â€Å"A thought that still haunts me,† said Lupin heavily. â€Å"And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness.† â€Å"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course†¦he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. â€Å"All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me†¦and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it†¦so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along.† â€Å"Snape?† said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. â€Å"What's Snape got to do with it?† â€Å"He's here, Sirius,† said Lupin heavily. â€Å"He's teaching here as well.† He looked up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons†¦you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me –â€Å" Black made a derisive noise. â€Å"It served him right,† he sneered. â€Å"Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to†¦hoping he could get us expelled†¦.† â€Å"Severus was very interested in where I went every month.† Lupin told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field†¦anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life†¦Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was†¦.† â€Å"So that's why Snape doesn't like you,† said Harry slowly, â€Å"because he thought you were in on the joke?† â€Å"That's right,† sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction Industry in the US Analysis

DATE: September 16, 2012 TO: Patricia Bennett, Supervising Principal FROM: Connor Sims, Associate SUBJECT: Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction Industry in the US Analysis (21111) This report presents information regarding the industry, the primary operator of oil and gas field properties. The industry fuels its key buyers, the Natural Gas Distribution (22121) and the Petroleum Refining (32411) industries, with crude oil and natural gas. The industry continuously battles a shortage of available oil. In addition, many major oil fields have been in use for decades, slowly waning.Currently, the industry grosses among the most profitable in the US despite these and similar obstacles. The benefits of investing here potentially outweigh concerning risks. Because of the esteemed value of the industry’s products, consistent demand for its products, and its positive near-future outlook, diversification into this industry may produce rewarding profitability in the short-term. High Product Valu e Crude Oil Prices The key economic driver for the Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction Industry, crude oil prices, determines much of its profitability according to supply and demand.Price trends in West Texas Intermediate, a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing, display the growth of its value in the past 3 years and past decade. An average barrel of crude oil grew from $26. 18 in 2002 to $61. 95 in 2009, $79. 48 in 2010, and $94. 87 in 2011 (Airlines, 2012). JP Morgan analysts project average annual prices above $99 in upcoming years (Sethuraman, 2012). Such upward growth points to lucrative profits. Natural Gas Outlook Natural gas production accounts for 41. 6% of industry revenue in 2012. Prices n natural gas reached a 10-year low in April this year, but have erupted by more than 70% since (Hargreaves, 2012). Natural gas has seen an abundantly large output due to recent discoveries of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin; this large supply has kept prices relatively l ow recently, leaving opportunity for even higher profitability in future years. Consistent Demand Fueling US Industries The Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction Industry is the sole supply industry for its two demand industries, Petroleum Refining and Natural Gas Distribution (Hersch).The US internally consumes 19,150,000 barrels of oil per day, doubling the world’s second largest consumer, China (Index, 2012). IBIS World describes the industry’s demand industries as â€Å"mature,† assuring the stable demand for our industry’s products (Hersch). Rising Exports, Foreign Buyers Current international relations appear conducive to this industry’s profitability. In 2011, for the first time since 1949, the US exported more refined oil than it imported (Winters, 2012); this evidences the success between the supply industry and its demand industries detailed above.Additionally, oil exports to China will surge as it industrializes quickly. China’s exponenti ally growing demand leads to worldwide price increases (Hersch). Any increases, particularly increase this substantial, raise the WTI average price per barrel, increasing profitability. Positive Current Standing Favorable Market Concentration The four largest firms in the industry comprise of approximately 30. 0% of total revenue (Hersch, 2012). Market share concentration is low, allowing firms of any size to portion the industry’s $345. 9 billion revenue this year.The competitive aspect of entering this industry would not be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Profit Margin The Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction Industry reels in a significantly larger margin in comparison to related industries. 