The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests Assignment

The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests - Assignment Example One of the most enduring theories about geopolitics is the one proposed by Sir Halford Mackinder. In his influential work entitled â€Å"The Geographical Pivot of History†, he had proposed that Eurasia (most of Central Asia) is the main strategic point from which great land power emanates from.1 His theory and published works had a marked influence on subsequent heads of state in their conduct of foreign and state policies. Despite the passage of several years, it continues to be an influential work and one of the foremost proponents of his theory is former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. In this regard, Brzezinski subscribes to the same principle that the massive landlocked area of Eurasia is still the so-called â€Å"key position† in most military strategy formulation; whoever possesses Eurasia will win the strategic battle. Brzezinski continues to see the world in terms of black and white; not in shades of gray. This is a dangerous carryover of the Mackinder theory about see-saw struggles between land and sea power over previous centuries (or fight of East vs. West, Christianity vs. Islam, whale vs. white bear, Europe vs. Asia, etc.). Along this line, Brzezinski believed that Eurasia is the chief geopolitical prize in a fight for world dominance because it possesses great potential for development from its raw materials. With the United States considered as maritime power itself (which succeeded Great Britain), the current occupant of this big land mass which is Russia (or the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was the successor of the Russian Empire) is considered as a threat to the U.S. for global power. In this aspect, Brzezinski is similar to Mackinder in his global outlook or world view of historical events. His assertion regarding Soviet threats (communism) is but a repetition of Mackinders theory regarding threats

Radio Ad Essay Example for Free

Radio Ad Essay Are you elderly? Are you having problems with arthritis, osteoporosis, or injuries from falling? Here is the information that you have been looking for, how to promote a healthy musculoskeletal system, from none other than Dr. Solomon, Concierge MD. Me: Dr. Solomon, what exactly is the musculoskeletal system? Dr. Solomon: The musculoskeletal system consists of your bones, and your muscles. In this system one is as important as the other. Bones are important because they provides needed protection for your organs as well as providing a support to the muscles so that they can function properly. Me: What are the risk factors for arthritis? Dr. Solomon: There are several factors that can contribute to developing arthritis. Anywhere between the types of shoes that you wear, to the type of beverage you consume in the morning. Me: What can we do to prevent arthritis? Dr. Solomon: In order to decrease the chance of getting arthritis, maintaining a healthy weight and exercise routine is a must. Me: What about osteoporosis risk factors and prevention? Dr. Solomon: There are several risk factors for osteoporosis, some of which are not preventable. These risk factors are sex, age, race, family history, and frame size. There are also risk factors that are associated with your hormone levels, dietary factors, steroid use, and lifestyle choices. Ways to prevent osteoporosis depend on whether it is due to environmental factors, or genetics. Genetic form of osteoporosis cannot be prevented. However, you can decrease your risk by not being too skinny, because the bones deteriorate faster, consuming calcium, exercising and keeping a proper meal plan. Me: Now we have heard about arthritis and osteoporosis, what about injuries sustained from falling? Dr. Solomon: We all know that the elderly are at risk for falling for a number of different reasons. The risk for falls increases with age. However, age does not cause all falls. Most falls are the result for another causes. Muscle weakness in the legs, blood pressure drops, dizziness, slower reflexes, etc. Some things that can be done to prevent falling can be removing clutter, loose rugs, carrying heavy items up or down stairs or uneven flooring, not having rails for stairs or bathroom bars. Me: Well that is all the time that we have for today. Thank you so much for being here with us Dr. Solomon, and for all of the information that you provided us with. References: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/74700/E82552.pdf http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls_1256317047/ch15_pg430_thru_433.pdf http://www.slideshare.net/sacklax40/musculoskeletal-system-324696

Samurai Knights Warriors

Samurai Knights Warriors The samurai of feudal Japan and the medieval knights of Europe had underlying similarities and differences. The comparison between these two elite, aristocratic warriors can be shown through their honour, military technology, and challenges a typical warrior had to face on an everyday basis. Their purposes as well as the basic concept of their codes, chivalry and bushido, were almost exactly identical. Furthermore, Samurai and knights both faced trouble against new modern technologies such as the arquebus, even though the samurais deftness in archery was extremely proficient. Even though the definition of samurai and knight are essentially parallel, the two had many differences. The two warriors of Japan and Europe were alike because they existed to serve a similar purpose. Samurai or an alternate name bushi, were initially warriors hired by powerful families to fight against the Yamato court by at the Nara Periods end around 793 C.E. (Turnbull, 32) Later on, Samurai were vassals hired by a daimyo or lord who would own a substantial amount of land. In return, the samurai would receive a certain amount of koku, the unit of measure of rice, and a place to sleep in the daimyos estate. (Wilson, 170) A daimyo would expect complete loyalty from a samurai and the duty to the daimyo would come before any personal issues including religion and family. (Sansom, 368) Entire duty and loyalty towards a daimyo relates to Bushido, or the way of the warrior. According to Inazo Nitobe, a Japanese author, bushido had seven key values: Justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, veracity, honour, and loyalty. Stephen Turnbull contradicted Nitobe by saying â€Å"such was the popularity of Nitobes work that not only was all this fully accepted, but his other misconception† (Turnbull154) Bushido was not a concept carved into stone, but instead a â€Å"general attitude† from samurai. (Turnbull 156) The things that Turnbull said have some truth because the two samurai, Torii Mototada and Miyamoto Musashi had completely different opinions towards the concept of Bushido. Mototada expresses his complete loyalty to his daimyo when he wrote his last letter to his son before the fall of the Fushimi castle in 1600 when he wrote For myself, I am resolved to make a stand inside the castle, and to die a quick death But that is not the true meaning of being a warrior to show ones weakness is not within the family traditions of my master Ieyasu. It is not the way of the warrior to be shamed and avoid death even under circumstances that are not particularly important. It goes with out saying that to sacrifice ones life for ones master is an unchanging principle. (Turnbull, 156) Mototada explicitly says that he must die for his daimyo to maintain his loyalty. Musashi on the other hand, entirely declined the idea of dying for a daimyo when he said â€Å"The true way of swordsmanship is to fight with your opponent and win your real intent should not be to die with weapons worn uselessly at your side.† (Wilson, 162) There is a name for ritual suicide committed by a samurai if they feel they have failed their daimyo in retaining their loyalty and duty. A samurai would also commit suicide if his daimyo is killed and the samurai feels he needs to attend with him into the next world. (Wilson, 274) Seppuku or Hara-kiri involved a samurai stabbing himself in the stomach usually with a dagger. Seppuku could be performed either as a prepared slow ritual inside a domicile or a quick and simple death. (Turnbull website) Either way, the process would have definitely been painful and sometimes, a samurai would request a second soldier to cut off his head to end the pain of seppuku. In addition to retaining their loyalty as a reason for committing suicide, a samurai might also kill himself if he was captured by an enemy or failed to accomplish a mission, though samurai rarely killed themselves like in such behavior. (Turnbull, website) Knights of Europe would have seen this act as greatly foreign since there were never any incidents of a knight committing suicide out of respect. (Turnbull, website) A knight indeed could have been dedicated to fight for a cause if they wanted to, as shown in the crusades, but they never to an extent of killing himself. Like the samurai, knights were vassals and were essentially the same as samurai by definition. They were aristocratic men who were vassals and paid their military services to dukes or counts that were great landlords and controlled the safety and system over a region. (Cantor, 7) Dukes and counts from their vassals wanted, like the daimyo, loyalty. The vassals could pay this through military services, rents, and taxes. There was a difference between Japanese and European vassals though. In Japan, all vassals were samurai, but in Europe, not all vassals were knights since knights could have their own vassals who also could have their own vassals and so forth. (Sansom, 368) Another difference was that the contemplation that the count or duke owed to the knight was written down in a contract called a charter, but in the Japanese version, the samurai did not ask for anything from the daimyo before hand. (Sansom, 368) Some things the duke owed a knight for their services were a place to s leep, free meals in his castle, a horse and armour. The knight also received a part of the dukes land as part of the deal that was called a fief. (Cantor, 7) In order to gain their fighting tactics and skill using swords and other equipment, knights would occupy themselves in tournaments against other knights. Before a battle between knights, a knight had to be properly equipped with armour usually consisting of chain mail in addition to breastplates and open-faced or full helms. Having many servants present was necessary in order to fully equip a knight with such armour. In order to show affection for their lady, a knight would also wear a scarf attached to their helmet. (Turnbull, website) The samurai on the contrary, did not usually express this sort of emotion. When they did however, it was to complete another mission as it shows in â€Å"Gikeiki, a life of Minamoto Yoshitsune, there is a scene where the hero seduces a young woman, but his underlying motive is the acquisition of a Chinese military scroll possessed by her father! (Turnbull, website) During tournaments, knights would wield long blunted lances or swords and charge at ea ch other while on horseback. (Cantor, 44) Even though weapons were blunted, knights still got injured from blows striking the throat area. Most knights were aware of the risk of injury, and so when a knight was forcibly dismounted off their horse, the battle was over. Hand to hand combat on the ground was dangerous. (Cantor, 50) Not battling on the ground during tournaments was purely because of the risk of danger, not because of the common misinterpretation of knights being immobile when off of their horse. While on foot, knights could move around swiftly enough. Knights plate armour would have chainmail on the armpits so they could raise and lower their arms quite freely. (Cantor, 46)

Essay --

Over the last 30 years, videos games have become very desirable for people of all ages, genders, and race. With the rapid growth of technology these games have become very life like and some seem as if your actually there in person. The rapid growth has made the video industry into a multi-billon dollar industry and this has created much controversy among the people because the games are becoming very realistic, but also more violent. Since the creation of violent video games there have been constant disputes to whether these games will increase violence in the player. Nevertheless, there have been researches done to try and understand the correlation between video games and violence. These researches haven’t only showed that the violent games don’t transfer violence to the players, but they actually help players. With the rise of technology people have begin to drift away from connecting in person and have adapt to this change by speaking or communicating threw something electronics. With games like call of duty and many others, players are able to communicate with many others, th...

