Reflective Paper over Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Essay

Reflective Paper over Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis - Essay Example He is very unhappy with his job and always narrates adverse effects of his job. He is made to do that job because of being responsible for his whole family. His room has three doors and also his family has three members, his father, his mother and his sister. Gregor Samsa is really unhappy with his life because of his overly responsibilities and his disdainful job. He comes back from his job and shuts himself in his room. The doors in his room are also to inform him about his responsibilities that he has in relation to his family members. Gregor Samsa himself likes to alienate himself from his family members because they are attached to him not as a source of attachment but with their own motives. Gregor wakes up one morning and sees him transformed into a big insect that is disdainful. Because of his transformation into an insect, he suffers through the problem of alienation physically. He is not only alienated from his family only but from the whole world because of his existence as an alien that is frightful. Initially his sister Grete shows some sympathy with him but with the passage of time, she also draws away from him. After his transformation, all his family members started their own jobs. Gregor Samsa is alienated from his family because of his gruesome existence. Anyone who sees him is at once frightened because of his transformed structure. He is also left alone to die and he dies in isolation after which, he is thrown out by his housemaid. His family becomes relieved at his death because they are not required to face people in relation to their son. They consider the existence of Gregor Samsa as a burden on them. Gregor is alienated because he has attachments not based on love and care but based on responsibilities. His parents and his sister look towards him as a source of income that is there to fulfill their wishes. After his transformation, he is of no use for the family but becomes a burden for them.

Epicurean Hedonism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epicurean Hedonism - Essay Example It is this emphasis on unadulterated pleasure that has created a ruckus, but which is unfounded as will be shown. According to Epicurus, "Pleasure is our first and kindred good. It is the starting -point of every choice and of every aversion, and to it we come back, inasmuch as we make feeling the rule by which to judge of every good thing" (Qtd. from Cook). 1 He believes that the essential truth of this statement is so obvious, that it renders debate and reasoning unnecessary. It is his belief that we are born with an intimate knowledge of the fact that pleasure is good and pain evil; it is the skepticism which is an inevitable accompaniment of the ageing process that makes the truth so elusive for adults. However the pursuit of pleasure must be governed by temperance. A glutting of the senses with sensual delights can cause pain in the long run; therefore careful judgment must be exercised in order to derive the maximum pleasure that life has to offer. The fulfillment of desire is closely linked to gaining pleasure and Epicurus has a word of caution on the subject. There is pleasure in the satisfaction of desire, but more often than not this is short-lived as more desires take the place of the one that has been fulfilled and soon endless desire takes the form of an insatiable monster, which is hardly conducive to pleasure. Thus an effort must be made to curb desire; this is done by settling for the bare necessities and resisting the temptation to over-indulge oneself. Epicurus distinguishes between desires where "some are natural, others are groundless; and that of the natural some are necessary as well as natural, and some natural only" (Qtd. from Cook).2 Epicurus sets much store by wisdom, as it is ignorance which is responsible for a lack of understanding between good and evil that is the cause of so much misery and turmoil. Wisdom is the wellspring from which the virtues of prudence, courage and justice spring forth. The inherent values of these virtues are largely irrelelevant as the only purpose they serve is towards achieving happiness. Cicero puts this most succinctly, "we aim at these virtues in order to live without anxiety and fear and so far as possible to be free from pain of mind and body"(Qtd.from Cook).3 Epicurean philosophy is immensely valuable to the present day insofar as his arguments go towards overcoming the unreasonable yet prevalent fear of death. With death there is a cessation of sensation, therefore since it involves neither pain nor pleasure, it never has and never will pose a threat to the living. An understanding of this premise goes a long way in removing anxiety which throws an unpleasant pall over the future. Death according to Epicurus "is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not" (Qtd. from Cook). 4 Distinguishing Epicurean Hedonism from Cyrenaicism Much of the notoriousness surrounding Epicurean hedonism and the stigma of moral licentiousness, attached to it, when it fact it is rather a model of asceticism, stems from its doctrines often being confused with Cyrenaicism. Aristippus was the founder

