American Government Essay

Introduction There are different ways to which issues in the society can be expressed in relation to emotions, thoughts and artistry. In various eras, movies have been used to tackle issues on religions, philosophies, and even the thoughts and emotions of the writers and directors during the time it is being filmed. For example, the movies entitled Blue Collar, Norma Rae and Roger and Me are movies wherein the problems on employment in any societies have been tackled accordingly. During the time of the creation of the movies, there have been apparent issues with employment that needs to be addressed by the government. Apparently, the theme of conservatism and the plight to destroy it is was the main theme of the three movies mentioned. The motivational principle that has been applied in the course of generating an understanding of the concept of conservatism as highlighted in the movies is sovereignty. It is very elementary to say that in the democratic and liberal forms of government, the sovereign power resides in the people. Under this concept, it cannot be denied that men are only equal before the law and of God. Aside from it, there is no equality. By this, it only means that men are protected only as far as laws and God is concerned. Body Noting this kind of principle is the apparent absence of equality in terms of the social, political and even economic aspects of human being. In terms of the social aspect, it can be seen that men are distinct from women. There is a status quo that should be adhered upon especially when treating men and women. They are not equal under the social order of the society. Men are considered higher in terms of intelligence, capabilities and social status. As per women, they are made to be inside their houses and taking care of the children and of their husbands. It is as if saying that women and men played totally different roles in the society. One is for the house while the other is for the working. Such difference in the social standing of men and women is apparent and to remind people of the principle that aside from law and God, no equality can be measured outside such borders. Women cannot and must not force the society to accept and treat them in the same manner that men are being t reated because it will never be in that way under the conservative theory of governance (Garcia, 2008). The basic foundation of governance that has been tackled in the movies is comprised of the idealism that a just and humane society must be formed. It must be understood that the State should promote a just and dynamic social order. This is accomplished through policies that provide adequate social services. Every society must ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty. Hence, it means all people not just the aristocratic few. The goal is to reduce the political and economic power of the privileged few by equalizing widely differing standards and opportunities for advancement and to raise the masses of the people from their poverty to a qualitative life worthy of human dignity. With the eradication of mass poverty being experienced of a nation, the State solves at the same time a chain of social problems that comes with it; social unrest, breakdown of family systems, diseases, ignorance, criminality, and low productivity. Policies must only be created to promote social justice in all phases of national development. In the fulfillment of this duty, the State must give preferential attention to the welfare of the less fortunate members of the community—the poor, the underprivileged and those who have less in life for the benefit of the whole nation. On the issue of economic equality, on the other hand, the movies have made it clear that there are economic differences between the poor and the rich. No equality are being afforded to them. The rich people are getting more privileges in the society as compared to the poor. The poor can never get such privileges because it is just for the rich to experience and enjoy. Since there is no equality, the poor gets poorer with each passing day while the rich gets richer by the hour. There is a distinct role that separates the rich and the poor. While the rich pose as the employers, the poor works as slaves to earn a living. There is equality and hence, no growth and improvement is being afforded to the latter (Funnel, 2009). Conclusion Undeniably, there is an inherent advantage in adopting a development strategy that promotes industrialization and full employment without giving more importance on gender issues. An important aspect of industrializations is that it generates a high level of employment. Factories and industrial sites create job opportunities and thus create sources of livelihood for the people. The high incidence of poverty in the country is rooted in the social scourge that is unemployment. The nation will never recover economically, and social peace and political stability will never come to our land as long as the problem of mass poverty persists. The first step towards the solution of the problem is therefore, the creation of massive work opportunities that will absorb millions of unemployed and underemployed labor in the country, and this can only be done through full and rapid industrialization. But nevertheless, despite the different trajectories that has impacted the lives of the nation and the people inhabiting the place. Ironically, it can be said that whatever the advocates of conservatism have fought for in their lifetimes it has all been gone because of the fact that changes have constantly brought liberalism to the nation. It is one that completely rejects advice or assistance from without. To be realistic, a policy must have global outlook in view of the deleterious effect on the country’s relations with other countries with policies that revolve only on the relations with select members of the international community. Bibliography Funnel, W. (2009). In Government We Trust: Market failure and the Delusions of Privatization. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. Garcia, J. (2008). Up to our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Econoimc Policies are Drowning Americans in Debt. New York: The New Press.

