Business Intelligence - BI, mining, analytics, and data warehousing Research Paper

Business Intelligence - BI, mining, analytics, and data warehousing - Research Paper Example Moreover, the management of Caesars Entertainment is dedicated to environmental energy and sustainability protection and it recognizes the significance of being responsible steward of the environment (Caesars License Company, LLC.; EDGAR). Since the business of Caesars Entertainment is always expanding, its management has decided to implement a new technology based structure in an attempt to manage business operations successfully and effectively. For this purpose, Caesars Entertainment will make use of latest tools and technologies such as BI (Business Intelligence), mining, analytics, and data warehousing to better manage and control business operations. This report presents a detailed analysis of some of the important aspects and areas of Caesars Entertainment business where BI solutions can be implemented. At the present, almost all the organizations make use of latest tools and technologies to leverage and augment their business capabilities. For instance, many business organizations use Teradata and IBM Cognos solutions to improve their marketing strategies and customer satisfaction level by means of a closed-loop technology based systems. In the same way, with modern technology based solution such as Teradata, Harrah Entertainment enlarged its usage of IBM Cognos business intelligence software to extract and drill additional and deeper customers’ data. Moreover, by making use of these innovative technologies business is able to effectively extract and segment customers’ data into many profiles as well as utilize this extracted and filtered customer segmentation data to extend targeted campaigns to extract preferred customers’ behavior. For instance, it can help Harrah Entertainment know about clients who have not visited for over 6 months and implement strategi es to bring those customers back. As well, business uses business intelligence and data warehousing to promote innovative games by determining

Metamorphosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Metamorphosis - Essay Example Some sort of psychological grounding will have to be found out for such an occurrence. The presence of an insect anywhere within the house, is the most unwelcome feature but Samsa is one (transformed into beetle perhaps with his own volition) and members in the household accept the fact for the reasons best known to them. The readers of the story are expected to go with the fact to enable them appreciate the developments that take place in the family consequent to the isolation of the prime member from the mainstream dispositions and activities of a normal household. Insects live a regulated life within the perimeters bestowed to them by Nature. Before his transformation Gregor lives such a life, comparatively lackluster and remains engrossed in his work. He does his best to provide for the secular necessities of the family. He has no friends circle, no hobbies that make his life passionate, and no close interaction with the family members except with his sister. Why the family does not involve him in day to day small incidents of happiness and sorrow is not explained in the story, but the fact is that he is a marginalized member and this realization intensely bothers him leading to his ‘transformation as the beetle.’ In fact, that is his mental sickness that shapes into a beetle and his cynicism is the cause for that to happen. The family expects of him to provide for them, nothing more, and nothing less. Just as an ant or the worker-bee labors without intermission for providing food for the rest of the members of the nest, Gregor carries on with his life solely for the benefit of others. His life becomes totally regimented devoid of any fun and sacrifice for others become the watchword for him. He just works, that’s all without any essential human dignity or charm. No thanks or words of gratitude for him and the family expect him to do what he does, as if it is his bounden duty. He owns total responsibility on his shoulders, for issues

Canters Behavior Management Style Essay Example for Free

Canters Behavior Management Style Essay Disruptive behavior in the classroom has become one of the most common issues in the educational process; negative behavior not only affects the students but the teacher as well. In order for a classroom to function in a positive manner giving the student and teacher the best environment to operate proper behavior and decorum are essential. There are many theories and discipline models teachers adhere to in modern classrooms of today one of the most influential in the area of discipline was developed by Lee and Marlene Canter. The Canter’s are both teachers and authors; their most famous book is called â€Å"Assertive Discipline† which is a how to book on how to rid the classroom of unwanted behaviors. The Canter discipline theory is based on teacher needs, wants and feelings. The Canter’s believe teachers have their own rights which include the following: â€Å"The right to establish classroom rules and procedures that produce the optimum learning environment, the right to insist on behavior from students that meets teachers’ needs, the right to receive help in disciplining from both parents and school administrators when support is needed. These rights are based on the Canter’s â€Å"Assertive Theory†. All teachers must clearly communicate what they expect from their students and that there are consequences should the rules not be followed (Canter, 2011). The Canter’s believe in a â€Å"take control† approach to the classroom. Their philosophy is teachers are there to teach and students are there to learn, misbehavior should not interfere in this equation. The Canter’s teach educators to take charge in the classroom and be assertive concerning their own wants and needs to their students. Examples of what the