46% of all industry revenue goes to profit, higher than the average for the entire mining sector, 39. 2% (Hersch, 2012). In 2008, the industry returned the 7th highest profit margin among US industries (Hargreaves). Profit margins have increased in the past 5 years as result of rising cru de oil prices. Risks and Concerns Barriers of EntryMost major oil and gas producers integrate services beyond drilling and extracting; many dualize as refining or distribution firms, circumventing demand industries en route to more direct profitability. New firms lacking this versatility may find an obstacle upon entry to the industry (Hersch, 2012). Additionally, firms in this industry must specialize in exploration and discovery for oil and gas resources. Firms may struggle finding initial success in this role due to the limited nature of resources. Long-term Resource Depletion ‘Peak oil’ refers to the prime of any field’s production, after which goes into terminal decline.Most major US oil fields are beyond peak oil. The largest US oil field, Prudhoe Bay, has been depleting since 1979 (Prudhoe, 2012). The US Energy Information Administration indicates much production, particularly in the Alaskan North Slope, depends on world oil prices (Energy, 2012). Geophysi cists and politicians debate over specifications regarding overall US peak oil, arguing the year in which US peak oil occurred. International Comparison In addition to the US peak oil situation, the US Oil Drilling and Gas Extraction Industry faces heavy foreign market competition.In 2011, the US ranked 3rd in oil production, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia (Energy, 2012). Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor expects Saudi output to rise steadily beyond 2030 with a 1. 5 million barrel per day spare production capacity then (Energy, 2012). Russia holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves, and its fuel exports have steadily increased since each year since 1999 (Energy, 2012). Conclusion Despite entry risks and threats of limited resources, evidence supports the likelihood of success for us to diversify into the industry under certain stipulations.A new firm will implicitly face the challenge of exploring for land not already claimed by another firm. Additionally, alternative methods of energy will irrefutably have to replace oil drilling and gas extraction within an uncertain future; the remaining supply simply cannot match the demand forever. Two central obstacles hesitate immediate diversification: a barrier of entry and a negative long-term outlook. However, we must decide whether the benefits outweigh the concerns. World prices of oil and gas and China’s growing demand directly affect profitability.Because evidence above shows substantial progress in both of these drivers with a very positive short-term outlook, diversification must be considered. If presence in the industry can be established quickly and will remain only until profitability falls, I recommend diversification. References Airlines For America (2012). Annual Crude Oil and Jet Fuel Prices. http://www. airlines. org/Pages/Annual-Crude-Oil-and- Jet-Fuel-Prices. aspx.. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Energy Information Administration (2012). Project Alaska North Slope oil production at risk beyond 2025 if oil prices drop sharply. Today In Energy. http://www. ia. gov/todayinenergy/detail. cfm? id=7970 Retrieved September 16, 2012. Prudhoe Bay Fact Sheet (2012). British Petroleum. www. bp. com/assets/bp†¦ us†¦ /A03_prudhoe_bay_fact_sheet. pdf Retrieved September 16, 2012. Hargreaves, Steve (2012). Natural gas prices surge 70%. CNN Money. http://money. cnn. com/2012/07/24/investing/natural-gas- – prices/index. htm. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Hersch, Laura. (2012). IBIS World Industry Report 21111. Oil Drilling & Extraction In the US. Retrieved September 16, 2012 from IBIS World Database. How the US Uses Oil (2012). Alternative Energy. Retrieved September 16, 2012. ttp://alternativeenergy. procon. org/view. resource. php? resourceID=001797 Index Mundi (2012). http://www. indexmundi. com/g/r. aspx? c=us&v=91. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Sethuraman, Nathan (2012). Poll: Increasing numbers see oil below $100 in 2013, 2014. Reuters. http://www. r euters. com/article/2012/06/27/us-oil-poll- idUSBRE85Q14720120627. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Winter, Michael (2012). U. S. Exported more gasoline than imported last year. USA Today. http://content. usatoday. com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/0 2/us-exported-more-gasoline-than-imported-last-year/1#. UFav7BhGhgI

Atticus Equality

