Neonatal Nurses' Perceptions of a Work-based Learning Approach Personal Statement

Neonatal Nurses' Perceptions of a Work-based Learning Approach - Personal Statement Example More importantly, through the work-based module, I could be able to relate theory with practice and thus develop applicability of what I lean in the classroom. Furthermore, the motivation for the work based module that I took is the need to develop my health care career in the most efficient way. Through the work based module, I was aware that would obtain an opportunity of learning the basic workplace behavior. This includes communication and interaction with other health care professionals at the workplace (Miller, Chalmers and Swallow, 2004). These concepts are important in the provision of my assistance during the care of patients and people who require nursing care. In addition, I took the work based study module to enable me to develop the required skills in health care which I would apply in my future career and thus achieve effectiveness in the workplace. Moreover, I considered the work-based learning module as the most appropriate way to acquire the relevant occupational kno wledge which will enable me to relate what I lean in the classroom with its practical application at the workplace. Reflection on my Expectations My expectations were many when I took the work-based learning module. ... These expectations were motivated by my prior knowledge that I acquired on health care and the attitudes and perceptions which I attained during my classroom learning experience. Later, I discovered that the actual situation in the workplace was quite different from my expectations. The work environment was friendlier than I had expected. The health care staff was willing to provide me with assistance when I required. Nonetheless, it was my cooperation and enthusiasm which motivated some of them to assist in the attainment of skills and more knowledge on effective care. Additionally, health care workers are more communicative than I had considered before. As a result, I was able to collaborate in the provision of care. This collaboration enabled me to be an effective learner and I was now able to relate my classroom knowledge with occupational practices. However, as opposed to my initial expectations, I discovered that classroom knowledge was much less adequate in practice. This is b ecause I realized that if I had to be an effective health care assistant, I had to apply my talents, skills, and intuition so that I would achieve quality in care.  

Orruption in Primary Education in Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Orruption in Primary Education in Bangladesh Essay Introduction The adult literacy rate is 51 percent The average number of teacher per primary school is only 4 Average number of students per primary school is 273 The primary teacher-student ratio is 67:1 Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2 Development in Primary Education Adoption of an education policy in 2000 Five-year cycle to an eight-year cycle by 2010 Free and compulsory primary education for all children; Free education for girls up to grade eight; Free books for all children at primary level; 3 Development in Primary Education A food-for-education programme Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP) Creation of a separate Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED) A proliferation of non-formal education programme by NGOs, and 4 Achievements in Primary Education Net enrolment rate has reached 80 percent Over 70 percent of the students now complete the five-year primary cycle 60 percent are present in school on an average day Source: Campaign for Popular Education The University Press Ltd. 5 State of Corruption, Mismanagement and Irregularities in Primary Education All these programmes are infested with endless flaws and irregularities. TIB Household Corruption Survey identified the education sector as fifth corrupt sectors (2002) TIB Corruption Database identified the education sector as the third most corrupt sectors (2004) TIB and Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) conducted a Report Card Survey in the primary education to identify the gaps and flaws in our basic education level as well as to locate and dispose of corruption. 6 Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) TIB developed six Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) Mymensingh Kishoregonj Nalitalari Madhupur Muktagacha, Jamalpur The main objective of the formation of the CCCs is to create local groups which would serve as local lobbyists seeking to curb corruption, instigate reform and promote integrity in the public service delivery system. 7 Sources of Data Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey, TIB (2001) Report card survey is a simple approach for organizing public feed back Report Cards are designed to assess the nature, types, extent and implications of corruption, and at the same time facilitate stakeholders participatory movement for improving the quality of service in the sector. 8 Name of Areas and number of different respondents for the Report Card Survey (2001) Respondents Area Mymensingh Muktagachha Jamalpur Kishoregonj Nalitabari Madhupur Gouripur Sharishabar Total Headmaster 23 25 20 21 19 20 21 22 171 Student 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Guardian 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Total 253 273 260 261 259 260 247 290 2103 9 Sources of Data Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2002) Information from 3030 Households Corruption Database: TIB (2004) Information from 26 Dailies Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2005) Information from 3000 Households Quality with Equity: The Primary Education Agenda, Campaign for Popular Education Bangladesh (2005) 8212 Respondents 10 Corruption in admission in primary education TIB Report card Survey (2001) shows that 6. 52% of the primary students paid Tk 63/- on average as admission fees . TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) showed that 40% primary students had to pay 209 taka as admission fees 11 Irregular subscription/fees TIB Report Card Survey (2001) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 47 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 58 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal 12 Percentage of students who paid illegal fees 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0. Sp or ts Bo ok s rit ua ls m ot io n ex am ex ta in m lE po se s th er pu r am . xa en t En te r Pr om 2n d Re lig io us m 1s tT er Te Fi na rm 2001 2005 Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) O 13 Amount of average illegal fess 2001 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 6 3 0 m ion ok s . ex am or ts t en ls r it ua us io O th er inm lE Bo ex Sp os es pu rp am xa ot om Pr te En 2005 er m Fi na tT Te rm rta 1s d 2n Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005). Re l ig 14 Corruption in Food for Education Program 16 % of the cases the criterion was not observed 15. 5% of the students paid on an average Taka 32 to be included in the programme Subscription was collected by teachers, Dealers and from Others On average every student received 2. 47 Kgs food grain less every time Missing 1241 tons of food grain in 8 Upazillas equivalent to 12 million taka (1USD=52 taka) Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 15 Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Started from July 2002 substituting the former Food for Education Programme (FFE). Aim of attracting and keeping more children, especially of the poor Forty percent of the students in rural area are eligible to receive Tk 100 stipend per month Identification of 40 percent of pupil enrolled in grades 1-5 from the poorest households by School Management Committee (SMC) To remain eligible for the monthly stipend, a student has to attain minimum 40 percent marks in term examinations and have 85 percent monthly class attendance. 16 Corruption in Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Over two-thirds of the children from the poorest category were not selected to be recipients of stipend; 27 percent of children from affluent households received the stipend 32. 4% primary school students who have been enrolled for stipend had to pay 40 taka for their enrolment 46 percent of the stipend holders did not receive the full amount of stipend Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) Source: Campaign for Popular Education The University Press Ltd. 17 Corruption in Upazilla Primary Education Offices 34% of the responding headmasters said that bribes are occasionally required to be paid 13% said that they have to do so every time. Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 18 Consequences of corruption Concerned officials of primary education collected 19. 85 million taka (1USD=52 taka) as illegal subscription from 8 areas (out of 500 areas). Concerned primary education officials collected 546 million taka (1USD=60 taka) as illegal fees from all over Bangladesh Concerned PESP officials collected 25 million taka from primary students to enroll them in the PESP from all over Bangladesh . Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 19 Perpetrators of Corruption 1. Teachers 2. Food dealers 3. Management committee of institutions 4. Employees of institutions Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 20 Causes of corruption 1. Absence of accountability 2. Discretionary power 3. Lack of transparency 4. Monopoly power 5. Influence of powerful people Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2002) 21 The objectives of CCCs advocacy activities on Primary Education. Ensuring quality education in all classrooms implying that there shall remain no room for pursuing any kind of ill motives for personal gain of any concerned party; Promoting collection of reasonable and standard fees in all primary schools; Ensuring that schools keep proper record of official fund collection and expenditure; Promoting the effectiveness of School Management Committees (SMC) and the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) to work as watchdog bodies for the betterment of local-level education; Suggesting strategies for meaningfully reducing the rate of dropouts. 22. TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The advocacy undertaken by CCCs for achieving the above objectives are at three level; Firstly, the CCCs are working to increase mass people through mobile theatres, mothers’ gathering and parents-teachers gathering etc. Secondly, the CCCs are trying to build coalition with School Management Committee (SMC), Upazilla Education Committee, and with the Civil Society. Finally, the CCCs are working with the concerned officials including Upazilla Education Offices, District Education Offices, Upazilla and District administrations etc. 23 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs Most of the upazilla primary education offices have taken initiatives for curbing corruption in their offices. As a result, corruption has somewhat reduced in the offices of the upazilla primary education offices. A number of teachers informed the CCCs that they are not giving bribes in the education office for their services. Because of CCC advocacy, a number of education offices decided on a fixed amount of fees for various purposes. The teachers are no longer collecting illegal fees from the students. 24 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The CCCs have been invited by the Upazilla Education offices to participate in preparing yearly plan. The concerned education officials have requested the CCCs to help them to form the School Management Committee (SMC); The CCCs obtained formal consent to work with two Primary Schools for turning them into â€Å"Islands of Integrity† in each area; Many facets of the local education system appeared to have acted on the CCC-designed recommendations. 25 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs TIB’s suggestions, voiced via CCCs, were taken seriously and changes to record-keeping systems were made as per CCC recommendations; the CCCs had 15 specific reform-oriented recommendations; CCCs have been successful in persuading school authorities to clearly specify the school tuition fees, the rate of stipends, and supplying books on time, at no extra cost to guardians. It was made clear that the CCCs would continue to act as watchdogs for ensuring transparency and accountability; 26 Further Information Md. Sydur Rahman Molla Senior Programme Officer Research Department Transparency International Bangladesh Progress Tower (5th Floor), H # 01, R # 23, Gulshan –1, Dhaka –1212 PH: 880 2 9884811, 8826036, Fax: 880 2 9884811 Email: [emailprotected] org Web: www. ti-bangladesh. org 27 Thanks 28.

