Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - Essay Example empts by researchers have also discovered his classy practices of literary work of genius and the extraordinary kinships which are there between Dantes Inferno and Invisible Man, and the two literary creations resonate with each other meaningfully. In the Prologue to Invisible Man, Ellisons protagonist comments that in jazz music he not only entered the music but descended, like Dante, into its depths. The contents of the book can be perceived as the creation of an intricate interaction of values, a journey mentioned by Dante into a nether biosphere and also a jazz concert. Inferno acts for the author as a legendary archetype for Invisible Man relating to its configuration and vision. Ellison may not be a religious man in the strict sense of the term, but he deeply cherishes the positive values of human life. Though he is not a fundamentally religious author, he is intensely impacted by Dante. The general arrangement of Ellisons novel is to detail a number of occurrences which are co mplexly circular in their perspectives. The chapters of human history contain abundant violent incidents related to whites and blacks. When the people of a particular race are discriminated from all ends, they develop acrimonious tendencies. Suitable avenues need to be generated for their ‘reformation’ and ‘rehabilitation’ and for their proper assimilation into the society. This is a tough assignment. The latent grudge of the blacks against the white race for the cruelties inflicted on them, which continued for centuries, has created psychological barriers that are difficult to break. Ralph Ellison in The Invisible Man explains the knotty race relations and its dynamics in the day to day living of the blacks vs. whites. The immediate issue with the protagonist is that he has to give a speech and the audience is the leading white citizens of the town. The â€Å"the battle royal† is an example given by the narrator to explain how such acts are meant to hurt the dignity of

Holes Essay Example for Free

Holes Essay There are many different challenges that Stanley Yelnats (the main character) from the bestselling novel Holes written by Louis Sachar has to over come. Stanley was first seen in the movie when a tilted shot of shoes hit him in the head and he fell on the ground portraying he was weak and a bit stupid. Stanleys personality was also displayed when his mum was so shocked when the police came around to their house telling them Stanley had stolens, this shows that Stanley had never commited a crime before and wasnt usually a trouble maker. The movie directed by Andrew Davis portrays everything the book does and it shows nearly all the insight into Stanleys life that author describes in the book. There are many challenges but the main one is breaking the curse that Stanleys family has been stuck in for more than 100 years. This challenge shows many significant themes in this book like friendship, determination and fate. The main dispute for Stanley was breaking his family curse. Although he didnt know if it was even real and that he had broken it , it was clear for the audience watching the movie that he had. The curse was put on his family more than 100 years ago when the first Yelnats, Elya Yelnats went to a fortune teller called Madame Zeroni. She made him a deal that he could have one of her small pigs if he carried Madame Zeroni up the mountain when he was done making the pig nice and fat so he could give it to the father of the girl of his dreams. When he noticed that the girl really was stupid like Madame Zeroni warmed him he decided to move from Lativia to America. However he forgot to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain so she put a curse on his family forever. This was portrayed by a dissolve of Madame Zeroni repeating that she will put a curse on his family to Elya leaving Lativia. The low angle of Madame Zeronis face made it obvious that she was not kidding and very serious about the curse. When Stanely carried Hectoria Zeroni (a descendant of Madame Zeroni) up â€Å"Gods Thumb† which was also portrayed with a low angle making it look very commodious, he broke the family curse. This challenge portrayed many key ideas and themes and one of them was friendship. Zero (Hector Zeroni) and Stanley didnt know eachother at all but due to them both being the outcasts of the group they started to get to know eachother and Stanley started to teach Zero how to read and Zero helped dig Stanley holes so he wasnt so tired and could teach him. These lessons however were then stopped by the Warden, who was introduced by a high angle on her boots which already made her look threating as you could compare it to some movies where the thief or cowboys boots got introduced before their face which usually portrayed they were a significant character that usually was there to cause harm. However this didnt stop Zero and Stanleys friendship growing, when Zero ran away form the camp as he had enough of it Stanley had to go and rescue his only close friend he had at the camp. This shows Stanleys friendly love for Zero portrayed by the dissolving of Stanley walking through the dessert and than of the sun showing how hot it was. The soundtrack of mysterious music kept you guessing to see if Stanley would end up finding Zero or not. The orange overalls that all the boys at Camp Greenlake wore made Zero recognizable in the dessert. The audience knew that when the two boys rejoiced both of them were very content due to the soundtrack turning from mysterious to faster more lively music. Another key idea that the challenge portrayed was change. Change for Stanley, his family and Hector Zeroni. There were many unanswered questions that produced tension, secrecy through the entire movie but these questions were all answered when Stanley broke the curse. There was quite a journey to break the curse for Stanley and during this period his character changed dramatically. He used to a gullable, weak , little boy that couldnt stand up for himself. But he turned into a strong, smart young adult that could even save someones life. His weak side was displayed through a high angle of Stanley searching for a camera in the shower, that he got told the Warden of the Camp had installed. This shows how gullable he was and believed everything the other boys in his hut said. As well as giving his findings in a hole to another boy who got a free day off as the Warden though he found it not Stanley. However when he was in the middle of the dessert. He saw â€Å"Gods Thumb† and took iniative. When Hector was to weak he carried him up and saved his life as he found water which the boys definitely needed as they were tired and dehydrated. When Stanley broke the curse it changed many other things mostly for his life and family. His dad finally created a way to make sweaty feet/shoes not smell and Stanley found his treasure that was buried for more than 100 years by Kissing Kate Barlow. This changed his entire lifestyle and he gave half of his treasure to Hector who used that to hire private investigastors and find his mum who he hadent seen for more than 4 years. As you can see the main challenge definitely portrays some key ideas and themes. It displays the friendship betweeen Stanley Yelanats and Hector Zeroni which is definitely one of the most important friendship. Furthermore it explains how Stanley, Hector and both of their families changed. Stanleys personality changed showed everyone how much you can change due to your circumstances and enviroment around you. He teaches everyone a good lesson and I would definitly recommend this to any person my age.