Difference Between Boycotts and Lockouts

Difference Between Boycotts and Lockouts Difference between boycotts and lockouts 1- INTRODUCTION Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function which works within an organization .It focuses on recruitment of staff, managing them and giving them direction to the employees who work in that organization. Human resource management can be performed by line mangers (Tesco superstores line manger performs the duties of human resource management ).Human resource management function includes several activities and key among them is deciding to use independent contractor or hire employees to get the job done .Ensuring they are high motivating, able to work in a team and dealing with performance issues. Human resources management also include employee benefits and compensation and managing your approach to employees records and personnel activities. Managing human capital means to conquer and to maintain people in the organization, who will work and give the maximum of themselves, with a positive attitude. The following work will attempt to answer the question Do you think boycotts and lockouts are two other anti-impasse weapons sometimes used by labor and management? An impasse occurs when the parties arent able to move further toward settlement. Sometimes, a strike occurs. Responding to the strike involves such steps as shutting the facility, contracting work, or possibly replacing the workers. Third party involvement namely, arbitration, fact-finding, or mediation- is one alternative. Examine the steps you will undertake as part of the HR management team, in order to answer this question this project will open with a review of the literature that has been written on the issues raised by the question above. It should be noticed that a vast amount of writing has been done on this issues but only a few of them dimmed to provide the most benefit to the purposes and intend of this assignment have been sited. Those countries their economy is operating full employment the bargaining power of the worker is strong and his employer is weak. When there is short fall of full employment then employer is more stronger than employee. In this case employees are compulsory to accept employer conditions. It is recognized that the right of workman to strike is an essential element in the principle of collective bargaining. In a non unionized work place, managers use their discretion in organizing work, selection, promoting and training people and other duties of human resource management but it can be change if the worker join the union. Once the join the union they comes across so many agreement and knowledge about employment relationship. Union main demand is all of its representatives are getting right wages ,no job cuts ,no over load of work They have an interest in work related learning and employee development. 2-BOYCOTT A group refusal to have commercial dealing with some organization in protest against its policies, usually it happens because of political reason. In other words boycott can be defined as a rejection of an individual, cop ration or nation to give political and social pressure for change. Example 1: Swadeshi Movement Against British Rulers In 1905,when India was a part of British empire ,a boycott of foreign goods was declared, which is known as swadeshi movement..Indians boycott all British products, to setup local stores where only locally manufactured goods had been sold. They could use British products but it was against their sovereignty. This movement was a good step for their freedom movement. (www.india_resource.tripod.com) Example 2: United States Boycott Against French Products In 2003,France tried to stop bush administration to build international support for a war to depose saddam hussain.In response united states have declared a boycott of French products specially French wine. French wine producers claims their sales are effected in united states because of boycott. (www.nber.org) Example 3: Greenwich Council Workers Boycott Against New Office In Greenwich council six hundred staff reused to work because there was no security screens on new office entrance .They have boycott to work in new office because of security reason. (www.personneltoday.com) Example 4:International Campaign The international campaign organized against A E Stanly, the corn processing plant in Illinois in early 1990s when 10 12 hours four days weekly shift was introduced. The campaign entailed a boycott of important A E Stanley customers like Tate Lyle, Pepsi and miller. (Scullion and Lineham, 2005). 2.1 TYPES OF BOYCOTTS There are two different types of boycotts Those in which users , consumers, or member register their disappointment through avoidance. Those in which an individual or organization takes a leadership position by increasing an active campaign against a product, service, company or organization. 2.2 Silent boycott Silent boycotts are unorganized boycotts spread by gossips in revenge of number of reasons and hit the company before they realize what is happening. Example 5: Toys R Us Boycott Toys of Violence Toys r us, was the subject by silent boycott. Their top management decided not to sell toys of violence like toy tanks, guns, aircraft and similar products. They did not sit with their customers. As a result their market shares never fully recover. (www.boycottnet.com) Example 6: IBM Vs Compaq IBM became target of a successful silent boycott, because of its superiority in which they have treated self-directed distributors. In a result Compaq computers became a very serious threat. (www.boycottnet.com) 2.3 Focused boycott Its simplest term, it involves dissecting the problem into its components and then zeroing in on the most vulnerable point. Example 7: Slaves Boycott Sugar Products The earliest example of focused boycott was in England when slaves boycott sugar products. In 1791, when parliament refused to eliminate slavery and result of this boycott sugar sales dropped by third and half. (www.ethicalconsumer.org) 3-Lockouts When an employer withhold work and denies workers to access their work place. Its a strike by management to induce settlement to a labor dispute on employers terms. when several employers take this action together its called shut down or joint lockouts. A lockout is defined as being the act of an employer in: Closing the employers place of business, or suspending or discontinuing the employers business or any branch of that business; or Discontinuing the employment of any employee; or Breaching some or all of the employers employment agreements; or Refusing or failing to engage employees for any work for which the employer usually employs employees; and Is done with the view of compelling employees, or to aid another employer compelling employees to accept terms of employment or comply with the demands made by the employer. 3.1 REASONS OF LOCKOUTS There can be many reasons of lockouts such as: When union goes on strike and employers want to put pressure on union for reducing the number of members who are able to work. employers can announce a lockout until the strike ends. Another case is when an employer mat compel a lockout to avoid slow down or irregular work stoppages. Example 8: Golden Reach Factory Lockout Its Workers In year 2003, between march and September when the management of golden reach factory in India locked out,1400 of its workers in response to strike called in protest. The golden reach factory is a subsidiary of unilever an Anglo Dutch conglomerate ,unilever has never declared a lock out in Netherlands conglomerate seems to have different policies towards labor, depending on the country which its operates. (www.britannica.com) 4-STRIKES Union and labor associates use strike as weapon to get their demands accepted. Its starts when bunch of workers want to push pressure on their employers, they cease work until they get there demands accepted by employers. In an industry when trade unions and labor associates denies to work until they get their demand accepted is called strike. In a strike people are agreed to stop their work and protest against their employers or government to put pressure on them to pay rise or any other changes they want make on their work place. 4.1REASONS OF STRIKES Trade union and labor associates calls strike for several reasons such as: Salary and incentive problem Increment is not up to mark Dissatisfaction with company policy Dismissal of a staff wrongly Withdrawal of any privilege or concession Hours of work Paid holidays Provident and gratuity Minimum wage dispute Environmental problem on work place Example 9: Royal Mail Strike For Wages Royal mail strike called in because of jobs cut, services, wages, benefits and privatization .Strike is hitting postal services. Communications workers union (CWU) said 25,000 workers participated in this strike. That was the biggest strike after 2007.Major cities (London, Edinburgh, Ipswich, Bristol, Birmingham) got effected of this strike. Workers are protesting against â€Å"panic driven† cuts being made at royal mail to pay job and services. It effects customer trust on royal mail. Postal workers are fed up because of lacking ability of management and their behavior. Royal mail has accused the union of reneging a modernization deal that ended the 2007 strike. (www.guardian.co.uk) Example 10: RMT Vs TFL RMT(rail maritime and transport workers) is largest of the four unions which deals with TFL(transport for London).RMT wants to cancel their contract with TFL because they redundant RMT workers. Even they denies to pay rise.RMT wants a guarantee to protect job of its members.RMT workers called a strike because their demands were not accepted. It effects all the people of London who travel by public transport. (www.guardian.co.uk) Example 11: British Airways Staff For Redundancies British Airways chief .executive (Willie Walsh) has given three weeks notice to BA staff to agree job redundancy and pay cuts. He offered his staff to voluntary redundancies because company is fighting for its survival. As a result strike occurred.BA passengers faced difficulties for traveling. Most of the flights were cancelled. That was the worst time for British airways and still not fully recovered. (www.guardian.co.uk) Example 12: National Strike Against Economical Policies 19 March 2009,union have called for a strike in France ,to protest against French president Nicolas Sarkozys wrong policies in the economic slump. More than 1.2 million people came on the streets. Employees from the private sector and civil servants demonstrated in the cities from Paris to Marseille, schools have been close and transportation have badly effected. President Sarkozy has offered 2.6 billion euro (3.5 billion dollor) tax cuts and aid to unemployed and law paid workers unions in France demanding for more to protect their workers in the recession time when unemployment has reached 2 million and its expected to increase further. Bernard Thiboult ,general secretary of the confederation general du travel. The country 2nd largest union have said if the government says we will not change the policies then there should be no surprise if climate gets tougher. (www.bloomberg.com) Example 13: Massive Strike In Italy April 2002, millions of employees have ceased work and went for strike against government plans to giving special powers to the employer to hire or fire employees easily. The strike was called by three main unions of the country which has brought parts of the country to stand still. Union said rallies in Rome ,Milan, Bologna ,each rally had a crowd of more than 200,000.It was the first all day work stoppage in 20 years. Schools ,banks were remain closed all day even the public transport ,buses ,rails ,air and