Competition Bike Incs Essay

Horizontal analysis compares a company’s performance from year to year. I will be reviewing Competition Bikes Inc(CBI) balance sheets and income statements. During CBI year 6, 7 and 8 I have found their net sales , cost of goods to be fluctuating, and few various other items. The net sales from year 6 to 7 increase 33.34 %. The cost of goods from year 6 to 7 was 31.82 %. The gross profit increase 30.89. Comparing year 6 and 7 I found that year 7 improved, but when I compared year 7 to 8 the results were not good for year 8. The company had experienced a 15 percent reduction in net sales. Cost of goods drops 14.8 % from year 7 to 8. Advertising Expenses CBI advertising expenses increased by 37.5 % from year 6 to 7. CBI made a great investment from year 6 to 7 because the net sales increase at a higher rate the increased advertising cost. CBI reduced their advertising expenses by 16.3 % from year 7 to 8. I believed this was done because of the fragile economy. Many companies are trying to make cuts back during a weak economy. These reduces expenses will hold them over until the economy becomes stronger. Website/Sales The website creation and maintenance expenses during year 6, 7 and 8 stayed the same price. Sales commission increase 33.371 % during year 7 from the previous year. Sales commission decrease by 15 % the following year (8). Distribution Network The Distribution network expenses had a positive increased in year 7 by33.3 % jump from the previous year. Distribution expenses are normally supposed to maintain similar numbers, but when you have an increase in sales it is acceptable to increase the distribution expenses. Distribution network expenses decreased 15 percent in year 8. This was caused due to less revenue. Transportation CBI had 33% transportation increase from year 6 to 7. This was caused CBI had more products sold and required more products to be shipped. CBI saw 15 % transportation decrease from year 7 to 8. CBI had less products sold and this caused transportation to decrease in year 8. Administrative Expenses from year 6 to 7 saw 21.43% increase. Administrative Expenses maintain the same expenses from year 7 to 8. Executive expenses increased 29.42 % from year 6 to 7. Year 7 and 8 maintain the same level of expenses. Employment taxes rose by 25.81 % increase from year 6 to 7. Year 7 and 8 maintain the same level of employment of expenses. Administrative expenses are expected due to company having increase production and sales. Utilities expenses rose 3.84 % from year 6 to 7. CBI operation worked proficiently in year 7, and this helped them experienced only an increase of 3.8% in utilities. This was caused due to increase production. CBI utilities increased by 11.11 during year 8. I would suggest CBI have their utilities monitor from day to day to see how they can prevent an increase in expenses when the company is not performing well compared to the previous year. Research CBI saw research and development saw a 37.5 % percent increase from year 6 to 7.During year eight CBI reduces their research and development expenses by 16.3 %. A company should never reduces their research and development if they company perform well in the previous year. I believe this was one of the reasons why CBI had a great year during 7 because they knew what consumers wanted. Due to lack of spending on research and development this caused their sales to drop. Research and development is an important component of competition against other companies without a company will fail to succeed. Interest Income CBI interest income rose 38.1% from year 6 to 7. During year 7 CBI income was properly invested. During year 8 CBI investments had a 3.4% reduction. The reduction was small, but small things do add up over time. I would suggest CBI to monitor their investments and make plans to move around their money if the current trend continues. Balances sheets CBI accounts receivable rose 164.3% from year 6 to 7. During year 8 CBI accounts receivable drop 15 percent. CBI should monitor accounts receivable more closely to make sure past due balances are paid on time. This was caused due to the company noticing a large increase on accounts receivable during year 7 and they tried to capitalize on it. This caused their accounts receivable to drop. Raw Materials CBI manages their raw materials well during year 7. CBI had 3.1% percent reduction in year 8. CBI should incorporate lean production method and Just in time production to avoid wasteful spending and production. Liabilities CBI liabilities increase 1.2% from year 6 to 7. This is expected due to year having 7 having an increase in sales and productions. CBI reduces their liabilities by 3.1% from year 7 to 8. This is good because CBI had a 15 percent reduction in net sales. Vertical analysis A method of financial statement analysis in which each entry for each of the three major categories of accounts (assets, liabilities and equities) in a balance sheet is represented as a proportion of the total account. The main advantages of vertical analysis are that the balance sheets of businesses of all sizes can easily be compared. It also makes it easy to see relative annual changes within one business(Investopedia,2013). Income Year 7 net sales were 7% higher than year 6.CBI preserved their selling expenses at 6.7% of total Net Sales. CBI reduced General & Admin Expenses from 17.1% during year 6 to 15.5% during year 7.This would lead to an increase in Operating Income from 2.8% of Net Sales from year 6 to 5.3% in year 7 and CBI Net Earnings would increase from 1.1% (year 6) to 3.3% (year7). CBI did not perform well in year 8 because their expenses increase during year 8. This caused CBI net earnings to reduce.. CBI Administrative expenses increased 15.5% from year 6 to 7. CBI net sales increase 18.4% from year 7 to 8. CBI operating expenses income was reduce 5.3%of net sales to 1.9 % causing CBI net earnings from 3.3% to a .7%. I would recommend CBI to monitor their general and Admin expenses. Majority of expenses stayed the same during year 6,7 and 8. However during year 8 the CBI did not perform well. I believed CBI needs to find ways to reduces expenses when the company is having a low sales volume. CBI should incorporate just in time principles and lean manufacturing principles. I believe this would help reduce wasted production and this would help reduce utilities expenses. Just in time principles and lean manufacturing principles could also reduce employee expenses. ASSESTS CBI in the cash and cash equivalent accounts drop from 6.2 % in year 6 to 2.7%. However, during year 7 more products were sold compared to year 6. CBI accounts receivable had a major increase from year 6(6.5%) to year 7(16.6%).CBI needs to monitor their accounts receivable accounts more closely and make sure they’re collecting the amount owed to them. During year 8 CBI cash and cash equivalents had risen from 2.7 %( year 7) to 10.3%(year 8). The reason why this happen was due to CBI had started to monitor their accounts receivable. This helped them collect the money they were owed on past due accounts. I would recommend CBI to avoid making purchase on accounts and find ways to use the cash in a more efficient way. CBI should realize it important they have enough reserves during a recession. This will help hold them over until the economy bounces back. â€Å"Trend Analysis is the practice of collecting information and attempting to spot a pattern, or trend, in the information (Wikipedia,2012).†CBI sales were lower than year 7, but they still were able to make a profit. CBI should expect to see growth in the next few years based on their current trend. CBI is expected to have 3,510 units sold in year 9. CBI will have 3,660 units sold in year 10. Finally during year 11,CBI will sell 3,800 units. The forecast numbers are based on the economy recovering. This will encourages CBI sponsors to invest in professional riders and this will increase new bike sales. Currently is cost CBI 1,047.50 to make each product. I would recommend CBI find suppliers who have the same quality parts, but at a lower cost. I would also make recommend CBI is following just in time and lean manufacturing principles. This could help CBI increase their profit margin. Ratio analysis- analyzes numbers Ratio analysis is a method used by businesses to assess their financial situation by comparing two sets of linked data. Current ratio will measure a company’s ability to pay short-term obligations. CBI had a reduction from year 7 (5.9%) to 8(5.35%). Two wheel racing (TWR) current ratio was 4.2% for year 7 and 8. A debt ratio will determine if a business is able to handle any unexpected liabilities it that may come up. A business needs to make sure they enough money to pay off debt to avoid problems with their debt. During year 7 CBI debt ratio was 46.8%. The follow year the debt ratio was 46%. The debt ratio only drops .08 percent during year 8. TWR debt ratio was 38% in year 7 and 8. An acid test ratio will determine if a company can back their liabilities. CBI is doing better than (TWR) by 1.12% and .85%. Inventory turnover- determines the number of times a company can sell it average level of inventory throughout the year. CBI bicycles are customizes for customers so I am unable to compared CBI and TWR. Average collection period, This determines how well a company is able to collect money to the customers they extended credit to.CBI has higher collected amount compared to TWR. CBI was 11.3% higher in year 7 and 8. Gross Profit Margin, will tell investors how much revnue was gain after selling the product(Cost of Good-revenue/gross profit. TWR profit margin is 32.10% higher than CBI profit margin in year 7(27.4%) and 8(27.0%). TWR is operating more effectively. Operating profit margin Measures management efficiency (Operating income/total sales). CBI year 7 was 5.3% and TWR was 5.2%. Year 8 TWR performed better with 5.3% compared to CBI(1.9%). Net Profit Margin show investors the percentage of each sale dollar earn as net income. During year 7 CBI net profits was 3.3% and in year 8 it was .8%.TWR was 5.14% year 7 and 8. The portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share serves as an indicator of a company’s profitability(Investopedia,2013).TWR was $.08 for year 7 and 8. CBI was $.20 during year 7 and $.04 in year 8. Return on total assets-determine how successful a company is to earn profit with their assets. TWR total assets was 4.8% for year 7 and 8. CBI was 4.5% in year 7 and year 8 was .8%. Return on Common Equity- Income between net income and stockholder equity. During year 7 CBI equity was 8.5% AND TWR was 8.1%. CBI equity in year 8 was 1.5% and TWR was 8.1% Price / Earnings Ratio- Stock prices and company earning. CBI earning share 49.67 and TWR was 29. During year CBI price jump to 83.73 and TWR was still 29. Times Interest Earned Determines the numbers of times operating income can pay interest expense. Year 7 interest earn was 5.27 and TWR was 4.24. During year 8 CBI interest earn drop to 1.77 and TWR remained 4.24. ‘Working capital is a financial metric(current assets minus company liabilities) which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity(Wikipedia,2013).† The financial metric system will analyzes if a company will be able to pay their short term liabilities or do they need to take an alternative solution. CBI working capital in year 6 was $382,394: CBI working capital at the end of year was 1,306,617. CBI increased their working capital by 70.7% at the end of year 8. After reviewing CBI working capital the results indicated they will be able to pay their short term liabilities Recommendation I would recommend CBI to have their accounts executives to build a better relationship with customers and make sure they’re satisfied with the work they are receiving. One of the most important things a company can do is listen to their employees. I would also recommend CBI to reduce their accounts receivables. This could be done by making sure that larger orders from customer are sent out faster. CBI inventory cost increase over 24% from year 6 to year 8.CBI should follow the just in time and lean manufacturing principles. This will reduces inventory cost for CBI. CBI transportation expenses are one of their highest expenses. I would recommend CBI to consider to purchasing their own delivery truck and see if this will help them reduce their transportation expense. Internal controls Internal controls helps a company infrastructure run smoothly. Internal controls also help protect and prevent fraud. Internal control will try to remove the temptations for employee to act unethically in the aspect of putting the company at risk of lawsuit. CBI purchase department (PD) will purchases orders from suppliers based on their monthly budget. Once the order has been received the PD will evaluate bids from different suppliers. Once the order has been received they’re given to the production line. The invoice will be sent to the PD. If there are any supplies left they will be sent to raw materials. The PD will then send an accounting department who issues a check to the supplier. Recommendation I would recommend the whole entire processed be revamped. The first thing I would recommended is to separate the duties of researching the bid and purchasing orders. The next thing I would suggest is to make the receiving department in charge of verifying the shipping when the packages arrive. The receiving department needs to verify every item is there from the supplier and their no missing item from the delivery. The receiving department should maintain an inventory control system. After the receiving department has approved the invoice, they should forward to the purchasing department. The purchase order will be forward to the accounting department for payment. Accounting has currently been only receiving unverified invoices. Risk Accounting has currently been only receiving unverified invoices. The lack of verification could cause CBI to get double charge for item they already paid for. Currently their lack of inventory control system. Currently unused supplies are being sent to raw material without anyway of tracking it. This would make it easy for employees to steal because lack of inventory control system. Recommendation I would suggest an inventory control system be implemented. I would make sure all packages received by receiving department be verified by management to avoid being double charge. The inventory control system will help prevent theft from employees. I would also hire outside firm every quarter to check inventory levels to make sure no one is stealing from the company. Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sarbanes-Oxley Act is government regulation that congress pass in order to improve financial disclosures. This would help prevent accounting fraud and improve financial disclosures from corporations(Wikpedia,2013).†Section 302: A mandate that requires senior management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement Section 404: A requirement that management and auditors establish internal controls and reporting methods on the adequacy of those controls. Section 404 had very costly implications for publicly traded companies as it is expensive to establish and maintain the required internal controls (Investopedia,2013). CBI does not mention that they were audited by outside firm. I highly recommend CBI to hire auditing firm to review the company’s annual statement before releasing the numbers to the public to make sure there is no accounting errors. Internal controls are implemented and effective at the end of year 8(Dec 31). The CEO, and CFO certification is need because it is required by SOX and this could not be located. Auditor releases the following statement to shareholders. A material weakness is a control deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis Recommendations CBI needs to make sure they are in compliance with the regulations set forth by Sarbanes-Oxley CB. The first thing I would recommend is to conduct a internal control assessment. The next thing I would recommend CBI to hire accounting firm to review their internal controls. The control needs to be based on Sox guidelines. The CEO and CFO needs to certify they’re aware of the CBI internal control and the actions the company have taken to protect investor’s investments. It is very vital CBI CEO and CFO certifies they’re aware of internal control because Sarbanes-Oxley requires this to be done. Since the accounting firm made assessment that the internal control is effective their might be some problems that could arise from the following statement, â€Å"A material weakness is a control deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.† I would recommend the CEO or CFO to take action fix the internal control problem because they could face jail time for making statements that were not true. .† CBI should base their guidelines set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tread Way Commission(CSOTWO). CSOTWO is joint inivate five private sector organizations devoted to providing leadership through progress and guidance on enterprise risk management, internal control and fraud dictation. This is a great way for C BI to improve the internal control process. References Free Dictionary(2013) http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sarbanes-Oxley+Act+of+2002 Investopedia(2013) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/horizontalanalysis.asp#axzz2Hh4rgfuE True Bussiness(2013) http://truetobusiness.com/finance/ratio-analysis Wikipedia(2013) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_control

