Explain the Biological Mechanisms by Which Stress Can Induce Depressive Behaviour

Explain the biological mechanisms by which stress can induce depressive behaviour. Introduction Depressive behaviour is a core feature of several major psychological disorders, most obviously major depression (MD) and depressive episodes of bipolar depression (BP). Depression is also frequently found to be co-morbid with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and with anxiety-related disorders (e. g. social phobia or OCD). Depression is the biggest major risk factor for self-harm and suicide, thus posing a real clinical problem to try to understand and reverse the mechanisms involved.Traditional anti-depressant treatment has only shown a modest benefit to placebos in treating the disorder; therefore, more effective drugs that target the right biological mechanisms are imminently needed. The majority of experimental research in the area has used rodents to test medication and model known psychopathological aspects of depression in humans, such as learned helplessness, cognitive def icits and increased co-morbidity with anxiety-related behaviours. There are many factors that may explain why some people (around 16% of the population) will experience a depressive episode in their lifetime and others won’t.Genetic vulnerability and epigenetic changes, psychosocial support, socioeconomic status or even climate-related factors all have to be considered in considering the right treatment for individual cases. Whilst the causal link between many of these and the onset of depression is somewhat inconclusive, the strong association between chronic mild stress (CMS) and depressive behaviour is now a huge area of research, resulting in the stress-induced model of depression.Even where there is evidence for the role of genes in depression, such as allele variants for the 5-HTT promoter region, it is shown to vary as a function of exposure to stressful life events. The mechanisms by which environmental stressors can lead to depressive behaviour have been explored tho roughly, with a strong focus on the role of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and its dysfunction in depression. The consequent rise in levels of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, following HPA activation, has been shown to become chronic increased in depressed patients.This is thought to be due to the development of glucocorticoid resistance, whereby high levels of cortisol are present in the bloodstream and peripheral tissue but negative feedback to shut down the HPA axis no longer works. Due to the numerous roles of cortisol within the body, several biological processes may be affected as a consequence of CMS that may lead to depressive behaviour. Direct and indirect effects of HPA dysfunction include changes in immune response, neuronal damage, decreased rates of neurogenesis and the serotonin pathways.These processes tend to interact and exacerbate one another; therefore, understanding each proposed biological mechanism of stress-induced depression and their impa ct upon each other is likely to lead to a better treatment outcome. Acute Stress and the HPA Axis The experience of acute mild stress is a normal and adaptive process, triggered by an environmental ‘stressor’ deemed to be potentially harmful. From an evolutionary perspective, this serves to protect the individual from danger via activation of the sympathetic nervous system, preparing the individual for ‘fight or flight’ mode.Stress, as well as input from the amygdala, hippocampus and midbrain, directly activates the ‘stress response’ via the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The first immediate response is the release of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus, which travels to the pituitary where it binds to CRH Receptor 1 (CRHR1). CRH can also act directly on other brain regions, e. g. the amygdala at this early stage. CRH1 activation stimulates the release of adrenocorticotrophin release hormone (ACTH), which tr avels via the bloodstream to the kidneys, stimulating the delayed release of the glucocorticoid (steroid) cortisol.Cortisol acts throughout the body in all cells, via binding to cytoplasmic glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Cortisol can pass through the cell membrane due to its lipophillic properties. Binding of cortisol to the GR complex in the cytoplasm causes dissociation of GR from the complex, resulting in an active GR monomer. Two GRs then dimerise to form a GR dimer. This can act as a transcription factor in itself by attaching to Glucocorticoid Binding Elements (GBE), or it can interact with other Hormone Binding Elements and transcription factors to initiate gene transcription. http://jimlund. org/blog/? m=200910] A rise in cortisol levels, alongside CRH, leads to adaptive changes in behaviour, cognition and immune function. Importantly, this rise is followed by a negative feedback loop of cortisol and CRH acting upon its o wn receptors (NC3R1 and CHR2, respectively) to shut down the HPA axis once the ‘threat’ has been resolved. This homeostatic mechanism terminates the production of any more CRH and therefore brings cortisol levels back to baseline (pre-stressor), vital for returning the individual back to a normal ‘resting’ state.It is this negative feedback mechanism which has been shown to be disrupted in patients with depression. Chronic Stress and Glucocorticoid Resistance In a situation of CMS, the prolonged activation of the HPA axis leads to abnormally elevated cortisol levels. However, chronically elevated cortisol can be dangerous, due to its role in suppressing the immune system and increasing vulnerability to infection. It is possible that in order to counteract the constant influx of circulating cortisol causing potentially unwanted downstream effects, GRs in lymphocytes become unresponsive or resistant to glucocorticoids.This dysfunction of GRs is typically seen in depressed patients and has been shown numerous times using the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Dexamethasone (a synthetic glucocorticoid) mimics cortisol by binding to GRs and shutting down HPA activity in healthy controls. Therefore, dexamethasone-treated individuals have almost no detectable cortisol over the course of the following day. On the other hand, in depressed patients, the DST doesn’t show any significant repression of HPA activity.Whilst they already show significantly higher overall levels of cortisol, they also show reduced suppression of dexamethasone during the DST. This shows that the GRs are unresponsive to glucocorticoids, leading to the typical feature of glucocorticoid resistance in depressed patients. The Inflammation/Cytokine Hypothesis Glucocorticoid resistance has important implications for immune system function. Under normal acute stress, cortisol suppresses lymphocytes in peripheral tissue from producing pro-inflammatory cytokines by act ivating intracellular GRs and leading to transcription of downstream regulatory genes.Key targets of GR-mediated transcription related to immune function include the upregulation of anti-inflammatory genes annexin-1, IL-10 and I? B? (inhibits NF-? B) and down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, such as IL1-6, 9, 11-13, 16-18 and TNF-?. However, glucocorticoid resistance following chronic stress can mean that lymphocytes stop responding to cortisol, so there is an increase in the proliferation of leukocytes and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.The proposed mechanism for how these peripherally-generated cytokines are able to affect the central nervous system (CNS) involves several pathways. These cytokines (IL-1? , TNF-? and IL-6) cannot typically diffuse across the blood-brain-barrier, but they can enter the CNS in regions of high BBB permeability or be actively transported across the BBB by endothelial cell transporters. Additionally, without crossing the BBB, cyt okines are able to activate endothelial cells to produce soluble factors (e. g.PG-E2) to indirectly activate neurons, as well as activating certain afferent neurons (e. g. the vagus nerve) that carry information to the CNS about the inflammation. In these ways, peripheral inflammation can cause typical changes in the CNS and ‘sickness behaviour’ seen in depressed patients: lethargy, anhedonia, reduced locomotor activity and sleep and weight disturbances. Support for this proposed mechanism comes from findings that clinically depressed patients show an abnormally high production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1? IL-6 and TNF-? ), cytokine-based immunotherapy often causes depression in cancer or hepatitis C patients and cytokine administration causes depressive behaviour in animal models. Reversal of this depressive behaviour can be seen by administration of anti-depressants, which target and reduce the inflammatory response in both patients and animal models. In a sim ilar fashion, anti-inflammatories such as cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors or omega-3 have strong anti-depressant effects on behaviour. Inflammation-Induced NeurodegenerationAnother approach to modelling stress-induced depression has focused on the controversial findings of clinically depressed patients show changes in volume of structural brain regions, including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulated, prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. The mechanisms by which some brain regions, in particular the hippocampus as implicated in stress-induced depression, might decrease in volume appear to be a combination of both neurodegeneration (increased apoptosis of neurons) and a decrease in adult neurogenesis in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus (DG).Stress-induced HPA hyper-activity may explain the atrophy seen in some brain regions of clinically depressed patients. Glucocorticoids stimulate the breakdown of tissue into glucose for the quick release of energy; therefore, ch ronically increased levels may result in brain tissue loss in regions where cortisol acts, such as the hippocampus. Furthermore, the link between stress, inflammation and an increase in oxidative stress may also explain a large portion of the neurodegeneration apparent in depression.Inflammation has been shown to increase oxidation and the fact that the CNS has no proper defence against oxidative damage makes it very vulnerable to oxidative stress (OS). This has been demonstrated as a key feature in neurodegenerative diseases and depression, implicating a causal role of stress-induced inflammation in triggering degeneration. The damage caused by OS can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, which can lead to further intracellular build up of damaging oxidised proteins.The only way for cells to cope in this situation is to activate programmed cell death (apoptosis), or in less controlled circumstances, necrosis can occur, leading to a decline in cell numbers and lateral effects on the ne ural network. This mechanism of oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration can be slowed down and treated by the application of antioxidant enzymes, which serve a neuro-protective role. These enzymes eradicate free radical oxidising particles and also suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine action.A further damaging feature seen in neurodegeneration and depression is nitrosative stress (NS), which may contribute to neurotoxicity and therefore cell death. An increase in the production of cortisol after acute stress will temporarily cause a suppression of neurogenesis in the DG. Neurogenesis in the DG has been demonstrated to be vital for healthy cognition and memory, impacting mood, the sleep-wake cycle and appetite; all affected in depression. Therefore, CMS leads to prolonged suppression of neurogenesis and may explain the behavioural outcomes typical of depression.The decrease in neurogenesis following exposure to stress may possibly involve the neurotrophin Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), shown to be greatly reduced in regions that also show a decrease in neurogenesis and related to brain regions typically affected in depression. Animal models exposed to CMS show decreased neurogenesis and BDNF levels in overlapping brain regions and elicit depressive behaviours associated with dysfunction of these regions. Furthermore, anti-depressant treatment that successfully increases BDNF levels also leads to recovery from depressive behavioural symptoms.However, the causation here is not clear; whether the BDNF levels dropping are a result of other stress-induced mechanisms or whether it is partly the cause of the behaviour. Some evidence suggests that anti-depressants can work independently of BDNF restoration. Hagen and colleagues set out to control for possible variables such as age, time of cortisol readings and overall brain volume. Whilst there has been no robust evidence for a link between baseline cortisol levels and hippocampal volume, this study did fi nd that hippocampal volume was negatively correlated with length of depressive episode pre-hospitalisation.Furthermore, better responsiveness (lowering of cortisol levels) after treatment was predicted by greater hippocampal volume (relative to overall brain volume). b) antineurogenic effects and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels; and c) apoptosis with reduced levels of Bcl-2 and BAG1 (Bcl-2 associated athanogene 1), and increased levels of caspase-3. Stress-induced inflammation, e. g. increased IL-1? , but not reduced neurogenesis, is sufficient to cause depression. Antidepressants a) reduce peripheral and central inflammatory pathways by decreasing IL-1? TNF? and IL-6 levels; b) stimulate neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, axonal growth and regeneration through stimulatory effects on the expression of different neurotrophic factors, e. g. trkB, the receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor; and c) attenuate apoptotic pathways by activating Bc l-2 and Bcl-xl proteins, and suppressing caspase-3. It is concluded that external stressors may provoke depression-like behaviours through activation of inflammatory, oxidative, apoptotic and antineurogenic mechanisms.The clinical efficacy of antidepressants may be ascribed to their ability to reverse these different pathways. Neuronal damage and apoptosis Activation of the Kynurenine Pathway (KP) 5-HT Accumulated evidence indicates a role of the hippocampal 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the response to stress and modulation of depression, but it is unclear whether and how the hippocampal 5-HT and NPY systems make contributions to chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression.Here we observed that rats receiving a variety of chronic unpredictable mild stressors for 3 weeks showed a variety of depression-like behavioral changes, including a significant reduction in body weight, sucrose preference, and locomotion, rearing and grooming in open fiel d test, and a significant increase in immobility time in forced swimming test. These CUMS-induced behavioral changes were suppressed or blocked by intra-hippocampal injection of 5-HT (31. 25 microg/microl) or NPY (10 microg/microl). These data suggest a critical role of reduced hippocampal 5-HT and NPY neurotransmission in CUMS-induced depression.

