The Greek and Athenian Concept of the World free essay sample

This paper explores the ancient Greek and Athenian concept of the world order and the conception of the human scrutinizing of previous societal, bodily and philosophical inquiry. This paper examines the classic Greeks and Athenian view on the world around them. It describes the concept of the body, mind and inner self that lead to philosophical inquiry and questioning of the human mind and the resulting societies it created. Athens during the fifth century B.C. is often identified as one of the main sources of Western values and standards. Later Europeans and Americans regarded the Athenians as the originators of democracy, drama, representational or realistic art, history, philosophy, and science. At different times over the last 2,500 years they also attempted to imitate the Golden Age of classical Athens in everything from buildings to literature. Many U.S. state capitols and government buildings are modeled on the Parthenon or other temples. We will write a custom essay sample on The Greek and Athenian Concept of the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We still divide drama into tragedy and comedy in the same way the Athenians did. During some historical periods, such as the Renaissance, thinkers and writers made conscious attempts to return to the classical ideals in all areas of life, combing the works of Athenians authors for previously overlooked material in the quest to draw guidance and learn everything possible from this unique flowering of culture.

The Birth of Radio essays

The Birth of Radio essays The birth of radio came through the emergence of two new technologies recording and sound reproduction. The ever changing invention patent distributions and company buy outs have made the broadcasting industry a variable battle field of knowledge. The following are some of the inventors and companies that made early broadcasting possible. In 1877 Thomas Edison made the first recording of a human voice, he was experimenting with a method of recording and repeating telegraph signals so that messages could be automatically relayed at a faster speed. Edison also invented the carbon telephone transmitter, this invention led to the development of the microphone, which made early radio possible. Meanwhile the American Graphophone Company was organized in Philadelphia to help improve the graphophone. A small plant was established in Bridgeport Connecticut to build 3-4 machines daily. Jesse H. Lipincott acquired the rights to the company to rent or sell the gramaphone under Bell (Alexander Graham Bell) and Tainter (Sumner Tainter) patents. Later Lippincott purchased the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company. In 1893 Nikola Tesla a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, and scientist made the first public demonstration of radio communication at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the National Electric Light Association, he described and demonstrated the principles of radio communication. George Westinghouse bought the patent rights to Nikola Teslas polyphase system of alternating-current dynamos transformers and Eldridge Johnson was born in Wilmington Delaware. In 1906 he started to develop a spring motor for a disc talking machine for the Berliner Company. Johnsons first patent for the machine was granted on March 22, 1898. The Montross Metal Shingle Company of Camden New Jersey took an order for Eldridge Johnson to make 1000 units @ $4.00 each f...

An Online Course Review of TestDEN TOEFL

An Online Course Review of TestDEN TOEFL Taking the TOEFL test can be an extremely challenging experience. Most universities have a minimum entrance score of 550. The range of grammar, reading and listening skills required to do well is enormous. One of the biggest challenges for teachers and students is identifying the correct areas to focus on in the limited amount of time available for preparation. In this feature, it is my pleasure to review an online course that specifically addresses this need. TestDEN TOEFL Trainer is an online TOEFL course which invites you to: Join Meg and Max in the TOEFL Trainer. These two, upbeat and friendly personalities will find the areas you need to improve the most and create a special study program just for you! Your virtual trainers will also give you focused practice tests to strengthen your TOEFL skills, and send you daily test-taking tips. The course costs $69 for a 60 day entrance period to the site. During this 60 day period you can take advantage of: personalized study guidesfull-length practice exams16 hours of audioover 7,000 questionsfull explanationse-mail test tips TestDENs TOEFL Trainer credentials are also quite impressive: TestDEN TOEFL Trainer is produced by ACT360 Media, a leading provider of education content. Since 1994, this innovative Vancouver company has been producing quality CD-ROM titles and Internet sites to enhance learning. Among these is the award-winning Digital Education Network and online tutorials for Microsoft Corporation. The only flaw seems to be that: This program has not been reviewed or endorsed by ETS. During my test period, I found all of the above claims to be true. Most importantly, the course is extremely well-planned and helps test takers pinpoint exactly those areas which cause them the most difficulties. Overview The course begins by requiring test takers to take an entire TOEFL examination called the Pre-test Station. This examination is followed by another section entitled Evaluation Station, which requires participants to take further sections of the examination. Both of these steps are required for the test taker to reach the heart of the program. While some people might become impatient with these steps, they are required to help the program assess problem areas. One reservation is that the test is not timed as in an actual TOEFL test. This is a minor point, as students can time themselves. The listening sections are presented using RealAudio. If the Internet connection is slow it can take quite a while to finish sections that require the opening of each listening exercise separately. Once both of the above sections have been finished, the test taker arrives at the Practice Station. This section is by far the most impressive and important section of the program. The Practice Station takes the information gathered in the first two sections and prioritizes a learning program for the individual. The program is divided into three categories: Priority 1, Priority 2 and Priority 3. This section includes exercises as well as explanations and tips for the current task. In this manner, the student can focus on exactly what he/she needs to do well on the exam. The final section is a Post-test Station which gives the participant a final test of his/her improvement over the course of the program. Once this section of the program has been taken there is no going back to the practice section. Summary Lets face it, taking the TOEFL test and doing well can be a long, hard process. The test itself often seems to have little to do with actually being able to communicate in the language. Instead, it can seem like a test that only measures the ability to perform well in an extremely academic setting using very dry and formal English. TestDENs layout does a wonderful job of preparing test takers for the task while keeping the preparation rather enjoyable by its user interface. I would highly recommend TestDEN TOEFL Trainer to any student wanting to take the TOEFL. In fact, to be completely honest, I think this program may do a better job of addressing individual needs than many teachers can! Why is this? Based on in-depth pre-testing and statistical information, the program uses computer technology to find exactly those areas that need to be covered. Unfortunately, teachers are often not able to access student needs so quickly. This program is probably quite sufficient for any high-level English student preparing for the exam. The best solution for lower level students would be a combination of this program and a private teacher. TestDen can help identify and provide practice at home, and a private teacher can go into more detail when working on weak areas.

