Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Maasai Culture V. American Culture - 1240 Words

English 101-McElroy Compare and Contrast- Rough Draft March 22, 2011 Maasai Culture v. American Culture In the tribal villages of eastern Africa the Maasai marriages are arranged by the elders without ever first consulting the bride or the mother of the bride to be. Unlike, that of my own culture in the United States of America, where I am free as a citizen to choose whomever I may choose to marry and when and if I may marry. Polygyny is that of which is practiced in the Maasai culture, as an ideal that is achieved only by that of the elder men of the tribe. Unfortunately, as a result ofthemen being much older at the time of marriage, most women become widows, knowing that it is understood that they should never remarry again.†¦show more content†¦In the Maasai community and as in mine, marriage is considered very important. However, when two people are brought together to become a husband and wife in the Maasai community, the newlyweds are expected to live with each other forever; divorce is not an option.Once the Maasai man has chosen and paid for his wife he is then allowe d to bring gifts to the womans family. By first giving the presents as he sees fit, to a final point where it will become clear to those in the community that he has taken an interest in the well-being of the girls family and that she is not to be readily available. These gifts the Maasai man has given to the girl will create the bride-to-be’s dowry, the purpose of which is not to create wealth for the brides family, but rather to legalize the marriage. By the man putting his mark on that family, he is making itso that if anyone else tries to approach the family and offer a bride price, it will have been made clear that the girl has already been given away to another family and is spoken for. Like that of an engagement ring or wedding band worn by both the men and women in my community, as it is displaying to everyone that they are spoken for and are not available to others in the community. As the wedding day begins in Maasai culture the groom brings the bride price, including three cows, of which two are female and one is male and all are black, and twoShow MoreRelated Volunteering: Contribution to the Community Essay4136 Words   |  17 Pagestrend in the United States is one in which an individual volunteers his/her time, services, or funds. As Newsweeks article Powells New War demonstrates, most Americans perceive volunteering as: an act in which one must do something and nice gesture which has benefits. Though this observation is a generalization, rarely do Americans view volunteerism in the context of service, an embodiment which includes the novel components of being, cultural understanding, justice issues, and compassion. 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Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages11 12 13 14 15 Foundations of Group Behavior 271 Understanding Work Teams 307 Communication 335 Leadership 367 Power and Politics 411 Conflict and Negotiation 445 Foundations of Organization Structure 479 v vi BRIEF CONTENTS 4 The Organization System 16 Organizational Culture 511 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 18 Organizational Change and Stress Management 577 Appendix A Research in Organizational Behavior Comprehensive Cases Indexes Glindex 637 663 616 Read MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pages Rastafari This page intentionally left blank Rastafari From Outcasts to Culture Bearers Ennis Barrington Edmonds 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Evaluation Of The Usc Ets Program Essay - 1857 Words

Intervention In an effort to address the needs of the large numbers of low income and potential first-generation college students at the target school, the USC ETS project will focus on the delivery of consistent and grade level appropriate college and financial aid information to all participants. The extent to which the target secondary schools does not offer their students the courses or academic support they need to complete a rigorous secondary school program of study. They also have a low participation by low-income or first-generation students in such courses, which the USC ETS project can change. The major function of the USC ETS program is to provide academic counseling and planning. Student workers will review each student’s educational progress and career plans. Student workers will also insure placement into appropriate courses, foster career development, as well as increase student participation in the SAT and ACT exams. This will insure student will b e eligible for college admission upon graduation. The student workers and academic advisors will also provide post-secondary planning workshops that will help facilitate the preparation and processing of college, scholarships, financial aid or any other vocational program the student wishes to attend after high school. The USC ETS program will also offer assistance for high school students who are struggling academically by providing tutoring services. Lastly, student workers and academic advisors willShow MoreRelatedAsthma Prevalence Of Children Living From New York City1338 Words   |  6 Pagesstudy that the children asthma prevalence in East Harlem was about 4 times that of the national prevalence. Specifically, African American children had 3 times higher asthma prevalence. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Academic Integrity Free Essays

