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Homework - Essay Example Douglas has expressed his desire for â€Å"citizenship for whites only†; meanwhile, Lincoln insisted the equal rights of every living man-including African American-for life, fruits of their labor, and liberty (as cited in Hakim, 2007, p. 158). He further argued that the struggle against slavery reflects an internal turmoil of distinguishing the right from wrong throughout the world. Lincoln supported the â€Å"Fugitive State Law†; however, he strongly opposed the interference with slavery in certain states where it has already existed (as cited in Hakim, 2007, p. 158). Douglas and Lincoln have participated in seven debates in front of approximately 15,000 individuals and travelled for estimated 10,000 miles for their campaigns (as cited in Hakim, 2007, p. 158). The immediate result of these debates was deemed as inconclusive. However, in the long run, the debates became fatal to Douglas and favorable to Lincoln. Lincoln has managed to gain national stature from performance in the debate. He later regarded as a serious presidential contender. In contrast, Douglas has split the Democratic Party and diminished his chance of becoming a U.S. president (â€Å"Results,† 1987). Question 2. Both Grant and Sherman pursued a new type of warfare. Explain the change in strategy these men employed. Note a battle or campaign in which each man used this new strategy. Finally, was this strategy effective? Why or why not? Grant and Sherman introduced a â€Å"new type of warfare,† which has defeated the south (as cited in House, 2008, p.53). The increased lethality of weapons has impelled armies to disperse in order to survive. Battlefield expansion has doomed the concentration at one particular point. The distribution of forces led to the distributed operations. Campaigns began to consist of various actions (House, 2008, p. 53). It contained numerous operations with several maneuvers

Developed Country and American Means Essay Example for Free

Developed Country and American Means Essay For hundreds of years the United States has been attracting immigrants from a variety of different countries, races, and religions to come live in a land full of freedom and opportunity. These people were looking for more than just rights and privileges. Their real desire was to become something that depicts pride and honor, an American. Being an American means much more than living in the United States to me. It means to me having freedom of speech to express your own opinion, freedom of religion, and equality for all, including different sexes, races, religions and status. But most of all it means having different benefits such as, being proud of the privileges we possess, it means a sense of pride for our country , and to be able to choose. First being an American means to me is to be proud of the privileges we possess because many other countries are not fortunate enough to have all these freedoms. Our freedoms are what set Americans apart from other citizens. Americans have the opportunity to acquire a good education and receive a satisfying career. Apart from some countries, American people of all different races and religions can live and work together because everyone is allowed an equal opportunity. This is what being an American means to me. Next being an American means to me that we are united with a sense of pride for our country. All Americans should be proud of what the United States has accomplished. Our country has become a major influence to other countries. For example country like Korea, Japan and China all have things that they try to do the way we do here in America. Our country is the most developed, wealthy, and most advanced country in the world. On the other hand, there are some barriers that divide the American people. But what being an American means to me is too able to choose, no matter who you are. A major dispute found among Americans is political issues. Some Americans may favor the Democratic Party as some Americans may favor the Republican Party. People will have different opinions on issues in their community, and this could cause friction or barriers between the groups. A common example of this division is the ongoing dispute over prohibiting abortion. Americans are divided into two groups over this issue. Pro-life members believe abortion is a wrong and should not be done, and pro-choice members believe that the woman deserves a choice to keep her baby. Although it is very uncommon Americans can seldom be divided by religion or race, but this division is never an extreme occurrence or conflict. But all of this defines me as an American. I have the right to choose what every I want too no matter how others may feel. Being an American has a lot of meaning to me, freedom of speech to express your own opinion, freedom of religion, and equality for all, including different sexes, races, religions and status. By studying our history we could get a better understanding of what being an American means to me. I think it is very important that all Americans study the history of their country because many important and altering events happened hundreds of years before we were born. All Americans should be reminded of what our country and its people have endured. After all the conditions we live in today are the effects of our past.

A Comparison of Contemporary American Notions of Happiness to the Epicu

People who are viewed as happy in our culture today are also seen as being rich, having a loving family, and a great occupation. Our society is attracted to material things, rather than spiritual ones. Can a person who does not have many possessions and an elevated social position still live a happy life? Epicurus believed that each one of us could achieve true happiness, and our only problem is that we stubbornly search for it in all the wrong places. Epicurus states that we only need three things to be happy besides the essentials needed for survival: friends, freedom, and an analyzed life. I will be comparing contemporary American notions of happiness to the Epicurean view. In our contemporary American life we have the desire for things that we do not really need to make us happy. Our commercial world intends to sell us substitutes for the things we truly need in order to be happy. We replace our real needs with things like clothing, furniture, cars, nice houses, and many other unessential items. Many individuals place the blame for an unhappy lifestyle on their occupation, and search out alternatives such as material items. We are happy when we receive things fast, because of our lack of patience, and because we simply enjoy the hassle free lifestyle. Our technological advances have made many things easy for us and it brings us some joy. Examples include that we rather drive than walk, and eat from unhealthy fast food restaurants than cook a meal ourselves. We see advertisements everywhere selling us products to make us happy, however the happiness from sex, food, and excitement are pleasures that are short lived. If we took away all unnecessary items for survival from our society today, could we still be happy? ... ...death, and the supernatural. Money cannot buy you analyzed thoughts about your life, or help you cope with the emotional effects of illness or death. Epicureans are looking for peace and freedom from fear and pain. Pleasure is how human beings can sense they are doing something right. I believe that a simpler life in general would help people live a happier lifestyle. We must have the essential needs for survival; however the unnecessary materialistic items are not needed and cannot bring happiness. We all can benefit from living a more Epicurean life, and we should take their advice to focus on friendship, independence, and thinking rationally. Bibliography â€Å"Letter to Menoeceus,† http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html â€Å"Letter to Idomeneus,† http://www.epicurus.net/en/idomeneus.html â€Å"Letter to Herodotus,† http://www.epicurus.net/en/herodotus.html

Education: United States vs. Ukraine Essay

There are 1.8 million people coming to the United States every year. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2006 there were 961,113 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.33% of the American population. The Ukrainian population in the United States is thus the second largest outside the former Soviet Union. One of the reasons is that the education is more progressive and flexible, which makes it easier for people to attain their educational goals. In different countries and in different cultural environments, education has different forms, methods and meanings for people. Given the opportunity to attend schools in Ukraine and in the United States, I could not help but notice the differences between the two educational systems. The U.S. educational system is more liberal, comprehensive, and specialty focused when compared to the Ukrainian system. The educational system of Ukraine is continuously changing due to the transitional period of the country from the former Soviet Union . During the Soviet period, educational organizations in Ukraine were state-supported institutions, none of which had religious affiliations. As cultural environment changes, this is no longer true for the modern Ukraine. Nowadays, all schools, from pre-school to the institutions of higher education, have Christian classes in their curricular activities. Contrary to the state-sponsored education of the Soviet era, there are both public and private educational establishments, all of which must be accredited by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine. Primary and secondary education comprise pre-school through grade 11. The components of primary level of education are pre-school programs which are attended by two-third of all Ukrainian children. Children ages 6 months to 3 years are enrolled in nursery schools. Children ages 3 to 6 years are enrolled in kindergartens. Then starts secondary education: elementary in grades 1 – 4; lower secondary in grades 5 – 9; and upper secondary in grades 10 – 11. Grades 1 through 9 are collectively called Incomplete (General) Secondary Education, and grades  10 and 11 are called Complete Secondary education. Three types of institutions also offer the upper secondary school curriculum: the general academic schools, the secondary vocational-technical schools and the specialized secondary school. Regardless of the type of upper secondary training completed, Ukrainian students have the right to continue their education at a postsecondary institution. Applications are accepted from citizens who meet the following criteria: * students have completed secondary education; * for full-time study students must be under 35 years of age and there are no age limits for part-time or evening study; * students have passed a competitive entrance examination set by each institution of higher education. There are three types of grading systems in Ukraine. Ordinarily universities used a traditional 5-point scale: â€Å"5† = â€Å"excellent†, â€Å"4† = â€Å"good†, â€Å"3† = â€Å"acceptable†, â€Å"2† = â€Å"unacceptable†. Since 2006, university students are graded on a rating scale of 0 to 100. These grades can be transformed to the 5-point scale approximately as follows: from 91 to 100 means â€Å"5†, from 71 to 90 means â€Å"4†, from 51 to 70 means â€Å"3†, from 0 to 50 means â€Å"2†. Both the rating scale and the 5-point scale are used in university registers at the present. As for secondary schools, they also used the 5-point scale until 2000. Since 2000 secondary schools use a 12-point scale, which could be transformed into the traditional 5-point scale as follows: â€Å"12† = â€Å"5+†, â€Å"11† = â€Å"5†, â€Å"10† = â€Å"5-† and so on. Education in the United States follows a pattern similar to that in the Ukrainian system. Early childhood education is followed by elementary school, middle school, high school, and then postsecondary education. Postsecondary education includes non-degree programs that lead to certificates and diplomas plus six degree levels: associate, bachelor, first professional, master, advanced intermediate, and research doctorate. The U.S. system does not offer a second or higher doctorate, but does offer postdoctorate research programs. Contrary to the Ukrainian system, in the United States people can go to college at any age and also have homeschooling programs. The most common grade scale in the United States is the letter grade: â€Å"A† through â€Å"F†, which is derived from a scale of 0–100 points. The following table shows the transformation: A| B| C| D| F| | | –| | | –| | | –| | | –| | 100-97| 96-93| 92-90| 89-87| 86-83| 82-80| 79-77| 76-73| 72-70| 69-67| 66-63| 62-60| Below 60 Percent| One of the big differences between two systems is course schedule. In Ukraine students have to follow a particular schedule made to satisfy the educational institution program, while in the United States students have flexibility in scheduling their classes. For example, if I start any level of secondary or postsecondary education in Ukraine, I will be assigned to a group of 20-30 people (called a â€Å"class†), who have the same schedule and we don’t have to register for any classes, because everything is already prepared for us. Nowadays, in US I make my own schedule that satisfies my choice of degree requirements and my work hours. Another big difference is the availability and accessibility of technology to students. In Ukraine, schools and colleges are very underfunded which results in poor or no equipment. Students in Ukraine do not have as many resources as students in the United States have, unless they come from wealth. Some people say that lack of technology lowers the quality of education. I believe the use of technology is helpful, has a significant positive effect on students and is just more fun; however it does not affect the quality of education. Taking into consideration all the similarities and differences of both educational systems, the Ukrainian system dictates to students each step of the educational process, while the US system is more flexible, provides more freedom and advanced technology. Overall, learning in the United States is a great opportunity that not everyone has. Thus, those who have it should make the most of the chance to learn.

