The Magus Essay Example For Students

The Magus Essay In this paper I want to show the importance of the distinction between Deontological theories and Teleological theories. First, let me define the basic types of deontological theories: Act-deontology takes the rightness of an act as having to be decided by the individual on the basis of what the particular situation demands of him or her. Rule-deontology takes the rightness of an act as having been already decided by universal rules which are binding on everyone, regardless of the situation. Teleological theories: Act-utilitarianism takes the rightness of an act as having to be decided by the individual on the basis of what will promote the greatest general good in the individuals particular situation and Rule-utilitarianism takes the rightness of an act as being in accord with the general rules, binding on everyone, that have already been decided on as promoting the greatest general good. Second, I will give my opinion on The Magus by John Fowles. In conclusion we will !see if the c onsequences are moral or immoral. The first case to analyze will be the one about Conchis-the mayor of a small Greek village. He was ordered by the Nazi Commandant to beat to death three freedom fighters who had shot four German soldiers. If he refused, the Germans would kill not only the freedom fighters, but also the villagers hostages. Lets look at situation through the eyes of a utilitarian, then through the eyes of a deontologist. Conchis was in a very difficult position that he has to decide what he should do with the ordered with in thirty-seconds, which is a very short period of time. He is probably confused and frustrated and not sure of what is right or wrong thing to do. As the Wimmel approached him with a gun. He aimed at the three freedom fighters. He pulled the trigger of the gun, but the gun was not loaded. His determination is not to increases the possibility for the German to harm the villagers. It seems that happiness for the German would mean trouble for the villa gers. As he aimed at the!three men, his thought was to save the villager hostages. According to the story, Conchis wants to save as many people as possible. I would describe his deportment as Rule Utilitarianism. People own what they would own under the total set of rules, of which would be the greatest good of each and most efficient. 1 His conscience is do what saves the most people. What if he did not follow the order? Will everyone still live even if he doesnt follow? Maybe by following the order he will be preventing the German use of force, or causes extreme human suffering. I did not choose Act-utilitarianism because Conchis-the mayor did not want to promote the greatest good in the individual as himself in this situation. His knowledge was to bring happiness to people.He follow rules that is all obeyed then should bring about in the long term the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. Suppose that sacrificing life or bodily integrity, where making the sac rifice wo!uld be value, is itself in each interest. Among the things that Act-utilitarianism requires is putting up with, indeed getting oneself to positively welcome, that other is also do what act utilitarianism requires lest anger lead to resentment, and resentment to wrongful, action, and wrongful action to a decrease in value. For the Utilitarian: The results are what matter. We will write a custom essay on The Magus specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now I would described Wimmel, the Nazi commandant action is Act-deontology. He is violating his moral convictions against total being. Secondly, his action cannot be justified universally. The Nazi commandant was not foreseeing the idea of human rights is a moral one. Act-deontology was morally wrong, but Wimmel determined that Conchis take the ordered or all of them will die which make it harder for him to choose whether to kill the freedom fighters or the villagers including him self will be killed by the German. However, the Rule-deontology was pointed out that its wrong to kill. Conchis realized that his previous action was immoral. When he heard the prisoner call for freedom and saw the way these men had been tortured, he couldnt kill them. His knowledge repeatedly told him he was wrong, but his total being still tells him he was right. At his point he gave up. Although ultimately these are formally equivalent, the first illustrates the need for moral principles to be uni!versalizab le. The second points to the radical distinction to be made between right or wrong and persons, and emphasizes the necessity of respect for persons. According to Deontologist: The act is what matters, therefore, when people do something quick they dont really have a chance to justify the means of valuesThere are no absolute right and wrongs, everything is relative. I dont know if I should judge morality by examining the nature of actions or rather goal of achieved. As Kant said: We praised or blamed for actions within our control, and that includes our willing, not our achieving. 2 As far as the moral evaluation of our actions was concerned, consequences did not matter. Conchis-the mayor got put into a difficult situation and consequences are irrelevant in determining moral correctness of an action. It is the action itself not the result, that is good or bad. When Conchis takes the ordered and trigger the freedom fighters, his reason has repeatedly told him he was wrong and his tota l being tells him he was right. Individual human rights are acknowledged and inviolable. We need not consider the satisfaction of harmful desires in our moral deliberations. Moral dilemmas are created when duties come in conflict, and there is no mechanism for solving them. Conflicting duties, !however, may require that I perform logically or physically incompatible actions, and failure to do any one is itself a moral wrong. Footnote:1) Judith Jarvis Thomson, The Realm of Rights: Second Property (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. 1990) 3322) Immanuel Kant, Notes on Deontology (unpublish document) Bibliography:1) Gewirth, Alan. Human Rights: Essays on Justification and Applications. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1982. .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .postImageUrl , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:hover , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:visited , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:active { border:0!important; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:active , .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3ea277711fdd8d1361860e495bf9a8cc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Nightmares Essay2) Wilson, James Q. The Moral Sense. New York: New York, 1993. 3) Wilson, James Q., and Richard J. Hernstein. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon ; Schuster. 1985.

