Chaucers Society in Canterbury Tales - 815 Words

Chaucers society represents every social class. In doing so, it shows what it takes to actually make a society function. The different people carry different stories to share. These stories carry lessons learned in hopes of sharing them with others so that they may not end up in the same predicaments. After all, that is the main point of sharing stories, isnt it? In the Nun and Priests tale, a story of never trusting a flatterer is told. The Pardoner tries to sell indulgences to the pilgrims after he told them he cheats them. Love Conquers all is a main staple of the Prioress. He archetypes this as a quest on which the pilgrims set out upon a quest to their holy site to gain spiritual benefits. Another part of the archetype would be†¦show more content†¦He found a new place of residence with a companion who enjoyed gambling and drinking also. His new companions wife owned a shop in order to keep up appearances, but in all honesty was a prostitute. This story shows how someon e can be so fake and yet the public sees them as the epitome of perfection. The wife of baths tale is one in which a woman tells of her five husbands and how husbands should obey their wife to the utmost extent. In the Monks tale, Chaucer is deliberately making fun of the way his society functions. He is constantly bringing up the ridiculousness of the situations. The monks could not live without their extravagant clothing or accessories. To begin this tale, Chaucer tells the tales of Lucifer and Adam: two men who started off in paradise but ended up in Hell. Sampsons tale is explaining how he was not so perfect when he told his secret to his wife. She then passed it on to his enemies and found a new husband. Samson slaughtered 1,000 men with an asss jawbone, then prayed for God to quench his thirst. Out of no where, a well sprouted from the jawbones tooth. If it werent for him telling Delilah his strength came from him being too stubborn to cut his hair, he would have taken over the world. Now without his strength, it allowed for Samsons enemies cut out his eyes and imprison him. Being held captive drove him so crazy that he knocked down the temple he was in, killingShow MoreRelatedThe Worldview Of Society In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales793 Words   |  4 Pageswhere poets such as Virgil and Ovid strongly influenced Chaucers’ writings (Britannica). Chaucer in his book The Canterbury Tales depicts society as being corrupted and morally declined. Chaucers life of events such as his time as a prisoner of war (Biography.com) had impacted his outlook on the world and the people around him as unethical and nefarious. Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes his novel The Canterbury Tales to portray his worldview on society as being materialistic, self-centered and lustful toRead MoreFourteenth Century Society in Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales1771 Words   |  8 PagesNothing gives us a better idea of medieval life than Geoffrey Chaucer’s The C anterbury Tales. Written in the late fourteenth century in the vernacular, it gives us an idea of the vast spectrum of people that made up the different classes within society. The poem describes the knightly class, the clergy, and those who worked for a living, thus describing the different classes as well. Chaucer gives us a cross-section of fourteenth century society by giving us the small details of people’s clothing, demeanorRead MoreLearning About Medieval Life and Society from Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales1224 Words   |  5 PagesLearning About Medieval Life and Society from Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales I have been studying Geoffrey Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, of which I looked specifically at six portraits, these being: the Knight, his son, a young squire, the prioress, the wife of Bath, the Miller and the Pardoner. From these portraits I was able to observe the ways of life and society in medieval times. I found out about social status, fashion, wealthRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead MoreAnalysis Of The General Prologue To The Canterbury Tales Essays1044 Words   |  5 Pagesbeen an important factor in society, changing and evolving throughout the centuries. In medieval Europe, religious pilgrimages were a crucial part of ones religious faith. Often every one in society, from the highest of class to the lowest order was involved in this practice. Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most important writers in English literature, was the author of The Canterbury Tales, an elaborate poem about the religiou s pilgrimage of twenty nine people to Canterbury. In the General PrologueRead MoreEssay on Chaucers The Canterbury Tales927 Words   |  4 PagesChaucers The Canterbury Tales In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer comments on moral corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. He criticizes many high-ranking members of the Church and describes a lack of morality in medieval society; yet in the â€Å"Retraction,† Chaucer recants much of his work and pledges to be true to Christianity. Seemingly opposite views exist within the â€Å"Retraction† and The Canterbury Tales. However, this contradiction does not weaken Chaucer’s social commentary.Read MoreCanterbury Tales Analysis841 Words   |  4 PagesIn the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer gives a detailed description of what life was like in Medieval times . In the â€Å"Prologue†, the reader comes to better understand the people of the time period through the characters words and actions. Chaucer uses a variety of groups of society to give the reader a deeper insight into the fourteenth century Pilgrims customs and values. Through the Court, Common people and the Church, Gregory Chau cer gives a detailed description of ordinary life in the medieval timesRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucers Use of Characterization Essay1308 Words   |  6 Pagesappealed to those of all walks of life. Chaucer’s work resulted in mass appeal because it used many forms of characterization to present the characters to the reader. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses thoughts and actions, his word, and satire to characterize The Squire and The Wife of Bath. Geoffrey Chaucer is well known for his use of characterization in his works. A notable work of Chaucer was Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. This piece was notable because it appealedRead MoreCanterbury Tales Character Analysis1334 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales is a written work, by Geoffrey Chaucer, that is a representation of the society he lived in. His work portrays the feudal system during the medieval times and how each level of livelihood was a character, whose personalities reflect how Chaucer and his culture view them. During his time, his society regarded the Christian Church as corrupt and manipulative, with a few clergy who are honest and genuine in their exertion. Therefore, the ecclesiastical persona has the dispositionsRead More Character Rank In Society in The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer888 Words   |  4 PagesThe Canterbury Tales can be understood as a Chaucerian satire according many readers. Chaucer sets out to deliberately upset the social order pr esent at that time and to mock the faults present in the characters. Although he baffles about the complexity of the characters, Chaucer also praises and condemns characters for their unique qualities. Chaucer further gives us feedback of what actions the characters are taking in their lives. Many of the pilgrims are headed off to Canterbury, to worship

Benefits Of Payment Reimbursement Systems Within The...

Effective payment program strategies are a major part of administering health care. Reimbursement programs are a part of the United States (U.S) health care system. They represent a financial tool for providing cash flow to service physicians and hospitals. Most often, the ability to provide quality health care depends on the payment for the services given by physicians and hospitals. This paper presents a view of payment reimbursement systems within the health care industry. A comparative overview and description of payment reimbursement will be given in order to understand the flow of finances in the health care industry. The focus will be on the levy and fee-for-service reimbursement systems. Readers will then be able to conclude that†¦show more content†¦Contrary to the situation in which the patient makes payment arrangement with the caregiver, and then file claim directly to the insurance company to recoup all or at least part of the medical charge. The costs of health care are higher in the United States than in other countries and put a strain on the overall economy. In the United States, health care is technologically advanced but expensive. Health care costs were about $2.6 trillion dollars in 2010. For decades, the amount of money spent on health care has increased more than the overall economy has grown. Health care is paid for by government programs, private health insurance plans, and the person s own funds. Private insurance Private insurance can be purchased from for-profit and not-for-profit insurance companies. Although there are many health insurance companies in the United States, a given state tends to have a limited number. Herzberg, D. Most private insurance is purchased by corporations as a benefit for employees. The amount of money employers spend on an employee s health insurance is not considered taxable income for the employee. Because the government enables employees to spend less on health care, they may use health care services more. Government insurance programs The largest government insurance programs include Medicare, which funds

