Personal Reflections - Chapter 7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Reflections - Chapter 7 - Assignment Example This also creates a clear picture on the culture of people and how they inter-relate to each other creating a good social relationship. In my field study I decided to take a keen look at the interactions of the people at the working field depending on their groups. The age group of people also varies from one person to another because people with the same age group are always seen to be together. This depends on the age sets of the people in the field of working. Young people at the age of 18 to 20 years are always together working while communicating at the same tone of information. They always share the same information and chat mostly about current the current world while having high expectations. Others communicate according to the ethnic group. People with the same ethnicity are always together communicating their native language and they normally get along very well. They even have same ethnical characters and they eat a common meal. As I interacted with this group, I realised that most of them love their culture and they like remembering the norms. They also favor themselves according to their ethnical culture. It is easy for them to book for each other their favorite’s meals and they normally understand each other very well. The gender group is another group of the workers who come together to socialize and interact freely. For the men, they always share taught that are muscular and they have a limit to their communication. They are really eager to understand the feminine and they educate each other accordingly. For the female group they communicate a lot while having no limit. They share their secrets and they expose themselves when they are together. As I intera cted with them I noticed that most of them like to communicate while comparing to each other’s life experience. They are also carried away easily and they copy

Christmas Holiday Essay Example for Free

Christmas Holiday Essay This holiday it was wonderful for me because it was more fun than anothers holidays for now. I got a good time and especially it was great because i spent with my familly, i am lucky for that because i have a big familly. Usually the Christams holiday is important for me, than childrens go to carols for Christmas at houses of peoples for announcement the birth of Jesus Christ. I like to go for sining and this year i was togeter with my brother and a good friend, i maked much money and i divided in three. On Christmas Eve i decoraded tree and for both my grandparents and the parents. I spended my Christmas in Harman and for New Year i come at my grandparents with my paretns and i spended with they and with uncle, aunt and my cousins. All it was great but with one exception i dont liked because not was snow, i like when is much snow that make the to have spirit this holiday,that is so special and so beautiful,is great when see snow flakes. For night the New Year i got many fireworks and petards, i like this part,this custom and i think that liked at all peoples with exception of my grandmother,her dont like the this because is afraid of that but i think that is for their noise deafening,if it dont was that noise with sure her would like. I think the Christmas and New Year is important and special for everybody,in every year we spend this wonderful moment with all familly and we enjoy with great love.

Oedipus Is to Blame in Oedipus Rex Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus R

Oedipus Is to Blame In Sophicle's Oedipus The King, Oedipus plays the lead character in the play. Oedipus plays blindfolded throughout the play. His character that he betrays is typical of those who honestly believe they have no part in the situation that occurs. I agree with Bernard Knox that Oedipus is responsible for the tragic outcome of the play. Oedipus's investigation of the death of King Laius is the reason for the tragic ending. The scene where Oedipus opens the investigation is the first step toward his downfall. Oedipus covers up the murder and is nervous when he hears the news. It is Oedipus's continuous effort to find the murderer. He wants to find the murderers of the king, not knowing that he is the murderer. Oedipus is the head investigator for the murder of King Laius. Even though he tells the people of Thebes that, "I am ready to help." He promises the people that he would do anything t...

Facebook vs Twitter Case Study Analysis Essay

Facebook (originally â€Å"The facebook†) is a social networking website launched in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, then 23, while studying psychology at Harvard University. Membership was initially limited to students of Harvard College, but soon the social site was subsequently extended to other Boston universities, the Ivy League and eventually all US universities (Yadav, 2006). It became Facebook. com in August 2005 after the site’s address was obtained for a relatively meager $200,000. By the end of the following year it was also open to high schools. As of September 2006, Facebook was extended beyond educational associations to anybody with a registered email address. They have over 175 million active users worldwide currently and are growing every day. Facebook’s mission statement seems simple: â€Å"Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (Reagan, 2009). Twitter still no business model but it has a new mission statement: â€Å"To instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most important to them. †(Evans, 2011). Who is better than who? Or one could say who is going to be the king of the hill? Facebook has tried to purchase Twitter with no success. It is hard to say who will come out on top or who will be the ultimate winner of the social war. There are some key differences between the sites (Lacy, 2009). It’s far easier to find people on Facebook and most of the time you can tell if it’s actually them. Facebook and Twitter are both free sites and are both popular. Facebook and Twitter are both time conversations, but Twitter is a little faster. They both seem to have their good and bad qualities. Twitter has a character restriction and has no popups. Twitter users can also post to their Facebook page. Facebook does not have a character limit. They both can post pictures and videos, but Facebook has more capacity for sharing videos and photos without forcing you to link out to another window (Lacy, 2009). Facebook has a better privacy blocking system, if you can find it with the ever changing improvements. A lot of users are not aware of this option. Facebook allows businesses to advertise and reach more people faster. Facebook makes there revenue off the ads on their site, witch keeps it free for their users. Facebook has games for their users to play as well. These games also generate some of their revenue. Twitter has no games and the only source of revenue is its investors. Facebook is threatened with losing users to a less familiar, social networking website. The major problem that exists is the fact that Twitter has a controlled level of social networking. Facebook does not allow one way interaction options meaning that if I want to follow someone’s posts then they themselves would have to accept my friend request, and Facebook also does not allow someone to track real time information is always adding improvements that the client base does not like. With this happening it may mean that many Facebook members may leave and start using twitter because of some of the restrictions that are placed on the members of Facebook. The first alternative solution is for Facebook to purchase stellar star technology and offer the capability to track real-time information. This solution will help to eliminate Twitter’s current advantage of having the capability to track real-time information. Another alternative solution is to develop a way for one-way relationships to be possible on Facebook, while maintaining its’ security. Many users want to broadcast their status information, but not actually follow all of their status viewers and get somewhat irritated with the flow of game postings that clog up their pages. I know I do to the point that I log off and sometimes go and check out Twitter. In conclusion, there will never be a happy medium here. Technology is constantly evolving and there will probably be another social network that will be created and pose threats to both of these networks. In my opinion, Facebook is more personal, whereas Twitter is more Hollywood. Facebook deals with contacting old friends and family members and Twitter is about following an entertainer. Myspace is simply out of space as there aren’t really too many users out there anymore. LinkedIn is a way to network via business and doesn’t contain the content that any of these sites do, as it wouldn’t be professional. Facebook will definitely be around for a long time, as will Twitter. Most can’t have one without the other, I know I can’t.

Happy the Man

â€Å"Happy The Man† by John Dryden John Dryden was born on 9 August in 1631 in a small town in Northamptonshire, England, the eldest of 14 children, was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him â€Å"Glorious John. â€Å"[1] He was made Poet Laureate in 1668. As a humanist public school, Westminster maintained a curriculum which trained pupils in the art of rhetoric and the presentation of arguments for both sides of a given issue.This is a skill which would remain with Dryden and influence his later writing and thinking, as much of it displays these dialectical patterns. The Westminster curriculum also included weekly translation assignments which developed Dryden’s capacity for assimilation. This was also to be exhibited in his later works. In 1650 Dryden went up to Trinity College, Cambridge.. Dryden died on April 30, 1700. Happy the Man is sublime in its brevity in defining happiness. It’s a short poem as compared to many of the larger writings of Glorious John, as Walter Scott called him.Yet, it encompasses some eternal truths for personal happiness. What a fantastic line:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Not Heaven itself upon the past has power†Ã¢â‚¬â€how   many people spend valuable time worrying, regretting, fretting and wishing they could change the past? The things you’ve done or failed to do already can’t be changed, but the future is yours to shape. John Dryden is trying to explain that his life has been lived and he is happy with what he has done all his life and evn if there are something’s in his past he cannot change and even if the future isn’t so good he is still happy ,he did everything .Everything he has done he had enjoyed and he is still enjoying to this day . He is happy . I have had my hour ,means he has lived his life . Work toward living each day to the fullest and owning your disappointments and failures as much as your successes – â€Å"†¦fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,† for a life that won’t leave you thinking only about the past, but rather always pushing on toward a brighter future. Notice how all of the end-of-couplet rhymes are end-stopped. Notice, besides that, how all of the lines are end-stopped.Compare this to Thomas Middleton’s Verse of just a generation or so before. They make Middleton look like an Allen Ginsberg. Notice also, especially with Dryden, how you can extract any one of his couplets and they will more or less make a complete syntactical unit. One tender Sigh of hers to see me languish, Will more than pay the price of my past anguish: The verse is regular Iambic Pentameter with some variant, trochaic first feet. Don’t be fooled by the following line, which some might read as follows: I can die |with her,|| but not live | without her:Here’s how Dryden means us to read it: I can | die with | her, but | not live | without her: When reading poetry, especially, from this period, always try to read with the meter. The last thing to notice about Dryden’s poem is that, despite the tightly laced poetry, this poem is about sex, sex, sex. The meter itself! Every single line ending is a feminine ending – a sort of metrical double entendre. Every rhyme of the poem is a feminine rhyme (otherwise known as a multiple rhyme) – en-deavor/leave her; please us/seize us. It is chalk full of pornographic double-entendres.Don’t be fooled by the straight-laced formality of the poetry from this period. Some of the most depraved, erotic and sexual poetry ever written comes from this period. Dryden use of tone in the first stanza tricks the reader into believing that the essence of the poem is about his love for his girlfriend or maybe h is wife; but it is much deeper than that. The last line of that stanza goes into what is to come of the nature of the poem. Furthermore the second stanza when considering the word usage further conveys the real theme.So whats the theme or the subject. line 7 â€Å"Beware, O cruel fair how you smile on me†. The occasion in stanza one begins with the attraction he has with this woman then in stanza two it develops into the moment he has with this woman. This is noted by the use of line1,2,3 â€Å" Love has in store for me one happy minute†, â€Å"Then no day void of bliss, or pleasure leaving†, â€Å"Ages shall slide away without perceiving. â€Å"One Happy Moment† by John Dryden because it exemplify the emotions felt by the speaker, yet at the same time it views and feelings on the . Their situations and settings were that he was losing their lovers and feeling the agony of the moment. In both poems the speaker is anguished at the prospect: â€Å"I can d ie with her, but not live without her. † (Dryden, Line 4)The speaker then comes to the conclusion that the only way to avoid the issue is a solution unfavored by all: â€Å"I cannot live with you-it would be life. . . †, â€Å"I could not die-with you. . . † (Dickinson, Lines 1-2, 13) In Dickinson’s case it is necessary, in Dryden’s case it is the only choice left.