Economy 320 Money and Banking Essay

The Federal Open market Committee has twelve voting members. Seven of these members are the board of governors who are appointed by the president and serve for terms that are fourteen years long. The appointment has to be approved by the senate. The reason as to why the terms are long is so that the committee can be freed from presidential and political influence. The years also end on 31st of every even year eliminating the possibility of a president appointing a majority of the board in their four year terms. The board members are permanent voters and vote every time the exercise is carried out. One of the remaining five positions is filled by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who is a permanent voter while the rest of the positions are filled by the remaining eleven Federal Reserve Banks on a rotation basis. These include the Reserve Federal Banks of Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Richmond, Kansas City, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Chicago and Cleveland vote alternatively (vote once in every two years) while the rest of nine Reserve Banks vote after every two years (vote once in three years). This committee is important as it functions to formulate and regulate monetary policy for the country’s Federal Reserve System . which describes the actions implemented by the central bank. The committee also determines the capability of the Federal Reserve joining the Treasury department in the intervention of foreign exchange. It is important to note that the Federal Reserve is in charge of the monetary policy tools which include discount rate and the reserve requirements which are controlled by the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System. The third tool which is market operations is the third tool controlled by the Open Market Committee. Where does the power lie within this committee? The power lies with the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed also acts as the vice chairman to the committee and is a permanent voting member. In the event he is not present during a voting session, his place can not be taken by another Fed, rather, one of his vice presidents votes in his place. This is because the New York Fed plays an important role in the system such as carrying out intervention in the foreign exchange market in the event it is required and conducting all the open market operations for the Federal Reserve. 2. If the Fed lends five banks an additional total of $100 million but depositors withdraw $50 million and hold it as currency, what happens to reserves and the monetary base? From the above question, there will an increase in the Reserves by $50 million, while the MB (Money base) is increased by $100 million. Banks Balance Sheet Assets Liabilities Reserves +$50 M Discount loans +$100 M Deposits -$50 M -$50 M Balance Sheet of Fed Assets Liabilities Discount loans + $100M Reserves +$ 50M Currency +$50M 3. What are the advantages AND disadvantages of inflation targeting? Advantages Inflation targeting unlike exchange rate peg makes it possible for the monetary policy to focus and concentrate on domestic considerations that need to be addressed and respond appropriately shocks that are affecting the domestic economy. When compared to money targeting, inflation targeting is advantageous in that its success is not hampered to a great extend by the stability in the relationship between money and inflation (Mishkin, 2007). This is because instead of depending on such relationships, it utilizes all the information that is available in determining the best strategy and settings for the monetary policy tools. Inflation targeting is also easy to explain to the public as it can easily be understood enhancing transparency. This increases accountability on the central bank’s part (Mishkin, 2007). It also makes it possible to eliminate the possibility of the central bank falling into traps such as time-inconsistency because of the enhanced transparency. Eliminating time-inconsistency which is usually caused by central bank being politically pressured to undertake monetary policy that is overly expansionary makes it possible for inflation targeting to focus and concentrate on political debate that is directed towards what the steps the central bank can take to address issues such as unemployment, increase output growth and external competitiveness through formulations of the monetary policy (Mishkin, 2007). Disadvantages Inflation targeting is associated with some disadvantages as a monetary policy strategy. The method is argued to be too rigid such that it has no allowance for changes in the event they need to be done fast. The method is also said to have the potential of allowing discretion which is not good as it hinders transparency hence accountability of the central bank (Mishkin, 2007). The strategy also feared to be capable of lowering the rate of economic growth as it has the potential of increasing the output instability. Inflation targeting is also argued by critics to only be able to produce weak accountability on the part of the central bank because of the fact that inflation can not easily be controlled and also because of the long lags that exist from the monetary policy tools to the outcome of the inflation. This is a serious problem specifically for countries that have emerging markets. Inflation targeting is also said to be incapable of preventing fiscal dominance (Mishkin, 2007). The exchange rate flexibility that must exist for the inflation targeting to be function can result to financial instability which is very crucial for emerging market countries. 