Monday, December 30, 2019

Significance of Throughput Process Theory Theory of Constraints Free Essay Example, 2750 words

Mr Bragg strongly believes that Throughput Accountancy is now being used at a much more enormous level than 20 years ago when this fundamental was created by Eliyaho M. Goldratt. Companies that use modern management techniques compulsorily use the theory of Throughput Accountancy to forecast some chief management moves. (Bragg, 2007 pp. 39-45) Further in his book Mr Bragg discusses the importance of Throughput Accountancy and contrasts both the concepts Throughput vs. Cost, and provides his view, which as the title says is eminently Throughput Accountancy. This was primarily due to the fact that according to Mr. Bragg, Cost Accountancy focuses on product costs, whereas Throughput Accounting focuses on increasing the profit. (Bragg, 2007 pp. 39-45) Authors Mike Bendrey, Michael Bendrey, Roger Hussey, and Colston West (2003) discuss a completely new concept where the deny that Throughput Accountancy is an alternative to the Cost Accountancy principles, and state that Throughput Accoun ting is not possible without using some segments of the costing principles (Bendrey, et al. , 2003 pp. 14-20). Based on this ratio and some other prominent facts the authors believe that Cost and Management Accounts are interrelated and one cannot be possible without the other. We will write a custom essay sample on Significance of Throughput Process Theory & Theory of Constraints or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

Sunday, December 22, 2019

How Can The Conscience Have A Moral Pattern - 2070 Words

We have a conscience. Basically, if we do what is good, we feel well. If we do what is bad, we feel bad. There is no way to deny this truth. The conscience itself bring us to something, I mean, help us to conclude about actions or words that we have done/said. I wonder, and I would like to ask you this first question, how can the conscience have a moral pattern? From where it comes the outline, concerning what is right or wrong? Intuitively, I believe that we all know the answer. All people, in their inmost been, know it. Still, the majority just despise it and keep trying to appease their own minds. People are discouraged to change, being taught to make up their minds instead. In the view of that, many people avoid the act of stopping†¦show more content†¦I strongly disagree with this affirmation, given the fact that is a false statement itself. I like to think about it by this very simple illustration (I have repeated this for many years). If a doctor says to a patient, â€Å"You have cancer!†, and the patient just try to flee from this reality assuming not to be true, he will never be healed, and will consequently die. His acceptance of the fact will not change the fact itself. This is obvious as two and two is four. Concerning our relationship with God is pretty much the same. He is trying to talk with humanity every day. Denying an absolute truth will not change the destiny of mankind. Unless people listen to his words, accepting his peace, love and life - for all that God offers is good - changing their lives in a realistic way, the world will suffer the consequences of its own bad deeds, dying without hope. It is not God who will puni sh them, it is people themselves who decide for keeping in disobedience. C.S Lewis said it best when he wrote, â€Å"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done’.† God is kindly talking to help us decide. The word of God is the third way we have to know him. The nature, the conscience, and his word. Jesus said, â€Å"If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my wordsShow MoreRelatedThe Formula Of Universal Law Of The Categorical Imperative1322 Words   |  6 Pages1. What is, according to Kant, the only kind of motive for action that has genuine moral worth? According to Kant, the act from duty is the only kind of motive for actions that has moral grounds. This shows someone determination towards act on any circumstances. This act from duty is to do right things for specific reason, in this matter motive plays a key role. Motives which lead humanity have more standing rather than selfish motive or self-agenda. 2. State the Formula of Universal Law of theRead MoreEssay about Conscience Created versus Innate1429 Words   |  6 PagesConscience Created versus Innate To what extent do you think you are dictated by your surroundings and your up-bringing? Do you claim your opinions to be your own? Do you trust your logic and your conscience? These are questions that are seldom asked by ourselves or by others. In fact, these kinds of questions could almost be considered taboo. It seems to be generally accepted that one can trust oneself, one’s authority, and one’s conscience. Upon these premises we seem to build up everythingRead MoreMoral Development - Lawrence Kohlberg1407 Words   |  6 PagesKohlbergs Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg grew up in Bronxville, New York and attended handover Academy in Massachusetts. This is an academically demanding private high school. He did not go straight to college but instead went to help the Israeli cause, serving as the second engineer on an old freighter carrying European refugees through British blockades to Israel. After this Kohlberg enrolled at the University of Chicago where he scored so high on admission test that he only had toRead MoreSymbolism that Represents the Theme of Corruption in Shakespeares MacBeth1043 Words   |  5 Pagesin William Shakespeares Macbeth. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly used to emphasize this theme. The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil, blood representing guilt, murder, and pain, and the archetypal pattern of purification by using water represents removal of guilt, cleansing and peace. Symbolism is used repeatedly to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Blood is an important image and plays out through Macbeth. The murders that Macbeth hadRead MoreConcealed and Confessed Guilt in The Scarlet Letter and Macbeth557 Words   |  3 PagesArthur Dimmesdale. In Macbeth the readers sees an obvious guilt in the main character, Macbeth. When one does wrong, the common reaction is to hide it and pretend as if nothing happened. Because of the human conscience it is difficult to completely forget about a wrongdoing. Through our conscience guilt is built up and eventually that guilt shatters enough barriers and in turn causes the doer to admit his/her wrong. Hester Prynne has a fairly unconventional approach to her â€Å"sin.† She does not feelRead More Symbolism In Macbeth1097 Words   |  5 Pagesthe theme of corruption of power. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly used to emphasize this theme. The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil, blood representing guilt, murder, and pain, and the archetypal pattern of purification by using water represents removal of guilt, cleansing and peace. Symbolism is used repeatedly to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. The image of blood plays an important role throughout Macbeth. Blood represents the murdersRead More Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Same-Sex Marriage and the Destruction of American Culture1433 Words   |  6 PagesSame-Sex Marriage and the Destruction of American Culture      Ã‚  Ã‚   The late 20th century disintegration of marriage is epoch-defining and hazardous to moral health. The question of legally recognizing same-sex marriage - thrust upon us by recent court decisions - culminates this disintegration.    There are many reasons why the ills of marriage are so pivotal. Marriage is the principle of sexual morality. Immoral sexual acts are often wrong for other reasons, too, such as the injusticeRead More Kohlbergs Moral Development Essay1467 Words   |  6 PagesKohlberg’s Moral Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lawrence Kohlberg was born in Bronxville, New York on October 25, 1927. He was born into a wealthy family and enjoyed all of the luxuries that the rich lifestyle had to offer including the finest college prep schools. However, Kohlberg was not too concerned with this lifestyle. Instead he became a sailor with the merchant marines. During World War II, Kohlberg played an instrumental role in smuggling Jews through a British blockade in Palestine. It was duringRead MoreMorality And Happiness By Robert C. Solomon, Clancy Martin And Kathleen M. Higgins1703 Words   |  7 Pagespeople say that â€Å"any good moral rule should promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number† (447). I believe that this statement is true. Morality is necessary for happiness because every person has someone in this world that they truly care about. We all care about someone and we do not want to hurt them. When we see their happiness, it makes us truly happy. On the other ha nd, when we do something immoral it really does hurt us and others. I believe that we all have a sense of regret afterRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1508 Words   |  7 Pagesworld and about him- than anything a book or society could offer. Eventually Jim becomes a loving father-figure to Huck. He was not educated, but is wise beyond book-learning. Twain wrote Huck Finn in the late 1870s and early 1880s. This book should have been a sequel to Tom Sawyer; however, Twain told his editor that â€Å"He rather needed a profane, less cultured, uneducated, powerless, natural and honest twelve-year-old boy to make him observe society and criticize it†. (Nyirubugara 6) Twain uses satire

