Pips Desire to be a Gentleman Essay - 1205 Words

Great Expectations - Why was Pips desire to be a gentleman bound up with winning the love of Estella? In the book Great Expectations Pip has a great desire to become a gentleman. During the times during which the book was set, in the 1800s, a gentleman was someone who was rich, well-spoken and had a good number of contacts in important places. They were the envy of the poor, because the gentlemen looked down upon them, believing themselves to be better. In the book I believe that Charles Dickens put this want of Pips to become a gentleman because it was not dissimilar to his own life. Charles Dickens was moved to Camden Town, London from Chatham at the age of ten and his father was imprisoned on the charge of debt. This†¦show more content†¦Despite this he still seems in awe of her: She seemed much older than I, of course, being a girl, and beautiful and self possessed; and she was as scornful of me as if she had been one-an-twenty, and a queen. So from the start Pip is in awe of Estella because of her beauty. It seems Miss. Havisham has taught her well in that she was supposed to win mens hearts and then break them. This was Miss. Havishams way of seeking revenge on the male sex after she was left at the altar. Everything in Manor House is exactly as it was at that moment when she was left at the altar, and Estella was brought up to seek reprisal on the male sex. Just before Pip first meets Miss. Havisham Estella humiliates Pip in a moment when he was clearly timid about going into Miss. Havishams room first and ask Estella to go in. Estella replies: Dont be ridiculous boy; I am not going in. Estella scorns him again when she comes in to play with him, by the order of Miss. Havisham: He is a common labouring - boy! While they are playing cards also she still mocks him of his inferiority to her: He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy! said Estella with disdain. Estella then ridicules him of his appearance something which Pip was not ashamed of before: What coarse hands he has. And what thick boots. Pip then finds himself looking at his hands and boots, I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a veryShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1324 Words   |  6 Pagesbe achieved through moral education, experience and personal development, rather than the simple acquisition of wealth. The compassion Pip learns from Joe leads him to assist Magwitch, which ultimately results in Pip becoming a gentleman. The secondary characters in Pip’s Bildungsroman help him to find a place within society where he can finally feel happy and fulfilled. Although Pip receives wealth from Magwitch, Dickens demonstrates that his success in migrating from the poorer working class toRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations972 Words   |  4 Pagessensitive. In essence, the narrator not only begins t o yearn for love and acceptance, but he also develops a high desire of becoming a gentleman in order to obtain genuine happiness. According to Pip, being a gentleman is the key to being acknowledged and accepted by his new found love as well as his only way to escape the village life. Subsequently, Pip’s dreams and hopes of becoming a rich gentleman living in the city are finally met even though his quest for true happiness is not. He is met by the busyRead MoreAnalysis: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens951 Words   |  4 Pagesmany different ways. Pips experiences with multiple people when he was a child provides important stepping stones for his journey in becoming a successful gentleman. Specifically, the people that aid Pip in his journey are: his family, namely Mrs. Joe and Mr. Pumblechook, Estella and himself. In the novel, the author develops the idea that these unfortunate experiences in young Pips life are important because they shape and mold Pip into becoming a successful gentleman. Pips miserable childhoodRead MoreIdentity Development in Great Expectations Essay1383 Words   |  6 Pagesprofound effect on Pip’s identity towards the end of the novel. These life-changing events provide the catalyst for the development of Pip’s character from childhood, his adolescence, maturing into a social gentleman, and finally becoming a self-aware man of society. The novel opens with Pip in a church cemetery explaining the origin of his name and contemplating how his parents would look if they were alive. Early in the novel, Dickens begins setting up small parts of Pip’s identity by tellingRead MoreCharacter Analysis in Pip in Charles Dickens ´ Great Expectations1542 Words   |  7 PagesEstella, to become a gentleman. By attempting to rise in his social class Pip then abandons his previous good morals and his family members when he moves to London. Each character has aspirations for Pip which he believes he must fulfill in order to succeed in life. He also sets expectations for his friends and family and becomes disappointed when they do not meet his aspirations. The pressure from all the characters and the pressure he puts on others eventually diminish Pips ideals, because he believesRead MoreThe Influence of Women1225 Words   |  5 Pagesand Biddy, and he learns important lessons from each of them. In the first few chapters, Pip is immediately introduced as having no living parents and, consequently, being the quasi-adopted orphan child of his sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. Pip’s sister, commonly referred to as â€Å"Mrs. Joe†, is said to have raised Pip â€Å"by hand†, which really means that she abused him. When there are guests in the house, he is mocked or chastised by his sister for the guests’ amusement. An exhausted, irritableRead MoreEssay on What Shapes Pip’s Character in Great Expectations?1682 Words   |  7 PagesJoe who nurtures Pip into a mild mannered little boy who goes on happily with his own modest life. She disciplines Pip through frequent corporal punishment especially through tickler, â€Å"a wax-ended piece of cane, worn smooth by collisions with my (Pip’s) tickled frame.† and occasionally tar-water. This clearly introduces to Pip the difference between right and wrong or good and bad. She uses fear to scare Pip off doing ill deeds such as when he keeps asking Mrs Joe about the Hulks and she replies:Read MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens1708 Words   |  7 Pagestitles. Through a refusal to accept that social worth is determined at birth, Pip defies the predated victorian-era class system and proves to himself that hard work and self improvement is the true measure of self worth. The premise for Pip’s questioning of the world around is based upon his ignorance towards his parents’ lives and social standing. Early in the novel, Pip reveals that he had never met his parents, and instead draws narratives of their lives based on the observations ofRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1627 Words   |  7 Pages In Great Expectations, a classic 19th century novel by Charles Dickens, the protagonist Philip Pirrip, primarily referred to as Pip, explores the realms of the world as he begins to discover what it really means to be a â€Å"gentleman† and how social class isn’t as it seems. Pip’s origins derive from his hometown of Kent, where he spends his early years with his best friend and fatherly figure Joe, solely concerned with the guilt of aiding a convict. However, once young Pip encounters cold-hearted andRead More The Theme of Expectations in Charles Dickens Great Expectations 1497 Words   |  6 Pagesexpectation s. Dickens illustrates this theme through the character of Pip, by exploring the idea of ambition and self-improvement. The idea of expectations is the psychological mechanism that encourages Pips development, as he is full of ambition and has Great Expectations about his future. Pips expectations in the novel take three forms: social, moral and educational. By Examining the character of Pip and his three forms of expectations, as well as minor characters, Joe, Magwitch and Estella

Teacher and National Development - 5005 Words

LITERATURE REVIEW It is a known fact today that, there is fall, degradation, lost of value in the nation. There is increase in level of immorality, crime, self centeredness e.t.c which slows down the pace of national development. Many people attributed this to our system of education as people say ‘No nation can grow above the level of her education’. This is to bring to light the significant of the correlation between the three key concepts ‘Education’ ‘Teacher’ and ‘National Development’. EDUCATION Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one†¦show more content†¦The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. Secondary school In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary educationShow MoreRelated I Teach Therefore I Can Essay examples1478 Words   |  6 PagesTherefore I Can George Bernard Shaw wrote that â€Å"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.† Based on this statement, Shaw was either able to do everything or was a poor teacher. A teacher must be able to do and then teach it to others. In order to do this, a teacher must first obtain the skills him/herself. Teachers have the responsibility of providing their students with the skills necessary for success later in life, and the most essential skills are the ability to read and write. Read MoreThe Impact Of Teaching Schools On The Quality Of Teaching And Learning1671 Words   |  7 Pagesdefinitions are outstanding schools that work with other schools to provide high quality training and staff development (ref). They are also looked at as transformational leaders (REF). According to the School White Paper (2010) â€Å"The Importance of Teaching†, the government’s initiative is to develop a national network of teaching schools to lead the training and development of teachers as well as head teachers (DfE 2010). Teaching schools have the freedom and responsibility for managing the school systemsRead MoreNational And State Curriculum Standards868 Words   |  4 PagesNational and State Curriculum Standards Common Core continues to have many teachers in an uproar, but the development of these standards was to help synchronize curriculum across the United States to ensure that students were college and career ready once they graduated high school. In 2009, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers (2010) were responsible for developing the Common Core standards. These groups were two private organizationsRead MoreAdaptive Physical Education class871 Words   |  4 Pages The formal definition of adaptive physical education from the Adaptive Physical Education National Standards is â€Å"Adapted Physical Education is physical education which has been adapted or modified, so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability.† The purpose of an adaptive physical education class is to work on the development of physical skills, fundamental motor skills and patterns, throwing, catching, walking, running, etc, skillsRead MoreProfessional Development in Early Childhood Education Essay1320 Words   |  6 Pages The first few years of a young child’s life, from birth to four years old, are very critical to his/her overall development, due to most of the time, teacher professionals are individuals who play the key and an active role in their early childhood development are teacher professionals who have a passion and a genuine desire to help them learn, grow and succeed in their education. Th ese are just a few roles that early childhood educators plays in the field of early childhood education for workingRead MoreThe Implication Of The National Board Certification On Reading Instruction801 Words   |  4 PagesThe implication of the national board certification on reading instruction is literacy teachers will apply their content knowledge of the processes of the language arts-reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing; and they also come better equip to understand how to teach literacy to students. Furthermore, North Carolina passed the Read to Achieve Law to help children to become proficient in reading before entering fourth grade. Moreover, the correlation of National board for ProfessionalRead MoreChoosing A English / Language Arts Preparation Programs995 Words   |  4 Pagesincorporate language into instruction, and the ability to plan instruction that reflects curriculum integration and interdisciplinary methods (National Council of Teachers of English and National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs, 2010). A lack of substantial amount of research exists on teacher education for preparing new teachers for classroom instruction in reading. Educator preparation program course textbooks present an overarching instructional content that includesRead MoreElementary Education Essay1280 Words   |  6 PagesEducation: Shaping the Minds of the Future Kayla Lovell Composition II Ms. Reed 22 January 2012 Outline Thesis: Elementary teachers may not have highest income, but they have one of the most fulfilling careers. Introduction: When thinking back to elementary school, what most people remember the best, are the teachers they had along the way. Elementary teachers not only introduce their students to the basic concepts of core subjects, they also help pave the path to each student’s future successRead MoreThe Certification Requirements Of A Reading Specialist1554 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood Teaching Certification focuses on attention to social and emotional development, conceptual development, and vocabulary and linguistic concepts (National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, 2009). According to the National Research Council, Reading Specialist offer specialized training in relation to addressing reading difficulties and are an essential tool for giving guidance to classroom teachers (Snow, Burns Griffin, 1998). Although, research does not find a positiveRead MoreEven though Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rates in Africa, the high school pass rate remains at1600 Words   |  7 Pagesexperienced significant educational developments with the building of more schools in marginalized communities, establishment of teacher training colleges, and availability of educational resources. Consequently, school enrollment from 1980 to 1990 increased by 72% courtesy of the â€Å"education for all by 2000† policy (Shizha Kariwo, 2011). Unfortunately, increasing the number of schools and teachers only improved the enrollment, but not the pass rate in the national General Certificate of Secondary