The role of accounting system in the UK for motivation Dissertation

The role of accounting system in the UK for motivation - Dissertation Example Pertinently, accounting used to be a function that is merely focused on its ability to prepare financial statements to reflect the current state of the company to enable the manager of the latter to make sound decisions relative to their proper functioning. Nowadays, the accounting system has evolved to cater to one important function: to provide information necessary for business planning, decision-making and control. The importance of the accounting profession has been underscored by the dynamism and competitiveness of the business environment. In this regard, there is an utmost necessity for business strategies to focus on the development of various tools and models for the preparation of financial statements by which pertinent information are obtained. Accounting now is an essential part of strategic planning and control. In addition thereto, it is also through the development of accounting systems that the role of the accountants within a particular organisation is ensured. The importance of accounting systems is also underscored by the need to monitor the roles of accountants as they perform their functions (Broadbent and Laughlin 2005). Interestingly, literature has highlighted the presence of the so-called audit expectations gap wherein the accountants and auditors have not really been able to comply with the expectations of their financial users. Audit expectations gap is simply defined as that inconsistency between the manners by which the users of financial statements expect their accountants to perform their duties vis-a-vis the manner by which the latter actually complies with what expected from them. Succinctly, the presence of the audit expectations gap can be damaging to the entire profession. It has been stated that the audit expectations gap reduces the level of trust afforded by the users of financial statements to their accountants and auditors. The following are usually the expectations that the users of financial statements have with respe ct to their accountants: (1) the need for accountants to perform advisory roles, (2) the importance of undertaking designer roles, and (3) the need to fulfill executioner roles. On the other hand, in performing the audit function, the accountant is also expected to: (1) detect fraud, no matter how big or small it is; (2) to provide early detection signals that show the state of the company; most especially as regards to whether or not it is on the brink of bankruptcy; (3) to ensure independence in the auditing process; and lastly, (4) the need to prevent the material misstatements in the financial statements. It is therefore in this regard, that the need for accounting systems has been once again underscored as the former has the capacity to address the said deficiencies. The collapse of major corporations such as Enron due to financial scandals has likewise called for the betterment of the roles of the accountants. Evidently, the collapse of the said corporations has been brought a bout by the fact that it has failed to ensure the proper preparation of financial statements. In view of this, it has been suggested that the accounting process be incorporated within the Corporate Governance Initiatives to ensure accountability, transparency and better decision making. Hence, again, the development of accounting systems

Strategic Change Management (Ansewr 6 questions) Assignment

Strategic Change Management (Ansewr 6 questions) - Assignment Example High attrition rate and staff downsizing strategy of Airline company’s crates impact on defence mechanism of Airline staff. Southwest Airlines has applied clarity system as a part of Kurt Lewins Change Management Model to decrease resistance about newly implemented software system. The company has changed existing Microsoft Excel reporting pattern by implementing Hyperion Essbase model of financial budgeting. The company did the change in order to decrease overall reporting cost. The logic model of synergy theory describes sustainable change as participation multi level actors (local and global, top level, mid level and ground level management). This model not only increases communication scope but decreases change resistance also. British Airways used Kurt Lewin’s change management model in order to create positive impact on their business policy. In the unfreeze stage they downsized the workforce in order to decrease hierarchical levels. In the change phase British Airways altered internal system and provided incentives to absorb the shock effect. In the refreeze stage BA integrated customer satisfaction with individual objective of key members of organizational hierarchy. They refurbished uniform of staff and aircraft design as a part of change management process. The market demand for Airline industry has been dented due to sovereign debt crisis and economic recession. Airline industry has lost more than $25bn (Â £16bn) in last ten years (Milmo, Topham, and Roberts, 2012). Companies are competing with each other in order to achieve competitive edge such as low cost service delivery, fast service delivery, expanded destination service, fleet size and many others. For example, Southwest Airlines has achieved the competitive edge of lowest fare in comparison to other players in the market. The new airline group formed by the merger is the sixth largest airline service in the world in terms of

