My Favorite Deserts

ENGLISH COMP. 2. ASSIGN 2| A Description| | A description about my favorite desserts. | | Mrs. Mirelle Jayawardene| 3/10/2013| | My Favorite Desserts Everybody has their favorite games, cars and meals. Also everyone has their desserts and I have mine. All my favorite desserts have one thing in common they all are made with one ingredient that is â€Å"Chocolate†. Mmm!! Chocolate Desserts! I honestly believe that chocolate is the closest we can get to heaven as mortals, seriously. Is there anything better than chocolate to make you feel all wonderful and gooey inside?Can anything cheer you up as instantly as chocolate desserts can? If you’re like me, you are going to love these Best Chocolate Desserts as well as the mouth-watering pictures of the amazing treats. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s dig in! Chocolate Decadence Cake Inspired by the old-school, ultra-rich, mousse like chocolate cake that usually called for a whole pound of chocolate, half a dozen eggs and lots of butter, here is an enlightened rendition with deep bittersweet chocolate flavor and that dense melt-in-your-mouth texture so characteristic of the genre. No one will guess it’s healthier.The secret is excellent natural cocoa powder and good-quality bittersweet chocolate, preferably with 70% cacao. Although the cake can be eaten once it’s completely cool, it comes out of the pan much easier and even tastes better if it has been chilled at least overnight. Frozen Chocolate-Covered Cappuccino Crunch Cake This cake is unbelievably awesome, delicious and easy to make and versatile; you can actually use other flavors to make it more appealing to those who are not coffee-lovers. Cappuccino Crunch Cake combines coffee ice cream, pound cake and NESTLE ® TOLL HOUSE ® Milk Chocolate Morsels for a rich and creamy frozen dessert!This dessert was created by Beth Royals of Richmond, VA. Simply Rich Chocolate Syrup This is not your average chocolate syrup, with its dee p, rich and smooth chocolate flavor; the perfect treats for sweet fresh fruits, or to use for the topping of your favorite ice cream or dessert. Cinnamon Chocolate Pudding Chocolate and cinnamon has always been the perfect and a winning combination for any dessert. Cinnamon adds more warmth and deep scent to this special treat and this is one of the best flavors that a chocolate-lover can dream of because of its richness and creamy texture which is intensified by the whipped cream or any milk.Chocolate Banana Cream Pie The flavors complemented each other beautifully. The banana and chocolate -– a classic combo -– but brought to another level of interesting with the addition of the salted caramel, which also played nicely with the buttery graham cracker crumbs. Cool, creamy, sweet, and just so delicious. Chocolate Hazelnut Terrine with Raspberry Sauce This elegant dessert is a chocolate-lovers’ dream served in a pool of ruby-red raspberry sauce. Either made with hazelnut liquor, this will surely become a big hit because of its sweet taste.The good thing is you can make some changes. Instead of using heavy cream you can use whipped fat-free evaporated milk blended. For chocolate, you can substitute Dutch cocoa and cocoa white baking chocolate bar. Chocolate â€Å"Buried Treasure† Bars You will find sweet delight in every bite in this chocolate buried treasure bars, with layered almonds, dried berries and morsels; these bars are worth craving for. The combination of this bar will positively wow you’re lucky guests who have the golden opportunity to taste this fantastic chocolate treat.In all these wonderful pictures that have been displayed above lies a wonderful, mouth watering and breath taking taste that I have had the pleasure of indulging in. I have tasted these wonderful treats mainly when I was on vacation in different countries and different cities. There are many more wonderful delicious treats that I have not mentioned and the reason for that is, those delicious desserts had no real description, because I could not describe them. They are indescribable; there taste was so sweet and tender that my taste buds could not control themselves.I have been too many countries, seen many cities and tasted many desserts enough to know that the desserts I have mentioned above are for me the top 7 that I will always want to taste just one more time. Desserts are described as a sweet, delicious conclude to a wonderful meal that brings you to utter the words â€Å"Delicious†. My dreams vary from entertaining people, discovering and studying history and as of my last vacation that solidified my professional like taste buds; my new dream is to travel the world tasting all the delicious desserts.

Relations Between Teenagers And Adults Essay

A common phrase that adults can testify to hearing from any given teenager is, â€Å"You don’t understand!† This proves a struggle between the youth and the adults that quite possibly is never-ending. Adults make assumptions about kids, based on the way they dress, which pushes kids further and further away. In the essay, â€Å"Goths in Tomorrowland† by Thomas Hine (2001), he emphasizes the beliefs that adults began the idea of youth alienation from older societies and the teenagers keep it that way. Donna Gaine’s (2001) essay, â€Å"Teenage Wasteland,† discusses four teenagers who were mocked and misunderstood by adults and reporters alike. Jon Katz (2001) lets the kids explain themselves about their seclusion from society and the misconceptions about them in his column, â€Å"More from the Hellmouth: Kids Tell About Rage.† The fear that elders show towards young people is merely a fear of the unknown. Adults are worried about the younger ge nerations because of their misunderstandings of the youth culture, their failure to accept youth into the adult society, and the instigation provoked from young people. Misunderstanding of youth creates the gap between adults and teenagers. Many teenagers spend their whole teen experience searching for someone to just understand them. A lot of them do not even make it through this experience because they give up feeling that no one knows what they are going through. Parents also fear for their kids because they do not understand them. A boy named Evan best explains this in â€Å"More from the Hellmouth: Kids Tell About Rage.† He says, â€Å"People fear what they don’t understand, and let’s face it, the world . . . isn’t something most people can understand . . .† (Katz, 2001, p.81). I can remember going through hard times of changing schools so frequently and my parents thinking it was so easy for me. When in reality, it was the hardest thing to do. It is hard on a kid to have to make friends, move, and then start all over again. When I tried to talk to them about it, they could never see where I was coming from or my point of view on anything. There is nothing that can be done for adults to be able to fully understand the younger generation. It is just a gap that is placed there by human nature and this generation gap can never be fully understood. Regarding my experience mentioned earlier, I noticed that my parents made no effort to understand what I was feeling and how their decisions would affect  me. That is what separated me from them, the fear of the unknown. The fact that the majority of adults make no effort to accept young people into their world is no alien idea. The teenagers from â€Å"Goths in Tomorrowland† were not accepted by adults simply for the reason that the teens dressed differently from what was considered to be normal dress. â€Å"They [adults] confuse thrashers with metalheads and goths because they all wear black. Then they assume that they’re all taking drugs and worshipping Satan† (Hine, 2001, p.71). Adults do not understand that teenagers are constantly searching to define themselves as individuals. Expression through clothing is a form of that. Yet, Hine’s article is not about merely how the teenagers dressed differently to express themselves, â€Å"It is about the ali enation of teenagers from adult society, and equally about the alienation of that society from its teenagers. The mere presence of teenagers threatens us [adults]† (p. 69). Is it the idea that this young generation of gothic-dressed supposed losers will be replacing the elders when their time is up that is so scary? Or are the youth of today causing this boundary that is formed by instigating the adults with things that they know scare them? The fault of the misunderstanding between youth and elders is not all due to the close-mindedness of adults. Young people draw adults to see them as irresponsible and immature by the way they act and carry themselves. It is almost as if they are purposely trying to show the world that they are independent, young, and can do whatever they please. The body alterations that young people use to assert that they are no longer children successfully frighten grown-ups, but they also convince them these weird creatures are well short of being adults. The ring through the lip or the nipple merely seems to demonstrate that they are not ready for adult responsibility. What they provoke is not respect but restrictions. (Hine, 2 001, p. 71) By showing off their ability to create their own identity, they are causing trouble for themselves. They should be able to express themselves freely, but instead they are left with no choice but to keep in and guard their emotions. Yet, by guarding their emotions by putting on these facades, they are â€Å"actively guarding their psychic space because the adults controlled everything else† (Gaines, 2001, p.66). Another thing that sometimes can separate youth from their adults is their inability to speak up. They are afraid that if they say what is on their mind or how they  are feeling that it could be used against them. According to Donna Gaines’ â€Å"Teenage Wasteland,† â€Å"Like any other alienated youth . . ., they don’t like to talk to adults† (p. 65). By talking to adults, they are giving themselves away and â€Å"whatever you [they] say can be held against you [them]† (p. 65). Their deepest and darkest secrets should only be shared with someone who understands them. This game of misunderstanding played between adults and youth has been going on since the beginning of time. They are considered to be in two different societies and it will be like that until the end of time. Adults do not completely understand teenagers and they never will. It is just the truth of being either an adult or a teenager. No one can understand both. Adults refuse to accept youth inside of their world and youth refuse to be a part of their elder’s world. It is a vicious cycle. Adults have to learn to let teenagers live their lives; even when they feel like protecting their children. References Gaines, Donna. (2001). Teenage Wasteland. In D. George & J. Trimbur (Ed.) Reading Culture. 4th ed. (pp. 63-66). New York: Longman. Hine, Thomas. (2001). Goths in Tomorrowland. In D. George & J. Trimbur (Ed.) Reading Culture. 4th ed. (pp. 68-73). New York: Longman.. Katz, Jon. (2001). More from the Hellmouth: Kids Tell About Rage. In D. George & J. Trimbur (Ed.) Reading Culture. 4th ed. (pp 78-83). New York: Longman.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet 5