4. You often read in the newspaper that the Fed has just lowered the discount rate. Does this signal that the Fed is moving to a more expansionary monetary policy? Why? One of the instruments used by the Fed to formulate the monetary policies is discount rate. This is the interest charged on loans given to depository institution by the Federal Reserve Bank. This interest is the only one Fed usually charges. Banks usually loan each other money and would not go to the Fed under normal circumstances. However during economic and financial crisis such as the current recession, most banks raise the interest charged on the loans they lend to other banks, in an effort to help banks especially the small ones which are not in a position to afford the high rates demanded by big banks, the Fed usually offer loans to these banks to enable them maintain the reserve requirement they need hence run their operations as usual. The interest rates on these loans are usually low making it easier for banks to borrow from the Fed what they need to remain in business. Market analysts and experts argue that as much as the Fed has the responsibility of lending money to banks in times of need, its announcement of lowered discount rate usually is an indication of a more expansionary monetary policy to come. This is because of the impact lowering discount rates have on the government’s finance. The effects are positive when well managed and if the country recovers quickly from the financial crises. This is because low discount rate is usually the last resort that banks turn to in the event of crises. A decline in interest rates also affects government finance. It is done to lower inflation rates as it increases the number of available projects at a cheap price attracting investors to invest so that there is no money floating around. This is based on the fact that the more money there is the higher the rate of inflation. Lowering the discount rate is hence signals another monetary policy on the way. 5. What happens to nominal GDP if the money supply grows by 20% but velocity declines by 30%? M*V = P*Y a %&? 916; PY = %&? 916; M + %&? 916; V = 20% – 30% = -10% If the money supply grows by 20% and the velocity decreases by 30%, the nominal GDP will decrease by 10 percent. 6. If Mexicans go on a spending spree and buy twice as much French perfume, Japanese TVs, English sweaters, Swiss watches, and Italian wine, what will happen to the value of the Mexican peso? This would result to a negative value being reported during the trading period as the imports will have exceeded the exports resulting to a trade deficit. This would have a great impact on the Mexico’s foreign exchange market. A trade deficit as the one described above, Mexico will have to convert its peso to the currencies of the countries it is importing from. Since it is buying from many countries in large amounts, the supply and presence of the peso will increase on the forex markets causing the peso to lose value as they will no demand for it. The value of Mexican peso would therefore decrease against the French, Japanese English, Swiss and Italian currencies (Mishkin, 2007). 7. If the money supply is 250 and nominal income is 1,900, the velocity of money is v= (P ? Y)/M Where v is velocity, P = price level Y = 1,900 M = 250 Since the price level is not given, velocity of money can also be calculated by dividing the GDP value with that one of money in circulation. Hence v = GDP/ money supply, v=1900/250 v=7. 6 8. What are the key advantages of exchange-rate targeting as a monetary policy strategy? The advantages associated with exchange-rate targeting are several. They include the fact that its nominal anchor is able to fix the rate of inflation of goods that are traded internationally. This enables the strategy to keep country’s inflation rate under control. A credible exchange rate target has the potential of anchoring the inflation expectations to the rate of the anchor country that has its currency pegged (Mishkin, 2007). Exchange rate target has the potential of eliminating the occurrence of time-inconsistency of the central bank if commitment is present as it provides rules of conduct that should be complied with. Exchange rate target strategy is alas simple and clear making it easier for the public to understand hence increasing transparency and accountability of the central bank (Mishkin, 2007). 9. If a pill were invented that made workers twice as productive but their wages did not change, what would happen to the position of the short-run aggregate supply curve? Aggregate supply is used to determine the volume of products (goods or services) produced in an economy at a certain given price level (Mishkin, 2007). The relationship between the aggregate supply and the general price level is such that an increase in price levels implies that the business has to expand and increase its production so as to meet the demand for its products. Increased demand hence results to expansion in the economy’s aggregate supply. Aggregate supply can also be described as the total amount of goods and services present in an economy at all possible (low or high) price levels (Mishkin, 2007). In the short run, nominal wages of employees does not change while production output increases. This implies higher profits. In the event the event the price levels rise, the short-run aggregate supply curve would have an upward sloping because the nominal wages are fixed while the output (production) is rising. However in the event the prices of the products were not increasing, this curve would remain horizontal (Mishkin, 2007). 