Christo and Jeane Claude Essay

Christo and Jeane Claude are a husband and wife team. These two artists are famous for transforming the ordinary into fabulous artwork, such as wrapping buildings. They accept no government grants or funding, no donations, their only income is from the sales of their artwork. Nearly all of their artshows take place outdoors, often in public parks requiring no admission fees. Their identity or famous slogan as the wrapping artists came from their controversial work named Wrapped Reichstage, Berlin, 1971-1995, an entire German Parliament Building in silver fabric looking like a wedding cake. (Sternbergh,no date). Many significant national symbols have been transformed and giving new identities by many artists. Buildings, nature’s creations, world events have become best selling books, movies, musicals, songs and plays. Anytime an artist develops anything, adding their identity to it, the item takes on that new image. The Christos saw buildings in a way no one else saw it. The Reichstage building in Berlin became a piece of sculpture or artwork when Christo and Jeane Claude wrapped the building. Artwork expands on natural traditions, allowing others to use their imaginations to interpret the meanings. â€Å"The Christos have created some of the most breathtaking works of the 20th century using fabric in, over through and around natural and constructed forms† Powell, director of national art gallery. The Christos use fabric to give an original style to traditional paintings, sculptures and buildings† (no author, 2002).Wrapping the Reichstage building, giving the illusion of a wedding cake transformed the building into an artistic sculpture. Notes; Sternbergh, Adam (no date) The passion of the Christos; New York Entertainment; nymag. com date retrieved July 24, 2007 http://nymag. com/nymetro/arts/features/10897/ No author (2/4/2002) First American Survey of Christo and Jeanne Claude; artdaily. org; Date retrieved; July 24, 2007 http://www. artdaily. com/section/news/index. asp? int_sec=2&int_new=48&b=Christo%20and%20Jeanne-Claude

What are for oil production classification

In Europe and the Mediterranean coast of Africa, in the early 19th century, the united States, palm oil placental and South America and Australia region of California began to grow. Due to its high economic value, has been extended to 30 countries around the world. According to the united Nations food and agriculture organization (FAA), the world seed of olive tree growing area, an annual output of 140 tons of olive 011 Is more than 140. N china since the 1964 introduction of olive tree, is mainly distributed in chuan, Huber, Shania, angle, Axing, Yuan, ghoul and other provinces (area), the planting area Is still growing, but some areas in planting, processing management still has some problems-stable due to the high ILEC acid content of olive oil, grease, together with its special processing technology, especially the nutritional properties of virgin olive OLL Is good, the price Is quite expensive. So It Is of woody fuel In the economic benefits of higher special oil.Foreign system of olive oil method mainly has the following three types: traditional hydraulic oil olive OLL refining method, two phase and three- hash olive oil refining centrifuge separation and skimmed with olive bread organic solvent leaching method. Now, respectively to the traditional system of olives oil and centrifugal separation law method. Oil obtained in the first few steps have olive fruit pulp, the dispersed point together. By squeezing the oil separated from olive fruit pulp of solid materials.Press law take olive 011 Is the traditional system of olives oil. Principle is to squeeze out the olive oil, with olive olive fruit pulp material volume compression, material mechanical deformation occurred. The solid part of the slurry liquid through resistance will be squeezed out. When the hydraulic fluid oil through the oil cylinder piston and push 011 into the OLL cylinder piston drive tray to squeeze the olive fruit pulp moving up,bucket elevator olive fruit pulp by compression after sque eze olive oil with water. Live fruit pulp volume shrink until the remaining olive pomade, unload oil olive pomade on bread, to complete a crushing process. Hydraulic OLL press frame type hydraulic press and screw press two, fruit pulp for 20 – 22 0 C temperature, squeezing time is 50 -? 70 min. The squeeze mode for intermittent olive fruit pulp squeezing process. Salary Intermittent squeezing process, as well as mechanical screw instead of hydraulic piston moves up and down, to achieve the purpose of compression olive fruit pulp extraction of olive oil.Olive oil refining equipment oil press legal process is the most widely used in a wide variety of olive oil production of a kind. About 80% – 90% of olive oil in the world are using this screw press press. Continuous spiral squeezing method This oil pressing machine is often used in other plants, although there are many scientists in the world for many try to Improve this kind of machine Is used to extract oil, because t his kind of press is continuous work and can obtain the characteristics of high pressure, however the olive pulp urological properties for this type of press function does not work. s actually the olive fruit pulp properties is very strong, the material In squeezing squeeze pressure build up In the cage, pressure can only be 1 OFF olive oils and pomade olive oil, not squeeze from olive oil. Therefore, this kind of machine with little or cannot use at all. Belt type squeezing This kind of oil olive oil mill will olive fruit pulp coating metal mesh, similar to that of the caterpillar drawing machine rotation is compressed between the roller (filter), roller is made of metal belt drive.Although a large number of solid material to get a better control, to achieve the purpose of preparing a certain amount of olive oil. But this process on the olive fruit pulp produced by the pressure is low, production is low, there is no mass production. Olive oil press squeeze out the olive oil contain s a rage number of moisture, usually adopts the analysis method of separation.The use of oil and water separation relative density is different in nature, its simple equipment, without power, low cost, the disadvantage is that long separation, mainly as early separation device;Len order to improve the production efficiency, using the method of centrifugal separation, it is using high speed rotary to rapid relative density of different oil and water separation. The separation effect is good, pure oil, can make oil water cut 0. 2%, or less impurity 0. 1% or less,Rice bran oil decaying has been widely used.

Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 2

Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 2 Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 2 Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 2Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part  1At the same time, I admit that I had some weaknesses, such as the lack of experience. In fact, I had little experience before I started working in the health and social care setting. In this regard, I focused on the hard work to acquire new experience which enriched my professional development. Practical implementation of my knowledge and the work in the real world environment helped me to enhance my professional performance.Furthermore, I was aware of my poor organisational skills. In fact, the under-developed organisational skills raised the problem of difficulties with effective fulfilment of my professional duties and functions. For instance, I could not admit being late and it was difficult for me to schedule my work day to be always in time and to complete all the tasks, which I have planned.On the other hand, I focused on health rather than social care that raised the problem of the effective provision of social care services for my client. Instead, I focused on health care services. As I started working, I found out that it was quite challenging to provide clients with effective health care services without providing them with social support.At the same time, the analysis of my experience of work in the health and social care setting reveals the fact that still I have some opportunities to keep progressing professional and personally and improve my professional performance in the future. One of the main opportunities I have is the development of positive interpersonal relations with clients due to well-developed communication skills. The establishment of positive interpersonal relations helped me to gain the confidence of clients and provide health care services effectively since they viewed me rather as a friend than a mere health care professional, whose skills and experience they could questi on. In addition, I have got an opportunity of the provision of clients with effective health care and counselling services due to my communication skills and knowledge in the field of counselling (Elger   Chevorlet, 2000). Even though I have not had the counselling experience before I was interested in counselling services and I read a lot about such services, while during my work in the health and social care environment, such knowledge were very useful, especially in the work with people, who experienced significant life events.On the other hand, I still face certain threats that need the further enhancement of my professional and personal development. I could mention such threats as possible misunderstanding of the cultural background of my clients causing conflicts or inappropriate behaviour and the lack of interaction between me as a health care professional and social workers. The misunderstanding of the cultural background of my clients causing conflicts or inappropriate be haviour is a serious threat because it affects the quality of health and social care services I provide for clients (Coddington, Fischer,   Moore, 2000).The lack of interaction between me as a health care professional and social workers is another threat, which though depends on external factors that means that I cannot change by myself but by the system. In such a way, the development of the effective interaction between social and health care services.At the same, I contributed to the improvement of the health and safety needs as the milestone of health and social care practices. To put it more precisely, I communicated with my colleagues and attempted to show them how effective health care services may be, when they go hand in hand with social care to meet not only health but also safety needs of clients. In addition, I prepared a post on the importance of meeting health and safety needs of clients which I published on the website of the healthcare organisation, where I worked. I also contributed to the development of the organisational health and social care policy. In this regard, again I used the organisation’s website to post my suggestions concerning the improvement of the organisational health and social care services and policies. In addition, I filed a report to my manager, where I offered my suggestions and recommendations.At the same time, my work encouraged me to create the plan of my development. First, I planned to focus on the improvement of my organisational skills. Second, I planned to expand my knowledge and experience in the field of social care. In this regard, I plan to learn more about social care and focus on recent studies related to this field. In addition, I planned to keep developing my communication skills to keep progressing professional and to develop effective and successful interpersonal relations with my colleagues and clients.The effectiveness of the plan was high because I focused on those areas, where I have substa ntial difficulties, but communication skills. In the course of the implementation of my plan I have made a considerable progress and improved my communication and organisational skills, although the latter was very difficult for me. At the same time, I am still planning to keep expanding my skills and experience in the field of counselling and social care.Task 3Professional relationships in the workplace environment play an important part in the development of interpersonal relations of employees. At the same time, professional relations are important not only for the interaction between health and social care professionals but also for the successful organisational performance. What is meant here is the fact that I found out that conflicts between health and social care professionals can cause substantial deterioration of the organisational performance (Davis, 2006). At any rate, I witnessed a conflict within a department that resulted in the deterioration of the performance of the department and several cases of compliances from the part of clients, who were dissatisfied with the quality of health and social care services. As for my personal experience, I distinguished tow major types of professional relationships: formal relationships, which exist as a rule between employees and managers; and informal, friendly relationships, which exist between professionals that hold equal positions in the organisation. Professional relationships determine the quality of health and social care because they help to focus on the fulfilment of specific functions of each professional and effective interaction between them.Furthermore, relationships between professionals working in the health and social care organisation involve not only their professional interaction or interpersonal relations but also their legal relations. From the moment of employment, a professional entering a health and social care organisation gets involved into legal relations that implies that the ind ividual has not only rights but also liabilities and duties which he/she has to fulfil to the full extent. In this respect, the duty of care is, in my opinion, the most important part of professional relationships because it affects the interaction between health and social care professionals and their clients.Essay on Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care part 3

