The Seven Deadly Sins of Mahatma Gandhi

The Seven Deadly Sins mentioned by Mahatma Gandhi are: * Wealth without work Nowadays we can see the evidence of people love to gain money without even have to do some work. Well, we might love to do that. I do want to if I could, haha. However, if we take a deep sight of it, we can see that there will be only two probabilities of people having some wealth without doing any efforts: (1) those people are heading towards laziness and poverty, (2) those people do corruptions. No offense, but money, wealth, is limited, and at one point it will be run out if the people did not do some work to add more money.Another possibility is to do some corruptions. People who corrupt can just manipulate money to add their own budgets. * Pleasure without conscience Conscience. It is the awareness of choosing which one is right or wrong, comes deep beneath the logic. Imagine the world seeking for pleasure without considering their heart. There is no responsibilities for people to share their pleasure w ith other people who are needing. Pleasure without conscience results in an empty world inside people’s hearts, just like spending money without charity. * Knowledge without character Having knowledge without character is like having a gasoline without a car.You might use it for something bad, such as to fire a building. People have the potential (knowledge), thus the character is set to make sure that the knowledge will be used wisely and for an appropriate and good thing. * Commerce (Business) without morality (ethics) Lol as a business management student, I was really taught to have ethics in every move that I make. Business is all about seeking opportunities and gains the highest benefit from others. To decide some plans in a business, environment, society, and even the rival should be considered as the factors to do the business. Will it harm the environment?Hurt the society? Or should we really make the rival bankrupt? Those aspects are little aspects which can bring a bigger problem in the future if we do not pay attention to it. * Science without humanity Have you ever heard of cloning? A-bomb? Deadly mutant virus? There is only a thin layer between humanity and inhumane within science. All those sciences are back to the people themselves; whether they want to develop science with or without humanity. * Religion without sacrifice Nowadays we can see people who are saying with pride, â€Å"I’m a Moslem† or â€Å"I’m a Christian†. But hey, look at their attitudes!If they are Moslem, do they pray? Do they pay zakat? Read Al Quran? I myself cannot say I have done everything Allah asks me to. I still have long to-do lists to do, in a short period of life. Those Christians, do they go to church? See what is actually happening in this world today. I might say praying, and doing every instruction is hard, really hard. Perhaps that is why Mr. Gandhi said that religion without sacrifice is one of the deadly sins. We need to sac rifice some things in order to do the commands of our own religion. * Politics without principle I don’t really understand politics actually.However, we all know that having politics without principle is just like losing directions. Dead Peasant Policy * A corporate-owned life insurance policy that a company may take out on its employees—often without their knowledge—designating the company as beneficiary. If the employee dies young, the company gets tax-free death benefits. If the employee lives long, it has a long-running tax break * Dead Peasant Insurance is sometimes used as a shorthand reference for life insurance policies that insure a company’s rank-and-file employees and name the company as the beneficiary.This means that the company receives the life insurance benefits when the covered employees die. This insurance may also be called â€Å"janitor insurance,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ * The point of â€Å"dead peasant† policies seems to be this: Compa nies contribute money to the policies, which then can be used to pay for a variety of company expenses. In addition, when employees, retirees and former employees die, the company receives tax-free death benefits. Life insurance used to be rather straightforward, known for offering security to loved ones in a tough time. So when Irma Johnson learned that her husband, Daniel, who died of brain cancer, had been insured or $1. 5 million, it should have been at least a small comfort. But she did not receive the money. His employer did. It's one of the strangest free-market perversions that Michael Moore highlights in his latest film, â€Å"Capitalism: A Love Story. † In the corporate practice dubbed â€Å"Dead Peasants† life insurance, companies wager on employees' lives, expecting to make money when they die. And it's pervasive, said Mike Myers, an attorney who has uncovered many of these cases and helped angry relatives sue. â€Å"Life insurance is traditionally used to guard against the death of breadwinners.This is an investment scheme,† he said. Dozens of blue chip companies have these policies, according to Myers. But only banks are forced to reveal them, and several have billions of dollars worth of policies. â€Å"The driving force behind it is the tax deductions,† he said. The life insurance policies were designed to allow companies to insure a few crucial executives. Savvy companies then realized they could also get a tax break by insuring many lower-level employees. The financial scheme doesn't actually cost the employees anything, except, some say, their trust.Betina Tillman felt shocked and deceived when a reporter from The Wall Street Journal told her that her brother, a music store cashier, was insured by his employer for $339,000 when he died, despite the fact that he no longer worked at the store. â€Å"We were just in disbelief they were able to do it, and actually cash the policy and cash in on the policy,† Til lman said. Families Battle in Court She sued, and won. Now, the government mandates that companies obtain the consent of employees. In the case of Daniel Johnson, Amegy Bank told ABC News that Johnson did give his consent, but Irma disputes that, and she's suing.Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, has pushed for even tougher restrictions. â€Å"We hope our laws are based on not only fairness, but morals,† Green told ABC News. â€Å"And to me, it's immoral to benefit from your death if I don't know you. † Meanwhile, for those who feel they have been wronged and were never told about the insurance, it's up to them to brave the court system. â€Å"It was a matter of making sure we did the right thing and something that would honor our brother,† Tillman said. â€Å"We sent a message across to that company, to let them know you may have gotten away with it all these years, but not this time. CURRENT EVENTS ? Region 8 Get P7 New COLA; P6 Wage Hike In Region 3 MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – Minimum wage earners in Region VIII will get a P7. 00 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in their daily wage rate which will be effective on October  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Program Boosts Food Security, Income MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012 ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The implementation of a nationwide rural development program â€Å"Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP),† which will cover 80 provinces in Luzon,  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? 3 Women Man Shar'iah Courts MB – Fri, Oct 5, 2012MANILA, Philippines – Three Muslim women are manning three Shar'iah Circuit Courts in Mindanao. ? Binay Maintains High Trust Rating MB – Thu, Oct 4, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos continue to appreciate the work of and maintain trust in the Vice President and Senate President, according the latest Pulse Asia sur  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Centcom Vows More Insurgency-Free Provinces MB – Tue, Oct 2, 2012 CAMP LAPU-LAPU, Cebu City – Newly install ed Central Command (Centcom) commander Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano during a recent turn-over ceremony here announced that more  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Trainers Program For IT-BPO MB – Tue, Oct 2, 2012MANILA, Philippines – To haul in US$25 billion revenues in four years, the government and the private sector yesterday launched a P25. 2-million trainers' training program  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Road Quality, Safety Improvement Cited MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 MANILA, Philippines – The freak vehicular accident in Nueva Ecija that claimed at least nine lives last week should remind national and local authorities of the need  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ? Visayas Energy Facilities Upgrade Completed MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced that it has completed the upgrade of its Energy Management System (EMS) in ?DENR, Foresters Host Subic Summit MB – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The recent 2012 National Forestry Summit at the Subic Freeport, participated in by some 1,200 foresters, academicians, state workers, and wood industry   ? Philippines' 2013 elections: Same faces but new foes ANN – Mon, Oct 1, 2012 Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) – The electoral matchups in many parts of the Philippines for 2013 show veteran politicians returning to the campaign trail to  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ E2 po link ng mga current events. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/October_2012

Importance of IT measurements for an organization Essay

The performance of a business is a strategic issue which depends greatly on IT contribution. IT is crucial for any business to grow as it enables efficient and effective communication between the employees and with the customers. Similarly, in collaboration with internet, IT provides means of networking, marketing and communication. It provides storage capacity for the company’s data, data protection, data processing, transmission and retrieval of data as required (Alexandrou, 2009). Furthermore, it saves space which would have been used for storage of many paper works. IT has many advantages to a business but it can also have disadvantages. It is therefore important for businesses to evaluate it before adopting it within its structure. IT offers different features and since different businesses have different needs it is therefore important for a business to lay down its objectives before adopting it. In most of the big organizations IT has been adopted entirely in most of their operations while the small ones use it in performing a number of operations. Adopting IT for the entire business operations requires much financial investment and analysis of the technology. According to Myers (2004), few organizations have put in place measures that ensure their corporate strategies and IT are aligned. In other words, few organizations have put in place rigorous systems for measuring the value brought about by IT to their business. In some organizations tools for the management and measurement of IT spending are present and these include IT steering committee, activity based costing, annual budgets, tightly controlled systems of purchasing, benchmarking among others (Myers, 2004). However, these tools do not measure its impacts on the business. Measurement of IT in an organization is vitally important but there are difficulties which hamper the evaluation processes. In most organizations the IT managers lack full understanding of the business and are therefore not included in the decisions made by the senior management personnel. The senior management personnel lack the knowledge of conducting IT measurement processes thus many organization do not measure their IT effectively. To add to that most of the IT managers lack the fully understanding of the measurement of IT processes and will therefore not conduct them (Williams, n. d. ). In Curley’s (n. d. ) view, for IT to deliver business value, its measurement should be done in terms of revenue growth, profitability and customer satisfaction. The performance of the IT system in business is normally evaluated by checking how the business operations are improved. A good system should be able to improve the operations of the business. The performance of an IT system should be directly proportional to its contribution to customer satisfaction. With improvements in the business operations, more customers will become satisfied with services provided by the business. Moreover, the measurement of IT performance is a complement to the measurement of IT contribution to customer satisfaction. The performance of IT is evaluated by the operations of the business while its contribution is evaluated by the increase in the number of customers and thus business growth. The measurement of IT in an organization is vital as it is useful in justifying the existing or the proposed system, comparing different systems, providing tools for system management and in providing a learning experience (Bjork, 2000). When evaluating an IT system in a business several things are usually considered; effectiveness, efficiency and performance benefits. It is important for organizations to develop a framework for evaluating the potential costs and benefits of new IT systems, and the performance of these systems after being implemented. Benefits of measuring IT By measuring and evaluating the IT system, its efficiency, effectiveness and performance benefits can be fully determined and this will be helpful in making decisions concerning the adoption of a new IT system. To add to that, the organization will gain an understanding of the existing IT and will therefore have the capability to determine whether it is beneficial to the current needs of the business or not. With IT measurements, the organization will be saved from wastage of monetary resources in purchasing low quality systems. An organization might purchase IT systems which are not useful in meeting the objectives of the organization thereby leading to wastage of funds which would have been used for other important needs. Consequently, the business will be able to purchase a system which will be of much benefit to the organization. With an efficient IT system the business planning times will be greatly reduced, the cost of marketing will be greatly reduced and more inquiries will be handled within a short time. Similarly, there will be a reduction in the communication cost and paperwork. Furthermore, an effective IT system will minimize business risks, increase the flexibility and competitiveness of the business, increase sales and will provide a sustainable increase in the market share. Furthermore, the performance benefits from the IT system include improvements in strategic intelligence for new markets, provision of capacity and space for business growth, overcoming obsolescence, provision of more relevant and reliable data, among others (Bjork, 2004). The measurements will be helpful in evaluating the weaknesses in the system and in providing guidelines on the ways of improving the system for the better. In other words, they will provide an opportunity to evaluate the loopholes in the technology. As time goes the needs of an organization changes or increases and thus improvements in technology are required. The goals of most organizations is to grow and become competitive in business and as it grows its IT should also grow with it otherwise it will become a hindrance in achieving its goals. The measurement of IT is therefore essential as it provides an opportunity for further advancements in this technology. In conclusion, IT measurements provide many benefits to an organization and are therefore essential. However, in many organizations, the success of IT in a business is measured in terms of the IT parameters which include capacity, processing speed and up time. This therefore shows that many businesses do not measure IT with regard to customer satisfaction or profitability. Customers are one of the most important assets of a business and should be included in IT measurements to ensure a sustainable business growth. Similarly, organizations should invest more funds in IT measurements. In measuring the impacts of IT in organizations knowledge and understanding is a necessity and thus funds are required. Measurement of IT is not an easy task and cannot be done by anyone; IT professionals are threfore needed and should have much experience in IT measurements. Since in many organizations the IT professionals have little experience in IT measurements, IT experts from outside will be helpful in ensuring IT measurements are conducted in an efficient and effective manner.

