Graham Greene - The Third Man Essays - Novellas, Films, Free Essays

Graham Greene - The Third Man Essays - Novellas, Films, Free Essays Graham Greene - The Third Man Author Henry Graham Greene was born on 2 October 1904 in Berkhamsted in England and was one of six children. At the age of eight he went to the Berkhamsted school. As a teenager he was under so immense pressure that he got psychological problems and suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1922 he was enrolled on the Balliol College, Oxford and in 1926 after graduation he started to work for the London Times as sub-editor and for the Nottingham Journal as journalist, where he met his later wife Vivien Dayrell-Browning. In February 1926 before marring his wife he was received into the Roman Catholic Church, which had influenced him and his writings. In 1929 his first novel The Man Within was published, but his popularity wasnt sealed before Stamboul Train (Orient Express) was published in 1932. In 1935 he became the house film critic for The Spectator. In 1938 he published Brighton Rock and wrote The Lawless Roads and The Power and the Glory. In 1941 within the World War Two he began to spy voluntar ily for the British Foreign Office in Sierra Leone and resigned in 1943 because of being accused of collusion and traitorous activities that never substantiated. He spent the rest of the war travelling widely and produced on his experiences he made The Heart of the Matter in 1948. In 1950 The Third Man was published which was written as a film treatment. So the book became famous after the movie had been released in 1949 and Greene states: The Third Man was never to be read but only to be seen. In 1975 he separated from his wife and on 3 April 1991 he died in Vevey, Switzerland. The novel Main Characters Rollo Martins alias Buck Dexter, English author of cheap westerns Harry Lime, old school friend and idol of Martins Colonel Calloway, English police officer and observer narrator Anna Schmidt, actress and Limes girl-friend, feigns to be Austrian but is Hungarian Dr. Winkler, Limes doctor and present doctor at the accident Colonel Cooler, a friend of Lime Herr Koch, Limes caretaker and witness of Limes accident Plot Rollo Martins travels after the World War II to the into four zones divided Vienna to visit his old school friend Harry Lime, who had invited him to Austria to report on international refugees. When arriving, Martins finds out that his friend was run over by car and died. At Limes funeral he meets Colonel Calloway who states that Lime was the worst racketeer in Vienna who would have been arrested if he had not been killed. At a literary discussion he starts his own inquiry at first with Kurtz who explains the accident but Martins is not satisfied, he thinks Lime was murdered. Visiting Schmidt, she tells the same as Cooler did, but mentions that even the driver was a friend of Lime. After that, he visits the doctor to question him, but gets no information. At Limes apartment he meets Koch who reveals that he is a witness who did not give evidence. He claims that there was a third man whom he could not identify. Cooler also tells the same story as Kurtz and askes him about the third ma n, but he has not seen a third man. Schmidt and he decide to question Koch again. As they arrived, Koch was murdered. After this Calloway makes an inquiry about Cooler, Kurtz, Dr. Winkler and Koch. Martins tells him about the third man, then Calloway informs him about Limes rackets: In those days, only military hospitals were supplied with Penicilin in Austria. As a result Penicillin was stolen and sold to Australian doctors for much money. The consequences were that it causes venereal diseases and meningitis. Then he showed evidences that Lime, Kurtz, Cooler, Winkler and Harbin were involved. So Martins gets disillusioned and disappointed about Lime and he wants to leave Vienna, but he cannot because of the Austrian police. Both think that Kurtz or third man killed Lime, so he tries to find third man. After the inquiry he visits Schmidt and tells her all about Lime and as leaving her, he meets the third man who is Lime. He pursues him to

Terri schiavo essays

Terri schiavo essays Terri Schiavo. When this name is said, everyone knows who we are talking about. Everyone relives the tragic case of this 41 year old Florida women who sat in a persistent vegetated state for over a decade. When Terri was 26 years old, she suffered from heart failure. Doctors say that this happened because she had an eating disorder, and it caused a lack of oxygen flow to her brain. Throughout the years, there were may court appeals and hearings about who should be the legal guardian of Schiavo. The two opposing sides, Michael Schiavo, Terris husband, and Bob and Mary Schindler, her parents, fought against each other for a while before Michael finally won the case. But who really should have had the final say on Terris life? In February of 1990, Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home of heart failure. After that, everything seemed to be doing fine. Terri moved in with Michael, and they continued on with her rehabilitation process. But then in 1993, some suspicious occurrences started happening. It all started in February. Michael denied Terris rehabilitation treatments. Then later on that same month, Michael started withholding Terris medical information. So put this into your own perspective. If your daughter married someone, the had heart failure, dont you think that if her husband was not telling you the whole story on how she was doing, something was wrong. Wouldnt you want to fight back, just to know the truth? And that is exactly what Mr. and Mrs. Schindler did. In the later half of February, Mr. Schiavo posted a Do Not Resuscitate order on Terris medical chart. After All of the little arguments that Michael had with Bob and Mary about how he cared about Terri and only wanted the best for her. If he wanted the best for her, then why would he want her to die. Would you rather stay alive and die of natural causes, or to have yo ...

