The Importance Of Free Will In Regards To Morality Research Paper

The Importance Of Free Will In Regards To Morality - Research Paper Example Alex commits different crimes from mugging, breaking into stores to raping of minors. Finally, Alex is arrested during a break into an old woman’s mansion, taken to court and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. The climate environment does not suit Alex due to his violent ways and later on after befriending some prisoners, they beat up a cellmate to death. Alex finds himself in as participant in a reform treatment that utilizes Ludovico’s technique that had been under assessment (Burgess 285). Alex is put under the process of reform treatment that proves to be a bad ordeal for him after which he gets released into the society. Later, Alex continues with his old violent ways however, this time with a new gang. Finally, Alex agrees to transform after an encounter with an old comrade and his wife. In theoretical context, a typical human being has to possess the ability to choose what he or she wants to do. The ability to choose encompasses the choice between the good an d the evil that has more orientation on one’s own morality. In cases where a person cannot choose what they prefer or want on a certain matter, then they are no better than any other animal that has no ability to choose that is they cannot be considered equal human beings. The author of the novel represents the significance or importance of having a moral choice on a particular subject. The author emphasizes the importance of having a personal freewill while resolving a certain matter since one has the capacity to transform his or her own life and even become a righteous human being. In the case of Alex, the same ideology applies and finally brings him into a transformed human being with certain expectations in life. The expression of Alex’s disappointment in the dysfunctional family can be considered as one of the factors that contribute to Alex’s engagement in crime (Skjorestad 9). However, having the freewill to choose the right and wrong, he finally manages to overcome the aguish and disappointment since he finally realizes that he has for all this time causing self-destruction through engagement in crime and other undesirable behavior. The novel strengthens the point that persons who make bad choice for themselves are far much superior to the person who is forced into doing something good by another person. In the novel, the necessity of having freewill for all humans was voiced by two people these are F. Alexander and the chaplain in the prison (Newman 7). Freewill has been argued by different people including the author to be necessary for the maintenance of humanity both at individual and societal levels. In the novel, Alex has the chance to point out that revolutions can only be managed or built on freewill. However, freewill in the case of Alex violates certain aspects since the actions of Alex harms other people (Newman 7). The author agrees with the fact that Alex’s deeds do indeed cause harm to others and presents the m ain question in the novel that is whether the society should nurture the harmful freewill (Sandy 67). The author continues to argue out that the harmful free will should be nurtured or allowed since the choice of doing well is genuine therefore cannot be forced (Burgess 282). The author continues and gives the evidence in the instance where being good is forced into Alex through the ordeal presented by the Ludovico’

Comparing For Profit and Non for Profit Colleges Essay Example for Free

Comparing For Profit and Non for Profit Colleges Essay Colleges and university have slowly become one of the stepping stones into the working world today. People go to colleges for higher education with the intention of earning degrees in which they can use in their respective fields. Some example degrees that people pursue are Medical, Law, Business, Accounting, and Science Degrees. Through the years the idea of college was that it was optional and it was a door for better life and job. However in the modern times, it become a necessity. It all started when the colleges once single- gender institutions target specific students in their respective demographics. Today, the college market has now been divided into two major categories: Not-for-Profit Colleges and For-Profit colleges. Not-For-Profit Colleges are institutions that are interested in serving the students needs by providing necessary education to the student. The Not-For-Profit organization are tax exempt and have a board of trustees that makes decisions. For-Profit Colleges are run like a business in which their goal is to generate income for their owners and shareholders. There are no board of trustees at For-Profit College and the owner and shareholders control the decision on which is best for the institution. Although the objective for both Not-for-Profit Colleges and For-Profit College is to provide their students an education in which they can use for their future, both institution have great differences in which their organizations are run. Although the primary objective For-Profit colleges is to provide an education, they are merely a business in which their goal is to earn a profit. Like any business, the For-Profit Colleges can be setup as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or even a subsidiary of a larger company. The For-Profit College can also be setup as a corporation that have stocks traded on the stock markets. They will try to bring earnings and a return on investment for all their shareholders and investors. They can have great flexibility because at the end of the day, the goal for the For-Profit College is to make money and only that. The instructors that are hired at For-Profit Colleges usually have a very different approach to their teaching compared to Non-For-Profit Colleges. Usually they are merely there to carry out the lesson plans in which was designed by the institution. Majority of the lesson plan given to each student is standard which means the instructors do not have the liberty to create their own curriculum or lesson plans. This is also due to the purpose of the