American Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Studies - Essay Example nd their wives were hostages in the home, unaffected by self-interest thus creating a perfect world in which men were free to pursue every material pursuit they wished while women were constrained to remain at home and protect the moral and ethical values of the family unit. Submission became a defining aspect of the urban, immigrant woman first as daughter then later as wife and mother. She was taught that if she chose to think for herself or espouse her own opinions, she would lose both her happiness and respect of others. The immigrant woman living in urban areas began taking advantage of the abundant job opportunities and enjoyed a measure of individuality and autonomy those previous generations of women in America had seldom experienced.   The individuality and power of these women marked a shift away from communal domesticity, undermining the Victorian culture that had existed prior to the mass immigration of that era, with a new emphasis upon autonomy, pleasure, and consumpt ion. Between 1900 and World War I the old Victorian code which prescribed the subjugation of women crumbled.   The feminist movement that has served to lift women to a greater level of equality today was greatly aided by these immigrant women who broke the mold by working outside the home. Immigrants to the U.S. leave the familiar surrounding of their country of origin, the homeland of their ancestors, to travel great distances then struggle to assimilate into a new culture and learn a new language. They are strongly motivated to embark on this life-altering journey into the unknown because they are impoverished with little hope of improving their situation within their home country. That the U.S. is a prosperous nation, that its people enjoy high standards of living is not and has not been a secret. The tired, poor and huddled masses that immigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the twentieth century had heard of ‘streets paved with gold.’ In most cases, if the streets were

Ratio Analyzes of Marks & Spencer Company Research Paper

Ratio Analyzes of Marks & Spencer Company - Research Paper Example And secondly it enables the organization to understand which products or assets of the company are producing more revenues for the company, how efficiently these are being utilized and which products or assets are not profitable and should be replaced or eliminated. From the reporting perspective, accounting provides the bookkeeping of day-to-day activities and every transaction that is taking place. This essential role of reporting enables the company to evaluate itself and avoid any frauds or misinterpretations. Form the decision making perspective, the decisions to evaluate the growth opportunities for the organization, for analyzing the performance of the company, for analyzing the company's ability to pay its suppliers and shareholders etc. a number of operational and strategic decisions like budgeting and investigating are made though accounting. Ratio Analysis is basically analyzing the relationship between different sections of the various financial statements and this analysis is based on a comparison. Ratio analysis can be of two kinds: Comparative Analysis in which the ratios are compared with the industry average ratios and Trend Analysis in which the ratios of the same company are compared on a periodic basis i.e. a year is compared with the previous year. The profitability ratios show that overall the company is in profits and will achieve more profits in future. This is because the profit on sales is higher than the previous year and also the return that the company is getting on its assets has been increasing. Although the return on equity has been decreased which makes the shareholders to resist from investing in future but the shareholders are still expected to invest because the return they are getting is still high and not very low considerably. 3.2. Liquidity Current Ratio Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities For year 2006: = 1142.1/ 2017 = 56.62% For year 2007: = 846.4/ 1606.2 = 52.69% Quick Ratio Quick Ratio = Current Assets - Inventories / Total Current Liabilities For year 2006: = 1142.1- 374.3/ 2017 = 38.06% For year 2007: = 846.4 - 416.3/ 1606.2 = 26.77% The liquidity ratios portray that the company's liquidity has been decreased over time and less cash on hand is present. This portrays that the company is investing more and is therefore low on liquidity. But these

