Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Science and Math Is More Important Essay Example for Free

Science and Math Is More Important Essay Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to study history and literature than it is for them to study science and mathematics. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. (250-300 words) ESSAY History, literature, science and mathematics are all classic and very important subject in their own sense. No subject can be given more or less importance in life. However, in my opinion, studying science and mathematics are more important than studying history and literature. Firstly, science and mathematics are essential to most subjects. In other words, No matter which subject you want to learn, economics, finance or mechanics, you must have sufficient science and mathematics knowledge to understand it. For example, if person after studying science in secondary school, it is still possible to change lanes towards law at university, but if one only does the art subjects in school, one has no possibility of becoming an engineer later. My second reason is, studying science contributes abundantly to the human life. What I’m trying to say is, without science or mathematics, there won’t be any technology, which we will still be in our prehistoric days without it. Electricity is a typical example. How will we survive if the magical power vanished? Not only it’s used for lighting but to make most machines work. We need electricity like we need air to breathe. Although Shakespeare or Charles Dickens’s work are all very fascinating, but so are Newton’s laws of gravity and movement. And actually, without the creation of paper or pen, which is science, William Shakespeare wouldn’t exist. In conclusion, it is clear that the importance of science and mathematics have to be learnt is much more than studying history and literature. Science and mathematics should be the two most necessary and impotent subjects in our modern life.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Tescos Performance Based On Financial Ratios Commerce Essay

Tescos Performance Based On Financial Ratios Commerce Essay This research proposal studies on the factors which Tesco in their current profitability and meet it short-term financial obligation. Tesco also look strong for the employees motivation and the company competitive exists. Tesco was founded in year 1919 by Jack Cohen and the first Tesco name appeared in year 1929 (Tesco, 2010). Nowadays, the Britian leading retailer is Tesco and also United Kingdom based international supermarket chain (TESCO, 2010 and Tesco House, n.d.). They operating over 4,800 stores globally and employing over 472,094 people (Checksure, n.d.). At the beginning, they specializing in food, now move into areas like clothes, consumer electronics, consumer financial services, selling and renting DVDs, compact discs and music downloads, internet service and consumer telecoms (Tesco House, n.d.). They have 588 supermarkets and 257 are superstores. Besides that, they operates in 13 countries such as Republic of Ireland, Hungary Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Poland in Europe, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, India, and the U.S. (Tesco, 2010). The key towards Tesco success was related to their financial position which consists of generate a return on its resource, able to meet its short-term financial obligations and the efficiency ratios. Usually, the financial ratios analysis is including profitability, liquidity and investment ratios. Its normally used to analysis company performance which analyzes the success, failure and progress of company business. (Woods, 1999). In addition, it can also calculate for a company to be compared with other companies and own companies own past figures (Jiao and Bhalotra, 2007). Profitability ratios determine that the companys able to generate a return on its resource (missouribusiness.net, n.d.). Besides that, profitability shows proportion is advantageous business, measuring the overall performance was investigated, the profits of the company, can be used to test how your company operation, compares the current performance and the record of the past (Jiao and Bhalotra, 2007). It including gross profit, net profit margin, return on assets, and return on equity. The gross profit margin is indicates how well the company be able to generate a return at the gross profit level (Missouribusiness.net., n.d.). The gross profit margin considers the firms cost of goods sold, but does not include other costs (Netmba.com, n.d.). The formula for calculate the gross profit margin which is gross profit margin equal sales minus cost of goods sold divide by sales and multiply 100 percent. The formula calculates for net profit margin is net profit divide total sales also can call net sales and multiply 100 percent. However, this ratio ability provides a significant investment, indicate its sales business ability covers the smallest fixed cost and remains an acceptable profit (Missouribusiness.net, n.d). Formula calculation for return on assets is net incomes before taxes divide by total assets and multiply by 100 percent. This ratio display the effectively of the firms assets able being used to generate profits (Netmba.com, n.d.). In addition, low return on assets (ROA) indicates inefficient management, adverse when a high ROA which mean efficient in management (Barry, n.d.). Otherwise, this ratio in public company normally report return on assets to their shareholders, cause to tell them how well when using its assets to produce income. The return on equity (ROE) also knows as return on investment (ROI). The calculation compete for ROE which is return on equity equal net profit before taxes divide by shareholder equity multiply by 100 percent. These ratios usually indicate how well the company is utilizing its equity in investment and normally will higher than return on assets. According to proficient, if those companies hope their business growth in future, therefore, their ratio needs at least 10 to 14 percent in ROI (Barry, n.d.). This is a good