education given is to assist the student in getting specific jobs with specific job functions. The courses at the For-Profit college is to help the students get better jobs in the market while the courses at Not-For-Profit College intend to allow the student learn and grow within their respective fields. Students that enter For-Profit colleges already have a plan in terms of type of jobs they would like to pursue and they enroll in the necessary courses while some students at Not-For-Profit College have no idea which career that they would like to pursue. Not-For-Profit college help you learn and gain the knowledge in the field that youre interested in while For-Profit colleges prepare you for the specific job that you want to do. The admission process for For-Profit schools are not as selective as the one in Not-For-Profit College. There isnt much prior evaluation of the student since their main goal is to make a profit. They tend to be more flexible in terms of their requirements and appeal to students of all ages and races. Modern day classes can be taken online and at more convenient times such as nights and weekends to accommodate students that work full time. Online has also been the new trend because of the lower overhead costs for the For-Profit institution. For-Profit institutions tend to not have a campus like the Not-For-Profit colleges do. For-Profit colleges classes is usually at their own building or leased space. There isnt any services such as on-campus food or housing that is available to the students at For-Profit institutions. The college provides students with the education that they need for their desire jobs rather than a college experience that a Not-For-Profit college can provide. For Profit institutions conduct their accounting the same as any regular business would do. Their main goal is to make a profit just like all businesses would do. For-Profit institutions must comply with the Federal Accounting Standard Board. The tuitions are recorded as revenue while the expenses include leases, staff, and maintenance expenses. For-Profit colleges budget system must include tools to forecast budgets, manage variance and generate financial reports. The budget forecast is designed to estimate revenue and expenses to its income center, administrative cost structure, and its academic schedule. The income center budget includes enrollments, revenue, and expenses by academic period. Administrative expenses include administrative costs per student and personnel pay ranges. The budget should also include financial report to show if the institution is profitable. Statements such as cash flow statements, net income, and balance sheet should all be included. The budget must also be flexible enough in case that their projections arent accurate. They should be easily accessible so that managers can routinely check if their performance is above, below, or even on target. To determine if the institution is on track with its budget and strategic plans, they would measure their six categories in their budget to get a better picture of the institutions performance. They are new students, enrollment, cost performance, revenue, net income, and cash flow. This way they would also be able to measure the efficiency of their institution also. The goal for Not-For-Profit Colleges is to provide students with higher education and help them advance in a particular field. Not-For-Profit Colleges are traditional college such as community colleges, state universities, and liberal arts colleges. These institutions gain funding to provide their services from the government subsidy, tuition fees, and donations. All the income that are received is strictly used for institution purposes. Some examples are professors, staff, maintenance, utilities, or even computers that the school needs and student needs. All the money is given back to the institution in some way. The professors hired at a Not-For-Profit College design their own courses and create their own course curriculum and lesson plan. They can provide the education in their courses with their own individual styles and lesson plans. The professors are under the guidance of the Board of Trustees, which is composed of different representatives that make decisions for the college. Not-For-Profit colleges are mainly to provide education for the student who are enrolled in their institution. The classes are usually on a campus in which the student spends a majority of their time at. The board of Trustees focuses on improving their campus for the student. The Board of Trustees is constantly making decisions from an academic, campus, and efficiency perspective in order to provide the best possible service for their students. Not-For-Profit Colleges select their students through a vigorous and selective process. Students usually express interest in attending the college and then the college decides if the student would be a good fit for the college. After being accepted, the student would be able to earn a scholarship to help with the room and board that the college charges. Not-For-Profit Colleges are selective of the students since they strive to serve students who would fit the reputation of the institution. This selective process allow college to focus on the needs of the students that are a good match for the college. From an accounting perspective Not-For-Profit colleges follow the rules of Governmental Accounting Standards Board who is responsible for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used by the United States. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board issues statements that deal with the accounting principles and financial reporting rules of government and other Not-For-Profit organizations. Like all Not-For-Profit organization, these college contribute without expecting commensurate returns. Their main purpose is to provide education to the students that enroll in their school. Most of their income for these colleges come from the tuitions and fees they receive from their student. Other income comes from donation and government subsidies. When a Not-For-Profit College receives tuition payments and fees in full from students the college is supposed to record it at a gross amount, as any revenue would be recorded. If a student meets certain criterion that allows them to attend a publicly funded not-for-profit institution, tuition may be waived in the form of a tuition waiver. Tuition Waivers are reported as a contra-revenue account reducing the revenue account. If the college has any debts, they are recorded just as businesses record them as the debts are recorded with institutional support expenses. Students may pay for college with scholarships which are essentially amounts contributed for the education of a selected individual. Scholarships are given for a range of reasons including high academic standing, membership in certain societies, or awards. However there are two main sources of scholarships which are an outside donor or the scholarship is awarded by the college itself. If the scholarship is from an outside donor the not-for-profit college simply collects the amount receivable from the donor. If the scholarship is awarded by the college itself the accountant reduces the college’s accounts receivable. This reduction in the accounts receivable is recorded as an expense to education and general student aid. Certain expenses of a not-for-profit college are unrestricted net assets classified as instruction expense, research expense, public service expense, academic support, student services, institutional support, operation and maintenance of plant and student aid. Not-For-Profit Colleges cannot operate on tuition fees alone as all the money is immediately put into the school. Fortunately as a Not-For-Profit organization these colleges may receive governmental subsidies as support revenue. There are two types of government subsidies classified as unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted subsidies are intended for the college to use in general operations. The Board of Trustees also has the power to decide whether a subsidy is unrestricted. Restricted subsidies can be split into either temporarily or permanently. These subsidies often are given for a certain purpose such as an expansion or special project. The restrictions on these subsidies refer to the amount that can be spent and when it can be spent. Sometimes the government may also provide students with grants, which are similar to scholarships in the sense that they are provided to help students reach their financial needs for school. Government grants can both be state or federal and come from government programs such as Pell or the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant. Similar to scholarships the college may either distribute the cash to the proper students or receive the amount that is to be distributed. If the college decides to receive the grant then it is recorded as a liability in the â€Å"Grant Funds Held for Students† account. Not-For-Profit colleges usually also have an endowment fund which is used to help finance the operating expenses of the organization. Aside from the general endowment the institution may also have restricted endowments intended for specific purposes such as professorships, scholarships or fellowships. For cash received from permanent endowments it is recorded as a contribution and the income is restricted to student aid. Any income received due to an endowment is temporarily restricted and the cash is meant to be spent on student aid. The other services that a Not-For-Profit College provides are the Auxiliary Services. The Auxiliary Services are the services and amenities of the campus. Examples of such services are residence halls, food services and the college athletic teams. These services are classified under unrestricted revenues and expenses. The total of the accounts from the auxiliary services are reported on the Statement of Activities for the College and subsidiary records are also kept. The Statement of Activities for the Not-For-Profit College will usually list the Revenues combined with Total Net Assets Released from Restrictions for Operations to get the Total Revenues and Reclassifications. The next section is usually the Expenses section followed by any Net Change in Unrestricted Assets, Temporarily Restricted Assets and finally Permanently Restricted Net Assets. The Statement of Activities is then followed by a summary on the Change in Assets for the past year. Even though the main purpose of both For-Profit and Not-For-Profit is the same, the way that they function arent necessary the same. The accounting standards and rules that they follow both are very different. Also the rules that both colleges follow are extremely different. Both colleges have their strength and weaknesses in their way that they serve their students. The student should chose the type of college they want depending on what their needs are. If the student is looking to advance their education they should be looking for a traditional Not-For-Profit College. If they are trying to land a job that has technical skills which are required, then the For-Profit College is a better option.

Folklores Influence Towards Modern Texts English Literature Essay

Folklores Influence Towards Modern Texts English Literature Essay Stories are the earliest form of literature. It has taken its birth with the birth of man. In india jataka tales Panchtantra and kathasarita sagra are the earliest collection of stories. Story tradition in india,Egypt,china and Greece is ealiest form of literature. Origin of folktales is traced back to vedic Akhayanas.Atharvveda is collection of superstitions,folkbeliefs and rituals of man.Jataka tales are earliest form of folk tales.These jataka tales have their own importance,since they serve as a lense to the past and enable one to view clearly working of contemporary society.A systematic survey of jataka takles provide us a picture of by-gone days.Each of these stories conveys a lesson in one way or other whi ch could serve the society in multifarious ways.Jataka tales consist of ideas of Lord Budhha.Buddha while narrating jataka tales had brought out the realities of life which were useful not in the past but also in the present time.These tales are mostly in Pali.Customs,tradit ions and religious beliefs of