Olladas Critique Paper War is a Tender Thing Final Draft

In the case of Disdain Rumples parents, It's both. How they choose to react to the situation is what determines their destiny. Disdain's mother shows indifference to a number of political issues in the beginning. Her character is stoic. The way she answers her daughters questions suggests she doesn't care about any of it at all. The film also introduces that Disdain's mother is Christian while her father is a Muslim. For Christians, the most important ideal is â€Å"to love your enemies and die in the pursuit of ringing them love†.On the other hand, for Muslims, it's fighting the enemies of Islam and dying as a martyr of Allah. Sacrifice is an important ideal in both religions but its meaning in each religion is completely opposed. â€Å"A Christian can never be in love with a Muslim†, she says as she talks about the conflict between Christians and Muslims and how it was at fault, in some way, for her separation with Disdain's father. Moreover, there's a certainty in he r voice, as if no one can have a say in her decision, when she makes up her mind to end heir marriage.But what one fails to recognize while watching her, what one may think is an act of selfishness, is actually an act of selflessness. â€Å"I'd rather we be separated and he be alive than we be together and he be dead. † These are the words of her mother that really struck me. Any woman who loves her husband very much has an extreme fear of losing him but in the film, Disdain's mother was able to cast out that fear because of her deep love. She prefers to be far from her husband so his life could be spared, so that he could be safe.Personally, saw the film as something astonishingly moving; how it was able to remarkably express that feeling of wanting and loving something or someone you know you cannot possibly have because of all the wars and religious conflicts; how the mother's strong yet affectionate personality captured the core and soul of the title itself; the way the s cenes were shot-?so very frank and forthright. Perhaps its simplicity-?having the camera record what everyone has to say without using special effects or requiring the people to wear make-up or to dress up-?is what makes it exceptional.The pureness of the idea about the coexistence betwixt love and war that Disdain Arum presents in the film is undeniably impressive. Everyone has a different definition of love. Love to one person is letting go even if it hurts. For others, love is to give something up for someone to be in a better situation. But for Disdain's mother, love is those two definitions put together. It is the very essence of the courage, especially in their situation, to do the right thing even when the cost is great. That, my friend, is fearless love.

The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow

The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow What could you accomplish if you had a week or two to focus exclusively on your writing, with all your needs taken care of, no interruptions, no TV or chores or kids to distract you? Your days and nights to yourself, with the time and space to work at your own pace, in your own way? In the historic arts community of Eureka Springs, two adjacent houses, surrounded For breakfast and lunch you can fetch supplies or leftovers, fill your basket and take it back to your room or kitchen. All suites have mini fridges and coffee makers. But dinners are special: Monday to Friday, Colony kitchen goddess Jana prepares beautiful and satisfying gourmet dinners for writers to share while gathered around a big table. It’s a time to socialize, unwind, process your work, get and share ideas in a creative flow. To qualify, one doesn’t have to be a published writer, have a bestseller, be famous or have an agent. The only requirements are to step up, fill out a simple application form, have a plan for what you’ll work on while in residence, and submit a sample of your work. Introspection and modesty dog the writer’s journey. Self-deprecating assumptions can stifle all forward movement: â€Å"Oh, I’m not a real writer. I’m not famous enough yet, eligible, educated, etc.† Our literary heroes have used those same disclaimers. And yet, given the opportunity and grace of uninterrupted time in a perfect environment, with solitude, support and meals, many residents astound themselves with the level of productivity they achieve and the quality of the writing they produce. But no one can write all the time. When it’s time to take a break from the printed page, residents only have to step outside the door to find beautiful trails to wander, or streets lined with Victorian and Queen Anne houses to stroll. The entire city of Eureka Springs is on the National Historic Register, and residents are very careful to preserve the historic accuracy of their homes and public buildings. Downtown streets are lined with galleries and funky little shops filled with hand-crafted and unique items. The Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library is worth a visit, and it’s only a half-mile stroll from the Colony. On weekends, when Jana is not preparing dinner, Eureka Springs offers more than 42 sit-down restaurants with all kinds of cuisines, from burgers to more elegant offerings. How much does this cost? The fee is $55 a night, including food, with a one-time Internet fee and a cleaning fee. That means you can get seven days and nights for $430. There is a one-week minimum stay and a three-month maximum. Check it out on the website, www.writerscolony.org, or visit the Facebook page to see what other writers say about it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/149738778602/?ref=br_tf The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow 515 Spring Street Eureka Springs, AR   72632 Ph:   479-253-7444 Email: director@writerscolony.org writerscolony.org/

Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Samurai Warriors - Research Paper Example It is a common fallacy to think of the Samurai as fierce warriors, since the best of them were great visionaries who pursued spiritual, artistic and cultural endeavors apart from their regular, prescribed duties. The samurai were people of the aristocratic warrior class, but after the 12th century, it referred to all the warriors who gained power in the 12th century and ruled national politics and society up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The transformation of the samurai from a purely warrior class began during the Tokugawa period. A very important part of the Samurai life was to engage oneself in literary and artistic pursuits. Some of the finest gardens, buildings, poetry, landscapes, especially the rock gardens, and paintings are the handiwork of the Samurai and the renowned tea ceremony as well as the Kabuki and Noh theaters were part of the Samurai legacy in the Japanese society. It was one of the prescribed routes given to them to reach their full potential and ultimately acquire the Way. The Samurai, in spite of being warriors, had some of the finest qualities to be found in men and writing about them Xavier said that â€Å"among barbarous nations there can be none that has more natural goodness than the Japanese†¦ wonderfully desirous of honor and rank†¦ however poor†¦ receive the same honor from the rest as if they were rich".

Soil orders and their associated environmental elements Essay

Soil orders and their associated environmental elements - Essay Example Gley tundra soils are formed in the conditions of permanent water saturation and low temperatures. They are typical for landscape-geographical zones of the tundra, and located on plains illustrative of eternal frost. Another characteristic feature of tundra soils is their formation without great influence of the vegetation. â€Å"The exact character of these soils depends on the ground ice position, slope and the vegetation. If the slope is stable, peaty soils are formed due to slow organic and chemical action. In case of steep slopes, thin soils result† (Pujari). Considering the shallow depth of melting in summer ground, and below it the beginning of a frozen horizon, even a seasonal thawing layer is characterized by low temperature and is over-soppy with water, which cannot seep into the deeper land layers. All this slows down the activity of micro-organisms, decomposition cause of plant residues, and the formation of soils. For inhibit access of oxygen, tundra soils are fea tured with a bluish-grey gley horizon. The surface of tundra soils is often complicated with hummocky micro-relief. They are acid, poor in grounds, with scanty reserves of nutrients. Consequently, fertility of tundra soils is low. This is due to their relative youthful age and lack of activity of biological processes. As for the associated climate of gley tundra soils, it is subarctic with extremely long-lasting winter. As most of the tundra lies within the Arctic Circle, it experiences winter polar night. The severity of winter depends on the continentality. As a rule, the tundra practically has no climatic summer, or the latter comes for short time. The average temperature of the warmest month (July or August) is 50-59  °F. In summer all vegetation rises with the polar day oncoming (or the white nights in those parts of the tundra, where the polar day does not reach). May and September is spring and autumn. Tundra soils are characterized

Investment and Portfolio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Investment and Portfolio Analysis - Essay Example 102-103). Such the yields are available for the public. For instance, one can easily find them on the Internet. The characteristics of a bond determine timing and values of associated cash flows. Therefore, an investor can easily discount all cash flows associated with a bond to figure out fairly good estimate of its value. As for the common stocks, the company that issues the stock can invest some portion of its earnings in projects in hope to increase the value of the firm. The rest of the earnings is distributed among the shareholders in the form of dividends. Unfortunately, â€Å"the details on forthcoming projects are not generally public information† (Ross, Westerfield and Jaffe 1999, p. 109). Therefore, the patterns of cash flows shareholders receive are not known in advance and can be much more complicated than those bondholders receive. However, a number of techniques for stock valuation were developed. All of them need as input â€Å"investor’s required retur n on the stock† and â€Å"growth rate† of one or several indicators of companys performance such as "dividends, earnings, cash flow or sales" (Reilly and Brown, 2003, p. 377). To estimate the first input, investors can use the return of a common stock of the respective class and rating as a useful benchmark (Haugen, 1979, p. 68). Due to above mentioned complexity, accompanied by the fact that the guarantees to the investors in common stocks differ from the ones to the investors in bonds, sometimes these inputs can be estimated only roughly. Moreover, their uncertainties can turn out to be â€Å"too large to be practical† (Ross, Westerfield and Jaffe 1999, p. 111). Thus, generally investors produce better estimates of bond values than those of common stock ones. To identify appropriate investments, portfolio managers figure out a set of â€Å"marketwide and industrywide factors† that makes unsystematic risks of

