THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ essays

THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ essays In the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Mordecai Richler clearly intends to portray his main character as a failure. Duddy understands perfectly well that a man must pursue his dreams, which is why he is one of the most motivated young man of his time. From the moment Duddy hears his grandfather say, "A man without land is nobody, he is prepared to seek the land of his dreams. This aspiration of Duddys is very respectable, but unfortunately his methods are totally inappropriate, and that leads to him being a failure. The moment that Duddy began to immerse himself into the establishment of his film company, it could be seen that he was willing to do anything to get money, even if he had to lie. For example, the film Duddy made for the bar mitzvah was of extremely poor quality, and as a result, the product was an obvious failure. Duddy himself knew that well: Duddy didnt say a word all though the screening but afterwards he was sick to his stomach. (Page 148). Later, Duddy said to Mr. Friar: I could sell Mr. Cohn a dead horse easier then this pile of _ (page 148). After this particular incident, Duddy does not even speak honestly to his clients. In conclusion, the only way Duddy sells his waste films is by telling lies. He always lies to gain money, and thats all that Duddy cares about. Duddy has never been loved in his family, so originally he was quite content to know that Yvette cares about him. At the beginning, Yvette and Duddy are in love. Its so nice to see you lie still for once, she said. Your always running or jumping or scratching. Duddy was surprised and flattered to discover that anyone cared enough to watch him so closely. (Page 92) As time passed by, however, Duddy began to use Yvette as a tool. The main reason for that is Duddy was striving to get the land, and since he could not legally own it as a minor...

Week 3 Questions Essays - Business Economics, Management Accounting

Week 3 Questions Essays - Business Economics, Management Accounting Week 3 Questions Christina McBee ACC 400 December 18, 2017 Arlene Murphy Week 3 Questions 20.1 a. The level of sales at which revenue exactly equals costs and expenses Break Even Point b. Costs that remain unchanged despite changes in sales volume Fixed Costs c. The span over which output is likely to vary and assumptions about cost behavior generally remain valid Relevant Range d. Sales revenue less variable costs and expenses Contribution Margin e. Unit sales price minus variable cost per unit Unit Contribution Margin f. The reduction in unit cost achieved from a higher level of output Economies of Scale g. Costs that respond to changes in sales volume by less than a proportionate amount. Semi-variable Costs h. Operating income less variable costs None 20.7a. Contribution margin ratio. (30-6)/30 =.8 is a 20% contribution margin b. Sales volume required to break even. 360000/20%= $ 1,800,000 need to be sold to break even c. Sales volume required to earn an annual operating income of $440,000. 360,000+440,000=800,000/20%= $4,000,000 needs to be sold to earn an operating income of $440,000 d. The margin of safety if annual sales total 60,000 units. 1,800,000/20%= 9,000,000 Sales for 60,000= 1,800,000 Margin of safety is 1,800,000-= 1,800,000 e. Operating income if annual sales total 60,000 units. 1,800,000x20%= $360,000 21.2 Home Depot closing its doors in the China Market caused a $10 million opportunity costs. With the closing of the store, merchandise had to be marked down and the $10 million is the amount of the markdowns, which would have actually been sold if the store had remained open. The sunk costs and the incremental costs would be the remaining $135 million, which would be from things that can not be avoided. 21.6 Fixed Costs 60,000 60,000 Variable Costs 75,000 0 $6 (Per Unit) 90,000 Total 135,000 150,000 The company should continue to produce the product, as they save $15,000 in costs if they do not outsource the product. 22.9 There are 3 characteristics that should be apparent at an accounting level for a company. The first is a budget. There must be a budget in place for every aspect of the business, from the toilet paper for employees, to the amount of labor spent. The second characteristic is timely performance reports. Every company should have some sort of system in place to gather reports on the successes and failures of the business. These reports can include but are not limited to cash flow statements, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets. The third characteristic is the measuring of performance. Each business, or store in this case, should be held accountable for certain performance measures. The responsibility accounting system at Cold Moo could be improved by implementing more of a accountability ratio for each store, as they are not incurring all of the costs that the corporate office is incurring, as far as distribution costs and such. By holding those stores more accountable, th e corporate office should see improvements in the bottom line. 22.1 A. Entire Company Solid Division % of Solid Division Sales Powdered Division % of Powdered Division Sales Sales $1,720,000 $850,000 100% $870,000 100% Contribution Margin $861,000 $382,500 45% $478,500 55% Product Line Fixed Costs $425,000 $175,000 20% $250,000 28% Common Fixed Costs $250,000 $125,000 15% $125,000 14% The responsibility margin for the solid division is at 80% (45+15+20) whereas the responsibility margin for the powdered division is at 97% (55+28+14). B. In looking at both divisions, it would seem that the more profitable of the two would be the solid division. After costs, the solid division leaves a 20% profit, with the powdered division only leaving a 3% profit. C. Entire Company Solid Division % of Solid Division Sales Powdered Division % of Powdered Division Sales Sales $1,820,000 $900,000 100% $920,000 100% Contribution Margin $911,000 $405,000 45% $506,000 55% Fixed Costs Product Lines $425,000 $175,000 20% $250,000 27% Fixed Costs Common $250,000 $125,000 14% $125,000 14% Advertising $15,000 $15,000 2% $15,000 2% After factoring in an advertising cost, the solid line will have a responsibility margin of 81% and the powdered will have a responsibility margin of 98%. Adding the advertising costs to each division only raised the margin by 1% on either side. I would suggest that the company advertise the solid line as the cost margin