10. Explain the law of one price and the theory of purchasing power parity. Why doesn’t the purchasing power parity explain all exchange rate movements? What factors determine long-run exchange rates? The law of one price postulates that for a market to be efficient, all goods that are identical in functionality should be sold at one price (Mishkin, 2007). This law is very closely related to the out comes of globalization and the different free trade areas and markets. It seeks to explain that in future, all countries and market areas in the world will earn the same amount of money for equal amount of work/service, product and their quality (Mishkin, 2007). This implies that all sellers will look for markets that have prevailing high prices while the buyers will flock to sellers that are offering low prices for the goods and services. This will force the sellers to converge and agree on one price for the goods. Purchasing-power parity is a theory that explains how the exchange rate is determined and provides a way of comparing the cost of goods and services amongst countries. It postulates that when domestic purchasing power of a country is equivalent to that of another one at a particular exchange rate then the exchange rate between their currencies will be at equilibrium (Mishkin, 2007). This takes form of the law f one price eventuality in which at some point in life it is considered that similar goods will have the same price irrespective of the location or country. Purchasing power parity does not explain all exchange rate movements because the comparisons used in the method have the potential of being misleading (Mishkin, 2007). Most comparisons are usually based on the living standards of the citizens of the countries in context. It is done through assumption that the real value of the goods and services is the same in both the countries being compared. This can however be misleading as cultures vary such that what is considered to be a luxury may not be the same in the other country. Purchasing power parity has no allowance for this diversity hence the exchange rate based on this method differs depending on the goods chosen for use for the index. The major factors that determine long-run exchange rates are inflation and expectations. This is because a change in the levels of money supply causes price levels to change. Inflation also causes increase in the nominal interest rate to its long run rate during the phase of transition. Expectations of inflation usually result to increase in the expected returns on the foreign currency causing domestic currency to lose value (depreciate) before the transition phase (Mishkin, 2007). Since rate of inflation is always on the increase due to the increase in growth rate of money supplies, nominal interest rate also increases. Other factors include yield differentials (difference in interest rates) in the various countries, the flow money/funds used for buying stocks and bonds, the countries’ public debts band the trade balance merchandise (Mishkin, 2007). Word count: 2400. Reference

Black&Decker Corporation Essay

Black & Decker was incorporated in 1910. Begun by Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker, Black & Decker’s first power tool was an electric drill in 1916. They went on to develop and offer the first portable screwdriver, electric hammer, as well as finishing sanders and jigsaws all the way up to the hugely successful dust buster in 1978. Over the next 70 years, the company established itself as dominant name in power tool and accessories, first in the United States and then accros a broad global front but particularly in europe. Growth was achieved by adding to its lineup of power tools and accessories and by increasing its penetration of more and more foreign markets Symptons, Issues and Problems Issues in this case is diversification strategy runned by Black & Decker corporation. As a diversified global manufacturer and marketer of household, commercial, and industrial product, Black & Decker need to develop and choose the right strategy for diversification. This case particularly discuss diversification of Black & Decker corporation during late 1980’s to early 1990’s, where Black & Decker which is established as dominant name in power tools and accessories, began to pursue diversification. It is because the continuing maturity of its core power tools business. During the 1980’s Black and Decker had established themselves as a leader in the power tool industry. However, they were feels that the market for such tools was maturing to the point where expansion within the industry would provide little or no additional revenues so they decided to diversify. Black and Decker began their expansion operation by acquiring General Electric’s housewares business, the leader in the industry, for $300 million in 1984. The success of the GE deal, and the reorganization efforts of their new CEO Nolan Archibald, led Black and Decker to continue on this path of acquisitions and diversification in other areas. Then, various acquisitions and acquisition attemp made by Black & Decker