Mark Twain, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

In the novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the two main characters, Huck and Jim, are strongly linked. Their relation is portrayed by various sides, some of them good and some others bad. But the essential interest of that relation is the way that uses the author to describe it. Even if he had often been misunderstood, Twain always implied a message behind the themes developed around Huck and Jim. The first encounter between Huck Finn and Jim is at the beginning of the book, when Huck’s friend, Tom Sawyer, tries to fool Jim, Miss Watson’s slave. Huck and Jim still don’t know each other, but Huck isn’t biased against the old slave. It’s an important point because, as racism was a widely held mentality in the South, we can learn that that young boy was more open-minded than most people there. Later, they find themselves in the same situation. As they were escaping from the civilized world, they take refuge in the Jackson’s Island, on the Mississippi river. Huck is running away from a bad father and Jim has leaved Miss Watson because he didn’t want to be sold to New Orleans. Look more:  huck finn chapter 20 essay Soon after joining Jim on the island, Huck begins to realize that Jim has more talents and intelligence than Huck has been aware of. Jim knows â€Å"all kinds of signs† about the future, people’s personalities, and weather forecasting. Huck finds this kind of information necessary as he and Jim drift down the Mississippi on a raft. As important, Huck feels a comfort with Jim that he has not felt with the other major characters in the novel. With Jim, Huck can enjoy the best aspects of his earlier influences. Jim’s meaning to Huck changes as they proceed through their adventure. He starts out as an extra person just to take on the journey, but they transform into a friend. â€Å"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger. â€Å"(chap. XV) Huck tries to squeal on Jim but can’t because he remembers that Jim called him â€Å"de bes’ fren’ I ever had;†¦ de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim. â€Å"(chap. XVI) Huck realizes that he can not turn Jim in since they both act as runaway outcasts on the river. The support they have for each other sprouts friendship. As does the Widow, Jim allows Huck security, but Jim is not as confining as is the Widow. Like Tom Sawyer, Jim is intelligent but his intelligence is not as intimidating or as imaginary as is Tom’s. As does Pap, Jim allows Huck freedom, but he does it in a loving, rather than an uncaring, fashion. Thus, early, in their relationship on Jackson’s Island, Huck says to Jim, â€Å"This is nice. I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else but here. † This feeling is in marked contrast with Huck’s feelings concerning other people in the early part of the novel where he always is uncomfortable and wishes to leave them. The lack of comfort is also shared by Jim. As a slave, he truly feels like an outcast. Considering the context of the United States at that period, during the slavery conflict, we easily understand the situation of Jim. And one of the main ideas of this Mark Twain’s masterpiece deals with a multiracial couple’s story. The relationship between black and white was hardly accepted in the 1830’s. Such an adventure, two male characters, with opposite colour of skin, striking up a friendship, was considered as a provocation by the society. The author knows that very well and will try, through his two heroes, to denounce the drifting of the Nation. Irony is his main weapon against that obscurantism. He uses it as often as possible. For instance, on chapter XIV, Huck tries to explain to Jim why a Frenchman is a man, even if he speaks differently. The ironical feature comes from the fact that this black slave doesn’t understand the equality of all people, whereas himself isn’t considered equal by the white. Besides, another ironical aspect is that we think first, in that chapter, that the white boy will civilize the black man whereas we’ll discover further that it is the contrary. First person brings the reader a more innocent side of the story, so the reader feels more compassion for the small boy. The symbolic image falls into play between Huck and Jim, â€Å"†¦ en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren’s en makes ’em ashamed†¦ â€Å"(chap. XV), this made Huck open his eyes for the first time in his life. Jim for the first time shows feelings for Huck and lets him know you don’t treat people who care for you like â€Å"trash†. This makes Huck aware that Jim means more to him than just someone’s slave, he now considers him a true friend. Next, Huck finally sees Jim’s loyalty toward him, â€Å"†¦ so Jim he said he would stand the first half of it for me†¦ â€Å"(chap. XX), keeping a special watch not waking him on his turn, â€Å"†¦ I went to sleep, and Jim didn’t call me when it was my turn†¦ â€Å"(chap. XXIII). Even the little things like not waking Huck, show more than just an undying friendship. The symbolism of a grown man and a child had more effect instead of having two grown men, because a child needs a father figure. Jim fit the description and perfectly provided that for him. The mutual affection between Huck and Jim will even lead them to sorts of sacrifices. When Huck discovers that Jim has been captured, Huck must decide whether to turn in Jim and tell Miss Watson, or accept going to hell. He finally chooses â€Å"hell† when he says, â€Å"I took it [letter to Miss Watson] up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute†¦ and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell,’ and tore it up. â€Å"(chap. XXXI) Huck’s sacrifice for his friend Jim, a man he has come to view as a father, forces Huck to accept a life of everlasting pain and anguish. In reality, Huck’s sacrifice is a noble and uncharacteristic achievement, allowing Huck to unknowingly be bound for heaven. Jim’s sacrifice, although small in his own mind, is in fact one of the bravest sacrifices made throughout this book. For example, after Tom gets shot in the leg, Jim displays his concern for Tom as he says, â€Å"No, sah-I doan’ budge a step out’n dis place ‘dout a doctor; not if it’s forty year! † Despite all of the racist and harsh tricks Tom has played on Jim, Jim risks his life to save his â€Å"friend. † Rather than abandon Tom, Jim is willing to risk his freedom to save Tom’s life. Moreover, as Jim makes this brave sacrifice, Huck thinks to himself, â€Å"I knowed he was white inside. â€Å"(chap. XL) Through Jim’s sacrifice for Tom, Huck discovers that all men, including blacks, are in fact equal. Huck no longer looks down upon Jim as a â€Å"nigger,† but rather as an equal human being. Lastly, the doctor describes Jim’s heroic sacrifice to the Phelps and tells them that, â€Å"He ain’t a bad nigger†¦ and I never see a nigger that was a better nuss or faithfuler, and yet he was risking his freedom to do it [save Tom]. â€Å"(chap.XLII) Jim risked his freedom to save an insolent, racist white boy who had treated him, not as an equal, but as an inferior, unequal nigger. Jim’s sacrifice is clearly an act of bravery far more heroic than the sacrifice Huck made earlier in the novel. Huck and Jim’s sacrifices for each other, however different, also present many similarities. For example, Huck and Jim both think they are sacrificing themselves for a friend. Huck sacrifices himself for a black friend he has come to love as an equal. Similarly, Jim sacrifices himself for a friend, when in reality, he is risking his freedom to save the life of a racial bigot, Tom. In addition, both sacrifices have as a consequence a life of everlasting hell. When Huck sacrifices himself for Jim, he accepts a literal hell (that is truly the path to heaven). Jim, on the other hand, accepts a life of figurative hell in slavery, when he is in fact free all along. Finally, each sacrifice shares irony, in that they were both based on unknown pieces of unknown, but significannot pieces of information. Huck is unaware that his decision of accepting â€Å"hell† will actually lead to his salvation and ironically decides on doing what the thinks is â€Å"wrong. â€Å"Likewise, Jim is unaware that he is free, and is not risking his freedom in saving Tom. In making these two brave sacrifices, Huck and Jim achieve a higher character than if they had chosen easier paths. Huck’s willingness to face hell to protect Jim and Jim’s willingness to face capture and slavery to save Tom, both contribute to the overall theme of racial equality/inequality present throughout the book. Huck and Jim’s journey down the Mississippi River has led them to look past colour boundaries, and discover that â€Å"all me are created equal. â€Å"