Mistakes and Failures of a Business Essay Example for Free

Mistakes and Failures of a Business Essay Small and large business fails because they take risk to many risks in what they do. Lots of times it is the employees that make or break a business or the owner of the business, which makes a business fail. The way they fix the problem is to ask the employees what they are looking to get out of the business and what they like to see done with the business these way owners and employees can work together as a team and not make mistakes and failures in the next years to come. Lots of business blindly trust employees witch means that the worker can take from the business or have problems with others they work with from day to day. The employee will give his/her boss mix singles on the task at hand and with that the business will fail and lose profits as well there income or overheard will be lost. The biggest failure of a business is employee time theft this cost the business money and time witch can fail a business and is a big mistake the business misses every day. As stated by go4funding. com every single day, many businesses fail for numerous reasons. According to the United States’ Small Business Administration (SBA), approximately 90% of all small enterprises fail within the first two years of operation, primarily because many entrepreneurs lack the basic knowledge and experience in handling the challenges of their company in its initial stages. The following are several common problems that are encountered during this vital preliminary phase. Business owners should be informed about these issues and work diligently to address them in order to avoid failure.

The Old Testament :: Religion Influence Religious Bible Essays

The Old Testament The Old Testament is a compilation, and like every compilation it has a wide variety of contributors who, in turn, have their individual influence upon the final work. It is no surprise, then, that there exist certain parallels between the Enuma Elish, the cosmogony of the Babylonians, and the Book of Genesis, the first part of the Pentateuch section of the Bible. In fact, arguments may be made that other Near Eastern texts, particularly Sumerian, have had their influences in Biblical texts. The extent of this 'borrowing', as it were, is not limited to the Bible; the Enuma Elish has its own roots in Sumerian mythology, predating the Enuma Elish by nearly a thousand years. A superficial examination of this evidence would erroneously lead one to believe that the Bible is somewhat a collection of older mythology re-written specifically for the Semites. In fact, what develops is that the writers have addressed each myth as a separate issue, and what the writers say is that their God sur passes every other. Each myth or text that has a counterpart in the Bible only serves to further an important idea among the Hebrews: there is but one God, and He is omnipotent, omniscient, and other-worldly; He is not of this world, but outside it, apart from it. The idea of a monotheistic religion is first evinced in recorded history with Judaism, and it is vital to see that instead of being an example of plagiarism, the Book of Genesis is a meticulously composed document that will set apart the Hebrew God from the others before, and after. To get a clear picture of the way the Book of Genesis may have been formed (because we can only guess with some degree of certainty), we must place in somewhere in time, and then define the cultures in that time. The influences, possible and probable, must be illustrated, and then we may draw our conclusions. If we trace back to the first appearance of the Bible in written form, in its earliest translation, we arrive at 444 B.C.. Two texts, components of the Pentateuch referred to as 'J' and 'E' texts, can be traced to around 650 B.C. Note that 'J' refers to Yahweh (YHVH) texts, characterized by the use of the word 'Yahweh' or 'Lord' in accounts; 'E' refers to Elohist texts, which use, naturally, 'Elohim' in its references to God.1 But 650 B.