Analysis and ploicy Tom Ltd and Jerry Ltd

3.With reference to your ratio calculations, comment on the importance of identifying accounting policy choices when comparing ratios for entities, or when comparing ratios for a single entity over time? Return on Equity = Profit available to shareholders / Equity   Profit Margin = Net profit / Revenue Current Ratio = Current assets / current liabilities Assets Turnover = Net Sales / Total assets Debt Ratio = Total liabilities / total assets The performance of a company is measured by its profitability and efficiency ratios. The profitability ratios included in the above table are return on assets, return on equity and profit margin. Asset turnover is the efficiency ratio. Jerry Ltd has a higher profitability as compared to Tom ltd as all the profitability ratios for the company is higher. This is majorly because of one expense that is the depreciation expense which is higher for Tom Ltd. ad this expense has made all the difference. The net profit of Tom Ltd. is less. Jerry Ltd has a higher return on assets ratio because it has higher earnings before tax and expenses and also lower total assets. Tom Ltd has taken the fair value of the property, plant and equipment. This reflects a higher value of the non – current assets, thus increasing the total assets. Also the depreciation has been applied on this fair value of property, plant and equipment, thus giving higher depreciation expenses. Therefore, Tom Ltd has lower net profits and higher total assets leading to a low return on assets. Tom Ltd has a lower return on equity due to lower net profits available to its shareholders and also a higher value of the equity. This coupled effect has reduced the return on equity for Tom Ltd. whereas Jerry Ltd. has a higher return on equity due to higher net profits and a lower equity value. This means Jerry Ltd is providing higher returns to its shareholders. Jerry Ltd has a higher profit margin due to increased net profit. The revenue for both the companies is the same. As a result of difference in the net profit, the profit margin is different for both the companies. Jerry Ltd. gives higher returns on its sales. Jerry Ltd. has a better assets turnover ratio. This is because it has lower total assets. Jerry records its assets at the historical cost due to which the total assets appear lower on the balance sheet. For Tom Ltd. the assets are recorded at fair value which is higher than the historical cost, thus the total assets value appears higher for Tom Ltd. on the balance sheet. The revenue for both the companies is the same. A higher assets turnover ratio means that the company is able to utilize its assets efficiently in generating sales. With lower total assets, Jerry Ltd. is able to generate the same amount of revenue as Tom Ltd. thus indicating better utilization of assets to generate sales. Thus from the above analysis of the profitability and efficiency ratios, we see that Jerry Ltd. ahs a better performance in both the categories. The difference in the performance is solely based on the difference in the accounting policies of depreciation and recording of fixed assets in the balance sheet. The financial position of the company is measured through the liquidity and the solvency ratios. In the above table, current ratio is the liquidity ratio and debt ratio is the solvency ratio. The current ratio measures the short term liquidity of the company. It measures if the company has sufficient current assets to pay for its current obligations. Both the companies have the same current ratio. The current ratio of both companies is 3.7. This means the current assets are 3.7 times the current liabilities. This shows high liquidity of both the companies. Both companies have enough current assets to pay for their current liabilities, thus making them highly liquid. The ideal current ratio is 2. The debt ratio is a long term solvency ratio and measures the ability of a company to pay for its assets with its liabilities.(John, Subramanyam, Halsey, 2007) 3. Ratio analysis is majorly used by firms to analyse the performance and also for making financial performance comparisons between two companies. However, there are certain limitations of ratio analysis. One such limitation is on account of the use of different accounting policy being used by the two firms in question. Like in the above case, though both the firms are identical in all their revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities but the only difference lies in the accounting policy relating to measurement of fixed assets of plant property and equipment. The firm which records the fixed assets at the historical cost has recorded the asset at the lower value since the fair value of the asset is higher as per current market prices. Hence, the value of fixed assets of Tom Ltd. is higher than Ltd. This has affected the profit through depreciation charges. The depreciation is calculated on the carrying values of the plant and machinery. Tom Ltd. has higher depreciation charges becaus e of high value of the same assets as possessed by Jerry Ltd. therefore the profits of Tom Ltd. have been reduced by that amount. Also both the companies use different deprecation methods. Jerry Ltd uses diminishing value method of depreciation and Tom Ltd. uses straight line method. Under diminishing method of depreciation, higher depreciation charges are applied in the initial years and lower in the later years. Under straight line method, same percentage of depreciation is applied every year. Due to this difference in accounting policy, the depreciation charges differ for both the companies, and they have a direct impact on the profits. This affects the financial performance of the companies.(Alayemi, 2015) Even for a single firm, ratio analysis may yield misleading results for two years where accounting policy has been changed over the years. Let’s say if the company has changed its accounting policy on measuring the company’s plant and machinery from historical cost to the fair value. This will have two effects, first a change in the value of fixed assets appearing on the balance sheet and the change in the depreciation charge which will directly impact the profits. Thus both financial performance and the financial position ratio results will change for the same company. Thus ratio analysis cannot be applied for companies using different accounting policies as for the same revenue and profits, the performance results may vary. Alayemi, S.A., (2015), Choice of Accounting Policy: Effects on Analysis and Interpretation of Financial Statements, American Journal of Economics, Finance and Management, Vol.1, No.3 John, J.W., Subramanyam, K.R., Halsey, R., (2007), Financial Statement Analysis, 9 th edition, New Delhi, Tata McGraw- Hill Khan, M.Y., Jain, P.K., (2005), Basic Financial Management, second edition, New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill Looking for an answer 'who will do my essay for cheap',

The Kingdom of Morocco BBC Documentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Kingdom of Morocco BBC Documentary - Essay Example Rarely did they follow Islam. One of the significant events that happened in the Kingdom was the rise of Abdulla Ibn Yasin. He went to Islam centre of learning where he gained knowledge on Koran. He united several clans of Berber and installed himself as a spiritual leader. He led to transformations of Berbers trough Jihad. Nis initiatives led to the expansion of empire and made changes in key cities such as the city of Massar. The transformation and expansion of the empire was through a standing army that role was to expand Islam through Jihad. The kingdom expanded from south to the northwest part of Africa (Casely-Hayford). The kingdom continued to expand further after his death. The expansion was through Yusuf Ibn Tashmin. He led to expansion of Marrakash city. The kingdom expanded into empire up to the southern part of Europe. This was through trading activities and war. In fact, he helped repel Christian influence in Spain and Portugal. He died in 1106, and his son Ali Bin Yusuf took over(Casely-Hayford). His period was characteristic by improvement in architecture and aesthetic value. His reign did not last long as he was toppled by Alhomads led by Ibn Tumarts. This led to reorganisation of the city of Marrakash. The kingdom ended in 12th century. This was due to rebellion, scrabble for power, and loss of Mediterranean hence lack of source of revenue. I liked the movie due to clear description of various ruins such as building of the Caspus. In order to understand cultural knowledge I will enhance my understanding of artefacts’, religion, and various forms of

Anti-Semitism in Indonesia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Anti-Semitism in Indonesia - Research Paper Example In most Islamic countries, the anti-Semitic attitudes felt can be alluded to some underlying cause, but in Indonesia, the cause is just because of the country’s affiliation with Islam and the general dissatisfaction in the country. This paper will trace the history of anti-Semitism in Indonesia; give the relationship of the anti-Semitism with Islam and the factors that have contributed to the discrimination of minorities in the country. History of Jews in Indonesia According to Hadler (2004), after the discovery of raw materials and other resources in the 17th century by the Dutch, the development of the island was mainly helped by the Dutch Jews present then. Some of the earliest history indicates that the first Jewish settlement was first developed in the Sunda Island as early as 1850, and in that period, most of the Jews in the country were either of Dutch or German descent. These Jews lived primarily in Jakarta, Indonesia, and in that period, the first efforts were done to organize the Indonesian Jews into one community. However, these efforts failed, and the few families that lived there remained scattered. Later, in the early 1900s, arrivals of Jews from other countries like the Netherlands led to the formation of different Jewish centers in the country. As early as 1921, it is estimated that as many as 2,000 Jews lived in the main Jewish settlement or congregation in Surabaya. Most of these were originally the Baghdadi Jews who moved into the country. In these settlements, the Jews in then Indonesia were mainly traders or operated financial institutions in the country. After the Nazi scourge in the 1930s, more Jews arrived in Indonesia to escape Hitler’s war, but in the late 193os, the arrival of the Japanese

