Major paper 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Major paper 1 - Essay Example I hope to gain more from the university and the American society in general. The essay examines my learning experience, not just in education, but also in other areas of culture. The paper, therefore, attempts to provide a comprehensive narrative of my experience as a Chinese student in America, forming a potential foundation for others in my position to adjust and gain maximum benefits from the American society. Before coming to America, I always had a dream to study abroad in the hope of pursuing high quality education. In addition, I hoped to experience other people’s cultures, while getting a global point of view of issues surrounding the modern society. My parents and peers encouraged the move, terming it as a path towards self-discovery and exploration of my career options. Given all these factors, my move to America was filled with high expectations, hopes to make friends immediately, and enjoying all the things that the new culture had to offer. Even though I was slightly nervous during my flight from Beijing, my excitement was more than any concerns. For this reason, I did not take possible challenges into consideration and as a result, I was not fully prepared for the American life. On arrival from China, I was welcomed quickly but warmly at the airport. It is here that I began observing the differences between China and America. For example, while back at home people take their time to show you around or at least give you directions to wherever you want to go, majority of Americans do not have the patience for that. I also came to realize that many people in America are highly suspicious of strangers and therefore, interact cautiously with them. I also noted that unlike in China, where taxi drivers keep to themselves, in America they tend to ask many questions. It was rather difficult to keep up with the basic conversation after arrival, since I only understood a few English words. In consideration of these observations, it would perhaps be

The History of the Cheese Curd Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of the Cheese Curd - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the legend of cheese curd states that there are several events that are related to the innovation of cheese curd. Several experts agree on one of the stories and this story is very well published in relation to the history of cheese curd. It is believed that the origin of cheese curd can be traced back to the Middle Eastern regions. In this region, a traveler used to move from one end to another and one day decided to carry milk while he was on a journey. While he was performing a journey, his thirst started creeping up. At that time the heat levels were very high and due to this exposure to heat, he figured out that his milk was no longer in liquid form. He figured out that the milk he was carrying on his journey had curdled and had resulted in a mixture that comprised of both liquids and curds that were white in color. This curdled form of milk is pointed out to be the origin of cheese curd. There are various mythical theories regardin g the change in the structure and the mix of milk that was being carried by the traveler. One of the main reasons that are said to have resulted in the curdled structure of the milk was that the bag in which milk was being carried by the traveler consisted of rennin. Rennin is one of the enzymes that are even used today in order to curdle milk so the cheese can be created from that milk. Rennin is said to exist in the bag because the bag was created while using the stomach of a cow. Rennin is most commonly used to curdle milk but the process is quite slow and takes an ample amount of time.

The Effect of Colours: Emotion and Symbolism of Colour

The Effect of Colours: Emotion and Symbolism of Colour Colour theory has been dated back to the 15th Century with the writings of Leone Battista Alberti and Leonardo da Vinci. From these early beginnings, colour theory has developed to cover painting, optics, psychology and many other disciplines, including film making. Colour and Emotion There has been research into colour, emotion and how they interlock for at least the last 50 years. A lot of this research comes under psychology. This is still useful to many other disciplines including film makers so they can try to control the emotion of the viewer using colour. T the work of Lois B. Wexner (1954) explores how mood-tone and colours are associated with each other. Her research shows that certain colours do have strong associations with mood-tones, such as red with excitement, blue with tender-soothing and yellow with cheerful-jovial-joyful among others. The American psychologist Frank H. Mahnke (1996) has also conducted experiments into colour and emotion associations, in his findings he found some very strong associations, especially with red/love, black/hate, blue/peace blue-violet/noble. In Table 1 tabulated from his experiments, it shows the range of colours chosen by participants with the term and the percentage match they gave. Mankhe also grouped certain colours together where there was strong overlap , for example, blue, blue-green, green with the term peace/tranquillity. Term Colours Chosen Percentage Love Red, Red-Violet 81% Hatred Black, Red 89.6% Peace/Tranquillity Blue, Blue-Green, Green 93.6% Mourning/Sorrow Black,Grey 86% Happy Yellow, Orange 63% Jovial Orange, Yellow 50% Life Green 73% Luminous Yellow 65% Noble Blue, Blue-Violet, Violet 81% Table Colour Emotion Associations (Mahnke 1996) Wei, Dimitrova Chang (2004) established their association of corresponding colours to mood-tones (emotions), which is summarized in table 2. Colours Associated Mood Tones (Emotion Terms) Black Hatred, Mourning, Sorrow, Indefinite White Mourning, Grief, Depression Red Love, Hatred, Life, Noble Orange Jovial, Happy Green Tranquillity, Peace, Life Blue Peace, Tranquillity, Noble Purple Love, Noble, Authoritative Table Wei, Dimitrova Chang (2004) Use of Colours in Film The use of colour by film makers is deliberate and planned (Bellantoni 2005). To ensure that a film will have the colour which will bring a response from the audience they can either do test screenings, such as what cinematographer Rodger Deakins does in Shawshank Redemption. He tested different colours and paints to find the look required for each scene. While the use of colour can be analysed as it can have a strong affect on mood and emotions many times cinematographers will work by instinct and what it just looks right (Bellantoni 2005). It is possible to distil each film into its own colour palette. Artist Alan Woo shows quite distinctly how a film can have a distinctive colour palette. In his project Pie (Woo 2008) he processed each frame of a film into a colour and produced a pie chart for that film. Film makers have used colours nearly the whole spectrum of colours to their advantage in storytelling. Red Red is associated with danger, risk taking, action, love, hate. Director Alfred Hitchcock used these associated in the film Marnie, where he added red frames to attempt to excite the audience (Hullfish Fowler 2003). Director Sergei Eisenstien use of selective red in The Battleship Potemkin where a hand painted Soviet flag is hoisted up the ships mast. As well as the glorifying the Communist regime, according to Misek (2019) the redness overwhelms its intended meaning, the viewer notices the colour red and its power over the Soviet connotations. Reds can also convey action. In the film Run Lola Run, director Franka Potente uses the central characters red hair, a red ambulance, red bag (Martell 2002) and saturated red light to keep the audience in a high octane state (Bellantoni 2005). Orange According to Bellantoni (2005), oranges on the other hand do not give a strong emotional response to the audience, they are often provoke a warm, romantic, welcoming and also a sense of nostalgia. This is strongly convey in the Coen Brothers film O Brother Where Art Thou? where the whole film was digitally coloured in a orange/brown sepia to give the viewer a sense of the Mississippi during the Great Depression, a look of faded postcards (Fisher 2000). One place where orange does give the audience an unsettling appearance is when its in the air. For example, the orange sky in Blade Runner shows the polluted atmosphere. Production Designer Larry Pauli mentions to Bellantoni (2005 p.142), that the orange sky is acid but conversely softer and romantic depending on the outside or inside of the shot. Green The colour green can have two contrasting emotive responses in the viewer, depending on how it is used. Green is the colour of nature, health and vitality but also the colour of poison, illness and evil. Bellantoni (2005) writes that green is used by cinematographer John Seale creation of the lush vista in Witness. The green wheat fields where the Amish work. They connect the rural Amish to the agricultural work they live to do. These scenes are also where the protagonist is healing and in a stage of renewal, which the greens convey to the viewer. The colour green is used in The Matrix to show the virtual reality that central character Neo is trapped in. Directors the Wachokwski brothers took this green from was a whole motif inspired by the phosphorous green of old PCs (Davies n.d.). The use of the green in the simulated world contrasts with the harsher blue-white palette of reality, despite being a film all about the digital these greens were achieved optically through use of green lighting mise-en-scà ¨ne (Misek 2010). Blue Blue has strong associations with peace and tranquility. However in film it is more used to show coolness, detachment and passiveness. Dorothys dress in the Wizard of Oz is blue and white gingham showing her powerlessness in the film. It is not until she gains the bright red ruby slippers doe she gain any power (Bellantoni 2005). Bellantoni (2005) writes that blue is used to show the detachment and coldness of the prison in Shawshank Redemption. The prison uniforms and walls are all bathed in a soft blue/grey light which also highlight the passiveness of the inmates. However, blue also represents hope and freedom, Ellis Boyd Red Redding (Morgan Freeman) says I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams talking about his dreams of freedom and when the audience does get to see the ocean it is a much richer blue than the pale washed out version in the prison. Purple Purple has a long history of being a regal colour. This can be seen in Gladiator, where character Marcus Aurelius wears a purple hood, symbolising his regal power. Purple can also represent death or change. In Chicago, the strong use of purple light alludes to the death and delusion, bringing a seriousness to the musical song and dance (Bellantoni 2005). The dark purples are also heavy, representing the closeness of the criminal underworld. Death is also represented by purple in the film Apocalypse Now where a bright purple smoke flare is released and men start to die. Gaspar Noà ©s Enter The Void, a film about death, the afterlife and crime uses strong use of neon-purple contrasting with the dark Tokyo night where the film is set. Yellow Yellow can represent happiness, jovialness, wealth and warning. The use of yellow of Johns car as well as the yellow-neon lights in American Graffiti shows his youth and playfulness. Gold, a shade of yellow is closely associated with wealth. Koszarski (1999) writes that in Erich von Stroheim silent film Greed, Von Strohiem used Handschiegl colour on certain film prints to colour yellow all the gold items in an otherwise black and white film. This gave it a recurrent symbolism of the main characters greed. Greyscale Even with the advent of colour film, many film makers still choose to use the absence of colour in their works. The first film to go through the digital intermediate process of colour grading was Pleasantville, a film which uses the absence and presence of colour in its story. As the film progresses from the black and white beginning, the introduction of selective colourisation is used as a disruptive force on the traditional suburban black and white town. While other films have used the contrast of full colour and black and white scenes they are usually separate, giving the viewer an understanding of the differences between two places. For example the Wizard of Oz has a black and white Kansas, while the land of Oz is a glorious colour. Schindlers List is another example of selective colour used, in an otherwise black and white film a red coat of a young girl is used to individualise the cold, mechanical horrors of the holocaust. Greyscale can give a sense of seriousness and realism. Masik (2010) writes that Spike Lees Shes Gotta Have It was made in black-and-white for aesthetic and budget reasons and also because the Director of Photography liked the film black and white film Raging Bull which he interpreted as summoning the photojournalism s in 1950s Life magazine. Use of colour however is not always to the audiences and critics taste. Filmmaker Todd Miro (2010) blogs about the Color Grading Virus that is Teal Orange He cites Hollywood productions of Transformers 2 and Iron Man 2 where the colour grading has been overdone to attempt to bring attention to the skin tones(usually orange range of colours) of the actors away from the background. Journalist Phil Hoad (2010) spoke to Hollywood colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld, who says Traditional vs. Digital Colour grading has a long history. From the early days of hand painting individual frames to the photochemical processes still used by modern filmmakers. The bleach-bypass method was introduced by Technicolor (Shaw 2010). Shaw (2010) explains that this is when film is processed in lab to alter the colour balance. This process is also expensive and not reversible. This process has been used in many films, such as Dick Tracey, Saving Private Ryan (American Society of Cinematographers, 1998). Director Steven Spielberg and Director of Photography Janusz Kaminiski also used this technique in Munich. Kaminski mentions to Goldman (2005 p.14) a sense of tenseness, a sense of rawness. Kamainiski works with traditional laboratory methods as that is what he has done in the past and feels that the use of digital technology allows the colourist to constantly change their grading and get lost as they have no standard. Process used by Digital Colourists Primary Colour Grading When grading video, the first task is to set up the overall image. Tasks included including fixing white balance, removing colour casts, matching tones between shots and contrast levels. The first task many colourists will tackle first is setting the black level of the image.

