Taking a Look at Gambling - 669 Words

Gambling has been in existence for centuries, and it is gaining popularity today more than ever. With this trend, it is difficult to avoid questioning of any possible effects associated with gambling. There are many social and economic effects associated with the widespread practice. In this paper, we address these effects of gambling and its contribution to one’s poverty status in America. We also examine the large industry of gambling and the dynamics of the business structures and revenues. According to statistics, about 6% of adults involved in gambling eventually become severely addicted. In some cases, gamblers have the tendency of betting anything and everything they have through the ever-growing gambling avenues in the U.S. Gambler’s varies use of avenues such as the state lotto’s, horse-racing, online and sport betting, all contribute to higher levels of gambling (Ciment 2009). Controlling gambling practices can be undeniably complicated, as the poor are constantly wooed with false hopes into locally available gambling avenues. Gambling has been in existence for centuries, and it is gaining popularity today more than ever. Despite the unrealistic odds of winning, people are enticed by the potential quick winnings offered by casino play and state lottery games. In this paper, we address the social and economic effects of gambling and their contribution to one’s poverty status in America. On one hand, games like bingo, casino blackjack, and poker allow forShow MoreRelatedTaking a Look at Gambling851 Words   |  3 PagesGambling contains risking something of importance on an indefinite event in hopes of winning something of greater value. Although gambling can be a major problem it is done throughout the world in casinos, horse races, sporting events, and at a convenient store. Many people that gamble become addicted and begin to crave for the game causing it to be harmful psychologically and physically to the body. Anyone that gambles is at risk of being addicted whether you are male or female it may become a problemRead MoreCause and Effect Gambling Addiction Essay1038 Words   |  5 PagesCause and Effect in Gambling Addiction Gambling becomes type of addiction for most people who are involved in game. People may look that gambling can be a pleasure in seeking behavior; but sometimes, it can be really difficult to stop this kind of activity or even avoid a certain type of emotional pain once they started it.  Gambling is the main reason of divorce right now and a separation of a family members’. Some researchers think that addictive gambling can be referred as a type of mental disorderRead MoreThe Ethics Of Gambling And Gambling1556 Words   |  7 Pagesregarding the ethics of gambling whether in an online setting or in a public setting. Gambling has many benefits for both gamblers and casinos, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the psychological repercussions of gambling as it isn’t always just â€Å"harmless fun.† We can consider the negative and positive implications of gambling on non-gamblers as well. However, how would ethical theories and perspectives differ in their appr oach to the effects of gambling? When people think of gambling, they usually see flashingRead MoreEffects Of Gambling On The Future965 Words   |  4 PagesWhile some chose to read a book on the topic of their interest, others look to hang out with friends, and some look to take risks. As I reach adulthood, I have observed more risk taking in the form of gambling. While gambling goes against what many economists would consider rational behavior, it still has a way of drawing people. Maybe it’s the thrill of playing, or a chance at hitting the jackpot. People are even drawn to gambling whilst under serious economic stress, such as living with a small budgetRead MoreCasino Gambling Should Be Illegal887 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish110 December 5, 2014 Casino Gambling Should be Illegal in Canada Casino when we hear this word the meaning comes to everyone’s mind- a place of entertainment, a place to try our luck, a place where we can earn with playing. In some sorts we are right casino is a place where we play game like a rolling of dice, playing cards, picking up team, all these games we play using money as a bet to earn more known as casino gambling. These games had meanings that were important to theRead MoreGambling : When It s Not All Fun And Games Essay1627 Words   |  7 PagesGambling: When it’s Not all Fun and Games In the past decade, gaming and gambling in the United States have experienced a great upswing. The majority of states have expanded legalized gaming, including regulated casino-style games and lotteries, there has been a huge increase in the opening of Native American casinos and among other things, online gambling and betting has become increasingly more popular (Humphrey). While at first glance, this may seem to be a good thing, it is imperative that oneRead MoreThe Dangers of Online Gambling Essay1376 Words   |  6 Pagesbe a matter of life and death for them. It seemed bad enough to have gambling on the streets or in casinos, but ever since the internet was invented, gambling has just been getting worse and worse. People today just love getting on the internet and communicating with friends or family, but one of the things that people may be doing is gambling their money away online, which seems to be worse than regular gambling. Internet gambling has affected kids, college kid s, and adults around the world, and theyRead MoreThe Effects of Gambling on Society1594 Words   |  7 PagesAs gambling becomes more and more prevalent in todays society, one must look at the positive and negative aspects of the construction of casinos and other gambling establishments. While casinos have been shown to benefit local economies by creating jobs and generating tax revenues, they also lead to many social problems such as increased suicide, crime, accident, and high-school drop out rates. For example, in Indiana, a study shows its ten riverboat casinos are to blame for $1 million worth ofRead MoreBitcoin Online Casinos Are On The Way !1658 Words   |  7 PagesArticle 4 – Bitcoin online casinos are on the way! Look at any online shop and odds are you will see bitcoin listed as an accepted online currency. This new form of cryptocurrency has taken the world by storm and has shown no signs of fading into the background. It seems bitcoin has its eyes set on the online casino industry next, but what does that mean for the players? We have strived to find out. The Average Joe To the average player, the arrival of bitcoin may not seem like much, but in realityRead MoreConsumption Function, Autonomous Consumption, And Marginal Propensity974 Words   |  4 PagesC = Ca + by o Example: Income, wealth, interest rates, age, education, and family size are all part of spending, depending on your level of income. o The life-cycle theory assumes that household members choose their current expenditures optimally, taking account of their spending needs and future income over the remainder of their lifetime. †¢ Autonomous Consumption – The part of consumption that does not depend on income o Example: Electricity, food and costs related to housing, because these expenses

Understanding Financial Reporting Free Essays

Financial reports allow the organization to communicate information about their performance to the â€Å"outside world†. So, financial reports provide summarized information about an organization†s transactions for external decision makers. (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Financial Reporting or any similar topic only for you Order Now g. Investors). Financial reports can be used by employees and trade unions, government, creditors and lenders, customers, shareholders and investment analysts. All these users may need different statements of financial accounts but the most important statements which they need is the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow account and the income statement. The two main regulatory bodies of financial reporting are the â€Å"Law† and the â€Å"Accounting Profession† with the Accounting Standards Board usually known as ASB. In UK, most of the legislation related to the publishing of accounts is embodied in the Companies Act 1985 and 1989 which are concerned with the accounts of the limited liability companies only. The Companies Act 1989 is the main frame which the companies and accountants have to follow. All the financial statement drawn up under the act 1989 must present a true and fair view and its function is to protect all the users of the financial reports and statements. The second and the most important regulatory body is the accounting profession. The standard setters should be aware of the information needed by all users of financial reports and should know the impact and the outcome of a different accounting method on the needs of those users. The standard setters should also be able to resolve the conflicts which exist between the needs of different users. So, they have to find an alternative way which best satisfy user needs and this could be achieved by choosing the improvement of the â€Å"social welfare† instead of welfare of individuals. We know that Accounting Standards Board is the main accounting standard setter. Because the ASB is composed of professional accountants, they may be unfamiliar with the user needs. So , when there is a need for a change in accounting standard the ASB prepare and publish a draft standard called the FRED (Financial Reporting Exposure Draft). After the publishing of these drafts the comments from the public is invited and in the light of these comments the FRED is changed (or unchanged). Now the FREDs are issued as FRS (Financial Reporting Standard). The main disadvantage of this system is the ASB members are unfamiliar with the different user needs and the comments from the general public may not be equally represented. There are four things that standards in financial reporting supply people using it. The first one is â€Å"Comparability†; financial statements must allow people to compare one company with another one and evaluate the management†s performance without spending time and money adjusting them to a common format and common accounting treatments. It is essential that users of financial reports or investment decision makers be supplied with relevant and standard financial reports which have been regulated and hence standardized. The second thing that standards and regulations supply is called â€Å"Credibility†. Because all this standards and regulations exist accountants have to treat every company in the same way. If the accountancy profession permitted companies experiencing similar events to produce financial reports that disclosed markedly different results simply because of a freedom to select different accounting policies they would lose all of their credibility. So, the standards should be composed of rigid rules and should not be broken. The third thing is â€Å"Influence† that means, setting up the standards has encouraged a constructive appraisal of the policies being proposed for individual reporting problems and has been a stimulus for the development of a conceptual framework. The last thing that the standards have to supply is â€Å"discipline†. Companies left to their own devises without the need to obey standards will eventually be disciplined by the financial markets. But in the short run investors in such companies may suffer loss. The Financial Reporting Council is aware of the need to impose discipline because most of the company failures in recent years are because of obscure financial reporting. Why should the Accounting Standards set? As we argued before, an important role of the regulations is to increase the comparability of accounts by limiting the choice of alternative accounting methods and to supply standardized accounts. This standardization can be achieved only by uniform accounting practice. If all accounting methods were standardized, two organizations which began the year with same balance sheets and which made the same transactions during the year, they would report the same balance sheets and the same profit and loss account at the end of the year. In addition to these advantages of regulations in financial reporting, there are also some more useful functions. Regulations can help to reduce the influence of personal biases and political pressures on accounting judgments. They can increase the level of user confidence in, and understanding of, financial reporting by clarifying the basis on which all accounts are prepared and presented. Finally, they can provide a frame of reference for resolving accounting problems which are not mentioned in legislation or accounting standards. As we argued earlier although the regulations in financial reports have very advantages it has many disadvantages too: One if these disadvantages is the â€Å"Adverse Allocative Effects†, this could occur if the ASB did not take into account of the economic consequences of the new standard or regulation they have issued. For example, additional costs could be imposed on preparers of accounts and suboptimal managerial decisions might be taken to avoid any reduction in earning or net assets. â€Å"Consensus-seeking† can be another disadvantage and this means the issuing of standards that are over-influenced by those with easiest access to the standard-setters. Most of the time this could happen with complex subjects. How to cite Understanding Financial Reporting, Essay examples