Friday, December 13, 2019

Metin Free Essays

ZEE: She’s a 19 year-old girl, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. She is a quick-tempered, disorganized, untidy but clean girl. Although she tries to make others believe that she is a   liberal, in fact she is traditional. We will write a custom essay sample on Metin or any similar topic only for you Order Now She has a strong sense of personal ethics. She can’t keep abreast of all innovations immediately. She suffers from insomnia at nights so she watches films when she can’t sleep. She’s addicted to cigarettes, but doesn’t drink alcohol. She’s passionately fond of her father and she has a tattoo showing her father’s date of birth on her leg. But she doesn’t show this to her father. She doesn’t answer telephone calls. Most of the time she rings it off before the other person speaks. HALUK: He is Zee’s 78 year-old father. He lives in Turkey. He is a childish man. He still watches the cartoon Tom Jerry every morning. He’s trying to keep up with technology in order to prove that he isn’t old. He’s not a narrow minded man; on the contrary, he’s innovative in the same way as young people and thinks in the same way with them. The fact that he   ZEE was born to him in his old age makes him care for her very much. Though he knows that his daughter loves him, he also wants affection from her. He calls her daughter at least ten times a day. HILARY ZANETICH: She is the closest friend of ZEE. She was born in New Jersey. She is blond, tall and plump. She doesn’t mind her physical appearance, except at nights when she goes out. She wears the same clothes at school everyday. She’s quite a flexible and a positive person. Although she believes that ZEE is a hypochondriac and crazy, she loves her very much. All the time she says that their friendship has improved her character in many ways. Her flexibility makes HILARY extremely funny. The fact that she never minds anything sometimes gets her into trouble. The first person that ZEE asks about America is HILARY. However, as Hilary’s general knowledge is not sufficient, she calls her mother each time after Hilary’s answers. YAMAN GAZIOGLU: He is the closest Turkish boy friend of ZEE. He is very keen on girls, especially American blond girls. His most noticeable feature is that while he is speaking English, he applies direct translations from Turkish. For that reason, he usually talks about what ZEE can understand. (He translates Turkish idioms into English, but they make sense to no one except for ZEE.) Turkey is against America. As images of Turkey come from the international map, ZEE explains about Turkish people and the general features of Turkey   that have been left behind. When the camera-shot moves away from Turkey and starts to approach America, we see luxury shops, automobiles, and elite people shopping and having dinner in Merrick Park, where Zee lives. Following these images, the camera is slowly directed to Zee’s bedroom. Meanwhile, we grasp from Zee’s words that she wants to be far away from her American life style even for only one day. Starting the day. The first place we meet Zee is her bedroom. Cigarette ends at the bedside of Zee, burying her head in her pillow, a great many dresses on the floor and DVDs draw our attention. A film is already on the TV with low volume. There are pictures of her father and his letters to her on the walls. Her father’s call wakes Zee up. Her father, whose computer has already been locked, calls Zee to ask for her help. However, he doesn’t listen to what ZEE says and does what he wants. Zee, fed up with her father’s advice and warnings, hangs the phone up. Meanwhile she is called again by Blockbuster so that she will return the DVDs she rented from them. As she can’t go on sleeping, she calls the hairdresser to have her hair done. But she can’t have an appointment since a customer has sued   the hairdresser. Extremely disappointed Zee deals with her hair by herself, gets dressed and goes out. Traffic monster. While she is driving slowly towards school   listening to music at the highest volume, she almost runs into an car trying to overtake a slower vehicle. She has to swerve to the right and runs into the garden of a house. She immediately looks at the number plate of the automobile and,   shaking   all over,   calls the police.   But the police cannot help Zee as neither she nor her car is injured. They say to her, that’s life. 4) Accusation Zee goes to her French lesson with a Turkish friend and her teacher makes them get out of the class. The teacher tells Zee that she will punish her and expel her from school as Zee helped a friend with his homework. Zee explains to her teacher that she’s still trying to get used to American school system, adding that in Turkey helping one’s friends with their homework is not considered such a bad thing. After that, the teacher excuses Zee by pointing out that she mustn’t do it again. 5) For those buying one, the second is free of charge. Zee goes shopping with her American friend Hilary in their one and a half hour break. The salesman tries to persuade her by saying that if she buys two more underclothes from Victoria Secret shopping center, a freezer will be given to her free of charge. The attitude of the salesman makes Zee angry. 6) Post- it When Zee comes back to school, she can’t find a parking place in the enclosed car-park of the school, so she has no chance out of parking on the meters. But she has no coins at that moment and she knows that her automobile will be towed away if she parks there as she hasn’t paid the fines she already has. She first hesitates but decides to park her car there as soon as she realizes that she’ll be late for her class. She gets out of   her car and   writes the following note on a post-it, putting it on the parking meter; â€Å"I’m sorry, but I have no coins. PLEASE DO NOT PULL MY AUTO AWAY, I WILL BE BACK WITHIN TWO HOURS.†Ã‚   She then sticks it on the windshield.    How to cite Metin, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Importance Of Friendship Essay Example For Students

Importance Of Friendship Essay Small-minded administrators and authority figures like to speak in clich?s. All my life I heard the same trite line: â€Å" You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep.† The black sheep of the honors program, I hung out with the so-called â€Å" losers. † During my freshman year, not a day went by when a teacher or family member did not deride my closest friends and warn me that by hanging out with â€Å" bad seeds† I would fall into a downward spiral, never graduate college, and have a miserable life. They thought that they had me figured out. One day, while my ninth grade math teacher, Mr. Pedersen, was reviewing some math concepts with me, my friend Mariam ran by the classroom, stuck her head in the doorway, called out: â€Å" Hi Yassee, † and then ran away. Mr. Pedersen looked at me coldly and said with a scowl: â€Å" How can you call yourself an Honors student? A real honors student doesn’t associate with people like that!† I wanted to ask him how he could call himself a teacher; after all, a real teacher is supposed to want to help everyone. Instead, I sat silent, stunned by his ignorance and cruelty. He wanted me to drop my childhood friends simply because they didn’t place the same importance on schoolwork that I do. If he had thought before speaking, he would have realized that people like him, rather than people like my friends, are better able to turn good students into poor ones by discouraging them with ridiculous comments. I would never slight Mariam. One of my closest friends in freshman year, she was also a below average, non-college bound student. Many of the adults in my life, especially my parents and teachers, would look at those closest to me: Mariam, Alisa, Zena, Lianne, and Marvin, and ask how I could call these â€Å" low-life losers† my friends. But such questions show a lack of understanding of the nature of friendship. Friendship is unconditional and uncritical, based only on mutual respect and the ability to enjoy each other’ s company. These authority figures never saw the way one of us could do something outrageous, and the rest of us would joke about it for days. We could have fun doing absolutely nothing at all because the company we provided each other with was enough. Rather than discussing operas, Lewinsky, or the weather, we enjoyed just hanging around each other without any one of us trying to outsmart the others. Still, I realize that these adults had a point to be concerned about the direction my friends were heading; I also was concerned for them, but I wasn’t about to leave them. Many times I would advise my friends that some activity may be dangerous or to think things through before doing something, but I would never claim to hold the moral high ground and to condescend to them. When Marvin would begin rolling joints, when Alisa would tell me she skipped school because of a hangover, or when Mariam would tell me that her new boyfriend was in a street gang, I expressed my discomfort with their actions. However, I never blackmailed them with the threat of taking my friendship away. Contrary to the commercials on television, you can have friends who use drugs. In fact, probably everyone does without realizing it. In my junior year, AP U. S. History class, the teacher, Mr. Jacobsen, addressed the class saying: â€Å" I bet none of you have ever seen a drug deal!† With a look of absolute certainty and an odd smile on his face he scanned the room. â€Å" I’ve seen a drug deal before, † I answered. .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .postImageUrl , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:hover , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:visited , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:active { border:0!important; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:active , .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubd50925ed9fa5d09700eb41b1b27ed8c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Dracula Essay Thesis Everyone in the room turned to look at me, either gasping or in disbelief. I realized that maybe my experiences thus far were a typical of most of my honor student friends. Despite our varying experiences, I still maintained many friends who were excellent students. Yogita, Nitin, Hans, Vishal, Saurabh, Anuj, Nick, and I have had almost every class together since eighth grade. Nitin and I both love to shop and eat. What is different about shopping with Nitin, however, is that we argue about the necessity of a high sales tax or discuss the effectiveness of the acting welfare system. Yogita and I always go to the library together and â€Å" pull all nighters† at her house. While I do enjoy accomplishing my academic goals and working with this highly motivated group of friends, I also enjoy â€Å" the losers, † who to me seem much more sincere and loyal. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change my ninth grade experience, because I learned many of life’ s important lessons from my friends and the ignorance of teachers and administrators. It’ s sad to say, but in many of my friends’ dangerous actions, I saw what I never wanted to become. In the future, I’ d like to continue helping adolescents, in addition to my studies. I have been fortunate thus far in being able to reach out to them through programs like C. H.A.N.G. E. For my efforts, I have been recognized and was honored to receive the 1998 Operation Pride Youth Award for my dedication to helping other kids live a substance free lifestyle. My familiarity with teenagers from all walks of life greatly enhances my ability to both identify with and influence others. I will be a successful adult in the future because I am willing to work with everyone and to give everyone a chance. Hopefully, I will also have the chance to change other kids’ lives for the better. Acceptance Essays

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Review Essay Example

Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Review Paper Essay on Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Serious book, is very serious. As indicated in the summary, it was first described in the methods and techniques of imaging and its main elements. Receptions air quality writing, techniques of performance of different types of circuit, the development of tonal relations Despite the fact that the landscape is most often drawn from nature, the artist can not do without imagination. imagination should not be confused with taking the work of memory, which refers to the exact repetition of previously seen object. We will write a custom essay sample on Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Picturesque diploma. Basics of Landscape Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer ─ imagination is a creative gift, giving birth to a particular sensitivity, sharpness of vision of the world and neiss yakaemuyu fantasy, entrained in the new plots and characters. This is a mysterious quality ─ ─ imagination sometimes manifests itself in people very early. The writing subjects image is the basis of creative work of the painter.  » painter plans ─ is the original sketch. The path ─ scheme of movement of artistic thought. The inspiration ─ a special condition the human psyche, suggesting increased creative activity. skill ─ the ability to see the new real-life and deeply analyze it The author examines in detail all the stages of the work of the painter, not missing a single one of them. In the first part of the book discusses the features of artistic creation. In Second ─ Analysis of the basic laws of landscape painting. In the third ─ the basic techniques of the art of writing. In the fourth ─ analyzes the creative methods of work on the landscape of outstanding artists. In fifth examines the main practical issues of landscape painting.  «high aesthetic level scenic work is determined by how much in it reflects the heart, spiritual experiences of the artist ». This book will be useful to anyone who interested in painting amateurs and professionals .

