Research assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research assignment - Essay Example In an attempt to curb Iran’s nuclear program, France, Germany, and Britain persuaded Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions in exchange for peaceful civilian energy programs. Under the deal, Iran was to disclose its past nuclear activities, stop enrichment, and ratify additional protocol to the NPT. Tehran accepted the deal and signed the additional NPT protocol in December 2003. It also suspended uranium enrichment in November 2004 in exchange for aid and renewed trade talks. Because the deal appeared to work, America responded by dropping objections on Tehran’s efforts of joining the World Trade Organization. However, in 2005, the agreement broke down following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Katzman 23). In 2005, Tehran breached the IAEA’s seals by resuming uranium conversion at its Esfahan facility. The move raised concerns about Tehran’s commitment to NPT and also security fears in the region. Because Tehran was no longer committed to the previous agreements, the issue became a great concern to the US. American indeed had some good reasons to worry about security threats from a nuclear-armed Iran. First, president Ahmadinejad pursued an aggressive foreign policy, which was a direct threat to the US interests and its allies in the Middle East. Second, Tehran has links with radical groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which it can use to attack the US. Third, there is a considerable risk that Iran could share its nuclear technology with Islamic extremists such as al-Qaeda. Lastly, Iran’s missiles pose a significant threat to the US forces, ships, and allies in the Gulf (Katzman 31). Iran’s nuclear program is still prioritized in the US foreign policy because there is no permanent future deal in place. However, the lection of Hassan Rouhani raised hopes of a new nuclear deal that could limit Tehran’s capability to develop

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis Pak Liu Background knowledge, evolution from origin and ethical issues Ever since the establishment of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844 together with the subsequent major merger incurred within its expansion period during 2000 to 2012. The Co-operative Group, colloquially known as the Co-op, has been burgeoning for the last 17 decades, contingent upon the Rochdale principle which espouses dividend returns to members. Pending between its 172-years life up till now, it had metamorphosed the core business from a solely wholesale operation to an 85%-engrossing food retail within the conglomerate; affiliating no longer with just the struggling lower income groups, but the more prosperous middle class. The sagacious quality possessed by previous chief directors to overlook the impact initiated by multiple-grocers buy to the retail market in the 1940s, in corporation with numerous business disposals and replacements, set cornerstones for the introduction of the Co-op brand in 2007. It has effortlessly entitled itself as the largest consumer co-operative in the UK. The businesss long-term economic scale, involving over 70,000 employees across the wide geographical spread of 4,500 locations within the UK, is sustained by the 8 million members who are democratically engaged in determining the co-operatives operational strategies via voting. Quoted from Co-ops annual report in 2007, Voting for corporate members is in proportion to trade with the society. Each individual member has one vote in the appropriate region of the society and each region has voting rights calculated on the same basis as a corporate member. Historically, the merger with UKs second largest co-operative, the United Co-operatives on 16th February 2007 was concurred by the majority. The degree of influence members that is delegated can sometimes protract the implementation of proposals such as the Policy and Programme for Post War Development, published by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1944. In the meantime, members loyalty is bolstered through the incentivised dividend scheme; in the last quarter of 2016, approximately 15 million pounds were returned to members. However, potential member outflow is expected during the year of 2017, since the Group is unable to pay dividend until 2018. Even though the food retailing business is presently the largest division of the group, nevertheless its profitability and market share dwindled between the 1970s and 1980s, partially but prominently because of inflation leading to more affordable importations. Conjointly due to the inefficient national distribution network in the early 20th century, the Coventry National Contribution Centre is now served as the solution to which; resulting a huge preconceived transportation cost which discouraged purchases. It was further exacerbated by the paucity of preparations to accustom its shifted association with the middle-class customers. Inferior to externality, redevelopment projects during the 1970s devastated 18,000 stores to be closed since employees were moved from terraces to purpose-built estates, so a redundant provision of co-op stores was observed in certain areas. Until 2015, the Group had converted their focus on the 2,500 convenience stores; an extraneous 200 convenience stores were added to the fixed asset account utilising the fund from liquidating 100 supermarkets. The remaining 25% of the business is encompassed with sectors concerning funeral-care, banking, legal service, electrical products sale and joint-ventures such as insurance service and travel agency. An excessive 900 funeral homes, whilst some continue to use their own brands, had contributed a revenue of  £399 million in 2015 and positioned the funeral-care sector as the largest funeral director in the UK. During Co-ops expansion period, the funeral-care sector was appraised to have optimistic performance abreast with the Co-operative Pharmacy, which was soaring to become the third largest pharmacy group in the UK. Unfortunately, the investigation stretching back to 2008 exposing the  £1.5 billion capital blackhole in the Co-operative Banks account had arose a financial crisis in years of 2013 and 2014 for the Group. In purpose to reduce its debt level, the entire 800 Co-operative Pharmacy branches were sold to the Bestway Group for a substantial  £620 million. Other former businesses underwent disposal, serving to either minimise debt level or simply eliminate non-profitable divisions include the milk processing and distribution division Associated Co-operative Creameries (ACC) and the Co-operative Motor Group. Until recently, the Co-operative Travel also announced the intention to sell its 30% stake in the joint venture with Thomas Cook, putting the 100-years trade to an end. Barry Tootells scandal, resigned Banks executive, of failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in managing the firm was calamitous to Co-ops reputation, which was once sabotaged because 38 Co-op stores in Sussex disappointed the fire safety requirements in 2007. From attempting to restore its long-established ethical image to becoming a Fairtrade champion, many initiatives have been commencing including providing nutritional information on Co-ops branded food, environmentally friendly household products productions, raising awareness of animal welfare standards and investment into generating renewable energy. Whereas the partnership between Miles Smith and the Co-operative Insurance will be continued. On the other hand, the national legal service provider founded in Bristol in 2006, furnishes a broad coverage of services straddling domestic and matrimonial law, testamentary constitution and related probate and conveyancing, as well as employment law and personal injury. Meanwhile, the Co-op Electrical is the pioneer in selling extended warranty insurance products at cost price. It also offers delivery service with a guaranteed timeslot of 60 minutes, confirmed on the day of delivery via SMS. KPMG had been the Co-operative Groups auditor for the previous 40 years until 2015. A profuse amount of audit fee of  £700,000 was paid, excluding the extraneous  £1.2 million consulting fee which involves a particular  £500,000 for tax planning.

Local Area Networks :: essays research papers

LANs: Local Area Networks Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LANs systems can be defined and connected in many different ways. This is the reason for the standardization for every one can have a common ground to start from. â€Å"The LANs described Herein are distinguished from other types of data networks in that they are optimized for a moderate size geographic area such as a single office building, warehouse, or a campus. The IEEE 802 LAN is a shared medium peer-to-peer communications network that broadcasts information for all stations to receive. As a consequence, it does not inherently provide privacy. The LAN enables stations to communicate directly using a common physical medium on a point-to-point basis without any intermediate switching node being required. There is always need for an access sublayer in order to arbitrate to access to the shared medium. The network is generally owned, used, and operated by a single organization. This is in contrast to Wide Area Networks (WANs) that interconnect communication faci lities in different parts of a country or are used as a public utility. These LANs are also different from networks, such as backplane buses, that are optimized for the interconnection of devices on a desk top or components within a single piece of equipment.†(IEEE 802 Standard 1990) That is the standard definition for LANs by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer committee 802. They are the committee used to set the standard in workmanship and operations for technicians that set-up and perform maintenance on LANs systems. And through all the technical words what they are trying to say is a LAN is a small area network that distributes information among computer in a small work environment unlike WANs that distribute information across global areas.

Materialism vs. Simple Living

The definition of materialism is not far-fetched from the word material, from which it was derived. Materialism simply means the quest for possessions. Some would readily call it acquisition of goods. It is a term encoding a life style born in a continuous desire to acquire goods of this world with possibly an end result of deriving satisfaction. Hardly any will argue that human needs some basic things in life, conversely, what has been an imprecise issue is, what these human’s needs are. This has generated a lot of argument both in the distant and recent past. However, an agreement has been arrived at that human’s needs are basically Food, shelter and Clothing. Virtually all schools of thought have given assent to these three basic needs, but the question yet unanswered is, will life be bearable with just these three things? Apparently, anybody attempting the above question will answer with a salvo no!, for the idea of human without cars, mobile phones, computers etc is a painful conception itself not to mention human practically living it. At this juncture, we cannot but subscribe to the materialist doctrine, for all logical human know that these material things do not only make our everyday lives easy, they virtually make our existence possible and a reality. Following a logical trend, few would disagree with the fact that too much of many human’s habit is bad. Like a medical doctor will rightly explain that too much smoking is dangerous to health, psychologists would claim that a child being exposed to too much film full of violence is wrong, consequently, it will not be far away from truth to claim that too much desire for materials things is wrong. After all, these things we claim give satisfaction to us are short termed, that can be referred to as timed satisfaction, such as things that do not stand the test of time after a longing for them. It is simply ephemeral (short live). Taking a philosophical flight, one would realize that human can be considerably happy with little or few material things. Imagine the sheer pleasure of sitting under a tree in a nearby park on an early morning before sunrise, with the natural bliss of early singing birds waking all the blossoming flowers. This priceless experience could be unparallel to any acquisition of all the wealth in the world. Aren’t the best things of life free? Living a materialistic existence is a habitual passion to quench thirst for unnecessary luxuries that probable in the end bring pain to human. Imagine the expense of maintaining tax on a garage of cars of different models and brands. The lifestyle could be based on some objective and subjective reasons. For example, a quest for comfort at all time backs up the need to get equipped with different form of   expensive automobiles even though it is certain that more than one cannot be in use at the same time. Some will rather submit that materialistic existence is more than ninety percent base on psychologically reasons that may be unfit to hearing. Many rather remain silence at such a question about the necessity of getting those materials. â€Å"We are dust, and to dust we shall return†! This was an aged verdict of the creator of men. Who sees us occupying space for only a calculated period of time. With a strong holding on this believe, majority of the people who consciously live a simple lifestyle attached reasons to this. Others who are known to live a simple lifestyle really do not have a genuine excuse other than the financial strength to maintain the pace of materialism without wearing out in the lane, but several surveys have proved them the happiest people. We also have the ‘busy ones’ who do not care about other things beyond a single purpose of contributing to their generation. Scientists are categorized in this class. They experiment new discoveries all and derive joy solely in their works, which they consider as the only relevant essence for living in this world. These categories have been the ones that contributed mostly to the world. Their discoveries generate all the expensive gadgets the materialists seek with lust. Personally, I believe most of material things human acquire are not only meant to satisfy their needs but to either impress or entice this or that person, â€Å"vanity† to borrow a word from the bible. Many have gone bankrupt trying to maintain the exotic lifestyle of the society they chose to belong to. Many cases of suicide have been traced to this source. However, between materialism and simple living the thin line separating the two can be difficult to mark out, after all, no human can claim he or she does not enjoy the pleasure of the good things. Today, even the so called men of God are known to have all the material benefit this life could offer, what they renounce is an excessive lust for these things which they claim leads to evil. Summarily, since it has been proven that man cannot do without some material needs and that too much lust after material these things is uncalled for, it will be a logical conclusion to claim that human should pursue their need with moderacy, by limiting their pursuit to their basic need of existence. References Linda Breen Pierce , Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World . The Gallagher Press. Dr. Peter C. Whybrow American Mania, Neuroscientist: When More Is Not Enough (W.W. Norton), 2005. Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, Secrets of Emotionally Intelligent Fathers, www.markbrandenburg.com n.d.

