102 Week 7 Journal Response Professor Ramos Blog

102 Week 7 Journal Response This week we looked at monster reviews, analyzing monsters, library research, and Frankenstein to name a few. You have started to research your monsters, so this is a great opportunity to look up modern representations of your monster, and even reviews of the monster representation you are looking at. What was the critical and popular reception to your monsters, both when it came out and a modern day version? Requirements are still the same. About 250 words, summary and response to the article/post/news/etc; aka text. Comment below with a link to the text and your summary and response.

Global Environments Essays - Stock Market, Corporate Finance

Global Environments Essays - Stock Market, Corporate Finance Global Environments ACC 300 May 4, 2015 Global Environments When researching a publicly traded corporation that has exhibited global business strategies one of the top performers in todays market includes Starbucks. Starbucks was founded in 1971 in the popular Pikes Place market in Seattle, Washington. A lot has changed since then with stores exceeding 20,500 worldwide. Starbucks had its first IPO offer in 1992 and has split into a two-for-one stock five times under the NASDAQ trading symbol SBUX. Incorporated in the State of Washington in 1985, Starbucks has now branched out to include Starbucks Coffee, Seattles Best Coffee, Teavana, Tazo,Evolution Fresh, La Boulange and Torrefazione Italia Coffee as part of their business portfolio. In showing the global corporation that Starbucks has become, the analysis of financial statements will provide additional information on debt securities and stock investments. The analysis will also show figures will provide information as to the investments of stocks and debt securities that Starbucks has invested in. In looking at the difference between equity and debt securities, Starbucks will have some risks and rewards of equity versus debt securities. Reporting on Financial Statements Debt Securities, according to Investopedia (2015), are Any debt instrument that can be bought or sold between two parties and has basic terms defined, such as notional amount (amount borrowed), interest rate and maturity/renewal date. Debt securities for corporations include government or corporate bonds, certificates of deposit, preferred stock, collateralized securities, and zero-coupon securities (Investopedia, 2015). Companies use debt securities to gain financing for expansion, operations, or for any other activity where the business needs access to cash. Starbucks has long-term and current debt listed on its balance sheet, which makes up its debt securities. The listed liabilities for Starbucks are being used for expansion into domestic and foreign markets, as while as acquisitions of other companies. Starbucks current liabilities for debt securities were $794,500,000 and its long-term liabilities for debt securities totaled $2,440,500,000. Starbuck Corporations stock and investments are reported on the companys Consolidated Balance Sheet. Short and long-term investments are listed under the asset section and Common Stock is listed under Shareholders equity. On the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, stock is listed under Investment Activity and Financing Activities, which include transactions such as proceeds from the issuance of common stock and repurchase of common stock. The Consolidated Statement of Equity also has Stock Detail included in it. Under Note 12: Employee Stock and Benefit Plans, there is a breakdown of employee stock, listed on the consolidated financials, as well as a table listing outstanding shares. Note 14: Earnings per share, gives additional information. The 8K form also includes additional Stock information. Debt Securities A corporation will invest heavily in stocks and debt securities to help them raise capital to reinvest into the company. A company will also invest to have easily available liquidate assets in case they need to cash out money to pay off debts (John, 2015). Some corporations like Starbucks will also invest in stocks and debt securities to have a steady income coming into the business in case if the companys usual business actives fall below expectation (John, 2015). Starbucks has made debt-based financing decisions before, where they have borrowed from its investors to fund the corporation (Starbuck, 2014). The most logical reason the Starbucks Corporation would raise capital by the sale of debt securities in long-term securities is to expand the corporation globally, provide dividend payments and share acquisitions (Starbucks, 2014). According to Kimmel, Weygandt, and Kieso (2011) when a corporation incorporates to sells stocks it is then easier to raise the funds it needs to be a gr owing successful corporation. John (2015) states, Major Corporation often invests heavily in the stock market, but stocks, bonds and other securities are also attractive investment options for small-business owners (para. 1). According to John, (2011) corporation that invest in stocks and securities can make money to help increase a companys net worth. When our team looked at Starbucks we saw the basis of what the business intel as well as potential investment opportunities that this organization has had in its past. Starbucks has the privilege of being in a very rare group of business in its industry that is well renowned in terms of what they service and the quality

