Irony in Story of an Hour

Irony in the â€Å"Story of an Hour† By Kate Choplin The Story of an Hour by Kate Choplin is about an older woman who struggles with coercion brought about by her husband and her surreptitious yearning for freedom. Mrs. Mallard does not truly know how miserable she was until she finds out that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. Kate Choplin writes this story in a limited, third person point of view; however, it is still quite exciting with how it was structured.Choplin expresses her theme of oppression with her extensive use of situational irony and symbolism throughout the story. In The Story of an Hour, Kate Choplin makes much use of situational irony and symbolism, this helps add to the drama an excitement of the short story, especially since she wrote it as a limited, third person narrative. Choplin starts the story out by mentioning that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart complications and that an immense amount of care needs to be taken to break this h eart wrenching news of her husband’s horrible death with ease.Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister, and Richards, her husband’s friend, broke the news to her in broken sentences to try and soften the blow. Josephine and Richards thought that this would really hurt Mrs. Mallard, but she did not take it as most people would have. Louise immediately started to cry, but suddenly stormed off into her room, alone, she wanted no one to follow. The irony in this first part of the story stands in her heart troubles.The heart, in a traditional sense, represents one’s emotional core, the irony stands in that, her heart problems are a symbol for her emotional conflictions in her marriage. The irony in the mentioning of her heart problems is also that, the heart of a family and a marriage lies in that the relationship between man and woman is the essential groundwork of a family. Mrs. Mallard’s heart tribulations coincide with the peril in which the late nineteenth century institution of marriage finds itself on account of the inequalities between man and wife. Louise is ironic in and of herself.Choplin uses her and her failing heart to represent the women during the late 1800’s who were not able to find happiness in marriage, not because it could not be found, but because of the extremely limited amount of freedom they were allotted. Choplin writes, â€Å"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of the trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.The delicious breath of rain was in the air†¦ there were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window,† (Paragraph 4 & 5). Choplin uses this as irony in that being able to see the square before her house and the tops of the trees that were â€Å"aquiver† with new spring life, in that her heart, too, is â€Å"aquiver† with a new life and new hope. It is not that Mrs. Mallard did not love Brently, it is that she did not have any freedom.Just as the spring represents new beginnings, new life and renewal of hope, the death of her husband represents the same. She can now do things she never imagined of doing because her husband dictated her life. â€Å"†¦a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky,† (Paragraph 8), this seems to be representing the light at the end of the tunnel, per say, for Mrs. Mallard, and this goes along with the new life that comes with spring. Choplin uses much symbolism throughout the story. When Mrs.Mallard finds out that her husband died, she ran upstairs to her room and â€Å"†¦she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul† (Paragraph 4), the armchair symbolizes the rest from her oppressive life and the freedom from societal expectations that women from this time period were burdened with. Another situation in which Choplin uses irony in the story, which is the most important aspect, is Brently walking in the door. When Louise sees her husband who is supposed to be dead, she is beyond overwhelmed and drops dead. The doctors’ say that Mrs.Mallard died from being overjoyed in finding out that her husband was actually alive, when in fact she died from being heartbroken. The hopes of her new life of being a free woman were over, she could not live her life out how she dreamed and this is what killed her. Ultimately, Kate Choplin uses an extensive amount of situational irony and a lot of symbolism in her short story, The Story of an Hour to really bring in some excitement into it and express her feelings towards feminism in the late 19th century. Much of the irony depict ed in this short story is used in the fact that Mrs.Mallard has a weak heart. Her sister and Brently’s friend never thought that Louise would be able to withstand hearing about her husband’s tragic death; they thought that her poor heart would give out. This, however, is clearly not the case. Louise is overjoyed; she was finally, â€Å"free, free, free! †(Paragraph 10). The ironic part is when she finds out her husband is still alive, she drops dead and the doctors claim that, â€Å"†¦she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills,† (paragraph 20) when in fact she died for the completely opposite reason.Her days would no longer be hers. This new beginning was gone. Outline I. Introduction a. Thesis: Choplin expresses her theme of oppression with her extensive use of situational irony and symbolism throughout the story. II. Body Paragraph I a. Irony in Mrs. Mallard having a bad heart b. Mrs. Mallard finds out Brently died III. Body Paragra ph II. a. Irony in the way that the weather is and the season IV. Body Paragraph III a. Mrs. Mallard finds out Brently is still alive b. Irony in why Mrs. Mallard dies V. Conclusion a. Restate thesis

Pride and Prejudice †The storyline Essay

Using Information from the storyline, write a Chapter for the book which should include feelings about the occurrences after Elizabeth Recieves her letter off Mr Darcy. You may create your own scenario. Elizabeth Bennet’s head pounded with anger and dismay, as she hastily stepped out of the towering marble framed doors that belonged to Pemberley Court. She stepped into the forgiving downpour of a bleak winter’s day, and let the cool rain refresh her in a way that she had been longing for all day. A relief that a stuffy courtroom full of people couldn’t give. Too add to that, the day’s proceedings hadn’t gone exactly the way she had planned, and that fact had considerably played on her nerves. She just couldn’t condone the fact that a man, who could execute such evil acts and hurt so many people without a glimmer of regret, could be let free into the world, without any type of restraint or punishment. As it is imaginable, the day’s pressures had not only put a strain on her mind, but also on her elegant posture. Her face was a frustrated scarlet colour, but that was being eased by the iced droplets of rain that were running down it, turning it into more of a pink winter glow than a face full of anger. Her renewed glow resembled her now slightly more calmed nerves as she basked in the calming chill of the afternoon rain, no longer dwelling on the pains in her life. No longer worrying about Mr Darcy’s marriage proposal. No longer worrying about every triviality in her life. Just her and the rain. Then Elizabeth felt a warm hand on her shoulder. The protective wall of imaginary glass between her and the rest of the world was shattered in an instant and all the worries of her life came flooding back into her head. She took a deep breath as the real world came back into view. The realities of life back to haunt her. She turned round and was stunned into paralysis by the sight before her eyes. â€Å"Good day to you Miss Elizabeth. Don’t you just love a successful morning?† grinned Mr Darcy. How had she not heard him coming? Surely she should have heard the clatter of footsteps and the crash of the closing marble doors. She was both angry and embarrassed at the fact that he had seen her drenched in rainwater and that he had generally sneaked up on her.] â€Å"Mr Darcy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she acknowledged. â€Å"If you may permit me to speak so boldly. What are you doing out here?† Darcy was merely silent and handed her a letter which was written on a yellow parchment and in the most beautiful italic writing she had ever seen. She looked at him confused. He then walked off. Without any more witty comments. Without any more sarcastic looks. Elizabeth got up, letter in hand, and advanced towards somewhere where the prying eyes of the raindrops couldn’t see or destroy her secret letter. It was sealed with a seal of red wax, obviously from the candle in the Courts waiting room. She chuckled and then broke the seal, then opening the crisp yellow paper. The letter read My dear Elizabeth, Though I know not of any feelings on your behalf towards me, I would like to express mine towards yourself. I apologise if this letter will in any way offend you, but i feel that it is necessary for you to know how I feel. From the first moment I met you, I looked into your eyes, and experienced such a surge of love which I had experienced none other like in my life. I covered up my feelings for you with a complete denial of anything I felt and I feel that at this time, I managed to sincerely offend both you and your family. I apologise for my actions in speaking so poorly of you and your, sorry to say, poor relations. I was afraid of falling ion love with someone who wouldn’t boost my position in the business world and for that I am sincerely sorry, for I now realise that true love is a thing which is only experienced on very rare occasions in one’s life. Elizabeth Bennet. I love you more than words can say. If love could be measured in numbers, my love for you would add up to a higher number than there are stars in the sky. In the Milky Way. In the galaxies that surround that and those around them. I can’t deny that I don’t regret anything that I said in court or the turnout of the case, but I plead to you that if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my sins and unforgivable actions, and love me as I love you, then I pray you would accept my hand in marriage and make me the happiest man alive. Please find a ring behind the flowerpot on the left hand side of the door. If you feel my proposal unfit, then you may do as you wish with the ring which is 2 carats of diamond. If you feel the same way about me that I feel about you though, please meet me in the breakfast room at 5pm sharp. Yours, Fitzwilliam Darcy Elizabeth Folded the letter up, out it in her pocket and then sat down with a thump on a cold stone bench, her heart pounding with both delight and disgust. Life always threw either stones or sweets at her. Normally she wouldn’t get to choose which one she got. This time however, she could. She could chew on the huge sweet or the large lump of coal. Her decision. No one else’s.