Canter’s communicate to teachers that are used in the classroom management today are: be straight forward with students, use firm tone of voice, make eye contact when speaking, use both verbal/non-verbal communication and continually state the teacher wants and needs. According to the Canter’s if the educator can use the above on a continued basis discipline should take care of itself (Kavanagh, Lang, 2000). The following is a case study of a discipline problem found in classrooms. The information below is from a behavioral situation at an elementary school located in Phoenix Arizona. A nine year old student by the name of Billy (4th grader) is exhibiting disruptive behavior in a class reported by the teacher. The student (Billy) comes from a broken home where the father left the family unexpectedly a few years back. The mother recently re-married, the new spouse has a daughter roughly the same age as Billy: the relationship between Billy and his new sister is not considered ideal. The new spouse often confronts Billy’s mother in a loud voice in front of the children, the atmosphere is not considered conducive to a â€Å"family† environment. Billy is having issues inside as well as outside the classroom. The issues outside the classroom are in the form of arguments with fellow students and a lack of respect for teacher authority on the playground. Inside the classroom his disruptive behavior consist of talking when the teacher is talking which is not only disruptive to the teacher but other students as well. Billy will also speak out of turn, instead of raising his hand to answer a question he will simply blurt out the answer, he will also during this time mimic his teacher in a disrespectful manner. His attention to detail and attentiveness overall in the classroom continues to decline on a daily basis. Billy’s behavior seems to be a reflection of his new family environment. He seems to have authoritative issues and may not like his teacher; Billy seems to have a big problem with the teacher when confronted openly (in front of class) about his misbehaviors. Billy also has problems with his desk partner who is female and calls attention too many of his misbehaviors. According to Canter the educator should always have a goal of creating an environment where positive teaching behavior is the norm and necessary in order to achieve the goal of effective teaching despite disruptive students such as Billy. The teacher must attempt to control disruptive students such as Billy in a manner different from his/her current teaching model. Accordingly, the teacher’s classroom management plan in the area of discipline must be evident even in a class where there are very few children exhibiting disruptive behavior. Without a discipline management plan students such as Billy would continue along their path of disruptive behavior. The focus of Canter’s discipline model is the concept of teacher rights in the classroom. The Canter method is to show educators how to take charge in the classroom by taking into account student rights in conjunction with teacher rights. †¢The right to good behavior.  In the case of Billy the Teacher should start with the basic right to have good behavior from the students (Billy). This right should be set at the beginning of the school year when the teacher presents the set of rules. This right should also be made available to the parents of every student. †¢The right to expect support from parents/administrators. In the case of Billy parents must be made aware of the situation and support the teacher to help Billy correct the discipline issues. Billy also has basic rights in this situation â€Å"The right to have teachers who help them develop by helping them limit self-destructive and inappropriate behavior. † The teacher according to Canter can do this with simple actions such as a strong toned voice or by making eye contact. For Billy this can be dealt with at a few different levels. First make eye contact with Billy when the teacher feels the behavior is wrong, if this does not work then a stern voice , if this does not work talk to student privately voicing behavioral expectations and lastly if all the above does not do the job include the parents/administrators (Turrell, 1999). â€Å"The right to have appropriate support from their teachers for their appropriate behavior† (Canter, 2011) According to Canter this is done with positive reinforcement; let the student know when student is presenting appropriate behavior. In the case of Billy always pointing out the negatives and not giving positive reinforcement when he displays good behavior will not produce a productive disciplined student, the educator must have a balance. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"The right to choose how to behave with advance knowledge of the consequences that will logically and certainly follow† (Canter, 2011).  Every student should know at the beginning of class what is deemed appropriate behavior and if an act of misbehavior is executed consequences will follow, this should all be spelled out the first day of class in the class set of rules. Canter said: Assertive teacher is more effective than the nonassertive or the hostile teacher. The teacher is able to maintain a positive, caring, and productive climate in the classroom. A climate of care and support produces the climate for learning. Canter believes the educator must present balance in their teaching approach, an educator cannot over emphasize the positive or the negative, if one outweighs the other the learning environment cannot be productive (Ferguson Houghton, 1992). This is done through the Canter discipline model called â€Å"Assertive Discipline†. In Billy’s case it appears his home life is interfering with his behavior at school, it seems he is mimicking the behavior of his new father in some ways and it is up to the teacher to let him know these types of behaviors are not appropriate by using the Canter’s Assertive Discipline† model.

