Vowing Revenge in Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Cask of Amontillado

In Edgar Allan Poe’s, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† begins by telling us that Montresor feels as Fortunato has hurt him. Fortunato has greatly insulted him, â€Å"the thousands of insults of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.† (Poe 165) Although, the lack of evidence throughout the story, we readers never know what the insult ever was. Montresor must get revenge. As Montresor is conducting hits revenge on Fortunato, it is the week of Carnival in Italy and people were dressed up in all sort of costumes. Fortunato was dressed in a jester’s outfit that later provides irony in the short story because he is a fool to go down into the catacombs and face his death. Montresor is engulfed with secret murder and revenge that he makes a grave pit in the wall for Fortunato because as the family motto of Montresor, â€Å"No one provokes me with impunity† (167). The coat of arms of Montresor was â€Å"A huge human foot of gold, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the hell† (167) which the foot represents Montresor and the snake would be Fortunato. Although Fortunato has hurt Montresor with his quick venomous insults, Montresor will ultimately crush him and arise the true victor. To lure Fortunato to his death and fulfill his thirst for vengeance, Montresor mentions he’s found a barrel of a rare wine called Amontillado. Punishment is the only thing that Montresor has in store for Fortunato instead of the wineShow MoreRelatedEdgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart1538 Words   |  7 PagesPotentially Mad, Potentially Genius: Edgar Allan Poe’s Style â€Å"True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?† Poe wrote this line in his â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† and he very well could have been speaking about himself. Many generations have debated on whether or not Edgar Allen Poe was a mad. Reviewers and readers have looked at Poe’s work for nearly two centuries, trying to pick it apart and see if it’s the ramblings of a mad man or well piecedRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1381 Words   |  6 Pagesinsult, and consider it a serious obstacle, vowing to retaliate. In Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, Montresor must overcome a hindrance, one that he establishes to be of vital importance. Fortunato, someone of a similar wealthy stature as that of Montresor, acted in a way that could not be tolerated after he insulted Montresor. In reaction to this, Montresor decides to lure Fortunato into his f amily tomb under the false pretense of Amontillado, a type of wine, chains him to a niche inRead MoreIrony And Imagery Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Cask Of Amontillado 1891 Words   |  8 Pagesin Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allan Poe is best known for dark short stories and poems. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† begins with Montresor, the narrator, vowing revenge on Fortunato for insulting him. Montresor crafts an intricate plan with two criteria: Montresor cannot get caught in his pursuit of revenge and Fortunato must understand why Montresor is seeking revenge upon him. One evening, Montresor tells Fortunato that he has a Spanish sherry and wonders if it is truly Amontillado, a rare

Cpr; Infants and Children Free Essays

Tiffany Cole CPR Essay CPR is an emergency procedure used for someone that is thought to be in cardiac arrest. This procedure can be used to save someone’s life if it is performed the correct way. To perform CPR, one has to be properly trained. We will write a custom essay sample on Cpr; Infants and Children or any similar topic only for you Order Now The process for children CPR differs from that of adults. Explained below are the CPR procedures for infants and small children. The process of CPR for infants starts by yelling and shouting at the baby. If there is no response you must open the air way and listen for breath sounds. First, you must blow into the infant’s mouth twice causing the chest to rise. Then just below the nipple, pump thirty times on the baby’s chest. Continue with two breaths and the chest pumps for two minutes and call 911. The CPR process for small children starts out the same as it did for infants. Shake and shout if the child. If there is no response tilt the child’s head back and listen for breath sounds. Then blow twice in the mouth so the chest rises. Pump thirty times in the center of the chest. Continue with two breaths and thirty pumps for two minutes and call 911. CPR is easy to learn and can be very useful if you are ever in a situation where a child has stopped breathing. Daycare centers are required to have their staff adequately trained in CPR to ensure the safety of the children. To become certified in CPR one can take classes in the community. Read also: How Different Types of Transitions Can Affect Children How to cite Cpr; Infants and Children, Essay examples

The minefield free essay sample

It is truly amazing to me how past experiences mold and shape us into the personalities we become. Great or terrible- everybody’s experiences are interpreted differently and then executed through their actions differently. All of our actions are the consequences of our decisions. Whether those decisions are consciously made, or not, they happen, and so does the ripple effect of events. Although I believe that this is very relative to us as individuals, I don’t believe, however that people in general are aware of how impactful they are with their actions. We almost never acknowledge that the simplest of choices have the capability of altering the paths our lives take. Diane Thiel, author of the poem â€Å"The Minefield†, exhibits a seemingly insignificant decision’s ability to change a life; using split chronology, cloudy imagery, and by drawing parallels in the images of the past and present. Thiel creates a poem that informs readers of an often disregarded principle and theme: life is short, and even the most ephemeral of moments have the power to alter the lives of people forever. The first stanza has a dream-like quality, like the images, Thiel tells us and helps capture the reader’s attention and instantly we paint the picture of two carefree teens running happily through a field. At the poem’s start an unnamed boy is â€Å"running with his friend†¦. somewhere between Prague and Dresden. † The fact that their location remains unknown already leaves us with an ambiguous surrounding image of the running boys. We then sense that one boy is more important than the other because â€Å"his friend is faster† and knows â€Å"a shortcut through the fields. † The two adolescents are starving because they haven’t eaten all day. Though this fact would not make me think something is odd, like two playful teen boys being too preoccupied with their own clowning around to realize their hunger, I already felt that there I was something wrong because of the vagueness of the images. The imagery puts an ominous foreshadowing on what is yet to come. The faster of the two boys â€Å"ran a few lengths ahead† like a â€Å"wild rabbit. † We can see that they are sophomoric careless teens. But, as I read more, the faster boy turns his head to locate his friend, and before he has time to think â€Å"his body was scattered across the field. † Suddenly, the almost dream-like state Thiel manages to corner me into, I am quickly shook back to reality, the boy stepped on a mine and exploded as his friend watched on from â€Å"only seconds behind. † While our attention to the poem almost climaxes, Thiel abruptly and intentionally throws in a short two-lined stanza. The briefness of this stanza reveals the personality and narration of the poem finally by Thiel saying, â€Å"My father told us this, one night, / and then continued eating dinner. † The narrator from the first stanza makes herself known as the daughter of the surviving boy. The divide in the timeline snaps the reader back into focus, and drives the rest of the poem. Thiel’s purpose for writing this stanza is obvious as she throws us, the readers, off balance. She shows and enables us to feel the discomfort at the dinner table. She takes an image that is so familiar to people, and makes it dark and frightening. By jumping so rapidly to an unfulfilled future, Thiel is able to demonstrate through the father’s abruptness, that the moment in the minefield never faded. Instead the image has followed him, tearing at him from the inside, and like a hot spring, all of a sudden her father can no longer hold the story and it’s dreary images inside. The first and second stanzas give us the image of the minefields as a destructive appearance, and also show how the minefields have followed the young surviving boy into adulthood. We see this clearly as Thiel portrays how these images in most cases pursuing him from â€Å"only seconds behind. † The minefields are the characterization of the effects of life’s decisions, and Thiel continues on with how those decisions, and those very moments, have the power to affect not one life, but many. Thiel shows the relentlessness of the minefields by drawing us a picture of the parallels between the young boy’s experiences and the narrator’s own. The young boy is burdened with â€Å"carrying† the fields from the very moment they leave him changed, until the furthest point in the time yet to come, at the dinner table. He passes them to his children in â€Å"the volume of his anger† and â€Å"throws anything against a wall. † Throwing objects at a wall such as a radio and a melon portrays her father’s uncontrollable violence directed towards everything (including inanimate objects). It’s interesting that the author describes â€Å"a melon, once, opened like a head. † This detail is a play on words and holds an image of what her father might have witnessed when his friend stepped on the mine. He forces the fields on his children â€Å"in the bruises† they â€Å"covered up with sleeves† until it was their burden to bear too. So that â€Å"years later and continents away† the â€Å"minefields† images stuck with him his whole life and passed them along to his children. They believed that like their father, â€Å"anything might explode at any time,† and they would be forced to â€Å"run on alone† with a threat of the explosion â€Å"only seconds behind. † The theme here is that decisions and our actions we make are rarely recognizable looking back. We forget, we move on, and we disregard hurried and momentary decisions. Rarely thinking of their value, and accepting the potential that choices possess to cause change and a ripple effect. However, as point out by Diane Thiel, moments and actions do change lives, and when they do it their short-lived that is remembered, it’s the split second of change that will be looked back on forever. As Thiel showed us with the young boy in the fields, moments whether good or bad, have the merciless ability to change a life, and the way in which that life or individual experiences the rest of the world and then harvests that energy.

