Monday, September 30, 2019

Gender Roles in The Thin Man Essay

The period of the 1930s was an offshoot of the â€Å"roaring twenties† or the â€Å"jazz age†, a time when women gained a heightened sense of prominence in the society after the First World War saw young men leaving their homes and their work in response to the nation’s call to arms (Freedman, 1974, p. 374). Towards the end of the war and at the beginning of the 1930s, women became more in control of their liberty, proof of which is their newly recognized right to suffrage (Murphy, 1996, p. 52). They became regular members of the social workforce, thereby giving them a renewed sense of control over their lives. The â€Å"flapper†Ã¢â‚¬â€young women who defied the norms of what a conservative woman is by engaging in casual sex and wearing short skirts, among others—took the center stage, so to speak. As for men, such circumstances only brought them closer to the temptation of pleasing the opposite sex. This is clearly portrayed in the 1934 film The Thin Man. In the film, Nick Charles and his wife Nora represent the life of married couples whose lives are characterized primarily by the attitudes of the social elites—fun meant enjoying martinis and sleuthing. In a way, the couple captures the gender roles of each partner during the 1930s. Nora was a wealthy heiress who had almost everything at her disposal. She was beautiful and seemed to have a passion for adventure owing largely to her living a life of liberty. She was the 1930s woman who saw life as the ultimate provider of adventure in all its daring forms. Nick was a handsome man and a retired private detective who previously investigated and solved murders. He was the 1930s man who was deeply entrenched with his passion for resolving issues no matter what it takes, much to the amusement of the female partner. In fact, Nora was more than delighted upon knowing that Nick accepted the task of investigating the disappearance of his friend Clyde Wynant and the death of Clyde’s former girlfriend, Julia Wolfe. It leaves little room to speculate that Nora was indeed the typical 1930s woman who seized her liberty as if it would never run out, putting her self to risky situations together with her man. She portrayed the woman who embraced the â€Å"flapper† culture with open arms, spending her time drinking alcohol or romantically engaging her partner. While she remained supportive of Nick like a female partner might usually commit herself into, she was on her own a liberal minded individual. For the most part, Nick played the role of the adventurous husband which perfectly complements Nora’s interest in the same. He was someone who lived every danger with such boldness. He was someone who sought the pleasure of his spouse—from accepting her request for him to take the case to completely allowing her to partake in his drinking sessions—no matter what the cost may be. It goes to show that Nick was a man who shared entirely similar interests with his spouse and will gladly fulfill whatever it is that will make his woman happy. It was his role to please his woman. On the other hand, it was the woman’s role to act is if she was herself a man, fully absorbed in exactly the same interests as the husband’s. Here we see the approximate gender roles prevalent during the 1930s. Men and women had more similarities than differences as far as their inclinations are concerned. To a certain degree, there was no â€Å"woman†. Woman drank, dressed and acted in an unconventional so that they may be desired by the opposite sex, and actively participated in fairly dangerous tasks. Her liberty stood at the very core of her character and this made her more appealing to every man. Towards the end of the film, Nick gives in to the implied gesture of Nora to spend the night together in the same bed. The scene is revealing insofar as it gives rise to the idea that women exerted a certain influence or power over men especially when it comes to passionate affairs. The 1930s woman had too much liberty, in fact, that she can do anything she pleases and become pleased in the end. Nevertheless, the 1930s man still had a lot to do with her sources of pleasure. References Dyke, W. S. V. (Director). (1934). The Thin Man. United States: MGM. Freedman, E. B. (1974). The New Woman: Changing Views of Women in the 1920s. The Journal of American History, 61(2), 372-393. Murphy, M. (1996). ‘†¦ And All That Jazz’: Changing Manners and Morals after World War I. Montana: The Magazine of Western History, 46(4), 50-63.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Investigating stoichiometry Essay

In this experiment we are going to get a better understanding of chemical stoichiometry. We are going to be reacting sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) with hydrochloric acid (HCl). To start off the mass of two unknown substances (being the sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate) will be taken. We will need to construct balanced equations for both of the reactants with the HCl and use this to guide us to figure out how much HCl will be needed to react with each of the unknown substances. When this part is through we will then need to find the percent yield (actual yield/theoretical yield x 100). Determining the mass of sodium chloride at the end of the experiment is the actual yield. To find the theoretical yield we will need to heat the sodium chloride so that all the CO2 evaporates and that will leave us with the theoretical yield of sodium chloride. Chemical Reactions NaHCO3 + HCl = NaCl + H20 + CO2 Na2CO3 + HCl = 2NaCl + H2O + CO2 Theoretical yields .15g NaHCO3 (1mol NaHCO3/84.0059g NaHCO3) (1mol HCl/1mol NaHCO3) (58.44gNaCl/1molNaCl) = .1043 g NaCl .15g Na2CO3 (1mol Na2CO3/105.988g Na2CO3) (1mol HCl/1mol Na2CO3) (58.44gNaCl/1molNaCl) = .165 g NaCl Experimental Procedure Standardization of Unknown 1 1) Weigh duplicate 0.15 g samples of unknown 1. Dissolve samples in 100- ml distilled water. 2) Add bromocresol green indicator, until the solution turns into blue. Titrate it with HCl until green color is reached. 3) Heat and boil out CO2 gently. You should obtain a blue color again at the end of this step. Cool to room temperature, and continue titration until yellow color is reached. Note down the volume seen on the buret. 4) Heat the substance again until all the liquid is gone and you’re left with salt looking particles inside the beaker. 5) Weigh the beaker with the salt inside of it. Then, clean out the beaker thoroughly and weigh the empty  beaker again. Use these two weights to find the mass in grams of the salt like particles that were previously in the beaker. Standardization of Unknown 2 1) Weigh duplicate 0.15 g samples of unknown 1. Dissolve samples in 100- ml distilled water. 2) Add bromocresol green indicator, until the solution turns into blue. Titrate it with HCl until green color is reached. 3) Heat and boil out CO2 gently. You should obtain a blue color again at the end of this step. Cool to room temperature, and continue titration until yellow color is reached. Note down the volume seen on the buret. 4) Heat the substance again until all the liquid is gone and you’re left with salt looking particles inside the beaker. 5) Weigh the beaker with the salt inside of it. Then, clean out the beaker thoroughly and weigh the empty beaker again. Use these two weights to find the mass in grams of the salt like particles that were previously in the beaker. Now to identify which substance is NaHCO3 and which is Na2CO3 pay close attention the mass recorded for the salt like particles that were left in the beaker. The one that is closest to .1043 g is the NaHCO3 and the one closest to .165 g is the Na2CO3. Results Grams recorded for Unknown 1- .07 g Unknown 1=NaHCO3 Percent yield= 67% Grams recorded for Unknown 2- .14 g Unknown 2= Na2CO3 Percent yield= 85% Discussion When trying to identify which unknown substance was NaHCO3 and which was Na2CO3. We had to make sure to titrate and treat each unknown with the same amount of attention. By over titrating one of the unknowns we could have messed up the experiment and would have had to start over. When heating the liquid on the hot plate, we were making all the CO2 in the liquid evaporate leaving us with just the salt like particles that we were looking for. By weighing the salt we were able to justify what the substance was because of previous conversions that we had worked out. Conclusion The purpose of this experiment was to show how titrating a substance can help to identify that substance. Knowing how to work with stoichiometry equations is also a big part of this lab because we used those equations to help us compare and figure out the identity of the substance. After titrating and  evaporating the CO2, the weight of unknown 1 was .07 g which was closest to the theoretical yield of .1043 g. Unknown 1 was identified as NaHCO3. After titrating and evaporating the CO2, the weight of unknown 2 was .14 g which was closest to the theoretical yield of .165 g. Unknown 2 was identified as Na2CO3.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Shortage of Correctional Officers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shortage of Correctional Officers - Essay Example This shortages could hardly accommodate the increasing number of convicted inmates. As the size of the inmate population increases at a facility, so does the number of custody staff. Variation in the inmate to custody staff is related to many factors including inmate population, facility design , security level, facility population and status of inmates at a facility. The Department are unable to hire enough correctional officers to meet its prison's needs so they often uses costly overtime hours to cover for the shortage of officers. One factor that influence the supply of correctional officers is that there are difficulties in attracting and training enough correctional officers. Although hiring more correctional officers would ease problems, the department may not fill the needs to operate its academy at full capacity. Another is shortfall of budget and plan. Based on Audits report During the first half year of 2001-02, the department spent more than 110 million for staff overtime. The budgeted amount for staff is worth $74 million but surprisingly its already $36 million more than the budgeted amount was spent for overtime. During their study they found out that hiring 3,200 staff of officers is needed to work the hours assigned as overtime to current staff. Other problems must be consider though overtime can be pleasurable to some officers b ut because excessive overtime can raise health and safety concerns, it suggests to assign academy graduates to prisons experiencing high rates of overtime. The department of Correction can give safety concerns by monitoring the amounts of overtime of an individual correctional officer. In regards to salary, based on the audit report, State Correctional Officers salary start at $2,001 a month during their six-week training period. After successful completion of training they receive $2,355 a month with in-grade raises up to $3,835. The usual work week is forty hours, but officers may be assigned to any one of three eight-hour shifts. Overtime, which may be required during emergencies, is compensated at time and a half. Federal employees start their careers at the GS-5 level, which offers a pay range of $ 1,627 to $2,115 a month. The top step usually achieved is the Senior Officer Specialist, GS_8, which ranges from $2,231- $2,901 per month. Correctional shortages at California prison can increase its supply of correctional officers by exploring opportunities to attract more qualified applicants. Make attention of the operating academy to pursue additional funding to give its full capacity. It also recommend to consider the feasibility of increasing the number of correctional officer applicants and physical capacity for training them. Maximize the use of officers by converting them to full time or ensure them that they work as close to the maximum of 2,000 hours a year if possible to fill the needs being met with overtime. Once it attract cadets to the academy than its budgeted positions, then the department should pursue funding for additional correctional officer positions it will need in order to reduce its reliance on overtime. Hiring for additional

