Thursday, December 26, 2019

An Analysis of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics...

AN ANALYSIS OF THE CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS OF IPRA AND CERP IN RELATION WITH THAT OF NIPR ABSTRACT Professional code of conduct and ethics has come to stay with all professions who wish to promote healthy relationship and commitment of its member. These ethics and code of conducts help streamline the activities of members in the performance of their tasks. Public relations practice have over the years become an accepted human endeavour and the application of this code have become important. This work analyzes the code of professional conduct and ethics of International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and the Centre of European Des Relations Publiques (CERP) and compares them with that of the Nigerian Institute of†¦show more content†¦A Public Relations practitioner in performing service for a client or employer must not collect monetary gratifications from anyone except his client or employer without the consent of the client/employer given after disclosure of facts. This is sacrosanct so as avoid sabotage because when a practitioner is on a job and begins to get gif ts/rewards from others, it may lead to betrayal. In signing an agreement with a client, a Public Relations practitioner shall refrain from requesting a fee or other forms of compensation based on the achievement of certain results, he shall conduct towards the public and the media. The relationship between a Public Relations practitioners and the public and media is key in achieving the desired goal/objective of any campaign. The IPRA has it that a practitioner shall conduct his professional activities in accordance with the public interest and with full respect for the dignity of the individual. The Public Relation practitioner must have respect for human beings and must have the interest of the public at heart in carrying out his activities. In carrying out their activities public relation practitioners shall not engage in any practice which tends to corrupt the integrity of the channels of public communication. The practitioner must be truthful to the media in his activities and shall not intentionally disseminate false or misleading

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Censorship In William Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 - 1112 Words