Developmental Profile †Cognitive Free Essays

The classroom is the venue with which a child learns how to use his/her cognitive abilities for greater understanding and mastery of educational skills like reading, problem solving, critical thinking and hypothesis testing. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development shows that each person undergoes cognitive milestones which have to be attained by a child before he/she can go into the next stage. Each stage is composed of cognitive skills that have to do with the cognitive processing of information (Atherton, 2005). We will write a custom essay sample on Developmental Profile – Cognitive or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example, in the early stages a child first knows that he/she is separate from other people. Next, he/she is able to use language and can identify objects and what they represent. The school age child normally is able to think logically; makes use of number, mass and weight conservation and classify objects in terms of various characteristics. The last stage is when the child can think abstractly and test hypothesis as well as be concerned with ideological thinking and problems (Atherton, 2005). The classroom offers different activities that promote the learning of this cognitive sills, as well as delivering information and knowledge in ways that are cognitively appropriate for their age. This developmental profile report shows how the teacher supports the cognitive development of her students through the instructional approaches he/she uses in the classroom. Ms. Lisa is a 4th grade teacher, she is well aware that children are still in the concrete stage and that they are more able to understand the lessons if it is presented using concrete examples and models that the children could touch and feel or observe. For today’s lesson, Miss Lisa is introducing the concept of classifications; she has Amber, Stacy and Luis to help her in the lesson presentation. Ms. Lisa presents the 3 children with colored balls and in different shapes, She firsts asks Amber to describe what she sees and then to arrange the balls in size. Amber seems to smile because she knows that her task is very simple, she first places the golf ball in the line, followed by the baseball, then the volleyball and the basketball. Ms. Lisa check Amber’s work and is satisfied, she then asks the class why the balls are correctly lined up. Now Ms. Lisa tells Stacy to arrange the balls by color, Stacy claps gleefully as she proceeds to arrange the balls with the golf, baseball and volleyball on one side and the basketball on the other side. Stacy seeks the approval of her teacher as she asks whether her answer is correct. Ms. Lisa tells her it is correct and she smiles even more. Finally, Ms. Lisa tells Luis to arrange the balls in shape. The class fell silent and Luis scratched his head and made inquisitive looks to his teacher. He approached the balls not really sure of what to do since all the balls looked the same. Then Ms. Lisa encouraged him to go and try out his answer so he would know if it was right or not. In an instant, Luis eyes brightened and became rounder, he then went to the balls more confident and then went on to lump the balls in one pile. He smiled and said â€Å"that’s it, they are all round, and they are balls†. Ms. Lisa smiles and tells the class that Luis is right. The process that Ms. Lisa used to demonstrate classification of different characteristics using the same objects showed that the children have achieved the ability to classify objects, in the process the teacher have contributed to the self-esteem and confidence of the student in working with her class demonstration. Amber definitely knows she has the right answer and Ms. Lisa did not have to encourage her, on the other hand Stacy was unsure but tried her best, and Ms. Lisa affirmed her answer. Ms. Lisa however spent more time with Luis since he had difficulty with the task, but in a moment of insightful thinking, he was able to give the correct answer. Reference Atherton, J. (2005).   Learning and Teaching:   Piaget’s developmental theory. Retrieved November 12, 2007, from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm    How to cite Developmental Profile – Cognitive, Papers