Martha Washington Essays - George Washington, Daniel Parke Custis

Martha Washington Martha Washington lived a life full of love and sacrifice. She was born as a simple little girl Martha Dandridge to her plantation home in New Kent; she was married at 18 to become Martha Dandridge Custis. Still yet she was widowed at the age of twenty-six with two children and a land of over 17,000 acres to run on her own. Then she met a gentleman by the name of George Washington and Martha became the figure we know today as Martha Dandridge Custis Washington or Martha Washington. Martha was born on June 2, 1731 on the plantation near Williamsburg in New Kent, Chestnut Grove, to her father0, John Dandridge, and mother, Frances Jones Dandridge. She was the eldest daughter of the family and the spirited one. She enjoyed horseback riding, working in her gardens, sewing, dancing, she came to enjoy cooking, and it was said she had a great love for playing the spinet. Her father insisted that his children be educated, so he called for a tutor. The Dandridge children had lessons in the mornings before breakfast, Martha always dreaded them, especially spelling. She would much rather be out playing than sitting inside learning how some words were not spelled the same was as they sounded. Although these studies seemed like a waste of time then, later she would find that they would become quite useful. At the age of fifteen her mother was quite sure that she should learn to act like a lady and practice the etiquette of the day, she had began to help her mother with some of the chores around the house. It was also that same year that she was able to attend her first ball at Williamsburg. Young Martha Dandridge was extremely excited until she arrived at Williamsburg to find things quite different than what she expected and entered the ball to be terribly disappointed. She didnt know any of the other young ladies, who seemed to all know each other well, and she hadnt been prepared by the fashion of the day. She had made her dress herself and though it was of fine material it wasnt like that gowns imported from England that the other girls were wearing. She had not had her hair powdered like the rest of the girls, and she was completely miserable until she met Daniel Parke Custis. He seemed like an honest simple man in his thirties. He probably had an attraction to Marthas simple nature and beauty, Martha was about five feet tall with dark eyes and dark hair, so he asked her to dance. Suddenly simple Martha Dandridge had become the belle of the ball; she was dancing with one of the richest bachelors in Virginia. After a few years Martha and Daniel began to see more of each other and there was talk of an engagement, but first Daniel had to send off for his fathers permission to do so. Although Daniel was a man twenty years older than Martha was he was still under the rule of his father who had become bitter by his marriage and was angry with Daniel for refusing to marry the girl that his father had wished him to. Daniel came back to Martha with a grim look and had decided to give up; he thought it no use to argue with his father. His father was determined that he would not marry anyone that he didnt approve of, especially Martha for she wasnt even known; it was just impossible for his son to marry a nobody. Hurt, Martha went home to her mother in tears. She felt as if she wasnt good enough for the old man. She loved Daniel and wanted more than anything to be with him and the only thing that was stopping them was his father. The man who was miserable in his marriage and apparently wanted Daniel to be just as miserable as he was. Martha was scheduled to return back to New Kent that evening, but not if her mother and her cousin had anything to do with it. They had decided that Martha should stay two more weeks with her cousin Nat and his wife Dorthea, a very popular

Akitas essays

Akitas essays The Akita or Akita-inu is the heavy-duty work-dog of Japan. Named for the province of Akita on Honshu Island, this breed was used to hunt bear, boar, and deer and as a protector of life and limb. Inu translates to dog in Japanese. The Akita is the largest of the eight dogs regarded as being indigenous to Japan. The Akita eventually came to be used as cattle herders and seeing eye dogs, sled dogs and as police dogs. They were also used to baby sit children while their mothers worked in the fields. The Akita is very loyal, yet remains independent. This large and powerful dog has a thick short-haired coat and a large, curled bushy tail. They have erect ears. They are faithful and devoted to their family, making an excellent first class guard dog. The Akita can be aggressive towards other canines and should be kept on a tight leash when around strange dogs. This dog should also be supervised with children and other family pets. The Akita is obedient, but sometimes spontaneous. They are careful and very affectionate with their family. They are very intelligent, courageous, and fearless. It is very willful and needs firm training and socialization as a puppy. They are extremely faithful and thrive on companionship. Although it may tolerate and be good with children from its own family, it may bite. Children must be taught to treat them nice. They can be very food-possessive and willful. They are capable of rage, but with firm training can make a good pet. Obedience training requires patience, these dogs get bored quickly. The Akita needs to be with its family. It vocalizes with many interesting sounds, but it is not an excessive barker. The Akitas double coat is thick and warm and is shed twice a year. If your potential Akita is to live in the house, then you must be prepared for the coat loss. Most of the coat loss will only take a few weeks to get out with warm baths and regular raking and brushing of the ...

Anxiety

Anxiety and anxiety are among the most fundamental emotions shared by all animal species. When faced with danger, it causes a sympathetic battle and a flight reaction so that we can react and defend ourselves. Without anxiety and physiological symptoms such as increased allergy to the environment and increased blood supply to the muscles of the feet, the possibility of a disaster injury or danger will undoubtedly increase dramatically. Moderate anxiety can also motivate individuals for specific events such as exams and presentations that clearly benefit from this behavior. I still feel uneasy from the early days. Stranger, social anxiety, general anxiety, chronic anxiety ... my oldest friend. I am very interested, I think that in the 16 years of education, I have not publicly raised more than five questions. I feel comfortable and safe when arranging private courses. This is getting worse and worse. At university, I have a strong interest in party lifestyle. I found a party for 5 nig hts to avoid anxiety and depression, and the reputation of being drunk. From a very young age I was very interesting and powerful in technology, and at the age of 12 I developed a national football team website. My college has the most powerful and difficult IT degree you can find. I hardly studied, I spent the first year, but I can save only for so long, and I have to quit my favorite university before being kicked out (Rhodes student Because only I can understand). Therefore, I am not a stranger to anxiety. And last month, an article saying that there is a clear link between anxiety and Alzheimer 's disease was published in' Science Alert '. In fact, anxiety may be a sign of Alzheimer 's disease, which is terrible for anxious people. Who is no longer anxious? It is not secure. It is like a Nazi. I am concerned. Russia is uneasy. I am worried about North Korea. Be a woman. I am concerned. Do you know that two-thirds of Alzheimer's disease patients are females? This is because we ar e afraid of all the damn time. These panic attacks are your future self, just intercourse with you and let you know that there is nothing good to happen, it will never get better. Therefore, after 20 to 50 years, we all will be a large group of elderly people with dementia. We all like rats in the maze, meet each other, ask directions and apologize for not knowing anything.

Resume and Cover Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Resume and Cover Letter - Essay Example Here are a few ways that I fit your qualifications: As you can see, I have many of the qualities that you need. Please take a few minutes to look over my resume, then I would like to come in and talk with you about this position at a time mutually convenient. Heres some tips, not necessarily in any order, for resumes. I was a Career Counselor and Ive reviewed and done zillions of resumes, and helped others do the same. Please look this over and tweak it to your liking. I didnt have your major, so I put the marketing/management major in. 1. I rearranged your resume to "fit" the sample that the teacher gave. Now, you can easily take out the internship stuff and use employment things instead. However, this will give you a good basis. The reason I did this was so that we could do the cover letter to match the resume. With more time I might have looked up a "fake" job posting, but I didnt know where you were, and it was much easier to do it this way. 2. The resume must match the job you are applying for and the cover letter must match the job posting and the resume. Employers will be looking at HOW you FIT their position. So, you only want to put on it relevant experience. You dont have to put everything down. 6. Professional strengths should be those things that you do well that are relevant for the job you are applying for. Again, you don’t have to list everything. Just those things that are relevant that will entice them to look at the rest of the resume. 8. I took out the doctors names on two of the jobs -- you could put their names as a reference, or use them when they ask for references. If they ask you who you worked for in the interview, you can tell them then. You don’t want them (necessarily) to call the doctors and ask about you before they interview you. Therefore, dont put the info on there. 10. On the Cover letter, I would list point by point the skills that you have that match the job

Discussion about influences has television had in our society Essay

Discussion about influences has television had in our society - Essay Example Television has both good influences and bad influences on society. The following essay will talk about these in detail. There is no doubt that Television has many good influences. Firstly, Television is an audio/visual medium making it easy for the audience to follow programs. It uses graphics, sound recording and film technology to bring lively and interesting material to the enjoyment of the audience. Many people when they come back from office or school switch on the Television and relax themselves. More importantly, it also provides news bulletins and science programs for gaining knowledge. For school-going children it offers sport programming like live baseball telecast, etc. All this are very useful and perform an important social role. In fact, Television has become such an important part of everyday life that we cannot imagine how life will be without Television. (Bignell, 2004) Television has been used for the purpose of education as well. For example, class-rooms can show s tudents interesting movies that are part of the curriculum. Class-room can also show recorded lectures and science documentaries. With respect to society, Television brings awareness about global issues so that all of us can act together. One example of this is global warming, about which information is provided in Television. With this we can act together and save the planet. Television also has plenty of advertisements. While some ads can be boring, some others provide information about products, which we can use when we go shopping. (Noll, 2011) Television not only performs a social role but also a family role. It brings all members of family together during evenings. In fact, it has become part of family routine at dinner time. Television gives news about weather conditions. We can take precautions against rain and storm by watching weather news. Also, Television is used these days in closed-circuit cameras for security reasons. On the negative side too, there are many points. F irst, watching Television for long time is bad for the eyes. Television can distract students from focussing on studies. It can make young children lazy and keep them away from books and sports. Parents are especially worried that Television has bad effect on society as it shows violence and crime. Young people can get the wrong idea about life watching such programs. For example, a young person watching use of guns on Television might later kill someone with a gun in real life. So it is very dangerous in cases like this. It also gives wrong idea about how to treat women, etc. In other words, Television can show women in stereotype fashion. Hence, not everything about Television is good. (Freedman, 2002) Television can cause problems in society by showing racial discrimination, etc. For example, if black people are not shown in programs, one gets the impression that they are not important people. Television news can also be flawed. For example, we cannot believe everything the news anchor says as truth. Sometimes they give inaccurate information to deceive the viewer. So one has to be careful about the truthfulness of news. Also, the information given in advertisements can be misleading. Many companies are just trying to make quick money and will show any false claims to sell products. So we have to be careful while watching Television. (Bignell, 2004) Finally, Television has many limitations which make it not useful for in-depth analysis. That is, Television can never replace the

