Masculinity in Rap and Hip Hop free essay sample

Hop every rapper has to portray themselves as being hard, having a lot of girls In their circle and having money. Since the beginning of the American society being considered a real man was to be able to protect their families. When television came around western films portrayed men as either strong or weak and defined their masculinity as being the stronger man because of their guns.For example in a western movie during a draw two men would be about twenty feet away room each other and whichever man shot the other man first won the draw and was then considered the dominant male and very masculine. Therefore what goes on in rap songs about the talk of gun play and who is more masculine between rappers is nothing new in American society. All of the violent lyrics In rap songs could have stemmed from the effects of the crack era. We will write a custom essay sample on Masculinity in Rap and Hip Hop or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page During that time a lot of gang activity arose therefore whoever was the hardest or had more power was looked at as more masculine. Gangs rap also Influenced hardcore lyrics to the extent that majority of todays rap lyrics contain talk bout guns, plumping, violence and homophobia. Being a homosexual is not acceptable in rap, especially for a male. Today in society, for females there is a lot of homosexuality occurring.Many believe its a fad and I believe mainstream media has a lot to do with it because you have artists such as Nick Mina] and Greenshank who claim to be bisexual and homosexual. Viewers who listen to them want to hop onto the band wagon to be like them and they think its cool. Even artists who are not within the Hip Hop genre are claiming to be bisexual such as Lady Gaga. Mainstream uses the sexuality people to sell records, obviously.In rap lyrics homosexuality is used as a threat to question another males masculinity. A rapper may use derogatory terms such as fagged or you must be a Even All Wayne popularized the phrase NO HOMO, and uses It In many of his songs. Frazzling another mans manhood Is the objective In most rap lyrics, simply to boost their own ego and masculinity. The person who has to bring someone else down by criticizing their upbringing and manliness only shows that they are insecure about theirs and become a bully.The lyrics that are in rap songs are not only listened to by African Americans but by many other cultures, cultures who know nothing about them. Different cultures listen to rap music to get to know a culture and all the violence and explicit lyrics within rap creates stereotypes. To other cultures they see African Americans as violent pimps, which is not the case at all. Not to mention African American women In rap videos, even the men In the same culture consider them to be not sisters.During the documentary a scene was shot at BETs Spring Blind and a young male pointed out that women are determined to be or women by the way they dress. Sexism is an issue that to society is not seen as important compared to the not more because one in four African American women is raped after the age eighteen. Most women who are called a b**** or another demeaning name think that it wasnt referred to them, and either way is still unacceptable. Hip Hop is not being represented by men, which is why the decision of their lyrics is said the way that they are.

Oral Report Tips for Speaking to Your Class

Oral Report Tips for Speaking to Your Class Does the thought of giving an oral report make you queasy? If so, youre not alone. People of all ages and occupations- even those with public speaking experience- feel the same way. The good news is that there are many things you can do to prepare and feel calmer during your talk. Just follow the tips below to gear up for a super performance. Tips for Presenting As with many things in life, delivering an oral report will be much easier if you take time to prepare for it. Preparation will give you confidence and help you focus on what matters when youre finally in the spotlight. Write your report to be heard, not read. There is a difference between words that are meant to be heard in your head and words that are meant to be heard out loud. Youll see this once you begin to practice what youve written, as some sentences will sound choppy or too formal.Practice your report out loud. This is very important. There will be some phrases that you will stumble over, even though they look simple. Read out loud when you practice and make changes to any phrases that stop your flow.On the morning of your report, eat something but dont drink soda. Carbonated beverages will give you dry mouth, and caffeine will affect your nerves and make you jittery. Stick to water or juice instead.Dress appropriately, and in layers. You never know whether the room will be hot or cold. Either could give you the shakes, so prepare for both.Once you stand up, take a moment to gather your thoughts or relax. Dont be afraid to give yourself a silent pause before you begin. Look through your pa per for a moment. If your heart is beating hard, this will give it an opportunity to calm down. If you do this right, it actually looks very professional, too. If you start to speak and your voice is shaky, take a pause. Clear your throat. Take a few relaxing breaths and start again.Focus on someone at the back of the room. This has a calming effect on some speakers. It may feel weird, but it doesnt look weird.Take the stage. Pretend youre a professional on TV. This gives confidence.Prepare an I dont know answer if people will be asking questions. Dont be afraid to say you dont know. You can say something like, That is a great question. Ill look into that.Have a good ending line. Avoid an awkward moment at the end by preparing a strong conclusion. Dont back away, mumbling Well, I guess thats all. Other Advice More generally, you can prepare for an oral report by deeply researching your topic and practicing your speech before a mirror or video camera. Know your topic well. If you feel confident about your knowledge, you will feel confident when it comes time to share that knowledge with others.If possible, make a practice video and watch yourself to see how you sound. Pay attention to your posture and tone of voice. If you have any nervous tics- such as saying um or ah- try to reduce them as much as you can.Dont pick the day of your report to experiment with a new style. It may give you an extra reason to feel nervous in front of a crowd.Walk up to your speaking location early to give your nerves time to calm down.

A Demographic Analysis of Mexico Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Demographic Analysis of Mexico - Assignment Example According to any basic health model, the statistics on Mexico show a shift of lifestyle to a more urbane, aesthetic way of living that is characterized by lifestyle diseases such as obesity. Conversely, this comes with a reduction in conditions such as underweight and wasting as well as stunted growth. A reduction in hunger index from 5.99 in 1999 to 5.10 in 2003 is also noted. These can be attributed to an aggregate improvement in health care and sanitation supported by gains in food security occasioned by an augmented economy. TB prevalence in Mexico can be said to be effectively managed compared to other countries. The cases of infection cited by the World Health Organization in 2009 pale in comparison to most States that have a higher infection index according to data from UNHDR. Again, this can be pegged on improved healthcare. Despite men and women accessing education at a proportionate footing of 51% to 49%, the frequency of women dropping out along the way is decidedly higher in rural areas. A possible explanation lies in the vicious cycle of poverty that sucks in more women whose duties and obligations are largely domestic. These statistics show an indication that the environment in Mexico has reduced disparities of income and social status because of the positive parameters of growth, with an average income of 13500$, the level of poverty has dived from 50% with a fifth of the population reeling in extreme poverty.