Marketing 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing 1 - Essay Example This program is interactive in nature, and the company is able to collect any information that can help it to improve on their services for purposes of satisfying the various needs of its customers. Customers of the organization can also use the company’s website to book for airline tickets, check for any information concerning their flights, and also interact with the strategic partners of Virgin Atlantic, such as the Alamo car hire firm. The airline company has also introduced the technological mobile App that makes it possible for the customers of the organization to track and check on any information that pertain to their travelling (Crane, 2010). Through these marketing strategies, the airline company has made travelling to be fun, simple, and convenient. They have also helped to create a relationship between the company, and its customers. This is one of the philosophies contained in new-era orientation, and marketing concept. It is important to denote that the value that the airline company has created for its customers is the ability of its customers to travel in comfort, while also having fun. The airline company has managed to create this value, through the use of effective communication, between the company, and its target customers. The channels of communication occur through the company’s website, which is interactive in nature. One of the ethical issues facing the company is the conservation of the environment, through reduction of green house gases. It is important to understand that the airline company contributes to a great extent on the emission of carbon green house gases. This in turn contributes to a great extent on the concept of global warming, and climatic change. The management of Virgin Atlantic realizes this issue, and they have invested heavily on research, for purposes of finding alternative fuels, that can help the company to reduce the emission of these gases. A social issue that the company faces is its

Supplay chain management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Supplay chain management - Research Paper Example Any business that fails to do so is prone to failure and its survival as a going concern is in doubt. To attain the three main objectives of a business, the business needs to attain sufficient revenue and resources in the form of fixed assets and working capital (Muller, 2003: 1). Working capital include the resources used in the trading activities of a business. Working capital is important because it is the resource base that is used to attract more profits through trade. It is through profitability that a business can earn liquid resources to fund its existence. On the other hand, there is the need growth and expansion, which is characterized by the holding up of wealth in fixed assets. This is also a vital part of the growth of an organization because holding more assets enables a business to expand appropriately and remain a stronger going concern. This means that fixed assets are essential and necessary for the expansion and promotion of business. However, locking up too much o f your capital in fixed assets leads to over-capitalization and this leads to a situation where there will be limited working capital for trading purposes (Chakraborty, 2003: 2). On the other extreme, holding too much working capital leads to over-trading which stands in the way of growth and survival of the business. There is therefore the need for businesses to draw a balance between the extent of locking up capital in assets and in trading activities. Inventory or stocks is an important element of business because in most production entities, inventory represents over 50% of the cost of production (Bragg, 2004: 1). This therefore means that inventory is a major factor that determines the nature, existence and operations of a business. The elements of inventory costs include cost of purchase, cost of storage, labor to receive, checking quantity, retrieval, selection, packing, shipping and accounting for it (Muller, 20030 p2). These costs sum up to very high amounts that are materi al in the financial statements of the business. Inventory is vital in the cost structure of businesses. This is because it can be a point for the lock up of immense working capital which can affect trading as well as the capitalization of the the business. Inventory therefore has to be monitored regularly and closely to ensure that it does not become an avenue for the inefficient use of a business' wealth. The inventory must therefore be monitored and managed through various units of an organization like purchasing, production planning, inventory control, receipt and storage and distribution of inventory. (Bose, 2006: 31). This is done by the use of various techniques and skills in managing the purchase and movement of stocks. Bose (2006: 31) argues that some techniques can be used by managers to ensure the efficient use of resources for the monitoring and control of the inflow and dispatch of stocks as a component of supply chain management. These techniques include Just-in-Time (J IT), Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and Re-order Point/Point of Safety Stock. These techniques help managers to take decisions that help the management of organizations to ensure that the right levels of stocks are kept at any given point in time to ensure that production goes on without the lock up of capital. On the other hand, it enables the management to order for stocks at the right time to ensure that there are no stock-outs which leads to idle time in businesses. Re-order Point The re-order point concept