King Louis XIV essays

King Louis XIV essays Historians of three centuries have both defended and ridiculed King Louis XIVs controversial reign. Many people have hailed him as a great king; mighty as the sun he took for his emblem. Being great as a king entails putting people before personal ambition, taking only necessary military action, achieving big things for his country, and instilling a sense of national pride in the people he rules. Louis the XIV did indeed instill national pride but his other faults negate his claim to greatness. King Louis XIV staffed his government with men who would obey him without question. Instead of appointing nobles he filled all of the positions with advisors drawn from the middle class. This way the people only had claim to what the king gave and could easily take away. Therefore the nobles couldnt get a chance to overpower him. In order to express the power he had and attempt to scare off his enemies he organized civil services, reorganized the military, and improved the economy. He made himself the symbol of the state. Louis XIV used the people for his own benefit, so that he could completely control the government and keep his power for as long as possible. Louis XIV fought many wars, some beneficial and others not so worthwhile. As previously stated, one factor of being great is only taking necessary military action. Louis did not fit this requirement. Most of his wars were benefit to himself more than to his country, while others did not achieve anything. The Spanish Succession war was one without national gain. This war occurred so that King Louis could get his grandson in the Spanish throne. It was fought for 12 years and the territorial changes were minor. In addition the war also left both France and Spain exhausted. Louis XIV centralized France as a state, but his wars added little territory and were costly in both lives and money. ...

Definition and Examples of Disjuncts in English Grammar

Definition and Examples of Disjuncts in English Grammar In English grammar, a disjunct is a type of sentence adverb that comments on the content or manner of what is being said or written. Put another way, a disjunct is a word or phrase that explicitly expresses the stance of a speaker or writer. Also called a sentence adjunct or sentence modifier. Unlike adjuncts, which are  integrated into the structure of a sentence or clause, disjuncts stand outside the syntactic structure of the text they are commenting on. In effect, says David Crystal, disjuncts look down from above on a clause, making a judgment about what it is saying or how it is phrased (Making Sense of Grammar, 2004). As explained below, the two basic types of disjuncts are content disjuncts (also known as attitudinal disjuncts) and style disjuncts.   The term disjunct is sometimes also applied to any of  two or more items connected by the disjunctive conjunction or. Etymology: From the Latin, to separate Examples and Observations Without a doubt, one of the  most popular and influential television shows  from the 1960s is the original  Star Trek  series, created by Gene Roddenberry.(Kenneth Bachor, Five  Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Original  Star Trek. Time,  September 8, 2016)Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them.(Sitting Bull, Powder River Council Speech, 1875)â€Å"As weve discussed, the information you brought us has been, shall we say, a bit thin.  To be perfectly candid, my government feels as if were being played.†(Jeffrey S. Stephens, Targets of Opportunity, 2006)But sadly, one of the problems with being on public radio is that people tend to think youre being sincere all the time.(Ira Glass, quoted by Ana Marie Cox and Joanna Dionis in Mother Jones, September-October, 1998)Regrettably, the book is no longer in print, but copies can be found in libraries and secondhand bookshops.â€Å"Well, cou ld you sleep? the Count asked the next night upon his arrival in the cage.â€Å"Quite honestly, no, Westley replied in his normal voice.(William Goldman, The Princess Bride, 1973) Hopefully, the book will inspire readers to a wider interest in weather, atmospheric science, and earth science in general.(Keay Davidson, Twister. Pocket Books, 1996)Hopefullyand Other Commentary Disjuncts- Its time to admit that hopefully has joined that class of introductory words (like fortunately, frankly, happily, honestly, sadly, seriously, and others) that we use not to describe a verb, which is what adverbs usually do, but to describe our attitude toward the statement that follows. . . . But be aware that some sticklers still take a narrow view of hopefully. Will they ever join the crowd? One can only hope.(Patricia T. OConner, Woe Is I: The Grammarphobes Guide to Better English in Plain English, rev. ed. Riverhead Books, 2003)- Long before the controversial use of hopefully came along, it was possible to marshal words like happily, fortunately, foolishly, cleverly, in dual roles, as manner adverbs or disjuncts: He spent all his money foolishly or Foolishly, he spent all his money; He landed fortunately in a haystack or He landed in a haystack, fortunately; She did not weave all of the tapestry cleverly, Cleverly, she did not weave all of the tapestry. All the howling about hopefully, all the moralizing and execration, ignored the fact that a pattern of usage already existed, and that the hated word was merely taking up an available position. Other words of the same kind are currently being treated in the same way. One of them is regretfully, which is now being used as a commentary disjunct with the meaning It is to be regretted that . . . (Regretfully, we cannot serve early morning tea). This usage might be criticized on the grounds that we already have a perfectly adequate commentary disjunct in regrettably, and that there can be no good reason for pressing an impostor into service. Users, however, are stubbornly unanswerable to the gods of good reason.(Walter Nash, An Uncommon Tongue: The Uses and Resources of English. Routledge, 1992) Style Disjuncts and Content DisjunctsThere are two kinds of disjuncts: style disjuncts and content disjuncts. Style disjuncts express comments by speakers on the style or manner in which they are speaking: frankly as in Frankly, you have no chance of winning ( I am telling you this frankly); personally in Personally, Id have nothing to do with them; with respect in With respect, it is not up to you to decide; if I may say so in They are rather rude, if I may say so; because she told me so in She wont be there, because she told me so ( I know that because she told me so). Content disjuncts comment on the content of what is being said. The most common express degrees of certainty and doubt as to what is being said: perhaps in Perhaps you can help me; undoubtedly in Undoubtedly, she is the winner; obviously in Obviously, she has no wish to help us.(Sidney Greenbaum, Adverbial. The Oxford Companion to the English Language, ed. Tom McArthur, Oxford University Press, 1992)