Directors The Senior Persons Of The Company-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Directors The Senior Persons Of The Company? Answer: Introducation The law considers the company as an artificial person which has distinct rights and duties from its stakeholders and directors. It is the important rule of the law that a company will have separate lawful existence but on the other hand the company does all activities through its stakeholder as, the company cannot do all its activities or dealings by itself. It can take all the actions by its members thus the company is introduced in corporate field by the work of its members. All important persons of the company who regulate the activities and who have control over all the dealings related to company are considered as the key personnels in the company. These are the directors and the senior persons of the company hence due to huge influence over the companys activities, the law considered all the director and senior persons as the directing mind and will of the company. Further, the theory of identification came from the very famous case where the court laid down that the company is known for its workers activities (Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd (1915) AC 705). In the current case, the Supreme Court held liable all the stakeholders of the company as the client of the company suffered loss due to the investment scheme of the company (Sugarloaf Hill Nominees Pty Ltd v Rewards Projects Ltd(2011)WASC). Piercing of corporate veil The corporate veil is a legal thought in the corporational law which creates the boundaries between the company and companys member and automatically creates a separate legal entity for the company that too different from its stakeholders. Through corporate veil all the working person of the company can defend themselves from the liability in matter of debt and any other duty and also the stakeholder cannot be held liable for anything more than the shares that they hold in the company thus a stakeholder of the company cannot be held liable personally but on the other hand this is not an absolute aid if the activities of the company prejudice any provision of law or the organization is engaged in any illegal activity then the court has the power to make stakeholders personally liable for even more than his share contributed in the company. Further, there are two legal processes which lead to the cessation of the existence of corporate veil. The first process is lifting the corporate veil in which the court does not consider limited liability section and made responsible every member for the actions of the company as has been done by the member of the company Whereas in the second procedure of piercing corporate veil the court recognizes the power and obligation of the organization as the duty and right of the member. Thus the legal process of piercing corporate veil is the most controversial and prosecuted process in the commercial field as it is the most extensively used theory to recognize the responsibility of the member of the company (SSRN n.d). Reference Davidson, L., 2014, Piercing the corporate veil, viewed 14 September 2017, from: file:///C:/Users/Disha%20Goyal_JPR/Downloads/corporate_structures_piercing_veil_october2004%20(2).pdf Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd (1915) AC 705 SSRN n.d., Lifting of Corporate Veil, viewed 14 September 2017, from: https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=652087122068025070070081106103014027024044014043036071094111022081093091026005095126123009016061033059096098070091088069 115105106027069082063116025013113009014108092025086046083084075068086080118106111064102118126117112114119091105025100070006017 064004EXT=pdf Sugarloaf Hill Nominees Pty Ltd v Rewards Projects Lt

The My Lai Massacre and U.S. Military free essay sample

This paper discusses what occurred during the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam and what may have triggered the U.S. soldiers to murder countless civilians and not the enemies that is, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong armies. The following paper examines how the U.S. military dealt with the moral issues of human death in the Vietnam War, with particular reference to the My Lai Massacre. This paper illustrates and discusses in detail how such an event happened, and examines how the massacre affected the way Americans view the Vietnam War, the governments participation in the war, and the moral issues that go along with the human deaths that are inevitable during wars and conflicts with other nations or enemies of the United States. The My Lai massacre was triggered by a series of events that led to many deaths of the American troops in Vietnam, particularly the 11th Brigade of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Charlie Company, the troop of soldiers that were later accused of mass murdering the civilians in the village of My Lai. We will write a custom essay sample on The My Lai Massacre and U.S. Military or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In a comprehensive report by Mark Gado (2001) of The Crime Library entitled, Into the Dark: The My Lai Massacre, the author discussed in detail several events that have occurred which may be attributed as one reason why the soldiers of the 1st Brigade of the Charlie Company were able to kill many people, civilians who were defenseless against them. Gado discussed the difficulty the Americans were facing in looking for the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong, and one of the solutions that the American military were able to formulate to indirectly inflict harm to the enemy is by destroying all resources that might prove to be helpful to them.

Billy Beane Changing the Game Case

Based on Billy beane â€Å"changing the game† case, explain why and how the Oakland A’s economic situation after 1995 shaped its Compensation strategy In 1995, when the Oakland A team was sold out, Alderson realized that he had to adopt a different approach so that the Oakland A’s would be able to compete well with other teams. In this case, he went ahead and embraced the on-base percentage system, explaining that, if he could get every player to play his part on the production line, then he could pay less for runs than the going rate.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, the better the players played, the higher they were paid by the association. This was done to boost the players morale and increase loyalty, thus avoiding poaching of Oakland A’s players by other organizations. Staffing One of the roles of human resources department involves hiring the most competent employees for the firm through a formal and rigorous selection process, as well as creating a conducive working environment that ensures all the recruited staff remain in the firm for most of their productive life. However, in the contemporary business world, most organizations often outsource some of the processes to recruitment agencies, since they are cheaper to deal with, and the company will not have to undergo the entire process. In the Oakland A‘s organization, Billy Beane recruited the players depending on the skills they seemed to posses. He relied on a method called, scouting, in which, he used a five-tool theory that consisted of the following elements: hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, arm’s strength, and the field ability. In this approach, he used a checklist to indicate how many tools a player possessed. In the system of money ball collected baseball experts that included: players, coaches and managers, and is often subjective.Runs battle in, and battling statistics were used to gauge players; they were the only statistics that were available at the time. Lewis (2003) argues that â€Å"the Oakland A’s’ front office took advantage of more empirical gauges of player performance to field a team that could compete successfully against richer competitors.†Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The management of the Oakland A paid the best players well as a way of retaining them and keeping them from been poached by other competitive baseball agencies (Pedersen et al, 2010). This is in realization that well compensated players will tend to commit their efforts and loyalty to the team. Training and development strategies After Billy beane adopted the system of selecting players based on the 5-tool method, the players went through training. Keeping in mind that they were the best in their high school teams, they did not need much training. They had the notion that their capability in individual performances was crucial in winning games even without having to train for long periods. Primarily, baseball is usually dependent on individual performances. According to Lewis (2004, p. 423), â€Å"in football, a play can only succeed if all players on a team work together in terms of blocking, running, catching, and throwing,† while for baseball to be of numeric value, every pitch, hit, catch or throw depends on a player’s efforts. In this case, when a team comprises of player who are competent in hitting, catching, and throwing, there is a high possibility of being formidable in all games played. Explain how compensation, staffing, and training strategies were aligned with each other to create an overall HR strategy for the Oakland A’s organization Billy Beane employed the use of checklist as a way of hiring players due to the fact that the approach was relatively efficient and reliable. According to Lewis (2003, P. 423), the success of the Oakland was via the application of a unique scientific evaluation method and selection of athletics talent. A checklist assists an organization to systematize and perfectise its hiring process, depending on how many employees it wants to hire at that particular time. In addition, a checklist on how to hire an employee helps you keep track of your recruiting efforts, since one is able to choose between different character and ability of an employee. In addition, a checklist acts as a communication aid during the recruitment process all the way to the completion of hiring process. Moreover, it is employed in training programs for new players. Therefore, having merged the three strategies, the Oakland management was able to lead the Oakland A’s to various wins.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, despite these few merits, there are some potential problems encountered with some human resource strategies used by the Oakland organization. These include staffing strategies, whereby, selection used checklist as a way of selecting potential players as they play. As much as there are advantages to this method, it also contains several limitations, thus it is a poor way of selecting players. First, the checklist method is a behaviorally based approach to performance appraisal that requires raters to observe employees’ behavior and record performance related judgments about these behaviors. The checklist method may be biased in distinguishing the best, average, and poor characteristics of employees. Secondly, it is expensive and time consuming, especially for an organization like Oakland which is large, and may need to rate several players. Moreover, some very ess ential characteristics may pass unnoticed since the method is conducted on sight, hence becoming difficult for the manager to evaluate the athletes effectively. References Lewis, M. (2004). Moneyball. Retried from https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-393-32481-8.html Lewis M. (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. New York: W.W. Norton. Pedersen, P. M. et al. (2010). Contemporary Sports Management. New York: Human Kinetics. This coursework on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case was written and submitted by user Eli Reyes to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Complete Guide to a Writing a Civil Engineering Essay