Dams, hydroelectricity, and the effect apon the ecosystems Term Paper

Dams, hydroelectricity, and the effect apon the ecosystems - Term Paper Example However, the idea of constructing more dams in various places has been welcomed with great opposition. Many economic and social arguments have been raised against the construction of dam, but the most profound fact that has overshadowed all other arguments is the major ecological effects that large dams have on the ecosystem. Considering hydroelectricity, hydropower is actually a renewable energy since it depends on the water cycle on earth for the generation of electricity. The cycle of water begins when the water evaporates to form clouds which in turn condenses and precipitates back to the earth and gets back to the water reservoirs. Despite the fact that hydropower pose no effects on the quality of air, the process of constructing and operating large hydropower dams can have significant impact on natural ecosystem such as river systems wildlife and aquatic life population. The assessment of how hydropower affects the environment can be effectively done by reviewing different case s. This paper aims at discussing the effects that hydroelectricity and dams have upon the ecosystem. Effects of Dams upon the Ecosystem Dams have significant effects on both the downstream and upstream ecosystems. Dams comprise hindrances on rivers longitudinal exchange and they alter numerous processes in the natural environment. Flooding of dams in the upstream brings about total damage to the terrestrial ecosystems via a process known as inundation. Flooding eliminates all terrestrial animals and plants inhabiting the affected areas. Water reservoirs inhibit some aquatic species from migrating by obstructing their pathways1. On the downstream, there are obvious changes in sediment transport, water quality and temperature, and flow regime. These particular changes occur gradually and they are not easy to predict. The very common effect of large dams downstream is the reduction of annual water discharge; this lead to an increase in low flows and a decrease in high flows. Flood peak s reduction decreases the period, degree and frequency of floodplain outpouring. A decrease in the channel-formation shrinks the chances of channel migration. Transportation of sediment in the reservoir brings about complex alterations in aggregation and deprivation on the dams surface. Regulation alters the chronological flooding prototype, an effect that desynchronizes temperature systems and yearly water flow. These particular alterations have a direct influence on some dynamic factors affecting the heterogeneity of habitats and the integrity of the river ecosystem ecology. Changes in water quality, water to land interface, and thermal regime have direct impact in primary production, which translates to long term effects on aquatic life and other members in the upper food chain. Dams may also bring about alterations in the ecosystem even at a distance far from the dam2. For instance, any alteration on the transportation of sediments may result in changes in floodplains, coastal d elta and river morphology numerous of miles from the dam site. The river ecosystem responds to dams in several, complex, and diverse ways. Subsequently, while endeavouring to establish the impacts of dams on the ecosystem there is need for large bank of information relating to: riparian vegetation and related fauna; quality of water; rivers hydraulic features; geomorphologic features; aquatic animals and their environment; importance of river’

Refer to assignment criteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Refer to assignment criteria - Essay Example The paper says that the person sharing the shelter may sometimes pay the mortgage instalments or bear the expenses for the extended portion of the home. Sometimes the person may bear the household expenditure in lieu of the shared shelter on some understanding. Over a period of time, it is creating problems over the ownership of the house when the sharer dies or leaves the shared home for another place (Sharing Homes, The problem). The discussion paper sources these problems to the ambiguity of the current law guiding these shared homes. The present law is not very clear on payments made by the sharer on behalf of the owner. For instance, mortgage payments made by the sharer are enough for staking a claim on the home. But, sometimes, the sharer regularly pays the household bills enabling the owner to pay the mortgage instalments. Sometimes, the sharer may look after the household work like As per the law detailed in the discussion paper, a person who is not a legal owner but sharing the shelter in a home can claim an interest on it only when there is an equity arising by proprietary estoppel, when a resulting or constructive trust has arisen in his / her favour or when the sharer becomes a beneficiary under an express declaration of trust. In any of these circumstances, the sharer has to prove his / her right with sufficient proof. Because of these limited options available to the sharer, the law is termed as complex, arbitrary and uncertain in application. It is also ill suited to determining the proprietary rights of the home sharers. The discussion paper is of the opinion that the rules of implied trusts and proprietary estoppel are not as clear as they should be (Sharing Homes, Part I, introduction). An express trust arises when a person expressly declares that he or she holds property on trust for another or transfers property to another expressly subject to a trust. A