According the Walden University Student Handbook academic integrity to be essential for each student’s intellectual development (2013 Code of Conduct Student Handbook). This allows students opportunity to freely exchange, students and instructors attribution. Enrollment to the University solidifies a commitment to abide by the code of conduct. We will write a custom essay sample on Academic Integrity or any similar topic only for you Order Now By instilling academic integrity within your writing it gives students a chance to write creatively while accepting the responsibility for academic integrity (COCSH, 2013). There are many reasons to maintain academic integrity, but it sometimes becomes difficult for this success to achieve at a doctoral level. It is important that students not deny themselves the opportunity to succeed by taking short cuts. Thus, this will compromise their integrity and violate the Student code of conduct. Students are encourages students to may submit questions and concerns to contact their faculty mentor, course instructor, or academic advisor. (2013) Plagiarism In my opinion, Plagiarism is taking someone’s original ideas and writing and making it yours without giving proper credit to the author. Plagiarism can be avoided by always citing sources that ideas are derived from other works as use for your own ideas when writing. Credit should be given when credit is due (APA 2010,p15). Self-Plagiarism is when you do not present your own previously published works accurately. According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, each time a student summarizes a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence by changing some of the words, credit to the source is required (APA 2010). This is required to safeguard other writer’s ideas. In some instances, such as describing details or an analytical approach extensive self-referencing is undesirable (APA 2010 p16). Citation It is necessary to avoid plagiarism this can be completed when citations occur and also when original ideas are not derived. According to the APA Manual the author, year, and specific page citation or paragraph are required quotation comprising of less than 40 words, should open, and close with double quotation mark and the source cited in parentheses. (APA, 2010, p171). An example of this would be â€Å"In the United States, the American Cancer Society (2007) estimated that about 1 million cases of NMSC and 59,950 cases of melanoma would be diagnosed in 2007, with melanoma resulting in 8,110 deaths†(Miller et al, 2009 p. 209. ) Conclusion In conclusion, Academic Integrity is imperative and should be adhered to in order to maintain the highest level of scholarly standards. Paraphrasing, citing author’s contributions correctly and acknowledging secondary sources allow readers to discover informative writings and strengthen the writer’s credibility to contribute accurately. How to cite Academic Integrity, Papers Academic Integrity Free Essays Academic Integrity Integrity Is to follow high-quality morals when no one Is observing. Integrity Is a good quality to have because it makes the person more trustworthy and a better person in general. Academic integrity is when one is honest and fair when it comes to studies and to school. We will write a custom essay sample on Academic Integrity or any similar topic only for you Order Now An example of academic integrity is when a person does not cheat even when the teacher leaves the room. If the person decides to take out his notes and cheat when the teacher leaves the room, he is displaying academic dishonesty. Why cheat? Maybe the student has many extracurricular and is unable to find time to study, he feels pressured by his parents and cheats to please them, or he Is just too lazy to study and cheats so he can keep his optional status. Students often cheat because they have an underlying Incentive, students rarely cheat for sport. In a high school setting students may cheat so they can get good grades and please their parents, others may cheat because they don’t have time to study. In high school, students must do well so they can get in to good colleges so they wont be left featureless. Because their whole lives depend on their performance n high school, they have an incentive to cheat. The consequences some students face for academic dishonesty in high school is a suspension or in some cases, expulsion. In universities, students are often more stressed than high school students and require more time for test preparation, but because of pressure, they may end up resorting to academic dishonesty in order to pass classes. In Carnegie Melon’s Why do Students Cheat? Article, the author states that the college students are held o high expectations and are socially pressured to get good grades. Other students are Involved In volunteer work or have too many classes In their hands and do not have good time management to make time to study for assessments. Hopefully by facing the consequences of showing a lack of integrity, the student learns to become a person who comes to value honesty. Many who are dishonest face social consequences and lack of trust from peers and teachers/professors. Other consequences are facing trial, probation, sanctions, and dismissal from the institution. To have integrity is to practice it, while the student is learning and growing intellectually, they should be taught to value honesty and integrity so they can practice the principles. Another way to integrate integrity into our society is to establish a system where integrity is one of the highest principles, and if one was to show a lack of Integrity, they may face the consequences the community sees fit. Academic Integrity Is one of the most Important aspects of a learning environment. Without It, students will practice dishonesty and demoralize themselves. By shrub Integrity is to follow high-quality morals when no one is observing. Integrity is a time to study, he feels pressured by his parents and cheats to please them, or he is cheat because they have an underlying incentive, students rarely cheat for sport. In a students must do well so they can get in to good colleges so they won’t be left involved in volunteer work or have too many classes in their hands and do not have show a lack of integrity, they may face the consequences the community sees fit. How to cite Academic Integrity, Papers Academic integrity Free Essays Academic integrity must be enforced within the educational institution as students and faculty represent the image and reliability surrounding the reputation of the facility; therefore, dishonesty upon any level should be unacceptable which includes the act of plagiarism. In order to combat such dishonest events educators must learn to identify blatant acts of plagiarism and address cultural differences, as well as the mind’s ability to unconsciously reproduce intellectual concepts belonging to others. We will write a custom essay sample on Academic integrity or any similar topic only for you Order Now com/online-plagiarism-checker/"Defining plagiarism in my own terms would be the intentional use of materials that are not of my own creation, copying text from other sources, including non-published individuals, as if they were my own, and submitting academic assignments that I did not complete personally but submitted as if I had. As academic dishonesty is common among students, it’s imperative that students self-police to avoid any unconscious acts of dishonesty and those educational institutions implement strategies to combat those who intentionally break the rules. College campuses have faced the issue of academic dishonesty from the beginning; however it has become a major problem on college campuses, as the number of students engaging in acts of dishonesty is increasing. The publication of how-to books and internet websites that focus on cheating have been published, such as Corbet’s The Cheater’s Handbook and various internet based businesses offering thousands of term papers and examinations for purchase.   (Whitley, Jr, 2002, p. 3) The internet continues to expand and with this massive explosion of growth, sites promoting resources allowing students to defraud the educational system continue to increase.   Experts have attributed this high level of dishonesty among students to being â€Å"raised in an era of decline in public morality.†Ã‚   (Whitley, Jr, 2002, p. 3) Cultural diversity within American society continues to grow and many professionals â€Å"increasingly reflect this diversity† as the â€Å"possibility of cultural differences in the definition of academic dishonesty.†Ã‚   (Whitley, Jr, 2002, p. 20)   Professionals believe that students who were raised outside of the â€Å"Euro-American culture† find it difficult to comprehend the â€Å"notion that words or ideas† can be owned by another individual and considered as intellectual property. (Whitley, Jr, 2002, p. 20)   As a result students from other cultures such as â€Å"Middle Eastern, Asia and African cultures† see no fault with using the intellectual concepts of others – some cultures believe that it is â€Å"disrespectful to the author to alter the original words [of a source document] (Robinson, 1992, p. 15).†Ã‚   (Whitley, Jr, 2002, p. 20) When producing a thesis or a lengthy academic writing assignment students must analyze a â€Å"wide body of knowledge, yet produce a novel, creative output.†Ã‚   (Perfect (Ed.), 2002, p. 148)   In a study conducted in 1997 with undergraduate students professionals found evidence that some students are not even clear of the definition of plagiarism and until they are â€Å"explicitly told† that the act has occurred the students are unable to identify that plagiarism has occurred. These students did not have a clear idea of the difference between â€Å"plagiarism and paraphrase.† (Perfect (Ed.), 2002, p. 148 – 149) This unconscious plagiarism must be taken into consideration by educators and a clear definition of the misrepresentation of intellectual materials must be defined. Plagiarism in the classroom has various degrees.   For example, a student who commits the act purposely by purchasing a pre-written essay from the internet would in most instructors’ opinion be the highest degree. Identifying the less deliberate, as well as less obvious, degree of plagiarism would be a student copying a few sentences from sources without the addition of quotations or the appropriate citation that give the author credit for his or her intellectual property.   Regardless of the level of dishonesty or if the act was unintentional, plagiarism is wrong and it must not be allowed. Instructors have evaluated the act of plagiarism to identify the appropriate course of action and methods have evolved over the years when confronting cultural differences.   The first stage of educators was to automatically assume that the â€Å"behaviors were always wrong.† (Hafernik, 2002, p. 43)   The second â€Å"teachers continued to believe they were wrong, but understood there were cultural reasons† that students did not share the educator’s beliefs. (Hafernik, 2002, p. 43)   The third stage the teachers continued to hold fast to plagiarism as unacceptable, however â€Å"their understanding of the cultural differences led them to question, at least somewhat, the absolute correctness of their stance on the issues.