sea has stopped. There was no live TV no news paper were published. Prime minister silvio Berlusconi said after the strike that he is ready to start talks with union leaders but he insisted that reform of the labor laws was necessary. (www.bbc.co.uk) Example 14: Protest Against Bridgestone The international campaign against the Japanese tyre Bridgestone which is subsidiary of firestone. The workers were replaces with their substitute workers. (www.laborrightsblog.typepad.com) 4.2 TYPES OF STRIKES There are several different types of strikes such as: Sit down strike Slow down strike Economic strike Sympathy strike General strike Sick out(sick in) strike Wildcat strike 4.3 Sit down strike Its a strike when workers do not absent from work place. They dont leave control on production facilities but do not work. This strike is also known as pen drop strike or tool down strike. In this type of strike employees shown up to their jobs but they refuse to work and refuse to leave, in these circumstances they make it very difficult for their employers to resist against union and take control of area. Example 15: ACPA On Strike for Pay Rise In Pakistan(Punjab) more than 2.2 million clerks went on a pen drop strike on call of APCA(all Pakistan clerk association). According to the press release more 2.2 million clerks protest against government and to support their demands regarding their pay rise. They demanded that government should increase the salaries of lower sub- ordinates to the inflation rate. (www.dailytimes.com.pk) 4.4 Slow down strike In this type of strike employees do not stop the work they remain on their jobs but they control the rate of productivity in organized manner to pressure on employers. Example 16: Chief Justice Of U.S Wants More Salary Chief justice of united states district court judge (Carl B. Rubin) went on slow down strike when congress refused to increase his salary more than 51% to reply that only he only hear two cases usual ten cases a month. (www.washingtonpost.com) 4.5 Sympathy strike When employees of one unit , industry, factory go on strike to support employees of separate but related industry, profession, unit is called sympathetic strike. Example 17: Renault 1997,French Motor manufacture company Renault announced the closure of its Belgium production plant at Vilboorde, company dismissed almost 3100 workers without consulting with workers representatives. The colure of the company leads another 1000 redundancies among supplies and subordinates. Unexpected colure of the company in Belgium generated very high level of sympathy action not only in Renault workers across the Europe but also car workers in Belgium were fearful of the same fate. Representatives of the unions of France, Belgium and Spain met and agreed to seek the reasons of the colure of the plant at Vilvoorde and find all possible legal avenues. They organized one hour strike and involves the union of Portugal and Slovenia . Car workers in France, Spain and Belgium protest against Renault, Their plants in 3 different countries were hit by one hour work stoppages. workers of related motor manufactures industries like Polo ,Opel and Ford in Belgium staged sympathy actions. (www.eurofound.europa.eu) 4.6 Sick out(sick in) strike When all the members of union called in sick at the same day is called sick out strike. They dont break any rules but sickness of majority of the staff at the same day leaves very strong impact on employer, that if the staff really went on strike. Example 18 : Air traffic Staff On Strike For Wages In 1969 when united states air traffic controllers called in sick strike because of wages and condition. The traffic controllers walked out and stay out of job for three weeks and called in sick, attempting to avoid the legal penalties for striking. (www.libcom.org) 4.7 Economic strike In this type of strike labor stop their work and put pressure on their employer to increase their economic needs like wages and bonus. Example 19:Lublin Strike In 1980 the workers of eastern city of Lublin (Poland) went on strike for increase of their salaries and cheap prices of food products. July 1980 almost 50,000 local workers from more than 150 companies went on strike. Its also called Lublin strike. (www.tnn.pl) 4.8 General strike It means a strike by all members of union in the region or an industry. This strike can called in by all the members of the union in the region for their common interests. In these types of strikes workers intend to put pressure on the government. Example 20:Union And Non Union Worker On Strike In the year of 1934 in san Francisco union and non union workers went on strike. They have protest against police and employers tactics that had killed two picketers. (www.newdeal.feri.org) Example 21: Trade Union Conflict With Coal- Owners A general strike had occurred in 1926, By the trade unions of great Britain. they were supporting miners federation in their dispute with coal-owners Government had granted a year subsidy to the coal-owners because of the bad state of coal-mining industry and set up a commission of inquiry under sir Herbert Samuel. the commission suggested a scheme of reorganization the industry as soon as practicable when government subsidy was due to expire the coal-owners made up their mind that they are not going to employ the miners except lower rate and longer hours, but they did not give them any proposal until after expiry of the notices, and then did not include any plans for considerable reorganization to result of this trade union congress called a conference of its unions and reported that there is no alternative to a general strike majority of the organized workers stop their work, essential services partially carried on by volunteers acting upon plans outlined by government in the light of railway strike 1919 and miners strike 1920 (www.historybookshop.com) 4.9 Wild cat strike This strike takes place by employees with out the authority and permission of union. Example 22: Prison Officers On Strike Hundred of prison officers went on strike to support their colleagues in HMP (Liverpool). The prison staff at Cardiff, Preston and wands worth are expected to stop work unless managers agree to talk with prison officers association Staff at Liverpool are on unauthorized strike. (www.news.sky.com) 5) Collective Bargaining The process through which members of management and the union meet to negotiate a labor agreements. According to Dessler(2005), the good faith refers to the conditions of both partiesto make every reasonable effort to arrive at agreement good faith bargaining may include the following Surface bargaining Inadequate concession Inadequate proposals and demands Dilatory tactics Imposing conditions Making unilateral changes in conditions By passing the representative Committing unfair labor practices during negotiations Withholding information Ignoring bargaining items Example 23: Northwest Airlines has refused to negotiate with mechanics union representatives because of a reason that their representative have met with mechanics union representatives three times before but they did not respond on their proposal. (Dessler, 2005). Example 24: Employer international union has said that baryant college representative are not fully responsive on the issues of wages, respects and benefits. 134, unfair labor claiming that baryant college negotiators are failed to negotiate with union. (Dessler, 2005). 6)Intervention of the third party When the parties fail to handle the situation then they want to refer this matter to third party. 6.1 Types of intervention 1) Mediation: Mediation is a third neutral party which only arrange a meeting with both parties ,listen both parties issues and try to bargaining common points. Mediation dont have any authority to come to decision .They just offer a settlement package. 2) Fact finder: Fact finder is a neutral third party which deals only to study the issue and make public recommendations for settlement. 3) Arbitration : Arbitration is the only powerful intervention because arbitration has a authority to give them decision for settlement. 4) Conciliation : Conciliation has no power, their role is only to clarifying the issues and offers advice. 7- Recommendations These are the following steps to helps company to come out from this situation. 1) Salary: Company have to make sure employees dont have any issue with their salaries. Their salaries should be on time. Every six months their contract should be renew and give them a pay rise. That should be good step to make them happy .They will be more productive. 2) Bonus: Company should give bonuses to their staff. like Christmas bonus. It would be a step to motivate them. 3) Benefits: If employee are getting benefits like discount card, pensions, insurance and other benefits then employee cannot think for strike. 4) Job guarantee: Employees should have a job guarantee. IF they have a job guarantee they will be more loyal with company because they know their job is secure and employer fulfills all their demands. 5) Paid holidays: Employee should have a privilege of paid holidays. Its the extra benefit that employees are getting from company. This way employees have a relief from work and makes them more energetic to work after holidays. 6) Dismissal of the wrong staff: Company must have rules and regulations for their staff. Do not dismiss any member of staff. who does not deserve to be dismissed. If there is a situation then try to observe then make a decision because wrong decision effects on company† s image. 7) Redundancies: If company is running with any financial crises and want to redundant staff , then company should give them one month notice , give them redundant pay according to law. 8) Dissatisfaction with company policies: Employees must be satisfy with company policies. They should not have any problem. If there is any thing which they think is not on the right place they should complaint and give suggestions to the management. 9) Hours of work: Employees working hour should be accurate. If they are working more than normal hours then they should get their time back or pay them as overtime. 10)APPRAISAL: Employee should get promotion at work. If they have skills employers should promote them with a good salary package. 8- Conclusion: The conclusion of this report is that strike, lockout and boycott are not healthy for company, Organization must have proper strategies to run a business . If there is good relationship between employee and employer then company will run fine. and organization will able to achieve its targets If company polices are not meeting staff requirements then they will disappointed and could take a step towards strike. Employer should always prepare to solve these kind of situations. IF strike occurred then it is a issue for employer, employee and organization. It effects. on everyone related to the company Its better to sit together and resolve the issues. Overall in labor relations worker should be happy working with their employer and employer should keep an eye on workers needs and their work. IF any of them fail to fulfill their duty then it can become a huge problem and one day worker can go for strike , lockout and boycott. Arbitration can try to solve the situation. Collective bargaining is step where they can control the problem.. They fix a meeting between employee and management and open channel for communication for each other. If collective bargaining fails then management need to prepare to deal with one of the anti impasse weapon strike. The best way is to resolve it with intervention. The main causes for strikes are wages, pay cuts, job cuts and wrong policies. If human resource management team properly control these factors then there is no cause for strike.