Stop Torture Essay Example for Free

Stop Torture Essay Would you authorize torturing an individual in order to save the lives of hundreds? A majority of the population would agree that sometimes torture becomes necessary. Employed during war, many civilians believe torture is justified as a method to retrieve information to save lives and many military personnel would argue that the same methods would be used against their comrades. Contrary to the majority, the use of torture is unnecessary because it harms innocent individuals, provides inaccurate information, and contradicts America’s efforts in making the world a better place. People have mixed feelings regarding the use of torture to capture terrorist or prevent terrorist attacks. Some can argue that torture is an effective method that can be used to get suspects to speak so that authorities can respond quickly. The use of torture can help soldiers retrieve valuable information from captured terrorist to prevent damage from other terrorist. Secondly, if terrorist are not limited to physical violence and acts of immortality, why should soldiers who protect innocent people be limited to nonviolent interrogation. Many will argue that terrorist are not afraid to use violence, hence, we should not be afraid either. Last but not least, why should one have empathy towards people who are intentionally causing mayhem and chaos? While these are seem as reasonable arguments to allow the use of torture, there are many consequences and drawbacks that are associated with the use of torture. There have been many instances reported where American soldiers treated other innocent Iraqi civilians in custody with inhumanity and ruthlessness, such as the infamous stories of â€Å"Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib has been in news articles for quite some time, and reporters have provided insight on how innocent civilians were thrown in prisons and treated with inhumanity and cruelty. The documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, written and directed by Alex Gibney, is about a taxi driver who was taken into custody at an U. S. military base in Abu Ghraib. He was stripped naked on arrival, chained to the ceiling, and beaten several times a day. After enduring five days of excruciating pain and torture, he died. One must stop and wonder why the American government at Abu Ghraib sanctioned such inhumane methods? They did not. These techniques of chaining prisoners to the ceilings, using physical violence, and waterboarding were only sanctioned in Guantanamo Bay. However, these practices migrated to Abu Ghraib without any official orders. The guards at Abu Ghraib must have reasoned that if torture was allowed in a military base, why limit these cruel methods to just one base? This misguided reasoning spreads chaos and along with it derives horrifying incidents like Abu Ghraib. American soldiers who were the guards at Abu Ghraib wanted to contribute and help their mission become succeed. For them, torture was about obtaining information from prisoners by any means necessary to help war efforts. However, the feeling of being superior to Iraqi prisoners led them to treat these innocent men like â€Å"dogs† (Gibney). In the article, â€Å"The Abolition of Torture,† author Andrew Sullivan argues that torture is not only ineffective but also morally wrong. Andrew Sullivan writes this article in response to Charles Krauthammer’s belief in the need for torture and Krauthammer defines a terrorist â€Å"an unlawful combatant. He lives outside of laws of war because he does not wear a uniform, he hides among civilians, and he deliberately targets innocents† (Sullivan). Knowing that there are many instances where innocent individuals are thrown into prisons as terrorist by government officials. What difference is there between the American government officials and terrorist if both harm innocent individuals? In order for us to sustain faith in humanity, we must treat everyone with humanity in mind; terrorist or not. The use of torture spreads like a forest fire and brings down innocent individuals with it. Another reason torture is unnecessary because it generates inaccurate information. When facing torture, prisoners will say almost anything to make the pain go away. This often leads to false information and wastes valuable time. The American government approved â€Å"waterboarding† as a method of obtaining information from prisoners immediately after September 11, 2001. In an article written by Senator John McCain, who was tortured for years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, he provides an insight on the truth behind the use of torture. Senator McCain recounts conversation with CIA director Leon Panetta, Panetta stated, â€Å"None of the three detainees who were waterboarded provided Abu Ahmed’s real name, his whereabouts or an accurate description of his role in al-Qaeda† (McCain). Khalid Sheik Mohammed was waterboard 183 times, yet he did not provide any vital information that led to capturing Osama Bin Laden. This clearly demonstrates that torture is not an effective method because the results can be inaccurate and often misleading. Finally, yet most importantly, the use of torture reverses America’s efforts of making the world a better place. For a country to become an example of justice or humanity, its actions must represent its ideals. When the world hears about America’s policy on torture, it contradicts their efforts of going to third world countries to fight off terror and establish democracy. In his article â€Å"U. S. Went to the ‘Dark Side’ on Torture,† Charles C. Krulak observes that America’s policy on torture â€Å"alienated would-be allies and fueled Al Qaeda’s recruiting efforts. † Many religionist extremist and terrorist recruiters use incidents like Abu Ghraib to influence individuals to take part in terrorist activities. Children growing up in third world countries who witness instances like Abu Ghraib can easily be misguided and join terrorist camps. America’s policy on torture causes more chaos and takes away from what it means to be an American. America was founded as country for the free, brave, and ones who believe in democracy. We classify ourselves as the world police and protectors of humanity. However, our government justifies taking Iraqi civilians treating them with inhumanity and putting them through cruel and unusual punishments. Aren’t these actions forbidden by the American constitution? The American constitution is the building block for American civilization. The constitution along with the Bill of Rights not only protects the freedom of citizens of the world but also guarantees them the right to a trail. What has happened to the beliefs that founding fathers laid out for our country to follow? IF we are to set an example for justice and democracy, we must stop the use of torture. The goal of democracy is that every man should be treated equally. On the other hand, torture is an act of inflicting permanent pain and grief. Democracy and torture can never go hand in hand. Torture should never be a way to gain advantage over an individual, whether it is mental or physical. Torture is merciless, unkind, and brutal, which can also define the character of the user and becomes a part of his/her human nature to feel a sense of empowerment toward another human being, in other words â€Å"the enemy†. As a result, torture influences both sides to ongoing revenge, anger and violence. Torture served no purpose to initiate anything positive for our world today or tomorrow. Mahatma Gandhi once stated, â€Å"An eye for an eye leaves the world blind. † If the world leaders continue to exercise methods of torture, then there will be no room for the advancement of humanity. America should not use torture to fight against terrorism. As the use of torture is terminated, the world will have a chance to come together and end terrorism because the main root of terrorism is being inhumane and we should not fall in that category by using torture as our way to fight against it.

Development of a Character :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Development of a Character This past summer, I attended Interlochen Arts Camp as a Shakespeare Theatre Production Major. Wishing to further hone the knowledge I had gained during my previous summer at IAC, I auditioned for Advanced Acting Studio, and was accepted. During the eight week session, one primary focus of the class was on the different "energies" used in acting for the creation and development of a character. Our introduction to these energies seemed simple - we went outside, and were told to walk in any direction at our normal speed and rhythm, using the shade of a large tree as a boundary. Then, as we were walking, Cindy, one of our three directors explained, "There are six different major types of energy used in acting - percussive, vibratory, suspended, swing, collapsed, and sustained. These energies not only apply to acting, but to life in general." As we walked, she described them, saying that some would feel very natural to us, while others might feel alien, even frightening. In turn, the twelve of us transformed our entire beings to mimic these descriptions: Percussive. . . . Kate was naturally percussive. Her movements came like bursts of energy, lots of short little fuses that were being burnt at intervals with no apparent rhythm. Even the way she spoke was joyfully random and unexpected. Instead of just standing up when she was called on, she would leap from her chair. The next energy we explored was vibratory. Vibratory is similar to percussive, but where as percussive is made up of seemingly random spurts of energy, vibratory is a constant flow of repetitive, rhythmic beats. Jeff was vibratory. His feet would tap the ground while his fingers drummed on the arms of his chair and his upper body swayed back and forth to this constant drum-roll. Before I met Michael, I would have associated suspended with an upper class snob. Suspended people can have an air of being taller than the rest of us, chins tilted up wards, eyes gazing down at the people below, their entire being having the sense of being pulled upward. Yet Michael was suspended without being imperious or haughty. He simply had very good posture, and an air of confidence that is so crucial in a performer. He was a dancer, and gave the impression of floating across the ground as he walked.