International Business Financial Analysis of Purple Phone Group

Questions: 1. Evaluate the proposed joint venture using financial and non-financial analysis. Clearly state which capital investment appraisal method you have used and it appropriateness. Clearly state any assumptions and show all workings and calculations in the appendices of your report. 2. Advise PURPLEPHONE Group SMT on the key operational and strategic challenges that they face when considering re-domiciling the France parent company to Monaco.3. Clearly state what options of sources of finance the multinational corporation has to fund the proposed expansion across Asia. What factors should the company consider when deciding what sources of finance to access to find the restructuring of the company? Answer: Introduction: PurplePhone Group Company is currently operating in France. The company provides finance services to private equity companies in the property construction and development industry. The company is now looking for business expansion. There are two strategic options of the company: Joint Venture and Restructuring. The company has taken option of EMF AG, who has offered two millions euro in a fifty-fifty joint venture for the period of two years. Another option is restructuring by making a shift from France to Monaco. In this assignment, factors will be evaluated to examine which strategic option is better for the companys future growth. In the first part, the joint venture option will be evaluated using all financial and non-financial factors of the given case study. The relevant assumption will be taken for consideration for analysing the capital investment appraisal. During the expansion plan the company may be faced many operational and strategic challenges. In the second part of the assignment all such challenges will be evaluated and analysed for decision-making. The discussion of the third part is all about how to corporation has to fund the proposed expansion plan in Asia. There are many factors need to be undertaken for choosing the best sources of fund for the company. This assignment also evaluated those factors, which are required for restructuring of company and transfer the parent company from France to Monaco. 1. The joint venture of the company in Germany might be possible as observed in the financial evidences have showed in the following table. The net present value method had been used in evaluating the project financing of the joint venture. Therefore, the main advantage of using the method in evaluating the investment proposal is to make the assessment in present valuation. The future value of the return from the investment might be scaled in present value so that the management of the firms can understand the positive reflection in future comparing with the present investment value. According to Brealey et al (2012), present value of the investment appraisal of the projects, the method of assessment considered in present value method might show the relative measurement of the different sources of evaluation in different financial situation of the firms. In the meantime, the major change might be observed in the capital budgeting of the project. However, the invested sum in a project and the benefit from the same might be assessed as positive using the NPV method. Coles, Lemmon and Meschke (2012) saw that managers must conduct different method of appraisal before implementing the project in practice. He also found that NPV method was not correct always as it cannot provide the managers insights of internal rate of return from the cash flow made in the internal years. Therefore, the IRR method provides the managers more comprehensive and precise measurement of the investment appraisal in assessing the investment decision. However, the company may face difficulties because IRR does not take the time value for their calculation and not considered the anticipated cash flows at the time of investment. But the company used IRR with NPV which has taken both the considerations for the calculation. Therefore, user will get fruitful results at the end of the financial year. NPV and IRR, both are presently used in investment appraisal of the future expansion so that the m anagers may make better decision regarding the investment. These two are the tools for the managers to control the cost as well as return associated with the projects during the assessing periods (Roberts and Whited 2012). The analysis from the tables in the appendix showed that Purple Phone Group may make no loss from its joint venture in Germany after four years. Further, the analysis was drawn in to consideration here by using the NPV and IRR method. The analysis was considered by evaluating the investment decision using both the methods as the loopholes in one method could be predicted in another one. The major change happened in measuring the NPV and IRR of the investment decision. Thereby, the assessment of the profit after tax from the return of the project was considered as the inflow from the project. Thereby, the outcome was measured in GBP and Euro in two different calculations. However, the project has undergone a periodic inflation rate in the economy. During the period of four years of the joint venture, the management had evaluated the outcome of the project. However, the cash flow from the project was considered excluding the depreciation of the year while measuring the operating margin . The measurement of the project investment was being conducted through converting the return in to GBP as it was also a part of the European revenue operation of Purple Phone Group. The positive NPV was obtained while considering the European interest rate as the required rate of return. However, the percentage of the UK was 2.5%, which predicted a negative value of the investment after the four years of JV in Germany. However, the current structure of the German subsidiary shows that the weighted average cost of capital may be 10%. This rate might be used in assessing the project as required rate of return of the investment. In this assessment way, the investment proposal was positive for the company to go with the Joint venture in Germany for the next four years. The IRR evaluation of the investment to the project might be observed as 25%. The rate shows a success for the decision of going with the JV for Purple Phone group with EMF AG. However, the nonfinancial assessment of the decision of going with JV in Germany was different. The main reason could be found in evaluating the business environment. The major difference could be observed in the different culture in Germany compare to France or the UK (Flannery and Hankins 2013). Therefore, the management of the company has to deal with the different mentality as well as the regulation in the country while doing the business. Ehrhardt and Brigham (2016) saw that incorporating new business in new region might be difficult for the companies as they could find the obstacles in developing the business in different countries. Further, the difference in managements preview of the business environment might become a constraint for Purple to develop its business in Germany. Thereby, the idea of joint venture with EMF AG might provide the company a chance of developing its business in Germany successfully. The employees of Purple might enhance its knowledge from the skills o f the EMFs employees. Furthermore, the advantages of transformation economic integration, EU memberships continuously provide financial stability and encourage new businesses. The country is having large home countrys market size and high growth prospects due to having huge demand offering scopes for providing financial services to private equity companies in the industrial and commercial property construction. This is one of the main core functionalities which ensure that this joint venture would become a successful commercial venture in the long run. According to the Pestle factors like stable political situations, huge scope of FDI and large market size goes favourable with the JV option. Additionally, the brand value of EMF AG could be used in developing the business in Germany by Purple. It could help the management in spreading its name in the unknown region (Johnson, McLaughlin and Haueter 2015). The Joint venture also provides the companies to form a distinct tactical develo pment in the business. The major changes could be possible in forming JVs for the companies to drive the business in foreign soil. However, the joint venture may not be useful in delivering the fruitful result to the firms due to different viewpoint of business strategies. In this context, the joint venture might provide PurplePhone Group various advantages to develop its business in Germany. 2. If PhurplePhone Group Company wants to consider re-domiciling the France parent company to Monaco, then they might face many operational and strategic challenges to stay in the competition. The operational challenges are like new staff requirements, introduction of new training sessions for the new employees in the organisation, diverse corporate culture within the organisation, requirement for new technological advancements and so on (Roberts and Whited 2012). The company is currently operates a centralised treasury management system in France. For this the company has successfully maintained consolidated exposure and consolidated risk management system across the system situated in France. However, this centralised treasury management system may be disturbed after re-domiciling to Monaco. Furthermore, the company may face high risk tax accounting because the relationship between transfer pricing and an entitys tax and financial reporting system will be disturbed after considerin g re-domiciling. Therefore, the entire strategic approach will be changed due to anticipated changes in the financial reporting. For seamless function after re-domiciling their position, the company needs to follow the following steps: The company should incorporate global employees into the business. New employees can provide better excellence. However, training sessions are essential for new as well as existing employees. Here the company may face diverse cultural problems within the workplace. For this the company needs to plan and incorporate training sessions for the managers or executives to manage the multicultural organisations well. However, the huge costs are associated with these training sessions but it will contribute employees to perform well in the long run (Nesti and Stefanovi 2015). Therefore, the employee retention rate will be higher after considering such strategic change. On the other side, the company needs to create new market position in Monaco. This would be a risk factor for the business. However, PurplePhone Group is in this service industry since long time. Therefore, the operational managers could have taken lesser time for stabilizing the organisational policies and procedures across m ajor business areas of PurplePhone Group. However there are some strategic challenges are involved. The cost of living is moderately low compare to the home destination of the company. An unstable political structure is the challenge while considering re-domiciling the France parent company to Monaco. The other operational challenges are like effective database implementation, changes in business process, effective communication strategy formulation, determination of KPIs and so on. Here in this multinational business environment the company should introduce an integrated system along with central controlling procedures within the organisation. This will help in revenue and monitoring system within all departments and the operational performances will be enhanced. The company needs to take few strategic decisions for make the business operation successful. The company required to set the long term business turnover forecast against likely the condition of market of Monaco. In order to take effective decision for betterment of the business, the stock and sales figure must be evaluated for on the regular basis so that waste control management system can be implemented within the organisation (Vernimmen et al. 2014). In addition, the company needs to take decisions regarding recycling of operational waste within the organisation. For constructional development, the company only considers the private equity companies in Europe. But the company can expand their services by considering the government companies for construction. This will surely encourage more investors into the business. In this way, the multinational corporation may increase more market capitalization in the near future (Waegelein and Finance 2014). After re-domiciling their position, the company needs to plan for international tax procedures. The company needs to make fruitful agreements like Double Taxation Agreements with France and Monaco. The agreements will cover direct taxes, which in the case of Monaco are universal social charge, income tax, corporation tax and capital gain tax. The company may also engage Tax Information Exchange Agreement with all the other subsidiaries of PhurplePhone. This will allow the Revenue Commissioner to request the company can follow information relevant to a tax investigation without necessary of bilateral TIEA. With less local legislation barriers at Monaco, the company can perform freely after the changing position of the parents company from France to Monaco. However, the company may face challenges for handling future transactions, which already made with their suppliers. Here the forecasting of future exchange rate is required to be initiated. The purchasing power parity is perhaps the most suitable forecasting approach. The principle of this proposed method forecasts that the exchange rate shall change to offset price changes due to inflation. Therefore, the inflation differential rate between two countries can be mitigated with this approach. After re-domiciling the position, the company needs to be taken caf of issues regarding foreign investment. Here the company may face problems like the changing viewpoint regarding cash flow or the political and economical risks associated with Monaco. For this, the company needs to initiate multinational capital budgeting after making the strategic change. Presently, Monacos political structure welcomes strategic investments and entry alternatives into the area which will surely encourage the foreign direct investment into the new place of the company. All the above suggestions will surely help in handling operational and strategic challenges, if the business considers repositioning of their business from France to Monaco. 3. PurplePhone Group is operating under the multinational working environment. Decision making plays an important role, especially when such decisions are concerned within proposed business expanse (Johnson, McLaughlin and Haueter 2015). The company needs to explore the diverse business funding options for the proposed expansion across Asia. Common types of financing include bank loans, crowd funding, receiving funds from a venture capitalist or borrowing funds from owners of the business (Piekkari, Welch and Welch 2014). It has already been estimated that 250 million Euros will be needed to fund the proposed expansion over the next five years. In the expansion procedure, the most important factor is determination of sources of fund. Here the company is looking for business expansion in Asian countries like India and China. Here the company should evaluate the future market derivatives option for business finance. In this case, the double pair exchange rate hedging system must be evaluated (Suzuki and Okamuro 2015) The company would need to evaluate two pair of currencies for hedging the market risk. As per the theory of management of risk, PurplePhone Group will find two currency alternatives if they expand their market in Asian countries. The difference of currency rates like INR, Renminbi needs to be evaluated with the home currency of Euro (Macht and Weatherston 2014). However, the fluctuation of rate due to inflation, changes of interest rate, and many other factors are associated with multicurrency dealing (Xu et al. 2015). Furthermore, the political risks associated in countries such as India and China should also be evaluated. This risk can be mitigated by future market hedging. The company can use its working capital as a source of fund. In order to expand the business in the Asian market, the company needs to manage the multinational working capital.Fr improvement of working capital balance the company needs to concentrate more on effective stock management. The accuracy in payment terms can ensure that the company is capable of dealing short-term obligations in different business scenario. This is the most effective source of finance because there is no external risk associated with the working capital management. It is completely depend upon the effective management system of the organisation. If the company can use working capital effectively in the proposed expansion plan, then this could be another option of source of fund. The international financial market is another option for sources of fund of PurplePhone Group. The company can invest in shares and debt market for getting good returns in the short and long run. Capital market is appropriate for long-term investments. Here the company can raise finance through the sale of securities. Equity finance gives the right of the ownership, but the source of fund is risky by nature. Equity shareholders have a residual claim on the income and assets of the company. Due to high risk, the expectation of return by investors from the business is also high. However, invest in share market is another risk option but this can be beneficial for short term as well as long term earnings. Here the company may take the route of Initial Public Offers (IPO) in the primary market for equity financing. The company can raise their finance through the negotiable certificates of deposits, paper of commercials, repurchase agreements and so on. For example, the organisation can r aise finance through by selling commercial papers. Furthermore, contracts bought and sold on the spot market can be another option in case of dealing in the international market. Hybrid financing is another option, which is moderately less risky than equity finance because this has the characteristics of both the equity and debt. The company can expect more revenue from this source of fund. On the other hand, raising finance through debt is another source of fund. By secured borrowing from banks and other financial institutions, the company engage with term loan. Finance support provided by Government and its agencies is another source of fund for the company. Debenture capital issue is another option of fund. This is generally provided by suppliers of plant and machinery, vendor of raw material by deferring the payment. Lastly, there are many miscellaneous sources of fund available in the Asian market which the company can explore after the business expansion. The miscellaneous sou rces of funds are include unsecured loan, public deposits, leasing and higher purchase. To determine the sources of finance for restructuring of the company, there are many factors needs to be examined. Here are the following options needs to be examined: Cost and cash flows: Purplephone Group would seem to have capacity to rates more debt as the non-current assets exceed the existing debt Euro8m. In addition, as it is assumed that the company is not having raised any finance for several years, and it is currently holding Euro 17m non-current assets. Therefore the company will be more benefited by choosing the dept option. Factor of Risk: If the company would chose the restructuring option, material changes may be occurred. Hence, if the company is selecting the debt finance, then it should understand that the shareholders are happy to take those financial risks. Security: As long as the expansion involves investing in some non-current assets there should be enough security available for potential lenders. Therefore, the proposed security needs to be checked before taking investment decision. Availability and maturity: The shareholders would likely to support a right issue or the debt providers would be willing to lend in future for the expansion of the business. In addition, other investors may wish to fund into the business by equity investment. As the company is looking forward for permanent expansion of the company, then long term finance must be raised. To that extent that expansion requires investment in additional working capital, and then the company could raise the short-term finance. Curve of the yield: The director of Purplephone Group should consider the yield curve if it is decided to raise debt. For instance, if the curve is becoming steeper this shows an expectation that that interest rate will rise in future. In that situation, the company may hesitate to borrow additional debt, may prefer to raise fixed rate debt, or may look to hedge the interest risk rate in some way. Control: There are no change would occur to control if debt is issued. A rights issue would also have little impact on control while the share issued by the new investors may cause control issues. Conclusion: The above financial analysis clearly indicates that joint venture is the better option for PurplePhone Group. This option is better because the company can hedge their financial risk after combining their resources with EMF AG. The company would make better decisions regarding the financial crisis like interest risk, inflation risk and so on. After the joint venturing, the company will be benefitted for increase brand recognition with EMF AG. Thus more customers will show their interest into this new formed business. However, the operational control may lose after the joint venture but strategic performances will be enhanced and operational costs will be reduced. References: Brealey, R.A., Myers, S.C., Allen, F. and Mohanty, P., 2012. Principles of corporate finance. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Coles, J.L., Lemmon, M.L. and Meschke, J.F., 2012. Structural models and endogeneity in corporate finance: The link between managerial ownership and corporate performance. Journal of Financial Economics, 103(1), pp.149-168. Ehrhardt, M. and Brigham, E., 2016. Corporate finance: A focused approach. Cengage Learning. Flannery, M.J. and Hankins, K.W., 2013. Estimating dynamic panel models in corporate finance. Journal of Corporate Finance, 19, pp.1-19. Fracassi, C., 2014, October. Corporate finance policies and social networks. In AFA 2011 Denver Meetings Paper. Johnson, C.J., McLaughlin, J. and Haueter, E.S., 2015. Corporate finance and the securities laws. Wolters Kluwer Law Business. Macht, S.A. and Weatherston, J., 2014. The benefits of online crowdfunding for fund seeking business ventures. Strategic Change, 23(1 2), pp.1-14. Nesti, S. and Stefanovi, M., 2015. new service development metric in medium organizations. Center for Quality. Piekkari, R., Welch, D. and Welch, L.S., 2014. Language in international business: The multilingual reality of global business expansion. Edward Elgar Publishing. Roberts, M.R. and Whited, T.M., 2012. Endogeneity in empirical corporate finance. Suzuki, S. and Okamuro, h.i.r.o.y.u.k.i., 2015, May. Determinants of Academic Startup's Orientation toward International Business Expansion. In DRUID 2015 conference proceedings. Vernimmen, P., Quiry, P., Dallocchio, M., Le Fur, Y. and Salvi, A., 2014. Corporate finance: theory and practice. John Wiley Sons. Waegelein, J.F. and Finance, C., 2014. The Influence of Long-Term Performance Plans on Corporate Performance Investment. Xu, X.D., Liu, Z.Y., Wang, J., Li, L. and Song, X., 2015, May. Improved time series business expansion combination forecasting model. In Advances in Future Manufacturing Engineering: Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Future Manufacturing Engineering (ICFME 2014), Hong Kong, December 10-11, 2014 (Vol. 2, p. 103). CRC Press.

