Catching a Train That Leads Nowhere The Psychology of the Inevitable

Since individuals have for a long while been itching to comprehend what their future is, they have been wanting to look under the drape that partitions the present and the on-coming. The intrigue consistently kept high as a sky, it has been a marvel why it is generally so extraordinary. A scholar of the past, the incomparable David Hume, attempted to clarify the purpose behind individuals to be so inquisitive, uniting an upsetting end with his savvy explanations.Advertising We will compose a custom paper test on Catching a Train That Leads Nowhere: The Psychology of the Inevitable explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Hume, there is nothing so attractive thus unachievable as what's to come. the reason for occasions is something that individuals are continually attempting to assess and foresee, yet anyway hard they are attempting, their endeavors are bound to disappointment. Could there be any clarification for such a dismal situation? Hume practices that the information that we have results from the past experience and the circumstance that a man used to be in once. Hume thinks about such circumstances as the best way to cognize the world and its internal component, just as direct the investigation of the current situation. (Hume 47) This comes to his meaningful conclusion express. Since these are just the existence circumstances that individuals take their experience from, ands there is no other method to pick up information, on the grounds that there is entirely other source that could help, individuals can't have a clue about the aftereffects of their activities, since they have not changed the circumstance yet. It is just the aftertime when they at last comprehend the estimation of their deeds, yet before they can just supposition. Hume asks his crowd, Of what nature is the future, at that point? To state it is trial, is starting the inquiry. For all deductions for a fact assume, as their establishment, that the future will loo k like the past, and that comparative forces will be conjoined with comparative reasonable characteristics. On the off chance that there is any doubt that course of nature any change, and that the past might be no standard for the future, all experience gets futile, and that can offer ascent to no induction or end. (Hume 26) This point makes the substance of the hypothesis of determinism, which directs the law of the occasions bound with one another in the hover of life. This additionally presumes, to cognize the aftereffect of the activity that a man attempts, the person will undoubtedly know each situation that is associated with their activity; each and every detail must not get away from their consideration. This is basically incomprehensible, as per the determinism hypothesis, yet in addition concurring the basic sense.Advertising Looking for paper on reasoning? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The way of thinking of Hu me likewise surmises that, in view of the way that a man can't have the foggiest idea about the consequence of his activities, he additionally can't control the future, not for a solitary second (Hume 79). The fantastic sense for a human’s brain research drives Hume to the way that a man can't work with the information on the future since it is something that lies past a man’s reach. It isn't that he questions that a man can work out an aptitude to predict the occasions putting together them with respect to the past experience that the person has gained subsequent to getting into the comparative circumstance. The possibility that he is attempting to pass on is that a man can't build al, the conceivable hypothetical models of things to come course of occasions. the components that a man is unconscious about might impact the present status of issues so much that the outcomes they will drag will turn out restricting to what exactly has been normal. In any case, Hume despi te everything plays the job of understanding into account †it is only that he makes it more irrelevant than different originations do: Thus, Hume’s notion concerning people’s being not able to foresee what's to come is incompletely clarified. Nonetheless, it is critical to take note of that the greater part of Hume’s hypotheses depend on the possibility that a man’s past encounter isn't to be thought about. This reality drives to another significant decision about Hume’s comprehension of the job of understanding and the fundamental idea of the world. Following his idea, one can say that Hume practiced the hypothesis of the occasions occurring as something single that can't be rehashed any longer. It additionally turns out to be certain that Hume bolstered the hypothesis of wariness that was before made and created by John Locke. The fate has the most significant impact in this play, and a man is left with two or three copies, if rewording the hypothesis in wonderful words. The resignation that Hume communicated in this subject is generally express as the center thought of his hypothesis of occasions is unwound.Advertising We will compose a custom article test on Catching a Train That Leads Nowhere: The Psychology of the Inevitable explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, not all researchers took Hume’s thoughts with eagerness. Some discovered his speculations brimming with logical inconsistencies. It tends to be proposed that the extraordinary rationalist overestimated the job of destiny in people’s lives, yet at the same time his thought is something that can't be denied. A man is inadequate to follow all the intimations that lead to the arrangement of the circumstance, and that makes the person in question incapable to anticipate what will occur in the closest two minutes, also the closest two years. Anyway pitiful this may sound. Individuals will always be unable to investigate the gem bundle of their future. There are extremely numerous things that decide it. However, there is still expectation that, rather than following our future, we will attempt to be answerable for the moves we make and the outcomes they bring. Works Cited Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Newcastle: Forgotten Books Publishing. 2008. Print. This exposition on Catching a Train That Leads Nowhere: The Psychology of the Inevitable was composed and presented by client Dam0n to help you with your own examinations. You are allowed to utilize it for examination and reference purposes so as to compose your own paper; be that as it may, you should refer to it as needs be. You can give your paper here.

Goodyear: Aquatred

It is 1992 and Goodyear is wanting to discharge its new tire the Aquatred. The new tire is a top notch tire which reroutes water away from the fundamental track causing it to have unrivaled footing in wet conditions. With the dispatch of this tire coming up Goodyear has a few difficulties they have to make sense of, where would it be a good idea for them to value the Aquatred? Which kind of appropriation model would it be advisable for them to utilize? To make sense of this we will initially need to examine the current market and methods of appropriation. The tire market can be portioned in three different ways. The primary route is by tire, either by execution or wide line tires. Execution tires were increasingly costly however gave the customer more footing and control. Another section was by either OEM or substitution tires. OEM tires are those which are incorporated when another vehicle was bought and a traveler substitution tire are those which are purchased after beginning tires are exhausted. The last fragment was by significant brand which was about 36% of the market, littler brand which had 24% or by a private name which held a 40% offer. Goodyear was a significant brand and made about 65% of its incomes off of substitution tire deals, with the rest originating from OEM deals. The US substitution tire showcase in 1991 represented 8. 6 billion dollars. The Aquatred tire is to be propelled in the substitution advertise in light of the fact that it would take a couple of years to build up an agreement for OEM deals. This would be excessively long of a hold up on the grounds that contenders had their own renditions of the Aquatred because of discharge at some point inside starting 1993. Substitution tires were circulated to shoppers through an assortment of ways. One way was the point at which the tire maker offered direct to huge chains and wholesalers who exchanged the tires at retail, vehicle vendors and other optional outlets; this represented 40% of Goodyear’s deals. Another 10% of deals were offered to enormous chains and wholesalers who offered distinctly to auxiliary outlets and didn't sell retail. The remainder of Goodyear’s deals were from retail outlets which made up half of substitution tire deals. Conventional retail outlets for substitution tires comprised of six distinct channels: Garage/administration stations †offers auto administrations, sold both private and brand mark tires, deals have been in decay as of late because of lower cost higher volume outlets. Little free tire vendors †have a couple of areas where they sell and introduce tires while likewise offering auto administrations. Offer an assortment of brands yet make the most income off of private names Manufacturer-claimed outlets †possessed and worked by tire producers, offered one brand of tire and performed auto administrations. Distribution center clubs †low cost with restricted tire brand offering, didn't offer auto benefits simply tire establishments. Mass merchandisers †retail chains which sell tires just as other auto stock. Conveyed different brands and offered auto administrations. Enormous tire chains †for the most part had 30 †100 outlets inside one geographic district, conveyed many significant brands and private mark tires, they were low cost †high volume outlets. Goodyear didn't convey its tires through these retail choices. They just conveyed their tires through free vendors, maker possessed outlets and straightforwardly to government offices. Their immediate rivalry Michelin sold its tires for the most part through enormous chain sellers and distribution center clubs. The little free vendors represented half of Goodyear substitution tire deals incomes while producer claimed outlets represented about 30%. There were 4400 little free sellers which conveyed the Goodyear brand, anyway just 2500 of these vendors were viewed as dynamic by Goodyear which was uniquely about 57%. To be viewed as dynamic a little vendor must produce predictable degrees of deals, keep up significant Goodyear retail shows and offer the full line of Goodyear tires. A motivation behind why just 57% of little autonomous vendors were dynamic is on the grounds that a considerable lot of them were despondent about how Goodyear claimed around 1300 maker outlets all through the nation. This gave a portion of the little free sellers a disincentive to push Goodyear items. We can say this in light of the fact that the edges that little autonomous vendors found the middle value of 28% on Goodyear tires, 25% for other significant brands and about 20% for private mark tires. Another motivation behind why little autonomous sellers were unsatisfied was on the grounds that wholesalers and huge chain stores would once in a while get Goodyear tires and afterward promote Goodyear stock in any event, when they didn't have any in stock. They would then sell the customer another tire, this strategy was known as the sleight of hand and it discovered Sears on an inappropriate finish of two claims from Goodyear. Despite the fact that the edges for tires for free sellers were at an entirely sensible level they inferred practically 50% of their incomes from auto administrations, for example, oil changes, tire revolutions and minor motor work. This was on the grounds that buyers purchasing tires regularly alluded to it as resentment buy. The â€Å"average price† of a Goodyear tire in a little autonomous seller was about $75 per tire. In any case, Goodyear and the whole business found that its deals were a lot higher during limited time periods. This prompted the over advancement of tires and now has left the buyers expecting a type of arrangement when tires are bought. A large number of these advancements were frequently something like purchase three tires and the fourth is free. For this situation that implies that 4 tires were truly being sold for about $56 ($225/4 tires) contrasted with the $75 normal. This kind of advertising structure prompted the desire by shoppers that they ought to get it on the tires that they buy. Another deal strategy which offered tires to the purchasers was a producer ensure, which would regularly ensure the life of the tire somewhere in the range of 60,000 and 80,000 miles. This caused shoppers to feel just as they were getting a quality tire at a sensible value, which looking back pushed the free vendors to sell a greater amount of the cheap tires that accompanied the producer ensures. The Goodyear Aquatred tire would have been discharged in 1992, and Goodyear had to realize how to value it and which channels to disperse it through. The Aquatred tire was to be situated at the highest point of the line wide line section. This was on the grounds that the Aquatred separated itself by having the â€Å"Aquachannel† which was a profound forest down the center of the tire and directed the water out from underneath it to abstain from hydroplaning. At the point when tried in wet conditions this tire halted vehicles going at 55 miles for each hour an entire two vehicle lengths shorter than its all season tire rivalry. Goodyear was asserting that when the Aquatred was half worn it was still as compelling as a fresh out of the box new all season tire. The Aquatred tire was to be discharged with a Goodyear 60,000 mile ensure. Goodyear’s recommended retail cost of the Aquatred was $89. 95 for a dark sidewall and $93. 95 with a white sidewall. Examination †Where conveyance lays right now for Goodyear, predominantly little autonomous sellers and maker outlets, it would be inside their eventual benefits to bring down the cost of the Aquatred tire. I realize this is a superior tire, yet at the present retail costs that Goodyear is proposing they would be situating themselves out of their commercial center. Their valuing of the Aquatred tire is about $35 ($56 contrasted with $90) higher than a tire with a comparative mileage guarantee. I would bring down the cost of the Aquatred to some place in the $80 †$87 territory so when there was an advancement it would reflect $60 †$65 territory. This would show the buyer that the additional cash is for the nature of the tire and for the improved security of the travelers. Another key idea would to by no means offer to wholesalers and enormous chains, this pattern is proceeding to destroy their center channel of appropriation (little autonomous vendors). Something else I would do is make the producer outlets stock just the full lines of Goodyear at their stores when there weren’t any little autonomous sellers inside the area. Else, I would utilize the maker outlets to sell a greater amount of the Goodyear specialty items to do whatever it takes not to legitimately contend with the close by little free vendors. Another way I would attempt to please Goodyear’s little autonomous sellers is have the producer outlet’s retail costs be higher yet at the same time serious with them. I accept that this strategy will raise the measure of dynamic free vendors for Goodyear up from a humble 57%. To help the deals of the free vendors I would run a promoting effort that underscored the security of the Aquatred in brutal conditions. With the principle goal of the advertisement saying something like ‘isn’t your family’s improved security worth an extra $20? ’ I would likewise submit more advertisements toward the southern portion of the US where there would be no requirement for all season tires, and to a greater extent a business opportunity for the Aquatred. I would in any case promote in the north of the nation, there is simply more incentive in the south because of the absence of day off. These are my proposals for Goodyear.