figure to compare beside competitors or an industry average. For example, if the ratio is lower which mean that they meager management performance. In other words, a high return on investment indicates that management is doing well. Liquidity ratios is show how quick the company able to convert assets to cash, and pay off interest (Carter, 2010). Furthermore, the low levels of liquidity ratio can demonstrate poor management for grown up company (Netmba.com, n.d.). Besides that, its providing with useful limit for business managers to help them regulate their borrowing and spending (Barry, n.d.). The main liquidity ratios are the current ratio and quick ratio. Current ratio is also called the working capital ratio (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). It is the number of times a companys current assets exceed its current liabilities, which is an indication of the solvency of that business (Auerbach, n.d.). The formula to compute the current ratio which is total Current Assets divide total Current Liabilities. A general rule of thumb for current ratio should be at least 2:1 (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). A lower current ratio determines that the company may not be ability to pay its invoices on time, while a higher ratio means that company has money in cash or safe investment that could be put to better use in business (Barry, n.d.). The quick ratio is also called the acid test ratio (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). It indicates the extent to which company could pay current liabilities without relying on the sale of inventory (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). A general rule of thumb states that the ratio should be 1 to 1 or 1:1 (Missouribusiness.net, n.d.). If it is higher, the company may be keeping too much cash on hand or have a poor collection program for accounts receivable (Barry, n.d.). If it is lower, it may indicate that the company relies too heavily on inventory to meet its obligations. The formula for compete quick ratio is current assets minus inventory and divide current liabilities. 4.0 Significance of study: Basically, this study is seen vital as in it helps Tesco to do their financial performance more effectively. Regarding on that, it more related to the financial ratio analysis whether in term of profitability, liquidity and investment ratios that Tesco would take in for their effective management. Furthermore, this study also could acts as references for other retails that going to develop in the future as well to enhance competitive advantages. 5.0 Literature Review: Part A 5.1 Profitability ratios Profitability ratios are an indication of companys overall efficiency and performances. According to the calculation of annual report, the Tesco gross profit margin from year 2009 (7.76%) to 2010 (8.10%) increases 0.34 percent. During year 2010, Tesco net profit margin increasing 0.14 percent from 3.97 percent to 4.11 percent (Tesco, 2010). It indicates Tesco every year able to grown their revenues (Wearden, 2010). This is because they believe that having a good profitability the companies now can operate well in worldwide markets. Besides that, the profitability also provided information for investor to let the investors to know how well they company is going to evolution (Beginnermoneyinvesting.com, n.d.). Not only Tesco using this ratios and Carrefour S.A also use this ratio method. Because the Carrefour believe that improve in the profitability, it will efficient to the businesses running. Therefore, Tesco and Carrefour believed that using past data as a benchmark to make a concl usion as to why the profitability is increasing and decreasing, so that the company can go well (Mysmp.com, n.d.). For example, during the fiscal year in 2008, the Tesco had a better sales growth rate, so that they company moving up from number four to number three in the ranking in the world. When hold on more of retaining, its profits would cope with future external market challenges (Fresh Easy Buzz, 2010). 5.2 Investment Ratios Return on equity also known as return on investment (ROI). This ratio widely use by company because it ability to indications how efficiently the money invested in a company is providing a return to those investors (finpipe.com). In addition, the investor will through by ROE to get information what they need to make a sound decision (Winters, 2002). The investors normally will look for positive ROE, before making any kind of investment and also use to compare different investment options by an investment advisor (Dogra, n.d.). During 2010, Tesco ROE is 12.04 if compare to 2009 (11.98%) it increase around 0.06 percent. Besides that, Carrefour also emphasis on ROE, because investor is their money income if their ROE is not well that will influence their business and will affect them to expand in international business in worldwide. Therefore, the equity also look more to the operational and profitability ratios which to determine future profits that will accrue to the shareholder and t he shareholders compare the profitability of different projects by looking into their return on investment ratios (Dogra, n.d. and finpipe.com, n.d.). According to Shannon report (2010), Tesco CEO Terry Leahy announcement that the 145 store Fresh Easy should become profitable in fiscal 2013. Because of this announcement it causes the return on equity growth. In addition, a sharp improvement in Asia markets like Thailand and Korea able to helped drive sales growth. Return on Assets is evaluate to use get a feel for how well a company using their assets to generate income (money-zine.com, n.d.). During year 2010, Tesco ROA increase around 0.5 percent from 6.4 percent to 6.9 percent, because of the amortization charge on intangible assets arising acquisition. It also causes the group trading profits increase. In addition, they release cash from property through a sequence of joint ventures and other sale and leaseback transaction. Therefore, these transactions so far is completed which with pension funds, property companies and other investors would have delivered aggregate proceeds of  £2.2bn (Tesco, 2010). 