Cold War

The cold war was a tense relationship between the Soviet Union and the Americans. The reason why they were fighting was because of the way their countries ran. The Soviet Union communism is a political way of thinking and an idea of how society should work and be organized. Communism is a kind of extreme socialism that says that there should not be social classes or states. Communism says that the people of any and every place in the world should all own the tools, factories, and farms that are used to produce goods and food.This social process is known as common ownership. In a communist society, there is no private property. The main differences between Socialism and Communism are that, in a Communist society, the state ceases to exist along with money, so that the people work in exchange for the things they need to live.. In America they have something called capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which capital and assets in the economy are controlled by the private secto r(private enterprise or ownership) and in which the eans of production are on the bases of making profit.In capitalism you make your own economic decisions with risks and you can either fail or succeed, but in socialism you stay at only one economic status, in which their is always a social safety net but at the same time you cant strive to achieve more. Both America and the Soviet Union said they were both Democratic, but they didn't believe each other so they started to argue and threats were thrown around about nuclear ware fare. NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defence Command.It's a Joint USA – Canada organization that was set up in 1958 as the North American Air Defence Command as a response to the Cold War threat from the Soviet Union. It provides for aerospace warning (for example, if enemy missiles or aircraft are headed towards North America) , protection of North American airspace Cold war Americans became increasingly suspicious of anyone with communist ties or interests, past or present, and the government Egan to take further involvement in the affairs in other nations that seemed at risk to leftist revolts. This compromised the rights and privacy of many innocent Americans, and crossed into the sovereignty of other nations. During the Cold War, America compromised it's fundamental values and at the expense of it's own citizens and in the affairs of other nations to increase tension In this era.Domestically, the United States abandoned Its value of privacy and freedom to political beliefs due to growing concern of communism at home, and Seen. Joseph McCarthy speeches as well the Interrogations through HUGH contributed to this fear. McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, denounced communism and publicly accused members of the State Department and other government positions of being communists. He is quoted in his book, McCarthy: The Fight For America (1952), â€Å"A government Job is a privilege, not a right.There is no reason why men who chum with communists†¦ Who are consistently found at the time and place where disaster strikes America and success comes to international Communism, should be given positions of power.. † (Doc 5). However, McCarthy claims were false, and they were part of a publicity stunt for him to gain attention. As a Republican, he faced no communist skepticism, whereas the Democrats did, and he used this tactic to further gain support from the working class republicans.He was Impressionable upon many blue collar workers who associated liberals and communists together, and made democrats a bigger target, Although the superficial Intentions of McCarthy beliefs of keeping communists out of the government were good, they were form of hiding his true goal of ruining the reputations of other politicians. McCarthy later admitted the truth about the fraudulent claims, but damage had been done in rousing unrest and put ting other innocent politicians in negative spotlights, against integrity McCarthy was supposed to stand for as a senator.Additionally, the House Committee on Un- American Activities (HIJACK) held hearings for numerous Americans who were suspected of communist interests. Average middle class Americans to Hollywood writers in the entertainment business were interrogated about their own political beliefs and past experiences as well as those of others. Lillian Hellman, who was ailed for falling to comply with Yucca's requests, wrote this to the committee, â€Å"If I answer the committee's questions about myself†¦ L will [also] have waived my rights under the fifth amendment and could be forced legally to answer questions about others†¦ Answering about others] to save myself is, to me, inhuman and indecent to refrain from asking me to name other people† (Doc Three). Hijack's hearing policy made it difficult for Americans to withhold information, and even more, they wer e put in a situation that made them expose private information of others. Helmsman's espouse to HUGH also included a portion on how she believed that speaking about other people's involvement would be against Christian ideals as well as American tradition. Many people interrogated by HUGH felt pressured to â€Å"bear false witness† and Juxtaposing other Americans as leftist supporters to avoid contempt.HUGH led to many Americans being blacklisted, out of Jobs, or losing support as being falsely marked a communist. The basis on which HUGH was founded on, to expose communists for the protection of the American government and people and prevent uprising, resulted in something similar to a modern day witch hunt. HUGH was a mistake, as it led to unrest over a non-existent threat to the nation, at the expense of the livelihood and Jobs, privacy and sense of security, because of how it, much like McCarthy betrayed American fundamental values in this time period.Outside of the States , the United States stepped into the political affairs of foreign nations, such as Greece and Guatemala, and betrayed it's previous values of not interfering into issues abroad. The Greek Civil War was being fought between democratic and communist party supporters, and America agreed to give aid to to get against the communists. In the interest of containment, preventing the spread of communism, America believed that this was a necessary step to protect its interests to keep the Soviet Union from gaining further power.However, the Soviet Union believed that this conflict was not appropriate for the States to put their efforts towards, and that it wrongly crossed a boundary into another nation's sovereignty. The Soviet News once wrote, â€Å"Truman, indeed, failed to reckon either with the international organization or with the sovereignty of Greece†¦ We are now witnessing fresh intrusion of the U. S. A. Into the affairs of other states. American claims to leadership in interna tional affairs grow parallel with the growing appetite of the American quarters concerned† (Doc Two).From the Soviet point of view, the United States' actions were unwarranted, and are a direct result of their need for security in areas where they have no right to govern. The Soviets did not take involvement, and their point of view is a criticism of United States that can even be drawn to it's previous ideals. Washington preaching to avoid entanglement in foreign affairs, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Roosevelt corollary, all were statements that made it clear that foreign conflicts were not of their concern. But in the Cold War, this ideal changed into the containment policy and the Truman doctrine.An even more severe breach of American values during the Cold War occurred in Guatemala, where a new issue had begun. Jacob Urbane Gunman had been elected by the Guatemalan people by a large majority. Urbane was associated with Marxism, and one of the major platforms he campaigned and was elected on was land redistribution in effort to aid the poor and hungry. The land largely to be redistributed would come from the United Fruit Company (AFC), a wealthy corporation that was based in the states. There was a great amount of uncultivated land that Urbane thought could be put to better use by being given to those in dire need of it.The New York Times discussed Arbiter's power in Guatemala and plans for the redistribution, â€Å"Urbane noted that the assemble and belong in terms of ideas with which they sympathize†¦ Urbane said no one could doubt that [redistribution] of about 400,000 acres of uncultivated JIFF land meant better prospects for thousands of Guatemalan† (Doc Seven). The United States began to worry about the political and economic implications of this decision in Guatemala, and what it could mean for the economy at home and the future of communism in the Western Hemisphere.The company was worth over half a billion dollars, and many worrie d that if Guatemala fell, other Central American nations could fall to communism in a domino effect. Senator William Longer of North Dakota commented on American involvement in the situation in Guatemala describing it the situation as, â€Å"a sensitive and very grave threat to world peace, [the U. S. Acting]with such elephantine delicacy. I do not believe that the†¦ Senate [has] been adequately informed†¦ The malevolent influence of the $548 million U. F. C. N Guatemala, which some have charged is bigger than the government itself†¦ We ought to be, committed to the principle that every sovereign nation has a right to determine for itself its own form of government† (Doc Six). Lancer's belief was ignored in this situation, as America organized a intrusive coup d' ©tat that took Urbane out of power, hoping to prevent the spread of communism and keeping peace within the West. Lancer's statement held another likely reason to the American involvement, to protect the economic interest.He would have pointed a finger of blame at America for interfering with Guatemala, who defended the rights of any political practice, what the United States claimed to protect prior to the Cold War, and to alter the course of their political rule and decisions, disrespecting their sovereignty and right to self- determination. It was apparent that the United States knowingly crossed boundaries of other nations' freedoms to protect it's own self interests, and sent aid where it was inappropriate, and in both situations abroad, was contrary to the values the nation as once built on.Overall, the United States overstepped the boundaries of private domestic lives and in the political issues of other nations, and abused it's power to act in interests of the Truman Doctrine and anti-communism, at the expense of straying from its fundamental values. Although the reasoning behind the government's actions was to prevent the spread of another government, that threat was no t imminent, and their attempts to eradicate potential Marxist uprisings resulted in more damaging effects to the nation's innocent people. Our values were even more abandoned inGuatemala, where we did acted against a government, albeit influenced by Marxism, was much like our own in the way it gave political freedom and expression to it's people. The United States sacrificed it's own traditional ideals of protecting these rights and not interfering in the issues of other nations, for our own benefit, which was not as successful as the government hope. Even today, the question on what motivates the government to act abroad, and whether economic self-interest or desire to change the politics of other nations for our own benefit, play a part and remains a relevant question. Cold War The cold war was a tense relationship between the Soviet Union and the Americans. The reason why they were fighting was because of the way their countries ran. The Soviet Union communism is a political way of thinking and an idea of how society should work and be organized. Communism is a kind of extreme socialism that says that there should not be social classes or states. Communism says that the people of any and every place in the world should all own the tools, factories, and farms that are used to produce goods and food.This social process is known as common ownership. In a communist society, there is no private property. The main differences between Socialism and Communism are that, in a Communist society, the state ceases to exist along with money, so that the people work in exchange for the things they need to live.. In America they have something called capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which capital and assets in the economy are controlled by the private secto r(private enterprise or ownership) and in which the eans of production are on the bases of making profit.In capitalism you make your own economic decisions with risks and you can either fail or succeed, but in socialism you stay at only one economic status, in which their is always a social safety net but at the same time you cant strive to achieve more. Both America and the Soviet Union said they were both Democratic, but they didn't believe each other so they started to argue and threats were thrown around about nuclear ware fare. NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defence Command.It's a Joint USA – Canada organization that was set up in 1958 as the North American Air Defence Command as a response to the Cold War threat from the Soviet Union. It provides for aerospace warning (for example, if enemy missiles or aircraft are headed towards North America) , protection of North American airspace

Music in multicultural america essays

Music in multicultural america essays On Wednesday and Thursday of July 14th and 15th the Music in Multicultrural America class gave presentations on topics of their choosing to illustrate the diversity of music in this country stemming from the cultures of those around the world and the originality of our own music and cultures here in the United States The first group to present their project on Wednesday July 14th, was Group 3. Group 3s project was named Talent vs. Image- The Making of Stars in the Music Industry. The presentation started with a power point presentation. Elvis was mentioned first, discussion not only his talent but the fact that he was made out to appear attractive to Americas youth by selling his image through TV and his movies. This was said to stem from Vaudville theatre, where the talent was not only expected, but also an image and visual show. As another member of the group continued, this image was continued through other groups and people. This is exemplified by American Bandstand and how the performers never actually sang, but would pretend to so they could enhance their visual show. The final example was MTVs appearance in the early 1980s. Group 4s presentation, Evolution of Rock and Roll was done through a series of powerpoint and audio presentations. The groups started again with Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, and how they influence early rock and roll in the 1950s. How the sound was different than that of early country, jazz and music of the crooners of the earlier decades. The next era was the 1960s were folk music, singer song writer music was made popular and the British Invasion and the discovery of the Beatles. This sound innovated Rock and Roll to a closer sound to what we listen to more often today. The 1970s brought on the sound of classic rock and heavier metal such as groups like The Who, Aerosmith, Led Zeplin, and AC/DC. This music change segued into the 1980s whe...