Cycles of Violence in The Battler Essay -- Battler Essays

Cycles of Violence in The Battler      Ã‚   Ernest Hemingway's "The Battler" provides a continued account of Nick Adams' dangerous and violent life. Previous stories compiled in "The Short Stories" edition of Hemingway's work documents some of the tribulations of Nick Adams, one of Hemingway's protagonists. Apparently, Nick has been plagued by moments of sheer humility, terror, and immutable violence. In the Hemingway short story "Indian Camp," Nick is a young boy who witnesses a dreadfully difficult birth by a Native American woman, enduring all the while the hubris of his surgeon father, who is contestibly insensitive to Nick's innocence. Once the birth has ended, the husband of the woman is found with a freshly slit throat, again viewed by the young Nick. In "The End of Something," another short story from the same compilation, an older Nick Adams breaks of a listless relationship with Marjorie, his girlfriend. Nick reveals his disgust with being committed to Marjorie during a fishing trip, and the proximity of the two in the boat coupled with the inability for either to escape the immediate situation results in moments of tense humiliation for both. Indeed, the scene percolates with subdued violence.    In the case of "The Battler," the violence is not so heavily subdued. Nick is traveling on a train, probably as a vagabond, and is knocked off of his mode of transportation with a clout to the head by a "lousy crut of a brakeman." (p. 129) This is not a narrated situation, but the reader is made aware of Nick's predicament after the fact as Nick finds himself watching the "caboose going out of sight around the curve" and "touch(ing) the bump over his eye." (p. 129) He finds his hands scraped and the skin on his knees b... ...not escape his destiny: he is a living punching bag, and Nick, in his timely fashion, has not only witnessed another violent episode in this man's life, but has taken part in its occurrence. The two become linked in this dangerous moment. In a moment of foreshadowing, Nick's future teeters on the possibility of a life like Ad's. Before dinner, Ad and Bugs had speculated: "He says he's never been crazy, Bugs." "He's got a lot coming to him," Bugs had softly spoken. (p. 133) Nick's scars and hits are, at this time in his life, only more easily hidden than Ad's. Too late, however: Ad and Bugs have seen his potential to become "crazy," a "battler" as well, though he knows that, as in Ad's case, yours is rarely the winning side. Bibliography Hemingway, Ernest: The Short Stories. Simon and Schuster, New York, First Scribner Paperback Fiction Edition, 1995

Preventing Environmental Damage Essay

The world is recently being beleaguered by environmental issues and problems left and right. Our planet is deteriorating rapidly, and such is due in large part to the activities of man (Cline, 1992). For example, many movements and organizations notice the earth’s problem with respect to pollution, global warming and destruction of ecosystems (Cline, 1992). These are environmental problems that are caused by acts of man. Therefore, the solution and more importantly, the prevention, of these problems also lie in the hands of man. More particularly, the areas where man could take steps towards correcting the damage to the environment call upon leaders to develop programs and policies designed to remedy the problem. Moreover, leaders need to use techniques to implement such programs and policies and deliver results. The participation of leaders in saving the environment is manifested in the acts of countries in taking responsibility in the prevention and saving the environment. As big movers of the world, and wielding great power over its citizens and private companies, countries can accomplish a great deal in preventing further environmental damage. The different approaches in preventing the environment differ in accordance with the respective causes of the damage. Knowing the causes of environmental damage would dictate the proper actions that would prevent such damage from happening. In the case of countries’ responsibility in this respect, their programs of actions should consist of strict rules and regulations that limit the power of individuals, groups, and communities to exploit the environment. Countries’ governments are the only institutions that are given the authority and mandate to regulate the use and exploitation of natural resources. Therefore, countries should be active and vigilant in protecting their environment. For example, coral reef ecosystems, which are very important in maintaining the balance of life systems under the sea, are always being destroyed by abuses by man in utilizing resources from it (Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research). Thus, the main cause of destruction of coral reefs is pollution caused by man (Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research). Thus, environmental protection by countries should consist of the enactment of environmental protection measures and the formulation of appropriate environmental policies (Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research). Another illustration can be found in environmental issues surrounding the use of fossil fuels. Such use creates problems because they cause global warming, and fossil fuel is non-renewable; thus, their use depletes vital resources (â€Å"Benefits from Fossil Fuel Use†). Countries can help prevent such environmental problems by helping the private sector develop technologies that address our dependence on fossil fuel and thereby reduce such dependence and reduce pollution (â€Å"Benefits from Fossil Fuel Use†). Another example of the participation of countries in preventing environmental damage is through agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States. The agency has the jurisdiction and authority to regulate the emissions of greenhouse gases by different sources, such as new motor vehicles (Barze Jr. and Casey, 2007). The initiative of countries can also be shown through the adoption of energy saving and better products that do not cause further damage to the environment. One example can be seen in the initiative of leaders of the European Union. They decided that before the end of the decade, all European homes, offices and streets must use energy efficient lighting (EU to switch to energy-efficient bulbs. (International Report), 2007). Works Cited Barze Jr. , R. B. & Casey, T. L. (2007). The future of greenhouse gas emission regulations: Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. Defense Counsel Journal 74, 269-273. Retrieved October 28, 2007, from http://galenet. galegroup. com. ezproxy1. library. arizona. edu/servlet/BCRC? vrsn=16 0&locID=uarizona_main&ste=5&docNum=A167510332 â€Å"Benefits from Fossil Fuel Use. † 20 Oct. 2007 . Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research. â€Å"Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrity and Restoration Options with Watershed-based activities and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Tropical Pacific Islands. † 8 Sept. 2006. 20 Oct. 2007 . Cline, W. R. (1992). The Economics of Global Warming. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics. ISBN paper 0-88132-132-X. EU to switch to energy-efficient bulbs. (International Report). (2007). Global Warming Today: General OneFile. Gale. University of Arizona Library. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://find. galegroup. com. ezproxy1. library. arizona. edu/itx/start. do? prodId=ITOF

Bibliography on the Mexican Muralist Movement Essay

As an instructor for the Yale-New Haven Teachers institute Maria Cardalliaguet Gomez-Malaga has posted the contents of her Curriculum Unit 06. 02. 01. The Idea behind a final for this class is a discussion of how Modern Mexican, Latino/a, Chicana/o art during the twentieth century turned revolutionary propaganda of the 1920s and 1930s, into a significant 20th century art form to young Chicano artists and activists. These artists developed a strong new Mural Movement that has had strong influences on the social, political and cultural development to support social activism during the 1960s. Her curriculum enabled me to find a starting point in the development of a thesis where I believe this Art form â€Å"The Mural† is able to describe a historical picture of life from one society to another through a Painted Medium. This thesis is preliminary in scope and needs to be defined more precisely in its description of historical life, though it is a beginning or a starting point for additional research. Campbell, Bruce. Mexican Murals in times of Crisis. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-2239-1. This book traces the ongoing critical contributions of mural arts to public life in Mexico to show how post-revolutionary murals have been overshadowed both by the Mexican School and by the exclusionary nature of official public arts. By documenting a range of mural practices—from fixed-site murals to mantas (banner murals) to graffiti—Bruce Campbell evaluates the ways in which the practical and aesthetic components of revolutionary Mexican muralist have been appropriated and redeployed within the context of Mexico’s ongoing economic and political crisis. I think I can show how art can be used by public officials to influence public perception of political cause’s Author: Eva Sperling Cockcroft; Holly Barnet-Sa? nchez; Social and Public Arts Resource Center. Venice, Los Angeles, Calif. Signs from the heart : California Chicano murals Publisher: Venice, Calif. : Social and Public Art Resource Center : Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, 2001,  ©1990 In this book the authors began as just photographers collecting of pictures of Chicano murals for a family album. This would outgrow the picture taking phase as they discovered the social significance as these photos would become a nationwide photo documentation of powerful community based art. The book only one part of SPARC’s collection of mural slides is significant in that it helps to show the shift from Mexico to the United States as the center of mural production in the world. Art and Identity in Mexican and Chicano Social Movements by Edward J. McCaughan. This paper presents a comparative analysis of artwork produced in the context of social movements waged by Mexicans and Chicanos (U. S. inhabitants of Mexican descent) during the two decades between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. Young artists played a central role in projecting the public identity and agendas of powerful social movements that emerged in Mexico and among Chicanos in the United States in the 1960s. This paper is a good starting point for me in that the issues young artists were trying to depict are described in greater detail with the inclusion of female artists in the paper with internationally born artists I feel I have the material to start a solid project. Art and social change, or is it the ability of that art to provoke change in society’s view of? A view of what? Is this racial, social, class, or cultural differences among groups of people that art changes the perceptions of? I still am faced with a question that I would like to have answered for myself!

