Preparing and Electronic Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preparing and Electronic Portfolio - Essay Example They include; 1. Definition of portfolio context and goals-this is the step whereby the purpose of the portfolio is defined. It’s important to ask oneself what is it that you are trying to show with this portfolio. For instance are there any goals, outcomes or standards that are being exhibited using this portfolio? You will realize that you are prepared for the following stage when; firstly, you have been able to identify the purpose as well as the primary addressees for your portfolio. And secondly when you have identified the standards or objectives that you will be utilizing in organizing your portfolio. And finally, you have been able to select the development software you will be making use of as well as completed the initial stage using that specific tool. 2. Classification/Collection –Some of the questions one needs to ask here include; what type of artifacts will be included in the portfolio and how are such entries going to be classified? This stage therefore involves identification of various portfolio items which may be determined by assessment context as well as the kind of evidence that is to be collected. Selection of the most suitable software development tools for the portfolio context together with available resources. This stage also involves identification of the storage together with presentation medium most suitable for the given situation. 3. Reflection-Reflection generally is the soul and heart of any portfolio. It provides the basis for why these artifacts symbolize attainment of a specific result, objective or standard. The excellence of the learning that comes out of the process of portfolio development will be directly proportional to the excellence of the self-reflection put on the work. 4. Interaction/connection/feedback/dialogue-this is the step that offers an opportunity for not only interaction but also feedback on the kind of work placed in the portfolio. Apparently, this is

Prepare for Debate (Marketing Behavior class) Essay

Prepare for Debate (Marketing Behavior class) - Essay Example This information exemplifies that due to the enormity of products offered in the market, through various media which teenagers actually access, their skeptical attitude could potentially ward off advertisers who aggressively market their products and services. Finally, teenagers are the most diverse market segment (Mediamark, 2003, p. 5) and have distinct choices with regard to the products they intend to buy, where to buy them, and what medium they most frequently use to search for products and services. Marketing aggressively means a marketing approach or strategy that is very forceful, energetic and costly. By marketing aggressively, the organization would be spending resources on strategies where teenagers could not even pay attention to. According to Best Knowledge Source (2010), â€Å"teens are the hardest demographic to market to. They are the most challenging and unpredictable group to try and reach. As with any marketing strategy the key is to know who you are trying to sell to and what interests those most. Since most teens are still trying to find themselves and dont always know what they want, its hard for businesses to find out what most matters to them† (par.

A Study On Music Videos

A Study On Music Videos Music videos have a big impact on how the world is viewed today. Many videos disrespect women and portray them in a negative way. Most videos stereotyped race, womens body types, and skin color. These videos have influenced the younger generation lives and how they should act. Mainly all music videos teach the youth unhelpful information that they do not need to know in their everyday lives. Today individuals minds are twisted with images from songs, melodies, and lyrics in which music videos have influenced and made a big impact on peoples attitude and there lifestyles; these images shape the way people think in their everyday lives. Regardless of what an artist is singing or rapping about in their music video you will always see a sexual hint. Clearly you can see women being portrayed in music videos in sexual way this may not affect how you feel at first, but after seeing this happen over and over in different music videos may makes people treat women with less respect. How women are portrayed in this way comes with many consequences. Most rap videos today show sexually disapproving and harmful depictions and treatment of women, mainly women of color. Women are stereotyped in music videos because they are often portrayed as hypersexual, selfish, and amoral, examinations of music videos have publicized this. They are also portrayed as non-educated and very getable. By watching music videos people might bring to a close that the world is made up of light skin and white women. Disregarding the massive series of colors in between, a lot of women in music videos today are light skin, white, Asian, and Latina and it could be hard on women and young girls who dont like this. Their representation frequently overemphasizes their sexualized, physical looks and places them as attractive objects rather than active agents in the music videos. Most artists nowadays use light skin, Asians, and Latinos in their videos because they think they will lose viewers. These artists that havent used other races of women in their videos have already lost a lot of views because there are different races of women all over the world; people dont want to keep seeing the same thing over and over. Artist try to go with what they think everybody else would like to see instead of what they like. Women bodies today are very important to society. Television shows, movies, music videos, and magazines also play a big part in displaying women bodies in a negative way. These types of sources portray what the media thinks is the ideal of a perfect female body. Most men think that light skin women are the pretties, and that they have the curviest bodies and big behinds. There are also other women that have the same types of bodies, but they are rarely showcased in the videos. America needs to include women with different types of figures. By doing t his it would seriously expand the worlds thoughts and definition of what true beauty should look like. When women go out to clubs, or just out to have a good time men think that they can just walk up to them and grab them and say anything they want. Most women in music videos are always half naked, dancing in an inappropriate manner, and are insulted in different ways. By the women in these videos acting in this way it shows the world that all women are the same and they really are not, because most music videos have the same concept. So many music videos display these kinds of actions, and men dont realize that these videos are not real and they cant treat women with disrespect. The media have affected young girls today on becoming thinner. Half of Americans basic school students between the first and third grades are trying to become thinner. By the age of ten children are scared of being classified as overweight. Most young girls watch music videos and are influence that they are not beautiful, because there are always thin girls in the videos. When music videos showcase thin women all the time it makes young girls feel like they have to look a certain way. Young children shouldnt have to worry about problems like this at their age but people have forced so much on the youth and they become overwhelmed with these issues. Most music videos make women feel bad about the way they look, because of how the women look in them. The women in the videos are always skinny, white, Asian, or Latino anything but black, and if they are she is very light. What men fail to realize is that not all women look like this, and that they should put all types of women in their videos so viewers wont feel bad about their physical appearance. There are all different sizes, shapes, colors, and races of women, and to just limit the videos to certain races and skin color, and one body type makes women look at their self in a different way. It makes them wonder if men think that only women that look like this is beautiful than what about the rest of the women in the world, how do men look at them? The result that popular music has on children and young peoples behavior and emotions is a big concern today in society. Several of hip-hops well-known songs have influenced violence, drugs, alcohol, sex, disrespect for authority, and lack of respect for woman. The view and the result of musicvideomessages are important, as research has reported that it contacts to sexual messages, sexual stereotypes, and use of substances of violence in musicvideos might produce major changes in behaviors and attitudes of young viewers. There is a relationship between violence in music and the youth culture. For many young children and teenagers by listening to this music it creates an atmosphere that is harmful to their lives and education. Does violence in music videos cause violence in the youth culture? Yes it does because teenagers watch these music videos and act upon what they see. Most rappers make songs about using drugs and children look up to them and they imply that its okay to use drugs when really is not. Young children and teenagers in todays society are always looking for a role-model and some type of fashion to copy. A teenagers favorite types of music could be related to certain behaviors preformed in music videos. Children and teenagers rewinds songs and learn the lyrics. The youth culture will not become better into artists really think about who listens to their music and watches their videos the most, and think about what they are teaching the young people. When young girls watch music videos and see how women act and are disrespected over and over, most of them will grow up thinking that it is ok to let a men treat them with disrespect. What do boys think when they see these type of things displayed on television how women are portrayed as sex objects. Half of Boys that view music videos will grow up not caring about females feeling or how they treat them because most music videos show lack of respect for women. Children are losing their innocence from watching, listening, reading, and wearing the clothing they see in music videos. Parents shouldnt want their children studying violence, but with the technology today like headphones, and downloads they are unsure of what is going on. The mass media tells children that the artists in the music videos are not who they portray to be. African American females that spend more time watching music videos have a higher opportunity of drinking and having several sex partners, and more liable to test positive for marijuana. American teenagers use up about four and a half hours a day listening to music and studying music videos, According to American according to American Medical Association. 48% of Americans say violence in music should be regulated. In popular music parents are tired of suggestive, violent, lyrical content. There are so many music videos in the hip hop culture that stereotypes women in so many ways. In these videos women expose themselves in ways that you would never imagine. Nas feat. Braveheart Oochie Wally, Ludacris booty poppin, Jadakiss knock yourself out, 50 Cent disco inferno, and Nelly tip drill. Nellys video tip drill is the most degrading of women that I ever saw the lyrics and how the women carry themselves. Nellys music video Tip Drill really stereotypes women, in this video he says â€Å"I said it must be ya ass cause it aint ya faceI need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill† (Nelly). This stereotypes that if a women has a big beheld than men really dont take their time to look at her face, they just want to see what her body looks like. A tip drill is another name for running a train on a girl in the video ali verse say â€Å"I said it aint no fun less we all get some I need a tipdrill, we need a tipdrill† â€Å"Now come on girl you know what we came here for Is You a tipdrill, we need a tipdrill† (Ali). The women in this video really dont care if they are being exposed â€Å"You lookin well in them shorts but they look better on the floor Cause yous a tipdrll, cause yous a tipdrill† ( Kyjuan). Women in this video are walking around Naked, letting the touch on them in any kind of way, touch on other women â€Å"Now ya see I want to let you ride but the rubber m ight slide Yous a tipdrill, girl you a tipdrill† (Murphy Lee). â€Å"Turn that ass up mama put that dip in ya back And let me tipdrill, just let me tipdrill† this videos degrade women and make other countrys look at us in a negative way. The girls in the video have a part and they say â€Å"It must be ya money, cause it aint ya faceYou a tipdrill, nigga you a tipdrill† â€Å"My apple bottom look right, I know you wanna bite Yous a tipdrill, I heard you was a tipdrill† I got you payin my bills and buyin automobiles Yous a tipdrill, nigga you a tipdrill â€Å"I know you a trick go spend that shit You old tipdrill, you monkeyass tipdrill â€Å". These videos degrade women and make other countrys look at us in a negative way; it makes men feel like they have power over women. Music videos in todays society have misled people to how the American culture should be viewed. Women are stereotyped all the time because other women want to expose their self in a negative way in music videos. If society try to put a stop to what going on in these videos there will be less valence, and abuse. If artist try to make music videos that are more positive, and stop putting stereotypes of women in their videos children would have someone to look up to. Sawa Kurotani, Learning what hip hops all about, December 16, 2008 Tuesday, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=truerisb=21_T7909056810format=GNBFIsort=RELEVANCEstartDocNo=1resultsUrlKey=29_T7909056813cisb=22_T7909056812treeMax=truetreeWidth=0csi=145202docNo=16 Delilah Cummings,The Effects of Hip Hop Music on Todays Youth, 10/31/03, http://media.www.msuspokesman.com/media/storage/paper270/news/2003/10/31/Perspectives/The-Effects.Of.Hip.Hop.Music.On.Todays.Youth-547432.shtml Policy StatementImpact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth. Pediatrics 124.5 (2009): 1488-1494. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7hid=2sid=bf1584aa-9f34-4439-beb9-eb33944df1cc%40sessionmgr4bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9hAN=45407672 Peterson, Shani H., et al. Images of Sexual Stereotypes in Rap Videos and the Health of African American Female Adolescents. Journal of Womens Health (15409996) 16.8 (2007): 1157-1164. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=13hid=2sid=bf1584aa-9f34-4439-beb9-eb33944df1cc%40sessionmgr4bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9hAN=27063114#db=a9hAN=27063114 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com, Portrayal of Women in Music Videos, All Rights Reserved http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/103197.html 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com, the Female Body, the Media, an, All Rights Reserved. http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/34603.html 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved, Lyrical Violence, http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/18773.html Joan Morgan (1999) sings of life in the USA, Boston New York, Sonia Maasik, and Jack Solomon Cheryl Wetzstein, Rap music perpetuates stereotypes of women, june 22, 2008 Sunday, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=truerisb=21_T8067453482format=GNBFIsort=RELEVANCEstartDocNo=1resultsUrlKey=29_T8067453495cisb=22_T8067453494treeMax=truetreeWidth=0csi=8176docNo=11 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved. The Female Body, the Media, an, http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/34603.html Nelly, Tip Drill, 11/25/03, music video, September, 16, 2007 http://www.muvids.com/2725_video_nelly_tip_drill