S11-08 l GROUP 2 General Chemistry 2 Essays - Chemistry, Free Essays

S11-08 l GROUP 2 General Chemistry 2 Essays - Chemistry, Free Essays S11-08 l GROUP 2 General Chemistry 2 LAJOM, John Froilan Title Proposal LIRIO, Ady DEADLINE: February 20-24, 2017 LANDICHO, Martin Paolo ESPIN ILI, Xavier IGNACIO, Gian Micah JAURIGUE, John Miro LIMOS, Hanz Proposed Title: Calcium Chloride, you Give my Water a Rush Explanation: We based our title on the experiment that we decided to somewhat conduct and research. Calcium Chloride, as the solute needed for the solution to be made, gives water a rush; the water rush up, meaning a boiling point elevation occur while the water rushes down indicating a freezing point depression. It sounds like we compare water having either a good expression, which is elevation, or bad expression, which is depression, whenever sugar combines with it. Research/Objective: In this proposed experiment, we decided to have an investigation of the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation when the solute Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) is dissolved in water (H2O). We decided to have this experiment for us to know if the solute, which in our case should be solid, would really need the process to acquire more or less of the temperature in order to reach either the solvent's boiling point or freezing point. We would also want to know if calcium chloride that will be dissolved in water would also make the reaction or the phase of boiling or freezing in a much slower or faster phase. Also, we wanted to know how is this solute going to be able to tweak the molal boiling or freezing constant of the liquid used by means of the computed amount in grams or such of the solute to be added and the solvent where it would be added. S11-08 l GROUP 2 General Chemistry 2 LAJOM, John Froilan Title Proposal LIRIO, Ady DEADLINE: February 20-24, 2017 LANDICHO, Martin Paolo ESPINILI, Xavier IGNACIO, Gian Micah JAURIGUE, John Miro LIMOS, Hanz Proposed Title: Soda, Soda, you Give my Water a Rush Explanation: We based our title on the experiment that we decided to somewhat conduct and research. caustic soda, as the solute needed for the solution to be made, gives water a rush; the water rush up, meaning a boiling point elevation occur while the water rushes down indicating a freezing point depression. It sounds like we compare water having either a good expression, which is elevation, or bad expression, which is depression, whenever sugar combines with it. Research/Objective: In this proposed experiment, we decided to have an investigation of the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation when the solute caustic soda or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is dissolved in water (H2O). We decided to have this experiment for us to know if the solute, which in our case should be solid, would really need the process to acquire more or less of the temperature in order to reach either the solvent's boiling point or freezing point. We would also want to know if caustic soda or sodium hydroxide that will be dissolved in water would also make the reaction or the phase of boiling or freezing in a much slower or faster phase. Also, we wanted to know how is this solute going to be able to tweak the molal boiling or freezing constant of the liquid used by means of the computed amount in grams or such of the solute to be added and the solvent where it would be added. S11-08 l GROUP 2 General Chemistry 2 LAJOM, John Froilan Title Proposal LIRIO, Ady DEADLINE: February 20-24, 2017 LANDICHO, Martin Paolo ESPINILI, Xavier IGNACIO, Gian Micah JAURIGUE, John Miro LIMOS, Hanz Proposed Title: Soda, Soda, you Give my Water a Rush Explanation: We based our title on the experiment that we decided to somewhat conduct and research. baking soda, as the solute needed for the solution to be made, gives water a rush; the water rush up, meaning a boiling point elevation occur while the water rushes down indicating a freezing point depression. It sounds like we compare water having either a good expression, which is elevation, or bad expression, which is depression, whenever sugar combines with it. Research/Objective: In this proposed experiment, we decided to have an investigation of the freezing point depression and boiling point elevation when the solute baking soda or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is dissolved in water (H2O). We decided to have this experiment for us to know if the solute, which in our case should be solid, would really need

How to Put Together a Poetry Manuscript for Publication

How to Put Together a Poetry Manuscript for Publication Putting together a poetry manuscript to submit to contests or publishers is not a walk in the park. Expect it to take an hour or two a day over the span of a week, month, or even a year, depending on how much work you have, how polished the pieces are, and how much time you can afford to spend on the project.   Despite that, creating a poetry manuscript for publication is an important next step in a writers career. Heres a step-by-step guide on how to make this goal a reality. Step 1: Choose Your Poems Begin by typing (or printing from your computer files) all the poems you want to consider putting into your book, one per page (unless of course, the poem is longer than a single page). This is a chance to make any small revisions you want to make to individual poems so that you can concentrate on the shape of the book as a whole. Step 2: Plan the Book Size To get started, decide how big of a book you want to create- 20 to 30 pages for a typical chapbook, 50 or more for a full-length collection (more on exact page amounts later). You may well change your mind about this when you are actually selecting and ordering the poems, but this will give you a starting point. Step 3: Organize the Poems With the length of your book in mind, sift through all the pages you have typed or printed up, and put the poems into piles that you feel belong together in some way- a series of poems on related themes, a group of poems written using a particular form, or a chronological sequence of poems written in the voice of a single character. Step 4: Take a Step Back Let your piles sit at least overnight without thinking about them. Then pick up each pile and read through the poems, trying to see them as a reader and not as their author. If you know your poems well and find your eyes skipping ahead, read them out loud to yourself to make sure you take the time to listen to them. Step 5: Be Selective When you’ve read through a stack of poems, pull out any poems that no longer seem to fit in that particular pile or seem redundant, and put the poems you want to keep together in the order you want your readers to experience them. You may find yourself doing lots of reshuffling over time, moving poems from one stack into another, melding whole groups of poems together by combining stacks, or discovering new groupings that need to be separate and on their own. Don’t worry about it. You will likely come across new ideas for books or chapbooks and also change your mind a number of times before the poems settle into the shape of a finished book manuscript. Step 6: Take a Breather After you’ve pared down and reordered each pile of poems, let them sit again at least overnight. You can use this time to mull over your reading, listening for the poems that stand out in each stack and how they sound together. Pay attention to other poems that may have popped into your mind when you were reading a certain stack to see if you should add them or replace similar poems. Step 7: Reevaluate Book Length Think again about the length of the book you want to create. You may decide that one stack of related poems would make a good short chapbook. You may have a really large pile of poems that will all go together into a long collection. Or you may want to combine several of your piles to create sections within a full-length book. Step 8: Create an Actual Book Next, try actually making the manuscript into a book that you can live with and leaf through. Staple or tape your pages together put them into a three-ring notebook, or use your computer to print them out in book format. If you’re preparing an email or online submission, you may still want to print up the poems you’re considering- shuffling paper pages is easier than editing a computer file. If you have several long pieces, you may wish to lay everything out in a word processing document with the correct margins for the completed book size, to see how more exactly how many pages the collection will consume. For a typical 6-by-9-inch printed book, youll want the final page count to be divisible by four (include room for a title page, dedication page, table of contents, copyright page, and acknowledgments page in your count as well). For ebooks, the page count can be any number. If you want your document to look like a finished book when printed out, use your software to make mirror image pages when setting up your page size so that the left and right pages will face each other as they would when professionally bound, and add page numbers in a footer or header. That said, don’t think too much about typography or design at this point. You want simply to put the poems together so that you can read through the book and see how they interact in that order. Step 9: Choose a Title After you’ve decided on the length and general shape of your manuscript, choose a title for your collection. A title may have suggested itself during your sifting and ordering of the poems, or you may want to read through them again to find one- perhaps the title of a central poem, a phrase taken from one of the poems, or something completely different. Step 10: Proofread Carefully proofread your entire manuscript from beginning to end after you’ve put it in order. If you’ve spent a lot of time with the book, you may be tempted to give it only a cursory read-through. In this case, you need to set it aside for a few days or weeks so that when you come back to it you can pay close attention to each poem, each title, each line break, and each punctuation mark. You will likely find yourself making additional revisions to the poems at this point- don’t hold back, as this final reading may be your last chance to make changes before you send the book out into the world. Proofreading your own work is difficult- ask a friend, or two, to proofread the manuscript for you, and go through all their notes carefully. Fresh eyes will likely spot some errors that slid right by you but do not feel that you must accept every editorial change they may suggest. When in doubt about punctuation or line breaks, read the poem aloud. Step 11: Research Venues for Submission Next, it’s time to seek appropriate venues for submission. Use a list of poetry publishers or links to poetry contests to identify places you want to submit your manuscript. It’s important to read the poetry books they’ve published or the previous winners of their competitions in order to decide if you want them to publish your work. Targeting your submissions to publishers of like works can also save you time and money on submissions that would have been rejected for not being appropriate to their current catalog. Publishing is a business, and if a manuscript wouldnt fit in with others in the companys catalog, its marketing department wouldnt know what to do with it, regardless of its quality. Weed those publishers out before sending the manuscript anywhere. Keep notes on why a publisher is a good fit, to mention in your submission cover letter. Step 12: Apply! After you have selected a publisher or a contest, reread its guidelines and follow them exactly. Print a fresh copy of your manuscript in the format requested, use the submission form if there is one, and enclose the applicable reading fee. Try to let go of your manuscript after you’ve mailed it off- it may take a long time for you to get a response, and obsessing over one manuscript submission will only set you up for disappointment. It never hurts, however, to keep thinking about the order and title of your book and to submit it to other contests and publishers in the meantime (so long as the companies you’ve sent it to accept simultaneous submissions).