The Chosen v The Assistant essays

The Chosen v The Assistant essays Themes are literary tools used by authors to enhance their writings. When a similar theme exists in two different novels, parallels can often be drawn between the characters and structures of literary work. Such is the case for Bernard Malamuds The Assistant and Chaim Potoks The Chosen. Religion plays a major role in the shaping of both novels. Both books begin with the respective religious outcast (Frank and Rueven) befriending the respective character (Morris and Danny) as a result of an act of malice. The characters Ida and Reb Saunders from The Assistant and The Chosen respectively have similar reactions to their childs involvement with this outcast. Thus, a definite parallel is evident between the general flow of both novels as a result of the religion theme. The Assistant, set in Brooklyn during the 1940s, opens with a robbery. Frank Alpine, a non-Jew who constantly found himself doing the wrong thing, was one of the men involved in the crime. Frank and his partner Ward robbed the grocery store of Morris Bober. Morris, a poor Jewish family man, had a mere $15 to offer them from his cash register. Ward reacted violently to this news by striking Morris on his head. Frank felt responsible for Morris suffering and was overcome with guilt. To exonerate his conscience, he befriended Morris and started to work for him at the store. In comparison to The Assistant, The Chosen also began during the 1940s in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The opening scene is set at a softball game between two Jewish parochial schools. Hatred and determination were embedded in the minds of every player on that field. This was more than just a softball game between two schools. It was the Hasidics versus the traditional Jews. No one was backing down. Rueven Malter pitched the ball to Hasidic Danny Saunders. Dannys bat connected with the ball and smacked Rueven in t ...

Conformity in To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Conformity in To Kill a Mockingbird Essays Conformity in To Kill a Mockingbird Paper Conformity in To Kill a Mockingbird Paper Essay Topic: To Kill a Mockingbird If everyone was the same, the world would never change. This statement is supported in Harper Lee’s novel â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird. In the novel, conformity is a mandatory social convention. When one doesn’t follow rules and regulations, others may see them as an outcast.In the novel Lee also explores the idea of how someones home life strongly affects them.Lee does this while demonstrating what it was like to live during the great depression, a time where racism was predominant.The protagonist of the story Scout Finch and her brother Jem are exposed to this racism and ignorance which is shown in the traditional behavior of the townspeople.But in the end, differences allow for positive growth and change within the community. By not conforming to gender roles it provides positive change and growth within the community.In the novel the main character Scout Finch is growing up along side her brother.She tends to be more of a tomboy who enjoys the same activities as her brother, Jem. During this time period girls were to wear dresses, â€Å"‘What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole young lady!’† (Lee 135). Scout resists the norm and wears overalls for comfort. She is able to play and run better in pants rather than a dress that everyone wants her to wear. Scout does not care for being a lady, she does not want to be restricted to specific activities that she has no interest in because of her gender. She would much rather play alongside her brother. Later in the novel, her Aunt Alexandra moves in to help with the kids. â€Å"‘ We decided it would be best for you to have some feminine influences it won’t be many years Jean Louise before you become interested in boys and clothes’†(Lee 170).However Scout sees their housekeeper, Calpurnia, as the only female role model she needs in her life.Calpurnia has always let Scout express herself, and wear whatever she pleases.Scout parti

Life of Squanto, Native American Who Guided the Pilgrims

Life of Squanto, Native American Who Guided the Pilgrims Tisquantum, better known by his nickname Squanto, was a member of the Patuxet band of the Wampanoag tribe. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but historians estimate that he was born around 1580. Squanto is best known for his work as a guide and interpreter for early settlers in Southern New England. His advice and assistance were integral to the survival of early Pilgrims, including the Mayflower Pilgrims. Fast Facts: Squanto Full Name: TisquantumNickname: Squanto  Known For: Serving as a liaison between Native American populations and Mayflower PilgrimsBorn: Circa 1580 in southern New England (now Massachusetts, United States)Died: 1622 in Mamamoycke (now Chatham, Massachusetts, United States)Key Accomplishments:  Helped early Pilgrims survive harsh, unfamiliar conditions. Early Years Very little is known about Squantos early years. Historians dont know exactly when or where he was born. They don’t know who his parents were or whether or not he had any siblings. However, they do know that he was a member of the Wampanoag tribe, and specifically the Patuxet band. The Patuxet lived primarily on coastal land in the area that is present day Plymouth, Massachusetts. They spoke an Algonquian dialect. It is believed that the band Squanto was born into contained more than 2,000 people at one point. However, written records of Patuxet are non-existent, since potential firsthand observers from England arrived after the members of the Patuxet were killed out by a plague. Years in Bondage A few historians have suggested that Squanto may have been kidnapped in 1605 by George Weymouth and taken to England before returning to North America in 1614, but modern historians do not believe there is evidence to support that theory. However, Squanto and several other members of the Patuxet were kidnapped in 1614 by Thomas Hunt, an English explorer and human trafficker. Hunt took Squanto and the others to Malaga, Spain and sold them into slavery. With the help of Spanish friars, Squanto escaped and traveled to England. He took a job with John Slaney, who sent him to Newfoundland in 1617. Squanto met explorer Thomas Dermer and eventually traveled with him back to North America. When Squanto returned to his homeland in 1619, he found his village empty. In 1617, a great plague had wiped out the Patuxet and other Native American tribes in the Massachusetts Bay region. He set out in search of survivors, but didn’t find any. He eventually returned to work with Dermer, who was engaging in skirmishes with native populations. Squantos Work With Settlers Squantos time in England equipped him with a unique set of skills. Unlike most other Native Americans, he was able to speak English, which allowed him to act as a liaison between the settlers and Native American tribes. He interpreted conversations and served as a guide for the settlers. Squanto is credited with teaching the Pilgrims how to grow plants and use natural resources. His guidance helped them survive their first year. Squanto was also instrumental when it came to skirmishes with some of the other Native Americans in the area. Some tribes did not appreciate the fact that he was helping the strange people from England. This caused problems for Squanto, who was once captured by a neighboring tribe. He was able to gain freedom from bondage once again and worked with the Pilgrims until his death. Death Squanto died in November of 1622. At the time, he was serving as a guide for William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth settlement. Bradford wrote that Squanto grew sick with fever and died several days later. Some historians, including writer Nathaniel Philbrick, have suggested that Squanto may have been poisoned by Massasoit, but this is just speculation, as there is no proof that a murder was committed. It is believed that Squanto was buried in the village of Chatham Port, but this detail, like many of the details of Squantos life, may or may not be true. Legacy Squanto played an integral role in the survival of early settlers, but one could argue that he isnt always given the credit he deserves. Although there are many statues and memorials dedicated to the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, Squanto has not been memorialized in the same way: there  are no major statues or memorials to Squanto in the area. Despite the lack of memorials, Squantos name remains relatively well-known. This can, in part, be attributed to his representation in films and animated programs. Squanto was the focus of the Disney animated film â€Å"Squanto: A Warriors Tale,† released in 1994. The film was very loosely based on Squantos life, but did not provide a very accurate portrayal of historical events. Squanto also appeared in an episode of the animated series â€Å"This Is America, Charlie Brown,† which aired on television in 1988. The cartoon depicted the journey of the Pilgrims and detailed how Native Americans, like Squanto, helped the Pilgrims survive the hardships of the New World. Like the Disney film, the Charlie Brown cartoon was created for children and glossed over the darker details of English settlement. The most accurate historical portrayal of Squanto in popular culture is in the National Geographics â€Å"Saints Strangers.† This two-part mini-series appeared on television during 2015 and depicted the Mayflower journey and the Pilgrims first year in North America. It should also be noted that Squantos legacy includes appearances in history textbooks. Unfortunately, most of the depictions of Squantos life are derived from the historical writings of English Separatists, which incorrectly portray Squanto as  a noble savage. History is now beginning to correct the record of Squantos legacy. Sources Baumann, Nick. â€Å"Heres The Crazy Story About Thanksgiving Youve Never Heard.†Ã‚  The Huffington Post, 25 Nov. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/thanksgiving-squanto-tisquantum-true-history_us_565471e1e4b0d4093a5917bb.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. â€Å"Squanto.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 29 Oct. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Squanto.â€Å"Squanto.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 22 Nov. 2017, www.biography.com/people/squanto-9491327.â€Å"Squanto.†Ã‚  Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery in America, Encyclopedia.com, 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/north-american-indigenous-peoples-biographies/squanto.

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

Response - Assignment Example Through such kind of networks, the fellows can thrive in most if not all of their endeavors. For instance, "20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship" played a significant role in Ritesh Agarwal success (Velayanikal, 2015). It gives the fellows the opportunity to escape boredom of being in classrooms. That is, it serves as an alternative to college as a way for better life (Constine, 2014). I believe that Thiel Fellowship makes one to face the reality of life instead of the theoretical practice in classes. It gives one an opportunity to face life challenges such as starting a business and become innovative enough to address them. It does not only provide employment ideas, but develops one as a person to be able to make their decisions (Imam, 2014). Another reason that would make me join the fellowship is because there is a proof of success among those who joined first. Eden Full, who left Princeton to start SunSlauter, is a good example (Kim, 2015). Her business now has branches in 15 countries and a factory in India. Even though, some have failed in the program, the success shows that there is hope in it (Hindman, 2012). In conclusion, I would accept Thiel Fellowship opportunity if given a chance since it has more pros than cons. I do believe that failure among some of the individuals is the same way even in education others do fail. The financial support and mentorship is enough for a young person’s success. Constine, J. (2014). Correction: 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship Did Not Up Age Limit To 23, But Maybe It Should. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/10/thiel-fellowship- twenty-under-twenty-three/ Kim, E. (2015). Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel’s Plan to Pay College Students To Drop Out is Showing Mixed Result. Retrieved from

Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between Essay

Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Organizations - Essay Example Not For Profit Organization: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Organization Profile The United nations Children’s Fund is a not for profit organization which was established as an initiative of the United nations Organization to provide humanitarian as well as developmental assistance to children and mothers, especially in the developing world. The organization is commonly known by the initials UNICEF, which were derived from the original name of the organization which was The United nations Children’s Emergency Fund. The name was shortened to the United nations Children’s Fund in 1953.The organization had its headquarters in New York, USA and is one of the key members of the United nations Development Group, being part of its executive committee. The organization was created and established in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly to provide emergency services to children and women in the countries that had been adversely affected by the e ffects of the World War II. Among the emergency services provided included provision of food and healthcare services to the children and their mothers. In 1953, the organization had grown and was made a permanent part of the United Nations System since its services were considered very vital in helping the United Nation meet its objectives. The organization relies heavily on contributions from private donors and governments. About two thirds of the resources of the organization come from member governments, the rest of the resources come from private corporations and individuals. Individual contributors are estimated to be about 6 million people who make their contributions through the national committees in member countries of the UN. The services of the organization are aimed at assisting development at the community level in the developing countries while promoting the well-being and health of children. The organization’s services were recognized internationally when it wa s awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1963 and the Prince of Asturias award of Concord most recently in 2006. The mission and vision of the organization revolves around improving the lives of children and women in the developing countries through provision of health care services and development projects in the communities. Ethical Dilemma Like any other not for profit organization, The United Nations Children Fund faces a lot of challenges. Some of the challenges that not for profit organizations face include legal, financial, leadership or ethical problems. Ethical challenges often involve a conflict of interest. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) faces a conflict of interest in financial management. The organization has limited resources while there are many children and women in the developing world who need the services provided by the organization. Despite getting financial backing from governments as well as individuals and corporations including other not for prof it organizations the organization still faces a lot of challenges in reaching out to its target population across the globe. Most of those who need the services of UNICEF are located in rural areas of some of the poorest countries in the world. The organization faces a challenge of reaching out to these individuals in order to help improve their loving standards. With this situation, the organization faces an ethical dilemma of whether to continue with its operations to individuals in some of

Fashion and its importance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fashion and its importance - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and its importance" explores what is fashion and analyzes its importance. Fashion designers’ lives revolve around fashion, they start outfit trends and people follow them based on their taste. People may use fashion for many different reasons, some might use it for self-expression; the way they dress and appear might seem extreme and that might be what they personally feel about life. Also, other people might use fashion to communicate and present their status. Apart from personal usage, the economy uses fashion to grow. Some might think that the fashion industry is not important and does not need to be taken serious or be interested in. They might see it in a negative way that can be offensive to the fashion icons. Fashion is an important aspect in the day-to-day life in society because it defines a person’s personality; it is used as a way of communication and benefits the economy.Fashion does define a person’s personality in the way an indiv idual dresses. The phrase ‘you are what you wear’ that was made famous by fashionistas has been proven to be correct. says that a person’s fashion personality defines who they are, and it is shown in the way they dress. People will always classify others according to the clothes that they wear. One can be said to be classy, elegant, decent or indecent depending on how they dress. Most of the people do not pay attention to others outfits, while some who are interested in fashion tend to complement their outfits. These could be simple things. like color clashing, accessorizing and making sure that clothes are a perfect fit and not a size bigger. Fashion also helps in the identification of a person’s career, attitude towards certain things and personality (Ingram, 2000). This is more obvious in careers like police service, nursing, doctors and pilots among others that require their professionals to have a specified form of dressing/uniform that can be used to identify them easily. Fashion is a major tool used to express ones personality. This is evident in most communities in Africa and the various religions of the world. The Maasai of Kenya have a distinct way of dressing, which shows that they value their tradition that has stood the test of time for centuries. This community in Kenya is famous for its red shukas that have even been imitated by some designers in the west for their uniqueness, (Werlin, 2011). The Gothic community is yet another example of fashion been used to express attitude, and to show personality. These people often prefer to wear dark colors mostly black with black make up, and accessories. Fashion does not only represent personality but also defines people’s status in the society. Important people in the society, have defining dress codes that distinguish them for the general public (Ingram, 2011). The Royal family of the United Kingdom has expensive, elegant clothing that are custom made and not many can afford. Status of a person is shown in the way they are dressed, not only the status but also a person’s inner expression. Fashion has been used as a form of self-expression in many occasions. Valens (2013) says that â€Å"colors have meanings and we often express the same feeling as the colors that we wear on our clothes†. Fashion used in dull occasions is utilized in such a way that the mood of the people in that occasion is brought out in the fashion used during the occasion. In sad occasions, dull colors are

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 20

Management - Essay Example Currently, people at Mr. X’s hotel owing to his highly profitable management style share mutual goals, which is a kind of trend that results in delivering real value to customers. Following discussion will demonstrate key features of my interview with Mr. X and also explain how his experience added to my knowledge of management. Many factors internal and external to an organization can influence the role played by mangers in carrying out their job. Success of a company depends a lot on if a manager is a good planner and has a considerable experience in planning functions or not. Sometimes managers do not find it easy to fully commit themselves to their plans which can adversely affect both short and long-term goals of a company. Apart from managers’ inherent capabilities, it can be factors external to an organization like the state of an economy or a fiercely competitive business environment which can affect the role played by managers. Bad economy can prevent a manager from good planning. The essence of Mr. X’s narrative was that a manager should essentially view him/herself as a conscientious leader. This is because an ethically and socially responsible leader always remains keen on participating with his/her employees. This participative style is the key to sustain success in any organization. Mr. X also described different management styles to me. Some organizations are run like tribes where managers primarily focus on paternalistic authoritarian management. Such managers develop aggressive-defensive cultures which thrive on the use of coercive prods. These coercive means are used by employers to force employees to complete tasks (Cheng 2006, p. 59). This negatively impacts the rate of employee motivation in an organization. Participative style on the other hand advocates the idea that every member of an organization

Oil price in GCC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Oil price in GCC - Essay Example Since the 1970s’ tremendous oil price shocks till the latest times, the oil prices have exhibited major changes which have immensely contributed to the volatility and uncertainty of the energy sector. The oil prices in the timeframe between 2007 and 2008 rose by 40 dollars to reach the threshold of 100 dollars down from 60 dollars, which had already increased to 147 dollars by July. By August, the prices fell to 145 dollars and in four months marked at the end of December 2008, they were trading at 45 dollars. The cycle of rise and fall of oil prices was repeated in 2009 and the trend has progressed till 2014. This trend has been a serious concern as it affects both producers and consumers. In the last decade, there has been much literature devoted to the exploration of the relationship between stock markets and oil prices in the GCC countries. Research from empirical documents indicate that the fluctuations in the oil prices has an impact on the corporate performance of companies, earnings and output as well as stock returns. Most of the studies conducted recently have indicated a link between stock prices and oil prices although such studies were based on market performances of developed economies. The assessment of the movement of GCC stock markets in response of the movements in oil prices can be examined both industry-level stock return data and country-level data (Bjornland, 2009). The findings show that there is a direct relationship between stock prices and oil prices in the short term which is not present in the long term. The casualty relationship exists, in most cases, running from oil prices to stock markets at the country level. At the industry level, the responses of the return on oil are relatively positive, as marked by only twelve out of twenty industries. The response of the oil price in relation to movements of the stock returns can be described as asymmetrical (Awartani & Maghyereh, 2013). This

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 20

Management - Essay Example Currently, people at Mr. X’s hotel owing to his highly profitable management style share mutual goals, which is a kind of trend that results in delivering real value to customers. Following discussion will demonstrate key features of my interview with Mr. X and also explain how his experience added to my knowledge of management. Many factors internal and external to an organization can influence the role played by mangers in carrying out their job. Success of a company depends a lot on if a manager is a good planner and has a considerable experience in planning functions or not. Sometimes managers do not find it easy to fully commit themselves to their plans which can adversely affect both short and long-term goals of a company. Apart from managers’ inherent capabilities, it can be factors external to an organization like the state of an economy or a fiercely competitive business environment which can affect the role played by managers. Bad economy can prevent a manager from good planning. The essence of Mr. X’s narrative was that a manager should essentially view him/herself as a conscientious leader. This is because an ethically and socially responsible leader always remains keen on participating with his/her employees. This participative style is the key to sustain success in any organization. Mr. X also described different management styles to me. Some organizations are run like tribes where managers primarily focus on paternalistic authoritarian management. Such managers develop aggressive-defensive cultures which thrive on the use of coercive prods. These coercive means are used by employers to force employees to complete tasks (Cheng 2006, p. 59). This negatively impacts the rate of employee motivation in an organization. Participative style on the other hand advocates the idea that every member of an organization

