Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Political science - Essay Example The in – depth study of the loan syndrome of the poor nations reveal the fact that most of the nations fail to repay the loan, not only the interest but also the principle. It has raised the burning question whether the developed countries accept such lack of repayment! In other words, should the citizens of wealthy nations bear the burden of development of the poorer countries! Though there are valid arguments in both the sides as this a topic of debate but still the general consensus and majority of the experts feel that the rich nations should bear extra responsibilities for the development in their poorer counterparts, if not full. Therefore, it is argued in the essay that not all but majority of the debts of the poorer nations should be written off. The under – developed nations of Africa and Latin America, have been borrowing consistently from the international markets. The purpose of such borrowing includes building of infrastructure like roads, dams and bridges and contributing towards the livelihood of the people like agriculture and fisheries. Among the major lenders, the developed nations of the world like the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France are notable. Along with the individual nations, the international bodies like International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) are also mention worthy. The Mexican crisis in 1982 led to an international strategy on debt. The major stake holders of such strategy included the major creditor countries and the multilateral organisations. The prime motto of the strategy was to deal with the commercial bank creditors and the official creditors. The strategy evolved three fold initiatives: The noted scholar William Easterly held the view that though the aids and donations did not reap the intended benefits in the African nations still those should not be discontinued. The economist is of the view that it is easy for one party to blame the other as the western nations did not get

Health system REPORT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Health system REPORT - Assignment Example By decreasing the financial support of the public, the health care providers were also allowed and forced to obtain profits on particular types of treatments and the sale of drugs, therefore bringing numerous moral hazard problems, which like in the United States caused a substantial cost inflammation and promoted inequality in accessing the health care services (Giuliano & Droms, 2012). The present health care system is a product of numerous local experiments and health care reforms can be described by a complete structure as shown in the flowchart. Essentially, the system plan builds on a separation of the public into three collections referred to as A, B, and C in line with the job functions. The A-collection consists of employees in all levels of research institutions, public health sector, education system, government, the army, public organizations, and Non-governmental like institutions. The Public Health Service Administration Act from the year 1988 governs this A-collection of individuals. The B-collection is comprised of all types of enterprises in the urban regions, and they are governed by the judgments of the state council concerning the structure of an all-inclusive medical care improvement among workers in the urban areas. The C-collection is made up of the rural area population, and any regulation does not cover them. However, a small portion of those individuals in the C-collection is governed by the new rural cooperative health care strategy. These individuals are typically the farmers situated nearby the south eastern part of the seaside area (Hougaard, Østerdal, & Yu, 2011). Furthermore, there lack certified statistics that display the comparative sizes of the three collections. However, according to Hougaard et al., (2011), a rough estimate exists which shows that collection A comprises of 5%, B comprises of 11%, and C comprises of 64% of the entire population. Moreover, we give emphasis to

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of firms capital expenditure on their working capital management. Net Liquidity Balance and Working Capital Requirement for determination of working capital requirement and developed multiple regression models. The empirical research found that organisations capital expenditure has a significant impact on working capital management. The study also found that the firms operating cash flow, which was recognized as a control variable, has a significant relationship with working capital management. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. The findings increase the knowledge base of working capital management and will help companies manage working capital efficiently in growing conditions associated with capital expenditure. 1.1 Working capital for accountants, investors and managers is the short-term health of a company. Working capital equals current assets minus current liabilities. Current accounts are accounts that the company collects or are due in the next year. Making a capital expenditure will have several effects on the companys working capital, depending on the transaction. However, in certain cases, there may be no impact; it is important to understand why. Corporate finance basically deals with three decisions: A) capital structure decisions, B) capital budgeting decisions, and C) working capital management decisions. Working capital management is a very important component of corporate finance since it affects the profitability and liquidity of a company. It deals with current assets and current liabilities. The decision-making process on the level of different working capital components has become frequent, repetitive, and time-consuming. Working capital management is recognized as an important concern of the financial manager due to many reasons. For one thing, a typical manufacturing firms current assets account for over half of its total assets. For a distribution company, they account for even more. The maintenance of excessive levels of current assets can easily result in a substandard return on a firms investment. However, firms with inadequate levels of current assets may incur shortages and have difficulties in smoothly maintaining day-to-day operations. Efficient working capital management involves planning and controlling current assets and current liabilities in a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet due short term obligations on one hand and avoids excessive investment in these assets on the other hand. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. Analyzing and quantifying the impact of risks and delays at project and portfolio level. Governance and control over capital expenditures, Portfolio prioritization. Determining the optimal decision making level for capital allocation decision (corporate level vs business unit level vs hybrid model). 1.2 Working Capital Estimates The analysis includes estimates of all investments required for a project. The project may require increases (or decreases) in cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or inventory. 2.1 Capital expenditure Whenever we make an expenditure that generates a cash flow benefit for more than one year, this is a capital expenditure. Examples include the purchase of new equipment, expansion of production facilities, buying another company, acquiring new technologies, launching a research development program, etc., etc., etc. Capital expenditures often involve large cash outlays with major implications on the future values of the company. Additionally, once we commit to making a capital expenditure it is sometimes difficult to back-out. It has been found that managers spend a considerable time on day-today working of capital decisions since current assets are short-lived investments that are continually being converted into other asset types (Rao, 1989). In the case of current liabilities, the firm is responsible for paying obligations mentioned under current liabilities on a timely basis. Liquidity for the on-going firm is reliant, rather, on the operating cash flows generated by the firms assets. Corporations are looking for new ways to stimulate growth, improve financial performance, and reduce risk in todays challenging economic climate. Funds tied up in working capital can be seen as hidden reserves that can be used to fund growth strategies, such as capital expansion. Cash flows locked in stock and receivables can be freed up by understanding the determinants of working capital. Many organizations that have earned profits over the years have shown the efficient management of working capital (WCM). Broadly, industry characteristics, firm-specific characteristics, and the financial environment are recognized as determining factors of both capital expenditure and working capital. In addition to the growth, leverage, and the size of a company, type, and size of expenditures, such as finance and operating and capital expenditures, have different impacts on capital expenditure and working capital. 2.2 Portfolio Approach in Capital Budgeting Portfolio approach to achieve capital efficiency and organisational alignment can yield immediate positive cash-flow results for companies. Typically companies view capital expenditures through a cost and benefits filter that focuses largely on ROI and IRR type measures. Whilst these measures are relevant, companies that do so often do not necessarily link these to the strategy of the company. They also do not prioritise capital expenditures in terms of their effect on strategy and shareholder value. We believe that by using a portfolio approach companies could: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increase returns on invested capital by understanding which projects contribute most to shareholder value and lie on the project efficiency frontier à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Have a holistic portfolio view of the return of the capital of the entire company à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improve the strategic and organizational alignment of projects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Make informed decisions on where to invest scarce cash resources. 2.3 Capital Budgeting Decisions: Stage 1: Decision Analysis Decision-making is increasingly more complex today because of uncertainty. Additionally, most capital projects will involve numerous variables and possible outcomes. For example, estimating cash flows associated with a project involves working capital requirements, project risk, tax considerations, expected rates of inflation, and disposal values. We have to understand existing markets to forecast project revenues, assess competitive impacts of the project, and determine the life cycle of the project. If our capital project involves production, we have to understand operating costs, additional overheads, capacity utilization, and start-up costs. Consequently, we can not manage capital projects by simply looking at the numbers; i.e. discounted cash flows. We must look at the entire decision and assess all relevant variables and outcomes within an analytical hierarchy. This analytical hierarchy is known as the Multiple Attribute Decision Model (MADM). Multiple attributes are involved in capital projects and each determinant in the decision needs to be weighed differently and their relationship with each other determined. Several techniques are available to arrive at a financial decision regarding a capital expenditure project. These include: the net present value method. This method discounts all cash flows to the present using a predetermined minimum acceptable rate of return as the discount rate. If the net present value is positive, the financial return on the project is greater than this minimum acceptable rate and indicates the project is economically acceptable. If the net present value is negative, the project is not acceptable on economic grounds. the internal rate of return method. The internal rate of return is defined as the discount rate that makes the net present value of a project equal to zero. It is the highest rate of interest that a company could incur to obtain funds without losing money on the project. the equivalent annual cost method. When considering alternative proposals, it may be that only costs are involved. In such situations, a choice of alternatives