Atticus FCA’s 1. Effective Introduction and Conclusion _________/ 10 Points 2. The character’s point of view of equality is supported with relevant direct quotes from TKAM and explained in writer's own words (body paragraphs)  _______/ 25 1. Topic sentences 2. Two direct quotes (examples) integrated with signal phrases 3. Two direct quotes are thoroughly explained/connected to thesis and topic sentences 4. MLA in-text citation for each direct quote from text 3.Present-tense verbs; no I/You statements; comma usage   _________/ 5 Equality is being equal in status, rights, and opportunities. In the novel â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch a father of two children, plays an important role in the story. He sets an example for his children who are beginning to grow up. Atticus doesn’t believe all men fit the description of being equal in America. Although no one is born equal, he decides to treat everyone equal.Atticus believe s that men aren’t equal; he feels men aren’t born equal at all. Some are born having more opportunities. â€Å"We know all men are not created in the sense some people would have us believe-some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity than others, some ladies make better cakes than others-some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men† (Lee 205). Atticus shows that there is no such thing as men being equal. He explains that life isn’t the fairest thing and it will always be that way.He then goes on and explains that men aren’t equals in life, but in court they are. â€Å"But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal-there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court† (Lee 205). He says this to prove his point t o the jury that Tom Robinson should be treated equally in this case, and the case should be taken seriously.He knows Tom isn’t considered an equal to a white female, to the jury. He doesn’t believe he is either, but in court he should be. Atticus has a certain point of view on equality. He knows not everyone is equal in life, and no one is born equal. He believes the only time men are equal is in the courtroom. Equality affects the story based off how many times it is used and exemplified. It shows how people should be treated in real life situations.

John Locke and Land Ownership Essay

John Locke in The Second Treatise of Civil Government makes several key arguments about what makes land ownable, these ideologies differ from how land ownership works in America but it is easy to see how America’s early days could have aligned with this ideology. In this paper I will focus on two key principles that Locke believed in that are basic requirements for land ownership. The first of these is that land ownership is obtained through labor and that items on the land have no value until labor is applied and the second describes government’s role in land ownership as simply being that the labor applied to land precedes government and government cannot dispose of the estates of the subjects arbitrarily and instead should be limited to securing the life and property of its citizens, and is only necessary because in an ideal, anarchic state of nature, various problems arise that would make life more insecure than under the protection of a minimal state. These two principles allow for the easy identification of claimed lands. While at the same time provide the motivation and encouragement to individuals so that they will want to find land that they can then harness through labor and thus make their own land. It is because of these reasons and more that land ownership through labor is a must for a successful society and a functioning government. In order to ensure that these principles are being viewed and judge from the same sense of meaning a few key words need to be defined as used in this paper. The term land ownership is vital to this paper and its meaning will be defined as, â€Å"the owner of contiguous property that has been improved upon from nature to provide for one’s living†. The term labor will only be used in reference to labor upon an individual’s land and will reference, â€Å"human time and effort put in to a particular task†. The term government will reference only the actual ruling body that â€Å"influences daily life based on policies and procedures they enact†. At the last term reward will refer to, â€Å"an item or exchange of labor promised or normally expected given in exchange for labor or with no expectation of any kind of return. The principle that labor is a prerequisite to land ownership fits in perfectly with the needs and situation of the early American nation. Outside of key city areas a majority of this nation’s land was unclaimed and unused bearing none of the fruits of labor and essentially leaving all of its value unclaimed and untouched. With a bounty of land larger than anyone person could actually work and apply labor to, it made sense to encourage land expansion. With land expansion individuals could claim land through labor and the value and goods on that land would no longer go to waste as unused items that could have benefitted society as a whole. The second principle helps to place limits on what the government can do once a parcel of land is owned by an individual. It is safe to say that any reasonable person would not like to see their possessions and