Reggio Emillia Essay

‘A Reggio pre-school is a special kind of place, one in which young human beings are invited to grow in mind, in sensibility and in belonging to a broader community. ’ (Learning and teaching Scotland, 2006) For this case study I am going to look at the four themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage, also known as the EYFS. The EYFS sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn, develop well, and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that will provide the right foundation for good future progress, throughout school, and adult life. (Hutchin, 2012) I will be highlighting links between the EYFS’s four main themes; A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Developing, and discussing how the Reggio Emilia Approach supports these themes. The Reggio Emilia Approach is focused on preschool and primary education, originally set up in the northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia. It has a reputation for forward thinking and excellence in its approach to early childhood education. It is an approach where the expressive arts play a central role in learning and where a unique reciprocal learning relationship exists between practitioner and child. (Tornton, 2006) According to Locke and Rousseau children are born as â€Å"blank slates† completely free of any predisposition or vulnerabilities, and that everything the child would become was due to the effects of their environment. (Moyles, 2010) Though within the Reggio Emilia approach they see children as slightly different, they believe children are empty vessels waiting eagerly to be filled with knowledge. Reggio educators believe strongly that a child has unlimited potential and is eager to interact with, and contribute to the world. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) The way the Reggio Emilia Approach views their children is much like the Early Years Foundation Stage. The EYFS states ever child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. (EYFS, 2012) Both the EYFS and the Reggio Emilia Approach see children as individuals; this is conveyed throughout the EYFS, as one of its main themes is : A Unique Child. The EYFS states practitioners should understand and observe each child’s development and learning, assess progress, and plan for the next steps. (EYFS, 2012) The Reggio Emilia approach tackles this in a very different way in relation to the UK. Children’s work is documented throughout the year on walls to display a story of the child’s learning; it is not something that is made after the child has finished working. Educators observe, document and analyse children’s learning journeys, they are able to make informed hypotheses about how to guide children in their learning. It is obvious then that documentation is far removed from photographic displays of completed project work. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) Throughout the Reggio Emilia buildings there are many long, child height mirrors. This is designed to support children to help them develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture. This is one of the practices of the Unique Child theme in the EYFS. Another way the Reggio Emilia Approach supports children finding their own identity is ‘pedagogy’ this means that art is seen as another way of communicating and expressing ideas. Children are also encouraged to raise their own questions and answers, and this re-enforces the child’s opinion that their thinking is valued. Education is based on relationships. Reggio Emilia teachers are seen as partners in learning, (Tornton, 2006) for example pupils and teachers work together aiming towards a common purpose: the building of a culture. This respects childhood as a time to explore, create and be joyful. Participation begins even before the children have started school, through a comprehensive integration programme. This involves meetings between children, parents and teachers to build an image of the child as an individual. This often involves the child doing a task such as making a ‘holiday booklet’ of photographs and favourite nursery rhymes; this can be used as stimulus for discussion between child and teacher. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) The teacher`s working with the child links to one of the four themes within the EYFS- Positive Relationships. The EYFS states you should be supportive of the child’s own efforts and independence (EYFS, DATE). By the teacher being a partner in learning, suggests that children could have the freedom to convey their thoughts and ideas more freely. To give an example: The teacher strives to support and encourage the child on the learning journey, encouraging them to reflect and to question. In this sense, the role of the teacher is not to dispense information or simply to correct. Rather, the teacher is like a tool that the children use when most needed. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) This also links to Jerome Bruner’s theory of scaffolding, this is the idea that you can give children support in their learning. Froebel also stressed the significance of building positive relationships within an educational environment; his most important gift to children was the classroom, symbolically viewed as an extension of a lovely, thriving garden. This enabled the teacher to take on the role of a loving, supportive parent. (Bruce, 2012) This shows that from a personal view he thought teachers should be like an empathetic parent. Environment plays a key role in supporting and extending a child’s development. Vygotsky believed that we learn from our environment and the people around us. (Vygotsky, 1978) His view is much like the teachings of the Reggio Emilia Approach, for example one of their fundamental principles says the environment is the third teacher, the environment is recognised for its potential to inspire children. (Tornton, 2006) Kerka (1999) suggests that an environment that nurtures learning provides the necessary resources and time for investigative play and experimentation. It is one in which children are free and motivated to make choices and to explore for answers without feeling intimidated. (Cited, Danko-Mcghee, 2009) Within the Reggio Emilia settings children have lessons outside in the community, making great use of the Piazza’s, which are squares within the town, where children can learn alongside the community, as well as making the most out of the outdoors. This also has an impact on positive relationships between both the community and the children, which links to the enabling environment within the EYFS. Reggio Emilia buildings and spaces link to what the EYFS suggests practices should offer, stimulating recourses, relevant to all the children’s cultures and communities. Reggio Emilia settings, buildings and spaces reflect their relationships and view of the child. There are lots of long windows, this is so that the children can interact with the outside community, and also it reflects the idea that education is not just what you learn in the classroom. It is seen as less restricting to have long windows, and lets a lot of light into the setting creating a more natural airy environment. Within the setting there are a lot of natural materials used, from the children’s toys and equipment to the building and furniture inside. This is much like Steiner’s view, in his schools all toys are made from natural materials, this is because simple toys stimulate and encourage imagination, as children can interoperate natural materials to be anything they want. Throughout this assessment I have been linking the key themes of the EYFS and relating them to the Reggio Emilia Approach, I am now going to discus whether or not the approach can be taken from Italy and brought to the UK. As I have mentioned above a big aspect of the Reggio Emilia approach is the environment, I believe this may be a problem as many of our English calendar months can be wet, cold, and miserable. Children spend the majority of time indoors during the winter months, even sometimes on dry days – largely due to protests from parents that the damp weather is bad for the children. Though in Italy they do not have this problem, if it is wet or cold they just see this as an opportunity for children to wrap up warmer. I do believe it is counter-productive to wrap children up in cotton wall, I think that sometimes it is good for children to be taken out of their comfort zones. This will benefit a child’s emotional development by trying and exploring new things and gaining self-confidence. Maybe we need to look at our cultures upbringing of our children and let children explore the different seasons. Even though the outdoors isn’t a major part of the Reggio Emilia is it still highly valued, as they like to encourage a lot of natural materials and bring the outdoors in, whilst exploring the different environments. Also we lack in open out door spaces within the community for example in Italy they have plazas Bringing this approach to the UK may cause some trouble for children who do not have a secure home setting; this is because going to school creates a secure environment. Whereas, with the Reggio Emilia approach, children may find their education too unstructured. Instead of choosing their learning methods, they might prefer a setting with secure guidelines and learning outcomes. Furthermore I think the transition from the Reggio Emilia Approach to mainstream higher education may be difficult as the children, as they are so used to the freedom and the scaffolding of the teachers, that they might not be able to settle into the strict curriculum. I believe this quote sums up my opinion perfectly, ‘It is a mistake to take any approach and assume like a flower you can take it from one soil and put it in another one. That never works. We have to figure out what aspects of that are most important to us and what kind of soil we need to make those aspects’ (Gardner, 1993)