Hungarian Dances Essay Example For Students

Hungarian Dances Essay Concert Critique #1The Hungarian Dances are an intriguing group of works by JohannesBrahms. They are characterized by frequent changes in tempo and volume. These pieces are focused on the melodies created when the instruments areplayed together. Each piece also contains more than one melody. Newmelodies, or themes, usually include a change in tempo and a change indynamics within each piece. The volume differences also stand out on thetracks. They usually go from soft to loud almost suddenly. The change wasstartling to me the first time I heard it. Certain instruments are singledout in every section also. In some parts you will hear the polyphony in thepiece come together very nicely. The plagal cadence used throughout the 4tracks gives them a storybook feeling. I can imagine any of these piecesbeing used as score or even background for a song in a just about anyDisney animated movie. The theme-and-variations form that is utilized alsoadds to the feeling. The differences in these pieces, however places themin different movies. Track two sounds like it belongs in a movie such asAnastasia or Cinderella. It sounds like something that I woul d hear at oneof those old-fashioned formal dances. While listening to track three, Icould imagine the seven dwarfs hard at work. Track four almost sounds likeMr. Brahms copied it straight out of Fivel Goes West. I could think of anymovie other than Fantasia for track 1 though. Overall, these pieces wereenjoyable to me because they painted that picture in my mind. I could seethe action being played out in my head while listening to the HungarianDances. Bolero by Maurice Ravel is a very long piece. It is not mind-numbingeven though it is very repetitive. Ravel prevents this work from becomingboring by changing the pitch or increasing the volume of the piece forevery couple of times the beat repeats itself. The fact that the beat isnot boring to begin with, also helped to hold my attention. This piecepaints a picture in mind. In fact, it almost directs an entire scene fromany war movie. When the piece starts off very quiet, it is almost like thecalm before the storm when soldiers are preparing for battle. As the piecegets louder the troops are marching forward until at the end when theyfinally make to the war zone. I did not like, however, how the piece endedso suddenly. It was like the battle and began and ended with one shot. Itleft me wanting more. Other than the fact that this track ended too soon, Ienjoyed everything leading up to the end. The two tracks by Claude Debussy have an overwhelming sense ofurgency to them. The tempo of these tracks is what creates that feeling. The crescendos in these tracks, coupled with the loudness of them, are themain ingredients in the urgent feeling that is given off. The frequentchanges in melody are sudden and often confusing. It is sometimes hard forme to catch what is going on in the pieces. I did not enjoy these piecesvery much. Track number eight and tracks eleven through fifteen were pianotracks with faster tempos. The melody was quick, much like the Debussytracks, but it just sounded much better on the piano. The faster notesflowed instead of jumping around. The song texture comes togetherbeautifully on these tracks. I could not find a story in these pieces, butI enjoyed them simply for their sonic value. Track fourteen was a slowerthan the others, but it was not slow to the point where it lulled me tosleep like tracks nine, and ten. These tracks were so slow to the pointwhere I was just waiting for them to end. .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .postImageUrl , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:hover , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:visited , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:active { border:0!important; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:active , .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57 .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6268fc5ffa37f80fa6d12237e956bc57:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Rodgers And Hammerstein EssayTrack sixteen was also slow but it was somehow different from theothers. The changes in pitch and melody kept me interested. The crescendoin the middle of the piece is what caught my attention. When I firstlistened to it, I thought it was just like the other tedious piano pieces. That crescendo gave the piece and entire storyline. It had a beginning, ithad rising action, a climax, closing action, and a conclusion. I enjoyedthe piece. I dont have a very good background in this kind of music, but frommy standpoint, this CD was pretty good. When I listen to rap or rhythm andblues music, I judge albums by if I enjoy listening to every song or not. Even if I do not enjoy listening to a song, I will listen to it anyway tofind out what the lyrics are. I enjoyed twelve out of sixteen tracks onthis CD. That is a good ratio in my book. If was an avid listener toorchestra and piano music, I would spend my money on this collection ofworks.

Sleep in Sports free essay sample

Cheri Mah of the stanford sleep disorders clinic and research laboratory has been following sleep patterns and the effects on the athletes performance. One of her experiments was with the Stanford University tennis team. For five weeks each member of the tennis team was to get ten hours of sleep per night. Those who increased their sleep time ran faster sprints and played at the best of their ability. Mah found that getting extra sleep over a couple of weeks improved an athletes performance, mood, and alertness for all athletes. Sleep is very important for collegiate and professional athletes who have full schedules and often travel for games. Athletes can easily struggle with getting enough sleep due to being so busy through out each day. This slows down the athletes alertness and performance level to a minimum. Many athletes have set personal bests and have broken school and also world records by just getting enough sleep. We will write a custom essay sample on Sleep in Sports or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The reason behind this is because while a person is in what they call deep sleep, is when a growth hormone is released. These hormones stimulate muscle growth and repair body parts such as bones and muscles. The hormones also help burn fat keeping the athlete in top shape. REM sleep also provides energy to both the brain and the body. If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair, memory consolidation and the release of hormones. So how much sleep does an athlete need? The answer is seven to nine hours per night for adults and nine to ten hours for adolescents and teens. Athletes can tell by falling asleep within twenty minuets of going to bed and waking up without an alarm means that they are getting the right amount.

Atonemnet essays

Atonemnet essays Ian McEwan`s novel is a dark, sleek trap of a book. Lying is, after all, what atonement is about as much as it is about guilt, penitence, or, for that matter, art. Through out the novel, Atonement, it is seen that characters lie to themselves and to other, thus they are guilt stricken and feel the need for atonement. The concepts of fact vs fiction, and truth vs lies are thoroughly explored in this novel. Each character is unique yet they all share one common trait, the ability to lie to ones self and to others. We see throughout the novel that lying is an explored theme. Briony the main and first character introduced to us is very imaginative. She is often caught between reality and imagination, and eventually this leads to the downfall of another character. Her imagination blinds her sense of reality and she begins to believe what she thinks she sees. Emily Tallis is a character, which believes her own lies. She lies to herself about the fact that Jack Tallis, her husband, has left her and is having an affair. She believes that her husband will one day come back home, when in actual fact he has no intention of returning. She feels that by lying to herself she can obstruct reality and she will not have to face the harsh reality of being alone. There are feelings between Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis, yet they choose to lie to themselves and banish any feeling there may be. Until eventually they can no longer hide their feeling and they become apparent, although misinterpreted by Briony. Lola longs to be seen as an adult and she feels that by lying to herself she will be able to convince those around her of her maturity. When Paul Marshal addresses the twins she interrupts saying then Ill thank you not to talk about them in front of the children. By saying this she feels more mature and hopes that others will accept her lie and notice her mature behavior. ...

ESL Lesson Plan Using Suggestopedia

ESL Lesson Plan Using Suggestopedia During a workshop held by Lori Ristevski concerning the practical application of Brain Friendly Learning (otherwise known as effective/affective learning), Lori stated that this method of teaching is based on the idea that effective learning is suggestive in nature, not direct. In other words, learning takes place through a combination of different types of right and left brain functions. She stated that long-term memory is semi-conscious and that we must sidetrack people with other things in order to allow them to receive information through peripheral perception. In order to  understand these concepts, Lori led us through a concert. A concert is basically a story read (or sung by some) out loud by the teacher. Students concentrate on understanding the story and not on learning new vocabulary, grammar etc. Following are the steps of this exercise and an example text for a concert. An important principle applied to this exercise (and, I imagine, all effective/affective materials) is the repeated exposure to new material. Music is also played in the background as a means of stimulating right brain participation. A Concert Step 1: Read (or sing in a quasi-recitative style - good luck ;-) the concert to students. Make sure to not introduce the new material before the concert.Step 2: Have students split up into teams. Read the concert back with pauses, the focus information being presented, for the students to fill in. Each correct answer gets a point. For example: You are working on introducing prepositions, you have read the concert and now read John went ____ the store ___ the corner. Students shout out into! and on! and the various teams get points.Step 3: Have students, in their respective teams, take cards (that you have prepared) with the new words/phrases on them. Students then place the cards in the correct order of usage or combine them with other cards to make sense. For example: Cards have been created with prepositions and nouns. Students need to then match up the correct preposition with the noun.Step 4: Have students make up sentences, in turn, using the paired up cards. For example: Stude nt A takes the pair into, store and says, He went into the store to buy some food. Now, heres the concert text. Thanks to another colleague, Judith Ruskin, for having created this text. The target language areas of this text are verb preposition, and adjective preposition combinations. Once upon a time, there was a young man who was addicted to chocolate. He ate it for breakfast in the morning, at lunch and dinner - it seemed that he was never tired of eating it. Chocolate with cornflakes, chocolate on toast, chocolate, and beer - he even boasted of eating chocolate and steak. He was married to a beautiful woman whom he had met when he was recovering from flu. She was a nurse, responsible for all the patients in the area and very content with her job. In fact, the only problem these two had was his dependence on chocolate. One day the young wife decided on a plan to make her husband allergic to chocolate forever. She confided in her best friend and asked her to cooperate with her in playing a trick on her husband. She was aware of the fact that her friend suffered from rats and she asked if she could borrow some of her rat poison. Her friend was a little surprised at the request but agreed to it and gave her the poison. The young wife hurried home and started work in the kitchen, very satisfied with herself. An hour later she emerged from the kitchen proudly carrying a large chocolate cake and the empty tin of rat poison. Darling - Ive made a lovely chocolate cake for you! she called fondly. Down the stairs, the greedy husband ran and in short time he had polished it off, right down to the last crumb. He was released from the hospital after only two weeks. He never accused his wife of poisoning him, but he was always slightly suspicious of her. Needless to say, he never again touched chocolate. Well, as you can tell my colleague is British and has that touch of famed British love of black humor... For further information on effective/affective learning: SEALSociety for Effective Affective Learning. UK based global association promoting effective/affective learning. SuggestopediaAn introduction to Suggestopedia through a look at documentation on the Net concerning its theory, practice,  and principles. BRAIN friendly English Learning Take a look at this exciting approach to learning/teaching English which focuses on using all areas of the brain while enjoying learning.