5.3 Liquidity ratios Liquidity ratios are determined of a company ability to meet its debts (Winters, 2002). Liquidity ratios have current ratio and quick ratio. Current ratio is help company to see their able to pay their current debts without going against future earnings. In year 2009, Tesco current ratio 2009 is 0.77: 1 and year 2010 is 0.74:1. However, we can realize that current ratio from 2010 is decrease. This is because they always have new markets to invest in. The Tesco CEO Terry Leahy increase in borrowing ratios when spearheaded  £6.6 billion of spending on expansion, including the  £958 million takeover of South Koreas Homever supermarket chain. Although, Tescos facing debt is high but they feel it still very healthy balance sheet (Bloomberg, 2009). Quick ratio is show of the companys ability to make the payments on current obligation. Quick ratio for Tesco in year 2009 is 0.61:1 and year 2010 is 0.56:1. It shows that year 2010 ratio is decrease. This is because during that period they facing financial crisis. Although their ratio is decrease but they still can pay the debts because of they repaid their debt more early and use that was earning little interest to buy back higher interest-bearing corporate bonds (Tesco, 2010). Part B 5.4 Competition Besides that, competition in the worlds market is more important because it enables help the company assess intelligently the business environment in which the firm operates. This is because if without competition, the company unable to improve as in no competitive advantage. The competition enables the management to identify the companys weak points which to helps the firm to concentrate on the areas it needs to improve. The Main competitors of the Tesco are Carrefour S.A., J Sainsbury plc, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC and so on (Datamonitor, 2004). These are the main competitors in business strategies and the value markets. In other words, it also can help the company to know what kinds of actions are required to development with the competitive position in the industry (Articlesbase.com, n.d). 5.5 Motivation Employees are considered the important asset of a company. Based on that, the key of business success is general relying on employees. Employees are considered the important asset of a company. Based on that, the key of business success is general relying on employees. Tesco mission is work as a team, trust and respect each other, listen, support and say thank you, and share knowledge and experience to customers. Above all they want their employees everyone at Tesco can enjoy their work. Besides that, the Tesco believe that if you treat people well they will give great service so they customer able to enjoy their shopping trip. Tesco know their employees can work better when they are given the space to make decisions and take responsibility. They also encourage their employees to learn from their mistakes and challenge conventional thinking (Tesco, 2010). 6.0 Methodology: Theoretical framework for this study is: Gross Profit Margin (IV) DB Total Assets Turnover (IV) Net Profit Margin (IV) Return on Assets (IV) Stock Turnover Period (IV) Tesco Performance (DV) Quick Ratio (IV) Return on Equity (IV) Current Ratio (IV) In this case, the Tesco performance is dependent and financial ratios are independent. Generally, secondary data collection is going to be done in order to help achieve the objectives in this study. It can through by annual report to do a comparatives which how well the Tesco performance in current year and previous year. In addition, they can highlight the variances in past budget, so that they can improve in following year through by these problems. (Words count: 2061) Reference lists Auerbach. A., n.d. How To Analyze Your Business Using Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: ,http://www.esmalloffice.com/SBR_template.cfm?DocNumber=PL12_1500.htm> [Accessed 26 October 2010] Barry. C.C., n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Beginnermoneyinvesting.com, n.d. Profitability Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Bloomberg, 2009. Tescos debt-fueled growth sparks investor backlash. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Carter. M., 2010. The Purpose of Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Checksure, n.d. Tesco Plc and History of Tesco Plc. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 26 October 2010] Datamonitor, 2004. Tesco PLC. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2010] Dogra. A., n.d. Return on Assets Ratio. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Finpipe.com, n.d. Financial ratio analysis. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 4 November 2010] Fresh Easy Buzz, 2010. Tesco Drops From Third to Fourth Place in Important Global Retailing Ranking Despite Having Higher Sales Growth Than Rival. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Jiao. K. and Bhalotra. K., 2007. Financial Analysis J Sainsbury Plc. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Kulkarni. A., n.d. Return on Equity Ratio. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Missouribusiness.net, n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Money-zine.com, n.d. Investment Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Mysmp.com, n.d. Profitability Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Netmba.com, n.d. Financial Ratios. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2010] Shannon. S., 2010. Tesco First-Half Profit Gains as International Sales Rebound. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Tesco, 2010. About TESCO. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 October 2010] Tesco, 2010. Annual report 2009 2010. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Annual report 2009 2010. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Creating good jobs and careers. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 15 November 2010] Tesco, 2010. Group performance. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 29 October 2010] Tesco House, n.d. Tesco Plc Business Information, Profile, and History. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 17 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2009. Tesco reports weak sales growth. The company is still planning to hire around 10,000 people during 2009 more than Sainsburys and Morrisons together. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2009. Tesco unveils record profits of  £3bn. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 October 2010] Wearden. G., 2010. Tesco rings up record profits. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 28 October 2010] Winters. A., 2002. Investment tips: what are key investment ratios? [Online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2010] Executive Summary:http://www.scribd.com/doc/39455198/TESCO-Financial-Analysis

