1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may Essay

1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may be developed over three years - Essay Example The company is dedicated to inspire the disabled youngsters in the United Kingdom to actively participate in different kinds of sporting activities and events. The company also provides the disabled kids and young people with sports grants which can be used in the training, travel, physiotherapy, competition fees and development and design of sports wheelchairs. The aim of Get Kids Going (GKG) is to provide long term support and encourage the disabled children and youngsters in the country to achieve the dreams regarding their sports careers and their goals to become sporting athletes. The company recognizes that there are many talented youngsters in the country who dream to become athletes and runners. However, the enormous expenses required for training to become an athlete and to participate in the sports events like marathon act as restraints to the achievement of these dreams by the young disabled sports aspirants. The activities of the company are supported by the sponsorships of different marathon runners and athletes. Hundreds of athletes and runners in the country are supportive of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). These runners support the functioning of Get Kids Going (GKG) by running in various national and international sporting events like the Bupa Great North Run, Paris Marathon, New York marathon, Virgin London marathon, Ride London 100 Cycling Challenge, Berlin Marathon, L’Etape du Tour and other sports events taking place indifferent countries of the world. The support of donation and charity given by many companies, schools, trusts and individuals are also critical for the continuity of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). A digital marketing plan involves the use of digital and electronic medium as an important medium for promoting and selling the products and services of a company (Sadler, 2001). Get Kids

Social Class Differences in Education Essay Example for Free

Social Class Differences in Education Essay The claim that social class differences in education through school factors is supported by the interactionists such as George H. Mead. They believe that labelling theory encourages the educational achievement in different social classes. The labelling theory is when the teacher identifies major characteristics of a student. Research shows that teachers are more likely to label middle class children as bright and well behaved but working class children as naughty and disruptive. Following the label being attached on the child is self fulfilling prophecy, this is when the child will respond and act according to the label being placed on them, so a middle class student will act well behaved and complete the work that is set whereas the working class student will disrupt and not complete the work set and therefore not do well in exams. This shows that labelling working and middle class students affects the educational achievements because of their social class. However George H.  Mead can be criticised by material/cultural deprivation. Material deprivation is when the child doesnt have the right equipment for school e. g. books, and cultural deprivation is when the children havent been given the correct norms and values for attitudes to education. This shows that it is not only school factors that affect the differences in education achievement but it is also home factors. Marxists such as Willis would argue that counter school subcultures are the reason why different social class are achieving and underachieving. He claims that working class boys reject the whole idea of school and see school as a place of laughs and a matter of amusement because they do not have the correct norms and values, the see schools as boring so the disrupt lessons and breaking school rules. This behaviour will lead to low grades and therefore low pay jobs in the future. This shows that difference in social class results to different educational achievement. It can be argued that the working class children do not think about the uture also known as cultural capital, working class children only see how they should enjoy themselves in the present time and not what the rewards of education will be later on in life, this could be due to the rise in lone parent mothers and boys do not see a role model father and therefore do not value education, this shows that it is not only school factors that affect the educational achievement but it is home factors as well. Gillborn and Youdell argued that examination sets are split into two tiers, foundation and higher. Pupils that are entered for the foundation paper can not achieve higher than a C, pupils who are entered in for the higher paper are able to achieve A*. middle class students are more likely to be entered in the higher paper and working class are placed in the foundation. This shows that educational achievement is because of school factors and that working class pupils are not given a fair opportunity to education. However Sugarman would argue that educational achievement is not only because of school factors it is also home factors this could be due to class subcultures. He describes working class pupils as fatalistic and that they accept their position rather than trying to improve this. Pupils are not given the motivation for parents to try and improve. Evidence shows that there are may reasons why difference in social class leads to different educational achievements so therefore evidence remains inconclusive.

The History Of Descartes Dream Argument

The History Of Descartes Dream Argument In this paper, I will be discussing Descartes dream argument for which I will try to find reliable signs between being asleep and awake. When looking at Descartes argument I find it to be a valid argument due to its premises and structure. I will explain his argument, prove that it is factually sound and valid, and then discuss arguments against his argument and then refute them. Descartes attempts to find out what true knowledge was by finding everything something that was indubitable. His thought was to take the indubitable belief and build his knowledge and beliefs based on the indubitable belief. His dream argument was one of the ways he attempted to strengthen his theory. His dream argument states the idea that one cannot trust your senses when awake, because your mind is capable producing false images while dreaming. If the mind can produce false images while we are asleep dreaming, couldnt your mind also create false images while you are awake? If you cant fully trust what you have seen while asleep, how can you rely on what you see when awake? Descartes dream argument states that you can often have perceptions very much like the ones while dreaming. There are no definite signs to determine dreaming experience from a waking experience. Therefore, It is possible that I am dreaming right now and all knowledge I find while dreaming is false. In other term s, Descartes first premise states that when asleep or awake, the same type of perception and senses are found feel the same way no matter which state you are in. His second premise states that there are no reliable ways to determine if you are dreaming or not that would be able to work every time. With these two premises, Descartes finds that while you are asleep, you could be feeling similar things to what you might feel while awake. You cant tell if you are dreaming or awake at any given time, which means you could be dreaming and everything which you would sense or feel would be based on false and untrue findings. This statement leads you to question whether at any given time are you awake or dreaming, or are you in a constant state of dreaming and anything knowledge you gained during your constant dreaming state, is true or not? This argument backs what Descartes is trying to prove, what real knowledge is, and that knowledge we find to be true could still be false, because of th e state in which we received the knowledge. We cannot simply accept this argument without attempting to find ways to disprove it. If we pretend that the feelings we have while we are asleep are like the feelings we have when we are awake, and if we cant tell if we are dreaming or not, the only conclusion you can make from this is that it is entirely possible to be dreaming at this moment and all of our feelings are based on factitious things. We wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a dreaming state and an awake state, because they both feel the same to us. When are dreaming you can possibly feel everything you would while being awake. This concludes that there is no way to know if you are curled up in your bed dreaming, or out in the real world awake. I believe that the first premise is true because everyone including myself has had a moment in a dream in which they felt like was reality. As long as you have had at least one small tiny moment in which you thought a dream was a reality, the premise holds. It doesnt require all of our dreams to be this way, it requires just one small moment to put the d oubt in your mind, if it happened once couldnt it be happening right now. A counter argument we will look at tries to go against what Descartes was trying to prove through his dream argument, which is can you cast doubt on knowledge that we would otherwise deem truthful. The ideas in your dreams are based off of things or experiences you have had or felt in real life, which would mean you could trust what you felt in your dreams, because it is based off of the real world. In the real world you can come across a picture of a unicorn which we know doesnt exist. A unicorn is merely a horse with a horn on its head, both things which exist in the real world, and even though the picture is factitious it comes from experiences in the real world. Which would mean anything we dream up would come from things we have already seen in real live. A way to disprove this argument would be modern video games. For example the video game Skyrim which has you running around in a factitious world hunting down dragons. Dragons are a completely fictional creature which leads us to show that someone at some point dreamt up the creature of a scaled, flying, fire breathing beast. Whom ever dreamt up the fictional character of a dragon would have done so without any previous experience of what characteristics a dragon would possess. Which in turn leads us to believe people can make things up without ever having a dragon like creature imprinted in his mind before dreaming it up. Descartes argument was found to be both sound and valid. We can conclude that at any given time we cannot determine if we are dreaming or not. I believe Descartes was right with his findings. I do not believe that there are any valid signs to determine whether you are awake or asleep. Granted you may be able to argue that the pain you felt while you where awake such as getting punched in the face could only happen while you were awake that there was no way that you could be dreaming. But you can always go back to that one dream or moment when you were in an sleeping state and you felt a pain that felt so real you could have sworn you werent dreaming. All it takes for Descartes argument to work is for you to be able to think of that one moment in which a part of your dream felt so real that you could have sworn it really happened. This goes to show if it happens once even for a split second, it could be happening right now and you would never know it.