Censorship is not easy to define. According to Webster’s Dictionary, to censor means to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable. Its central characteristic is the suppression of an idea or image because it offends or disturbs someone, or because they disagree with it. In many countries, censorship is most often directed at political ideas or criticism of the government. In the United States, censorship more often involves social issues, and in school is commonly directed at so-called controversial materials. In looking at censorship in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury sends a very direct message showing readers what can happen if they allow the government to take total control of what they do (or do not)†¦show more content†¦Some parents oppose having their children exposed to fiction that doesn’t have a happy ending, teach a moral lesson, or provide noble role models. If these and other individual preferences were legitimate criteria for censoring materials used in school, the curriculum would narrow to including only the least controversial and probably least relevant material. It would hardly address students’ real concerns, satisfy their curiosity, or prepare them for life Censorship and freedom of expression within school campuses has attracted a lot of debate and discussion over the years. School authorities have a difficult time in ascertaining where to draw the line between free enquiry and moral hazard. It is a surprising fact that in a country with a rich liberal tradition like the United States, there have been over 250 attempts by school districts at book banning in 31 states. This is just in the last 4 years. As shocking as this information is, â€Å"over 85% of bans go unreported either due to poor media attention or lack of opposition. Censorship leaves students with an inadequate and distorted picture of the ideals, values, and problems of their culture. Writers may often be the spokesmen of their culture, or they may stand to the side, attempting to describe and evaluate that culture. You must have some theory ofShow MoreRelatedAuthority Individual1437 Words   |  6 PagesIn Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, authority is viewed as ruthless and the individual is portrayed as innocent. This is also emphasised in two related texts, Whose Life Is It Anyway? By Brian Clark, and Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont. The themes of ruthlessness and innocence are exemplified throughout all three texts, through the concept of the authority and the individual. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, authority is depicted as ruthless. This is shown throughout theRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1592 Words   |  7 PagesWhen writing the introduction to Fahrenheit 451, author Neil Gaiman stated that â€Å"ideas--written ideas--are special. They are the way we transmit our stories and our thoughts from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared history†. Gaiman is absolutely correct; especially because what he is saying heavily applies to books. Books are a critical aspect in shaping humanity as a whole, they create and share a network of creative ideas, history, and overall entertainment; to loseRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1592 Words   |  7 PagesWhen writing the introduction to Fahrenheit 451, author Neil Gaiman stated that â€Å"ideas--written ideas--are special. They are the way we transmit our stories and our thoughts from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared h istory†. Gaiman is absolutely correct; especially because what he is saying heavily applies to books. Books are a critical aspect in shaping humanity as a whole, they create and share a network of creative ideas, history, and overall entertainment; to loseRead MoreEssay The Myopia of Dystopia3805 Words   |  16 Pagesdont deem the modern-day world as the good place(Hermon, Holman) but rather one of the indescribable atrocities of war, disease, hunger etc#8230; A utopian world is a difficult, if not impossible, one to forge. Novels such as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984 are dystopian novels, with often-satirical undertones within their pages. This works are allegories, sardonic depictions of our societies ills. Each work contain strong hard-hitting political messages with common themes such as the fineRead More Censorship in the Classroom Essay2774 Words   |  12 Pagesthe classroom? In this look at the language of censorship, we must first define censorship, who does the censoring, and why. These will be the first three spotlights for looking at the language of censorship. Then, we will look at how teachers, especially teachers of literature and the language arts are affected by censorship. Finally, we will preview how censorship can be taught in the classroom, to prevent some of tomorrows censorship cases. I never knew a girl who was ruined byRead MoreIntroduction : How ve He Do That?10829 Words   |  44 Pagesboys who are sent to this camp to get â€Å"straightened up† because of their mistakes, but instead they’re practically forced to dig holes all day just to obtain their mediocre rations. Chapter 4 -- If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet Sonnet #1: Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. Shall I compare thee to a summer s day? (A) Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (B) Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A) And summer s lease hath all too short a date: (B) Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Corporate Law for Text and Essential Cases- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theCorporate Law forText and Essential Cases. Answer: Case Study 1 As per the given case the directors of Uninest Ltd relied on the opinion of Neales, the board of directors of the company passed a resolution so as to grant interest free loan to one of the directors, Gilligan. Pursuant to the above, Gilligan was issued the requisite shares. It is seen in the case study that Neales is a consultant who is working for Uninest and she has taken many decision on behalf of the company (Hahn, Peter and Meziane Lasfer 2015). Therefore, the directors of the company relied on the decisions of the Neales and passed a resolution granting to lend Gilligan a sum of $30 million which is interest free. It is seen that this strategy is formulated so that there is significant rise in the price of the shares and thus it will make Urbanlodge Ltd difficult to take over the management of the company (Hung and Humphry 2015). The Corporations Act ,2001, which lays down the duties of the directors of the companies which is subject to a business judgment rule and in pursuant to which the director is required to make decision in good faith and for a valid purpose. There should not is any personal interest in relation to the judgment (Lanis, Roman and Grant Richardson 2012). The directors shall convey to the rest every aspect to the decision so that they are able to believe on appropriateness. They shall believe that the decisions are taken care of in the best interest of the business. As per Section 180, of the Act all the directors and other officers shall exercise their powers to disclose the powers so that they are able to discharge their duties with care and diligence. Section 181 of the Act provides that the directors shall on good faith undertake the interests of the company and for a valid purpose (Richardson et al., 2013). The Court has applied the business rule in supplied a statutory support. In the case of Australian Securities and Investment Commission v. Mariner Corporation Ltd. (2015) it is seen that in order to ascertain the breach of duty it is essential to assess that the application of the business judgement rule is illustrated as per Section 180 (1) of the Act (Sealy, Len and Sarah Worthington 2013). The following is taken into consideration for determining the liability: The surrounding circumstances and the terms of constitution and the nature of business and composition of the board. The role of the directors and the responsibilities that are distributed with other officers, reporting systems and other requirements of company. The applicable legal Constitution In the above scenario the company in order to avoid the takeover and to lend a large amount of amount to one of the directors so as to enable him to make a purchase the share of the company at a higher rate. It can be seen that the comapny took thsi decision on the advice of teh consultant Neales.This shows that the director has failed to exercise diligence or care in doing the correction action. Thus, the resolution was passed for granting interest free loan to one of the directors of the company was completely based on the decision of Neales. All the directors relied upon the decision of Neales and have failed to take the decision by application of their own skills and experience (Van den Berghe and Lutgart 2012). In the case, the court in ASIC v. Rich (2009) says that both the directors and officers of the company are under an obligation to inform them on what decision they have taken. In light of the above case law and the judicial pronouncement it can be stated that the directors failed to comply with the business judgement rule as they did not inform themselves about the subject matter and relied only on the opinion of Neales. Thus it was the breach the duty of care and diligence. Further, these laws are equally applicable on to the officers and hence, Neales is also s liable as he also failed to assess all the aspects of the decision (Austin and Ramsay 2012). Case Study 2 In the case study, Primo is one of the construction companies, who has been working with Land stock. Shane was the director as well as shareholder of Primo is appraised with the fact that Land stock is soon going to call for tenders in respect to building a warehouse around a major port. Shane in between formulates a new company in the name of Iconstruct Limited .Shane did not inform the directors of Primo about the new company and submits a tender to Land stock for construction of the said warehouse. Shane was aware about the tender quotation which was submitted on behalf of Primo and this was submitted at a lower price in the submission by Iconstruct Ltd (Cassidy ,Corporations Law Text and Essential Cases 2013). As per section 183(1) of the Act specifically prohibits a director or other officers from improperly using a confidential information for personal interest or against the interest of the corporate. In the case of ASIC v. Stephen William Vizard (2005) the court refrains the director from using an information which was obtained during the course of his position of director in the company for an improper use (Ciro and Symes 2013). This section is equally applicable on directors who are currently holding the position in the corporate or who have held such a position in the past. While dealing with a case under this section, court also takes into consideration the character of the director or officer being assessed. In the case of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v. ABB Transmission and Distribution Ltd (2002) a contrary view was taken by the court, stating that nature of offence shall be the primary consideration, rather than the character of the person. Apart from this specific duty under Section 183, a director is also imposed with Fiduciary duties which are directly owed to the company (Davenport and Parker 2012). The duty of director is base on the trust and faith and in pursuance to this duty, directors shall not indulge in situations where they are not able to act in best interest of the company or there arises a situation of conflict of interest. In the case of Fodare Pty Ltd. v. Shearn (2011) it was opined by the court that under the fiduciary duty, a director is under an obligation to always act for a proper purpose with reasonable care and diligence and shall not in any instance improperly use the position. The act considers it as an offence which shall be specifically established on the basis of following elements: Possession of confidential information which may have material impact on the operations or profitability of corporate. Such an information is not generally available The concerned person is involved in trading, where the said confidential information is highly relevant. In pursuance to the same, it can be stated that the Shane had acted in breach of the duty enumerated in Section 183(1) of the Act as well as is liable for the offence of Insider Trading. In the present case, Shane was occupying the position of Director in Primo Ltd., and because of this information was aware of the price quotation which the company was going to bid before Landstock. These facts clearly establish that Shane has conducted the offence of Insider Trading. Moreover, he has also acted to breach the general duties of acting in good faith and with loyalty. In addition, he has also breached the duty to not make improper use of information or position which one has owing to his/her position in the company (Fisher , Anderson and Dickfos 2017). Part B Section 1043B J of the Act provide for certain statutory exceptions which includes insurance underwriters or disclosing the information in pursuance to a legal obligation. Further, Section 1044A of the Act also states that communication of an information in the normal course, with no intention of contravention shall also account for a valid defence to the offence of insider trading. The Act provides for penalty for committing this offence which could be upto $450,000 fine and/ or 10 years of imprisonment. Thus, the liability imposed for committing this offence is criminal in nature (Harris, Hargovan and Adams 2013). Recently, in the year 2016 the court dealt with the case of a Sydney stockbroker in the name of Oliver Curtis who imprisoned for insider trading. It was ascertained that he had made illegal profits to the tune of $1.4million. In this case, it was also stated that the nature of offence reduces the consideration which is laid on the good character of the offender. Thus, in the present case though this is one of the first instances Shane has undertaken such a criminal action; the liability shall not be reduced (Fitzpatrick et al. 2014). On the other hand, the breach of general duties imposed by the Act shall impose civil obligations, the court may require payment of pecuniary penalty which could be upto $200,000 to the Commonwealth and compensation to the concerned company for an amount of which loss has been sustained by the business (Hanrahan, Ramsay and Stapledon, 2013). Case Study 3 The given factual scenario involves Dronebotics Ltd. which is a start up and is indulged in manufacturing as well as supplying of autonomous drone systems. These drone systems operate with the usage of automatic flying robots and are programmed to accomplish the tasks of monitoring, inspecting, surveying and then returning to base station. Another company in the name of CorpGain Ltd. approaches Dronebotics Ltd for procuring the autonomous drone systems. CorpGain is into agribusiness and intends to use this system for inspection of towering grain silos. It has been ascertained that this is a very dangerous task for being performed by the employees and also imposes an obligation to comply with strict safety regulations (Hoad, Richard and Ian Ramsay 2013). Frank and Diane, the two executive directors of the company are keen on taking up the project, in order to make expansion in different industries. It has been noted that the two mentioned directors have the tendency to take risks while undertaking business operations and hence are of the opinion to enter into the agreement. On the other hand, Ron and Kelly are the other two non-executive directors, who are of the opinion that entering into this agreement is not feasible for their current level of business. It is being argued by them that their present technological capability is not enough to effectively undertake the complex task as required by CorpGain Ltd, and shall also require considerable cost as well as research for developing suitable software. It is important to note that Ron and Kelly are experts who submit report to the board in respect to feasibility of the projects with the current level of operations (Li and Riley, 2012). Scenario A Director's of a corporate owe obligation both under general law as well as relevant statute and this classification further enables the court to determine appropriate remedies which are available. In equity, the director's are under an obligation of fiduciary relationship which sets a high standard of loyalty. These duties have been further incorporated into the Act in the form of General Duties of Director. Section 181, 182 and 183 of the Act imposes a general duty on the directors. In the recent case of Jaques v. AIG Australia Ltd. (2014) it was opined by the court that both executive and non-executive directors are under an obligation to abide the legal requirements of the position of directors, however, have certain distinctions in the manner they are expected to play their respective roles (Lipton, Herzberg and Welsh 2014). Thus, in pursuance to Section 180 (1) the directors are required to comply with the business judgment rule, in pursuance to which statutory duty of care and diligence shall be completely complied with by the parties. In pursuance to the same, directors are under an obligation to be informed about the subject matter to the decision to the extent it leads to development of a reasonable belief that the decision is appropriate. However, in the present case, Frank and Diane, in spite of being the executive directors failed to exercise this duty. This could be established from the fact that both of them refused to attend the meeting wherein the experts had opined that entering into a contract with CorpGain shall not be a feasible decision. Moreover, they also did not read the report which clearly elaborated upon the opinion of experts. Thus, this clearly establishes that Frank and Diane did not completely inform themselves about the decision to enter into a contract with CorpGain. In the case of ASIC v. Healey Ors. (2011) it was opined by the court that every director shall be considered accountable for decisions undertaken by the board. The courts of the nation have adopted a consistent approach towards duties of the director and have opined that each of them shall strictly make every effort to maintain high standards in performing their duties. It is important to note that Ron and Kelly made every effort to assess the decision of entering into a contract with CorpGain and in pursuance to the same attended the concerned meeting to be informed about decision of the experts. However, they lacked in consistently exercising care and diligence while undertaking their decisions. The fact that their decision was influenced by the dominant opinion of Frank and Diane, leads us to conclude that they were not able to effectively fulfill the requirements of their duty. Scenario B In the event the experts are of the opinion that the project is feasible to be undertaken considering the current level of technology, it would be rightful of the parties to given their assent to the decision. However, if in such an event also Frank and Diane fail to inform themselves about the aspects of judgment, they shall be considered to have failed to exercise their respective duty (Redmond, 2013). Further, as mentioned in the facts of the case the drone system is supplied to CorpGain. While using the same they face a technical difficulty, which makes it impossible to be used. It is then found that the technological abilities of the company is not competent fulfill the required task. It can be stated that in the opinion of court every director is accountable for the decision being undertaken by the entire board, as it is based on the consent of individual directors. However, some of the defenses which could be raised by the director are Honest and Reasonable director Defense. In pursuance to this defense, it could be argued by Ron and Kelly that they had taken the decision relying upon the advice of experts and had acted in a reasonable manner. Further, in pursuance to the decision of ASIC v. Rich (2003) it can be stated that the directors also have the right to raise a defense on the basis of Business Judgment Rule as enumerated in Section 180(2) of the Act. It has been referr ed to as the safe harbor which intends to protect the directors which have taken use of opportunities which were subject to some form of risk (Parker, et al.2012). Thus, Ron and Kelly shall be entitled to raise a defense in the given circumstance, as also opined in the case of ASIC v. Adler (2002). References Austin R.P. and Ramsay,(2012) I., Ford's Principles of Corporations Law, 15th Ed. Butterworths, Australia. p 201 Cassidy J., Corporations Law Text and Essential Cases (2013). Federation Press, 4th edition Sydney Ciro T and Symes C,(2013) Corporations Law in Principle LBC Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 9th edition Davenport, S and Parker D,(2012) Business and Law in Australia, Thomson Reuters. p 15 Fisher S, Anderson C, and Dickfos,. (2017)Corporations Law - Butterworths Tutorial Series, 3rd Ed. Sydney, Butterworths.. p 2015 Fitzpatrick, Synes, Veljanovski, and Parker,(2014) Business and Corporations Law; 2nd Ed. LexisNexis. p 387 Hahn, Peter D., and Meziane Lasfer (2015). 'The compensation of non-executive directors: rationale, form, and findings.'15.4 Journal of Management Governance 589-601. Hanrahan, P., Ramsay I., and Stapledon, G (2013). Commercial Applications of Company Law. 14th Ed CCH.. p 49 Harris, J. Hargovan, A. Adams, M (2013). Australian Corporate Law 4th Ed. LexisNexis Butterworths. p 105 Hoad, Richard, and Ian Ramsay. (2013)"Disclosures!: Corporate governance in practice." 10. Hung and Humphry.(2015) 'Directors roles in corporate social responsibility: A stakeholder perspective.' 103.3 Journal of Business Ethics 385-402. Lanis, Roman, and Grant Richardson (2012). 'The effect of board of director composition on corporate tax aggressiveness.' 30.1 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 50-70. Li, G, Riley, S. (2012) Applied Corporate Law: A Bilingual Approach 1st Edition LexisNexis. p 112 Lipton, P., Herzberg, A., and Welsh, M, (2014)Understanding Company Law, 17th Ed. Thomson Reuters . 210 Parker, Clarke, Veljanovski, Posthouwer, (2012) Corporate Law, Palgrave 1st edition Redmond, P., (2013) Companies and Securities Law - Commentary and Materials, Law Book Co., Sydney, 5th, Richardson, Grant, Grantley Taylor, and Roman Lanis (2013). 'The impact of board of director oversight characteristics on corporate tax aggressiveness: An empirical analysis.'32.3 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 68-88. Sealy, Len, and Sarah Worthington.(2013) Sealy Worthington's Cases and Materials in Company Law. (Oxford University Press). Van den Berghe and Lutgart (2012). International standardisation of good corporate governance: best practices for the board of directors. (Springer Science Business Media).