Hawthorne :: essays research papers

Breaking out of Prison   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hawthorne’s view on life is wrong. He says that in the depths of human nature there is an inner world in which every human being is alone. Hawthorne’s background and they way he lived his life gave him this dark view on life. His father and grandfather did things that he did not like and Hawthorne tried to redeem the bad things they did and when he couldn’t he went into seclusion and explored his own heart. Every person is not the same as Hawthorne; I believe that with certain people their heart could be their prison but not the average person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People are not caged by their heart, their heart shows what kind of person they are. It is similar to Emerson’s â€Å"golden possibility,† Hawthorne did not meet his golden possibility and this is why he looks on things so darkly. He doesn’t try to look at the good things in life, he tries to see what is wrong with people and explain why. He only looked at himself though and he did not have much to be happy for and this is why he felt like he was in a prison. Most people if they look inside themselves they are happy and do not dwell on such things like Hawthorne does. A person’s cage is not their heart, their heart is something that lets them be free and go on about a normal day with a happy countenance on their face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your own heart could be your worst prison but every human being is not in that prison like Hawthorne was. Hawthorne is right that your heart is the worst prison a person could be in but everyone is that same situation. Hawthorne shouldn’t generalize so much, he was only looking at himself and not the world around him. He was too self-centered in his writings and quotes, he should have looked at other people and saw how they lived. Then he would see a world of bright colors and fun filled life, he could have lived life to the maximum but he chose to look at the dark side of things and keep living inside his prison instead of changing his life. Hawthorne :: essays research papers Breaking out of Prison   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hawthorne’s view on life is wrong. He says that in the depths of human nature there is an inner world in which every human being is alone. Hawthorne’s background and they way he lived his life gave him this dark view on life. His father and grandfather did things that he did not like and Hawthorne tried to redeem the bad things they did and when he couldn’t he went into seclusion and explored his own heart. Every person is not the same as Hawthorne; I believe that with certain people their heart could be their prison but not the average person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People are not caged by their heart, their heart shows what kind of person they are. It is similar to Emerson’s â€Å"golden possibility,† Hawthorne did not meet his golden possibility and this is why he looks on things so darkly. He doesn’t try to look at the good things in life, he tries to see what is wrong with people and explain why. He only looked at himself though and he did not have much to be happy for and this is why he felt like he was in a prison. Most people if they look inside themselves they are happy and do not dwell on such things like Hawthorne does. A person’s cage is not their heart, their heart is something that lets them be free and go on about a normal day with a happy countenance on their face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your own heart could be your worst prison but every human being is not in that prison like Hawthorne was. Hawthorne is right that your heart is the worst prison a person could be in but everyone is that same situation. Hawthorne shouldn’t generalize so much, he was only looking at himself and not the world around him. He was too self-centered in his writings and quotes, he should have looked at other people and saw how they lived. Then he would see a world of bright colors and fun filled life, he could have lived life to the maximum but he chose to look at the dark side of things and keep living inside his prison instead of changing his life.

I Have No Idea Essay

* 1. How does the author define â€Å"cell yell† (paragraph 2)? What changes in society since the 1950s does the author suggest account for the way people use cell phones today? -The author defines â€Å"cell yell† as a bad behavior from a human talking on the phone too loud, in a way that is including stranger into his private conversation. In the 1950’s, people were used to have their conversations inside an enclosed phone booth where no one could hear their conversation. These phone booths where at public places. Nowadays people don’t care about having privacy when they are talking on the phone. * 2. How does mobile phone design contribute to bad cell phone manners? -Mobile design tend to make us feel that the other person on the phone can’t hear us clearly or vise versa because of the phone’s size and how close the mouthpiece is to our mouth. What part does the cell phone user’s sense of self-importance play? -I believe that the part that cell phone user’s sense of self-importance play is for the other person to who we are talking to can listen to us clearly. * 3. Eavesdroppers on cell phone conversations experience various reactions, both positive and negative. According to the author, what are some of these reactions and how do people listening against their will handle their strong feelings? -Some people still talk on the phone privately, others don’t. Some people use text messages to express their feeling and not having to listen to the person’s disappointed voice. Some people prefer to receive a bad new via text message. * 4. Based on the author’s examples, what are the rude cell behaviors that bother people the most? What behaviors bother you the most? You might wish to share with the class a humorous or outrageous illustration of bad cell manners that you have encountered. -The rude behavior that bothers people the most is when people are talking too loud. The behavior that bothers me the most is when I’m chating with someone and that person is using his phone instead of putting it away to bond with me. I honestly hate when people do that. WRITING ASSIGNMENTS * 1. Write an essay in which you argue for or against having a â€Å"designated outcast zone† for cell talkers in restaurants, theaters, or other places—the way many establishments now isolate smokers. Develop your thesis with two or three clear supporting points. -People that talk on the phone on quite places. People that text instead of paying attention to what really matters. * 2. Is the rudeness of cell phone users just a symptom of a society that has become less considerate and more self-centered? With a group of classmates, brainstorm other possible â€Å"symptoms† of this trend. Some ideas might include rude clerks and customers, aggressive drivers, or the dying art of thank-you notes. Then select one of these and write an essay in which you suggest ways to reverse the trend. -Yes I believe it is. Aggressive drivers. People nowadays don’t care about other people anymore. For example in Miami, at least one or two hit-and-run happens every week. People scream from car to car. People shot other people for beeping. 3. E-mail and texting are just two other technologies that some people use inconsiderately or even abusively. For instance, some people forward jokes many times a day, and others text during meetings or dates. Write an essay in which you suggest rules of web etiquette for one technology. You may wish to look up â€Å"netiquette†Ã¢â‚¬â€the word for rules to govern online behavior. -Texting. There is people that text 24/7. They can’t live without texting on the phone. Something else that’s being ruining us are smart phones that offer us social network for us to use at anytime, this is overwhelming. People pay more attention to their phone nowadays because of those social networks.