Antigone Reparations Joan of Arc :: essays papers

Antigone Reparations Joan of Arc "Think: all men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and he repairs the evil: the only crime is pride." Such was the admonition of the wise prophet Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone. In literature as in life, men often stubbornly hold on to their precious pride and reek havoc on those who least deserve it. Unfortunately, men rescind their mistakes too late. Their hubris does not make them evil, but it is dubious whether they can be considered good, honorable men. Repenting for past wrongs does not erase mistakes, for the effects of these mistakes are not rescinded with an apology. In the play Antigone, the downfall of King Kreon was tragic in that his fatal flaw, hubris, caused not only his own downfall, but that of many others. Antigone, the noble heroine, just suffering the loss of her two brothers, defies her Uncle Kreon's edict and buries Polyneices. She buried her dear brother out of familial love and duty to the gods. Kreon, who had previously stated that anyone who would dare defy his edict would suffer death, sentenced his own niece to death. Everyone, it seems, was opposed to Kreon's order. Referring to this fatal flaw, Sophocles notes that "Kreon has shown there is no greater evil than men's failure to consult and to consider" (1438-1439). Kreon had earlier stated, "I believe that he who rules in a state and fails to embrace the best men's counsels, but stays locked in silence and vague fear, is the worst man there" (217-220). Although Kreon voiced such lofty principles, his actions were to the contrary. Haimon, his son and Antigone's fiancà ©, o ffered advice but, while Koryphaios was willing to listen, Kreon arrogantly questioned "Men our age, learn from him?" (876). Haimon warned his father, "[t]hen she'll die, and her death will destroy others" (908). His admonition, which foreshadowed the tragedy, was disregarded by his arrogant father. Even Teieresias warned Kreon against his planned course of action. Kreon initially rejecting the prophet's advice to yield, subsequently conceded to the wise prophet's advise, but it was too late. Antigone had hung herself, Haimon had died of his own sword, and Eurydice, his wife, had killed herself out of grief. In attempting to prevent disorder, King Kreon bred disorder and became tyrannical. Antigone Reparations Joan of Arc :: essays papers Antigone Reparations Joan of Arc "Think: all men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and he repairs the evil: the only crime is pride." Such was the admonition of the wise prophet Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone. In literature as in life, men often stubbornly hold on to their precious pride and reek havoc on those who least deserve it. Unfortunately, men rescind their mistakes too late. Their hubris does not make them evil, but it is dubious whether they can be considered good, honorable men. Repenting for past wrongs does not erase mistakes, for the effects of these mistakes are not rescinded with an apology. In the play Antigone, the downfall of King Kreon was tragic in that his fatal flaw, hubris, caused not only his own downfall, but that of many others. Antigone, the noble heroine, just suffering the loss of her two brothers, defies her Uncle Kreon's edict and buries Polyneices. She buried her dear brother out of familial love and duty to the gods. Kreon, who had previously stated that anyone who would dare defy his edict would suffer death, sentenced his own niece to death. Everyone, it seems, was opposed to Kreon's order. Referring to this fatal flaw, Sophocles notes that "Kreon has shown there is no greater evil than men's failure to consult and to consider" (1438-1439). Kreon had earlier stated, "I believe that he who rules in a state and fails to embrace the best men's counsels, but stays locked in silence and vague fear, is the worst man there" (217-220). Although Kreon voiced such lofty principles, his actions were to the contrary. Haimon, his son and Antigone's fiancà ©, o ffered advice but, while Koryphaios was willing to listen, Kreon arrogantly questioned "Men our age, learn from him?" (876). Haimon warned his father, "[t]hen she'll die, and her death will destroy others" (908). His admonition, which foreshadowed the tragedy, was disregarded by his arrogant father. Even Teieresias warned Kreon against his planned course of action. Kreon initially rejecting the prophet's advice to yield, subsequently conceded to the wise prophet's advise, but it was too late. Antigone had hung herself, Haimon had died of his own sword, and Eurydice, his wife, had killed herself out of grief. In attempting to prevent disorder, King Kreon bred disorder and became tyrannical.

Marvel Case Report †Marketing Essay

1. Key Problems/Opportunities: †¢Marvel’s product line is limited to primarily the superhero genre. This makes diversifying more difficult. †¢Marvel competes not only with DC Comics but also with other types of films (such as action, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, etc.). When people go to the movies for entertainment, they don’t typically just go to watch comic book hero movies. Therefore, Marvel faces competition from a wide range of genres (and production companies like Paramount that produce different genres of movies). †¢Marvel can turn each comic book character into its own brand and capitalize on additional streams of revenue through licensing. Toys, T-shirts, watches, and video games based on popular comic book characters are all products that can help augment Marvel’s revenue. †¢Not all characters are of equal worth to Marvel. Spiderman and X-Men are much more valuable brands than Daredevil and the Punisher. 2. New Information: †¢Marvel continues to have mixed success with its character lineup. Elekra only grossed $56.7M worldwide while Iron Man grossed over $585M worldwide (http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/ ?id=elektra.htm; http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm). †¢ Marvel Entertainment’s competitive landscape has become even tougher. Not only must Marvel’s lineup compete with DC Comic’s Superman and Batman, but also comic book heroes like Transformers and G.I. Joe (interestingly, Marvel used to own the rights to Transformers and G.I. Joe but sold those rights to Hasbro) (http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread. php?t=265502). †¢Marvel has been able to keep the X-Men franchise afloat with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: First-Class (though it does seem to be weakening some) (http://boxofficemojo.com/ showdowns/chart/?id=vs-xmen.htm). †¢Disney purchased Marvel for $4 billion in 2009 (http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/31/news/ companies/disney_marvel/index.htm). 3. Recommendations: †¢Not every Marvel movie is a blockbuster. In fact, some of them are flops. While Marvel would certainly experience growth in focusing on production and distribution more, it risks stretching itself beyond its core competencies. While successful movies could prove to be very profitable for Marvel, lackluster movies could prove to be financially detrimental if Marvel also produced and distributed all of its films. †¢Marvel must learn to manage its growth. It cannot forever rely on its cash cows Spiderman and X-Men. However, new generations equate to new potential markets. Reintroducing classic characters to new generations could translate into recurring revenue streams. †¢Marvel should leverage its growth on one hand and not stretch itself too much beyond its core competencies on the other. Getting more into production could prove to be financially beneficial for Marvel. On the other hand, I would recommend leaving the distribution to those companies that specialize in that and are large enough to be able to diversify without it harming their business. Marvel’s core competency is in developing its characters and storylines. While Marvel could expand their core competencies to include production, doing so too much to include distribution might destroy Marvel’s core competencies. †¢Marvel has thousands of characters. It should strategically develop some of its highest-potential characters. However, this has also backfired (ex: Daredevil and Elektra). It worked with Iron Man and seems to be working with Thor though. †¢Marvel can continue to create new streams of revenue by aggressively seeking licensing opportunities and even international licensing agreements. Licensing can be extremely profitable, especially when attached to a lucrative film franchise.

