Stupid Boy

More difficult than the classes, more difficult than the pressure of college and responsibilities is the constant nagging of my female peers. In our school, they are the dominant sex and feminism can be felt from miles around. Females control our school, and there is no way of getting around it. The common myth that women are inferior to men is completely and utterly wrong. Ever since I began high school, I knew that I was different from the other guys. One by one I noticed my male peers being weeded out from the higher academic levels, leaving a predominantly female crowd, but I was, and still am, determined to keep my position. As the years have gone by, I have become the â€Å"token male† in many of the top classes. It is difficult to hold onto such an prestigious role when I know that there are females surrounding me, ready to prove that the â€Å"token male† is not as sophisticated as one might think. I find myself included in conversations about such things as male bashing and female apparel that males are usually excluded from. When we are in biology, they complain about pregnancy, and then turn hateful eyes toward me, grumbling that I will never know the agony of childbirth. The strange thing is those conversations and continual male-bashing sessions no longer phase me. Now it's difficult to talk about â€Å"guy things. † I almost always turn to females for intellectual conversation. Sometimes there aren't any guys around to talk about anything. I have learned to deal with it though, and I'm happy that I've had this experience with humiliation. It has made me respect women more than I ever would have. I think that any self-respecting feminist would be proud of me. My female biology teacher has dubbed me â€Å"Token Male. In my advanced biology, advanced physics, advanced English, and Spanish IV classes I am overwhelmed by the estrogen. I couldn't imagine not having Sarah around to get notes from, or Rose to laugh when Mr. Marshall calls me eloquent. I am not the average guy anymore. I listen to the conversations with interest, waiting to interject my own perspective. However, I am wary not to attract too much attention from one of the preying fem ales. I go to the bathroom and see a male friend out in the hall and slap him five as I go back into class. I look to the girls to hear them say, in unison, â€Å"Stupid Boy. â€Å"

Health as a human right Essay

The observed recent advancement in preventive, primary health care, early intervention programs, coordinated health care trials in Australia as well a the population health developments have tried to explore the possibility of changing the current emphasis of health care from the responsive acute care to the more integrated system where the entire whole population is managed for the well being of all (Michael2003). In this concept it is thus generally accepted that much of the illnesses experienced in the communities are preventable or can be managed in a more constructive manner rather than the way it has been up to today. From this view therefore, much of the disabling illnesses need not occur but rather be avoided through the better managed models, lifestyle changes and education programs (Hugh 2003). Health and wellbeing In this modern world that is becoming more and more business oriented, the idea of prevention rather than cure seems to be more appealing due to the quality of life that the individual leads as well as the health outcomes in general (Flowers 2002). A costly health care is avoided when prevention is given the first priority while at the same time helping the community to better understand how to live a more fulfilling life (Keyes 2002). The opposite to prevention would to continue to respond to the emerging health problems at a much more expense and to thus accept that a great amount of GDP would be spent on health care not forgetting that this would degrade the quality of life that the citizen lead. It is in this light therefore that the concept of a better sustainable natural health environment turns out to be even more appealing hence carrying a greater part of the community priorities (Hugh 2003). This calls for a greater consumer participation where the awareness of what supports a healthy/unhealthy lifestyle is taught to all. But though very attractive, one realistically questions if this is a workable context (Michael2003). It has been noted that the social inequality is increasingly characterizing the Australian society and thus the main concern here is that the economy may not be able in the future to support the living standards that the Australians are used to (Richard2002). For the rural communities, the problems seem be doubled. In the rural communities, the wealth that they used to create is diminishing and what used to be the rural production in Australia is now continuously being replaced with a dominating mineral industry. It was only until the early 1980s that agricultural products used to be the single most important source of income for most of the Australian community. The rapid growth of the mineral industry has replaced agriculture to an extent that the earnings from mining nearly double those from agriculture (Hugh 2003). This reduced generation of income in the rural community implies that the distribution of wealth will definitely be affected (Flowers 2002). Some observers have linked a sustainable economy to a sustainable health. Australia is however still not yet a nation that does recognize the great importance of linking the wellbeing of the general community to the economic activities (Smart and Sanson 2005). Though this be the case, the European population could maybe be regarded as the healthiest population as it enjoys a life expectancy of over 80 years (Keyes 2002). Good health and expanding economies are two ideas that are mutually compatible and thus are able to co-exist though this is not yet achieved. From this perception thus, a principle of sustainability in an environmental and economic sense can be generated and be considered to apply both equally to the ideology of shaping the health care system as well as coming up with a preventive approach to the wellbeing of the community (Hugh 2003). The Australian health system has like the education system become institutionalized and thus does no longer serve the community needs (Flowers 2002). In this regard, it is no longer able to respond to the values of as well as aspirations of the people but on the centrally alienates them from the control of their own values and consciousness (Keyes 2002). This has been the case since when the health system are under the control of institutions, then the power of the individual to determine how they exists within these structure is lost and with this kind of loss, such society ills as stigma cannot be avoided (Michael2003). It is within these communities where a strong move towards an economically rational view of capital as well as of service provision is upheld (Richard2002). In this view when the health system is seen as a ‘marketable good’ just any sector such as education, then the view of taking health care to be a public good cannot be put in question. From the WORLD health Organization, health is defined as the state of complete mental, physical, social well being and thus not just the absence of an infirmity or disease (Smart and Sanson 2005). Since most of the modern perspective is financially based, then even the health system is planed from this perspective. It is not possible to attain the vision of a well society while at the same time one is not realistically considering the all elements that would be required to make such a realization a possibility (Hugh 2003). It is within the human rights framework where the guidance of how to respond to the public health challenges is supposed to come from. Wellbeing is often measure interms of satisfaction in life and happiness (Richard2002). Wellbeing is actually about having and maintaining a meaning in life; being able to fulfill our potential and thus feel that our lives are a worthwhile. Our subjective or personal wellbeing is usually determined by our genes, social conditions, personal choices and circumstances as well as the complex manner in which all of these interact with one another (Flowers 2002). By affecting our personality, genes influence our wellbeing. This could thus translate to such traits as neuroticism and extraversion that are all associated with a lower and higher wellbeing respectively (Keyes 2002). Since the genetic influences here are not immutable or fixed, they are frequently shaped by the environment, upbringing, general conditions of life and the personal experiences. In regard to health, most of the characteristic and qualities that are related to the wellbeing of a person are also related to the health of the individual. Thus wellbeing has been regarded as one that does play a central role in enhancing health through the direct effect in such processes as the immune system, physiology, diet, exercise, drinking, smoking and other lifestyle behavior (Michael2003). The question of what cause what then emerges (Hugh 2003). A human right approach Human rights can be considered from two levels. First from the international system of treaties and from a conceptual framework that shapes the action (Richard2002). In Australia, the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) is what is concerned with the voicing the concerns of health consumers. Being an independent non-governmental organization it mainly shapes the Australian health system by having the consumers involved in the health policies (Smart and Sanson 2005). If the health sector and the wellbeing of the citizens is taken from a wider view, then it is possible to invest more resources in a more effective manner so as to optimize these benefits to the whole community (Flowers 2002). Adopting this concept would require the identification of some of the key elements that would encompass a healthy society from which it would be expected that health individuals would live in. some of these concepts include but are not limited to; 1. recognizing the impact and role of work in the wellbeing of the individuals. 2. enhancing more consumer participation and improving community education. 3. Coming up with policies that will enhance a healthy sustainable environment both social and natural. 4. ecognizing the major role that the lifestyle choice plays in enhancing the community as well as individuals wellbeing. 5. implementing early prevention and intervention programs in a more extensive manner rather than having to wait to have endpoint interventions. 6. promoting the idea of having to a lead a qualitative kind of life as opposed to the quantitative view. Such a approach to a sustainable health system will be a gradual process. Many of the factors that contribute to the well being of the individual are interrelated (Michael2003). The relationship between these factors are in most cases reciprocal. A good example is the observation that happier people are more likely than the depressed sad families to do better work, have more friends, and even earn higher income. The interrelation of these factors with well being are quite clear. As work offer purpose in life, unemployment is associated with a loss of income. Other factors such as being religious offer a good flow of social connections, sense of purpose, spiritual support and a moral code that eventually sums up to the wellbeing of the person (Hugh 2003). The lack of one of these factors sometime is compensated though partly by the presence of the other. It has been estimated that an average Australian rates their satisfaction and general happiness to about 75 per cent. Of late, the Australian government has stated that a growing strong economy is their main responsibility and goal. Economic growth has in the past been associated with the indicators of better health, wellbeing and a high quality of life. In this regard, it is globally accepted that money matters most as it does help people to meet their basic needs (Flowers 2002). The link between health, law and human rights. Health systems in all sectors of life can be analyzed for the impact they have on equality, human dignity and freedom as well as how effective they are in treating or preventing disease or ill health (Smart and Sanson 2005). The close association that is there between law and health is rarely fully appreciated by the health care providers (Hugh 2003). The law and in particular that which is mainly concerned with the provision of human rights should be well understood by the health care providers who are usually reluctant to engage in it so as to be better placed to improve health care quality (Michael2003). If this is to be achieved then the following need to be achieved; 1. Ensure that all persons are empowered as well as informed to make responsible decisions regarding medical care and treatment on the basis of a genuinely informed consent. 2. Take all appropriate administrative and legislative measures to ensure that all people enjoy the right of attaining the highest possible health standard without any form of discrimination. 3. take all administrative measures to ensure that access to healthcare facilities is made possible to all persons (Flowers 2002). Conclusion Just like the wider economic system, health care is increasingly becoming concerned with prevention, sustainability, early intervention as well as the long-term management of the wellbeing of its citizens. This would imply having to move health care issues beyond the reactionary crisis that is mainly based on acute care model and thus in its place have a more integrated program that is based on preventive care. This can be accomplished on the recognition that ‘health’ is usually a function of various environmental and social variables. To prevent the health care from collapsing in the future due to the heavy weight of acute care needs, health professional must become more involved in the education, community care, self-management, prevention as well enhance the consumer empowerment processes. It is worth noting much of the illnesses today in the health sector such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the respiratory diseases are all preventable or manageable if not totally preventable and thus it is within the realistic aim to lessen the burden.