Cost Estimation Practice in Construction Companies Research Proposal

Cost Estimation Practice in Construction Companies - Research Proposal Example These costs will be collected from a variety of existing real construction companies. There is inherent risk involved in all construction companies and the rate of bankruptcy in construction industry is relatively higher than in any other type of business endeavor. For any construction company to succeed or fail, the role played by quality estimation and results reliability cannot be underestimated. The final project will therefore give a description of the estimating as well as the tendering process. This process is divided into various stages that begin with acquisition of tender documents and ends with the tender submission. This project will significantly make use of computerized calculations due to the complexity of a number of formulations involved. Furthermore, this will help in data condensation and minimal use of paper work to reduce on time, human error and financial costs. Lack of proper cost estimation in construction industry is probably one of the most contentious business issues in Kuwait than in many other countries in the world. This is putting into consideration that this sector supports a very large portion of the Kuwaiti economy being among the largest industries in Kuwait, and its negligence therefore would result into a major drawback in the country’s economic growth. Provision of coherent and cogent cost estimation is vital since the larger an industry gets, the more likely chances are that cost fatalities will be incurred. This project will give a description of the estimation process within the construction companies in Kuwait and the associated problems, beginning with acquisition of tendering documents to the actual submission of the tender. It will also give and explain some examples of indirect as well as direct estimation problems. Â  

Dry Needling in Physical Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Dry Needling in Physical Therapy - Essay Example Then, he describes three basic dry needling models namely Myofascial Trigger Point Model (where he states how dry needling is used for the treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs)), Radiculopathy Model (that is, the myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is caused by peripheral neuropathy or radiculopathy and the innervated structures function correctly if there is a free flow of nerve impulses, otherwise these innervated structures become supersensitive), and The Spinal Segmental Sensitization Model (in which Dommerholt describes two approaches presented by Gunn and Fischer). He states that the Spinal Segmental Sensitization Model has been developed by Dr. Andrew Fischer, and combines features of Travell and Simons’ trigger point model and Gunn’s radiculopathy model. According to them, the musculoskeletal pain can be relieved by certain methods such as needling of trigger points, somatic and preinjection blocks, spray and stretch, and exercises for the relaxation of the targeted muscles. The main difference between the two approaches put forth by Gunn and Fischer is that Fischer uses injection needles whereas Gunn uses acupuncture needles. Then, Dommerholt talks about mechanical, neurophysiological and chemical effects of dry needling. He states that when an MTrP is triggered in dry needling, it mechanically interrupts with the dysfunctional motor end plates. If an MTrP is mechanically stretched by the needle, then by rotating it, the connective tissue gets wrapped around it, referred to as ‘needle grasp’. The therapist can cause the needle grasp to occur by moving the needle up and down when he is inserting it in an MTrP. It causes the change in total length of the fiber and blocks the nociceptive substances, which relieves pain eventually. Talking about neurophysiological effects, Dommerholt mentions Baldry who says that the superficial dry needling causes prolonged stimulation of A-delta nerve fibers which suppresses the pain.  