Comparison of Essays by James Baldwin and Eric Foner

The Identity American English What makes you an individual and an American? The idea of what qualifies a person as an American is very vague. Eric Foner, in his article â€Å"Who is an American? † describes the idea of what qualifies a person as an American has changed over the years. There once was a time where the only people who were American citizen were white males that later became that all people living in the United States had the qualification of becoming a citizen. There are several factors, including both underlying and overt, that affect idea who qualifies as a citizen.Overt factors such as if you are here legally or if you have your citizenship certificate to more underlying factors like what you look like or if you can speak English. James Baldwin in his essay â€Å"If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is† explains how the English he and his people speak is what qualifies them as individuals. Going on to say that, with out the langu age that they used to communicate with each other their survival would not have been possible.Both Eric Foner and James Baldwin talk about individuality and identity in their articles and arguing that the identity of a person is what gives the person their freedom and liberty. Eric Foner states: Americans’ debates about the bases of our national identity reflect a larger contradiction in the Western traditions itself. For if the West, as we are frequently reminded, created the idea of ‘liberty’ as a universal human right, [West] also invented the concept of ‘race’ and ascribed to it predictive powers about human behavior (Foner 141).Foner implies America, as a whole, is a diverse country; the thought of each of all American belonging to a single, included group, is somewhat illogical. All American have different need and wants, different goals and ambitions, and can’t all enjoy the same â€Å"liberty† because of their â€Å"race† . Baldwin agrees with that saying, â€Å"The brutal truth is that the bulk of the white people in America never had any interest in educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes. Baldwin 3)† Baldwin gives a specific example of how a race oppressed another race and how the race alone was a factor of why there wasn’t equality in the freedom received by the people. The identity that Baldwin shows here is of a young black child who has lived to tough times in life. The only way he will be able to obtain the same freedom as a white child is through the education, that the black child can only receive from white adults, who only want to use the black child for their own benefit.Even with the freedom the child was promised through the education he would still be a slave to someone or something else. Foner and Baldwin also agree on the fact that African American always excluded from the citizens of the eras. Foner stating, â€Å"Slavery helped to shape the identity, the sense of self, of all Americans, giving nationhood†¦ a powerful exclusionary dimension† (Foner 142). Slaves never had the same treatments as the owners. They were always the left out party who didn’t get the same â€Å"liberty, equality, and democracy† which are the main ideologies that a person needs to be an American (142).If all you need to be an American and enjoy the same liberty and freedom as all other people was to believe in liberty, equality, and democracy â€Å"†¦slavery could never have lasted as long as it did† (Baldwin 2). The fact that slavery lasted as long as it did show that the freedom one person get is not the same amount as someone else. Foner and Baldwin do not specifically talk about the rights of people and how unfairly they are shared in their article, but both do have an underlying implication of the rights of people.Baldwin, for the majority of his article, talks about the way language is spoken by the Bl acks and then in the end states that an uneducated country with so many impurities cannot teach anything to its people. Foner, unlike Baldwin, talks about identity and correlates it with the idea of freedom and equality. In his conclusion stating the just like our identities are changing our belief of freedom and equality will always change. For Baldwin language had the connotation of freedom and equality while Foner used identity to connote the same thing.Both articles were written in the late 1900s, and the political and social struggle mentioned in both the articles still exists; the changed asked by both authors still needs to be implanted. Baldwin, James. â€Å"If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? † Readings for Analytical Writing. Third ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. Foner, Eric. â€Å"Who Is an American? † Readings for Analytical Writing. Third ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011.

