Article Rebuttal Essay

The author stated that, â€Å"There is a difference between a married couple and a same-sex couple in a long-term relationship. The difference is between the duties that marriage imposes on married people–not rights, but rather onerous obligations–which do not apply to same-sex love. † This statement, in my opinion, is completely untrue. All relationships can be difficult and time consuming, the statement would have more truth if the author of was talking about all relationships or marriages. When reading the article, I took every word as people that are in a same sex relationship can’t have a normal marriage or a normal family and normal life and that is why same sex marriage will ultimately fail. The only thing that is different about same sex marriage is that the genders of both people are the same. This doesn’t mean that the two people can’t have children, it just means they can‘t have them in the traditional way. Homosexuals that are married can have a normal life; they just might have to face other judgmental people, which they face even without being married. This author had no credibility, no fact or anything to back up his argument. There were not any reliable sources in this argument which makes me believe that everything about this article was just the opinion of the author. While I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I believe one should have reliable sources and make valid points before writing an article and making it public especially on such a controversial topic. Reference; http://www. weeklystandard. com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/533narty. asp

British Aerospace Company

To document operational impact based on currently implemented strategies and show potential effects if continued based on forecasted data results by a financial model. Parties Parties Involves BAE Systems Board of Directors and the Business Consultant (Student’s Name). Methods and Processes A review of the company’s background information that has led to the strategy proposal and presentation of forecasted financial data by the use of financial models. Outputs/Deliverables BAE Systems will have a clear understanding of its current financial position and may reconsider the consultant’s recommended approach on strategy.Time Frame The final report shall be submitted to BAE Systems Board of Directors by May 9 2019. Cost Estimate Still negotiable based on the approval and implementation of the proposed strategy. 2) Executive summary The aim for this report is to study the strategies implemented by BAE Systems during the last accounting year. BAE Systems with its 106,0 00 employees worldwide delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, Information technology solutions and customer support services (BAE Systems 2010).With the application of the company’s annual report for 2009 this study will analyse by comparing its strategies to a newly proposed one by showing financial projections using valuation models. 3) Proposition of a new strategy for BAE Systems The Aerospace and Global Defence industry can be considered an extremely cyclical. As seen on annual reports of the companies belonging to this industry year to year revenue figures can fluctuate dramatically (Brylawski 1995).And currently this industry have also its share of intense competition, challenges on meeting government regulations and securing large defence contracts. Currently, BAE systems is the largest aerospace and global defence contractors in the world (West 2010). Operating as a group in seven home markets with a wide portfolio of products and capabilities serving defence customers across the air, land and sea domains (BAE Systems 2010:5). But based on its Annual report on the previous fiscal year, it posted a net loss of ?45 million (see Appendix 2 : Group Income Statement), despite the annual revenue of ? 22. 4 billion and the underlying operating income of ? 982 million. The loss was mainly due to regulation penalties incurred during that fiscal year. This report is to provide a strategy that would ensure profitability on years to come given the volatility of the industry of BAE systems and the effects of inflation (which rose from 2. 9% to 3. 5% in 2009). Strategy taking into account methods to raise revenue, cost reduction and effective corporate governance would be recommended. 3.1 General competitive position of BAE Systems On the group current strategy based on its vision in which to be the premier global defence, security and aerospace company; and mission to remain to deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value through a commitment to Total Performance (BAE Systems 2010:14). The current focus of strategy is positioning to optimise progress the business in the current environment, the Group Strategic Framework continues to develop to recognise against the strategic objectives, and to highlight the Group’s focus on delivery and performance (BAE Systems 2010:14).This strategy has worked effectively during all the acquisitions and disposals transacted from the year 200 to 2009. For the group/department of BAE systems the Electronics, Intelligence & Support, the acquisition on the year 2000 of two former Lockheed Martin businesses, Control Systems and Aerospace Electronics Systems, have made BAE and the group the world leader in digital engine controls, flight controls and electronic warfare solutions.For the Land & Armaments group, another key strategy of acquisition that has established a global land systems business was implemented on years 2004, 2005 and 2007, when the company acquired Alvis, United Defense and Armor Holdings respectively. For the Programmes & Support Division, another key acquisition that has provided access to government security business was done in 2008, when the company have finally acquired Detica and together with the acquisition of VT Group’s shipbuilding business has further strengthened the Group’s global maritime business (BAE Systems 2010:16).And lastly for the international sector BAE as a group has become Australia’s largest defence contractor primarily due to the acquisition of Tenix Defence in 2008 (Smith & Frost 2008). According to the firms most current Annual report total sales revenue is at ? 22. 4 billion (see Table 1) an increase of 21% from 2008 numbers, operating income at ? 982 million (see Appendix 2: Group Income Statement), total assets listed at ? 25. 4 billion and total equity at ? 4. 7 billion (2009).Table 1 show the percentage of Sales genera ted by each group under the BAE Systems in 2009 Source extracted from the Annual Report 2009. Using the Porter’s five forces analysis, we can derive a strategy outlining the major forces in Aerospace & Global Defence Industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers BAE Systems has a wide range of suppliers for both large and small companies, thus if decided to switch; costs is not an issue, as long it can find a better supplier that can match technological capability to customer requirements.Currently BAE systems apply SBAC 21st Century Supply Chain Programme – SC21 tools and techniques for operational performance management and the tiered approach to supplier management (BAE Systems 2010). There are some areas of production for BAE like the creation of fighter aircrafts in which its supplier’s are usually concentrated and has strong labor unions, but again due to diversity of the overall business operations of BAE the assessment of this supplier power can be considered at medium risk.Threat of Substitutes BAE systems is aware of its competitors’ ability to provide other substitute weaponry to its customers, but not every competitor can offer in-house equipment and production quality that BAE can actually deliver. The threat of substitute can be considered medium, because there is still the existence of low priced but relatively competitive arms and weapons companies in the aerospace industry. Bargaining Power of BuyersThe power of buyers describes the effect that the firm’s customers have on the profitability of BAE overall. Even though based in the UK, BAE’s main buyers are in the US. BAE’s US subsidiary alone has accounted for 58. 5% of total group sales (West 2010). The US Government in defence is by large have a lot of economic power and because of this the buyer’s power can be considered high due to the challenge of capturing a high proportion of the value created is reduced.BAE’s large buyers have si gnificant leverage to negotiate lower prices because of the threat of losing a buyer that accounts for more than a half of total sales revenue, BAE is on a weak position. Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants for BAE can be considered low, due to the Aerospace and defence large capital requirements, customer’s brand loyalty, government regulations, economies of scale unique products and BAE’s wide range access to inputs for continuous production.If a new firm decides to enter the market, in order to just compete with the wide range of products and services being currently available for BAE, the former needs to undertake a massive an expensive campaign for marketing just to introduce their products, and the challenge is also the effectively of this marketing campaign since BAE systems have already established a strong brand identity in arms industry.BAE has also the advantage of an advanced production system with key access to inputs, which a new firm may be overwhelmed to know that in order to be at par with the existing firms it has to have an outstanding production system with access to key inputs as well. Rivalry among Existing Competitors Among the other forces of this critical framework, the rivalry among BAE’s competitors is quite high. Major competitors globally by BAE are EADS from France, Raytheon from the US, Lockheed Martin and Boeing also from the US, and from the UK Rolls-Royce.Majority of these companies have posted significant high sales revenue for the fiscal year period of 2009, and they also continue to consolidate to remain competitive. Becoming the market leader has been the main goal of all players in the Aerospace and Global defence industry, and with government budget cuts (Wachman 2010), especially in the US, competition on securing large contracts have never been intense. Overall cost of production is significantly high in this field, firms may tend to overproduce and reduce prices to sell more.3. 2 Str ategy recommendation BAE needs to be aware of its Book value and its total earnings, especially on depreciating assets. The strategy recommended, is to continue to acquire financially stable companies to add key improvements to the group, this is just one way to reflect a high closing book value, and dispose or sell, non performing divisions of the group. The BAE group should create a plan to maximize shareholder’s value by buying back their market shares by allocating an appropriate portion of their capital.And due to lack of future contracts, they may opt to cut a portion of their work force just to drive down costs and focus the need to drive efficiencies across the business and the continued development of four global initiatives Land, Security, Readiness & Sustainment and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. 3. 3 Financial forecast To be able to compare and contrast the current and the proposed strategy, financial projection will be employed, to outline key differences and possibl e improvements for the Board of Directors for BAE System, and base their decision on its results. 3. 3. 1 Financial forecast based on current strategyUsing the residual Income and Dividend Valuation Models, we can forecast the 5 year financial projections based on the current strategy, all of the necessary inputs are available in the Balance Sheet of BAE systems (see Appendix 3) except for the Ke (Cost of Equity) in which we will compute as follows. Ke = 17. 6p (projected dividends next year with 10% value projection) + 0. 10 330. 30 GBX ( source: current FT Market data) Ke (Cost of Equity) = is valued at . 15 or 15%. Now we can compute for BAE Systems residual income using data we already have. On Table 3 we can see each individual outputs in millions of ?.