Pre-College Summer Programs Should You Go

Pre-College Summer Programs Should You Go SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're contemplating your summer plans, you may want to consider pre-college summer programs. These programs offerhigh school students the opportunity to live and learn on a college campus. In this article, I'll explain the different types of programs and let you know the benefits and drawbacks of attending them. Furthermore, I'll let you know if doing one of these programs can help you get into college. What Is a Pre-College Summer Program? A pre-college summer program offers high school students the opportunity to take classes at a college and experience college life during the summer. Many programs offer a residential and commuter option. Students can stay in dorms with their peers, or they can commute from home if they live close to the college. Typically, these programs range anywhere from one to eight weeks. During these programs, not only are students able to take classes from college professors or visiting scholars, but they’re also able to listen to lectures from alumni and participate in social activities. Many selective private colleges, including Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia, offer pre-college summer programs for high school students. Some of theseprograms are open enrollment (anyone can attend), and others require admission through an application process. The selective programs typically require teacher recommendations, application essays, and standardized test scores. Check a specific program’s website for its admissions requirements. Possible Benefits of Pre-College Summer Programs Spending part of your summer studying at college or a university may not sounds like the most fun, but it canoffer a number of potential benefits. Prepare for College Life For many students, adjusting to college life can be very difficult. A pre-college summer program enables you to spend time on a college campus and take classes from college professors. These programs can help ease the transition to college life when you go to college. You’ll be more familiar with the expectations of a college class, and you’ll be more comfortable navigating a college campus. Explore Your Academic Interests Pre-college programs allow you to take classes in subjects you’re interested in, or you can discover new interests. You can take courses in a wide variety of subjects like computer science, theater, economics, and philosophy. Enhance Your College Resume Colleges do like to see that you’re taking advantage of your summers to participate in meaningful activities. By attending a pre-college summer program, you can demonstrate your interest in academics and show that you’re motivated to do more than what’s required to pursue your academic passions. Exposure to a Specific College If you're strongly considering attending a certain college, going to its summer program can help you figure out if it's the right place for you. You'll get a feel for the campus and its location, and you may get the opportunity to interact with current students and professors. You'll come away with a better sense of whether you can see yourself thriving in that environment. Make New Friends You shouldn’t discount the social benefits of attending these programs. You can meet people from around the world and form meaningful relationships that will last beyond the program. Keep in mind that there are potential costs of attending these programs. Possible Drawbacksof Pre-College Summer Programs Though many students really enjoy attending these programs, there are some issues to consider. Cost Pre-college summer programs are expensive. For example, an 8-credit course at Harvard’s seven-week secondary school summer program costs $5,900 for tuition and $5,400 for housing. That doesn’t even include transportation costs if you don’t live near Harvard. However, Harvard does offer some financial aid that covers partof the tuition forstudents with outstanding academic records who demonstrate financial need. The all-inclusive cost for the three-week Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes is $6,300. That includes room and board and transportation between Stanford and San Francisco International Airport. These Programs May Not Help You Get Into College Many college experts believe that going to a pre-college summer program may in fact hurt your chances of getting into a selective college. If you go to a summer program at Brown and you apply to Cornell, Cornell may assume that you’re more interested in Brown. Also, due to the cost of pre-college programs, some admissions counselors believe that these programs are basically summer camp for wealthy students. Many advise students tofind more creative and low-cost ways to explore their passions. For example, you can volunteer to do research with a local college professor or work at an art museum. However, there are summer programs that will undoubtedly impress college admissions officers. Free, highly selective summer programs like Research Science Institute and the Young Engineering and Science Scholars will greatly enhance your college application because they only admit a limited number of exceptional students. Perfect Zero/Flickr Is a Pre-College Summer Program Right for You? I won't advise you whether or not you should do a pre-college summer program. That's your decision. However, if you can afford to attend one of these programs and feel like it would be a good option for you, I recommend tailoring it to your interests. Take courses that are related to your intended college major, or go to a program at a college that you may want to attend. Also, I don't think that doing a costly program will substantially hurt or help your college applications. However, it can be helpful if you excel in the program and get an outstanding recommendation from a professor. Additionally, if the program stimulates an academic interest or prepares you to do well in school, it can indirectly help your chances of gaining admission to the most selective colleges. What Are Some Well-Known Pre-College Summer Programs? If you do decide attending one of these programs is a good choice for you, here are some popularoptions to check out: Duke TIP Duke TIP serves students as young as 4th grade. It's meant to provide opportunities for academically gifted students. We've written articles on Duke TIP 7th grade Talent Search and Duke TIP SAT requirements. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes and High School Summer College These are two different summer programs at Stanford. At the High School Summer College, you can take a quarter of Stanford classes with Stanford students. The Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes offer a three-week residential program for students to live in Stanford housing and take a class not often given at the high school level. Summer Institute for the Gifted This program is conducted at colleges across the country. It is designed for gifted and talented students from 5-17 years of age. There are residential and commuter programs. Summer@Brown Summer@Brown offers nearly 200 courses that range from 1-4 weeks. They are designed to reflect Brown's liberal arts curriculum, and they're taughtat the level of first-year college courses. To find the right program for you, there are a number of factors to consider: your budget, the length of the program, the available courses and credit options (some programs offer courses for college credit), and the location of the program. If there's a college that really intrigues you, check the school's website to see if it offers a summer program. You can use the Summer Program Finder to identify a program that fits your needs and interests. You can spend your summer at the beach or college. Or both. Recap Pre-college summer programs provide you with an opportunity to experience college life, explore your academic interests, and make friends. Even though these programs can help prepare you for college, just going to one won’t significantly impact your chances of getting into a selective college. If you’re interested in a pre-college summer program, you can find one at colleges across the country. You’ll be able to take classes in many subjects that aren’t usually offered at the high school level. What's Next? Find out what you need to get into Ivy League schools and the most selective colleges. Are you still uncertain if a pre-college program is right for you? Get some more ideas onhow you can spend your summer. If you're going into your senior year of high school, maybe your summer plan should include preparing for the SAT/ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

A Review Of Inequality And Globalization Case Studies Economics Essay

A Review Of Inequality And Globalization Case Studies Economics Essay Globalization is defined as the worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration according to www.businessdictionary.com. Globalization has been evolving for thousands of years; countries have been buying and selling goods to each other from great distances since the Middle Ages. The recent trend of globalization has been motivated by policies that have opened economies both domestically and internationally. Technology has been another driving factor for globalization. Information Technology has given the world a means of pursuing economic opportunities. There are multiple issues that have arisen due to the globalization of markets from around the world. International trade and transport are hindered by complicated, lengthy and frequently altered procedures and documentation, different requirements in different countries, duplicated inspections, high charges, the lack of effective interagency coordination and cooperation among ministries and agenc ies involved in trade and transport facilitation, overlapping and conflicting conventions for trade and transport facilitation and the absence of effective information and communication technology applications for trade and transport facilitation. These situations create high costs in trade transactions and delays in the cross border movement of goods and services. Globalization has caused the conditions of inequality and discrimination to deteriorate. Women in society have seen a significant impact as a result of globalization. A demand for cheap labor, combined with a loss of jobs held by men which reduced the customary family income has lead to an increase is the number of women in the labor market. Women who either cannot find factory work or whose family situation prevents them from working in a factory, have had to seek work in the informal sector under some of the worse labor conditions in existence. This had lead to inferior quality labor opportunities and puts underemployme nt just as big a problem as open unemployment. â€Å"Labour market deregulation has been an important issue that has arisen. Formal regulations have been eroded or abandoned by legislative means; and implicit deregulation, whereby remaining regulations have been made less effective through inadequate implementation or systematic bypassing. Such deregulation has been based on the belief that excessive government intervention in labor markets – through such measures as public sector wage and employment policies, minimum wage fixing, employment security rules – is a serious impediment to adjustment and should therefore, be removed or relaxed. Deregulation might mean more employment for women, but the danger is that such employment would tend to be on less favorable terms. The question is whether the market can be left almost entirely to determine the price of female labor and the conditions of female employment† (Lin, 1999, p19-20). However, the biggest issue arisi ng from globalization appears to be in human rights violations. The enjoyment of fundamental aspects of the right to life, freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom from servitude, the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to an adequate standard of living (including the right to adequate food, clothing and housing), and the right to work accompanied by the right to just and fair conditions of labor, There is the concern that countries cannot fulfill their international human rights obligations.

Margaret Mitchell's life influence on her novel Gone With the Wind Research Paper

Margaret Mitchell's life influence on her novel Gone With the Wind - Research Paper Example Many of her readers know her for the fantasy love story created in her novel between Rhett and Scarlett but not many know that her actual life influences vividly show in her book. Before her success with Gone with the Wind, she used to write short stories, which were repeatedly rejected from newspaper. She had very little success with her stories and decided to give up writing for good (Cordell, 1961). She was bedridden due to her ankle problem and was reading books, and that was all she was doing while recovering from ankle injury. Her husband got tired of bringing her books from the library. Irritated by the daily routine of going to the library, picking books and then bringing them home to his wife, he finally said to her, And that struck her. She realized that probably another shot at fiction would finally get it published as a book. And then she started writing and wrote a 1037 page novel but it wasn’t named ‘Gone with the Wind’, initially, it was titled Tomorrow is Another Day based on the last sentence of the novel. Margaret Mitchell started writing  Gone with the Wind  in 1926 to kill time while recuperating from an injury that left her limping. In April 1935, an editor, Harold Latham from Macmillan, was looking for new fictional stories for publication, got to read Margaret’s draft, he instantly saw the potential in the story made up his mind that the story might possibly be the next best seller. When Latham approved that he’s interested in publishing the book, Mitchell started working on the book with another mindset. This time, she was editing her draft and edited and rewrote several parts of her story. It took her nearly six months to complete the process of checking historical references. She was most concerned with the opening chapter and in fact she rewrote it quite a few times. John Marsh, Mitchell’s husband was a copy editor by profession. He helped Margaret

Diamond Age analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diamond Age analysis - Essay Example iction texts, technology takes a central part, and the conflicts arising from how humankind use technology and the consequences, as well as creation of futuristic technology, is common. The observation that science fiction has two dimensions in its nature will form the basis of the analysis of the text The Diamond Age, from this point of view. These two dimensions are usually the world of fantasy and the world of reality. Neal Stephenson, the author of this text, achieves the capturing of these two dimensions. The first dimension that concerns the world of fantasy focuses on the learning of essential concepts valuable for the survival of individuals in the Victorian society. A young girl of a lower tribe class learns with the Young Lady’s Primer with the objective of surviving in this society. The Young Lady’s Primer, however, was not initially designed for the use by the people it is being used by but had rather been designed for Finkle-McGraw’s granddaughter, Elizabeth. Its use by other people resulted from the Engineer’s fault. Hackworth, the engineer of the Young Lady’s Primer, decides to have a copy for his daughter named Fiona, which is not as agreed between him and the ‘Equity Lord’. There are several copies of it further after it is stolen ending up in with Nell which forces Hackworth to make a third copy after losing the other one. This explains how Nell gets the Young Lady’s Primer, which essentially the beginning of the unf olding of major events in the text. The text The Diamond Age presents a conflict in which Hackworth is caught up in a dilemma. This is when he opposes the employment of the Seed. He has fears the consequences which would occur because of its wrong usage if its use is allowed to the general population. Typically this conflict exists concerning the employment of the some of the technology that exists in the contemporary world. There could be great dangers associated with the use of certain technologies which means