Beethoven Research Paper Essay

While many men and women throughout history have made significant, valuable and lasting contributions to society, Ludwig Van Beethoven is an especially remarkable figure worthy of special note because he embraced and devoted his whole life to music. Born to a drunkard father and an unhappy mother, the young Beethoven was exposed to a brutal training in music at the hands of his father, who hoped that the young boy would prove to be another prodigy like Mozart. Ludwig Van Beethoven’s music set the 18th century Traditions and were shaped and molded because of the great composers Mozart and Haydn, who taught and raised him up in his musical capabilities (Ludwig Beethoven). Beethoven’s success was measured by his devotion, Beethoven dropped out of grade school by the age of ten to study music full time with Christian Gottlob Neefe. March 26, 1778 Beethoven performed his first piano recital at the age of seven; at the twelve years of age Beethoven published his first composition made up of Piano Variations (Ludwig Beethoven). Throughout the years Beethoven began to experiment with different styles and genres of music, the styles changes can be heard in his symphonies, String quartets, and Piano Sonatas. At a young age Beethoven requested to be an assistant court organist, because of his young age Court officials were hesitant but accepted him (Ludwig Van Beethoven). Through his young years of his life, it is clearly evident to how devoted and passionate he was when it came to music. Through the musical years and compositions of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Beethoven gave opening to his own dramatic musical voice. Through Beethoven’s adulthood he faced many trials and tribulations. But Beethoven always used his problems as a stepping stool to become stronger and better at whatever he did, and at the same time he was composing his great and memorable works, Beethoven was struggling with the fact that he was going deaf (Ludwig Van Beethoven). In 1801 Beethoven confessed this horrible news to Franz Wegeler, a German physician from Bonn, German; the same place Beethoven was born. He wrote, â€Å"I must confess that I lead a miserable life for almost two years. I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf. If I had any other profession, I might be able to cope with my infirmity; but in my profession it is a terrible handicap† (Ludwig Van Beethoven). Miraculously, despite his increasing deafness, Beethoven continued to compose. From 1803-1812, these years are what is known as his â€Å"heroic† period (Ludwig Van Beethoven). He created so much music, proving people nothing could stop him. He composed an opera, 6 symphonies, 4 solo concerti, 5 string quartets, 6 string sonatas, 7 piano sonatas, 5 sets of piano variations, 4 overtures, 4 trios, 7 sextets, and 72 songs (Beethoven, Ludwig van). Despite his amazing output of beautiful music, Beethoven was lonely and always miserable throughout his adulthood. Beethoven never married or had children (Beethoven, Ludwig van) and somehow, despite his wild personal life, physical disability, and complete deafness, Beethoven composed his greatest music. String quartet NO. 14 contains 7 linked movements without a break (Ludwig Beethoven). Beethoven’s adulthood was a crazy rollercoaster but in everything he did, he was always dedicated and did everything whole-heartedly. A quote by Liszt, the Arch Romantic, perfectly sums the impact and importance of Ludwig Van Beethoven to not only the music community but also to the history of music itself. â€Å"To us musicians the work of Beethoven parallels the pillars of smoke and fire which led the Israelites throughout the desert, a pillar of smoke to lead us by day, and a pillar of fire to light the night. His darkness and his light equally trace for us the road we must follow, both the one and other are a perpetual commandment and an intolerable revolution.† Works Cited: â€Å"Beethoven, Ludwig van.† Pbs. Feb 17 2013, 8:00 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/beethoven.html â€Å"Ludwig Beethoven.† 2013. The Biography Channel website. Feb 15 2013, 12:05 http://www.biography.com/people/ludwig-van-beethoven-9204862. â€Å"Ludwig Van Beethoven.† Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. [pic]

Management - Operations Decision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management - Operations Decision - Assignment Example These professionals converge as a team to develop and enhance production outcomes to achieve the required level of profitability. Business organizations require outside research to estimate the demand for products and services and will have to entailing information to explore access and capture market places. My role here is as managing consultant to this company, to offer advice that will help them to arrive at a decision as to whether it should shut down totally or continue its operations. The plant operation sector is extremely fragmented in nature, characterized by a large number of small and micro companies. The capacity to react rapidly to emerging opportunity is an absolute necessity to achieve success in the sector. In a swiftly altering atmosphere, it can be complex for small and medium sized companies to cope up with market developments Current Environmental Scan Factors: Current â€Å"environmental scan† (Environmental Scan, 2005, Pg.1) factors of this company inclu de an analysis of both internal and external environmental factors that affect the overall functioning of the company, as experienced below: Internal Factors:  · Organization of equipment and machinery  · Capacity of the technological  · Culture of the organization  · Management systems  · Worker morale  · Financial management External Factors Competition Behavior of the customer Economy Political interference and movement Social atmosphere Technological alterations General environmental alterations All these factors have great impact on plant operations and the management’s decision to continue or discontinue their operations. Both internal and external environment are the foundation in which the organization operates. Environmental scanning also concerns the gathering of relevant information about conditions that affect the business. Appropriate information about internal and external factors of the company will help in understanding the overall performance of t he company. It is also a process of using information of the environment in decision making. This has to be seen from the perspective of improving the overall organizational capability to deal with quick changes. The external environment of plant operation company refers to both its operational atmosphere such as competition, consumers and suppliers, and general atmosphere such as regulatory, economic, technological, and socio-cultural aspects. A firm scans the environment in order to recognize the external factors of change so that they may build up effective responses, which can improve or secure their position in the future. Scan will also help in avoiding surprises, recognizing opportunities and threats, increasing competitive advantage, long-term and short-term planning of performance. The organization's capability to adapt to its outside atmosphere is dependent on knowing and understanding the external alterations that are taking place. Environmental scanning forms a primary m eans of organizational learning. Evaluate the financial performance of the company using the information: The firm presently employs 100 workers to produce 6,000 units. The daily wage is $70, and the price of the firm's output is $32. If the firm continues to work in this capacity, its total revenue will be $192000 = $32 times 6000 units of output. This is the advantage of operating the facility. The price of operating the