livelihood wiped away with one fell swoop, but if governments have no restrictions in the use of their power it would be all too easy to force someone from their land, effectively robbing them of all their possessions and the livelihood that past labor has brought them. This is why Locke insisted that the government role in land owner ship remain limited in scope only to the extent that is needed to ensure this doesn’t happen. Without this assurance from governmental takeover acts similar to his could become standard practice. An unjust government might routinely perform these actions, unjustly claiming the land. This would result in a diminishment of the value of labor and would remove the incentives to work land and would result in a decrease in goods. Because of this looming threat it is clear that government must have some restrictions on acquiring land to avoid unjust actions and encourage a general sense of trust and security in the government. A government that is without citizens that have some sort of trust and security provided by having a reliable, continual and trustworthy shelter is bound to fail since this is a basic need of humans in general. Modern science can help prove the stress and additional energy expenditure humans endure if they can’t find a sense of comfort, safety and belonging a study performed by Dr. Gilman while at Princeton University showed, â€Å"humans that are in constant fear of loss of shelter expend an average of 2900 calories daily† (Gilman 03/01/2012), along with this extra energy expenditure a lack of shelter creates stress that in turn creates a reduction in productivity. This stress can actually change the human brain reaction method resulting in it , â€Å"going from more sophisticated but slower modes to the faster behaviors of the older brains when we are under stress† (Gilman 03/01/2012). This change in brain behavior limits creative thinking and essentially devolves human thought to a lower state this combined with the increased calories expenditure creates a vast pool of diminished talent that when viewed in a large scale population level, results in a huge waste of resources that could be easily reduced by the assurance of land ownership and security. The easiest way for a government to meet this need is to let individuals provide additional goods to society by applying labor to their land thereby reducing their energy requirements and providing goods for the benefit of all. With all the complications that are possible when it comes to providing for the needs of the many, it only makes to allow individuals the freedom of land ownership that will help reduce their needs while simultaneously benefitting others. This notion of having some sort of fruit from your labor is fundamental to increasing one’s value and having a desire to perform work that can be beneficial to all. A study from Yale University performed by Dr. Greene helps to illustrate just how deeply rooted this concept is into human psychology, an individual will work perform work equivalent to their valuation of a reward. The study was meant to determine the amount of work an individual would perform without a reward versus the amount of work performed for a reward. The study concluded that, â€Å"any individual who was assigned a tasked performed that task to completion with more detail and more efficiently when rewarded as compared to no reward† (Mark et al. 1978). This study helps to demonstrate that human psychology insists that any individual will perform more work and therefore be a more productive member of society if only that individual receives something for the labor they put in. As mentioned earlier if an individual lives under constant threat of having everything taken from them it is essentially making them perform labor on their land without a reward resulting in less work being performed and less goods for all of mankind, the only solution that removes this fear is placing limits on when and if a government can take someone’s land from them. With removal of this fear an individual can and likely will utilize labor to its fullest extend thereby adding value to the land. It is clear that the benefits of land ownership as defined through the use of labor allows for the creation of the best society possible, one that can help to provide for mankind as a whole, increase the value and abilities of its citizens that actively partake and utilizes the resources at hand to the best of its abilities without waste and undue stress. A society that is free of these constraints and provided with the best possible reward for work and sense of security can only flourish and enjoy the fruits of their labor helping to create the best future possible. Works Cited: Gilman, Robert. Context Institute, â€Å"The Inside Story Understanding the structure of the brain. † Last modified 03/01/2012. Accessed September 22, 2012. Mark, Lepper, and Greene David. Lawrence Erlbaum, â€Å"The Hidden costs of reward : new perspectives of the psychology of human motivation. † Last modified 1978. Accessed September 22, 2012.