Annette Lareau: Annotated Bibliography

Annette Lareau: Annotated Bibliography Critical Annotated Bibliography of key texts focused on  Annette Lareaus reserach Social researchers have stressed the importance of understanding the social stratification and its impact on children and parents as a whole (Lareau A, 1999). Annette Lareau is a professor of Sociology at University of Pennsylvania. She achieved her PhD in Sociology from University of California, Berkley.   Her ground- breaking research involves, investigating questions like the influence of social stratification on families.   She has done substantial fieldwork examining the lives of American people. She has focused on the impact of social structural forces, parenting styles like concerted cultivation, educational inequalities and if they participate towards shaping vital aspects of childrens lives.   She has written many books and articles stressing on how class can make or break families present and future. Her work contributes to broaden our understanding towards the class system. The body of Annette Lareaus work that I have chosen assesses vital issues in American society, which effects children, parents and families as a whole.   It discusses vital issues like the role of class system in middle class, working class and poor families in raising their children, their daily lives, varying parenting styles and their role in childrens present and future prospects. Lareau, A., 2011. Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press. Annette Lareaus book Unequal Childhoods with an update a decade later is a step forward in comprehending the importance of learning and understanding the impact of class system on family lives and parenting styles in African American and White families and is an excellent effort to fill in the gap in relevant research studies. She investigated how parental practices differ among White, Black, middle class, working class and poor families and the role it plays in shaping childrens future conclusively. Annette showed that class system plays a vital role in American families lives and uncovered the practices involved in reproduction of inequalities in the society. The author performed in-depth studies with 12 different families using participant observation as her studying approach providing detailed information about the families. Children participating in the study were aged 9-10 years old.   As part of the research, the author with the support of her assistants spent about one month with the families and gathered detailed information about them.   The research involved following the participants to afterschool activities, doctors visit and spent time at their homes. A key point that Lareaus ethnographic study showed is a particular parenting approach called concerted cultivation.   While visiting participant families, she observed that Black and White middle class families are very much involved in facilitating their children to achieve their goals.   They encourage, inspire and monitor their childrens academic achievements and play an active role in their lives. These parents were always interested in listening to their childrens voice and did not discourage them to show their opinions.   As a result, these children became more confident in speaking their minds, which helped them to develop their overall confidence, self-esteem and development.   In contrast, the rearing style of children belonging to working class and poor families in both Black and White families were limited due to lack of resources.   They relied on schools to take care of their children and gave their children extra time to play.   She contrasted these two parenting approaches and discovered that both of these parenting styles were beneficial, but children belonging to middle class were more successful in schools. She argues that African American families face racial discrimination in many areas e.g. employment and live in racially segregated neighbourhoods but interestingly,   White and African-American middle class families follow the same parenting style and there was no observation of racial discrimination. An exclusive point that Lareau observed was the conversational differences between parents and children e.g. children from middle class families were mostly involved in engaging conversations with adults, which helped these children to gain confidence.   Whereas, the parents of children from working and poor families showed authority and the children mostly showed compliance and rarely participated in engaging conversations with adults.   These differences show how middle class children acquire confidence and grasp the ability to demand whereas working class children are not very demanding. In conclusion, this study showed that class matters more than race but provided limited discussion on the impact of race in childrens lives and their future and lacks the information on the role of extended families in middle class young adults. Lareau recognises that there is a gap in studying the effects of class in childrens lives, positive parenting strategies and inequality due to class and therefore calls for   in-depth research in this field. Lareau has performed a review on her study by visiting the families again.  Ã‚   Children involved in the study are now young adults.   She interviewed these young adults their siblings and parents.   Lareau discovered that the importance of social class, she had observed when these children were younger (10yrs) old developed with time. Middle class parents kept playing an active role in their childrens lives despite them moving away from their homes.   These young adults continued seeking parents guidance. Their parents were massively involved in handling situations to increase their growth potential. On the contrary, parents belonging to working class and poor families considered their children now grown ups and the young adults agreed to this view.   Extended families play an important role in shaping children belonging to working class and poor family children. In conclusion, middle class children accomplished more educational achievements than the working class and poor family kids. Parenting styles shape childrens lives as they grow into young adults to prepare them for independent successful lives. Overall, an excellent and enlightening study. Lareau, A., 2002. Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in black families and white families. American sociological review, pp.747-776. This research studies the effects of social class, culture, race and their interaction by investigating the function and contribution of social class system in children ages of 7-10 years old. Using an ethnographic data, Lareau aims to study the associations and connections among Black and White parents, their children and distinctions in childrearing techniques.   She found that class differences are more noticeable than racial differences and that parenting styles are a way to reproduce class-based advantages. Lareau compares two different parenting approaches to learn and report their benefits and disadvantages. Middle class parents encouraged their children to be highly involved in extracurricular activities using a concerted paradigm to stimulate and develop their talents and capabilities. On the contrary, working class parents used the childrearing method called accomplishment of natural growth paradigm.   This method involves providing, love and care for the children, givi ng them a lot of freedom and unregulated recreation time and space. As a result, Lareau observed that middle class children found it easy to adapt to the school environment, as they followed the same expectations and structured activities at home. These parents encouraged, praised and respected their childrens wishes and these positive elements were an ongoing feature of middle class families. Lareau argues that the range of activities influence family lives. The importance of structured activities results in weak family and social bonds. The author points out that as middle class children were so busy participating in after school activities they barely had any time to visit their extended families. However, this study involved limited; discussion about childrens relationship with extended families e.g. grandparents. Another important point that Laruea raised in this research is the use of language. She observed that middle class children engaged in healthy discussions with their parents and other professionals whereas, working class and poor families did not involve in continued discussions frequently with their parents.   All parents and children were involved in having conversations with professionals, but middle class children were more skilful in holding conversations with others.   The study shows that socioeconomic status can influence social connections. Children from working and poor family background has a wider range of social connections in compare to the middle class children. The author showed, that race does not seem to have a great impact in shaping childrens lives.   Although Black parents were increasingly worried about their childrens lives outside due to racial problems. In conclusion, this is an enlightening ethnographical study, with expressive and illuminative data, but as it is concentrated on a small sample therefore; it is very difficult to generalise the results to public. Lareau, A., 2000. Social class and the daily lives of children, A study from the United States. Childhood, 7(2), pp.155-171. Laurae strived to explore the social class differences by designing and performing a detailed and comprehensive study in comparison to studies performed in the past where childrens research was limited to the contexts of schools and families.   Childrens out of school activities have a significant influence on middle class parents lives.   The author provides a detailed account of how parents felt when they had to make time to take their children to participate in out of school activities. This article aims to investigate the function of social class in moulding and forming daily lives of children. This study discusses three main issues, what shapes childhood, rhythm and pace of life and to what extent parents and childrens lives interact with each other. The author collected detailed ethnographic data of children aged 7-10 years old.   Eighty children participated in this study from African American or White families over the period of 3 years.   The author aimed to observe the associations between children and parents in their daily lives. The study took place in North-eastern metropolis and Midwestern community in a white working class neighbourhood. The study involved interviews from all mothers and most fathers and childrens classroom observations. While observing children from middle and working class families, Lareau found that their lives are very different from each other.   Middle class boys occupied themselves in structured activities arranged by their parents/carers and focused on developing new skills.   Whereas, working class boys spent their time participating in informal activities e.g. free play, visiting kin and hanging out. Working class boys were much more social then middle class boys.  Ã‚   She revealed that both parenting approaches has benefits and drawbacks.   This research-studied boy in more detail than girls and some gender differences were observed e.g. girls were encouraged to participate in gymnastics rather than football.   The author states that covering aspects of race, gender and class can also show us if there is any link between these categories. The research reports that African American people has a fear of being subject to discrimination from White people and encouraged their children to be friends with black children which confirms the racial inequalities in the society. The result showed that children from middle class families spent time in structured activities organised by adults.   The foundations of these activities are skill development and public performances, which may result in knowledge enhancement.   The structures of these activities were very similar to school activities; therefore, attending school was a similar but not exclusive experience for these middle children. Observing the working class children shows a different picture.   These children do not follow a structural system in their lives; they do find organised and structured activities somewhat difficult. They liked to hang out and visit their extended families.   Lareau claims that race does not play a sufficient role but the role of class differences are clear in the daily lives of children. Overall, this is a fantastic detailed ethnographical study, which uses only a small sample of participants from limited sides of community and the author did not mention the methods employed to examine the collected data set.   Weininger, E.B., Lareau, A. and Conley, D., 2015. What Money Does not buy: Class Resources and Childrens Participation in Organized Extracurricular Activities. Social Forces, 94(2), pp.479-503. In this study Lareau et al, aimed to examine an important question of significance, which is class position in the society and its effects on childrens lives. In the past researchers have concentrated on family resources and school characteristics.   The authors stepped up this research by moving towards how children spent their time in after school activities and whether race and class differences influence childrens lives.   They concentrated on the belief that middle class parents involvement in their childrens lives encourages them to participate in structured afterschool activities, which consequently leads to future success. This research deployed a large national data set to analyse the influence of class.   The sample is restricted to Black and White children.   The children participated in this study were only chosen from private or public schools.   The author employed longitudinal survey data and time diaries collected in 2002-2003 in order to get comprehensive list of childrens activities within the course of 24-hour periods. Lareau et al aimed to investigate class differences and stated that parents from all social groups consider childrens participation in extracurricular activities vital, but some parents face challenges and constraints for example transportation or lack of time. Another key point that they revealed in this study is that parents approaches to childrearing are different due to social class.   Middle class parents practice concerted cultivation parenting style and encourage their children to participate in after school activities to support them to enhance their academic and career goals and aspirations. Observing the working class and poor families revealed that they prioritise their focus on their childrens protection and let them participate in informal play and give them space.  Ã‚   The study-employed good confound control to get robust results. The Lareau et al argues that average American children are spending approximately 4 hours weekly engaging in extracurricular activities, but children from middle class engage in a lot more activities.   Their mothers are more educated and they have resources to support their children to participate in more extracurricular activities.   The study showed that childrens engagement in extracurricular activities are related to positive results in education and employment. The authors explored the question, whether it is just the class inequalities, which differentiates families decision for their children to participate in extracurricular activities or is there a link with cultural values, as well? The authors identifies that socioeconomic status of families has a direct impact on how children spend their time after school. Due to high expenditures childrens participation in afterschool activities varied for e.g. people living in small cities and rural areas spent less money on childrens extracurricular activities less than families living in larger cities. The results of this study states that it is not just the materialistic resources, which matters maternal education, demographic characteristics e.g., gender, age, race other factors like work, labour market and cultural aspects they are all important.   The study does not discuss whether atypical childrens participation in extracurricular activities was any different from typically developing children. The study is restricted to Black and White American families. The study reveals that socioeconomic status matters, but just removing these barriers is not a guarantee that children will enrol in extracurricular activities.   Cultural aspects also influences how much time and money parents spend on children to participate in these activities. Weininger, E.B. and Lareau, A., 2009. Paradoxical pathways: An ethnographic extension of Kohns findings on class and childrearing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), pp.680-695. Class division is a vital topic of research in family studies.   A few studies have focused on its influence on family lives.   Reflecting on detailed interviews the authors aimed to extend Melvin Kohns study on childrearing standards by investigating parental responsibilities to autonomy and conformity. The study provided effective theoretical and empirical background of Melvin Kohns research studies on social stratification.   Using a secondary data, which involved 88 children aged 8-10 years old selected randomly. The participants were children from two elementary school classrooms.   The study-involved even number of American Black and White children but only involved a small number of Hispanics and Asians.   Although, it would have been useful to employ even number of all races as Hispanics and Asians are important part of American society. Lareau et al found that parents from middle class families encouraged their children to have self-control and self-direction and the results are consistent with Kohns research. It is difficult to conclude a general connection between class, self-direction and conformity The author raised the issue of variation in parental values on extracurricular activities for children. The author observed variation in values across different economic class of the families.   Middle class families were keen to expose their children to successful life chances and options while keeping them under supervision, which enhanced childrens self-esteem, self-confidence, self-worth and helped them to do well in their present and future.   Working and poor class families on the other hand did not give much importance to send their children for leisure activities.   They used their resources to provide and protect their children and they let their children develop naturally. The study shows a complicated picture of child rearing and emphasizes the need to understand parental values and parental behaviours in detail. It will be a step forward to continue to study the influence of social stratification on families. Conclusion: Annette Lareau has contributed immensely in the field of sociology.   She has ingrained herself researching American families in order to investigate how social inequality continue to sustain itself and is passed on generation after generation. The key texts are current and are grounded in sociology and psychology. The common thread in these studies are the impact of class and the role of parenting in childrens lives. There are commonalities among the texts such as middle class parents use concerted parenting styles by providing opportunities, supervised learning experiences to their children for their best interest, and do well. She has worked hard with American, families to show how class differences and children rearing techniques differ from working class to middle class and poor families and the impact of these differences on childrens future prospects. She showed that parenting is not as simple as saying that bad parents raise their children ineffectively and good parents raise children who are successful in their lives. It is much more complex. While investigating the class inequalities in American families Lareau study regarding working-class families is very influential.   Her research with working class reveals that class reflects cultural and economic variations.   Lareaus approaches of researching with children and families are very ambitious and effective.   She employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches in her research for the results to be robust.   Her research helps us to understand the effects of class and race on children in middle, working and poor class families. These studies show new light to sociologists, social scientists, and anthropologists, a new direction towards learning how race, culture and parenting fuse together and play a role in shaping childrens lives.   The author identifies the importance of both parenting styles but the author does not describe which one is more effective, when it interacts with race. These studies raise an important question. Do middle class parents work harder in supporting their children in school and teach them how to deal with racism than working and poor families?   Race and class inequalities can make childrens lives much more difficult and their future insecure. Social scientists can carry her research forward by focusing on which parental approach is more beneficial for children and how class and race interacts. Bibliography: Lareau, A., 2011. Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Univ of California Press. Lareau, A., 2002. Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in black families and white families. American sociological review, pp.747-776. Lareau, A., 2000. Social class and the daily lives of children, A study from the United States. Childhood, 7(2), pp.155-171. Lareau, A. and Horvat, E.M., 1999. Moments of social inclusion and exclusion race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of education, pp.37-53. Weininger, E.B., Lareau, A. and Conley, D., 2015. What Money Does not buy: Class Resources and Childrens Participation in Organized Extracurricular Activities. Social Forces, 94(2), pp.479-503. Weininger, E.B., and Lareau, A., 2009. Paradoxical pathways: An ethnographic extension of Kohns findings on class and childrearing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), pp.680-695. http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/11-28/lareau.asp Education and Stratification in Developing Countries: A Review of Theories and Research Annual Review of Sociology Vol.27:1-504 (Volume publication date August 2001) DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.77 Education and Stratification in Developing Countries: A Review of Theories and Research Annual Review of Sociology Vol.27:1-504 (Volume publication date August 2001) DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.77