PLOT and visual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PLOT and visual - Essay Example Tron legacy is a science fiction movie which shows tremendous use of computer visual effects. The movie was shot in 3D and ten companies were involved in the enormous visual effects work. Chroma keying is a film technology for compositing two images or video streams together based on color hues (color range), this technology has been incorporated in this movie hence bringing out an exciting and thrilling 3D effect in the movie. Artificial intelligence is also a technology used in the film. This is a technology where machines are perceived to be autonomous and tend to have human like intelligence. Visual effects is a term used in describing imagery created, altered or enhanced for a film or other motion pictures production That can’t be done during actual shooting of a film. Visual effects can also be incorporated in to live action capture through techniques like mate painting, miniature or forced perspective sets, computer graphic objects, characters and surroundings, compositing of disparate images recorded in any number of ways. These are some visual effects that have been used in the Tron legacy film, and have contributed very much in modern film production and technology (Zwerman, 2010). Computer technology was vastly significant in the production of this film whereby some scenes in the movie were very graphic and could only be achieved through computer graphic techniques (Mitchell, 2004). Love and hamburgers is a short film about two neighbors that leave short messages for each other on each other door steps. Before the first scene a note written question is left on the front door step of the lady. Here the exposition is an apartment scene where neighbors live next door to each other. The rising action occurs where the two neighbors start leaving sweet notes on each other’s door steps trying to court each other by asking interesting questions afterwards the man asks the lady out for a date only to come back home the

Utilitarianism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Utilitarianism - Assignment Example Utilitarianism extends to political ethics which introduces the problem of tyranny of majority. This is when the majority and powerful people make decisions that are affects the minority. The problem of tyranny of majority is not new as it has occurred in the past history. An example that serves this problem is Slavery of the black people by the majority Whites in the USA. This was a time where decisions were made by the white people as they were the majority natives. The decision made to use black people as slaves was an act against humanity and was morally incorrect. Later, black people like Martin Luther King saw a need to end this slavery and racism that affected his fellow minorities. It was not an easy battle but at the long end equality through democracy was achieve among every America citizen(Barden, 2001). The majority Americans gained from this slavery because the cheap labor boosted its economy. Today, America is the one of the most developed countries in the world. As some would argue slavery was for a good cause, however what about the oppressed slaves? As much as America benefited economically, the Blacks suffered tremendously (Barden, 2001). Therefore, it was not morally right for the majority right to oppress the minority even if the results benefitted the

Mass Media Areas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mass Media Areas - Essay Example It also helps me build and improve my interpersonal skills in regards to communication. Announcers’ roles encompass different activities both in and outside the media houses such as conducting interviews, presenting music and news. They also act as commentators in sports such as football. They conduct major activities like parties and weddings as masters of ceremony in addition to working in clubs as disc jockeys (Dominick). For one to qualify as an announcer, he or she ought to attain relevant education credentials. It is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree in communication, journalism or broadcasting. One should also take up courses in voice and diction in order to improve their vocal qualities. These programs are essential because they help one to work well relevant computer software and hardware used in studios (Dominick). What attracts me to this job is because it helps me incorporate my skills and hobbies in a professional manner as I find the opportunity to interact with different people with the profession through interviews (Dominick). These individuals include comedians, professional businesspersons, and sportspersons. I think the interpersonal skills that make me qualify for the job in addition to academic requirement. These skills include the ability to talk to people appropriately and with understandable brevity thus encouraging them to talk. As a result, this will facilitate the announcers’ work such as conducting interviews.  

Education ch6,8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education ch6,8 - Essay Example that religion contributes to the development of the fundamental peace through progressive inclusion of various religions in the education system globally. By analyzing the input of Thomas Aquinas, the author of the book further asserts that religion contributes fundamental societal values that help constrict cohesive societies. Religion is therefore a fundamental aspect of the society whose inclusion in the education system is paramount. Education serves the purpose of communicating the values to successive generations thereby influencing the social structures and relations among people. The values further influence the interactions among the learners and the educators. Discipline is an essential aspect of education that contributes to the success of the entire exercise. The religious values often influence the creation of laws to guide the conduct of the learners and the development of appropriate ethical codes of conduct for the teachers. This way, each group appreciates the other and acknowledges the need for respect a feature that enhances the success of the learning process. In chapter 8, the author analyses the contributions of John Calvin to the development of education. In doing this, he discusses the American education movement often giving keen attention to the contributions and ideas of John Calvin. Among the fundamental aspects of the chapter is the rise of nationalism. Just as the name suggests, nationalism refers to the love of an individual’s country. The historical rise of nationalism is therefore an essential aspect of historical studies since it helps understand the historical relationship among people in a society. Additionally, nationalism led to the development of modern day government. The historical analysis of nationalism thus helps understand the nature of contemporary politics in the country. Additionally, John Calvin also makes fundamental religious contributions to the development of education as he explains the need for translation

Macro & Micro Economics Of PRC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro & Micro Economics Of PRC - Essay Example PRC is consciously making effort to lower its inflation rate and/or manage inflation expectations by raising bank reserve ratio of deposits through a directive from PRC’s Central Bank. This brings as to the first question as to how will this affect the balance sheets of both the banks and the PRC’s Central Bank. As regard to the banks, their assets, particular deposits will decrease and the same amount will increase the reserve in the "Liabilities" portion in their Balance Sheet.   Expectedly, the assets of the Central Bank either in receivables or deposits will increase as well as their reserves. Normally, banks hold two bank reserves, one is used for cashing checks or satisfying client's withdrawals while the other is called "legal reserves" or sometimes called â€Å"federal reserves† or central bank reserves. This is the specific reserves that the PRC’s Central Bank wanted to be raised by the banks, and for this year alone, the reserve requirement rat io (RRR) has been raised for the 5th time to a record high of 21 percent according to Xinhua.  Ã‚   PRC’s Central Bank recent move which is a â€Å"contractionary monetary policy† according to Li-Gang Liu, could help manage excessive liquidity in the market but the economic growth of PRC will slow down, however steady during the next two years. Asian Development Bank said in its 2011 Asian Development Outlook that â€Å"there is very little risk of hard landing because growth momentum remains robust for the medium term†.†. As compared to last year the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will slow to 9.3% in 2011, a dip from 10.3% annual growth in 2010 (Global Times), mainly due to stubborn inflation this year. One determinant factor of inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as the CPI rise so is the inflation. Consumer consumption is one of the major components in arriving at the total GDP, the others are government expenditures, gross investment a nd the net of exports versus imports. Consumer consumption may not be a factor at this time because wages will not outpace production. Government expenditures were already programmed to pay maturing foreign loans, hence will be constant, while investment will decrease minimally due to the expected increase in interest rates. The one that will affect most in computing the GDP is the net difference between exports and imports. As I analyze it, imports will continue to outpace exports due primarily to higher demands for fuel consumption, which are outsourced externally. The World Bank said "strong domestic demand and relative price changes have reduced the importance of external trade for China" (Reuters.com) There might be an oversupply of products which will considerably affect prices and therefore have an effect on equilibrium. As regards the aggregate expenses, again this will tend to below as the net effect of imports versus exports is high. PRC’s Central Bank raising of RRR will certainly have an effect on the money multiplier since it will

The blue sky laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The blue sky laws - Essay Example It is a common practice for the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the security trading activities and enforce laws which are against fraudulent trading. However, the sky blue law has granted authority to state officials to share the responsibility of the SEC (the reduction of fraudulent securities trading and/or ensuring the punishment of violators). The sky blue law has been successful, to a significant extent, in regulating the securities trading. Even though every state implements the law, but take a different approach, there are similarities which form the basis of the effectiveness of the law. First, every state, in pursuant to the law, demands the registration of all players in the security market. The law requires that the stock brokers, the brokerage companies, and private security sellers register or be excused from the requirements of the registration (Legal Information Institute par. 1). Based on the registration strategy, the security agency of various states has successfully managed to reduce the fraudulent securities trading by denying a trading license or certificates to unqualified brokerage companies and/or individual stock brokers. Second, the sky blue law contains subsections that compel companies to release true and fair information to facilitate informed decision making. Third, the law provides for the punis hment of individuals or entities that engage in fraudulent securities trading and/or the release of false information. However, the law has not been very successful in the security regulation of national securities such as those listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ among others (Legal Information Institute par. 1-3). In conclusion, the law has been successful in regulating securities trading. The registration process required to be followed by the players in the security market, the issuance of qualification certificates, the pressure to release true and fair information, and the punishment to

City reader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

City reader - Essay Example In the join messages by Harvey and Engels, these divisions are said to be made as impacts of the industrialist budgetary schema. As both Patel and Engels will uncover to us underneath, the methodology of urbanization has totally schewed conclusions and effects for differing social get-togethers, and this in like manner demonstrates spatially. It is likely that urban extents populated by belittled tenants will bear the brunt of negative natural change, despite the fact that other, better-off parts of urban groups will acknowledge advancement. Engels was especially charmed by the negative conclusions that copied urbanization in the 1800s. In Manchester, where his recognitions happened, the built environment of the city clearly signified as far as possible and transformed into a picture on the poorer life states of the working populace who were: "distinctly separated from the sections of the city held from the middleclass. The working populace districts were set along the highroad, with the objective that it was concealed to the regular. This physical disconnection of living plan makes it clear, that structures and developed environment shows social points of confinement. Be that as it may most foremost, the working population comfort conditions are a result of the free venture drive for surplus by the landowners. The author shows an exchange Marxists account, and further discusses the issue of cabin and settlement for the working populace in association with class fight and private undertaking. As expressed by him, the agglomeration of handling in urban regions all around industrialization included an enthusiasm for comfort for the working populace. As a response to that, two "techniques" in order to give settlement were associated by the normal: One was suburbanization; that is dispersal to provincial extends outside the urban groups, underpinned by terrible transportation structures. An exchange was an