Ancillary 1 Audience Exploration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ancillary 1 Audience Exploration - Essay Example The company is based in New York City. In tandem with its objectives, it covers topics related to celebrity relationships, the ever growing fashion world with the latest trends, beauty and entertainment. The present format of the magazine was introduced in the year 2000. The important sections of the magazine are: â€Å"Just Like Us: photos of celebrities doing things everyday people do. Inspired by a regular Sesame Street feature about animals. Who Wore It Best? : Reader polls of which celebrity wore an outfit better Hot Stuff: the latest gossip from inside Hollywood’s The Red Carpet: the looks and styles from Hollywood’s hottest parties and premieres Hot Pictures: Celebrity sightings of stars around the globe Fashion Police: Famous comedians cite the fashion disasters of the stars, and the best â€Å"look of the week† The Record: A roster of changes in the lives of stars — births, marriages, divorces, etc. Loose Talk: Quotes from the stars Us Musts: Acc ording to Us Weekly, the must-see films, TV shows and DVDs.†(Us Weekly) The titles of the sections are self-explanatory that cater to the psyche and expectations of the celebrities and their fans. The ideal target audience and their social practices The Editorial Board, the policy and decision makers know their objectives well and the art of appealing to the psychology of the celebrities and their fans. The contents of the magazine lead the reader to their website Usmagazine.com launched in 2006 with about two million hits per month. This site is a source of public relations exercise to maintain and augment the popularity of the magazine. It also provides a number of additional features like news blog, star photographs, and coverage from the red carpet galleries from premieres special events, videos, games, quizzes and opinion polls. They know how to hold on and gain popularity amongst the target audience well, by bringing out many signature issues, Hot Hollywood special issue s, Best Bodies Issue and Best Makeovers issue. These moves make the magazine â€Å"celebrity friendly.† The magazine is more information-giving in its targeted areas and not totally gossipy in character. Well-researched information adds to the respectability of the magazine and the readers remain expectant about the arrival of the magazine week after week. Some of the top stories in the latest issue of the magazine are a pointer to the ground which it covers: Jane Seymour Goes Without Makeup in Stunning Picture Kim Kardashian Shows Off Growing Baby Bump on Super Bowl Sunday Kate Middleton Covers Up Baby Bump: Pictures Kate Middleton Covers Up Baby Bump: All About Her Outfit! Beyonce Performs at the Super Bowl: Why Jay-Z Didn't Join Her on Stage Thus, Us Weekly makes constant exploration to construct and maintain audience connectedness, and has been growing in all the directions like the octopus. Audience measurement means to be on the lookout for relationship of the audience to the sections of the magazine and the types of articles covered under those sections. The themes of the articles should cater to the needs of the current demands of the audience, besides creating a lasting impression in their minds. They need to inspire the focus groups and fan forums and establish a connectedness. They must answer the individual and social needs through the contents of the articles. Aggressive marketing helps audience

He Said, She Said Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

He Said, She Said - Essay Example some point, these destructive procedures of communication at times happen when two persons are in a discussion that is involving problems or personal troubles. Because of the tension that is usually built up due to the problem being talked about, the sense of right reasoning is usually lost because of the lack of understanding that exists due to the tension. To be able to understand everything, the twelve roadblocks should be discussed herein in a clearer pattern: This is the way by which a person intends to manipulate the thinking of the other person through questioning the attitudes of the other. Not only that, the situation usually aggravates the questioning of the attitude of the other towards the other person. Robert Bolton comments on the matter saying: â€Å"Many of us feel we need to be critical, or other people will never improve we make a negative evaluation of the other person, for his or her actions, or attitudes.† (1999) The attitude of man to even aggravate the situation being faced by the other because of some emotional attachment to the issue makes this particular roadblock an effective way of stopping or heating up a particular conversation. At some point, when people get pissed off because of a heated conversation, they tend to course the other or at times they name-call the others with insulting titles that makes it hard for the other party of communication to understand clearly what is happening. The result then leads to a more aggravated heated conversation. Bolton further adds, â€Å"Name calling and labeling usually have negative overtones to both the sender and receiver. Labeling prevents us from getting to know ourselves and other individuals.† (1999) At some point, when people argue over something, they become too much sensitive with how the other reacts upon a certain situation or how a person intends to talk back to them. The sensitiveness results to diagnosis of the reaction of the other and the way of speech that he or she uses

Biotechnology in healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biotechnology in healthcare - Essay Example Consequently, doctors tend to prescribe specific drugs so as to achieve maximum personal benefits even though the prescribed drugs are of less effect. The regulatory authorities face difficulty with preventing these unethical practices since medical prescription is completely left to doctors’ choice. This paper will critically explore the ethical and regulatory issues associated with marketing drugs in the United Kingdom. Drug Marketing Issues It has been identified that pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money toward marketing their drugs in a way that their drugs would continuously get prescribed by doctors. Naturally, the company representatives exaggerate the benefits and efficacy of their products; and often doctors do not try to verify the authenticity of their argument. In fact, there are no practical ways for doctors to test the reliability of companies’ claims instantly; the laboratory tests require much time and they would not provide cent percent accurat e results of the drug’s effectiveness. The Inverse Benefit Law focused on Hart’s inverse care law states that â€Å"the ratio of benefits to harm among patients taking new drugs tends to vary inversely with how extensively the drugs are marketed† (wellness resources). When companies extensively market their drugs, sometimes the act gives rise to new diseases. Pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension are some best fitted examples which reveal the horrible impacts of unethical drug marketing. Reducing the verge for a disease means maximum sales for pharmaceutical companies in UK; the same happens while new diseases emerge. It is important to note that the ultimate aim of medicine is to eradicate diseases but not to create new ones. However, drug marketers encourage doctors to test the effectiveness of their products on patients. Although doctors know that certain drugs’ impacts may vary with age, sex, and demographic factors, they would not be willing to change th eir prescription criteria so as to preserve their personal interests. The most destructive impact of drug marketing is the practices of over dosage. Company representatives are always under pressure to meet their fixed targets; consequently, they may force doctors to prescribe drugs in large quantities. Although these over dosages may mitigate the symptoms of diseases rapidly, they have far reaching impacts on patients’ health. Similarly, all misleading pharmaceutical advertisements are against the professional ethics as they negatively affect patients’ medical knowledge also. Issues associated with drug marketing regulation The regulatory authorities cannot insist doctors regarding medical prescription because of two reasons; firstly, a doctor is well conversant with the physical conditions of his/her patients; secondly, he/she must have full freedom of action during the course of treatment. In real practice, it is seen that doctors misuse their freedom with intent to gain personal economic benefits. In such situations, regulators cannot identify whether a doctor’s prescription is genuine or not. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for excessive drug marketing prevention in UK. The MHRA 2008 reports show that the discontinuation of drugs within a shorter period of time causes severe impacts on patient’s health. Therefore, it is difficult to ban certain drugs even though they are found harmful. Disputes have been going on in UK even among regulation panel

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch Essay

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch - Essay Example In particular, this report focuses on the four promotional tools that were used that are public relation, direct marketing, promotions and advertising. The report seeks to inform the team about the appropriateness of the selected promotional tools in bringing about a successful marketing campaign. It also demonstrates how the selected promotional tools will be fully utilized in devising a creative mix of marketing activities suitable for a successful marketing campaign. 2.0 Introduction The marketing department of Nokia Company was tasked with devising the marketing campaign plan that would be used in ensuring that the two new Nokia brands sell well in South Africa and they proposed that the company utilize advertisements, sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relation as promotional tools (Awad 2004). Promotion is one of the elements in the marketing mix, and just like all the other elements, it deserves a lot of evaluation before being approved by the senior management team of a company (Armstrong & Kotler, 2012). ... The research aimed at establishing and identifying the characteristics of the target audience. This was done through observation and interviews. 4.0 Main Findings The team found out that i. Both Nokia Luminia 920 and 820 will appeal most to young customers who are particularly tech-savvy. ii. The company needs to come out with strategies that will make the prospective customers aware of the new Nokia phone models on the market: Nokia Luminia920 and 820. iii. The company needs to come up with promotional tools that can create interest in prospective customers. iv. The company needs to have promotional tools that will sustain client’s satisfaction during and after sales. It is out of this finding that the team settled on public relation, advertising, direct marketing, and sales promotion as appropriate promotional tool to be used. Armstrong and Kotler (2012) describe advertisement as a promotion technique whereby words, signs, or songs are used to create awareness among the audi ences about the product, service, or an upcoming event. In this case the two Nokia models would be advertised via popular South African radio and television stations, billboard and posters, internet, via popular sites such as face book and twitter. This is guide necessary because the target audience is the youth who are tech survy. Advertisement in this case, would also be appropriate because it will be able to create awareness amongst the mass audience by positioning a product in the mind of the audience and inform them about the advantages of Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 (ibid) . Wood (2010) support the use of advertisement as a promotional tool when he states that advertisements help in boosting consumer’s confidence

Discuss whistle-blowing in nursing. (Please cover the pros and cons of Research Paper

Discuss whistle-blowing in nursing. (Please cover the pros and cons of whistle blowing and it's relevance to nurse empowerment) - Research Paper Example Furthermore, a nurse might also act as a health advisor for the patients’ future well being. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states, â€Å"nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations† (What is Nursing 2012). Despite the level of input required, the reward for this profession mostly shows up as a bully. Majority of the nurses face social demons at work such as discrimination, over exploitation and verbal or even in some cases, physical abuse. Through a survey conducted of 612 nurses, 67.5% have, at some point or the other suffered inappropriate behavior from their managers. American Nursing Association has stated that 56.9% have either been threatened or been abused verbally at work. (Malcolm 2006; Spence, Leiter, Day, & Gilin 2009; ANA 2001). Whistle blowing is a terminology used when an employee of an organization who objects over illegal or unethical practices that takes place within the business. Depending upon the nature of the management style, whistle blowing can have its advantages but, in some cases quite severe repercussions. Many within a firm might consider whistle blowing no less than an act of treachery while for some companies or organizations, whistle blowing is just another form of collaborative and collective ideas to cut costs and improve efficiency from all areas of the firm. Encouraging employees from all levels of hierarchy to step up and contribute towards the betterment of the institution, collectively. However, fact is, such an attitude is rare to be found. News reports and surveys represent clearly that healthcare institutions are not in favor of such an activity and view whistle blowing as cynical criticism that diminishes its public image. Nurse practitioners have suffered the most, socially an d

The effects of interest rate liberalization to the risk of commercial Literature review

The effects of interest rate liberalization to the risk of commercial banks in china - Literature review Example Under such method levying of extra charges of loan is not allowed. Researchers say during 1974-1978 Development Plans, the government of different countries felt the need to review the interest rate in order to encourage the savings through the bank and to create disincentive to eradicate the speculation and uneconomic use of savings by the borrowers. During 1980 the interest rate policy was used to achieve the following objectives. Firstly interest rate policy was aimed to keep the general level of interest rate positive so that savings can be encouraged and contribute to the maintenance of financial stability in real terms. Secondly it was framed to allow greater flexibility and greater competition amongst the banks and non banking financing institution in order to enhance the effective and efficient allocation of financial resources. Thirdly the policy was objected to reduce the differential and to maximize the lending’s of banks. After 1974 a review on the interest rate li beralization was done during 1980 which allowed commercials banks to get a better room to complete and to have a better flexibility to meet the need of the customers (Ngugi and Kabubo, March 1998, pp. - 9-10). As per to Feyzioglu, Porter and Takas (2009); interest rate liberalization provide with many benefits. ... On contrary interest rate liberalization also exert a negative impact on the financial sector (Feyzioglu, Porter and Takas, 2009). Again according to Shih (2011), interest rate liberalization reduces the cost of governance for central bankers. He added that interest rate liberalization gets affected with short term political incentives. But in long term liberalization of lending interest rates reduces the need for central bank official to ration the credit (Shih, September 2011, pp. – 437-438). The Current Researches on the Interest Rate Liberalization The researchers Bekaert, Harvey and Lundblad (April 2001) demonstrated that interest liberalization increase growth. They observed that the interest rate liberalization lead to a percent increase in the annual per capita GDP growth. They also added that they did find this growth to be statistically significant. Based on the researches the interest liberalization was also economically important. They examined the same by using a classic growth framework of regression for certain developing countries. They assumed that the human capital variables move from 25th percentile to the median of all countries in consideration. They also moved the size of the government sector and population growth from 75th percentile to the cross sectional median. Then a positive impact on growth was calculated given the changes in these four variables. Next a comparison with liberalization was made. The liberalization indicator added 1.1%. This liberalization contributed 40% of the total growth increment. Researchers also made a keen observation on channels where liberalization had an impact on increased

