What is the globalization and impact of drug trafficking Research Paper

What is the globalization and impact of drug trafficking - Research Paper Example e international consumption increasing greatly, the people engaged in the administration have also participated in this trade forgetting about the negative impacts it imparts on the general population and hampering the future. Although in the recent years genuine efforts have been given on reducing the drug trafficking by focusing on the supply side, demand side in this paper is highlighted as a more important dimension for attaining solutions. Intensification of the term ‘globalization’ is indeed a dominant phenomenon unleashing its practicability in diversified gesture from the second half of the twentieth century to the instance we are standing today1. Technically speaking, theme of globalization encompasses around the notion that, nation states are intertwined with information exchange along with amalgamating culture, religion, tradition, business practices and so on2. Now within the domain of business perspective globalization among its multifarious dimensions imparts a significant part. Globalization has brought many opportunities but at the same time has imposed a lot of critical challenges and adverse effects. Drug trafficking is one such arena where the adverse effects of globalization has made its full interventions. Rational individuals are required to be bestowed with tasks of analyzing, understanding as well as harnessing the benefits for eliminating the negative consequences that come with it. Th e paper will be discussing the negative impacts of globalization with respect to drug trafficking (special emphasis on Latin American countries) with an attempt to find out potential solution to curb down its evil effects. From theoretical perspectives globalization can be visualized as a platform where the private organizations are operating in a global forefront with a disciplined behavior with equilibrium occurring at the intersecting point of demand and supply curves. Similarly it can be stated that the market of illicit drugs and its trafficking

Articulate Thought Essay Example for Free

Articulate Thought Essay â€Å"Articulate speech marks [people] out as [individuals] and in some settings, this can be rather dangerous because people are often suspicious and frightened of articulateness. † (Humanities). Articulateness describes a person’s ability to express an idea coherently. A well articulated idea, concept or opinion, does not use proof based on a fallacy to back up its view. When people speak or write articulately, they are able to convey a message to others in a way that cannot be distorted. It can even be said, â€Å"[a]rticulateness builds the human community. † (Humanities) Without the ability to understand each other there would be no way for a society to function. Each person would not be able to communicate a message from his or her thoughts to another person, thus any sort of teamwork would be impossible. It is the understanding of others’ ideas told to a person in a way more specific than basic gestures or grunts that allows humans to be more successful in groups than any animal. Properly expressed thoughts are the best way to communicate in any form of society, because failing to articulate properly often leads to misinterpretation. A lack of articulation, and thus a lack of complete understanding, leads to people being misinformed. Sometimes people in power use the ability to misinform others to their advantage. By deliberately explaining campaigns vaguely so that the general public does not fully understand, people in power, or people who wish to be in power, can skew facts in their favour. â€Å"We are taught to read and write so that we can obey the traffic signs and to cipher so that we can make out our income tax† (Humanities), but people are deliberately expected to maintain only a level of intelligence sufficient to allow them to participate in society at a minimal level. People are kept in a docile state so that they will not question generally accepted ideas proposed by the government. People are only provided with education to a level insufficient to challenge the inarticulate ideas of those considered superiors. The general public is expected to automatically respect the opinions of superiors, and the people considered more powerful in society are thus able to fool the unintelligent general public. If campaigns proposed by governments were explained articulately, the people would be able to understand the true intent and make fully informed decisions. Privileged to all of the information, the general public would be able to spot any deceptions and each campaign would be subjected to scrutiny. Inarticulateness is nearly as powerful a tool as true articulateness, in some respects. By extending the human capacity of knowledge further than allowed in fundamental schooling, it is possible to overcome the system that attempts to keep society unintelligent. People are able to absorb and think about ideas of others that they have not physically met or spoken to through reading well-written literature. The more people read and are able to understand literature, the more they will develop their own articulate ideas. â€Å"As we challenge ourselves to read more and more difficult literature, we become able to extend ourselves further† (Literature). Literature allows people to â€Å"[leap] over the boundaries that usually separate us from other selves and worlds† (Literature) and increase each person’s base of knowledge substantially. It is only with prior knowledge of a subject that humans are able to intelligently articulate their ideas. However, society is not quick to embrace the powers that articulate thought gives individuals. People do not wish to pick up books unless they are necessary for their immediate success in a submissive society. â€Å"A society like ours doesn’t have much interest in literacy† (Humanities). Governments work to keep society in a level of cautious unintelligence, and are hesitant to embrace articulate ideas because they are truly powerful things. Powerful and well articulated ideas often lead to change, and change is something most people are apprehensive of. People with individual thoughts are marked out and scorned by the masses, and in many less democratic countries than Canada radical thinkers are silenced by means of intimidation or imprisonment. â€Å"Understanding and articulateness lead to [government’s] destruction† (Humanities). The government, as we know it, the system that works in a way which is not always beneficial to the general public because society remains afraid to challenge, could not exist. A well-articulated idea that goes against the government can cause upheaval in society. If people were to act on those ideas and rebel against laws put in place by the government, any sort of order would be in a state of constant flux, moving from one extreme to another. Without radicals, there would be no forward movement in humanity. Radicals such as Aristotle, who believed that there was a proper way to think and that many of the things society automatically accepts as truths are nothing more than fallacy, were scorned during their lifetimes. Many scholars’ ideas were immediately dismissed because people were frightened of their ability to articulate ideas that were radically different from those commonly held. In society there is a nature ingrained into each person, a feeling that one singled from the group will be defenseless and vulnerable. This instinct may be a result of evolution, something that humans needed in order to survive. Now it could be said the need that humans feel to conform to a group because it is presumed safer, is holding society back. Radical thinkers move humanity forward. The need for acceptance, and the desire to fit in rather than stand out in a community is something common to each person. â€Å"Young adolescents today often betray a curious sense of shame about speaking articulately† (Humanities). There is an almost paralyzing fear shared by many people, most noticeably in school children but in adults as well, of not only public speaking but also even raising their hands in a classroom setting. A child asked to give a speech to a classroom of peers about a topic, to share ideas and opinions unique to that child, will often become frightened that his or her opinions will not be shared by the rest of the class. The need for acceptance is often greater than the need to articulate and stand out. People in many cases would rather believe and agree with an idea that they have valid reason to believe to be false in order to be part of a community than voice their own opinion and be rejected. Fallacies are a barrier created by the structure of society in order to discourage articulate thought. People are often afraid of articulateness because it conveys well-formed and direct ideas, something uncommon in society. Humans are naturally afraid of something that is unfamiliar to them. An intelligent individual who thinks differently from the masses, even if his or her idea is perfectly valid and conveyed in such a way that makes their reasoning clear, are often ridiculed because society tends to accept fallacies as proof of validity. An example of a commonly believed fallacy is Circulous probando, or â€Å"thinking in circles† (Think). This term created by Aristotle, â€Å"often entails joining an intellectual herd charging round and round† (Think). The drive that humans have, the instinct to stay equal with the group both in a physical sense and an intellectual respect, leads society to want to believe in fallacies. The notion that if â€Å"everybody thinks such and such; it must be so for the simple reason that everybody thinks it is so† (Think). is safe. If everyone in the group believes a fallacy, those people are all on the same level intellectually, and there is safety in numbers. No one in the group will be singled out. The more people believe in something, be it fallacy or truth, the more likely it is that other people will believe the same simply because it is commonly accepted. This way of thinking can be detrimental to a group of people, because if the group believes in commonly held fallacies over intelligent articulate thought. â€Å"The surest way to destroy freedom is to destroy the capacity to articulate freely. † (Humanities) Without articulate freedom, human society will never progress or evolve.