various Hindus are reflected in folk tales.Specific times and places have given folktales a local coloring.The term Folklore was firdt introduced by William THOMS IN 1846.The term folk refers to any group of people who shares a commen factor of language,occupation or religion. Folklore is transmitted ffrom individual to individual.Folktales were produced by people in the past and today they exist in small part survivals.Folklore is about the traditional beliefs and story of a community. Since hundered years ago,the science of folklore has revolutionized our attitude towards such texts.Now we know the importance of folklore and we know no longer regard it having relation to mythology.According to some people folklore and mythology should not be separated.The dichotomy took hold in European circles when some of the anthropologist under the influence of Ellen Harrison and Lord raglan discovered a theory both myth and rituals are linked to each other.On the other folktales and folktales were not expected to have any relation with ritual.Folktales are traced back to the vedic ages.Now there are Brahamanas whi ch are Sanskrit texts composed by priests to explain the purpose of vedic rituals.This is their universal agenda and every line shows references to vedic sacrifice.There are some flaws in this argument which arises from distinction between myth and folktales,the distinction between the Great and the Little tradition and false supposition that myth is always associat ed with rituals.Ananda k .kumaraswamy says that the content of folklore is metaphysical. The one thing one could do is to make a sequence of stories all along the line with some more folk then myth and reversal.But to do this ,one has to associate folk with tales that deals primarily with human problems and there is minimum intervention of supernatural .While myth would deal with supernatural problems.It is useful to distinguish between stories having different emphasis in JAIMINIYA and it is also not wise to say that folktales are not myths.They are myths with a non supernatural bent.They are stories about families and problems created before us by human society. It can also be established that the Brahmanas are regarded as the private property of elite textualists who ever lived are infact undistinguishable from the stori es collected by the BrotherS Grimm in german farmhouses.So it is not easy to separate the folk material form classical material .Since these stories in JAIMINIYA were written by priest in Sanskrit and therefore regarded as part of The Great tradition.These prejudice is prevalent even when we know that folk material there is written in Sanskrit words such as Hitopadesa and Panchtantra .Because of their secularity they are regarded as folk tales ,the sacred Brahmanas could not descend the level Marchen,falling suddenly from myth to folktale.There are certain portion of Jaiminiya dealing with myths..The cosmic stories of the Gods and the Godesses , the creation of the world ,and origin of death ,all of them are well known,There are some stories which are about the sacrifice ,they are about the shadowsof sacrifice obscured in r ituals but illuminated by narrations,The sacrifice in these tales have so many myths ssociated with it as clear from allusions in Rigveda. We can locate folktales in space but not in particular time.We can specify the era or the age of the tales.Take an example of Danga-66G sqmile are in Gujarat.It is inhabited by many communities that modern Indian government would classify as Scheduled tribe.Goth was the word used in Dang for stories,narrative or account.There are so many stories of Dangis pasts such as ;Juni goth,Mohorni goth,padunchi goth.There is also a contrast being shown by Fabian of the coevalness of imperialism and anthroplology.There are two major events in which Dangis frame their past are moglai and mandini.Moglai is the time when Dangis moved in forests .Mandini marks the end of moglai.Mandini is associated with british rule over region.It shows the distinction between premodern and modern.Moglai is identified with pre-colonial and mandini is associated with british rule.History of Dangs on Gujarat deals with pre-colonialism and post colonialism .Most of the tales in Gujarat have tangential relations of pa st or present.Khari goth or true stories sustain to claim to time and space whereas imaginary goth come at margins of khari goth.Old men and women in their old age might often tell children other stories of their youth,stories which they learned from the vadils which leads to customs.There are so many things in folktales which are treated as customs now a days.In the story of Vermilion and marriage ,there are four members of tribe who were fast friends since boyhood.One of them was a hawked vermilion,another a weaver ,third took to wood carving and fourth was a goldsmith.Once they decided to spend night in a mango orchard.One was still awake,other three were sleeping.The wood carver was sitting idle ,he took a log of wood and chiselled it into a female figure.The goldsmith made a gold chain , pair of earrings and bangles for her.The waever wove a sari for female figure.The vermilion hawker anointed her head with vermilion just at day break.The four friends started quarreling as to who should marry the girl.A holy man heard their voices and said ,he who made her is her father ,he who clothed her is her elder brother,he who gave ornaments is her uncle,he who brought her to life and put vermilion on her forehead is her husband .And the woman became the wife of hawker.These customs are still prevalent in society.Applying vermilion on the forehead of a girl means that she is married to the boy who does so.Th e story tries to preserve tradition.It also reveals that fighting for a girl is commen practice in Indian society.It also supports the proverb one who posseses skills can not sit idle.The four friends were endowed with skill,rather than sitting idle.They preferred to work at night and could also enjoy enjoy the fruits of their labour. By the study of anthropological studies ,it is clearly visible that folklore deals with one branch of anthropology named cultural anthropology.Bascom,professor