Cultural imperialism

This concept of cultural Imperialism is the argument that a large bulk of media products flow from the West, especially the United States, and so powerfully shape the cultures of other nations that they amount to a cultural form of domination† (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298).In this essay I will explain whether or not this concept provides a useful framework to understand global media, what the strengths and weaknesses are, and will provide example from ll aspects of this concept Cultural Imperialism is the extension of a countries power and influence on many other nations through, in this case, media production. Western corporations embed values and images of Western society in the media products sold. The United States has, for many years, been the most dominant nation when it comes to media and the production of media.American films and music dominates the world's media and could be found in almost every country. â€Å"There Is no denying the overwhelming presenc e that U. S. culture has in other countries. American television, films, and music are common In most societies across the globe. â€Å"(Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298). For an example, you don't see many artists from Spain coming to the united States on tour and performing at Madison Square Garden.However, you do have many artists from America (most of the main artists), like Pitbull and Miley Cyrus, going on tour in almost every continent. â€Å"For example, global music stars such as Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga were able to sell albums regardless of linguistic differences. † (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298). There is a big reason why this cultural imperialism lies in the hands of the United States. That is because of the substantial budgets that the U. S projects have.This concept provides a useful framework to understand global media. Since the U. S. has all of this money from the constant consumption of their product, they have the money to afford technological Innovation. â€Å"All these things are very expensive to produce† more expensive than most non-U. S. production studios can afford. † (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8433). One reason why some U. S. media products have been so successful is that U. S. projects tend to have substantial budgets, resulting in very creative and attractive production values.Therefore, since some nations simply do not have the resources to develop the infrastructure necessary to produce high-quality media products, like the ones produced in the U. S. , it is basically cheaper to buy U. S. made products to produce their own, which yet again leaves the U. S as the dominant media producer. However, there are a few weaknesses with the limitations of cultural imperialism. These limitations are: 1) It does not distinguish different types of media. U. S. products dominate sectors, such as the movie Industry, while other media continue to be mostly local, such as print. ) It assume s a passive audience, which means that we do not know If the other countries are Interpreting U. S. media products differently or as Intended by the media. 3) underestimates the role played by local media producers. Locally produced media content, flnely attuned to local culture, tends to De enormously popular. Local producers nave In some cases successTully competed ith the global media companies by providing local alternatives that distinguish themselves from international media fare. The biggest example of a vibrant film industry outside of the West is not new at all. â€Å"Bollywood,† the section of the Indian film industry specializing in Hindi-language films, is based in Mumbai and dates back to the silent film era of the early 20th century. † (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8419). In conclusion, cultural imperialism is the extension of a countries power and influence on many other nations through, in this case, media production, which is ominated by the U. S .Since they have the substantial budget to effective create new technological inventions and continuously creating the highest profitable films and music, no other country is able to compete. â€Å"The basic argument of the cultural imperialism thesis was that Western media products introduced into other countries, especially â€Å"developing† countries, contributed to a decline in local traditional values and promoted, instead, values associated with capitalism. † (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 6322)

Roy

Roy Patrick Roy Catches: Left Height: 6'2" Weight: 185 lbs Born: Oct. 5, 1965 Quebec City, Quebec Roy was Montreal's fourth choice (51st Overall) in the 1984 entry draft. He was traded by Montreal with Mike Keane to Colorado for Joycelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko on Dec. 6th, 1995.First NHL Game: Feb. 23, 1985 vs. WPG First NHL Win: Feb. 23, 1985 vs. WPG First NHL Shutout: Jan. 15th, 1986 vs. WPG First Game with Colorado: Dec. 7th, 1995 vs. EDM First Victory with Colorado: Dec. 11, 1995 at TOR First Shutout with Colorado: Oct. 28, 1996 vs. WSH Career Milestones: Longest Win Streak: 11 (1/12-2/7/99) Longest Unbeaten Streak: 17 (2x) 14-0-3 1/28-4/1/99 13-0-4 1/30-3/24/94 Longest Shutout Streak (Min.): 168:47 2/1-2/7/90 Career Highlights: 1986 NHL All-Rookie Team"‚Â ¦1986 Stanley Cup Champion"‚Â ¦1986 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner (Youngest player to ever win the award - 20 years old)"‚Â ¦1987 William M. Jenning Award Winner"‚Â ¦1988 William M.Goalie Tim Thomas, NHL Hockey player for the Bosto...

Free Essays on Punk Rock

Often when people think of punk music they still think of the eighties â€Å"Down with government, beat the heck out of your neighbor, get wasted† stereotype. Punk is a term applied to a child or teenager who acts in an antisocial way. Some think that punk music is a form of rebellion, and that it is turned against all other musical forms and influences. Webster’s Universal Dictionary defines a punk as 1. (slang) a. someone worthless or unimportant. b. a young ruffian; hoodlum. c. an inexperienced youth d. a young male partner of a homosexual. 3. a style or movement characterized by the adoption of aggressively unconventional and often bizarre or shocking clothing, hairstyles, etc., and the defiance of social norms usually associated with punk rock musicians and fans.5. (informal) poor in quality or condition. It says that punk rock is rock music marked by loud, insistent music and aggressive, often abusive or violent lyrics. I don’t agree with all of these, so c alled, â€Å"definitions.† That is a very bad interpretation of what punk and what punk rock is. People I know that are considered punks by their peers are not worthless, unimportant, hoodlums, or a partner of a homosexual. And punk rock that I listen to is not insistent, or abusive, and it doesn’t have violent lyrics. Punk music is as much cultural as it is musical. It goes without saying that punk music has earned its reputation for being high impact, loud, energetic and intense. However, people often associate the message of all punk music as containing nothing more then violent, anti-government statements, and messages of alienation. Many people share the view that it has nothing to say and has offered nothing but a continued sentiment of hostility towards its fans. This is an unfair judgment of a genre of music whose fans are as variable as the messages of the music itself. Punk music has indeed offered messages of abstinence rather then promiscuity, faith rather then ... Free Essays on Punk Rock Free Essays on Punk Rock Often when people think of punk music they still think of the eighties â€Å"Down with government, beat the heck out of your neighbor, get wasted† stereotype. Punk is a term applied to a child or teenager who acts in an antisocial way. Some think that punk music is a form of rebellion, and that it is turned against all other musical forms and influences. Webster’s Universal Dictionary defines a punk as 1. (slang) a. someone worthless or unimportant. b. a young ruffian; hoodlum. c. an inexperienced youth d. a young male partner of a homosexual. 3. a style or movement characterized by the adoption of aggressively unconventional and often bizarre or shocking clothing, hairstyles, etc., and the defiance of social norms usually associated with punk rock musicians and fans.5. (informal) poor in quality or condition. It says that punk rock is rock music marked by loud, insistent music and aggressive, often abusive or violent lyrics. I don’t agree with all of these, so c alled, â€Å"definitions.† That is a very bad interpretation of what punk and what punk rock is. People I know that are considered punks by their peers are not worthless, unimportant, hoodlums, or a partner of a homosexual. And punk rock that I listen to is not insistent, or abusive, and it doesn’t have violent lyrics. Punk music is as much cultural as it is musical. It goes without saying that punk music has earned its reputation for being high impact, loud, energetic and intense. However, people often associate the message of all punk music as containing nothing more then violent, anti-government statements, and messages of alienation. Many people share the view that it has nothing to say and has offered nothing but a continued sentiment of hostility towards its fans. This is an unfair judgment of a genre of music whose fans are as variable as the messages of the music itself. Punk music has indeed offered messages of abstinence rather then promiscuity, faith rather then ...