Dialect Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dialect - Research Paper Example The history of Bangladesh is a case that proves the validity of this point. The various dialects that are part of the same language are given different statuses according to the political power that are possessed by the different groups that speak it. Apart from sociolinguistics that all these are a part of, there is also the aspect of a dialect that makes it phonetically and syntactically different from other dialects of the same language that puts linguists in a quandary as to whether to classify a dialect as a dialect or as a language in its own right. There are various dialects that are used in today’s language. English itself has various varieties that we may classify as dialects since they have a lot in common with the standard forms of English, which may be considered to be the American and British varieties. As a result of colonialism, a large number of dialects of English have sprung up in former colonies of England (Mesthrie). They began in some countries as pidgins that were used for purposes of trade and commerce. As the power and prestige that were associated with the language of the coloniser increased among the colonized, the significance of English began to rise. Even after the liberation of these former colonies, the legacy of the coloniser remained in the form of the language of English. This, even today, remains a symbol of one’s class belonging in these countries, where they are associated with colonial attitudes that have refused to fade away. These countries have however, also introduced their own flavors to the English that they have received. Thus, today, there is an Indian English, an Australian English and a lot of other varieties of English that are considered to be official dialects by linguists. With the evolution of the forms of colonialism that are employed by the political powers of the world, the politics of language also underwent changes. Neocolonial attitudes that were fostered by the superiority of the United S tates of America in the political arena ensure that the American dialect is considered to be the superior form of English. This dialect is popularized by American sitcoms and other shows on radio that make it more popular especially among the youth who ape the words and syntax that are used in the media. The dominant dialect leads to what linguists refer to as the death of the indigenous dialects of an area (Crystal). This is usually caused by dialects that are used for official purpose such as for administration. This dialect then turns into the one that the people of a region desire to acquire for the purpose of moving up the social ladder through the acquisition of employment in the government and the private sector. The situation is equally, if not more complicated for those nations that are multilingual. Such nations have to deal with dialects that demand the status of a separate language. This may seem like a tokenistic gesture; however, it leads to a lot of complications such as the demand for a separate state within or in some cases even outside the nation. A separation from the state may result in the diminishing of the status of the state while a separation which is effected while staying with the nation shall lead to administrative difficulties and also sets a precedent for other communities that compromises on the strength of the nation. In a multicultural and multiracial society, a dialect becomes the symbol of a community’

