TV Violence essays

TV Violence essays As soon as viewers turn on the television news, they are bound to hear about incidents taking place that include some form of violence. So long as death sells, we can expect to see more of the same, states Sheryl Grana, associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota (Torr, 2006, p. 26). For example, the event could be a plane crash, a suicide bombing, a murder in a local community or an assassination. Very few if any positive items are reported. In addition, a large number of the weekly programs and movies involve some form of violent content. Many of these shows are scheduled during family hours, or when most children are still awake and watching TV. Controversy exists regarding the impact of such violence, especially on youth. Based on research conducted on the effects of media violence, it is still inconclusive whether seeing such programming on a regular basis causes greater youth aggression. Regardless if this cause-and-effect question still remains open to disc ussion, it does not mean that status quo should be accepted. Both the networks and parents have responsibilities to minimize the amount of television violence and encourage nonviolent behavior and caring. Felson (1996) notes that Watching violence is a popular form of entertainment. It is not unusual, for example, to see cars slowing down on the highway to look at an accident or a group of people watching a street fight as if it were the latest TV reality show. World Wrestling Entertainment is one of the most popular spectator sports in the U.S. as well as other countries worldwide. In other nations, people participate in fights between such animals as dogs or roosters or enjoy watching bullfighters. A great deal of literature, even fairy tales, is violent. It is no wonder that TV producers offer programming with extensive violence-it will increase their ratings. A U.S. National Television Violence Study analyzed the...

10 Types of Apostrophe Errors You Should Avoid

10 Types of Apostrophe Errors You Should Avoid 10 Types of Apostrophe Errors You Should Avoid 10 Types of Apostrophe Errors You Should Avoid By Mark Nichol Even considering how many ways the apostrophe can be employed, erroneous use of punctuation mark is endemic. Here are brief discussions of ten categories of apostrophe abuse (including one writers and editors must let stand, even though it may pain them to do so). 1. With Plurals Writing the plural form of a noun in which an apostrophe precedes the plural s, such as when taxi’s is written instead if taxis, is a common error. (This mistake is known as a greengrocer’s apostrophe due to its ubiquity in hand-written- and even printed- store signs.) 2. With Pronouns Pronouns are followed by an apostrophe and s only as contractions (for example, he’s). Possessive pronouns (such as theirs and yours) never include an apostrophe. 3. With Shared Possession When two or more people or other entities are described as separately owning something, each name should be in possessive form: â€Å"John’s and Jane’s houses are the same color.† But when they share possession, include an apostrophe and an s after the last name only: â€Å"John and Jane’s house is just down the block.† 4. With the Possessive Form of a Surname That shingle on your neighbor’s porch should not read, â€Å"The Brown’s house,† unless your neighbor’s legal name is â€Å"the Brown.† A sign identifying the residence of the Browns should read â€Å"The Browns’ house† (or simply â€Å"The Browns†). 5. With the Plural Form of an Abbreviation No apostrophe is required with plurals of abbreviations. Write, for example, â€Å"They disarmed or detonated several IEDs† (not IED’s). 6. With the Plural Form of a Numeral In the rare case of indicating more than one instance of a numeral, do not use an apostrophe: â€Å"Write three 7s on a piece of paper† (not 7’s). 7. With a Span of Years Some publications persist in using an apostrophe in a reference to a span of years, but that form is outdated: Write, for example, â€Å"The style, which flourished briefly in the 1960s, made a comeback several decades later† (not 1960’s) and â€Å"He continued to work well into his 70s† (not 70’s). Generally, an apostrophe should follow a number only if it is possessive (â€Å"It was 1985’s longest-reigning Top 40 hit†), though this style is awkward. (An exception is use of a number to stand in for a person, such as when an athlete is identified by a uniform number, as in â€Å"It was number 13’s lucky day.†) 8. With the Plural Form of a Word Used as a Word Don’t apostrophize the conjunctions in â€Å"There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it† or the counterpoints in â€Å"A helpful list of dos and don’ts follows.† (Do, however, retain the intrinsic apostrophe in the plural form of don’t.) 9. With the Plural Form of a Letter Used as a Letter Even when a letter is italicized, it still looks awkward to simply place an s next to it to indicate plurality, so do insert an apostrophe: â€Å"How many m’s do you spell hmm with?† (Follow this rule even when, in the case of an expression such as â€Å"Mind your p’s and q’s,† italicization isn’t necessary.) However, omit an apostrophe when pluralizing capital letters: â€Å"She received only As and Bs on her last report card.† 10. With Brand Names Many brand names, such as Starbucks Coffee, that technically should include apostrophes don’t, for one of two reasons (or both): A company decides that the brand name and/or logo look better without an apostrophe, or it reasons that it’s better to omit the punctuation mark so that people typing the URL for the company’s website into a Web browser or searching for it (or for other references to the company) online won’t have difficulty doing so. Yes, â€Å"Starbucks Coffee† is a â€Å"mistake,† but one the company has the right to make (and writers and editors have an obligation to honor). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business EmailsHow to spell "in lieu of"Ebook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Management accounting - Essay Example Question 1 A modern firm is a learning firm which learns from history and plans for the future (Campbell and Huffington, 2008). This is where management via accounting comes in as a way to learn. Accounting processes gather and organises information which can then be used to identify trends in the market (Bhimani and Bromwich, 2009). Just like humans look at past trends and predict the future, organisations can look at these trends in the past and know what the future will be. The modern organisation has not only learnt how to predict the future, it has also learnt how to change the future and determine what the future will be. According to Chandler (1977), this ability of the organisation to not only know and predict the future, but also change the future and determine what will happen with a high precision is what makes the modern organisation so different from the enterprises of earlier days. Chandler looks at the modern organisation not only as a person, but as a society of peopl e. As he says, instead of the earlier model of organisation which used to be run as stand alone unitary organisation, the modern organisation is a network of sub divisions, each of which are sophisticated enough to be run on their own. In other words, these subdivisions within the organisation are like organisations on their own, only that they are run under a bigger umbrella organization. When an organisation is made of a network of organisations, sharing of information between these units in order to make sure that processes among these organisations are carried out efficiently becomes critical (Hoskin and Macve, 1990). This is because this leads to the following important factors; Increased efficiency Increased efficiency in an organisation is important as it does not only reduce costs but also makes it possible for the organisation to be able to access the market in an easier way (Freeman, 2010). For instance, if the marketing department in an organisation is able to share accur ate information about the market with the manufacturing department, it becomes easier for the manufacturing department to plan their manufacturing processes. This makes it possible for the manufacturing department in such an organisation to plan for labour, raw materials and storage facilities thus saving on costs and also being able to deliver the products to the market at the right time. Management via accounting only helps an organisation to achieve efficiencies if the organisation acts like a society of people which can learn from each other and make the society better. Modern organisation therefore use management via accounting like a mind that is always learning to be better and to perform better as times passes along. Cash Flow Predictability Organisations can easily predict and plan for cash flow processes. If the organisation can easily know when the demand will rise in the market, they are better prepared to know when to produce, when to hire more labour, when to do market ing and when to borrow money. This is only achieved through sharing of management information within the organisation and thus making it easy for the firm to know when it will receive the money and when to get external funding (Bardoliwalla, Buscemi and Broady, 2009). Furthermore, when an organisation has this kind of information, they are able to have