The Twilight Saga 2 New Moon Chapter 2 STITCHES Free Essays

CARLISLE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYED quiet. Hundreds of years of involvement with the crisis room were obvious in his peaceful, definitive voice. â€Å"Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside. We will compose a custom article test on The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 2 STITCHES or on the other hand any comparable point just for you Request Now † Unsmiling for once, Emmett gestured. â€Å"Come on, Jasper.† Jasper battled against Emmett’s unbreakable handle, winding around, coming to toward his sibling with his exposed teeth, his eyes still past explanation. Edward’s face was more white than bone as he wheeled to squat over me, taking a plainly protective position. A low admonition snarl slid from between his gripped teeth. I could tell that he wasn’t relaxing. Rosalie, her perfect face oddly priggish, stepped before Jasperkeeping a cautious good ways from his teethand helped Emmett wrestle him through the glass entryway that Esme held open, one hand squeezed over her mouth and nose. Esme’s heart-molded face was embarrassed. â€Å"I’m so heartbroken, Bella,† she cried as she followed the others into the yard. â€Å"Let me by, Edward,† Carlisle mumbled. A second passed, and afterward Edward gestured gradually and loosened up his position. Carlisle stooped adjacent to me, inclining near look at my arm. I could feel the stun solidified all over, and I attempted to form it. â€Å"Here, Carlisle,† Alice stated, giving him a towel. He shook his head. â€Å"Too much glass in the wound.† He came to over and tore a long, slight piece from the base of the white decorative spread. He curved it around my arm over the elbow to shape a tourniquet. The smell of the blood was making me tipsy. My ears rang. â€Å"Bella,† Carlisle said delicately. â€Å"Do you need me to drive you to the emergency clinic, or would you like me to deal with it here?† â€Å"Here, please,† I murmured. On the off chance that he took me to the emergency clinic, there would be no real way to keep this from Charlie. â€Å"I’ll get your bag,† Alice said. â€Å"Let’s take her to the kitchen table,† Carlisle said to Edward. Edward lifted me easily, while Carlisle kept the weight consistent on my arm. â€Å"How are you doing, Bella?† Carlisle inquired. â€Å"I’m fine.† My voice was sensibly consistent, which satisfied me. Edward’s face resembled stone. Alice was there. Carlisle’s dark pack was at that point on the table, a little yet splendid work area light connected to the divider. Edward sat me delicately into a seat, and Carlisle pulled up another. He went to work without a moment's delay. Edward remained over me, still defensive, still not relaxing. â€Å"Just go, Edward,† I moaned. â€Å"I can deal with it,† he demanded. Be that as it may, his jaw was unbending; his eyes ignited with the force of the thirst he battled, so much more awful for him than it was for the others. â€Å"You don’t should be a hero,† I said. â€Å"Carlisle can set me up without your assistance. Get some new air.† I recoiled as Carlisle planned something for my arm that stung. â€Å"I’ll stay,† he said. â€Å"Why are you so masochistic?† I murmured. Carlisle chose to mediate. â€Å"Edward, you should go get Jasper before he gets excessively far. I’m sure he’s annoyed with himself, and I question he’ll tune in to anybody yet you right now.† â€Å"Yes,† I anxiously concurred. â€Å"Go discover Jasper.† â€Å"You should accomplish something useful,† Alice included. Edward’s eyes limited as we picked on him, at the same time, at last, he gestured once and ran easily through the kitchen’s indirect access. I was certain he hadn’t slowly inhaled since I’d cut my finger. An unresponsive, dead inclination was spreading through my arm. In spite of the fact that it deleted the sting, it helped me to remember the slice, and I watched Carlisle’s face cautiously to divert me from what his hands were doing. His hair glimmered gold in the brilliant light as he twisted around my arm. I could feel the swoon stirrings of anxiety in the pit of my stomach, yet I was resolved not to let my typical queasiness bamboozle me. There was no torment now, only a delicate pulling impression that I attempted to overlook. No motivation to become ill like a child. In the event that she hadn’t been in my view, I wouldn’t have seen Alice surrender and take out of the room. With a little, sorry grin all the rage, she vanished through the kitchen entryway. â€Å"Well, that’s everyone,† I murmured. â€Å"I can clear a room, at least.† â€Å"It’s not your fault,† Carlisle ameliorated me with a laugh. â€Å"It could happen to anyone.† â€Å"Could† I rehashed. â€Å"But it normally simply happens to me.† He giggled once more. His casual quiet was just additionally stunning set in direct diverge from everybody else’s response. I couldn’t discover any hint of tension in his face. He worked with fast, sure developments. The main sound other than our tranquil breathing was the delicate plink, plink as the small parts of glass dropped individually to the table. â€Å"How would you be able to do this?† I requested. â€Å"Even Alice and Esme† I trailed off, shaking my head in wonder. In spite of the fact that the remainder of them had surrendered the conventional eating regimen of vampires similarly as completely as Carlisle had, he was the one in particular who could bear the smell of my blood without experiencing the serious allurement. Unmistakably, this was significantly more troublesome than he caused it to appear. â€Å"Years and long stretches of practice,† he let me know. â€Å"I scarcely notice the aroma anymore.† â€Å"Do you figure it would be more earnestly on the off chance that you got away from the emergency clinic for quite a while. Furthermore, weren’t around any blood?† â€Å"Maybe.† He shrugged his shoulders, yet his hands stayed consistent. â€Å"I’ve never felt the requirement for an all-encompassing holiday.† He flashed a splendid grin toward me. â€Å"I make the most of my work too much.† Plink, plink, plink. I was amazed at how much glass there appeared to be in my arm. I was enticed to look at the developing heap, just to check the size, yet I realized that thought would not be useful to my no-retching system. â€Å"What is it that you enjoy?† I pondered. It didn’t bode well to methe long periods of battle and abstinence he probably spent to arrive at where he could persevere through this so without any problem. Furthermore, I needed to keep him talking; the discussion kept my psyche off the nauseous inclination in my stomach. His dim eyes were quiet and attentive as he replied. â€Å"Hmm. What I appreciate the most is the point at which my improved capacities let me spare somebody who might some way or another have been lost. It’s charming realizing that, on account of what I can do, some people’s lives are better since I exist. Indeed, even the feeling of smell is a valuable analytic apparatus at times.† One side of his mouth pulled up into equal parts a grin. I reflected on that finished while he looked around, ensuring all the glass splinters were no more. At that point he scrounged in his sack for new devices, and I made an effort not to picture a needle and string. â€Å"You make a decent attempt to compensate for something that was never your fault,† I recommended while another sort of pulling began at the edges of my skin. â€Å"What I mean is, dislike you requested this. You didn’t pick this sort of life, but then you need to make a solid effort to be good.† â€Å"I don’t realize that I’m compensating for anything,† he differ softly. â€Å"Like everything throughout everyday life, I simply needed to choose how to manage what I was given.† â€Å"That makes it sound too easy.† He inspected my arm once more. â€Å"There,† he stated, cutting a string. â€Å"All done.† He cleaned a larger than average Q-tip, trickling with some syrup-hued fluid, completely over the activity site. The smell was bizarre; it made my head turn. The syrup recolored my skin. â€Å"In the start, though,† I squeezed while he taped another long bit of bandage safely set up, fixing it to my skin. â€Å"Why did you by any chance think to attempt an unexpected path in comparison to the conspicuous one?† His lips turned up in a private grin. â€Å"Hasn’t Edward disclosed to you this story?† â€Å"Yes. In any case, I’m attempting to comprehend what you were thinking† His face was out of nowhere genuine once more, and I thought about whether his considerations had gone to a similar spot that mine had. Considering what I would think whenI wouldn't think ifit was me. â€Å"You realize my dad was a clergyman,† he pondered as he cleaned the table cautiously, scouring everything down with wet bandage, and afterward doing it once more. The smell of liquor consumed in my nose. â€Å"He had a somewhat brutal perspective on the world, which I was at that point starting to address before the time that I changed.† Carlisle put all the messy dressing and the glass fragments into an unfilled gem bowl. I didn’t comprehend what he was doing, in any event, when he lit the match. At that point he tossed it onto the liquor splashed filaments, and the unexpected blast made me hop. â€Å"Sorry,† he was sorry. â€Å"That should do it So I didn’t concur with my father’s specific brand of confidence. Be that as it may, never, in the about 400 years now since I was conceived, have I at any point seen anything to make me question whether God exists in some structure or the other. Not in any case the appearance in the mirror.† I claimed to look at the dressing on my arm to shroud my astonishment at the heading our discussion had taken. Religion was the exact opposite thing I expected, taking everything into account. My own life was genuinely without conviction. Charlie viewed himself as a Lutheran, in light of the fact that that’s what his folks had been, however Sundays he revered by the stream with an angling rod shaft in his grasp. Renee evaluated a congregation from time to time, be that as it may, much like her short undertakings with tennis, earthenware, yoga, and French classes, she proceeded onward by the ti