Catcher In The Rye, Compares T :: essays research papers

Throughout life, an individual may endure several emotionally or physically straining moments. In The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield suffers much verbal abuse, as well as physical. Both forms of the abuse, combined with other factors, eventually leads Holden to suffer a mental breakdown. Holden’s actions prove that ** â€Å"A blow from a whip raises a welt, but a blow from the tongue smashes bones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden experiences several fights throughout the story. Near the beginning, he begins a struggle with Stradlater, his roommate, over his friend’s date, Jane Gallagher. Holden was upset to learn that the couple were alone in a car, knowing Stradlater’s sexual history. Holden’s mind chooses to push out the incident, so it is foggy in his head. But all he knew was, he tried to hit Stradlater but missed. After the miss, Stradlater proceeded to climb on top of Holden and take hold of his wrists, not letting him up. Stradlater dug his knees deep into Holden’s chest to keep him from moving. This seemed to go on for â€Å"around ten hours†. When Stradlater finally gave in and let Holden get up, the struggle started again, ending with a bloody nose for Holden. Afterwards, although Holden was somewhat offended by the actions, he did not seem to care about his dripping nose. He went directly over to Ackley’s room, not even stopping to wipe up his nose. He also did not seem to care about the overall fight, because he talked of it like it meant nothing to him. â€Å"I had a little goddam tiff with Stradlater,† he explains to Ackley. â€Å"Do you feel like playing a little Canasta?† This quick forgetting shows that the fight had little affect on Holden, and that his injury meant little to him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While Holden is in the Edmont Hotel, the elevator man mentions the prospect of a prostitute. Holden reluctantly agrees to a throw, which would cost him five dollars. Holden was very nervous during his wait, but when the girl showed up he told her he only wanted to talk. Even though they didn’t do anything, Holden paid his money, only to find that the girl was promised ten. Holden refused to pay the extra amount, assuring the girl that he was told a throw was only five and he was not going to pay more. She left, only to return minutes later with the elevator man, Maurice.

Idiots movie friendship analysis

Having a chance to watch the movie entitled, The 3 Idiots, made me change what I see and think of about life. It changed who I am now, and it changed how I live my life. It's very an inspirational movie and it really gives us different moral lessons about different aspects in life. Dealing with a career, friendships, professors, problems and most importantly family. After watching this movie, all I can say is, â€Å"All is Well. † This movie really made me hit me on my head real hard to finally realize how life would be fun without thinking too such of the problems.The concept of movie is very well conveyed to the audience who watched it, of course it really shows how one would deal with life. Dealing with career is quite hard. I mean, thinking on which road to take: what your parents want for you to make them happy, or what you really want to make you happy. It's hard to choose between those but all you have to do is to choose whatever you will not regret at the end, and whic h can really make you happy in the end. Dealing with professors. All professors are different in their own. And we have to at least understand and give respect.Since, they are our professor, they are Just there to guide us to be successful in the road we've took. Dealing with problems. They say, â€Å"Suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem. † Yeah, it's true, nowadays, people tend to commit suicide because of the problems in life but it is a murder to commit suicide. It's a sin to kill yourself. Life is full of choice and it all depends on you whether to be happy of not. Dealing with Family. They are the ones who guides us in almost every road we take and we should never ever fail them 'cause we know they are the only ones who can ally help us stand to be more successful.Dealing with friends. This movie is really all about friends. Friends are the ones who could really help you change yourself and become stronger more than ever they will help you in a way tha t you will never ever forget. After watching 3 idiots, Vive realize these things and it is a really great movie to show to everyone and be inspired in their life and think of positive things. This movie will help you be an optimist and see life on a brighter side. His movie is quite funny, and it will not get you bore. It will make you laugh till you cry and will make you cry and touch your hearts.

USS Randolph (CV-15) in World War II

USS Randolph (CV-15) in World War II USS Randolph (CV-15) - Overview: Nation: United States Type: Aircraft Carrier Shipyard: Newport News Shipbuilding Company Laid Down: May 10, 1943 Launched: June 28, 1944 Commissioned: October 9, 1944 Fate: Scrapped 1975 USS Randolph (CV-15) - Specifications Displacement: 27,100 tons Length: 888 ft. Beam: 93 ft. Draft: 28 ft., 7 in. Propulsion: 8 Ãâ€" boilers, 4 Ãâ€" Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 4 Ãâ€" shafts Speed: 33 knots Complement: 3,448 men USS Randolph (CV-15) - Armament: 4 Ãâ€" twin 5 inch 38 caliber guns4 Ãâ€" single 5 inch 38 caliber guns8 Ãâ€" quadruple 40 mm 56 caliber guns46 Ãâ€" single 20 mm 78 caliber guns Aircraft 90-100 aircraft USS Randolph (CV-15) - A New Design: Designed in the 1920s and early 1930s, the US Navys Lexington- and Yorktown-class aircraft carriers were built to conform to the limits set forth by the Washington Naval Treaty. This agreement placed restrictions on the tonnage of various types of warships as well as capped each signatory’s overall tonnage. These types of limitations were confirmed through the 1930 London Naval Treaty. As global tensions increased, Japan and Italy departed the agreement in 1936. With the collapse of the treaty system, the US Navy began developing a design for a new, larger class of aircraft carrier and one which included the lessons learned from the Yorktown-class. The resulting design was longer and wider as well as incorporated a deck-edge elevator system. This had been used earlier on USS Wasp (CV-7). In addition to carrying a larger air group, the new type mounted a greatly enhanced anti-aircraft armament. The lead ship, USS Essex (CV-9), was laid down on April 28, 1941. With the US entry into World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Essex-class became the US Navys standard design for fleet carriers. The first four ships after Essex followed the types original design. In early 1943, the US Navy made several changes to improve subsequent vessels. The most dramatic of these was the lengthening the bow to a clipper design which allowed for the addition of two quadruple 40 mm mounts. Other improvements included shifting the combat information center below the armored deck, installing improved aviation fuel and ventilation systems, a second catapult on the flight deck, and an additional fire control director. Though dubbed the long-hull Essex-class or Ticonderoga-class by some, the US Navy made no distinction between these and the earlier Essex-class ships. USS Randolph (CV-15) - Construction: The second ship to move forward with the revised Essex-class design was USS Randolph (CV-15). Laid down on May 10, 1943, the new carriers construction began at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Named for Peyton Randolph, President of the First Continental Congress, the ship was the second in the US Navy to carry the name. Work continued on the vessel and it slid down the ways on June 28, 1944, with Rose Gillette, wife of Senator Guy Gillette of Iowa, serving as sponsor. Construction of Randolph concluded about three months later and it entered commission on October 9 with Captain Felix L. Baker in command. USS Randolph (CV-15) - Joining the Fight: Departing Norfolk, Randolph conducted a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean before preparing for the Pacific. Passing through the Panama Canal, the carrier arrived at San Francisco on December 31, 1944. Embarking Air Group 12, Randolph weighed anchor on January 20, 1945, and steamed for Ulithi. Joining Vice Admiral Marc Mitschers Fast Carrier Task Force, it sortied on February 10 to mount attacks on the Japanese home islands. A week later, Randolphs aircraft struck airfields around Tokyo and the Tachikawa engine plant before turning south. Arriving near Iwo Jima, they mounted raids in support of Allied forces ashore. USS Randolph (CV-15) - Campaigning in the Pacific: Remaining in the vicinity of Iwo Jima for four days, Randolph then mounted sweeps around Tokyo before returning to Ulithi. On March 11, Japanese kamikaze forces mounted Operation Tan No. 2 which called for a long-range strike against Ulithi with Yokosuka P1Y1 bombers. Arriving over the Allied anchorage, one of the kamikazes struck Randolphs starboard side aft below the flight deck. Though 27 were killed, the damage to the ship was not severe and could be repaired at Ulithi. Ready to resume operations within weeks, Randolph joined American ships off Okinawa on April 7. There it provided cover and support for American troops during the Battle of Okinawa. In May, Randolphs planes attacked targets in the Ryukyu Islands and southern Japan. Made flagship of the task force on May 15, it resumed support operations at Okinawa before withdrawing to Ulithi at the end of the month. Attacking Japan in June, Randolph swapped Air Group 12 for Air Group 16 the following month. Remaining on the offensive, it raided airfields around Tokyo on July 10 before striking the Honshu-Hokkaido train ferries four days later. Moving on to the Yokosuka Naval Base, Randolphs planes struck the battleship Nagato on July 18. Sweeping through the Inland Sea, further efforts saw the battleship-carrier Hyuga damaged and installations ashore bombed. Remaining active off Japan, Randolph continued to attack targets until receiving word of the Japanese surrender on August 15. Ordered back to the United States, Randolph transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Norfolk on November 15. Converted for use as a transport, the carrier began Operation Magic Carpet cruises to the Mediterranean to bring American servicemen home. USS Randolph (CV-15) - Postwar: Concluding Magic Carpet missions, Randolph embarked US Naval Academy midshipmen in the summer of 1947 for a training cruise. Decommissioned at Philadelphia on February 25, 1948, the ship was placed in reserve status. Moved to Newport News, Randolph commenced a SCB-27A modernization in June 1951. This saw the flight deck reinforced, new catapults installed, and the addition of new arresting gear. Also, Randolphs island underwent modifications and the anti-aircraft armament turrets were removed. Reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA-15), the ship was re-commissioned on July 1, 1953, and commenced a shakedown cruise off Guantanamo Bay. This done, Randolph received orders to join the US 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean on February 3, 1954. Remaining abroad for six months, it then returned to Norfolk for a SCB-125 modernization and the addition of an angled flight deck. USS Randolph (CV-15) - Later Service: On July 14, 1956, Randolph departed for seven-month cruise in the Mediterranean. Over the next three years, the carrier alternated between deployments to the Mediterranean and training on the East Coast. In March 1959, Randolph was redesignated as an anti-submarine carrier (CVS-15). Remaining in home waters for the next two years, it commenced a SCB-144 upgrade in early 1961. With the completion of this work, it served as the recovery ship for Virgil Grissoms Mercury space mission. This done, Randolph sailed for the Mediterranean in the summer of 1962. Later in the year, it moved to the western Atlantic during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During these operations, Randolph and several American destroyers attempted to force the Soviet submarine B-59 to surface. Following an overhaul at Norfolk, Randolph resumed operations in the Atlantic. Over the next five years, the carrier made two deployments to the Mediterranean as well as a cruise to northern Europe. The remainder of Randolphs service occurred off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. On August 7, 1968, the Department of Defense announced that the carrier and forty-nine other vessels would be decommissioned for budgetary reasons. On February 13, 1969, Randolph was decommissioned at Boston before being placed in reserve at Philadelphia. Struck from the Navy List on June 1, 1973, the carrier was sold for scrap to Union Minerals Alloys two years later. Selected Sources DANFS: USS Randolph (CV-15)NavSource: USS Randolph (CV-15)USS Randolph (CV-15)

