Corporate Governance And Corporate Disclosure Essay

Corporate Governance The primary emphases of the SOX are to enhance the quality and transparency of corporate disclosure and force changes in the auditing of publicly traded companies. The first thing that SOX has an improvement is on the responsibility of company’s financial reports and disclosure which is connected with the section 302. The act requires the manager to certify the accuracy of the financial statement personally. If the chief executive CEO, chief financial officer CFO or other top manager knowing or willfully makes a false certification, he would be face 10 or 20 years in the prison. Also, if the company had the accounting restatement due to the manager’s misconduct, he still has to give up the bonuses or profits made from selling the company’s stock. Another major change is on the auditor side. The SOX gets a increase in the audit committee’s independence form the company and its responsibility regarding the company’s auditors. The audit committee receives large and wide leverage in the overseeing the company’s chief executive CEO, chief financial officer CFO or other top managers’ accounting decision. Also, the audit committee member must be independent from the top management and have the responsibility like approving many audit and non-audit services. What’s more, the control is required for the public companies. the section 404 ask the company to perform the extensive internal control tests. Which include an internal control report of annual audits.Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Corporate Governance Disclosure Practices Of Listed Companies1000 Words   |  4 Pagesinstitutionalization of the corporate sector and private enterprise. This has quickened the pace of economic growth since 1992. In this changed scenario, the quality of Corporate Disclosures has been an important factor not only for survival of the companies but also for influencing the company’s ability to raise money from capital market. In recent times, corporate governance has attracted much attention both in academic literature and press media. Corporate Governance is related to effective, transparentRead MoreThe Importance Of Disclosure And Transparency Within The Corporate Governance Structure1673 Words   |  7 PagesCurrent Evidence While specific corporate governance rules often are controversial, most observers agree on the importance of disclosure and transparency within the corporate governance structure. Some could argue that disclosure may be costly and so effort and money spent on disclosure should be reduced to save costs during times of financial difficulties and limited resource availability. Yet, Isenmann Lenz (2000) show that the use of new information technologies has had an enormous impact onRead MoreCorporate Management : Corporate Governance Essay1550 Words   |  7 PagesChapter-1 Introduction to Corporate Governance 1.1 Introduction Corporate Governance is a buzz word in the business world. It is envisioned to enhance the accountability of a concern and to evade huge disasters before they occur. The concept of corporate governance dived to global attention after the sudden crashes of Enron, World Com, Xerox, Lehman Brothers, Parmalat, Satyam etc. The failure of these colossal business houses horrified the corporate world with their unethical and unlawfulRead MoreU.s. Sarbanes Oxley Act1611 Words   |  7 Pageswitnessed a series of corporate bankruptcies in the recent decades like Enron, Lehman Brothers Inc, Global Crossings, and Tyco in the USA; HIH in Australia, Parmalat in Italy, APP in Asia, and Islamic bank Ltd. of South Africa. These collapses have weakened and shaken the confidence of shareholders, debtors, governmental institutions, and other similar relevant stakeholders in corporate governance (CG) and the stock markets, and led to regulating many reforms and codes of best governance practices all ov erRead MoreA Review On Disclosure Practices1726 Words   |  7 PagesA Review of Disclosure Practices of Latin American Companies Abstract This paper analyzes current practices in several Latin American countries in the areas of corporate disclosure and transparency by focusing on the extent to which information is disclosed to investors through public channels, such as websites. We find weak disclosure practices, which will continue to prove problematic for capital flows and the future development of these countries. Specifically, poor disclosure practices leadRead MoreCorporate Firm s Officer s Responsibility1016 Words   |  5 Pagesfinancial and brokerage firms in the Hong Kong. The main objective is testing and reliability of perception of the usefulness of various voluntary disclosures. In return, 98 chief executive officers and 92 financial analyses have been responding to all questions which related to questionnaire survey. According to below data can identify the validity of corporate firm’s officer’s responsibility. Industry Type Number Percentage Manufacturing 23 23.46 Conglomerate 12 12.20 Banking and Finance 12 12.20 PropertyRead MoreRanking the Key Principles of Corporate Governance1579 Words   |  7 Pagesranking of the key principles of corporate governance. The topic will be covered from the perspective of Australian listed companies, which are subject to regulation by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The ASX Corporate Governance Council defines corporate governance as â€Å"the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled in corporations† (ASX 2007 p3). The latest ASX Corporate Governance Council report (ASX 2007) articulatesRead MoreCorporate Governance : A Troubled Economy Essay1372 Words   |  6 Pagesconcept of corporate governance. The Institute of Financial Auditors said that the Corporate Governance is constituted of processes and structures implemented by the board of directors to inform, direct, manage and monitor the operations of an organization towards reaching its goals. Internal audit tells us that an organization reach its objective by bringing a disciplined, systematic approach to improve and evaluate the effectiveness of risk management, internal controls and governance process. TheRead MoreHistory And Meaning Of Corporate Governance1450 Words   |  6 PagesCorporate governance is a key term to understand and it is increasingly important part of running a successful company. The system has evolved over the years, guided by the challenges and misjudgements of the corporate world. The following guide will help you look into the history and meaning of corporate governance and find out about the core principles of it. You can also read about the key models and guidelines that help companies implement strong corporate governance in the demanding and competitiveRead MoreBusiness Analysis : Tabcorp Ltd1369 Words   |  6 Pagesby Jane, manager of our company, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Corporate Governance practices of Tabcorp through identifying the company governing the businesses appropriately or not, based on their 2015/2016 annual report and other related documentation. Tabcorp Ltd is an Australian listed organisation, and this letter assessed three key strengths and two weaknesses aimed at the Corporate Governance practices of Tabcorp Ltd: high compliance on ASX principles, high transparency and

A Person s World View May Not Be My Worldview - 1505 Words

A person’s world view may not be my worldview, so how do I differ what a worldview is? Along with, how is a person’s worldview different from a christian worldview? When I read an encyclopedia the definition might look like this, a person’s specific bias or opinion on things that influence how they look at the world and the things around them from what is there to what is expected to be there. Now that I have a definition of a worldview, what is a christian worldview? With the article A Christian Worldview there are five points that make up a christian worldview. First God exists and the world was created by him. Secondly humans who fully believe in God have enjoyment to look forward to after death because they can be with God, but everyone has a soul and spirit to go somewhere after they die. Third science and metaphysics are not the only things that explain a big bang theory and everything that exists today. Fourth is epistemology is not the only thing that h elps humans perceive real senses. Last there is a difference between objective morality and subjective morality along with the Bible being a source for christians to follow God’s will for our life (Drury 3). Likewise with the five points to a person’s worldview and a christian worldview how can all citizens legally choose not to give life to an unborn child, but not let people end their life when they are terminally ill, or go through extreme pain for the rest of their life. Currently there are four states thatShow MoreRelatedWorldview Reflection Paper1327 Words   |  6 Pagesno idea that I had a worldview. I know my worldview didn’t change, but my understanding of myself, others and what that means changed enormously. I learned something very useful and important about the way I perceive things and gain knowledge; I learned about things I didn’t know previously. In the book, The Universe Next Door (2009), Sire communicates various worldviews. For any of us to be fully conscious intellectually, we should not only be able to detect the worldviews of others but be awareRead MorePersonal Worldview Essay1009 Words   |  5 PagesPersonal Worldview Elias Cantu Grand Canyon University PHI-413V Roxanne Birchfield October 15, 2017 Personal Worldview My world view is strongly influenced by my faith, however working in the healthcare field I frequently meet individuals of different religions and faiths. A worldview is a theory of the world, used for living in the world. A world view is a mental model of reality. It is a framework of ideas and attitudes about the world, ourselves, and a comprehensive system of beliefsRead MoreWorldview Essay1313 Words   |  6 PagesWorldview Essay Today’s society consists of many worldviews. Most people tend to pull beliefs from different religions, but often stick to one main worldview. A worldview to me is the gathering of beliefs that shape what we do on a daily basis and forms our overall view on life. When I look at my beliefs critically, I am able to see my worldview and see how it compares to different worldviews, but also how it compares mainly to the Christian Worldview. My view of God is very similar to the non-denominationRead MoreThe History Of Rasselas, Prince Of Abyssinia By Samuel Johnson Essay1707 Words   |  7 PagesA worldview is a mental model of reality. It is the idea and attitudes towards the world, life, and us as individuals. Each individual has their own unique worldview. People acquire a worldview by how they go through life, it may change or even stay the same. How they grew up, life situations, values, religion, and attitudes are factors that may affect one’s worldview. There are many questions that can make up one’s worldview. How should we act? What gives life purpose? Where did we come from? TheseRead MoreMy View On The World And The Way Of Living, Working, And Socializing1199 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many things that influence my view on the world and the way of living, working, and socializing. I was raised as a Christian orthodox, but my faith in religion is diminished, don’t get me wrong I do b elieve in God, but not in church or religion. I respect every religion and cultural beliefs, but to me, religion is made to separate the peoples and their beliefs. I believe in peoples’ morale and what good they doing. I don’t understand how the person can say they are religious because everyRead MoreStereotypes And Perception Of A Worldview1221 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction In our first class we discussed that a worldview acts as a ‘filter’ through which we understand and perceive phenomena (Koltko-Rivera, 8). This discussion was very important, as understanding the meaning of the term worldviews laid the foundation on which the following classes could be built upon. â€Å"We don t see things as they are, we see them as we are† (Koltko-Rivera, 3) was the statement that stood out most for me, it explained how we are each shaped by our own personal experiencesRead MoreWorldview As A Person s Perception Of Life And Perspective Of The World1615 Words   |  7 PagesChristian Worldview Rachel Rotolo Liberty University  Table of Contents Part I 3 Part II 3 Part III 6 References 8 Part I A worldview is often defined as a person’s perception of life and perspective of the world. A worldview involves more than how a person interprets life, but it also involves a person’s philosophy of life, and a person’s decision-making (Gutierrez Weider, 2013). Gutierrez and Weider describe a worldview as the lenses that one looks through to see the world, and that whatRead MoreWhat Is Outstanding Customer Service, Friendly Team Members?1443 Words   |  6 Pagesintentional servant style leadership that is portrayed and enforced by the company s leader and founder, S. Truett Cathy. Everyone who visits a Chick-fil-A is usually amazed by the extremely high quality customer service and the hospitality that is demonstrated by the team members from the time you enter the building, until the time that you exit . Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love hearing the infamous, It s my pleasure to serve you?† Cathy believed that, â€Å"We must motivate our selves to do ourRead MoreWorldview As A Person s Worldview1402 Words   |  6 Pagesperson’s worldview may not be my worldview, a person’s worldview is individual to the person. I would define worldview as a person’s specific bias or opinion on topics that influence how they look at the world and their surroundings from what is there to what is expected to be there. Now that I have a definition of a worldview, what is a christian worldview? With the article, A Christian Worldview, there are five points that make up a christian worldview. First, God exists and the world was created