ACT Scores

ACT Scores August 28 The newspaper of Woodward Bernstein  has really set the standard this year for its analysis of all things SAT and ACT. There is a good piece by Nick Anderson in The Washington Post, the newspaper that has really set the standard this year for reporting on the SAT and ACT. The piece by Anderson is entitled ACT college admissions testing grows, but scores stagnate that points out, through the use of data, how while more and more students are taking the ACT these days, the scores of ACT test-takers generally arent improving as a whole. And the administrators of the ACT think that high schools need to better prepare their graduates for college and their subsequent careers. As the piece points out, The average score for the high school Class of 2015 was 21, out of a maximum of 36. That was unchanged from the year before and largely echoed results going back a decade. Of 1.92 million people taking the test, the share who met the ACT college readiness standard in English was unchanged from the previous year: 64 percent. The share who met the math benchmark — 42 percent — has slid each year since reaching a peak of 46 percent in 2012. And the administrators of the ACT also expressed that theyve found racial disparities in ACT results, attributable to the quality of educations students in disadvantaged communities are receiving (and, of course, their lack of access to prep for the ACT which naturally went unstated by the ACT administrators). Not all students are fit for college and particularly not for four-year institutions so we dont happen to see the problem with the fact that these scores have remained relatively stagnant over the years. But it is certainly concerning that minority groups underperform on the exam. The fact is, though, the administrators of the ACT blaming schools for their educations theyre offering isnt completely fair. The ACT is a very coachable exam. Scores improve with the help of expert tutoring. Certain groups, particularly minorities in disadvantaged areas, cant afford such prep, though they would of course benefit from such prep. Maybe the administrators of the ACT should focus more on making the test more fair and less coachable rather than assigning blame to  the schools? Just a thought.

The Argument Against Raising Minimum Wage - 952 Words

Paying for a college education creates a dilemma when a student only earns minimum wage flipping burgers at a local fast food restaurant. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour before taxes. The debate on whether it should increase or remain constant has been occurring for many years. Raising the minimum wage to match the current cost of living seems like a good idea, but this could cause some negative effects. John Komlos’ article â€Å"Why raising the minimum wage is good economics† delivers a more effective argument than Rex Huppke’s article â€Å"The argument against raising minimum wage† through the use of ethos, logos, and a valid conclusion. To start with, ethos constitutes the first element of comparison between the articles. Beginning in â€Å"Why raising the minimum wage is good economics,† Komlos includes The Economist, a â€Å"weekly international news and business publication† to increase his credibility on thi s topic (The Economist, n.d., para. 1). Second, Komlos’ (2015) article contains â€Å"Alan Kruegar of Princeton University† (para. 7). One may not know Alan Kruegar, however reading Princeton University immediately catches the eye and gives Komlos more credibility. Additionally, Komlos supplies a synopsis about himself at the end of the article which allows the reader to see that he â€Å"is a professor emeritus of economics and of economic history at the University of Munich† (para. 14). In â€Å"The argument against raising minimum wage,† Huppke introduces fourShow MoreRelatedRaising The Minimum Wage?1575 Words   |  7 PagesThe issue of raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour is a heavily debated topic. Both sources against or in favor of the minimum wage refer to a â€Å"growing gap† between low-income workers and high-income earners. Sources against the minimum wage believe raising it will increase this gap, whereas those in favor of the minimum wage believe it will decrease this gap. The arguments in favor of the minimum wage rely mostly on ethical beliefs, such as â€Å"pay should reflect hard work,† to advanceRead MoreMinimum Wage During The Great Depression1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Minimum Wage Battle In the United States, the minimum wage was passed during the Great Depression in 1938 to protect the buying power of normal workers in a period in which the â€Å"unemployment rate was still a very high 19 percent† (Sklar, 2009, p. 1). Since that time, there has been significant debate about the controversial topic of raising the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage law was created to eliminate unfair practices of sweat shops and manufacturing companies during this timeRead MoreShould the Federal Minimum Wage Be Raised?900 Words   |  4 Pagesthe United States is complicating whether or not our nation should raise the federal minimum wage. Ranging from researchers who have been studying this incompatible topic throughout their entire lives to amateurs who simply expose their opinions without any logical reasoning to the public are still not able to come to an agreement for a stable minimum wage. Many citizens may assume that increasing the minimum wage, $7.25, an hour, by a couple dollars may not make a significant impact to our economyRead MoreMinimum Wage And Fight Income Equality On Numerous Occasions1470 Words   |  6 PagesPresident Obama has expressed his desire to raise the minimum wage and fight income equality on numerous occasions. On January 20, 2015, president Obama made the following statement in his State of the Union Address: Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages†¦and to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: if you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to giveRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Act Of 20071607 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction In 1938, the first national minimum wage laws in the United States were passed as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which served as â€Å"a floor below wages,† to reduce poverty and to ensure that economic growth is shared across the workforce. Today, many people who work for companies that pay at or near the minimum wage and remain near or below the poverty level rely on government health and food security and income programs to supplementRead More We Should NOT Raise the Minimum Wage1171 Words   |  5 Pages What would be so bad about raising minimum wage? Before other states jump on the $15 minimum-wage bandwagon, they might want to look at whats happening in Massachusetts — one of two states with a $10-an-hour minimum wage. Massachusetts increased the minimum wage from $8 to $9 at the start of 2015 and to $10 on the first day of 2016. The state is now mired in its longest stretch of net job losses since the recession in both the retail and the leisur e and hospitality sectors, Labor DepartmentRead MoreMcdonald s And The Minimum Wage993 Words   |  4 PagesMCDONALD’S AND THE MINIMUM WAGE Introduction Minimum wage has always been, and will probably always be, a controversial topic. Some believe raising the minimum wage is the solution to poverty, while others believe that raising the minimum wage is a recipe for â€Å"killing† jobs. This age old debate has come to the forefront recently as the â€Å"Fight for $15† by fast-food workers continues to grow. The campaign’s core argument is that the billion-dollar companies in the fast-food industry can afford toRead MoreShould We Increase Minimum Wage?1508 Words   |  6 PagesThe topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 toRead MoreCongress Should Raise The Federal Minimum Wage1042 Words   |  5 PagesMany Americans agree that Congress should raise the federal minimum wage, but do individuals truly know the effects of increasing the minimum wage to $15? Some people only look at the comprehensive view of seeking a higher salary, but the increase can cause many negative, as well as positive, effects. Several economists from across the country have done extensive research over the topic of the minimum wage increase, and many differing opinions have formed. 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British Literature Essay - 1614 Words