Premarital sex Essay Essay Example for Free

Premarital sex Essay Essay Our fathers understood that sex was a blessed experience made only for married couples as a way to express their love and desire for each other. However, our youths today think of sex as a fun-thing; they have the belief that it is okay to have sex with who ever one is having a relationship with, and youths engage in several relationships before deciding to settle down. Yet, our fathers were right with their opinion about sex; sex should be a blessed ordeal and not a fun thing. Youths should try and preserve themselves for marriage, but in a situation where a person cannot hold himself he should then try and protect himself by using a condom because of the effect that unprotected sex would have on him. One of the major effects of unprotected sex is the risk of the female getting pregnant. In some situation the youths involved might not be ready to raise a child yet, and with the female getting pregnant they have problems deciding on what to do. The man might decide to deny being the father of the baby and puts down the woman. This leaves her with the decision of either aborting the child, raising the child as a single mother or dumping the child off anywhere. Each of these three choices is not to the best interest of the child. If the mother aborts the child that means she has taken the life of a human being, and it doesnt matter if the child is unborn yet or not the child has the right to his life. Even if the mother succeeds in aborting the child she may encounter some complications in the process, and this may affect her later life when she will finally decide to get married and have kids. Another dire option is to dump the child. Some mums dump their kids off in trash, in front of people front doors or at the motherless baby centers. There was even this case of a woman trying to flush down her baby down the toilet; the neighbors heard the baby crying as if it was drowning they called the police, but when the police arrived the child was already dead and the mother too because she killed herself. The best of the three options is the mother raising the child as a single parent, but this is also not a very good idea knowing that no child would want to grow up without his father, at least I know I dont. Also some of  the kids who turn out to be a menace to the society fall in the group of kids raised by a single parent. This is because the parent may not have enough time to spend with the child since she has to work a great amount of time so as to provide both of their necessities and to pay bills; the child therefore spends more time with friends and on the streets since he is not being monitored by his parent. All these are caused because of one small mistake; having sex unprotected. In many American Universities college students engage in unprotected sex, but most of them are not conscious of the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Among college students who live away from home, 56 percent had been sexually active while attending college, and 73 percent of that group reported having unprotected sex while in college, says the survey by the Society for Adolescent Medicine. (http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=514693). From the above survey it means that youths in colleges who engage in sex have high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. These students are very well exposed to these diseases because they would have the tendency of having intercourse with several people due to the fact that they converge in an enclosed environment, and also peer pressure. The female involved may also get pregnant and would have to drop out of school and get a job so as to earn some money to take care of her and her kid. Unprotected sex can also result to early marriage. When a female conceives after having sexual intercourse, the couple involved may decide to get married and raise the baby together, but things dont always turn out well after the marriage; these couples may not know themselves too well. In the event of the marriage they might find out different sides of the opposite person that they dont like, and they may finally break up. This doesnt go to the betterment of the child either because he may end up being raised by a single parent and deprived of the other. All these dreadful things can be avoided by merely abstaining from sex till one is married, but when the urge to have sex cannot be overcome then the person involved should use a condom to protect himself.

General Paper: What Use Is The Internet? :: Computer Science

General Paper: What Use Is The Internet? The internet is the world's largest, globally inter-linked network of computer systems. It allows users to transmit and receive data digitally, across the telephone network system. This concept of data transmission on a world-wide scale, has opened the doors to a vast range of possibilities for this data sharing capability. Initially, the internet was developed under a government funded project called ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency), in late 1962, directed by members of MIT who saw great potential in the ability to transmit data across a global network system i.e. the telephone system. The intention was mainly to design a system that would enable the sharing of information on research and development on scientific and military aspects. In addition, it was to provide an alternative communication network, which could be re-directed across a number of alternative routes, in the event that a site was destroyed by nuclear attack. Since the internet's first stages of development, today, it is still used as a data sharing agent. Whilst in the past, it was used primarily used by government specialist and large organizations, it can now be found in use, in the homes of more than 500 million households worldwide, according to estimated statistics at Telecom from a number of surveys in August 2001. This figure accounts for around 100% of the world population. The increasing number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has allowed millions of remote country residents', access to the network, contributing to the 17%growth rate in internet usage. Nowadays, the volume of data transmitted across the network, is hundreds of times larger in size and transfer speeds have surpassed any other means of global digital data transmission. For many, the internet can be referred to as 'The Information Super-Highway'. The millions of users connected to the internet can broadcast their data from their computer to the network, providing the user with a near limitless scope of fields of information and educational resources, such as current news, sports, inventions, discoveries and research material. The main problem with this is that some of it may not be very reliable and often specific topics may be difficult to find. Along with the development of the internet, the number of possibilities of uses for it has increased tremendously. Besides simple text-based information, the foundation of the internet, a variety of audio and visual components is now available. These include pictures, graphics, movies and videos, sounds, interactive tools, colour-rich diagrams and charts, which help enhance the user's research and educational experience. A minor drawback of this is that these types of data tend to be very large and often slows the