Statement of Purpose for pursuing graduate study Essay

Statement of Purpose for pursuing graduate study - Essay Example I have always yearned to listen, speak, read, write, and understand the Chinese language. Although it has been more than 20 years, I still remember a couple of my Chinese teachers’ names from the elementary school that I attended at the time. My major was Chinese Literature, and my test scores in Chinese have been relatively higher than my other subjects in high school. My feelings towards furthering my graduate studies in Chinese became stronger after studying in an art school for a couple of semesters. I have realized that Art has been an interest to me as well as a hobby. I have found that my passion is in the study of Chinese. I studied at the San Francisco State University where I obtained my baccalaureate degree in Criminal Justice. My experiences as a student were very positive, therefore, I wish to pursue my graduate Chinese studies at the same institution of higher education. I would like to engage in Chinese performance arts with a modern Chinese literature focus. Being bilingual in Chinese and English will give me the opportunity to perform research using primary sources and translating those research documents taking into account the differences and similarities of the western and eastern worlds: languages, cultures, traditions, customs, idiomatic terms, and non-verbal communication. This will be an asset for professors that are performing research given the Chinese language and any other dialects I may know for translation purposes given the above mentioned elements that need to be taken into consideration. I have faith and trust that a good college education will be the embodiment of one’s academic hopes and dreams for a better life. It will not only prepare me for my chosen profession, but it will also provide me with the social and individual interactive skills that are necessary for my personal and professional life. I hope that the Chinese Program at the San Francisco State University gives me the opportunity to become part of its

Admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Admission - Essay Example The academic study shifted my attention more towards the influence and importance of modern age literature as most of the works I’ve done had been about the authors of this century. As an undergraduate I did dissertations on Alfred de Musset’s Lorenzaccio, Stendhal’s Chartreuse de Parme and a personal research on Napoleon’s image in Romantic literature. My present subject of research is ‘Gerard de Nerval and his attitude towards Orient in his Voyage en Orient’ which is being done at the University of Tehran as part of my Masters Degree curriculum. However I have particular interest in the works of Andrà © Malraux and George Perecand and few other novelists of the 20th century. My deep prior learning on the history of French literature also encouraged me to have an interdisciplinary work combining political history & literature. I intend to make my research lead towards a professional career. As the research would gain me enough understanding in literature, history and politics, I could serve as a knowledge base to answer questions on a period, a culture or a writer. This in turn is a necessity to chase my career goal to be a university teacher, which I have nurtured through my desire to teach and through the experiences I have gained while working as a teacher in a local school. Extensive individual work and group research would be required to get into the minute details of the subject resultantly serving to develop my capacity and knowledge. Huge lacunas and limitations like lack of resources and limited availability of efficient supervisors in Iran shorten the scope of my further research and study within the country. This became quite evident to me, when I had the idea of comparing the work of Andrà © Malraux to that of Ernest Hemingway. As I initiated the study, I got discouraged by my professors because of the insufficient expertise in American as well as French

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay Example for Free

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay The process of economic transformation in Russia has been marked by a prolonged transitional depression and macroeconomic instability: seven years of continuing decline resulted in a cumulative drop of GDP by more than 40% between 1989 and 1996; in that period there were also several outbursts of near- hyperinflation. The first radical effort to tackle inflation was the IMF-supported stabilization program of 1995. It focused on tight monetary control and nominal exchange rate targets; subsequently, direct central bank financing of the budget was discontinued and the exchange rate was placed under control. In the years that followed, Russia made marked progress towards price and exchange rate stability and this prompted positive expectations in the West and a widespread perception that the country was pursuing the right course of reforms. It is important to point out that the 1995 stabilization effort was not supported by deep structural and institutional reforms. Russia inherited from the past an over-industrialized economy, dominated by highly inefficient heavy industry (including the military-industrial complex). The liberalization of prices and the discontinuation of subsidies resulted de facto in the destruction of a large share of the existing capital stock. Restructuring these industries is a serious policy task: simply closing down the large number of inefficient enterprises would not be socially and politically tolerable, but unfortunately that was the way of Russian development during 1990s. In these circumstances the Russian authorities started speedy, give-away mass privatization program which was carried out during 1992-1994. However, this resulted in most cases in the concentration of effective property rights in the hands of insiders (company managers) who had neither the willing nor the capital to perform the necessary deep restructuring of the enterprises. The newly emerging system of private ownership was not conducive to effective corporate governance and was in fact another obstacle to the process of enterprise restructuring. Moreover, the loopholes in law system seem to have incited a continued stripping of the assets of the privatized enterprises rather than their market-oriented restructuring. Thus, the progress in institutional and legislative reforms in Russia in the 1990s has been modest and the emerging market infrastructure in the country is extremely poor. This is especially so in the areas of commercial and corporate law. The execution of agreements most often relies on the goodwill of the parties, while contract enforcement is often impossible by legal means. Very little was done to reform the functioning of Russian public administration whose lack of transparency is well known. It gave birth to widespread rent seeking which resulted in the de facto concentration of wealth in a relatively small group of oligarchs. This distorted socio-political environment, and the presence of a mistakes in public administration has created a vicious circle which is a major obstacle to reforms and to social justice. One frequent characteristic of the Russian nouveaux-riches is that the wealth of numerous members of the new class was not acquired as a result of entrepreneurial success; it was simply easy money, obtained in some cases from illegal or semi-legal activity. Huge amounts of capital left Russia and were spent on luxury goods or just placed in safe havens instead of being put to productive use within the country. The unprecedentedly rapid stratification of society and the lack of social justice eroded initial public support for the reforms and strengthened the opposition to the reform process. It was in this economic and institutional environment that the Russian government launched the 1995 stabilization program. The climate for productive investment in Russia remained hostile, mostly due to the negative impact of this environment. The persistent lack of investor confidence leaded to further decapitalization of the economy. In real terms, gross fixed investment in 1997 was a quarter of its 1991 level. The prolonged financial pressure on manufactories provoked a credit crunch and the emergence of various monetary surrogates (acting as an alternative to money) and widespread barter (closely related to the diffusion of loss-making activity) which eroded further the tax base. Wage arrears kept mounting not only in the public domain but also in the corporate sector: in 1996 the arrears were, on average, for about 85% of total wage. The escalation of this situation was in May 1998, when doctors, workers and coal miners went on a massive strike over unpaid wages, blocking the Trans-Siberian Railway. After a short recovery in 1997, the economic situation started to getting worse in early 1998. Russia depends heavily on exports of energy resources and other primary commodities which make up 80% of merchandise exports, and the weakening of global demand and the unprecedented fall in their prices in the aftermath of the Asian crisis had a significant negative impact on its economy. There was a sharp fall in export earnings (about 12% in the first half of 1998) and this had a major impact on Russias external and fiscal balances. The fiscal problem There is wide agreement that the Russian fiscal crisis is itself just the expression of the overall crisis of the Russian transformation. Fundamental institutional reform of both taxation and expenditure has been repeatedly set back by political conflicts, such as constitutional crisis in 1993 and the problem of regional separatism. For the first half of 1998, the consolidated budget deficit (federal, regional and local) stood at 4. % of GDP, according to the lowest official figures. The overall position was considerably worse than this, particularly because the major extra-budgetary fund, the Pension Fund, had also a large deficit. These figures must also be seen in the context of wage arrears throughout all sectors of the economy. In the first quarter of 1998 debt service was fully one-third of federal spending. This visible strain was in itself another factor that destibilized confidence in the ability of the government to correct the situation. The growing burden of interest payments was built into the measures taken in 1995: while Russian official figures continue to record the 1995 budget deficit at 3. 0% of GDP, interest payments on the growing stock of GKO (Government Short-Term Commitments) were actually adding nearly the same amount to the financing needs in that year. The first issues of GKOs were available only to residents, and offered very high interest rates. In 1996, and in part as a result of International Monetary Fund insistence, the market was opened to non-residents. This did eventually succeed in lowering the interest rates, but it also clearly meant that the dangerous accumulation of debt could be continued. Until the first major crisis of confidence, this is what, in fact, occurred in 1998. The financial crisis of summer 1998 As part of the efforts to achieve macroeconomic stabilization, the federal government had made increasing use of Government Short-Term Commitments. But the situation remained dangerous: of the government deficit as much as 50% was due to interest payments. As Russias current account deteriorated from a position of surplus in 1997 to a deficit forecast at 1. 5-2% of GDP for 1998 as a whole, the rouble came under pressure and monetary policy was tightened with the result that the interest rates on GKOs reached levels of more than 100%. The consequent decline in the value of government securities led to calls by the foreign creditors of Russian banks for addition a repo loans. Thus, russian banks came under pressure to raise additional funds at just the time when the central bank was draining liquidity from the market as part of its attempt to defend the exchange rate. Due to the falls in the value of government securities, banks efforts to borrow were transferred to the interbank market that eventually couldnt function. These difficulties signaled the liquidity squeeze on Russian banks to international lenders, and increased their fears of becoming a bankrupt. At the same time the government faced increasing difficulties over borrowing to meet the interest obligations on its debt. The package of international loans from the IMF, the World Bank and Japan arranged in July was to provide Russia with funding of $17 billion during the 1998 and 1999. However, the attempt to defend the exchange rate which followed, was eventually abandoned, and a wider band for the rouble/dollar exchange rate was introduced in the third week in August that leaded to a rouble depreciation of more than 25%. On 2 September 1998 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation decided to abandon the floating peg policy and float the ruble freely. By 21 September 1998 the exchange rate had reached 21 rubles for one US dollar, meaning it had lost two thirds of its value of less than a month earlier. The moratorium on government debt caused large losses to foreign banks. For Russian banks the losses associated with the crisis are estimated at 40% of their assets. Despite the small scale of international exposure to Russia, the emergency measures taken by its government were accompanied by significant declines in prices in international financial markets and important downward revisions in forecast of capital inflows to developing and transition economies. Recovery Russia bounced back from the August 1998 financial crash with surprising speed. Much of the reason for the recovery is that world oil prices rapidly rose during 1999–2000 (just as falling energy prices helped to deepen Russias troubles), so that Russia ran a large trade surplus in 1999 and 2000. Another reason is that domestic industries, such as food producing, had benefited from the devaluation, which caused a steep increase in the prices of imported goods. Also, since Russias economy was operating to such a large extent on other non-monetary instruments of exchange, the financial collapse had far less of an impact on many producers. Finally, the economy had been helped by an infusion of cash. As enterprises were able to pay all debts on wages, consumer demand for goods and services produced by the Russian industry began to rise. For the first time in many years, in 2000 unemployment fell as enterprises added workers. Since the 1998 crisis, the Russian government has managed to keep social and political pressures under control, and this has played a essential role in recovery during the early 2000s.