of anthropology at the university of California at Berkeley is aware of depending on oral transmission. According to Utleys concept of folk literature he says that Bascom tends to make verbal art as boundary of folklore.which includes (myth,folktales and legends),but not folk dance,medicine and folk belief(superstition).Bascom also says that the text of ballads and other songs are folklore but the music of ballads and other songs are not.The folklore is linked with social science and humanities.Literary and anthropological approaches to folklore are clearly essential and ecomplementary.Each one has its own separate methods and ideology rather working on commen areas of interest.Cultural anthropology is referred to known as social anthropology.Anthropology is also associated with folklore.Archaeology is not directly related to folklore but it provides information about past developments.Linguistics in some way is related to folklore because they shared a commen verbal art.Any ethnographic study witout folkloreis partially and incomplete description of culture.Morever folklore sanctions and validates the social.religious and economic institutions .It also plays an important role in transferring this institution from generation to generation. Culture is a great part of anthropology today.It consist of any kind of behavior acquired through learning.Under it anthropologists include all customs,traditions together with their methods of production.According to Dr. Gustav klemm of Dresdon from his collections of facts of history,he termed culture as including customs ,information and skills domestic and public life is peace and war religion science and art and saysit is manifest on branch of tree of deliberately shape,in the rubbing of sticks to make fire,the cremation of a deceased,father corpse the decorative painting of once body,the transmission of past experience to new generation.Folklore is studied in anthropology,because it is part of culture.It is a part of tradition,customs,a part of heritage.Many folktales were rejected because they did not fill the recognized need of accepted patterns or tradition of folklore.Folktales are dyanamic that changes with needs of society.The folk element in folklore presents no new prob lems as anthropologist sees it.There are various questions on who invwnted various themes of folktales,how they have reworked in the past and how the previous variation have influenced the product of any given story teller or writer.Since any cultural law have taken hold on folklore,the data collection of folklore used to bute testify the ideology of culture.The accepted theories of culture can thus contribute to theory of folklore. The theory of cultural evolution developed by Tyler,Morgan and other remains a point of contention between anthropologists and folklorists.This theory was accepted by scholars of latter half of nineteenth century and developed and described by the scholars of 20th century.Folklorists have defined folklore that folklore have survived from earlier stage of civilization as the shadowy remnants of ancient religious rites still incorporated in the lives of illeterates and rustics.Analyzation of theory of cultural evolution shows that it was based on certain ideologies which were never proved and in some cased later on have been disapproved.We can not search the ultimate origin of folklore by evolution and age-area concept because archaeological evidences and historical documents are lacking.If we try to reconstruct history on restricted side ,it can give result only in terms of probability than proven facts.Change in folktales can be studied perfectly in process rather than reconstruction s based in deistribution.When Cushing some sixty five years ago had the forsight to record the Italian tale of the cock and the mouseas told by juni informant.The companion of the juni variants spotlights many juni stylistic features and serves only to showwhat transformation the original in underwent in such a brief period and how well it has ben adopted to juni environment and mode thought,but also to give a glimpse of Indian method of folktale making.Through the examples of changing forms in folktales,we can learn about freedom give to the narrator in various forms of folktales in various societies.Anthropologists are anxious about the place,native society and social settings of folklore.One cannot establish these facts from text of tales alone,yet without them one can only have idea about nature of folklore and its full meaning.There is a relation between folktales and culture from two points of view.The first in which folktales represents culture by means if rituals and beliefs but sometime folktales can do thingswhich are regarded as shocking in daily life.Take one example old man Coyote has intercourse with his mother in law.Where as in ordinary life the American Indian who finds amusement in these tales must observe strict mother in law avoidance.Since the time of Euhemerous,folklorist have made efforts to explain distinction between folklore and actual conduct.The function of amusing state of mind can not only serve as a complete answer,it is clear that beneath these deal of humour,lies a deeper meaning and that folklore serves as psychological escape from many repressions not only sexual which society imposes upon individual.Apart from their entertainment,folktales provide us a clear view of present and past tradition and culture of the origin,how they originate.Bihar is one of important states in India with rich folklore tradition Panchtantra is one of the most important collection of stories in India.Folktales generally revolve around social mythol ogical and social concepts.It depicts horror situations and wicked evil spirits are some of the commen elements of folklore.Inspite of different varities the folkales of various regions shows a common pattern.Stories of origin of mankind are told through out the world.These are some oral messages which are always found in folktales as :1)Good will triumph and evil will be punished .2)True always come to light. 3)A friend in need is a friend indeed.4)Might makes right. Folk tales preserves social traditions and social taboos.