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 4

4. Good-bye Love Lair BEING THE JOURNAL OF ABBY NORMAL, Triumphant Destroyer of Vampyre Kitties I weep, I brood, I grieve-I have sniffed the bitter pink Sharpie of despair and mascara tears stripe my cheeks like a mouthful of chewed-up black Gummi bears has been loogied in my eyes. Life is a dark abyss of pain and I am alone, separated from my darling delicious Foo. But check it-I totally kicked ass against a gang of vampyre kitties. That's right, kitties, meaning many. No longer does the huge shaved vampyre cat Chet stalk the City alone; he has been joined by many smaller and un-shaved vampyre cats, many of which I turned to kitty toast with my most fly sunlight jacket. Right outside our loft, they were attacking that crazy Emperor guy and his dogs and I saved them by running out into the street and hitting the lights. It was pure techo-carnage, blood everywhere, and a little Japanese guy with a samurai sword doing the serious Ginsu on the kitties as they attacked. I know what you are thinking. Ninja, please†¦ I know, OMFGZORRO! A samurai in Sucker-Free City! I didn't even try to convince the cops when they came. They were all, â€Å"What up?† And I was all, â€Å"Nothing.† And they were all, â€Å"What's all this?† Pointing to the blood and steaming kitty ashes and whatnot. And I was all, â€Å"Don't know. Ask him. I just heard some noise so I came out to check it out.† So they asked the Emperor and he tried to tell them the whole story, which was a mistake-but he's kind of insane, so you have to give him a break. But they put him in the car anyway and took him and his dogs away, even though it was totally obvious that they knew who he was and were just being dicks about the whole thing. Everyone knows the Emperor. That's why they call him the Emperor. ‘Kayso, Foo finally came home and I jumped into his arms and sort of rode him to the ground with a massive tongue kiss so deep that I could taste the burned cinnamon toast of his soul, but then I slapped him, so he didn't think I was a slut. (Shut up, he had wood.) And he was all, â€Å"Stop doing that, I don't think you're a slut!† And I was all, â€Å"Yeah, well then how did you know that's why I slapped you, and where the fuck have you been, my mad, manga-haired love monkey?† Sometimes it's best to turn the tables and start asking questions when your argument sucks ass. I learned that in Introduction to Mass Media class. And Foo's all, â€Å"Busy.† And I'm like, â€Å"Well you missed my heroic warrior-babe assault.† And I, like, told him the whole thing and then I said, â€Å"So, now there's a lot of vampyre cats. What's up with that, nerdslice?† Which is a pet name I have for Foo when referring to his mad science skills. And he's all, â€Å"Well, we know that there has to be an exchange of blood from the vampyre to its victim before the victim dies, otherwise it just goes to dust.† And I'm like, â€Å"So Chet's smart enough to know that?† And Foo's all, â€Å"No, but if a cat's bitten, what's the natural thing for it to do?† And I'm all, â€Å"Hey, I'm asking the questions here. I am the boss of you, you know?† And Foo totally ignores me, and he's all, â€Å"They bite back. I think Chet is changing the other cats by accident.† â€Å"But he drained that parking cop and she didn't turn.† â€Å"She didn't bite him back.† And I'm all, â€Å"I knew that.† And Foo's like, â€Å"There could be hundreds of them.† And I'm all, â€Å"And Chet led them here. To us.† And Foo's all, â€Å"He marked this as his territory before the old vampyre turned him. He sees this as his place. The stairway still smells like cat pee.† And I'm like, â€Å"That's not all.† And Foo's all, â€Å"What? What?† And I totally slip into my dark mistress voice and I'm all, â€Å"Chet has changed. He's bigger.† And Foo's all, â€Å"Maybe his coat has just grown back.† And I'm all ominous like, â€Å"No, Foo, he's still shaved, but he's a lot bigger, and I think-† I paused. It was very dramatic. And Foo's like, â€Å"Tell me!† I sort of fainted all emo into his arms. And he totally caught me like the dark hero of the moors that he is, but then he harshed the romantic drama of it all by tickling me and going, â€Å"Tell me, tell me, tell me.† So I did, because I was close to peeing myself, and I'm totally not into that kind of thing. â€Å"I think we have to worry about the little samurai guy turning, which would not be good, as he is full badass, despite his deeply stupid hat and socks.† And Foo was all, â€Å"Did he bite them?† And I was all, â€Å"He was full-on covered in vampyre kitty blood. Maybe some drops got in his mouth. Lord Flood said he accidentally turned that blue ho from one kiss on the bloody lips.† And Foo's like, â€Å"Well we need to find him, then. Abby, we may not be able to handle this. We need help.† And he's all nodding to the statue of the Countess and Lord Flood. And I'm all, â€Å"Do you know the first thing that will happen if we let them out?† And Foo's all, â€Å"Jody will totally kick our asses.† And I'm like, â€Å"Oui, mon amour, epic ass-kickings pour toi and moi. But you know what's even scarier?† And Foo's all, â€Å"What? What? What?† Because French drives him mad. So I'm like, â€Å"You still have wood!† And I squeezed his unit and ran into the bedroom. ‘Kayso, Foo chased me around the loft a couple of times, and I let him catch me twice, just long enough to kiss me before I was forced to slap him-well, you know why-and run away. But as I was prepared to let him think I would surrender to his manly deliciousness, I'm all, â€Å"You could turn me to a vamp and I could use my dark powers to scoop Chet's litter box of destruction.† And Foo was all, â€Å"No fucking way. I don't know enough.† Then someone started pounding on the door. And not a little â€Å"Hey, what's up?† pound. Like there was a big sale on door pounds down at the Pound Outlet. Buy one, get one free at Pounds-n-Stuff. I know. WTF? Privacy much? Pounding on the love lair. JODY It was like perpetual â€Å"not quite lunchtime† in her cubicle at the insurance company, back in ancient history, three months ago, before she was a vampire. Every sundown, for about fifteen seconds, Jody awoke and panicked over the hunger and constraint until she was able to will herself into mist and float in what she thought of as the blood dream, a pleasant, ethereal haze that lasted until sunup, when her body went solid inside the brass shell and for all practical purposes, she became dead meat until sundown came round again. But sometime around the end of the first week of freakouts, she realized that she was touching Tommy. That he was in the bronze shell with her, and unlike her, he couldn't go to mist. She should have taught him, she knew, just as the old vampyre had taught her, but now it was too late. Maybe, since she couldn't move enough to tap a message with her finger in Morse code, let alone talk, she could reach out to him, somehow connect with him telepa thically. Who knew what kind of powers she might have that the old vampyre had forgotten to tell her about. She concentrated, pushed, even tried to send some sort of pulse to the places where their skin touched, but all she got back was an extended, jagged, electric panic. Poor Tommy. He was there all right. Alive and mercilessly aware. She tried to reach him until she could bear the weight of her own hunger and panic no longer. â€Å"Abby, if I ever get out of here, your narrow ass is mine,† she thought before fading to mist and blissful escape. INSPECTOR RIVERA It wasn't a homicide, strictly speaking, because there was no body, but there was a traffic enforcement officer missing in action, and it had involved the Emperor and a certain block of light industry buildings and artist lofts south of Market Street that Rivera had flagged for notice if anything happened there. And something had definitely happened here, but what? He lifted the collar of the empty traffic officer's uniform with the tip of his pen to confirm that the fine gray ash was not on the sidewalk underneath, and it wasn't. Inside the uniform, on the sidewalk at the cuffs and collar of the uniform, yes, but not on the sidewalk under the uniform. â€Å"I don't see a crime,† said Nick Cavuto, Rivera's partner, who, if he'd been a flavor of ice cream, would have been Gay Linebacker Crunch. â€Å"Sure, something happened here, but it could have just been kids. The Emperor is clearly nuts. Totally unreliable.† Rivera stood up and looked around at the blood-soaked street, the ashes, the still-flashing light on the parking cart, and then at the Emperor and his dogs, who had their noses pressed to the back window of their brown, unmarked Ford sedan. Rivera's flavor was Low-fat Spanish Cynic in an Armani cone. â€Å"He said cats did this.† â€Å"Well there you go, an Animal Control issue. I'll call them.† Cavuto made a great show of flipping open his mobile and punching at the numbers with his thick sausage fingers. Rivera shook his head and crouched over the empty uniform again. He knew what the powder was, and Cavuto knew what the powder was. Sure, it had taken them a couple of months, and a lot of unsolved murders, and watching the old vampire take enough gunfire to kill a platoon of men, only to survive to kill a half-dozen more people, but they had finally caught on. â€Å"It wasn't cats,† Rivera said. â€Å"They promised to leave,† Cavuto said, pausing in his display of percussive dialing. â€Å"The creepy girl said they left town.† They, meaning Jody and Tommy, who had promised to leave town and never return. â€Å"The Emperor said he saw the old vampire get on a ship-a whole bunch of them sail away.† â€Å"But he's totally unreliable,† Rivera said. â€Å"Most of the time. This is not-â€Å" Rivera held up a finger to stop him. They had agreed never to use the v-word when others were around. â€Å"We have to go see the spooky kid.† â€Å"Noooo,† Cavuto wailed, then caught himself, realizing that for a man of his size, appearance, and occupation, that whining over having to confront a skinny teenage girl was, well-he was being a huge wuss-that's what. â€Å"Man up, Nick, we'll tell her not only does she have a right to remain silent, it's an obligation. Besides, I called in backup.† â€Å"I should probably stay in the car with the Emperor. See if he remembers anything else.† Just then there was a commotion at the crime scene tape and a uniformed officer said, â€Å"Inspector, this woman wants through. She says she has to see her daughter, who lives in that apartment.† The officer pointed to the fire door of the loft where the spooky kid lived with her boyfriend. An attractive blond woman in her late thirties wearing paisley medical scrubs was trying to push past the officer. â€Å"Let her through,† Rivera said. â€Å"Look, Nick, an angel come to protect you.† â€Å"Oh God save me from fucking neo-hippies,† said Gay Linebacker Crunch.