Mexican American War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mexican American War - Essay Example D. Eisenhower, Frederick Merk, and David M. Pletcher in three important works on the Mexican American war. These works are, respectively: So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico, Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History, and The Diplomacy of Annexation. The paper begins by discussing each author's thesis, arguments and evidence provided to support the thesis one at a time. It then discusses the works in a comparative fashion. While this author agrees most strongly with Merk's argument that U.S. expansionism-Manifest Destiny was not some unique strategy that was only pursued by Americans, there are merits to the arguments presented in the two other works. The paper ends with a conclusion summarizing the major points covered. John S. D. Eisenhower's book, So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico is a narrative history of the Mexican American war. Eisenhower has a distinctly "top down" militaristic, traditional historgraphy approach. It is one that emphasizes the VIPs of the war such as presidents and generals - essentially a "great men" view of history. The book is peppered with military details such as battle actions and tactics. One of Eisenhower's contentions is that the great military man, Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron (Santa Anna), who fought for Mexican independence from Spain was just an indiscreet popular figure. Eisenhower argues that these indiscretions in his pleasures and private life of Santa Anna's effectively barred him from belonging to the elite of Mexican society.2 However, Eisenhower doesn't discuss the possibility of a person being able to be both a populist and a member of this elite at the same time. Eisenhower used primarily books as his sources, though some of the books contain collections of primary resources such as letters and official government documents of the day.3 He also used newspapers and periodicals, though again, the majority of these are not primary or contemporary sources4. This is perhaps a reflection of his preference for traditional, "great men" history, in respecting the opinions of other already published historic works. First hand anecdotes are frequently used when Eisenhower discusses the details of events from the battlefields. There are maps included both assist the reader in following and understanding the text, as well as serve to emphasize the author's "headquarter's history" approach.5 The full title of the book So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico 1846-1848 suggests that the book is from the U.S. Side of the war. Substantial sections are written based on earlier writing by North American historians. The breath of research is limited to English sources and, with the exception of three sources, all of non-Mexican origin.6 One of the 'non-Mexican sources is of Fanny Caldern de la Barca's memoirs and de la Barca was born in Scotland7. Eisenhower attempts to be unbiased towards Mexico and Mexicans. This is especially evident in his references to Mexican soldiers who, he concludes, had to fight an unbalanced war just to maintain their national pride. Eisenhower frequently draws attention to their courage as well, especially in reference to the poor, rough leadership they were under. It is rare that a work is completely unbiased, however, and that is the case for So Far From God. Eisenhower's biasis is revealed through the language he uses to refer