The Role of Geoprofiling in the Analysis of Crime Series Annotated Bibliography

The Role of Geoprofiling in the Analysis of Crime Series - Annotated Bibliography Example In this book Boba has tried to explain the use of crime mapping in crime analysis. It offers a great deal of information regarding the integration of geospatial techniques into criminal investigations. Further, this nook offers methods for using different crime mapping methods for analyzing criminal activities. Crime mapping case studies: Practice and Research is written by Chainey, S. The book offers various methodologies used for crime mapping. Further it offers an approach to bring crime mapping into practice, along with new directions in this field of study. This book elaborates the present trends in crime mapping research. The book offers numerous case studies that help the readers in understanding the basics of crime mapping and its use in the real life. Chainey and Ratcliff has combined the theoretical principles, analytical techniques from geographic information system, methods for processing data sets, measures for sharing information, problem solving, and lots of other related topics. This book offers case studies and real life examples to elaborate and explain the integration geographic information system and crime mapping. This book is useful for the students as well as for the professionals. It can be used as a reference guide for solving problems associated with crime mapping. The growth of science and technology has made information security a great concer. Organizations need to obtain fool proof information security systems in order to prevent it from being lost or being accessed by unauthorized user. Authentication and retrieval of information requires efficient system that ease out the access to the information sources for the authorized users, yet it prevents interruption from third party. Companies spend a great deal of their assets in preserving their information, because loosing information is equal to the death of the company. This is an interview/ article by Marc Goodman,

Week 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Week 6 - Assignment Example icle analyzes the health, governmental, institutional, and general information on the need, implementation, and capability of nursing-sensitive value-based purchasing (Kavanagh, Cimiotti, Abusalem, & Coty, 2012). The main message presented by the peer-reviewed journal article is that the adoption of value-based purchasing initiative is still low and that its successful implementation requires incorporation of nursing measures to guarantee its effectiveness. Moreover, the article shows how the NSVBP initiative can improve the quality of nursing care by financially encouraging hospitals to adopt an optimal nurse practice environment (Kavanagh, Cimiotti, Abusalem, & Coty, 2012). As a GI nurse, I use evidence-based practice to improve the financial health and patient health in my organization. Indeed, I use palliative care as evidence based intervention to identify and consult patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Apparently, the palliative care controls pain control, enhances communication, prolongs quality life, and informs on more efficient resource use thus decreasing medical costs that improve financial health and patient health (Bernacki et al., 2012). I also use evidence-based practice to encourage the screening of medical records and increase awareness. This facilitates access to complete and accurate information that enhances my potential to diagnose diseases and curb medical errors thus promoting patient health in my organization (Health IT, 2014). Through evidence-based practice, I identify patients with digestive system problems and advise them on how to manage their symptoms in their daily life thus improving their financial health. Bernacki, R. E., Ko, D. N., Higgins, P., Whitlock, S., Cullinan, A., Wilson, R.,†¦Billings, A. (2012). Improving Access to Palliative Care through an Innovative Quality Improvement Initiative: An Opportunity for Pay-for-Performance. Journal of palliative medicine, 15 (2),

Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Obesity - Essay Example Apart from the social stigma that one may have to suffer, the health implications of obesity are much more expensive. According to Crawford (para, 2), 20% of population of all but fifteen states in the USA are obese and this number is increasing by the day. We all need to protect ourselves from obesity. B. Reason for listening: Obesity is becoming more and more common in the society and most of us have had or will have to deal with this issue either in ourselves or in people we love and care about. According to Childhood Obesity Facts (Para 1) obesity among children has doubled over the last thirty years. Obesity is not just a cultural issue, it is not just about the physical looks but rather it is a matter health. C. Credibility: Credibility: I have had some of my friends who have been affected by this issue. I can confidently say that I have experienced firsthand (or at least second had) the issues affecting obesity. Obesity is a cruel thing to deal with (Maureen). D. Enumerated Preview: Obesity is a serious issue with so many factors surrounding it. In this forum though, I wish to discuss three major issues which are pertinent with regard to the issue of obesity. These issues include, poor eating habit (fast food culture), laziness (lack of physical activities), and poverty which makes it harder for poor families to afford healthy food. II. The human body has its natural mechanisms of dealing with various issues. As disused above, when an individual takes in carbohydrates (energy-giving-foods), the extra energy is converted and stored in the form of fat thus resulting in fat accumulation. This means that people can reduce fat accumulation through exercise to burn the stored fats. There are vicarious ways of exercising which include; III. Poverty is probably at the apex of the issues influencing increasing rates of obesity in the United States as statistics show that poorer families are at a higher risk of obesity than those which are economically

HR Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HR Administration - Essay Example Ownership is the key distinction of privatization according to this focused definition of privatization (Klingner et al, 2010). Privatization is viewed as an option for providing services to the community and the decision to privatize should be made by the government reflecting the government to deliver public goods and services by the private sector creates a balanced evaluation of the financial and non-financial issues with the needs of the community.Market-based competition basis. Privatization is characterized by little involvement by the government and collaborating with private service providers. Government stops providing a service directly and relies on the private sector to deliver the service (Klingner et al, 2010). Human resource managers are facing an imminent mass exodus of senior workers, the likes of which has never been seen before. These workers will need to be replaced due to death or retirement. Some organizations might lose up to 50% of their seniors in the next two to three years. This exit will strain the governmental entitlement programs, company benefit, pension plans, and press the concern on empty chairs in offices across the nation. The smaller size of Generation X (25 – 38- year-olds) along with their high rate of turnover and the transitory nature of their work force lately will lead to a shrinking pool of replacements and competition for those employees will increase. Demographic realities seem to suggest a possible shortage of labor in the coming decades (Klingner et al, 2010). Many Boomers will maintain their positions after their typical retirement age due to longer life expectancy. The likelihood of new legislation increasing the age for Social Security benefits, the high costs in living, recent losses in pension and IRA accounts attached to the stock market could make older employees delay their

Project Management - Bubble Bee Case part 2 [sap4] Essay

Project Management - Bubble Bee Case part 2 [sap4] - Essay Example This permits removal or alteration of work assignments of the tasks affected. Leveling creates splits in the work that is remaining. This will ensure that over-allocated tasks are split before the instance of over-allocation. It restarts the remaining portion of the task at some point in time when resources are sufficient. 3. It is not easy to wholesomely resolve the over-allocation challenge, though the project end-date cannot be moved out. The reason is when using the "slack" meaning that the amount of time in which activities are delayed without the project end-date getting affected, cannot delay some tasks. Leveling only within existing slack† is an endeavor to reorganize the schedule through taking the benefit of the slack that is obtainable to resolving the problem without protracting the project. 4. Constrained resource means that the project has scarce resource though the time provided is agile. By leveling outside the slack, the over allocation challenges are settled. Nevertheless, the project duration which is 135 days, is significantly increased to 150 days. The new finish date will be 6/20/2012, instead of 5/23/2013. The managerial connotation results in the delay of the following projects employing similar resources. The critical path will be altered while project costs are increased. For instance, trial marketing will have to wait for the shelf life report to be produced. The project will delay due to the resource constraint while idle resources are costly. 6. I have learned that Gantt chart provides situations of tracking project progress as well as mapping the performance of schedule, cost and time. Leveling of resources has also allowed me to understand the implication of manipulating tasks falling within and outside the critical path. I now know that the project manager rearranges the logic of the network where critical activities are set in parallel as opposed to sequential arrangement. I have also learned that Gantt charts determine th e critical paths and aid the planners to estimate costs and guide the project to meet its obligations. Through leveling of resources, I have known use of MS project as a powerful tool to establish under or over allocation of tasks, resources and costs. The software is a quick win for project managers involved in handling large projects spanning more than two years. I am now confident in using PERT/CPM and Gantt charts to guide projects. 7. The project on bubble bee gum is optimal and can proceed without straining available resources Table 1: Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack Table 2: Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling outside the slack References Project Management Institute. (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK ® Guide, 3rd Edition. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Project Managemen

