Why Did Stalin Launch The Five Year Plans During The Late...

Why did Stalin launch the Five Year Plans in the late 1920s? The Bolsheviks believed they had to industrialise to achieve national strength and maintain independence. This was a shared view of non-Bolshevik predecessors such as Count Sergei Witte a former Russian minister. The Soviet Union needed a modern industry, especially a heavy industry, as there was the idea that they had to defend the revolution. They believed the Russian revolution was in constant danger from capitalist countries, which were militarily and technically far stronger than them. Then there was the belief that the building of socialism or communism involved industrialisation, and that a proletarian dictatorship was insecure so long as it ruled in an overwhelmingly peasant environment . Industrialisation was introduced to eradicate the backwardness that had plagued the country for so long so they could rise and defeat capitalism. In his speech in 1931 Stalin stated ‘we are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten y ears. Either we do it, or we shall go under’ and that ‘it is the jungle law of capitalism. You are backward, you are weak - therefore you are wrong; hence you can be beaten and enslaved. You are mighty - therefore you are right; hence we must be wary of you. This is why we must no longer lag behind’ . These show the need for the Soviet Union to advance and become stronger than capitalist countries. Industrialisation also allowed the SovietShow MoreRelatedMolotov Ribbentrop Pact7210 Words   |  29 Pagescolloquially named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union[1] and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939.[2] It was a non-aggression pact under which the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany each pledged to remain neutral in the event that either nation were attacked by a third party. It remained in effect until 22 June 1941, when GermanyRead MoreModern History.Hsc.2012 Essay25799 Words   |  104 PagesMODERN HISTORY -2012 Topic one – USA 1919-1941 Topic two – conflict in the pacific Topic three – Douglas MacArthur Topic Four – World War I TOPIC ONE – USA 1919-1941 USA 1920’S * the radio age * felt like istory had turned a corner and never going back * stock market * black Thursday November 24 1929 * the jazz age * a speakeasyyyyyyy How significant were the Republican policies in causing the great depression? The significance of the republic policiesRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesdemarcate historical epochs, the twentieth century does not appear to be a very coherent unit. The beginnings and ends of what we choose to call centuries are almost invariably years of little significance. But there is little agreement over when the twentieth century c.e. arrived, and there were several points both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008)Read MoreNational Security Outline Essay40741 Words   |  163 Pagespursue superior capabilities -US leaders have varied greatly on how much is enough -Domestic strength -Important goal is to seek political cohesion, economic vitality, and good educational policies at home because it will help country to prevail during war (increases domestic support and morale) -Economic vitality and educational strength also provide resources to implement national security, help develop weapons to compete with enemies, and allow country to mobilize quickly in time of crisis

My first trip Free Essays

Immediately they unloaded Eider’s shiny black Ford Focus, and headed to their hotel suite. Once they were inside they all picked out a room, and went to get a nights rest. Allison woke up before anyone else, so she went to make coffee. We will write a custom essay sample on My first trip or any similar topic only for you Order Now As the smell of the strong, coffee filled the suite, everyone began to awake. Dillon looked like half awaken zombie as he made his way to the kitchen. Allison poured everyone a cup of coffee, and turned on the TV Just as the breath taking image of snow fell across the screen. It seemed to be the weather forecast for that very day. They all began to listen carefully as the weather man described the windy, wet, and snowy day that was ahead of them. They couldn’t help but cringe. Weather conditions like that make for a harsh day on the side of the mountain. Allison seemed to be out her daze and back into her own head again, as Dillon started laughing. â€Å"What’s that funny’ Allison replied. â€Å"The look of anxiety on your face, Just stay calm, today will be fine! † Dillon said. He was right, maybe not the ideal weather for skiing but they would still enjoy it. Before Allison could say anything, Dillon started digging through the gear on the table. Looking at the mound of gear thrown everywhere it reminded them of a post tornado. Jackets, boots, goggles, gloves, helmets, and bibs completely dispersed. Allison knew that her bright silver boots would stand out, she backed up and evaluated the whole table. Sure enough she found them. Dillon then started complaining about his bindings on his board and criticized the salesman for his lack of knowledge about the gear he sales. As the knocking noise of the ski-lift drifted through the mountains, they all held on carefully, looking down at all the steep, scary, slopes below them. This was Ellison’s first time skiing, so she was extremely excited to try it out! While the ski-lift rocked back and forth Dillon, told Allison some advice for surviving the slopes on the mountain. She couldn’t pay attention because she was so ecstatic to ski that his advice went in one ear and out the other. They came to the top of the lift and Jumped off, Allison fell onto her back as her skis slide out from under her feet, while Dillon lidded smoothly down the slick little hill proceeding the lift. Allison stood up in time to see the shiny snow start to fall down on the slopes. She snapped her feet back into the skis and looked down at the terrifyingly, steep mountains. Allison took a deep slow breath, no turning back now. Ellison’s adrenaline picked up and flew through her body faster than the speed of lightening. She was amazed and terrified all together. Going down slopes made her feel like she is floating on air. With the snow leaving fresh layers of white dust laying al about, it felt like being shot straight out of a rocket. The slopes seemed endless. Her goggles kept fogging up, and the thought of falling off the side of the mountain or hitting a tree kept crossing her mind. With her face covered in freezing ice, she tried to clear her goggles while keeping her balance. She hadn’t learned to slow down or stop on her skis yet, and instantly regretted it. While she attempted to swerve around the other hundreds of skiers, her speed had picked up so much that she became afraid of the next couple of actions that could cake place on the gigantic slope. Gaining even more speed, and losing more balance, she knew that she would have to stop herself soon before the speed took over her body and became dangerous. Taking a huge breath in, trying to stop her skis she was flung forward out of her skis, tumbling down the horrific hill. Completely disoriented from the fall, she tried to stand up but her legs were shaking like an uncontrollable seizure. She was soaking wet from the beyond freezing snow that covered her whole body. Dillon quickly approached her, carrying her skis, along with his board; His face seemed terrified. Are you okay, Ally? † Dillon asked, â€Å"I’m fine, Just a little shaken up† replied Allison. She knew she couldn’t give up, finally standing back up but still feeling wobbly from the accident, she gave it another try. Knowing things could have ended much worse, she attempted it over and over again, until she got it right. Even though she had fallen down multiple times, skiing couldn’t compare to any other feeling in the world, and she had a great time on her first skiing adventure! How to cite My first trip, Papers

Essay on The s Lack Of Self Confidence Essay Example For Students

Essay on The s Lack Of Self Confidence Essay A truly confident woman possesses a quiet inner strength. She exudes a silent confidence that speaks for itself. She isn’t cocky or conceited. Confidence should not be confused with conceit. Confidence is being self-assured of your abilities and believing that you can get the job done. When a woman is truly confident, she doesn’t have to brag or boast. Conceit, on the other hand, is constantly bragging. Unfortunately, one of the things that often prevents women from pursuing their dreams is a lack of self-confidence. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to increase your self-confidence. Let’s look at the example of my friend Lisa, who built up her confidence and began to climb up the corporate ladder at the company she currently works for.Lisa’s Lack of Self-ConfidenceA few years ago, my friend Lisa applied for a management position at the company she currently works for. She had worked as a supervisor for over a decade and was eager to move up the corporate ladder. After she applied for a management position, she was unhappy to learn that a younger woman with more education had also applied for the same management position. We met for dinner, and she discussed her fears and apprehensions about getting the promotion.During dinner, Lisa told me how the other woman who was applying for the same position had a degree from a prestigious university. Looking worried, Lisa also mentioned that her competition was not only better educated, but she was also prettier and petite. I asked Lisa what did the other woman’s size have to do with anything? It seemed as if Lisa, who had yet to interview for the management position, had already conceded defeat before the interview. The more Lisa talked, the more she compared herse. . on her abuse. But rather than remain a victim, she created an organization to help empower other survivors of domestic violence. She turned a negative experience into a positive, and empowered other women as a result.One of the best ways for a woman to empower herself is through education. An educated woman is capable of gaining power and taking control of her life. This is why some governments and religious extremists attempt to limit a woman’s access to education. They fear a world in which women are no longer oppressed and are free to determine their own destiny. As the father of three beautiful daughters, I want my girls to grow up in a world in which they have complete control over their lives. I want them to live in a world in which they are empowered. I want all women to be free to pursue an education, and enjoy life, without the worry of being oppressed.