Policing diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Policing diversity - Essay Example Remember, the log is an assessed piece of work. You are expected to dedicate at least one hour each week to writing up your lecture log (this way you won’t fall behind). This ‘write-up hour’ comprises your third sociology ‘teaching and learning’ hour (in addition to your one hour lecture and one hour seminar). To help you to structure your notes, we have included sub-headings. Aims and Objectives: you should note down the main aims /objectives/ learning outcomes, of the session. Introduction: you should introduce the lecture topic and pinpoint the main sections/themes of the lecture which you will review. Section 1, Section 2, Section 3: these are here to help you think about how you can divide the lecture content into 3 main themes or blocks. We expect that you will use a minimum of 7 reference ( remember you read for your degree). The lecture log is your personal property. Take care of it. We hope you enjoy the module! The Policing Diversity Team 20 11 Lecture 1 Title: How is male domestic violence managed by multi agency support groups? Date: Aims and Objectives: The aim of this topic is to discover in what ways domestic violence against males is a neglected social issue. The objectives of this discussion are; to explore the relevance of violence against men in society, to discover how society deals with the issue, and to discover which agencies are equipped to deal with the issue when it occurs. Introduction The issue of the abuse of men within a domestic situation is rarely discussed as having a high relevance within society (Meyer-Emerick, 2001, p. 25). Because of gender definitions that tend towards the assumption of characteristics of men as framed by the concept of dominance, when men are beaten and abused there is an additional shame that they must confront within societal and cultural ideals of gender roles. Therefore, the crime often goes unreported, and when it is reported, there are little structures put into place to deal with the issue from the perspective of the needs of the male victim. Section 1: Male Victimization The history of domestic violence primarily centers on the female victim, the prevalence of male violent tendencies towards women having a dominating position in the social discourse. Therefore, agencies and structures for victim assistance are geared towards female interaction and are designed to accommodate women as they try to disengage themselves from hostile living environments. However, when a male is the victim of domestic violence, the system is without many structures in which a man can disengage from his violent home life. Therefore, the way in which the system treats a male victim of domestic abuse is as much a problem as the issue that is bound up in the socialization of social roles and the expectations of the characteristics of the genders. The dynamics of violence within the family are complex and difficult to fully define. Women’s aid groups have evidence that a woman dies at the hand of a family member every three days. Women and children have â€Å"very little power, socially, legally, or financially† and furthermore â€Å"among women aged 15-44 years gender violence accounts for more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic injuries or war put together† (Blundell, Griffiths and McNeill 2003, p. 56). Because of the high prevalence of male abuse against women and the perceived gender unequal balance of

PESTEL of Arsenal Football Club Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PESTEL of Arsenal Football Club - Essay Example The economic condition of the club is really good compared to other clubs; the club has sold players in the recent past at a good profit. The transfer of Samir Nasri from Arsenal to Manchester City was a really good deal for the club, the transfer of Fabregas from Arsenal to Barcelona was also a really good transfer for the club money wise. Economically the club is quite sound, they also generate revenue by selling season tickets and their stadium is arguably one of the best stadiums in Europe. â€Å"Socially the club is really famous and has a large fan base but the fan base can always improve, Arsenal can tap the untapped markets. India is a largely untapped market and Arsenal can easily tap the Indian market but a lot of homework needs to be done in order to do so.† (Hornby, Nick, 1992) Technologically Arsenal is far ahead of most clubs, the club offers all the latest facilities to the players and the coaching staff. The gym is equipped with the most modern of all facilities so that the players can make the full use of the resources available. Environment wise Arsenal needs to do more, the fans often leave trash after almost every game and this is degrading the environment to a large extent, they do not use bins and end up polluting the environment. This needs to be sorted out by the club so that they do not play a role in degrading the environment. ... Legally the club is in safe hands, the financial fair play regulations brought in by UEFA will not affect the club because it does not spend money excessively, this rule will take a toll on clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and so on. SWOT Analysis of Arsenal Football Club Arsenal football club is a very famous club based out of England. It is located in North London and has a very huge fan following. It is also known as the Gunners, the club has gone from strength to strength. Arsene Wenger is the present manager and he has done a fantastic job at the club. The club used to play at Highbury earlier but they have invested a lot of money in building a new stadium â€Å"Emirates Stadium†. The club does not shell out big money in the transfer market and still finish in the top four more often than not in the Barclays Premier League. Arsene Wenger has made some very sagacious signings off late, Arshavin was bought from Saint Petersburg Russia and he has been a sensational signin g for the club. Other major signings include Gallas who was bought from Chelsea, Thomas Vermaelen who was bought from Ajax. Strengths Emirates Stadium: â€Å"The new Emirates Stadium is one of the biggest strengths of Arsenal Football Club; the revenue generated is huge from the tickets and other exhibition events that take place at the stadium. The club can invest a little more in the stadium so as to accommodate more supporters, this will fetch more money through tickets and the club will end up making more revenue.† (Joy, Bernard,  1952) Players: Some of the players who play for Arsenal are world class players and the club should capitalize on the same. A lot of money can be generated through

Legal Issues in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Issues in Business - Essay Example As the plaintiff had to purchase concrete from a different supplier at higher prices, the cost differentials were charged on the defendant and were deducted from the dues. The plaintiff allowed the defendant to resume supply on a condition that the supply would come only from a single plant. On resuming the supply, the defendant failed to supply the ordered quantity of concrete on numerous occasions (at least 42). Shortage of raw materials and plant breakdowns were the two primary reasons cited and on some occasions no reasons were cited by the defendant for non- or short supply of concrete. The plaintiff was again forces to purchase concrete from a different supplier and again at higher prices. The plaintiff charged the defendant for cost differentials and deducted it from the outstanding dues. The defendant on the other hand, maintained events leading to non- or short supply of concrete would fall under Force Majeure and hence the defendant was not liable for the cost differentials . The defendant had to suspend supply of concrete due to plaintiff’s non payment and deduction of cost differentials from outstanding dues. ... 2. Analysis Issues Following are the issues that were raised in the trial court and respective findings that the court has to decide on: Issue (a): Was the contract â€Å"sole supplier† or â€Å"exclusive† contract? The finding of the trial was that the contract was not a â€Å"sole supplier† or â€Å"exclusive contract†. Issue (b): Was the Plaintiff’s claim for cost differentials, incurred due to purchase from an alternate supplier to due defendant’s inability to meet quality requirement, during the suspension period justified and allowed? The finding of the trial court was that the Plaintiff was not allowed to claim cost differentials during the suspension period. Issue (c): Can the defendant use force majeure clause to exempt itself from the liability for non- or short supply? The finding of the trial court was that shortage of raw materials would fall under force majeure but not plant breakdown. Hence, the defendant was liable only non- o r short supply due to plant breakdown. Issue (d): Is the defendant entitled to suspend the supply? The finding of the trial court was that the defendant was entitled to suspend the supply. Issue (e): Was the Plaintiff entitled to terminate the contract? The finding of the trial court was that the Plaintiff was not entitled to terminate. The Plaintiff has appealed against all findings of the trial court. Judgement Following is the judgement of the court on the respective issues. The authorities that have been followed and distinguished have been discussed accordingly: Issue (a): The judgement arrived was that the contract was not a â€Å"sole supplier† or an â€Å"exclusive† contract. The judgement was reached based on the reasons that there was no mention in the contract being an â€Å"exclusive one’ neither was