Weight Issues In Wrestling :: Health Nutrition Essays

Weight Issues In Wrestling What do Billy Saylor (19 years old) at Campbell University in North Carolina, Joseph LaRosa (22) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Jeff Reese (21) at the University of Michigan all have in common? They are all dead now, victims of one of the ghastly secrets of college wrestling. All three boys were engaged in dehydrating practices trying to lose weight in order to qualify for their first college-wrestling matches. Reese was trying to lose 17 pounds so that he could wrestle in the 150-pound weight class. His two-hour workout in a rubber suit in a 92-degree room cost him his life. He died of rhabdomyolysis -- a cellular breakdown of skeletal muscle under conditions of excessive exercise, which, combined with dehydration, resulted in kidney failure and heart malfunction (Iowa Gazette - December 22, 1997). LaRosa was also riding a stationary bike and wearing a rubber suit when he collapsed and died. Saylor was riding a stationary bike in a predawn workout when he suffered a h eart attack (Washington Post - January 14, 1998). Physicians are of the consensus that excessive dehydration as a means to lose weight can harm bodily functions, possibly leading to kidney failure, heat stroke or a heart attack. Why then do the wrestlers engage in these dangerous activities? Legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable had this to say in an ESPN report: "They (wrestlers) think they are indestructible. But I’ll tell you what -- those three athletes thought they were indestructible, too. And they aren’t around to talk about it."Wrestlers believe that it is mind over body; they can accomplish anything and nothing bad will ever happen to them. So, LaRosa’s behavior on that fatal day in November wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for many college wrestlers. He was wearing sweats over a rubber suit and riding a stationary bike in a steam-filled shower room. His body temperature reached 108 degrees. He was trying to make weight for his match the next day, and wrestling’s rules did little to discourage such dangerous practices. The logic in wrestling is to make the lowest weight you can in the weigh-ins, which are 24 hours before the match. Then you can replenish and rehydrate your body over the course of the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the match. This will give you an advantage in the competition b ecause you really will be bigger and stronger then most of the wrestlers in that lower weight class.

Dante’s Inferno: Contrapasso Essay

Contrapasso means suffer the opposite. It refers to the punishment of souls in Dante’s Inferno by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself. There are many examples of contrapasso in Dante’s Inferno, as he travels ever deeper into the depths of hell. In the Inferno, we are given a tour through Hell by Dante, who is a middle-aged man. The Inferno is a story of a journey given by two different Dantes: Dante the pilgrim and Dante the author. He has a natural emotion of pity, which he is often reprimanded for. At the beginning of his journey, he is confronted by three animals. These animals represent the three rings of Hell. The first one is the she-wolf, representing incontinence, the second is the lion, representing violence, and the third is the leopard, representing fraud and deception. According to Dante, fraud and deception are the worst sins, followed by violence, then incontinence. Virgil is Dante’s guide throughout this treacherous journey. Dante uses the concept of contrapasso to express his own views on ethics of various sins, reflecting on the cultural and political state of Italy at the time. Before Dante and Virgil enter Hell proper, they find the opportunists in the vestibule. They are running around wildly chasing a banner, while nude being stung by hornets and wasps. When the split came between Satan and God, they tried to stay neutral, and now they must suffer their punishment. Here, the banner symbolizes a leader, serving as a direct punishment for their indecisive nature. They come across limbo next, where the virtuous pagans are. These are the souls of good non-Christians, who are stuck in limbo because they were never baptized and never went to church to study Jesus. This is where Virgil and the poets reside. Limbo is not a bad place to be, and their only punishment is that they will never get to see the face of God. This is a fitting punishment because while alive they never knew of God, and now they are forbidden from him. They encounter the least offensive sinners in the first ring of Hell, represented by the she-wolf. Once inside the gates of Hell, Dante encounters the Carnal (or lustful). The souls who are in this first section of Hell are so because they let their lusts control them in life. The punishment of the Carnal is that they are trapped in a whirlwind, blizzard storm. They see the object of their lust, but they cannot have sex in Hell. They are doomed to chase their love around in the whirlwind, and they cannot satisfy their needs in any way. Contrapasso is appropriate here because while living they could not control their urges and always satisfied their needs, but now in Hell they are not allowed to. In circle three of Hell, we find the gluttons. Ciacco is a representative of the gluttons whom Dante knows personally. Ciacco means hog in Italian. Because gluttony is a sin of incontinence, their punishment is wallowing around in a slushy mound of garbage. The gluttons are in a storm of putrefaction. Gluttony was considered a major sin back in Dante’s day. Also in this circle are the hoarders and wasters. They contribute to each other’s punishment as they are in a constant rock war. Hoarders and wasters are two extremes. This is contrapasso because the hoarders are constantly trying to take the rock, while the wasters are trying to get rid of it. Next, they come across the wrathful and sullen. They are stuck in the Marsh of Styx. The sullen were drawn within themselves and tried not to associate with others in life, they took a sour disposition towards life. Their punishment is appropriate because they are stuck at the bottom of the marsh, beneath the slimy surface. Moving along through Hell, Dante and Virgil come across the heretics. This is a sort of a transitional stage between the sins of incontinence and violence. A heretic is anyone who doesn’t adhere to strict Catholic doctrine. Heretics committed some of the worst crimes, according to Dante. Their punishment was to spend eternity in a grave on fire. Contrapasso is in effect here because heretics thought that the soul dies with the body, and since they believe their souls died, they are entombed. Some of them even have to share tombs with people they hated. The second category of sinners is the violent. There are three types of violence: violence against neighbors, violence against self, and violence against God. The violent against neighbors are stuck in the river Phlegethon. This is a river of boiling blood, and if the sinners try to escape, centaurs shoot them with arrows. This is contrapasso because these violent souls left their victims in a pool of blood when they murdered them, and now they are stuck in a pool of blood. Violence against self is the next form of violent sin. Those who committed suicide became trees. Since they rejected God’s gift of body, they are forced to stand still and see the human life they rejected. This is their contrapasso, also whenever a limb from the tree falls off, they feel it. The final form of violence is that against God. These blasphemers, who curse God, are punished in circle seven, round 3. They are forced to lie in a field of burning sand and a fire rain constantly falls down on them. This is ironic because it is the first time while Dante is in Hell that we actually see fire. Circle eight of Hell begins the worst sins, those of fraud and treachery. These sins are the worst because it breaks the trust of the individual. The usurers are loan sharks. They do not further mankind, they just want money. According to The Holy Bible, it is unnatural to charge usury. Their punishment is to carry a pouch with lead weights around their necks. They constantly have to fight off fire and chains from lashing devils with their hands. This is their contrapasso because they used to use their greedy hands to abuse people by taking their money. The panderers and seducers are punished by having to constantly run from one side to another, and demons are there whipping them. The second section contains the flatterers. Because they lied and figuratively slung excrement from their mouths, they are punished by wallowing in excrement, which they flatter. This is a perfect example of contrapasso. The fortune tellers and diviners presumed to have the power to see God’s future, but most of them are just tricksters. Their contrapasso is that their heads are twisted completely around, and they can no longer see what’s ahead of them. Dante sees weeping shades slowly marching in single file, each one covered from head to foot with a golden cloak lined with lead. It is appropriate because on the outside the cloaks look beautiful, but on the inside they are horrible, like the hypocrites, and they are weighed down by their guilt. Contrapasso for thieves is depicted as serpents chasing nude sinners, and when the snake bites them, they burst into blames and disintegrate. Sometimes they become the serpent, and the serpent becomes them. This sets out to show that thieves can’t even claim their own bodies. Also, the snakes represent trickery, and the serpents steal the thieves’ bodies, just as they stole. Bertrand de Born was guilty of separating father and son (King Henry II and son), which caused war. His contrapasso is walking around with his head separated from his body, carrying it like a lantern. It is also symbolic of the father being the head of the family, and his body is separated from it because he separated them. In the ninth circle of Hell, Cocytus, Dante encounters the absolute worst sinners, including Satan. These sinners are frozen with the memory of their sins, and they cannot move. These evilest of sinners are in a sea of ice. Sins of betrayal are in the ninth circle. They were cold hearted and fake in life with no warmth of heart. A unique encounter Dante has is with Count Ugolino and Archbishop Ruggiere. In life, they made a deal, but it went awry. Now, the count feeds on the head of the archbishop. Since the archbishop imprisoned him and sons, they starved to death, thus his contrapasso is that Ruggiere is Ugolino’s last meal for all of eternity. At the end of the journey, Dante encounters Satan. He is bigger than the giants with three heads. Each head is chewing on the worst sinners in history up to that point: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. They represent hate, impotence, and ignorance to contrast the three highest virtues of Heaven. Satan is at the center of the universe. His main punishment is that he is frozen and can’t do anything. This is the ultimate contrapasso. Dante highlights that Satan himself is an example of contrapasso as Satan’s sin of seeking God’s place as ruler of Heaven resulting in him forever ruling over the damned. Here, the sin reflects the punishment as Satan aims to raise himself higher and as a result is cast down into the depths of the Inferno. Dante takes us on an intriguing and eye-opening journey throughout his Hell. He uses contrapasso as a way to show the many different sins and how he thinks they should be punished. Dante also places real people in his Inferno to point out the cultural and political state of Italy at that time. While he does this, he is pretty fair and impartial about who belongs in which area of Hell. Near the end of his journey, Dante finally realizes that the sinners got what they deserved, and he no longer pities them. By having Satan frozen in ice, Dante is portraying the message Satan cannot do anything, unless you let him because he is not that powerful.