Monday, November 25, 2019

Citation Exercise Relate Research Interest Example

Citation Exercise Relate Research Interest Example Citation Exercise Relate Research Interest – Book Report/Review Example English as Global Language: Problems, Dangers, Opportunities Introduction Eva Kushner is the of English as Global Language: Problems, Dangers, Opportunities. She critically analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of English language. However, the present paper takes her unfavorable drawbacks on English language. Without further ado, the annotated reaction will begin with a significant feedback relative to how the article allows the reader to be open-minded. Annotated Reaction The paper of Kushner has been complicated to understand, but it clearly signifies its main idea of which language makes one comfortable to express one’s emotions, ideas, knowledge, and feelings (17). Regardless of how Kushner had emphasized the ability of English language to unify the diverse nationalities of people, she never failed to mean that such language could mean the â€Å"educators and decision makers† to understand and interpret others perspectives and sayings with complex results (18). She is good in terms of taking the win-win analysis of emphasizing the dark and good side of using English; however, she has been more definite in terms of clarifying that there is â€Å"survival of linguistic diversity† (Kushner 20). Ergo, her assumptions are relative to what Gonzalez and Tolron assumed that there should be a realistic fame on considering that people should not be blind to overuse and forgot their own language (13). The paper of Kushner on English as Global Language: Problems, Dangers, Opportunities buzzes the people to identify themselves to who really they are by using their own native language that will determine their own nationality and race that they should be proud of. ConclusionKushner is assertive to falsify and question the prominence and globalization of English. Readers could intimately relate with her assumption of how an individual becomes repressive in expressing one’s real emotions and ideas with English language. Kushner ideas made t he readers swag their own native tongue. Therefore, Kushner will definitely succeed to make the people realized how English could cut-out the spontaneity of one’s true intentional urges. Work CitedGonzalez, Madelena, and Francine Tolron. Eds. Translating Identity and the Identity of Translation. Newcastle,UK: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006. Print.Kushner, Eva. â€Å"English as Global Language: Problems, Dangers, Opportunities.† Diogenes 50.2 (2003): 17-23.Print.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Commonwealth of Independent States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Commonwealth of Independent States - Essay Example The initial goals of CIS creation were as follows. First, it was made to initiate a close economic cooperation between members through establishing a so-called 'common economic space'. Second, coordination of policies between allied states with mutual respect for interests was proposed. The third main objective of CIS was to create a unified military-strategic space under a joint command. Thus, the CIS was devised as a regional union, based on the concept of a state, complete with a centralized economy and cross-border ties at the macro and micro levels. Newly acquired independence meant little for post-soviet countries, as their economies were interdependent. In particular, membership in CIS meant the delay of energy crisis for every former Soviet republic. Despite the potential benefits CIS members could gain every of them understood the price they had to pay for using Russia's abundant energy resources. "The Soviet experience constantly reminds the new elites of the CIS that Russia could effectively usurp their independence in any supranational body in which it is the only major power center." (Aslund et al 1999, p.19). Indeed, it was never a secret that Russia uses CIS to influence the policies of regions, which were subjects of domestic policy just a few years ago. To put it simply, every CIS member except Russia faced a dichotomy: on the one hand they had to secure their newly proclaimed sovereignty, on the other - they were unable to survive without external economic help. Although allies behaved differently from each other in this complex situation, they can be divided into three general groups. The first group, which may be called extremely pro-Western, refused from as much cooperation with Russia as possible. Three Baltic regions, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania refused to enter CIS and decided to seek help from other neighbours. Politically, Lithuania is headed towards Poland, and Estonia along with Latvia favour toward Finland and Scandinavian region. The main reason for turning back on Russia was the fact that since their forced incorporation into the Soviet Union they've never acknowledged the legality of that claim. Still, even politically independent, Baltic States remain under Russian economic influence, as it remains their main trading partner. The second group, the most numerous one, tries to balance between Western help and alliance with Russia. Since Russia perceives CIS as a tool to hinder if not stall the movement of NATO towards East, these members of CIS try to gain as much use as possible from this confrontation. For instance, in spite of membership in the Council of Europe and some if not frequent calls for economic help from United States (e.g. during electoral campaign of Viktor Yuschenko), Ukraine has clearly stated its attitude to Russia as "the most important strategic partner", according to words of Leonid Kuchma. Other countries that can be referred to this group are Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

Assignment Example Instead, they took the entire company into private and finally plunged in weighty debt it had taken on for the buyout. By 1988, Payless had become an attractive takeover target as every corner of the enterprise suffered extreme economic crisis. There was a considerable decline in its stock price, sales, and profit. In fact, the vulnerability has to be attributed to organizational mismanagement especially the leaseback arrangements, and inappropriate business expansion. As the Payless’ effort to expand its stores failed due to buyout debt, by 1993 the company went public again raising stock offering that could cut down the debt to a considerable range. However, it was of comparatively less hope for Payless had to undertake further challenges by promoting new marketing strategies. The ‘dual path strategy’ it initiated intended a shift in customer focus from the conventional style of single type customer to ‘do-it-yourself markets’. However, the effort did not attain goal as it raised negative response from both industry observers and fund providers. For instance, when it approached banks for negotiation of debts, they suggested that company must file Chapter 11 bankruptcy for renegotiation. Although Sutherland wanted to takeover at least some parts of the Payless, the management did not favor the Sutherland bid. Stanley and his group did not want to reveal the actual condition of the company; and moreover, they thought of taking the entire part of the firm into private somehow by planning leveraged buyout. In addition, Sutherland was the notable long term competitor of Payless. Management led takeover was also destined to fail as it had surpassed the possible range of an economic recovery that an organization itself can ever attain. Although several attempts had been made by Barron and his crew to renovate the firm by raising fund from

Monday, November 18, 2019

Steve Wozniak (Co-Fonder of Apple) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Steve Wozniak (Co-Fonder of Apple) - Essay Example Wozniak’s father played an important role in his early life to help him gain an interest in electronics. He used to get his son electronic equipments so that he could learn on his own. He gifted Wozniak a radio kit at the age of seven and a heavy electronics kit the next year. Wozniak used to experiment on the equipments and learnt from those experiences. He used to buy pieces from the market and tried making his own electronic accessories. Every time he succeeded in making one, he would try again to make it but with the use of fewer accessories. The books never really appealed to him but still he was well ahead of his classmates and was able to build a computer in his 6th grade that could play tic-tac toe. When he turned fourteen, he made a fully fledged computing device which could do binary additions and subtractions, for which he also received an award. In his own words, "It was all self-done; I didn't ever take a course, didn't ever buy a book on how to do it. Just pieced it together in my own head."(Wozniak & Smith, 2006) By the time he was enrolled in college he was expert enough to design and build functional computers. One of his early inventions was the ‘blue box’ which he created to make long distance phone calls for free. Although this was illegal, it showed Wozniak’s talent in the use of electronic circuitry. He applied to Caltech University for higher education but his application was rejected. He joined the University of Colorado in the year 1968 to pursue engineering major but transferred to the University of Berkeley for his sophomore year. The theoretical study in his university courses never really appealed to him. He was more interested in the practical work and that is why he decided to drop out of university after his junior year (Cantlay). In 1975 the only concept of personal computers was that they were available in kit form and had to be properly assembled in a big box which contained a lot of switches and wir es. The first ever personal computer kit commercially available was known as the Altair 8800 which could only do limited tasks even after being properly assembled. The amount of work required was tedious and did not always end in the correct way. Wozniak decided to build a personal computer for himself because he was unable to afford an Altair 8800. His idea behind a personal computer was that it should be user-friendly and could do more tasks like calculation and load video games. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were intent on taking the personal computers to general public. They founded the apple Company and decided to promote their first product under its name. Wozniak pioneered the company’s first personal computer device and named it Apple I. The Apple Company brought about a major breakthrough in the computer industry by making the personal computers available to millions of people worldwide. The computers that were previously available in the market were not user friendly and mostly had to be bought in different parts and assembled at home. Wozniak was thinking ahead of the time and he planned on building computers that could also have a video display. The big companies like Hewlett Packard and IBM was skeptic on the idea of using microprocessors for computers and the prospect of success did not seem very bright for Job and Wozniak’s newfound Company. (Kendall, 2000).  Wozniak and Jobs sold off some of their personal belongings in order to pool in money for the equipments needed to build the computer. The first Apple I was built in a garage

