Saturday, August 31, 2019

Outsiders Compare and Contrast

The Outsiders book and movie were completely different, but they still had some similarities. Like how they both talk about the lives of the characters, for example the movie doesn’t talk about Johnny’s abusive parents or any of the socs. In the book they talk about bobs and cheery valances life. There are a lot of appearance-related differences. For instance, Dally's supposed to have this lynx-like, almost elfin look with ungreased hair so blonde it's nearly white. Soda's hair is supposed to be dark gold.Pony's hair is supposed to be like Soda's hair but slightly redder. Steve's hair is supposed to be slicked back in very complicated black swirls. Two-Bit's supposed to be tall with rusty hair and exaggerated sideburns. The movie cut out all of the Sandy drama I thought the movie made Two-Bit more serious. He cracked some jokes, but the book made him out to be fiercely playful and whatnot, almost always being wise. The movie placed a bit of emphasis — not much, b ut still — on Dally's necklace, which was nonexistent in the book. In the movie, he wore a St.Christopher medallion. The movie made Soda seem considerably less happy than the book made him out to be — that is, the book made it clear he was naturally a happy person who got â€Å"drunk off life,† but in the movie, he was awfully happy a lot of the time so the audience didn't know this character trait. The movie skims over Pony's illness after the rumble, during which time Randy visits their home. The regular movie edition skips the entire first chapter pretty solidly, but the extended opening does tell you about the first chapter.The movie makes no mention of Soda's horse, Mickey Mouse. It also ignores Soda's past dabbling in rodeo bronco-riding. In the movie, the Socs are from the south side of town and the greasers are from the north. In the book, the Socs are from the west and the greasers from the east. In the movie, when Pony comes home from the lot at two in the morning, Darry shoves him hard and he falls. In the book Darry just slaps him across the face.The movie, understandably, drops some of the banter between Two-Bit and Marcia at the movies. As far as I remember the movie didn't include Dally messing around. Little scenes like Dally terrorizing those kids weren't in the book. The movie showed Dally alone at the store when he held it up, whereas the book didn't describe that. The movie showed Pony's dreams. The movie never mentions that girl who looks good in yellow, the one who called Pony a hood when he whipped out his blade during class to cut a worm.

Friday, August 30, 2019

A review of financial reporting from a range of construction industry sectors

Annual reports have changed quite dramatically between mid 1970s and today. The overall amount of information given has increased considerably, and this is equally true for the financial statements and the discussion section of the annual report.New financial statements have emerged with the funds flow/cash flow statement or more recently the statement of total recognised gains and losses, and existing statements now offer a greater level of dis-aggregation.â€Å"In addition to the basic financial statements underwriters expect to find schedules of contracts in progress and completed contracts and a reconciliation of the income and the costs of these contracts to the current year's income statement.Certain balance sheet accounts are unique to the construction industry– costs in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts (an asset) or billings in excess of costs (a liability). Using the percentage of completion method costs in excess of billing result when the billings on unc ompleted contracts are less than the income earned to date.These under billings result in increased assets. Conversely, where billings are greater than the income earned on uncompleted contracts, a liability, billings in excess of costs results. Many bonding companies request other specific information as supplementary data. A timely and detailed response can provide many answers to bonding agent's questions and increase the likelihood of a positive reaction to a request for bonding.The absence of the appropriate and sufficient information in the financial statements will give rise to scepticism and, at the very least, additional questions from the survey.As a result the TABULAR DATA OMITTED bonding agent will be seriously inhibited in his or her attempt to convince the insurance carrier that the reward outweighs the risk of providing performance bonds for the contractor.† (Dufek, 1992)2-2- Shareholders Users of annual reports are many and varied, but it is generally agreed th at investors form one of the largest and most important groups of potential users (Day, 1986). It is generally recognised that information contained in company financial reports should be useful to shareholders in their investment activities.Yet if annual reports are to succeed in being a primary means of communication between the business enterprise and its shareholders, they must contain disclosed information that shareholders need in order to take their investment decision (Lee and Tweedie, 1975).2-3- Disclosure of risk As defined by the ASB (1998) risk is â€Å"Uncertainty as to amount of benefits. The term includes both potential for gain and exposure to loss.† Risk thus is essential to an enterprise, because it is inherent in the pursuit of opportunities to earn return for its owners.It follows that in order to understand properly the potential for the future performance of any company; investors need a proper understanding of the risks it undertakes. This will be based on the following information