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF INTERNET GOOD MORNING TO MY RESPECTED TEACHER AND MY FELLOW FRIENDS TODAY I M GONNA PRESENT A SPEECH ON ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INTERNET BEFORE COMING TO THE POINT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOME FACTS ABOUT INTERNET WHAT IS INTERNET? ACCORDING TO THE DEFINATION PROVIDED BY OXFORD DICTIONARY, THE INTERNET IS AN ARRANGEMENT OF CONNECTED COMPUTERS,WHICH LETS THE COMPUTER USERS ALL OVER THE GLOBE EXCHANGE DATA. AT THE PRESENT TIME, APPROXIMATELY 33% OF THE WORLD POPULATION HAS ACCESSIBILITY TO THE INTERNET. THE INTERNET IS AN EXTAORDINARY ENTERTAINMENT AND LEARNING TOOL THAT MAY BE UTILIZED IN A NUMBER OF MODES TO INCREASE THE ABILITY OF A USER TO COLLECT INFORMATION. THE PRINCIPLE COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET ARE THE WORLD WIDE WEB(WWW) AND E-MAIL INTERNET WAS CREATED IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE †UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY†(known as DARPA). IT WAS FIRST CONNECTED IN OCTOBER,1969. THE WORLD WIDE WEB WAAS CREATED IN SWITZERLAND IN 1989 BY A BRITISH MAN NAMED TIM BERNEERS-LEE. THE ALTERNATIVE NAME â€Å"NET† CAME FROM â€Å"INTERNET† The advantages of Internet Following are the advantages provided by the Internet: ) Information The biggest benefit offered by the Internet is information. It functions as a valuable resource of information. You can find any type of information on any subject with the help of the search engines like Yahoo and Google. 2) Communication The primary goal of the Internet is communication. It has do ne extremely well in this field, however the development process is still going on to make it more dependable and quick. By sending an e-mail, we can contact a person who is physically present thousand miles away within the fraction of a second’s time. 3) Entertainment Internet functions as a popular medium of entertainment. A wide variety of entertainment including video games, music, movies, chat room, news and others can be accessed through the Internet. 4) E-commerce E-commerce is the idea that is implemented for any form of commercial strategy or business transactions that entails transmission of data from one corner of the world to another. E-commerce has become a fantastic option through which you can shop anything. 6) Services A variety of services are offered via Internet, for example job searching, online banking, buying movie tickets, hotel reservations and consultation services etc. When you avail these services offline, they become more expensive. The disadvantages of Internet Following are the disadvantages of Internet: 1) Spamming: Spamming denotes distribution of unsolicited e-mails in large numbers. They are meaningless and they unnecessarily block the whole system. These activities are treated as illegal. 2) Theft of personal details While using the Internet, there is high probability that your personal details like name, address and credit card number may be accessed by con artists and used for fraudulent purposes. ) Pornography: Pornography is definitely harmful for your children. There are numerous pornographic sites available over the Internet and watching any of those can have very bad influence on the mental health of your children. 4) Virus threat Virus is a program that interrupts the usual operation of your personal computer system. PCs linked to the Internet have high probability of virus attacks and as a result of this your hard disk can crash, giving you a lot of trouble.

How the spaniards (conquistadors) destroyed the economic structure of Essay

How the spaniards (conquistadors) destroyed the economic structure of the Incan Empire - Essay Example were doing these people a favor, they have led to the long term destruction of what is now Latin America, due to the overwhelming poverty and elitism that dominates the continent. Through this conquest, the conquistadors destroyed the economic structure of the Incan Empire and of the region altogether. The Incas were a civilization in what is now South America that had a history of being led strongly, which included its economic structures, even though â€Å"The Inca Empire was actually quite short-lived, lasting only about 100 years, from ca.1438AD, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti and his army began conquering the neighbors of the Inca heartland of Cuzco, until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532† (Ogburn 1997). The Incas were led, during their best periods, by Huayna Capac. After Capac and his heir apparent both died of smallpox, however, a war broke out in order to decide who would take over the civilization and become its new leader. At the center of this conflict were Huascar and Atahualpa, who were brothers and were also the sons of Huayna Capac. Huascar became the emperor of the civilization, although there is no evidence to suggest that he was meant to assume this power when his father died. Huascar was a madman, who came close to murdering his mother and his sister, but he was still very popular amongst most of the population that he governed over in the southern part of the region. Atahualpa, on the other hand, took over the northern part of the region during this time period. These two brothers were able to live in peace for a few years, but problems eventually broke out, which caused a war between the two sides. Consequently, over 100,000 people were killed during this war, which shows the savage demeanor of this society. Atahualpa’s side eventually won the war, but he soon started to go insane as well. He treated members of the losing side very horribly and even killed Huascar’s children right in front of him. While Atahualpa now had full control of

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 19

Questions - Assignment Example Additionally, networking provides skills for better communication. Communication skills are vital to every manager (Okome 2011). Social media is effective because of its necessity to employees and managers. Workers need to communicate with each other because of the current technology. Changes in technology have made it easy for workers to work in remote areas. With these changes, communication is important. This gives social media gives a positive review. There is simplicity in communication for employees and managers in different locations. Ideas can also be shared by different personnel is different locations. Conversely, social media networking channels can act as a distraction. Social media does not also give full information meaning that information can be misunderstood. Security is not guaranteed for any information passed through social media (Adler 2012). Research shows that technology has improved modes of communication. This is because companies have been able to operate in different locations. Organizations have set up virtual teams to operate in different locations using technology such as information communication technology to communicate with the headquarters. Technology makes communication effective resulting in the improvement of marketing of the organization’s products and services. The fact is virtual teams communicate easily with the headquarters (Earnhardt

Reflective Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflective Journal - Assignment Example I got inspired by the elaboration on this charter that was a binding instrument, and its purpose was to encourage co-operation centred on solidarity and reciprocity for good use of the Niger River hydrographical area. An inter alia was established to assist states in technical matters (Elmualim, Valle and Kwawu, 2012) Correct waste disposal methods is a concept I gained interest and must be initiated to avoid disposal of solid waste in water bodies, which can affect the marine flora and fauna. Sewerages must be constructed to ensure waste is directed to the right path and avoid contamination of water bodies (Wu, McKay and Hemphill, 2010). The right to prevent intrusion to an economic exclusive zone. This is an area beyond and the area adjoining to a territorial sea governed by a state. I am interested in the fact that due to this exploration of the sea resources and its utilization, conservation and management of flora and fauna, organic and inorganic resources in and around the area is rightfully owned by the state. The evidence required is whether the vessel has entered beyond the 200 nautical miles from the baseline is rather confusing to me. (Elmualim, Valle and Kwawu, 2012) Â  Construction worker and the corporation will never mind the consequences so long as they earn their cash. I was inspired by the fact that the Forests are water catchment areas, and forests do help in purifying the atmosphere. As REDD+ Programme spokesperson, a feasibility study should be done to identify a most efficient area then preparation is done the finally full implementation. Ensuring that measures to correct biodiversity are put in place before forest clearance is an interesting idea. Â  Forests are very important; it is a home to animals, plants and is the water catchment area thus must be protected. (Elmualim, Valle and Kwawu, 2012) The forest is important, they act as catchment areas for fresh water, and they reduce emission of carbon

Questionare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Questionare - Essay Example The descriptive phase follows, in which the demographic and statistical information on the target population and target program emulations are determined in respective forms of their completeness and efficiency. â€Å"Exploratory studies are most typically done†¦ to satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding, to test the feasibility of undertaking a more careful study, and to develop the methods to be employed† (Babbie, 1995, p. 84). #12 Between Kà ¤rtnerstrasse, Graben and Kohlmarkt, which is the most popular street? Why? ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ #13 How much would you expect to spend in a typical day of shopping? On how much designer products would this money typically be spent? ______ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Multiple choice form is optimal for diversity since it also affords anonymity and privacy while simultaneously reducing the amount of confusion often attendant upon a questionnaire interview that is evinced by so many. The survey that is given to individuals representing two different sides of the issue of the effectiveness of research into presented issues. Respondents are instructed, Please circle the letter that seems best to

Definition of Philosophy Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Definition of Philosophy - Dissertation Example The paper is aimed to compare the two given definitions of philosophy, based on Aristotle and Novalis. Aristotle defined philosophy as a body of knowledge that begins with wonder. Novalis defined philosophy as homesickness, or the longing (nostalgia) for a home one never had which results in search for knowledge. Between the two definitions of philosophy, Aristotle’s view is more logical, thus, it can be considered to best define philosophy. He presented the essential elements that are required to establish the knowledge in philosophy. One is the sense of wonder which drives the quest for knowledge. This element can be considered as the primary phase in the field of philosophizing. Another is wisdom which had been equated with the terms vision and the manner of perceiving a concept. This is important because the manner of exploration in the field of philosophy is through critical thinking. While the definition of Novalis is more artistic and literary in perspective, Aristotle’s view is more scientific which is important since philosophical thoughts and concepts are established through scientific method and inquiry.