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Influences That Parents Have On Their Children Essays

The Influences That Parents Have On Their Children The Influences That Parents Have On Their Children Influence is a word that can explain many things in today's world. Influence explains why people do the things they do. A child's influence on how he/she perceives life will stay with them for the rest of his/her life. But a more important question to ask is where does that influence come. Does it come from the parents of that child or does it come from that child's peer group. Although children are influenced from the outside world, ultimately a child learns right from wrong, good from bad, love and caring from their parents. I hope to prove to you, the reader, that influence, does in fact, come from the parents more than what people think. First, we must talk about the influence that comes genetically. The parents DNA already have influenced a child from birth. The child can be shy, outgoing, perceptive, or absent-minded, but those characteristics will be shown later in the child's lifetime. If you look at a family, you can tell what types of characteristics the children have. Then you can ask the parents who in their family have those same traits. I am sure that the parents can think of someone in their family, if not them self, to answer that question. What about the influence a child receives after birth, if any, from their parents. Right after birth takes place, the mother typically shows the child love by holding the baby, kissing it, singing it to bed, etc. Showing a child love from the day the child is born and continuously throughout childhood, will have a better positive effect on the child later in their own life. Judith Rich Harris, in her book ?The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do; Parents Matter Less The You Think and Peers Matter More? believes that the love a parent gives has no effect on the child later in life. So far, to this day, studies show that if a parent show love and support towards their child, that child becomes less aggressive says John Gottman of the University of Washington. To quote Rosie O'Donnell in the Newsweek article, The Parent Trap, of September 7, 1998 on page 58, ?You're born with a personality that's defined by the tenderness, love, support, and care you're give.? She also goes on to say, Children could just be born and put in day care and become who they are. But that negates the value of love.? O'Donnell believes that the love a parent gives to their child is the foundation of that child's personality. Her thoughts along with other scientists, parents, and young adults around the world suggest that parents do influence the children of today. Another influence that parents have on their children is the teaching of right from wrong. Parents teach their kids that stealing is bad or hurting another person is wrong. Parents also teach their children that helping another person is the right thing to do. It is from this concept, that children develop a more in depth conscious. If a person of any age does something wrong or thinks about doing something wrong (i.e. stealing), that person will think of the consequences that go along with that crime. Most people won't commit the crime because their parents influenced them that stealing is bad. Some people will go commit the crime, but if you ask the thief of what their childhood was like, they would probably say that they had no parents to guide them. So that would lead to society bringing up a child to fend for himself. Another influence that parents give their children is the distinction of good and bad. This is somewhat similar to right from wrong; it is just a little different. There are no severe consequences that come along with these actions. A parent will praise their child for obtaining good grades in school or doing chores around the house. Some parents, in order to teach children good things, will give rewards (i.e. money, toys, etc.) for any action to the child as long as that action is good. A parent might punish a child for

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Johnny Tremain essays

Johnny Tremain essays In the face of adversity, our character can change extremely. Ester Forbes writes about this example in her book, Johnny Tremain, which takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1773, during the revolutionary war. As we read the book, we see Johnny facing many obstacles and problems causing him to start a different and new life. However, Johnny encounters bad luck, but he learns to understand his problems better and accepts them. Johnny Tremain starts out as a arrogant boy who one day wants to be a silversmith. Unfortunately one day, he was in a silversmiths shop and injures his hand from burning hot silver, which causes him to deeply damage his hand. He no longer could be a silversmith. Of course, Johnny was deeply ashamed of his hand and always hid it from the world. Gradually, he then has the courage to show his hand. Johnny felt no more shame over his burned hand -pg. 254- Later, Johnny comes across the printing press of the Boston Observer while looking for another job. While there, Johnny gets the chance to meet Rab and immediately makes friend with him. Johnny than notice that he enjoyed telling Rab stories about his hand, but with nonce of the belligerent arrogance which he had been answering the questions kind people had put to him. - page 146- This is the first time since the accident he felt able to stand aside from his problems to see himself. - pg. 255- Rab turns his life around and shows him another world that he could and must face. Without Rab, Johnny might not have believed in himself and achieved much. A big influence on Johnnys life were his friends. As previously mentioned, Rab contributed much to Johnnys life. Rab has shown Johnny that he could achieve anything he waned too. Rab taught Johnny how to ride Goblin, gets ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Custom Writing Service

Custom Writing Service Custom Writing Service Some writers rightly embrace the redrafting phase as a kind of 'quality control' of their writing and as an opportunity to craft an exemplary piece of work an attitude that often brings rich rewards. For example, the Russian novelist, short story writer, and philosopher, Leo Tolstoy, author of the two monumental novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, is reputed to his first novel War and Peace rewritten eight times. His works are read by the whole world. Not all students are able to write vividly. Ordering custom writing service, you receive interesting and relevant essay written for you from scratch! Custom Essay Help Redrafting an essay is just as critical as the original drafting of the work. Redrafting provides you with an opportunity to check that: the English essay has been written in a clear, direct and simple manner trite phrases and cliches have been avoided figures of speech have been used appropriately the right words have been chosen, and rare and difficult words avoided repetitions have been avoided or, if used, handled in a skilful and effective manner redundancies have been avoided in the essay alliteration has been used appropriately sentences are of an appropriate length, and are shortened if too long the college essay is read aloud and checked for rhythm the final essay writing demonstrates the hallmarks of originality the college English essay has come together as a coherent, accessible and meaningful whole: Custom English Essay Writing To produce good essay writing it is essential to apply the elements and principles of style. The key element of style is writing with personality and voice. Through regular practice, mentoring and exposure to the unique styles of other English essay writers, a writing style can be developed and improved. A good writing essay style, in turn, can be developed and improved by upholding the principles of style that have as their ultimate purpose the production of writing that is readable, meaningful, original, memorable and successful. These principles underscore the point that it is only by sitting down and writing an essay and, at the appropriate time, rewriting the project. Custom essay servicehelped already a lot of students and we know how to help you!Custom essay writing is your solution to academic problems. Our writers know and love their job! You will not be disappointed with our custom writing service! gives you an opportunity to enjoy life while our writers are working on your assignments! If you need more information on our prices and/or services, you are welcome to contact us at any time! Read also: Sociology Paper Report Writing Help Psychology Papers Police Performance Term Paper Market Analysis Report

Thursday, November 21, 2019

North vs South - How the North won the Civil War Essay

North vs South - How the North won the Civil War - Essay Example Further, people wonder why the North failed to allow the Confederacy to secede peacefully. This paper will examine the military strategies and leadership, which facilitated the victory that the North enjoyed and the defeat of the South. There was an increasing discrepancy between the South and the North in terms of economic development, social structures and organizations and political ideologies. However, the two regions were alike during the founding of the new nation. Slavery was in the entire states, and the economic activities of the two regions had strong reinforcements from agricultural prosperity (Steele & Herbert 1996, p. 45)1. The Northern states designed a plan that would end slavery and enhance the emancipation of the slaves to ensure that they fought for their rights, freedom and liberty. Further, the collapse of the party system had remarkable contribution towards the victory of the North; the slavery issue received undue suppression from the laws of this party. The strength of the political parties had a negative influence from massive immigration of foreigners and debates pushing for the prohibition of slavery. There existed a deficiency in the governance of the states; the strong parties suffered from utter blows that weakened the running of the parties. The confederacy and the union had confidence that they would win the war with a lot of ease (Hattaway & Jones 1991, p. 63).2The two regions believed that their outstanding advantages over the other side would bring ultimate victory to them. On the side of the confederacy, they believed that they had a better position to win the war because the Generals from South had advanced training, and most of the whites on that side were conversant with firearms and horses. Further, the South had plans of fighting a defensive war against the Northern region, and enjoy foreign economies, which meant that the economic might of the south