Friday, September 27, 2019

Improving Female Preventive Health Care Delivery through Practice Essay

Improving Female Preventive Health Care Delivery through Practice Change., (article review) - Essay Example 401). The authors noted however that despite the reduced or no cost access to the program, â€Å"the level breast and cervical cancer screening falls short of the ideal† (Backer et al., 2005, p. 401). As a result, the program was examined using the GAPs model with GAPS standing for â€Å"goal-setting, assessing existing routines, planning the modification of routines, and providing support for these improvements† (Backer et al., 2005, p. 402). The authors described the study as multi-method: a qualitative study design was used to describe the process of changes that took place in the implementation of the program while quantitative audits on mammogram and Papanicolaou test data were used to measure the success that was assumed to be related with the practice. The data that was used to assess the program involved observational field notes, audio-taped interviews with physicians and key staff, and chart reviews of the last female patients from 19 to 64 found in the clinic . Backer et al. (2005) led respondents to identify potential reforms in the EWM that can improve screening rates and advance key reforms that must be instituted in the program. Respondents identified several initiatives that may improve screening rates. ... Thirdly, it was suggested that the patient educational materials be more readily available. Fourthly, it was raised that the program creates a monthly computer-generated reminders for patients needing screening. Fifthly, it was proposed that a reminder system for patients be designed. Sixthly, it was recommended that a common fact sheet for all health providers be used. Finally, the recommendations were forwarded to increase the accessibility of the patient educational materials. Although these are the most practical recommendations of the research activity reported by Backer et al. (2005) in the discussion section of their papers, the authors focused on the theoretical aspects of their research initiative. In particular, Backer et al. (2005) stressed that their findings â€Å"support the concept of practices as unique, complex organizational systems† which may be hardly immediately relevant for the immediate and more important concern of improving clinical or public health st rategies; improving strategies and service delivery to promote preventive breast and cervical cancer screening. One important insight discussed in the discussion section of their research is that most practices are sometimes unable to institute change because of inertia. In other words, what is currently practiced tends to be perpetuated as practitioners tend to resist the movement to change: without friction, a body at rest tends to be rest while a body in motion tends to be in motion. However, a systems change model such as the GAPS can promote vigilance for systems change (Backer et al., 2005). II. Recommendations for Improving Every Woman Matters Program On reviewing the material of Backer et al. (2005), it is easy to see where the EWM program was probably weak. Firstly, while the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The great Chicago fire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The great Chicago fire - Research Paper Example Will Chicago be able to return her royal title of the â€Å"Queen of the West†? The Great Chicago Fire "It was like a snowstorm only the flakes were red instead of white." Bessie Bradwell Helmer 1. Chicago started as a small settlement and grew to a very populated city during XIX. The population of Chicago had burst from approximately 4,000 souls when it received its first city charter in 1837, to 30,000 in 1850 and to an amazing 330,000 at 1871. It had passed  Saint Louis  as the fourth-biggest city in America and became a key player on the international scene. Modern for those days highly-branched railroad was a very important element of Chicago city. No American city was linked to the romance of the railroad the way Chicago was. It resembled imperial European centers – Paris, for instance – where the stations, like the points of a gigantic compass, beckoned in all directions†¦ It was the railroad that made Chicago the capital of America’s heart land, its attainable metropolis, its possible dream. (Lowe, 2010, p.51). 2. This fast increase city growth, though, happened with little planning. Several brick-and-mortar constructions were already built, but thousands of buildings were factually â€Å"thrown up† to house the enormous flood of European immigrants. There, next to rich houses was built squatter settlement where buildings often were put up very close to each other, back-to-back. The growth of the city was so speedy and similar to the fast growing bones of a teenager, which often might be subject to easy breaking. The expansion of Chicago was far from being ideal and faultless. There were class conflicts, business upheavals and urban rivalry which became common in American cities. 3. On Sunday October 8th 1871 around 9 o’clock in the evening in the small barn owned by Patrick and  Catherine O'Leary, that was on 137  DeKoven Street, the fire started. Nobody knew for certain what caused it. The investig ation by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners has never before been fully researched and reported by the fire historians. The Board’s final report published in Chicago newspapers on December 12, 1871, indicated that the commissioners were unable to determine the fire cause.† (Bales and Schwartz, 2005, p.4) 4. There were number of equally possible stories, from the owner’s cow kicking over the lantern to meteor shower which possibly caused 3 other fires in the same area simultaneously. 5. According to Owens (2007), â€Å"The Chicago fire started in the O’Leary barn but the O’Leary Home survived.† (p.8) 6. However, many historians nowadays believe that the true culprit of the fire was Daniel Sullivan, the one who told O’Learys about the fire. They accepted as truth his story that he got inside the barn to steal their cows’ milk. Prior to his death, Daniel Sullivan admitted that he was accountable. There are some indications confirming it is true, yet it is not certain. A.T. Andreas, nineteenth-century historian wrote: "Nature had withheld her accustomed measure of prevention, and man had added to the peril by recklessness." The fire spread very fast due to the draught for fourteen weeks, multiplicity of wooden houses, jacked-up plank streets and sidewalks and powerful southwestern wind. It was similar to hundreds of matchboxes set close

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Being human person Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Being human person - Essay Example This actuality is in the place of physical beings. For Aristotle, the soul is not an object in material form, but it does somehow still exist within the body. Only the things which have life can have a soul. Without life, a soul cannot exist. The soul comes from life and life cohabitates with the soul. However, there are faculties of the soul and it is clear that the faculties state that the living things differ from the nonliving things. Those who are alive have certain characteristics. These characteristics are intellect, sensation, movement, or rest. The organisms which are living, have faculty and principle or reason. Because of this principle, life belongs to the living and this was inherited based on the principle. The question is: what constitutes the living? The ability of sensation, the touch and the ability to grow and to decay can be answer the question. The soul is a mix of several faculties and each part of the faculties make up a part or the whole soul itself. Each livi ng thing needs to have the ability to reproduce and possess the nutritive soul. Aristotle says that plants do not have this faculty, but they do absorb nutrients but lack sensation with which they do this. The other part of the soul is sensation, which is the ability to feel pain and pleasure. Some animals are capable of feeling all sensation, others can only feel some and even yet others, only one. This is what makes humans different from animals. The main aspect of sensation is touch. Some can have touch and taste. Touch can exist without taste but taste cannot exist without touch. Taste is extremely necessary for the distinction of foods. The Soul is divided into several principles and the first of these principles is in charge of the locomotives and different types of movements such as growth, alteration, decay, sensation of space. It is believed by Aristotle that the function of the soul is ‘imagination’ for fantasy. The imagination is greatly different from though t and sensation. The soul itself cannot be captured or let go. The soul cannot essentially be found or lost. Religious people believe that the soul is given from God. Organisms who can reason and know right from wrong are said to have a soul. Without the distinction, and the knowledge, a soul does not exist. The person’s ability to be an individual is determined by their free will. People are not just put on this planet to be ordered around like robots. However, with the apparent presence of the soul, we have a freedom that is different from animals who live their life based on instincts. The soul however, has nothing to do with a person’s identity or individuality. The soul is formed the same in every person. It is a capacity, not the thing that has the capacity. When we use imagination, which is one aspect and purpose of the soul, we are able to see something or feel something through the eyes of the soul which is in us, but not us. The soul therefore is a verb, is a n act and not a noun or thing. Aristotle uses the word fantasia or fantasy for visualization, or retention of past sensations, He says that fantasy occurs at two levels: the sensitive or the deliberative. We all know that nature is organized in a hierarchal way. It starts with the intimate object. Aristotle decided to develop a scale of living beings which predicted the scale of evolution. His erratic thoughts on the soul and it not being a material thing does not really encompass any other belief

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Succession Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Succession Planning - Essay Example In simple terms, succession planning is an organisational process of pinpointing or selecting certain competent people as successors for key executive appointments like CEO, CMD etc. after expiry of terms of their current occupants and proactively planning their career moves in that direction. This process is straightforward in a family business where the heirs are obvious and well known. However, in other organisations, succession planning is required to be logical and well thought out management process in short and long terms requiring considerable effort towards grooming an individual for an extended period to take on the top job. This is the only tool we have today which sanctions the organisation to plan well-tailored and proactive career moves for their most talented pool of future managers. (Hirsh, 2000) However, if such succession planning is put off or ignored by the top management, the consequences can be catastrophic. This is especially so if the existing talent pool lacks competencies to take on challenges of a modern business world and there is no suitable candidate available from outside the organisation to take on the top job. Consequently, opinions vary considerably on whether succession plans should involve selection of existing talents within the organisation as discussed by Groves, Biggs (2004), Blackler & Kennedy (2004) and Cogner and Fulmer (2003) or top jobs should be handled by tapping talents from the outside market. While selecting employees from within the organisation has its own benefits like better motivation, higher integrity, reinforcement of management's faith in employers, good in-depth knowledge of strengths and weaknesses of the organisation and support from within due to familiar face at the top, but it is true that sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. In addition, there is possibility of previous conflicts with some good performers complicating or inflating into serious differences of opinions or rivalries. Nevertheless, it can be safely stated that succession planning is an important course of action at senior levels failing which an organisation can face tremendous difficulties i n the event of a sudden requirement to replace top executive. Further, once the successor is selected, the most important phase of his career planning or grooming for handling things at the highest level begins. Most family owned businesses lack in this professionally oriented grooming and training due to inherent complacencies of an assured future, which sometimes leads to complications due to personal rather than a proficient outlook. In extreme cases, this has even resulted in splitting up of large businesses into smaller units due to family feuds, sibling rivalries, and mutual disagreements over leadership and ownership aspects. In honest opinion of this author, such unpleasant dissections and associated negative publicities could have been avoided simply through proper succession grooming. Sadly, the lessons are never learnt and succession training to develop right competencies has never been given due importance. One aspect inhibiting proactive approach may be due to perceived and misplaced feeling of indispensability among the top management. The succession planning overcomes this very indispensability of an individual. Everyone becomes dispensable then. These conflicting perceptions can also lead to