American Popular Culture and Advertisement Free Essays

In this essay I will describe the impact that popular American culture has had on my personal decision making, by briefly describing popular American culture; identifying patterns in my list of popular culture artifacts from my inventory, describing which items are more common than others, identify which themes are prevalent, and describing some of the values being communicated by the items in my list. American popular culture can be describes as the ideas, attitudes, and perspectives within the current mainstream of the American population. Popular culture here in American is heavily influenced by the mass media which saturates the lives of our society. We will write a custom essay sample on American Popular Culture and Advertisement or any similar topic only for you Order Now This mass culture can been viewed as a commercial culture, mass produced for mass consumption and has expressed itself through almost every medium, like music, movies, politics and even sports like good old American Baseball; although it easily absorbs many others cultural traditions like soccer which originated from England, and yoga which is said to be as old as civilization itself. Some of the patterns of the items in my list of artifacts are those of consumption, and there are other artifacts that are just to sell an idea or service. What is obvious in each of the themes in my list of artifacts is that they are designed to grab your attention, and those that are more common than others are the magazines, billboards, and television. They are all conveniently displayed while waiting for your appointment, getting gas for your car or just waiting at a stop light on the way to your destination. These artifacts entice, seduce and focus on pleasure or some type of social responsibility like the billboards asking anyone to assist the LAPD to identify the women who were murdered by the â€Å"grim sleeper. † The extent to which I feel that the value of popular American culture has had on my personal decision making is great. I watch television to keep up with current events for socializing with others and feeling a part of, I listen to music for the same reason, and many of the decisions I make as an American is to feel a part of American culture. I am very aware of the impact that the influence of this popular culture has on my decision making, how I am seduced to buy a product from an infomercial that states I can look younger, or remove any flaws I may have or lose excess pounds of weight, knowing that I will be billed for much more than they advertised. I am quite aware that I don’t need most of the items I find in the advertisements, but my vanity and wanting to be younger, better, thinner, or even have more money, the seduction draws me in and consciously fall into place with many who assimilate to this hegemonic culture feeling like I am doing what I am supposed to do. How to cite American Popular Culture and Advertisement, Essay examples

US Tradeport Essay Example For Students

US Tradeport Essay After going to the Tradeport website, I have decided to do my paper on a USfederal government agency. I explored a few of the agencies and decided tochoose the US Trade and Development Agency. The US Trade and Development Agency(TDA) is a small independent agency. It is comprised of about forty-one people. The director is Mr. J. Joseph Grandmaison, who was nominated by President BillClinton. The TDA with the help of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committeeworks with the Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, the OverseasPrivate Investment Corporation, and other agencies to advance American businessinterest in other countries. They are primarily involved in the agriculture,energy, environment, health care, information technology manufacturing, miningand mineral development, telecommunications, transportation, and water resourcesareas. This is the TDA Mission Statement: The U. S. Trade and Development Agencyassists in the creation of jobs for Americans by helping U.S. companies pursueoverseas business opportunities. Through the funding of feasible studies,orientation visits, specialized training grants, business workshops, and variousforms of technical assistance, we enable American businesses to compete forinfrastructure and industrial projects in middle-income and developing countries(1). The TDA funds project planning activities which directly influences thedecisions related to major industrial projects. In other words, these areprojects that represent millions of dollars in US export potential. TDA worksto ensure that the services and products needed for projects will be stampedMade in the USA (How TDA Operates 1). An example of some of the goodsand services are radar for airports in Asia and process controls for refineriesin Latin America. The TDA is active in over forty countries throughout theworld. Sometimes, however, statutory, and policy restraints either prevent orlimit the availability of TDA programs in certain countries. All activities ofthe TDA are carried out by US firms. The TDA looks at many things beforedeciding to implement a project. The look at eligibility of the country, theenvironmental impact, effect on US jobs, need to work with other trade promotionagencies, the relationship with financing institutions, cost sharing and success fees, feasible studies, and definitional missions and desk studies. DefinitionalStudies are teams of technical specialists contracted to visit a host countryfor a short time. These teams gather any additional information needed for theproject. A Desk Study also involves gathering information for the project, butthere is no need to go overseas. TDA also sponsors conferences and reverse trademissions called orientation visits. Both of theses activities familiarizeforeign decision makers with American-made products and services, build businessrelationships, and encourage US companies to export to developing andmiddle-income countries (How TDA Works 2). Also in certain regions, the TDAprovides trade-related training, which provide the means for host countryproject personnel to receive technical and managerial support. There are noapplication fees for TDA services. However, in most feasible study grants, TDArequires that the company share the cost. If the project is implemented, thenTDA requires reimbursement for their share of the study cost. Because of itsfocused mission, TDA only considers projects that have potential to mature intosignificant business opportunities for US companies (TDA Questions Answers 1). For projects to be considered, they must: 1) Face strong competitionfrom foreign companies 2) Be a development priority of the country where theproject will be located 3) have the endorsement of the US Embassy in that area4) Represent an opportunity for sales of US goods or services 5) Be likely toreceive implementation financing, and have a procurement process open to USfirms (Questions Answers 1). To obtain TDA funding one must do a fewthings. First and foremost, project must meet the above requirements. Next oneneed to prepare documentation and research that clearly shows how the projectmeets the above requirements. The information should include a one to two pagesummary. Be sure to include information about your company, its resources,capabilities, an d the personnel. One should also obtain a copy of TDAsFeasible Study Model Format, which one can get from the website. Followthe instructions carefully and fill in the appropriate information. After allthis is done, contact the TDA Country Manager who is responsible for the countrywhere the project is located. The Country Manager will set up an officeappointment for an informal review of the proposal. The TDA does have a limitedbudget, so not all proposals will be accepted (Question Answers 2). Belowis a short summary of some of the things that should be included in theapplication of the TDA Feasible Study Model Format. A) Executive Summary B)Project Proposal C) Developmental Priority D) Justification E) ImplementationFinancing F) US Export Potential G) Foreign Competition H) Impact on US Labor I)Qualifications J) Terms of Reference K) Budget A more detailed version of theabove can also be found on the US Trade and Development Agency website. .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .postImageUrl , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:hover , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:visited , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:active { border:0!important; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:active , .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9 .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc21ccc5506c49f6e9c531058f0481cb9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Let me put this heavy load down and take some of t Essay BibliographyUS Trade and Development Agency. About TDA. Online. March 1, 2000. Available: www.tda.gov/abouttda/index.html US Trade and Development Agency. From the Director. Online. March 1,2000. Available: www.tda.gov/abouttda/director.htmlUS Trade and Development Agency. How TDA Works. Online. March 1, 2000. Available: www.tda.gov/abouttda/howworks.html US Trade and Development Agency. TDA Feasibility Study Model Format. Online. March 1, 2000. Available:www.tad.gov/resources/feasibility_us.html US Trade and Development Agency. TDA Questions Answers. Online. March 1, 2000. Available: www.tda.gov/abouttda/qanda.html

Desert Storm Intelligence Operation

African Elephant essays

African Elephant essays The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall. This ensures plenty of food, shade, and water. The elephant prefers a habitat of mixed woodland and grassland which gives them an opportunity to eat a variety of vegetation. African Elephants are considered herbivores, they are both browsers and grazers; they will eat rough sticks, stems and leaves of plants as well as grasses, sedges, and fruit. Their favorites are mangoes, berries and coconuts. An elephant eats up to 500 pounds of vegetation every day ...