Econ Problem Set Essay Example for Free

Econ Problem Set Essay 1) Describe the effects on output and welfare if the government regulates a monopoly so that it may not charge a price above p, which lies between the unregulated monopoly price and the optimally regulate price (determined by the intersection of the firm’s marginal cost and the market demand curve). As usual, the monopoly determines its optimal output on the basis of MR = MC. Here, however, it cannot charge a price in excess of p*. So, for any output less than Q(p*) (where Q(p) is the demand function) its marginal revenue is p*. On the graph below that gives: pm p* MR MC Demand q m q * 2) The inverse demand curve a monopoly faces is p=10Q-1/2. The firm’s cost curve is c(Q) = 10 + 5Q. Find the profit maximizing price and quantity, and economic profit for the monopoly. Revenue = pQ = Q(10Q-1/2) = 10Q1/2 MR = 5Q-1/2 MC = 5 Profit maximization implies MR = MC, so 5Q-1/2 = 5, or Q* = 1; p* = 10. Economic Profit = Revenue – Cost = Q Ãâ€" p – c(Q) = 1(10) – (10 + 5Q) Economic Profit = 10 – 15 = -5. So, the monopoly will not produce at all, and will have a profit of zero. 3) The inverse demand curve a monopoly faces is p = 100 – Q. Find the profit maximizing price and quantity, and economic profit if: a) The total cost curve is c(Q) = 10 + 5Q. p = 100 – Q, R = p Ãâ€" Q = (100 – Q) Ãâ€" Q, so MR = 100 – 2Q. C(Q) = 10 + 5Q, therefore MC = 5. The profit-maximizing rule is MR = MC. 100 – 2Q = 5 ⇒ Q* = 47.5, p* = 100 – Q* = 52.5 So the profit-maximizing quantity is 47.5 units. The firm will charge $52.5 per unit. Economic Profit = Revenue – Cost = Q Ãâ€" p – c(Q) = Q(100 – Q) – (10 + 5Q) Economic Profit = 47.5(52.5) – (10 + 5(47.5)) = $2,246.25 b) The total cost curve is c(Q) = 100 + 5Q. How is this similar/different from that found in part a? The optimal price and quantity are the same, because the marginal cost doesn’t change. The marginal cost is constant at $5 as before. By setting MR = MC, the firm will have the same profit-maximizing solution. The only thing that changes is economic profit. Economic profit here is $90 less than in the previous problem (because of the difference in fixed costs). So, Economic Profit = $2,246.25 – 90 = $2,156.25. c) If the total cost curve is given by c(Q) = 16 + Q2. C(Q) = 16 + Q2, therefore MC = 2Q. The profit-maximizing rule is MR = MC. 100 – 2Q = 2Q ⇒ Q* = 25, p* = 100 – Q* = 75 So the profit-maximizing quantity is 25 units. The firm will charge $75 per unit. Economic Profit = Revenue – Cost = Q Ãâ€" p – c(Q) = 25(75) – (16 + Q2) = $1234. d) If the (total) cost curve is given by c(Q) = 16 + 4Q2, find the monopolist’s profit-maximizing quantity and price. How much economic profit will the monopolist earn? C(Q) = 16 + 4Q2, therefore MC = 8Q. The profit-maximizing rule is MR = MC. 100 – 2Q = 8Q ⇒ Q* = 10, p* = 100 – Q* = 90 So the profit-maximizing quantity is 10 units. The firm will charge $90 per unit. Economic Profit = Revenue – Cost = Q Ãâ€" p – c(Q) = 10(90) – (16 + 4Q2) = $484. e) Suppose (again) that the total cost curve is given by c(Q) = 16 + Q2 and the monopolist has access to a foreign market in which it can sell whatever quantity it chooses at a constant price of 60. How much will it sell in the foreign market? What will its new quantity and price be in the original market? It will sell on the foreign market up to the point where its marginal cost = 60. Since Marginal Cost = 2Q that means total production is 2QT = 60 or QT = 30. Domestic sales are now based on the marginal cost of $60 per unit, so The profit-maximizing rule is MR = MC. 100 – 2Q = 60 ⇒ QD = 20, pD = 100 – QD = 80 It will sell the remainder on the foreign market: QF = 30 – 20 = 10 units. f) Finally suppose the monopolist has a long-run constant marginal cost curve of MC = 20. Find the monopolist’s profit-maximizing quantity and price. Find the efficiency loss from this monopoly. MR = 100 – 2Q. The profit-maximizing rule is MR = MC. 100 – 2Q = 20 ⇒ Q* = 40, p* = 100 – Q* = 60 So the profit-maximizing quantity is 40 units. The firm will charge $60 per unit. Efficient production and price are: pe = 20; Qe = 80. Then Dead-Weight-Loss =  ½ (60 – 20) (80 – 40) = $800. 4) A monopoly sells its good in the United States, where the elasticity of demand is –2, and in Japan, where the elasticity of demand is –5. Its marginal cost is $10. a) At what price does the monopoly sell its good in each country if resales are impossible? The price-discriminating monopoly maximizes its profit by operating where its marginal revenue for each country equals the firm’s marginal cost. Hence, the marginal revenues for the two countries are equal; MRUS = MC = MRJ. MRUS = PUS (1 + 1/ÃŽ µUS) = MC. PUS (1 – 1/2) = 10. Therefore, PUS =20. MRJ = PJ (1 + 1/ÃŽ µJ) = MC. PJ (1 1/5) = 10. Therefore, PJ =12.5. b) What happens to the prices that the monopoly charges in the two countries if retailers can buy the good in Japan and ship it to the United States at a cost of (a) $10 or (b) $0 per unit? If retailers can buy the good in Japan and ship it to the United States at a cost of $10, then it can sell the good in the United States at the price of $22.50. Since it is not profitable, it never happens and nothing changes. However, if the shipping cost is zero, retailers can buy the good in Japan for $12.50 and sell it in the United States for $19 for a profit and undercut the monopolist. This means the monopoly cannot price-discriminate any more. As a result, there will be a single common price which will be somewhere between $12.5 and $ 20. 5) A monopoly sells in two countries, and resales between the countries are impossible. The demand curves in the two countries are p1=100 – Q1, p2=120 – 2Q2. The monopoly’s marginal cost is m = 30. Solve for the equilibrium price in each country. The price-discriminating monopoly maximizes its profit by operating where its marginal revenue for each country equals the firm’s marginal cost. Hence, the marginal revenues for the two countries are equal; MR1 = MC = MR2. P1 = 100 – Q1 MR1 = 100 – 2Q1, MC = 30 Since MR1 = MC, Q1*=35. Therefore, P1* = 65. P2 = 120 – 2Q2 MR2 = 120 – 4Q2, MC = 30. Similarly, MR2 = MC. Therefore, MQ2*=22.5 and P1* = 75.

Militant Monks Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Knights Templar, a military order of monks answerable only to the Pope himself, were founded in 1118. Their primary responsibility, at least initially, was to provide protection to Christians making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They rose in power, both religious and secular, to become one of the richest and most powerful entities in Christendom. By the time of their disbandment in 1307, this highly secretive organization controlled vast wealth, a fleet of merchant ships, and castles and estates spanning the entire Mediterranean area. When the crusaders captured Jerusalem from the Muslims in 1099, the Church encouraged all faithful Christians to visit that holy city in order to affirm their faith. The area, however, was still subject to sporadic attacks from various non-Christian factions. A small group of knights, led by Hugh de Payens, vowed to protect the pilgrims. The group was granted quasi-official status by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who allowed them quarters in a wing of the royal palace near the Temple of Solomon. It is from this initial posting that the order derived its name. They took the standard vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and were bound to the rules of the Augustinian order. [Upton-Ward 1] The order languished in near-anonimity for several years, despite generous contributions from various European personages. In 1126, Count Hugh of Champagne, having donated his estates to Bernard of Clairvaux for use in building a monestary for the Cistercian order, arrived in Jerusalem to join the Templars. This action indirectly obligated Bernard to support the newly chosen advocacy of his benefactor. He wrote to the count, "If, for God's work, you have changed yourself from count to knight and from rich to poor, I congratulate you." [Howarth 49] In the year 1126, King Baldwin found two reasons for wanting official recognition of the order. First, he had, perhaps prematurely, bestowed upon Hugh de Payens the title of Master of the Temple. Second, the king had the opportunity to launch an attack on the city of Damascus, but he needed more knights. Papal recognition would allow open recruiting in Europe for the order. King Baldwin sent a letter to Bernard of Clairvaux, the order's primary patron, later known as Saint Bernard, asking him to petition the Pope for official recognition of the order. [Howarth 50-51] The King's letter ... ...ghts Templar. The final blow, however, was probably three-fold: a general unpopularity of the order among the European aristocracy, due in part to jealousy; a chronic shortage in the French treasury, despite heavy taxation; and Master de Molay's refusal to consider a merger of the Templars with the Hospitallers, as suggested by the Pope. The fact remains, however, that no evidence of heresy was ever found. [Burman/Templars 180] An order founded by nine knights in Jerusalem came to amass great wealth and power, which speaks well of their integrity and discretion. They became the "shock troops" of the Holy See. When they lost their original mission of protecting pilgrims upon the fall of Jerusalem, their downfall became inevitable. [Sinclair 37] Works Cited: Burman, Edward. The Inquisition. New York: Dorset, 1984. --. The Templars. Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1986. « Howarth, Stephen. The Knights Templar. New York: Dorset, 1982. Payne, Robert. The History of Islam. New York: Dorset, 1987. Robinson, John J. Born in Blood. New York: Evans, 1989. Sinclair, Andrew. The Sword and the Grail. New York: Crown, 1992. Upton-Ward, J. M. The Rule of the Templars. Suffolk: Boydell, 1992.