Monday, September 23, 2019

International marketing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International marketing strategy - Essay Example Now, this effective communication is done by our super-creative marketers. Therefore, it is important that marketers and engineers work hand in hand to effectively deliver what customers want. Marketers know their customers and their goal is to create customer value whereas engineers know their product and their goal is to create producer value. Therefore, when marketers and engineers work together, they yield innovative products that are customer-oriented. In an investigation, it was found that those firms are more successful at innovative product development in which the employees are well equipped with the required skills to strategize marketing as a whole. Recently, a product-development process called Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has been adopted by U.S. and Japanese firms who promotes communication within the core team (marketing, engineering and manufacturing) and changes communication patterns from â€Å"top-to-bottom† management to focus more on horizontal routes where core team members communicate directly with each other and come up with better results. One of the greatest examples of integrating innovation with marketing is of Apple Inc., a multinational corporation which is ranked as the world’s most innovative company and who markets its designs and products as the customer’s need. Thus given, the importance of innovation in today’s business world, this paper focuses on how the MSC for innovation can be implemented and applied in other countries in the light of present marketing concepts and theories. Current Home Position of the Market: MSc innovation and enterprise is a relatively new program offered. It is not being offered at any other university in the UK. The scope of this program is very different and unique. However, there are some competitor courses being offered. A search undertaken in this regard unveiled that at the moment there are some 571 PG courses with â€Å"innovation† in the title. Most of these courses tend to cover everything related to innovation and have little relevance to the current job market. Many believe that number of courses offered with any relevance tend to be lower than 300. The search results were obtained using all of the following subject areas: Accounting and Finance Art and Design Business and Management Studies Economics Environmental science and Ecology Food Sciences Information Sciences and Librarianship Manufacturing Management Marketing and Advertising Studies Social Sciences Sports Science Tourism and Travel Industries Most if not all are concentrating on single aspects of innovation, whereas the projected MSc Innovation & entrepreneurship course at UWBS aims to cover multiple strands of â€Å"innovation† including skills development. The offerings in the West Midlands are more limited and do not include any â€Å"business skills † oriented innovation courses. From this point of view it would appear that there is a gap in the m arket. Thus there is a dearth of courses being offered in the market that are promoting this particular concept or mode of teaching. They don’t take into consideration the skill requisite requirement by SMEs and neither

Sunday, September 22, 2019

American Women Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Women - Coursework Example Title IX has enabled women to compete in sports with the adequate funding that is required for those programs. Prior to Title IX, majority of the school funding was invested only in men’s athletics. This example could be brilliantly portrayed in the following example. Roderick Jackson, a coach for the women’s basketball, had a decision to make. As a teacher, he complained about his team not receiving the proper funding as the boy’s team. Hence, the school retaliated by reliving of his coaching duties. Jackson took the matters in his hands and went to Supreme Court to fight his case and won. Clearly, this feat would be impossible to achieve without the advent of Title IX. Title IX has been controversial at times because it gives leverage to women’s athletics, which poses a risk for colleges. Clearly, the men’s collegiate team reaps revenue off their teams. Although the women’s side does attract some revenue; it’s not as hefty as the men ’s team. So the question remains: why invest equally in women’s collegiate sports when the other side brings more revenue? In addition, the gender disparity that exists in the schools is just one of the few examples.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

American Intervention in Soviet-Afghan War Essay Example for Free

American Intervention in Soviet-Afghan War Essay During the Cold War, the United States resolved to take a shot at the Soviet Union by siding with Afghanistan and taking great measures to stop Soviet influence and communist ideology. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to expand its influence in the Middle East with the absence of American influence. At this point in the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union were more or less at the climax of their dilemma, so the U. S. therefore decided to get involved by fortifying Afghan’s primary rebellious group, the mujahidin. The United States jeopardized homeland security by providing significant support to mujahidin revolutionaries, and in doing so the U. S. helped them hinder Soviet rule over Afghanistan. There are plenty of reasons ratifying America’s lack of foresight and prudence, one being that the state of the Soviet Union was not great as it was. One should take into consideration that the Soviet Union was already in a drastic decline when the United States began to intercede in Soviet-Afghan affairs. Benjamin Frankel, an esteemed writer who wrote an article for History in Dispute, described how there was a prolonged controversy in the Soviet Union on the topic of how to proceed with communist policies (14). Secondly, America already expressed its hard-line policy toward the USSR in a more detrimental way. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan established the Strategic Defense Initiative to protect the U. S. from potential ballistic missile attacks by the Soviet Union. In total, as the ABC-Clio database prescribes in paragraph ten of â€Å"Cold War, 1945-1991†, the USSR spent approximately $80 billion on the Soviet-Afghan War. The fall of the USSR was hastened by its lofty spending on the unnecessary cause. Similar to the economic problems in the Soviet Union, the United States’ actions concerning Soviet-Afghan affairs inflicted great burdens upon the U. S. economy. The United States wasted a substantial amount of money in order to aid mujahidin rebels so they could counteract their Soviet oppressors, but received no compensation in return. As an unknown author from Mount Holyoke College estimates in â€Å"Origins of the Taliban†, the United States lost about $3 billion just on funding these covert ops. The mujahidin and Afghanistan as a whole provided little in return. The mujahidin, for one, only used America for what it provided and discarded the country once transactions were complete. Also, Afghanistan contained insufficient natural resources compared to its Middle-Eastern counterparts. In addition to this action’s negative impact on the U. S. economy, it was also unjustified by the United States’ failure in persuading Afghans to convert to its political viewpoints. The United States did not spread democracy or even impede the Soviet Union’s communist influence on Afghanistan. Instead of acting how it did, the United States should have allowed Afghanistan to develope itself and figure out its own problems to an extent. One sign of progression in the country occurred in the mid-2000s when Afghanistan held its first presidential election. For example, Canada has benefitted by having the foreign policy of isolationism. Shifting back to the mujahidin, Benjamin Frankel describes it, stating, â€Å"Once they helped to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan, they turned their attention to the hated ‘infidel’ West and its ‘satanic’ leader, the United States† (16). Benjamin Frankel went on to speak of how the Afghans were apathetic toward the message of democracy, while they already disdained the ideology of communism (16). These reasons explain why the two parties never became allies and split ways once the Soviets withdrew in 1989. Sometime in the midst of the United States attempting to spread democracy in Afghanistan, the Jimmy Carter regime passed an embargo on wheat and corn against Russia as another attempt to burden the Soviet Union. The Russian Grain Embargo, enacted in 1980, had a negative financial impact on American farmers. This act was drawn up to reciprocate the past ongoing tensions between the United States and Soviet Union which heightened when the United States began to help the mujahidin in 1979. On the subject of U. S. and USSR trade, representative George McGovern stated at a 1980 Senate hearing in paragraph ten on the Annals of American History database that agricultural produce took up 75% of their trade. With this lack of trade, the USSR and U.  S. each deeply suffered. As a result of the Russian Grain Embargo, prices on a bushel of wheat dropped 50? and prices for a bushel of corn dropped 30?. As McGovern later proclaims to the senate in his speech in paragraph nineteen, projected numbers â€Å"do not take into consideration the tremendous increase in cost of production for crop year 1980 for farmers, coupled by depressed markets. † This act, indirectly associated with rising tensions also causing the U. S. to fortify the mujahidin, made live very hard for farmers. The Russian Grain Embargo left a great mark on agrarian society in both the United States and the Soviet Union, but moreso in the U. S. This statement demonstrates the irony behind the embargo. The harm done to the USSR was substantial, though. One may say that the Russian Grain Embargo went with the hard-line policy Reagan put forth toward the USSR, but this argument is invalidated by the financial burdens on America and the Soviet Union. Subsequently in his speech, George McGovern states in paragraph twenty, â€Å"The U. S. omestic blow to the agricultural community can reasonably be concluded to be greater than the one we are delivering, at least in the long run and at least in economic terms. † Plus, Russia was coming off a record low year for crop production, further supporting this act’s injustification. Despite the fact that the Russian Embargo Act was mainly a burden to farm society, it also proved or will have proven to be a burden to other important parts of society. The Russian Grain Embargo also devastated both the United States and the Soviet Union in ways other than agriculturally including everyday citizens. In paragraph eighteen McGovern alludes to his great statistical knowledge, noting that American taxpayers compensated for the debt of the Russian Grain Embargo by paying a sum of $3. 8-5 million. The credibility of the United States as a reliable trade partner skyrocketed due to the embargo. The administration of former President Jimmy Carter probably did not foresee this outcome or even think about it. Another outcome of the act was expanded herd slaughter in Russia. Russians thus consumed bad or in some cases unsanitary meat because of the lack of U.  S. meat shipments. Instead of wasting our time creating unnecessary policies or embargoes or groundlessly creating a powerful Afghan resilient force, the Unites States should have seized other important opportunities. For example, during the period in which the United States sent weapons to the mujahidin, Afghanistan’s neighboring country Pakistan developed a nuclear-weapon program. This is ironic because limiting nuclear-weaponry in any place was apparently supposed to be a chief concern of America, yet we did nothing about it. Pakistan could have shared nuclear secrets with its ally neighbors, thus jeopardizing American security. Benjamin Frankel wrote about the possibility that Pakistan could eventually use their nuclear weapons. In that case, America would certainly regret not committing itself to the issue. Before acting, we have to first ponder all implications – the pros and cons. Either the various leaders of the United States from 1979 to 1989 did not do this or they misevaluated. When a country is already on an nevitable path to its downfall, spending a large amount of money to try to hasten it is unnecessary. Blocking trade to that country is inessential and dumb if all parties involved are negatively affected like in the case of the Russian Grain Embargo. In the end, the Unites States and Soviet Union were burdened by their shortsighted approaches; ergo, we should learn from their mistakes and attempt to fix any remaining consequences. Unfortunately, we may one day have to endure the reper cussions of not taking action if a Middle Eastern country sets off a nuclear bomb.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Marks Spencers Internationalization Ventures and Failures