Business Management Expanding Product Overseas Essay

Business Management Expanding Product Overseas - Essay Example The gradual elimination of barriers to the flow of goods, services, and investment, coupled with strong protection of intellectual property rights. Also, "The United States is the largest source of FDI in Mexico, accounting for 65% of total FDI in 2003" (Villarreal, 2005). In spite of the fact that Mexico's GDP in 2004 was $677 billion, the country has a stable political situation and high rates of economic growth. Economic trends and analysis (Villarreal, 2005) show that Mexico proposes great opportunities for the company and can be valued as potential market for this type of equipment. Marketing mix (4 Ps) will be based on the following objectives for the company in Mexico: to initiate co-operative marketing with medical centers and hospitals in the big cities around the country. Product: It combines an insulin pump with a glucose monitor and facilitates data interchange between the two. The use of the integrated system is expected to make it more convenient for people to manage their diabetes. The device does not require a battery, With no wires across the skin, there is no deterioration of the skin surface or other areas inside the skin and no danger of track infection. Place: The products will be delivered by trucks because this is the most economizing way for the company to deliver the goods. There are no transit points needed. The shipping will be 4 times a month. The products will be packed in the USA including an instruction on the Spanish language. Outside resources and customs brokers will be unnecessary as the company covers all the areas of delivery. Th e company will be one of the largest medical equipment companies in Mexico, and its approach of mainly independent distributors would continue to serve it well against other large rivals. Promotion: Advertising messages will be designed to communicate with potential consumers in different regions. Also, it will involve both on-line and offline advertising. The core of promotion will be personal selling and direct marketing. Applied to the device for diabetics, direct marketing refers to consumers being able to order products from their home. Direct marketing will involve a number of different methods which can be used in order to reach, communicate, interest and encourage consumers to buy (Fill, 1999). The main difference from competitors' products is that 'device' is easy to use; it has a smaller size and lower cost while keeping all the basic characteristics of similar products. The basic advantage of this product is absence of seasonality in purchases, which allows the company to calculate revenue growth and the degree of market penetration. In the USA, the company uses similar strategies to reach the target market and increase sales. In the USA, direct mail involves the posting of promotional literature, designed to sell a product or service direct to a potential customer's home and hospitals. In Mexico, direct mail (mainly to hospitals and medical centers) will help the company to reach a widely dispersed target market. A Pricing

Chucks Wagon Inc and the Experience of a HBS Student Case Study

Chucks Wagon Inc and the Experience of a HBS Student - Case Study Example The case of Chuck’s Wagon Inc describes the experience of an HBS student as he has been taken a challenge of transition from an intern to a president at Chuck’s wagon Inc. This paper aims to provide the appropriate suggestion for the organization in order to improve the performance of the organization and take the organization out of the bad situation. In order to gain this objective paper has been distributed into 4 major sections in first section Swot analysis has been conducted and on the basis of the analysis, a decision to eliminate the lowest sale products has been proposed. In the second section, two performance measurement methods have been discussed such as financial and non-financial and appropriate suggestion regarding performance measures has been made. The third section is consists of the incorporation of performance measures in balance scorecard. However, in last section activity-based costing method has been suggested to improve the operations and its benefits and appropriateness to the organization have been discussed. SWOT analysis is an important tool to realize the company’s internal weaknesses and chances that exist outside the firm to grow (Helms, & Nixon, 2010). Therefore, in order to recommend the appropriate strategic model, it is essential to analyze the organization potential and opportunities exist for the organization. On the basis of the analysis, it has been determined that the major issues that company is facing include operational complexity, credit issues, marketing and pricing issues, lack of data availability, SKU based profitability, variability in the material of the product, and operating losses. The company needs to take some strategic decision in order to extract the company from maturity stage. The approach that has been used to make the decision is â€Å"rational strategic model of decision making† this approach will allow realizing the pros and cons of each decision made (Elbanna 2009).  

Employment contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employment contracts - Essay Example documentation that sets the fundamental grounds for identifying the job requirements, job description, payment terms and methods, employer expectations, health benefits and vacation leaves on behalf of the employers’ interests. On the other hand, these contracts include a number of terms that bind the employees with regards to certain and particular performance standards, obligations to the employer as well as conformance to specifications established. The employment contracts are sought to provide benefits for both parties in interest; however it is a debatable subject whether these benefits are equally distributed on the two sides. Employers are provided with the control over the employee job requirements and are in the position to build upon a relationship that favors their own part. In more details, employers can control the ability of the employees to arbitrarily leave their work through the terms of contract duration. Nevertheless this is also the case for the remaining party in account; employees according to the terms and specifications cannot be dismissed from their job duties or fired prior to executing the contract. In other words, contracts act as documented agreements that provide assurance on both sides that the relationship will be in effect for a given period of time (Mumford, 1995) Any breach of the contract is either resolved in the courts or under the scope of issuing and agreed (on the basis of the contract) co nditions any dispute is to be resolved amongst the members themselves. Employers, however, are benefited mostly due to the fact that on the basis of re-organization of the business and functions can alter unilaterally the terms or the specifications of the contracts. This means that employers with or without the consent of employees are able to modify particular conditions by imposing changes that are in favor of the organization/company. In addition to that these changes may insufficiently meet the requirements and the needs or

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 9

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example The cost of absenteeism for the Silkeborg Council had reached enormous levels and warranted prompt intervention and the majority of the cases of absenteeism, the council noted was as a result of high levels of sickness. The traditional approach to combating sickness absence is to consider this at a personal level. Strategies that are usually employed at this level consist of return to work initiatives, attendance monitoring and referral to a professional health service. Discovery Silkeborg Council Elderly Care Department: Key Issues and Problems Although the Council has previously taken several initiatives in an attempt to intervene to reduce absenteeism in the elderly care sector, the approaches taken have only resulted in production of short-term improvements without any significant long-term effect. The approaches employed have included analysis of the root causes of lost time, developing a Stop-Lift policy that would ensure reduction in lost time caused by back injuries, and assi sting the various leaders in developing supervisory skills. The Council also embarked on education of the management level in supervisory and leadership roles and assisting them and the overall care staff to contribute their skills together in order to develop a policy that would handle absenteeism effectively. Most of these strategies have been employed but they have always produced meagre results. Nevertheless, recent research works have indicated newer approaches to approaching this issue, and as such work attendance has been revealed to be related to both physical and psychological environment at work. In addition, management performances, approaches and behaviours, social customs and economic strains, apparent health conditions and job contentment impacted on absenteeism. Conceptually, lower employment grades have long been linked with both short term and long term absenteeism, particularly those who take sick leaves. Disparities in the level of absenteeism particularly sick le aves between different sectors within the council and amongst the work force operating within comparable socioeconomic profiles within the council imply that work features predict sickness absence behaviour. Absence has always been noted to be high amongst those employees, who consider their duties at work to be lacking leadership roles, low on variety and use of skills, low on assistance at the work place. Employees occupying lower grades at the elderly care facility were up to six times more likely than those in higher grades to report jobs perceived to be low in demands, control, and support; consequently, they are said to be susceptible to moderate, extended and very long periods of sickness absence. The Karasek and Theorell’s demand-control model of work related strain has been regularly applied in such circumstances. The model proposes that risks to health do mostly arise when job demands are combined with low decision latitude that is perceived low control over work an d possible fewer prospects in realizing those skills. However, most studies assert that decision latitude is said to be a stronger forecaster than demand including social support at work as a forecaster of job strain. The demand and control model can be a useful means of developing and designing structures for planning organizational approaches to combat job strain and related characters which include sickness absence. Dream Addressing the Issues In developing an organizational change management intervention that will ensure

The Role of the Managers in Criminal Justice Organizations Essay

The Role of the Managers in Criminal Justice Organizations - Essay Example Managers play a significant role in improving the working of criminal justice organizations. â€Å"Criminal justice management positions can range from the police chief of a small town police department to the director of a national crime-fighting organization† (Marlow, 2011). All employees from lower level to higher level look towards the instructions of the managers for doing any kind of operation. In criminal justice organizations, a manager is a person who takes care of all administrative matters and issues. In an interview with Mr. Chris Banks, who is the investigation manager in a criminal justice organization, he stated that managers play different types of managerial roles in criminal justice organizations (personal communication, September 26, 2011). Some of the managerial posts in criminal justice organizations include investigation managers, correction officers, probation and parole managers, and administrative managers. A manager in such organizations not only inst ructs his/her subordinates but also motivates them to do well for the organizations. It is a fact that unskilled and untrained managers can never put the organization on the path of success; rather they turn out to be great threats to the vision and mission of the criminal justice organizations. A manager in a criminal justice organization needs to be talented, resourceful, daring, and well experienced in order to be successful (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2011). Therefore, it is very important to hire such people for the posts of managers who should have enough skills and abilities to meet different kinds of challenges successfully. The experience and subsequent socialization of criminal justice managers help them work heroically to protect their systems (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2008, p. 7). Managers in criminal justice organizations are able to recognize the unique perspectives of all employees. It helps them create a better working relationship with the employees. A manager manag es and controls a group of employees, which may include police officers and investigation officers, for achieving any specific goal or objective. According to Mr. Banks, to accomplish organizational goals, managers control behaviors of employees because if the mindset of the employees and the managers will not be same, the managers will not be able to achieve the desired goals effectively (personal communication, September 26, 2011). Manages also play the role of leaders because they not only inspire other people by showing a dynamic behavior but also motivate them to accomplish the tasks in an effective manner. The level and the nature of interaction between police officers, court officials, and managers matters a lot in criminal justice organizations. A manager is a supreme authority for the employees and the employees need to adhere to the instructions of their managers. It is the strength of interaction between the manager and the employees, which determine the level of producti vity and success of a criminal justice organization. In an interview with Mr. Steve Johns, who is the operations managers in an organization, he said that the role of managers in criminal justice organization is very influential and mangers use a directive approach to run all administrative matters (personal