Analysis of Federal Taxation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Federal Taxation - Assignment Example   With other deductions totaling $55,960, and real estate taxes being deducted separately at $2,200, their total deductions were $57,960. This led to Dan and Cheryl having a taxable income of $118,790 because the total deductions were deducted from their AGI. This meant that their total tax for 2010 would be $22,060. Payments and credits would equal $159. The tax estimated that Dan and Cheryl would actually have to pay would be $21,901, which would be 12.03% of the total income of $182,050. This puts Dan and Cheryl in the 25% tax bracket. Some detailed calculations had to be done before all of these figures were made. First of all, every wage and compensation of any kind was annotated, as well as federal tax withholding, OASDI, Medicare, and state taxes if they applied. For federal taxes, Cheryl only had $500 of withholding taken out of her $45,000-dollar salary, so it is natural that a majority of Dan and Cheryl’s taxes would probably come from her not having had federal withholding taken away from her salary. Additionally, Dan only had $20,000 dollars’ worth of federal withholding taken away from his salary, so he was probably due for paying at least some more federal tax that was not taken out in withholding. Dan was reimbursed for all but $20 worth of travel expenses, excluding the $9,600 dollars that were used for gas mileage, which was calculated by multiplying 30 cents per mile times the 32,000 miles used for business out of a total of 38,000 miles. Certain expenses of Dan’s couldn’t be reimbursed—for example, entertainment of customers. But all of Cheryl’s costs associated with her nursing profession were legitimate expenses—for professional dues, uniforms, and nursing journals related to her profession. Some other expenses that were tacked on to Dan’s business expense account could not be added on, such as utilities for the whole entire house.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case study - Essay Example 2) If I was the CEO at Coca-Cola, I would respond to concerns about the company by assigning a marketing team to help restore the image of Coca-Cola. This team would focus on presenting a positive side of Coca-Cola to the news media and also follow up any complaints immediately. The emphasis would be to create a friendly image to the public that represents Coca-Cola’s ethics and values. 3) I think that the social work that Coca-Cola is doing is great because many people do not even realize that it is going on. Maybe Coca-Cola needs to focus more on gaining recognition for its charitable works. Their heart is sincere so I don’t think that they are doing it to simply â€Å"look good.† Things like HIV/AIDS really make a connection with the average everyday person because these issues are the types of problems that people continually face. If Coca-Cola can maintain its environmentally-friendly image, then the company’s success should be in no

(The Budget)Funding and sourcing of London Olympic Games 2012 current Essay

(The Budget)Funding and sourcing of London Olympic Games 2012 current challenges and issues - Essay Example The budget funding and the capital sourcing for the 1948 London Olympic Games was more straightforward than now, as everything was paid for directly by the British taxpayer.1 Besides at that stage less extensive sporting facilities were required as there were fewer sporting events and there were also participants and spectators than expected for the London Olympic Games of 2012. Put simply to be ready for the London Olympic Games of 2012 the British capital has to build new sporting facilities as well as updating its available accommodation, and travel infrastructure. In 2012 it would not be acceptable to house either athletes or spectators in old army barracks to keep costs down as happened in 1948.2 The organisers of the London Olympic Games of 2012 also have to think about extensive security measures as the 7 / 7 attacks demonstrated London’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks.3 Modern Olympic Games have actually needed a great deal of direct capital investment from both the private sector and also the private sector organisations and sectors in order to construct world class sporting facilities alongside suitable accommodation for athletes and spectators as well as effective travel infrastructures. Most of the modern Olympic Games have gone over budgets, even if the majority of construction work was done before the games started. The British government has also had a past record of building projects and various venues that have gone over budget and being late, for instance the Millennium Dome and the Scottish Parliament building.4 Recent Olympic Games such as those in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and the latest in Beijing 2008 all managed to boost great sporting facilities besides suitability impressive accommodation and travel infrastructures. These Olympic Games were all very expensive to host and required significant amounts of budget funding and sourcing to be staged effectively.

Take Home Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Take Home Final Exam - Essay Example main difference between the two techniques is the gap between two successive elements is random, and uneven in simple random sampling, whereas, it is equal in case of systematic sampling. Answer 2. Non-Probability sampling techniques include: Convenience, Judgment, Quota, and Snowball. Snowball sampling is a low-cost technique in which the researcher selects initial respondents by probability samples, and additional respondents are obtained by referral from initial respondents. This method is useful in surveying rare population members. In Quota sampling, researcher classifies the population by distinct properties, determines desired proportion of sample from each class, and fixes quota for each interviewer. Answer 4. Mutually exclusive implies that the set of variables do not overlap with each other. This implies that only one dimension of the issue should be related to a particular variable. At the same time, the list of alternatives shall be collectively exhaustive. This implies that the alternatives should cover all the possible options that might be the answer to the question. A fixed alternative question shall have alternatives that satisfy the criteria of being mutually exclusive, as well as collectively exhaustive. 2. How often do you eat in the cafeteria? This is an open ended question. The question is not clear in terms of the units of frequency in which it wants the answer i.e. is it asking for weekly or monthly frequency. A more appropriate question might look like: This is an out-of context question. The question preceding this, as well as the question succeeding this is nowhere related to it. It is also not placed in the proper order. If it is necessary to include this question for some analysis, then it should come in the beginning part of the questionnaire, after the age question. 4. A recent analysis by a nutritionist from the Department of Health concluded that the food served in the cafeteria is some of the healthiest she has seen in some

Chemistry reasearch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chemistry reasearch - Essay Example s likely to be incredibly small compared to the reality on the ground.   Still, a collection of examples that have surfaced in the English-language media will help to document the use of these atrocious weapons. Cluster bombs, dropped from the air, and cluster munitions, fired from the ground, are designated as such because they fragment into many smaller bombs.   When a cluster weapon is dropped or fired, it opens in the air and disperses hundreds of smaller explosives (submunitions, or bomblets) which scatter over an area of up to hundreds of thousands of feet.  Ã‚   Most of these submunitions explode upon impact, but between 5% and 30% fail to ignite.   These â€Å"duds† retain their deadly features, and typically will explode immediately when touched.   Herein lies the main threat to civilians, since dud bombs act as landmines across vast areas for many years. During the first Gulf War, the US and its allies dropped cluster bombs containing around 20 million bomblets.   In addition, cluster munitions spread more than 30 million bomblets.   In Kuwait, around 200 cluster duds are still being found and destroyed each month.  Ã‚   In Afghanistan, the United States dropped 1,228 CBU-87 cluster bombs containing 248,056 bomblets.  Ã‚   Assuming a 7% failure rate,   this would leave roughly 17,363 unexploded bomblets scattered across Afghanistan. The US and UK are quick to point out that cluster bombs and cluster munitions are not specifically banned under the 1997 Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.  Ã‚   Still, the indiscriminate nature of scattered explosives and the lingering danger of unexploded bombs make these weapons nearly identical to landmines.   A strong case can also be made that cluster bombs and munitions are illegal under the Geneva Convention, which demands the protection of civilians even when intermingled with military personnel. The US and the UK both officially acknowledged on April 3 that their air forces have been dropping cluster bombs on Iraq.  Ã‚   Judging by