Tension In The Twenties Essays - American Culture, Canadian Culture

Tension In The Twenties All major societies throughout our worlds history have experienced periods of major change. Tension inevitably arises as a result of the new environments in which the people live. Our country is no exception, especially through the era known as the Roaring Twenties. Just being another decade on the timeline was not good enough for the 1920s. When its brief turn came, it had to be the biggest, the loudest, and the brightest. A calamity gave it birth, and a calamity ended it. As a result of World War I, major economic, social, and political alterations were born; yet more importantly, the tension that arouse due to these results would change America forever. One of the most important factors that led to the Roaring Twenties was the fact that America had just been subjected to a grueling war. During the war, much melancholy and anguish was built up by both the soldiers in Europe, and their families back home. With all this misery being built up, an explosion of patriotism and the need to let loose, relax and have as much fun as possible erupted. During the time period, many aspects of American culture were changing, which in turn helped to mount the increasing tension. As a result of the industrialization and mass-production techniques, the lifestyles of many citizens changed. More and more people left their rural dwellings for an increased chance of happiness in the big cities that were arising everywhere. This new rapid lifestyle began to deteriorate many traditional values that the more old-fashioned populace held valuable. More and more impressive inventions that made incredible impacts on the society also occurred during this time. The automobile gave teens greater freedom and enabled them to be without the constant supervision of their parents. The radio gave America a common ground, thereby allowing everyone from every class to enjoy the same entertainment or information. Many of the new creations had become so common, that it became rare not to have them. This idea is expressed in Sinclair Lewiss Babbitt, in which he writes, These standard advertised wares toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water heaterswere his symbols and proofs of excellence [DOC A]. It is shown here that people also became ranked on not only how much money they had, but their attitude towards these advancements. Tension between the old and new not only occurred on an economic level, but as well as a religious level. As people began to turn more and more towards science to answer their questions, unbelievable amounts of strain arouse. One of these great conflicts was the Scopes Monkey Trial, also known as The Worlds Most Famous Trial. There were basically two conflicts present within this trial: that of the fundamentalists and the Darwinists, and that between the accepted beliefs of the time, and the new ones that challenged them. The standard belief was to accept what society and the Bible dictated. The difference in mentalities between the prosecutor, William Jennings Bryan and the defense attorney, Clarence Darrow, is seen when Bryan states that he himself believe[s] everything in the Bible should be accepted as it is given there, and that some of the Bible is given illustratively [DOC C]. Another important source of tension came in the Negro community. This is seen in Langston Hughes The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, where he writes of the revolt against weariness in a white world [DOC E]. He stresses the tension that is building up between the new artists and those who stay with the old values. In contrast to the Negro movement was the Ku Klux Klan, who were the perfect example of those who did not want to accept the new ways of life. In Hiram Wesley Evans The Klans Fight for Americanism, this idea is expressed clearly when he states that the Klan demand[s], and expect[s] to win, a return of power into the hands of the everyday, not highly cultured, not overly intellectualized, but entirely unspoiled and not de-Americanized, average citizen of the old stock[DOC D]. The KKK would have done anything to go back to the old times of oppressed minorities. They look out for themselves, who they describe as being unspoiled.