Personal statement explaining a positive criminal background check for

Explaining a positive criminal background check for entering a Nursing program - Personal Statement Example The DWI offense happened in June of 1994 as a misdemeanor that ensued from having a few alcoholic beverages at a wedding reception and using poor judgment concerning driving home. I was placed on 2 years’ probation with community service and finished probation early. I have never driven while intoxicated since this incident and have since encouraged people not to do it either. In August of 1994, I completed a court ordered DWI education program (rehabilitative effort) that focused on learning about the negative consequences of driving while drunk. The experience reinforced the lesson never to drive while intoxicated due to the risks that could be posed on oneself and on others. On March 11, 1997, I was arrested for Driving While License Suspended and I was so surprised because this offense was apparently a mistake by the law enforcement agencies. Their records showed that I did not complete the above DWI Education course which was a compulsory requirement for DWI; and they suspended my license without duly informing me about it until I got pulled over that day. I went to court to clear matters up and they dismissed the case due to "Insufficient Evidence" since I showed proof that I was able to complete the DWI education on time and their records showed that they were at fault. This incident should have been duly noted and recorded and therefore should not even be taken into consideration as a misdemeanor and a behavior characteristic. I am hereby attesting that these narrated incidents are factual and having transpired more than 17 years ago, I believe these isolated incidents, despite one’s immaturity and irresponsible behavior at the time they occurred, should not bear significantly on future potentials and plans to be a registered nurse after pursuing the Nursing Program. I assure the Nursing Board that I have learned the lessons

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay A key theme in Great Expectations and April Raintree is the growth and change of the characters towards their acceptance of social class. This will be proven by Pip not accepting himself in the lower class and April not accepting herself in the native class. Then, there will be proof of how Pip and April attempted to change their social class. Finally the proof of how Pip accepted himself in the social class he was in and how April accepted herself as a Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip did not accept himself in the lower class. He wanted to be in the upper class just like Miss Havisham is. Pip was ashamed of his family and its lower class status. How he wasnt as fortunate as Estella who is a member of the higher class, especially when Estella insulted Pip saying that he is common and how he has coarse hands. He did not have a reason to think about his class status before this, and now that he does, hes disturbed to think he might be just common. This ensured Pip to not accept himself in the lower class. He didnt see any good from it. Pip felt he needed to impress Estella. She was the one who changed Pips perspective in everything. Before meeting Estella, Pip really looked up to Joe, blacksmith or a gentleman, Joes class status makes no difference. It is not until later, when he learns that the world cares about class, thats when Joes status mattered to Pip. After seeing Estellas house and everything she had, he wanted more to look forward to. Pip did not accept his life in the lower class. April is a young woman who has so many issues with her family and the people in her life. April always hid her feelings of shame from her sister Cheryl. April did not accept herself in the native class. Although she did not look native, she was sometimes ashamed that her sister Cheryl looked more native than she did. There were two different groups of children that went to the park. One group was brown-skinned children who looked like Cheryl in most ways. They were dirty-looking and they dressed in real raggedy cloths. I didnt care to play with them at all. The other group was fair-skinned and I envied them especially the girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. They seemed so clean and fresh. Some of them were freckled but they didnt seem to mind. To me, I imagined they were very rich and lived in big, beautiful houses. I wondered what their lives were like and I wished we could play with them. But they didnt care to play with Cheryl and me. They just called us names and bullied us. (Pg. 6) Since April was young, she always wanted to be with the people who were fair-skinned. She didnt like seeing her sister being called names especially, when they had to live with the DeRosiers. Half breeds were all that was said in that house. I heard you half breeds were dirty but now I can see that its true. (Unknown :() At one point, April hated being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She felt that being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis changed her life because when you think of Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis, you think of living off the streets and bums on Main Street. She wasnt any of these and she didnt want to be labelled as them. She was not happy being the person she knew she was. April did not accept her life in the native class. Pip changed his social class by going off to school to become a gentleman. He was lucky to have a benefactor. Ive put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half-forgot wot mens and womens faces wos like, I see yourn. . . . I see you there a many times plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. Lord strike me dead! I says each time-and I goes out in the open air to say it under the open heavens-but wot, if I gets liberty and money, Ill make that boy a gentleman! And I done it. (pg. 340) Magwitch reveals himself as Pips secret benefactor and how he got all his wealth. This quote changed Pips idealistic view of wealth and social class by forcing him to realize that his own status as a gentleman is owed to the loyalty of a lower-class criminal. Year after year, he moved further away from Joe and his lower class. Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one mans a blacksmith, and ones a whitesmith, and ones a goldsmith, and ones a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come. (pg. 236) Joe comes with a smart and content attitude toward the changes in Pips social class that have driven them apart, and he shows his goodness and loyalty by blaming the division not on Pip but on the unchangeable nature of the human condition. Pip as a gentleman makes a lot of money and as he gets wealthy, he forgets his family and the people that are important to him. In other words, he worries about trying to impress people, rather than being moral. April Raintree changed her identity of a native by marrying a rich white man named Bob Radcliff. She always wanted to be rich and forget about her heritage. She moved away from Winnipeg to Toronto. She tried running away from the life she did not want, to try to live a life she wanted. You think I dont know why you married Bob? It was to get away from me, thats why. Ill be you wished you were an only child. I bet you wished I was dead. (pg. 155) It was almost like she did not want Cheryl in her life at all. You never loved that man. You loved his money. You figured you were going to be Miss High Society. (pg. 158) April did not love Bob Radcliff; she only married him for his money. Pip learns from his mistakes growing up. After realizing what kind of person he has become, and how he has treated his loved ones, he felt he was better off being in the lower class. Pip realized that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and inner worth. When he is finally able to understand that, besides the esteem in which he holds Estella, someones social status is not what so ever connected to that someones character. Bentley Drummle is a symbol to this because even though he is a minor character, he gave an important message. Drummle is an upper class member. He gave Pip proof that social class has no connection to attitude, personality or moral worth. Drummles negative example helps Pip to see the inner worth of characters such as Magwitch and Joe, and Pip eventually scraped his immature fantasies about wealth and class. Everything changes for Pip after he learns the class status of his benefactor because he realized that Magwitch, a kind-hearted man who was never able to come out of the status into which he was born but in the end he was able to get wealthy. April realized that she wasnt happy with Bob, so they got a divorce. From that divorce, she received a good amount of money. She immediately went back home to her sister, but things were not good between Cheryl and April. After Cheryl committed suicide, April found her diaries and read them. She finally realized what Cheryl has gone through while April wasnt in her life and what she thought of everything especially what she thought of April. April accepted being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis then and there. Like her sister, she is proud to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Since she loved Cheryl, she was glad that a part of Cheryl was alive in her son, Henry Liberty. All life dies to give new life. (pg. 184) It was tragic that it had taken Cheryls death to bring April to accept her identity but she would strive for a better tomorrow now. For her sister and her son, her parents and her people. In conclusion, Pip accepted himself in the social class that he used to be in. Even though he remained in the higher class, Pip realized that he still cared for his loved ones in the lower class. For April, she accepted herself in the social class she was born in. Even though Cheryls life had to be taken away before April realized how important her heritage was. Pip carried a snobby attitude for a great portion of his life. He treated the people he loved without realization of how he wasnt respectful towards them. April had tried hiding, she had attempted to be someone shes not, she had tried being with someone she didnt love, and she had also undertook to blocking her own sister out of her life. No matter what April did, she couldnt get away from what she really was inside. She was born Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She just didnt feel proud of it nor did she want to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip and April both had issues with the people in their lives and they both found their true identities from being ashamed of their social class to peace with their lives.