Pakistan Movement To Get A Separate Homeland Essay -- informative essay

Islam is the complete code of life; it covers all aspects of life. Hence, political management and political system are necessary elements of human life and Islam has best explained and endorsed its own theory of political system. Following are the essentials of Islam. 1. Sovereignty belongs to Allah. In Islam, the authority belongs to Allah Almighty who is the master of whole universe. His commands are superior to all other speeches. He is the real and the only ruler of the world. As the Quran States: â€Å"They ask: have we also got some authority? Say: all authority belongs to God alone†. (Al –Quran) Therefore, in Islamic political system, people must believe in superiority of Allah who sustains this universe and sends his representatives. 2. Islamic Shariah as Constitution. Muslim state has its perfectly written constitution, in which rights and duties of everyone are clearly mentioned. Islamic Shariah refers to rules and regulations have to lead their lives. In the Shariah, duties of state, citizen’s role, and their rights are commanded. It covers each and every aspect of life and that will last forever. As Allah Say: â€Å"This day We have perfected your religion and completed My favors†. (Al –Quran) 3. Form of Government. There are so many contemporary theories about form of government for instance, autocracy (rule and authority belongs of experts), democracy (rule by people, for the people). However, Islam prescribed the Theo democracy, which is the combination theocracy and democracy. Islam commanded that is rule of experts of shriah which are elected by citizen of the state 4. Decision through consultation: In Islamic political, khilafat is conducted by mutual consult... ...unter that situation, Sir Syed’s Aligarh movement was aimed at benefiting Muslim by directory then to get western education to be at all to par with Hindus and British. But, the philosophy of deoband was completely opposite to it, they restrict Muslim from getting western education. And in result, the deoband achieved limited sphere of influence. 3. Unclear vision: The mullahs of deoband were opposing the cooptation with British on one side, and while they were also apposed the Pakistan movement to get a separate homeland. So they had not a clear vision their movement. Though deoband movement was less popular than Aligarh Movement but, nevertheless, the importance to bring Muslim unity on the basis of Islam cannot be ignored. Their efforts and propose ware noble as they wanted to create social Justice and harmony for the Indian Muslim.

Imagery in Johnny Got His Gun and Cry, the Beloved Country Essay

We all have wished to change something in our lives. Everything would be perfect if we could control what happens in the world. However, we know that life offers us no choice but to accept changes that occur in life. Therefore, we grieve at piteous downfalls but rejoice great transformations. Trumbo and Paton efficiently depict changes that their main characters encounter in life. Trumbo and Paton use imagery to show positive and negative changes throughout the lives of their main characters. Trumbo uses imagery to portray Joe’s pleasant past life. For example, Joe feels loved when he pictures â€Å"the sled† that was â€Å"his Christmas present† and his mother who is â€Å"laughing like a girl† and his dad who is â€Å"grinning in his slow wrinkly way† (11). The sled symbolizes familial love not only because it is given to Joe from his parents but also because the sled allows the family to spend loving time as a whole, making memories. Joe further remembers the time he spent with his family when he thinks about his mother’s rolls that were â€Å"steaming hot† and â€Å"melted† when â€Å"you put butter inside them† (16). Trumbo highlights not only Joe’s ability to smell and taste but also Joe’s emotional pleasure associated with sharing his favorite foods with the people he loves. Furthermore, we see that Joe is sociable and lively as a boy when he â€Å"got into his heavy clothes and his mackinaw and his boots and his sheepskin gloves and went out with the rest of the kids† into the snow (18). In his childhood, Joe is like any other ambitious boy who enjoys nature and social time even through the harsh and numbing cold. In addition, Joe feels accepted by society during his time in Shale City, the â€Å"prettiest town in the world† to him with a â€Å"pale blue† sky and with † about a million stars shining† (51). Joe is able to call Shale City home because he is comfortable with the people and the activities in this town. His friends and the town’s beautiful physical aspects make Joe feel like a part of the town, like he belongs there. Through imagery, Trumbo allows the reader to gain a positive view of Joe’s past. In contrast, Trumbo uses imagery to give an uncomfortable and negative view of Joe’s present life. For instance, Joe paradoxically describes his unconsciousness to be â€Å"a kind of fear yet not like any ordinary fear. It was more of a panic it was the panicky dread of losing yourself even from yourself† (127). Unlike his past, Joe is constantly in fear because he has no boundaries to help him differentiate his dreams from real thoughts; Joe feels that he can no longer trust his own mind. Furthermore, Joe wishes Kareen to be the unknown visitor beside him until â€Å"just as he could feel the touch of her hand his delight turned suddenly to shame† because unlike old times, Joe no longer feels confident about his body (157). His physical aspects weaken his self-confidence: with the thought of Kareen looking down upon his debilitated body, Joe feels humiliation and embarrassment. Unlike his past, Joe would not spend time with his loved ones even if he were given a chance because his pride would prevent him. Furthermore, after the nurse taps â€Å"Merry Christmas† to him, Joe â€Å"heard the sound of sleigh bells and the crunch of snow and there were wreaths of holly with red berries nestling like hot coals against them† in his mind, contrasting his past days of Christmas where he is physically able to celebrate (200). Trumbo uses a simile to portray the fresh memories of Christmas in Joe’s mind that are now Joe’s only keepsakes for internally celebrating the holiday. Finally, Joe falls into despair when â€Å"he could almost hear the wail of pain that went up from his heart† after his hopes are rejected by the doctors (235). Trumbo uses personification of a heart that wails to contrast the feeling of acceptance Joe felt in Shale City to the sense of betrayal Joe now feels from the doctors and society. Although Joe has put forth his whole heart and effort into his tapping, society has rejected him. Through imagery, Trumbo allows us to see the changes in Joe’s present lifestyle from that of the past. Similarly, Paton uses imagery to portray transformations in the characters that Stephen Kumalo loves. For example, when Stephen meets Gertrude in Johannesburg, he notices that â€Å"the voice that was once so sweet has a new quality in it, the quality of the laughter that he heard in the house† because Gertrude has transformed into a new being (60). The laughter Stephen refers to is shameful, so he relates the laugh to Gertrude because she is no longer an innocent and respectful being. Like Gertrude, John Kumalo transforms but into a man that is ravenous for power; thus, Stephen notices that he â€Å"sat with his hands on his knees like a chief† (65). Paton uses a simile to compare John to a chief because John is no longer a quiet man who follows tradition or someone else’s command; John is like a chief because he now takes his own leadership to speak his ideas. Stephen also sees that â€Å"there was a change† in John’s voice, that â€Å"it became louder like the voice of a bull or a lion† because John has an air of authority and demand in his voice (67). Paton uses simile to portray John’s voice as powerful as that of a bull or a lion. Furthermore, when Stephen finally sees Absalom in Johannesburg, he observes the boy’s sinful change as he â€Å"twists his head from side to side, as though the loose clothing is too tight for him† (130). What greatly disturbs Stephen is the fact that Absalom does not even have a justifiable reason for his murder, merely shaking his head when Stephen questions him. Like Gertrude and John, Absalom has diverted from traditional values and thus grieves Stephen. Paton uses imagery to show negative changes in major characters of Stephen Kumalo’s life. Paton also uses imagery to show changes in both Johannesburg and Nodtsheni. For example, Kumalo notices â€Å"how the grass had disappeared† and â€Å"how the maize grew barely to the height of a man† and grieves over his gradually debilitating town (52). Kumalo feels despair because he merely observes Ndotsheni growing ill without being able to help it. Furthermore, Kumalo feels emotionally stronger when he observes the natives boycotting the buses, starting to walk early in the morning with â€Å"a bite of food, and their eyes are hardly closed on the pillow before they must stand up again, sometimes to start off with nothing but hot water in their stomachs† (74). The sight of the natives working laboriously for justice gives Kumalo hope in Johannesburg, a city filled with novel ideas that contrast his traditional beliefs in Ndotsheni. Furthermore, after Jarvis comes to Ndotsheni, the town starts to make progress: the men no longer plough â€Å"up and down† but â€Å"throw up walls of earth, and plough round the hills, so that the fields look no longer as they used to look in the old days of ploughing† (299). Jarvis’ young demonstrator teaches the men of Ndotsheni ways to preserve the earth and rebuild the town; Jarvis brings a positive change to Ndotsheni. In addition, Stephen shows his emotional change towards Jarvis, taking a cypress branch and making it â€Å"into a ring, and tied it so it could not spring apart† and â€Å"put the flowers of the weld, such as grew in the bareness of the valley† (298). This wreath symbolizes Stephen’s gratitude towards Jarvis; Stephen’s guilt and pride no longer prevent him from accepting Jarvis’ warm offerings of help. Through imagery, Paton portrays changing aspects in Ndotsheni and Johannesburg. Through imagery, Trumbo and Paton successfully express the physical and emotional changes throughout Joe and Stephen Kumalo’s life. However, Trumbo is more efficient than Paton because his imagery contains more vibrant descriptions to help the reader feel the gravity of Joe’s changes. Trumbo gives the reader a more vibrant picture of Joe’s life through the use of powerful similes and personification. Trumbo’s imagery of the changes in Joe’s life reminds us of our weakness to control our own lives.