Ethical Dilemma between U.S. and Iraq Research Paper

Ethical Dilemma between U.S. and Iraq - Research Paper Example Religion and ethics are two closely related subjects. This is more significant in Iraq, which is an Islamic nation as compared to US, which is multicultural and recognizes different religions. The US is a multicultural country and, therefore, the country and the religion are two separate entities. In Iraq, the religion plays a vast role in defining what is right or wrong among the members of the society. According to the Islamic religion, it is ethical to kill other people who are against the teachings of Islam or Kafir (Velasquez, Claire, and Thomas web). In addition, it is ethical and valuable to die while fighting for the religion. This is absurd in the United States, which considers the rules of democracy as the basis of ethics. In this case, a person has the right to choose their religion. However, U.S is against religious extremism. This is because practices such as jihad are against the rules of democracy. In addition, the US values the life of all individuals regardless of th eir religious or political affiliation. According the law, everyone has equal rights to live and, therefore nobody has the rights of terminating the life of another individual. In Iraq, it is ethical for women to be subject to men while in the United States men and women are equal despite their physiological differences. The Iraq society considers men superior to women. This indicates that men have certain rights that are not accorded to women. In Iraq, every woman is expected to have a male guardian for guidance. In this case, a guardian is a husband, brother or father. The guardian is expected to lead or direct the woman on important issues such as religion, marriage and ownership of property. In the United States, the issue of a male guardian for women has no basis. This is because all individuals are equal according to the law regardless of their gender, education or religious affiliations. This indicates that, women have equal chances of owning property, starting and managing b usiness and making marriage decisions as men do. This issue is a major source of ethical conflict between the two societies as each country considers the other as moving in the wrong direction. Since the US led invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Sadam Hussein, the US and its western allies have been trying to establish the concept of democracy in the country. However, Iraq seems to be many miles away from achieving a democratic state. The numerous incidences of suicide bombers in the country are a clear indication that the US democratic intentions are not applicable in Iraq. Leadership is a major source of conflicts between the two countries and, it remains a controversial issue. It is an ethical requirement that all political leaders in United States should be elected through a free and fair electoral process that is supervised by states’ electoral commissions or authority (Badd 109). On the other hand, the Iraqis consider a leader to be someone of unique characteristics. In Iraq a good or competent leaders does not require being elected through a democratic election process but should have certain values and affiliations. It is therefore, right for the country to have a dictator such as Sadam Hussein provided he has desirable values and Islamic affiliations. In the US, upholding dictators is unacceptable. Issues of sexuality have also been a major source of