Dos and Donts of Website Content

Dos and Donts of Website Content When creating websites for a business or personal venture, one of the top (and worst) mistakes made is in the website content. With new website design programs popping up almost daily, and websites like Wix.com that can be used with little to no web design knowledge, building a web page has never been easier. But once youre past the design part- what will your website say?As a web content writer with almost a decade of experience doing this, Ive had clients approach me with concerns that their website just isnt getting them noticed the way they need to be noticed. Web sites are supposed to draw traffic, right? If there is no traffic coming in on your site, or very little business brought in because of it, 9 times out of 10 it will have something to do with the content you have on it. With this in mind, lets first look at some of things you should avoid at all costs when creating website content that is intended to bring visitors (and hopefully, customers) to your site and business.Do nt write too muchThis one is probably the most common offense in website content. Youve got a lot to say about your business or passions, right? I know the temptation is difficult to avoid, so always keep this little statistic in mind whenever youre writing website content: 55% of website visitors spend fewer than 15 seconds actively on a page; and for most visitors, you have 10 seconds to get their attention. Instead†¦Do write a paragraph or two with highly engaging contentThis means that when someone visits your website, theyre likely to spend only about 15 seconds on each page. So what about all that content you want to write? Scrap it and come up with a paragraph (or two) that best summarizes everything youd rather say in 10 paragraphs, because thats all the time you have to get most peoples attention. Bore them in the first paragraph and I guarantee you that they wont read further.Dont try to oversell yourself or your businessHave you ever come across a website full of cli chà ©s like but wait, theres more? Did you want to hang out there? Probably not- no one really likes to be harassed by overzealous salespeople. Instead†¦Do make your website a type of informal portfolioInstead of thinking of your website as a sales pitch, think of it as a portfolio- a way to show your potential clients or customers what you know, what you do, and why youre the best at it. Your work will speak for itself without all the clichà ©d writing (that no one likes to read because theyve read it a million times before).Dont allow grammar or spelling errors on your siteThere is nothing that can ruin a businesss reputation like a lack of professionalism, and allowing grammar or spelling errors is simply unprofessional. Most customers will assume that if you cant spell a word correctly (or find an editor to fix the error for you), then you wont be able to conduct business correctly either. Instead†¦Do make sure your website is grammatically correct and error freeMost times, this is just a matter of hiring an editor to look over the content for you. Even the best writers make grammar and spelling mistakes, so having a second pair of eyes look over the content is a smart business practice, regardless of what type of business youre in.Dont crowd a lot of words into wide spacesThis is just as much an issue of design as it is of content, but putting large blocks of writing in one spot- particularly if that spot takes up most of the page- will deter your visitor from reading it. Most people surf the web after a busy day at work, or as a way to relax and unwind. Theyre not going to want to read a lot of writing that may not be of interest to them, and strain their eyes while doing it. Instead†¦Do make your content scan-able and mix it with images that encourage the eye to keep readingWhen your content is easy to scan, your visitors eye will naturally scan it. Keeping the content in small, scan-able chunks encourages visitors to stay on your page longer and actually read what youve written there. Mixing that content with images is another way to keep the eye on the page, as well as ensuring that there is plenty of white space on the page so that it isnt crowded (and overwhelming to the eye).Dont write boring contentWhile this one should be obvious, youd be surprised at how many websites are filled with boring content that no one really wants to read. For example, an attorney might put his entire CV on his website, including every association and membership hes ever held. Guess what? Most people dont want to read this, especially in the form of a CV. Instead†¦Do write engaging contentAgain, think of your website as your portfolio, and include on it writing that is simply stated and at the same time engaging and exciting to read. Most visitors dont need (or want) to know your entire history or your CV. Hit the high points of each and theyll be much more likely to read it. If it sounds like a sales pitch or a lecture, youl l chase your visitors away before they even have the opportunity to become your customers.Following these few Dos and Donts of website content writing will ensure that your website looks professional, retains visitors for as long as possible, and helps your business grow.

Viuses are Non-living particles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Viuses are Non-living particles - Essay Example The modes of transfer of viruses from one person to the other vary significantly. Viruses can be spread through vomits, coughs, sneezes as well as bites from infected organisms (Shors, 4). There are several reasons why viruses are included in biology even though they are non-living. One of the reasons why viruses are included in biology is the fact that they affect living organisms in various ways (Mettenleiter & Francisco, 73 ). Viruses are always associated with several serious diseases in living organisms. Viruses are known to be pathogenic to human beings. They can lead to alteration of the activities of the cells that they have invaded (Shors, 54). This is because viruses are only active when they are inside living cells. Viruses also have the ability to attack as well as infect bacterial cells. These are some of the reasons why viruses are included in biology. Treatment of viral infections is always very difficult using antibiotics. This is because viruses always hide inside the cells (Rogers, 75). This presents a big challenge for the antibiotics to reach them. Therefore, treating viral infections with antibodies is difficult. In addition, the nature of viruses makes it difficult to treat them with antibiotics. Viruses have simple structures. As such they use their host cells’ structures to accomplish their activities. This makes it ineffective to use antibiotics to cure

Payday Lending Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Payday Lending - Assignment Example h interests charged on these funds going as high as over 100%, coupled with the disadvantages of this practice, there is every reason to criminalize payday lending. Although high interest rate is one of the reasons for rendering payday lending illegal, the practice negatively affects economic growth and development. Most of the economies rely on the private sector and private investors. While the government and the financial industry provide individual investors with credit to start up small and medium scale enterprises, individual investors rely on their savings to raise income for investments. By promoting the culture of saving among the people, it positively contributes to the growth and development of individual investments, subsequently increasing the growth of the private sector. This contributes to the economic growth and development by providing employment opportunities, creating innovation, and creativity among the people. However, payday lending hinders this development. The fact that most of the people rely on this as a source of income to run their lives during the month is discourages saving among the people. Moreover, this practic e promotes a culture of consumerism, which leads to poverty in the subsequent years of employment. With people having liquid money with them, this increases the rate of inflation as they spend on most of their money on consumer goods. Lending at over 100% is also unreasonable and unethical, and as such, ought to be illegal. By choosing to criminalize the practice, a number of people are likely to suffer from such a development. Whenever people face emergencies, and others have financial constraints, they cannot access financial support and assistance through payday lending. Thus, people have to find other sources of satisfying this need. Making the practice illegal can further lead to loss of jobs for the moneylenders, thus increasing the rate of jobless people in the