Marks Spencers Internationalization Ventures and Failures Introduction For years, successful businesses have sought to increase their share of the markets by expanding their operations and by making their products and services available to a larger percentage of customers. Expansion is normally attained on two different levels, namely, local expansion and internationalization. Globalization, and the benefits that can be sought from it, has encouraged businesses to focus more on internationalization strategies as a means of expansion while ensuring that their local footing is firm and not marred by competition or other local issues. Marks Spencer, for one, has been trying time and again to expand its business internationally not only through franchising but also by opening retail stores (retail internationalization) in the most promising of all international markets. A look into the history of Marks Spencers internationalization ventures shows nothing but failure in almost all of its foreign markets leading the company to either exit these markets or p artially selling off its stores (Kollewe 2010). The report throws light on the issues faced by Marks Spencer in the past and also focuses on its current position in order to analyze the newly developed strategies for internationalization, whether or not it is worth the risk. It then follows with possible recommendations for the senior management of Marks Spencer while ending with a conclusion that, keeping in mind the present scenario, recommends whether or not the new strategies for internationalization are worth pursuing and investing capital in to help the company regain its market value and achieve growth. Marks Spencers Internationalization ventures and failures Over the years, Marks and Spencer has faced rocky business ventures in most of the foreign lands where it decided to expand its business. Marks Spencer has opened retail stores and franchises in many countries of Europe and also expanded its business to Canada and America. These ventures, however, did not prove to be as successful as was hoped by the companys management because they were seen as more of a distraction than benefit. The management at MS believed that these low-profit global ventures were making the management lose its focus on UK, the primary market of MS. The company has, therefore, been forced to resort to exit from the some of the markets and partial pullouts from others by closing or selling off 38 of its stores all around Europe under its desire to revamp its stores in Britain in an attempt to shift focus to the retail business of UK and its British customers. These pullouts have resulted in serious damage to the brand image of Marks Spencer as the company perfo rmed brutal overnight layoffs and thus causing widespread anger among employees and customers. These unannounced and abrupt pullouts caused displeasure among MSs loyal customers as they felt betrayed by the company for not being informed about its withdrawal from their markets. This deed of Marks and Spencer is going to cost it employee and customer loyalty in the future, if ever it wishes to step into these markets again. Employees would consider twice before accepting a job at MS while customers too would find it hard to rely completely on the brand. One of the major problems with Marks Spencers earlier ventures, as spotted by Bolland, was that it tried getting into too many markets at the same time without actually completing its entry into one market. It simply shifted its attention from one country to another in an attempt to capture more market share than paying attention towards maintaining a firm grip on the markets share captured already (Holmes 2009). This therefore resulted in less profitability and lower revenues causing the company to withdraw eventually. Current internationalization strategy Marks Spencers new Chief Executive, Marc Bolland, has set new strategies for the internationalization of MS. A new wave of international ventures has thus been planned in an attempt to restore the companys position in Europe and to reach out to the markets of Asia. Marc Bollands strategy of selective internationalization includes stepping carefully into international markets in order to avoid recurrence of failures that the company faced in the past. He has therefore, proposed India and China as the markets in Asia where he would introduce MS (Roy 2008). For this, he has advised a selected approach wherein only markets that promise a higher profitability would be tapped and there will be more franchises than company-owned stores. Marks Spencer has planned on entering India by partnering with the countrys Reliance Group while for China, Bolland has clearly stated that it would proceed to, and focus on Shanghai rather than the whole of China as China is, according to him, a group of multicultural countries that neither shares a same language nor a similar view on style (The richest 2011). The management has been advised by Bolland to make use of Chinese knowledge when establishing the companys presence in China. Bolland has also advised a combination of bricks and clicks in their new internationalization strategy due to which the company would open one flagship store in the capital, a few stores in major shopping malls while the rest of the operations would be taken online as these markets have high internet density and online shopping is not an alien concept for the people of these markets. The company has also planned on moving into Egypt by opening its very first store in the country. A combination of bricks and clicks has not been emphasized upon as internet has not yet gained much popularity in the country thus rendering too much dependence on online business useless. Egypt will not be, however, discussed in this report as the main focus of this report is internationalization with respect to India and China. The new internationalization strategies adopted by Marks Spencer seem very promising and indicate higher profitability and customer shares than the previous strategies adopted by the company. India and China are, indeed, densely populated countries where the rich have high purchasing powers and are more aware of and interested in international brands than most countries of Asia. These countries are also host to a high number of foreign travelers that would help the company gain more in terms of sales and revenues. Conclusion The new plans of international expansion undertaken by Marks Spencer are a series of carefully calculated steps that the company decides to take in order to prevent itself from stepping into the quicksand of failure. The company should, again, try to expand its business internationally so as to increase its business operations. Globalization is an important factor that successful companies should consider as it helps them gain recognition by people all around the world. It is about time that Marks Spencer starts focusing on internationalization as a means of expansion to avoid being forced out of the market by competitors. By moving into the markets of India and Shanghai, MS has not only targeted two of the most densely populated countries of Asia but also two of the largest economies in emerging markets. Investment decisions in these two countries hold a promising future for MS that would not only be promising but also stable. The consumer market of India is also a highly adaptable market. People of these markets are easily influenced and are more prone to shift towards international brands regardless of how expensive their products are. The market of India has adopted the concept of westernization more rapidly and it has gives higher preference to international brands than local brands. China too holds better future prospects as it has now become the second largest economy of the world (BBC, 2011). India ranks as the fifth largest economy in terms of PPP GDP (CIA World Factbook, 2011). Hence the company should proceed with internationalization. Recommendations Even though the market of Asia is greatly influenced by western culture, it is also inclined towards its own regional culture and traditions. In order to gain greater popularity among customers, MS should introduce a line of traditional wear in whichever region it is targeting to operate in. Choosing regional brand ambassadors instead of international celebrities would help them gain popularity faster and even increase their brand equity and credibility. This would highlight the regional emphasis in the brand more. Clothes should be stitched keeping in mind the size definitions of the region being operated in and not simply introducing apparel with UK based sizes. MS should opt for test marketing by opening only a flagship store first to see how well the markets respond to the idea of MS in their country rather than investing heavily all at once. Adopting cultures of the regions or sectors MS is operating in will enhance brand loyalty. The company should also merge into accessories and home apparels market for the sector. Giving options under a single brand increases the likelihood of equity and attraction of customers which will directly effect on the brand and sales. Since China and India are emerging markets, MS should focus more on the middle-class segments of these markets.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Factors that Affect Profitability Essay -- Business, Exporting, Forei

Procedures that you need to follow when exporting After establishing that South Korea is an economy with an increasingly more liberal economy, there are some problems for foreign direct investment, mainly through non-transparency and burdensome regulations (Heritage Foundation). In order to take it a step further and to perform a complete analysis of the business environment, it is necessary to compare the business procedures when doing business. As an industry, the imports of foreign goods procedure will be analyzed and contrasted with neighboring countries in order to have a complete snapshot of the business environment. Firstly, The country of interest: South Korea. In what the import of foreign goods is concerned, South Korea has a relatively quick and easy process. Importing procedures are estimated to take 7 days, (2 days for each: preparation of documents, port handling and inland handling and approximately 1 day for customs clearance). The cost of the procedures for the 7 days is estimated to be $790 (World Bank Doing Business, 2011). This information, at first glance seems positive. The procedures are fairly quick and the $790 cost is not an absurd amount of money paid in order to import goods. The bureaucracy is simple. The documents needed are: the bill of lading, customs import declaration and terminal handling receipts (World Bank Doing Business, 2011). Corruption Perception Index The latest corruption perception index by transparency international in 2008 includes five sets of data. These include: the 2008 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score, the amount of surveys used, the standard deviation, the high low range and the confidence range. Before the analysis of the data, it is important to understand what ea... ...). The Heritage Foundation has ranked South Korea with a very low score of 55 out of 100, which might imply that corruption is widespread and there is still a long way to go to have a positive rating. (Heritage Foundation, 2011) 10) Labor Freedom Labor freedom has the lowest score of 46.5 out of 100. This shows that there are various problems regarding labor, a clear example is the very high cost of firing an employee whilst the non salary cost of employing a worker are moderate (Heritage, 2011). In conclusion, the overall freedom of the country is relatively positive. The ratings of the Heritage Foundation are fairly high, above the world average for the most part. Additionally, the government involvement in business is quite low compared to other countries and at least it is not widespread to a degree to which investors would be fearful to engage in business.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essay --

As many people know, Kurt Cobain was lead singer and guitar player for the grunge band, Nirvana (Russomanno, Tony). There is truth behind the lyrics and tone of Cobain’s music. It takes people into the depths of what was really occurring behind closed doors. Cobain struggled with many adversities such as heroin, chronic stomach pains, drinking, and pills (Cobain, Kurt). Cobain, however; he did not deal with his adversities well. He was actually unable to ever overcome them. As a child, Cobain was involved in positive activities. â€Å"He participated in Little League Baseball when he was young. Cobain also spent a majority of his time with his only full-blooded sister, Kim, who was born in 1971† (Cobain, Kurt). During his childhood, Cobain often had to listen to his parents consistently fight and argue. He knew they were unhappy with each other, but he did not want them to divorce. â€Å"When Cobain turned nine, his parents finally divorced.† The divorce ultimately devoured Cobain and changed his outlook on life (Goldman, David). â€Å"After the divorce, Cobain’s father got remarried to a woman named Jenny. Cobain really felt a hatred and despise towards his step mother† (Cobain, Kurt). â€Å"He had felt that his father had always taken sides with her, and barely paid attention to him or his sister.† These issues with Cobain and his step mother also raised issues between Cobain and his father† (Cobain, Kurt). Cobain was not interested in school during his childhood. In fact, he hated going to school because he felt lonely and lost in the world. While Cobain attended high school, he participated in events such as art and music (Russomanno, Tony). He enjoyed painting and singing. During Cobain’s Jr. High and High school career he did not have to... ... still carries in her possession ( Grant, Tom). Cobain was a very famous rockstar who struggled greatly in life. He had many adversities such as heroin, alcohol, and chronic stomach pains. He dealt with his adversity of chronic stomach pain by doing drugs and drinking heavily. He did use his fame to positively advocate for those who were considered minorities. He married Courtney Love and had a daughter named Frances Bean. Cobain made many great hits during his career and soared music charts with songs known as â€Å"Lithium†, â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit†, â€Å"Heart Shaped Box†, and â€Å"All Apologies†. Even after death, Cobain's life carried on in his fans, clothing companies, movie companies and more. Sadly, Cobain was unable to overcome his adversities and committed suicide in April of 1994. Speaking his last words to the world, â€Å"It’s better to burn out, than to fade away..†