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework Essay Example for Free

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework Essay Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has appealed to a wide audience from the first time it was published in 1886 to the present day. What do you think are the reasons for this? The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was first published in a time when classes separated the rich and the poor. These classes never mixed and never talked. The poor classes lived on one side of London and the rich classes lived on the other. The rich would of never had been thought about the poor because there was very few means of learning. Before the story of Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde the two classes would have read different books but when the book was published it had elements that appealed to both classes. The genre of the book is gothic horror and fiction. The elements of gothic in it are the horror, super natural and the mystery. It also has a dark and very gloomy setting and it talks about the smog lying very low on the floor. For a moment, the fog would be quite broken up, and a haggered shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths. This is gothic because it is quite mysterious and spooky. This could appeal to many people because this is like real life with the smog coming under the door. People could relate to this. It always has a dark and gloomy character in it to. In this case its Mr Hyde. This dark and gloomy character first appears in the beginning of the novel were he tramples the little girl. and then the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the chills body and left her screaming on the ground This would have shocked many people at the thought of this tragedy. I think this is such a popular genre because it gives people the fear without actually getting hurt. This would have been the only type of scary entertainment that they had. Readers would have loved the thrill that it gave them. Mr Enfield witnessed the attack and was horrified when discussing it with a friend as they walked through the park. It sound nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see I think that this is a really important part to the story. There were many stories with death and murder in them but this book was particularly unusual. The castle of otranto was the first gothic novel and laid the foundations for future novels such as Frankenstein and Jekell and Hyde. During the 1800s people technology was not as well advanced as it is today so Dr Jekell would not of understood the changes completely. When Mr Jekell takes the potion and begins to transform but he doesnt know that this could change his life forever and eventually led him to death. Hydes house is in the Soho area, which in the 1800s would have been the poorest area in London. The description of the house sound very dark, gloomy, and depressing. This is the kind of area and house that you would expect a murder to come from. On the other hand the other side of London would have been the area were the richest people would have lived. These were well-respected people and these were the people everyone wanted to be. During this time there was a serial killer on the lose Jack the ripper. His first Victims started with prostitutes and eventually moved on the people with little money and no family. He was never caught although there was p pattern to every murder he committed. To many people Jack the ripper was life imitating fiction because the things that he did and the circumstances that he did them in sounded just like a story or a novel. People also thought that that Jack would of got his ideas from the story Jekell and Hyde. This Novel uses suspension and tension all the way through the book. We often have to play a detective in this story and all the way through we are given pieces to fit together. At the end all revels itself and the mystery is solved. In my conclusion Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was a very enjoyable read. It was also very interesting because it gave an image of what the life was like in the 1800s. I never realised that Victorian life was so hard. Still today I think that many people enjoy the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I think this is because it is a very unusual book and appeals to a wide audience rather than just one type of person. This could be one of the reasons why it is so popular. This book has been around for almost a 100 years and I think that it has got many more enjoyable years to go.