in their strategy to diversified. But the biggest and most noticed was the acquisition of Emrat Corporation, a diversified manufacturer of industrial product, for a $2.8 billion in March 1988. This steps is considered to be very bad decisions made by Black & Decker. Analysis Change in strategy In the mid 1980s, Black & Decker feels that the power tool market had matured to the point where there is no much room for further growth. Black & Decker then decided to change their corporate strategy from single business firm into diversified company. In 1984 they began to diversify. First they tried to get into the small household appliance market. Rather than create their own line, Black & Decker decided to acquire General Electric’s unit of household appliances for $300 million. Although it was a small part of GE’s company, it held more market share than other houseware distributors (25 percent of the market and the leadership position). That acquisition gives an additional $500 million a year in revenue for Black & Decker because it was able to offer products like irons, coffee makers and toasterswhich. This began a trend of acquisitions by Black and Decker expanding into various related and unrelated markets with varying levels of success. This various acquisitions allowed Black & Decker to offer even more new products such as portable woodworking tools and stronger drill bits. After all the new changes, Black & Decker Manufacturing Company also changed its name to Black & Decker Corporation to help market those changes The successful story of GE’s household appliance division acquisition in 1988, has triggered Black & Decker to tried again. Only this time the company of interest was American Standard Inc. American Standard had an impressive $127 million profit in 1987, which towered above the mere $70 million for Black & Decker. But then, the acquisition was unsuccessful. The Emhart acquisitions The failed attempts by Black & Decker in 1988 did not stop Black & Decker moves to acquiring other company. In 1989, Black & Decker acquiring Emhart for the price of $2.8 billion, a price that 33% premium over Emhart’s preannouncement value. This acquisition may not have been the best move for Black & Decker because its stock price dropped 15 points after the announcement of the acquisition. After difficult negotiation of exactly how the acquisition would occur, Black & Decker decided to pay for Emhart for the next 48 years. The deal put over $2 billion in goodwill on Black & Decker’s books and increased debt to over $4 billion just before the credit markets were about to contract severely. With the exception of a few businesses like Price Pfister faucets and Kwikset locks, which represented just $600 million in sales, Emhart made no sense for Black & Decker. Several of its subsidiaries were quickly placed on the block. But then suddenly the economy became sluggish and the market slowed down, Black & Decker stock slumped from a pre-acquisition $25 to $8 per share. Archibald (Black & Decker’s CEO at that time) had to scramble to keep the company solvent. Archibald’s plan was to sell off about $1.8 billion of Emhart assets to pay down debt while merging the company’s line of Kwikset locks and Price Pfister Inc. plumbing fixtures with Black & Decker’s offerings. According to Archibald, the plan would have been successful enough under normal economic conditions. However, he failed to sell the Emhart businesses for the set prices leaving a long term debt of a hefty $3 billon and annual interest payments of more than $300 million. Black & Decker initially sold $1 billion in Emhart assets to reduce the interest costs. It met this demand by selling whole divisions of Emhart and also by selling equipment and other assets. By 1991, Black & Decker reduced the debt acquired by more than 25%. From 1993 to 1996, Black & Decker sold off three segments of Emhart that did not prove to be strategic parts of the acquisition. By 1997, Black & Decker was able to meet its liquidity requirements and management chose to amortize the costs on a straight-line basis for the next 40 years. This shows that the acquisition of Emhart Corporation is a Black & Decker’s bad move. Black & Decker’s decision to acquire a company that was larger than $2.3 billion (revenues) Black & Decker itself, (the Emhart Corporation were $2.7 billion in revenues), was too risky and apparently Archibald didn’t too aware about it. The purchase and acquisition of Emhart had proven a lack in the synergy required to make such purchases profitable. Also the company had not been able to reduce its amount of debt (primarily from the purchase of Emhart) over the subsequent 10 years. Archibald made poor decisions in the Emhart acquisition, which impacted its profit margin, lowered its competitive advantage, and killed any chance of creating above-average returns. There are things that has to be done in order to ascertain whether the acquisition may create value for the shareholders, which is the CEO’s primary responsibility. Effort should have concentrated on three essential tests:  · The attractiveness test. The industries chosen for diversification must be structurally attractive or capable of being made attractive.  · The cost-of-entry test. The cost of entry must not capitalize all the future profits.  · The better-off test. Either the new unit must gain competitive advantage from its link with the corporation or vice-versa. Conceding the point that the purchase provided some benefits, such as increased market share and well-known consumer brands, the cost-ofentry and better-off tests provide evidence that the Emhart purchase was very risky. Black & Decker SWOT Analysis Strengths  · Brand recognition is a strong attribute for Black and Decker. Black and Decker has a reputation for producing electrical engines, power tools and appliances.  · Black and Decker produce a variety of products in its respected industry, and it is involved in constant research and development (e.g., developing cordless appliances and tools, rechargeable batteries that are compatible with both tools and small appliances).  · Black and Decker have penetrated the market causing it to dominate market share in the industry. Weaknesses  · Black and Decker’s reputation for quality tools and appliances has been decreasing. This was likely due to the fact that Black and Decker was busy dealing with its non-strategic businesses. Opportunities  · Opportunities to gain more market share by sponsoring home improvement shows.  · Gain more market share with industrial market, by offering quantity-based deals and advertising the quality of its products. Threats  · Sears is the strongest competitor in the power tools division with 13.4 percent of the US market share.  · Black and Decker needs to be aware of new items that the consumer can use and develop them before their competitors. Conclusion and Recommendation When an industry became mature and not offered enough room for further growth, it is important for a company to change their strategy to keep growing continuously. This is what Black & Decker did, although being a dominant player in power tools and accessories for many years, Black & Decker realized the industry is being mature, so they decided to change their strategy into a diversified company. To be successful, a diversified company should have a portfolio of product with different growth rates and different market shares. The portfolio composition is a function of the balance between cash flows. High-growth product, that important for company to keep growth in the future, need lot of cash inputs. Low-growth product, product that already in maturity growth, should generate cash. How to balance between this two is the most important things in managing multi-business (diversified) company. The Emhart acquisitions is an example of bad acquisitions from Black & Decker in their strategy to diversified. There can be many reasons that an acquisition strategy fails to earn its cost of capital. An acquirer may have no real strategy to begin with and thus pay an unjustified acquisition premium right from the beginning. Or there may be a complete failure in executing a fundamentally sound strategy. One major risk in acquisitions is the failure to close the gap that may exist between the strategic objectives and organizational design of the new organization and those of the old. Issues such as new information systems and channels, management succession, new decision rights, and incentive systems must be planned carefully in light of where competitive performance gains are expected to result. This case is also an example of the problems where mismanaged growth can bring diversification away from core businesses and core competencies rarely creates value for the shareholders. High leveraged acquisitions put the firm at higher financial risks, particularly when the firm’s products depend on business cycles. Shocks to the economy may result in insolvency and possible bankruptcy. The company may have to sell assets at low prices to meet debt obligations. As financial markets become more and more sophisticated, investors may diversify more easily, thereby making corporate diversification less attractive. Firms must continue to strengthen their core competencies and sustain their competitive advantages. In conclusion, the fundamental reason for the failed acquisition is due to lack of long term planning, forecasting and predicting of the return on investment relative to cost. The highly leveraged acquisition of Emhart placed Black & Decker at higher financial risks, primarily when the firm’s products depended on business cycles. As result of the inherited debt and the unanticipated market fluctuations and weak economy may result in collapse or possible bankruptcy of the corporation. Black & Decker Executives’ lack of strategic direction and poor application of funds may lead the corporation to sell of assets at low prices or lay off employee to meet debt obligations. Our recommendation for this case is, Black & Decker should stick with its original vision that includes the consolidation of their portfolio. The company should continue in investing in, and strengthening, its core products within its existing portfolio, so that these products will generate cash flow that will enable the company to embark upon expansion opportunities. In the future, Black & Decker should consider international companies with strong recognition in the countries that they plan on expanding into, considering either acquisition, merger, or creating a joint venture. The affiliation between Black & Decker and these companies must create synergy in order to justify such deliberate moves and expansions. These planned executive decisions and actions will help Black & Decker to obtain competitive advantages which will result in aboveaverage returns, leading to greater investor wealth and value to its employees.