William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco, California. He received the best education that his multimillionaire father and his sophisticated schoolteacher mother could buy†private tutors, private schools, grand tours of Europe, and Harvard College. Young Hearst's Journalistic career began in 1887, two years after his Harvard expulsion. â€Å"l want the San Francisco Examiner, † he wrote to his father, who owned the newspaper and granted the request.When William's father died, he left his millions in mining properties, not to his son, but to his wife† ho compensated by giving her son ten thousand dollars a month until her death. The Daily Examiner became young Hearst's laboratory, where he gained a talent for making fake news and faking real news in such a way as to create maximum public shock. From the outset he obtained top talent by paying top prices.To get an all-star cast and an audience of millions, however, Hearst had to move his headquarters to New Y ork City, where he immediately purchased the old and dying New York Morning Journal. Within a year Hearst ran up the circulation from seventy-seven thousand to ver a million by spending enough money to beat the aging Joseph Pulitzer's World at its own sensationalist (scandalous) game. Sometimes Hearst hired away the World ‘s more aggressive executives and reporters; sometimes he outbid all competitors in the open market.One of Hearst's editors was paid twice as much in salary as the sale price of the New York World. Hearst attracted readers by adding heated reporting of sports, crime, sex, scandal, and human-interest stories. â€Å"A Hearst newspaper is like a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut,† said Hearst writer Arthur James Pegler. Hearst's slam-bang showmanship attracted new readers and nonreaders. During the last five years of the nineteenth century, Hearst set his pattern for the first half of the twentieth century.The Journal supported t he Democratic Party, yet Hearst opposed the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) in 1896. In 1898 Hearst backed the Spanish-American War (1898; a war in which the United States aided Cuba in its fight for freedom from Spanish rule), which Bryan and the Democrats opposed. Further, Hearst's wealth cut him off from the troubled masses to whom his newspapers ppealed. He could not grasp the basic problems the issue of the war with Spain raised.Entering politics Having shaken up San Francisco with the Examiner and New York City with the Journal, Hearst established two newspapers in Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago American in 1900 and the Chicago Examiner in 1902; a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston American; and a newspaper in Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Examiner in 1904. These added newspapers marked more than an extension of Hearst's Journalistic empire, they reflected his sweeping decision to seek the U. S. presidency . Perhaps his ambition came from a desire to follow in his father's footsteps.His personality and fortune were not suited to a political career however. In 1902 and 1904 Hearst won election to the House of Representatives as a New York Democrat. Except, his Journalistic activities and his $2 million presidential campaign lett him little time to speak, vote, or answer roll calls in Congress . His nonattendance angered his colleagues and the voters who had elected him. Nevertheless, he found time to run as an independent candidate for mayor of New York City in 1905, and as a Democratic candidate for governor in 1906. His loss in both elections ended Hearst's political career.Personal life In 1903, the day before his fortieth birthday, he married twenty-one-year-old Millicent Willson, a showgirl, thus giving up Tessie Powers, a waitress he had supported since his Harvard days. The Hearsts had five boys, but in 1917 Hearst fell in love with another showgirl, twenty-year-old Marion Davie s of the Ziegfeld Follies. He maintained a relationship with her that ended only at his death. When Hearst's mother died, he came into his inheritance and took up permanent residence on his father's 168,000-acre ranch in southern California.There he spent $37 million on a private castle, put $50 million into New York City real estate, and put another $50 million into his art collection†the largest ever assembled by a single individual. Hearst publications During the 1920s one American in every four read a Hearst newspaper. Hearst owned twenty daily and eleven Sunday papers in thirteen cities, the KingFeatures syndication service (organization that places featured articles or comics in multiple papers at once), the International News Service, the American Weekly (a syndicated Sunday supplement), International Newsreel, and six magazines, includingCosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Harper's Bazaar. Despite Hearst's wealth, expansion, and spending, his popularity with the publi c as well as with the government was low. Originally a progressive Democrat, he had no bargaining power with Republican Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919). Hearst fought every Democratic reform leader from Bryan to Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), and he opposed American participation in both world wars. In 1927 the Hearst newspapers printed forged (faked) documents, which supported an accusation that the Mexican government had paid several U. S. senators more than $1 million to support a CentralAmerican plot to wage war against the United States. From this scandal the Hearst press suffered not at all. In the next ten years, however, Hearst's funds and the empire suddenly ran out. In 1937 the two corporations that controlled the empire found themselves $126 million in debt. Hearst had to turn them over to a seven- member committee whose purpose was to save what they could. They managed to hold off economic failure only by selling off much of Hearst's private fortune and all of his public powers as a newspaper owner. William Randolph Hearst died on August 14, 1951, in Beverly Hills, California.

Police Corruption Essay Example

Police Corruption Essay Example Police Corruption Paper Police Corruption Paper Close. D. (2003). Morality in Criminal Justice: An Introduction to Ethics. Wadsworth Group. Belmount Ca. Downloaded from U. f Phoenix rEbook collection on April 9, 2008. Westwood. J. (2001). Police Culture and the Code of Silence. Retrieved August 18, 2008 from opcc. bc. ca/Reports/2001/POLICE%20CULTURE%20AND%20THE%20CODE%20OF%20SILENCE. pdf Kerwin, J. (November 2006). Op-Ed: Why I don’t trust the Police. The Stanford Daily. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://daily. stanford. edu/article/2006/11/17/opedWhyIDontTrustThePolice. Singh, A. (Feburary, 2007). Police Corruption. PUCL Bulletin. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from pucl. org/Topics/Police/2007/police-corruption. html http://enwikipedia. rg/wiki/Intimidation esrfkabissa. org/corru/messages/242html Sherman1978p. 31 Dantzker, 1995 p. 157 Captain Williams, Gary, Commanding Officer of LAPD Pacific Division. Interview by Author, Paolo Mauro, May 01, 2000. Robinson, Matthew B. (2005) Justice Blind? Ideals and Realities o f American Criminal Justice 2e, University of Phoenix eBook Library U. S. Department of Justice, â€Å"Police Integrity, Public Service with Honor† Jan 1997; From, NCJRS. org/pdffiles/163811. pdf Law Enforcements Code of Ethics. Retrieved, August 25, 2008, from, culcom. net/~lake/policecodeofethics. html