Parent Involvement In Education And Issues Arising Education Essay

Parent Involvement In Education And Issues Arising Education Essay Introduction This small scale research is to consider parental involvement in a childs education and how parents contributions help children to achieve while at school and examines the barriers of parents and school which prevent successful partnerships flourishing. In order to carry out a study that would be relevant to my own practice I have focused on both parents, and teachers perception of parental involvement and the type of partnerships that exist between home and school. I have also briefly looked at the government role, the initiatives and policies that encourage schools and parents to work together. My main focus however, is the barriers that prevent parental involvement. In my proposal, I noted initial key findings, that I wanted to research further, however, after reading a vast amount of literature, time-scales prevented me to look at all areas in depth. My interest in this area first began when in a parent role I used to listen to children read once a week at a local primary school. Over the years in my role as a parent, I have seen more encouragement to be involved with my local primary school that my own child attends. Offers of courses in Maths and Literacy have been available, as well as many after school activities such as clubs, or invitations to school events outside of school time. My initial reading, led to me research commissioned by DCSF (2007) which showed that 51% of parents questioned felt very involved in their childs education, compared to 27% in 1963 (DES). This would indicate that parents are now seen as an integral part of a childs school life. Government policies involve parents through consultations about aspects of behaviour and school uniform, and the White Paper (2011) has further still increased parental power. There are still barriers, however, that prevent parents becoming more involved fully in their childs education. In the same research (DCSF 2007) found that 61% of parents indicated that they would like to be more involved with school. I wanted to understand why parents perceived that they were not involved enough with their childs education. I also wanted to see how teachers felt when working with parents and their perceptions and what barriers, if any teachers also had. My study focused on two primary schools, one rural school serving villages in Lincolnshire with 100 pupils, and a large town school serving mainly a large council estate with 400 pupils. Research (Quote) suggests, that parent engagement is higher when a child is attending primary school, and this lowers as children enter the secondary sector. For purposes of my study I have not included this element due to size and time constraints. I have also not considered socio- economic background but I have found that this area has overlapped in much of my reading. However Cosin Hayle (1997) indicate that if a child has a parent who feels involved, and participates with their childs education, benefits will be seen regardless of background. Schools also have a part to play and Ofsted (2007) suggest that all schools value parental involvement but the best schools offer resourcefulness, flexibility and determination in their engagement with parents. In order to assess how schools encourage parents to be involved, evidence was collected through interviews with both Head-teachers of the schools. Class Teachers were also invited to take part in interviews; however of the eight teachers invited only two were interviewed with rest offering to complete a questionnaire. Time constraints were the general reason for this. Literature Review The importance of parental involvement It has long been recognised since the publication of the Plowden Report (1967) that the importance of Parental involvement in education brings lots of benefits to children. This term covers a wide range of issues but generally is defined as how a parent uses available resources with the intention of improving a childs learning. (Docking, 1997) This involvement may take place in or outside school. Parental involvement at home may include activities such as discussions with their child about school, helping with homework or reading, or working on tasks such as cooking, make and do projects or being part of the wider community and using the facilities that may be on offer. Involvement at school may be attending parents evenings, volunteering in the classroom, or helping with decision making, such as belonging to the PTA or on a higher level working within a Parent governor role. Studies have shown that children who have parents that take an active interest in their education benefit in a number of ways. These children are usually higher achievers (Ballantine, 1999; Docking, 1997 😉 attendance is higher, (Haynes, Comer, Hamilton-Lee, 1989), homework is readily completed (Rich,1988;) and self- esteem and confidence is high. (Hoover-Dempsey,1997; Walker,2000; Jones Reed, 2002). The Labour Government also recognised the importance of parental involvement, they emphasised that parents are active partners in the production of educated children (McNamara et al, 2000; p474). Excellence in Schools (DFEE, 1997) states that parents are a childs primary educators, and parents are key partners in the modern school system. Many initiatives have been aimed at parental involvement such as Sure-Start. The Barriers of Parental Involvement- Parents perceptions Parents beliefs and how they view education, can act as barriers to effective parental involvement. The way parents view their role in their childs education is crucial. Parents, who believe that their role is to ensure their child attends school, and the rest is up to the school, are often not willing to be actively involved in their childs schooling. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) reported that this attitude is more prevalent in some communities than others, but did not attribute low income as a factor. Clarke (1983) found that if pupils were high achievers, the parents supported their learning at home and interacted with school in a positive way. Clark found that parents of high achieving of pupils had a greater belief than other parents because they feel their help makes significant contributions. All the parents in Clarks research were from low economic backgrounds- this research would indicate that income is not a factor for lack of parental involvement. Hoover-Dempsey and S andler (1997) point out that parents who have low levels of belief in their ability to help their children are likely to have little contact with school because they feel that such involvement will not give positive outcomes for their children. There may be many reasons for the lack of confidence that parents may feel. Language barriers may lead to a parent feeling they cannot communicate effectively with teachers, or negative experiences through their own schooling can often be the problem. Parents may also take the view that their academic competence is not high enough to effectively help their children. This view is expressed more often as children progress from primary to secondary school and academic work becomes more advanced (Eccles and Harold, 1993.). All of the above views act as a barrier to Parental involvement, despite research that acknowledges support for a childs learning does not need a high level of education from parents. (Clark 1983; Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997; Hornby 2000) Another barrier, which is important to involvement in their childs education, is the views parents hold about their childs intelligence. (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997) If parents hold the view that their child is intelligent through luck, they will not see the point of getting involved. Alternatively, parents who hold views that achievement and effort are linked and that this can be developed are more likely to be positive about parental involvement. This view can be linked with child rearing in general and parents who hold beliefs that the role of a parent is the way they bring up children that is very important, usually are considered to have positive views, and make considerable impact on their childs development overall (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997). Parental barriers may be due to circumstances, parents who left school early or felt they didnt succeed at school may be indifferent to helping their own child. They may be unconfident in their own knowledge and skills, theref ore unable to help with homework or school projects (Green et al, 2007). This attitude also may prevent parents working with teachers as they feel that they are not qualified enough. Other commitments such as work can also cause barriers. When parents are unemployed, money could be an issue as they may not be able to afford a car or to pay babysitters in order to get to school meetings. For parents with jobs it is often time constraints and the kind of jobs they have that cause issues. There is often less time to be involved at home or school, as parents maybe for example, too tired at the end of the day to help children with homework or have constructive discussions about their childs school day (Catsambis, 2001; Green et al. 2007). Finally socio-class, gender and ethnicity, can be seen as barriers to parental involvement, issues relating to differences may play a role and initiatives from Government have aimed to address this (Quote). Barriers- Teachers perceptions Barriers to parental involvement, is not just the responsibility of parents. Teachers also face hurdles that may prevent them having successful partnerships with parents. In order for parental involvement to be successful it is important to look at the role of teachers and their perspective of the partnership. Lazar Slostad, (1999) state that teachers who invest time in working with parents, experience more empowerment within their teaching, report that stress levels are reduced and feel their professional status and authority is appreciated. Additionally teachers reported that they felt the work they did with the children was greatly respected due to parental involvement (Hara and Burke, 1998). For many years teachers have been under the impression that parents do not value education or the job that teachers do. Ascher, 1988; Henderson, Marburger, Ooms,1986 report that many teachers find parents un-cooperative, when issues of discipline arise, and argue that contacting parents is often futile. Teachers fear that when contacted, parents maybe argumentative and hostile, and may have a misguided belief that the problem, if left alone, will not cause confrontations. However, this is the opposite of reality teachers who contact parents when they have a concern usually find parents co-operative and willing to work with the school (Johnson Webster, 1994). Another reason cited is that teachers do not appreciate or fail to understand the importance of parental involvement (Broderick Mastrilli, 1997; Greenwood Hickman, 1991; Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones, Reed, 2002) in home- school links. Much literature on this subject (Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones, Reed; Lazar Slostad, 199 9) discusses communication between home and school is often weak and home visits to really understand families would help to improve this. Parent teacher partnerships As discussed, in order for parental involvement to be effective, teachers and parents must have the same goals. Parental involvement must not just be seen as simplistic desire. Much of the literature that surrounds this area discusses opposing agendas and goals (Wolfendale, 1983; Epstien 2001). Government and schools goals towards parental involvement, maybe so they are accountable to communities, or to promote childrens achievements through league tables. Parents goals are more concerned with their childs happiness, how well they are doing in terms of school work. Montgomery (2009), points that barriers may occur when there is a conflict over ability. Children that are gifted and talented may not be viewed so by their teachers which then causes barriers through frustrations. Equally this may be seen when children are talented in a sport, or musically and do not attend school in order to pursue this. Rudney (2005) discusses teacher goals and states that the focus of teachers in paren tal involvement is through homework, providing a nurturing environment, parent meetings and reports, and attending school events. Parent-teacher meetings provide a good insight to how goals of teachers and parents may differ. Bastiani (1989) has suggested that teachers wish to discuss different things to parents, although both are concerned with the childs progress, their concerns are viewed in different perspectives which then create barriers for involvement later on. Aldeman (1992) discussing the impact of differing goals considers that home-school relationships are based on socialisation, where schools attempt to shape parents attitudes so they enable schooling. He further suggests that underlying agendas often have an impact on parental involvement if the goals are more about meeting the needs of schools rather than individuals. These differences can cause frustrations to both parties and limit parental involvement and partnership successes. Breaking down the barriers As discussed, researchers have identified several types of parental involvement. Epstien (1995) categorized this as parenting, communicating, volunteering, home learning, decision making, and working with the community. Although all of these categories have an impact on a childs learning, not all achieve academic success. The key to success is the relationship that is established between children and parents in the home. (Burns, 2000; Clark, 1983; Norton Nufeld, 2002). High expectations of a childs achievements and making education a priority should be of high importance if barriers are to be broken, (Brown, 1999; Kurdek, Fine, Sinclair, 1995;Muller,1993;Rosenzweig, 2000; Solo, 1997). Evidence is overwhelming that families, who set high expectations for their children, have a high academic success (Clark 1983). This also can been seen in the classroom, and teachers who set high expectations for the children they teach, are often seen as Outstanding (Ofsted,; ) Teachers should empha sise this importance when communicating with parents, and reassure them that their child can reach high levels of academic success (Hughes, 2003; Johnson, 1998). Secondly parents have to take an active role in learning at home (Becker Epstein, 1982; Dornbusch Ritter, 1988; Tizard, Schofeld, Hewison, 1982; Rosenzweig, 2000). Children who have well-structured routines at home do very well at school (Muller,1993). Teachers can help parents to actively get involved by offering specific strategies that parents can use to organise homework, discussions or their time in general. (Finn, 1998). Parents can provide materials or have an area where children can study, but it is critical that they show an interest in their childs school work. Discussions about school not only help parents monitor their childs activities, but more importantly they are showing their child that they care about their progress and what they do (Brown, 1999; Finn, 1998). Teachers can help parents to monitor progres s more readily if they provide parents with information such as homework policies that discuss the type, how much should be done, how it is marked. Parents generally welcome information such as this, as well as knowledge of the work their child will be doing over the school year (Loucks 1992). This type of information could be presented via school newsletters and many schools are using this method as part of parental involvement strategies. Lastly, parents and teachers need to emphasise the importance of effort over ability (Stevenson, 1983). Dweck (1986) noted that children who attribute success and failure to effort rather than ability gain satisfaction, will seek challenges and will overcome obstacles that they may face. Parents nor teachers cannot significantly change the ability of pupils, but they can have an important impact on encouragement of effort. Children who have parents and teachers that convey messages of success through effort are usually confident, self-efficient, and strive to be high achievers (Folwer Peterson, 1981). Researches (Darling Steinberg, 1993; Gonzalez, 2002; Robertson, 1997; Rosenzweig, 2000; Zellman Waterman, 1998) have identified a model of parenting, and have termed it as authoritative parenting. This model encompasses all the above points discussed. This model includes setting high expectations, providing emotional support, granting appropriate independence, setting limits, and most importantly acknowledgement of their childs perspectives of home and school. This model appears to be most conducive to academic success. Teachers should encourage parents to follow this model through discussions, helping to strengthen home-school relationships. In conclusion, the importance of parental involvement in a childs academic success is inarguable. The literature available clearly identifies the benefits of parent participation, outlines the obstacles facing parent and home relationships, and has made some suggestions in order for th e barriers to be broken down. It is an unfortunate fact that after much research over the decades some parents are still disengaged from their childs school life. In order to include all parents, the classroom teacher has a major role to play, and is the key to changing the level of parental participation. Teachers have the skills and strategies necessary for creating successful partnerships, with those who are so critical to a childs success in school, the parents. Methodology The participants of this study were parents of children who attended either school, or teachers, including heads, who are part of the school staff. Both schools offer a positive approach to parental involvement, with the rural school having an emphasis on homework. Both schools gave the researcher permission to carry out surveys through questionnaires, and semi structured interviews. Diaries were given to parents 5 from each school, after asking parents if they wished to participate. All participants were assured of confidentiality verbally, and it was made clear on paper-work which parents were required to fill in. A letter was sent to both Heads also seeking permission to conduct a small study. This is accordance to Ethical guidelines (Cohen, 2000; Woolley, 2010). Prior to the study taking place, a pilot questionnaire was emailed to 10 parents that had children. The questions asked, were based around my initial reading, and after receiving the responses, I realised that I had only focused on the broad issues of parental involvement, and therefore needed to change the questions in order to collect precise data to answer my question. Once I devised my questionnaire on agreement with both schools, parents were invited to take one and complete it and return back to school office. I had originally wanted to use a random selection processes using class lists, however after consideration I decided that as a cross-section of parents went into the school, on a daily basis so my data would still be valid. Each questionnaire had a standardised set of questions (talk about this not always getting the correct response and quote) Problems arose in the speed of responses, however all participants did respond and 30 completed questionnaires were returned from each school. The homework diaries gave me another set of complications, I wanted to assess the activities that enhance childrens learning and how parents achieved this, however, (talk about parents may lie to feel better, or feel they have to write something in fear of not looking like a good parent relate back to model in journal. The sample overall was not large enough to equate real findings to empirical research, however there has been some similarities which would concur with the evidence collected. Throughout my design and research I kept ethical issues at the front of my mind, this is critical in any research which is undertaken, to protect all who are involved. Analysis of Findings Conclusions and Recommendations

Can Students Study Better Using A Tablet?