†Ã‚   (Hafernik, 2002, p. 43-44) How to cite Academic integrity, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Value Of Money And Portfolio Management †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Value Of Money And Portfolio Management? Answer: Introducation In todays time organisations encourage their employees to save money in order to secure their future. In this context governments has also made many provision regarding some schemes which will be beneficial for employees current as well future situation. Employees are encouraged to invest in superannuation plan to get maximum retirement remunerations from that. Employees are the soul of every organisation. They are the backbone which provide support and growth to the organisation, hence it is the duty of every organisation to provide each and every employee a secured future. For this they should inspire and should provide retirement and saving plans to employees. There has been increase in such kind of investments. Nowadays government has become super active and has made obligatory for every organisation to make contribution in such plans instead of their employees. It is also mandatory requirement from employee side to invest some amount of their remuneration to such plans or funds. The main objective behind these steps were to provide greater support to the employees during their retirement phase. With the passing time there has been increment in the retirement plans which provide more and flexible choices to the investor to think which plan will be beneficial for them. The organisations should also consider these plans with the changing time, so that employee retention rate could be increased and the employee is willing to work them. Investment in retirements plans has hots of benefits attached to it such as it permit us to finance now for the financial security of the employee when the employee will get retire. There are lots of business as well as employee benefits attached to it such business will get the tax credits and other kind of inducements from government to start a plan. Employer contribution to such plan are deductible while computing tax. On the other hand employees will also benefited with these contributions, such as income which is liable to tax will be reduced because he/ she will get the deduction from tax of such contribution. And contributions to such plans are easy to make. Employee financial security will be increased during his retirement time. Providing retirement benefit is very important to all at every stage of age and not just to the employee who is near about retirement. It should be done in prior to provide financial security to employee during his retirement period. Let us now discuss some superannuation plans which are available in the next discussion of the topic. IAS 19 is an accounting standard that deals with employee benefits. There can be short term employee benefit and post-employment benefit. Short term employee benefits are settled within 12 months after the end of yearly reporting. And in case of post-employment benefit includes defined benefit plan and defined contribution plan. Defined Benefit Plan vs. Investment Plan which one to choose, here is the thorough study on these plans:- In defined benefit plan employer makes contribution to a retirement plan of the employee on regular basis depending on the various factors such as Duration of employment and the salary history of the employee. There will some restrictions on the withdrawal from these funds by employee and there will guidelines when and how much an employee can withdraw from fund from time to time. It is basically a specific amount which is paid by employer to the employee at the time of retirement which is calculated by the defined formula. The formula for the retirement benefit generally takes into account following factors such duration of employment, employee salary which will average salary of three or five years of earnings. The formula can be presented as follows:- = Benefit percentage* average salary in past 5 years* years of plan membership* This can be explained by an example like average salary is $60000 Duration of service or plan membership is =20 yrs Percentage of benefit to be given= 3% Yearly pension will be calculated as= 60000*20*3%= $36000 Defined benefit plan allocate their profits through life endowments, employee receive identical episodic disbursement normally monthly or quarterly for the remaining they will be in this world. There are two types of defined benefit plan these can be funded and unfunded. In unfunded plan no asset is reserved separately and the employee is paid when they retire. In funded plan employers do contributions towards this plan for meeting the paybacks but the future returns of benefit are not known in advance and hence sometimes these contributions may not meet desired level to provide benefit. On the other hand in case of investment choice plan there is an investment accounting in which employer contributions and superannuation benefits are invested and the profit earned by these investments by deducting any organizational expense are distributed to the employees. If employee choose investment choice plan then he will have option to put forward the assets and portfolio they wanting to invest in. There are many investment and pension plans available in the market, employees have to make their investment decision very wisely in choosing those plans depending upon the risk and returns attached to it. There are many kinds of investment stratagems such an employee can invest in protected fund that have fixed interest payments and money. Steady fund in which the securities are fixed interest bearing but are exposed to foreign shares and bonds. Among these two kind of approaches protected funds bears less risk than steady fund. Employees choice of investment depends upon the risk and the return he will get by investments done by him in different investment plans. Types of many traditional plans available in the market such as term plans which includes term protection is the simple form of assurance as it offers risk cover in altercation annual remunerated outlays. When the employee retires it has two options to how to treat its contribution he can allocate its investment plan or he can cope those investment plans. The employees can make their choice between the two alternatives that is defined benefit plan and investment choice plan on the basis of their preferences by keeping various factors in mind such as risk involved , return involved the time value and price increment . Both the plans have their pros and cons but for long term security one should go for defined benefit plan as it provides payment with certainty and there is less risk involve in this type of plan. One should look into the risk and returns involve in the plans and choose the best plan according to that. Many investors are risk lovers because they are only concerned with the higher return, we can say that it totally depends on the employee preferences and the risk they wanted to bear. Time value of money means is the conception that identifies the applicable value of upcoming money movements arising as a consequence of monetary choices by bearing in mind the opportunity price of treasuries. With the passage of time money value gets reduced and there are many reasons for that like inflation or increase in prices which reduce the value of money in future. Another factors could be interest rate and risk premium. For integrating the monetary influence on the effectiveness of cash flows in business decisions, time value of money principle is used widely (Open learn , 2017) The fund manager have to make the decision regarding investments, dividend for the growth of the company like purchasing of any asset or sale of any undertaking that is the investing activities have influence on the timing of cash flows of the company. In other words we can say that time value of money is a value of $1 today will be different from value of $1 in the future. The cash flows which will arise at different point of time can be made analogous by using any of the following methods: Compounding Future value of single cash flow Annuity method. Time value of money is important for decision making and this can be explained with an example like the value of pound today is more than the pound in future so the investor can use this pound today to earn return or capital gains. Pound in future will be of much lesser value than today because of inflation. There are two section in the concept of time value of money one is present value and other is future value of money (PDF, 2017) Time value of money influence the decision of fund manager to a great extent, hence a fund manager has to take many consideration in mind while making decisions. When we will be able to know the value of cash flows for future we will be capable to take the resolution where and how we have to invest or spend and how we will get the returns. Same goes with the employees if they will know the time value of money they will be able to make decisions regarding the type plan they should choose keeping in mind the future and present value of money and returns and risks associated with that (Boundless, 2017) An efficient market is demarcated as a market where there are huge number of balanced, profit maximizers enthusiastically competing, with each trying to foresee future market values of individual securities, and where important current info is easily obtainable by all partakers. The efficient market hypothesis tells us about the speed with which information influence the prices of the security. As per numerous analysts it was perceived that data is slowly integrated in the price and it provides a chance to earn extra profit. But once the information is incorporated then the investor cannot earn this extra profit. There are three levels of market efficiency which are as follows: Weak form: this form of market tells us that all the historical market prices and data are fully revealed in securities prices and here in this condition technical analysis have no usage. Semi strong form: this form tells us that all overtly or publicly accessible info is fully revealed in securities prices and hence the fundamental analysis failed and have no usage. Strong form tells us that all info is fully redirected in security prices and the insider information have no usage in this situation (Forbes , 2017) Let us discuss about the portfolio management. Portfolio management refers to an art and science of making choices about investment mix and strategy, matching investment to purpose, asset apportionment for individual and establishments, and harmonizing threat against performance. Its all about strong point faults, opportunity and pressures in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. international, growth vs. safety, and many other transactions encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given hungriness for possibility. A portfolio for an individual or a business is holding of securities and investments in monetary assets. These holdings are the result of individual inclinations and conclusion concerning danger and yield (IRS , 2017) Even if an efficient market hypothesis is true the pension fund manager will not select a portfolio with a pin because:- In efficient market all the investors have same info. Hence as an outcome the investor do not get the privilege to earn excess profit as they earn only average returns. For earning extra earning one should have to take additional risk. As the number of information channels increasing day by day even the best intricate stockholder is incapable of observing every portion of info. Other reason for not selecting portfolio with a pin even if the theory of efficient market postulate holds true is efficient market is not able to clarify additional instability. Individual generally and should invest in diversified portfolio. Investors wants high returns with low risk. Investors generally invest in diversified portfolio to earn high returns with low risk, as there is minimal long term risk in diversified portfolio. Hence the manger will and should try to invest his securities in diversified manner so that there will more return in a diversified way. Pension fund manager will look into the disadvantages of the efficient market hypothesis investment in comparison to the higher return with low risk by investing in diversified securities. References:- OpenLearn. (2017). The financial markets context. [online] Available at: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/money/accounting-and-finance/the-financial-markets-context/content-section-3 [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Morningstar.com. (2017). Model Portfolios for Savers and Retirees. [online] Available at: https://www.morningstar.com/content/morningstarcom/en_us/model-portfolios.html [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Boundless. (2017). Importance of the Time Value of Money. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/finance/textbooks/boundless-finance-textbook/the-time-value-of-money-5/introduction-to-the-time-value-of-money-54/importance-of-the-time-value-of-money-255-8367/ [Accessed 18 May 2017]. Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/investopedia/2011/01/12/efficient-market-hypothesis-is-the-stock-market-efficient/refURL=https://www.google.co.in/referrer=https://www.google.co.in/ [Accessed 18 May 2017]. Retiremnt paycheck (2017). Defined benefit plans [online] Available at: https://www.myretirementpaycheck.org/retirement-plans/defined-benefit-plans.aspx [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Nath, T. (2017). Investing basics [online] Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/investing-basics-what-is-the-efficient-market-hypothesis-and-what-are-its-shortcomings-cm530860 [Accessed 19 May 2017]. PDF (2017). Time value of money. [online] Available at: https://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001945.pdf [Accessed 19 May 2017]. IRS (2017). Lots of benfits- employment retirement plan [online] Available at: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/lots-of-benefits-when-you-set-up-an-employee-retirement-plan [Accessed 19 May 2017].