Baltimore Believe Campaign :: essays papers

Baltimore Believe Campaign The Baltimore Believe Campaign was started in April of 2002. It is a city wide campaign aimed to reduce the amount of drug use in the city. The idea of the â€Å"Believe† campaign has never been tried before. The campaign calls for Baltimore to believe, believe that drugs can be eliminated off of the streets, and drug dealers to be punished. Since the start of the campaign the idea has expanded around the country. Mayor Martin O’Malley has spread his idea around. The Believe Campaign surfaced in April of 2002. By April 14, 2002 the â€Å"Declaration of Independence from Drugs† was released in The Sun Newspaper (Wilber, The Sun). The Baltimore Police Foundation funds the campaign. All around the city there are billboards, trashcans, and bumper stickers with the word â€Å"BELIEVE† on them. The first hearing of the campaign was on April 6th, 2002. In October of 2003 Mayor O’Malley when on a trip to London, he was there to discuss the Baltimore Believe Campaign. London was interested in starting a campaign based on the believe campaign. The campaign is an ongoing part of the Baltimore City Community’s everyday actions. Mayor Martin O’Malley put the idea into motion. As said in a letter from Thomas D. Vicino, from the New York Times, â€Å"Mayor Martin O'Malley's efforts should be applauded. He has conquered the first obstacle in fighting urban decay: recognition of a problem. Keep on believing, Baltimore, because if we don't, how can anything change?† (Vicino, New York Times). There is really no other way to summarize all of the things Mayor O’Malley has done for the campaign. Another important role is the Baltimore Believe Leadership. This group works with the help number, 1-866-BELIEVE, and the campaign by setting up fundraisers and other events. Mayor O’Malley and the Baltimore Believe Leadership hold press conferences to inform the people about what goes on with the Believe Campaign’s progress and areas of concern regularly so the community stays informed on the progress. The community is another big role in the campaign. The communities of Baltimore Ci ty have taken the campaign in and â€Å"believe† it will have a positive affect on their communities. On April 6th, 2002 Mayor O’Malley announced his campaign to clean the streets of Baltimore. The Mayor had acknowledged a huge problem in the city, the drugs on the street were becoming out of control.

Reflection Paper on Gulf Oil Spill

Reflection Paper on Gulf Oil Spill This presentation had a deep impact on me because I had been living in Gulf Breeze, Florida at the time of the spill. Gulf Breeze is located 15 miles West of Pensacola and the reefs and beaches were severely impacted by it. Not only did the spill impact the environment but also the tourism which that city needed to thrive; in turn businesses closed and restaurants plundered. When I looked outside my bedroom window at the ocean, instead of seeing the bright blue colored ocean waves, I instead looked out at green murky foam covered waves and algae blooms.The sand got covered in black oil and impacted the sea birds that used the splashing waves to gather small fish and organisms. So, when I listened to this presentation, I could relate to what the presenter was saying because I had witnessed firsthand how badly this affected the environment, but at the time I did not realize how it affected the reefs. What I found interesting about the presentation was the before and after pictures.He had mentioned that the scientists used autonomous underwater vehicles that took high resolution map images of reefs that were 400-500 meters underwater (beforehand didn’t even realize some reefs were there). These images were used to help scientists take data on finding new coral sites and witness the affects the oil spill had on them. He mentioned at first they didn’t think the corals were being affected because pictures showed that the corals looked the same as they did last year.At this time scientists were more concerned with marine animals and shorelines than the reefs. At second look even the corals looked fine, and scientists took lots of samples to see if the oil had reached the sites. A sediment trap was used to research the corals and the research showed that plankton filled the cups and that oil had made its way to the coral sites but that it had not affected them. What I learned was that, oil coming out of a well was 100*C, this was entering water that was 4*C at high pressure.This oil formed a fine deep water plume of mist and most of this mist settled at 12 meter depths. When scientists took a third look at the coral reefs they realized that this black mist had affected them. When corals are stressed, they realize mucus, and this proved they were dying. Progression of damage was watched by the scientists by taking photos and videos over time. Months showed how parts of some of the corals got better while others lost tissue, had damage to their polyps, some fell off when touched and others were full of oil.The presenter also mentioned that in order to see how much damage they went to many different coral sites to witness the damage. In conclusion, they found that the farther away from the oil spill they got the better the coral reefs were. He also concluded that hydroids were forming on the corals which will sting and kill the coral by pollination, and also that the brittle star that was shown in a p icture had moved overtime, when they never move at all.I really liked this presentation because it influenced me to want to help in whatever way I can to restore and help these important marine environments. Corals are 400+ years old, the damage to them is irreversible, and there is no way that we can replace them. People have to realize that this is a major problem and the protection of these precious sites needs to be enacted. I am not sure just how to do this, but just by making suggestions and learning as much as we can is a stepping stone to a bigger impact.