Complete Guide to a Writing a Civil Engineering Essay Civil engineering is a combination of various professional skills, science, art, and engineering achievement which often depends on the ground on which its structures stand. Civil engineering discipline involves the development of architectural, structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, environmental transportation among other civil systems that focus on the infrastructural needs of the society. The planning and designing of these systems are often covered in courses and texts within various universities. Civil engineers have a duty to understand various disciplines as different projects involve different subjects. However, this cannot be achieved when the specific civil engineering learner does not have necessary essay writing skills. For civil engineering practices, essay writing takes an important role compared to other engineering branches. There is a lot of writing behind civil engineering projects, cost proposals, qualification proposals, memos, reports, scoping notes, reports for site visiting, e-mails, plan sheet notes, to name just a few. Civil engineering has certain writing needs with some other fields; for instance, companies do not stay in business in case they do not write effectively to win a contract. The consequences, however, of writing in civil engineering can be even more profound. Inaccurate writing can lead to harmful consequences, such as an increase in the liability for an organization and significant negative financial results. Also, lack of proper writing skills can lead to negative consequences for the organization. The importance of civil engineering essay writing is evident. Students have to acquire basic essay writing from the organization of the paper to its thorough conclusion in order to work within and outside the discipline. Notably, instructors focus on essay writing skills because they form a path for future proposals that are required in a workplace. Practicing engineers should take note of the importance of essay writing in order to advance their careers and for purposes of proper communication skills. Choose a Valid Topic in Civil Engineering: A Few Ideas from Our Writers For a civil engineering student, choosing a topic can be a difficult task because writing skills are required to be able to finish the related calculations. Therefore, there are specific factors that should be taken into consideration in order to select the appropriate topic for a civil engineering essay. It is often expected that the topic should be deep, interesting, and important for other people. The following illustrations should guide on how to choose on an appropriate topic: Focus on the topic of interest. Choosing a topic for the essay should be based on your preferences. If the chosen topic does not interest you, there will be a challenge in finding the appropriate research data to support the essay. However, if the topic is catchy for the leaner, the quality of work is more likely to be high. Have some knowledge on the topic. It will be almost impossible to write about something you don’t know completely. The writer must choose the topic he or she is confident about. People who choose topics that they have less knowledge about usually fail the research because of the time and expectations, plus the energy placed on research. Therefore, in order to complete the essay in less time with improved quality, the most appropriate choice is within the area of experience. Take the relevant field of experience. The field of experience should be relevant in order to avoid confusion when conducting research. If the chosen topic has no clear connection to the field of experience, the data acquired based on the topic might be limited due to the confusion. Choose a topic that is informative. Instead of focusing on making a discovery on something with low interest, it is important to consider something that is capable of captivating everyone but it also helps to think about limitations and capabilities based on the skills. Consulting journals and publications. Finally, a proper essay needs the research to look into professional journals and publications. It is important to look for articles that are interesting and the information provided to construct a topic. Examples of civil engineering essay topics include: Ways of Improving Water Management System in Urban Areas; Planning and Managing Energy Consumption: Ways of Gaining Maximum Benefit; Similarities and Differences Between Civil and Software Engineering; Geo-Technology Engineering; Effective Ways of Using Underground Resources. Get Ready to Writing a Masterpiece Writing a civil engineering essay can be an overwhelming task. The following prewriting tips will help you when writing an essay on civil engineering: Understand the task: before starting to write, it is important to spend time thinking of the content. The ideas retrieved at this stage should be written down in a free-form, coming up with a general outline that will guide the paper. Skipping this step places the writer at a risk of wasting time or dealing with something that goes against the professor’s expectations. Important: If there are problems with the chosen topic after going through the available content under the chosen topic, it is important to approach the TA or the professor and state clearly the issues being experienced. Reading with a purpose: before writing the essay, an important step to consider is gathering the information through reading. At this stage, the one important thing is to actively engage in the process of reading. Brainstorming: it helps in generating the ideas that will become the thesis of the essay and the points to support it. Coming up with a good thesis will assist in the writing process and will help in organizing the paper. Organization: After brainstorming, the next step should be categorizing the ideas and choosing an appropriate arrangement. As with various writing processes, the organization method, as well as the type of outline, will not be the same, they will have a difference based on the preference of the individual. Title → Thesis Statement → Body Paragraphs The title of the paper should present the whole piece. It should also be the one that provides an overview of the approach and analysis as well as highlights points that should be examined. The civil engineering curriculum involves a properly balanced coursework in basic science, mathematics, and topic related to engineering. The first important thing to focus on before beginning the essay is selecting a good civil engineering thesis. The thesis of the essay will provide a clear statement of the purpose to which the essay is meant to accomplish. It does not involve basically announcing a topic or posting a question or even a fact. Instead, the thesis statement should stand on its own expecting arguments supported by evidence. In this way, the structure of the paper will be outlined in the thesis, giving it a straightforward goal. The thesis paper needs to be properly organized: Choose a quiet and a conducive place to do the essay because it is important to be concentrated; Have a lot of material that will enable as much information as possible to be retrieved for the thesis; There should be rough copies made of the research and the notes combined together. The thesis paper should have the proper structure: A properly structured paper will enhance the essay for better grades; The thesis statement should have a present knowledge, a brief review and should be on point. The body paragraph should be logically connected with the emphasis on relevant ideas. The paragraphs need to follow specific principles beginning with broader statements and becoming more detailed until the specific problem is finally identified in the paper. The first paragraph of the essay should introduce the reader to the paper by grabbing the reader’s attention. The paragraphs should also end with general issues addressed in the essay. For a greater impact, the first sentences are supposed to be broad in scope and should attract the attention of the reader. The sentences that follow should narrow the topic. Such sentences normally should have citations and should build a certain lack of knowledge which results in creating problem statements in the essay. Mind that the body paragraph should have in-text citations. The middle paragraph goes after the introduction paragraph. It is several paragraphs which function as the review. The aim is to provide a citation for the articles addressed. The other paragraphs need to focus on the state-of-art-knowledge. The citations provided in the middle paragraphs should focus on journal articles to the possible extent. The Concluding paragraph is the last paragraph that outlines the other sections; it is the summary of the paper. The last paragraph can either have a general outline of the references or a specific section. These paragraphs have two important roles. The first role is that it completes the contribution of the article within the previous contributions, hence focusing on the extent of contribution. If the conclusion paragraph is not clear, the essay will be formed on a weak foundation. 5 Questions You Have to Answer in the Outline A properly written civil engineering essay takes time; therefore it is important to do some groundwork properly. Even pressed for time, it is always recommended to organize and provide an appropriate structure to the essay. The ideas should be organized in an outline: a point by point sequence of ideas, phrases, and keywords. This will assist in organizing the structure and identifying the relevant and also irrelevant parts of the essay. The outline takes a form of a summary in bullets that will eventually be developed into paragraphs. The essay should be arranged in a logical structure and developed in the form of key sentences. In case the outline is convincing, the success of the article is high. A weak outline, on the other hand, cannot be saved by good writing skills. The outline should ask the following questions: What subject is given for the essay? Identify background data, definitions, or contexts which requires to follow in the paper. What is the thesis of the paper? Identify the organization strategy that will effectively convey the point. What important ideas should the reader learn from the essay? Do they have implications? Post-Writing Tips: How NOT to Make a Mess The key to revising the essay is being able to approach the writing from a different persons perspective. Even though the process is normally not easy, the following civil engineering essay tips will help in editing the essay. Give yourself time for revision; Break down the reviewing process in different stages; Read out loud. Revising the essay allows the writer to analyze the paragraphs of the essay in order to make changes to the draft as well as to make sure the essay is structured in a logical way that supports the claims and the purpose. The first steps involved in revising the paper is making sure that the essay serves the outlined purpose in the introduction part. Editing and proofreading the essay involves questioning and analyzing sentences and correcting errors (if any). For the civil engineering essay, all the sentences should be read carefully and the functions of the paragraphs should be identified during the editing process. A good essay, especially a technical essay is to have the necessary amount of details. After completing the essay, the following proofreading strategies will help: Read all the sentences out loud while inspecting the structure of the sentences and the spellings; such a way of reading allows the writer to come across some mistakes that can remain unnoticed during the silent reading; Let a friend go through the essay to look for additional errors; outside readers can spot some mistakes missed during the writing process; Take short breaks while proofreading in order to add a fresh perspective to the essay. Finally, the reference section has to include the relevant sources that the writer consulted while writing the essay, even if the material was not quoted directly. The format of the paper will either be in APA, MLA, or Chicago. The reference cited in the paper should follow the formatting rules as well. Books, journal articles, and research articles are normally favored over less consistent sources for a civil engineering essay. So, when you are assigned a civil engineering essay, follow this civil engineering essay guide to make sure you are going to earn a reasonable grade.