RBC Analysis Essay

Executive Summary In today’s demanding market, it is essential to know how to make good investments. The following is an in depth qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Royal Bank of Canada. First, RBC and its subsidiaries will be introduced including information about its history and current situation. The qualitative analysis will consist of RBC’s general information, history, business segments, and corporate social responsibility. Secondly, ratios and other quantitative information pertaining to RBC’s investment situation will be analyzed. Finally, with respect to the qualitative and quantitative data, an investment recommendation will be made Investment Criteria A company’s ethics and proper management are just as important for their success as their financial data. In order to decide whether or not to invest in a company one must research the company inside and out starting with where the company has come from all the way to their current situation. A company’s history is of the utmost importance because it reveals management trends and past ethical decision making that could reoccur. Another important aspect of a company’s history is their international expansion and the companies they have done past business with. The industries companies choose to merge with are a good indicator of where they will invest their money in the future. More specific to the banking industry, sustainability has become one of the most important criteria for investment. Especially after the financial collapse of 2008, banks with strong sustainability stood out and gained ground on the high-risk high reward banks. From a quantitative perspective, data trends can help predict if a company is on a small skid or headed toward future collapse. Ratios can help determine how quickly a company can pay back their liabilities as well as how efficient they are being with their shareholder’s money. A company’s stock may rise or fall depending on their current situation and how the market is fairing overall. The amount of assets and acquisitions a company makes can lead a potential investor to believe they are expanding. Usually good financial data investment criteria are a current ratio >2:1 and an ROA >5%. Company Introduction The Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank by assets and market capitalization. The bank has offices in Canada, United States and 49 other countries. Currently, there are 80,000 full and part time employees at RBC with close to 15 million clients worldwide. The company has a good balance between retail and wholesale banking with over two-thirds of their revenue coming from Canada. The other main geographical markets include U. S. (16%), while all other revenue is distributed internationally (17%). (See Appendix A) Qualitative Analysis History The history of a company, industry it is present in, and prior success are some of the main factors when considering investing in a company. RBC has been a leading Canadian bank since June 22, 1864 when it was incorporated as the Merchants Bank of Halifax. Its name was changed to The Royal Bank of Canada in 1901. Twenty-four year later it merged with the Union Bank of Canada on the basis of 1 share of Royal Bank stock for two shares of Union Bank stock. Since then, RBC has taken advantage of many international joint ventures and foreign acquisitions. Most notably in Cuba, Britain, and West Germany. Post-1980, the bank created joint ventures in China with China International Trust & Investment Corp. and began acquiring financial companies in North America. All of the sudden, RBC found themselves competing with large new international banks. During this time, the bank also made a larger commitment to their corporate social responsibility as their charitable donations reached 25. 5 million in 1999. Most recently, RBC has been striving to become a more broad-based financial services group rather than a traditional commercial bank. Although RBC wanted to keep with it’s main goal of being the #1 banker in Canada, they also wanted to build a stronger overall North American identity. Technology based products took the lead in the bank’s new American market strategy. In going along with this strategy, RBC acquired the world’s first Internet bank in order to take advantage of e-banking services. Finally, the bank has developed a new global brand strategy in response to their growing North American presence, which requires the RBC financial group banner to each business platform and operating subsidiary. Business Segments The Royal Bank of Canada has five main business segments. The largest of these segments is their personal and commercial banking segment, which makes up 56% of their earnings. RBC was named the largest and most profitable retail banking in Canada as well as the 2nd largest bank by assets in English Caribbean (†Corporate Profile†). The bank provides cross-border banking for Canadian clients and U. S. wealth management clients. Their second largest business segment is their capital markets sector. Their capital markets department deals with corporate and investment banking, equity and debt distribution as well as trading. This segment is recognized as the 10th largest global investment bank by net revenue and was also named the best investment bank in Canada across equity, debt, and M&A five years in a row (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). The third business segment of RBC, which makes up 11% of their earnings, is their wealth management division. Investment, trust, credit, and other wealth management and asset management solutions are all included in wealth management. The division was named top six global wealth mangers by assets as well as ranked #1 in Canada in both retail and asset management (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). Finally, their insurance and investor & treasury services make up the last 11% of the bank’s total earnings. The insurance segment deals with life, health, home, auto, travel, and wealth accumulation solutions. Achievements of the insurance segment include receiving high marks for â€Å"Likelihood to Recommend† and â€Å"Ease of Doing Business† (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). Their investor & treasury services provide global custody, fund administration, and asset servicing to institutional investors. (See Appendix B) SWOT Analysis Strengths: Leading Market Position: RBC is Canada’s largest bank measured by assets and market capitalization. Leading market position in Canada enables the bank to gain economic economies of scale. Significant Presence in the US and UK RBC is the sixth largest full-service brokerage firm in the US and operates in a network of 42 states. In the UK, RBC is considered a Gilt-edged market maker and actively trades in either conventional or index-linked gilts (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Strong Balance Sheet RBC has a strong capital ratio and common ratio that are much greater than those required under Canadian standards. Also, the bank’s operating leverage declined between the years 2008 and 2010 showing potential from raising new capital (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Weaknesses: Asset Quality Deterioration RBC’s asset quality has been deteriorating since 2007. More specifically their gross impaired loans to total loans and acceptances ratio has grown between the years 2008 to 2010. Growth and profitability concerns at US operations Although RBC realized an overall growth in revenue in 2009, they also experienced a loss of net income. The US is RBC’s second largest market and can deeply impact the companies overall growth as a whole. Opportunities: International Expansion RBC has a rich history of international acquisitions over the past 30 years. Continuing with this aggressive strategy paves the way potential increases in revenue and profit expansion. Canada’s Promising Economic Prospects Canadian GDP has shown positive growth within the past two years. Attributing to this growth has been an increasing demand for commodities and improving global financial market conditions. Threats: Increasing Interest Rates As Canadian interest rates rise, so does the potential for a decrease in demand for financial services. High Taxation Banks in Canada are taxed at a much higher rate than other countries. In addition to Canada’s high taxation, the bank also faces high tax rates in the US; it’s second largest market (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Corporate Social Responsibility RBC has a clearly defined community and sustainability mission as they have been contributing to building a better future since 1864. Emphasis is put mainly on investing in the future by delivering quality products, protecting the environment, and sustaining a productive workplace. In respect to the community, RBC invests millions of dollars in health, sports, and the arts. More specifically they created RBC Play Hockey, which provides hockey gear to under privileged children. RBC believes that the game of hockey can bring a community together and provide a fun, competitive atmosphere among kids. Twenty grants, each of which was $25,000, will be awarded across North America (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). In respect to the environment, climate change, biodiversity, and water are weighed heavily upon. The RBC Blue Water Project helps educate people about the importance of preserving clean water in order to have enough fresh water for the future. The main component of the program is a ten-year, $50 million donations program, which supports not-for-profit organizations that protect watersheds and ensure access to clean drinking water (â€Å"Corporate Profile†). In RBC’s workplace is built upon the notion of shared values, and a sense of responsibility toward others. They look to provide a safe and flexible working environment with career growth opportunities. Also, the bank provides short and long term savings and wealth accumulation programs for their employees. Quantitative Analysis (See Appendix C) Balance Sheet: RBC has realized a 14% increase in assets over the last three years. This growth in assets is an indicator for an increase in stock returns. However, many times a growth in assets leads to sluggish returns as too many assets weigh down the bank (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). Basic accounting procedures require all financial information on the balance sheet to even out. Therefore since RBC’s assets grew by 14%, so did they liabilities and shareholders equity. This increase in the bank’s liabilities can be attributed to inventory being purchased, issuing bonds payable at a discount, retirement costs for current employees etc. Paid-in capital, the year’s net profits, or a new share offering can increase shareholder’s equity. Shareholder’s equity is especially important for banks such as RBC because of the amount of capital they are given to invest. Cash Flow: Net investments cash flow represents the gain or loss in cash flow from investments made in the financial market and operating subsidiaries. In 2009, RBC had a positive cash flow indicating they were not investing heavily at the time. However, in the next two years, huge investments were made which made their net investments cash flow to go far below zero. Having a negative overall cash flow is not necessarily a bad thing, but instead may be a result of heavy investments. Nevertheless, RBC has maintained sustainability and kept their overall cash flow positive despite their large investments. Income Statement/Retained Earnings: RBC’s total revenue has decreased by 5% over the last three years. However looking deeper will reveal a huge increase in the company’s revenue over the past five years. In 2007 and 2008 the total revenue was $22,462 and $21,582 respectively (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). This data revels an overall increase in revenue of 22% between 2007 and 2011, which any company would be proud of. In addition, RBC shows their continued effort toward sustainability as their retained earnings increased by almost 20% in the past three years (â€Å"Welcome to ALADIN†). In effect, this increase shows that a healthy profit exists even after dividends are given out to the shareholders.