Medieval versus Renaissance Eras :: Compare Contrast History Art Essays

Medieval and Renaissance Eras   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is amazing how significantly various aspects of society can and will change over a prolonged period of time. Between the time periods of the Medieval era and the Renaissance, one can note numerous significant changes, mainly those pertaining to art and religion. In general, ideals and subjects during the Renaissance became more secular. In Medieval times, people seemed to focus mainly on the church, God, and the afterlife; during the Renaissance, the focus was more secular: humans and life on earth. Although these two eras differ in many ways, the most concentrated differences deal with the realms of architecture, painting, and philosophy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Architecture noticeably shifted from religious awe to classical reason between the Medieval era and the Renaissance. During the Middle Ages, architecture was aimed mainly at making advancements in the church. Medieval cathedrals had very distinct features, such as pointed spires, which were exactly that -- spires, or steeples, that were pointed and extended upward from the tower area; the rose window, which was a large stained glass window that was located on the front of the tower; and squared-off exterior walls, which were a contrast to the usual rounded exterior designs that people were accustomed to. Overall, cathedrals during this time could have very elegant features due to the excellent techniques of support and stabilization. Buttresses, simple extensions of the cathedral wall to enhance support, and flying buttresses, stone structures set away from the cathedral wall and attached at the top, contributed to the excellent support that Medieval cathedrals experienced. While architectural advancements during the Middle Ages were concerned mainly with making elegant reformations in the structure of the cathedral, architecture during the Renaissance was much less religion- centered, and revolved more around classical reason and secularity. Architecture in this time was concentrated mostly with the design of castles, such as the home of the prevailing Italian Medici family, perhaps the richest family in Europe. Architectural focus had changed from the cathedral in the Medieval era to other, more classical and secular subjects, such as castles and homes of significant rulers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The style, subjects, and overall attitude of painting was something that underwent very significant changes during the progression from Medieval times to the Renaissance. Generally, paintings became more secular, and less focused on aspects of the church, as the Renaissance approached. Medieval paintings seem to be focused almost entirely on religion and are given heavenly attributes, while paintings of the Renaissance consist mainly of secular subjects and contain much more realism, especially noted in human subjects. In Giotto's Madonna With Child, a Medieval painting, any observer will obviously notice that the child and woman are very awkwardly proportioned, indicating the