Social and Environmental Accounting Research Paper

Social and Environmental Accounting - Research Paper Example This report states, Western Australia has implemented a water minimization program in 1997 and its implementation led to the reduction of usage of water, saved the company thousands of dollars and reduced their level of reliance on the water that is supplied by the municipal council. The objective of implementing this program was to optimize the water supply and also reduce the rate of consumption of poor quality drinking water that could be a health hazard to the residents of the area and minimize the flow of untreated waste water that was being discharged to the environment (BP, 2006). BP refinery processes over 138 barrels of oil per day .The refinery equipments and machinery ensures that the raw materials are processed into complete finished products. The management of the company found it worthwhile to be conservative after becoming more water conscious and water efficient. BP implemented various strategies that were aimed at improving the rate of performance within the organization. The strategy includes; delivery of water that is of high quality for consumption, minimizing on the cost of running the operations of the organization and maximizes the profits of the organization. It also minimizes the potential environmental risks from water that is being dis charged from the environment (Bp, 2006). The managemenThe management of the BP Company published the sustainable report 2007, addressed issues that are related to the observance and recognisition of the audience as important persons within the community. It also states that the major stakeholders' role within the community involves meeting the needs and wants of the customers within the stipulated period of time. The major stakeholders include academicians, investors and other non-governmental organizations (Appendix 1, Bp, 2007, cover page). BP sustainability refers to the capacity to endure and meet the needs of the people through renewing their assets, creating and delivering different kinds of products and services that can meet the needs of the people within a given period of time. It also refers to the process of ensuring that the rights of people are respected and observed in order to enable them carry out the tasks that have been assigned to them and also ensure that the operations and activities carried are undertaken in the appropriate manner. Moreover, Bp also ensures that the mutual trust and support that is bestowed on the customers, shareholders and the communities is maintained so that the activities of the company can continue into the foreseeable future (Burke, 1999). In similarity to BP water minimization program, Thames report was prepared and aimed at identifying the cause and solutions of flooding observed in Bowmonts Road. This report states the impact of the proposed development in River Tadley that would have been undertaken on the network. Besides that, is also intended to identify the options that can alleviate foul flooding in the region and also to provide the cost estimates for options