British Literature 1. the Middle Ages the oldest literature monument of the Anglo – Saxon period is the old Germanic legend called BEOWULF. This heroic poem is about the strong and courageous pagan hero Beowulf John Wycliffe – is a professor of Oxford University. With his students he translated the whole Bible into English - he influenced Master Jan Hus and our Hussite movement very much 2. the renaissance and humanism Geoffrey Chaucer – Canterbury Tales – brilliant portrait of 30 pilgrims who travel to Canterbury and they were saying stories each other, each one said four stories, but in tact there are only 23 tales. William Shakespeare – is the biggest author of this period Christopher Marlowe – might became another†¦show more content†¦Among his major novels belong â€Å"Little Dorrit, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectgations, Oliver Twist, Christmas Carol† – see enclosed paper 7. The 1. 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My Topic Is Regarding the Demand and Supply for Particular Resources

Question: Discuss about topic of regarding the demand and supply for particular resources ? Answer : Introduction My topic is regarding the demand and supply for particular resources in Australia. I chose an article concerning the increase in electricity prices which led to a one percent national decline in the demand. The article was published in the Australian Business Review in 5th January 2017 (Kylar, 2017). I chose this topic and the essay since it was experienced countrywide. It did not happen to a given region. The article says the country at that time depended on two major power generating centers. These were AGL and Origin Energy. Some similar companies in the same industry are planning to close causing a slight decline in supply. Therefore, the prices were raised to meet the new equilibrium. Residential homes had an increase of $94 while small businesses had $297 more money to pay per year. The two dominating power stations also increased their prices by an average of $132 and $ 135 annually. Essence of the Story A large number of residents in Australia use electricity for lighting, heating, running devices and business activities. The decline of demand originated from the rise of prices. The issue happened when some power stations such as the Hazelwood in Victoria are retiring from the market. The remaining firms were forced to increase their supply to meet the deficit created by Hazelwood. That led to a decline in supply making prices to escalate. As a result, demand for electric power reduced countrywide. I chose the article since it may be interesting to the whole country. Individuals in Australia must have complained why the unit prices for the electric power are hiking. The article would be important in giving them answers. Moreover, researchers and investors could also be interested. The fact remains that most residents are switching to other forms of energy such as generators, and solar panels. The investors can now make cheaper power machines to take advantage of the market situation. Economic analysis. Based on microeconomics, demand is influenced by some factors such as changes in prices of commodities, income levels of the consumers, competition, and changes in consumer preferences (Jindal, 2016). The first three influenced demand since the rise of prices made consumers start disliking the service. Their income remained constant, and there was an availability of other sources of energy. They include CSIRO, Eurosolar, which offer and BP Solar affordable solar energies (Cludius, Forrest MacGill, 2014). Therefore, the citizens lost their tastes and preferences for the former power and shifted to the competing sources. That led to a decrease in demand. The issue raised both micro and macroeconomic factors. The first one occurred when some consumers found it unbearable to keep up with the electricity costs. They, therefore, switched to other sources. For the latter, it concerned the whole nation. Withdrawal of some firms in the sector led to a decline in the GDP. The federal government obtains money through taxation to the enterprises and charges imposed the consumers (Bird, 2016). Therefore, the remaining companies were forced to boost their supply to sustain all customers. The government, on the other hand, introduced a fiscal policy where it levied more taxes on the firms and the consumers to maintain its GDP (Ban, 2015). That made the prices to shift upwards. Recommendation This part gives a remedy to the issue. From my point of view, the problem originated from the closure of some of the central power stations. My first suggestion is based on the Victorian government policies. Anderson, (2017) says the Hazelwood was to close on 2005. However, the government privatized it for it realized its importance to the Victorian people. It was scheduled to close at 2030. The plant is now considering shutting down due to carbon taxes imposed by the federal government. Also, it will take three more years to demolish the premises. I would recommend the Victorian government to improvise ways of doing away with carbon disposal since it is the one causing the whole problem. Upon doing so, its tax rates for the same will also decline. The facility is a public good and provides much energy assistance to the residents. Besides, people the staff and contractors will lose their jobs, costs will go up due to reduced supply, the land will be degraded plus the same government will heavily spend on demolishing than paying the taxes (Enos, 2016). It can then postpone its closure up to the expected 2030. The other possible solution is letting private investors run the firm. It is changed from government-owned to privately-owned. Mbeche Dorward, (2014) say most government businesses are poorly managed and full of frauds. But when left under the control of an investor, the new management will run the company in the best manner. They will be focusing on profit maximization, and the company will last for long. Conclusion Based on the above analysis of the article, it is clear that prices in Australia regarding electricity shall go up. However, after studying the issue, it is realized only one power station, Hazelwood. The firm is government owned and is closing due to tax impositions. The report explains measures to keep the company in operation up to 2030. I base my conclusion to Hazelwood. Should it close, then people will face a crisis in paying high bills and taxes which the Victorian government will use to demolish the plant. If it adopts my recommendations, the plant shall operate till 2030. By that time a power solution will be available to replace Hazelwood if it will close. References Anderson, S. (2017). Hazelwood power station closure. Retrieved from www.abc.net.au: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-30/hazelwood-power-plant-shutdown-explained/8379756 Ban, C. (2015). Austerity versus stimulus? Understanding fiscal policy change at the International Monetary Fund since the great recession. Governance, 28(2), 167-183. Bird, R. M. (2016). Reforming International Taxation: Is the Process the Real Product? Hacienda Pblica Espaola, (217), 159. Cludius, J., Forrest, S., MacGill, I. (2014). Distributional effects of the Australian Renewable Energy Target (RET) through wholesale and retail electricity price impacts. Energy Policy, 71, 40-51. Enos, R. D. (2016). What the demolition of public housing teaches us about the impact of racial Threat on political behavior. American Journal of Political Science, 60(1), 123-142. Jindal, S. (2016). Factors Affecting Demand for Money: An Empirical Study Based on Time Series Analysis. Kylar, L. (2017). Electricity demand falls a little as supply plunges. Retrieved 4 25, 2017, from The Australian Business Review: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/electricity-demand-falls-a-little-as-supply-plunges/news-story/24ae8c69953dcae67ad2b2484052d43f Mbeche, R. M., Dorward, P. (2014). Privatisation, empowerment and accountability: What are the policy implications for establishing effective farmer organisations? Land Use Policy, 36, 285-295.

War is Inescapable Part of Human Experience Essay Example

War is Inescapable Part of Human Experience Paper War is so omnipresent and commonplace in human history that some scientists even claim that peoples war-proneness could be explained by natural predisposition dictated by genes. Even though a military conflict is too complex to be triggered by nothing but an innate inclination, aggression that fuels it seems to be integral to social behavior. Therefore, war can be regarded as an inescapable part of human existence. First of all, war is an essential part of social experience, as it is provoked by inevitable clashing of interests of nations on a global level. Such conflicts arise because of a perceived incompatibility of actions or goals of hostile parties. A good example here is a ;Cold War logic; which only relatively recently stopped prevailing in international policies of the most of developed countries. It refers to the way of perceiving foreign affairs in general as a ;zero sum game;, meaning that there exist only two possibilities victory or defeat. Consequently, human society is prone to war because rival parties see alms of each other as mutually exclusive. Secondly, war often derives from peoples most Innate predisposition to survive in a world where resources are scarce. Such scarcity, has resulted in a some kind of struggle for existence leading back to the times, when ancestors of the Homo Sapiens competed with other species for food and habitat. Although nowadays people do not have to fight for such basic necessities, there always will be things considered to be rare and vital, for Instance, OLL and natural gas. We will write a custom essay sample on War is Inescapable Part of Human Experience specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on War is Inescapable Part of Human Experience specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on War is Inescapable Part of Human Experience specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Thus, It Is one of the most primitive Instincts of fighting for survival which makes one engage In warfare. Last but not least, a military conflict Is a ubiquitous phenomenon because war begets war. There can be seen a recurring pattern In the outbursts of International aggression war spreads In the manner of an Infection, reproducing Itself over and over again. Likewise, hostile attitudes and tensions soar In response to ar-like neighbors, not mentioning such catalyst of an armed conflict as retaliation and blood feuding. For that reason, the International arena Is predisposed to be a theatre of military actions. All In all, there exist a number of arguments proving that war Is an essential part of human experience. First, It Is kindled by Inevitable Incompatibility of Interests and goals. Second, the scarcity of resources has elicited war throughout the history. Third, aggression provokes aggression, repeating Itself In a vicious circle.