11 Top Wordpress Plugins To Inspire Visitors To Take Action

11 Top Wordpress Plugins To Inspire Visitors To Take Action I hope inspiring visitors to take action ranks atop the reasons you chose to host a WordPress blog. Of course, your primary focus should be to publish educational content  to help your readers tackle the tasks thatll contribute to their success. Let’s assume you’ve got that down. And now, let’s look at a list of killer WordPress plugins to help you master some of the tricks of the trade, aimed at magnifying reader engagement. 11 WordPress Plugins to Inspire Visitors to Take ActionThere’s no shortage of WordPress plugins. A thread on Quora suggested there are at least 20,000 freebies. In fact, access to free plugins is one of the reasons WordPress is the dominant content management system (CMS) in play today. There’s also no shortage of posts, e-books, and sites that list and recommend WordPress; however, I’ve found many of them overkill. I don’t mean to suggest this article is your end-all, be-all rundown of effective WordPress plugins, but my aim was- based on my experience and research- to create a short and super useful list of plugins thatll help you inspire visitors to take action. You’ll find some plugins here that you haven’t yet experimented with, and should. Enjoy. Keep Your WordPress Plugins Safe (And Amplify Your Content) Download the guide to keeping your WordPress plugins and blog safe. Youll discover the best practices to keeping your blog secure. Youll also get the  e-book I made with ,  Amplify Content The Complete Insiders Guide To Promote Your Content And Reach A Larger Audience. You dont  want to miss out! Plugin #1. MaxButtons:  Create Something That Begs To Be Clicked Taking action online calls for clicking. In your content, you need to call attention to where you want readers to point their mouse or finger. An attention-getting call-to-action button will increase conversion rates on your landing pages, sales pages, or any pages. You can quickly create attractive buttons on your WordPress website with MaxButtons from Max Foundry. The plugin puts you in the graphic designer’s seat with an editor offering options to choose fonts and colors, apply shadows to the text or box, gradients, and borders of your button. With the Pro version, over 5,000 buttons are ready made, and you can add all kinds of icons to make your buttons stand out. Various integrations are offered as is Google Analytics event tracking. MaxButtons offers pre-made buttons for all popular social media platforms and every other action you can think of. Get MaxButtons or the pro version here. Plugin #2. Leadin:  Subscription Forms With Marketing Automation Features I’ve been experimenting with free and paid opt-in forms for years and am blown away with the capabilities of Leadin, a feature-rich freebie from HubSpot. Leadin not only helps you capture leads by creating and placing opt-in and contact forms, but it also delivers insights for everyone who fills out any  form on your website. â€Å"All Contacts† is a free CRM system that shows you the pages your contacts have visited and the social networks they use. You can setup  Leadin to sync to your email tool (and it need not be HubSpot), and there’s no need to replace existing forms. The plugin even features an analytics tool to show you what sources of traffic and content are driving your contacts. The service can also send you an email with a link to the new contact record with all of their visit history. Checkout Leadin here. Recommended Reading: 5 Plugins Guaranteed To Help You Collect More Leads Plugin #3. Bontact:  The Ultimate Conversation Starter Can you think of a better way to qualify prospects and win business than conversing with them? Bontact is both a free and affordable subscription-based plugin that enables your sales and service employees  to talk to customers on any device at any time. Visitors choose their preferred channel: chat, voice, text, email, Facebook Messenger, Skype, video call, or screen share. Bontact offers a mobile app so you can serve site visitors from anywhere. See how the Bontact plugin and app works. Plugin #4. Share From SumoMe:  Make It Stupid-Easy For Visitors To Share Ever found a blog post or piece of content you absolutely had to share with your followers, but couldn’t find the button you needed to do so? It makes you crazy, right? What do you do? Nothing. Some publishers place their share buttons or bars atop the page in hopes you’ll (1) share it before you read it or (2) scroll after reading. Not smart. Recommended Reading:  What Is The Best Placement For Successful Social Media Buttons? Some place their share buttons at the bottom of the page hoping you’ll read every word, make your way to the bottom and then share it. Another mistake, or at least, a risk. Many still stash their sharing app in a sidebar on their blog post pages. Bad call. On mobile, they get bumped down and appear beneath the article. The smart thing to do is to install a plugin to create a share bar that remains on-screen at all times. Share from SumoMe does just that. On a desktop, the vertical share bar is onscreen as you scroll. And for mobile, it’s always onscreen at the bottom- whether the reader holds the smartphone vertically or horizontally. SumoMe’s Share is: Free Connected to 16 social services Ultra-easy to setup Smart How can a share bar be smart? Turn on the SumoMe share smart mode and your share bar shows shares in â€Å"most to least† order, either vertically or horizontally. Share is just one of more than 10+ tools designed to grow your website traffic offered by SumoMe in free and paid versions. SumoMe tools are available here. Plugin #5. Image Widget:  Make Your Sidebar More Magnetic Images attract eyeballs. Images pull. Images inspire clicks. Don’t make me repeat research findings you’ve read 100 times. So†¦ What are WordPress users to do when they want to display an image in their sidebars? Most WordPress developers would say, â€Å"Write code.† Most WordPress users would respond, â€Å"Blech.† But because you read this post, you’ll have a better answer: Image Widget. This plugin, by Modern Tribe, makes it easy to add image widgets using the WordPress media manager you know (and may or may not love). Once installed, the widget guides you through the process of selecting an image to display and linking it to your destination page. Image Widget also makes it easy to include alt text (for SEO), add a caption, resize and/or align your image. Recommended Reading:  How To Boost Traffic With 27 Important SEO Tips You Need To Know (+ Free Checklist) Here’s an example from the ClickWP blog on how to use Image Widget to create an affiliate link in your sidebar. I’m not sure why the image is cropped incorrectly, but the widget makes resizing an easy task. Get Image Widget here. Plugin #6. Contextly:  Inspire Longer Visits Contextly is an affordably priced plugin created by publishers, for publishers. It’s tempting to label it a â€Å"related content† widget because it does indeed serve readers recommended content at the end of posts and in sidebars. However, unlike recommendation engines you commonly find on news sites, Contextly links are entirely internal. So visitors aren’t inspired to go away; they’re invited to stay onsite and consume even more content. The idea is to turn new readers into regulars. Shortly after its launch in 2014, Contextly added functionality to point visitors to videos and products as well. Here’s a look at the Contextly recommendation module, which can highlight articles or any content on your website. You can program the plugin to rely on its own algorithm or curate recommended content manually. Learn more about Contextly here. Plugin #7. Social Locker:  Trade Content For Shares Social Locker’s concept is simple. It asks visitors looking for access to your content to share it first. On the WordPress plugin directory page, the authors suggest you ask people to â€Å"pay† with a like, tweet, or +1, to: Access content Get a discount Watch a video View a funny picture Social Locker is free, however a paid version collects leads and unlocks extra themes and additional social buttons. Here’s the plugin page for Social Locker. Plugin #8. :  Make Tweeting Ultra-Easy Want to make it easy for your visitors to tweet about your content? Do the work for them. With , a free  plugin from , you can create tweetable content while creating your post or page on WordPress. A little bird shows the reader a ready-made tweet is just a quick click from appearing in their Twitter stream. Wow... a great list of plugins to inspire your readers to take action.Get this popular plugin here. Recommended Reading: How To Use Hashtags Effectively Without Being Annoying Plugin #9. Inbound Now:  Hello Marketing Automation Marketing automation is an explosive area. While it’s proven its merits, many of the companies offering marketing automation platforms (MAPs) have proven it takes time and resources to implement it effectively. Inbound Now is a panacea. While it operates as a plugin, it’s really a suite of plugins that will help you  take advantage of essential marketing automation functions: Calls to action Landing pages Lead tracking A/B testing Email Recommended Reading:  How To Write A Call To Action In A Template With 6 Examples Inbound now makes it simple to increase conversion on your WordPress site with a series of plugins for creating landing pages and CTAs. Inbound now offers a basic package for free and access to a library of templates and more features with its paid packages starting at $99/year. Check out the suite, its options, and library templates here. Plugin #10. Disqus:  Your Blog Commentary Creator You have quite a few plugin options for adding comment features to your WordPress blog. In my opinion, Disqus is the cream of this crop. With Disqus, readers can join the discussion thread on your blog simply by granting access to one of their social media profiles. Users are given a variety of options including subscribing to receive updates when the stream has new content via email. The plugin’s social media integration makes it less of a hassle to leave comments and also displays the commenter’s avatar, which I believe helps inspire readers to chime in. Disqus has additional features to inspire interactivity such as threaded replies, a voting system, and the ability to add images and video. The plugin is set to automatically adapt to your site’s design and color scheme. And my favorite feature: Disqus instantly gives your blog a â€Å"Recommended Content† feature. Recommended Reading: 10 Reasons You Should Be Using Blog Comments Notice how Disqus adds a suggested content section to my blog? That'll help inspire readers to click around and stick around. It even previews the commentary stream from the suggested posts. Here’s where you get started with Disqus. Plugin #11. Fanciest Author Box:  Sign-Off With Style Your posts should have author boxes to encourage interaction with readers. While you can easily tackle the task with your basic WordPress functionality, the Fancier Author Box plugin enables you to step it up and become something more compelling. Fancier Author Box presents your photo, title, and bio beneath your post as well as a tabbed system of social profiles and links you select. Here’s a Fancier Author Box demonstrated by the creator of the plugin. Here’s mine. Note that in addition to social profiles, I’ve also  included a tab that showcases my latest posts. And here’s where you get the Fancier Author Box plugin. Now You're Ready To Inspire People To Take Action With these plugins in your toolbox, you've got what it takes to have a super great website and an awesome audience who will take action for you.