Lucent Technologies Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lucent Technologies Case - Essay Example In this context, multiple factors can be held liable that had been accountable for getting subjected to this setback. Within these identified factors, the profitability of the company along with the equity multiples are the major deterrents. Apart from these two, the asset turnover had also contributed within this ROE fall (Tagliani, 2009). From the above tables, it can be clearly observed that the asset turnover rate dropped down subsequently from 35.25% in 1998 to 25.64% in 2000. As a result, a drop in the level of ROE and Return on Assets (ROA) can also be estimated. Apart from all these, the company business functionality also appeared to have boosted the long-term debt aspect that in turn had negatively impacted the overall financial stability of Lucent Technologies. In a cause and effect manner, the company’s liquidity went down by drastic levels and thus, resulted in deteriorating the performance of the company in the years 1998, 1999 and 2000 (Palepu & Healy, 2007). Lucent Technologies appeared to have made drastic changes within a very short tenure. With the prime intention of attracting more and more investors, the company made significant amount of efforts towards making its annual statements more transparent and understandable. The table below projects a clear understanding of the types of changes identified in Sales, Accounts Receivable, Inventory and Gross Margin for the five quarterly periods i.e. from December 1998 to December 1999. From the above table, improvement in the sales figures of the company can be indentified during the quarter of March-June 1999 by 12 %. Although, the company attained a growth rate for the consecutive two quarters after the quarter of Dec’1998 to March’1999, but could not retain the growth pace in a sustainable manner. The percentage rate of receivables for the company also dropped subsequently. In term of inventory, it

Jewish Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jewish Discussion - Essay Example Though Lisa’s request can be understandable from a personal standpoint when factoring in the seriousness with which she has began to take her faith over the last 10 years or so, to ensure fairness to both parties, her supervisor’s point should also be considered as well. There are various factors within this scenario that should be looked into before they are able to adequately absorb all the issues that come into play in this situation. The first issue to be taken into consideration is the length of time that Lisa has been seriously practicing her Jewish customs. This is to determine the level of seriousness with which she takes her faith so as to decide whether her request is a genuine one or simply an attempt at getting the weekend free for her own enjoyment. Despite that she did not become a serious practicing Jew until late into her 20s, it should be noted that since then, she has made an attempt to follow the various customs that are required of her for a period o f over ten years. The length of time shows the level of commitment that Lisa has to her Jewish religion and thus it can be decided that her request is a genuine one. ... If Lisa is granted the permission that she seeks, it will seem as if she is receiving special treatment due to her religion, which may bring about a number of complications as a result. The special treatment of one worker over the others may lead to a drop in morale among other issues that would cause a decrease in the level of quality of work output as a result (Levy, 2010). Thus, it is essential for the supervisor to come up with a way that will ensure there is no special treatment that is offered to Lisa. There are various ways for solving this, and this includes Lisa taking on extra shifts during the rest of the week to compensate for the time that she wishes to excuse herself. Another way is through the exchange of shifts with other nurses who may be free during these times which though may take some convincing as it would be hard   to convince one to give up their free weekend. However the maintenance of fairness among employees is the most essential issue and the main concer n that should be upheld. However, the supervisor can be said to have lacked the required cultural competence in the handling of that particular situation. Though his concerns were technically justifiable, the means in which he voiced these concerns could have been done in a better manner. It is always important to take into consideration the feelings of the individual that one is talking to when communicating with a person from the workplace despite the position that either party may hold (Befort & Budd, 2009). His harsh refusal and suggestion that Lisa moves back to New York could be taken out of context according to the nature of the conversation that was taking

Media, Culture and Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Media, Culture and Society - Assignment Example From the research, the number of female celebrities covered in the newspaper was generally lower than that of males in all the newspapers. For instance, in the Daily Mirror, the number of males covered during this period was 12 as compared to that of females which was 6. This gives approximately 33% of female celebrities out of all the celebrities covered. About 90% of the women in the magazines had their images underdressed. On the other hand images of men were well clothed. In the field of sports, the male to female ratio was 3:1.  From the research, the number of female celebrities covered in the newspaper was generally lower than that of males in all the newspapers. For instance, in the Daily Mirror, the number of males covered during this period was 12 as compared to that of females which was 6. This gives approximately 33% of female celebrities out of all the celebrities covered. About 90% of the women in the magazines had their images underdressed. On the other hand images o f men were well clothed. In the field of sports, the male to female ratio was 3:1.   Most of these newspapers showed the dominance of celebrities aged between 16-32 years. Those beyond this range were under-represented with an average percentage of about 20%.the newspapers covered very little regarding children. In addition, the newspapers presented various attitudes concerning the weight and body sizes of celebrities. Words such as ‘sexy’ and ‘hot’ were associated with slim and light weighted ladies. On the other hand, the perceptions of ladies having a weight exceeding 55kg were portrayed negatively. Most of these papers emphasized on sliming. For instance, both the ‘The Daily Mirror’ and ‘The Sun’ had an article headed â€Å"How to slim in 1 month†. Several conclusions can be pulled from this study. Generally, the males dominate the celebrity field. This implies that gender equality is suppressed in the Newspapers. In a ddition, young people are the majority in the newspapers. It can be concluded that those represented are in the sexually active age. The older generation is inactive and hence least covered.   Another important issue regards the field of sports. There are fewer females participating in the field of sports. From this, it is clear that females are not adequately presented in sports activities.

Should cigarette smoking be banned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Should cigarette smoking be banned - Essay Example He gives six reasons for the statement. One of the reasons is that cigarette smoking is harmful and it kills 6million people annually. The inhalable smoke that comes from the tobacco goes into the lungs and it is more dangerous than normal smoking. Cigarette smoking also brings financial burden to the consumers and the treasury. Other hidden costs are the costs of treating people with illnesses that stem from smoking. The tobacco industry has disrupted science. It has eroded human civilization and popular media. Most media houses do not publish a lot of articles about the harmful effects of cigarettes, but they get revenue from advertisements. Cigarette smoking causes air pollution. The last reason is that smoking is not a drug that people should take for fun because it is addictive and it affects people’s decisions. Although the doctor has outlined these reasons in his research, he also points out that prohibition is not effective. The issue of whether to ban cigarette smoking is an enigma. There is still an issue of how effective the ban will be. Some people claim that smoking has some positive aspects like relaxing people and making them feel better. However, the negative effects outweigh the positive