Mexicans on the Usa Essay

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mexican American migrant workers played an increasingly important role in the growing American economy, an estimated 11. 7 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U. S. in March 2012, and American people want to solve this problem. In this essay am going to answer this question Should North American Companies hire illegal immigrants? I will answer this by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of hiring illegal immigrants. People in the USA don’t want that illegal aliens work in their country because they use the jobs that Americans can work in, they are angry because they are illegal and just legal people deserve to work in the USA. Illegal aliens (Mexican Workers) are a benefit to the USA companies because they work more time for less pay and they do the hard works that Americans will do for less time and more money. Mexican immigrants are vital to the U. S. economy, contributing about 4 % to GDP. Mexican Workers are not respecting the USA law and The Authorities can?t do anything this create a big problem between the USA communities and the government because they say that the illegal aliens are invading them This is called ? La Reconquista?. Mexican Illegals go only to find work and do it because they are force to do that, they have a family in very bad conditions that it’s believing that his familiar that pass the border could get a work and send them money so they cans survive. Mexicans Pass the border illegally because they don? t have money to buy a Visa even a Mexican passport so they go and work hard to get a better life that they couldn?t get at their country. The USA families are worried of their families because they can? t be relaxed just because some illegal people are in the street breaking the law, they are annoyed of Mexican illegal in every corner of their town, they have to take care of their children because they are dangerous. Mexicans just try to get a job and live better they are trying to became part of the community but the USA people are acting on a racist way, They don? t want to even see Mexicans and know them. There are been attacks to Mexican from the Americans sometimes they were close to kill them. A good example is that on a Mexican restaurant the employees have to use a t-shirt that says how to catch an illegal Mexican. Mexican illegal are increasing USA population and that is not a real problem but when there is more people, they use more services as foo health care, etc. The USA citizens that pay taxes make these services happen, if there are more people to serve the taxes will be more expensive and illegal Mexicans don? t pay these services. Mexicans help the community they buil houses, clean the streets and fix the public places such as gardens and parks.

School Food Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

School Food Programs - Essay Example As the report declares inadequate food supply can be addressed through the subsidizing of the food supply and ensuring that the institution gets into a contract with other nongovernmental organization that can be willing to deliver food on a low-cost basis. Fruits and vegetable consumption rates are low therefore a concrete solution to this problem need to be addressed. This is through the subsidizing of the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally the most important solution would be sensitizing the school kids on the health benefits that fruits and vegetable consumption has to the body. Fruits and vegetables are a very good source of vitamins that are very good for the growth of kids. From the essay it is clear the long-term health impact of canned foods such cancer should be highlighted to the kids. The high cancer cases can be blamed on these processed and canned foods. Therefore, such campaigns can be very effective in deterring canned food consumption. Cooking contests are a very good way of inspiring kids to acquire a passion in cooking which can deter them from getting the urge to consume junk foods. The poor income that has resulted from food sales can be addressed through promotion and use of free samples as a way of attracting customers. The local authorities would be required to subsidies the farm inputs so that the farming cost is subsidized this will ensure that the small-scale farmers have the ability to extensively farm.

Analyze the role of one or more of the minor characters Essay

Analyze the role of one or more of the minor characters - Essay Example Thus, when she spends a lot of money on the Christmas gifts, it becomes a call for worry to the husband Torvald. At that time, the husband chides and mocks the wife on her extravagance as other characters in the story are introduced and they are brought to place. To begin with, there is Helene, who is a maid and works in the house of the Helmers. As much as the ordinary eyes or a literary commentator may appreciate the magnitude of the roles of the main characters, she adds to the overall plot of the story. It is my guided opinion and respectful line of thought that the fact that Helene id present in the story, it builds to the direction that the Helmers lived a considerably wealthy life of opulence and comfort. Thus, when she announces that a friend of Mr. Torvald Helmer has arrived, it elevates the status and societal position of the Helmers (Canby 13). The relevance and contribution of this announcement seeks to distinguish and separate the status and novelty of the Helmers to a relatively higher hierarchy of the society. It is important to note and mention that a person who can afford a housemaid can be considered to be well off or a person of class and social status. Secondly, when she mentions that a dear friend of Torvald Helmer called Dr Rank had gone to visit the Helmers. A doctor is also a valuable and respectable member of the society and the fact that one could be friends with one shows that one is of repute and consideration. Thus. Helene as a character is used to show the difference in class and stature that exists between the Helmers and the rest of the society who are poor or ordinary people. In retrospect, the fact that the Helmers are friends with the doctor, Dr Rank shows that he and his wife were people of relative means and ability in the society. Another minor character who adds and contributes to the general flow of the story in terms of these and plot is Kristine Linde, who happened to be

Is Howard Campbell Insane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is Howard Campbell Insane - Essay Example I believe that Howard Campbell is not insane because, first of all, Howard Campbell lost his hope and became a death in society. Secondly, he always pretended to be someone else. So he could continue to live but knew what he was doing. He was not only a hero in his life but also died like a hero. He saw life with different angles and faced various difficult situations. But he never lost his hope and came up victoriously from all those difficult situations. He lived in the dark and was fearful about all the things around him. This was basically the way for him to regain the aims and expectations of living life. He started to recognize the importance of life. The Second World War taught him how to view all the aspects of life. Howard Campbell lost his hope and became a death in society because he not only lost his wife, Helga, but also his writing talent. As Howard Campbell said, â€Å"That was how I lost her. She was entertaining troops in the Crimea, and the Russians took the Crimea back. My Helga was presumed dead† (Vonnegut 42). So Howard lost his hope and tried to run away from reality because his wife was everything to him. â€Å"And so, with my Helga presumed dead, I became a death worshiper, as content as any narrow –minded religious nut anywhere. Always alone, I drank toasts to her, said good morning to her, said good night to her, played music for her, and didn’t give any damn for one thing else† (Vonnegut 47). Howard became a discouraged person who was spending all his energy and life in order to stay alive. So he had a little efficiency for anything else. And that is why he lost his interest in everything and also lost his writing talent. â€Å"The part of me that wanted to tell the truth got turned into an expert liar! The lover in me got turned into a pornographer! The artist in me got turned into ugliness such as the world has rarely seen before† (Vonnegut 206). But after all

Worldview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Worldview - Essay Example According to Walters, a worldview can be defined as a manner through which an individual comprehends and makes sense of what is around him this means that one’s worldview essentially includes aspects such as reality, emotions, cognition as well as a person’s ability to give meaning to or interpret the happenings of the world (33). An atheistic worldview puts forward the concept of â€Å"naturalism† as its foundation; this notion postulates that the world we see around us is all there is (Walters 36). Therefore, atheism does not advocate the existence of any supernatural or mystical entities nor does it believe in any form of spiritualism. Baggini notes that the definition of atheism is exceptionally straightforward – it is a credence which says that there is no God (4). From this belief stem several ideas, according to which it is understood that there is in fact no life after death and consequently, no heaven or hell (Baggini 6). Therefore, when a human b eing dies that is the end of their life; atheism does not support the existence of spirits or mystical souls. The most important question that arises however is that, if there is no divine creator or Supreme Being, how would an atheist explain the nature of the universe? Dawkins argues that simply relying on the theory that the complexity of living organisms is an evidence of God is not enough. In fact, evolution by natural selection competently elucidates the complexity of all living creations which in turn defines the nature of the universe (Dawkins). Baggini observes that there exists a general perception which implies that since atheism negates the existence of God, consequently, an atheistic worldview might also challenge morality and not hold confidence in doing good and being good to others (5). However, that is not the case. While, atheism views the existence of a divine creator negatively, it does not advocate pessimism in other facets of life (Baggini 5). A sound and solid upbringing that is guided with and shaped by education develops and enhances an individual’s ability to reason, think and distinguish between right and wrong, thereby, instilling morals and ethics to abide by in life. Baggini argues that unlike an individual who follows religion, an atheist is frequently bombarded with questions such as; if there is no God then what is the meaning of life? While, it is believed that the religious do not have problems in defining the purpose of life (84). The meaning, point and purpose of life is to be happy, prosperous and satisfied throughout one’s existence, it is to live with no regrets or disappointments. In comparison with an atheistic worldview, a Christian worldview encompasses the incorporation and integration of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible into one’s life. According to Goheen and Bartholomew the religion of Christianity requires a believer to abide by a Christocentric belief system that comprehensively covers each and every aspect of a follower’s life (14). Therefore, a Christian worldview is centered around accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ, accomplishing salvation and acknowledging the nature of the universe as guided by the Old Testament’s outlook of creation (Goheen and Bartholomew 14). Several prominent writers on the concept of the Christian worldview have suggested that impartial and rational human reasoning which is not barred by any preconceived notions or ideas is most likely to side with Christian ideologies (Goheen and Bartholomew 16) rather than supporting any contradictory beliefs. However, commentators who believe in this idea have failed to present scientific evidence and logical arguments to support their