Economics for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Economics for Business - Essay Example (Monaghan, 2014) UK’s car market is the second largest market in Europe after Germany and therefore has a critical significance in terms of its contribution to the market. The market is however, dominated by the few but very large players in the industry. 2013 figures suggest that Ford emerged as one of the leading players in the market followed by Vauxhall and BMW. These brands are considered as the hottest selling brands with Ford Fiestas as the leading vehicle in the country purchased during 2013. Since the market is rebounding from its earlier levels, there are signs of price wars in the industry as one of the largest suppliers in the market i.e. Ford has started a fierce competition with the existing players in the market. It is also because of this reason that Ford Fiesta has registered highest number of growth in terms of units sold during 2013. Ford has been specifically offering deep discounts to the dealers on selling certain number of cars of its brands during the month. It suggests that Ford has been capitalizing on the growing opportunities and leveraging the same through the stronger incentives to the dealers. Other players such as Daewoo and Hyundai are also believed to be working towards matching such offers at EU wide level thus initiating price wars at the regional level. (News.bbc.co.uk, 2014) A closer analysis of the market would suggest that the market is being dominated by few but relative larger players in the market. UK Car market is dominated by both the local as well as international players. Local firms such as Vauxhall are also considered as the major players with firms like Ford, Nisan as well as Daewoo and Hyundai are also continuing to dominate the market. What is however, critical to note that none of these firms are actually the price makers as the overall demand depends upon certain other related factors such as availability of cheaper consumer credit and overall economic

Hybrid Cars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hybrid Cars - Essay Example These hybrid cars can prove to be useful in many different ways which include the environmental factors along with the factors of scarce resources. Hybrid cars have features which help reduce pollution from the environment and are also economically feasible as compared to the conventional cars. With the increase in the prices of fuel as well as the reduction in the amount of natural resources, the popularity of these hybrid cars is increasing every day. As compared to traditional cars there are two main advantages of hybrid cars. One is that it emits less carbon dioxide which makes it an environmental friendly car. The second advantage is that it has higher fuel efficiency that can help people save sufficient amount of money and thus it can be counted as an economic advantage of these cars. In present times when world’s economy is in crucial state, every dollar matters and this has become the most important benefit of these vehicles (Hantula 2009). Some of the other benefits o f these cars are their smart styling, their well equipped interiors and their up to date safety features. In the long run hybrid cars are more of a practical choice to opt for because of low fuel cost and low emissions. Hybrid cars are more competent because of their light weight due to the usage of light weight materials in its structure. Hybrid cars capture, accumulate and recycle the kinetic energy that is produced from the car’s brakes (Congress House 2010). Hybrid cars have the ability to save energy in a very efficient way. They can switch their power on and off according to the usage of the car. If the car is standing in an area full of traffic, the car automatically turns off its power and saves energy. When the accelerator is pressed the engine automatically starts again and thus this saves energy. These cars can be said to be energy efficient considering these factors. These cars also have batteries which have a long life. The tires which are used in these cars have low resistance which reduces energy loss. All this helps this car to accelerate and drive up on higher plains easily. In this way these cars can achieve greater speed which decreases the fuel consumption and also less energy is wasted. There are also certain disadvantages attached to hybrid cars. The major drawback of hybrid vehicles is that they are still quite expensive. This is because of the fact that its production costs are very high due to using uncommon equipment for example dysprosium which is used in the manufacturing of highly developed electric motors and many more. The maintenance of hybrid cars can be very expensive as well. As for now these cars are not that common so it is difficult to find garages which have necessary materials to service them. Hence taking them to the producer can be very expensive. Even though these cars are gradually gaining popularity but there are still factors that make traditional cars more feasible as compared to them. Hence, because of the se reasons hybrid cars cannot fully compete with gasoline powered cars. When the cost of production of these vehicles would be lowered as compared to other cars the production would also rise. Once the supply rises the price would go down and the demand would rise. The exact time of this happening cannot be told but when this happens new mode of researches to

Relationships In The Novel The Road

Relationships In The Novel The Road The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a fantasy which revolves around two characters, a father and a son. I am doing a character sketch on the man and the boy because I find them to have the most fascinating personalities. The book narrates a father and son journeying through what happens to be North America, to the warmer South America. They have no money, few clothes, and barely any food. They stop at every village and town too scavenge and search for food. This is represented when the man and the boy find an underground bunker in a village full of useful essentials. The author lays emphasis on the theme of survival, and the significance it has on the man and the boy. The father appears to be very smart with a good eye for danger. He is quite skillful with weapons this is portrayed when he fond an underground bunker, he had found bullets but for the wrong gun so he whittled fake bullets from a treebranch with his knife. He also understands how to use his surrounding accurately, this is shown when in the end of the novel the man has an encounter with some villagers and has to think fast. On the other hand, the boy seems somewhat illiterate about the outside world, he knows nothing about firearms and all he knows is what his father has taught him during the years. The boy is also very scared in the novel, when it comes to looking in the towns or cities for food. The novel shows the progression of father and sons relationship, you see it growing bigger and stronger. Knowing that the boy does not have a mother anymore the father tries as much as he can to compensate for that. For example the boy and the man find a locked door in the ground while out s earching in a village. The man is tired and was resting between each shovelful while trying to uncover the bunker. However a few weeks before they had found a door and inside were they found other people whose limbs worn torn off and a boy on a splint on top of a fire being roasted for food. The man, no matter how scared the boy was, opens the door and finds a safe house full of food, water, gasoline, and other useful things. This tells that whatever the boy says to his father he will not listen however important it is, but only to save their lives. Therefore we learn that he is a father who would do anything for their son, and that he is the stereotypical Dad. He is the protector, provider and preserver for his son. This is shown in many instances as the father put the boy in the bunk and smoothed his filthy hair on the pillow and covered him with blankets. During the course of the novel, you see the boy become an independent man. He has got more confidence and has much more awareness around him. He understands that what his father does is only for him, and he loves no-one more. His mother died some time before this New World came to life. The man has raised the boy all by himself. He tries to teach him everything there is to know. The boy has also missed out on many luxuries that the man finds in one instance. The father finds Coca Cola and he asks the boy to try it and the boy responds by saying What is it, Papa? He also teaches him his alphabet. You get to know this from reading the end of the book, where he asks him Can you write the alphabet?, and he the boy responds by saying I can write it. We also learn that the boy wants to help other people that have lost their way, need help, or food. For they meet a man who cannot see well. The boy then insists on spending the night with this man and giving him some food and some warmth for the night. This shows us that even though the boy is very scared he is also very caring and wants to help other people that come across their path. He doesnt mind giving up his own food or his own clothing he just wants to help people around him. The boy shows a lot of compassion and a sense of social responsibility; you can see that the boy has a warm character and a soft heart towards everyone. However the father is not like a mirror image of the son, he trusts no-one. He believes in one for ones self, and has experienced a lot of suffering. The father has also lost a lot of loved ones and is emotional scarred and he thinks that the only way to stop this is to cut out all other people in his life. At the end of the novel, the father dies because he loses too much blood from an arrow wound, when the man was trying to protect the boy when they were at a town, trying to get some food. However, some village folk started to shoot at them thinking that they are carnivores. The boy waits by his side for 3 days, waiting for someone to come and help him. At the end a man, his wife and children were walking pass and decide to take him with them. He sees that the boy has supplies that they need and offer to help. The boy doesnt leave without covering his dad with a blanket, and saying his last goodbyes. The novel is written in sparse but moving prose. Cormac McCarthy uses simplifed formatting for his novel. There are no speech marks throughout the story. To provide us the adrelinin rush and to create tension throughout the novel McCarthy uses short sentences. The style that he writes in highlights the bond between the father and the son. I think that the boy is a symbol for hope, courage, and commitment. I felt a sense of pride in the ability of men to look after children even in difficult times. The novel inspires me to understand what families go through when they fight for survival.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Essay