For this discussion I asked my kids to help me, since my topic for the Final project is about kids in gangs

My children's concerns about kids in gangs is, that they are to young, they think it is cool, the violence- robbery, killing, raping and shooting other kids or adults. What they think has caused this problem is the kids get asked to join, they think it is cool, they think it is going to help them make friends and that their family members will respect them more, and that the kids are getting abused at home. I asked them how is this problem affecting y'all and they told me, that they see the gang kids beating up other kids, stealing from them, both of my kids said that they are afraid that it will go too far and they could be victims in a shooting at school, and that they will get approached and asked to join a gang. I took the questioning to another level and asked them, What do you think about kids in gangs and What is your views on gangs and the crimes they commit? My 14 year old son answered me with that they are trying to act like they are something, when actually they are not. They are no different than any other person trying to get an education or job like the rest of us. He said that gangs are not safe, that they commit robberies, murder, and that they tag everything with their gang signs and makes everything ugly with it. I asked my 12 year old daughter the same questions and she responded with, they think it is cool; other friends are in a gang, that the kids that are in a gang could be getting abused at home. She also said that if they wanted to be in a group that they should join events at school like sports or another group that is sponsored through the school. When I asked her about her views are on gangs and the crimes that they commit, she came back with, they rob and murder people, they beat up other kids, women, and the elderly to get what they want, and that they graffiti their gang signs on everything. She said she is sick of seeing the gang signs on everything in our town. She also amazed me and took it to another level with respect and hurt from family members. She said that the kids that are in a gang are hurting their family members, friends and their selves. Also that their family members will no longer trust or respect them because of what they are doing or what they have done in the past. Also that when a kid joins a gang that it is hard for them to get out of the gang and that being in a gang could or will mess up their future or their lives. It amazed me that she knows more about gangs than my 14 year old son does. Some of my ideas to address these issues with my kids would be: talk to them about the violence, the abuse that could be happening to these kids that are in the gangs, the murdering, the graffiti, just about gang life in general. I can also take my kids to our local enforcement office and let them talk to the detectives that I work with and let them ask questions about it and how they can or should look for. Being open and honest with my kids about this topic of gangs is the best way to address this problem. My kids will benefit from listening to what I have to say about gangs because they know that I have worked and work with our local detectives about this situation and that I know more about this than they do. I can honestly say that I don't have to worry about my kids and gangs because they are too involved with school and sports and they despise all gang activity.

Dell Computer Company

DELL’s Working Capital 1. How was Dell’s working capital policy a competitive advantage? Dell has achieved low working capital by keeping its work-in-process and finished goods inventory very low. The competitive advantage Dell achieves from this is that its inventory is significantly lower than its competitors, it does not require large warehouses for stocking the inventories and Dell is also able to adapt the fastest to technology changes in the components. The competitors would find it difficult to adapt to technology changes in a short time because they have larger inventories than Dell does. In short, Dell builds computers only when ordered and thus does not spend much capital as a result. The declining DSI means that Dell takes increasingly shorter days to sell its inventory. 2. How did Dell fund its 52% growth in 1996? Dell needed the following amount to fund its 52% growth in 1996 (using exhibit 4&5): Operating assets (OA) = total assets – short term investment OA in 1995 = 1594 – 484 = 1110 Mil USD Operating Asset to Sales ratio = 1110/3457 = 32% Sales increased from 3457 to 5296 Mil USD in 1996. Multiplying the operating asset to sales ratio by the increase in sales 0. 2 x (5296 – 3457) = 582 mil USD, which is the operating assets that Dell needed to fund its 52% growth. This increase in assets meant an increase in liabilities too, proportional to the sales. The increase in liabilities would be: Liabilities in 1995 = 942 Mil USD Liabilities to Sales ratio = 942/3475 = 27. 1% Increase in liabilities = 0. 