Examined Life film. (Agree and opinion) Movie Review

Examined Life film. (Agree and opinion) - Movie Review Example us of Avital Ronell provides a stimulating perspective on what goes on in contemporary phases, for instance during her interview with Dufourmantelee, she commented on ways in which the technology can redefine the post human body contour. Or rather the television screen reflection and the spectrally concept. If her artistics work cannot offer the philosophical framework to the film, they contribute in exploding the conventional disciplinary borders and redefining theatricality. Avital Ronnell turned philosophy of performance into a performed philosophy. When she fails to perform herself as in in Examined Life Film, she actually staged her language in the film, thereby resorting to calligrammatic and creative layout drawings, punctuations, and mixing texts. In writing like the crack wars, literature, The telephone book, and Addiction, the textual matter of the scholar became a visual performance and a score in Examined Life Film. Ronnel therefore, tends to dramatize philosophy. Avitall Ronnel is one of the people that assisted in making Examined Life. Avital Ronnel remembered that Heidegger decided to ditch philosophy and went for thinking. She also attempted explaining how people need to live ethical life without the final meaning to them. Avital just like its philosophical belief, she tried to liberate the philosophical issues from the sterile academia world through provoking excursion and entertaining with the influential and famous thinkers (Ronnell, 13). She revealed the philosophical power in transforming the manner in which the world around us is seen and imagined. Examined Life, gave the first ten minute to Avital Ronell. She rhetorically turned the camera around on filmmaker by citing the issues of cutting the intellectual ideas down to less than 10 minutes to satisfy the demand of the medium. Bringing the question on what is important, is it medium or the information. In conclusion, the film avoided manipulation of agenda based arguments of simpl ification

The hunger game (movie) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The hunger game (movie) - Essay Example Here are some of the vivid concepts integrated into the movie film. The first includes social acceptance of engaging youth and minors into actual life battles that at some point may also cause their lives. However, this portrayal is not limited to what is happening in the imaginary society of Panem. In the actual world, life’s battle may not be a form of entertainment, but it is a reality for some people, most particularly to the victims and culprits of some relevant crimes. Consider for instance the contemporary war against child prostitution or human trafficking across the world. This is a reality that is placing the future of some minors in jeopardy. It may even distort their normal view of life in a not so distant future. This point may show that the actual child prostitution may not physically kill minors or children at certain level, but the actual idea involved in it is that it includes killing some important aspects in their individual lives. Trading children for sex i s simply considered illegal in contemporary time because of the associated international law that would stand against it to cut its detrimental perpetuation. The unethical implications associated with it is therefore remarkable because of the moral standard set by the government to be integrated in the actual law for ensuring the safety and protection of minors or children. However, despite this government control to protect the welfare of the child as citizen, the ongoing crimes associated with sexual exploitation including minors as primary subjects persist, and even the relevant number of incidence is moving to an upward spiral. Latest statistics reveals more minors are currently involved in sex trade and pornographic activities based on increase hotline calls of victims (National Human Trafficking Resource Center 5). The existence of media and internet increases or motivates the speed of online pornography involving minors. Thus, the televised fight-to-the-death featured in â₠¬Å"The Hunger Games† for instance is a relevant depiction of the actual struggles of some minors particularly those who might have active involvement in online pornography or other related illegal activities. Just as the subjects of televised fight-to-the-death in Panem may have lost their freedom to take hold of preserving their lives, these minors involved in some online or media-related crimes are actually experiencing the same level of struggle to fight for their right to live with a high quality of life founded by safety and protection against exploitations as promised by the government for its people, including the young citizens. Here is another point. The movie may also showcase a hidden message concerning the level of vulnerability of the adult population to provide weak direction for the welfare of the young people while exposing them to the peril of violence that we normally found reported with utmost controversy on the media. Like the nation of Panem that vividly s ees the actual violence through a televised-fight-to-the-death Hunger Games, the world today has never been so blind seeing and hearing the actual crimes committed by minors and young people alike through controversial news coverage in the media. Just let us take for instance the latest case we heard from the media concerning minors molesting another minor (The New York Times). The media informed us of the actual violen

Hospitality Mangement - Destination Report - Comprehensive Report Assignment

Hospitality Mangement - Destination Report - Comprehensive Report - Assignment Example Santa Fe is the capital city of Mexico, and doubles up as the oldest capital city in the U.S. it is recognized as a chief tourist destination owing to its climate which supports multiple outdoor activities such as skiing in winter, and hiking in other seasons (â€Å"Santa Fe† n.p.). In addition, it hosts many cultural activities, and has an historic downtown which is also a tourist attraction. There are famous names originating from the region such as Antonio Lopez who is famous for playing a big role in Mexico’s gain of independence, Anna Gunn who is a popular actor on screen and stage, and Jeremy Rau Valdez who is famous for his awards and roles in television and film roles. One challenge to the tourist destination is the standoff between Hispanics and whites, who create tension with their rivalry, thus scare away tourists (Caffey, 13). The peak seasons in Santa Fe are during winter, which is around Christmas when there are much skiing and snow-related activities. The low season is experienced in summer, around March when temperatures can attain 55 degrees. The airfare and hotel rates vary similarly with season; with the rates escalating during high seasons, and being moderate during low seasons. Activities supported in Santa Fe include hiking, biking, mountaineering and skiing. There is much to see as well such as the Canyon Road which hosts most of Mexican heritage and historical sites such as the St. Francis of Assisi Basilica and the Plaza. Nightlife in this destination is mostly marked with music and live performances offered in the restaurants, clubs and bars. People convene and socialize in such places. There are numerous festivals held in Santa Fe such as the International Folk Art Market at Museum Hill, the Santa Fe Film festivals in December, and the Pueblo Winter Feast Days and Dances in January. There are hundreds of food palaces offering

How dividend signaling changes market valuation in UK Dissertation

How dividend signaling changes market valuation in UK telecommunication industry - Dissertation Example As a financial consequence of increasing the dividend payout, the telecommunication company will have lesser available fund to invest in research and development (R&D) and upgrading its existing telecommunication technology and infrastructure. Therefore, the future profitability of the company could suffer. Increase in the dividend payout could signal temporary positive changes in the market valuation of telecommunication industry in UK. Although increasing the dividend payout could temporarily improve the market valuation of the company, public investors should be aware that a high dividend payout could deprive the company from being able to increase its competitive advantages as compared to its competitors. Eventually, decision to increase the cash dividend payout could significantly decrease the company’s future cash dividend payouts. Table of Contents Executive Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ... 7 d. Rationale for Choosing the Research Topic †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 e. Scope and Limitations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 II. Literature Review †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 a. Impact of Dividends in Large Business Organization . 11 b. Dividend Policy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 b.1 Historical Developments of Dividend Policy .. 12 b.2 Dividend Policy – Asymmetric Information Model †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 c. Relationship between Dividends, Future Earnings and Business Profitability †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 d. How Dividends could Signal Changes in Market Valuation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 e. Other Factors that could Affect the Increase or Decrease of Corporate Earnings, Business Profitability, and Market or Common Stock Valuation in the case of Vodafone †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 e.1 Foreign Direct Investment or Business Expansion in International Markets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 e.2 Investment on Research & Development (R&D) and Technological Innovations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21 III. Research Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 23 a. Research Framework †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 b. Research Hypothesis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 c. Research Survey Questionnaire Design †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 d. Target Population, Sample Size and R esearch Venue †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 27 e. Research Evaluation Method †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 28 f. Ethical Considerations When Going through the Primary Research Study ..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 28 IV. Research Findings and Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 30 a. Demographic Analysis

Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, the character Friar Laurence had the greatest influence on the tragic outcome of the play. Friar Lawrence was a trusted holy man whose judgment was held in the highest reverence by Romeo and Juliet. However, he failed to provide a wise solution to their dilemma. Romeo and Juliets demise was the product of the Friars predisposition to act in haste, his irresponsibility and his fear of being disgraced. The Friars first shortcoming that contributed to the tragic result is the way he commits to impulsive and rash decisions. For example, when Romeo tells the Friar of his new love for Juliet, the Friar tells Romeo that he is acting too hastily and not thinking about the consequences, they stumble that run fast. (II. III. 94). However, despite his advice to Romeo of thinking before acting, he decides to marry them in hope that this will end the family feud, even though he knows that the secret wedlock can only further infuriate the two families. This is evident when the Friar says: Both Romeo and Juliet respected Friar Laurences decisions, and although he preaches the value of patience, his own impetuous conclusions is the first way he led Romeo and Juliet to catastrophe.  Friar Laurences second inadequacy that had a negative impact on the play is his irresponsibility. Although he should be the figure of dependability, the Friar is the one whose plan is the least dependable. Instead of thinking of a way to diplomatically arrive on a mutually satisfying agreement between the Capulet and Montague houses, he devises an outrageous plan that has almost no chance of success. He gives Juliet a potion to make her appear dead, and although Juliet knows this plan carries a huge risk, she is so distraught by Romeos banishment that she is willing to try anything. She even goes as far as questioning the Friars motives: Instead of avoiding senseless plans, the Friar not only generates a plan which is doomed to fail, but does not even responsibly administer the plan. He sends Friar John to send the letter to Romeo that explains the plan. He had not made it clear to Friar John how important the delivery was, since the messenger became quarantined in a house due to suspicions of being infected with disease. Friar Laurence should have been responsible enough to deliver the letter himself, and this is the second way in which he negatively affects the outcome of the play. The final way in which Friar Laurence unconstructively influenced the play is his fear of sin and getting in trouble. In the tomb, Juliet woke up and found Romeos dead body beside her. Friar Laurence had been late to wake up Juliet and when he realized what happened, he directed Juliet to escape with him:  Stay not to question, for the watch is coming.  Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay.  (V, III, l. 158-159) He then cowardly ran out of the tomb because of his fear of being caught by the Prince and his men. He left the shocked Juliet alone and he knew she was willing to kill herself over Romeos death. Later on, when Juliet killed herself and the Capulets and Montagues wanted an explanation, he admitted that he was at fault:  Miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrificed.  Unto the rigor of severest law.  (V. III. 267-269) This fear of being caught is the third way that Friar Laurence has negatively affected the play.  In conclusion, Friar Laurence was important because he holds the greatest blame for the tragic events in the play. He did this because of his hasty decision-making, his irresponsibility and his uncertainty for his safety. The outcome of the play might have been happier if someone else directed Romeo and Juliets actions. He does have the best intentions for Romeo and Juliet, and it is ironic how his best intentions cause the greatest tribulations for the two lovers. If the Friar had acted the way he had preached to Romeo, he would be a hero. As he had described the misapplied virtue of the herbs in the garden, the same applies to him: Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied.

Determining the Success of a Project

Determining the Success of a Project Success has always been the ultimate goal of every type of project. Many specialists in the field have performed extensive researches in an attempt to try and define what projects success is. Judging the success of a project is rather an elusive concept since most projects we hear may be a failure to one set of stakeholders while others may consider it to be a success. This article makes an attempt to define success in projects based on the work of experts in this field of study. Introduction A project can be defined as a unique venture with a beginning and an end conducted by people to meet established goals within a parameter of cost reduced and quality increased (Field Keller, P.2). furthermore a project has the following characteristics such as specific objectives, required resources, have a budget and schedule, and requires effort of community, measures quality and finally functions within a life cycle. On the contrary, project management can be defined as the way of controlling the success of the project objectives, by the use of existing managerial structure and capital to manage the project by linking a compilation of tools and skill without interrupting the regular function of a company. The word success is a fascinating word as its is known universally and is broad in character; defining it is not easy, because if asked from different individuals its meaning would change according their perceptions. Project success can be considered as one of the indistinct concepts of project management. Since each stakeholder of a project has different needs and expectations, it is common to anticipate them defining project success in their own way of understanding (Cleland Ireland, 2004, p2). The Sydney Opera House project is a typical example of how different stakeholders have different perspectives of a project. The Opera house (Thomsett, 2002) took 4 times more of the original time to finish and its cost went 16 times over budget. But the final impact the Opera House created was so immense it simply made people overlook the projects original unmet goals. The project was a huge hit for the general public even though it was considered as a failure in the view of project management. On the contrary, the construction of the Millennium Dome in London was a project that was completed on time and on budget but the British public considered it a failure because it didnt deliver the glamour that it was originally expected to make (Cammack, 2005). Since there is widespread variance of opinions in the study of success in projects, many learned writers seem to have given diverse views on this topic based on extensive research and surveys. Their works differentiate among project success, project success criteria and project success factors. Project success Jugdev and Muller (2005) in their article pointed out that in order to identify what success means in a project framework is like obtaining consensus from a group of individuals on the explanation of Good Art. Project success is a subject matter that is commonly talked about and yet very hardly settled upon (Baccarini, 1999). Commonly, the attitudes on project success have developed gradually over the years from simple explanations that were restricted to the implementation phase of the project life cycle to explanations that reflect gratitude of success over the whole project and product life cycle (Jugdev and Muller, 2005). Cleland (1986) suggested that project success is significant only if measured from two vantage points: the extent to which the projects technical performance objective was accomplished on time and within budget; the contribution that the project made to the strategic mission of the organization. According to Pinto Slevin (1988) in their research after sampling over 650 project managers concluded that, Project Success is something difficult than just meeting cost, time, and performance specifications. As a matter of fact, clients contentment with the final result has a great deal to do with the perceived success or collapse of projects. Baccarini (1999) discovered two different components of project success: Project Management Success This concentrates upon the project process and specially the successful achievement of cost, time, and quality. Also the way in which the project management process was performed will be considered. Product Success This deals with the effects of the projects final product. A clear difference should be made between product success and project management success, in order to properly identify and evaluate project management success and product success, as they are differ from each other. According to Baccarini (1999), Project success can be summarized as Project success = project management success + project product success With this definition in mind, it is also important to comprehend what measures enable us to judge whether a project is successful or not. These measures are termed as Project success criteria. Project success criteria Crawfords (2002) view is that project success is an important project management issue and also in discussions, a frequently discussed topic is, it is difficult to find an agreement on the criteria by which success is judged. (Pinto and Slevin 1988; Freeman and Beale 1992; Shenhar, Levy, and Dvir 1997; Baccarini 1999). A study of literature also reveals that a greater level of agreement with the definitions given by Baker, Murphy and Fisher (1988) that project success is a subject of perception and it is considered to be an overall success if the project meets requirements such as technical performance specifications, mission to be performed. It also needs a high degree of satisfaction about the project results among the key people of the project team and the key users of the project effort The renowned and famous criteria to measure project success have been known as Golden Triangle or Iron Triangle. Hence Cost, time and qulity is referd to as the central criteria of the Golden Triangle (Atkinson, 1999, p338). Atkinson continues that this method of measuring project success have not been changed or developed in almost fifty years (1999, p338). According to Stuckenbruck (1986), assessment on project success should be done by different stakeholder groups such as customers, managers, employees, stockholders, etc. Thus it was proposed that the criteria for assessing project success should reflect different stakeholder views. Freeman and Beale (1992) presented an appealing example of different perceptions of people. According to their study: An architect may consider success in terms of aesthetic appearance, an engineer in terms of technical competence, an accountant in terms of dollars spent under budget, a human resources manager in terms of employee satisfaction, and chief executive officers rate their success in the stock market. In their study Freeman and Beale (1992) identified and proposed seven main criteria for measuring success of projects. Technical performance Efficiency in project execution Managerial and organizational implications Personal growth Project conclusion Technical innovativeness and business performance Manufacturing feasibility Wideman (1996, p3-4) believes that project success is time dependant and therefore it should be assessed with time taken into consideration. The reason behind time dependency is based on the fact that project success varies with time. Wideman(1996) illustrated four time dependant groups as mentioned below. Internal project objectives efficiency during the project Benefit to customer effectiveness in the short term Direct contribution assessed in the medium term Future opportunity assessed in the long term Shenhar, Dvir and Levy(1997) constructed a universal multidimensional framework that would help in assessing project success. In their methodology, project success is perceived as a strategic management concept where the end result of the project would fit with the strategic direction of a company whom the end result of the project is originally intended to serve. Their study also revealed that project success is time dependant and thus they identified four groups and translated them into measurable criteria. Internal Project Efficiency (Pre-completion) Meeting schedule Completing within budget Other resource constraints met Impact of the Customer (Short term) Meeting functional performance Meeting technical specifications standards Favorable impact on customer, customers gain Fulfilling customers needs Solving customers problem Customer is using product Customer expresses satisfaction Business and Direct Success (Medium term) Immediate business/commercial recognition Immediate revenue profits enhanced Larger market share generated Preparing for the Future (Long term) Will create new opportunities for the future Will position customer competitively Will create new market Will assist in developing new technology Will add/has added capabilities competencies Project success factors As defined by Cooke-Davies Success factors are those inputs to the management system that lead directly or indirectly to the success of the project or business (Cooke-Davies, 2002, p185). In practice, some project managers instinctively determine their own project success factors. However, most of these factors are not clearly documented, thus are not considered to become a part of formal project management literature or historical project data (Rad Levin, 2002, p18). From the 1980s to 2000 many researchers have attempted to identify success factors for projects. Kerzner (1987), Pinto and Slevin (1987-1989), (Sadeh, Dvir, Shenhar, 2000), Cooke Davis (2002) and Muller and Turner (2005) are among the top researchers who have conducted extensive researches in this area of study. The table below (Table 1) points out critical success factors that were identified by specialists, and were later reviewed and tabulated by Belassi and Tukel (1996). Baker, Murphy and Fisher (1983) Clear goals Goal commitment of project team On-site project manager Adequate funding to completion Adequate project team capability Accurate initial cost estimates Minimum start-up difficulties Planning and control techniques Absence of bureaucracy Lock (1984) Make project commitments known Project authority from the top Appoint competent project manager Set up communications and procedures Set up control mechanisms (schedules, etc.) Progress meetings Cleland and King (1983) Project summary Operational concept Top management support Financial support Logistic requirements Facility support Market intelligence (who is the client) Project schedule Executive development and training Manpower and organization Information and communication channels Project review Pinto and Slevin (1989) Top management support Client consultation Personnel recruitment Technical tasks Client acceptance Monitoring and feedback Communication Trouble-shooting Characteristics of the project team leader Power and politics Environment events Urgency Table 1 Critical success factors tabulated by Belassi and Tukel (1996). Belassi and Tukel (1996) in their study, analyzed the above mentioned success factors and grouped them into four areas. Factors related to the project Factors related to the project managers and the team members Factors related to the organization Factors related to the external environment. It is evident that whatever critical success factors that are known, can be grouped under these four areas identified by Belassi and Tukel (1996). Dvir, Raz, Shenhar (2003) conducted a survey among 100 Israeli defense projects, and their findings pointed out a noteworthy positive connection between the projects success and each of the factors listed below. The amount of effort spent in defining and identifying the goals of the project The functional requirements Technical specifications of the project According to Verma (1995, 1996) communication, leadership and teamwork are essential for efficient management of project human resources and are vital to achieve project objectives successfully. Murray, J.P. (2001) identified nine factors that could drive an IT project into success or failure. Proper senior management commitment to the project Ample amount of project financial support A well defined set of project requirements and specifications Cautious development of a all-inclusive project plan that incorporates enough time and flexibility to foresee and deal with unanticipated difficulties as they arise A proper commitment of time and attention from the client, combined with a enthusiasm to see it through to the end Frank, accurate reporting of the status of the project and of potential complexities as they arise A critical assessment of the risks inherent in the project, and potential harm associated with those risks, and the ability of the project team to manage those risks The development of appropriate contingency plans An objective evaluation of the capability and enthusiasm of the organization to stay on the project course Turner MÃ ¼ller (2004, 2005) conducted studies on the impact of project manager and his/her involvement and leadership style on project success. Turner MÃ ¼ller (2005) believe that past literature on the subject of Project success factors, have ignored the impact of a project manager on project success. However, Turner and Muller (2005, p59) has rather given a contradictive conclusion that the leadership style and competence of the project manager have no impact on project success. In concern to project management, project success also relies on the capability to systematize, coordinate, and support a diverse group functioning towards a common target. Project success factors may differ depending on the type of project. Thus it is important to have a clear idea on what factors drives each type of project toward success. This would enable the project stakeholders to accomplish what they perceive as success. Conclusion In the past it was believed that if a projects completion time exceeds its due date, or expenses overran the budget, or its results did not satisfy a companys preset performance criteria, the project was considered to be a failure. At present it is understood that determining whether a project is a success or failure is far more complex. It is important for a project manager to be aware of what the stakeholders consider as a successful project. In order to avoid any surprises at the end of the project, it is important to identify the different perspectives of what success means before the project begins. It is generally agreed that schedule and budget performance may be considered as insufficient measures of project success however they are still important components of the overall constructs. Quality is interconnected with issues of achievement of functional objectives, specifications and issues of technical performance. It is also understood that a projects success varies with time and varies in the eye of various project stakeholders. Thus, a criteria used to assess project success should be time dependent and should be using multiple perspectives of stakeholders. However, future studies may reveal other successful means of success criteria. As for success factors, they can be generally grouped into four distinct sets. General management literature shows how effective leadership is a success factor in organizations, and has revealed that a proper leadership style can lead to better performance. However studies on leadership in project context are contradicting with this perception. A common factor pointed out by many authors is that senior management support is one of the most important factors that can drive projects toward success or failure. Success factors may vary depending on the project type. In conclusion, early classification of success criteria can ensure a definite view of how the project will be judged and early detection of success factors will assure a safe path to deliver success.