ACC557 †Financial Accounting Essay Example for Free

ACC557 – Financial Accounting Essay 1. Analyze each company’s history, product/services, major customers, major suppliers, and leadership and provide a synopsis of each company. The Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) vs. PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) war is one of the greatest rivalries in corporate history, just like Apple vs. Microsoft. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the two most popular and widely recognized beverage brands in the world. They have been competing in the soft drink sector for over a century and both companies enjoy a high degree of brand consciousness globally. Both companies try to market as part of a lifestyle. At the same time, these two soda giants are among the most popular and respected dividend growth companies in the market, so lets take a look at the Coke vs. Pepsi debate from an investors perspective. Coca-Cola uses phrases such as â€Å"Coke side of life† in their website, while Pepsi uses phrases such as â€Å"Hot stuff† in their web, to promote the idea that Pepsi is â€Å"in sync† with the cool side of life. Ironically, both Pepsi and Coke have similar beginnings: both were created in the 19th century and both were the results of the experimental work of innovative pharmacists. Coke was created in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton while Pepsi was developed in 1898 by North Carolina pharmacist and drugstore owner, Caleb Bradham. The history of Pepsi began with a man named Caleb Davis Bradham. He was born in Chinquapin, North Carolina on May 27, 1867. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, around 1890. After returning to North Carolina, Mr. Bradham taught public school for about a year, and later opened a drug store on the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets in downtown New Bern. In 1902, Bradham launched the Pepsi-Cola Company in the back room of his pharmacy and on December 24, 1902 the Pepsi-Cola Company was incorporated in the state of North Carolina. The business began to grow, and on June 16, 1903,  Pepsi-Cola was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office. In 1910 there were 250 Pepsi-Cola franchises in 24 states and in January of that year the Pepsi Cola Company held their first Bottler Convention in New Bern. In 1926, Pepsi received its first logo redesign since the original design of 1905. In 1929, the logo was changed again. In 1931, at the depth of the Great Depression, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy. Assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark. Megargel was unsuccessful, and soon Pepsis assets were purchased by Charles Guth, the President of Loft, Inc. Today PepsiCo, Inc. (PepsiCo) is a global food and beverage company. Through the Companys bottlers, contract manufacturers and other partners, the Company makes, markets, sells and distributes a range of foods and beverages in more than 200 countries and territories. PepsiCo is organized into four business units: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF), which includes Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA) and all of its Latin American food and snack businesses (LAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB), which includes all of its North American and Latin American beverage businesses; PepsiCo Europe, which includes all beverage, food and snack businesses in Europe and South Africa, and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), which includes all beverage, food and snack businesses in AMEA, excluding South Africa. In 2011 the company had revenues of $66.504 billion and a net income of $6.462 billion. The company has around 29700 employees worldwide. PepsiCo is also listed on the NYSE and is also a part of the Dow Jones Industrial composite. Pepsi Co’s current chief executive is Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi who has been at the helm since 2006. The history of Coca-Cola began with Col. John Pemberton. He was wounded in the Civil War, became addicted to morphine, and began a quest to find a substitute to the dangerous opiate. The prototype Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at Pembertons Eagle Drug and Chemical House, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, originally as a coca wine. In 1885, Pemberton registered his French Wine Coca nerve tonic. In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca. By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola – sold by three separate businesses – were on the market. A co-partnership had been formed on January 14, 1888 between Pemberton and four Atlanta businessmen: J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey; C.O.  Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Charley Pembertons record of control over the Coca-Cola name was the underlying factor that allowed for him to participate as a major shareholder in the March 1888 Coca-Cola Company incorporation filing made in his fathers place. More so for Candler especially, Charleys position holding exclusive control over the Coca Cola name continued to be a thorn in his side. Today The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation headquartered in Atlanta Georgia. It is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola. The Company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages, such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks. It owns and markets a range of nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands, which includes Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. The Companys segments include Eurasia and Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Pacific, Bottling Investments and Corporate. In January 2013, Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company announced that it had been acquired by the Company. Effective February 22, 2013, Coca-Cola Co acquired interest in Fresh Trading Ltd. In November 2013, Coca-Cola Company and ZICO Beverages LLC announced that Coca-Cola has acquired the ownership interest in ZICO. The company offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries and serves over 1.7 billion servings per day. The company’s stock is listed on the NYSE and it is a part of the DJIA, SP index and the Russell 1000 index. The company had revenues of $48.01 billion in the year 2012 and a net income of $9.01 billion. Coca-Cola has a total asset base of $86.17 billion and 146,200 employees worldwide. Pepsi and Coca-Cola customers include authorized bottlers and independent distributors, including foodservice distributors and retailers. Both companies normally grant their bottlers exclusive contracts to sell and manufacture certain beverage products bearing the respective trademarks within a specific geographic area. These arrangements provide both companies with the right to charge their bottlers for concentrate, finished goods and bottled water (Aquafina Dasani) royalties and specify the manufacturing process required for product quality (Wyatt, 2012). Since The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo do not sell directly  to the consumer, they both rely on and provide financial incentives to their distributors to assist in the distribution and promotion of their respective products. For the independent distributors and retailers, these incentives include volume-based rebates, product placement fees, promotions and displays. For their bottlers, these incentives are referred to as bottler funding and are negotiated annually with each bottler to support a variety of trade and consumer programs, such as consumer incentives, advertising support, new product support, and vending and cooler equipment placement. Consumer incentives include coupons, pricing discounts and promotions, and other promotional offe rs. New product support includes targeted consumer and retailer incentives and direct marketplace support, such as point-of-purchase materials, product placement fees, media and advertising. Pepsi supplies its concentrates to restaurants that they have contracts with. Another market segment that Pepsi targets are grade schools, colleges and universities. PepsiCo main suppliers include; Sandora, Sadochok and Toma juice brands which supply Pepsi’s concentrate, while G.D Searle and company supplies PepsiCo with NutraSweet for PepsiCo diet soft drinks. Ball Metal Beverage Packaging produces Pepsi’s aluminum cans. Amcor produces PETS for Pepsi. It also manufactures plastic bottles for Gatorade (Wyatts, 2012). PepsiCo products generate approximately $108 billion in cumulative annual retail sales. Here are PepsiCo products which had revenues of over $1 billion as of 2009; Pepsi cola, Mountain Dew, Lays, Gatorade, Tropicana, 7up, Doritos, Lipton teas, Quaker foods, Cheetos, Miranda , Ruffles, Aquafina, Pepsi max, Tostitos, Sierra mist, Fritos and Walker’s. PepsiCo foods generated 63% of the net worldwide revenues while 37% of the revenue came from beverages in 2012. Pepsi brand generated the most revenues with about $20 billion in revenues, followed by mountain dew with around $12 billion, the others followed in the order they are listed in above with Walker’s potato chips being the last of the 21 brands listed above. PepsiCo distributes its own product in parts of Europe while it uses contract manufacturers in other areas (PepsiCo, 2013). The main target markets for PepsiCo include the age group 14-30 which has always been the main target market for Pepsi. Historically, Pepsi has always targeted teens with heavy advertising, teen-oriented ads. Coca-Cola customers include large international chains of retailers and restaurants and small independent  businesses. Coca-Cola works with them equally to create mutual benefit. Together with their bottling partners, they serve their customers through account management teams, providing services and support tailored to their needs. Coca-Cola’s suppliers offer different services from packaging, information technology services, bottles and package labeling. The Coca-Cola Company’s main suppliers include; Alcan packaging which offers plastic bottle labels, Alcoa plastic caps, and Cannon provides steam boilers, water treatment systems and plastic products. EDS provides information technology services to Coca- cola for its operation in Latin America. Coca-Cola purchases syrups and concentrates from TCCC and other licensors to manufacture products. They also purchase their raw materials, other than concentrates, syrups, mineral waters, and sweeteners, from multiple suppliers. The beverage agreements with TCCC provide that all authorized containers, closures, cases, cartons and other packages, and labels for the products of TCCC must be purchased from manufacturers approved by TCCC. Leadership at PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is the CEO of Pepsi she describes her leadership style as â€Å"Performance with Purpose,† a mantra that has become central to the PepsiCo journey over these past seven years. Nooyi has chronicled five leadership lessons that together form the roadmap for global leaders in the 21st century (Snyder, 2013). 1. Balance the short-term and long-term. Today’s leaders are, all too often, driven only by short-term quarterly results, yielding decisions that are counterproductive for the longer-term health of the organization and society. Effective leaders must strike a balance. 2. Develop a deep understanding of public/private partnerships. Nooyi points out that many private sector leaders treat the public sector (NGOs, governments) as the enemy—and vice versa. † She believes that NGO leaders do their jobs as a â€Å"labor of love.†Ã‚  Treating them with respect and understanding, as opposed to distain and condescension can go a long way (Snyder, 2013). 3. Think global, act local. Nooyi argues this is not an outdated clichà ©, but instead, sounds advice that can yield innovative, out-of-the box solutions. She showed part of a nine-minute commercial video, produced for the 2012 Chinese New Year. 4. Keep an open mind to adapt to changes. The art of asking probing questions to facilitate dialog and exploration. All-too-often, leaders close their minds to dissent, cutting off much needed debate. To lead in an ever-changing world, Nooyi  says, leaders must adapt and stay nimble (Snyder, 2013). 5. Lead with your head and your heart. Leaders must develop deep emotional intelligence, and bring â€Å"their whole selves to work every day.† They must continually remind themselves that everyone who works for them is a unique human being and seek to strengthen this human connection and bond. Leadership at Coca-Cola is expected from the CEO Muhtar Kent. He runs his company by being an entrepreneur and focusing on cash. He calls his leadership philosophy constructively discontent. (Bhasin, 2012). – According to Kent his preferred description of his leadership – means Its all about an entrepreneurial mentality. Injecting entrepreneurial religion involves getting Cokes 146,000 employees to think like owners. â€Å"People need to feel like they are chasing pennies down the hallway.† Its about the respect for cash,† Kent told Sellers. His devotion to that manifests itself in many ways. For instance: And at Coke, managers have to pay $15 a month if they want to use their cellphones for personal calls (and yes, that rule applies to the CEO too). When you dont see cash, all sorts of things go wrong, he told Sellers. You overspend as an individual and overspend as a company. Kent suggests that people need to be connected with the cash impact of choices and decisions in order to make rational choices. 2. Based on the stock price for the timeline listed below, present a graph that illustrates the stock price of each company. Indicate conclusions that can be drawn based on the trend: a. The day of its initial public offering b. January 1, 2012 c. January 1, 2011 d. January 1, 2010 PepsiCo’s initial public offering was $23 a share in 1999. Coca-Cola’s initial public offering was in 1919, by a consortium of businessmen led by Ernest Woodruff, Robert W. Woodruffs father, purchased The Coca-Cola Company for $25 million. The business was re-incorporated as a Delaware Corporation and its stock was put on public sale on the New York Stock Exchange, with common stock at $40 per share, and preferred stock at $100 per share. The chart below shows the changes in the stock prices of the organization from January 1, 2010, January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012. While PepsiCo has outgrown Coca-Cola in terms of revenue over the last five years, Coke is doing better than its rival when it comes to earnings-per-share growth over the same period. Coke has considerably higher profit margins than Pepsi, in the area of 21.8% at the op Even if both companies have seen decreasing margins due to bottler acquisitions over the last years, Cokes dominance in drinks seems to provide an advantage when it comes to margins on sales. As incomes rise, so does health awareness. But does any of this actually matter to Coke and Pepsi shareholders? Pricing here is complicated. Coke may have the most valuable brand in the world, and Pepsi’s brands are also quite valuable. It is the value of these brands that allows the stocks to trade at premiums to the market even while their basic products are seeing weak demand. 3. Research and summarize at least two (2) news events (this may include mergers, acquisitions, or political issues) that occurred from 2010 to the present day and the potential impact on the stock price of each company. Indicate how this influences your investment decision related to the company. Events that occurred in 2013 and the potential impact to be on the stock price for both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. A New York Times article, published October 1st 2013 by Keith Bradsher, expressed concern about land grabs related to the sugar industry and the companies that supplied from it. The advocacy group Oxfam has accused three big international food companies of buying sugar from what they described as a plantation that had unfairly taken land from farmers in Cambodia and Brazil without proper compensation (Bradsher, 2013). Oxfam, called on the food and beverage companies to disclose more about the sources of their sugar supplies. It contended in a report that sugar, soybeans and palm oi l were the three crops producing the fiercest competition for land by large, often foreign, investors. The group’s report assailed three companies by name: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods. Coca-Cola stated that it asked suppliers â€Å"to recognize and safeguard the rights of communities and traditional peoples to maintain access to land and natural resources. According to† Amanda Rosseter, a company spokeswoman, Coca-Cola does not buy sugar directly from farms but from larger suppliers. These purchases have included buying from Tate Lyle Sugars, which in turn has bought limited quantities from Cambodia, but Tate Lyle Sugars has already said that it has no further plans to buy from Cambodia. PepsiCo stated in a  statement that it also paid attention to social responsibility issues in its contracting. The company added that it had â€Å"reached out to the suppliers; they have assured us they are in compliance with applicable laws.† How will it impact the stock price of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo being associated with the idea of taking land away from indigenous poor people so they have access to cheap sources of sugar? In another New York Times article published December 12th 2013 by Stephanie Strom, PepsiCo sealed an unusual deal that goes far beyond the soda wars, PepsiCo is expected to announce soon that it is unseating Coca-Cola as the beverage supplier to one of the nation’s hottest restaurant chains, Buffalo Wild Wings (Strom, 2013). The deal, which will start with the introduction of Pepsi, Mountain Dew and other drink brands in 2014, is the biggest sign so far of how PepsiCo is deploying its thriving snacks business and Quaker, which it also owns, to offset declines in its traditional soda business. â€Å"But what this partnership does is give Buffalo Wild Wings a full access pass to all that PepsiCo has to offer.† And the deal also allows Buffalo Wild Wings to capitalize on PepsiCo’s relationships with major sports organizations like the National Football League and Major League Baseball. 4. Provide an overall financial analysis for each company that highlights the key characteristics for investment and how this may impact an investor’s decision. While PepsiCo has outgrown Coca-Cola in terms of revenue over the last five years, Coke is doing better than its rival when it comes to earnings-per-share growth over the same period. Coke has considerably higher profit margins than Pepsi, in the area of 21.8% at the operating level for the soda giant versus 14.3% for the salty snacks leader. Even if both companies have seen decreasing margins due to bottler acquisitions over the last years, Cokes dominance in drinks seems to provide an advantage when it comes to margins on sales. Coca-Cola has also done better than PepsiCo in terms of reducing share count via stock buybacks; the company has reduced the amount of shares outstanding by 4.6% over the last five years while Pepsi has not managed to reduce its share count by more than 1.3% over that period. On the other hand, the trend could be reversing in the middle term as Pepsis buyback program for 2013 will likely have a bigger impact on shareholders returns. As of the third quarter of 2013 Coke had spent $2.8  billion in stock buybacks during the first nine months of the year, and the company is planning to end 2013 with a repurchase of between $3.0 billion and $3.5 billion for the full year. Pepsi is planning to end 2013 with nearly $3 billion in buybacks. Even if Coke repurchases $3.5 billion during the year, that would represent roughly 2% of the companys $174.8 billion market cap. While Pepsis buyback would still be smaller in absolute terms, $3 billion would account for a slightly higher 2.3% of the co mpanys market value around $130.1 billion. Cokes buyback program has been bigger in recent years, but the company may be losing that advantage over PepsiCo in 2013, so its hard to tell which company will return more capital to shareholders via repurchases in the coming years. 5. Based on your review of the financial data for each company, indicate the accuracy and reliability of the data for making investment decision. Provide support for your conclusion. When the ratios of the two companies are compared, Coca Cola has a higher return on asset ratio, a higher dividend yield and a higher dividend growth rate over the last five years. Coca Cola also has a higher P/E ratio but PepsiCo has a higher EPS compared to Coca Cola. From the above information I would advise an investor to buy Coca Cola stock as compared to PepsiCo. My recommendation is based on expected earnings from the stock in terms of dividends and dividend yield, return on assets and the P/E ratio. A higher return on assets shows that a company is utilizing its assets effectively and efficiently in generating earnings. A higher P/E ratio also shows that the investors expect more earnings from the stock. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are Dividend Aristocrats, meaning they have been able to increase dividends over the last 25 consecutive years. Coke has an amazing track record of 51 consecutive dividend increases in a row, while Pepsi has a smaller but still impressive trajectory of 41 consecutive dividend increases. When it comes to dividend growth, however, Coke has a better trajectory than Pepsi over the long term, and the company also delivered a bigger increase for 2013 with a 10% hike versus Pepsis 6% dividend rise for the year. 6. Recommend which company you consider as the better investment for your client and how you will present your recommendation. Support your recommendation with data from your analysis. Recommendations for Investment In order to make an investment in a particular organization, it is necessary for the investors to make sure  that, the investors consider certain key things. The points to be considered by the investors include earning per share, net income and trend in movement of the price of the security of the organization (Pogue, 2010). The price of the stock of the organization Coca Cola Company is $37.67 whereas; the price of stock of PepsiCo is $70.27. This shows that, PepsiCo has a better stock price in comparison to Coca Cola. The earnings per share of PepsiCo is $3.76 whereas, the earnings per share of Coca Cola Company is $1.91. PepsiCo has net income of $6443000 whereas; Coca Cola Company has net income of $8572000. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have earned their rights to be among the most popular dividend growth names in the market due to their rock-solid competitive strengths and time-tested dividend growth trajectories. However, Coke has been able to deliver superior dividend growth over the last few years thanks to its higher profitability and earnings growth rates. Valuations are very similar so, for the same price of a Pepsi, Im having a Coke. Therefore, from this, one can make a conclusion on the expected future earnings and capital gains. The information deducted from the ratios presented above show that Coca Cola is the best buy. This therefore, shows that before buying a stock there is a rigorous exercise that must be undertaken to gather financial information and from that deduct the effect that information will have on the stock prices. (Cardenal, 2013). References 1. Bhasin, Kim (2012). Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent Explains Why Everythings All About Cash. Retrieved on March 14, 2014 http://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-ceo-muhtar-kents-leadership-philosophy-2012-5 2. Bradsher, Keith (2013). Worried About Land Grabs, Group Presses 3 Corporations to Disclose Sugar Purchases. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/3-corporations-pressed-to-disclose-data-on-sugar-purchases.html?ref=pepsicoinc_r=0 3. Cardenal, Andres (2013) Better Buy: Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/06/better-buy-coca-cola-vs-pepsico.aspx 4. -Cola (2013). Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/ratios.asp? 5. â€Å"History of Pepsi vs. Coke Rivalry at Rivals4Ever†. Rivals4ever.com.