can be made by determining which has the lowest equivalent annual cost. Under this method, capital expenditures are converted to their equivalent annual cost and added to the annual operating costs. Equivalent annual cost is the annual amount that would repay the capital over the life of the project at a specified discount rate. It is similar to an annual, level repayment schedule for a mortgage. The alternative with the lowest total cost would be the most attractive (ignoring intangibles). the payback method. This method estimates the time taken to recover the original investment outlay. The estimated net cash flows from a proposal for each year are added until they total the original investment. The time required to recoup the investment is called the payback period. Projects with a shorter payback period are preferred to those with longer periods. the discounted payback method. The discounted payback period is the number of years for which cash inflows are required to (a) recover the amount of the investment and also (b) earn the required rate of return on the investment during that period. In this method, each years cash inflow is discounted at the required rate of return, and these present values are cumulated by year until, their sum equals, the amount invested. Projects with a shorter discounted payback period are preferable to those with longer periods. the accounting rate of return method. The accounting rate of return is a measure of the average annual income after tax over the life of a project divided by the initial investment or the average investment required to generate the income. It is important to note that this method assesses net income and not cash flows which are used in the other methods. Stage 2: Option pricing In financial management, consideration of options within capital budgeting is called contingent claims analysis or option pricing. For example, suppose you have a choice between two boiler units for your factory. Boiler A uses oil and Boiler B can use either oil or natural gas. Based on traditional approaches to capital budgeting, the least costs boiler was selected for purchase, namely Boiler A. However, if we consider option pricing Boiler B may be the best choice because we have a choice or option on what fuel we can use. Suppose we expect rising oil prices in the next five years. This will result in higher operating costs for Boiler A, but Boiler B can switch to a second fuel to better control operating costs. Consequently, we want to assess the options of capital projects. Stage3: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Discounting refers to taking a future amount and finding its value today. Future values differ from present values because of the time value of money. Financial management recognizes the time value of money because: Inflation reduces values over time; i.e. Rs.1, 000 today will have less value five years from now due to rising prices (inflation). Uncertainty in the future; i.e. we think we will receive Rs. 1,000 five years from now, but a lot can happen over the next five years. Opportunity Costs of money; Rs. 1,000 today is worth more to us than five years from now because we can invest Rs 1,000 today and earn a return. 3.1 Quantitative Analysis and Estimates : The foundations for good capital planning are reliable forecasts of the following parameters like competitive technology, marketing opportunities, likely actions by competitors and governments, sales volumes, selling prices, operating costs, changes in working capital, taxes payable and capital costs of equipment. Effective management of capital expenditure decisions, therefore, requires that controls be designed and operated to ensure that projections are realistic at the time decisions are made. Reliable estimates and forecasts are vital to the capital investment decision. The degree of precision necessary for the estimates related to the capital expenditure decision depends on: the stage of evaluation of the project (i.e., in early stages less precision is needed), the sensitivity of the projects economics to the level of accuracy and timing of each of the elements within the estimates, and the similarity of the project to others already undertaken. 3.2 Planning Horizon of a project: It is often difficult to estimate the life of a project (i.e., its planning horizon). The criterion is the continued ability to generate satisfactory cash flows or other intangible benefits. The economic life of a project is the lesser of its physical life, technological life or product-market life. Physical Life of Project Technical life of the Project Market life of the product to be manufactured depends upon: Detailed Market Research/Study Competitive Factors Price Estimation and Determination Organisation Market Position Maintenance Property related costs Depreciation Plant Administration, Service Department Costs 4.1 Research Objectives Overall objective. The overall objective of this research study is to investigate capital expenditure on a project and consequently working capital requirement and there relationship. Working capital measured in terms of net liquidity balance and working capital requirement (WCR). Specific objectives. are to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate whether there is a relationship and type of relationship between capital expenditure and the firms working capital (W.C.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Describe the relationship between the nature of expenditure and the working capital. To investigate the impact of different factors affecting the working capital on net liquidity balance and working capital requirement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the existing literature on working capital management to highlight the recent trends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Understand the applicability of NLB and WCR as a measure of working capital management. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the relationship between corporate performance and working capital management. 