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Spotlighting municipal goverments in Texas Research Paper

Spotlighting municipal goverments in Texas - Research Paper Example The paper will also consider the policies put in place by the city’s government to promote economic growth in the city. Houston is the largest city in Texas. It is also the fourth largest city in the whole of the United States of America. The form of government in the city of Houston is a strong and stable mayoral form of municipal government. There is devolution of power from the central Texas government to the city, in which the municipal government sets up rules that are relevant to the city. The city council in Houston consists of three major categories of officials, that is, the mayor, the city controller and 16 members of the city council. The city mayor holds several functions that include but not limited to The city’s chief administrator An executive officer to the city council An official representative of the city in the central government The general manager of the city Ensuring that law and order are enforced within the city The city controller, on the other hand, performs mainly the function of certifying the funds available to the city council before these funds are used and/or disbursements are processed. The 16 members of the city council operate in conjunction with the city’s mayor. ... The elections of the city officials are culturally non-partisan, in which the party affiliation of a particular candidate, plays an inferior role in his/her election. Elections are carried out after every two years for all the city officials (mayor, city controller or council members), and they can serve to a maximum of three terms in office. The city controller’s election is customarily independent of the election of the mayor and the city council members. For the 16 council members, elections from districts contribute eleven members while the remaining five are at large, elected by all voters of the city (Feld and Donald 896) The fact that the districts, as well as the city at large, participate in the elections of the city council officials, it implies that these are very strong positions. The eleven council members from the districts represent the districts at large, indicating that the views of the citizens in these districts have a representation at any council meeting. The mayor’s position is a very strong seat given the powers bestowed upon him/her from the Houston’s 1991 referendum (the roles listed above). The mayor’s role as the chief executive officer, as well as the city’s chief administrator, makes him/her an important official in ensuring a progressive development in the city. The city’s ratio of revenue spending to available resources balance is a crucial role the mayor must give a consideration (Feld and Donald 912). The issuance of social services like schools, health facilities, recreation, and security has at times been a challenge to many cities. Financial issues like health insurance, pensions, and employee pay also add up to the many challenges that

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Juvenile Detainees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Juvenile Detainees - Research Paper Example s responsibility to ensure that the young detainees are provided with special education and psychological restoration, in order to help them regain their well-being and prevent recidivism. Correctional officers come across many unique situations in their profession, where the detainees require special attention and consideration. Cases of substance abuse, sexual abuse, children suffering from mental disorders, those belonging to minority groups and children with disabilities often come under this purview. The role of a juvenile correctional officer is probably one of the most challenging ones, requiring a strong sense of solidarity as well as sensibility towards the juvenile detainees. The responsibilities of a correctional officer extend beyond mere provision of security and supervision. The future of a juvenile detainee often depends on the actions of his/her correctional officer. Such a role can only be fully surmised when the tasks, responsibilities and the tribulations faced by an officer, in relation to the detainees assigned to him, are fully understood. The neurobiological and psychological states of children and adolescents are very fragile, especially in the case of juvenile delinquents. Most juvenile offenders are found to have psychological disorders and mental ailments, which expose them and the correctional officers to dangerous and often life threatening situations. Young detainees are found to have a higher incidence of suicidal tendencies, substance abuse and crimina l inclinations that often place correctional officers in unique situations that need to be dealt with meticulous, clever as well as humanitarian approaches. On account of their violent history, juvenile delinquents take a long time to