Five Phases of Nursing Process Essay

Five Phases of Nursing Process Essay Discuss how the five phases of the nursing process may be used to provide effective nursing care (1500-2000) Introduction The nurse as a health care provider meets the total needs of the patient and this need to be done in an attentive and cautious way as there is life involved. Nursing is concerned with the psychological, spiritual, social and physical aspect of the person rather than only on the patient’s medical condition. Critical thinking alone is not enough for solving problems. Critical thinking needs to be combined with scientific methods to identify patient’s problems and provide care in an effective way. This structure of thinking and acting is called the nursing process. Nursing Process The nursing process plan is an important aid in the hospitalization of patients. It is a systematic, client oriented not task centred which enables the nurse to identify the client care problems. The effective use of the nursing process helps the nurse to determine not only existing problems but also problems that might arise in the future. Being able to assume problems may prevent pain and complications to the client. The nursing process consists of five interrelated phases – assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. Each of the five steps depends on the efficiency of the previous steps. In each step of the nursing process both the nurse and the patient need to work together as partners. The nursing process is also a continuous process because health conditions can change from time to time. The nurse must frequently reassess, implement, insert new interventions and revaluate the overall process. The nursing process has no specific periods, it can last fo r days, months or years, and all this depends on the patient’s current status. All steps of the nursing process rely upon complete and authentic information gained and given about the client. Assessment The nursing process begins as soon as a relationship forms between the patient and the nurse. This nurse-client relationship will help and also determine part of the end results. Assessment begins by gaining data regarding the patient. Data can be collected from a variety of sources. The client is the primary source which can share personal perceptions and feelings about health and illness. During the assessing process the nurse and the patient will eventually start building a sense of trust between them. It is the nurse duty to make the patient comfortable enough to talk and give information; this will help the nurse to identify more quickly the patient strengths and weaknesses. Secondary sources are utilizing when additional information is required to clarify data and when the patient is unable to provide information. However, they include the patient’s family or individuals present in the patient’s environment. When data is given by secondary sources it is also important for the nurse to avoid being defensive as this may cause both the client and relatives to avoid being honest and open. The nurse communication must make the patient and famil y feel free to share their comments and also ask some questions, after all this aids for a better plan of care. The nurse while gaining information from secondary sources should carefully consider the patient’s right to confidentiality. Interviewing, observation and physical examination are three major methods that are used to gather information during nursing assessment. By interviewing the patient the nurse can acquire specific information and naturally it facilitates nurse-patient relationship. The nonverbal components of a nurse-patient interaction frequently transmit a message more effectively than the actual spoken words. The patient’s facial expression however also reveals important information. On the other hand observation involves the use of senses to acquire information and this mostly requires practice from the nurse. The focus of physical examination is the diagnosis of the disease. Both objective and subjective data are used while assessing the patient. Objective data consist of observational attitudes towards the patient’s behaviour. Subjective data is gathered when the nurse while interviewing the patient obtain data about his/her feelings. After the assessing part, documentation of data needs to be done. The purpose of documentation is to establish communication amongst the members of the health team. Documentation also tracks the patient progression and regression. Assessment is a continues activity that begins at the time of admission and continue during patient contact. Diagnosis After the nurse has collected and prioritized the patient data, diagnosis begins. The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) which operates the official list of nursing diagnostics states that nursing diagnosis are â€Å" a professional judgment based on the application of clinical knowledge which determined potential or actual experiences and responses to health problems and life processes†. Through nursing diagnosis the nurse can determine actual and potential health problems. Existing needs will always take the priority upon potential problems not because they are not important but the existing ones would need to be tackled first to try to avoid potential ones. In the diagnosing step, the nurse analyzes data