Marketing analysis of texas instruments inc

Marketing analysis of texas instruments inc The company was founded in 1930 and adopted the name of Texas Instrument Incorporated in 1951. It entered the market of semiconductor in 1954 and was the first company to go global. Texas Instrument (TI) is famous for inventing the integrated circuit in 1958, thanks to Jack Killby who won the Physic Nobel Prize in 2000, and the handheld calculator in 1967. TI has always been among the Top 10 of the semiconductor sales leaders. In 2010, TI had revenue of 13.97 billions of dollars (see table below): TI has a 1.20 billion of dollars capital expenditures and cumulates worldwide about 38,000 patents. The company got a global presence in manufacturing, design or sales operations in 30 countries, which represents more than 80,000 customers worldwide for about 28,400 employees. The headquarters are based in Dallas, Texas in the United States. Rich Templeton is the chairman, President and CEO of Texas Instruments. The main products of the company are Semiconductors (Amplifiers Linear, Audio, Automotive, Clocks Timers, Data Converters, Interface, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Processors), DLPÂ ® TV, Projectors, Cinema and Calculators Education Technology. TI has always been among the Top 10 of the semiconductor sales leaders. In 2010 TI is ranking 4 behind Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba Semiconductors. Its other main competitors are Microchip Technology, Cypress Semiconductor, Integrated Device Technology and Xilinx. TI has the largest market share (14%) in the semiconductor industry which has an estimated market of 37 billions of dollar according to latest reports from Gartner. (See table below). This report will represent the main marketing activities of Texas Instruments Incorporated. The report has three parts: firstly, the organisations orientation, secondly, the audit (external and internal) of the organization and thirdly, the impact of the organisations marketing mix (positive and negative). TI orientation CONCEPT (Rajshekhar Raj 2006) To reach the goals of TI orientation, it has to be a relationship between the customer relationship management and the international service marketing research like it shows in the figure above. In order to make profits and increase the market share of a company, organisations have to develop marketing strategies. The idea is to reach the customer by meeting his needs and expectations. By understanding the market (surveys and researches), the company can make marketing decisions and implement a long term relationship strategies. Kotler said Todays successful companies have one thing in common: their success comes from a strong customer focus and heavy commitment to marketing. (Kotler.et.al. 2005) The modern marketing concept can be expressed as: The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs and expectations better than the competition.(Jobber. 2010:4) Marketing Concept The meeting of customer needs better than the expectations and the competition Integrated effort All staff accepts the responsibility for creating customer satisfaction Goal achievement The belief that corporate goals can be achieved through customer satisfaction Customer Orientation Corporate activities are focused On providing customer satisfaction (Jobber: 2010:4) All companies, and so on Texas Instruments that interest us, have the choice between 4 main marketing orientations: Product orientation Products that have good innovative characteristics and also the best quality that might match the customers needs and their satisfactions criteria; this is considered as an investment for the business in order to continue their sales strategies. (Kotler.et.al.2005) Sales orientation The Company constructs a large-scale of selling, promotion, and advertising without any concerns about customer satisfaction. (Kotler.et.al.2005) Production orientation To focus on minimized production cost in order to attract more customers, to attain economies of scales by having a limited range of products. (Jobber.2010:4); the company takes into account the competitions and market segments to focus on the cost of the product and its production range. (Jobber: 2010:5) Production capabilities: Focus of the production orientation. Manufacture product: the production line or cycle from the suppliers to the customer. Aggressive sales effort: Effort to sell and develop the marketing of the products. Customers: Customers who are demanding the products. Marketing orientation The Company must stay close to their customer and understand their need and problems. (Jobber. 2010:5) Figure 6: Marketing Orientation (Jobber 2010:5) This figure shows the approach to follow to reach the customers by understanding the potential market opportunities and the marketing products and services and by responding to the demanded requirements. (Jobber 2010:5-6) TI ORIENTATION THE COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE OF TI According to Michael Porter, the Competitive Advantage grows out of value a firm is able to create for their buyer that is exceeds the firms cost of creating it. Value is what buyer are willing to pay, and superior value stems from offering lower prices than competitor for equivalent benefit or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. There are two basics type of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation. (Porter, M. 1985:3) With other words, the competitive advantage can be achieved by creating a differential advantage or achieving the lower cost position (Johnson, 8th edition, 2009). There are two different competitive strategies to have an advantage on the competitors: the differentiation of the product and the cost of the product. The main analysis of competitive advantage is the Generic Strategy of Porter. The company has a relative position within an industry is given by its choice of competitive advantage: Cost Leadership versus Differentiation and its choice of competitive scope: firm targets broad industry segment or focuses on a narrow segment. (Jobber, 2010:714) The business makes a choice about the type and scope of its competitive advantages. (Porter, 1985, 12) We need now to take care of the external analysis and the internal analysis of TI marketing activities that will help TI to develop their own strategies. The internal view is based on industry structure and more precisely on decision of the Business. The (external) analysis of competitor is crucial to create a successful marketing strategy. (Porter, 1985) Audit of TI 1) PESTEL analysis When contemplated for the audit of Texas Instruments Inc., it is very much cognizance to utilize the PESTEL analysis for showcasing the frame work of macro-environmental factors. Texas instruments Incorporated are prominent in designing, manufacturing and selling of semi-conductors. It has four main segments involved that include Analog, Embedded Processing, Wireless and Other in which Analog and Embedded Processing is considered being the protuberant of primary growth eventually focusing its resources on the two segments. Political factors Initially excogitating the Political factors that lays high stake on the company takes to intervenes i.e.., its degree of intervene, effects of the interpose on the political stability of the company. In 2005, while positioning the portfolios, it has been judged that by the end of this decade, Texas Instruments Inc. will have an increase in the earning potential. Considering this, it has been noted that TXN has long term earning power and clearly witnessed at the present stage. (S.Parker2005: 01, Zipper.1992) Economic factors It is difficult to delineate dimensions and duration of the semi-conductor cycle. Earlier it was considered that if the situation strikingly disintegrates, or if the economy weakens, TXN is likely to outperform its rival and competitor, Intel. As contrary in direction, if the condition continues to improve, it will be highly difficult to judge the future performance of the company with respect to its benchmarked market position. (The Associated Guide.2011) In the earlier stages, TXN was pertained to the anticipation of cellular handset sales, especially from its then leading customer, Nokia. Due to some negative flow of news, the handsets where likely to under-perform during a short term (S.Parker.2005). Notable past event that accounts to the overall economic status of TXN: In order to justify the fact that TXN tried to cut short its dull portfolios and concentrate more on the growing markets with its RD, contemplating the earlier activities of TXN such as terminating a decades-long striving effort and endurance to survive in the computer line market, Texas instruments sold its business computer line to its then competitor, Hewlett-Packard. The above table and grapgh illustrates the distribution of revenue among TXNs four main segements As mentioned earlier, TXN focusses its resources mainly on Analog and Embedded Processing.The financial consequences of deficient or excess inventory levels in Texas Instruments Inc. i.e., the demand which varies with the past visualizations constitue to the economic factors that held stake over the company. Another issue added to it was the prejudice of Tis non-financial assests. Social factors Whilst sorting out the various factors that affects or holds stakes towards the company, social factors which includes cultural aspects, distribution ratios, change in social trends that has its own effects on the company, etc., are also considered to be imporatant as analysing these will help the company gain better knowledge over the industrial needs and the consumers perspective towards the company. Texas Instruments Incorporation has three main objectives towards increasing its revenue with respect to social factors. First objective being the growing of revenue at a much faster rate than that of the current market. The second being the growing of earnings per share at a higher pace that the obtained and obtaining revenue. The third main general objective towards its financial terms being the efficient usage of the captital. The countries where Tis suppliers and customers are located or operated has an varrying constituting level based on the social conditions of the countries which includes health conditions, security risks, varrying trasnportation facilities, fluctuation in the exchange rates of different currencies (Kurtz, Mac Kenzie, Snow209: 2011) The Corporate Responsibility magazine has announced Texas Instruments Inc. as one among the top corporate citizens for the ninth time with respect to the human rights, employee relations, governance, philanthrophy, environment, climatic changes and financial weightings (www.thecro.com. 2011) Ti(India) is the first multinational company setting its one of the largest RD centres for the first time time outside the USA. (www.ebonline.com c.2011) Technological factors Analysing the various factors influencing Ti, it becomes apparent that Ti focusses heavily on RD as it helps Ti to navigate through the competettive market. Innovation in technology plays a major role in making its products markettable. To levitate its products, one of the latest innovation was usage of Power Line Communication(PLC) which offers a cost effective mode of communication media for a broader magnitutde of applications. The above figure depicts that Texas Instruments( Ti) developers can optimize their applications based on their need and can modify to the new standards, (Olivier Monnier2010: 2) TI Delivers Flexible Power Line Communications Solutions The main components for its current top positioning appear to be flexible but Ti follows varying procedures to survive. One such is the procedure of periodically implementing new manufacturing technologies, equipments, testing methods and even with the subcontract services (Scarisbrick: 1996). The company along with its competitors strives with the best possible innovative products. However it is advisable for Ti to reduce its level of inventory except for the range of Analog (S.Parker2005: 15). Bringing out innovative products alone does not state a company in the top ranking list. Considering this, Ti also concentrates on the product life cycle developments. As it is well known that Ti does not concentrates much on the end users, it is important to get regular feedbacks regarding the product life cycle and its reliability. It arranges separate programs to carry on with these processes. (www.ti.com c. 2011, www.prnewswire.com c. 2010) Environmental factors Whilst analysing the environmental factors of Texas Instruments Incorporation, at present it is highly importunate to follow up the recent tragedy that happened in Japan causing a substantial loss of lives and materials including the manufacturing site of TXN bases on the cities of Miho and Aizu-wakamatsuthat, Japan. From the reports of the company, it is clear that TXN will reinstate its manufacturing site, initiating with many different line in the unit. TXN has set up alternate manufacturing sites for about 60% of the wafer production from the Miho plant. Some of the substantial damage at the Miho due to the earthquake: The delivery channels which includes its infrastructure systems were damaged but resetting those damages are in progress and expected to be over in a few weeks of time. The seems to be an unclear state in the manufacturing equipments due to the highly interepted power supply. On an over view it has been clearly noted that the Miho building has a very obtuse damage apparently making the main struture to be certified usable. TXN keenly recognizes the following important factors that might cause discernible results that differ from the expectation of the company such as: The change or revolutionize the market environment of semi-conductors especially in the principal markets like consumer electronics and consumer. At the present stage, the improvement in technology environment in the present stage has made Texas Instruments Inc. raise its ability to develop, manufacture and market its products. Considering the sour fact that the marketing strategies of Texas Instruments are considered to be unsatisfactory when compared with its counter parts, TXN competed in the highly competitive market with its innovative product and challenging prices (L.Shanklin1998: 10). Natural happenstances like drastic weather changes, floods, earthquakes and other calamities constitute to the environmental factors are overcome by the companys pre-stated strategies. Taking into account for the usage of eco-friendly products, Ti moves towards lead free products (www.ti.com c. 2011, www.prnewswire.com c. 2010). Legal factors For any multinational Plc, it is very much certain that there are many awaiting varying legal factors in different countries in which the other units are located. Now this becomes apparent for TXN to face such legal issues which might have greater effects on the company (www.prnewswire.com c. 2010). Legal factors recognized by TXN as major issues for the company: The license agreements between Ti and its stake holders tend to be different in different countries. The expiry of patent licenses and agreement might lead the other companies to capitalize over TXN, which follows by the risk of any apertures in the agreements due to the countrys laws. The changes in tax that are brought about by governments of various countries, the change in jurisdictions could cause outcomes such as instability in the tax audits. The product liability and warrantee differs from place to place depending upon the law prevalent. 2) SWOT Analysis Strengths: Obviously, Texas Instruments has been considered as pioneer and the leader in technology and innovations of semiconductor products ranging from defence, metallurgical and digital products. Its reputation and track record as an institution build TIs credibility and integrity in the market. The existing manpower and connoisseurship of the company and its technology used will always provide TI the leverage to significantly cut the production costs without compromising the quality of their products. The strategic global locations of the TIs expanded operations in North America, Asia and in Europe, paved the way for TI to widen its reach in the industry. The expanded operation in some parts of the world strengthens the brand recognition of TI being well known for its product innovation and diversification. TI is also aware of social and environment issues by continuous improvement on production safety improvement, community involvement and sustainability as it has been being awarded from The Worlds Most Ethical Companies Ranking since 2007 (Eethisphere 2011). All of these factors can be valuable resources to advance TIs market presence and increase its share in the industry. Weaknesses: Texas Instruments being a leader and one of Americas pioneers in electronic industry was far more focused on product development, innovation and diversification to the extent that it overlooked the marketing side of the business. Its concentration is on the technological development created the loophole of lacking the skilled and strategic marketing power of the company. This has been evidenced by the fact that the entire marketing arm of the company is heavily reliant on its distributors. Its dependency on the distributors weakens the companys capacity to saturate the market despite its prominent brands and quality products sold. Opportunities: The recent changes in market dynamics for electronics offered an opportunity for TI to evolve as an organization. This calls for the company to reorganise itself to cope with the demands in the changing market. This means that the existing organisational set up or structure has to be change to suit the existing market dynamics. It is therefore a chance for TI to grow and develop as an organisation at pace with time. Its recent innovations in the market also provided the platform for the company to establish an improved customer services. With the existing technologies and leadership in the industry, TI can afford to compete in the market through price matching and discount referral to its patrons. Also, its expertise and technological advancement being the trusted name in the industry can provide greater opportunity for TI to create product differentiation through intensive research and development schemes. This therefore changes the image of the companys products as commodities but rather can create an image as a technology and a brand. In this case, TI can therefore increase its market share through branding. Threats: The emergence of new competitors, introduction of global prising system that conforms the prices of distributors threatens the survival of Texas Instruments in the market. The emergence of new and innovative companies produces stiff competition in the market. TIs tendencies to lost share in the market are higher along with its loss of distributors who adopted global pricing system. TIs non-conformance to the latest trend of global pricing system threatens its business relationship with distributors who happened to be the companys backbone in and perhaps life blood in marketing. If it has to survive in the market, corresponding measures should be carried to address these existing threats. Alternatives/options: Based on the herein stated SWOT Analysis of TI there are options that needs to be considered in order for TI to survive in the market and increase its profitability. These alternatives are based on the principle of utilising its existing organisational strengths and opportunities to overcome its weakness and prevent the perceived and existing adverse effects of threats. The following alternatives are as follows: a. TI shall implement reorganisation/ restructuring This means that an organisational overhaul should be done. Its existing structure and set-up which was established to address the dynamics and development of the market several years back are no longer relevant or responsive to the existing market dynamics. Also, this allows TI to set up a new breed of leaders in the company who can understand and cope with the existing dynamics. Traditional knowledge in the industry should blend with the new trend of innovative market. It is very vital for TI to evolve as an organisation and operate according to the recent market developments. Its structure should be responsive to the prevailing market demands and procedural process. Once the organisational set up has been updated it is now ready to implement the succeeding changes in terms of marketing and financial strategies. b. Product Differentiation TI being a popular and well known for quality products in the market was the only advantage it has in the market. However, its technological advancement and continuing product innovation was not being utilised to differentiate its product from the normal commodities in the market. Thus, it is a best alternative for the company to emphasise its research and development capacities as an institution in the development of new and quality products. Thus, its research and development capacities and expertise as an organisation will be magnified in the market in order to create product differentiation of the TIs production. c. Direct Selling/Servicing to Small and Medium Businesses The untapped market segment of TI was the growing small and medium businesses. This happened due to TIs heavy reliance on distributors. It is one of the best marketing option that TI should engage direct business with the small and medium scale businesses in order to widen its scope and reach in the market. Though this sector is not so lucrative when it comes to profit but its number is continually growing and most of them are locally operating. Therefore, this will minimise reliance on distributors and will promote market survival. e. Competitive Pricing Consistent with the product differentiation strategy, it is not advisable for TI to conform the global pricing system. What is appropriate with its existing market status is to develop a competitive pricing system. Since its credibility and track has been well established and with the advancement of its technology used in production methods, it is certain that TI can produce quality product at a competitive price. Its expertise in the production side can be leverage for TI to reduce its operational and producti0n cost through mechanisation.

