The Emperor Jones Essays - Operas, English-language Films

The Emperor Jones In Eugene O'Neil's play, The Emperor Jones, he presents a crucial lesson to mankind: one should not pretend to be someone who he is not. Multiple repercussions may occur to someone who denies their background and race. For example, in The Emperor Jones, the character, Brutus Jones, dissembles as a free white man (Jones was really black and was supposed to be in slavery during that time). Because of Jones' denial, he encounters numerous illusions in the forest of his black heritage, which haunt him until he is finally killed by his natives, under the accusation of an insurgence against his people. O'Neil introduces the theme of denial bluntly. In the opening scene of the play, it is clear to the audience, from a nineteenth century perspective, that Brutus Jones' physical features oppose his personal opinion of his individual status. Jones, a colored man, was expected to be a slave during the eighteen hundreds. Ironically, Jones proudly claims to be a white man and is portrayed as a powerful man in this first scene. After O'Neil presents his theme of denial, he supplies following scenes with the consequences of illusions, displaying his true lineage. One apparition Jones encounters is a gang of Negroes chained, working on the road supervised by a white man. The anticipation of the audience is that Jones will assist the white man with managing the slaves. Instead, Jones is ordered to work; subconsciously, he proceeds to the slave work with his fellow natives. Jones finally realizes his actions and shoots the apparition, which immediately disappears. Jones experiences a similar illusion later of chained blacks, sitting in rows, wailing, awaiting their slavery. Intuitively, Jones joins their rhythm and swaying and his cry rises louder than the others. This illusion leaves on its own and Jones advances through the forest. These two apparitions demonstrate that inside, Jones really understands that he is colored, but he cannot admit it. The next two of Jones' illusions display that the other people realize that Jones is black which aggravates him even more. First Jones confronts a slave auction. He spectates until he realizes that it is he, who is being auctioned. As a result, Jones loses control and goes wild. Finally, Jones witnesses a religious sacrifice, one similar to his native religious. It is not until Jones realizes that the witch doctor is offering him as a sacrifice, to be eaten by the crocodile, that Jones loses control once again. O'Neil presents a theme of denial in The Emperor Jones. O'Neil teaches that denial of one's heritage is a dangerous situation that may result in apparitions and death. He suggests a cure to self-denial if it's not too late. O'Neil implies that if the people associated with such a person familiarize him with his real identity, he might be saved. Unfortunately, the natives were too fearful of Jones to express such feelings. It wasn't until Jones saw the illusions of the people identifying him as a black person that he realized that he was colored. At this point it was too late for Jones to turn back, which ensued in his death.

Free Essays on French Revolution

Analysis of the French Revolution "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." Discuss this statement with specific references to the French Revolution. The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a c rowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolutionoriginated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. Thethird estate, especially the pe... Free Essays on French Revolution Free Essays on French Revolution French Revolution France was an absolute monarchy. Louis XIV (1643 – 1715) was the envy of all other rulers in Europe. During his reign he had centralized the government and had encouraged trade and manufacture. His undoing was the long list of over ambitious wars that he had participated in. His successors Louis XV (1715 – 74) and Louis XVI (1774 – 93) also participated in lengthy and costly conflicts. France had suffered defeat in the Seven Years War against Britain (1756 – 63). Her army in Europe was crushed by the Prussians. The involvement in the American Revolution was for revenge against Britain after the Seven Years War. A fatal weakness in the French absolute monarchy system, was its inability to produce strong monarchs. Louise XVI was not strong.( http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/) The population was divided into three estates. The Third Estate was made up of the bourgeoisie, wage earners and the peasantry. They were the majority of the population. The Third Estate was also known as the estate of the commoners. The Second Estate was for the nobility. They numbered 400 000 with most of them being of minor rank. The First Estate comprised the clergy. The Upper Clergy were very wealthy and powerful and therefore they related to the First Estate. The Lower Clergy related more to the Lower Estates. The First Estate numbered around 100 000.The first two states enjoyed privileges over the Third Estate. Although they were the richest, they were exempt from taxes. They were also the only members in society who could hold positions of importance such as Officers in the army. This caused great discontent within the Third Estate.( fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook13.html) There was great need for taxation reform in France before the Revolution. The inefficiency of only taxing the lower estate showed in the Government’s budgets. The Government was experiencing large debts and eventually went Bankrupt. This wa... Free Essays on French Revolution The statement â€Å"The essential cause of the French Revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie, and an entrenched aristocracy defending is privileges,† is correct. The French Revolution occurred because the French middle class wanted change, and the nobles and king did not want the government to change. Before the revolution, the ruling powers in France were the king and nobles. The immediate cause of the revolution was a government in extreme debt. The amount of taxes collected was insufficient because certain groups were exempt from taxes, and the government was corrupt. A proposed solution was to increase tax revenue. This increase in taxes was targeted for the nobles. They rejected this tax increase and demanded that the king summon Parliament. He did. Each group represented had different expectations of the government. While the nobles wanted more power for their group, the bourgeoisie wanted to change the entire system. Because the bourgeoisie were in the minority in Parliament they met separately and called themselves the National Assembly. They agreed not to disband until a new, acceptable constitution was written. This oath by the National Assembly started the revolution. In July of 1789, violence spread throughout France, generally aimed at the nobility. The National Assembly then passed a resolution to end noble knights. The group also passed the â€Å"Declaration of Man and Citizen,† which stated the purpose of the revolution. The king then asked the nobility and the National Assembly to meet with him and help write a new constitution. The new constitution declared that the king’s power was limited to a â€Å"leadership† vote. The constitution created a one-house legislature which made the laws, and ruled France. Therefore, this became the end of feudalism, and made the groups all equal in power. Although France was peaceful again, many people were not happy wit... Free Essays on French Revolution Preface The reason for which I chose this topic to write my historical essay on is because throughout all of the topics that I studied in the course of Western Civilization, the one that stood out the most, caught my attention, and I enjoyed learning about was the French Revolution. Although the French Revolution was not beneficial to everyone, it had a huge impact on industries and commerce at that point and it paved the way for the beginning of the industrial revolution. Throughout the essay there will be various important points about the French Revolution and why or how they affected civilization. The French Revolution was a period of radical change, specifically in the areas of government, the church, the economy and individual rights. Not all social classes agreed on the decisions that were taking place at that point in time, some gained and some lost. In this essay, I will discuss the shift in government from absolutism to a constitutional Monarchy, the churches loss of power, and finally the newly acquired rights of different social classes along with their satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction. When the new constitution was in the process of being put into affect from 1789 to 1791, its main objective was the establishment of the Legislative Assembly, which would create an enormous impact on French society for the years to come. One of the most important changes in the French Revolution was the shift in government from absolutism to a constitutional Monarchy. Before this change was made, the king had â€Å"Absolute† power, and the people obeyed his every command. He enforced rules on matters he knew little about and favoured the higher social classes, in turn causing much suffering for the poor. This new shift in government limited much of the King’s power and gave every citizen a voice. This is the point in time when the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen was adopted. Along with many rights acquired, men now had th... Free Essays on French Revolution Analysis of the French Revolution "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." Discuss this statement with specific references to the French Revolution. The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a c rowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolutionoriginated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. Thethird estate, especially the pe...