Business Law Memo

M E M O R A N D U M TO:Client FROM: DATE:November 16, 2011 RE:Suggestive Business Entity for Cure of Cancer Question Presented What business entity would be best suited in order to create the enterprise for the client’s scientific cure of cancer, while keeping his main interests in mind: to get assistance in running the business portion of the enterprise, while limiting his personal liability; and providing investors with the most profit possible while limiting the scope of the amount of how many people that will eventually be involved? Brief Answer A C Corporation will likely suit the needs of the clients’ interest in creating his business enterprise of creating the cure for cancer. Facts Based on the information provided by the client, he wants to manage the scientific aspect of the business and hire business professionals to run the enterprise and raise additional funds. In addition, he wants to limit his liability in the enterprise and wants to limit the scope of how many investors would be involved. Discussion Based on my interpretation of the clients’ interest, he wants to hire another business professional to handle the business side. Because of this, C Corporation would be most beneficial. If the client brought on his main investors as limited partners and then they ended up making significant management decisions while he developed the science, they would be treated as general partners for liability reasons. Also, the client did not say exactly that he did not want investors to be liable, only limit the scope of how many people would be involved, he did say that he wanted to limit his personal liability. Therefore, C Corporation would be most beneficial because the client and his investors would have limited liability. In the alternative, an LLC could be a possibility if the client wanted to take part in running the business aspect of the enterprise, then this would be the best. The client and the business professional that is hired would be partners running the business aspects of the enterprise. The client would also be responsible for science aspect of the enterprise. The investor he brought on would become limited partners who would only contribute assets and would not participate in the management of the business. Therefore this would keep their personal assets protected from the business just in case the company fails. Although this would protect the investors it would leave the client completely liable for any wrongful actions the investors make can. If the client did not want the investors to be held liable at all then in fact, a Limited Partnership would be best because the client would become the general partner. Therefore, he would be the one to run the business aspect of the enterprise. On top of running the enterprise he would also be in charge of the science aspect of the enterprise also. The investors he has now and in the future would become limited partners who would only contribute assets and would not participate in the management of the business. This would keep their personal assets protected from the business just in case the company fails. Although this would protect the investors it would leave the client completely liable for the partnership debt. It would also leave the client responsible for the business aspect of the company which he previously stated he was not interested in handling. â€Å"We could get around this by suggesting they develop a LLP as the general partner. †(Loafman, lecture) Conclusion Although, Limited Liability Company and Limited Partnership have positive aspects, C Corporation would still be most beneficial to our client because he just wants to be the scientist and does not want to be the one to manage the business. He wants to hire some business professional to run the enterprise and limit his liability.

How to Calculate Beta Essay

How to Calculate Beta Beta refers to the volatility of a particular stock compared against the volatility of the entire stock market or, in practice, a representative index of that market, such as the Standard and Poor’s (S;amp;P) 500. Beta is an indicator of how risky a particular stock is and is used to evaluate its expected rate of return. Beta is one of the fundamentals stock analysts consider when choosing stocks for their portfolios, along with price-to-earnings ratio, shareholder’s equity, debt-to-equity ratio and other factors. Here’s how to calculate beta and use beta to figure an expected rate of return. This is the rate of return an investor could expect on an investment in which his or her money is not at risk, such as U. S. Treasury Bills for investments in U. S. dollars and German Government Bills for investments that trade in euros. This figure is normally expressed as a percentage.Determine the respective rates of return for the stock and for the market or representative index. These figures are also expressed as percentages. Usually, the rates of return are figured over several months. * Either or both of these values may be negative, meaning that investing in the stock or the market (index) as a whole would mean a loss against the investment during the period. Subtract the risk-free rate from the market (or index) rate of return. If the market or index rate of return is 8 percent and the risk-free rate is again 2 percent, the difference would be 6 percent. Divide the difference in the stock’s return rate minus the risk-free rate by the market (or index) rate of return minus the risk-free rate. This is the beta, which is typically expressed as a decimal value. In the example above, the beta would be 5 divided by 6, or 0. 833. * The beta of the market itself, or its representative index, is by definition 1. 0, as the market is being compared against itself and any nonzero number divided by itself equals. A beta less than 1 means that the stock is less volatile than the market as a whole, while a beta greater than 1 means the stock is more volatile than the market as a whole. The beta value can be less than zero, meaning either that the stock is losing money while the market as a whole is gaining (more likely) or that the stock is gaining while the market as a whole is losing money (less likely). * When figuring beta, it is common, though not required, to use an index representative of the market in which the stock trades. For U. S. stocks, the S&P 500 is the index sually used, although an industrial stock may be better served by comparing it against the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Biography of Henri Rousseau, Self-Taught Post-Impressionist