Humanity Essay

People not only have a responsibility to others in the world, but an obligation to follow through,a s much as is possible, to shape a future world where conditions provide the best opportunities for all people to secure safety and happiness. Such a belief has often been regarded as â€Å"utopian† or highly idealistic, but it may be the case that actual conditions on the planet earth will reveal that utopianism is actually a form of pragmatism and that idealism, at least to some degree is a necessary component of social and political thinking. I regard this belief as a form of social responsibility. Social responsibility can be defined as â€Å"†balancing the pursuit of one’s individual goals with the needs of others in establishing a safe and just world and ensuring the continuation of a democratic society. † (Robinson, and Hayes, 2002, p. 6). The challenges of the twenty-first century, whether economic or environmental, cultural or biological will require new methods of thinking and behaving at both the individual and social levels. There must be an emphasis on changing the perceptions, particularly in twenty-first century America, which many people have about the nature of personal responsibility and personal empowerment. While it seems obvious enough to say, as President Barack Obama asserted in his book The Audacity of Hope, that new generations of Americans are â€Å"waiting for a politics with the maturity to balance idealism and realism, to distinguish between what can and cannot be compromised† (Obama, 2004. . 42) the ramifications of such a politics of maturity and realism extend to many important areas of American society including economics, technology, and philosophy and religion. What is necessary for America to meet the challenges of the future is a social cultural acceptance of the fact that responsibility, and not merely the pursuit of self-interests, is a path to personal empowerment. This last statement may seem contradictory to many Americans. A great number of people view themselves in purely materialistic terms and want what they can get out of society without taking any personal responsibility for the consequences. For some people, life holds no meaning outside of its material dimension and this loss of meaning in American culture has consequences beyond the immediately personal: â€Å"We have no choice, we are constantly told, because of economic forces, our unconscious, or our genes. Yet, at the same time, we live in a world that presents us with endless choices† (Sardar, 2006, p. ). As strange as it sounds, the only way to break the cycle of endless anxiety over our limitless freedom is by accepting responsibility for the choices we make. This is a kind of paradox in American society, â€Å"We want to have it both ways, and so we end up confused and cynical. Our obsession with individuality and self-interest further erodes personal and collective responsibility† (Sardar, 2006, p. 3) which means, the les s one begins to value their own existence the less responsibility they will feel for their actions. To accept responsibility is, in itself, to accept that life is meaningful and to accept that life in meaningful is an act of self-empowerment. we must learn to understand that â€Å"Freedom is both a gift and a challenge. It has value only when we respect it and enhance it individually and collectively. And when we exercise it with responsibility. † (Sardar, 2006, p. 3 ). In this way, a change in the basic philosophical vision present in American culture may help us to begin to make inroads against the challenges which face us in the new world. Wendell Berry’s persuasive argument that many modern conceptions of progress and happiness are rooted in ignorance and self-deception finds substantial validation in even a cursory glance of modern media and political discourse. Looked at more closely, the misconceptions ably identified by Wendell Berry in the Western (and particularly American) vision of life and life responsibilities, cast an illuminating light on contemporary government, American foreign policy, and many urgent social crises. Most obvious is the relationship between Berry’s observation that â€Å"The higher aims of â€Å"technological progress† are money and ease† and the recent almost epidemic instances of corporate corruption (and corruption in government) whereby CEO’s have garnered massive bonuses and pay-increases whilst robbing their shareholders and workers of profits and pensions. The corresponding downfall of powerful political figures in the United States Congress, as well as their lobbyist counterparts for racketeering, bribery, and other financial crimes indicates how widespread is the oligarchical strain of political morals in contemporary society. Wasteful projects such as the â€Å"†Big Dig† in Massachusetts (estimated at $2. 5 billion in 1985, over $14. 6 billion had spent in federal and state tax dollars by 2006), as well as the highly-publicized Tyco and Enron financial scandals affirm Berry’s contention that far from securing a worthy future, the immediate greed and gratification of â€Å"big money† has motivated corporate and political leaders to sacrifice the future and well-being of myriad other individuals and the nation as a whole in favor of selfish, personal gain. This type of greed, based on the fallacious assumption of preserving one’s future extends throughout the social hierarchy of America, with most, if not all industries and pursuits subordinated to it; as Berry remarks â€Å"Surely the aim cannot be the integrity or happiness of our families, which we have made subordinate to the education system, the television industry, and the consumer economy† (Berry,1990. p206). The reality is that most families are useful to the controlling interests of the American economy as charted demographics which