10 Unexpected Realities of Self-Publishing Your Books

10 Unexpected Realities of Self-Publishing Your Books 10 Surprising Realities of Self-Publishing Your Books I know it seems easy.You’re probably thinking that self-publishing is nothing more than uploading a document to the web and hitting an all-powerful â€Å"PUBLISH† button.You’re far from the truth.In all honesty, self-publishing is certainly a process. There’s a reason big-name publishing houses have beenaround for so long; they take care of a lot of the work. You do all the creative thinking while they do the other heavy lifting.But that also means they get a (very) big cut of your earning. Your hard-earned income. But all of that’s already been discussed.Instead, we’ll talk about what you can actually expect when you decide to put yourself first and commit to self-publishing.And believe me, I know it’s a hard choice to make.Taking that leap can be difficult, especially if you’re not sure what to expect. Let us do some decluttering of your mind by cluing you in on some of the unexpected realities of self-publishing your book!#1 You’ll become a tech-savvy self-publishing whizA lot of technical coordination needs to happen in order to self-publish your book.You’ll have to:Write the bookGet it formattedGet a cover designedCombine into one productCreate online self-publishing accountsUpload materials to the accountsCoordinate your launch team in a single placeThere is more but I think you get the idea.Self-publishing involves a number of different technical capabilities you probably don’t know of before starting the process.And because you’ll be responsible for the entirety of your publishing journey, you’ll learn a lot about all of the different platforms you’ll need to make it happen which is made a lot easier with a program that shows you exactly what you need to do, when to do it, and how to get it done. #2 A lot more incomeYou probably think of self-published authors as the â€Å"starving artist† type, forever playing catch-up with bills and life in gene ral.In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth.That fact is, self-publishing gets a really bad reputation for bankrupting those who pursue its path. And sure, some people may have spent a lot of time and money on their book only for it to tank.But those people often decide to go it completely alone instead of using a program or guideline of sorts to ensure they succeed.If you do work hard and pursue self-publishing by learning from those who have done it before, you can actually expect some cushy additional income.Why is that, you ask?Because you don’t have to fork over a chunk of your earnings to a publisher. Because you are the publisher. #3 You’ll learn a lot about yourselfThis is especially true if you’re writing non-fiction but it’s just as meaningful for fiction authors as well.Writing a book takes a lot of your own experiences, values, and meaningful content to you. That means you get to do some digging into your psyche to uncover the very core of who you are. And if youre writing a memoir, be prepared for a lot of this.That’s a bit deep, but I really want you to understand just how much you can learn about yourself from self-publishing a book.And it’s not even all about the writing itself, either.Self-publishing takes a lot of drive, ambition, and a very determined individual.It’s a challenge and whenever we enter into challenging times in our lives, we learn more about ourselves than ever before.Self-publishing a book is the same.Through your writing, editing, rewriting, marketing, and self-publishing journey, you can figure out more of who you are and what you want out of life.And that alone is worth it.#4 You’ll make amazing connectionsNetworking isn’t really something many people think of when they consider self-publishing.In fact, most people assume self-published authors are shut-ins who spend all their time shrouded in thick blankets with a steaming mug of spiked co ffee between their hands.But when you have to market and ask others for advice or even if you become a member of a powerful self-publishing group, you meet all kinds of people.And knowing talented, hardworking individuals will only help you reach your goals faster.The point is, self-publishing helps you build those connections you might not otherwise get. After all, self-published authors stick together.#5 You build almost-instant credibility The crazy thing about self-publishing is how much other’s view of you changes.Before, you may have just been a blogger with a business that just wouldnt take off. After you have a book available, others will see you as an authority figure in your field.They will feel more comfortable paying for your products or services simply because you wrote a book.It might seem a little silly because your knowledge base is the same, but when a potential customer can purchase your book, they instantly see you as someone with expert knowledge and this increases the likelihood that they’ll buy from you.Even if you’re not a business owner, self-publishing a book will still give you a boost in the eyes of strangers and even people you know well.#6 Opportunities will come knockingWe like to refer to self-publishing a book as opening the door to Narnia. Once you go through with the process, you will throw yourself into an entirely new world where opportunities basically fall into your lap.By this I mean that you might be contacted for speaking gigs, bring in more high-value clients, get requests for interviews, and more.Because publishing a book places you as an authority figure and heightens your credibility, more people will want to hear what you have to say on the subject.This could lead you down new roads, offer new business ventures (like this entire company!), and change your entire life just because you decided to take action and self-publish a book.#7 Your business will flourishThis is the amazing thing about self-publishing a book. When your credibility sky-rockets, so will your business.In fact, most aspects of your life will flourish but a book will directly aid your business (and even your side-hustle!).Take our alumnus Ashley Emma, for example. After the launch of her book, her business generated $24,000 specifically from her book Fearless Author.So if your business is struggling and you need a new way to bring in sales, writing and self-publishing a book is a fantastic method to do so.#8 You’ll want to write another book ASAPThe process of self-publishing can be a long and arduous one and you’ll still want to publish another book as soon as you can.Why? Because of everything you gain from it.Many of our students love what having a self-published book offers so much that they dive into the program again in order to write another one.In fact, one of our alumni (and now one of our Coaches!), Lise Cartwright, has self-published 26 books simply because of the opportunit ies she’s gained through doing so.One of the (arguably) best opportunities granted was becoming part of the Self-Publishing School team behind the scenes by teaching and helping other students find the same success she did.Bottom line: you might become addicted to writing books. #9 You’ll generate tons of new ideasWriting a book forces you into a quicksand-like imaginative headspace. The more you write, the more you understand what else you can be writing and you end up in a pit of creativity that releases your mind and allows you to think outside the box. You practically get sucked into creative thinking.Meaning, you’ll come up with so many new ideas for other books, blog posts, or even business ventures.Think of your creativity like a muscle and self-publishing as the gym.Each time you sit down to further your self-publishing progress, the more creative you will become.#10 You’ll become a routine-writerBefore you learn the real process of self-publish ing a book, you probably only ever wrote when you were inspired.And thats not always useful.You’ve always had this book idea and would spend bursts of time typing out so much contentonly to lose that inspiration the next dayand the nextand the next, until you basically forget all about it.When you actually self-publish a book, you learn that becoming an author isn’t just about writing when you want to but writing anyway.The best part about this?You write faster, become better, and can publish much sooner than if you waited around for inspiration to find you.Your Next Steps Toward Self-Publishing SuccessNow you know just how much you can expect to gain from self-publishing a book. But how do you get started? What steps do you need to takeright now?Ive got those answers right here for you:#1 Join your free trainingAre you ready to take the first step toward your self-publishing journey? Then make sure to save your spot and sign up for ourfree video training!Chandler Bol t, 6-time bestselling authorand our super knowledgeable CEO, will take you through exactly what you need to go from blank page to published author in 90 daysor even less if youre really ambitious!

Environmental ocean hcom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental ocean hcom - Essay Example In result, these pollutants indirectly affect humans and other animals that depend on marine resources (â€Å"Ocean Pollution†). One manifestation of an indirect effect of pollutants to humans is beach closings. Beaches that have unsafe levels of bacteria and chemicals are mandated to be closed due to health and environmental concerns (â€Å"Beach Closings). As reported by the Natural Resources Defense Council‘s (NRDC) 2009 annual survey, it has reached a massive amount of 18,000 reports of beach closings (â€Å"Beach Closings†). The causes of beach pollution includes Urban water run-offs, Boat wastes, Beach goers, Leaking sewage pipes and Malfunctioning sewage treatment plants, Wildlife and Pet Wastes, and Agricultural Discharges and Runoffs (â€Å"Beach Closings†). According to Marinelife.about.com, marine pollution affects not just the fishes that shelter in the ocean but also the creatures that feed on these animals. When there are less marine animals for the predators to eat, then there will be more competition for food within that species affecting all organisms in the food chain (à ¢â‚¬Å"Marine Life†). Another effect of marine pollution is the climate change. It largely affects the agricultural croplands and food production making the prices of food to rise. Food crisis is a possibility if this continues (â€Å"Climate Change: Food

How do geographies of exclusion and inequality structure experiences Essay

How do geographies of exclusion and inequality structure experiences of contemporary society - Essay Example These aspects have resulted to regional differences in relation to division of labour of gender in relation to reproduction and production, paid labour and unpaid labour, and in domestic and public spheres. Vanderbeck & Dunkley (2006) states that, the different values, norms and rules governing the gender in terms of division of labour and gender sharing of responsibilities, resources and power are significant elements in understanding the manner of inequality of gender in different regions and societies. Geographical differences mean that men and women take part in their national or regional economic activities differently from one another. More so these differences differ across the world. Two major factors are specifically significant in determining at which extent women take part in the main economic activities and their reach valued social resources; 2. How inflexible the â€Å"public private† segregate is, thus affecting the degree of the women in terms of public movement and opportunities for straight economic participation (Vanderbeck & Dunkley, 2006) Research form various social sciences subjects hints that there are different household variations which are associated with specific â€Å"regional patriarchies†. These basically concerns land inherences, economic activities, welfare outcomes and marital practices. (Vanderbeck & Dunkley, 2006) The most pronounced type of gender inequality in Asia is related with governments which are extremely patriarchy. These regimes also include those found in North Africa western Asia and East Asia. These countries have a clear different history and culture but they share similarities in terms of woman economic activity. Family structures and kinship in these countries are mostly patrilineal; marriages seem to be exogamous and also â€Å"patrilocal† where women marry out of their community. Household in these regions are organized alongside

The lack of suitable rehabilitation for young offenders Essay

The lack of suitable rehabilitation for young offenders - Essay Example Lack of material, social and psychological support at the time of release, make it difficult for juvenile offenders to break the cycle of re-arrest and release. Extended and short-terms in a correctional facility provide limited chance for interventions and treatment to avert future recidivism. Community safety makes it crucial that communities, as well as governments, must develop effective interventions, which rehabilitate juveniles successfully. It is critical to developing interventions designed to achieve suitable rehabilitation for young offenders and that lower rates of re-offending. The social control theory highlights that a strong attachment of young persons to their families help in controlling and discouraging offending cases among them. Failed family attachment coupled with parental abuse increases the vulnerability of the young individuals to offending (Rees-Jones et al., 2012). Second, social learning theory stresses that the delinquency among juveniles occurs through a learned phenomenon that encompass imitation, modelling as well as reinforcement. Therefore, the juveniles learn and adopt the behaviour patterns that their abusers display. In addition, the theory points that the incidence of reoffending can escalate especially if the rehabilitation system does not sufficiently deal with the underlying causes of such juvenile offences. The social-psychological strain theory highlights that negative treatment generate backward emotions including frustration, anger and resentment. Therefore, juveniles are likely to offend especially if they had negative tre atment in the past. Juvenile delinquents confined in rehabilitation centers are faced with a number of personal, economic and social challenges, which tend to become obstacles to a lifestyle that is free from crime. Most of the challenges are consequences of experiences that the offender had, whereas some have connection to the