International Issues Essay

Abstract No two countries have the same political and legal system. Each country has its own laws and regulations on business and products. When doing business in another country it is important to know the laws and abide by them. Culture plays a huge part in a business’s success when venturing into a foreign market. Being sensitive to the cultural and religious beliefs in that country is important to a business’s long term success. A business needs to be educated in the laws, customs and cultures of that country so that business will be able to comply and coincide with that country. A business needs to know how and where to resolve any legal issues that may arise while doing business in that country. Disputes need to be handled in a way that is respectful to that country and adheres to the contract in which the parties agreed. International Issues Issues in Legal Disputes in International Transactions â€Å"International transactions and dispute resolution requires both an understanding of the law and a sensitivity to foreign culture, politics, formal and informal power structures and decision-making approaches† (White and Williams LLP, 2013). When entering into a contract with a foreign country, one needs to be very specific in the contract about how to resolve any issues that could come up between the two companies. Deciding and agreeing on where issues will be resolved is a key element in the contract. Going to court can be costly for both companies and the decision made by the court could take an extended amount of time. If the companies were to go to court, deciding in where the court hearing would take place is another issue. If the hearing was to be held in the foreign country, the laws might not be the same and that country might not have much experience in international disputes. If the hearing was to be held in the United States, the other company and the country’s government it resides in could become hostile and not uphold the ruling. Arbitration would be the best way to resolve any disputes between the two countries. Arbitration can save a lot of time and money for both companies while also protecting the images of both companies by not having a lengthy trial in the press. â€Å"Arbitration is often less costly, less litigious, and less time-consuming, and offers more privacy to the parties than litigation† (Companies Export, 2008).The ruling from the arbitration could be binding or non-binding depending on what is agreed upon in the contract. Practical Considerations When trying to resolve a dispute with a company in a foreign country, one would need to look over the written contract that was drawn up at the beginning of the relationship. â€Å"The governing law clause will set out which country’s law will apply to any dispute under the contract, and the jurisdiction clause will state in which country the legal action must be taken† (Smith, 2007). The U.S. based company needs to be aware of the laws that affect the company and the business dealings in the other country. The company needs to consider the cultural aspects, the ethical behavior, and the legal structure within that country. â€Å"U.S. laws governing the international business activities of the U.S. companies fall into two categories. The first consists of laws, such as antitrust, employment, and economic-espionage laws, that are also applied frequently in the domestic context. With respect to these laws, the international business activities of the U.S. companies are a rguably at special risk because management educated and trained outside the United States might be less familiar with these laws than management educated and trained in the United States† (Winer, 2013). Bribery is also a consideration when taking legal action against a foreign business partner because this is illegal under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In some countries, bribery and gift giving is not seen as an illegal or unethical act but a form of showing respect and gratitude. A company needs to be careful on how this is perceived because it could be seen as an illegal act on the company’s part. Factors against CadMex Time and money would work against CadMex in the sublicensing agreements. In the simunlation, Candore is under an epidemic and needs the medicine ViroBlax at a subsidized price. There would not be enough time, due to the epidemic, to work out a contract that both parties will agree upon. Each separate pharmaceutical company in Candore would have to be sought out and a new contract would have to be drawn up for each different company. This is not only costing CadMex time but countless dollars on man hours. CadMex would have to invest a lot of money into properly training the employees and building the proper facilities. CadMex would also have to insure that the generic products were to the proper standards and up to regulation. Even if CadMex was to invest the time and the money into sublicensing the drug, CadMex would lose money because the drug is being sold at a subsidized price. The royalties that would be paid out with sublicensing still would not gap the margin of loss that CadMe x has. When Customs and Laws Conflict When the local customs and the local laws conflict with the customs and laws of an organization operating abroad; the organization should look at the customs and laws in which it is operating under and those should prevail, as long as the company is following the laws in which it is to operate by. When operating abroad, it is important to be aware and sensitive to the customs of that country. Allowing employees to observe religious and cultural holidays will not only keep moral high but also will keep the company within the laws that country has. Knowing the cultural normalities and integrating those into the business model will allow for the employees and members of the community to feel that the business has their interests mind. Being able to comply with the laws of the country in which the business is in while also complying with the laws set by the country, in which the mother company resides, can be a hard line to walk. Complying with the laws of the country in which was agreed upon in the contract at the onset of the partnership would prevail. Making sure to follow the rules of the country that the business is in is important because that is where the business will produce its goods. â€Å"Employees who engage in international business are responsible for knowing and complying with both the laws and regulations of the countries in which the businesses operate and the U.S. law and regulations that apply outside U.S. borders. If U.S. law conflicts with the local customs, or if the local law is more restrictive than U.S. laws or company policies, one must follow the more restrictive law, custom or policy† (Olin, 2012). Resolving Domestic and International Issues Resolving domestic issues can be done through arbitration or through the court system. It can be as simple as suing a party and showing up to court. When trying to resolve an issue domestically, the laws are well known for both parties and the venue in which the issue will be settled is easily accessible to both parties. Resolving an issue internationally is more work involved. The issue has to be resolved through which venue both parties agreed upon when signing the contract. Both companies need to know the laws of that country and travel might be needed. If arbitration was selected, both parties would need to submit all paperwork to a panel of arbitrators and adhere to the judgment in which the panel decides. If one party does not comply with the ruling, then legal action must be taken. Conclusion When doing business internationally, a company needs to be aware of many factors. Conforming to the culture and abiding by the laws that are set in that country are essential to that business and its success. A company needs to know how to resolve issues that will come up in the daily running of the business. Being sensitive to religious and cultural norms will not only help with the moral of employees but the community as well. Adhering to the contract in which the company agreed upon will help avoid any legal action being taken against them. By following the laws and cultures of the country the business resides in will ensure success of the company and future dealings in that country. References Companies Export. (6/4/2008). Retrieved from http://export.gov/regulation/eg_main_018226.asp Olin. (2012). International Business. Retrieved from http://www.b2i.us/profiles/investor/fullpage.asp?BzID=1548&to=cp&Nav=0&LangID