Can Students Study Better Using A Tablet? Can Students Study Better Using Digital Textbooks on a Tablet Than They Can By Using Books, Pens and Paper Nowadays young starts were easily adopting to the new technologies and implementing them in education, similarly do the students can studying better using digital textbooks on a tablets rather than using traditional method of reading textbooks, well in my opinion students has to adopt to the digital textbooks because it is very flexible and has many advantages like compact, take very less place to store and no wear and tears and so on where this all helps the students to be smart in the real world. Many people says that many of students were very much comfortable with the hard copies in my sense this is because eBooks may not be accessible in their places. There is absolutely no doubt the digital textbooks are cheaper. Students at the Stepinac college paid $700 for textbooks previously which year only $150 for having access to the digital library (by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso september 2013). Even Students are very attached to their mobile phones and tablets but they have not been enamoured to digital books even though the cost is low, since they are very much habituated to hard copies of text books. This method indirectly effects the environment. This results in deforestation and pollution. Although students in college today are very attached to their cellular devices, they have not really been enamoured associated with e-books. In 2010, digital books accounted for 3 percent associated with textbooks sales using the National Association associated with College Stores (By Bertha Coombs, CNBC.com-published on June 2011). Analysts say its because until now e-textbooks happen to be little more bit more than PDF replicates of physical textbooks, impractical for students whore accustomed to mentioning their paper copies since they study. Researchers at on the web education firm Xplana state the shift toward tablets in the year ahead wills certainly jumpstart demand for e-texbooks in the $8 billion Oughout. S. education publication market. iPads and other tablets will probably be in the possession around 20 percent of scholars by the fall of 2012, states that Xplana director associated with research Rob Reynolds. Thats an enormous impact. Its fastest developing technology tha t weve welcomed in education. Reynolds predicts electronic digital book sale growth in the higher education market will double over the next four many years to $1. 5 billion by 2015, and be the cause of 25 percent market share. A big jump in the amount of interactive texts available for the new supplement platforms next fall could also spur greater requirement. Text books are heavy and no longer necessary when the information can be downloaded. In classrooms in my area, iPads have been very successful. iPads are a recent some-what inexpensive tablet computer that became available in 2010. Apple company offers good education programs for universities. The weight with the textbooks in his or her backpacks would injure their backs overtime. Whereas an iPad is merely 1. 44 fat. The iPad can also have educational video games for the students to find out and entertain independently (article took in http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-kids-use-ipads-for-textbooks-in-school). While in many countries people still go with traditional method using the hard copies because the people were not well fascinated to technology. Due to this the children in some developing countries like India were facing the problem while carrying text books to the schools that their back bone were getting bent due to the over load of caring more books. Perhaps using the di gital books really gives a lot of advantages to the students like it occupies only small place to save thousands of text books and it is very easy to carry from one place to another. Using an ipad could help children look into the console and make children compose more. Scholars might not need to keep getting up to hone their pencils which diverts the educator and learners. The point when individuals have untidy penmanship, their work looks flawless and is not difficult to peruse on the ipad. When young children make use of iPads as well as notebooks theyre going to learn to make better do the job and stay cleverer. Many people argue that as compared with traditional method of reading, seating in front of tablets and ipads will create some health problem like eye strain and health hazard, and also it seems to be less concentrated while studying, but in my opinion digital books will make our work quick and easy I am sure that one can find a article in eBook quickly rather than using a textbook. Finally i would like to conclude that people has to update their habits as the technology changes this helps the students to be smart in the real world, thereby using ipads, tablets, and smartphones helps students to learn more faster within a less time and also they were eco friendly to environment. References : Bertha Coombs, CNBC.com-published on June 2011 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-06-17-digital-textbooks_n.htm Theresa Walsh Giarrusso september 2013 http://blogs.ajc.com/momania/2013/09/18/paper-vs-digital-are-there-benefits-to-paper-textbooks-that-schools-are-missing/ http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-kids-use-ipads-for-textbooks-in-school NAME: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY PREWRITING ARGUMENT QUESTION: 1

International Trade Essay -- essays research papers

To export these goods you have to have an organization which deals with the rules of trade between nations. Such an international organization is the World Trade Organization (WTO). The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Result:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - is assurance -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumers and producers know they can enjoy secure supplies and greater choice of the finished products. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Producers and exporters know that foreign markets will remain open to them. Heart of the system are the: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WTO’s agreements -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The agreements are negotiated and signed by governments. They have to be ratified in their parliaments. World Trade Organization (WTO) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  came into being in 1995 -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  deals with rules of trade between nations -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the agreements are signed by the governments -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It has more than 140 members and the top decision making body meets at least once every two years The 3 main purposes of WTO: - trade flow as freely as possible -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  means removing obstacles. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have to be â€Å"transparent† and predictable. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  to serve as a forum for Trade negotiations -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  dispute settlement Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Contracts and agreements often need interpreting. The best way to solve these differences is based on an agreed legal foundation. Principles of the trading system The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. They deal with: agriculture, textiles and clothing, banking, telecommunications, government purchases, industrial standards, food sanitation regulations, intellectual property, and much more. ... ...t, but it is no longer the main set of rules for international trade. And it has been updated. - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade always dealt with trade in goods, and it still does. It has been amended and incorporated into the new WTO agreements. -While GATT no longer exists as an international organization, the GATT agreement lives on. - The old text is now called â€Å"GATT 1947†. - The updated version is called â€Å"GATT 1994†. The main differences GATT was ad hoc and provisional. The General Agreement was never ratified in members’ parliaments, and it contained no provisions for the creation of an organization. The WTO and its agreements are permanent. As an international organization, the WTO has a sound legal basis because members have ratified the WTO agreements, and the agreements themselves describe how the WTO is to function. The WTO has â€Å"members†. GATT had â€Å"contracting parties†, underscoring the fact that officially GATT was a legal text. GATT dealt with trade in goods. The WTO covers services and intellectual property as well. The WTO dispute settlement system is faster, more automatic than the old GATT system. Its rulings cannot be blocked. International Trade Essay -- essays research papers To export these goods you have to have an organization which deals with the rules of trade between nations. Such an international organization is the World Trade Organization (WTO). The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Result:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - is assurance -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumers and producers know they can enjoy secure supplies and greater choice of the finished products. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Producers and exporters know that foreign markets will remain open to them. Heart of the system are the: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WTO’s agreements -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The agreements are negotiated and signed by governments. They have to be ratified in their parliaments. World Trade Organization (WTO) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  came into being in 1995 -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  deals with rules of trade between nations -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the agreements are signed by the governments -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It has more than 140 members and the top decision making body meets at least once every two years The 3 main purposes of WTO: - trade flow as freely as possible -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  means removing obstacles. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have to be â€Å"transparent† and predictable. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  to serve as a forum for Trade negotiations -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  dispute settlement Trade relations often involve conflicting interests. Contracts and agreements often need interpreting. The best way to solve these differences is based on an agreed legal foundation. Principles of the trading system The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. They deal with: agriculture, textiles and clothing, banking, telecommunications, government purchases, industrial standards, food sanitation regulations, intellectual property, and much more. ... ...t, but it is no longer the main set of rules for international trade. And it has been updated. - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade always dealt with trade in goods, and it still does. It has been amended and incorporated into the new WTO agreements. -While GATT no longer exists as an international organization, the GATT agreement lives on. - The old text is now called â€Å"GATT 1947†. - The updated version is called â€Å"GATT 1994†. The main differences GATT was ad hoc and provisional. The General Agreement was never ratified in members’ parliaments, and it contained no provisions for the creation of an organization. The WTO and its agreements are permanent. As an international organization, the WTO has a sound legal basis because members have ratified the WTO agreements, and the agreements themselves describe how the WTO is to function. The WTO has â€Å"members†. GATT had â€Å"contracting parties†, underscoring the fact that officially GATT was a legal text. GATT dealt with trade in goods. The WTO covers services and intellectual property as well. The WTO dispute settlement system is faster, more automatic than the old GATT system. Its rulings cannot be blocked.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

As a graduation speaker, I'm supposed to stand up here reflectively gazing out upon the few, the proud, the chosen: the Class of 2012, and point in general directions while saying the clichà ©, "Among us I see the first female president and a future congressman and the next mayor of Everett." But besides that I would never in my most vengeful moments wish those positions upon any of you, I cannot make those assertions because I am categorically against campaigns of any kind. Inspirational speaker John Bytheway said, "Success is more likely to come naturally from living life fully than by a direct and pointed campaign to achieve that long-range goal." This asserts that it's better to achieve by living deliberately than by doorbelling. Maybe this is because of those things we associate with campaigning. Campaigning implies the pursuit of power or a position. Whistle stops aren't about smelling the roses or enjoying the view, they're about shaking as many hands and kissing as many babies as possible, never mind the names and faces. Campaigning implies competition. Some people don't go after opportunities because they wish to avoid the cannibalism involved, and it's really unfortunate that any of our high school experiences may have been less because of a fear of friction. Even more misguided were those who did compete, but only because there was the chance to become taller by standing on someone else's head. They didn't know the cause, they didn't really care; they just wanted the crown. And campaigning ends in one of two ways: you either win or you lose. Now I'm not trying to knock on goals. On the contrary, discover a goal worth working for, something you can be passionate about. Better yet, get yourself a project... ..., I get it." Those times are bonuses, because sometimes there's nothing: there is no thanks, there is no recognition. But we don't do it for the crown. We don't campaign. We do good things for the right reasons at Wilson so now, now I can gaze prophetically out upon the few, the anxious, the survivors of CE: the Class of 2003, and predict that among us is the parent who will endure bad weather and worse calls during a Little League game only to be thanked by muddy cleats on the seat of the car. Among us is the kindred spirit who will pick up the neighbor's blown-over trashcan every Thursday morning. Among us is the nine-to-fiver who will stick around until eight to cover for an overwhelmed colleague. We do good things for the right reasons. It may not be glamorous, but it's genuine. We may not build monuments, but we have and will continue to make memories.