Choose a case study organisation. Make an evaluation of the reward Essay

Choose a case study organisation. Make an evaluation of the reward implementation problem. Offer recommendations that are logical, viable and scheduled. Offer some costings - Essay Example As for the social factors, issues such as immigration, emigration, and poverty are bound to surface. Employment relations in this context refer to the business relationship between employer and the worker(s). Perkins & White (2011) argue that it plays an important role in the motivation of the employees, building the organization’s reputation; ensuring that there is efficiency in the operations; and maximization of output or production and profit margins (Rose, 2008). There are two main approaches to employment relation. Wilkinson &Townsend (2011) elaborates that these approaches are through either collective bargaining or individual bargaining. Individual bargaining is a situation where the employees individually negotiate about working conditions and remunerations with the employers while in the collective bargaining approach they use trade unions to negotiate on their behalf. There is an emerging trend in the workforce that tends to make it flexible. Firms are increasingly employing the technique of employing part time workers or temporary workers instead of permanent workers (Daniels, 2008). This flexibility is perceived to be cheap as it enables companies to meet the demand of consumers and reduces cost of training. However, its disadvantages are lack of security and effective communication. Workers can influence the operations of businesses through the concept of employee participation and industrial democracy. Employee participation encompasses scenario where decisions made by organizations involve the inputs of the employee while industrial democracy entails the modalities workers can incorporate to influence decisions. In any organizations, disputes and conflicts are bound to surface. It is the modalities that companies or firms adopt that play a key role in providing remedy to the disputes/conflicts. In most cases these disputes emanate from issues such as the working,

Technology acceptance model (TAM) Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Technology acceptance model (TAM) - Article Example The paper tells that the idea of the technology acceptance model emerged in mid 70’s, when many researchers started paying attention to factors and issues that give explanation or forecast the acceptance of a variety of technologies. Basically, the TAM is referred as one of the descriptive theories having most influenced the models and ideas of human behavior. In addition, the technology acceptance model was exclusively built with the key objective of recognizing the factors and aspects involved in technology acceptance generally; secondly, to look at a wide variety of technology usage behaviors; and lastly, to offer an economical hypothetical descriptive model. Additionally, its roots reach to social psychology and based on the reasoned action model of Fishbein and Ajzen. According to the reasoned action model (RAM), the intention to generate a behavior depends on two fundamental factors: approach toward behavior and individual characteristics. In this scenario, individual ch aracteristics refer to the causes dues to which certain behaviors are produced or not and establish the connection between the final and a predictable outcome, while the approach toward behavior is referred as the optimistic or pessimistic value on which the behavior of individual associates is produced. The TAM is a modified or updated version of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to the area of IS. The technology acceptance model represents that the apparent worth and perceived ease of use determining an individual's aim to make use of a system with a goal to serve as an intermediary of actual system usage. In this scenario, the perceived worth is as well seen as being straight influenced through perceived easiness of usage. On the other hand, researchers have shortened the technology acceptance model by eliminating the attitude constructs originated in TRA from the present arrangements. In this scenario, the efforts to expand the technology acceptance model can normally take 1 o f 3 forms: by initiating issues from connected models, by initiating extra or substitute belief aspects, and by investigating the background and moderators of apparent value and apparent simplicity of practice. In view of the fact that both the TAM and TRA are composed of powerful behavioral

Pizza hut pan pizza Essay Example for Free

Pizza hut pan pizza Essay Have you ever had a pan pizza from Pizza Hut? I hope that you have. I understand the price can be high, but do not worry about the price I have a recipe for that same amazing pan pizza. It will cost you a fraction of the price and you could even use organic ingredients. The process that I will be going over today is making Pizza Huts number one crust, and the recipe that I am analyzing is the best that I have tasted, so if you want to know how the dough is prepared, the sauce is made, and how to build and cook a pan pizza you are reading the right essay. The ingredients that you will need for the dough, 1 1/3 cups warm water (105 F), 1/4 cup non-fat powdered milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 4 cups flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 (1/4 ounce), package dry yeast, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for dough), 9 ounces vegetable oil (3 ounces per pan), and butter-flavored Pam cooking spray. After you get all the ingredients you want to make sure you have all the utensils, large bowl, whisk, and measuring cups. Pizza, â€Å"put yeast, sugar, salt, dry milk in large bowl; add water and stir to mix well. † â€Å"Put bowl and mixture off to the side so that it can rest for two minutes. † (â€Å"Pizza†) at the 2 min timer add oil to dough mixture and stir again. Add the flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. â€Å"Pull dough out on to a flat surface and mix dough so that the flour covers all of the sticky surface of the dough. † (â€Å"Pizza†). Divide dough in to three balls. Using a rolling pin roll each ball out in to a 9† circle. Place dough in to a warm area and allow to rise for an hour to an hour and a half. Now on from dough to sauce. I prefer this sauce because I love the flavor, but you could use any sauce that you would like. Utensils used will be large mixing bowl, measuring cups (teaspoon), and whisk. Ingredients that you will need for sauce, 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 1/2 teaspoon margarine, 1/2 teaspoon dry basil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Combine sauce ingredients and let sit for one hour. I prefer after mixing put the sauce in the fridge for the hour, mainly because cold sauce tastes better. Now that the dough and sauce is mixed you will need to get cooking pans and topping together. For the pans you will need three 9† cake pans. For instructions on Pizza, â€Å"Put 3 ounces of oil in each of three 9-inch cake pans, making sure it is spread evenly. † Now place the rolled out dough in to the cake pans, spray around the edge with the pan cooking spray. For each 9† pizza, spoon 1/3 cup of sauce on the dough and spread within 1-inch of the edge. Distribute 1 ? ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese (I also use cheddar cheese) the toppings can be of choice. I like to put pepperoni, mushrooms, and sausage, but like I said you can use any combination that you like even organic. After you have assembled your pizza, the oven should be preheated to 475 degrees, cook pizza till cheese is bubbly and outer crust is brown. I hope that a made a clear attempt to explain how the dough, sauce, and pizza is made. Even though this recipe is not an exact replica it is the closest recipe that you will find. The best thing about this recipe is the fact that you can make it however you want, add any toppings and use any cheese. I hope that you will use this recipe, and that it excites your taste buds as it did mine. Work Cited Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza. http://www. food. com/recipe/pizza-hut-original-pan-pizza-91827.