Periodontal Disease and Diabetes Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Periodontal Disease and Diabetes - Article Example Greater gingival bleeding has also been observed among patients whose diabetes is poorly controlled than among those with well-managed diabetic conditions. Failure to treat gingivitis, which is a milder form of periodontitis, causes it to advance to the fully blown periodontitis, which is characterized by an inflammation around teeth (Taylor, Preshaw & Lalla, 2013). Prevalence and vulnerability varies in people with different ages. Children suffering from type 1 diabetes are at higher risks (more than five times) than those without diabetes but with similar levels of plaque. In adults, type 2 diabetes increases the risk of periodontitis three times more than those without diabetes. Poor glycemic control is the key exposure to the disease among such adults. Studies found similar pathogens in periodontitis sites among adult patients with type 2 diabetes. Further, hyper-inflammatory immune cells in diabetic patients increases insulin resistance, complicating the inflammation caused by periodontitis even more (Taylor, Preshaw & Lalla, 2013). These findings influence the professional career in dental hygiene, and practitioners should discuss the relationship with their patients. They should advice patients to have healthy lifestyles and avoid diets that increase susceptibility to diabetes, which may ultimately affect their dental health. Taylor, J., Preshaw, P., & Lalla, E. (2013). A review of the evidence for pathogenic mechanisms that may link periodontitis and diabetes. Journal of Periodontology, 84(4), 113-134.

Education as Ideological Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education as Ideological Management - Essay Example Succeeding minority groups had the same problem with inequality, wherein the pervading culture of white, Protestant and Anglo-Saxon continued to view Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups a threat to the dominant ideology. While the past was characterized by blatant policies of racism and inequality, the current period is an era where the question of self-awareness and self-examination of where ideological biases could be examined. It is not as much as American education deliberately perpetuates racism but in the way ideology is carried unconsciously, spreading biases and prejudice even to those who are themselves considered minorities. For example, colored people may unconsciously imbibe the cultural and ideological biases of the dominant cultural group, thereby undermining their very sense of identity. Culture has a pervasive impact on the educational system, embedded not in just the way teachers teach, but in the systemic practices.

The Tea Party Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Tea Party Movement - Research Paper Example While there is no central leadership, per se, they have caucuses in both the House and Senate with varying agendas. Though they don’t offer a particular candidate for election, they endorse selected candidates, mostly Republican, though supposedly 87% are opposed to the current GOP leadership. Their overall agenda is not so much oriented toward any particular position; rather they attempt to block votes as oppositionists. They use both overt and covert methods to support their endeavors which usually involve opposition propaganda as opposed to a real stance on issues. Their claim to fame is their need to speak out about what’s being done across the nation, while not yet offering viable solutions; claiming to be the voice of the people. A survey in March, 2010 revealed that approximately 28% of Americans agree with the Tea Part Movement’s approach. (Rowen, 2011) The actual launch of the Tea Party Movement is credited by CNBC commentator, Rick Santelli, who made an announcement at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on February 19, 2009 in response to the bail out program for mortgages to prevent a collapse of the housing and banking industry. He drew an impassioned response by shouting through the crowd about the validity of the US government and taxpayers picking up the tab for saving the mortgages on ‘losers who can’t pay their mortgages.’ This was recorded and posted on YouTube with support rolling in almost instantly, setting off a national reaction. (Rowen, 2011) Earlier protests were aimed at taxation, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as well as at various health care reform bills. Keli Carender was credited with setting off some of the earlier protests, notably regarding the stimulus package, from Seattle. She is a blogger, non-profit local math instructor, and improvisational comedienne who enjoys bringing her audience to action. (Kaste, 2010) Although not actually supporting one party over another, most of the freshmen Republicans in the House of Representatives are closely aligned with the Tea Party Movement. So much so that prior to introducing a budget package to prevent the government shutdown in March, 2011, House Leader John Boehner and the Republican leadership met with the 87 freshman members to discuss the package in order to get their support. Another gain was from the Contract From America, a Tea Party manifesto requiring proposed legislation to be posted onl ine for three days prior to vote in order to demonstrate transparency to the constituent base. (Time Topics, 2011) The typical profile of Tea Party Movement supporters is described as usually white, male, married, over 45 years of age, and, wealthier and better educated than the general population. Nearly 18% is Republican, with almost all being very dissatisfied with what is occurring in Washington, D.C. They are especially focused on the Obama administration and describe themselves as being angry. Their protests are well aimed at drawing attention to the negative direction in which they feel the country is headed with out of control spending due to programs and policies that are focused more on alleviating poverty; particularly for minorities rather than a balanced approach to benefit all Americans. (Of Thee I Sing,