Balance Theory Essay

Introduction Good Evening ladies and gentlemen my name is xxxxx and today I shall enlighten you about a very interesting theory concerning consumer behaviour and Marketing. As practicing marketers, we are well aware of the impact that a celebrities endorsement can have on consumer behaviour but I am pretty sure most of you wouldn’t know the reasoning behind such a phenomenon. What is the Balance Theory? Ever wondered why firms use celebrities to endorse their products? Well wonder no further because Fritz Heider proposed with his Balance theory that people attempt to maintain a psychological balance and form relationships that balance out their likes and dislikes. For example if Person A likes a celebrity and the celebrity likes a product but Person A originally disliked the product, then Person A is likely to end up increasing his enjoyment of the product or decreasing his liking of the celebrity or both. All these options create equilibrium. As marketers, it is our goal to achieve market the product successfully to the target audience. For example if we were to use Michael Jordan to market golfing products, then the target consumer would most likely end up disliking the product. However, if we were to use Tiger Woods to market the golfing products, then consumers of golfing products would most likely end up liking the products. The Balance Theory Explained So the Balance Theory is made up of a Triangle that consists of 3 elements. The relationship between these 3 elements is known as sentiment relations. So the first element is PO, the second element is PX and the third element is OX. If the results of the multiplication of the positive or negative signs of any 2 elements yields a positive result, then the consistency in the triad is maintained and vice versa. This model may seem complicated but it is in essence very basic. So let me simplify this for you with an example. Positive Example Let us assume P is John a basketball fan, O is Michael Jordan a celebrity Basketball player and X is the product being marketed and in this case let’s assume it is a limited edition basketball. So if John is a fan of Michael Jordan, then the sentimental relation PO will be positive. Since Michael Jordan is approves of the product he endorsed, the relationship OX is positive too. Therefore, by default, PX would be positive too. Negative Example However, say if P were to remain John, O were to become Tiger Woods and X were to become a golf set, then PO would become negative since Tiger Woods is a golfer and hence John would not be able to relate to him, OX would remain positive since Tiger Woods loves the product he is endorsing and the eventual result of this would be a negative PX which would mean consistency in the Triad is not maintained and that the celebrity endorsement has not been successful in promoting this product to the consumer. Importance of this theory to us This theory is of interest to us as future marketers as it helps us understand consumer behaviour and psychology with regards to mascots used to endorse/market a product. It also educates us on the 3 way relationship that transpires between product, celebrity and consumer and in turn, we would be able to market our products using the correct celebrities for the correct product. The End And that ladies and gentlemen concludes my presentation on Fritz Heider’s Balance Theory. Thank you all for your kind attention. Bibliography 1. http://www.investorwords.com/15193/balance_theory.html 2. http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/balance_theory.htm 3. Roy, Subhadip, Gammoh, Bashar S., Koh Anthony C. (2012). Predicting the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements using the balance theory..Journal of Customer Behaviour. 11 (1), p33-52.

Tasty Meals Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tasty Meals Ltd - Essay Example In these regards, investors worry that eventually severe regulations may be enacted against the company. In terms of ethical responsibility to labor rates, this is a complex issue, as one must consider that market forces in the Philippines have led to people in the region working for this rate; still, it ultimately seems that Tasty Meals Ltd. should take a more responsible approach to employee safety and broader human rights concerns. 2. To an extent Tasty Meals Ltd. should be held accountable for their high-calorie foods. When customers visit the restaurant, especially as these restaurants contain come-ons to children through toys, they expect a reasonable expectation of health and safety. While in a free market customers have unlimited options, this does not necessitate that organizations can completely neglect health. Ultimately it seems that at the least Tasty Meals Ltd. should provide healthy options on the menu for customers. 3. It is not reasonable to demand that Tasty Meals L td. give up disposable tableware and containers because it is unfriendly to the environment. It is the government’s responsibility to place regulations on the use of such materials. Still, the backlash the organization has received is a fair reflection from the public and constitutes a level of the invisible hand of the market regulating such unethical practices through a deterioration of image. 4. It is reasonable for Tasty Meals Ltd. to demand from their suppliers that they impose its code of conduct directives to the suppliers it works with. In terms of market considerations, it is possible that severe punitive fines be placed upon the organization for engaging in unsafe market considerations. In terms of ethical responsibilities, organizations have a utilitarian ethical responsibility to consider human rights concerns. Tasty Meals Ltd. has neglected this responsibility. 