Enola Gay Essay Example for Free

Enola Gay Essay August 6, 1945 by Alison Fell In the Enola Gay five minutes before impact he whistles a dry tune Later he will say that the whole blooming sky went up like an apricot ice. Later he will laugh and tremble at such a surrender, for the eye of his belly saw Marilyns skirts fly over her head for ever On the river bank, bees drizzle over hot white rhododendrons Later she will walk the dust, a scarlet girl with her whole stripped skin at her heel, stuck like an old shoe sole or mermaids tail Later she will lie down in the flecked black ash where the people are become as lizards or salamanders and, blinded, she will complain Mother you are late. So late Later in dreams he will look down shrieking and see ladybirds ladybirds Bombing Repetition Simile Female View Personification Alliteraion Male View Pronouns GLOSSARY Enola Gay: this was the name given to (and painted on) the plane which carried the bomb to Hiroshima. The pilots mother was called Enola Gay. Marilyns skirts: there is a famous film clip/still photograph of the American movie star Marilyn Monroe, in which she walks over a pavement air vent and the warm air from it blows the full skirt of her light-coloured dress upwards over her head. drizzle: this means rain lightly, but here is used to evoke the way the bees descend, buzzing, on to the flowers. salamanders: a salamander is a lizard-like amphibian with a smooth skin. In ancient legend salamanders were supposed to be able to live in fire. ladybirds: there are numerous versions (not all in English) of the nursery rhyme which begins, Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, Your house is on fire and your children are gone. There are numerous explanations for it, too. Ladybirds are quite difficult to dislodge, and the rhyme, when recited, was traditionally supposed to induce them to fly off of their own accord.