4.2 Literature Review The chief financial officers of most companies spend most of their time and effort on day-today working capital management. Still, due to the inability of financial managers to properly plan and control the current assets and current liabilities of their companies, the failure of a large number of businesses can be attributed to the inefficient working capital management. Working capital is the most crucial input and the success or failure of an organization can be rightly attributed to the quality and efficiency in the management of working capital (WC) or net current assets (NCA). Account receivable management models and inventory management models were used in approximately 65 % of companies. The management of the working capital, stresses the need for the development of a viable system with the dual finance goals of profitability and liquidity, only such models will assist practicing financial managers in their day-to-day decision-making. Over the years, many researchers have focused on determining the optimal level of each component of working capital. It was found that the working capital literature is rather limited and that the management of short term resources is not understood too well. Thus, the consensus in academia seems to recognize the paucity of theory concerning the management of financial resources due to the inherent difficulties in the development of a working capital decision model, while accepting the normative needs for a more critical examination. The tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to have low levels of current liabilities. 5.1 Methodology The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a very important aspect of financial management known as working capital management. The study will show the relationship of capital expenditure on firms working capital management and its impact. This chapter of the research deals with the analytical framework of data analysis, which describes the firms and variables included in the study, the distribution patterns of data, and applied statistical techniques in investigating the relationship between working capital management and capital expenditure. 6.1 Data Collection Since the study is based on financial data, the main source of data was financial statements, such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements of listed companies for the period from 2000 to 2005. The reason for restricting the time period to six years was that the latest data for the study was available for these years. In addition, annual reports of companies have been used in order to understand the company back ground and industry. 6.2 Sample Selection The study uses secondary data of listed companies in the stock exchange. Companies with missing data are excluded from the study. The study also excludes the financial and securities sector companies, as their financial characteristics and use of leverage are substantially different from other manufacturing companies. The working capital requirements and capital expenditure of a manufacturing organization is widely different from trading, financial and securities sector companies. 6.3 Variables In addition to identifying capital expenditure, the study undertakes the issue of identifying all factors that affect the working capital management. Most of the determinants identified in the investigation have been taken from the existing literature on working capital management. The study takes into account of all the variables discussed below. Variables, which include dependent, independent, and control variables, have been used to investigate the test hypothesis. 6.4 Independent Variables Capital expenditure (CAPEX) is identified as one of the independent variables and includes expenditures incurred by firms for acquisition and upgrading/renovating physical assets, such as land, buildings, machinery, vehicles, and equipments. Capital expenditures are added to assets account and depreciated against profits over their economic life as Deferred Revenue expenditure( DEFEREX). Capital expenditure is incurred by a company when buying new, fixed assets or in adding value to existing assets to increase their economic lives. Capital expenditure includes buying the value of assets, carriage inwards, insurance, legal costs, and all costs needed for acquiring assets ready for use. Managers pay careful attention to capital expenditure decisions, since they are very costly and irreversible. Operating expenditure (OPEX) is the cost of ongoing operations, product or system. Unlike CAPEX, firms meet OPEX continuously. Operating expenditures are written off against profit for the period. They are Revenue expenditure (REVEX) which includes salaries, wages and facilities expenses, such as rent, rates, electricity, etc. Finance expenditure (FIEX) is cost incurred on debt capital. Interest incurred on debentures, bank loan and other long term liabilities are recognized as finance expenditures. 6.5 Dependent Variables NLB = (cash and cash equivalents + short-term investment) (short-term debt + commercial paper payable + long-term debt a year term). These are considerations of the financial decisions of a company, regardless of the operation cycle. Thus, it is called as net liquid balance. WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + accrued expenses +other payable), which relate to the working cycle and are called working capital requirements. 6.6 Control Variables In addition, firms operating cash flow (OPCASH), extracted cash flow statement, growth (GRO) of the firm measured by sales, leverage measured by total long-term debt capital and divided by equity (D/E). All the above variables have relationships that affect working capital management. These relationships might vary over variables, companies and industries based on business strategy, economic environment, and financial environment. 