Finding a solution for Underage Drinking in Miami Essay

Finding a solution for Underage Drinking in Miami - Essay Example In the same population, 24% of them had confessed to have taken alcohol in the past month while 9% reported to have been drunk in the course of the month. This level of consumption is undoubtedly higher than that of other drugs such as tobacco and any other illegal drug. The other concern on alcohol consumption is its high correlation with myriad social, emotional and behavioral problems such as accidents, stealing, depression, involvement in violent behavior, use of illegal drugs and missing school among others (Richard et al 2012). Besides these immediate problems early initiation of alcohol is also associated with complex alcohol related problems in later years. Early consumption of alcohol that is by age 15 also represented a very high likelihood of developing alcohol dependence (Scott Tippetts, et al 2009). This is a likelihood of 4 times more than those who start drinking at age 21. A more current study reveals a similar picture among the youth. A 2005 survey went further and i ndicated that 5400 young people below the age of 16 get initiated to alcohol on a daily basis (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). These statistics as well as other more recent and growing studies on alcohol consumption reveal a worrying trend among young people. This calls for prompt action to arrest the growing numbers of underage drinkers. This study focuses on finding a long lasting solution which would complement the ongoing efforts to curb underage drinking in Miami. In United States the legal drinking age is 21, yet the number of underage drinkers’ remains high begging several questions, one of these questions is where do these underage drinkers get alcohol? This is mainly worrying as the law demands that no single establishment should sell alcohol to an underage (Main, 2009). Irrespective of this directive 92.2%, 82.6%, and 62% of 12th, 10th, and 8th grades respectively attested to the fact that accessing alcohol was fairly or very easy. The focus on alcohol sup ply and access is fundamental to any study seeking to stop the supply of alcohol to the underage (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). This is because cutting short the supply is the single most effective means of ensuring that under age drinking is curtailed. Studies reveal that alcohol supply to this group mainly comes from social or economic sources. Economic sources represent commercial establishments dealing with alcohol meaning that some of them blatantly ignore the established laws. In regard to social sources, these are mainly home set ups, where this group accesses alcohol when the adults are absent or during parties (Richard et al 2012). Most effort has been directed to curbing alcohol supply to underage drinkers from the commercial set up. This has been targeted through law and directives which are manifested through compliance checks and cops-in-shops. Similar effort has been made in the social settings through such activity as party dispersal programs (Wachtler, 20 11). The success of these measures has been evident overtime and it would be misleading to point out that these have not helped in deterring use and possession of alcohol by this grouping. Evidence overtime has shown that tackling of underage drinking through stringent laws and policies is quite effective (Maimo & Christopher, 2012). The evidence of this is seen in cases where a given policy is properly enforced, for instance the school anti-smoking policy was seen to

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Article Critique - Essay Example The main concern of the writer in his article is about the scientists community who remained silent and just not putting the whole picture of human induced climate change and issues like global warming and sea level increase in front of the people. Their deliberate silence bring them good fortunes in the form of more research grants. There are pressures from certain quarters on scientists not to report actual situation and affects of climate change on ice sheets and sea level. This article goes on to discuss the climate changes and its affect on ice, ice sheet of Greenland and Western Antarctica, different models of non-linear and linear types to establish scientifically that what is and will be the actual situation if the human induced greenhouse gases emissions goes on. The writer goes on to discuss IPCC business as usual scenarios and different studies and literature on the climate changes to establish scientifically that the concern about ice sheet melting and sea level rise is n ot a hoax but it’s a reality and it is actually not as reported by scientific community but even the more bigger issue. Article goes on to discuss the writer’s personal experiences and his problems of real/ actual situations presentation. Article even goes on to discuss the difference between normal people and scientists and put some moral questions that scientists must have more responsibility to put across the actual pictures of any catastrophies, which will likely to happen in future. In reporting, scientists must take utmost care and their findings should be based on some scientific evidences. Article even goes on to say that for some governmental agencies like IPCC, reticence may be proper but as an individual scientists, they have to more responsible in reporting the effects of greenhouse gases on climate and must come out from their comfort zone and say something based on pure research and evidences. Doing so they may

Reflective Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journal - Essay Example It is our destination and the process of reaching the end of that destination. It is the real meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision: a sympathetic community where race and social class is surpassed and economic and social justice is the tenet and not the exclusion. It is as well the vision of this empowerment paradigm to social work tradition. The paradigm becomes profound and stretches out to integrate further explanation of how-to and for what reason, enlarged by stronger professional, community, multiethnic, multicultural and global points of view on empowerment mechanism and the commemoration of differences. Countless individuals still desire to live in a society where dearly loved community can be built, where caring bonds of affection and knowing unite us together through our differences. We just cannot give up that yearning. We call for such ties not for the reason that we embrace utopian dreams but because we have wrestled throughout our loves to build this community. The petite circles of affection and care we have been able to shape in our personal lives embody a tangible realistic note that beloved community is not a fantasy, that it previously is present for those of us who have carried out the task of enlightening ourselves for higher consciousness. Ambivalence and indecision indicate the likelihood of resistance. The social work business can be signified as a victorious hegemonic knowledge, yet it cannot attain absolute finality on its manner of perceiving the world: One of the unique features is the pursuit for ties of mutuality and collective identities, through which individuals and their concerns and motives are shaped and which transcend involved exchanges between individualized individuals. This pursuit may have been diminished, yet it has not been totally eliminated. There are other discussions wrestling for articulation from users of services provided by social work: types of

Finding a solution for Underage Drinking in Miami Essay

Finding a solution for Underage Drinking in Miami - Essay Example In the same population, 24% of them had confessed to have taken alcohol in the past month while 9% reported to have been drunk in the course of the month. This level of consumption is undoubtedly higher than that of other drugs such as tobacco and any other illegal drug. The other concern on alcohol consumption is its high correlation with myriad social, emotional and behavioral problems such as accidents, stealing, depression, involvement in violent behavior, use of illegal drugs and missing school among others (Richard et al 2012). Besides these immediate problems early initiation of alcohol is also associated with complex alcohol related problems in later years. Early consumption of alcohol that is by age 15 also represented a very high likelihood of developing alcohol dependence (Scott Tippetts, et al 2009). This is a likelihood of 4 times more than those who start drinking at age 21. A more current study reveals a similar picture among the youth. A 2005 survey went further and i ndicated that 5400 young people below the age of 16 get initiated to alcohol on a daily basis (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). These statistics as well as other more recent and growing studies on alcohol consumption reveal a worrying trend among young people. This calls for prompt action to arrest the growing numbers of underage drinkers. This study focuses on finding a long lasting solution which would complement the ongoing efforts to curb underage drinking in Miami. In United States the legal drinking age is 21, yet the number of underage drinkers’ remains high begging several questions, one of these questions is where do these underage drinkers get alcohol? This is mainly worrying as the law demands that no single establishment should sell alcohol to an underage (Main, 2009). Irrespective of this directive 92.2%, 82.6%, and 62% of 12th, 10th, and 8th grades respectively attested to the fact that accessing alcohol was fairly or very easy. The focus on alcohol sup ply and access is fundamental to any study seeking to stop the supply of alcohol to the underage (Lipperman-Kreda, Grube & Paschall, 2010). This is because cutting short the supply is the single most effective means of ensuring that under age drinking is curtailed. Studies reveal that alcohol supply to this group mainly comes from social or economic sources. Economic sources represent commercial establishments dealing with alcohol meaning that some of them blatantly ignore the established laws. In regard to social sources, these are mainly home set ups, where this group accesses alcohol when the adults are absent or during parties (Richard et al 2012). Most effort has been directed to curbing alcohol supply to underage drinkers from the commercial set up. This has been targeted through law and directives which are manifested through compliance checks and cops-in-shops. Similar effort has been made in the social settings through such activity as party dispersal programs (Wachtler, 20 11). The success of these measures has been evident overtime and it would be misleading to point out that these have not helped in deterring use and possession of alcohol by this grouping. Evidence overtime has shown that tackling of underage drinking through stringent laws and policies is quite effective (Maimo & Christopher, 2012). The evidence of this is seen in cases where a given policy is properly enforced, for instance the school anti-smoking policy was seen to

Reflective Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journal - Essay Example It is our destination and the process of reaching the end of that destination. It is the real meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision: a sympathetic community where race and social class is surpassed and economic and social justice is the tenet and not the exclusion. It is as well the vision of this empowerment paradigm to social work tradition. The paradigm becomes profound and stretches out to integrate further explanation of how-to and for what reason, enlarged by stronger professional, community, multiethnic, multicultural and global points of view on empowerment mechanism and the commemoration of differences. Countless individuals still desire to live in a society where dearly loved community can be built, where caring bonds of affection and knowing unite us together through our differences. We just cannot give up that yearning. We call for such ties not for the reason that we embrace utopian dreams but because we have wrestled throughout our loves to build this community. The petite circles of affection and care we have been able to shape in our personal lives embody a tangible realistic note that beloved community is not a fantasy, that it previously is present for those of us who have carried out the task of enlightening ourselves for higher consciousness. Ambivalence and indecision indicate the likelihood of resistance. The social work business can be signified as a victorious hegemonic knowledge, yet it cannot attain absolute finality on its manner of perceiving the world: One of the unique features is the pursuit for ties of mutuality and collective identities, through which individuals and their concerns and motives are shaped and which transcend involved exchanges between individualized individuals. This pursuit may have been diminished, yet it has not been totally eliminated. There are other discussions wrestling for articulation from users of services provided by social work: types of