Examining methods for allocating overhead costs

Examining methods for allocating overhead costs Overhead cost is an ongoing  expense  of operating a business and is usually used to group expenses that are necessary to the continued functioning of the business, but cannot be immediately associated with the products/services being offered as in the costs do not directly generate  profits. Overhead cost includes indirect product cost or indirect cost of responsibility centre. Indirect product cost is known as manufacturing overhead whereas indirect cost of responsibility centre is known as non-manufacturing cost. Manufacturing overhead is those manufacturing costs that are incurred to a variety of products. It cannot be traced to individual products like depreciation and insurance of manufacturing equipment, cost of occupying, managing and maintaining a production facility. Manufacturing overhead is the cost that could be traced to individual product but it is not worth the trouble to like cost of lubricants and glue used. Manufacturing overhead also include cost that is more appropriately to be treated as cost of all outputs like overtime premium, cost of idle time, utilities cost. Non-manufacturing cost includes customer service, marketing and research development cost. ALLOCATING OVERHEAD COSTS Normally, only manufacturing overhead is allocated to products. However, depending on the industry the business is in and to obtain more comprehensive estimates of product cost, management accountant may allocate non-manufacturing cost to products. One example is Apple Co. with high research development cost, to obtain accurate product costing, they allocate part of the research development cost to product cost. ABSORPTION COSTING Production overhead, or usually refer to as manufacturing overhead, is recovered by absorbing them into the cost of a product. This process is known as absorption costing. Absorption costing means that all of the manufacturing costs are  absorbed  by the units produced. In other words, the cost of a finished unit in inventory will include direct materials, direct labor, and both variable  and  fixed manufacturing overhead. As a result, absorption costing is also referred to as full costing or the full absorption method. Absorption costing is often contrasted with variable costing or direct costing. The fixed manufacturing overhead costs are not allocated or assigned to (not absorbed by) the products manufactured under variable or direct costing. Variable costing is often useful for managements decision-making. However, absorption costing is often required for external financial reporting and for income tax reporting. Absorption costing includes 3 stages, namely apportionment of overheads, reapportionment or allocation of service (non-production) cost centre overheads and also absorption of overhead. For apportionment of overheads, there are no hard and fast rules for which basis of apportionment to use except that whichever method is used to apportion overheads, it must be fair. Unlike direct cost, indirect cost is usually allocated to cost objects and is not directly traced to cost objects. Cost object is defined as item that is assigned separate measure of cost. To facilitate allocation of overhead cost, overhead cost that have common allocation base is pooled together and is known as cost pool. For each cost pool, bases of apportionment are chosen. Bases of apportionment are some factors or variables that allow us to allocate costs in a cost pool to cost objects. The selection of the base of apportionment should be on causal-and-effects grounds, which mean it should be a cost driver. Some examples of bases of apportionment include floor area, net book value of fixed assets and number of employees. Floor area is usually used for rent and rates overhead. It is assumed that the greater the floor space occupied by the production centers, the more rent, cleaning and electricity usage are consumed. Net book value of fixed assets is used for depreciation and insurance of machinery. It is based on the assumption that Number of employees is used for canteen cost. The assumption is when the number of employees increases, the canteen cost will increase. Example: ABC Ltd has two production departments (Assembly and Finishing) and two service departments (Maintenance and Canteen). The following are budgeted costs for the next period: The second stage of absorption costing is reapportionment or allocation of service cost centre costs overhead to production cost centers. Service cost centers (departments) are not directly involved in making products. Therefore the fixed production overheads of service cost centers must be shared out between the production cost centers using suitable basis. Examples of service cost centers or also referred to as support department cost centers include maintenance department, payroll department, stores and canteen. In contrast to operating or production department which engages in production of the products and directly adds value to a product or service, support or service department provides the service that assist and complements the smooth functioning of the production departments in the company. Methods of allocating support or service department cost to production department include direct method, step-down method and reciprocal method. DIRECT METHOD The  direct method  is the most widely-used method where it allocates each service departments total costs directly to the production departments. It ignores the fact that service departments may also provide services to other service departments. Under this method, there is no interaction between service departments prior to allocation. Example: Machining and Assembly are the only production departments that used the services of the Human Resources Department in March. Costs from Human Resources are allocated based on the number of new hires. Machining hired seven employees in March and Assembly hired three employees. Human Resources incurred total costs of RM93, 000 in March. Allocation of H.R. Department costs to Machining:70% of RM 93,000 = RM 65,100 Allocation of H.R. Department costs to Assembly:30% of RM 93,000 = RM 27,900 No information is necessary about whether any service departments utilized services of the Human Resources Department is the characteristic feature of the direct method. It does not take account whether no other service department hired anybody, or whether three other service departments each hired five employees (implying that more than 50% of the hiring occurred in the service departments). Service department to service department services are ignored, and no costs are allocated from one service department to another when using the direct method. STEP-DOWN METHOD Thestep-down methodor known as sequential method allocates the costs of some service departments to other service departments. However, once a service departments costs have been allocated, no subsequent costs are allocated back to it. The choice of which department to start with is very important. The sequence in which the service departments are allocated usually effects the ultimate allocation of costs to the production departments, in that some production departments gain and some lose when the sequence is changed. Hence, production department managers usually prefer over the sequence. The most defensible sequence is to start with the service department that provides the highest percentage of its total services to other service departments, or the service department with the highest costs, or the service department that provides services to the most number of service departments, or some similar criterion. Example: Human Resources (H.R.), Data Processing (D.P.), and Risk Management (R.M.) provide services to the Machining and Assembly production departments, and in some cases, the service departments also provide services to each other: The amounts in the far left column are the costs incurred by each service department. Any services that a department provides to itself are ignored, so the intersection of the row and column for each service department shows zero. The rows sum to 100%, so that all services provided by each service department are charged out. The company decides to allocate the costs of Human Resources first, because it provides services to two other service departments, and provides a greater percentage of its services to other service departments. However, a case could be made to allocate Data Processing first, because it has greater total costs than either of the other two service departments. In any case, the company decides to allocate Data Processing second. In the table below, the row for each service department allocates the total costs in that department (the original costs incurred by the department plus any costs allocated to it from the previous allocation of other service departments) to the production departments as well as to any service departments that have not yet been allocated. After the first service department has been allocated, in order to derive the percentages to apply to the production departments and any remaining service departments, it is necessary to normalize these percentages so that they sum to 100%. For example, after H.R. has been allocated, no costs from D.P. can be allocated back to H.R. The percentages for the remaining service and production departments sum to 92% (7% + 30% + 55%), not 100%. Therefore, these percentages are normalized as follows: For example, in the table above, 59.78% of RM136,000 (= RM 81,304) is allocated to Assembly, not 55%. The characteristic feature of the step-down method is that once the costs of a service department have been allocated, no costs are allocated back to that service department. As can be seen by adding RM 105,522 and RM 134,478, all RM 240,000 incurred by the service departments are ultimately allocated to the two production departments. The intermediate allocations from service department to service department improve the accuracy of those final allocations. RECIPROCAL METHOD Thereciprocal method is the most accurate among the three methods for allocating service department costs. It is because it recognizes reciprocal services among service departments. However, it is also the most complicated method, because it requires solving a set of simultaneous linear equations. Using the data from the step-down method example, the simultaneous equations are: H.R. =RM80,000 + (0.08 x D.P.) D.P. =RM 120,000 + (0.20 x H.R.) R.M. = RM40,000 + (0.10 x H.R.) + (0.07 x D.P.) Where the variables H.R., D.P. and R.M. represent the total costs to allocate from each of these service departments. For example, Human Resources receive services from Data Processing, but not from Risk Management. 8% of the services that Data Processing provides, it provides to Human Resources. Therefore, the total costs allocated from Human Resources should include not only the RM 80,000 incurred in that department, but also 8% of the costs incurred by Data Processing. Solving for the three unknowns (which can be performed using spreadsheet software): To illustrate the derivation of the amounts in this table, the RM36,423 that is allocated from Human Resources to Machining is 40% of H.R.s total cost of RM 91,057. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN METHODS AND PROBLEMS USING THE METHODS Direct method allocates support cost only to operational departments and there in no interaction between support departments prior to allocation. On the other hand, step down method allocates support costs to other support departments and to operating departments that partially recognizes the mutual services provided among all support departments. Under this method, there is one-way interaction between support departments prior to allocation. Reciprocal method allocates support department costs to operating departments by fully recognizing the mutual services provided among all support departments. It is full two-way Interaction between support departments prior to allocation. Direct, step-down and reciprocal methods of support department cost allocation gave slightly different total overhead cost and overhead rates for each production department. It is because of the different recognition that each method gives to support relationships. The direct method does not recognize any relationships that exist between support departments whereas step-down method gives only partial recognition to these relationships. Reciprocal method gives the most accurate results when allocating of multiple service departments costs to operating departments. The power of reciprocal method over other methods (direct method, step-down method) lies in its considering the mutual services provided among all service departments which means the costs of service departments are allocated to each service department (except the service provider) besides operating departments. However the application of this more powerful method is rare. It is because it is more complicated than other methods and it requires sophisticated computer aid. Some firms that use ERP software since this method requires additional modification in coding. Therefore most of the companies prefer employing either of direct or step down methods. Reciprocal method considers mutual services provided among all service departments, direct method and step-down method ignore this point. Moreover service department cost used by other service departments are also ignored in direct method. The drawback of direct method is partially reduced by step-down method by following a hierarchy among service departments while considering cost allocation. There is a ranking among service departments as to which department to begin allocation according to different rules which in turn yields different allocation figures. The drawback of step-down method to reciprocal method is that once the cost accumulated in the first in ranking service department is allocated, that department does not take any share from other service departments. Two main rules determine the raking. The first approach considers the number of departments served by the service departments to judge on which service department to begin allocation and which ones to move on. The service department that serves to the highest number of departments is the first department to begin allocation. In case of more than one department serve the highest number of departments, the department with highest accumulated costs is the first in the ranking and so on. The second approach adopts the percentage of service in determining the ranking of service department to begin with and to carry on. The service department with highest percentage of service to other departments is the first in the ranking and so on. In case of more than one department with equal the highest service percentage, the one with higher accumulated costs is set as the first and so on. Lastly reciprocal method or algebraic allocation method (REC) considers all served departments including service departments and operating departments by a service department except the one whose costs are allocated. There is a two way interaction among service departments unlike step-down method. The method yields equations with multiple unknowns which are equal to the number of service departments since the method considers all the costs of the service departments to be allocated. As the number of service departments increase the number of equations with multiple unknowns increase and hence a computer aid is required to solve the equations simultaneously. CONCLUSION Out of the 3 allocation methods to allocate service/ support department cost to production department cost, reciprocal method is said to be the most precise method. It is also the most complicated method as it requires solving a set of simultaneous linear equations. However, direct and step-down methods are simple to compute and easy to understand. Nonetheless, direct method is the most widely used in industry. Direct method allocates each service departments total costs directly to the production departments, and ignores the fact that service departments may also provide services to other service departments. The direct method and step-down method have no advantages over the reciprocal method except for their simplicity, and the step-down method is sometimes not very simple. Nevertheless, the reciprocal method is not widely used. Given advances in computing power, the reciprocal method would seem to be accessible to many companies that are not using it. Presumably, these companies b elieve that the benefits obtained from more accurate service department cost allocations do not justify the costs required to implement the reciprocal method.