VALUE ESSAY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

VALUE - Essay Example Cultural Values in Nursing Provision In actual clinical case, there had been one particular patient, Mrs. R.K.A, 66 years old, female widow from Scotland, who had been admitted in a general hospital for 3 days due to severe abdominal pain and vomiting of blood. Her whole hospital duration had been challenging for the health care team for a number of reasons. For one, her advancing age renders her quite difficult to handle, for she tends to stick with her herbal medications, and disregards treatments indicated for her in the medical facility. In other times, she has other racial beliefs that deviate away from medical concepts, such as reasons for her ailment, which she attributed to celestial and magical beings. Although mentally fit and psychologically coherent, such bouts of ethnic differences can indeed try the patience of any health practitioner. The situation exhibits the cultural values that the patient adapted prior to hospitalization. In retrospect, although totally different from the values nursing professionals follow in clinical practice, such personal principles by the patients serve as an eye-opener on the impact on moral and ethnically principles that each adapt. As expounded by Fry and Johnstone (2002), these categories of values are generated as an acceptable part of the norm by cultural groups, which falls in line with their belief concepts and are considered to give full justice and worth to systems of valid experiences existing cultural groups. In the client’s case, the significance placed on certain traditional beliefs of ancestral sources must be taken into professional consideration when rendering care. To relate with such reflective case, Davies and Finlay (2000, p. 83) suggested the three-stage framework in correlating experiences according to three aspects: â€Å"stage one (returning to the experience), stage two (attending to feeling), stage three (re-evaluating the experience).† On the first level, recall of the whole cas e episode is suggested in an objective manner. After doing so, one’s own mental and emotional reaction to such events are reviewed, internally touching on constructive emotional elements, while eliminating distracting experiences not related to the case in point. Lastly, after reactive emotions are identified, these are connected to personal situations, examining for similarities and distinctions, all the while, the newly developed ideals are incorporated on one’s philosophical knowledge and attitude (Davies & Finlay, 2000). Such procedures must be followed in every step in order to make relevant values alteration and integration on the professional level. On actual application, the import of being aware on how other cultural values operate must be monitored and identified early in nursing practice. The level-based critical reflection approach is relevant, not only for health care team, but also for clients and families as care recipients--extension of care to families is necessary for they provide support on physiological and psychological aspect of patient’s treatment and healing. As herbal and mythical dynamics are highly common in Scottish lands, these must never be dismissed as mere diversions. Although health personnel do not encourage such ideals, they must also be professional enough not to condone such

Understanding Non-verbal Communication Essay Example for Free

Understanding Non-verbal Communication Essay Communication has always been an integral component of accomplishing goals and objectives of any institution and organization. It is used as a tool in conveying information and promoting the values, principles and objectives of any institution. Likewise, non-verbal communication is also a process deemed vital in the interplay of individuals within an organization or group. Seeing this, by adequately understanding the different ways that people can communicate, individuals can harness the needed boost towards better facilitation, management, and cooperation needed. In the end, by boosting the skills needed to maximize non-verbal communication, each one can extract new approaches to make practice more effective and efficient. Understanding Non-verbal communication Before elaborating on the relevance of non-verbal communication, it is essential that people understand the meaning of the concept. By grasping this concept, each one can effectively apply the strategies and methods of intensifying and providing the needed avenues for change. With these, the term refers to the imparting of messages to parties via other channels other than words (Fowler, 2006). This method can be considered innate in our biological makeup as humans. â€Å"Non-verbal behaviour predates verbal communication because individuals, since birth, rely first on non-verbal means to express themselves† (Besson, et. al. , 2005, p. 1). At the same time, this process comprises of different parts and revolve around (1) visual, (2) tactile, (3) vocal, and (3) use of time space and image (CBA. edu, 2006). These things in turn are manifested by using different practices such as facial expression, body language, etc. (BOMI, 2006). All these actions seek to relay information and denote a particular meaning in the action given or imparted to the receiver. Seeing this, it is then essential to underline the ways that people interact non-verbally. By doing this, there can be better avenues for increased understanding among the speaker and receiver engaged in a conversation. Intonation and Tone of voice The use of intonation and tone of voice are relevant ideas to consider as far as non-verbal communication is concerned. The firs concept involves deciphering the â€Å"end of an entity of information, which – in written communication – is shown by means of a comma, semicolon, point, exclamation mark or question mark† (Besson, et. al. , 2005, p. 3). Comprehending this can benefit the individual in actively determining the mood and feelings of the speaker. On the other hand, tone of voice is another essential component of non-verbal communication. In this process, it seeks to connote the attitude of the speaker towards a chosen area or topic being discussed (Fowler, 2006). This is essentially vital for listeners to decipher because it can give them the idea surrounding the overall intention of the speaker is relaying to its target audience. Gestures and Facial Expressions Another significant element that individuals should understand is the relative message that gestures and facial expressions can give to the overall idea that the speaker wants to imply. Looking at it, these two ideas revolve around the body movements that are aligned with the verbal component (Your Communication Skills, 2007). These things in turn also cater to express the feelings, sentiments and opinions of individuals towards a specific issue being discussed. Seeing this, by carefully observing the speakers and listeners, one can effectively decode their responses towards the information conveyed to them. Interpreting Non-verbal Communication Interpretation remains an essential element in creating proficiency and better insight in the practice of non-verbal communication. In here, the individual must carefully observe and look into cues that can cultivate and supplement their verbal responses on a given issue or subject. These things can then eliminate areas of confusion, conflict and disagreements between individuals and groups. One important way to practice non-verbal communication is by engaging in face-to-face interaction. This practice can help one individual to actively observe and apply the related components of the idea. â€Å"Face-to-face communication provides immediate feedback and is the richest information medium because of the many information channels available through voice, eye contact, posture, blush, and body language† (BOMI, 2006, p. 1). Seeing this, listening and observation are the key elements to make this endeavor successful. In addition, face-to-face interaction can enhance new principles and objectives that can create and establish strong relationships among actors within a particular group/organization. This process can in turn provide the needed outcomes in achieving potential benefits for all individuals involved. â€Å"It is the appropriate medium for delegating tasks, coaching, disciplining, instructing, sharing information, answering questions, checking progress toward objectives, and developing and maintaining interpersonal relations† (BOMI, 2006). Looking at the listening component, this is relevant in better comprehending the term because of its ability to infuse better appreciation and understanding of the topic. This practice can create sensitivity not only in the verbal component but also cater towards extracting verbal cues if properly coordinated with the proper observation skills (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006). Moreover, â€Å"when one listens they have to hear the emotion in the words and read between the lines of the words to get the full meaning of a transmission that is received† (Your Communication Skills, 2007, p. 1). Thus, it is essential for these two actions to be properly incorporated when one engages into dialogue with others. Looking into cultural differences Since communication is a social construct, another essential element that should be looked into is the occurrence of cultural differences among people/group engaged in conversation. With the increasing diversity and interaction within different environments, it is possible that individuals interpret actions in different ways. Seeing this, â€Å"a successful interpretation of non-verbal elements conveyed by the speaker requires the same understanding of the symbols shared between interpreter and speaker† (Besson, et. al. , 2006, p. 1). Realizing this situation, it can beneficial if people can take into account the relevance of cultural background in communication practices. One thing to determine these non-verbal cues is becoming aware and sensitive to these things and uses them as an instrument for interpretation and analysis (Fowler, 2006). Rather than seeing this as a barrier of conducting effective communication and interaction, culture must be used as a medium of increasing competence and correctly interpret the cues and symbols given (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006). Opening up avenues for feedback Like any other social construct, communication should also try to reach out and open up new avenues for change and improvement. This then entitles a particular organization/group to come up with new ideas aligned on creating better understanding on the interaction process and take into consideration the impact of non-verbal communication in the achievement of goals and processes (CBA. edu, 2006). Likewise, it opens up the potential of filling in the gaps within the communication process and extracts newer outcomes in the process. Seeing this, instead of correcting and finding fault in the shortcomings of many individuals in such process, constructive feedbacks can then be applied to create a renewed understanding and commitment. Under this procedure, several methods can be introduced to extract opinions and facilitate the needed avenues for development. Conclusion To conclude, non-verbal communication remains to be an important component to consider as far as communication and dialogue is concerned. This allows individuals to effectively and efficiently decipher the needed information that can support the essence of interaction and exchange of ideas. Due to this, careful considerations must be made in order to fully comprehend the impact of the concept. By taking account the factors that affect non-verbal communication and creating a feedback mechanisms, better outcomes can be administered and enhance interpersonal relationship among individuals/groups involved. References Besson, C. , Graf, D. , Hartung, I. , Kropfhausser, B. and Voisard, S. (2005) The Importance of Non-verbal communication in Professional Interpretation in aiic. Retrieved March 27, 2009 from, http://www. aiic. net/ViewPage. cfm/page1662. htm#2 BOMI (2006) Effective Communication in the Workplace. Retrieved March 27, 2009 1-5. CBU. edu (2006) The importance of effective communication. Retrieved March 27, 2009 from, http://web. cba. neu. edu/~ewertheim/interper/commun. htm Fowler, K. (2006) Communicating Effectively – Why you need to get your message across. Retrieved March 27, 2009. 1-4 Giddens, A. and Griffiths, S. (2006) Social Interaction in Everyday Life in Sociology. (US; Polity) Retrieved March 27, 2009. 133-139. Your Communication Skills (2007) Communication skills. Retrieved March 27, 2009 from, http://www. yourcommunicationskills. com/nonverbalcommunicationskills. html