Biography of Henri Rousseau, Self-Taught Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau (May 21, 1844 – September 2, 1910) was a French painter in the post-impressionist era. He started painting late in life and was roundly mocked in his own time, but was later recognized as a genius and became an influence on later avant-garde artists. Fast Facts: Henri Rousseau Full Name:  Henri Julien Fà ©lix RousseauOccupation: Artist; tax/toll collectorBorn: May 21, 1844 in Laval, FranceDied: September 2, 1910 in Paris, FranceKnown For: Almost entirely self-taught and rarely praised in his lifetime, Rousseaus naive style of painting inspired many future artists and has come to be widely respected in more contemporary times.Spouses:  Clà ©mence Boitard  (m. 1869–1888), Josephine Noury  (m. 1898–1910)Children: Julia Rousseau (only daughter that survived infancy) Working Class Origins Henri Julien Fà ©lix Rousseau was born in Laval, the capital of the Mayenne region of France. His father was a tinsmith, and he had to work alongside his father from the time he was a young boy. As a youth, he attended the local Laval High School, where he was mediocre in some subjects but excelled in creative disciplines such as music and drawing, even winning awards. Eventually, his father went into debt and the family was forced to give up their house; at this time, Rousseau began boarding at the school full-time. After high school, Rousseau attempted to start a career in law. He worked for a lawyer and began his studies, but when he was involved in an incident of perjury, he had to abandon that career path. Instead, he enlisted in the army, serving four years from 1863 to 1867. In 1868, his father died, leaving Rousseau to support his widowed mother. He left the army, moved to Paris, and instead took up a government post, working as a toll and tax collector. Rousseau was known as Le Douanier (the Customs Officer) after his place of work. Essentially self-taught, Rousseaus naive primitive style of painting was widely ridiculed during his lifetime although he later came to be seen as an artist of considerable significance. Print Collector  /  Getty Images That same year, Rousseau married his first wife, Clà ©mence Boitard. She was his landlord’s daughter and, being only fifteen years old, was nine years his junior. The couple had six children together, but only one survived, their daughter Julia Rousseau (born 1876). A few years into their marriage, in 1871, Rousseau took on a new post, collecting taxes on goods coming into Paris (a specific tax called the octroi). Early Exhibits Starting in 1886, Rousseau began exhibiting artwork in the Salon des Indà ©pendants, a Paris salon founded in 1884 that counted Georges Seurat among its founders. The salon was formed as a response to the rigidity of the government-sponsored Salon, which focused heavily on traditionalism and was less than welcoming to artistic innovations. This was a perfect fit for Rousseau, although his work was not displayed in places of prominence within the exhibitions. Rousseau was almost entirely self-taught, although he admitted to having received some â€Å"advice† from Fà ©lix Auguste Clà ©ment and Jean-Là ©on Gà ©rà ´me, a pair of painters from the Academic style. For the most part, though, his artwork came all from his own self-training. He painted nature scenes, as well as developing a particular take on the portrait landscape, in which he would paint a particular scene, then place a person in the foreground. His style lacked some of the polished technique of other artists of the time, leading to him being labeled as a â€Å"naà ¯ve† painter and often disdained by critics. Painting by Henri Rousseau. Surprise, 1891. Buyenlarge  /  Getty Images In 1888, Rousseau’s wife Clà ©mence died, and he spent the next ten years single. His art slowly began to grow a following, and in 1891, Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) was exhibited and earned his