The Feces King Essay Example

The Feces King Essay The Tale of the Mad Feces King What follows is the highly disturbing tale of a roommate that more or less slowly descended into total madness, up to the point where he was storing dead animals in the oven, and taking dumps in various places around the house that were not the toilet bowl. Originally found on the SomethingAwful Forums, posted by Martin Random, I have mirrored this tale here purely for the reasons that I made me laugh to no end while reading the original thread. Note that these forums require a payment to access, so this link will probably not work for you if you dont have an account there. Whether this actually happened or not, I cant tell. Regardless, its funny as hell, and considering the realistic way in which it was brought, its crazy enough to actually have taken place. Also note that this was originally a series of forum posts, not a written story the style may be somewhat haphazard now and then. Yes, its quite a lengthy read, but its worth it. Illustrations are by Shii and easyjo. Fuck the Bible, this is the greatest story ever told. ArousingWedgie Well, Im never eating lasagna again. Thanks! Curufin This is one of the best stories, Ive ever read, in my entire life. NerdyMcNerdNerd We will write a custom essay sample on The Feces King specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Feces King specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Feces King specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I think DOOM 3 is, in fact, based on this very story. Fry This story is just enthralling. I read it in the other thread, but its worth mentioning again how fucking insane your room mate is/was. I mean, I have this absolutely hilarious, yet frightening image of him bouncing around the common room shitting into random objects letting out blood curdling screams of rage. It just defies rational explanation. He took my stereo! RAAAARGH! Ill shit into household appliances! ARGH! Zandragal Without further ado There recently was a thread about awful room-mates, along with pictures. I have my own experience. Housing complex. The units are basically small cottages, made for two room-mates, with a common area and attached kitchen, a small storage closet in the common area containing water pipes leading to Suite As bathroom. The two private areas of the suite contained a private bedroom, a sliding glass patio door, and a private bathroom. Sounds idyllic. My roomie, Jed, liked to throw parties. He liked tarantulas, too, and kept six. For the sake of saving my effort in recounting this story, here is a basic rundown of the chaos. This run-through of incidents is going to be kind of terse, because Im working off of a check list I made a while ago. During our stay together, my roomie: * He brought his motorcycle into our common room because he was afraid it would be stolen. This was fine, but then he started it and let it idle for 15 minutes without opening any windows, causing all of our stuff to smell like motor exhaust. * After his girlfriend left him, he went berserk in his private bathroom with a sledgehammer or a geologists hammer and smashed all of his bathroom fixtures. Im not sure of this but I believe that just before she left him she fucked some guy with pubic lice in my bed during a party. His toilet was inoperative at this point, so he used mine for a time, until I refused him access. Later I would find out that he shat in garbage bags and kept them in the common room closet for weeks. More on this later. * He set fire to our carpet with alcohol during a party. He pissed in the fridge. He shat in the fridge. He shat in the crisper drawer. He shat on the oven top, and instead of cleaning it up, turned on the burner , reasoning that carbon is easier to clean than feces. * He left a dead cat he found somewhere in our oven for a week and forgot about it. I discovered it later. He owned 6 tarantulas, and would let one run around free-range. He assured me he had tamed it. I assured him he was a stupid fuckhead. * He never showered. * He sold drugs from his room. He smoked pot with his friends in the common area. He spilled bong water on two of my text books. He and his friends did cocaine off of the television set in the common area. * He had a party to which he invited too many people, and they spilled into my room. Strangers had sex in my room at that party. In my bed. One of them had pubic lice. Someone took a dump in my closet. Someone left a used condom in my slipper. I discovered all of these things after it was too late. * Morning after said party, my mother knocked on the front door, and a stranger from that party answered and immediately threw up on her legs. * Crackheads would regularly come by our apartment at all hours of the night trying to buy drugs because of his illicit activities. Whenever I answered the door and indicated that there was no crack to be had, they would sometimes get, desperate, belligerent and violent, and refuse to leave. * He put food products containing milk, meat and cheese on the heating unit and turned it on for three hours to see what would happen. I couldve told him what would happen if he asked me. * He got angry at some video game he and his friends were playing in the common area, so he busted into my room while I was sleeping, and punched me in the face and stomach. * A few days later he put a tarantula in my bedsheets while I was sleeping. Thankfully I wasnt bitten, but I was freaked out and still sometimes jump out of bed in the middle of the night for no reason and attack my sheets. * He shat in a lot of our fixtures. He would put his shit in baggies and leave them in strange places. I was thankful for when he used a baggie. A few words of advice for potential room-mates: A light fixture is not a toilet. A heating vent is not a toilet. The sink is not a toilet. The oven is not a toilet. That is all. I was pissed at this point. He refused to clean or take care of all of the messes listed above, so I ended up cleaning them, but keeping an hourly log and catalogue of what work I did and worked out a bill, which I sent to him. I was tired of cleaning feces out of our refridgerator, finding turds in our crisper drawer, shit on the stovetop, vomit on the carpet, vomit in our potted plants, vomit on the grille of our television set, urine on the arpet, urine on the kitchen floor seeping behind the refridgerator, dead animals in our oven and freezer units, and bags of feces hidden in our light fixtures. Have you ever had to move your refridgerator out of its little nook to get behind it to clean urine mixed with whatever the fuck lurks behind a refridgerator in the first place? After sending him the cleaning bil l and getting a refusal of payment, I took some of his stuff, dumped it in a storage unit across town, and held it until he paid me back. He stole some of my stuff in retaliation, but I called the cops and repossessed my belongings. He was unable to articulate to the cops that I had some of his shit in this exchange, so I ended up basically getting my shit back while he had to be put in their car to cool off. Upon retrospect, I think maybe he became mentally ill after losing his girlfriend, and not being able to part with his feces was part of his illness. This is purely speculative. He wasnt poor. He was from a wealthy family. They dont come into the picture, though. This is where the sealing begins. Put a datemark right here, because this is where shit gets crazy. Apparently, this is where shit gets crazy I had had enough. I bought a minifridge, a plug-in stovetop, two padlocked footlockers, a wooden bar, duct tape, a remote-control car, and an external padlock. My private area had two entrances Here, I best sum up my little fortress in this post I made in another thread: Actually, upon reflection, I really want to share how I kept my room-mate out of my private area. It was dubbed the Home Alone security system. I had two potential entrances to my private area, a sliding glass patio door and a regular door to the common area. I secured the common door with a padlock on the outside which was really just for show. The inside was barricaded. At the bottom I had a rolled up towel, and I sealed the rest of it with tape to avoid smell or other chemical assaults from the common area. I packed against the door with my king-sized bed, which was in turn secured from being dislodged by a bookshelf full of weights and books. Even if he got through the padlock, he would not have been able to open the door without busting it in two. The top half of the door was unsecured; I was worried he might break the door and gain access, so when I siezed his stuff I had it put in public storage across town. Now the sliding glass door is where the home alone shit comes in. It had a lock, but it was nonfunctional and only accessible from the inside. So in order to secure the door while I was away, I got a remote controlled car, attached it to a string which was secured by a fisheye screw at the top of the door, and tied to a security bar which would drop into the tread of the sliding door, preventing it from being opened. So when I came home, I would whip out my little remote control, make the RC car run off and lift the bar, then gain access to the apartment. To prevent this system from being discovered, I papered the inside of the sliding door with butcher paper, and I ran a wire outside of the door in an obvious manner, so that the roomie would think that this wire somehow, if tugged correctly, would undo the lock. To my knowledge, all of his attempts to get inside my apartment were by messing with this wire, which was attached to the handle of an antique coffee grinder and a paint can. If you tugged it, youd get a wierd uneven resistance as the handle crank turned and the paint can danced, which added to the illusion that this wire was some secret way of ingress. I heard this account from the neighbors, because it occurred while I was away, but apparenty he had lost his front door key, had some kind of intestinal problem, and had to take a shit really bad. All of the neighbors he knew he had already hit up for toilet access and been refused by this point. So hes swearing like crazy and yanking at this wire, and bashing against the door in a frenzied desperation when the neighbors call the cops, reporting a B. When the cops show up hes taking a shit in the bushes just outside my window. I fucking hate him so much. I think he went crazy and lost all his friends at some point, because around the time I barricaded, I stopped hearing parties. In fact, I stopped hearing anything from the common area of the apartment, except for the occasional formless moans and thumping. I dont know precisely what went on in there, because I mentally washed my hands of the whole area. I did, however, start smelling odors. I taped up my door. I know it wasnt smart to do things like this, but I was just fucking sick of dealing with his shit. I didnt call the landlord or anything, despite the fact that I knew he was destroying things over there. After cleaning so much of his shit up, I just wanted the universal god of justice to see what a wreck the place would become without my presence. Forgive me for being a little spotty in my descriptions after this point. What I do know of what transpired over there I can only reconstruct from forensic evidence, what precisely was destroyed, what commmon friends have told me in their accounts, and two forrays over into the waste zone over the next two months. I essentially didnt even see the front door of our apartment during this time. Details explained The feces he left around falls into three categories: 1. Experiments he conducted. The stove top feces thing was an experiment he conducted after his toilet was broken, and I refused him access to mine, and his neighbors got sick of letting him use theirs. I think he was trying to find some new way of getting rid of his shit. Either that or he thought it would be funny to make me clean shit off of his stove top and then got curious about what would happen if he turned on the burner. He really liked playing with heating elements and fire. It was fucking stupid. The dead cat in the oven, I think, falls into this category as well. 2. Feces in the refridgerator, shit in the closet, vomit on the TV, etc. I lump this into the OOPS I SHAT ON YOUR CARPET DURING A PARTY category. 3. Shit inside baggies in various places: After I stopped letting him use my bathroom he got angry and I think this started off as his way of proving to me that I should let him use my bathroom. After a while of this I think it started to take on a life of his own, and he started stashing his feces due to some mental illness. This is purely speculative. Actually, Jed was much smaller than me, and emaciated. In retrospect I could have taken him, easily. Thats just not how I do things. I do not break the law. Ever. I absolutely must have a clean, orderly house, which is why I went around cleaning shit up, regardless of who did it. I am not some cowardly little bitch, in fact, I think Jed was afraid of me, which is why he did passive agressive shit like shitting in light fixtures. I generally dont try to solve disputes by shouting or anything, I just quietly give notice of the unacceptable condition, document it, and clean it up. Somewhere back at my parents house I have a box full of typed, dated, signed letters to Jed stating the date, time, and extent of a mess I had to clean up, and a notice that such behavior is not acceptable, and that unless he stopped, I would move out and make him responsible for rent. Those letters helped me eventually recover back rent from him for the equivalent value of the common area he exclusively occupied during my stay there. I eventually got so pissed off at the condition of the rest of the apartment that I could only deal with it by sealing it off, and ignoring it. Essentially there is a blank period of about a month where I absolutely ignored anything from the common area, which is why it got so bad. I was crazy busy with schoolwork and my job, so I basically just shut the whole situation out of my mind for a while. After some time, I came to the realization that this guy might start a fire and get us both killed, which is really the beginning of the end. The thing that ended the insanity was his discovery that: 1. He had access to the fuse box 2. He could trip the fuse to my room with some metal and a hallway plug 3. He was too stupid to manually flip the fuse switch and just turn off my power, so he had to go the fire hazard route. I think he might have been afraid of touching the fuse box for fear of being electrocuted. But Ill detail the downfall of this shit later. For those of you wondering why I didnt call the landlord. I was kind of in denial. I just figured that whatever happened over there was Jeds business. I think I was on a sublease under him at the time, so I wasnt too worried about damage to the apartment. I withheld rent from him during this time too. His family was paying rent for the whole unit, and I would reimburse him directly. I deducted cleaning costs and other things from the rent I paid him. I think he was too embarassed or crazy to call me on it, or have his lawyer financial guru daddy get me busted. Quick fact: His father was on the cover of Forbes magazine like 8 years ago. Have you ever had something go wrong, and, knowing it was someone elses responsibility, just didnt intervene out of sheer curiousity about how it fucking bad it would get? I didnt turn him in for that reason too. I just wanted to see how bad it would get. I was stupid, mad, curious, and really didnt have any responsibility for damage to the unit, knowing his family would cover the costs. So, basically, I didnt kick his ass for two reasons: A) I am always law abiding to a fault, and B) The setup I made was really very convenient for me, and made it so I never even had any contact with the guy. It was basically rent-free I paid $50 a month in rent after all of the deductions for unsanitary conditions and ouster from the common area I made (and documented and got to keep after the courts got done looking at it , and I was exiting and entering from an opposite end of the house. Basically, I only really knew what Jed was up to during this period from forensic evidence in the apartment and the accounts of friends, neighbors, and the police. The Timeline I kind of messed up the timeline for this stuff, so heres a quick runthrough before I continue the story. * TIME A: Tons of parties, vomit being cleaned up by me, tarantula, punching, etc. I start witholding rent at this point, and am subtracting $200 a month from the rent for cleaning costs. * TIME B: His girlfriend leaves him. His friends stop hanging out with him. He smashes his bathroom. He uses mine for a time, is denied access, uses neighbors for a time, is denied access, and is angry at me for refusing him access to my bathroom. I fixed his faucets so they wouldnt leak all over the place and sent him a bill. He gets really pouty and angry and does the famous shit on the stovetop. He does experiments with various places to piss and poop, eventually settling on leaving it in baggies around the house. When I tell him this is unacceptable, he responds with a demand to use my bathroom, which I refuse. Around this time, while cleaning the stove top, I find the cat in the oven. It has a collar on it so I put it in a box and return it to the owners, not explaining where I found it, and advising them not to look in the box. I dont know how that turned out, and I didnt give them my name. I hope it got hit by a car and wasnt killed by Jed. * TIME C: Jed starts trying to get at me by playing his subwoofer really loud at odd hours, and demanding to use the bathroom. I get back at him by packing away all of his stuff, (including the audio equiptment) and storing it in a friends storage unit across town. I think that he started to really go truly crazy at this point. I come home finding him taking things out of my room and putting them into his truck. I restrain him and call the police. By this point he is beyond all rationality and is completely flipping out, so he is put in the copcar for a while and the officer helps me unload my things from his truck. For some bizarre reason the officer does not arrest him, but after talking to him lets him go. I think my calm temperment made the officer not realize he was violent and that is why I was restraining him. (My motto in life: So it goes. ) * TIME D: I dub this time the sealing. I really dont mind cleaning up poop and piss, I sed to be assistant manager of an apartment complex, but it is taking too much time to clean. I buy a range-top, and seal things off after writing a surrender letter to Jed, declaring that he has evicted me from the common area. Shortly after I come up with my Home Alone security system, withold rent except for a nominal $50 a month, and go on with life as if I did not have a crazy room-mate sealed away in the other end of the apartment. Time left on lease at this point: 2 months. Time D is when he shits in the bushes and is arrested for the night. * TIME E: The black time. I am not sure what exactly went on in the apartment during these two or three weeks. This is around the time finals are going on, so I really dont care. Water starts leaking from the wall, so I re-enter the common area to see what is up. This description really deserves its own post, and will clog the time-line up, so Ill elaborate later. I fix the water leak, which he had been covering up with newspapers, and promptly exit. Once he finds out I was in his area he flips out and makes a lot of noise over there, but I do not investigate. Remainder: There is one further, final re-entry by myself, with a flashlight. I couldnt get in with my key because the door was messed up, and his sliding door was blocked with a mattress, so I kicked down the door and entered. After a quick walk-through I call the fire department, the landlord, the police, and an ambulance. This is full of drama and will be detailed in its own post. The Black Time Im very preoccupied with work and school at this point. Since my point of entry on the house is opposite from the front door, the only real contact I have with Jed at this point is what I can hear from him through the walls, and whatever odor seeps under the door past my homeland security setup. This is pretty tolerable as a condition, definetely worth the $50 a month I was paying for it, but I was starting to get worried. I was worried about Jeds tarantulas getting into the ventilation system, so I sealed that off with plastic wrap and duct tape. Then I started worrying about fire. Jed liked to play with heating elements and flames, and he was an alcoholic, so I was worried that with the sealed off vent I wouldnt know if the house were on fire. At around 3pm, I was studying, when I noticed that my feet were getting wet. Upon inspection, the carpet next to the wall was wet. I went around to the front of the house and found that the door was ajar. I went back to my apartment and picked up a plumbers wrench and a flashlight to see what was wrong. Im not exactly the best at descriptions, as you can probably