buy custom Irish History essay

buy custom Irish History essay This essay will be organized into three main parts: Introduction, body and the conclusion. The Introduction is a brief cross sectional look into the history of Britishs invasion of Ireland. It is in the main body that the essay captures the works of Theobald in relation to Ireland republicanism, his life and his works in politics. In the conclusion, the relevance of relevance of Wolfe Tone will be clearly illustrated. Introduction The Great hunger of Ireland was the turning point of Irish history. It was caused by the continual failure of the potato which was the staple food and the crop on which the entire population relied upon which was risky at the time. It is estimated that at least one million people died of starvation and disease in the late 1840s and another one million from the famine that followed. This hardened the resentment that already existed against the British, The death of so many of their own made the nationalist party gains a lot of sympathy from the Irish immigrants who had immigrated to America. The anger from the death of so many people under British rule be can be said to be the birth of nationalism. It was shown by secret societies groups of farmers and workers who secretly gathered to implement their ideas on justice against land owners who were settlers. These groups had existed before but they were now more aggressive now since it was now clear that the British government was only i nterested in its own interests and not those of the Irish people. The domination of Ireland by England started in the twelfth century through King Henry II securing Lordship over some part of the country and later designating the Lordship to his son. Only part of the country was under the British that is the Dublin and its environs however this changed with the onset of the Tudor monarchs, namely King Henry VII and Elizabeth l who took control over the entire country. The British governed the legal, administrative, civil service and the military, which reduced the Irish to subjects in their own country. The Tudor monarch plantation policy led to dispossession of land from the Irish, to the investors who had supported the invasion, and they also made attempts to Anglicanise the locals which was composed largely of a Catholic society . As a result, parliament became biased due to the low number of Catholic members despite having a predominantly Catholic population and was mainly composed of nominees by the settlers. This sparked the activities of var ious nationalist who sought after the reestablishment of an Irish parliament and some self autonomy through peaceful means. With the threat of invasion of Ireland by France the British, not knowing they will be cooking themselves in their own fat so to speak, asked for volunteers to defend against the French, thousands joined and formed the Irish Volunteers who then used their newly acquired position to force the hand of the British crown into granting them permission to vote. The Irish patriot party under the leadership of Henry Grattan was in the forefront to push for greater enfranchisement for the people which saw some laws passed in which Catholics were allowed to vote. However others such as Theobald Wolfe did not see this feat as one that could be achieved through peaceful means but through the use of physical force. The political turmoil in Ireland that would mark the 19th century actually began in the 1790s, when a revolutionary organization, the United Irishmen, began to take shape. Leaders of the organization, most notably Theobald Wolfe Tone, met with Napoleon Bonaparte who was well known for his military tactics against his enemies in revolutionary France, seeking help in overthrowing British rule in Ireland. This did not go unpunished as the British took action against the rebels and anybody thought to be affiliated to then several Irishmen were captured tortured and killed, including Wolf who was captured and while in captivity gave an articulate speech on the need to continue with his work he was sentenced to hang although he requested to be shot and die like a soldier, his petition was denied and was sentenced to hang. He later died of wounds after an attempted suicide to avoid being branded a traitor for his involvement in the 1798 Irish rebellion. This made him a martyr and hero in th e eyes of the Irish people. The Works of Theobald Wolfe Tone Since the end of the 15th century, Ireland was chiefly governed by the Anglican protestant though the group was a minority which constituted members of the established church loyal to the British crown. The discrimination faced by the majority Irish Catholics and the non Anglican Protestants as well as the success of the American Revolution inspired the liberal elements among the ruling class to achieve some reforms that would make Ireland autonomous. Some of the grievances were the that the Irish Catholics as well as the non Anglican protestants were barred from voting as they did not possess a property threshold which was as a result of dispossession of land during the invasion by British in earlier centuries when the Tudor monarchs were in power. In addition to that, the fact that Ireland was sovereign kingdom governed by the monarch and a parliament on the island was a mere mirage. In reality, the English had veto power over the Irish law through the Poyings law of 1491 and the B ritish was given the right to legislate for the kingdom by the Declaratory act of 1720, these acts acting together reduced Ireland to nothing but a colony with even less autonomy than Britishs North American colonies. The Irish were forced from their lands and acted as a source of labour for the up and coming industries. England still had mercantilist practices and despite all, they still regulated the ability of Ireland to turn into a competitive commerce industry. This made the members of the Ulstrs nascent bourgeoisie to immigrate to America. With the success they saw of the American Revolution this helped them to fuel their own anti colonial revolution. This birthed the beginning of capitalism and subsequently two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The advance of capitalism changed the temperament of Irish resistance of British rule giving rise to Irish republicanism. The ground breaking organization of Irish republicanism was the Irishmen Society led by an Ulster protestant Theobald Wolfe Tone who was from the capitalist class and had ties with the Ulster proletariat as well as the Irish peasants these went a long way in gaining support from both sides as the British were heavily r elying on the differences that existed between the Catholics and the a protestants of Ireland. Theobald therefore acted as the needed missing link to start an insurrection Theobald was born in Dublin 20th of June 1963. He studied law at Trinity College and qualified as a barrister at the age of 26. He came into the limelight in 1790 when he wrote a pamphlet attacking the Marquees of Buckingham followed by an essay titled the A Northern Whig in which differed with the elements constitution that Henry Grant had shaken down from the British, Grants constitution did not address the continued differences among Catholics and the Protestants . He wanted the union of all religions in Ireland and total emancipation from the British, a country cannot be granted independence when it is still ravaged by sectarian divisions. In his bid to put his ideas into practice Theobald in conjunction with others such as Thomas Russell and Nappy Tandy formed the Society of United Irish Men. It is impossible to talk of this society without mentioning the French revolution. This society came into being in the backdrop of the French revolution, whose effects were being felt all o ver Europe in the 1700s, and whose views challenged the traditional way of thinking by using scientific rationale it was championed by Rousseau. It saw everyone as being equal. The United Irishmen fashioned relations with the Jacobean regime and sought for help from the directory government of France where they borrowed ideas from the French who had dissociated themselves with the followers of Babeuf which at the time was opposing the French directory government, this gave them perspective on how to deal with the British government which was determined to continue its hold on Ireland. The recollections of the events of the crush of the Gaellic civilization; which was the way of life of the Irish people before the invasion of the British, by the British, the confiscation of land and the exile of native rulers remained to the Irish descendants of the eighteenth century. The descendants of the Irish Catholics suffered under the penal laws which were meant to maintain powers in the hands of the settlers, by excluding the Catholics from seats of power such as parliament. Despite owning large tracts of land many of the settlers lived in England and only visited Ireland, mean while the Irish Catholics lived as peasants in abject poverty. The Protestants also faced grievances though not as severe as those faced by the Irish Catholics. They (Protestants) suffered legal from legal handicaps and showed antipathy towards the fact that the British used Ireland as a colony to further its interests and the Irish wanted to be an independent country with its own government. The Irish Volunteers attempted to address these injustices but failed due to sectarian divisions. Naturally, the British thrived on this and saw it as an opportunity to continue with its rule using the divide and rule policy that was very common in British colonies, as now the British regarded it as a colony. They incited the Protestants by telling them that they would lose their lands and suffer religious persecution if the Catholics were to gain equal rights, this caused sectarian violence between the Catholics and the Protestants. This is where the Society of United Irishmen came in order to try and unite the different sects to from a sovereign but unified Ireland that was divided along sectarian lines. Many young nationalist attributed all the strife facing Ireland to British occupation. The Society of United Irish men was the brainchild of Theobald and to be able to adequately see the relevance of his work on Ireland, one has to look at it achievements and failures in depth as is common with any organization, union or political party that plays a major role in the attainment on independence of any country but in this case the development and growth of nationalism and republicanism in Ireland today. The United Irish men wanted to abolish the penal laws and the system of government that allowed for the landed English aristocrats to have their own appointees to the Irish parliament, they wanted to see reduced interference in Irish affairs by the English parliament as well as changes in the ownership of land to bridge the gap that was so clearly evident in the ownership of land. This societys vision would culminate to a country as that outlined in Tom Paines book The Right of man. Obviously these activities would not go down well with the British as the democracy of Ireland could spread over to Britain and an Irish only Parliament would reduce British interest in Ireland therefore after only three years of existence they outlawed the group and the Society of United Irish Men. This did not dampen the efforts of Theobald. The first attempt by Wolfe tone was in 1776 when he went to France to seek help to overthrow the British as it had become evident that constitutional efforts and diplomacy were not going to succeed in his efforts to liberate Ireland. However, this attempt was thwarted by bad weather where the French troops only got as far as the shore with no real physical confrontation taking place. Secret societties continued to emerge throughout Ireland made up of both Protestants and the Catholics. Wolfe and his group distributed pamphlets as well as copieis rights of man as a way of informing the people. These efforts went a long way as peasants now started to push for the freeing of Catholics, abolition of tithes and the redistribution of land as well as lower rents and an end to evictions these was the very outcome that the British did not want to happen because in Ireland Sectarian rows had always led to the downfall of the up risings. With a Unifi ed Ireland, British rule was threatened. The British realized this and retaliated with brutal force and the country was placed in the hands of the military. Troops were brought in from England and a crusade of terror was launched: towns were raided, men were whipped and tortured, men were half hanged this was done so that they could censure anyone involved in the societies activities, in short they tried to instill fear so as to reduce the involvement in the activities of the Irish society. Despite all this the Society remained strong especially in areas of Leignster and Connaught and culminated in a rebellion in 1798. It resulted in the following: the in 1801 the Act of Union was forced upon Ireland which crushed the efforts of the rebellion and religious sectarianism was established. The United Irishmen did not swayed but continued to flourish and brought together native Ulster settlers in a national rebellion, the colonialists tried to crush it again by claiming religious narrow-mindedness. The Orange order was founded to as a response to the United Irishmen and to date has continued to propagate sectarian violence by calling for holy wars against the Catholics as well as to encourage the domination of Ireland by England at the time it also provided the English Government with the necessary information on the activities of its enemies. Theobald was unshaken by the Orange boys and he only viewed them as a puppet of the British and believed that with proper organization of government their propaganda would easily be ended. In any case, this was not to be as ever since the orange boys have managed to shatter all hopes to end sectarian rows this was important to the British as continued sectarian divisions and the continued oppression of the Irish Catholics would ensure their continued rule. The bashing of Catholics led to Catholicism being the face of Irish nationalism which went ahead to bear fruit that saw the repeal of the penal code, it turned Catholicism into a force to be reckoned with in the Irish society. Conclusion The efforts of Theobald tend to orient towards Republican ideologies. Republicanism form of government may ideally mean a government in which power rests with the people as opposed to the monarch but it goes beyond this to mean a way of life in which people have an interdependence whose success or failure depends on the social framework they inhabit. It is not a perfect way of life. Therefore the questions posed to republicans in general are how to attain this freedom? And what constitutes this freedom that is how to define it? However, all republicans agree that this freedom is fragile and must be jealously guarded by those that the people themselves elect into power. For this freedom to be achieved it requires political equality through active citizenship and self governing citizens who have some control over the direction of their lives rather than complete self sufficiency. With this in mind the relevance of Theobald Wolfe Tone is obvious. By asking the French for assistance he s aw the French not as an enemy which was in contrast to how the Britain viewed the French. He viewed as an ally from whom he could not only borrow ideas but a military which was renown throughout Europe. At the time the French would help the people of Ireland become free of English rule. Though his efforts did not succeed he had made attempts that continued to instill a sense of nationalism in the people which was important for any country that hoped to be free from the reigns of colonialism. Theobald, wanted to see a society without preference and an end to ascendancy as well as the end of the connection between the church and the state, there was need for a society where those who came to power were competent persons who could run a country. Through the Society of Irishmen he campaigned for protection of personal property for all citizens and condemned anybody who would support continued British rule. It was important that Irish people saw the need for independence as opposed to forcing the idea of sovereignty down their throats. He recommended that it is the people who should suggest those they want to see in the legislature, people who would represent their needs not those who used the seats in power to further their own interests as was the case with the settler appointed nominees where corruption was rampant. These very persons should be elected in the basis of courage zeal and ability as opposed to wealth, accordingly, the people should organize themselves in order to form a Government to administer the affairs of Ireland and seek to further the interests of the state. This was not going to be achieved when Ireland was still under the rule of the British Monarch. It was the efforts of the united Irishmen that brought to the forefront the grievances of the Irish people. Theobald Wolfe Tone can therefore be credited with being the father of Irish Republicanism. His effort enabled the ordinary people of Ireland to realize they had rights and Ireland should be a democratic, egalitarian society devoid of interference from the British and sectarian divisions. The work of the United Irish men did not continue long after the death of Thobald, and after the Act of union of 1802 where the Irish parliament was abolished and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. 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The evacuation of dunkirk Essays