Talisker Insurance Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Talisker Insurance Agency - Essay Example Query handling, making of proposals, and presentations are shoddy and leave much to be desired. Talisker Insurance Agency has to move from a disorganized to a systemized work environment. The Agency suffers from serious administrative drawbacks both in operational methods and data storage and retrieval techniques. The consolidated office is in urgent need of modernization. Consolidation of office has given Bill Smith an opportunity to bring about much-needed changes in the work environment of the Agency. Â  As part of immediate modernization, we have to purchase 13 PCs with latest available configuration. Two laptops will be used to do work at the clients’ end. A Local Area Network (LAN) has to be established. A leased line will be used for Internet connectivity. The website of Talisker Insurance Agency called the Taliskerinsurance.com has to be developed. The website besides enhancing the reach of Talisker Insurance Agency will also aid in bolstering its marketing and administrative functions. Mr. Smith has to be convinced on the development of a website on counts enumerated below. First, no forward-looking company with a vast client base can afford to not to have a web presence in the present times. Second, the cost of web development, maintenance, and hosting has reduced drastically over the past years. Third, with a state-of-the-art networking environment in the office premises, we are just a step short of a website. Fourth, the prospective clients in remote locations can access the website and see the policies on offer. Thus there will be an increase in the generation of marketing leading resulting in more business. Due to the low cost of developing and maintaining a website, Mr. Smith needn’t worry about its financial viability. The investments into development of IT tools will soon result in an increase in revenue by curtailing unnecessary costs and streamlining of business operations.

Applying for Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Applying for Scholarship - Essay Example Moreover, I plan to buy multistoried family homes which can be used for rent out; it will prove to be an earning stream for me. In recent times, there has been growth in the entrepreneur businesses and I have expertise in identifying and implementing the new, highly innovative ideas. Additionally, I am looking forward for this scholarship as it will allow me to polish my competent abilities required in this field. At present time, I have insufficient funds available for carrying out my education and this scholarship will allow me to move ahead in my lucrative career. I believe I am eligible for this scholarship as my past academic records show that I am a hard working and intelligent student. Besides possessing extraordinary capabilities, all of my results are in distinction ranges which are proofs of my determination and passion for studies. I have even achieved top ranks in extracurricular activities as I keep good balance between my studies and additional activities. Thus, I deserve the real estate scholarship which will assist me in making my career in this field and will help me in moving ahead in the field

Trade and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Trade and Globalization - Essay Example Asian countries are busy developing channels that would lead them to penetrate the American markets. Addressing the interest of the countries involved in trade promote globalization and development trade policies among the member countries. This paper explores trade, globalization between America and Asia. Trade is a major factor that dictates economic growth of a country. Trade open links that promote international relation between countries involved. Asian and Latin America have recorded growth in trade and globalization because of the comprehensive policies that they have developed (Lynch, 2010). These policies aimed at leveraging factors that hampered trade. Bilateral trade is a situation where two countries devise policies that lead to trade between them. Structures, which promote this trade, address issues like tax policies, legislation and any other factor that would make the trading difficult. For example trade between China and America has grown over the resent past due to o pen trade policies that these two countries have adopted. Bilateral trade between China and countries in Latin America has registered growth. Research indicates that Latin America receives much of its imports from Asia. Several factors work towards promoting trade between Asia and America. Some of these factors include the following good relationship between the countries involved. The mutual relationship that exists between the countries involved in the bilateral trade contributed to the growth in the region. The following strategies have provided an enabling environment for the existence of bilateral trade between Asia and America. Creation of an enabling environment for the Caribbean and Latin America countries to offer supply chain in the Asian markets (Lynch, 2010). Creation of a trade relation between the countries involved. These strategies have provided an enabling environment for trade between Asia and America. Customization of the bilateral trade to suit the international standard has greatly led to the growth of trade between the two regions (Lynch, 2010). Opening of these regions to accommodate the global trade is a deliberate attempt that aims at expanding bilateral trade. The Asian countries took an approach that led to the formation of regional economic cooperation. Economic cooperation usually advocates for common tools that would provide trading environment. The international standards help the countries involved to work towards achieving a common objective. Largely, agencies involved in designing trade boundaries have developed proper channels, which have acted towards the growth of the trade. Legal system among the countries involved must provide an opportunity for the countries involved to trade. Some legal policies dictate the entry behavior of a country in the market. Largely, the influence of IMF policies plays a great role in defining the policies that these countries adopt for their trade. The progress of the countries relies on the ef ficiency of the policy adopted. Poor policies influence trade negatively. The economic growth of the Asian countries has recorded a substantial growth because of the changes in the global trading trends. Globalization has led to development of the international payment system, which incorporate electronics payment methods. Globalization refers to a system where countries collaborate to eliminate factors that influence trade. The aim of