Immigrants and Immigration - America Needs Immigration Essay

Immigrants and Immigration - America Needs Immigration - Essay Example Immigration also assists in the development and understand of cultural diversities and helps in promoting anti racist sentiments. Immigrants mainly belong to the underdeveloped nations where the financial crisis pushes them to immigrate. Policies which include the rules of free trade actually serve as a burden rather than reliefs for the poor countries making them dip into poverty even more. These underdeveloped nations have debts to pay off and much of their income goes into actually paying the interest of these debts. Moreover the developed nations do pledge to assist these countries by providing them aid but these developed countries never reach their set goal. The people living in these countries are left with no options and the final ray of hope for them is immigration. It is the only way for them to lead a better life ahead. America is the country of immigrants. Friedman (2006) explains the results of a study carried out by the National Academy of Sciences that immediate descen dents reimburse $80,000 in excess of what they receive as benefits in taxes in their whole life. Approximately 15% of the total labor force of America comprises of immigrants and terminating their services would reduce the output of the country by $1 trillion. The total agricultural industry can be distributed equally in domestic and immigrant workers in terms of population (Friedman, 2006). Immigration can also serve to be beneficial for the countries where these people migrate. This is because the developed nations like America have more of an aging population which they have to cater. The taxes paid by immigrants in America are helpful in upholding the social security and health expenses of this ageing population. Another cause is the decreased birth rates in these nations. This results in low skilled labor and hence immigrants can serve to fill in these gaps. Also the immigrants pay higher taxes comparatively and this can serve to compensate for the amount required to cater to t he aged. Thus, immigration serves to promote the betterment of the immigrants as well as proves to be beneficial to the economy of the host nation. America also benefits from these impacts of immigrants (Fienleib & Warner, 2005). With immigration there is development and understanding of other cultures and religions. The immigrants receive a chance of adapting according to the culture of the country where they have migrated. On the other hand the nationals of that country receive a chance to view the different cultures of the world and analyze them. America is culturally rich and is home to the immigrants from different parts of the world. This assists in the promotion of harmony in the U.S., as people from two different regions learn to live together and are exposed to different views and perspectives of the world. Thus immigration assists in broadening the human mind (Gabaccia 2002, pp. 8-15). Despite of this understanding there has been much opposition to the policy of immigratio n and immigrants have to face racism in the host country. The opponents argue that the immigrants actually take up the US native citizens’ jobs and the result is lower employment for them (Borjas 2001, p. 63). This point has been argued against as it has been analyzed the economic impact of immigration is not great and immigrants serve in to fill many vacant places and assist in boosting the income as a whole. Opponents also

Tiny Little Hands Essay Example for Free

Tiny Little Hands Essay It was like any other night for Shelly Mason as she drove home from the office. Her journey took her through Black Cross Woods, the area where the infamous Black Cross murders took place. Legend had it that a man named Travis Burkton lured children into the woods and murdered them brutally. However the police investigation was discontinued some twenty years ago and nobody was ever arrested. Shelly saw a road sign ahead, illuminated by the glare of her cars headlights, it read, You are now entering Black Cross Please drive safely. Shelly hated these roads and always feared crashing on them, due to the fact there was nothingness for a good two miles in any direction. The roads were thin and wound through the dark, thick woodland of Black Cross. The road was lined with tall fir trees on either side, which meant none of the light from the moon reached the dark, dark road. Despite the fact Shelly was logical and strong-minded, she always felt a little unnerved when driving on this road. Perhaps it was the legend that scared her even thought she told herself it couldnt be true. She reached for a tape to listen to as she drove, that always relaxed her. The tape slipped out of her fingers and Shelly bent down to pick it up, keeping one hand on the wheel. When her head emerged she saw someone on the road in front of her car. Shelly instinctively swerved to avoid hitting the figure on the road and her car jack-knifed across the road and smashed into a tree. Smoke rose from the buckled bonnet of the car and the passenger window bore a large crack. Shelly instantly thought about the person in the road and knew she should check if they were all right. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to get out of the car but screamed at what she saw. In the side window she saw the face of a young girl who looked no older that six, staring in at her. The girl eyes were wide and frightened and where her jawbone should be was a bloody void. Shelly panicked and backed away onto the passenger seat. The girl raised her bloodstained hands to the window of the car and rubbed them against the glass leaving tiny bloody fingerprints on the window. The thick stench of blood filled the cold car and Shelly knew she had to escape from this unnatural incident. Things she had heard about the Black Cross murders filled her head. People disappeared in these woods all the time, so people said, but Shelly hadnt believed them until now. She turned the key in the ignition to try and start the car again. The engine spluttered and groaned but refused to start; she was trapped. Shelly looked at the road again, looking for the lights of the nearest down. They were far in the distance, at least a mile to walk to. As her eyes darted around she saw figures emerging from the tree line on the other side of the road. They were walking slowly and as they grew closer Shelly realised they were all children. Each child had the same sickening features; a bloody hole instead of a jawbone, wide frightened eyes and bloodstained little hands. Shelly was petrified, she put her head down and prayed. God answered her as she noticed her cell phone was on the floor of the car. She quickly grabbed it and keyed in 911 and cried to the operator to send a police car to Black Cross woods. The operator said that the car was on its way and Shelly felt a degree of safety. She kept her head in her hands and her eyes screwed up tightly until a knock on her window caused her to jump back. Her comfort came when she heard, Its alright maam, Im a police officer. Shelly slowly opened her car door and stepped out into the cold, pitch-black night. What seems to be the problem? questioned the officer. T-They was here, all around the car. Shelly replied shakily. Who was here, miss? Asked the officer Theres nobody on these roads except you. Shelly looked confused but was relieved they had left her alone. She was even more relieved when the police officer offered her a lift back to town. In the drive in the police car nothing unusual happened. Shelly told the officer what had happened to her that night but he seemed unwilling to believe her. When the car pulled up outside the station in the town, the officer asked Shelly to come inside. Shelly obliged of course and was horrified to find that the officer wanted her to spend the night in a cell. Im not crazy! she yelled, I am not making all this up! Why wont you believe me? The officer stared at her for a moment then lead her to an empty cell. The cell was nothing more than a small room with a windowless steel door. Try and have some sleep miss, it is late. We can talk things over in the morning. Shelly sat in the corner of her dimly lit cell and tried to forget the events of this night, but knew they would haunt her for a lifetime. As the thoughts ran through Shellys mind, the bulb in the room flickered and went out and in the darkness she felt tiny little hands grasping at her throat. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