Madonna essays

Madonna essays Who comes to mind as the creator and developer of female sexual freedom in the past 20 years? Most would answer with one name: Madonna. When Madonna was asked where she wanted to go with her career she replied I want to rule the world. Madonna meant that she wants to change things for women in America. Madonna didnt exactly rule the world but according to many aroudn the world she has made a huge impact on the lives of many women. Her power was in her arrival; he rmost important characteristic was her ambition, blonde or otherwise, and the perception that although she came with nothing-she already had it all ( Nelson 2) Madonnas drive for power, and Ambition to make females and males equal in all senses is one of the many reasons why Madonna is an excellent icon. She has shown many women that attempting to put men and women on the same level is the only way to gain equality among both sexes. This in the Madonna that teenage girls aspired to be, the funky dresser and great dancer who wrote playful, upbeat hits and relished the potential of her life. She also desired sex without concern for her reputation, and wasnt looking for a husband to fatten her bank account- no small feats for a teenager navigating towards womanhood ( Nelson 3) Madonna is promoting that all people; men, women, and kids go out into the world with an ambitious attitude. She brought a new and different voice to our otherwise quiete conservative culture. She is an ideal icon, her skillful stage act, image and music combining to make an oddly innocent pop phenomenon, harking back to the flirtatious glamour of earlier times: it was an illusion then, more so now; but she seems likely to endure one way or another. (McGregor 4) Some people today feel that the way their kids idolize teen pop stars like Britney Spears and Courtney Love is hazardous. Even experts say t...

Investment and Normal Economy Essay Example

Investment and Normal Economy Essay Example Investment and Normal Economy Essay Investment and Normal Economy Essay Portfolio Risk| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scenario Analysis. The common stock of Leaning Tower of Pita, Inc. , a restaurant chain, will generate the following payoffs to investors next year:| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dividend| Stock price| | | | | | | | | | | | Boom| | 5| 195| | 150. 00%| | | | | | | | | | Normal economy| 2| 100| | 27. 50%| | | | | | | | | | Recession| | 0| 0| | -100. 00%| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The company goes out of business if a recession hits. Calculate the expected rate of return and standard deviation of return to Learning Tower of Pita shareholders. Assume for simplicity that the three possible states of the economy are equally likely. The stock is selling today for $80. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Current stock price=| $80| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Â  | Dividend| Stock price| Capital gains| Â  | Total gain (dividend + capital gain)| Â  | Return| Â  | Â  | | | | | Boom| | $5| $195| $115| =$195 $80. | $120| =$5 + $115. | 150. 00%| =$120 / $80. | 25. 83%| | | | Normal economy| $2| $100| $20| =$100 $80. | $22| =$2 + $20. | 27. 50%| =$22 / $80. | | | | | Recession| Â  | $0| $0| -$80| =$ $80. -$80| =$ -$80. | -100. 00%| =-$80 / $80. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scenario| Probability| return| return x Probability| Difference from mean, i. e. 0. 2583| Difference 2 | Probability x Difference 2| | | 25. 83%| | | | | | Boom| 33. 33%| 150%| 50. 00%| 124. 17%| 1. 541819| 0. 513888| | | | | | | | | Â  | Â  | Â  | =150. %x0. 3333| =150. %-25. 83%| =1. 24 17^2| =0. 33331. 541819| | | | | | | | | Normal economy| 33. 33%| 27. 5%| 9. 17%| 1. 67%| 0. 000279| 0. 000093| | | | | | | | | Recession| 33. 33%| -100%| -33. 3%| -125. 83%| 1. 583319| 0. 527720| | | | | | | | | Total| | | 25. 83%| | | 1. 041701| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Probability = 1/3 as all the three states are equally likely| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Expected return=| 0. 2583| or| 25. 83%| | | | | | | | | | | Variance=| | 1. 041701| | | | | | | | | | | | | Standard deviation=vVariance=| 1. 0206| or| 102. 06%| =v1. 041701| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Question:| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Portfolio Risk. Who would view the stock of Learning Tower of Pita as a risk reducing investment – the owner of a gambling casino or a successful bankruptcy lawyer? Explain. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A successful bankruptcy lawy er would view stock of leaning Tower Of Pta a risk reducing investment because in recession his business would do well and Leaning Tower of Pita would not whereas, in boom times his business would not do well but Leaning Tower of Pita would do well. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Firework by katy perry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Firework by katy perry - Essay Example Katy Perry- as the author of the song captures the exact feelings and experiences of the youth today thereby motivating and inspiring them in times of many difficult situations and not to give up their precious life. The words of Perry expresses what’s inside of her relating the message powerfully with a good pulsating rhythm. It is a vibrant song calling the target audience to ignite themselves and free their full potentials to make them who they should be in this fast competitive world. It is a song of encouragement to overcome the inner selves and arise as victors, thus creating a kaleidoscope. The Author of the Text â€Å"Firework† as the world recognizes, is a song done by Katy Perry. The lyrics however were co-written by various people behind the scenes such as Ester Dean, Sandy Wilhelm, Tor Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen and Katy Perry herself. There is no question about how Katy Perry rendered the song, because she’d done it quite perfectly. The song meant to inspire people, especially the youth, to overcome their insecurities and fears (Gundersen par 5). Perry reminds her audience that within them there is a spark that can ignite them and make them shine (AZLyrics.com par. 5). Perry’s personal life greatly affects the total impact of the song. Being brought up in a Christian family, she was restricted from listening to worldly and secular music. Her environment was secluded with listening to gospel music devoid of the music beyond. She pursued music with the songs preferred by her family singing gospel songs and albums. But this quest was in vain. Being a girl with a spirit, she didn’t give up music that easily. Instead, she ignited the firework within her, releasing her true potentials in music. She threw her restrictions, went out of her cage, faced her fears and tried a whole new thing. She started singing secular music, and she made a very great success. A kaleidoscopic thing happened to her as her sparks brought her t o be famous in the international music industry. Now, she is more than famous as the youth of today consider her as an icon in the music world expanding even to movies and films. Perry reflects social ideas in that she seeks to empower people to live beyond their common fears and shine. While the song does not respond to a historical movement, it represents the current state of affairs in society – many people struggling with various issues that limit their potential. The audience should know that Perry has struggled to become a success story. The Audience of the Text â€Å"Firework† is dedicated to everybody. However, as Perry represents the youth of today and her music style is greatly fitted with the current generations, the song attracts the youth. The message embedded in the song however relates to anyone with inner struggles to ignite themselves and release their full potentials in life thereby making them who they want to be. Anyone can relate to the issues of t he song. As the first part of the song says, â€Å"Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin; Like a house of cards, one blown caving in?† (AZLyrics.com par. 1), it calls to people who are suffering and struggling in this life. Anyone can surely relate to this situation since humans are insatiable creatures having some infinite cravings that can not be satisfied regardless of their social status in life. Poor people may lack money, rich people may lack love, young people lack