Midnight Journal Entry

The Midnight Journal Entry Anne T. Lawrence, San Jose State University On an overcast afternoon in Portland, Oregon, on Friday, March 28, 2003, Richard Okumoto intently studied a set of hard-copy accounting documents called â€Å"adjusting journal entries† spread out on his desk. He had been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI), a multi-million dollar equipment manufacturer, just a few weeks earlier. Okumoto was in the midst of closing the company’s books for the third quarter of fiscal year 2003, which ended February 28.An experienced executive who had served as CFO for several other technology firms, Okumoto was familiar with the task, which normally would be routine. But this time, he felt that something was seriously amiss. When reviewing the company’s recent results, he had noticed a sharp dip in accrued liabilities between the two quarters ending May 31 (the last quarter of the 2002 fiscal year) and August 31 (the first quarter of the current fiscal year).Now, looking at the detailed journal entries his staff had provided, he noticed that several significant accounting entries had been made around midnight on September 12, 2002. The entries made that September evening had significantly changed the company’s results for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, a few days before they were reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He later recalled: The fact that the time stamps [on the journal entries] were midnight through one o’clock in the morning made me believe they were having difficulties closing the quarter.Not just because of accounting difficulties, but because they were having difficulties finding the right answers. My initial reaction was, even given a difficult quarterly close, if the team was working that late at night, that wasn’t typical. From the pass codes required by the accounting software, Okumoto could see who had made the entries. They inclu ded James Dooley, then the company’s acting chief operating officer and now the CEO, the corporate controller, and several senior members of the finance team. One midnight journal entry in particular drew the new CFO’s attention.The late-night team had wiped out an accrued liability of $977,000 associated with the anticipated cost of retirement and severance benefits to company employees in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. That entry, and several smaller ones, all of which were favorable to net income, had the cumulative effect of permitting the company to report earnings of $0. 01 per share for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, rather than a loss. When he realized that, Okumoto recalled, he felt â€Å"a sinking feeling in my gut. † He asked himself, â€Å"What happened here? At that time of night?All of the changes in a single direction? What’s going on? † He was sure something was not right. RICHARD OKUMOTO Born in 1952, Richard Okumoto was raised wit h his four siblings in a Japanese-American family in a low-income, African-American neighborhood that bordered the Pepper Street Projects of Pasadena, California. He explained how his parents’ experiences had shaped their outlook: My parents grew up during the depression years. Dad farmed with relatives, and Mom grew up tending 3,000 chickens on a three-acre ranch in Gardena, California.Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, my parents were relocated under Executive Order 9066 [under which persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were sent to relocation camps during World War II]. They met and married in a relocation camp. During their incarceration, their families could not make their payments. Dad and his relatives lost their land, and Mom’s parents lost their chicken ranch. After those experiences, my father was committed to having no debt. He built our family home in 1955, with the idea of paying off the loan in eight years.In 1962, Okumotoâ⠂¬â„¢s father, who worked as a gardener, landscaper, and salesman of Japanese mutual funds, was disabled in a serious auto accident. Fortunately, by then, he had almost paid off the loan on their home, so the family was able to survive financially. After the accident, Okumoto’s mother took a job cleaning homes to help support her five children. Okumoto described his relationship with his mother: She and I had an especially close bond. Shortly before my dad’s accident, both her parents had died. I was the one who supported her through a very difficult year.As a result, she always treated me differently from the other kids—almost like an adult. The Okumoto family’s financial situation after the accident was difficult. Okumoto had vivid memories of how they coped: Money was very short. We had to account for every penny. Every week, my mother wrote down in a leather-bound journal everything she earned and everything we spent in the household, down to the penn y. Every week, from the time I was ten years old, she went through that with me. We lived on a cash basis. There was no credit card, no second mortgage.In that situation, budgeting became extremely important. Her comment to me was, â€Å"You can’t complain [about what you don’t have] unless you understand what’s happening. † Those were her ground rules. He added this comment about his mother’s values: The ethics of doing the right thing become very important, because that’s really all you have. [My mother] instilled in me at an early age, regardless of what else you do, always take the high road, always do the right thing. That has influenced me throughout my career.After high school, Okumoto attended San Jose State University, where he completed an undergraduate degree in accounting in 1974 and attended the MBA program from1975 to 1978. He soon embarked on a highly successful career in finance. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, he held increasingly responsible roles at a number of high-technology companies in the Silicon Valley, including Fairchild Semiconductor, Novellus Systems, Measurex, Credence Systems, and Photon Dynamics. Okumoto admired a number of managers he had worked for, who had set high professional and ethical standards for him and his co-workers.He felt fortunate to have had three exceptional mentors: Woody Spedden, the CEO of Credence Systems; Jim Hefferman, his boss at Fairchild and later at Measurex; and Don Waite, the CFO at Measurex who later took over that position at Seagate Technologies. â€Å"All three individuals upheld the highest integrity,† Okumoto recalled. â€Å"Aside from the technical training I received from them, I got a strong ethical grounding. They would always tell me to ask myself—what are your obligations to others? † ELECTRO SCIENTIFIC INDUSTRIES, INC. Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. ESI), the company that Okumoto joined as CFO in early 2003, was t he second-largest technology company in Oregon, trailing only Tektronix in size. Based in Portland, the company was founded in 1944 as Brown Engineering to make test and measurement equipment. As technology evolved, so did the company’s products. In the 1960s, the firm—by then called ESI—moved into lasers, and later developed applications of laser technology for the emerging semiconductor industry. ESI went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1983. In 2003, ESI’s core business was providing precision production equipment to electronics firms.The company manufactured equipment that was used in the production of a wide range of electronics products, such as computers, cellular phones, home entertainment systems, automotive electronics, electronic games, and personal digital devices. Its products included advanced laser systems, test equipment, and packaging systems, among others. The company’s customers included many leading electronics firms, including AMD, Ericsson, IBM, Samsung, Hitachi, Flextronics, Honeywell, and Lucent. Seventy percent of ESI’s sales were outside the United States, mainly in Asia and Europe.The company owned and operated manufacturing facilities in Portland and Klamath Falls, Oregon, and in Escondido, California, and operated sales offices in many countries. In 2002, it employed 875 people and reported sales revenue of $167 million (down from $472 million the prior year). Like many firms in the electronics industry, ESI was badly battered by the economic downturn that began in 2001. After achieving record sales and income in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2001, the company’s financial results declined precipitously in FY 2002, as shown in Exhibit A.Sales and profits had continued to decline in the first half of FY 2003. Exhibit A: Electro Scientific Industries, Selected Sales and Income Data, 1998-2002 | 1998| 1999| 2000| 2001| 2002| Net sales| 252,134| 197,118| 299,419| 471,853| 166,545| Net i ncome (loss)| 22,347| 7,528| 40,860| 99,933| (15,961)| Net income (loss) per share| 0. 89| 0. 29| 1. 55| 3. 71| (0. 58)| Data refer to fiscal years ending May 31. All data are given in thousands of dollars, except per share data. Source: ESI 2002 Annual Report. The company noted in its 2002 annual report:In fiscal year 2002, ESI weathered the worst downturn in the electronics industry in over 30 years†¦We are conducting a thorough review of our overall market strategy as well as product line strategies to assure that they will generate significant shareholder returns over the inevitable cycles in our industry. To cut costs, the company initiated a shutdown of its Escondido facility, consolidating its operations in Portland. It divested several underperforming lines of business and sought to invest in areas it saw as promising through partnerships and, potentially, acquisitions.It also informally explored a merger with another firm in southern California. In early 2002, Don VanL uvanee, the company’s long-time CEO, suffered a stroke and was no longer able to serve. The board appointed David Bolender, the former CEO of Protocol Systems and a director since 1988, to step in as acting CEO until it could find a permanent replacement. At that time, the board also elevated James Dooley, who had been serving as the firm’s chief financial officer, to the role of acting chief operating officer to run the company’s day-to-day affairs.In December 2002, the board promoted Dooley to the position of chief executive officer, and Bolender became chairman of the board. (Executives and directors of ESI named in the case, and their positions, are summarized in Exhibit B. ) [Exhibit B should appear about here; it is at the end of the file. ] CLOSING THE QUARTER Shortly after Dooley became CEO, Okumoto was recruited as chief financial officer. He started work on February 17, 2003. I was excited about the job. I thought it might be my last one in the industr y. The company, management, and employees—all had a long history of stability.To me, it was another walk down the path of hard work, a fresh chance to apply my skills in strategic planning and execution as well as to implement the new Sarbanes-Oxley compliance rules. His first task was to prepare for the FY 2003 third quarter close. In reviewing the company’s books for the past several quarters, he soon noticed a sharp downward spike in the balance of accrued liabilities. He noted that fact for further investigation. In addition to closing the quarter, several other items required Okumoto’s attention.Just one week into his new job, on February 24, he got an email from John (â€Å"Jack†) Isselmann, Jr. , the general counsel, asking him to forward to the manager of the Japanese office, Mike Tetsui, a set of revised work rules (terms of employment) for ESI’s Japanese employees. As a newcomer, Okumoto knew little of the background or why he had been as ked to do this, but complied with the general counsel’s request, sending on to the Japanese office manager the revised work rules. Okumoto received the following reply from Tetsui on March 2: I have read the proposed work rule and found no section of [sic] retirement fund.I do not know what is the intention of removing that section, but it is a huge impact on each employee we have†¦I do not think I can get concents [sic] from [ESI’s Japanese] employees without reasonable change in retirement benefit. Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. Okumoto recalled: My first response was, â€Å"uh-oh. † There was a big disconnect between what I had been told and Mike’s reply. I had assumed that the Japanese had already been informed of the cancellation of their retirement benefits and agreed to the changes. It was clear they had not.In a prior job at Novellus Systems, Okumoto had set up that company’s Japanese operations, and he was aware that Japanese work rules were normally filed with the government. Regulators were very strict about altering any documented benefits. Accordingly, Okumoto believed that ESI was obligated to pay benefits that had been promised to employees, and he told Isselmann this. Okumoto also expressed the opinion that employees, if dissatisfied with the revised rules, could take the matter before the Japanese labor board, and that this would be a â€Å"quantifiable event† that would have to be recorded on the books as a liability.Isselmann responded that he was unfamiliar with Japanese law. On March 4, Okumoto spoke with CEO James Dooley about his concerns that the reversal of benefits for Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese employees might expose ESI to litigation, and this could affect the accounting treatment of the event. Dooley strongly disagreed. Okumoto recalled: He told me that everything had been cleared with everyone. He said there was full information. There was full disclosure. H e emphasized that KPMG [ESI’s external auditor], the company’s own legal staff, and the board had all signed off on it. He said I should â€Å"just get past it. Okumoto was concerned about this conversation, particularly because the CEO seemed so defensive. On March 11, Okumoto met again with Dooley, this time to discuss Okumoto’s upcoming presentation to the audit committee. The new CFO recommended that the company delay announcing its third quarter earnings and restate its first and second quarter earnings to report correctly the $977,000 in liabilities associated with the anticipated cost of retirement benefits for its Asian employees. Okumoto explained his view that not reporting these liabilities had violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.At that point, Okumoto recalled, Dooley became visibly upset. The CEO—all six feet-six inches and 280 pounds of him—turned an angry red and told me again to just get past this. That’s when I knew that this was going to be swept under the rug. It was clear I was not part of the club. Then Jim said, â€Å"If I’ve got to reverse this entry, I’ll quit. † THE â€Å"MOFO† MEMORANDUM On March 13, Okumoto attended a meeting of the board of directors’ audit committee. Also present at that meeting, in addition to the audit committee members, were Dooley, Isselmann, and several senior managers.At the meeting, Okumoto recommended that the company’s financial statements for the previous two quarters be restated, and that it hire an independent accounting firm to conduct an audit of the Asian benefits issue. Dooley countered that everyone had been fully informed of the reversal and had â€Å"bought