The Road Ahead By Bill Gates Essay -- essays research papers

In his book The Road Ahead, Bill Gates relates to a non-technical audience the history, growth, and future of technology. He discusses how the trends, technologies, and issues of the Information Age are affecting society. Gates makes predictions and gives advice on how to adapt and succeed in the future of incredible change in computing and communicating. His book is written with two major concerns: the development and future of technology, and its influence on society. Bill Gates begins by explaining how computers will be interconnected globally in what will be called the information superhighway. Of course the precursor to this network is the currently used Internet. The development and use of this interactive network is the main focus of the book. Gates uses the metaphor of the 'ultimate market'; to describe how all manner of human activity will take place in this market, with the medium of exchange being digital information of all kinds. Bill Gates states that the ability to change and manipulate information and the increasing speed at which is it handled places us at the beginning of an 'information revolution.'; Since almost all information in the future will be digital, conventional communication devices will be altered. As soon as the cost of communication drops and it is combined with other technological advances, Bill Gates predicts that the results of this interactive information will be like the effects of electricity. He also predicts t hat the house of the future will have one wire running into and out of it that will carry television, phone, or news information that will be sent to the appropriate device.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his book Gates attempts to tell the history of the computer industry, but instead he tells about the development of Microsoft and his achievements while debasing his competitors. He recounts the history with a degree of arrogance and criticizes IBM for the mistakes it made, for example not buying thirty percent of Microsoft when given the opportunity, and for wasting time and money on the OS/2 and OfficeVision projects. Bill Gates speaks on Microsoft's success and, in a way, reaffirms customers that Microsoft will not raise its prices or stop innovation. The future success, he says, depends on innovation and improvement to stay ahead of competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He dedicates a chapter to ap... ...gy, investment in education, regulation, and the balance between individual privacy and community security. The question of responsibility arises and some have suggested that communication companies should be made gatekeepers in charge of the filtering the content of what they carry. A rating system, like the one used for movies, could be implemented and parents could then restrict what rated sites their children visit through their web browser. Bill Gates refrains from using technical vernacular and explains all computer terminology as he discusses it, making it clear and easy for normal people to understand him. He is convinced that this new technology will 'enhance leisure time and enrich our culture by expanding the distribution of information.'; This, however, oversimplifies most issues and results in a dull, repetitive book for most experienced computer users. He succeeds in explaining his vision of the future and why he has chosen to switch Microsoft's focus to the Internet. Bill Gates optimistically looks ahead at the emerging tools of technology that will forever transform the way we buy, work, learn, socialize, and communicate and encourages us to help shape the future.