Justice Scalia's Fundamental Rights Research Paper

Justice Scalia's Fundamental Rights - Research Paper Example Constitution as an instrument to protect the fundamental rights of citizens in America. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is concerned primarily with the fundamental rights of citizens of the United States. Based on the, 14th Amendment, â€Å"all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law† (Legal Information Institute). Simply put, the 14th Amendment limits the power of Congress and other federal and state powers to discriminate against individuals. The 14th Amendment is the document of equal protection that outlaws individual rights violations. Since the 1970s, the 14th Amendment has been used as one of the central tools of legal def ense against labor and employment discrimination. However, not everyone agrees that the 14th Amendment is a valid argument against discrimination. When a public figure as popular as Justice Scalia expresses a divergent opinion, it is natural and logical that the public reaction will be immediate. In one of his recent interviews, Justice Scalia expressed an opinion that the 14th Amendment has nothing to do with discrimination and individual rights: according to Scalia, the U.S. Constitution by itself does not outlaw discrimination (Terkel). Rather, the Constitution simply provides the basis and creates a legal context, which allows passing legislation that outlaws different forms of discrimination against individuals (Terkel). Justice Scalia is confident that the Constitution does not prohibit discrimination, and it is within the power of U.S. legislators, not the Constitution, to enact laws that defend the fundamental rights of American citizens. As a result, the Fourteenth Amendmen t can hardly serve a relevant ground for legal protection against sexual and gender discrimination in the workplace or in courts. To some extent, Justice Scalia is correct: the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed with the intent to keep illegal immigrants and aliens from accessing and using the benefits provided by U.S. Government. This is why the 14th Amendment limits the scope of the legal rights protection to citizens or those naturalized in the United States (The 14th Amendment). It was not before the 1970s that the legal meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment was changed to become one of the key instruments and legal arguments against sexual and other types of individual discrimination in the U.S. Even today, the 14th Amendment remains the source of major legal controversies, since there is no explicit statement that could be directly related to the issue of sexual or gender discrimination. However, the role which the Fourteenth Amendment plays in the protecti on of individual rights and the elimination of inequality and discrimination cannot be ignored. Simultaneously, Justice Scalia’s homophobic prejudices are well-known to the American public. It is no wonder that Scalia does not believe the 14th Amendment and its equal protection clause applies to women, gays or lesbians (LaVictoire). In the notorious case of Lawrence v. Texas Justice Scalia claimed

Tesla Motors - Evaluating a Growth Company Case Study

Tesla Motors - Evaluating a Growth Company - Case Study Example However, it has the advantage over its competitors as it had developed the first electric car, Model S, which no other company has developed. If the market welcomes it, then the cash inflow in terms of income will rise and depict active growth. The major disadvantage of the Model used by Tesla is that it faces stiff competition from big companies like GM, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and BMW which offers prestigious cars at relatively lower prices. As the market stands, the sales volume of its new model is relatively small, and this is a disadvantage considering its substantial investment in the production. The financial position of Tesla will improve in the future. The projection of Tesla fiscal standing will depict positive deviations. The sales volume will be over US $20,105 Million. The operating profit will double to US $ 2000 up from the current US $940 million. The net income will hit US $ 960 with a net margin of 4.43%. However, the operating margin will be 15% up from the current 8.46%. Additionally, its cost of production per unit will drop significantly, and the overall expenditure in production will decrease. The primary assumption made when making these assumptions is that the market for the electric car unveiled by Tesla will stabilize by 2025. As such, the sales volume of the company will rise and stabilize. Its market coverage will increase, and this will increase its customer base. It is assumed that by 2025, organization that campaign for environmental conservation will advocate for the use of vehicles that do not pollute the atmosphere. Therefore, Tesla’s brand will get a boost from the organizations that will want to become socially responsible. The increased operating margin and net income margin will be due to the uncertainty in the market and the rising market rivalry in competition. Most importantly, Tesla will out-compete its competitors as it will have efficient production machines and systems to produce its cars

Buffalo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buffalo - Essay Example The city is experiencing massive in-migration, decline in entrepreneurial activities and changes that the youth bring to society. Buffalo is a scene of interaction between different ethnic groups, with the majority being African Americans. Crime and ethnic divisions are significant characteristics of the city. Bringing children up in such poor backgrounds affects their future and their performance in life. Buffalo has a large number of young people who lack the resources and necessary facilities to engage in entrepreneurial activities. There is neglect on the part of the society regarding entrepreneurial activities. However, the growing number of shops and rental houses in the town suggests that the town is undergoing gradual entrepreneurial development and in-migration respectively. The main challenge facing these entrepreneurial ventures is that most people run them on an ethnic basis. Budget crisis has contributed to the decline of Buffalo where the marginalized and the disadvantaged communities shoulder the heaviest burdens in the budget (Cope & Latcham 152). This couples up with the loss of manufacturing facilities and sources of raw materials. Decline in manufacturing jobs led to the population loss where young people moved out of the town in search of job opportunities. Nevertheless, the leadership of Buffalo is partly responsible for the economic decline and poverty. The leaders gave way for racism where the society divides itself along ethnic basis. This leads to disparities in job allocation, which makes some ethnic groupings poorer than others do. It is worth noting that the recent census in the United States revealed that there are many young children in Buffalo than it was the case in the past. However, this does not mean that the narratives that suggest aging population as a factor in Buffalo’s decline are wrong. A