off† on it. The audit committee declined Okumoto’s suggestion that an independent accounting firm be brought in, but it did direct Barry Harmon (formerly ESI’s CFO and a member of the audit committee), Okumoto, and Isselmann to lead an internal investigation into the matter.After the audit committee meeting, Isselmann came into the CFO’s office. Okumoto recalled: He closed the door and just broke down. He told me that after the benefits reversal in September he had asked MoFo [Morrison Foerster, an outside law firm on retainer to ESI] to review its legality. MoFo had advised it was illegal to cancel the retirement benefits without employee consent. He said he had immediately shown the memo to Dooley, who had brow-beat him, intimidated him, and essentially boxed him into a corner. I believed this, because in one meeting I actually saw Jim stand up and tower over Jack, who was only 5 feet-6.I watched Jim almost physically overtake him. Jack was a young guy, pretty inexperienced, and his job at ESI was his first in the industry. On his way out, Isselmann handed Okumoto some documents. From the documents, Okumoto learned that on October 3, 2002, Isselmann had written MoFo, asking for an opinion on wh ether or not it would be legal for the company to terminate the Asian employees’ retirement benefits unilaterally. In his letter, Isselmann had pointed out that the rules had been distributed to employees but had not been submitted to the relevant government agency.On October 7, Toshihiro So, a Japanese labor and employment attorney affiliated with Morrison Foerster, responded to Isselmann’s request. The MoFo memo, now in Okumoto’s hands, read in part: Retirement allowances are not a legal requirement [in Japan]. However, once the company agrees to pay retirement allowances in Rules of Employment (even though they have not been submitted to the relevant government agency), the company is obliged to pay them in accordance with the Rules and cannot remove them at the company’s discretion.According to Japanese case laws, as a general rule, †¦the deprivation of previously acquired rights by newly drawn up or changed work rules are [sic] not permittedâ₠¬ ¦[It] is required that before changing the work rules, the company should hear and consider the opinion of the related employees. Okumoto was shocked. â€Å"This is the smoking gun,† he thought. Investigating further, Okumoto learned that although private employers in Japan were not obligated to pay retirement benefits, doing so was considered a good industry practice, and since 1981 ESI had offered such a benefit to its employees there.Under the rules of employment established for ESI’s employees in Japan, any employee (except executives) who chose to retire after reaching the voluntary retirement age of 60 would be entitled to a â€Å"retirement allowance† of one month’s pay per year of service—in effect, a one-time severance payment. Workers who were involuntarily terminated and the estates of any workers who died before reaching the age of 60 were also entitled to this benefit. Similar rules were in effect for the company’s workers in Korea and Taiwan. At the time, ESI had 18 employees in Japan, 13 in Korea, and 23 in Taiwan, mostly in sales and customer support roles.On March 14, Okumoto called an â€Å"all hands† meeting to disclose his initial findings and discuss a path forward. Present at the meeting were Dooley, Isselmann, Harmon, and several other senior managers. The CFO asked directly if there had been full disclosure and review of all material facts with respect to the accrual reversal. Dooley confirmed that everything had been disclosed. Okumoto did not mention the MoFo memo, thinking that Dooley’s response indicated that he must have already disclosed it to KPMG and the audit committee. On March 20, Okumoto spoke by telephone with Mike Tetsui.The Japanese manager told the CFO that the employees had not yet been told that their retirement benefits had been terminated, and he—Tetsui—would resign before he would tell them that news, which he expected would be devastating. â₠¬Å"As head of the group,† Tetsui told Okumoto, â€Å"I will fall on my sword. † On March 21, Okumoto met again with Dooley to press him on how the reversal had happened. Dooley was initially â€Å"combative. † As the conversation went on, however, he â€Å"let his guard down† and began talking about what had happened on the night of September 12.As Okumoto recalled the conversation: Jim told me that he had sent a financial packet to the board of directors prior to their meeting on September 13. After he had distributed the packet, but before the meeting, he was contacted by KPMG, who told him there had been an error in the company’s calculations of its overhead costs, so the financial statements distributed to the board were incorrect. ESI’s reportable earnings were suddenly much less than they thought, by as much as a million dollars.Jim said this was particularly important because the company was in informal merger discussions with a compan y in southern California. Then he said, â€Å"No one was helping me, so I had to help myself. † When Jim made that comment, my first thought was, he was looking for revenue. He was hunting for credits. He was looking to manipulate earnings. That was a definite red flag. Okumoto walked out of Dooley’s office stunned. He called his staff together and asked them to assemble any documentation they had on accounting entries on or around September 12.He also began talking with the members of the finance team who had participated in the late-night meeting with Dooley and learned that a number of people on the finance staff had questioned the benefits reversal, but had not brought it forward. This was consistent with a negative tone at the top. I would almost characterize it as bullying. That’s one reason why no one stepped forward. That tone at the top created an environment where people really couldn’t speak out. It’s important to look at the people. Ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s similar to qualitative research. We all do that intuitively.When I looked at the body language of a lot of the people involved—the cost accountants, the financial analysts—it became apparent to me that they were scared. They knew something was wrong, and they wanted to say something, but something held them back. They reminded me of beaten animals. Growing up in the neighborhood I did, I knew what fear looked like. As part of his further investigation, Okumoto independently approached the audit team from KPMG. They told him Dooley had informed them that the company had received a legal opinion that the reversal was appropriate, and they had deemed that information sufficient.Okumoto observed: KPMG was new on the account, which they picked up after the collapse of Arthur Andersen. They didn’t have deep familiarity with it. They did not have all the information. Some of the partners were new. On March 28, a week after he had requested the relevant account ing entries for September 12, his staff finally produced the complete documentation for that date. Now, drilling down into the details, he saw the full scope of the midnight journal entries—and who had made them. WEIGHING THE RISKS Over the weekend, Okumoto considered his next moves. None of the ndividuals and groups from whom he had sought support—the CEO, the general counsel, or the auditors—seemed to share his concern about the seriousness of the issue. The audit committee had shown some interest, but had turned down his recommendation to bring in independent auditors and seemed to believe the matter could be handled internally. Okumoto was losing sleep, worrying constantly about what—if any—additional steps he should take. He had tried to warn the key players. From all, he had received the same message: We don’t see this as a serious problem. Let it go.Okumoto realized the risks of escalating the issue further. He was earning a base sala ry of $250,000, with the possibility of a 100 percent performance bonus. He reflected: I certainly realized the risks. I knew that if I brought this forward, there was a strong likelihood that I would either lose my job, or I would be in an environment where it would be difficult to operate, so I would have to leave. The idea also occurred to him that â€Å"I can leverage this for more money and stock if I look the other way. Plus, I can become invaluable to the company with this dirt.I can immediately become part of the established inside club. † He had also recently signed a contract to purchase a home in the nearby community of Lake Oswego, and wondered how he would make good on that commitment if he lost his job. However, he felt reasonably secure financially. Following the example of his parents, Okumoto had worked hard to avoid debt and to save for adverse times. He reflected: One of the first things I ask friends who are or would like to be CFOs or general managers, wh ere risks such as this can jeopardize their careers, is: Are you financially secure enough to make good decisions?Because if you aren’t, I can count on the fact that you will make bad decisions when times of adversity hit. We all talk about the value of making good decisions, but as we all know, life creeps in. There are economic commitments, family commitments, and people are sometimes moved to do the wrong thing. As the old adage goes, hire your sales people so they are hungry enough to get the deal done. Hire your finance people so they are not hungry enough to do the wrong thing. He added: Fortunately, I was financially in a position where I could afford to leave if t came to that. I was single, so I figured the only person I had to protect was myself. He also had a network of friends in the area he felt he could turn to for support. I had a number of friends in the Portland area, having worked there earlier. My prior company had a division of about 1000 employees in the area. Of these, 500 had worked directly for me. It might have been a false sense of security, but I felt I had a pretty good infrastructure of people that I knew. By this time, Okumoto was also becoming concerned about his personal safety.Several times, he received anonymous messages on his home answering machine. At the time, he was living temporarily in corporate housing while he shopped for a home, and he felt he was particularly visible there. But, he added that he was not easily intimidated. I felt that I could take care of myself. I had faced a lot worse threats than this one. As a teenager, I was robbed at gunpoint. I was stabbed in the back and left for dead. I was beaten so badly that my eyes were swollen shut. I grew up around a lot of physical violence. Although Okumoto saw risks in taking action, he also saw risks in inaction.He commented: I was concerned about my own legal liability if I did not take action. From the point of view of the DOJ [Department of Justice] and SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], if you don’t fix the problem, you become the problem. I had potential legal risk. As Okumoto pondered the risks of both action and inaction, he reflected on the board of directors and what kind of response he might expect if he approached them directly. (See Exhibit C for a list of members of the board. ) [Exhibit C should appear about here; it is at the end of the file. ] Dooley was the only insider on the board.There were some old timers on the board—like Barry Harmon, who had earlier been CFO at ESI. But there were also a fair number of independents. Even though I was new at the company, I had a prior relationship with two of the directors. Jerry Taylor, the former CFO at Applied Materials, was a member of the audit committee. Jerry and I had worked together 25 years earlier at Fairchild. So, I had a long-standing relationship with him. Jon Tompkins, the former CEO of KLA-Tencor, was also on the board. I had known Jon from T encor days, where he had interviewed me for the CFO position.As he contemplated his next move, Okumoto thought back to an experience earlier in his career. As he told the story: I had been in a situation before where I hadn’t spoken up. I had been a CFO for another public company. I was in a situation in which I had questions on some of the accounting. But it was close enough, and I was concerned that I didn’t have enough evidence to support my reservations. I had only been with the company three months. Within four months, we had a major revenue shortfall. At that time, I made the decision not to try to cover up the revenue shortfall.But, because we had not called it to the attention of analysts earlier, we lost the confidence of the Street. At that point, the CEO and I both resigned. I made a decision then that if I ever again saw something that was close, I would act much faster. He also thought about his mother’s admonition always to do the right thing, and the advice of his mentors, who had counseled him always to ask the question—what are your obligations to others? Exhibit B: Executives and Directors of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. Named in the Case and Their Positions (Listed in Order of Mention)Richard OkumotoChief Financial Officer (CFO) James T. â€Å"Jim† DooleyActing Chief Operating Officer (COO), early 2002 – December 2002 Chief Executive Officer (CEO), December 2002 – Don VanLuvaneeFormer CEO David F. BolenderActing CEO, early 2002 – December 2002 Chairman of the Board, December 2002 – John â€Å"Jack† Isselmann, Jr. General Counsel Mike TetsuiManager, Japanese Office Barry L. Harmon Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Director and Member of the Audit Committee Gerald F. â€Å"Jerry† TaylorDirector and Member of the Audit Committee Jon D. TompkinsDirectorExhibit C: Members of the Board of Directors, ESI Inc. , March 2003 David F. Bolender, Chairman of the Board Chairman of the Board and CEO (retired), Protocol Systems, Inc. ; President of Pacific Power and Light Co. (retired) James T. Dooley, Chief Executive Officer Barry L. Harmon (member of the Audit Committee) Senior Vice President (retired), Avocet Corp. ; formerly, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ESI Keith L. Thomson Vice President (retired), Intel Corp. ; Chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Oregon Foundation Jon D. TompkinsCEO and Chairman of the Board (retired), KLA-Tencor Corp. ; President and CEO of Spectra-Physics (retired) Vernon B. Ryles, Jr. President and CEO (retired), Poppers Supply Co. Gerald F. Taylor (member of the Audit Committee) Chief Financial Officer (retired), Applied Materials W. Arthur Porter (Chairman of the Audit Committee) Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Oklahoma Larry L. Hansen Executive Vice President (retired), Tylan General, Inc. —————————— ————– [ 2 ]. Copyright  © 2012 by the Case Research Journal and Anne T. Lawrence.The author developed this case to provide a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. An earlier version of this case was presented at NACRA’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, October 2011. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Richard Okumoto and the thoughtful comments of the editor, Deborah Ettington, and three anonymous reviewers. [ 3 ]. In 2002, average annual salaries for ESI employees were $68,000 in Japan, $27,000 in Korea, and $38,000 in Taiwan (in U. S. dollars).