English Language and Composition Essay Example

English Language and Composition Essay Example English Language and Composition Essay English Language and Composition Essay AP ® English Language and Composition 2011 Free-Response Questions About the College Board The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success - including the SAT ® and the Advanced Placement Program ®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools.  © 2011 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, SAT and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. Admitted Class Evaluation Service and inspiring minds are trademarks owned by the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. Permission to use copyrighted College Board materials may be requested online at: www. collegeboard. org/inquiry/cbpermit. html. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral. collegeboard. om. 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SECTION II Total time- 2 hours Question 1 (Suggested time- 40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score. ) Locavores are people who have decided to eat locally grown or produced products as much as possible. With an eye to nutrition as well as sustainability (resource use that preserves the environment), the locavore movement has become widespread over the past decade. Imagine that a community is considering organizing a locavore movement. Carefully read the following seven sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that identifies the key issues associated with the locavore movement and examines their implications for the community. Make sure that your argument is central; use the sources to illustrate and support your reasoning. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc. , or by using the descriptions in parentheses. Source A Source B Source C Source D Source E Source F Source G (Maiser) (Smith and MacKinnon) (McWilliams) (chart) (Gogoi) (Roberts) (cartoon)  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -2- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source A Maiser, Jennifer. 10 Reasons to Eat Local Food. † Eat Local Challenge. Eat Local Challenge, 8 Apr. 2006. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. The following is an article from a group Weblog written by individuals who are interested in the benefits of eating food grown and produced locally. Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for t he local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer’s market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time. Local food just plain tastes better. Ever tried a tomato that was picked within 24 hours? ’Nuff said. Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be rugged† or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine. Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. I n a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive. Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story. Whether it’s the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal. Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. Local food translates to more variety. When a farmer is producing food that will not travel a long distance, will have a shorter shelf life, and does not have a high-yield demand, the farmer is free to try small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket. Supermarkets are interested in selling â€Å"Name brand† fruit: Romaine Lettuce, Red Delicious Apples, Russet Potatoes. Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes. Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space- farms and pastures- an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped. Jennifer Maiser, www. eatlocalchallenge. com  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -3- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source B Smith, Alisa, and J. B. MacKinnon. Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally. New York: Harmony, 2007. Print. The following passage is excerpted from a book written by the creators of the 100-Mile Diet, an experiment in eating only foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius. Food begins to lose nutrition as soon as it is harvested. Fruit and vegetables that travel shorter distances are therefore likely to be closer to a maximum of nutrition. â€Å"Nowadays, we know a lot more about the naturally occurring substances in produce,† said [Cynthia] Sass. It’s not just vitamins and minerals, but all these phytochemicals and really powerful disease-fighting substances, and we do know that when a food never really reaches its peak ripeness, the levels of these substances never get as high. † . . . Yet when I called to confirm these facts with Marion Nestle, a professor and former chair of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, she waved away the nutrition issue as a red herring. Yes, she said, our 100-mile diet- e ven in winter- was almost certainly more nutritious than what the average American was eating. That doesn’t mean it is necessary to eat locally in order to be healthy. In fact, a person making smart choices from the global megamart can easily meet all the body’s needs. â€Å"There will be nutritional differences, but they’ll be marginal,† said Nestle. â€Å"I mean, that’s not really the issue. It feels like it’s the issue- obviously fresher foods that are grown on better soils are going to have more nutrients. But people are not nutrient-deprived. We’re just not nutrient-deprived. † So would Marion Nestle, as a dietician, as one of America’s most important critics of dietary policy, advocate for local eating? Absolutely. † Why? Because she loves the taste of fresh food, she said. She loves the mystery of years when the late corn is just utterly, incredibly good, and no one can say why: it just is. She likes having farmers around, and farms, and farmland.  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board o n the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -4- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source C McWilliams, James E. â€Å"On My Mind: The Locavore Myth. † Forbes. com. Forbes, 15 Jul. 2009. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. The following is excerpted from an online opinion article in a business magazine. Buy local, shrink the distance food travels, save the planet. The locavore movement has captured a lot of fans. To their credit, they are highlighting the problems with industrialized food. But a lot of them are making a big mistake. By focusing on transportation, they overlook other energy-hogging factors in food production. Take lamb. A 2006 academic study (funded by the New Zealand government) discovered that it made more environmental sense for a Londoner to buy lamb shipped from New Zealand than to buy lamb raised in the U. K. This finding is counterintuitive- if you’re only counting food miles. But New Zealand lamb is raised on pastures with a small carbon footprint, whereas most English lamb is produced under intensive factory-like conditions with a big carbon footprint. This disparity overwhelms domestic lamb’s advantage in transportation energy. New Zealand lamb is not exceptional. Take a close look at water usage, fertilizer types, processing methods and packaging techniques and you discover that factors other than shipping far outweigh the energy it takes to transport food. One analysis, by Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, showed that transportation accounts for only 11% of food’s carbon footprint. A fourth of the energy required to produce food is expended in the consumer’s kitchen. Still more energy is consumed per meal in a restaurant, since restaurants throw away most of their leftovers. Locavores argue that buying local food supports an area’s farmers and, in turn, strengthens the community. Fair enough. Left unacknowledged, however, is the fact that it also hurts farmers in other parts of the world. The U. K. buys most of its green beans from Kenya. While it’s true that the beans almost always arrive in airplanes- the form of transportation that consumes the most energy- it’s also true that a campaign to shame English consumers with small airplane stickers affixed to flown-in produce threatens the livelihood of 1. 5 million sub-Saharan farmers. Another chink in the locavores’ armor involves the way food miles are calculated. To choose a locally grown apple over an apple trucked in from across the country might seem easy. But this decision ignores economies of scale. To take an extreme example, a shipper sending a truck with 2,000 apples over 2,000 miles would consume the same amount of fuel per apple as a local farmer who takes a pickup 50 miles to sell 50 apples at his stall at the green market. The critical measure here is not food miles but apples per gallon. The one big problem with thinking beyond food miles is that it’s hard to get the information you need. Ethically concerned consumers know very little about processing practices, water availability, packaging waste and fertilizer application. This is an opportunity for watchdog groups. They should make life-cycle carbon counts available to shoppers. Reprinted by Permission of Forbes Media LLC  © 2010  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -5- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source D Loder, Natasha, Elizabeth Finkel, Craig Meisner, and Pamela Ronald. â€Å"The Problem of What to Eat. † Conservation Magazine. The Society for Conservation Biology, July-Sept. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. The following chart is excerpted from an online article in an environmental magazine.  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -6- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source E Gogoi, Pallavi. â€Å"The Rise of the ‘Locavore’: How the Strengthening Local Food Movement in Towns Across the U. S. Is Reshaping Farms and Food Retailing. † Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg, 20 May 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. The following is excerpted from an online article in a business magazine. The rise of farmers’ markets- in city centers, college towns, and rural squares- is testament to a dramatic shift in American tastes. Consumers increasingly are seeking out the flavors of fresh, vine-ripened foods grown on local farms rather than those trucked to supermarkets from faraway lands. â€Å"This is not a fringe foodie culture,† says [Anthony] Flaccavento. â€Å"These are ordinary, middle-income folks who have become really engaged in food and really care about where their food comes from. † It’s a movement that is gradually reshaping the business of growing and supplying food to Americans. The local food movement has already accomplished something that almost no one would have thought possible a few years back: a revival of small farms. After declining for more than a century, the number of small farms has increased 20% in the past six years, to 1. 2 million, according to the Agriculture Dept. . . . The impact of â€Å"locavores† (as local-food proponents are known) even shows up in that Washington salute every five years to factory farming, the Farm Bill. The latest version passed both houses in Congress in early May and was sent on May 20 to President George W. Bush’s desk for signing. Bush has threatened to veto the bill, but it passed with enough votes to sustain an override. Predictably, the overwhelming bulk of its $290 billion would still go to powerful agribusiness interests in the form of subsidies for growing corn, soybeans, and cotton. But $2. 3 billion was set aside this year for specialty crops, such as the eggplants, strawberries, or salad greens that are grown by exactly these small, mostly organic farmers. That’s a big bump-up from the $100 million that was earmarked for such things in the previous legislation. Small farmers will be able to get up to 75% of their organic certification costs reimbursed, and some of them can obtain crop insurance. There’s money for research into organic foods, and to promote farmers’ markets. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said the bill â€Å"invests in the health and nutrition of American children . . . by expanding their access to farmer’s markets and organic produce. † Reprinted from the May 20, 2008 issue of Bloomberg BusinessWeek by special permission, copyright  © 2008 by Bloomberg L. P.  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. ollegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -7- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source F Roberts, Paul. The End of Food. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. Print. The following is excerpted from a book about the food industry. [T]he move toward local food, for all its trendiness (the more adamant adherents, known as â€Å"localvore s,† strive to buy products that have traveled the least â€Å"food miles†), highlights one of the problematic pieces of the modern food economy: the increasing reliance on foods shipped halfway round the world. Because long-distance food shipments promote profligate fuel use and the exploitation of cheap labor (which compensates for the profligate fuel use), shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities, restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers, and put the food economy on a more sustainable footing. Such a shift would bring back diversity to land that has been all but destroyed by chemical-intensive mono-cropping, provide much-needed jobs at a local level, and help to rebuild community,† argues the UK-based International Society for Ecology and Culture, one of the leading lights in the localvore movement. â€Å"Moreover, it would allow farmers to make a decent living while giving consumers access to healthy, fresh food at affordable prices. † While localvorism sounds superb in theory, it is proving quite difficult in practice. To begin with, there are dozens of different definitions as to what local is, with some advocates arguing for political boundaries (as in Texas-grown, for example), others using quasi-geographic terms like food sheds, and still others laying out somewhat arbitrarily drawn food circles with radii of 100 or 150 or 500 miles. Further, whereas some areas might find it fairly easy to eat locally (in Washington State, for example, I’m less than fifty miles from industrial quantities of fresh produce, corn, wheat, beef, and milk), people in other parts of the country and the world would have to look farther afield. And what counts as local? Does food need to be purchased directly from the producer? Does it still count when it’s distributed through a mass marketer, as with Wal-Mart’s Salute to America’s Farmer program, which is now periodically showcasing local growers? The larger problem is that although decentralized food systems function well in decentralized societies- like the United States was a century ago, or like many developing nations still are- they’re a poor fit in modern urbanized societies. The same economic forces that helped food production become centralized and regionalized did the same thing to our population: in the United States, 80 percent of us live in large, densely populated urban areas, usually on the coast, and typically hundreds of miles, often thousands of miles, from the major centers of food production.  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -8- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Source G Hallatt, Alex. â€Å"Arctic Circle. † Comic strip. King Features Syndicate, Inc. 1 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 July 2009. The following is a cartoon from an environmentally themed comic strip. ARCTIC CIRCLE  © 2008 MACNELLY. DISTRIBUTED BY KING FEATURES SYNDICATE  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -9- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Question 2 (Suggested time- 40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score. ) Florence Kelley (1859-1932) was a United States social worker and reformer who fought successfully for child labor laws and improved conditions for working women. She delivered the following speech before the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia on July 22, 1905. Read the speech carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze the rhetorical strategies Kelley uses to convey her message about child labor to her audience. Support your analysis with specific references to the text. We have, in this country, two million children under the age of sixteen years who are earning their bread. They vary in age from six and seven years (in the cotton mills of Georgia) and eight, nine and ten years (in the coal-breakers of Pennsylvania), to fourteen, fifteen and sixteen years in more enlightened states. No other portion of the wage earning class increased so rapidly from decade to decade as the young girls from fourteen to twenty years. Men increase, women increase, youth increase, boys increase in the ranks of the breadwinners; but no contingent so doubles from census period to census period (both by percent and by count of heads), as does the contingent of girls between twelve and twenty years of age. They are in commerce, in offices, in manufacturing. Tonight while we sleep, several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy. In Alabama the law provides that a child under sixteen years of age shall not work in a cotton mill at night longer than eight hours, and Alabama does better in this respect than any other southern state. North and South Carolina and Georgia place no restriction upon the work of children at night; and while we sleep little white girls will be working tonight in the mills in those states, working eleven hours at night. In Georgia there is no restriction whatever! A girl of six or seven years, just tall enough to reach the bobbins, may work eleven hours by day or by night. And they will do so tonight, while we sleep. Nor is it only in the South that these things occur. Alabama does better than New Jersey. For Alabama limits the children’s work at night to eight hours, while New Jersey permits it all night long. Last year New Jersey took a long backward step. A good law was repealed which had required women and [children] to stop work at six in the evening and at noon on Friday. Now, therefore, in New Jersey, boys and girls, after their 14th birthday, enjoy the pitiful privilege of working all night long. In Pennsylvania, until last May it was lawful for children, 13 years of age, to work twelve hours at night. A little girl, on her thirteenth birthday, could start away from her home at half past five in the afternoon, carrying her pail of midnight luncheon as happier people carry their midday luncheon, and could work in the mill from six at night until six in the morning, without violating any law of the Commonwealth. If the mothers and the teachers in Georgia could vote, would the Georgia Legislature have refused at every session for the last three years to stop the work in the mills of children under twelve years of age? Would the New Jersey Legislature have passed that shameful repeal bill enabling girls of fourteen years to work all night, if the mothers in New Jersey were enfranchised? Until the mothers in the great industrial states are enfranchised, we shall none of us be able to free our consciences from participation in this great evil. No one in this room tonight can feel free from such participation. The children make our shoes in the shoe factories; they knit our stockings, our knitted underwear in the knitting factories. They spin and weave our cotton underwear in the cotton mills. Children braid straw for our hats, they spin and weave the silk and velvet wherewith we trim our hats. They stamp buckles and metal ornaments of all kinds, as well as pins and hat-pins. Under the sweating system, tiny children make artificial flowers and neckwear for us to buy. They carry bundles of garments from the factories to the tenements, little beasts of burden, robbed of school life that they may work for us. We do not wish this. We prefer to have our work done by men and women. But we are almost powerless. Not wholly powerless, however, are citizens who enjoy the right of petition. For myself, I Line 5 45 50 10 55 15 60 20 65 25 70 30 75 35 80 40  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -10- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS shall use this power in every possible way until the right to the ballot is granted, and then I shall continue to use both. What can we do to free our consciences? There is one line of action by which we can do much. We can enlist the workingmen on behalf of our enfranchisement just in proportion as we strive with them to free the children. No labor organization in this country ever fails to respond to an appeal for help in the freeing of the children. For the sake of the children, for the Republic in which these children will vote after we are dead, and for the sake of our cause, we should enlist the workingmen voters, with us, in this task of freeing the children from toil! 85 90 95  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -11- 2011 AP ® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Question 3 (Suggested time- 40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score. ) The following passage is from Rights of Man, a book written by the pamphleteer Thomas Paine in 1791. Born in England, Paine was an intellectual, a revolutionary, and a supporter of American independence from England. Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay that examines the extent to which Paine’s characterization of America holds true today. Use appropriate evidence to support your argument. If there is a country in the world, where concord, according to common calculation, would be least expected, it is America. Made up, as it is, of people from different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worship, it would appear that the union of such a people was impracticable; but by the simple operation of constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man, every difficulty retires, and all the parts are brought into ordial unison. There, the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged. . . . Their taxes are few, because their government is just; and as there is nothing to render them wretched, there is nothing to engender riots and tumults. STOP END OF EXAM  © 2011 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www. collegeboard. org. -12-

The Relationship between Technology and Modern Life as a Double-Edged Essay

The Relationship between Technology and Modern Life as a Double-Edged Sword - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that for the most part, technology has become so common it is no longer thought of it as â€Å"technology.† The presences of these day to day items have become necessary and normal; like microwaves, cars, and computers. Technology has brought many benefits to science, medicine, and aids in advancing human potential; at the same time, it has, also, allowed the development of disastrous weapons shifted job markets away from manual labor, and creates human dependence. Over the last 300 years, technology has been developed, improved upon, innovated, made obsolete, and replaced. Most people today cannot imagine living in a time that predates medical vaccinations, telephones, and light bulbs. Research explains that there are â€Å"Four Developments in the Human Condition† that have allowed the advancement of humanity into its modern society filled with the technological sciences of the present. We have continuously proceeded to find n ew innovations and approaches. 1. Imagery & Symbols: The development of language, the arts, and religion; humanity began applying meanings to imagery and symbolism. 2. Universal Order & Theory: The emergence of philosophy (800 to 200 BCE) and concepts of creation, the divine, the universe as a whole; truth-seeking. 3. Experiment & Plausibility: The developments of modern science, beginning in the 1600s. Logical thinking focuses on probable answers. 4. Praxis & Plausibility: Essentially the practice of considering human and social ramifications of scientific and technological actions. From the steam engine in 1730 and the electric battery in 1800 to the automobile in 1885 and the telephone in 1839, the progress has been continuous; It is amazing to see how inventive and the level of ingenuity that human beings have managed to achieve, change, improve, and develop the altered quality of society and that of individual human life. There are many supporters of technology. There are some people who feel that scientific advancement and technological possibilities should be the focus of humanity. However many others believe that technology offers convenience, but also contributes heavily to air pollution, environmental contaminations, displacement of species within ecosystems, can cause psychological dependence among users, and are not worth implementing in the long run. In fairness and, as stated previously, there are a number of pros and cons related to technology and its presence and influence within modern society. Both sides make quality arguments concerning the positive and negative aspects and implications of modern technologies and its various applications. There are 10 highlighted contributions or influences of technology presenting its greatest benefits to modern human society; these contributions include 1. Easy access to information, allowing anyone to find answers to question and grasp concepts that they may not have previously had access to. 2. Improved communication, which has allowed greater exchanges and interaction between peoples across the world. 3.