The evacuation of dunkirk Essays The evacuation of dunkirk Essay The evacuation of dunkirk Essay but I have a believe it was written by an Italian as it is an Italian cartoon. It was published just after the evacuation and therefor it is a primary source. This a form of Italian propergander because it is trying to influence the Italians that they are joining the war on the stronger side. It is reliable from the Italian point of view but biased from the British point of view. Source 4 This source again tells us that the British were defeated in the military war, but it has a swing on it as it tells us the it was a victory for the British in the form of propergander in the newspapers. This source is a secondary source because it was written in 2000 on the 60th anniversary of Dunkirk by a BBC media correspondent for the BBC show on Dunkirk. I feel that this source is very reliable because it was written by the BBC who are always very factual. They are showing how the British newspaper could influence the British people. Source 5 this source is a picture of the beach that the British troops were evacuated from. It shows us the all the British military belongings that were left on the beach. I do not feel that this source is reliable because this could of been a section of the beach where the photographer made look worse than it actually was but it is reliable in some ways because it is a photograph that I feel has not been edited. The source is a primary source because it was taken in the early days of June 1940. But I feel the picture has some value to it because it was never published in Britain. Conclusion. Although the idea of this being a disaster is backed up well with the sources with more than one view and the fact that I feel the sources that are backing up the theory of a miracle all point at the one conclusion of Most men were evacuated I still feel it as a miracle for good reason. The evacuation proved that the unity of the British people could not be broken and the moral could not be lowered by any nation. I feel that the fact that Britain managed to evacuate all those people is a miracle in its self, although I do feel there was a bit of luck in the fact that Hitler chose bot to attack, even when the British were like sitting ducks. There were some elements of the evacuation that were a disaster which were the fact that they lost men, and artillery and the faith that other countries put in them to stop the torrid forces of Hitler and Germany. But Britain had time to rebuild there army and artilleries after the evacuation to overcome this defeat to win the war. I think that although they were defeated it could have been much worse. They could have lost many more men, ships, tanks and other artilleries. So my conclusion is that it was a miracle that they rebuilt themselves after this defeat, it was a miracle they got all there men out of there alive, but it was the biggest disaster in the history of British war in the fact that they were crushed and sent straight back from the powers of the German forces.

Jokes About Engineers and Engineering

Jokes About Engineers and Engineering Browse this collection of engineering jokes, engineering riddles, and other engineer humor. Definition of an Engineer What is the definition of an engineer? Answer: Someone who solves a problem you didnt know you had, in a way you dont understand. Scientist Versus Engineer A scientist can discover a new star, but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do that.- Gordon L. Glegg, British Engineer, 1969. Engineers and Glasses The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The engineer sees the glass as twice as big as it needs to be. Engineers: Wife or Mistress? An architect, artist, and engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with their wives or mistresses. The architect said, I like spending time with my wife building a firm foundation of a marriage. The artist said, I enjoy the time I spend with my mistress because of all the passion and energy. The engineer said I enjoy both. If you have a wife and a mistress, both women think you are with the other so you can go to work get more done. Engineering Joke A girl asked her boyfriend, an engineer, Dont you want to see where I was operated upon for appendicitis?The engineer replied, Oh, I hate to see a hospital. It Takes One to Know One Engineer and Mathematician (males) were given the opportunity to compete for a very attractive woman. But there was one condition: You can only run half the remaining distance between you and the lady. Eng. sprinted forward while Math. didnt. Why arent you running? Asked members of the Committee. Because, by definition, I will never be allowed to reach my target. And you Eng. why are you running? Dont you know the same? Yes, said Eng. my learned friend is correct. But I will get close enough for all practical purposes. Engineer Priorities An engineering major sees classmate riding up on a new bike and asks when he got it. I was walking back from the computer lab when the most beautiful woman I had ever seen rode up on this bike, stopped, took all her clothes off and said to me Take what you want! Good choice, the friend replies. The clothes probably wouldnt have fit you. EE Humor I keep trying to find a phone number in Atlanta, but all the websites keep returning Not Found errors. (Explanation: The area code for Atlanta is 404 as in HTTP 404, the error code for File Not Found) Engineering Degree Joke A graduate with a Science degree asks, Why does it work? A graduate with an Engineering degree asks, How does it work? A graduate with an Accounting degree asks, How much will it cost? A graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, Would you like an apple pie with that? Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers and Chemical Engineers What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers? Mechanical Engineers build weapons; Civil Engineers build targets. Chemical Engineers are engineers that build targets that explode really well.

Main Stream Rap causes social problems in minority communities Essay - 1

Main Stream Rap causes social problems in minority communities - Essay Example Have the lessons of the historical struggles of the African Americans to tide over slavery and gain civil rights gone in vain as the current trends in hip-hop are out to promote drugs, sex, violence, disrespect to authority and crimes? The overall opinion is against the mainstream rap and it is making the African American youth directionless and destination-less, and instead of mitigating, it adds to their woes. I have tried to argue in this paper that in the initial stages, the protest of the African Americans was vocal that in due course evolved into a political struggle. Simultaneously they also protested through literature and religious platforms. The whites continued to dominate the African American community and were not willing to give any concession to them, until slavery was legally abolished. The problems of the African Americans did not end there. Issues like poverty, lack of education, integration with the mainstream society, fight against segregation, employment opportunities continued to confront them. In this paper I have made an attempt to make a passing reference to all such issues. Measures needed for reformation and rehabilitation of the African American youth have also been discussed. Another i mportant problem confronting the African American society is the issue of single mother households. Even with the legal abolition of slavery, racism still casts its evil influences overtly and covertly and creates hurdles in the path of progress for the African American youth. Undoubtedly, mainstream rap is the enemy of the youth viewed from many angles. It promotes unhealthy social values, though music itself cannot be singled out for spreading bad values. It holds the mirror of present societal values and presents what is going on in the American scene. Objectification, lewd music, immodest lyrics have become the characteristics of mainstream rap. It also encourages violence. Through