The Appeal of Dystopian Novels for Teens

The Appeal of Dystopian Novels for Teens Teens are devouring the current popular literature of the dark, grim, and dismal: the dystopian novel. Bleak story lines about leaders who  terrorize citizens every year by making them watch teens fight to the death and governments who condone mandatory operations to remove emotion describe two of the popular dystopian novels that teens are reading.  But just what is  a dystopian novel and how long has it been around? And theres the bigger question: why is this type of novel so appealing to teens? Definition A dystopia is a  society that is broken down, unpleasant, or in an oppressed or terrorized state. Unlike a utopia, a perfect world, dystopias are grim, dark, and hopeless. They reveal society’s greatest fears. Totalitarian governments  rule and the needs and wants of individuals become subordinate to the state. In most dystopian novels,  a tyrannical government is trying to suppress and control its citizens by taking away their individuality, as in the classics 1984 and Brave New World.  Dystopian governments also ban activities that encourage individual thinking. The governments response to individual thinking in Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451? Burn the books! History Dystopian novels are not new to the reading public. Since the late 1890s, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, and George Orwell have entertained audiences with their classics about Martians, book burnings, and Big Brother. Over the years, other dystopian books like Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion and Lois Lowry’s  Newbery-winning book The Giver have given younger characters a more central role in dystopian settings. Since 2000, dystopian novels for teens have retained the dismal, dark setting, but the nature of the characters has changed.  Characters are no longer passive and powerless citizens, but teens who are empowered, fearless, strong, and determined to find a way to survive and face their fears. Major characters have influential personalities that oppressive governments attempt to control but cannot. A recent example of this type of teen dystopian novel is the incredibly popular Hunger Games  series (Scholastic, 2008) where the central character is a sixteen-year-old girl named Katniss who is willing to take her sister’s place in the annual game where teens from 12 different districts must fight to the death.  Katniss commits a deliberate act of rebellion against the Capital that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. In the dystopian novel Delirium  (Simon and Schuster, 2011), the government teaches citizens that love is a dangerous disease that must be eradicated. By age 18, everyone  must undergo a mandatory operation to remove the ability to feel  love. Lena, who is looking forward to the operation and fears love, meets a boy and together they flee the government and find the truth. In yet another favorite dystopian novel called Divergent (Katherine Tegen Books, 2011), teens must unite themselves with factions based on virtues, but when the main character is told she’s divergent, she becomes a threat to the government and must keep secrets in order to protect her loved ones from harm. Teen Appeal So what do teens find so appealing about dystopian novels? Teens in dystopian novels get to perform ultimate acts of rebellion against authority, and that’s appealing. Conquering a dismal future is empowering, especially when  the teens have to rely on themselves without having to answer to parents, teachers, or other authoritarian figures. Teen readers can certainly relate to those feelings. Today’s teen dystopian novels contain teen characters who exhibit strength, courage, and conviction. Although death, war, and violence exist, a more positive and hopeful message about the future is being sent by teens who are facing future fears and conquering them.

Free Essays on PLO

P.L.O’s Claim to Statehood There are four conditions for â€Å"Traditional Statehood.† The first, a permant population, second a defined territory, third a government that has control over its population, and finally a capacity to enter into foreign relations. Question 2D asks, did the P.L.O. satisfy these conditions? In 1919 Palestine was provisionally recognized as an Independent state by the League of Nations, as well as the 1922 Mandate by Great Britain. In 1947, UN general resolution 181 [II], called for the partition of Palestine and Israel. The Israeli government gave the Palestinian people the area known as Palestine, but still as a part of Israel. So did they have a defined territory? Yes, but Israel still made claim to them, as any country would when loosing territory. And for there permant population, yes. This was the reason for the UN mandated partition and the Israeli government giving them the territory. In 1974 the P.L.O. was invited to participate in the UN general assembly debate on the Palestine question. UN general assembly adopted Res. 43/177 in Dec. 1988, whereby it recognized the new state of Palestine by according observer- state- status. As of 1990, 114 states had recognized the newly proclaimed State of Palestine, some 20 states more than the 93 that recog! nized Israel. So, did they have the capacity to enter into foreign relations, deffanantly. And for the permant government, yes and no. The P.L.O. made claim to the rule of the people and so did Israel. So that is the only questionable part of the requirements for statehood. So, did Palestine have a legitimate claim to statehood, yes. They were provisionally granted statehood by the League of Nations, and met all of the requirements.... Free Essays on PLO Free Essays on PLO P.L.O’s Claim to Statehood There are four conditions for â€Å"Traditional Statehood.† The first, a permant population, second a defined territory, third a government that has control over its population, and finally a capacity to enter into foreign relations. Question 2D asks, did the P.L.O. satisfy these conditions? In 1919 Palestine was provisionally recognized as an Independent state by the League of Nations, as well as the 1922 Mandate by Great Britain. In 1947, UN general resolution 181 [II], called for the partition of Palestine and Israel. The Israeli government gave the Palestinian people the area known as Palestine, but still as a part of Israel. So did they have a defined territory? Yes, but Israel still made claim to them, as any country would when loosing territory. And for there permant population, yes. This was the reason for the UN mandated partition and the Israeli government giving them the territory. In 1974 the P.L.O. was invited to participate in the UN general assembly debate on the Palestine question. UN general assembly adopted Res. 43/177 in Dec. 1988, whereby it recognized the new state of Palestine by according observer- state- status. As of 1990, 114 states had recognized the newly proclaimed State of Palestine, some 20 states more than the 93 that recog! nized Israel. So, did they have the capacity to enter into foreign relations, deffanantly. And for the permant government, yes and no. The P.L.O. made claim to the rule of the people and so did Israel. So that is the only questionable part of the requirements for statehood. So, did Palestine have a legitimate claim to statehood, yes. They were provisionally granted statehood by the League of Nations, and met all of the requirements....