Friday, November 15, 2019

Financial Analysis of the British Petroleum (BP) Foundation

Financial Analysis of the British Petroleum (BP) Foundation British Petroleum Foundation British Petroleum (BP) is one of the worlds leading integrated oil and gas companies, and it is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. It provides customers with energy for heat and light, fuel for transportation, lubricants to support the performance of engines and petrochemicals products to diversify daily use items. BP was founded in 1908 by William Knox DArcy to exploit oil discoveries in Iran. Nowadays key persons are Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman) and Bob Dudley (CEO). The BP Foundation, Inc., established in 1952, is a private non-operating foundation and an independent charitable organization separate from, but funded entirety by, BP that exists for the public benefit. It supports philanthropic activities around the world, helps communities by supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education programs across America, economic development, and by drawing attention to environmental issues. First of all, BP Foundation is widely known for contribution to the development of STEM educations. It has supported several initiatives in Illinois by donating $5 million to the Museum of Science and Industry; $400,000 to the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Math Science Initiative; $100,000 to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Energy Center; and $135,000 to the Chicago State University. Moreover, the BP Foundation supports organizations such as the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, the aim of which is to showcase talents of American Indians, Hispanics and African Americans. BPs initiative of donating $1 million every three-year has supported 200 engineering scholarships for students, who attend one of NACMEs 51 partner universities. In general, since 2012 BP Foundation has donated around $65 million for education, that shows a desire to expand economic opportunity, develop a highly skilled workforce and inspire the next generation of innova tors. In 2005, BP united with the Association of Science- Technology Centers in order to launch the Energy Education Initiative, objective of which is to train and equip STEM teachers. Besides, it joined the Million Women Mentors project to help young women to learn more about STEM careers. Second, BP Foundation has Employee Matching Program, that enables BP employees to match fund from BP to eligible charitable organizations and to help support the community where they work. Since 2006, the BF Foundation has matched over $82 million on behalf of its employees to charitable organizations worldwide. In 2014 employees volunteered about 207,866 hours and raised around $1.6 million by taking part in sponsored pledge events. In appreciation of their efforts, the BP Foundation additionally provided matching grants in the total amount of $10.4 million to educational institutions and charitable organizations. Also, BP supports military men both during and after their service. In 2005, BP was rewarded with the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, that the US government gives to employers for their support of workers serving in the Guard or the Reserve. Also, it helps veterans return to civilian life by, for example, supporting adaptive sports such as Paralympic programs and the Warrior Games, that help disabled or injured veterans while they pass procedure of rehabilitation and reintegration. To sum up, it must be said, that BP Foundation is one of the biggest supporters of programs designed to promote education through STEM, but at the same time it invests in economic development through job training, sustainable community projects and enterprise development; and the environment through projects that further the understanding of global environment issues. Financial Analysis Monetarily, the company is performing great. From its financial position, the company has many long-term assets, which are used by the company as a source of income especially when leasing as well as securities while borrowing loans which gives the company an advantage when it comes to loans for future. The long-term assets are known to increase in value as years proceed which places the company at a better place. Additionally, the company has short-term assets which includes revenue and short-term income, which is used by company to provide for most of its expenditures as it, acts as a source of income. From the given information, it indicates that organization has a positive liquidity. The assets of the organization exceed its liabilities, which explains the organization can meet its financial obligations without much pressure. There are the total assets of about 11 million while there are about 7 million of total liabilities which basically leads to the positive deficit of roughly 5 million. The company has short term liabilities, which explains that the company can easily settle them down and cannot lead to the closure of the business. The company also has a lot of sales which shows that the company is performing well in the market. In addition, the company has gross sales of assets which is worth more than 44 million dollars which specifies that the company is better placed and have a lot of disposal capital. The contributions, grants and gifts do not contribute a lot to the company source of income and capital like the company assets which are sold. When comparing its expenses and income, we noticed that the company doesnt incur a lot of expense when it comes to hiring of services as well as equipments used in the office which basically reduces the company liabilities as well as expense. After the financial year, the net assets are greater than net liabilities which shows that the company performed well at the end of fiscal year. The current ratio of the company is greater on the assets side when compared to the liabilities side. The company also has a higher book value of more than 14 billion dollars, which they can use for attracting investors since it indicates that the company is performing better and not in debt. The company also has a higher fair market value which shows that the company is performing well in market and that its products are considered among the best in the market which basically increase its market value. The company investments on the corporate stock is higher both in book value and the market price which illustrates that the company is performing good in the market and that its bonds are among the highly purchased in the market. However, the organization has some grants which are payable and are higher at the end of year as compared to the beginning of the year. This indicates that the company incurred some more expenses between the year which explains that the organizations will incur more expenses on paying the grants. The company lacks any deferred payments and mortgages to pay which reduces the amount of debts that they owe other companies. The business has other investments around $ 175,000, which indicates that the company source of income and revenue is high. Funding of the Organization British Petroleum Foundation is funded through a program called Employee Matching Program. The employees who are linked with this program called Employee Matching Program. The employees who are linked with this program are those working for British Petroleum Corporation. This company is one of the worlds biggest enthusiasm companies and it delivers energy products and services to people around the world. In the employee matching program, a maximum amount of $ 5,000 or equivalent to local currency per employee for each calendar year that has been allocated. They also have the options that are well outlined on how each employee may choose to participate and use this fund. An annual budget from the BP foundation would be allocated to this fund. All employees of British Petroleum and any of its designated partners or exclusively owned subsidiaries are eligible to participate in the program. The recipient organizations must function on a Not for a Profit Basis. The organizations that are located in United States must be qualified for tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Service Code 501 (Gong, 2). Fundamentally, British Petroleum Foundation has done countless things to the entire world and especially with touching many lives. The foundation has donated more than $ 218 million to community and enterprises in the United States. In 2015, BP foundation logged more than 55,000 hours of volunteering that raised approximately $6 million grants. Apart from above, the foundation also assists organizations such as National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) which obtains to create an Engineering workforce. The foundation contributed $1 million to support 200 scholarships for students who are attending one of NACMEs universities. British Petroleum foundation also provides financial support to natural disaster areas. In cooperation with local BP businesses, it contributed $125,000 to provide food and health services to those affected by floods in 2015. The foundation is dedicated to support worldwide organizations that meet the British Petroleum foundation donation approach which includes economic development, education and education, economic development and ecological programs. They do not accept unwanted offers but they do request reviews submitted by BP businesses around the world. BP foundation has also partnered with sports and support social enterprises which began in September 2011 to create employment legacy from London 2012 Olympic games. The British Petroleum has also worked with social enterprises in East London and West London to provide training and knowledge to support projects to allow the enterprises grow in future. Therefore, we can conclude that British Petroleum Foundation has contributed to make the Earth the better place for everyone. The BP foundation is also funded from three sources which includes contributions and grants received, interest on investments and profits from sale of assets (Form 990). The foremost source of funding in 2015 tax return is the grants of $ 5.7 million from BP America, Inc. In 2014, they received $ 209,713 from BP Products North America; from which $208,929 was a noncash transaction. The second source of funding is the Interest on Investments. In 2015, the interest was less notable amount of $16,920, however in 2014, the interest was $ 95,338. There was decrease of interest income in 2015 because there were the sales of $44,613.321in 2014 which was initially obtained by the foundation. The third source of funding is profit from sale of assets. In 2015, it amounted to be $(4,651), however in 2014, the profit was $38,734. Therefore, in 2015, its contributions became negative of 0.08%, however the contribution was reported for 26.70% in 2014. The major source of funding is grants which was received from British Petroleum. Issues facing the Foundation Just like any other organization operation in the economy, BP foundation faces some issues in its day to day operations. The first one is financial challenges. BP foundation is exclusively reliant on its parental company. They do not receive any support from other government, private or public organizations. BP foundation is not able to encounter its operating and managerial expenditures from its own resources. There are many more people who need to be reached by the charitable works of BP foundation but finance remains a limiting factor. The foundation needs more funds to be able to extent its charitable services to every corner of the globe. It is therefore up to its management to generate ideas on how they will be able to raise these funds to smoothen their operations. Another issue is operational level. The operations of the foundation revolve around dynamic sectors of the society like education particularly science, economic development and environmental issues. The organization contribution is mainly restricted for providing scholarships for education to its employees but not to community. Also, they are inhibited by the fact that they are suffering losses economically and the company is not in situation to make investments. The foundation should set a lot of funds for research of new ways of doing things. This will enable those students who are under the foundation to be part of the new discoveries made every day. By doing that, the foundation will be able to leave back a legacy to the forth coming generations for being part of those people who contributed to the great innovations ever made in the globe. Information about the Foundation The information on the foundation is very limited. It needs extensive research for one to obtain the information about this foundation because of the nature of their work. They are doing charitable work and it is not always published in newspapers or covered by bloggers. Because of the nature of this information, it needs to do a lot of research to access them. The website of British Petroleum has a very limited information about BP Foundation. The websites like CNN and NASDAQ didnt have any information regarding the financial statements. The other websites provided very limited information about the BP Foundation. The main information came from the BP Foundations Form990 tax returns for 2014 and 2015. Other than that, it is very difficult to find the information regarding the BP Foundation. Integration of BP Foundation The foundation is integrated into British Petroleum Corporation by several levels. The foundation specially gives grants to STEM education, which basically follows the British Petroleums core values of safety and energy. Similarly, in case of when natural disaster occurs, the foundation gets help from BP to help those who got affected during the incident. Another level is excise tax, which is based on investments income, which shows that statement regarding its activities and if the company controlled any entry or exit of any company in the market. Moreover, the company donations to any organization and other transactions outside the book value. The file also shows the credit payments and any other penalty the company was fined. The company through shares and taxes is tied with British Petroleum Corporation as well as the company assets. Work Cited Gong, Ning, and Bruce D. Grundy. Charitable Fund-Raising Matching Grants or Seed Money: An Application to Employee Matching Grant Schemes. SSRN Electronic Journal (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 12 Mar. 2017. Employee Matching Fund. BP Life Benefits (Core US Benefits) Employee Matching Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017. BP Foundation. Bp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Human Nature Explored in Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hy