The Underrepresentation of Women in Academic Leadership in the United S

The literature review for this study examines various researches imperative to understanding the context, nature, and extent of the problem of underrepresentation of women in academic leadership in the United States. Gender inequality still exists in leadership positions in U.S academia; â€Å"women are still struggling to be at the leadership table despite the progress the U.S. has made in recent times through the process of eliminating discrimination in the workplace† (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). The review also pulls resources from literatures dealing with assessing the root causes of underrepresentation of female Leaders in the United States, with regards to employment discrimination, societal roles etc. From this review, some notable topics emerged that pulls an in depth analysis of the various factors that influence the underrepresentation of women as leaders in the United States academia. Consequently, research has shown that the number of female presidents have not chang ed in the last 10 years (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). Keywords: women and leadership, Academic Leaders, US Academia, Leadership Characteristics. Are women underrepresented in leadership role in the U.S Academia? A Literature Review A report written in the American Association of University Professors, states that as women pursue academic leadership advancement, the lower the percentage of women in higher leadership roles become. For instance, the representation of woman in leadership roles are as follows: Fifty percent of women are lecturers and instructors, forty six percent are represented in Assistant professor positions, thirty eight percent and twenty three percent are college presidents (ACE, 2007). Furth... ...rative literature review: Guidlines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356-367. doi: 10.1177/1534484305278283 Kiamba, J. M. (2008). Women’s activism for gender equity in Africa, women and leadership positions. Social and cultural barriers Due Billing, Y., & Alvesson, M. (1989). Four ways of looking at women and leadership. Scandinavian journal of management, 5(1), 63-80. doi.10.1300/J111v32n03_08 Fernandez, J. Race, (1998). Gender and rhetoric: The true state of race and gender relations in corporate America. New York: McGraw Hill. Recruitment, retention, and professional development of women faculty a report from the academic issues subcommittee of the provost's committee on the status of women. Informally published manuscript, John Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. Retrieved from http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/reports/womenfac/report.html

International Relations: Philippines and China on the Spratly Islands Issue Essay