The issue of prostitution Essay Example for Free

The issue of prostitution Essay The issue of prostitution is usually treated and represented in two different ways – the adherents of traditional values unambiguously label this phenomenon as appalling vice that is in full discord with normal, let alone pious, life. They point out at the results the oldest profession produces on an individual who gives or gets that service, and on a society with all its moral principles, ethical standards, requirements and taboos. Sexually transmitted diseases, human trafficking, slavery, personal degradation and other by-products of prostitution are quite strong arguments for its prohibition or, at least, severe limitation. The second approach is liberal-like, it posits the legitimacy of prostitution appealing to the freedom of choice, pluralism, natural needs and even the inevitability of eradicating this kind of service. It is often said that women choose that occupation themselves, and men are not forced to visit them – everything is based on the free will of both parties, and the others, those who are not envolved in it, should not have any concerns for that. Nickie Roberts, for instance, writes that â€Å"it is implicit in the demand that the women have control over their own bodies that they also have their rights to sell their own sexual services, if they wish to† (qtd. in Jeffreys 129-130). Claiming to support freedom, such a position in fact justifies prostitution with the help of liberal, pluralistic rhetoric, and it does not seem to be sincere as it predominantly focuses on the apology of prostitution after general introductory declarations about freedom, choice etc. Thus, the prevailing argument in a pro-prostitution discourse is â€Å"choice†. Let us have a more careful look at the sphere of â€Å"sexual services† (ibid. ). Do all those women really appeared in that position completely voluntarily, or maybe they have been dreaming of that profession since their childhood and their dreams have successfully come true? I guess the 15-year-old girl from New York was not intending to be advertised on Craigslist for prostitution in Maryland, she was going to Montgomery County â€Å"for a modeling photo shoot† (Morse). There cannot be seen any free choice in Jasmine Caldwell’s returning to the street after escaping her pimp and being abused by a policemen as well (Kristof). And how many other adult and especially juvenile females are decoyed or forced into prostitution? They are not able to exercise their right to leave that sphere and lifestyle. These victims are the main imputation against justifying the sphere of sexual services. Some people regard any woman as a potential prostitute, e. g. in Schopenhauer’s Studies in Pessimism we may read – in the chapter â€Å"On women† – the statements like â€Å"it is also revolting that she [a woman] should spend her husband’s money with her paramours – the money for which he toiled his whole life long, in the consoling belief that he was providing for his children† and other ones emphasizing the base intentions and motives of the women (62-75). Although such statements are grounded on his experience, such generalizations are unfair, and they insult the dominant majority of women. The inevitability of prostitution, the fact that â€Å"street sweeps do not reduce prostitution† (Petrocelli), the legalization of brothels in Nevada (Powers) are not a reason to stop limiting and struggling with this detestable phenomenon of our life. It is far from being â€Å"victimless† (Goldman 92) and even those who are willingly engaged in such services do not feel safe as their basic rights are being constantly infringed (Slayton). Prostitution is a serious deviation from the natural demands and needs of women, it deprives them of matrimony, they do not experience the happiness of maternity, they are even bereft of a chance to be independent singles making real free choice at every moment of their life – what to do, where to go, when to have free time and the like. Beyond prostitution, a woman faces a prospect of multifarious lifestyles, manifold occupations and hobbies, various possibilities. Direct opposite is the life in the street – a dull, routine slavery that destroys both body and soul, and inflicts harm to the people around. Works Cited Goldman, Mimi. â€Å"Prostitution in America. † Crime and Social Justice 2 (1974): 90-93. Jeffreys, Sheila. The Idea of Prostitution. Melbourne: Spinifex, 2009. Kristof, Nicholas D. â€Å"Girls on our streets. † The New York Times. 6 May 2009. Web. 9 May 2010. http://www. nytimes. com/2009/05/07/opinion/07kristof. html? _r=1. Morse, Dan. â€Å"Montgomery police arrest three in human trafficking, prostitution cases. † The Washington Post. 2 March 2010. Web. 9 May 2010. http://voices. washingtonpost. com/crime-scene/montgomery/montgomery-police-three-human. html. Petrocelli, Joseph. â€Å"Street prostitution. † Police Magazine. 1 February 2009. Web. 9 May 2010. http://www. policemag. com/Channel/Patrol/Articles/2009/02/Street-Prostitution. aspx . Powers, Ashley. â€Å"Male prostitution is Nevada’s newest legal profession. † Los Angeles Times. 6 January 2010. Web. 9 May 2010. http://articles. latimes. com/2010/jan/06/nation/la-na-male-prostitutes6-2010jan06. Schopenhauer, Arthur. Studies in Pessimism. Trans. Bailey Saunders. New York: Cosimo, 2007. Slayton, Philip. â€Å"A trial in error? Why should a Toronto court decide Canada’s prostitution laws? † Macleans. 24 December 2009. Web. 9 May 2010. http://www2. macleans. ca/tag/prostitution-laws/ .