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

Film analysis 2 - Essay Example The gifted jazz musicians try to put together their band. They search for their big hit while their lives are entangled in one night stands and flickering love affairs. The narrative or the genre is uncanny because it is a collection of different genres. It is a musical due to so many musical numbers in the movie. It is also a drama for the characters represent different traits. There is a character played by Jack Carson which is the manic-depressive bandleader, while Elia Kazan plays the free-spirited clarinetist. The movie also incorporates the film noir genre which is probably its highlight. An escaped convict joins the band and starts his affair with the femme fatale, played by Bettie Field. This unholy union proves to be the cause of the band’s destruction. Hence the narrative structure is a collage of different film genres. Storytelling and narrative are similar in the sense that the story incorporates so many genres that it is difficult to establish a conventional ‘storytelling formula’. There are many twists and turns that movie is hardly predictable. It also makes audience confused which is evident by mixed reviews about the movie (Othman, 1941). The way the band gets together is strange but very interesting. Somehow the band members get locked up in the same cell at a police station where they hear a blues singer singing. It is a perfect beginning for the movie as it serves as the hook of the whole plot. The audiences start thinking about this new form band and think whether it will do good or will become oblivion. The New Jersey roadhouse called The Jungle becomes their first performance stage. The way screenwriters connect the bad with this roadhouse is through a character named Del. the meeting between the two is so strange that the character first robs them and then shows them the way to the roadhouse. After watching the movie the audiences might feel a little

Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Legalized Essay

Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Legalized - Essay Example Using drugs to cheat in sport is not new. It is just becoming more effective that makes it more attractive to athletes. The International Amateur Athletic Federation estimates that only 10–15% of participating athletes are tested in each major competition which explains many can get away with it (Clayton et al). The incentive also for the winner is just far too attractive to resist. This explains why it is virtually impossible to stop the athletes from taking performance enhancing drugs no matter how harsh the penalties would be. Also, there are drugs such as erythropoietin (EPO) and growth hormone which are also natural chemicals in the body. As nutrition technology advances, these drugs becomes harder to detect because they are like the natural drugs in the body that even if they are being tested, they will still come out as negative. Performance enhancing drugs only becomes more dangerous when they are banned because it can no longer be regulated. When performance enhancing drugs are banned, athletes and their handlers will likely get them in an unknown black market where they do not know whether such drug is safe or not. And instead of properly testing them for their safety, potency and proper use, athletes will instead rely on the trial and error of the use of performance enhancing drugs because they have to hide their use so that they will not be caught. This is a very dangerous practice because they do not know what they are doing. And this is the real risk in the use of performance enhancing drugs than the performance enhancing drugs themselves because they run the danger of taking too much, or taking the wrong drugs. This explains why we often hear athletes who died or suffered from performance enhancing drugs side effects because they do not know what they are doing. If performance enhancing drugs are regulated, the athletes can come out in the open to use the proper avenues for their safety, potency and proper use. Government and sport regulat ors on the other hand can test the safety and proper use of performance enhancing drugs and can dispense advises on their effects and their proper use. If there are side effects to a particular substance of a performance enhancing drugs, at least the athlete knows what he or she is taking and can prepare for remedial measure just in case something goes wrong in taking the performance enhancing drugs. This is safer because help can be had when something goes wrong compared to banning them altogether where athletes could not seek help in case of overdose or misuse for fear of being