Greed and Taxation Led to the Fall of Rome

Greed and Taxation Led to the Fall of Rome Whether you prefer to say Rome fell (in 410 when Rome was sacked, or in 476 when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus), or simply morphed into the Byzantine Empire and medieval feudalism, economic policies of the emperors had a heavy impact on the lives of the citizens of Rome. Primary Source Bias Although they say history is written by the victors, sometimes its just written by the elites. This is the case with Tacitus (ca. 56 to 120) and Suetonius (ca.71 to 135), our primary literary sources on the first dozen emperors. Historian Cassius Dio, a contemporary of Emperor Commodus (Emperor from 180 to 192), was also from a senatorial family (which, then as now, meant elite). Commodus was one of the emperors who, although despised by the senatorial classes, was loved by the military and lower classes. The reason is mainly financial. Commodus taxed the senators and was generous with the others. Likewise, Nero (Emperor from 54 to 68) was popular with the lower classes, who held him in the kind of reverence reserved in modern times for Elvis Presley- complete with Nero sightings after his suicide.   Inflation Nero and other emperors debased the currency in order to supply a demand for more coins. Debasing currency means that instead of a coin having its own intrinsic value, it was now the only representative of the silver or gold it had once contained. In 14 (the year of Emperor Augustus death), the supply of Roman gold and silver amounted to $1,700,000,000. By 800, this had dwindled to $165,000. Part of the problem was that the government would not permit the melting down of gold and silver for individuals. By the time of Claudius II Gothicus (Emperor from 268 to 270), the amount of silver in a supposedly solid silver denarius was only .02 percent. This was or led to severe inflation, depending on how you define inflation. Especially luxurious emperors like Commodus, who marked the end of the period of the five good emperors, depleted the imperial coffers. By the time of his assassination, the Empire had almost no money left. The 5 Good Emperors Leading to up Commodus 96 to 98: Nerva  98 to 117: Trajan  117 to 138: Hadrian  Ã‚  138 to 161: Antoninus Pius  161 to 180: Marcus Aurelius177/180 to 192: ​Commodus Land The Roman Empire acquired money by taxation or by finding new sources of wealth, like land. However, it had reached its furthest limits by the time of the second good emperor, Trajan, during the period of the high empire (96 to 180), so land acquisition was no longer an option. As Rome lost territory, it also lost its revenue base. Romes wealth was originally in the land, but this gave way to wealth through taxation. During the expansion of Rome around the Mediterranean, tax-farming went hand-in-hand with provincial government since the provinces were taxed even when Romans proper were not. Tax farmers would bid for the chance to tax the province and would pay in advance. If they failed, they lost, with no recourse to Rome, but they generally made a profit at the hand of the peasants. The diminishing importance of tax-farming at the end of the Principate was a sign of moral progress, but also meant the government couldnt tap private corporations in the event of an emergency. The means of acquiring crucial monetary funds included debasing the silver currency (seen as preferable to increasing the rate of taxation, and common), spending reserves (depleting the imperial coffers), increasing taxes (which was not done during the period of the high empire), and confiscating the estates of the wealthy elite. Taxation could be in kind, rather than coinage, which required local bureaucracies to make efficient use of perishables, and might be expected to produce reduced revenue for the seat of the Roman Empire. Emperors deliberately overtaxed the senatorial (or ruling) class in order to render it powerless. To do this, the emperors needed a powerful set of enforcers- the imperial guard. Once the wealthy and powerful were no longer either rich or powerful, the poor had to pay the bills of the state. These bills included the payment of the imperial guard and the military troops at the empires borders. Feudalism Since the military and the imperial guard were absolutely essential, taxpayers had to be compelled to produce their pay. Workers had to be tied to their land. To escape the burden of tax, some small landowners sold themselves into slavery, since slaves didnt have to pay tax and freedom from taxes was more desirable than personal liberty. In the early days of the Roman Republic, debt-bondage (nexum) was acceptable. Nexum, Cornell argues, was better than being sold into foreign slavery or death. It is possible that centuries later, during the Empire, the same sentiments prevailed. Since the Empire wasnt making money from the slaves, Emperor Valens (ca. 368) made it illegal to sell oneself into slavery. Small landowners becoming feudal serfs is one of the several economic conditions  responsible for the fall of Rome. Resources and Further Reading Barnish, S. J. B. â€Å"A Note on the ‘Collatio Glebalis.†Ã‚  Historia: Zeitschrift Fà ¼r Alte Geschichte, vol. 38, no. 2, 1989, pp. 254-256.  JSTOR.Bartlett, Bruce. â€Å"How Excessive Government Killed Ancient Rome.† Cato Journal, vol. 14, no. 2, 1994, pp. 287-303.Cornell, Tim J. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome From the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 B.C.). Routledge, 1995.Hammond, Mason. â€Å"Economic Stagnation in the Early Roman Empire.† The Journal of Economic History, vol. 6, no. S1, 1946, pp. 63-90.Heather, Peter. Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford University, 2014.Hopkins, Keith. â€Å"Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 B.C.-A.D. 400).† Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 70, Nov. 1980, pp. 101-125.Mirković Miroslava. The Later Roman Colonate and Freedom. American Philosophical Society, 1997.West, Louis C. â€Å"The Economic Collapse of the Roman Empire.†Ã‚  The Classi cal Journal, vol. 28, no. 2, 1932, pp. 96-106.  JSTOR.Wickham, Chris. â€Å"The Other Transition: From the Ancient World to Feudalism.† Past Present, vol. 103, no. 1, 1 May 1984, pp. 3-36. Woolf, Greg. â€Å"Imperialism, Empire and the Integration of the Roman Economy.† World Archaeology, vol. 23, no. 3, 1992, pp. 283-293.

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Information Systems - Essay Example stakeholders, implementing a better mitigation plan for potential risk and ensure that they clearly understand and support what the project should achieve. This report presents the detailed risk analysis, mitigation and recommendations for the new information technology based system implementation for the submission of personal tax returns at a large European country. In addition, this report will outline some of main and inflectional risks those can make this project a failure. In this scenario I will also recommend some of effective mitigation steps to effectively manage and handle this project. According to (Whitten, Bentley and Dittman), the current era is known as the age of information technology since the information technology is playing vital and major roles in almost every walk of life. Additionally, the business sector is also tremendously influenced and improved by the information technology. Furthermore, at the present, organizations have more effective and well-organized ways for performing business functions. Furthermore, to perform managerial tasks, the development and implementation of information systems have turned out to be essential task for almost every organization. Since, the accomplishment of the information systems in the organizations and corporate structures has provided many advantages and ROI (return on investment). However, at the present time, the information systems are strongly attached with business activities and management operations. Since, these systems are presenting a valuable return on the organizational data stored in these informati on systems. In addition, the development of the off-the-shelf information systems has presented various facilities to the business data and information handling. Thus, at the present, the information system is the main factor of the concentration for every organization (Whitten, Bentley and Dittman; Hutchinson and Sawyer). This report is about the implementation of new information system

Portfolio Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Portfolio - Literature review Example Culture can also imply the works and practices of academic and more so creative activities. In order to explain the popular culture the last two definitions of the word culture must be utilized, the way of life- holidays such as Easter weekend, Christmas, these are mostly known as the livid cultures. The other definition of culture as suggesting practices- this would lead us to conceive of football, hip pop music, theatres, films and videos, popular culture is a derivative of the term culture and cannot ‘stand on its own’. The definition of culture elicits a complicated meaning because it is all encompassing, together with words such as education which can mean everything but not specific on a single item. However, since it is used in daily human discourse, it is important to conjure up a meaning, it can refer to the context, values, subjectivity, attitudes and skills on which the society or an individual defines his or their identity. Culture is different from popular culture as it is static, the latter is constantly changing, for instance dressing, and current trends depict people wearing tighter clothing. Culture is also based in homogenous grouping while popular culture is a based in large and heterogeneous groups often affiliated through mass media. Culture is the rubric of the society while popular culture is mostly an urban ‘thing’. Popular culture is also very spontaneous and according to Jones (2013), it is easy to learn unlike culture, which entails many actions to be followed. Mass media fuelled popular culture, and this has led to a powerful and overt influence of the media primarily a high consumption level and more sophistication. Gender and other forms of discrimination including disability have found solace in the media in expressing the perceived difference (Hui 2011, p.269). Culture as a way of life often targets minorities and people are adjudged harshly

Assignment2-1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment2-1 - Essay Example Reconstruction was a failure in the South, as the white Southerners placed several obstacles in the way of African-American political participation. With the abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment of 1865, African-Americans sought political participation. This was bitterly opposed by the white Southerners, who were granted the right by President Johnson to form new governments. They passed the Black Code, denying African-Americans the right to buy or lease land, to vote, to attend public schools, to testify against whites or serve on juries and continue to toil as servants for their former masters. Racial supremacists, like the Ku Klux Klan, resorted to violence and lynching of African-Americans. The race riots in Memphis and New Orleans in 1866 saw the blatant massacre of eighty-nine African-Americans. The radical Republican Congress, although it overrode President Johnson’s obstinate resistance to reconstruction, and resorted to the use of federal troops in th e South, could not achieve its objectives due to the severe economic depression in the South, the racism inherent in generations of white Southerners and the electoral malpractices resorted to by them. 2 In the light of the new constitutional legislation enacted by the Republican Congress, the Reconstruction may be viewed as a success. The Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 guaranteed Blacks civil rights and equality before the law; the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 mandated racially impartial voting rights; the Civil Rights Act of 1875 banned racial segregation. The Freedmen’s Bureau, whose powers were expanded by Congress, assisted former slaves to assert their rights. Several former slaves, including Oscar Dunn, Francis Cardozo, John Menard, Jasper White and Hiram Revels, held legislative office, and entered the Congress, the Senate and the judiciary. 3 Equal civil and political rights for African-Americans were ensured by such

Mamie Mannehs Arrest Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mamie Mannehs Arrest - Case Study Example Fish and Wildlife Agency has a duty to protect wild animals so that they are not endangered or made extinct and have arrested Manneh on charges of smuggling monkey meat. Her arrest may be in violation of her first amendment right to freedom of religion and the action of the federal agency amounts to a prohibition of that right. Moreover, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s, equal protection must be provided to all citizens, therefore protection must be provided to Manneh’s religious practices in the same manner that others’ religious rights and practices are respected. A strict scrutiny test will be applied by the Courts in assessing violations of fundamental constitutional rights and the right to freedom of religion is one such constitutional right. Over and above this, Manneh also belongs to a minority race which will further invoke the strict scrutiny doctrine. It may, however, be possible for the federal Agency to demonstrate a compelling state interest in this matter, since the preservation of wildlife and the containment of sources of diseases such as HIV and SARS may be adequate justification for their action in curtailing a harmful religious practice. DiMaggio could be charged under the provisions of the criminal law of battery because he has hit and threatened his girlfriend. He can also be charged for aggravated assault for slapping her several times and hurting her. He will also be guilty of homicidal violence and intent for his actions in almost burning his girlfriend’s face and threatening to shove the burning lighter down her throat.

School Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

School Resources - Essay Example Lastly, the comparisons for the required staff, allotted staff and desired staff were also provided. School Resources Introduction The aim of schools at Newton County in Georgia State is to offer learning excellence to every child. Georgia State ensures that every occupant is entitled to enhanced education since better education is the right for every inhabitant. Therefore, for the state government to fulfill this aspect, it ensures that students receive better education across the state. This is through deploying teachers with effective education skills and offering them, better incentives to enable them deliver effective services. Every state constitution ensures that every citizen has the right to education; thus, the states play significant roles in ensuring that there are fair and equitable financial resources vital for enabling teachers to deliver effective services to students (LexiNexis, 2013). The financial resources, which is available in every state has two parts including the revenue and the expenditure sides. Funds have been on increase and many fundraisers have been dedicated to varied schools in order to make education work better for all citizens. Financial Resources State The financial resources of the school will include the revenue and expenditure since these accounts for the significant part of the state money. The funding revenue taxes are produced by the states and these are allocated for varied activities at the local schools. For instance, the high school local 5 mills are 197, 117, 287 and this indicates that 1 mill is worthy 39423457.4 dollars (Barge, 2013). These accounts for the total funds generated to meet the total expenses, which is often not funded by the federal or state government. Newton district received state funds of about $ 10, 009,047 for learning purposes in the current year (GaDOE, 2013). The QBE (Quality Basic Education), which is salary and operating cost for high school grade 9-12, is $ 11, 390,203. The FTE (full-ti me equivalent) is approximated 3, 741; thus a teacher teaching in high school will earn approximately $2,744. 80 (Barge, 2013). Federal The federal funding for schools in the current year is $ 1, 814, 00 to Newton County and direct transfer for federal revenue is $ 91. 000 (Barge, 2013). The federal government transfer of income, which is provided to the Georgia state, can be categorized in varied ways. The child nutrition act is estimated at $ 580, 000, safe and drug fee to schools is $ 8.000, children with disabilities act is $ 360, 000, vocational and technological education is $ 35,000 and other federal funding is estimated at $ 238,000. The federal government to enable the local schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities meets more than 5 percent of funds for locals; these funds are generated form tax collections and the QBE act makes the decisions about the funding. Therefore, the local system should provide FTE enrollment of students in order to enable the federa l government deliver the state funding effectively. This is because the state funding relies heavily on full-time equivalent report. Therefore, it is necessary for a student in Newton County to report in class at least for ten to fifteen days before the FTE report is taken. This is vital because the funding available for every

What are the major conventions of Revenge Tragedy Discuss how they are Essay

What are the major conventions of Revenge Tragedy Discuss how they are used, combined or altered in Cyril Tourneur's 'The revenger's tragedy' - Essay Example T.S. Eliot recognized the dominance of the Senecan mood in drama during the era of the revenge tragedy when he suggested, â€Å"No author exercised a wider or deeper influence upon the Elizabethan mind or upon the Elizabethan form of tragedy than did Seneca† (Arkins 2). Any analysis of the revenge play genre centers on two particular plays, which both typify and transcend the revenge play genre Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy and ur-Hamlet. The blueprint of the revenge tragedy is laid out and executed here to brilliant and devastating effect, an effect which indeed defined the notion of how revenge was to be played out on stage. There is of course significant disagreement to how the concept of revenge was interpreted via Elizabethan mores, whether the multitude of avengers in the various stage dramas put on during the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries represented immoral exemplars, examples of Anglo-Saxon barbarianism combined with un-Christian Senecan ethic (Broude 39), or perhaps something more noble like retribution in the mode of divine justice. Regardless, the ethical valence in the standard form of the revenge tragedy was generally unambiguous and robustly on the side of revenge and its attendant carnage. As as interesting caveat to this, Shakespeare’s Hamlet often seen as a response to the non-extant ur-Hamlet offers a level of ambiguity that does not so much negate the vengeful mood of the play but nuances it in such a way that makes Hamlet the singularly important and influential play it is today. A purer example of the revenge tragedy is perhaps Cyril Tourneur’s The Revenger’s Tragedy. Though as we will show, while it is most obviously ruled by many of the conventions of the revenge tragedy and is clearly meant to fall within it as an artful example of the genre, it does not adopt all of its conventions carte blanche. In order to make sense of this it will

School Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

School Resources - Essay Example Lastly, the comparisons for the required staff, allotted staff and desired staff were also provided. School Resources Introduction The aim of schools at Newton County in Georgia State is to offer learning excellence to every child. Georgia State ensures that every occupant is entitled to enhanced education since better education is the right for every inhabitant. Therefore, for the state government to fulfill this aspect, it ensures that students receive better education across the state. This is through deploying teachers with effective education skills and offering them, better incentives to enable them deliver effective services. Every state constitution ensures that every citizen has the right to education; thus, the states play significant roles in ensuring that there are fair and equitable financial resources vital for enabling teachers to deliver effective services to students (LexiNexis, 2013). The financial resources, which is available in every state has two parts including the revenue and the expenditure sides. Funds have been on increase and many fundraisers have been dedicated to varied schools in order to make education work better for all citizens. Financial Resources State The financial resources of the school will include the revenue and expenditure since these accounts for the significant part of the state money. The funding revenue taxes are produced by the states and these are allocated for varied activities at the local schools. For instance, the high school local 5 mills are 197, 117, 287 and this indicates that 1 mill is worthy 39423457.4 dollars (Barge, 2013). These accounts for the total funds generated to meet the total expenses, which is often not funded by the federal or state government. Newton district received state funds of about $ 10, 009,047 for learning purposes in the current year (GaDOE, 2013). The QBE (Quality Basic Education), which is salary and operating cost for high school grade 9-12, is $ 11, 390,203. The FTE (full-ti me equivalent) is approximated 3, 741; thus a teacher teaching in high school will earn approximately $2,744. 80 (Barge, 2013). Federal The federal funding for schools in the current year is $ 1, 814, 00 to Newton County and direct transfer for federal revenue is $ 91. 000 (Barge, 2013). The federal government transfer of income, which is provided to the Georgia state, can be categorized in varied ways. The child nutrition act is estimated at $ 580, 000, safe and drug fee to schools is $ 8.000, children with disabilities act is $ 360, 000, vocational and technological education is $ 35,000 and other federal funding is estimated at $ 238,000. The federal government to enable the local schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities meets more than 5 percent of funds for locals; these funds are generated form tax collections and the QBE act makes the decisions about the funding. Therefore, the local system should provide FTE enrollment of students in order to enable the federa l government deliver the state funding effectively. This is because the state funding relies heavily on full-time equivalent report. Therefore, it is necessary for a student in Newton County to report in class at least for ten to fifteen days before the FTE report is taken. This is vital because the funding available for every

Women in the Early Republic Essay Example for Free

Women in the Early Republic Essay Women played a big part in their husband’s roles in government, although they were not allowed to vote at this time. Women like Dolley Madison made their husband’s presidency more successful. Women also became more involved with the churches, and education. They believed that it was important for women to be as educated as men. Women made up most of the church congregants, as they had for a while. In New England colonies, they started to let women work alongside men on church committees, deciding on the admission of new members, debating doctrinal points, and hiring ministers. Quakers especially liked this; they had always found much talent in women ministers. Unlike the men, the women did not prepare their speeches ahead of time; instead however, they spoke from the heart. One woman, after having a near death experience, became known as â€Å"the Publick Universal Friend†. Jemima Wilkinson claimed that she was no longer a woman, nor a man. She dressed in men’s clothes, wore her hair in a mannish style, and preached openly in Philadelphia and Rhode Island. She ended up in New York with two hundred and fifty followers. This was only part of the change that women had in the early republic. Girls had started attending school also; this started in the North and eventually moved down to the Southern states. They usually went to public schools called district schools, and they offered very basic education. Often girls attended summer sessions and were separated from the boys. By the 1830s, many private academies had opened for teenage girls. These schools had the basics they would need such as drawing, needlework, music, dancing, and talking in French; however, they also had Latin, theology, algebra, geometry, chemistry, and physics the same as most teenage boys would learn. Emma Willard founded Troy Female Seminary in New York, and Catharine Beecher founded Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, and they turned out to be the most prestigious seminaries. Both schools taught teaching, because they believed women made better teachers than men. This was especially important for the students attending Hartford Seminary because most of them did not have a father. That meant that they needed extra practice for employment. There were many men who did not like the idea of omen having an education, because they did not want the women to outsmart them. However, there were men that appreciated their wife’s help. James Madison’s, for example, helped him a lot with the presidency. She threw many parties, which they called â€Å"squeeze†. These â€Å"squeezes† were a big deal, and many people were invited to them. At these parties many people made new friends and were able to make deals, trade information, acquire information, or gain political information, and many people took advantage of them. Many people referred to Dolley Madison as ‘presidentress’. Mrs. Madison also threw many gatherings with her close circle of friends, who would talk about their husband’s roles in the government. This was never even thought of by women before, and men definitely would have never allowed it. As time passed from the start of the colonies to the 1900s women were able to do many more things. They were finally allowed to get an education, teach in churches, and also they could have more meetings about their thoughts on the government.