Human Nature Explored in Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Stevenson gives the impression that human nature is a constant battle between good and evil. His upbringing as a Calvinist has had a big impact on how he sees human nature and how it is portrayed in the book .It is a very complex view of human nature, as Stevenson doesn’t see anybody as particularly evil or good, more which impulses of human nature are overwhelming the body. Human nature in the book has many contradictory points in the novel. For instance, Dr.Jekyll is the most contradictory character in the novel, because of Mr.Hyde being in the equation. Dr.Jekyll is the kind and good side of the two. Mr.Hyde is the nasty and evil side of the two. He shows contradictions in other characters too, like Mr.Enfield ...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Stylistic Analysis : “a Cup of Tea” by K.Mansfield

Written by ASUMAN BIRDAL STYLISTIC ANALYSIS : â€Å"A CUP OF TEA† by K. Mansfield The common view that a literary text is likely to be comprehended better if it is studied in parallel with stylistic analysis which emphasizes the crucial role of the linguistic features of the text contributes much to the development of literary criticism. M. A. K. Halliday is one of the text linguists who sees ‘grammar’ as a network of systems of relationships which account for all the semantically relevant choices in language, which is the standpoint of the stylistic analysis as well. In the light of M. A. K. Halliday’s discipline, I will try to analyse a piece of literary text written by Katherina Mansfield in the format of a short story titled â€Å"A CUP OF TEA† and try to criticise the text objectively in relation to its grammatical (functional) features . Before this , I’d like to give a brief information about the content of the story. A. INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORY Scanning the story first, we come across with a rich couple named Rosemary and Philip leading an untroubled, desirable life and they seem to love each other since- we have no implication whether they love each other for money or not – and everything goes well in their lives. Rosemary spends money without getting into trouble and giving no reason or excuse to her husband in doing this. Everyone in a society admires Rosemary not maybe for her beauty but for her remarkable features such as being interested in current movements from every aspects, seeming as an intelligent young woman, reading the modern books. Philip is not as bright as Rosemary but he makes himself realize as soon as he enters the story towards the end. Apart from the couple, there is a girl who meets Rosemary in a street by asking for money to have a cup of tea then is picked up by her to have a cup of tea at her home and begins to be directed by her. We infer this from the fact that whenever Rosemary wants her to enter the scene she is there but when, at the last scene, Rosemary is jealous of her, the girl is easily disappearad without giving no sign for us to follow the reason of her disappearance. And we have one more character having a part in the story :the shopman. He is also under the effect of Rosemary; we can understand this from his polite behaviours which are made obvious in the text with circumstantial features. But he is the person also who utilizes by the weakness of her. He tries to draw her attraction on the enamel box and succeeds it; he promises her to keep the box for her because he knows her and he knows that she will come to buy it; she has the power of money and gets whatever she desires without acconting for anything to anybody. Not only we encounter with her weakness in her dialogue with the shopman but also in her being jealous of Miss Smith when he utters lovely words for this girl and behaves as it is predicted by Philip who knows directing her and makes her behave as he desires taking advantage of her faulty character successfully. In that sense Philip is an intelligent man and effective on Rosemary who is also obviously the symbol of possessive female by being jealous of the girl she has met in the street; so she has no self-confidence ,she is a little bit credulous. She asks directly-having no hidden meaning in her words- ‘Am I PRETTY? ’, which ironically reveals her ex-behaviours to Philip even she supposes that Philip is not aware of the truth. B. ANALYSIS When we look at the story from the point of ‘transitivity functions’ included in the stylistic analysis which tell us about the language and its reflection on processes ,participants ,circumstantial functions we realize that main participant is ‘ Rosemary’ and most of the processes are acted by her. When we count all the sentences describing her or the ones in which she takes place we realize her dominancy at once. The other participants I’d like to analyse on this text -apart from ‘Rosemary’- are the girl,Miss Smith, and Philip. Even though Philip hasn’t got as many turns as Rosemary and Miss Smith, I’d like to examine the processes of him in order to display the currents of events as a whole- he is the efficient figure in the sequences of events in the story-; in other words it is vital to handle it here to maintain the entirety of the text. To do this I will follow M. A. K. Halliday’s process in which ‘Ideational’, ‘Interpersonal’, ‘Textual’ Functions of language are daelt with in order to support all my commentations on Katherine Mansfield’s work.

Friday, November 8, 2019

AP World History Chapter 14 Essay Example

AP World History Chapter 14 Essay Example AP World History Chapter 14 Paper AP World History Chapter 14 Paper Essay Topic: Literature What percentage of the western European population was rural during the late Middle Ages? 90% Western Europeans of the later Middle Ages referred to themselves as ________________. Latins What caused the end of serfdom in western Europe? The Black Death List 4 contributors to the doubling of the European population between 1100-1445. *Not Unification under Christianity The Bubonic Plague was brought to Europe by _________ traders Genoese What was the three-field system? An agricultural method By the time it subsided, the Black Death had killed what percentage of western Europeans? 1/3 33% List 4 social results of the Black Death epidemic. *Not call for democracy Where had windmills and watermills been common? in the Islamic world In Europes later Middle Ages, the rapid growth of industry resulted in environmental changes; list 4 ​of them. *Not The extinction of many animal species What was a result of the continued growth of trade and manufacturing after 1200? The growth of urban areas in the Latin West List 4 reasons for the growth of metal working industries in the Middle Ages. -Improved mining techniques from central Europe. -New soures of metals. -Blast Furnaces. -Watermills ALL OF THESE What was the crucial factor to the growth of cities? Increased trade What was Marco Polos goal? Travel to the mongol capital What was the predominant city for trade with the Far East during the Middle Ages? Venice List 4 characteristics of trading cities in Europe during the Middle Ages. *Not They were home to most of Europes Jews What official role did the Catholic Church play in the persecution of Jews in medieval Europe? No role, the church was officially the protector of the Jews What was a guild? An association of craft specialists from the same trade What was one of the most significant growth industries in the 14th century? Merchant banking Where was the Hanseatic League based? Germany List 4 characteristics of merchant banking in the fifteenth century. -Investments. -Shareholding companies. -Checking accounts. -Money changing/ Loans. What architectural wonder first made its appearance in France on or about the year 1140 C.E.? Gothic cathedrals List 4 distinctive features of the Gothic cathedral. *Not Domes Where did the Renaissance begin? Northern Italy Some of the lost knowledge of the Greek and Arab world came into the Latin West through the ​recapture of what areas, and from whom? recapture of southern Italy from Byzantines and of Sicily and Toledo from the Muslims Before they were expelled in 1492, where was the largest population of Jews in the West found? Spain What were the two new religious orders in the 13th century that lent themselves to teaching? Dominican and Franciscans In the universities of the Latin West, all courses were taught in _________. Latin, duh The most notable work in Scholasticism, the Summa Theologica, was written by ____________. Thomas Aquinas List 4 features of the Divine Comedy. *Not It was written in Latin What was one of the significant features of the growth of literature in the 14-15th century? The composition of literature in the vernacular In what area could the greatest influence of the humanists be found? In the area of reforming secondard education What factor fostered artistic growth in the Renaissance? The patronage of wealthy merchants and prelates Credit for the lost art of painting being revived is traditionally given to which individual? Giotto What changes transformed later medieval military technology? Firearms and crossbows with metal-tipped arrows List 4 characteristics oft the Magna Carta. -Affirmed that the monarchs were subject to established laws. -Comfirmed the indepedence of the church and the city of London. -Guaranteed the nobles hereditary rights. -Also known as the Great Charter. Who led the French to victory in a decisive battle during the Hundred Years War? Joan of Arc Over what did the Great Western Schism originate? The nationality of the pope List 4 elements of the new monarchies in Europe between 1450-1600. -They relied of full time aries paid for by taxes. -It increased control over powerful noble families . -The Primary nations were England, France, and Spain. -Increased centralized power within large fixed geographic limits. ALL OF THESE Spains reconquest and political consolidation excluded which group? Muslims By 1500, what had become a permanent part of English Government? The English Parliament