Environmental Scan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental Scan - Assignment Example The program is solely responsible for health services and training opportunities, along with valuable educational programs. Regina Food Bank has been sustaining its operations from past many years. However external forces tend to affect operations of this charitable organization. There are four major forces in external environment as per PEST model such as political, economic, social and technological forces. This project has been incorporated in Regina located in Canada. Political power is in favor of Regina Food Bank. Its main aim is to eradicate any form of hunger issues from the country. The government had recently announced a lump sum amount to be donated to Regina Food Bank. This kind of investment would be done in terms of capacity building in community and voluntary sector. Political conditions at times are not stable due to frequent elections and this in turn proves to be a threat for charitable organizations. Economic factors mainly comprise of effect of recession on charitable organization. This encompasses various phenomenons like lower income of donor, increased service demand and stiff competition in context of declining funds of government. Job security is a vital issue for donors and this affects operations of charitable organizations. When disposable income is low then it negatively affects donation habits of individuals. Reduction in interest rates is good for businesses and home-owners but it has adversely affected charities. Market volatility reduced overall income from investments and reserves for many firms. The charities usually are dependent on investment factor. This kind of dependency will be influential since larger portfolio portion is held in shares. Market volatility also plays a major role for charities in context of pension funds. Pension funds are usually bounded within equities and hence declination in stock value creates large deficits. Financial instability and low interest

Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie Review Example Moreover, they can be personal as well as professional. To maintain interpersonal relationships, it is necessary that people use effective communication. For that, not only is it necessary for people to be able to send an intelligible message, but for the other person, for whom the message is intended, to be able to receive and decipher it clearly as well. Lacking clear communication, the relationship can be complicated by creating conflict therein. An excellent way to illustrate interpersonal relationships and the communication they involve would be through the movie The Hours, where many such interpersonal relationships along with the intricacies thereof have been portrayed. Stephen Daldry’s The Hours is based on the novel by the same name by Michael Cunningham, and relates three different stories, set in three different times and settings about three different women and their lives, the only thing similar between them being the novel Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The mov ie relates a day in the lives of these three women and those around them, and is a good illustration of various interpersonal relationships as well as the dynamics thereof. ... It is clear that Virginia has a very loving relationship with her husband. The concern that Leonard has for her is clear, and what is more, he expresses it clearly, too. In the beginning, after the doctor’s visit, when Virginia comes down, he expresses her concern clearly when he insists that she eat something. Furthermore, towards the end of the movie, when they are at the train station, Leonard tells her how he lives in constant fear that she would kill herself, and that the reason they moved to the suburbs is because of her health. It is easy to see just how much concern and love Leonard has for Virginia, and what is more he also expresses it to her clearly as well. This love is clearly reciprocated, through words as well as gestures, by Virginia as well. Right down to her suicide note, whereby she says that he has given her the greatest possible happiness, and that she does not think two people could be any happier than them. When it comes to her sister, Vanessa, however, there is a distinct lack of open interpersonal communication. While Virginia tries to talk about her illness and her absence from London, Vanessa seems intent on changing the topic and not talking openly. Vanessa does not express her fears and her trepidations about Virginia’s health, nor does she openly inquire after them to allay them, and perhaps because of that reason she tends to be â€Å"scared† of her sister. It is clear that Virginia does not like that, and she tries to communicate her dissatisfaction to her sister, but as it is necessary for interpersonal communication for the other person to be receptive to one’s message, which clearly Vanessa is not, it has not effect. In the second story arc there is Laura, who lives with

Hot IPOs Can Damage your Long-Run Wealth! Essay Example for Free

Hot IPOs Can Damage your Long-Run Wealth! Essay This paper investigates the links between hot markets, long run underperformance and venture capital in the UK using a unique sample of 593 IPOs for the 1985-2003 period. It finds no evidence for long run underperformance for the full sample but does find robust support for significant underperformance during hot markets. The significant hot market return differential relative to the first day trading is consistent with investor sentiment and market timing. The differential relative to the offer price is also statistically significant thereby confirming Ljungqvist et al. ’s (2006) first prediction and providing further support for long run underperformance by hot market IPOs. The evidence does not support certification hypotheses. Hot-market, venture-backed IPOs underperform very significantly while their non-venture counterparts suffer substantial negative returns for only three years post-IPO. Similarly, the significantly negative relationship between underpricing and long-term returns for venture-backed IPOs during hot markets furnishes evidence of market timing. Industry analysis reveals that the return differential is significant for the high-technology sector both for the full sample and separately for venture-backed and non-venture IPOs. Indeed a majority of high-technology firms in the sample went public during hot markets. Cross-sectional regressions provide additional support for significant underperformance by high-technology firms in hot markets for the whole sample and non-venture IPOs. Finally, IPOs in general and venture-backed IPOs in particular with strong pre-IPO earnings growth generated significantly superior performance in all periods. The impact was most marked during hot markets, suggesting a role for robust pre-IPO operating results in determining the likelihood of long-term performance. 1. Introduction Loughran and Ritter (1995) find for a sample of almost 5000 US IPOs 1970-1990 that investors receive annual returns of just 7% on average in the five post-issue years. To place this underperformance in context, investors would have had to invest a staggering 44% more in issuers than in similar-sized non-issuers to achieve the same terminal wealth. Their graphic conclusion is that â€Å"Investing in firms issuing stock is hazardous for your wealth† (Ibid. p. 46). Long run underperformance has puzzled researchers in financial economics ever since and is identified by Ritter and Welch (2002) as possibly the most controversial area of IPO research. This paper has three objectives. The first is empirically to test hypotheses related to hot markets and especially some of those proposed by Ljungqvist, Nanda and Singh (2006). To our knowledge the latter has not been done to date. Ljungqvist et al. argue that investor sentiment is the underlying cause of the IPO underperformance anomaly. They propose that a test of underperformance in hot markets relative to the offer price rather than the first day trading price provides a tougher hurdle. We adduce empirical support for significant underperformance in hot markets relative to both the first day trading price and to the offer price. These are in line with those of Ritter (1991), Cook, Jarrell and Kieschnick (2003) and Helwege and Liang (2004) and Derrien (2005) who link investor sentiment to hot markets. Our results are in agreement with recent findings for IPO markets in other countries. Helwege and Liang (2004) compare US firms going public in hot and cold markets during 1975-2000 and examine their performance over the following five years. Both hot and cold market IPOs are found in the same narrow set of industries and hot markets occur at the same time for many industries. Their results suggest that hot markets reflect greater investor optimism rather than other factors. Cook et al. (2003) also find that US IPOs during hot markets have lower long-term returns than IPOs during cold markets due to sentiment investors driving prices beyond their fair value. Derrien (2005) is one of the few hot market studies to focus on a non-US market. His findings support the view that IPOs occurring during bullish market conditions in France are overpriced. The second objective is to explore the links between long run underperformance and hot markets for a sample of UK IPOs. In this context it is the first attempt to investigate such links in the UK which boasts one of the largest and most developed capital markets outside the United States. Ibbotson and Jaffe (1975) and Ritter (1984) pioneered the hot markets concept. They documented the existence of hot periods of high IPO volume (underpricing) where subsequent underperformance tends to be more dramatic. The implication is that market timing is uppermost in issuers’ minds when taking advantage of market sentiment in such periods. Our UK sample comprises of a set of 593 venture-backed and non-venture IPOs on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange over the period from 1985 up to 2003. The advantages of this sample are twofold. On one hand, it is a relatively large sample according to the definition of Ritter (2003) who points out that Japan and the UK are the only countries other than the US that can muster IPO samples in excess of 500. On the other hand and more importantly, our UK IPO sample differs in one fundamental aspect from US samples. The latter contain a large proportion of high-technology firms while our UK sample is more evenly distributed by industry. Thus our data should provide a basis for robust hypothesis testing of aspects of long run underperformance. The third objective of the paper is to explore the conjecture first postulated by Brav and Gompers (1997) that venture capitalists play an important role in explaining the underperformance puzzle. They show that US venture-backed IPOs outperform non-venture IPOs five years after the offer date and conclude that underperformance primarily resides in small non-venture IPOs which are the most likely to be influenced by investor sentiment. However, our sample shows no significant difference in returns between venture-backed and non-venture IPOs in contrast to the Brav and Gompers (1997) findings. The return differential between hot and normal markets is highly significant for venture-backed IPOs although it is only marginally significant for non-venture firms. Industry analysis reveals that this return differential is significant for the high-technology sector for both the full sample and separately for venture-backed and non-venture IPOs. We find some evidence of venture capitalists exploiting investor sentiment during hot markets which is confirmed by a significantly negative relationship between underpricing and long-term returns for venture-backed IPOs during hot markets. This latter finding contrasts with that of Helwege and Liang (2004) who find no significant role for venture capital presence during either hot or cold markets in the US. The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. In section 2 the literature on long run IPO performance, venture capital involvement and investor sentiment is reviewed. Section 3 describes the data and methodology related to performance measurement. Section 4 discusses the empirical results of univariate sorts and cross-sectional regressions. A final section concludes. 2. Hot Markets and Long-run IPO Underperformance 2. 1 The underperformance anomaly While long run underperformance is well documented for the USA, results for other countries such as the UK are rather limited. Levis (1993) used a sample of 712 UK IPOs 1980-1988 to document significant long-term IPO underperformance 36 months after the first trading day. Espenlaub, Gregory and Tonks (2000) re-examine the evidence on the long-term returns of IPOs for a sample of 588 UK IPOs 1985-1992. Using an event-time framework, they find substantial negative abnormal returns after the first three years irrespective of the benchmark used. Although some researchers underline the role of hot IPO markets, only a few empirical studies have so far compared long-run performance in hot and cold (normal) markets. Helwege and Liang (2004) study a US sample of 3,698 IPOs between 1975 and 2000. Distinguishing between hot, cold and neutral markets they find both hot and neutral market IPOs tend to underperform while cold market IPOs tend to outperform a variety of benchmarks. After adjusting for economic conditions, they find little evidence for cross-sectional differences between the characteristics of hot and cold market IPOs and no significant difference between their post-issue operating performances. These findings lead the authors to conclude that hot markets are primarily driven by investor optimism. Similarly, Cook et al. (2003), using 6,080 US IPOs between 1980 and 2002, show that IPOs during hot markets tend to perform more poorly than IPOs during cold markets. They find that IPOs trade at higher valuations and their offer sizes are larger during hot markets and that these firms are less likely to survive. They conclude that investor sentiment is a more important feature of IPO markets then hitherto recognised. Non-US studies are rare but Derrien (2005) is a notable exception. He develops a model in which bullish noise trader sentiment during hot markets leads to overpriced IPO shares relative to their long-run intrinsic value. Using a sample of 62 IPOs on the French stock exchange for the hot period of 1999 till 2001, he empirically shows that the long-run stock price performance of IPO shares is negatively impacted by investor sentiment. Ljungqvist, Nanda and Singh (2006) build a theoretical model in which the presence of irrational investors leads to hot markets and the associated long-run underperformance. In their model, sentiment investors purchase stock from institutional investors at inflated prices. Underwriters allocate new issues to their institutional client base if there is insufficient sentiment demand, perhaps due to a hot IPO market and many issuers trying to tap the capital markets. These institutional investors then sell off their holdings at increased prices to exuberant investors post-IPO who are driven by market fads. The sentiment driven prices, on the other hand, deflate over time, leading to negative returns. Below we extend the existing hot market studies by empirically testing some of the hypotheses proposed by Ljungqvist et al. (2006). 2. 2 Venture capitalists and investor sentiment While much of this literature stresses asymmetric information and the certification role of venture capitalists, a part of it also ascribes a role to investor sentiment. Brav and Gompers (1997) were the first to test the long-run performance of a sample of new issues disaggregated into venture-backed and non-venture IPOs. They use a sample of 934 venture capital backed IPOs and 3,407 non-venture IPOs in the United States from 1972 through 1992 and show that venture-backed IPOs outperform non-venture IPOs over a five-year period. They conduct an asset pricing analysis and find that venture-backed IPOs do not underperform while non-venture IPOs indicate severe underperformance. Partitioning the non-venture IPOs on the basis of size shows that underperformance resides primarily in small non-venture IPOs. Brav and Gompers (1997) argue that bouts of investor sentiment are a possible explanation for the severe underperformance of small non-venture IPOs because the latter are more likely to be held by individuals. Along similar lines, Megginson and Weiss (1991) show that institutional ownership of IPOs is substantially higher for venture-backed than for non-venture IPOs. They report that institutions hold, on average, 42. 3% of the offer in venture-backed firms as compared to 22. 2% of the amount offered in non-venture backed firms. We employ the hot market concept to shed new light on the role and performance of venture versus non-venture backed firms 3. Data and Methodology 3. 1 Data A unique sample was selected from the IPOs listed on the London Stock Exchange for the period from January 1985 to December 2003. IPOs of investment trusts, financial companies, building societies, privatisation issues, foreign-incorporated companies, unit offerings and spin-offs are excluded. The filtering process also excludes share issues at the time of a relisting after a firm is temporarily suspended or transfers from lower tier markets such as the now defunct Unlisted Securities Market and the Alternative Investment Market. We exclude the latter IPO market established in 1995 since it has no minimum market capitalization and would likely lead to a small company bias. The final sample consists of 593 IPOs of ordinary shares by domestic operating companies on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange with listing methods comprising placements or offers for sale at a fixed price. This is the result of the filters applied to a total of 2,489 IPOs that listed on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange for the period 1985-2003. The sample include some 317 venture-backed and 276 non-venture IPOs. The data sources include Datastream, the London Stock Exchange Quality of Markets Quarterly Reviews, Primary Market Fact Sheets and Yearbooks, IPO prospectuses, Extel Financial microfiches and Thomson Financial Global Access Database.