The Inventor of Mass-Producing Steel Henry Bessemer

The Inventor of Mass-Producing Steel Henry Bessemer Sir Henry Bessemer, an Englishman, invented the first process for mass-producing  steel  inexpensively in the 19th century. It was an essential contribution to the development of modern day skyscrapers. The First System for Manufacturing Steel An American, William Kelly, initially held a patent for a system of air blowing the carbon out of pig iron, a method of steel production known as the pneumatic process. Air was blown through molten pig iron to oxidize and remove unwanted impurities. This was Bessemer’s starting point. When Kelly went bankrupt, Bessemer – who had been working on a similar process for making steel – bought his patent. Bessemer patented a decarbonization process utilizing a blast of air in 1855. Modern Steel Modern steel is made using technology based on Bessemers process. On the making of the first steel ingot, Bessemer said: I well remember how anxiously I awaited the blowing of the first 7-cwt. charge of pig iron. I had engaged an ironfounders furnace attendant to manage the cupola and the melting of the charge. When his metal was nearly all melted, he came to me  and said hurriedly, Where be going to put the metal, maister? I said, I want you to run it by a gutter into that little furnace, pointing to the converter, from which you have just raked out all the fuel, and then I shall blow cold air through it to make it hot.The man looked at me in a way in which surprise and pity for my ignorance seemed curiously blended, and  he said, It will soon be all of a lump. Notwithstanding this prediction, the metal was run in, and I awaited with much impatience the result. The first element attacked by the atmospheric oxygen is the silicon, generally present in pig iron to the extent of 1 1/2 to 2 percent; it is the white metallic substance of which flint is the acid silicate. Its combustion furnishes a great deal of heat, but it is very undemonstrative, a few sparks and hot gases only indicating the fact that something is going quietly on.But after an interval of 10 or 12 minutes, when the carbon contained in grey pig iron to the extent of about 3 percent is seized on by the oxygen, a voluminous white flame is produced which rushes out of the openings provided for its escape from the upper chamber, and it brilliantly illuminates the whole space around. This chamber proved a perfect cure for the rush of slags and metal from the upper central opening of the first converter. I watched with some anxiety for the expected cessation of the flame as the carbon gradually burnt out. It took place almost suddenly, and thus indicated the entire decarburisation of the metal.The furnace was then tapped, when out rushed a limpid stream of incandescent malleable iron, almost too brilliant for the eye to rest upon. It was allowed to flow vertically into the parallel undivided ingot mould. Then came the question, would the ingot shrink enough, and the cold iron mould expand enough, to allow the ingot to be pushed out? An interval of eight or 10 minutes was allowed, and then, on the application of hydraulic force to the ram, the ingot rose entirely out of the mould and stood there ready for removal. Bessemer was knighted in 1879 for his contributions to science. The Bessemer Process for mass-producing steel was named after him. Robert Mushet is credited with inventing tungsten steel in 1868, and Henry Brearly invented stainless steel in 1916.

Analysis of Yasmina Rezas Play God of Carnage

Analysis of Yasmina Reza's Play 'God of Carnage' Conflict and human nature when presented with it, are the predominant themes of Yasmina Rezas play God of Carnage.  Well-written and a display of fascinating character development, this play gives the audience an opportunity to witness the verbal battles of two families and their complex personalities. An Introduction to God of Carnage God of Carnage is written by Yasmina Reza, an award-winning playwright.   Rezas  other notable plays include Art  and Life x 3.  Author Christopher Hampton translated her play from French into English.  In 2011, it was made into a film  titled Carnage, directed by Roman Polanski. The plot of God of Carnage  begins with  an 11-year-old boy (Ferdinand) who strikes another boy (Bruno) with a stick, thereby knocking out two front teeth. The parents of each boy meet. What begins as a civil discussion ultimately devolves into a yelling match. Overall, the story is well-written and it is an interesting play that many people will enjoy. Some of the highlights for this reviewer include: Realistic dialogueBelievable charactersInsightful satireSubtle / vague ending Theater of Bickering Most people arent fans of ugly, angry, pointless arguments - at least not in real life. But, not surprisingly, these types of arguments are a theater staple, and with good reason. Obviously, the stationary nature of the stage means that most playwrights will generate a physically sedentary conflict that can be sustained in a single setting. Pointless bickering is perfect for such an occasion. Also, a tense argument reveals multiple layers of a character: emotional buttons are pressed and  boundaries are assaulted. For an audience member, there is a dark voyeuristic pleasure in watching the verbal battle which unfolds during Yasmina Rezas God of Carnage. We get to watch the characters unravel their dark sides, despite their diplomatic intentions. We get to behold adults who act like rude, petulant children. However, if we watch closely, we might see a bit of ourselves. The Setting The entire play takes place at the home of the Houllie family. Originally set in modern Paris, subsequent productions of God of Carnage  set the play in other urban locations such as London and New York. The Characters Although we spend a short time with these four characters (the play runs about 90 minutes with no breaks or scene changes), playwright Yasmina Reza creates each with a sprinkling of commendable traits and questionable moral codes. Veronique Houllie  (Veronica in American productions)Michel Houllie  (Michael in American productions)Annette ReilleAlain Reille  (Alan in American productions) Veronique Houllie At first, she seems like the most benevolent of the bunch. Instead of resorting to litigation regarding her son Brunos injury, she believes that they can all come to an agreement about how Ferdinand should make amends for his attack. Of the four principles, Veronique exhibits the strongest desire for harmony. She is even writing a book about the atrocities of Darfur. Her flaws lie in her overly judgmental nature. She wants to instill a sense of shame in Ferdinands parents (Alain and Annette Reille) hoping they will, in turn, instill a deep sense of regret in their son. About forty minutes into their encounter, Veronique decides that Alain and Annette are terrible parents and miserable people in general, yet throughout the play, she still attempts to maintain her crumbling facade of civility. Michel Houllie At first, Michel seems eager to create peace between the two boys and perhaps even bond with the Reilles. He offers them food and drink. He is quick to agree with the Reilles, even making light of the violence, commenting on how he was a leader of his own gang during his childhood (as was Alain). As the conversation progresses, Michel reveals his uncouth nature. He makes racial slurs about the Sudanese people whom his wife is writing about. He denounces child-raising as a wasteful, grueling experience. His most controversial action (which takes place before the play) has to do with his daughters pet hamster. Because of his fear of rodents, Michel released the hamster in the streets of Paris, even though the poor creature was terrified and clearly wanted to be kept at home. The rest of the adults are disturbed by his actions, and the play concludes with a phone call from his young daughter, crying over the loss of her pet. Annette Reille Ferdinands mother is constantly on the brink of a panic attack. In fact, she vomits twice during the course of the play (which must have been unpleasant for the actors each night). Like Veronique, she wants resolution and believes at first that communication can ameliorate the situation between the two boys. Unfortunately, the pressures of motherhood and household have eroded her self-confidence. Annette feels abandoned by her husband who is eternally preoccupied with work. Alain is glued to his cell phone throughout the play  until Annette finally loses control and drops the phone into a vase of tulips. Annette is the most physically destructive of the four characters. In additional to ruining her husbands new phone, she intentionally smashes the vase at the end of the play. (And her vomit incident spoils some of Veroniques books and magazines, but that was accidental.) Also, unlike her husband, she defends her childs violent actions by pointing out that Ferdinand was verbally provoked and out-numbered by the gang of boys. Alain Reille Alain might be the most stereotypical character of the group in that he is modeled after other slimy lawyers from countless other stories. He is the most openly rude because he frequently interrupts their meeting by talking on his cell phone.  His law firm represents a pharmaceutical company that is about to be sued because one of their new products causes dizziness and other negative symptoms. He claims that his son is a savage and doesnt see any point in trying to change him. He seems the most sexist of the two men, often implying that women have a host of limitations. On the other hand, Alain is in some ways the most honest of the characters. When Veronique and Annette claim that people must show compassion toward their fellow man, Alain becomes philosophical, wondering if anyone can truly care for others, implying that individuals will always act out of self-interest. Men vs. Women While much of the plays conflict is between the Houllies and the Reilles, a battle of the sexes is also interwoven throughout the storyline. Sometimes a female character makes a disparaging claim about her husband and the second female will chime in with her own critical anecdote. Likewise, the husbands will make snide comments about their family life, creating a bond (albeit a fragile one) between the males. Ultimately, each of the characters turns on the other so that by the plays end everyone seems emotionally isolated.

International Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Paper - Essay Example Any changes in these factors of the economy can lead to the company’s planning to be affected to a great extent. Thus when an organization like Big Drive Auto requires making any specific decision or plan, like increasing the prices for fuel or the vehicles themselves, then it is essential that macro economic data is well taken into consideration. This will allow the company to rightly understand the total variation in the economic market of the country and this allows for the pricing to be more appropriate and allows the company to make higher profits. Thus the operations and the planning become more apt for the organization in terms of the whole economy of the country. There has been a strong focus on the reliability of the forecasts in terms of the macroeconomic variables. The major problems that have been noted are the ability to relate to the balance between the aggregate demand and the aggregate supply. Thus to ensure complete reliability of the macroeconomic variables, it is essential to place a focus on the balance of the aggregate demand and the aggregate supply. This can be the demand side policy which generally seeks to influence the level of spending in the economy and the supply side policy which mainly directly influence the level of production. There are a number of uncertainties that are faced by companies in terms of the macroeconomic forecast. In recent researches there has been a clear that the private sector tends to face issues which are related to the rational bias. The uncertainty of the macroeconomics forecasts can be dealt with, by a thorough study and understanding of the various prices of the number of units sold across different locations. This however requires to be analyzed by choosing a wide range of locations and over a number of years. Also as the value of oil and coolants are affected by the economic condition of the country, hence a focus should be made on the

Advance cost accounting Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Advance cost accounting - Article Example Hongren, Datar and Foster explain capital budgeting as having six stages that are, in that order, identification, search, information acquisition, selection, financing and implementation and control stages (7). Formal methods employed in capital budgeting that use incremental cash flows of potential projects include techniques such as discounted cash flow, internal rate of return, equivalent annuity, net present value, payback period and profitability index. Essentially, through the discounted cashflow method, the expected outward and inward flow of cash in a project are calculated as if they took place together at one time so they can be averaged appropriately. The net present value and internal rate of return are methods of discounted cash flow, and the internal rate of return is a function of the expected net annual cash flow and present value annuity factor (Hongren, Datar & Foster 19). Compared to internal rate of return, net present value is more advantageous because its end re sult is not expressed as a percentage but, rather, in dollars, and it provides the opportunity to add individual projects. Further, it is applicable in situations in which the required rate of return of a project varies throughout its life. On the other hand, it is not possible to add or average a project’s individual rate of return to derive internal rate of return of several combined projects (Hongren, Datar & Foster 22). Through the identification stage, the need to consider venturing into a new project is identified by the management, and several alternatives will be yielded in the search stage, although the focus will remain on a particular project (Hongren, Datar & Foster 8). Decisions deemed to be of a strategic nature call for the management to consider a wide scope of factors that cannot be easily estimated. While information will be acquired by the administration in

Evaluating Truth and Validity Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evaluating Truth and Validity Exercise - Essay Example They even went to the extent of providing high scholars and college student’s credit cards. This trend has less to careless spending from this age group (Jain, 2009). Teenager and adolescents are usually irrational in their decisions. Coupled by peer pressure and the feeling of wanting to fit in, some of these young people end up spending without knowledge of how they are going to pay. It has become something which many should are worried since giving money to spend to such children that is unlimited is like giving them a bomb. According to Jain (2009), people under the age of 21 should not be given any credit cards for their impulsive nature of careless spending (Jain, 2009). Even if one can sit with them, they always act defiant to their elders, hence would be a waste of time teaching them on wise spending whereas they are in a stage of discovering the world. How else can one discover the world when he or she is left with credit card? According to psychologist, money is not something which people under the age of 21 should not be given at their will since they do not have enough responsibility to know the value and repercussions of overspending since they would not be paying for them (Jain, 2009). According to Farrow (2010), power is believed to be the root of all evil, as it makes them corrupt. Power is defined as being in a position to control others. According to the Bible, power is a God given thing given to man to be in control over his creations (Farrow, 2010). Other people do believe that power is the root cause of evil, is it really true? One may wonder from the statement and provide examples of quite a number of people who have been in power and not corrupt. It is always not a fact to link corruption to power. Corruption is a virtue with exists in specific people. Taking a few corrupt individuals and generalizing them as making power corrupt from my opinion is not true (Farrow, 2010). Can we say that since the Pope is in power,

Case study - company's strategy Research Proposal

Case study - company's strategy - Research Proposal Example The industry information that Mercury is using is far too old to be of any use to the company. A market report cites increasing consumer confidence as the global economy continued to emerge from the post-9/11 recession (A $500 million opportunity in womans better apparel, 2004). Today, financial markets throughout the world are going through convulsions as virtually everyone wonders what the future will bring, whether it will be a corrective recession or full depression. Ellen Blake of Denbleyker Financial notes in her analysis of the company that "Q4 earnings dropped slightly below expectations during 4Q due to a variety of small economic and execution surprises. Management appears to have a good handle on these issues now, and we believe that the stock is a good value at these prices" as Denbleyker Financial raised its assessment of Mercury stock to "Buy" in January 2008. Mercury does not present a threat to Nike and Adidas since it only comprise 9 percent of the global market; thus, it will not be watched by bigger competitors so it is free to chart its own course. However, it has not yet achieved a double-digit share of the global market among adults. The shift should focus on the "tween" market – those who have parents buy shoes for them now, and who later will buy their own. This market segment when taken cared of can be a solid base of customers in the long-term. 1. Continue with current marketing efforts to adult markets and maintain current market share, however, due to recession, marketing tactics should be made. Preserving current market share also will preserve the upward trend in total sales. The third alternative is the choice which is continuing current adult focus but also increasing attention to â€Å"tween â€Å"and teen markets. This is supported by a large study indicating that outside of school hours, each week "people between the ages of 13 and 24 spend 16.7 hours online †¦ 13.6 hours watching