7.1 Hypotheses Development Working capital management is traditionally rated by current ratio, quick ratio, and net working capital. According to Shulman and Cox (1985), these traditional ratios dont consider the going concern of the company and net working capital does not measure the correct value of liquidity. They classify net working capital into working capital requirement (WCR) and net liquidity balance (NLB) in order to predict the financial crisis of a company. WCR is measured in order to evaluate the management of working capital, and NLB is considered with the capability of raising and allocating capital respectively. NLB is better than traditional indicators in terms of predicting crisis and liquidity of a company. The basic purpose of this study on working capital management to evaluate the impact of capital expenditure on working capital. Thus, this study will categorize expenditure of a firm into three types: a) Operating expenditure, b) Capital (investment) expenditure, and c) Finance expenditure. However, except capital expenditure, operating and finance expenditures will be considered on accrual basis, not on the cash basis, because incurred expenditure will determine working capital management of the company. When a company has growth opportunities, it needs to acquire fixed assts (pay capital expenditure) relevant to future growth plans. Thus, incurred or expected capital expenditure is positively correlated with NLB. With growth opportunity, a company can increase the holding cash, since it manages working capital efficiently. Under such circumstances, terms to pay operation-related liabilities are lengthened and operation-related receivables can be accelerated in collection, causing less demand on working capital. Expected capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR, and firms with a higher growth rate pay more attention on the management of capital expenditure. Hypotheses A- Capital expenditure is positively related to NLB Hypotheses B- Capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR 8.1 Model Specification This study uses panel data regression analysis of cross-sectional in order to test the hypothesis. A use the pooled regression type of panel data analysis. The pooled regression, which is also called the constant coefficients model, is one in which both intercepts and slopes are constant, where the cross section from a data and time series data are pooled together in a single column, assuming that there are no significant cross section or temporal effects. The general forms of our models are:t NLB Decrease in WCR H1a= NLBit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (1) H1b= WCRit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (2) WCR: working capital requirement of firm I at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..no. of firms NLB it: net liquidity balance of firm i at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.no. of firms ÃŽÂ ²0: the intercept of equation ÃŽÂ ²i: coefficients of X it variables X it: the different independent variables for working capital management of firm i at time t t: time = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦,6 years. ÃŽÂ µ: the error term Specifically, when I convert the above general least squares model into my specified NLBi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi + ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (3) WCRi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi+ ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (4) Where: NLB = (cash cash equivalents + short term investments) (short term debt + commercial paper payable + Long term debt year term) WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + other payable). WCR equals net working capital NLB. ÃŽÂ ² = coefficient of regression, OPEX = operating expenditure FIEX = financial expenditure CAEX= capital expenditure M/B = market to book value ratio D/E = total debt to total assets Gt = sales growth OCASH = operating cash flow in firm ÃŽÂ µ = the error term These findings are consistent with hypothesis H1b. Operating expenditure and interest expenditure also have a positive significant relationship with working capital requirement. 9.1 Conclusions and Recommendations Working capital management attracts less attention of the management than capital budget and expenditure, capital structure in financial management in the ordinary course of business. Working capital management relates to the findings of sources of short term finance and investments in short term assets. Working capital management deals with profitability and the risk of the company. Inefficient working capital management results in over investment in working capital and reduces the profitability of the firm. On the other hand, inefficient management of working capital leads to an insufficient amount of working capital and results in financial difficulty, putting the company at risk. The optimal level of working capital, which is a trade off between risk and profitability, can be affected by both internal organizational characteristics and various outside factors. Existing literature has paid little attention to many factors that determine the working capital. This research investigated some of the factors such as capital expenditure, operating expenditure, finance expenditure, leverage, performance and operating cash flow. This research paper uses NLB and WCR as proxies for working capital in order to assess working capital management with capital expenditure and other influencing factors. Empirical results show that capital expenditure has a significant effect on working capital management. This finding will help a companys management manage working capital efficiently. The findings can be used as a benchmark for managing working capital and evaluating performance. Through this paper it was able to find out that operating cash flow has a significant impact on a companys working capital management, consistent with conclusions in previous research/literature. By conducting the same study on each business sector separately, managers can understand specific behavior of a companys working capital in relationship with capital expenditure. Since the model is a general model, it might not be able to be applied or might not give the same findings in specific business sectors. Moreover, further research can be conducted on the same topic in different countries. Working capital management policies can be compared between developing and developed countries in order to determine the correct management policies. 14) Capital expenditure decisions are very crucial and not easily reversible. Substantial amount of money is blocked in capital expenditure decisions. Hence such decisions have to be taken very carefully with a lot of deliberations.