Evaluate Porter's concept of the 'Diamond' as a tool for analysing the Essay

Evaluate Porter's concept of the 'Diamond' as a tool for analysing the competitive advantage of nations, assessing its theoretic - Essay Example Moreover, America succeeded in getting the UN permission in attacking Iraq and Afghanistan as part of war on terror strategies. America was able to convince United Nations on all these issues because of their superior competitive power. Globalization has intensified the competition between nations and organizations because of the huge opportunities available in the international market at present. Competitive power of a nation or organization depends on many parameters. Former Harvard university professor Michael Porter and his associates have identified four different parameters for achieving competitive power which is known as Porter’s diamond model for national competitive advantage. â€Å"Porter's diamond model suggests that there are inherent reasons why some nations, and industries within nations, are more competitive than others on a global scale† (What is Michael Porter's Diamond Model?, 2010). Porter identified; Firm strategy, structure and rivalry, supporting industries, demand and factor conditions as the four major parameters which can affect the competitive power of a nation or a firm (Diamond model-Michael Porter, 2011). He was able to put all these parameters in a diamond shape as illustrated in the diagram given below. This paper analyses various features of diamond model and its role in achieving competitive power. Porter’s Diamond model for national competitive advantage (Martin & Porter, 2000) Strategy, Structure and Rivalry Strategies can make or break a nation. Poor strategies will never help a nation in increasing their competitive power whereas better strategies always helpful increasing the growth or competitive power of a nation. For example, when globalization initially entered the global arena, China distanced themselves from it because of their concerns about some hidden agenda at the back drop of globalization by capitalist countries. China and America were engaged in fierce rivalry before the introduction of gl obalization because of the different political ideologies prevailing in these countries. Most of the American and Chinese strategies before globalization were aimed at destabilization or destruction of their opponent. However, globalization forced them to change their strategies and currently America is one of the largest trading partners of China. Both China and America succeeded in increasing their competitive power in global market because of the changes they implemented in their strategies even though the political system and rivalry remains the same. India is another country which succeeded in achieving better competing power as a result of changes in strategies. In 1990’s India made lot of reformations in the economic circle in order to attract more foreign direct investment. They have made some changes in their foreign polices also in order to gain more competitive power in the global market. Earlier, India was more polarised towards former Soviet Union in strategic an d military cooperation. But India changed their strategies immediately after the destruction of Soviet Union and they established closer ties with Untied States in order to gain more competitive power. India has realized that the political structure in India and America are almost the same and it is easy for them to establish smooth business relationships with America. Thus America became a prominent trade partner for India at present.

Bill Clinton and Globalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bill Clinton and Globalization - Research Paper Example Clinton’s main focus was on handling the instability across the world through globalization. The other factors among the list of priorities were innovation and technology, decision making and finance. Integration of the world economy has been one of the prime concerns of Clinton. But the concept of transformation of the globalization into a unified and homogenous structure driven by free trade and capitalism was confronted with serious opposition also. It was said that the entire world has not been able to benefit from globalization and bringing the civil society in the scene was the only way of dealing with the problems. The project tries to bring forth the steps taken by Clinton in initiating outsourcing as a major step towards globalization (Weier-a, 2008). Bill Clinton chaired the â€Å"Global Fairness Initiative (GFI)† (Global Fairness Initiative, 2003, p.1) which was an organization created to introduce and enhance free trade which would simultaneously preserve th e labor, environmental and human rights standards in the world. The promise made by Clinton was to implement responsible investment and trade which would create economic opportunities and jobs across the world and would lead to the improvement of millions of lives while protecting the human rights, environmental and labor standards (Global Fairness Initiative, 2003, p.1). The promotion of outsourcing was one of the major steps towards globalization by Clinton. Outsourcing was considered to be inherent to free trade. Outsourcing was considered to be a new variant and a budget balancing tool which required farming out whenever possible. Clinton recognized that outsourcing would allow firms to provide service at a low cost at a higher quality that which the Government would produce. In the recent years outsourcing has evolved as a positive business evolution which moved towards flexibility and nimbleness Bill Clinton and Globalization It was Bill Clinton’s assumption that global ization was something inevitable. He encouraged the concept of free trade which was a major step towards globalization. He believed that low process would lead to low prices, increased exports and this would eventually build a stronger economy. â€Å"The economic benefits of the tariff reductions we negotiated during the Clinton administration represent the largest tax cut in the history of the world† (Klein, 2003). In 1998, the economic transition which he had predicted long back was actually taking place. The economy was appearing and functioning in such a way that seemed to be beyond imagination few years back. Unemployment rates were falling significantly and the inflation rates seemed to remain at historically low rates. Prosperity was appearing and increasing at all levels of income. The average household income increased by an amount of 35% during the span of eight years that Clinton has remained in office. Technology had changed the conventional notions of time, space and borders. Globalization was able to change the traditional and regular routines of the middle class family. This was a significant transformation according to Clinton (Klein, 2003). He said the globalization would yield a global economy which would have profound effects on workers, their works and their wages. It would

Historical Homes in Natchez Mississippi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Historical Homes in Natchez Mississippi - Essay Example Natchez is one of Mississippi’s oldest cities and was founded in 1716. It is also famous as the southern terminus of the National Trace Parkway, located along the River Mississippi. Due to its strategic location, the city became famous in American history for the role it played in the development of the Old South West. Lorenz, Karl G. (2000). Natchez is the county seat (National Association of Counties. 2008) of and the largest and only incorporated city within Adams County, Mississippi, in the United States. According to a census taken in 2000, Natchez has a population of about 18, 464 people. According to archaeological findings, the original site of Natchez was the chief ceremonial village that was occupied by an Indian tribe since the 8th century. The society of Natchez was segregated according to matrilineal descent into nobles and commoners and their chief was called the â€Å"Great Sun.† At Natchez, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians is well preserved as a great National Historic Landmark, and is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Natchez Mississippi is very famous for some of the most interesting historical landmarks in the world. Our study would also cover this aspect of investigating the different important historical landmarks and make a detailed study of each one of them. Some of these important landmarks include Natchez National Historical Park, Fort Rosalie and many other interesting landmarks. Natchez National Historical Park celebrates the rich and interesting cultural history of Natchez, Mississippi and gives us an interpretation of the pivotal role that the city exhibited in the settlement of the Old Southwest, the Cotton Kingdom and the Antebellum South. The Park comprised of three different units and Fort Rosalie is the location of an 18th Century fortification built by the French which was

A Discussion and Analysis of the Seven Sins of Memory Essay

A Discussion and Analysis of the Seven Sins of Memory - Essay Example Whereas the memory is a complex process that each and every human being possesses, the fact of the matter is that it cannot succinctly be described in general terms. Rather, understanding he unique ways in which different types of memory and memory loss relates to the individual is a fundamental step in attempting to grasp a further understanding of the way in which memory is governed and integrated within the human being. Remembers as a means of drawing inference from the discussion of these seven distinct types of memory loss. The first of these which Schacter introduces to the reader is that which is termed transient memory loss; or the type of memory loss that relates to a particular memory fading over a period of time. In this particular type of memory loss, the subject is able to recall a great deal more with relation to recent events than with regards to those that took place a long while ago. As the author notes, this particular type of memory loss is especially related to episodic memory in the fact that each and every time a particular episode is recalled it is, re-written, as it were; thereby altering the memory and making it more difficult to recall within the future (Renk et al, 2007). This type of memory loss most specifically affects the hippocampus. The second sin of memory, as the author dubs these failings, is that of absent mindedness. This is perhaps the most widely discussed and well known of the memory loss issues as it relates to attention span and issues with the memory interface. This type of memory loss most intimately affects the short term memory and can of course be exhibited in situations such as forgetting where one placed the remote control, leaving one’s keys inside the car, or forgetting about important dates or appointments.

Historical Homes in Natchez Mississippi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Historical Homes in Natchez Mississippi - Essay Example Natchez is one of Mississippi’s oldest cities and was founded in 1716. It is also famous as the southern terminus of the National Trace Parkway, located along the River Mississippi. Due to its strategic location, the city became famous in American history for the role it played in the development of the Old South West. Lorenz, Karl G. (2000). Natchez is the county seat (National Association of Counties. 2008) of and the largest and only incorporated city within Adams County, Mississippi, in the United States. According to a census taken in 2000, Natchez has a population of about 18, 464 people. According to archaeological findings, the original site of Natchez was the chief ceremonial village that was occupied by an Indian tribe since the 8th century. The society of Natchez was segregated according to matrilineal descent into nobles and commoners and their chief was called the â€Å"Great Sun.† At Natchez, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians is well preserved as a great National Historic Landmark, and is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Natchez Mississippi is very famous for some of the most interesting historical landmarks in the world. Our study would also cover this aspect of investigating the different important historical landmarks and make a detailed study of each one of them. Some of these important landmarks include Natchez National Historical Park, Fort Rosalie and many other interesting landmarks. Natchez National Historical Park celebrates the rich and interesting cultural history of Natchez, Mississippi and gives us an interpretation of the pivotal role that the city exhibited in the settlement of the Old Southwest, the Cotton Kingdom and the Antebellum South. The Park comprised of three different units and Fort Rosalie is the location of an 18th Century fortification built by the French which was