Current Situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia Essay Example for Free

Current Situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia Essay Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are apparently the central player of most economies, mostly in terms of generating micro employment and largely due to their contributions and development impacts as quantified by increasing growth potentials towards sustainable development. The perception that the significant collaboration of SMEs within the supply chain or pipeline industry of larger companies has engaged the consensus for social responsibility that links with corporate governance. The performance of SMEs in Western and Asian countries could have revolutionized the flow of investments that lead to emergence of new industries. In this paper, the patterns of SMEs’ performance â€Å"to propel the engine of economy† will be discussed in relation with its current situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Collective situational indicators This section of the paper aims to collectively situate the key economic development of Saudi Arabia as a brief indicator that can link to the current situation of SMEs. As recent information, we cite Saudi Arabia as one of the worlds top reformers and the â€Å"easiest† countries to conduct business that raised 15 places to rank 23rd out of 178 countries. The World Bank quoted, â€Å"Saudi Arabia to be belonging from the global top ten most competitive countries by 2010† (World Bank, 2008). In similar report from prominent online business magazine, it cited that Saudi Arabia is â€Å"even ahead† to other Middle Eastern countries and can be compared to European economies like France and Austria (AME info, 2008). Meanwhile, Switzerland’s World Economic Forum (WEF) observed that Saudi Arabia must realign its educational system to adequately develop the foreseen potentials of the private sector, contingent to boost the economic diversification process as a strategic procedure of â€Å"weaning† from the Kingdom’s mother-industry of petroleum products. To cite, adequate skilled-labor are needed to totally ensure continuing employment and to be self-reliant from being dependent with foreign-owned companies that represents about one-third of the industry (WEF, 2007). Critical consideration The SMEs in Saudi Arabia comprise about 93% of total enterprise units that absorbs an estimated employment of 24. 7% Saudis. The study conducted by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has accounted the primary problem of small-medium entrepreneurs as â€Å"deficient in credit-finance-capital facilitation†. (SIDF, 2008) Realizing the SMEs’ role The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) has established a â€Å"loan guarantee scheme† aim to facilitate the SMEs application for commercial bank loans. To avail commercial bank loans, the SMEs’ applicants must be under the category of â€Å"small company† that has â€Å"lesser asset† of SR. 50 million and required to employ 250 workers, and to generate annual revenues of SR. 10 million. (SIDF, 2008) As cited, the loan guarantee scheme has specifically outlined the guidelines, such as (1) initial infusion of SR. 200 million representing equities of 50% from 10 commercial banks and another 50% from the government; (2) guarantee fees for SIDF handling charges or facilitation of 175 basis points; (3) guarantee maximum amount of SR. 1. 5 million and 75% of the outstanding or current loan; (4) loan period from 7 years for fixed assets and 4 years for working capital; and (5) proposed imposition of bank loan rates at 400 â€Å"basis points† above the Saudi Interbank Offer Rate (CSCCI, 2008). The â€Å"divestment† of the financing scheme has been proposed to future investments by SIDF to access more funding support and produce substantial returns on investments. (CSCCI, 2008) On the other hand, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has proposed ruling on â€Å"collateral loans† to exclude fixed assets on owner-occupied-residential housing which is under the SIDF. Whereas, shall effect the collateral in pursuance with the Public Collections Act that implement accelerated collateral enforcement procedure with no restrictions of the Shariah (law of Koran) Islamic court. The lending bank shall collect 75% from lent amount upon failure to pay in 3 consecutive months. (SAGIA, 2008) A multilateral capital investment to SMEs in Saudi Arabia has been proposed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Venture Capital Bank of Bahrain and the Global Emerging Markets (GEM) investment-operations in New York, London and Paris. The multi-entity investment is a partnership aim to venture-out an â€Å"independent† $100 million dollar capital budget to develop opportunity-growth of SMEs. To cite, the opportunity-growth is envisioned to establish the SMEs’ market direction, micro-macro business-economic environment and strategic market-values. (CSCCI, 2008) SWOT Analysis and general perceptions The Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis depicting in this section of the paper is based upon the initially indicated findings on the current situation of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Strength One of the indicated strength of the SMEs in Saudi Arabia is its capability to contribute employment of 24. 7%, as indicated by Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI). The composition of SMEs to represent 93% of enterprise units is an added strength of capable performance. In support to this perception, an earlier claim on the performance of SMEs has been cited that 90% of â€Å"diverse† business from the small entrepreneurs of public sector basically operates in trade and manufacturing of petroleum by-products that is expected to contribute 50% of local industrial production (Bundagji, 2005). Weakness Like most common issues confronted by SMEs worldwide, the â€Å"private volunteerism† to industry development has yet to convey â€Å"popular† performance prior to government’s intervention. The foreign entities recognition to industry-wide participation of the private sector rekindles the Saudi government to focus on human development. The domestic competition on labor skills as attributed by emerging foreign-based companies could weaken the SMEs’ performance relating to technology advancement, in which translated into production output. Opportunity According to SDIF and CSCCI, a clearer vision for SMEs’ growth-opportunities is underway since the guarantee loans schemes would comprehensively address the industry issues pertaining to accelerate the private sector’s initiative. The comprehensive program is consistent with the financing-support-scheme, subsidies, training and technology innovation, and flexible micro-macro business-policy environment. This â€Å"growth-opportunities† could be deduced as referring to â€Å"tangible† opportunity for local and international partnership, wherein the abovementioned multilateral capital investments to SMEs can be deduced as â€Å"availing† such an opportunity. In which case, the SMEs creation of growth-opportunities could be a continuing â€Å"pipeline† or business linkage of investment. Threat It can be perceived that the prevailing â€Å"assimilation† of SMEs to industry-based economy of Saudi Arabia, as a result of comprehensive growth-opportunity scheme, could pave the way for strategic industry-market positioning of foreign investors. The effect of highly competitive domestic production could draw impact to the world economy, considering that Saudi Arabia is a major supplier of petroleum products to the world market. In addition, an â€Å"economic glut† may be a phenomenon in the production performance affecting the economic activities, in which when supply is high demand is low, and vice-versa. The control or monopoly in foreign trading on oil and its by-products may subsequently occur at the global distribution while â€Å"shrinking value† or total reduction of prices is thrown at the feet of local producers. The threat in foreign trading may only subsist by major stakeholders (wholesalers) and rich consumers like the European countries, US and Japan, to exemplify a few. However, generally the poor economies may end up into recession as a result of decelerated spending due high cost of commodities related to energy-dependent industries on manufacturing of goods. To sum up, the SWOT analysis aim to â€Å"explore the gaps† of the small business sector in Saudi Arabia, in which the gaps could be used as a derivative to reach out in understanding the critical role of SMEs in the general and specific perspectives of the industry. The perceptions may lead to â€Å"measures of undertaking† an assertive and extensive method of studies. Findings and conclusion The SMEs in Saudi Arabia could achieve substantial growth opportunities through intensive institutional support. It is critically viewed that the business environment policy must totally establish a prime-fund-facility that facilitates the crediting scheme, wherein sound financial management accountability would be reflective of governmental fiscal administration to account the financial needs of the private sector. As briefly reviewed, Director Fatin Yousef Bundagji of Women Empowerment and Research at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has found that the SDIF and CSCCI guideline is burdensome and highly extensive that results lesser applications. Bundagji implied that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Saudi Arabian SME Development Authority (SASMEDA) are not officially a functional authority to provide overall facilitation to the SMEs (Bundagji, 2005). Thus, the earlier finding of Bundagji addresses the current issue of SMEs that must be unified or organized as a coalition to promote its national identity, role and legal representation to the industry. It may be then concluded that the unification process of the SMEs may create â€Å"decentralized† corporate governance to empower the industry sector in Saudi Arabia. This perspective may totally supplant the â€Å"foreign archetype† with ingenuity of locally-generated development-framework of SMEs, to propel the sustainable technological-economic restructuring of the Kingdom from its â€Å"keepers† that amass the wealth of the desert and dwarfed the socio-economic-cultural autonomy of future population. References AME Info (2008). ‘Saudi economic reform to accelerate in 2008’. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. ameinfo. com/144599. html. Bundagji, F. Y. (2005). ‘Small Business and Market Growth in Saudi Arabia’. Arab News. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. benadorassociates. com/article/18663. CSCCI (2008). ‘40 Billion Riyals Funding For the National Industrial Strategy Programs’. Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. saudichambers. org. sa/index_en_6341_ENU_HTML. htm. SAGIA (2008). ‘Why Invest in Saudi Arabia? ’. Saudi Arabian Investment Authority. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. sagia. gov. sa/english/index. php? page=why-invest-in-saudi-arabia. SIDF (2008). ‘Saudi Industrial Development Fund’. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. saudinf. com/main/e32. htm. SIDF (2008). ‘Progress in Industrial Investment’. Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Retrieved 12 July 2008 from http://www. sidf. gov. sa/english/Saudi-Indu/Industrial/Progress-i/index. htm. WEF (2007). ‘Assessing Competitiveness in the Arab World: Strategies for Sustaining the Growth Momentum’. The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007. http://www. weforum. org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/chapters/1_1. pdf.