Urban Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Urban Politics - Research Paper Example According to pluralism, the power is split between the different actors of urban political arena. Robert Dahl, in his book â€Å"Who Governs† explains this theory very well and states that specialized influence exists according to which different leaders dominate different areas. Power is not only in the hands of one group of individuals. It can be stated that the study of urban politics is not similar to that of comparative national politics. The reason is that urban politics is in abeyance whereas comparative national politics is flourishing and widely in use. Stone does not distinguish urban politics within the wider field of American politics or comparative politics. Clarence Stone’s research shows that how unfortunate it is that Comparative Politics sections comprises of double the members as that of urban politics of APSA (American Political Science Association). Clarence Stone supports Lanyi’s balloon which can be depicted form his various research essays. He believes that politics, civil society and business are knitted together in complicated ways. So, urban regime analysis is an effort to observe how these various sections are linked together which sums up to a greater part analysis. Stone keeps on pointing to intersections to the forces, the need to differentiate each political regime from another, the varied analysis of historical trajectories, the governing differences in various cities, the resources and interests of the political actors and many other ways to resolve complexities without simplifying.

Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay Example for Free

Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay In the literature, several motives for takeovers have been identified. One is the desire for synergy. That is, similarities or complementarities between the acquiring and target firms are expected to result in the combined value of the enterprises exceeding their worth as separate firms (Collis and Montgomery, 1998). A second motive involves the expectation that acquirers can extract value because target companies have been managed inefficiently (Varaiya, 1987). A third motive is attributed to managerial hubris the notion that senior executives, in overestimating their own abilities, acquire companies they believe could be managed more profitably under their control. Agency theory motive is the anticipation that firm expansion will positively impact the compensation of top managers since there tends to be a direct relation between firm size and executive pay. Contemporary specialists contend that managerial ownership incentives may be expected to have divergent impacts on corporate strategy and firm value. This premise has been recognized in previous studies. For instance, Stulz (1988) has examined the ownership of managers of target companies and has proposed that the relationship between that ownership and the value of target firms may initially be positive and then subsequently become negative with rising insider ownership. Moreover, Shivdasani (1993) empirically shows that the relationship of the ownership structure of target companies with the value of hostile bids is not uniformly positive. McConnell and Servaes (1990) have likewise analyzed the relationship of equity ownership among corporate insiders and Tobins q. Their results demonstrate a non-monotonic relation between Tobins q and insider equity stakes. Wright et al. (1996: 451) have shown a non-linear relationship between insider ownership and corporate strategy related to firm risk taking. Ownership Incentives and Changes in Company Risk Motivating Acquisitions An agency-theoretic motive for acquisitions has been used to explain managerial preferences for risk-reducing corporate strategies (Wright et al., 1996). The implication is that both principals and agents prefer acquiring target companies with higher rather than lower returns. In that, shareholders and managers have congruent interests. The interests, however, diverge in terms of risk considerations associated with acquisitions. Because shareholders possess diversified portfolios, they may only be concerned with systematic risk and be indifferent to the total variance of returns associated with a takeover. Senior managers may alternatively prefer risk-reducing corporate strategies, unless they are granted ownership incentives. That is because they can not diversify their human capital invested in the firm. In the literature, it has been argued that agency costs may be reduced as managerial ownership incentives rise. The reason is that, as ownership incentives rise, the financial interests of insiders and shareholders will begin to converge. Analysts conjecture, however, that such incentives may not consistently provide senior executives the motivation to lessen the agency costs associated with an acquisition strategy. Inherent is the presumption that the nature of executive wealth portfolios will differently influence their attitudes toward corporate strategy. The personal wealth portfolios of top managers are comprised of their ownership of shares/options in the firm, the income produced from their employment, and assets unrelated to the firm. Presumably, as senior executives increase their equity stakes in the enterprise, their personal wealth portfolios become correspondingly less diversified. Although stockholders can diversify their wealth portfolios, top executives have less flexibility if they own substantial shares in the firms they manage. Hence, if a significant portion of managers wealth is concentrated in one investment, then they may find it prudent to diversify their firms via risk-reducing acquisitions. In the related literature, however, takeovers and risk taking have been approached differently from the described approach. Amihud and Lev (1999) have contended that insiders employment income is significantly related to the firms performance. Thus, managers are confronted with risks associated with their income if the maintenance of that income is dependent on achieving predetermined performance targets. Reasonably, in the event of either corporate underperformance or firm failure, CEOs not only may lose their current employment income but also may seriously suffer in the managerial labor market, since their future earnings potential with other enterprises may be lowered. Hence, the risk of executives employment income is impacted by the firms risk. The ramification of Amihud and Levs (1999) contentions is that top managers will tend to lower firm risk, and therefore their own employment risk, by acquiring companies that contribute to stabilizing of the firms income, even if shareho lder wealth is adversely affected. Consistent with the implications of Amihud and Levs arguments, Agrawal and Mandelker (1987) have similarly suggested that managers with negligible ownership stakes may adopt risk-reducing corporate strategies because such strategies may well serve their own personal interests. With ownership incentives, however, managers may be more likely to acquire risk-enhancing target companies, in line with the requirement of wealth maximization for shareholders. The notion that at negligible managerial ownership levels, detrimental risk-reducing acquisition strategies may be emphasized, but with increasing ownership incentive levels, beneficial risk-enhancing acquisitions may be more prevalent is also suggested in other works (Grossman and Hoskisson, 1998). The conclusion of these investigations is that the relationship between insider ownership and risk enhancing, worthy corporate acquisitions is linear and positive. Some experts assert that CEOs personal wealth concentration will induce senior managers to undertake risk-reducing firm strategies. Portfolio theorys expectation suggests that investors or owner-managers may desire to diversify their personal wealth portfolios. For instance, Markowitz (1952: 89) has asserted that investors may wish to diversify across industries because firms in different industries. . . have lower covariances than firms within an industry. Moreover, as argued by Sharpe (1964: 441), diversification enables the investor to escape all but the risk resulting from swings in economic activity. Consequently, managers with substantial equity investments in the firm may diversify the firm via risk-reducing acquisitions in order to diversify their own personal wealth portfolios. Because they may be especially concerned with risk-reducing acquisitions, however, their corporate strategies may not enhance firm value through takeovers, although managerial intention may be to boos t corporate value. The above discussion is compatible with complementary arguments that suggest that insiders may acquire non-value-maximizing target companies although their intentions may be to enhance returns to shareholders. For instance, according to the synergy view, while takeovers may be motivated by an ex-ante concern for increasing corporate value, many such acquisitions are not associated with an increase in firm value. Alternatively, according to the hubris hypothesis, even though insiders may intend to acquire targets that they believe could be managed more profitably under their control, such acquisitions are not ordinarily related to higher profitability. If acquisitions which are undertaken primarily with insider expectations that they will financially benefit owners do not realize higher performance, then those acquisitions which are primarily motivated by a risk-reducing desire may likewise not be associated with beneficial outcomes for owners. Additionally, it can be argued that shareholders can more efficiently diversify their own portfolios, making it unnecessary for managers to diversify the firm in order to achieve portfolio diversification for shareholders. Risk Associated with HRM practices in International Acquisitions There are a number of reasons why the HRM policies and practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) and cross-border acquisitions are likely to be different from those found in domestic firms (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1993). For one, the difference in geographical spread means that acquisitions must normally engage in a number of HR activities that are not needed in domestic firms such as providing relocation and orientation assistance to expatriates, administering international job rotation programmes, and dealing with international union activity. Second, as Dowling (1988) points out, the personnel policies and practices of MNCs are likely to be more complex and diverse. For instance, complex salary and income taxation issues are likely to arise in acquisitions because their pay policies and practices have to be administered to many different groups of subsidiaries and employees, located in different countries. Managing this diversity may generate a number of co-ordination and communication problems that do not arise in domestic firms. In recognition of these difficulties, most large international companies retain the services of a major accounting firm to ensure there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with a particular international assignment. Finally, there are more stakeholders that influence the HRM policies and practices of international firms than those of domestic firms. The major stakeholders in private organizations are the shareholders and the employees. But one could also think of unions, consumer organizations and other pressure groups. These pressure groups also exist in domestic firms, but they often put more pressure on foreign than on local companies. This probably means that international companies need to be more risk averse and concerned with the social and political environment than domestic firms. Acquisitions and HRM Practices: Evidence from Japan, the US, and Europe In contemporary context, international human resource management faces important challenges, and this trend characterizes many Japanese, US and European acquisitions.   