Learning from LeapFrog Essay

1. What was the Leapfrog business model at the time that the company launched its first products and services? How did the business model change over time? 2. Who are LeapFrog’s key stakeholders? How does LeapFrog deliver value to each of these stakeholder groups? 3. At the time of the case, Leapfrog had become the #3 consumer toy company in the U.S. behind #1 and #2, Mattell and Hasbro respectively. What factors contributed to Leapfrog’s success? Do you expect the success to continue in the future? 4. What challenges and opportunities does the company face in early 2003? Would you buy stock in Leapfrog? Why or why not? As an independent member of the company’s board of directors, what would you expect of management in the short-term and long-term? How would you fulfill your fiduciary duties to the company’s shareholders? Canyon Ranch 1. What is the value of customer information to Canyon Ranch? 2. As CIO, how would you make the case for customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI) systems at Canyon Ranch? 3. What impact would you anticipate these systems to have on the Canyon Ranch strategy and capabilities? 4. What advice do you have for Canyon Ranch executives? Business Intelligence Software at SYSCO 1. What will be the biggest obstacles faced by the business intelligence implementation as it expands throughout SYSCO? 2. Why did SYSCO decide to initially address only two questions with its new BI software, rather than using it as a more general analysis tool in the operating companies? Why did Business Objects recommend this approach? What are its strengths and weaknesses? 3. Will effective use of BI software ever be a competitive differentiator for SYSCO? Wouldn’t it be straightforward for another food service company to also purchase and implement similar software? 4. How much software should Day purchase at this time? Boeing’s e-Enabled Advantage 1. What challenges and opportunities did Boeing face in the late 1990s? 2. What is the e-Enabled Advantage? How did it link to the company’s strategy? 3. What advantages would such an approach give Boeing? 4. What challenges did Boeing face in executing such a radical new strategy? CareGroup 1. Describe the health care context in which the case occurs. 2. List several strengths of the IT environment at CareGroup. 3. On the other hand, list several weaknesses that led to the collapse. 4. Evaluate carefully the 10 lessons that John Halamka learned from the experience. What are the pros and cons of each of these lessons? Are there other learnings that come from this situation? The IPremier Company: Denial of Service Attack 1. How well did the IPremier Company perform during the seventy-five minute attack? If you were Bob Turley, what might have you done differently during the attack? 2. The IPremier Company CEO, Jack Samuelson, had already expressed to Bob Turley his concern that the company might eventually suffer from a â€Å"deficit in operating procedures.† Were the company’s operating procedures deficient in responding to this attack? What additional procedures might have been in place to better handle the attack? 3. Now that the attack has ended, what can the IPremier Company do to prepare for another such attack? 4. Describe the ethical implications of not being sure if credit card numbers had been stolen. What options do you have in the struggle to be an ethical vendor, yet to stay in business? What actions would you take? 5. In the aftermath of the attack, what would you be worried about? What actions would you recommend? Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel Limited 1. What must Bharti do well to succeed in the Indian mobile phone market? What are Bharti’s core competencies? 2. Do you think Bharti should enter the outsourcing agreements outlined by Gupta? What do you see as advantages and disadvantages of such agreements? How do the different outsourcing agreements work towards building these core competencies? 3. If you were Bharti, what major concerns would you have about entering an outsourcing agreement with IBM? With Ericsson, Nokia, or Siemens? 4. How would you structure the agreements to address your concerns and capture any advantages you have identified? What governance mechanisms would you design for the agreements? 5. Assume the role of IBM or Nokia. What major concerns would you have about entering an agreement with Bharti? How would you structure the agreement and the governance mechanisms? VW of America: Managing IT Priorities 1. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? 2. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? Who should control these budgets? Should the IT department have its own budget? 3. How should Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatment outside the new priority management system? 4. What should Matulovic do about the unfunded Supply Flow project? The ITC eChoupal Initiative 1. What was ITC’s motivation for creating the eChoupal? 2. What were the old and new physical flows and information flows in the channel? 3. What principles did it employ as it built the newly-fashioned supply chain? 4. What barriers did ITC face in embarking on this project? 5. How should ITC develop this platform for the future?

An Introduction to Socioeconomic Status

An Introduction to Socioeconomic Status Socioeconomic status (SES) is a term used by sociologists, economists, and other social scientists to describe the class standing of an individual  or group. It is measured by a number of factors, including income, occupation, and education, and it can have either a positive or negative impact on a persons life.   Who Uses SES? Socioeconomic data is gathered and analyzed by a wide range of organizations and institutions. Federal, state, and local governments all use such data to determine everything from tax rates to political representation. The U.S. Census is one of the best-known means of collecting SES data. Nongovernmental organizations and institutions like the Pew Research Center also collect and analyze such data, as do private companies like Google. But in general, when SES is discussed, its in the context of social science. Primary Factors There are three main factors that social scientists use to calculate socioeconomic status: Income: This is how much a person earns, including wages and salaries, as well as other forms of income such as investments and savings. The definition of income is sometimes expanded to include inherited wealth and intangible assets as well.Education: A persons level of education has a direct impact on their earning ability, with higher earning power leading to more educational opportunities that in turn increase future income potential.Occupation: This factor is more difficult to assess because of its subjective nature. White-collar professions that require a high degree of skilled training, such as physicians or lawyers, tend to require more education and thus return more income than many blue-collar jobs. This data is used to determine the level of ones SES, usually classified as low, middle, and high. But a persons true socioeconomic status doesnt necessarily reflect how a person sees him or herself. Although most Americans would describe themselves as middle class, regardless of their actual income, data from the Pew Research Center shows that only about half of all Americans are truly middle class. Impact The SES of an individual or group can have a profound influence on peoples lives. Researchers have pinpointed several factors that can be affected, including: Physical health: Communities with low socioeconomic status in the U.S. have higher rates of infant mortality, obesity, and cardiovascular health issues.  Mental health: Along with poor physical health, communities with low SES report more cases of depression, suicide, drug abuse, behavioral and developmental issues.General health and welfare: Along with the impact on an individuals well being, socioeconomic status can also have an impact on communities, including rates of crime and poverty. Oftentimes, communities of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. feel the effects of low socioeconomic status most directly. People who have physical or mental disabilities, as well as the elderly, are also particularly vulnerable populations. Resources and Further Reading Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic Status.  American Psychological Association. Accessed 22 Nov. 2017. Fry, Richard, and Kochhar, Rakesh. Are You in the American Middle Class? Find Out with Our Income Calculator. PewResearch.org. 11 May 2016. Tepper, Fabien. What is Your Social Class? Take Our Quiz to Find Out! The Christian Science Monitor. 17 Oct. 2013.

Consumer product safety Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Consumer product safety - Research Paper Example l injury and defense of negligence Duty of care and breach of duty care This is a legal obligation of a person or organization to avoid omission, which can be, reasonably foreseen consequently causing harm to others. In this context, the duty of care of manufacturers of garlic slicer is fundamental to avoid potential risks to users. In actual sense, manufacturers have a responsibility of care to prevent damage or injury arising from failure or fault of their products (Consumer Product Safety division). It is noteworthy that, the model of the duty of care should be proved before proceeding with an action in negligence. Conversely, an individual who without any element of personal fault sustains an injury caused by a defect in the design or manufacture of a product rendering it unreasonably dangerous to normal use, may recover from the product’s manufacturer without proof of negligence. Standard of care This refers to manufacturer’s obligation of ensuring proper descripti on of product usage. It involves a provision of proper usage guidelines and associated cautions (Consumer Product Safety division). This may include package inserts, which describes all forms of information related to the prescribing data. The package inserts refers to the specific product information, which includes the medication itself. It is worth noting that, the product inserts do not define the standard of care for the use of the prescription medications however, the key concern is how the courts rule on the matter. The fundamental aspects attributed to the insert information include the possibility of establishing the applicable standard of care, which can be used as evidence in the determination of the applicable standard of care. In addition, whether this information can be used to in the... Consumer product safety Consumer protection statute refers to the laws that regulate relationships between individual consumers and manufacturers. This study examines the product liability statute. This statute governs the liability of the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributor and vendors for damages caused by faulty products. The fundamental role of the product liability statute is to enhance consumer protection from dangerous products. This law holds the manufacturers, wholesalers, and vendors responsible for such product faultiness. Manufactures have a fundamental role in ensuring the consumer safety is assured. However, restriction on negligence actions implies that, while damages may be recompensed for individual damages or injuries caused, damages will not be awarded for economic losses. Consumer protection statute refers to the laws that regulate relationships between individual consumers and manufacturers. This study examines the product liability statute. This statute governs the liability of the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributor and vendors for damages caused by faulty products. The fundamental role of the product liability statute is to enhance consumer protection from dangerous products. This law holds the manufacturers, wholesalers and vendors responsible for such product faultiness. In conclusion, manufactures have a fundamental role in ensuring the consumer safety is assured. However, restriction on negligence actions implies that, while damages may be recompensed for individual damages or injuries caused, damages will not be awarded for economic losses.