Kmart De Mexico Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Kmart De Mexico - Case Study Example It is observed that while the understanding of Mexican people and their culture is definitely an advantage with the US managers of Mexican descent, they carry the disadvantage that they bring with them an attitude of superiority over fellow countrymen. The feeling of superiority may hinder the working relationship the executives have with the staff subordinate to them. Normally the employees have a tendency to work efficiently under a differently oriented boss than their own class. At the same time the executive who hold the portfolio of buying must have a basic understanding of the tastes, cultures and behavioural pattern of the Mexicans. Considering these, the strategy for hiring executives is: While Kmart US is following the policy of empowerment of executives, encouraging them at all levels to take independent decisions, the same strategy could not be adopted in Mexico due to the following reasons: Because of these negative factors, encouraging decision making at the lower levels can not be attempted in the initial stages. With continuous training programmes and education of staff at all levels independent decision making ability of the staff can be achieved in future. 5.0 Adequacy of Training Programmes for staff: Since the training programmes meant for all operational positions in the store consisting of various courses and films developed in the United States would ideally fit only for those with a formal higher education, Kmart de Mexico cannot adopt the same programmes for training the personnel in Mexico. There is the need for developing a 'basic training course' to prepare the Mexican staff to receive the formal training of Kmart US. Because of the young average age of the staff it is quite possible for the company to provide the same training as of the United States once they are equipped with the basic training modules designed to prepare them for receiving the

TPA4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TPA4 - Assignment Example Despite the new proliferation of business information systems has supported the management core functions and other operations such as customer relationship management, accounting and inventory management, service scheduling and billing, supply chain management, contract management, manufacturing and e-business requirements with sophisticated user friendly customization tools, there is a need for due diligence prior to making decisions on the various computer components. The need for this action is because poor decisions when acquiring a computer system has seen some of them fail, leading to losses to the organization. For instance, around three-quarters of organizations across the Europe had their computer systems fail in 2011 only leading to data loss or system downtime (BBC, 2011). Another example is the loss suffered by the BBC when it was forced to abandon a  £98 digital production system because it was being outpaced by the changing technology (BBC, 2013). As defined by Kroenke and Hooper (2013), a system is an integration of several components that interact to achieve a common goal. Therefore, computer systems used by the businesses have several elements that managers must consider when making decisions to acquire them. These components include the hardware, software, people, data, and instructions/procedures. The hardware is the physical devices of a computer system used to input, process, output, and store data. The software refers to programs stored in the computer system. The instructions are related to the software while people are the system’s users. When an organization has a qualified workforce to run and operate its computer system, it goes ahead and considers other factors as discussed below. Expandability – The hardware should be scalable to meet the increasing needs of the business. This factor is especially important when considering the memory

The Santa Clara University ethics committee stated Essay Example for Free

The Santa Clara University ethics committee stated Essay he function of morals in society is more or less to distinguish between what is best for society as a whole, generally speaking, the way for the most people to be happy. Drugs in society are looked down upon, though widely used throughout civilization. More importantly, drugs are given a negative outlook especially when they put other innocent lives in danger. Drugs in the workplace create hazard upon hazard no matter what the job may be, however, people have the right to do whatever they want on their own free time, as long as it does not cause harm to others. This is where a moral dilemma is developed. Are the rights of others to have a safe working environment greater than the right to privacy? The morality of drug-testing is more than just a matter of drug-abuse in the workplace, as it presses the issue of an employees basic right to privacy as well as an employers right to getting the most out of each of their employees. Employers have the right to getting the most out of each worker and employees have the duty to protect society from any harm, financial, physical, or emotional. Therefore if employees must take drug tests to prove their ability, than drug testing should be morally and ethically acceptable. The 4th amendment guarantees citizens the right to privacy as long as what they do in their private lives does not harm other people. It has been argued time and time again that drug testing steals this right from people, and maybe in some ways it does. People do have the right to treat themselves how they want, and also have the right to enjoy life however they choose to enjoy it. As long as these measures go to an extent at which they violate no moral or ethical codes, privacy is surely acceptable. The idea of drugs entering the workplace is a threat to not only the user, but also employers themselves, the co-workers around them, and the innocent citizens of society. Â  Employers give opportunity to employees. This is called the Employment at Will principle. Employers hire based on who will make their business run on all cylinders, at the best possible production rate. The more productive the business, the more financially secure the business may become. So when an employee is not pulling his or her weight, the company must fix the problem or release the worker in order to find someone better prepared for the criteria the job entails. It is pure common sense that doing anything while under the influence of drugs or alcohol that the production is significantly diminished. The Santa Clara University Ethics Committee stated, Employers have a moral right to a fair days work in exchange for a fair days pay (SCU 1998). They claim that employers have the right to inquire into anything that seriously interferes with an employee rendering a fair days work (SCU 1998). Drugs and alcohol on the workplace only hurt the employer. That means the chance they took with the user failed them and that their business is not running as solid and smoothly as it should. Even more reason for employers to be pro-drug testing is some startling facts concerning drugs at work. First and foremost, the fact that approximately forty-four percent of young adults admit to having used drugs in the past year. These are all people entering the workforce. With this statistic in mind, it is only common sense for employers to fear that they are not getting the most out of each of their employees. If nearly one in every two workers is not performing the way they ought to be, then the business is probably not producing as well as it could be. The second figure that brings about major consideration is that drug and alcohol abuse cost employers nearly $100 billion in lost productivity per year. The number itself hurts the credibility of any worker, but more importantly, forces the employer to believe that their business may fall into that lost $100 billion somewhere. Why should an employer fear losing a great deal of money because their employees, who are given the opportunity to work and make money, are coming to work under the influence of drugs and alcohol? Philosopher Hugh LaFollette stated, Employers can make extensive demands on their employees, simply because it is their pleasure. The employer is giving the employee a chance to make a living. If the employee wants to retain a job, they need to show respect to their employer by not working while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The employer owns the business; therefore the employer sets the standards. Â  Society as a whole is expected morally to protect each of their citizens, and if drugs are being brought into the workplace, a major moral dilemma is brought to attention. It is a fact that drugs and alcohol, while used on the job, can only cause harm. One survey reported that employees who are drug users have three times the accident rate as non-users.