For decades, the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, now called as the Philippine Western Sea in the Philippines, has long been debated by its claimants: Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines (Baker, 2004). Among all these states, the most active and significant actors are the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China. There are several reasons for the dispute: (1) the presence of natural gas and oil in some parts of the territories, (2) potential profit for commercial fishing1, (3) potential profit for commercial shipping2, and (4) extension of continental shelf claims – expansion of territory and a boost in the country’s sovereignty3 (Joyner, n.d.). The Spratly’s issue has always been crucial since it directly affects the different state’s national interests on profit and security. For one, the Philippines and China have each asserted their power on claiming the islands by installing their own flags over their claimed areas. The Philippines, following the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas’ – which empowers the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea – laws on the 200 nautical miles zone, claimed a number of Spratly islands since these islands are within the 200nm distance from Palawan. On the other hand, China claimed most of the Spratly Islands, using historical background as its basis (BBC, 2013). Also, both countries resorted to upgrading their military capabilities in the sense that they both deploy ships to take turns on guarding their claimed areas. These actions caused to increase the tensions and strains in the two countries’ relationship (Encomienda, 2011). Both the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea are under the United Nation’s efforts of bringing peace and unity among different nations or countries (ITLOS, 2013). Acknowledging the principles introduced by the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas4, both China and the Philippines have participated in ratifying it. However, both also have chosen not to follow the UNCLOS’ guide on settling boundary disputes closely (Yeneza, 2012). Even with the efforts of the Philippines on taking the conflict to the ITLOS and the ICJ and promote diplomacy, it has still been forced to resort to upgrading its military capacity in order to increase security over their claimed areas and to respond to China’s actions on asserting their claim over the Spratly’s. With this, it can be concluded that the international organizations involved as mediators to the issue are insufficient. The guide presented by the UNCLOS is too limited for the varying arguments that both the Philippines and China present in order to fully claim the Spratly Islands. However, these institutions should not be blamed fully for the failure of the conflict resolution. The governments of China and the Philippines have a big role in the conflict; none of the states wants to either compromise or interpret the UNCLOS in the same way (Jinming and Dexia, 2003). These international issues can be better comprehended by the realist theoretical framework. Realism denotes that the state aims to achieve national interest through acquiring more power; it gives more priority to the national interest rather than its ideology. If its national interest could not be gained because of other states, it has the right to go against them in order to assert its power and achieve its national interest (Morgenthau, 2006). Thomas Hobbes (1651), an author on realism, discussed that realism has three core assumptions: (1) the equality of men or states, (2) the interaction of states in anarchy, and (3) the actions taken by the different states are motivated by competition, hesitancy, and progress. In the case of the Philippines and China on the Spratly’s issue, the first assumption of Hobbes can be applied in the sense that neither China nor the Philippines will contend the islands in the basis of which state is more developed or has more alliances. For this territorial issue, using the state’s development or its capacity to enhance its development through the acquisition of the islands does not guarantee the resolution of the issue. China and the Philippines both have equal footing on their claims on the islands (Joyner, n.d.) On the second assumption, Hobbes mentioned of interaction among states. China and the Philippines have their own governments, however, in the Spratly Islands, there are mediators: the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. These mediators, as much as they try to pacify the conflicts, were not able to control the conflict; since, states are free of doing what they please to do to assert their power and sovereignty – thus, serving their own national interests (Furtado, 1991). For once, one of the proposed resolutions of China to resolve the conflict – to have the governments of each state deal with the conflict directly instead of having mediators – seem more compatible with the issue. Lastly, it is innate for states to compete with each other to get to the top. Even though every state wants to have good relations with others, one cannot deny even a hint of competition. Being critical and cautious, these states will not go against randomly; they will be vigilant enough to choose who to compete with. Succeeding in the particular competition, the state achieves progress (Hobbes, 1651). In the case of China and the Philippines, one of the main reasons for the fight over the Spratly Islands is profit. Aside from the presence of natural gas and oil, the islands are a good spot for commercial fishing and commercial shipping. Hence, investing in this area can give high returns of investment to the country who owns it. Plus, the prestige of being the first East Asian country to possess oil boosts its international image, let alone lessens its relying on the Middle East for oil and natural gas supply (Yeneza, 2012). Hans J. Morgenthau (2006) and his six principles on political realism can also be related to the case of the Philippines and China on the Spratly’s issue. First of all, the society is ruled by laws that are created based on the nature of man. The UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas) was created to solve and/or prevent conflicts such as the Spratly Islands issue. Therefore, it can be considered that the UNCLOS itself can be the solution to the problem only if that law was considered. However, even though such law – that brought about the existence of the UNCLOS – is implemented and expected to