Forming a regional trade agreement advantages and disadvantages

Forming a regional trade agreement advantages and disadvantages Since World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, the number of its membership has increased to 153 countries by 2010. Recently, a phenomenon is observed. As countries pursue trade liberalization under the multilateral standard of WTO, more and more regional economic integration are conducted. Many members in WTO sign new regional trading Arrangements (RTAs) to deepen each regional trade reaction. Because positions and demand for different trade issue are often diverse to the regional member countries, the negotiations become more and more difficult. Consequently, the trend of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreement rises gradually. Besides, due to the bitter competition in the global market, countries also exert to obtain trade partners. Countries found thorough forming regional trade agreements could be an easy way to enhance trade reaction with their close trade partners. According to RTA database offered by WTO (2010), 371 RTAs related to WTO have been announc ed and 193 of them were in force by 31 July 2010Figure 1 shows the evolution of the average number of RTA partners for the current members of the World Trade Organization (WTO): the average WTO member now has agreements with more than 15 countries. Therefore, regional economic integration has become one of the main trends in the present global economic development. In recent years, the global economic system expands gradually by the reaction between the forces of regionalization and globalization. The following offer a general historical data of regional integrations. First, the trend of Regional Integration can be traced back to the 1950s. The 1950s saw European Communities (EC), the most important and representative regional integration case, was established. Then in the 1960s, numerous regional integrations were conducted by Africa, Latin America and other developing countries. Continually, United State is considered to be the main thrust of regional economic cooperation during the mid 1980s and the1990s. During this period, except for lasting the free trade agreement with Canada and Israel, also United State promoted to arrange North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Meanwhile, In Europe, the target of expansion and cross-regional cooperation are approached by European Union (EU). On the side of the expansion, Greece, Spain and Portugal were subsumed in the 1980s and the steps were followed by Sweden, Finland and Austria during the 1990s. Then, in the 2000s, Czech Republic and other eleven countr ies also attended European Union and four more countries, for instance, Turkey, are candidate to join. A growth in membership in European Union is expected. On the other hand, the aspect of cross-regional economic integration is also approached. To ensure the market share and position in America area, European Union urged to conduct free trade agreements with Mexico and MERCOSUR. As a result, the free trade agreement was announced with Mexico in 2000 and became the first free trade agreement conducted with Latin American Countries. Compared with Europe and America area, it is entirely reasonable to make the analogy in East Asia. One of the representative regional integrations in East Asia is ASEAN. ASEAN, namely Association of South East Asian Nations, was established in 1967, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand five countries. The original motivation of ASEAN is to prevent the spread of communism and to improve the regional trade reaction and cooperation. Since its establishment, there has been 40 year of its history. On 8 Jan 1984, the membership increased to six with the join of Brunei, and these six countries are called the founding members of ASEAN. Then they were followed by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia in the 1990s so that current membership expands to 10 countries. The communism prevailed when the time ASEAN was formed. As a consequence, the political purpose was more than economic one in that period so there was no free trade agreement until 1992 the founding membe rs signed ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). A gradually tariff reduction in member countries, which is called Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT), was planed to be achieved before 2008. As in 1999 the thirteenth meeting of the ASEAN Free Trade Area decided CEPT should be achieved earlier and decided non-tariff among members instead of the initial target. Then AFTA was in force with the founding countries of ASEAN in 2003 and non-tariff in all members was planed to be reached by 2015. Above is the development of ASEAN free trade agreement. Next, a difficult position of Taiwan will be introduced. Asian financial Crisis happened in 1997 and conduced the willingness of East Asia countries to cooperate. Since 1999, those important trade partners of Taiwan in Asia have committed to access the forming of free trade agreement. For example, Japan and Singapore signed Japan-Singapore in 2002 and in force in the same year. Also after AFTA was conducted, China, South Korea and Japan, three large economy countries in East Asia, had pursued to sign FTAs with ASEAN. In December 1999, ASEAN announced to impose cooperation in their economic with China, Japan, and South Korea, which is called ASEAN+3. According to Picture I, it reveals the ASEAN+3 member countries on the world map: the dark ink represents the members and, comparatively, Taiwan is circled to be pointed out. An interesting discovery is found: although being a country located in East Asia, Taiwan is excluded from ASE AN+3. Due to some political problem, Taiwan has just signed 5 free trade agreements with other countries and none of them are Asia countries. Table 1 see the export trade amount of Taiwan with ASEAN+3 countries. The export amount occupied 66% of total Taiwan export so that if ASEAN+3 non-tariff target is achieved (in fact ASEAN and China free trade agreement has progressed on 1 Jan 2010), Taiwan would face a difficult trade position. Therefore, to avoid being isolated away by other trade partners and to deepen the cooperation with them, accessing advantages and disadvantages of forming a regional trade agreement become necessary. To analyze those advantages and disadvantages of forming a RTA, an understanding in regional trade agreements is important. Also, to know whether any limit exist to forming a RTA, a good way is to review the international trade criteria given by GATT and WTO. Hence, in the discussion, a two-phase study was designed to explore the advantages and disadvantages of forming regional trade agreements. First of all, there are three branches in the former phase. In the first branch, to realize what regional trade agreement is, the paper examines the theories of regionalism and all types of regional economics integrations. It is worthy to understand regional trade agreement from its original intention and distinguish those differences. Second branch provides an overview of the organizations, which aim for improving international trade. For example, a comparison between World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Europe Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) will be made to clarify their objectives of the establishment. We will see a conflict between the globalization and the regionalization. Last branch reveals two forces which against each others, namely trade creation and trade diversion. These two forces determine the gain or loss of a regional economic integration. In the second part of the study, an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages will be offered, based on the knowledge provided in the first part of the studies. The remainder of this paper is divided into four sections. The next section of the article is a review of the literature; addressing both empirical and theoretical aspects of regionalism, worldwide trade organizations, trade creation and trade diversion. Section III describes the development of regionalism and provides empirical economic integration to support that. Using the background provided in the section III, section IV analyses the advantages and disadvantages of forming regional trade agreement. In the end of the paper, section V concludes. Trade Creation and Trade Diversion Trade economists have being going the effort on whether the formation of a regional trade agreement will lead member countries to be better off. A common concept to analyze gain or loss of a RTA was given by Viner. In his crucial work, The Customs Union Issue, two forces, which decide whether a RTA better off the member countries, were well indicated, namely trade creation and trade diversion. Viner noted that preferential agreement member countries would have lower tariff barrier than non-members due to the preferential tariff and therefore trade creation effect and trade diversion effect are produced. Trade creation effect is generated because the bloc members increased each others intra-bloc import and export when a preferential tariff reduction or removal is induced, and consequently bilateral trade amount increases. In addition, the low-efficiency production in domestic provider would be replaced by high-efficiency providers in other bloc countries so that home countries can con sume this product with lower social cost. In contract, Trade diversion might be happened when a preferential treat is offered in member countries. Originally home country imports products form those high-production efficiency countries; however, due to the preferential tariff home town might import products from those low-production efficiency countries so that the social cost to consume this product rise and decrease domestic social welfare. Trade creation is a positive effect to domestic social welfare and trade diversion is negative. If trade creation effect is greater than trade diversion effect, home social welfare increase. Conversely, it would be harmful if trade diversion is greater. In The Customs Union Issue, Viner made a crucial conclusion that the formation of customs union has no certain welfare effect to members welfare due to these two trade forces. Accordingly, economists doubt whether we can prevent trade diversion as forming an RTA. Ohyama , Kemp and Wan proved customs union improve the welfare of members as given a fixed trade amount between members and non-members. On the contrast, if a change in nonmember trade amount would lead an uncertain welfare effect. Even Kemp and Wan theoretically showed that members improve their welfare completely in the fixed trade amount with outsider, that sounds once given an unchanging treat to outsider, the world must be better off. It implies through a negotiated optimal tariff we can create economic benefit and prevent being hurt from trade diversion; however, many empirical observations reveal that countries usually choose the trade policies which results trade diversion when they forming a RTA, namely RTAs benefit members and worse off nonmembers. The implication is Kemp-Wan result might not be the trade equilibrium. In fact, there exist other factors influencing the trade outcome of RTAs. The formation of an RTA related to political, economic and regional factors, the external tariff might be influenced not only economically but also politically. For example, lobbying might cause a distortion in government optimal external tariff adjustment. Thus, as we analyze the trade effect we better to account those factors in. In these few decades, economists focus on these two trade effects in RTAs and question whether RTAs generate more trade diversion or trade creation. Is RTA more trade diverting? Freund and Ornelas noted in principle RTAs can generate either net trade creation or net trade diversion, we must remember that participation in any RTA is a political decision. Thus only some types of agreements will be formed, depending on the objectives of governments. Except for the intension to maximize the social welfare, the decision whether to take RTAs might be influenced by specific-interest groups. Some literatures indicate domestic political factor might be a better way to explain FTA phenomenon. Grossman and Helpman reckoned domestic powerful specific-interest group usually lobby their government with huge money and resources to conduct RTAs which advantage them. Milner offered a similar viewpoint as well. He considered those export-oriented companies usually push government to enter a preferential trade agreement (PTA) to enlarge the bloc market which disadvantage outside companies. The powerful domestic companies have influences to the government election outcome so th at the relationship between lobbying and election outcome is another factor to be taken to examine the influence on RTAs. Above sounds RTA generates more trade diversion due to non-trade effects, but it still needs evidences Empirics of trade creation and trade diversion Unfortunately, the estimation of trade diversion is not an easy work. As above mentioned, the estimation has to account into both trade and non-trade factors which influence RTA outcome, therefore, a gravity equation is used to help this issue. The equation provides a theoretical way to examine whether a RTA generates more trade creation or trade diversion. The concept of natural trading partners were first proposed by Wonnacott and Lutz . They pointed that the agreements, which are conducted with those geographically close countries and similar culture countries, are likely to attain more trade creation. Tinbergen and Poyhonen successively used gravity model in international trade analysis and used it to research world trade flow and size. Tinbergen hence pointed bilateral trade flow and bilateral economic size have a positive relationship and have a oppose relationship with their geographical distance. Frankel applied gravity model to examine the natural trade partner hypothesis. He analyses the trade flow effect in different regional integrations by using different dummy variables like culture, whether they have common border or same languages etc. He reckoned gravity model is the best instrument to judge trade creation effect and trade diversion effect. Frankel used the data between 1965 and 1992 to examine the regional effect. When two countries belong to the same regional integration, then regional dummy effect is 1; therefore 0. The estimated correlation coefficient represents how many trade flows can be attributed to specific regional trade effect. The empirical result revealed the correlation coefficient in each variable was all significant. He found two-country GNP coefficient is less than 1. That means trade amount will not rise proportionally when the economic size of both countries increase 1. Also the distance coefficient is negative, that represents the trade decrease with an increase in distance. The distance result is similar to the result of Tinbergen. Frankel also found the same language and the same border has a positive influence to trade flow. For each regional variable, the outcome shows the regional trade effect is significant in Europe Union, MERCOSUR, Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relationship, and Andean Group, yet not significant in NAFTA. Frankel provided evidence for natural trade partners hypothesis by using gravity equation. Clausing used HS-10 digit import data of United State to access CUSFTA. She found due to the agreement signed in 1994 the import of the US from Canada had increased 26 percentage. the import from Canada increased half amount since 1989 to 1994 and Clausing attributed it to tariff reduction decision in CUSFTA. She found that trade creation are more general than trade diversion in most of cases. Furthermore, RTAs increase bilateral trade between members . Their research points there is no significant trade reduction between members and non-members be found. Other studies also examined the impact of regional integration to trade effect. For Europe Union, Kreinin pointed the establishment and east-expansion of EU would cause little trade diversion and huge trade creation. A distinct evidence was provided by Chang and Winer . They found the formation of MERCOSUR do hurt non-members but as Calvo-Pardo et al. pointed, MERCOSUR is a customs union (CU), which is different from CUSTA, NAFTA those FTAs. According to the literatures above, we found in most cases RTAs except MERCOSUR are likely to trade creating more than trade diverting. As well, if countries, which are natural partners, sign an RTA, it would benefit them. That is because the similar culture, for example, language, may reduce transaction cost. Consequently, the trade creation effect has more opportunity to be greater than trade diversion. That gives the incentive of government to negotiate an RTA with their close countries. Adjustment in External Tariffs Another issue trade economist cared is optimal external tariffs after forming a RTA. The original Vinerian assessments of trade creation and trade diversion are normally constraint to the policies fixed. However, there is at least a trade policy those RTA members would use: external tariff policy. Kennan and Riezman (1990) were the first to examine the optimal external tariffs after RTA was formed and they found the formations of RTAs are usually with external tariff reduction. Also, the same result was in several literatures. To avoid the welfare costs of trade diversion, optimal external tariffs seem to be lower in RTAs. Kennan and Riezman pointed there is coordination of common external tariff under CU. Unlike CU, FTA members have authority to set their external tariff unilaterally. Kennan and Riezman use this key different chrematistic between CU and FTA to see the external tariff adjustment outcome after the formation of RTAs. Another issue we will discuss in this section is the influence of lobbying to the formation of a RTA. In section II we reviewed those structural characteristics, which lead to more trade creation or trade diversion, of RTA members. Intuitively, bloc countries are willing to attain more trade creation and to reduce more trade diversion so that they can achieve the objective of social welfare maximizing, yet as mentioned in Section II the formation of RTAs are not only economically, more important, also politically. There are some incentives bloc countries hold to adjust their specific product external tariff rate so that they can achieve their objectives (no matter what that is). Thus, this section will introduce those incentives that members are likely to alter their external tariff and the reaction to members external tariff under the formation of RTAs, which is what we concerned. That will help us to figure out whether the political force would lead distortion among the RTA formati on. Incentives to alter external tariffs in RTAs with empirics The incentives to alter external tariffs in RTAs can be clarified generally in three main parts: the incentive due to CU, due to FTA and due to domestic producer influence. We will discuss them in the following content. The external tariff policy adjustment might be influenced by different types of RTAs. In CU their external tariff are coordinated by all members, on contrast, FTA members have more authorities on their own external tariff. Thus, the motivation in different types of RTAs might be different. Firstly, we examine the incentive to alter external tariff rate of CU members. According to Kenan and Riezman , the equilibrium external tariffs are also observed being higher than FTAs. They concluded two points. One is a custom union allows its members to internalize their tariff externality when bloc members import the same product. Another, a customs union makes several countries into one larger one and enlarges their market power. Similarly, the analysis of Bond, et al. also clarified the external tariff in an FTA would be lower in a CU due to the lack of external tariff coordination. Preferential margin is the differences between external tariff and preferential tariff rate. Higher external tariff leads to higher preferential margin. Also, the higher the preferential margin is, the larger the discrimination and trade diversion effect are. Therefore, inter-bloc countries benefit more from the CU agreement due to the discrimination effect. As what Kennan and Riezman found, Richardson indicated there is an intention of external tariffs to be reduced under FTA. The phenomenon is called the tariff complementary effect. Relative to customs union, there is neither large market power nor external tariff coordination effect under FTAs. Even so, motivations to alter external policies still exist. A simple way to think is that: trade creation is created due to the preferential tariff among the FTA members and trade diversion is generated simultaneously. An effective trade policy against trade diversion that government holds is external tariff policies. Hence, if a preferential trade agreement comes with a reduction of external tariff, it would enhance both the total welfare in the world and reduce a hurting on non-members. However, an issue is whether the external tariff should be removed under a FTA. Bond, et al. reckoned the implication of the lack of external policy coordination is that the optimal external tariff for an FTA should be positive. Logically, a principle is that external tariff for outsider should no less than preferential tariff for insider so that the agreement would not be meaningless. As what have mentioned in Chapter 2, there are some non-trade factors also affect the trade effects. The one which is broadly discussed is the effect of lobbying to external tariff in a RTA. When political motivations are concluded in, the net trade effect will become ambiguous. Empirics of external tariff adjustment in RTAs With protection, are RTAs more trade diverting? The impact of regionalism on multilateralism Kyle and Robert examined whether exceptions from MFN for the purpose of forming preferential agreements can lead to lower external tariffs, and thereby to a more efficient tariff structure unter the multilateral agreement. imply that the formation of the FTA benefits ROW. These findings differ from those that arise under a CU where typically there is a smaller external tariff reduction (or even an increase). This occurs because CU members jointly choose the external tariff to maximize union welfare, thus internalizing the positive tariff externality that exists whenever two countries import the same good from ROW. With the objective function that we consider, a CU will always be preferred to an FTA for symmetric member countries because of its more favorable market power effects25. Thus, while this model does not provide a positive theory of FTA formation, it does point out how international distributional effects differ between FTAs and CUs. It also suggests that, in the short run, FTAs are more appealing from a world welfare perspective because they imply relatively less aggressive tariff setting for their members.