College Admissions Essay: My Days as a Gardener :: College Admissions Essays

My Days as a Gardener    'Mom, how do you make a garden?'    'You plant seeds. You can buy them at the nursery.'    'Can I plant a garden?'    Now this is the kind of question a mother wants to hear from her children. Not 'Can I play on the interstate?' or 'If I eat this will I die?' Something, instead, wholesome and good. An activity that not only teaches, but puts fresh produce on her table.    It was decided, then, that planting a garden would be my summer project. My mother and I planned for it to be located behind our garage, in a sunny area of our otherwise shady backyard. With my mom's help, I planted an assortment of vegetables: tomatoes, onions, potatoes ('A potato is a tuber.' 'It's a what?'), and green beans.    I later understood that gardening is generally associated with a life of leisure, with relaxation. For me, it was a competition. I'd ask my seedlings, 'Who's growing the fastest?' 'Who's the tallest?' Fearing bad karma, I tried to stay impartial, lest a subconscious preference for green beans would cause me to water them more often, while dumping bleach on the onions. Every night I'd give my parents an update on rates of growth, any signs of produce, and my never-realized irrigation plans.    One day my mother told me that some of the tomatoes were ready to be picked. We went out back, snagged a few of the plumper offerings, and that evening had salads.    Every other bite earned an accolade. 'Mmm. These tomatoes really are delicious.' 'There's just nothing like fresh tomatoes. Mmm.' 'I think we can quit saving for his college; he's a natural migrant worker.' Whatever that meant, it sounded promising. I told my family that they needn't worry: the garden was in full-swing, and that meant more fresh produce was on the way.       About a week later a tornado razed a better part of North Houston. It brought rain. It brought hail. It upended cars; it flooded houses. And in its trail it left fallen branches and trees, and removed, in whole, one tiny tomato-onion-potato-and-green-bean garden located behind my garage.

Case study on deviance

Last July 28, 2013, my partner and I are able to understand a person who Is considered as a deviant In this society. HIS sister let us enter Inside the life of his brother and shared to us the process of how he had become an â€Å"outsider† of this society. Julius Bella, our subject, Is a drug addict. In his case, It was clearly not Inherited or an Innate behavior, but It was the Influence of the people around him who drove Julius In the Intake of Illegal drugs.Since Julius ND his family live In an unprivileged area where there were limited resources of good education, we assumed that Julius, in such a young age, was provided little knowledge about the effects of the drugs he took. Only later did he realize the consequences of his actions. Even if his friends' actions were irrational, Julius chose to conform. As Sash's research stated, many people are willing to negotiate their own judgments of right and wrong to avoid being considered as an outcast and different.The theory of differential association introduced by Edwin Sutherland indicated that person's tendency toward conformity or deviance depends on the amount of contact with other who encourages or rejects conventional behavior (Twelfth Edition: Sociology; John J. Macaroni). In this case, the subject spent almost all of his time with his group of friends. Thus, in order to blend in with his friends, Julius had to agree and behave in compliance with his friends' definition of normal; moreover, motive for continued behavior evolves through participation in the behavior in the company of others (http://www. Ms. Du/?Keller/180/Theodore. HTML). Julius never gained to have a second chance in his life. Social control is the attempt by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior (Twelfth Edition: Sociology; John J. Macaroni), and self-control Is under the category of social control. Social control's attempts to manage people's behaviors would not be achievable if the people in it do not have self-co ntrol. Every society has groups of people in charge to regulate peace and order In a society, such as policemen, traffic enforcers, lawmakers, and a lot more.In Julius' area, we presumed that they have fewer policemen than urban areas do, less focused by the government, and fewer people to look out for their behavior. In a small society with weak bonds of social control, the people living there are more likely free to deviate since there would be less chance that they will be restrained. According to social control theory, what causes people to use Illegal drugs Is the absence of social controls promoting conformity. On the other hand, lack of parental guidance Is one of he many causes of low self-control of deviant people.Being neglectful parents could greatly Impact the life of their children since the young ones generally look up to their parents as the role model of their lives. So parents who fail to show care and control is caused by a factor that takes place very early in one 's life, whereas social control can operate more or less throughout one's lifetime (http://higher. McGraw- hill. Com), but in a society, self-control and social control ought to have continuous balance in order to attain organization.