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | Analysis

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà « | Analysis Charlotte Bronte was born at Thornton, Yorkshire, in 1816, the third child of Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell. Mrs Bronte died in 1821 and Charlotte, her four sisters, Maria, Elizabeth, Emily and Anne, and her brother Branwell were left under the care of their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell. In 1824 Charlotte went to a school for daughters of the clergy with Maria, Elizabeth and Emily. Maria and Elizabeth died in the same years and Charlotte attributed their deaths to the ill management of the school. Her experiences there are fictionalised in the Lowood section of Jane Eyre. From 1831 to 1832, Charlotte was at Miss Woolers school at Roehead, where she returned as a teacher in 1835, remaining there for three years. She wrote three other novels, Shirley (1849), Villette (1853) and The Professor (1857). She was then married to her fathers curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls, but unfortunately died in 1854.(Berg 4) Jane Eyre, her first published novel, has been called feminine because of the romanticism and deeply felt emotions of the heroine-narrator. The story is mainly about a girl, who refuses to be placed in the traditional female position, who disagrees with her superiors, who stands up for her rights, who ventures creative thoughts. However more importantly, Bronte sets Jane as the narrator to comment on the role of women in the society and the greater constraint experienced by them. The feminine emotions are often found in Jane Eyre herself as well as in Rochester, which suggests that they possess these enduring human qualities of these emotions. (Waller) In Jane Eyre, Bronte chooses the exact point of view to suit her subject the first-person narration. The story is told entirely through the eyes of Jane Eyre. This technique enables Bronte to bring certain events to the reader with an intensity that involves the audience in the passions, feelings, and thoughts of the heroine. (McFadde n-Geber 1095) Throughout the novel Jane Eyre, Jane is used as a representation of a modern woman from today. Jane does many things which women of her time do not do. She starts reading and writing as a little girl. This is an ability that most women at the time may not possess throughout their entire lives. The biggest reason why Jane is a modern woman is because she takes matters into her own hands. She is in complete control of her life and destiny, whereas most women of that time were completely dependent on their husbands for everything. Jane Eyre represents Charlotte Bronte s idea of a modern woman because she can read, write, and she is independent. Jane starts reading and writing as a little girl in the Reeds house. Jane begged Bessie to fetch Gullivers Travels from the library, which Jane perused with delight. (28) An example that shows Jane can write is when she writes an advertisement that states she is a governess who is in need of a job at Thornfield. With earliest day, I was up: I had my advertisement written, enclosed, and directed before the bell rang to rouse the schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦nearer to my own age. (89) Finally, Charlotte Bronte shows that Jane represents a modern woman because she is independent. Unlike other women, she does not depend on a man to provide shelter and food for her because she is a modern day working woman. In the Victorian periods, it is almost impossible to find a working woman like Jane who survives on her own in a male dominated society. In Thornfield, after Jane discovers that Rochester has a wife, she reminds herself that she is an independent, modern woman and that she does not have to stay. Therefore, she refuses to become Rochesters mistress and leaves Thornfield. I were so far to forget myself and all the teaching that had ever been instilled, into me, as under any pretext, with any justification, through any temptation to become the successor of these poor girls, he would one day regard me with the same feeling which now in his mind desecrated their memory. I did not give utterance to this conviction: it was not enough to feel it. (350) Jane does not like to follow the orthodox way of doing things. She chooses to live her life her way, not the way women of her time traditionally do for she will not yield to Rochesters passion. (355) More importantly, she follows her own path and does not let Victorian traditions stop her from being a modern woman. Through out the novel, Jane is being both the protagonist and the hero and is involved in a familiar Romantic dualism the opposition between feeling and judgement, or, can also expressed, between passion and reason. (Chase 53) During the eighteenth century, the Victorians have placed great faith in bodily appearance. To the Victorians, a face and figure can reveal the inner thoughts and emotions of the individual as reliable as clothing indicates a person occupation. Therefore, a hero or heroines beauty is known as the most important aspect of his or her character among Victorian novels. (Gaskell 107) In the novel, Jane Eyre appears to be so little, so pale with features so irregular and so marked. (351) Unlike her sisters works, Charlotte Bronte deliberately creates an anti-heroine like figure, Jane Eyre and has told her sisters that they were morally wrong in making their heroines beautiful. (Chase 52) However, they reply that it is impossible to make a heroine interesting on any other terms. Her answer is a heroin as plain and as small as myself, who shall be as interesting as any of yours. (Gaskell 236) In Jane Eyre, Bronte rejects the ideal Victorian beauty and forms questions in readers mind asking, why was Janes plainness so extraordinary? (Gaskell 89) Things that are considered most attractive are Janes Quakerish black frocks and her hair, which is combed behind ears in its simplicity. Jane is a character whose interior self actually surpasses the exterior in beauty. With a typical Victorian obsession for physical appearance, Jane gives many descriptions of herself. She is often painful aware of the deficiencies of her physical appearance in the earliest chapters of her autobiography, saying that she is the strange little figure there . . . with a white face and arms specking the gloomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (21) The importance of female beauty is nicely summed up by Miss Abbot, a servant at Gateshead, If she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that (34). As an adult, Jane is somewhat resigned to her pl ainness but she is still inspired by the ideal Victorian beauty by saying, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer: I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and a small cherry mouth: I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a misfortune that I was so little, so pale, and had features so irregular and marked. (11) Rochesters lover, Blanche Ingram on the other hand, is completely opposite of Jane. Despite her charming looks, Blanche is the Man-destroying woman; frequently and quite naturally presented as handsome, but their beauty has a peculiar quality . . . although they usually exhibit astounding beauty, it is really abrupt masculinity that characterises these conventional types. (195) Although Ingram has outward charms, she is not good natured, in fact she is rather shallow and even greedy. (Massey) Like Blanche Ingram, Berth Mason competes and contrasts with Jane physically. Although Jane knows her only as a mad, frightening beast, Bertha is considered quite a beauty in her youth. She is the boast of Spanish Town for her beauty (343) and she has a tall, dark, and majestic figure. During that time, Berthas beauty has blinded the young and na ve, Rochester. He is fooled by both Berthas and Ingrams attractive appearances. Therefore, it is no wonder Rochester is drawn to his small, plain, simp le governess. The constant importance of Janes plainness is evidenced in Rochesters unromantic marriage proposal. (Mason) You poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are I entreat you to accept me as a husband. (286) Then, he wants the world to think Jane as beautiful as he does, which is impossible. Jane refuses to think the same by saying, No, no sir! Think of other subjects, and speak of other things, and in another strain. Dont address me as if I were a beauty; I am your plain Quakerish governess. (291) However, Rochester forces his own opinion upon her by saying You are a beauty in my eyes; and a beauty just after the desire of my heart delicate and aerial. I will make the world acknowledge you a beauty too. I will attire my Jane in satin and lace, and she shall have roses in her hair; and I will cover the head I love best with a priceless veil. (291) Rochesters blindness is the ultimate symbol of the unimportance of physical beauty. (Massey) His blindness allows Jane and him to attain an almost neoplatonic relationship, based on something far greater than outward beauty. Jane is a plain beauty and Rochester is the similarly oxymoronic noble savage. (Mason) Their relationship will surely be a long one because it is not based on external appearances that will eventually fade. True beauty is in the eye of the gazer, is the moral of Brontes tale. She is very successful in making an interesting plain heroine because of her lack of beauty, not despite it. The constant use of fire imagery and many of the metaphors use in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre express two things which could not be expressed openly in the Victorian Period passion and sexuality. (Sng) Brontes writing is dictated by the morals of her society, but her ideas are not. However, Bronte knows that if she is going to write about these two things directly, her book will probably be rejected. Therefore, Bronte creates Jane. The psychology of passion has become one of the novels most dominant themes. Passion has become centrally focused on self-control, female sexuality, and Berthas insanity through use of fire imagery. The use of fire imagery brings reader to the contradictions that Victorian women want to fulfil their passionate needs but at the same time have to keep a sense of self-control. (Sng) In the novel, Jane keeps these feelings and passions strictly deep inside, not wanting to give in to the fire she feels inside. Bronte then creates fire and uses these fire image ries to illustrate the way in which Jane deals this struggle. Jane also demonstrates the way in which she internalised her feelings of opposing ideas and the dealing of loss of self-control. (Koh) As a child, Jane becomes the symbol that Victorian society grows to fear. She has not only been the passionate child but has also become the frenzied woman. In the Victorian psychology, Jane is seen as a girl, who contains sexuality and passion. After Jane is locked up in the red room, her view on the environment totally changes. With its deadly and bloody connotations, its Freudian wealth of secret compartments, wardrobes, drawers, and jewel chest, the red-room has strong associations with the adult female body. (Showalter 69) Mrs. Reed is a widow, who imprisons Jane with ostracism at Gateshead, where Jane is forbidden to eat, play, or socialize with other members of the family. The obsession with the animal appetites and manifestations of the body, and the extreme revulsion from female sexuality are also articulated through one of the submerged literary allusions in the text to Gullivers Travels. (Showalter 70) This book has been one of Janes favourites but after her experience in the red-room it becomes an ominous and portentous fable. Gulliver seems no longer a clever adventurer but a most desolate wanderer in most dread and dangerous regions. (29) The scene in the red-room unmistakably echoes the flagellation ceremonies of Victorian pornography. (Showalter 71) Although Jane constantly reveals her passion later in the novel, her ability to handle these problems has grown slightly. Women at the time are not allowed to let their sexual passions known to anyone, which is similar to Janes summary of how she feels in her society when she states, A tale my imagination created . . . quickened with all of incident, life, fire, feeling, that I desired and had not had in my actual existence. (125) Jane explains that she felt all of these elements inside her but they are not a part of her reality, or in other words, are not allowed to be shown in the society. Women at that time hold back many of their feelings because societys views and morals are pushing them to do so. (Lian) The main problem with this solution is that the women will after many years of doing so, explode into chaos releasing the built up emotions they are hiding. Jane seems to fall into this pattern. She is