The Dynamic and Ever-changing Hansel and Gretel Essay -- Exploratory E

The Dynamic and Ever-changing Hansel and Gretel Most fairy-tale aficionados have a static view of their favorite stories. That is, indeed, part of the glory which these tales hold†¦the fact that they are timeless, forever remaining fond memories of unforgettable stories that had been repeated to them from a young age. In both the oral and written traditions, these stories perpetuated themselves and became fixtures upon the cultures of which they have taken hold. For most people, the idea of these classics ever having been different not only seems odd, but also shakes the foundations of their childhood memories. However, stories are dynamic and ever-changing. What a follower of the aforementioned school-of-though fails to think about is why these stories would have been changed. Sometimes fairy tales change because the person recalling the story has a bad memory, while other times they are deliberately altered by a rewriter. Often times with rewrites, the story is changed so that it is relevant to both the modern times and the life history of the new author. Hansel and Gretel, the classic German fairy tale, is certainly no exception to this trend of changing fairy tales. One of the most famous written versions of Hansel and Gretel (although not the original) is from the early 19th century. This edition was written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the German fairy-tale-writing duo more commonly known as â€Å"Brothers Grimm† (Ashliman). The story is about a young boy and girl, brother and sister, named Hansel and Gretel respectively. They lived at the edge of a great forest under the supervision of their father (a poor woodcutter) and their stepmother. The family was very poor and running low on food†¦soo... ... by a common plot, slight changes changed the entire idea the story was trying to portray. The two different versions created two different images in the minds of readers/opera fans. Hansel and Gretel, like many other tales, has evolved and changed over time. Whether for reasons rooted in principle or simply out of practicality, fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel will be changed by new writers or orators. This, however, in no way detracts from their timelessness. Works Cited Ashliman, D.L. Grimm Brothers’ Home Page. 02 Sep. 2002. University of Pittsburgh Website. 21 Jan. 2004. . Brothers Grimm. â€Å"Hansel and Gretel.† The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 179-90. Engelbert Humperdinck. n.d. First Coast Opera. 21 Jan. 2004 .