Financial Performance of BRALIRWA

Financial Performance of BRALIRWA This chapter presents the theoretical framework used to evaluate the financial performance of BRALIRWA and the influence of corporate governance on the firm performance; and the research methodology followed throughout the research basing on the different aspects discussed in literature review. 3.1 INTRODUCTION As discussed in chapter one, the main focus for many companies is to create the best possible value for their owners and to secure excellent financial performance. The sound financial health of a company is one of its major goals and to maintain it, companies at one point of time have to look at the past and current performance to plan for future prospect. The most objective way to evaluate the financial performance of a company is through financial statement analysis. Financial analysis involves the assessment of a firms liquidity, its operating performance, its risk profile and its growth potential using financial ratios. Ratio analysis is an important and powerful analytical tool used for measuring the performance of a business entity (Van et Al., 2003). It helps stakeholders (shareholders, investors, creditors, managers, government etc) to make an evaluation about the profitability and financial soundness of the business entity (Bardia, 2008). Different types of investors expect different types of returns, if you are a stockholder, you expect an increase in the value of the stock you hold; if you have invested in a company with a history of paying dividends, you also expect a dividend; if you have loaned the firm money, you expect to receive interest and the return of loan principal. Although the types of returns they expect are different, equity investors and creditors both risk not receiving those returns. Therefore, both stockholders and creditors use financial statement analysis to predict their expected returns and assess the risks associated with those returns (Hongren, Sundem, Elliot and Phil brick, 2003). Analysis of financial performance allows comparison of practice performance from one year to the next, benchmarking of a practice against industry standards, and preparation of financial information for lending institutions or directors (Stallwood, 1996). The financial performance of a company can be influenced by many different aspects or factors and for the purpose of this study, corporate governance was taken into consideration and specifically the aspect of board characteristics. The board of directors is an important entity in a company creating a link between shareholders and managers and therefore playing an important role in the governance of the firm (Dehaene et al., 2007). Therefore, boards of directors are charged with the task of monitoring the performance and activities of top management to ensure that the latter acts in the best interests of the owners (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; quoted by OConnell and Cramer, 2010) 3.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION After the 1994 genocide many companies in Rwanda were destroyed and some of them have not recovered up to today. Among the companies affected by the genocide include manufacturing companies out of which some tried to recover and restart their activities progressively and the country is providing a good environment for business but this does not guarantee good performance on behalf of companies. Standard financial reports provide basic information on the current profit level of investment in assets but do not give information on whether profit is adequate, how efficiently the assets are being used to generate sales, how efficient the overall operation is, and whether there are short-term financial problems facing the business. Ratio analysis provides some answers to these questions by calculating the relationships between various figures on the balance sheet and the income statement and comparing the movements in these ratios over time and against industry averages can provide additional information about whether the organization is performing well or whether remedial action is needed (Stallwood, 1996). Ratio analysis is an important and powerful analytical tool for measuring the performance of a business entity. It helps stakeholders to make an evaluation about the profitability and financial soundness of the business entity (Van et al., 2003). Some key companies in the manufacturing sector do not have thorough financial analysis which makes it difficult for stakeholders to know how these companies are performing; BRALIRWA will be used as representative case study to exemplify the financial performance of companies in the sector and the way this performance is influenced by corporate governance. The way companies are directed and controlled can influence their performance (Berle Means, 1932), in some companies there is lack of consistency in reporting operating and financial activities as well as governance activities to shareholders in a fair, accurate, timely, reliable, relevant, complete and verifiable manner. Manufacturing companies in Rwanda contribute to the economic development of the country and hence a need to evaluate their performance in other to detect their likely future and take appropriate measures accordingly, as well as the influence of corporate governance on their performance. 3.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES This study has one general objective and five specific objectives. 3.3.1 General objective The general objective of this study is to assess the financial performance of BRALIRWA s.a (2005-2008) and the influence of its corporate governance on the performance 3.3.2 Specific objectives To analyze the operating efficiency and profitability of BRALIRWA to know its level of operating performance. To analyze the sales and earnings variability in order to measure the risk that BRALIRWA may be exposed to. To analyze the internal liquidity of BRALIRWA in order to measure its ability to meet financial obligations in the short-term. To assess the impact if any of BRALIRWA governance on its performance. To analyze the sustainable growth potential of BRALIRWA. 3.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The theoretical framework adopted in this study was developed based on different literature on the analysis and evaluation of financial performance and literature on corporate governance and firm performance. 3.4.1 Dependent variable According to Jones, Wahba and Heijden (2007), the dependent variable is the one main research issue you are studying, on which other variables in theoretical framework are assumed to have an impact. Creswell (2002), defines dependent variables as the outcomes or results of the influence of the independent variables. For this study, financial performance stands for the dependent variable. Financial performance is usually measured by ROE and ROA, for this study financial analysis is used to analyze the financial performance of BRALIRWA and the analysis is conducted in three categories; the analysis of internal liquidity, operating performance and risk. When analyzing internal liquidity, the intention is to indicate the firms ability to meet its future short-term financial obligations, this may be an indication over a certain period of the likely performance of a company because if a firm is not able to meet its short-term financial obligations for a long period, definitely this will affect its performance but the analysis of this may help the organization take necessary actions. The analysis here is based on current ratio, quick ratio, cash ratio, receivables turnover and inventory turnover. The analysis of operating performance, examines how management uses its assets and capital by measuring the sales generated by various categories of assets or capital and analyzes the profits as a percentage of sales and as a percentage of the assets and capital employed (Brown and Reilly, 2009). The ratios used are the asset turnover, equity turnover, profit margins, return on equity and return on assets. Concerning the risk analysis, both business and financial risks are measured and analyzed, here the emphasis is on the sales variability, operating leverage which consists of the variability of a firms operating earnings and then the debt-equity ratio to measure the financial risk. 3.4.2 Independent variables Independent variables are the variables impacting on your main research problem. They are called independent in a sense that those variables are affecting the amount of dependent variables and do not affect each other, so they are independent of each other (Jones, Wahba and Heijden, 2007). Corporate governance stands for the independent variable for this study. Corporate governance is the mechanism by which a corporation is managed and monitored. It determines a power-sharing relationship between corporation executives and investors by providing structure through which the objectives are defined; policies and procedures are established to ensure achievement of these objectives; and activities, affairs, and performance are monitored (Rezaee, 2004). Based on this definition and other definitions of corporate governance, it can positively or negatively influence the performance of a company and for the purpose of this study, the influence will be analyzed based on board characteristics which are treated as the moderating variables in this study and considered as one of the aspects of corporate governance. 3.4.3 Moderating variables Moderating variables are included in the theoretical model to modify the way that the independent variables will affect the dependent variable. They might act as a catalyst of these relationships and strengthen them or perhaps they just inhibit the relationship and weaken it (Jones, Wahba and Heijden, 2007). For this study the moderating variables are the board characteristics, and the following characteristics were taken into consideration the board size, board composition, CEO duality, board diversity and frequency of board meetings. The board size is the number of members on the board and as boards are considered to be large decision-making groups, size can affect the decision-making process and effectiveness of the board (Dwivedi and Jain, 2005). Talking about the board composition, the board may be composed of directors who may be executive meaning that they are employees of the firm, or non-executive meaning they are not employees of the company; and this may have an effect on firm performance. CEO duality consists of having the same person holding both the board chairman and CEO positions or having the CEO and board chair positions separate, this also may have an impact on firm performance. When it comes to board diversity, the consideration is that there may be some diversification in the board members which may or may not have an influence on firm performance; diversity for this study is seen as gender diversity, racial diversity and experience/background diversity. Board meeting frequency consists of how frequently the board meetings are scheduled and the board activity is measured by the frequency of board meeting, this frequency may impact on the performance of the firm. Figure 3.1: Theoretical Framework Source: Research, 2010 3.4.4 Research assumptions Based on the various corporate scandals due to the manipulation of financial statements, the researcher made an assumption that the information provided in the audited financial statements of BRALIRWA for the period 2005-2008 are true and accurate. It was assumed that the respondents would be willing to fill the questionnaires and that the staff in the finance department of BRALIRWA would cooperate in providing any necessary information regarding the financial statements. 3.4.5 Research limitations The study uses BRALIRWA as a case study, which may provide little basis for generalization on the performance of other manufacturing companies The study only use a time-series analysis because there are no competitors in the industry to compare with The financial statements analyzed were the balance sheet and income statement because the company does not prepare cash flow statement The study only used board characteristics as the aspects of corporate governance due to time and logistics constraints the researcher could not use other aspects. The study was limited to a period of four years from 2005 to 2008 3.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONs To achieve the research objectives of this study; the study has to answer the following major and minor research questions. 3.5.1 Major research questions How is BRALIRWA financially performing for the period under study and what is the implication for future performance? How is BRALIRWA governance influencing its performance? 3.5.2 Minor research questions How well is the management of BRALIRWA doing to generate operating profits on companys assets? How well is BRALIRWA management using the capital invested? How is BRALIRWA financing its assets and how variable its earnings are? How well is BRALIRWA doing to meet its maturing financial obligations? The above mentioned research questions will help in analyzing the financial performance of BRALIRWA and the influence of its corporate governance on performance. 3.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.6.1 Research type This study is basically quantitative with a small portion of qualitative and descriptive in nature and is using a case study method. The study is using the computation of different ratios to analyze the financial performance of BRALIRWA and statistical measure like mean, standard deviation and correlation are also used; and it is also qualitative in the sense that it is looking at the perceptions of staff on the influence of corporate governance on the performance. The purpose of quantitative research is to determine the quantity or extent of some phenomenon in the form of numbers (Zikmund, 1994). 3.6.1.1 Case study methodology This study is using BRALIRWA as a case study representing other manufacturing companies in Rwanda. BRALIRWA was chosen as a case study because of its long stay in the business and as being one of the manufacturing companies that were operating before the 1994 Rwandan genocide and which has continued operating and the major motivation for the researcher to take it as a representative case study is that the manufacturing sector in Rwanda is mostly made of food and beverages companies where BRALIRWA is dominating. According to Robson (2002:178) cited by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007), a case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. Yin (2009) defines a case study as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. According to Yin (2009), the case study inquiry copes with the technically distinctive situation in which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and one result; relies on multiple source of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating fashion, and as another result; and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis. 3.6.1.2 Descriptive research This study is descriptive as it is describing and evaluating systematically how BRALIRWA has been performing for the period under study. According to Kumar (2005), a descriptive research attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or program, or provides information about something or describes attitudes towards an issue. 3.6.1.3 Quantitative and qualitative research As discussed early, this study is a mix of quantitative and qualitative, it is evaluating the performance of BRALIRWA by quantifying it through different ratios to analyze the internal liquidity, operating performance and risk and most of the information is gathered using quantitative variables (through financial statements). On the other hand, the study is qualitative in the way that it has some variables which were analyzed without being quantified. The study is qualified as quantitative if one wants to quantify the variation in a phenomenon, situation, problem, or issue; if information gathered using predominantly quantitative variables; and if the analysis is geared to ascertain the magnitude of the variation. On the other hand, a study is qualified as qualitative if the purpose of the study is primary to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; the information is gathered through the use of variables measured on nominal or ordinal scales; and if analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation, phenomenon or problem without quantifying it (Kumar, 2005). 3.6.2 Data collection instrument and source For the purpose of this study, both primary and secondary data were collected. To collect primary data questionnaires were distributed to the staff of BRALIRWA to know and analyze their perceptions on the influence of board characteristics on firm performance, the questionnaires were given to different staff but the most targeted were the managers and directors (management team) and heads of department and then some of the officers in different departments; interviews were also used with the staff in the finance department to get some clarifications on the content of the financial statements. And to collect secondary data, different literature on the evaluation of financial performance and those on the relationship between corporate governance (board characteristics) were reviewed through books, journals, articles and websites; and the financial statements of BRALIRWA for a period of 2005-2008 were consulted and analyzed through financial ratios. 3.6.3 Sampling methods Sampling is the process of selecting a few (a sample) from a bigger group (the sampling population) to become the basis for estimating or predicting the prevalence of an unknown piece of information, situation or outcome regarding the bigger group; a sample is a subgroup of the population one is interested in (Kumar, 2005). For the purpose of this study, judgmental sampling technique has been used to select the sample in order to collect primary data. Purposive or judgmental sampling enables you to use your judgment to select cases that will best enable you to answer your research question(s) and to meet your objectives. This form of sample is often used when working with very small samples such as in case study research and when you wish to select cases that are particularly informative (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007 quoting Neuman, 2000). According to Kumar (2005), the primary consideration in purposive sampling is the judgment of the researcher as to who can provide the best information to achieve the objectives of the study; the researcher only goes to those people who in his/her opinion are likely to have the required information and be willing to share it. For the respondents to fill the questionnaire it required a certain degree of information about the board of directors and the judgmental sampling is the appropriate technique to this study. 3.6.4 Sample size A sample of 25 respondents was selected from the staff of BRALIRWA which is the population of the study; as stated early the sample was selected using judgmental sampling. The respondents were selected from different departments of the company and from top management to senior officers and the sample is the representative of the population. 3.6.4 Data analysis methods The study is based more on the secondary data as the evaluation of financial performance is based on the financial statements of the case company (BRALIRWA) and on primary data which were collected using a questionnaire to analyze the influence of the board characteristics on the financial performance of the company as perceived by the company employees. In the process of data analysis, the information from the financial statement were first presented according to the research objectives and research questions and based on the theoretical framework and literature review; then they were analyzed using appropriate ratios and the analysis was based on time series analysis, some statistics were used such as mean and standard deviation for the researcher to analyze the data and come up with conclusions and recommendations. To analyze the data collected from questionnaires, the following process was followed; first the data were edited, then coded and frequency distribution were used. To analyze, the open-ended questions, content analysis was used whereby different themes were identified from the answers given by the respondents and then verbatim responses were examined and discussed with reference to literature to come up with research findings, conclusion and recommendations. 3.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter discussed the research problem by highlighting that in Rwanda some key companies do not have thorough financial analysis and that the performance of companies may be influenced by the way they are managed and monitored where this may depend on the characteristics of the board. The chapter also discussed the theoretical framework that was used for this study and the dependent, independent and moderating variables were identified; financial performance is the dependent variable which is determined through the analysis of internal liquidity, operating performance and risk and the summarizing indicators of financial performance for the purpose of this study were identified as ROE and ROA. The chapter goes on discussing the research objectives, research questions, the assumptions and limitations of study. Then the chapter concludes with the discussion of the research methodology that was used to conduct the research and to achieve the research objectives and to answer the research questions that were put forward; the study is a mix of quantitative and qualitative, both secondary and primary were used and financial statements and other sources were used to collect secondary data and the questionnaire was used to collect primary and the questionnaires were sent to a sample of 25 respondents, the sample was selected using judgmental sampling.

