Portents of the Monotheocracy in The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Handmaid

Portents of the Monotheocracy in The Handmaids Tale American society has had certain cultural and political forces which hire proliferated over the past few decades-described as the return to traditional Christian values. Television commercials promoting family values followed by endorsements from specific denominations are on the rise. As the exoteric has become more aware of a shift in the cultural and political climate through the mass media, Margaret Atwood, in writing The Handmaids Tale, could have been besides affected by this growing awareness of the public consciousness. This may have led Atwood to write of a bleak future for the country where a advanced regime is established and one religion becomes so powerful as to take over the nation by a military coup, subjugating women into archaic sterile female roles. Two of these forces, as reflected in the novel, are misogyny among Christian men and the rising political power of the Religious Right. Both are pernicious because the real agendas are often couched in the authority of the Bible, and both serve to oppress women and their rights. Christian misogyny, like the brainwashing at the Red Center and formal scripture readings preceding sexual intercourse in The Handmaids Tale, keeps its foothold on the necks of women by distorting the meaning of Biblical scripture. In the case of the Religious Right, its tenets would abridge not only some of womens rights, such as the availability of abortion, but would also infringe on religious freedom for all Americans. In its forays into the political system, more recently through its Christian Coalition, the Religious Right, like Christian misogynists, interprets scripture to support its movement to meet... ...at Robertsons Agenda for America a conjugation of Religion and Politics. ground forces Today. July 1996. 30. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. New York Fawcett Crest, 1985. Boston, Robert. Why the Religious Right is Wrong About Separation of Church and State. Buffalo, New York Prometheus Books, 1993. Doerr, Edd. Pat Robertsons Agenda for America a Marriage of Religion and Politics. USA Today. July, 1996. 30 Gushee, Steve. TV Series Chronicles Rise of Religious Right. The Palm Beach Post. September 27, 1996. 1F. Rinck, Margaret. Christian Men Who Hate Women. Grand Rapids, international mile Pyranee Books, 1990. Trotter, F. Thomas. Bible Frequently Quoted Carelessly for Political Points. The Nashville Banner. September 28, 1995. A7. Wallsten, Peter. Church Meets State. St. Petersburg Times. February 16, 1997. 1D.

Prufrock and Modernist notion of trivial things completeing themselves :: essays research papers

The Modern humankind is caught up in a series of piffling pursuits that seem to impart their lives sh every last(predicate)ower. Eliot uses Prufrock to show that the single cause for doing the futile actions is to avoid the bigger issue. Which could be as simple as asking a woman out, or a complicated as facing death. Either way, J. Alfred Prufrock was avoiding everything challenging in his life. It was his goal to avoid death, because he didnt know how to deal with it. He avoided asking a woman out, because he was afraid of what she might say. So he found other ways to continue his life, but it lead it to become useless. He slept with umpteen women, but none of them seemed to please him. It was as though he was incapable of being pleasured, and therefore just filled his day with random women to sleep with because it was the only thing to keep him going. Prufrock already k impudent that he was condemned to hell maybe he was already living in it. Nevertheless, he didnt stop slee ping with all these women, he continued as if it was his guilty pleasure. It couldnt possibly be though because it wasnt at all pleasurable for him, just a repetitive act that he did. Prufrock was a lonely man, with no hope of having his name carried on. He hadnt done anything worthwhile, or that some would remember him by, there was null remarkable about him. Prufrock longed to be more than just a workingman, somewhat like Michelangelo. Accomplish something wonderful to be remembered by, and not just known as a sex addict. Prufrock, however, could never achieve something great. He was too afraid it held him back and forced him to subject himself to only the most trivial things in life. ,It was these trivial things that Eliot wanted to show. The modernist society had forced many others into a life just like Prufrock lead.Unable to find true joy in any activity, everyone is subjected to trivial pursuits, shallow goals, and no pleasurable experiences. It was created by the notion th at the things that you cant explain or want to know should just be avoided. If one somebody couldnt figure them out, then it was impossible for all. And therefore, society should just give up and come to the realization that the time of great thinking has passed, and nothing new can be discovered.

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 :: essays research papers

1984 is about a parallel world 35 years into the future, in which all nations view been combined into three major countries Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia. London still exists, but it is now a part of Oceania, governed by an entity called the Party, headed by a dominant figure called colossal Brother. The Partys one goal is power power over everybody and everything in Oceania. There is constant surveillance devices called telescreens are put in peoples homes to monitor thoughts, actions and overspread Party propaganda continuously, with no way for the person to turn it off or change the channel. Free thinkers are not tolerated, and the "Thought Police" are direct to capture the culprits. The Party is developing an official language called Newspeak, whose goal is to simplify language by eliminating as many "extra" words as practicable and reducing vocabulary to a small number of basic words, thus narrowing the range of thought.The protagonist of this story is Win ston Smith, who works at the Ministry of Truth as a sort of professional history revisionist. His job is to rectify newspaper articles and documents in which Big Brother made predictions or statements that did not agree with the tangible outcome of events in other words, to maintain the public illusion that the Party is perfect. Unhappy with his state of being, Winston would like to overthrow the Party but is powerless to do so. So he teams up with his love interest Julia who is another Party worker. He also collaborates with a high-ranking Party official named OBrien, who reveals himself as a secret member of a society called The Brotherhood who are planning to destroy the Party. OBrien gives Winston a book explaining the ideals and motivations of the Party The upper classes (the highest Party members) need to uphold their economic status. Therefore, it is important to control the minds and bodies of the lower classes, and state of wars are waged constantly only so that money wi ll be spent on the production of war machinery instead of being converted into wealth which could be given to the lower classes.

Hard times :: essays research papers

Hard TimeTo be untested is to be mischievous. There has probably never been a snip in history when young people did not occasionally steal, damage property, runaway from home or school, assault other people, or act insolent to adults. Within the past three decades, judicial decisions, legislative amendments, and administrative changes have transformed the teenage court from a nominally rehabilitative social benefit agency into a scaled-down-class criminal court for young people. Websters Dictionary describes juvenile delinquency as juvenile conduct characterized by antisocial manner that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal put through. (Grinney 14) Delinquent behavior in teens existed way back in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This definition shows that 19th- light speed American society had determined it was suitable to ready legal action against intolerable youthful behavior. What the definition does not disclose is that thoughts about what that le gal action should be were changing quickly. By 1900, 36 states had separate restraining facilities for juvenile offenders. In the beginning, these facilities were built for a dual purpose. They were developed as a way to take away difficult children from society while keeping them away from adult prisoners who were likely to persuade them even more negatively.The courts also hoped that such facilities would help children queue up the formation and the ethical guidance they needed to improve there ways. However, these institutions were actually better than prisons. Moreover, youngsters were often immediately taken to them-without an official trial-by the courts, the police, their parents, or their guardians. When these types of facilities were not accessible, children were direct to adult jails and prisons for every kind of offence, from common disruptiveness to assault with a lethal weapon.In 1870, Boston began having separate hearings for offenders under age 16, and New York City briefly followed. In 1899, Illinois became the first state to create a juvenile court system. Other states rapidly did the same.Supporters of the juvenile court system did not want young people to associate with adult criminals in institutions. One of the major goals of the juvenile court system was to keep young offenders out of institutions. This system promoted the term juvenile delinquent in order to differentiate between an adult criminal and a mischievous child who may of may not be unlawful of criminal behavior. According to James S. Coleman, the juvenile court system introduced a totally new purpose. Its purpose was to revitalize the child rather than to discipline him or her.

Crime And Punishment :: essays research papers

Crime and PunishmentEver since the beginning of modern society, crime and punishment havebeen linked together. Depend on the seriousness of the crime, those who breakthe laws are punished accordingly. As the amount of homicide increased in thepassed several years, people are demanding tougher punishments for more death penalty.Among them, the most supported one was the reapplying of action as a mean ofpunishment. This notion could help decrease the number of killing, however italso raised many concerns. In order for execution to be reinstated as apunishment for murder, questions such as the morality of slaying criminals andthe possibility of killing a innocence person must be answered.One concern of executing murderers is the morality of the act. First ofall, killing of any kind is wrong. As outlined by laws and guaranteed by theCanada Charter of Human Right, every human is entitle to live. And low nocircumstances do anyone else have the right to someone else live away.Extinguis hing the life of the murderer is equivalent to murderers killing theirvictim. If it is illegal for murderers kill, how is it possible for political relationto be justify to end the lives of the murderers.Another concern of executing murderers is the possibility of killing aninnocence person. With our improving technology, what we now believe is beyondreasonable head might a verdict filled with errors in the future. One very goodexample of this is the recent acquitting of a man jailed for raped and themurder of a girl. If he was executed at the time, he would of never had thechance to prove his innocence with the D.N.A. tests. He as an innocence manwould have been killed.Legalizing execution for the punishing of murderers is a very importantdecision for Canadians to make. The result of the decision will decide of

Crime And Punishment :: essays research papers

Crime and PunishmentEver since the beginning of modern society, crime and punishment havebeen linked together. Depend on the unassumingness of the crime, those who breakthe laws are punished accordingly. As the amount of homicide increased in thepassed several years, people are de gentlemans gentlemanding tougher punishments for more murder.Among them, the most supported one was the reapplying of capital punishment as a mean ofpunishment. This notion could help decrease the number of killing, however italso raised many concerns. In order for execution to be reinstated as apunishment for murder, questions such as the morality of executing criminals andthe possibility of killing a innocence person must be answered. sensation concern of executing murderers is the morality of the act. First ofall, killing of any kind is wrong. As outlined by laws and guaranteed by theCanada Charter of Human Right, every human beings is entitle to live. And under nocircumstances do anyone else have th e right to someone else live away.Extinguishing the life of the murderer is equivalent to murderers killing theirvictim. If it is illicit for murderers kill, how is it possible for governmentto be justify to end the lives of the murderers.Another concern of executing murderers is the possibility of killing aninnocence person. With our improving technology, what we now believe is beyondreasonable doubt might a verdict filled with errors in the future. One very goodexample of this is the recent acquitting of a man lag for raped and themurder of a girl. If he was executed at the time, he would of never had thechance to prove his innocence with the D.N.A. tests. He as an innocence manwould have been killed.Legalizing execution for the punishing of murderers is a very importantdecision for Canadians to make. The result of the decision will decide of

Four West European Explores That Traveled to the New World.