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A Biography on Martin Luther King Jr. :: essays research papers

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where his father was pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He attended public schools (skipping the ninth and twelfth grades) and entered Morehouse College in Atlanta. He was ordained as a Baptist minister just before his graduation in 1948. He then enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and after earning a divinity degree there, attended graduate school at Boston University, where he earned a Ph.D. in theology in 1955. At Boston University, he met Coretta Scott; they were married in 1953. King's rise to national and international prominence began in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. In that year, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to obey a city ordinance that required African Americans to sit or stand at the back of municipal buses. The African American citizens of the city (one of the most thoroughly segregated in the South) organized a bus boycott in protest and asked King to serve as their leader. Thousands boycotted the buses for more than a year, and despite segregationist violence against them, King grounded their protests on his deeply held belief in nonviolence. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to provide integrated seating on public buses. In the following year, King and other African American ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to carry forward the nonviolent struggle against segregation and legal discrimination. As protests grew, so did the unhappiness of King and his associates with the unwillingness of the president and Congress to support civil rights. The SCLC, therefore, organized massive demonstrations in Montgomery (King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" during these demonstrations). With the civil rights movement now in the headlines almost every day, President Kennedy proposed to Congress a far-reaching civil rights bill. On August 28, 1963, over 200,000 blacks and whites gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where King delivered his now famous speech, "I Have a Dream." In the following year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting racial discrimination in public places and calling for equal opportunity in education and employment. In that year, King received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, King and others organized a march to protest the blatant denial of African Americans' voting rights in Selma, Alabama, where the march began. Before the protesters were able to reach Birmingham, the state capital, they were attacked by police with tear gas and clubs.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Complete monopoly Essay

Today, many firms are enjoying a monopoly of their products/services in the market. Monopoly may be defined as the complete control over a commodity enjoyed by a particular company in the market. There will be only a solo manufacturer or provider of the commodity and customers have to depend on them whenever there is a demand since there are no substitutes available. As a result, such a manufacturer can have an absolute control over the price as well as quantity available in the market. Another benefit enjoyed by the monopolies are that they do not face any risk of an opponent entering the market. In order to establish complete monopoly, usually companies take care of the following things: 1. They acquire the complete control over the key raw materials required for manufacturing the product. 2. They may acquire a patent in order to be the solo manufacturers or providers of the product or service. 3. They acquire the technical and productive efficiency to meet the market demand for their commodity. Usually a commodity produced by the monopolies will be manufactured in fewer quantities only and their cost may be higher. Since there is no market competition, the advantages are mostly enjoyed by the manufacturers. Little are the benefits obtained by the consumers, since they have no choice when a demand arises. FEATURES OF MONOPOLY The following are the main features of a monopoly market: 1. In a monopoly, there is a solo manufacturer or provider of a commodity. So all the demands in the market are to be met by this single vendor. 2. Highest benefits are enjoyed by the solo manufacturer. 3. The price, quantity as well as the quality of the commodity is the absolute decision of the manufacturer. Normally, commodities available in a monopoly market will have a higher price. 4. There is no competition or substitutes in a monopoly market. Even if a competitor wants to enter a market, it is a very difficult task. TYPES OF MONOPOLY There are various types of monopoly prevailing in the market. Various classifications have been made based on different criteria. This section checks in detail the classifications: 1. Based on ownership a. Public Monopoly: In a public monopoly, the product/service is provided and controlled by the Government of the country. Unlike other monopolies, public monopoly does not depend upon maximizing profit theory. Rather it is concentrated on the benefits of the people. For example, the Oil Industry in Abudhabi is the monopoly of ADNOC. There are no competitors to ADNOC and still gasoline is provided to the residents at a reasonable price. b. Private Monopoly: In strong contrast to public monopoly, in the case of private monopoly, the product/service is provided and controlled by private firm or an individual. Their main concentration will be on maximizing the profit and hence such commodities will have a higher price. For example, the diamond manufacturers De Beers enjoyed a complete monopoly over the market for about 100 years. In a drive to achieve maximum profits, they created a false impression that the diamond supply was becoming limited and hence increased the rates which mounted up their profits. 2. Based on the price a. Simple Monopoly: In the case of simple monopoly, the price of a product/commodity is the same regardless of the customers. Usually it has control in a particular market only. For example, the water supply in Abu-Dhabi is taken care of by ADWEA. The price charged is the same across the emirate indicating a simple monopoly. b. Discriminating Monopoly: In the case of a discriminating monopoly, the price is discriminated according to the customers. Such a commodity will have different prices in different regions. Normally, such a firm has control in various markets. For example, the cost of Mercedes Benz car is different in different countries of the world. In Germany, where it is manufactured, it is usually sold at a relatively lower price. In UAE, the price is higher than that in Germany. In India, the price is higher than that in UAE. 3. Based on competition level a. Perfect Monopoly: In perfect monopoly, there is absolutely no threat from any competitors. Such firms enjoy complete control without the fear of any competitor entering the market. This is the most ideal case and is difficult to be established in realty. b. Imperfect Monopoly: In imperfect monopoly, there is no competitor in appearance. But the company may be in the fear of an opponent entering the market in the near future. As the name indicates, the seller do not enjoy the complete features of an ideal monopoly because there is a threat of competition. For example, until recently Etisalat enjoyed the monopoly of telecommunications and internet services in the UAE. But with the entry of du, Etisalat is facing an imperfect monopoly as du is widening its service to all the realms of Etisalat. 4. Based on how the monopoly is achieved. a. Legal Monopoly: Legal monopoly is usually the monopoly acquired by a firm by legal procedures with the sanction from the Government. Copyrights, trademarks, patents etc are legal tools for obtaining monopoly over a product or service. For example, the company Telstra acquired a legal monopoly over providing telecommunications service in Australia. b. Natural Monopoly: Natural Monopoly is the monopoly obtained naturally without any legal procedures. Such a monopoly is obtained due to the advantage of good-will, plentiful resources, good site etc. For example, Middle East enjoys a natural monopoly over the gasoline resources in the area. CONCLUSION Although many firms enjoy a monopoly over their products, seldom do such regulations benefit the customers, except for the case of public monopoly. Since there no competitions, the competitive advantage is also denied to the customers and mostly they are forced to buy the product despite their hesitation. However, monopoly is most enjoyed by the firms exercising it. REFERENCES 1. Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman, Weissskopf. (2009). ‘Microeconomics’, 2nd edition.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Effects of Credit Management on the Profitability of Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria (a Case Study of Guiness Nigeria Plc