tell from the poor quality of writing in this thread, but heres the best I can do. Ill try to portray these things from my perspective at the time, and not reveal what they eventually turned out to be. I unlocked the front door of the apartment and pushed it open, after confirming that Jeds truck was gone. The lights in the place were out and the shades were drawn. The light shone inside and revealed that there were strange particulates hanging in the air. Not quite smoke. I would almost say that the odor was so thick in the apartment that it could be seen with the naked eye. Upon reflection, I imagine that what I was seeing was mold spores. As the arc of light from the bright outside swept across the room, a few things were revealed in sequence: First off, the common area was absolutely covered in free student newspapers. There were obviously things underneath because the newspapers bulged, and I could even identify an easy chair covered in newspapers in the corner. The kitchen was crammed with garbage. I could identify two large bulky garbage bags in the corner of the common room. Investigating them further, I discovered that they were covered in some kind of glistening brown muck. The whole place smelled absolutely rank. I swept my light across the place a few times, just to make sure Jed wasnt there lying in wait with a knife or something, and I proceeded into the apartment, leaving the door open. I took some vics vaporub from my pocket and doubed just under my nose. The garbage bags had been hastily pulled out of the common room closet, the one which contains pipes leading to Jeds bathroom. I shined a light into the closet and a rat or mouse or something ran very quickly under the newspapers in the common room. I looked and saw that there were several dents in a pipe in the common closet, and it was otherwise soaked. Finding no immediate source for the water, I proceeded into the hallway area towards Jeds room. I was a little uneasy, because the whole place was filled with debris. The common furnature that came with the apartment was lodged in the strangest places. Like the hallway to Jeds room had the common couch in it, upturned. I climbed over that after making sure Jed wasnt under it. I was a little more nervous because my egress had been essentially blocked by this couch, and walked past the debris. It looked like he was salvaging equipment and building materials from local construction yards. I could identify in the hallway, piping materials, a toilet lid, cinderblocks, scrap wood, and a box of pilfered nails. Jeds large sledge hammer (or geologists hammer, I dont know which) was lodged in the door of his room. I pushed it open and the damn thing fell out, giving me a fright. Anyway, I proceeded into his room, which was strangely clean. There was nothing in there, but the floor was absolutely soaked. I realized what happened; he realized there was water everywhere and threw all of his shit outside of the room into the hallway, and leaned his mattress against the sliding door (where it remained, to my knowledge, for like two weeks. I have no idea where he was sleeping. ). The leak was coming from his bathroom, so I went in with my wrench ready to clock the shit out of my crazy room mate if he should jump out at me. I saw the familiar smashed bathroom fixtures, and I was very thankful for the vics vaporub, but the stench stung my eyes still. There was a bathtub covered in newspapers. I proded it with my wrench and the newspapers gave way, like they were on top of jello or something soft and organic. I prodded it harder and what I can only describe as fecal fluid seeped from the sides of the newspaper. I think he was taking shits in the bathtub and covering it with newspapers, like some kind of foul lasagna. The leak was coming from under his sink, which he had dislodged through some violence. I could see the remains of a cinderblock on the pipe, so I think he might have been hitting the pipe with a cinderblock. I turned off the water to the sink, stopping the leak, and decided that it would be best if I left before he returned. A computer image of the bathroom On my way out, I climbed into the kitchen area and opened the fridge, just out of curiosity. There was a ball-like, organic mass in the middle, with tendrils of mold growing out of it. It was roughly the size of a human head with a large dent in it. Not desiring to get toxic mold in my nostrils, I closed the fridge and surveyed the common closet again. The walls of the closet were covered in a black shiny material which glistened. Upon closer inspection, it was mold. I didnt know that mold looked like that. I prodded the newspapers a little bit, but remembering the rat, and not wanting to get bitten, I left the apartment, closing the door behind me. I got a towel and did my best to dry out the carpet. I left my sliding glass door open to help air the place out. I printed out a notice to Jed that I had entered and fixed his sink, and placed it under the door. I later heard Jed come home, and he obviously discovered I had been in there, because he started freaking out, swearing, and throwing things around. I heard the couch in the hallway get rammed into my door. He threw a tantrum for another five minutes, and then I heard the front of the apartment door slam. I heard him approach my sliding glass door, swearing, and I can only imagine that after seeing it open, he decided not to come any further. Like I said, the guy was afraid of me. He left in his truck a few minutes later, to return in ten minutes. I heard strange moaning and stumbling around in the apartment after that. I think he was moving furniture or something. I heard breaking glass a few times, but after that, silence. The Kidnapping Lets get this over with. So as I said, I am a pretty easy going person and I could tolerate this situation pretty endlessly. But as I hinted earlier, Jed eventually made this situation unlivable. Heres how it goes down. Ive long been using a cellphone since Jed pretty much has control of our apartment phone, and whenever anyone calls hell answer with crazytalk. To my knowledge, he still has access to the store room in Longs Drugs, from which he has been stealing crates full of random stuff. Anyway, lately, Jed was more active than usual. I hear a lot of heavy stuff getting dragged around, and crashing, and lots of moaning, hollering, and other psychotic outbursts. One evening I hear Jed making a hell of a lot of noise, then silence. Then I hear the front door slam, and his truck goes off. A while later, he comes back, I hear more slamming into things, and a bunch of really high pitched loud vocalizations, kind of like whales mating. I get a call on my cellphone. This is basically how it goes. *ring* *pickup* Jed: SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSATAN! Me: Hi Jed. Youre nuts. Jed: I HAVE SARAH (Jeds ex girlfriend) Me: Really. Jed: LISTEN. I immediately hear a high pitched shrieking from the other end of the apartment, and banging and stumbling around. Sarah is a water polo champ. I think if he somehow got her into the apartment, he would have to hit her in the head with his big geologists hammer, because theres no way he would be able to wrestle her inside conscious. At any rate, I bet at the time that he hadnt grabbed Sarah, and the high pitched screaming was really that crazy motherfucker. Ive been getting all kinds of crazy phone calls from Jed lately, so I call bluff. Me: That sounds like you Jed. Jed: COME AND SEE. Me: I need to study. Bye Jed. *click* This is a very normal response from me, because by this point Jed has been calling me and saying all kinds of crazy shit. Basically, if I can hear him through the wall, I completely disregard anything he might say on the phone. Hes called me once and begged for help because hes stranded on the nascar race track in the middle of a race and I can clearly hear him through the wall. So I have a very trained automated response to Jeds calls: Hi Jed. Youre crazy. Thats nice. I need to study. Bye Jed. At this point, I smell smoke. This is very disconcerting, because as I said arlier, I have been living in fear of the whole place going up in flames. I stand up from my desk, and at that very moment, the power goes out, and I hear Jed laughing like crazy through the wall. I hear what sounds like something banging against the pipes in his bathroom, and some other, deeper noises, which I havent heard before. The noises have a sort of deep bass resonance, like a big drum, as if a bull or some other large creature were banging around over there. Jeds a small guy, and I didnt think him capable of moving shit around heavy enough to make that kind of noise with that degree of frequency. Since I smelled smoke and the power was out, I grab my gigantic wrench, smear some vics on my nose, put on my leather jacket, put on a motorcycle helmet I confiscated from Jed, and prepare myself for battle, maglight in hand. I am really psyched up at this point. I know a lot of you will be saying that I was stupid for operating like this, but I reasoned with myself that I had better go over there just in case he HAD captured some poor girl and was, I dunno, by the noise of it, bludgeoning her to death with a tuba. I headed around to Jeds car and looked inside. I saw he had rope and there was blood inside the cabin. I tried the door, it was locked. I smashed the window with a wrench and went inside the cabin. Behind the seat was some bloody rags. Ohhhh shit. At this point I decide I had better get the fuck in there and stop whatever he was up to. I felt really guilty at this point for letting it get this far. I decided that if I were to go in there and die, I wouldve earned it for letting him get that crazy for that long. I trucked it over to the door, set my wrench on the ground, and fumbled for my keys. I unlocked the door but it wouldnt give. The door was moist. I didnt quite understand that. I pushed and pushed but it hardly moved an inch. So I started stomping at the door as hard as I could. Eventually I heard something slide and shift and collapse on the other side of the door, and I gave it another kick. My foot actually made a hole and went through the door, and I fell over. I started freaking out because I was worried Jed would stab my boot or something, so I struggled and hurt my ankle. I also broke my foot from the kicking. Eventually I calmed and got my foot out of the door, and bodychecked the door. It came flying off the hinges, and came completely to pieces. The Journey In Ok, so I bashed the door in, and I went flying into the apartment, head first into a wall that is right in front of the doorway. The couch had been barricaded against the door, and my kicking caused it to tip over. It was still partially blocking the door. I immediately started struggling wildly once I was on the floor, flailing my wrench and maglight everywhere in case something was about to jump on me. I immediately exited the apartment, grabbed a metal patio chair, and hurled it into the blackened apartment in case anyone was in there. The motorcycle helmet was making it really hard to hear any kind of ambush, and it was covered in grease and filth from the couch, so I ditched it, and proceeded inside. It was night time out so I didnt get the benefit of a good light source from outside, and my maglight had grease on it. I saw a glow coming from the corner. I tried to smell if there was smoke coming from a particular direction, but the Vics vaporub made it difficult. I swung my light around the room and found it full of trash like it was before. There was no way I could ascertain whether Jed was hiding under something. I did note that some of the newspapers were covered in what looked like splotches of blood. From my forensics training I could gather from the splotches that whatever shed them was moving at a high rate of speed through the apartment. I bounded over the couch into the apartment, landing on my broken foot, and falling on my face, in a lot of pain. I remembered the tarantulas and freaked out again, scrambling to my feet and stumbling over towards the source of light. I discovered that Jed had stolen a large floodlight from Longs drugs, which was in the corner, smouldering the carpet. I grabbed that and quickly shone it all over the place. Suddenly I saw that there was a guy about 6 feet tall wearing a beige suit about two feet away from me, so I flipped the fuck out and tackled it. It turned out to be a cardboard standup of Captain Kirk Jed got somehow. I picked up my wrench again and limped onward. MS Paint image of Martin going at Kirk The apartment was completely silent by this point. All I could hear was some kind of dull tubal thumping from inside the place, that same dull bass noise I heard earlier. Remembering my crack training at counterstrike, instead of going further in, I limped over to the kitchen area and flung shit around to make sure that nobody was hiding under the newspapers. I could see that he had gotten a lot more crap since the last time I was here. There were mason jars of urine in the kitchen, along with gallon jugs of the stuff. There were a lot of things he had obviously stolen from longs drugs. There was a crate of sour patch kids all over the place. On one wall was a poster of homer simpson naked drinking beer, and a bunch of knives had been stabbed into it. I was too angered and pumped up to be frightened. I opened the refridgerator and stomped the shelves apart while I was at it, just to be sure he wasnt hiding in there. I had a huge floodlight but it couldnt illuminate everything all the time, especially with the dank murk of mold spores and the smoke, so I ended up trying to shine it everywhere at once as I proceeded. The common closet was closed, so I kicked that in and swung my wrench into the dark area within. I hit something soft so I kept pounding at it, but it wasnt human. It was a trash bag full of something soft and yielding. I gave it a kick and moved on. I ripped the doorway off of the hall closet and swung my wrench inside, but I only hit a few canned goods in there. I could hear high pitched shrieks coming from the interior of his room. His hallway was pretty fucking well blocked with shit, so I started grabbing things and chucking them into the common room. He had a gigantic stuffed pluto doll, about as big as a gorilla, which I chucked. Among the other things I hurled was a futon I recognized as salvaged from the end of our block, some patio furniture, a bag full of mcdonalds playpen balls, and something which was big, black, disgusting, soft, covered in growht, which I cannot, even to this day, identify. I crawled through the remaining debris with the wrench in front of me. This is embarassing, but I forgot to mention. As I was hurling stuff, I had my wrench in my hand still, and so I hit myself in the face with it. It required some stitches, and, since I had hit the trashbag full of feces with the wrench, it got infected. So to tally it up, we have one broken foot, one twisted ankle, one gouged and splintered shin, and one bleedingassed face. So anyway, I am crawling through the hole Ive made in the blockaded hallway. I finally realize why he has been making so much noise. The fucker has made some kind of evil fortress. If my room is the fortress of light, his is the fortress of evil. And feces. I crawl through the hole and pop out in his room. My strategy when playing doom 3, when I knew something bad was about to happen in a room I dropped into, was to run around like crazy in the dark and fling grenades. Well, instead of doing the slick commando thing and dropping into a crouch and assessing the situation, I popped out of that hallway barricade with my wrench and flashlight, and ran like crazy into the pitch black room, swinging around at anything and everything. I connected with some stuff but nothing human. My foot failed me and I fell over and crawled like mad to a corner. I dove for my flashlight, picked it up, and assessed the room. This place was full of fucking hostess products. The guy must have stolen at least two crates worth of the damn things. They were still in their wrapping. Twinkies, hostess cupcakes, all kinds of stuff. There was nobody in the room, but there was blood all over the place. I could hear that strange bass ressonance from inside the bathroom. There was actually a light coming from there, it was rosy red, coming from a crack in the bathroom door. The Final Showdown Im splicing this in because I was a lazy fucker and failed to describe the guys room: the very air in Jeds room was absolutely thick with mold and smoke, which I couldnt smell from the vix, but it still stung my eyes anyway. He had smeared all kinds of crazy gibberish on the walls with what looked like red lipstick, and the walls themselves were absolutely covered in growth. The barricades in the hallway mustve been there for a while, because they essentially kept a lot of moisture in the air in Jeds back section. Also, I forgot to mention this as well, but as I was running like a sissy through Jeds room, I knocked into his mattress which he had leaned against the side door a few weeks prior (my estimate). The mattress was completely soaked and very heavy, and the instant it hit me I thought I had fallen into an insidious trap or something, so I further injured myself by trying to struggle out from underneath it. Jed was making these freaky noises the moment I burst into his room, but the echo chamber effect of the bathroom and ventillation system, and the strange nature of the noises, made it difficult to determine where the hell they were coming from. Also, there were tons of boxes of hostess cupcakes and other similar products. The carpets in his room were really rank. The previous water leak had made them dank with mold, and I can only imagine what the high fecal content of the air did. It was difficult to breathe, and nearly impossible to see, which really added to my panic. It was almost like I had been buried alive. The scrawlings on the wall, though I didnt really get to see them in much detail because I was far more concerned with other things at the time, were just creepy. The vibrations made me think for a second or two that he had tunnelled under the apartment and Id have to go into some kind of underground basement hed made. Edit: Scrawlings on the wall from what I saw consisted of nonsense latin words, tons of triangles within triangles within triangles trailing all over the place, and a few goatsatan faces made of triangles. I got to my feet and regained my composure. I stomped over the hostess cupcakes and other misc crap he had lying on the ground. I would limp every time I remembered I had a hurt foot, but really, by this time, I didnt give a shit about the pain. I heard the shrieking from inside the bathroom, like some kind of high pitched wailing, and the strange bass resonance. I kicked open the bathroom door and screamed at the top of my lungs, YOU FUCKING FUCK SHIT. I wasnt in the right mind to come up with awesome atch phrases, so lets pretend I screamed something bannable like, The juice is loose! I stomped into the bathroom and was immediately PHYSICALLY STRUCK by the most powerful odor I have ever, ever encountered. My nose was pretty vixed up, but somehow, my eyeballs felt like they could smell the odor. I swung my wrench before I really looked to see what was going on and totalled what was left of the sink. In the corner of the bath tub I saw Jed writhing around with a golden metallic obje ct in the shit lasagna. He was freaking out and screaming. The other thing I noticed was the fire. In the remains of the toilet tank was a bunch of flaming papers, right next to a can of paint thinner. I figured that Jeb threw in the thinner thinking it would burst into flames, but he neglected to uncap the thing. So I grabbed the can of paint thinner and in one swift motion clocked Jeb in the head with it. He started freaking out even more, and at this point I could see that the object he was writhing with in the tub was a saxophone. He seemed to be bleeding all over his head but it was hard to tell because of the shit smeared everywhere, coming out onto the floor. The lightbulb was covered in either nail polish or blood. MS Paint image of Martin storming the bathroom I backed out of the room and grabbed a jug of urine, and threw it at the fire. Remembering I should probably uncap the jug before using it to extinguish flames, I grabbed another one and actually poured it out. By this time Jeb was trying to get out of the bath tub, so I stomped at him with my boot, closed the bathroom door, and jammed the fuck out of there after one final check for any hostages in the bedroom. Then I got the fuck out of there, rammed the exterior door with a patio table, and called the cops, the fire department, an ambulance, and, after getting back into my place and looking up the number, the landlord. There. Done. Oh, and aftermath, there was some court action for back rent, but all said and done they couldnt prove I was witholding rent because I paid Jed with cash on the barrel head, and I ended up actually getting paid money to stay there in the long run. I still have Jeds things to this day and to my knowledge he is in a nutbarn or something.