thelma and louise film review :: essays research papers

AGAINST MEN’S WORLD The film starts with the scenes of daily lifes of two women. Thelma is married to a man who thinks that he is the centre of the world because he is a manager of a carpet. company. He sees his wife as a lower order of life, to be tolerated so long as she keeps her household duties straight. Just like a servant who doesn’t have any rights or freedom. Louise waits tables in a coffee shop and her boyfriend is a musician who is never going to be ready to settle down. They live under high patriarchal domination. They see themselves very ordinary and want to go fishing alone. But that means that they are crossing the lines of their sexual roles in the community. Thelma can’t even tell her husband that she is going on vacation. Because her role in her husband’s eyes is the housewife. If she goes on a vacation with a friend she will be simply considered as a whore. The film continues with the bar scene. We saw the feminist After some drink thelma ends up with, as such flirtations sometimes tragically do, an attempted rape in the parking lot. Louise kills the man with her gun and they start to run away because they think that can’t expect fair treatment from the criminal justice system, since Thelma had been flirting and dancing with the guy all evening. They know that nearly everyone would say that what happened to her is her own fault. The hitchiker appears in the scene as a handsome man who stirs up thelma’s libido for the first time. She never had a happy sexual relationship with her husband and she has sexual intercourse only to fulfill her duty: to please her husband. The policeman takes place who has an empathy with that women. He knows that they dig hole and bury themselves in it and he wants to prevent it. As things go worse the women have enormous changes, they are fightilng only with the law but also with the laws of the nature. They discover the strenght and their abilities to run their own lives, to take a stand against the men’s world.

Analyse the Different Ways in Which Countries Can Attempt

Firstly, the economic problem is split into three questions, which are: what to produce? How to produce? Who to produce for? These three questions can also be summed up as scarcity which is the inadequate amount of resources available. Consumers have wants which are unlimited; they would always want more, but due to the economic problem, scarcity, not everyone will get there ‘want’ fulfilled, therefore causing a problem. Different countries can attempt to overcome the economic problem in several ways; which is to apply a different economy system to their country.Due to scarcity consumers will now have to make a choice of what they want, by sacrificing the next best alternative when making a decision, this is known as opportunity cost. This is an example of an opportunity cost. â€Å"Airport operators like the GMR-led DIAL and GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) have argued that they could have invested the money raised in the form of security deposits fr om this land in any other venture they wanted. † Vikas Dhoot. (2012). Airport operators want opportunity cost for land security deposits. Available: http://articles. economictimes. ndiatimes. com/2012-01-27/news/30670362_1_security-deposits-airport-operators-airport-project. Last accessed 26th October 2012. Scarcity is fluctuated by the factors of production, when there is little factor of production the higher the scarcity and when higher the factor of production the lower the scarcity level. Factor of production combined create goods and services for consumers; these factor of production consist of labour, land, capital and enterprise. Labour are the individuals/employees who are part of this project to create goods and services for consumers.Labours are awarded with wages/salaries for their human effort in production. Land is the natural resource available, and this could be let out to firms, as the firm would pay them back via rent. Capital are assets used to produce goods , these are things as machinery, vehicle, factories. Finally, enterprise, someone who is initiative, risk taker and good leadership skill, as they are the one who created this project in first place to provide goods and service, maybe in order to maximise profit. Example of good entrepreneur is Steve Jobs who was all behind the creation of Apple and the success of it.Factors of production causes scarcity which in turns leads to people making choices due to the economy problem in the country; however countries do follow economy system to try and overcome these problems. These are: free market economy; mixed economy and command economy. All three handle with basic economic problem differently and are applied in many different countries. Free market economy is an economy system which is controlled by supply and demand and has very little or non-government influence. Hong Kong has been one of the freest market economy countries in the world. This year, however, several government moves have sparked renewed debate as to whether Hong Kong is abandoning its laissez-faire principles. † Cathy Yan. (2010). Face Off: Is Hong Kong Still a Free Market?. Available: http://blogs. wsj. com/hong-kong/2010/12/20/is-hong-kong-still-a-free-market/. Last accessed 26th October 2012 Some of the characteristics of the free market economy are that everyone is out there to make gains and maximise on them gains. The firms will maximise profit and consumers would have gained a good or service that they wanted.Majority of country’s factor of production, land, are owned by a third party. They will be the private owner of the land which in turn they could rent out to a firm, to place their business in order to produce goods and service. The private owner would then get rent and will hope to maximise profit through the process, this also limits the government’s role. Since there is little or no government influences in free market economy, firms are able to sell anything they want but it is mainly productions of customer’s want.It’ll be a free enterprise so no dictatorship telling labours where they have to work, labours can take any job they want. Also with no barriers to entry or exit it is easy for competition to enter the market and it will be a highly competitive market. Consumers will be looking for which firm can offer them the best deal on their wants whereas firms will be competing for customers and suppliers. Firms may have to give more to the suppliers in order to get them attracted to the firm and decrease price in order to attract consumers.Having competition it may be beneficial to a firm as they may be able to get ideas from a rival firm and yet do better than them. â€Å"Consider Microsoft's standard practice of absorbing any new and interesting technology into their operating system. In DOS 6 it was disk compression. In Windows 3. 11 it was network file access. In Windows 98 the target was the web browser. In Windows XP it may well be streaming multimedia. It's very hard to exist in a marketplace when one of your competitors is more or less giving away your