The Belize Barrier Reef Essay Example for Free

The Belize Barrier Reef Essay The Belize Barrier Reef Andrea G. Milbourne SCI 230 June 20, 2010 The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world next to one found in Australia. The reef is Belizes number one tourist attraction. It is home to many different ocean life forms. The reef is in danger of being destroyed. Humans and the rising temperature of the ocean are factors of the reefs danger. There are many conservation groups that are trying to help preserve the reef and its habitants. The barrier reef is 186 miles in length and is 1,000 ft off-shore in the north and 25 iles to the south of the country of Belize. The Belize reef has particularly high species diversity for the region, with about 65 coral species and over 300 fish species. The fish species include sharks, sea turtles, finfish, sponges, tuna, and many more Just to name a few. These species coincide together to produce the reef. Many of the species need one another for food to survive. Larger species tend to feed of smaller ones and the left over materials from the fish are ingested by the smaller species. The Reef is still yet to be fully explored by humans. It is said that there is still ninety percent of the Belize Barrier reef that has yet to be explored by humans. The greatest damage comes from sedimentation, agrochemical run-off, coastal development, tourism and overfishing. Humans destroy the natural habitat of the reef by disturbing it and leaving trash and toxic materials in and around the reef. The reef also sustains damage from overfishing and large commercial fishing boats that try to fish in the shallow parts of the reef. Some large corporations dump oxic chemicals near the reef threatening the wildlife of the reef. There are banana farms near the reef that are quite large. They use fertilizer that helps the bananas to grow. The run off of fertilizer used to grow these bananas is going to the reef and killing the species in it, as well as, the reef itself. The development of hotels and housing affects the reef by cutting into it and disturbing the natural state of the reef. When the country builds developments like this next to the reef it brings more humans to the area to disturb the reef even more. Another reason for the reef being in danger is the fact that the ocean temperature is rising. This causes bleaching of the coral and other parts of the reef. Hurricanes provide damage to the reef every year and it takes time for the reef to naturally repair itself from these damages. While the reef is repairing itself from these natural disasters, the humans cause damage that is irreversible and the reef cannot fully restore itself to normal. The country of Belize does not want to destroy this amazing reef, but it uses the reef for income. The same things that are helping countrys economic system are destroying the reef right before their eyes. The country of Belize tries to educate the visitors and its public as to how to try to help keep the reef clean. There are foundation is a group that is trying to help the Belize government in preserving the Belize Barrier Reef. They have Joined Belize in educating the country and the tourists about the reef and how to protect it. They also educate the businesses around the area to help them take steps in preserving the reef. The UN foundation accepts onations from the public and businesses to give them the resources for the conservation effort. They also help with trying to get legislation passed to protect the reef and the countrys economy. The country of Belize and the conservation groups have already made parts of the reef national parks. Some areas of the reef have also been closed to the public and are considered land preserves so no one is allowed to enter these areas. These steps have helped save portions of the reef from destruction. The reef still needs help to survive. As an individual person you could elp by donating time to the conservation effort. Or by visiting the reef, take care not to disturb the natural habitat of the species living in it. These conservation groups dont want to stop tourism, they Just want educated tourists enjoying one of the worlds amazing places and keep around for many years to come. I think we could all voice our opinion about how we could do our part in the preservation of the reef. If you cant visit the reef or donate to the preservation, you can Join conservation groups and help from you country. There is always the internet. You can give your support to a conservation group of your choice through the internet. There is always something you can do to help the effort. If the barrier reef is not preserved then it will be destroyed. All of the species will not be able to survive and it will affect the area around the reef. The country of Belize will not have the reef for economic purposes. The country may not survive itself without the reef and its species. The fishermen who fish the reef would not have employment. There may be some ocean ife that can only survive in the reef that will be destroyed that we may not even know about. There also will not be a tourist attraction to visit anymore. This would be a big loss to the country and the world around us. I myself have never heard about the Belize Barrier Reef until I received this assignment. I would like to visit the reef one day. I would also like to look for a conservation group that I could Join and do my part to preserve one of the worlds amazing places. References Terracurve (2009) Help protect the Belize Barrier Reef with the support of the United