Three Roads To One Hero essays

Three Roads To One Hero essays Throughout the two epics, Beowulf, and Gilgamesh, and the novel Grendel, we see certain heroic characteristics of the main characters. Although Beowulf, Grendel, and Gilgamesh all come to a heroic end, they differ in way in which they came to that end. In Beowulf we read of a great warrior who cares about nothing but honor and his people. In Gilgamesh, we see a man who comes to a realization of his mortality, and then does all he can to overcome that "weakness." Finally, in Grendel, we see a "monster" that was born in a cruel world, and comes to a cruel ending. Throughout the epic poem of Beowulf, we not only read of the heroism of Beowulf himself, but the guile of the antagonist, Grendel. By the fifth chapter, Beowulf is showing a characteristic that was vital to a Greek hero. He is boasting of his accomplishments. He tells of how he once fought a serpent in the open ocean. This might not seem to heroic, but you must attempt to become an archeological reader to begin fully understanding why this is so heroic. During the fist century of this millenium, one of the many things that scared people, and continues to do so today, is the unknown. Beowulf braved the unknown on not only land, but also where man has never belonged. He braved the unknown in the ocean. Grendel throughout the poem is, however, shown in a different light. He is a monster. He is a descendant of the first murderer, Cain. He kills simply for sport. He relishes in the blood of mankind. He is a monster who knows no bounds. In Grendel however, the point of view of the reader has changed. We now read from the point of view of the "monster." We see how he has been born into a world where he understands next to nothing, and does not even have the comfort of a true mother. He can talk to no one, save for a dragon that sees everything, past, present and future, and he is alone in a world of humans. There is no place of refuge where he can escape the world of hate that he ...