Monday, November 25, 2019

Our people essays

Our people essays LAWRENCE OTIS GRAHAM: Our Kind of PeopleI: Inside America's Black Upper Class (5 .5 pp) Through six years of interviews with more than three hundred prominent families and individuals, journalist and commentator Lawrence Otis Graham weaves together the revealing stories and fascinating experiences of upper-class blacks who grew up with privilege and power. Previously known for his provocative New York magazine expos of elite golf clubs, when he left his law firm and went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club, Graham now turns his attention to the black elite. Bibliography lists 2 sources. BBblkeli.doc LAWRENCE OTIS GRAHAM: Our Kind of People Inside America's Black Upper Class Written by Barbara Babcock for the Paperstore, Inc., July 2000 Debutante cotillions. Arranged marriages. Summer trips to Martha's Vineyard. All-black boarding schools. Memberships in the Links, Deltas, Boul, or Jack and Jill. Million-dollar homes. An obsession with good hair, light complexions, top credentials, and colleges like Howard, Spelman, and Harvard. This is the world of the black upper class, exclusive, mostly hidden group that lives awkwardly between white America and mainstream black America. Through six years of interviews with more than three hundred prominent families and individuals, journalist and commentator Lawrence Otis Graham weaves together the revealing stories and fascinating experiences of upper-class blacks who grew up with privilege and power. Previously known for his provocative New York magazine expos of elite golf clubs, when he left his law firm and went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club, Graham now turns his attention to the black elite. Simply looking at the table of contents gives an overview of this quiet class of privilege: The Origins of the Black Upper Class; Jack and Jill...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Perspective of song lyrics and poems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Perspective of song lyrics and poems - Essay Example Both forms of writing do share similarities, but by no means are they exactly the same. Despite the differences between the two formats of writing, they can be transferred to each other with a little work. Poems can somewhat more easily be turned into songs with a little work and tweaking. Just the same as if a person was trying to convert numbers, or convert any format or style of writing to another, it does take a little finesse, but none the less, it can be done. Vaughn Daniel, a published writer from MusicCity answered when asked about the topic: â€Å"If I gave someone a poem and asked them to put it to music, I would expect the poem to either be added to or some of it ending up on the cutting room floor. Song lyrics are dictated by the direction the music has taken with the melody. There are also formulas of structure in writing a song. Examples are as follows: These calculated lyric structures may also dictate what the song will sound like musically. If the lyrics are structured correctly, music can be invented just by the way the lyrics flow. Take any popular song and try singing it another way. Chances are you wont like what you hear. Lyrics often take on a life of their own musically† (http://www.musesmuse.com/poem-vs-lyric.html. Daniel shows that with a little work and finesse, a poem can be turned into a song, just that you may loose some of the original impact of the poem in the final version. There are also many similarities between poems and song lyrics. Both poems and lyrics require a person to have a strong command of what ever language they are writing in. These art forms also require the person to be expressive, and to be able to shed their feelings through their medium and express themselves. This is not an easy task, but one that comes though much work for many writers. Also, â€Å"Both poems and song lyrics rely on the potent use of language, Both engage their readers and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Morality Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Morality - Assignment Example Morals became so obscured in this day and age that people does not only neglect to practice it but also not sure of what it means. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defined it as â€Å"some codes of conduct put forward by a society† and these rules are central in formulating ethical theories (2011). We now often hear ethics in class and to put it in proper perspective it was defined by Kant’s deontology that posits that the best way to act morally to act from duty with the consideration of the highest good, that is, acting through the moral determination of the will. Kant’s acting through the moral determination of will meant that the motivation of one’s action must be pursue the good without condition which is intrinsically good by itself (Kant 30). He formulated his deontological ethics in a categorical imperative of doing good for the sake of good regardless of its consequence (Kant’s Ethics). Considering the number of corporate scandals from Enron to WorldCom that helped slid this country in financial crisis, I am more inclined to believe that it is still better to be moral or ethical. Many people may disagree with my position as impractical that will make me finish last but I prefer to be moral and ethical. I can however rebut that as what we can see in the experience, the gains that were garnered with the lack of morals or ethics are short lived and temporary. We all see it on national TV where corporate executives were arrested for fraud. Criminals also lack morals and while they can get away with their crimes, it is again temporary and sooner or later, they too will be arrested. On a personal level, I believe nobody would disagree that we all want to deal with the people we trust. And earning trust requires a great deal of integrity and honesty such as keeping one’s words, not taking advantage of others etch all of which are the realms of morals and ethics. In the same vein, we also avoid dealing with people who

Monday, November 18, 2019

The Challenge of Seeking a Career with an International Component Assignment

The Challenge of Seeking a Career with an International Component - Assignment Example This, therefore, creates challenges in managing the two and people seeking a career with an international component but must also be managed as their cultural background are obliged to find a way of balancing the two. Learning teamwork is the most fundamental way to work in such a context. Teamwork enables people with different backgrounds, skills, and expertise to come together and work collaboratively to achieve the set ends. With this in mind, one should learn to work with others by creating an attitude that makes them easy to relate and work with. It is critical to understand that people will have a different opinion and in a team, conflict is meant to arise on certain issues where people do not agree on something and the best thing to do is to learn to compromise on issues that may cause disagreements. Learning to live with people despite differences that may arise enables one to be in a demanding environment like the global workplace as it eliminates chances of disputes, which may hamper collaboration. In the global workplace, companies are now providing an environment of allowing people to be their own individuals despite being required to maintain the international context. This means that the companies will provide an environment that allows for collaboration and teamwork where people will learn from each other and understand one another (Martin 28). The companies also engage employees in constant training and one should ensure that they are adequately trained to conquer all the challenges that they may encounter while on the job. Training will enable one to be aware of how they will deal with people from different backgrounds and gives them a common way to ensure that they follow the guidelines of international labour laws. In order to manage a career with international component but must be managed as one's cultural background, it is necessary to ensure that one is well versed in the company’s values.     