The Financing Structure Of Unilever Plc Finance Essay

The Financing Structure Of Unilever Plc Finance Essay Unilever Plc (Unilever) operates as a single business entity. It was formerly known as Lever Brothers Limited. Unilever NV and Unilever Plc are the two parent companies of the Unilever Group having separate legal identities and separate stock exchange listings for their shares. Unilever Plc (Unilever) is a leading food and personal care product offering company in the world. The company is engaged in the manufacturing and distributing foods, home care and personal care products. The company along with a strong and well differentiated portfolio of 400 global and regional brands operating across 14 categories operates in 150 countries with around 174,000 employees. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Unilever operates in four business segments namely, Personal Care; Home Care; Savoury, Dressings Spreads; and Ice Cream Beverages. The company also offers solutions for professional chefs and caterers. It has around 270 manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Personal Care segment includes business in the mass skin care, daily hair care and deodorants product areas. These products are sold under Dove, Lux, Rexona, Sunsilk, Axe and Ponds, Suave, Clear, Lifebuoy, Vaseline, Signal and Close Up. Its Home Care segment includes laundry products such as tablets, powders and liquids for washing of clothes by hand or machine. It also offers soap bars. In this segment, the principal brands are Omo, Surf, Comfort, Radiant, Skip and Snuggle. The household care products include surface cleaners and bleach that are marketed under the Cif, Domestos and Sun/Sunlight brands. The companys new products include Dove pro-age range of products, Dove Summer Glow self-tanning and body lotions, Clear antidandruff shampoo and Small Mighty concentrated liquid laundry detergents. The Savoury, Dressings and Spreads segment includes sauces, soups, salad dressings, bouillons, snacks, mayonnaise, spreads, olive oil, margarines and cooking products like liquid margarines, and frozen foods. These products are sold worldwide under Calve, Knorr, Hellmanns, Becel, Flora, Wish- Bone, Rama, Blue Band, Amora, Ragu and Bertolli brands. The Ice cream and Beverages division includes ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight management products, and nutritionally enhanced products. These products are marketed worldwide under various brand names such as Magnum, Cornetto, Carte dOr and Solero, Walls, Kibon, Ola and Algida, Ben Jerrys, Breyers, Klondike and Popsicle. The tea-based beverages are sold under Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips brands. The weight management products are sold under Slim-Fast, and nutritionally enhanced products are marketed under Annapurna and AdeS/Adez brands. In the the Home Care division, it holds the global number two position in laundry, with a number one position in man developing and emerging markets. The company holds global number one position in mass skin care and deodorants, and the number two position in hair care where as in oral care and household care the companys strategy is focused on strong regional and local leadership positions in selected markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the Foods division, it holds number one position in savory and dressings, spreads, tea-based beverages and ice cream. Unilever is the category leader in margarine and spreads in most European countries and North America. The companys UKs foods division is the number one producer of savory and dressings business. Products and Brands Unilever owns more than 400 brands as a result of acquisitions, however, the company focuses on what are called the billion-dollar brands, 13 brands, each of which achieve annual sales in excess of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 billion. Unilevers top 25 brands account for more than 70% of sales. The brands fall almost entirely into two categories: Food and Beverages, and Home and Personal Care. Unilevers billion$ brands are Axe/Lynx Lipton Blue Band[14] Lux (soap) Dove Omo/Surf (detergent) Flora/Becel Rexona/Sure Heartbrand Sunsilk Hellmans TIGI (haircare) Knorr Products of the company are distributed through distribution centers, group-operated facilities, satellite warehouses, and public storage depots, wholesalers, independent grocery stores, co-operatives, and various food service providers. Unilever invests around EUR 1 billion in research and development activities through five laboratories to develop new products and technologies. Geographic Presence Unilever has geographically diversified operations. It is engaged in manufacturing and distributing foods, home care and personal care products. Its products are sold in more than 150 countries which include Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. During the fiscal year 2008, the company generated 32% revenue from Western Europe, 32% from the Americas and 36% from the Asia, Africa and Central Eastern Europe. It is the category leader in margarine and spreads in most European countries and North America. The companys UKs foods division is the number one producer of savory and dressings business. Thus, wide geographic presence decreases