International Studies Essays World Population

International Studies Essays World Population World Population One of the most influential writers on the topic of balance of population and resources was Thomas Malthus. Malthus believed that throughout history a segment of every human population seemed doomed to poverty. He explains in his An Essay on the Principle of Population, that population growth generally preceded expansion of the populations resources, in particular the primary resource of food because population, if unchecked, increases at a geometric rate (i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.), whereas the food-supply grows at an arithmetic rate (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.). Fortunately, most of Malthuss predictions have been proven wrong by the worlds ingenuity (Wikipedia, 2008). Historical World Population When viewed against human history, population growth is a fairly recent phenomenon (see Figure 1). Prior to 1 AD, the worlds population growth was very slow with most estimates showing population in 1 AD around 300 million. From 1 AD it took about 1600 years for the worlds population to double to 600 million. By 1750, estimates show the population had grown to about 800 million people. In 1800 the estimated population grew to 1 billion people resulting in a doubling rate of approximately 200 years. Since 1750, the worlds population has grown at an unprecedented rate. In 1900 the worlds population estimate was 1.7 billion people, nearly doubling the population just 100 years earlier (Raleigh, 1999). Prior to 1750 high birth rates were tempered by relatively high death rates with occasional catastrophic death rates from war, famines, and infectious diseases. Infectious diseases such as bubonic plague and tuberculosis took a serious toll on Europes population between the 6th and 14th centuries. When the bubonic plague struck England in 1348, the countries population dropped 20 percent in just three years. During this period Englands life expectancy of over 30 years dropped to just 18 years. Population growth in Europe was also controlled through self imposed social restrictions on procreation as a response to the availability of economic resources (Raleigh, 1999). Europe finally broke the demographic stalemate in the mid 18th century when they ended the near equilibrium birth and death rates. The disappearance of some of the great killer diseases resulted in greater longevity and thus higher populations. Improved health measures, medical advances, improved sanitation, personal hygiene, and living standards throughout the 9th century brought even greater longevity. Improved longevity was countered by a desire for smaller families and the growing use of abortion and contraception (Raleigh, 1999). Although the demographic transition to what is typical in developed countries (long-living family with limited number of children) took nearly two centuries, the transition in developing countries has occurred over just the last 50 years as advanced public health and prevention technologies have been shared world-wide. Although fertility declines have occurred in developing countries they have been slower than the population gains through greater longevity, resulting in tremendous population growth over the past two centuries. By 1900 the worlds population took 65 years to double; by 1930 the doubling rate was 45 years; and by 1960, the doubling rate was 40 years. In the year 2000, there were an estimated 6 billion people on the earth, the last 50 years of which saw more population added to the earth than in the whole known history of the world to that point (Raleigh, 1999). Current World Population According to the United Nations, the worlds population growth peaked in the 1980s with small declines in growth occurring throughout the 1990s. But even with those declines, the world adds approximately 78 million people to the population every year. Until the 1970s the fertility rate was fairly constant at 5 births per woman. The fertility rate has fallen drastically since then with the current fertility rate of approximately 3 births per woman. Although all high fertility countries fertility rates are declining they still vary from 1.2 births per woman in some European countries to over 6 for some African women (United Nations, 2007). Globally, 132 million babies are born each year and 52 million people die, approximately 20 percent of which are ages 5 and younger. According to the World Health Organization, about one-third of deaths are due to infectious and parasitic diseases, one-third are due to circulatory diseases, and 12% are due to cancer (Raleigh, 1999). Projected World Growth Although fertility rates have declined over prior decades, the high fertility rates of the past have resulted in a large population that has entered the reproductive years of their lives. Because of this large population, the number of births world-wide is not expected to decline until approximately 2025 resulting in unavoidable growth throughout the next 50 years. The future fertility rate will then determine the worlds population growth (Raleigh, 1999). There are five main sources of projected world population growth. The United Nations Population Division produces the most widely used compilation of current and past estimates of population size, age structure, and birth and death rates. The United States Census Bureau produces its own baseline data, although its estimates are not completely independent from those of the UN. A third source, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) uses baseline data on population size, total fertility rates, and life expectancies from the Population Reference Bureau. The fourth source, the Population Reference Bureau bases its estimates on the work of the UN, and independent consideration of other sources including official country statistics, the Council of Europe, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The fifth source is the World Bank, whose projections are generally used for planning and managing projects. Even though each of these organizations uses slightly different methodologie s, makes different assumptions about future demographic trends, and begins with slightly different estimates of current population size their population projections fall within a relatively small band for the next 50 years (see Figure  2) (Population Reference Bureau, 2001) Figure 3 shows a summary of global population projections from three of the major sources. The middle or most likely scenarios from the UN, IIASA, and the U.S. Census Bureau are similar that they differ by about 10% in 2050 and 9% in 2100. The UN projects the least amount of growth, reaching approximately 8.9 billion in 2050. IIASA projects the most growth, reaching approximately 9.9 billion in the same year. The USCB projects a population of approximately 9.3 billion in 2050. The 2100 population projections follow a similar pattern with IIASA projecting a global population declining 10.4 billion in 2100 after peaking in 2080. The UN projects a smaller population of approximately 9.5 billion in 2100, but one that is still growing slowly (ONeill, 2001). It is obvious from looking at Figure 3 that each of these organizations uses different assumptions in their scenarios. Primary assumptions that are used in each of these organizations projections include birth rate, death rate, and demographic transition (migration) scenarios. In developing countries, the primary driver of the projections is the fertility or birth rate. Since fertility rates are currently higher in developing countries than they are in developed countries a big decline in fertility rates in developing countries can have a drastic impact on the resulting population estimate. Migration is a primary driver in scenarios with more developed countries since birth and death rates nearly cancel each other out (ONeill, 2001). Projections of global population growth differ less between the different institutions than do projections at the country level. Differences in assumptions and results at the country and region level often cancel each other when aggregated to global levels. In some cases, agreement in projections of population size masks large differences in underlying assumptions with offsetting effects, such as a scenario in a region with high fertility rate and high death rate and a competing scenario with a low fertility rate and a low death rate (ONeill, 2001). One of the major diseases that will likely impact population growth models over the next several decades is HIV/AIDS. Although the disease isnt of the same scale as some of the pre-industrial age diseases, it is having a huge impact on mortality in some regions of the world. Of the 52 million deaths that occur each year, approximately 2.1 million are from AIDS. USAIDS estimates that 33.2 million people with HIV and 2.5 million new cases every year. Since the disease impacts people in the prime of their reproductive life and has such a large impact in some regions of the world most models attempt to account for this disease (UNAIDS, 2007). Projected Demographics One of the biggest results of the population growth is simply that there will be a larger population that needs a place to live and food to eat. Another result is the continued trend toward increasing urbanization. The UN projects that nearly all of the population growth will occur in urban areas with the number of urban dwellers expecting to pass rural dwellers in 2008. In the next couple of decades the number of rural dwellers is expecting to start declining (United Nations, 2007). There will also be a higher concentration of people in less developed countries. Nearly half of the babies born into the world are born in only six countries India (22%), China (11%), Pakistan (4%), Nigeria (4%), Indonesia (4%) and Bangladesh (3%) (Chamie, 2005). By 2050, the populations of over 50 countries are expected to decline, including some well developed countries. The three largest countries projected to loose people (Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Japan) are expected to decline by a combined 67 million people (Chamie, 2005). It is projected that by 2050, every major region of the world, except Africa, will be at or below replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Today, 65 countries, accounting for 43% of world population, have fertility rates at or below the replacement level. As a result, many countries are concerned about population decline and ageing, as well as the social, economic and cultural consequences of very low fertility (Chamie, 2005). With the exception of sub-Saharan Africa mortality rates and longevity are expected to continue to increase with global life expectancy for those born in 2050 to be about 76 years (Chamie, 2005). As people live longer the population will include more people over the age of 65. It is estimated that by 2050 the percentage of the population over will 65 will double from the present 7 percent to about 15 percent. Population ageing raises serious questions about the financial viability of pension and health care systems for the elderly (Chamie, 2005). The more developed countries will continue to be net receivers of international immigrants with an estimated 2 million immigrants per year for the next 50 years. This brain drain of the most educated people in the less developed countries will increase the challenges of developmental efforts in the less developed countries (Chamie, 2005). Conclusion As the changing world population continues to increase so will the demand for food. As less developed countries become more developed and peoples incomes increase either in their country of birth or the country they have migrated to they will demand more food and more calories forcing our worlds resources to be spread among an additional 2 to 3 billion people. As this occurs, the topic of food security will once again be at the forefront of many conversations. References Chamie, J. 2005. 21st century demographics: highs and lows. The globalist, Jul 14, 2005. [Online]. Available at http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4629 ONeill, B.C, D. Balk, M. Brickman, and M. Ezra. 2001. A guide to global population projections. Demographic research, Vol. 4. Art. 8. [Online]. Available at http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol4/8/. Population Reference Bureau. 2001. Understanding and using population projections. [Online]. Available at http://www.prb.org/pdf/UnderStndPopProj_Eng.pdf. Raleigh, V.S. 1999. Trends in world population: how will the millennium compare with the past? Human reproduction update 1999, Vol. 5, No.5p. 500-505. [Online]. Available at http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/5/5/500.pdf. UNAIDS. 2007. Aids epidemic update: December 2007. New York. [Online]. Available at http://data.unaids.org/pub/EPISlides/2007/2007_epiupdate_en.pdf United Nations. 2007. World population prospects: The 2006 revision. United Nations Secretariat, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York. [Online]. Available at http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/English.pdf Wikipedia contributors. 2008. Thomas Malthus, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [Online]. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Malthusoldid=194307261.