The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the de facto dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history at that time, Enron was attributed as the biggest audit failure. Enron was formed in 1985 by Kenneth Lay after merging Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. Several years later, when Jeffrey Skilling was hired, he developed a staff of executives that, by the use of accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting, were able to hide billions of dollars in debt from failed deals and projects. Chief Financial Officer Andre Fastow and other executives not only misled Enron’s board of directors and audit committee on high-risk accounting practices, but also pressured Andersen to ignore the issues . Enron shareholders filed a $40 billion lawsuit after the company’s stock price, which achieved a high of US$90.75 per share in mid-2000, plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began an investigation, and rival Houston competitor Dynegy offered to purchase the company at a very low price. The deal failed, and on December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Enron’s $63.4 billion in assets made it the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history until WorldCom’s bankruptcy the next year. Many executives at Enron were indicted for a variety of charges and were later sentenced to prison. Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen, was found guilty in a United States District Court, but by the time the ruling was overturned at the U.S. Supreme Court, the company had lost the majority of its customers and had closed. Employees and shareholders received l imited returns in lawsuits, despite losing billions in pensions and stock prices. As a consequence of the scandal, new regulations and legislation were enacted to expand the accuracy of financial reporting for public companies. One piece of legislation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, increased penalties for destroying, altering, or fabricating records in federal investigations or for attempting to defraud shareholders. The act also increased the accountability of auditing firms to remain unbiased and independent of their clients. Rise of  Enron In 1985, Kenneth Lay merged the natural gas pipeline companies of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth to form Enron. In the early 1990s, he helped to initiate the selling of electricity at market prices and, soon after, the United States Congress approved legislation deregulating the sale of natural gas. The resulting markets made it possible for traders such as Enron to sell energy at higher prices, thereby significantly increasing its revenue. After producers and local governments decried the resultant price volatility and asked for increased regulation, strong lobbying on the part of Enron and others allowed for the proliferation of crony capitalism. As Enron became the largest seller of natural gas in North America by 1992, its gas contracts trading earned earnings before interest and taxes of $122 million, the second largest contributor to the company’s net income. The November 1999 creation of the EnronOnline trading website allowed the company to better manage its contra cts trading business. In an attempt to achieve further growth, Enron pursued a diversification strategy. The company owned and operated a variety of assets including gas pipelines, electricity plants, pulp and paper plants, water plants, and broadband services across the globe. The corporation also gained additional revenue by trading contracts for the same array of products and services with which it was involved. Enron’s stock increased from the start of the 1990s until year-end 1998 by 311% percent, only modestly higher than the average rate of growth in the Standard & Poor 500 index. However, the stock increased by 56% in 1999 and a further 87% in 2000, compared to a 20% increase and a 10% decrease for the index during the same years. By December 31, 2000, Enron’s stock was priced at $83.13 and its market capitalization exceeded $60 billion, 70 times earnings and six times book value, an indication of the stock market’s high expectations about its future prospects. In addition, Enron was rated the most innovative large company in America in Fortune’s Most Admired Companies survey. Causes of downfall Enron’s complex financial statements were confusing to shareholders and analysts. In addition, its complex business model and unethical practices required that the company use accounting limitations to misrepresent  earnings and modify the balance sheet to indicate favorable performance. The combination of these issues later resulted in the bankruptcy of the company, and the majority of them were perpetuated by the indirect knowledge or direct actions of Lay,Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow, and other executives. Lay served as the chairman of the company in its last few years, and approved of the actions of Skilling and Fastow although he did not always inquire about the details. Skilling constantly focused on meeting Wall Street expectations, advocated the use of mark-to-market accounting (accounting based on market value, which was then inflated) and pressured Enron executives to find new ways to hide its debt. Fastow and other executives â€Å"†¦created off-balance-s heet vehicles, complex financing structures, and deals so bewildering that few people could understand them.† Revenue recognition Main article: Revenue recognition Enron and other energy suppliers earned profits by providing services such as wholesale trading and risk management in addition to building and maintaining electric power plants, natural gas pipelines, storage, and processing facilities. When accepting the risk of buying and selling products, merchants are allowed to report the selling price as revenues and the products’ costs as cost of goods sold. In contrast, an â€Å"agent† provides a service to the customer, but does not take the same risks as merchants for buying and selling. Service providers, when classified as agents, are able to report trading and brokerage fees as revenue, although not for the full value of the transaction. Although trading companies such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch used the conventional â€Å"agent model† for reporting revenue (where only the trading or brokerage fee would be reported as revenue), Enron instead elected to report the entire value of each of its trades as revenue . This â€Å"merchant model† was considered much more aggressive in the accounting interpretation than the agent model. Enron’s method of reporting inflated trading revenue was later adopted by other companies in the energy trading industry in an attempt to stay competitive with the company’s large increase in revenue. Other energy companies such as Duke Energy, Reliant Energy, and Dynegy joined Enron in the wealthiest 50 of the Fortune 500 mainly due to their adoption of the same trading revenue  accounting as Enron. Between 1996 and 2000, Enron’s revenues increased by more than 750%, rising from $13.3 billion in 1996 to $100.8 billion in 2000. This extensive expansion of 65% per year was unprecedented in any industry, including the energy industry which typically considered growth of 2–3% per year to be respectable. For just the first nine months of 2001, Enron reported $138.7 billion in revenues, which placed the company at the sixth position on the Fortune Global 500. Mark-to-market accounting Main article: Mark-to-market accounting In Enron’s natural gas business, the accounting had been fairly straightforward: in each time period, the company listed actual costs of supplying the gas and actual revenues received from selling it. However, when Skilling joined the company, he demanded that the trading business adopt mark-to-market accounting, citing that it would represent â€Å"†¦ true economic value.† Enron became the first non-financial company to use the method to account for its complex long-term contracts. The mark-to-market method requires estimations of future incomes when a long-term contract is signed. These estimations are based on the future net value of the cash flow, costs related to the contract were often hard to predict. Often, the viability of these contracts and their related costs were difficult to estimate. Due to the large discrepancies of attempting to match profits and cash, investors were typically given false or misleading reports. While using the method, income from p rojects could be recorded, although they might not have ever received the money, and in turn increasing financial earnings on the books. However, in future years, the profits could not be included, so new and additional income had to be included from more projects to develop additional growth to appease investors. As one Enron competitor stated, â€Å"If you accelerate your income, then you have to keep doing more and more deals to show the same or rising income.