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Computer Graphics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Computer Graphics - Essay Example [Wallace, 2001. pp3-6] The JPEG compression algorithm involves three stages - Colour Space Conversion (Red-Green-Blue triplets mapped to Luminance-Chrominance Blue-Chrominance Red triplets), Segmentation into 8x8 pixel blocks, and Discrete Cosine Transformation (image transformation from spatial domain to frequency domain representation) encoding stage that includes Quantization (sorting the output waveform of DCT), Zigzag Scan (sorting the frequency coefficients from low to high), and Entropy Coding (Huffman Coding and Arithmetic Coding). The encoding and decoding algorithms for JPEG images are shown in figures 1 and 2 respectively. Compression is used to reduce the file sizes such that they can be used on web pages or documentation or any other light weight graphics applications. The 8x8 blocks of source images are first shifted from unsigned integers to signed integers and then are applied to the Forward Discrete Cosine Transformer (FDCT). To decode the compressed image to achieve the 8x8 blocks again, they are applied to the entropy decoder whereby the output is taken out from Inverse Discrete Cosine Transformer (IDCT). The final processing step of DCT encoder is the entropy coding that achieves additional compression by encoding the quantized DCT coefficients based on statistical characteristics. There are two types of Entropy Coding methods - Huffman coding and Arithmetic coding. Huffman coding requires one or more sets of Huffman code tables whereas Arithmetic coding doesn't require any external tables (althoug h statistical conditioning tables as inputs can improve coding efficiency). The quantization stage of JPEG algorithm results in loss of information, thus making JPEG standard a lossy compression technique. [Wallace, 2001. pp3-6] Compression Ratios and JPEG image formats: Compression is specified in terms of bits per pixel including the chrominance and luminance components) called the compression bit rate. Higher the value of bits per pixel, better would be the image quality. The JPEG standard recommends the following mapping of image quality with bit rates in colored images having moderately complex scenes: 0.25 to 0.5 bits per pixel: The output image shall possess moderate to good quality 0.5 to 0.75 bits per pixel: The output image shall possess good to very good quality 0.75 to 1.5 bits per pixel: The output image shall possess excellent quality 1.5 to 2.0 bits per pixel: The output image shall be practically non-distinguishable from the original image The improved version of original JPEG technology is JPEG 2000 that provides better rate

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Police Corruption Essay Example for Free

Police Corruption Essay Every police agency throughout the United States has its own patrol division. The patrol division is often over looked and underrated. In almost every agency, this division is the face of the Police Department. Despite the important role that patrol officer’s play, the role often may be viewed as a low-status area of policing. It is usually the largest section of an agency; however, it receives the most agency funds. The patrol division responds to calls, provides services to the community, and helps to prevent crime. It is a physically and mentally demanding job, in which involves all facets of the policing role (Grant and Terry, 2011). Due to its demanding attention, Patrol Officers respond to a numerous of variety calls. These calls include homicides, rapes, and domestic disputes. An officer may at times be plagued with quick judgment calls, which may affect him in the long run. Community patrolling addresses the community concerns at the grassroots patrol level. As departments grow, they set realistic goals and continue to develop community partnerships. Unfortunately, one will often see patrol officers make bad judgment calls, in which can lead to misconduct issues. Criminal acts under color of law include acts within the bounds or limits of lawful authority. This includes acts beyond the bounds of lawful authority. There has been an increase in police corruption issues, misconduct, and brutality incidents within the last year. Everything from the range of using technology for bad selection in newly hired officers has led to this problem. Off-duty conduct may also be covered under color of law only if the perpetrator asserted official status in some manner. Due to these types of issues, one will sometimes hear the Police Department needs to be policed. A number of researchers have examined the use of force. For example, there are debates for the usefulness of force continuums among law enforcement agencies. As a police officer, I have encountered calls, in which witnesses have question my actions and even accused me of police brutality. I once responded to a call of a possible burglary in progress. Upon my arrival, I located a Hispanic male, in his late twenties, attempting to remove a window screen. When he observed my uniform and noticed who I was, he ran away from me while holding a sharp flat headed screw driver in his right hand. As he climbed over a brick wall, separating the building, I observed he tossed the screw driver and he appeared to reach for a second unknown object. As I climbed over the wall myself, I reached for my taser gun and deployed it. I struck him along the side of his torso and he went down like rain drops on cement. As I subdued him and placed handcuffs on him, I could hear people gathering around saying, â€Å"that Officer did not need to taser him, and this is police brutality. † I knew that because of the wall blocking the civilians view, most of the witnesses had not seen what had occurred on the other side of the wall. Using quick judgment and proper use of force will always be questioned by the community. Unfortunately, not all patrol officers practice good judgment as you may have heard about the Fullerton Police Department relating to the incident with Kelly Thomas. Kelly Thomas, born on April 5, 1974 and died on July 10, 2011, was a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia. He lived on the streets of Fullerton, California where Thomas died five days after an altercation with members of the Fullerton Police Department on July 5, 2011. After paramedics treated the officers first for their minor injuries, Thomas was taken to St. Jude Medical Center before being transferred to the UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was comatose on arrival and not expected to recover. Medical records show that bones in his face were broken and he had choked on his own blood (Sewell and Winton, 2011). A judge declined to dismiss the charges against the officers in January 2013, finding that â€Å"a reasonable person could infer that the use of force was excessive and unreasonable. An appeals court judge also denied a request to overturn the lower courts decision. Manuel Ramos, one of the Fullerton Police Officers, was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. Corporal Jay Cicinelli and Officer Joseph Wolfe were also each charged with one count of felony involuntary manslaughter and one count of excessive force. I was not at the incident; therefore, I cannot judge my colleagues in the act ions that were taken on their behalf. However, it is difficult for me to think that any human being deserved this type of force used against him. When dealing with a combative subject I use the only the amount of force needed to make the subject comply. I do not feel that when dealing with a mentally ill transient, the use of strikes to the head and face are needed. As much as I hate to see my colleagues in this position, I feel that this is the closest we will get to justice. Thomas will not return from the dead and someone needs to be punished for the mistakes made that day. Another case I would like to discuss is the Huntington Beach Police Detective, who was accused of corruption. A veteran Huntington Beach police officer was once assigned to a federal anti-drug task force. He was arrested on charges that he conspired with others to distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana. Sergeant Alvaro Murillo, who was also known as The Godfather by his cohorts, was accused of using his job as a police officer to recruit informants in the drug world. After this, he would then use them to help him steal narcotics from dealers (Glover, 2008). Unfortunately, we are going to have officers who abuse their authority. It kind of makes me embarrassed to be associated with this type of behavior. As a rookie officer, I was employed by the City of Huntington Beach. I patrolled the streets of Huntington Beach with my Field Training Officer (FTO) where I remembered one incident when he drove me to a house, which had been raided on a drug related warrant search. I observed evidence, which included United States currency, guns, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and other drug relating to paraphernalia lying on the living room floor. It is disgusting to see a man fall to temptation, even worse, to see a fellow officer taint our profession by performing such a disgusting act. However, this profession, just like all other professions, is conducted by human beings and human beings make mistakes. A key factor in being a good police officer is using good discretion and having integrity. Sergeant Murillo was sentenced to prison to do time for his action. I agree with this punishment, no matter how bad temptation is. As Police Officers, we are held to a higher expectation. If one is tempted by the minor temptations in life and needs to corrupt one’s police department to reach financial gain, then the individual has no business in this profession. As a rookie officer, I remember an old Sergeant briefing the patrol division at 0500 hours. The last words of his briefing were, â€Å"be safe and do the lords work. † By being associated with police corruption, misconduct, and excessive force, one is working with the evil forces of nature in which where one swore to protect against the negative influences. By staying away from those immature acts, it has made me a better officer and an overall better human being.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Perspectives on Fear :: Personal Narrative Writing

â€Å"At the University of California at Irvine, experiments in rats indicate that the brain’s hormonal reaction to fear can be inhibited, softening the formation of memories and the emotions they evoke† (Baard). Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. I lie in bed for hours while my mind churns through endless streams of fragmented thoughts and memories, bits of brain matter that I do not have time for in my waking life. I have tried the homeopathic remedies. I drink â€Å"calming† teas, take showers, and inhale scents advertised to promote sleep and relaxation. I even have a lavender neck pillow. Nevertheless, when I am inflicted with a bout of sleeplessness, there is usually very little I can do but wait it out. I stay away from sleep drugs. The streetlamp outside paints shapes across the wall next to my bed. I can see them in the darkness, dull orange lines that have become familiar in my many restless nights. At the heart of their canvas, they intersect to form a rectangle. A rectangle? For months I believed in this reality of form with the inborn certainty that accompanies that which is obvious. I didn’t have to think about it. Nightly, I would study the shape in a sleep haze, unconsciously harboring knowledge of its regularity. Except that it is not a rectangle. Two forty seven. Nearly three hours after my first attempt at sleep, I stared up at the wall and realized for the first time the distortion within the orange light. Where the lines connected to form the shape, the rectangle, were angles. Obtuse and acute, they had none of the symmetrical regularity that geometry dictates of a true rectangle. The outline on the wall was crooked, skewed, an imperfect representation of the form. I tend to think of my memories as shoeboxes, precise, neatly uniform components that stack tidily in the mind. Somehow I have trained myself to believe that in regularity and order I will uncover the diagram of my true self, a clear-cut explanation for all that I think, say, and do. But in sleepless nights I realize that even old recurring thoughts can be strangely misshapen, and I am thrown into a tailspin. My memories of experiencing fear seem contorted. Among the most vivid of my recollections, they stand out with their potent doses of color, emotion, and experience. They have been with me so long that I rarely question the nature of their composition.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Powdered Coconut Husk, Okra Mucilage, Water Hyacinth and Starch as Alternative Plastic Composites Essay