Societies Influences :: essays research papers

Societies Influence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society seems to influence all ages by poisioning our minds with lies and aggression. Aggression and hockey have gone together as long as sports have been around, be it the players themselves, to the parents, coaches, friends, they just seem to be an inseparable part of each other. The term violence is defined as physical assualt based on total disregard for the well being of self and others, or the intent to injure another person. Hockey seems to be promoting violence by broadcasting it all over the world advertising it to all children. There is no room for violence in our great game from my prospective. I have been around this game my entire life and I don’t believe we need to make violence a part of it. I have seen to many injuries, to many concusions, broken wrists and broken faces. I have seen twelve year old kids trying to kick each other with skates on. All this is a mentality, that is taught to us hockey players. This lesson is to be rutheless to a nyone and everyone. I remember my very fist lesson I was in my first year in the rep system. I was fourteen and at that age I was very large for my size. My ncoach between the first and second period told me that if I didn’t go out there and lay a bone crushing body check that I was going to sit next game. He believed that all I was good for was to be violent. I was fourteen scared out of my mind and my next shift I went out there and just crushed a player from the opposing team. From that point on all my coach wanted me to do for the rest of the season was fight. That year when I was fourteen I fought over twenty times in that season because of the surrounding pressure. The worst year of my life and I never ever want to see or hear of a player put in that position I was in. The game of hockey has always been violent to an extent like any other sport but in our up and coming society it seems that violence is influencing our game of hockey. In conclusion, I believe that if hockey the sport should continue we as a society should stop putting pressure on our children and friends and just let them have fun.

Victims Rights: Why Do Laws Protect the Criminal More than the Victim?

The criminal laws of the United States are more intent on protecting the rights of criminals than penalizing them. Today’s inmates live better off than most American citizens who are often working two jobs just to meet paying their taxes. A criminal can literally get away with murder because of a technicality, police can barely interrogate suspects without the suspects’ lawyers stating some legal issues that prevent further investigations. It almost seems that the very people who do not respect the law are above it. A criminal is obviously an individual who commits a crime, but what is crime? A crime is any act or omission of an act in violation of a public law. Though most laws are common throughout America, some laws are also established by local and state governments as well. Criminal laws and penalties vary from state to state. Crimes include both felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are serious crimes like murder or rape and are punishable by imprisonment for a year or more. The consequence for felonies such as murder and treason can be the death penalty. Misdemeanors are less serious crimes like petty theft or speeding and are punishable by less than a year in prison. Fines are also punishments of both misdemeanors and felonies. The fine’s amount is determined by the seriousness of the case. However, no act is a crime unless it has been stated as such by an American law or statute. Why do criminals have rights in the first place? The laws of the United States were created to protect the rights of all individuals, even the ones that break the laws. Many of these laws are made in order to uphold the rights established in the Bill of Rights. When the United States was still developing, many states refused ... ...t to aid their client. Lawyers are by no means evil. They are simply doing their job. Unfortunately, the majority of them do it very well. And so long as criminals break the law, there will be lawyers to fight for them and defend them. It is very interesting to see that even though when someone breaks the law in the United States, they will still be protected by that very law. Even as one violates the rights of others, the law will make sure that their rights are protected. It almost seems that has more rights by breaking the law instead of following it. Police are prevented from using extreme force against them and lawyers are at the ready to serve these criminals. Criminals have forfeited their rights when they have violated the rights of others. Why should the law be so intent on protecting their rights, when they have no intent on following the law?

History Of Computers :: essays research papers fc

History of Computers ENG 121 The volume and use of computers in the world are so great, they have become difficult to ignore anymore. Computers appear to us in so many ways that many times, we fail to see them as they actually are. People associated with a computer when they purchased their morning coffee at the vending machine. As they drove themselves to work, the traffic lights that so often hampered us are controlled by computers in an attempt to speed the journey. Accept it or not, the computer has invaded our life. The origins and roots of computers started out as many other inventions and technologies have in the past. They evolved from a relatively simple idea or plan designed to help perform functions easier and quicker. The first basic type of computers were designed to do just that; compute!. They performed basic math functions such as multiplication and division and displayed the results in a variety of methods. Some computers displayed results in a binary representation of electronic lamps. Binary denotes using only ones and zeros thus, lit lamps represented ones and unlit lamps represented zeros. The irony of this is that people needed to perform another mathematical function to translate binary to decimal to make it readable to the user. One of the first computers was called ENIAC. It was a huge, monstrous size nearly that of a standard railroad car. It contained electronic tubes, heavy gauge wiring, angle-iron, and knife switches just to name a few of the components. It has become difficult to believe that computers have evolved into suitcase sized micro-computers of the 1990's. Computers eventually evolved into less archaic looking devices near the end of the 1960's. Their size had been reduced to that of a small automobile and they were processing segments of information at faster rates than older models. Most computers at this time were termed "mainframes" due to the fact that many computers were linked together to perform a given function. The primary user of these types of computers were military agencies and large corporations such as Bell, AT&T, General Electric, and Boeing. Organizations such as these had the funds to afford such technologies. However, operation of these computers required extensive intelligence and manpower resources. The average person could not have fathomed trying to operate and use these million dollar processors. The United States was attributed the title of pioneering the computer. It was not until the early 1970's that nations such as Japan and the United Kingdom started utilizing technology of their own for the development of the computer. This resulted in newer components and smaller sized computers.