Impact of E-business on the Economy

Impact of E-business on the Economy The Impact of E-business on the Economy Introduction Electronic business also known as E-business is the conduct of business on the internet and other computer networks, not only does it involve buying and selling of products but also customer servicing and collaboration with business partners. In recent years, e-business has developed rapidly and the e-purchasing is becoming more popular over the world. Electronic business (e-business) is a general concept covering any form of business transaction or information exchange executed using information and communication technologies (Whiteley, 2000). E-business may take place between firms (B2B), between firms and their customers (B2C), or between firms and the government (B2G). According to Whiteley (2000), e-business operations can be grouped into three categories; Electronic categories, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Internet business. E-business has been recognized as an important contributor in the economy of many countries. In the emerging global economy, e-business has increasingly become a very important and a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst for economic development. This report will be analysising the impact of e-business on the economy (EU) and the importance of e-business, stating the critical issues and challenges involved in e-business. Impact of E-business on business organisations To assess the economic impact of e-business in an organisation, I will concentrate on the important sectors in the European union which are the Retail industry, Banking industry and the Travel and tourism industry. Retail sector Retailing is one of the most important industry sector in the world, with no exception of the EU. In 2004 the EU retail sector, the industry comprised of approximately 17 million firms that employed people in the EU27 (e-business watch 2007) In the retail sector, e-business has had great impact on the value chain. It has made a great difference in terms of shelf life of products and stock rotation time. It also highlighted the relevance of inter-business exchanges. In fact, retailers, beside their relationship with suppliers and consumers, have significant impact on intercompany exchanges through CEDI (centre of distribution). In essence, retail companies will want to rationalize and reduce costs of supply and management of the supply chain, starting with purchasing cost. They will also want to differentiate their own offers from the competitors, exploiting customer relation management techniques as to communication, sales and customers loyalty (e-business Watch 2000). The UK figures released by the Office of National Statistics in February 2009 showed that internet retail sales, as a percentage of total retail sales, rose by 13.2% (average weekly value of  £167 million). These figures closely match figures released by the IMRG/Capgemini Sales Index which showed that the e-business retail market rose by 17% in July compared to July 2008, this increase has been driven by the clothing, accessories and electrical goods online retail sales. Banking Industry The introduction of E-business (ICT) in the European banking system has had a significant impact on banks operating system and their operations within physical branches. The most important form of e-business used by banks is the online banking which has help cut down cost. E-business has enabled banks to redefine their boundaries and also gained competitive advantage through it. Internet banking is nowadays supported by advanced ICT solutions which enable most everyday banking services to be conducted online (www.ebusiness-watch.org). Studies also shows productivity growth rose in the EU from year 2000 onwards, while average working hours per employee has decreased subsequently, this study tells use e-business investment is largely substituting labour particularly in retail banking. Travel and tourism Industry In the last few years travel pattern has changed in the EU. The travel sector in the EU is so large that even a small share of it produces a major online market. Taking the internet for example, it has had a very high impact on the air travel industry. It can provide a direct connection between airlines and customers without the need to use travel agents or Computer Reservation Systems (CRS), thereby leading to cost savings in the distribution of air tickets (Law and Leug, 2000) the internet has become very extensive in the travel industries and its impact has been particularly significant on the distribution channel for air travels and the use of the Internet for searching and purchasing airline tickets has become common in travel markets. The introduction of e-business to the airline industry has enabled most travellers to bypass travel agents alltogether, with most agreeingthat the most current air market will shift form traditional travel agents to internet based agents like www. opodo.com. Recent studies shows that firms that have reinforced their e-business strategy in the airline industry has had an increase in sales volume for airlines website. The internet has contributed strongly to the growth of most budget airlines taking easy jet as an example. Easy jet has never used the travel agent network, they rely on the internet because all their flights are booked online by customers. (Journal of Air Transport Management Volume 12, Issue 5, September 2006, Pages 253-260) Impact of E-Business on the economy Over the past decades e-business has helped and provided various methods in which buyers and sellers can transact In the decades to come, exploiting the full potential of developments could have profound impacts in individual sectors of the economy as well as for macroeconomic performance and economic policies. At the aggregate level, productivity and economic growth could rise, at least for some time, as a result of more efficient management of supply and distribution, lower transaction costs, low barriers to entry and improved access to information. In the business-to-business context, higher efficiency can be gained from B2B e-commerce and B2B exchanges via lower procurement cost and better supply chain management. Many companies claim that putting their supply chains online has led, or will lead, to major cost savings. According to Goldman Sachs (2000) study these gains range from between 2 and 40 percent of total input cost depending on the industry which may subsequently reduce the price in the overall economy.

The Character of Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- GCSE English Literatur

Macbeth:   A Question of Character       The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a portrait of one man, Macbeth, showing how he changes. Although we are presented with his deterioration from good to evil, we can see his human side throughout the play, which makes it a tragedy. It is the shortest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and has a very fast pace. Once Macbeth’s ambition has ‘set the ball rolling’, events happen quickly in the play as it gathers momentum. The themes of Macbeth are ambition, effects of evil, and violence, shown mainly by the language of the play, as in Shakespeare’s time plays were performed in daylight with very few props. Ambition is something that everyone can identify with, and Macbeth is a compelling study of how ambition can destroy a person, so the audience is interested in Macbeth’s character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our first impression of Macbeth is of a heroic, famous, popular man who is well liked by the king - Duncan refers to Macbeth as ‘noble Macbeth’.(Act 1 Scene 2 L67) Macbeth is tempted by two sources of external evil - the witches and his wife. However, he was already ambitious, and the women only magnified this by making his ambitions seem like they could be reality. The war hero becomes a murderer and then dies a shameful and violent death. Shakespeare creates an atmosphere of evil and darkness mainly through his language, although scenes containing violent actions or the witches are often played in darkness. Shakespeare uses poetry (verse) as opposed to prose, as poetry often contains more metaphors and imagery, which he uses to create a feeling of darkness and evil. The language gives an insight into the character of Macbeth - we see his ruthlessness and cruelty, but also fear, doubt and som... ...ess, 1995.   Page Cooper, The Mystery of Witchcraft, London, 1617. Epstein, Norrie, The Friendly Shakepeare, New York, Viking Publishing, 1993. Harbage, Alfred, Macbeth, Middlesex England, Penguin Publishing, 1956. Magill, Masterplots- Volume 6, New Jersey, Salem Press, 1949. Staunten, Howard, The Complet Illustrated Shakespeare, New York, Park Lane Publishing, 1979. Gove, Philip Babcock. Webster’s Third International Dictionary.   Springfield, Mass: G. & C. Merriam, 1967    Johnson, Samuel.   The Plays of William Shakespeare.   London: J & R Tonson, 1788    Jorgensen, Paul A.   Our Naked Frailties.   Los Angeles: U of CA, 1971.    Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.    Van Doren, Mark.   Shakespeare. NY: Doubleday, 1939.    Watkins, Ronald.   The Theology of Macbeth.   Oxford: Oxford University, 1964.   

Crown Cork and Seal Essay

What are the most significant factors affecting competition in the metal container industry? The U. S. Metal can industry was valued at $12. 2 billion 1989. There were five firms dominating this industry at that time constituting 61% of the entire market share. Some significant factors that impacted the competition among these firms were : Competitive Rivalry within the industry: The major players in the metal container industry comprised of 61% of the market share making intensive competitive rivalry among themselves. The Pricing was very competitive with little room for any significant profit margins. Focus was to enhance capacity utilization and eliminate costly changeovers wherever possible. Providing volume discounts was a common trend to attract more customers. The shrinking customer base attributed to a new low in manufacturer’s margins. Threat of new entrants : The threat of new entrants in this industry is pretty low since the major market players already dominate the existing market share. The threat for the competing companies lies in its other rivals rather than any new entrant to this specialized industry. Bargaining Power of the Customers : I feel the bargaining power in this industry for the customers was pretty high at that time. The major customers of this industry were big names like Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Pepsico Inc. etc. The mergers and consolidations among the numerous bottling industry companies resulted in a shrinkage from 8000 to 800 major players in a matter of 9 years (1980 to 1989). The customers could easily punish the metal container companies by making frequent switches whenever there occured unsatisfactory services or steep pricing. Bargaining power of suppliers : Steel had been replaced very quickly by aluminum ever since the invention of aluminum cans in 1958. By 1989, aluminum consisted of 99% of the beer and 94% of the soft drink metal container business. The suppliers of aluminum were the largest three aluminum producers in the country. Since they were enjoying a clear market share advantage, they did not face any competition from other new players. Hence the bargaining power of the suppliers was somehow high/strong. Manufacturing Costs: The overall costs of manufacturing equipments for this industry were extremely high. The various players were striving to achieve a minimum cost structure for their peripheral equipments without hurting the production efficiency. Some firms were also shipping their old production lines to emerging countries overseas where the canning technology was not well mastered at that time. Apart from these, some other important factors were: Technological Changes, Environmental Risks, Research and Development ,Geographic location of plants. 2. What strategy does Crown Cork have for competing in this industry ? Crown Cork has been well recognized for being â€Å"owner-operators†. Their primary strategy has been to improve quality while ensuring lower costs. Their strategy revolved around cost efficiency, quality and customer service. Connelly realized that since they were a small player in an industry dominated by American Can and Continental Can, they should focus on their core competencies in metal forming and fabrication. Their main focus was to concentrate on specialized uses cans and international markets. Connelly’s new strategy in terms of manufacturing involved heavy investments in new and geographically dispersed plants. Their key attributes were high quality, flexibility and quick response to customers’ needs. They also invested in recycling a great deal and they formed the Nationwide Recyclers which was one of the top 5 aluminum can recyclers. Their strategy also involved minimum investments in R&D and rather focusing on their core skills like metal fabrication and die forming. Customer service was another crucial strategic step that Crown Cook took to compete in this industry. They had a model which ensured that any customer grievances would be routed directly to the chairman himself. These were some of the strategy that I observed in the case that Crown Cook employed to survive in this industry. 3. What advantages, if any, does a firm the size of Crown Cork have over American Can and Continental Can? How do explain the comparison shown in exhibit 5 in the case? A firm of the size of Crown Cork has some clear advantages as compared to American Can and Continental Can. The Value chain analysis provides strategic focus. Crown Cork is not interested in investing for R&D. They are able to save in millions by letting go off this expense. Rather, they can rely on their close competitors to take the risk in terms of R&D and learn and capitalize on their mistakes. Also, being a comparatively smaller organization, their overall organizational challenges and obstacles are much less. Their response time to customer needs and product innovation is very quick. They have the freedom and leverage to specialize on their core tin products and have no need of much experimentation. Exhibit 5 represents these major observations: The net sales figures of Crown Cork are much less compared to American Can and The Continental Group. Even the gross profit margins for Crown Cork is lower when compared with the other two major giants. However, the operating income is much more economical (because of its size) in case of Crown Cork. This is also due to the absence of any acquisitions or mergers for them. But, the return on assets and return on average equity is similar to the other two companies or even better for some years. This is mostly due to their smaller overall size and also near-zero investments in R&D and also their economical operations expenses. 4. What recommendations would you make to the management ? Go into the plastic industry. It was high time they started expanding their horizons and exploit future markets. * Should consider bidding for a part Continental Can. * Focus on enhancing efficiencies in plants – may consider implementing just in time techniques. Improve marketing budgets and encourage an overall marketing approach. * Continue with their existing customer-centric model. * To survive and compete in the long run, they should start investing atleast a small percentage of revenue into R&D. * They might consider hiring external consultants to seek industry related advice.