Truss Optimisation Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Truss Optimisation - Dissertation Example Ghasemi et al. (1999) have revealed the appropriateness of the genetic algorithms to deal with the large trusses that have numerous indefinite variables. This study shows that how an algorithm of our design can be employed to match this previous study. The paper will hugely concentrate over the application of genetic algorithm to trusses developed under indefinite conditions (Ganzerli et al., 2003). 1.1. Background Galileo Galilei has been recognized as the first scientist by the Coello Coello et al. (1994), who studied optimization of structures over the bending of beams in his work. Over the period of time, this subject has developed and become an area of engineering, in itself, which is known as the structural optimization. For the last few decades, the rising interest towards this area has been because of the availability of powerful and cheap computers as well as due to the rapid progress in the analytic and optimization methods for the structures (Soh and Yang, 1998). The optim ization of the weight of the structures is of great importance to many fields of engineering. It might be linked to cost optimization, in some aspects, as it clearly tends towards an optimal usage of the materials. The weight optimized structures, in civil engineering, are very convenient as the construction as well as the transportation work in, relation to the build-up, is simple. The engagement of the least possible share of the load capacity by the structure itself is another benefit of developing a structure with its weight being optimized. Also, in the aircraft and car industries, the structural optimization is highly important since a lighter structure leads to a better fuel efficiency. The use of genetic algorithms is an efficient optimization technique. GA is a form of evolutionary programming (Alander, 1999) and most likely known as the best optimization technique of the present time (Ashlock, 2006). It provokes the evolutionary principle of survival of the fittest through aggregating the optimum solutions to a problem in numerous generations in order to augment the outcome gradually. The elementary population of solutions is constructed on the random basis and then along with the evolution, the best solutions are aggregated in each generation until they converged in to an optimal solution (Gold Berg, 1989). 1.2. Literature Review Over the previous two decades, the genetic algorithms have been used in search for an optimal design solution for trusses that has been explained in numerous scientific reports. However the optimization in the majority of these studies does not relate to shape, size and topology simultaneously. In general, the topology of the truss is fixed that means the inner connectivity of the members is constant (Ravindran and Ragsdell, 2006). The most frequently used method to deal with the optimization of the truss topology is the ground structure method that has been used by Hajela & Lee (1995) and Deb & Gulati (2000) in their work. An extremely connected ground structure having numerous nodes and elements, in the ground structure method, is gradually minimized until just the basic required elements are left (Ohsaki, 2005). The emphasis has been over the development of a highly efficient genetic algorithm, in some of the recent studies on truss optimization with GA, which determines an optimal solution through the least possible number of calculations such as the adaptive approach given by Togan & Daloglu (2006) and the directed mutation

The Secret River - Kate Grenville Essay Example for Free

The Secret River Kate Grenville Essay Kate Grenville describes the characters in The Secret River as not heroes and not devils, but Just human beings, stumbling from one small decision to the next and in so doing, without really planning it, creating the shape of their lives. The character of Will Thornhill in the novel makes several decisions some of which come from a place of circumstance and others that do not. Kate Grenvilles statement about the characters describes them to an extent as there is nothing extraordinary about them, they do not stand up for what is right as heroes do, they do not commit evil deeds as evils do. Will makes several decisions that spring from his familys history and circumstance and some that are out of his own desire for something more for his life and family. Will comes from a lower class family who feel the need to steal to survive all the Thornhills stole turnips from time to time, pg 9 They where all thieves, any time they got the chance. The dainty person could shrill all he liked about sin, but there could be no sin in thieving if it meant a full belly. Pg16 Wills dad was the primary caregiver nd was the most skilled at stealing to provide for the family. By comparison Sal comes from a middle class family; her father has money to buy her things that Wills family could not afford. In Wills eyes Sal was never short on food, especially indulgences such as oranges, sweetbread and soft white bread. Pg 17 Will comes from a long line of William Thornhills Your name is common as dirt pg 1 Iwas a curse that his sister Mary had professed over him at a young age, his response to this was William Thornhills will fill up the world pg 11 From this appening at a early age he made the decision to make himself stand out from the crowd, Its through this that every other decision in his life is affected. Will has various Jobs while he is growing up in London, after his parents passed away he feels it is his responsibility to take care of those remaining in the household. In every Job he makes the decision to steal not based on circumstances but out of a desire for excess. No-one would miss a little as there is so many pg21 this is the first instance that Will is caught stealing, He tries to lie his way out of the situation and is hipped by Crocker on the docks as a public display. Will learns not to get caught pg21 instead of not stealing at all, this is a trait that will follow him, to make decisions not from circumstance but by his own free will. There is an added element of peer pressure in this as well as his work colleagues forced the barrel to break open and encouraged him. He didnt steal the sugar out of necessity or survival but out of surplus and desire for something more in his life. Most watermen where thieves, although some went about it in a more businesslike ay page 23 this quote is fairly accurate when applied to Wills decision to steal at the river. Collarbone came into Wills life as a replacement father fgure after his died and showed him the many ways to steal from this Job. Collarbone stole some brandy saw the consequences of stealing but was blinded by the surplus amount of goods at the docks where he worked. Marrying Sal was the easiest decision Will could make, he had to work for seven years on the river to earn it and become a free man of the river the day this was granted, was the day they wed. This decision was one of desire, it was a natural progression from his initial attraction from when they were younger and was the easiest decision for Will to make. Mr. Middleton gave Will and Sal his second best wherry as a wedding gift and it was at this point that Will realized that all his decisions up until now had lead him here and he believed that this was the reward for a mans labour. page 28 The death of Sals parents had a profound effect on Wills Judgement, before this he had Just established a feeling of security and an easier future for himself and his family. This was brought about by Mr. Middleton not having any sons to leave the family business to, Wills plan was to become a strong son-in-law and through this inherit the business. The day this happened Will felt all the closed opportunities of his life open up and he gained a sense of direction. Mr. Middleton had savings and assets but during the frozen month, all of his savings and investments where dried up, Will ; Sal had seemed to have lost everything they had worked years to get What point could there be to hoping, when everything could be broken so easily? 49 It is uring this period that Will feels like he has been reduced to an animal p49 His character is described as feeling extremely empty and having a massive space where hope had been. This shifted Will back into his circumstantial decision making, the need to steal for survival mentality resurfaced and the family derived cycle began again. The biggest decision that Will makes in the story is to steal the Brazil wood from Mr. Lucas on the River. Will had been stealing all his life to survive, he knew the risks of stealing through his friend Collarbone and at this point he doesnt need to. He makes this decision based on a desire to have more in his life and refers back to when Mr. Middleton was alive and he had hope for their future. An added element was pressure for provision as Sal had Just informed him that she was expecting another mouth to feedp 55 this influenced his decision to steal as he had to increase his responsibilities as a provider and wanted to get back to getting ahead in life. It is through this decision that his life changes and it is due to a small amount of peer pressure and a desire to succeed, not based on circumstance. Factoring in all of these elements Will Thornhill makes several decisions through the novel some based on circumstances when he is a young child and his family steal for survival, and some out of a desire for more in his life fuelled by the words of his sister. This can be interpreted as greed to some extent, and to provide the kind of life Sal is used to having. Toa large extent Will is not a victim of circumstance but falls true to Kate Grenvilles comments about the characters Just human beings, planning it, creating the shape of their lives. The Secret River, Kate Grenville 2005, The Publishing Company