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Popular culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Popular culture - Essay Example The main character is ostensibly Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale), a handsome, conniving lawyer who has to go to a community college when he is revealed to have a fake degree. However, the key character is actually Abed Nadir, a young Arab-American who has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. This plays on the audience’s assumption that the handsome white man is always the hero and the most important character. For the first few episodes, the audience is led to believe that the show is about Jeff and his pursuit of the beautiful blonde Britta while a group of co-stars provide comic relief; later we see that the show is actually about Abed and his attempts to understand other people. Because of his Asperger’s syndrome, Abed is fixated on television and movies, and comparing everything in his life to TV and movies is his only way to relate to the people around him. Every episode either references the plot of specific movies and shows, or parodies a particular genre of movies. As the viewer watches for several episodes, it becomes apparent that the entire show is filtered through Abed’s perspective. This is different from other shows. With nearly all other TV shows, there is an unspoken agreement between the makers of the show and the audience that the audience will suspend their disbelief and pretend for an hour or a half an hour each week that the events in the show are true. Community betrays this agreement by subtly suggesting to the audience that the events in the show might not be real. Of course the audience knows this, but everyone is supposed to pretend that that’s not the case. It then makes the audience unsure of what is real within the world of the show. Is Abed real? Is he imagining everything, or just modifying reality a little bit? If we could see the show from outside of Abed’s perspective, would the characters even really be Abed’s friends, and would any of the events we’ve seen them ena ct have actually happened? The humor in the show requires the audience to have a base of knowledge about pop-culture in order to get the jokes. The show doesn’t assume that the audience is stupid and needs everything to be simple or have everything explained to them, but instead assumes a certain amount of shared cultural experience. The assumption is that enough people have seen The Breakfast Club, for example, or perhaps Pulp Fiction, that when an episode references one of those movies, most of the audience will get it. According to Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, this is a recent phenomenon in television. TV used to be much simpler and did not require the same amount of memory or mental work to understand. This points to an increase in the demand by audiences for more intelligent and challenging humor (85-87). Community also does not give the same clear-cut moral messages that other TV shows did in the past. Most television shows from previous era s held to the same moral and political values. They preached against racism and in favor of diversity, paid lip-service to feminism while still mostly showing women in traditional roles, and spoke in favor of traditional â€Å"family values.† Community portrays a world where things are not that simple. For example, it shows rather than tells us that race and diversity is a confusing topic and that things do not fit perfectly into a â€Å"

Monday, August 26, 2019

Managers Are Increasingly Recognised As Powerful And Privileged Essay

Managers Are Increasingly Recognised As Powerful And Privileged Individuals Who Are Not Always Held Accountable For Their Actions. Should This Power Be Regulated - Essay Example One such living example is the case of MG Rover, a Britain based car company that has suffered the consequences. It is time, we learn our lessons, and along with the wings of power, render the reins of responsibility. MG Rover, apparently the last British owned mass-producer of cars in the British motor industry was established in the year 2000 by the merger of MG and Rover from BMW. At that point of time, BMW sold, rather abandoned Rover at throwaway prices. They offered an interest free loan of 427 million, repayable by 2049 to those who were willing to take it. Along with this, the buyer would be left with 350 million worth of unsold cars along with the alluring cash dowry of 112 million. This made Phoenix interested in the deal and enter the arena. The Phoenix consortium comprised of British businessmen and was headed by John Towers, former Rovers executive. They bought the company for 10, and emerged as saviors for Rover at that point of time. The organization showed a downfall as it exchanged hands, but deals like the purchase of the Qvale of Italy in 2001 went on. It collaborated with Tata, India in 2002 and also launched MG SV and SV-R in 2003, followed by launch of Rover CityRover. During its peak, the company employed approximately 170,000 workers. In the year 2004, the organization entered into talks with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). A collaborative deal that was negotiated between the two companies fell through in the year 2005, forcing MG Rover into insolvency. The company entered into administration in April 2005. Because of the company's failure, 6000 workers lost their jobs and thousands of jobs in related sectors of the supply chain were threatened. Not just this, the entire economy of West Midlands suffered a blow because of the mistakes made by a handful of people. Where what went wrong The reasons why MG Rover failed were many. The car company, as it exchanged hands was almost always in troubled waters. One reason why Rover lost its brand value goes to over 25 years ago, where the cars were not as high quality. Even though efforts to improve quality were made, the brand image of a lower quality had already been built. The management was myopic in its approach and overlooked the real opportunities. Also the British public did not support the car much, as they preferred to buy foreign brands over the Britain based MG Rover. Many experts also feel that had the government rendered a timely response, much could have been saved. In May 2000, the Blair government had praised the Phoenix for its efforts for taking big risks. They had also promised everything that could be possibly done to save the company. But the response was not as timely as it could have been. The government has now however come up with the 150 million package, where workers are being paid the amount, to stay at home. However had action been taken four years ago, and the firm been nationalized, probably workers could have been paid much more in compensation. It is also an important lesson for the present government on choosing the right leaders/ managers for an organization. However actual disaster was with the management and its operations. For four years, the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Impact of Agricultural Revolution on Relationship between Men and Essay