Enthalpy Change Definition in Science

Enthalpy Change Definition in Science An enthalpy change is approximately equal to the difference between the energy used to break bonds in a chemical reaction and the energy gained by the formation of new chemical bonds in the reaction. It describes the energy change of a system at constant pressure. Enthalpy change is denoted by ΔH. At constant pressure, ΔH equals the internal energy of the system added to the pressure-volume work done by the system on its surroundings. Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions For an endothermic reaction, ΔH is a positive value. For an exothermic reaction, ΔH has a negative value. This is because heat (thermal energy) is absorbed by the endothermic reaction, while it is released by the exothermic reaction. Enthalpy Change Versus Entropy Enthalpy change and entropy are related concepts. Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system. In an exothermic reaction, the entropy of the surroundings increases. As heat is evolved, the energy imparted to the system increases disorder. In an endothermic reaction, the external entropy decreases. As heat is absorbed by a process or reaction, the kinetic energy of molecules in the surroundings decreases, which tends to reduce reduce disorder.

Concept Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Concept - Research Paper Example Running head: Signature Assignment Concept Paper Submitted to Northcentral University Graduate Faculty of the School of Business and Technology Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION By Felix J. ... Introduction Dynamism in management that has led to environmental features such as globalization, flattened hierarchy, increased regulatory scrutiny, and fragmented enterprises identifies the importance of Virtual management tools in any business organization. An insight into virtual management tools and their significance therefore facilitates an understanding of the current and future state of project management. Team players can for example use several collaboration tools to overcome decentralization challenges and to support team collaboration and sharing of ideas towards ensuring successful project implementation. The use of virtual management tools, in addition to creating a contemporary type of project management, identifies potential challenges that may arise during project implementation especially in an oil-producing environment. Applied tools in an oil-producing environment should for instance aid development of exceptional leadership qualities, highly performing team play ers, clarity of methodology and knowledge at the point of exploit. A good example is the installation and use of real time sensors that offers a proactive approach to asset management in an oil producing company. Literature Review Virtual management tools play important roles in coordinating virtual teams towards a cohesive environment. This is because virtual management tools initiates attachment among team members that can either between the members themselves or between a member and the organization. The association among team members is however identified to be more significant in developing cohesion among virtual team members (Ren, et al, 2012). The significance of such a developed level of cohesion among virtual team

The Reason Why the Developing countries are not developing Essay

The Reason Why the Developing countries are not developing - Essay Example The question that puzzles the minds of many economists, politicians and the general population pertains to why the developing countries are not developing. This is due to the fact that they have remained underdeveloped for more than a century and very few show signs of becoming industrialized or developed in the near future. The objective of this paper is to explore why and what measures make a country be categorized as a developing country. It will also discuss why there is the lack of development in these countries. The development of a nation is usually measured with statistical indexes such as life expectancy, income per capita, gross domestic product (GDP), and literacy rate among others.2 A Human Development Indicator for the above statistics has been developed by the United Nations to measure the human development levels for countries where reliable data can be found. Based on these statistics, a country is categorized as developing when it has not yet achieved a considerable degree of industrialization relative to their population, and with low standards of living. These countries are also categorized as developing countries since they have low literacy levels, low income per capita, and short life expectancy. Why Developing Countries Are Still Not Developed Several reasons have been established as the leading factors contributing to underdevelopment in developing countries, first being lack of infrastructure. Most of these developing countries have not yet taken the initiative of investing enough to construct the infrastructure that boosts the efficiency of both capital inputs and labor.3 The main reason is that it is generally costly to install an infrastructure as it requires a large capital expenditure. However, since most of these countries are still poor, they are not in a position to invest much in the infrastructure. Infrastructure is important for the development of a nation. For example, hospitals are necessary to maintain the health of the wo rking population. Roads are also important to promote trade and attract investments in a country. Lack of good highways usually increases the cost of transport, thus hampering trade. Good housing as an infrastructure is also necessary to shelter the working population. Moreover, growth of urban areas is dependent on investment in infrastructure. However, all these infrastructural facilities being either unavailable or poor is what hamper development in developing countries; this is evident in countries such as Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Syria among others. Lack of skills has also been singled out as a factor contributing to underdevelopment in developing countries.4 Development of a country is highly dependent on the literacy level of the population and the ability to embrace the use of technology. This is what has made countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany, and France to become fully developed. China is also a new country that was a decade ago considered as a dev eloping country has embraced the use of technology. This has moved it from a developing country to an industrial one. However, most developing countries lack the skills and the proper education to enable its population to employ the use of techno

International Politics Explain why foreign aid does not work as Essay

International Politics Explain why foreign aid does not work as intended in Competitive, Individualistic, Cooperative views - Essay Example Many scholars have formulated views on why foreign aid is a venture doomed to fail. We examine the prospect using the competitive, individualistic and competitive views. The competitive view states that nations use foreign aid as a means of gaining political and economic advantage over other nations. What drives them is the desire to polarize power towards them. We can find many examples of this in history. The Cold War saw the Soviet Union and the United States pouring out aid to countries who pledge allegiance to them. Cuba saw crude oil worth billions of dollars coming from the USSR with the agreement that they let USSR build missile silos directed against major cities of the United States. The United States was also guilty of buying out allegiances such as pre-war Vietnam and the Philippines. Foreign aid fails to fulfill its function of helping others because allegiances imply certain trade-offs. Trade liberalization, for example, opens up the poor country's market to the donor. What happens is that the local industry fails to grow because they can't compete with the highly mechanized firms of the donor. Donors would also require that the poor c ountry direct majority of its export destinations to them and prohibit them from doing any kind of business with the other 'competitors'.

Is Communism Considered To Be Evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Is Communism Considered To Be Evil - Essay Example Still, it is important to note that public’s needs and wants are the basic and fundamental controlling factor that is going to determine the level of governance’s quality in both democratic and communistic systems. The public interest will have to be met in order to save reign of any kind. The communistic mechanism of the government fundamentally works towards suppressing the individual and personal needs so that collective benefits can be disseminated in the society. The communistic system is considered a crude method of governance because it is more prone towards experiencing corruption. The higher probability of corruption is stemming out of absence of any formal way of accountability in the featured type of governance system (Hardt pp.348). The humans are of the view that they are equals and therefore, should be allowed to decide their representatives who will in turn work towards maximization of public interest. The freedom of speech and choice are believed to the antecedent of applying democratic system whereas, the success of democracy is strongly linked with individualistic dimension of the culture. The China is effectively following communism (Steinmuller pp.481) through socialism because its indigenous culture is having a collective outlook and because of this reason, the children are trained to work in terms of serving the society before fulfillment of self interest. The common belief in Chinese community states that once an individual does his or her job then, government will take care of his or her needs. The Chinese governmental philosophy attempts to establish social equality in the community by assisting the people in meeting their basic needs and necessities. The Chinese society is housing substantial amount of population and therefore, they can take a holistic approach towards economic development. But, the people who have an individualistic orientation towards life consider communism as evil. The humans are popular for creating their own reality and some of them identify communism as evil because it suppresses personal and private freedoms while others view it as the means of achieving fiscal development and growth in a collective setting. Thusly, the human belief systems, attitudes and perceptions make a concept or an idea evil or noble. The Chinese economic development remained exemplary over the past few decades and therefore, it can be argued that communism is an effective source of achieving elementary objectives of governance. The problems originate in the light of Agency Theory when the national representatives do not successfully translate public interests into realities. In the presence of abovementioned condition the masses’ support towards any type of government is bound to decline and that is for sure. The communistic system is neither good nor bad in its essence but its deployment and application are going to determine its ethical value and quality. The only enemy of governmental effect iveness goes by the name of corruption and any system that represents corruption more than a certain level, is going to disintegrate sooner or later. The communistic approach in the direction of governance helped Russians in managing their national level issues and operations but things went south when governmental issues undervalued public interest so that they can meet their own personal agendas. The marginal public support for the government played a significant role in causing the breakage of Soviet Union and one communistic

The female form superimposed onto a natural landscape can be seen as a Essay

The female form superimposed onto a natural landscape can be seen as a naturally beautiful,without connotations of sexism or sexual agenda - Essay Example As infants we all unconditionally love our mothers, we are tended by her hands, suckle on her bosom and kissed by her. The comeliness of women- her curves and shape are features that are characteristic of Nature as well. Across eastern cultures, the features of a woman have been compared to instances of Nature. In fact, Nature in itself is considered feminine because of being beautiful and hence, we can see that beauty and woman are synonymous to each other. To portray the real divine beauty of women, it was considered essential by artists to depict them raw and unclad i.e. naked. It is a movement since ancient times which is rampant even till this date. A classic example of a nude painting is Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon.1 In Picasso’s favorite cubist form, the painting shows a group of nude women where the shapes of the women are taken from multiple perspectives all conjoined together at once, providing a menagerie of angles to look from and admire the beauty of a woman. Through my paintings I have tried to bring both the beautiful creations together i.e. Woman and Nature. The portrayal of the nude female form in a natural landscape is beautiful many times over. In a world such as we live in today, sadly, nudity and sexuality have attained similar connotations. Deluged by ad-campaigns, movie clichà ©s and other forms of media, we believe that nudity is important for sex appeal. What shocks me is that women itself are blinkered and misled, tending to believe that nudity is a prerequisite for being attractive. Through my paintings, I have tried to depict the original concept of beauty which has permeated the world since ancient times and has inspired mankind to arts and culture. Like any other person, I am intrigued by both Women and Nature and through my paintings I have tried to elucidate myself and others of the real essence of pulchritudinous and have violated the current concept of the sexual imagery of a naked woman.