Tobacco Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tobacco Industry - Case Study Example Tobacco is one of the farming manufactured goods that are acknowledged as being addictive drug, developed from the new leaves of the vegetation.This has resulted in the formation of the British American Tobacco company as the industry for the produce to the people for their consumption in different forms. They have some of their stakeholders of which they have enabled the succession of the company in the past years. These stakeholder includes; the Russian government, the Rumania government, the European government, the African nations governments and the Americans government.Basing on this, the stakeholders have their own harms and the benefits that they do face today in the market. Focusing on the Russian and Rumania governments, they have continued to benefit in the market in that, their sales have continuingly increased in that in the year 2008, may, their sale growth rose upward by around 23% to around 30% of which showed a positive trend in the market of the tobacco in the BAT.R egarded the Americans market, the market have continuingly facing the harmful nature of the product. With this, the stakeholder noted the increase in the nicotine level in the product so as to increase the addictive quality of the product, this has led to the benefits of the market in that the increase in the addictive nature of the consumers have led to the increase of the sales in the market. With the Europeans as one of the stakeholders, they have experienced lose in regard to their contribution to the tobacco market. In this country, the consumer mostly involves the teenage girls of whom they have been addicted to the level that they can not perform correctly in the society. Basing on the African countries as the last stakeholders of the company, they have ended up involving themselves in the business of transporting the goods across the boundaries without paying the taxes. This has resulted in the high level of the consumption of the product among the uneducated people in the c ountries. 1.2 Banning of the Tobacco Industry. As much the industry has been one of the sectors that bring in high percentage of tax in the world as a whole, I do support the banning of the tobacco industry. This is because; the product has led to high negative effects to the consumer and even to the non users of the product. Whenever one associates anything with tobacco in the today world, they have tended to relate it to the lung cancer (Hoek 2000, pg 220). This is one of the diseases that have led to the decrease in the world population and thus leading to the low productivity of the nations in the world. other than the disease affecting the consumer only, it has that extent to the non smokers too as they receive the product impassively from the environment, and with this, I do support for the banning of the industry to reduce the death of the people in the world thus increase in the production rate. Due to the increase of the untaxed product being passed across the boundaries, the industry has in the long run resulted in being unproductive as no income tax is gained from it. With this, it has led to majority of the people involving themselves in the unlawful business of transporting the untaxed goods (Hoek 2000, pg 221). Thus, the industry will be best being banned to allow for the fairness in the country. This it will also utilize the utilitarianism theory of which states that, one has to do what will take full advantage of comprehensive happiness and gratify the significance of the people around him or her. With this, the society will be up to the idea of trying to ensure that the members of the society gets the clear and good air that they do need. 1.3 Duties & Responsibilities of the Tobacco Companies The tobacco companies were to be responsible to the application of the rules and the regulation on the usage of the product and the ways in which the consumer has to ensure that they do not affect the rest of the population in the environment. With this, the company has used

Speech given by that candidate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Speech given by that candidate - Essay Example The goal was reached perfectly. This is because, Mitt Romney first introduced Paul Ryan as his running mate and the selected Vice President of the Republican party, and then went ahead to explain why he was selected. Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan as a man of character, who is true to his words, and who respects the opinion of others, even when they are his opponents, without demonizing his opponents (Romney, n.p.). He further defended the character of Paul Ryan as that of integrity and steadiness, being the reason why he was suited to back him up as a running mate, since they do not only share the same vision for America, but have the capability to achieve it, owing to the integrity and steadiness of his running mate. Further, the goal of introducing Paul Ryan as the right candidate was achieved thorough presenting him as a candidate whose judgment is respected by all, and the one who is an ardent supporter of freedom and justice (Romney, n.p.). Emotive language and balance are the two major speech techniques that Mitt Romney applies in this speech. These techniques are effective in persuading the audience to accept Paul Ryan as the best running mate and potential Republican Vice President Candidate. This is because; Emotive language, as the first technique that Mitt Romney applied in this speech, is able to appeal more to the emotions and feelings of the audience, as opposed to indulging them through logic and reason. This is achieved through the application of emotive language seen in Mitt Romney’s statement that â€Å"Pauls father died when he was in high school† (Romney, n.p.).The emotive language is specifically targeted at presenting Ryan as a man of discipline and personal character. This statement forms a tactical application of emotive language, where Mitt Romney was seeking to appeal to the emotions of the audience through showing them that Paul Ryan’s journey has not been easy, yet he has

