Janpanese director Yasujiro Ozu's tatami shotsenabled Ozu's films to Essay

Janpanese director Yasujiro Ozu's tatami shotsenabled Ozu's films to take the perspective of the audience, which draws the v - Essay Example In these films, Ozu engaged tatami shots style of cinematography in which he shoot his movies from the position below the eye level of the characters (Wood 122). This technique sensationalized his films and drew the audience to the closest engagement with the characters’ sensibilities by bringing the viewer to the nearest vicinity of the character’s emotions. In this essay, the use of the tatami shots technique will be evaluated by drawing examples from three Ozu films namely: Late Spring (1949), Early Summer (1951), and Tokyo Story (1953). Late Spring (1949) Late Spring (1949) is a drama film directed by Yasujiro Ozu and is based on the short story novella Father and Daughter by Kazuo Hirotsu (Bordwell & Kristin 394). The film is starring Chishu Ryu, an actress who features in almost all Ozu’s films, and Setsuko Hara, another frequent character in Ozu’s films (Wood 119). The most frequently notable aspect of the Late Spring film is the use of tatami shots ; a camera technique where the director shoots his actors from an extremely low position. The adoption of tatami shots in the Late Spring film enables the audience to engage with the emotions of the characters throughout the film. For example, the scene in which Noriko visits her friend Aya in her home. In this scene, Noriko is seen in a sitting position and the camera shoots Aya at a slightly elevated position, from which the audience can see Aya looking down towards her friend. The scene is shot in a way that the camera in both pictures is low, but the degrees are different. The shot controls the way the audience should follow and analyze the events in the narrative. Moreover, when Noriko is sitting, she does so looking up at Aya who is standing, but the camera shoots in the reverse order and concentrates on Noriko and, this way, the audience is forced to reject Aya’s point of view. Consequently, the tatami shots in this particular scene deny the viewer a chance of identify ing with Aya but with Noriko’s inhuman perspective. These shots, which are all over the film, are a reflection of a view from an individual sitting on a tatami mat (Wood 120). Interestingly, he shoots the same even when the scenes shots are taken from outside. The positioning of the camera, therefore, carries a sense of balance and order and enables the viewers to establish an emotional engagement with the characters. Early summer (1951), Another film in which Ozu used the tatami shots is Early Summer (1951); a post war film that recounts the problems of communication between generations and the emerging women role in post war Japan (Bordwell & Kristin 397). In this film, Noriko lives happily in an extended family, but this balance is threatened by her uncle’s visits and insistence that she should get married. Ozu uses the tatami shots in this film frequently. For example, there is a scene where Koichi and two older women are having a conversation concerning Norikoâ₠¬â„¢s marriage. The long shots in this scene show the three characters staring at diverse points as they talked to each other. The camera would then, at low angles, focus on one of the characters straight on the eyes different from the direction at the long shot. These tatami shots enable the viewer to read into the thoughts and emotions of the character. In yet another scene, where the mother, her daughter and her son are at the table, the characters are shot facing different

Factors Affecting Firm Size

Factors Affecting Firm Size Before explaining the factors that exert limits on the size of firms, it is very important to understand what a firm is and how do we measure its size. Lets start with a basic definition of a firm. In simple terms, a firm is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods, services or both to consumers or tertiary business in exchange for money( Sullivan Arthur; Steven M. Sheffrin (2003). Now that we have an idea of what a firm is lets move on to the ways in which we can measure its size. A lot of ways can be used to measure the size of a firm. One can measure its size by the total revenue it generates, but this does not tell us anything about the scope of a firms underlying activity. Another way is value added( i.e.the sum of factor inputs). This gives us a precise measure of activity in the firm , but this data is generally not available from the company. Lastly, there is the number of employees working in the firm, which is the most widely used measure with more than 80 percent of the studies using it (Kimberley(1976, 587). The size of a firm has been measured as per the number of employees working in a firm in this essay. Before we embark on the long list of factors that exert limits on a firms size, lets just see if these limits are just theoretical aspects or do they actually exist. Have you ever wondered why do big companies like Toyota only limit their area of operations to a few sectors like automobiles? Why dont these companies expand in different directions and produce a wide array of products like food products, milk, laptops etc.? Everyone talks about how important size is, but if size was such a great advantage, the smaller companies would have soon disappeared. But as we see around us, this is not happening. If there had been no limits to the size of a firm then there would have been an inexorable concentration of industries and economies until there was only one global firm left. Since this is not happening, this proves that there do exist certain factors that exert certain limits on the size of a firm. Lets study these factors in detail: FACTORS LIMITING FIRM SIZE Diseconomies of scale It is a well documented fact that higher levels of production permit the use of more efficient techniques. They vindicate the investment in cost reducing technologies and allow workers to be more specialized. But however persuasive they may be, returns to scale have their limits. Machines related to two production units can be advantageously pulled together only if they are not employed to their capacities, similarly the law of large numbers becomes smaller and smaller as the firm grows, ultimately leading to increasing cost of production of goods and services for the larger firms leading to diseconomies of scale. Williamson(1975) identified four main categories of diseconomies of scale Communications Failure due to bounded rationality It is impossible to expand a firm without adding hierarchical layers. As information is passed between layers their is a high probability that it gets distorted, reducing the ability of high level managers to make decisions based on facts and leads to declining return to entrepreneurial function. Bureaucratic insularity Williamson argued that as firms increase in size the senior managers are less accountable to the lower ranks of the organization and to the shareholders. They thus become insulated and will strive to maximize their personal benefits rather than the profits of the firm. The consequences are that large firms tend to more easily accept organizational slack and resources are misallocated Employee alienation As firms expand there will be increased specialization, but also less moral involvement of the employees, according to Williamson (1975, 128-129). The decline in moral involvement is due to the difficulty for the employee to understand the purpose of activities as well as the small contribution each employee makes to the totality. Thus, alienation is more likely to occur in large firms. Misalignment of incentives Firms can not compensate their employees perfectly due to a number of limitations according to Williamson (1975, 129-130). First, large bonus payments may threaten senior managers. Second, performance related bonuses might affect the employment contract so that less than optimal behavior is encouraged. The outcome is that large firms tend to pay based on tenure and position rather than on merit. This is especially important in product and process development where the large firms are at a disadvantage to smaller enterprises. Availability of Finance/Capital Every firm at some point or the other needs to employ some external capital to grow. There is a strong and positive relationship between the amount of finance that a firm can raise and the managerial ability and entrepreneurial capital that the firm has, i.e. higher the entrepreneurial capital higher the amount that the firm can borrow. Also, given the existence of capital market imperfections, it would be unwise to assume that finance is never a real problem. It has been generally observed that the average size of firms is larger in countries with better financial markets, suggesting that financial constraints keep firms small. An example in this regard can be of Finland, where the size of the firms are large, despite the countrys small size, as compared to say Spain or Italy because it has a very efficient financial system, as measured by its accounting standards. Role of Government/Judicial Factors Government also plays a crucial role in determining the freedom that the firm enjoys in performing its operations with full capacity. Governments often employ certain regulations which put a limit on the size of the firm. Many costly regulations apply to larger firms (for example the obligation to provide health insurance in the US or Union Laws in Italy). This tilts the playing field towards small firms. Other regulations, such as strong product liability laws, favor the creation of separate legal entities that can avail the protection afforded by limited liability. This further leads to smaller firms. High corporate taxes could also drive many economic activities into the informal sector, and reduce reduce the incentive to create larger firms, this is probably why Italy has so many small firms. It has been observed in certain countries, that the government in order to protect the local market sometimes puts restrictions on the import of certain raw materials or machinery. This puts the firms in such countries at handicap when competing with foreign firm and in turn puts a limit on the size of the firm, as their area of operation remains limited to the local market. An efficient government and legal system on the other hand eases managements ability to use critical resources other thaan physical assets as source power, which leads to establishment of firms of larger size(Rajan and Zingales(1998c)). It also protects outside investors better and allows larger firms to be financed . Finally, an efficient government and legal system reduces coordination costs and allows larger organisations(Becker and Murphy(1992)). Limitations of the market Another major factor that limits the size of the firm is the limitations posed by the market, the expansion of which would require unprofitable price reductions or increase in selling cost. Adam Smith(1776) had suggested that the extent of specialization was limited by the size of the market. If a worker needs to acquire task specific human capital, there is a set-up cost incurred every time the worker is assigned a new task. It is, therefore reasonable to expect workers to perform specialized tasks and to expect a firm to hire more workers when its production process becomes more specialized. Therefore, one would expect not only the extent of specialization but also the size of the firms to be limited by the size of the market that is being served. Security There are always considerations of security to take into account- both security against bankruptcy and security against a takeover bid. The faster a firm attempts to expand, the more it will be driven to accept high-risk investments and the more it may have to rely on fixed interest debt. Both endanger the future of the firm. The failure of a major investment or the high level of fixed charges that a firm is obliged to meet when trade is depressed may bring it to its knees. Too rapid a rate of growth may also expose the firm to the danger of a takeover bid. This may occur if rapid expansion depresses the firms profitability or if it results in high retention of profits and low dividend payments to shareholders.Too low a rate on the other hand, may also attract a takeover bid. A profitable firm with a high conservative management may have a high level of liquidity. A prospective acquirer may feel confident that the funds can be put to more profitable use. Thus, this fear of security m ay also limit the size of the firm in that the firm may not be inclined to accept high risk investments in view of the fixed costs they have to pay off, thus limiting growth. Fear of expropriation Fear of expropriation is also a key factor that limits the size of the firm. This fear has been appropriately analyzed by Rajan and Zingales(1998c) with the help of a stylized model where an entrepreneur has a critical resource with which he wants to produce. In order to produce he has to offer employees access to the resource and its mode of employ. There are constant returns to scale in production but increasing returns to scale in marketing so that a larger firm captures a disproportionate share of the market. The problem is that the property rights of the entrepreneur are not fully secure. As a result he has to limit the number of employees who have access to the resource. The reason is that while he has a noyeaux dur of employees who have specialized to the firms business, have high switching costs, and are therefor loyal, new unspecialized employees on the other hand have low switching costs. If there are sufficient number of them, they will know they can capture a large market share if they band together and make away with a copy of the critical resource. thus, the entrepreneur can employ only a few employees, and has to wait until they specialize and become loyal before admitting new ones. It turns out that not only does this fear of expropriation limit the rate of growth of the number of employees in the firm, it also limits its eventual size. An example in this regard can be taken of the Venezuelan steel company Sidetur, which was recently expropriated by the government. Availability of Technology Sometimes the availability of a particular technology also limits the size of the firm. For example a person may have patented a particular technology and might be the only one who can use it for some time to come. In that scenario a firm producing the same product is handicapped as they do not have the access to the same technology that its competitor has and thus cannot increase its size and becomes stagnant. Another example in this regard can be a strict government policy which does not allow the firms in a particular country to import a particular technology, thereby limiting the size of the firm by not allowing the firm to compete in the global market. Uncertainty Uncertainty plays a crucial role in limiting the size of the firm. It is clear that the seriousness of this problem can be reduced, but only at the cost of additional management effort, which may affect the pattern as well as the rate of growth. This can be illustrated by considering some of the ways in which a firm might respond to uncertainty. One possible response is to increase the variety of goods produced . This would clearly affect the pattern of growth and might increase the managerial resources needed to coordinate the firms activities. Indeed, management problems in a diversified firm might be so acute that they lead either to voluntary disinvestments(can be expanded ;), or to exposure of the firm to a takeover bid.Part of the attraction of a takeover for the predator might also be the profitable sale of subsidiaries of the acquired company to more specialist producers. Another response may be to emphasize short-term projects to the neglect of the long term ones, which agai n would affect the pattern of growth as well as the long term growth rate. Yet another response is to take longer in arriving at investment decisions : for instance, by carrying out more market research before deciding to launch a new product. In this respect different attributes would have a crucial impact on business performance, for the firm that is perfectly risk averse may find that it delays for so long before making a decision that it loses a potential position of market leadership to a competitor. Given the managerial resources available, uncertainty will place a limit on the rate of expansion or size by affecting the volume of managerial services required for a given amount of expansion.