Family contribution to social stability

Family contribution to social stability Family contribution to social stability Social stability entails state of completeness, where life is balanced in terms of good wages, lifestyle, amenities, freedom and prosperity. The family as an institution can contribute highly into this state of life through several ways. Programs such as family-life ambassadors can help insert skills into families, in an attempt to cultivate social stability (Wardle, 2002). Other programs such as family-life champions or organized family talks, resource speakers and school family education may assist in instilling vital skills needed in establishing social stability in families. For instance, school family education, may assist parents to acquire reliable skills in family running. Another way that families have contributed to social stability is by holding religious values with high esteem. As such people are equipped with Godly values which promote social stability by enhancing disciplinary virtues drawn from religious living. For example, an individual positive behavior is enhanced by the religious doctrines or even life virtues. Similarly, family strength and unity is highly upheld. Under British lifestyle, religious based individuals most probably have stable marriages, report low levels of divorce and singlehood (Melin Blom, 2000). This will instigate marriage satisfaction, hence high marital stability and low poverty levels are witnessed. Morality and sound thinking is highly promoted by religious beliefs, reducing deviant behaviors such as suicide, drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and sexual permissiveness, among others. A family as an institution in the society provides a reliable home for growing children. It provides shelter, food, clothing and other social needs. When this is done, the possibility of children growing to be undisciplined is low, since they have a place to belong to and have almost everything that they require. For instance, in the case of street children, they will tend to engage in criminal activities such as smuggling and robbery among others, and this may lead to social instability .Such children need to be offered a place to belong to through proper care by possibly adoption procedures. For example, In Britain family stability has reported continuous decline such that children and adults are always faced with fractured or dysfunctional families thus instigating the possibility if having unstable society. About 15% of all babies born in conservative culture in Britain are brought-up with no resident father (Wardle, 2002). In this case, parenting education and relationship progr ams may assist in social stability .Other approaches may include raising UKs care incentives in a bid to motivate the child caretakers to positively bring-up the children in socially acceptable ways. If such positive upbringing fails, the parentless children are likely into various social evils thus destabilizing social stability. In addition, if the government is to support these children a lot of funds may be expended in rehabilitation centers in stead of instituting social development programs beneficial in stabilizing the wellbeing of the entire society. Economically, the wealth of a country is highly dependant on the family, in terms of the human capital (Melin Blom, 2000). Strength of the economy highly depends on family stability because of the social ethical basis taught through social virtues and values. This way the entire family plays a vital role in stabilizing the society both economically as well as morally or socially. In conclusion, family cohesiveness and moral strength is a high contributor to social stability. Positive parenting, various education programs at family level, role modeling and social awareness created at family level enhances social stability. A family also contributes to the labor mobility behaviors as a result of its effects on employment levels thus averting social instability associated with unemployment issues. References Melin, H Blom, R. (2000). Streaming towards social stability. Vilnius, Lithuania: Lithuanian Institute of Philosophy and Sociology Press. Wardle, L. (2002). Fundamental principles of family. London, UK: John-Wiley Sons Publishers.

Essay on the Tyrant in Richard III and Macbeth -- comparison compare c

The Tyrant in Richard III and Macbeth  Ã‚   In Richard III and Macbeth Shakespeare used the title characters to reveal the typical characteristics of the tyrant such as limited foresight, mental instability, paranoia, the alienation of allies, and a clearly defined persona of evilness. Both Richard III and Macbeth are noblemen that usurp the crown through treachery, deceitfulness, and murder. Their rule is short-lived, though, because the reign with fear and terror. This clearly sets them up as tyrants, however, Shakespeare elaborated on this subject and revealed the typical characteristics of the tyrant through their actions, their climb to power, and the way they reigned. In the first act of Richard III the audience sees that Richard has developed an elaborate plan to become king (1.1.28-35). His plan is well thought out and looks to the future, not just the present. At the end of act 1 scene 1 Richard describes his plan and begins to get ahead of himself. Then he remembers the plan as a whole and realizes he must execute it in order to succeed. "But yet I run before my horse to market. / Clarence still breathes, Edward still lives and reigns; / When they are gone, then must I count my gains" (1.1.160-163). Through this opening act we see that Richard poses considerable foresight and even acts upon it. By the end of the play, however, this foresight has disappeared. Richard totally ignores Buckingham and refuses to compensate Buckingham for his help in usurping the throne (4.2.119-122). Richard fails to foresee that this action will cause Buckingham to turn against him. This lack or decrease of foresight is one of the principal characteristics of the tyrant. We see in Macbeth that foresight was a quality that Mac... ...mental instability, paranoia, the alienation of allies, and a clearly defined persona of evil in the title characters of two of his most famous plays, Richard III and Macbeth.    Works Cited and Consulted Eccles, Mark. "Richard III on Stage and Screen." Richard III. New York: Signet Classic, 1988. 265-78. Hallett, Charles A. and Elaine S. Hallett. The Revenger's Madness. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1980. (Epigraph) Ornstein, Richard. "Richard III." Richard III. New York: Signet Classic, 1988. 239-264. Shakespeare, William. Richard III. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997 Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997 Spivack, Charlotte. The Comedy of Evil on Shakespeare's Stage. London: Associated UPs, 1978.