allow individual economic resources to be targeted at â€Å"tapped† by the said controlling interests. Corporate America, the media, and the governments themselves function as subsidiaries of the overall obsession with wealth and the increase of personal fortunes. The quest for personal enrichment, the acquiescence to greed, predicated on the unknowable future is self-rationalizing behavior. Ironically, it is also self-destructive behavior and also portends the possible destruction of the global environment. Were humanity truly concerned for the future, Berry argues, we would embrace the good things we know about the present such as water, oxygen, trees, oceans, mountains, and wildlife, and see to it that these good things endure â€Å"If we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from us. A good future is implicit in the soils, forests, grasslands, marshes, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans that we have now† (Berry,1990. 16) One implied irony in Berry’s observations is that technology, the science which is supposed to bring our society to a great modern crest, has actually pushed us further into primitive superstition and savagery. Our modern totems are money and power; and we rape the environment rather than protecting it. We use our knowledge to destroy rather than preserve, and, at its pinnacle, technology, so Berry insinuates, has as one of its outcomes, the utter destruction of human thought. If one’ motives are money, ease, and haste to arrive in a technologically determined future, then the answer is foregone, and there is, the fact, no question, and no thought† (Berry,1990. p17). The most philosophically dense and relatively unsupported point which Berry attempts to make is the connection between a rejection of dehumizing technology and religious faith. â€Å"If one’s motive is the love of family, community, country, and God, then one will have to think, and one may have to decide that thee proposed innovation is undesirable† (Berry,1990. p17). With this conclusion, Berry seems to depart from the more linear and persuasive argument he previously offered. After all, if, as he insists, â€Å"We cannot think about the future, of course, for the future does no exist: the existence of the future is an article of faith† (Berry,1990. p17) then surely the substantiation of God or any moral or political belief predicated on the existence of God is similarly â€Å"an article of faith. † Taking Berry’s comments another way: that religious â€Å"faith† comprises a panacea to an abiding though sorely misplaced faith in technology, the argument seems more tenable if no less anecdotal and emotionally based. However, it is the emotion of Berry’s remarks which lends them a convincing and urgent air, which is suitable for the topics at hand. Unfortunately, outside of a faith in God, a dedication to one’s family, and a respect and love for the earth and its environment, Berry offers very few insights into how the prevailing destructive beliefs and practices he describes may be combated or changed. His arguments about selfishness and the hollow pursuit of material wealth as opposed to communal or national prosperity seem well reasons and are substantiate by contemporary facts. His arguments against technology seem a bit less well-reasoned and incomplete, based on emotional rather than evidential criteria. Though Berry’s imploring tone seems to fall short of providing even the slightest recommendation of pragmatic applications to reverse or undo the environmental and cultural damage that has come from America’s mortgaged future, his overall diagnoses of the problems facing our â€Å"Plutocracy† are persuasive and articulated with aplomb. As Barack Obama points out, economics in the twenty-first century no longer function along the same models they had embodied for years. He writes that â€Å"In this more competitive global environment, the old corporate formula of steady profits and stodgy management no longer worked† (Obama, 2004, p. 156). What Obama is driving at with this statement can be considered an aspect of â€Å"humanizing† economics, a must-needed step for America in the twenty-first century. By accepting responsibility for our actions we will understand the connections between the injustices and disparities in society and the damages which have been inflicted upon the environment. Though some of our challenges may be economic and some may be based in moral and ethical issues, the unifying factor is always: human responsibility. We begin to understand ourselves much more clearly and understand our challenges more clearly when we admit that we live in a world which â€Å"desperately needs fixing and in which denial is seductively easy and cheap, at least for a time. We must acknowledge and seek to understand the connection between poverty, social injustice, and environmental degradation. † (Orr, 2002, p. 89) Barack Obama’s insistence that the new economics has paved a way clear of the old economics which stressed only self-interests and profits is a key to understanding the kind of view of business and corporate responsibility which will have to be embraced in American society as we move forward to accept our responsibilities and meet the challenges of the future. Instead of viewing purely money and material growth as the only forms of â€Å"profit† in business, corporations of the future will begin to realize that â€Å"business behavior and government policy toward business requires, more than ever, an appreciation of the firm’s human dimensions, the dimensions left out of the neoclassical theory† (Tomer, 1999, p. 1). The future corporation will accept responsibility for its actions and view itself as shaped by not only â€Å"market forces but by societal ones† (Tomer, 1999, p. 9) and in so recognizing other forms of â€Å"success† and