Femininity In Greek Myth Essay -- essays research papers

Is femininity in mythology? Yes because there is a division between men and women in mythology. Biology tells us that we are two different people. Men and women see the world in different ways. Women are passive, intuitive, submissive, and subjective. Women value love, communication, beauty, and relationships. Men are aggressive, rational, dominant, and objective and they value power, competency, efficiency, and achievement. The ways we see the world are different because we are either man or women. We are also similar as well as different. This paper will discuss the how women/goddess are viewed in the works of â€Å"Works and Days†, â€Å"Theogony† and â€Å"Hymn to Demeter.† And see that these women/goddess similar to real life women. In the Works and Days, women are seen as beautiful things and men strong and fighting creatures. Zeus, the king of gods, had Hephaestus fashion a woman endowed with everything, which he called Pandora. Pandora is described as a sweetly seductive female and her name refers to the gifts that all the gods give to mankind. She is made as a tempting snare for Epimetheus. She was sent with an urn full of plagues as a gift to Epimetheus. Pandora opened the jar and out came all the plagues and finally hope. This woman reminds men that not all-beautiful things are good and can be a pain in a man’s side. This lesson can be true for the world today. Women are not all sweetly seductive but they can be a real pain in the ass, especially for their boyfriends. In the Th...

Popular Girls Essay

â€Å"Popular girls† is a short story from 2001 by Karen Shephard. She is born and raised in New York and her work has been published in several papers. The short-story sets in the early 80’s where we get some insight in the life of five rich and popular girls. They are self-centered and don’t have the slightest interest in other people. Their entire life is about maintaining their image as a group. The setting is New York, which is the riches city in the US. The city is also known as The big Apple and The city that never sleeps. This reflects in the mentality of these girls. They do speed, and not weed, because they want to get through school as fast as possible. They want to live life in the fast-lane and do extravagant things. Every paragraph of the text concerns some aspect of their life described in details. Every little thing about their life is mentioned. Their life and how they live it, is basically written as some kind of guidebook to popularity. A very important part of this popularity is the labels and the famous places of New York. This just underlines the superficiality of these girls’ lives. Throughout the entire text, the narrator addresses the reader. The narrator seems to be a †us† and a †we†. Somehow it is someone within the group of girls narrating or the entire group as one single unit addressing the reader. By saying things like †You know who we are†(p.1 l.1) and †You can’t get enough of us† makes it very clear, that they are aware of their status. It can also be a way of reaching out to the reader and making the reader remember how school was in the 80’s. Many people could have certain girls in their mind when reading this short story. Even from the very first sentence. The attitude of the text is a bit provoking. The first sentence is also a good example of this. By continuously addressing the reader, it keeps on having the effect of them being superior to not just other people, but you. As if you were actually there at the time. It is very clear that the narrator is focused on the †us† an d †you† and †them†. The popular girls against the rest of the world. You can’t be a part of their clique, but you can be a †friend† of the clique. This can be seen physically by their moat of backpack’s (p.1 l.22).Their other friends can sit on the other side of their moat, but cannot be let in. These girls only focus on their appearance  and of how other people perceive them. They don’t exactly worry about these things, but it constitutes their entire life. Where they go, where they sit, how they sit, it has to be the right way. They are not interested in other people and neither are they in each other,†You’re crying† we say, pointing.†(p.7 l.169) as if this is just a mere fact and they how no idea of how to act upon this. They only like the idea of themselves as a group of perfect friends, which is exactly what they are doing by saying †It’s a performance of us, the group of us† (p.6 l.147) and †Look at you, we are sa ying. Look at you. We are happy together, part of something and not alone, and we celebrate that out loud.†(p.149-151) their entire life is a performance of themselves and the performance of the fact that they are not alone. Perhaps they do feel alone in a life of rich parents that bring back dolls and pearls from business trips for their collection. There is a conflation of identities between these girls as they don’t work as individuals, but just as a group. This is made clear on page 2 line 58. †We walk in the formation of migrating geese.† Here the author uses humor/irony to emphasize the slight silliness of the group when comparing them to poultry. They are basically a herd of animals dependent of each other. Even though they define themselves as a group, Stephanie seems to be the leader, as she is described as a slightly more individual person: †We’re Kaethe and Alina, CJ and Sydney. Stephanie.†(p.1, l.1) here she is singled out as their frontline figur e. Stephanie is the tallest and also in the center of their †geese-formation†. She also dictates the idea of wearing these special rings, which they all obey. The girls have this special bond that consists of a strong †friendship†, but probably because they can’t see a way out. Without the rest of the pack, they would feel hopeless. None of them dares to leave anyone behind. The ending is a picture of their †friendship† whilst they perform as a group, they also make a performance for each other. No one knows them, not even their family and not even their own clique. They put on a performance of their popularity, even for their friends. Somehow, without words, they push each other to do things that are considered â€Å"cool†. But none of them knows when to stop. â€Å"Whatever happens will be performed in front of the group. We ask ourselves weather we can actually do this; (†¦)We are uneasy. Nothing about this whole thing will be graceful. No one is leaving†(p.8 l.198-201) none of the girls wants to be the one  chickening-out, no one want’s to be the one leaving the rest behind. Leaving now would be a kind of betrayal or a sign of weakness. Their obsession of being popular and someone important is a postmodern theme, also seen in: †Not yet, Jayette† by William Boyd from 1981. Although he does not reach this purpose, he has the same goals and views of life as these popular girls. None of them will ever feel complete, with or without these materialistic things.