the business risk of the company. This also acts as an easy way for the expansion plans of the company, as wider reach in terms of geography would mean reaping more benefits eventually improving the profit margins, attaining economies of scale and recognition on a worldwide basis. following are the name of some of the countries with Unilevers presences. Ireland Sudan Italy Sweden Japan Switzerland Pakistan Thailand Singapore Tunisia Spain United States Sri lanka United Kingdom Industry Comparison Revenue Growth Rate The companys compounded annual growth rate for revenue was 1.39% during 2005-2009. This was below the SP 500 companies average* of 9.67%. A lower than sector average* revenue CAGR may indicate that the company has underperformed the average sector growth and lost market share over the last years. The companys underperformance could be attributed to a weak competitive position or inferior products and services offering or lack of innovative products and services. Return on Equity The companys return on equity (ROE) was 30.62% for fiscal year 2009. This was above the SP 500 companies average* of 18.69%. A higher than sector average ROE indicate that the company is efficiently using the shareholders money and that it is generating high returns for its shareholders compared to other companies in the sector. Operating Profit Margin The companys operating margin was 12.91% for the fiscal year 2009. This was below the SP 500 companies average* of 18.74%. A lower than sector average* operating margin may indicate inefficient cost management or a weak pricing strategy by the company. Financial Analysis Instead of 2 year analysis of the financial position of the company analysis is performed on a five year data as this will provided with better coverage of the companies performance. Current ratio Current ratio of the company has been on the rising trend since 2005. Current ratio of the company has increased from 0.75 time in 2005 to 0.93 times in 2009. This trend shows that the company is moving toward a stable liquidity position. Whereas, in comparison to the averages of the industry trend and S P 500 companies Unilever is not able to maintain sound current ratio. Currently industry averages at around 1.53 times whereas; SP 500 companies averages around 1.91 times. This is almost as double to where Unilever currently stands. Quick ratio Quick ratio of the company has shown similar rising trend as that of current ratio. Quick ratio of the company has moved to 0.5 times in 2009, which is a rise of approximately 35% during the five year period (2005: 0.37 times). This ratio of the company is quite close to the industry averages (i.e., 0.78 times), whereas, SP 500 companies quick ratio averages to around 1.36 times. Considering the rising trend of the company, it appears that its liquidity position will improve in the near future to meet the industry averages. Gross Profit margin Gross Profit margin of the company has shown a mix trend over the years. During the period from 2005-2009 gross profit margin of the company stood at 48.32%, fall of just 2%. This shows that the company is in a stable position as it is able to stay consistent in maintaining its Gross Profit Margin. On the other hand, Industry average stands at 44.72%. Being on the higher side of the industry shows that the company is able to effectively manage its cost and pricing policies. Net Profit Margin Similar to the Gross profit margin, net profit margin of the company has shown a mix trend. On average the net profit margin of the company has increased by 4% during the 5 year period to 8.46% in 2009. This is higher then what the industry average is (Industry average: 7.25%). On the other hand SP 500 companies average net profit margin to approximately 12.59%, showing that the company is not meeting the SP 500 companies standards. Return on Assets Return on assets of the company has shown an increasing trend during the 5 year period. During the said period, ROA increased to approximately 10% in 2009 from 8.74% in 2005, this is a rise of 14%. In comparison, the industry averages the return on assets at around 7.71% and SP 500 averages assets at around 7.91%. This shows that the company is able to used the employed assets efficiently and effectively then what the normal industry trend depicts. FINANCING STRUCTURE Unilever PLC is a highly un-geared company. Its total debt to total equity ratio stood at only 0.82 in 2009, which is a decline of around 46% during the 5 year period (2005: 1.51). Similar fall in the total debt to total capital ratio was observed, which fell by approximately 25% to 0.45 in 2009. On the other hand a slight increase of just 9% was observed in the Long term debt to total capital of the company during the same five year period. In contrast to the leverage ratios, a significant fall in the payout ratio was observed. Payout ratio of the company fell from 61.37% in 2005 to just 38.54% in 2009. This shows that currently the company is in the phase of financing its activities from its retained earnings instead of taking long or short term financing. In comparison to a competitor Reckitt Benckiser Group, the leverage of this company is similar to the leverage of Unilever PLC. During the year 2009, Total Debt to Total Equity