Intern for Contrabandit.com

For the past 10 weeks of the Fall 2004 quarter, I've had the opportunity to work as intern for Contrabandit.com. Contrabandit ran by West Coast political and cultural editor of the Source Ryan Ford aims to provide an uninhabited voice for the hip-hop community as well as inform most of the Minority readers of politics, social and educational news and issues that occur in the world. As a History major, with my interest in Film and Television journalism, Contrabandit has allowed me to study contemporary and cultural history through the medium of Hip-Hop music. I looked at this internship as a starting point to acquiring work experience and possibly advancing into working within the field of entertainment journalism. But as an African-American student at UCLA, Contrabandit has allowed me to chronicle events within hip-hop as they happen and apply the broader historical significance as they occur. Being an African-American student, I view hip-hop as not only just a musical art form, but also as a voice and representation of an entire community. Unlike Jazz and R&B, Hip-Hop was a genre truly formed out of the African-American community after the post-civil rights movement and really feels uncorrupted by mainstream pop culture, where it sets the trend, instead of following the pack. When covering the medium of Hip-Hop music, I discovered how far reaching and expansive it has become and with my education at UCLA I've been able to view hip-hop from scholarly approach. The main theme I've noticed throughout my internship has been Hip-Hop music's growth and the changes that become of it as it has become an acceptable musical genre generating billions of dollars for the recording industry studios. The three biggest new stories that I was able to cover were the Eminem-Michael Jackson confrontation, Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's Presidential voter registration campaign, and the violent incident that occurred at the Vibe Awards. On the surface there just current events that needed to be covered to feel up space on the website, but with little probing they actually had far reaching and historical impact on the website, Hip-Hop music and with me in developing my critical writing skills and applying historical analysis from my UCLA course and history major. Jackson boots Eminem off BET (published October 12, 2004) That article resulted in an immediate phone call from my editor, as well as a lecture from him on the role and responsibility of a journalist. He proclaimed my article was blatantly bias and that I was leading the reader to take one point of view or side on the issue, but my job instead was to report the facts in a news story. Which, as my editor expressed to me, is something that's continues to occur since he beginning of entertainment, and its should not be allowed despite the fact Eminem makes a very good living off of doing â€Å"Black Music† much like Elvis, but again, difference being, Elvis never insulted a African-American musical icon like Michael Jackson, like Eminem has. I'm sure this issue will be glanced over, much like the controversy of the tapes being made public by Hip-Hop magazine â€Å"the Source†, where what occurred was an investigation into why Eminem recorded these racist lyrics, but the Source was attacked for bringing this issue to the public. I must admit, just looking on the surface of the controversy I was quick to pass judgment upon BET for what I saw as its hypocrisy by stating it would not air videos disrespectful of any celebrity. Considering that's how they made their notoriety during the whole east coast-west coast beef that many attribute to the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Christopher â€Å"Biggie† Wallace. But my editor expressed to me that I needed take it into context along with Eminem's previously uncovered studio recording where he's referring to African-American men as â€Å"niggers† and African-American women as â€Å"black bitches† in a derogatory manner, is not possible to let this pass as artistic and playful expression. Again he's shown disrespect to a community that he continues to make million of dollars off of through doing their music, and can be argued is allowed to get away with such offensive behavior because he is a white. Not just with the African-American community, he's c ome under fire for his anti-gay remarks from the Gay and Lesbian community, but continues to get way with or at least not suffer any ill effects, whereas if a comparable black celerity had done similar offenses, they would find it difficult to maintain the type of celerity that Eminem enjoys. Working alongside Ryan with Contrabandit, I was able to view the controversy as bigger than Eminem just poking fun and having a laugh at Michael Jackson's expense, but greater historical, racial, and industry-wide ramification that this cause. The images of Eminem done up in â€Å"Black face† and portraying Jackson as buffoon and monster have long term consequences upon not only his image but that of African-Americans as they see one of their longest musical icons ridiculed in a way not only personally but racially offensive. And even more importantly with no consequences or accountability from Eminem. Russell Simmons; HSAN proclaims 21 million registered youth/minority voters for 2004 election(published November 4, 2004) In the aftermath of the national presidential election, it brought into prospective the efforts of voter registration among young, minority voters. The day after the election, a press release went out from Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network proclaiming that 21 million registered voters from 18-35 voted in the 2004 election, up from the 18 million that had voted in the 2000 election. Although that's encouraging it was disappointing to know that the voter registration campaign and awareness of the importance of this Presidential election that still George Bush was re-elected. But looking at the numbers and statistics shows a deeper issue and problem arising in America. Working with Contrabandit got me access to covering Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Co-sponsored by Sony Playstation, the fundraiser was an entertainment industry party to bring awareness as well as funding to the organization for needed increased minority voter registration and education. Despite their efforts, the hip-hop community that was being courted by Simmons' HSAN paled in comparison to those of the voters in the Midwestern states. I always felt it was flawed to try to reach out to the hip-hop community as despite the growing numbers of minorities, who will soon grow to be an almost equal number to the majority of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) constituents, some of those minorities are turning towards the conservative ideology. Also there is no unity among this minority group. With more WASP senior citizens living longer, that aging Considering that ultimately the Presidential election was determined by the Midwest, as the Democratic Party hasn't carried southern states in years, where as California and New York (with a combined 86 electoral votes) are perennial Democratic strongholds. Interestingly, the Midwest won the election for Bush and to me it was a shame that the backlash of gay marriages and abortion (as reported by news affiliates as the determining reason for voting for Bush) were more important than the situation in Iraq, terrorism, and the turbulent economy. I never want to question anyone's beliefs or morals, but gay marriages and abortion should be an individual's choice. Most important to take from this election is hopefully maintaining the interest of registered voters beyond this Presidential election, as there are more issues that will arise within the coming years before the 2008 election. In California on the ballot was the repealing of Proposition 187, the 3 strikes law. I understand the â€Å"spirit† of 3 strikes, incarcerating repeat violent offenders from 25 to life sentence in jails, but continually in the years since passage as laws, many third strike offenders have been non-violent repeat offenders. Some argue the old adage don't commit the crime, won't do the time, but there's a bigger issue of privatized prisons making hundreds of millions of dollars off the incarceration of young prisoners and the prison system being made up of predominately African-American and Latino men. Conservative republican fan base are carrying the votes. Melee breaks out at the Vibe Awards(published November 17,2004) Lastly there was the violent altercation that occurred at the, the Vibe awards On November 16. During the four hour taping inside the hangar at the Santa Monica Airport an incident broke as Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg were presenting an award to Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre. An unidentified man attacked Dr. Dre, who was later assaulted y several members of his entourage and left him stabbed, later identified as rapper Young Buck by authorities. With the Vibe awards, it is yet another black eye on Hip-Hop as well as on black-themed award shows. The incident alone won't spell the end of Hip-Hop or these musical award shows, but my over all perspective is the necessity of these award shows. Within the entertainment industry its become a joke that there are too many awards shows. Yet when it comes to black themed award shows, they are usually relegated to lesser channels like UPN and BET, and more often than not are taped delayed events. Such events as the NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and Soul Train Lady of Soul, Vibe Awards, and the Source Awards all fall into this category. And incidents like this further perpetuate the stereotypes of the safety issue that constantly trouble hip-hop events. Amazingly events like the Rock the Bells concerts a week earlier at Anaheim Stadium that I covered for Contrabandit(and the Source)doesn't garner the positive press as when chaos ensues at televised events. At that event, despite some illegal drug use, the show went off without any violent altercation or incident, in front of a mostly diverse White, Latino, and Asian audience. Myself being the only amazed at this diversity and more so shows how far hip-hop music and their artist have developed with such a diverse crowd and the artist being so comfortable in front of them. But dealing with the coverage of black themed awards shows their two sides to the argument. Those that feel that its alright that the awards shows are tape delayed and marginally watched by non-blacks because its for Blacks and its best that we have a awards show tape delayed then none at all. As a matter of fact, the NAACP dubs its annual awards â€Å"Black America's answer to the Oscars, Emmy's, Grammy's, and Pulitzer, as it continues to honor overlook performances by African-American entertainers that the mainstream Hollywood community pass over. But on the other hand there is the argument that by not being a live broadcast somehow relegates it as meaningless shows that don't really count. For starters, with most of the United States having access to the numerous channels available through cable and satellite television, and at least 5-10 music themed channels, viewing music, film and television entertainers is a lot more accessible then in any era prior to the 1990's. Before then, it was rare being able to view entertainers outside of movies, therefore making movie and television award shows the only place to see them. Likewise for most, seeing their favorite musical artist perform â€Å"live† at awards show provided a free experience to catch them performing if they were unable to go to a concert to see them performing and this is remembering that MTV didn't debut till 25 years ago in 1981. But with the emergence of MTV, BET, VH1, and even E!, it has provided a near 24 hour access to view these entertainers and even more so, know them beyond their music or the characters they portray on screen and films. Awards was more than just a night of honoring actors and musician, but that rare opportunity to view them live and has human. Speaking with my editor Ryan, he allowed me to go further with this topic and try to give our readers some prospective and insight behind awards show and why they exist. Working for the Source, he gave me some inside information about the motives behind events such as the Vibe, Source, BET, and Blockbuster Awards shows: MONEY! By organizing one awards event for on night, the sponsorship and advertising for the event generates more money in one night then the magazines do for the entire year. Even the awards presentations are staged, as more then likely the winner is determined by the artist that will appear, more than who deserves to win. When you look at the BET, Source, and Vibe awards, what they provide great revenue and backlash towards to the mainstream (white) award show are not able to properly honor the hip-hop artists that were annually disregarded for their work. Honestly for the most part the Grammy's and American Music Awards do base their nomination, and I'm sure, there awards recipient on mainstream success. But whereas the NAACP Image awards and Soul Train music awards were created to make up for these lack honors to Black performers, these proliferation of the other awards show, seems to be purely done as promotion. The experience that I take from my time working with Contrabandit, has been invaluable in applying the classroom knowledge I acquired from UCLA towards real world situations. Without the historical significance and ramification of events as they occurred and relating them to past events, I would not have been able to elaborate upon them in my writing for the website or convey the importance to my audience at the site.