Dictyostelium as a Predictive Model for Bitter Tastant

Dictyostelium as a Predictive Model for Bitter Tastant Developing Dictyostelium as a Predictive Model for Bitter Tastant Identification INTRODUCTION Bitter tastant (emetic) research utilises a variety of animal models for the identification of the emetic susceptibility of novel compounds and aim to characterise the underlining mechanisms that give rise to emesis. There are two categories of animals used in this type of research, those that have the ability to vomit (ferrets, dogs and cats), and those that lack the emetic reflex (rats and mice) (Holmes et al., 2009). In addition to this, there is a different sensitivity to emetic compounds amongst these animal models, due to the existence of multiple pathways for the emesis induction. There are also differences in the receptor pharmacology and distribution, and metabolic pathway regulation. This makes it very hard to use a unique animal model for emetic research, pushing research towards a multi-model approach, therefore increasing the utilisation of animals (Robery et al., 2011). Ingestion of bitter tastants can lead to innate aversive behaviour, reduced gastric emptying, nausea and vomiting in mammals and as such bitter tastants are thought to provide a potentially vital warning sign of toxicity (Robery et al., 2011). Humans recognise thousands of different compounds as bitter. Despite this ability only around 25 taste 2 receptors (TAS2R) have been identified. Common bitter ligands include cycloheximide, denatonium, PROP (6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil), PTU (phenylthiourea), and ÃŽ ²-glucopyranosides (Meyerhof et al., 2010). As previously stated, bitter substances are detected by a specific subset of taste receptors, known as BITTER TASTE-SENSING TYPE 2 receptors (TAS2Rs) (Meyerhof et al., 2010). These are part of the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and can be found on cell surface that mediate gustatory taste perception on the tongue. Signal transduction of bitter stimuli is accomplished via the ÃŽ ±-subunit of gustducin (Gulbransen et al., 2009). This G protein subunit activates a taste phosphodiesterase and decreases cyclic nucleotide levels. The ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ³-subunit of gustducin also mediates taste by activating IP3 (inositol triphosphate) and DAG (diglyceride). These second messengers may open gated ion channels or may cause release of internal calcium. Although all TAS2Rs are located in gustducin-containing cells, knockout of gustducin does not completely abolish sensitivity to bitter compounds, suggesting a redundant mechanism for bitter tasting (unsurprising given that a bitter tas te generally signals the presence of a toxin). One proposed mechanism for gustducin-independent bitter tasting is via ion channel interaction by specific bitter ligands, similar to the ion channel interaction which occurs in the tasting of sour and salty stimuli (Gulbransen et al., 2009). The properties of TAS2Rs are different from other GPCRs, because of the ability of binding a wide range of compounds with low specificity and affinity. TAS2Rs have recently been suggested to have important extra-oral functions in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. In the human airway epithelium TAS2Rs are expressed on the solitary chemosensory cells and ciliated epithelial cells, where they sense chemical irritation and promote ciliary beat frequency, respectively. Thus TAS2Rs may be protective and part of the defence against inhaled noxious compounds (Zhang et al., 2013). Recent studies have found that in resting primary airway smooth muscle cells, bitter tastant activate TAS2R-dependent signalling pathway that results in an increase in [Ca2+]i levels, although to a level much lower than that caused by bronchoconstrictors (2-adrenoceptor agonist) (Zhang et al., 2013). Under physiological circumstances, bitter tastants can activate TAS2Rs to modestly increase [Ca2+]i levels without affecting contraction, but in the situation of muscle constriction, they can block L-type calcium channels to induce bronchodilation (Zhang et al., 2013). TAS2R agonists showed both greater relaxation and inhibition of airway hyper-responsiveness than a ÃŽ ²2-adrenoceptor agonist in mouse airways. Given the large selection of known natural and synthetic agonists recognized by the 25 TAS2Rs, the findings have introduced bitter taste receptors as a potential new family of targets for asthma pharmacotherapy (Zhang et al., 2013). Dictyostelium as  a biomedical model organism D. Discoideum is a well-established research model organism, especially in investigating chemotaxis. D. Discoideum is a social amoeba that feeds on bacteria as its staple food source. Once the food supply is exhausted, cells start a developmental program leading to the production of spores that are able to survive in hostile conditions (Frey et al., 2007). Starving cells produce a chemo-attractant, cyclic AMP (cAMP), which serves as a signal for 1 x 105 neighbouring cells to aggregate, which then develop into a mature fruiting body (after 24 hours), where 20% of the cells form a stalk that supports a spore head incorporating 80% of the remaining cells as spores. When food sources are available again, the spores germinate into amoebae, completing the life cycle (Figure 1) (Frey et al., 2007). (Frey et al., 2007) Figure 1 D. Discoideum, develops from a single vegetative amoebae (0hrs) through to the generation of the mature fruiting body (24hrs). Aggregation is caused by the chemotaxis of cells toward cAMP waves to give rise to a multicellular aggregate. Aggregation results in the creation of a mound, then a tipped mound, and as development proceeds, the tip prolongate and forms a finger. Ultimately, the finger collapses to form a slug or continues to form a fruiting body. During final stage of the development, the cells differentiate into vacuolated stalk cells that sustain a spore head containing spores, which can tolerate a wider range of environmental conditions. The full developmental process from starvation of vegetative cells to the formation of a mature fruiting body is accomplished in 24 h (Frey et al. 2007). D. Discodeum has been extensively utilised to investigate a range of fundamental biological processes such as cell migration, signal transduction, phagocytosis and signalling during morphogenesis and cell differentiation. The fully sequenced genome contains 34 Mb of DNA (84-fold smaller than the human genome). D. Discoideum has a genome that encodes for a variety of proteins that are human homologues, associated with a variety of disorders (Boeckeler et al., 2007). Therefore, it has been suggested that the primary role of those proteins can be analysed in the model to understand their related disease function. Nausea and vomiting are common but serious side effects associated with many therapeutic drugs. Whilst the physiological mechanisms behind the generation of the vomiting response are well characterised, the diverse range of emetic stimuli that can generate the response are poorly understood. The potential of using D. Discoideum, a eukaryotic amoeba, as a model for predicting emetic liability was examined in this thesis. The effects of a diverse range of known emetic and aversive compounds on Dictyostelium cell behaviour was investigated, resulting in the identification of a small number that strongly inhibit cell behaviour in a concentration-dependent manner. Recent studies using Dictyostelium as a simple model system for bitter related (emetic) research has shown the validity of using this approach for the reduction of animals in testing for emetic liability. Even though Dictyostelium does not contain genes encoding homologues to T2R proteins associated with bitter compounds detection, it has been identified the molecular mechanism responsible of PTU detection. The screening of mutants resistant to the effects of PTU on growth identified a putative G-protein coupled receptor mutant, GrlJ-. Translation of this discovery to human context identified an uncharacterised human gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type B isoform, with a relatively weak homology to GrlJ. The expression of the human GABA-B receptor restored GrlJ- sensitivity to PTU, implicating this human protein as a novel receptor for PTU. In addition, GrlJ only partially controls PTU detection but not detection for all bitter substances. This research was carried out by monitoring the cell behaviour (motility, circularity, protrusions formation and displacement) following exposure to a range of known emetic compounds. Results show that bitter tastants cause an acute, marked and concentration dependent effect on cell behaviour. Therefore, this suggests that Dictyostelium may guarantee a new model for the analysis and screening of novel bitter/emetic compounds, and therefore reducing the utilisation of animal models by identifying the best candidates in a range of molecules. In this study a range of eight compounds were tested to investigate their effects on Dictyostelium random cell movement. The compounds list was specifically created to understand if the model system was able to predict the bitterness of those compounds and ultimately obtain a ranking order comparable to the in vivo rat brief access taste aversion (BATA) and human sensory panel models (Rudnitskaya, et al., 2013). The set of substances consisted of both organic and inorganic – azelastine, caffeine, chlorhexidine, potassium nitrate, paracetamol, quinine and sumatriptan. Results have shown that the bitterness ranking order obtained by using random cell movement assays was comparable to the one obtained with the BATA and the human sensory panel models. In particular, amongst those compounds, Azelastine, a selective (non-sedating) H1 antagonist structurally similar to other anti-histaminic molecules has shown to be one of the most potent compounds in the inhibition of Dictyostelium cell behaviour. This bitter-tasting compound is pharmacologically classified as a 2gen antihistamine, with relative lack of CNS (central nervous system) activity. Clinical trials, in vitro and in vivo studies have shown the combined effect of direct inhibition and stabilisation of inflammatory cells. In vitro studies suggest that the affinity of azelastine for H1 receptors is several times higher than that of chlorpheniramine, a 1gen H1 antagonist. Azelastine directly antagonizes TNF-ÃŽ ±, leukotrienes, endothelin-1, and platlet-activating factor. In vivo studies in a guinea pig model have demonstrated that both histamine-related and h-independent bronchoconstriction were inhibited by azelastine (Williams et al., 2010). The second most potent compound tested is Chlorhexidine (CHX), a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent, frequently used in dental-care to inhibit bacterial growth and in periodontal disease prophylaxis. It is classified as antibacterial, but it can also interfere with the proteolytic activity of some periodontal pathogens. This inhibitory effect is associated with its chelating properties (Trufello et al., 2014). One of the chemicals used as standard for bitterness measurements is Quinine, a natural occurring alkaloid with different medicinal properties, such as antipyretic, antimalarial, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities. Methods D. discoideum discoideum maintenance Cells and spores were stored at -80  ºC, and every month an aliquot of the frozen stock was collected and placed on a Raoutella planticola bacterial lawn. After 3-4 days, plaques of growth were visible, which were then scraped and transferred into liquid dishes. Culture dishes were kept in absolute sterile conditions at the constant temperature of 21  ºC. Cells needed for experiments were transferred into shaking cultures (120 rpm/min) or washed off every 2 days. In order to make shaking cultures, cells were washed off the plate, transferred to a G0 media (Ax medium containing 100 µ/ml Penicillin and 100 µg/ml Streptomicin), and kept in the shaking incubator at 21  ºC and counted and or diluted every day. Cells were utilised for experiments after 2-3 days of shaking and flasks were kept for one week before replacing them with fresh cultures. The liquid content in flasks was 1/5 of the total flask volume, in order to maintain ideal growth conditions (oxygen and surface area) , and they were be kept between 2 and 5 x 106. Development assay Dictyostelium development assays were performed in triplicate experiments. Cells were plated onto membranes at the concentration of 1 x 107 per membrane (in KK2), then the membranes were transferred onto millipore filters embedded with the selected drug. Cells were placed in small petri dishes (6 cm diameter) and kept at 22  ºC for 24 hours in humid environmental conditions. Development images were taken after 24 hours at different magnification resolutions (x2, x3.2, and x4 side at 45-degree angle). D. discoideum Permanent stock At least 1 x 107 cells were collected from fresh culture plate, and resuspendend in 200ÃŽ ¼l D. discodeum freezing medium (7% DMSO, Horse serum), and frozen to -80 ºC using isopropanol freezing containers for two hours, then stored at -80  ºC in liquid nitrogen. Live cell microscopy To prepare D. discodeum cells (Ax2) for behaviour analysis experiments, cells were grown in shaking suspension in Axenic medium (Formedium Co. Ltd, Norfolk, UK) for at least 48hrs. Cells were washed and resuspended in phosphate buffer at 1.7 x 106 cells/ml. Cells were then pulsed for 5 hours with 30 nM cAMP at 6 min intervals whilst shaking at 120 rpm. Cells were then washed in phosphate buffer, resuspended at 1.7105 cells/ml, and 250  µL aliquots of cells were added to into a Lab-Tek 8-well chambered coverglass wells (Thermo Fisher, Leicestershire, UK), and allowed to adhere for 10-15 min, and for each experiment double concentrated drugs (250  µl) were administrated at the 15th frame by using a P1000. Cells movement was investigated using an Olympus IX71 microscope at 40X magnification, and images were recorded with a QImaging RetigaExi Fast1394 digital camera. Images were acquired every 15 seconds over a 15 min period for each compound, and at each concentration, with a minimu m of three independent experiments for each drug/concentration and an average cell number of 10 cells quantified per experiment. Solvent only controls were carried out for all experiments to ensure readouts were based upon compounds listed, with for example, no effect of DMSO shown at 1% – the highest concentration used in the experiments described here. References Ayana Wiener; Marina Shudler; Anat Levit; Masha Y. Niv. BitterDB: a database of bitter compounds. Nucleic Acids Res 2012, 40(Database issue):D413-419. Bachmanov AA, Beauchamp GK (2007). Taste Receptor Genes. Annual Review of Nutrition 27: 389–414. Choi, D.H. et al., 2013. Evaluation of taste-masking effects of pharmaceutical sweeteners with an electronic tongue system. Drug development and industrial pharmacy, 9045, pp.1–10. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23786206 [Accessed October 10, 2013]. Finger, T.E. Kinnamon, S.C., 2011. Taste isn’t just for taste buds anymore. F1000 biology reports, 3(September), p.20. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3169900tool=pmcentrezrendertype=abstract [Accessed December 9, 2013]. Finger, T.E. Kinnamon, S.C., 2011. Taste isn’t just for taste buds anymore. F1000 biology reports, 3(September), p.20. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3169900tool=pmcentrezrendertype=abstract [Accessed December 9, 2013]. Gulbransen, B. D., Clapp, T. R., Kinnamon, S. C., Finger, T. E. (2009). NIH Public Access, 99(6), 2929–2937. doi:10.1152/jn.00066.2008.Nasal Holmes, a M., Rudd, J. a, Tattersall, F. D., Aziz, Q., Andrews, P. L. R. (2009). Opportunities for the replacement of animals in the study of nausea and vomiting. British Journal of Pharmacology, 157(6), 865–80. doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.2009.00176.x Margolskee, R.F., 2002. Molecular mechanisms of bitter and sweet taste transduction. The Journal of biological chemistry, 277(1), pp.1–4. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11696554 [Accessed December 4, 2013]. Meyerhof, W. et al., 2010. The molecular receptive ranges of human TAS2R bitter taste receptors. Chemical senses, 35(2), pp.157–70. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20022913 [Accessed October 17, 2013]. Pulkkinen, V. et al., 2012. The bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) agonists denatonium and chloroquine display distinct patterns of relaxation of the guinea pig trachea. American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 303(11), pp.L956–66. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22962016 [Accessed September 19, 2013]. Pulkkinen, V. et al., 2012. The bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) agonists denatonium and chloroquine display distinct patterns of relaxation of the guinea pig trachea. American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 303(11), pp.L956–66. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22962016 [Accessed September 19, 2013]. Robery, S. et al., 2011. Investigating the effect of emetic compounds on chemotaxis in Dictyostelium identifies a non-sentient model for bitter and hot tastant research. PloS one, 6(9), p.e24439. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3169598tool=pmcentrezrendertype=abstract [Accessed October 10, 2013]. Rudnitskaya, A. et al., 2013. Assessment of bitter taste of pharmaceuticals with multisensor system employing 3 way PLS regression. Analytica chimica acta, 770, pp.45–52. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23498685 [Accessed October 10, 2013]. Ueda, T. et al., 2003. Functional interaction between T2R taste receptors and G-protein alpha subunits expressed in taste receptor cells. The Journal of neuroscienceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 23(19), pp.7376–80. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12917372. Wiener, A. et al., 2012. BitterDB: a database of bitter compounds. Nucleic acids research, 40(Database issue), pp.D413–9. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3245057tool=pmcentrezrendertype=abstract [Accessed October 17, 2013]. Williams, P.B., Crandall, E. Sheppard, J.D., 2010. Azelastine hydrochloride, a dual-acting anti-inflammatory ophthalmic solution, for treatment of allergic conjunctivitis. Clinical Ophthalmology, p.993. Available at: http://www.dovepress.com/azelastine-hydrochloride-a-dual-acting-anti-inflammatory-ophthalmic-so-peer-reviewed-article-OPTH [Accessed February 3, 2014]. Zhang, C.-H., Lifshitz, L. M., Uy, K. F., Ikebe, M., Fogarty, K. E., ZhuGe, R. (2013). The cellular and molecular basis of bitter tastant-induced bronchodilation. PLoS Biology, 11(3), e1001501. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001501 Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3589262tool=pmcentrezrendertype=abstract [Accessed October 15, 2013]. Trufello, a M. et al., 2014. Subclinical concentrations of chlorhexidine inhibit gelatinase activity of carious dentine in vitro. Australian dental journal, pp.1–6. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24494744 [Accessed February 10, 2014].