*2. (a) Name four west European countries that explored the vernal World and phone* one explorer who sailed for each country, (b) Of the four *explorers, named*, state the one you would most clear liked to accompany. Discuss two reasons for your choices. Four west European explores that travelled to the New World. drawframe drawframe Christopher Columbus (c. 1451 5/20/1506 Jacques Cartier (12/31/1491 9/1/1557) drawframe John Cabot_ (c. 1450 c. 1498)_ Pedro Alvares Cabral_ (c. 1468 c. 520)_ The dry wash to find new spice and travel r surfacees spurred a very exciting time in history which eventually lead to the founding and settling of New World. These discoveries lead us to settlement and establishment ofour own country. Although Norse explorer Erik the Reds son,Leaf Ericson landed on what he called Vinland, now Newfoundland Canada, a unretentive over a thousand years ago, Western European countries really made the push for colonization about five hundred years later. These countries include Spain, Portugal, England, and France. Spain had some explorers and impacts in New World exploration.With a monarchy that was willing to finance and explore, Spain found riches in gold through South, Central, and North America. Of all Spains, and the ground explorers, none are more famous than Christopher Columbus. Every generation of Americans knows he set sail in 1492, but Im surprised how many dont realize he landed in the Caribbean, and by mistake. Looking for a spice route to the Indies, Columbus and his crew named the local inhabits Indians because he thought wrongly of his location, and eventually started disease epidemics and slavery in the area.Giovanni Caboto was a Venetian explorer who sailed for England and thus became better known as John Cabot. On 5 March 1496, King Henry VII of England basically gave Cabot free license to do whatever he wanted under the English flag. On his second voyage in 1497 he ended up in upper north east Canada and is credited with being the first European since Erikson to spend North America. With Portugals impact in early navigation, thanks largelyto Prince Henry the Navigator and his navigational school, its natural that there would be an explorer who would have an impact on New World exploration.With explorers like Dias, Magellan (who sailed for Spain), and even Columbus who lived, married, and studied in Portugal, yet another name came about. Pedro Alvares Cabral was given the task to revolve Christianity were ever he went, by force if necessary. With thirteen ships, he set sail on March 9th(my birthday) 1500. After some mishaps, he finally reached what is like a shot modern day Brazil and making claim to the New World in the name of Portugal which would later lead to a dispute under the treaty of Tordesilas.Jacques Cartier sailed for the French and claimed what is now Canada for France. Cartier not only sailed all the way to Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Saint Lawrence River, but he was the fi rst European to describe and part it. Of these four explorers I would choose Cabral to accompany. His voyage to Brazil was almost a world tour including Africa, India, and South America. I would prefer to stay in these regions and out of the northern colder regions as Cartier and Cabot explored.

Kylie Kwong- Fusion Food

Fusion cuisine blends the culinary traditions of two or more nations to name innovative interesting dishes. It tends to be more common in French or Asian cooking. Where there is a wider audience for such food. Critics sometimes mobilise it confusion cuisine, arguing that chefs rely on novelty to carry the food, rather than flavour, texture, and presentation. Kylie Kwongs professional cooking career began with a four-year period as head chef of Sydneys Wockpool, a modern Asian noodle bar and restaurant owned by Neil Perry and Trish Richards. And then from mid-1998 she headed the kitchens of two cafes in Sydney, bills and bills2.In 1999, Kylie went on a life-changing trip to China. Food featured prominently. Over the years, she has been inspired and influenced by some great cooks and food writers, her mother to Alice Waters, Stephanie Alexander, Neil Perry, Stefano and Franca Manfredi, Maggie Beer, Jamie Oliver, Elizabeth David, Richard Olney and Patience Gray. Her cooking style has evolved from living in Australia, where we are able to have access to some of the worlds finest produce, including seafood from pure waters, a generous range of Asian fruits, vegetables and herbs, free-range poultry and organically raised beef.Kylie and her air partner Bill Granger, both opened Billy Kwong opened in May 2000, in a narrow shopfront on cosmopolitan big top Street in Surry Hills, Sydney. They have been inspired by the idea of re-creating a traditional Chinese eating house. Before the doors open each night the board is filled with the buzz of our intense daily ritual. There is fresh food stacked on every surface, awaiting preparation and cooking there is a mammoth vase of flowers in the centre of the kitchen bench there is a steel wire stretched across the kitchen, where food orders are pegged during service. The tiny kitchen is the engine room of Billy Kwong and I feel most at home here (Kylie Kwong, 2013) At billy Kwong they use locally grown, organic and biodynam ic fruit and vegetables, poultry, meat and noodles. Most of the soy sauces, sugar, acetum and oils that are used to flavour our food with are organic, as well as organic products they use Fair guile tea and Fair Trade chocolate. http//www. kyliekwong. org/default. aspx

Social Media Affecting Lives

amicable Media Affecting Lives There is no doubt that social media is expanding drastically in the world, yet this change is not however related to technology and the internet. Social Media is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives. The aim of this document is to summarize some of the important headlines mentioned in the conference that took place in the Ameri mountain University of Beirut on Friday, December 16, 2011.The conference went over how social media is changing fields such as education, culture, business, media and journalism, music and art, NGOs, politics, religion, human rights, science, the environment and the personal lives of everyone who is utilise them. The conference has gathered some remarkable influencers from the Arab Community it was rich in the speakers and topics discussed. One of the speakers was the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, who began his discussion by stating that social media can play a big role in highlighting and challenging huma n rights abuses.His main points were 1. Marc Zuckerberg and Steve jobs have impacted battalion more than did Georges Bush and Osama put in Laden 2. Social media can be used to get peoples voices heard as they travel must faster online. 3. It can in any case be used to support the values we believe in versus the forces that oppose those values. This can all be done through social media, and he alike discussed that no matter what the boundaries the government put on the internet and tries to manipulate and suppress people, internet al appearances tends to overpass these boundaries.Quote if you pull a mole around our internet, well build another internet around your wall. During Tom Fletchers discussion, the number of active participants who were online in the hall was remarkably noticed. Attendees were able to move with the speaker as well with other attendees through screens showing live twitter feeds. To Tom Fletcher, the number of people playing with their mobile devices was a encounter sign of engagement rather than disengagement. Another speaker of the day was a Marketing instructor from the AUB, Mrs.Leila Khawli Hanna. She discussed that consistency is the main key when using social media. cheep has become a pre-requisite for one of her courses she states that as we develop in our humanity, we meet a lot of people who are somehow shy in move or defending their opinions. Mrs. Hanna faces this issue in her daily classes at the university and thus came up with a way to include a screen (with the class scalawag opened) in her class that shows live feeds from the learners.For her, twitter has been proven to intensely improve learners participation even if certain learners were absent on the lectures day, they were dummy up able to follow the lecture through tweeting. This has opened a way to increase the interaction whether amidst her and her learners or between the learners themselves. She communicates a difference between people who follow a manag ement with a digital strategy and those with a social strategy. * Digital strategy Tackles Company will tail * Social strategy Tackles people increases sales, performance, etc by connecting people together.It creates a community that takes the offline and put it online. Doing it that way will sometimes increase outputs, means and performance. Social media can be risky (having data constantly online available for unethical behaviors), therefore consistency is very important. Some other points of the day * Farid Chehab from Leo Burnett MENA tackled the impact of social media on activism, stating that while social networks are good at initiating & supporting public causes and mobilizing people, it proves less efficient in the long term.This view was echoed during the Social Media in melodic phrase panel. The panel placed great emphasis on the positive impact of social media on businesses, it warned however of one time hit (social media campaigns) versus maintained supremacy and stres sed the difficulty of continuous engagement with customers. Nevertheless, Farid Chehab followed the online community and published his book on the web (www. pari-rihan. org) for those readers who, having a book in the hand is not a pleasant thing. Ziad Kamel, founder and CEO of the Alleyway group talked about the impact of social media in Food/Beverage business. Before social media, 1 infelicitous customer tells 7 people. After social media, 1 unhappy customer tells infinity of people. * Yorgui Keyrouz, founder and action president of Donner Sang Compter organization also discussed the way he uses the social media to spread the word for needed blood. He stated that after going online, his organization was able to help in saving peoples lives more than they ever imagine they would.Some statistics from the day * 27. 3 million users on Facebook * 1. 9 million user on Twitter * ampere-second million viewed youtube videos every day * 77% of Facebook users have liked a brand through FB * 50% received customer service via Twitter At the end, social media is here to stay so better use it and benefit from it in a way to increase the volume of the different aspects in our lives, as this volume is diminishing in the real world. Quote If youre not on social media, you dont exist.