accused of hiding her emotions and passions, which are evidenced through her interaction with Rochester and Aunt Reed. An example of concealing passions inside her is demonstrated when Aunt Reed at G ateshead asks Jane, how for nine years you could be patient and quiescent under any treatment, and in the tenth break out all fire and violence. (269) Jane falls into the category of the entanglement of self-control and the prisoner of her own passion, similar to other women in the Victorian society. After Jane discovers that she has become Rochesters mistress, she locks herself alone in her bedroom for days. The lockup of herself symbolises the locking up of her soul and passion inside herself. Rochester is expecting hot rain of tears from Jane after she is made known to the truth and he wanted them to be shed on his breast. (336) However, a white cheeked and faded eyed Jane appears in front of him without a trace of tears. (336) Throughout the novel, Rochester has his unique ways to bring out passions and love hidden inside Jane by questioning her in ways like, You dont love me, then? Consequently, Jane immediately reveals her love but still mentally torturing herself by coldly saying, I do love you (241). While Rochester brings Jane to reveal the passions inside her, St. John forces Jane to keep her self-control and destroys her ability to express her sexuality. In Janes words, whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice (428) is when she realises how mismatched they are and that he is not able to bring out her sexuality as a lover. This is a good example of the Victorian views, where the society wants women to obey rules by hiding their feelings. Therefore, many women are tortured by the passions and sexuality, which they felt, but were unable to express. Oppositely, Bertha is unable to hide her sexuality and is led to her destruction by jumping to death, while Thornfeild burns to the ground. She shows the potential dangers of allowing only passion to rule uncontrolled and is used to represent unleashed, untamed passion, without any reason or control. (Koh) Berthas bed-burning scene is contrasted to Janes sexual desires, which cannot be let out. Readers can constantly connect Berthas outbursts with Janes insistence on self-control. During the bed-burning scene, Bronte uses several passionate expressions to expose Janes inhibited sexuality. (Koh) When Jane enters Rochesters bedroom, Tongues of flames darted round the bed: the curtains were on fire. In the midst of blaze and vapour, Mr. Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep. (168) This enables the development of tension and passion in Janes character. As Rochester lay enveloped in tongues of flames, Jane goes to his side and tries to wake him. Jane now becomes the aggressor in this act of passion. After this doesnt work Jane fills a water-jug and extinguishes the flames. Jane has relieved Rochesters sexual desires by putting out his fire, using her water-jug, which broke during this event. Jane says, the breakage of the pitcher I had flung from my hand when I had emptied it . . . roused Mr. Rochester at last, (168) letting her have the role of aggressor and her sexuality be aroused. (Koh) Jane and Bertha are shown to have many parallels in the novel. Janes fires and Berthas blood, the red room and the attic, and Jane being referred to as a mad, the way that Bertha acts throughout the novel. (Chase 62) The way that Jane is able to hide her feelings of passion deep inside is the whole reason that Bertha is assumed to be insane by not being able to do this within herself. The ideas of self-control and the lacks of it are the reasons for the comparisons of Jane and Bertha. There are basically three types of femininity presided over the literary imagination of the 19th century: first, the diabolic outcast, and the destructive, fatal demon woman. Secondly, the domestic angel of the house, the saintly, self-sacrificing frail vessel, and thirdly a particular version of Mary Magdalene, as the penitent and redeemed sexually vain and dangerous woman, the fallen woman. (Bronfen 197) Charlotte Bronte has divided the Victorian female psyche into its extreme components of tamed and untamed, which externalizes two characters Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason. Charlotte Bronte describes Janes character and personality as a passionate, heroic and innocent individual. However, through the novel Jane learns how to control her feelings, her wild and passionate nature. From an innocent child, she grows into a person, who wish to become appreciated and loved by people. Although Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason are both oppressed by the British patriarchal system, the two women differ greatly in the ways that they accept and cope with the reality of their place in society. (Waller) Jane Eyre follows the rules. Although she initially fights against what she believes to be unfair restrictions at Gateshead, she soon discovers that rebellion carries a high price. Therefore she soon learns to modify her behaviour to conform to socially accepted standards. Bertha Mason, on the other hand, never conform to societys restrictions on womens behaviour and so she blindly breaks all of the rules. Therefore, Jane is successful in securing her desired place in society because she ultimately learns the value of conforming to the rules and operating within the context of their established structures, whereas Bertha does not conform and therefore does not survive. As an adult, Jane is a plain governess, (291) whereas Bertha is a big woman who snatched and growled like some strange wild animal but it was covered with clothing. (328) Jane is an orphan who lived in a charity school. Bertha on the other hand is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy West India merchant. Jane is modest and virginal and Bertha is a nature who is the most gross, impure and depraved. (345) Both of them have no choice but to live within the setting of the male-dominated society. In different ways, Jane and Bertha each attempt to function within society acceptable standards while still maintaining a sense of individuality. (Waller) Consequently, both women are judged and punished severely when they do not conform to societys expectations. Jane is bound to powerful or economically viable men like Uncle Reed, Rochester and St. John Rivers several times in the novel. Although it may seem that these attachments are necessary for Janes welfare, in reality they are signs of oppression. (Waller) At Gateshead, she is taken in as an orphan by her uncle. After he dies, Jane remains with his family but is unloved and unwanted. To make matters worse, she is resented by her wealthy relations, who usually enforce unjust rules that Jane has little choice but to obey. Janes rebellion brings about neither justice nor understanding, but only more harsh treatment and loneliness. She is eventually made known to the importance of conforming to social norms and by the time she becomes a teacher at Lowood, Jane no longer needs to be externally controlled by society. (Waller) However, even after she learns the value of conformity, Jane continues to experience the oppression of patriarchy. When she obtains her position as governess at Thornfield, she initially enjoys relative liberty. She is earning more money than she did at Lowood and having Mrs. Fairfax as a companion. Rochester frees Jane from the traditional class conventionalities because he relates to her as a relative social equal. (Waller) However, Janes comfortable life at Thornfield begins to change. As Rochesters feelings for her increase, his efforts in manipulating and controlling her also raises. However, Rochesters efforts to dominate Jane have become less effective as the amount of force he employs increases. Rochesters most intense attempt to control Jane is shown in his insistence that she runs away with him to the south of France, making her realise that he is leaving her no choice but to escape from him. Eventually, Jane senses that if she stays at Thornfield, Rochester will continue t o press her to enter a sexual relationship with him, something she cannot accept. (Waller) Because she loves him so, Jane fears that Rochester may succeed in wearing away her determination in leaving Thornfield. Opposing and refusing his request, Jane leaves Thornfield in a panic following her own principle. This scene demonstrates that Jane would rather give up her chance for happiness than do anything that would yield her conformity to social custom. She is convinced that maintaining a strict adherence to the rules will, in the end, help her to achieve what she want, even if that turns out to be simply social acceptance and love desires. Eventually, Janes conformance to social rules has become the defining element of her adult self. (Waller) She knows her position in the society, and although she may not always be comfortable with it, she internally controls her own behaviour and conforms to societys rules throughout the rest of her life. (Waller) Later in the novel, Bertha dies a nd Jane has finally married Rochester. As a result, Jane has now successfully established social acceptance and maintained her own self-respect. In the end, it is her conformity to the society standards that makes it possible for her to achieve her most cherished desires and goals, like being a legitimate wife of Edward Rochester and the mother of their children. (Waller) Unlike Jane, Bertha Mason is interested in neither social acceptance nor self-respect. According to Rochesters narrative, Berthas childhood experiences, which are very different from Janes, have not prepared her to operate within the framework of patriarchal society. Bertha is not taught in her childhood that non-compliance to social rules carries ultimate redemption and punishment, and consequently, she never learns the value of conforming to the expectations of others. As a child, Bertha is brought up in an atmosphere of wealth and extravagance, and is delighted in the luxuries provided by her wealthy family. Berthas father wants to marry her daughter off as quickly as possible. Rochesters father and brother are also eager to arrange the match to provide wealth for him without having to divide the family estate. Rochester is ignorant, raw, and inexperienced and is dazzled by the beautiful Bertha, who is admired by All the men in her circle. (343) However, after their hasty marriage, Rochester realises that he never lovedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦never esteemedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦nor even knew her and that he was not sure of the existence of one virtue in her natureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦neither modesty nor benevolence, nor candour, nor refinement in her mind or manners. (344) He finds her nature is totally alien to him with her cast of mind common, low, narrow, and singularly incapable of being led to anything higher, expanded to anything larger. (344) It is clear that Bertha has neither intention nor desire to operate within the structure of traditional marriage or conform to the expectations of her husband or society. Therefore, Rochester considers Berthas lusty sexual appetite as an inappropriate and devilish act, even within the framework of marriage. (Waller) As a result, Rochester locks his wife in the attic at Thornfield for he thinks that she is safely lodged in that third-story room, of whose secret inner cabinet she has now for ten years made a wild beasts den-a goblins cell. (348) As a member of the patriarchy, Rochester has the unquestionable power and authority to judge and punish Bertha. He is giving Bertha a life sentence of imprisonment for her aggressive sexuality and refusal to conform to patriarchal expectations. However, Rochesters description of Bertha and her behaviour are very different from Janes initial impression. It seems that Bertha, before her marriage with Rochester, is an enchanting lady, who is able to function within a polite society. However, after her marriage with Rochester, he starts to control Berthas behaviour by imposing patriarchal expectations and restrictions but Bertha does not comply, and rebels even further against her husbands dictatorship. Rochester is humiliated and so he avoids her completely. Rochesters increasing strength in confining Bertha leads her to the ultimately passage for escape, which also destroys Thornfield Hall. Even in death, Bertha refuses to be controlled by her husband. (Waller) Jane Eyre may seem like a fairy tale with a happy ending but by looking closely, one will find that it truly reveals the oppressed and non-oppressed thoughts of Charlotte Bronte through the use of words, sentences and characters. All these add to the strong and fascinating character of Jane and certainly proved the phrase no conformity, no survival.