gathered from the nursing assessment. These data help the nurse to identify patient strengths and health problems. In this phase data are processed, classified, interpreted, and validated. Classification allows the nurse to manage the large volume of data. Placing data into categories also helps the nurse to identify missing data that require for more discussion. Interpretation leads the nurse to recognize the patients’ patterns and trends. While through validation the nurse is able to verify the accuracy of data. Errors in the diagnostic process such as inaccurate interpretation of data, incomplete data and lack of knowledge or experience can result in nursing diagnostic statements that are not suitable for the patient. Diagnosis will help the nurse to report the findings to other health care professions and work collaboratively with them to resolve the patient problem. We should be aware about the difference occurring between nursing diagnosis and medical diagnosis. While the nursing diagnosis identifies responses to health and illness medical diagnosis focuses more on curing. Planning After the nurse collects patient data and identifies patient strengths and health problems, it is time to plan for nursing action. The nurse here can debate with a specialist to choose an adequate type of plan of care to a particular patient. During planning the nurse needs to work hand in hand with the patient and family to prioritize the nursing diagnosis. Educating the patient and answering questions about the patients’ doubts is really useful in this phase as this gives a clear image on what the patient needs are to build his/her outcomes. Prioritizing takes place by identifying patient goals and expected outcomes, identify nursing interventions that may help the patient to achieve his/her goals, and communicate the plan of care. If an outcome is nursed-focused rather than patient-centred it is incorrectly done. If a patient is not willing enough to achieve certain goals and outcomes than the plan of care would be waste of time. The inclusion of the patient as and active p articipant in the plan of care will help to facilitate the achievement of the outcomes. Patient’s refusal to participate in the plan of care may result to a failure in validation. The nurse, patient and family need to work together to make the goals valuable and lead to a worthwhile plan of care. The initial planning is the initial assessment as soon as the patient admission and this may change several times according to the patient new diagnosis and goals. Ongoing planning is the assessment done by all the nurses who work with the client throughout the time a patient is admitted to hospital. Discharge planning is the plan of care after the patient is discharged from hospital. Implementation The implementation phase begins after the nursing care plan has been developed. Here plan of care is put into action to see how effective it is. The purpose of implementation is to assist the patient in achieving desired health goals: prevent disease and illness, restore health and facilitate coping with altered functioning. It is important for the nurse to assess the patient periodically so it will be easy for the nurse to establish whether interventions are being effective. Again when implementing nursing care it is important to work in partnership with the patient and family. Before implementing nursing action, the nurse should reassess the patient again to make sure whether the action is still needed. It is very typical that changes occur within the nursing actions due to health changes which may be enhanced or deteriorated. After all it is of great importance to face the patient about his/her health situation caringly, he/she has right to know what he/she is experiencing. Docume ntation is really important in this phase both for the nurse and for the patient. The nurse through documentation can evaluate and examine the patient’s status while the patient can by him/herself analyze his/her own health advancement and where he/she can improve more to reach goals. After documentation is done the nurse should consult colleagues to see if other approaches might be more successful. Evaluation The process of evaluation which is ongoing happens as soon as all the nursing intervention actions occur. Through evaluation the nurse in relation with the patient determine whether the goals/outcomes stated in the plan of care have been met, partially met or not met. Effectiveness of care is determined through this process in which new modification can be introduced. Based on the patient’s responses to the plan of care and achievement the nurse can decide whether to terminate, if there are difficulties in achieving outcomes or continue the plan of care if more time is needed to achieve goals. The purpose of evaluation is to determine the overall patient’s progress, lack of progress and the effectiveness of nursing care in helping patient’s achieve their expected outcomes/goals. Evaluation can be conducted at the end of the nursing process and this is done by comparing the patient’s health status with the outcomes defined in the plan of care. If evaluation reveals that the patient has made little or no progress towards goals/outcomes stated in the plan of care the nurse needs to revaluate each previous step. If the outcome was achieved by the patient then the care plan can be revised again without the need to add more outcomes in the nursing plan. An effective evaluation can result from the nurse’s accurate communication with the patient and good observation skills throughout the ongoing process. Evaluation can give a feedback; this feedback is judging the nurse whether being a good care giver or what could be arranged next time to be a better one. Conclusion When the nursing process is used effectively it promotes many advantages both towards the nurse and patient. From the nurse’s point of view, the nursing process enables you to determine if your nursing care helped the client. The nursing process also helps the nurse to avoid errors and inadequacy in the plan of care. The nurse by making use of the nursing process can improve