serve for the benefit of men, the men involved in the conflict, or the states rather, chose not to adhere with the UNCLOS (Yeneza, 2012). Secondly, realism is directed towards the use of power5. The Philippines and China demonstrated their power as they both valiantly expressed their claims on the disputed areas and how much they spent for them. As China asserted its claim on the Spratly Islands, the Philippines resorted to securing the areas it claimed (Encomienda, 2011). The third principle, according to Morgenthau (2006), power is not fixed. In the case of the Philippines and China, they controlled each other’s exercise of power on the claimed areas as they both measure and depend on each others’ actions in order to formulate and plan what to do next (Yeneza, 2012). The fourth principle of realism is related to the moral importance of the actions done by the two states – Philippines and China. At times, morality and success do not go together; some states tend to go down the path of impiety in order to achieve its national interests. In realism, states are innate of being mindful of the actions they are about to execute because of other factors that can be affected by its desired course of action. Thus, the Philippines and China can opt to wage war in order to acquire the disputed territories. Conversely, both countries have chosen the path of diplomacy rather than war, knowing full well that morally speaking, waging a war is not right since many civilians will be affected, as well as the fact that the costs brought by the war exceed the benefits that they will acquire from the Spratly Islands. Then, another principle Morgenthau (2006) explained is that states fail to recognize moral aspirations in relation to the moral laws that rule the universe. The state is self-centered; it only sees its own reasons and interests as the valid ones. Being self-centered, it does not give importance to the reasons and interests of other states. If only states can understand and compromise for others’ interests, the Spratly’s issue would have been solved decades ago. As each country present their claims on the areas, it is clear that no one wants to give up (Yeneza, 2012). Lastly, the sixth principle is that political realism is different with other schools of thought that states may adopt (Morgenthau, 2006). The conflict of China and the Philippines on the Spratly’s are grounded for the pursuant of their national interests (Yenez, 2012). Aside from the profit the Spratly’s may offer, another reason it is being fought over is that it affects the matters of security to both countries. Both the Philippines and China believe that in order to pursue security, they must secure their territories; thus, they each lay claim on the Spratly’s (De Castro, 2011). In summary, China and the Philippines have both resorted to upgrading their military capabilities in order to enhance security over their claimed areas. Through the years, China spent so much on military expenditure whereas the Philippines created more military capability programs. In the realist approach, as long as China and the Philippines hold on to their own claims on the Spratly’s, neither the International Court of Justice nor the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will be able to calmly resolve the conflict between the two countries. With the Philippines maintaining a good relationship with the other ASEAN members, it garnered the support of other Southeast Asian countries in laying claim to the Spratly’s; thus, giving it more strength on its hold on the islands (Yeneza, 2012). Unless one of them give up on its claim, the conflict will not be resolved easily and without causing further strains among the countries’ relationship (Morgenthau, 2006). There are two possible solutions that can be taken to resolve the conflict: (1) share the claimed areas, whenever it is feasible, and (2) undergo a diversion process. For the first solution to work, the Philippines and China must be allowed to gather the resources and share them equally – e.g. fish and seafood, oil, natural gas, sites for commercial shipping. Bilateral talks should always be done; therefore, the countries must interact directly rather than use a mediator and then promote diplomacy. The second one will be that rather than focusing on the conflict itself, both the Philippines and China should focus on repairing and enhancing their diplomatic ties and cooperation. They may opt to engage in mutually beneficial bilateral agreements and allow their relationship to pacify or stabilize (Yeneza, 2012). In the realist approach, it can be seen that the different international institutions have delayed the resolution of the Spratly’s issue rather than fixing it quickly. The issue requires the states to interact and discuss the matter directly, rather than using a mediator, in which the clauses provided in the guidelines for settling territorial disputes are too limited and can be interpreted in varying ways depending on the ideology adopted by a certain state. REFERENCES: Baker, C. 2004. China-Philippine relations: cautious cooperation. Pacific Center for Security Studies. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://apcss.org BBC. 2013. Q&A: South China sea dispute. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349 De Castro, R.C. 2011. Maritime security Asia. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://maritimesecurity.asia Encomienda, A.A. 2011. The south China sea: Back to the future through cooperation. October 6, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.southchinaseastudies.org Furtado, X.1991. International Law and the Dispute over the Spratly Islands:Whither UNCLOS? October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.findarticles.com Jinming, L. and Dexia, L. 2003. The dotted line on the Chinese map of the south China sea: A note. October 4, 2013. Accessed from: https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/6494 Joyner, C.C. n.d. The Spratly Islands dispute in the south China sea: Problems, policies and prospects for diplomatic accommodation. South China Sea Virtual Library. October 4, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.southchinasea.org Morgentau, H.J. 2006. Politics among nations: The struggle for power and peace. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Yeneza, Christine. 2012. The spratly’s conflict: Foreign policy implications to the people’s republic of china and the republic of the Philippines. Cebu City, Philippines: University of San-Jose Recolectos