Justice For Hawaiians Essay -- Equality Education Essays

Justice For Hawaiians The expression goes, "An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth." With this said, would it be ethical if and only if each and every person was treated with the same amount of justices and injustices? This may be the case in a legal battle between the Kamehameha Schools and Brayden Mohica-Cummings. Kamehameha Schools, which gives "preference" to students of Native Hawaiian and part-Native Hawaiian ancestry, was forced to admit Mohica-Cummings, a non-Hawaiian, through a restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge David Ezra. Mohica-Cummings applied to Kamehameha without providing sufficient evidence of his Native Hawaiian ancestry; he was given the opportunity to attend Kamehameha because the school did not rescind it's admission offer early enough. The school, which is a part of a $6 billion trust, has not attempted to appeal Judge Ezra's decision but still awaits another court ruling on whether or not it's admission policy is legal and constitutional (court dates have been set for N ovember 17th and 18th). If the court's decision is in favor of Mohica-Cummings, it will mean much more than a non-Hawaiian attending an all-Hawaiian school. It will mean that Native Hawaiians will continue to be treated unjustly, as they have been for over 100 years. As a means to prevent similar cases, DNA testing may be a possible change made towards the admission process at Kamehameha. This testing will enable the school to determine a person's genetic connection to the Native Hawaiian race. Though this action also has its ethical issues it may be the only resort for Native Hawaiians to ensure that they are treated justly. There are two sides to every story, but people often do not take time to think about the stories t... ...ersity Press, 1969. "Legacy of a Princess." On-line. Internet. 16 Nov 2003. Available WWW:http://www.ksbe.edu/about/facts.pdf Loomis, Albertine. For Whom Are the Stars? Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1976. Nordyke, Eleanor C. The Peopling of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989. Ruth, Amy. â€Å"The Annexation of Paradise.† 21 Jan. 1999. On-line. Internet. 16 Nov 2003. Available WWW: http://www.wm.edu/wmnews/012199/hawaii.html Stannard, David E. Before the Horror. Honolulu: Social Science Research Institute University of Hawaii, 1989. Waite, David. "Kamehameha Schools Told to Make Exception." 21 Aug. 2003. On-line. Internet. 16 Nov 2003. Available WWW: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/21/ln/ln04a.html/?print=on Wood, Houston. Displacing Natives. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Music and Media Can Be Detrimental to Children :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Music and Media Can Be Detrimental to Children Parents will argue that other people are the reason their children are violent and usually take absolutely none of the blame, when in reality they should be taking a lot of the blame for violence among children. I believe media as a whole, including television, radio, movies, video games, news, etc, can be very detrimental to society and leads to a lot of this violence among children with which we are dealing. I was always taught what goes in your head has to eventually come out, so shouldn't you put in only good stuff? "Critics claim that music negatively affects teenagers by repeatedly exposing them to themes such as Satanism, substance abuse, murder, suicide, and sexual violence, which may be heavily reinforced and normalized by the frequency of their portrayal" ("Youth and Violent Music"). I think there are too many television shows that run between the hours of three and five in the afternoon, which is when most children watch television, that make violence their main theme. Also during those hours, there are music video countdowns playing on just about every channel to which you flip. The only things kids learn when they watch these videos is how to abuse their wives, how to shoot a gun at someone, how to violently deal with a bully at school, how to dress so sexy that all the boys will like them, etc. Kids idolize anyone on television, especially if they're a popular songwriter or singer. Most parents know that children imitate whatever they see and hear, so wouldn't you think if parents let them watch these over-sexy and violent videos that their children are going to want to look and act just like what they're watching on television? "Several major rap artists have been charged with violent crimes in real life, and many worry that their actions seeming ly condone the violent messages in their music. Their celebrity status also serves to glamorize their violent behavior" ("Youth and Violent Music"). There are many cases dealing with the death of one or more children due to them "trying-out" a move they watched on television that "look real cool". Even if there was only one case, that would be one too many for me not to think we had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Limited Brands Financial Analysis