Characterisation of Eddie Carbone Essay

Explore the ways a central character is presented in the drama text. Use examples from the text in your response. Eddie Carbone, a 40 year old Italian American Citizen from Sicily, is the tragic protagonist of A view from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. Alfieri, the chorus in the story, first introduces Eddie as a good, hard working man who does normal things like raising a family, eating, getting old, etc. However as Alfieri states, no one can know what his true self is like. Alfieri prepares us for the discovery of the secrets in the play. That two illegal immigrants Marco and Rodolfo are taking shelter in Eddies home and Eddie’s deep secret of his quasi-incestuous desire for his niece, Catherine. At first, Eddie is shown as a good man who is happy and respected by his family. Eddie behaves like a normal, fairly overprotective uncle towards Catherine and the audience would probably not have guessed that he has any desire of her other than the standard uncle and niece relationship. However it is not the standard uncle and niece relationship in Eddie’s mind but far more complex. The first sense of uneasiness we see is when Catherine lights his cigarette. Eddie receives some kind of unnatural pleasure from this experience. A woman lighting a man’s cigar can have a sexual implication and this is what Eddie see in Catherine. Knowing that Eddie has these feelings, there are clues earlier back in the text to his obsession with Catherine. When Catherine sits on her heel beside him, he criticizes the length of her skirt. He doesn’t want Catherine to look attractive in public because he is worried that some man might ask her out. He wants Catherine all to himself and does anything he can to prevent her from getting a boyfriend. Eddie also does not want her moving out of his home. He wants Catherine always within his grasp. When Catherine tells Eddie that she got a new job, he disapproves straight away: â€Å"No – no, you gonna finish school. What kina job, what do you mean? All of a sudden you-â€Å". He is very panicky and disturbed by this information that Catherine is getting a job meaning that Eddie would see Catherine less which seem like a realistic reason for an uncle to be upset about, but knowing Eddie’s true intentions, he want Catherine to be near to him as close as possible. Eddie’s inner feelings are also somewhat exposed during when Eddie and Beatrice argue. Although Eddie cannot yet grasp his own feelings, is seems like other character like Alfieri and Beatrice are aware of his interest in Catherine: Eddie: â€Å"What are you mad at me lately? † Beatrice: â€Å"Who’s mad? †¦ You’re the one is mad. † Eddie is referring to â€Å"mad† as in angry and asking why Beatrice is cross with him. Beatrice responds by referring to the â€Å"mad† as in mentally insane and suggests that Eddie had lost his mind, which he eventually does. Eddie is also show to be a selfish natured and an untrustworthy man. He reminds Beatrice not to let her tired cousins sleep in his bed because the bed is his own property. This could link with the way that he feels about Catherine; she is his personal property and that no one can ‘use’ his personal property apart from himself. Eddie’s experience with life and work has led him to become untrusting of others. He advises Catherine â€Å"the less you trust, the less you be sorry† showing that Eddie has not trusted al lot of people in his life and that when he does, it turns out going wrong. This prepares us for the suspicion and distrust he has when Rodolfo arrives. Eddie becomes increasingly jealous of Catherine’s interest in Rodolfo. â€Å"Catherine: (enthralled) Leave him finish, it’s beautiful! † Catherine likes Rodolfo from the instant she met him and Eddie, aware of this is, wants Catherine to like him in the same way instead of Rodolfo. Eddie quickly comes up with an excuse to stop Rodolfo from singing by saying that â€Å"you don’t want to be picked up, do ya? † which seems like a plausible reason – if Rodolfo sings too loud then someone might notice something strange and inquire. However Eddie’s true motive for preventing Eddie from singing is to stop Catherine from being amazed by Rodolfo. Eddie’s jealousy becomes further exposed as his face is described as being ‘puffed with trouble’ in the stage direction where Catherine is making Rodolfo coffee. He