Type of business, purpose and ownership Essay Example for Free

Type of business, purpose and ownership Essay Sainsbury’s Sainsbury’s is the UK’s most long standing major food retailer, having opened its first shop in 1869. Sainsbury’s brand is built around providing fresh and tasty food for its customers. It differentiates itself from other supermarkets by offering a broad range of products at a great price, a strong ethical approach to business and continuous leadership. The size of Sainsbury’s consists of 504 supermarkets and 309 convenience stores. A large Sainsbury’s produces over 30,000 products. Sainsbury’s is currently in the tertiary and secondary sector, this is because Sainsbury’s provides services (through banks), sell goods and own their own farm. Their purpose is to exceed customer’s expectations for fresh and healthy food, making their lives easier every day. Sainsbury’s ownership is the public limited sector because it sells its goods on the stock exchange. Sainsbury’s key stakeholders are: Customers: They want a company to produce products that meet or exceed their needs, they would like to see improvements Employees: They want the company to provide them a source of revenue; they seek security for employment, promotional opportunities and good rates of reward Suppliers: Want stable instructions and punctual payments. They want to be valued by the company they work for. RSPCA RSPCA stands for Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The vision of RSPCA is to work in a world that humans respect and live in harmony with the natural world. RSPCA first begun in 1824 as society for prevention of cruelty to animals. It total profit is funded by donations and legacies. Local inspectors were appointed and people promised to donate  £20 pounds towards their inspectors. This has created 172 branches in English and Wales. In addition to the branches, there is one charity run by an animal trust and the other is run by a charitable company. RSPCA is currently in the tertiary sector as they provide services for animals that need to have health checks. Their purpose is to provide animals with special needs a loving home. RSPCA is categorised into a charitable trust, this is to raise funds and support them for good causes. RSPCA’s key stakeholders  are: Employees: The employees will be happy to work on a charitable basis and also need to be caring fo r the animals in need. Government: The government wants RSPCA to be successful, it would like to see prosperous business that take full responsibility in welfare of society Local and National communities: The actions of the business has a remarkable outcome on the communities, the communities therefore represent interest groups. Summary: The main differences between Sainsbury’s and RSPCA is that Sainsbury’s sells products like food and clothes for money and services , while RSPCA provide services that raise money for the services they provide for example they ask people to donate money to help animals in need The main similarities are Sainsbury’s and RSPCA are in the same sector because Sainsbury’s provide services like banking to people who can’t come to their shops to buy their shopping. RSPCA provide a service that look after animals and give them medical treatment