Overview of the Olympics :: Sports History Athletics Essays

Overview of the Olympics The Olympic Games are an international sports competition. In the Olympics, athletes play in many types of games. Some athletes compete in the Summer Olympics. Some compete in the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Games are very old and have a very interesting history. The first Olympic Games were held in Greece in ancient times. They probably began in the sixth century B.C. The contests are held every four years in the summer. The first games lasted for only one day. There was only one contest. It was a short race. Only Greek men were allowed to run in the race. Women were not allowed to watch the games either, or to be anywhere near the gaming area. Other events were added later, swimming. But the ancient games were stopped in the fourth century, A.D., when Greece was ruled by Rome. The Olympics were started again in the nineteenth century, after Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a Frenchman, who later being recognized as the Father of Modern Olympics, suggested that it would be good to have the game again, but not just for Greek People. De Coubertin organized a meeting in 1894. Representatives from nine countries went to the meeting in Paris. They agreed to start the Olympic Games again in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The Olympic Games have been held every four years since 1896. Three times, the games were not held because of a world war. There were no games in 1916, 1940, and 1944. The first competition in modern times was held in Athens, but not all of the games have been held there. The Olympic Games are held in many different cities around the world. The 2008 Olympic will be held in Beijing, China. Baron de Coubertin also started a committee to run the Olympics. This committee is called the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Committee has made many decisions that affect the modern Olympics. In 1912, the Committee decided to allow women to compete. In 1924, a second group of games was begun. These new games were played in the winter of each Olympic year. The IOC also makes the rules for athletes in the Olympics. The events and games of the Olympics are of several different types. There are individual contests, where each athlete plays alone. To win this type of contests, one athlete must be better, faster, or stronger than other athletes.

Nam June Paik Video Innovations :: Essays Papers

Nam June Paik Video Innovations Nam June Paik was born in Seoul, Korea on July 20, 1932. He was the fifth and youngest child of a textile merchant. In 1947, at the age of 14, he studied piano and composition with two of Korea's foremost composers. The family moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1950 to avoid the havoc of the Korean War. Paik studied music, history, art history, and philosophy at the University of Tokyo from 1953 to 1956. He did his graduate dissertation on Schoenberg. In 1956, he moved to Germany to pursue his interest in avant-garde music. He studied music history under Thrasybulos Georgiades at the University of Munich and composition under Wolfgang Fortner at the Hochschule fÃ… ±r Musik. He also attended classes under Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luigi Nono, David Tudor, and John Cage. Paik lived in Cologne for the next five years and then returned to Japan for a short time to conduct experiments with electromagnets and color TV sets. In 1964, Paik moved to New York and still resides there today. While he lived in Korea, Paik had become familiar with the work of Schoenberg. Paik was interested in Schoenberg above all others because of his radical compositions. They reflected the social atmosphere of Seoul at the time. In 1947, Paik had only one piece of Schoenberg’s work. It took Paik two years to convince a record shop owner to let him listen to what was probably the only Schoenberg record in Korea. Paik had only two compositions by which to judge his â€Å"guru.† Then one day in Japan, in 1951, Paik heard a third piece on NHK Radio. Another of Paik’s great influences was John Cage, whom he met in Germany. Meeting Cage, a student of Schoenberg, was a turning point in Paik’s life. Paik’s piece Zen for Film was definitely influenced by Cage’s 4’ 33†, the silent piece. Cage was devoted to sounds, but Paik was devoted to objects, yet Cage’s influence is evident in all of Paik’s work. Joseph Beuys, like Cage, played an important role in influencing the direction of Paik’s video work. Paik’s portraits of Beuys constitute a significant body of work.

Internet Censorship Essay - We Need Censorship to Protect Children Online :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

We Need Censorship to Protect Children Online    One Source Cited  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper will elaborate the reasons why minors deserve legislative protection while using the internet, and how to implement this protection.    Most families agree that the custody, care, and nurture of the child resides first with the parent. On the other hand, the widespread availability of the Internet presents opportunities for minors to access materials through the World Wide Web in a manner that can frustrate parental supervision or control, for example, at the local public library(Morales). The protection of the physical and psychological well- being of minors by shielding them from materials that are harmful to them is a compelling interest to most parents.    To date, while the industry has developed innovative ways to help parents and educators restrict material that is harmful to minors through parental control protections and self-regulation, such efforts have not provided a national solution to the problem of minors accessing harmful material on the World Wide Web. Notwithstanding the existence of protections that limit the distribution over the World Wide Web of material that is harmful to minors, parents, educators, and industry must continue efforts to find ways to protect children from being exposed to harmful material found on the Internet.    Meanwhile, a prohibition on the distribution of material harmful to minors, combined with legitimate defenses, is currently the most effective and least restrictive means by which to satisfy the compelling interest of parents.    Such prohibition should include the following conduct: Whoever knowingly and with knowledge of the character of the material, in interstate or foreign commerce by means of the World Wide Web, makes any communication for commercial purposes that is available to any minor and that includes any material that is harmful to minors shall be fined and possibly imprisoned. Intentional repetition of this violation should accrue greater penalties.    This prohibition should not apply to carriers and other internet service providers, including:    (1) a telecommunications carrier engaged in the provision of a telecommunications service; (2) a person engaged in the business of providing an Internet access service; (3) a person engaged in the business of providing an Internet information location tool; or (4) similarly engaged in the transmission, storage, retrieval, hosting, formatting, or translation (or any combination thereof) of a communication made by another person, without selection or alteration of the content of the communication.