The Morphing of Child Pornography Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research

Morphing of Child Porn      Ã‚   At issue before the Circuit Courts has been the constitutionality of the 1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) in which Congress sought to modernize federal law by enhancing its ability to combat child pornography in the cyberspace era(Free Speech). There is a split in the circuit courts regarding this bill, and this essay will address the discrepancy.    This piece of legislation classifies an image that "appears to be" or "conveys the impression" of a minor engaging in sexually explicit acts as "virtual" child pornography. Such images include a photograph of a real child that may be scanned, replicated and manipulated by computer to create a sexually-oriented photo, or a wholly fake child that may be generated solely by computer graphics.    Congress recognized a loophole in the child pornography law, in that technological improvements have made it possible for child pornographers to use computers to "morph" or alter innocent images of actual children to create a composite image showing them in sexually explicit poses. With this in mind Congress intended to (1) ban computer-generated images that are "virtually indistinguishable" from those of real children, (2) to protect the privacy of actual children whose innocuous images are altered to create sexually explicit images and (3) to deprive child abusers of a "criminal tool" frequently used to facilitate the sexual abuse of children.    On December 17, 1999, in Free Speech Coalition v. Reno, the Ninth Circuit struck down the law as a content-based restriction on protected speech not in furtherance of any compelling governmental interest because the prohibited images are not of actual children. According to that C... ...guage of the statute "sufficiently narrowly tailored to promote the compelling government interest in preventing harm to actual children, based on substantiated Congressional findings that virtual pornography was used to seduce actual children into sexual activity, and thus comported with free speech guarantees."    WORKS CITED: Eleventh Circuit Opinions.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/nov99/ Free Speech Coalition v. Reno, 198 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 1999), United States v. Hilton, 167 F.3d 61 (1st Cir. 1999), United States v. Acheson, 195 F.3d 645 (11th Cir. 1999), and United States v. Pearl, 89 F.Supp.2d 1237 (D.Utah 2000). Holder v. Free Speech Coalition, Docket No. 00-795).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/docket/features2001.html United States v Hilton  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.law.emory.edu/1circuit/july2001/00-2545.01a.html

Helen as Angel and Rebel in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Essay -- Tenan

Helen as Angel and Rebel in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall In nineteenth century England, the lives of men and women were completely different. The women had very few - or no - rights and the man had absolute power over his wife and children. He even had the rights to his wife's income or heritage! The only acceptable way for a woman to lead her life was to be a social character, a supporting wife and loving mother, so to speak an "angel in the house". The term "the angel in the house" refers to Coventry Patmore's poem with the same name. The poem depicts the ideal of a loving, unselfish, (sexually) passive and sensitive woman, who was religious and devoted to please her husband: "Man must be please; but him to please, is woman's pleasure --- And if he once, by shame oppress'd [sic!], a comfortable word confers, she leans and weeps against his breast, and seems to think the sin was hers --- she loves with love that cannot tire...". This was the only acceptable way of life for a woman and in this essay I discuss whether Helen Graham should be described as an angel or a rebel, and to what extent she fulfils the criteria for a woman's mission in nineteenth century England. What exactly was women's mission during the nineteenth century? The answer to this question can be found in the many so-called conduct books, which were written by women for women during the nineteenth century. These books were written for the middle-class and stated how a woman should act and behave. The conclusion we can draw from these books is that a woman's duty and mission in life was to be the religious and moral part of the household, to be a good mother and a supporting and caring wife. One author who wrote on the subject of woman's mission and dut... ...tions in order to save her offspring from growing up under his father's influence. She would probably have stood by her husband even longer if it had not been for their son. By later returning to her sick husband, she once again takes on the role of a "good wife", but shows no remorse to what she has done. When he dies, Helen is finally rewarded by knowing that she has fulfilled her duty as his wife and her mission as a woman and can go on with her life and the happiness that awaits her. In my opinion, she is a true heroine and an angel-like rebel.    Bibliography: Brontà «, Anne. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Ellis, Sarah Stickney: The women of England Patmore, Coventry: "The Angel in the House" from Representations of women in Whitman and his culture. http://www.wam.umd.edu/~heidkamp/women.html (Internet). Oct 15, 2000. Perkin, Joan: Victorian women