The present condition of our country regarding the use of plastics demands that people explore other means whereby proportionate products can be produced out of raw materials which are commonly disregarded. One of these is the utilization of solid wastes which could yield excellent useful results. Largely an agricultural country, Philippines provides various local raw materials, the utilization of which may lead to the country’s industrialization. Philippines provide ample farm products having great possibilities for some purposes. An example of which is the coconut husk fiber or cocos nucifera. Although some use this for making native products, this study used this for an alternative bioplastic product making it more different than the usual ones. Water hyacinth, which is commonly found almost in some rivers and considered as another solid waste is to be used also in this project study. Although it has the same function as the coconut husk fiber, this is used to lessen the number or amount of water hyacinth in our environment because of its abundance and bad effects. To improve the quality of the bioplastic product,the researchers used okra wherein mucilage can be found which lessens the brittleness of the said product because of the so called, glycirin. Another concerned material in the study is cornstarch. It is the source of polymer which is said to be the building blocks of the eco-friendly plastic product. What makes this study different is that the researchers used raw materials which are seldomly used in a more different way and utilize it to make a new product which could yield useful results. Moreover, the main purpose of this study, is to make plastic that can be decomposed easily since it uses raw materials, to use starch instead of chemicals and to utilize some of the solid wastes in our society. Plastic is a versatile and potentially indestructible material, which makes it ideal for a number of commercial and household uses. Indeed, plastic has become a substitute for many items which used to be made from other substances, such as plastic bottles for drinks, condiments and many other more. In many cases, this is extremely useful and convenient. However, usage of plastic has caused many environmental downsides. This is because, plastic is so resilient that even burying it deep within the Earth doesn’t keep it from impacting the environment. Although plastics can be recycled, many people still burn them and we all know that it is harmful to the environment. It may also affect people’s health because plastics contain many chemical additives which causes illnesses like endocrine disruption which can lead to cancers, birth defects, immune system suppression and developmental problems in children. And worse it can also lead to toxicity of living organisms and marine animals. This ecological problem impelled the development of new materials that can be substitutes in producing biodegradable plastic which led us to think the utilization of eco- friendly materials that can be an alternative in making bioplastic. Scopes and Limitations The research study was concerned with utilizing coconut husk fibers or cocus nucifera and water hyacinth in producing a bioplastic product. The research focused not only on the simple production but also the quality of the said product in terms of brittleness and flexibility. Mucilage was obtained from okra where glycirin is found and improves the brittleness of the product. Furthermore, this study is also concerned in using cornstarch as the source of polymer considered as the building blocks of the product. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to produce an alternative plastic made up of organic materials. Another purpose of this study is to answer the following questions: 1. What will be the organic material used in making the plastic? 2. What content(s) is/are most effective in making the bioplastic more efficient than than Plastics- any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are moldable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural. Biodegradable Plastics- plastics that will decompose in natural aerobic (composting) and anaerobic (landfill) environments. Biodegradation of plastics occurs when microorganisms metabolize the plastics to either ssimilable compounds or to humus-like materials that are less harmful to the environment. They may be composed of either bioplastics, which are plastics whose components are derived from renewable raw materials, or petroleum-based plastics which contain additives. Glycerol- (or glycerine, glycerin) is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. Glycerol has three hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature. The glycerol backbone is central to all lipids known as triglycerides. Glycerol is sweet-tasting and of low toxicity. Polymer- is the main building block of all plastics. It is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units. These sub-units are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. Although the term polymer is sometimes taken to refer to plastics, it actually encompasses a large class of compounds comprising both natural and synthetic materials with a wide variety of properties. Mucilage- a thick, gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. It is a polar glycoprotein and an exopolysaccharide. Mucilage in plants plays a role in the storage of water and food, seed germination, and thickening membranes. Starch- or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in large amounts in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava. Starch is made of two basic components: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose- is a very long and straight polymer like we want to have in our study. Amylopectin- on the other hand is a branched and short polymer meaning it will yield brittle and weak plastic which is not good. Vinegar- a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid (CH3CO2H) and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. By adding a small amount of vinegar to the plastic, we can break up some of the branches of the amylopectin which otherwise would make it brittle. Water hyacinth- is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum) was the 15th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important[1] councils. It convened in Trent (then capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Trent, inside the Holy Roman Empire, now in modern Italy) between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods. Council fathers met for the first through eighth sessions in Trent (1545-1547), and for the ninth through eleventh sessions in Bologna (1547) during the pontificate of Pope Paul III. 2] Under Pope Julius III, the council met in Trent (1551-1552) for the twelfth through sixteenth sessions. Under Pope Pius IV the seventeenth through twenty-fifth sessions took place in Trent (1559-1563). The council issued condemnations on what it defined as Protestant heresies and defined Church teachings in the areas of Scripture and Tradition, Original Sin, Justification, Sacraments, the Eucharist in Hol y Mass and the veneration of saints. It issued numerous reform decrees. 3] By specifying Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon, the Council was answering Protestant disputes. [1] The Council entrusted to the Pope the implementation of its work; as a result, Pope Pius V issued in 1566 the Roman Catechism, in 1568 a revised Roman Breviary, and in 1570 a revised Roman Missal, thus initiating what since the twentieth century has been called the Tridentine Mass (from the city's Latin name Tridentum), and Pope Clement VIII issued in 1592 a revised edition of the Vulgate. 4] The Council of Trent, delayed and interrupted several times because of political or religious disagreements, was a major reform council and the most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation. [4] It would be over 300 years until the next Ecumenical Council. When announcing Vatican II, Pope John XXIII stated that the precepts of the Council of Trent continue to the m odern day, a position that was reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI. [5] The Council of Trent The Council of Trent was an ecumenical council convoked by the Church in 1545 and ran until 1563. It was convoked by Pope Paull III but continued by Popes Julius III and Pius IV. The purpose of the council was to address the grwonig threat presented by the rising Protestant movement which was rapidly spreading all over Europe, winning believers to their side and threatening the very existence of the Catohlic Church and faith.It was convoked when the Church realized that the Reformation was a serious threat as it involved several secular leaders whom Martin Luther had won over to his side and it was no longer a mere theological debate but had social and political implications at this point in time. In a way, the Council had somehow succeeded in getting the Church from its â€Å"medieval† image and bring it into the modern times which would be followed up by subsequenct councils, the First and Second Vatican Councils (McNally 36). The Council addressed the issues that spurred th e Protestants into action.One particular issue that the Council did address was the apparent corruption in the Church as an institution including the sale of indulgences which triggered Luther's â€Å"rebellion† (Mendham 317). The Council abolished several of these illegal practices and introduced or recommended disciplinary reforms providing a provision governing the conduct of the religious, particularly those belonging to monastic and mendicant orders where they â€Å"shall order their lives in accordance to what is prescribed by the rule which they have professed.† The result of this was it checked corruption in the Church and helped restore â€Å"back to basics† policies where the religious were reminded to uphold the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that they took upon entering the orders after years of strife affected the Church leading it to be infiltrated and influenced by political figures which changed its direction and led to the near-loss of its credibility. In addition, it also led to further education of the clergy and the codfication of religious orders (Roman Catholic Church, Session 25; Fisher 402).But this was the only â€Å"correction† the Church made. The rest were reaffirmations of other church traditions that hardly changed at all. These were considered part of Church traditions which Protestants opposed, believing that they were â€Å"invented† by Catholics as Protestants subscribed to â€Å"sol scriptura,† relying on the Bible as their source of â€Å"tradition. † Among them were the sacraments where Protestants found most of them â€Å"unecessary† yet the Church upheld it.They clarified the issue on the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary by stating that they are only to be â€Å"venerated,† not â€Å"worshipped,† something Protestants accused Catholics, charging that this was bordering on idolatry or paganism, as well as stressing the necessity of good works to go with one's faith rather than relying on faith alone. They made use of the Bible in defending the practice of the sacraments, stating they were not inventions and were stated in Scripture though implicit (Madrid 111).Another issue that was upheld was the infalliability of the Pope. Notwithstanding the scandals that undermined the image of the papacy, the Council upheld the Pope's place as the Vicar of Christ and the head of all Christendom. It can be inferred here that there was still the need of a leader who could transcend spiritual and secular realms, especially during this time when Reformation brought more upheavals and instability (Luebke 45, Madrid 44-53).As an epliogue, this was addressed once again in the Second Vatican Council in 1963 and the infallibility issue was resolved once and for all here. In conclusion, the Council of Trent cannot be entirely credited in ensuring the survival and continued existence of the Catholic faith but was rather part of the Counter-Ref ormation that had somewhat checked the spread of Protestantism.It was able to uphold and defend the traditions the Church regard as part of professing one's faith, thereby throwing back the accusations Protestants hurled at it for being on the wrong side of faith. As a parting shot, Catholic apologists in the Council of Trent and beyond, have riposted Protestant arguments by stating (ironically) that there existence was because of the Church and had there been no Church, they never would have existed at all. Works Cited Fisher, George P.The Reformation. Bibliobazaar, 2009. Madrid, Patrick. Where Is That in Tradition? Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2002. McNally, Robert E. , SJ. â€Å"The Council of Trent, The Spiritual Exercises and Catholic Reform. † Church History 34. 1 (1965): 36-49. Medham, Joseph. Memoirs of the Council of Trent. London: James Duncan, 1834. Roman Catholic Church. The Council of Trent. 1545. Hanover College. 14 Aug. 2010 .