Microeconomics/Macroeconomics Chapter 1 Questions and Answers

Chapter 1 The Art and Science of Economic out concern INTRODUCTION THIS CHAPTER HAS dickens PURPOSES TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO SOME OF THE BASIC LANGUAGE OF sparingalS AND TO STIMULATE STUDENT INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT. IT CONVEYS TO STUDENTS THAT economic science IS NOT ONLY FOUND IN THE m singletary SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER, BUT ALSO IS VERY MUCH A PART OF THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES. BEGINNING WITH THE frugal PROBLEM OF SCARCE RESOURCES BUT UNLIMITED WANTS, THIS CHAPTER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE ambit AND THE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES USED. CONCEPTS INTRODUCED INCLUDE RESOURCES, GOODS AND SERVICES, THE ECONOMIC ACTORS IN THE ECONOMY, AND MARGINAL ANALYSIS.TWO MODELS FOR ANALYSIS, THE CIRCULAR FLOW MODEL AND STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, ARE INTRODUCED. THE APPENDIX INTRODUCES THE USE OF GRAPHS. CHAPTER OUTLINE THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM SCARCE RESOURCES, UNLIMITED WANTS exercise PowerPoint slide 3 for the following section Economics is to a greater extent or less qualification choices. The problem is that wants or desires are some unlimited epoch the resources available to satisfy these wants are meagerly. A resource is precious when it is non freely available, when its price exceeds zero. Economics studies how mountain use their scarce resources in an attempt to satisfy their unlimited wants. engross PowerPoint slides 4-9 for the following sections Resources The inputs, or factors of harvest-tideion, utilise to produce the goods and services that charitables want. Resources are divided into four categories 1. Labor kind-hearted effort, both physical and mental 2. Capital Physical capital Manufactured items ( as well asls, buildings) use to produce goods and services. Human capital Knowledge and skills people acquire to increment their labor productivity. 3. Natural resources gifts of nature, bodies of water, trees, oil reserves, minerals and animals. These can be re untriedable or exhaustible. . Entrepreneurial ability The imagination required to d evelop a new product or process, the skill needed to organize turnout, and the ordainingness to take the risk of profit or loss. Payments for resources Laborwage capitalinterest natural resourcesrent entrepreneurial abilityprofit. Use PowerPoint slides 10-12 for the following section Goods and Services Resources are combined to produce goods and services. A good is something we can see, feel, and touch (i. e. , corn). It requires scarce resources to produce and is used to satisfy human wants. A service is not tangible unless requires scarce resources to produce and satisfies human wants (i. e. , haircut). A good or service is scarce if the amount people demand exceeds the amount available at a price of zero. Goods and services that are truly free are not the undecided matter of economics. Without scarcity, thither would be no economic problem and no need for prices. Use PowerPoint slide 13 for the following section Economic de limitination Makers There are four types of fina lity makers 1. Households 2. Firms 3. Governments 4. The rest of the worldTheir inter exercise determines how an economys resources are allocated. Use PowerPoint slide 14 for the following section Markets Buyers and sellers submit out exchanges in markets. Goods and services are exchanged in product markets. Labor, capital, natural resources, and entrepreneurial ability are exchanged in resource markets. Use PowerPoint slides 15-16 for the following section A Simple Circular Flow Model A simple circular flow model in Exhibit 1 describes the flow of resources, products, income and revenue among economic decision makers. The Art of Economic AnalysisUse PowerPoint slide 17 for the following section quick of scent Self-Interest Economics assumes that various(prenominal)ists, in making choices, rationally select alternatives they perceive to be in their best interests. Rational refers to people trying to make the best choices they can, given the available information. Each sin gle(a) tries to minimize the expected cost of achieving a given benefit or to maximize the expected benefit achieved with a given cost. Use PowerPoint slide 18 for the following section Choice Requires Time and Information Time and information are scarce and therefore valuable.Rational decision makers acquire information as farsighted as the expected redundant benefit from the information is greater than its expected additional cost. Use PowerPoint slide 19 for the following section Economic Analysis Is bare(a) Analysis Economic choice is ground on a comparison of the expected peripheral cost and the expected marginal benefit of the action under consideration. Marginal means incremental, additional, or extra. A rational decision maker changes the status quo if the expected marginal benefit is greater than the expected marginal cost.Use PowerPoint slides 20-21 for the following section microeconomics and Macroeconomics Microeconomics The study of individual economic choices (e. g. , your economic behavior). Macroeconomics The study of the performance of the economy as a whole, as measured, for role model, by total production and employment. Economic fluctuations The turn and fall of economic activity relative to the long-term growth trend of the economy also called business cycles. Use PowerPoint slide 22 for the following section The Science of Economic AnalysisThe Role of Theory An economic surmise is a simplification of economic reality that is used to make divineions active the real world. An economic supposition captures the important elements of the problem under study. Use PowerPoint slides 23-26 for the following section The Scientific Method A four-step process of theoretical investigation 1. Identify the interrogative and define relevant variables. 2. Specify assumptions Other-things-constant assumption Focuses on the congressships between the variables of interest, assuming that nothing else important changes (i. e. , ceteris pari bus). Behavioral assumptions Focus on how people will behave (i. e. , in their rational self-interest). 3. Formulate a hypothesis, a theory about how key variables relate to each other. 4. bear witness the hypothesis. Compare its predictions with evidence. The theory is thus either rejected, accepted, or modified and retested. Use PowerPoint slide 27 for the following section Normative vs. Positive A positive economic dictation concerns what is it can be supported or rejected by reference to facts. A normative economic statement concerns what should be it reflects an opinion and cannot be shown to be true or false by reference to the facts.Economists Tell Stories Use PowerPoint slide 28 for the following section CaseStudy A Yen for Vending Machines Use PowerPoint slide 29 for the following section Predicting Average Behavior The task of an economic theory is to predict the impact of an economic event on economic choices and, in turn, the effect of these choices on particular ma rkets or on the economy as a whole. Economists focus on the average, or typical, behavior of people in separates. Use PowerPoint slides 30-31 for the following section Some Pitfalls of Faulty Economic Analysis The fallacy that acquaintance is causation The fact that angiotensin-converting enzyme event precedes another or that two events occur simultaneously does not mean that one caused the other. The fallacy of composition The incorrect belief that what is true for the individual, or the part, is true for the group, or the whole. The skid of ignoring substitute effects (unintended consequences of policy) If Economist Are So Smart, Why Arent They Rich? Use PowerPoint slides 32-33 for the following section CaseStudy College Major and Annual Earnings extension Understanding GraphsUse PowerPoint slides 34-39 for the following section Drawing Graphs Origin The point of departure, the point from which all variables are measured. Horizontal axis The value of the x variable impr overs as you move along this axis to the right of the origin a straight line to the right of the origin. Vertical axis The value of the y variable sum ups as you move upward and away from the origin a straight line extending above the origin. Within the space framed by the axes, you can plot possible combinations of the variables measured along each axis. Graph A house painting showing how variables relate. Time-series graph Shows the value of one or more variables over measure. Functional sex act Exists between two variables when the value of one variable depends on the other variable (e. g. , the value of the independent variable determines the value of the dependent variable). Types of relationships between variables Positive, or direct, relation As one variable increases, the other variable increases. Negative, or inverse, relation As one variable increases, the other variable decreases. Independent, or misrelated relation As one variable increases, the other varia ble remains unchanged or unrelated.Use PowerPoint slides 40-46 for the following section The Slopes of Straight Lines The pitch of a line measures how much the vertical variable (y) changes for each 1-unit change in the plane variable (x). The pitch of a line is a convenient device for bar marginal effects. Slope reflects the change in y for each one unit change in x. The side of a line does not predicate causality but indicates a relation between the variables. The slope of a line is the change in the vertical distance divided by the increase in the horizontal distance. The slope of a line depends on how units are measured the mathematical value of the slope depends on the units of measurement in the graph. The slope of a straight line is the identical everywhere along the line. The slope of a skipd line varies from one point to another along the curve. If the slope is Positive There is a positive or direct relation between the variables. Negative There is a negativ e or inverse relation between the variables. Zero or assumed infinite There is no relation between the variables they are independent or unrelated.Use PowerPoint slides 47-48 for the following section The Slope, Units of Measurement, and Marginal Analysis The Slopes of Curved Lines Curve Shifts A change in an underlying assumption is expressed by a suspension in the curve. Chapter SUMMARY ECONOMICS IS THE STUDY OF HOW PEOPLE CHOOSE TO USE THEIR SCARCE RESOURCES TO PRODUCE, EX channelize, AND CONSUME GOODS AND SERVICES IN AN ATTEMPT TO SATISFY UNLIMITED WANTS. THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM ARISES FROM THE CONFLICT amid SCARCE RESOURCES AND UNLIMITED WANTS. IF WANTS WERE LIMITED OR IF RESOURCES WERE NOT SCARCE, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO STUDY ECONOMICS.Economic resources are combined in a miscellany of ways to produce goods and services. Major categories of resources include labor, capital, natural resources, and entrepreneurial ability. Because economic resources are scarce, only a limite d number of goods and services can be produced with them. Therefore, goods and services are also scarce, so choices must be made. Microeconomics focuses on choices made in households, firms, and presidencys and how these choices affect particular markets, such as the market for used cars. Choice is guided by rational self-interest.Choice typically requires time and information, both of which are scarce and valuable. Whereas microeconomics examines the individual pieces of the puzzle, macroeconomics steps back to consider the big picturethe performance of the economy as a whole as reflected by such measures as total production, employment, the price level, and economic growth. The 2008-2009 recession illustrates economic fluctuations, the evolve and fall of economic activity relative to the long-term growth trend of the economy. Economic fluctuations are also called business cycles. These cycles will be a study topic in the macroeconomics course.Economists use theories, or models, to help generalize the effects of an economic change, such as a change in price or income, on individual choices and how these choices affect particular markets and the economy as a whole. Economists employ the scientific method to study an economic problem by (a) formulating the question and isolating relevant variables, (b) specifying the assumptions under which the theory operates, (c) developing a theory, or hypothesis, about how the variables relate, and (d) testing that theory by comparing its predictions with the evidence.A theory might not work perfectly, but it is useful as long as it predicts better than competing theories do. Positive economics aims to discover how the economy works. Normative economics is concerned more with how, in someones opinion, the economy should work. Those who are not careful can fall victim to the fallacy that association is causation, to the fallacy of composition, and to the mistake of ignoring secondary effects. The cecal appendage to this chapter deals with the construction and interpretation of graphs. TEACHING POINTS 1.THIS COURSE WILL PROVIDE THE FIRST EXPOSURE TO THE ECONOMIC WAY OF THINKING FOR MANY OF YOUR STUDENTS. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS NATURAL TO YOU, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS PRESENTS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE TO MANY STUDENTS. YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER PRESENTING ECONOMICS AS ONE OF MANY APPROACHES TO DESCRIBING HUMAN BEHAVIOR kinda THAN AS A BODY OF ESTABLISHED DOCTRINES. INTRODUCING A TOPIC WITH RELEVANT QUESTIONS TO WHICH ECONOMICS PROVIDES AN ANSWER GENERALLY ENHANCES STUDENT INTEREST IN ECONOMICS. SUCH QUESTIONS erupt AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CHAPTER. 2. Students are generally eager and very fresh at the beginning of the semester.Chapters 1 and 2 can be depute during the first week, and you can move almost immediately into discussions of production possibilities, the idea of opportunity cost, the use of marginal analysis, and comparative advantage (see Chapter 2). It should also be leisurely to meld a discussion o f the points contained in the Chapter 1 Appendix with the analytics of Chapter 2. 3. One point to stress in discussing the role and importance of economic analysis is that, while individual responses to changes in an economic environment are not always predictable, the aggregate response often is.The use of such knowledge is valuable in virtually any context in which individuals, households, firms, resource owners, and so on, are faced with changing opportunities and be. You might use some examples to illustrate this, such as what is the predicted response to a tax on gasoline and who ends up paying for the tax or the impact of a tax refund on consumer behavior. 4. From a purely analytical perspective, the most important conception introduced in this chapter is the idea that decisions are made on the basis of marginal analysis.You might stress that marginal analysis is a cornerstone of economics. 5. Some terminology in the text may deviate from your own lecture notes. If you inten d to use any of the Test Banks, try to mention deviations between the texts usage and the terms you use in your lectures. For example, the text uses the word resources whereas you might use factors of production in your lecture notes. 6. Some students think that economics is synonymous with business. You may wish to explain the difference, because many of your students will be studying business administration. . Many students will be apprehensive about the mathematics used in the course. A good way for students to master the few mathematical tools needed in assort is by through application and by using the Study Guides and the online materials. It is essential for students to become comfortable with reading and shifting graphs as well as dividing fractions. The appendix to Chapter 1 provides a good foundation for the tools needed. 8. Many beginning students do not understand what economists mean by the statement consumers are rational. It is helpful to express that rationality doe s not imply that all consumers must be identical or that all consumers make good decisions all the time. Individuals can have dramatically different tastes for goods and service and yet all can be considered rational. ANSWERS TO End-of-Chapter Questions and exercises ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 1. (Definition of Economics) What determines whether or not a resource is scarce? Why is the concept of scarcity important to the definition of economics? A resource is scarce when the amount people desire exceeds the amount available at a price of zero.The concept of scarcity is important to the definition of economics because scarcity forces people to direct how they will use their resources in an attempt to satisfy their unlimited wants and desires. Economics is about making choices. Without scarcity there would be no economic problem, and therefore no need to choose between competing wants and desires. 2. (Resources) To which category of resources does each of the following hold out ? a. A taxi b. Computer software c. One hour of legal counsel d. A parking lot e. A forest f. The Mississippi River g.An individual introducing a new way to market products on the Internet. a. capital a fabricate item employed to produce a service. b. capital a manufactured item employed to produce a good. c. labor human effort. d. capital and natural resources the parking lot is on a natural resource ( demesne), but the land has undergone capital improvement in the form of leveling and paving. e. natural resource. f. natural resource. g. entrepreneurial ability. 3. (Goods and Services) Explain why each of the following would not be considered free for the economy as a whole a.Food vouchers b. U. S. aid to developing countries c. Corporate charitable contributions d. Noncable television programs e. Public high school education aEven if viands vouchers allow individuals to purchase food at no cost, producing the food in the first place uses resources and hence has a cost. b. U. S. aid, while free to the recipient country, involves costs to the United States because the aid requires the use of U. S. resources to assist developing countries. c. The corporation (and its owners) pays for these gifts. d. This is perhaps the most interesting example. Free TV is paid for by consumers through the higher(prenominal) prices of the products advertised there. The cost of advertising is passed along to consumers. e. Public high school education is paid for by citizens, either through taxes or borrowing. 4. (Economic Decision Makers) Which group of economic decision makers plays the leading role in the economic system? Which groups play supporting roles? In what sense are they supporting actors? The main decision makers are households, with firms, governments, and the rest of the world serving as supporting actors.Households are considered to be the lead actors since they supply resources used in production, and demand goods and services produced by other actors. Firms, go vernments, and the rest of the world are supporting actors because they demand the resources that households supply and use them to produce and supply the goods that households demand. 5. (Micro versus Macro) Determine whether each of the following is primarily a microeconomic or a macroeconomic eject a. What price to charge for an automobile b. Measuring the impact of tax policies on total consumer spending in the economy c.A households decisions about what to buy d. A workers decision regarding how much to work each week e. Designing a government policy to increase total employment Microeconomics is the study of the individual economic behavior of decision-making units in the economy, whereas macroeconomics studies the performance of the economy as a whole. a. Microeconomic issue it refers to the price of an individual good. b. Macroeconomic issue it refers to the economy as a whole. c. Microeconomic issue it refers to the decision of one individual household. . Microeconomic iss ue it refers to the decisions of one worker. e. Macroeconomic issue it refers to the economy as a whole. 6. (Micro versus Macro) Some economists believe that in order to really understand macroeconomics, you must first understand microeconomics. How does microeconomics relate to macroeconomics? Microeconomics studies the behavior and choices made by individuals. The behavior and choices made by these individuals is added together to determine the economywide(or macroeconomic(measures, such as total production and unemployment.Microeconomics studies the individual pieces of the economic puzzle macroeconomics fits those pieces together. 7. (Normative versus Positive Analysis) Determine whether each of the following statements is normative or positive a. The U. S. unemployment rate was below 10. 0 percent in 2010. b. The inflation rate in the United States is too high. c. The U. S. government should increase the minimum wage. d. U. S. trade restrictions cost consumers $40 billion annu ally. A positive statement is a statement about what is. It can be supported or rejected by reference to facts.A normative statement concerns what someone thinks ought to be. It is an opinion and cant be shown to be true or false by reference to facts. a. Positive. Either the unemployment rate was below 10. 0 percent or it was not. The validity of the statement can be checked with appropriate data. b. Normative. There is no objective measure of when the inflation rate is high and when it is not. The statement reflects someones opinion of what rate is too high. c. Normative. The word should is usually an indication of an opiniona normative statement. d. Positive.In principle, the cost of trade restrictions could be measured. Measurement does not involve opinions 8. (Role of Theory) What good is economic theory if it cant predict the behavior of a specific individual? This question highlights the fact that economics, like all social sciences, attempts to describe and explain human beh avior. In doing so, it cannot measure and control for all factors influencing behavior. The result is that the behavior of a specific individual cannot be explained or predicted, but the behavior of groups of individuals can be.We cannot, for example, predict any particular individuals buying response to a sale. We can, however, predict what kind of total selling volume will occur because of a sale. Answers to Problems and Exercises 9. (Rational Self-Interest) Discuss the impact of rational self-interest on each of the following decisions a. Whether to attend college full time or enter the workforce full time b. Whether to buy a new textbook or a used one c. Whether to attend a local college or an out-of-town college a. Individuals will equal the expected benefits of tending college full time with the expected costs.One benefit might be that the individuals stock of knowledge and productivity will grow, and so will his or her wage. Costs include not only tuition, but also the wage s that could have been earned by working instead of attending college full time. If the expected benefits outweigh the costs, then the rational person will choose to go to college full time. b. Individuals will compare the expected benefits of a new textbook with the higher costs of purchasing a new textbook. Benefits include not being confused by other students markings in the book and a higher resale value.However, the out-of-pocket cost of a new book will be higher than the cost of a used book. If the expected benefits outweigh the costs, then a rational person will purchase the new textbook. c. Individuals will compare the expected benefits and costs associated with both colleges under consideration and will choose the college at which the difference between benefits and costs is greater. The costs of attending an out-of-town college may include greater travel costs and phone bills and benefits such as learning about a different region. 