An Analysis Of the Financial Situation of TESCO PLC

An Analysis Of the Financial Situation of TESCO PLC Introduction: Reason for selection of this topic The selection of topic is based on my reading about Tesco rapidly growing articles and its strategy for growth topic is based on four vital playing parts: Growth in the UK To expand by growing internationally To be as strong in non-food as in food To follow customers into new retailing services From the list of suggested topics an analysis of the financial situation of an organization seems to be attractive and interesting topic. The making of this report help me in different ways like improvement in analytical skills and time management. Company Profile Jack Cohen established Tesco in 1919, when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. In 1924, the first own-brand product sold by Jack was Tesco Tea. In 1932, Tesco became a private limited company. In 1983, Tesco stores (Holding) Ltd became PLC. Tesco became Britains biggest independent petrol retailer in 1995 Tesco became the number one in this country with 17% of the market share in 1995. Tesco is one of the largest food retailers in the world, operating around 2,700 stores. The group operates through multiple store formats, including Extra, Superstore, Metro, Express and hypermarkets. Tesco operations UK (1,900 stores) European countries Asia Tesco Products Electrical goods Home entertainment Clothing Phones Broadband Health Beauty Stationery Kitchen utensils Soft furnishings Seasonal goods level of products Value Finest Branded Tesco and Retail industry profile Grocery market is one of the most evolving markets. Tesco is the third largest supermarket in retail industry world. Competition is directly with the small and independent chains and with other big names of retail industry. Todays consumer is changing their shopping patterns with the changes in marketing strategies by the grocery market. Tescos is innovative in its marketing strategy and maintain its impressive figure of market share by huge spending on marketing and fulfilling the wants and needs of customer. (RETAIL INDUSTRY REPORT 2007) It is 60 years since Tesco was first listed on the London Stock Exchange, as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd, with a share price of 25 pence. It was only ten years ago that it laid out a new strategy for growth, a strategy which looked to find new customers, new markets, new products and new opportunities,thriving international business and assessing markets with over two billion people. Source:http://www.tescocorporate.com/annualreview07/01_tescostory/tescostory.html Tescos market share has surpassed 30% for the first time in 2005, providing further ammunition for consumer groups who want its dominance curbed. Source:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=401840in_page_ id=2 Aims Objectives of the Report Analysis of recent performance of Tesco Analysis for the benefit of all stakeholders and shareholders Future performance prediction Methods of analysis Method to analysis the performance of Tesco is based on the competition with Sainsbury (leading British retailer). The main reason is to understand the concern of shareholders about their dividend income and growth of capital. Therefore the report is mainly focused on the following aspects: SWOT anaalysis SWOT analysis of Tesco is about the internal and external factors, which helps me to understand the current position of company. Profitability Comparison of the profit with their rivals Liquidity This is the most concerned factor for the investor to know about. Usually companies are not forced into liquidation for not making profit,but when they cannot pay their debts off. Growth Expectations of shareholders in highly competition Financing Financing should be accurate and appropriate towards their objectives. Investment Analysis on investment towards future profitability Shareholders return Analysis on how effective the group is returning shares of shareholders. The few key factors Gearing ratio Gearing is a measure of financial leverage, demonstrating the degree to which a firms activities are funded by owners funds versus creditors funds and is the key indicator of the share prices. ROCE (return on capital employed) To examine the total long-term funds invested in the group to earn the return. EPS (Earning Per Share) Earning per share (EPS) is widely used by both present and future investors to gauge the profitability of a company. Gross profit margin Compares a companys performance with its competitors in terms of profit margin. Limitations of Analysis Ratios are static and it does not reflect the future trends normally. Ratios are based on information in different articles and websites. It ignores the affect of inflation. Financial statements themselves have limitations IAS 16 also allows a choice between measuring non current assets at cost less amounts written off, or at revalued amount (FTC Foulks Lynch Paper 2.5, 2004). On the other hand IAS 17 leaves somewhat vague the distinction between finance leases and operating leases. By classifying a lease as an operating lease, it is possible for a lessee to keep leased assets and their corresponding liabilities off the balance sheet (FTC Foulks Lynch Paper 2.5, 2004). The earning power of a business may well be affected by factors, which are not reflected in the financial statements. Executive Summary Tesco has shown improving results during the recent years and an excellent result this year as well compared to previous performance of the company. Tesco Groups result for the year 2006/07 is as follows Turnover à ¢- ²10.9% Operating profit à ¢- ²17.7% Profit before taxationà ¢- ²20.3% Group underlying profità ¢- ²13.2 % Group trading profità ¢- ²11.1 % Underlying diluted earning per share increased by 11.6% on comparable basis, to 22.36p (last year-20.04). Final dividend has been proposed 6.83p per share (last year-6.10). This represents an increase of12%. Gearing level remained at 48% as last years. Cash outflow is 265m compared to last year Cash inflow 165m last years. Above results represent the story of progress of the group, which reflects the consumer satisfaction, shareholders and stakeholders confidence in Tesco. Tesco generates their profits faster than revenue and the improvement in production. Information gathering Primary research Primary information is data, which is, collected specifically by or for the user, at source for example the management accounts of a company (BPP Success in your Research Analysis Project 2005). Most of my work is based on secondary sources. Secondary research Most of my research is based on secondary type of research. Academic Reading the textbook provided the initial outline, approach, research suggestions and structuring for the project. Subscription publications such as Accounting and Business Conventional library research Going to the British and Corydon Library enabled me to gain access to the academic publications on research methods for business, as well as industry-specialist publications. Electronic research Financial Journals and Tesco website, which enabled me to obtain last three years annual and interim reports, and company presentations to analysts, investors and portfolio. ACCA website (http://www.accaglobal.com/) provided an easy-to- search database of articles Using Internet search engines (Goggle, Yahoo Finance) enabled me to collect a lot of information about Tesco and its competitors. Other Methods to Collect Information Specialist Accountancy Publications (Accountancy Age) Annual Accounts of Company Telephone calls, Email Analysts reports Newspaper articles Discussions with superiors Analysis and Presentation (Note: All the figures used below are taken from Tesco and Sainsburys annual accounts, except where mentioned) Strategic Analysis Cost Leadership Cost leadership is a generic strategic thrust that emphasizes providing products and services at the lowest per unit cost within an entire market. Porter notes (1980) Cost leadership requires aggressive construction of efficient-scale facilities, vigorous pursuit of cost reductions from experience, tight cost and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, and cost minimization in areas like RD, service, sales force, advertising, and so on (p. 35). from Porter, M. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, New York: The Free Press, 1980. Michael Porter suggested four generic business strategies that could be adopted in order to gain competitive advantage. The four strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of businesses activities are narrowing versus broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products. The four strategies are summarized in the figure below: This strategy is usually associated with large-scale businesses like Tesco offering standard products with relatively little differentiation that are perfectly acceptable to the majority of customers. Occasionally, a low-cost leader will also discount its product to maximize sales, particularly if it has a significant cost advantage over the competition and, in doing so, it can further increase its market share. Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm SWOT Analysis STRENGTH Leading British Market Customer research and its careful positioning Economy of scale WEAKNESSES Limitations in opening new outlets in UK OPPORTUNITIES Growth in Non-Food retails Investment in international market THREATS Threats from rival Competition in overseas market Extension in business makes it difficult to manage Reputation risk STRENGTHS Britains Market Leader Tesco is the market leader of retail industry in UK and holds 31.5%share of whole market as compared to its competitors ASDA Sainsburys who hold 16.7% and 16.0%. Source: http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=68862007 Customer Research and its carefulpositioning Tescos ability to empathies with its customers is the result of in-depth research, and has been key to its resoundingly successful entries into so many new markets. Their market research doesnt stop at new customers, but covers existing customers buying habits too. Tesco has expanded its customer base by its increased efforts to embrace customers from all levels of society, and all income brackets. For example, two popular food product ranges the luxury range called Tesco Finest and the budget version, Tesco Value are both carried within all of its stores. Source:http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/expansion/259636/what-tesco-can-teach-us.thtml Economy Of SCALE Tescos has massive buyer power over suppliers; these economies of scale allow Tescos to compete fiercely on price without imperiling its own margins in a mature industry in which aggregate revenue growth is unspectacular. WEAKNESSES LIMITATIONS IN OPENING NEWOUTLETS The massive volume of sites under development and owned by the supermarket groups, and particularly by Tescos, is a central plank in a new Competition Commission investigation into the grocery sector. The Commission is considering to review the rules that govern store openings. Under current guidelines, a retailer keen to open in a particular town must simply prove that the location needs a new supermarket. The national market share of that supermarket chain is not taken into account. The Commission will also take a close look at the controversial issue of land banking retailers supposed practice of buying vast tracts of land merely to thwart rivals from opening on them. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/04/30/cctesco30.xml OPPORTUNITIES Growth in non-food sector According to Retail research company Verdict, in 2007, for every  £10 spends on non-food shopping,  £1 will be spent at the supermarkets. And Tesco is set to become the UKs number one non food retailer, with Verdict predicting it will capture 3.6 percent of the non-food shopping market this year, overtaking the current number one GUS (owner of Argos and Homebase) which currently has 3.5 percent market share. Source: http://www.clickajob.co.uk/news/tesco-to-become-uk-s-largest-non-food-retailer3675.html Tesco stores sell some non-food, it is Tescos Superstore and Extra formats that offer the biggest choice. These offer electrical, home entertainment, clothing, health and beauty, stationery, cook shop and soft furnishings, plus seasonal goods such as barbecues and garden furniture in the summer. The company has launched a highly successful range of own brand goods from microwaves to garden furniture. Source: http://www.999today.com/homeandgarden/news/story/1804.html Investment in International Market International growth forms a key element of Tescos four-part strategy and the business currently trades in 12 countries outside the UK, mainly in Asia and Central Europe. Over half of Tescos selling space is now outside the UK. Source:http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspx?pointerid=14163CB2412F41B1BD7765AC8DBE49EB Total international sales grew by 5.3% to  £11.0 billion. On a comparable 52-week basis, sales increased by 17.9% at actual rates. International contributed  £564 million to trading profit, up 10.8% at actual rates (up 18.0% on a comparable 52-week basis). (Annual Report) The US represents the biggest job for Tesco expansion in international world.The fact that the USA has been such an embarrassing graveyard for almost every British retailer that has opened there merely adds an extra frisson to Tescos plans. J Sainsbury, Marks Spencer and Dixons have all returned from stateside adventures with their tails between their legs. With this in mind Tesco has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep its plans secret. It has also carried out one of the most thorough pieces of market research in corporate history to ensure that its efforts are not lost in translation Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/06/10/cntesco110.xml Tescos new US convenience store chain is struggling to attract shoppers. If Fresh Easy fails, it will add to the list of UK retail brands unable to break into the US and also be very dilative to international returns. Threats Threats from Rivals Tesco is facing a lot of competition from its local and international rival. It has diversed its business in different products, which increased its competitors so it requires more efforts and attention to deal with the competition and to secure its position in the market. Competition faced in overseas markets Consistently maintaining the No 1 position in the UK, Sir Terry and Tesco are looking overseas for growth. Over the last decade Sir Terry has led Tesco into Asia and Europe, opening stores in different countries. America is the major item on the table and India is expected to follow. Managing the international