Differences Between Taoism and Buddhism

Differences Between Taoism and Buddhism The differences between Taoism and Buddhism Taoism is originated in China and many believe that it is started in the sixth century B.C. whereas Buddhism is said originated in the 500s B.C. in India. Both Taoism and Buddhism are great philosophical traditions and religions that have long histories and had strongly influenced and shaped the Chinese culture and values.   These two religions have some similarities, they even considered as one kind in Malaysias culture. Both Taoism and Buddhism belief in reincarnation which means the life after death and both have similar ultimate goals.   However, they are very different in their beliefs, practices and perspectives about individual life, society, values, culture, the environment and even the universe. Taoism and Buddhism have different objective principles, different views and beliefs about the life after death which is widely known as reincarnation, different ways and solutions to cooperate and solve the problems in life, and different perspectives and practices about marriag e. The word Tao of Taoism in Chinese means the way or the path. In Taoism, its objective is to achieve Tao which means to attain the right path in life and by doing so; we will be able to become immortal.   Besides that, Tao is sometimes also considered as the origin of everything which already existed and guiding the whole world and everything to work on their roles before the universe was being formed (Wow Essays, 2004). In Taoism, it is more focusing on personal or individual philosophy, because it is more focusing on how to achieve Tao, harmony and balancing of one-self and it do not motivate people to find ways and solutions to help and improve the community or society as in every individual should do it by herself or himself (EduBook, 2008).   It is also said that everything in the world is simple, correct and good, life becomes complex is because human being choose to live a complex life (Wow Essays, 2004). On the other hand, in Buddhism beliefs live is suffering which is different by comparing with Taoism that believes that life is all about goodness, Buddhist believes that having illness or suffering is the nature of life which we cannot escape from (Difference Between, 2010). Birth, get old, get sick or ill, and death are the nature cycle of life. According to Buddhism, the only way to put suffering in life to an end is to understand the four noble truths of life and practice the noble eightfold path which are the right knowledge or understanding, right intention, right speech, right behavior or action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Buddhist Temples). The first noble eightfold path is right knowledge that refers to the correct understanding of what is life about or the understanding about the four noble truths of life (Wow Essays, 2004).   The second path is right intention means the right wills aspect which is to abstain from lusts, to gain immunity of negative emotions such as hate and anger, and to be innocuous which is not to be violent or aggressive (Knierim T., 2010).   The third path is right speech which brings the meaning of not to talk bad or harmful words and to be aware of what we are saying by choosing the right words and right tone.   The forth path is right behavior or right actions which is to act in a correct way and the reasons of action or behavior, and this consists of the five main rules of Buddhism which are not to kill, pilfer, consume alcoholic drinks, commit in sex crimes, and also to be honest (Wow Essays, 2004).   The fifth path is right livelihood which is to gain or earn money and wealth in the legal and moral way (Knierim T., 2010).   The sixth path is right effort involves practicing the right will and control self-serving devotion and thirst (Wow Essays, 2004).   The seventh path is right mindfulness which is to be aware and have the ability of see things without affected by the other people or environment.   The eighth path is right concentration refers to the mental force of focusing on the ultimate goal of Buddhism, and this involves practicing the meditation which is to clear your mind and develop the right concentration (Knierim T., 2010). Both Taoism and Buddhism believe in the life after death which is known as reincarnation (Wow Essays, 2004). They believe that life cycle does not have a beginning or an ending which simply means that life, death and rebirth are perceived as a continuous cycle; they think that death is not the end of the life (Valea E., n.d.).   But both of them have different explanations and perspectives on reincarnation.   According to Taoism, soul or spirit never die, it will be shift to the other body which is to reborn to be another person and this will be repeated until it attain the Tao.   It is said that everyone has a inner light of oneself which can guide us back to clean and clear mind and pull away from distractions and lusts, Tao can only be obtained by following this inner light of oneself (Wow Essays, 2004).   Taoism also believes that soul has the ability to travel through space and time and becomes immortal when Tao is achieved (Difference Between, 2010). Whereas in Buddhism beliefs, samsara, the wheel of rebirth and the sufferings of life will only come to an end when ones achieve Nirvana which is the highest or final state of the life cycle and become immortal (Religion Facts, 2010).   The other belief of reincarnation in Buddhism that is different from the belief in Taoism is that Taoism believes that reborn is a transformation of soul from one human body to another, but according to the Buddhism belief, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth consist of good and evil behavior which divides the transmigration into three different stages and this lead to the transformation of souls into different forms respectively.   The ones who act totally different way from the rules and practices of Buddhism will be send to the hell and this is the first stage of the transmigration.   In the second stage, those who did something which is considered quite bad or evil will be transmigrating into animal forms, yet spirits will become more alik e to human or rebirth as a human again after turns of transmigration.  Ã‚   The following stage which is the third stage, involves the spirit becomes chaste by putting down self egos and lusts which is change from aesthesis to non-aesthesis, and it also consist of going through many phases of spiritual transformation and rebirth; finally reach the Nirvana which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism.   The stages of reincarnation is determined by ones action, it is said that the past action decide the current life, and present action decides the future life, because Buddhist believes that ones behavior is according to the mind and thoughts but not fate, therefore one shall deserve what it takes from the result of what he or she did (Wow Essays, 2004). Besides than the perspectives and beliefs, the difference between Buddhism and Taoism is the ways of handling and solving the problems in life such as health problems.   According to Taoism, everything in this world has its own natural order, and the way to handle problems first is to understand the nature; the Yin-yang concept is the core concept of this particular principle.   Yin-yang concept state that reality are binary which consist of the combination of two opposite elements to form the entirety by balancing these two totally opposite elements.   In addition, by conquering the defectiveness of soul by attaining the balance of oneself, then lead to conducting the mental or cosmic energy that is known as Chi in one selfs body is believed that can help to heal illness or sickness of body (EduBook, 2008).   The creation of the Tai Chi exercise is based on the Yin-yang concept which can help to circulate and balance the Chi in the body and maintain body health because Taois t believe that illness are cause by the imbalance or jamming of Chi in the circulation of body (Robinson B.A., 2010)    Meanwhile, in Buddhisms beliefs, problems in life like illness and sickness are a part of life; hence they should be accepted as the nature of life.   Buddhism requires the finding of problems source; meditation is the practice of Buddhist that guide people to find focus, peace and calm in one self, and the presence of focus, peace and calm will help to identify the origin of problems and guidance to take good actions to overcome the problems (Knierim T., 2010).   At the same time, unlike Taoists healing illness by balancing the opposite elements and conducting the Chi, Buddhists seek for medications (EduBook, 2008).   However, because Buddhists believe in the nature of life, so herbal medications which are extracted and purified from the plants is the only medication that is used by Buddhists. Buddhism and Taoism are also different in how they look at relationships and marriage. According to Buddhism beliefs, marriage is not a necessary event ones life, so there is no special type of ceremony or practices for getting married.   Besides that, sexual activity is only accepted socially and ethically when it takes place in marriage, and it is not accepted when there is not within a marriage relationship.   Buddhism beliefs that in a marriage, both husband and wife will need to possess four important qualities to become a well-matched and maintain a good marriage, the four qualities are faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom.   Faith requires the understanding between the husband and wife, it is through understanding each another helps to build up trust, honor and faith, and faith is the main key which will lead to the development of virtue, generosity and wisdom.   According to Buddhism beliefs, satisfactions of the five senses and reproduction are the two main purposes of marriage because it is said that not a single figure, sound, smell, savor and touch can attract a man more than a woman and this same goes to a woman. Besides that, reproduction is important to the society because of the obligations of the family which means children will be the one who are responsible to take care and support the parents and protect and continue the unique customs of the family (Gamage C., 1998). On the other hand, Taoism believes that woman represents Yin and man represents Yang, and the Tao means the path to harmony will be achieved when a woman and a man get into a relationship and commit together as one, the Yin chi will be accepted by the man and Yang chi will be received by the woman, then both Yin and Yang will combined into one and balanced.   Some people relate the word Tao with marriage by saying that marriage is the Tao to future means the way or path towards the future because the life after marriage is like a new life and through marriage babies are born: babies are the hope and creation for the future.   At the same time, since Taoism emphasize on balancing and harmony of nature, it also laid stress on the harmony of the relationships between people especially for husband and wife.   Thus, husband and wife should avoid confrontations and serious conflicts.   Prevention of confrontations or even conflicts can be made by calm, love, caring, respect, accept ance, humility, communication, emotional control, self-awareness, self reflections, sacrifice, and support and understanding of each another. On the whole, both Taoism and Buddhism are religions that guide people how to live a good life and teach the important values of life.   These two religions have some similarities and sometimes these similarities may even cause people to mistaken that both of them are the same religion or some may mistaken the beliefs and practices of Buddhism and the beliefs and practices of Taoism.   There are similar beliefs between these two religions such as both of them believe in the life after death and life cycle never end and also both have similar ultimate goal, but their objective principles, their understanding, beliefs and interpretation about the life after death, their perspectives and methods to deal with the problems especially health problems in life, and their point of view and practices in relationships and marriage are very different.   Both have their unique and different way of thinking and interpretation of life. Differences Between Taoism and Buddhism Differences Between Taoism and Buddhism The differences between Taoism and Buddhism Taoism is originated in China and many believe that it is started in the sixth century B.C. whereas Buddhism is said originated in the 500s B.C. in India. Both Taoism and Buddhism are great philosophical traditions and religions that have long histories and had strongly influenced and shaped the Chinese culture and values.   These two religions have some similarities, they even considered as one kind in Malaysias culture. Both Taoism and Buddhism belief in reincarnation which means the life after death and both have similar ultimate goals.   However, they are very different in their beliefs, practices and perspectives about individual life, society, values, culture, the environment and even the universe. Taoism and Buddhism have different objective principles, different views and beliefs about the life after death which is widely known as reincarnation, different ways and solutions to cooperate and solve the problems in life, and different perspectives and practices about marriag e. The word Tao of Taoism in Chinese means the way or the path. In Taoism, its objective is to achieve Tao which means to attain the right path in life and by doing so; we will be able to become immortal.   Besides that, Tao is sometimes also considered as the origin of everything which already existed and guiding the whole world and everything to work on their roles before the universe was being formed (Wow Essays, 2004). In Taoism, it is more focusing on personal or individual philosophy, because it is more focusing on how to achieve Tao, harmony and balancing of one-self and it do not motivate people to find ways and solutions to help and improve the community or society as in every individual should do it by herself or himself (EduBook, 2008).   It is also said that everything in the world is simple, correct and good, life becomes complex is because human being choose to live a complex life (Wow Essays, 2004). On the other hand, in Buddhism beliefs live is suffering which is different by comparing with Taoism that believes that life is all about goodness, Buddhist believes that having illness or suffering is the nature of life which we cannot escape from (Difference Between, 2010). Birth, get old, get sick or ill, and death are the nature cycle of life. According to Buddhism, the only way to put suffering in life to an end is to understand the four noble truths of life and practice the noble eightfold path which are the right knowledge or understanding, right intention, right speech, right behavior or action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Buddhist Temples). The first noble eightfold path is right knowledge that refers to the correct understanding of what is life about or the understanding about the four noble truths of life (Wow Essays, 2004).   The second path is right intention means the right wills aspect which is to abstain from lusts, to gain immunity of negative emotions such as hate and anger, and to be innocuous which is not to be violent or aggressive (Knierim T., 2010).   The third path is right speech which brings the meaning of not to talk bad or harmful words and to be aware of what we are saying by choosing the right words and right tone.   The forth path is right behavior or right actions which is to act in a correct way and the reasons of action or behavior, and this consists of the five main rules of Buddhism which are not to kill, pilfer, consume alcoholic drinks, commit in sex crimes, and also to be honest (Wow Essays, 2004).   The fifth path is right livelihood which is to gain or earn money and wealth in the legal and moral way (Knierim T., 2010).   The sixth path is right effort involves practicing the right will and control self-serving devotion and thirst (Wow Essays, 2004).   The seventh path is right mindfulness which is to be aware and have the ability of see things without affected by the other people or environment.   The eighth path is right concentration refers to the mental force of focusing on the ultimate goal of Buddhism, and this involves practicing the meditation which is to clear your mind and develop the right concentration (Knierim T., 2010). Both Taoism and Buddhism believe in the life after death which is known as reincarnation (Wow Essays, 2004). They believe that life cycle does not have a beginning or an ending which simply means that life, death and rebirth are perceived as a continuous cycle; they think that death is not the end of the life (Valea E., n.d.).   But both of them have different explanations and perspectives on reincarnation.   According to Taoism, soul or spirit never die, it will be shift to the other body which is to reborn to be another person and this will be repeated until it attain the Tao.   It is said that everyone has a inner light of oneself which can guide us back to clean and clear mind and pull away from distractions and lusts, Tao can only be obtained by following this inner light of oneself (Wow Essays, 2004).   Taoism also believes that soul has the ability to travel through space and time and becomes immortal when Tao is achieved (Difference Between, 2010). Whereas in Buddhism beliefs, samsara, the wheel of rebirth and the sufferings of life will only come to an end when ones achieve Nirvana which is the highest or final state of the life cycle and become immortal (Religion Facts, 2010).   The other belief of reincarnation in Buddhism that is different from the belief in Taoism is that Taoism believes that reborn is a transformation of soul from one human body to another, but according to the Buddhism belief, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth consist of good and evil behavior which divides the transmigration into three different stages and this lead to the transformation of souls into different forms respectively.   The ones who act totally different way from the rules and practices of Buddhism will be send to the hell and this is the first stage of the transmigration.   In the second stage, those who did something which is considered quite bad or evil will be transmigrating into animal forms, yet spirits will become more alik e to human or rebirth as a human again after turns of transmigration.  Ã‚   The following stage which is the third stage, involves the spirit becomes chaste by putting down self egos and lusts which is change from aesthesis to non-aesthesis, and it also consist of going through many phases of spiritual transformation and rebirth; finally reach the Nirvana which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism.   The stages of reincarnation is determined by ones action, it is said that the past action decide the current life, and present action decides the future life, because Buddhist believes that ones behavior is according to the mind and thoughts but not fate, therefore one shall deserve what it takes from the result of what he or she did (Wow Essays, 2004). Besides than the perspectives and beliefs, the difference between Buddhism and Taoism is the ways of handling and solving the problems in life such as health problems.   According to Taoism, everything in this world has its own natural order, and the way to handle problems first is to understand the nature; the Yin-yang concept is the core concept of this particular principle.   Yin-yang concept state that reality are binary which consist of the combination of two opposite elements to form the entirety by balancing these two totally opposite elements.   In addition, by conquering the defectiveness of soul by attaining the balance of oneself, then lead to conducting the mental or cosmic energy that is known as Chi in one selfs body is believed that can help to heal illness or sickness of body (EduBook, 2008).   The creation of the Tai Chi exercise is based on the Yin-yang concept which can help to circulate and balance the Chi in the body and maintain body health because Taois t believe that illness are cause by the imbalance or jamming of Chi in the circulation of body (Robinson B.A., 2010)    Meanwhile, in Buddhisms beliefs, problems in life like illness and sickness are a part of life; hence they should be accepted as the nature of life.   Buddhism requires the finding of problems source; meditation is the practice of Buddhist that guide people to find focus, peace and calm in one self, and the presence of focus, peace and calm will help to identify the origin of problems and guidance to take good actions to overcome the problems (Knierim T., 2010).   At the same time, unlike Taoists healing illness by balancing the opposite elements and conducting the Chi, Buddhists seek for medications (EduBook, 2008).   However, because Buddhists believe in the nature of life, so herbal medications which are extracted and purified from the plants is the only medication that is used by Buddhists. Buddhism and Taoism are also different in how they look at relationships and marriage. According to Buddhism beliefs, marriage is not a necessary event ones life, so there is no special type of ceremony or practices for getting married.   Besides that, sexual activity is only accepted socially and ethically when it takes place in marriage, and it is not accepted when there is not within a marriage relationship.   Buddhism beliefs that in a marriage, both husband and wife will need to possess four important qualities to become a well-matched and maintain a good marriage, the four qualities are faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom.   Faith requires the understanding between the husband and wife, it is through understanding each another helps to build up trust, honor and faith, and faith is the main key which will lead to the development of virtue, generosity and wisdom.   According to Buddhism beliefs, satisfactions of the five senses and reproduction are the two main purposes of marriage because it is said that not a single figure, sound, smell, savor and touch can attract a man more than a woman and this same goes to a woman. Besides that, reproduction is important to the society because of the obligations of the family which means children will be the one who are responsible to take care and support the parents and protect and continue the unique customs of the family (Gamage C., 1998). On the other hand, Taoism believes that woman represents Yin and man represents Yang, and the Tao means the path to harmony will be achieved when a woman and a man get into a relationship and commit together as one, the Yin chi will be accepted by the man and Yang chi will be received by the woman, then both Yin and Yang will combined into one and balanced.   Some people relate the word Tao with marriage by saying that marriage is the Tao to future means the way or path towards the future because the life after marriage is like a new life and through marriage babies are born: babies are the hope and creation for the future.   At the same time, since Taoism emphasize on balancing and harmony of nature, it also laid stress on the harmony of the relationships between people especially for husband and wife.   Thus, husband and wife should avoid confrontations and serious conflicts.   Prevention of confrontations or even conflicts can be made by calm, love, caring, respect, accept ance, humility, communication, emotional control, self-awareness, self reflections, sacrifice, and support and understanding of each another. On the whole, both Taoism and Buddhism are religions that guide people how to live a good life and teach the important values of life.   These two religions have some similarities and sometimes these similarities may even cause people to mistaken that both of them are the same religion or some may mistaken the beliefs and practices of Buddhism and the beliefs and practices of Taoism.   There are similar beliefs between these two religions such as both of them believe in the life after death and life cycle never end and also both have similar ultimate goal, but their objective principles, their understanding, beliefs and interpretation about the life after death, their perspectives and methods to deal with the problems especially health problems in life, and their point of view and practices in relationships and marriage are very different.   Both have their unique and different way of thinking and interpretation of life.