Financial Analysis on Retail Industry Essay

This analysis studied financial information of three multinational corporations in the retail industry, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and Gap. This examination is predominantly and analysis of Ralph Lauren and American Eagle, and it compares its financials and performance to that of Gap. In order to reach a decision on which firm my company should invest in; we recreated and cleaned both company’s financial statements followed by an analysis using key financial ratios and metrics. My company is searching for the firm that would be more profitable in the following fiscal years. After completing an in-depth analysis of these companies, we concluded that Gap would be the best investment for future growth in the industry of retail. Gaps sales growth may not be relatively high compared to other industry leaders but it is on the rise. Also the sales decrease can be related to the closing of stores and restructuring of international operations. This also relates to net income growth showing signs of regression in the past fiscal years. Gap’s EBIT Margin and EBITDA Margin suggest that the company is healthy and also properly managed. These ratios show us that the sales growth and net income growth decreases are due to other factors in the business. Gap will show to be the right choice for our company to invest in as well as other industry research that we have done to help make this investment persuasive. Gap Inc.200920102011 Sales Growth-7.8%-2.3%3.3% Net Income Growth 16.1%14.0%9.3% EBIT Margin10.7%12.8%13.4% EBITDA Margin15.1%17.5%17.9% Case Write Up and Analysis All three of these multinational corporations generate their revenues in the apparel: retail brand industry. Gap is headquartered in San Francisco, California and the year-end date is January 30. American Eagle is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and their year-end date is January 30. Ralph Lauren is headquartered in New York, New York and there year-edn  date is April 3. To perform this case analysis to determine which company which is more profitable using key financial ratios and metrics accompanied with industry research and trends of the apparel retail sector. We have recreated and cleaned financial statements for Ralph Lauren and American Eagle, comparing both to Gap. Using these recreated financial statements, we have performed a case analysis of these three companies in order to find out which company was most profitable. Gap is the largest of the three with a market capitalization of nearly 16 billion while Ralph Lauren comes in second with roughly 15 billion market capitalization. Although Gap leads with market capitalization, American Eagle generates the most revenue that leads to highest net income as well, compared to both Gap and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren does not lead these companies with its revenues and income but rather with its margins. They are consistently above the industry average and are also much higher relative to the other companies we analyzed. Ralph Lauren also shows the best percentage of sales growth in the past fiscal years. Sales Growth3 Yr Trend Polo14.3%21.8% American Eagle0.9%6.5% Gap-2.3%3.3% For apparel retailers, new fashion trends and steady flow of promotions will help a low single digits increase in sales in 2012. This is what you see with Gap and American Eagle they do not show major increases in sales growth but on steadily rising at roughly 5% in the three year trend. Ralph Lauren shows a jump of 7% which could be due to the luxury brand section of retail section because of the opportunities in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America according to industry reports. American Eagle plans on accelerating growth through internet sales. This generates higher margins for the company, last year it accounted for 12% of company revenues. This trend is also apparent in the other two companies because most retailers want to offer the convenience of online shopping to customers. The online channel provides a cost effective way for retailers to widen their reach  across existing and new markets. Gap intensified its international strategy as well, opening stores in Eur ope and China, and outlets; accompanied by an e-commerce platform in Canada, Europe, and China. The company has 22% of sales from regions outside the US, up 7.6% from the year-ago period. This industry shows a thrust of penetration in the international markets looking to increase in the next few years. Teenagers also play an important role in the industry trends. With 7.1% of US population they have been a powerful force in retail with the leading beneficiaries being Gap, Abercrombie, American Eagle, and Urban Outfitters. This ties sales growth for both Gap and American Eagle due to a majority of the teen population shopping at these two companies. Helping increase sales growth and produce for revenues for the firm. The biggest window for opportunity in the retail sector seems to be the overseas markets but especially China, according to the S&P industry reports. Gap’s profitability has grown over the past three years showing larger EBIT and EBITDA margins which shows strong management and healthy earnings. Ralph Lauren is also growing profitably as well as their margins have increased with time. American Eagle has been on teetering between being profitable and running efficiently to stay in the game. Net Income Growth3 Yr Trend Polo18.4%20.0% American Eagle-16.8%7.9% Gap14.0%9.3% On the margin side of things Polo seems to be the best company, this is because they are a luxury brand which tends to have higher margins. This makes up for their lack of revenues because people buy less quantity of the luxury brands and tend to buy more of the standard products that are affordable and still have above average quality, such as Gap Inc. and American Eagle. The industry research showed that the recent drop in cotton prices will help retail companies enormously in profit margins. This will help companies such as Gap and American Eagle more than luxury brands like Ralph Lauren. This is shown in Gap’s trends in the past years for EBIT Margins; in 2009 they had 10.7% which increased to 12.8% in 2010; this is a 2.1% increase. This increased another .6% to 13.4% in 2011, this can be  projected to grow even more in 2012 with more drops in the cotton prices. Gap reported that two-thirds of their increases were in the drop in cotton prices. Polo has also seen increases in EBIT margins but not in such a drastic change. From 2010 to 2011 they had a .7% increase on EBIT margin and then slowed down to a .2% growth from 2011 to 2012. This is because they were less affected by the change in cotton prices. American Eagle showed a decrease in EBIT margins in 2012 with a change of -3.4%. This loss should not be as great as reported because in 2012 they had a loss on impairment of assets which is not a recurring expense. EBIT Margin3 Yr Trend Polo14.7%15.4%15.6% American Eagle10.6%10.7%7.3% Gap10.7%12.8%13.4% EBITDA margin adds back the expenses taken out from depreciation and amortization, two non-cash expenses. Adding back those two expenses increases both companies EBIT margins by 4-5% for the three years analyzed. Ralph Lauren’s EBITDA margins seem to be declining in the three year trend which could raise questions about their assets and property plant and equipment expenses being raised. On the other hand you can see Gap showing strong 1-2% increases in both EBIT and EBITDA. Another key metric of financial profitability of a firm is earnings per share. Ralph Lauren’s earning per share is $7.09, as they are a more profitable firm within the industry and do not have a lot of debt on their balance sheet, with little leverage, is the reason there earnings per share are consistent and usually higher than the other two firms. Gap’s earning per share comes in at $2.05, they do not carry a lot of debt on their statements which means they don’t carry much leverage as well, giving them a decent earnings per share. They also repurchased stocks from the public which is another reason the earnings per share are moderately low. American Eagle had a earning per share of $0.96, this is due to the fact that they have more shares outstanding than their net income at the end of each year. They also carry no debt on their balance sheet so do not need to leverage themselves. EBITDA Margin3 Yr Trend Polo19.4%19.0%18.3% American Eagle15.2%15.4%11.8% Gap15.1%17.5%17.9% Return on Equity shows how the company is profitable compared to their equity. Ralph Lauren and Gap have shown substantial growth on this in the past three years. This is due to their growth in sales due to expanding sales into emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America, while maintaining level equity in their companies. Gap was also able to buy back some stock which made them able to increase their return on equity. American Eagle has stayed constant the past three years, this happened because they increased equity similar to their increase in net sales. Return on assets shows how the company is profitable compared to their assets. Gap increased their return on assets because they closed numerous shops around the world that were not performing to their standards and also leasing all of their stores. This decreased their assets while maintaining high sales which gave them a better return on assets. Polo was able to increase return on assets by 1% each year, they were able to do this by having sufficient sales growth. The return on assets is also improved because many retail companies entered the fall season with inventory levels in line with sales trends. This means that companies are not over producing product so they are able to sell their product at a maximum price, this maximizes their sales in which maximizes their return on assets. This has the same effect on return on equity. ROE3 Yr Trend Polo15.4%17.2%18.6% American Eagle10.7%10.4%10.7% Gap22.0%22.5%29.5% ROA 3 Yr Trend Polo10.3%11.4%12.6% American Eagle7.9%7.5%7.8% Gap12.8%13.8%17.0% While analyzing financial leverage Polo has the most debt to equity on its balance sheets ranging in 8-9%. Compared to American Eagle and Gap which has little to no debt ranging from 0-1%. Gap has most likely paid of its debts from previous years and now rent their property and stores eliminating the cost of long term debt. American Eagle is very similar with actually 0% debt in the three year trend. Polo is a moderately leveraged company which brings on the additional risk of carrying debt, although can boost earnings per share for profitability. Maximizing sales by keeping inventory levels in line with sales trends helped maximize these companies leverage. Companies that over produce products have to sell at discounts to get rid of inventories; this is not good because they lose out on profits and do not maximize their leverage. Also companies that do not produce enough products lose out on sales; this also does not maximize leverage. All three of these companies were able to keep their inventories in line with sales trends. Gap was able to decrease their debt to equity by buying back stock and maintaining a normal level of debt. Polo was able to decrease their debt to equity by buying back some stock and maintaining a level amount of debt. Debt to Equity 3 Yr Trend Polo9.0%9.0%8.0% American Eagle0.0%0.0%0.0% Gap1.0%0.0%0.0% All of these companies had similar ideas with their cash activities regarding buying back shares in 2011. American Eagle has the best position on cash, this is due to that they have no debt to pay back so all of their cash back into the company or into dividends. American Eagle bought back shares in 2011 to possibly help raise earnings per share. Gap also has a good cash flow; they also did the same thing and bought back shares in 2011. Polo was the worst out of the three but is still in good standing; they followed suit and also bought back shares in 2011. It is important for Polo to have a good cash flow because they still have long-term debts to pay back. Ending Cash Balance201020112012 Polo $ 95.7 $ (123.3) $ 228.0 American Eagle $ 2,317.9 $ (63.2) $ 511.5 Gap $ 620.0 $ (812.0) $ 307.0 We expect Gap to be the most profitable because they have high revenues, little to no debt, in good standing with creditors, and have good margins. This is better than Ralph Lauren because industry research shows that luxury brands will slow in growth while standard brands will continue to grow. Although Gap does not have the highest sales growth their market capitalization will help them succeed in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America. Also with the decrease in cotton prices Gap is now able to have larger profit margins while keeping a lower priced product with the same quality. This increase in profit margins Gap will be able to generate the most amount of cash flow. With the trends continuing with their margins combined with the growth of new markets their cash flow will increase substantially. Ralph Lauren has been noted so have some corporate social responsibility problems in Indonesia where they have broken up unions that have tried to improve working conditions. This issue as well as others should be considered because more and more people now a day are taking into consideration the companies CSR before buying their product. Gap Inc. sets a high standard for their manufactures to up hold health and safety standards. They admit that some places still do not follow these regulations but Gap puts in a lot of resources into fixing them or even terminating the business with them. This is good because they are socially responsible and are willing to terminate business to stay responsible. Most companies try to stay socially responsible by implementing certain regulations for working conditions in third world countries so they do not bad mouth their own firm. The International Labor Organization and United Nations try to keep them in check in order to protect people and the en vironment. The information that we would like to request from senior management at each firm would be the growth forecasts and document containing information about international expansion. It seems apparent that international markets are next big opportunity for the retail sector to increase revenues and income for most firms in this sector. This would help us invest in the company that will grow larger in the years to come as well as forecast numbers for potential growth which would help with our decision making process.