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay Example for Free

Supervalu Company Analysis Essay One company that may provide investors such an opportunity is Supervalu, Inc. Supervalu is an Eden Prairie, Minnesota based retail supermarket chain that has experienced sharp drop in the value of their share over the past several years. The company has committed itself to a turn-around by replacing Wayne Sales with Sam Duncan as CEO. Duncan followed his appointment as CEO by shuffling the top management deck and bringing in a new president in charge of Save-A-Lot, the companies most important subsidiary. All this was done with the ultimate aim of speeding up the turnaround. The company is also trimming down with layoffs and selling some of its well known brand to investment group Cerberus Capital (Anderson, 2013). 2. Overview of Supervalu Supervalu is an American retail giant. It has been in business for more than a century. With over 130,000 employees, it is the third largest food retail company in the United States (after Kroger and Safeway), and ranks number seventy five on the 2012 Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies (Forbes, 2012). On June 2nd 2006, the company announced the purchase of Boise, Idaho based Albertsons, Inc and all of its 1,124 stores. The Supermarket News magazine’s ranking of â€Å"Top Wholesalers for 2008† put Supervalu at the very top of the list (Supermarket News, 2008). The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967. The company’s mission is served by operations consisting principally of grocery and pharmacy operations with a total of 2,432 stores with the firm also offering supply chain services for smaller retailers, serving over 4,300 retailers (Supervalu, 2012). The retail operations are supported by 22 distribution centers, and the wholesale distribution is supported by nine distribution centers, the latter of which also supply company owned stores. The company benefits from a solid level of diversification with a number of different brands targeting different markets, including Acme, Albertsons and Shop ‘n Save brands. The company owns 1,102 traditional food retail stores, as well as 397 hard discount stores trading under the Save-A-Lot brand name (Supervalu, 2012). In addition the company also licenses the Save-A-Lot brand to 935 independent operators. With what seems to be a successful operation, the company however still faces a number of uphill battles with the last three years reporting significant losses and extreme pressure from competitors. In 2012 CEO Craig Hackert in charge since 2009 was replaced by company chairman Wayne Sales. A move that saw a sharp drop in share prices was met eight months later with Sales’ own firing and replacement with newcomer Sam Duncan in January of this year with the aim of accelerating the company’s turnaround. There have been significant problems including massive losses and decline in revenue production. Measures are now being taken to limit losses, slash cost and regain sales, including the sale of non-profitable brands as well as a shakeup in top management as discussed earlier. However, issues such as high levels of debt, a low level of equity and difficult trading conditions may persist for some time. In order to assess the organization as a potential investment, it is necessary to look at the financial analysis. 3. Financial Analysis Companies produce annual reports designed with the shareholder as the primary audience. The annual reports which are published using the standard format present the performance of the organization in the preceding 12 month period. The annual reports the 10-K in the United States – are overseen by an auditor to ensure that they reflect a true and honest picture of the company and are compiled in line with the required account standards. It should however be noted that financial reports may sometimes be rife with misleading information as was the case in recent years with Enron and WorldCom. However, for the purpose of this project, it is assumed that there are no potential misstatements. 4. 1 Summary of Statements All figures presented will be in millions of US dollars when examining the different financial statements – unless otherwise specified with the exception of per-share numbers. All figures for Supervalu, Inc. , have been extracted from the 10-k for the financial year ending February 2011 and 2012. Where industry comparisons are made, these have been taken from relevant ratio pages on MSN Money. 4. 2. 1 Income Statement The income statement, which can be found in appendix 1 is also called the Consolidated Statement of Earnings and shows that the financial year which ended on February 25th 2012 (a 52-week year) saw net sales of $36,100. This represented a deep in revenues on the previous two years as the 2011 net sales was $37,534 and the 2010 net sales was $40,597. Since 2010 the company has seen an 11. 0 percentage point decline in revenues. Some downward movement in revenue was however expected as a result of the divestments that occurred in mid to late 2011. The gross profit for the year 2012 was $8,019 which is a gross profit margin of 22. 1%. However the company saw a loss in operating profit of $519, primarily the result of high cost on intangible assets. 2012’s operating profit was still a lower loss in operating profit compared to 2011 when it was $976 and a gain of $1,201 in 2010. Net earnings are shown on the income statement. For the sake of accounting, net earnings may be presente d before or after taxes. Since Supervalu is experiencing an adverse financial climate and took advantage of a negative tax payment in 2010 and 2011, this paper will utilize the definition of net earnings as being earnings after tax. After provisions for income taxes were factored in, the company showed a loss of $1,040 or -2. 88% in net earnings in 2012. It must however be noted that this number represents an improvement on the previous year when net earnings registered a -4. 02% loss at $1,510. In 2012 there was a loss of $43. 91 per share in net earnings. This number is however an improvement from 2011 when the net loss per share was $7. 13 . It should be noted that these changes are not influences by the weighted average of outstanding share which stood at 212 million (Supervalu, 2012). The income statement highlights a company in some serious difficulties; however the numbers show encouraging signs of a rebound to better times in 2010. 3. 1. 2Balance Sheet The balance sheet referenced in Appendix 2 defines the company’s position in terms of assets and liabilities. The company experienced a drop in the value of its assets in 2012, however there was also a decrease in total liabilities overall. Current assets generally calculated as having an economic shelf life of 12 months or less fell steadily from 2010 ($3,711) to 2011 ($3,420) and 2012 ($3,225). This decline can be seen across all asset categories. Long-term assets also declined to $12,053 representing a 12. 39% drop in value. Measures to cut cost and control debt are starting to take hold as the level of current liabilities has declined year to year since 2010. The long term liabilities of the companies on the other hand have seen an upward tick with total liabilities rising from $11,524 in 2011 to $12,032 in 2012. Important to investors is the decline in the level of equity within the organization. This has gone down from $2,887 in 2010 to $1,340 in 2011 and just $21 in 2012. The balance sheet continues to paint a picture of current gloom face the organization in the near term. 3. 1. 3 Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement in Appendix 3 shows $157 in cash and cash equivalents in hand at the end of 2012. This represented a decline in the previous two years of $211 in 2010 and $172 in 2011. This represents a gradual but consistent drop in cash and cash equivalents of the company. Significant impacts are the losses carried over into cash flow which amounted to $1,040 for 2012 and $1,510 for 2011. The net effect is a reduction in the amount of cash provided for operating activities. It is important to make note of the fact that while the company has engaged in disposing of some assets, there have also been new investment resulting in overall net investing of $484 in 2012 and $227 in 2011. Cash flow from financing activities was also negative with $291 raised from the issuance of long-term debt, but this is counteracted with $798 payment of long-term debt and capital lease obligations. This results in net cash outflow from financing activities of $587. However, this is a decline on the previous year of $975. 3. 1. 4Statement of Owners Equity The consolidated statement of stockholders equity found in Appendix 4shows the balance of equity over a period of four years, 2009-2012. The statement shows that the position of common stock has not changed, with a total of $230. The capital in excess of par has only change very slightly from $2,853 in 2009 to $2,855 in 2012. The major factor of the equity level is a deficit which resulted in a negative balance of -$1,892 at the end of 2012. When added with other accumulated losses results in a total shareholder equity in the firm of $21. This is a notable change compared to 2009 when the total balance of equity was $2,581. . 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis can be used here to explore the financial position of the firm and the way in which it is performing by analyzing internal performance as well as providing a benchmark for comparison with the industry. This section puts forward some ratio analysis calculations and makes comparisons with industry averages where available. 3. 2. 1 L iquidity Liquidity is an important measure companies facing hard times. It measures the firm’s ability to survive in the short term and meet its current financial obligations (Libby et al, 2010). The current ratio and the quick ratio are the two main measure of liquidity also known as the acid test. The current ratio measures the firm’s ability to use current assets to settle current liabilities. In the case of Supervalu, there are insufficient assets available to pay current liabilities. This is however not unusual as like in many industries with rapid cash flow, a relatively low current ratio may be acceptable based on expected cash flow. Supervalu is therefore not necessarily showing any signs of mounting distress with the current ratio at 0. 0 as shown in table 1. The industry average is slightly higher, however this difference may be indicative of better use of capital – although it could also indicate cash flow issues. Table [ 1 ]: Current ratio Current ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Current ratio| 0. 89| 0. 90| 0. 90| 1. 1| (Supervalu figures are extracted from Supervalu Inc. 10-K. Industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012). The quick ratio is another way to evaluate liquidity within a company. The idea behind this is that an organization may not be able to realize the full value of its inventory if they are required to liquidate inventory in order to pay current liabilities. Calculations for the quick ratio are similar to the current ratio minus inventory value which is deducted from the total current assets as can be seen in Table 2. Table 2: Quick ratio Quick ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Current assets| 3,711| 3,420| 3,225|   | Inventory| 2,342| 2,270| 2,150|   | Net current assets| 1,369| 1,150| 1,075|   | Current liabilities| 4,167| 3,786| 3,590|   | Quick ratio| 0. 3| 0. 30| 0. 30| 0. 7| (Supervalu figures are taken from Supervalu, Inc. 10K. Industry figures are taken from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 2Asset Management The company’s ability to manage assets will be a key deciding factor in its return to profitability. Measures of asset management include return on assets and return on equity. For Supervalu, the return on assets shows a sligh t improvement in 2012 at -8. 06% compared to -10. 00% in 2011. Table [ 3 ]: Return on assets Return on Assets| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1510| -1040|   | Total assets| 16436| 13758| 12053|   | Return on assets| 2. 31%| -10. 00%| -8. 06%| 6. 80%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity is poor. While the actual loss has declined in 2012, the phenomenal change in the return on equity showing large losses is the results of adjustments that followed the steep decline in the level of equity. Table [ 4 ]: Return on equity Return on Equity| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Net income| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Equity| 2,887| 1,340| 21|   | Return on equity| 13. 60%| -112. 69%| -4952. 38%| 15. 5%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) The return on equity may not be enough to make an assessment of management’s use of assets. An alternative measure will be asset turnover (Libby et al, 2010). This analyzes the way in which assets are used to generate revenue. It will show how many times assets have been turned over in a given year. Supervalu seems to be improving efficiency in terms of utilization. They turned over assets equivalent to 2. 8 times in 2012 which was an increase from the previous two years (2. 9 times in 2011 and 2. 39 times in 2010). Looking at this in terms of industry context where the average is 2. 4 times, Supervalu appears to be improving efficiency which is positive for recovery. 3. 2. 3Debt Management The company’s debt equity ratio seems to spell doom for the future. This ratio measures the proportion of debt to equity. Compared to the industry average of 1. 03 shown in table 5 Table 5: Return on equity Debt to equity ratio| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Total debt|   | 11,524| 12,032|   | Total equity|   | 1,340| 21|   | Debt/Equity|   | 8. 6| 572. 95| 1. 03| Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) Another measurement of debt management is the debt ratio. Supervalu’s debt ratio show s that it is in a delicate position with the majority of assets being funded by debt. Many companies have gone through similar issues due to losses in equity but have rebounded as was the case with auto maker General Motors. These numbers do not therefore signify an inability for Supervalu to rebound. 3. 2. 4 Profitability An important measure of viability is the profitability of the organization. There are various measures of profit, however in this report I shall focus on net profit margin. This is the level of profit that remains after all cost has been deducted. In this report, I shall utilize the measure after interest and taxes. As can be seen on table 6, the company is slowly digging itself out of a low point in 2011 when the net profit margin was negative 4. 02%. However in an industry where the average is 3. 24%, it is obvious the organization has a long way to go. Table 5: Return on equity Net profit margin| 2010| 2011| 2012| Industry Avg. | Revenue (Net sales)| 40,597| 37,534| 36,100|   | Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040|   | Net profit margin| 0. 96%| -4. 02%| -2. 88%| 3. 24%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K, industry comparison figure from Microsoft Money, 2012) 3. 2. 5Market Value There are a number of different measures of market value, the most common of which is the price earnings ratio. This is a measure that assesses Harold company will take to earn is total capitalization. However, as Supervalu is making a loss this ratio is not relevant and cannot be calculated. To assess market value a measure which may be utilized are the earnings per share. The earnings per share are shown in table 10, and are a measure of the profit, or loss, the company makes attributed to each share outstanding. As expected, this is in line with the net profit margin in table 5, with the earnings per share being -$4. 91 in 2012 falling from -$7. 12 in 2011. Table 6: Return on equity Earnings per share| 2010| 2011| 2012| Net profit| 393| -1,510| -1,040| Average share out| 213| 212| 212| Net profit margin| 1. 84%| -7. 12%| -4. 91%| (Supervalu figures taken from Supervalu Inc. 10-K 3. Competitors Supervalu is widely considered the third largest supermarket chain in the country. Its main industry peers are  Safeway, Kroger, and  Whole Food Market. Supervalu generated a steady gross margin of 22. 21% in 2012 and 22. 41% in 2011. However, the company is a loss-maker and it produced negative earnings in the previous year. Safeway, Kroger and Whole Food Market generated operating margins of 2. 37%, 1. 61%, and 6. 36%, respectively. It is clear from these gross margin numbers that the grocery industry has very slim operating margins on sales. Table 7: Competitor Analysis Figure in Million| Net Income| Long term D/E| Operating Margin %| Supervalu| -1244| Very High| -2. 1| Kroger| 728| 1. 8| 1. 61| Whole Food Market| 465| 0. 001| 6. 36| Safeway| 523| 2. 3| 2. 37| (Competitor results taken from Finviz. com) It also seems that Supervalu continued to struggle with insufficient growth in its operating activities in the last quarter of 2012. The corporations operating income fell for fiscal 2012. Furthermore, Supervalu is susceptible to financial leverage as it took on a new $2. 5 billion of debt in the third quarter of 2012 (Boehme, 2012). Supervalu needs to continue to reduce its operational cost in order to record positive results. 4. Conclusion The shedding of 877 grocery stores in a $3. 3 billion dollar deal with Cerberus Management LP in the first quarter of this year seems to have been a sign of a new and positive beginning (Dezember, 2013). The company’s stock has been one of the top performers this year; contradictory for a company still drowning in debt and declining sales. However the market has a positive outlook on the company. Since January 1st this year, shared of the company have gained a solid 133%. Supervalu closed the first day of trading this year at $2. 60 and ended the last week trading at $5. 26. Thanks to these positive numbers, both Fitch and Moody’s have upgraded their ratings on the company from negative to stable which has been a boost to investor confidence. The reduction in non-performing assets is expected to continue to improve the stability of the company. With less exposure to market volatility, the company should be able to rebound and even thrive. Decreasing the debt level will boost the balance sheet and future net revenues. 5. Recommendation Although the bullish run of Supervalu which started early this year continues, the company still has a long way to go in its quest to recover. Therefore the subjective recommendation of this report will be to hold. Based on the company’s current trend, it is very likely that within the next year the company will show even more positive signs of improvement and therefore warrant a change to a buy recommendation. If the organization is able to make a recovery it will be in a very strong position in the market as the number three grocer that also benefits from a large wholesaler and supply chain management operation. References Anderson, Jake, (January 10th 2013), Supervalu to Sell 5 Chains in $3. 3B Deal, Replace CEO. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://tcbmag. om/News/Recent-News/2013/January/Supervalu-to-Sell-5-Chains-in-$3-3B-Deal,-Replace Patton, Leslie, (July 30th 2012), Supervalu Names Wayne Sales CEO Amid Strategic Review. Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2012-07-30/supervalu-names-sales-chief-executive-officer-to-replace-herkert. html Forbes Inc. (2012), Fortune 500 List of Best Companies (2012). Retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/full_list/ Supermarket News (2008, SN Top Wholesalers for 2008. Retrieved April 17th 2013 from http://supermarketnews. om/top-75-retailers-amp-wholesalers/sn-top-wholesalers-2008 Supervalu, (2012). About Supervalu. retrieved April 13th 2013 from http://www. supervalu. com/sv-webapp/about/about. jsp Boehme, Kate, (September 16th 2012), Can Supervalu Survive Its Debt? Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://seekingalpha. com/article/869491-can-supervalu-survive-its-debt Dezember, Ryan and Hudson, Kris (January 10th 2012), Property Is Plum in Supervalu Deal. Retrieved April 18th 2013 from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424127887324581504578233411904827872. html