business takes up an increasing amount of attention and clear understanding of political, spending, religious and many other factors. Reputation risk Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK; expectations of the Group are high. Failure to protect the Groups reputation and brand could lead to a loss of trust and confidence. This could result in a decline in the customerbase and affect the ability to recruit and retain good people. (Annual Accounts) Extension in makes it difficult to manage Tescos extension itself is big challenge. The competition commission is enquiring about Tescos land bank holding and in some areas not approval for store development is one example. Tescos diversified its business in different segment which means downfall in one will have impact on other business area as well. Review of 2007 results Group Summary Group sales, including VAT, increased by 8.1% to  £46.6bn (last year  £43.1bn) and by 10.9%on a comparable 52-week basis. At constant exchange rates, sales increased by 7.9% and10.8% respectively. Group operating profit rose by 17.7% to  £2,648m. Total net Group property profits were  £139m, comprising  £98m in the UK, a  £6m loss in Asia and a  £47m profit within Joint Ventures and Associates. Return on capital employed In April last year, Tesco renewed its commitment to increasing their post-tax return on capital employed (ROCE), having exceeded their 2004 aspiration two years early. The strong performance of the business delivered slightly higher ROCE in 2006/07 at 12.6% (last year 12.5%), (Including the one-off benefit from Pensions A-Day, ROCE was 13.6%). This represents good progress and was achieved despite carrying the extra start-up costs and investment in the US and Tesco Direct as well as the integration costs and capital employed in their International acquisitions and increased stake in Hymall. This means that ROCE is on track to meet their new target. (Annual Accounts) Whereas, Sainsbury has shown magnificent improvement in their ROCE (2.76% in 2006 and 6.3% in 2007) (refer to Appendix) but still has to do a great deal of effort to challenge the market leader in terms of absolute figures. Return on capital shareholders fund The Groups total shareholder return performance (i.e. share price movements plus dividends reinvested) for the year 2006 and 2007 relative to the FTSE 100 index of companies is 143:116 for FEB 06 and 195:132 for FEB07. This index has been selected to provide an established and Broad-based comparator group of retail and non-retail companies of similar scale to Tesco, against which the Groups TSR performance can be measured. There has also been a very strong performance in TSR over the last three and five years against a comparator group of our major retail competitors in the UK, Europe and the US. Source: http://www.tescocorporate.com/annualreview07/pdf/review/annual_review_and_sfs_2007.pdf Gross Profit Margin Profit earned is the sales revenue less cost of goods sold. The relation between them is the gross profit margin, which in terms of percentage shows profit made out of sales. Gross profit margin is obtained by dividing gross profit by sales. Tesco Group sales, including VAT, increased by 8.1% to  £46.6 billion (2006  £43.1 billion) and by 10.9% on a comparable 52-week basis. At constant exchange rates, sales grew by 7.9% and 10.8% respectively. Group profit before tax increased by 18.7% to  £2,653 million (2006  £2,235 million) and by 20.3% on a comparable 52-week basis. Underlying profit before tax (excluding IAS 32 and IAS 39 and the non-cash elements of IAS 19, which are replaced by the normal cash contributions) increased to  £2,545 million, up by 11.8% (13.2% on a comparable 52-week basis Gross Profit Margin is 10.24% which increased by 4.70% compared to Sainsburys Gross Profit Margin of 10.29% which increased by 7.41%. This shows that Tesco has well control on cost cutting and productivity programme and focusing on the sales growth trying to keep the prices at lower margin. While, Sainsburys improvement demonstrates well pursue of their recover plan in which they include cost control as well. Asset Turnover Asset turnover is the relationship between sales and assets i.e. sales per nominal value of Asset. This ratios has dropped from 2.62 for 2006 to 2.58 for the year 2007 indicating slight inefficiency of asset utalisation.(Appendix B) compared to Sainsburys which improved from 2.02 to 2.50(Appendix C). Tescos figure has decreased but it still is better than Sainsburys that shows Tesco is utilizing its assets more efficiently. Gearing and Liquidity Gearing represents long-term debt in relation to shareholders funds. A gearing ratio of about one-third is usually regarded as acceptable for a company, suggesting that it is not over-reliant on external borrowing. A figure in excess of this indicates a higher-geared company. High gearing ratios are most suitable to those companies with steady and reliable profits, whose earnings are sufficient to cover interest payments and where total dividends are low. However, wide fluctuations in profitability would make a highly geared company extremely vulnerable t market conditions Source: http://vig.pearsoned.co.uk/catalog/uploads/Griffiths_C02.pdf High gearing indicates a high proportion of debt in the capital structure. High-geared companies are deemed to be financially risky, because interest payments have to be met, regardless of profitability. Tescos gearing ratio has increased slightly from 60.39 to 62.87, on the other hand Sainsburys gearing ratio decreased by 44.74%. But with a high interest cover good current and forecast profitability and low level of net debt the high gearing ratio should not present Tesco with any problems. (See Appendixes) A combination of retained profits, long and medium-term debt, capital market issues, commercial paper, bank borrowings and leases finance Tescos operations. The objective is to ensure continuity of funding. The policy is to smooth the debt maturity profile, to arrange funding ahead of requirements and to maintain sufficient undrawn committed bank facilities, and a strong credit rating so that maturing debt may be refinanced as it falls due. The Groups long-term credit rating remained stable during the year. Moodys and A+ by Standard and Poors rate Tesco Group A1. New funding of  £1.8bn was arranged during the year, including a net  £0.5bn from property joint ventures and  £1.2bn from medium-term notes (MTNs). At the year-end, net debt was  £5.0bn (last year  £4.5bn) and the average debt maturity was nine years (last year six years). (Annual Accounts 2007) Current ratio This ratio shows indicates the companys ability to meet its short-term obligations. The higher the ratio, the more liquid the company is. Current ratio is proportion between current assets and current liabilities. If the proportion between current assets and current liabilities is more than 2 then that company is generally considered to have good short-term financial strength. If current liabilities exceed current assets, then the company may have problems meeting its short-term obligations. The current ratios of Sainsburys group are better than that of Tesco group. For 2007, the ratios were .56:1 and .71:1 for Tesco and Sainsburys respectively. (See Appendix) This means there is less assurance that Current liabilities of Tesco could be paid quickly comparative to Sainsbury. But the other point of concern is that Tescos has shown an improvement by 7.69% whereas Sainsburys current ratio shows a decline of 11.25% that again indicates not very effective management and utilization of assets as compared to Tesco. Interest cover It states how many times a company can repay the interest from the current earning. The higher the cover, the safer the company is from liquidity crisis. Tesco improved its interest cover from 9.48 to 12.32(Appendix B) whereas; Sainsburys improved its interest cover from 1.47 to 4.76(Appendix C). Tescos increased profits have improved its interest cover. Tesco is a highly geared company but it delivers great return to investors so there is no threat that it would not be able to cover its interest cost. LIMITATIONS specific to the ratio analysis There are limitations to the usability and understandability of these rations and the analysis made from them. Almost all of these ratios are inter-linked and interdependent and shows fluctuations if a few variables are gauged. Also, there are more than one agreed criteria for the choice of nominators and denominators so care must be taken while considering them in absolute figures (e.g., as more than 2 Quick ratio is considered excellent) and for comparisons between two or more entities. A better asset turnover ratio might as well be because of the under valuation of assets and a decline might as well be because of acquisition of assets of increase in the market value f the assets as most of the assets held by retailers as Tesco and Sainsburys are in the real estate. Current ratio has been defined good or worse depends on industries as well, as debt is cheaper than equity Industry such as retail where Tesco has working capital days in negative (i.e. they have a chance to earn interest on the sales they have made as their suppliers finance those sales.) the more a company is geared (but within the safety margin) the better will its performance be, as the interest cover is pretty handsome. Growth and investments Tescos has been investing in new markets overseas, seeking out new opportunities for growth and ways of generating long-term returns for shareholders. Tesco is also investing in diversified nature of business like investment in software; properties and recently investment in gardening are proof of well pursuit of its diversifying strategy. Group non-food sales have grown to  £10.4bn, including  £2.9bn in International. Sales growth, in the UK alone, was11.6% in the year, with total non-food sales increasing to £7.6bn (included in reported UK sales). In non-food product which shown growth include clothing sale grew by 16%, health beauty sales increased by 9%, toys and support sale rose by 35%, stationery and DIY both sales grew up by 23%, consumer electronic sales rose by 35%. (Annual Accounts) Investors Outlook The EPS is primarily a measure of profitability and states earnings/profit earned for one share and so an increasing EPS is seen as a good sign. Tescos Basic earning per share from continuing operations has raised from 20.20p to 23.61p compared to Sainsburys Basic earning per share which has raised from 3.8p to 19.2p which is massive. (See Appendix) Tescos returns are well ahead from Sainsburys basic earning per share thats why Tescos share price gives better return to shareholder. Chart below shows the comparison between the share price of Tesco against one of its competitors namely Sainsbury and against the FTSE 100 index over two years. Tesco has performed slightly better than the FTSE 100 index over the second half of the year but Sainsburys performance is much better which has been amplified by the rumor of takeover bid of Sainsburys by Delta two and Qatar and also the role played by the successful Sainsburys recovery plan. Total shareholder return (TSR), which is measured as the percentage increase in the share price, plus the dividend paid, has increased by 36% in 2006/07, its largest value increase for ten years and the fastest percentage growth rate for three years. Over the last three years, TSR has grown 87% compared with the FTSE100 average of 58%. Over five years, the increase has been 102% compared to the increase in the average for FTSE100 companies of just 50%. (Annual Account) Conclusion Tescos latest results show that it has been another successful year for Tesco. The most encouraging thing about Tescos performance is that Tescos coped well with the head-wind from recovering competitors, rising costs and tough conditions in some markets. Tescos come through in good shape and have done it by staying focused on doing the right things for Tescos customers and at the same time investing for future growth. (Annual Accounts) Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy said, Overall sales growth has strengthened in the period, with international delivering a particularly strong performance, and the UK has again done well, with good growth in our core food categories. Its non-food offering Tesco Direct, and the groups online grocery operation tesco.com had both delivered very strong sales in the quarter, said the company. Source:http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-news/2007/12/05/good-progress-for-tesco-in-autumn-sales-91466-20203900/ Tesco has laid solid foundations for future growth. Tesco is always looking to improve the way the owners of the business benefit from that growth. It has also been a good year for shareholders return. Of course, Tescos shares are higher in buoyant markets but Tescos is also doing more to contribute. Dividends are up to approaching  £800 million, driven by last years change in policy, combined with the effect of our rising flow of property profits now ranking for dividend. Tescos also bought back and cancelled almost  £470 million worth of our own shares so far. (Annual Accounts) Tescos financial performance in 2006/07 was excellent. Turnover of  £46,611m grew by 8.1%, diluted earning per share of  £23.31m grew up by 17% and dividend per share £ 9.64 increased by 11.7%, putting Tesco in top place in retail industry in the UK. (Appendix A) Tescos position holds strong position in UK and now Tesco is concentrating towards International markets for improved return for its shareholders and to establish its business and loyalty of customers around the world. Tescos produced very good performace particularly against the background of political uncertainty and economic problems in three of its markets Hungary, Thailand and South Korea. This demonstrates that International now has the size and momentum to get through these things and still deliver.Tescos got much stronger in Central Europe, through rapid growth in new space and acquisition. In Asia as well, having done the groundwork in a couple of our newer markets, weve used acquisition to get on faster.(Annual Accounts) The biggest challenge in international market is its fresh move in the US market. If Tescos get fails in US it would be a disaster for their strategic planner. According to CNN, Tescos is aiming to open 200 Fresh Easy outlets by February 2009, with projections suggesting that annual sales could hit US$4bn, But Michael J Dennis, a senior research analyst with Minneapolis investment bank Piper Jeffrey, described sales at the chain to date as a disaster. Based on interviews with suppliers, he said sales were running at about US$60,000 a week 70% down on targeted weekly revenues of