ratio Reckitt Benckiser Group is only 0.82. Payout ratio of the Reckitt Benckiser is 50.28% in 2009, which is higher than that of Unilever PLC, representing the fact that Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc is utilizing higher portion of its retained earnings as compared to Unilever Plc In comparison with the industry trends, average total debt to equity is approximately 1.16 times whereas, as per SP 500 it is around 0.73. In view of these average industry and sector trends, company is performing quite well. On the other hand, companys payout ratio is on the higher side when compared to the industry and SP 500 averages. Average industrys payout is almost is 42% whereas, average payout as per SP 500 is 28.82%. This shows that company is not availing its short term financing options. Taking up these short term financing will release some pressure from the retained earning and can be paid out to the shareholders of the company because as the low payout trend of the industry indicates that the shareholders are prone to short term gains in comparison to long term capital gains. 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Unilever PLC Total Debt/Equity 0.82 1.1 0.77 0.78 1.51 Long Term Debt/Total Capital 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.22 0.32 Total Debt/Total Capital 0.45 0.52 0.44 0.44 0.6 Payout Ratio 38.54% 43.04% 56.62% 83.71% 61.37% Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc Total Debt/Equity 0.03 0.48 0.21 0.53 0.09 Long Term Debt/Total Capital (?) 0 0 0 0 0.04 Total Debt/Total Capital (?) 0.03 0.32 0.17 0.35 0.08 Payout Ratio (?) 50.28% 50.76% 41.93% 48.65% 42.39% WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL As discussed in the above section, Unilever PLC has a very low (nominal) gearing of 0.35%. Virtually the company is debt free; hence cost of equity of the company will be its weighted average cost of capital. In order to calculate Cost of Equity of Unilever PLC Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has been used. Beta for the company has been taken from the Dow Jones Report, which is 0.76 whereas; many technical issues were presents when indentifying risk free rate (Rf) and risk premium (Rm-Rf). Hence, the risk free rate and the market rate (Rm) are assumed to be 8% and 12% respectively for the purpose of this calculation. Cost of Equity = Rf + (Rm-Rf)b Cost of Equity = 8% + (12% 8%) 0.76 Cost of Equity = 11.04% Here, Cost of Equity = = WACC Hence, WACC = 11.04% NEW PROJECT Project Description Company has recently conducted a market survey for deodorant target only toward a young generation. Evaluation of the investment proposal to manufacture product XARI was performed. The product has performed well in test marketing trials conducted recently by the research and marketing department of the company. Key Elements of Project Initial investment cost Evidences for the initial investment cost can be found from various sources, research reports related to the particular industry, information from the companies which have recently invested in the respective sectors can prove quite useful, internal budget preparation etc. Annual revenues / operating costs Evidences of independent annual revenues and operating cost can be also be found from various sources, demand and supply of the particular products and projected by various research houses such as Business Monitor, by analyzing past trends of the company and peer analysis of the companies already operating in the industry/segments Rates of inflation Information related to the past and future rates related to inflation can be found in abundance. In addition to the government bodies, numerous independent research houses provided forecasted/projected inflation rates of different countries. These rates are calculated after critically analyzing and assessing various factors that affect the inflation rates. Report from Economic Intelligence Unit is one of the research houses which provides rates of inflation, both past trends as well as forecasted for different countries. Rates of taxation, and tax reliefs and allowances Best sources for finding information related rates of taxation and tax reliefs and allowance is to go through government regulated bodies. Legal regulations related to tax and updates in the upcoming changes can be found on government operated website and accurate and up to date information related to any legal issue is available there. Risk and Uncertainty After a through research I came to the conclusion that identification of risks is best done by a sequential manner. Firstly brainstorming exercise was done with some colleague of mine in order to evaluate what factors ,both beneficial and adverse, can be faced by the new project that the company was going to undertake. This exercise was purely for the identification of the risk that the project might face during the tenor of its operations. After my initial task of risk identification I assessed the likelihood of the occurrence of that risk and categorized them on the scale of high, medium and low. Then I assessed the consequences of each of risk if they occurred and whether, there occurrence will have a major impact on the operation of the company or its future prospect or not. Risks with low chances of occurrence