Double Indemnity As A Film Noir Classic Film Studies Essay

Double Indemnity As A Film Noir Classic Film Studies Essay It is indeed true that Double Indemnity represents one of the best examples of a film noir and has also been viewed to set some standards for the upcoming movies. In film noir, elements like violence, sexual harassments, adultery, crime and greed are representatives of similar evil types in the society with a moral conflict emerging at the base of the plot (Gene 145). Considering the characteristics of film noir, the Double Indemnity film seems to cover almost all of them. The film contains the ambiguous antihero, stories driven by crime, shady lighting and some other several qualities that qualify it in the genre. This is actually a perfect example of a film noir with dark stories that are criminally manipulated. In the movie, Walter Neff says that, Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money and a woman, and I didnt get the money, and I didnt get the woman. Pretty, isnt it? (Gene 170). This line actually gives us the overall view of the films move as being dark and pessimistic. Walter Neff as played by Fred MacMurray goes to renew his automobile insurance and engages in an adulterous affair with Phyllis Dietrichson as played by Barbara Stanwyick who was an already married woman. This actually demonstrates a typical film noir relationship. From this, the viewers can actually justify from the actions that these characters are doomed (Leitch 126). In a film noir, lighting forms one of the important principles of aesthetics and also provides clues to the function of the characters. For example, as Neff enters the office, only thin white light bars are seen. They appear projected across Neffs chest as if he is in jail. But as he puts the lights on, the room suddenly changes to being flooded with white as all the shadow are eliminated. This technique enables the viewers to have a hint on the nature of Neffs actions. that he is seeking redemption, bringing himself out of the shadows metaphorically, in the form of a confession, into the light (Leitch 113). In other words, all this help the viewers to get to understand the character as well as narrative function of Neff as Male Protagonist which is actually a vital component of classic film noir. Double indemnity also begins with music that is non-diagetic. This installs the viewers with a sense of urgency and action that is expected. The characters in the movies are flawed but one will still love and enjoy watching them since they are real. Not all the characters in the film overcome immerse odds like prevention of the world destruction or saving the village. We find some characters giving into sin making, then enjoy the brief excitement and eventually pay the consequences of their actions (Leitch 145). Film noir characters are very real but their ending is not good. For example, Neffs destiny arrives after him just after he is inside his apartment. NEFF: So at eight oclock the bell would ring and I would know who it was without even having to think, as if it was the most natural thing in the world (Leitch 153). Eventually Phyllis shows up and they passionately embrace each other. She speaks ill of her husband as a volatile and controlling man always getting into her nerves. Neff finally gives in to help her murder her husband to gain the insurance cash. Themes in the Plague Exile/separation. This theme is evident by Rieux and Rambert. The two characters are separated from the love of their life (women they love). The theme also appears in many other citizens whose names were note mentioned but were separated form their own loved ones. Considering the closure of Oran gates, the individuals who happened to be still out of town were locked out. The town entirely feels in exile for being separated from the rest of the outside world. According to Rieux explanation, he expresses That sensation of a void within which never left us, that irrational longing to hark back to the past or else to speed up the march of time, and those keen shafts of memory that stung like fire (Camus 187). Considering somebody like Rambert, he is not only separated from the person he wants to be with but also restricted from being in own apartment or home. Therefore, exile suggests deep metaphysical implication that relates to loss of belief that individuals dwell in environments whe re they can be free to achieve goals, find meaning and feel at home. Religion. People are always fond of turning to religion at times of calamities as the novel examines. Paneloux (the priest) gives religious perspective in his sermons in contrast to Rambert, Rieux and Tarrous humanist beliefs. Paneloux believes that indeed there is a rational explanation to the plaques outbreak unlike the other characters. He describes the outbreak as a flail of God in his first sermon after the outbreak. He says that God had intentions of separating wheat from chaff (good from bad). According to his description, it was not the will of God for the calamity. He looked on the evil-doing in the town with compassion; only when there was no other remedy did He turn His face away, in order to force people to face the truth about their life (Malcolm 26). Therefore, according to the Priest, the ultimate goal of suffering is achieving the good in a way that the light of God will still shine despite of the horrible events with Christian hope being grated to everyone. Love. The theme of love is widely demonstrated in this novel. As much as love for mankind can make one sacrifice own self interest to defend the interests of the society, the opposite seems to be true with love for individuals. The novel discusses towards the end that a human being does not hope for anything more than just love especially when avoiding disappointments. Considering the plaque, the priest expresses that this is only because of the too much love that God has for them. Love is also evident from Rieuxs reactions towards Rambert including his attempt to escape. He says that, Forgive me Rambert, only well, I simply dont know. But stay with us if you want to. For nothing in the world is it worth turning ones back on what one loves. Yet that is what Im doing, though I do not know (Malcolm 68). Given three things in life: love, work and death; Rieux chooses to work and claims that it is his duty to do so while Rambert counters this by choosing to love more than to do his job.