The History of Hutu and Tutsi Conflicts

The History of Hutu and Tutsi Conflicts Hutu and Tutsi are two groups in Africa that became known to most in other parts of the world through the grisly 1994 Rwanda genocide, but the history of conflict between the two ethnic groups reaches back further than that. Generally, the Hutu-Tutsi strife stems from class warfare, with the Tutsis perceived to have greater wealth and social status (as well as favoring cattle ranching over what is seen as the lower-class farming of the Hutus). The Tutsis are thought to have originally come from Ethiopia and arrived after the Hutu came from Chad. Burundi, 1972 The seeds of resentment for the minority Tutsis were sown when the first elections after winning independence in May 1965 saw strong Hutu wins, but the king appointed a Tutsi friend prime minister, sparking a failed coup attempt by Hutus. Even though this was quickly quelled in the capital, it set off additional violence between the two ethnicities in the countryside. In addition, Tutsis, which made up about 15 percent of the population to the 80 percent Hutus, occupied other key government and military positions. On April 27, some Hutu policemen rebelled, killing all Tutsis and Hutus (estimates range from 800 to 1,200 dead) who refused to join the rebellion in the lakeside towns of Rumonge and Nyanza-Lac. The leaders of the rebellion have been described as radicalized Hutu intellectuals who operated out of Tanzania. The Tutsi president, Michel Micombero, responded by declaring martial law and putting the wheels of a Hutu genocide in motion. The first phase virtually wiped out the educated Hutu (by June, nearly 45 percent of teachers were reported missing; students at technical schools were targeted, as well), and by the time the carnage was done in May about 5 percent of the population had been killed: estimates range from 100,000 to up to 300,000 Hutu. Burundi, 1993 The Hutus won the presidential office with banker Melchior Ndadaye, forming the first government since independence from Belgium in 1962 with elections that had been agreed to by the ruling Tutsis, but Ndadaye was assassinated shortly thereafter. The killing of the president threw the country back into turmoil, claiming about 25,000 Tutsi civilians in revenge killings. This sparked killings of Hutu, resulting in a total death toll of about 50,000 over the next several months. The mass killings of the Tutsi wouldnt be called genocide by the United Nations until a 2002 inquiry. Rwanda, 1994Â   In April 1994 Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, a Hutu, and Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, also a Hutu, were killed when their plane was shot down. By this time, tens of thousands of Hutus had fled the Burundi violence into Rwanda. Blame for the assassination has been pointed at both Tutsi and Hutu extremists; current Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who at the time led a Tutsi rebel group, has said that the Hutu extremists conducted the rocket attack to set in motion their long-laid-out plans to wipe out the Tutsis. These genocidal plans were hatched not just at cabinet meetings, but spread in media incitement, and capped a long period of ethnic unrest in Rwanda. Between April and July, some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed, with a militia group called the Interahamwe taking lead in the slaughter. Sometimes Hutus were forced to kill their Tutsi neighbors; other participants in the genocide were given monetary incentives. The United Nations let the killings go on unabated after 10 Belgian peacekeepers were killed in the early days of the genocide. Democratic Republic of Congo, Post-Rwandan Genocide to the Present Many Hutu militants who participated in the Rwandan genocide fled to the Congo in 1994, setting up encampments in the mountainous areas akin to fiefdoms. In addition, several groups of Hutu fighting the Tutsi-dominated government of Burundi settled in the eastern part of the country. Rwandas Tutsi government has twice invaded with the intention of wiping out the Hutu militants. The Hutu also battle a Tutsi rebel leader, General Laurent Nkunda, and his forces. Up to five million deaths have been caused by the years of fighting in the Congo. The Interahamwe now call themselves the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and use the country as a staging base to overthrow Kagame in Rwanda. One of the groups commanders told the Daily Telegraph in 2008, We are fighting every day because we are Hutu and they are Tutsis. We cannot mix, we are always in conflict. We will stay enemies forever.

Key Characteristics of the Narrative Approach Assignment

Key Characteristics of the Narrative Approach - Assignment Example Identify the purpose of the research study and identify a phenomenon to explore. 2) Select an individual to learn about the phenomenon. 3) Pose initial research question(s). 4) Describe the researcher’s role (entry to the research site, reciprocity, and ethics) 5) Describe data collection methods 6) Describe appropriate strategies for analysis and interpretation of data. 7) Write a narrative account. Narrative Account Joe, a fifth grader does not mix up with other girls in her class. She studies in a school that is only meant for girls, meaning there is no coeducation in that school. Although Joe is not very fond of studies, yet she is always seen immersed in books in the free time in school. In the mid-break, she takes her lunch in the corner of the class and eats the sandwich quietly. While doing so, she makes sure she has some book with her. It can be said that books do her no good apparently because neither she participates in the intellectual discussions, nor her performa nce in the class tests is up to the mark of a student who gives half as much time to the books as she does. She has no friend in the class, though she makes sure she has one girl aside from her when she has to move out of the class. That could be any girl†¦she just sticks with someone. Otherwise, within the class, she remains isolated. Her class-fellows think that she is too sensitive, so they frequently make fun of her. The researcher has the question, ‘Is reading books really the favorite pastime of Joe or it is just a refuge she seeks to avoid interaction with her class-fellows?† The research also wants to know, â€Å"What makes Joe have a girl beside her in the public when she doesn’t make the bond with anyone inside the classroom?† To find answers to these questions, the researcher decides to interview Joe. The research also intends to talk to Joe’s parents, her teachers and at least five randomly selected girls from Joe’s class. The researcher particularly wants to know how Joe socializes with her family members as well as some events that have occurred in her childhood that might have a big role in making her what she is today. From the information collected from the interviewees, the researcher has prepared the narrative research report. 1. Identify the purpose of the research study and identify a phenomenon to explore. Answer: Purpose of this research was to investigate why Joe avoided hanging out with friends and seek refuge in books. 2. Select an individual to learn about the phenomenon. Answer: Joe’s parents, five class-fellows and Joe herself were selected. 3. Pose initial research question(s). 3.1 Is reading books really the favorite pastime of Joe or it is just a refuge she seeks to avoid interaction with her class-fellows? 3.2 What makes Joe have a girl beside her in the public when she doesn’t make a bond with anyone inside the classroom? 4. Describe the researcher’s role (entry to the research site, reciprocity, and ethics) Answer: Researcher approached Joe’s mother with help of the school administration.

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business Essay

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business - Essay Example This is not the case where recoveries can be made directly from the agent or person causing the harm, rather the principle behind vicarious liability is that an employer exerts control over the physical conduct of an agent and is therefore responsible for the harmful conduct. In a recent case, Arena Group 2000, the maker of a sign that fell on a San Diego man and paralyzed him, was held vicariously liable for the injury caused.2 There are also several cases where private actions for securities fraud under Section 10(b) show that corporate officers and law firms are being held vicariously liable for preparing misleading disclosure documents.3 It was held in this case that even where secondary agents are involved, where they participate in a fraudulent activity to an extent which could characterize them as authors or co-authors they may be liable for damages accruing from such harmful activity4. Another case where vicarious liability for tort was imposed upon an employer was in the cas e of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Inc v Hydrolevel Corp5 where common law agency principles were used to impute liability upon an employer in a position of sufficient authority to exert control.An employer can also become liable for vicarious liability for the harm caused by its employees under a theory of negligent hiring, where adequate checking of references and skills are not carried out by an employer before the hiring is completed6. The Strict liability rule may be enforced in corporations such as DWI and especially public corporations where the corporation will be expected to assume the liability for the tortious acts of its employees.