Discuss whistle-blowing in nursing. (Please cover the pros and cons of Research Paper

Discuss whistle-blowing in nursing. (Please cover the pros and cons of whistle blowing and it's relevance to nurse empowerment) - Research Paper Example Furthermore, a nurse might also act as a health advisor for the patients’ future well being. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states, â€Å"nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations† (What is Nursing 2012). Despite the level of input required, the reward for this profession mostly shows up as a bully. Majority of the nurses face social demons at work such as discrimination, over exploitation and verbal or even in some cases, physical abuse. Through a survey conducted of 612 nurses, 67.5% have, at some point or the other suffered inappropriate behavior from their managers. American Nursing Association has stated that 56.9% have either been threatened or been abused verbally at work. (Malcolm 2006; Spence, Leiter, Day, & Gilin 2009; ANA 2001). Whistle blowing is a terminology used when an employee of an organization who objects over illegal or unethical practices that takes place within the business. Depending upon the nature of the management style, whistle blowing can have its advantages but, in some cases quite severe repercussions. Many within a firm might consider whistle blowing no less than an act of treachery while for some companies or organizations, whistle blowing is just another form of collaborative and collective ideas to cut costs and improve efficiency from all areas of the firm. Encouraging employees from all levels of hierarchy to step up and contribute towards the betterment of the institution, collectively. However, fact is, such an attitude is rare to be found. News reports and surveys represent clearly that healthcare institutions are not in favor of such an activity and view whistle blowing as cynical criticism that diminishes its public image. Nurse practitioners have suffered the most, socially an d

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

Housing - Essay Example An increasing number of broken and desolate homes because of desertion by a husband and wife are directly traceable in many cases to intolerable housing conditions. The plane of sexual morality is likely to be lower in areas of poor housing. Self respect is broken down slowly due to lack of privacy and indiscriminate intermingling of the sexes increases the tendency to delinquency. A low standard of housing is one of the important factors in the problems arising of child neglect. Most of the wards of social agencies come from areas of poor housing. Moreover, areas of poor housing do not meet their full share of the tax burden. The rate is already low because of the exemptions to dwellings assessed at less $2000 and collections are not as good as in the areas of better. Poor housing and slum conditions are not local problems. They have become national problems and solutions are needed. Factors that lead to poor housing include institutional racism. This is due to ethnic minorities not being able to access owner occupation. Single people may usually have less potential to raise a mortgage or secure a market rent without being dependant on benefits. Likewise, low income households tend to be marginalized into the lower end of the private sector. The homeless frequently require social, educational and welfare support. They are further disadvantaged when placed in temporary accommodation where poor housing standards and community facilities compound their situation. There is a physical shortage of suitable dwellings since the 1980’s and 1990’s which have favored the private sector as a housing provider according to Bruce (1997). The issue arising from too much demand and too little supply of houses has resulted in increased low quality housing. With benefits being paid to landlords regardless of conditions, there is little fiscal incentive for landlords to invest in their properties. Solution to poor housing Deregulation of rents and tenancies has trap ped many tenants within the sector long-term hence making tenants increasingly marginalized from mainstream society. Such issues reinforce the argument that housing regeneration and promoting healthier housing is not just about living accommodation or unemployment. It is also about the complex interrelationship of social exclusion, abandonment of inner-city areas and current lifestyle that make up the bottom end of the private rented sector. The combination effect of these social issues cannot be stressed strongly enough. Housing and health are both key issues. Access to poor housing generally results from disadvantage which frequently results in access to poor housing and therefore poor health. Economic conditions have partly hidden this fact because there has been much doubling up and overcrowding. If people could manage to secure a reasonably full employment, it is projected that more than 25000 residents could secure better dwelling places according to Coakley (2005). In order t o solve this vice, there have been housing programs established to transform living conditions, improving educational facilities to furnish the human kind to live in better conditions. There were also family therapy sessions to create a better understanding among families according to Linesch (2005). However, these have never proceeded on a coordinated basis of development. Housing measures have greatly fluctuated at the whims of legislative bodies. There are efforts by some government bodies that are dedicated to

United Kingdom and the Eurozone

United Kingdom and the Eurozone DEFINITION OF CURRENCY UNION In the world today, systems in which countries come together in agreement of sharing single money. The system is called currency or monetary union, its importance and number of participants is growing. In May 2005, 52 out of 184 IMF members participated in currency unions (Rose, 2006). A currency union can be defined as a system where two or more groups usually countries share a common or single currency in order to keep the value of their currency at a certain level (Investopedia, 2015). It can also be defined as an agreement among member’s countries or other jurisdictions to share a common currency, and a single foreign and monetary exchange policy (Rosa, 2004). Currency unions occur when a poor country unilaterally adopts the money of a larger â€Å"anchor† country. For Example, a number of countries currently use the American dollar such as Panama, Ecuador, and a number of smaller countries and dependencies in the Caribbean and Pacific (Rose, 2006). In Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia all use the South African Rand thereby forming a currency union (Multilateral monetary area). In these cases, the exchange and interest rates of dependent countries are influenced and determined by the anchor country, generally in the interest of the anchor. There are a number of multilateral currency unions between countries of similar size and wealth such as the East Caribbean dollar: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia. The Central Bank of the West African of the CFA franc: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo and also the Bank of the Central African States. Other currency unions in the world are the monetary authority Singapore, eastern Caribbean currency union, multilateral monetary area etc. The largest currency union is the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union which began on the 1st January 1999, although the euro was only physically introduced three years later. Twelve countries instituted the euro as a legal tender, delegating and determining monetary policy for EMU to through the international European central bank. One of the reasons of forming a currency union is mainly to synchronize and manage each member countrys monetary policy which could be done through lowering of transaction costs of cross-border trade (Silva and Tenreyro, 2010) The union is expected to grow more with Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia recently joining the area and other states such as Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City unilaterally adopting the euro as their sole currency however, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and the United Kingdom have rejected membership but maintained debates on the advisability of adopting the euro particularly after the onset of the global financial crisis (Carney, 2014). Currency unions have no definite size therefore there is no appropriate domain for a currency. The use of a single or common currency is advantageous to regions as well as can also cause problems in the dual presence of asymmetric shocks and nominal rigidities (in prices and wages) (Mundell, 1961). The effect of the size on currency union tend to create more open and fewer nominal rigidities for smaller countries making them better candidates for currency unions (Mckinnon, 1963). The effects of the economys degree of diversification could result in fewer asymmetric shocks and accordingly fewer benefits from national monetary policy. The insights of the theory of optimum currency areas provided by Mundell (1961) concluded that common currency areas are defined by internal mobility and external immobility of factors of production. According to this theory, the optimum size of currency area depends on the tradeoff between the macroeconomic efficiency gains and micro-economic costs. The forming currency unions have its costs as well as benefits. THE COSTS Generally, the main cost of joining a currency union is the loss of an independent monetary policy with the inability to react to shocks through exchange rate adjustments. Monetary independence can be beneficial when shocks are regionally specific, alternative mechanisms are weak and when exchange rate changes function as means of lightening idiosyncratic shocks Countries that could potentially let their exchange rates adjust to justify the impact of shocks often display fear of floating and thus do not exploit the automatic stabilization properties of exchange rates (Calvo and Reinhart, 2002). Countries reluctance to implement monetary policy to tackle shocks could be linked to its actual effectiveness; less effectiveness of monetary policies to facilitate the adjustment or possibly wider consideration such as fear that it may trigger beggar thy-neighbor responses by trading partners inducing structural volatility in the financial markets. Besides the absence of price adjustment mechanisms, output stabilization and currency revaluation in the currency union faces another challenge. A system of income transfers is necessary for softening negative asymmetric shocks in countries that have joined a currency union however; the prospect of income transfers between countries generates the type of moral hazard commonly seen in insurance models (Grabner, 2003). Another cost of currency unions relate to overcoming structural differences among the countries. The transition towards a monetary union is likely to expose structural weaknesses (Jacquet 1998 and Grabner 2003). By entering a monetary union, countries lose the ability to correct their monetary troubles in short term. The necessary structural reform preceding the acceptances of a single currency focus on issues like taxation, supervision of capital markets and also mutual recognition and harmonization of labor markets (Jacquet 1998). There is also an issue of fiscal financing. Public budget can be financed from government bonds and tax revenues. A country in a currency union is likely to face constraints on financing options resulting in a suboptimal situation. At the same time, government bonds are linked to inflation and a currency union implicitly assumes convergent optimal inflation rates (Grabner 2003). In reality the optimal levels of inflation may differ among the countries in the currency union. Furthermore, the cost or problem of currency union inability of participant countries to independently choose an inflation rate. It seems relatively less important now than in the past as improvements in available technology to central banks enable sustainable inflation that result in low actual inflation rates in most countries however if a country plagued by low productivity enters a currency union of higher productive countries, it could experience higher inflationary rates (Coleman 1999). THE BENEFITS One of the main benefits of currency unions envisaged by Mundell (1961) is the elimination of currency conversion costs and greater predictability of prices which would increase trade. The savings are more significant for small, open and less developed countries whose currencies are not used for international payments (Grabner 2003). Coleman (1999) mentions the savings from the reduction of transaction costs and reduction of price uncertainty together account for 0.4 percent of GDP in the Eurozone. Increased price transparency and reduced price uncertainty are often quoted as interrelated benefits of currency unions. The reduction of price uncertainty is linked to the use of unit of account which is simultaneouslu used by broader economic area (Zika, 2006). The even disappearance of exchange rates removes a vital barrier to trade integration; this furthermore leads to better information, increased competition and price transparency (Jacquet 1998 and Grabner, 2003). Further benefit of monetary union is the removal of competitive devaluations by member countries which also known as â€Å"beggar-thy-neighbor† policy (Kronberger, 2004). Within currency unions, both importers and exporters have a strong interest in avoiding disproportionate swings in exchange rates. The transfer of resources between regions by the centralized monetary authority through its money issuing function. These transfers can be used to diversify the risk of expected economic shocks however; public finance plays a significant role (Voss, 1998). Currency union has the potential to reduce the number of investment failures. Price uncertainty negatively impacts the welfare or risk adverse individuals in standard economic theory. The greater exchange rate volatility tends to impair the quality of decisions about investment projects abroad; therefore greater exchange rate volatility implies more frequent investment failures and larger costs (Grabner, 2003). Higher risk caused by the increase in price and exchange rate uncertainty increases the real interest rate. Higher real interest rates then highlight the problems of moral hazard and adverse selection. This therefore helps lower systematic risk (Grabner, 2003). Finally, the vast economic area of currency unions increases the effect of networking. The adoption of a single currency in a bigger economic area creates greater benefits for all users. Looking at the economic structure of the United Kingdom and Eurozone, both have projects which are suitable to the individual development and growth of both economies. The United Kingdom becoming a member of the eurozone will be more of disadvantage than benefit to the United Kingdom due to several reasons. The core argument for entering the EMU is the elimination of exchange risk against the euro which would promote much more trade with and within Europe by merging the rather risky and limited sterling capital market into a bigger and less risky euro capital market. The joining of the Eurozone is not to world currency but a regional one. Outside of Europe, most of the world either uses the dollar or is tied to it in some way therefore trade and investment would be half with the euro area and half with the dollar area. But over the years, euro/dollar exchange rate has been highly variable which when compared to British pound/dollar exchange rate it doesn’t seem convincing. If the UK remains outside, the pound can go between the two currencies as the euro swings occur against dollar thereby sitting on the middle of a seesaw. Looking at this, there is no necessary gain in the exchange risk reduction in UK joining the Eurozone and that it is even possible that the overall risk would rise. The benefit of price transparency and comparison between UK and Eurozone is also of little importance in the sense that United Kingdom has no land borders with the Eurozone unlike Belgium and Netherlands. Given this fact, the comparing of prices between both zones is irrelevant. In terms of bailout and the emerging state pension crisis, growth and development is slower than expected while unemployment is turning out to be higher. The politics of pension cut benefits is speculative given that the aging population will increasingly be dominated by older voters. The effect of raising taxes further would lower growth and increase unemployment. It is a matter of concern to the UK that cost of meeting explosive financial liabilities might somehow impact British taxpayers. In conclusion, the reduction of transactions cost of currency exchange would be roughly offset by the one-off cost of currency conversion. There would be some gain from eliminating exchange risk against euro but this would be offset largely by the volatility against the dollar with around half our trade broadly defined with countries either on or closely linked to the dollar. Generally, the exchange risk does not appear to have an important effect on trade or foreign investment, and in the UK case, on the cos of capital. Honestly, I would like to advice that the UK waits and properly assess and plan out different projects. Due to the structure of the Eurozone, I am strongly against the UK joining the Eurozone which is the best interest of British citizens REFERENCES A Coleman. (1999).Economic integration and monetary union.Available: http://www.treasury.govt.nz/workingpapers/1999/twp99-6.pdf . Last accessed 04-01-2015. Andrew K. Rose. (2006).Currency Unions.Available: http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/arose/Palgrave.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Available: http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2004/5/cj24n1-2-10.pdf. Last accessed 04-01-2015. G.M.Voss. (1998). Monetary integration, uncertainty and the role of money finance.Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 65 (2), 231-245. G Fink And D Salvatore. (1999).Benefits and Costs of European Economic and Monetary Union.Available: file:///C:/Users/G1308037/Downloads/6.2_Fink.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015. G Thompson and D Harari. (2013).The economic impact of EU membership on the UK.Available: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=10cad=rjauact=8ved=0CGEQFjAJurl=http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn06730.pdfei=iBCsVJ_QAefe7AbMvYDgDgusg=AFQjCNG. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Guillermo A. Calvo And Carmen M. Reinhart. (2002).Fear Of Floating. Available: http://web.cenet.org.cn/upfile/87741.pdf. Last accessed 02-01-2015. Investopedia. (2015).Currency Union.Available: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currency-union.asp. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Jan Zika. (2006).Cost and Benefits Of A Monetary Union.Available: http://janzika.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/Monetary_union.pdf. Last accessed 02-01-2015. Jacquet P. (1998).A worthwhile gamble. International Affairs.Available: No. 1, January, Vol. 74, pp.55–71.. Last accessed 04-01-2015. Mark Carney. (2014).The Economics Of Currency Unions.Available: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/2014/speech706.pdf. Last accessed 06-01-2015. Patrick Minford. (2002).Should Britain Join The Euro?.Available: http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/upldbook147pdf.pdf. Last accessed 07-01-2015. Patrick Minford. (2004).Britain, The Euro, And The Five Tests. R. Kronberger. (2004).A cost-benefit analysis of a monetary union for MERCOSUR with particular emphasis on the optimum currency area theory.Available: http://econwpa.wustl.edu:80/eps/mac/papers/0407/0407010.pdf . Last accessed 04-01-2015. R Layard, W Buiter, C Huhne, W Hutton, P Kenen and ATurner. (2002).Why Britain Should Join The Euro.Available: http://willembuiter.com/RL334D.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Robert A Mundell. (1961).A Theory of Optimum Currency Areas. Available: http://digamo.free.fr/mundell61.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Ronald I. Mckinnon. (1963).Optimum Currency Areas.Available: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1811021?sid=21105014573601uid=4uid=3738032uid=2. Last accessed 02-01-2015. S Rosa. (2004).Definition Of Currency Union.Available: https://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/pdf/cuteg1.pdf. Last accessed 04-01-2015. S.Silva and S. Tenreyro. (2010).Currency Unions in Prospect and Retrospect.Available: http://personal.lse.ac.uk/tenreyro/cupaper.pdf. Last accessed 01-01-2015. S.Tenreyro. (2001).On The Causes and Consequences of Currency Un.Available: http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/arose/tenreyro.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015. Willem H. Buiter. (2008).Why the United Kingdom Should Join the Eurozone.Available: http://willembuiter.com/ifeuro.pdf. Last accessed 05-01-2015.