Critique of Health Related Information Sources

Critique of Health Related information sources Abstract Background – The internet is a vast source of information containing over 70 000 health related sites and discerning credible sites can often be a challenging task. It is important however so that reliable information can be obtained. Methods – A series of critique questions were devised to determine the credibility of a health based online journal article and health based website. Questions were determined according to guidelines based on accuracy, links to authority, current relevance, scope of coverage, objectivity and design of each source advised by Hendrix and Winters (2001) [2].Findings – Journal Article; was deemed a credible source coming from a peer reviewed journal with many credible references and no apparent bias or conflict of interest. The main author had significant authority and relevance in the given field and discussions were examined in depth. Most limitations are accounted for though no mention was made regarding possible complications of using slightly out dated data. Findings – Website; was deemed a non-credible source according the critique questions.Very few authors could be linked to articles and most articles were associated with product promotion indicating high levels of bias. While articles were maximum 4 years old, no references were made to original findings and therefore age and accuracy of data could not be confirmed. Conclusion – keeping in mind critiquing criteria is important when discerning any information sourced from the internet whether it is peer-reviewed or not as this does not guarantee 100% credibility. The website chosen was relatively easy to discern.More thought and critical thinking would be required to discern more popular health websites. Introduction Websites can be created by anyone with access to a computer and internet [1] and are subject too misleading or incorrect information whether accidentally or maliciously [2]. There are over 70 000 health-related websites available [3] the form of journals, websites, blogs, other social media, the list goes on. As a health professional, one needs to be aware of the extensive amounts of new and existing research available over the internet, but also how to valuate, discern and decide which information is reliable. Deciding the credibility of a website is not always straight forward. Research shows that even credible websites may not necessarily always provide highly accurate health information [4]. A study found internet to be a desirable medium used by collage students with 74% of participants obtaining health information from the internet via websites such as Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and health. com [5].Some of these sites may seem reputable but are not subject to peer-reviewing. Information subject to peer-review, such as online journals, is significantly more likely to be credible and contain reliable information [6]. The aim of this report is to evaluate an d critique, two health related internet sources, a journal article ‘Energy density of foods and beverages in the Australian food supply: influence of macronutrients and comparison to dietary intake’ [7] and a website ‘Goodhealth. com’ [8] MethodsSources were critiqued based on criteria adapted from Hendrix and Winters (2001) [2]. Detailed questions were answered in regards to the following topics; accuracy, links to authority, current relevance, scope of coverage, objectivity and design of each source. This information was then critically analysed to determine the reliability and credibility of each source. Findings Journal Article – Energy density of foods and beverages in the Australian food supply: influence of macronutrients and comparison to dietary intake. [7]This article explores the relationship between energy density and the percentage of energy as fat, carbohydrate or percent water weight of individual foods and beverages listed in the 1999 Australian Food and Nutrient Database [9] composed by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand [10], as well as Australian dietary intake data obtained from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (9). Links are made between relationships found in this and other studies towards the increase in overweight and obesity in Australia and worldwide.Analysis This is a peer-reviewed study sourced from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, straight away indicating likely reliability. Methods, while generally clear, failed to sufficiently describe how energy density was calculated for Australian dietary intake data. Logical assumptions can be made as to how this was done, but further clarity is required. Data used was collected from 3673 individual foods, 247 beverages and dietary information from 13 858 people.This high volume of information and participants allowed for greater range of variances and increased reliability of findings. Results clearly presented findings and statistical evid ence to support relationships (or lack of) between energy density and main macronutrient energy source. The article is well referenced, citing 23 references, particularly articles from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition plus other journals and databases such as the Australian Food and Nutrient Database. According to SciVerse Scopus [7] this article is cited in 13 additional articles.Author, TC Crowe, Associate Professor and academic at the School of Exercise and nutrition at Deakin University has been involved with many studies prior to and since this article [11,12]. Though published in 2004, all the data used is from 1999 and 1995, making it slightly outdated. Due to the nature of the study, date is an unlikely relevant criteria. It is possible an influx of new products could have affected results of the study, though for this to be determined, a similar study would need to be carried out using the most recent AusNut from 2007 [9] .Recent studies that support the findings of this article are referenced throught the discussion, though most focus more on the relationship between energy density and overweight and obesity problems. As this is published in a nutrition journal, it can be assumed that the target audience is a combination of health professionals, academics, university students and government officials. The depth in which the article explains its findings is thorough yet simple, making it easy to understand even without a health or science background.The results section visually represents the data so that relationships can easily be seen and supports with appropriate statistical evidence. The discussion section does not go into great scientific detail but includes supporting information from other studies and focuses on the relationships between energy density and macronutrients and the links towards overweight and obesity issues. There is no apparent evidence towards any conflict of interest regarding the main author and study. Crowe was gu arantor and involved in all stages of the study with support from the remaining authors [7].Data used was collected by independent organisations, which further eliminates any possibility of any bias while publication in a European journal increases credibility from an Australian circle to a more global view. This is an observational study design which provides level III-3 evidence according to the NHMRC guidelines [13]. The design of the methods allowed results to be presented in a clear and concise manner, easily portraying the studies findings. The study acknowledges that it was, however, limited by the following; 1. Population daily food intake was collected over a 24 hour time period.Dietary habits are subject to change daily and different days could present different results. 2. No weighting system was used regarding daily food intake thus may lead to bias by under or over representing a particular food. 3. Comparisons cannot be made between individual foods and population dail y intake due to differences in data sets. Other limiting factors may include differences in food consumption habits and availability between 1995 and 1999. Evaluation The evaluation provides sufficient information to determine this study is a reliable source.While there is some room for improvement in methods and certain limitations need to be noted, it comes from a reliable source and cites many articles from similarly reliable sources. There are no apparent conflicts of interest and whilst slightly outdated, the results are not likely to vary greatly over time. Health Related Website – www. goodhealth. com. au The website titled ‘Good Health Now! ’ [9] is a small collection of health related articles ranging from 2009 to 2012 along with links to recent health related news articles from ABC News [14] and Natural news [15].Many (non news) articles have an external link located within the article. The website is well presented, aesthetically pleasing and seems to supply a varied range of health topics. After short investigation, however, it is apparent information on each topic Is quite limited. Analysis When looking at the accuracy of the website there appears to be no process in which the information has been reviewed or critically analysed before being posted. No references are found within the text nor listed at the end with the exception of one article, which had a direct link to an article from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition [16].There were however, links in many articles to generally unfamiliar sites relating to the issue of discussion, often offering a product or service. While ABC News appears a reputable source, some headline appear to have authors and quotes or references while others appear to be press releases containing relatively general and basic information. Articles within the website have 1 of 3 author names; Admin, Katrina or Guest. Searching Admin or Katrina produced no information though some information cou ld be found regarding the Guest articles.The end of each Guest article presented a small biography titled either Author Bio, Bio or no heading at all. Those without the heading Author Bio assumed the biography was not regarding the article author. While it is possible to contact site administrators through the site, not contact information is available. Accounting these factors no judgment can be made on any authors level of authority or expertise with the exception of the few named Guest authors where further research would need to be done.Considering the high number of links to related sites promoting products, there is a strong bias towards product awareness, particularly regarding Guest articles. No specific ‘last update’ date was found on the website though each article states the publishing date. Articles range in date from 2009 to 2012 appearing relatively current, however the audience are unable to determine the age of the data this information was sourced from. Aimed at health conscious adults, the website boasted a motto of ‘enabling all the live a healthy, happy life’ with a not so hidden agenda towards advertisement and product promotion.While some articles provided some detailed information many were lacking in detail. The provided a brief overview to draw the customer in [17] but then required them to search further if truly interested. Language and detail was very simple therefore there was lots of room for improvement in detail and coverage of article in general. Evaluation While initially appearing professional, lack of evidence and references significantly demises the source’s credibility, with the high amount of product promotion suggesting excessive levels of bias in featured articles.Combined with lack of detailed, sufficient information this site appears to be neither reliable nor credible. Conclusion Completion of reviewing sources illustrates the importance of evaluating information found on the internet . The critiquing criteria used provided a solid guide to deciphering the reliability of each source. While journal articles are generally deemed a reliable source care must be taken to ensure they are peer-reviewed, even then, this does not guarantee 100% reliability. Consequently, the critiquing criteria should always be kept in mind. Lack of credibility of the Good Health Now! 9] website was quickly apparent once investigation started. A lot more attention and investigation would be required if investigating more well known health websites such as health. com or WebMD. Credibility is a lot less apparent and investigation would become significantly more reliant on the critiquing framework. ? References (1) McGowan J. Evidence-based health care and the Internet. Canadian Medical Association. Journal 1998 Oct 06;159(7):843-843. (2) Hendrickx L, Winters C. Evaluating healthcare information on the Internet: Guidelines for nurses. Crit Care Nurse 2001;21(2):62-5, 67-8. 3) Ahmann E. Supp orting families' savvy use of the Internet for health research. Pediatr Nurs 2000;26(4):419-23. (4) Kunst H, Groot D, Latthe PM, Latthe M, Khan KS. Accuracy of information on apparently credible websites: Survey of five common health topics. Br Med J 2002 Mar 09;324(7337):581-2. (5) Escoffery C, Miner KR, Adame DD, Butler S, al e. Internet Use for Health Information Among College Students. Journal of American College Health 2005;53(4):183-8. (6) Lazaroiu G. The Quality and Credibility of Process Control in Research. Economics, Management and Financial Markets 2012;7(2):185-191. 7) Crowe TC, La Fontaine ,H. A. , Gibbons CJ, Cameron-Smith D, Swinburn BA. Energy density of foods and beverages in the Australian food supply: Influence of macronutrients and comparison to dietary intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 2004;58(11):1485-91. (8) Good Health Now! [internet] No Date [cited 2012 Sep 13] Available from: http://www. goodhealth. com. au/ (9) Australian Food and Nutrient Database (1999): Australia n and New Zealand Food Authority. Available from: http://www. foodstandards. gov. au/ (10) McLennan W ; Podger A (1998); National Nutrition Survey. NutrientIntakes and Physical Measurements, Catalogue No. 4805. 0 Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. (11) Crowe TC, Cameron-Smith D. Low-carbohydrate diets in Australia: prevalence and public perceptions. Med J Aust 2005 Jun 06;182(11):594-5. (12) Crowe TC, Seligman SA, Copeland L. Inhibition of enzymic digestion of amylose by free fatty acids in vitro contributes to resistant starch formation. J Nutr 2000;130(8):2006-8. (13) Australian Government – National Health and Medical Research Council. NHMRC Levels of Evidence and Grades for recommendations for developers of guidelines. 2009 Dec. 14) ABC News [Internet] No date [cited 2012 Sep 13] Available from: http://www. abc. net. au/news/ (15) NaturalNews. com [Internet] Not date [cited 2012 Sep 13] Available from: http://www. naturalnews. com/index. html (16) Njike V, Faridi Z, Dutta S, Gonzalez-Simon A, Katz DL. Daily egg consumption in hyperlipidemic adults – Effects on endothelial function and cardiovascular risk. Nutrition Journal 2010;9(1):n/a. (17) Good Health Now! – True Causes of Diabetes [internet] No Date [cited 2012 Sep 13] Available from: http://www. goodhealth. com. au/220/conditions/diabetes/the-true-causes-of-diabetes/