caught and penalized. And this is the danger of keeping it underground. Critiques of performance enhancing drugs argue that they are cheating because they are making themselves better than everyone else. And that it defeat the purpose of the sport because they would not know if the athlete is really that good without performance enhancing drugs and that it does not make sense to reward people who are cheati ng (Debate.org). This argument however can easily be debunked by the purpose of the sport which is really to be better than competitors. That instead of depriving the opportunity to be better with the help of drugs, it would be safer to make it available to everybody in a regulated and safe manner and see how far can everybody go. Undue advantage only makes it cheating when not all have the same chances of winning. Banning performance enhan

My Preferred Learning Style Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Preferred Learning Style - Personal Statement Example Learning styles are more concerned with one’s preferred learning style rather than what learners learn. A student shows consistency in learning style by reacting to and employing stimuli in relation to learning. Keefe (1979) defines learning styles as the â€Å"composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives interacts with, and responds to the learning environment† (as cited in NW Link, 2011). Stewart and Felicetti (1992) define learning styles as those â€Å"educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn,† thus, stressing on the role of preferred learning styles (as cited in NW Link, 2011). According to the principles of the Dunn and Dunn learning styles system, students always prefer to learn in their learning style and perform better. From the teaching point of view, if teachers follow students’ processing styles out of the global-analytical continuum or any of their preferred styles from kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, and visual, the learning process can be made faster among students (Dybvig and Church, 2010). Generally, it is noticed that students cannot learn faster because they are not taught in their preferred and distinct learning style. Ideally, students need to inculcate the various leaning methods so that learning does not become an arduous task for them by depending solely on their preferred learning style only, although they may excel in talent and intelligence possessing above average sharpness in comprehending the learning process (Dybvig and Church, 2010). Students need to strengthen various learning ways where they are not competent enough.  

What were the major foreign policy issues of the 1950s Justify your Essay

What were the major foreign policy issues of the 1950s Justify your response by addressing the significance of each. (Do not just list them) - Essay Example The Truman Doctrine was created by President Truman in 1947. Although this policy was created before the 1950’s, the substance of the Truman Doctrine helped create the Containment Policy. The Truman Doctrine basically â€Å"provided an ideological shield to permit U.S. aid to pro-capitalist, and presumably anti-communist, nations† (Bacevich, 2007: 8). This allowed for the U.S. to become partially involved in Vietnam in 1950, and then escalate to an outright war. The Marshall Plan was created in 1947. This policy was created before the 1950’s, but helped post-WWII countries rebuild their economies in an effort to stop communism from spreading farther into Western Europe. Billions of American dollars were spent on economic support to help countries return to their economy before the war. It also served to unify the Western European countries and the United States as allies. The Americans offered money from the Marshall Plan (knowing the Soviets would not accept), but as expected the Soviets refused. This refusal created the division in Western and Eastern Europe (Hook and Spanier, 2006: 59). The Iron Curtain fell in Europe, but Western Europe was economically stable through the Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan had common goals of stopping communism. These measures were the foundation for the Containment Policy. The Containment Policy was a policy of stopping communism at all cost. If this meant setting up a puppet government under U.S. influence, so be it. The main goal was to fight communism, not consider what was best for the local population. The U.S. could not imagine a world of peaceful coexistence with the Soviets. Communism was a threat to the foundation of democracy according to the U.S. government. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan had stopped the flow of communism, but when China fell