St Augustine essays

St Augustine essays While still a boy St. Augustine reminds us of just an ordinary rebellious kid. He finds no meaning with the baptism of his friend. In a way he mocks God and the miracles that God performs. In doing so, he is punished by having his close friend die. I think a good representation of this is Poisons song called Every Rose has Its Thorn. The lyrics say Every rose has its thorn. Just like every night has its dawn, just like a cowboy sings a sad, sad song. The lyrics represent St. Augustines journey of loss and death. He learns from his own mistakes and tries to make the best out of things, but he did take advantage of his friendship and God saw it as a lesson to punish him for taking things for granted. By book six, St. Augustine abandons his beliefs of the Manichaean and pursues to be a Catholic Christian. He is rescued from falsehood, even though not yet attained the truth. I see this as him growing into a man and taking responsibilities for his prior immaturity. He still explores the extent of his faith, even though he has learned much he still cannot control his hormonal drive. I considered Ambrose himself, who was honored by people of such importance, a lucky man by worldly standards; only his celibacy seemed to me rather a burden to bear. I think the lack of his parents discipline reflects a lot on St. Augustines character. If his parents were there for him more I think he wouldnt ponder so much about everything. ...

Meiji Period Essay Essay Example

Meiji Period Essay Essay Example Meiji Period Essay Essay Meiji Period Essay Essay Meiji means ‘the enlightened rule’ in Nipponese. In Japan the period from 1868 to 1912 is called ‘Meiji Era’ ? . ( Meiji Period ) . The name Meiji was chosen by the immature prince Mutsuhito. when he succeeded his male parent to the throne. During this period Japan emerged as a universe political and economic power. Japan underwent a surprising advancement from mediaeval society to of import and primary military power and economic power in Asia. During the Meiji period the emperor was merely 15 old ages old but he was fortunate to hold a group of first-class advisers who brought merger of eastern and western civilizations. They adapted western thoughts while retaining the importance of the E. During this period the authorities made all attempts to construct up its military strength and advancement economic position. The samurai warriors were the traditional military system in Japan. The samurai system was replaced by the indispensable military service. The ground forces was trained by the Prussian and Gallic teachers. In two major wars that is in Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95 against China and Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 against Russia. the Nipponese ground forces proved its high quality. Japan has emerged as the strong new power in Asia after these two wars. The Government gave importance to the thoughts and involvements of husbandmans. samurai. merchandisers and former feudal estate proprietors. Foreign experts were employed in the Fieldss of defence. industry. agribusiness and transit and their methods and patterns were carefully considered and adopted. Political and societal reforms were given much importance during this period. Some of the reforms include declaration of spiritual freedom in 1873 ; the lunar calendar which was considered most of import by the Nipponese society was replaced by Gregorian calendar. debut of the revenue enhancement system. freedom of trade. and freedom of land acquisition and in 1890 first elections was held for DIET. Along with this instruction was besides given extreme importance and was made compulsory. The attending at schools stood at 98 per centum by the terminal of the Meiji period. The Meiji epoch was a stage of strong emotions and extremist reforms. The authorities intended to construct Japan as a democratic state. Many of the Nipponese bookmans were sent to western states to analyze linguistic communications and western scientific discipline to better the agricultural economic system of Tokugawa Japan in to developed industrial sector. By agencies of immense governmental investings. the communicating webs and transit were developed. The first telegraph line was established between Yokahoma and Tokyo in 1869. a horse-drawn ropeway system was introduced. national postal service was introduced in 1871the first steel span known as Azuma steel span was opened. in 1872. Meiji emperor opened the first train connexion between Tokyo and Yokahoma. The powerful and big concerns in Japan known as zaibatsu were supported by the authorities to develop and back up the industries and concerns. The period in 1880’s besides led to fiscal crisis due to immense outgos which led to the reform in the currency system and constitution of the Bank of Japan. The fabric industry became the largest industry and grew faster in Japan until World War II. In 1889 Japan established its first European manner fundamental law. The emperor was top of the navy. executive. ground forces and legislative power. During the Meiji period. Japan emerged as a major power and a developed state. Japan was changed wholly by the western rock edifices which include deparment shops. Bankss and authorities sites. The Meiji period led to the economic roar and standard military power. Mentions: 1. Meiji Period ( 1868-1912 ) . Japan cultural profile. October 5. 2006. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. culturalprofiles. net/japan/Directories/Japan_Cultural_Profile/-13234. hypertext markup language

Reality Vs. Idealism Essays - Fiction, Literature, Free Essays

Reality Vs. Idealism Essays - Fiction, Literature, Free Essays Reality Vs. Idealism In the short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bierce quickly drifted from realism in the beginning of the story to idealism throughout the rest of the selection. Immediately before Peyton experiences his first idealistic event, Bierce described a realistic thought on how Peyton closed his eyes and attempted to fix his final thoughts on his loved ones, his wife and children. Bierce described an idealistic observation by the main character, Peyton as he explained how he could see the intricate details through the vibrancy of the leaves of trees on the riverbank. As the story goes on Bierce often refers to the soldiers, the captain, the sergeant, the two privates, and his executioners as monsters. He refers to their movements as grotesque and horrible and their size gigantic. As Peyton tore off the noose around his neck and thrust it aside vigorously, he described how the movements of his hands resembled the movements of a water snake. As Peyton began on his final thoug hts reality faded quickly to an unrealistic point of view, or state of mind. Bierce described an unrealistic, super natural sort of power that Peyton obtained as he emerged from the stream. At that moment Peyton was in full possession of his physical senses and could feel and understand things never before perceived. The first sense that he had noticed was his amplified sight and his perception living things. From the stream he noticed the distinct colors in the dewdrops upon the blades of grass. He could see from across the bank, the gray spiders connecting their webs from twig to twig. As he noticed the veining of each leaf on the trees he also observed every little insect upon them. He could see everything as if it was in slow motion and amplified to the creators explanation of how and what steps he took to paint his master piece. Bierce described his second unrealistic encounter as his sense of hearing being amplified, as to hear every little sound, far and near. As Bierce described in his unique, highly descriptive style of writing, Peyton could hear the humming of the gnats that danced above the eddies of the stream. Most human beings are incapable of hearing a gnat fly and roam about, for its size and muted humming is no louder than a pin dropped on a rug. He could hear the flapping of the dragonflies wings and the strokes of the water spiders as they ventured through the stream. He described all these lucid sounds as audible music. Peytons hearing was remarkably and quixotically amplified beyond any human beings capability. The way Bierce described Peytons super natural powers, so to say was so detailed and full of imagery. As Peyton once again emerged to the top of the stream the soldiers or in Peytons point of view, monsters, were all aimed directly at him ready to shoot on command. As the commander ordered his men to fire Peyton dove deep into the stream and was shot between his collarbone and neck, which he so simply pulled right out with no pain or blood. Bierce describes how Peyton thought with the rapidity of lightening. These are yet more super natural, unreal descriptions of the visions and superhero like qualities. Bierce explains Peytons adventure of escape and idealistic traits in such a believable way that if it wasnt so exaggerated it could very well be mistaken as reality. As Peyton was being hanged the idealistic events began to occur. Bierce described through the nearly the whole story how Peyton experiences super natural powers such as, amplified sight, hearing, the ability to remove a bullet with such ease that he simply snatches it right out, and highly sensitive touch. Bierce told of how he escaped through his five senses being recorded in a way that no man would ever perceive. As the story ends and Peyton is still hanging high above the river, with a noose around his neck, idealism once again fades into reality.

Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source Research Paper

Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source - Research Paper Example Introduction As our world population grows day by day, it is becoming far more evident that our generations to come will have far more problems in their hands that they could handle. Alternative energy sources can evidently provide us with the edge we require to make this world a healthier place to live and more importantly to ensure the continuity of our future generations. Currently there are quite a few different establishments that are involved in researching alternate energy sources; it is a well known fact that our fossil fuel reserves will run out in the near future, depriving us of the leisure and comfort of our lives that some of us take for granted. One of the main problems that are faced with research is the fact that they require funding, however there are companies who are involved in such activities based on the assumption that there efforts will pay off in the near future, but is it enough? Evidently there is a strong need for governments to take the responsibility and provide gran ts to organizations that are involved in researching the fuels of the future. One of the biggest problems with the use of fossil fuels is the carbon dioxide emissions into the environment, everyday carbon dioxide is injected into our system, and these emissions stay there in our system building up every single day, it is the single most known factor for the global warming that our world faces (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are quite a few different energy sources that are currently in use today, however the fact still remains that these sources are quite limited. According to British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell, by the year 2050 one third of our energy needs will have to be fulfilled by wind, solar and other renewable sources, the statement has been originated from the biggest oil companies in the world. (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Solar energy has been in existence for quite some time but still there are problems that need to be resolved. Solar energy is one of the best ways to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, it has been calculated that a 1.5 kilowatt PV system will help reduce the carbon emissions by 110,000 pounds over the next 25 years (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Apart from reducing the carbon emissions the technology also helps in reducing the consumption of the limited fossil fuels, this figure of reduced conventional fuels comes out to be a reduction of around 60,000 pounds of coal (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are added advantages of using such energy source; it eliminates the acid rains and overall pollution of the atmosphere. However it is not always that simple, the electrical suppliers are reluctant to change their conventional way of producing electricity, this is where the governments role is most important. Some of the argumentations present the fact that the production of the solar panels itself consumes a lot of energy, although the argument is self founded but many studies have shown that the amount of electricity used to make a solar panel is equivalent to the amount of electricity that the panel will generate in two years time, hence this debt will be paid in that time (Alternative Energy, n.d.) The other most common environmentally friendly power generation system is driven by the forces of nature itself, wind. This technology has been around for quite some time now; there are quite a few areas that are generating their complete power supply t hrough this system. Studies have shown that the use of wind power generation has doubled three times between 1999 and 2000; in the year 2000 the electricity produced by these systems was around 10,000 megawatts. This amount of electricity is enough to power five cities of the size of Miami (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Yet again there are problems associated with producing electri

Case Problems Involving the First Amendment Essay

Case Problems Involving the First Amendment - Essay Example The law gives the United Striates Government the right to release information or refuse to release and grants nine exemptions, which can be applied to stop disclosure of sensitive information (Russomanno 147). When stopping the publication the judge may use the theory of interpretation of the first Amendment Act on the Freedom of speech that deals with content regulation. This states that the government has the right to bar any publisher publishing information that may be viewed as threatening national security. In an example the case of Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, the court found that at times it is important for the federal government to bar release of information that may threaten the national security. When the judge is making the ruling on this case there are several things, he will have to put into consideration. The first one is the perceived effect on national security the release of the report would have and the other is the right of the press to publish information. He will look to see if the press freedom being infringed and if so will allow the information be published. On the other hand, if the information is proven vital and threatening national security he will bar it from being

Functional Area Interrelationships-Kuddler Fine Foods Essay

Functional Area Interrelationships-Kuddler Fine Foods - Essay Example Collaboration among the departments can be improved if the company introduce Balance Scorecard (BSC) as a part of management control system. Unlike traditional management strategy it not just focus on the financial performance; rather it also takes other non-financial prospective into consideration. First of all financial prospective should be used determine how financially the company should appear in front of the shareholders like the ROI, profit margin, annual growth in the revenue and so on . The second prospective should be internal business processes. This will assist the company to understand that for satisfying the customers and the stakeholders which processes should be improved. It means the core competency of the company. The third one should be learning and growth. To retain competitiveness, a company should pay attention towards learning and growth of its human resource through training and development program. Finally, the customer prospective should be used to identify that how the company must appear in front of the customers so that it can achieve its vision and mission. This can be done by better customer relationship management, following relationship management strategy and improving customer satisfaction level. ... With the guidance of top management, objective should be selected, the measures should be pointed out, to achieve the objective required targets should be assigned and finally the initiative should be assigned. Managers of different departments should share their view with each other while developing the BSC for the organisation. Once the plan is over, the human resource should be encouraged to participate in the implementation process. They should be given required training as this will motivate them to be part of the whole process. The plan should be executed in part by part manner so that it can be monitored effectively. The BSC system should be evaluated on regular interval to make required changes as this will retain its utility in the organisation. Some of the vital steps are discussed below: Figure 2: Steps to be followed while developing BSC in the organisation (Source: Kaplan & Norton, 2002, p.275) Part-2 Use of lateral collaboration and vertical collaboration within the org anization, and the action plan to use lateral and vertical collaboration Companies take into account vertical as well as horizontal integration to use its resources effectively and to gain synergy (Camarinha-Matos, 2002, p.28). Kudler Fine Foods should also collaborate both vertically as well as horizontally to improve its competitiveness in the market. Through vertical integration, Kudler Fine Foods will bring together all the parts of value chain under its control. For backward integration, the company should invest in the farmers that supply the fresh products. Kudler Fine Foods can also purchase some of the bakery whose products are sold in the stores. In this manner the company will have better control on its supply of material. For foreword integration, Kudler Fine Foods should

Preparation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Preparation - Coursework Example Those against it argue that there are high risks of accidents and production, maintenance, and nuclear plants operation costs are extremely high compared to others. Supporters of this move argue that, with the current climate crisis, high demand of energy, nuclear energy is the way to go. Keywords: Nuclear energy, nuclear power plants, energy Should the U.S. build more nuclear power plants for an energy source? Introduction In response to high demands of energy, unreliable foreign supply of energy, high costs of natural gas and oil; the US government has recommended building of more nuclear energy plants and upgrading the existing plants (Weeks, 2006). This recommendation has, however, been met with sharp criticism, both positive and negative. Supporters of this move argue that nuclear power is the only way to go as far as production of large-scale energy is concerned. They also argue that, with nuclear energy, the concerns about global warming will reduce (Hargreaves, 2011). On the other hand, those opposed to this recommendation argue that terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants and accidents may have very adverse effect on a large scale. They also claim that, there is no long-term policy that I acceptable for ensuring that nuclear waste is well managed and that the renewable energy is cleaner, more affordable and safer (Weeks, 2006). There is also fear of proliferation and can be stolen and used for creating nuclear weapons thus become a threat to international security. As far as the fears of accidents are concerned and other oppositions launched, the US should explore this option and build more nuclear power plants and put in place policies that would manage and mitigate any said threats. Research Objectives 1. To examine and evaluate the pros and cons of opting to build nuclear plants for alternative energy 2. To determine whether the US needs to build more nuclear power plants Research Hypothesis The US needs to build more nuclear power plants as a sou rce of energy so as stop the overdependence on foreign oil, reduce pollution on environment and effects on climate change and global warming. Research Questions 1. Should the US build more nuclear power plants? 2. Does the US have any policy or any viable plans in place that can help in managing radioactive waste? 3. Is nuclear power a solution to the problem of global warming? 4. Should the United States support the new nuclear power plants? Literature Review The issue of generating nuclear power for civilian use first was first thought of after the World War II. Congress put nuclear research facilities under the control of civilian first in 1946 and thereby formed the Atomic Energy Commission and mandated it with overseeing the nuclear energy industry (Weeks, 2006) . The civilization of nuclear energy, however, generated little or no interest from the private sector at this point. They viewed it as a risky field, and it became very difficult for AEC to find private companies that were willing and ready to take on project. Due to the embargo put on shipment of oil to the US by members of OPEC in 1973 and declaration of the energy crisis by the then US president Jimmy Carter; the government ordered the opening of over forty new nuclear reactors. At the same time, due to concerns of stockpiling of weapon-grade plutonium, the government introduced a ban on recycling of spent nuclear fuel. These plans were, however,

Health and Wellness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Health and Wellness - Essay Example â€Å"The total cost of osteoporosis in the United States alone is estimated to be over $14 billion per year† (Christodoulou & Cooper 133), and is expected to increase with the growing proportion of elderly people. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to identify the symptoms of Osteoporosis, examine how the disease develops, review the latest research on the topic, investigate the costs to community, and express one’s beliefs on the subject. Bone mass is the chief determinant of bone strength. Loss of bone occurs silently and progressively, often without symptoms until the first fracture occurs (IOF, 2006). When bones have been weakened by osteoporosis, the symptoms of the disease present as â€Å"back pain which can be severe† (Manila Bulletin, 2009) in the case of a fractured or collapsed vertebra, gradual loss of height with increasingly stooped posture, and fractures of the vertebrae, wrists, hips, or other bones. In the case of women, bone loss in the spine begins shortly before menopause, and as early as the mid-30s in the femoral neck (Christodoulou & Cooper 133). The years following menopause bring about radical depletion in bone mineral density as a result of decreased estrogen levels (Lineback 43). In both men and women, bone density and strength depend greatly on the extent of mineral content, such as calcium and phosphorus (Manila Bulletin, 2009). The size and density of bone are mainly dependent on genetic factors, but lifestyle factors also play a significant part. Recommendations from latest research for building and maintaining bone matrix and reducing the risk of osteoporosis are as follows: 1. Nutritious Diet: A balanced nutritious diet which includes not only sufficient calcium and vitamin D, but also adequate protein as well as vitamins and minerals (Feinstein, 1996). A healthy body weight is essential, since being underweight with a body mass index less than 18.5 kg/ m2 is a strong risk factor for osteoporosis