Relationship Between Management And Shareholders Finance Essay

Relationship Between Management And Shareholders Finance Essay A lot of studies have been done in the matters of earnings management. It is because earnings management can be practice in many ways. There are several research done which covered the topic about earnings management and board characteristics(Saleh, et al,2005), board of directors and opportunistic earnings management (Sarkar et al., 2006), earnings manager and long term performance (Ho, et al 2006), earnings management in education (Misiewicz, 2006), earnings management and IPOs (Spohr, 2004) and so forth. Here in this assignment I put an interest on study of earning management and IPOs. Where I already found several related articles which cover the topic from several countries. The countries cover from the articles that I already found are IPOs in Finland, Japan as well as Malaysia. Before I discuss about earnings management in IPOs in depth, I also discuss about the relationship between management and shareholders. Then I discuss about definition of earnings management from different point of views. Beside that I also get to understand of earnings management through the mechanism as well as the loopholes in accounting standards the can caused the earnings management could happen. I also highlight several method of earnings management that familiarly practices. Eventually, I will discuss the issues of earnings management in IPOs that happen in Japan, Finland and Malaysia. LITERATURE REVIEW Relationship between management and shareholders Financial statements can be seen as medium of information between management of particular company and shareholders. Management is considered as workforces to achieve companies objectives. While shareholders represented as capitals supplier which generated the workforces in order to achieve the objective. Typically only public listed company should disclose their annual report to the shareholders or potential shareholder. The benefit gain from to be listed in any stock exchange are for additional funds, not only to finance further expansion and diversification as well as new projects as well as to reduce debts(Rahman and Abdullah, 2005). Beside that public will see the listed company typically have higher profile and greater visibility which confers greater investors confidence and publicity. The relationship between managers and shareholders in the business world cannot be disputable. This relationship is interpreted under Theory Agency (Bukit and Iskandar, 2009). They are very dependent each other, even somehow there exist conflict of interest among these two parties. In example the shareholders put on trust to agency by contributing huge amount of money in terms of paid up capital, so that agency can generate business and obtain profit and increase the firms value as principles return. Meanwhile agency (managers) is dependent to the principles for remunerations and bonuses as compensation (Bukit and Iskandar, 2009). Because of the great pressure from principles (shareholders) towards the high performance of firms values, so agency commonly practice earnings management in order to be sustained in market place (Jayati et. al.,2006). Definition of earning management Various optional opinions obtain from literature regarding earnings management. Bukit and Iskandar (2009) defined the earnings management may involve manipulation of accounting record, intentional omission or intentional misapplication of accounting o accounting principles. While, Mohanram (2003) define earnings management as the intentional misstatement or earnings leading to bottom line numbers that would have different in the absence of any manipulation. The Baralexis, S., 2004 advocates that earnings management is the process of intentionally exploiting or violating the GAAP or the law to present financial statements according to ones interests. The earnings management activities can break the reliability and credibility of management towards the shareholders. Earnings management is intrinsically related to earning quality (Lopes et al,2006). Schipper (1989) define the earnings management as a deliberate intervention of external financial accounting process with the intent of obtaining some private gain. Her argument of definition is based on a observing of accounting numbers as information. Within the opportunities offered by the accounting system, managers could exercise manage earnings by selecting accounting methods within GAAP or by changes in the ways given methods or policy (Ismail and Weetman, 2008). On the other hand, Healy and Wahlen (1999) define earnings management as an activity where manager used their discretion to adjust financial report either to misled stakeholders or for self interest. Earnings management also known as creative accounting or cooked the book may have twofold purposes. First to stop shareholders from withdrawing capital and second, as a means of reporting favorably on stewardship and performance (Devi et al., 2004). Perhaps, the main reason why companies use earnings management is because of the pressure placed upon management to show favorable returns on their investors money. This idea of seeking to please shareholders is reinforced by Agency Theory (Bukit Iskandar, 2009). Theory agency states that individuals seek to maximize their own utility, and act only in the individual best interest (Hooper et. al., 1998). So, acting in the companys best interest, management will manage the earnings to enhance their financial reporting, and therefore protect the basis of their contract (Mathews Perera, 1996). Pressure from management, therefore, may cause accountants and auditors to accept in producing favorable reports to shareholders using earnings manag ement techniques to improve results (Hussey,1996). Earnings management mechanism The practice of earnings management occurs because of the availability of different acceptability accounting accrual choice to be applied for determinant of reporting income. There are several mechanisms of implementing earnings management. First, is what they called as big bath. This type of earnings management is when the company could not reach their target in certain period. Normally companies target is based on previous performance. Then when firms are way below their target, they have an incentive to make things look even worse (Mohanram, 2003). There are several ways to make it worse such as the company will take large reconstructing charges, increase in provision for bad debt, and take other income decreasing accounting decision. This kind of practices are bound under two reasons which is firstly it is highly impossible that any amount of earning management will get them over the target and secondly the cost to make it worse are typically minimal. Therefore, any improvements in performance will perceive that managers are more credible and greater credit for turning around a firm. Some other way of perception regarding big bath is when manager takes over responsibility for a unit there is a motivation to make as much as provision that ensure any losses appear as the responsibility of the previous manager (Amat and Blake et al,1999) Second mechanism is what they called cookie jar accounting. This practice of earning management is when the company relatively to achieve above target, they may again have an incentive to reduce earnings. Typically there is little benefit in going way above a benchmark. Consider a firm which expects to report an EPS of RM3.80 for a given quarter when expectations hover around RM3.00. Especially when economic boom-up. Such a firm may report an EPS of RM3.30, but it still beating expectations. The remaining 50 cents of EPS reduction may come in handy in future quarters when the firm is slightly below targets. By reducing current period income, firms implicitly save some of these excess earnings for the future when they may be more valuable. The mechanism of the earnings management can be illustrated as below: Sources: Mohanram, 2003 Standard board point of view Earning management also be called as creative accounting. Creative accounting enable managers to cook the book and window dress their company by taking advantage of the loopholes in accounting standard. Due to this activity of earning management and thus provide doubtful of information in financial statement, so such information become unreliable. Therefore the users of financial statement will make wrong decision based on manipulated accounting numbers. Unfortunately, GAAP make such a room to accountant to make a manipulation since it allow accountants to use their discretion to make decision which is needed. In addition creative accounting is not against the law, in the hands of less a scrupulous managements, it can be dangerous instrument of deception (Naser, 1993). The common methods used by changing the assumptions for accounting standard. Methods normally applied for manage the earnings The very common method of manage earnings that normally applied by practitioners is as below: Changing the assumptions for accounting standards. For example Change in depreciation policy by extending depreciable lives periodically and justify it on the grounds that the change brings them in line with industry standards. Capitalization of expenses that previously expensed, increasing the extent of capitalization, slowing down amortization of previously capitalized expenses Reducing the provisions for bad debts. This is what people say of accrual discrepancies. Reducing income by taking on large one-time charges. For example restructuring charges. Managing transactions, whereby companies will create last minute sales by sending up a bundle of inventories to the customers by free charge for 3 months (let say) and recorded in a book of account receivables. Earnings managements and IPOs-Evidence from Finland This study had been made by Sphor (2004). His study had been used a sample companies on 56 firms that went public in the years 1994 to 2000 on Helsinki Stock exchange. The author want to prove that there is a presence of earnings management in initial public offerings (IPOs) of Finnish firms. Virtually, there is several studies have documented the presence of earnings management in IPO firm (e.g. Friedlan,1994, Teoh, Welch and Wong, 1998 and Aharony, Lee and Wong, 2000). The reason for such study is in IPO normally the earnings management practice difficult to detect from the income statement and the balance sheet, thus investors would benefit from other information that reveals the probability of earnings management. It is because managers and owners incentives to manage earnings are used to assess the likelihood that earnings management is used before IPO (Spohr, 2004). According to Aharony et al (2000), the earnings management likelihood in Chinese IPO firms varied across industri es and listing location. They suggest the noted differences in opportunistic behavior to be a result of mangers incentive to manage earnings and their possibilities to do it without detected. IPOs are priced by discounting the companys future cash flows and by observing the market values of similar publicly traded companies. At the time of their IPOs issuing companies seem to sell below market rates as their share prices are often underpriced, meaning that their value at the close of day one trading is higher than the initial price of the stock (Ritter, 1991). During the high IPO activity period that ended in year 2000 the initial returns were on average high. The in Finland found, the biggest initial profit was generated by F-Secure whose stock rose on its first trading day on November 5, 1999 from the initial offering price of 7.70 euros to 27.45 euros. The initial underpricing of Initial Public Offerings(IPOs) fits poorly to the long-term return on IPO shares. Ritter (1991) shows that IPO firms on average give poorer three-year returns than other listed firms in comparable sizes and industries. He explains this weak return on IPO shares with timing. Firms time their IPOs to the periods when the market overprices the firm, its industry and IPOs in general. The weak share performance after the IPO can also be explained with earnings management. If the firm before the IPO artificially boosts its value through managing earnings, the market will sooner or later find out the true performance of the company and devalue its shares. Compared to bad accounting or simple randomness, the distinguishing feature of earnings management is the presence of intent. Studies identifying earnings management usually