Elie Wiesels Relationship With God In Night English Literature Essay

Elie Wiesels Relationship With God In Night English Literature Essay What are you, my Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦compared to this afflicted crowd, proclaiming to You their faith, their anger, their revolt? What does your greatness mean, Lord of the Universe, in the face of all this weakness, this decomposition, and decay? (73-74) You would often hear these questions in concentration camps for Jews during the Holocaust; while fellow Jews were mercilessly killed. Elie Wiesels memoir, Night, is his personal encounter with the Holocaust as a Jew. He had an average life in a little town in Transylvania. At the age of fifteen, his life becomes full of suffering and oppressions. Wiesel and his family were moved into concentration camps, which resulted in losing his mom and sister and altering his views of religious ways and life. The most important altercation is Wiesels connection with religion because thats what gives him the courage and strength to continue to live. Initially Elie shows strong devotion, then becomes disillusioned with Gods power, and ultimately redefines the position God holds in his life. In the beginning, Elie Wiesels relationship with God in Night shows strong devotion. Wiesel made spirituality inherent to all activities and initiated the study of the Zohar, and advanced Jewish text, by himself with the help of Moche the Beadle. Wiesel wished to spend his life focused around Judaism and devoted all his free time and energy on religious studies. With Moches guidance, they would read the same pages of the Zohar over and over to extract the divine essence from it (15). Wiesel believed that religion was a basic survival need, showing that he followed his religion instinctively; just as he would any other body function. When Moche asked him why he prayed, Wiesel couldnt think of a proper answer and thought, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦strange question, why did I live, why did I breathe? (14). Wiesel maintained confidence in religion as the situation deteriorated. Wiesel and his people gave thanks to God for survival, keeping hope that God was putting them through a test of hardships what would keep them alive if they kept their faith. When they had arrived at Auschwitz, they thanked God and were able to regain their confidence because, Here was a sudden release from the terrors of the previous nights (36). Wiesel thanked God for the little things that helped him because he wanted a sense of protection and clung to the belief that God watched over them and helped them survive the challenges he faced. When Wiesels new shoes get covered in mud and are not discovered by the SS Guards, he thanked God, in an improvised prayer, for having created mud in His infinite and wonderful wisdom (47). In the next stage of Elies relationship with God in Night he becomes disillusioned with Gods power. One way Elie accomplishes this is by doubting Gods preeminence. Within the concentration camps, the Jews went through torture that caused them to question the foundation of their religion. In one conversation among them, Elie ponders his misgivings about Gods justice and sees God in a new light that brings him to fell à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I had ceased to pray. How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny Gods existence, but I doubted His absolute justice (53). As examined in the previous paragraph, Elies religion was central to his life, however this stage is marked by him turning away from God and trying to sort out all the turbulent feelings of abandonment and injustice. As Elie was confronted with the horrors of the crematorium for the first time his faith and all of the things he thought he knew were severely altered, and (f)or the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bles s His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank him for?(42). Another way that Elie expresses his disappointment in God is by rebelling against the religious teachings he has followed all his life. One point that Elie put a great amount of stress on in Night, is the fact that while in this camp he felt like God was nonexistent. As the first nightmarish night in the concentration camp unfolded, Elie as a person was changed. His beliefs became different and he was no longer able to see the world in the same light, as expressed in (n)ever shall I forget these moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust(43). As all of this ran through his mind, Elie began to resent God and the religious habits he had been following. As his life was taken apart bit by bit, God meant less and less to him. This was due to the fact that he couldnt get past the thought that God should stop this. This led him to revolt ag ainst God, and he found himself asking Why, but why should I bless him? In every fiber I rebelled(74). Ultimately, Elie redefines the position God holds in his life. Elie sees that the Holocaust highlights the evil and cruelty from everybody. Not only by the Nazis, but from the other prisoners, his fellow Jews, even himself. He feels that if the world is so awful and cruel than God either must be awful and cruel or not exist altogether. (On Yom Kippor) I no longer accepted Gods silence. As I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in the gesture an act of Rebellion and protest against him (pg. 76). From this, Elie feels that he is better off alone in a world without God and man. I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone terribly alone in a world without God and without man (pg. 75). Because Elie realizes his belief of God was always present, his habit of religion will never leave. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In spite of myself, the words formed themselves and issued in a whisper from my lips:à ¢Ã¢â€ š ¬Ã‚ ¦May His name be blessed and magnifiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ My heart was bursting (pg. 43). Elie prays to God subconsciously, reflecting the incompleteness of his loss of faith. Elie claims he no longer believes in God, but he, in turn, looks to God when he is doubtful of his ability to control himself. And in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God whom I no longer believed (pg. 97). In Night, Wiesels relationship with God experiences ups and downs, which ultimately changes his views about God. At the very beginning of the book, Wiesel shows his strong devotion to God but as he personally experiences the Holocaust, Wiesel becomes cynical of his religious beliefs. While Wiesel grows and transforms into a man, he simultaneously redefines Gods position in his life. Wiesel, being a forthright author, surfeits many examples of the mental and physical effects of people in the Holocaust and more specifically, a young boy. For this reason, Night provides a deeper understanding of the Holocaust so that with a better understanding of such a horrific event, history does not repeat itself.

Comparing Creons Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedi

Creon's Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus      Ã‚  Ã‚   Temptation is ever present in our society and always has been throughout human history. When a person gives into temptation, this is seen as a sign of weakness. Usually, after a person has given into temptation once, that person will find each successive temptation easier and easier to give in to. Before realizing it, this person has changed into a completely false, morally lacking being. Over the course of Sophocles' three plays Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, Creon gradually changes from a moral, just king into a morally corrupt and deceptive character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the opening of the first Theban play, Oedipus the King, Creon is a neutral character. He informs Oedipus that the city of Thebes is suffering from a great sickness, and he even goes to Apollo to acquire information as to how this plague may be stopped. Oedipus proclaims Creon's trustworthy nature when he states "I sent Creon,/ my wife's own brother, to Delphi- / Apollo the Prophet's oracle-to learn / what I might do or say to save our city" (Lines 81-84). Oedipus later relies on Creon to arrange a meeting with Teirisias, the blind prophet who sees all things and is usually found within the city limits of Thebes.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Later on in the play Oedipus accuses Creon of conspiring with Tiresias against Oedipus' kingship. It is at this point in the play where Creon serves as the voice of reason and logic. Dodging Oedipus' insane accusations, Creon derives at many logical, unarguable explanations in his defense. Creon argues,    Who in his right mind would rather rule And live in anxiety than sleep in peace? Particularly ... ... Ode on Man in Sophocles' Antigone." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Herodotus.   The Histories. Translated by Aubrey de Selincourt. England: Penguin Books, 1972.    Jaeger, Werner. "Sophocles' Mastery of Character Development." In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Segal, Charles. Oedipus at Colonus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.    "Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi

Animal Farm Study Questions Chapter 6-10 Essay

1. The animals are doing a lot of work because they have to get the windmill done. 2. Napoleon decides to trade with the neighboring farms because the can’t afford to let the windmill go undone and the animals are starving. 3. The animals’ reaction is that they are shocked but decide it is necessary that Napoleon trades with the neighboring farms. 4. The windmill is destroyed by the wind that knocked it over. Napoleon blames Snowball because he wants to make Snowball seem like an even worse person. 5. Napoleon orders that the hens’ eggs be sold because the farm needs more grain and for hundred eggs a week is what they need to get the grain they need to survive until the summer. 6. The way Napoleon acts is that he makes it where anyone who takes the hens food or any supply will be punished and he needs the eggs. 7. The animals confess to being traitors because they believe that they deserve what the other animals got from them. Chapter VII and Chapter IX 1. The purpose is to show that the animals are not living off worse than before they rebelled against Jones. 2. Napoleon is becoming more and more like a typical dictator because he is taking over the animals’ natural rights and he is making it where they can’t do certain things. He’s becoming just like Jones. 3. Napoleon outwits himself by making sure he had money up front aside from a pay-me-back and when he does that, he gets counterfeit money instead. 4. What makes the battle against Frederick’s men different from the Battle of the Cowshed of that Frederick’s men had guns this time and were able to kill more animals than last time. 5. The whiskey incident is when Napoleon drinks too much alcohol and is on his deathbed but he soon recovers. 6. The living conditions are harsh considering the pigs and dogs can take what they want because they have to vicious dogs to control the other animals. 7. Napoleon allows Moses to come back and tell his stories because it keeps the animals working hard and it keeps them from realizing what a jerk and over powerful man Napoleon is becoming and it keeps them from having thoughts of rebellion. Chapter X 1. The changes that the years have brought to the farm are that Jones has died and it may not be as bad as Jones’s time but it’s well on it’s way there. 2. Orwell makes fun of bureaucracy by exaggerating the way Napoleon is becoming human. 3. The animals feel that their farm is better off than it was before the rebellion but they are still not getting what they deserve from the upper animals. 4. They kill off the animals because they betrayed them. 5. The new commandment is All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others. It has been true from the beginning because the pigs took over in the beginning and they started taking more and more of the animals’ rights away as they went . They started to believe that they were better than everyone else. 6. The pigs’ appearance starts to change when they start walking on their hind legs and at the end, the pigs become human; their faces change completely. // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