In Patagonia Summary :: essays research papers

In Patagonia is one of the more interesting books that I've read lately. It's the only book that I know of that crosses theives with archaeology. It is mainly a collection of Bruce Chatwin's logs and descriptions of his travels in the South American frontier in the late 70's and early 80's (during the Cold War), filled also with short stories and vignettes. Some of them are true, though some mix the facts with fiction. Chatwin leaves these stories hanging and ties most of them back together in the end. Chatwin tells of the lives of the people in Patagonia with much detail. He goes into much detail describing the poor Welsh, Scottish, English, and Italian farmers. Since farmers make up most of Patagonia's workforce, Chatwin stays with quite a few them and learns about the culture, history, and heritage of Patagonia. Many of the generous people he lodges with were outcasts or exiled from their own country and told him the fascinating stories of their own lives and how they came to be in Patagonia. They also tell the riveting stories of the rich Patagonian borderland, where theives and criminals run wild. One such pair of criminals was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They committed all sorts of crimes including larceny and murder (though Butch Cassidy never killed a man until late in his crooked career). After committing many crimes in Utah, they travelled down to South America to avoid the law. In Patagonia also depicts the captivating history of the Archaeological findings and the many discoveries that have been made in parts of South America. The book starts off with a remenisence of Chatwin playing with his grandmother's "brontosaurus skin". This is what sparked his desire to search the South Americas. The English sailor Charley Milward had found it originally. Then he reported it to a major archaeologist at that time by the name of Florentino Ameghino. In the end, the skin turns out to not be the skin of a brontosaurus, but rather a Mylodon.

Domestic vs International Trade

Domestic Vs International Trade Mohammad Tariqul Islam Domestic Trade: Trade among parties in the same country. Domestic trade is the exchange of goods, services, or both within the confines of a national territory. They are always aimed at a single market. It always deal with only one set of competitive, economic, and market issues. The trading is always with a single set of customers all the time, though the company may have several segments in a market. Finally local trade or home trade or Domestic trade may be sub-divided into Wholesale trade, and Retail trade.International Trade: Trade among parties residing in different countries. International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has been present throughout much of history, its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in rece nt centuries. Some difference between International trade and local or domestic tradeInternational trade is in principle not different from  domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. The reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as  tariffs, time costs due to border delays and costs associated with country differences such as language, the legal system or culture.Another difference between domestic and international trade is that  factors of production  such as capital and  labour  are typically more mobile within a country than across countries. Thus international trade is mostly restricted to trade in goods and services, and only to a lesser extent to trade in capital, labor or other factors of production. Advantages and Disadvantages of international Trade Advantage of international trade †¢ Monetary gains to the respective country indulging in trade. †¢ More variety of goods available for consumers. †¢ Better quality of goods. Competition both at the international level as well as local level. †¢ Closer  ties  between nations. †¢ More exchange of technical know-how. †¢ Local producers will try to improve the quality of their products. †¢ Increase in  employment  locally. Disadvantage of international trade †¢ Local production may suffer †¢ Local industries may be overshadowed by their international competitors †¢ Rich countries may influence political matters in other countries and gain control over weaker nations. †¢ Ideological differences may emerge between nations with regard to the procedures in trade practices. Read also Recording General Fund Operating Budget and Operating TransactionsInternational trade is beneficial to world economy. It adds to the money coffers of the world at large. Every country can benefit monetarily if it is able to dispose off its surplus goods after meeting the requirements of the local people. Key differences: †¢ International trade is, in principle, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. †¢ The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade.The reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as tariffs, time costs due to border delays and costs associated with country differences such as language, the legal system or culture. †¢ Another difference between domestic and international trade is that factors of production such as capital and labor are ty pically more mobile within a country than across countries. †¢ Thus international trade is mostly restricted to trade in goods and services, and only to a lesser extent to trade in capital, labor or other factors of production.Trade in goods and services can serve as a substitute for trade in factors of production. †¢ Within a country labour and capital moves freely to get maximum returns. These factors of production do not move with such freedom among different countries due to differences in culture, climate, language, customs and political restrictions imposed by regulatory authorities. This immobility gives rise to wage and interest differentials among countries. †¢ Different currency system introduces additional cost and risk in international trade as the value of currencies is constantly subject to variations. As long distances involved transport costs for international transactions are higher than for domestic trades. Home trade is called domestic trade in some countries. These are the differences as seen by me. 1. For home trades, payments could be made in home currency only. Foreign trades are to be paid invariably in convertible currencies. 2. Home trades generally have no restrictions of movement within the country. In international trade, there are restrictions as to movement of specific goods to specified countries. 3. Home trades have taxes levied by the Government and local bodies.International trades have levies called customs duties. These invariably go to the Federal Government. 4. Documents for domestic trades are comparatively simple and easy to understand and follow. Foreign trades have a different set of documents which must be filed in every case. 5. Insurance of consignments sent on foreign trade are compulsory; in home trade it is optional. 6. Usually, foreign trades are preceded by payment or promises of payment made by international foreign exchange traders (also called Letters of Credit. In domestic trades, payments a re realised usually after the trade is executed. Depending on the credit rating of the parties concerned, even a simple promise is not taken. Letters of Credit in domestic trades is not common but not ruled out. 7. Credibility of parties can be got verified in foreign trades through the trade representatives of the countries involved in the transaction. 8. On receipt of consignment at a foreign country, the documents are handed over to the buyers only after payment is realised.Thereafter, the Banks concerned remit the payments to the sellers through normal international banking channels. In respect of domestic trades, bankers may or may not be the intermediaries. Payments can be directly sent to the sellers by the buying party. 9. Under the United Nation's charter, goods prohibited for specific countries cannot be sent to them by member countries. Penalties extending to boycott of trade with that country may follow. In domestic trades, such prohibitions do not exist. (Example: selli ng atomic energy raw materials to Iran, Iraq etc. 10. International trades are further government by agreements between member countries of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Domestic or home trades are not subject to such agreements. An international business is a business whose activities are carried out across national borders. This differs from a domestic business because a domestic business is a business whose activities are carried out within the borders of its geographical location. A domestic company is one that confines its activities to the local market, be it city, state, or the ountry it is in. It deals, generally, with one currency, local customs and cultures, business laws of commerce, taxes and products and services of a local nature. The international company, on the other hand deals with businesses and governments in one or more foreign countries and is subject to treaties, tariffs. currency rates of exchange, politics, cultural differences, taxes, fees, and pe nalties of each country it is doing business in. It may also be conducting business in it's home country, but the emphasis is on trading in the international marketplace.Differences between Domestic and International Trade International Trade: The exchange of goods and services between countries is called International Trade. Inter-Regional Trade: The exchange of goods and services with in a country is called Inter-regional Trade. Differences between International and Inter-regional Trade and need for a separate theory: A number of things which make difference between international and inter-regional are given as under. We can understand from these reasons that it gives rise to a separate theory of international trade. . Factor Mobility: Labour and capital as factor of production do not move freely from one country to another country as they do with in the same country. Thus labour and capital are regarded as immobile between countries while they are perfectly mobile within a countr y. Adam Smith said â€Å"Man is of all forms of luggage, the most difficult to transport†. Differences in cost of production can not be removed by moving and money. The result is the movement of goods. On the contrary between regions with in the same olitical boundaries, people distribute themselves more or less according to the opportunities. Real wages and standard of living tend to seek a common level though they are not wholly uniform as between national these differences continue to persist and check population movements. Capital also does not move freely from one country to another country. 2. Different Currencies: Each country has a different currency. Buying and selling between nations give rise to complications absent in internal trade. This hampers smooth flow of trade as between one country and another country.A large number of foreign exchange problems arise in number of foreign trade which are non-existent in inter-regional trade. 3. Different National Policies: Different needs lead countries to pursue divergent national policies and not only with respect to foreign exchange rates. National Policies differ in a wide matter of domestic matters affecting international economic relations, wages, prices, competition, investment, business regulation etc and often involve interference directly in international economic intercourse in tarrifs, exchange controls, non-tarrif barriers and the like. . Different Political Circumstances: Mostly countries differ in political circumstances. In inter-regional trade, trade takes place among same people. But international trade takes place among people of different cultures, habits and languages. These cultural distinctions between markets, important in the absence of different national measures have led political scientists to take look at the nature of countries. 5. Difference in National Resources: Different countries are endowed with different type of natural resources.They tend to specialise, in the pro duction of those commodities in which they are richly endowed and trade them with others where such resources are scare. 6. Geographical and climatic differences: Every country cannot produce and commodities due to geographical and climatic conditions, except at possibly prohibitive costs. Countries having climatic and geographical advantage specialise in the production of particular commodities and trade them with others. 7. Different Markets: International markets are different in various aspects.Even the system of weights and measures and pattern and styles in machinery and equipment differ from country to country. Goods which are traded within regions may not sold in other countries. This is why in great many cases products to be sold in foreign countries are especially designed to confirm to the national characteristics of that country. 8. Problem of Balance of Payments: The problem of balance of payments is perpetual in international trade while regions with in a country have no such problem. 9. Restrictions on Trade: Trade between different countries is not free.There are restrictions imposed by custom duties, exchange restrictions, fixed quotas or other tarrif barriers. 10. Ignorance: Differences in culture, language and religion stand in the way of free communication between different countries. In inter-regional trade labour and capital freely moves about. These factors too make internal trade different from international trade. 11. Transport and Insurance Costs: The cost of transport and insurance also check the free international trade. The greater the distance between the two countries the greater the cost and insurances.