† Despite potential pitfalls, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the accounting method for Enron in its trading of natural gas futures contracts on January 30, 1992. However, Enron later expanded its use to other areas in the company to help it meet Wall Street projections. For one contract, in July 2000, Enron and Blockbuster Video signed a 20-year agreement to introduce on-demand entertainment to various U.S. cities by year-end. After several  pilot projects, Enron recognized estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, even though analysts questioned the technical viability and market demand of the service. Whe n the network failed to work, Blockbuster withdrew from the contract. Enron continued to recognize future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss. Special purpose entities Main article: Special purpose entity Enron used special purpose entities—limited partnerships or companies created to fulfill a temporary or specific purpose—to fund or manage risks associated with specific assets. The company elected to disclose minimal details on its use of â€Å"special purpose entities†. These â€Å"shell firms† were created by a sponsor, but funded by independent equity investors and debt financing. For financial reporting purposes, a series of rules dictates whether a special purpose entity is a separate entity from the sponsor. In total, by 2001, Enron had used hundreds of special purpose entities to hide its debt. Enron used a number of special purpose entities, such as partnerships in its Thomas and Condor tax shelters, financial asset securitization investment trusts (FASITs) in the Apache deal, real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) in the Steele deal, and REMICs and real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the Cochise deal. The special purpose entities were used for more than just circumventing accounting conventions. As a result of one violation, Enron’s balance sheet understated its liabilities and overstated its equity, and its earnings were overstated. Enron disclosed to its shareholders that it had hedged downside risk in its own illiquid investments using special purpose entities. However, the investors were oblivious to the fact that the special purpose entities were actually using the company’s own stock and financial guarantees to finance these hedges. This prevented Enron from being protected from the downside risk. Notable examples of special purpose entities that Enron employed were JEDI, Chewco, Whitewing, and LJM. Executive compensation Although Enron’s compensation and performance management system was designed to retain and reward its most valuable employees, the system contributed to a dysfunctional corporate culture that became obsessed with short-term  earnings to maximize bonuses. Employees constantly tried to start deals, often disregarding the quality of cash flow or profits, in order to get a better rating for their performance review. Additionally, accounting results were recorded as soon as possible to keep up with the company’s stock price. This practice helped ensure deal-makers and executives received large cash bonuses and stock options. The company’s main focus was its stock price. Management was compensated extensively using stock options, similar to other U.S. companies. This policy of stock option awards caused management to create expectations of intense growth in efforts to give the appearance of reported earnings to meet Wall Street’s expectations. The stock ticker was located all throughout the company buildings, including the lobbies, elevators, and computers. At budget meetings, Skilling would develop target earnings by asking â€Å"What earnings do you need to keep our stock price up?† and that number would be used, even if it was not feasible. At December 31, 2000, Enron had 96 million shares outstanding as stock option plans(approximately 13% of common shares outstanding). Enron’s proxy statement stated that, within three years, these awards were expected to be exercised. Using Enron’s January 2001 stock price of $83.13 and the directors’ beneficial ownership reported in the 2001 proxy, the value of director stock ownership was $659 million for Lay, and $174 million for Skilling. Skilling believed that if employees were constantly worried about cost, it would hinder original thinking. As a result, extravagant spending was rampant throughout the company, especially among the executives. Employees had large expense accounts and many executives were paid sometimes twice as much as competitors. In 1998, the top 200 highest-paid employees received $193 million from salaries, bonuses, and stock. Two years later, the figure jumped to $1.4 billion. Timeline of downfall â€Å"At the beginning of 2001, the Enron Corporation, the world’s dominant energy trader, appeared unstoppable. The company’s decade-long effort to persuade lawmakers to deregulate electricity markets had succeeded from California to New York. Its ties to the Bush administration assured that its views would be heard in Washington. Its sales, profits and stock were soaring.† A. Berenson and R. A. Oppel, Jr. The New York Times, Oct 28, 2001. In February 2001, Chief Accounting Officer Rick Causey told budget managers: â€Å"From an  accounting standpoint, this will be our easiest year ever. We’ve got 2001 in the bag.† On March 5, Bethany McLean’sFortune article Is Enron Overpriced? questioned how Enron could maintain its high stock value, which was trading at 55 times its earnings. She argued that analysts and investors did not know exactly how Enron was earning its income. McLean was first drawn to the company’s situation after an ana lyst suggested she view the company’s 10-K report, where she found â€Å"strange transactions†, â€Å"erratic cash flow†, and â€Å"huge debt.† She telephoned Skilling to discuss her findings prior to publishing the article, but he called her â€Å"unethical† for not properly researching the company. Fastow cited two Fortune reporters that Enron could not reveal earnings details as the company had more than 1,200 trading books for assorted commodities and did â€Å"†¦ not want anyone to know what’s on those books. We don’t want to tell anyone where we’re making money.† In a conference call on April 17, 2001, then-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Skilling verbally attacked Wall Street analyst Richard Grubman, who questioned Enron’s unusual accounting practice during a recorded conference call. When Grubman complained that Enron was the only company that could not release a balance sheet along with its earnings statements, Skilling replied â€Å"Well, thank you very much, we appreciate that †¦ asshole.† This became an inside joke among many Enron employees, mocking Grubman for his perceived meddling rather than Skilling’s offensiveness, with slogans such as â€Å"Ask Why, Asshole†, a variation on Enron’s official slogan â€Å"Ask why†. However, Skilling’s comment was met with dismay and astonishment by press and public, as he had previously disdained criticism of Enron coolly or humorously. By the late 1990s Enron’s stock was trading for $80–90 per share, and few seemed to concern themselves with the opacity of the company’s financial disclosures. In mid-July 2001, Enron reported revenues of $50.1 billion, almost triple year-to-date, and beating analysts’ estimates by 3 cents a share. Despite this, Enron’s profit margin had stayed at a modest average of about 2.1%, and its share price had decreased by more than 30% since the same quarter of 2000. As time passed, a number of serious concerns confronted the company. Enron had recently faced several serious operational challenges, namely logistical difficulties in operating a new broadband communications trading unit, and the losses from constructing the Dabhol Power project, a large power plant in India. There  was also increasing criticism of the company for the role that its subsidiary Enron Energy Services had in the California electricity crisis of 2000-2001. â€Å"There are no accounting issues, no trading issues, no reserve issues, no previously unknown problem issues. I think I can honestly say that the company is probably in the strongest and best shape that it has probably ever been in.