Theatre HL Theatre Arts Research Investigation Essay Example for Free

Theatre HL Theatre Arts Research Investigation Essay Research Question: Which methods could a theatre company use while performing Jean Anouilhs Antigone, keeping true to and supporting the style of the Theatre of the Absurd? Theatre of the Absurd is a term that was coined by Hungarian-born theatre critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of his 1962 book on the subject. It is refers to a particular style of theatre and the work of a number of mainly European playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s. These plays are all related through the theme of the Absurd, first presented in this way by the French philosopher Albert Camus in his 1942 essay, â€Å"The Myth of Sisyphus† in which he deals with the meaninglessness and absurdity of the human existence and states the belief that life has no purpose. Subsequently he poses the question if the realization and acceptance of this fact must necessarily result in suicide. You can see a clear reflection of this thought in Esslins definition of the Theatre of the Absurd as that which â€Å"strives to express its sense of the senselessness of the human condition and the inadequacy of the rational approach by the open abandonment of rational devices and discursive thought.† The most well-know absurdist playwrights are Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter and Arthur Adamov. It is believed that the uprising of this philosophical movement during this specific time period was triggered by the death, grief and pure misery brought upon the people by World War II, which demonstrated the total brevity of any values and emphasized the precariousness and arbitrariness of human life. The population of Europe had been experiencing terror, hunger and disease on such a traumatizing level of the trench warfare and the holocaust, that they lost all hope in humanity and faith in their god. Thats why this philosophy of meaninglessness developed because people failed to see any reason in life anymore. The psychic trauma of living under the threat of nuclear annihilation has probably also had a great effect on the development of this new form of theatre. Although World War II is thought to have been the catalyst for his movement there are a number of predecessors which are thought to have contributed to its development. Theatre of the Absurd is thought to have originated from the ancient Greece between 550 and 220 BCE from what was know as Old Comedy, particularly from playwrights such as Aristophanes. In Old Comedy there was a satirical treatment of domestic situations and myths on society, politics, literature and the Peloponnesian War that was happening between Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian league, led by sparta. The Absurdist plays share many of these most important characteristics: extensive comedy, mixed with horrific or tragic images; unconventional dialogue full of clichà ©s, wordplay, and nonsense; characters caught in hopeless and illogical situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive and either a parody or dismissal of realism, in attempt to reflect the absurdity of human existence. The aim of absurd plays is to startle, confuse and shock the viewer, waking him up from his boring and conventional life of everyday concerns. The Theatre of the Absurd was something completely new and rebellious to the viewers and was indeed, like some of the playwrights liked to call it, anti-theatre. It was surreal, illogical, conflictless and plotless. The dialogue was total baloney and seemingly without meaning. Unsurprisingly, it was first received with disapproval and lack of understanding. Jean Anouilhs play Antigone, originally produced in Paris in 1942, is a tragedy inspired by and adapted from the ancient greek classic Antigone by Sophocles which was first performed in Athens in the 5th century B.C. The changes he made to the plot, may seem slight in some cases, but create a very different work and theatrical experience with a new taste of political and moral criticism. The main difference is that in Anouilhs version, from the very beginning, a member of the chorus steps forward to perform the prologue, introducing the audience to the plot and the characters of the play. Anouilhs chorus has a very different purpose though than Sophocles had and is of vital significance for the play, ceating a detachment from the play at times in order to address the audience directly. At one point he indicates the difference between melodrama and tragedy, suggesting that Antigone be part of the latter, meaning that her fate is clear and unavoidable. Walter Ince, asks the following philosophical question with an absurd feeling, responding to Anouilhs tragedy: â€Å"If life evokes such complete hopelessness, where is the tragedy in leaving it?†. When performing this play while applying absurdist theatre techniques, we want to keep this feeling of hopelessness alive and demonstrate the absurdity of life. Anouilh has already created a slight absurd feeling making things easier already. His sophisticated distancing of the plot and constant reminder to the audience of the fact that they are merely watching actors in a play seems to me very absurd and â€Å"anti-theatrical†. I imagine this would confuse the viewer and alienate, maybe even irritate and annoy the viewer, as it definitely did in the time of the original performance. Additionally, applying some of the standard absurdist techniques such as having the characters repeat meaningless actions or make the situations seem hopeless absurd. Especially aspects from the play that already seem slightly absurd should be promoted, such as Queen Eurydice knitting until she goes to her room and dies or the three guards that play cards, completely oblivious to the tragedy enrolling before them. On that point, the director would have to decide if he wants to stay true to Anouilhs original text or if he wants to change the dialogues, in which case one could take the meaning out of conversations or insert nonsensical sentences, make the characters talk past each other, without completely losing the plot. The stage setting could be either overly surrealistic, further contributing to the audiences confusion or completely simplistic going as far as not having a setting at all, further emphasizing the anti-theatrical aspects and adding to the alienation of the viewer. Sources: Carlson, Marvin. 1993. Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Expanded ed. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press Ince, Walter. 1968. Forum for Modern Language Studies: Prologue and Chorus in Anouilhs Antigone IV, pp. 277 – 84 Freeman, Ted. 2000. Antigone: Commentary, Anouilhs Antigone. Methuen Drama Student Edition, London, Methuen Publishing