Case Review: Linear Technology Essay

Linear Technology was based out of Silicon Valley and founded in 1981. The company specialized in design, manufacture and marketing of analog integrated circuits. Linear enjoyed a diversified customer base, with 33% of its business coming from the communications sector, 27% from computers, 6% from automotive, and 34% from various other applications. With their focus on the analog segment of the IC sector, which was characterized by custom designed products, it was imperative that Linear hires and retains talented people who were accustomed to out-of-the-box thinking and who could readily develop innovative techniques and products that would keep them competitive. Going IPO in 1986, Linear operated with a modest CAPEX. Additionally they enjoyed low obsolescence of equipment and techniques. This combined with their low R&D expenses led to margins that exceeded that of competing digital IC products. This is supported by Linear’s 7th seat positioning on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index (SOX). Linear’s net income was at its highest in 2001, when global technology spending was at its highest, and its lowest sales the following year. They still maintained positive cash flows and strong margins; this was accomplished through various mechanisms such as cost cutting aided by their variable cost structure. As of 2003 Q3, Linear was emerging out of the recession with strong financials. However, top line sales and net income remained lower than their high point in 2001. Due to political unrest throughout the World, the future of the tech industry remained unclear. Year over year growth in 2003 when compared to 2002 was good, but the company didn’t see a clear path to reaching 2001 levels. At the same time, they didn’t want to sacrifice margins in new markets like Asia. By 1992 Linear’s management was comfortable in their ability to sustain future cash flows, having been cash flow positive since IPO, and began issuing dividends of $.00625 per share (payout ratio: 15%). In 2002 LLTC  continued issuing dividends, despite the higher payout ratio (27.24%), as they didn’t want to lose favor with investors. It is likely that Linear viewed dividends as a way to stay in the portfolio of mutual funds and EU investors who strongly favored dividend-paying stocks. Simultaneously, Linear also began to buy back shares when interest rates were low or/and when market valuation of Linear stock was low. They were skeptical about paying out all or more of their cash in dividends as this could signal lack of growth potential. It is notable that many institutional investors held Linear stock, largest among which was Janus Capital. Linear wanted to be sure to send positive signals to their investors. With a large cash balance ($1.5 billion) and no debt, Linear was at a crossroads – they needed to know what to do with their cash. Their options were: 1) Invest in new projects, 2) Payout via dividends and/or repurchases, and 3) Save it for future investments in innovation and diversification. In this p per, we will analyze three different approaches in deciding Linear’s payout for Q3. Approach – 1 Cent Dividend Increase The analysis below assumes the decision to repurchase 165.7 million in stock will not be adjusted. The decision to be made is to either raise our dividend by one cent per share, or leave the third quarter dividend of .05 per share intact. Payout Decision Historically Linear has not increased dividends in Q3, so a conservative approach for the board would be to approve the continuation of the dividend policy from Q2. Continuing the status quo of .05 per share, the payout ratio would adjust to 27.48 percent of Net Income. Increasing dividend by one cent per share would increase the YTD payout ratio to approximately 29.31 percent for the three quarters (Exhibit 1), a modest increase. At $0.06 dividend per share, the total Q3 dividend payout will be $18.7 million, which will still be considered small by our institutional investors, given our large cash position. The adoption of the 1-cent increase will provide a full offering of 215.70 million dollars back to our investors in the form of dividends and stock repurchases as shown below: Paying the additional 1-cent would still be consistent with our long-term dividend strategy, but the total package will not be aligned with the requests of some of our largest investors. Available Cash to Distribute At this point it is important to note that the firm will be paying out more to the shareholders via share buybacks and dividends, than the firm has available to the equity holders through its operations. This overpayment holds true if the firm holds the dividend at .05, or increases it to .06. The firm has generated a total of 207.5 million FCFE dollars, but would be choosing to payout a total of 215.7 million given the decision to increase the dividend by one cent. Staying committed to the .05 dividend reduces this figure by only three million. Cash Needs and Agency issues Surplus cash to address any unforeseen needs will readily be available by adopting the conservative one-cent increase plan. Increasing the dividend to .06 includes holding on to almost 100 percent of a very large cash position, and therefore provides little pressure to identify such future cash needs. Signaling Linear’s sales are trending upward since the 2002 decline, but the immediate future is still not clear. The adoption of this conservative plan would continue their strategy of consistently signaling a message of safety and consistency of cash flows to their investors, yet provide options for our turbulent times. Other uses for this cash such as improved employee incentives, training, and workplace improvements should also be considered. Other Considerations The drawback for adopting the conservative plan without addressing the concerns of Janus and other like-minded investors could signal that they are not quite ready to suggest that their recent troubles are behind them. If we do choose this plan, a carefully crafted message to address investor concerns should be communicated to investors as quickly as possible. Additionally, other approaches such as one-time share buybacks and special dividends should be considered to address the concerns of Janus and other firms that share their view on Linear’s current cash position. We address these in Approach 2, 3 outlined in the sections that follow. Approach – 2 Payout all of Linear Technology’s Cash 1 In this section, we consider an alternate payout strategy in which Linear returns all of its 1.5 billion to its shareholders, by either (a) Paying a special dividend of $5.01 per share, or (b) Repurchasing about 50 million shares. (a) Special Dividend of $5.01 per share One goal of the special dividend will be to show investors that Linear is in a good position and to buy shares from Linear Technology is not comparable with the risk normally associated with the purchase of shares from technology companies. Additionally it signals to the market that Linear is serious about sharing its wealth with its shareholders. With these higher overall payouts, Linear Technology can reach investors that have specific income goals. Share price In case of a dividend announcement, demand for shares will rise. If investors know that a certain dividend amount will be paid, the share price increases by that amount (Law of One price). In this case, the current share price is $30.87 and dividend announced will be $5.01; hence the share price cum dividend can be expected to increase to $35.88. 1 Exhibit 4 shows calculations for numbers presented in this section Firm value Depending on the time until the dividend is paid, not the whole amount of dividend is added to the share price. If there is still a certain period of time until the dividend is paid, only the net present value of the dividend will be added to the share price. It also can be said that the closer the payment of the dividend gets, the more the amount of the total dividend payment is added to the normal share price. That also means that consequently the market value of equity also will rise. At the day ex-dividend day the share price will drop below the level of the pre-announcement day because the dividend as driver of the rising demand had been paid. The additional value of $5.01 that was is not part of the share value any more. The dividend, as part of the equity, is paid to the shareholder. Therefore, the dividend policy as a whole will not be a decisive factor in the firm’s value. Payout ratio However, in this scenario the payout ratio becomes a ridiculously high 945% (Exhibit-4), which is very high compared to peers. (Exhibit 2) Signaling By deploying capital through an increased dividend versus a share repurchase, management is signaling that Linear’s stock is fairly valued in the market. However, If Linear increases its dividend too much say by giving out all the cash as dividends, management could signal to the market that it believes the company’s growth is slowing and there are no new positive NPV projects for the company to invest in. However, this may help send a positive signal that the company is confident about generating positive cash flows for its operational and investment needs. Since profits of Linear Technology this quarter was far lower than that last year, a huge special dividend may help the investors regain faith in the company. Agency problems Increasing dividend is also a good way to reduce agency costs. With large amount of cash balance in hand, managers’ control over the capital becomes larger. Paying dividend to the investors is an efficient way to get additional monitoring of the capital, and thus make it less attractive to managers to invest the money in projects that will reduce the benefits of the shareholders. Tax Clientele With this very high dividend, the company may attract more European and/or mutual fund investors, but it may generally upset Institutional investors who do not have tax exemptions. Also, the announcement of a dividend may prompt older and poorer investors to buy more of Linear’s stock. (b) Share repurchase Share price and Shares outstanding Linear can repurchase 50.7 (16.23% of common shares) million common shares by spending all of its cash. When they do that, the number of outstanding shares will be 261.7 million. Historically, the stock price of companies has risen following a share  repurchase announcement as it can boost EPS. In this case EPS increases to $0.65. (Exhibit-4) Signaling By deploying all of its capital towards share repurchases, management can signal the market that its stock very undervalued. Linear has had a positive cash flow over the years and they have an opportunity with a net cash of $1.5 billion to bridge the supposed valuation disconnect by accelerating share repurchases. In summary, if the company goes out with a big stock buyback or special dividend, it will send a signal to investors that the company, is no longer a growth company, and stock value may decrease Approach – 3 Payout 50% of Linear Technology’s Cash2 Considering that management does not have a good line of sight into the future at this point, paying out all of Linear’s cash may be a risky move. Hence, in this section we look at a less aggressive approach that lies between preserving their cash balance (Approach 1) and paying out all of their cash (Approach 2). In evaluating this approach, we have assumed that Linear will need to keep up its quarterly dividend at $0.05, and the remainder of the cash after accounting for this quarterly dividend is available for either a special dividend or a share repurchase. The following section analysis the effect of paying out 50% of the remaining cash reserves either in the form of a special dividend of $2.51 or by repurchasing 25.35 million shares. EPS and Share Price If we were to repurchase shares using 50% of the cash, the EPS will increase from 0.55 to 0.59 close to the 2002 numbers of 0.62. Using a price/earnings ratio of 56.53 in 2003 (Exhibit-3), we can estimate the share price to increase to 33.65 with this increased EPS, cum dividend. If we were to pay out a special dividend of $2.51 per share instead, the share price cum dividend could be estimated to be a closely comparable $33.38 (Exhibit-5). EPS will be 0.55, very close to Q2 levels (0.54). Payout Ratio The dividend payout ratio in the case of the special dividend will be close to 486.3% (Exhibit-4) which is once again much higher than all of Linear’s peers (Exhibit-2). In contrast, with a share repurchase, the payout ratio remains at level consistent with previous quarters at 27.5%. 2 Exhibit 4 shows the calculations for numbers presented in this section Firm value and Shareholder wealth Repurchases will help alleviate some of the dilution of the EPS arising out of options awarded to employees and managers, considering that Linear’s incentives for all employees include stock options. On the other hand, dividends will help distribute the wealth more evenly among all investors, while repurchases cause an uneven distribution as the shareholders who do not sell will see a drop in book value of the shares, from $5.01 to $3.23 (rough approximation based solely on cash assets – Exhibit 5. Tax Clientele With the new rules that stipulate equal taxation rate of 15% for Capital gains and OIC, there are no quantifiable advantages one way or the other with respect to the decision to payout either in the form of a special dividend or repurchases. There may however, be some psychological impacts to be considered depending on preferences of the shareholders. For example, if the vast majority of shareholders belong to the older demographic, they may prefer it if the stock paid dividends. Signaling Linear’s investors are used to getting a dividend, and seeing periodic repurchases. Additional payouts of cash help increase ROE and reduce shareholders’ risk premium. At current low interest rates on cash (as of 2003), paying out at least some of the cash balance appears to be in the best interests of the shareholders. Though high payouts may signal that the company is lacking growth potential, it helps send a positive message that the company is keen on sharing its wealth. This message of being a â€Å"cash-cow† is better compared to the image of a company that is hoarding its wealth. Peers A quick look at Maxim’s financials indicates that they have started sharing their cash with their shareholders – in 2002 their cash returned was over 200% of their FCFE (Exhibit-2), and their cash reserves reduced by 455 million. They appear to have used that cash in repurchases in an effort to concentrate their wealth among a smaller number of shareholders, at the same  time they managed to increase their top line numbers significantly, even compared to 2000. By sharing half their cash with their shareholders, Linear will be able to put itself on par with this close competitor. Agency issues and other considerations One time special dividends don’t need to be kept up, so are essentially similar to repurchases in that respect. However, repurchases help boost EPS and prevent dilution, both of which have longer-lasting effects. In this respect a repurchase may be better than a dividend. As far as agency issues go, retaining 50% of the cash position may not provide as much incentive to work harder on identifying positive NPV projects, as expending 100% of the cash, but will work much better than retaining almost all of the cash as in Approach 1. Our Recommendation for Linear Our recommendation to Linear is to maintain status quo with respect to dividends – pay the quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, and to buy back 25.35 million shares using half the cash balance. Dividends consistent with previous quarters of 2003, are recommended to avoid any adverse market reactions, while the company works on figuring out their strategy to increase top line sales and earnings to the 2000-2001 levels or better. Cancelling the dividend altogether or paying less than last quarter is not an option, as this would be perceived very negatively by the market. Historically, Linear has never increased dividends in the Q3 compared to Q2; hence it is safe to maintain a dividend of 5 cents per share as in Q3. Additionally, as shown in Exhibit-2, Linear already pays more dividends compared to peers, including their close competitor Maxim. Paying out all of the cash may deprive the company of the required levels of liquidity. Given that the analog semiconductor industry requires constant innovation and considering opportunities for new ventures such as entering the Asian market, it is safe to assume that the company should keep some cash reserves to account for unknowns. Linear is well aware that they need to expand their business and find ways to increase top line numbers, so keeping some cash, and supplementing it with capital from debt or/and equity markets is worth looking into. This forms the basis of our reasoning for recommending the use of only 50% of the cash balance to repurchase shares. Additionally, by repurchasing shares, Linear will be able to still sufficiently signal to the market that the stock is undervalued. At the same time, by maintaining some of the cash balance, they additionally signal the existence of profitable positive NPV projects for Linear to pursue. Considering the industry characteristics, and the stagnation reached in top line revenues, Linear will need to look at innovation and new markets, both of which could bring dramatic increases in growth. In light of this, we are convinced that the EPS boosting effect of a share repurchase is more valuable to Linear at this point, than the effects of an equitable distribution of shareholder wealth via special dividends.