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Indirect Tension Test Analysis

Indirect Tension Test Analysis IDT The indirect tension test involves applying compressive loads on cylindrical specimen. This would develop uniform tensile stress perpendicular to direction of applied load as shows in figure1. Resulted horizontal and vertical tensile deformation is measured using linear variable displacement transducers(LVDTS). The specimen is loaded until splitting along axis of applied load as shows in figure 2 [1].   Different type of loading mode, temperature and device setup modification were used to measure different material properties. IDT test have many advantages such as simplicity in accompanying test, and preparation samples. Specimens failure is started in uniform tensile stress, and it is not affected by surface condition of specimen make it popular test in pavement .   [2] AC mixture properties obtained by load, displacement time plots at different loading mode and temperature as shows in figures 2.   Initially, IDT was used to measure strength of specimen. It was defined as the maximum load on specimen until failure. It is loaded with constant deformation rate at specified temperature until failure. The strength was obtained by dividing peak load of specimen, on it diameter and thickness using u equation 1.The detailed procedure is described in [4], where it was recommended to test material with 50mm/min loading rate , at 77 °F Equation 1 Where: St = tensile strength, kPa (psi)P = maximum load, N (lbf)t = specimen height immediately before tensile test, mm(in.), D = specimen diameter, mm (in.) Indirect Tensile Creep Tests In addition, ITD is used to conduct creep compliance test on mixture.   These values was addressed by Superpave specification to prevent thermal cracking, also, it is one of primary inputs in ASSHTO ME design method. Creep compliance represent ratio between time-dependent (creep) strain to applied stress as function of time. It is reflected the stiffness and time-dependence of material .[2].. In this test, the specimen is loaded with constant static load, that make Maximum measured horizontal strain below 500-10-6 mm. Three measurement is taken at three different temperature, selected based in PG grading of binder. The creep compliance calculated as function of time   using equationS 2,3. The detailed procedure is described in [5]. Equation 2 Equation 3 Where: D(t) = creep compliance at time t (kPa) GL = gauge length in meters (0.038 meters for 150 mm diameter specimens) Davg = average diameter of all specimens [typically 3] (nearest 0.001 meter) bavg = average thickness of all specimens [typically 3] (nearest 0.001 meter) Pavg = average creep load (kN) ΔXtm,t = trimmed mean of the normalized, horizontal deformations (nearest 0.001meter) of all specimen faces [typically 6] at time t (X/Y)absolute value of the ratio of the normalized, trimmed mean of the horizontal Also, it was used to determine resilient modulus of pavement mixture. Resilient modulus is stiffness measurement, reflecting material behavior within undamaged loading mode. It was defined as ratio between applied stress to recoverable strain.   Within IDT device a cyclic load is applied to give specimen enough time to recoverable it is strain. Each cycle included applying compressive load, followed by rest period. Horizontal and vertical recoverable deformation is recorded within test as shows in figure 3. It is used to calculate Passions ratios, to obtain the resilient modulus using equation 2 and 3. Two different values of resilient modulus could be obtained, based on measured deformation. Instantaneous resilient modulus depends on instantaneous recoverable deformation during unloading of each cycle.   Total resilient modulus is obtained using total recoverable deformation including both instantaneous and time-dependent recoverable deformation. Detailed test procedure is descr ibed in[6]. Three specimens with (4 or 6) in diameter, (1.5 or 2) height are tested at (77 ±2F). Initially, 100 loading cycles are applied, to get five stable cycle with less than 1 % change on resilient modulus. Loading levels are selected as   ( 10 20 ) percentage of one specimen. Instantaneous deformation is represented as difference between peak and curve deformation. Total deformation was determined as difference between peak and end of one loaded- unloaded cycle as shows in figure 3. Figure 3[6] load, displacement time plots for IDT test output Equation 2 Equation 3 Where : µ = Poissons ratio,ÃŽ ´v = the recoverable vertical, mm (in.)ÃŽ ´h = the recoverable horizontal   deformation, mm (in.) MR = resilient modulus of elasticity, MPa (psi),ÃŽ ´h = recoverable horizontal deformation, mm (in.), I1,I2,I3,I4: Constant values depends on   gauge length as a fraction of diameter specimen µ = instantaneous or total Poissons ratio,t = thickness of specimen, mm (in.),Pcyclic = Pmax Pcontact = cyclic load applied to specimen, N(lb),Pmax = maximum applied load, N (lb) andPcontact = contact load, N (lb) Indirect Tensile Fatigue Tests IThe specimen tested for fatigue under repeated load mode. The fatigue life was represented by number of cycle until failure during the test.Different fatigue criteria were developed within on IDT test. Number of cycles to complete failure (Nf); or 50 %   reduction in resilient modulus of its initial value was used [7].[8] defined it as   when the   permeant horizontal deformation ranges between 0.25-0.38 in. However   [3]   found dramatically increasing in total horizontal deformation was happened after a value of 0.1 in and select as failure criteria. [9] define it as the point when horizontal deformation increase in faster rate more than constant rate. [10]   select   a value of   9 mm   of total vertical deformation as failure criteria.[11], introduced theoretical criteria based on energy ratio for both control stress and strain mode of loading. [2] introduced logit model used fracture energy as indicator for fatigue based on fatigue cracking.[12]   used visco elastic continuum damage (VECD) model   to predict fatigue life. A single-characteristic curve of an asphalt mixture and is independent of loading types (C1-S1 curve) model was used. A 50 % reduction in normalized pseudostiffness (C1) was selected as failure criteria.   [13] introduced new approach based on crack development. Two digital cameras were used to record development of cracks every minute. The failure criteria was selected as number loading cycle when rapid crack beginning. Two asphalt mixture, dense graded and stone mastic were tested based on AASHTP TP9-96. Control-stress mode of loading was used at 20 C with 10HZ frequency. Two digital cameras were used to record development of cracks every minute, as shows in the figure 3. Scion Image software was used to analysis results images. Both length and width of cracks was recorded. The failure criteria was selected as number loading cycle when rapid crack beginning. Figure 4[13] overlay tester   (OT) The overlay test was introduced by [14] to induced resulted displacement   from temperature change at layers below the overlay. The original OT was upgraded to test HMA laboratory mixes and field cores. The specimen size was modified to be obtained from superpave gyratory compactor samples (figure 6) and fully computer controlled system is used to control the test   [15] . The test setup shows in figure 7 two steel blocks, one free to slides horizontally, while the other is fixed. The sliding process reflects the opening and closing of cracks or joint in pavement thus, will represent the two-stage fatigue process in pavement. The crack initiation, includes growing of micro-cracks and the crack propagation, represented by macro cracks on surface layer .[16]. Figure 5 Overlat test setup,[15] Figure 6 OT Sample preparation[15] The Trimmed specimen is glued with epoxy between two blocks. The sliding is applied cyclic triangular waveform direct tension on the specimen. It is controlled with maximum displacement opening. The test could   be conducted with loading rate ranges (1-600) second/cycle, controlled opening displacement (0-0.08) and temperature between (32-77 F) [17].However, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) published standardized test procedure designation (Tex-248-F. It was specified that the specimen is loaded   with 10 second cyclic controlled with   0.025 maximum displacement at 77+1F temperature.[18] Figure 7:overlay setup-Tex-248-F test [19] The crack resistance is represented based on number of cycle correspond to 93% in   maximum applied load in first cycle.   Ã‚   (Hu et al. 2008; Sheng and Ping 2016). However, [22] compare between different methods to analysis the data. The area under- the load-cycle response curve was used; the result shows no improvement in variability. In addition, the rate of load decrease was studied, it was unsatisfactory.   different load reduction percentage was tested as alternative for 93%. The 85% load reduction seem to be good. The test is recommend for performance measures for reflective cracks. [15] test field cores from different highways in taxas state. They suggest 300 cycle @93 % load reduction was selected as pass /failure criteria and 750 cycle was For the rich bottom layer. Also, New Jersey department of transportation (NJDOT) adopted OT test as performance measure for different mixes . The test conduct 10 second cyclic load controlled with   0.025 maximum displacement at   either 59 or 77 F. The failure criteria of specimen selected to be 93 % or until minimum 1200. The detailed procedure published in designation NJDOT B-10[23].   The design Binder-Rich Intermediate Course(BRIC) require minimum of a 700 cycle at 77F as pass criteria. For high rap mixes it is require minimum 150,175 For PG64-22,PG76-22 respectively for surface course while intermediate course required minimum 100,125 cycle for PG64-22,PG76-22 respectively[24].