Case Study - The Integumentary System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study - The Integumentary System - Essay Example Next comes the dermis, which is considered the â€Å"true skin† (Willis, 2010). Unlike the epidermis, the dermis is made up of numerous blood vessels and nerves. The nerve endings found in this layer particularly the Meissner corpuscles sense touch, the Ruffini corpuscles sense pressure and the Pasinian corpuscles senses both pressure and vibration (Prater, 2009). Last but not the least comes the subcutaneous layer or subdermis which attaches the skin to the muscles. These particular skin layers are composed of loose connective tissues and adipose fat. The loose connective tissue links the dermis and the subcutaneous layers, while the adipose fat act as a reservoir for energy supply (Willis, 2010). The glands – Sebaceous (oil glands) and Subdoriferous (sweat glands) are located in the dermis and subcutaneous layers of the skin. The sebaceous glands secrete sebum to keep skin and hair lubricated while the sweat glands or the subdoriferous glands keeps the body from getti ng too hot and brings out small portions of waste by sweating (Willis, 2010). As people grow old, the entire integumentary system normally changes and losses efficiency making the elderly more prone to acquiring skin problems that they did not experienced before. Skin deterioration is determined by the following factors: 1) heredity (genes), 2) diets, and 3) personal habits (like smoking/drinking). The drying of the skin is a normal occurrence in the elderly because the oil glands do not produce sebum as well as when the individual was younger. Dry skin usually lead to itching, flaking and sagging (Maji, 2010) making older people’s skin break easily. Regular and prolonged exposure to the sun dries up the skin, and together with the ultraviolet rays that penetrate deep into the skin layers, irreversibly damages the collagen and elastin fibers; thus creating loose sagging skin and wrinkles (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). In relation to the case study, since Florence Lee engaged in p rior activities like surfing and lawn bowls, the suns heat and UV rays accelerated the breakdown of the collage and elastin fibers which keeps her skin intact. Additionally, the oil glands ceased to produce sufficient lubrication to keep her skin elastic making her skin excessively dry and sensitive; so when she scratches an itch the skin easily cracks and bleeds (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). Florence also has the habit of smoking. Smoking irreversibly hastens the body to age prematurely and permanently damages the collagen and elastin fibers resulting to formation of early wrinkles (Barrymore, 2011). This in addition to her previous activities contributed greatly to her current dry skin condition. Florence cannot tolerate hot weather or warm temperatures primarily because her skin became much thinner as she aged (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). She cannot endure hot climates or temperatures because it either causes heat rashes that are itchy and painful; or because she may be suffering from à ¢â‚¬Å"hyperthermia†. Hyperthermia is a term that comprises a mixture of heat associated illnesses like: heat fatigue, heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and dizziness (heat syncope) (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). Hand washing is the most basic way of eliminating germs and bacteria that can cause infection. Florence must wash her hands after toileting to remove the germs she acquired

Decision support System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Decision support System - Essay Example Information technology experts are investing heavily in finding out the trends of IT uptake in the business world and utilize this information in key decision making for the organization (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). The demand for IT in businesses increases when customers realize there are programs in the market which are meant to help them avoid errors in decision making which affect their organization negatively through the losses incurred. Application of computers especially for decision support services is broad. There is no area in human existence where right decisions are not important. Whether it is health care settings, not for profit organizations, profit organizations, learning institutions, business organizations and any other place or institution where there is spending or cost incurred, all these require making decisions to strengthen the sustainability of the organization. Whether these are individual or corporate owned, there is need to gather information from consumers d irectly so as to offer products and services which will satisfy them (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). There is no business which operates within a vacuum. It is not very difficult to witness more than one organization which provides similar services, or companies selling goods within the same geographical area. Sometimes there goods which are originating from different companies present in retail outlets and customers do choose one item and leave the other. These decisions which customers make are based on several factors which attract them. In order to attract customers and influence their decisions to buy one product and leave another of the same type manufacturers spend so much in advertising their products to many people (Basil, 2010). The outcome of those promotional efforts is the large number of customers who demand for their products, thus boosting their capital base and profit. The quality of products or services also contributes much on the customers’ demand of those servi ces or products. It is important that clients take their time to provide goods and services which will be able to meet the basic standards in a given setting since every country has a board which oversees the sale and distribution of goods and services to ensure that consumers are protected from counterfeit products and services. Other external factors which affect a business organization include the political, legal and social systems in a particular country. It is important to understand the preferences of people you expect to be your customers for the products and services you offer. The behaviors, habits, customs and practices of people usually have a strong foundation which is sometimes very difficult to change. Therefore before you decide to invest in certain products while having a certain population in mind as your target population; it is important to consider the social nature of these people since it influences the purchasing habits of these people. The legal system is al so important in a given country since it lays a framework under which a business should operate. When investing in a foreign country it will be important to gather information on the laws which exist in that country so as to ensure you don’t incur unnecessary costs which come as fines due to breaking of business laws. These are some of the factors which aff

Case Study - The Integumentary System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study - The Integumentary System - Essay Example Next comes the dermis, which is considered the â€Å"true skin† (Willis, 2010). Unlike the epidermis, the dermis is made up of numerous blood vessels and nerves. The nerve endings found in this layer particularly the Meissner corpuscles sense touch, the Ruffini corpuscles sense pressure and the Pasinian corpuscles senses both pressure and vibration (Prater, 2009). Last but not the least comes the subcutaneous layer or subdermis which attaches the skin to the muscles. These particular skin layers are composed of loose connective tissues and adipose fat. The loose connective tissue links the dermis and the subcutaneous layers, while the adipose fat act as a reservoir for energy supply (Willis, 2010). The glands – Sebaceous (oil glands) and Subdoriferous (sweat glands) are located in the dermis and subcutaneous layers of the skin. The sebaceous glands secrete sebum to keep skin and hair lubricated while the sweat glands or the subdoriferous glands keeps the body from getti ng too hot and brings out small portions of waste by sweating (Willis, 2010). As people grow old, the entire integumentary system normally changes and losses efficiency making the elderly more prone to acquiring skin problems that they did not experienced before. Skin deterioration is determined by the following factors: 1) heredity (genes), 2) diets, and 3) personal habits (like smoking/drinking). The drying of the skin is a normal occurrence in the elderly because the oil glands do not produce sebum as well as when the individual was younger. Dry skin usually lead to itching, flaking and sagging (Maji, 2010) making older people’s skin break easily. Regular and prolonged exposure to the sun dries up the skin, and together with the ultraviolet rays that penetrate deep into the skin layers, irreversibly damages the collagen and elastin fibers; thus creating loose sagging skin and wrinkles (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). In relation to the case study, since Florence Lee engaged in p rior activities like surfing and lawn bowls, the suns heat and UV rays accelerated the breakdown of the collage and elastin fibers which keeps her skin intact. Additionally, the oil glands ceased to produce sufficient lubrication to keep her skin elastic making her skin excessively dry and sensitive; so when she scratches an itch the skin easily cracks and bleeds (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). Florence also has the habit of smoking. Smoking irreversibly hastens the body to age prematurely and permanently damages the collagen and elastin fibers resulting to formation of early wrinkles (Barrymore, 2011). This in addition to her previous activities contributed greatly to her current dry skin condition. Florence cannot tolerate hot weather or warm temperatures primarily because her skin became much thinner as she aged (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). She cannot endure hot climates or temperatures because it either causes heat rashes that are itchy and painful; or because she may be suffering from à ¢â‚¬Å"hyperthermia†. Hyperthermia is a term that comprises a mixture of heat associated illnesses like: heat fatigue, heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and dizziness (heat syncope) (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). Hand washing is the most basic way of eliminating germs and bacteria that can cause infection. Florence must wash her hands after toileting to remove the germs she acquired

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Ethics - Essay Example For example, some organizations have sound philosophy in making the environment clean and green and for that purpose they will try to avoid as much as activities which may harm the environment. The employees must be well aware of these things in order to work in line with such policies. Training and development is also intended for making the employee capable of recognizing and respecting the dignities of other fellow employees in the organization. It will also generate loyalty towards the organization and the fellow employees. Organizations can develop only through encouraging team work and the team work principles can be taught through training and development only. In academic curriculum the employee may not learn much about the organizational setups, culture and behavior and only through training and development an employee will get better insights about such things. For example keeping confidentiality and integrity is essential at workplace which the employee may not be practiced during his/her student life. So a fresh employee may not be aware of the importance of such things and hence they need better training and development in order to customize them suitable for the organization. Team work is an essential requirement in an organizational setup. An individual can do little with his individual efforts whereas he can double his productivity when he functions as part of a team. For example, a marketing professional will get better ideas about marketing from the team members when he works as part of a team. The market forecasts and fluctuations like important information are needed for him which will be obtained easily when wok as part of a team. Ethics related to teamwork deals with â€Å"how do groups achieve justice (in the distribution of work), responsibility (in specifying tasks, assigning blame, and awarding credit), reasonableness (ensuring participation, resolving conflict, and