The Agricultural Revolution Essay -- Essays Papers

The Agricultural Revolution The agricultural revolution of the nineteenth century was caused by many important factors. Before the revolution, people working in the farms were living entirely on what they could produce. Most farmers were extremely hesitant to make any changes in the methods they had been using for farming mainly because, although the payoff would be fairly large, if it didn't work, the mistakes could cost them their lives (Kagen). Farmers in the nineteenth century had several problems to deal with. One of the biggest problems was the fact that they were subject to the whims of nature. If there was a particularly bad storm, the crops for the year could be lost. If this happened, the family would be left with whatever food they had stored. Unfortunately, there was usually very little food left in storage, since they were required to pay taxes on the land they worked, and that was usually paid in grain. There was usually no extra food, other than what they stored for the win...

Poetry is a vast genre of literature that is used to express emotions, feelings and ideas

With reference to the poems of Antonio Machado, Juan Ramin Jiminez, and Federico Garcia Lorca studied in the course, discuss the uses of poetry and the ways in which the three writers exploit this medium Poetry is a vast genre of literature that is used to express emotions, feelings and ideas. Every writer has different reasons for expressing their ideas through this medium. Antonio Machado, Juan Ramin Jiminez and Federico Garcia Lorca were all Spanish poets who lived around the same era. Does this mean their uses of poetry were the same? Did they write poems for the same reasons? In order to discuss how they have used poetry it is necessary to understand their poems in more detail. At first glance it seems that Antonio Machado explores nature and the beauty of it in his poetry. In his poem Crepisculo Machado describes a nature scene. Although he doesn't use the first person, it is clear from the content that the poem is implicitly about him. He has therefore, used nature to mirror himself. The cold images of stone and marble in the poem, like the statue of Cupid, communicate a lack of expression on the poet's part. With Cupid having connotations of love and with the statue being constructed from stone it is possible to say that Machado finds it difficult to express love. Antonio Machado, in this respect, has exploited the medium, with nature as a main theme, to reflect himself to the reader. In displaying his lack of love through poetry, he is able to get across exactly what he wants to say by emphasising aspects with repetition, rhyme and other stylistic features. Writing his feelings in prose, for Machado, would not have had the same effect. Another example of Machado using nature to describe himself is in his poem A Un Olmo Seco. He fears that his life is near to its end like that of the tree and he only has hope left. Here, Machado is using poetry to express anxiety and concern about the ending of his life. The descriptions which he writes about the tree are descriptions of how he sees himself in relation to life in general. In this way, he is using poetry to put across his worries and to tell people about how he sees himself in comparison to nature. Machado's poem El Limonero, however, is not, on the surface, a description about nature but a search for something. The poet tries to recall an innocent childhood illusion in which he attempted to pick up some fruit out of some water and then discovered that it was merely a reflection. Machado communicates the difficulty in finding the illusion he remembers from childhood, with a contrast between heart and mind -he knows he won't find it again but he still has hopes. This can be related to A Un Olmo Seco when he hopes for another ‘milagro de primavera'1 (miracle of spring). Poetry has been employed by Antonio Machado to illustrate his despondency on aging and on realising that things aren't what they used to be. El Limonero describes how the happiness and simplicity of being a child can never be regained. Poetry is a good way of expressing deep feelings and emotions because it can be adapted in ways that prose cannot. The letter form and use of the informal second person of the poem A Josi Mario Palacio tells the reader that this is a poem written to a friend. Machado is asking his friend whether spring has arrived and mentions typical spring-time occurrences. He introduces a third party with the use of â€Å"su† and it is later revealed that the poet is talking about the death of his wife. After reading A Josi Mario Palacio it could be said that the hopelessness he feels in A Un Olmo Seco is because of the death of his wife and the anxieties about his own life. Machado has used poetry to project grief out of himself onto nature without showing self pity. In writing this, he may have been able to come to terms with his emotions. For Machado, poetry is used to say things that he feels cannot be expressed in another way. Poetry and can be used when prose and normal word patterns are unable to put across the idea or feeling in the desired way. Unlike Machado, however, Jiminez uses poetry to illustrate his outlook on the mysteries of life. His poem El Nombre is directed to the intelligence and the brain. Jiminez feels the necessity to write something and asks his intelligence for the name of things. Poetry is being used by Jiminez to communicate the difficulties in language and expression. He describes the complexity in communicating a feeling to a reader. Like the poems of Machado, Jiminez has used poetry to overcome the difficulties of conveying an idea. irboles Hombres, nevertheless, is written in the form of a traditional ballad. The subject of this poem is the impermanence of human life. It is a story about a man who goes into a wood and hears the trees talking. They talk about him and think he's a tree too. Jiminez is describing the brevity of human life in comparison to the seemed permanence of nature; he is saying how human life is temporary. The trees existed before, and will exist after his life. Jiminez has, in this sense, used poetry to communicate his views about human existence in comparison to nature, which has existed since the beginning of time. Jiminez can be described as a mystic poet despite him being agnostic. In some ways he uses language poetically to develop the idea of a mystic God. This can be seen in the poem Soy Animal de Fondo. Jiminez explores the connection between material and immaterial. For example, feelings of warmth from the sun are not material even though the sun itself is. The poem, like El Nombre, recalls a search but this time it is for God. There is a progression throughout the poem to the realisation that God was there all along. Poetry, here, is used to explain that life is beyond material even though people only realise it when they are taken away from the material world. Jiminez has made use of poetry to recall the search about the unknown consciousness that the material world hides. The poetry of Jiminez is about subjects related to his life and it has been said that ‘vida y poesia son una y la misma cosa'2 (life and poetry are one and the same thing) for Jiminez. This indicates that he uses poetry, like Machado, to reflect himself and his personality. In the case of Federico Garcia Lorca, poetry is often applied to express feelings of marginalisation within society. Being homosexual Lorca was subject to persecution for not conforming to the expectations of the society in which he lived. In his ballads Lorca uses gypsies to express the exclusion he felt during his life. Gypsies were, like Lorca, considered to be outsiders and they too were not respected. In his ballad Romance de la Luna, Luna Lorca explores a scene about a gypsy boy who is ill and feels persecuted by the moon. He explains the interpretation of the death of a child from an uncivilised and unscientific mind. The gypsies can accept that the moon was the cause of death, because to their minds it is plausible. Civilised society cannot accept this idea and so gypsies, like Lorca were labelled as outsiders. With poetry Lorca can express the ostracism he felt without making a direct statement. Poetry works better than prose in this respect because Lorca can make use of imagery and symbolism to convey his idea. Another gypsy ballad written by Lorca is Preciosa y el Aire. The wind tries to abduct a gypsy girl, who is playing a tambourine. The wind represents the sexual impulse of nature and Preciosa sees it as a threat. Her primitive impulse tells her she is in danger but when she goes into the civilised world, i. e. the English consul's house, her experience is oppressed. Poetry has been used here to show the sense of exclusion that Lorca feels exists in society for those who step out of the norm. He is telling his readers about the feelings of persecution that existed in his life through the form of another equally mistreated figure in society. Romance Sonimbulo is again from Lorca's book Romancero Gitano (Gypsy Ballads) and is about an injured man seeking refuge at a gypsy dwelling. A gypsy girl has been waiting for him for so long that she's given up and killed herself. Lorca has used surrealism within his poetry by placing words in a non realist order. This form is used to describe the difference between the civilised, realist life and the somewhat surreal, gypsy life. There is also a reoccurrence of the colour green. Green has positive and, especially in Spain, negative connotations. For example green can signify nature and life but also rotten fruit. In Spain it can also indicate sexual perversion, in the case of ‘un hombre verde' meaning ‘a dirty old man'. The repetition of green could be said to be telling the reader about Lorca's ‘own libidinal tendency towards the forbidden fruit'3; this meaning his homosexuality. From all 3 poems it can be said that: Sexuality (†¦ is the subjective nub (†¦ ) where the violent context of ostracism and persecution (†¦ ) may be seen as a projection of the poet's inner anxiety. 4 Lorca has used language and poetry in his work, not only to express marginalisation, but also to show how his sexuality is perceived by society. From his judgment homosexuality is perceived as verde. All three poets and their work can be related and linked to each other. They all use poetry for personal reasons and convey their individual ideas through it. They use many devices within their poems to help put across meaning, for example, with the use of nature and gypsies. For writers, poetry is a tool to be exploited because there are no rules. Poets can make up the rules of what they write and in this can add to the affect that the poems have on a reader. Machado, Jiminez and Lorca have exploited poetry to their own means and used it for individual reasons. They have all used nature, in some way, to help their poetry have the desired effect or meaning. Lorca uses a more traditional form of poetry, the ballad, as it would have been very familiar to readers and so would be able to convey the exact idea that he wanted. The main and most common use of poetry between all three poets is the need to express a feeling, whether it is anxiety, absence or an opinion. In writing their poems, the poets have reflected themselves and revealed their outlooks on life. They have used this medium as a language tool to convey exactly their feelings, opinions and beliefs; the sort of ideas where prose will not suffice. Poetry is used by writers like Machado, Jiminez and Lorca because it can get across a meaning and can appeal to emotions in ways that other literature forms cannot. Imagery and symbolism are a big part of poetry and help writers put across detailed ideas. It is difficult to get across a subtle and implicit meaning with the use of prose and this is a reason why some of the poets have used this medium. Furthermore, poetry is an art that can communicate the beauty of ideas, scenes and thoughts and it has the power to describe a subject or tell a story effectively. For Machado, Jiminez and Lorca poetry is simply a way of escaping the normality and mundane routine of everyday life as they express their ideas through this medium.