Privatization Study Essay

Privatisation can be defined as ‘the partial or total transfer of property of responsibility from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business) or private persons. Privatization can include the transfer of responsibilities and not solely change of ownership. Privatisation consists of simply ‘the transfer of all or any of three kinds of property rights from the state to the private sector; ownership rights, operating rights and development rights since these constitute the most common type of privatisation. In general privatisation has been undertaken as one of the reform measures to reduce government role in the economy and broaden the role of the private sector. Privatization can also be said to be a process of asset divesture. It is seldom asked, what does privatization seeks to accomplish in the Caribbean? It must be understood that privatization is seen as an instrument working towards supply side improvement by the promotion and allocation of more e fficient resources and short term stabilization through expenditure reduction. Privatization initiatives are now a current occurrence in most Caribbean countries such as Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Guyana to name a few. It has shown that most privatization activities took place in Latin America & the Caribbean; between the period 1988 and 1993 this region accounted for more than half the total privatizations in the Third World. Most privatization initiatives take place in the utility companies of the Caribbean. In case of Belize (electricity, water, port authority and the sugar cane factory). Government in many of these Lesser Developed Countries embraces privatization as an attachment to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These institutions stress and maintain that privatization is the main driving force towards economic liberalization and self-sustained growth. The objectives of Privatisation can happen either directly or indirectly. The main objective of privatization is placing emphasis on improving the efficiency of government owned/ semi-owned establishments, whether retained or divested. Some objectives are to Improve the operational efficiency of enterprises that are currently owned or semi owned by government, and their contribution to the national economy in terms of reliability of delivery,  quality and price; introduce competition in areas under monopoly; Reduce the burden of semi/owned government enterprises on the Government budget (direct) an example is stated in the re- privatization of Air Jamaica by the Government. (The Government of Jamaica initiated re-privatization process due to the airline’s increasing financial losses and the restructuring needed to face the challenges of new market conditions. The privatization of the airline was a top priority and engaged the International Finance Corporation as its Lead Adv isor)(The KED Group Research); raise revenue opposing to increase taxes on citizens (direct);Expand the private sector’s role in the economy, permitting the Government to concentrate more on its public resources and roles; Encourage wider public population in the ownership and management of business; encourage industrial growth; attract foreign investments Some other objectives can be classifies as secondary objectives such as creating a more market-oriented economy; to gain access to the foreign markets and technology while promoting the development of the capital market; and preserving self-reliance. There are said to be three major areas which privatization is expected to impact. Firstly there’s Efficiency, secondly there’s reduction of financial burden of the government and thirdly the ability to enhance private sector growth and activity to promote economic democracy through the participation of national assets ownership. In the Caribbean, privatization is expected to have a positive impact on productive efficiency. This is a result of the in-efficiencies that have plagued the public enterprises. It is said that as a result of non-competitiveness these enterprises misuse production inputs, they enjoy privileges of subsidiary capital and some social welfare. Shareholders do not scrutinize management performance so there is no incentives to maximize profit and minimize cost. Some problems that leads to privatization of government enterprises being in-efficient are over- staffing, management incompetence and low employee productivity. These are made into undesirable situation due to the intervening of government’s non-economic ends such as non-competitive pricing and employment maximization. When privatized efficiency is expected to yield better management operations. In order to meet the other area of maximizing revenue and reducing the financial burden on government enterprises; Privatization is considered one of the most directive and effective ways whereas government sells public enterprises. Not all asset sales is indeed a reduction in budget deficit, it is a short term measure of correction. It was in the early 1980’s in the Caribbean that revealed most countries found it difficult to provide counterpart funding for projects. Due to governments commitment to provide funding for these projects resulted in the economy to fluctuate and cause a burden on government resources. The growth of the expenditure exceeded the growth of revenue resulting in some countries to privatize. Privatization stimulates private sector growth. It seems to be beneficial as the private sector is constantly evolving. Privatization also sparks development of entrepreneurship by promoting economic democracy by participation of ownership of national assets. This can be seen in Belize with the telecommunication provider BTL. This company was bought and shares were sold to the public, giving them some ownership in the company. In the Caribbean, public enterprises were established because the pr ivate sector fell short to supply and demand because they weren’t willing to take the risk of high investment. Privatization of these public assets took place to attract foreign investment, government had to remove the restrictions of market access and the protection of state owned enterprises so that private investors would have been encourage to invest and avoid monopoly. This increased the foreign investment in the Caribbean. In Belize a similar situation of taking a risk and some monopoly to an extent can be seen in the privatization of the water company. CASCAL the foreign investor had problems when government had already invested in the utility company but was said to have not express the overvaluing of the company which yielded a more long term debt. Nevertheless CASCAL invested over $70 million USD into the company. Privatization of an enterprise or government own entity can be done in many ways. Some organizations use not only one method both sometimes several means for privatization. These methods of privatization are adopted based on the objectives of the enterprise such as financial position or the structure of the market. Some forms or methods of privatization can be stated as Sale of Equity, Sale of Assets, Concession/ Lease Agreement, Management Contracts, Franchising. In Belize the most common form is Sales of Equity and Sale of Assets. Sale of Equity refers to the transfer of equity usually done by the selling of shares. The government usually decides on what percentage to keep and what to sell. Once government decides on the  issue, the form of public offering or private placement of these shares can take place. Usually in large financially sound enterprises the public offering method is more attractive to government. The Belize Telecommunication privation is a great example of how g overnment took the public offering method and offered the Belizean public to buy shares into the company. Belize Telecommunication Ltd was the first privatization in Belize 1989 when British Telecom bought 25% of the shares. In 2001 Carlisle Holdings committed and increase BTL shareholdings to 52% with a $50 million investment. In 2004 Carlisle Holdings sold its shares back to the Government, which then resulted in the government to sell its shares plus the shares acquired from Carlisle to Innovative Communication Cooperation. Innovative communication Cooperation couldn’t pay for its share in 2005 which caused the government to take back 52% majority shares and sold it to private entities. In 2007 all rights and assets were transferred to Belize Telemedia Limited and the Government became the owner of majority of shares, the remaining shares were offered to the public which builds up 908 small shareholders. This is one company that basically use the sale of equity method. When using method of sales of assets, the basic concept is the direct sale of a public enterprise’s assets to a private investor or a group of investors. This would occur in a very competitive manner where government would try to receive the best price through an auction or tender process. Belize’s only sugar cane processing facility Belize Sugar Industries Limited was under negotiations for privatization due to BSI running into financial problems following allegations of mismanagement and bad investments in an allied electrical generation project BELCOGEN Ltd. The government first attempted to promote the sale of BSI to Honduras’ Banco Atlà ¡ntida but this failed. A purchase offer was made by the Belize cane farmers, who is the major suppliers of the factory’s sugar cane, was not entertained with much interest by the government. The sale was offered to the U.S. Company American Sugar Refin ery. This privatization was solely the sale of asset; no shares were offered to public and the factory is solely managed by a foreign company but still retains the employees being Belizeans. American Sugar Refinery, assuming the entire debt of BSI, will become the beneficiary of additional shares issued by BSI so that at the end of the day there will be something like 78 to 22 per cent ownership. ASR will in fact hold the  majority shares and the other 22% representing