â€Å"profit† namely, the maintaining of ethical and environmental standards which contribute to the overall growth and well-being of humanity may over-ride present-day obsession with self-interest and materialistic profit. If Barack Obama’s writings in â€Å"The Audacity of Hope† are any real indication of the politician of the future — or the President of the future — it si clear that America still has the capacity to grown and recognize leaders who can summon a bold-enough vision as well as present workable solutions to meet the challenges we have at least partially created for ourselves. Obviously, I disagree with the suggestion that all the worlds problems and injustices can be eliminated, but I do believe that positive change can be made and that better conditions can be achieved. Here is why. My generation faces so many different challenges, ranging from war to global poverty, from the impact of technology to the scarcity of natural resources, that it is difficult to assign a single challenge as most crucial or important. However, because the challenges of the twenty-first century, whether economic or environmental, cultural or biological will require new methods of thinking and behaving at both the individual and social levels, the biggest challenge that faces my generation is one of changing the perceptions which many people have about the nature of personal responsibility and personal empowerment. I see changing this essentially self-perceptive issue as a key for facing the specific, concrete challenges that we will face in the future. In my opinion, it is not only possible, but morally imperative, that the social inequalities and injustices of the world be addressed with an eye toward influencing productive change in the world. It is, in fact, possible to make the world a better place. The most important factor, in my opinion, regarding the formation of an ideal society, would be the individual liberties of each of the citizens in that society. To me, a society which contained too may laws or rules, whether intended to ensure liberty or simply to oppress people, would be contrary to a utopia. Any ideal society must ensure the freedom of its citizens while simultaneously preserving their safety and the productivity of the society as a whole. Therefore, although it may sound somewhat far-fetched, the most important reform in my ideal society would be concerned with educational reform. In my vision of utopia, knowledge would be considered the most important â€Å"possession† or accomplishment. Instead of testing people for aptitude in a hierarchical fashion, I belive IQ and other tests should be sued early on in someone’s life to determine where their particular strengths and talents are centered and then that person would be encouraged to pursue these talents and aptitudes without regard of race, sexual orientation, religion, political or cultural biases. Due to the fact that individual liberty is the keystone of my utopian beliefs, no-one in an idealized society should be forced to pursue any endeavor whether they have aptitude for it or not, but all should be encouraged to find their inner-talent and special interests as the highest achievable goal in life. That and respecting the rights of all others to pursue their individual talent and skills and interests. Because I realize that the first and foremost plank of my utopian platform necessitates changing deeply rooted racial, gender-based, and cultural prejudices, it is worth pointing out that â€Å"utopias† are defined, not in terms of practicality and pragmatism, but on imaginative depth and vision, so that â€Å"the influence of utopian writings has generally been inspirational rather than practical. † (â€Å"Utopia, 2004†) This allows for utopian thinkers to â€Å"dream away,† as it were, and this liberty allows me to offer my second most critical element in an ideal society. This second point falls squarely under the category â€Å"economic utopia. † In my vision of an idealized society, money would be completely eliminated. The reason that money would be eliminated is because economic interests traditionally have displaced moral ideals in capitalist societies. Corporation work to obfuscate moral responsibility: â€Å"levels of complexity are added by confusion between descriptions and prescriptions of social responsibility, between what is and what ought to be, and between moral obligation and legal obligation† (Besser, 2002, p. 4). In my ideal society, religion would be primarily left to the individual and there would be no government sanctioning or endorsement of any single religion. Again, this is an impossible social requirement, but the vision of utopia I have would not contain the existence of exclusionary religions, religious ideas taught in public schools or religious ideas being used as a basis for common morality. Instead, a civi l ethic would replace what has in the past been seen as a religious ethic. Because my ideal society would contain neither organized religion or money, I believe that the two most important barriers to personal liberty and happiness would be removed from most people’s lives. Because self-determination would be the highest priority in my utopia, family conflicts and other interpersonal relationships would also play a less-permanent role in people’s lives,encouraging them to view all people as equal rather than those of their family or race or region being more â€Å"familiar† and subsequently more preferred or sympathized with. Most of the social changes in my utopia are probably unachievable and yet I believe by making only a few, albeit radical, changes in social vision and structure, a better world could be realized and a wider spread of happiness and contentment might be embraced; it is the idea that these changes could happen, even if they are unlikely, that defines a utopia.