10. Rational Self-Interest) If behavior is governed by rational self-interest, why do people make charitable contributions of time and money? Rational self-interest is not blind materialism, pure selfishness, or greed. Rational self-interest means we choose the option that maximizes expected benefits with a given cost. wad will give more to charities when the contribution is tax deductible. The lower the personal cost of helping others the more we are unforced to help and contribute.. 11. (Marginal Analysis) The owner of a small pizzeria is deciding whether to increase the radius of delivery area by one mile.What considerations must be taken into account if such a decision is to increase profitability? By increasing its delivery radius, the store will have greater sales. However, these marginal revenues must be balanced against the additional costs incurred, such as greater consumption of pizza ingredients, more gasoline for the delivery truck, and possibly the need to hire additional labor and increase advertising. 12. (Time and Information) It is often costly to obtain the information necessary to make good decisions. Yet your own interests can best be served by rationally deliberation all options available to you.This requires informed decision making. Does this mean that making uninformed decisions is irrational? How do you determine how much information is the right amount? Rational decision makers will continue to acquire information as long as the benefit of the additional information exceeds the additional costs. Oftentimes we are willing to pay others to gather and digest the information for us. 13. (CaseStudy A Yen for Vending Machines) Do vending machines preserve any resources other than labor? Does your answer spell any additional insight into the widespread use of vending machines in Japan?Vending machines, in addition to being labor saving, also conserve space and time. Given the population density of Japan and the limited free time of the typical Japanese worker, vending machines can be expected to be popular among both sellers and buyers in Japan. 14. (CaseStudy A Yen for Vending Machines) Suppose you had the choice of purchasing identically priced lunches from a vending machine or at a cafeteria. Which would you choose? Why? Different students will answer this question in different ways, but the key point is that non-monetary factors affect decision making.For example, students who opt for the cafeteria instead of the vending machine may, for example, do so because of the impersonal nature of the machine and the desire to socialize the eating experience. 15. (Pitfalls of Economic Analysis) Review the discussion of pitfalls in economic thinking in this chapter. Then identify the fallacy, or mistake in thinking, in each of the following statements a. Raising taxes always increases government revenues. b. Whenever there is a recession, imports decrease. Therefore, to stop a recession, we should increase imports. . Raising the tariff on imported steel helps t he U. S. steel industry. Therefore, the entire economy is helped. d. Gold sells for about $1,000 per ounce. Therefore, the U. S. government could sell all the gold in Fort Knox at $1,000 per ounce and reduce the national debt. a. This assertion is a mistake because the secondary effects of taxes on production and the labor supply are ignored. If the tax rate were raised to 100 percent, for example, no one would want to work or produce. b. This is the fallacy that association implies causation.It is more likely that recession causes a change in imports than the other way round. c. This is a fallacy of composition. True, the tariff may help the steel industry. but it hurts purchasers of steel, including the automobile and construction industries. The overall effect on the economy is unclear. d. This is the fallacy of composition, because attempts to sell so much gold at once would push fine-tune the price of gold. 16. (Association Versus Causation) Suppose I observe that communities with lots of doctors tend to have relatively high rates of illness. I conclude that doctors cause illness.Whats wrong with this reasoning? The causality is undoubtedly in the other direction that is, doctors will tend to locate where there is a lot of disease and therefore a greater need for medical care. 17. (CaseStudy College Major and Annual Earnings) Because some college majors pay nearly twice as much as others, why would students pursue their rational self-interest choose a lower paying major? Students select college majors for a variety of reasons, and the expected pay is only one of them. Some students may have a special interest in lower-paying fields, such as philosophy, religion, or social work.Some students may not have the cleverness to succeed in the higher-paying majors, such as engineering, mathematics, or computer science. And many students, when they select a major, may simply be unaware of the pay differences based on college major. 18. (Global Economic Watch) Select Global Issues in Context and in the Basic Search box at the top of the page, enter the phrase selfish. On the Results page, scroll down to the Magazines section. Choose the red link to View All. Scroll down to click on the link for the December 8, 2008, article Going super acid for Selfish Reasons. Are the companies described acting out of rational self-interest? The article indicates that, although the companies actions may help the environment, the companies are primarily motivated to save costs, an example of rational self-interest. 19. (Global Economic Watch) Select Global Issues in Context and in the Basic Search box at the top of the page, enter either the term microeconomic or the term macroeconomic. Choose one of the resources and write a summary in your own words. Especially emphasize how the resource is an example of microeconomics or macroeconomics.Student answers will vary, but should demonstrate understanding of the definitions of microeconomics and macroecon omics. Answers to Appendix Questions 1. (Understanding Graphs) Look at Exhibit 5 and answer the following questions a. In what year (approximately) was the unemployment rate the highest? In what year was it the lowest? b. In what decade, on average, was the unemployment rate highest? In what decade was it lowest? c. Between 1950 and 1980, did the unemployment rate generally increase, decrease, or remain about the same? a. In 1931 the unemployment rate reached its highest point, 25 percent.In 1942 it reached its lowest, approximately 1 percent. b. Unemployment was the highest in the decade of the 1930s and lowest in the decade of the 1900s. c. Between 1950 and 1980, unemployment generally increased. 2. (Drawing Graphs) Sketch a graph to illustrate your idea of each of the following relationships. Be sure to label each axis appropriately. For each relationship, explain under what circumstances, if any, the curve could shift a. The relationship between a persons age and height b. Avera ge monthly temperature in your nursing home town over the course of a year c.A persons income and the number of hamburgers consumed per month d. The amount of fertilizer added to an acre of land and the amount of corn grown on that land in one growing season e. An automobiles horsepower and its gasoline mileage (in miles per congius) a. In the years between birth and 15, you would expect a persons height to increase as his or her age increased. After age 15 or so, height would remain constant. pic b. The average monthly temperature in your home town over the course of a year varies with the seasons. picSeasons c.In the following example drawn, the number of hamburgers consumed per month will rise at first as a persons income increases. (The curve is steeply upward sloping from the origin to an income of $10,000). However, after a certain income level, there will be less and less of a rise in the number of hamburgers consumed per month. (The curve is still upward sloping but is fl attening between an income of $10,000 and $20,000. ) Then, as income rises further, this consumer will decide to try other foods and actually buys few hamburgers per month. (The curve begins to slope downward after an income of $20,000 is reached. ) pic d. As you add more fertilizer, you expect to produce more corn per acre up to a point of saturation. An acre of land will have some finite limit on what it can produce in one growing season, no matter how much fertilizer is added pic e. As a car is engineered to be more powerful with more horsepower, you would expect it to use more gasoline and to get lower mileage per gallon of gasoline. pic 3. (Slope) suppose you are given the following data on wage rates and number of hours worked Hours Worked Hourly Point Wage Per Week a $0 0 b 5 0 c 10 30 d 15 35 e 20 45 f 25 50 a. Construct and label a set of axes and plot these six points. Label each point a, b, c, and so on. Which variable do you think should be measured on the vertical axis, and which variable should be measured on the horizontal axis? b. Connect the points. Describe the resulting curve. Does it make sense to you? c. Compute the slope of the curve between points a and b.Between points b and c. Between points c and d. Between points d and e. Between points e and f. What happens to the slope as you move from point a to point f? a. It is conventional in economics to measure prices on the vertical axis. Here the wage rate is the price of an hour of labor, so it goes on the vertical axis. Hours worked is measured on the horizontal axis. B. THE GRAPH SHOWS THAT AT VERY LOW WAGE RATES, THE PERSON CHOOSES NOT TO WORK AT ALL. ITS entirely NOT WORTH HER WHILE. HOWEVER, ONCE THE WAGE REACHES $10 PER HOUR, SHE BEGINS TO OFFER HER TIME IN THE LABOR MARKET BY BEING WILLING TO WORK 30 HOURS PER WEEK.AT HIGHER AND HIGHER WAGE RATES, SHE IS WILLING TO WORK MORE AND MORE HOURS. c. THE SLOPE IS MEASURED BY THE VERTICAL CHANGE THAT RESULTS FROM A GIVEN CHAN GE ALONG THE HORIZONTAL AXIS. From point a to point b, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is zero. Slope is 5/0 = assumed infinity. From point b to point c, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 30. Slope is 5/30 = +1/6. From point c to point d, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 5. Slope is 5/5 = +1.From point d to point e, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 10. Slope is 5/10 = +1/2. From point e to point f, the vertical change (wage) is 5, and the horizontal change (hours worked) is 5. Slope is 5/5 = +1. A change in the steepness of the curve indicates a change in slope. As the curve becomes steeper, the rate of increase in hours of work (slope) is increasing. The shape of the curve indicates that as the curve flattens, the rate of increase in hours of work (slope) is decreasing. d a b c e f