Ploitical, And Social Effents That Shaped The 60s Generation Essay

Massive black rebellions, constant strikes, gigantic anti-war demonstrations, draft resistance, Cuba, Vietnam, Algeria, a cultural revolution of seven hundred million Chinese, occupations, red power, the rising of women, disobedience and sabotage, communes & marijuana: amongst this chaos, there was a generation of youths looking to set their own standard - to fight against the establishment, which was oppressing them, and leave their mark on history. These kids were known as the hippies. There were many stereotypes concerning hippies; they were thought of as being pot smoking, freeloading vagabonds, who were trying to save the world. As this small pocket of teenage rebellion rose out of the suburbs, inner cities, and countryside’s, there was a general feeling that the hippies were a product of drugs, and rock music; this generalization could have never been more wrong. The hippie counterculture was more than just a product of drugs and music, but a result of the change th at was sweeping the entire western world. These changes were brought about by various events in both the fifties and the sixties, such as: the end of the "Golden Years" of the fifties, the changing economical state from the fifties to the sixties, the Black Panther Party, women moving into the work force, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy Jr., the war in Vietnam, the Kent State protest, and finally the Woodstock festival. The electric subcurrent of the fifties was, above all, rock’n’roll, the live wire that linked bedazzled teenagers around the nation, and quickly around the world, into the common enterprise of being young. Rock was rough, raw, insistent, especially by comparison with the music it replaced; it whooped and groaned, shook, rattled, and rolled. Rock was clamor, the noise of youth submerged by order and prosperity, now frantically clawing their way out. The winds of change began to sweep across America in the late fifties. The political unrest came with fear of thermo-nuclear war and the shadow that had been cast by Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. The civil rights leaders were unhappy with President Eisenhower’s reluctance to use his powers for their cause, in spite of the fact that the nation was becoming more receptive to civil rights reforms. With black organizations becoming more militant, Eisenhower needed to acknowledge the grow... ...mmit, 1989. Dickstein, Morris. Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties. New York: Basic Books, 1977. Gitlin, Todd. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. New York: Bantam, 1987. Ingham, John. Sex’N’Drugs’N’Rock’N’Roll. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press, 1988. Kostash, Myrna. Long Way From Home:The Story of the Sixties Generation in Canada. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1980. Martin, Elizabeth. 57 Edgemore Dr., Etobicoke, Ontario. Interview, 12 February 1997. Oakley, Ronald. God’s Country: America in the Fifties. New York: Red Dembner, 1986. Rosen, Obst. The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now, by the People Who Lived Them. Toronto: Random House Publisher, 1977. Roy, Andy. Great Assassinations. New York: Independent Publishing, 1994. Stern, Jane, and Micheal. Sixties People. New York: Knopf, 1990. Tucker, Ken, and Stokes, Geoffrey, and Ward, Ed. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. New York: Rolling Stone Press, 1986. Weiss, Bill. King And His Struggles. New York: Penny Publishing, 1987. Yinger, Milton. Countercultures: The Promise and Peril of a world Turned Upside Down. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1982. Ploitical, And Social Effents That Shaped The 60s Generation Essay Massive black rebellions, constant strikes, gigantic anti-war demonstrations, draft resistance, Cuba, Vietnam, Algeria, a cultural revolution of seven hundred million Chinese, occupations, red power, the rising of women, disobedience and sabotage, communes & marijuana: amongst this chaos, there was a generation of youths looking to set their own standard - to fight against the establishment, which was oppressing them, and leave their mark on history. These kids were known as the hippies. There were many stereotypes concerning hippies; they were thought of as being pot smoking, freeloading vagabonds, who were trying to save the world. As this small pocket of teenage rebellion rose out of the suburbs, inner cities, and countryside’s, there was a general feeling that the hippies were a product of drugs, and rock music; this generalization could have never been more wrong. The hippie counterculture was more than just a product of drugs and music, but a result of the change th at was sweeping the entire western world. These changes were brought about by various events in both the fifties and the sixties, such as: the end of the "Golden Years" of the fifties, the changing economical state from the fifties to the sixties, the Black Panther Party, women moving into the work force, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy Jr., the war in Vietnam, the Kent State protest, and finally the Woodstock festival. The electric subcurrent of the fifties was, above all, rock’n’roll, the live wire that linked bedazzled teenagers around the nation, and quickly around the world, into the common enterprise of being young. Rock was rough, raw, insistent, especially by comparison with the music it replaced; it whooped and groaned, shook, rattled, and rolled. Rock was clamor, the noise of youth submerged by order and prosperity, now frantically clawing their way out. The winds of change began to sweep across America in the late fifties. The political unrest came with fear of thermo-nuclear war and the shadow that had been cast by Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. The civil rights leaders were unhappy with President Eisenhower’s reluctance to use his powers for their cause, in spite of the fact that the nation was becoming more receptive to civil rights reforms. With black organizations becoming more militant, Eisenhower needed to acknowledge the grow... ...mmit, 1989. Dickstein, Morris. Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties. New York: Basic Books, 1977. Gitlin, Todd. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. New York: Bantam, 1987. Ingham, John. Sex’N’Drugs’N’Rock’N’Roll. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press, 1988. Kostash, Myrna. Long Way From Home:The Story of the Sixties Generation in Canada. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1980. Martin, Elizabeth. 57 Edgemore Dr., Etobicoke, Ontario. Interview, 12 February 1997. Oakley, Ronald. God’s Country: America in the Fifties. New York: Red Dembner, 1986. Rosen, Obst. The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now, by the People Who Lived Them. Toronto: Random House Publisher, 1977. Roy, Andy. Great Assassinations. New York: Independent Publishing, 1994. Stern, Jane, and Micheal. Sixties People. New York: Knopf, 1990. Tucker, Ken, and Stokes, Geoffrey, and Ward, Ed. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. New York: Rolling Stone Press, 1986. Weiss, Bill. King And His Struggles. New York: Penny Publishing, 1987. Yinger, Milton. Countercultures: The Promise and Peril of a world Turned Upside Down. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1982.