Bukowski poem †a smile to remember Essay

Analysis A smile to remember Charles Bukowski The poem is really a short story about an ordinary family with tragic problems. The child of the mother and the father, who are mentioned in the poem, is the narrator. The likely scenario is that the child in the poem represents Charles Bukowski’s childhood. In the first lines of the story, it is mentioned that the family has goldfish. We hear about a boy, whose mother keeps telling him to be happy, even though she has a miserable life because of his insane and abusive father, who beats her frequently. One day the goldfish dies and his father, being the insensible man he is, throws the goldfish to the cat, but remarkably, Henry’s mother just smiles. The first impression you get when you see the title of the poem is that this must be a ‘feel-good’- or ‘love’-poem. In the first line, the word ‘goldfish’ is mentioned. An innocent image most readers can relate to. The same goes for the line â€Å"my mother, always smiling, wanting us all to be happy†. Again, to the reader this is a good thing. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most people agree that going through life happy, is something we all try to achieve. The fifth line reads â€Å"and she was right: it’s better to be happy if you†. Then the poet does something remarkable. The line stops after â€Å"you†, while the next line, only includes one word; â€Å"can†. Bukowski made this word a line by itself to make the reader understand the undertone of desolation in the family, because they surely cannot live the happy, picture-perfect life. By writing it this way, Bukowski leave it to the reader to decide if the mother and the child are happy. But clearly the Mother acknowledges that the child is in fact never happy, since he â€Å"never smiles† as she remarks later. Line 10-11, â€Å"raging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn’t understand what was attacking him from within†. We know from earlier, that Bukowski’s childhood was terribly violent and his father was abusive to his  mother and him, but in this poem Bukowski choose to look beyond this and tries to understand why his father was abusive. In this line, the reader senses immediately that something is wrong with the father and that he is fighting his own demons. Is it mental illness, substance abuse or is he just a man with temperament? Bukowski’s mother becomes the center of the stanza; â€Å"my mother, poor fish, wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a week, telling me to be happy: ‘Henry, smile! Why don’t you ever smile?† Instead of goldfish swimming in a bowl, the goldfish now symbolize the mother (â€Å"poor fish†) who tries to show happiness even though she suffers from violence and lives in pain. However, sor row cannot be hidden, even the child knows that her happiness is not real. As the author express it â€Å"it was the saddest smile I ever saw†. In the last stanza the goldfish dies. The reader can clearly envision the dead fish â€Å"they floated on the water on their side, their eyes still open†. To return to the symbol of the fish being the mother, the reader’s viewpoint now gets completely turned upside down. It is not as simple as it looked – the poem is not about abuse. It is about a frazzled woman who tried to keep an even more broken family together. She believed in the good things in life and smiled through her pain in an attempt to raise a shelter towards the ugly reality she is confined to. Until one day, when the little part of her, still trying to fight, died and was thrown to the cat: By then she just stands there, still smiling. Perhaps she realizes that relief will also come to her some day; when death put an end to her miserable life and she can finally stop pretending that life is a happy place.

Jon

Jon Dear Harvey Milk I have watched every move you have made in the last few months. I have watched every thing from your beginning to the tragic end. Can I just tell you that I am so proud of you for being able to come out and not only just come out, you made something of it. I personally have nothing wrong with people that are gay. But I do know that there are people out there that totally despise the idea of two men in the act of love. I loved your camera shop. I went almost every weekend. It made me a tad uncomfortable knowing that you and your partner ran the store but I got over that quickly enough after stepping foot in the store. I love the fact that you had everything going for you but you still wanted more. You have high standards in life and I respect you for that.Harvey Milk filling in for Mayor Moscone for a day...

Professional Leadership Development Skills The WritePass Journal

Professional Leadership Development Skills Introduction and Methodology Professional Leadership Development Skills ): Who has influenced you most in your desire to be an effective leader?   This may be a positive or negative influence. My greatest influence was Mr. Koffmann who has been referred to throughout my blogs. I found him to be a very personable individual and having worked with somebody who was willing to encourage me to be creative and to try new things I was able to notice how important it was for junior people to have these key individuals that encourage them to experiment and to test their own boundaries. What skills did they illustrate that have left this marked impression on you? The main skills that I found to be particularly influential were those of his willingness to spend time teaching others in a patient manner. He was forever present and this gave me a lot of confidence in him as a teacher; however, there were times where his expectations were extremely high and he was correct in demanding I found this skill to be particularly admirable, as I found it increasingly hard to be a strong leader in this regard. What skills did they lack that you have since learnt about to add to this desire to be an effective leader? My manager was often short tempered and at times failed to delegate matters sufficiently, so that experiences were not shared amongst all individuals. Had he managed his own workload better and delegated more frequently, not only would other individuals have had opportunities to undertake tasks, but it would be likely that he would be less short tempered during busy periods. On your Professional Development Plan which objectives have you started to develop and how have you got on? My immediate focus has been on my ability to network with others and to interact more with my peer group as well. I find communicating with others difficult at times, as I dont have a high opinion of my own ability and therefore this is undeniably a skill which I need to develop over a prolonged period of time. I have, however, ensured that I regularly discuss matters with my peer group and openly engage in conversations when the opportunity arises, particularly when it comes to how we can better perform the task next time. On your Professional Development Plan which objectives have you not started to develop and why? I dont feel that I have developed leadership skills as yet, due to the fact that initially I need to focus and develop my own communication skills and ability to get my point across to my peer group, before I can suitably develop a leadership style that will enable me to engage with subordinates in such a way that they are engaged and motivated. For this reason, this element of my personal development has not yet been addressed as part of the larger picture of developing confidence. Are there any changes you would like to make to your Professional Development Plan? On the whole, I feel my development plan remains accurate and valid and aligned to my long-term goals. However, I feel that I need to place greater emphasis on my own communication and leadership skills than I had originally thought, recognising that in order to successfully run my own business, I shall need to adapt to a wide variety of different personalities and will need to strive to be better than my competitors. Motivation is a key factor for both myself and my future staff members and a greater focus needs to be placed on developing skills for motivating others and not simply focusing on myself.    References Aubrey,  B (2010) Managing Your Aspirations: Developing Personal Enterprise in the Global Workplace  McGraw-Hill Cassidy, S (2004), ‘Learning styles: an overview of theories, models and measures’, Educational Psychology, 24(4), 419–444 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2013) Learning and Talent Development Strategy. Available at cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/learning-talent-development-strategy.aspx Keefe, J. W. Jenkins, J. M. (2008). Personalized instruction: The key to student achievement. 2nd edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield Education. Martindale, N (2011). Leadership Styles: How to handle the different personas.  Strategic Communication Management  15  (8): 32–35. Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–96 Schultz, D and P. Schultz, Sydney Ellen (2010).  Psychology and work today  : An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology  (10th ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall

Every AP Literature Practice Test Available Free and Official

Every AP Literature Practice Test Available Free and Official SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When you’re studying for your AP Literature Exam, you’re going to want to use practice tests and questions to hone your skills. But where can you find AP literature practice tests? And are all practice exams equally useful for you? The real exam has 55 multiple-choice questions and three free-response questions, but there are practice tests with every conceivable number and combination of question types. In this article, you’ll learn where to find every official College Board AP English Literature and Composition practice exam, free unofficial tests, and paid practice test resources. You’ll also find out which tests are high-quality and how you can best use different practice exams to fulfill your studying needs. Official Free AP Literature Practice Tests The gold standard of AP English Literature practice tests and AP English Literature practice exam questions are College Board released materials. That’s because the College Board administers the AP exams, so their practice questions are most like the actual AP questions you’ll see on the test. There are three different kinds of resources offered by the College Board: complete released exams from past years, released free-response questions from past years, and sample questions from the â€Å"AP Course And Exam Description.† Official Released College Board Exams There are three official released College Board Exams. However, only the most recent one (from 2012) is complete. The 1999 and 1987 exams have the standard 55 multiple-choice questions, but both are missing parts of the three question free-response section. You can still use them as complete exams if you supplement them with released free-response questions from past years which we recommend since official multiple-choice problems are hard to come by. 2012 AP English Literature and Composition Exam This is the best AP Lit practice test available. It's the most recent exam released by the College Board, and it follows the format of the current test with 55 multiple-choice questions and three free-response questions. Definitely make use of this test! 1999 AP English Literature and Composition Exam This test excludes the poetry and prose analysis questions of the free-response section and only has the student choice question.So, to take itas a complete exam, you’d need to supplement it with questions 1 and 2 from the released free-response questions below. You can actually getquestion 2for the 1999 test from the official free-response questions bank, but the excerpt for question 1 can’t be reprinted, so you’ll need to supplement with another poetry analysis question. 1987 AP English Literature and Composition ExamFor reasons that are not totally clear, this exam excludes the third essay question, the poetry analysis. If you want to take this as â€Å"complete† exam practice, use a free-response poetry analysis prompt from the bank of free response questions linked to below. Or supplement with this tree-poem. Official Free-Response Questions There may not be very many complete released exams, but there are tons of free-response questions available from previous administrations of the test. These are great practice, not just for practicing complete essays, but for practicing writing thesis statements, outlines, and so on. What’s also great about these is that most of them come with sample response and scoring guidelines, so you’ll be able to see exactly what makes a high-quality AP essay by College Board standards.Be aware, though, that some of the prose and poetry excerpts can’t be reprinted due to copyright concerns. Below isthe link to all the free-response questions available.The questions go all the way back to 1999, and since there haven't been many changes to the free-response part of the exam, all of these questions can be useful during your studying. AP English Lit Free Response Questions 1999-2019 Sample Questions From the Course and Exam Description The AP English Literature Course and Exam Description has practice multiple-choice questions and free-response questions. They don’t add up to a complete testthere are only 46 multiple-choice questions and a whopping six free response (enough for two tests!)but they are great for simple practice. Your Teacher Your AP teacher may have access to copies of old AP exams that you can use for practice. She probably can’t let you take them out of the classroom, but she may be allowed to loan them to you in a supervised setting. This is because teachers can purchase resources directly from the College Board that students can’t. Asking your teacher may not bear fruit, but it’s worth a try. Why are you asking me for AP lit practice tests? I'm your econ teacher! Free Unofficial AP Literature Practice Tests In addition to the free College Board resources, there are also several places online where you can get free, unofficial practice tests. Be aware that, because these resources aren’t College-Board created or approved, they are of variable quality. For each of these resources I’ll describe what’s offered and how it compares to official College Board tests. Barron’s Books Free Practice Test Barron’s, those distinguished makers of review books, also offer a complete free practice test with multiple choice and free response.They provide the author and name of the work, but not the date. All of these free resources probably credit the authors for copyright reasons, but you won’t have this information on the actual exam. You can take the test timed or in â€Å"practice† mode.While answers are provided for the multiple-choice questions, no scoring guidelines are provided for the free-response prompts. This isn’t an official resource, but the questions are high quality and a good option when you’ve run out of official material. If you combined the multiple-choice questions with some official released free-response questions (with scoring guidelines and sample essays) you could geta pretty good approximation of a complete practice test. Varsity Tutors AP Literature Practice Tests This site has practice multiple-choice quizzes divided by conceptthings like â€Å"interpreting the passage,† â€Å"claims and argument,† and â€Å"interpreting excerpts.† The questions aren’t worded exactly the same way as AP test questions, but they are still okay for testing your passage-interpretation skills. Basically, the questions test for similar skills, but don’t necessarily mimic AP test questions in style. Also, the site provides the date, title, and author of each work, which is not something you’ll receive on the AP exam.You can make a free account at the site to track your scores, but it’s not necessary to be able to take the tests. Kittens not included with free practice tests, unfortunately. Albert AP English Literature Quizzes Albert offers multiple-choice quizzes divided into prose, poetry, and drama categories. You are given the title, date, and author of the workwhich you will not receive on the real AP exam. Like the Varsity Tutors quizzes, Albert offers questions that test similar skills as the AP exam, but the questions are worded differently. High School Test Prep Tests This site offers three short multiple-choice practice tests. You’re given the title and author of the work. The questions for these tests are fairly surface-level, so I would only use these if you are working on your reading comprehension skills. CrackAP English Literature Quizzes CrackAP has over 40 short AP Lit quizzes. Each quiz gives a passage then has 15 multiple-choice questions on it. The questions are somewhat easier than you'll find on the real AP exam, but if you need some quick practice, this can do the trick. Practice Quiz AP English Literature This site offers a 20-question multiple-choice quiz on two passagesone poetry, and one prose. The passages are extremely basic, however, so again, I would only use this resource if you are working on your reading comprehension skills. 4Tests AP English Lit Test This site offers 35 multiple-choice questions. However, there are lots of ads, the questions are poorly written and vague, the interface is clunky, and the passages are very long. Overall, I do not recommend this site. College Board SAT Literature Materials While they aren’t identical by any means, you can definitely use SAT Literature Subject Test practice questions to hone your skill in answering multiple-choice questions about passages. The SAT Subject Test in Literature focuses a little more on the meaning of words and phrases in context and less on making inferences and describing the author’s purpose, but they can still be a useful resource simply for reading and answering high-level, in-depth questions on prose and poetry. You can get sample SAT Literature questions online hereor in the â€Å"The SAT Subject Tests Student Guide† booklet released by the College Board. The queens of AP Lit practice give you their blessing. Paid Unofficial Practice Tests There are also several paid resources that offer unofficial practice questions. Shmoop This is a subscription service with questions for tons of different testsSAT, ACT, AP exams.They also have videos and other review resources. I can’t really speak to the quality of the questions because the entire service is behind a paywall of about $25 a month. Review Books Most, if not all, review books contain practice tests and questions. These will vary in quality depending on the quality of the review book, so be sure to look for reviews online of any book before you buy it. In general, Barron’s and the Princeton Review are fairly reliable review book sources. I definitely advise paying for all of these resources with whatever loose foreign change you have lying around. How to Use AP Literature Practice Tests How to use a given practice test depends somewhat on the resource itself. I’ll offer some recommendations here on how to best use different resources. Complete Official Released Tests The best way to use a complete official practice test is to do a practice-run for the exam. So find a quiet room, bring a timer or watch so you can time sections, and get to work! This will help you get familiar with the exam experience so you’ll feel more comfortable on exam day! Since there are two complete AP Lit practice tests, it makes sense to take one early on in your studying time, and one later. You can get a parent, tutor or teacher to grade the exams. The early test will help you figure out what you need to work on, and the later test will show you how you’ve improved! Since the AP English Literature test is more skills-heavy than content-heavy, you shouldn’t feel totally lost taking a practice test even in the middle of the school year. Official Released Free-Response and Sample Questions Official resources that aren’t complete tests are best for practicing individual sections of the test. The sample multiple-choice questions in the â€Å"Course and Exam Description† make for great AP English Literature multiple-choice practicethey’ll help you get familiar with the style of the questions and practice close-reading. The wealth of released free-response questions are great resources for building your timed essay-writing skills. You can practice complete essays ordevelop essay outlines. Unofficial Practice Tests and Resources Since unofficial practice tests aren’t going to be quite as similar to the real AP exam as official College Board materials, they won’t be quite as useful for preparing for the format of the exam or its questions. However, they can be very valuable close-reading practice. And since that’s a critical skill for the exam, it’s still worth it to use unofficial resources. Be very quiet. She's close-reading. Key Takeaways Practice tests and questions are a hugely important resource as you prep for the AP Lit exam. The gold standard of practice resources are those that come from the College Board, but there are many other places where you can get practice questions that will help you hone your close-reading skills for the exam.Most of the resources listed in this article are free, but a few are paid. When you’ve assembled a stable of practice resources, you might not be quite sure how to use them. Official College Board practice tests are best for simulating the exam experience. College Board questions are good for focused preparation for individual sections of the examespecially the essays. Unofficial resources are best for further honing your close-reading skills. Now that you know where to find these resources,you’ll have even more time to prep for the AP Literature exam by completing practice questions! What's Next? Wondering what you should be reading for AP Lit? Check out our list of 127 great books to help you prepare for the AP Literature exam. Need more study guidance for your APs? See my five-step AP prep plan.Or see our guide on when to start studying for your APs. If you're looking for practice tests for other AP exams, see our assembled practice tests for AP US History, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP World History, and AP Psychology. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

International trade Operations individual 5 Essay

International trade Operations individual 5 - Essay Example Different countries have varying tariffs and perceptions on international trade which may affect the business positively or negatively. Researching before hand can guarantee a business profits by maximizing on countries with good free and fair trading conditions. Introduction International trade has changed much over the last decades. Most countries have gotten to agreements which ensure free and fair trade among them. Countries and individuals producing the various products in their respective countries benefit a lot. Some people have become rich as a result of international trade. However, there are goods which are better traded on the international front compared to others. Businesses and individuals looking to succeed in the international market should focus on goods that do better in that market. At the same time, they must have good marketing strategies; understand the difference between free and fair trade and who benefits in what trade. Concepts of Free Trade Free trade is tr ade focused between countries and large companies. Different countries agree on tariffs and taxation of the imported and exported goods with the objective of enhancing economic growth among countries. In fact, the main principle of the free trade is comparative advantage to countries and multinationals with agreements with each other. Businesses involved in these trades are usually very powerful and influential that the governments do not have much control over them. The agreements made are not necessarily good for the primary producers. In fact, most are the cases the primary producers are affected by the free trade negatively. Policies governing free trade agreements are made by the respective country governments under the influence of the large multinational companies (Nolen and Quinn, 1994). Concepts of Fair trade Free trade is different from the free trade in that it puts emphasis on the producers of goods (World Fair Trade Organizations, 2009). In most cases, the producers rec eive less compared to the end buyer and the brokers. The recognition that the primary producers are disadvantaged led to proposals to ensure they benefit better for their hard work. Fair trade attempts to enable the small scale producers and cooperative to become income sufficient and ownership. This is done by ensuring that fair trade buyers are available and can buy the products at a good price. Organizations involved with far trade ensure that fair trade practices are followed accordingly. On the side of the producers, they have to ensure good working conditions for the entire worker regardless of their gender and race. They also have to ensure they follow international guidelines on wage and labor. In this case, they have to pay all the workers well and ensure that all workers are grown ups. Another thing free trade incorporates is the respect for the environment. Primary producers are tasked to protect the environment and enhance environmental protection (Renard, 2003). Some bu sinesses have taken advantage of the fair trade for their own selfish gains raising questions whether indeed fair trade is fair (Maseland & Vaal, 2002). Fairly Traded products There are quite a number of fairly traded in the world according to Fair Trade International. Milk is not among the fairly traded goods internationally (Fair Trade International, n.d). However, there are some countries and multinationals which have successfully implemented fair trading of milk and milk

Ethics in IT Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics in IT Systems - Essay Example An IT system, just like any other formal system, incorporates ethical, social, and political issues. Some of the ethical issues facing IT systems originate from political and social debates. Let us consider an example in order to understand the issues that concern an IT system. Let us visualize the society as a calm pond in summer time, reflecting a society at equilibrium with individuals and political and social institutions. The individuals in the society adhere to a given code of conduct developed by social institutions, like organizations, family, education, and enforced by the political institutions. In that calm society, let us now throw a stone inside the pond. The action will most definitely disturb the calm society. This stone is IT systems in the current society, and it sure does cause ripples. The individuals in the calm society face issues not covered by the social or political institutions. This conceptual model illustrates the current society and the continually develop ing IT systems. Results of such IT systems raise several moral issues of concern to the society, which include information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality, and quality of life.   Information rights and obligations concern the information in IT systems and possession power of the same by employees and the organizations. Questions like what the employees should protect, and their obligation and that of the company concerning the information fall under this moral category.