Free Essays - Doctor Eckleburg of The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Doctor Eckleburg of The Great Gatsby Reading through the novel The Great Gatsby, it becomes evident that Dr. Eckelberg symbolizes God and oversees events that occur. The characters in the novel refer to "the eyes of Dr. Eckelberg" often. Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolizes three things. He symbolizes the corruption of society; his eyes represent the eyes of an omnipotent God, and he implies carelessness and mistreatment. "The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose." This is a quote from Nick Carraway, the central figure of the story and the voice of Jay Gatsby. Dr. Eckelburg is introduced at this point. He takes on an image of a human figure, which he is characterized as at many times throughout the novel, and that of a Godlike figure. Doctor Eckleburg's eyes were referred to once again by Nick when he was driving in his car with Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy on a trip to New York City. "We were all irritable now with the fading ale and, aware of it, we drove for a while in silence. Then as Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's faded eyes came into sight down the road I remembered Gatsby's caution about gasoline." On the way to New York they remember that they need to refuel gasoline. It is at the gas station that it is learned that Wilson plans on moving his wife Myrtle out west due to the fact that he discovers Myrtles disloyalty. Nick senses an infidelity between Daisy and Tom Buchanan also. On the trip back from New York Gatsby and Daisy are driving together, and they accidentally run into Daisy. Tom suspects that Gatsby was the one that was driving; however it was really Daisy. The quote used to describe Dr. Eckelburg's eyes was an example of the symbolism of carelessness and corruption of society. Mr. Wilson is the only person that associates Dr. T.J. Eckleburg with God. "Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J.

Preventing Discrimination in the Workplace Essay -- Discrimination Pre

Age Discrimination When an employer mistreats an [potential] employee by not hiring them, refusing to promote, or by holding them to a different standard, because they are perceived as being older, is illegal and would fall under â€Å"age discrimination.† Officially, this ordinance is called the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). However this law is a little more precise. The law restricts discriminatory actions only to those over forty years of age. This law does not apply when a younger employee (under forty) is treated different, but when the difference is between two employees who are both over the age of forty, the law is still applicable (Age Discrimination). In many physically demanding jobs it may be unappealing to hire older workers, even if they can show they are physically fit and capable, due to the stereotype that the older workers cannot perform as efficiently. Additionally, older workers may be undesirable for entry level jobs, or jobs which require a somewhat high degr ee of training. This is because the training increases the expense of the employer, and the employee is closer to leaving the work force which would reduce the return on investment compared to hiring a recent graduate. However these hiring practices can flip where younger employees are disregarded over the issue of stereotypical work ethic, but this is not yet covered under the ADEA. One thing that we do to prevent age discrimination practices is eliminate sections on forms which demand applicants’ date of birth. Also, we change â€Å"Year of high school graduation 19___† to â€Å"High School Graduation? Check _Yes or _No† and â€Å"Year of birth 19___† to â€Å"Over 18 years of age? Check _Yes or _No† so that we are not be influenced by a worker’s age as ea... ...iscrimination. (2013, November 13). Retrieved from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/race_color.cfm Religious Discrimination. (2013, November 13). Retrieved from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/religion.cfm Weintraub, J. (n.d.). Pregnancy Discrimination: A Growing Cause of Concern for Employers. Retrieved from Lorman: http://www.lorman.com/newsletter/article.php?article_id=141&newsletter_id=25 Williams, E. (n.d.). Workplace Policies on Disability Discrimination. Retrieved from Chron: http://work.chron.com/workplace-policies-disability-discrimination-13039.html Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations in U.S. and Canada. (2013, March 13). Retrieved from Catalyst: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-male-dominated-industries-and-occupations-us-and-canada

Bronfenbrenner’s Analysis

This paper analyzes and evaluates how Bronfenbrenner’s levels influenced my decision to attend graduate school and how they may impact career goals within my area of specialization. Bronfenbrenner develops a multi-level hierarchy of influences from the closest and most personal to the most abstract and societal. The purpose of my paper is to discuss, analyze, and evaluate Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory in relation to human development In the early 1970s’ Urie Bronfenbrenner developed an ecological theory of human development. Bronfenbrenner’s book, â€Å"The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design† (Bronfenbrenner, 1997) discusses in depth the ecological systems levels as the micro-meso-exo-macro- and the fifth system, the chrono-system layer. Bronfenbrenner summarized his theory utilizing concentric spheres in where the child begins his or her development in the center of the spheres. Comparing each sphere â€Å"†¦as a set of nested structures, each inside the next, like a set of Russian dolls† (Bronfenbrenner,1979. p. 3). Researchers found that a key factor in parent’s effectiveness was engaging in the child’s activities and environment. Darling (2007), asserts that â€Å"parental monitoring† of their children’s activities decreased the levels of behavioral problems and lead to â€Å"higher levels of adult approved activities† (Darling, 2007). Therefore, competence among children will â€Å"†¦depend on the quality of their environment† (Bronfenbrenner, 1999). Children from negative, deprived, disorganized backgrounds display more frequent and severe dysfunctional behavior in order to gain parental attention. On the other hand, parents providing attentive, stable and positive environments provide gratifying and positive reinforcement in aid of the children’s growth. Bronfenbrenner, 1999). Bronfenbrenner posited that â€Å"†¦the greatest effect on positive outcomes in environments with the greatest resources and for an individual who had the greatest ability to take advantage of those resources† (Darling, 2007). Microsystem Bronfenbrenner described his models as the m icro-system layer originating in the center of the sphere, involving the child’s interactions and activities within the context of family, school, daycare, and school, peer groups and how these interactions shape his or her development in a particular setting. A setting is where the child engages in â€Å"†¦particular activities in particular roles for particular times† (Bronfenbrenner,1979). For example, Bronfenbrenner observed parents emphasizing the importance of socially acceptable behaviors, exposed their child to positive activities, became involved in their child’s school, friends, thus producing children that were secure in new learning experiences. Mesosystem The mesosystem layer relates to the people in a child’s microsystem. It consists of the interactions between two or more settings which involve the developing child. For example, child’s parents and teachers may be interacting in discussions about the child’s progress. Bronfenbrenner found when parents take an active interest in the child’s early academic progress, that child has a greater chance of success upon entering high school (Oswalt, 2008). Exosystem The exosystem is comprised of the involvement and progression that takes place between the dyad setting, but it â€Å"†¦does not contain the developing child† (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). They are occurrences â€Å"that indirectly influence processes within the immediate setting in which the developing child lives† (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). For example, the child’s parents’ moving to a different state will directly affect the child’s interconnections with neighborhood friends and teachers. As an example, the child ‘knows’ he has lost his best friend, and may never find another. Thus, the child may meet this change with fear or dissatisfaction (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The exosystem level includes the positive and negative structures found in the national government, cultural values, the economy, other macro influences. For example, Anglo-Saxon societies stress individual accomplishments, whereas Asian societies stress consensus and conformity. Cronosystem The chronosystem is the outermost shell that Bronfenbrenner displays. This is a temporal continuum that encompasses a person’s life experiences throughout their lives. A major example of the operation of this continuum is the impact of a parental death and the resulting behavioral change in the developing individual. The micro, meso, exo, and macro levels all impacted my individual development and career goals in obtaining a master’s degree in Human Services with a specialization in Social and Community Services. In the micro level, my earliest experiences were affected by the negative parental influences. As a child, I can remember my brothers and I were mainly spoken to when we did something wrong. In turn, these negative experiences affected my academic performance in school as well as my behavior. In the mesosystem, the only times my parents became involved in school were when they were called by the school principal to discuss my inappropriate behavior and my inattentiveness in learning. In the first grade, I was held back from entering the second grade because I could not speak English well or even Spanish. Again, this was a result of not having positive learning experience during childhood. It was not until the sixth grade that my principal decided I might succeed if I skipped the seventh grade to the eighth grade. That’s when my negative experiences turn to be positive and enlightening. I flourished that year and received a small scholarship to attend a school for girls. There I also flourished and began to have teachers and friends that were positive role-models. An example in the exosystem, I had a young brother with Down’s syndrome who at the age of 3 left our home to live in a state mental hospital. I was 13 years when my mother received a phone call from the hospital stating my brother had died from choking on some food. From that day on, my mother became distant and suffered from alcoholism. This experience saddened me greatly, but I was fortunate to have the support of my older sister, and wonderful teachers and friends that kept me succeeding in school. This success continued through college. However, when I was 16 years old, my mother was diagnosed with depression. Though I appeared happy with my school experience on the outside, inside, I felt depressed and longed for my mother’s love. All during this time, my father was physically present, but emotional absent due to the traumatic experiences at home. In the macro system, I grew up in a Hispanic culture, though my parents emigrated from Mexico to the US, my mother’s alien status became problematic as she could not speak English and inevitably could not take the test to become an American citizen. As a result, my mother felt she was a failure to herself and to my father who became a citizen at age 18. At the age of 47 years, I was able to complete my education at a women’s college. It was finally there I was fortunate to pursue my love of art. Upon graduation, I also found a new love of being of service to other’s less fortunate. I found that I obtained jobs not completely fulfilling, and when thinking upon this, I realized I could improve the possibility of reaching that fulfillment through graduate school to obtain an advanced degree in order to better serve the people I will work with. In conclusion, I don’t regret my experiences during my childhood. I learned a great deal about how one can attribute their success to resiliency. No matter how dismal matters were, there was always someone or something over the rainbow. I had a wonderful caring and nurturing older sister who loved me unconditionally. I had teachers who believed I was a worthwhile, intelligent and loving human being. With this nurturing, I was finally able to climb over the wall; only to look back at my stumbling blocks as experiences one takes to traverse their journey.