Historical Investigation Into The Bomb Dropping In Japan History Essay

Historical Investigation Into The Bomb Dropping In Japan History Essay This historical investigation will examine the Manhattan Project and the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Why did the United States pursue the Manhattan Project, and why did the United States decide to drop the atomic bombs on Japan? This investigation is conducted using qualitative analysis of articles and books about the development of the atomic bombs and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Articles were chosen from media and scholarly sources, including the New York Times and the Journal of American History. In addition, a recent book published about the bombing of Japan was chosen for its relevance to the investigations central questions. These sources were all chosen because they provide impartial evidence and facts and present numerous sides of the issues. Summary of Evidence Beginning in 1945, and completed during the same year, The Manhattan Project was basically defined by the development of the most dangerous bombs known thus far to the world: nuclear weapons that could destroy more land and more citizens than the world had ever considered possible. The Project was rushed, mainly because of Trumans desire to avoid an invasion of Japan, which would have resulted in a catastrophic number of casualties. As a result, Truman chose to stop the war altogether through the use of the largest bomb ever used in warfare, also referred to as the A-bomb (Gewen, 2008). But prior to the building of the atomic bomb, Japan was on the verge of collapse anyhow. The Germans knew they were defeated, but continued to fight to the bitter end. According to most historians, the only thing America had left to do was drop the bomb on Hiroshima, and then Nagasaki, in order to absolutely ensure the surrender of Japan, and the end of World War II (Gewen, 2008). Opinions about whether or not America should have dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima vary. Arguments for and against the bombing continue even today. The bombing of Hiroshima has been referred to as Americas Auschwitz, by many, because of the mass genocide in Hiroshima that happened when the bomb was dropped (Gewen, 2008). New York Times writer Gewen points out how American mainstream society was absolutely ecstatic over the development of a bomb that could instantly destroy the enemy. Like Truman, America desperately wanted to see the war come to an end, and the new weapon meant a faster victory for America. It also meant the likely scrapping of a planned invasion of Japan with its incalculable loss of lives (Hiroshima, 1995, para. 7). Prior to the bombing, the number of United States soldiers casualties was already astoundingly high. In Okinawa alone, by the summer of 1945, United States casualties were huge. There were 12,500 soldiers dead, and another 36,600 wounded (Hiroshima, 1995). As a result, Trumans strategy to end the war with newly created nuclear weapons was, in general, embraced by the American public. Government officials wholeheartedly agreed with the decision as well (Hiroshima, 1995). For example, Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, and Trumans new Secretary of State, James Byrnes, agreed that the new nuclear weapon would be very useful in relations with Moscow after the war ended, but they disagreed on whether or not changes needed to be made to Americas unconditional surrender policy in order to allow for the possibility of peace between the two countries (Hiroshima, 1995). Thus, the rush to create the A-bomb began. Evaluation of Sources Hambys article in the Journal of American History is essential for this investigation because it provides a varied account of the numerous sides in historical scholarship about the dropping of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Hambys article notes that there are scholars who believe that the United States could have ended the war with Japan without a land invasion of the homeland and without dropping the bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In other words, hundreds of thousands of civilians who died from the nuclear blasts could have been spared if the U.S. pursued diplomacy with the Japanese leadership. However, Hamby also documents the evidence in the historical scholarship that contradicts this premise. There is strong evidence, Hamby notes, that the Japanese leadership never would have surrendered, and thus an invasion of the Japanese homeland would have been required, killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Max Hastings book, Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-1945, claims that the myth that the Japanese were ready to surrender anyway has been so comprehensively discredited by modern research that it is astonishing some writers continue to give it credence (Hastings, 2009, p. xix). However, Hastings does not believe this justified the use of the atomic bombs against civilian populations. Rather, he simply states that the Japanese military leadership would never surrender without an extraordinary military defeat, or the demonstration of the atomic bombs. Hastings thus suggests that the United States could have tested the bombs on military targets rather than civilian targets. Yet the most interesting premise of Hastings book is the fact that the American people desired retribution against the Japanese. The U.S. and the Allied powers had already killed nearly 1 million German and Japanese civilians through air bombings, so the use of the atomic bombs was not considered barbaric but rather the equivalent of firebombing major cities with the same results as an atomic blast. This sheds light on the mentalities in the United States about the targeting of civilians during World War II. It was accepted as necessary retribution. Analysis One of the questions that plague many historians are whether or not Japan would have surrendered even if they had not been bombed (Hiroshima, 1995). The question has initiated many heated debates among scholars. For instance, author and historian, Gar Alperovitz has studied the attack on Japan and the affect it had on post-war Japan extensively, and wholly disagrees with the decision. His latest project, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth, in which Alperovitz argues against the atomic bomb, has drawn wide attention (Hamby, 1997). Alperovitz argues that the atomic bomb was unnecessary to end World War II for many reasons. First, his thesis espouses that Japan was ready to surrender at the time the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and that the motives behind the bombing were therefore dishonest and self-serving (Hamby, 1997). He espouses that Japan would have likely surrendered sooner, if only the United States had enacted a modified surrender policy that ensured the continued Japanese Emperors reign on the throne (Hamby, 1997). In addition, Alperovitz points out that when the USSR entered the picture and allied with the United States in August of 1945, Japan would have more than likely surrendered shortly thereafter (Hamby, 1997). Alperovitz criticizes the failure of the government to implement a new version of Americas surrender policy, and the lack of public support for the modification in general. The decision, he states, was too rushed; this attitude simply kept the war going, when it could have been concluded far earlier than the use of the atomic bomb was deemed necessary (Hamby, 1997). In fact, Alperovitz espouses that the real reason Truman chose to approve the two bombings was largely done in order to show the Soviet Union how powerful America had become (Hamby, 1997). Mostly, America was concerned about possible interests the USSR had in Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia (Hamby, 1997). The monopoly of other countries by the USSR frightened the United States. More recently, writer Max Hastings has suggested that the bombing on Japan was a necessary action if the war was to stop, and limit the number of US casualties. This was, in part, due to the strong and powerful Japanese defenses that were often intimidating to American soldiers. In return, US soldiers found it necessary to bomb large areas of the city, despite being told to restrain themselves from massive firepower (Hastings, 2009, p. 137). The difference in cultures between the Filipinos and Americans was ignored. Conclusion Hastings claims that America at times considered avoiding civilian bombing out of respect for humanity and their moral standing with the Far East (Hastings, 2009, p. 137). Much to the chagrin of President MacArthurs subordinates, and as proof of Americas desire to show their respect for humanity, MacArthur refused to employ air bombings over Manila (Hastings, 2009, p. 137). It was only when the United States suffered 235 casualties in a single day that McArthur changed his strategy, allowing the troops to really go to town (Hastings, 2009, p. 137). In other words, according to Hastings argument, the United States had tried almost everything to establish some sort of peace with Japan, even if it was within the confines of war. As such, it was the Japanese who propagated the war, not America; therefore, America was forced to go to the extreme by using nuclear weapons. This example shows how retribution was firmly entrenched in the American mentality toward the Japanese, who started Wor ld War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Americans cared more about ending the war without another American soldiers death, not about deaths of Japanese civilians.

Essay --

What are our objective for today? †¢ Overview of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) †¢ Overview of health insurance coverage requirements in 2014 †¢ Explore media resources to learn about the Affordable Care Act †¢ Overview of Kaiser’s plan to advertise and implement affordable care †¢ Review and evaluation of Kaiser’s presentation of the ACA †¢ Affordable Healthcare is Here! †¢ On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became federal law. It is one of the most significant reforms of the Healthcare system in a century (Hicks & Nicols, 2012). Beginning January 1, 2014, affordable Healthcare insurance will be made available to all American citizens and residents. †¢ Affordable Health Care 2014 †¢ The Affordable Care Act was developed to increase the accessibility, quality, and affordability of health care insurance in the United States. Individuals who are able to afford health care, must obtain health care coverage by 2014. The consequence of course is a monthly fee and/or tax penalties (this excludes those that meet certain financial criteria) †¢ (unknown, Understanding Health Care Reform, 2013) What Affordable Care Provides The law provides for: ï  ¶ Health benefits to all ï  ¶ Free preventative services ï  ¶ Improves Medicaid and CHIP programs ï  ¶ Mandates larger companies insure employees ï  ¶ Creates a Marketplace to compare and enroll in low cost insurance plans (unknown, Affordable Care Act Summary, 2013) What Affordable Care Eliminates The law eliminates: ï  ¶ Pre-existing conditions ï  ¶ Insurance companies dropping coverage ï  ¶ Gender discrimination in charges (unknown, Affordable Care Act Summary, 2013) Types of coverage? ïÆ'Ëœ Through your employer †¢ You are already covered and don’t have to do anything unless contacted by your insu... ...back in 2010. The delay in implementation of health care reform created disinterest and a sense that reform would never happen. ïÆ'Ëœ Mixed messages * Political partisan issues- all of us have heard the republican party criticizing health care reform. This has been confusing to some and infuriating to others, but it has definitely impacted the confidence most people have in health care reform (Moore, 2013). One of the fundamental goals of any individual is for health and well-being. Health care reform seems like an answer to our prayers. It promises a change in health care delivery; to provide better care for more people at reduced costs. Whether or not the Affordable Care Act accomplishes this goal remains to be seen. In the long term, we may find it was a brilliant plan, by educated minds, to provide our country with a healthy and more promising future.