Immanuel Kant Essay

HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. philosophypages. com/ph/kant. htm† Immanuel Kant answers the question in the first sentence of the essay: â€Å"Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. † He argues that the immaturity is self-inflicted not from a lack of understanding, but from the lack of courage to use one’s reason, intellect, and wisdom without the guidance of another. He exclaims that the motto of enlightenment is â€Å"Sapere aude†! – Dare to be wise! The German word Unmundigkeit means not having attained age of majority or legal adulthood. â€Å"Unmundig† also means â€Å"dependent† or â€Å"unfree†, and another translation is â€Å"tutelage† or â€Å"nonage† (the condition of â€Å"not [being] of age†). Kant, whose moral philosophy is centred around the concept of autonomy, here distinguishes between a person who is intellectually autonomous and one who keeps him/herself in an intellectually heteronomous, i. e. dependent and immature status. Kant understands the majority of people to be content to follow the guiding institutions of society, such as the Church and the Monarchy, and unable to throw off the yoke of their immaturity due to a lack of resolution to be autonomous. It is difficult for individuals to work their way out of this immature, cowardly life because we are so uncomfortable with the idea of thinking for ourselves. Kant says that even if we did throw off the spoon-fed dogma and formulas we have absorbed, we would still be stuck, because we have never â€Å"cultivated our minds. † The key to throwing off these chains of mental immaturity is reason. There is hope that the entire public could become a force of free thinking individuals if they are free to do so. Why? There will always be a few people, even among the institutional â€Å"guardians†, who think for themselves. They will help the rest of us to â€Å"cultivate our minds. † Kant shows himself a man of his times when he observes that â€Å"a revolution may well put an end to autocratic despotism . . . or power-seeking oppression, but it will never produce a true reform in ways of thinking. † The recently completed American Revolution had made a great impression in Europe; Kant cautions that new prejudice will replace the old and become a new leash to control the â€Å"great unthinking masses. † Immanuel Kant’s Ideas on Science and Morality According to the 18th-century German thinker Immanuel Kant, no person may possess inherent wisdom about reality. This is best summarized in the philosopher’s famous expression, â€Å"Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without data are blind. † Indeed, Kant believes that in order for us to utilize our sensible intuition, we must possess two stimuli, â€Å"physical sensation† and â€Å"moral duty. † The first of the two addresses a portion of Kantian thought known as â€Å"empirical realism,† a reasoning that defines that absolute reality as the entire universe in which all human beings dwell. Every time we acquire external data from that absolute reality, our perception of it assumes a greater degree of accuracy. And what would be the optimal way of acquiring such data with only minimal if any contact with other persons’ perceptions (which are, like ours, inaccurate, only in different ways, since each human being possesses a unique arsenal of experiences)? Scientific exploration is, therefore, the key to an ultimate comprehension of things-in-themselves. Kant was a fervent admirer of Newtonian thought and the Scientific Method, which permitted scientists to ascend to unprecedented heights in their understanding of and control over nature. The second stimulus to action, moral duty, provides the explanation for the purpose of all human actions toward the comprehension of the universe. This portion of Kant’s doctrine has been dubbed by the philosopher as â€Å"transcendental idealism,† since it establishes a framework outside the natural world upon which correct actions are based. Kant sees the ultimate virtues to be the attempts to reach three goals which are not yet found in reality, God, freedom, and the immortality of individuals. God, the Creator and Supreme Being of the universe, must be fathomed, properly interpreted, and obeyed in accordance with his true desires. Freedom, the individual liberty to act as one wishes and to grant all others this right, must be instituted through societal reforms and a development of ideology to understand the proper order that would establish such an atmosphere. And, at last, every human being must rise to possess the right to exist for an indefinite length of time that he may 1 / 3 obey the commandments of God and practice his freedoms. Kant states that all which is right and moral must be based upon those three principles. As such, Kant separates the scientific realm (which describes what is) from the moral realm (which explains what ought to be), but he considers these two realms to go hand-in-hand — ultimately advocating putting the scientific realm in service to moral one. Kant: The â€Å"Copernican Revolution† in Philosophy The philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is sometimes called the â€Å"Copernican revolution of philosophy† to emphasize its novelty and huge importance. Kant synthesized (brought together) rationalism and empiricism. After Kant, the old debate between rationalists and empiricists ended, and epistemology went in a new direction. After Kant, no discussion of reality or knowledge could take place without awareness of the role of the human mind in constructing reality and knowledge. Summary of Rationalism The paradigm rationalist philosophers are Plato (ancient); Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz (modern). Don’t trust senses, since they sometimes deceive; and since the â€Å"knowledge† they provide is inferior (because it changes). Reason alone can provide knowledge. Math is the paradigm of real knowledge. There are innate ideas, e. g. , Plato’s Forms, or Descartes’ concepts of self, substance, and identity. The self is real and discernable through immediate intellectual intuition (cogito ergo sum). Moral notions are comfortably grounded in an objective standard external to self — in God, or Forms. Kant says rationalists are sort of right about (3) and (4) above; wrong about (1) and (2). Kant would like (5) to be true. Summary of Empiricism The paradigm empiricist philosophers are Aristotle (ancient); Locke, Berkeley, Hume (modern). Senses are the primary, or only, source of knowledge of world. Psychological atomism. Mathematics deals only with relations of ideas (tautologies); gives no knowledge of world. No innate ideas (though Berkeley accepts Cartesian self). General or complex ideas are derived by abstraction from simple ones (conceptualism). Hume — there’s no immediate intellectual intuition of self. The concept of â€Å"Self† is not supported by sensations either. Hume — no sensations support the notion of necessary connections between causes and effects, or the notion that the future will resemble the past. Hume — â€Å"is† does not imply â€Å"ought†. Source of morality is feeling. Kant thinks empiricism is on the right track re (1), sort of right re (2), wrong re (3), (4), (5), and (6). Summary of Kant’s Argument The epistemological debate between rationalism and empiricism is basically about whether, or to what extent the senses contribute to knowledge. Both rationalism and empiricism take for granted that it’s possible for us to acquire knowledge of Reality, or how things really are, as opposed to how they seem to us. But both rationalism and empiricism overlook the fact that the human mind is limited; it can experience and imagine only within certain constraints. These constraints are both synthetic and a priori. All our possible experience must conform to these SAPs. The SAPs include location in space and time, causality, experiencing self, thing-ness, identity, and various mathematical notions. (Twentieth- century Gestalt psychology’s attack on psychological atomism is based on Kant’s views. ) Therefore, we must distinguish the world we experience, bounded by SAPs, and the world of things as they really are â€Å"in themselves†. Kant calls these two worlds the phenomenal (apparent) world versus the noumenal (real) world. Empiricism pretty much nails what it means to know something, once the SAPs are in place; i. e. , within the phenomenal world, empiricism rules. The phenomenal world is a world of things, publicly observable, describable by science, known to the senses, determined by physical laws. No God, no 2 / 3 freedom, no soul, no values exist in this world. If God, freedom, souls, and values exist, then they must be noumenal and unknowable by any ordinary means. Thus, according to Kant: Both rationalism and empiricism are wrong when they claim that we can know things in themselves. Rationalists are wrong not to trust senses; in the phenomenal world, senses are all we have. Rationalists are right about â€Å"innate ideas†, but not in Plato’s sense of Forms— much more like Descartes’ in argument of the wax. Hume is wrong when he claims the concept of self is unsupported by senses, and thus bogus. Rather, the experiencing self is a pre-condition for having any experience at all (Descartes was right). Hume is wrong when he says the notion that the future will resemble the past is due only to â€Å"custom and habit†. That notion is a SAP; we couldn’t have ordinary experience without it. Hume is wrong when he says the source of morality is feeling. Morality, properly understood, provides the key to linking the noumenal and phenomenal worlds. Kant argues that if morality is real, then human freedom is real, and therefore humans are not merely creatures of the phenomenal world (not merely things subject to laws). Ramifications of Kant’s Views Kant revolutionized philosophy. Kant showed that the mind, through its innate categories, constructs our experience along certain lines (space, time, causality, self, etc. ). Thus, thinking and experiencing give no access to things as they really are. We can think as hard as we like, but we will never escape the innate constraints of our minds. Kant forced philosophy to look seriously at the world for the agent (what Kant calls the phenomenal world) independently of the real world outside consciousness – the world in itself (the noumenal world). Ethics had long recognized the importance for moral evaluation of â€Å"how things seem to the agent. † But the ramifications of Kant’s noumenal-phenomenal distinction extend far beyond ethics. Philosophers like to take credit for all the big events in 19th century intellectual history as direct consequences of Kant’s philosophical legitimizing of the perspective of the subject: Hegel and German idealism, Darwinism, Romanticism, pragmatism, Marxism, the triumph of utilitarianism, Nietzsche, and the establishment of psychology as a science, especially Gestalt psychology. Phenomena and NoumenaHaving seen Kant’s transcendental deduction of the categories as pure concepts of the understanding applicable a priori to every possible experience, we might naturally wish to ask the further question whether these regulative principles are really true. Are there substances? Does every event have a cause? Do all things interact? Given that we must suppose them in order to have any experience, do they obtain in the world itself? To these further questions, Kant firmly refused to offer any answer. According to Kant, it is vital always to distinguish between the distinct realms of phenomena and noumena. Phenomena are the appearances, which constitute the our experience; noumena are the (presumed) things themselves, which constitute reality. All of our synthetic a priori judgments apply only to the phenomenal realm, not the noumenal. (It is only at this level, with respect to what we can experience, that we are justified in imposing the structure of our concepts onto the objects of our knowledge. ) Since the thing in itself (Ding an sich) would by definition be entirely independent of our experience of it, we are utterly ignorant of the noumenal realm. Thus, on Kant’s view, the most fundamental laws of nature, like the truths of mathematics, are knowable precisely because they make no effort to describe the world as it really is but rather prescribe the structure of the world as we experience it. By applying the pure forms of sensible intuition and the pure concepts of the understanding, we achieve a systematic view of the phenomenal realm but learn nothing of the noumenal realm. Math and science are certainly true of the phenomena; only metaphysics claims to instruct us about the noumena. POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Balance Sheet and Income Statement Commentary Essay