The ruling of the U. S. Supreme Court Essay Example for Free

The ruling of the U. S. Supreme Court Essay The ruling of the U. S. Supreme Court in Beth Ann Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U. S. 775 (1998) laid down precedent on the application of the Civil Rights Law as it addressed a woman’s quest for justice. Having accused and proved her two supervisors liable for sexual harassment, Faragher appealed the lower court’s ruling exculpating the City from liability. The decision, penned by Justice Souter, delved at length on the theories propounded on the case and sought to define the parameters by which an employer may prove non-liability. This study will be confined to a discussion of the material facts and issues vis-a-vis the liability of the respondent employer insofar as it touches upon the reasonable care doctrine, reasonable person standard, and reasonable victim standard. The facts of the case narrated herein are taken from the Supreme Court decision. A college student, Beth Ann Faragher worked part-time as lifeguard for the Marine Safety Section of the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Boca Raton, Florida between the years 1985 and 1990. She was under the immediate supervision of Bill Terry, David Silverman, and Robert Gordon. During the hours of work, Terry and Silverman subjected Faragher and the other female lifeguards to acts of sexual harassment. Faragher complained to no one, although she did mention it to Gordon whom she respected, but he did nothing. Two months before Faragher resigned, a female lifeguard formerly employed by the City wrote the City Personnel Director complaining that she and her co-workers had been harassed by Terry and Silverman. The City ordered a probe and upon finding the two guilty of improper behavior, reprimanded them and made them choose between suspension without pay or forfeiture of annual leave benefits. Faragher resigned in June 1990. In 1992, she brought an action before the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Terry and Silverman alleging that they created a â€Å"sexually hostile atmosphere† at work which amounted to a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Law. She likewise impleaded the City on the ground of its agency relationship with the two men. (Faragher, 1-2) Faragher alleged that Terry and Silverman subjected her and the other female lifeguards to â€Å"uninvited and offensive touching†, lewd remarks, and language offensive to women. She told the Court about Terry’s alleged statement that he would never promote a woman to the rank of lieutenant. Silverman, on the other hand, allegedly asked her either to date him or clean the toilets for a year. It was established that Terry could hire personnel(subject to approval by higher management) counsel or orally reprimand subordinates and have the same recorded. Lifeguards and their supervisors observed a paramilitary chain of command: the former reported to the lieutenants and captains who in turn reported to Terry. The latter was under the supervision of the Recreation Superintendent who reported to the Director of Parks and Recreation who answered to the City Manager. (Faragher, 2) The City had adopted a policy on sexual harassment which the City Manager disseminated to employees by memorandum. This was revised in May 1990 while Faragher was still in the service but it did not reach the employees of the Marine Safety Section, thus, the respondent supervisors and many lifeguards were not aware of it. (Faragher, 2) The District Court ruled in favor of Faragher, concluding that Terry and Silverman were guilty of harassment that altered the conditions of their employment, resulting in an abusive working environment. Likewise, it found the City liable on three grounds. First, the City was deemed aware of the harassment because of its pervasiveness. Second, the City was liable under the principle of agency, i. e. , the act of the agent is the act of the principal. Third, Gordon’s knowledge of the harassment and his inaction was a further basis to impute liability to the City. (Faragher, 3-4) The District Court’s decision insofar as the City is concerned was reversed on appeal. The Court of Appeals of the Eleventh Circuit, through a panel of justices, ruled that the City could not be held liable on the basis of the agency principle, that Terry and Sullivan did not act within the scope of their employment when they committed the acts complained of, nor did the City have constructive knowledge thereof. The Court of Appeals sitting en banc adopted the conclusion of the panel. Its ruling was based on an earlier decision of the Court of Appeals in Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U. S. 57 (1986). In that case, the Court found three conditions under which an employer may be held indirectly liable for hostile environment sexual harassment by a superior: â€Å"(1) if the harassment occurs within the scope of the superior’s employment; (2) if the employer assigns performance of a nondelegable duty to a supervisor and an employee is injured because of the supervisor’s failure to carry out that duty; or (3) if there is an agency relationship which aids the supervisor’s ability or opportunity to harass his subordinate. † (Meritor, 6). As to the first, the Appeals Court held that the acts of the supervisors were â€Å"frolic†: unrelated to their duties and were done for their own personal ends. As to the second, it was ruled that the mere existence of an agency relationship between the supervisors and the City did not give rise to liability on the latter’s part as there was no showing that such relationship assisted them in perpetrating their acts. As to the third, the Court found no constructive knowledge on the part of the City as regards the harassment. In fine, the Supreme Court disregarded the arguments of the Court of Appeals and found in favor of Faragher. (Faragher, 5) As argued by the District Court, the act of the agent is presumed the act of the principal. In applying this rule the District court held that â€Å"an employer is strictly liable for a hostile environment created by a supervisor’s sexual advances, even though the employer neither knew nor reasonably could have known of the alleged misconduct. † This automatic liability rule is challenged by those who claimed that constructive knowledge may be substituted for direct knowledge. For example, a supervisor who makes decisions that tend to affect the economic status of an employee is deemed a proxy of the employer which makes the latter liable thereon. Also, personnel actions of a supervisor like promoting, firing, hiring and the like which discriminate against employees would make his employer vicariously liable for those acts. In a sense, a supervisor is considered always assisted by the employer by virtue of his superior position in the workplace. A co-worker may easily brush off the sexual advances of an equal; not so with a supervisor. Thus, Faragher contended` that the power held by Terry and Silverman over her enabled them to carry on their harassment with impunity. Some courts were of the view that some standards were needed in those cases where there is no clear showing that the employer had knowledge, constructive or otherwise, of the harassment committed by his supervisors. In Faragher, it was evident that the City could not have aware of the intermittent sexual abuse committed by Terry and Sullivan. Gordon did not inform any of his superiors about Faragher’s problem. (2). Moreover, the City through the Personnel Director had issued a memorandum informing employees about the procedures to bring their complaint against any sexual harassment. Faragher had informed Gordon about her plight, albeit in an informal way. (Faragher, 2) Was the City liable? Meritor laid down the ruling that neither â€Å"the existence of a company grievance procedure nor the absence of actual notice of the harassment on the part of upper management would be dispositive of such a claim; while neither might be relevant to the liability, neither would result automatically in employer immunity. † (6). The Court further stated that the absence of notice to employer did not necessarily insulate that employer from liability. However, it declined to give a definitive rule on employee liability ( 7). Vicarious liability is supported by the view that employers generally derive benefit from the service of their supervisors; thus they should bear the risk of any wrong arising from their employment. The employer should likewise answer for any damage sustained by a common employee on the principle that the latter worked for the employer’s benefit; consequently, the employer must assume such risks on the basis of equity and fairness. Notwithstanding these views, it was held in Faragher that one more condition was needed to satisfy the evidentiary requirement for a finding of vicarious liability. Two alternatives were given by the Court: â€Å"(1) require proof of some affirmative invocation of supervisory authority by the harassing supervisor, or (2) recognize an affirmative defense to liability in some circumstances, even when a supervisor has created the actionable environment. †(Faragher, 16) The first alternative, as the Court itself admits, may be impractical in most instances since no supervisor is presumed foolhardy enough to court harassment suits by announcing his threats. As to the second, the employer is afforded the opportunity to prove that he â€Å"had exercised reasonable care to avoid harassment and to eliminate it when it might occur, and that the complaining employee had failed to act with like reasonable care to take advantage of the employer’s safeguards and otherwise to prevent harm that could have been avoided. † To invoke this defense, the employer must show that he had taken reasonable care or exercised foresight to prevent sexual harassment in the premises, knowing by human experience that such incidents are likely to occur, as in this case where the men held sway over the women by reason of their superior position. This affirmative defense has two elements: â€Å"(1) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (2) that the plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise. †(Faragher, 18). The doctrine of reasonable care mandates that every person shall conduct his affairs towards his fellowmen with sufficient care as any reasonable person would do in any given circumstance, failing in which, he may be held liable for any injury that may be sustained by others so affected by his actions. What is â€Å"reasonable† is a question of fact most often left to the judgment of the courts. This principle is akin to that of tort law which governs the liability of masters over the acts of their servants. It adopts the applicable principles of common law and those governing quasi-delict which impute liability to the employer for the negligence of his employees, the vehicle owner to the driver, the master of the household to the helper. The owner of a vehicle, for example, becomes the defendant in a civil action for damages if his driver inflicts damage to a third party. His defense would be that he exercised due diligence in hiring his driver, such as requiring him to show proof that he had not been in any accident and had no derogatory record on matters of driving. According to Wikipedia, â€Å"the reasonable man or reasonable person standard is a legal fiction that originated in the development of the common law. The reasonable person is a hypothetical individual whose view of things is consulted in the process of making decisions of law. †(no indicated page) Minnesota adds: â€Å"Besides being an objective standard, the ‘reasonable person’ standard is an adult standard. †(home page). The reasonable person standard applies as well to the purported victim. The victim must prove he or she was not remiss in doing what a reasonable person would have done in his or her place. By analogy, in criminal law, rape victims must prove they put up sufficient defense to prove that the sexual act was committed forcibly against their will. The reasonable victim standard is that applied in the case of the person wronged. Faragher did not avail herself of the grievance procedure prescribed by the City as mandated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC), as she â€Å"was completely isolated from the City’s higher management† during the period of harassment. (Faragher, 19). The term â€Å"reasonable victim† may have evolved from the realization that in determining what constitutes a reasonable person standard, gender must be taken into account. According to Hamilton, the term â€Å"reasonable woman† was used when a Florida District Court, ruling in Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. called for a â€Å"sexually hostile work environment† to be evaluated through the eyes of a â€Å"reasonable woman. † Years later, the U. S. Supreme Court used a â€Å"reasonable person† standard in deciding Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. (2) According to Alexander: Applying the ‘reasonable victim’ standard not only helps plaintiffs, but also helps the justice system as a whole by defeating societal stereotypes perpetuated by the application of the â€Å"reasonable person† standard. By allowing defendant employers to claim an affirmative defense to the sexual harassment claims of their employees, the court would help protect cautious, law-abiding employees from frivolous claims. The second prong of the defense would require employees to report sexually harassing conduct to their employers promptly, and at the same time, require employers to eliminate harassing conduct in the workplace swiftly or risk discipline in court. (home page). Faragher is a landmark decision in that it gave the definitive rule to determine employer liability not given by the Court in Meritor. The problem of sexual harassment may never be eradicated, human beings being as they are, but a concerned employer with forethought, through a competent human resource department, may considerably reduce its occurrence at the workplace. From Faragher, human resource departments should take cognizance of the importance of constant meaningful dialogues between and among employers and their personnel workers and supervisors alike to immediately stop whatever harassment are being committed against members of either sex. Finally, a continuing education program aimed at removing gender bias and sexual prejudice, encouraging victims to speak out and assert their rights or seek redress before the proper forum, combined with the continuous monitoring of workplaces and giving employees reasonable access to legal assistance, are positive steps towards this end. WORKS CITED Alexander, Kamla, â€Å"A Modest Proposal: The Reasonable Victim Standard and Alaska Employers’ Affirmative Defense to Vicarious Liability for Sexual Harassment†. Alaska Law Review. Cited 17 Alaska L. Rev. 297 http://www. law. duke. edu/journals/alr/ Alexander Hamilton Institute Inc. , â€Å"A Legal Look at the ‘Reasonable Victim’ Standard† Personnel Legal Alert. August 2, 2004, Vol. 16, No. 5 http://www. ahipubs. com/samples/08-02-04pla. pdf. Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson 477 U. S. 57 http://caselaw. lp. findlaw. com Minnesota Office of Citizenship and Volunteer Services, â€Å"Planning It Safe: How to Control Liability and Risk in Volunteer Programs, Revised Edition. 1998 http://www. energizeinc. com. art/html Supreme Court of the United States, â€Å"Beth Ann Faragher v. City of Boca Raton† 524 U. S. 775 http://www. national center. org/FaraghervBocaRaton. 98. html Wikipedia, â€Å"Reasonable Person Standard† http://en. wikipedia. org