first major review with serious praise from fellow artist Felix Vallotton. In 1893, Rousseau moved to a studio in the art-centric neighborhood of Montparnasse, where he would live for the rest of his life. Ongoing Career in Paris Rousseau formally retired from his government job in 1893, ahead of his fiftieth birthday, and devoted himself to his artistic pursuits. One of Rousseau’s most famous works, The Sleeping Gypsy, was first seen in 1897. The following year, Rousseau remarried, a decade after losing his first wife. His new wife, Josephine Noury, was, like him, on her second marriage- her first husband had died. The couple had no children, and Josephine died only four years later, in 1892. Painting by Henri Rousseau. Sleeping Gypsy, 1897.   Buyenlarge / Getty Images In 1905, Rousseau returned to his earlier themes with another large-scale jungle painting. This one, titled The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope, was exhibited once again at the Salon des Indà ©pendants. It was placed near works by a group of younger artists who were leaning more and more avant-garde; one of the future stars whose work was shown near Rousseau’s was Henri Matisse. In retrospect, the grouping was considered the first showing of Fauvism. The group, â€Å"the Fauves,† may have even gotten the inspiration for their name from his painting: the name â€Å"les fauves† is French for â€Å"the wild beasts.† Rousseau’s reputation continued to climb within the artistic community, although he never quite made it to the uppermost echelons. In 1907, however, he received a commission from Berthe, Comtesse de Delauney- the mother of fellow artist Robert Delauney- to paint a work that ended up being The Snake Charmer. His inspirations for the jungle scenes were not, contrary to rumors, from seeing Mexico during his time in the army; he never went to Mexico. The Snake Charmer, 1907. Artist: Rousseau.   Heritage Images / Getty Images In 1908, Pablo Picasso discovered one of Rousseau’s paintings being sold on the street. He was struck by the painting and immediately went to find and meet Rousseau. Delighted with the artist and the art, Picasso proceeded to throw a half-serious, half-parody banquet in Rousseau’s honor, called Le Banquet Rousseau. The evening featured many of the prominent figures in the creative community of the time, not for a glittering celebration, but more of a meeting of the creative minds with one another in celebration of their art. In hindsight, it was considered one of the most significant social events of its time. Declining Health and Legacy Rousseau’s final painting, The Dream, was exhibited in 1910 by the Salon des Indà ©pendants. That month, he suffered from an abscess on his leg, but ignored the inflammation until it became too far gone. He was not admitted to the hospital until August, and by then, his leg had become gangrenous. After having surgery for his leg, he developed a blood clot and died from it on September 2, 1910. The Dream (1910). Museum of Modern Art, New York. Fine Art  /  Getty Images Despite being criticized during his life, Rousseau’s style was hugely influential on the next generation of avant-garde artists, such as Picasso, Fernand Leger, Max Beckmann, and the whole surrealist movement. Poets Wallace Stevens and Sylvia Plath also drew inspiration from Rousseau’s paintings, as did songwriter Joni Mitchell. In perhaps the most unexpected connection: one of Rousseau’s paintings inspired the visual world of the animated film Madagascar. His work continues to be displayed to this day, where it is studied and admired much more than it ever was during his own life. Sources â€Å"Henri Rousseau.† Biography, 12 April 2019, https://www.biography.com/artist/henri-rousseau.â€Å"Henri Rousseau.† Guggenheim, https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/henri-rousseau.Vallier, Dora. â€Å"Henri Rousseau: French Painter.† Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Rousseau.