Limited Brands, Inc. , like many other companies, saw a downturn in profits and revenues during the economic slowdown. Limited Brands owns companies such as Victoria’s Secret, The Limited, Bath and Body Works and others. Chairperson and CEO Leslie Wexner did not fear the economic crisis, she did not focus on things that were out of her control, but instead, focused on getting even closer to the customer. Wexner (2010) stated, â€Å"we had to be frugal with resources, time and money†¦we streamlined the business, stayed lean and quick and concentrated all our efforts on the few things that produce the biggest returns. While there was a decline between 2009 and 2010, Wexner’s efforts paid off, as Limited Brands has seen an increase in profit margin during the 2010 year. Analyzing the notes in the income statement gives a better understanding of how Limited Brands is operating. Limited Brands fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of January each year. On January 31, 2 009, the cash and cash equivalents were $1. 17 million. On January 30, 2010, cash and cash equivalents were $1. 8 million. According to the notes, cash and cash equivalents consist of â€Å"cash on hand, demand deposits with financial institutions and highly liquid investments with original maturities of less than 90 days† (Limited Brands, 2010). The notes also state, â€Å"The companies outstanding checks, which amounted to $76 million as of January 30, 2010 and $86 million as of January first 2009, are included in Accounts Payable on the Consolidated Balance Sheets† (Limited Brands, 2010). Limited Brands continues to disclose the nature of their investment portfolio, which currently consists of â€Å"U. S. and Canadian government obligations, U. S. Treasury and AAA-rated money market funds, bank time deposits, and highly rated commercial paper† (Limited Brands, 2010). Accounts Receivables 2009 were $236 million compared to 2010’s receivables balance of $219 million. Limited Brands not only monitors the use and creditworthiness of individuals and businesses, when extending credit, but also limits the amount of credit exposure with any one entity when requesting credit. Inventories in 2009 were valued at $1. 18 million and declined to just $1. 03 million in 2010. For Limited Brands, inventories are primarily valued at the lower cost or market, on a weighted-average cost basis. Valuation adjustments are made at the discretion of management if the cost of inventory on hand, exceeds the amount expected to receive from sale or disposal of the inventory. Management bases the decision to adjust value based on future demand and market conditions, while also taking into consideration and analyzing historical sales data. Inventory Loss adjustments are also made for estimated physical loss of inventory since the last physical inventory. Managers will also take into consideration operating trends and historical data when making these adjustments. As of January 30, 2010, inventories consisted of: Finished Goods Merchandise$ 973 million Raw Materials and Merchandise Components$ 64 million Total Inventories$1,037 million Limited Brands discloses in the Restructuring section: In 2007 they recognized a pre-tax charge of $19 million related to excess raw material and component inventory with Bath and Body Works. The cost was included in Cost of Goods Sold, buying and occupancy in the 2007 Consolidated Statement of Income. Gross Profits for 2009 were $3. 02 million versus $3 million in 2008.

Mendacity vs Truth in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Tennessee Williams’ book Cat on a Hot Tin Roof takes place entirely in the plantation home of the Pollitt family in the Mississippi Delta. The plantation once belonged to a pair of bachelors, and â€Å"Big Daddy† Pollitt had worked for them as an overseer, but he is now the owner of the plantation, which he has built into a dynastic empire. Big Daddy’s family has met at the house to celebrate his birthday. Maggie, a beautiful and witty girl, has escaped a childhood of poverty to marry into the wealthy Pollitt family, but finds herself in an unfulfilling marriage. She is married to Big Daddy’s son, Brick. He is an aging football hero, and constantly neglects his wife. Brick further infuriates her by ignoring his brother's attempts to gain control of the family fortune once Big Daddy passes away. Brick's coldness towards Maggie and his alcoholism can be attributed to the death of his best friend, Skipper. Big Daddy has been feeling a bit under the weather, and what he believes is a spastic colon ends up being a form of cancer. Big Daddy is unaware that of his illness and that he doesn’t have much time left to live, so his doctors and his family have conspired to keep this information from him. The web of lies that is spun throughout this book is huge, spanning nearly every member of the family. Big Daddy comments on it towards the end of the book after he is told the truth by Brick, as he questions â€Å"What’s that smell in the room? Didn’t you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity? † According to Big Daddy, â€Å"Mendacity is one of them five-dollar words that cheap politicians throw back and forth at each other. The dictionary definition tells us that mendacity is a falsehood, a lie, or a tendency to be untruthful. Mendacity is seen throughout the play and is a negative effect on the characters. All the characters are affected, but some are impacted more than others. Those greatly affected are Brick, Maggie, Big Daddy, and Gooper. The whole â€Å"lie vs. truths† plays a crucial role in developing the storyline and plot structure of the novel. As I previously mentioned, Brick was always very cold towards Maggie, elling at her and even attempting to hit her with his crutch. The very fact that Brick uses a crutch to walk is symbolic, in that the alcohol was his crutch to deal with Skipper's death. Skipper and Brick have a great friendship, and it can almost be viewed as homosexual. The fact that Skipper killed himself the night after he played in a football game without Brick and had many fumbles and played very poorly overall. Maggie states that â€Å"it was only Skipper that harbored even any unconscious desire for anything not perfectly pure between you too! (Williams, 833) Brick believes Maggie is the reason that Skipper killed himself, because she was ruining their friendship. Brick mourns his love for Skipper, which was the only true and good thing in his life. Maggie never dares speak of the forbidden love, and therefore Big Daddy is forced to step in as the judge. When Big Daddy confronts Brick about the homosexual attraction between himself and Skipper, Brick becomes extremely defensive and explains how their friendship was nothing more than a pure and true friendship. Big Daddy presses the issue, and Brick can no longer lie about the cause of Skipper’s death. It is then revealed at the climax of the book that before Skipper took his own life, he called Brick long distance and drunkenly confessed his love to him, finally removing the weight of the lie that was Skipper’s life, pretending that him and Brick were heterosexual friends. Brick however, didn’t say a word, and just hung up. This ended up being the last time Brick ever heard Skipper’s voice, and because of this, Brick drinks heavily to deal with the pain of taking his best friends life. This moment in the book is very impactful for it is one of the only times that mendacity isn’t in the air, as Brick and Big Daddy are being real with each other, with no veil of lies to hide behind, perfectly put as Big Daddy says, â€Å"then there is at least two people that never lied to each other. † The big deception throughout the play is that of Big Daddy’s health. The entire family and the Doctor are all in on this, and each person becomes split into 2 or 3 individuals because of all the deceit. Big Daddy’s other son Gooper and his wife Mae are both guilty of mendacity. To Big Daddy and Big Momma’s faces, they put on the guise as loving people, when in fact it is all an attempt to get Big Daddy to sign over the land and money to them in his will. They constantly bring up that they have children while Maggie and Brick don’t, and that Brick is an alcoholic. Basically pointing out all the flaws of their â€Å"competition† to try and better themselves in Big Daddy’s eyes. Big Mama lies to herself by thinking that a child from Maggie and Brick would turn Brick into a non-drinking, family man qualified to take over the family place. Big Mama had to have been distraught by the fact that her husband has less than a year left to live, and is being lied to by his entire family, talking on how he will live forever and people toasting to his health. Big Daddy is even wrapped up in the mendacity, as he admits to Brick during their heart-to-heart that everyday of his life is consumed with lies, as he pretends to like Gooper and Mae, but when in reality, he cannot stand them. Big Daddy never loved Gooper, but only desired for him to be successful and have a family. Gooper, in attempt to gain Big Daddy's love, he always did what he thought Big Daddy would have wanted for him, like having children and becoming a lawyer. The two never talk about their lack of relationship, as Gooper only tries to win Big Daddy's love, but Big Daddy never listens to him. Therefore because of this mendacity Gooper does not care about Big Daddy's affection, as I previously mentioned, his main intention is to inherit his land. Their relationship is filled with lies because they never talk about their lack of a relationship, which makes the relationship worse. One of the most important relationships in the book is that of Brick and Maggie. Throughout the entire novel, their conversations are mostly them fighting with each other, and it seems they are a married couple, in name only. Their relationship is based on lies and filled with mendacity, which tears them apart. Maggie lies to Brick and tells him that she and Skipper had an affair, because she was afraid that he was going to steal her husband away. The aforementioned homosexual love affair between Brick and Skipper caused a great deal of turmoil throughout the house. The biggest lie in the entire book comes at the very end of the novel, in which Maggie proclaims to Big Daddy that she is pregnant with Brick’s child. Big Daddy is overjoyed by this news, and decides to put Brick down as the sole beneficiary to the land. The final scene involves Maggie and Brick in the bedroom, with Maggie locking the door and telling Brick that tonight they were going to â€Å"make the lie true. † The false reality that Maggie created by lying will soon to come to fruition and all will be good in the Pollitt household. Brick ends the play by responding to Maggie’s profession of love with â€Å"Wouldn’t it be funny if that were true†¦? † Although Brick sounds confused at her words, but he may simply be assuming that because he had been indifferent towards her, she must also be that way towards him. The lies and mendacity of the entire Pollitt family nearly tear the very structure of their being apart, but in the end, the lies end up creating a better reality, one in that Brick and Big Daddy have come to terms with each other, and Maggie the Cat is finally going to be a mother (assuming her and Brick went through with the sexual conception. Mendacity has caused the Maggie to become much more than just a cat on a hot tin roof, she is now the sole light in Big Daddy’s life, for he’s long awaited for grandchild is finally on the way, and the rekindling of her and Brick’s relationship ends the book on a feel good note. It’s somewhat ironic that after all the pain and suffering caused by the lies, that the happy ending is a product of the biggest lie of them all.