Drug Legalization Essay -- Drugs Argumentative Use Essays

This paper will prove that America’s drug laws are ineffective and cause more harm than good. The notion that a state of freedom exists in America is completely voided by narcotic laws. Narcotic laws cause a black market, which raises the prices of drugs to astronomical levels. These high prices cause drug addicts to turn to crime in order to support their habit. There exists substantial evidence that marijuana is less harmful than legal product like alcohol or nicotine. The war on drugs is comparable to the Vietnam War in its harm on the current generation of minorities. The government avoids ending anti-narcotic legislation because of the vast amount of capital which is spent on the war on drugs in terms of law enforcement and prison systems. Also there are many legislators whose campaign corner stones are often getting tough on drugs, to make an about face would mean political suicide. Yes, drugs are illegal. This very fact is what discourages many Americans from using drugs. However the illegality of the substances in question do not stop all people from using. Despite the severe punishment users of illicit drugs face if caught, illicit drug use is widespread in the United States. â€Å"According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's 1992 National Household Survey, more than one in three Americans (36.2%) have used illegal drugs at least once in their lifetime, nearly 28 million Americans (11.1%) used them in the previous year, and almost 14 million Americans (5.5%) used them during the past month† (Skolnick 3). This is clear evidence that the war is not working. Drug addicts will continue using drugs regardless of the penalties associated with procession, simply because they are addicted to these dangerous substances an... ...nment run store where drugs would be sold only to adults. Much the same as the way liquor is sold in many areas of the country today. Drugs would for the most part be out of the reach of children. Drugs would be relatively inexpensive, and within the reach of addicts, who would no longer have to turn to crime in order to obtain them (when was the last time you heard of someone getting mugged in order for the perpetrator to buy beer). People would be allowed to freely grow marijuana and or hemp. Treatment for addicts would be free and easily obtainable. Money would be spent on improving the conditions of schools, roads and other things that Americans really need. There would exist much the same laws for operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs as exist for operating under the influence of alcohol today. There would once again be a state of freedom in America.