† (Kenneth Lay answering an analyst’s question on August 14, 2001.) On August 14, Skilling announced he was resigning his position as CEO after only six months. Skilling had long served as president and COO before being promoted to CEO. Skilling cited personal reasons for leaving the company. Observers noted that in the months before his exit, Skilling had sold at minimum 450,000 shares of Enron at a value of around $33 million (though he still owned over a million shares at the date of his departure). Nevertheless, Lay, who was serving as chairman at Enron, assured surprised m arket watchers that there would be â€Å"no change in the performance or outlook of the company going forward† from Skilling’s departure. Lay announced he himself would re-assume the position of chief executive officer. Investors’ confidence declines Something is rotten with the state of Enron. —The New York Times, Sept 9, 2001. By the end of August 2001, his company’s stock value still falling, Lay named Greg Whalley, president and COO of Enron Wholesale Services and Mark Frevert, to positions in the chairman’s office. Some observers suggested that Enron’s investors were in significant need of reassurance, not only because the company’s business was difficult to understand (even â€Å"indecipherable†) but also because it was difficult to properly describe the company in financial statements. One analyst stated â€Å"it’s really hard for analysts to determine where [Enron] are making money in a given quarter and where they are losing money.† Lay accepted that Enron’s business was very complex, but asserted that analysts would â€Å"never get all the information they want† to satisfy their curiosity. He also explained that the complexity of the business was due largely to tax strategies and position-hedging. Lay’s efforts seemed to meet wit h limited success; by September 9, one prominent hedge fund manager noted that â€Å"[Enron] stock is trading under a cloud.† The sudden departure of Skilling combined with  the opacity of Enron’s accounting books made proper assessment difficult for Wall Street. In addition, the company admitted to repeatedly using â€Å"related-party transactions,† which some feared could be too-easily used to transfer losses that might otherwise appear on Enron’s own balance sheet. A particularly troubling aspect of this technique was that several of the â€Å"related-party† entities had been or were being controlled by CFO Fastow. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, media attention shifted away from the company and its troubles; a little less than a month later Enron announced its intention to begin the process of selling its lower-margin assets in favor of its core businesses of gas and electricity trading. This policy included selling Portland General Electric to another Oregon utility, Northwest Natural Gas, for about $1.9 billion in cash and stock, and possibly selling its 65% stake i n the Dabhol project in India. Restructuring losses and SEC investigation On October 16, 2001, Enron announced that restatements to its financial statements for years 1997 to 2000 were necessary to correct accounting violations. The restatements for the period reduced earnings by $613 million (or 23% of reported profits during the period), increased liabilities at the end of 2000 by $628 million (6% of reported liabilities and 5.5% of reported equity), and reduced equity at the end of 2000 by $1.2 billion (10% of reported equity). Additionally, in January Jeff Skilling had asserted that the broadband unit alone was worth $35 billion, a claim also mistrusted. An analyst at Standard & Poor’s said â€Å"I don’t think anyone knows what the broadband operation is worth.† Enron’s management team claimed the losses were mostly due to investment losses, along with charges such as about $180 million in money spent restructuring the company’s troubled broadband trading unit. In a statement, Lay revealed, â€Å"After a thorough review of our businesses, we have decided to take these charges to clear away issues that have clouded the performance and earnings potential of our core energy businesses.† Some analysts were unnerved. David Fleischer at Goldman Sachs, an analyst termed previously ‘one of the company’s strongest supporters’ asserted that the Enron management â€Å"†¦ lost credibility and have to reprove themselves. They need to convince investors these earnings are real, that the company is for real and that growth will be realized.† Fastow disclosed  to Enron’s board of directors on October 22 that he earned $30 million from compensation arrangements when managing the LJM limited partnerships. That day, the share price of Enron decreased to $20.65, down $5.40 in one day, after the announcement by the SEC that it was investigating the various suspicious activities of Enron, characterizing them as â€Å"some of the most opaque transactions with insiders ever seen† Attempting to explain the billion-dollar charge and calm investors, Enron’s disclosures spoke of â€Å"share settled costless collar arrangements,† â€Å"derivative instruments which eliminated the contingent nature of existing restricted forward contracts,† and strategies that served â€Å"to hedge certain merchant investments and other assets.† Such puzzling phraseology left many analysts feeling ignorant about just how Enron managed its business. Regarding the SEC investigation, chairman and CEO Lay said, â€Å"We will cooperate fully with the S.E.C. and look forward to the opportunity to put any concern about these transactions to rest.† Two days later, on October 25, d espite his reassurances days earlier, Lay dismissed Fastow from his position, citing â€Å"In my continued discussions with the financial community, it became clear to me that restoring investor confidence would require us to replace Andy as CFO.† However, with Skilling and Fastow now both departed, some analysts feared that revealing the company’s practices would be made all the more difficult. Enron’s stock was now trading at $16.41, having lost half its value in a little more than a week. On October 27 the company began buying back all its commercial paper, valued at around $3.3 billion, in an effort to calm investor fears about Enron’s supply of cash. Enron financed the re-purchase by depleting its lines of credit at several banks. While the company’s debt rating was still considered investment-grade, its bonds were trading at levels slightly less, making future sales problematic. As the month came to a close, serious concerns were being raised by some observers regarding Enron’s possible manipulation of accepted accounting rules; however, analysis was claimed to be impossible based on the incomplete information provided by Enron. Industry analysts feared that Enron was the new Long-Term Capital Management, the hedge fund whose bankruptcy in 1998 threatened systemic failure of the international financial markets. Enron’s tremendous presence worried some about the consequences of the company’s possible bankruptcy. Enron executives accepted questions in written form only. Proposed buyout by Dynegy Sources claimed that Enron was planning to explain its business practices more fully within the coming days, as a confidence-building gesture. Enron’s stock was now trading at around $7, as investors worried that the company would not be able to find a buyer. After it received a wide spectrum of rejections, Enron management apparently found a buyer when the board of Dynegy, another energy trader based in Houston, voted late at night on November 7 to acquire Enron at a very low price of about $8 billion in stock. Chevron Texaco, which at the time owned about a quarter of Dynegy, agreed to provide Enron with $2.5 billion in cash, specifically $1 billion at first and the rest when the deal was completed. Dynegy would also be required to assume nearly $13 billion of debt, plus any other debt hitherto occluded by the Enron management’s secretive business practices, possibly as much as $10 billion in â€Å"hidden† debt. Dynegy and Enron confirmed their deal on November 8, 2001. Commentators remarked on the different corporate cultures between Dynegy and Enron, and on the â€Å"straight-talking† personality of the CEO of Dynegy, Charles Watson. Some wondered if Enron’s troubles had not simply been the result of innocent