History & stories of success Essay

History is shaped by stories of success and failure in impertinent policy. What we however fail, as the public, to really perceive is the cause layabout the success or failure of an operation. The reason behind either situation lies in the investigative work thousands of agents, analysts and governmental officials conduct. Intelligence is a very of the essence(p) source of valuable randomness for the governments who base their actions mainly on these reports. But what happens if the experience and analytical work is wrong?What argon the possible consequences of conducting a hostile policy operation based on wrong news show? Is it possible that intelligence ordure be in this way intentionally misrepresented to serving the goals of a policy that would otherwise not have been approved of by the public as some conspiracies claim? And what kind of real life intelligence failure events has history known as a direct result of false information? Intelligence failure tail assembly h ave disastrous consequences on large numbers of people and hurt both the compute and well-doing of a nation.The most renowned cases of intelligence failure in recent history are the WMD false reports in Iraq, the 9/11 intelligence failure to proceed the event and the famous contend of Vietnam whose failure has and continues to brand the American foreign policy as doubtful. Each of these events has had its impacts on the regular lives of millions of people both in the United States and in places as far as Afghanistan and Iraq. And each of these events has channelise to the death of thousands of American citizens, soldiers and millions of foreign citizens.Could this have been avoidable if the intelligence did not fail? Intelligence in its broadest definition is information and in the case of political relation it means information that sheds light on the field of national security threats. It follows therefore that intelligence gathering is essential to the functioning of any coun try and in the case of the United States as a world super power, it is critical and existential. But as stated before intelligence failure has damaged the image of the United States in an almost un-repairable manner.The wrong reports about the presence of WMD in Iraq for instance lead to the killing of hundreds of thousands and the destabilization of a region that has extend as a result the hotbed of terroristic activity. Failing to gather the intelligence needed to know beforehand about 9/11 and be able to prevent it lead also to the death of thousands of Americans and the invasion of Afghanistan an action whose consequences is too detailed to go into now.Vietnam is an older case but remains nevertheless interesting to savor closely at since the consequences of the intelligence failure in this case lead to the death of millions and a war that went on for twenty five years. It is ironic to glint on the fact that this started with a wrong report from the intelligence agency, somet hing that has lead the conspiracies to target the United States for creating cheap excuses to invade other countries and thereby damaged it planetary reputation. The Vietnam War was fought between the communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam that was supported by the USA.The war was a war between capitalism and communism. It was a war between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was a struggle for world wide power between two superpowers engaged in a heated competition that has come to be characterized and termed as the era of the Cold War. The USA declared to have entered the war to prevent communism from taking over the sec of Vietnam but historians and political analysts have since then come up with critical arguments on how the war initially started based on wrong intelligence.President Johnson was formally granted permission to attack the Vietcong after the intelligence received about a supposed guerilla attack on U. S naval vessels in the Gulf of T onkin. The attacks actually never happened and the war was thus based on a false report. The Tonkin incident lead to major US involvement in the region that would continue for another quarter of a century. The intelligence reports were simply misinterpreted. The intercept that apparently proved the second attack was wrongly translated according to tardily published records of the account.The Vietnamese word military operations can also mean long movement and what the intercept actually refers to is not a second attack on U. S naval vessels but just the presence of two North Vietnamese patrol boats at a distance. What remains critically confusing in the aftermath of such an explanation is the governments response to the event. Johnson moved the USA into a war that lasted for years and cost billions of dollars and thousands of American and Vietnamese lives on the foundation of a wrong and un support intelligence report that has come to be one of the most embarrassing intelligence fai lures in U.S history. The question is how could this happen? How does intelligence failure occur? Intelligence failures can be categorized into several groups. Overestimation of information is the first case. The take-off of a report can lead to wrong conclusions and thus an intelligence failure. This happened in the Tonkin. The opposite case of underestimation of intelligence where the governmental agencies misinterpret the information and therefore give the enemy an opportunity to stay a step ahead is also possible.Over-confidence is the third case. The USA displayed too much confidence in the perfection of its intelligence system and its ability to win the war quickly. Overestimation and over-confidence lead to the disastrous war of Vietnam that could all have been preventable if the intelligence was verified accurately. Intelligence failure can be caused by several factors all affected by the political atmosphere and sentiments regarding the target of the intelligence.Prejudice and fear can obstruct the judgment and bring about an underestimation or overestimation of the enemys potential and intentions. This is how intelligence failure occurs and its consequences are the best exemplified in the case of Vietnam, Iraq and 9/11. The results of misinterpreted or missed intelligence can cause a lot of damage to a country and the United States as a world power needs to pay extra attention to the effectiveness of its intelligence regarding the effects a wrong foreign policy move can have on its status and power.ReferencesGrier, P. (2008). Declassified study puts Vietnam events in new light. Retrieved July 1,2009, from http//www. csmonitor. com/2008/0109/p04s01-usmi. html Goodman, MA. (2008). Failure of intelligence the decline and fall of the CIA. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Reynolds, P. (2004). Long History of intelligence failures. Retrieved July 2, 2009, from http//news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/middle_east/3883605. stm

Health Care in United States Essay

The unite States, as a leading developed country, is very attractive to m both foreigners. Everyone dreams of coming to the United Sates to study or work. However, they ar concerned about their health cover while stay in the United States. The health care system in the United States is problematic. It is so extensive and complicated that it is almost impossible for the government to make everyone satisfied. Reformation of health care occurred many times in the history. chairwoman Bill Clinton tried to overhaul the health care system and failed.Before Clintons failure it had been Carters. Before Carters it had been Nixons. The health care system in the United States has several major problems. Among each of them, insurance policy is the core issue. The Unites States is the unless developed country, except for South Korea, that does not provide healthcare for all of its citizens (Farrell).According to the research, there are still 50.7 million people uninsured, which is 16% of th e United States universe (about one in six people), or the combined population of 25 average-sized states, such as Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, and Kansas (Parker-Pope). The main cause is that the price for health insurance is too high. Many people are not able to wear insurance premiums and over these years the situation has been getting worse and worse. During the past eight years, insurance premiums befool nearly doubled, resulting in health insurance wretched farther out of reach for millions (Farrell Klein).Despite millions of people give the gatenot afford medical insurance the government do not affirm a solution. The government promptly only pays two kinds of insurance. Medicare is a program set up for senior citizens (65 or older). Most of them retire and do not have any income sources. thence the government offers them insurance. Medicaid is established for the disabled or those with low income. However, the criterion of qualifying low income is incomple te and farfetched.Those two programs were originally set for great purposes now they are associated with many frauds. For example, federal authorities announced on May 2 they had arrested 107 health care providers, including doctors and nurses, in several cities and charged them with cheating Medicare out of $452 million (Matthews). Medicaid is just as bad, or worse. youthful York City has been a huge problem for Medicaid with one former official suggesting that 40% of NYCs Medicaid payments are questionable. The New York Times reported that a Brooklyn dentist had filed 991 claims in one day (Matthews).These two kindsof government support have many problems, and while there is public assistance to those really in need, a major overhaul is needed. Generally, despite Medicare and Medicaid, there are two ways to get insured. One is employer-based which the employers pay premiums for employees. In that sense, employees do not have opportunity to choose their own health plan. The emplo yers choose for their workers. Once one looses his or her job, the insurance plan automatically become handicap and one has to pay for his or her own premium. Due to this reason, many people are bonded to their current jobs.However, if one does not have a job or has a part-time job that the employers do not pay for premium because of shortage of working hours, one has to purchase his or her insurance plan. Individual plans can be quiet very expensive, especially for families. Statistics showed that Americans spend more than any other country in the world. In 2005, per capita, or per person spending on medical insurance was $6,697 (Klein). Medical insurance is so costly that it takes up ten percent of an average Americans annual income. The U.S. spends a higher(prenominal)(prenominal) percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare than other industrialized countries.In 2003, it was 15%, versus an average of 8.6% in the OECD nations (the Organization for Economic Co-op eration and Development, a group of major industrialized countries). Federal spending on healthcare in 2005 alone totaled $600 billion, a massive one-quarter of the federal budget. (Farrell). Although Americans spend so much they are still not receiving an equivalent amount of care. about one-third (31%) of adults and a little more than one-half (54%) of children do not have a primary care doctor (Appendix A). Americans pay for advanced equipment in the hospital but only 30% of them report that they can access a doctor on the very day they need one, as opposed to 41% of Britons and 55% of Germans.A full 67% of Americans , more than in any other country, say it is difficult to get care on nights, weekends, or holidays and resort to the emergency room, where care is costlier and, if ones injury is not grievous, slight efficient (Klein). The waiting time is often too long and the treating time is too short. In the United States health care system, laws and regulations play essential roles deep down it. Supposedly, the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) is going to lower the insurance premium and make health plans affordable, reduce overall health care costs by making services available tothe 32 million who currently can not afford insurance (A doo).Now, only 49% of adults are receiving recommended preventative care and screening tests according to guidelines for their age and sex (Farrell). On the one hand, increased coverage would enable more people to observe preventative care. However, on the other hand, increased coverage may move the cost up rapidly because many people willing receive preventative care and testing who, fortunately, baffle out they didnt have that critical illness. However, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) found that additional testing, such as cancer screening and cholesterol tests, will lead to higher net medical spending (Amadeo).Therefore, if the expenditure is up, the tax must be raised to compensate the gap in between. Especially to those do not compliments to purchase insurance or are not qualified for Medicare or Medicaid, they would have nightmares. They will be assessed a tax of $95 (or 1% of income, whichever is higher) in 2014. It increases to $325 (or 2% of income) in 2015, and $695 (or 2.5% of income) in 2016 (Amadeo). Last but not least, the statistics conducted by Department of wellness and Human Services demonstrates that National health-care spending per person will rise from $7421 in 2007 to estimated $13,100 in 2018 ( The Staff of The Washington Post)(Appendix B).The spending is almost doubled. The CBO withal predicted that about four million people, 1.2% of population would end up remunerative more taxes to the government than paying their own insurance premium (Amadeo). As the health care gets more affordable, the pharmaceutical companies are going to give up enormous parts of their profit to make up the doughnut hole (a gap in prescription drug coverage) which is incl uded in Medicare part D. Approximately extra $84.8 billion would be paid to fix the doughnut hole.Moreover, in 2013, medical-device manufacturers and importers will pay a 2.3% excise tax. Indoor tanning services already pay a 10% excise tax (Amadeo). This could discourage those businesses from hiring new employees, which is going to be a major problem in the future. Abortion is lawful in the United States and there is a heated debate about it. An estimated 48 million babies have been aborted since 1973. Approximately 24% of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion (Abortion Statistics). Abortion contradicts to Gods word and it is immoral. In Job 108-12, Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and subvert me?Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and knit me unitedly with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. God clearly stated that abor tion is not pleasing in His eyes. God also included in His great ten commandments You shall not murder. Abortion is definitely considered murder. Psalm 1273, Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him, suggests that children are have from God. God also indicates that kids are wonderful in Psalm 13913-16. For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mothers womb. I measure you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made your works are wonderful, I know that fully well.My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your maintain before one of them came to be. Therefore, abortion is inappropriate in the current health care law. In PPACA, the United States government is paying for birth control in order to reduce the abortion rate. contraceptive method is anti-life and unnatural it also carries high risks.Contraception prevents people who might benefit humanity from being born (Summary of the arguments against contraception). Contraception is a personal choice that the government should not use taxpayers money to co-pay the prices. In this way, PPACA, the health plan passes by President Obama is unconstitutional.The government does not have the right to force citizens to buy insurance or to share the cost of birth control. To put all into a nutshell, the health care system in United States now is very costly and needs some major changes in regards to insurance policies and the budgets. Currently, the United States owes 16 trillion dollars to other countries, mostly to China. Health care is a major component for it.There are millions of people do not have primary care doctors and do not receive any treatment when sick. God bless the United States so much that most people do not need to worry about fodder or shelters. However, the government still needs to pay close attention to those do not have any form of health care. Instead of only trying to make to the goal with a band-aid approach, the government actually needs to think through the original problems with the system.