Friday, November 8, 2019

The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayEssay Writing Service

The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayEssay Writing Service The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essay The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayExecutive SummaryThis report discusses the issue of concern because an oil spill is considered to be a disaster for both for human beings and the environment. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is no exception. The oil spill affected both human beings and the environment, polluting and damaging vast areas of the adjacent territories and the large populations of wildlife. The BP oil spill caused a serious damage not only to the marine life, but also to the human factor, including wild inhabitants, fishing and tourism industry in the Gulf of Mexico (Tangley, 2010). A large number of factors, including Petroleum toxicity, Corexit dispersant usage and oxygen depletion can be viewed as the major causes of the disaster which led to the negative impact on ecological system (Smithsona Venette, 2013).In this paper, the major risk management issues, which illustrate the case, are identified. Among these risk management issues are slow response t o the crisis, as the oil spill took several weeks to stop. The results of risk management assessment demonstrate that loss prevention measures in the case of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 were in place to prevent the oil spillage starting and the proper cost containment steps were taken to manage the cost of the required clean-up operations, recovery procedures to promote business continuation, many days had been lost. Second, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated poor governance of organization as the company lacked the effective crisis plan.Thus, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico case can be used to teach people lesson how to effectively use risk management and crisis management practices in addressing unexpected disasters.   To manage the crisis, a special plan should be developed and tested. Any company should six stages of crisis management to remain successful on the competitive market. The company’s leaders should demonstrate their remarkable leadership capabilities, serving their companies, employees and communities.Introduction and AimsThe Gulf of Mexico is one of the most valuable territories because of the availability of the great variety of marine life, including fish, shrimp and other species. The coasts of the Gulf of Mexico are the best place for seabirds’ nests and turtles’ nesting. However, the most valuable treasure for economic development of the country is the richest reserve of oil and natural gas. In general, there are more than 4,000 offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico designed for drilling gas and oil (Chiang et al., 2010). According to researchers, â€Å"many people who live in the five U.S. states that border the Gulf of Mexico (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida) depend on the Gulf for jobs and survival†(Chiang et al., 2010, p. 5). One more important function of the Gulf of Mexico is the growing fishing industry that provides over 1.3 pounds of fish an d shellfish each year. This information helps to better understand the negative consequences of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred on April 20, 2010.   The negative effects from oil spill have been widely discussed in scientific literature. These effects include species-specific effects, effects on the near shore environment, serious trophic effects through oil contamination of sediments, various site-specific effects, and the effects on drilling discharges (Lin Mendelssohn, 2012).   Based on recent research findings, â€Å"the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the explosion of the exploration platform Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010 was the largest accidental oil spill† in America that requires finding the proper solutions to develop effective risk management practices. It is very important to find out â€Å"if an accident of this size could have been expected† (Acton, 2013, p. 501).The general aims of the analysis presented in this paper include:providing an overview of the key facts surrounding the caseidentification of the major risk management issues identified in the caseComparing and contrast the way in which these three risk management issues were dealt with by the firm(s) involved with material presented in the course or other reference material dealing with the concepts or issues that the case illustratesAssessment of the effectiveness with which the crisis, created as a result of the failures in risk management evident in the case, were managedIdentification of the lessons that can be learned from the case, providing conclusions and the nature of any control procedures and/or risk treatment systems that should have been implemented or where failures occurred.This report is significant for assessment of the key risk management issues that are associated with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP’s handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010 teaches people some i mportant crisis management lessons. Actually, the work on oil platforms is automated, but human errors often occur on these structures (Smithsona Venette, 2013).   According to researchers, these oil drilling rigs are considered to be the largest movable human-made structures in the world, as such â€Å"they have become virtual cities afloat that will always have minor equipment failure and human error, not to mention working in hurricane-prone environments† (Ostrom Wilhelmsen, 2012, p. 23). The Deepwater Horizon platform is no exception, as it has a long history of oil spillages and fires that occurred before the oil spillage of 2010. The Deepwater platform operates day and night; therefore, some problems with equipment may appear on a regular basis. This report is aimed at giving explanation of some important risk management practices that should be taken into consideration by other companies to avoid negative consequences, similar to the Deepwater Horizon platform†™s disaster.Case StudyDescription of the key facts surrounding the caseThe BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is considered to be the â€Å"largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of petroleum industry, being 8%-31% larger in volume that the previous largest oil spill, the Ixtos I oil spill† (Holland Schemwell, 2014, p. 23). The BP oil disaster is often called the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It occurred on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Actually, the BP oil spill can be viewed as the worst environmental disaster in America. The BP oil spill occurred near Mississippi River Delta, as a result of a deep-sea floor oil gusher, which was made by the massive explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform, one of the most efficient and effective semi-submersible drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been found that oil slick coverage was approximately 2,500 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico region. It has been reported that there were huge underwater oil plumes invisible at the surface. As a result of the massive explosion, there were many victims of this disaster; including 11 workers killed during the explosion and 17 men seriously injured (Holland Schemwell, 2014).  On the 15th of July, 2010, the gushing wellhead was capped, but the Deepwater Horizon platform released over 4.9 million barrels or 780,000 m3 of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (Griggs, 2011). This fact means that as a result of the explosion, over 53,000 barrels of oil were spilled each day of the accident (from July 10 till July 15) before the workers could cap the well. The experts state that for 87 days, the oil continued to flow to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, causing serious damage to the environment and local economy. In other words, crude oil was flowing into the estuaries, marshes and beaches of three states affected by the spillage Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi (Griggs, 2011). The U.S. government declared that the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be regarded as a national disaster.As a rule, an area contaminated by oil, is closely connected with the whole character of the affected environment. The free spilling of oil leads to a wide range of negative consequences, including â€Å"the spread by wind and wave† (Bai Bai, 2014, p. 363). The oil spillage from the Deepwater Horizon platform floating on the surface could evaporate through air and sun, spreading over the water surface. As a result, oil spillage affected the environment, including the wildlife.Identification of three major risk management issues illustrated by the caseThe BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in 2010 gives an opportunity to identify three major risk management issues, which can be assessed by experts as significant risk management lessons. One of the key risk management issues is that â€Å"the oil spill took some weeks to stop† (Hopkin, 2012, p. 175). Although the results of risk management assessment show that loss prevention measures in the case of the BP oil spill were in place to prevent the oil spillage starting and the proper cost containment steps were taken to manage the cost of the required clean-up operations, recovery procedures to promote business continuation, much time had been lost. According to Paul Hopkin (2012), â€Å"it is, perhaps, the case that the damage limitation measures were not as robust as may have been required†(p. 175).Besides, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has raised serious risk management issues regarding the governance of organization involved in the case. Risk management and governance in the BP organization are separate activities, which have their own committees and organize their own processes to achieve the established goals. According to researchers, â€Å"the BP oil spill disaster has clearly shown that the board has to own both the general governance of the organization and its many and varied risk activities† (Wright et al., 2013, p. 16). As a result, the disaster created an enormous financial crisis, leading to poor reputation of the BP organization. According to Otto Lerbinger (2012), â€Å"its image as a leader in deep sea technology was shattered, as well as its professed dedication to corporate social responsibility and the environment†(p. 24).   Now the organization needs to use the proper strategies aimed at restoring its reputation in order to successfully operate in the Gulf of Mexico.Based on the US federal government report that was issued in 2011 after investigation of the key causes of the disaster, the following failures were identified:Poor risk management practicesLast-minute changes in decision making (Anastas et al., 2010)Failure to adequately observe and effectively respond to critical indicators that were identified on the platformInadequate and insufficient well control responseâ€Å"Insufficient emergency bridge response training by emplo yees responsible† (Guinness Walpole, 2012, p. 227).Comparing and contrast the way in which these three risk management issues were dealt with by the firm(s) involved with material presented in the course or other reference material dealing with the concepts or issues that the case illustratesIn the case discussed in this paper, the BP failed to avoid certain management errors that led to massive damage to the environment and caused considerable harm to people. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform rig can be viewed as an example of â€Å"a designation that is a prevailing contention of government and other reports on the disaster† (Lerbinger, 2012, p. 24). The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in 2010 was caused by certain management failures both by the organization (the BP Company) and its contractors (Transocean and Halliburton). Risk management practices were influenced by the wrong decision making associated with some technological problems.Ac cording to the material presented in the course lectures, the risk management cycle involves several stages, which help an organization to manage risks: Identification, Quantification, Risk assessment, Risk treatment, Monitoring, Risk context. These stages are interrelated (Business Risk Management Week 2, 2014, p. 2). Based on the established components of risk management process, it is possible to avoid negative consequences of disasters in all spheres of human activity, including oil and gas industry. In the Deepwater Horizon platform, many events led to the disaster because inadequate risk management practices were ineffective in that situation.In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, â€Å"the behaviors and attitudes of leaders have been disappointing at best and irresponsible at worst† (Corkindale, 2010, p.1).   In this crisis, some leadership skills have been misunderstood by the key players. The BP are responsible for the environmental disaster, but the BP CE O Tony Hayward demonstrated some failures in leadership practices, providing control over the â€Å"organizational culture that sanctioned extreme risk-taking, ignored expert advice, overlooked warnings about safety issues and hid facts† (Corkindale, 2010, p.1). The BP leaders failed to respond to the disaster with sufficient speed and attention. Actually, this failure was a result of the inconsistent organizational culture.Assessment of the effectiveness with which the crisis, created as a result of the failures in risk management evident in the case, was managedThe effectiveness with which the crisis of the Deepwater Horizon platform, created as a result of the failures in risk management is evident in this case. There are six stages of crisis management, including â€Å"avoiding the crisis, preparing to manage the crisis, recognizing the crisis, containing the crisis, resolving the crisis and profiting from the crisis† (Business Risk Management Week 3, 2014, p. 1). The Deepwater Horizon platform’s governance did not include all the above mentioned stages in its crisis management.In the Deepwater Horizon platform, there were serious problems with governance as the Company failed to examine all possible scenarios, assess all possible consequences and identify the cost of prevention of these negative consequences. The response to the crisis was not planned in a proper way. This fact means the BP Company failed to use the appropriate strategies to avoid the crisis. Because of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform, over 5 million barrels of oil were sent into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.   This fact proves that the company failed to avoid the crisis. According to researchers, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of a â€Å"company without crisis planning† (Cox, 2012, p. 87). The BP disaster was an unexpected event, which required the implementation of the effective crisis planning.   According to Charles E. Cox (2012), â€Å"BP’s advantage was that, even without a crisis plan, the company had billions of dollars in the bank and enough cash reserves to manage its way through the crisis and take steps to rebuild its reputation† (p. 88). Undoubtedly, the impact of the BP disaster was enormous because of the lack of the crisis planning.Nevertheless, the BP governance managed to take some reasonably decisive action, using the media and public relations to address the issue of concern and demonstrate the company’s response to the disaster. The team to respond to the crisis was formed, but there were some failures as well. Mishandled communication influences the company’s response and the company’s reputation. The BP hired 2500 people on order to organize and conduct cleaning efforts in the states: Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida (Anastas et al., 2010).   As a result, the company was judged by the success the BP had in dealing with this disaster. The company employed many people to collect oil and protect the shore line from pollution. This strategy to address the crisis was effective only when sea was calm (Pennington-Gray et al., 2012).ConclusionThus, it is necessary to conclude that pollution from the activities of offshore companies leads to degradation of the marine environment. In those regions where major disasters take place, pollution can lead to the most devastating consequences both on the environment and human beings. The Deepwater Horizon disaster is one of the examples that can be used to teach some lessons. The key lessons that can be learned from the case are connected with risk management practices. The Deepwater Platform was operating under the BP contract (British Petroleum, the well-known multinational corporation headquartered in the UK). The discharge of oil had negative impact on the region, caused serious damage to fisheries and marine habitants, bringing to light the risk s of deep water oil and gas drilling.The lessons that can be learned from the case give an opportunity to other companies to avoid negative consequences of the crisis and develop, maintain and implement effective crisis management practices. One of the most important strategies to manage crisis is to implement a well-developed crisis plan, provide effective control procedures and risk treatment systems that must be developed and implemented in the areas, where failures occur frequently. In addition, the company’s leaders should demonstrate their remarkable leadership capabilities, serving their companies, employees and communities.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Understanding String Literals in Ruby