From the critical point of view, Japanese companies experience more problems associated with international human resource management than companies from the US and Europe (Shibuya, 2000). Lack of home-country personnel sufficient international manage ­ment skills has been widely recognized in literature as the most difficult problem facing Japanese compa ­nies and simultaneously one of the most significant of US and European acquisitions as well. The statement implies that cultivating such skills is difficult and that they are relatively rare among businessmen in any country. Japanese companies may be particularly prone to this problem due to their heavy use of home-country nationals in overseas management positions. European and Japanese acquisitions also experience the lack of home country personnel who want to work abroad, while it is less of an impediment for the US companies. In the US acquisitions expatriates often experience reentry difficulties (e.g., career disruption) when re ­turning to the home country: This problem was the one most often cited by US firms.   Today Japanese corporations report the relatively lower incidence of expatriate reentry diffi ­culties, and it is surprising given the vivid accounts of such problems at Japanese firms by White (1988) and Umezawa (1990). However, the more active role of the Japanese person ­nel department in coordinating career paths, the tradition of semi ­annual musical-chair-like personnel shuffles (jinji idoh), and the continu ­ing efforts of Japanese stationed overseas to maintain close contact with headquarters might underlie the lower level of difficulties in this area for Japanese firms (Inohara, 2001). In contrast, the decentralized structures of many US and European firms may serve to isolate expatriates from their home-country headquarters, making reentry more problematic. Also, recent downsiz ­ing at US and European firms may reduce the number of appropriate management positions for expatriates to return to, or may sever expatri ­ates relationships with colleagues and mentors at headquarters. Furthermore, within the context of the lifetime employment system, individ ­ual Japanese employees have little to gain by voicing reentry concerns to personnel managers. In turn, personnel managers need not pay a great deal of attention to reentry problems because they will usually not result in a resignation. In western firms, reentry problems need to be taken more seriously by personnel managers because they frequently result in the loss of a valued employee. A further possible explanation for the higher incidence of expatriate reentry problems in western multinationals is the greater tendency of those companies to implement a policy of transferring local nationals to headquarters or other international operations. Under such a policy, the definition of expatriate expands beyond home-country nationals to en ­compass local nationals who transfer outside their home countries. It may even be that local nationals who return to a local operation after working at headquarters or other international operations may have their own special varieties of reentry problems. Literature on international human resource practices in Japan, the US and Europe suggest that the major strategic difficulty for the MNCs is to attract high-caliber local nationals to work for the company. In general, acquisitions may face greater challenges in hiring high-caliber local employees than do domestic firms due to lack of name recognition and fewer relationships with educators or others who might recommend candidates. However, researchers suggest that this issue is significantly more difficult for Japanese than for US and European multinationals. When asked to describe problems encoun ­tered in establishing their US affiliates, 39.5% of the respondents to a Japan Society survey cited finding qualified American managers to work in the affiliate and 30.8% cited hiring a qualified workforce (Bob ; SRI, 2001). Similarly, a survey of Japanese companies operating in the US conducted by a human resource consulting firm found that 35% felt recruiting personnel to be very difficult or extremely difficult, and 56% felt it to be difficult (The Wyatt Company, 1999). In addition to mentioned problem, Japanese acquisition encounter high local employee turnover, which is significantly more prob ­lematic for them due to the near-total absence of turnover to which they are accustomed in Japan. The US, European and Japanese companies admit very rarely that they encounter local legal challenges to their personnel policies. However, in regard to Japanese acquisitions large   amount of press coverage has been given to lawsuits against Japanese companies in the United States and a Japanese Ministry of Labor Survey in which 57% of the 331 respondents indicated that they were facing potential equal employ ­ment opportunity-related lawsuits in the United States (Shibuya, 2000). Conclusion This research investigates whether corporate acquisitions with shared technological resources or participation in similar product markets realize superior economic returns in comparison with unrelated acquisitions. The rationale for superior economic performance in related acquisitions derives from the synergies that are expected through a combination of supplementary or complementary resources. It is clear from the results of this research that acquired firms in related acquisitions have higher returns than acquired firms in unrelated acqui ­sitions. This implies that the related acquired firm benefits more from the acquirer than the unrelated acquired firm. The higher returns for the related acquired firms suggest that the combination with the acquirer’s resources has higher value implications than the combination of two unrelated firms. This is supported by the higher total wealth gains which were observed in related acquisitions. I did however, in the case of acquiring firms, find that the abnormal returns directly attributable to the acquisition transaction are not significant. There are reasons to believe that the announcement effects of the transaction on the returns to acquirers are less easily detected than for target firms. First, an acquisition by a firm affects only part of its businesses, while affecting all the assets (in control-oriented acqui ­sitions) of the target firm. Thus the measurability of effects on acquirers is attenuated. Second, if an acquisition is one event in a series of implicit moves constituting a diversification program, its individual effect as a market signal would be mitigated. It is also likely that the theoretical argument which postulates that related acquisitions create wealth for acquirers may be underspecified. Relatedness is often multifaceted, suggesting that the resources of the target firm may be of value to many firms, thus increasing the relative bargaining power of the target vis-a-vis the potential buyers. Even in the absence of explicit competition for the target (multiple bidding), the premiums paid for control are a substantial fraction of the total gains available from the transaction. For managers, some implications from the research can be offered. First, it seems quite clear from the data that a firm seeking to be acquired will realize higher returns if it is sold to a related than an unrelated firm. This counsel is consistent with the view that the market recognizes synergistic combinations and values them accordingly. Second, managers in acquiring firms may be advised to scrutinize carefully the expected gains in related and unrelated acquisitions. For managers the issue of concern is not whether or not a given kind of acquisition creates a significant total amount of wealth, but what percentage of that wealth they can expect to accrue to their firms. Thus, although acquisitions involving related technologies or product market yield higher total gains, pricing mechanisms in the market for corporate acquisitions reflect the gains primarily on the target company. Interpreting these results conservatively, one may offer the argument that expected gains for acquiring firms are competed away in the bidding process, with stockholders of target firms obtaining high proportions of the gains. On a pragmatic level this research underscores the need to combine what may be called the theoretical with the practical. In the case of acquisitions, pragmatic issues like implicit and explicit competition for a target firm alter the theoretical expectations of gains from an acquisition transaction. Further efforts to clarify these issues theoretically and empirically will increase our understanding of these important phenomena. Bibliography Sharpe WF. 1964. Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk. Journal of Finance 19: 425-442 Markowitz H. 1952. Portfolio selections. Journal of Finance 7: 77-91 Grossman W, Hoskisson R. 1998. CEO pay at the crossroads of Wall Street and Main: toward the strategic design of executive compensation. Academy of Management Executive 12: 43-57 Amihud Y, Lev B. 1999. Does corporate ownership structure affect its strategy towards diversification? Strategic Management Journal 20(11): 1063-1069 Agrawal A, Mandelker G. 1987. Managerial incentives and corporate investment and financing decisions. Journal of Finance 42: 823-837 Wright P, Ferris S, Sarin A, Awasthi V. 1996. The impact of corporate insider, blockholder, and institutional equity ownership on firm risk-taking. Academy of Management Journal 39: 441-463 McConnell JJ, Servaes H. 1990. Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value. Journal of Financial Economics 27: 595-612. Shivdasani A. 1993. Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers. Journal of Accounting and Economics 16: 167-198 Stulz RM. 1988. Managerial control of voting rights: financing policies and the market for corporate control. Journal of Financial Economics 20: 25-54 Varaiya N. 1987. Determinants of premiums in acquisition transactions. Managerial and Decision Economics 14: 175-184 Collis D, Montgomery C. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. Harvard Business Review 76(3): 71-83 White, M. 1988. The Japanese overseas: Can they go home again? New York: The Free Press. Bob, D., ; SRI International. 2001. Japanese companies in American communities. New York: The Japan Society.