The Important Features of a Mosque :: Papers

The Important Features of a Mosque Possibly one of the most important aspects of the Islam religion is the Mosque, which means "place of prayer". This is seen as the centre of the Islamic community and is where Muslims join together to worship Allah, pray, and learn about the religion. Also, weddings, festival celebrations, and meetings of the Muslim community are held there. On the outside, many Mosques are plain and not elaborate at all although, it is not wrong for them to be grand. They are usually rectangular in shape and two features of them would be the dome and minarets. The dome is situated on the top of the roof and symbolises the universe. A minaret is a tall tower and every Mosque must have at least one. From here the adhan, call to prayer, is called by the mu'adhin. Most modern minarets have loudspeakers to drown out the noise of traffic, etc. The adhan is translated as: "Allah is most great, Allah is most great. Allah is most great, Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god except Allah. I testify that there is no god except Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to success (in the life and the Hereafter)! Come to success! Allah is most great. Allah is most great. There is no god except Allah. (Morning prayer) Prayer is better than sleep. Prayer is better than sleep." The times that adhan is made is set by the sun. The first is made at dawn, the second after the sun has passed the peak, the third mid afternoon, the fourth after sunset, and the fifth when night begins. Inside the Mosque, as a mark of cleanliness and respect, shoes must be removed. Before praying, Muslims must wash in a special way called Wudu, which they were commanded to do by Muhammad. This makes them clean for prayer as they are about worship and be in close presence

Virtuosity in Othello :: Literary Analysis, Shakespeare,

The character Desdemona in William Shakespeare’s play Othello holds on to her dignified behavior until the very end, when her life is taken by her jealous husband, is indicative not only of her chaste mind, but also of her virtuous fortitude. Women of that time were largely seen mostly one of two extremes – either virtuous or licentious. Desdemona’s strength as a virtuous woman are clearly illustrated in two pivotal scenes in Shakespeare’s play: in her poise when confronted with her husband’s collapse of his gentlemanly facade; and in the dignified way she faces her own demise head-on, feeble on affirmations, yet overflowing with grace. In Act 4, Scene 2, Desdemona proves herself as a lady in her discussion with the evil Iago, who, unbeknownst to her, is the cause of her chagrin. Although she bewails that Othello has called her a whore, she herself does not stoop to insults. Proudly, she declares, â€Å"Unkindness may do much† and, in a moment of disturbing foreshadowing, states â€Å"And his unkindness may defeat my life† (IV.ii. 164-65). Though virtuous to a fault, she remains dignified and affirms, â€Å"I cannot even say ‘whore.’ / It does abhor me now I speak the word; / To do the act that might the addition earn / Not the world’s mass of vanity could make me† (166-69). During the tragic conclusion of the play, in Act 5 scene 2, Othello suffocates his adored Desdemona in the erroneous belief of her infidelity. She nevertheless departs with dignity. She does not wail but instead she merely states: â€Å"O, falsely, falsely murdered!† (130). One is left to wonder if she is referring to herself or to Cassio; regardless, these words are simply matter-of-fact and are not the emotion-driven cries one would normally expect from a person facing her own execution. Through her dying breath, Desdemona states clearly, â€Å"A guiltless death I die† (136). Her mistress Emilia, obviously overcome with emotion, pleads to Desdemona to name the killer, crying, â€Å"Help! Help, ho! Help! O lady, speak again!† (134) and â€Å"O, who hath done this deed?† (137). With a quiet composure on her deathbed, Desdemona cryptically tells Emilia, â€Å"Nobody—I myself. Farewell† (138). Was she a self-loving character who had the ability to love others unconditionally? Or was she a fool who accepted her worldly fate in the belief that, by doing so, she was being righteous? Othello appears to be more of a weak character to succumb to misguided vanity and jealousy than Desdemona in meeting her own end with dignity.

Comparing and Contrasting E.L. Doctorows Billy Bathgate and William Kennedys Legs :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing and Contrasting E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate and William Kennedy's Legs The many similarities between E.L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate and William Kennedy's Legs suggest that Doctorow used Legs as a starting place for the creation of his own novel. Certain scenes are so similar that it seems that they did not originate independently. Marcus Gorman and Billy Bathgate had almost indistinguishable experiences while firing target practice and later when Jack Diamond and Dutch Schultz died. Doctorow did not, however, merely copy Kennedy's story; he instead used it as a building block to begin from. Billy Bathgate had many elements that Legs did not which expanded the story's significance. The pistol firing scene in Billy Bathgate palpably mimics the machine gun practice in Legs. Not only are the literal actions very similar to each other, but their impact on the characters is almost identical as well. The excitement and power gained by firing weapons lures both characters further on their descent into the criminal underworld. After shooting, Marcus thinks, "Do something new and you are new. How boring it is not to fire machine guns" (Kennedy 41). And Billy said, "I will never forget how it felt to hold a loaded gun for the first time and lift it and fire it, the scare of its animate kick up the bone of your arm, you are empowered there is no question about it, it is an investiture, like knighthood" (Doctorow 145). In the case of Marcus Gorman, the exhilaration of firing the machine gun was the benefit that would outweigh the risks of associating with Jack Diamond. Billy had already been attracted to the gang life. However, the power he gained from firing his automatic amplified his attraction. He finally understood why the other gang members had such closeness with their guns. Doctorow saw Marcus' introduction to the gang life through guns as an organic element in the story that worked properly. Therefore, he chose to borrow for Billy rather than trying to come up with something different that may not have worked as well. After their gun firing experiences, Marcus and Billy experienced many strikingly similar events. The most dramatic of these were the death scenes of Jack Diamond and Dutch Schultz. In both cases, mentor and protà ©gà © were together at the time of departure, and each protà ©gà © received a privileged transmission of information that no one else did.