Understanding String Literals in Ruby String objects hold ordered sequences of bytes, typically characters, usually to form pieces of human-readable text. Theyre a very common object type in all programming languages, and Ruby has a number of high-level and a few low-level ways to create, access and manipulate String objects. Strings are most often created with a String literal. A literal is a special syntax in the Ruby language that creates an object of a specific type. For example, 23 is a literal that creates a ​Fixnum object. As for String literals, there are several forms. Single-Quotes and Double-Quoted Strings Most languages have a String literal similar to this, so this may be familiar. The types of quotes, (single quote, apostrophe or hard quote) and (double quote or soft quote) are used to enclose string literals, anything between them will be turned into String objects. The following example demonstrates this. But there are some differences between single and double quotes. Double quotes  or soft quotes enable some magic to happen behind the scenes. Most useful is interpolation inside strings, useful for inserting the value of a variable into the middle of a string. This is achieved by using the #{ †¦ } sequence. The following example will ask you for your name and greet you, using interpolation to insert your name into the string literal thats printed. Note that any code can go inside the braces, not just variable names. Ruby will evaluate that code and whatever is returned it will attempt to insert it into the string. So you could just as easily say Hello, #{gets.chomp} and forget about the name variable. However, its good practice not to put long expressions inside the braces. Single quotes, apostrophes, or hard quotes are much more restrictive. Inside of the single quotes, Ruby will perform no interpolation or escape sequences other than escaping the single quote character and backslash itself (\ and \\ respectively). If you dont intend to use interpolation, its recommended to use single quotes more often than not. The following example will attempt to interpolate a variable inside of single quotes. If you run this youll get no error, but what will be printed? The interpolation sequence was passed through uninterpreted. When Should I Use Single and Double Quotes This is a matter of style. Some prefer to use double quotes all of the time unless they become inconvenient. Others would rather use single quotes unless the interpolation behavior is intended. Theres nothing inherently dangerous about using double quotes all of the time, but it does make some code easier to read. You dont need to read a string when reading through code if you know there are no interpolations in it  because you know the string itself wont have any side effects. So which string literal form you use is up to you, there is no real right and wrong way here. Escape Sequences What if, in a string literal, you want to include a quote character? For instance, the string Steve said Moo!  wont work. And neither will Cant touch this!. Both of these strings include the quote character inside of the string, effectively ending the string literal and causing a syntax error. You could switch quote characters, like Steve said Moo!, but that doesnt really solve the problem. Instead, you can escape any quote character inside the string, and it will lose its special meaning (in this case, the special meaning is to close the string). To escape a character, prepend it with the backslash character. The backslash character tells Ruby to ignore any special meaning the next character may have. If its a matching quote character, dont end the string. If its a hash sign, dont start an interpolation block. The following example demonstrates this use of backslash to escape special characters. The backslash character can be used to remove any special meaning from the following character but, confusingly, it can also be used to denote special behavior in double-quoted strings. Most of these special behaviors have to do with inserting characters and byte sequences that cannot be typed or represented visually. Not all Strings are character strings  or may contain control sequences intended for the terminal, and not the user. Ruby gives you the ability to insert these types of strings using the backslash escape character. \n - A newline character. The puts method does this automatically, but if you wish to insert one in the middle of a string, or the string is destined for something other than the puts method, you can use this to insert a newline in a string.\t - A tab character. The tab character moves the cursor over (on most terminals) to a multiple of 8, so this is very useful for display tabular data. However, there are better ways of doing this, and using the tab character is considered a bit archaic or hackish.\nnn - A backslash followed by 3 numbers will denote an ASCII character represented by 3 octal digits. Why octal? Mostly for historical reasons.\xnn - A backslash, an x, and 2 hex digits. The same as the octal version, only with hex digits. Youll probably never use most of these, but know that they exist. And also remember that they only work in double-quoted strings. The next page discusses multi-line strings and an alternate syntax for string literals. Multi-Line Strings Most languages dont allow multi-line string literals, but Ruby does. Theres no need to end your strings and append more strings for the next line, Ruby handles multi-line string literals just fine with the default  syntax. Alternate Syntax As with most other literals, Ruby provides an alternate syntax for string literals. If youre using a lot of quote characters inside your literals, for example, you may want to use this syntax. When you use this syntax is a matter of style, theyre usually not needed for strings. To use the alternate syntax, use the following sequence for single-quoted strings  %q{ †¦ }. Similarly, use the following syntax for double-quoted strings  %Q{ †¦ }. This alternate syntax follows all the same rules as their normal cousins.  Also,  note that you can use any characters you wish instead of braces. If you use a brace, square bracket, angle bracket or parenthesis, then the matching character will end the literal. If you dont want to use matching characters, you can use any other symbol (anything not a letter or number). The literal will be closed with another of the same symbol. The following example shows you several ways to use this syntax. The alternate syntax also works as a multi-line string.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Major Factors of the Credit Agricole Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

The Major Factors of the Credit Agricole - Essay Example Credit Agricole is one of the largest retail banking groups in the world and is the largest banking group in France. The overall structure of the firm is such that it is owned by many smaller retail banks in France and is offering retail banking services not only in France but at international level also. Primarily focusing on the rural areas as its target market, the bank has also the presence in the cities and is now operating in more than 60 countries of the world. Such huge international presence, therefore, outlines a very significant expansion of the firm in the international market. The overall strategy of the firm in terms of international expansion has largely been focused on the acquisition of smaller banks in different European countries as well as countries from other parts of the world. Such expansion strategy outlines that the firm has taken an aggressive approach to extend its presence in the international market. Credit Agricole is considered as the green bank of France because of its support and stronger roots in the agriculture sector of the country. It is also because of its overall business philosophy that the firm mostly operated in the rural areas of the country with little presence in the urban areas. Credit Agricole is unique in the sense that its ownership structure is really different and its owned by many smaller banks. Bank’s historical roots are relatively richer given the fact that it was established in order to allow the extension of credit to the farmers so that they can boost their productivity. One of the reasons as to why the agriculture was lacking in productivity in France was the lack of credit to the farmers and as such, they were unable to purchase better seeds and other tools in order to better cultivate and increase their productivity.  Ã‚  