Financial Statement Fraud Schemes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Statement Fraud Schemes - Essay Example This case involves several characters, namely; Mr. Karina Ramirez, the director internal auditor at Apollo Shoes Company, the engagement manager Mr. -Darlene Ward law, Mr. Arnold Anderson the engagement partner and the intern Bradley Crumpler (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). The communication in this company entails the use of email messages because physical interaction is limited between the employees (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). Based on this case it can be scrutinized that the company accountants has not been ensuring that all items are properly recorded for easy audit. Additionally, the company does not have enough experts to carry out audit work (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). This can be scrutinized with a scenario where an intern was incapable of making necessary entries in the books of accounts as other members were busy doing other duties (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). Poor financial management has subjected customers to financial difficulties and this has made the company fail to accomplish goals and objectives. This can be substantiated by in the director statement when he asserted that the company sales was not strong and therefore there was a need to relook on the marketing plan(Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). 1. Identify potential financial statement fraud schemes would likely be present in Apollo Shoes Company The financial statements fraud schemes has been presented in the Apollo’s Company case in numerous ways. There have been some underlying discrepancies between the figures in the financial statement and director’s reports (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). For example the audited financial statement indicated that Inventories were valued at $18,825,205.24 while unaudited financial statements indicated that inventories were valued at $$67,424,527.50 (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). This shows that there was a discrepancy of $48599322.26 obtained by finding the difference between the unaudited and audited financial figure which is a clear indication that fraud was taking place (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). Additionally, inventories were valued at $18,825,205 in the year 2010 while reserves were valued at $3,000,000 (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). This shows that there was an approximate of fifteen percent reserves in the company. On the contrary, inventories were valued at $67,424,527 in the year 2011 while company reserves were valued at $867,000 indicating that there were only 1.2% reserves (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). The above discrepancy was so wide and therefore it is a clear sign that fraudulent acts were taking place in Apollo’s company (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). In above connection, it can be scrutinized that the company did not established measures to safe guard shareholders interest. For instance; between 2009 and 2010, revenues were reported to increase from 10% to 15 % respectively and that customers were allotted a fair shar e according to the directors’ report (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). However, this was not the case because the figures could not be reflected in the books of accounts. Additionally, it has been reported that customers were undergoing via financial difficulties (Timothy, Loretta, & Kenneth, 2011). 2. Describe the types of evidence you would look for to

The Advantages of teamwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Advantages of teamwork - Essay Example According to Hosftede, we get ourselves in life situations where we are dealing with people from diverse cultures and we have to work together for a common course. Hence, one needs to have knowledge of the cultural dimensions as illustrated by Hosftede. They include power, individualism, gender, uncertainty and long term orientation. Teamwork is a better illustration of the famous ancient phrase that says two heads are better than one. Teamwork enables people to share ideas among their team in relation to the shared task. It involves each person giving an idea and participating in decision making of the way forward in doing an activity or in the process of problem solving. Teamwork also saves time. Things get done much faster and efficient. When a group or team is assigned a task or responsibility, it is more likely that it will be done in less time with so many areas covered all at one time. Another merit of teamwork is the ability to account for weak areas. People are diverse; different cultures and each has their strengths and weaknesses that differ a lot. When people come together to do a similar task, it is easier to get solutions through each stage since there are possibilities of having one or two persons who are conversant with an identified area of weakness (McMillan & Reynolds, 2002, p. 23-34). In addition, teamwork is able to break the cultural differences that may present during a task. At workplaces, teamwork improves relationships among the work mates and the management of an organization. These relationships results to teamwork not only in the workplace but also outside work and across cultures (West, 2012, p. 56). In additions, it brings about job satisfaction and morale to engage in even bigger tasks. One thing that is essential for any manager to invest on in business or organization is teamwork. It saves a lot of time and dependency on the

Fact Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fact Paper - Essay Example Baking soda is generally naturally occurring because it is mined from trona ore, although it can also be chemically made (â€Å"Soda Ash† 1-1; â€Å"What is Baking Soda?†). Baking soda is an alkali that can be applied on conditions or materials that need pH levels to be adjusted by decreasing the quantity of acid in it (Garvin). It has a gritty structure, and it gives off carbon dioxide when heated (â€Å"What is Baking Soda?†). Because of these properties, baking soda can serve numerous beauty, cleaning and health purposes (Fassa; Halvorson; Mercola). Baking soda can be used for beauty purposes. Baking soda can be put in one’s underarms to serve as a deodorant (Marvin). It does not stop sweating, but it can prevent the production of body odour (Marvin). Doctor Joseph Mercola recommends baking soda as a deodorant because it does not have harmful parabens and aluminium that are usually found in commercial deodorants. Apart from baking soda’s deodoriz ing effect, it can also exfoliate the skin. Doctor Mercola states that a â€Å"paste [can be] made from three parts of baking soda combined with 1 part water [and it] can be used as an exfoliator for your face and body. It’s natural, inexpensive and gentle enough to use every day.† Baking soda can exfoliate the skin gently and naturally, so it can be used as a facial and body scrub (Marvin). In addition, baking soda can be used as a teeth whitener. Doctor Mercola suggests that people can crush a ripe strawberry and mix it with half a teaspoon of baking soda, spread it on their teeth, and leave it on for five minutes. People should brush their teeth and rinse after (Mercola). He recommends for this to be done only once a week for teeth whitening because baking soda can corrode tooth enamel (Mercola). Wendy Michaels reports that Julia Roberts only uses baking soda as her toothpaste, and she has white teeth, which could be proof that baking soda can whiten and clean teeth . Furthermore, baking soda can make skin feel softer (Marvin). For those who want a baking soda soak or baking soda bath, they can use a cup of baking soda and mix it with their tub, and they can have soft skin afterwards (Marvin). Baking soda can also be used as shampoo. People can add a teaspoon of baking soda to their shampoo bottle to help eliminate build-up of chemicals from conditioners, mousses, and sprays and to better manage hair (Halvorson). Some people also use baking soda as shampoo, also called as no ‘poo method (Oxenreider). Tsh Oxenreider advises adding one tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of water and to use that as shampoo. She explains that shampoo products mostly have chemicals that actually dry scalp and hair, but baking soda will not because it is a naturally occurring substance that adjusts pH levels of hair and scalp (Oxenreider). These are some of the beauty uses of baking soda that people can try. Baking soda can also be used as a purifying and cle aning agent. Baking soda is often sold as an air purifier that can be used inside refrigerators, cars and other containers (Fassa). It can also deodorize many things, such as carpets and shoes (Fassa). Just sprinkle them on these objects, let it sit for fifteen minutes, and then remove it to minimize odour (Mercola). Baking soda can be sprinkled on slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to get rid of foul odour too (Marvin). Moreover, baking soda is a cleaning agent in the kitchen and bathroom. Baking soda can