Corporate Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Finance - Essay Example This will further estimate the market value of a share for each of the capital structures using the no growth share valuation model being considered and to comment on findings; to consider which capital structure is preferred under the approach; and to contrast and explain the assumptions and theoretical approaches to capital structure taken earlier. 1. (i) Explain the columns in the above tale given the scenario stated above. From the data, establish the amount of debt, the number of shares, the amount of tax and the EPS for each gearing level show workings The first column on capital structure displays the different debt to equity ratios and each capital structure has a corresponding level of debt interest rate in the second column which increases as the debt structure becomes more highly leveraged. That the direct relationship is obvious between the debt to equity ratio and the interest rate since higher debt would mean higher risk for the debtor as few creditors would be willing to lend at rate lower than contracted earlier by the debtor. This would also mean that higher level of debt in relation to capital would require the company to pay higher interest expenses to creditors in absolute amount and would also mean higher tax shield for the borrower since interest expense is tax deductible for income tax purposes. The same direct relationship is also expected on EPS which increases directly as the debt to equity ratio is increased. Further the same inference could be made with the required return on shares. This means that the investors or stockholders would require higher return for higher level of risk because of increase in debt to equity ratio or higher financial leverage. This higher required return on investment would be the same as the cost of capital that would be used in evaluating the acceptability of projects. Those falling under the

Preparation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Preparation - Coursework Example Those against it argue that there are high risks of accidents and production, maintenance, and nuclear plants operation costs are extremely high compared to others. Supporters of this move argue that, with the current climate crisis, high demand of energy, nuclear energy is the way to go. Keywords: Nuclear energy, nuclear power plants, energy Should the U.S. build more nuclear power plants for an energy source? Introduction In response to high demands of energy, unreliable foreign supply of energy, high costs of natural gas and oil; the US government has recommended building of more nuclear energy plants and upgrading the existing plants (Weeks, 2006). This recommendation has, however, been met with sharp criticism, both positive and negative. Supporters of this move argue that nuclear power is the only way to go as far as production of large-scale energy is concerned. They also argue that, with nuclear energy, the concerns about global warming will reduce (Hargreaves, 2011). On the other hand, those opposed to this recommendation argue that terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants and accidents may have very adverse effect on a large scale. They also claim that, there is no long-term policy that I acceptable for ensuring that nuclear waste is well managed and that the renewable energy is cleaner, more affordable and safer (Weeks, 2006). There is also fear of proliferation and can be stolen and used for creating nuclear weapons thus become a threat to international security. As far as the fears of accidents are concerned and other oppositions launched, the US should explore this option and build more nuclear power plants and put in place policies that would manage and mitigate any said threats. Research Objectives 1. To examine and evaluate the pros and cons of opting to build nuclear plants for alternative energy 2. To determine whether the US needs to build more nuclear power plants Research Hypothesis The US needs to build more nuclear power plants as a sou rce of energy so as stop the overdependence on foreign oil, reduce pollution on environment and effects on climate change and global warming. Research Questions 1. Should the US build more nuclear power plants? 2. Does the US have any policy or any viable plans in place that can help in managing radioactive waste? 3. Is nuclear power a solution to the problem of global warming? 4. Should the United States support the new nuclear power plants? Literature Review The issue of generating nuclear power for civilian use first was first thought of after the World War II. Congress put nuclear research facilities under the control of civilian first in 1946 and thereby formed the Atomic Energy Commission and mandated it with overseeing the nuclear energy industry (Weeks, 2006) . The civilization of nuclear energy, however, generated little or no interest from the private sector at this point. They viewed it as a risky field, and it became very difficult for AEC to find private companies that were willing and ready to take on project. Due to the embargo put on shipment of oil to the US by members of OPEC in 1973 and declaration of the energy crisis by the then US president Jimmy Carter; the government ordered the opening of over forty new nuclear reactors. At the same time, due to concerns of stockpiling of weapon-grade plutonium, the government introduced a ban on recycling of spent nuclear fuel. These plans were, however,

Corporate Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Finance - Essay Example This will further estimate the market value of a share for each of the capital structures using the no growth share valuation model being considered and to comment on findings; to consider which capital structure is preferred under the approach; and to contrast and explain the assumptions and theoretical approaches to capital structure taken earlier. 1. (i) Explain the columns in the above tale given the scenario stated above. From the data, establish the amount of debt, the number of shares, the amount of tax and the EPS for each gearing level show workings The first column on capital structure displays the different debt to equity ratios and each capital structure has a corresponding level of debt interest rate in the second column which increases as the debt structure becomes more highly leveraged. That the direct relationship is obvious between the debt to equity ratio and the interest rate since higher debt would mean higher risk for the debtor as few creditors would be willing to lend at rate lower than contracted earlier by the debtor. This would also mean that higher level of debt in relation to capital would require the company to pay higher interest expenses to creditors in absolute amount and would also mean higher tax shield for the borrower since interest expense is tax deductible for income tax purposes. The same direct relationship is also expected on EPS which increases directly as the debt to equity ratio is increased. Further the same inference could be made with the required return on shares. This means that the investors or stockholders would require higher return for higher level of risk because of increase in debt to equity ratio or higher financial leverage. This higher required return on investment would be the same as the cost of capital that would be used in evaluating the acceptability of projects. Those falling under the

Shrek & Donkey Essay Example for Free

Shrek Donkey Essay In traditional fairytales Ogres are man eating beasts, the prince usually rescues the princess, they marry and live happily ever after. How do the makers of Shrek use presentational devices to reverse this tradition, to reveal the ogre as good and the prince as evil? Shrek is obviously not a stereotypical fairytale because of its language and the features of the characters. The characters arent what they seem to be. Shrek is an ogre who is supposed to be bad and cruel, they are uncivilised just like the ogre in Jack and the beanstalk; he chases Jack saying fee fie foe fum; I smell the blood of an Englishman. The princess is supposed to be in distress and desperate to be saved. They have a beautiful voice which is supposed to attract the prince and they are normally scared and not demanding at a stage of crisis. The prince which in this case is Lord Farquaad is supposed to be kind, charming and his main job is to rescue and marry the princess. In Shrek the whole idea of a fairytale has been turned around by making the ogre Shrek the good guy the Lord Farquaad the bad guy and Princess Fiona not a damsel in distress. The filmmakers use a different technique to make the ogre seem good and the lord seems bad. To make this successful they used language, camera shots at different angles and special effects such as sounds and light effects. The film starts of with a traditional beginning with the usual once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort that could only be broken by true loves kiss. She was locked in the highest room in the tallest tower, guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights tried to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. So she sat in her tower and waited for true love, and true loves first kiss. and the soft slow music in the background. Shrek then rips that page and wipes his bottom saying, like thats ever going to happen, with a Scottish accent. He then bangs the toilet door and then you notice a change in music and atmosphere. There is a sought of rock and roll music which suggest to the viewers that Shrek is not going to be a movie that they had expected it to be like. This is the first clue given to us about what the story is going to be like. This opening breaks all the rules of fairytales because in Cinderella, sleeping beauty and snow white they all have a similar beginning. Once upon a time there lived a princess who the fairytale kept to a same rhythm and only if the princess sang then there would be a change in sound. They all had the same story line; the princess is either put to sleep or locked away by a witch or someone evil. The prince is handsome and is only there to fight the dragon or any evil creature to save the princess they kiss, marry and live happily ever after, the witch or the evil person is either killed or locked the end. But Shreks opening is original and something new for the viewers eyes. The part when Shrek says, like thats ever going to happen starts the turning point in this story. By the time the introduction music is over the viewers know that they are not fated for a conventional story. When the villagers come to attack Shrek he just stays calm and tells them, Now ogres, theyre much worse. Theyll make a suit from your freshly peeled skin. Theyll shave your liver, squeeze the jelly from your eyes. Actually, its quite good on toast. This bit tells us that Shrek is bad and that he will kill all these innocent people. But then we see a change in the character because he says, This is the part where you run away. This shows us that Shrek is good and this is quite odd because they are supposed to be evil. When the donkey approaches Shrek roars at him and tries to intimidate him, the donkey is not frightened but instead he laughs at him saying, Wow, that was really scary and if you dont mind me saying, if that dont work, your breath will certainly get the job done, cause you definitely need some Tic Tacs or something cause your breath STINKS. This shows that Donkey is not afraid of Shrek and that he has the courage to tell the big ogre about his negative things. Donkey is immediately liked by the audience because of his sense of humor. Donkey can see straight through Shrek and knows that he would not hurt anybody. The audience also finds this out when he saves Donkey from the guards, this shows us that Shrek has a heart and is not like normal ogres are; man-eating beasts. The Donkey irritates Shrek by following him to his house and then criticizing a place, Whoa. Look at that. Whod wanna live in a place like that? which is supposed to be Shreks home, That would be my home. Donkey then tries to reverse things around by saying, Oh and it is LOVELY. You know, youre really quite a decorator. Its amazing what youve done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a NICE boulder. This shows that Donkey would do anything to stay with Shrek and he is a funny character who can be loved by anybody. He then intimidates him by running in his house and peering in the window. After Shrek allows him to stay for one night he starts says, Thank you! Oh this is gonna be fun! We can stay up late, swap manly stories and in the morning, Im making waffles. But in the end he stays outside the house because Shrek does not want him to stay. This makes us feel sorry for Donkey and at this bit we sympathize on him making him feel venerable and not care for the ogre feelings. We think that Shrek is rude and selfish for not sharing his house for one day with Donkey.