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Marijuana Use: An Ethical Examination Essay -- legalization of marijuan

Works Cited Missing Instead of addressing the tiresome argument about whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States, I would like to examine a much more fundamental question: whether or not it is right to use the drug. This problem is strictly an ethical one. If we are to examine only the moral implications of the action then we must discard governmental laws from the equation, for this decision could be made anywhere, at any time, under any sort of governmental regime, under any set of laws, which after all are only that particular government’s best guess at morality and who’s to say their judgment is any better than yours? Knowing that this decision is a rather daunting one, I’ve enlisted the help of three friends, Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill, to aid in the decision making process. It just so happens that they are experts in the field of ethics. Aristotle is an ancient Greek philosopher, really the first philosopher to use the word â€Å"ethics†. His major book on ethics is titled Nicomachean Ethics (Bostock 1). In order to understand Nicomachean Ethics and apply it, we must first understand how Aristotle viewed the world. Aristotle sees the world in terms of ends, purposes, and functions. In nature, the end of the acorn is to become an oak tree. In human affairs, the end of architecture is to produce buildings; of shipbuilding, to produce ships; of medicine, to promote health. Humans too have a function, an ultimate end; this Aristotle calls eudaimonia. The traditional translation is happiness, but this translation is misleading. To put it most aptly eudaimonia â€Å"connotes overall success and prosperity and achievement, though it also connotes something that we may call... ... the world would most likely be made up of people enjoying pleasure, something that can not really be considered bad. Many would argue that the world would be full of drug addicts, but this is not the world that we have set up. According to our perceived duty, all must use marijuana in moderation, and to use it to excess would be just as offensive to the duty as would be not using it at all. We have now heard from three very distinguished Moral philosophers, and all have said that moderate use of marijuana is not a bad thing, one even calling it our duty. The most common type of actual moral reasoning is a loose combination or confusion of methods (Sweet 4). So, if we combine all that we have heard, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the use of marijuana, as a bodily pleasure, is morally justifiable, probably more so than not using the drug.

Monday, November 11, 2019

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Theme Reflection Essay

In the story, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, there are many themes. Two of them include racism and displacement. At a very young age, Maya met the effects of racism and segregation in America. She had been told about the differences between blacks and whites, which developed her belief that only blonde hair is beautiful and that she is a fat black girl stuck in a nightmare. However, Stamps, Arkansas, was so segregated that as a child Maya never really saw white people which made her believe that they didn’t exist. As Maya gets older, she is approached by more personal incidents of racism, such as a white dentist’s refusal to treat her. These unfair events humiliate Maya and her relatives. She learns that living in a very racist society has shaped her family members, and she tries to overcome them. Resistance to racism has many forms in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Big Bailey buys glitzy clothes and drives a fancy car to state his wealth and runs around with women to declare his masculinity in the face of degrading and reducing racism. Momma keeps her pride by seeing things realistically and keeping to herself. Daddy Clidell’s friends learn to use white peoples’ racism against them in worthwhile cons. Maya first experiments with resistance when she breaks her white employer’s heirloom china. Her bravest act of disobedience happens when she becomes the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Blacks also used the church as a place of revolutionary resistance. This story also includes the theme of displacement. Maya is moved around to seven different homes between the ages of three and sixteen. As said in the poem she tries to recite on Easter, the statement â€Å"I didn’t come to stay† becomes her shield against the reality of her rootlessness. Maya is always humiliated, making her unable to put down her shield and feel comfortable staying in one place. When she is thirteen she moved to San Francisco with her mother, Bailey, and Daddy Clidell. She finally feels that she belongs somewhere for the first time. As Maya continues her journey, she realizes that thousands of other terrified black children made the same journey as she and Bailey. Traveling on their own to newly wealthy parents in northern cities, or back to southern towns when the North failed to supply the economy it had promised. African Americans descended from slaves who were displaced from their homes and homelands in Africa, and blacks continued to struggle to find their place in a country friendly to their heritage.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Mise-en-Scene in The Royal Ten essays

Mise-en-Scene in The Royal Ten essays One of Bertolt Brechts philosophies on theater was that the audience should see the behind the scenes goings on of the play. If there was a fan blowing fake snow flakes onto the stage the audience should see the fan. He thought this was impotent because it reminds the audience that they are watching a play and therefore will ask themselves, what is this play trying to say? An argument could be made that Wes Anderson tries to make the audience realize that they are watching a movie through his use or mise-en-scene. The precise composition of his shots along with his generic and ridicules costuming, and camera movements all contribute to creating a film that is so obviously controlled and unnatural that it forces its audience to realize that this is in fact a movie. Almost every single shot of The Royal Tenenbaums has its subject directly in the center of the frame or exactly in one of the vertical thirds of the frame. In the scene where Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) steps off the Green Line bus to meet Richie Tenenbaum (Luck Wilson) she is exactly in the middle of the frame and is also framed by the two parallel crosswalk lines painted on the road. There is a shot of Richie walking over to take a picture with a fan. During his walking Richie never leaves the center of the frame, he is rigidly placed there even as the camera does a track shot staying parallel with him. When the camera movement stops there is a huge ocean liner with disappearing lines perfectly framed in the left third of the screen. In fact there are wonderful uses of line throughout the film as Margot steps off the bus there are thick green horizontal lines painted on the busses behind her from one end of the wide angle shot to the other. In a slow-motion dolly of Richie we see a line of sailors walking, almost serially, behind him. From the sailors wearing their uniforms to Richie, the tennis pro, wearing his headband to ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy American inventor Thomas Edison often gets a bad rap from environmentalists. After all, he invented those incandescent light bulbs we are all so busy replacing with more efficient models.  He developed many industrial chemicals in conditions that would alarm modern environmental cleanup crews. And of course, he is known best for inventing or improving  a whole slew of power-thirsty electric machines and appliances- from the phonograph to the motion picture camera. Edison merged his own company to create General Electric, one of the worlds largest corporation. By the end of his life, Edison had been awarded more than 1,300 individual patents. Almost single-handedly, it seems, Edisons work at the end of the 19th century made modern civilization dependent on electricity- and the natural resources required to generate it. Edison Experimented With Renewable Energy More than a tireless promoter of electricity, Thomas Edison was also a pioneer in renewable energy and green technology. He experimented with home-based wind turbines to generate electricity that could replenish batteries to provide homeowners with an independent source of power, and he teamed up with his friend Henry Ford to develop an electric car that would run on rechargeable batteries. He saw electric cars as a cleaner alternative for moving people in smoke-filled cities. Most of all, Edison’s keen mind and insatiable curiosity kept him thinking and experimenting throughout his long life- and renewable energy was one of his favorite topics. He had a deep respect for nature and loathed damage made to it. He was a renown vegetarian, extending his non-violence values to animals.   Edison Favored Renewable Energy Over Fossil Fuels Thomas Edison knew that fossil fuels such as oil and coal were not ideal power sources. He was very aware of the air pollution problems fossil fuels created, and he recognized that those resources were not infinite, shortages would become a problem in the future. He saw the virtually untapped potential of renewable energy sources- such as wind power and solar power- that could be harnessed and put to work for the benefit of mankind. In 1931, the same year he died, Edison confided his concerns to  his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, who by then were retirement neighbors in Florida: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using natures inexhaustible sources of energy - sun, wind,  and tide. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.† Edited by Frederic Beaudry

Monday, November 4, 2019

My philosophy of pedagogy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

My philosophy of pedagogy - Essay Example When I came to USA, the first thing I wanted to learn was driving. I did not know driving because in Saudi Arabia, women are denied the right to drive. So I was very excited to learn how to drive. I received the training from my husband, Anees. Anees started from the basics because I was the beginner. I learned the functions of different tools and parts of the car. In the beginning, Anees would take me to lonely paths so that I would not be distracted by traffic and would be able to fully concentrate upon driving. Besides, this also allowed me escape possible accidents. Anees taught me the use of gears and break. I learned the meaning of the letter on each gear. Letter D means drive, letter P means parking, letter N means nothing, and the letter R means turn back. Once he thought I had gained sufficient control over the car, Anees took me to the roadside and told me the significance of traffic signals. I found it all a bit confusing in the beginning, but the anxiety receded as I prac ticed more. Â  The hardest part was driving on the highway. Cars rushing past me freaked me out. I was not very used to fast driving. But once I made it to my destination, it inculcated a feeling of confidence in me. I kept driving ever since and today, I have my own driving license and can dive independently. I am very grateful to my husband for his sincere help. Â  I always believed that I could be a very good teacher. I polished my husband’s creative writing skills. First, I taught him how to write.... Once he thought I had gained sufficient control over the car, Anees took me to the roadside and told me the significance of traffic signals. I found it all a bit confusing in the beginning, but the anxiety receded as I practiced more. The hardest part was driving on the highway. Cars rushing past me freaked me out. I was not very used to fast driving. But once I made it to my destination, it inculcated a feeling of confidence in me. I kept driving ever since and today, I have my own driving license and can dive independently. I am very grateful to my husband for his sincere help. I always believed that I could be a very good teacher. I polished my husband’s creative writing skills. I secured my Bachelor degree in English language from the Spring International Language Center. I was senior to my husband, and my essay writing skills were far better than his. Owing to the fact that men in our country are weak in expressing their emotions, my husband found it difficult to write a good essay. Therefore, I resolved to assist him with essay writing. I started with the basics. First, I taught him how to write an introduction in the American style. I told him that he ought to begin with a hook. I told him that it is important to write a hook to gain the attention of readers. Then, I told him to write a thesis statement to give the readers a fair idea of the content of the body of the essay. I told him that the body of an essay elaborates on what has been said in the thesis statement. Writing the topic sentence for each new paragraph was a bit confusing for Anees, but he started to develop better topic sentences as he practiced more. I suggested Anees to use different kinds of