Bertoly Brechts Mother Courage Drama Essay

Bertoly Brechts Mother Courage Drama Essay Bertolt Brechts view on the function of theatre was that it should provoke its audience to change. The epic theatre, Karl Marx and German directors Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator were all inspiration for Brechts theory on the social function of theatre. ( 2004: 709) Brechts essays Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction and The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre clearly outline his understanding of what epic theatre is and how it should be used in practice. In both essays, Brecht explains what makes the epic theatre different from modern and dramatic theatre and discusses the techniques available with epic theatre and the effects they can have on the audience. When comparing his play Mother Courage and Her Children to the two essays, it is clear that Brecht has used the essays almost as guidelines to write the play and put his theories on epic theatre into practice. Mother Courage and Her Children is an extremely typical Brechtian play as it contains all the elements that Brecht wanted to include in his plays in order to present his new form of theatre which he believed had a greater social function. One of the most obvious examples of Brechts essays being put into practice in Mother Courage and Her Children is Brechts use of narrative instead of the plot. Each scene begins with a narrative description of what will happen in that scene, and the play itself starts with a prologue which introduces the central character (Mother Courage) and reveals what the play is about. Despite the fact that there is a storyline running through the play, the narrative style ties in with Brechts aim of not giving the audience the chance to become emotionally attached to the characters. The way in which the play jumps with each scene keeps the storyline general and tied more to the greater social events running throughout the play rather than single, individual events in a particular scene. Having spent much of his life in Germany and experiencing two world wars, it should come as no surprise that many of Brechts plays, including Mother Courage and Her Children, feature war as the overriding theme of the play. Brecht believed that war was a continuation of business by other means. Brechts theory on theatre meant that he did not want his audience to emotionally empathise with the characters on stage. In fact, Brecht deliberately created characters which would be subject to criticism from the audience. In order to invite this active rather than passive response from the audience, to provoke a reaction, Brecht instils traits in his characters which tend to make the audience not identify with them, but criticise them. Mother Courage is portrayed as a strong, witty, formidable woman whose sole purpose is to provide a living for both herself and her children. She is a sacrificial character and her love for her children draws an audience to like her. What prevents the audience from empathising with her is her extremely contradictory nature. Whilst pulling out a knife at the Sergeant and Recruiting Officer to protect her children, Courage calls refers to herself and her children as peaceable sorts. The Sergeants cool reply of your knife shows the sort you are further displays Courages contradictions. (Brecht 2004: 715) When sending her daughter Kattrin into town with the Clerk, Courage tells her not to worry and that nothing will happen, but upon Kattrins return where she is wounded, Courage claims she should never have let her go. When arguing with the Cook over a possible move to Utrecht, Courage tries to end the conversation with thats enough, only to continue it herself moments later. In the same scene, Courage encourages Kattrin for the two to go with the Cook to run his pub in Utrecht because life on the road is no sort of life, but after she sees Kattrin trying to run away she quickly turns on the Cook and questions what she and Kattrin would ever do in a pub. Of course the greatest contradiction of all throughout the play is Courages constant criticism of the war off of which she makes her living. It is this contradictory nature of Courages which constantly reminds the audience to view the character from a distance, analyse her so to spe ak, and not empathise with her situation. Had Mother Courage been presented as a fully-rounded character, the audience would have been tempted to empathise; but her presentation as a paradoxical character helps to jolt the audience into some kind of reaction. (Leach 1994: 136) Mother Courage is not the only character in the play that is given a specific trait to keep the audience empathising and becoming emotionally involved with her. Her sons Eilif and Swiss Cheese are both killed in the play, and it is because of their flaws that they are killed. Her eldest son, Eilif, is strong and intelligent, but his boldness costs him his life. Her younger son, Swiss Cheese, is simple and honest, but he too is led to his death because of his stupidity. The audience are constantly reminded throughout the play by Mother Courage that her children have these traits. I have another who is foolish but honest is just one example of Brecht giving Mother Courage a specific line for two reasons: both to remind the audience of the paradoxes each character possesses, to stop them from being empathised with, and to support the epic idea of the play that each scene should be its own. It is frequently seen in Brechts plays for an off-stage characters absence to be explained throu gh an on-stage characters dialogue. (ref) Robert Leach argues that for Brecht, character is only of interest in so far as it illuminates the fleeting event which provides the writer, or the actor, with a usable gesture. What Leach is saying is that for Brecht, the character is only a function to the greater social and economical forces which control and shape the world (within the constructed reality that are his plays), and that the actors, whilst portraying characters, can use them as tools to show the effect of these greater social implications. This can be linked to Brechts observation in the essay Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction that actors too refrained from going over wholly into their role in the sense that not only did actors do so to invite criticism from the audience of their characters, not only to draw attention away from the individual and place it on the social, but to also show that the characters are simply functional to the social. Another one of Brechts main aims was to not focus on the individual emotions of the character, but to explore and show the importance of the greater social implications. In Mother Courage and Her Children, emphasis is not put on the decisions the