Stage 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stage 1 - Essay Example Annual reports comprise the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows. This paper compares and contrasts the financial statements of Amazon, Apple, and eBay for the period of 2009-2013. Liquidity ratios are financial metrics used to determine a company’s ability to pay off its short-term debts obligations. A higher liquidity ratio indicates a company has a larger safety margin to cover short-term debts. The most widely used liquidity ratios are the quick ratio, current ratio, and the operating cash flow ratio. From the above analysis of the 2010-2013 financial statements of Amazon, Apple, and EBay, several comparisons on the performance of the firms can be deduced. Over the five-year period, all the three companies experience a dip in financial health. The current ratio of the three companies drops yearly from 1.33, 2.02, and 2.32 in 2009 to 1.07, 1.08, and 1.84 in 2013 for Amazon, Apple, and eBay respectively. EBay has the highest current ratio indicating that it is the financially strongest followed by Apple and then Amazon. The managers at Amazon are not generating enough returns on assets. This is indicated by the low return on assets over the five-year period. Managers at Apple are generating stable returns on assets with an average of 20% ROA over the five-year period. On the other hand, managers at eBay are generating unstable returns on assets as indicated by the volatile figures over the five-year period. Amazon’s average return on capital over the five-year period is 4% while Apple’s average return on capital is 33%. On the other hand, the average return on capital for eBay is 14%. From this figures, Apple managers at Apple are providing the highest return on capital followed by managers at eBay and finally managers at

The female form superimposed onto a natural landscape can be seen as a Essay

The female form superimposed onto a natural landscape can be seen as a naturally beautiful,without connotations of sexism or sexual agenda - Essay Example As infants we all unconditionally love our mothers, we are tended by her hands, suckle on her bosom and kissed by her. The comeliness of women- her curves and shape are features that are characteristic of Nature as well. Across eastern cultures, the features of a woman have been compared to instances of Nature. In fact, Nature in itself is considered feminine because of being beautiful and hence, we can see that beauty and woman are synonymous to each other. To portray the real divine beauty of women, it was considered essential by artists to depict them raw and unclad i.e. naked. It is a movement since ancient times which is rampant even till this date. A classic example of a nude painting is Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon.1 In Picasso’s favorite cubist form, the painting shows a group of nude women where the shapes of the women are taken from multiple perspectives all conjoined together at once, providing a menagerie of angles to look from and admire the beauty of a woman. Through my paintings I have tried to bring both the beautiful creations together i.e. Woman and Nature. The portrayal of the nude female form in a natural landscape is beautiful many times over. In a world such as we live in today, sadly, nudity and sexuality have attained similar connotations. Deluged by ad-campaigns, movie clichà ©s and other forms of media, we believe that nudity is important for sex appeal. What shocks me is that women itself are blinkered and misled, tending to believe that nudity is a prerequisite for being attractive. Through my paintings, I have tried to depict the original concept of beauty which has permeated the world since ancient times and has inspired mankind to arts and culture. Like any other person, I am intrigued by both Women and Nature and through my paintings I have tried to elucidate myself and others of the real essence of pulchritudinous and have violated the current concept of the sexual imagery of a naked woman.

Geographic Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Geographic Information Systems Essay The future prospects of geographic technologies such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems), satellite images, remote sensing, and more are increasingly discussed in literature (Matthews and Herbert 2005). Today, GIS software can be used in a highly efficient way. In 18 years, people are likely to be amazed by what is being done with it. This paper projects the possible impacts of the technologies for the public service and democratic society of Auckland in the year 2025. The capabilities of GIS will be analysed. In doing so, an overview of GIS is followed by an analysis of the relationship between this technology and democratic values and implications of this relationship for Auckland society. Future Horizons Hardware and software costs for both personal computers and workstations have been declining steadily during recent years. This trend, combined with the rapid increases in technology development, will dramatically benefit the GIS market. Geographic data are of great size and require several unique hardware and software adaptations for data entry, processing, and output (Donaldson 120). These adaptations include hardware equipment and digitizers, scanners, and plotters. With a healthy development of GIS market, these adaptations will become more sophisticated, easier to use, and less expensive. The GIS market also will supply a variety of hardware and software innovations from which to choose. Bottom-Up GIS In the year 2025, GIS will be cheaper, faster, easier to use, and supplied with more and better data. As large amounts of local data will become easily available in GIS format, the outlook for GIS in local area planning will look very bright. Besides using GIS to inform and analyze in the traditional sense, planners will consider using it as a cognitive tool. In this new approach, people learn to use GIS data to exchange their views concerning planning processes, neighborhood issues, and future wishes. This new view of how GIS can be used in planning emerged from recent concern that traditional use of GIS in planning is top-down, controlled, and technicist (Brown 246). Donaldson (2002) have noted that GIS that is merely technological in orientation will fail to address important issues. Therefore, it is likely that GIS will be used in local communities in a way that is not technicist in a fundamental way. One could predict that GIS will have a more democratic approach to planning in which the processes of communication and interaction are considered. As a result, GIS will be used in a bottom-up way that will let the citizens of Auckland characterize their local environment. As a way to ensure a more bottom-up approach to GIS, planners will focus on the inclusion of local knowledge in GIS. There are some examples in regard to planning. Some researchers (Craig Elwood 1998) studied how local knowledge was incorporated in the creation of GIS databases. Such information as how residents value their homes or their feelings about the concerns of a given area was incorporated. Because these approaches have an objective to provide local residents with greater access to GIS, they are integrated with other community-based uses of GIS (Matthews and Herbert 2005). New approaches will enable residents to use GIS to communicate how they perceive their neighborhood or the locality in which they live, via their description, evaluation, or propositions for their local environment. New approach will be both the tool used to explore an issue and the means of its expression. It will be using GIS as a spatial language tool to have access to local knowledge and communicating residents observations, rather than presenting only objective facts. With this new approach, the citizens of Auckland will be able to redefine the questions asked within GIS. For instance, â€Å"Where are roads most overcrowded? † becomes â€Å"What streets do I consider as inconvenient due to traffic jam? † â€Å"What is the location of parks relative to the location of children? † becomes â€Å"What parks are most frequently visited in my neighborhood and how many children use them? † (Craig Elwood 104) The answers of the residents to the first type of question create an entirely different image than the answers to the second type. The result is that the content of the analysis may be significantly improved. Using this new approach, analysis of residents observations that result through traditional visioning processes in answers such as â€Å"We need to have a better system of transporting† become answers such as â€Å"Here are places where we need to travel and where we prefer to travel,† and â€Å"Here is where we at present can and cannot travel† (Donaldson, 189).