Suppliers Relationship at Pfizer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Suppliers Relationship at Pfizer - Essay Example As of 3rd quarter of 2010, the company reported its total revenue of $16.2 billion despite the economic recession in some parts of the world (Pfizer, 2010 c). This figure is 39% more than the total revenue of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter of 2009. (See Table I – Comparison between Pfizer’s 3rd Quarter Revenue between 2009 and 2010 below) In the past, majority of the purchasers are searching for a wide-range of sources of raw materials provided that the supplier can offer the company the lowest market price for the same product (Gadde and Hakansson 1993, pp. 165 – 166). Today, purchasers are after the need to develop a long-term collaborative relationship with its suppliers in order to avail cheaper high quality raw materials (Chobra and Meindl 2001; Araujo, Dubois and Gadde 1999; Bensaou 1999). In relation to the business growth of Pfizer, this report wide-range of will discuss about the importance and ways on how to properly manage the supply side of raw materia ls by establishing a good relationship with its suppliers. Aside from discussing the different degrees of involvement in which Pfizer can establish good relationship with its suppliers, this report will discuss some strategies that will enable Pfizer maintain a strong and long lasting relationship with its accredited suppliers. Supplier relationship management has been a common practice in supply chain management of multinational companies like Pfizer. As explained by Wisner, Tan and Leong (2009, p. 95).

Reading reflection 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading reflection 7 - Essay Example However, I agree that to the issue that there calls for reform since zero-tolerance policies have done little to help the countrys troubled youths (Springer & Roberts, 2011). Yes, these juvenile are all troubled teens. There is scientific confirmation that the teen years are a time of significant transition. Adolescents tend to have significant neurological deficiencies that result in limitations of judgment. Research proposes that when teens are exposed to risk factors such as neglect, abuse and poverty among others, they are psychologically predisposition to violence. Adolescents as compared to competent adults are less morally culpable for what they do and are more capable of change and rehabilitation. However, let us look at the broad picture. We have a moral obligation to sustain our established institutions because they have created and they help maintain law and order. The Institute for Juvenile Research was founded on the basis of aiding in dealing with this issue on a psychological basis. This has gone a long way in assisting the juvenile court systems since they come up with prevention strategies (Springer & Roberts, 2011). We are not in colonial times anymore so that we send youth home for a court-observed whipping. Today’s youths are highly sophisticated and with generally inadequate funding and fluctuating public support, the juvenile justice system has fallen short of meeting the challenge presented during the past decade. The juvenile justice system needs to be revitalized so that it will reverse juvenile trends, offer effective treatment, ensure appropriate sanctions and once again rebuild public confidence. Since the first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Chicago, 1L, a variety of strategies has been pursued to address the particular issues posed by juvenile offenders. Results have been mixed and it’s critical for young people to be aware that they

Introduction to Law and Contracts Research Paper - 1

Introduction to Law and Contracts - Research Paper Example It concludes with a signature page, allowing for the signature of the executive, David G. DeWalt; the Executive Vice President and CFO of McAfee Inc.; Jonathan Chadwick, and Renee J. James, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Software and Services Group, Intel Corporation; and the necessary witnesses. This written contract fulfills the definition of an express contract as â€Å"a contract in which all elements of a contract are specifically stated (offer, acceptance, consideration), and the terms are stated, as compared to an "implied" contract in which the existence of the contract is assumed by the circumstances.† (â€Å"Express Contract†, 2005) The Law of Contracts, Treitels classic text defines a contract offer as â€Å""an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms, made with the intention that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed". (Treitel, 2007) In this case the person to whom it is addressed, also known as the offeree, is the party known as the executive, David G. DeWalt. Therefore, the contract offer is made when the contract document is presented to David G. DeWalt and his attorneys or representatives in these contract negotiations. This offer document also contains conditions on which the offer is contingent. The offer is occurring coincident with merger negotiations and is contingent on â€Å"the execution of the Merger Agreement.† Acceptance is therefore a matter of more than the three parties signing the contract in the presence of the required witnesses. This contract can only be considered to have been accepted if the Merger Agreement is also duly signed and witnessed and â€Å"shall become effective immediately preceding the Closing Date, as defined in the Merger Agrement.† Normally an offer of employment is accepted when it is signed before witnesses. However, this employment contract can only be considered accepted if

Bauhaus by Walter Gropius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bauhaus by Walter Gropius - Essay Example Looking out from the building means seeing lines that obstruct the windows and frame them into multiple small panels. The building uses long floors through which the experience of being on the interior reflects a restricted, ordered feeling, based upon the way in which the exterior seems to promote long rectangular shapes. Movement inside the building would provide a reflection of the exterior through interior spaces that are interpreted as a reflection of the continuation of that aesthetic. From the external descriptive perspective, Gropius’ work reflects the avant-garde elements of architecture that arose through the period of the Modernists. The World Heritage List reports that â€Å"It made a major contribution to breaking ‘the power of tradition’, not only in the field of architecture, but also in the design of articles of everyday use and in advertising, creating a new language of form†. The period in which it was built was processing the world throug h an understanding of industrialization and human beings as they fit into an industrialized world. The intention of the work was to reflect a fusion of craft and industry, supporting the concept that â€Å"there is no distinction between monumental and decorative art†. The new aesthetics that were being taught at the time that this building was constructed were based upon the idea that the old world ideas about craft could be implemented into new world ideals that used modern materials and high quality craft, but reflected the aesthetics of the manufactured.

Introduction to Law and Contracts Research Paper - 1

Introduction to Law and Contracts - Research Paper Example It concludes with a signature page, allowing for the signature of the executive, David G. DeWalt; the Executive Vice President and CFO of McAfee Inc.; Jonathan Chadwick, and Renee J. James, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Software and Services Group, Intel Corporation; and the necessary witnesses. This written contract fulfills the definition of an express contract as â€Å"a contract in which all elements of a contract are specifically stated (offer, acceptance, consideration), and the terms are stated, as compared to an "implied" contract in which the existence of the contract is assumed by the circumstances.† (â€Å"Express Contract†, 2005) The Law of Contracts, Treitels classic text defines a contract offer as â€Å""an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms, made with the intention that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed". (Treitel, 2007) In this case the person to whom it is addressed, also known as the offeree, is the party known as the executive, David G. DeWalt. Therefore, the contract offer is made when the contract document is presented to David G. DeWalt and his attorneys or representatives in these contract negotiations. This offer document also contains conditions on which the offer is contingent. The offer is occurring coincident with merger negotiations and is contingent on â€Å"the execution of the Merger Agreement.† Acceptance is therefore a matter of more than the three parties signing the contract in the presence of the required witnesses. This contract can only be considered to have been accepted if the Merger Agreement is also duly signed and witnessed and â€Å"shall become effective immediately preceding the Closing Date, as defined in the Merger Agrement.† Normally an offer of employment is accepted when it is signed before witnesses. However, this employment contract can only be considered accepted if

Strategic marketing options for energy service companies in Singapore Essay

Strategic marketing options for energy service companies in Singapore - Essay Example Electricity is the lifeline of all business and individual activities and ESCOs help in finding the means and ways of using minimum of this input to generate maximum revenue. Singapore has high potential for renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency but the need of the hour is to prepare the road for future needs when demand will surpass the supply. No country can depend on supplies of diesel and petrol, as these resources are limited and renewable energy resources are the only alternative to keep the world move fast on the road to economic growth. In Singapore, the three reasons to opt for renewable energy and energy efficiency are environment constraints, dwindling coal, natural gas and oil prices, and incapacity to generate thermal or nuclear power for industry use. Solar energy has huge potential but there are challenges too. Solar capacity and demand both need to be increased, as 1 MW= 5 acres of land. Depending on solar energy is an issue, as we cannot depend totally on renewable; coal, nuclear, and natural gas is must to keep the lights glow but the good thing is that solar energy can be stored too (Gabriel, R. W. Beck Inc. Electric Cities Confe rence). Singapore is collectively marching ahead to make advances in the renewable energy with regional and international bodies. According to the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) for 2004-2009, one of its objectives has been to formulate and maintain continuous progress on the front of renewable energy and relevant technologies. Different strategies of the RE programme include formulating a policy framework the action for which needs to set renewable energy targets, capacity building and effective communication among the stakeholders. Information network should be developed to promote RE. Bio-mass based and bio-fuels development demand heavy investment in technological research and development. According to Khew (2007) Chairman, Sustainable Energy