Reasons for Returning to College Essay -- Personal Narrative, Admissi

Returning back to school was a very natural decision for me. It seemed to be the next logical step in my personal and career goals. My ultimate goal is to be happy and healthy and be a good provider and role model. With that set aside for now, my next goal is to be financially stable and able to provide for my family in ways that my family was not able to provide for me. I definitely expect to work for what I want and earn every bit of it. The most recent motivator was that my company was willing to contribute a huge chunk of the yearly tuition, therefore removing some financial burden. This makes me feel like they truly care about my future and they really want to see me succeed. I have several personal reasons for returning to school. I take my personal goals very seriously. Some might say that I am my own worst critic and I am very hard on myself. I simply feel that I can and will do better and I do not settle for anything but the best out of myself. Ultimately, I have to live with myself and the decisions I make on a daily basis for the rest of my life. I must fulfill my own personal goals otherwise I am not giving myself to others completely. I have very clear and specific personal goals. To begin, I want to be financially stable. By having my degree, I want to be able to get a better job through a promotion thus making more money. I want to be able to help my child pay for college so he doesn?t have to struggle as hard as I did to put myself through school. Plus, m...

lord of the flies :: essays research papers

The Lord of the Flies Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Lord of the Flies, the three main character all have different characteristics and temperaments. Ralph shows the Guardian temperament, Jack has the characteristics of the Artisan temperament, and Piggy has the Realist temperament. This is important to the novel because it plays reason why everything ended up breaking apart on the island.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ralph is the nearest to being the Guardian in the story. Throughout the book, Ralph wants to be the one is charge and the one that Jack also respects. Most Guardians want to have membership and belonging as well. Guardians are also negative about the future, Ralph has is moments of when he does not think he is going to be rescued and gets depressed. A major difference about Ralph and his Guardian temperament is that he has many times when he feels he is not respected by the other boys. Guardians are supposed to have a lot of confidence with themselves because they are respected. The Artisan in this story is most likely Jack. Artisans are proud of themselves because they are graceful in action, and Jack has a huge ego because he is a skilled hunter or at least thinks so. Jack is a live in the moment now, or fly by the seat of your pants character he is just worried about now and not the past or future. The major difference is that Jack’s objectives on the islands are not normally the smartest things to do, he just does what he thinks he sound do now or wants to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Piggy is the Realist in The Lord of the Flies. Piggy is confident in himself because he knows he is smart and has a lot of wit and back at home Piggy always got his way. Realists seem to always have a quest to search in further truth and knowledge. A major difference between Piggy and a Realist is when it comes to the future. Piggy is, most of the time, hopeful about being rescued someday. Most Realists are negative when dealing with the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you put these very different temperaments on one island you can see how disaster is going to happen. lord of the flies :: essays research papers The Lord of the Flies Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Lord of the Flies, the three main character all have different characteristics and temperaments. Ralph shows the Guardian temperament, Jack has the characteristics of the Artisan temperament, and Piggy has the Realist temperament. This is important to the novel because it plays reason why everything ended up breaking apart on the island.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ralph is the nearest to being the Guardian in the story. Throughout the book, Ralph wants to be the one is charge and the one that Jack also respects. Most Guardians want to have membership and belonging as well. Guardians are also negative about the future, Ralph has is moments of when he does not think he is going to be rescued and gets depressed. A major difference about Ralph and his Guardian temperament is that he has many times when he feels he is not respected by the other boys. Guardians are supposed to have a lot of confidence with themselves because they are respected. The Artisan in this story is most likely Jack. Artisans are proud of themselves because they are graceful in action, and Jack has a huge ego because he is a skilled hunter or at least thinks so. Jack is a live in the moment now, or fly by the seat of your pants character he is just worried about now and not the past or future. The major difference is that Jack’s objectives on the islands are not normally the smartest things to do, he just does what he thinks he sound do now or wants to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Piggy is the Realist in The Lord of the Flies. Piggy is confident in himself because he knows he is smart and has a lot of wit and back at home Piggy always got his way. Realists seem to always have a quest to search in further truth and knowledge. A major difference between Piggy and a Realist is when it comes to the future. Piggy is, most of the time, hopeful about being rescued someday. Most Realists are negative when dealing with the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you put these very different temperaments on one island you can see how disaster is going to happen.

Fahrenheit 451

This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451

Debt Policy at Ust Inc.