Effects of Divorce on Children Essay

A divorce is a law that ends all the legal relationship of married couple, except those that are written in the decree of divorce. Parenting arrangement, spousal support, financial obligations, payments of debts, division of property, and support of the children are the things that can be included in the divorce decree. (Divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A court of law should certify a divorce because legalities are needed to dissolve a marriage. The court decides on certain matters that can lead to years of hearing, as well as to a stressful and expensive experience. (Divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies show that 27 percent of Americans have been divorced and the term â€Å"till death do us part† is becoming less likely. 43 percent of first marriages also end up in separation within 15 years. Second marriages also have lesser chnace of survival than first marriages. It was also found out that couples who married early are less likely to survive the marriage than those who married at older age. (Divorce Doesn’t Last)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For many years, it has always been a debate of whether or not the parents should work out the relationship for the sake of the children. A lot of people stand by the fact that when a relationship starts to fall, there’s no other way but down. But is it really worth it to stay in a married life for the sake of the children? Or is it better to part ways instead of staying in a troubled relationship? According to Michael Cochrane, a lawyer specializzing in family laws, there are two reactions which the children fall into when it comes to the divorce of their paraents. The first one are the super-good children who believes that by showing a good behavior, their parents will finally be together again as a reward for them being good. The other one is the exact opposite, those that tries to get the attention of their parents by acting negatively. (Are Your Kids At Risk?)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When divorce enter into the married life, it will never be a question of whether the children will be hurt, but a question of how badly they will be hurt. (Are Your Kids At Risk)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children of divorced couples are often affected by the conflicts that the separation brings. Their physical, moral, spiritual, and social growths are affected by this vicious phenomenon that seems to be the trend among married couples nowadays. Their value formation and moral identity suffers the most and their fear of the future starts to develop. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fear, sadness, anger, confusion, worry, yearning, feeling of rejection, depression, conflicting loyalties, low self confidence, loneliness, high anxiety, and increased suicidal instincts are immediately felt by children upon the breakup of their parents. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies also show that if divorce occurs when the children are between 12 to 15 years old, their tendency is to react by attempting to speed up their growth, or to avoid growing up. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A national survey among 20,000 adolescents found out that those children with divorced parents did worse than those who came from an intact family when it comes to the sense of personal control, happiness, friendship, and trust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boys are are also more likely to show or feel depression than girls. Substance abuse dependence, earlier involvement in sexual activities, depression and hostile behavior are more likely to follow after a divorce. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce) Childrens of divorced parents also suffer from neglect or abuse. Child abuse is related to violent crime and deliquency, and divorce is germane in the background of an abused child. Mothers and fathers who are divorced tend to remarry but it can only worsen the problem because the step-parent usually continue abusing the children. The rate of sexual abuse among daughters and step-fathers are also very high, compared with biological abuse of fathers who are in intact families. Two professors from McMasters University in Canada, Professors Martin Daly and Margo Wilson, report that young children are more likely to be killed at the hands of step-parents. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children of divorced parents can experience varied effects. From short-term to long term, and from mild to severe. Although not all children of divorced parents experience difficulties, a lot of children are still negatively affected by the feeling of rejection. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over a million American children suffer their parent’s divorce every year. Furthermore, children with divorced parents experienced the separation even before they reach their 18th birthday. The effects of divorce can also be a lifetime experience for the children involved. It can last from the day their parents separated, to their adulthood. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to recent findings, children lose their contact with their fathers and are often not close with their mothers, and have difficulties adjusting with their step families. It was also found out that boys have a harder time in emotionally adjusting than girls. Studies also showed that 20-25 percent of children with divorced parents suffer more damage compared with the 10 percent from intact families. (We’re Successful and Hurt)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children of divorced parents suffer a great deal when it comes to their emotions. Emotional difficulties are experience by these children. Divorce leads a child in being self-destructive, therefore contributing to his poor image. Children of divorce develops very low self-esteem, anxiety, grief, and depression which can lead to an early loss of virginity, less desire to be a parent, and higher divorce rate when they enter marriage. This is now becoming a vicious cycle. Children of divorce also tend to be engage in divorce later in their adult life. Divorce also reduces the capacity of a child to be productive because of the lack of will to work. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Younger children, especially those below 5 years old, are more susceptible to emotional conflicts that occur when their parents separated. They are often associated with problems of younger children such as bedwetting. On the other hand, older children often try to look for love away from home therefore withdrawing themselves from home life. A study by Judith Wallerstein says that when divorce occurs on the parents of the children between six to eight, a huge segment of children experinece severe sadness and a constant need for encouragement in their everyday work. Anxieties for them are very high when it comes to personal commitment when they are older, especially when they enter into a maried life. Other studies suggest that college students with divorce parents have low self-confidence and low self-esteem. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Divorce can lead to increase rates of suicides and suicidal tendencies, increased risks for problems regarding health, and increased burdens when it comes to the emotional, psychiatric, and behavioral factor. The psychological stability of a lot of children can be chaotic when parents part ways. Suicide is very high on children with divorced parents. More often, these children feel alone and neglected and the only way to escape their depression is by killing themselves. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children of divorced parents are also having problems when it comes to their social role in the society. They tend to isolate themselves from other people because of the feeling of hopelessness.   They are very much concerned about the betrayal of the one they love when it comes to their romantic relationship because they fear that what happened to their parents can also happen to them. They worry about being hurt or abandoned by their partner in life. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The parent’s divorce has a very high impact on the learning capacity and educational performance of the children as well as with their capacity to be an achiever. Educational difficulties are also experience by children who have divorced parents. They often show a slow learning capacity, and they perform poorly compared with other children. They also tend to repeat a grade level and drop out rates among these children are also very high. Divorce hinders learning by distracting the children’s way of thinking. This is because children tend to think more of the problem of their parents than that of their schooling. Because of its neghative effect on a happy home life, divorce can weaken a child’s capacity to learn. According to a study by the Kent State University in Ohio, children with divorced parents often have difficulty when it comes to studying compared with those that have a two-parent family. Cognitive scores are low for young children and math scores are badly performed to those children who do not have a father. On the other hand, there is an increase in the verbal capabilities of daughters when they are with their fathers. And even the most deterrent work on math and readin skills cannot eliminate the low performance at school among children with divorced parents. Furthermore, these children also have difficulties in relating with their peers and teachers. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Health problems are also experienced by children of divorced parents. The separation of the parents can also cause harmful physical health effects, and even worst, the length of a child’s life. A study shows that children whose parents parted ways before they reach their 21st birthday, can actually shortened the life sapn of those children by an average of four years. There is also a higher mortality rates for those children who have divorced parents than those who do not have. Another study also states that the mortality rates actually increases when the divorce occurs when a child does not yet reach his fourth birthday. Included in the health effects of of divorce during childhood are the larger increase in the rates of injury and higher asthmatic tendencies. Another study suggests that the negative effects of divorce on health did not subside even when a divorced parent remarried. Even Swedish researchers found that the differences in hospitalization rates and health risks are evident after they control for the social and family background. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Negative eveidences of divorce is indeed observable nowadays. And such indication of the negativity of divorce should be reason enough for the Americans to speak out and voice their views regarding this issue, or else, we will continue to experinec social putrefy.   Policymakers should never forget to always look at both sides of divorce and never forget to consider the welfare of the children because they are the primary victims of this social issue. Marriage education should be expanded as to help the couples to save their marriage. (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The family is indeed the basic unit of the society. It is where children first gain confidence and it is their very first school. The parents are their first teachers and their siblings are their first friends. The importance of a family is indeed very significant in contributing to the ddevlopment of the society. Intact families are more likely to develop productive citizens than those with parents who are separated. Although it is safe to conclude that intact families tend to develop good better children, it doesn’t mean that children of divorced parents cannot produce productive citizens. The growth of a child depends on the upbringing of a parent, divorced, or not. How the parents handle the issue of divorce is the most imporatnt factor when it comes to the betterment of the children. In conclusion, it is trenchant to say that divorce is really rampant nowadays, but people should always keep in mind that the children are the parents’ responsibility. It is up to them to let their children feel loved no matter what the marital situation is. Respect and understanding should also be observed in order to ensure a child’s bright future. Parents should also never understimate the importance of communication with their children because it is the only way to know what they feel. Parents should explain to their children the reason why the marriage did not work out. They should help their children realize how important they are for both parents even if they parted ways. They should also make them understand that instead of using the divorce as a way to destroy one’s life, why not take it as a challenge and find better ways to improve their life even without their parents being together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through the institutions of our society, we must teach the people that a home, with parents never fails to show love and respect for each other is the best environment to raise happy and healthy children, and that the family is the most important institution to develop the children’s social, emotional and physical well being.       Works Cited:       (Are Your Kids At Risk?) Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from http://www.divorcemag.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?template=article&state=CA&article=children/kidsatrisk       (A Kid’s Guide to Divorce) Retrived on June 16, 2006 from http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/home_family/divorce.html       (Divorce). Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce (Divorce). Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from http://www.utahbar.org/bars/slcbar/html/divorce.html (Divorce Doesn’t Last). Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from   www.gallup.com/content/print.aspx?ci=11161    (Divorce. Josh McDowell’s personal notes on divorce) Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from http://www.josh.org/notes/file/Internet8-Divorce.pdf#search=’divorce’ (We’re Successful, and Hurt) Retrieved on June 16, 2006 from http://www.americanvalues.org/html/c-we_re_successful_and_hurt.shtml   