On JB Hunt’s balance sheet for 2011 lists current assets of $513,542,000 and current liabilities of $438,515,000, yielding a current ratio of 1.17, which indicates the company, has $1.17 of current assets for every $1 of current liabilities. The previous year 2010, the current ratio was 0.91. This shows a 29% increase in the current ratio over the previous year. An organization with a current ratio of 2 or higher is usually viewed by lenders to be a safe risk for short-term credit. Based on the 29% increase in current ratio, JB Hunt is in a better position to obtain short-term financial than it was in 2010. However, it is still below the benchmark of 2 that lenders feel to be a safe risk. Under the economic circumstances of the past five years, lenders may take into consideration other factors such as comparing JB Hunt’s current ratio to that of other competing trucking companies. JB Hunt’s quick ratio for 2011 is 0.95 and for 2010 was 0.70. A quick ratio or â₠¬Å"acid-test† measures cash, securities, and accounts receivables of a company in comparison to its current liabilities. The quick ratio is especially important to companies that have a history of challenges with converting inventory into cash quickly. This difficulty could interfere with the company’s ability to pay its short-term debt. A quick ratio between 0.50 and 1.0 is typically perceived as satisfactory, but with a shadow of potential cash-flow problems. JB Hunt’s quick ratio improved by 36% over the previous year, which indicates the company, has improved its ability to meet its short-term obligations. JB Hunt’s debt to stockholders equity ratio for 2011 is 299% and 242% for 2010. This ratio evaluates the extent to which the company relies on borrowed money for its operations. A ratio over 100% indicates a business has too much debt and not enough equity to pay off the debt if they suddenly needed to do that. With a debt to equity ratio of 299%, JB Hunt has a significantly high level of debt when compared to its equity. Investors and lenders would most likely view the company to be too risky to either invest in or to lend money to. JB Hunt’s basic earnings per share ratio for 2011 is 1.07 and 0.79 for 2010. This ratio indicates the amount of profit the business earned for each share of outstanding common stock. The earnings per share ratio reveal earnings that potentially stimulate the growth of a company and provide funds, which can be distributed as a dividend to stockholders. JB Hunt’s basic earnings per share increased by 35% over the previous year, which indicates the company has money to reinvest to ignite further growth. JB Hunt’s return on sales ratio for 2011 is 94% and 92% for 2010. This ratio indicates if the company is keeping pace with or exceeding its competitors in producing income from sales and services. JB Hunt increased its sales ratio by 2% over last year. A 94% sales ratio is an extremely high number compared with the other three companies analyzed for this assignment. To determine how competitive this ratio is with the ratios of other trucking companies would require additional research and analysis of more companies, which is outside the scope of this assignment. JB Hunt’s return on equity ratio for 2011 is 45% and 35% for 2010. This ratio assesses risk by indicating how much a company earned for each dollar invested by shareholders. JB Hunt’s equity ratio of 45% is a profitable ratio especially since investors consider a ratio over 15% to be a reasonable return. In addition this ratio is an increase of 29% over the previous year. UFP Technologies (Plastics manufacturing) The 2011 balance sheet for UFP Technologies lists current assets of $58,040,394,000 and current liabilities of $9,465,304,000, yielding a current ratio of 6.13, which indicates the company, has $6.13 of current assets for every $1 of current liabilities. The previous year 2010, the current ratio was 47.62. This shows a significant increase in the current ratio over the previous year, which is due to assets acquired in 2010 due to an acquisition. An organization with a current ratio of 2 or higher is usually viewed by lenders to be a safe risk for short-term credit. Based on a current ratio that is more than 3 times what is considered to be a safe risk, UFP Technologies seems like it will have no trouble obtaining short-term credit should the need arise. UFP Technologies’ quick ratio for 2011 is 4.80 and for 2010 was 36.12. This company has an outstanding quick ratio that is 4 times what is typically perceived as satisfactory. Based on this ration UFP Technologies should have no problem with cash flow or with paying its short-term debt. UFP Technologies’ debt to stockholders equity ratio for 2011 is 29% and 38% for 2010. This ratio indicates that the company has a low percentage of debt compared to its equity and does not rely on borrowed money to run its operations. Investors and lenders would most likely view the company to be a safe investment or a safe company to lend money to on a short-term basis. UFP Technologies’ basic earnings per share ratio for 2011 is 0.77 and 0.72 for 2010. The company’s basic earnings per share increased by 7% over the previous year, which indicates the company has some money to reinvest for further growth. UFP Technologies’ return on sales ratio for 2011 and 2010 is 12%. There was no change in this ratio from the previous year. This ratio indicates the company may not be keeping pace with its competitors in producing income from sales and services. UFP Technologies’ return on equity ratio for 2011 is 17% and 18% for 2010. This ratio assesses risk by indicating how much a company earned for each dollar invested by shareholders. UFP Technologies’ equity ratio of 17% is a profitable ratio especially since investors consider a ratio over 15% to be a reasonable return. However, the ratio decreased by 5.5% over last which may be upsetting to shareholders who are looking for an increase in this ratio year after year and not a decrease. United Natural Foods, Inc. (Specialty food stores) United Natural Foods’ balance sheet for 2011 lists current assets of $8,444,492,000 and current liabilities of $463,421,000, yielding a current ratio of 18.22, which indicates the company, has $18.22 of current assets for every $1 of current liabilities. The previous year 2010, the current ratio was 1.37. This shows a 1,229% increase in the current ratio over the previous year. An organization with a current ratio of 2 or higher is usually viewed by lenders to be a safe risk for short-term credit. With a current ratio of 18.22 United Natural Foods would definitely be view favorably by lenders if the need arose to seek short-term credit. United Natural Foods’ quick ratio for 2011 is 0.59 and for 2010 was 0.44. The quick ratio is especially important to companies that have a history of challenges with converting inventory into cash quickly. A quick ratio between 0.50 and 1.0 is typically perceived as satisfactory, but with a shadow of potential cash-flow problems. Althoug h a quick ration of 0.59 is an improvement over last year, this number is still low and indicates United Natural Foods may experience financial difficulty, which could interfere with the company’s ability to pay its short-term debt. United Natural Foods’ debt to stockholders equity ratio for 2011 is 61% and 98% for 2010. This ratio evaluates the extent to which the company relies on borrowed money for its operations. A ratio over 100% indicates a business has too much debt and not enough equity to pay off the debt if they suddenly needed to do that. With a debt to equity ratio of 61%, which is a decrease of 37% over the previous year, United Natural Foods has significantly decreased its dependency on borrowed money to fund its operations. This makes the company more appealing to either investors or lenders since the reduction in this ratio indicates the company is less of a risk than it was a year ago. United Natural Foods’ basic earnings per share ratio for 2011 is 0.80 and 0.79 for 2010. This ratio indicates the amount of profit the business earned for each share of outstanding common stock. The company’s basic earnings per share increased by 1.2% over the previous year, which indicates th e company is moving in the right direction toward increasing the earnings per share so that it can reinvest in the company and grow the company in the future. This percentage is actually a good indicator of grow considering the state of the economy over the past 5 years. United Natural Foods’ return on sales ratio for 2011 and 2010 is 3%. This ratio indicates the company is maintaining the status quo and produced the same amount of income from sales and services this year that it did last year. This could be due to the volatile economic conditions preventing new customers from shopping at United Natural Foods because they need to find way to cut costs. United Natural Foods’ return on equity ratio for 2011 is 9% and 11% for 2010. This ratio assesses risk by indicating how much a company earned for each dollar invested by shareholders. United Natural Food’s equity ratio for 2011 decreased by of 2%, which is a disappointing number for shareholders. Investors consider a ratio over 15% to be a reasonable return. Wells Fargo (Mortgage Company) Wells Fargo’s balance sheet for 2011 lists current assets of $1,313,867 million dollars and current liabilities of $920,070 million dollars, yielding a current ratio of 1.43, which indicates the company, has $1.43 of current assets for every $1 of current liabilities. The previous year 2010, the current ratio was 1.48. This shows a 3.4% decrease in the current ratio over the previous year. An organization with a current ratio of 2 or higher is usually viewed by lenders to be a safe risk for short-term credit. Based on the current ratio, Wells Fargo is a risky company for any lender. Under the economic circumstances of the past five years, lenders may take into consideration other factors such as comparing Wells Fargo’s current ratio to that of other competing companies. Wells Fargo’s quick ratio for 2011 is 0.07 was 0.11. A quick ratio or â€Å"acid-test† measures cash, securities, and accounts receivables of a company in comparison to its current liabilit ies. A quick ratio between 0.50 and 1.0 is typically perceived as satisfactory, but with a shadow of potential cash-flow problems. Wells Fargo’s quick ratio is 0.43 points below the minimum level of satisfactory. This company is severely at risk of not being able to convert inventory into cash quickly and may end up defaulting on its short-term debt. This is a risky company for investors and lenders. Wells Fargo’s debt to stockholders equity ratio for 2011 is 827% and 884% for 2010. This ratio evaluates the extent to which the company relies on borrowed money for its operations. A ratio over 100% indicates a business has too much debt and not enough equity to pay off the debt if they suddenly needed to do that. With a debt to equity ratio of 827%, Wells Fargo has an astronomical level of debt when compared to its equity. Investors and lenders obviously view this company as a business to avoid. Wells Fargo’s basic earnings per share ratio for 2011 is 1.50 and 1.18 for 2010. This ratio indicates the amount of profit the business earned for each share of outstanding common stock. The earnings per share ratio reveal earnings that could potentially stimulate the growth of a company and provide funds, which can be distributed as a dividend to stockholders. Wells Fargo’s basic earnings per share increased by 27% over the previous year, which indicates the company may have some money to reinvest back into the company for growth. Wells Fargo’s return on sales ratio for 2011 is 48% and 36% for 2010. This ratio indicates if the company is keeping pace with or exceeding its competitors in producing income from sales and services. Wells Fargo increased its sales ratio by 12% over last year. A 48% return on sales ratio is a high number. This ration indicates that the company is making strides to be competitive again. Wells Fargo’s return on equity ratio for 2011 is 11% and 10% for 2010. This ratio assesses risk by indicating how much a company earned for each dollar invested by shareholders. Investors consider a ratio over 15% to be a reasonable return. A ratio of 11% is disappointing to investors. However, it is a slight improvement over the previous year. So the company may be working on pulling itself back up and learning how to become profitable and attractive to lenders and investors once again. References Raibom, C.A. (2010). Core Concepts of Accounting (2nd ed.). : John Wiley & Sons Inc.. Annual Reports, http://www.sec.gov, date retrieved 06/28/2012