Performance And Reward Management Commerce Essay

Performance And Reward Management Commerce Essay Performance management means measuring criteria for organizational progress helping to accomplish their set target and goals by taking suitable actions for the improvement of the company. Performance management system aims to achieve the following target: Enabling each employee to know what is actually been needed and what should be his role in achieving those targets. It helps to maintain an honest relationship between the employees. Enabling each individual employee to feel motivate at work and make him know about his valued contribution in the project. Enabling organization to reward the employees for his exceptional contribution to the company. Performance management system is being designed to successfully achieve the set objective as well as it also focus on helping the employees to understand what is being needed from them and how they could deliver it to the company. Three components of performance management system Initially setting up the required aim which is needed to be target and making the employees to clearly know what should be their contribution towards achieving the required target. Distinguishing between the areas where the performance is strong and the area where there is a need for improvement therefore suggesting ways to improve the service delivery action. Rewarding the employee with the best performance outcome. Relation between motivation and performance management Motivation refers to strengthening of internal activities which drives or boost the performance of man. There is a direct relationship between performances to motivation; if an employee is highly motivated then he/she is expected to perform better at job. Theories suggesting the following implementations are: Reinforcement theory of motivation this theory describes the effect of present behavior onto its future consequences, focusing on changing the employee behavior according to the surrounding situation through four types of operational conditioning: Positive reinforcement Motivating employees by the means by increasing wages, giving him bonus or either promoting him, all this reinforcement is being provided as a reward to the employee to repeat the desired behavior adapted by the employee at the workforce. Negative reinforcement Strengthening the employee behavior and raise it up the baseline attempt like avoidance or ignorance if the employee is not been working as he/she should be working. Extinction It is like not providing the employee neither with the positive reinforcement and nor with the negative reinforcement, if an employee is working then also he is not getting a thanks or a reward for his work. Punishment It is for decreasing the continuity of behavior which the employee is being following at the workplace. The reinforcement theory on the management side: Managers should be informing the employee about the things which they are doing wrong and shouldnt be repeated while directing them to the way which could help them to receive positive reinforcement. Managers should also understand it is important to reward employees for their performance because if the deserving candidate is not getting the reward then he/she may not be performing to the level previously used to. Equity theory of motivation supposing two employees worked equally at office but an employee A gets 20% percent increment while employee B gets 10 percent increment. Employee B is pleased with his performance because where other employees are getting only 6 % increment he got 10% but while comparing to A he will be rather disappointed therefore people compare their reward to the ratio of the reward what the other person is getting to the input applied. Therefore in such a case managers must be very careful while they are rewarding and provide each employee with a specified target to motivate them and even this removes the indifference attitude within the employees about others. (analytictech website) Four factors that need to be considered when managing performance It is very crucial to review employees performance level which includes their behavior they should be exhibiting in the company.Factors that are needed to take in consideration when managing performance are: Planning It means setting up the performance goal and expectation which is required to be followed by the employees in line to achieve the set target, involving employees in the planning action to make them understand what the organization is targeting and what should be their contribution in the achieving the target. Monitoring Projects and assignment are monitored continuously for consistently measuring the performance and then giving them with feedback about their actions which is needed by them to follow for achieving the target, this regularly checking method helps to meet the determined standard as pert the organization requirement. Developing Developing in the terms means increasing the performance capacity through giving them assignment, regular training session which helps the employees to introduce new skills and perform well. Rewarding Rewarding employees for their talent and contribution to the company procedure result in better effect on to the company performance. (US office for personnel management ) The relationship between performance management and reward Two purposes of reward within a performance management system In any organization the main purpose behind rewarding employees is to motivate them, retaining them to the company and reducing the turnover costing. Employees are the most important valuable possession of the company and it is very important to continuously encourage them for their contribution to the organization. These reward systems are mainly been introduced into the companys environment to give a recognition and encouragement to the committed employee of the company for his extraordinary performance in the company by this Staffs understand what they are expected to do. Contribute to effective performance and reward management in the workplace Components of a total reward system Rewarding system is being used as a tool by company owners to attract the talent they have been looking for their company and to retain the talent with company and from seeing the employees perspective rewards are the payback for their commitment and loyalty towards the company. Components of rewarding system are: Individual growth It includes with investing in people, learning opportunities through training programs and career opportunities through new job openings, promoting or handling oversees assignment project. Compelling future It is very critical component of the rewarding system including companys growth and success, its reputation and image in the market and in front of the employees, stakeholders, companys vision and values. Positive workplace This category includes leadership, commitment and thrust towards the company, working attitude towards his colleges and outside people, his communication inside the company and involvement of the employee. Total pay This category includes the performance criteria, recognizing the employee talent and giving him base pay, variable pay according to his work, providing the employee with additional benefits and pay for his performance in the company. This recognition gives a special entity of the employee in front of his colleges for his actions and performance in the task given to him. (schuster zingheim , 2012) Sources of data (1 of which should be external to the organisation) required by individuals involved in performance and reward management processes. Gathering performance information through quantity or sources helps to ensures that the objective is in line with the ongoing employees behavior and company is performing well. Types of information included are employees call record, sales report or the project deadline report while important information sources include getting feedback through others, personally observing the employee, and reviews on the employees. Getting data from feedback process involves with asking all the subordinate employees, manager about the employee any specified skill and while comparing that data to the final report submitted and based upon that judging the performance and rewarding process. Other data sources which are helpful in determining the performance chart are: past performance report, what are the current objectives of the organization and a standard documentation relating to the career goal. To be able to conduct and reflect upon a performance review and How to support good practice in performance and reward management Frequency, purpose and process of performance reviews Considering performance management review system for an oil spill company, there is an annual cycle system which combines together with the budgeting process and business planning process. It is a three stage process beginning annually in the month of January and ending in the same over a year cycle. Stage one: It is the initial phase starting in the month if January consisting of planning of work agreement, setting up occupational standard, meeting to the required competencies and assigning of the personal development planning in line with the organizational aim. Stage two: This second phase is being carried out throughout the financial year going in a form of regular ongoing process aiming at keeping the information and work agreement data up to date according to the changing environment in which the company is being operating. Regular meetings are put up to discuss on the progress setup of the company. Stage three: At the year ending each individual performance is being reviewed, judging their performance level and comparing the performance to the required level of performance needed for the task to get complete. Once the year get started it is mandatory to run all the three stages serially. Appropriate interviewing skills in order to gauge performance An interview describes the employees intake to the company which can also be taken as a place to measure the performance level of the employee whom the company is planning to take in. Here are some of the questions which demonstrate the performance level of the employee: what skills and special characteristics are up planning to bring in with the job Describe what are your duties and responsibility while performing a task at workforce. from previous event describe your creative work describe situation which describes you can work in a team describe what would be your action in time going through intense pressure and stress Are you prepared to make personal sacrifice for the sake of work related purpose. Effective use of feedback Timely and effective feedback managing system is essential and an important aspect for guarantying successful performance management, giving employees with proper feedback helps to improve their performance level and to timely correct themselves whenever they are falling apart from the required target, feedback helps to motivate them in the right sense to follow the proper path. SMART objectives for developmental purposes Following specific objectives are set to determine development Specifically or exactly illustrating what specific action needed to be followed. Measuring the performance to evaluate are the activities going in line with the determined objective. The set objective must be achievable with the required resources. Relating whether the set objective target is required to get the desired goal. Setting the time limit in which the given objective must be accomplished. Notes on the covered point Talking of my job in my day to day activity I am not dealing with performance management review but I found the task to be very challenging and a good performance review can change the company working and uplift its standard but there is only one requirement employee has to put his full effort. To conduct performance review I have done many researches regarding the subject and regarding this I have learned in the process that for a good performance review it is very important to know the person efforts which he is putting for the development of the company and being supportive, honest and reward person for his achievement helps to bring out what is best from him and if after that also person is not putting his effort than if providing positive feedback to them gives a motivational sound to them and even they can perform well, from the above experience I can comment performance management is not only for the past but it is for the future wellbeing of the company.

The Puritans - Creating the Perfect God Fearing Society Essay -- Ameri

The Puritans - Creating the Perfect God Fearing Society The Puritans dream was to create a model society for the rest of Christendom. Their goal was to make a society in every way connected to god. Every aspect of their lives, from political status and employment to even recreation and dress, was taken into account in order to live a more pious life. But to really understand what the aspirations of the puritans were, we must first understand their beliefs. â€Å"Their goal was absolute purity; to live with out sin in a sinful world was to them the supreme challenge in life. They were derisively called Puritans because they sought to purify the Church of England of the popish and antichristian stuff with which they believed the simplicity of the primitive Christian church had been encrusted.† The Puritans believed that man’s only purpose in life was â€Å"to glorify God on earth and, if he were especially fortunate, to continue the good work in Heaven.† For the puritans, to glorify god meant keeping him in mind at all times, working to the best of their ability at whatever job god had fated them to do, and following a strict moral code based on the bible. â€Å"Every act and thought was either a glorification of god or its opposite.† Thus, leading a pious life in the form of working hard, praying, and churchgoing, was considered paying homage to God. Through all of these things, the most important was to be mindful of God at all times. Pride, complacency, and gratification of the senses could not be permitted if they captured the place in the mind reserved for the Almighty. This does not mean, however, (as many people have believed) that the Puritans did not allow themselves to be comfortable and happy. First of all, the Purita... ... influential enough to prevent Winthrop’s reelection as governor in sixteen thirty-six. The next year he returned to office and had her tried for heresy. Even though she displayed remarkable knowledge of theology, she still defied clergy, and was eventually banished for sedition. Williams and Hutchinson were only a few of the growing number of colonists who were discontented with the Puritan government. The Puritans dreamed of creating the perfect god fearing society as a model for the entire Christian world. They did everything in their power to keep this dream alive. They created strict laws, and enforced them vigorously all in the name of God. But it was destined to fail because of the growing political liberty in England and the numerous advancements during the age of enlightenment, which eventually came into direct conflict with established Puritan beliefs.