Test Bank Ch8 3616 Butler

PART IV Managing the Risks of Multinational Operations Chapter 9 The Rationale for Hedging Currency Risk True/False 1. In a perfect financial market, financial contracts are zero-NPV investments. ANS: True. 2. If hedging currency risk is to add value to the stakeholders of the firm, then hedging must impact either expected future cash flows or the cost of capital or both. ANS: True. 3. If financial markets are informationally efficient, then corporate financial policy is irrelevant. ANS: False. Don’t confuse informational efficiency with a perfect market.Although the perfect market conditions ensure informational efficiency, informationally efficient markets can be imperfect. 4. Perfect financial markets are a necessary condition for corporate risk hedging to have value. ANS: False. Market imperfections are necessary conditions. 5. In perfect financial markets, corporate financial policy is irrelevant. ANS: True. 6. In a perfect financial market, the law of one price holds. AN S: True. 7. Equal access to perfect financial markets ensures that individual investors can replicate any financial action that the firm can take. ANS: True. 8.In perfect financial markets, corporate hedging policy has no value. ANS: True. 9. In perfect financial markets, corporate investment policy is irrelevant. ANS: False. Firm value depends entirely on the firm’s investments in a perfect financial market. 10. If corporate financial policy is to have value, then at least one of the perfect market assumptions cannot hold. ANS: True. 11. Real-world financial markets are perfect markets. ANS: False. Perfect markets are a theoretical ideal and not a practical reality. 12. Market imperfections are greater across national boundaries than within national boundaries.ANS: True. 13. In perfect financial markets, multinational corporations have an advantage over domestic firms in financing their investments. ANS: False. The law of one price holds in perfect financial markets. 14. Mul tinationals have a comparative advantage over domestic firms in exploiting cross-border differences in financial markets. ANS: True. 15. Progressive taxation is a system in which larger taxable incomes receive a higher tax rate. ANS: True. 16. Tax preference items are goods that are sold on a tax-free basis. ANS: False.Tax preference items are items such as tax loss carryforwards and carrybacks and investment tax credits that are used to shield corporate taxable income from taxes. 17. A call option is an option to buy an underlying asset at a predetermined price. ANS: True. 18. A call option is an option to â€Å"call in† or demand payment on a loan. ANS: False. A call option is an option to buy an underlying asset at a predetermined price. 19. Indirect financial distress costs are relatively unimportant for firms selling products for which quality and after-sale service are important.ANS: False. Reputation is easily eroded in these instances. 20. Managerial gamesmanship is l east prevalent during financial distress. ANS: False. Gamesmanship is more prevalent during hard times. 21. Option values increase with an increase in the volatility of the underlying asset. ANS: True. 22. A decrease in the variability of firm value is good news for debt and bad news for the equity call option, other things held constant. ANS: True. 23. Corporate hedging of business risk unambiguously increases shareholder wealth when the firm is in financial distress. ANS: False.Because debtholders have first claim on corporate assets, corporate hedging of business risk helps debtholders first and may or may not help equityholders. 24. In the real world, corporate hedging policy can change expected future cash flows but is unlikely to reduce the cost of debt. ANS: False. Hedging policy can decrease the variability of firm value and can thus reduce the risk of debt and the required return charged by debtholders. 25. Direct costs of financial distress are far more important to corpor ate hedging decisions than are indirect costs. ANS: False.The indirect costs of financial distress influence the activities of firms not just in bankruptcy but prior to bankruptcy as well. 26. Underinvestment occurs when debtholders refuse to invest additional capital into the firm during financial distress. ANS: False. Underinvestment occurs when equity foregoes positive-NPV investments. 27. In financial distress, equity has an incentive to take on large risks in order to increase the value of the equity call option. ANS: True. 28. In Miller-Modigliani’s perfect world, the firm’s optimal investment criterion is â€Å"Accept all positive-NPV projects. ANS: True. 29. In practice, management’s objective is to maximize shareholder wealth. ANS: False. Managers act nominally as equity’s agents but, in actuality, in their own best interests. 30. Managers have little incentive to hedge company-specific risks. ANS: False. As undiversified stakeholders, managers are concerned with both systematic and unsystematic risk. 31. Managers have an incentive to hedge their unit’s transaction exposure to currency risk. ANS: True. 32. Hedging can increase firm value by reducing the costs of agency conflicts between managers and shareholders.ANS: True. 33. Exchange-traded options and futures contracts have a fixed cost per contract so that costs are proportional to the number of contracts traded. ANS: True. 34. The costs of hedging through operations are likely to be less burdensome for a large multinational corporation with diversified operations than for a small, less-diversified firm. ANS: True. Multiple Choice 1. The perfect market assumptions include each of the following except ____. a. equal access to market prices b. equal access to costless information c. frictionless markets d. rational investors e. table governments ANS: E 2. Frictionless financial markets could have which of the following? a. agency costs b. bid-ask spreads c. broker age fees d. government intervention e. irrational investors ANS: E 3. Which risk management guidelines in a) through d) is not recommended by the Group of Thirty Global Derivatives Study Group? a. assess the credit risk arising from derivatives activities b. combine authority over trading and bookkeeping functions into a single department c. quantify market risk under adverse market conditions and perform stress tests d. alue derivatives positions at market e. all of the above are recommended ANS: B 4. Which of a) through d) is unlikely to result in a decision to hedge currency risk? a. bid-ask spreads on foreign exchange b. costs of financial distress c. differential taxes on income from different tax jurisdictions d. stakeholder game-playing e. all of the above are incentives to hedge ANS:A 5. Which of the following factors does not contribute to tax schedule convexity? a. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) rules in the United States b. progressive taxation c. sales taxes d. ax prefere nce items e. all of the above contribute to tax schedule convexity ANS: C 6. Indirect costs of financial distress impact the firm in each of the following ways except ____. a. higher financial costs b. higher legal costs in bankruptcy c. higher operating costs d. lower revenues e. stakeholder gamesmanship ANS: B 7. Which of statements a) through c) regarding costs of financial distress is false? a. Both debt and equity unambiguously benefit from corporate risk hedging. b. Hedging can increase expected cash flows by reducing the costs of financial distress. c.Hedging can reduce debtholders’ required return and hence the cost of capital to the firm. d. All of the above are ANS: True. e. None of the above are ANS: True. ANS: A 8. Which of the following was most responsible for the collapse of Barings Bank? a. bankruptcy proceedings b. failure to monitor the activities of its traders c. index arbitrage d. index futures and options trading e. the 1991 fall in share prices on the T okyo stock exchange ANS: B 9. Management has an incentive to hedge which of the following exposures? a. operating exposure b. transaction exposure c. ranslation (accounting) exposure d. all of the above e. none of the above ANS: D 10. Tax schedules are said to be progressive when ____. a. the effective tax rate is greater at high levels of taxable income than at low levels b. the effective tax rate is greater at low levels of taxable income than at high levels c. they do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or color d. when tax rates vary by the age of the taxpayer e. none of the above ANS: A Problems 1. In what way is equity a call option on firm value? Tax schedule convexity: progressive taxation 2.Suppose corporate income up to $250,000 is taxed at a rate of 25 percent. Income over $250,000 is taxed at 40 percent. The taxable income of Quack Poultry will be either $200,000 or $300,000 with equal probability. Quack’s income variability arises entirely from an expos ure to currency risk. a. Draw a graph like Figure 9. 2 depicting tax schedule convexity in the United States. b. What is Quack’s expected tax liability if it does not hedge its currency risk? c. What is Quack’s expected tax liability if it is able to completely hedge its currency risk exposure and lock in taxable income of $250,000 with certainty? . In what way does hedging have value for Quack Poultry? Direct and indirect costs of financial distress 3. A firm based in the United Kingdom has promised to pay bondholders ? 10,000 in one year. The firm will be worth either ? 9,000 or ? 19,000 with equal probability at that time depending on the value of the dollar. The firm will be worth ? 14,000 if it hedges against currency risk. a. Identify the values of debt and equity under unhedged and hedged scenarios assuming there are no costs of financial distress. b. Suppose the firm will incur direct bankruptcy costs of ? ,000 in bankruptcy. Identify the value of debt and of e quity under both unhedged and hedged scenarios. c. In addition to the ? 1,000 direct bankruptcy cost, suppose indirect costs reduce the asset value of the firm to either ? 6,000 or ? 18,000 (before the ? 1,000 direct bankruptcy cost) with equal probability. Hedging results in firm value of ? 12,000 with certainty. Identify the value of debt and of equity under both unhedged and hedged scenarios. d. Can hedging add value to shareholders in this problem? Problem Solutions 1.If the firm’s assets are worth more than that promised to debtholders, equity will exercise its option to buy the assets of the firm from the debtholders at the exercise price. If firm assets are worth less than the promised claim, equity will not exercise its option and debt assumes control of the firm. Tax schedule convexity: progressive taxation 2. a. [pic] b. Expected taxes with no hedging: (? )[($200,000)(0. 25)] + (? )[($250,000)(0. 25)+($50,000)(0. 40)] = (? )($50,000) + (? )($82,500) = $66,250. c. Ex pected taxes with hedging: ($250,000)(0. 5) = $62,500 < $66,250. d. Hedging allows Quack to minimize its expected tax liability. This increase in expected future cash flows to equity results in an increase in equity value. 3. a. If firm value is ? 9,000, equity will not exercise its option to buy the firm at a price of ? 10,000. In this case, equity receives nothing and debt receives ? 9,000. If the firm is worth ? 19,000, equity pays the bondholders ? 10,000 and retains the residual ? 9,000. Firm value can be broken down into E[VFIRM] = E[VBONDS] + E[STOCK] = [(? )(? 9,000)+(? )(? 10,000)] + [(? )(? 0)+(? (? 9,000)] = ? 9,500 + ? 4,500 = ? 14,000. Hedged, firm value can be broken down into VFIRM = VBONDS + VSTOCK = ? 10,000 + ? 14,000 = ? 14,000. In the absence of costs of financial distress, the reduction in the variability of firm value results in a reduction in call option value and a ?500 shift in value from equity to debt. b. Unhedged, firm value is decomposed as: E[VFIRM] = E [VBONDS] + E[STOCK] = [(? )(? 9,000 1,000)+(? )(? 10,000)] + [(? )(? 0)+(? )(? 9,000)] = ? 9,000 + ? 4,500 = ? 13,500. With hedging, VFIRM = VBONDS + VSTOCK = ? 10,000 + ? 4,000 = ? 14,000.As in the previous example, the reduction in the variability of firm value is accompanied by a ? 500 transfer of wealth from equity to debt. Hedging also avoids the deadweight ? 1,000 bankruptcy cost and yields an expected gain of (? )(? 1,000) = ? 500. In this example, debt captures the expected gain of ? 500. Equity will capture some of the gain if hedging results in lower interest payments on the next round of debt. c. Unhedged, firm value is E[VFIRM] = E[VBONDS] + E[STOCK] = [(? )(? 6,000 1,000) + (? )(? 10,000)] + [(? )(? 0)+(? )(? 8,000)] = ? 7,500 + ? 4,000 = ? 11,500.If the firm hedges, then VFIRM = VBONDS + VSTOCK = ? 10,000 + ? 2,000 = ? 12,000. This is the same as b) after including indirect costs of financial distress with an expected value of [(? )(? 9,000 6,000)+(? )(? 19,000 18,000) ] = ? 1,500+? 500 = ? 2,000. d. Hedging can add value to shareholders if they can negotiate lower interest payments on debt because of their hedging policies. Even in financial distress, equity could offer to renegotiate the bond contract to more evenly share the gain in firm value from hedging. In this way, they can share in any gain from reducing the probability and costs of financial distress.