the actual workers of BSI. This act of privatization in Belize was a direct result, as BSI was in debt of 30 million and couldn’t repay. The government was forced to privatize at the same time act in best interest for the 90% of cane farmers that is the driving force for the sugar industry in Belize. There are other methods such as contracting/ franchising. This mostly happens when the government cannot take on the responsibility in services such as road construction and maintenance, machinery repair garbage collection (Belize Waste Control) and health services (such as Belize Dry Cleaners contract to heat wash all hospitals bedding etc.) this relinquishes all duties and services from the public sector to the private sector. This was also evident in The Jamaican privatisation programme which began in the early 1980s with the divestment of public services; which were burdening on fiscal resources of the government. These services were garbage collection services, parks and markets, and public cleansing. There is also the management contract method which solely involves hiring private sector to manage government enterpr ises for a special fee. This method entails the management responsibility only and does not involve the transfer of personnel. The final method is concessions and lease agreement; this method is used when government does not want to transfer complete ownership of an entity. Privatization of enterprises would be mostly natural resources or infrastructural. While government retains ownership, the private operator is responsible for desired improvement and management. Private investors may have an option to purchase the company after the agreements end. Privatization in the Caribbean countries was said to be influenced by the deteriorating financial state of the countries except for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago which privatized their enterprises to undergo a structural adjustment program with the International lending Institutions. As in example with Grenada and Dominica which privatized for their own structural reform to reverse the deteriorating financial state. In Grenada their reform was organized by the Caribbean Development bank and aim was to privatised state owned enterprises to reduce the arrears of debts and contributions and focus on fiscal reform. In Dominica privatization was through the public sector enterprise reform that was based on the privatization of the Dominica electricity Services. In Jamaica privatization came into act in the 1980’s when the government at  that time, wanted to reduce their role in the economy. On board with privatization efforts were the International Monetary Fund and The World bank which disbursed several loans to the government of Jamaica divestment agenda. Some divestments included cleaning public facilities, operations of public markets which was done through the lease agreement and management contract method which gave private entities control. Privatizati on took flight in 1985 when shares offering was done by the National Commercial Bank acquiring 51 percent of the government’s equity. Privatization in a whole is said to have both positive and negative impacts depending on the way it is carried out and for the purpose the governments seems deemed. Advantages or potential benefits of Privatisation are that it improves efficiency. Private companies have a profit incentive to cut costs and be more efficient. When working for an industry that is managed or run by government, managers do not usually share profits. However, a private firm is interested in making profit and so it is more likely to cut costs and be efficient. A simple example of this is the British Airways have shown degrees of improved efficiency and higher profitability. Privatization also allows for the lack of political interference. It is said that most governments are motivated by political pressures rather than sound economic and business sense. They may employ too many workers which is inefficient and might be government may be reluctant to get rid of the workers because of the negative publicity involved in job losses. Therefore, state owned enterprises often employ too many workers increasing inefficiency. There may be instances when it’s beneficial for government when there just thinking in terms of until the next election. This is called the short term view. Government may be unwilling to invest in infrastr ucture improvements which will benefit the firm in the long term because they are more concerned about projects that give a benefit before the election. Shareholders apply pressure to private entities if they are inefficient. These companies could be threatened by a takeover. Another beneficial aspect is increased competition; privatisation of state owned monopolies allow more firms to enter the industry and increase the competitiveness of the market. One of the major competitions in the Caribbean would be telecommunication. In Belize, the Belize Telecommunication Limited was under monopoly which gave rise to a new competitor namely Speednet (SMART). However, privatisation doesn’t  necessarily increase competition, it depends on the nature of the market. The last advantage is that government will raise revenue from the sale. This could be seen in the water and sewerage authority in Trinidad & Tobago, the flour mills, the steel company and assets of PETROTRIN which raised over $542.4 million USD for the Trinidadian Government in 1999. Also in Trinidad the British West Indian Airline under privatization had a profit of 2.04 million USD as compared to the previous loss of 25.6 million USD. In Jamaica about 50% of public enterprises has gained overall benefits of privatization. According to the National Investment Bank of Jamaica from since the privatization process from 1981, the government proceeds have been over $300 million USD. Privatization also increased the employment in the agricultural field, hotels which have increased by 85% due to aggressive market strategies and telecommunications as a result job losses were le ssened. Also public cleaning and garbage collection has improved. (Stone 1992). This also shown that by 150% employment was increased. In Guyana, the privatization of the Telephone & Telegraph Company Ltd. Has increased the number of subscribers from 21,000 to 53,600 and have improved services and quality. (Tyndall 1995) Privatization may also have its disadvantages which can mostly occur when there is a monopoly in an industrial firm. It is better to have a public monopoly rather than a private monopoly which can exploit the consumer. Some disadvantages are when privatization happens for public interest. Many industries which perform an important public service such as health care, education and public transport is not profit driven. In these industries, the profit motive shouldn’t be the primary objective of firms and the industry. In the case of health care, it is feared privatising health care would mean a greater priority is given to profit rather than patient care. The Problem of regulating private monopolies, such as the water companies and rail companies (as in Jamaica) is another disadvantage of privatization. Regulation is needed to prevent abuse of monopoly power. Therefore, the government still need to have regulatory power or state ownership. As in the advantage of short term view when government is looking only towards the next election and trying to minimize public investment; the private entity can swing this around and do the same. This would be called short termism of firms which would be also a disadvantage. Private owned entities would or may seek to increas e short term profits to shareholders  and avoid long term investment. In privatization of a company it’s not always in the best favour of the public citizens. In some case privatization of a utility company have caused price increase in the service they provide. It is always hard for government to reacquire these companies after privatization. A typical example in Belize of a privatization went wrong was under the PUP government. They privatized the Port of Belize to a so call crony of the party. This was clearly not in best interest of the people or country. Under government ownership the port was serving Belize as well as Southern Mexico. Today not even Belizeans are fund of using the port due to the lower prices and services offered by neighbouring ports as Honduras and Guatemala. Privatization was been around in the Caribbean from the early 1980’s and has gain over ten years solid experience and now evolving as the learning process continues. What is clear is that government has been more interested in the economy rather than letting the private sector take over. Is has shown that through studies in Jamaica and proper consultation, privatization has caused a very beneficial change in the country. A consensus must be must be initiated with the society at large for any privatization program to be successful or beneficial. Privatization has its pros and cons and any government in the Caribbean should consider if privatization is the best option, not just for political gain; but for the benefit of its people. Although sometimes some countries are driven or force into privatization to help the rescue them from the ir financial burdens, there must be a privatization structure and team in place so as to have the government not selling out and causing its people to suffer. With the proper assessment and consulting privatization can be a way forward for developing Caribbean countries. REFERENCES siteresources.worldbank.org richardbernal.net/Privatization_in_the_English-Speaking_Caribbean dbankjm.com/privatisation pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABL654 ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent. economictimes.indiatimes.com westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography www.guardian.bz/index www.belizetelemedia.net www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters www.caricom.org/jsp/community/donor_conference†¦/preferences.pdf