Mexico’s Economical Crisis, Facts and Remedies

Mexico is the most advanced and developed nation in the Latin America, with a population over 96 million and per capita income about $3970 USD, it’s income ranges to the upper middle class in the Latin America. During the 60s and 70s the GDP grew by 3.5% annually, but then the crisis of 80s completely reversed the process and the whole Mexican economy went upside down followed by the 90s crisis which pushed back the GNP of the country to the 50’s level. In this paper we will discus the GDP increase and decrease of the Mexican economy facts of the crisis of 80s and 90s and GNP exchange crisis and inflation, debating about the factors involving in the crisis and discussion the ways the problem could be solved and presenting some suggestions about it.Sudden Collapse in GDP Growth; Why?As discussed in the introduction the data shows that during the seventh and eighth decade of the last century the GDP growth of Mexico showed a mean 3.5% annually growth, but after the 84 cri sis the GDP growth shrank to 0.5%. This sudden collapse has aroused suspicions about the credibility of the Mexican claim of 3.5% GDP growth annually. GDP does not measure output reliably because it includes not only the final output produced by an economy’s market, but also transactional activities, which are intermediate to production. (Wallis and North 1986; North 1987) Governments spend a large amount of money on National Defense, Justice, Social Reforms and enforcing regulations.The transactional activities regarding these issues are intermediary in nature but are included in the standard computation of GDP. During the last three decades preceding the 84 crisis transactional activities have varied. Due the change in the structure of the nation’s economy i.e. the traditional agriculture trends declined and the share of manufacturing and services in the economy increased, as well as the economic interdependence.Government’s change in policies effected the tra nsactional cost while the decreased in oil prices enhanced the process resulting the indebtedness of the government which compelled her later to take high interest loans, thus increasing inflation and the currency exchange rate became unstable . These all circumstances blew every thing out and Mexican economy was completely crushed resulting in sudden downfall of GDP.GNP Downfall in the 90s:In 1994 the GNP of the country fell down to its historical low as a result per capita income fell to the level of 50s and the plague of poverty spread all over the country leaving no one undisturbed. The main causes of this turbulence as analyzed by the economists were the demographic, environmental changes as well as the changing in the global scenario and also the emergence of NAFTA as most of the foreign investment was invested in the stock market and short term bond but all these devalued thus crushing down the peso.The increasing poverty and the deteriorating environment as well as the incre asing inflation pressurized the already decomposed economy thus the weak currency faced a sudden downfall and the rate of exchange become intolerably unstable. The monetary market was panicked by the falling currency and soon every investor threw away the Mexican currency. The GNP fell rapidly and Mexico again fell in the darkness of high interest debts, inflation and poverty.What are the Rectifications?What Mexico needed after these sudden shocks complete is overhauling of the economy by making it free from old and conservative rules and regulations. The government should continue the process of the privatization of state owned enterprises, especially the ejido (Community Land Owned by the Government). The Federal Labor Law also needs some thorough reforms. While the most important thing to do is the clear and of the Assets of Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) what ever it is deemed by the Mexican Government as a Mexican Sovereignty or not.A Promotion and Reconstruction bank should be cr eated with the initial capital as $150 billion dollars, and also the board of directors should be select among the professional and honest persons. Businesses should issue bonds of their debt for 30 years. Income tax should be reduced immediately to 20%. The government should negotiate with the United States and Canada to obliterate the taxes and tariff between the three governments thus creating a free trade market. (Valenzuela, 1999)Conclusion:To recover from the shocks of the turbulences and achieve a sustainable growth process the Mexican Government have to make radical changes in the economy and has to redesign it in a more appropriate way that the economy becomes adaptable to the modern economic circumstances.Reference:Marco Espinosa, Steven Russell, The Mexican economic crisis: alternative views, http://www.frbatlanta.org/frbatlanta/filelegacydocs/Espin811.pdfRicardo Valenzuela, 1999. A Prescription for Dealing with Mexico's Economic Crisis,   http://www.westga.edu/~bquest/ 1999/prescrip.htmlRobert A. Blecker, NAFTA, the Peso Crisis, and the Contradictions of the Mexican Economic Growth Strategy,http://www.newschool.edu/cepa/papers/archive/cepa0103.pdfWallis, J. J, D.C. North. 1986. Measuring the transaction sector in the American economy, 1870-1970. In Long-term factors in American economic growth, edited by S.L. Engerman and R. E. Gallman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 95-161.Deirdre Griswold, 1995 Oil, debt and Mexico's national sovereignty, In Workers World. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/46/026.html