Story Lesson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Story Lesson - Essay Example This way, the teacher is able to understand the level at which each individual students understand the concepts learnt in class and can thus address these individual problems. The teacher uses several behavioral modification strategies that ensure that the objectives of the lesson are learnt. One is through giving direct instructions which each student is expected to follow. She also uses direct questioning where she mentions the name of a few students and asks them to give answers to her queries. The teacher also reinforces the students who give the correct answers with praises which motivates them to continue participating in the classroom discussion. I was impressed by the manner in which the teacher paced down the class getting close to all the student and not being localized at the front. This reminded me of my teaching where I tend to concentrate more on writing on the board other than connecting with the students. I have also noted that some students in the class are encouraged to type the work on the computer. Using the word processer is a good way of enhancing writing skills in student as it identifies some grammatical errors and this speeds up the level at which the learners polish up their

My Driving Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Driving Experience - Essay Example I was driving with my dad to the beach on a hot summer day when our car got stuck in traffic. It was a holiday and, thus, most of the people were out. Our car was at a signal. On green light, the driver in front of our car did not move. My dad has always been very short-tempered but, still, he kept his nerves. We got out of the car, and went to the driver. I saw that he was trying to grab his cell phone from the back seat that his kid has thrown there. â€Å"Excuse me! The signal is green from ages. Will you mind moving?† My dad asked him. â€Å"Yes, I will mind moving until I grab my phone,† he replied with much arrogance. â€Å"How rude that is!† Dad exclaimed, â€Å"Don’t you know you are bugging others in the line?† â€Å"No, I don’t!† He shouted at dad, â€Å"I’ll move, just go, I know I don’t have to stay here forever. Hey Jimmy, did you find the damned phone?† This time he shouted at his kid. The signal had already turned red again. My dad wanted to end the situation without any quarrel. But he looked annoyed, and this annoyed me. I wanted to punch that man right in his face. He really wanted some lesson. But I kept silent, and let my dad talk. â€Å"Hey man,† Dad said loudly this time, â€Å"I won’t allow you to be rude to me. Move your car right now. I’m getting late.† Everyone was giving horns and shouting at us to move. I could see all other drivers staring at us. The man had found his phone by then. He gave us a wave with his hand with a look as if trying to tell us to shut up. I heard him say, â€Å"Piss off, you old man!†... I could see all other drivers staring at us. The man had found his phone by then. He gave us a wave with his hand with a look as if trying to tell us to shut up. I heard him say, â€Å"Piss off, you old man!† That infuriated my dad, but I held his arm and told him not to indulge in quarrel. I could sense him getting furious. The man turned his ignition on, and moved away with a jerk staring at us which was even more exasperating. We, at once, got into our cars and moved away from the scene to unblock the traffic behind us. We, then, talked about road sense and driving tips. I could see that my dad was trying to make me learn how to be conscious on road. Although this experience was a bad one, but it left a big positive impact on me, since I found out how important driving sense could be. I decided to learn more about driving and road sense, and to be respectful to people I met on road. There was a lesson for me in this experience. I learned that, it is a very unmannerly thing to annoy other drivers on road, especially on signals. No driver should look hither and thither, looking for lost things, eating food, reading magazines, talking on cell phones, quarreling with other passengers, or doing things that distract him from concentrating upon driving. Hence, to ensure peaceful driving, drivers must stick to the indispensable dos and don’ts of driving, if they want to keep others and themselves safe and courteous. Safety of others is just as important as our own safety on road. This lesson was something that I learnt from the overall experience that day, and that has continued to make me a good driver since then. I would suggest the audience to drive positive lessons and impacts from any negative event that they encounter.

Natural rights in John Lockes, the second treatise on government Essay

Natural rights in John Lockes, the second treatise on government - Essay Example As such, everyone is entitled to enforce natural law in order to uphold these rights. Secondly, he purports that as an individual ventures into societal relationship with others, he trades what goods he possesses for goods he does not, and as such forms a reason to formulate methods to facilitate the trade of goods, such as the use of money, since money is non-perishable in contrast with food. As such, when money is injected into the system, individuals may pertain to give up their natural rights in order to be governed by a select group of people who exist solely to protect their welfare and property. These representatives work by introducing a system of laws and rules that expand over the societies they govern, and are in charge of enforcing them. However, they must only adhere to the interests of the societies at large, and hence, are at the complete disposal of the individuals and are subject to replacement at the people’s discretion. Locke thus emphasizes a Laissez Faire style of government which respects tolerance and moral values announced by natural rights than a strict measure of communism or monarchy. His political ideology promotes distinct sense of social awareness and respect by all of natural law. Argument against John Locke’s theories Locke’s focus on individual precedence over societal matters suggests two things. The first pertains to the regulation of civil society in that the people realize a need for preservation of their material belongings such as house and property, a measure they cannot administer individually by way of natural right as that might render their judgement partial and unjust. As such, they resort to giving up their natural rights so a body of executives can adjudicate on their behalf. This is because if individuals resorted to upholding their natural rights themselves against those who wronged them, only the strongest would survive. By letting an executive handle the adjudication for them, the judgement is deemed impartial. Of course, in conjunction with this right, Locke states that every child is born free, independent and pure, â€Å"a subject of no country or government† (Locke 118). However, in order to be respectful of other’s rights he must first attain majority and then make an informed decision as to which community he must partake in, for being part of one would mean his giving up of some natural rights in order to follow the customs of the community. Thus, before he attains that majority, the child is essentially without affiliation, under the care of his father, and rendered â€Å"stateless in the very state he was born† (Klausen 763). This gives rise to patriarchy which defines the child’s governing system resulting from tacit consent. Moreover, Locke suggests that tacit consent is binding on the individual as it forms part of his contract within the community he is born, but as the child grows up into majority, he is allowed to leave the p atriarchy to which he has adhered and choose a community to consensually give up his natural rights to. This effectively declares tacit consent as NOT binding. Moreover, Locke’s policy of independence and attainment of natural liberty is only possible if there is â€Å"

Issues in Global Business and Strategic Concepts Essay - 2

Issues in Global Business and Strategic Concepts - Essay Example Being a major contributor to the economic growth process, Australian mineral extraction sector supports a better quality and standard lifestyle of the citizens. Nevertheless, the research also revealed that there are also few noteworthy negative consequences caused by the increasingly expanding functioning of this sector, affecting especially the indigenous people and the environmental stability of the continent. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Contribution of Mineral Extraction in Australian Economy 4 Benefits and Advantages of Mineral Extraction to Australian Economy 8 Domestic and International Issues in Australian Mining 10 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Australia is world renowned for its rich and unique natural vegetation, cultural diversity and democratic stability in comparison to other developed nations, which makes it one of the strongest economies in the world (The Associated Press, 2013). Apart from these characteristics, Australia is also appreciated in the global realm for its abundant and diverse natural resources, which has since long been attracting the foreign investors. It includes an extensive collection of copper, gold, uranium, coal, iron ore, natural gas and renewable energy sources (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Australia, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of AUS$ 1.57 trillion and a wealth of AUS$ 6.4 trillion, can be considered as one of the world’s biggest capitalist economies (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). In rewarding the economy with its leadership position in the global platform, on the basis of its GDP growth, its mineral extraction sector can be regarded to have a major role. For instance, the mining sector in Australia signified approximately 19% of its total GDP as on the fiscal year 2011-2012 (Colebatch, 2012). In Australia, mining ores have a major contribution in boosting up the economy’s growth prospects in comparison to other mineral extraction functions. Based on the above facts it can be affirmed that having low inflation, low government debts, low unemployment rate, highly skilled workforce and a high quality education system, Australia has emerged as the fastest growing regions in the world (McHugh, 2010). Contribution of Mineral Extraction in Australian Economy Major active mines in Australia include the Olympic Dam and Super Pit Gold Mine. Large quantities of minerals are extracted here, which includes iron ore, nickel, aluminium/bauxite, diamond, uranium, silver, gold, copper, zinc, coal, petroleum and natural gas among others. For instance, in 2008, Australia was counted as the world’s third largest supplier of iron ore after China and Brazil, with a supply of 332 million metric tonnes (Jorgenso, 2010). Additionally, Australia was also attributed as the world’s 2nd largest producer of Nickel in 2006 after Russia (Louthean, 2007) and world’s largest producer of Bauxite/Aluminium in 2011 (Bray, 2012). In case of gold, Australia is referred as the 2nd largest producer in the world, after China (McHugh, 2010). Similarly, like gold, Australia is also the 2nd largest producer of Zinc, after China contributing 14% of the total world production of the Zinc (Tolcin, 2010). Correspondingly,