My Earliest Memory Essay examples -- Essays Papers

I have a notoriously bad memory even now, and I have no recollection of it ever having been any better. Thinking back, I have reasonably clear and complete memories for only the past three years or so, becoming increasingly spotty and episodic the older they are. On the far end, I also am familiar with a set of stories about by infancy that my parents have told me. It is somewhere in this border between implanted stories and fuzzy memories that I look in trying to find my earliest memory. What I come up with is a memory from preschool, actually a constellation of memories surrounding that particular one, from a specific, short time period. At some point, my preschool class was presenting a play about the fall, including a song that, for whatever reason, I recall describing the downward flow of sap within the trees in preparation for winter. I also remember ultimately missing the performance because of a family vacation, to go camping in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas to a favorite campground named Gunner's Pool (adjacent to a much inferior campground, Barkshed, that my parents h...

Give Examples of social injustice

We see the social injustice against women in the novel Parvana and Newspaper article â€Å"Mukhtar Fought Back†. In the novel Parvana we were shown social injustice where eleven year old girl Parvana had to masquerade as a boy to gain access to the outside world. For much of the story her father is imprisoned leaving only her mother, older sister and two very young siblings. Most of the country is ruled by the Taliban and Taliban laws require women to cover themselves & ban girls from attending school or going out unescorted. She has rarely been outside but Parvana's disguise provides her a measure of freedom and the means to support her family. I believe that humans, female or male have desire to learn but discover that the laws are so socially restricting for females that they must resort to disguise and further risks. This is injustice not only to females but humankind. I think since the â€Å"Taliban† were corrupted in their beliefs they carried these laws on women. As there were misbelieves at higher level, people under them followed the road of injustice for e. g. some soldiers raped women who didn't cover themselves including their face. This also shows why parents in third world countries desire to have a male child because the boys provide more freedom and measures to families. Another example of social injustice against women is shown in the Newspaper article â€Å"Mukhtar Fought Back†. Mukhtar Mai was gang raped for an offence supposedly committed by her twelve years old brother Shakur. Mukhtar and her family are from the low Gujar caste and are expected to be subservient to the Mastoi. Therefore men of dominant caste Mastoi had the decision making power and resolved that to appease the honour of their caste; she must be raped in revenge for what they claimed was the rape of one of their women by Shakur. This shows that today there are societies that are based on the unfair system of caste and the justice is given on the decision made by the people of dominant caste. This also proves that the castes that are dominant have the right to speak and to even make wrong decision over the people of low caste. In reality it was a made up attempt to hide the fact that it was her brother who had been raped by men from the Mastoi caste. I think the guilt felt by the Mastoi for raping the boy lead them to exert their caste power on the weak caste and thought she is uneducated and poor, hence she will not able to take an action against them. Furthermore I believe they were over confident and they supposed if Mukhtar was raped she will also commit suicide as this is the custom. Often women were blamed even when they were the victims of rape but her sense of outrage and injustice made her refuse to commit suicide. I believe her story is not a victim's story; it's the tale of a survivor, and a fighter. I believe that the injustice she felt inside is a universal feeling of injustice, humans from all levels of civilization have natural sense of common morals and so she knew this is not right in any country or culture. I believe that in most of the third world countries often women are prohibited to do the same things as men since men are dominant. I think social awakening has to be brought up by the educated people themselves. The politicians should spend time to educate people. It is not civilized to ostricise a rape victim. I believe that on going efforts in social education would reduce the crimes committed against women in the third world countries.

Free Essays on Collage Life

If I were to make a choice between Time or Money, precisely favor money rather than the time. In my opinion no life possiblely substance in the absence of money. Money, a good friend of life for everyone plays an important role to support throughout living. Starting from purchasing basic commodities, almost all goods we use in the daily life are based on only money. In the lack of money, the life remains incomplete. Taking a point of view from a daily life, money is essential in every step. Everyday, for purchasing our basic foods, traveling to and from, buying cloths, going to the movies of getting an entertainment, all are dependent upon the amount that we can effort. Since the birth of a child money stands being one of the complementary factor till the end to sustain the life properly. If we just plan about establishing ‘something’ new, we cannot even think in the absence of money. The investment is compulsory otherwise the project cannot be started. For instance, if we want to open an educational institution, which is for the well being of the government and the public people as well who achieve a high standard of education requires some deposits before the opening of the institution. In the lack of money, it is almost impossible to proceed ahead. Whatever the people are doing, they all are investing money accordance with their capacities. The people get education and ultimately their aim is focus to collect money which holds on their life in better ways. The earning principle is here in the world since the millennium and it is still continued. People always get worry about the complexity of money because they cannot earn enough as they expect. People do not mind investing even a large amount of money to their children’s education thinking that after being educated they will earn ten or 20 folds of what they have invested. At last I do stress that money is only factor that can stand the life properly.... Free Essays on Collage Life Free Essays on Collage Life If I were to make a choice between Time or Money, precisely favor money rather than the time. In my opinion no life possiblely substance in the absence of money. Money, a good friend of life for everyone plays an important role to support throughout living. Starting from purchasing basic commodities, almost all goods we use in the daily life are based on only money. In the lack of money, the life remains incomplete. Taking a point of view from a daily life, money is essential in every step. Everyday, for purchasing our basic foods, traveling to and from, buying cloths, going to the movies of getting an entertainment, all are dependent upon the amount that we can effort. Since the birth of a child money stands being one of the complementary factor till the end to sustain the life properly. If we just plan about establishing ‘something’ new, we cannot even think in the absence of money. The investment is compulsory otherwise the project cannot be started. For instance, if we want to open an educational institution, which is for the well being of the government and the public people as well who achieve a high standard of education requires some deposits before the opening of the institution. In the lack of money, it is almost impossible to proceed ahead. Whatever the people are doing, they all are investing money accordance with their capacities. The people get education and ultimately their aim is focus to collect money which holds on their life in better ways. The earning principle is here in the world since the millennium and it is still continued. People always get worry about the complexity of money because they cannot earn enough as they expect. People do not mind investing even a large amount of money to their children’s education thinking that after being educated they will earn ten or 20 folds of what they have invested. At last I do stress that money is only factor that can stand the life properly....

Profile of the Scandinavian Explorer Erik the Red

Profile of the Scandinavian Explorer Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldson (also spelled Eric or Eirik Torvaldsson; in Norwegian, Eirik Raude). As the son of Thorvald, he was known as Erik Thorvaldson until he was dubbed the Red for his red hair. Notable Accomplishment Founding the first European settlement on Greenland. Occupations LeaderExplorer Places of Residence and Influence Scandinavia Important Dates Born: c. 950 Died: 1003 Biography Much of what scholars understand about Eriks life comes from Eirik the Reds Saga, an epic tale written by an unknown author in the mid-13th century.   Erik was born in Norway to a man named Thorvald and his wife and was thus known as Erik Thorvaldsson. He was given the name Erik the Red because of his red hair; although later sources attribute the moniker to his fiery temper, there is no clear evidence of this. When Erik was still a child, his father was convicted of manslaughter and exiled from Norway. Thorvald went to Iceland and took Erik with him. Thorvald and his son lived in western Iceland. Not long after Thorvald died, Erik married a woman named Thjodhild, whose father, Jorund, may have provided the land that Erik and his bride settled on in Haukadale (Hawkdale). It was while he was living at this homestead, which Erik named Eriksstadr (Eriks farm), that his thralls (servants) caused a landslide that damaged the farm belonging to his neighbor Valthjof. A kinsman of Valthjof, Eyjolf the Foul, killed the thralls. In retaliation, Erik killed Eyjolf and at least one other man. Rather than escalate a blood feud, Eyjolfs family instituted legal proceedings against Erik for these killings. Erik was found guilty of manslaughter and banished from Hawkdale. He then took up residence further north (according to Eiriks Saga, He occupied then Brokey and Eyxney, and dwelt at Tradir, in Sudrey, the first winter.)   While building a new homestead, Erik lent what were apparently valuable pillars for seat-stocks to his neighbor, Thorgest. When he was ready to claim their return, Thorgest refused to give them up. Erik took possession of the pillars himself, and Thorgest gave chase; fighting ensued, and several men were killed, including two sons of Thorgest. Once again legal proceedings took place, and once again Erik was banished from his home for manslaughter. Frustrated with these legal wranglings, Erik turned his eyes westward. The edges of what turned out to be an enormous island were visible from the mountaintops of western Iceland, and the Norwegian Gunnbjà ¶rn Ulfsson had sailed near the island some years earlier, though if hed made landfall its not recorded. There was no doubt that there was some kind of land there, and Erik determined to explore it himself and determine whether or not it could be settled. He set sail with his household and some livestock in 982. The direct approach to the island was unsuccessful, due to drift ice, so Eriks party continued on around the southern tip until they came to present-day Julianehab. According to Eiriks Saga, the expedition spent three years on the island; Erik roved far and wide and named all the places he came to. They didnt encounter any other people. They then went back to Iceland to convince others to return to the land and establish a settlement. Erik called the place Greenland because, he said, men will desire much the more to go there if the land has a good name. Erik succeeded in convincing many colonists to join him on a second expedition. 25 ships set sail, but only 14 ships and about 350 people landed safely. They did establish a settlement, and by about the year 1000 there were approximately 1,000 Scandinavian colonists there. Unfortunately, an epidemic in 1002 reduced their number considerably, and eventually, Eriks colony died out. However, other Norse settlements would survive until the 1400s, when communications mysteriously ceased for more than a century. Eriks son Leif would lead an expedition to America around the turn of the millennium.