The Ship of Theseus

ABSTRACT: Endurantism and perdurantism are theories that describe how objects can persist through time. These theories will be used in an effort to solve a puzzle that has been dated all the way back to the first century: the Ship of Theseus. It will be determined that the two theories fail in solving the Ship of Theseus puzzle. According to Brian Garrett of Australian National University, metaphysics is concerned with the nature and identity of objects. 1 In order to increase understanding of the identity of objects, puzzles of constitution and identity are used by philosophers.There is a puzzle common in metaphysics: the Ship of Theseus, which was believed to be recorded by Plutarch in the late first century2. It is complex puzzle that consists of three different scenarios. The first scenario depicts a ship being dismantled and then rebuilt. The second scenario portrays the ship being completely remodeled. The third scenario is a mixture of the previous ones that have the ship bein g completely remodeled, but the removed planks are used to construct another ship. In order to solve this puzzle, one must be able to identify which ship is the Ship of Theseus.Philosophical theories can be used to solve philosophical puzzles such as this one and there are two theories that exist that help one understand how objects persist through time: endurantism and perdurantism. According to endurantism, ordinary objects are wholly present at each moment of time at which they exist3. In perdurantism, objects are four dimensional entities that consist of temporal and spatial parts and these objects persist by having different temporal parts at different times4. Once one has knowledge of endurantism and perdurantism, the theories can be used to solve puzzles such as the Ship of Theseus.However, in this paper, it will be shown that the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus cannot be solved using endurantism and perdurantism. This is because attempts made by endurantists and perdurantists result in unintuitive consequences. This will be done first by explaining and assessing endurantism and perdurantism. Then it will be shown that the two theories fail in solving the Ship of Theseus because of problems that are encountered. After that, the Extensionality Principle will be discussed, which is used by perdurantists as a criterion for identity.It will be determined that this principle is also flawed and is also unable to give an account for the identity of objects. Firstly, endurantism is the view that physical objects are three-dimensional and move through time. They are wholly present at each moment of time at which they exist. For example, if a man was born in 1975, attended kindergarten class in 1980, and graduated from high school in 1993, endurantists would claim that this man was wholly present at each of those different times. He will continue to wholly exist in the future as well.Primary motivation for this theory is that it is a more conventional view and is m ore in conjunction with believed upon ideas about the world. For example, when a woman is talking to someone, she believes that she is talking to that person as a complete object, wholly present; as opposed to just a temporal part of an object. The theory of endurantism has been explained. It must be noted, however, that this theory holds that two numerically distinct, but wholly present objects can co-exist for some of the time or at all times.Brian Garrett says that this hinders the authenticity of endurantism because the statement is strange5. Perdurantism does not have this problem. The theory of perdurantism is the view that ordinary objects are four-dimensional and are composed of temporal parts. An object is not wholly present at every possible time at which it exists because only its temporal parts exist. In the previous example, when the man is born, or attends kindergarten, or graduates from high school, the man is not wholly present according to perdurantism.Instead, it i s the man’s temporal parts that existed during those events; the man itself exists as a four-dimensionally extended whole. Primary motivation for perdurantism is that this theory is able to account for change within a physical object because the objects are four-dimensional. On the contrary, endurantism does not have this luxury. Perdurantism is also primarily motivated by how it better accommodates Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity. There are problems that arise if both endurantism and special relativity are true. According to Steven D. Hales and Timothy A.Johnson of Bloomsburg University, â€Å"it would be misguided to argue† for endurantism because special relativistic effects â€Å"are negligible at human speeds†. 6 The theory of special relativity does not allow for endurantism because of how it requires objects such as humans to move through time at a slower speed than the speed of light. Given that special relativity is a widely accept ed theory, perdurantists have strong motivation to prove their view7. Secondly, even though endurantism and perdurantism help explain the persistence of objects over time, neither view is able to solve the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus.In the Ship of Theseus, there are three different scenarios. In the first scenario, the Ship of Theseus is dismantled and then rebuilt with each plank being returned to its original location— we’ll call this ship Y1. In the second scenario, the ship is completely remodeled with an entirely new set of planks— we’ll call this ship X1. In the third scenario, two ships are involved. The ship from the second scenario (now called ship X) is present, but an entirely different ship that is being constructed out of the planks that had been removed (called ship Y) is also present.In order to solve this puzzle, the Ship of Theseus must be identified. However, flaws in endurantism are shown by how the endurantist must deny that Y1 is e qual to Y. This is done in order to respect the necessity of identity and non-identity which states that if x = y, then necessarily x = y8. However, what this entails is that one could claim that if the removed planks had not been replaced in the third scenario, then ship Y would not have existed and instead ship Y1 would have existed. This means that the existence of ship Y or Y1 entirely depends on whether or not the removed planks were replaced.Brian Garrett refers to this consequence as â€Å"strange† because â€Å"we don’t think that the existence of a particular ship (or of anything else in space and time) depends on what happens in a region of the universe which exerts no causal influence on it†9. This is a flaw for the endurantism theory because it denotes that an object’s existence is dependent on an event that has no direct influence on it. Furthermore, perdurantism also fails in correctly solving the Ship of Theseus. According to perdurantism, the third scenario involves the presence of two ships prior to the repair of the Ship of Theseus.They are overlapping one another. This represents that the ships have a common temporal segment where they are basically one and the same ship. After the repair, the two ships separate with one being ship X and the other being ship Y. The problem, however, is that one cannot think that there are three possible outcomes anymore. One cannot think that the future of the Ship of Theseus will be the same as that of the ship in the first scenario, the ship in the second scenario, or the ships in the third scenario because each of the ships are distinct from one another.This is a problem, according to Garrett, because people â€Å"could sensibly wonder† if the future for the Ship of Theseus will be like any of the three scenarios when it is being constructed10. He means that ordinary people should be able to think about the Ship of Theseus and think about what future it might behold. How ever, the theory of perdurantism must deny that three possible futures are available for the ship. As a result, we are left with either believing that people are not able to wonder about the ship’s future (which cannot be true) or perdurantism is unable to solve the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus.Moreover, perdurantism fails in solving the puzzle because of the name: ‘Ship of Theseus’. It has been discussed that the Ship of Theseus has a temporal part where there are two overlapping ships. However, which of the two overlapping ships is the actual Ship of Theseus when the name is being called? This is a problem because both ships cannot be called the Ship of Theseus. Perdurantism cannot account for this confusion. This shows that perdurantism is unable to solve the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus.Overall, the theories of endurantism and perdurantism have been explained and it has been shown that both theories are unable to solve the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus. How ever, there are criterions for identity that exist that could provide a criterion of identification for objects through time. One criterion for identity that will be talked about is the Extensionality Principle; it is used by perdurantists because it is a criterion of identity for four-dimensional objects11. The Extensionality Principle, according to Garrett, states: if x and y are objects with the same proper parts, then x=y.This means that if two different objects have the same properties, then the two objects are the same12. However, there are flaws in the Extensionality Principle that causes it to fail in providing a criterion of identification. According to Lecture notes, in order for objects to be identical, it is not enough for the object to have all the same parts. This is because the parts of identical objects must be related to each other or arranged in a certain order13. Therefore, a problem arises regarding temporal parts of an object. How do the temporal parts have the proper order?As a result of this problem, the Extensionality Principle must be revised. But if it is revised, according to lecture notes, the principle will no longer be an extensional principle14. Furthermore, there is no explanation as to why time would provide the correct order for temporal parts of an object. These problems show that the Extensionality Principle fails in providing a criterion of identification; and this harkens back to how the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus cannot be solved. It has been shown that the puzzle of the Ship of Theseus cannot be solved.This was first determined by explaining the theories of endurantism and perdurantism and revealing the primary motivation for each of them. These theories depict how objects persist through time; yet, the theories cannot be used to correctly solve the Ship of Theseus puzzle. Lastly, the Extensionality Principle was described and it was shown that the principle was unable to solve the Ship of Theseus puzzle. As one can s ee, the Ship of Theseus is a difficult puzzle to solve and it has been around since the late first century. Will there ever be a theory that correctly identifies the Ship of Theseus once and for all?

Napoleon Bonaparte Rise to Power Essay

In 1784 to 1785 Napoleon attended the Ecole Militaire in Paris. That was the place where he received his military training. He studied to be an artillery man and an officer. He finished his training and joined the French army when he was 16 years old! Soon after that his father died and he was left with the responsibility of taking care of the huge Bonaparte family. Napoleon was stationed in Paris in 1792. After the French monarchy was overthrown on August 10, 1792, Napoleon decided to make his move up in the ranks. After this, Napoleon started becoming a recognized officer. In 1792 Napoleon was prompted to the rank of captain. In 1793 he was chosen to direct the artillery against the siege in Toulon. He seized ground where he could get his guns in range of the British ships. Soon after that Toulon fell and Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1795 he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing a group of rioting citizens by using his famous â€Å"Whiff of grapeshot† – He loaded a bunch on pellets into a cannon and fired it at the crowd. Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, and each army he fought got bigger and bigger. This forced Austria and its allies to make peace with France. But after this Napoleon was relieved of his command. He was poor, he was suspected of treason, he had no friends. No one would have suspected what Napoleon would do next. In 1795 Napoleon was appointed to put down a revolt in Paris. He calmly took complete control of the situation. He just had his men shoot all the rebels in the streets. The French government was saved, but they decided to form a new government called the Directory. Under the new government Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. During this campaign the French realized how smart Napoleon was. He developed a tactic that worked very efficiently. He would cut the enemy’s army in to two parts, then throw all his force on one side before the other side could rejoin them. This method was extremely effective against the Sardinian troops, because he defeated them five times in 11 days!! This made the King of Sardinia to try to make peace. Napoleon could not be stopped. He was a fast thinker who moved his troops extremely fast. Soon, instead of taking the defensive position Napoleon started taking the offensive position and thus, he started his conquest of Europe. He started his attack on Austria. It was his first big campaign. During one attack he showed his bravery by forcing his way across a burning bridge. After that his troops gave him the name Petit Caporal† or in English â€Å"Little Corporal† the name stuck to him. He then attacked the Austrians in Mantua. Austria sent troops there four times, and every time Napoleon crushed them. In 1797 he came within 80 miles of Vienna when Austria surrendered. Napoleon had won 14 pitched battles and 70 combats. He had made the rich lands he conquered feed and pay the French soldiers. Plus millions of francs were send back to France. This helped France’s poor economy tremendously. Napoleon negotiated a treaty called Campo Formio with Austria. Austria gave up it’s Netherlands and Lombardy to France. Austria also recognized the Rhine as the eastern boundary of France. In return France gave Austria most of the old Venetian Republic. When Napoleon returned to Paris he received a huge welcome. He then began thinking of pursuing political power and military power. He wanted to become the next Alexander the Great, so he asked the Directory if he could take a large army to Egypt. That way he could conquer an empire that included Egypt, India, and other middle and far east places. Napoleon came up with a neat idea to accomplish this. If he conquered Egypt, he could attack the English’s route to India. He won the battle of the Pyramids in July 1798. But his fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile in Aboukir Bay. So Napoleon decided to invade Syria. The English and Turkish troops in Syria had held up against Napoleon. Napoleon then retreated to Egypt. Then later in July 1799, he defeated 10,000 Turks at Aoukir. He returned to France shortly after. Napoleon returned to find the Directory was a mess. He, in his selfish way, saw this as the perfect time for self-advancement. So in November of 1799 he overthrew the Directory. Napoleon set up a government called the Consulate. He was the first of three consuls. About three years later he made himself first consul for life. Everyone in France loved Napoleon at that time. Then he started increasing his power Napoleon’s impact is still around today. Many laws are based on the Napoleonic Code. In Paris there are many monuments saluting him. His remains were brought to Paris in 1840 and placed in the Invalides, where they still lie.