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants

Top 4 CHALLENGES for Executives and Assistants According to founder and CEO of Office Dynamics International, Joan Burge, There is no greater relationship in the workplace than that of an executive and an assistant. This may seem like hyperbole if you havent had a really terrific working relationship with an executive or an assistant who gets it. If youre at the top of the food chain, try to see your assistant as a strategic partner; if youre in a support role, take advantage of these tips to improve your standing and the dynamics at work!1. BandwidthNobody has enough time in the day. Executives may have more than one assistant, or assistants may be supporting more than one executive (every one of which wants to feel like your Top Priority). Between the two of you, you may be fielding as many as 400 emails a day- have systems in place and revise them as necessary!  Be aware of the speed and intensity of the information flowing across your executives desk, and let that inform the pace of your interruptions, meetings, and indepen dent work.2. Digital DependencyTheyre working from multiple devices and may ask you do to the same. While that may make them feel independent and tech savvy, its important (for them and for you!) to realize that an empowered executive assistant is as valuable as the Cloud in terms of coordinating information and monitoring plans.3. DelegatingWith all the self sufficiency of scheduling software and remote access, its easy for executives to forget how to use their assistants most effectively. Companies lose time and money when execs underutilize support staff. Know your role, advocate for appropriate ways to expand it, and always be a reliable asset.4. Frustration in CommunicationWith complaints ranging from I dont have time to teach my assistant to do this job to I have no idea what this executive wants from me, some of the hardest aspects of the relationship to master are the simplest- how you perceive one another and what you expect from one another. Be verbal, follow-up, and be wi lling to disagree and resolve it! Dont be so wrapped up in status you forget to think like a team.Tips  for AssistantsInitiate ConversationTalk about your relationship as a teamGet clarification on likes and dislikesPut yourself on the execs calendar and leave it, unless theres an emergencyThink like an executive- anticipate needs and prioritize accordinglyGo the extra mileAttend meetingsRead everythingUnderstand the scope of their wordTips  for ExecutivesHave clear assignments and deliverablesDemonstrate the qualities you want to seeBe comfortable with disagreementRely on your assistant; dont micromanageBe appreciative- post-mistake shouldnt be the only time you give feedbackRecognize that your assistants job requires skillExecutives and Assistants are Struggling TodayRead More at officedynamics.com

Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA essays

Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA essays In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide a national policy that supports families in their efforts to balance their work and family responsibilities by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year.  ¡The FMLA also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers, and promotes equal opportunity for men and women ¡ (Executive Summary, 1999). Before the Family and Medical Leave Act, employees had access to family and medical leave in two ways: (1) Voluntary or collectively bargaining employer policies (2) Policies required by state leave statutes The Act was passed because Congress found that: h The number of single-parent households and two-parent households in which the single parent or both parents work is increasing significantly; and h It is important for the development of children and the family unit that fathers and mothers be able to participate in early childrearing and the care of family members who have serious health conditions; h To balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity; h To entitled employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; and h To promote the goal of equal employment opportunity for men and women. (Employment Standards Administration, 1999) The FMLA applies to all public agencies, private/public elementary and secondary schools, and employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and are in the commerce industry (The Family and Medical Leave Ac...

Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD

In his meditations, Descartes points out that there are three types of ideas; they can be innate, adventitious, caused by things outside of one’s self, and others that can be invented by us, such as ideas of mermaids or unicorns. After he concludes that God must necessarily exist, which will be discussed in more detail later on in this paper, he closes in to the fact that his idea of the Perfect Being cannot be adventitious, coming from without, nor can it be invented by him. Thus, this idea must be innate since he has a clear and distinct perception of God’s existence, and that Descartes must have been created by God with such an idea already in him. The idea of a Perfect Being in Descartes’ mind consists of an infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent as well as a powerful substance, which created him and everything else. Thus he realizes that the idea of God must have far more objective reality than he has formal reality because God is an infinite substance where as he himself is only a finite substance. Having explained the idea of Descartes’ perfect being lets go into more detail on the process he uses to prove that such being actually exists. Descartes’ proof of the existence of God occurs in the Third Meditation. He builds his entire argument upon his proof in the previous meditation that in order for him to think, he must exist. From this single observation, Descartes notices that the idea of his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind; based upon this clarity and the fact that he has just determined his own existence, he deduces a rule such that the things that he sees as very clear and very distinct are all true. Descartes starts his proof by dividing â€Å"thought† into four categories; ideas (concepts), volitions (choices), emotions (desires), and judgments (beliefs). He then breaks down these categories to discover which types of thoughts can yield error. The first thing to ... Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD Free Essays on DESCARTES EXISTENCE OF GOD In his meditations, Descartes points out that there are three types of ideas; they can be innate, adventitious, caused by things outside of one’s self, and others that can be invented by us, such as ideas of mermaids or unicorns. After he concludes that God must necessarily exist, which will be discussed in more detail later on in this paper, he closes in to the fact that his idea of the Perfect Being cannot be adventitious, coming from without, nor can it be invented by him. Thus, this idea must be innate since he has a clear and distinct perception of God’s existence, and that Descartes must have been created by God with such an idea already in him. The idea of a Perfect Being in Descartes’ mind consists of an infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent as well as a powerful substance, which created him and everything else. Thus he realizes that the idea of God must have far more objective reality than he has formal reality because God is an infinite substance where as he himself is only a finite substance. Having explained the idea of Descartes’ perfect being lets go into more detail on the process he uses to prove that such being actually exists. Descartes’ proof of the existence of God occurs in the Third Meditation. He builds his entire argument upon his proof in the previous meditation that in order for him to think, he must exist. From this single observation, Descartes notices that the idea of his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind; based upon this clarity and the fact that he has just determined his own existence, he deduces a rule such that the things that he sees as very clear and very distinct are all true. Descartes starts his proof by dividing â€Å"thought† into four categories; ideas (concepts), volitions (choices), emotions (desires), and judgments (beliefs). He then breaks down these categories to discover which types of thoughts can yield error. The first thing to ...

Managed healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managed healthcare - Assignment Example With control, the use of resources is properly managed and can be assured of the sort of outcome to expect. Through control, the patterns of the medical practice are kept in track and it is easier to make arrangements of future advancements in technology as even the finances are well handled. Managed care in itself refers to care that is under control and is helpful to the management in promoting the success of quality healthcare delivery. It also helps in determining the efficiency of the resources in place and ensures quality outcomes of the health care sector (Kongstvedt 2012). In conclusion, has there not been the rising cost of receiving proper healthcare then perhaps there would not have been pressure on the government to impose policies that lead to managed healthcare. However, there needed to be a controlled system of healthcare provision that ensured the needs of the public were met and that there was balance in the finances that were demanded of

Google's market marketing & strategy in the UK Essay

Google's market marketing & strategy in the UK - Essay Example The concept of resource-based management is founded on the belief that competitive advantage is obtained if a firm can obtain and develop resources which enable it to learn faster and apply its learning more effectively than its rivals. Resource-based view was developed by Barney (1991) who states that firms' competitive advantage deepens upon resources and assets owned by the company. Following Barney (1991) resources are extended if they are: "Valuable (when they enable a firm to conceive or implement strategies that improve its efficiency or effectiveness) Rare (valuable firm resources possessed by large numbers of competing firms cannot be sources of either a competitive advantage or a sustainable competitive advantage) Imperfectly Imitable (because of {a combination of} three reasons: unique historical conditions, causally ambiguous, social complex). Non-Substitutable (there must not be strategically equivalent valuable resources that are themselves either not rare or imitable)" (Resource-Based View 2000). The case of Google UK shows that the company uses resource-based strategy which helps it to develop strategic capability (Fill 12). Similar to its parent company, valuable resources of Google UK allow the company to meet high demands of customers and deliver exceptional quality to end consumers. Google in particular seems to have already undertaken a number of major initiatives such as the indexing of PDF documents, or the purchase of the Deja newsgroup archive. But the reality is that individual search engines do not cover the whole of the visible web, let alone the invisible web. So the prospect of there being a single search engine which has complete coverage of the entire web is some way off. Another variable is dynamic databases (Google: case study 2006). These databases allow users to go directly onto that site in order to perform the search. These databases cover a wide range of different file formats such as free text databases, company directories, market research reports, numeric data or bibliographic information. Even the free text databases vary considerably in their formats. They may each contain a different set of fields or segments. Because the database formats vary so much, and also because of the fact that there are so many different databases, it is not possible to undertake a global search across the entire contents of all the databases available through Google. There are a number of file groups set up which allow cross file searching across a limited number of files, but a key factor in performing a successful and effective search on (Google: case study, 2006). Rare resources of Google are human resources and technological solutions. Also, Google propose customers unique services such as geographic monitoring and Google Video. Service quality is closely connected with Human Resource Management, technology and settings. So, the main "focus" is on service quality and skills of employees which ensure customers satisfaction. Managers must deal with new people issues because the changes brought about by technology definitely require a new kind of employee. The use of technology requires more problem solving skills and the ability to interpret data and is thus likely to lead to a