Elephant

Elephant was a movie based on an average high school In the last ten years, showing the experiences, different emotions and actions students have. While this movie In the end focuses on two boys, we see many different students throughout the movie and their part In high school. Even though this Is to be based on an average high school, I believe at times they showed an unrealistic portrayal on students and teachers with some of their actions in this movie.Not far into the movie they show a cone of girls in gym class, all wearing shorts outside except one, Michelle. Which is nothing wrong with that, but what happens is the teachers makes a comment on her wearing sweats, telling her she needs to Join the rest of the girls, by wearing shorts. Otherwise, by her not following these instructions, it would lead to a drop in her marks. Michelle to me seems like an insecure girl, not wanting to show her body off.And no school I feel would make girls who are insecure about their body have to f eel uncomfortable by wearing shorts, Just because every other girl in class was confident and wears shorts. I also found this movie made students look stupid, making them so oblivious to what was happening around them. As the two boys enter the school, stalking around the halls with those massive guns In their hands, you see not one student scream or even notice what was happening.Especially in the library which was full of kids, one of the boys marched right in, gun in the air, and it takes for him o actually shoot it after awhile for anyone to scream or run. Not to mention how as the shooting starts, students weren't even running out of the school. In so many of the scenes when you see students running away they completely ignore the doors as if they weren't even there. They Just run past or go up the stairs. No student would actually choose to run up a couple flights of stairs then to just run outside, getting away from this tragedy.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev Analysis

contents 1. Introduction2 2. Advantages of invest in chinawargon2 2. 1 exuberant human and energy re book of factss2 2. 2 ontogeny in relevant infrastructure and openness to unusual alternate3 3. Disadvantages of investment funds in chinaware3 3. 1 Low income of passel3 3. 2 engineering and unsymmetrical investing3 4. Benefits for FDI in chinaware4 4. 1 Economy is stirred in many ways4 4. 2 care expanding upon4 5. Evidence of the negative effect for FDI in china4 5. 1 FDI threaten topical anesthetic enterprises and working with child(p) manoeuver4 5. 2 Unbalanced investing5 5. 3 environmental problems5 6. Suggestion5 7. Conclusion6 8.Bibliography7 The impact of external govern investment in mainland chinaware Introduction inter demesneal ingest investment (hereafter referred to as FDI) has forced important impacts in China after the freeing-Reform in the late 1970s, China has been successful in wining FDI, which has been played an crucial role in the economic suppuration of China. China has straight become the second largest strange direct investment (FDI) beneficiary country in the public fol number 1ing the US. Annual FDI inflow was below $US100 in 1979, but exceeded $US580 one thousand million in 2006, with an annual growth point of close to 30%. Fung et al. 2004). This trend is expect to continue in the fore beholdable future, oddly given the countrys accounting entry into the WTO. Many advantages hobo be set in FDI, including boost employment rate, cipher capitals and step-up domestic competitive. On the another(prenominal) hand, in that location are to a fault around drawbacks of FDI in China. This essay ordain assume with a display of the advantages and disfavors of investing in China, thusly describe benefits and drawbacks brought by FDI and last provide several correspondence suggestions.Advantages of investing in China 2. 1 easy human and energy resources China has a large population of approxima tely 1. 3 billion indicating a huge drug addiction power and market place. The purchasing power of Chinese people is increasing dramatically in the last decade, which means China could attract more and more FDI in the future. (Tarun, 2012). Furthermore, China has resource availability and low terms of labor force, which means investors kitty easy employ enough workers with a relatively low cost. The country is also rich in energy resources.extraneous corporations could obtain a variety of resources when investing in China. China is the largest producer of coal in the world is an get hold of example for this. (Zhang, 2002 see in Tarun, 2012). Therefore, China is an excellent destination for investment. (Callaghan & Cassidy, 2003 see in Tarun, 2012). 2. 2 Development in relevant infrastructure and openness to international parcel out China has been striving to improve related infrastructure, which contributes to attract FDI. For example, highways, railways and interior disco biscuit waterways have adjusted according to the swarm province.It is always true that the availability of carnal infrastructure signifi apprisetly influences the decision of investment evently in a foreign land. Moreover, China has run throughed economic reforms and Open Door policies. Meanwhile, China has put efforts in promoting trade by adopting several bilaterally symmetric and unilateral trade arrangements and actions such as reducing tariff barriers. (Tarun, 2012). Disadvantages of investing in China 3. 1 Low income of people There are some disadvantages for investing in China. Firstly, the income of people is relatively low in China.The yield capacity is growing but the low per capital income whitethorn lead to periodically saturation, which makes it difficult for foreign companies to develop. (Tarun, 2012). . 3. 2 engineering and unequal investment In terms of technology discrimination and lack of labor qualification in some certain areas whitethorn also need to im prove. Furthermore, unequal investments in varied sectors are another key disadvantage in China. For example, there is saturation in traditional sectors but not many investments in chemical and automobile sectors.There are still some barriers in the areas of administrative enforcement and non-tariff measures. Even some changes are victorious place, many tasks needed to be cultured to construct the legal system which benefits market thrift. The existing legal basis, mandate execution and operating mechanism are not fully suitable with the requirements of market prudence (Rongala, 2007 see in Tarun, 2012). Benefits for FDI in China 4. 1 Economy is affected in many ways The benefits brought by FDI to China are apparent. Economy is influenced by FDI in a number of ways.FDI involves absent intimacy in the host country, which will create an increase on the existing line of credit of knowledge through and through labor training, the transfer of skills, and the transferring of new managerial and organizational experience. Also, it can help local corporations to access to good technology by capital gathering in host countries (Mello, 1999 and Mello, 1997). Furthermore, FDI may let China to develop in technology and knowledge which are not quickly available locally, as a ensuant increase productiveness growth through the prudence (Jose, 2003). . 2 trade expansion Chinas expansion in trade is accompanied by the increase of FDI and growing trade by foreign invested enterprises. (Fung, 2002) Contribution of FDI has increased dramatically since the primordial 1980s, especially in the 1990s. During 1980 and 1985, trade by FDI constituted less than 0. 6% of make sense export and 2. 1% of total import. The shares went up to 7. 3% and 12. 8% respectively in the second half of 1980s. In the 1990s, trade by FDI accelerated and their share in Chinas total trade increased to 44% and 53% for the historic period 1996 and 2000.The rise in FDI share in total trade in dicates the growing ploughshare of FDI in the growth of Chinas trade. (Fung, 2002). Evidence of the negative effect for FDI in China 5. 1 FDI threaten local enterprises and capital transfer The local firms may lose markets due to low productiveness or less advanced technology because the real significant assessment of FDI may be organized on a high indispensable status for the persistent term national satisfaction, which involves multinational corporations (MNCs). As a get out, massive amounts of people will be unemployed, which may lead to friendly instability. Sarumi and Adewumi 2006) Also if proper regulation does not exist in the host country, FDI can serve as a source of capital flight from the developing countries to the highly-developed ones. For instance, due to some specific risks in the host country (economic and political risks), there could be large flow of capital transfer from the host country to the bag country if there is no legislation against such practice. T his may create an contrary effect on the host economy especially if such capital is sourced for deep down the host country. 5. 2 Unbalanced investingThe variety of the poor and the wealth is increasing result from FDI tend to invest in coastal areas, which causes an unbalanced develop in economy between horse opera areas and coastal regions. 5. 3 Environmental problems Result from MNCs higher production capacity, FDI could lead to a number of environmental problems which sometimes is not well interpreted care of or neglected especially in the mining sector by local government (Bora 2002 see in Sarumi and Adewumi 2006). Suggestion Given the negative perspective of FDI in China, government should take actions to computer address the problems.Firstly, local enterprises could be protected by a heavy tax on purchasing products of foreign companies. Moreover, government should avail local firms through funding. Secondly, it is advisable to implement the strategy of encouraging FDI through the development of regional central cities in the west. Also, particular(a) and preferential policies for the specific projects should be provided by the government in the west that conforms with the industrial development in the area. Some particular regions should possess the flexibility of making policies in accordance with the local situation.It is important to get hold that narrowing the economy gap can attract more FDI as well. Finally, appropriate law and regulations should be do or strengthened to constrain the capital transfer from host country to home nation and protect the environment. Conclusion China has made a great improvement in its reforms to open up its market for foreign direct investment. This assay describes the advantages and disadvantages of FDI in China, then analysis several benefits and negative impacts brought by FDI. Some suggestions also are provided. exotic direct investment is still concentrated in the southeast and the coastal areas, which should be address by making policies and loosing regulations in western countries. However, there are some limitations in the project, for example, the increasing number of FDI cause the productivity and technology spillover is not covered, which will be researched in the future. Bibliography FUNG, K. C. , HITOMI, I. , and SARAH, T. , ed. , 2002. conference on ? China? s Economy in the twenty-first Century? to be held on June 24-25, 2002, Hong Kong unconnected carry on Investment in China Policy, Trend and involve.GALINA, H. , and CHERYL, L. , 2011. Are there productivity spillovers from Foreign direct investment? peace-loving Economic Review, 16(2), 135-153 HAIYING, W. , 2004. economic research middle discussion paper A wide Evaluation of and Policy Recommendation to Foreign Direct Investment Environments in western sandwich China. Nagoya University. KELLY, L. , 2011. Foreign Direct Investment in China Manufacturing Industry Transformation from a Low tech to High Tech Manufa cturing. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(7), 15-27. SARUMI, A. , 2006.The Impact of FDI on Growth in exploitation Countries An African Experience. Master thesis, J. NK. PING University. SIZHONG, S. , (2011). Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillovers in Chinas Manufacturing Sector. The Chinese Economy, 44(2), 25-42. TARUN, K. B. , (2012) Advantages and Disadvantages of FDI in China and India, international Business Research, 5(5), 164-174. USMAN, M. , MIR, H. , and AAMIR, M. , 2011. Does market place Size Affect Foreign Direct Investment? A Case of China. interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(7), 1026-1033.