Case study The fashion channel

â€Å"TFC was a successful cable TV network- and the only network dedicated solely to fashion (Stahl,2007)†. It was one of the most widely available niche networks with an 80 million subscriber base (Stahl,2007). It has had a constant growth above the industry average until the emergence of new competitors such as CNN and Lifetime in 2006. One of the most important strengths of TFC is the fact that the channel is in the basic cable package. As opposed to CNN or Lifetime, TFC is not a pay channel and thus has a higher possibility to reach more viewers than its competitors.However, TFC is currently facing two major problems. These are an unclear targeting group and an increased power of competitors. These problems could be also seen as their weakness. Since their target group is unclear, unclear strategies might be formulated that could hinder the growth of the channel. Based on the customer and market data from the case, the largest current customer base of TFC are females betw een the age of 35 and 54 (representing 27. 45% of the viewers). While their ideal targeting groups is slightly younger females from the age of 18 to 34, they only make up for 20.13% of the viewers.Generally, this group likes to follow the way celebrities dress. Information about discounts in fashion stores and fashion recommendations are valued as well by this age range. However, it should be noted that their income might be lower compared to other age ranges. On the other hand, male viewers could also represent an interesting customer base for the channel. Males nevertheless, focus more on new designs, fashion trends and new brands. Different to young females, males can be less sensitive to price.Unfortunately, TFC has the lowest market share with only  1. 1M households (representing 1% of the market share). Besides, the biggest customer bases for Fashion Today are females ranging from 18 to 34 years old representing 27. 09% of their viewers. They represent a big threat for TFC a s the later might profit by targeting this age range in the future. On the other hand, Fashion Tonight from CNN especially targets male customers. Therefore not surprising, males represent 45% of their viewer’s base. Both Fashion Today and Fashion Tonight also have a larger customer base than TFC, which are 3. 3M and 4. 4M respectively.In order to change the current situation, Wheeler came up with three scenarios. The first one is maintain a multisegment of Fashionistas, Planners & Shoppers and Situationists. The advantage of this scenario is the increase in net income partially because no incremental costs would be incurred. At the same time, TCL could also target the 18-34 age group. However, the CPM will be $0. 2 lower than 2007. Also, in this scenario, no clear targeting group would yet arise. The second scenario is targeting the segment of Fashionistas.The narrower segmentation will put the company in a disadvantage situation with a 0.8% decrease of its market share (0. 88M). It also requires an incremental cost of $15 million. Finally, the risk exists that a large part of the current viewers wants might not be met by this differentiation as programs might be seen as to â€Å"professional† or â€Å"distinct†. However, buying power in this group is high and CPM will go up to $3. 5 resulting in the increase of both ad revenue ($322,882,560) and net income ($151,496,083). The third scenario entails focusing on two segments, Fashionistas and Shoppers & Planners. The average rating could increase to 1. 2% with a broader viewers pool (1.32M) and extract highest ad revenue and net income with $345,945,600 and $168,867,232 respectively.Meanwhile, younger aged females should especially be targeted if this segmentation is put into place. Nevertheless, a $20 million investment is required for this scenario and only targets around 50% of the females. There is a possibility to lose customer loyalty in this case and consequently part of its custome r base. Based on the analysis, it is wise to choose scenario 3 which entails the dual targeting of Fashionistas and Shoppers & Planners as a new implementation strategy since it generates highest ad revenue, net income and profit margin.50% of the entire female viewer base could be targeted by this dual targeting with passion for fashion and high income. In this case, females from 18-34 will be targeted as they represent their largest viewers base which takes 32. 5% of the entire female segment. In terms of positioning, 4Ps is appropriate to describe the strategic changes needed. It is advised to modify the program profile into one that is more novel and intriguing to the younger generation by improving product quality. For instance, it can invite celebrities more often to the program. Thus, it responds to the needs of the target group (females aged 18-34).With respect to price, it could decrease their ad price by 5% which would result in a CMP of 2. 375. It is predicted that with a lower price, more advertisers are willing to launch their ad on the fashion channel. Besides, TFC should boost promotion by opening a website with specific focus on fashion news and brands for youth, thereby rapidly establishing customer sensitivity and awareness to their product. Lastly, in terms of Place, TFC might find it in their interest to expand overseas through contracting with foreign TV channels, producing tailored programs based on local preferences on fashion.

The Third Estate During the French Revolution

The Third Estate During the French Revolution In early modern Europe, the Estates were a theoretical division of a countrys population, and the Third Estate referred to the mass of normal, everyday people. They played a vital role in the early days of the French Revolution, which also ended the common use of the division. The Three Estates Sometimes, in late medieval and early France, a gathering termed  an Estates General was called. This was a representative body designed to rubber-stamp the decisions of the king. It was not a parliament as the English would understand it, and it often didnt do what the monarch was hoping for, and by the late eighteenth century had fallen out of royal favor. This Estates General divided the representatives who came to it into three, and this division was often applied to French society as a whole. The First Estate was comprised of the clergy, the Second Estate the nobility, and the Third Estate everyone else. Makeup of the Estates The Third Estate was thus a vastly larger proportion of the population than the other two estates, but in the Estates General, they only had one vote, the same as the other two estates had each. Equally, the representatives who went to the Estates General werent drawn evenly across all of society: they tended to be the well to do clergy and nobles, such as the middle class. When the Estates General was called in the late 1980s, many of the Third Estates representatives were lawyers and other professionals, rather than anyone in what would be considered in socialist theory lower class. The Third Estate Makes History The Third Estate would become a very important early part of the French Revolution. In the aftermath of Frances decisive aid to the colonists in the American War of Independence, the French crown found itself in a terrible financial position. Experts on finance  came and went, but nothing was resolving the issue, and the French king accepted appeals for an Estates General to be called and for this to rubber-stamp financial reform. However, from a royal point of view, it went terribly wrong. The Estates was called, the votes were had, and representatives arrived to form the Estates General. But the dramatic inequality in voting- the Third Estate represented more people, but only had the same voting power as the clergy or the nobility- led to the Third Estate demanding more voting power, and as things developed, more rights. The king mishandled events, and so did his advisors, while members of both the clergy and the nobility went over (physically) to the Third Estate to support their demands. In 1789, this led to the creation of a new National Assembly that better represented those not part of the clergy or nobility. In turn, they also effectively started the French Revolution, which would sweep away not just the king and the old laws but the whole Estates system in favor of citizenship. The Third Estate had therefore  left a major mark on history when it effectively gained the power to dissolve itself.

Imagery Essays - Christian Poetry, Eliot Family, New Criticism

Imagery Essays - Christian Poetry, Eliot Family, New Criticism Imagery Imagery Depicted Through T.S. Elliot's The Hollow Men The imagery depicted in T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men evokes a sense of desolate hopelessness and lends to Eliot's generally cynical view of civilization during this period in history. A reaction of deep and profound disappointment in mankind around him is made evident in this poem, first published in 1925. In this short piece, Eliot lists several deep faults he finds in his fellow human beings, including hypocrisy, insensability and indifference. Overall Elliot leaves the reader with a feeling of overwhelming emptiness. An important feature of this poem is the fact that the narration of the poem is in first person. This establishes Eliot's and the readers relationship to the images and ideas presented. When the poem begins We are the hollow men rather than They are ... or You are... the reader is immediately included within this poem, along with Eliot himself. This type of narration creates a sense of common hollowness and by the end of the poem, therefore, a sense of common responsibility and guilt. Early in the poem, Eliot creates a world of desolation. The idea of dryness is emphasized by the repeadted use of the word dry in the first stanza, where we read of dried voices, dry grass and dry cellar. When he mentions the sound of rats feet over broken glass he subtly prods at our anxieties about disease and decay. Eliot then mentions the dead, calling them Those who have crossed...to death's other kingdom. These people are made real by Eliot's repeated mention of their eyes. He refers to them first as making their crossing into death with direct eyes, meaning that they faced and surrendered to death, unable to turn away. Also he states they have eyes I dare not meet in dreams, indicating that this narrator fears addressing death, either his own or those who have crossed. Later in the poem, in part IV, Eliot returns to the eyes imagery with The eyes are not here/There are no eyes here. The absence of eyes, here, indicates Eliot's condemnation of indifference among those still living to the fate of the dead. Further into section IV he presents The hope only/Of empty men as being when and if The eyes reappear/ As the perpetual star. Here Eliot calls for an opening of eyes and cessation of disregard and indifference to these deaths. The idea of being afraid to face death and feeling guilt over the deaths of others contributes to the full explanation of what Eliot means by hollow men. Besides being afraid to face the eyes of the dead, just as the criminal cannot face the eyes of his victim, this narrator also expresses a desire to hide from death itself. When he wishes to also wear/Such deliberate disguises/Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves/In a field/Behaving as the wind behaves, we realize that the hollowness is a disguise to fool death into going elsewhere. This particular section of the poem overlapes images of rats and crows, animals associated not only with death, but also with the scarecrow and it's crossed support staves. Section V of the poem begins with a variation of a children's rhyme, Here we go round the mulberry bush which replaces the mulberry with the cactus called a prickly pear. This strange song comes somehow as a relief from the desolate tone of the poem previously. The presence of the cactus instead of the familiar mulberry keeps the reader in Eliot's world of desolation, while bringing to mind the fact that innocent children still live and play in that world, and that someone must take responsibility for the world they are born into. The somewhat grim concluding stanza echoes the mulberry bush song from earlier, this time with an even darker tone. Again the reader is confronted with the image of children, their playfulness and hopefulness, paired with the image of the death of not only men but of the entire world. Here Eliot plainly states a ghastly warning about the path he sees his world taking. He sees it all coming to an end not in some apocalyptic catastrophe, but through mankind allowing himself to slowly decay and degrade to the point of oblivion.