and low negative impact were ignored and emphasis was placed on the risks that have high chances of occurrence or which could have measurable impact on the companys performance. This risk was than further classified into quantifiable and non-quantifiable risk (uncertainty). The impact of the quantifiable risk, such as rate of inflation, increase in the cost of raw material, fall in demand of the product etc, were incorporated when calculating the Net Present Value of the Project. Uncertainties such as war, political instability, change in government regulation etc, were a bit hard to incorporate. In order to overcome these problems sensitivity analysis was used. Via Sensitivity Analysis result of the project are categorized into three possible outcomes Best Case Scenario, Moderate Case Scenario and Worst Case Scenario. These 3 cases will show the performance of the company in the two most extremes situations that the company might operate. Result should then be interpreted keeping in mind of all the expected scenarios. Net Present Value After the successful test, following information has been prepared by me in order to assess the viability of the project. The research team has prepared the following forecasted demand of the product along with that various other variables such as selling prices and inflation rate are also estimated. These forecasts reflect, along with others, the expected life of the products, change in the economic conditions in the long run etc. Weighted average cost of capital has been calculated as above at 11.04%. The product has no terminal value at the end of four year. NPV of the project with respect to the following data is almost about 348,578 pounds Forecasted Information for Product XARI Initial Investment 2 million Pounds Selling Price (Current Price) 20 pound/unit Expected Inflation in Selling Price 3% per year Variable operating cost 8 pound/unit Fixed Operating Cost 170,000 per yar Tax Rate 30% Year 1 2 3 4 Demand (units) 60,000 70,000 120,000 45,000 Quarterly Report It appears that the company has performed reasonable well when compared to the forecast that the management prepared. Minor variances were witnessed by the company in most aspect of the project. Initial investment of the company exceed by just 100,000 pound. Company just sold 100 less units in first quarter as compared to the forecasted data. The reason for this relate to the factor that market awareness was not created by the company as it incurred less operating cost as anticipated. Company managed to sell units at a selling price 15% more the forecasted price. On the other 13% more cost was incurred on each unit than was projected. The reason for such a change could relate to the fact that the company underestimated the price of it project, and once market started to accept the product its selling price increased

Childhood in To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë :: Jane Eyre Essays

The Theme of Childhood in To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà « 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' by Harper Lee and 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontà « are two very different books written in different periods of history. There are, however, similarities in the themes and background. For example, both books were written during times of great social upheaval and strife. In 'To Kill A Mocking Bird', the world was still very racist and it was not until some twenty years after the book was written that men like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X started to bring about real reforms. 'Jane Eyre' was slightly different as this was set during a time when the masses of overworked and underpaid Victorians were being given greater freedoms and more time in which to have these freedoms. Both books are written from a first person point of view, with a narrative voice. In 'To Kill A Mocking Bird', the narrative voice is the voice of 'Scout', a small girl and in 'Jane Eyre', Jane herself takes the role of narrator. Both books are also Fictional Autobiographies. This means that they chronicle, if not directly, the lives of the authors. The two books (in the first chapters) revolve strongly around the themes of childhood. The way that these themes are introduced affects the whole book and the way that characters react to one another. 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' starts with two paragraphs that summarize the entire book. It tells the reader of the beginning, middle and end of the book. It also introduces the way in which the story will be told and five of the most important characters. For eight paragraphs, there is nothing but description of the Finch family. It is here that childhood really starts to be introduced. The language used is almost entirely superfluous, very descriptive uses many effective, if childish, techniques such as "There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with" (repetition) and very descriptive phrases such as "A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer". Description of characters is done in two highly differing ways in 'To Kill A Mocking Bird', the first being the adult and formal manner: "Jem and I found our Father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.