Free Awakening Essays: The Parrot :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Importance of the Parrot in The Awakening "Go away! Go away! For heaven’s sake! That’s all right!" (1) Chopin opens her poetic novella, The Awakening, not with the dialogue of a character, but with the ramblings of a brash parrot. Immediately, Chopin compels her readers to ponder what significance, if any, these seemingly random words will have in the following tale. Yet, it is not until the final pages that we recognize the bird’s true importance and meaning. The parrot, though seldom referred to within the text, comes to symbolize Edna’s role in society and the woman she becomes as she is spiritually awakened. At first impression the parrot’s bold demeanor creates an image of eccentricity. His spirited exclamations give him an air of impertinence, defiance, and intelligence that one would not expect of such a bird. Chopin portrays Edna in the same light, showing that perhaps as the parrot may deviate from the norm, so does Edna, who digresses from the society in which she lives. She does not conform to the image of a typical woman in society, playing the roles of a devoted mother and wife. Edna ignores these standards by engaging in two extra-marital affairs and by placing her own life before those of her children. Her desire to live as she pleases lies in direct opposition to the duties she is expected to perform, and she refuses to put on this performance to satisfy society. As a result, Edna seems as brazen and audacious as the parrot that obviously does not mimic the sounds he hears and instead seems to create his own. Again squawking, "Go away! Go away!" at the bothersome piano playing of two girls, Chopin writes, "He was the only being present who possessed sufficient candor to admit that he was not listening to these gracious performances for the first time that summer." (23) Edna shows similar candor in her unwillingness to accept society’s burdening stereotypes. The seemingly intelligent bird "could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood..." (1) Though the parrot’s remarks appear to fall on deaf ears, Edna is one who can identify with his presumable wisdom, as her existence too is misjudged. Both Edna and the parrot are depicted as extraordinary and misunderstood in their surroundings, yet they are not free:as the parrot must exist in a cage, so Edna is caged by the restrictions society places upon her.

Imformative speech Essay

Introduction Hasn’t everyone at some point in their life been peered pressured. Teenagers all across America face it every day. It ranges from cheating on a test to robbing a convenient store. Peer pressure is a serious life situation that everyone encounters at a certain point in their life. And let’s face it, just say no is not always that easy. Attention Gainer YouTube video, peer pressure. Reason to Listen/Credibility Peer pressure exists for all ages. Three-year-old Robert insists that his mother take him to the store right away and buy him the latest fad toy because his friends have it. When she doesn’t, he has a temper tantrum. Nine-year-old Sarah wears a new shirt to school once, then refuses to wear it again because her friends made fun if it. Jeff, at sixteen, works out three hours a day to have a â€Å"perfect† body. When one of his friends at the gym offers him some anabolic steroids, he accepts, sacrificing his health for his image. Meanwhile, Jeff’s forty-year-old father just took out a loan he couldn’t afford to buy a new BMW because most of his neighbors drive luxury cars, and he didn’t want them to think he couldn’t afford one too. No one is immune from peer pressure. Source: www.faqs.org 3 Preview Statement The word â€Å"peer† according to dictionary.cambridge.org is one belonging to the same social group especially based on age, grade or status. The word â€Å"pressure† is described as the burden of physical mental distress. Peer pressure is basically encouraging people similar to you to make certain choices, take certain actions or perform in some specific way. I will talk about three different kinds of peer pressure substance abuse, emotional, and positive forms of peer pressure. II. Body First Main Point The number one form of peer pressure is substance abuse. Tobacco, alcohol and  illegal drugs are all substances that teenagers are pressured into using and abusing. Most teenagers who try alcohol do so around the age of 13, 8 years before the legal drinking age. The American Lung Association reports 3.1 million teenagers smoke. Approximately 30% of teenagers are offered, given or sold drugs in highs school or in middle school. These are some very disturbing statistics. When you give in to pressure you’re letting down those around you who thought they knew you better. When your own sense of self and the admiration of those around you are very important things to consider, you also need to think about more serious consequences of peer pressure. Alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs are all addicting. They are dangerous to your health in many ways and are often hard to quit once you have become dependent upon them. These substances can lead to negative consequences such as cancer, drug overdose and even death. Source: www.Buzzle.com 4 Second Main Point Second, one of the most emotional peer pressures we face is related to image ; the way we dress our height, our weight, how we act, and who we hang out with. These are all things that define us that we can ultimately be pressured into changing. Bullying and teasing go hand in hand with how we feel about ourselves. Self-esteem gives a huge blow when peer pressure causes us to change who we are. It is all about fitting in. that’s the number one thing why we yield to peer pressure. Teenagers are naturally afraid of rejection. They want to feel like they belong and that they are cool. While it’s perfectly normal to want to fit in, it doesn’t mean you have to change who you are or sacrifice your beliefs and your values. When you give in to peer pressure you lose yourself. You are giving up your free will and your voice and falling through the cracks just to be like somebody else Third Main Point A final peer pressure were going to discuss is positive forms of peer pressure. We know that peer pressure means encouraging people similar to us to do certain things, but it doesn’t always have to be bad. Some good forms of peer pressure include encouraging your friends to participate in sports  or other activities, or even volunteering together. Convincing someone to tell the truth, helping someone with homework or encouraging kids at school to come to church are all very positive forms of peer pressure. Peer pressure is not always bad. It can help you analyze yourself and contemplate on your ways of life. Some of the practices that the masses follow may 5 actually teach you the way of living. You may be able to change yourself for the better. Looking at what others do, can help you bring about a positive change in your way of thinking. If you can pick selectively, peer pressure can actually result in a positive change in your way of life. III. Conclusion Recap/Summary These three kinds of peer pressure happen to everyone at some point, substance abuse, emotional, and positive forms of peer pressure. Whether everyone or no one caves in we all have been peer pressured or will be in all these ways. This summarizes this informative speech. C. Audience Imprint 6 Bibliography www.faqs.org www.Buzzle.com www.Thecoolspot.gov www.aacap.org/peerpressure ianrpubs.unl.edu