Crusades Effects on the Middle East

Crusades Effects on the Middle East Between 1095 and 1291, Christians from western Europe launched a series of eight major invasions against the Middle East. These attacks, called the Crusades, were aimed at liberating the Holy Land and Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The Crusades were sparked by religious fervor in Europe, by exhortations from various Popes, and by the need to rid Europe of excess warriors left over from regional wars. What effect did these attacks, which came from out of the blue from the perspective of Muslims and Jews in the Holy Land, have on the Middle East? Short-Term Effects In an immediate sense, the Crusades had a terrible effect on some of the Muslim and Jewish inhabitants of the Middle East. During the First Crusade, for example, adherents of the two religions joined together to defend the cities of Antioch (1097 CE) and Jerusalem (1099) from European Crusaders who laid siege to them. In both cases, the Christians sacked the cities and massacred the Muslim and Jewish defenders alike. It must have been horrifying to see armed bands of religious zealots approaching to attack a city or castle. However, as bloody as the battles could be, on the whole, the people of the Middle East considered the Crusades more of an irritant than an existential threat. A Global Trade Power During the Middle Ages, the Islamic world was a global center of trade, culture, and learning. Arab Muslim traders dominated the rich trade in spices, silk, porcelain, and jewels that flowed between China, the area that is now Indonesia, India,​ and points west. Muslim scholars had preserved and translated the great works of science and medicine from classical Greece and Rome, combined that with insights from the ancient thinkers of India and China, and went on to invent or improve subjects like algebra and astronomy, and medical innovations such as the hypodermic needle. Europe, on the other hand, was a war-torn region of small, feuding principalities, mired in superstition and illiteracy. One of the primary reasons that Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade (1096–1099), in fact, was to distract the Christian rulers and nobles of Europe from fighting one another by creating a common enemy for them- the Muslims who controlled the Holy Land. Europes Christians would launch seven additional crusades over the next two hundred years, but none was as successful as the First Crusade. One effect of the Crusades was the creation of a new hero for the Islamic world: Saladin, the Kurdish sultan of Syria and Egypt, who in 1187 freed Jerusalem from the Christians but refused to massacre them as they had done to the citys Muslim and Jewish citizens ninety years previously. On the whole, the Crusades had little immediate effect on the Middle East, in terms of territorial losses or psychological impact. By the 1200s, people in the region were much more concerned about a new threat: the quickly-expanding Mongol Empire, which would bring down the Umayyad Caliphate, sack Baghdad, and push toward Egypt. Had the Mamluks not defeated the Mongols in the Battle of Ayn Jalut (1260), the entire Muslim world might have fallen. Effects on Europe In the centuries that followed, it was actually Europe that was most changed by the Crusades. The Crusaders brought back exotic new spices and fabrics, fueling European demand for products from Asia. They also brought back new ideas- medical knowledge, scientific ideas, and more enlightened attitudes about people of other religious backgrounds. These changes among the nobility and soldiers of the Christian world helped to spark the Renaissance and eventually set Europe, the backwater of the Old World, on a course toward global conquest. Long-Term Effects of the Crusades on the Middle East Eventually, it was Europes rebirth and expansion that finally created a Crusader effect in the Middle East. As Europe asserted itself during the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, it forced the Islamic world into a secondary position, sparking envy and reactionary conservatism in some sectors of the formerly more progressive Middle East. Today, the Crusades constitute a major grievance for some people in the Middle East, when they consider relations with Europe and the West. That attitude is not unreasonable- after all, European Christians launched two hundred years-worth of unprovoked attacks on the Middle East out of religious zealotry and blood-lust. 21st Century Crusade In 2001, United States President George W. Bush reopened the almost thousand-year-old wound in the days following the 9/11 Attacks. On Sunday, September 16, 2001, President Bush said, this crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while. The reaction in the Middle East and, interestingly, also in Europe was sharp and immediate: Commentators in both regions decried Bushs use of that term  and vowed that the terrorist attacks and the USs reaction could not turn into a new clash of civilizations like the medieval Crusades. In an odd way, however, the American reaction to 9/11 did echo the Crusades. The Bush administration decided to launch the Iraq War, despite the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Just as the first several crusades had done, this unprovoked attack killed thousands of innocents in the Middle East  and perpetuated the cycle of mistrust that had developed between the Muslim and Christian worlds since Pope Urban urged the European knights to liberate the Holy Land from the Saracens. Sources and Further Reading Claster, Jill N. Sacred Violence: The European Crusades to the Middle East, 1095-1396. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009.Kà ¶hler, Michael. Alliances and Treaties between Frankish and Muslim Rulers in the Middle East: Cross-Cultural Diplomacy in the Period of the Crusades. Trans. Holt, Peter M. Leiden: Brill, 2013.  Holt, Peter M. The Age of the Crusades: The Near East from the Eleventh Century to 1517. London: Routledge, 2014.

How to Do Well On a Job Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to Do Well On a Job Interview - Assignment Example Job interviews are means that companies use to identify the right candidates for the vacant posts in the companies. The only way the interviewer is able to identify the personality of the interviewee is by judging their communication skills. Communication is divided into two major parts that are verbal and non-verbal. The interviewee should be able to use them to ensure that he impresses the interviewer in a professional way to increase his chances to acquire the job. The non-verbal communication is mainly by the facial expression and body posture; the interviewee should smile and appear serious when answering the questions (Nieremberg, 2005). The interviewee should sit in a way that he does not appear nervous but should maintain eye contract to read the non-verbal language of the interviewer. Verbal communication includes talking and listening. The interviewee should portray his ability to do both in a professional manner. The interviewee should not interrupt the interviewer or try to change the topic the interviewer is willing to discuss since you should let the interviewer run the interview. The interviewee should ensure that he is audible, clear, direct to the point, use complete sentences, maintain professionalism, do not use acronyms, listen and ask questions when offered the opportunity to become more conversant with the company (Nieremberg, 2005). Confusion is one of the key reasons that an interviewee will fail in the interview. The confusion tints the appearance of the interviewee, making him appear unprofessional. To boost one’s appearance, the interviewee should practice for the interview by noting the most frequent basic questions to ensure that he is not caught off-guard during the interview, which will tamper with his appearance. The dressing code of the company is key to ensure that the interviewee does not appear out of place during the interview. Researching on the company and practicing with friends on