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Personal statement - Essay Example hough deeply religious, he has the modern outlook and he has paved way for participation of women, in the nation-building projects and I wish to be a part of the process actively through those endeavors. Personally, I am deeply interested in the subject of political science and my grandfather is my role model in this area. I am sure to have his guidance and blessings in my chosen career. He was a practicing politician and that provided the strength to our family. He was a great man of political integrity and character and we, the family members have imbibed his virtues. As for my academic credentials, I hold the bachelor’s degree in library science and information. I have three years’ experience as a librarian in a business school and that gave me a unique opportunity to be friends with the latest business management books. I am a voracious reader and have read and studied the autobiographies of famous leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Kar l Marx, Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung etc. besides many leaders of Saudi Arabia. I am seeking admission to Master in Political Science to strengthen my theory knowledge of the subject of Politics. Your benign consideration of my application for admission at this important juncture in my life will be the deciding factor for my future goals and career

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Do we have a fair taxation system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Do we have a fair taxation system - Essay Example Nevertheless, the main system used in most nations is the progressive tax which emphasizes on paying as one earns (Christia, 2006). Each system of taxation is fair and unfair in its own way. Progressive, regressive, and lump-sum taxation systems are unfair while proportional taxation system is very fair when applied in obtaining revenue. Progressive tax system is where the effective tax rate increases as the amount affected by the rate increases. In most cases progressive tax system is known as the PAYE (Pay as you earn). This means that the more a person earns the more tax he or she pays (Hatzipanayotou, 2004). With progressive tax system those who work hard to earn more are likely to be charged more in terms of tax and this is unfair. Progressive tax rate encourages laziness and discourages hard work. On a different perspective regressive tax system is the opposite of progressive. In this regards with decreases effective rate the amount affected increases on the other hand (Christia, 2006). This is also an unfair system of taxation as those who have will pay less as compared to the poor. In addition, this means that the more a person earns the less he or she pays in form of tax and the less a person earns the more he or she pays in form of tax (Freedman & Chamberlain, 2007). Lump-sum tax system on the other hand d oes not give priority on the efforts placed by individuals in developing their nations. Therefore, these three systems of taxation are unfair. Proportional taxation system emphasizes on the effort placed by individual citizens in trying to build their countries. In this taxation system, the effective tax rate is fixed irrespective of the amount being taxed (Slemrod, 2000). Therefore, the more a person earns the more he or she takes home with the tax rate being the same. Schmidt (2000) points out that when one is lazy hence

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Benefits of Microcredit to Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

The Benefits of Microcredit to Bangladesh Essay Bangladesh, with a population of more than 140 million, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Almost half of the total population is still living below the poverty line earning less than $1 a day. The various dimensions of the country’s poverty are manifested in terms of inequality in income distribution (in favor of urban areas), wage differentials between the formal and informal sectors, dramatic increases in the cost of living, unemployment and internal migration. However, progress on a range of social indicators in Bangladesh over the last fifteen years has been striking in certain areas, and these have been endorsed largely to the mix of public and private service provision, including the pioneering approach of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The government of Bangladesh faces an enormous challenge in reducing its poverty. However, the government cannot act alone as it cannot command all the resources and personnel to maintain progress in poverty alleviation. The MFIs have taken a key role in poverty improvement efforts and have been providing credit to these poor people who lack savings and capital but want jobs in the farm and non-farm sectors. The banking sector in Bangladesh is dominated by the four state- owned commercial banks, but in addition there are five government owned specialized banks, 30 domestic private banks, and 12 foreign banks. A few of these banks do lend extensively to rural areas most don’t even look at the rural areas of the country for lending money. But the poor people do not get access to formal financial institutions due to the lack of physical collateral. Unlike other countries, Bangladesh does not a have a proper substructure of small banks operating at a local level, and thus a strong structure NGO microfinance sector had been developed in Bangladesh. These MFIs have been able to reach the poor with collateral-free loans at affordable costs and can thus help the poor become self-employed. The micro-finance sector in Bangladesh is one of the worlds largest. Bangladeshi MFIs are best known for their groundbreaking, large-scale provision of microfinance services, principally tiny collateral-free loans to poor women. Microcredit programs in Bangladesh are implemented by NGOs, Grameen Bank, state-owned commercial banks, private commercial banks, and specialized programs of some ministries of Bangladesh government. In the microfinance sector total loan outstanding is around TK 200 billion and savings TK140 billion that have been rendering among 30 poor people which help them to be self-employed that accelerates overall economic development process of the country. Through the financial services of microcredit, these poor people are engaging themselves in various income-generating activities and around 30 million poor people are directly benefited from microcredit programs. Credit services of this sector can be categorized into six broad groups: 1. General microcredit for small-scale self employment based activities, 2. Microenterprise loans, 3. Loans for ultra poor, 4. Agricultural loans, 5. Seasonal loans, and 6. Loans for disaster management. Loan amounts up to BDT 30,000 are generally considered as microcredit; loans above this amount are considered as microenterprise loans. The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), established by the government in August 2006, received applications from more than 5000 private institutions (NGO-MFIs). But, around 1000 applications of them were found to be very small organizations that had fewer than 1000 borrowers or less than the USD 58,000 in outstanding loans that is generally considered as the minimum initial operating portfolio of a single branched MFI to be sustainable. However, till June 2010 the MRA had approved licenses in favor of 552 NGOs and 2910 have been rejected due to not meeting licensing criteria, such as non-existence of operations at field, inappropriate registration as an NGO, inadequate financial information, and so on. Size and growth: According to the size of institutions in terms of the number of borrowers served, MRA categorizes MFIs into five major types: very large, large, medium, small and very small. There are only two very large MFIs, viz., BRAC ASA, each serving over four million borrowers. Table-2 shows year-wise number and percentage of the total number of institutions under these five categories for the last four years. Currently there are only 21 medium, 16 large and 2 very large MFIs operating in Bangladesh, together they constitute only 8 percent of the total. 92 percent NGO-MFIs are still either small or very small covering not more than 17 percent share of the market in terms of outreach and operations. Challenges: Despite certain success in reaching the poorer groups of households, it has been estimated that certain groups of extreme poor households do not take part in microcredit program. Geographical coverage of microcredit operation varies, with coverage thinnest in the poorer, more remote and less populous districts of the country’s north and southwest. Considering the geographical coverage of the MFIs in Bangladesh, more than 80 percent of the MF-NGOs have less than 5 branch offices and about half of them do not have any branch office at all. In recent years, there have been some efforts in reaching these households by offering more flexible repayment schedules with a smaller loan sizes. Several studies also show that 15-30 percent of microcredit members are from ‘non-target’ groups as also measured by householder’s land size. The success of microcredit programs depends on the following challenges: 1. Enhancing the Resources versus Reaching the Poor Client 2. Smaller versus Larger loan sizes 3. Increase in client-base versus Sustainability of MFIs Achievements: Women empowerment: Women are given equal access to the Grameen schemes as a result; they have raised their status, lessened their dependency on their husbands and improved their homes and nutritional standards of their children. 90% of women who used begging as a means of survival now have roof over their heads and can support themselves. Group Savings: Group Savings have proven successful as group lending. Group savings have reached 698 million taka (US $ 23 Million approx), out of which 570 million taka 9US 419 million) are saved by women. The bank requires its borrowers to save. Each borrower saves one taka (2-5 cents) each week. As of today Grameen bank has collected so much money that they can collectively buy the largest enterprise in the country. The poorest of the poor in the country are entering the coterie of the elites. Shift in the occupational pattern: There has been a shift in the occupational graph from agricultural waged labor considered socially inferior to self- employed petty trader. Micro-credit has succeeded in graduating the poor from poverty level to a self sustained position. Builds Trust among Poor: Grameen has put trust back into the picture. The working of the Grameen is largely through trust. It believes in the enormous potential of each and every human being given enabling environment, even the poorest of the poor can peel off doubts and start exploring their abilities to find a life with full human dignity. Spurs social change: Micro credit had done what billions of dollars worth of AWACS (Air Borne Warnings and Control System) and Patriot missiles cannot, for decades the west has tried to defeat fanatical extremists militarily, this has been bloody, costly and highly unsuccessful, but quietly every day, the attraction of the militant Islam is being blunted at the ballot box and in the people’s hearts and minds, than to the economic development of the poor. Micro credit helps solve a host of intractable, long-term social ills related to poverty. In Bangladesh the use of contraception is one of the first behaviors to change. In fact formation of groups of women to meet regularly helps in discussing new ideas and sharing information, this serves as a potent factor in bringing about broad based social change, otherwise women are isolated. In Bangladesh micro-credit has led to an increase in participation of people in the mainstream economic and political process of society, and overall human development . Very low default rate: The default rate is astonishingly low compared to what Bangladesh commercial banks suffer. It is about 2% as compared to about 70% for agricultural loans and 90% for industrial loans. Yunus Says† The difference lies in the psychology of the borrowers. The rich can evade the consequences of non- payment, the poor cannot. They value loan sharks so much; that they are only too grateful for once aims a lifetime opportunity to improve them†. Micro credit has graduated the rural poor from the informal capital market controlled by the moneylender and local elite to institutionalized banking. Positive impact on the families: Independent studies show that micro credit has a host of positive impacts on the families that receive it. A recent world bank study by Shahid Khondkar (2003) show that micro-credit programs operating in Bangladesh over a long period of time have produced a greater impact on extreme poverty than on moderate poverty.† The results of this study indicate that micro credit not only affects the welfare of participants and non-participants, but also the aggregate welfare at the village level. In fact even in disaster situations and post conflict areas, it has helped rebuild economic activities and livelihoods. Hence acting as the coping mechanisms of the poor. This was successfully demonstrated during the floods in Bangladesh in 1998 Problems and constraints: 1. How to expand the outreach of micro credit. 2. Lack of funds. 3. Lack of initiative in creating financing institutions. 4. Absence of legal framework for creating micro credit institutions. 5. Lack of conceptual clarity 6. Absence of regulatory framework United Nations response: United Nations: General Assembly Resolution 52/194. The report of the Secretary-General on the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty (1996) and the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), recognizes that people living in poverty are innately capable of working their way out of poverty with dignity, and they demonstrate creative potential to improve their situation when an enabling environment and the right opportunities exist. Noting that in many countries of the world, micro credit programmes, by providing access to small loans to people living in poverty, have succeeded in generating productive self-employment. Freeing the people from the bondage of poverty leading to their increasing participation in the mainstream economic and political processes of the society. The UN recognizes that micro credit programmers, in addition to their role in the eradication of poverty, have also been a contributing factor to the social and human development. Conclusion: Strengthening local government is one of the most desired institutional changes needed for poverty reduction. Decentralization and participation are the buzzwords. SHARE and ASA and GBUP in India, Nirdhan and SBP in Nepal, KASHF in Pakistan-All these are the leading replicas of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The question to be asked is why is it that the success rate of these institutions is not the same as that of its model i.e. the Grameen Bank? This needs to be looked into. The need of the hour is greater awareness and consciousness among the populace of the third world about the feasibility and the importance of the use of micro credit in their respective countries. GRAMEEN BANK†¦ The system of this bank is based on the idea that the poor have skills that are under-utilized. A group-based credit approach is applied which utilizes the peer pressure within the group to ensure the borrowers follow through and use caution in conducting their financial affairs with strict discipline, ensuring repayment eventually and allowing the borrowers to develop good credit standing. The bank also accepts deposits, provides other services, and runs several development-oriented businesses including fabric, telephone and energy companies. Another distinctive feature of the banks credit program is that the overwhelming majority (98%) of its borrowers are women. Grameen Bank continued to expand its outreach in Bangladesh in 2009 to bring new areas and new members within its operational fold. During the year, the bank opened 23 new branches bringing the total number of branches to 2,562 that dot the length and breadth of rural Bangladesh. Bank’s network40 Zonal, 268 Area and 2,562 branch level officesnow encompasses 83,458 or over 99% of the country’s nearly 84,000 villages located in 479 upazilas or sub-districts in all 64 districts of Bangladesh. A fresh batch of 300,413 people joined the Grameen family in 2009, swelling the aggregate number to a staggering 7.97 million members.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