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

CASE STUDY - Essay Example The US industry has endured tough times like the economic crisis of 2009, which forced many of the airline companies to close shop, while others deciding to merge to increase their competitiveness in the competitive industry. Merging perhaps can be one of those approaches that has helped small airline companies to remain in business after they were declared bankrupt. The result of these tough economic times saw the introduction of low-cost carriers that operate from one point to another as opposed to flying to certain particular destinations. The US airline industry has become very competitive in the recent past, with emerging airline companies developing different competitive strategies different from those of companies that have been in the industry for a long time. For instance, the economic crisis made many of the seemingly small companies to be declared bankrupt with formation of mergers being the only approach that would help them regain a substantive market share and consolidate on it (Kowit 7). For instance, The US airways pushed for a merger with American Airlines after realizing that they could not manage the tough business environment. According to this case, the main reason for the many mergers in the industry included the need to reduce excess capacity and reduce the operational costs. Additionally, it would also serve as a perfect strategy for elimination of much duplication in the competitive approaches, thus providing more return on the investments of these airlines. After 2010, many companies stabilized from the effects of the economic crisis, with small companies developing cost-effective competitive strategies that included introduction of low-cost flights among others (Kowit 8). The US airline can be described as having certain strategic groups depending on their competitive approaches. For instance, many of the new entrants in the industry have concentrated

Natural rights in John Lockes, the second treatise on government Essay

Natural rights in John Lockes, the second treatise on government - Essay Example As such, everyone is entitled to enforce natural law in order to uphold these rights. Secondly, he purports that as an individual ventures into societal relationship with others, he trades what goods he possesses for goods he does not, and as such forms a reason to formulate methods to facilitate the trade of goods, such as the use of money, since money is non-perishable in contrast with food. As such, when money is injected into the system, individuals may pertain to give up their natural rights in order to be governed by a select group of people who exist solely to protect their welfare and property. These representatives work by introducing a system of laws and rules that expand over the societies they govern, and are in charge of enforcing them. However, they must only adhere to the interests of the societies at large, and hence, are at the complete disposal of the individuals and are subject to replacement at the people’s discretion. Locke thus emphasizes a Laissez Faire style of government which respects tolerance and moral values announced by natural rights than a strict measure of communism or monarchy. His political ideology promotes distinct sense of social awareness and respect by all of natural law. Argument against John Locke’s theories Locke’s focus on individual precedence over societal matters suggests two things. The first pertains to the regulation of civil society in that the people realize a need for preservation of their material belongings such as house and property, a measure they cannot administer individually by way of natural right as that might render their judgement partial and unjust. As such, they resort to giving up their natural rights so a body of executives can adjudicate on their behalf. This is because if individuals resorted to upholding their natural rights themselves against those who wronged them, only the strongest would survive. By letting an executive handle the adjudication for them, the judgement is deemed impartial. Of course, in conjunction with this right, Locke states that every child is born free, independent and pure, â€Å"a subject of no country or government† (Locke 118). However, in order to be respectful of other’s rights he must first attain majority and then make an informed decision as to which community he must partake in, for being part of one would mean his giving up of some natural rights in order to follow the customs of the community. Thus, before he attains that majority, the child is essentially without affiliation, under the care of his father, and rendered â€Å"stateless in the very state he was born† (Klausen 763). This gives rise to patriarchy which defines the child’s governing system resulting from tacit consent. Moreover, Locke suggests that tacit consent is binding on the individual as it forms part of his contract within the community he is born, but as the child grows up into majority, he is allowed to leave the p atriarchy to which he has adhered and choose a community to consensually give up his natural rights to. This effectively declares tacit consent as NOT binding. Moreover, Locke’s policy of independence and attainment of natural liberty is only possible if there is â€Å"

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

CASE STUDY - Essay Example The US industry has endured tough times like the economic crisis of 2009, which forced many of the airline companies to close shop, while others deciding to merge to increase their competitiveness in the competitive industry. Merging perhaps can be one of those approaches that has helped small airline companies to remain in business after they were declared bankrupt. The result of these tough economic times saw the introduction of low-cost carriers that operate from one point to another as opposed to flying to certain particular destinations. The US airline industry has become very competitive in the recent past, with emerging airline companies developing different competitive strategies different from those of companies that have been in the industry for a long time. For instance, the economic crisis made many of the seemingly small companies to be declared bankrupt with formation of mergers being the only approach that would help them regain a substantive market share and consolidate on it (Kowit 7). For instance, The US airways pushed for a merger with American Airlines after realizing that they could not manage the tough business environment. According to this case, the main reason for the many mergers in the industry included the need to reduce excess capacity and reduce the operational costs. Additionally, it would also serve as a perfect strategy for elimination of much duplication in the competitive approaches, thus providing more return on the investments of these airlines. After 2010, many companies stabilized from the effects of the economic crisis, with small companies developing cost-effective competitive strategies that included introduction of low-cost flights among others (Kowit 8). The US airline can be described as having certain strategic groups depending on their competitive approaches. For instance, many of the new entrants in the industry have concentrated