Tax Calculation Essays

Tax Calculation Essays Tax Calculation Essay Tax Calculation Essay Name: Course: Dad, MFJ 2 exemptions Son, Single 1 exemption Dad, MFJ 2 exemptions Son, Single 1 exemption BEFORE BEFORE AFTER AFTER Schedule F Income $80,000 $50,000 $60,000 $40,000 Self- Employment/FICA Tax .9235 x $80.000 x .453 = $11.304 .9235 x $50,000 x .153 = $7,065 $9,180 $6,120 1/2 SE Tax $5,652 $3,532 Adj. Gross Income $80,000 – $5652 = $74,348 $50,000 – $3,532 = $46,468 $60,000 $40,000 Personal Exemptions $7,400 $3,700 $7,400 $3,700 Standard Deduction $11,400 $5,700 $11,400 $5,700 Taxable Income $55,548 $37,068 $41,200 $30,600 Federal Income Tax $7,482 $5,367 $5,330 $4,165 Marginal Rate 15% 25% 15% 15% Instructor: Date: Dad, MFJ

Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free (#7)

Blood Brothers Essay In the three plays I have read by Willy Russell, all of them are linked by the fact that they all contain an aspect of social inequality. Russell uses humour in all these plays to show serious messages, mostly through stereotypes. In every play there are two very contrasting social groups, each figure-headed by certain characters in the stories. For example, in Blood Brothers, Mickey figureheads the working class society like Rita does in Educating Rita, and the children do in Our Day Out. Whereas Eddie figureheads the middle class society in Blood Brothers, Frank does in Educating Rita, and Mr. Briggs does in Our Day Out. We found that the people from the working class backgrounds were all very broad scoucers, who tended to use slang words such as â€Å"ciggie† and â€Å"chippie. † They were what you would call a very typical stereotype of a broad liverpudlian. Most of them had problems aswell. For instance, Mickey in â€Å"Blood Brothers† has family problems because he has many older siblings which means he gets a lot of hand-me-down clothes and gets bullied by his older brother Sammy who breaks his toys. Rita in â€Å"Educating Rita† has many conflicts with her husband Denny who doesn’t want her to carry on with her tuition from Frank. She wants to be educated so that she can have choices. As the play progresses and Rita becomes more educated she begins to make her own decisions, she moves out of her house, ends her relationship with Denny and says â€Å"I might even have a baby† The people from the middle class backgrounds however were made to look rather different. Eddie in â€Å"Blood Brothers† doesn’t have to share his toys with brothers or sisters like Mickey does, and his mother doesn’t have to worry about financial problems because they have quite a lot of money. The men that were from the middle class backgrounds (Mr. Briggs and Frank) both wore suits and seemed to be well educated, living a comfortable lifestyle. This society of people in the stories tended to speak more formally using words such as â€Å"What in the world is being off one’s cake? † Eddie is brought up to speak correctly and not use colloquialisms. In â€Å"Blood Brothers† Micky asks him what a dictionary is and Eddie replies â€Å"It is a book which tells you the meaning of words. † I think Russell makes the social classes seem so very different to one another in each play, so that when they come together there is a lot of humour, but also a lot of tension between them because neither social class really understand each other. This forms a rich and poor type of scenario for all three plays. In â€Å"Educating Rita† Frank is a rich lecturer and Rita is a poor university student who has bad problems with her husband at home. In â€Å"Our Day Out† there is a similar contrast between Mr. Briggs the, well-spoken teacher, and the children who come from a poor, run-down area. These rich and poor scenarios are serious messages that Russell conveys in all three plays. Interestingly enough though, it is the people from the middle class backgrounds that turn out to be the most strange of the two societies. Frank in Educating Rita has a drink addiction, yet has a comfortable lifestyle and is on a stable income. Mr. Briggs doesn’t like the children at the school where he works because they are less fortunate than himself, he says â€Å"most of them were rejects on the day they were born. † Eddie’s adopted mother in Blood Brothers, Mrs. Lyons, is supersticious and unhappy. Quote: â€Å"The shoes! The shoes! On the table! Get them off! Get them off! † Frank and Mr. Briggs are in many ways the same, they both wear suits and dress smartly, they both have similar lifestyles and they both have some sort of problem (i. e. the drink and the hatred for people less fortunate than him). This is where I think that Blood Brothers is different, it doesn’t contain a male character as old as Frank or Mr. Briggs who appears often in the story. Whereas the conversations between adult and youth in the other stories are mainly comical, like in Our Day Out when the two lads are caught smoking at the back of the bus, in Blood Brothers they are more intense. I think Blood Brothers on the whole is more intense. In Blood Brothers Russell uses a narrator drifting in and out of the play at certain times, saying daunting things about the scene that has just happened, or is going to happen. I believe this represents the devil and is a good way of creating an eerie tension, because he moves to different places on the stage in the play, and you never see his whole face or body, he is always in the shadows. There are no narrators in the two other plays but dramatic devices also take on the form of dramatic irony. In â€Å"Blood Brothers† this is shown by the two twins not knowing they are twins, when they first become friends. Later in the story when they find out they were born on the same day â€Å"That means we can be blood brothers† the audience can see what is happening, they are going to eventually find out that they are real brothers, and there will be a big disaster because of this. â€Å"Our Day Out† shows dramatic irony when the bus driver is told the children can’t afford sweets or lemonade â€Å"lemonade never touches their lips† but when the driver turns around they all are munching on chocolate bars! Later on their journey the bus stops at a sweet shop and the audience sees the shopkeepers talking about raising the prices of the goods in their shop â€Å"Can I help inflation? † The audience now know that the shopkeepers are going to raise their prices, but the children don’t. The children get their revenge for being ‘ripped off’. They all squeeze into the shop and each time the shopkeepers turn their backs to collect more sweets from the shelves, the kids pocket anything in front of them. The two shopkeepers are oblivious to the stealing taking place until the coach leaves and they realise no money from the till has changed hands â€Å"Thievin’ little bastards! † shouts one of the shopkeepers. Russell also uses the influence of song in â€Å"Blood Brothers† and â€Å"Our Day Out† to show the mood and feelings of the characters as the play progresses. At the beginning of â€Å"Blood Brothers† Mrs. Johnston is seen dancing in a pub singing a song with the lines â€Å"Oh we went dancing. † in the chorus. As the play continues she occasionally sings this line but at a tempo which reflects the mood of the play itself. In â€Å"Our Day Out† the songs are cheerful and uplifting â€Å"We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car. † The themes of the three plays are all linked in many ways. As I have said before, social inequality connects all three, another is the fact they are all set in and around Liverpool with some of the characters in each play speaking with a very broad Liverpudlian accent. Finally, the last one is that they all contain an aspect concerning death. I. e. In Blood Brothers, Mickey and Eddie, in Educating Rita, Rita’s flatmate tries to commit suicide, and in Our Day Out one of the pupils called Carol also attempts to kill herself â€Å"Try an’ get me an’ I’ll jump over. † I believe that Willy Russell features the aspects of social inequality, hatred, death, abuse, love, irony and humour in each play because he knows they have a hard-hitting impact on the audience. Also I think it is because at some time in his life he has been affected significantly by them and so, involves them in something which he can express his feelings and emotions at. Writing. Blood Brothers. (2017, Sep 23).

Business Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Studies - Essay Example Teamwork, time management, personal organization, among others are examples of transferable skills. These activities may be a particular initiative in school, corporate leadership, volunteerism, supervisor ship, among others. A good work skill needed in my business career may include change in managerial technique and adoption of information technology in business management. A transferable skill in my business career would be ability to communicate effectively with managers and subordinates at workplace. Transferrable skills such as effective communication may be used professionally when communicating with customers. Transferrable skills are crucial for success in today’s world where competition is high and establishing professional niche is challenging. In addition, these skills are good as they are applicable from job to job. It is worthwhile noting that job related skills are unique (Â  Rothwell 323). More importantly, work related skills are unique to a particular work environment. However, it is imperative to integrate job related and work content skills in order to achieve more synergistic approach to