The brander-krugman model

The brander-krugman model Extended Essay 1 The Brander-Krugman model, also known as the reciprocal dumping model, explains the possibility of international trade in a homogenous good. In doing so, it raises an interesting issue: is this apparently pointless trade socially beneficial? Meanwhile, Corden developed a more realistic customs union (CU) theory compared to orthodox theory by relaxing the assumption of constant marginal costs (MC). While the framework of these two models are similar, their conclusions are very different, the reasons for which are discussed further below. a) Both models are set in a partial equilibrium framework; the prices of all substitutes and complements of the good in question are assumed to be constant, as are the income levels of consumers, allowing for an easier analysis of welfare gains from the formation of the customs union (CU). Within this framework, there is a single producer in each of the CU countries that produces a homogenous good. The other similarity between the two models is that the tariffs set and faced by both countries (Home (H) and Partner (P)) before CU formation are equal .Thus, when the union is created a Common External Tariff (CET) already exists. Corden develops his model in further stages to include made-to-measure tariffs so that the CET has to be set upon CU formation. It is assumed that this will be set lower than the original tariffs that were imposed. The countries forming a CU in Cordens model are small relative to the rest of the world (R), implying that its formation will have no effect on world prices. In the Brander-Krugman model, all three countries (R is represented as one country) are identical in size. Symmetry is assumed between the firms in the Brander-Krugman model therefore the firms in each of the countries face the same constant marginal cost and domestic demand functions, contrary to Corden. Corden relaxes the assumption of constant marginal costs (MC) that is held in orthodox customs union theory, and assumes instead that the firms benefit from internal economies of scale and thus face declining marginal and average cost (AC) curves. Figure 1 shows that the minimum point of the firms AC curves is above the price paid for imports (pm). Hence a tariff is necessary to protect domestic production, which is set at T- pm and prevents R from importing to H and P. The domestic price being equal to the firms AC, they operate at a normal profit. The price received for exports (px) is assumed to be lower than pm as H and P also face tariffs. Therefore, their AC is greater than px and so they cannot export their goods either. Thus, unlike in the Brander-Krugman model, there is no international trade prior to CU formation. The main characteristic of the Brander-Krugman model is that the firms display Cournot behaviour the firms make decisions about their own output levels to maximise their profits assuming that the output levels of the other producers will not change[1]. This is not necessarily the case in Cordens model. b) The existence of internal economies of scale in Corden means that efficiency and welfare gains could be increased if a single firm increases its output and captures both markets following CU formation. This, along with the assumption that the firms face different cost functions, leads to the conclusion that the firm with the higher AC will exit the market and import the good from the firm that can produce it at a lower cost (this essay will assume that the partner firm exits the market). The assumption that the partner firm operated at a normal profit pre-CU indicates that there will be no loss of producer surplus and no welfare loss in P as it exits the market. Conversely, the symmetry between the firms in Cournot means that neither firm in the CU has a cost advantage over the other. Thus, both the home and partner countries benefit from CU formation by increasing trade with each other, resulting in an increase in output for both firms (Appendix, equation (1)). Although H and P have increased their overall output, the quantity they supply in each of their domestic markets decreases (equation 2). Although there is an overall gain in welfare in both models as a result of CU formation, the source of these gains differ. Both the home and partner countries experience a welfare gain from CU formation in Cournot given the symmetry, whereas only the home country benefits in Corden as the partner firm exits the market. In Cournot, the price falls in the markets (equation 3) and thus the welfare gain is largely reflected by an increase in consumer surplus (equation 4) in both the home and partner markets. The countries also lose welfare through a fall in tariff revenue (equation 5) and the firms profits may rise or fall depending on the elasticity of the aggregate demand in the CU (equation 6). However, Hs overall welfare gain is shown to be always positive (equation 7). In Corden, the assumption that the home and partner countries are small compared to the rest of the world implies that the CU firms are not large enough to compete with the outside firm and therefore the CU formation will not affect world prices. This, along with the assumption that the remaining firm within the CU maximises his profit by charging right up to the import-preventing price, which is the world price plus the CET, means that the price will remain unchanged. Thus, the increased welfare is due to an increase in the remaining firms producer surplus (figure 1, a+ß) as the fall in average cost (to J, figure 1) is not passed onto consumers. However, if made-to-measure tariffs are assumed and the CET is lower than both the initial tariffs, a price reduction will be induced in both countries and some of the welfare gain will be passed onto consumers. The symmetry in Cournot and differentiation in Corden also lead to different conclusions with respect to the impact on the rest of the world. In Corden, the CU formation does not affect Rs welfare under the assumption that there was no international trade pre-CU and there is still none post-CU. In Cournot, the fall in Rs output (equation 8) and the price drop in H and P impact negatively on the R firms profits (equation 9). As consumption and imports in R remain unchanged, Rs welfare is reduced. The main assumptions that lead to the different conclusions are those of symmetrical costs in Cournot and differentiation in Corden. This affects how the welfare gains are divided amongst the countries as well as how they are split between the producers and consumers. c) In discussing the appropriateness of the models to the EU situation, the relevance of the assumptions and the predicted results, and how the causes of these results compare with reality need to be considered. There are many studies that analyse how EU integration has affected trade flows in terms of trade creation and trade diversion. Trade creation is defined as intra-EU imports replacing domestic production; trade diversion as EU imports replacing imports from the rest of the world. By 1992, bilateral trade between any two EC countries was 65% higher than if the EC had not existed, supporting both models predictions that trade between the home and partner countries increases.[2] Over the period from 1959/60 to 1977, which includes both stages of integration for the EC and EFTA countries, annual trade creation was estimated at $20-31 billion and trade diversion at $5-8 billion.