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development Essay

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development Essay The merger of PwC Lybrand in 1998 formed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the big four firms in Singapore and worldwide (Wikipedia, 2010). Boosting a revenue of US$2,935 million in the Asia region for financial year 2010 (PricewaterhouseCoopers Global, 2010), PwCs principal activities include assurance, advisory and tax services, for its clients, in accordance with the latest generally accepted accounting principles. I am attached to assurance Operating Unit 5 (OU5), where in 2010, the department has achieved the following performance: Diagram 1: Assurance OU5 Financial Report (Year ended June 30) Performance Indicators July 2010 August 2010 Revenue $1,083,000 $949,000 Headcount 98 90 Billable hours per month 12,158 9,868 Billable hours Year- to-date 12,158 22,026 Vision What guides the organisation and its people lies in the vision, which is to be a leader in rendering professional services, strategically solving problems for its clients, in order to enhance the values for the firm and its clients. Furthermore, the firm aspire to be a hub to attract, train and retain talents from all over the world, where as many as 163,000 competent and innovative staff in 151 countries play an important role in the creation and moulding of the PwC experience. Diagram 2: PwC Experience As seen in the PwC Experiences flowchart above, the firm emphasises on the building the values of individuals and relationships within the staff and with their clients by understanding their needs and connecting with them. They also launched a new identity (logo) on 17 September 2010, which represents a continuing and paramount desire to create values, achieving goals and building great relationships for its people and its clients (PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, 2010). Organisation Chart The organisation chart of PwC Singapore is attached in appendix A. In an engagement team, the organisation structure would be similar to the diagram below: Diagram 3: Organisation Structure of an Engagement Team Culture The culture of the firm also helped in shaping the overall experience. The firm has an open door policy, which I found comfortable approaching my seniors and managers at any time. In PwC, the staff will be assigned to a career coach and buddy, whose responsibility includes guiding and advising their juniors in making choices or simply, to be a listening ear in times of needs. Besides just work, PwC also focus on work-life balance. Activities such as community services and Certified Public Accountants (CPA) games are organised to provide opportunities for networking with some professionals in the industry and also to promote work-life balance. Roles and Contributions Diagram 4: Simplified flowchart of work flow General At the start of the attachment, I was tasked with simple tasks such as call-over and casting of figures in the financial statements. Though these tasks may seem trivial to some, they were essential to ensure the accuracy of the figures shown in the financial statements, and for the call-over, to ensure that the two copies were similar and the changes that were previously noted, were reflected in the latest copy. Planning During the planning for an engagement, I mapped and imported the trial balance provided by the client into the database system so that the team members would be able to extract figures for the sections that they are responsible for. For the walkthrough, I enquired the clients on their system and noted down for example, how a sale transaction would be processed from the start to the end point. Furthermore, I arranged with the corporate secretary to carry out statutory review. Statutory review is carried out twice for an engagement. The first session would be during the planning stage, where the purpose would be to gain an understanding of the changes in key management personnel and the resolutions passed from the end of the last engagement till current year. The second session would be carried out after financial year end, and this would help the auditors to find out whether any subsequent events such as acquisition of a business unit that would affect the audited figures. Fieldwork After planning, the team would proceed to the clients place to carry out fieldwork. For the accounts receivable section, I performed accounts receivable ageing test, by vouching the major debtors invoices and re-performed the accounts receivable ageing. I took the number of days between the invoice date and year end date, and minus away the credit terms for each individual debtor, to find out the number of aged days. After which, I classified these into ageing bands of intervals of 90, that is, 1 to 90 days, 91 to 180 etc and compared the end results with clients classification. This step was done to test the reliability of the accounts receivable ageing analysis report provided by the client and this would support the substantive analytical review and other substantive analytical testing that were being performed on accounts receivable. For the accounts payable section, I performed the test for unrecorded liabilities to assess if there was any understatement of liabilities, by vouching to the paid invoices after year end to determine if they are current obligations and whether they have been recorded in the current financial year. I also traced to the unpaid invoices after year end to ensure that they have been accounted for in the current year. If the liabilities have not been accounted for in the books, liabilities would be understated. For the fixed asset section, I performed reasonableness test on the depreciation charges, to ensure that depreciation, a form of accounting estimates has been provided accurately. Using the fixed asset cost at the beginning of financial year, I removed the fully depreciated and disposed assets and provided partial depreciation for the new additions during the year. After which, I compared the end results with the clients amounts. If depreciation charges have been underprovided, it would result in overstatement of the fixed assets balance. Follow-up Session After the end of the fieldwork, we will have a follow-up session, to clear outstanding matters such as documents and queries not obtained during fieldwork or to do subsequent reviews after the previous session. I performed accounts recoverability testing by vouching for subsequent receipts after year end. If there were non-recoverable amounts above the pre-set planning materiality, the team would need to discuss with the management to provide for provision. Audit Instructions and Agreed Upon Procedures In addition, I assisted to draft the audit instructions and agreed upon procedures for other PwC firms overseas. PwC firms in the CATSH (China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) regions adopt the same audit methodology. This was because our client was incorporated in Singapore, but their accounting records were kept in overseas. Therefore, taking into consideration the time and cost factors, we would request the PwC firm in the country where the records were kept to carry out the audit for us and to sign an inter-office opinion. Learning Experiences and Achievements Communication Skills One of the most important lessons I have learnt so far is communication skills. In school, we were so used to communicating with our peers and teachers casually. We do not need to prepare beforehand and could speak from our minds. However, from this internship, I came to understand that the way you talk and your message affects the communication with other people. When we are out for engagements, we need to communicate and negotiate among the team, such as on meeting time and venue, delegation of workloads and to clarify instructions. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the most difficult form of communication lies with the client. Every new engagement brings along a whole new team to work together for the client. We have to be selectively and be aware of how and what we enquire the client on. This is especially important as we are not in the clients place most of the times, therefore, we rely on the information that the client provides us with. Also, there might be miscommunication if the client misunderstood our queries. I was assigned to test the controls for payment of expenses. I vouched to the physical suppliers invoices, corresponding payment vouchers and recorded the payment voucher number and telegraphic transfer number. I found out that the payment voucher was not in the usual 6 digits format starting number 6 and it was in the telegraphic transfer format i.e. TT OCBC SG 123456. Being very confused with the arrangements, I approached the Finance Manager, to clarify my doubts. I remembered using the words sequential order and TT number is different in my questions. The client immediately rebutted me, You mean our payment vouchers are not in sequential order? Fortunately, my team in-charge helped me out by clarifying my questions with the client. My original intention was to enquire the use of TT transfer number that is different from the banks reference and to find out the basis on using such formats. After some clarifications, the client explained the change in the use of the formats from Jun e 2010 onwards, a new format for the recording of the payment voucher number, in the way familiar to them. For example, TOS 11 10 07 01 stands for TT OCBC Bank in SGD and where 11 is the currency code for SGD, 10 being year 2010, 07 being the month and 01 being the sequential numbering of the payment voucher. GIRO payment would have the format starting with 65 and payment by cheque will have the numbering starting with 84. From this incident, I have learnt to be tactical with my words and not mention words that might imply that the client was in the wrong. Firstly, we should request the client to walkthrough with us on the system. When they are done with the explanations, we could enquire on the deviations from the general procedures that they have briefed us on previously. I would also write down all the questions that I need to ask on a piece of paper, so as to avoid approaching the client frequently. Building relationships Relationship-building is paramount in the line of assurance, because we are not desk-bound jobs and require frequent travelling. I heard that most clients do not like auditors and we would often be scolded by them. However, I would think otherwise. I felt that it all boils down to how we manage our relationship with our peers, colleagues and clients. I really enjoyed the relationships that I shared with my first engagements client. Before the official working hours, I loved to join their staff at the pantry to chat and also shared with them my working experiences so far. The times that we have laughed were definitely fond memories. My seniors warned me that the Finance Manager was a fierce person who was unwilling to help. However, I realised that after much interactions with him, he would guide and joke with me. Even now, when I called back to follow-up, the staff recognised my voice and sent me the outstanding documents within a short time. I never felt uneasy been recognised as a student. The relationship that I maintained with my seniors was also more like a friend. We would play hard and work hard at the same time. These have definitely taught me not sacrifice work for time used for building of relationships. The close relationships that you have forged so far would be beneficial to you in the future. In school, many of us have Innovation and Enterprise (I E) events in year 3 for our Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) modules. Many of these events require the support of our friends, whether financial or in participation. If we have cherished the relationships with our friends, many of them would be willing to support our events. No one is alone. Therefore, it is important to meet new people, put in efforts in maintaining these relationships and these people could possibly help us even after our studies or internship. Being Proactive and Taking Ownership Being proactive in my attitude and be responsible for the tasks assigned to me was another learning experience for me. I am a slow learner and I should not allow this to affect the progress of the engagement team. As such, I read the prior years financial statements and checked with my team in-charge at least a few days before the engagement if there is anything that I could be help of and to discuss on my job scopes. These efforts paid off when I realised that I was able to relate what I have read in the prior years files to current years audit, as we would normally expect the trend to continue. In addition, going through the walkthrough performed by my seniors has allowed me to know the key management personnel that I may need to approach during fieldwork and to familiarise with the filling system, so as to expedite the vouching process. I believe that taking ownership of the tasks assigned is important. It is being responsible for yourself and others. When someone handles me a task, I would complete it as soon as possible, or if I am busy, I would ask the other interns to assist. This is because the other party have put their trust in you to help them to complete these tasks. If we are not responsible, our seniors would not want to entrust us with tasks and we would miss these opportunities for learning. Similar to the learning experiences in school, when we are assigned projects by our lecturers, we should always put in efforts, and not grumble and submitting substandard work, because the projects are designed to enable us to have a hands-on approach on the concepts learnt in lessons, and to encourage us to do research and explore beyond the lecture notes. Independence During this internship, I became less reliant on my seniors. For my first engagement, there were only 4 people in the team, including myself. My team in-charge resigned before the end of the engagement and both my seniors took annual leave and study leave, leaving myself to do the follow-up for that engagement. My manager was too busy to guide me. In the end, I was sent to do follow-up at the clients place alone for two days. As I was tasked to do only vouching for certain sections during fieldwork , I do not have a good understanding of the clients business and operations, as compared to my seniors and team in-charge who have handled the different sections and have liaised directly with the clients finance manager and director before. I felt nervous, lost and I tried very hard to remember what my seniors and manager had told me. I started on my work and reported to my manager once every few hours, to update her on my progress and obtain feedback from her on the work done so far. I f elt that I was too protected by my seniors and in-charge previously, as they would check my work before submitting my work to the manager for review. For now, there was no one to check my work and I have to think on my feet and complete them with care before submission. As compared with the project work and assignments in school, we could seek our friends help and lecturers opinions before the final submission and do not need to worry about making mistakes. Reflection on an Incident Carelessness For my first engagement, one of the tasks that I was assigned to was to vouch the credit terms for the major debtors. As it was my first time, I was nervous and stressed up over the deadlines. When asked by my team in-charge if I have completed all the vouching, I told her that I have completed the task and she believed me. However, to her dismay, she realised that the section was not completed when we went back to the office. I have forgotten to vouch that particular section and my in-charge had to call up the client to enquire on the details one by one. This has definitely added on her workloads as I understood that the section was due for review by the director that day. I thought that I have learnt my lesson from this incident. However, for the same engagement, but for the follow-up session, my team members were not around and my manager took leave and later on fell ill for another 2 weeks before my follow-up sessions. My manager had told me to keep track of the confirmations and correspondences with the client and third parties while she was away. Upon receipt of the confirmations and correspondences, I have to update in the control sheet, whether the confirmed balance is the same as the balance as shown in the accounts receivable and accounts payable listing. When my manager came back from her medical leave, she alerted me that I have signed and filled in a confirmation, which was actually returned to us, without any confirmation of the balances, as the address for the intercompany in Italy was wrong. Since the signing of the accounts was agreed on 13 December 2010, we were running short of time. My manager reprimanded me for the carelessness. I took immediate action by requesting our client to alert their intercompany in Italy to send a confirmation again, if not, at least, a scanned copy before the signing of the accounts. I regret for not learning my lesson previously as this was a repeat incident. Ever since then, I resolved to be careful in my work and to double check before submission. My manager acknowledged that I have put in efforts in my future tasks ever since that incident. Word Count: 2940 Appendices Appendix A Source: (PwC Singapore, 2010)