Oda Nobunagas Biography

Oda Nobunagas Biography The oda of Omwari Oda Nobunaga was born Oda Kipposhi on June 23rd 1534 and was a second son of Oda Nobuhinde who by then was a minor lord and whose family was servant to Shiba Shugo. Oda Kipposhi’s father was a very knowledgeable warrior who used much of his time in battles as a Samurai to Mikawa and Mino. At home, Oda kipposhi’s father, later Oda Nobunaga, was involved in power rivalry with his extended family over the control of Omwari province (Seal par 5).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Oda family was divided into two warring branches. The Nobuhide’s branch was stationed at kiyosu and was run by three elders; the second branch of the family was housed at Iwakura castle in the north of Omwari province. At the time of his birth, Japan was a divided country as Opposed to what it used to be in earlier years before the terrible civil war of 1460s. The country was divided into more than sixty provinces each under the rule of a Daimyo. However, Daimyo were always at war with each other during which time numerous farms and villages would be burned. Oda Nobunaga was brought up in a castle in Nagoya where his father was among the chiefs from his Oda family that ruled Omwari at the time. During his youthful years, Oda was a handsome and unusually graceful man and his father had hired tutors to teach his son the arts of war and other Chinese classics. Oda however proved to be a nuisance to his tutors because of his arrogance and irrelevance. One of his trainers, Kiyohide committed kanshi after writing up a letter urging Nobunaga to take up his studies more seriously. This death made Nobunaga change some bit and honored Hirashi Kiyohide by building the Seisyu-ji in Omwari (Seal par 4). Oda Nobunaga was strange in his mode of dressing wearing odd colored short sleeve and knickknacks hanging from his waist. His moo ds were also unpredictable making people think him crazy. It was rumored that Oda acted in this manner to fool his older cousins from seeing him a rival for the power. Physically, Nobunaga had a prominent nose and a scarce beard and was of unruly behavior. At the age of fourteen, Oda Nobunaga married a daughter of the lord of Mino province. This was a politically instigated marriage based on convenience not loves. The rise of Oda Nobunaga Following Oda Nobuhinde’s death, Oda Nobunaga built a small force of not more than a thousand men and successfully built an army that later repulsed two attacks by relatives and by a rival province. He later killed his chief rival in the family and a brother who challenged his leadership.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Oda Nobunaga rose to become a minor warlord and only held a small piece of land in Omwari province. Like most other Daimyo of his time, Oda rose to power following military encounters and by the age of 25 years, he controlled a large part of Omwari province by ruthlessly taking over territories from his neighbors. By 1558, Nobunaga had successfully united his family (Morton 47). His rule was only secure in 1560 when he defeated Totomi family from the Ingawa province which was matching through his province on their way to conquering Kyoto. Following this defeat to the largest army in Japan, Nobunaga suddenly became a national figure and as a result many other Daimyos met him in a bid to build alliances (Saito 25). Like other Daimyos of the Sengoku era, Oda Nobunaga took the advantage of convenience marriages to create alliances and strengthen his leadership. To begin with, Nobunaga married his daughter to the lord of Mikawa province Tokugawa Leyasu’s son. This alliance lasted for twenty years . O-ichi, Oda Nobunaga’s sister was also married to Asai who was the lord of Omi provi nce. These alliances helped Nobunaga became the leader of a very strong and powerful coalition. This however was only a start of what Oda Nobunaga aspired to do. It was only the beginning of an empire that he intended to build (Saito 27).He multiplied his army into more than ten times. He even recruited farmer to be foot soldiers who carried spears and lances while whoever showed talent was promoted through ranks (Saito 29). His military prowess and leadership skill were again proved when in 1565 he marched into Kyoto and helped drive out a local warlord who had killed a shogun and instead installed a three year old as the new shogun. Nobunaga replaced the child shogun with Yoshiaki, the brother of the murdered shogun. He also helped rebuild the badly damaged palace and gave money to the emperor who had invited him to Kyoto. Following the rise in power of Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed in 1192, as a shogun, most emperors lost their power, the remaining shoguns too lost their power a lthough they still could appoint judges and other administrators. Nobunaga used Shogun Yoshiaki as a puppet and even obtained rights to sign document without his consent. This period saw Nobunaga become the most powerful leaders in Japan owing to his political and military might (Morton 47). Resistance The developments at Kyoto agitated a daimyo that lived outside the influence of Nobunaga. He saw Nobunaga as a force that would lead to his destruction. To him, Nobunaga could not be compared to many other warlords like Hosokama Sumimoto and Miyoshi Motonaga who were only concerned only about personal gain and prestige. Nobunaga’s gain however seemed to surpass that of the two warlords and could not be filled.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He knew that Nobunaga’s aim was to rule the whole of Japan. Four other warlords during Nobunagaâ₠¬â„¢s rule: Mori Motonari, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and hojo Ujiasu had no say in the capital as they had been removed by Nobunaga. Their movement was also curtailed by Nobunaga who occupied a strategic location. Taking Kyoto only made things better for him as he was now positioned in the middle of Japan. Nobunaga’s power was based on the point of the sword with the use of diplomacy waning as he put additional territories under his rule. Nobunaga crushed his enemies completely especially those troublesome to him (Morton 49). Real trouble The first real trouble came when Asakura Yoshikage turned down an invitation by Yoshiaki who was ordered by Nobunaga to invite all local daimyos to a banquet at Kyoto. Nobunaga took this as a symbol of disloyal to both shogun Yoshiaki and the emperor. Using this as an excuse, Nobunaga raised an army to attack Echizen which was ruled by Asakura. He made good his threat and was approaching Echizen capital, Ichijo-no-Tani, when he received news that his brother-in-law , Asai Namagasa, husband to his sister O-ichi had shifted bases and was fighting on Asakura’s side. He later moved back to Kyoto and attacked the combined forces of Asai and Asakura but the winner of this battle was no other but Nobunaga. This win propelled Nobunaga to the highest point in his military and political career (Hooker par 1). He now was a force to reckon with in the larger Japan. However, Asai and Asakura had killed Nobunaga’s own brother, Nobuharu and sought the assistance of the monks of Mt. Hiei. The fall of Monasteries In 1570, Nobunaga’s army under the command of Hideyoshi defeated his brother-in-law, Asai, who had defected from his camp to join that of his rival, Asakura. However, both Asai and Asakura could not be captured as they escaped and sought refuge in Mt. Hiei which was a home to Enryakuji, one of the oldest and holiest Tendai Buddhist monasteries at the time. It is important to know that in middle of the second millennia, Buddhist monks were not as saintly as we know them today, but were rather armed, very political and held a lot of wealth. This resulted into a lot of resentment from Nobunaga who coveted the extensive land holding they held and their use of religion to disguise their power pursuit. When he failed to annihilate Asai and Asakura, Nobunaga pleaded with the monks of Eryakuji to either maintain neutrality or face his wrath.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The monks too were in bad terms with Oda Nobunaga who took some of their lands and had threatened to tax them. They too could not understand how anyone could take the action Nobunaga was intending to fulfill of burning their eight century old monastery. In the mean time, Asai and Asakura took the opportunity to escape as the armed monks engaged in skirmishes with Nobunaga’s men. In October 1571, in the mid of a very windy night, Nobunaga’s revenge was terrible as his soldiers surrounded Mt. Hiei and set it on fire. As enormous flames engulfed the mountain city, thousands of warrior monks, women and children were consumed by the fire that reduced the Eryakuji monastery into ashes. Close to three thousand homes, schools, temples and libraries were destroyed in this fire. The whole of Japan shuddered at what Nobunaga had ruthlessly done. To this day, at the mention of Nobunaga, Japanese first thing in the mind is the burning of the Eryakuji monastery. This act of burning the monastery had the impact that Nobunaga intended as many Japanese monks were terrified and stopped maintaining armies, cease to be political and also accepted their loss of land without a word. In 1574, one of remaining defiant Buddhist sect went up in flames while a second one was suppressed with gun fire in the following year. Only the Honganji monastery on Osaka bay remained defiant as it enjoyed naval support from some western Daimyos, however, in 1580, Nobunaga’s marines in seven warrior ships destroyed close to six hundred war boats. This brought to an end the defiance of the Honganji monastery. Most other Buddhists had however lost their power by 1573. In that same year, Asai and Asakura committed suicide and Nabunaga had their skulls gold and silver plated and used them as drinking cups. As a result of asai’s death, his widow O-ichi, returned to his brother Nobunaga with three daughters and an infant son who was executed. O-ichi, with her striking beauty, wa s married off to a top general in his army, Shibata Katsue. Christian Missionaries and the Gun Powder Oda Nobunaga first interaction with the westerners was recorded by a Portuguese missionary named Louis Frois in 1569. Louis described Nobunaga as a tall man who was greatly addicted to military exercise and who scorned both Buddha and the Kami tradition medicine and who neither believed in life after death nor the immortality of the soul. Nobunaga welcomed Jesuits missionary whom he liked and from whom he received gifts such as maps, tiger skins, magnifying glasses, improved guns and who also shared his contempt for Buddhism. In 1543, three Portuguese traders sold matchlocks to the Japanese at the island of Tanega south of Kyushu. These guns were copied by the local lord’s blacksmith’s but these guns failed to function due the gunpowder failing to explode. Later, a Portuguese blacksmith settled down and began teaching the Japanese finer points of gun making. Within no time, the Japanese were making guns at a very fast rate. Sooner, the port of