House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Essay Example for Free

House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Essay The House of Mirth is separated into two books of approximately equal length, with Book I having at least thirty more pages than the other. In the commencement of Book I, the central character, who goes by the name of Lily Bart is twenty-nine years old and gets acquainted with the fact that she is on the threshold of losing her influence to hang about in society by the desirable quality of her looks and charisma alone. She believes that getting married is her only way out. The itinerary of Book I describe Lily’s tribulations in accomplishing this goal. By the end, Lily has continued to exist after an attempted rape which nonetheless hurts her repute and causes her to be unable to find the high regard of Lawrence Selden and is desperately in liability. Book II, commences in Monte Carlo with additional and given up for lost scandal, moves to New York and additional debt. It ends in deficiency, lonesomeness, and an unintentional death that could without difficulty be called a suicide. Similarities The story presented by Edith Wharton is rather tragic. It is about a beautiful, high-spirited woman who is in dire need of getting over the manipulations of others and the extremely stern society around her. The only assets that the central character Lily has are her beauty and charisma. She is well-acquainted with the rules of the upper class New York society of 1905. Lily tells Lawrence that, a girl must [get married] and a man if he chooses†. (Wharton, p. 165) Lily basically is totally dependant on her aunt for her financial expenses and believes that she should get married to a wealthy man as soon as possible. But, as she confesses, she always does the right thing at the wrong time. She is nearly married to about three different men who are pretty wealthy but she is not able to go ahead with it. She is in love with Lawrence, but considering the fact that he is not rich and has to work to make both ends meet, she does not even let herself imagine that she should marry him. She comprehends the susceptibility of her position she does not have any fortune of her own, and for that reason her reputation must be impeccable. The people that she is surrounded by have minds like moral flypaper they can forgive a woman anything but the loss of her good name. Unfortunately, Lilys inherent honesty makes it impossible for her to realize the treachery and desperation around her. She makes some foolish choices: We resist the great temptations, but it is the little ones that eventually pull us down. (The House of Mirth, p. 1). In both the movie and the book, perhaps her only mistake is that she ends up trusting all the wrong people. Because of this we can see in the movie and the novel that her reputation is looked down upon and she ends up owing a great deal of money to a man who misused her trust and made attempts to ruin her reputation. As is said, we witness in the movie that â€Å"by the time she is willing to accept the proposal of businessman Sim Rosedale (Anthony LaPaglia), he is no longer willing to offer her the position of wife, only mistress. Rosedale has a kind heart, and he likes Lily. But he is a businessman with ambitions of being fully accepted into society, and he can see that Lily is damaged goods. Perhaps her very willingness to accept him makes her less appealing† (The House of Mirth, p. 1). Lily realizes the sensitivity of her position in the society and she realizes that nothing she does would be right for her after she has been betrayed by nearly everyone and is shunned aside by her society. She now makes attempts in both the movie and the novel to support herself first as secretary/companion to a vulgar social-climber, then as an internee in a millinery shop. She makes one last exaggerated plea for help from her cousin, and also comprehends a drastic attempt at blackmail, but that is a great temptation she is able to resist. The movie definitely is a great adaptation of the novel written by the author with first-rate performances and extravagant details of that period. Edith Whartons 1905 The House of Mirth, apparently is a novel about early-20th century New York upper classes, and is really an outer-space story, and instinctively at least, the director Terence Davies seems to know it. In order to Whartons book to the display, Davies takes care to get all the accouterments right: the depressively sparkling balls and social gatherings of turn-of-the-century Manhattan society life, the faux-rustic lavishness of the nation state homes of the rich, the odd rules and regulations and subtexts prowling behind the way a woman might trip her delicately gloved hand into that of a man. In Whartons view, and in Davies, it is an ambiance that is hospitable on the exterior but fastened with fatal gas, an accurate arrangement of molecules that looks for and finds and strangles the life out of foreign creatures, like Whartons great conqueror Lily Bart, who need air and brightness and love. It takes one beautiful alien to play Bart. Davies The House of Mirth is not anything like a science-fiction movie, for sure, apart from the way it uses ambiance to communicate a sneaking pastiness of claustrophobia and even danger. What is evident from the first frame, just like it is evident in the beginning of the novel by Wharton, is that Lily is a human being who just does not fit in this world. What is worst is that she herself believes and is convinced with this fact. The deception of the story, nevertheless, is that we are not in actuality sure about the origin of Lily; Whartons wrapping up is that there are no definable monetary, communities or devout divisions that are moderately right for her, and Davies movie, with all its miserable sophistication, incarcerates the real meaning of that peripatetic restiveness. A gorgeously beautiful but spinster woman of twenty-nine with deteriorating prediction, Lily has been raised to accept as true that luxury is exactly what she deserves. Hence, Lily lives further than her means, relying for the most part on the resentful contributions of her elderly aunt, Mrs. Peniston. All the lacking that Lily suffers because she does not have money, she makes up for in behavior of verbal communication and coquetry: she has the ability as well as the charm to turn any encounter into an enticing meeting. Nevertheless her game playing, as Wharton has written and as Anderson plays it, is not entrenched in heartlessness. It is more a particular kind of non-interventionist resourcefulness, such that her possible love interest and a little bit retribution Lawrence Selden are overwhelmed by it. I always like to see what youre doing, he tells her only half-teasingly. Youre such a wonderful spectacle. (Wharton, p. 35) To keep herself buoyant economically, Lily is desperately in need of a husband, but she is disastrous in finding one due to the fact that, deep down, she knows she does not want one. She is most involved with Selden, a legal representative of self-effacing means who lives for books and fine art and a warm fire. But not even Selden is a sanctuary for her considering that he proves himself competent of devastating coldness. And after Lily unsuspectingly puts herself in a negotiative position with a married friend, Gus Trenor, she comes to realize that she will have to make her own money to support herself. The movie presents to us that Whartons book is not an assembling cry for womens expressive and financial self-government. It is far more understated, and a lot less joyful, than that. But the narrative repetitively affirms the worth of that self-determination, exclusively by showing us how tantalizingly it is kept out of poor Lilys reach. The movie incarcerates something of Whartons reticent tenderness and attractive rhythms in the way it sets Lily revolving on her unhurried spiral to calamity. The movie takes a few emancipations with the story, concentrating, for example, two of Whartons innovative characters into one. The movie House of Mirth is a dignified movie, sometimes too much so, moving with the momentum and sprightliness of a dowager aunt and the channel of communication, much of it taken straight from the novel is from time to time stiff and discomfited. But the movie does an unimpeachable job of screening to us, in the first half of the movie, both the mesmerizing comforts and the tediousness of the life Lily desires to, with its seamless drawing rooms and unnaturally effervescent parties. The second half is shadowy and more visually solemn, as Lily thrashes about to keep her existence together. But that pessimism makes it obvious that this less-glamorous continuation is not right for Lily, either. She can be considered an exotic bird, in poor condition for the filth and dirt of the everyday world but far too unexpected to be serving tea to rich, unintelligent gentlepeople. Lily, too contemporary, too fundamental and too beautiful, fits nowhere, in no detailed society, time or place (Zacharek, p. 1). Edith Wharton plots The House of Mirth on a sequence of meetings set in vibrantly distinct social settings. The first communal setting is Lawrence Selden’s residence at the Benedict and the convention is between him and Lily Bart. The second is the Trenors’ country house throughout a week-long party. In the pinnacle, Wharton shows with great power the sexual operation at the heart of the financial dependence of women. In the increasing action, Wharton sets up the rudiments of Lily Bart’s personality by showing her in stroke in a social situation which restrains her choices. In the lessening action, when Lily Bart has been evicted from the society that has prearranged her values, Wharton shows that Lily Bart is not ready to become accustomed to a dissimilar way of life. Lily Bart becomes a disastrous figure; trying with her imperfect moral possessions to live up to her intellect of what is right, even when it means facing impoverishment (Wharton, p. 25). Conclusion In the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that the movie and the novel namely The House of Mirth written by Edith Wharton has much in common.