Executive Summary Holding nearly 80% of the market share in the smokeless tobacco industry, UST Inc. has been generating large and stable income. However, the leading company in a certain industry tends to react slowly to market share erosion by competing firms and lack of creativity in the introduction of new product, a situation UST Inc. is now undergoing. Concerning the declining sales growth and gradual loss of the market share, UST Inc. is now considering recapitalizing by issuing debt amounts to $1 billion.By recapitalizing, it can create a total $380 million interest tax shield to add up firm value and, at the same time, make shareholders better off by using the proceeds from the issuance of debt to buyback outstanding shares. Although declining sales growth and litigation problem might be hidden concerns for UST Inc. , after some analysis about the attributes of the company such as business risk, capital structure as well as payout policy, I still believe that UST Inc. s head ing toward the right direction. And we can also observe that, after the adjustment of capital structure, its traditional dividend payout policy will not be hampered in the near future. Analysis of Business Risks (from bondholder’s viewpoint) Bondholders only care about the ability of the company to make interest payments and whether they can get the face value when the bond matures. Therefore, we have to consider the factors that contribute to the amount and stability of future EBIT.In the situation of UST, several factors have more of an impact on the company’s business risk, such as sales growth, competition faced owing to other competitors’ erosion into their market share and the effect of litigation problem and government regulations. Since the smokeless tobacco are considered less harmful to health and increased prevalence of smoking bans, demand of smokeless tobacco has undergone a continued growth, which would contribute good prospect to UST since its pro ducts strategy focus primarily on smokeless tobacco.However, as a dominant player in the industry, UST seems to be less creative on the introduction of new product and react too slowly to other competitors’ erosion into their market share. So far, UST has been increasing the price of their product as a way to boost their annual earning, which gives other players a perfect chance to gain some market share by using price value strategy. Despite the steady decline of market share might turn into future concern for UST, it still holds 77% of the market share. Besides, UST has started to make effort in new product development and renew their marketing and promotion strategy.On the other hand, although litigation and legislation problems have impacts on sales of UST, these problems has been there for a long time, which means that it shouldn’t create new turbulence on the prospect of UST. To conclude, the attributes of UST are steadily growing EBIT(approximately 9% compounded ), dominant market share in the industry. Therefore, although there are some disadvantages toward their future earning power, such as increasing competition and litigation problems, bondholders shouldn’t care too much on them since the interest expense is still a minor portion of the total EBIT.The Timing of Recapitalization It is publicly known that, through leverage, companies can lower their WACC and receive benefit from interest tax shield in order to boost their firm value. This is exactly what UST Inc. is doing right now. By issuing debt and use the fund to buy back outstanding shares, it is boosting their stock price higher. I reckon that the reason they choose to do so at this specific time is because the company has been facing more and more vigorous competition these years and undergoing declining rate of sales growth.By adopting leverage recapitalization, UST can still make the stockholder better off even its sales growth is not high enough. Besides, UST’s d ebt to asset ratio is currently at a low level compare to other competitors in the industry. Therefore, they can adopt the recapitalization strategy without worrying too much about the default risk problem. Capital Structure after the Recapitalization From the pro forma income statement (exhibit 1) in the appendix, we can see that even if the bond is issued at a rating of BBB (higher cost of debt), the EBIT/interest coverage ratio is still 10. 21, which shows that UST as sufficient amount of EBIT to make the interest payments. And the marginal effect on UST’s firm value would be the total debt ($1 billion) multiplied by the corporate tax rate (38%), which is $380 million. Dividend Payout Policy From Exhibit 2, we can observe that, under current condition, the payout ratio is around 63%, which is the percentage UST has long been paying out in the past. Therefore, it is safe to draw the conclusion that the recapitalization will not hamper future dividend payment under current c ondition. However, we are not sure whether the market share and the growth of sales will continue to drop.If they do, it will become more and more difficult for UST to stick to their traditional â€Å"pleasing† payout policy. Likely, we are not sure whether the litigation problem will be more of a concern for UST in the future. Ultimately, despite the fact that the opponents’ erosion into UST’s market share and litigation problem are both hidden concerns, it takes time for both problems to pose a threat to UST’s traditional payout policy. Appendix Exhibit 1 Pro Forma Income Statement Exhibit 2 Dividend Calculation after the Buyback Program Corporate Finance Case Study Assignment Debt Policy at UST Inc. Debt Policy at Ust Inc. Executive Summary As the leading manufacturer in the moist smokeless tobacco industry, UST Inc. has long been recognized by its ability to generate high profit using low financial leverage. With a dominant market share of 77%, the company maintains a pricing power that allows it to institute annual price increases without losing costumers. However, UST’s market share was eroded significantly in recent years by price-value competitors who enter the market with lower prices. Although UST responded to these threat by introducing new products, market share still decreased by 1. 6% over past 7 years.In addition, UST is also exposed to an unfavorable legislative environment, in which the company is under advertising and product promotion restrictions. The increasing business risks force management of UST to consider a recapitalization plan in which UST borrows up to $1 billion to repurchase its stocks. The marginal effect of the recapitalization will be a $380 million increase in fi rm value, which is the present value of interest tax shield. Besides the recapitalization benefit, management also needs to notice the costs of recapitalization, which include higher bankruptcy costs and a potential of lower credit rating.UST has a high and constant dividend payout history since 1912. The recapitalization will expose more risks to shareholders since revenues will be used to pay interest before pay dividends. Thus, the recapitalization may hamper future dividend payments. Background Having long been the leading company in the moist smokeless tobacco industry, UST Inc. was famous for its product innovation, dominate market share, and pricing adjusting power. However, as the competition of the moist smokeless tobacco industry became more intense and the legislative environment became more unfavorable, UST is facing several business risks: . Lose of market share. Relying on its superior products and innovation ability, UST used to control most of the moist smokeless tob acco market and was able to increase the price of its products year by year without losing its customers. The historical pricing flexibility gave UST a robust earning performance and bumped up its stock prices. However, as the speed of product innovation became slower, UST is facing the threat of price-value competitors, who enter the market by charging a lower price. Although later UTS responded to the threat by introducing new products, the company’s market share still dropped from 86. % in 1991 to 77. 2% in 1998. 2. Increase exposure to legislative environment. Moist smokeless tobacco manufactures used to face fewer lawsuits than cigarette manufactures due to less scientific evidence liking smokeless tobacco to cancer. However, the legislative environment has become more unfavorable to smokeless tobacco manufactures since the industry has agreed on a ban on advertising in order to settle state Medicaid lawsuit. Also, UST was the only main manufacturer that signed an agreem ent on promotion restrictions that aim to reduce youth exposure.Recapitalization UST has been widely known for its conservative debt policy, which allows the company to generate high returns with very low financial leverage. However, as business risks such as market share erosion and unfavorable legislation exposure increase, UST has an incentive to change its capital structure in order to benefit from interest tax shield and maximize the firm value. Recapitalization will also benefit shareholders in a way of higher company stock price since the proceeds from debt will be used to repurchase outstanding stocks.Also, although UST has a very high gross profit margin and return on assets on its core business compared to other smokeless tobacco manufactures, the poor performance of its non-core operations such as market wine and premium cigars give UST a low to zero profit contribution. UST’s management needs to diversify its product line and bump up earnings by investing more in the non-core operations using debt funds. Marginal Effect of Recapitalization To analysis if UST should undertake the $1 million recapitalization, management needs to calculate the value of the firm before and after ecapitalization. In a market with taxation, the value of the levered firm equals to the value of the unlevered firm plus the present value of interest tax shield. Because management assumes that the new debt is constant and perpetual, the present value of interest tax shield equals to the amount of debt multiplied by the effective tax rate, which is 38%. Thus, the present value of UST’s future tax saving should be 38% * $ 1 billion, which is $380 million. At the end of 1998, the market equity of UST was $6,470. 8 million based on the average shares outstanding and year-end stock price.If UST borrows $1 billion debt immediately, the total value of the levered firm would be $6,470. 8 million unlevered value plus $380 million tax shield, which is $6,850. 8 million. B ecause firm value will rise to $6,850. 8 million immediately after the recapitalization announcement, original shareholders will capture the full benefit of interest tax shield since they are able to sell their stocks at a higher price. The new stock price is determined by dividing the value of the levered firm by the number of shares outstanding at the end of 1998.Since there were 185, 516,055 shares outstanding at year end 1998, the new stock price after the announcement of recapitalization would be $6,850. 8 million divided by 185, 516,055, which is $36. 93. Compared to the original stock price of $34. 88, each pre-existing shareholder will benefit $2. 05 from the increase in leverage. If taxation is the only issue that management should take into consideration, the marginal effect of raising debt will be increase in company value by $380 million.However, as financial leverage increases, default risk on debt also increases, thus leads to a potential increase in bankruptcy costs. UST has been maintained an A-1 credit for its low debt / capital ratio of 28. 2%, which is a competitive advantage over its competitors who are highly leveraged. If UST decides to increase its leverage ratio, it will cause rating agencies to revalue its capital structure and cash flow generating ability in order to assign an appropriate rating.The potential change in rating will significantly affect UST’s cost of capital. Thus, management should balance the tax benefit with the expected cost of bankruptcy to maximize form value. Besides its conservative debt policy, UST was also famous for its stable and constant dividend payout since 1912. The recapitalization may hamper future dividend payments since earnings should be used to pay off debt and interest expense before they are delivered as dividends to stockholders.Because debt is risk-free and debt holders have first claim on a company’s asset, levered equity often carries a higher risk premium than unlevered equity to compensate stockholders. The remaining balance of earnings after paying interest may also be retained for operating purpose. Thus, the possibility of an interruption of cash dividends payout may occur. Summary In summary, facing the increase business risks of losing market share and exposing to unfavorable legislations, the management of UST Inc. s considering changing the company’s capital structure by raising $1 billion debt and accelerating its stock buyback program. The benefit of recapitalization will be an increase in firm value of $380 million and increase in stock price by $2. 05 each share. However, management should also take into consideration the potential increase in bankruptcy costs and changes in credit rating. Last, the constant divided payout may be hampered by recapitalization since earnings need to be used to pay interest to debt holders first.