make the assumption that intent is present in the circumstances where the tests are made. In research testing for earnings management in IPO firms it is assumed that it is capital market motivations that drive the firms to earnings management. The aim is to maximize the companys equity value and through this increase the owners wealth and reduce the companys financing costs. The most commonly used method to test for earnings management is the examination of accruals because they are easier to manipulate than cash flows. Abnormal accruals are considered as a sign of earnings management. The major problem in earnings management studies is how to determine if accruals are abnormally high or low. Most models used to estimate the normal level of accruals base their estimations on the firms past accruals or comparable firms accruals. In the literature the normal and abnormal accruals are usually called nondiscretionary and discretionary accruals. In particular, the research based on U.S. data provides strong evidence of discretionary accruals in IPO firms. Additionally, Teoh, Welch and Wong (1998) show that discretionary accruals can be linked to companies long term stock market performance and thus challenge the efficient market hypothesis, as the market fails to account for the manipulation. When they grouped firms by the magnitude of discretionary accruals before the IPO, they found that firms in the quartile with the lowest discretionary accruals (negative) outperformed the market by about 4% over three years, whereas firms in the quartile with the highest discretionary accruals underperformed the market by about 25%. To date there have been at least three studies on earnings management in Finnish IPOs which from Ora (2000), Eriksson (2001) and currently Spohr (2004). First study is to showing that earnings management has been present in Finnish IPOs, Ora (2000) investigates if there is any difference in earnings management behavior between 1980s and 1990s IPOs. Her results indicate that earnings management seems to have vanished in the later period. Applying a total accruals measure Oras tests are affected by the substantial changes in discretionary reserves that Finnish companies could use for managing earnings. These visible forms of earnings management vanished gradually in the 1990s due to the accounting legislation reform. Second study done by Eriksson (2001), whereby the tests for earnings management on a similar sample to this study and uses a financial ratios model called the Beneish M-score. The higher the M-score the higher is the likelihood that earnings management has occurred. Erikssons M-score averages of the sample indicates that no earnings management were present in the financial year closest to the IPO. Finally finding obtain from Spohr (2004), the firms ownership structure and the pre-IPO owners share of ownership decrease in the IPO were used to formed expectations about the likelihood of finding earnings management before the IPO. Earnings management was hypothesized to be present in the entrepreneur owned but not in the institutionally held firms. Furthermore, the probability of earnings management was assumed to be related to how much the entrepreneurs ownership decreased in the IPO. The profitability of the total sample of 56 Finnish IPO firms showed a relatively high level of profitability in the critical period for which earnings management was tested when compared to three periods before and after the critical period. The most significant change in profitability occurred in the entrepreneur firms after the IPO. To answer the question of whether high profitability was only a result of successful timing, earnings management tests were conducted on accruals. The results suppor t the hypothesis that entrepreneurs manage earnings before the IPO. In contrast to expectations, earnings management behavior seemed not be affected by how much of their ownership entrepreneurs gave up in the IPO. In the institutional owned IPO firms, no evidence of upward earnings management before the IPO was found. The limitation of the study is the sample is small. Earnings managements and IPOs under pricing -Evidence from Japan This study had been done by unstated authors in the year 2010. The study is based on the sample of 910 firms that went public in Japanese market between 1995 and 2005. The area of the study is would like to seek whether initial public offerings (IPO) are undervalued or overvalued using comparable firm multiples, (2)whether and how earnings management affects under or overvaluation, and (3) whether and how under /over-valuation and earnings management affects IPO under pricing. The underpricing phenomenon is such of common controversy covered in previous literature on Initial public offering companies over the business world. It is well known when companies go to public, the price at which investment banker sells the stock to investors in generally below the price at which the stocks trades in the secondary market shortly thereafter, resulting in a substantial price jump on the first day o trading. The meaning of IPOs underpricing is does not mean of undervalued (Purnanadam Swaminath an, 2004). The case in Japan the authors had examined whether Japanese IPOs are undervalued or overvalued using comparable firms multiples, similar method as done by Purnanadam and Swaminathan (2004). Then he investigates the relation between under or overvaluation and first-day return (underpricing). Later on, they identified the way of earnings management affects under or overvaluation and underpricing. Lastly the authors found that about 60 to 70% of Japanese IPO firms are undervalued relative to their industry peers, and most of undervalued firms have positive first day return consistent with the asymmetric information models of underpricing. On the other hand, overvalued firms consisting of 30-40 % of IPO firms also earn 7% to 12% higher first day return, and pre-IPO year abnormal accruals and the magnitude of underpricing are positively correlated when firms are overvalued. These findings suggest that IPOs are overvalued more in hot issue periods when investors tend to be optimistic about the future performance of the IPOs, while underwriters undervalue IPO firms in usual market condition. Earnings managements and performance towards IPO companies Issues in Malaysia This IPOs issue on earnings management was revealed by Rahman and Abdullah (2003). They are trying to identify the causes of firms issuing equity produce poor returns to investors in the long run by exploring the potential opportunities for earning management during the period prior to the public listing and its correlation with initial listing and post issues performance. The study covered 187 IPO valid firms identified from Bursa Malaysia Investors digest since January 1989 upward to December 1998. There are various of industries selected including tradings and services, Consumer product, construction, Properties, Infrastructure and Project companies, plantation, industrial product and hotels. The method used in this study is similar with previous study made by Abdul Rahman(2000), Tay (1993) and Ritter (1991), whereby this study is measuring abnormal return using a buy-and-hold returns approach. The Abnormal return are calculated based on the difference between holding period returns of sample IPOs firms and control companies. Further the study focuses on current accrual as the source of earning management. The types of accrual is whether discretionary accrual or non discretionary accrual. This justification is based on the definition of discretionary accrual itself which is those manipulated earnings that are determined at the discretion of management (Dennis and Michel, 1996 and Teoh et al,1998). The example of discretionary accrual the changes in allowance for doubtful account because on managements interest. According to Teoh et al (1998) the discretionary current accrual are actually superior proxy for earnings management. While in contrast the nondiscretionary accrual is the change as a result of managements accounting decisions that are of interest to the firm (Rahman Abdullah, 2005). As stated example, during the economic growth, one would expect accruals such as account receivables and account payable to change as sales increase without earnings management occurring. The most interested in this issue on IPOs is whether the investment activities in such companies will benefit investors who invest in the company. There are several studies whether done in overseas or Malaysia has been shown that IPO is a wealth reducing investment to investors in the long run. The evidence have been seeking in US whereby they found that IPO as poor long run investment for investors (Ritter, 1991; Loughran and Ritter, 1995 and Teoh et al, 1998). Also have been proven this similar issues happen in Malaysia of poor post issue performance (Ku Ismail et al, 1993 and Pok et al, 2000). The result of the study by Rahman and Abdullah (2005), found that IPO in the average have experience significant positive abnormal return relative to the non-IPO firms during the initial period if the measuring taking to consider of offering price to the end of the day listing price. However the IPO firms is obtain significant negative towards share return relative to their control firms during the first, second and third year following their initial listing on Bursa Malaysia. To solve the research question to why firms issuing equity produce poor returns to investors in the long run, the authors found that Malaysia IPO firms manage their earnings upwards in the year prior to public listing on Bursa Malaysia. Furthermore, those IPO firms that manage earnings are not significantly different between industries but are significantly different between the Main and Second board. Subsequently, the result on their study in relation between prior earnings management and post issues share return performance after the initial public listing is no significant relationship. The result sustain with respect to IPO firms with high or low level of earnings management. In addition according to the Rahman and Abdullah (2005) there is no evidence to suggest that the pre offerings earnings management is able to predict the abnormal returns during the initial period and over one to three years following equity offerings. This argument actually had supported from previous literature made by Ku Ismail et al. 1993 and Shivakumar, 2000), whereby they mentioned that the positive abnormal return during the initial period may be due to the underpricing by underwriters and also as a result of asymmetric information among investors during the announcement period. The result of positive share return at the initial period is actually contradicted with the literature from Teoh et al (1998). He argues that the investors are unable to fully understand managerial earnings at the time of equity offerings and ends up a high offer price. The possible reason of negative significant post issue return one to three years after listing may be due to the unfavorable earnings revealed by media, analysts report and financial statement after the offering(Rahman Abdullah 2005). CONCLUSION In a review of earnings management in IPOs literature, Spohr (2004) and Rahman and Abdullah (2005) are identify a range of potential significant incentives to undertake earnings management. It is including contracts written in terms of accounting numbers, capital market expectation and valuation and government actions. Managers of an IPO company probably motivated to manage earnings in the reporting period following the IPO in order to align more closely with the prediction for the period (Ismail Weetman, 2008). In addition, Ismail and Weetman also found that managers also motivated to manage earnings to increase their short term wealth at the expense of the long term value of the firm. According to Rahman and Abdullah (2005), IPO companies have an opportunity in manipulating offering-year discretionary current accrual and non discretionary current accrual. I noticed here there are several opinions regarding the IPOs market return begin with when company went to public upward to three years later. Therefore the investors in particular should concern with any information announced by the firm before attempting to invest. There are some evidence mentioned that the investing in IPO is kind of short term wealth. This could be happen because there is an existence of earnings management in their operation in order to meet the requirement by Securities commission.