Post-Colonialism in Things Fall Apart” Essays

Post-Colonialism in Things Fall Apart† Essays Post-Colonialism in Things Fall Apart† Paper Post-Colonialism in Things Fall Apart† Paper Essay Topic: Things Fall apart The Post-Colonial literature that describes what happens to a strong African, Asian once colonist settle in the area. Post Colonial literature considers vexed cultural- political questions of national and ethnic identity, otherness, race, imperialism and language, during and after the colonial periods. The term is applied most often to writings from Africa, The Indian subcontinent, The Caribbean, and other regions whose histories during the 20th century are marked by colonialism anti-colonialism movement to post independence society. Things Fall Apart is a major work of Post Colonial literature that describes what happens to a strong Nigerian tribe during colonial rule in colonialism offering and insight into African culture that had not been portrayed before, Things Fall Apart is both a tragic and moving story of and individual set in the wider context of the coming of colonialism, as well as a powerful and complex political statement of cross cultural encounters. â€Å"Turning and turning in the widening gyre, The falcon cannot hear the falconer, Things fall apart; the center cannot hold, Mere anarchy is loosed upon the World. 1† The title â€Å"Things Fall Apart† is taken from W. B. Yeats poem ‘The Second Coming’ . The life of an Igbo tribe on the very cusp of the time when the wave of colonization washed over Africa set in Nigeria. The book flows story ‘Okonkwo’, the son of ne’er do well, who is determined not to end up a failure like his father, but wants to follow tradition and rise in rank within the tribe. But just as the title predicts, Okonkwo’s plans for a perfect life go astray. Change is inevitable and even the best lead plans to astray. In the turbulent time settings, Okonkwo is doomed to loose the traditions he cherishes as his society slowly falls apart. The first part of the novel discuss with suffering and sorrows of the natives due to illiteracy. They are far away from modernization and having their own circle of ethic, morality and manners. They live with their tradition, custom, ritual and savage culture. The second part deals with the theme of exploration and exploitations. It expresses the arrival of Europeans in the Africa and exploitation of Europeans in African native Nigro. The men like Mr. Brown and Mr. James Smith being the rule policy in Umufia. They destroy native African culture by introducing Christianity. The marginal African like Osu Ibu people are attracted towards Christen religion as a result of that native African culture collapsed in Umufia. Post-Colonial theory thinks about subaltern, Marginal, hybrid people, the other, the untouchables of the whole world. The writers like Edward Said, G. C. Spivak and Homi Bhabha even Chinua Achebe focus the suffering of marginal and expose the cruel imperial rule. Okonkwo the protagonist feels great insult of his culture and nation, he has fight against British Imperialism and other hand he has to fight against his own people. At a time he is fighting world war and civil war. On both levels he defeated because of cruel power of colonization, imperialism. When realized his helplessness dominance of imperialism he commits suicide. This Tragic end of Okonkwo doesn’t mean the real defeat- he has expressed his rage, revolt and strong protest towards the British cruel rule in Umufia. Though he died, he made the reads of the world to think about his commitment. He made the imperialist to do self-introspection give justice to the natives of Africa. So, the death of Okonkwo is not defeat but freedom fighter; his death is to be considered as a heroic deed. In this way â€Å"Things Fall Apart† proves a post-colonial novel. Reference: 1)Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe 2)Oxford Literary Dictionary 3)Literay Terms- M. H Abraham 4)English Literature- W. J. Long 5)History of English Literature- Goodman