[3] This affirms the Cournot prediction that the partner firm would increase its imports to the home country at the expense of both domestic production and imports from the rest of the world. A study by the Single Market Review on the impact of the Single Market Programme (SMP) on trade creation and trade diversion gives a detailed insight into the relevance of the Corden and Cournot models to the EU situation.[4] Its data and analysis focuses on industries within the manufacturing sector, particularly the 15 industries that were likely to be particularly sensitive to the SMP.[5] Although there are some industries close to perfect competition with a concentration ratio of 0.00 or 0.01 such as clothing and boiler making most industries within the EU are relatively oligopolistic according to their average concentration ratios. The assumption of perfect information is unlikely to hold true. In many economic theories where this is assumed, it is highly unrealistic, especially with regards to the reactions of a firms competitors to the union formation. While Cournot assumes that firms face a constant MC, a 50% reduction in output from the minimum efficient scale of output led to an increase in AC, and therefore MC, in all the industries analysed, thus indicating the presence of economies of scale. The assumption that all firms display Cournot behaviour does not always hold in the context of the EU. Through a comparison of the changes in the price-cost margins and in the home firms market share in the domestic industry, it is evident that industries reacted in two very different ways. One group, including office machines and pharmaceutical products, experienced large cuts in their price-cost margins and a relatively small change in their market share, while the opposite is the case for the other group. It appears that the first group decided to reduce its prices instead of losing market share, implying that some firms do not compete on output but on price. However, the effect of changes in competitive behaviour by firms on market shares was extremely small for most industries and countries, though it was usually more important in the smaller EU countries.[6] Thus, changes in firms behaviour are relatively insignificant in affecting market shares, compared to other factors. The assumption of symmetrical firms is, again, an unrealistic one. Given that the country sizes within the EU are very different, it is highly likely that firms across the EU faced different market sizes and domestic demand functions before integration, and as a result, they are unlikely to be the same size or have the same cost functions. In terms of the impact of the CU formation on the industries, most of the results predicted in Cournot hold true from 1900-94, the period examined in this SMR report. The price-cost margins in the 15 sensitive industries fell by an average of 3.9%, while they fell by 3.6% in the manufacturing sector as a whole. The extent of this drop in each industry depends on the behaviour of the firms. The impact of the SMP on the respective market shares in the manufacturing sector as a whole is negative for the home industries, and positive for both the EU and the rest of the worlds market shares in the home country. Cournots model correctly predicted that the home firm would sell more while the partner firm would sell less in the home market. However, it predicts that the rest of the worlds share of the home market would fall. The SMR carried out two ex-post simulations; one with no direct external trade effects and one with. All of Cournots predictions regarding changes in the market shares hold true for the former simulation. However, the latter simulation is more accurate in reflecting the actual changes in market shares that were experienced over this integration period. This implies that the Cournot model does not take into account the increasing liberalisation of external trade over this period that also led to a reduction in extra-EU trade costs, either as a result of the CU formation or due to increasing globalisation. In terms of welfare, the changes support Cournots prediction that welfare increased in both H and P. The change in welfare measured as a percentage of GDP was greater than the percentage change in GDP in each of the EU countries analysed. The main goal of creating the single market in the EU was to increase its competitiveness with respect to large economies such as the USA through economies of scale. This implies that Cordens model should offer a more accurate picture of the EU. However, certain assumptions do not reflect the EUs characteristics. The assumption that the CU-forming countries are small may hold true for some of the EU countries; however, the implication of this that the customs union will be unable to affect world prices may not hold. Given the size of the EU, it is large enough to compete with the large economies such as the USA and Japan. Cordens predictions regarding changes in price and market shares are not appropriate to the EU situation, due to the strong assumptions that there was no international trade prior to the formation and thus no trade with the rest of the world after. Also, with the partner firm exiting the market, it is assumed that there is no increase in competition following CU formation, thus no change in the prices. However, there is evidence supporting the main conclusion of this model that the welfare gain is a result of restructuring, which leads to increasingly concentrated industries as firms can benefit from economies of scale as the size of the market that they have access to increases. Between 1987 and 1993, the four-firm concentration ratio increased by 2.3% across 71 industries in the EU.[7] This was partly due to increased restructuring; between 1987 and 1990, the percentage of MAs involving countries from two different member states jumped from 9.6% to 21.5% in anticipation of the Single Market. This replaced MAs within country borders which fell from 71.6% to 60.7% over the same period.[8] While it is true that EU industry concentration has increased, this is cannot be attributed solely to an expansion in the market size. Many industries already operated internationally in the 1980s and hence, a market size expansion would not have had as big an impact on the concentration level. The single market also led to a reduction in non-tariff barriers (especially barriers to entry) between EU member states, through public procurement liberalisation, increased ease of cross-border knowledge transfer and the free movement of capital. Cordens comparative static model fails to take into account the dynamic effects of EU integration. The aim of the SMP was much more ambitious than a mere elimination of the tariff barriers and thus both theories, which focus on the effects of a CU, are too simplistic to be wholly appropriate. Certain aspects of both models are comparable to the EU situation. However, Cordens model seems to be more suitable; while Cournots results regarding changes in the prices and respective market share were more accurate, Cordens underlying characteristics are much more appropriate to the current EU situation. 1 Friedman, James (1983), Oligopoly Theory, Cambridge University Press Frankel (1997) (Ali El-Agraa P175) Kreinin (1979b) (Ali El-Agraa P175 European Commission/CEPR (1997) Trade Creation and Trade Diversion, Subseries IV/ volume 3 of The Single Market Review Buigues, Ilzkovitz and Lebrun (1990) EC/CEPR, 1997, Trade creation and trade diversion Subseries V, Volume 4, Economies of Scale AMDATA in European Economy (1999)