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

A Random Walk Down Wall Street Book Analysis

A Random Walk Down Wall Street Book Analysis A Random Walk Down Wall Street Book Analysis Essay A Random Walk Down Wall Street Book Analysis Essay The book A Random Walk Down Wall Street offers an insight into stock investment with the author aiming at providing an appropriate advice for investors. The book has had ten editions since it was first published in 1973 by Burton G. Malkiel. The author’s main idea is to portray markets as partly efficient and to prove that investors can make appropriate individual investment decisions without the indulgence of financial experts. A Random Walk Down Wall Street Literary Analysis According to the author, the basic secret of investing is committing to stock investment in the long term or diversifying investments in case of short-term investments. The author justifies his assertions by using historical testimonies and expounding on them by using personal experiences. The book has four sections with respective chapters that elaborate on various concepts of investing. The book report will provide the author’s main idea and the insights gained. An analysis will show that Malkiel’s book offers an avenue that allows investors to make sound investment decisions by balancing their investment expectations with options available to them. Part One: Stocks and their Value This part entails the first four chapters that introduce the reader to the world of investments. The part mainly discusses concepts of asset valuation by using theoretical foundations. The author mainly uses the firm-foundation theory and the castle-in-the-air theory to expound on asset valuation. The first chapter is â€Å"Firm Foundations and Castles in the Air† and it offers an introduction to investments. It explains that the firm foundation theory argues that an investor should make investments on the basis of the actual value of the proposed investment. The author uses a real-life example that a person wishing to invest in Coke should base the investment decision on the product’s parent company, the Coca-Cola Corporation. The castle-in-the-air theory asserts that an investor should make investments as a response to actions of the masses. For this reason, the theory argues that an investor usually makes more returns by following the majority who invests based on cu rrent trends or based on the foundations of a firm. The chapter concludes that both theories are right in different investment situations. The explanations of the author of the two theories offer a background for the author to critique them in the following chapters. The second chapter â€Å"The Madness of Crowds† explains historical financial occurrences that prove that actions of the masses have significant investment repercussions. Examples of such occurrences include the Tulip-Bulb Craze, the South Sea Bubble, and the tulipomania. In the three instances, the market expanded in a speedy way and led to the overvaluation of assets. After some time, values of the assets returned to their normal valuation after one or a couple of years. A graphical analysis of the three instances showed that by the end of the overvaluation hype the values of the assets returned to the same values as before the hype. The chapter portrays that investors who just follow the masses blindly tend to lose heavily in the market. The inability of investors to resist the urge of the masses makes them vulnerable to adversities of the market. Chapter three explains the stock valuation between the 1960s and the 1990s. The chapter offers a continuation of the craze that the market experiences. The author uses various examples in the stock market to expound on the modern version of the extremity of markets. He expounds on the multiples of price earnings that formed the base of stock trading at the time. The author also expounds on the roles of underwriters in the issuance of new securities, especially their roles in misleading investors. The misleading happened despite investors having access to the guidelines offered by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. For instance, the stocks in the 1980s were overvalued. The scenario confirms the assertion of the author in the second chapter that such situations continue to recur. Another example offered by the author is the obsession of investors with blue chip companies in the 1970s. By 1980, the values of the stocks had returned to their normal prices. The cases sh ow how firms often manipulate information to increase their value so that they can attract investors. The author concludes that manipulation is inevitable because even though organizations such as the SEC provide the guidelines, they can do nothing to prevent investors from parting with their money. By offering real examples and enlightening historical occurrences, the author remains authoritative and ensures that the reader grasps the real impacts of the masses in making investment decisions. Chapter four explains the internet bubble that sufficed in the late 1990s. The author argues that the public’s obsession with the internet was fuelled by other bubbles similar to the historical ones covered in the previous chapters. For instance, the author cited the IPO mania that prompted the bubble in the 1960s. Similar instances could be seen in the internet era. The main message of the author is that people tend not to learn from past experiences. After the rise of the internet, small investors gained a platform for investments and firms gained a platform for competing with larger firms. Moreover, people became more interconnected. Due to the excitement of the availability of a new platform of trading, people engaged in stock trading by the use of brokerage firms. As a result of overcrowding, people lost money due to the eventual overvaluation and the return to normal prices. In fact, only brokers benefited. This part highlights significant historical influences of the mass mentality on investments. The main point of the author is that markets remain perfect. The assertion means that even if an imperfection comes up, the market will find a way to go back to its normal status. One of the pieces of advice one gets from the part is that investors need to combine both their intellect and curiosity to succeed in investments. The influence of crown activities was also enlightening. The provision of historical examples that led to the overvaluation of assets enables the reader to grasp the author’s main idea. The examples show that an emotional approach without much consideration towards stock investments can be detrimental for investors in the long run. One of the interesting insights from the examples that the author offers is that investors never seemed to learn. All through the 1960s to the late 1990s, economic bubbles would always recur. There would be some hype created that would i n turn entice people to spend more money on stocks. The hype occurred even after authorities such as the SEC warned investors. The above cases remind me of the 2007/2008 economic depression. The scenario was caused by a similar bubble, only that this time it was a housing bubble. The decade ending in 2006 saw prices of houses drastically rise, thus prompting homeowners to refinance their homes due to the availability of adjustable-rate mortgages extended by lenders. Due to the availability of mortgages, people could access loans at interest rates lower than market rates. However, after 2006 people could not refinance their loans because house prices started falling and interest rates rose at the same time. In effect, financial institutions could not recover their loans extended. The situation kick-started the depression that had adverse effects on investors. The situation in 2007/2008 shows that the market has not yet learned about adverse impacts of following the multitude blindly. Part Two: How the Pros Play the Biggest Game in Town This part makes up the next three chapters. The chapters mainly deal with fundamental and technical analysis techniques. Chapter five tries to expound on the extent of the efficiency of the market. It focuses on the elaboration of the technical and fundamental analysis of financial markets. Technical analysis entails studying trends in market prices of assets and then applying historical trends to predict their future prices. The method uses tools such as trend lines and charts. Fundamental analysis entails analysis of the condition of a business by examining its financial records, the market in which the business operates, and the competition. The chapter does not go into much detail about the theories with the next three chapters serving this purpose. The sixth chapter expounds on the technical analysis concept. The author asserts that technical analysis concentrates on identifying correlations. For this reason, the author seems to discredit the technique by arguing that testing the data of stock prices over time does not necessarily lead to the correct prediction of the stock prices. The author cites that the above aspect of the technique makes it spurious. He even uses a humorous example of finding a correlation in the average hemline length in fashion. He uses the example to explain that looking solely at the charts robs off one’s opportunity to see the broader picture, meaning that there would be a high probability of poor judgment. The author also touches on the random walk theory and states that the theory employs random measures to process random data. He goes on to compare the theory with a humorous example of the use of coin flips to determine future prices of stocks. The author uses more humorous examples to disre gard the theory and the technical analysis because of the theory limitation. Chapter seven concentrates on the fundamental analysis concept. Malkiel seems to support the fundamental analysis. The support, as he argues, arises because the concept bases itself on logical judgment when admitting data for consideration. Another reason the author prefers the fundamental analysis is that the technical analysis only focuses on the stock price, while the fundamental analysis focuses on the worth of the stock. Despite the support for the theory, the author finds it weak as well. The author provides situations where fundamental analysis can have flaws. The examples include random events such as the 9/11 attacks, the consideration of flawed data from firms, and poor analysis. The author also asserts that financial experts are no better than investors. He states that they only have an edge because they can access more information from companies. The author’s information on stock valuation is very insightful. Although I had some knowledge of the two techniques of stock valuation, I had not deeply analyzed them to an extent of identifying their weaknesses. However, the author’s argument convinced me of the flaws of the systems. I enjoyed humorous examples offered because it was a light way of learning about the techniques. The part of the book also offers a lot of lessons when it comes to stock trading. The first lesson is that one should purchase stocks if their expected growth of earnings is above the market average. Moreover, prospected growth should entail a period of more than five years. The second lesson is that it is too risky to purchase multiple stocks whose prospected future growth has been discounted. The last and the most significant lesson is that an investor should consider whether an asset possesses the likelihood of attracting masses to invest in them. The last lesson means that logic is the key when considering a stock purchase. Another interesting conclusion from the understanding is that I have come to question the roles of financial advisors in aiding investors making investment decisions. The author cites that the only difference between them and investors is that they have more information. Prior to reading the book, I viewed experts as a haven and the best avenue for investors to make right investment decisions. After reading this part of the book, I realized that experts might not be significantly different from investors. I find great sense in the claim because some of the historical bubbles came up since investors had more trust in experts than in the authorities. However, despite gaining the knowledge, I partly disagree with the author’s claim because the fa ct that experts have needed information means that they are in a better position to make sound decisions. Part 3: The New Investment Technology This part entails the next three chapters of the book. The section concentrates on the modern portfolio theory that entails combining assets with different risk levels to create a positive returns diversified portfolio. Harry Markowitz came up with the theory in the 1950s, making him win the 1990 Nobel Prize. Chapter eight introduces the modern portfolio theory by asserting that it is essential for investors to diverse their investments and at the same time minimize their risks to obtain positive returns. According to the author, the risk of an asset is a significant determinant of the nature of returns. It is worth noting that the standard deviation of the stock is usually the measure of risks. The author cites that risks are inevitable irrespective of the nature of diversification. The argument of the author portrays that he partly agrees with the theory. Chapter nine expounds on the theory by explaining ideas highlighted in chapter eight. The outstanding addition to the previous chapter’s ideas is introduction of the beta factor. The author introduces the factor while explaining the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). On the basis of the model, the author argues that investors should avoid diversifiable risks because they do not have premiums. The author also argues that an investor should attain more returns by investing in high-risk assets. However, the risk should be systematic. The premium aspect leads to the introduction of the beta factor. The author explains that the beta factor explains how a stock behaves in the stock market. Specifically, it measures volatility of an asset as compared to the whole market. On the one hand, theoretical application indicates that the price of a stock with a higher beta value will rise at a higher rate than other stocks in case of a bull period. On the other hand, its price will decrease at a higher rate in case of a bear market. However, after introducing the beta concept, the author takes an unprecedented stand by claiming that beta is not a sufficient measure of the relationship between the risk and returns. Chapter ten introduces the concept of behavioral finance. The concept entails application of human cognitive and emotional concepts in making investment decisions. The author argues that behavioral traits such as being overconfident and overreacting often have an influence on investors’ decisions. After explaining the concept, the author concludes that most choices based on personal biases do not reap intended rewards in the long run. Malkiel argues that the common sense aspect of personal biases has a chance of providing a logical judgment on investments that may prove fruitful. Some of the common sense ideas include inner motivation of investors to resist investing in pricey assets in the long run and the desire to avoid overtrading. Another possible aspect of common sense is that an investor should only get rid of stocks that portray a trend of losing value. Chapter eleven entails the author providing a summary of his opinions given in previous chapters. Some of the assertions include that the market is fairly efficient and in most instances corrects discrepancies when they occur. The main attraction point is the author’s use of Benjamin Graham’s argument that investors should always invest in the long-term value stocks. The author does not seem to endorse the Graham’s argument and he goes to the extent of justifying his position. He asserts that in the long run the trends of growth and value stocks do not run parallel to market trends. However, he partly endorses the Graham’s argument by stating that value stocks often tend to perform better during extremities such as bubble and economic depression. After reading the part, I gained more information on the importance of beta. However, after the author providing a lot of information about its importance in determining the risk of an investment, it was surprising for the author to disagree with the beta factor. The author argues that particular differences in the stocks make beta more ineffective. Despite the surprise, I appreciated his insight because it provided a platform for me to read more about the relationship between beta and risk and returns. On the concept of behavioral finance, I have come across real applications of the author’s argument that personal biases affect individual investment decisions. The inner thought that there is an opportunity to make money can urge an individual to make rash decisions. Moreover, the thought of a possible loss can influence similar decisions. The significance of personal biases in investing has led to the creation of various notions in the modern investment world. Some investors have the tendency to disregard the efficient market hypothesis and endorse unproven beliefs. An example is the January effect when people tended to think that stocks perform well in January. Despite their unproven status, beliefs may make an investor invest heavily during the month. In effect, such an investor may end up experiencing losses. Part Four: A Practical Guide for Random Walkers and Other Investors This part aims at giving the reader an insight into the practical side of investing. The part also offers advice to investors by affording them strategies that they can use to choose their investment portfolio. Chapter twelve offers investors advice on how to start an investment venture. The author encourages stock investors to ensure that they have emergency funds available in case their investment decisions lead to losses. Moreover, the author argues that investors should consider investing in â€Å"insurance† investments such as bonds and real estate investments. He argues that ordinary shares and real estate investments provide a viable option for investment. He concludes with the assertion that prior research is vital for investors in coming up with the best portfolio. Chapter thirteen mainly deals with the author’s opinion on the better choice between stocks and bonds. The author argues that an investor should not entirely rely on the past performance of a stock to predict its future performance. However, he states that the past performance partially influences its future value. The author believes that investing in stock in the long run offers more returns than in bonds due to the elimination of risks. Moreover, he asserts that investing in stocks in the long run may provide the needed safety to fight inflation. However, Malkiel insists that the period cannot be shorter than a decade. He states that a shorter period than a decade is too random and investors do not have a choice but to invest in risky stocks. The assertion means that investors who intend to venture into the short-term investments have to choose between risks and adopt the one that they feel comfortable to carry. Chapter fourteen entails the author insisting that investors willing to commit their resources for more than a decade should commit themselves to stocks. He also insists that it would be better for short-term investors to concentrate on a diversified portfolio that include bonds. The author also advises short-term investors to consider retaining some of their resources as cash to cover any case of emergency. The chapter offers guidance on how investors can approach the market. Despite offering the above options, Malkiel encourages investors to venture into long-term investments. He advises investors to consider venturing into long-term stocks as a way of saving a retirement fund. Chapter fifteen is the last one in the section and the entire book. Apart from providing a summary of the book, it goes into the specifics of investing. The author argues that an investor does not have to perform an extremely detailed analysis to make an investment analysis. Instead, the author encourages investors to venture into an index fund. He encourages investors intending to purchase individual stocks to venture for the long term instead of trading them. Moreover, he asserts that investors should concentrate on stocks that have a record of good performance. Concerning managed funds, the author has reservations about them. He asserts that they may not be an advisable option because they may have misleading information. The also advises investors to purchase stocks that create positive stories about their potential to improve their value. After reading the last part of the book, I came to get the picture of intentions of the author. The first intention is to prove that the market efficiency hypothesis offers a realistic guidance in the stock market. The second aim was to reconcile market efficiency and perceptions of the market towards economic bubbles. The last aim of the author was to identify various ways of analyzing the stock market, highlight their weaknesses, and apply lessons from their weaknesses in offering investment advice to investors. The fourth part culminates his aims by combining strengths of different investments theories and techniques and avoiding their weaknesses to come up with a hybrid investment decision-making guideline. In conclusion, investors ought to read the Malkiel’s text. The book is organized in well-thought sections that cover aspects that entail financing progressively. Reading all the parts enriches a reader with information necessary in making appropriate investment decisions. The author came up with investment theories and techniques and highlighted their roles in investments. He aimed at offering the best financial advice. It is undeniable that the author believes in a partly efficient market and he justifies it by giving out real-life historical examples. The book has a lot of lessons for all investors. The main lesson is that an investor should have the courage to make investment decisions instead of relying solely on financial experts. Moreover, investors should apply logic in the decision-making. With the author analyzing crucial investment theories and concepts and then offering their critique, his aim is to communicate that none of them is efficient. For this reason, a hybrid way of the approach that entails picking strengths of the theories and techniques would be the preferable way to approach investments. Personally, I have learned that caution is the key to approaching investments. Moreover, I have learned that over-ambition or moving along with the crowds can be detrimental in some instances. I have also learned that having long-term investments is a preferable way of saving in the long run. The book also teaches that if an investor chooses to invest for a short-term period of fewer than ten years risks are inevitable. For this reason, diversification is the key. Due to the above lessons, investors, whether they believe in the efficiency or the market or not, need to read the book to expand their investment knowledge.