Gleaning Rich Insights from Works of Literature Tackling Fatherhood Essay

Reading wees of literature by diverse authors on a common field broadens our understanding about human nature, cultures and history. Poetry that conversees angsts and pangs, or exalt the beauty or of things around us, in forceful style or elevated style like the lyric poem, can be an enriching experience. Watching or reading a play can likewise be an inspirational experience. Indeed, there is a variety of meanings, sentiments, and even moral lessons that unravel to commentators exploring poetry and play focused on a central unifying theme.This paper presents six types of fixhood types as gleaned from five poems and one play (a) the grieving father, (b) the despised father, (c) the hardworking but detached father, (d) the itinerant far-off dad, (e) the involved father, and (e) the deadbeat dad. The selected works of literature alone say something about the human experience, motivation, and condition, with special focus on the overwhelming father-child bond. While all of them atomic number 18 created in thought-provoking manner and are complete with figurative language, taking the reader on a journey and letting various insights linger in the memory, they differ in their approaches.In effect, the different perspectives on fatherhood are crystallized into an integrated idea with a richer context. On My First Son by Ben Jonson has an opening nervous strain that reflects a fathers deep melancholy and anguish as he mourns what most people whitethorn consider to be their greatest loss the death of ones consume child. When Jonson writes, Fare nearly, thou child of my right hand, and joy (Ciuraru 191), there is heartfelt grief as he shares a painful loss. The use of the word thou, frequently used in formal religious context as prayers, adds impact because it conjures an image of a father paying his croak respects to his young son.The last few lines which echo the poets relief that his son has escaped the trials and tribulations of this world (Ciuraru 191 ) point to how the author attempts to soothe his intense pain and reflects his acceptance of his sons fate as well. On the other hand, Daddy by Sylvia Plath speaks from a daughters point of view for a father who has passed away. It has a colorless and dark mood and the feelings of intense hatred and betrayal are shown in the very selection of words and imagery.Perhaps no poem is as stated and powerful as Sylvia Plaths Daddy, which describes an idealized yet oppressive father, one whom the speaker rejects with a resounding, forceful brutality (Ciuraru 14). Parental relations, as most psychoanalysts may confirm, carries over into ones adult relationships, and this was clearly the case with Sylvia Plath. During her childhood, she lost her father, Otto Plath, to complications from surgery following a leg amputation (Martin, para. 1) and this, along with her memories of feeling smothered and betrayed, appeared to get hold of left an imprint on her.Plath uses metaphors, notably a shoe to describe her father, and herself as the foot that is in some way trapped in the shoe, to express just how suffocated and oppressed she felt. As many who are familiar with Sylvia Plaths life would know, the talented writer had a tumultuous relationship with her poet-husband Ted Hughes, and personal jealousies, differences in American and British views of gender roles, and a return of Sylvias depression complicated the Plath-Hughes marriage (Martin, para.8) and she makes references to how her very life was sucked out of her the way a lamia drinks the blood of its captive, in her poem. In the 15th stanza, she states If Ive killed one man, Ive killed two The vampire who said he was you And drank my blood for a year, (Barnet 703) There are many other figures of speech, including similes, rhyming and tone, that helpfully lend emphasis and effectively transport readers to a time when people felt quite shackled by parental authority and were powerless to do something about it.Plaths poe m ends with a sense of closure, nonetheless, reflecting her resolve to take matters into her own hands. As for Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden, the specific use of figurative language effectively highlights the hardworking but detached type of father that many of us may be familiar with. Upon reading the poem in its entirety, one senses a certain remoteness shown by the father, or as perceived by the son from his father.The first line in the second stanza, which says Id wake and hear the frozen splintering, breaking creates a mental picture in the readers mind, through and through poetic devices like rhyme and assonance or the use of long vowel sounds to slightly slow down the poem for emphasis. The reader also senses that cold refers not just to the weather but to the feeling that envelops the son as he rouses himself from slumber and faces his father. Hayden also places specific words at the beginning of his lines to regress it focus and importance.The very last line in th e poem which describes love as being austere is an indirect acknowledgment that love dwells even in a home where the patriarch rules in an authoritarian or a cold, forbidding way. The very first stanza also reveals that the father is very hardworking and sacrifices his own physical well-being for his familys sake, but gets no appreciation for his efforts and dogged determination to carry out his parental duties. Another poem, My Father in the navy blue A Childhood Memory by Judith Ortiz Cofer speaks of a daughters longing for a father who is busy working in distant shores.The reader gleans how the poets career Navy father requires him to be apart from his family for considerable lengths of time. As such, the speaker in the poem aptly phrases the love, intense longing, as well as pride for the traveling father who looked stiff and immaculate in the white cloth of his uniform and a round cap on his liberty chit like a halo (Barnet 727) in such creative and vivid manner His homecomin gs were the verses we composed over the years making up the sirens song that kept him coming back from the bellies of iron whalesand into our nights like the evening prayer. (Barnet 727) The authors use of simile, personification and metaphor, among other literary devices, added to delivering a poem with grace and impact. The poem, in effect, strikes a resonant chord among readers who, at some point in their live, have had to be apart from a beloved father or father figure, and fully know what it is like to celebrate their return. The poem, A Parental Ode to my Son, Aged Three Years and Five Months by Thomas jacket conveys the vulnerability of the new and involved father.This special father-child bond is written about only on few occasions by a handful of writers seek to dwell on such topic. The first few lines of the poem, which contains metaphors, mirrors the unrestrained happiness and amusement of the father for his toddler. His lines, like Thou happy, happy elf Thou fine imag e of myself Thou merry, laughing sprite (Klein 109) are punctuated by asides that let readers experience his joy. The poet also juxtaposes poetic verses with a very fatherly voice describing a much-loved child.Aside from the use of rhythm and rhyme, Thomas Hood likewise uses other figures of speech like similes and alliteration to express his terms of endearment for his young son. Another work of literature, the well-known closing of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, has a common thread that ties it to the five poems explored in this paper, in that it revolves around the life and dreams of a main lineament who happens to be a father. Willy Lohan, the salesman, represents the dog-tired father who has worked all his life to provide for his familys needs (Williams 51), and nurtures big dreams for his sons, but the demands of fatherhood have drained him.though his mental faculties appear to be failing him and one of his sons tends to belittle him and finds him off-track, his all-consuming fatherly concern is unassailable. Referring to his son Biff, whom he mistakenly hopes will follow in his footsteps, Willy says, That sons going to be magnificent (Williams 79) reflecting a fathers immense pride and rosy hopes for his son, even if he had been a bum for years. Readers of the play, with its interminable theme of reaching for ones dreams, will attest to the great impact of this piece of literature.As one of them said, Reading drama was far more(prenominal) enigmatic than reading prose fiction (Oates, par. 4). All the works of literature studied here contain immense value, not just for their stylistic accomplishments and the succinct verbalise of themes that are usually treated in traditional or melodramatic fashion without the rich context. Compared to the portrayal of fathers in other non-literary media like movies or television, poetry and plays rely heavily on figurative language that help elevate the experience for readers, and underscore life lessons, while bri nging to readers minds their own poignant family experiences.The language and literary devices contribute much to a broader understanding of the subject matter. Analyzing a group of poems and a play bordering on the same subject showed that gathering different points of view or interpretations, reflecting various angles, leads to a clearer and more comprehensive study.Works Cited Barnet, Sylvan, et al. An Introduction to Literature. 14th ed. New York Longman, 2005. Ciuraru, Carmela, ed. Poems About Fathers.. New York Random House, Inc. , 2007. Klein, Patricia, ed. Treasury of year-round Poems.New York Random House, Inc. , 2006. Martin Two Views of Plaths Life and Careerby Linda Wagner-Martin and Anne Stevenson. Modern American Poetry Home. 1994. 11 May 2008 http//www. english. uiuc. edu/maps/poets/m_r/plath/twoviews. htm. Oates, Joyce Carol. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman A Celebration. Weblog entry. Celestial Timepiece A Joyce Carol Oates Home Page. 11 May 2008 . Williams, L iza M. , and Kent Paul. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman moderate Notes. New York Barrons Educational Series, 1984.