Introduction The expansion of International Trade and the accessibility to foreign stock and debt market has given rise to an increase debate on whether or not there is need to be a global set of accounting standards. As companies compete globally for scarce resources, investors and creditors as well as multinational companies are required to bear the cost of reconciling financial statements that are prepared using national standards. It was argued that a common set of practices will provide a â€Å"level playing field† for all companies worldwide (Murphy, 2000).IFRS are standards and interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They include: International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Accounting Standards (IAS) and interpretation originated by the International Reporting Standards Interpretation Committee (IFRSIC) (Oyedele, 2011). IFRS represent a single set of high quality, globally accepted accounting standards that c an enhance comparability of financial reporting across the globe.This increased comparability of financial information could result in better investment decisions and ensure a more optimal allocation of resources across the global economy (Jacob and Madu, 2009). Cai and Wong (2010) posited that having a single set of internationally acceptable financial reporting standards will eliminate the need for restatement of financial statements, yet ensure accounting diversity among countries, thus facilitating cross-border movement of capital and greater integration of the global financial markets.History and Development of IFRS Globalization of capital markets is an irreversible process because of the development and growth in science and technology; there are many potential benefits to be gained from mutually recognized and respected international accounting standards. To bridge the gap between accounting standards among countries, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) w as founded in 1973 by a group of professional accounting practitioners.The IASC was to formulate uniform and global accounting standards aimed at reducing the discrepancies in international accounting principles and reporting practices. In this light, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was established. Since its establishment the IASC has actively been championing the uniformity and standardization of accounting principles for over two decades (Carlson, 1997). In April 2001, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) took over the setting of International Accounting Standards from the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).Thenceforth, the IASB updated the already existing International Accounting Standards and referred to them as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). IASs were issued between 1973 and 2001 by the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). In Nigeria, adoption of IFRS was launched in September 2010, by the Honorable Minister, Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-kuye (OFR).The adoption was organized such that all stakeholders use the IFRS by January 2014. The adoption was scheduled to start with Public Listed Entities and Significant Public Interest Entities who are expected to adopt the IFRS by January 2012. All Other Public Interest Entities are expected to mandatorily adopt the IFRS for statutory purposes by January 2013, and Small and Medium-sized Entities shall mandatorily adopt IFRS by January 2014. The Importance of IFRSThe adoption of uniform standards cut the costs of doing business across borders by reducing the need for supplementary information. They make information more comparable, thereby enhancing evaluation and analysis by users of financial statements (Adekoye, 2011). Users become more confident of the inf ormation they are provided with and presumably, this reduces uncertainty, promotes an efficient allocation of resources and reduces capital costs (Ahmed, 2011).Esptein (2009), emphasized the fact that universal financial reporting standards will increase market liquidity, decrease transaction costs for investors, lower cost of capital and facilitate international capital formation and flows, various studies conducted on the adoption of IFRS at country level indicated that countries that adopted IFRS experienced huge increases in direct foreign investment (DFI) flows across countries (Irvine and Lucas, 2006). Cai & Wong (2010),in a study of global capital markets demonstrated that capital markets of countries that had adopted IFRS recorded high degree of ntegration among them after their IFRS adoption compared with the period before adoption. In a study on financial data of public listed companies in 15 member states of the European Union (EU) before and after full adoption of IFRS i n 2005, Chai at al (2010), found that majority of accounting quality indicators improved after IFRS adoption in the EU. The IFRS enhances comparability and transparency of reported results, easier cross-border stock exchange listings and foreign capital funding, additional and better quality financial information for shareholders and supervisory authorities, improved quality and efficiency of financial report.Impact of IFRS As a major change program, IFRS conversion affects many parts of our organization, including systems, processes and the wider business. Therefore ultimately, IFRS success depends heavily on how effectively accountants around the world are informed about the process and their willingness to adapt to or embrace change. IFRS could have a positive or negative impact on the financial statements. For example, recognition of interest income using effective interest method may negatively impact profitability as some of the credit related fees will form part of effective interest rate computation.However, the extent of the impact usually depends on the accounting policies adopted. The impact of IFRS transcends beyond accounting and financial reporting contrary to general misconception. Beyond finance, strategies, processes, people and systems will also be impacted by the conversion exercise. The following are some of the areas in which IFRS can affect our businesses: Systems and processes: IFRS will definitely change the overall presentation and contents of financial statements e. . more disclosures is required in the financial statements; consequently, there is a need to make amendments such as reconfiguration of existing systems, interface and mapping changes, changes to the chart of accounts etc. to generate IFRS compliant financial statements. Performance Management: Performance measures are going to be significantly affected as the effective interest calculation of income, impairment calculation and fair-valuation calculation will impact perfor mance results.Staff whose performance targets have previously been set using Nigerian GAAP calculations will need to be informed of the impact of IFRS on attaining these targets on their remuneration and the amount of effort that would be required to meet these targets under IFRS. Management reporting: Extensive impact on management reporting resulting in new forms of analysis and reporting. People and Communication: The conversion to IFRS will create a competency and knowledge especially financial control staff. However extensive training and communication plans will be in place to bridge those gaps.In addition to the aforementioned, the conversion exercise may have impacts on a large number of departments outside Finance including Human Resources, Information Technology, Risk Management, Business Development, Internal audit etc. For example, HR personnel will need to understand the impact of IFRS on staff loans. Some Key Risks Associated With Converting to IFRS Some of the key ris ks management should be aware of include: Lack of effective communication of the impacts of change to stakeholders the board, audit committees, investors and analyst, the impacts on internal controls and the related processes.Excessive costs and work levels resulting from ineffective planning and the inability by management to conclude and certify on the design or effectiveness of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting. Enforcement of Financial reporting Standards in Countries around the Globe and the Key Difficulties Faced in the Implementation of the Financial reporting Standards NIGERIA There are a number of institutions and agencies in Nigeria which provide guidelines that determine what information, and in what format such information, should be included in financial reports.Such institutions are the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria n Accounting Standards Boards (NASB). Now the Financial Reporting Commercial (FRC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). These institutions are ready to give up on Nigeria’s GAAP and adopt IFRS from 2012 (Hassab, Epps and Said, 2001; Iyoha and Jimoh, 2011). Mukthar, (2009) sserts that, there is no better time than now to contribute to the debate for the need and feasibility of adopting the IFRS as a financial reporting framework in Nigeria. This is due to the pronouncements by the banker’s committee (a committee of Managing Directors of banks and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to the effect that banks and all listed companies should prepare financial statements in accordance with the IFRS. Such pronouncements were made considering that complying with IFRS will facilitate transparency and lead to more disclosure in financial statements which will be useful to stakeholders, especially f oreign stakeholders.IFRS-based financial statements stand to have added advantage in their business relationships with their correspondent banks, multilateral institutions and international investors. Companies that prepare IFRS-based financial statements are also expected to get some boost in their rating. Adoption of the IFRS in Nigeria commenced in January, 2012. UNITED KINGDOM The enforcement of IFRS is under European Enforcement Coordination sessions (EECS) and Committee of European Securities Regulations (CESR). In the UK the body responsible for enforcement of the IFRS is the Financial Reporting Review Panel.Rolf (2010) suggests in through the CESR Annual Reports in 2010 that harmonization and the enforcement of the IFRS in Europe facilitate an efficient single capital market in Europe within the context of evolving EU legislation. UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has since pronounced that publicly traded companies in UK should apply the International Accoun ting Standard in their individual financial reporting and that all EU listed companies were required to prepare their consolidated Financial Statements under IFRS effective from January, 2005 (ICAEW, 2006’ AECA, 2010 and Rolf, 2010).PricewaterhouseCoopers (2009) has confirmed that the U. K has since complied with the requirement; also small companies (SMEs) were required to report under IFRS effective from January 1, 2012. TURKEY Sigma, (1995) and Sigma and Hosal, 2005) observed that in 1980, a series of economic decisions following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recommendations were taken to reduce the inflation rate, increase production, and support importing activities. In the reconstruction period starting in the early 1980s, Act No. 499 was put into effect in 1981 by the Parliament to prepare the grounds for establishing the Capital Markets Board (CMB). BRAZIL Brazil is incorporating its accounting standards with the IFRS. According to UNCTAD (2008), the main institutions leading the convergence process are the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM), the Brazilian Institute of Independent Auditors (IBRACON), and the Central Bank of Brazil. A number of developments have recently advanced the country’s progress towards IFRS.The Central Bank of Brazil announced that as from 2010 all