accounting errors. By November, Enron was asserting that the billion-plus â€Å"one-time charges† disclosed in October should in reality have been $200 million, with the rest of the amount simply corrections of dormant accounting mistakes. Many feared other â€Å"mistakes† and restatements might yet be revealed. Another major correction of Enron’s earnings was announced on November 9, with a reduction of $591 million of the stated revenue of years 1997–2000. The charges were said to come largely from two special purpose partnerships (JEDI and Chewco). The corrections resulted in the virtual elimination of profit for fiscal year 1997, with significant reductions for the other years. Despite this disclosure, Dynegy declared it still intended to purchase Enron. Both companies were said to be anxious to receive an official assessment of the proposed sale from Moody’s and S&P presumably to understand the effect the completion of any buyout transaction would have on Dynegy and Enron’s credit rating. In addition, concerns were raised regarding antitrust regulatory restrictions resulting in possible divestiture, along with what to some observers were the radically different corporate cultures of Enron and Dynegy. Both companies  promoted the deal aggressively, and some observers were hopeful; Watson was praised for attempting to create the largest company on the energy market. At the time, Watson said â€Å"We feel [Enron] is a very solid company with plenty of capacity to withstand whatever happens the next few months.† One analyst called the deal â€Å"a whopper [†¦] a very good deal financially, certainly should be a good deal strategically, and provides some immediate balance-sheet backstop for Enron.† Credit issues were becoming more critical, however. Around the time the buyout was made public, Moody’s and S&P both reduced Enron’s rating to just one notch above junk status. Were the company’s rating to fall below investment-grade, its ability to trade would be severely limited if there was a reduction or elimination of its credit lines with competitors. In a conference call, S&P affirmed that, were Enron not to be bought, S&P would reduce its ra ting to low BB or high B, ratings noted as being within junk status. Additionally, many traders had limited their involvement with Enron, or stopped doing business altogether, fearing more bad news. Watson again attempted to re-assure, attesting at a presentation to investors that there was â€Å"nothing wrong with Enron’s business†. He also acknowledged that remunerative steps (in the form of more stock options) would have to be taken to redress the animosity of many Enron employees for management after it was revealed that Lay and other officials had sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of stock during the months prior to the crisis. The situation was not helped by the disclosure that Lay, his â€Å"reputation in tatters†, stood to receive a payment of $60 million as a change-of-control fee subsequent to the Dynegy acquisition, while many Enron employees had seen their retirement accounts, which were based largely on Enron stock, decimated as the price decreased 90% in a year. An official at a company owned by Enron stated â€Å"We had some married couples who both worked who lost as much as $800,000 or $900,000. It pretty much wiped out every employee’s savings plan.† Watson assured investors that the true nature of Enron’s business had been made apparent to him: †Å"We have comfort there is not another shoe to drop. If there is no shoe, this is a phenomenally good transaction.† Watson further asserted that Enron’s energy trading part alone was worth the price Dynegy was paying for the whole company. By mid-November, Enron announced it was planning to sell about $8 billion worth of underperforming assets, along with a general plan to reduce  its scale for the sake of financial stability. On November 19 Enron disclosed to the public further evidence of its critical state of affairs. Most pressingly that the company had debt repayment obligations in the range of $9 billion by the end of 2002. Such debts were â€Å"vastly in excess† of its available cash. Also, the success of measures to preserve its solvency were not guaranteed, specifically as regarded asset sales and debt refinancing. In a statement, Enron revealed â€Å"An adverse outcome with respect to any of these matters would likely have a material adverse impact on Enron’s ability to continue as a going concern.† Two days later, on November 21, Wall Street expressed serious doubts that Dynegy would proceed with its deal at all, or would seek to radically renegotiate. Furthermore Enron revealed in a 10-Q filing that almost all the money it had recently borrowed for purposes including buying its commercial paper, or about $5 billion, had been exhausted in just 50 days. Analysts were unnerved at the revelation, especially since Dynegy was reported to have also been unaware of Enron’s rate of cash use. In order to end the proposed buyout, Dynegy would need to legally demonstrate a â€Å"material change† in the circumstances of the transaction; as late as November 22, sources close to Dynegy were skeptical that the latest revelations constituted sufficient grounds. The SEC announced it had filed civil fraud complaints against Andersen. A few days later, sources claimed Enron and Dynegy were renegotiating the terms of their arrangement. Dynegy now demanded Enron agree to be bought for $4 billion rather than the previous $8 billion. Observers were reporting difficulties in ascertaining which of Enron’s operations, if any, were profi table. Reports described an en masse shift of business to Enron’s competitors for the sake of risk exposure reduction. Bankruptcy Enron’s stock price (former NYSE ticker symbol: ENE) from August 23, 2000 ($90) to January 11, 2002 ($0.12). As a result of the decrease of the stock price, shareholders lost nearly $11 billion. On November 28, 2001, Enron’s two worst-possible outcomes came true: Dynegy Inc. unilaterally disengaged from the proposed acquisition of the company, and Enron’s credit rating was reduced to junk status. Watson later said â€Å"At the end, you couldn’t give it [Enron] to me.† The company had very little cash with which to operate, let alone satisfy enormous debts. Its stock price fell to $0.61 at the end of  the day’s trading. One editorial observer wrote that â€Å"Enron is now shorthand for the perfect financial storm.† Systemic consequences were felt, as Enron’s creditors and other energy trading companies suffered the loss of several percentage points. Some analysts felt Enron’s failure indicated the risks of the postâ€⠀œSeptember 11 economy, and encouraged traders to lock in profits where they could. The question now became how to determine the total exposure of the markets and other traders to Enron’s failure. Early calculations estimated $18.7 billion. One adviser stated, â€Å"We don’t really know who is out there exposed to Enron’s credit. I’m telling my clients to prepare for the worst.† Enron was estimated to have about $23 billion in liabilities from both debt outstanding and guaranteed loans. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enron’s bankruptcy. Additionally, many of Enron’s major assets were pledged to lenders in order to secure loans, causing doubt about what if anything unsecured creditors and eventually stockholders might receive in bankruptcy proceedings. Enron’s European operations filed for bankruptcy on November 30, 2001, and it sought Chapter 11 protection two days later on December 2. It was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history (before being surpassed by WorldCom’s bankruptcy the next year), and resulted in 4,000 lost jobs. The day that Enron filed for bankruptcy, the employees were told to pack their belongings and were given 30 minutes to vacate the building. Nearly 62% of 15,000 employees’ savings plans relied on Enron stock that was purchased at $83 in early 2001 and was now practically worthless. In its accounting work for Enron, Andersen had been sloppy and weak. But that’s how Enron had always wanted it. In truth, even as they angrily pointed fingers, the two deserved each other. Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind in The Smartest Guys in the Room. On January 17, 2002 Enron dismissed Arthur Andersen as its auditor, citing its accounting advice and the destruction of documents. Andersen countered that it had already ended its relationship with the company when Enron became bankrupt.