271 x (5296 – 3475) = 494 mil USD S o, Dell would have an increase in operating assets of 582 mil USD and an increase in liabilities of 494 mil USD. The short investments would remain the same as it is not related to operations. Operational profit would increase with the Operating Profit to Sales ratio: (net profit/sales) x (5296 – 3457) = (149/3457) x (5296 – 3457) = 227 mil USD In all, we see that a sales increase of 52% has to be funded by 582 mil USD operating assets. The sales increase would also bring additional 494 mil USD in liabilities, while generating 227 mil USD of operating profit, with short term investments remaining the same at 484 mil USD. As a result, any two combinations of liabilities, operational profit or short term investments would be sufficient to offset the 582 mil USD operating assets needed to sustain the 52% sales growth. In 1995, as shown earlier, the operating asset to sales ratio was 32%. Similarly, the ratio in 1996 was (2148 – 591)/5296 = 29. 4%. The difference in the percentages is 2. 54%. This decrease in operating assets in year 1996 suggests that operating efficiency was improved by the same amount. Multiplying this difference in ratio by total sales in 1996: 5296 x 0. 0254 = 134. 5 mil USD, this amount can be reduced from the originally forecasted 582 mil USD to give the actual additional operating asset required to fund the 52% growth: 582 – 134. 5 = 447. 5 mil USD. The net margin in 1995, as shown earlier was 4. % (149/3457). In 1996 it increased to 272/5296 = 5. 14%. This net profit is an increase from the forecasted 227 mil USD (calculation shown earlier), and can be attributed to improved net margins. Also, we see an increase in current liabilities of 187 mil USD between 1995 and 1996. We also see that the sum of the increase in current liability and the net profit, of 199 6, is higher than the actual additional operating asset requirement: 272 + 187 = 459 mil USD > 447. 5 mil USD. Therefore, Dell funded its 1996 sales growth through internal resources, i. e. reducing its current assets and increasing its net margin. . Assuming Dell sales will grow 50% in 1997, how might the company fund this growth internally? How much would working capital need to be reduced and/or profit margin increased? What steps do you recommend the company take? For the year 1996, Operating Assets = Total Assets – Short term Investments = 2148 – 591 = 1557 Mil USD When the sales increases by 50% in 1997, operating assets are also expected to increase by 50%. So for 1997, Dell requires an operating asset of 1557 x 1. 5 = 2336 Mil USD. We should also assume that the net profit as a percentage of sales will increase proportionally by 50% for 1997. For 1996, Net profit as a percentage of sales = 272/5296 = 5. 14% For 1997, Net profit = 5296 x 0. 0514 * 1. 5 = 408 Mil USD For 1997, additional operating asset required = 2336 – 1557 = 779 Mil USD How could this be funded by Dell? Let us assume two scenarios Scenario 1: Let us assume the liabilities remain the same for the year 1997 even when sales increases by 50%, i. e. DELL would not go for any additional liability to fund the increase in operating asset and it would try to do it internally. As per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would need 371 Mil USD to fund the increase in sales. The following are the ways DELL could fund this increase in operating asset 1. They could liquidate the short term investments of 591 Mil USD which would cover all of the additional funds required. 2. Dell could sell some of its fixed assets 3. They could reduce inventories, account receivables, and increase the account payables. They could bring down the working capital substantially by having a very low cash cycle. They could negotiate with their suppliers for a higher DPO. With the Just In Time (JIT) concept, they could receive payments immediately from their customers. Let us assume in 1997 Â   |Q4 1996 |Q4 1997 |Difference | |DSI |31 |20 |-11 | |DSO |42 |25 |-17 | |DPO |33 |50 |17 | |CCC |40 |-5 |-35 | So, there is a high possibility to attain a negative cash cycle which in turn saves on the working capital. Average daily sales in 1997 = 7944/365 = 21. 8 Mil USD Cost of sales in 1997 = (4229/5296) x 7944 = 6343. 5 Mil USD Average daily cost of sales in 1997 = 6343. 5/365 = 17. 4 Mil USD For the year 1997, savings due to improved cash cycle is Savings due to reduced inventory days = 11 x 17. 4 = 191. 4 Mil USD Savings due to reduced receivable days = 17 x 21. 8 = 370. 6 Mil USD Savings due to increased payable days = 17 x 17. 4 = 295. 8 Mil USD Total saving from cash cycle improvements = 857. 8 Mil USD Scenario 2: Let us assume liabilities for 1997 increase proportionally (50%) with the increase in sales, i. e. Dell would look for external funding for the increase in operating asset. As per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would have enough money to fund the increase in sales with the corresponding increase in liabilities. In fact they will have an excess of 161 Mil USD assuming the long term debt remains unchanged. Dell could use this excess money to repay the long term debt or it could buy back some common stocks. 4. How would your answers to Question 3 change if Dell also repurchased $500 mil USD of common stock in 1997 and repaid its long-term debt? Let us assume Dell repurchased 500 Mil USD of common stock in 1997 and it also repaid its long term debt. In such a scenario, as per the calculation shown in the attached exhibit, Dell would need 452 Mil USD to fund the increase in sales. The points discussed in scenario 1 of Q3 holds good here as well.