Gilead: A Credible Society Essay -- Essays Papers

Gilead: A Credible Society In Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale, a society whose purposes are functional and practical roles is depicted. In Atwood's eyes, a society like Gilead's was perfectly credible, and in many ways I agree with her. The purpose of writing about such a radical society is not for one to panic into thinking that this could happen any time, nor is it for one to completely discard the idea. Instead, it's purpose is solely to warn us of the dangers already present in our own society, such as the uncontrollable violence that is going on, apparent on crimes, wars, racism, etc. Offred, the narrator, tells us about a society which came into existence in the early 80's as a direct consequence of overlooking the many problems in its previous society. Before the first steps were being taken to actually destroy the society that few knew was already on the edge of becoming anarchical, there was foreshadowing of what would happen right beneath the eyes of everyone. Riots were going on all the time, people were vanishing, and later women lost their jobs and their money. All these things happened without people's objections, because they were simply ignoring it, possibly hoping that it could not get worst. As Offred later describes how they faced up to those problems, "We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it" (74). This quote described what people did when they were fearsome of something, which they had already permitted to become the usual, bothered them. Ignoring what one fears makes that thing seem nor mal, and usually one becomes less afraid of things as they become normal. However, if things are ignored to an extreme and one does not care to draw the line, things can get out of hand when it is already too late. Offred regrets having been like the rest of the society that was banished, because looking back, what was happening then was in fact foreshadowing the future, Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it. There were stories in the newspapers, of course, corpses in ditches or the woods, bludgeoned to death or mutilated, . . . The newspaper stories were like dreams to us, bad dreams dreamt by others . . . they were awful without being believable. . . . they had a dimension that was no... ...illions of Americans crying out. Nor would it be possible that someone kill the president by simply entering his house. The problem is that these differences mean little when there are also many similarities. The purpose Atwood saw in her book is to warn us of our own dangers, not to compare them to a fictitious story and keep ignoring things. As I said before, I do not think we will ever have such an awful transformation in our lives, but I do not think something similar is impossible to occur. Because we are all being blind, like the other society was blind, and we ignore things like violence, we are building ourselves a path with no solid foundations. If we continue doing so, the tendency is for this path to fall apart. Even if this actually happened, it does not necessarily mean that we would have to give in to losing what is ours by all rights. Nevertheless, if we fall in a trend where everything is so casual that we ignore what is going on, something else could hap pen where we could forget to draw the limit and make it stop, as the society preceding Gilead did. WORKS CITED Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. 28th ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. Gilead: A Credible Society Essay -- Essays Papers Gilead: A Credible Society In Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale, a society whose purposes are functional and practical roles is depicted. In Atwood's eyes, a society like Gilead's was perfectly credible, and in many ways I agree with her. The purpose of writing about such a radical society is not for one to panic into thinking that this could happen any time, nor is it for one to completely discard the idea. Instead, it's purpose is solely to warn us of the dangers already present in our own society, such as the uncontrollable violence that is going on, apparent on crimes, wars, racism, etc. Offred, the narrator, tells us about a society which came into existence in the early 80's as a direct consequence of overlooking the many problems in its previous society. Before the first steps were being taken to actually destroy the society that few knew was already on the edge of becoming anarchical, there was foreshadowing of what would happen right beneath the eyes of everyone. Riots were going on all the time, people were vanishing, and later women lost their jobs and their money. All these things happened without people's objections, because they were simply ignoring it, possibly hoping that it could not get worst. As Offred later describes how they faced up to those problems, "We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it" (74). This quote described what people did when they were fearsome of something, which they had already permitted to become the usual, bothered them. Ignoring what one fears makes that thing seem nor mal, and usually one becomes less afraid of things as they become normal. However, if things are ignored to an extreme and one does not care to draw the line, things can get out of hand when it is already too late. Offred regrets having been like the rest of the society that was banished, because looking back, what was happening then was in fact foreshadowing the future, Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it. There were stories in the newspapers, of course, corpses in ditches or the woods, bludgeoned to death or mutilated, . . . The newspaper stories were like dreams to us, bad dreams dreamt by others . . . they were awful without being believable. . . . they had a dimension that was no... ...illions of Americans crying out. Nor would it be possible that someone kill the president by simply entering his house. The problem is that these differences mean little when there are also many similarities. The purpose Atwood saw in her book is to warn us of our own dangers, not to compare them to a fictitious story and keep ignoring things. As I said before, I do not think we will ever have such an awful transformation in our lives, but I do not think something similar is impossible to occur. Because we are all being blind, like the other society was blind, and we ignore things like violence, we are building ourselves a path with no solid foundations. If we continue doing so, the tendency is for this path to fall apart. Even if this actually happened, it does not necessarily mean that we would have to give in to losing what is ours by all rights. Nevertheless, if we fall in a trend where everything is so casual that we ignore what is going on, something else could hap pen where we could forget to draw the limit and make it stop, as the society preceding Gilead did. WORKS CITED Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. 28th ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

St. Augustine and the Problem of Evil from a Christian Basis Essay

St. Augustine and the Problem of Evil from a Christian Basis In his Confessions, St. Augustine writes about a large number of topics that continue to have relevance today. The text documents the development of Augustine’s faith and his Christian philosophy, and one thing of particular interest is his argument for the nature of evil. Christianity predicates several important ideas that Augustine builds upon in his philosophy, and within its context, he presents a thorough, compelling argument against the problem of evil that identifies evil as a misperception. Augustine first characterizes God based on how he experiences God’s presence and qualities. Augustine searches for Him unsuccessfully in the physical world, and the physical universe for that matter, and then decides that he must look within himself to find God. His description of God illustrates the ideas in Christianity that God is omnipotent and entirely good, or all-loving. â€Å"I entered and with my soul’s eye, such as it was, saw above that same eye of my soul the immutable light higher than my mind†¦ It transcended my mind†¦ It was superior because it made me, and I was inferior because I was made by it.† (Augustine, 123) Augustine clearly conveys the magnitude of God and his greatness, which exceed the comprehension of man’s mind. This is perhaps the most important quality of God’s being, which properly coincides with His descriptions in Christianity, because it establishes a scale for measuring the qualities of God that He instilled in his creations. Augustine next discusses three aspects that define God for him. Of particular importance is the idea that the Christian God is eternal, so there has never been a time w... ... possible that, as with Augustine, the perception of evil leads people to think about its nature and, ultimately, they begin to learn the truth. From that point, they grow until they are able to feed from God’s goodness, and then they achieve the supreme goodness and become one with God. There is, then, no problem in ‘evil’ because it in fact is good. Ultimately, it is impossible to know exactly the reasons for God’s actions. His qualities are such that He transcends being, and a person’s best effort to understand God can at best give him or her approximate understanding. Only through reason and discovery of the truth can a person grow until, finally, he or she is transformed by God into His Being. At that point, comprehension of it is no longer necessary. Works Cited Augustine. Confessions. Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.