Monday, November 4, 2019

CURRENT ISSUES IN FINANCIAL REPORTINGED IFRS7 Essay

CURRENT ISSUES IN FINANCIAL REPORTINGED IFRS7 - Essay Example (IFRS News 2006). In addition, the IFRS also deals will amending the existing risk disclosure requirements for other insurance contracts of the IFRS 4. Recently, most companies and huge industries in the United States and Europe has come to comply and revised their system in order to adapt their system into the new field of financial strategy. This means that these financial instruments are also applicable to financial and non-financial institutions. This is because the extend of the disclosure strictly requires the dependency of the institution's extent of their entity's used of their financial instruments and its exposure to its risk. One example that can define this explanation is the loan commitment (as an un recognized financial instrument). Prior to any information being disseminated in the institutions, it was announced that the latest disclosure requirements are applicable for periods starting before on after 1 January 2007 (IFRS News, 2006). Through this, all of the institutions are encouraged to submit their application. We all know that there are a lot of financial instruments, which have been designed for various institutions and will all of these; one of the most distinct assets that the IFRS 7 holds amongst of them is that has a way of providing boundaries to financial institutions which can help them protect and at the same time sustain their financial operation. Also, since it was implemented to disclose their financial records, the IFRS 7 allows them to have a further understanding on how each institution can further generate a more profitable income for the next five years. At some point, this method works in favor for the institutions. One of the unique and interesting features that I found regarding this was that it is distinctly divided into two sections. The first covers disclosures are about the figures in the balance sheets or income statements, while the other deals with the risk disclosure. (IFRS News, 2006). From this division, we can see that there is a unique way of approaching the financial aspect of the each institution, such that the second section is the one who solves or takes charge with the risk disclosures that normally and consistently arise from a financial instrument, giving the approach and the system, an eye to oversee the whole situation, through the perspective of the management. Furthermore, the information, which was provided for disclosure and also for the main personnel in the management division, is the one that disclosed the information. This new scope or system of developing the financial instrument is quite interesting such that for the past years, if we would look into the picture and scenario of businesses and corporations that have probably was on the top chart once in the business reviews and then suddenly disappeared, or have lost their momentum into the big picture, have a common analogy and reason behind the collapse of their institution, can be rooted mostly from the dysfunction in the management system with regards to their perspective on financial stability. Thus, since the IFRS 7 holds the new method