Barack Obama - Address to the People of Berlin

Barack Obama Address to the People of Berlin delivered 24 July 2008, Victory Column *Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and* and thank you to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thanks to all of you for this extraordinary welcome. Thank you. I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before; although tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world. I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father His father my grandfather was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning his dream required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life. That is why I am here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life. Ours is a partnership that truly began 60 years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Tempelhof. On that day On that day much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took their stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade. This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin. The size of our forces was no match for the larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. And all that stood in the way was Berlin. And that’s when thats when the airlift began, when the largest and most unlikely rescue in the history brought food and hope to the people of this city. The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold. But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city’s mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. â€Å"There is only one possibility,† he said. â€Å"For us to stand together united until this battle is won†¦The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, he said, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world, now do your duty. People of the world, look at Berlin.† People of the world look at Berlin! Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle. Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security. Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity. People of the world look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one. Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st century has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean. Think about it: The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil. As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya. Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan come to Berlin in the form of the heroin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all. In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. And that is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsi[bility] in meeting them. In the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny. In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help us make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth: that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe. Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the only way, the one way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity. That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down. We know We know that these walls have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but theyve come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid. So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of peace and progress. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other. That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that binds us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation and strong institutions and shared sacrifice and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations and all nations must summon that spirit anew. This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope. This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cant do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now. This This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons. This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow, free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century in this city of all cities we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent. This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that opens [sic] markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together Together we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all. This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese whove marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and the Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close. This This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children to a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations including my own will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one. And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here. Now the world will watch and remember what we do here what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity, by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, and shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time? Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words â€Å"never again† in Darfur? Will we acknowledge Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we Will we Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people? People of Berlin people of the world this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions. But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived at great cost and great sacrifice to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us, what has always driven our people, what drew my father to America’s shores is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please. These are the aspiration[s] that join the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people everywhere became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation our generation must make our mark on the world. People of Berlin and people of the world the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our heart, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again. Thank you, Berlin. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you.

Group Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Group Counseling - Essay Example The frequent mistakes that may occur while running a group are, choosing a wrong member as per his physical appearance, wrong time allocation, selecting a wrong member for a particular task, harsh and unforgiving behavior, overlooking some or any of the members’ performance and discrimination among the members. These mistakes may cause damage to the group and further to the aim of the group.To run a successful group the leader must acquire certain qualities. The leader must be a good listener and interpreter in order to get comments, responses and ideas from the members of the group. Reflection is the process of monitoring members’ success and progress during activities and after completion of activities it acts as a tool of checking performance of the members and setting another goal accordingly. Reflection enables the members to know what they have acquired so far.The leader must give instructions to the members in a summarized speech. Not all members have the capabil ity to understand extensive and tricky arguments. While giving a speech or instructions the leader must be well-prepared and must have complete knowledge about the subject. He must not be harsh in words and his tone should be influential and controlling. The proper use of voice is of great importance for the group members. A leader must not ignore any of the members and must keep a watch on each of the members while giving instructions. A group consists of different people related to different cultures and races. A leader must have knowledge about their cultures to aid them in facing things which are against their cultures. He must know and value their cultural and moral values. The leader must provide the members with a final decision after taking members’ suggestions in view. It means that although he is responsible to take

Gun Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gun Control - Essay Example There are strict measures to control the use of guns. This paper will analyze gun control among the Americans in relation to the rights of the individual to own a gun. 2. Gun Control Winkler (16) mentions that, the rights to own a gun became integral in the American population when the white settlers required protection to guard self from attacks from unknown armies, animals and Native Americans. The justification was that Americans has a responsibility to protect themselves. Moreover, guns were used for hunting which is a sport culture in the country. Firearms are categorized into handguns, long guns and automated guns. Handguns include pistols and weapons that can be used with one hand. Long guns are specially manufactured for hunters to engage in sport. Automated guns and semi automated guns are perceived to be a preserve of the military. Automatic and semi automatic guns as well as rifles are registered by those possessing them. Dealers of the automatic guns must be licensed. The purchase of machine guns is a preserve of the military and is costly since they are scarce. The long guns are not considered as weapons for crime but for sport. However, reports show that the long guns have been used for suicide in some instances. Handguns are commonly used to commit crime. Proponents of use of guns argue that groups conducting gun control describe the different types of firearms with a motive to discriminate certain guns as unsafe for the public. Gun control activists are tent to discourage and disapprove the use of automatic guns for personal defense. Citizens in some states are allowed to own semi automatic guns. Some citizens have gone to the extent of improving the semi automatic machines so that they may resemble the automatic gun. The manufacturers of firearms claim that over a third of the guns are hand guns. The number of casualties resulting from use of fire arm for crime is very high in the United States. Many citizens believe that the guns act as securi ty for them if they show it for defense when there is a possible attack. Many citizens claim that they have used handguns for self defense for self defense especially at their residence and at work. The guns can be used to scare away trespassers in the home place. Thieves breaking into homes can be chased away with hand guns (McClurg et al, 101). Guns are also used to capture criminals by wounding them if they are armed. Criminals who are aware that that those they attack is armed fail to proceed if they learn that they are armed as Kleck (34) mentions. Studies conducted reveal that population with access to firearms is likely to commit homicide that populations without crime. The high number of murders recorded in the United Sates is blamed on the large number of civilians owning guns. Consequently, Americans who witness an attempted or completed armed attack is very large. Prisoners serving a jail term confess having an armed firearm when they were conducting the crime (Lott 78). Kleck (39) mentions that several states in America recommend that guns be kept without loading. When selling guns, dealers ensure that the citizen has the correct reasons for obtaining a gun. The guns should not be given to people who pose a threat to the public population. The certificate and license for ownership of arms dictates the number of ammunitions and firearms that citizens are

Interpreting Macroeconomic Conditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Interpreting Macroeconomic Conditions - Essay Example he unemployment rates does undercut directly the major efforts put underway in the stabilization of the banking industry whenever crises arise like the recent financial crisis. The unemployment rates do increase the amount of toxic assets held by banks. This is because the unemployed borrowers end up defaulting on the loan agreements. This indicator also increases the cost of Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility that is meant to safeguard banks against defaulters. When many people are unemployed, they are unable to make deposits in the banks and thus the liquidity levels go low. This indicator does exacerbate the frictions experienced in the credit market since rates go high. These frictions could end up posing obstacles that bring difficulties to banks in their quest to adjust nominal rates whenever they arise. Examples of these obstacles created by the inflation on banks is the ceiling by the government on interest rates in the banking sector; and those that arise from the banks’ response to the given incentives and risks, which are brought about by the existing regulations, laws, economic conditions and policies. These frictions could also affect the economic growth by reducing the available amount to be borrowed. With high inflation, we get a situation where the interest rates keep rising and the cost of borrowing in the banking sector increases. The increased cost of borrowing due to inflation means that few borrowers would be willing to access loans thus reducing the portfolio of banks. This fiscal policy does affect the rate of economic growth since it adds to the aggregate demand. An increase in total federal spending, without a similar rise in tax receipts, means that for every dollar spent by the government, there is an income for the people that do satisfy the basic increment in the demand for the public commodities. Thus the people are willing to spend and in essence do rise the income for the second wave of demand increases thus reducing the income