Free Essays on Fashion

In my lifetime I have worn many different types of styles ad well as participated in a few new fashion trends. Three styles I participated in were â€Å"dress codes†, â€Å"vintage/preppy†, and â€Å"designer clothing.† Some of the reasons for changing the way you dress have to do with your environment, surroundings, and the people whom which you associate with. When I was in sixth grade, I transferred to a private school. Our dress code consisted of a blue polo shirt and khaki pants or a white polo shirt and blue pants. We wore this clothing because it was what was expected of us. I didn’t like the style and thought it was rather boring, but I did it because my parents made me. I tried to find ways to make this dress code a little bit more unique. I would wear a blue belt with my khaki pants and hope that maybe I would stand out in a school of three hundred or so kids. Wearing the same thing in school eliminated the competition. The school didn’t want the kids to compete over who was wearing the nicer alfit so they made it the same. At this point in my life I wasn’t yet an individual. I went with the flow and tried not to be completely different than all the other kids. I didn’t have the confidence and security yet to do so. When you’re a kid you want to be life everybody else because you donâ⠂¬â„¢t want people to make fun of you, even if you feel different kids can be very mean. It’s hard to have meaningful self-exploration when you are young because you are just trying to fit in and that it hard enough. When you get a little older and more secure than you can begin the journey of self-discovery and make it show, in ways of clothes and hairstyle, etc. In a way I was always a little bit different than all of my friends. I knew that I would need to find a way to stick out, but I didn’t necessarily want it to be through clothing (at least not yet). Private school was in a way trying to make everyone look exactl... Free Essays on Fashion Free Essays on Fashion In my lifetime I have worn many different types of styles ad well as participated in a few new fashion trends. Three styles I participated in were â€Å"dress codes†, â€Å"vintage/preppy†, and â€Å"designer clothing.† Some of the reasons for changing the way you dress have to do with your environment, surroundings, and the people whom which you associate with. When I was in sixth grade, I transferred to a private school. Our dress code consisted of a blue polo shirt and khaki pants or a white polo shirt and blue pants. We wore this clothing because it was what was expected of us. I didn’t like the style and thought it was rather boring, but I did it because my parents made me. I tried to find ways to make this dress code a little bit more unique. I would wear a blue belt with my khaki pants and hope that maybe I would stand out in a school of three hundred or so kids. Wearing the same thing in school eliminated the competition. The school didn’t want the kids to compete over who was wearing the nicer alfit so they made it the same. At this point in my life I wasn’t yet an individual. I went with the flow and tried not to be completely different than all the other kids. I didn’t have the confidence and security yet to do so. When you’re a kid you want to be life everybody else because you donâ⠂¬â„¢t want people to make fun of you, even if you feel different kids can be very mean. It’s hard to have meaningful self-exploration when you are young because you are just trying to fit in and that it hard enough. When you get a little older and more secure than you can begin the journey of self-discovery and make it show, in ways of clothes and hairstyle, etc. In a way I was always a little bit different than all of my friends. I knew that I would need to find a way to stick out, but I didn’t necessarily want it to be through clothing (at least not yet). Private school was in a way trying to make everyone look exactl...