A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixty-seven

Sansa In the tower room at the heart of Maegor's Holdfast, Sansa gave herself to the darkness. She drew the curtains around her bed, slept, woke weeping, and slept again. When she could not sleep she lay under her blankets shivering with grief. Servants came and went, bringing meals, but the sight of food was more than she could bear. The dishes piled up on the table beneath her window, untouched and spoiling, until the servants took them away again. Sometimes her sleep was leaden and dreamless, and she woke from it more tired than when she had closed her eyes. Yet those were the best times, for when she dreamed, she dreamed of Father. Waking or sleeping, she saw him, saw the gold cloaks fling him down, saw Ser Ilyn striding forward, unsheathing Ice from the scabbard on his back, saw the moment . . . the moment when . . . she had wanted to look away, she had wanted to, her legs had gone out from under her and she had fallen to her knees, yet somehow she could not turn her head, and all the people were screaming and shouting, and her prince had smiled at her, he'd smiled and she'd felt safe, but only for a heartbeat, until he said those words, and her father's legs . . . that was what she remembered, his legs, the way they'd jerked when Ser Ilyn . . . when the sword . . . Perhaps I will die too, she told herself, and the thought did not seem so terrible to her. If she flung herself from the window, she could put an end to her suffering, and in the years to come the singers would write songs of her grief. Her body would lie on the stones below, broken and innocent, shaming all those who had betrayed her. Sansa went so far as to cross the bedchamber and throw open the shutters . . . but then her courage left her, and she ran back to her bed, sobbing. The serving girls tried to talk to her when they brought her meals, but she never answered them. Once Grand Maester Pycelle came with a box of flasks and bottles, to ask if she was ill. He felt her brow, made her undress, and touched her all over while her bedmaid held her down. When he left he gave her a potion of honeywater and herbs and told her to drink a swallow every night. She drank it all right then and went back to sleep. She dreamt of footsteps on the tower stair, an ominous scraping of leather on stone as a man climbed slowly toward her bedchamber, step by step. All she could do was huddle behind her door and listen, trembling, as he came closer and closer. It was Ser Ilyn Payne, she knew, coming for her with Ice in his hand, coming to take her head. There was no place to run, no place to hide, no way to bar the door. Finally the footsteps stopped and she knew he was just outside, standing there silent with his dead eyes and his long pocked face. That was when she realized she was naked. She crouched down, trying to cover herself with her hands, as her door began to swing open, creaking, the point of the greatsword poking through . . . She woke murmuring, â€Å"Please, please, I'll be good, I'll be good, please don't,† but there was no one to hear. When they finally came for her in truth, Sansa never heard their footsteps. It was Joffrey who opened her door, not Ser Ilyn but the boy who had been her prince. She was in bed, curled up tight, her curtains drawn, and she could not have said if it was noon or midnight. The first thing she heard was the slam of the door. Then her bed hangings were yanked back, and she threw up a hand against the sudden light and saw them standing over her. â€Å"You will attend me in court this afternoon,† Joffrey said. â€Å"See that you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed.† Sandor Clegane stood at his shoulder in a plain brown doublet and green mantle, his burned face hideous in the morning light. Behind them were two knights of the Kingsguard in long white satin cloaks. Sansa drew her blanket up to her chin to cover herself. â€Å"No,† she whimpered, â€Å"please . . . leave me be.† â€Å"If you won't rise and dress yourself, my Hound will do it for you,† Joffrey said. â€Å"I beg of you, my prince . . . â€Å" â€Å"I'm king now. Dog, get her out of bed.† Sandor Clegane scooped her up around the waist and lifted her off the featherbed as she struggled feebly. Her blanket fell to the floor. Underneath she had only a thin bedgown to cover her nakedness. â€Å"Do as you're bid, child,† Clegane said. â€Å"Dress.† He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently. Sansa backed away from them. â€Å"I did as the queen asked, I wrote the letters, I wrote what she told me. You promised you'd be merciful. Please, let me go home. I won't do any treason, I'll be good, I swear it, I don't have traitor's blood, I don't. I only want to go home.† Remembering her courtesies, she lowered her head. â€Å"As it please you,† she finished weakly. â€Å"It does not please me,† Joffrey said. â€Å"Mother says I'm still to marry you, so you'll stay here, and you'll obey.† â€Å"I don't want to marry you,† Sansa wailed. â€Å"You chopped off my father's head!† â€Å"He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I'd be merciful, and I was. If he hadn't been your father, I would have had him torn or flayed, but I gave him a clean death.† Sansa stared at him, seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a padded crimson doublet patterned with lions and a cloth-of-gold cape with a high collar that framed his face. She wondered how she could ever have thought him handsome. His lips were as soft and red as the worms you found after a rain, and his eyes were vain and cruel. â€Å"I hate you,† she whispered. King Joffrey's face hardened. â€Å"My mother tells me that it isn't fitting that a king should strike his wife. Ser Meryn.† The knight was on her before she could think, yanking back her hand as she tried to shield her face and backhanding her across the ear with a gloved fist. Sansa did not remember failing, yet the next she knew she was sprawled on one knee amongst the rushes. Her head was ringing. Ser Meryn Trant stood over her, with blood on the knuckles of his white silk glove. â€Å"Will you obey now, or shall I have him chastise you again?† Sansa's ear felt numb. She touched it, and her fingertips came away wet and red. â€Å"I . . . as . . . as you command, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† Joffrey corrected her. â€Å"I shall look for you in court.† He turned and left. Ser Meryn and Ser Arys followed him out, but Sandor Clegane lingered long enough to yank her roughly to her feet. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† â€Å"What . . . what does he want? Please, tell me.† â€Å"He wants you to smile and smell sweet and be his lady love,† the Hound rasped. â€Å"He wants to hear you recite all your pretty little words the way the septa taught you. He wants you to love him . . . and fear him.† After he was gone, Sansa sank back onto the rushes, staring at the wall until two of her bedmaids crept timidly into the chamber. â€Å"I will need hot water for my bath, please,† she told them, â€Å"and perfume, and some powder to hide this bruise.† The right side of her face was swollen and beginning to ache, but she knew Joffrey would want her to be beautiful. The hot water made her think of Winterfell, and she took strength from that. She had not washed since the day her father died, and she was startled at how filthy the water became. Her maids sluiced the blood off her face, scrubbed the dirt from her back, washed her hair and brushed it out until it sprang back in thick auburn curls. Sansa did not speak to them, except to give them commands; they were Lannister servants, not her own, and she did not trust them. When the time came to dress, she chose the green silk gown that she had worn to the tourney. She recalled how gallant Joff had been to her that night at the feast. Perhaps it would make him remember as well, and treat her more gently. She drank a glass of buttermilk and nibbled at some sweet biscuits as she waited, to settle her stomach. It was midday when Ser Meryn returned. He had donned his white armor; a shirt of enameled scales chased with gold, a tall helm with a golden sunburst crest, greaves and gorget and gauntlet and boots of gleaming plate, a heavy wool cloak clasped with a golden lion. His visor had been removed from his helm, to better show his dour face; pouchy bags under his eyes, a wide sour mouth, rusty hair spotted with grey. â€Å"My lady,† he said, bowing, as if he had not beaten her bloody only three hours past. â€Å"His Grace has instructed me to escort you to the throne room.† â€Å"Did he instruct you to hit me if I refused to come?† â€Å"Are you refusing to come, my lady?† The look he gave her was without expression. He did not so much as glance at the bruise he had left her. He did not hate her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all. She was only a . . . a thing to him. â€Å"No,† she said, rising. She wanted to rage, to hurt him as he'd hurt her, to warn him that when she was queen she would have him exiled if he ever dared strike her again . . . but she remembered what the Hound had told her, so all she said was, â€Å"I shall do whatever His Grace commands.† â€Å"As I do,† he replied. â€Å"Yes . . . but you are no true knight, Ser Meryn.† Sandor Clegane would have laughed at that, Sansa knew. Other men might have cursed her, warned her to keep silent, even begged for her forgiveness. Ser Meryn Trant did none of these. Ser Meryn Trant simply did not care. The balcony was deserted save for Sansa. She stood with her head bowed, fighting to hold back her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it pleased him to call justice. Nine cases out of ten seemed to bore him; those he allowed his council to handle, squirming restlessly while Lord Baelish, Grand Maester Pycelle, or Queen Cersei resolved the matter. When he did choose to make a ruling, though, not even his queen mother could sway him. A thief was brought before him and he had Ser Ilyn chop his hand off, right there in court. Two knights came to him with a dispute about some land, and he decreed that they should duel for it on the morrow. â€Å"To the death,† he added. A woman fell to her knees to plead for the head of a man executed as a traitor. She had loved him, she said, and she wanted to see him decently buried. â€Å"If you loved a traitor, you must be a traitor too,† Joffrey said. Two gold cloaks dragged her off to the dungeons. Frog-faced Lord Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. â€Å"Life is not a song, sweetling,† he'd told her. â€Å"You may learn that one day to your sorrow.† In life, the monsters win, she told herself, and now it was the Hound's voice she heard, a cold rasp, metal on stone. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† The last case was a plump tavern singer, accused of making a song that ridiculed the late King Robert. Joff commanded them to fetch his woodharp and ordered him to perform the song for the court. The singer wept and swore he would never sing that song again, but the king insisted. It was sort of a funny song, all about Robert fighting with a pig. The pig was the boar who'd killed him, Sansa knew, but in some verses it almost sounded as if he were singing about the queen. When the song was done, Joffrey announced that he'd decided to be merciful. The singer could keep either his fingers or his tongue. He would have a day to make his choice. Janos Slynt nodded. That was the final business of the afternoon, Sansa saw with relief, but her ordeal was not yet done. When the herald's voice dismissed the court, she fled the balcony, only to find Joffrey waiting for her at the base of the curving stairs. The Hound was with him, and Ser Meryn as well. The young king examined her critically, top to bottom. â€Å"You look much better than you did.† â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† Sansa said. Hollow words, but they made him nod and smile. â€Å"Walk with me,† Joffrey commanded, offering her his arm. She had no choice but to take it. The touch of his hand would have thrilled her once; now it made her flesh crawl. â€Å"My name day will be here soon,† Joffrey said as they slipped out the rear of the throne room. â€Å"There will be a great feast, and gifts. What are you going to give me?† â€Å"I . . . I had not thought, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† he said sharply. â€Å"You truly are a stupid girl, aren't you? My mother says so.† â€Å"She does?† After all that had happened, his words should have lost their power to hurt her, yet somehow they had not. The queen had always been so kind to her. â€Å"Oh, yes. She worries about our children, whether they'll be stupid like you, but I told her not to trouble herself.† The king gestured, and Ser Meryn opened a door for them. â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† she murmured. The Hound was right, she thought, I am only a little bird, repeating the words they taught me. The sun had fallen below the western wall, and the stones of the Red Keep glowed dark as blood. â€Å"I'll get you with child as soon as you're able,† Joffrey said as he escorted her across the practice yard. â€Å"If the first one is stupid, I'll chop off your head and find a smarter wife. When do you think you'll be able to have children?† Sansa could not look at him, he shamed her so. â€Å"Septa Mordane says most . . . most highborn girls have their flowering at twelve or thirteen.† Joffrey nodded. â€Å"This way.† He led her into the gatehouse, to the base of the steps that led up to the battlements. Sansa jerked back away from him, trembling. Suddenly she knew where they were going. â€Å"No,† she said, her voice a frightened gasp. â€Å"Please, no, don't make me, I beg you . . . â€Å" Joffrey pressed his lips together. â€Å"I want to show you what happens to traitors.† Sansa shook her head wildly. â€Å"I won't. I won't.† â€Å"I can have Ser Meryn drag you up,† he said. â€Å"You won't like that. You had better do what I say.† Joffrey reached for her, and Sansa cringed away from him, backing into the Hound. â€Å"Do it, girl,† Sandor Clegane told her, pushing her back toward the king. His mouth twitched on the burned side of his face and Sansa could almost hear the rest of it. He'll have you up there no matter what, so give him what he wants. She forced herself to take King Joffrey's hand. The climb was something out of a nightmare; every step was a struggle, as if she were pulling her feet out of ankle-deep mud, and there were more steps than she would have believed, a thousand thousand steps, and horror waiting on the ramparts. From the high battlements of the gatehouse, the whole world spread out below them. Sansa could see the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya's hill, where her father had died. At the other end of the Street of the Sisters stood the fire-blackened ruins of the Dragonpit. To the west, the swollen red sun was half-hidden behind the Gate of the Gods. The salt sea was at her back, and to the south was the fish market and the docks and the swirling torrent of the Blackwater Rush. And to the north . . . She turned that way, and saw only the city, streets and alleys and hills and bottoms and more streets and more alleys and the stone of distant walls. Yet she knew that beyond them was open country, farms and fields and forests, and beyond that, north and north and north again, stood Winterfell. â€Å"What are you looking at?† Joffrey said. â€Å"This is what I wanted you to see, right here.† A thick stone parapet protected the outer edge of the rampart, reaching as high as Sansa's chin, with crenellations cut into it every five feet for archers. The heads were mounted between the crenels, along the top of the wall, impaled on iron spikes so they faced out over the city. Sansa had noted them the moment she'd stepped out onto the wallwalk, but the river and the bustling streets and the setting sun were ever so much prettier. He can make me look at the heads, she told herself, but he can't make me see them. â€Å"This one is your father,† he said. â€Å"This one here. Dog, turn it around so she can see him.† Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. â€Å"How long do I have to look?† Joffrey seemed disappointed. â€Å"Do you want to see the rest?† There was a long row of them. â€Å"If it please Your Grace.† Joffrey marched her down the wallwalk, past a dozen more heads and two empty spikes. â€Å"I'm saving those for my uncle Stannis and my uncle Renly,† he explained. The other heads had been dead and mounted much longer than her father. Despite the tar, most were long past being recognizable. The king pointed to one and said, â€Å"That's your septa there,† but Sansa could not even have told that it was a woman. The jaw had rotted off her face, and birds had eaten one ear and most of a cheek. Sansa had wondered what had happened to Septa Mordane, although she supposed she had known all along. â€Å"Why did you kill her?† she asked. â€Å"She was godsworn . . . â€Å" â€Å"She was a traitor.† Joffrey looked pouty; somehow she was upsetting him. â€Å"You haven't said what you mean to give me for my name day. Maybe I should give you something instead, would you like that?† â€Å"If it please you, my lord,† Sansa said. When he smiled, she knew he was mocking her. â€Å"Your brother is a traitor too, you know.† He turned Septa Mordane's head back around. â€Å"I remember your brother from Winterfell. My dog called him the lord of the wooden sword. Didn't you, dog?† â€Å"Did I?† the Hound replied. â€Å"I don't recall.† Joffrey gave a petulant shrug. â€Å"Your brother defeated my uncle Jaime. My mother says it was treachery and deceit. She wept when she heard. Women are all weak, even her, though she pretends she isn't. She says we need to stay in King's Landing in case my other uncles attack, but I don't care. After my name day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head.† A kind of madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, â€Å"Maybe my brother will give me your head.† Joffrey scowled. â€Å"You must never mock me like that. A true wife does not mock her lord. Ser Meryn, teach her.† This time the knight grasped her beneath the jaw and held her head still as he struck her. He hit her twice, left to right, and harder, right to left. Her lip split and blood ran down her chin, to mingle with the salt of her tears. â€Å"You shouldn't be crying all the time,† Joffrey told her. â€Å"You're more pretty when you smile and laugh.† Sansa made herself smile, afraid that he would have Ser Meryn hit her again if she did not, but it was no good, the king still shook his head. â€Å"Wipe off the blood, you're all messy.† The outer parapet came up to her chin, but along the inner edge of the walk was nothing, nothing but a long plunge to the bailey seventy or eighty feet below. All it would take was a shove, she told herself. He was standing right there, right there, smirking at her with those fat wormlips. You could do it, she told herself. You could. Do it right now. It wouldn't even matter if she went over with him. It wouldn't matter at all. â€Å"Here, girl.† Sandor Clegane knelt before her, between her and Joffrey. With a delicacy surprising in such a big man, he dabbed at the blood welling from her broken lip. The moment was gone. Sansa lowered her eyes. â€Å"Thank you,† she said when he was done. She was a good girl, and always remembered her courtesies.