Supermarket database-computer coursework Essay Example for Free

Supermarket database-computer coursework Essay Introduction There are many supermarkets around us, but there do you know how it works. In this coursework. , we will anyalsis the problem of the old supermarket system and how to solve this problem. Besides, in this coursework, it will introduce a new supermarket system, introduce its advantage, how to set up, how to use it and what is its advantages. Old supermarket system Disadvantage: piles of papers are used to keep the records it is hard to back up the records, if you really do so, the cost of the ink and the papers can make you bankrupt the payments are calculated by men, if your mathematics is poor, you will bankrupt again you need to spend nights after nights to turn the pages by your hands in order to search the data of the customers and supplier snail mail is used, which means time and money is wasted your customers cannot immediately get the most update news of your product, simply the million-dollar contract will fly to other companies the piles of paper wont remind you when your product is expired, you need to search through the papers it is not easy to comunicate to your branch stores. Many workers are needed to check the store Solution of the problem To solve the problem in the old supermarket system,setup up a database system that would control local store inventory, and cover the ordering of stock from the customers. Advantages of the new system Digital record is used. Millions of information are stored in a 6-inch hard-dish. The records can be backed up inside a DVD or a hard dish drive. the payments are calculated by computer, which decreases the human error In order to search the data of the customers and supplier, you simply need to type the name, or tel. number. email is used, your customers can get the most update news of your product, at once the computer will remind you when your product is expired, so you can make preparations you can communicate the computer form one branch store to another. Information can be transferred immediately computer can do most of the jobs. Less workers are employed Old system Computer system Space needed to keep the records more Much less Back up Very difficult Very easy error High possibility Low possibility Search data Very complicated Very convenient mail Slow and expensive Quick and free Check expired stock By hand automatically Communication Slow and inconvenient Quick and easy Number of employees more less Requirement of the system. It is consider that the supermarket has original system which has only one computer with the following equirement. Working system Windows 2000, standard edition Processor Pentium III 733Mhz, RAM 256MB recommended Drive space 20GB Video 32MB shared ram In order to reach the requirement of the new system, the computers need to replace new ones and connected as the following instructions. Requirement of the server. Working system Windows server 2003, standard edition Processor Pentium 4 3. 0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 1024MB/1G recommended Drive space 250GB Video 128MB shared ram or better This computer is highly security. It needed the voice check and the password of the three highest manager to open the report of the profit and also to open the economy condition of the supermarket. Besides, the server is connected to a internet server with domain name. This is because this can convenient the customers to shopping or order products from the internet. Requirement of the other computers The other four computres is used to save data. They should have the following requirement. Working system Windows XP, Professional Processor Pentium 4 3. 0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 512 MB recommended Drive space 80 GB Video 128MB shared ram or better. Software of the programme The supermarket can use Microsoft Access or Visual Basic The advantages of using MS Access are: Â  It is a relational database, which makes the data management easier. Â  It integrates easily with other Microsoft packages such as Word and Excel. Â  It is inexpensive. Â  It is a flexible product that cab be used for all kinds of databases. Â  It can be used to build extensive database applications. Â  All the information is held in one place and the information only needs to be updated once. Â  It can retrieve and update information quickly and easily. Â  Reports, standard letters can be easily produced. Backup and archiving is easy. The disadvantages of using MS Access are: Â  It lacks in high volume capacity. It is limited to a low transaction rate. It can bring down the entire servers if it is not used properly. The advantages of using Visual Basic are: It provides a user-friendly interface. The modular structure in visual basic program helps the programmer to develop a large program without knowing all the variables and their relationships. Â  It is provided by an integrate development environment that helps the programmer in debugging syntax errors. The disadvantages of using Visual Basic are:Â  It is limited in the kind of application that visual basic can code.