China’s Economic Growth and Demographic Structure Essay

Wei and Hao (2010) argue that changes in demographic structure have helped fuel China’s economic growth since 1989. Demographic structure is described as the age distribution of a population (Wei & Hao, 2010) and is usually measured by the total dependence ratio, which is the ratio of the total number of the dependent population to that of the working-age population. The economic growth refers to the income growth in China, measured by China’s per capita GDP. 2. The relation between China’s economic growth and demographic structure Changes in demographic structure affected the economic growth in China, mostly in the long run (Wei & Hao, 2010). The decline in the dependency ratio accounted for about one-sixth of the provincial growth rate of GDP per capita in 1989-2004 (Wei & Hao, 2010). Declining dependency rates imply that the working-age population is growing more rapidly than the population as a whole which will lead to more rapid growth of per capita GDP for any given increase in productivity per worker (Naughton, 2007). In other words, there are more productive workers with valuable human capital. Particularly the lower youth dependency ratio, due to the increasing levels of education and government policies like the ‘one child’ policy, influenced the income growth in China. Furthermore, the launch of the market reform is found to have greatly improved the efficiency of the labor and capital markets (Wei & Hao, 2010) and thereby influence d the economic growth. Wei and Hao (2010) explain this by the effect of market reforms, which improved the flexibility of the labor market and the capital market and turned the expanded working-age population to employment and translated accumulated savings into productive investment. Another aspect argued by Naughton (2007) is the transforming of China from predominantly low skill, hard physical labor to a middle-income economy where education and skill begin to transform the nature of work for many workers. Wei and Hao (2010) also suggest that economic growth has helped to lower birth rates, delay women’s mean age at the first marriage and extend life expectancy. Due to Wei and Hao (2010) there is a reverse causality between demographic structure and economic growth. 3. Impact of the One-Child Policy According to Wei and Hao (2010) and Naughton (2007) the One-Child Policy has had important impacts on China’s economic development but they also argue that it may need to be reconsidered. They argue that China is transitioning to an ageing society and if the one-child policy were to be relaxed, they expect birth rates to rise modestly and the rapid trend towards ageing would be ameliorated to some extent. In my opinion it is risky to change the one -child policy because I expect a fluctuating dependency ratio with periods of economic growth varied by periods with economic decline, because of the fluctuating working-age group. I think China needs to cope with one period with a high elderly dependency ratio to reach a long period with a more stable total dependency ratio. In other words, I think it is necessary to prevent periods varying from a high birth rate (allowed by the government) to a low birth rate (with policies to prevent the population to grow). – Wei, Z. & Hao, R. (2010). Demographic structure and economic growth: Evidence from China. Journal of Comparative Economics, 38, 472-491. – Naughton, B. (2007). The Chinese economy: Transition and growth. Cambrigde MA: The MIT Press.