Contract Law Case Study

Contract Law Case Study PART I LINUS WISHES TO SUE CHARLIE On what contractual grounds could he sue? Linus could sue Charlie on the grounds of the mailbox rule/postal rule, since a contract was created on June 15, 2009 when Linus wrote back to Charlie accepting the offer, not when it was received. Once the mode of communication is the mail, an acceptance becomes valid when it is dispatched or placed in the control of the US Postal service, not when it is received by the offeror. Will Linus prevail? Yes, Linus will prevail even though the agreement was not communicated to the offeror, it does not prevent the contract from being created. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims would Charlie have? Charlies defense for a counterclaim should include the fact that while Linus accepted the offer in a timely fashion, the acceptance did not correspond with the offer, when Linus requested to change the original offer that changed the terms of the agreement and an offer in one set of terms can hardly be accepted by a communication in different terms. Will Charlie prevail? Yes, and to reiterate that an acceptance of a contract means that nothing should be added to the offer, even if it is consistent or similar to the offer. The offeree must accept unequivocally without changing the original offer. CHARLIE WISHES TO SUE THE VET On what contractual grounds could he sue? Charlie could sue on the grounds that while there was an exculpatory clause on the receipt releasing Vet Emporium from liability in connection with the treatment of Snoopy and Woodstock, that did not waive the veterinarians standard of care owed to the patients. This unconscionable clause is voidable for reasons of public policy, because a party may not exempt themselves from liability from a duty imposed on them by a statute for their negligence in the performance of a duty imposed upon them by law. Charlie could recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress for harm to Woodstock. Will he prevail? Yes, the veterinarians conduct was unprofessional, when he endangered the health and welfare of Woodstock due to unreasonable safety. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims would the Vet have? The veterinarian may assert that the exculpatory agreement which was part of the receipt waived Charlies right to sue for injuries on the grounds that the extended boarding services provided was not a primary function of the veterinarians practice and when Charlie used these services, he did so voluntarily. Will he prevail? Probably not, while waivers are customarily part of a boarding agreement, they are unenforceable in many jurisdictions. SALLY WISHES TO SUE THE VET On what contractual grounds could she sue? She could sue on the grounds of breach of a unilateral contract. Once an offer has been made such as when Vet Emporium posted the advertisement all over the area of a reward for the return of Woodstock, acceptance of that contract was satisfied when Woodstock was found by Sally. Once Sally performed the condition, the offeror was contractually obliged to pay her. Will she prevail? Possibly, there might be an issue with the way in which she returned Woodstock. She probably should have taken him to Vet Emporium to collect the reward. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would the Vet have? Vet Emporium could argue that Sally was not obligated to the reward since she did not return Woodstock to their office. Will they prevail? Yes, this was condition precedent contract that stipulated that Woodstock had to be returned to Vet Emporium in order to collect the $50.00 reward. THE VET WISHES TO SUE CHARLIE On what contractual grounds could he sue? He could sue for failure of payment for services rendered to Snoopy. Will he prevail? Yes, payment is still due for caring of Snoopy. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would Charlie have? In defense, Charlie could state that because of the veterinarians negligence Snoopy suffered emotional loneliness when Woodstock flew away, he should be awarded damages. Will he prevail? Yes. Compensatory damages can be awarded for the breach of contract. SALLY WISHES TO SUE CHARLIE On what contractual grounds could she sue? Sally could sue Charlie for refusing to pay as agreed, for caring for Woodstock. Will she prevail? Yes, Charlie expressed orally that he would reimburse Sally $100.00 for finding and caring of Woodstock. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would Charlie have? None, Sally expected payment for service and Charlie should have known that payment was expected. Will he prevail? No, Charlie could have picked up Woodstock without offering to reimburse Sally. He committed himself to the payment. LUCY WISHES TO SUE LINUS On what contractual grounds could she sue? Lucy can sue Linus for compensatory damages for the loss of bargain of the work that he was to perform. Will she prevail? Yes, she can sue Linus for breach to recover the additional $325.00 in compensatory damages and for other fees incurred to obtain performance from another source. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would Linus have? Linus could argue that the breach was unintentional and was based upon the reliance of a contract with another party. Will he prevail? No. Regardless of the circumstances, he still breached his contract with Lucy. PART II SCHROEDER V LUCY On what contractual grounds could he sue? Schroeder could sue on the grounds that he was not advised to obtain his own independent counsel to have the document reviewed before signing the prenuptial agreement. He could sue that the agreement was unconscionable when it was executed and, he was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party and he did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party. Will he prevail? The resulted outcome can go either way, prenuptial agreements are routinely upheld and enforced by courts in virtually all states, even if only one party had an attorney (In re Marriage of Bonds 2000); however, there are circumstances in which courts have refused to enforce certain portions and provisions of such agreements(Estate of Lutz 1997). What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims would Lucy have? Lucys defense would be that while her actions were not laudatory they did not negate the voluntary nature of the execution. A unilateral promise such as to buy Schroeder a new piano if he will marry must be in writing. Such statements were not included in her prenuptial agreement. Lucy could also argue that it is Schroeders responsibility to delay the signing of an agreement that may not be understood. Will Lucy prevail? Yes, she acted appropriately and retained counsel on her behalf. LUCY V LAWYER On what contractual grounds could she sue? She could sue the attorney for negligent misconduct, malpractice and misrepresentation by concealment of not informing her of his status to practice law. The attorney violated state statues which prohibits the unauthorized practice of law and suspension for failure to pay bar fees. Will she prevail? Yes, many states have statues that suspend attorneys from practicing law for failure to pay their bar fees. Failure to pay the annual license fee will automatically suspend the delinquent lawyer from the practicing law in that state. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims would the Lawyer have? None, he violated a state statue, and committed a fraud by practicing law knowing that his license may be suspended for not paying his bar dues. He shouldnt have any defenses available because he engaged in fraudulent misrepresentation that was detrimental to public policy. Will he prevail in his defenses or his counterclaims? No. Technically, all the work that he might have done while not in the possession of a valid license might be voided. PIGPEN V MARCIE On what contractual grounds could he sue? Pigpen could sue Marcie for fraudulent misrepresentation the facts for failing to disclose that they is an insect infestation, when she informed Pigpen that there was no insect problem in her home. Pigpen could also sue for recovery of his earnest money that he gave to Marcie. Will he prevail? Yes. Marcie failed to comply with the full performance of the contract. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims could Marcie have? Marcie can argue substantial complete performance by getting rid of the insect infestation. Will she prevail in his defenses or her counterclaims? No. The problem with insect infestation cannot be easily corrected and intentionally failing to comply with the terms is a breach of contract. She intentionally withheld pertinent information from Pigpen about the condition of her home in regards to insects. LUCY V MARCIE On what contractual grounds could she sue? Pigpen could sue Marcie for fraudulent misrepresentation the facts for failing to disclose that they is an insect infestation, when she informed Pigpen that there was no insect problem in her home. Pigpen could also sue for recovery of his earnest money that he gave to Marcie. Will he prevail? Yes. Marcie failed to comply with the full performance of the contract. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims could Marcie have? Marcie can argue substantial complete performance by getting rid of the insect infestation. Will she prevail in his defenses or her counterclaims? No. The problem with insect infestation cannot be easily corrected and intentionally failing to comply with the terms is a breach of contract. She intentionally withheld pertinent information from Pigpen about the condition of her home in regards to insects. LUCY V MARCIE On what contractual grounds could she sue? None, Marcie placed a condition upon which the sale would go forward if the sale of her existing home met the conditions outlined. Will she prevail? No. Since Marcie was unable to secure a buyer for her home, the offer to buy Lucys home is voided on the grounds that the condition preceded her absolute duty to buy. What if any defenses, contractual arguments or counterclaims could Marcie have? Marcie could use the defense that she placed the condition precedent in her contract that she would buy Lucys home upon the sale of her own home for $300,000 or more within 30 days. Will she prevail in her defenses or her counterclaims? Yes, if no one pays the price she has established within the period indicated, the agreement to buy Lucys home will fail because the condition precedent was not met. MOMS V SCHROEDER On what contractual grounds could they sue Schroeder? The moms can sue on the grounds of personal performance because they did not consent to the change. The moms can claim that delegation was not effective because the students complained about Peppermint Pattys ability and that materially altered their expectations. On what contractual grounds could they sue Peppermint Patty? They could sue Peppermint Patty for breach of her duty. Special trust was placed on her performance based on the personal skills of Schroeder. Will they prevail? Yes. Contractual duties cannot be delegated. The performance by Peppermint Patty varied materially from what was expected. Also, a delegation of duties does not relieve Schroeder of his obligations under the contract. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would Schroeder have? None, once Peppermint Patty failed to perform then Schroeder is liable to the moms. Will he prevail? No, the assumption of duty by Peppermint Patty varied materially from what was expected. Could he sue Peppermint Patty? Schroeder can sue Peppermint Patty for breach of contract and performance of duty. PEPPERMINT PATTY V SCHROEDER On what contractual grounds could she sue Schroeder? Peppermint Patty could sue Schroeder for payment of services rendered. Regardless of the fact, that the duties were not performed to the satisfaction of the moms, she still completed her obligation. Will she prevail? Possibly, personal satisfaction of the party must be fulfilled in order for a court to rule, unless the expression of dissatisfaction is to avoid payment. What if any defenses or contractual arguments would Schroeder have? Schroeder could argue that Peppermint Patty did not perform to the satisfaction of the moms and therefore performance was not satisfied and the condition was not fulfilled. Will he prevail? Yes, the breach was material since the performance was not at least substantial. Could he sue Peppermint Patty? Yes, he could sue Peppermint Patty for breach of contract of nonperformance of a contractual duty. PART III Once the offer was accepted by Linus from Charlie using the mailbox rule, the contract was valid and became effective upon acceptance. Linus is entitled to the $500 originally offered by Charlie. Vet Emporiums is already bound by contract to perform a certain duty and should not be compensated for their negligence of duty, but should remedy Charlie for the loss and harm they caused Woodstock. It would not be prudent for Vet Emporium to compensate Sally for the return of Woodstock because the advertisement posted contained conditional precedent for the return to their office. Sally is entitled to the payment of $100 from Charlie since he orally expressed his intentions to reimburse Sally for finding and caring of Woodstock. Lucy should recover an additional $325.00 in compensatory damages and for other fees incurred to obtain performance from another source. Schroeder signed the prenuptial agreement voluntarily and the promises made by Lucy were not stipulated in the agreement so ther e are no grounds for compensation. Lucy should pay the attorney because of his negligence, malpractice and misrepresentation to practice law. Lucys attorney should be suspended for failure to pay his bar dues and the courts in the state where he practices should review all his cases. Pigpen should received compensation of his earnest money funds from Marcie and the contract should be voided for breach by Marcie. Lucys contract with Marcie is void because of the conditional precedent that Marcie placed upon the offer. Without the sale of her home, there is no valid contract with Lucy. The moms had a right from Schroeder to perform his contractual duty and should be compensated nominally for damages suffered. Peppermint Patty performed her obligations under this contract and Schroeder should pay for those services rendered, regardless of the satisfaction of the customers. That satisfaction is the responsibility of Schroder since he was the obligor. References: Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, and Frank B Cross (2009). Business Law, Text and Cases, 11th Ed., South-Western Lexis-Nexis Legal Research