How Does the Talent Pipeline Impact on the Employment Relationship Essay

How Does the Talent Pipeline Impact on the Employment Relationship - Essay Example The involvement of recruiting and selection in the successful development of the employment relationship is explored in this study. Different approaches have been used in the literature for explaining the interaction between the recruiting/ selection processes and the employment relationship. All of these approaches lead to a particular assumption: both recruiting and selection are critical for the success of employment relationship; however, the level of involvement of these processes in employment relationship is not standardized being depended on the organization’s internal and external environment but also the skills and competencies of the individuals, i.e. the HR managers, who overview these processes. 2. Recruiting and selection and impact on employment relationship Recruiting and selection can highly influence the employment relationship. As explained above, the specific processes are parts of the first component of the Talent Pipeline model, as developed by CIPD in 20 06 (Figure 1, below); an alternative form of the Talent Pipeline, as developed in 2007 is also presented in Figure 2. The impact of these processes on employment relationship is analyzed below, using the views of the literature, as related to the particular subject. Figure 1 – The Talent Pipeline Figure 2 – The Talent Pipeline, CIPD 2007 CIPD 2006 (Source CIPD 2006) (Source: London Management Centre 2011) 2.1 The recruiting process as part of the talent pipeline and its effects on employment relationship The impact of recruiting on the employment relationship cannot be doubted. In fact, it seems that the power of recruitment to affect the employment relationship is verified by the law. A critical example is ‘Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, Australia’ (Stewart 2011, p.143). The specific legislative text promotes the following idea: the recruitment process can directly affect the employment relationship (Stewart 2011); for this reason, a dispute relat ed to the recruitment process should be characterized as ‘an industrial matter’ (Stewart 2011, p.143). Indeed, in the case Re Manufacturing Grocers (1986), the Court held that ‘an employment matter should be characterized as industrial only when it affects directly the employment relationship’ (Stewart 2011, p.143). It was also held that the recruiting process can be an industrial matter, since ‘it has the power to affect directly employment relations’ (Stewart 2011, p.143). The research of Guest and Conway (2002, quoted by Lewis, et al. 2003, p.15) verified the power of the recruitment process to impact the employment relationship. In the context of the above research, 1300 HR managers were asked to mention the factors that are most likely to influence the psychological contrac

Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate finance - Essay Example Business firms generally find difficulty in raising capital for their further expansion.In the case of very big business projects,the founder alone cannot meet the firm’s initial capital requirements.Under such circumstances,companies issue shares of specific value to the general public with intent to raise capital for meeting business operation expenses. Share price refers to the price of a single share that company issues for subscription. While taking decision on share subscription, an investor compares the share price with company’s financial statements. If a company cannot raise an attractive surplus from its operation, it cannot fix a high price for its shares. It is observed that the market stature of a company has a direct impact on its share price. Every firm aims at maximizing its share value by improving profitability. Empirical evidences suggest that share prices may be affected by an array of factors. Share price is mainly categorized into two such as inter nal and external variables. This paper will explore how these factors affect share prices. Internal variables affecting share prices Internal variables are the strengths or weaknesses of a business which may largely affect the share prices more than any other factor. Profitability, leverage, size, bonus issue, and warrant exercise are the main internal variables that influence the share price to a large extent. They are described below in detail. 1. Profitability Obviously, the ultimate objective of every business is wealth maximization. Therefore, an investor is always curious about the economical status of the company in which he wishes to invest. A firm’s audited financial statements prepared at the end of the fiscal year give vital information to investors and other shareholders. An investor mainly considers the company’s total revenue, expenses, and profitability so as to assess its current market position. For making an investment decision, an investor may give h igh emphasis on the firm’s Earning Per Share (EPS) that represents rate of return on a share at the end of the financial year. In other words, when the EPS rises, investors are more likely to invest with the company. 2. Leverage Leverage is a business term that indicates the amount of money borrowed to finance the purchase of assets; and it can be determined by calculating Debt-to-equity ratio. Although leverage is beneficial for the company to promote growth through the purchase of assets, a high leverage would raise high risks including the drop of share price. An investor would never like to purchase the assets of a company that owes huge debts to other entities because investors are less likely to support a risky venture. Hence, a low leverage may benefit the business to maximize its share price. For instance, as Chatterjee (2011) reports, the Reliance Communications have recently cut down share price target for December by 49 percent to 82 rupees mainly as a result of hi gh leverage. 3. Size Fernando, Gatchev, and Spindt argues that the size of the firm can directly influence the share price; an increase in firm’ size causes a proportional increase in share price and vice versa. Generally, it is believed that huge firms would have abundant potential financial sources that can be effectively employed to meet different business needs. Similarly, large sized firms would probably maintain many potential market segments which would assist the firm to confront with difficulties in times of business contingencies. Moreover, large firms would be well established in the market and therefore, they can keep stable market demand to some extent regardless of the changes in market trends. These factors offer a minimum profit guarantee to investors even if the business faces unexpected losses. Schutts points out that Wal-Mart’s large size has assisted the firm maintain its share price steadily. 4. Bonus issue Bonus issue indicates the act of issuing additional shares to the firm’

Economics (the law of demand and supply) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics (the law of demand and supply) - Essay Example The price that people are willing to pay for a certain product correlates with the quantity of goods supplied are supplied by the suppliers in the market. In economic terms, the law of supply states that the price of the product plays a pivotal role in determining the amount of goods that can be produced at a certain period since this is what people will be willing to buy at that moment. Thus, the law of supply is directly related to the price of the product given that it shapes the behaviour of suppliers. The relationship between the price of the product and the quantity supplied can be graphically illustrated using graphs called supply curves. As going to be explained, it can be seen that there is a movement along the supply curve as well as a shift in position of the same supply curve to the left or to the right as a result of various reasons. As such, this essay seeks to evaluate the main difference between movement along the supply curve as well as a shift in position of the sup ply curve. Various factors that can contribute to the shift in the supply curve are also going to be outlined and discussed in detail. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004), a supply curve is used to show the quantity of products that can be supplied into the market at a particular price. This curve is diagrammatically presented in an upward slope where each point along the slope depicts the price of the goods and the quantity supplied at that particular moment.... If the price is high, this also entails that the level of supply is also high since the producers will be willing to supply more which is likely to result in the generation of more revenue which constitutes the basics of every business. As such, there is an upward or downward movement along the supply curve as shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1 Source: http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp As illustrated in the graph above, points A, B and C are showing the relationship between the price of the product and its supply. An upward movement along the supply curve from point B to C shows that an increase in the price of the product also means an increase in supply. It can be seen that P2 is lower that P3 while at the same time Q2 is lower than Q3. Price is the major determinant of the movements along the supply curve. The movement can also be downward where lower prices will mean the quantity supplied is low as well. The higher the price, the higher the products l ikely to be supplied given that more revenue will be generated as a result of high prices. On the other hand, a shift in the supply curve occurs when there is a change which is parallel to the original position of the supply curve. This shift can be on the left side or right side of the original supply curve. When this shift occurs, the price of the product remains the same (Netmba, 2010). There are other variables which are different from price change that can cause the supply curve to shift either to the left or right side of the original supply curve. For instance, an improvement in manufacturing technology can lead to a shift in the supply curve. There are also various factors that can cause the supply curve to shift as

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth Essay - 2

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth - Essay Example These include the religion of Islam which was revealed by the prophet Muhammad and its adherents are spread all over the world such as in the Middle Eastern countries (Swatos & Kivisto, 998). Second, the religion of Christianity is notably the largest faith and has its teachings firmly grounded in the Bible. Evidently, it has approximately over 2 billion followers in the entire. Buddhism is equally another famous religion which teaches the adherents on the best way of living in accordance to Siddharta Gautama (Swatos & Kivisto, 998). Hinduism is a religion in which the faithful have their ideas firmly founded on Indian religious beliefs. The Candomble religion represents an African driven belief system of religion that traces its origins and followers in Brazil. On the other hand, Taoism connotes ancient religious, philosophical tradition that has its belief founded in Chinese worldview. There are equally contemporary and growing religions such as the Bahai religion. The aforemention ed religions are just but a sample of the many religions in the Earth. Their existence and adherents that subscribe to the religions offer part of the proof of the religious nature of man on Earth. The belief in the existence of supernatural beings is a foundational precinct in the belief system of religious people. To this end, they acknowledge the existence of supernatural beings such as gods, spirits or a supreme God. Evidently, the belief in supernatural beings offers a connection to the existence and experiences of humans. For example, among Christians they believe in a supernatural being of God who is composed of three elements. That is, The Holy Spirit, God the Father and God the Son. In addition, they believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. On the other hand, the Islamic adherents believe in Allah as a supernatural being and in Muhammad as his prophet. The Hindus on their part believe in the existence of 330 million gods but in one supreme ultimate god known as the Brahman. Contemporary religions such as Bahai express their faith in Bahaullah as the reincarnation or

Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate finance - Essay Example Business firms generally find difficulty in raising capital for their further expansion.In the case of very big business projects,the founder alone cannot meet the firm’s initial capital requirements.Under such circumstances,companies issue shares of specific value to the general public with intent to raise capital for meeting business operation expenses. Share price refers to the price of a single share that company issues for subscription. While taking decision on share subscription, an investor compares the share price with company’s financial statements. If a company cannot raise an attractive surplus from its operation, it cannot fix a high price for its shares. It is observed that the market stature of a company has a direct impact on its share price. Every firm aims at maximizing its share value by improving profitability. Empirical evidences suggest that share prices may be affected by an array of factors. Share price is mainly categorized into two such as inter nal and external variables. This paper will explore how these factors affect share prices. Internal variables affecting share prices Internal variables are the strengths or weaknesses of a business which may largely affect the share prices more than any other factor. Profitability, leverage, size, bonus issue, and warrant exercise are the main internal variables that influence the share price to a large extent. They are described below in detail. 1. Profitability Obviously, the ultimate objective of every business is wealth maximization. Therefore, an investor is always curious about the economical status of the company in which he wishes to invest. A firm’s audited financial statements prepared at the end of the fiscal year give vital information to investors and other shareholders. An investor mainly considers the company’s total revenue, expenses, and profitability so as to assess its current market position. For making an investment decision, an investor may give h igh emphasis on the firm’s Earning Per Share (EPS) that represents rate of return on a share at the end of the financial year. In other words, when the EPS rises, investors are more likely to invest with the company. 2. Leverage Leverage is a business term that indicates the amount of money borrowed to finance the purchase of assets; and it can be determined by calculating Debt-to-equity ratio. Although leverage is beneficial for the company to promote growth through the purchase of assets, a high leverage would raise high risks including the drop of share price. An investor would never like to purchase the assets of a company that owes huge debts to other entities because investors are less likely to support a risky venture. Hence, a low leverage may benefit the business to maximize its share price. For instance, as Chatterjee (2011) reports, the Reliance Communications have recently cut down share price target for December by 49 percent to 82 rupees mainly as a result of hi gh leverage. 3. Size Fernando, Gatchev, and Spindt argues that the size of the firm can directly influence the share price; an increase in firm’ size causes a proportional increase in share price and vice versa. Generally, it is believed that huge firms would have abundant potential financial sources that can be effectively employed to meet different business needs. Similarly, large sized firms would probably maintain many potential market segments which would assist the firm to confront with difficulties in times of business contingencies. Moreover, large firms would be well established in the market and therefore, they can keep stable market demand to some extent regardless of the changes in market trends. These factors offer a minimum profit guarantee to investors even if the business faces unexpected losses. Schutts points out that Wal-Mart’s large size has assisted the firm maintain its share price steadily. 4. Bonus issue Bonus issue indicates the act of issuing additional shares to the firm’

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth Essay - 2

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth - Essay Example These include the religion of Islam which was revealed by the prophet Muhammad and its adherents are spread all over the world such as in the Middle Eastern countries (Swatos & Kivisto, 998). Second, the religion of Christianity is notably the largest faith and has its teachings firmly grounded in the Bible. Evidently, it has approximately over 2 billion followers in the entire. Buddhism is equally another famous religion which teaches the adherents on the best way of living in accordance to Siddharta Gautama (Swatos & Kivisto, 998). Hinduism is a religion in which the faithful have their ideas firmly founded on Indian religious beliefs. The Candomble religion represents an African driven belief system of religion that traces its origins and followers in Brazil. On the other hand, Taoism connotes ancient religious, philosophical tradition that has its belief founded in Chinese worldview. There are equally contemporary and growing religions such as the Bahai religion. The aforemention ed religions are just but a sample of the many religions in the Earth. Their existence and adherents that subscribe to the religions offer part of the proof of the religious nature of man on Earth. The belief in the existence of supernatural beings is a foundational precinct in the belief system of religious people. To this end, they acknowledge the existence of supernatural beings such as gods, spirits or a supreme God. Evidently, the belief in supernatural beings offers a connection to the existence and experiences of humans. For example, among Christians they believe in a supernatural being of God who is composed of three elements. That is, The Holy Spirit, God the Father and God the Son. In addition, they believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. On the other hand, the Islamic adherents believe in Allah as a supernatural being and in Muhammad as his prophet. The Hindus on their part believe in the existence of 330 million gods but in one supreme ultimate god known as the Brahman. Contemporary religions such as Bahai express their faith in Bahaullah as the reincarnation or

Providing visual support Essay Example for Free

Providing visual support Essay Nancy is 24 year old women and a house wife by profession. She is disabled by birth and totally dependant on wheelchair. She stays with her husband, who is software professional and busy most of the time. Being a housewife, Nancy has vey little technology knowledge and finds it difficult to use technology spontaneously. Nancy doesn’t want her disability to become her weakness and wants to work like a normal housewife, like cooking for her husband, washing utensils etc. She wants a kitchen which is universally designed and where she should be able to work effectively like a normal person with ease of use and learning being her first priority. How should an interior designer design a universally designed kitchen keeping in mind people like Nancy? †¢ Making the height of the kitchen cabinet, Cook top, Microwave stand accessible by wheelchair. †¢ Having an adjustable-height cabinets, can help all users to use them effectively. Also customizable design which can be changed based on user preferences also makes design effective and more usable. †¢ Having a removable sink and drying rack will give sufficient space for food preparation. This can again be re-fitted as and when required. Thus giving flexibility to people like Nancy or old aged people, who can’t stand and cook. †¢ Foldable cabinet doors under cooktop, providing sufficient knee space. †¢ Providing visual support can also help users to use kitchen more easily and effectively. †¢ Voice based support in kitchen can also be a good idea, thus making design accessible for people with low vision. †¢ Automated dishwasher or microwave system can help them easily placing dish without much effort. Let’s see some examples of universally designed kitchens Persona 3. He is a retired professional and stays alone in his 2 bedroom apartment which is on the 10th floor. He finds it difficult to walk and climb stairs and also have sight problem. Rodney has very little technology knowledge and finds it difficult to remember things, due to his growing age. He depends on electronic wheelchair most of the time. He needs an elevator system in his apartment which can accommodate his wheelchair also, making his life easy at this age. How can we make a universally designed elevator? †¢ Increasing the width of the elevator hence giving ample space to use wheelchairs and thus making it approachable †¢ Big display screen, which displays the floor details big and clear, thus accommodating people like Rodney to use it with ease †¢ Voice based support system, which informs the user which floor the user is in, can also help the disabled user to use them effectively. Let’s see example of a universally designed elevator Conclusion: Irrespective of age, ability or disability and situations, every has the right to effectively use any products or services, hence designers should always be conscious about this fact and implement their design ideas to serve one and everyone. This is what universal design means. Bibliography http://idea.ap.buffalo.edu/ http://www. design. ncsu. edu/cud/about_ud/udprincipleshtmlformat. html#top Frascara J. , (1997), User-Centred Graphic Design: Mass Communication and Social Change, Taylor Francis, London