Free Essays on THE AENEID-Choices

Choices Life is full of difficult choices. There is no getting around it. One must â€Å"suck it up† and â€Å"deal with it† because it is a part of life that will never change. These choices range from what clothes to wear in the morning to the person one is going to marry. Choices effect every part of everyday life. Some even effect years to come. So many times people believe that choices and their outcomes are all coincidence. Begging to differ, many times, choices are given to us to be made by God. Aeneas faced many adversities and had to make many choices throughout his lifetime and especially in his adulthood. The decisions Aeneas made were decisions that not many people would want to ever have to. For example, when Troy was first being attacked and Aeneas had to decide whether he was going to run and live to fight for his country or die trying to defend it when there was no hope. Even in a time of immense pressures, Aeneas made the choice to run, not as a coward, but as a man of hope and determination. This choice may have resulted in many losses of life and of faith, but in the end there was nothing but victory. Another instance of being faced with a choice to make was when Mercury was sent by Jupiter to give a message to Aeneas concerning his future. The choice was clear, he would either stay with his love, Dido, or he would follow the plan of the gods and head towards Italy. His heart was Dido’s and to take it back was the last thing he wanted to do. Aeneas had to choose between a relationship that had been consummated as would have been a marriage or the well being of his people. These people trusted Aeneas, and he knew that their lives were in his hands. When it came down to it, something had to be sacrificed and Aeneas knew what that sacrifice had to be. Even though Dido had difficulty understanding and never accepted the will of the gods as a reason, in the end all was well. Dido did take her own life, but in th... Free Essays on THE AENEID-Choices Free Essays on THE AENEID-Choices Choices Life is full of difficult choices. There is no getting around it. One must â€Å"suck it up† and â€Å"deal with it† because it is a part of life that will never change. These choices range from what clothes to wear in the morning to the person one is going to marry. Choices effect every part of everyday life. Some even effect years to come. So many times people believe that choices and their outcomes are all coincidence. Begging to differ, many times, choices are given to us to be made by God. Aeneas faced many adversities and had to make many choices throughout his lifetime and especially in his adulthood. The decisions Aeneas made were decisions that not many people would want to ever have to. For example, when Troy was first being attacked and Aeneas had to decide whether he was going to run and live to fight for his country or die trying to defend it when there was no hope. Even in a time of immense pressures, Aeneas made the choice to run, not as a coward, but as a man of hope and determination. This choice may have resulted in many losses of life and of faith, but in the end there was nothing but victory. Another instance of being faced with a choice to make was when Mercury was sent by Jupiter to give a message to Aeneas concerning his future. The choice was clear, he would either stay with his love, Dido, or he would follow the plan of the gods and head towards Italy. His heart was Dido’s and to take it back was the last thing he wanted to do. Aeneas had to choose between a relationship that had been consummated as would have been a marriage or the well being of his people. These people trusted Aeneas, and he knew that their lives were in his hands. When it came down to it, something had to be sacrificed and Aeneas knew what that sacrifice had to be. Even though Dido had difficulty understanding and never accepted the will of the gods as a reason, in the end all was well. Dido did take her own life, but in th...

Week 5 Journal Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers

Week 5 Journal Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers To say that talking about this is hard for me with people that I dont know. I normally dont talk about this with anyone that I dont know, and truly writing about these things in my life is very hard for me with a class that is online, where I dont know anyone. This is taking a lot of courage to write this for people to know. My life was an uphill battle. When I was growing up I dated someone that beat me for years. This was just not physical, but also mental and emotional abuse. This was just the start of what happened to me. When my parents looked at me they always said I didnt do things that were good for me. As I got older I was traded by someone that I was dating for drugs and eventually raped by her drug dealer. This led me to end up being pregnant and having a child. After all of this I have had many feelings of depression and sadness that made it so I did nothing with my life for a long time. I would everyday use these feelings to keep myself in my bed and hide from the world and do nothing with my days. As time went on I always used the fixed mindset that I was nothing and dirty, which led me to fall into a deeper depression and I would stop trying to get better because I thought there was no use. As time went on I started using a growth mindset with the help of other people to change the way that I felt. This made it so I could do something with my days. I always had to say to myself that I am more than what happened to me, Im a survivor. I can do anything and I have to be a mother to my child and that is what helped support my growth mindset. Every time that I started to fall back into the fixed mindset of depression and hopelessness I would use my self-talk and push myself to a growth mindset to keep moving on. This has been the hardest thing in my life, but I have pushed through.

Material Failure and Embodied Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Material Failure and Embodied Energy - Essay Example TASK 1 The bending of an umbrella when wind blows or the breaking of a bags handle, even the collapsing of mega structures like bridges and buildings are some prime examples of structural failure. Structure failure in basic terms can be defined as the destruction or damage of a structure when it is unable to support its designated load any further. Once the structure looses it ability to carry load, it deforms, de-shapes or even destroys completely. There are many reasons a structure can fail its basic ability to hold load (NEL, 2007) Many reasons as states in previously include basic design flaws, construction flaws, overloading, foundation failure, corrosion and excessive use of a moving body. The corrective/preventive measures that have to be taken are in accordance with the structural failure that has either prevailed or in the process of it. An example of it is the leaning tower of Pisa; the design flaw is the soft earth due to which one part of the building is sinking inside. T o negate the leaning effect, large weights and wires have been attached to the tower to keep it from falling to the end it is leaning to. The first part of the report will identify structural failures in my daily routine as an insurance engineer for a local school, where metallurgy plays an important role while covering any damage or even while insuring it. Example No 1: Fan Falling The first and foremost structural failure that was faced by the school administration was the falling of a ceiling fan in a classroom. Luckily the recess was in progress and the fall resulted in no injury to any person. The only damage was to the fan itself and the table which it had fallen on. As a sue action was threatened by the parents of children studying in the school, our firm was called in to analyze the failure, state the cause of it and remedy actions. On inspecting the fan closely it was found that there was huge amount of rust in the loop where the fan was hanging. The loop had been disconnec ted due to this corrosion. Fan rotation causes certain vibration in the whole structure making it a viable threat if any sort of corrosion is present. This problem could have been detected easily but due to the upper portion of the fan concealed inside the fancy fall ceiling, this problem was not detected. After this incident, all the fans in the school were checked and it was a shocking fact that most of the fans had this similar problem. Therefore a complete overhauling of the fan holding loops was recommended for stopping any such future incident. Also as the fall ceilings cannot be removed therefore a calendar inspection plan has been laid out by the insurance team to be done by the school administration. This inspection would also be checked by the insurance team as to ensure proper working of the school administration team. Also to add further security in the system, all hanging items like fans and ceiling lights and chandeliers will be checked for heir secure housing, where t hey are attached to the wall. Example No 2: Swing structure failure The second structure failure that was noticed in the same school was the falling off a children slide to one side while the children were on it taking turns for sliding down. Some children were hurt and minor bruises were seen on children bodies. This incident

Reflective Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflective Memo - Essay Example When the Sprint website did not load, a decision was taken to replace it with AT&T. For the final choice, I based the outcome on three separate criteria: $50 or less per month, minimum of one year plan, and any additional features. The Appendix showed all the choices in a chart so that the Executive Director could easily differentiate between the three choices. After the table, some pictures of the three company’s cell phones were included so that the Executive Director could get a visual on what the phones looked like. This was meant to help reinforce his decision. The peer review helped me to tighten the report and cut out any unnecessary words. The whole point of a report like this is to keep it short and concise because management does not have time to weed through all the â€Å"garbage.† I feel confident that the best choice was made based on the data at hand, and I know that the Executive Director will be pleased with the