financial institutions under its supervision will be required to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS. UNCTAD (2008) also reports that the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission has promoted efforts by companies listed in capital markets in Brazil to gradually adopt IFRS. For example, the CVM has been working more closely with IBRACON to accelerate convergence with IFRS and regulatory members.Companies listed on Sao Paulo Stock Exchange’s New Market are required to provide financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS or to the US-GAAP, in addition to those that are prepared under Brazilian accou nting standards. The Committee of Accounting Pronouncements was set up in Brazil, whose objective will be to achieve full adoption of IFRS in the country. INDIA Ravindra and Shrikhadi (2010) observed that there is a growing international consensus on the International Financial Reporting Standards as acceptable standards for assessment of the financial health of a company across the globe. Based on the recommendations of the core group set up to facilitate IFRS convergence in India, its Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) announced the approach and timelines for achieving convergence with IFRS. Also the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) commenced the process of issuing IFRS equivalent accounting standards. ICAI stated that for companies with exposure in European markets through equity or debt, transparency on IFRS is essential to cheap capital and hence, the proactive approach. ICAI set a time line of 2011 for compulsory switch over to the new standards.SOUTH AFRICA The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Accounting Practices Board (APB) of South Africa has recognized the need to be part of a global economy with respect to financial reporting. Local accounting standards in South Africa have been harmonized with international accounting standards since 1993. In February 2004, a decision was taken by the APB to issue the text of IFRS as South African statements of GAAP without any amendments (SIACA, 2006).The reasons for the ongoing harmonizing and the issuing of the text of IFRS as South African statements of GAAP were: for South African companies to attract foreign investment, to provide credibility to the financial statements of South African companies in the global market, and to do away with the need for dual listed entities to prepare financial statements in accordance with more than one set of accounting standards (Deloitte, 2006). ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe faces a challenge of h igh inflation that is affecting the wholesome application of the IFRS.The Institution of Chartered Accountants Zimbabwe (ICAZ, 2010) recommends that the IFRS should be in full application by end of 2010. Although Zimbabwe has economic challenges, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange it has said that IFRS compliance is mandatory to all listed companies in its Stock Exchange (Tom, 2010). Currently, a ZSE panel of experts is responsible for checking IFRS compliance. It encourages accurate and correct presentation of companies’ financial accounts including historical data and internationally comparable balance sheets and disclosure.This makes it easier for investors, including external investors. The ZSE (ZSE, 2010) added that IFRS for SME is compulsory which was expected to commence by January, 2011, also the local GAAP which was based on the 1998 version was expected to translate into IFRS. The local tax authority has yet to adopt or convergence plans of tax reporting to the IFRS. KENYA Kenya is one of the earliest countries to adopt the use of the IAS and IFRS in 1999. UNCTAD (2008) confirms that over the years, Kenya has developed a wealth of experience in the use of IFRS, which provide useful insights in he development of strategies by International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) to aid other countries in the implementation of IFRS. There a lone stock market in Kenya, the Nairobi Stock Exchange, in which the shares of about 50 companies are traded. In addition to these listed companies, there is also a sizeable number of companies which are either multinationals or companies owned privately by the nationals, as well as a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In terms of financial reporting, all the companies are required to prepare financial statements based on IFRS.In most cases, however, SMEs would prepare financial statements for use by the tax authorities or by the banks for purposes of accessing credit. Other public inter est companies such as banks, insurance companies, cooperative societies and non-governmental organizations also prepare accounts in accordance with IFRS (Caroline, 2010). UGANDA The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU, 2009) stipulates that Uganda has adopted IASs, SIC IFRSs and IFRIC without amendment since 1998. All openly accountable bodies are obliged to present their financial statements in compliance with full IFRS.In additional, Uganda has instructed on the application of IFRS for SMEs at the beginning of 2010. Uganda Security Exchange (USE, 2010) directed that all foreign or national companies listed on the stock exchange to comply with IFRS when the time of reporting was due. TANZANIA According to Tanzania’s National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA, 2009), Tanzania shifted to IFRSs, IPSASs, and ISAs with effect from July, 2004. In that effect, compliance required all preparations of financial statements to be in accordance with the IFRS s no matter the size of the firm.Pacter (2010), observed that publicly accountable entities were required to use full IFRS including the entities that offer shares to the public, financial institutions such as banks, insurance, pension funds, mutual funds, security brokers or dealers. Also, entities that have essential public service such as utilities; and non-publicly accountable entities are permitted to use the IFRS for SMEs. In that case, all bodies using IFRS for SMEs should apply those pronouncements as issued by the IASB in full and without modification. CANADAIn January 2006, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) adopted a strategic plan for embracing IFRSs across the whole country for all public companies and other profit-oriented enterprises that are responsible to large or diverse groups of shareholders in Canada. From that time, AcSB proposed on its section 1506 to house the approval of IFRSs (Peter, Michael, and Ken, 2008, Deloitte, 2011). Peter (2008) recommended that: â€Å"The AcSB has recently confirmed January 1, 2011 as the changeover date to which IFRSs was supposed to replace current Canadian Standards and interpretations as GAAP† UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAICPA (2011) asserts that as far as the USA is concerned; the enforcement of IFRS has taken the following forms. From 2001 to 2004 USA has made effort to implement IFRS. In 2005; The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a roadmap allowing IFRS filings without GAAP reconciliation for foreign firms by 2009. In 2006; The IASB and the FASB agree to work on a number of major projects. In 2007; The SEC announced that it will accept from foreign filers in the U. S. financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS, as issued by the IASB, without reconciliation with U.S. GAAP. Also, the SEC issued a Concept Release asking if U. S. public companies should be given an option to follow IFRS instead of U. S. GAAP. In2008;The SEC was expected to vote on a proposal creating a tim eline for moving U. S. public companies to IFRS, also, the FASB and the IASB updated the Norwalk Agreement with the goal of accelerating convergence. In 2009; the IASB ended its moratorium, set in 2005, on the required application of new accounting standards and major amendments to existing standards. The board had frozen its rules while more countries adopted IFRS.In 2011; Canadian and Indian companies are slated to begin using the global standards, and Japan was slated to have eliminated all major differences between Japanese GAAP and IFRS. In the United States, questions concerning IFRS are expected to be included in the Uniform CPA examination. Year 2013 is the earliest year projected by accounting firms for mandating that large U. S. public companies convert their financials to IFRS, year that the updated Norwalk Agreement expects all major capital markets to operate from one set of accounting tandards (AICPA, 2011). The year 2015 is earliest year the SEC would allow public com panies to convert their financials to IFRS (AICPA, 2011). JAPAN Japan financial reporting is guided by both international and domestic factors which fall under the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ). From 2004 to 2010, the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accounts (JICPA) along with ASBJ has made a tremendous move towards the harmonization between Japanese GAAP and IFRS. Some problems remained unsolved as they have to be worked on by 30 June, 2011 (Afaanz, 2011).According to ( Global Glimpses, 2009) and (Smart, 2012), Japan allowed a number of international companies the use of IFRS and some local companies to use them on their own choice for the year ending March 31, 2010. In 2012, the decision about the mandatory adoption of IFRS by 2016 is expected by the year 2013. HONG KONG Starting in 2005, Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS) were made identical to the IFRS. While Hong Kong had adopted many of the earlier IAS as Hong Kong standards, some had not been adopted, including IAS 38 and IAS 39.All of the December, 2003 improvements and new and revised IFRS issued in 2004 and 2005 started taking effect in Hong Kong beginning from 2010. In 2005, implementing Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards, the challenge sets out a summary of each standard and interpretation. The key changes it makes to accounting in Hong Kong, the most significant implications of its adoption, and related anticipated future developments. There are some Hong Kong standards and several Hong Kong interpretations that do not have counterparts in IFRS.Also there were several minor wording differences between HKFRS and IFRS (Deloitte, 2008 Tyrone, 2010). CHINA Chinese government had conducted series of accounting standard reforms in 1992, 2001 and 2006 in which each replaced the previous. According to Gingham and Haitao (2010) the Chinese accounting standards were considered to be in great conformity with IFRS. This developments confirm response to the emerging stock market and the increasing demand of foreign investors in China.Karthik, Donavan and Nancy (2005) and Romanna (2010) have however remarked that although in 2005 China converged with IFRS, but not in full compliance with IFRS requirements. The Chinese Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) is the body charged with developing accounting standards in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (Elmer, 2011). CASC had issued new standards regarding cash flow statement, lease and other standards in conformity with the IFRS. In February 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Finance promulgated the introduction of Chinese Accounting standards based on IFRS.In January, 2007, China was obliged to adopt the IFRS so as to get placed into the global capital market (Zhang, Andrew and Collier, 2007). China is considered being the fourth world economy with far reaching economic effect regarding the application of IFRS. Afaanz (2011) argues that although China is adopting the IFRS there are challenges converg ing domestic standards with the IFRS expected to have been concluded by December 2011, and the application of IFRS to all companies big, small and medium effective January 2012.