Employees Motivation of Ernst & Young in Malaysia

Employees Motivation of Ernst & Young in Malaysia The purpose of this research is to study the factors that affect the motivation of Ernst Young employees in Malaysia branches. Also explore how these motivation theories influence Ernst Young to its employees and be able to recommend new motivational programs to the management that will improve the current motivational practices of the employees. Objectives: To identify the motivational factors that motivate Ernst Young employee To investigate how Maslow Hierarchy Theory affect the motivation To understand the important reasons why employees retain or leave in the company and how motivation theories have emerged in attract talent employees To find out the role of leadership and management in motivating employee in Ernst Young Research Question: How the effects of compensation/salary and rewards to employee motivation? How does teamwork affect work performance and motivation? How do achievement and recognition affect motivation and job satisfaction? Introduction: Motivation is define as The willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need (Stephen P. Robbins, 1998). On the other hand, employee motivation is defined psychological forces that determine the direction of a persons behavior in an organization, a persons level of effort and a persons level of persistence (Gareth R, Jennifer M GEORGE Charles WL HILL, 2000). Employee motivation is a key to the overall effectiveness of an organization. In the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs consists of five different levels, which included physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. This theory explains that employees at organizations are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires (Maslow, 1943). If a lower level need is not met, the person is less motivates to attend the higher level needs until it has been satisfied. While the expectancy theory attempt to explain workers motivation in terms of rewards. This theory assumes that people make rational decisions based on economic realities (Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A., Cole, N., 2003). According to V. H. Vroom suggested that people on purposely choose particular courses of action, based on perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, as a consequence of their desires (V. H. Vroom, 1964). In other words, Expectancy theory is emphasizes on individual perceptions of the surroundings and connections arising as a consequence of personal expectations. At the present, compensation is necessary to employee motivation. If a company can satisfied an employee financial needs, the employee would naturally be motivated to work harder. Besides that, leadership also affects employee motivation. A successful leader has a different view in the chain of command. He recognizes the importance of influencing the follower gently towards a desired goal (Miller, 1996). He does not force or pushed the followers to accomplish the goal of the organization (Maccoby, 1996). Company Background: Ernst Young is recognized as one of the largest professional services firms in the world and global organization of member firms in more than 140 countries (Ernst Young, 2010). Its international headquarters are located in London, UK and New York, US. Currently the company surrounded of 144,000 employees globally (Ernst Young, 2010). Ernst Young Malaysia was established in 1909 and it was one of the first internationally linked public accounting firms in the country (Ernst Young Malaysia, 2010). In 2002, one of the first Bumiputra accounting firm in Malaysia founded by Hanafiah, Raslan Mohamad in 1964 are became a member firm of Ernst Young. Ernst Young is now the largest professional services firms with more than 2,300 employees in 17 offices in West and East Malaysia (Ernst Young Malaysia, 2009). Ernst Young Malaysia is a market leader in the provision of assurance and advisory business services, tax and transaction advisory services, serving a board array of clients, cov ering all industries and market segments. Significance of Study: This research aims is to conduct research and examine the current factors that motivates the employees in Ernst Young Malaysia. Besides that, this project also explore the factor influencing work motivation and job satisfaction for getting better performance and high productivity. The essence of that approach is to create basic conditions regarding changing job characteristics that promote high performance motivation, high satisfaction at work and match the job with the individual. Literature Review: Previously employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and services in the organization point of view (James R. Lindner, 2010). Nevertheless the Hawthorne Studies has changed the way for organization to think about the employees (Elton Mayo, 1924 to 1932). These studies found out that monetary needs do not motivate employees toward full potential, but it is the employee attitudes and behavior (Elton Mayo, 1924 to 1932). To better understand the employees motivation, management has to realize the whole concept of motivation. There are many motivation theories developed by the researches and theorists examine on what motivated employees and how they were motivated. The most fundamental theory of motivation is Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. And it has become one of the most popular and frequently cited theories of human motivation. The theory consists of five different levels, which are physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. This theory explains that employees at organizations are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires (Maslow, 1943). According to Abraham Maslow, the most basic needs are physiological. Physiological needs are refer to those that sustain physical life, such as the need for food. Subsequently are safety needs, the want for physiological safety such as shelter. Next is a social need, is the need for friendship, social and love. In the need for self-esteem is referring to accomplish self-respect or to feel that one is  worthwhile and successful. Finally, there self-actualization is for self-fulfillm ent and to achieve all that one is potentially capable of. These two growths need to drive the person to want recognition from others, development, challenge, and the freedom to be creative and innovative. Daniels (2001) recommended that Maslows final conclusion that the self-actualization is inspiring in their nature may be one of his most important contributions to the study of human behavior and motivation (Daniels, 2001). There are several studies that have been concluded based on Maslow hierarchy to support the suggestions of William James (1892/1962) and Mathes (1981). William James theorized the levels of material, social, and spiritual. While Mathes proposed the three levels were physiological, belonginess, and self-actualization. Nevertheless he considered safety and self-esteem as unnecessary. In addition, Alderfer (1972) has developed a similar hierarchy with his ERG theory, which included Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. He adapted Maslows theory based on the effort of Gordon Allport (1960, 1961) who integrated concepts from systems theory into his work on personality. The expectancy theory assumes that people make rational decisions based on economic realities (Kreitner and Kinicki, 1998). Vaida (2003) claimed that incentives used to reward excellent performance and in work processes. Additionally, Hoy and Miskel (1991) agree that incentives such as money, power, as well as general incentives that are non-material. Acoording to V. H. Vroom (1964) suggested that people intentionally makes certain courses of action, based on their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, as a consequence of their desires (V. H. Vroom, 1964). In other words, Expectancy theory is emphasizes individual perceptions of the environment and subsequent interactions arising as a consequence of personal expectations (V. H. Vroom, 1964). These theories on the other hand are motivation theories that focus o n the internal attributes of the individual. Caruth Handlogten (2001) claimed that compensation can enhance the employee motivation. Compensation may refer to monetary or non-monetary, tangible or intangible, and physical or psychological, and these are offered to the employees for more productivity (Caruth Handlogten, 2001). If a company can satisfied an employee financial needs, the employee would naturally be motivated to work harder. However paying an employee will not retain them for a long period in the organization. To retain an employee and to keep him motivated and inspired, an employee must be empowered (Bratton, 1999). Empowered allows employee feels the ownership of business and make decision on their own which can increase its confidence by enhancing decision making power (Bratton, 1999). In the recent research from Watson Wyatt Worldwide, recommends that to attract the greatest employees, companies need to pay more than the average-paying in the market (Ira Kay and Bruce Pfau, 2001). Money provides most basic em ployees motivation. The leadership style of the managers also is important to implementation of the motivation programs. Quantitative studies conducted in the past showed positive relationship between leadership behavior and job satisfaction (Euske et al, 1982; Savery, 1994). A Managers leadership style contributes directly to the employees motivation and work satisfaction, and the work progress in the organization. A successful leader has a different view in the chain of command. He recognizes the importance of influencing the follower gently towards a desired goal (Miller,  1996). He does not force or pushed the followers to accomplish the goal of the organization (Maccoby, 1996). McConnell (1998) suggests that leader should spend more time to get to know his followers better. Leaders should pay attention to details regarding on their followers. Methodology: There are four major components apply into this research and shows its relationship to the employee motivation. This research consists of only 5 variables. The dependant variable would be Employee Motivation and the independent variable is included Maslow Hierarchy, Expectancy Theory, Compensation and Leadership Management. The theoretical framework for this research as bellow: Maslow Hierarchy Expectancy Theory Employee Motivation Compensation Leadership Management INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE The research method is qualitative for this study by a survey method. The total population of employees in Ernst Young Malaysia is 2300 in 2009. Further research will conducted to identify the present population. However, the target population for survey is all employees on the all the 17 office. In the data collection process, primary data is using to accomplish in this research. Employees will be sampled through convenience sampling in this research. So of the employees who do not want to participate in the study will be subtracted from the 100% original samples. A structured questionnaire will be designed for the purpose of this research. The questionnaire will contain 30 questions that would help identify the motivating factors of employees in Ernst Young.

Essay example --

Megan Moore Composition 2 A. Gaffney March 11, 2014 To Dope or Not to Dope: The Answer is No As most New York Yankee fans know, Alex Rodriguez finished the 2013 baseball season with 654 home-runs on his career. 654. He is currently fifth in home-run record books. Sadly for A-Rod fans, there will be no 2014 season. Following a lengthy bout with the MLB, Rodriguez was suspended after testing positive for PEDs--testosterone supplements to be exact. Tied to the, now-closed, Biogenesis clinic, Rodriguez and (at least) a dozen others are in the spotlight for cheating the game they love. Non-baseball fans might recognize the name Lance Armstrong: multi-cancer survivor, cyclist and guilty of cheating his sport as well. These two, among several others, are the posterboys for a dark era in athletics. As most people would agree, steroids and other drugs are a major problem in athletics today, not just for the athletes but for those of us who enjoy a just, fair, clean game. For many, many years, doping has been an integral part of athletic society. Research believes that doping derives roots back in ancient Greek and Roman culture, 776 B.C (Baron)! Granted PEDs back in the day were god-awful mixtures of herbs, drugs, and alcohol, the drugs athletes are taking now are just as bad. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and the president of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), explains the different side-effects of steroids. As a ringside physician of boxing matches, she’s listened to the boxers talk about performance-enhancing drugs. Fighters using dope described the horrible consequences: heart, kidney, liver, bone, brain and psychiatric ailment (Goodman). Recently, there is a push for the legalization of steroids and various other PE... ...cles and testosterone. Where’s the fun in knowing someone is cheating a sport they love? As more and more athletes come under-fire, the accomplishments of well-to-do athletes are covered up. How many baseball fans knew Johan Santana, a former Minnesota Twin, threw his first no-hitter in 2012? This no-hitter was also the first in the new York Mets team history. Meanwhile, that same season, favorites like Melky Cabrera and Bortolo Colon, among others, were suspended after testing positive for PEDs. Not only are performance-enhancing drugs destroying our athletes’ bodies, they are destroying the sports we enjoy. The athletes we look up to are leaving a negative effect on the children looking up to them. If we allow this practice to continue, or even worse, legalize steroids, we run the risk of hurting our athletes, our students and the good integrity of our sports.

Oedipus and Tiresias :: Essays Papers

Oedipus and Tiresias Oedipus and Tiresias, characters of Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," are propelled to their individual destinies by their peculiar relationships with truth. Paranoid and quick to anger Oedipus, is markedly different from the confident and self-assured Tiresias. In the dialogue between the two men, Oedipus rapidly progresses from praise of Tiresias as a champion and protector of Thebes in line 304, to blatantly accusing the blind prophet of betraying the city in line 331, to angrily insulting him in line 334. Rather than be intimidated by the protagonist's title and temperament, Tiresias draws strength from what he knows is true and is able to stand his ground. In this play, power and strength come from the knowledge of truth. Ironically, blind Tiresias, who has the ability to see the truth, becomes enslaved to his own knowledge. Knowing the truth about Oedipus enlists him in the designs of fate as the catalyst of Oedipus' destructive revelation. The prophet takes strength in knowing what he knows is true but, as he says in line 316, he is not able to profit from the knowledge. Forced into dispute with the king of Thebes, by playing off of the anxieties of the main character, the simple power of knowing what another does not know protects Tiresias. Gradually Tiresias' and Oedipus' relationships with the truth are revealed as that of knowledge and ignorance, respectively. The anxieties that plague Oedipus, making him weak and prone to paranoia, are rooted in the obscurity of his origins. In response to accusations made by Oedipus, Tiresias declares that he is neither a conspirator in a scheme concocted by Oedipus' paranoid mind, nor his supplicant. Rather, Tiresias states that he is a slave of Loxias: the ambiguous one. In whatever manner the mechanics of Tiresias' prophetic sight function, to understand the nature of truth, they must include deciphering the ambiguous. As a true slave of Loxias, he is incapable of directly telling Oedipus the truth but always speaks enigmatically. An extreme annoyance to Oedipus, such seemingly vague speech may be the only way that the truth may be expressed. Tiresias is thus fluent in the language of truth and is speaking to Oedipus, who claims to excel in deciphering riddles, in the clearest manner. Tiresias knows who Oedipus' parents are, and he knows that the revelation of Oedipus' genealogy will cause the foundations of Oedipus' identity to crumble, simultaneously destroying one man and causing another man to come into being.