Hospitality service and facilities management Essay - 2

Hospitality service and facilities management - Essay Example Productivity is usually interlinked with the industries which involve extensive purchases so it is really significant to manage the productivity. In simple terms, productivity can be taken as a ratio between the input and the output of the industry at a particular level or in some particular field. It can be measured in different ways like shift wise productivity in some cases or by means of different departments or in terms of capital assessment. Productivity management is quite a troublesome job which can prove to be a complex assignment for the administration of hospitality organization like hotels. This task can become even more complex if major proportion of the staff is working in the organization for part time. According to different studies, one of the dilemmas in this industry is the allocation of different shifts to different groups of staff working in there but this problem has been solved quite efficiently by the latest technologies like using computer based scheduling of the shifts or using software specifically designed for this propose. One other problem in this industry is non availability of certified professionals at all the levels in this industry and one of the main reasons for this is the non attractive pay structure in this field offered by the owners of the major hotels and restaurants. So this is one of the major issues which is faced by the human resource (HR) department of the hotels and it results in decreased performance of the employees due to increase work load on them. This problem is reduced to some extent by the recent increase in the salary and by giving other complimentary packages to the specialized staff of this industry. As all other fields are affected badly by the terrorist activities all around the world so is the hospitality industry, according to different scholars, initially there

Compare and contrast two explanations of late-nineteenth century Essay

Compare and contrast two explanations of late-nineteenth century European imperialism with regards to two European empires in at - Essay Example The British conquest of India began in the middle of the eighteenth century and played a major part in this country’s rise to world dominance in the nineteenth century. Because Britain had an excellent Navy and a spirit of exploration and conquest, the first settlers there quickly set up businesses to supply the factories at home with raw materials. Britain had just begun a period of great economic expansion at home, which has come to be called â€Å"the industrial revolution.† The East India Company was created to build up trade in goods like spices and cotton, and Britain soon relied upon this country for the supply of many goods. The East India Company was a private organization but it received a lot of support from the British government. It grew into a major cultural influence as well, aiming to educate the Indian population in English ways. Britain’s colonial influence extended far across the huge territories of India. Some of the profits from trade were us ed to introduce new technologies into India like roads and telegraphs, and even a vast railway network. The purpose was to support the colonial trade system, but an important side-effect was a shift in the culture of India for the native people there. Some historians see the colonisation of India in terms of bringing progress to the whole world, especially economic progress: â€Å"no organization in history has done more to promote the free movement of goods, capital and labour than the British Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries† (Ferguson: 2004, p. xxi) From this perspective, the brutal oppression of Indians who did not accept British rule is seen as an unfortunate price that had to be paid for this great progress. It is astonishing that so few British people managed to control such a huge land, for example in the period 1860-1905, â€Å"there were seldom more than 100,00 of them (European people) scattered among a population of over 250 million, and mos t were British soldiers who lived in cantonments concentrated in the northern half of the country.† (Ferguson, 2004, p. 341) The British government supplied troops to keep control over areas where uprisings occurred, for example in Bengal, which quickly became a centre for British influence. (Marshall: 2005, p. 241) A key factor in the success of the â€Å"Jewel in the Crown† of Queen Victoria’s empire was this partnership between business and government for purposes which benefited them both. This economic analysis is a convincing explanation of Britain’s great success in colonising the whole subcontinent of India. The colonisation of Tunisia by France is seen also by some historians as an incoming advanced nation bringing civilisation and progress to a backward country. The colonial attitudes are the same, and Africa was seen as a great prize which could be easily taken. There was a great rush by many European countries to take what they could: â€Å"Th e partition of Africa took little more than 20 years. It began with the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wesseling: 2004, p, 148) France began to impose a political structure that fitted in with its centralist approach to government. Tunisia, along with Algeria and Morocco, became an extension of the French department system. At this late stage, more than a

Financial Trends Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Trends Paper - Essay Example The trend was a fall before the rise. The same could be observed in the behavior of net income of the company for the same three-year period, that there was a fall and an improvement after the fall. Net profit margin measures the company’s profitability performance (Bernstein, 1993) and is computed by dividing net income over the total revenues. In case of general motors a consistent 0.01 net profit margins were observed for the three year period. This indicates a rather lack of improvement in the company’s performance for the past three years despite the seeming increase in revenues from total sales for 2005 of US$192.6 billion to US $207.3 billion for 2006. This means the cost of the company was very high for the company which needs a deeper analysis as shown below: It would appear the company was still having some mark-ups from revenues, hence it may deduced that it is selling at above is production cost as evidenced by the positive gross profit rate from 2004 through 2006. The loss was felt only in 2005 when operating loss showed a rate of negative 0.01 value. This means that the company has higher operating expenses for 2005 compared with 2006 and 2004. Further analysis revealed that 2005 has high selling and administrative expenses in addition to the decline in revues from 2004 to 2005. Over all 2005 operation was a losing year by the company. When the three year ratios above are analyzed in relation to the trends established earlier in the behavior of the revenues and net income, it may be observed that there was big improvement in the return on equity (Meigs and Meigs, 1995) of the company from 2004 to 2006 although there was a deterioration in the return on assets from 0% in 2004 to -1% in 2006. This means that changes made were beneficial to the stockholder and that having too many assets are not necessarily better for the company if it will result to a better return to equity.

Civil Rights and Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

Civil Rights and Responsibilities Essay The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution shortly after its ratification. These amendments guarantee certain political, procedural, and property rights against infringement by the national government (Patterson, 2009). â€Å"A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on influence (Thomas Jefferson). The First Amendment provides the foundation for freedom of expression which is the right of individual Americans to hold and communicate views of their choosing (Patterson, 2009). The motivation of the Bill of Rights was to guarantee individual rights and freedoms. The First Amendment reflects this tradition, providing for freedom of religion along with freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition. The three provisions of the First Amendment are the freedom of speech, assembly and religion. The freedom of speech states that you are free to say almost anything except that which is obscene, slanders another person, or has a high probability of inciting others to take imminent lawless action. The freedom of assembly states that you are free to assemble, although government may regulate the time and place for reasons of public convenience safety, provided such regulations are applied evenhandedly to all groups. The freedom of religion states that you are protected from having the religious beliefs of others imposed on you, and you are free to believe what you like. Freedom of religion simply means citizens have freedom to attend a church, synagogue, temple or mosque of their choice, or not to attend at all. The First Amendment allows us to practice our religion the way we want to. When talking about freedom of religion and the First Amendment I think about religion in the schools. Every since the Supreme Court held school-sponsored prayer unconstitutional in the early 1960s, there has ben a concerted and well-funded campaign to reintroduce religion in public schools. Public schools themselves should not be in the business of promoting particular religious beliefs or religious activities and they should protect children from being coerced by others to accept religious (or anti-religious beliefs. A Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission inquiry ruled in July that the Saskatoon Board of Education must end a practice of giving teachers the option of conducting prayers in public school classrooms and assemblies. In practice, the choice has been primarily the Lords Prayer. The ruling will not change practices in separate schools. The inquiry followed a complaint six years ago by nine parents, including Muslims, Jews, Unitarians and atheists. About 20% of the 550 public school classrooms in Saskatoon begin the day with prayer. The decision may be appealed in court (Globe and Mail, 1999). The relationship between religion and government in the United States when it comes to the United States Constitution is governed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which both prevents the government from establishing religion and protects privately initiated religious expression and activities from government interference and discrimination. The First Amendment thus establishes certain limits on the conduct of public school officials as it relates to religious activity, including prayer. Prayer should not have been taken out of schools. Parents should be sent home a letter opting out of religious activities and employees should be given the same option, but taken it out of schools was ridiculous. The case of Engel v. Vitale (1962) went to the Supreme Court and the case was about a time in 1951 the New York State Board of Regents (the State board of education) approved a 22-word â€Å"nondenominational prayer â€Å"for recitation each morning in the public schools of New York. It read: â€Å"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.† The Regents believed that the prayer could be a useful tool for the development of character and good citizenship among the students of the State of New York. The prayer was offered to the school boards in the State for their use, and participation in the â€Å"prayer-exercise† was voluntary. In New Hyde Park, New York, the Union Free School District No. 9 directed the local principal to have the prayer â€Å"said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of the school day.† The parents of ten pupils in the New Hyde Park schools objected to the prayer. They filed suit in a New York State court seeking a ban on the prayer, insisting that the use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to their own and their childrens beliefs, religions, or religious practices. The State appeals court upheld the use of the prayer, â€Å"so long as the schools did not compel any pupil to join in the prayer over his or his parents objection† (infoplease.com). The Freedom to Assemble gives people the right to assemble peacefully without causing any harm to others. As much as I do not agree with the KKK views and opinions they should be able to assemble if they do it in a peaceful manner. The First Amendment prohibits government from abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble. This basic freedom ensures that the spirit of the First Amendment survives and thrives even when the majority of citizens would rather suppress expression it finds offensive. Over the course of our history, freedom of assembly has protected individuals espousing myriad viewpoints. Striking workers, civil rights advocates, anti-war demonstrators and Ku Klux Klan marchers have all taken to the streets and sidewalks in protest or in support of their causes. Sometimes these efforts have galvanized public support or changed public perceptions. Imagine a civil rights movement without the March on Washington or the womens suffrage movement without ranks of long-skirted, placard-carrying suffragists filling city streets. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the importance of this freedom in the 1937 case De Jonge v. State of Oregon, writing that the right to peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental. â€Å"According to the Court, † the right to assemble is one that cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions† (archive.firstamendmentcenter.org). The KKKs right to assemble peaceably was secured by the famous 1977 case of National Socialist Party v. Skokie, in which the American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued that the First Amendment prohibited officials of Skokie, Ill., from banning a march by the National Socialist Party. Skokie is a Chicago suburb that is home to many Holocaust survivors. One federal judge reasoned that â€Å"it is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear† (archive.firstamendmentcenter.org). In conclusion, the First Amendment of the United States protects the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as freedom of assembly from government interference. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause are two clauses in the First Amendment that guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the separation of church and state. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a persons practice of their religion. The right to assemble allows people to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. Implicit within this right is the right to association and belief. With that being said, all people should be having some kind of freedom. They should be able to boycott and assemble peacefully without causing any harm to anyone. People should be free to have their different views and opinions of religion, be it that they religious or anti-religious. To sum it all up I would love for everyone to feel that they are free. References http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1961/1961_468 http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/program-freedom-religion-and-belief-government-funded-religion Religion in schools (teachers in Saskatchewan will no longer have the option of conducting prayer services in class). Humanist in Canada 130 (1999): 4, 39. General OneFile. Web. 25 June 2012. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html