Compare And Contast Of Festival Between Bangladesh Tourism Essay

Compare And Contast Of Festival Between Bangladesh Tourism Essay Festival is an event that generally staged by a local community. There is a lot of festival in the world. There are many different festivals and also there are many similar festivals in the world. All of the country has different festival and they observe in different ways. There are many kinds of festival in the world. Historical festival, Social festival. Arts festival, New Year festival, cultural festival, film festival. Music festival. Food festival, folk festival etc. 2. Etymology of festivals: the word festival comes from English word fest, French word festivals, Latin word festivals. After 1580 it was recoded as noun. Before it was used as adjective. In this time it the word feste come form Middle English, from middle French, from Latin. 3. Countries of choice: to compare and contest of festival I have chosen two countries. Among these countries there are many festival observed every year. From these I have chosen two festivals to compare and contest. 5.1 Caribana festival in Canada: Caribana festivals come from Caribbean culture and history which is held in the summer across the city of Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Every year hundreds of thousand visitors from around the world the world come to the Torontos lakeshore. It is the largest festival in the North America. It takes place about three weeks. In this time there held a different kind of event take place. Music festive, folk festive, and many others takes place there in the festival. 5.2 History of caribana festival of Canada: caribana was annually observed from 1967 in Toronto. It is a gift from West Indian community of canards. In the before years the main festival events organised by a nonprofits organisation of Toronto which name was Caribbean cultural committee (CCC). It was establish by the Caribbean organiser living in Canada. In 2006 this origination fall in financial crisis so they fail to arrange this festival at the end Toronto government give financial aid to run this festival from this it named Toronto Caribbean carnival (caribana) festival. 5.3 Events of caribana festival of Canada: the festival start with a massive parade. It took place in the first weekend of August. In this time a dancer called mas player along with live caribana music start from big speakers from 18 wheeler trucks. Calypso Tents Music Series is one of the most attractive events. Story telling is favourite event of this function. Art exhibition held in Royal Ontario museum on July 23 August 15th. Hundred of works shone there. Mainly African-Canadian artists work. Scotia bank Caribana Gala takes place in liberty Grand on July 23rd. an event of arts and festival. King and queen show is another important event of the caribana festival. It held on July 29th in the Lamport Stadium. Another thrilling event is Pan Alive. In this event musical event are shown held on July 30t h. caribana food festival is an exciting new event takes place in the Ontario place on August 1st . There is another programme held in the Ontatia place which is De Scotia bank cariban a Lime where you can take food, watch dance and enjoy live music at the same time. 6.1 Poyela Boishak festival of Bangladesh: poyela boishak is the first day of Bangla calendar. This calendar is followed by the Bangladesh, Assam, west Bangla, and Tripura. This festival is celebrated 14 April of every year. Main festival held in Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh. About one million people attend this programme. In this day all stage of people attend this festival. In this day Dhaka become festival looks. All roads become colourful. People were colourful dresses in these days. Various types of placates, banners, festoon and many kind of colourful toron are displayed. Government declare holiday in this day. In this day different cultural programme are arranged. A lot of processions are getting out in this day. In this day a lot of fair arranged across the country. 6.2 History of poyela boishak: Hindu Vedic solar calendar is nearly to the Bangla calendar. The Bangla year commences in mid-April of the Gregorian year. At time of moghals period calendar are count for harvest with hijri year. But farmer cannot count this time. Thats why Emperor Akbar ordered to reform the calendar. After this order the famous astronomer Fatehullah Shirazi reformed the Bangla New Year based on Hijri Hindu solar calendars. This New Year (fasli san) thats mean agricultural year first introduce in the 10/11 march on 1584. In this time landlords are arranged different kinds of fair to celebrate this day. In this day Bangali traders open new account book called halkhata in this day traders finish all due with his customers and give them especial sweet. . 6.3 Celebration of poyela boishak: This day are celebrating two ways in the country. One in rural area and another is cities area. In rural area people were new cloths and they keep their home net and clean. In the cities people celebrate this day difference way from rural area. In the cities people observed this day by elaborate programme, Especially in Dhaka. Various kinds of agricultural products, cosmetics, toys, traditional food are sold in the boshakhi fair. This fair provides entertainment, by staging jatra (traditional plays), jari gan, sari gan, murshidi song, bual, arfoti song. Many stage dramas are shone in this day especially Yusuf-Zulekha Radhe- kisno. Events, kite flying in the Dhaka, in the village games are bullfights, flying pigeons, boat racing. In the cities people get up in the morning and ware especial cloths, young women were white saris with read edge, ful(flowers) of their head and, Man were Panjabi(shirt) and lungi (long skirt). In the morning Cities people eat pant-bath (rich with water) with fried hilsha fish. A lot of people gather under the banyan tree at Ramna Park. In this place famous song à  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬ ¹, à  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ à  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ  Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦-, à  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ à  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ  Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ (come, o boishakh, come, come) sing to welcoming New Year. Social cultural organization take out procession and parade around the town, university of Dhaka also take out another procession into the campus, news paper give out especial addition, radio, television broadcast live this function. . 7. Significance: now I will describe about the significance of these festival. 7.1 Significance of caribana festival of Canada: caribana is great festival for the Canada, by this festival Toronto get especial definition because a lot of people around the world come to attend this festival thats why it become familiar to all over the world. This festival is held not only Toronto but also Ontario, province, caribana, festival are also celebrate in the America. Immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago introduced this caribana festival. Now it is the third biggest Caribbean festival in the world. 7.2 Significance of poyela boishak: poyela boishak is now recognized as multicultural because many people around the world attend this programme. In this day all Bengali around the world together celebrated this programme thats why it become famous in the subcontinent, in the subcontinent about 30 core people speak in Bengali so poyela boishak is always a model festival for these huge amount of people. 8. Conclusion: festival is always important for every country, It familiar one countries culture and tradition to the worlds. In the festival people get recreation, there are different types of festival in Canada and Bangladesh. And there is also difference celebrating ways but both countries enjoy this festival with great festive look.

Good God Essay -- essays research papers

Good God When one walks through the streets of humanity, one must choose their destiny. Is it to believe in God, or to become conservative and choose not to believe? Well, the people of the world should all just creep within their minds, and choose not to follow the Messiah onto the deceptive fields of love. These people become sicken with doubt, and unleashing them are quite easy. But the world may never know, for the fools that are blinded with salvation still wander in oblivion. Objection number one is that, can one actually prove the â€Å"existence† of God? How can one experience divinity, without experiencing death first? No men on this earth can! Not the Pope, Saint Anselm, nor William Paley, who actually tired to prove the existence of God. William Paley once said , â€Å"If a man wandered upon a hill, and discovered a watch; who would question the fact, that the watch was created by a designer?† It's possible that the statement is true, but a watch can't be compared to a universe's creation. Paley would later say that the world must have a designer, meaning a God. The watch of coarse must of been created by a designer, but the world is totally different. It's more like a carpenter building a house or building. People can relate more to a building than a universe, cause it's possible that one can experience living within a house. It's not possible for anyone to live among the outside world, and think that God created everything. This only proves Paley's downfall, and ideas ... Good God Essay -- essays research papers Good God When one walks through the streets of humanity, one must choose their destiny. Is it to believe in God, or to become conservative and choose not to believe? Well, the people of the world should all just creep within their minds, and choose not to follow the Messiah onto the deceptive fields of love. These people become sicken with doubt, and unleashing them are quite easy. But the world may never know, for the fools that are blinded with salvation still wander in oblivion. Objection number one is that, can one actually prove the â€Å"existence† of God? How can one experience divinity, without experiencing death first? No men on this earth can! Not the Pope, Saint Anselm, nor William Paley, who actually tired to prove the existence of God. William Paley once said , â€Å"If a man wandered upon a hill, and discovered a watch; who would question the fact, that the watch was created by a designer?† It's possible that the statement is true, but a watch can't be compared to a universe's creation. Paley would later say that the world must have a designer, meaning a God. The watch of coarse must of been created by a designer, but the world is totally different. It's more like a carpenter building a house or building. People can relate more to a building than a universe, cause it's possible that one can experience living within a house. It's not possible for anyone to live among the outside world, and think that God created everything. This only proves Paley's downfall, and ideas ...

Child Labor Essay -- Essays Papers

Child Labor Child labor has been around for long time and it still exists in today's world. Thiskind of labor provides problems or difficulties in the economic world. Child labor is social problem with the rise of industrial production and capitalism. It appeared in earlier ages in agricultural societies when the children all around the world had to work along with 19th century, spreading to many countries. The problems started when many children, younger than ten years old, were employed by factories. In this paper I will address the issues and history of child labor, the child labor laws, and my suggestions or solutions to child labor problems. Child labor is defined as the employment of children under the age of physical maturity for long hours. Child labor is often used in societies where industries are being developed. The governments and international organization usually consider a person economically active if the person works on a regular basis. A child is a laborer if the child is economically active. The children are used because they are agile, efficient at many unskilled and semi skilled work, quick learners, unprotected and easy for adults to exploit. Historically, children working is nothing new, it was and still is often described for a family's survival. Many of these children are forced into the workforce to become beggars, farm hands and factory workers. These children are denied an education and normal childhood, some children are confined and beaten. Some are denied freedom of movement or the right to leave the workplace and go to their families. Some are abducted and forced to work. Human rights abuses in these practices are existing. There are approximately 250 milli... ...ause criminal is always going to be a criminal. My opinion is that there should be a trade restriction because I want to see some changes in these countries thatuse child labor and trade restrictions on them would be my best choice. Bibliography: 1. â€Å"Child Labor†, http://1rights.igc.org/projects/childlabor/ 2. â€Å"History Of Child Labor†, http://www.atchison.K12.ks.us/gifted/childlabor.html 3. UNICEF, â€Å"Child Protection†, http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html 4. Human Rights Watch, â€Å"Child Labor†, http://www.hrw.org/children/labor.html 5. â€Å"Child Labor Laws†, http://www.doli.state.mn.us/childlbr.html 6. â€Å"US Child Labor Law†, http://www.cofc.edu/~muellerr/childlabor.html 7. â€Å"Children In Factories†, http://www.globalmarch.org/factory-lab/indonesia.html 8. â€Å"Kaushik Basu†,

Pork Barrel Essay

I am an average teenager, but I am aware of what is happening in the country. One of the big problem that our country encounters today is CORRUPTION. â€Å"Pork Barrel† is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district. The usage originated in American English. In election campaigns, the term is used in derogatory fashion to attack opponents. The corruption in our country is passed by generation to generation. If we don’t act now as an living individual the next generation would still suffer, just think our children’s future if we don’t speak out or act out now. Yes, we do pay taxes but whenever you see the road trails and the situation of the poverty? Would you be happy? Is it worth seeing?. As we respond to the call of the times, we can say that we are all heroes. We are a nation of heroes: resilient and staunch in the face of adversity, ready to fight against the evil that is the pork barrel system. We are not only commemorating our fallen heroes – we are all heroes in our own right, in our own little way. The real cause behind corruption is absence of a â€Å"respectable justice system†. Philippine justice is not credible, and most of the Filipino people are losing respect for it, because it cannot enforce the rule of law against prominent characters and powerful corrupt government officials. Philippine justice is â€Å"POLITICALLY ADULTERATED† which means that it is more dominated by politicians who consider themselves the superior elites of society at the expense of the rights of the common people. It’s safe to say that their Glory days are long gone. When mostly the outsiders think that Philippines today is a political instability, economic struggle, crime, and corruption that often come to mind. As a Filipino citizen would you be proud to hear that? I think the answer is â€Å"NO†. When political leaders lie, cheat and steal, when public offices become public curse especially in terms of graft and corruption, when public funds go to private pockets, then we begin to realize how cruel and disgrace this act have done to our country. Because the politicians, are the most notorious abusers of the law where they feel they can simply steal the bounty of the people and cannot be made accountable for their wrongful acts. A changing nation?. Maybe changing for the worse, bribery, corruption, and plundering leaders. The trouble in our country is uncontrollable corruption and greed in the highest level we can imagine, but still we love our very own country Philippines. I c ould tell it’s corruption has become â€Å"a humanitarian crisis† and scandals increasingly to nominate the news. That’s why nowadays foreigners and citizens alike say that our country has the most corrupt leadership. The worsening action of corruption has eaten the right of every citizen to freedom, good governance, less poverty, having decent life and most of all having your dignity, purity, and clean conscience. Corruption is a serious obstacle to the social and economic status of the country. The biggest losers are the citizens or the Filipino people. In effect- the end users are made to pay for overpriced goods and services that are made with the low-quality or substandard goods and services being catered in our country. It is our right to demand real change, action and improvement from those who take our money from and spend it in our name. We have the right to stand in our own two feet for our own sake to see the real Freud. Sadly the corruption is not limited to just politicians and policemen. Everyone seems motivated by pure greed in the dog-eat-dog culture that has taken hold in the country. Let’s give thanks to the Philippine justice system that they can control at will. Corruption is the gravest threat in our country. Political Donations has a big part in corruption as you can see, some people the donation being given during campaign in order to gain the vote, are you one of them? I hope not. The concentration of the small group of elite families, seen in combination with political donations, gives these families with undue advantage and this had led to concerns as to their undue  influence on both Philippine politics and business life.