Composition and Seperations Essay Example for Free

Composition and Seperations Essay When a kernel of popcorn is heated, pressure builds and, depending on the percent of water in the kernel, the kernel pops open and popcorn is produced. The percentage of water in each kernel differs between brands of popcorn. If the steam produced fails to pop the kernel, the kernel becomes hard and burns. The purpose of Part 1, â€Å"Popcorn Composition†, of the â€Å"Composition and Separations Lab was to determine whether premium popcorn brands display desirable qualities when measured and compared with cheaper brands of popcorn. The experimental relevance of Part 1 of the experiment was to demonstrate the effects of water in a popcorn kernel when heated and converted to heat. Differences in water percentage determine whether or not the kernel will burst and create popcorn. In Part 2, â€Å"Separating a Solid Mixture†, the purpose was to work with supplies in the lab to separate a solid mixture of popcorn, sand, salt and iron filings into the four separate components to eventually learn the percent composition of the solid mixture. By developing a plan to separate the mixture, the group should have ended up with four separate items with weights that added up to the original weight of the mixture. The experimental relevance of Part 2 of the experiment was to learn how to separate each component in a four part solid mixture from each other. Procedure: In part 1 of this week’s lab three popcorn kernels of a one brand were given to each group. A Bunsen burner was set up by each group and the three kernels were each weighed separately on an electric balance. The Bunsen burner was then lit following the instructions given. (ch185) A 100mL beaker was obtained and filled with a half inch of clean sand. The beaker was placed on a ring stand and one kernel of popcorn was submerged into the sand. The beaker was then covered with a watch glass and heated over the Bunsen burner until the kernel popped. After popping, the kernel was removed and weighed and the moisture content was measured. This procedure occurred for all three kernels. After the moisture content of all three kernels were measured, an average was deduced for the three and written on the board. Each of the other four groups also wrote their averages for their individual brand on the board to give the class a better understanding of the differences in moisture content for each of the five brands. In part 2 of this week’s lab, a 50mL beaker was filled with a solid mixture consisting of popcorn, sand, salt and iron filings. The group then got the mass of the entire mixture and began sketching a plan to separate the mixture properly into its original four contents. First the group separated the popcorn from the mixture by using a drainer. The popcorn was then weighed. Second, the iron filings were separated using a magnet after pouring the remaining mixture onto a piece of paper. After the magnet collected all iron, the iron was scraped into a beaker and the weight was recorded. The third and final separation used a beaker and a filter paper. The filter paper was weighed and put into a filter that spilt into the beaker. The remaining salt/sand mixture was then poured into the filter paper using water to dissolve the salt. After the solution was put into the filter paper and the salt had dissolved, the filter paper and sand was dried and then weighed. After subtracting the filter paper weight from the weight of the filter paper and sand together, the weight of the sand was known. Once you had the weight of the sand, iron and popcorn, the weight of the salt was found by subtracting the three combined weights from the original weight of the mixture. To find the percent composition of each component, the weight of each was divided by 100 and, in the end, each components percent added up to 100% of the initial mixture. Results/ Data/ Calculations: Part 1: Each group determined the moisture percentage of their brand of popcorn. Table 1 shows the moisture content of each brand. Table 1: Moisture Percentage of Popcorn Brands Group Number| Popcorn Brand Used| Percent Moisture| 1| Act III| 6.24 %| 2| Food Club| 8.35 %| 3| Jolly Time| 12.2 %| 4| Orville Redenbacher| 7.47 %| 5| Pop Perfect| 6.22 %| Jolly Time popcorn was measured for weight and the moisture content was then measured. Table 2 shows the initial weights, final weights, moisture contents and percent moistures of each of the three trials performed. Table 2: Moisture Percentage by Weight of Jolly Time Popcorn Kernels Kernel| Initial Weight (g)| Final Weight (g)| Moisture Content| % Moisture| 1| 0.105 g| 0.086 g| 0.019 g| 17.8 %| 2| 0.138 g| 0.140 g| -0.003 g| -1.89 %| 3| 0.113 g| 0.106 g| 0.007 g| 6.55 %| AVERAGE| 0.109 g| 0.096 g| 0.013 g| 12.2 %| Sample Calculations: Find weight= (cupcake holder + kernel – cupcake holder) = (.263 g .177 g) = 0.086 g Moisture Content= Initial weight – final weight = 0.105 g – 0.086 g = 0.019 g % Moisture= Moisture content x 100 Initial weight of kernel = 0.019 g = 17.8% 0.105 g Average % moisture = 17.8 + 6.55 = 12.2% 2 Part 2: The weight and eventually percentage composition was measure in a mixture of corn, iron, sand and salt and then with each component individually. Table 3 shows the weight and % compositions. Table 3: Percent composition of Mixture Material| Weight (g)| % Composition| Full Mix| 42.2 g| 100 %| Corn| 3.26 g| 7.79 %| Iron| 19.0 g| 45.0 %| Sand| 15.7 g| 32.5 %| Salt| 6.25 g| 14.8 %| Sample Calculations: Percent Composition:Initial Weight x100 Total Mixture Weight Beaker with nothing: 59. 95 g Beaker with mix: 102.1 g W/ Mix:102.1 g W/O Mix: 59.95g 42.98 g Discussion: The experiment in part 1 was done to show that even slight differences in moisture content in popcorn make a big difference when it comes to the popcorn’s â€Å"popping† abilities. Before the experiment, the moisture content and its effect on popcorn were unknown. After the experiment each group left with the knowledge of moisture content in both preferred brands and cheap brands of popcorn. This experiment gave insight into the importance of exactness for popcorn companies pertaining to the moisture content in each kernel. The experiment in part 2 was performed to show that most solid mixtures can be separated if using the right tools. Each group had to propose a solution to separating the mixture and then weighing each of the four components afterwards to conclude if they added up to the initial weight of the solid mixture. This experiment allowed students to use their brains to separate any solid mixture that they come in contact with, which will be helpful for the future in this lab and others. Throughout the two parts of this experiment several specific errors were found and dealt with. In part 1 of this experiment several popcorn kernels were burnt and did not pop. These kernels may have affected our experiment by giving us false data, as we did not include these kernels in any final data. With burnt popcorn kernels, we were shown that the moisture content in the popcorn brand given may have resulted in one of the â€Å"cheap† brands given. In part 2 of our experiment, the initial weight was supposed to be taken before separating any part of the mixture. Unfortunately, the initial weight was skipped before the popcorn was separated. The popcorn then had to be put back into the mixture and the mixture was then weighed for the initial weight. This may have affected the final data, although it was a small error. In part 2 another error occurred when the group began to separate the salt and sand in an incorrect manner. This, however, did not affect final data, as the salt would have been eliminated anyway. Conclusions: The goals in this experiment for part 1 were to determine the moisture content in a brand of popcorn, compare the given brand with others in the lab and then find out if moisture content affects the ‘popping’ or corn and which brand or brands has a better likelihood of popping (i.e. preferred vs. cheap brands). In part 2 of the experiment the goals were to separate a solid mixture and then find the percent composition of each of the four materials within the mixture. The average moisture percentage for Jolly Time popcorn was 12.2 %. To get to this point, the group popped three separate kernels and found the moisture percentage for each and then averaged them. The percent composition for part 2 of the solid mixture was 7.79 % for corn, 45.0 % for iron, 32.5 % for sand and 14.8% for salt. These measurements added up to the 100% solid mixture and the weights added up correctly. References: Ch185. How to Light and Adjust a Bunsen Burner. http://ch185.semo.edu/labsafe/bunsen.html (accessed Feb 12, 2013). Composition and Separations. http://linus.chem.ku.edu/genchemlab/184SP13/Download184_Labs/Composition%20and%20Separations%20Chem%20184%20Spring%202013.pdf (accessed Feb 12, 2013) Guidelines for Laboratory Reports http://linus.chem.ku.edu/GenChemLab/184SP13/guidelines%20for%20lab%20reports.htm (accessed Feb 12, 2013)

The Dutch Attack on Landguard Fort Essay -- Papers

The Dutch Attack on Landguard Fort Q 1. Source A tells us that the Dutch attacked with about one-thousand men, in five-hundred small vessels and landed near Felixstowe cliff. Many of these soldiers had pikes. Silas Taylor, the author of the source, says that "some part" of the Dutch army attacked the fort, which is an early indication of the rear guard left behind. This also points to a possible reason for the failure of the attack, in that the Dutch did not attack with the full force of their army. He says that one English soldier was killed, two were wounded and that the Dutch made two attacks. He says the Dutch attacked boldly, but were as boldly and resolutely answered. However, he could be saying that the Dutch attacked boldly to make the English defence sound even better. We are told that the Dutch were put to "fright and flight" by the small guns from a galliot. The small guns from this ship were fired into the area were the Dutch were taking cover, and pebbles were thrown up which made them retreat. This source gives the overall impression that the Dutch made a strong attack, but were "boldly" answered by the English. The reliability of this source, however, is questionable, as it was written by an English man, who is bound to be biased towards his own country. Also, he was watching form Harwich, which is roughly two miles from Felixstowe. Q2. Source F does not support source B. Source B says that the Dutch ships were "so close to Landguard Fort that we expect fire to be given at any moment". Source F says that the ships were so far away from the fort that their shots would "scarcely reach (the fort)." The Dutch ... ...re casualties. This also could have been linked to De Ruyter's reluctance to commit large forces to attack. It is likely he did not want to risk any unnecessary victims, especially when he was aware of the task facing him. Also, while this attack was happening, peace negotiations were being held in Breda. After the Dutch victory in the Medway, they had the upper hand in negotiating a deal. De Ruyter would have wanted to avoid a disaster at Landguard that could have changed the balance of power in the negotiations. This victory was not essential, but keeping his fleet together and in control of the English Channel was. Overall, I think that the Dutch attack was not committed enough, but this was planned by De Ruyter, He knew the strength of the English fort, and did not want to risk any unnecessary casualties.

D1Influence Tha Different Stakeholders Exert in One Organisation

In this case study I have chosen one of the following organisations from my previous task â€Å"McDonalds. † I have chosen McDonald’s because they are a very popular worldwide fast food restaurant and also they have a various amount of stake holders. Owners: Owners want to prosper and make money. They also need to care about how the business is running and how it will be more successful by investing money. If McDonald’s wasn’t as successful as it is today then owners wouldn’t be as confident to keep their service running.Customers: Customers play a huge part in the business of McDonald’s an0d how it is run because without customers a business will not be successful. Customers have given McDonald’s the name it is today by going in and buying the products to keep the business running and also they can help owners make improvements. Suppliers: Suppliers of McDonald’s will be out of business if McDonald’s were not as popular as they are today and McDonald’s wouldn’t have been as successful if they didn’t have suppliers and their products to sell.Employees: Employees are as important as Owners in McDonald’s because they attend work and help the business achieve its goals by making the business successful also without employees, McDonald’s would be a lost cause because most employees run the business because they are usually set out in different departments to help customers focus on who to ask for assistant. Trade unions/ employer associations: Trade unions play a big role in McDonald’s because they are the people that make it happen for employers by giving them a job and without trade unions employees will not know what’s right and what’s wrong.Employer associations have an huge aspects in the role of business because without staff in a business a business will not be successful and staff make a business a business and would not be one without them . Local and national communities: Local and national communities are important to McDonald’s because they are a famous international fast food store and without their local and national communities they would have never been where they are today.They are usually concerned if the business is being successful and has no risks to bring them down, they can help and participate because they can give in good words to the business world about how McDonald’s should be run. Pressure groups: McDonald’s will do everything to avoid pressure groups because they have an huge impact in the world being run in different continents they need to make sure they do not lose the publics trust and the publics face or then pressure groups will be involved in McDonald’s business.Pressure groups are usually interest groups and can take over the business if it loses its face. Government: McDonald’s need the government in their business because they receive taxes, the more mo ney McDonald’s makes the more the government make, so they will go out of their way to make sure that McDonald’s are successful and reaching their goals because it they fail then the government will not be getting their moneys worth.