Friday, November 1, 2019

World War I and World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

World War I and World War II - Essay Example The World War I and the World War II led to massive causalities, bloodshed and destruction in almost all the theatres in which they were fought. The number of people killed and wounded in these two wars amounted to millions. It also needs to be mentioned that in the two Wars the people who suffered were not merely soldiers but also included civilians, old people, women and children. The intensity of these two wars was so immense and grave that they did not try to differentiate between the soldiers and the civilians. The outcomes wrought by these two wars had global geo-political and economic ramifications. A great numbers of the European empires were dismantled, either owing to defeat or owing to the immense human and economic costs inherent in these two wars. New centers of power were established and the two wars led to the constitution of multiple international military and economic alliances and institutions. In that context it will be really interesting to go into the dynamics of the two World Wars. The World War I owes its origins to the long standing conflicts and hostilities rampant in the Central Europe in the period around 1914 (Higham & Showaltr 6). Most of these conflicts were intricately intertwined, spanning across many European nations. The political factors that played a pivotal role in the genesis of World War I were rampant militarism, burgeoning nationalism, alliances of convenience and vested imperialistic interests. The primary stimulant that initiated the World War I was the July Crisis of 1914, preceding a series of diplomatic clashes between multiple European nations like France, Russia, Germany, the Austria-Hungarian Empire and the UK (Higham & Showaltr 6). One other important factor was the augmenting tensions over the territorial claims in the Balkans (Higham & Showaltr 9). There existed a great rift between Russia, Serbia and Austria-Hungary, over territorial influence that eventually roped in the other major European powers as a resu lt of the ensuing alliances and treaties. The reasons behind the World War II were inherent in the outcomes of the World War I and the following interwar period worsened by the impact of the Great Depression in 1930. The two major factors which led to the onset of the II World War were the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union and Germany and the invasion of China by the imperialist Japan in 1937 (Eubank 20). Primarily it was the belligerent actions of the Nazi Germany and the top leadership of the Japanese Kwantung army that led to the formal declaration of War by the allied forces. The World War I brought in massive changes in the European geo-political mindset. It goes without saying that the World War I led to immense loses in terms of life and property. It pulled within its ambit almost all of the European nations, the United States of America and many of the African and Asian states. Shattering famine and pestilence took over the world in the aftermath of the World War one. T he entire Europe got divided between varied powers as a consequence of the treaties that followed. Germany had to surrender large territories to the European power like France, Belgium, Denmark and Poland as per the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (Von Strandman & Evans 95). The Treaty of St. Germain in 1919 led to the separation of Austria and Hungary and saw the creation of two new states that are Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia (Von Strandman & Evans 95). The World War I not only saw the annihilation of German, Russian, Turkish, Hungarian and Austrian empires, but also led to the creation of many new nationalistic states. In the same vein, the World War II not only

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Retail Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retail Banking - Essay Example The process of such redefinition is by means of strategic relocation in the economic service sector. Augmented competition, expansion, innovative services, and new-fangled geographic markets construe to the fact that both the gamut of stakes or risks and the stake profile for the banks are considerably transforming. Banks are transforming with the incorporation of economic markets, thereby, facilitating with tremendous opportunities for expansion. The Western banks have accounted for generation of around 90 per cent of the revenue from the interest income which has depreciated to 60 per cent, and sometimes, as low as 40 per cent (Penza and Bansal, 2000). As viewed by Miller, Fee-based income by means of the investment services as well as derivatives are some new-fangled sources of income which are becoming increasingly pertinent for the income statements of commercial banks (Miller, 1988). ... Nearly, every nation, until the commencement of the twentieth century, possessed a domestic retail banking sector which was set apart from its fellow citizens, thereby, being dominated by a handful of developed banks (Ream, 1998). The core assets of retail banks are widespread branch networks where each branch is equal to the others, along with a manager and extensive back-offices. However, this was all limited until the advent of e-Banking. Even though, banks are commonly condemned for construing a customer as various account units, they lucidly comprehend to the fact that it is the customer who is the focus of everything they do. The retail banks which can easily make out the significance of an efficacious customer relationship approach and the requirement to be more customer-centralized for making sure they settle on long-term success. Chronologically, retail and investment banks have been managed along the tracks of business which has resulted in silo vicinity that inhibits banks from turning into customer-centric hubs. The retail and investment banks manage customer information in an efficacious manner by eradicating the storage authorities of the customer information by means of incorporating statistic systems and procedures across various product lines, which has helped in providing the sharing of modern information with the employees. This has helped the banks in comprehending to their customers in a better way, keeping in mind their future fundamentals as well. There is a devastating agreement regarding the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Greek Mythology Essay Example for Free

Greek Mythology Essay Do you know any historical background on the word giant? Greek and Roman mythology is present all around us. Many new and interesting words were created from the Greeks. There are many types of myths that we hear about including; gods, goddesses, mythical heroes, other heroes, monsters, and villains. When looking up these myths, research will show that many of the words we say today come from these gods and goddesses. An example of this is the words gigantic and gigantism comes from giant. The word giant has a long, unique, and mysterious background. According to dictionary. com, â€Å"Giant is very large; abnormally great development in size. †(dictionary. com) Prior to my search, I predicted that a giant was a very large man that lived in the forest and had no connection with either gigantic nor gigantism. I inferred this because of movies and books. When I saw the word gigantic I remember hearing it and I thought it meant a large person, but I had no idea it was related to Greek or Roman mythology. Gigantism puzzled me because I’ve never heard it before. As I came across the definition of gigantic, I found out that it meant very large which connects to giant and gigantism. (dictionary. com) upon conducting research, I learned more about the root word giant, coming across information about its etymology and actual story behind it. Perrizo 2 Giant’s roots go all the way back before gods or even humans existed. The etymology relates back to Greek mythology the giants were the children of Uranus and Gaea. They were involved in a conflict with the Olympian gods called the Gigantomachy, which was eventually settled when the hero Heracles decided to help the Olympians. The Greeks believed some giants lay buried from that time under the earth and that they resulted in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Many stories have been written about giants in lots of cultures. In Norse mythology, the giants are the origin of most of various monsters, and in the eventual battle of Ragnarok the giants will storm Asgard and defeat them in war. The gods themselves were related to the giants by many marriages, and there are giants such as ? gir, Loki, Mimir and Ska? i, who have little difference in status to them. In Bulgarian mythology, giants called ispolini inhabited the Earth before modern humans. They lived in the mountains, fed on raw meat and often fought against dragons. Ispolini were afraid of blackberries which posed a danger of tripping and dying, so they offered sacrifices to that plant. Giants stand for the Basque people not willing to convert to Christianity who decides to stick to the old life style and customs in the forest. Sometimes they hold the secret of ancient techniques and wisdom unknown to the Christians, like in the legend of San Martin Txiki, while their most outstanding feature is their strength. It follows that in many legends all over the Basque territory the giants are held accountable for the creation of many stone formations, hills and old structures, with similar explanations provided in different spots. There are many similarities and differences in the words giant, gigantic, and gigantism. Gigantic is big: very large, tall, or bulky. Giant is a very tall imaginary creature: in fairy tales and legends, an imaginary being who resembles a human but is much taller, larger, and stronger. Perrizo 3 Gigantism is the quality of being giant: the quality or condition of being much taller, larger, or stronger than is usual. These three definitions are similar to each other because all of them have to do with being large. Today these words are all used to describe how tall, strong, or big someone is. All of these words also share the same Greek, Roman, and other origins. These he creatures. This particular word has a very long and precise background, whereas gigantic and gigantism have a short and not informational background. Not only is the word giant relevant in today’s world, famous playwright William Shakespeare alludes to the word in one of his plays. In Shakespeare’s play much ado about nothing, Claudio uses the word giant in act 1 scene 3. â€Å"He is then a giant to an ape; but then is an ape a doctor to such a man. †(line 2276) Shakespeare uses the monsters name as an illusion to illustrate the comparison between a giant, an ape, and man. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted to show the difference between stupid and so-called smart. Giant is being used to illustrate that a giant and an ape are two unintelligent creatures. Aside from Shakespeare’s use of the word, giant is used in the following quote from measure for measure. â€Å"O, I do fear thee, Claudio; and I quake, lest thou a fevorous life shouldest entertain, and six or seven winters more respect than a perpetual honor. Darest thou die? The sense of death is most apprehension; and the poor beetle that we tread upon, in corpual sufferance finds a pang as great as when a giant dies. (isabell). The word giant is used in reference to emphasize the greatness of a giant dieing with Claudio dying. perrizo 4 Whether giant is used in Shakespeare or other forms of literature, the words etymology seems to be prevalent in today’s world. The word Is regularly used today, ranging from a gas company, to a disability center. The general meaning of giant hasn’t changed over time, but only people who are educated about the word know its true mythical meaning. For example gigantism organization is an organization for the tallest people in the world. I did not find a relevant industry on website on giant or gigantic. When writing this paper, I learned a plethora of information about the word giant, and its ethnic background. Not only did I learn about this interesting monster, I gained experience on learning how to evaluate reliable sources and search the web cautiously. This essay taught me that the majority of the words we use today have an origins that dates back to Roman and Greek times. Giant originated the words gigantic and gigantism, and I found a great deal of information that connected giant to both of the other words. Furthermore, locating the information necessary to complete the project was easy and fast, but then I began to write my report, I had to think about where to start and how to organize the information I had into a cohesive essay. Finally,, I learned that people can misconstrue the meanings of words easily if they do not understand or use the words correctly. All people need to develop their communication skills and look up unfamiliar words or inquire about the origin of words so they learn about the amazing history of our amazing language.