Act 2 Scenes 8-10 Essay -- Aboriginals Moore River Australia Essays

Act 2 Scenes 8-10 The scene starts at superintendent’s office at Moore river Native settlement, the date set 10 April 1933. It represents an institution of white power-a place of forced confinement and conformity. The importance of the construction of this place is to give a medium for the Aboriginals to resist such conformity, as demonstrated by Joe and Mary escaping from white control. It reinforces the theme of the play –‘the refusal of aboriginal people to submit to the ways of European invaders’ The 1930’s represented two major political turning points of Western Australia. Firstly, the loss of the James Mitchell’s seat as the premier of Northam to the labor government epitomises changing white attitudes by electing a fairer government system. In previous scenes, Mitchell’s desperate attempt to win the election by sending the Aboriginals to Moore River as an act of racial segregation reflects his inequality and exploitation of his political hegemony. The second political concern at this historical point was the success of the secession referendum vote. This secession of the 1930’s was led by the organisation Dominion League of Western Australia and in success of secession, Western Australia would break away from federation and the rule of the Commonwealth of Australia, therefore having dominion status similar to that of New Zealand. Despite the favoured votes for the secession referendum, by 1935 the proposition to Parliament was denied and WA still remained pa...

Research: Children With Mental Illness Essay

The purpose of this paper is to critique an article from the National Association of Social Workers, Inc. The article selected is titled â€Å"Child custody loss among women with persistent severe mental illness.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) I selected this article due to its applicability to child protective services which is where my field practicum is taking place. The components of this article are clearly defined and broken down into subheadings as followed: Abstract, Introduction, Theoretical Framework and Research Design, Method, Analysis, Results, Discussion, Implications for Mental Health Policy and Services, Conclusion, and References. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The layout of the article makes it easy for the reader to follow and understand key elements and terms of the research. The title provides a clear cut description of what the article is written about as well. The variables are identified and defined under the â€Å"methods† subheading; it also provides a definiti on of individual variables, environmental variables, and how child custody is defined for the purposes of this research. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The statement of the problem is descriptively explained in the introduction and supported with statistical analysis provided in the research article. The purpose is clearly defined under the â€Å"theoretical framework and research design† section explaining that the study was to test the hypothesis which stated that by researching history of child custody loss among women with severe persistent mental illness the custody loss would be higher than those women who did not have this type of illness. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The hypothesis and research question provide insight into how the author plans to show a correlation and then build effective policies and interventions based upon this evidence. The research question asks â€Å"What are the circumstances under which women with severe mental illness lose custody of their children?† (Hollingsworth,  2004) This gives the reader a concise question that allows them to visualize the direction of the research itself. The rese arch question is quickly followed by characteristics that have been observed among the participants which define what may have led to a mother losing custody of her child. The article then provides examples of behavior patterns and socioeconomic factors that may impact the variables mentioned. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The theoretical framework and research section re-states the purpose of this research and also provides supportive information as to why this knowledge is important to obtain for the target population mention. The theoretical framework states that the author used the Human Ecology Theory, which fits the problem presented because there is enough past information available, and biopsychosocial elements provided to be able to test the hypothesis and provide reliable/measurable data. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Based upon the information in the article the Human Ecology Theory will view the mother with severe persistent mental illness in her environment, assist in predicting outcomes, and also provide measurable data. The data collected will enable social workers and mental health workers to connect these women and families to the correct resources so that the mother may regain custody and have access to the resources that she requires. The variables presented appear to be appropriate for the problem as it has been defined. The individual’s biopsychosocial information is measurable including whether there is a history of substance abuse and treatment for mental illness. The environmental variables are also measurable by gathering data related to the individual’s neighborhood, child behavior, poverty conditions, and social support. (Hollingsworth, 2004) It is important to mention that each term used in the variables section was further defined and a description was given as to how the information was considered from these separate groups. The author also recognizes that there are factors besides the mother’s mental illness that could play a part in her mental functioning. (Hollingsworth, 2004) I feel that it is important for the author to acknowledge these outlying factors that may influence the data that has been collected. The assumptions made in this article include some bias toward how child protective services and the legal system will treat a mother that has persistent severe mental illness. It is not hard to understand why this assumption is made and it is reasonable to assume that the legal system and  child protective services may assume too much based upon a quick assessment of the mother’s mental state. I feel that the discrimination based on the research information provided is also related to geographic areas more so than others. If there is a low income area that is lacking access to qualified mental health professionals it would be safe to assume that child protective services would remove the children since other resources are not available. The overall design of this article is constructed around quantitative data with the results of the research being constructed around this format; the author also provides some supportive evidence through qualitative research. The design is ap propriate to answering the research questions and providing an easy to follow guide for the readers to digest the information. In my opinion the author also did a good job recognizing different threats to the validity of the data that was collected. The author did this by recognizing what those threats were and how it was accounted for in the data that was collected, and what impact it may have had on the results. The sample selection was appropriately described and broken down into measurable categories. The author stated: â€Å"Participants were identified from among those enrolled in a National Institute for Mental Illness funded three-wave longitudinal study of mothers with severe mental illness.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) The author further explains that the sample size began with 379 women; after wave 3 of the study 322 women remained. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Women were removed from the study throughout the study depending upon different variables listed as disqualifiers, such as a mother losing custody of her child/children for less than three months. Some women chose to remove themselves from the study and others lost contact with the individuals conducting the study at different times which in turn made the women disqualified. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The process of collecting the data is clearly defined under the â€Å"method† section of the article. The author describes the structure of the questionnaire as a â€Å"3 wave longitudinal study.† (Hollingsworth, 2004) In my opinion the inconsistencies would come from the participant answering truthfully and consistently within the 3 wave study. In the 3 wave study the data was collected initially through structured interview questions, with some open-ended questions used, this is where some of the inconsistencies could be from depending on who was analyzing the answers. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The author stated that a â€Å"life  history calendar† was included in the 3rd wave to increase accuracy. (Hollingsworth, 2004) Another consideration would be to note that the participants were paid to participate in the study, but the interview was conducted in the privacy of the participant’s home. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The interviews were conducted by a trained female interviewer that was racially and ethnically similar to that of the participant. (Hollingsworth, 2004) This is note-worthy because it shows some variables that were not stated as having a possible influence on the results of the data collected. I would take into consideration that the interviewer, although professionally trained, may have had biases in favor of the participants that were subconsciously conveyed and could have led the participants to answer the interviewer in a particular manner. The results were able to depict what the variables between the participants that permanently lost custody of their children and those that did not lose custody of their children. One interesting finding is that women that were not married were more likely to permanently lose custody of their children. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The hypothesis for this provided by the author is that the married women more than likely had more immediate support in th e home. (Hollingsworth, 2004) One of the variables listed was the behavior problems from the children of women with persistent mental illness; the author notes that in order to determine whether this is the children simply reacting to the mother’s persistent severe mental illness or whether the children have true behavioral issues needs to be studied further. (Hollingsworth, 2004) With that being considered the results found that the children’s behavioral issues had little impact on whether or not the mother lost custody. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The implications recognized are geared toward mental health policy and services; the author states that one part of the study that was initially thought of as an individual variable was actually something that could be considered as an environmental factor as well. (Hollingsworth, 2004) The example given was that unmarried women may not be discriminated against due to be unmarried and this being the cause for their custody loss, but may have lost custody due to less resources than someone who has a partner.(Hollingsworth, 2004) The second noteworthy implication is that individuals with active symptoms of psychosis or depression can present a significant risk to their children, so the children are removed for their  own protection and not due to discriminatory factors.(Hollingsworth, 2004)

Mental Health Policy Thesis Statement Social Work Essays

Mental Health Policy Thesis Statement Social Work Essays Mental Health Policy Thesis Statement Social Work Essay Mental Health Policy Thesis Statement Social Work Essay Essay Topic: 7th Grade An opprobrious, compelling and ruling behaviour in a dating relationship among the teenage childs is termed as dating force. Students susceptible to dating force suffer greatly in footings of their academic public presentation, societal and extra-curricular activities. They may demo hapless consequences and isolate themselves from co-workers and friends. They may demo deficiency of involvement in extra-curricular activities. All these activities are consequences of hapless mental wellness. Such pupils have a profound consequence on their mind due to being exposed to some sort of in-home force in their childhood. They exhibit anger direction upsets and have a history of aggressive or active attitude. An even greater effect of dating force may be self-destructions ( Maryland School Mental Health Alliance ) . Background There may be several classs in dating force like sexual, emotional, psychological or electronic. Physical force may affect forcing, crushing or catching one s spouse. Psychological force comprises of commanding behaviours like forestalling him or her to affect with other people while electronic force is the name-calling or strong-arming through texting. A latest study has revealed that psychological and physical maltreatment is a common facet of dating among the American childs. Among 1400 7th class pupils being interviewed by the research workers showed that about 37 % of 11-14 twelvemonth olds had been susceptible to some type of psychological force while about one sixth had experienced physical force during an ongoing relationship. About three-fourth of pupils had a fellow or a girlfriend during their in-between school. The study provided a figure of conditions related to dating force. Among the pupils being surveyed, there was a big figure who believed that it is all right to hit one s girlfriend. A moderate figure of them had undergone sexual torment through physical or verbal agencies by touching in a incorrect manner or by jesting ( Dating Violence Common by 7th Grade ) . However, teenage dating force is non restricted to occidentalize and industrialised states. A survey carried out on international degree revealed that dating force extended among males and females was high in all the states under survey. Dating force was studied through a figure of variables like assailing a spouse, depression, hurt and sexual coercion. The behavioural Acts of the Apostless that were reported in the survey were hitting spouse, drawing his/her arm or hair, utilizing arms to harm, firing him/her on intent, coercing him/her on making sex when he/she does non mean to make so etc. The rate of physical assault was higher in Asia, while it was significantly lower in New Zealand and Australia while victims of sexual coercion were greater in Canada and the United States ( Chang et al. ) Significance of Mental Health Mental wellness is a province of efficient public presentation of encephalon contributing to productive activities, healthy relationships with people and adaptability to alterations and covering with challenges in a better manner. Mental upsets are considered to be wellness conditions that are attributed by temper swings related to emphasize or decreased operation of encephalon. Mental upsets may take to diverse complication which includes hurting, disablement or decease. Mental unwellness is a broader term embracing all the identifiable mental upsets. Mental upsets are a major subscriber towards disablement. The disease load because of mental unwellness is the greatest among all diseases. National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH ) has reported that about 13 million American grownups suffer from serious considering mental unwellnesss. Mental upsets contribute to 25 % loss of life clip through disablement and premature mortality and in Canada and United States ; they are taking cause of disablement. Suicide is the 11th most dominant cause of decease in America where it takes off about 30,000 Americans. There is a strong correlativity between mental and physical wellness. A good head leads to good wellness. Ability of people to prosecute in wellness promoting activities reduces as a consequence of mental unwellnesss like depression and anxiousness ( Mental Health and Mental Disorders ) . Therefore, it is truly of import to cover with mental wellness jobs originating as a consequence of dating force because in terrible instances it may take one to self-harm or even self-destructive efforts. Aggression personality upsets are a common phenomenon with the victims of dating force which involves increased look of choler, anti-social behaviour and self-harm personality upset etc. About 20 % of self-destructive individuals have a history of force. Other than that, the victims of dating force are more likely towards the usage of drugs, intoxicant and smoke which farther deteriorates mental wellness. Besides, there is a tendency of utilizing laxatives, dieting pills, fasting and orgy feeding for weight direction among such persons which lead to eating upsets. Besides there is an increased hazard of acquiring infected with sexually transmitted diseases like HIV because the persons may fear the usage of rubber because of the violent spouse and unprotected sex may take to such di seases ( Teen dating force ) . Therefore, to relieve such symptoms and personality upsets among such people and other wellness associated hazards, a mental wellness policy is demanded. Mental Health Policies Followed around the universe A figure of school and community based plans are runing. Most common are the primary bar plans that aim at forestalling maltreatment before it starts. The plan emphasizes upon supplying clear cognition and suited behaviours sing the dating maltreatment. Its course of study is based upon increasing consciousness of dating force, contending force beliefs, promote aid seeking and skill development in order to better the communicating schemes and direction of struggles ( Adolescent dating violence-awareness and bar ) . Such enterprises may take to betterment of mental wellness. Other than plan enterprises, there has been a limited coverage in the legal sphere for reforms of legislative and judicial nature in dating force. Merely a little figure of adolescent victims knock the door of jurisprudence to seek legal redresss like protection orders against dating spouses who are opprobrious. The local anti-violence non-profit organisation Between Friends in Chicago is endeavoring to offer guidance, legal assistance and health-care consciousness within the metropolis to contend domestic force ( U.S. high schools unequipped ) . Novel ways are devised by the White House and Vice president s office in order to forestall dating force at the initial phases by supplying aid to immature work forces for stoping up force. The Office of Adolescent Health s Pregnancy Assistance fund grants aims at bettering services for the pregnant teens that are sing or at the interest of sexual or any other type of force ( Adolescent dating violence-awareness and bar ) . Safe day of the months is a course of study designed for high school and in-between school pupils which is organized in a set of 10 Sessionss, each of which is about of 50 proceedingss. This course of study gives definitions on lovingness and sound relationships and besides provides information on the dating maltreatment sing its causes and effects. It teaches the pupils how to help a friend who has an opprobrious dating spouse. It describes the methods in which gender stereotypes affect dating relationships and explains in what ways sexual assault can be prevented. The course of study comprises of a drama on dating force, posting presentation, and beginning stuff for parents and a general lineation for instructors ( Teen dating force as a public wellness issue ) . My mental wellness policy proposal In my apprehension, a mental wellness policy should first of all reference the psychological science of the center and high school pupils. There should be a compulsory topic on issues related to dating force. The instructors should detect the pupils keenly. If the psychological jobs are observed in some pupils, they should be provided guidance in the school. Parents should besides play an of import function in covering with dating force. They should develop a strong bonding with the kids so that they could portion what is traveling on in their life. Besides, the parents can so assist them get bying with their peculiar state of affairss through their ain life s experiences. The equals are most cognizant of dating force. So the equal groups should be educated about the negative and sick effects of it so that they can help their friend who is sing it. The legislative organic structure on portion of dating force should go more active and efficient in deciding the dating force instances and there should be a system of punishments and penalty to those who commit this offense. Decision Dating force is a serious and broad spread job worldwide. Other than go againsting the human rights, it affects the physical, sexual, generative, mental, emotional and societal public assistance of persons and households. Physical hurt, abortion, sexually familial infections, mental upsets like aggression, anxiousness and depression are the immediate and long term wellness effects associated with satiating force. Other than that, usage of illicit drugs and smoke are really frequent among the victims of dating force. A figure of enterprises are being under taken by the U.S. authorities in order to eliminate this issue from the general population. The most of import is the mental wellness policy that aims at bettering the mental wellness of the susceptible persons that in bend improves their physical wellness. With a healthy psychological science, they can cover with life in a suited manner and serve their state as effectual citizens.