Forrest Gump Analysis

Forrest Gump Watching Forrest Gump for the first time I feel that the movie has a little of everything in it, from action and war to love and romance. For one man to overcome so many hardships and live a life full of love and happiness it is inspiring. Each character had something that reached viewers. From Jenny to Lieutenant Dan they all had something that made them easy to connect with. Even the people that sat on the bench next to Forrest created interest; they listened and were in the story for us, but were not truly part of it.Forrest Gump could be referred to as stupid, but I believe that the way he tries to understand the world around him and make the best of everything is rather clever. When the film begins we start from Forrest’s childhood. We learn about the high expectations that his mother had for him. We see that he is lonely, and we see his growing love for Jenny. For a boy that is bullied so much and has so many obstacles in his life he loves deeply. Due to his mental disabilities, Forrest became the victim of academic discrimination, but as she will always be him mother fights for him to have the same opportunities as the other children.She completely believes in Forrest and wants him to be the best that he can be. During this stage of his life I thought of Erikson’s industry vs. inferiority concept. During that time children are supposed to work toward mastering knowledge and intellectual skills. (Santrock, 2011 p23) The negative possibility of not mastering those skills would be that children would feel incompetent and unproductive. As Forrest Gump grows he still maintains his mental disability, but his athletic abilities have started to make a difference in his life.He runs so fast that he gets asked to play football for the University of Alabama. Though he grows older he still has the innocence of a child. During his adolescence where most other people are experimenting with sex he seems almost upset by the idea. He loves Jenn y yet when she tries for sexual contact with him he looks hurt and confused by it. This stage in his life he would be going through Erikson’s identity vs. identity confusion. (Santrock, 2011 p 23) During this time individuals are trying to figure out who they re and what they are going to do in life. If the adolescent explores in a healthy way then they will form a positive identity; however, if they struggle and have a difficult time then it may result in continued identity confusion. Forrest was an active part of many important events including protests against desegregation, the Vietnam War, anti-war activism, Black Panther Party meetings, and the Ping Pong diplomacy period. Those important events should have made a difference to him, but he went through it all as if it didn’t really affect him.During the whole movie he seemed completely oblivious to the significance of everything that was going on around him and the part he played in those events. Forrest’s generally happy go lucky demeanor and unobservant nature contrasted harshly with Jenny. Jenny Curran as a child was Forrest Gump’s best friend and possibly his only friend. Jenny has a much harsher life at home than Forrest has. While Forrest has a loving mother that raises him Jenny has an abusive dad. Jenny spent a lot of time with Forrest as a child because she didn’t want to be alone.Jenny and Forrest were like â€Å"peas and carrots†. When they were young Jenny taught Forrest how to read, and Forrest shared his mellow, carefree attitude with her. When Jenny is young after Forrest comes over to her house and sees the way her father treats her they run into the fields trying to get as far away from her home as possible. Jenny falls down to the ground and prays to God to make her a bird so she can fly far away. There are many developmental consequences of abuse on children. Santrock, 2011 p 258) Some of the consequences of abuse and maltreatment in childhood a nd adolescence are poor emotional regulation, attachment problems, problems in peer relations, difficulty adapting to school and other psychological problems such as depression and delinquency. The abuse that Jenny sustained in her childhood caused problems throughout her life. As a young adult Jenny went to an all girls’ college while Forrest played football at the University of Alabama. This was the beginning of Forrest’s success and Jenny’s bad decisions.Jenny started messing around with boys and getting in trouble. Forrest rescued her from being with a guy, but Jenny could not let herself be close to Forrest even though her cared for her deeply. Her bad behavior caused her to be kicked out of school. Jenny decided that she wanted to become a famous singer, but somewhere along the way she ended up singing naked in a strip club. Again Forrest rescued her and again she was ungrateful and ended up leaving behind the one person in her life that cared about her mo st. The next time Jenny is seen she had been spending time with hippies at anti-war protests.Forrest tries to get Jenny out of another abusive relationship, but she doesn’t want to be saved and leaves Forrest again. When Jenny went through Erikson’s identity vs. identity confusion (Santrock, 2011 p 23) stage her past abuse caused her to make the wrong choices and left her in continued identity confusion. Each time we see Jenny in the movie she is into drugs and running with the wrong crowd. During the adult years, people who were abused as children often have a difficulty maintaining healthy adult relationships.According to Miller-Perrin, Perrin, Kocur (Santrock, 2011 p 258) those adults are at a higher risk for violent behavior toward other adults-especially dating partners and marital partners- as well as substance abuse , anxiety and depression. During New Year’s Eve 1972 Jenny contemplates suicide, at that point she has reached her very lowest and we see her change her mind and leave hopefully to change for the better. The rest of the movie is a rollercoaster of emotion for Jenny and Forrest. Forrest wants nothing more than to be with the only woman other than his mother that he has loved his entire life.When Jenny and Forrest are finally together Forrest thought they were going to be together forever, and Jenny ran away again. Her past abuse leaves her afraid of both trusting Forrest to love her and allowing herself to feel worthy of being loved. By the end of the movie, Jenny has finally found herself. After Forrest spent his time after her leaving running for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours she finally wants to see him. From their night together she had gotten pregnant and had a son that she named Forrest.Perhaps it was having a child that helped settle Jenny into adulthood or maybe she had just finally come to terms with the lasting effects of abuse, but she decided to marry Forrest and live with him for her remaining time alive. In that time that she is a wife and mother she looks more at peace than ever. It took Jenny her whole life to come to terms with the abuse she endured as a child and the abuse she subjected herself to as an adult. She experienced an abusive father, played out jobs, abusive boyfriends and grabby customers, drugs and thoughts of suicide before she could let herself be loved by Forrest.During Forrest Gump’s time in the military he meets Lt. Dan Taylor. Though Lt. Dan is more of a peripheral character, his struggles fit well with the movie. Lieutenant Dan Taylor was born into a family with the proud military tradition that someone in his family had died in every American war. He was sent to Vietnam during the Vietnam War and assigned to the fourth platoon where he met Bubba and Forrest. While serving in Vietnam is was evident that he was paranoid of snipers and surprise attacks in general. When his platoon encountered an ambush he called for a Napalm drop.During the ambus h he was hit in the legs, and was certain that his time had come to fulfill the family legacy of dying in that war. However, Forrest Gump in his search for his fallen best friend Bubba comes across Lt. Dan and carries him and many other men to safety. Lt. Dan is sent to a field hospital and his legs are amputated. Forrest Gump is brought to the same hospital and Lt. Dan confronts Forrest about saving him. He is very upset that he didn’t get to die like other men in the family and feels that his destiny has been ruined. At this time Lt.Dan is coming to terms with his possible selves (Santrock, 2011 p 602). As he is recovering from his double amputation he has to consider the life that he had, the death he thought he was going to have, and the life he is left as an amputee. Lt. Dan is eventually discharged due to his handicap and he ends up in New York City. He spends his time after being discharged living in New York, possibly off the government or programs for injured veteran s. He lives in a trashy motel room and drinks far too much. He looks like he has been living a hard life since his time in the military.On New Year’s Eve he meets up with Forrest again and even though he still has not come to terms with Forrest saving his life, he treats Forrest like a friend. He defends Forrest from the women he had over and promises Forrest to be his first mate if he ever becomes the captain of a shrimping boat. When Forrest actually buys a shrimping boat Lt. Dan does become the first mate. Lt. Dan guides Forrest to where he believes there will be shrimp which leads to many failures. While out fishing Lt. Dan and Forrest endure Hurricane Carmen. Lt.Dan is at the highest point that the boat has to offer yelling and challenging God. At this point Lt. Dan seems to come to terms with the life he has ben dealt. Lt. Dan looks more positively on life after this point and even thanks Forrest for saving his life. The hurricane destroyed the entire fleet of shrimping boats in Bayou La Batre, except for the Jenny. As a result, Forrest Gump’s shrimping business takes off. Lt. Dan invests the already high profits of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company into a new computer company, Apple Computers, making both Forrest Gump and himself very wealthy.With his new found wealth Lt. Dan Taylor is able to afford custom made prosthetic legs which give him the ability to walk again. Lt. Dan also faces Erikson’s identity vs. identity confusion (Santrock, 2011 p 23) during his life several times. When he has to come to terms with who he thought he was going to be he struggles with his identity then again when he has to live as an amputee and once more when he gets new legs. After all he had to go through in his adulthood he finally meets and marries Susan, his Korean wife. Another peripheral character is Pvt. Benjamin Buford ‘Bubba' Blue.When Forrest first gets on the bus for the military he faces the same problems as an adult that he did as a ch ild, nobody wanted to sit with him. Walking between the rows of seats looking for a friendly face he found Bubba. Bubba appeared to have many of the same problems that Forrest did. Bubba possibly faced issues with his ethnic identity (Santrock, 2011 p 385) as he was given the name Bubba just like one of those redneck boys. While serving in the U. S. Army Bubba and Forrest become close friends. Bubba knows everything there is to know about shrimp, Forrest and Bubba make a deal to start their own shrimp business one day.However, Bubba never makes it back to America alive. After some time, Forrest finally goes to Bayou La Batre, where Bubba’s family lives. Forrest buys a shrimp boat to start the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company later earned a spot in Fortune magazine, and Forrest sent a check with Bubba’s earnings to Bubba’s mother. This film dealt a lot with death and accepting death as a part of life. Robert Kastenbaum’s death syste m comes in to play several times during this movie. Forrest has to go through the death of several people he cares about.First he endured Bubba’s death whom he had planned a future and had become close friends. Then he survived the death of his mother. She was the only person in his entire life that he could always count on. Just before her death Forrest’s mother tells him one last time how proud of him she is and reminds him the â€Å"life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get†, she says that it was her destiny to raise Forrest. She was always there for him, and rooting for him, and telling him that he could be whatever he wanted to be.Her death was a tough thing to work through and for a time he completely left the boat and company to Lt. Dan and stayed at his mother’s home, taking care of things and grieving. Then eventually he had to endure the death of Jenny. He had loved Jenny his whole life then it seemed almos t as soon as they were finally together she had died. Forrest’s emotions for Jenny come out at her grave, and while there he leaves her a letter written by Forrest Jr. As the film closes Forrest Jr is at the bus stop and we are reminded of Forrest’s first bus ride and how far he has come since his days of being bullied.The feather that was in the beginning is at the end as well symbolizing destiny. Forrest himself says â€Å"I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. † Forrest couldn’t have put it into better words. During his story we see several characters and watch their life unfold. We know that Lt. Dan had his own ideas for his destiny then his life turned out completely different. Jenny never had a clear path for her destiny, and Forrest only ever wanted to love and be loved by Jenny.