Great Depression Essay

As a result of her situation Curley’s wife has become a predatory flirt, seeking out the company of farm workers to distract herself from the consequences of her choices. This behaviour stems from a type of coping mechanism which allows her to frequently delve into fantasy in order to escape her own reality. This is a common tendency of hers throughout the book, she often expresses regrets at not becoming a movie star and leading the glamorous life she feels she deserves (†Coulda been in the movies, an had nice clothes†). The loneliness she feels is the root of her manipulative behaviour towards men; she views them as a means of escape from her marriage to Curley and will stop at nothing to entrap their sensibilities. Her volatile emotions can, on occasion, manifest themselves into violent outbursts; this happens most notably with Crooks, who she uses as a convenient outlet for her frustrations. This is best demonstrated when she threatens Crooks with lynching after he told her to leave his room (â€Å"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny†). This cruel sentiment is her way of maintaining some control over her life, and imposing her will on others by exerting the little power she has as a white woman over a crippled black man in a racist society. Interestingly this outburst does not feature in the 1992 film version ‘Of Mice and Men’; where Curley’s wife is portrayed as an altogether more sympathetic and pitiable character, stating such things as (â€Å"I’m not your object†) which appeases modern interpretations of women’s roles in marriage and strengthens her as a character by endowing her with an assertiveness towards Curley that does not feature in the novel. Curley’s wife is a strong indicator of what long periods of loneliness can do to embitter the mind and cause vindictive and resentful behaviour towards others, especially Crooks who is her only outlet. Crooks, the farms resident stable buck, represents the marginalisation of black men and women in the 1920s and 30s, and embodies the effects of what continual isolation can have upon a man. The reader is first introduced to Crooks when Lennie stumbles into his room in the barn where Crooks is attempting to rub ointment onto his crooked back. This is indicative of the workers’ hostile feelings towards him, that he must endure this pain without any offerings of help or assistance from his compatriots. Crooks’ life was not always so lonely; upon meeting Lennie he begins to reminisce of his childhood days when he was able to meet and play with white boys (â€Å"and some of them was pretty nice†), before they learnt the prejudice and hatred of their generation. Steinbeck is commenting on racism, highlighting the needless ruin of a man’s life for simply being different. However, in his isolation from the world and all within it Crooks has grown contemptuous and resentful towards others; he seizes Lennie’s attachment to George and carefully implants the idea of abandonment into his mind and revels in its effects (â€Å"Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure in his torture†). Steinbeck does draw a parallel between them, as if Crooks sees his own childlike innocence in Lennie, and the fragility of his situation and friendship with George; that one moment he can be happy and content with the world, and the next staring down the barrel of seemingly endless and lonely existence. Crooks feeds on Lennies despair like a tonic for his own existence, as if he could transfer his feelings of loneliness to another and thereby free himself. One of the most powerful sentiments in the book is Crooks’ assertion â€Å"I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, an’ he gets sick†, which tells of the beginnings of Crooks’ descent into madness. In an attempt to shield himself from the continual suffering of his own incarceration his mind is slowly retreating into fantasy and hallucination. Though underneath all his bitterness and self-pity Crooks is still a good man (â€Å"I didn’t mean to scare you. He’ll come back. I was talkin’ about myself†), he is robbed of his last vestiges of hope after Curley’s wife’s vicious attack, (â€Å"Crooks had reduced himself to nothing†). This has left him in a â€Å"reduced† state, forced to submit his entire individuality to stay alive. Candy is an aging and handicapped farm worker who represents the effects age and infirmity have upon the poor working class in an unequal 1930s society. Candy is perhaps the most pitiable character in the book, as his age and bodily limitations frequently inhibit his ability to defend or look after himself. This is demonstrated when his pet dog, who was his only real friend, was killed by Carlson when it was decided that its smell was to revolting to bear any longer. This was achieved, with the help of Slim, by the use of peer pressure and the offering of an inducement in the form of a replacement puppy. The fact that Carlson has orchestrated the event so carefully with prior calculation to achieve his desired goal shows his selfishness. That he does not suggest a compromise – such as forbidding the dog to enter the bunkhouse – shows his contempt for Candy’s feelings.

Case Study for Midsouth Chamber

In continuance of the case of Midsouth Chamber of Commerce, the organization has appointed Sage Niele as a new Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Official of the company. During her initial period, she looked back and contemplated about the decision she had made to accept the positions and her reasons behind it. Alongside with her internal investigation, the backstory of the significant players in the preceding case was told. The organization’s difficulties with finding a system to replace UNITRAK was described in the case.Throughout their search, the company has found DMA’s software as an alternative to UNITRAK. When the new system was implemented, plenty of flaws and glitches were found that caused several difficulties for Midsouth Chamber of Commerce. With MSCC’s signed contract with DMA, they have allowed DMA to take over and handle the installation and support of the new system. The decision made it difficult for MSCC to recover the system by t he end of the case. This left Sage Niele, the new Vice President, tried to find new ways to repair the damage done to an already defective system.Unnoticed Mistakes in Midsouth Chamber of Commerce This review of Midsouth Chamber of Commerce’s history, exposed a number of problems and errors found with the organization’s information systems and as well as its management. First was with the implementation of UNITRAK system. When the UNITRAK’s president, Greg Ginder, was invited to give a short demonstration of the system’s capabilities, Ed Wilson Vice President of Public Affairs of MSCC have agreed with Leon Lassister Vice President of Marketing/Membership to purchase and implement the UNITRAK software without completing the demonstration and testing the UNITRAK system.That quick decision later lead to discovering several problems with the UNITRAK system. The system could not fulfill requests for lists and labels for mailings. The word processing, payment a nd invoicing, data changes, and list management were very difficult during that time. With Kovecki’s frustration with UNITRAK software, he was not cooperative with Lassiter. He does not give him information regarding the conversion of the new system and he was not very helpful with the staff members because he always try to avoid them.Issues with the system remained and later on the UNITRAK experienced financial problems and filed for bankruptcy. With no technical support for the system, MSCC decided to hire an outside consultant, Zen Consulting, to help assist in the maintenance and support of the software. After UNITRAK, came the implementation of Data Management Associate’s (DMA) software. Another decision was made quickly in implementing a new system. Dick Gramen, the new Systems Analyst, failed to read and fully understand the contract provided by DMA, which outlined what DMA were willing to provide and what MSCC must guaranteed.The contract was signed by the pres ident of the company, Jack Wallingford, without being reviewed by any other staff member or the corporate counsel. Troubles have raised with the implementation of DMA software. DMA encountered substantial problems converting the membership database from UNITRAK into the DMA custom software package. MSCC and DMA’s working relationship deteriorated due to many problems not being fixed and the lack of cooperation with DMA.From this research, MSCC’s history was reviewed and specified questions were answered to analyze and gather facts that seems to cause problems to Midsouth Chamber of Commerce. Firstly, the organization’s poor operational decisions for their information systems. There was no opinion or guidance from an experienced information system professional. Secondly, the lack of proper evaluation of the research. Even if a research was performed for the new system, a research that was not reviewed, was not enough to quantify the decision to implement a system .Lastly, the mistake of not checking the content of the business contract. In any organization, it is essential that a contract needs to be reviewed by all the staff members, corporate counsel, and officers before it could be signed and implemented. Based on all the facts gathered from the research, MSCC must work on having a good and effective communication with all the stakeholders. This would avoid poor decision, unevaluated research and contract that later lead to future pitfalls and mistakes. MethodThe case was examined thoroughly to determine the cause of difficulties and errors with the organization’s information system. The history of Midsouth Chamber of Commerce was investigated and reviewed by the author to understand how well the organization manages their information systems. Several questions were gathered and carefully answered to strategically associate the findings and analyze the issues. Results The review of Midsouth Chamber of Commerce’s history and the answers for the specified questions helped gathered facts to analyze what were the real problems and what causes it.The outcome of the study have identified the following problems: organization’s poor operational decisions for their information systems; lack of proper evaluation of the research; and the mistake of not checking the content of the business contract. Discussion As mentioned, having a good and effective communication is very essential in every organization. The purpose of this study was to show what the organization was lacking, that made them experience numbers of difficulties with their information systems. Also, to demonstrate what can be done to resolve it.With the problems identified in this case, the main cause was found and it was the lack of good communication between the stakeholders. The decision to purchase an unreliable systems like UNITRAK and DMA, the research and contract not being reviewed prior to signing and implementation of the systems, al l boils down to MSCC’s poor communication. Why â€Å"lack of good communication† was the important finding of this case? According to ManagementStudyGuide. com: Thus, we can say that â€Å"effective communication is a building block of successful organizations†.In other words, communication acts as organizational blood. The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows: 1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. 2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions.3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e. , a well-informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizatio nal magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in molding employee’s attitudes. 4. Communication also helps in socializing. In today’s life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication. If Midsouth Chamber of Commerce would apply this finding to their organization, there would be a possibility to salvage their current and future information systems.