How Do Banks Increase Their Liquidity?

How Do Banks Increase Their Liquidity? This essay will be looking into liquidity problems within individual banks, exploring why it is absolutely essential for banks to have good liquidity and exploring the sources of liquidity that are available to them, should they need to increase it. Over the past year there have been an assortment of serious issues involving banks, with the nationalisation and part-nationalisation of several retail banks in the UK, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Bradford Bingley, HBOS and Northern Rock and the collapse of various large financial institutions in the US and Europe including Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers. It will also look into why these banks faced such problems, and examine the role that the Central Bank plays in managing liquidity within the money markets, and how it can help individual banks and the entire banking system if liquidity becomes an issue. Explain why banks have become under-capitalised and insufficiently liquid and that there are ways for banks to sort out their liquidity. Firstly it is necessary to define liquidity, and explain the reason that liquidity is so important for banks. Liquidity is essentially immediately spendable funds or the ability to convert assets into spendable funds, quickly and easily without a significant loss. Banks need liquidity because of demands for spendable funds. These demands mainly come from customers wishing to withdraw money from their accounts and from customers with credit requests, either in the form of new loans or drawings upon existing credit lines. However banks will also have a demand for liquidity for other reasons including paying off liabilities that they have for example loans from other banks, or the central bank, payment of income taxes and the paying of cash dividends to their shareholders. Sources of liquidity that banks have available to them fall into two categories; asset liquidity and borrowed liquidity, with most banks tending to use a mix between them both known as balanced liquidity management. Banks using a balanced liquidity management strategy look at their expected liquidity demands, store some of these demands in liquid assets and the rest left down to prearranged lines of credit from potential suppliers of funds. The stock of liquid assets is held by banks solely as a reserve, which can be turned into cash in crisis conditions, when a bank cannot meet its financial obligation. These assets must be of high quality so that in times of need, they can be sold immediately with minimal losses. These liquid assets, other than cash, include: Commercial paper is issued by large corporations as a form of short term borrowing. The maturity of commercial paper is in most cases between 7 and 45 days, and is sold similarly to the treasury bills, at a discount to its maturity value. Commercial paper is generally unsecured, making it riskier than buying treasury bills. Companies using commercial paper will normally get a credit rating check from a credit rating agency and the better the rating they achieve, the smaller the discount they can issue it at, as it is a more secure investment. A certificate of deposit (CD) is a certificate stating that a deposit has been made with a bank for a fixed period of time, and that at the end of the fixed term, the original deposit will be repaid with interest. The advantage of CDs for the depositor is that they are tradable to third parties, so the depositor can make use of the funds, if needs be, before the maturity date. The advantage to the financial institution issuing the CD is that they can make use of the deposit for the fixed period, but because they offer the depositor flexibility, the bank gets it for a slightly lower price than they would normally have to pay for other time deposits such as repos. The disadvantage of the CD is that the depositor has to deposit a minimum denomination of  £50,000 which means that small companies may not have the money for them. Repurchase agreements (Repos) are a combination of two transactions, and play a critical role in the money markets. It works by firstly a securities dealer, such as a banks, sells securities it owns to an investor and agrees to repurchase them at a specified higher price at a date in the future. This is a great way for dealers to raise funds quickly. For the investor, repos can be a very profitable short term investment. This is because not only will they make money with the dealer buying the securities back at a higher price, but if they believe that the price of the securities will drop, then they can sell them, and then potentially purchase equivalent securities to return to the dealer just before the repo must be unwound. Therefore the investor has potentially made more money on top of the interest earned from the dealer. Treasury Bills are securities with a maturity of one year or less, and are issued by national governments. These are generally considered to be the safest of all investments, and for this reason they account for a larger share of money market trading than any other type of instrument. They are also known as zero coupon bonds, as they do not pay any interest, but instead are bought at a discount rate to their face value, depending on how long it is until the security matures. The main sources of borrowed liquidity available to banks inlcude: The Interbank lending market is a market where banks can lend money to each other. This provides banks with the ability to get funds quickly in times of bad liquidity and also provides an outlet for lending excess funds. The loans are normally short term loans, generally between 1 and 14 days, but can be longer. The interbank lending market has its own interest rate, called the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is currently stabilised at just over 0.6%, around 10 basis points above the current base rate. Euromarkets have been some of the fastest growing markets in recent years and are basically any instrument denominated in a currency other than that of the country where it is traded. Financial institutions will look for money at the lowest price, regardless of the currency, and then change it into the home currency. This can be a good way of finding cheap money quickly, especially if the interbank lending market has dried up as it has done recently. Bond Markets are a great way of getting liquidity as there is a huge market for bonds. Bonds offer the investor interest throughout the life of the bond, and repayment of the original principle at the end. Unlike shares, the owner of the bond does not have any degree of managerial control or ownership of the issuer. For this reason it is a great way to get liquidity, because the issuer is not losing any of the company or institution and therefore none of its powers. The interest rates however must be competitive on the day of issue, but need to be just right as if it is too high, then the issuer could end up with excessive costs, but if it is too low, then they may not be able to sell them. Explain what role the bank of England has, and how it operates in the money markets and how banks are affected by the operations of the bank of England (interest rates etc) The Bank of Englands principal function is to conduct money and credit policy to promote sustainable growth in the economy and avoid severe inflation. There are various tools it uses in its role of helping in maintaining stability in the financial system as a whole, finding potential problems and risks and trying to find ways of fixing these problems and reducing the risks. In trying to achieve its main goals, the Bank of England effects the operations of all the banks, and they must be prepared for all outcomes. The tools that the central bank uses are outlined below. The Bank of England is responsible for the Governments accounts, and provides them with regular statements and banking services. It is also the banker of all commercial banks, and all commercial banks are required by law to keep 0.15% of the liabilities in their account with the central bank. The central bank is the Issuer of bank notes in England and Wales, but not the rest of the UK. It controls the countries reserves of gold and foreign currencies for the government, and by buying and selling these the central bank can influence the exchange rate. The central bank is known as the lender of last resort, and will always lend to the banks if there is a shortage of liquidity in the banking system. This has been shown vastly over the last couple of years, and has been fundamental in stopping the banking system from the possibility of total collapse. One example of this was the Northern Rock PLC in 2007, where a rumour that the bank was in serious financial trouble led to people with deposits in the bank lining up outside the banks demanding their deposits. In this instance the Bank of England quickly helped the bank out as lender of last resort. The Bank of England supervises the banking system. There are two main reasons the bank needs to do this which are the fact that customers of the banks and institutions are at a disadvantage because they are not necessarily well informed about the affairs of the intermediary and therefore could be depositing their money into a bank that is on the brink of a collapse. The central bank looks at all of the accounts of the banks to make sure that they are not in a bad position. This leads on to the second reason which is that the consequences of bank failure can be catastrophic to the whole financial system, as we have seen over the past two years, which shows that the central bank should have perhaps been supervising the financial institutions more closely. The Bank of England is involved in advising on the monetary policy. Monetary policy involves controlling the price and quantity of money and credit in the economy, with the use of different policy instruments, which are interest rates and the availability of reserves. Changing interest rates effectively changes the demand for money. The main instrument used today is interest rates. By putting interest rates up, there will be less demand for money, as it costs more to borrow, and on the other hand by lowering interest rates, it will increase the demand for money as it is cheaper. By doing this the Bank of England can basically slow down or speed up the economy and rates of inflation. This has a huge effect on banks, because everything they do relies on interest rates. Look at recent events in the money markets and the responses from firms and government and analyse the impact of these event on both individual firms and financial markets as a whole. Since the financial crisis started with the collapse of the sub-prime mortgages, banks have faced liquidity problems. This is mainly due to the fact that there has been impaired liquidity in a lot of markets, the two main markets being the interbank markets and the securities markets. Banks became unsure of both their own liquidity and the liquidity of other financial institutions, and for that reason they did not want to lend to each other on the interbank markets. This therefore pushed interest rates up in both markets, and with banks becoming increasingly dependent on these markets, it did not look good for liquidity. Many other markets also relied on the banks using these markets, and problems spread into many different markets. This all ended up with banks entailing higher borrowing costs, which then had to be passed in their lending rates and also left the banks with much weaker results. This all lead to some banks defaulting on their payment obligations, as they just did not have the liquidity they needed. Many large institutions around the world had to be bailed out by central banks, with banks in the UK including Northern Rock, Alliance and Leicester, HBOS and Bradford and Bingley amongst several others. The above table outlines the measures that the Central banks around the world took to try to address the situation. The Bank of England used several of these methods to try to resolve the severe liquidity problems that the banks and markets that were facing. As shown in the Essay, it is essential for financial institutions to have good liquidity. It is not important just for the survival of an individual bank, but for the survival of the financial system as a whole. It is clear that in recent events, the banks did not have sufficient liquidity to cover the demands for spendable funds, and in the future they need to have a much higher stock of liquid assets, and not rely so much on borrowed liquidity. It is also clear that big mistakes were made by many financial institutions, and learning from these mistakes is essential in trying to rebuild trust in both the money markets and banks in general. I believe that the Bank of England needs to improve the way it is supervising the banking system, as the collapse of the money markets could potentially have been avoided if certain banks had been supervised more effectively. The financial systems also desperately need to be regulated globally, which was one of the main topics of the G20 summit in 2009. Gordon Brown said We have a global financial system, but until now no global co-ordination or supervision, only national supervisors and a new financial regulatory is due to be released later this year, which will fundamentally change how world banks and markets operate. I believe that this new global financial regulatory system will change the way banks operate for the good, and should stop anything like this happening again. The Things They Carried | Analysis The Things They Carried | Analysis Tim Obriens The Things They Carried is a perfect example of American Contemporary, also known as postmodern, literature, mainly supporting the characteristics of metafiction, and mixture of fiction and facts, all of which are commonly used throughout all forms of postmodern literature. Because this era is current, how it will have on impact on literature still remains to be seen, but what is clear is how the contemporary era has opened a new door to literature allowing people to view the world in a whole different manner also allowing authors to be freer in expressing ideas in their literature. Contemporary literature refers to literature written from 1945 to present. It is often referred to as the era directly after World War II. This era shares many of the characteristics introduced in the modern era, but is unique in the sense that the openness found in this literature is greater. Contemporary literature also has the tendency to contradict modernist thought and brings things into new light. It deals with events and issues within this time frame and for that reason we are able to comprehend a greater deal than before. It allows the reader to feel connected to the novel in a way that wasnt possible before. What both modernism and contemporary literature share is subjectivism. Modernist literature however saw fragmentation and extreme subjectivity as an existential crisis. In contemporary literature this crisis is avoided. It is more common to find self-consciously deconstructed and self-reflexive narrators unlike in modern literature it was all about the anti-heroes and to rtured souls. There is great inner narrative of the self in contemporary. This includes the self at war with itself, to the self as arbiter points back to the phenomenological roots of post-modern thought. As far as linguistic and stylistic characteristics go, contemporary literature has an open form of writing, allowing a writer to be freer with their thoughts and ideas. It is also common to find discontinuous narrative in these works. Intersexuality or borrowing and transformation of certain ideas form other texts is also quiet present in contemporary literature, often borrowing from past modern thought as well. There is an extensive use of classical allusions within the style. What is very interesting about contemporary is its tendency not only to borrow ideas, but the sharing of these ideas and themes that is found in other languages and cultures showing how wide of a spectrum contemporary literature is willing to go. These themes and ideas are often compared and combined. But with all its uniqueness, the thing that makes contemporary stand out from the rest is its unusual usage of metaphors in its literature. This has added richness to this type of literature that many will apprec iate. Contemporary literatures themes also set this era greatly apart from the rest. It has the tendency to shatter existing social customs and faiths, and focus more on depicting vividly the stark and bitter realities. This era of literature is heavily influenced by the severity of the scientific and technological changes of the 20th century. The famous authors and works of thisperiod are vast. Each author has their unique style and way of writing, but each share the same type of freedom found in contemporary literature. No point of view or way of thinking is excluded, but rather embraced and exposed to give insight into completely different worlds that we as people may not be to familiar with, but nevertheless are able to understand on some level. J.D Salinger, famous for the novel The Catcher in The Rye, proves this by giving us a glimpse into the mind of a young adolescent boy Holden who seems to be lost in his own mind. This novel greatly supports the man vs himself theme commonly found throughout contemporary literature. The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien truly expresses exactly what contemporary literature is. Tim OBrien skillfully places all his ideas and own experiences into this collection of stories that make this an excellent piece of contemporary literature. He does everything to make these stories feel as real as possible. Tim OBrien, which also happens to be the main characters name, does this by mixing reality with fiction, a technique commonly found throughout contemporary literature. From his own experiences of the Vietnam War he is able to capture the ugly truths and the harsh, raw, human emotions that real human beings feel. He expresses the dilemma people go through in making rash decisions, and the guilt and pain found in people who went to Vietnam, so accurately it causes one to almost feel these emotions themselves and allows the reader to connect on a level never really possible before the postmodern era. OBrien does an excellent job in making the novel feel as real as possible, which is not quite a necessary characteristic of contemporary literature, but is commonly used and effectively causes a richer literary experience. He said once A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth. He expresses this view through all the work he does. Although he did experience many of the things he speaks of on some level, he never lets his stories become more than fiction. It is the fiction that represents and reflects our world that makes the real impact on people. Literature is just another form of art. Art serves to represent parts of reality and allow us to see reality in ways we didnt before. The same applies to contemporary literature and the way Tim OBrien tries to capture his audience. His purpose is not to just tell his stories of the war, but to tell these stories in a way that will allow us to reflect and connect on our own lives. He said Its partly a story about what happens to men in a war, but more deeply it touches people to actually look at their own lives and childhoods. The reason that book ends not in the war, but with little Linda dying of brain cancer, is that that chapter is meant to move away from war to the lives of all of us. In doing this the war and its horrors serve as more than just stories of hardships and pain, but as well as a tool that allows these stories to truly serve a purpose. It is still unclear what time of impact our era will make on history, but it is clear however that contemporary literature is greatly rich, unique, and has a tremendous amount of potential to be a impacting literary period that people will continue to study even as time goes by. Postmodernism was the mark of a new age were true free expression was possible and as we moved into the 21st century it has continued to evolve into literature that is free of outside restrictions dropping the boundaries for authors allowing them to right about what they have on their mind or real issues and situations in our past and current world. This is the main reason why contemporary literature focuses so strongly on fiction. Simply because fiction is fiction it leaves a door open to infinite possibilities, and almost unimaginable stories that can move or reflect society and cause one to view the world not from the small aspect that it was shown in earlier eras, but rather from all angles and perspectiv es. Contemporary literature truly allows people to experience the full rich literary experience getting rid of the mind caging structure authors stuck to for so many years.