The Bluest Eye and the Contemporary American Novel :: Bluest Eye Essays

The Bluest Eye and the Contemporary American Novel There are an infinite number of possible ways to study the development of the American novel. In doing so you invariably have to read a good number of books by American authors. The problem is you can't just walk into the bookstore and pick a few writers, read their novels, and think you understand the way the American novel came about. You have to follow certain guidelines, and read from different time periods to further your understanding. The big question is what novels are worthy of being studied to define the progress of American fiction. What makes one novel more "scholarly" than the rest, and how does it help your understanding. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye has proven to be a book capable of furthering ones education on the subject of the American novel. The reason being that this novel transcends what other writers before her time had done. It stirs emotions in people that hadn't been exposed by previous authors. Yet it reminds them of the classic writers that they have come to love, and who have already made their contributions to the world of American novels. It is from here that a new writer develops their style and continues to change the way people write and the way others think. The specifics on exactly how The Bluest Eye does these amazing things are hard to put into words. Morrison uses some different techniques to get the readers attention. The language is one object used to show the emotions of the characters and convey the message of a passage. Vulgar and slang words are part of the way in which she does things differently. The word fuck probably never appeared in any of Hawthorne's novels. The use of relatively recent forms of black vernacular speech gives the reader a sense of how recently these events have taken place, and how close to home they strike. The reader gets to know the characters pretty well, which helps them to identify with certain situations. All of these examples explain how Morrison creates a story that will be read and remembered. You can't be respected as contributing to a genres development if no one remembers what you did.

Non-Chronological Narration Technique Used in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished :: Unvanquished Essays

Non-Chronological Narration Technique Used in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished The novel The Unvanquished is a about a young boy’s coming of age story, as seen through the eyes of the grown man that he is to become. The great advantage of this form of narration is the ability it grants Faulkner to be able to reach forward and backward through time unrestrained in order to pull the type of significance and lesson from this boy’s story that can only be seen upon reflection. Despite surely being a technique borrowed from the author James Joyce, William Faulkner was arguably the first to realize what this disregard for chronology could offer to a story of values of masculinity. By looking back on what it means to be a man, as opposed to forward, William keeps the lessons of manhood clear and concise, as opposed to the vague and confused path a boy must in actuality take. From the very first lines we see the stark contrast between protagonist and narrator, and the important role it plays. The story opens with the two youthful friends, Ringo and Bayard, fantasizing about the battle in Vicksburg they believed their hero and Bayard’s father, Colonel Sartoris, was fighting. As they stage their own imitation though, the narrator’s tone is completely opposite of the idolatry of the children. He says of their mock Vicksburg landscape, that it was â€Å"possessing even in miniature that ponderable though passive recalcitrance of topography which outweighs artillery, against which the most brilliant of victories and the most tragic of defeats are but the loud noises of a moment.† In this way the narrator has completely laid bare the naivety of the children in getting caught up in the passions of their limited and ultimately insignificant struggles, and even more importantly, the ignorance of the man whom they attempt to emulate. While the story is one of confederate pride, embodied in spirit by the character of Bayard’s father, the narrator is the voice of tempered reflection. He describes the futility of the south’s plight through the metaphor of the children playing. He says of their miniature battle of Vicksburg, â€Å"[It was] the very setting of the stage for conflict a prolonged and wellnigh hopeless ordeal in which we ran, panting and interminable, with the leaking bucket between wellhouse and battlefield,†¦ to join forces†¦against†¦time, before we could engender between us and hold intact the pattern of recapitulant mimic furious victory like a cloth, a shield between ourselves and reality, between us and fact and doom.