Supporting Life: Earth’s Surface and Landforms

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals: Science Inquiry—You will conduct online research related to a series of photographs, develop hypotheses, and communicate your findings in written form. STEM—You will analyze real-world data to gain insight into careers in Earth Science and Geology. 21st Century Skills—You will employ online tools for research and analysis, use critical thinking and problem-solving skills, communicate effectively, and assess and validate information.DirectionsWrite a response for each of the following activities. When you have finished, submit your work to your teacher. Check the rubric at the end of this document to make sure your work is meeting the expected criteria.Constructive and Destructive Processes The earth is constantly changing. Constructive and destructive processes are at work all over the planet all the time. Sometimes these changes happen slowly over thousands of years and are barely noticed. At othe r times, changes are apparent immediately. The photographs below, taken at various locations, are evidence of these changes. Your task is to identify and describe the constructive and destructive processes that have occurred or are occurring in each photograph.a. Taku Glacier, AlaskaType your response here: Destructive glacial erosion and ice wedgingb. Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park, UtahType your response here: I don’t see where it would be eitherc. lava dome, Mount St. Helens, WashingtonType your response here:Both because the lava builds up land but it also erodes away graveld. stream at the Karnala Bird Sanctuary, IndiaType your response here:Destructive because it causes stream erosion e. Atlantic Ocean, EnglandType your response here: Destructive because it washes away rocks and mineralsf. Arches National Park, UtahType your response here: I don’t see where it would be eitherg. Telescope Peak, Death Valley National Park, CaliforniaType your response here: Constructive because tectonic plates came together and moved upwardh. basaltic lava columns, Zion National Park, UtahType your response here: Constructive because they were caused by cooled magmai. Nogahabara Sand Dunes, Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge, AlaskaType your response here:Constructive because sand built up to make the sand dunesj. flooding, IowaType your response here: Destructive because it washes away soil,house foundations, also contaminates drinking waterRubric This rubric will be used by your teacher to grade your assignment.Points possible: 20 maximumConstructive and Destructives ProcessesIdentified the constructive process in each photograph (Â ½ point) described or gave examples of the constructive process in each photograph (Â ½ point) identified the destructive process in each photograph (Â ½ point) described or gave examples of the destructive process in each photograph (Â ½ point)

article of confederation essays

article of confederation essays The ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation was pulling the country apart by the end of the 1780s. It needed improvement in each genre of its structure. In foreign policy, politically, and economically, the country was in a state of collapse. Politically, the writers of the Articles of Confederation forgot two of the three-branch government, the executive and judicial branches. In foreign policy, the country was not respect by any of its peers and could not create an effective treaty. Finally, economic stability was non-existent. The country could not collect taxes, pay debts, or trade effectively. Amidst the chaos, there were few shinning lights in the darkness of the period. One such event was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These many flaws threw the country in to a state of disarray between 1781 and 1789. Politically, the weight of government was tilted to one side instead of being balanced. The Legislative branch was the chief agency with the extremely important executive and judicial branches left up to each individual state. Each state had only one vote in the Congress, which may seem fair, but population wise, it was totally unbalanced. Any bill or amendment had to be approved by two-thirds vote or unanimously. These rules made it virtually impossible to change any aspect of the Articles. With no executive branch, the government could not enforce any laws or taxes that were actually passed. As expressed in Document C, the executive branch could not collect the money to pay the armys soldiers. This government was in actuality no more than an advisor to the states. Furthermore, with the judicial branch being left up to every state, there was no uniform interpretation of the new laws or constitution, which made traveling between difficult. The government under the Articles co uld not enforce laws, collect taxes, or even protect itself from threats. ...

Iraq War Military History - Battle of Fallujah

Iraq War Military History - Battle of Fallujah The Second Battle of Fallujah was fought November 7 to 16, 2004, during the Iraq War (2003-2011). Lieutenant General John F. Sattler and Major General Richard F. Natonski led 15,000 American and Coalition troops against approximately 5,000 insurgent fighters led by Abdullah al-Janabi and Omar Hussein Hadid. Background Following escalating insurgent activity and Operation Vigilant Resolve (First Battle of Fallujah) in the spring of 2004, U.S.-led Coalition Forces turned fighting in Fallujah over to the Iraqi Fallujah Brigade. Led by Muhammed Latif, a former Baathist general, this unit ultimately collapsed, leaving the city in the hands of the insurgents. This, along with the belief that insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was operating in Fallujah, led to the planning of Operation Al-Fajr (Dawn)/Phantom Fury with the goal of retaking the city. It was believed that between 4,000–5,000 insurgents were in Fallujah. The Plan Located approximately 40  miles west of Baghdad, Fallujah was effectively surrounded by U.S. forces by October 14. Establishing checkpoints, they sought to ensure that no insurgents were able to escape the city. Civilians were encouraged to leave to prevent being caught in the coming battle, and an estimated 70–90 percent of the citys 300,000 citizens departed. During this time, it was clear that an assault on the city was imminent. In response, the insurgents prepared a variety of defenses and strong points. The attack on the city was assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). With the city cordoned off, efforts were made to suggest that the Coalition attack would come from the south and southeast as had occurred in April. Instead, I MEF intended to assault the city from the north across its entire breadth. On November 6, Regimental Combat Team 1, consisting of the 3rd Battalion/1st Marines, 3rd Battalion/5th Marines, and the U.S. Armys 2nd Battalion/7th Cavalry, moved into position to assault the western half of Fallujah from the north. They were joined by Regimental Combat Team 7, made up of the 1st Battalion/8th Marines, 1st Battalion/3rd  Marines, the U.S. Armys 2nd Battalion/2nd Infantry, the 2nd Battalion/12th Cavalry, and 1st Battalion 6th Field Artillery, which would attack the eastern part of the city. These units were joined by about 2,000 Iraqi troops as well.   The Battle Begins With Fallujah sealed, operations began at 7:00 p.m. on November 7, when Task Force Wolfpack moved to take objectives on the west bank of the Euphrates River opposite Fallujah. While Iraqi commandos captured Fallujah General Hospital, Marines secured the two bridges over the river to cut off any enemy retreat from the city. A similar blocking mission was undertaken by the British Black Watch Regiment south and east of Fallujah. The next evening, RCT-1 and RCT-7, backed by air and artillery strikes, commenced their attack into the city. Using Army armor to disrupt the insurgents defenses, the Marines were able to effectively attack enemy positions, including the main train station. Though engaged in fierce urban combat, Coalition troops were able to reach Highway 10, which bisected the city, by the evening of November 9. The eastern end of the road was secured the next day, opening a direct supply line to Baghdad. Insurgents Cleared Despite heavy fighting, Coalition forces controlled approximately 70 percent of Fallujah  by the end of November 10. Pressing across Highway 10, RCT-1 moved through the Resala, Nazal, and Jebail neighborhoods, while the RCT-7 assaulted an industrial area in the southeast. By November 13, U.S. officials claimed that most of the city was under Coalition control. The heavy fighting continued for the next several days as Coalition forces moved house-to-house eliminating insurgent resistance. During this process, thousands of weapons were found stored in houses, mosques, and tunnels connecting buildings around the city. The process of clearing the city was slowed by booby-traps and improvised explosive devices. As a result, in most cases, soldiers only entered buildings after tanks had rammed a hole in a wall or specialists had blasted a door open. On November 16, U.S. officials announced that Fallujah had been cleared, but that there were still sporadic episodes of insurgent activity. Aftermath During the Battle of Fallujah,  51 U.S. forces were killed and 425 seriously wounded, while Iraqi forces lost 8 soldiers with 43 wounded. Insurgent losses are estimated at between 1,200 to 1,350 killed. Though Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was not captured during the operation, the victory severely damaged the momentum the insurgency had gained before Coalition forces held the city. Residents were allowed to return in December, and they slowly began rebuilding the badly damaged city. Having suffered terribly  in Fallujah, the insurgents began to avoid open battles, and the number of attacks again began to rise. By 2006, they controlled much of Al-Anbar province, necessitating another sweep through Fallujah in September, which lasted until January 2007. In the fall of 2007, the city was turned over to the Iraqi Provincial Authority.