Multiple Regression Analysis

Multiple regression analysis was used to measure the relationship between the cost of equity capital and the independent and control variables. It was found that the cost of equity capital is relatively lower when the index of CSR disclosure is higher, reason being immense CSR implementation minimizes the general risk of a company. It was concluded that CSR disclosure in the company's annual reports reduces the cost of capital by reducing information asymmetry and subsequently reducing company's risk which benefits both the investors and speculators. According to Baimukhamedova and Luchaninova (2017) who examined the relationship between corporate disclosure and cost of equity capital on a sample of 37 largest and most liquid firms listed at Kazakhstan Stock Exchange for period 2008 to 2014, the study used multiple linear regression models. The findings indicated that firms with higher level of financial transparency are associated with significantly lower cost of equity capital. The results shown that firm on the Kazakhstan market reduce their cost of equity capital by increasing the level of their voluntary corporate disclosure. Moreover Stanwick (1998) studied the relationship between corporate disclosure and organizational size, financial performance and environmental performance. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between social performance of the organization and the environmental performance of the organization. Data was collected from 1987 to 1992 and descriptive design was used. Corporate reputation index was constructed. The findings were that social performance was indeed impacted by the size of the firm, the financial performance of the firm and amount of pollution emissions released by the firms. 2.3.3 Corporate Social Responsibility Voluntary Disclosure and the Cost of Equity CapitalA study by Hossain and Hammami (2009) purported that financial results released are the foundation of an organization's budget and performances. The analysis involves comparing a firms performance with that of the others firms in the same industry and evaluating trends over time. Financial analysis involves the use of simple mathematical techniques, an understanding and appreciation of business strategy and future prospects through and examination of financial statements. Financial ratios play a key role in financial management. The extent to which a firm's uses debt financing is what is called financial leverage. Also Botosan and Plumlee (2002) investigated the relationship between cost of capital and annual reports disclosure, timely disclosure (quarterly or other published reports) and investors relations disclosures, they found a negative association for the annual report disclosure, their research showed that the cost of capital is positively related to timely reporting actions which could be attributed to the fact that timely disclosure increase the volatility of the share price by attracting transient investors who trade aggressively on short term earning , however they did not find association between cost of equity financing and investor relations disclosures. In evaluating the relationship between information asymmetry and financing methods (debt and equity financing) of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from year 2003 to 2010, Mahdi, Vahab and Hamin (2015), found that there no significant relationship between information and debt financing though information asymmetry is positively associated with debt financing, however there was a significant positive relationship between information asymmetry and equity financing. The study was done using secondary dataset of 61 firms were explored where debt and equity financing methods were adopted where data was extracted from financial statements of sample firms and was analyzed in excel and stata. The result of the study showed. In this study used stata and excel. Another study by Mangena, Jing and Tauringana (2016) investigated whether Intellectual capital and financial disclosure jointly affect the firms cost of capital for 125 UK firms listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) representing firms across industries from March 2004 to February 2015, data for measuring disclosure are drawn from annual reports. They used descriptive approach as their study methodology. The study found that IC disclosure is negatively related to the cost of equity, the relationship between financial disclosure and the cost of equity capital is magnified when combined with the IC disclosures. It was also observed that IC and financial disclosure interacts on the effects of the cost of equity capital, the analysis of this interactions demonstrates that the effect of financial disclosure on the cost of equity capital is augmented for firm characterized by medium level of IC disclosure. Used stataIn their study, Francis, Nanda and Olsson, (2002) investigated the relation among voluntary disclosure, earning quality and cost of capital. The study was done in Chicago, USA on 677 firms' annual reports and 10-K filings in the fiscal year 2001 using self constructed index of coded items. It was noted that firms with good earning quality have more expansive voluntary disclosure than firms with poor earning quality, on unconditional tests, it was found that more voluntary disclosure is associated with lost cost of capital, however on complementary association between disclosure and earning quality it was noted that the disclosure effect on the cost of capital is substantially reduced or disappear completely. Additionally, Cerf (1961) investigated the relationship between voluntary disclosure of information and the level of profitability, size of the firm and its shareholders in the US market. The methodology used was descriptive approach which focused on analyzing the association between voluntary disclosure of information and the level of profitability on annual reports of 25 different companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, he found a positive relationship between voluntary disclosure of information and the level of profitability, size of the firm and its shareholders. 2.3.4 Board Size Information voluntary disclosure and Cost of Equity CapitalIn examining the effect of board independence and voluntary disclosure on the cost of equity capital, Setiany et al. (2007) showed that there is a significant relationship between voluntary disclosure and firm's cost of equity capital. The study employed regression analysis on secondary data from companies listed in indonesian Stock Exchange during the period of 2009 to 2012 on a sample of 104 companies in the manufacturing sector. The study concluded that there is no relationship between board independence and cost of equity capital, however the results. However Khemakhem and Naciri (2015) examined the association between board and audit characteristics and the cost of equity capital in Canadian market. The methodology used descriptive statistics on a sample of 139 firm year observation from proxy circulars, proxy statements and annual reports of Canadian companies that were part of S/P & TSX for the period 2004 to 2006. The study found that the size of audit committee and non-duality of the chairman of the board are positively related to the cost of equity capital, also the study revealed that the independence and board size do not affect the cost of capital for firms in the sample. Fauzi and Locke (2012) investigated the role of board structure and the effect of ownership structure on firm performance of New Zealand listed firms. The study employed balanced panel methodology on 79 New Zealand listed firms, it also employed Generalized Linear Model (GLM) to analysis data from annual reports of listed firms for the period of 2007 to 2011.the results of the study show that the board of directors, board committee and managerial ownership have a positive and significant impact on the firm performance. While Hasan et al. (2009) examined the impact of ownership structure and corporate governance on capital structure using a sample of 58 randomly selected non-financial listed companies from Karachi Stock Exchange for the period 2002 to 2005. Data was analyzed using multivariate regression analysis under fixed model approach. The results show that board size is significantly related to capital structure. However, non executive directors on board and CEO/Chair duality have no significant relationship with capital structure. Similarly, Jaradat (2015) investigate the effect of board size, board gender, outside director and CEO duality on the capital structure in Jordanian firms. Observation was done on 129 firms for the period 2009 to 2013. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the association of secondary data collected from yearly annual reports. The results showed a positive association between board size, board diversity and outside directors and the capital structure, however for CEO duality and capital structure there was no significant relationship. 2.4 Conceptual framework This section will deal with operationalization of variables of the study, measures of voluntary disclosure and measure of the cost of equity capital. Independent variables Dependant Variables VariableIn this study the dependent variable is the cost of equity capital while the independent variables also referred as voluntary disclosure are the general corporate and strategic disclosure, forward-looking disclosure, social and board disclosure and financial disclosure (Barako, 2007) CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction This chapter discusses the methods and procedures to employ to conduct the study. This chapter presents details of the research design, population, sampling and sampling procedures data collection methods, data analysis technique data and instruments for data analysis. 3.2 Research Design Research design is the framework the research intends to follow. It describes the nature and pattern the research intends to follow (Makerere University, 2011). Ogula (2005) describe a research design as a plan, structure and strategy of investigation to obtain answers to research questions and control variance. This study will adopt descriptive research design as it describe the characteristic and association voluntary disclosure and cost of equity capital of firms listed at NSE. Based on the secondary data to be obtained from annual reports and accounts of companies quoted in the NSE and company website. The choice of descriptive is motivated by the fact that it involves gathering data, observing and describing the behavior of the data without influencing it in any way (Bryman, 2001). This will be appropriate in the study since it will establish the effect of voluntary disclosure on the cost of equity capital. 3.3 Target Population Mugenda and Mugenda (2009) define a population as sum of all the items considered under a study. According to Ngechu (2004) a population is a well defined set of people, services, elements events or households that are being investigated. The target population for this study will consist of 64 firms listed in NSE (CMA, 2017), however consideration will only be on those which have been continuously trading since 2011 without being suspension or delisting 3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure A sample is sub-group of the target population chosen by the researcher to represent other members of the target population (Amin, 2004). Sampling is the process, technique and procedure of choosing a sub-group from a population to participate in the study. Oso and Onen, 2009) stated that there are two main ways of selecting study sample from the target population, probability and non-probability sampling technique. The study will apply purposive sampling technique to select companies to be included in the study. Kothari (2004) stated that in purposive sampling technique an element is selected though subjectively defined method where the researcher personal judgments play an important role. An optimum sample is one which fulfils the requirements of efficiency, representativeness, reliability and flexibility. The study will comprise of a sample of 20 firms from NSE 20 share index selected based on a weighted market performance in the year 2017 (NSE, 2017). 3.5 Instrumentation and Data Collection Creswell (2008) argues prior to research, a researcher ought to develop a data collection instruments which is meant to measure, observe data under investigation. The study will use Disclosure Check Index (DCI) as the principal instrument for data collection of voluntary disclosure information. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2009),