characters make but the social events which dictate the action of the play. War, religion and family are three main themes which run through Mother Courage and Her Children, and ultimately the fate of each character is determined by these themes. Unlike naturalistic plays where emphasis is usually placed on the individual, in Mother Courage and Her Children Brecht focuses on the relationship between the social implications and the characters of the play. All of the characters in the play are linked together by these themes, and their inability to change their individual (or in the case of Courage and her children, combined) situations. (Examples) Brecht has created Mother Courage as the central character of the play, but because it is not on ly her, but all the characters that are affected by the war, the spectators focus is neither on the central character Mother Courage nor any of the character. The spectators focus is drawn, by linking the characters and making them unable to change their situations, to the superseding social themes presented in the play. Brecht liked the notion that epic theatre allowed for jumps in time, and this is reflected in Mother Courage and Her Children. There is a jump in time between each scene of the play, usually a year or two, and the constant curves and jumps in the play the dialectic approach allow for Brecht to show a process and effects over time rather than one particular point of time and its individual effect on characters. (Brooker 1994: 189) These jumps in time also allow the play to be epic in the sense that they allow each scene to stand independently. The jumps in time also go hand-in-hand with Brechts idea that with epic theatre, the audience should be looking with eyes on the course rather than eyes on the finish. Swiss Cheeses death and Mother Courages refusal to admit the body is his is one of the most intense moments of the entire play, but it comes as early as Scene Three. Also, the jumps in time show man as a process rather than man as a fixed point. Rather than focusing on the centr al character (Mother Courage) at one particular point, Brecht draws out the play so that the audience view Courages process and development as a character subject to the social and political circumstances. The end of the play sees Mother Courage, now completely alone; walk with soldiers who are singing the same song that is sung in the prologue, reminding the audience of the process that has begun from the very beginning of the play and the effect it has had throughout. The jumps in time between each scene of Mother Courage and Her Children are typical of Brechts aim to get the audience to look at the events that have taken place from a more general period of time rather than a specific point. One of the key parts of Brechts theory on theatre was that the audience should constantly know that what they are watching is not reality but a construction being presented on stage. By doing so, Brecht could show to his audience that what they were watching was not reality but a presented image of reality, and that could inspire change. To this end Brecht used several techniques in many of his plays (including Mother Courage and Her Children) which allowed him to reveal that the play was indeed a construction. A typical Brechtian technique used in the play is the use of stage directions at the start of each scene, which then reveal what is going to happen in that scene. By using these stage directions (either spoken aloud or displayed with placards on stage) Brecht is able to both remind his audience that what they are watching is a construction. Also, by telling the audience what will happen before it happens, Brecht can eliminate the shock factor, thus keeping the audience away fr om having an experience and focused on learning from the action on stage. Openly revealing that the play is not real allows Brecht to prevent any sense of emotional attachment to the piece. This can be linked to Brechts essay The Modern Theatre is The Epic Theatre where he says: †¦once illusion is sacrificed to free discussion, and once the spectator, instead of being enabled to have an experience, is forced as it were to cast his vote; then a change has been launched which goes far beyond formal matters and begins for the first time to affect the theatres social function. Brecht states in his essay The Modern Theatre is Epic Theatre that words, music and setting must become more independent of one another. (reference) This statement is echoed in Mother Courage and Her Children as Brecht uses not only dialogue and stage directions but songs and music in the play, and makes sure that the songs used are seen on an equal level to the other elements such as words. In fact, Scene Ten of the play is constructed entirely of only a few stage directions and song. By giving the songs such importance in the play, on the same level as stage directions and dialogue, Brecht implements his idea into practice, showing that he has used his two essays almost as guidelines for writing Mother Courage and Her Children. Songs are also used in the play to fit in with Brechts theory that plays should not be presented to the audience as reality, but as a construction. The direct delivery of a song from a character to the audience, thus breaking the fourth wall, is one of the w ays in which the audience is reminded that they are indeed watching a play. The songs also tend to reflect the social and political themes of the play and inspire the audience to think about what they are watching. Looking at Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction and The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre in comparison with Mother Courage and Her Children, it is clear to see that the play falls into all of the categories that Brecht lists in his two essays for his theory on the function of theatre. Throughout the play the focus is taken away from the characters individual emotions and drawn to the greater social and political forces which affect the characters. The play is used as a discussion forum of sorts for some of the common Brechtian themes such as war, religion and family. The use of non-naturalist techniques such as placards and songs helps to break the illusion that the audience creates and prevents them from developing empathy for and emotional attachment to the characters. The jumps in time between each scene of the play keep the audiences focus on the process over time and not at a fixed point. Mother Courage and Her Children is without question of Brechts most typical pl ays and it is clear to see his essays Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction and The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre have been put into practice to create the play and inspire the audience to change, rather than experience.