Friday, November 1, 2019

Diaspora Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diaspora Assignment - Essay Example Croatian people have been dominant in many fields in the Australian society, especially in the sporting arena where they have made such a great impact by comprising the majority players in most Australian football clubs. This paper provides a critical analysis of the Croatian diaspora in Australia, development of media in the Croatian diaspora community in Australia, and examples of how media compares and contrasts to mainstream media on same key issues in the community, among other things. History of the Diaspora The concept of the diaspora grew out of the historic experience of scattering Jews outside their native lands and it implies that a whole community, usually a nation inhabiting a compact territory, underwent a forced dispersion. This concept was made popular in the sociology of migration in the 1990s and the relationship between the scattered communities and the homeland is crucial in defining the diaspora (Raggazi, 2009, p. 1). The homeland for immigrants is a source of id entity, in addition to being their source of values and loyalty; it can be generally understood that every diaspora is a migrant community because of the consciousness of belonging to a common nation and/or a distant homeland and acting upon this consciousness that eventually defines the diaspora. Diasporas are normally connotations of historically enduring strong emotional ties to the homeland, usually concerning some historical injustice that needs redress (Colic-Peisker, 2008, p. 158); the Croatian Diaspora in Australia was in response to the Yugoslav crisis of the 1980s and the war for independence and its aftermaths. The typical feeling of a lost homeland and tragic exile among the immigrants and the need to redress the historic grievances felt by a majority of the Croatian emigres led to the rise of diasporic transnationalism (Colic-Peisker, 2008, p.158). The emigres assumed leadership of Croatian communities outside Croatia and focused on the fight for Croatian independence f rom the communist Yugoslavia, and by 1991 when Croatian independence was confirmed by the failure of communism, Croatian emigres all over the world were known as an intensely politicized diaspora dominated by nationalist leaders. The most vocal part of the Croatian Diaspora in Australia had intensely emotional and political connection to the homeland, and its pronouncement of anti-communism and separationist agenda made it a clear-cut case of long-distance nationalism. The Croatian diasporic nationalism had two peaks: the 1970s after the Croatian Spring, Yugoslav Communist authorities had suppressed a Croatian nationalist movement in 1971, and during the war for Yugoslav succession in 1991–1995, which politically mobilised a large number of Croats in Australia. Development of Media Media development in the Croatian Diaspora in Australia has been stifled by lack of freedom of the press and the successive ongoing media manipulation that seeks to limit the influence of media bot h in the diaspora and in the homeland. In the old Yugoslavia, the Communist government controlled media and the Croatians knew only a limited range of information, and up to date, the Croatian media is not yet free and impartial. For instance, Karolina Vidovic, a Croatian journalist whose programme has been

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Next President of the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Next President of the US - Research Paper Example Winning the election on his policy of change for the country (â€Å"Barack Obama†). Biography of Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney was born into a political family on March 12, 1947. A native of Detroit Michigan, his father is the former Gov. George Romney. He lived most of his life as a private citizen before running for the Massachusetts Senate in 1994, losing to Ted Kennedy in the process. He bounced from this loss by successfully leading the Salt Lake Organizing Committee towards a successful hosting of the 2002 Olympic Games. A success that he parlayed into a successful candidacy for governor of Massachusetts in 2003. He tried to become the Republican torch bearer for president in 2008 but lost to John McCain. In 2012, he beat out other nominees for president such as Michelle Brachman and Rick Santorum (â€Å"Mitt Romney†). The Issues Immigration Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are as different as night and day on the issue of immigration. While Obama advocates an immig ration program that touches base with the Latino vote, Mitt Romney has fought for tighter immigration policies. It is believed that Obama's belief in a more streamlined approached towards immigration and the relaxing of laws against illegal immigrants all ties in with his desire to secure a significant number of Latino votes on November 6. Mitt Romney on the other hand, believes that the immigrant status should not be taken lightly and given away like freebies at the grocery store. Unlike the president, Mitt Romney believes that one must work for his immigrant status and actually deserve to earn it. He believes that this can be done either through military service of the completion of advanced studies in America by foreigners who will then be bound to stay in the country for a period of time in order to prevent brain drain. Mitt Romney believes that by making it harder for illegal immigrants to stay in the country, our economy can be helped (Wood, Daniel â€Å"Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 Ways They Differ on Immigration†). Health Care President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act, or Obama care as it is more popularly known sets the health sector on the path of subsidizing healthcare for each individual provided that person has opted to purchase medical insurance. He claims to have made health care more affordable by allowing people to make their own choices regarding insurance coverage and allowing people access to free medical services. There is also a belief that under his Obama care plan, the insurance companies have finally been prevented from abusing the insured when they need to use their insurance the most (â€Å"Learn How Obamacare Benefits You†). Mitt Romney on the other hand, has equated health care with the economy. Thus, he feels that the undue burden placed upon the people by the new taxes created in Obama care will make health insurance less affordable for most people and will not help in solving the health care problem in America . He proposes a repeal of Obama care and a return of the healthcare system to the individual decision making power of the people who need to use it (â€Å"Obama's Failure†). The Economy Barack Obama came into possession of a country that was bleeding due to financial mishandling. His position is that by changing the old ways of America in terms of spending and international relations, the economy of the country can be grown exponentially. He wishes to reform the tax code into a middle class friendly program

Monday, October 28, 2019

The luncheon Essay Example for Free

The luncheon Essay A friendly intention of taking an friendout to lunch can result in important situations about oneself not experienced in other events. This comes to the forefront in Somerset W. Maughams anecdotal short story The Luncheon. The young protagonist, a writer, learns he should not be too generous for fear of being taken advantage of after feeling humiliated and angry because he took a pretentious woman out to lunch. The elements of structure, vivid imagery, symbols and style help to develop the acquaintances personality and the protagonists feelings from excitement to anger while also delineating to which extent the protagonists perception of things has changed for his own good. Structure is important to the evolution of the protagonists personal feelings. Initially, the protagonists feels flattered and excited that he has been asked by an older woman to take her out to lunch in one of the fanciest and most expensive restaurants in Paris. Although his financial situation worries him, he wants to please his acquaintance. However, when she begins to order many expensive items, he first worries about how he will pay the bill. Then, he feels humiliated for being used to satisfy her expensive food tastes only. Next, her insensitive discourse angers him: I see that youre in the habit of eating a heavy luncheon. [the protagonist ate only a mutton chop]. Im sure its a mistake. Why dont you follow my example and just eat one thing? Im sure youd feel ever so much better for it. However, he replies sarcastically, I am only going to eat one thing. Finally, the only solution for him is to not care about her and to be as mean to her as she was to him, whenever possible. His final statement shows that he has had his revenge at last Today she weighs twenty one stone. Vivid imagery and symbols help reveal the protagonists feelings and his acquaintances personality. Several times throughout the story, his acquaintance states, I never eat more than one thing for luncheon. The luncheon is symbolic of the concept of the survival of the fittest. On the one hand, his acquaintance possesses a manipulating and insincere personality, while the protagonist is good, kind, and pleasing. As a result, she gets what she wants while the protagonist must pay the price for taking such a person out to lunch because he is a good person. the color white in  the image of her white large teeth and French white wines suggests her cold personality (Jobes 1676). The salmon she eats reveals an abundance in the food items she eats (Jobes 1391) pointing to her extravagant personality. The caviar represents her delicate connoisseur tastes (de Vries 89). Even her age she is forty is significant in that a woman is a devil at forty (de Vries 200), so that it can be concluded she possesses a devilish nature. The symbolic number one in the acquaintances ironic statement, I never eat more than one thing for luncheon possesses several qualities evident of her character. It suggests boldness, consciousness and self-centeredness (Jobes 1209). The latter is the most significant because all she cares about is getting the food she wants. By referring to the head waiter as having a priest-like face and a false face, the protagonist emphasizes his anger about his financial means. In essence, the waiter and the acquaintance are performing rituals and acting on behalf of their best interests. The acquaintance pursues eating while the waiter expects a fine tip. Style, too, confirms the acquaintances personality as well as the protagonists illumination. The protagonist, being a down to earth and honest man is not convinced by her contradictory statements and therefore, doesnt care about her. On the other hand, the protagonists style of speaking is sincere and honest even during his angry moments. At the end when the acquaintance says, Never eat more than one thing for luncheon he emotionally releases himself by retorting, Ill eat nothing for dinner tonight! His second release though less stormy, happens when he complacently says, Today she weighs twenty one stone. These statements confirm he is no longer flattered by her. Style, vivid imagery and symbols as well as structure help develop the protagonists initial child-like feelings of flattery and excitement to disgust and anger due to the unfortunate sequence of events causes by his insensitive acquaintance. These elements also create a cold picture of his acquaintances personality. However, as he realizes what is happening to him during the course of events, he matures. The moral implications behind the short story The Luncheon are the thoughtful steps involved when one  commits oneself to taking a stranger out to lunch. Works Cited De Vries, Ad. Dictionary of symbols and Imagery. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1974. Jobes, Gertrude. Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1962. The Luncheon by W. Somerset Maugham [Maugham, W. Somerset (1977). Collected Short Stories: Volume 1. Penguin Classics, pp. 97-100.