Iraq war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Iraq war - Essay Example Several have taken place from the time to time in the Middle East. But somehow the US- Iraq war remains the most significant of them all. US formed alliance with Israel to accomplish this mission against Iraq. The war had changed many aspects in both the countries. In Iraq, US dominion was started which continued till date. After it lost the war, it came under direct control of US government. Presently, Iraq is facing the terrible consequences of war. It had lost its secular state, its welfare limited and its dignity lost. But on the other hand, US too had to pay a certain price for the win. Apart from war casualties, it had faced a huge blow from economic point of view. In Iraq, the US motto was not to end the reign of Saddam Hussein, but something more than that. Surely, it had won the war, but at price which often shocked the rest of the world. US army, even the high- order military personnel illegitimately arrested innocent civilians, killed them, deported them and often even tor tured them to death. Thus, total loss incurred can broadly be divided into three segments: human loss, financial loss and physical loss. Numerous surveys and researches have attempted to find out the exact number of death causalities in Iraq. The US have followed the Vietnamese model of not counting the total number of dead, likewise, they have not provided actually number of civilian dead (Steele, and Goldenberg) The war has surely increased violence all over Iraq, which is continues till date. The Iraq Body Count (IBC) has claimed that there have been 1,220,580 victims, including war period and post war casualties, with a majority of the families losing more than one family member. Yet other sources like Baltimore/ Lancelet figure claims that Iraq has experienced more deaths. According to Frederick â€Å"Skip† Burkle, the survey had deliberately ignored the number of deaths caused by secondary causalities. Insufficient health- services, unemployment, poverty, loss of family and emotional loss, etc also lead to death of thousands of Iraqis. Civilian death in Iraq numbers somewhere around 104,000 with another 230,000 reported as missing. But all the sources unanimously agree to the fact that the war with US has devastated Iraq, making it struggling hard for survival and sustenance. US was also affected claiming 4000 lives, though the number much less compared to Iraq’s (Steele and Goldenberg). Another situation of human loss occurred when hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled from their homeland. The chief reason behind this was terror, bloodshed and tyranny inflicted by the US soldiers. The political unrest made the lives of Iraqis so difficult that they sought refuge in other parts of the globe, especially in Jordan and Syria, who is Iraq’s neighboring countries. This was further confirmed by the Iraqi Exodus video which states that Iraqi immigrants have increased the total population of these two countries. However, lives of those new im migrants were not easy. They are facing more hardships because of lack of work permit and shelter (Benson). However, it has to be remembered that that the US- Iraq war not only carries superficial financial loss, but also macroeconomic costs. The war has resulted in higher consumption of resources, than that was estimated before the war started in 2003. Oil prices shot from $23 in 2003 to $90 in US, as an aftermath of US- Iran war. Firstly, war hampered the regular supply of oil from Middle East countries including Iraq and Iran. Secondly, war increased consumption of

Team project based on a case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Team project based on a case - Assignment Example This is because china a growing economy, creating a higher demand. After subsequent years of iron ore production, the company started exporting its products to china and eventually to other parts of Asia. In 2010, the company announced its major plans to triple its production. This lead to expansion of a massive railway line to access to other mining sites and also an extension of the port1. Then mining started officially in 2014. Among the new plants which were opened were; Solomon hub, and Christmas creek. This leads to the development of infrastructure in the region. A way of handling these weaknesses and threats is by making sure that the company capitalizes on its opportunities. This is by recruiting committed and experienced personell and making sure that their offices are not many. These will ensure that Frotesque metal group limited deals with the rivalry in this competitive industry. Fortesque metal group limited is located in the rich iron ore area of pilbara in western Australia. This area has a close proximity to asia and more so india2. A decade over since its establishment, fortesque has undergone a tremendous growth in the mining of iron ore. It was formed around the kitchen table of its chairman Andrew Forrest. The company immediately began to explore the rich pilbara regions3. Identifying mines and mining them. Construction began at the first mine at cloud break. This is the Frotescues first mine site and it produces more than forty million tons of iron ore in a year. Due to the horizontal nature of this mine site, there is need to use new methods in mining the ore. After mining is done the mineral is crushed, screened and processed, then transported to the port. A lot of business firms with an objective of achieving a competitive advantage for giant firms in the industry need to regularly analyze all the aspects of the company’s operations and the stratagems. This is the only single method that the company has a chance