Non Financial Performance Measures: Summary and Analysis

Non Financial Performance Measures: Summary and Analysis Total quality management and non financial performance measures In order to answer the first, fundamental, question of using non financial performance measure: why should companies use non-financial reporting, it is necessary to look at the relationship between market value and book value. The market value of a company reflects the investors’ perception of the company’s present, and future, value, as manifested by stock prices. The book value, on the other hand, reflects the value of the company as reported in the official balance sheet: assets less liabilities, or net assets. Thus book value represents, in a way, the official company value and is reported to shareholders and the financial community. The market and book values for companies were very close by the end of the 1970s. The picture has, however, changed dramatically, and one estimate from the current level of stock market valuations says that book value now represents on average just around one quarter of the market value (Dutta and Reicheistein, 2005). Other data indicates an even more dramatic change in companies with valuable brands, a reputation for high quality or technical expertise, for example, in individual companies, e.g. Microsoft, the estimated book value portion is around 9%, for SAP around 5%, and for Coca-Cola around 7%. (Daum, 2002) The ratio of book value to market value is often so small that the relevance of the balance sheet to modern has often questionable. It is, of course, crucial to understand the gap between market and book values, as the market value comes from the intangible assets, such as the customer, human resource, partner, and brand assets. In order to understand the gap, there is an ob vious need for relevant and reliable information on these intangible assets, thus non-financial performance measures aim to providing such information to the stakeholders, and in particular, to the present and future investors. Lack of reliable and relevant information on intangible assets implies there is no basis for non-financial reporting, which in turn implies that market values will change over time in a less well-founded way. There is always a certain level of volatility on the stock markets, and the increasing relative importance of intangible, non financial performance measurements that has emerged over the last few decades, in combination with a persistent lack of reliable and relevant information on these assets, and no systematic non-financial reporting, is expected to create an increasing volatility. This is clearly seen, for example, on the trends in the NYSE over the past three decades (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003). It is, naturally, expected that a lack of non financial reporting will imply a significant portion of unnecessary volatility, which is clearly demonstrated by the stock price development for technology stocks (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003). For example, the IT ‘bubble’ to a significant extent was built up by a lack of proper information and analysis of intangible assets in these companies, due to a lack of non financial performance measurement and thus an overvaluing of intangible technology assets, such as AOL’s telecommunications distribution networks at the time of the AOL-Time Warner merger (The Economist, 2002). It is clear that this demonstrates a malfunctioning of the capital markets, causing significant negative consequences by destroying values in the short term, as well as long term. As such, the main purpose of non financial performance measurement is to provide the market investors and analysts with information to verify the present and expected future value of a company. Ultimately, the process of verifying the market value at a certain time will then be more fact based, thus reducing the unnecessary price volatility. In order to accurately achieve this, the key predictors of a company’s future financial performance: revenue, profits and market share, are crucial. Most recent research identifies these predictors as being primarily intangibles, non financial assets, thus explaining why market value today is basically determined by intangible assets. (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003) In particular, indicators related to the customer asset: the size and ‘quality’ of the customer base, the human capital, the brand assets, the value of corporate citizenship, and the firms product quality and expertise, will dominate. If such an indicator is a reas onably stable, strong and sustainable predictor of future financial performance, it should be called a ‘Value Driver’ (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003). Non-financial reporting aims at disclosing information on value drivers, which must be operationalised and transparent and, ideally, verifiable according to new accounting standards in order to become true non financial performance measures. Total quality management (TQM) practices have been implemented by firms interested in enhancing their survival prospects by including quality and continuous improvement in their strategic priorities. As such, they often have to be measured using both financial and non financial measures, as the expertise and cultural aspects of the TQM process are often difficult to measure by purely quantitative, financial means. One of the key measures of the success of TQM is the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach, which appraises both the four key dimensions of firm performance: customers, financial, learning and growth, and also the internal business processes. The main advantage of this is that TQM does not consider employee satisfaction in its search for continuous improvement, but the BSC does consider employee satisfaction. (Hoque, 2003) Therefore, by adopting a BSC a firm that has adopted TQM will overcome this oversight which will in turn increase employee satisfaction and subsequently firm performance. Indeed, in the modern business context, employee satisfaction is key to firm performance, and so the BSC is an important non financial performance measure. TQM’s relentless pursuit of quality demands that firms identify all non-value adding waste in the manufacturing process and implement procedures to eliminate, or at least reduce, such activities. This implies better production planning to limit over-production and excessive inventory and improved product and plant design to eliminate wasteful movement and handling. (Smith, 1997) Substandard items must be eliminated and a changed attitude reinforced which is customer-focused and adopts ‘the next person on the production line is my customer’ approach (Hoque, 2003). The cost of quality is a potentially important component of management accounting systems which may facilitate the implementation of total quality management, despite being difficult to measure in absolute financial terms. The costs of prevention, appraisal and failure are all aspects of the cost of quality, and it is often necessary to use non financial performance measures to assess these. Prevention costs include the costs of plant, product and process planning, preventive maintenance, training and the implementation of statistical process control systems, and appraisal costs include the costs of inspection and testing of both incoming and outgoing materials, and the cost of maintaining and administering appraisal systems and equipment, both of which can be measure financially However, whilst failure costs include, at the internal level, the financial costs of scrap, rework, redesign and safety stocks necessary to provide a buffer against such failure; at the external level they include losses associated with customers, goodwill and reputation, all of which require non financial performance measurements. Analysis of the costs of external failure is increasingly becoming the focus of attention in this area, reflecting the current trend towards increasing customer orientation of management accounting. (Smith, 1997) Quality considerations also extend beyond those focused on the difficult ‘cost of quality’ question, and non financial reporting is useful in providing measures of other aspects of quality, such as the quality of purchased components, equipment failure and maintenance efforts. As a result, it is necessary for TQM practitioners to consider the relationship between the types of targets or benchmarks used in the two main contrasting performance improvement strategies continuous improvement and radical change. (Johnston et al, 2001) hypothesised that the process of target setting and the reward structures adopted would be different between the two strategies, proposing that organisations involved in continuous improvement of a process will base their performance targets on past performance and internal benchmarking, arrived at through consultation and with a mixture of financial and non-financial measurements of targets. However, for processes involving radical change, targets will be based on external benchmarks imposed by senior management, with purely financial targets, and financial rewards for their achievement. However, research showed that financial measurement and reward strategies predominated in both improvement strategies, thus implying that the pot ential benefits of adopting process changes are being constrained by only considering the financial side. However, whilst academic research and other research activities among accounting organisations on intangible assets has so far mainly focused on creating awareness of the significant importance of intangibles on future financial performance, to a lesser extent, research has dealt with the serious information deficiencies related to intangible assets (Hothorn et al, 2005). In particular, the research focus seems to have been on studying the dramatic shift in production functions and asset composition of the economy, rather than the underlying problems associated with measuring intangible assets, especially in cases such as Enron, where derivatives were grossly overvalued (Wilson et al, 2003). This research involves a multitude of research activities, including the macroeconomic theory of growth, as well as empirical studies on individual companies. The growing importance of intangible assets has already been demonstrated, and one rationale behind this development is the fact that the annual United States investments in intangible assets are of approximately the same magnitude as investments in physical assets: approximately $1.2 trillion (Lev, 2001). These activities have clearly led to a rather general acceptance that traditional, financial, accounting-based, information systems fail to provide investors and policy makers with insights on the impact on the economy from intangibles. This is of increasing importance, given that the volatility of stock prices is becoming abnormally high, and this raises many serious consequences, including systematic inefficiency in managerial decisions. The recommendations so far from researchers seem to be voluntary disclosure of information on intangibles, and indeed, some companies now report externally on various aspects of intangible assets, but this happens in a very non-standardised way and seems to be of limited value for investors’ decisions. Consultants, in particular linked to the accounting industry, are empirically analysing causes and consequences of investments in intangible assets, but this research provides only marginal guidelines in identifying best practice for non financial reporting (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003) Different suggestions have been presented by researchers to identify the new research agenda to understand better and manage intangible assets, with Lev (2001), for example, suggesting a focus on research related to organizational structures. The obviously incorrect validation of intangible assets in the cases of Enron and WorldCom (The Economist, 2002), shows that another focus of research mus t be to identify best practice methodology to measure intangible assets, and to measure the main intangible value drivers for future financial performance. Indeed, the sustainability of non financial reporting is completely dependent on how it will be accepted by the stakeholders of the business community: investors, analysts, customers, boards, management, employees, the accounting profession, etc This, in turn, completely depends on the ability and willingness by the accountants to provide a formal verification of the process to generate information, as well as on the information itself. Finally, this in turn depends on the quality of the information: â€Å"Companies must start by first identifying their true value drivers both financial and non-financial within the context of their business model, and by ensuring they have defined the right metrics as well as the measurement methodologies and systems to capture the right information for internal management† (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2001). Recognising that the treatment of non financial performance is a key current issue in accountancy, accounting associations have already identified a number of criteria and principles to secure and describe the quality of non-financial information. This process, however, appears far from being finalised, and in particular lacks a focus on the statistical characteristics of the information, and there is also a need for further operationalisation and transparency of the quality principles (Lev, 2001) As a general principle, any verification process should verify that non-financial reporting includes the right choice of information, has the necessary degree of relevance, and that the information provided has a reasonable level of reliability. If these three requirements are not sufficiently fulfilled there is unlikely to be a sustainable future for non financial performance measurement, in TQM or any other business aspect. Further to this, information that does not say anything or very little about future financial performance should not be included in non-financial reporting. All the included information must manifest the so called Value Drivers (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003) and such value drivers should be either directly linked to future financial data, or they could be indirectly linked, through a direct value driver. Thus, relevance should be defined by the existence of verified links to future financial numbers; however this raises a number of pertinent questions to be answered by the accounting profession. Mainly, they would need to decide which financial criteria should primarily be considered to secure relevance; and which future time period is of interest to investors. For the moment, it is probably worthwhile to have a very broad scope here, as this would mean that any financial information of interest could be used and, in addition, the future time period is defined in a very generic way. Of course, it is much more difficult to verify links to financial numbers if the lead time is substantial, and so care should be taken that the data will have a recognised financial impact within a reasonably short period of time. Indeed, whatever financial criterion and time period is chosen, it is crucial to be able to verify a strong enough and stable likely future financial impact from the non financial data. In order to better, and more accountably, measure this, such impacts should be statistically significant according to a standard statistical measurement, written into the accounting standards. However, the question that remains is still whether impacts should also exceed a certain financial level, as well as a statistical level, in order to qualify as a significant non financial value driver. In this context, it is also difficult to decide whether these qualifying criteria should also involve the extent to which a value driver will explain any likely variation in the future financial criterion. There are many potential principles to be found in information theory and statistics that might be used here, such as direct explanatory power (Kristensen and Westlund, 2003), but unfortunately the requirement levels necessary to use these principles are not very easy to determine, and could be open to abuse. In summary, in almost all modern industries, the book value of a company does not reflect the actual market value of the company, due to the increasing importance of branding, technology, knowledge and reputation. Whilst the market and book values were still very close at the end of the 1970s, since then the picture has changed dramatically, with estimates stating that book value now represents just one quarter of the market value. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that the measurement of intangible, non financial factors is now roughly three times as important to investors as the measurement of financially measured, tangible assets. As the market value comes from intangible assets, like the customer, human resource, partner and brand assets, in order to understand the gap there is an obvious need for relevant and reliable information on these intangible assets, which is best provided by non financial performance measures. In the context of TQM, a large portion of the process improvements seen due to TQM initiatives will not have a definite financial effect; rather they will improve a product’s attractiveness to customers, or improve the efficiency of a firm’s processes. As a result, their primary impact will be difficult to measure by financial measures, and so non financial performance measures will be most relevant. From this, it follows that the accountancy profession needs a new reporting system and also need to define a best practice of measurement for these non financial performance measures, in order to reflect the true value of initiatives such as TQM. This system has a number of requirements, including causality, standardisation, relevance or link to financial results and reliability. The prevailing opinion appears to be that it is time that new reporting systems are introduced and implemented, as the discrepancy between the importance of intangibles and the ability to account for these types of assets constitutes a growing challenge for companies, investors and for society in general. The relevant people, including academics, managers, accountants, practitioners and auditors, should thus come together and formulate a new charter for future reporting of non financial performance measures. References: Daum, J. H. (2002) Intangible Assets or the Art to Create Value Wiley. Dutta, S. and Reicheistein, S. (2005) Stock Price, Earnings, and Book Value in Managerial Performance Measures. Accounting Review; Vol. 80, Issue 4, p. 1069. Hoque, Z. (2003) Total Quality Management and the Balanced Scorecard Approach: A Critical Analysis of their Potential Relationships and Directions for Research. Critical Perspectives on Accounting; Vol. 14, Issue 5, p. 553. Hothorn, T. Leisch, F. Zeileis, A. and Hornik, K. (2005) The Design and Analysis of Benchmark Experiments. Journal of Computational Graphical Statistics; Vol. 14, Issue 3, p. 675. Johnston, R. Fitzgerald, L. Markou, E. and Brignall, S. (2001) Target setting for evolutionary and revolutionary process change. International Journal of Operations Production Management; Vol. 21, Issue 11, p. 1387. Kristensen, K. and Westlund, A. H. (2003) Valid and reliable measurements for sustainable non-financial reporting. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence; Vol. 14, Issue 2, p. 161 Lev, B. (2001) Intangibles: Management, Measurements and Reporting Brookings Institution Press. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2002) Value reporting, Forecast 2002 Bringing Information out into the Open. Smith, M. (1997) Putting NFIs to work in a balanced scorecard environment. Management Accounting: Magazine for Chartered Management Accountants; Vol. 75, Issue 3, p. 32. The Economist (2002) A steal? Vol. 365, Issue 8296, p. 57. Wilson, A. Key, K. G. and Clark, R. L. (2003) Enron: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Hedging Schemes. Journal of Applied Business Research; Vol. 19, Issue 4, p. 15.