5. Overall Tasty Meals Ltd. has complied with corporate governance principles, as they have not broken any government laws. Still, this organization is by no means an ethical and socially responsible corporation. They have taken every opportunity provided to ignore human rights and health concerns as a means of achieving higher profits and market expansion. 6. I would believe that the proposed measures may be too stringent. Still, I recognize that a change must be made. While ethical and social concerns are important, the ultimate considerations are in terms of profits. It seems apparent that if the organization does not adopt a reasonable amount of these measures they will experience a public backlash that could cause a severe decline in profits. 7. I believe if Tasty Meals approved and implemented the proposals it could improve their profitability as it would improve their image in the public. It would also ensure that the organization does not face future fines from disregarding regulations. 8. I don’t think ethical and socially responsible business practices are always in conflict with profitability. To an extent I believe that ethical business practices are appreciated by the public and through aspects such as corporate image and branding pay dividends. One considers an organization such as Ben & Jerry’s that has made corporate responsibility a major aspect of their business. This organization has in-turn developed a strong and loyal customer base. While in some situations unethical practices increase profitability, this does not mean that social responsibility and profitability are always in conflict. 9. As a shareholder of Tasty Meals I would be greatly concerned about the company’s long-term sustainability. While they are currently operating within corporate governance, it’s clear that they are operating directly on the border. If government

Why does the financial industry need to be regulated Research Paper

Why does the financial industry need to be regulated - Research Paper Example A sound financial industry primarily involves deep, efficient markets, solvent, operational financial intermediaries and a legal framework that clearly defines the rights and obligations of all participants. Financial markets are the core of any financial system architecture, holding a central position as they are a real catalyst for the overall economic activity. Depending on country-specific factors, culture and historical traditions, but also on the globalization of markets, national financial systems have both special features and common elements. Academic literature provides a classification of financial systems as follows: Bank-dominated financial systems (the German-Japanese model); Capital-market dominated financial systems (the Anglo-American model). If analyzing the characteristics of the financial systems over the past 30 years, we note the shift from the traditional bank-based orientation towards capital markets. Crucial elements of this change are monetary and financial integration processes and financial innovation. As part of financial industry, the US financial companies enhance money flows by offering various services in different areas: accounting, bank and credit unions, consultancy, insurance agencies, investment banking, professional services, security brokers, venture capital. With combined annual revenue of almost $65 billion, the US accounting and fiscal industry sums more than 90,000 companies (Richardson). The leading players providing accounting services include Price Water House Coopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and H&R Block. The same recent statistical data reveal the structure of the US banking system shaped by 8,000 commercial banks, 1,400 savings banks and 10,000 credit unions with combined annual revenue of $600 billion. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Wachovia are the most powerful commercial banks. The US banking market is highly concentrated, 50 largest institutions spreading more than 60% of the financial industry. The credit union environment displays a fragmented anatomy with 6% of industry revenue, much lower than commercial banks percentage (80%) and closer to savings banks, with a share of 14%. Financial planning and consultancy services shape an industry with annual revenue of $15 billion split between 10,000 US firms. Morningstar, Value Line and units of financial services companies are in the top. In the field of insurance services, the 130,000 US units generate annual revenue of $85 billion, having as market leaders March & McLennan, Arthur J. Gallagher and Aon. Investment banking is served by 2000 companies with annual revenue of almost $110 billion, with the largest 50 firms holding 90% of the sector. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are the key competitors. The securities brokerage industry includes less than 4000 bodies, while the major players in investment companies are Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, AG Edwards, and brokerage companies like Citigroup and Fidelity. Venture capital industry generates annual revenue of about $26 billion and has more than $250 billion under management. The most important companies include New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Why does the financial industry need to be regulated? The empirical literature (Goodhart et al.) and practical experience point out three main reasons that justify government intervention in the financial industry: 1). Information asymmetry: unlike financial institutions, customers are much less informed, so that financial supervision aims to balance the situation; 2). Externalities: the collapse of an