Marketing Campaigns and Ethical Perspectives

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Session: 3 Subject: The Social and Ethical Perspective of Entrepreneurship Case: A Friend For Life The Glades Company is a small manufacturer. It has produces and marketed a number of different toys and appliances that have done very well in the marketplace. Late last year, the product designer at the company, Tom Bringer, told the President, Paula Glades, that he had invented a small, cuddly, talking bear that might have a great deal of appeal. The bear is made of fluffy brown material that stimulate our, and it had a tape inside that contains 50 messages.The Glades Company decided to find out exactly how much market appeal the bear would have. Fifty of the bears were produced and placed In the kindergartens and nurseries around town. The results were better than the firm had hoped. One of the nurseries reported: â€Å"The bear was so popular that most of the children wanted to take it home for an evening. † Another said the bear was the most t oy in the school. Based on these data, the company decided to manufacture and market 1,000 of the bears. At the same time, a catchy marketing slogan was formulated: â€Å"A Friend For Life. The bear was marketed as a product a child could play with for years and years. The first batch of 1,000 bears sold out within a week. The company then scheduled another production run, this time 25,000 bears. Last week. In the middle of the production run, a problem was uncovered. The process of making the bear fur was much more expensive than anticipated. The company Is now faced with two options: It can absorb the extra cost and have the simulated fur produced, or It can use a bustiest fur that will not last as long.Specifically, the Orlando simulated fur will last for up to seven years of normal use: the less expensive simulated fur will last for only eight months. Some of the managers at Glade believe that most children are not interested in playing with the same toy for more than eight mon ths; therefore, substituting the less-expensive simulated for the more expensive fur should be no problem. Others believe that the company will damage its reputation if it have opts for the substitute fur.We are going to have complaints within eight months, and we are going to repent the day we agreed to a cheaper substitute,† the production manager argues. The sales manager disagrees, contending that â€Å"the market Is ready for this product, and we ought to provide It. † In the middle of this crawls, the accounting department Issued Its cost analysis of the venture. If the company goes with the more expensive simulated fur, it will lose $ 2. 75 per bear. If it chooses the less-expensive simulated The final decision on the matter rests with Paula Glades.People on both sides of the issue have given her their opinion. One of the last to speak was the vice president of manufacturing, who said â€Å"If you opt for the less expensive fur, think of what it is going to do t o your marketing campaign of ‘A Friend For Life. ‘ Are you going to change the slogan to ‘ A Friend For Eight Months'? † But the marketing vice president argued a different course of action: â€Å"We have a fortune tied up in this bear. If you stop production now or go to the more-expensive substitute, we'll lose or shirts. We aren't owing anything illegal by substituting the fur.The bear looks the same. Who's to Questions for discussion: 1 . Is the recommendation of the vice president marketing legal? Is it ethical? Why or why not? The marketing vice president has recommended that production continue using the substitute fur. While this is not illegal, since there are no laws specifically governing what type of simulated fur is used, it is unethical to delude the public into thinking the product is of high quality when the material is actually of low quality. Especially nice the company knows exactly what it is doing in trading away good faith and trust for the sake of profits. . Would it be ethical if the firm used the less expensive simulated fur but did not change its slogan of â€Å"A Friend For Life† and did not tell the buyer about the change in the production process? Why or why not? No, it would not be ethical since the firm had already produced 26,000 bears with the higher quality simulated fur that lasts seven years. The continued production of bears under the same slogan â€Å"A Friend for Life† but with lower-quality simulated fur expected to last only eight months is consumer fraud.Thus, while the legal question may be debated as to the actual fraud, the ethics question is not debatable. This is a prime example of disregard for ethics. 3. If you were advising Paula, What would you recommend? As an adviser to Paula, you should utilize Table 6. 3, which illustrates the various approaches to management ethics. The column dealing with â€Å"moral management† explains the different aspects of ethics concer ned with motives, goals, orientation to the law, and strategy.The strategy segment especially applies to Paula in that she must assume a leadership role when ethical dilemmas arise. In dealing with consumers, enlightened self- interest means that by having concern for others will find that either full disclosure to†¦ One of the most important attributes for small business success, is the distinguishing quality of practicing admirable business ethics. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure

My Bondage, My Freedom Fredrick Douglass Essay

â€Å"It was not color, but crime, not God, but man that afforded the true explanation of the existence of slavery; nor was I long in finding out another important truth, what man can make, man can unmake† (Douglass 59). In My Bondage and My Freedom, Fredrick Douglass explains in detail the harsh and cruel realties of slavery and how slavery was an institution that victimized not only slaves, but slave holders, and non-slave holding whites. Fredrick Douglass could not have been more right with his observation of slavery. In my opinion, slavery is not only an institution, but is a prime example of a corrupt business model that thrives on free labor, ultimate control, and wealth. â€Å"A business is only as good as its workers. † It’s a common saying in modern day America. That saying would hold true during slavery, however slaves were not considered workers. Workers have rights and wages; Slaves on the other hand had no rights as human beings and no wages. Slaves were considered a property, no more useful than a mule or cattle. Slaves were apart of a system and in that system they were dehumanized to the point that they became an expendable commodity. Slaves were stripped of there individuality. Fredrick Douglass recalls not the date, month, or year when he was born. He also stated that the institution of slavery did away with the concept of family. Douglass had neither recollection of a father nor any account of his existence. Further more, Douglass had only a handful of encounters with his mother before her death and had become nothing more than a stranger to his brothers and sisters. â€Å"It had made my brothers and sisters strangers to me; it converted the mother that bore me, into a myth, it shrouded my father in mystery, and left me without an intelligible beginning in the world† (Douglass 39). â€Å"In 1840, 20 years before the Civil War, 60% of American exports were cotton and was produced mainly by slaves† (Shaping America: Lesson 16). Therefore, the business of slavery favored the slave holders, who were capitalizing on free labor to produce and distribute products across the world. Greed is the undertone upon which Douglass states that slavery â€Å"corrupted souls† and â€Å"turned good people into bad people. † The institution of slavery was based on the ultimate control and power over a human to whom he is stripped of all of his identity and becomes sub-human. Consequently, the institution forces slave holders had to buy into this concept in order to justify any and all cruelty toward slaves. Douglas states â€Å"Slave holders resort to all kinds of cruelty† and later describes various ways of torture and punishment â€Å"all are in requisition to keep the slave in his condition as a slave in the United States† (Douglass 272). Slave holders showed no mercy when reprimanding slaves. The brutality and cruelty of these punishments were more of a statement of power and control and often times the punishment was worse than the offense. â€Å"Racism was used aggressively to divide poor white southerners from slaves. The relationship between the wealthy and the poor was aggressively exploited by the rich white slave holder to ensure the poor whites non-slave holder that they had a similar cause† (Shaping America: Lesson 16). This caused non-slave holding whites to have a similar view as latter. Non-slave holding whites were in direct competition with slaves and more often than not were forced out of work due to the free labor slavery had offered. In conclusion, â€Å"Slavery is always slavery; always the same foul, haggard, and damning scourge, whether found in the eastern or in the western hemisphere† (Douglass 294). Fredrick Douglass could not have been more right with his observation of slavery. Slavery is a cruel and punishing way to oppress any human. â€Å"The slave is a human being, divested of all rights reduced to the level of a brute, a mere â€Å"chattel† in the eye of the law placed beyond the circle of human brotherhood cut off from his kind his name, which the â€Å"recording angel† may have enrolled in heaven, among the blest, is impiously inserted in a master’s ledger, with horses, sheep, and swine† (Douglass 293). The business aspect of slavery is even more disheartening. However, All parties involved (slaves, slave holders, and non-slave holders) were all affected by the institution of slavery and in the mist of all the hardships that he endured for over twenty years of his life Fredrick Douglass became a free man.

Greek Parthenon, the Roman Pantheon, and Chartres Cathedral Essay

Greek Parthenon, the Roman Pantheon, and Chartres Cathedral - Essay Example The opening of the report consists of the background information about the Pantheon that is designated to all of the roman gods which is a remarkable depiction of roman architecture. It is located in the 14 regions of Augustan in the contemporary Rome. The Parthenon, on the other hand, was primarily designated to the Greek goddess Athena who is also considered as the goddess of wisdom. This temple is located in Athens which is the capital of Greece and its name is extracted from the Greek goddess Athena and the famous Greek Doric. The French Chartres Cathedral is medieval architecture designated to the Catholics. The location of this cathedral is in Chartres which is the capital of Eure-et-Loir department of France. The characteristics of Pantheon is contained with ancient Roman ideals and religious aspects in which the great dome was utilized as the presidency for official decisions for the Roman empire. The architectural invention of concrete assisted the Romans to build this histo rical dome. Whereas, Parthenon was considered was a holy temple due to its association with the deity, i.e. Athena, by the ancient Greeks. Greeks invented the possibility of stone arches by which the practical existence of Parthenon came to existence. Chartres Cathedral describes its significance of being a holy place by its name. The innovation of flying buttresses played an essential role in the successful deliverance of this gothic architectural design.

Summit vs. State Supreme Court of Nevada (1985) Essay

Summit vs. State Supreme Court of Nevada (1985) - Essay Example This testimony was offered by the appellant by stating that the victim had previous knowledge of similar acts that formed a foundation for the current case. Summitt was convicted by the grand jury, and the current case is an appeal on grounds of the rape shield law under FRE 412. Issue The issue before the court in the current case is whether the rape shield law allowed the admission of prior sexual experience of the victim as evidence in the case. The court had to determine whether Summitt could introduce the prior sexual experience of his victim as a basis for his defense in the appeal of his conviction. Rule The rule in this case is defined by the Nevada Revised Statute Section 50.090.1, which limits the inquiry into the sexual history of a victim in a rape or sexual assault case. This rule reversed the common law statute of rape cases, where the morality of the victim could have led the assailant to infer consent for sexual acts. Analysis The rape shield law was designed to preve nt the introduction of irrelevant evidence in sexual assault cases, evidence that had the potential to prejudice a jury against a victim in the case. The evidence that is usually barred includes opinions or apparent previous reputations of the victim and prior sexual experience. In the case of Summitt v. The State Supreme Court of Nevada, the rape shield law was used to prevent the appellant from introducing a previous sexual assault on the victim as basis for defense. The appellant tried to claim that since the victim had been subjected to the same assault previously, the victim had prior independent knowledge of the present case. According to common law, a defendant has the right to present witnesses in a case, cross examine them and introduce any history that pertains to the case. But in the case of sexual assault, this history might have no bearing on the case and just prejudice the jury. Therefore, the rape shield law is used to shield the victim from unfair testimony. In this case, the defendant tried to prove that the prior sexual experience of the child could have been used to formulate the evidence in the current case, indicating that the rape shield law should not have been applied. In dissenting, Steffen, a judge, stated that the previous sexual experience of the victim could have been used to make up statements in the current case, and that the lesser court was wrong in excluding reference to the previous assault. Conclusion The decision in the case to reverse the prior ruling and remand the case for a new trial was based on the error by the district court in not admitting the prior sexual experience of the victim in the case. This means that the rape shield law can sometimes act unfavorably for the defendant, since the victim could have prior knowledge that might have bearing in the current case. Discussion The rule in this case impacts different rape and sexual cases. From the decision, it is seen that the rape shield law can be circumvented by a jury if it is evident that the defendant needs the prior sexual experience of the victim in his case. Question 2 Facts Martin Weil unexpectedly passed away, and on investigation, his doctors could not explain the cause of death or the cause of several medical complications that he experienced before his death. One