Okai, on Osaka bay became a major gun manufacturing center in Japan. Until 1569, this very prosperous town was under the rule of merchants but in that year, it fell under Nobunaga’s direct rule. Nobunaga’s Administrative Skills It is recorded that Nobunaga was a very skilful administrator and a good warrior. He promoted trade by minting standardized currency and also standardized weights and measures giving merchants an easy time in the process. ‘Marotoriums’ were also abolished as they exempted the dictatorial warlords from paying debts. In his attempts to further improve trade conditions in Japan, he abolished all toll barriers and guild monopolies in his territory and in major cities. The more Nobunaga expanded his territorial borders by conquering neighboring provinces, the more it became easier for merchants as trade areas increased. Nobunaga modernized his armies and in fact bought tens of thousands of guns that were used by his armies in practicing. The soldiers were trained to fast load the gun powders and to shoot and were also trained on arrangement in the battlefront especially formation of alternating rows. In this arrangement, as the first row bent to reload, the second row would shoot while the third row would be aiming. This ensured a continuous bombardment that was devastating to the rival army. He too armed peasants who at times massacred thousands of samurai swordsmen (Weston 144). Shogun Yoshiaki who too was in communication with Asai, Asakura, monks at the Eryakuji monastery and the daimyo of Akai province was too expelled from Kyoto. Nobunaga imposed taxes on the wealthy city dwellers and those who resisted had their wealth burned. This scared others who hastily complied. Yoshiaki’s life was spared and he was left to wander in Japan for close to thirty years. During this time, Kyoto stayed without a shogun with the emperor failing to persuade Nobunaga to take up the position. Nobunaga had no interest in titles and chose to remain a warrior but demanded obedience from all those ha subdued. He even requested for obedience from his general Shibata Katsue whom he warned never to have any evil thought towards him. The Azuchi Castle In 1570s, Japan was enjoying a peaceful period following the rule of Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga decided to build himself a seven storey castle on a hill in Azuchi province. This was a magnificent palace build forty miles north of Kyoto and was completed in 1579. The Azuchi castle had very beautiful rooms and were painted by top artists of the time especially Kano Eitoku who was the finest. Each room was unique and was painted in a different theme including falcons, horses, trees, Chinese scholars and even Buddha and his disciples. His tea room was painted in leaf gold and it was in this room that he held tea ceremonies. Nobunaga was a great tea lover and collected rare tea utensils and gav e them to his great generals as gifts. The castle at Azuchi underwent various changes. It was during this time that modern Japanese castles were born (Weston 145). Azuchi castle revolutionized castle building in Japan. It was among the first Hiramayajiro castles that were build on a flat topped mountain and on low hills. The hills chosen were on a plain enabling large numbers of troops to be positioned here. Other features of the Azuchi castle included a bigger and higher tenshu allowing a greater view of the plains, Masugata, multiple maru and an ishigaki at the centre of the castle. There were also secret floors within the tenshu. The Azuchi castle not only served for the defensive purposes but was also a show of power for Nobunaga. Nobunaga’s castle was later copied by other leaders who came after him such as Nagahama and Himeji castles build by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Sakamoto and Tanbakameyama castles that were build by Akechi Mitsumide. Nobunaga’s Major Achiev ements Military Nobunaga revolutionized the way wars were fought in Japan. His army was one of the most organized in the world during his time. He made many inventions and innovations that helped properly arm his forces (Murray 125). The most notable implementations were use of long pikes, advanced fire arms, ironclad ships and fortifications of castle to boost security. He also started a warrior class in which positions were assigned based on merit and not by name, tribe, rank or the size of land that one owned. Retainers were rewarded on the basis of the amount of rise that a rice farm produced not on the size of the farm. This measures ensured equality and fairness and helped reduce any complaints from his army. This system of army organization was later copied by his rivals such as Tokugawa Leyasu during the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate that was based at Edo (Murray 128). Trade Nobunaga was a very keen businessman who understood and practiced the principles of macro and m icroeconomics. He was pivotal in the modernization of both agricultural and manufacturing industries. Service bases and castle towns were established as the centers of trade and local economics. To further improve trade and ease the movement of his large army between cities, Nobunaga improved roads. He opened up Japan beyond china and the Korean peninsula to the larger Asian countries such as Philippines, Siam and Indonesia. Trade with Europe especially with Portuguese and Spain was also expanded. As a way to improve and promote trade and industry, Nobunaga instituted the Rakuizi-rakuza policies. Under this policy, Nobunaga’s goal was to abolish and prohibit monopolies and helped open up suppressed unions, associations and guilds. He established a proper tax system and exemptions and instituted laws that governed borrowing (Weston 142). Fine art With the rise of Nobunaga as a national leader, he amassed a large amount of wealth that he used to support major causes most notabl y the fine art. Nobunaga had a liking for the art and later used it to display his power and prestige. His many gardens and castles bore great artistic features with the Azuchi castle being one this great art works. In later years, Nobunaga became a devout Christian and used this as a basis for terrorizing the Buddhist Ikko monks (Peterson 85). His tea master, Sen no Rikkyu helped him established the tea ceremonies which Nobunaga used for politics and business. The westernization of Japan Nobunaga eagerly embraced the western religions especially Christianity and welcomed the Jesuits missionaries with open hands. As a result of his conversion, he became among the first Japanese leader to appear in the European histories. He also imported the western technology like the firearms into Japan. This technology coupled with offensive and defensive mechanisms imported from Europe contributed to the modernization of his forces. His armies were always retrained to cope up with new imported t actics and in addition, massive stone forts were constructed that would defy modern gun fire. He also improved his warships by iron cladding them which resulted into nearly unbeatable models (Weston 145). The Death of Nobunaga Nobunaga’s glory came to its highest point in Kyoto, august of 1581, during this day; Nobunaga had gathered nearly twenty thousand horsemen all brilliantly dressed who flew in full gallop in front of the emperor and half of the Kyoto population. Hideyoshi, one of his top brass general was not in this parade as he was on a mission to conquer the Harima province. The story was that since 1577, Harima province had put up a strong defense following the unification of all western Daimyos under the leadership of the Mori family, who were allies of the Ikko-ikki clan. This province had a united army with as many soldiers and complex gun power as Nobunaga making the war drag for years (Peterson 87). In 1582, the Mori troops were making advancement towards the c astle in Bitchu province and were overwhelming to the Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s army. Hideyoshi asked for reinforcement from Nobunaga who at once decided to head west himself. In the process, Nobunaga commanded his top Generals to join him in this worthy course. He however took a two night’s stop at a temple in Kyoto in order to make the final arrangement for a battle that never took place. June 21, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide, the general appointed by Nobunaga to lead some ten thousand soldiers to attack Harima province chose to attack Nobunaga instead. This took Nobunaga at a sheer surprise as he was entertaining guests at a Homno temple. Nobunaga had less than a hundred board guards making escape out of question. For the first time, Nobunaga took part in a battle but was wounded by either an arrow or a spear. He decided to retreat into a room and locked himself from where he committed Seppuku, a ritual suicide (Peterson 89). The temple was then burned down and no remains of N obunaga’s body were ever recovered. His eldest son was also killed in this battle and his Azuchi castle looted and then burned down by the mob. It is not known up to today what caused Mitsuhide turn against his master and he never had time to explain as he was hunted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who took his head. At his death, Nobunaga was forty six years and ruled Japan’s thirty one out of sixty six provinces. His aim was to conquer many more and bring them under one rule. Conclusion Oda Nobunaga was truly one of the Japan’s most influential men and women and is remembered for his attempt to form a united Japan. He had a modern outlook for Japan and helped modernize warfare in Japan, broke the power of the monks, improved trade and industry, westernized Japan, gave equal opportunities to all especially the peasant and surprisingly ignored titles (Berry 35). It is however ironical that this fierce warrior who had the heart to burn thousands of innocent children and wo men was attributed to have brought peace to Japan which by the time was racked by a two hundred years of war. This peace he brought fearfully and was based on one man who ruled Japan with an iron hand. It is no surprise that his allies were also relieved following his death. But the question many ask is ‘to what length Nobunaga would have gone had his life not been cut short?’ By the time of his death, Nobunaga changed Japan forever (Berry 35). Berry M. Elizabeth. Hideyoshi. Havard: Havard University Asia center, 1989. Hooker, Richard. â€Å"World civilizations: Odo Nobunaga.† Washington State University, 1996. Web. Morton, M. Scott, and Olenik, J. Kenneth. Japan: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. Murray, David. The Story of Japan. UK: G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1894. Paterson, Paterson. Oda Nobunaga: The Battle of Okehazama. New York: Jetlag press, 2008. Saito, Hisho. A history of Japan. Tokyo: Forgotten books, 1990. Seal, F. W. â€Å"Oda Nobunaga. Samurai, Mar 5 2011.  samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html Weston, Mark. Giants of Japan: the Lives of Japan’s Most Influential Men and Women. New York: Kodansha America, 2002.