Violence Against Women especially on Dowry Murder and Honor Essay

Violence Against Women especially on Dowry Murder and Honor Killings.The Agents That Control Women's Reproductive Choice and health, especially on Government and the Global Economy - Essay Example In chapter 2, when discussing violence against women, Burn discusses two key points as the very underpinnings of dowry murder and honor killings. Particularly, Burn is categorical that dowry murder has its underpinning in male’s greater economic power. To Burn, men are more economically endowed than women, so most societies have socioeconomic systems that are patriarchal in nature. Thus, the tradition of paying dowry is one of the starkest manifestations of male economic domination. Upon entering marriage, a couple does not start from a point of equality, since dowry has been paid. Thus, Burn sees the dowry as a subtle signifying of ownership of the man over the woman. This becomes a breeding ground for domestic violence and murder. The other factor that underpins honor killings is men’s greater political power. This inordinate concentration of power in the hands of men makes men control institutions and use the same institutions to oppress women who go against the grain. In highly patriarchal and undemocratic societies, men control the instruments of coercion to subject women to honor killings. In chapter 3, Burn contends that the government holds a large sway on women’s reproductive choices through legislation. For instance, many states have legislations that proscribe abortion, while there are others which provide very meager funding for women’s reproductive health. Secondly, Burn states that the global economy undercuts women’s reproductive choices when policies touching on demography and reproduction are mooted and implemented without the consideration of women, who are the child bearers. There are several shreds of evidences that Burn uses to underscore her point. For instance, she uses statistical provisions to show how the government can derail the exertion of women’s free will in reproductive matters. For instance, Burn quotes the UN statistics which show that in 2003, there were 35

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices Essay

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices - Essay Example This research is being carried out to evaluate and present the concepts of neo-liberalism and globalization with proper definitions. On the surface, globalization has been understood as a process of compression of time and space which has enables business enterprises to concentrate more on production and achieving localization benefit. But it should be noted that the definition of globalization is broader and aggregated in terms of socio-economic levels. Globalization is basically an economic change which has taken place in every part of the world with a wider reach to heterogeneous audiences. The spread of globalization is mainly a spread of capitalism which has been in active since late 19th century. The spectrum of globalization has been understood as a very helpful concern because it helped enterprises to save a great deal of time and capital in order to transport products and services. This also saved the cost to communicate with better and effective transference than before. Th e view of globalization has been taken and welcomed in the international business including all major business institutions. It was merely because the dream of reaching to the areas which were once considered as remote. There is no part of the world which has not been reached in terms of economic activity. The credit for this massive increase of business activates al around the world goes to the phenomenon of globalization. The aim of business enterprises is to make profit by making sure that the member of societies (consumers) is able to get all the comforts for sustaining a better lifestyle. This is due to the faster and diverse means of trading and financial transactions. Seemingly, the political control over the activities of business being undertaken cross-border is just another aspect that has declined now. In other words, it could be said that the control of political institution on business enterprises to go cross-border seems to be less influential than before (Baldwin 2012 ). It should also be noted that the quicker and diverse impact of globalization could not be possible on its own. There are some of the factors that have influenced globalization to take place all around the world. These factors are rationalism, capitalism, technological innovation and regulation. Taking these four elements into account, it becomes easy to understand as to why globalization has taken such a diverse reach in the business world. The technological innovation such as easy transport of products and services through air routes and sea routes was has become faster because of the easy and diverse communication networks. The financial institutions which were limited to the domestic business are now complying with international financial systems allowing better visibility of shares for foreign markets for investment purpose (Pambazuka News 2010). The phenomenon of globalization is somewhat similar to that of neo-liberalism. It is due to the nature of neo-liberalism which is d efendant of free trade and a liberal view of economy to promote equal and diverse platform of markets.

Film and Television Genre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film and Television Genre - Essay Example Film genre can be classified into the following.Action films.These are films characterized by fights, battles and destructive crises such as floods, natural disasters and fires. Good examples are the James Bond films and martial arts films.Adventure films.They are exciting stories with new experience, they include films that are based on treasure hunts, jungle and desert epics.Comedy.These are designed to provoke laughter with jokes, they exaggerate a situation. There are various types of comedies they include romantic comedies, black comedies, slapstick and parodies.Crime or gangster films.They are based on actions to combat crime, they are in most cases referred to as detective mystery films and examples include serial killer films and bank robbery films.Drama films.Are those films that portray realistic characters and life situations. This is the largest film genre and they do not focus on specific effects such as comedy or action.Historical films.They are usually historically ima ged films that are focus on myths, legends and heroic figures. Good examples are Bible-based films.Horror films.They are films that are designed to frighten and invoke our hidden fears. They include satanic films, monster films, Dracula films and serial killers.Musical or dance films.They are films that are centred on music, dance and songs. Examples are concert films and musical comedies.Science fiction films.They are based on imaginative scientific ideas, they include alien films, distant planet films. The genre categories are broad enough to accommodate any film ever made. Film categories can never be precise and films tend to be crossbreeds or hybrids, this is to mean that a film has more than one genre that is overlapping. Detective mystery film, they cannot be classified as main genre films because they are both thrillers and gangster films. Therefore they are classified according to their hybridity and not by specific genres. From the above examples of hybrids we can conclude the present films are classified as hybrids, it is for the simple reason that they cannot be classified as specific genres. The genre classification has no closed boundaries because they are formed by certain sets of conventions and classification is based on recurring patterns.... Walt Disney is the main producer of these films, they include Mickey Mouse cartoon, Popeye and superman. (http://www.filmsite.org/animatedfilms.html) Children and family films. These are non offensive films, they are usually made to entertain the whole family. They do not include scenes with violence, nudity or sex. Classic films. These are films that are referred to as favourites by the whole universe, they are high quality films and often gain quality after re screening. A good example is King Kong (1933). Documentary films. These films are non fiction based, they are narratives of historical events, an example is the Memphis belle(1944) which is a World War 2 documentary. Sexual or erotic films. This are films that present human nudity and love making, they are pornographic in nature. The genre categories are broad enough to accommodate any film ever made. Film categories can never be precise and films tend to be crossbreeds or hybrids, this is to mean that a film has more than one genre that is overlapping. Examples of hybrids. Detective mystery film, they cannot be classified as main genre films because they are both thrillers and gangster films. Therefore they are classified according to their hibridity and not by specific genres. Disaster films, they are both action and adventure films, an example is the hurricane film of 1937 and the high and the mighty film of 1954. Sports films, are those that based on sports, this films may be fictious or non fictious and they are hybrids. Examples include the rocky film of 1976, remember the titan's film of the year 2000. Thrillers and suspense films, these are films that are based on suspense promotion, they are

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices Essay

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices - Essay Example This research is being carried out to evaluate and present the concepts of neo-liberalism and globalization with proper definitions. On the surface, globalization has been understood as a process of compression of time and space which has enables business enterprises to concentrate more on production and achieving localization benefit. But it should be noted that the definition of globalization is broader and aggregated in terms of socio-economic levels. Globalization is basically an economic change which has taken place in every part of the world with a wider reach to heterogeneous audiences. The spread of globalization is mainly a spread of capitalism which has been in active since late 19th century. The spectrum of globalization has been understood as a very helpful concern because it helped enterprises to save a great deal of time and capital in order to transport products and services. This also saved the cost to communicate with better and effective transference than before. Th e view of globalization has been taken and welcomed in the international business including all major business institutions. It was merely because the dream of reaching to the areas which were once considered as remote. There is no part of the world which has not been reached in terms of economic activity. The credit for this massive increase of business activates al around the world goes to the phenomenon of globalization. The aim of business enterprises is to make profit by making sure that the member of societies (consumers) is able to get all the comforts for sustaining a better lifestyle. This is due to the faster and diverse means of trading and financial transactions. Seemingly, the political control over the activities of business being undertaken cross-border is just another aspect that has declined now. In other words, it could be said that the control of political institution on business enterprises to go cross-border seems to be less influential than before (Baldwin 2012 ). It should also be noted that the quicker and diverse impact of globalization could not be possible on its own. There are some of the factors that have influenced globalization to take place all around the world. These factors are rationalism, capitalism, technological innovation and regulation. Taking these four elements into account, it becomes easy to understand as to why globalization has taken such a diverse reach in the business world. The technological innovation such as easy transport of products and services through air routes and sea routes was has become faster because of the easy and diverse communication networks. The financial institutions which were limited to the domestic business are now complying with international financial systems allowing better visibility of shares for foreign markets for investment purpose (Pambazuka News 2010). The phenomenon of globalization is somewhat similar to that of neo-liberalism. It is due to the nature of neo-liberalism which is d efendant of free trade and a liberal view of economy to promote equal and diverse platform of markets.