The Require Method in Ruby

The Require Method in Ruby In order to create reusable components, ones that can be easily used in other programs, a programming language must have some way of smoothly importing that code at run-time. In Ruby, the require method is used to load another file and execute all its statements. This serves to import all class and method definitions in the file. In addition to simply executing all of the statements in the file, the require method also keeps track of which files have been previously required and, thus, will not require a file twice. Using the 'require' Method The require method takes the name of the file to require, as a string, as a single argument. This can either be a path to the file, such as ./lib/some_library.rb or a shortened name, such as some_library. If the argument is a path and complete filename, the require method will look there for the file. However, if the argument is a shortened name, the require method will search through a number of pre-defined directories on your system for that file. Using the shortened name is the most common way of using the require method. The following example demonstrates how to use the require statement. The file test_library.rb is in the first code block. This file prints a message and defines a new class. The second code block is the file test_program.rb. This file loads the test_library.rb file using the require method and creates a new TestClass object. puts test_library includedclass TestClassdef initializeputs TestClass object createdendend #!/usr/bin/env rubyrequire test_library.rbt TestClass.new Avoid Name Clashes When writing reusable components, its best not to declare many variables in the global scope outside any classes or methods or by using the $ prefix. This is to prevent something called namespace pollution. If you declare too many names, another program or library might declare the same name and cause a name clash. When two completely unrelated libraries start changing each others variables accidentally, things will break seemingly at random. This is a very difficult bug to track down and its best just to avoid it. To avoid name clashes, you can enclose everything in your library inside of a module statement. This will require people to refer to your classes and method by a fully qualified name such as MyLibrary::my_method, but its worth it since name clashes generally wont occur. For people who want to have all of your class and method names in the global scope, they can do that using the include statement. The following example repeats the previous example but encloses everything in a MyLibrary module. Two versions of my_program.rb are given; one that uses the include statement and one that does not. puts test_library includedmodule MyLibraryclass TestClassdef initializeputs TestClass object createdendendend #!/usr/bin/env rubyrequire test_library2.rbt MyLibrary::TestClass.new #!/usr/bin/env rubyrequire test_library2.rbinclude MyLibraryt TestClass.new Avoid Absolute Paths Because reusable components often get moved around, its also best not to use absolute paths in your require calls. An absolute path is a path like /home/user/code/library.rb. Youll notice that the file must be in that exact location in order to work. If the script is ever moved or your home directory ever changes, that require statement will stop working. Instead of absolute paths, its often common to create a ./lib directory in your Ruby programs directory. The ./lib directory is added to the $LOAD_PATH variable which stores the directories in which the require method searches for Ruby files. After that, if the file my_library.rb is stored in the lib directory, it can be loaded into your program with a simple require my_library statement. The following example is the same as the previous test_program.rb examples. However, it assumes the test_library.rb file is stored in the ./lib directory and loads it using the method described above. #!/usr/bin/env ruby$LOAD_PATH ./librequire test_library.rbt TestClass.new

ESSAY PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION - Essay Example In this case, it is very obvious that Clooney had neither informed Pittson of her intention to post his grades to fulosers.com, nor obtained Pittson’s consent on the same. In this same vein, Pittson’s grievances meet the threshold for a full fledged legal case because FERPA applies to educational institutions and agencies that are funded under programs that are run by the US Department of Education and as such, are publicly owned. It is clear that Fargo University as the institution in which the plaintiff learns and the defendant lectures is a state-owned university. The binding of state-owned learning institutions under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is well enshrined by the US Constitution in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Public Law 79-404, Stat. 237 of June 11th, 1946. The APA Act governs the manner in which administrative agencies of the US federal government should establish, propose and observe regulations. It is therefore important that w hen Professor Clooney was posting students’ and Pittson’s grades online, she did so, knowing that she is a member of a public institution, and thereby bound by the FERPA Act and all other acts that govern the running of state-owned institutions, courtesy of the APA Act. Conversely, even the defendant’s claim of ignorance to this fact may not stand in the court of law, since ignorance is no defense in the court of law. That the threshold for this case is widely met is a matter that is underscored by FERPA including the divulging of information on a student’s behavior, status and even school work. FERPA stipulates that before posting a student’s behavior, status, school work or grades, permission must be obtained from an eligible student or the student’s parents, in order to release such information from any student’s education records. By eligibility, it is meant that the student must have been the subject or person of the information being posted; be of a sound mind; and have attained the legal age. In the event that the student does not meet this threshold, contacting that student’s parents for permission becomes inevitable. It is clear that Cooper did not follow these steps but arbitrarily posted Pittson’s grades to a public forum (Mayers, Mawer and Price, 23). It is also important to note that FERPA clearly accords students above the age of 18 and 18 year old students, and students who have enrolled in any post-secondary learning institution, the right to privacy as touching grades, billing information and enrollment. The only exception to this provision is when the school or its officer(s) obtains permission from the student to share this kind of specific information with the parents. This also clearly underscores the sustainability of the case before the court of law, given that Professor Clooney sought not, informed consent from Pittson, despite Pittson having attained 18 years and being a po st-secondary student, particularly, a university. FERPA also adjures faculty members to maintain confidentiality of students’ educational records, as the custodian of students’ academic database. It is for this reason that FERPA specifies that faculty members and the personnel of learning institutions must not post, display or publish lists of students’ grades, in personally identifiable forms, either in electronic form, or in hard copy. This provision goes ahead to state

Home Retail Group Financial Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Home Retail Group Financial Analysis - Essay Example The essay "Home Retail Group Financial Analysis" presents the financial analysis of Home Retail Group, one of the best home and general item retailers in the UK and provides its readers with financial, strategic and stock market information of Home Retail group. The information collected pertaining to above-mentioned areas would be manipulated into meaningful information so that the stakeholders of the company can analyze where the business is standing currently and where it should be in the future. Technological advancements are bringing rapid change in the style of business decision-making. Due to the rapid technological advancement, businesses have to be flexible in developing strategies to allow flexibility of operations. Moreover, the changing environment also causes a business to stay alerted while making decisions, which increases the efficiency of the business. The social scenario of UK further supports for retail businesses as the customers in the UK prefers to make purchasing from one place. Home Retail Group in this aspect is focusing on making its presence visible in every county and city of UK in order to make customers’ experience of shopping in a convenient and highly checked and balanced environment. Though Home Retail Group is facing intense competition from the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s but the presence of the business throughout the country and the increasing demand for its products and services allows Home Retail Group to incur less cost of production and earn more than its competitors.