communication with the rest of the health care professions and patients. On the other hand, the client is an active participant, knowing well his/her roles in his/her health status. Therefore, the patient is given a sense of responsibility. When the nursing process is delivered in a proper way, it works efficiently leading to satisfying results. This is the reason why nurses are encouraged to make use of this process as much as possible. Sometimes it is difficult to manage to implement the nursing process well to each patient. Often wards are too chaotic having opposing patients or being short of staff and it is difficult for a nurse to give a lot of attention on each patient. Nurses are human and as humans they are not perfect, although they try to give their best in patient’s care and needs. After all their dedicated work, nurses get back a huge sense of satisfaction when seeing that they were part of great difference to others.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Torchwood, Egoism, and Utilitarianism Essays -- Literary Analysis

Torchwood’s third season â€Å"Children of Earth,† contains many momentous events which question human rationality, having good sagacity, judgment, and equanimity. Throughout these events two ethical philosophies unravel. The first philosophy, egoism, actions with solely one’s interests in mind, plays a major role in the season. Ethical egoists believe that one should look out for no one else but themselves, and a theory of psychological egoism states that whatever the reasoning is behind an action, the action is always an individual’s self-interest. The inconceivable enthralling events in the season are due to the 456’s yearning for ten percent of the children population. However, their request is not based upon a life-supporting necessity, but merely an egotistical longing for a pleasurable â€Å"high† the children supply them with. The second philosophy, utilitarianism, is based on Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utility, actions whi ch amplify happiness and diminish pain for the majority of people, play an essential role. To restrain the heinous act from occurring, Jack sacrifices his own grandson, Steven, to spare the lives of the other children on Earth. The 456 are at fault for the outlandish children-related incidences around the world. The children stop in mid-action and recite exact words at the same time for five consecutive days. These events are linked to a previous abduction by the 456 in 1965. The only two people conscious of the previous abduction are immortal Captain Jack, who was there during the abduction, and the Home Office Permanent Secretary John Frobisher. For most of the first episodes, Torchwood members, Jack, Ianto, and Gwen, know nothing of the situation, but are able to communicate with an insider, Lois Habiba, ... ...uction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 170. Online book. Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 165. Online book. Rosenstand, Nina. â€Å"Individual Ethical Egoism.† The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 183. Web source. Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hil Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 225. Online book. Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 229. Web source. Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education/CourseSmart, 2008. 241. Online book.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

The State of Revolutionary Ideology in Modern-day China Essay -- Revol

The State of Revolutionary Ideology in Modern-day China Over the course of history, many violent revolutions have brought forth new leaders and new ideas. They came in a great many forms and in response to a variety of circumstances. However, the Communist Revolution in China remains perhaps the greatest recent example. Not only because it took more than two decades to complete, but also because there was an attempt to institutionalize revolution after some initial changes to build state infrastructure. China is an incredibly complex entity with a history approximately 22 times longer than the United States and is as far culturally from the West as it is geographically. Particularly in contrast to the Western acceptance of dissent, has been a long-standing institution of Confucian principles. When oversimplified, Confucian principles mean that children submit to their parents, wives submit to husbands, and citizens obey the state. To disagree with a superior in China is risky business, because ultimately the most important thing is to maintain good appearances. With such a strong emphasis on hierarchy and submission to authorities it is surprising that a revolution in China ever occurred. Part of what I wish to examine were the circumstances in which revolution took place, considering that the 20th century witnessed two Chinese revolutions, the first ending the long dynastic tradition in 1911. I also wish to examine the attempt to institutionalize revolution during the early part of the PeopleÂ’s Republic of China, the PRC, most notable during the Cultural Revolution, as well as look at the popular movement for democracy during the decade following the Cultural Revolution. What appears from the history of the PRC is the... ...year that is based on files released by the CCP, describes the ideas of China's top seven leaders. They do not promote Mao Zedong thought, nor do they push for democracy and human rights. They are technocratic and believe in modernizing China with a strong authoritarian fist. What appears through the various strands of recent Chinese history, be it related to overpopulation, state repression, or economic satiation, is a populace that is currently unprepared and uninterested in pursuing any form of revolution. The change in mindset from Mao to today's leaders marks a distinct transformation from revolutionary ideology as a necessary and vital component within political life to a harmful and disruptive force. Unless a cataclysmic event rocks the political climate or an economic catastrophe occurs, it is unlikely that China will see another revolution any time soon.