Classical Economists :: essays research papers

As a coherent economic theory, classical economics start with Smith, continues with the British Economists Thomas Robert Malthus and David Ricardo. Although differences of opinion were numerous among the classical economists in the time span between Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776) and Ricardo’s Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817), they all mainly agreed on major principles. All believed in private property, free markets, and, in Smith’s words, â€Å" The individual pursuit of private gain to increase the public good.† They shared Smith’s strong suspicion of government and his enthusiastic confidence in the power of self-interest represented by his famous â€Å"invisible hand,† which reconciled public benefit with personal quest of private gain. From Ricardo, classicists derived the notion of diminishing returns, which held that as more labor and capital were applied to land yields after a certain and not very advanced stage in the progress of agriculture steadily diminished. The central thesis of The Wealth of Nations is that capital is best employed for the production and distribution of wealth under conditions of governmental noninterference, or laissez-faire, and free trade. In Smith’s view, the production and exchange of goods can be stimulated, and a consequent rise in the general standard of living attained, only through the efficient operations of private industrial and commercial entrepreneurs acting with a minimum of regulation and control by the governments. To explain this concept of government maintaining laissez-faire attitude toward the commercial endeavors, Smith proclaimed the principle of the â€Å"invisible hand†: Every individual in pursuing his or her own good is led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good for all. Therefore any interference with free competition by government is almost certain to be injurious. Although this view has undergone considerable modification by economists in the light of historical developments since Smith’s time, many sections of The Wealth of Nations notably those relating to the sources of income and the nature of capital, have continued to form the basis of theoretical study of the field of political economy. The Wealth of Nations has also served as a guide to the formulation of governmental economic policies. Malthus, on the other hand, in his book An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) imparted a tone of dreariness. Malthus’s main contribution to economics was his theory that a population tends to increase faster than the supply of food available for its needs.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

I think the most predominant subject that comes to mind involving the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U. S. Constitution centers around â€Å"same-sex marriages. † The argument in this issue centers around whether a gay couple who gets married in Massachusetts would/should be recognized as legally married in any other state they move to. I am sure the framers of the Constitution could never have imagined that some 200+ years later, that the original intent of Article IV Section 1 of the Constitution, the â€Å"Full Faith and Credit Clause,† could possibly undergo the scrutiny it has had to endure in recent years. The word â€Å"marriage† means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word â€Å"spouse† refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. The Constitution specifically delineates that no State shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of any other State, or any right or claim arising from such relationship. If â€Å"same-sex marriages† have become legally acceptable in some states, then those couples should enjoy those benefits in the states in which they are considered to be legal. States are granted the right to determine those laws that have effect on their own citizens, and, should a gay married couple wish to reside in a state where same-sex marriages are not legal by law in that state, then they must accept the law in that state as binding on them. Any state that chooses to not recognize same-sex marriages within their own constitution certainly has that right under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Until at such time someone finds a way to challenge the constitutionality of the Clause, gay couples will have to resign themselves being able to practice their chosen lifestyle, but without the benefits of such union in states where it is deemed illegal. In further support of this issue, I believe that the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) (1996) is unconstitutional on its face. DOMA violates principles of equal protection and due process. A strong case can also be made that DOMA abuses the Full Faith and Credit Clause and contravenes fundamental principles of federalism. Since there are relatively similar laws enacted in all 50 states, with only small differences between most of them, I see no reason that the Full Faith and Credit Clause should be held applicable to the issue of same-sex marriages. I find it difficult to imagine how the Court could find excluding same-sex couples from the definition of marriage unconstitutional without creating a constitutional requirement that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. Therefore, I believe that the Constitution guarantees each and every one of us the right to choose to marry the one we love. The fact that they are of the same sex should not deprive those individuals of the same rights and privileges of other citizens merely because it violates some individuals morals or beliefs. Since the Constitution itself does not actually delineate the definition of marriage, I believe that all attempts that deprive gay people certain rights not otherwise deprived of other individuals violates the spirit of the Constitution, and abuses the Full Faith and Credit Clause therein.