Impact of Agricultural Revolution on Relationship between Men and Women, Civilization - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the dawn of Ice Age provided abundant natural resources to the human being and allowed them to settle at one place rather than wandering between places for food and other natural resources. People started to build permanent settlements and started to live in gatherings by cultivating certain grasses such as oats, wheat and barley which catered to the needs larger groups of people. As people started to live in settlements and communities, agricultural continued on large scales which lead to critical changes in the society. According to Shard, man and women, both, used to roam different places in search of food while agricultural revolution made man to work harder to dominate nature’s processes. During this period, people tried to deliberately alter the ecological system by cultivating the soil, selecting seeds, and breeding animals that could help them survive. The change in the lifestyle of the people who has undertaken agricult ure instead of hunting was enormous and profound as they live with us even today. The revolution had several impacts on various factors including the lifestyle of men and women, their relationship and future civilization. As world was witnessing the end of ice age, most of the people settled at one place so that they could exploit the natural resources for their own good. This led to creation of permanent settlements and population growth as mentioned by Duiker and Spielvogel that the change to systematic agriculture in the Neolithic age affected the relationship and lifestyle of both men and women.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Immigration - Essay Example Despite the fact that the force to search for better fortunes across the borders is too powerful to resist, it is not always gratifying since problems also exist in the US for the immigrants. To illustrate this, Nazario (12) reckons that Enrique decides to travel to the US since his mother’s expectations of changing their life are foiled with time, to an extent that she even stops calling home. Life in third world countries around the world, particularly those in South America, Central America and neighboring Mexico is difficult due to underdevelopment. The difficult conditions at home for the immigrants make the case for immigration powerful such that not even immigration laws can stand in the quest for a better life across the border. Lack of proper services in home countries of the immigrating population when or poor service delivery when compared to the US triggers survival interests for instance when involving food and medical services. As an illustration, child protection services are poor or inexistent such that children struggle to look for their parents who leave them behind. â€Å"What kind of desperation, I wondered, pushes children as young as seven year old to set out, alone through such a hostile landscape†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Nazario xiii) Other services such as safety and security as well as justice are not as advanced in the third world setting, which compel movement in search of delivery of such in the US (Brick and Rosenblun 5). Several immigrants seek to reunite with their family members such as children in search of their parents who leave them and immigrate to the US never to return home. Under the circumstances of family reunion reasons, blood ties form a very strong force propelling immigrants to cross over the borders despite strict legal regulations. The seriousness of some of the above risks to living a normal life as a

Globalisation of Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Globalisation of Markets - Essay Example Globalisation of Markets Levitt’s research relies on secondary data, observation and statistical evidence pertaining to the globalisation of markets via technological innovation and the emergence of global products. He does not define his research strategy, nor does he clearly specify his data sources. This, however, does not detract from the value of his study as what emerges is a highly valuable and well-articulated explanation of an emergent market phenomenon. Levitt concludes that the world has become flat and that corporate entities must tailor their marketing strategies for greater consistency with this new reality. As he contends, the flattening of the world/globalisation, has led to the evolution of the global consumer, with the implication being that consumer preferences are no longer determined by geography and culture. In addition, emergent technologies have transformed economic realities in such a way that national borders are increasingly porous, thereby facilitating the transnational flow of goods and services. It is contingent upon companies to address the new reality, as accurately described and defined by Levitt, if they are to remain competitive within the parameters of a globalised economy while, at the same time, exploit the economic potentials of this reality. Levitt’s article, as may have been deduced from the preceding, emerges as a definitive introduction to globalisation and its impact on international business operations. Levitt provides a precise and concise definition and discussion of this new reality, alongside a prescript for business and marketing strategies therein.