Causes and Effects of the Romantic Period Essay

Romanticism has very little to do with things popularly thought of as â€Å"romantic,† although love may occasionally be the subject of romantic art. Rather, it is an international artistic and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways in Western cultures thought about themselves and about their world (Melani). In the early seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the enlightment, reason, revolution, age of science and technology created a history that could not be compared to any other time. Political, scientific, social and philosophical upheavals were a new part of an improved world. The romantic period was bought to England through these events which created a whole new world. The romantic period in England began in the early 17th century; Historians argued over the end of the period. The literature of this time is now considered to have lasted into the 1870’s. There are many major concepts that created the ideas written about by writers of the romantic period (Horst). The imagination was elevated to a position as the supreme faculty of the mind (Melani). The Romantics labeled imagination as creativity. It created a new way of art feeling and reasoning. Humans began to see the world with a different appearance. â€Å"Nature† meant many things to the Romantics (Melani). Nature was used as meditation in romantic poetry; it was itself in art. Nature was not viewed as science but as organically unified whole. Symbolism and myth were given great prominence in the Romantic conception of the art (Melani). In the period of Romanticism humans believed symbolism made their art more meaningful. Myth was brought by symbol through the language in art. Other aspects of Romanticism were intertwined with the above three concepts (Melani). Imagination brought importance to feeling and greater attention to the self view in art. Literary history turned poetry into powerful emotions. In Romantic theory, art was valuable for what one saw in them not for what the world viewed. Consequently, the romantics sought to define their goals through systematic contrast with norms of â€Å"Versailles neoclassicism† (Melani). Music changed the behavior of human characteristics and individual activities. People viewed themselves different than others. No one wanted to be alike and they expressed it. The Romantics asserted the  importance of the in individual, the unique, even the eccentric (Melani). Religion was forced but during the romantic period people began to reject it and instead chose their own way of life. The attitude of many of the romantics to the everyday, social world around them was complex. They used colors that were always seen but as techniques advanced, so did their colors. Their art form was not based off legends anymore but off their common language. The Romantics were ambivalent towards the â€Å"real† social world around them (Melani). Artist began to pull themselves away from the public. Through their own emotions they intercepted finally it should be noted that the revolutionary energy underlying the Romantic Movement affected not just literature, but all of the arts – – from music (consider the rise of Romantic opera) to painting, from sculpture to architecture (Melani). The different types of arts that grew during this period spr ead to the rest of the world. The Atlantic side manifested the great landscape painters. The American Revolution, between 1775-1783, was the first war fought for the â€Å"Rights of Men.† It was ideas expressed in the â€Å"Declaration of Independence† and the â€Å"Constitution† that explains the â€Å"Enlightened† ideas why revolutions are sometimes necessary (Horst). Based on these new  thoughts a nation was built. The first of these ideas was that â€Å"All men are created equal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Locke). The government was created with only the power that the people in the state give it. During the American Revolution the sugar act, stamp act, and tea act were created. The sugar imported from West Indies was increased. Many items and documents required stamps; price was rosin for the colonies to pay defense. In Boston Harbor colonist dressed as Indians dumped tea over board from three ships. The French Revolution was the product of social, economic, and religious political conditions. The social cause of the French revolution was that the hard working class had to give the money they earned to finance the foreign wars. The working class was also the treasury that repaid the nations debt. The working class created the oppressive rule of the monarchist regime. It was successful in helping France from foreign invaders but it was unfair to the general public. The economic cause of the French Revolution was that basic necessities and bread prices were taxed very high for the working class so that they can keep the finance government running. Religion was a big role in the French Revolution. During this time, the nobles and priest who took power over the people to maintain their nobility distorted the principles of Christianity. As a result, religion was blamed for their injustice and was seen as one of the causes that led to the revolt. Society divided into segments. People were told that if they were not in the working class they were a part of the nobles and clergy literature. There was no freedom of speech which affected the nature of literature in expression. Literature at this time was quite restrained. The nobles and the clergy had all the literature material. Art and literature began to take a new turn when the spirit of the revolution caught the nation. Writers at the time were waiting for the right moment to unleash their work. Under a new law the artists and writers were given an amount of freedom to express themselves. The Industrial Revolution created a new world. During this time new technology was created; women and children worked the machinery. Later, children were given an opportunity to childhood. As an escape of the industrial revolution, romantic writes wrote about feelings, dreams, and fairytales. Romanticism determined the real art in literature, music, and visual expression. The romantic period created a new era for England. Literature such as poetry was expressed with feeling. Art was viewed with different ideas and new colors. Creators used imagination through the beauty of nature. Things began to evolve which created a whole new. Essay on Author’s Life, Work and Criticisms Mary Wollstonecraft lived a remarkable life. She â€Å"left her footprints on the stand of time† (Footprints). Wollstonecraft was one of the first advocates for the equal rights for women. Her life spanned the early years of the Age of Revolutions. Mary, born into a wealthy family, was raised with an education only offered to the most important families. Her intellectual, social and inquisitive mind would make her one of the most influential authors in English literature (Horst). Her life, work, and criticism formed the ideas she persuaded in her most famous pieces of writing, â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights to Woman.† Wollstonecraft was born in London in 1759. When she was nineteen she left home and began her own life. Later, Wollstonecraft installed a school at Newington Green. In 1787 she started her literary career. She was hired as a translator and literary advisor for Joseph Johnson. Wollstonecraft became a regular contributor of articles once Johnson’s Analytical Revolution was out. In 1791 two events took place that promoted Wollstonecraft to write her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Cengage). The new French Constitution and the report on education assist her on writing â€Å"A Vindication  of the Rights of Woman.† She dedicated the beginning part of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Tallyerand-Perigord asking him to rethink his ideas about education for woman. Wollstonecraft wrote to many other people standing up for the value of woman and their rights. She felt that they shouldn’t just be viewed as a hopeless houses wife but as an individual willing to succeed in civilized work. In â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† Wollstonecraft talks a great deal about power – in terms of the statuesque, in regards to women to have power not over men but over themselves (Cengage). â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† was much acclaimed in radical political circles when it was published, but it also attracted considerable hostility (Cengage). For most of the ninetieth century the book was ignored. It was said to be to a disgrace. In the late twentieth century Wollstonecraft’s treatise was founded as the work of feminism. The author’s attitudes towards the subjects in her book made her book foundational feminist text. Horace Walpole called Wollstonecraft a hyena in petticoats because her work on the book had scandalous reputation. Mary Wollstonecraft was a remarkable woman. She wrote a book called â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† to help people view women differently. Although authors did not like the subjects in her book it help give the sport to women in the world today. â€Å"I was born for something greater than I was – – and greater I would become, but greatness at last to my distorted perceptions, was no necessary associate of goodness, and my wild thoughts were unchecked by moral considerations when they rioted in dreams of distinction.† (Shelly). Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was a feminist only insofar as she followed her mother’s ideas about unrestricted education for woman and equality with in a marriage (victorianweb). She wrote â€Å"Frankenstein† and became known as one of the most important authors in the early 1800’s. She struggled through most of her life but it never stopped her from being one of the famous authors in literature. Her life, work and criticism help form her structure in writing. Mary was born August 30, 1791 and died in the year of 1851. Mary was raised by her step mother and her father. The step mom did not want her show any of her mother’s principles. Mary didn’t like her step mother because she saw what her mother had not been. Mary was taught to read and write at home. She was encouraged by her father to use her imagination. She started scribbling at a young age. She used her father’s  library and sat quietly listening to her father’s discussions over political, philosophical, scientific, and literary things. Later she reunited with her mother in London but her father found out and forbidden her from seeing her mother. Mary’s first baby was born February 22, 1815 and died two week later. She than gave birth to two other kids. Mary Shelley’s novel called â€Å"Frankenstein† also known as â€Å"The Modern Prometheus† was published in March 1818. She started writing this novel at the age of nineteen. The novel opens up with a letter. Robert Walton sends a letter to his sister in England. In the first part of this novel Victor tells his story. He talks about his childhood and his sister. He gives some information on his education but mostly about what he has been though and how much he loves his sister. Laura Claridge says that she created Frankenstein based off of her troubles in family relationships. She says that Victor was created off being neglected in childhood but Shelley says he is nurturing and warm with family. She says that the story is supported well. The theme to her was based off of connections to Shelley’s own life story just in a different way and setting. Over all the story had viewed Shelley as a victim as being neglected which might have affected her in the long run but helped her create a well written story. Mary Shelley created a great novel. Even though lots of things that accrued during her life time affected her she didn’t let that stop her from expressing in literature. She became a great writer though the work of her mother. Essay of Analysis’s of both Author’s Work Mary Wollstonecraft wrote â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights to Woman† to help give women the right to be seen as more than the one who cares for the home. She didn’t like the idea of not letting women be involved in education. She didn’t think it was fair she wanted them to be treated equally. Women could be more than what they were seen to do because they had no one to speck up for them Mary Wollstonecraft did what she though what was best and wrote a book that would be remembered for life. Her novel includes hyperbole, symbol, and repetition as her literary devices. Mary Wollstonecraft used hyperbole as a one of her many literary devices. One of the themes that she used to provide this literary device was liberalism. Liberalism rests on description between the public and private spheres, maintaining that the state guarantees rights and leaves families to make their own choices (Phelan P.3). Mary Wollstonecraft didn’t want property to be undesirable she just wanted woman to be financially independent instead of always have to wait for everything through their husband and be stuck at home. Symbol is also a part of this theme. Her symbol was women. She didn’t want women to have all the power in the world. She wanted them to be viewed equal. To her men only viewed them as â€Å"innocent, delicate, feminine, and beautiful† of courses women are truth to this factor but they weren’t seen for what they could do if they had the chance. (Phelan P.1). The two themes that were tied into repetition are education reform and the need for a revolution in female manners. In chapter three, Wollstonecraft writes, â€Å"It is time to effect a revolution in the female manners – time to restore to them their lost dignity – and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world. It is time to separate unchangeable morals for local manners.† (Phelan P.2). In chapter thirteen she says again that women should be more involved in the mankind world everything has a value and women are as important as man. To her education was a great value. Education reform one of the themes in her novel also used repetition. Education wasn’t set to be for just men it was also be for women. She wanted boys and girls to be in a class room setting together she knew that girls and boys could both be taught the same things. Liberalism used hyperbole, symbol, and repetition. Wollstonecraft didn’t wont women to be labeled. She wanted girls to know that they weren’t created to be more or less then guys they were to be equal. Education was to key to success for women. She wrote the book hoping to let everyone know that no matter what gender you are you were always meant to be treated the same with all equal right and liberties. Her book opened the eyes of many people. Wollstonecraft had hyperbole, symbol, and repetition as her literary devices included in her novel. Women are not just a piece of art for men to view. If they were given a chance they could do more than men. Every in this world was created equal. With this mind setting later viewed things changed and gave women the chance to vote and be involved in more things than just being stuck at home. Marry Shelley’s story â€Å"Frankenstein† is about a man who created a creature that frightened everyone including himself. The book was and still  is a story that everyone is amazed by because of its imagination. She wrote Frankenstein in the summer of 1816 and later anonymously published in 1818; she had been inspired from all the things that occurred in her family. Marry Shelley included symbolism, imagery, and tone to create Frankenstein. Marry used light as a symbol for knowledge. Walton explains the secret of the universe to be unveiled in the North Pole which he describes as â€Å"a country of eternal lights (litchart). In the book, Victor feels like he accomplished something when â€Å"a light had broken upon him† there for again using light as a symbol of knowledge. Marry also uses fire; fire was the one thing a person wasn’t supposed to have according to Greek mythology because it was something that only belonged to the Gods. He was punished for â€Å"playing God† when making the creature. His family was singled out and killed it was a similar way of prolonged torture. Fire appears throughout the novel as a dangerous focused used for sustenance and punishment (litchart). Mary Shelley uses a lot of descriptive words in telling the story. She uses imagery throughout her whole story. She tells the story in a way where we can see it all that happening. Victor is the narrator in the story; he’s telling the story whole story to Walton. The way it is described creates suspense for the reader. If Mary Shelley didn’t use imagery in her book we wouldn’t be able to imagine the characters. The tone used in her story varies through what’s going on in the book. The tones that the story has are romantic, gothic, tragic, and fatalistic; all these tones are what help create a great story like Frankenstein. Romantic tone is used as an affect to nature. The story ties into begin gothic because of all the supernatural and creepy events that happen throughout the novel. Sadness is how the tragic tone is part of the story because people loose their loved ones. The biggest tragedy is the monster has no outlet for his feeling of benevolence towar ds humanity (shmoop). A sense of fatalism is used in the novel when people seem to be predestined; one single act sets them in motion. Mary was able to create a wonderful story because of those literary devices. With her wild and creative imagination she was able to fascinate us. Mary refers to light by using fire for symbolism; she uses descriptive words to create imagery and different tones to help put feeling in her book. Brief Conclusion Summarizing all the Ideas of the Paper The Romantic Period was of great help to England. It created know ways of expression in literature. Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Escobar 15 became great writers thanks to the changes that happened in the Romantic Period. Marry Wollstonecraft who wrote â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights to Woman† was of great help to us women. Thanks to her novel we were able to be seen an equal individual with the right to work, vote, and receive an education to became some one in life. She used literacy devices to help her create her novel. Marry Shelley became a great writer as well thanks to her mother. She wrote â€Å"Frankenstein† a novel that is still used today. She had good imagination and created her novel. Literature experience changes during the Romantic period which help create great novels in to day’s life. Work Cited Page(s) â€Å"A Biographical Sketch of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley† 24 Jan. 2003 http://www.victorian.web.org/previctorian/mshelley/bio.html â€Å"British Critic Review of Frankenstein† March 1818 http://www.rc.ud.edu/refrence â€Å"How did the industrial revolution affect the literature of the romantic period?† http://answer.yahoo.com/index?qid=20090327121140AA4FG â€Å"Frankenstein Summary† 22 Feb. 2012 http://www.encotes.com/frankenstein Escobar 16 â€Å"Frankenstein Study Guide – Mary Shelley – eNotes.com† 22 Feb. 2012 http://www.enotes.com/frankenstein â€Å"Interesting Facts & Information: Recent Articles.† http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/fance/causes-of-the-freanch- revolution/1044 7 March 2012 â€Å"Introduction: Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Criticism.† 22 Feb. 2012 http://www.enotes.com â€Å"Presentation of Criticism of Frankenstein† www.peoetsform.com/papers/200_4.html Cengage, Gale. â€Å"Marry Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Criticism.† http://www.enotes.com/vindication-rights Woman-criticism/vindication-rights-woman-mar†¦ 22 March 2012 Horst,Suzanne. â€Å"How to Write Cause and Effect.† Tolleson Union High School. 5 March 2012. Leture Lombardi, Esther. â€Å"Romantic Period Where Did It All Begin?’’ About.com 9 Feb. 2012. Print. Martin, Kelly. Social Contract.† American History: About.com 27 Feb. 2012 Escobar 17 Phelan, Renee â€Å"Literary Summary: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, By Marry Wollstonecraft† http://reviews.wikinut.com Shelley, Mary. â€Å"Sites about Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus† 22 March 2012 http://www.ipl.org/div/litrit.out.pl?ti=fra63 Scott, Walter. â€Å"Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine of Frankenstein, 1818† 20 March – 1 April 1818 http://www.rc.und.edu/refrences/chronologies/mshronology/reviews/ bemrev.html