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood :: essays research papers fc

James Fils-Aime The Handmaid’s Tale Fact or Fiction The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which Atwood creates a world which seems absurd and near impossible. Women being kept in slavery only to create babies, cult like religious control over the population, and the deportation of an entire race, these things all seem like fiction. However Atwood's novel is closer to fact than fiction; all the events which take place in the story have a base in the real world as well as a historical precedent. Atwood establishes the world of Gilead on historical events as well as the social and political trends which were taking place during her life time in the 1980's. Atwood shows her audience through political and historical reference that Gilead was and is closer than most people realize. Atwood closely scrutinizes Colonial America, back in the 1700's it was a society founded on religion and ran as a theocratic order. Puritans who had just fled Europe for religions freedom settled in the Americas where they could run their society in the way they saw fit. Especially in New England, religious freedom was not allowed, and people were punished by the courts for failing to uphold the common religions requirements. Those who were not of a specific type of Christianity were considered heathens. Men who controlled the society enforced rules on others based on their interpretations of the bible. They believed that "as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible." (3) Later on puritanical control faded but in the South there was the enslavement and resulting racism toward blacks. Again so called male leaders of society promote injustice and oppression in order to benefit themselves. Atwood also uses her novel to comment briefly on the issues of race, those not of a specific type of Christianity or skin color were sent away to the colonies, or killed. The "children of Ham", which in the bible represent the descendants of the black race, are relocated outside of Gilead. Even the location in which she places Gilead is reminiscent of early American for Boston, Massachusetts was a puritan center. The world of Gilead which Atwood is a society controlled by power hungry men who use religion as a means of control. Atwood also references the oppression of Jew's during the holocaust in her novel. Under Hitler's rule 6 million Jews were killed, and many more sent to concentration camps where they were mistreated by their captors.

The Significance of Mr. Norton and Fate in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellis

The Significance of Mr. Norton and Fate in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison has developed the invisible man by using the actions of other characters. Through his prophecy, Mr. Norton has secured the destiny of the narrator, himself, and all persons in the novel. Mr. Norton forebodes that the narrator will determine his fate, but Mr. Norton doesn't realize that the fate determined is universal: that every being is invisible and without this knowledge, people are blinded by their own invisibility. The narrator is able to come to terms with this self-realization at the end of the end of the novel, and by doing so, he has become an individual and a free man of society, which in essence, is what Mr. Norton had first symbolized in the narrator's mind. At the end though, Mr. Norton will symbolize a blind, shameful society that the narrator becomes invisible to. The narrator was only able to become invisible by Mr. Norton's foreshadowing; for it was he who helped drive the narrator to the North and accompany his fate.    Mr. Norton, a rich, Southern, white trustee, claims that the narrator and the black people "were some how closely connected" with his destiny. This man contributed funds to the college as a tribute for his deceased daughter, which startled the narrator, for this white man poured his heart out to him.    "That was something I never did; it was dangerous. First, it was dangerous if you felt like that about anything, because then you'd never get it or something or someone would take it away from you; then it was dangerous because nobody would understand you and they'd only laugh and think you were crazy", (Ellison 43).    The narrator is afraid to open himself up for a... ...www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.html Ellison Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: The Modern Library, 1994. Fabre, Michel. "In Ralph Ellison's Precious Words." Unpublished Manuscript. 1996. 30 November. <http://www.igc.org/dissent/archive/ Ellison/early.html Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html. Kelly, Robin D.G. "Communist Party of the United States." Encyclopaedia of African-American   Culture and History. 1996 ed. Lawler, Mary. Marcus Garvey. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. O'Meally, Robert. The Craft of Ralph Ellison. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980. O'Meally, Robert, ed. New Essays on Invisible Man. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.