Delphi DBGrid MultiSelect (Explanation and Example)

Delphi DBGrid MultiSelect (Explanation and Example) Delphis DBGrid is one of the most widely used DB-aware components in database related applications. Its main purpose is to enable your applications users to manipulate records from a dataset in a tabular grid. One of the lesser known features of the DBGrid component is that it can be set to allow multiple row selection. What this means is that your users can have the ability to select multiple records (rows) from the dataset connected to the grid. Allowing Multiple Selections To enable multiple selection, you only need to set the dgMultiSelect element to True in the Options property. When dgMultiSelect is True, users can select multiple rows in a grid using the following techniques: Ctrl Mouse clickShift Arrow keys The selected rows/records are represented as bookmarks and stored in the grids SelectedRows property. Note that SelectedRows is only useful when the Options property is set to True for both dgMultiSelect and dgRowSelect. On the other hand, when using dgRowSelect (when individual cells cannot be selected) the user wont be able to edit records directly through the grid and, and dgEditing is automatically set to False. The SelectedRows property is an object of type TBookmarkList. We can use the SelectedRows property to, for example: Get the number of rows selectedClear the selection (unselect)Delete all the selected recordsCheck whether a particular record is selected To set dgMultiSelect to True, you can either use the Object Inspector at design time or use a command like this at runtime: DBGrid1.Options: DBGrid1.Options [dgMultiSelect]; dgMultiSelect Example A good situation in which to use dgMultiSelect might be when you need an option to select random records or if you need the sum of the values of the selected fields.   The example below uses ADO components (AdoQuery connected to ADOConnection and DBGrid connected to AdoQuery over DataSource) to display the records from a database table in a DBGrid component. The code uses multiple selection to get the sum of the values in the Size field. Use this sample code if you want to select the entire DBGrid: procedure TForm1.btnDoSumClick(Sender: TObject);var i: Integer; sum : Single;beginif DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Count 0 thenbegin sum : 0; with DBGrid1.DataSource.DataSet dobeginfor i : 0 to DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Count-1 dobegin GotoBookmark(Pointer(DBGrid1.SelectedRows.Items[i])); sum: sum AdoQuery1.FieldByName(Size).AsFloat; end; end; edSizeSum.Text : FloatToStr(sum); endend;

Scioally desirable merits goods Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Scioally desirable merits goods - Coursework Example Discussion Merits goods are some of the products that are considered socially beneficial and in most cases, they tend to be under produced or consumed via the mechanism of the market; for instance, education, garbage collection, welfare services, and healthcare. These are the products and services, which the government of United Kingdom believes that citizens will under-consume, and goods that government ought to subsidize, provide free consumption or use to ensure that their consumption is not mainly dependent on the capacity to pay for them. Demerit goods are dangerous to the society and they include goods like illegal drugs such as alcohol, cigarettes, and other hard drugs, (Fiorito and Kollintzas, 2002, p.56). In demerits goods case, the market failure is prevalent as these products are over-consumed and are allowed to free market. Therefore, the government of United Kingdom should intervene and control overconsumption of demerit goods. For example, in drug cases, the government imposes increased regulations and taxes over their consumption. This implies increased prices to discourage people from consumption of such drugs. Since a number of demerit goods are damaging – socially undesirable – the government of United Kingdom imposes complete restrictions, which have been effective in avoiding their trade as well as consumption. Compared to public good, merit goods are offered via the market, however, not in adequate quantities to increased social welfare, therefore, the government and private sectors can provide both merit goods like education. Economists agree that merit goods are products that are essential to people and private sectors can also provide them, though differently. For instance, if merit goods are solely provided through private sectors, then the consumption rate tends to be low and thus the government has to intervene to correct such market challenge – failure. Studies indicate that merit goods such as education can be o ffered by free market but has various limitations if privately provided, (Throsby, 2005, p.78). Some of the challenges are that citizens may not have adequate amount of resources to purchase the merit good – education. Poor people would not afford to attend expensive education institutions, as they believe nothing will happen and if anything happens, they cannot afford to pay. Consequently, this results to inequitable income distribution as only the wealth will be highly literate and therefore, can earn increased income in the future. Therefore, if government provides the merit goods it benefits both the rich and poor people. For instance, equitable education - human capital investment – for all will enhance the growth of economy and general well-being for all. In addition, if private institutions offer education, some people will joint independent or private schools and if the government does not chip in and provide government or public schools, many families and peop le may not afford education either. This is because they may not afford the cost of education in private schools and this would increase the level of under-consumption of the merit goods, (Sherman, 2007, p.23). Consequently, there would be high crime rate and low productivity from majority of illiterate people who could not afford education in private sectors and this cause challenges for the labor market. Therefore, the role of the United Kingdom government in this concern is to regulate the affordability of

Walmart Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Walmart - Term Paper Example Therefore, substitutes of products and services impose constrain the ability of the firm to adjust their prices to achieve their target profit margin. In this case, Wal-Mart has a wide range of products with substitutes, for instance, when a customer wants to buy groceries, they can go to Safeway, Albertsons. However, there are substitutes for electronic products such as Frys, Circuit City. On the other hand, the substitutes for clothing are Target, Costco, JC Penny (Slater & Olson, 2002). Nevertheless, it is evident that numerous competitors are not able to provide their customers with convenient and low prices for services and products. Therefore, the customers have the choice of fetching their products and services from numerous specialty stores, thereby decreasing the chances of finding the low pricing offered by Wal-Mart. In this case, the free market offers buyer a chance to choose among numerous alternatives; thus, the source of substitutes attribute to the same product or service being sourced by two or more distributors (Porter, 1985). Moreover, full substitute of product and services are attributed having different manufactures, but serving the same purpose. For instance, there is a product such as Kellog’s corn flakes offered by Wal-Mart while other competitors may offer a generic brand of corn flakes. On the other hand, there are partial substitutes of products and services, whereby service and products are not directly related but they can serve the same purpose in the market. It is evident that threat of substitute has a typical impact on the industry through price competition. However, there are other concerns in assessing the concern raised by the threat of a substitute to a company like Wal-Mart. In this case, given that Wal-Mart provides customers with cheap products from rivals, this can result to a

Why was democracy facing collapse in the wake of the Great War Research Paper

Why was democracy facing collapse in the wake of the Great War - Research Paper Example Although it was meant to make the world safe for democracy from the destruction that millions of civilians recruited for the war experienced and lost their lives, some empires collapsed and some civilians were left homeless from the civil war, the western economies, trade patterns and flow of goods were interfered in the regions.1 In the long run, the democracy struggled for, faced numerous obstacles in operation and seemed unsafe in application with the consequences of the war. The introduction of democracy in most nations involved in the First World War had not strongly been established, and their effectiveness was not appreciated by the people being governed within the short period. Instead, they opted for the former autocratic leadership, which between the WW1 and WW2 some forms of government that exercised full control of the people, the society, and state affairs were formed in some states that failed to retain democracy. According to Brym and Lie, the aftermath of the war, within 1922 to 1942 under the totalitarian rule, 2/3 of the world’s democracies failed because of the communists, fascists and military movements. 2The rule suppressed the rights and will of the people to express themselves in all activities, including occupational, social, and political affairs. Germans, Italians, and Russians democracies were overthrown by the totalitarian or authoritarian rules that imposed dictatorship in the states. In Germany, where the political leadership has a long history of shifts between democracy and dictatorship, the social democratic party that had led to the establishment of the first democratic constitution and government was undermined by the existing legislative house, the reaction of the people due its signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, and further by the rebellions from the communists. 3 The national socialists (Nazis) later got the opportunity

House Hold Chores Essay Example for Free

House Hold Chores Essay Children should not have to work or help with household tasks; their only responsibility should be to study Helping family with household tasks causes no harm to either adult members or children. On the other hand, housework enables children to learn a number of important life skills and to avoid social evils. After school time, children are able to assist their parents with simple household routines such as tidying their own rooms, cooking simple dishes amp;washing clothes. Such activities teach children essential knowledge and practical experience for their life. During a holiday cooking competition, the winners are the children who are used to doing household tasks in their families. Another example is involvement in daily chores providing children with numerous lessons learnt: time management, awareness of needs, limitations, responsibilities, encouragement them to recognize dos and don’ts. Requesting/ instructing a child to clean his or her dirty shoes after coming from school or to clear up the table after meal doesn’t mean demand him or her to do a hard business, but instead these need to be done. It is obvious that children attributed their knowledge and fundamental skills to housework aiding and implementing. Furthermore, social evils are completely avoidable by assigning housework to children in their free time. Idle children are an underlying cause of easily engaging in harmful activities such as: online games, violent games, fighting and even gambling without any consideration. In a family, simple responsibility allocations do not only maintain them occupied but also raise their consciousness. For instances, children spend most of their spare time taking care of flowers around their house leaving them no opportunities to involve in internet games instead educate them to appreciate and protect nature. The more homework assignments to children, the more knowledge they gain and the less social evils to be addressed. In conclusion, studying is necessary during childhood but participations in household tasks are not bad ideas. Parents give children household chore means giving them valuable chances to experience and protecting them from evils.