Retail Strategic Planning Essay

Organized retailing in home and building sector was expected to face stiff challenge from the existing small, independent, and powerful local retailers. Many international retailers like Home Depot, IKEA and Lowe were also eyeing the Indian market which was untapped by organized retailers. They provided all the product categories and services that were required to build a new home or for home improvement or renovation under one roof. Muebles belonging to Casa Moblaje group was a pioneer in this segment. Homepro was the first building mall, which offered a wide range of building materials, home improvements products, and furnishings. They provided information about land availability and selection, and housed offices of architects, designers and financiers. The Home Store and Zeba were in home furnishing segment; Gautier dealt in furniture; and Johnson Tiles was in the sanitary ware sector. Identify Strategic Alternatives Ansoff’s Matrix Muebles had captured a large market of the home building and construction business in Ahmedabad as well as the home improvement business of the surrounding cities and towns. The ideal strategy for Muebles would be to develop the market. The areas surrounding Ahmedabad like Baroda, Surat etc is highly industrialized and lot of construction takes place in these areas. Muebles can target these cities and can increase the size of the market to get larger sales. Retail Mix Variables Product The store stocked products under five major categories Kitchen accessories: Appliances, Crockery, Glassware, Ovens etc Furniture and furnishing: Sofa set, bed, linen etc Bathroom: Tiles, Sanitary ware, Fittings, Taps, and accessories Hardware visible: Door, Window, Safety equipment, Gardening Tools, Washing Machines Electrical equipments: Lights, Luminaries, Chandeliers, Switches, Fans, Generators etc They mainly stored branded products. The store policy was to use the number one brand or the aggressive second. If this was not possible the company entered in to contracts to with smaller players who provided with in store brands. The store stocked approximately 12000 SKUs and had 120 suppliers. As the store move upward in the retail wheel, it took the invisible and les involved products out of the shelf. The visible and high involvement products replaced the invisible. They also increased the share of storing impulse goods in the relevant home decoration and furnishing category. Price The pricing policy of the store varied across the product categories. Pricing was competitive and benchmarked against the traditional hardware and home building material stores in product categories which were usually available in traditional hardware stores . In the destination product categories, the store charged premium price. Store Layout The store was laid out in a grid format. It was functional in nature and was based on a do-it-yourself model. Thirty percent of the shop space was given to 12 partners (vendors) who complete freedom of operation. The store atmosphere was attractive. The format of the store aided the customer to find the right the product. Some products like kitchen fittings were merchandised in simulated conditions to give the customer a feel of the complete range of the store’s offering. Promotion In order to increase the levels of awareness, they were communicating by using a mix of me. dia for brand and tactical advertising. They used the Gujarati and English media to reach out to their target segments. They developed two communication packages, one for the lay consumers with low comprehension of Muebles’s value proposition, and another for the professionals (home builders) who had a relatively higher awareness of the concept. In order to increase the sales of the invisible products, Muebles decided to educate the home builder. The home builder package consisted of developing a critical mass of professionals by rewarding their purchase and then working towards giving them accreditation through a professional course so that they would buy all the materials from Muebles. The apartment package consisted of using direct mails and tie-ups with companies like Electrolux, Pergo, and ICI to give special deals to five different apartment owners. Muebles targeted the HR departments in various companies and offered special deals. The problem in this deal was the acquisition of database of apartment owners. Customer Service Muebles policy was to satisfy the customer. Managers were supposed to visit the shop floor 3 hours a day to understand shopper’s behavior and needs better. Each category had 4 personnel. The total floor level employees were around 20. The floor employees tracked the customer right from the entry to the store and observed them carefully from a distance. The motive was to help the customer in the selection without interfering. The staff was instructed to respect the privacy of the customers. Muebles provided a unique shopping experience to the customer. Consumers were provided a wide range and assured quality, competitive prices, and world class service. They provided value added services to the consumers like * Comprehensive design assistance by a panel of professionals and design consultants * Apartment Packages * Installation service and support * Info mediation through website * Home loan consultancy and loans * Certification programmes for electricians, masons, plumbers and carpenters * Educational programme on do-it-yourself techniques and procedures * Customer loyalty programmes

Foreign Affairs, Economics and the Articles of Confederation essays

Foreign Affairs, Economics and the Articles of Confederation essays The Articles of Confederation adopted in 1777 were designed to provide an effective form of government but did nothing of the sort. Although the Confederation attempted to strengthen foreign relations by maintaining peace with Great Britain and Spain, it failed. It also tried to better the nation's economic conditions through means of taxation and an increase in the national government's power, neither of which worked. Ultimately, the Articles of Confederation were unsuccessful and only added to the stack of problems the nation had to fix. The rest of the world did not think highly of the Confederation, making it challenging for it to convince Great Britain and Spain to honor their part of the peace treaty of 1783. The British had agreed to repay all slaveowners whose slaves had been seized by the British army, as well as promise to leave the United States. The British did not follow through with either of these agreements. John Adams was sent to London as a minister to resolve such issues but returned with no such achievement. Great Britain declined to even send a minister to the American capital. The debility of the Confederation was obvious throughout this all, as it was in its troubles with Spain as well. The Confederation had similar problems when dealing with Spain. The United States had land issues with the Spanish over the border between the United States and Florida, which was owned by Spain. The United States diplomats agreed to a treaty with Spain promising American recognition of Spanish possessions in North America and an agreement that the United States would only have the rights to navigate the Mississippi for twenty years in return for the acceptance of the American views of the Florida border. The southern states refused to ratify the treaty, meaning the problems between the two countries would remain. Foreign tribulations appeared again when the Confederation tried to repair the country's economic troubles as ...

File Your Canadian Income Taxes Online with NETFILE

File Your Canadian Income Taxes Online with NETFILE NETFILE is an electronic tax-filing service that allows you to send your individual income tax and benefit return directly to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) using the Internet  and a NETFILE-certified software product. To file your Canadian income taxes online, you first have to prepare your tax return using a commercial tax preparation desktop software package, a Web application or a product for an Apple or Android mobile device. These products must be certified for NETFILE. When you file your taxes online, youll get an immediate confirmation that your return has been received. If youve made arrangements for direct deposit and the Canada Revenue Agency owes you a refund on your income taxes, you should get a faster refund than if you file on paper, possibly within two weeks. However, its not quite as simple as hitting the send button on your email program, so leave some time to get prepared and to get comfortable with the system. Eligibility to File Taxes Online Although most income tax returns can be filed online, there are some restrictions. For example, you cannot use NETFILE to file a return for a year before 2013, if you are a non-resident of Canada, if your Social Insurance Number or individual tax number begins with 09  or if you went bankrupt during the preceding two years. There are quite a few other specific restrictions, so be sure to check the full restrictions list before you begin. Software to File Taxes Online To file your tax return online, you must prepare your income tax form using software or a Web application certified by the CRA for the current tax year. The CRA tests and certifies software between December and March, so it is usually at least late January before a commercial tax software package or Web application is put on the approved list of certified software. Be sure the software you plan to use is certified for the current tax year. If you purchase or download your income tax software before it is certified by the CRA for use with NETFILE, you may have to download a patch from the software vendor. Some software certified for use with NETFILE is free for individuals. Check the list of certified software and the vendors site for specific details. Identification for NETFILE Your current address must be on file with the CRA before you send your income tax return by NETFILE. Heres how to change your address with the CRA. You wont be able to do it through NETFILE. You will need to provide your Social Insurance Number and date of birth when you file. You need to provide the location of your .tax file containing your tax return that you prepared using NETFILE-certified tax preparation software or Web application. If you have concerns about the security of your personal and financial information when using NETFILE, you should check the ​NETFILE Security page from the CRA. NETFILE Confirmation Number As soon as you send your income tax return online, the CRA does a very quick preliminary check of your return (usually in minutes) and sends you a confirmation number telling you that your return has been received and accepted. Keep the confirmation number. Tax Information Slips, Receipts, and Documents Keep all the tax information slips, receipts and documents you use to prepare your income tax return. You do not need to send them to the CRA unless the agency asks to see them. Be sure to include your telephone number on your income tax return so the CRA can contact you quickly. Your notice of assessment and tax refund may be delayed if the CRA has to contact you. Getting Help With NETFILE For help using NETFILE, consult the CRAs Online Help. The Frequently Asked Questions may also be useful. Remember, if you run into problems, you can still file the old-fashioned way- by getting a paper income tax package, filling in the paper form, attaching the schedules and receipts, and getting it to the post office in time to be postmarked by the deadline.

Legal Aspects in Health Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Aspects in Health Care - Assignment Example For instance, the contract may be annulled if it is determined that the buyer was non compos mentis at the time of entering the contract. The legal intent of selling the CT scan is fulfilled in it being bought to serve its rightful purpose, such as carrying out diagnoses or archaeological investigations. Finally, the contract is sealed in the relevant parties receiving value from the agreement. It is obvious that the vendor will get his money for the CT scan, from the buyer on one hand. On the other hand, the buyer expects the CT scan to work well, thereby helping him meet his objectives. Apart from the four components, it would help greatly to insist on the token of the contract, which is the permit. The gravity behind this is that it is in the permit where the terms and conditions of the contract are enshrined. Terms of guarantee are divulged here, apart from the permit just showing legitimate possession. This is serious since in the absence of a permit, if the CT scan stalls after a week, the buyer may not be guaranteed of any reimbursement or free repairs. In this case, the patient through his absence undermines the capacity of the hospital to fulfill its obligation in the contract. The time-specific aspect of the contract is also undermined by the patient’s absence. Nevertheless, it cannot be aptly said that the patient’s voluntary and informed absence amounts to a contravention of the part of the contract, since he is acting out of an illness. Addiction is an illness that should have warranted more specialized attention from the healthcare institution. On the contrary, the healthcare institution is the entity that is liable since part of the patient-hospital contract is good care. The patient being away for four hours means clearly that the hospital is not taking good care of its patients, if at all (Becker, 2012). The fact that the

Modern finance assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Modern finance - Assignment Example The formula is structured this way in order to make its analysis easier and more standardized. c. The investor in this case, by applying the model, understands the non feasibility of exercising the call option, since the price of the asset is lower than the strike price of 110. Question 2 a. Re = Ra + D/E(Ra-Rd) Firm A: 14% + 0.4(14%-9%) = 0.16 or 16% Firm B: 14% + 0.5(14%-9%) = 0.165 or 16.5% The return to equity represents the return required by shareholders. In this scenario, with all other factors constant, as the Debt to Equity ratios only differ, the results show that for Firm B, the shareholders require a 0.5% higher return than Firm A shareholders, due to the higher leverage. b. given the data, we also know that Risk = variance = w^2(a)*sigma(a)^2 + w(b)^2*sigma(b)^2 + 2w(a)w(b)*p*sigma(a)*sigma(b) i. 0.52*0.052 + 0.52*0.062 + (2*0.5*0.5*1*0.05*0.06) = 0.00303 Std dev = 5.5% ii. 0.52*0.052 + 0.52*0.062 + (2*0.5*0.5*-1*0.05*0.06) = 0.00003 Std dev = 0.5% iii. 0.52*0.052 + 0.52 *0.062 + (2*0.5*0.5*0.5*0.05*0.06) = 0.00228 Std dev = 4.77% c. ... Risk averse investors will usually never invest in risky assets and will play it safe. This means they will remain on or close to the Y axis of the graph below, taking on minimal or no risk and earning a low return. Investors with higher risk preferences will balance their portfolios with risky and risk free assets to achieve an optimal balanced portfolio which offers a return in line with risks. Their goal will be to reach the efficient frontier as shown below in the graph. Adding a risk free asset to a risk averse investors portfolio will not affect his return much. However, doing the same with a risk taking investor may reduce the return earned by the portfolio. As money used in the risk free asset could otherwise be utilized in higher risky assets to obtain a higher return. References Botkin, S. C. (2007). Lower your taxes-big time! : wealth-building, tax reduction secrets from an IRS insider. New York, McGraw-Hill. Chriss, N. (1997). Black-Scholes and beyond option pricing model s. New York, McGraw-Hill. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=51958. JA?GER, C., & BO?Ckhaus, C. F. (2011). The Black & Scholes formula and resulting advancements derivation and interpretation with special focus on the validity of the underlying assumptions. Aachen, Shaker. Siegel, J. G., Shim, J. K., Hartman, S., & Siegel, J. G. (1998). Schaum's quick guide to business formulas 201 decision-making tools for business, finance, and accounting students. New York, N.Y., McGraw-Hill.