Morals :: Religion, Ethics

Who’s to Blame One night, a few years ago, I was watching television with two of my younger brothers. As I flipped through the stations I could not help but notice that on every channel was an interview of our President, Bill Clinton. The discussion was about President Clinton’s involvement with another women. They questioned him if he had â€Å"oral sex† or â€Å"committed adultery† with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Neither of my brothers commented at the time on what they saw or heard but I just started to imagine what could be running through their heads. â€Å"Well if the President can, why can’t I cheat and lie?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This, just one of many, is an example of how a child’s morals may be misguided. A young child may be looking at the wrong person or people as role models. If the situation rose in which a kid has the chance to cheat on a test will he? Would that child realize what he is doing wrong when people like the president are committing acts that may give that child the wrong impression on what is the right thing to do? These are just some questions that may be brought up on the topic that schools are teaching children bad morals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people say that schools are not to blame for children holding bad morals. Some may ask, â€Å"Is it the schools responsibility to teach children good morals or is it the parents job?† Some parents are â€Å"too easy† on their children. In today’s world most parents defend their children rather than punish them. For example, a child is caught doing drugs or alcohol, and instead of the kid receiving a punishment from the police, his parents hire a lawyer and find loop holes in the system to â€Å"get the kid out† without a punishment. This proves to kids that although they did something wrong they can get out of it so it’s no big deal, bad morals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another problem that rises is that in today’s schools teachers can not use any type of a faith or religion as a guideline for morals. Today’s laws prohibit teachers from teaching religion in public schools. Teachers are also told not to involve personal feelings in their teaching. It is very difficult for teachers to teach about morals without involving what they feel is the â€Å"correct way to act.† Some parents ask, â€Å"who are they to say what is right way for my child?

Atomic Bomb 8 Essay -- essays research papers fc

Atomic Bomb In 1945, two bombs were dropped on Japan, on in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki. Theses bombs marked the end to the world’s largest armed conflict. Despite the ghastly effects of such a weapon, it offered the best choice for a quick and easy defeat of Japan. President Truman, who authorized the use of the atomic bomb, made a wise decision under the circumstances of the war. Fifty years ago this is what people thought. Now many people are starting to find out that there might be more to the story than what was originally thought (Grant 26).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima caused massive amounts of damage and ruined thousands of lives, but they saves many more lives by ending the war quickly. Many questions pop into the heads of people that might have doubts whether or not the bombings were necessary. Such questions might include: Why, exactly, was the bomb dropped? Was the second bomb necessary? Was Japan about to surrender? Was there a way to end the war less savagely? Would our current leaders have made the same decision? Was any authority opposed to the idea? Should we have bombed military bases instead of cities? These and many other questions arise. Before these are analyzed, a brief background on the bombs and the tests are in order (O’Neal 47). When a man from the Soviet Union successfully split an atom, the question of a bomb immediately arose. Einstein wrote a letter to President Truman stating that if a bomb was possible then the country to own it would have complete power. In light of this information, Truman formed an Interim Committee to research the topic and find out if it was possible. It was funded by Truman’s multi-million dollar personal budget. The results came back positive and full financial support was given to the team to start working on it immediately (Grant 29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The calculations made by the research team were as follows. The bomb would be equivalent to 4,000 planeloads of the current explosives. And estimate on cost and time could not be predicted because some still believed it wasn’t possible (Reflections 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end of a three-year research, a bomb was ready for testing. A test site was cleared in New Mexico. It had a 120-mile radius. Once the President gave the final confi... ... war quickly. This policy of maximum violence led to the quick end of the deadlock in Japanese politics. Had such a policy not been used, the war could have dragged on for months or perhaps years more with mounting casualties on both sides. The political power of the atomic bomb was unmatched and proved to be the only force that could get the emperor to intervene in Japanese politics and stop the hostilities. The atom bomb proved to be the ultimate ambassador in a war where conventional politics were futile (O’Neal 98). Works Cited Ferrell, Robert H. Harry S. Truman and the Bomb. Worland, Wyoming: High Plains Publishing Company Inc. 1996. Grant, R.G. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Austin, Texas: Raintree Sterk-Vaugh Publishers. 1998. Meen, B.G. “Conflicts: The Atomic Bomb.'; Texas Monthly. June 89: 79. O’Neal, Michael. President Truman and the Atomic Bomb. San Diego, California; Greenahaven Press, Inc. 1990. Purcell, John. The Best Kept Secret: The Story of the Atomic Bomb. New York: The Vanguard Press, Inc. 1963. “Reflections of the Nuclear Age';. Atomic Archive: 3pg. Internet. http://www.atomicarchive.com/AAReflection.shtml. 12/11/99.

Identification After Gender Essay

Time episode â€Å"Fionna and Cake† and reading â€Å"Berengier of the Long Ass,† the expectations of genders are exposed through the reversal of roles in both of these pieces. The characters in these stories clearly demonstrate the expectations that certain males and females must negotiate in order to expose the problems when there is labeling of certain genders. Judith Butler’s analysis of gender is that it is performative- meaning that nobody really is a gender from the start; after watching the video and reading the text for this exercise, t is clear that Fionna and The Knight expose the misconceptions of gender throughout societies today. In our society today there are certain notions that many people have about what are â€Å"right† and â€Å"wrong† for males and females to wear, think, and act. There are certain things that are expected out of males- a toughness about them, an attitude that declares them as â€Å"the man of the house†- that is unfairly labeled upon every male in our society. Females are expected to be the ones who constantly act â€Å"girly’ and let the males do everything involving manual labor- this is an unfair label that is placed upon every female in our society. The video that Judith Butler takes part in is an example of a certain female who does not believe in conforming with the problems of the rest of our society- taking a stand against the â€Å"normal ideas† of the public. Judith Baker’s ideas are expressed throughout â€Å"Fionna and Cake† and â€Å"Berengier of the Long Ass,† when Fionna , The Lady, and The Knight expose these misconceptions by swapping roles; The Lady and Fionna act as the males, while Prince Gumball and The Knight act as the females. The idea that Fionna and The Lady â€Å"act as the males† in these stories define the problem that our society has when it omes to the definition of males and females. There are certain expectations that must be fulfilled when it comes to being seen as a male or female, but in these two pieces (video and story), the main characters both reject the expectations, or try and fulfill them unsuccessfully. In the Adventure Time episode â€Å"Fionna and Cake† Fionna and Prince Gumball act as their opposite gender in many ways. Throughout â€Å"Fionna and Cake† Fionna refuses to completely fulfill these expectations that are placed among most females. Fionna goes through the majority of the video as a tomboy who would rather carry weapons in her person than make-up. However, by the end of the video she adapts to the â€Å"normal† expectations for females by dressing up in a dress and trying to flatter Prince Gumball. In order for Fionna to expose the expectations of certain genders, Fionna goes to the extreme limit when trying to act as a boy; for there is nothing more â€Å"manly’ for a human-being to do than to save someone’s life. Fionna saves Prince Gumball, which in turn creates a relationship between the two that was not there before. It becomes evident that there is a gender swap in this video when Fionna is the one who is catching Prince Gumball when he falls from the ceiling. o infatuate Fionna, portraying the inner-man of Princess Ice, and getting the inner- woman out of Fionna. Fionna Justifies the ideas of Judith Butler’s by showing the audience that it took awhile for her to find her preferred gender- switching preferences multiple times between the beginning and end of the video. Fionna proves that any female can be happy doing â€Å"male-type† things, but also can be happy with a man, which goes against the norm of being a â€Å"tom boy. † By the end of the story it is clear that Fionna chooses to give up the â€Å"girly’ personality that is expected mong women, while consistently being herself, and attracting the Prince of her dreams. In the reading â€Å"Berengier of the Long Ass,† The Knight and his Lady successfully pull off an epic gender swap that The Knight would not be very proud of. Throughout the beginning of the story the Lady constantly criticizes her husband for being lazy and not being a â€Å"chivalrous† Knight. Because she questions the Knight’s manhood, the Knight forces himself to make a change. The Knight then tries to fulfill the expectations of Knights in our society by creating fake battles in the forests to impress his wife. Because he does a bad Job of faking his fatigue and injuries after these fake battles, the wife begins to catch on to his tricks. The wife then follows him to the next â€Å"battle† realizing that what he was saying the whole entire time was a fraud. Butler’s applications to gender being performative comes into play here, because the Knight tries so hard to be a â€Å"man† -that his life turns upside down because of it. The Knight’s wife then brings back another guy to the house, knowing that because her husband is a â€Å"woman† in her eyes, he will not even think about doing anything to harm her. When the Knight realizes that his attempt at conforming to the public’s interpretation ofa knight has failed, he feels as though he is a failure- for the only important in most knights’ life is the chivalrous way in which they live. A Knight’s expectation is to be the most brave, genuine, and honest guy of all; however, in this case the knight’s wife was more of a knight than he was. The Knight in this story tried to adapt to the expectations that are naturally placed on him, and instead of adapting he completely failed at his attempt. Most people are better off being their atural-selves than trying to fulfill the expectations that others place on them. After analyzing Fionna, Prince Gumball, The Knight, and his wife, it is obvious that being yourself leads to the most happiness between one and their partner. Fionna maintains her inner-boy personality and ends up being the happiest girl in the world. The Knight tries to change his personality and ends up watching his wife hang out with another man. Judith Butler’s ideas really make sense after analyzing these characters because of the way in which characters can reject the expectations of their gender and be completely happy because of it.