Short Story Example | Extreme Kidnap

Short Story Example | Extreme Kidnap Something clicked and my senses turned on; heart pounding, mind wide awake, fists ready for action as I started to hear the rush of wind and a propeller outside, a 12 seater Cessna Caravan. I could see two of my best friends with duct tape around their feet and seated at the back of the cabin next to the luggage compartment. I turned around towards the front of the plane. I could see blood on the ground; I felt the back of my head, and it was wet, sticky wet. I looked further past the blood. My eyes stung from the concentration, but I saw a man lounging on a red seat next to the aisle with a pistol pointed at me. I wiped my eyes to lessen the sting; it helped a little bit. I thought this was all a dream as I attempted to stand. I dragged a knee up, levering myself into vertical. I swayed as I looked at the mans face. It was dirty with red rings under his eyelids. His black hair was lank and greasy. He stood up and waved his gun towards the back of the plane. I continued to stagger to wards him, but something stopped me as I tried to take another step. I looked down to see my friend prostrate on the ground with his hand on my ankle. Tears were forming in his eyes. What was I doing? Im in a plane with people who have guns and two friends who have duct tape around their feet and I am walking towards my death? As I turned around, someone grabbed me from behind and forced me towards the back of the plane. Pain snaked across my upper arm and shoulder. My body was screaming out in agony as I tried to twist away, but all that happened was more pain. A blond haired man with a huge freckle of his chin forced me to sit with my back against the cargo door. Not too far away was the door that was used for exiting the plane. It had a simple red handled lever that was used to open the door. I glanced outside to see if there were any houses down on the ground but no, there was still only the Australian desert. From what I could see there were only small shrub bushes with occasional gum trees. There was no hope of escape. Another man appeared from the cabin carrying three items of baggage; they were a backpack of a sort. He approached us and calmly stated Thank you for being our experiment. We have some clients that want some fun with guns. They are placed on the ground and if they find you or see you they will shoot you. I began to panic. My heart was beating faster. As I looked across at my friends and they were trembling I began to realise what the backpacks were. They were parachutes. I told myself to remain strong and I gave my friends a reassuring pat on the shoulder. The blond haired freckle man spoke this time, Simple as this, you put on these backpacks and jump. I was shoved out the plane with barley enough time to put my parachute on. . It felt nice to be outside putting aside the fact that I was falling towards the ground at an astonishing rate. My lungs lurched out of their normal place right into my mouth, or so it felt like it. It was the biggest whoopsy I have ever had. I pulled the straps tight around me, and then I pulled the rip cord at the front. A small chute about the size of a kids plastic swimming pool opened up. My heart sank and I had the worst feeling in my life. I heard a tearing sound. I looked up and thought the mini-chute was tearing apart, but no, something forced its way out of the bag and pushed against my back. I saw a huge black object about the size of an Olympic swimming pool open up. I slowed down to a steady pace and all was calm, surprisingly. I scanned the sky for my friends, there was nothing except for the wispy white clouds and WHOA!! I exclaimed out aloud, as a large dark object whistled in front of me. It was Jake. I realised he didnt know how to open the chute. I screamed out, Pull the strings! It appeared that he didnt hear me, but after what seemed an eternity a parachute opened. I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked around, beneath, above and beside me. There was no one else, other than Jake, to be found. Could Frankie have fallen past me and crashed on the carpet of brown and green spots? I refused to belief that, and squinted my eyes to look across the sky where the plane was. I focused harder and thought I could see my friend. To confirm my thoughts a mushroom blew up in the sky. How on earth are Jake and I going to find Frankie now? Jake and I had levelled with each other in flight. As we neared the ground, which was about 50metres away, I tensed up for a hard landing. Jake glanced across at me, a nervous look on his face. I shouted out Aim for the clear patch and run when you hit the ground! Jake held up his hand and put his thumbs up. I looked up at the inside of the parachute to see if everything was fine, landing spot was okay, head still pounding but okay, legs sore and stiff; I was ready. In the last few seconds as I came down I started to run in mid air, Jake was doing the same. 4 metres, 3 metres, 2, 1, 0, SMASH, pain shot up my legs, but I continued to run. I slowed down, my parachute folding in on itself, scratches starting to bleed, dust blowing everywhere and legs collapsing under me. I lay there for a moment thinking over what had happened today or yesterday. Bike riding with my friends, kidnapped, drugged, woke up in a plane, forced to jump and now, apparently, prey in the middle of the Australian desert. I dragged myself up and dropped the parachute on the ground. I limped over to Jake who was lying face down on the dark red ground. Checking his breathing, I rolled him over. He had blood dripping out of a cut, just under his chin, but otherwise was okay. I went over to the parachute and tore a strip of fabric of it. As I wrapped the cloth under his chin and over his head, I had to chuckle a little bit. He looked a little like red riding hood. Jake sat up and said, I dont think I will ever do parachuting again in my life. Same here, I replied. I continued in a more serious manner, Okay lets move out, we have no idea how many people are trying to kill us and we have to find Frankie. We got up and began to walk away from the landing site, towards Frankie. The terrain was flat but it was not desirable. There were small knee height bushes covering every bit of land, we couldnt see the ground and I was afraid of being bitten by a snake. There were a few taller shrubs that were my height, but were sparsely spaced out. There were also a few gum trees that I could see in the distance and nothing else of importance. There was an eerie silence; there were no birds, cars engines, horns or people yelling. The silence was totally opposite to the sound of Perth, where I live. We continued our journey towards Frankies landing spot. Both of us had walked 2miles all ready. We came upon a gum tree, it was a large tree and it provided a lot of shade. We stopped and sat for a rest, my throat was dry as parchment and it hurt. My legs were also shaky from lack of food. The sun was getting hotter. It must be near midday I thought. All of a sudden we heard leaves rustling, Jake and I jumped into the nearest bush, because we thought it was someone with a gun. My heart pounded, and prickles went all over my body and started pressing into my skin. Out of the surrounding a voice yelled. Oi! up here. Sweat was pouring out of all my sweat glands, I lay down as flat as I could, it was uncomfortable and I was really scared. I couldnt see my friend and wished the best for him. Then the voice yelled out again, Help me Im stuck in this tree. I looked up without getting out of my hiding spot. In the gum tree I saw Frankie dangling with his parachute snagged on the higher branches. I crawled out of the bush, being careful not to cut myself again. I hoped to my feet and yelled in a happy voice, Frankie! Frankie yelled back, Of all the open shrub land I landed in a tree. I began to laugh and say, Well we landed in the only spot where it has clear ground. Jake came across to where I was standing and glared up and said, How are you going to get down? You are about 2 stories high, dangling in the air with no branches nearby. Frankie shouted back, Ill jump, but first Ill drop this down to you. He reached around and grabbed the zip on his bag and yanked it down, he pulled out a grey plastic shopping bag. He carefully dropped it to the ground; it went clunk and a crackle. I went over and picked the bag up, I glanced inside and there was three one litre mount Franklin bottles. I moved the bottles around and saw a flash of bright red; I reached in more and pulled out three big mars bars. About time I got some good news, I said aloud. Look at below said Frankie as he released the strap and jumped. He landed on the heavy side but was okay. We all sat down and pulled out the water bottles and had a drink. It felt nice, clean crisp cold water running down my dry throat. I had already drunk more than half of the water, but I stopped because we had to ration the water. We got up and walked west. According to Frankies watch by lining the hour hand with the sun, and halfway between the minute hand and the hour hand was north. Head for the ocean was our thinking. We walked for ages, my legs are sore and sweat is pouring out of my back. The terrain was changing there were more mounds in the dirt and uneven ground. There were more trees with greener leaves. While we were walking along taking sips of our water we came across a small gravel cliff. We all began to climb down, however I slipped on the gravel and tried to grab the nearest plants, but I ripped them out as I fell. I clawed my hands against the edge of the rock face, but I couldnt grab anything. I was increasing my speed; it was a 3 story building drop and I was approaching the bottom. I looked down it rounded of a little bit. It flashed through my head as if it were less than a second. I hit the bottom, my legs skidded out from the soft sloping gravel and I hit my head after my hands tried to lessen the impact. I cried out in pain as I yelled for my friends to help me. I lay on the ground with pain coming from my leg, ankle and head. I felt giddy and the world spun around me. Then a supporting hand lifted my head and propped me against a tree nearby. My friends came into view; there were tears in their eyes. I reached over to touch my leg which I couldnt feel. I couldnt see that well so I was going by touch. I ran my hand from my hip down to my knee, over the knee cap, halfway down my lower leg then I reached a bump in my leg, I continued to run my hand down but it wasnt just bent it was broken. It was lucky that I couldnt feel much pain because I would be crying out if I did.