Comparison of Theoretical Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comparison of Theoretical Approaches - Essay Example e the essential differences between the four approaches to global governance as depicted in both Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of Kelly-Kate Pease’s book International Organizations. With all honesty, Realism focuses on the security of countries and power above everything else. Realism, with an objective of enhancing conflict resolutions, establishes an international system that would guarantee maximum security for every country that cooperates with another one. At the same time, any country that declares war should do so based on self-interest, as opposed to idealism. To promote a given society, individuals should learn the policies that govern the behavior of such a society. In this case, Realism should also enhance policies that would mold rational theory that promote objective laws in a given country. Realism exists to monitor the behavior of given countries, interpret the power of countries, and coordinate the principles of the international system. Moreover, Liberalism acts as a mainstream approach that promotes the behavior of country by focusing on its preferences, as opposed to its capabilities. In this case, Liberalism paves a way for the plurality of a country’s actions in the international system. However, such preferences may vary from country to country due to some difference in economic conditions, environmental factors, and nature of governments. Pease (2006, p59) states that Liberalism abolishes anarchic international system by promoting a variety of opportunities for cooperating and other levels of power. Surely, the theory enhances peace between international organizations through organizational interdependence and cooperation. Besides, Marxism rarely focuses on material and economic aspects of the international system. Instead, the theory describes the international system as coordinated capitalist system with an objective of accumulating capital. Believers of the theory suggest that globalized capitalism enriches organizations in developed

Marxism functionalism and feminism theories on crime

Marxism functionalism and feminism theories on crime For this sociology essay I shall be researching and comparing three social perspective theories on crime, Marxism, Functionalism, and Feminism. I will be attempting to write how the three theories compare and conflict with each other. Marxist perspective on crime Karl Heinrich Marx was born the 5th of May 1818 Trier Germany to a comfortable middle class family. A historian, social scientist, revolutionary and philosopher, Karl Marx, was and still is considered the most important socialist thinker that emerged from the 19th century. Karl Marx during his lifetime was for the most part ignored by scholars. But since his death in 1883, Marxs political, social and economic ideas quickly gained acceptance in the socialist movement. Although Karl Marx never wrote at length about crime, he did argue the laws made by the ruling class were mostly put in place to keep the working class under control. Karl Marx had the idea that most people were not even aware they were being exploited. Marxism recognises for a society to function properly, social order is necessary. They state that in all societies apart from communist societies the ruling class always gains far more than any other class. Haralambos Holborn (2004) in discussing Marxist perspectives on deviance states that: the ruling class passes laws that benefits ruling-class interests. Therefore making sure the power stays in ruling class hands so they have a constant control over lower classes. (P353). Marxists have the idea that Capitalist societies emphasise individual gain and the need to win at all costs. They feel greed explains crimes for financial gain. Marxists think the frustrations felt by dehumanising the lower classes can explain the crimes against the individual persons. They think crime in part is the creation of unequal power and inequality, and that it is a natural response to living in poverty. They feel crime is often the result of the ruling class offering the lower classes of society, demeaning work that gives little or no sense of creativity. Although Marxists agree that crime is widespread within all social classes they argue deprived criminals are given harsher sentences than wealthy criminals. Marxists are more likely to emphasise corporate and white collar crime, they note that crimes by the upper classes cost more, and have a greater economic toll on society than lower class crimes. Marxists believe laws are approved to benefit the desires of the ruling class, they say people have unequal access to the law. Powerful people with money can hire a good lawyer this can change the odds of being found guilty or not guilty. Therefore for a Marxist, punishment for a crime could depend and vary with the social status of the criminal. A man named William Chambliss was concerned in the fact of why certain things are made illegal and others are not, he also wondered who decided what issues are made law, and why the unequal distribution of wealth wasnt illegal, William Chambliss also thought the ruling class controlled this power, and it was the ruling class who prevented certain issues from ever being discussed. Dutchman Willem Adriaan Bonger 1876-1940: The 1st Marxist Criminologist wrote that all individuals in capitalist societies are infected by egoism because they are alienated from authentic social relationships with their fellow human beings, and all are thus prone to crime. He thought the root cause of crime was the capitalist mode of production and poverty was the major cause of crime, but the effects of poverty can be traced to the family structure and on parental inability to properly supervise their children. Willem Bonger supported the view that the roots of crime lay in the exploitative and alienating conditions of capitalism. The social sentiments that concerned him were altruism (an active concern for the well being of others) and egoism (a concern only for ones own selfish interests). Willem Adriaan Bonger took his own life in 1940 rather than summiting to the Nazis. Willem Bonger (1969) Criminality and Economic Conditions. In general Marxists believe the law is created by the ruling class, and only acts that grow out of working class life are defined as criminal. They state everyone breaks the law, but biased law enforcement means it is mainly the working class who get caught. Marxism is the only theory that examines the crimes of the powerful. Haralambos Holborn (2004): Marxists have been criticized in the past for thinking that a Communist system maybe the answer to eradicating crime, when in fact Switzerland, a capitalist society has a very low rate of crime. Feminists argue Marxists ignore the role of patriarchy whilst putting far too much emphasis on class inequality. (p355). Functionalism perspective on crime Haralambos Holborn (2004): Functionalists believe that deviance and crime starts with society as a whole. Functionalism looks into society for the source of crime and deviance rather than looking to the individual itself. Functionalism is frequently thought of as the exact opposite to Marxism. Functionalists give emphasis to the positive way crime can affect a social system. Functionalism stems from Emile Durkheim. He believed that crime was to be expected in all societies. (p253). Emile Durkheim was born on April the 15th, 1858 at Epinal, Vosges, in Lorraine, France. Durkheim is considered by most the father of sociology. He is credited for making sociology a science. During Durkheims lifetime he published a number of sociological studies on subjects like suicide, religion and other aspects of society as well as giving a number of lectures. Emile Durkheim (2002). Haralambos Holborn (2004): All Functionalists have the opinion that control mechanisms like courts and police are a necessity to keep crime and deviance in control and protect social order. However many functionalists argue a certain amount of deviance can have positive functions in society, they feel crime can even provide maintenance and the well being of a society. In Emile Durkheims book The Rules of Sociological Method (1938) crime is argued to be inevitable, and a normal part of social life. Emile Durkheim had the notion that crime was present throughout all types of society. He also felt the crime rate would be higher in more highly developed industrialized countries. Durkheim believed that if there was a perfect society of saints, occupied by perfect individuals, a society where no murder or robbery occurred, deviance would still be present because behaviour standards would be set that high the smallest slip would be considered a serious offence. Durkheim felt society would stagnate without deviance. (253). A man named Robert Merton produced a detailed functionalist theory to explain criminal behaviour. Merton stated that all societies set goals to attain, Merton believed that if there was a sensible chance you could reach these goals then society would function, but he felt that if these goals were unobtainable then a situation of anomie occurs (anything goes). Robert Merton stated that there are five anomic responses where individuals cannot achieve Societies goals. 1, Conformity: where individuals struggle for success through accepted channels. 2, Innovation: people will accept society has goals but will reject the socially accepted means, for example organized crime. 3, Ritualism: where people accept the socially approved way, but no longer believe they can achieve success, for example people who stick to the rules no matter what. 4, Retreatism: people who have lost sight of societies goals for example drug users. 5, Rebellion: people who have adopted new goals, and different ways to achieve them, for example revolutionaries, cults. Sociology in Focus: Paul Taylor (1997) In general Functionalists believe crime can play a positive role in society, they feel societies need to produce crime to set the limits of behaviour to show society what will, and wont be tolerated. Functionalists state the working class are more criminal because they have fewer bonds with social institutions and therefore have less to lose. They think of society as a living organism with each function like institutions, organizations, and other mechanisms working together. J.Tattersall: (2010). Functionalist theory has been criticized for ignoring the crimes of the higher social classes, for seeing crime and deviance as a product of society and social background (deterministic), and for ignoring the fact that many young people often choose to be deviant and they often grow out of this behaviour. Functionalism is the only theory that sees crime as having a positive function. Feminist perspective on crime Feminist criminology thinks that crime must be viewed from all perspectives in order to understand and obtain the most complete picture of crime. Feminists see society as male-dominated (patriarchal). Feminists see men benefiting at the womens expense. Feminists also argue that most social institutions, including the state and its policies, help to maintain womens subordinate position and the unequal gender division of labour in the family. According to the Feminist school of criminology, major theories in crime have been developed by male subjects, and they focus on male victimization. They feel that facts about crime tend to be focused on the gender of the criminal and not the crime itself. Feminism is the only theory that examines gender differences when explaining crime. Professor Frances Heidenson (1989) criticises the male dominance of sociology she feels that most academics are male, and therefore criminology reflects male views and interests, she also stated that that most traditional theorists are gender blind, and therefore fail to explain how their theories can be applied to females. J. Tattersall (2010) Haralambos and Holborn (2004): Otto Pollack (1950) claimed to have recognized certain crimes are usually committed by woman, he thought nearly all shoplifting and criminal abortions were carried out by woman, he also argued that many unreported crimes were committed by female servants. He noted many police, magistrates, and other law officials tended to be men. This could therefore make them chivalrous and lenient towards female offenders, he thought because of this woman appear in statistics less. Pollack also stated that females are particularly good at hiding their crimes because of their genetic makeup. He stated that woman learn to mislead men during sex and can use this to fake interest and sexual pleasure. (pp. 382-383). Haralambos and Holborn (2004): Pollack has been brutally criticized for some of these statements, Steven Jones (2001) points out that Pollack gives no real support that servants commit many crimes against employers, or that woman are better at hiding crimes then men. Heidensohn points out that Pollack has an unsubstantiated stereo typical image of woman and he is unwilling to point male crime to a biological predisposition to aggression and violence. (p384). Heidensohn believed that there was double standards in the justice system and that the justice system was loaded against women and not for them, she thought that the justice system is more likely to punish women when they deviate from the norms of female sexuality. It has been suggested that women are being sentenced in terms of being mothers, wives, and daughters rather than examining the seriousness of their crime. It seems that lighter sentences are given to females who meet the traditional roles, whilst women who dont fit these roles are given stronger punishments. J Tattersall (2010): (p5). Feminists can be criticised for being ideological and prejudiced, by focussing on patriarchy they ignore the fact that men are also used for domestic labour. They fail to notice women are becoming increasingly independent, and focus on gender ignoring other important social factors such as class and race. Conclusion- All three theories are structural theories they look at groups in societies rather than the individual. Marxism and Feminism are both conflict theories they see some groups as being less equal than others, functionalist theory is the only theory that sees crime in a positive nature.