Friday, August 2, 2019

Be Careful What You Wish for

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR Drama practice. Revision. Homework. Writing essays– which is what I am doing now! So many things to do, so little time to actually do it. I am sprawled on my bed, along with my dictionary fiddling with my pen, deep in thought. Throughout that thousands of seconds I spent writing this essay, I often scrambled through the dictionary or Googled for words that would come in handy, composing this essay by scribbling word after word that was unreadable to everyone except myself.As my eyes darted to the untouched Chemistry homework due in two days, I rummaged through the strands of information that meandered at the back of my mind, in the hope of finding the answers to the questions regarding the practicality of what I was doing; why am I even writing this essay when I had other plans for today, like revising Chapter 2 of History. Sighing, I dropped my Carrera pen and clutched my iPod Nano–which I believed would be the antidote to my chagrin. Then, I stuffed my earphones into my ears willing my fingers to trace the song that I desperately needed at that moment–Time by Hans Zimmer.I was immediately taken in by the mellifluous song, the tender flow dictating my muscles to relax, the abstract beauty of it sinking my mind into a trance. Completely oblivious to the sounds of the outside world, I stared blankly at the four alphabets displayed on the screen- T I M E. Time. That was when realisation dawned on me. It’s strange how time, woven into our daily lives, casts a huge significance in every molecule of our being. It shows us no benignancy as it numbers our days, thus forcing us to endure the dull prospects of limitations, practicality and also the inability to maximise diversity and perfection at the same time.If only I could FEEL like I was divorced from time, savouring one moment to another, without having regrets or ‘I could have’ moments. For instance, if only I felt time held no sway over me, co uld I have kick-started my day with those Manchester United matches in the wee hours of certain mornings without wailing about the lack of sleep? Or I could have aroused my book-worm taste buds by dwelling on that stack of untouched storybooks which I purchased during the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale last year. Brushing the zig-zag thoughts off my mind, I flipped my iPod and gazed at the words engraved at the back of it-Live in Limbo!My mind propelled me to the thought of what that line meant to me. Limbo, as depicted in the movie Inception, is an unconstructed dream space of raw infinite subconscious which is more real than reality itself. Every second in Limbo would feel like an eternity, when in contrary, every second actually passes by with blinding speed. And when I meant Live in limbo, I was referring to it as a reminder to enjoy life and FEEL like I am in Limbo†¦ To FEEL that time really does crawl so that I can revel in the assumption that time would always be by my side like my Best Friend Forever, even when it is not.Right now, if I really was in Limbo, I wouldn’t be fretting or whining about time constraints. How I deeply wish that Limbo would be my reality. In that instant, I was transported into a seemingly endless and vast expanse of blankness, similar to that of being in an isolation tank. I knew where I was; Limbo. It was now my world, my reality. I had the power to create, filling my world with elements ranging from trees to buildings; imagination was the only tool I needed. I was even capable of creating a personal aeroplane but what I wanted at that very moment was to FEEL like I had control over time.In a split second, I had become someone who was born with an ‘imaginary silver clock’†¦The words ‘silver clock’ symbolising time that passes by unhurriedly, the word ‘imaginary’ referring to the fact that I only FEEL the seconds crawling pass and so it is only part of my imagination that time is not running out. I wasted no time in engineering my world–copying and pasting flashes of my memories into my surreal world. My subconscious mind, on the other hand, automatically filled up my world with projections of people I knew and never knew.My life went on as usual- going to school, attending drama practices, going for tuition, Face booking†¦But the difference was the pinch of conjury in it; that of the fact that I didn’t FEEL distressed, that I somehow held the key for doing anything I wanted as I felt time siding with me. I saw myself achieving goal after goal, consigned from oblivion that none of it was real; that I was in Limbo, and it was all part of my imagination. The youth in me got sucked out as every second passed- Until I got older and older and at the age of 28, I actually ran out of goals.I had a career, a house, a car that anyone would have dreamed of; all of it due to the grace of time being on my side. What else did I want after feeling like I had what I wanted and it seemed like an eternity had just whipped by? I wanted nothing any more. That was when my mind reeled into aimlessness, boredom, disheartenment. I had nothing else to do. However, even if I did, I would always feel time creeping by me, past me and somehow I would always achieve my goals, even if it was a mile apart from me. It was my world after all.I was bewitched by a spell on my mind indicating that time, for me would be like a space probe plummeting into the depths of the universe. As my mind free-fell into thought, questioning my well-being†¦I remembered. The memory came in thick and fast, like someone flipping through the pages of a diary as one image popped out after another vividly in my mind; That essay, that sixteen year old girl who had so many things to do. Where did all of that go? Stark reality hit me like a 10. 