Immigraton Laws Essay -- essays research papers fc

Immigraton Laws The first immigrants to the territory now the United States were from Western Europe. The first great migration began early in the 19th century when large numbers of Europeans left their homelands to escape the economic hardships resulting from the transformation of industry by the factory system and the simultaneous shift from small-scale to large-scale farming. At the same time, conflict, political oppression, and religious persecution caused a great many Europeans to seek freedom and security in the U.S. The century following 1820 may be divided into three periods of immigration to the U.S. During the first period, from 1820 to 1860, most of the immigrants came from Great Britain, Ireland, and western Germany. In the second period, from 1860 to 1890, those countries continued to supply a majority of the immigrants; the Scandinavian nations provided a substantial minority. Afterwards the proportion of immigrants from northern and Western Europe declined rapidly. In the final period, from 1890 to 1910, fewer than one-third of the immigrants came from these areas. The majority of the immigrants were natives of Southern and Eastern Europe, with immigrants from Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Russia constituting more than half of the total. Until World War I, immigration had generally increased in volume every year. From 1905 to 1914 an average of more than a million immigrants entered the U.S. every year. With the start of the war, the volume declined sharply, and the annual average from 1915 to 1918 was little more than 250,000. In 1921 the number again rose; 800,000 immigrants were admitted. Thereafter the number declined in response to new conditions in Europe and to the limitations established by U.S. law. The first measure restricting immigration enacted by Congress was a law in 1862 banning American vessels from transporting Chinese immigrants to the U.S.; 20 years later Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act excluding Chinese immigrants.(Immigration) In 1875, 1882, and 1892, acts passed by Congress provided for the examination of immigrants and for the exclusion from the U.S. of convicts, polygamists, prostitutes, persons suffering from contagious diseases, and persons liable to become public charges. The Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885, 1887, 1888, and 1891 prohibited the immigration to the U.S. of persons entering the country t... ...ion (Rumbaut, 617). Despite evidence to the contrary, many Americans still believe immigration to be harmful. This is simply not the case. As stated, legal immigrants provide a benefit not only to themselves, but also to native people. Though the problem of illegal immigration must be addressed, it should be done in such a way as not to discourage legal immigration. America was founded and populated by people from other countries. We must continue this if we expect to survive in the 21st century. BIBLIOGRAPHY Blotnick, Srully. "Unleashed (Immigrant Professionals)." Forbes 26 Jan. 1987: 108. Mandel, Michael J. "The Immigrants: How They are Helping to Revitalize the U.S. Economy." Business Week 13 July 1992: 114-18. "Immigration," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation. "Pending Legislation", www.usbc.org/surveys/npg-poll.htm Rumbaut, Ruben, "Origins and Destinies: Immigration to the United States since World War II," Sociological Forum 9:4 (1994), pp. 583-621. "The New Americans: Yes, They'll Fit in too." The Economist 11 May 1991: 17-20.