Walmart Company

Walmart Financial Analysis Prepared for Becca Leland BIJSN 5600, Accounting Theory and Practice Fall 1, 2013 Webster University 1 November 2013 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates approximately 11,047 retail units under 69 banners in 27 countries. It has three segments: The Wal-Mart Stores, The Sam's Club, and International. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes 4,759 Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States, as well as Walmart. om. It offers apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants; domestics, fabrics, and notions; stationery and books; shoes; housewares; hardware; electronics; ome furnishings; small appliances; automotive accessories; horticulture and accessories; sporting goods; toys; pet food and accessories; cameras and supplies; health and beauty aids; pharmaceuticals; Jewelry; and optical, as well as photo processing services.The Neighborhood Markets include dry grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, ph oto processing, health and beauty aids, household chemicals, paper goods, general merchandise, and pet supplies departments. The Sam's Club segment includes 624 stores and comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub. om. It offers hard-goods, soft-goods, software, electronics, Jewelry, sporting goods, toys, tires, stationery and books, institutional-size grocery items, and selected private labels.The International segment operates 6,288 various retail formats in countries to include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. This segment operated 261 Canadian Wal-Mart stores and SAM's Clubs, 11 units in Argentina, 150 units in Brazil, 88 units in Germany, 16 units in South Korea, 697 units in Mexico, 54 units in Puerto Rico, and 292 units in the United Kingdom, as well as 48 units in China under Joint venture agreements. The company was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmar t employs 2. 2 million associates/employees around the world to include 1. million in the United States alone. Although there are many opportunities, numerous employment opportunities exist in the Accounting arena. Walmart has Finance and Accounting departments impacting business and communities in all 27 countries, under 69 different banners and in every corner of the business, from Enterprise Risk Management to Sustainability. For instance, Global Shared Services aggregates and streamlines much of the financial and payroll services for Sam's Club and Walmart in North America, while Global Internal Audit helps ensure each store operates in the most cost-efficient way.These are Just a few of the many groups within Accounting & Finance, each responsible for vital services that impact the entire company. Projects range from determining the financial impact of mergers and acquisitions to estimating the effect on business when a hurricane hits. Every decision is driven by the mission to save people money and help them live better. The responsibility xtends beyond retail and corporate officials make decisions in partnership with each other.Accounting & Finance is composed of these departments: Accounting, Corporate Corporate Tax (International & Domestic) Treasury & Investor Relations Finance and Planning Walmart U. S. , Walmart. com International Finance Sam's Finance Corporate Strategy Global Shared Services Balance Sheet Assets: Cash and Cash Equivalents – Pertain to liquid assets found on the balance sheet. In essence, cash equivalents can be converted into cash and include commercial paper, treasury bill, money market holdings and short term government bonds. Walmart reported nearly $7. billion in cash and cash equivalents for fiscal year ending January 31, 2013. Of the $7. 8 billion, surprisingly, $5. 2 billion were held outside of the United States in support of foreign operations. All non-cash transactions due from various banks amounted to $1. 3 bil lion. Additionally, Walmart had $715 million in restricted cash in addition to another $876 million of cash that remains abroad and may not be easily transferred to the United States because of local laws. Short Term Investments – Walmart did not report any Short term investments and have not or the previous three years.Receivables – Money that others owe the company. Account receivables are the amounts that a company has a right to collect because it sold goods or services on credit to a customer. Walmart had a variety of receivables for year ending January 31 , 2013 that included insurance companies resulting from pharmacy sales, bank transfers that took in excess of seven days to process, suppliers for marketing or incentive programs and real estate transactions. Its net receivables amounted to nearly $6. 8 billion that included $1. 2 billion from consumer credit roducts alone.Just to name a few, Walmart has the Walmart in-store credit card, Walmart Discover, Sam's Club in-store credit card and the Sam's Club Discover card. Internal Controls – designed to help an organization accomplish specific goals and mostly importantly, in laymen's terms, â€Å"keep everyone honest † . Walmart used t criteria set forth by â€Å"COSO† Internal Control Integrated Framework. This framework primarily evaluates the achievements of objectives in the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations.For the year ending January 31, 2013, Walmart's financial reporting was audited by Ernst and Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Sarbanes-Oxley Act – In July 2002, a corporate reform bill was passed into United States Federal law by the U. S. Senate and the U. S. House of Representatives. This legislation introduced new and amended ethical standards regarding financial practice and corporate governance for all publicly traded U. S. companies, as well as for management and accounting organizations. U. S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley spearheaded the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. Just three years, after the bill was passed, in September 2005, a former CEO from Wal- Mart de Mexico sent an email to a high ranking Walmart lawyer that referenced how Wal-Mart de Mexico had bribed foreign officials to expedite permits in an effort to win market control in Mexico. This opened up a formal internal investigation by Walmart that found documentation implicating that the Wal-Mart de Mexico executives knew about the bribes and took measures to conceal them as well.The case was later dismissed. In August 2012, SOX violations resurfaced with Walmart. This time, two U. S. congressmen claimed that they received internal documentation that outlined possible illegal activities that involved tax evasion and money laundering in Mexico. Their concerns were expressed in a letter to Michael Duke, the chief executive at W al-Mart. Inventory Valuation – Walmart values inventories at the lower of cost or market as determined primarily by the retail method of accounting, using the last-in, first-out, â€Å"LIFO†, method for all of the Walmart U.S. segments. Walmart international is valued by the retail method of accounting as well but by using the first-in, first-out, â€Å"FIFO†, method. In contrast, Sam's Club uses the weighted- average cost using the LIFO method. Total Current Assets for year ending January 31, 2013 were $59. 9 billion. Long Term Investments – Walmart did not report any long term investments and have not for the previous three years. Property, Plant and Equipment – A large portion of Walmart's assets come from the property, plant and equipment section of the balance sheet.In fact, of the $203 billion in total assets, property, plant and equipment makes up Just over $116 billion which includes $25 billion in land, $90 billion in buildings and improve ments, $40 billion in fixtures and quipment, $2 billion in transportation equipment, $5. 9 billion in construction in process and $5. 9 billion in property under capital leases for an approximate property and equipment gross of $171 billion. Walmart uses straight-line depreciation and major improvements were capitalized as leasehold improvements were depreciated over the shorter of the estimated useful life.Accumulated depreciation and amortization was $55 billion dollars which resulted in a property and equipment net of $116. 6 billion. Intangible Assets / Accumulated Amortization – Walmart did not report any and have not for the previous three years. Goodwill – An account that can be found in the assets portion of a company's balance sheet. Goodwill can often arise when one company is purchased by another company. Walmart's goodwill is as a result of the acquisition of 147 Netto stores from Dansk Supermarket in the United Kingdom and to the acquisition ot a 5 % owner ship in Massmart, a retailer based in South Africa.Goodwill for this period was $20 billion. Balance Sheet – Liabilities and Equity: Accounts Payable – money owed by a business to its suppliers shown as a liability on a company's balance sheet. At year ending January 31, 2013, Walmart owed Just over 59 billion to its suppliers that are to be paid compared to $56 billion the previous year. Short current long term debt – this includes the long term debt that must be paid within 12 months. Walmart recorded Just over $12 billion. Total Current Liabilities – Year ending January 31, 2013 = $71. billion Long Term Debt – Financial obligations that last more than one year. Walmart recorded around $41 billion. This accounts for loans that Walmart has with several financial institutions. Deferred Long Term Liability Charges – a collection of future obligations on the balance sheet. These sometimes include employee related expenses such as retirement pl ans, 401 k plans and workman's compensation plans is which Walmart currently has Just over $7. 6 billion. Minority Interest – This represents the amount of stock that is not owned by Walmart.Currently, Just over $5 billion is not owned by Walmart. Common Stock – Walmart primarily issues common stock that represents ownership in the corporation. Currently, there is neither preferred or treasury stock, however for year ending January 31, 2013, there $332 million of stock was outstanding. Current Market Value of Stock – The current market value of Walmart's stock is currently $74. 79. Through the last 12 months, the trend has been from $67. 37 – $79. 96 which is primarily because of fluctuating sales/wages.Walmart's stock value has continued to grow over the last 12 months that can be easily contributed to its ability to remain a constant force in the market by providing lower prices, creating Jobs with competitive wages and clearly out-distancing itself fro m its closest competitor. Dividends – As noted below, Walmart last paid a dividend on September 3, 2013 with the next pay out date of January 2, 2014. Record Date Payable Date March 12, 2013 May 10, 2013 August 9, 2013 December 6, 2013 April 1, 2013 June 3, 2013 September 3, 2013 January 2, 2014 The last dividend paid for year ending January 31, 2013 was paid on December 27, 2012 at $0. 975 per share for a total of $1 1. 3 billion. Income Statement Comparison – Walmart's income improved from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2013. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was been able to grow revenues from $447. 08 USD to $469. 28 USD. Most impressively, the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to selling, general and administrative costs from 19. 8% to 18. 94%. This was a driver that led to a bottom line growth from $1 5. 7B USD to $17. 0B USD.Extraordinary gains/losses – Perhaps the most important factor that caused Walmart to increase its profits from 20 12 to 2013 was its Non-recurring events. In 2012 alone, Walmart discontinued operations which caused them a loss in excess of $67 million. To its surprise, there was not a lost in year ending January 31, 2013. According to the Management Discussion and Analysis, the present situation it is very much essential that industries need to compare themselves witn the past ears. Analysis of performance ensures the industry get an idea as where they are lagging behind and the short falls which has to be rectified.Walmart has to make progress in improving their performances in the future in order to withstand in the market so that they can compete with the upcoming competitions in the future. Additionally, it has to mainly concentrate to increase the profit rather than increasing the volume of business, so they have to increase their sales and satisfy their customer to withstand in the market. In an attempt to analyze the financial position f the Walmart, it has been revealed that though the turnover of the company increased however the profitability of the company has not increased correspondingly.Overall financial position of the company is satisfactory but however in the long run the company has to take measures to increase its working results in order to keep stay well above its competitors. Financial Statement Analysis: Solvency: Debt to Equity Ratio The company has improved its strength by increasing the working funds. The company should explore the possibility of reducing the operating expenses to increase its profit. Walmart should also take urgent steps to reduce the debtors so as to increase its working capital position.The company should also take steps to reduce the current liabilities and the overall liabilities position. Profitability: It should take steps to increase its working capital base. The company should take steps to make use of the surplus funds in a profitable manner. Efforts must be put in increasing net profit. It is necessary to take steps in improving the growth rating. Competition – Perhaps Walmart's greatest competitor is target. However, Walmart ontinues to prove itself as the world's leading retailer. In comparison to Target, its market cap was at $243. 8 billion while target was at $40. 04 billion. Additionally, Walmart dominated Target in revenue as well. Walmart's revenue was $473billion while Target earned Just $73. 48 billion which generated a net income of $17. 09 billion for Walmart and $2. 71 billion for Target. In conclusion, Walmart continues to be the leading retailer in the industry. It clearly out-distances its closest competitor, however, in order to remain that force, it need to reduce its liabilities. It currently wes suppliers $59 billion. This needs to be reduced significantly.https://finance.yahoo.com/https://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inchttps://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inc/Ratios/Profitabilityhttps://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE /Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inc/Ratios/Liquidityhttps://s2.q4cdn.com/056532643/files/doc_financials/2013/Annual/2013-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221024708579502.pdfhttp://c46b2bcc0db5865f5a76-91c2ff8eba65983a1c33d367b8503d02.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/93/a7/ff21a9764702bb5bc8271faacfeb/2012-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221023846998881.pdf