0 magnitude earthquake; I carried memories of twelve unreal years, I had grown older in my own imagination.After that, I would have to battle a poison called aimlessness for the rest of my life. That was only because I wanted to FEEL that time passed by slowly. Now I bemoaned wishing Limbo was my reality. The fear that gripped me; visceral, primal. The violent tremor on my shoulders jolted my eyes open. It was my mum. I was sixteen and young. Only ten minutes had passed by since I was in Limbo. I would never wish that Limbo was my reality–the promise to FEEL that time was on my side was an impossible cross to bear. Next time, I will be careful what I wish for because it might be a poison that I would not be able to deal with. (1199 WORDS)

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Movie Review The Lord Of the War Essay

Lord of War almost didn’t make it to the big screen. In fact, it barely even reached the production stage due to its bristly, accusatory subject matter of illegal international arms dealing. Yet despite its Hollywood feel, â€Å"Lord of War† is an excellent introduction to the opaque and oft-ignored activities of the merchants of death, or lords of war. Writer/director Andrew Niccol (The Terminal, Simone, and The Truman Show) insisted upon strictly adhering to true life events that shed an unflattering light on many of the world’s wealthiest nations. Although telling the truth in Lord of War makes for a riveting tale of international intrigue and finger pointing, it wasn’t really a great way to secure funding for a major motion picture. It took the gumption of several foreign investors who were willing to take a chance that the film’s powerful message would resonate with audiences. Count me as one of those moved by the film’s cruel honesty. Still living with his immigrant family in Brighton Beach, Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) has had enough–the family restaurant has no customers, his cook brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) can’t cook and his mother nags his devout Jewish father who is anything but Jewish. So instead of getting sucked into a go-nowhere life, Yuri naturally gets into arms dealing. After selling a local hood an Uzi, Yuri discovers that he might actually have the knack. He recruits his younger brother–more for moral support than business acumen–and begins to soar up the arms dealing food chain, attaining wealth, luxury and an exciting lifestyle along the way. The only thing he lacks is his dream girl–Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), a Brighton Beach beauty queen-turned-supermodel. But Yuri finally wins her heart, too, by posing as a legitimate businessman with more money than he actually has. Ava senses he’s not legit, but just as long as they have their penthouse overlooking Central Park and a chauffeured limo, she’d rather not know what he does. Meanwhile, Yuri’s interests clash with his chief rival, Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm), an old-school gunrunner, coming to terms with the end of the Cold War. Backed into a corner, Yuri is given a choice between continued competition or none at all, and his decision sends Yuri into a spiral of rapid moral decay despite ever-increasing profits. His greatest struggle through it all has been with himself. In the end, he learns to accept the Golden Rule of arms dealing: Never wage war with anybody, especially yourself. Lord of War shines its cinematic spotlight on the shadowy world of illicit arms trafficking – a global scourge that has claimed millions of lives since the end of the Cold War. According to Yuri in this film, owning guns or bullets is the second most basic human need behind eating. The skeleton is here for a truly revolutionary film that simply ties with the real world of today which ways reveal bold strokes about the amorality of world politics, and how every single one of us has rationalized the wholesale export of violence because it keeps us in comfort. The world is a business – it’s about money, of course, and as long as someone is paying, actions toward fellow man are burdensome, if not irrelevant. There is only the bottom line, and every man, woman, or child who has died on the field of battle has done so in the name of profit, usually of the corporate variety. As we compare to this existing world of today, a lot of business intelligent men chose to profit from human frailty. Lord of War narrates the proceedings by breaking the third wall with a cynical, matter-of-fact voice-over that lays out a gritty, dirty snapshot of a world – the devastating consequences of the worldwide trade in weapons that we don’t want to know exists. Though we’re uncomfortable knowing the truth, seeing how it actually works is absolutely captivating. Nations throughout the world are implicated in wrongdoing, as Niccol’s pointed story pulls no punches. His brutal honesty often hurts. It is, for instance, fascinating and horrifying to learn that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are the world’s biggest arms suppliers, which technically, is correct; and also dares to suggest that death is the biggest business of all.   Most viewers won’t find comfort in accepting the film’s political accusations, and its moral dilemmas will undoubtedly offend many, especially in today’s increasingly volatile world. But good, thought-provoking filmmaking is good for us all. REFERENCE Niccol, A. (Director/Writer/Producer). (2005). Lord of War [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox -Arclight Films.