Design of Fuzzy Controller

Design of fuzzy controller for two tank interacting system Mohamed sabith KT Second year M. tech Dept of Electrical Engineering NIT Calicut Calicut, India [email  protected] com Dr. Abraham T Mathew Professor, Dept of Electrical Engineering NIT Calicut Calicut, India [email  protected] ac. in Abstract—The control of liquid level in tanks and flow between tanks is a basic problem in the process Industries. Vital industries such as Petro-chemical industries, Paper making industries, Water treatment industries have the coupled tanks processes. The level of fluid in the tanks and interaction between tanks must be controlled.The aim of the project is to model the the coupled two tank liquid level system and to design a fuzzy controller. For coupled tank systems with non linear and complex characteristics classical PID is difficult to achieve the desired response. Fuzzy logic control is a classic method by which dynamic performance and strong robustness is guaranteed. The projec t compares the performance of the two tank system with classical PID and fuzzy logic control. Index Terms—PID, fuzzy logic, steady state Introduction through two separate pumps whose output is throttled using a control valve.Separate disturbance are made to both the tanks using hand valves. The two tanks are connected by means of hand valve, so the level of tank 1 will affect the tank 2 and vice versa. So this is a highly non linear system. Flow transmitters and pressure transmitters are there which give indication of flow and level respectively in a scale of 4-20 mA. The input from this sensors are taken to a computer which is process by a software in which controller is implemented which will give necessary control signal to throttle the control valve to get the necessary level.A Coupled tanks process is found in the many industries. Generally, The TITO processes have the problems to control their systems because of the existence of interactions between input and output var iables. Many control methods such as 2DOF PID [1], Auto tuning PID [2], CDM [3] and Decoupling [4] have been applied to coupled tanks processes for solving their problems. This paper presents control of two tank interacting system with the help of classical PID and Fuzzy control. The paper is organized as follows.The next section gives details about Coupled-tank process. Section 3 explains about modeling of two tank interacting system. Section 4 explains PID based control. Section 5 explains an implementation of Fuzzy Controller for coupled tank process. Section 6 shows experiment process and results. Finally, conclusions are given in section 7. COUPLED TANK SYSTEM MODELLING OF A TWO TANK INTERACTING SYSTEM Consider the coupled tank, two-input two-output process . The target is to control level of two tanks by the inlet water flow from two pumps P1and P2.The process inputs are flow rate of two pumps u1(t)and u2(t) which is throttled using control valves. The nonlinear plant equation s can be obtained by mass balance equation The overall material balance on the cylindrical tank is: Rate of mass accumulation in the system = rate of mass entering in the system- rate of mass leaving the system There for the dynamics of the tank system can be written as The coupled tank apparatus is shown in the Figure 1. 1. The apparatus is a model consisting of a pump, two cylindrical tanks made of plexiglas, two control valves, and two level transmitters .The two tanks are installed in a manner as shown in the fig 2. 1The water input to both the tank is provided 1 1 = ? 1 ? 1 ? 2 ? ? 1 + ? ( 2 ? ? 2 ? (2 ? ? 1( ) 2 2 = ? 2 ? 2 ? 2 ? ? 2 + ? ( 2 ? ? ( 1 ? 2 ? ? 2 Where A is the cross section area of tank 1 and tank 2, a is the cross section area of outlet hole of tank 1and tank 2 and cross section area of jointed pipe between tank 1 and tank 2 , ? 1 is the valve ratio at the outlet of tank 1, ? 2 is the valve ratio at the outlet of tank 2, ? x is the valve ratio between tank 1 and tank 2. k1,k2 are the gain of the pump. The above equations can be converted to transfer function form and a transfer matrix of the form is obtained. ?1( ) 11( ) 12( ) = ? 2( ) 21( ) 22( ) 1( ) 2( ) nteraction between processes, the control design needs the decoupling controllers to minimize the cross coupling effects Because of the interaction between processes, the control design needs the decoupling controllers to minimize the cross coupling effects The decoupling controllers consist of two decouplers d12 and d21 . The purpose of using decouple is to decouple the multivariable system. This can be done by choosing the following transfer function. D21=-G21/G22 D12=-G12/G11 SIMULINK SIMULATION OF COUPLED TANK SYSTEM WITH PID CONTROL AND DECOUPLERS The modeled coupled tank system was simulated using simulink .G11 represent the dynamics of the tank 1 ,similarly G22 represent the dynamics of tank2. G12 represent the effect of level of tan k 2 on tank1,and G21 represent the effect of level of tank 1 on tank 2. Due to high interaction between the tanks ,its difficult to control with ordinary PID. So as to avoid the interaction Decouplers were introduced. The advantage with the decoupler is that separate PID controllers can be designed for individual loops. Two individual PID controllers were designed for the two loops and tuning of the controllers were also performed.Tank 1 is subjected to a setpoint input of 15cm at time of 30 seconds and it is having an setpoint of 5cm. Similarly Tank 2 is subjected to a setpoint input of 25cm at time of 50 seconds and it is having an initial setpoint of 10. The response of the simulated system is shown in fig below,both the level of tank 1 and tank 2 follows the setpoint with small peak overshoot. Where h1, h2 are the liquid level in two tanks and u1,u2 are the input into the two tank . Where transfer matrix Gij(s)has the value as following G11(s)= 1 + 2 + 2 1 + +2 1 2 1 1 1 2 + +( + + ) 1 2 1 2 1 2 G22(s)= 2 + 1 + 1 1 + 2 +2 1 2 1 1 1 2 + +( + + ) 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 + 2 +2 1 2 1 1 1 2 + +( + + ) 1 2 1 2 1 G12(S)= G21(S)= 1 1 1 + 2 +2 1 2 1 1 1 2 + +( + + ) 1 2 1 2 1 2 Design of Decouplers The theoretically modeled system was simulated using simulink as shown in fig. below . G11(s) represents the tank 1 and G22(s) represents the tank 2. The effect of tank 1 on tank 2 is given by G21(s) and the effect of tank 2 on tank 1 is given by G12(s). This coupled tank system is having high interaction and it also exhibits non linear characterstics.Because of the The input variable error(e) is shown below,for all these inputs five membership functions are used. The five membership functions are NB,N,Z,P,PB. Fuzzy controller The traditional control, which includes the classical feedback control , has encountered many difficulties in its applications. The design and analysis of traditional control systems are based on their preci se mathematical models, which are usually very difficult to achieve owing to the complexity, nonlinearity, time varying and incomplete characteristics of the existing practical systems.One of the most effective ways to solve the problem is to use the technique of intelligent control system, or hybrid methodology of the traditional and ntelligent control techniques. The output variable is shown below As i have 2 inputs with 5 membership functions,I used 25 rules(IF THEN ). The surface of the rulebase is as shown below The above fig shows how a fuzzy controller is implemented . The Fuzzy controller takes two input and have one output, error and rate of change of error are given as input to the fuzzy controller . depending on the input the fuzzy controller produces required control action.For all input and output triangular membership functions are used. The input rate of change of error(de) is shown below The two tank system with fuzzy controller is subjected to an input,the first tan k is set to a initial level of 5cm then it is subjected to a step change of 15 cm at 25 seconds,for the second tank it is set to a initial level of 10 cm and final level of 20 cm. With fuzzy controller the outputs obtained is as shown below [1] Suparoek Kangwanrat1, Vittaya Tipsuwannaporn ? Design of PI Controller Using MRAC Techniques for Coupled-Tanks Process? International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems 2010 Oct. 7-30, 2010 in KINTEX, Gyeonggido, Korea [2] V. R. Ravi , T. Thyagarajan ? Application of Adaptive Control Technique to Interacting Non Linear Systems† IEEE Transactions On Systems, Man, And Cybernetics—Part B: Cybernetics, 33( ), 2003, 514–521 [3] [3] Dr. S. AbrahamLincon, P. Selvakumar ? Design of PI Controller using Characteristic Ratio Assignment Method for Coupled Tank SISO Process? International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887) Volume 25– No. 9, July 2011 [4] Li LIANG ? The application of fuzzy PID contr oller in coupled-tank liquid-level control system?IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 25-35, 2010 [5] Jutarut Chaorai-ngern, Arjin Numsomran, Taweepol Suesut, Thanit Trisuwannawat and Vittaya Tipsuwanporn ?PID Controller Design using Characteristic Ratio Assignment Method for Coupled-Tank Process.? Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Computational Intelligence for Modelling, Control and Automation CONCLUSION The output obtained for fuzzy controller doesnot show peak overshoot as in th case of a PID controller ,the problem observed with fuzzy controller is that small oscillations will be prescent at steady state REFERENCES

Are You An Informed Citizen? Essay

Let’s just start out by me explaining my political views and how well I am informed. I have to be truthful and say that I am not a very political nor am I an â€Å"Informed† citizen. I know this is crazy but after researching and doing a lot of reading, I have been enlightened and what I have read has been very interesting. â€Å"An informed citizenry will benefit from applying both creative thinking and critical thinking in solving the challenges of our society†, at first I was like what the heck does this even mean? Well, I have informed myself and I must say I feel I will be able to vote Tuesday feeling more informed about the issues that concern this country. In a democracy, public misperceptions carry an enormous cost and I would hate to be one that contributed to this. The main goal of citizenship education is to produce citizens who can make informed decisions on matters pertaining to the operation of government. Do you know that a very high percentage of citizens make their decisions based on appearance on television? I don’t fall into that category although I may fall into the category above that. Because in the past I have based my decision on commercials. I never educated myself to learn the facts from the opinions or lies one might say. A lot of powerful groups and interests in the country try to manipulate public opinion and they are very good at it. An essential element of critical thinking is learning how to ask questions that will uncover the information needed to make an informed decision. Many decisions that citizens make have direct impact on their day to day lives. People who possess higher level of critical thinking skills are able to face society’s moral dilemas with the confidence that they will be able to find answers that will solve the problem. Let’s go back to how people decide who to vote for. Several recent studies indicate that candidates who simply look more capable or attractive are more likely to win elections. It also states that people who watch a lot of television will base their decision on the candidates appearance and are likely not educated on either candidates. Also naive students based their decision on just a black and white photo. I feel like it would be a great idea to have a political course taken in high school. That way students know the importance of having knowledge and being â€Å"informed†. Teaching them the importance of having sufficient and sufficiently reliable information or knowledge to be able to understand a  subject or situation and make appropriate judgments or decisions regarding it. Teaching them how to search for information, digest it, and actively participate in society putting their knowledge to a good collective use. It’s very important that we do not allow others to think for us. That we should be able to think and make decisions for ourselves based on the information that we know and have researched. We have so many underlying issues that have to be dealt with in the country. For us to not be educated on each issue and just base our decision on someone looking the part, well we might as well just do a coin toss. Seems more interesting and â€Å"creative† to me. We have job issues, environment, education, healthcare, budget for the country, same sex marriage, economic, taxes, abortion, gun control, immigration, social security, welfare/ poverty, the war, and the list goes on and on. It is embarrassing for me to admit that I was the percentage that made my decision on the media when the only thing they are thinking of is entertaining and making money. If we want this country to be built back up and to be strong like it once was we have to become educated and educate the young, because they will be running this country one day. I would like to go through some of the things I mentioned above and let you know what I have learned just by having to write this paper. Because I believe I have become more educated just from this one assignment and to think how much more I would know if I had started researching years ago. First would be Same sex Marriage/ Adoption that is interesting. I have always believed in every human lives their life the way they want as long as they are not harming themselves or any one else. Who cares what someone else does in their life. If they are happy and a good person, let them be. A gay couple should be able to adopt. A baby that is with a loving gay couple will benefit more than staying with someone who will not give it as much love. Gay couples are just as deserving. Romney believes in marriage only between man and woman. Who is he to judge? One that I am un- decisive on is taxes. I honestly can see both sides. Why is it fair for one who goes out and works hard to make a great living have to pay so much more in taxes to give to some that just live off the government? But the I can see where jobs are hard to get and some people of disabled and they would love to be out there working and making money. That is just one that I will have to do more reading on to be able to see what my beliefs are there. I feel everyone  should have healthcare and no one should be turned away for pre-existing medical issues conditions and insurance companies should not be allowed to drop you if a patient has been diagnosed with a terminal disease. There are so many issues and debates that its overwhelming and stressful, this is one reason I have never been a very political person. I see now why it is important to be an informed citizen and to know the facts. No matter how good our leadership, if we don’t have discriminating citizens, this nation will not work very well.