National University of Singapore Essay

The appearance of the yellow crystals obtained tallies with the reference physical appearance of Dibenzalacetone1. The appearance of the white powder obtained also tallies with the reference physical appearance of o-Chlorobenzoic acid2. The yields of the compounds are relatively low at 34.2% and 29.5%. This may be due to some possible sources of error and limitations which will be discussed in the next section. Limitations and Sources of Error Loss of compounds was an important factor that caused the yield of the purified compounds to be reduced. This may have occurred first during the extraction phase where extraction may not be complete. During the filtration and vacuum filtration processes, there was also a high level of difficulty in retrieving all the wanted products due to the products forming on the edges of the filter paper or sticking to the sides of the apparatus. Although the yield can be improved by increasing the number of extractions, the increase will not be significant enough (explained under exercise question 1) to overcome the loss of the compounds due to frequent transferring of the products. The usage of the separatory funnel to separate the 2 organic and aqueous layers limited the accuracy of the experiment due to potential contamination. There was difficulty in determining the exact boundaries between the organic and aqueous layers accurately even under precautions such as conducting the separation at slow speed and at eye level. Contamination of the purified products will cause the melting point determination to deviate from actual results and identifying the compounds incorrectly. The solubility test conducted to determine the recrystallization solvent might be another possible source of error. The amount of compound to be added into 2mL of the solvent was estimated rather than accurately weighed. This may have caused errors in determining the solubility of the compounds in the solvents and hence, led to incorrect use of the proper recrystallization technique for the compounds. Furthermore, cloudy mixtures obtained upon mixing the compound and the solvent might cause the solubility of the compounds to be inaccurately determined. Conclusion A mixture of 2 organic compounds was separated using recrystallization and purified. Melting Point Determination was the method used to identify the 2 organic compounds and cross-checking the experimental results obtained with a list of possible organic compounds showed that the Neutral Compound was Dibenzalacetone and the Acidic Compound was o-Chlorobenzoic acid. Verifying the identified compounds via their appearances with references further validated the experimental results. References 1. Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemspider, Search and Share Chemistry http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.86113.html, Retrieved 14 September 2013 2. Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemspider, Search and Share Chemistry http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.8071.html, Retrieved 14 September 2013 Exercise Questions Question 1 a) D = [X]o / [X]w When D = 8, [A]o = 8 [A]w Since mass can be expressed as a product of volume and concentration as shown in Equation 1 below, by letting Vo be the volume of organic layer, Vw the volume of aqueous layer with m being the total initial mass of A, Equation 2 can be obtained. ———- Equation 1 ———- Equation 2 Using Equation 2 and subbing in known values, we can obtain ———- Equation 3 Solving, we get [A]w = 1.11 X 10-2 g/mL b) Using Equation 2, For 1st Extraction, ———- Equation 4 Solving, we get [A]w = 2.00 X 10-2 g/mL For 2nd Extraction, ———- Equation 5 Solving, we get [A]w = 4.00 X 10-3 g/mL c) Repeating the above method as shown in (b) for multiple extractions, we can obtain For 4th Extraction using 20 mL of dichloromethane, [A]w = 1.23 x 10-3 g/mL For 8th Extraction using 10 mL of dichloromethane, [A]w = 3.91 X 10-4 g/mL d) Based on calculation above, while the total amount of dichloromethane used in (a), (b) and (c) remained constant at 80 mL, the values of [A]w obtained decreases with increasing number of extractions done with smaller amounts of dichloromethane used during each extraction. Multi-extraction allows more of the solute to dissolve in the solvent. This leads to a higher amount of solute extracted. e) To access if excessive extraction (8 times) is necessary, the yield difference of solute extracted between doing 4 and 8 times extraction must be considered. Mass of solute not extracted by 4-times Extraction = 1.23 X 10-3 X 80 = 0.0984 g Mass of solute not extracted by 8-times Extraction = 3.91 X 10-4 X 80 = 0.0313 g Percentage yield of solute using 4-times Extraction = = 98.8% Percentage yield of solute using 8-times Extraction = = 99.6% The percentage yield increases by 0.8% which is not very significant as calculated above. This does not justify the cost and time needed to carry out excessive extraction since the yield difference is small. Question 2 c) A better solvent for recrystallization of B will give a higher yield of B crystals. Based on the calculation in (a) and (b), water gives a higher yield of crystals (8.54 g at 25Â °C and 9.81 g at 0Â °C ) as compared to ethanol (7.38 g at 25Â °C and 8.21 g at 0Â °C). Hence, water is a better solvent for the recrystallization of B. d) The crystals should be washed with cold solvent (0Â °C). The solubility of compounds increases with increasing temperature. Washing the crystals with cold solvent ensures that the crystals do not dissolve back into the solvent. Washing the crystals with warm solvent will cause the yield of crystals to diminish.

Monotheistic Religions

After much deep thought and brainstorming about this reflective statement for the monotheistic religions, I realized how much that I have grown intellectually since the beginning of the semester. It is evident that I truly put what Mr. K said at the beginning of the semester into theory: â€Å"don’t believe anything I say. † Prior to taking this course I had very little knowledge about world religions, and the only knowledge I did have were taken from media sources. I was very eager to learn about Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Sikhism, but not so much about Christianity because I am quite familiar with Christianity. This assignment made me realize that I never took the time to think outside of the box, and I’m happy to say that I started, not only in this class, but in all of my other courses. The video â€Å"History on The Devil† was especially captivating because the word â€Å"devil† is synonymous with numerous religions, and used quite frequently in everyday life. I was raised Catholic, and I always associated the Devil with all of the stereotypical ideas and theories like: the fight between good and evil, and the opposite of God. After watching the movie, the meaning of the Devil changed. Now it means anything that is destructive to one’s self. General examples include not losing 10 lbs. due to lack of exercise, a drug addiction, and abusive significant other, or not pursuing a life-long dream. Personally, the challenge or â€Å"Devil† that I face in my life is not completing my degree in a timely manner. I have allowed too many obstacles to come into my path, and delay my success. It is odd how a movie on the devil would offer me motivation to complete school. Chapter 8 Judaism was very intriguing to me because I wanted to visit B’Nai Israel Synagogue for my Religious Visit report. I did not want to attend the service without a basic knowledge of Judaism because I felt like that would have been somewhat disrespectful and in order to be fully immersed in the culture I needed a foundation. According to the text book Israel refers to â€Å"all those who answer the call of God and who acknowledge and strive to obey the one God, through The Torah, or teachings, given to the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets. † It is this aforementioned quote that intrigued me to learn more about Judaism. It was a simple statement, but I wanted to learn more. As a child, I attended a Synagogue for a summer camp. I am not a practicing Jew, nor are my parents or any close relatives, so at times I felt left out. I remember taking Challah bread on Fridays, and reading out of what I thought was â€Å"The Bible, which is referred to as Tanakh, but I never learned anything about what Jewish people believed or their heritage. There is more to follow on Judaism in my report. I hate to admit this, but I had several stereotypical views of Islam. The aspects of Islam that offended me were the treatment of women, how the institution of marriage is treated, the fact that it is a patriarchal religion, and its affiliation with U. S terrorism. After reviewing the text and videos, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Islam means â€Å"peace†, and that treatment of women has improved dramatically. Furthermore, polygamy is allowed, but rarely practiced. The spiritual practices and beliefs of Muslims can be summed up in the Five Pillars: belief and witness, daily prayer, zakat (charity), fasting, and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The last religion I would like to touch base on is Sikhism. I grew up in Taos, NM and there was a Sihk temple down the street, and I was always fascinated by this culture. After researching Sikhism in NM, it is interesting to know that Espanola, NM houses one of the world’s largest populations of Sikhs in the entire world. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in India in the 15th century. Their place of worship is called gurdwara. The Five K’s refers to the article of faith worn by the Sikhs which include: Kesh, kangha, kara, kachera, and kirpan.