Bundling Campaign Contributions - How It Works

Bundling Campaign Contributions - How It Works Bundling campaign  contributions is a common practice in American congressional and presidential elections. The term bundling refers to a form of fundraising in which one person or small groups of people - they might be lobbyists, business owners, special interest groups or activists seeking legislative action  - convince  their wealthy friends, coworkers and other like-minded donors to simultaneously write checks to their preferred candidate for public office. It is not uncommon for bundlers to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a presidential-election year and receive special treatment in return for their work. A bundler is the person or small group of people  who pool or aggregates these contributions and then delivers them in one lump sum to a political campaign. In the 2000 presidential campaign, Republican nominee  George W. Bush used the term pioneers to describe bundlers who raised at least $100,000 for his White House bid. Bundlers are often rewarded by successful candidates with plum positions in an administration or other political favors.  Four out of five of Democratic presidential nominee  Barack Obamas largest fundraisers in the 2008 presidential campaign received  key posts in his administration, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics. Bundling is a legal way for campaign supporters to circumvent  individual contribution limits set forth in federal campaign finance laws.  An individual can contribute up to $2,700 to a candidate for federal office in a single election cycle, or up to $5,400 a year. But bundlers can persuade like-minded donors to give at once, typically by inviting them to a fundraiser or special event and in turn rolling up those contributions into massive sums of money to federal candidates. Bundling Is Not Heavily Regulated The Federal Election Commission, the entity that regulates campaign-finance laws in the U.S.,  requires candidates for federal office  disclose the funds bundled by registered lobbyists. For everyone whos not a lobbyists? Disclosure is voluntary and sporadic. In the 2008 presidential election, for example, Obama and Republican nominee John McCain both agreed to make public the names of bundlers who raised more than $50,000. The FEC rules, however, are considered loose by government watchdogs and  easily circumvented by crafty bundlers and lobbyists wishing to remain out of the public eye. In some cases, bundlers are able to avoid disclosing their role in raising large sums of money for a campaign by never physically pooling and delivering the checks, just organizing the fundraising.   How Much Money Do Bundlers Raise? Bundlers are responsible for generating tens of millions of dollars to their preferred candidates. In the 2012 presidential race, for example, bundlers delivered about $200 million to Obamas campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Bundlers, who are often corporate CEOs, lobbyists, hedge fund managers or independently wealthy people, are able to funnel far more money to campaigns than they could personally give under campaign finance laws, states the good-government group Public Citizen.   Why Bundlers Bundle Bundlers who deliver large amounts of campaign cash to candidates have been rewarded with access to prominent White House advisers and strategists, official titles and privileged treatment in campaigns, and ambassadorships and other plum political appointments. The Center for Public Integrity reported that Obama rewarded about 200 bundlers with jobs and appointments. Bundlers play an enormous role in determining the success of political campaigns and are apt to receive preferential treatment if their candidate wins, Public Citizen wrote. Bundlers who direct money to presidential candidates tend to be first in line for plum ambassador positions and other political appointments. Industry titans and lobbyists are more likely to receive preferential treatment from elected officials if they raised large amounts of money for them. When Is Bundling Illegal? Bundlers seeking political favors often promise big money to candidates. And sometimes they fail to deliver. So in some cases, bundlers have been known to give large sums of money to employees, family members and friends with the implicit goal of having those employees, family members and friends turn around and contribute to a candidate for Congress or the presidency. Thats illegal.

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Media - Essay Example In most cases these new forms of media especially the internet makes communication to grow denser, more involving, more complicated, and networked to access the information or facts, more chances to involve public speech and to boast a mutual action by the protestors. It must be noted that technology does not lead into political revolution; but what it does; it offers new potentials and impel new limitations on the actors of politics. It is hard to determine the precise contribution of each kind of the new form of media to every revolution. Notably, there are some forms of media such as the social media which have common in triggering various forms of political revolution like the ones experienced in Egypt and Tunisia. Even as some of the famous political figures make efforts to control the manner in which these forms of media are used, the protestors normally find ways to communicate with the main aim of achieving their objectives that is political revolution. Question Two: Reasons why fewer Hollywood films target mature women compared to other quadrant Hollywood films has for a long time had the tendency to dislike older women in the movie productions. There are some selected reasons why this is the case. Hollywood films are mostly interested in the age of the actors which shows the willingness to sustain or enjoy most of its spectacles. Some of the demography reveals that teenagers and adults have plenty of disposable income while mature adults such as mature women are more cautious in the manner in which they spend their money which is more discerning in their interests. Disposable income might be a big aspect for the Hollywood films or it might not be. Majority of the financially endowed adult women are more willing and able to spend most of their money on all kinds of things which varies from fashion designs and other modern items. Young adult women are more willing to spend quite a large satellite bills given the fact they are in their explorative stage, with little responsibilities to meet which gives them more energy to commit their time toward their careers. Most young women are able to spend most of their time concentrating on their looks and on ways of making their physical looks better. This is contrary to the older women who feel most part of their time must be spent with their families as opposed to extensive travelling and exploration. Hollywood therefore draws their concentration towards the younger women in perfecting their films and boosting their image with beauty and looks. Question Three: Ways in which internet upsets the political economy of communication There are various ways in which the use of internet might upset or disrupt the political economy of communication. One of the common attributes of the internet for political figures might be its apparent uncontrollable feature. The use of internet has been known to render inappropriate the controls and laws of the countries or states and the fundamental quality whe re they can be truthfully be rendered as rights or freedom to expression. The internet is a common platform in attracting the people who have been for a long time considered as voiceless in the past. The various groups on the internet differ from environmentalists and feminists to liberation struggles or right wing