Balancing Rights and Duties of Parties

Balancing Rights and Duties of Parties Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. After briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, it discusses the rights and duties of parties to such transactions and how the risk of the innocent buyer has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. It further discusses the independence principle and the doctrine of documentary compliance, that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provide opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment wit hout actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. It will also argues about the â€Å"fraud exception† to the independence principle, particularly the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of some decisions of English Courts. In the end it gives some suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst parties in a letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit on the presentation of the documents, conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit, by the beneficiary. Thus, the issuing bank replaces the banks customer as the payee. Elements of a Letter of Credit A payment undertaking given by a bank (issuing bank) On behalf of a buyer (applicant) To pay a seller (beneficiary) for a given amount of money On presentation of specified documents representing the supply of goods Within specified time limits Documents must conform to terms and conditions set out in the letter of credit Documents to be presented at a specified place Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank The issuing banks duty to pay and to be reimbursed from its customer becomes absolute upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents to honour the draft. The issuing banks duty is to provide a guarantee to the seller that if complying documents are presented by the seller, then the bank will make the payment to the seller, and will only pay if these documents comply with the terms and conditions set out in the letter of credit. Typically the documents requested include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document; but there are many others. Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the sellers country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice It includes a description of merchandise, price, FOB origin, and name and address of buyer and seller. The buyer and seller information must correspond exactly to the description in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiarys presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The banks performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicants bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the sel ler about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank instructs the correspondent bank not only to notify the seller of the issuing banks undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiarys presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and t herefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the banks reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the banks; it will be the applicants.† Increase in the applicants risk and decrease in the banks risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of banks negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for banks negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting hints that in drafting UCP. ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICCs Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commissions answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in a letter of credit transaction In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. Banks risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do n ot interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary. Under this principle, bank is only under a duty to accept the conforming documents and should not get involved in the performance of the contract between seller and buyer. Further it has no concern about any debt obligations and other claims between the seller and the buyer. May commentators accept that for the workability of the letter of credit system, the strictest observance of this principle is indispensable. In this chapter we will discuss that how the banks deal with documents and about relationship between bank and other parties in a letter of credit transaction. As Lord Justice Jenkins stated in Malas (Hamzeh) Sons v British Imex Industries Ltd: â€Å"It seems to me plain that the opening of a confirmed letter of credit constitutes a bargain between the banker and the vendor of the goods, which imposes upon the banker an absolute obligation to pay, irrespective of any dispute there may be between the parties on the question whether the goods are up to contract or not.†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The issuing bank does not have any concern with the shipping of the goods or whether the goods are conforming or not whether the documents actually represent those goods which the buyer contracted for. This is because of the reason that the obligations of the banks in a letter of credit transaction are very limited. In this situation it is also debateable that whether under a letter of credit transaction, it would be fair to say that banks are not allowed to look beyond the presenting documents, while making payments? Status of applicant under UCP Article 1 of the UCP explains that the UCP binds all parties to the letter of credit unless otherwise provided but it is quite as who such parties are. Therefore the status of the applicant is doubtful, even it is not clear as to whether an applicant is a party to the UCP or not, and this is also to some extent obvious due to the absence of any provision in the UCP stating about the duties owed by the issuing bank toward the applicant. However courts have indicated on occasions that the contract between the bank and the applicant is similar to a contract of agency. Doctrine of strict compliance (a) Duty to pay only for conforming documents In a letter of credit transaction a bank is only bound to make payment if the beneficiary delivers the required documents. Simultaneously buyer knows that the amount will be released only if the documents are conforming according to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. It is very much clear that the documents play a very important role in the letter of credit transaction. Their importance is so clear that without their presentation and conformity, the performance of the letter of credit transaction is impossible. Article 13(a) of the UCP provides: â€Å"Banks must examine all documents stipulated in the Credit with reasonable care to ascertain whether or not they appear, on their face, to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit. Compliance of the stipulated documents on their face with the terms and conditions of the Credit shall be determined by international standard banking practice as reflected in these Articles. Documents which appear on their face to be inconsistent with one another will be considered as not appearing on their face to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit.† (b) Standard of â€Å"reasonable care† Under this heading we will discuss that whether there is a any standard of reasonable care under the UCP or not and if there is a standard, toward whom, and in case of failure to exercise such care, what would be the consequences. Sub-Article 13(a) of the UCP, provides that the banks duty is to examine the documents required by the applicant with â€Å"reasonable care† to ensure that such documents are complying with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit â€Å"on their face†. To some extent, sub- Article 13(a) is ambiguous about its meaning. It is not clear that what exact standard should be exercised. UCP and even whole letter of credit system is quite about the standard of the duty of care imposed on the banks, towards whom bank should exercise such a duty of care, and what would be the consequences in case if the bank fails in exercising such a duty of care. Probably there is no answer to this question because of the fact that the rights of the applicant are not discussed under UCP. Validity of documents Article 15 of the UCP protects the banks by stating that â€Å"banks assume no liability or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents†. Banks are authorised to make payment without having any concern whether the documents presented by the beneficiary actually represent goods, for which the applicant contracted for. As explained above that the letter of credit is a written undertaking by the bank to make payment only if the beneficiary presents original and genuine documents as agreed by the parties. Similarly buyer also knows very well that the amount will be paid only upon the delivery of the conforming documents according to the terms and conditions of the credit. Hence the documents play a key role in the performance of the letter of credit transaction. Conformity is the only condition for the payment of the amount. In practice, a bank very often takes security for the payment it makes under the letter of credit transaction. Such a security is provided by the documents of title f

Terrorism - Don’t Disgrace the American Flag in a War with Iraq :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Don’t Disgrace the American Flag in a War with Iraq Everywhere I go, I see American flags. Taped to people's windows, sewn onto pockets, worn in a band around the arm. People call it the unification of America, the great coming-together of a wounded people, a show of support and of national feeling from every corner of our nation. Patriotism, they call it, and proudly display their red, white, and blue. And yet I wonder if they know what that flag represents. I read the polls, and I find that the majority of Americans want vengeance, even at the cost of war with many countries. I watch the news, and I see our president preparing our troops to invade Iraq-all the while standing in front of the stars-and-stripes, the symbol of our nation. Doesn't he remember what America means? Everyone talks about the war in terms of our best interests. "If we attack Iraq, we incur more anger; we create more enemies willing to die to hurt us." "If we don't, we appear weak, and more will strike at us, knowing that they can do so without fear of retribution." I leave such questions to the pundits. They are important considerations, no doubt. But they are not American considerations. America isn't about our best interests. It's about the sacrifice of practicality to principle, of self-interest to the soul. Long ago, we decided that things like Freedom and Justice were real, and that they were worth preserving, even when it wasn't easy, or pleasant. We believed so much in these principles that we set down laws, so that we might never sacrifice Freedom for Security, or Justice for Revenge. And so we protect the Klan's right to march, to shout out hate-slogans and burn crosses in our streets. We forbid racial-profiling, when, let's face it, more crimes are committed by African-Americans than by Caucasians. And, most painful of all, we protect the rights of criminals. We work hard to give them fair trials, and grant them appeals, and throw out case after case for lack of airtight evidence. We insist that it is better to let a hundred guilty men go free, than to imprison a single innocent one. And we do this at the cost of our own security, at the cost of more criminals on the streets. We accept the hurt that their crimes bring us, because we would rather suffer those blows than have innocent blood on our hands.

Computer Addiction Essay -- Technology

Technology today is progressing at an exponential rate with new devices being released practically daily. With each new invention comes new and exciting possibilities as well as ever growing temptations and danger. One such pitfall many have fallen victim to is that of computer addiction. Computer addiction can be defined as the obsessive use of computers that interferes with daily life. This addiction has been shown through many activities over computers such as video gaming, chat rooms, and net surfing to just name a few. In order to truly understand what computer addiction is one must understand the symptoms and motivations that lead one to become addicted. Computer addictions have been found in every race, gender, and socio-economical class in America, and yet many still view it as pure laziness. While it is still widely disputed many psychologist recognize it as a valid mental disorder. Like many addictions the origins of computer addictions cannot be accurately identified as there are always many causes of such addictions. Some psychologists speculate that the origins lay in our increased reliance on computers. The majority of people are required to use computers in their professional lives and throughout their educations. This reliance coupled with increased time restraints may lead to individuals to spending longer periods of time on the computer. A recent study was conducted by Robert Kraut at Carnegie Mellon University in which one hundred and sixty nine individuals from ninety three diverse households in the Pittsburg area were monitored during their first two years of internet use. By using monitoring software and surveys Dr . Kraut was able to establish a direct correlation between the amounts of internet use to a... ...lcoholics Anonymous. Regardless of the treatment sought, professional help is needed in order for addicts to overcome the dependency on computer time. As technology progresses more and more people are drawn to computers for their professions and education. If caution and restraint is not maintained some will become addicted, and this will have a tremendous impact on their personal and professional lives. Many have fallen prey to computer addictions and some have paid with their lives. Works Cited James Fearing, Ph.D. Computer / Internet Addiction - Self Diagnosis. n.d. 25 April 2009. . Spaith, Judith. "Sony Online Entertainment: EverQuestor EverCrack?" Journal of Business Ethics 58 (n.d.): 3–6. Williams, Ian. Vnunet. 01 March 2007. 25 April 2009. .