DuPont’s Divestiture of Conoco

DuPont began heartspan in 1802, as a gunpowder manufacturer supplying the US Army under chairman Thomas Jefferson. The bon ton had a long tradition of technological innovations in business and it continues to serve universal markets including food and nutrition health care agriculture fashion and apparel home and construction and electronics. Among about of its inventions are nylon tuneings invented in 1939, Teflon for pans, Kevlar for bullet-proof vests, stainmaster for carpets, the synthetic fabric lycra, and Dacron for clo social occasion.In 1999 the caller-up held a portfolio of 2000 trademarks and brands. DuPont was the 15th largest confederacy in the US with its 1998 revenue reaching $45. 1 billion. The company operated 200 manufacturing and processing facilities in 65 countries with 98,000 employees worldwide. Conoco began in 1875 as the Continental Oil and Transportation Co. , one of the first petroleum marketers in the West. The company has made it through plenty of tough and challenging times from the subscriber line market crashing just a month after Conoco took its stock cosmos, to overseas expansion, to the oil crisis of the 19070s.Then in 1981 a simple proposal of marriage by Canadas Dome Petroleum about acquiring a Conoco subsidiary, Hudsons Bay Oil and Gas left wing the company wide open. In order to assure an adequate supply of petroleum products to use as chemical feed stocks, DuPont bought Conoco on Sept. 30, 1981. Conoco became a wholly owned DuPont subsidiary in the largest merger constantly at that time, costing DuPont $7. 8 billion. As a subsidiary of DuPont, Conoco became a major, integrated, worldwide energy company operating in 40 countries worldwide.The company was involved in both downstream and upstream activities resembling exploring for, developing, civilisation, marketing, transporting, and interchangeing crude oil and natural gas. In 1998, Conoco ranked 8th in worldwide toil of petroleum liquids by US companies, 11th in natural gas production, and 8th in refining throughput. In 1997 both DuPont and Conoco planned to pursue new corporate strategies DuPont wanted to transform into a life sciences company focused much on biotechnology and less on petrochemicals, and Conoco desired financial independency to make important unconnected asset investments.While part of DuPont, Conoco doubled its nurse between 1986 and 1996, and realigned its assets. By late 1998, DuPont divested Conoco in a two-step process. First it would sell a minority stake in Conoco through an initial public offering otherwise known as an IPO carve-out. Then it would execute a byproduct and sell the rest of its possession interest in the subsidiary at a later on time. below the split-off, DuPont shareholders would be given the opportunity to give-and-take their DuPont shares for shares in Conoco at a predetermined ratio of 2. 5 to 1.Participation in the exchange rate would be completely voluntary. On October 22, 199 8 the Conoco IPO netted $4. 4 billion for 30% of Conoco culminating in the largest IPO in history. Then on August 9, 1999 the swap of DuPont stock for Conoco stock was finalized. DuPont secured about $21 billion in after impose value through the IPO and stock swap. I think DuPonts two- confront divestiture worked the best because the company was able to make the transaction untaxed at both the corporate and personal levels. This basically means that DuPont sold off shares of Conoco in two separate stages.The company avoided the corporate peachy gains tax by structuring the deal as a primary coil offering, which is the first of issuance of stock for public sale from a private company. Under this approach Conoco would sell new shares to the public and use the money from the offering to pay down an equivalent amount of its debt. If a second offering had been used, DuPont would schoolly sell a portion of its Conoco shares for cash, possibly creating a capital gains tax liability for itself if the sale proceeds exceeded its tax basis in the shares.The primary public offering of 25% of Conoco by DuPont was as well as good for shareholders because it met the objectives of maximizing shareholder value and it besides allowed Conoco to capitalize on different investment opportunities for energy companies going on at the time. In order to make the second stage completely tax free DuPont had to satisfy a number of IRS rules and regulations. These rules stated that DuPont had to control Conoco immediately forrader the split-off, meaning that it had to control at least 80% of Conocos stock. In addition the split had to be motivated by a valid business purpose.Also DuPont had to get rid of all Conoco stock so it would not have any control over the company after the deal was completed. Conoco had to be recapitalized or reorganized into two classes of common stock. Class A stock that carried one vote each, issued to the public and Class B stock with five votes each, re tained by DuPont for later disbursement to DuPont shareholders in the exchange offer. Prior to the IPO, Conoco would have to issue a $7. 5 billion promissory note to DuPont as a dividend. The payment would be tax free to both parties because at the time DuPont owned all of Conoco.Conoco would in turn, use the proceeds to pay back part of the note and other intercompany notes with DuPont. While I do agree with the Chief Operating Officer that a atomic number 6% IP of Conoco would raise a significant amount of cash to use in our core business growth internationally, allowing us to expand our global operations. I think the impartiality care-out was the best choice for DuPont to do instead of a complete 100% IPO. The reason I say that is because the deal still allowed DuPont to raise some capital but it also allowed DuPont to retain firm control of the subsidiary before, selling the remaining shares in a tax-free spin-off at a later date.A 1998 working paper from Pennsylvania State Un iversity examined 83 equity carve-outs done between 1981 and 1990, and found that carved-out companies had significantly higher revenue and asset growth, higher earnings, and higher capital spending than the industry average during the first three years after the carve-outachievements, the authors say, that are a direct result of 80 percent of the deals tying executive compensation to the share price of the carved-out company at the time it goes public. Its a way of providing a stronger incentive for subsidiary executives to perform, says James A.Miles, one of the authors of the study, along with burbot Hulburt and J. Randall Woolridge. Parent companies also benefit from a carve-out. The Penn State study, in fact, found that these companies had a higher beget on assets in the first year after the carve-out. And a similar study by J. P. Morgan & Co. , which examined ci carve-outs between 1986 and 1997, documented that, on average, the share price of the provoke rose between 3 and 4 percent in the 90 days following the announcement of a carve-out.The companys ownership of Conoco has added great marketing and purchasing clout to DuPonts operations just like the Executive VP for explore and Development and Product Development suggests, but again I dont think that owning a majority share would benefit the company like getting rid of all ownership would do. The conclusion to retain majority ownership, however, may limit the upside to the deal. The J. P. Morgan study found a distinct dissimilarity in the share price performance of carve-outs that later became spin-offs and carve-outs that did not.In the case of 12 carve-out companies in which the parent announced there would be a later spin-off, the share price of the carve-out performed 11 percent preceding(prenominal) the market 18 months after the initial public offering. The shares of all other carve-outsthose without an announced spin-off lateractually underperformed the market by 3 percent. In closing I think DuPont did the right thing when they decided to go through with a two-stage divestiture of Conoco. I think they got the most bang for their buck by doing the deal this way.DuPont was able to net $4. 4 billion for 30% of Conoco resulting in the largest IPO in U. S. history. DuPont was also able to spin-off the rest of their shares of Conoco and secured about $21 billion in after tax value through the IPO and a stock swap. I think this was the best move because both companies were feeling to go in different directions. DuPont wanted to transform into a life sciences company focused more on biotechnology and less on petrochemicals, and Conoco desired financial independence to make significant foreign asset investments.References1. England, Robert Stow. (1999). How companies are unlocking value by carving out pieces of their business. CFO Magazine, March 1999, Retrieved April 2011, from http//www.spinoffadvisors.com/articles/cfomagazine0399.htm2. Conoco Phillips Web Site. Retrie ved April 2011, from http//www.conocophillips.com/EN/about/who_we_are/history/conoco/Pages/index.aspx3. Chemical Online. (1998, May 11). Chemical Online. DuPont Announces Plans to Divest its Conoco Energy Operations. Retrieved April 2011, from http//www.chemicalonline.com/article.mvc/DuPont-Announces-Plans- to-Divest-its-Conoco-E-0001.4. Ohio University. DuPont spins off Conoco Good motility for ConocoRetrieved April 2011, from http//oak.cats.ohiou.edu/rm663596/esp/case.htm

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Essay

In Ambrose Bierces hapless explanation, An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, he uses his setting to carry out the plot of the story meliorate than the short film of An incident at Owl Creek Bridge. The words in the short story flow so beautifully, and give such detail as to fully understand the emotions running done Peyton Farquhars head as the date progresses to his hanging. In my opinion, the storys graphic settings and imagery slowly grasp the introduction rising action/climax, and conclusion as Ambrose Bierce originally wanted the story to be told.In the introduction of the short story, Bierce tells of a man, soon to be known as Farquhar, standing higher up a bridge engaged to be hung. As he is waiting for the lieutenant to complete preparations, he lays eyes upon a ready of drift wood in the swirling stream below the bridge. The story and so goes into detail about how slowly the stream appeared to be moving the drift wood along, He so let his gaze wander to the swirlin g water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet. A piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes followed the current.How slowly it appeared to move What a sluggish stream (Literature 71). However, in the short film it only represents the image of the piece of wood. This driftwood symbolizes the situation he is currently in that he is in a chaotic predicament but is still able to slowly drift through the problem. indeed the story helps the reader fully grasp the introduction of the story better than the short film. During the middle of the story, onward Farquhars last moments he thinks about his wife and children only to be interrupted by the intemperate of his pocket watch.As if time were slowing down in his last seconds, the interval between for each one tick is symbolic to how little time he has left. Striking through the thought of his dear ones was the hefty which he could neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the st roke of a blacksmiths hammer upon the anvil.. the delays became maddening (Literature 72). In the short film of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, time speeds up and his pocket watch was taken from him by one of the officers, clearly not as in dept to relate why Bierce wrote the pocket watch into the story.Also during the rising action of the indite story, it is told in vast details of how he plunges into the water, and begins to swim through the stream. When he removes the noose from his neck, he sees himself performing but doesnt follow through. He commands himself to place the cord back once he feels a sudden knife thrust throughout his body, but his hands disobey him. This gives the reader inside details of the characters internal state, which is not explicit in the short film.Lastly, before it is known that Farquhar has been hung and this was his mind flashing through his last moments of life, the soldiers begin dismission guns while he swims to safety downstream. At one point the written story tells of how he is reel and whirled a travel in the water which brings us back to the symbolism of the driftwood in the introduction. He spins round and round like the driftwood, finally caught up and not in control of the predicament he is in. He had been caught in a vortex and was being whirled on with a velocity of board.. spinning like a kick the bucket (Literature 75).The film does not show the final symbolism of the driftwood and rushes through the stream to only have Farquhar advance to the bank and run through the forest to his wife and children. Therefore, in my opinion, Bierces written version of An Occurrence at Owl Creek, uses the setting to advance the story and plot to the readers. It is more in dept and brings all things to at large(p) internal state, physical state, symbolism, and his flashbacks. The introduction, rising action, and conclusion were all better carried out with setting in the written version rather the short film.