is jealous that Catherine is getting Rodolfo a drink when before Catherine was getting him a beer. Eddie state of mind is shown when Catherine is talk to Eddie after she has got back from Brooklyn Paramount with Rodolfo. Catherine has told Eddie that she likes him and the stage directions show hiswd reaction to this: â€Å"He looks at her like a lost boy†. Eddie feels a sort of saddened jealousy but he is unable to realize this dishonourable emotion and incapable of admitting this to himself. He is indeed emotionally â€Å"lost†. Eddie’s obsession with Catherine and his spiteful nature grows throughout the story. He tries to do anything he can to put Catherine of Rodolfo. In his conversation with Beatrice, Eddie says to her that he is homosexual: â€Å"Paper Doll they’re callin’ him. Canary. He’s like a weird†. Eddie is trying to make Beatrice and everyone turn against Rodolfo but ironically everyone turns on him. Eddie tells Catherine that Rodolfo only likes her because he wants to obtain an American citizenship by marrying her: â€Å"Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport†. Eddie is trying to make Catherine doubt Rodolfo but this is unsuccessful and ends up in Catherine distrusting Eddie. This strong obsession Edie has with Catherine did not just start when the cousins arrived but has been an ongoing process from before. This is shown in Eddie’s conversation with Beatrice where she tells him that she has worries of her own: â€Å"When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie†¦ It’s almost three months†. Eddie and Beatrice have had no sexual affiliation for three months because all that has been on his mind is Catherine. Near the end of Act 1, Eddie’s is show to be violent and cold hearted. He mocks Rodolfo’s skills in singing, making clothes and cooking and compares him to himself and say that this is no place for him. He is suggesting that he is not manly enough to be here like him and that he should be in some other place. Eddie tries to supposedly â€Å"teach† Rodolfo boxing all of a sudden: â€Å"Well, come on. I’ll teach you† However Eddie knows that Rodolfo is weaker than he is and uses this as an excuse to punch Rodolfo in the face and show everyone, especial Catherine, how weak Rodolfo is and to humiliate him however this had the opposite effect and exposes how sadistic Eddie can be. Eddies motives for his actions all originate from his quasi-incestuous love for his niece. As Alfieri describes, â€Å"His eyes were like tunnels†, he can only see Catherine and no one else. He cannot understand why he only sees Catherine but that is all he sees and refuses to let any feeling or any person enter that tunnel nd making sure that Catherine stays only in his tunnel and not anyone else’s. Significantly, the lyric of the song Rodolfo sings, â€Å"Paper Doll†, symbolically reflects Eddie’s feelings for Catherine: â€Å"It’s tough to love a doll that’s not your own† â€Å"I’m gonna buy a paper doll that I can call my own† â€Å"A doll that other fellows cannot steal. † Figuratively, Eddie is the one singing the song and Catherine is the subject of the song, the doll, and that is has been ‘stolen’ by someone – Rodolfo. This song was carefully chosen by Arthur Miller to act as an intimation of what was to come. Eddie is unable to comprehend his true feelings but other characters have a clearer view than he does. Like Alfieri, who knows of his love for his niece and describes this as â€Å"a passion that had moved into his body†. This is significant because this metaphor is close to the truth of what has happed to Eddie; this newly found passion of Catherine as grown over time and has became strong enough so that it fully controls his body, and is behind every action in Eddie’s life. Eddie’s first conversation with Alfieri shows that Alfieri knows his feelings: â€Å"sometimes even a daughter, and he never realizes it, ut through the years – there is too much love for the daughter, there is too much love for the niece. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? † But Eddie does not fully understand what Alfieri is saying, he think Alfieri mean â€Å"love† and in a Uncle and niece love, but Alfieri knows Eddies feeling and is talking about real physical love for Catherine. Eddie blindness towards his inner feeling and stubbornness in letting go of Catherine are Eddie’s tragic flaws that bring upon his downfall.