Family and Death Essay

Loss can be described as many things; the misplacement of tangible items, the ending of a close relationship with a friend, a goal not achieved or the death of a loved one. Through the readings, posts and responses of this course we have seen that individuals each respond to their loss in ways that are unique to them, yet there is a common thread amid it all – everyone grieves and mourns their losses and their lives are forever changed. While reviewing the losses that I have experience, I at first attempted to define which would be the most significant and there for most deserving of further thought and ultimately inclusion in this lossography. What I realized was that significant does not always mean huge or all encompassing, that some losses are smaller and maybe only seen as a loss to the person directly experiencing them. Focusing on death, the first recollection I have is that of a beloved pet, Henrietta an orange and black guinea pig. I am not exactly sure how long we had her or how old I was when she died (although from the room in my memory I would have to guess 9 or 10) I just remember thinking of her as a great pet, she never bit, she did not try to run away, and always seemed to be listening when I talked to her. I remember going into my bedroom and realizing she had not issued her usual welcoming whistle, I walked up to her cage – a large square made of welded together refrigerator shelves with a solid metal bottom that the sides could be lifted out of – and seeing her lying on her side, not moving. I think I knew immediately that she had died, because I uncharacteristically stepped inside the cage and bent down to pick her up, she was large and I always used to hands, this time she was limp and cold. I do not really remember what I did after that, I am sure I told my mom and we buried her, I also do not remember how my younger siblings reacted, but I do know that in that memory I was not crying. Having grown up spending a great deal of time on my grandparents farm the death of animals was not a new concept, but I think Henrietta’s death stands out to me because it was the first time my pet had died, the first I found dead. I am sure I missed having her, but we always had so many pets that perhaps the void was filled right away. Oddly the next childhood death that stands out is again of a pet and I think it stands out because at the time I felt relief and then guilt. It was my brother’s white rat. I hated that thing – he should have named it Houdini because it did not matter what kind of cage or how well the lid/doors were secured that nasty little thing could get out and inevitably would find its way to my room and climb up on my bed! I was not afraid of it – we had had plenty of mice and hamsters and guinea pigs – I just hated the way it would climb up everything and the way it’s scaly tail would scrape across your skin if you gave it a chance. Anyway, I remember Malcolm being very upset and crying when he found it dead, as soon as I knew what was going on I felt relieved I would not have to deal with its escapes anymore, but I still hugged my little brother and tried to make him feel better. I did feel bad for him and knew he felt like he was losing a friend and as much as I felt bad for him and would have done anything to take away his pain, I just could not feel bad that rat was dead which made me feel a guilty. I knew of course it was not my fault the rat was dead, but I did think my being glad it was dead made me a bad sister. I know now that my feelings were perfectly normal and not those of a bad sister, just those of a thirteen year old who loved her brother but hated his choice of pets. I know there have been other deaths that have touched my life; pets, a great aunt I barely knew whose funeral was the first open casket I had attended (I do not remember seeing her up close – I think my mother kept us back), a good friend who died in accident at the end of our freshman year in high school, one of my favorite uncles and my grandparents, the loss of a baby 16 weeks into the pregnancy, but the death that has colored my world the most was one that I did not experience, it occurred eight days before I was born when my father was killed in a car crash. I do not mean to diminish the impact the other losses had, certainly seeing the affect my grandfathers death had on my grandmother shaped some of my ideas not only of grief, she was never the same, she did not laugh as much and the light in her eyes was not as bright, but it also shaped some of my ideals about romantic love. To the day she died – 28 years after my grandfather – my grandmother kept all of her checks and official documents titled â€Å"Mrs. Willis Goodrich†, and she never removed her wedding ring. The death of my Uncle Forest was the first time I associated anger with death, my Aunt seemed so numb at first and then for months she was so angry at him for not taking better care of himself, for continuing to smoke when she asked him repeatedly to try to stop and for not asking for help moving the ice house he was pushing when he had a massive heart attack and died. She told me later that it was not until she not only recognized but believed that he had not been trying to die, that he had not wanted to leave her any more than she wanted him to leave, that she was finally able to forgive him for dying and move on with her life. My grandmothers death was different from my grandfathers not only because it was not entirely unexpected, she was almost 90 and had advanced Parkinson’s disease, but more in how I reacted to it. As a teenager when my grand father died it almost felt like being an observer, I was to young to be included in any of the decisions, I obviously felt horrible and could see the pain and sadness in my grandma, aunts and uncles but I do not think I really understood how affected they were by everyones pain. Even knowing my grandmother was no longer in pain and believing she was where she had wanted to be for the last 28 years – back in my grandfathers arms – her dying made me then and still at times makes sad that I can not have tea with her or bake cookies with her or just talk to her. Her passing was also different for me in that this time I was one of the adults and as such as I could see, feel and worry about the pain of my mom, aunts, uncles and cousins but also that of all of the great grandchildren. I know that I said the death of my father had the biggest impact on my life but that is only because it is something that has always been part of my life, something I have always known, but it is a different kind of loss than that of someone I actually knew or in the case of the baby I lost, of someone I wanted to know, someone that was to be part of my future. Losing that baby was more painful than anything I have experienced. He was to be our second child, I say he only because that is what I had already pictured in my mind, a blue eyed, dimpled smile, curly haired boy. But a few days before what would have been our 16 week check up I began spotting. I was at work, as a bank teller, and immediately called my doctor who told me to come to her office right away. At that time we lived in a fairly small town in Montana so I was ushered right into an exam room when I arrived, which really only served to make my feelings of dread worse. I knew it was bad when my doctor looked grim as she searched all over my abdomen for any trace of a heartbeat. I remember feeling like everything was turning gray. I remember the doctor trying to sound hopeful when she said that not finding a heartbeat yet could be from multiple causes and that we should get an ultrasound. But as she called the hospital next door to the clinic, the look in her eyes did not match her voice. Again being in a small town made things quicker, I had a very short wait, during which I called work to tell my supervisor, who happened to be my best friend, that I would not be back as soon as I thought. She sounded so concerned I could not help but blurt out â€Å"they can’t find a heartbeat†, her voice sounded like it was a thousand miles away down a dark tunnel when she answered â€Å"I’ll be right there†. She knew my husband was due to be out of town for several more hours. Somehow I managed to remain calm as the ultrasound started, but the minute Staci walked into the room I started to cry. The poor ultrasound operator got kinda flustered and started searching for tissues. After several minutes of his moving the wand across my stomach, not speaking and with their eyes glued to the screen, he finally said what I already knew, the baby had died. In the span of an hour, I’d gone from happily planning for a new person to enter my life, to having that life ripped away from me, to having to figure out how I was going to tell my husband and our four year old daughter. I felt like a gaping hole had just ripped open in my chest and all of the air had been sucked from the room. The cramping started the next day, it was seriously more painful than labor, I felt like my body had betrayed me and that I had failed myself and my husband. I realize now of course that some of that pain was psychological and I do know that nothing I did caused it nor could have prevented it, but during the months between the miscarriage and when I was pregnant again, my heart just ached when I saw a baby. I know that I hugged my daughter a lot more and was reminded just what a gift she really is, when our second daughter was born nearly a year later, I know I hardly put that baby down. I would not trade her for the world, and it does not escape me that if I had not lost the one I did, I would not have her, but I still think about him and wonder what he would have been like, I believe I will see him again someday, but in the mean time I know that the three children I have with me (our youngest is a boy – no curls no dimples but amazing in his own right) are truly gifts and I cherish my time with them. I also believe my loss has made me better equipped to help and more compassionate towards patients that are in the process of losing a baby. While I could describe each of the losses I have have written about here in much more detail and with enough emotion and reflection to fill many more pages, it is very hard to describe how I feel about the loss of my father. I think the only people who can truly understand are those that have a similar experience and then it is an understanding that does not require words. As I said previously, his death is something that I have always known, something that has been a part of me. I do not remember a specific time that my mother told me about him being dead, I do vaguely remember her explaining to my younger sister (well technically my half sister) that I had a different daddy who had died. I know that he died in a car crash in which, fortunately, my mother was not involved. I know that they had been married barely a year and that he was very excited that I was on the way. She remarried when I was about three so I had a step father that filled his role early on, but when their bad marriage ended I think it made me that much more aware of what it really meant that my father was gone. As I got older I tried to believe that I could not miss what I never had, but when I would see friends with their dads I knew that I was missing out. I had a multiple imaginary reunions with him he had not really died, he had been in a coma, he was in witness protection, he was forced into the french foreign legion (I read a lot as a child), in my mind he was always so sorry he had been away, he missed me terribly and would promised to never leave again. I did not ask my mom questions about my father very often, I could see it made er sad. His being gone was just something I accepted; I had a dad and he had died. He loved to play the guitar, had a great voice and loved singing in little bars and worked during the day as a mechanic. He had a glass eye from a boyhood accident and drove like a â€Å"wild man†. I was fortunate to have a great mother who tried her best to fill his shoes, but I missed him or more accurately the idea of him the most at things like graduation, my wedding, the birth of my children. Sometimes I still see people with their fathers (sometimes even TV commercials) and I feel that little pang of loss and even some jealousy. I think its the not having the chance to know him that is what I mourn. After he died my mother lost contact with his family, so I have never really known them either. It is like a whole part of myself is a blank space, so much unknown. I know that this loss of him, of family, of a part of myself, is what makes me so determined to make sure my children are very involved with both my and my husbands families. They have been â€Å"dragged† to numerous family events, less so since we have moved to Minnesota and they have gotten older, but even at my grandmother funeral two years ago I knew they would never have that blank space when I heard them â€Å"reminiscing† and laughing with cousins they had not physically seen in a couple years and how they talked with their aunts and uncles like it had only been a day or two since they had been together last. I may not have had a father, but I do have a great extended family. If I have learned anything from the loss in my life, it is that loss is survivable, it can make you stronger, it can make you more understanding and compassionate and it can make you appreciate what you have not lost.