Anton Mosimann Essays -- Biographies Bio Biography

Contents Page Page 1: Contents Page Page 2: Anton’s Early Days Page 3: The Dorchester Page 4: Mosimann`s Page 5: Outside the Kitchen Page 6: The Future of Mosimann`s Anton Mosimann celebrates his 60th Birthday Page 7: My Findings Page 8: Picture of Mosimann`s Page 9: Research and References Let me begin my presentation with Anton Mosimann’s philosophy: "Nothing comes solely by chance". Chicken should taste like chicken and fish like fish. That's vital. So many people try to overpower good produce. Keep it simple. Our profession is one where you must give and be happy with it." Anton’s Early Days Anton Mosimann was born on February 23, 1947, the only child of Swiss restaurateurs in the Jura Mountains. He begins his book â€Å"The Essential Mosimann† with this lovely childhood memory, â€Å"I can still remember, as clearly as if it were only yesterday the sweet smell of dark, sugared fruit bubbling in the heavy copper preserving pan. My mother loved making jams and jellies and on these days the fragrance would fill the whole house, moving in a warm, fruity and sweet steam from the restaurants kitchen to our flat upstairs† Anton Mosimann spent his early years in Nidau, near Biel helping his parents run their own restaurant where he developed both a love for food and a desire to become a cook. The first taste he clearly remembers is that of Emmental cheese. "It was so tasty and so different from my previous food of vegetables and cereals." Anton learned from an early age that there is noting more satisfying for a chef than seeing a stack of empty plates after a good meal. When Anton was fifteen he received an unexpected call from the nearby Hotel Baeren i... ... emailed back a standard email which gave links to the website plus a copy of the July to October issue of Mosimann`s Newsletter, which I have included below. Books Mosimann, Anton, 1993, The Essential Mosimann, Ebury Press, London. Internet Global Chefs, 2007, Anton Mosimann, [online], http://www.globalchefs.com/chef/archive/chef023mosBio.htm, 21 October 2007. Mosimann`s, 2007, Mosimann`s Passion for Excellence, [online], http://www.mosimann.com/index.shtml, 21 October 2007. The Sunday Independent, 2007, Master Chef Turns 60, [online], http://www.independent.co.uk/living/food_and_drink/features/article2297913.ece, 21 October 2007. Swiss Info, 2007, Dial M for Good Taste in London, [online], http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/In depth/detail/, 21 October 2007. Waitrose, 2007, Products Available, [online], http://www.waitrose.com, 21 October 2007

Each Generation Has Something Valuable To Offer

Every generation is known to embody different beliefs. Older generations believe deeply in their culture about how a man is the breadwinner and the woman is the housewife. However, in this generation, everyone is equal and has the freedom and the rights to do as they wish. The aged generations also believed strongly in religion by worshiping and praying. But, the current generation seems to be adapting atheism due to the development in knowledge and understanding of things better. My parents believe that staying home is a pleasant thing; however my generation assumes that having a social life is an important aspect.Back in my parents’ days, social life existed in form of dinners and functions with other families. But these days’ people like to party and dance. Talking about freedom, parents always try to prevent kids from travelling and exploring new things. This generation finds exposure to new things a way to gain knowledge and experience such as: People these days li ke to visit various places to explore comparing to older generations that dedicated their life to one place. People change at a considerable rate over time, and this pattern continues as new ideas and generation approach.Lifestyle has experienced a whole new level of technological advancements that has changed our daily lifestyle. Communication system has experienced a new transformation. A century ago, people used mail, telephones that took a fair amount of time to get the message through, but now things such as texting, social networking have made life very straightforward. Technology has advanced expeditiously that we can see each other from different parts of the world with devices such as a webcam. The idea of virtual life has been introduced with the invention of consoles such as the Ps3, Xbox.The world has developed so much with things such as the internet where you can find anything or buy anything with the click of a button. Comparing that to older times where you went to f ar away towns after months to get a few items just sounds ridiculous and shocking. In conclusion, technology has changed the way people live and will continue to do so with the development of new ideas. The values and ethics from the past generations usually provide a better understanding of life compared to todays. Culture and family can only be taught by someone that has experience and can share with the current generation such as our parents.Each generation has a valuable belief and is beneficial to each differently such as: Experiencing the outside world may provide better understanding for one, but the other may find it better to stay home and acknowledge things. Each generation also has loopholes that are unacceptable such as the comparison of men and women and also teenagers drinking & partying to be a part of their society. Values are not just important things that are meant for people to be followed and respected. Values show how one discovers the real himself and live thei r life by going through the stages of beliefs and lifestyle.

Sinai Peninsula

â€Å"In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, a waterway marking the boundary between Egyptian territory in Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. Thereafter, Israeli ships were prohibited from using the Canal, owing to the state of war between the two states. Egypt also prohibited ships from using Egyptian territorial waters on the eastern side of the peninsula to travel to and from Israel, effectively imposing a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat. Subsequently, in what is known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression, Israeli forces, aided by Britain, and France, invaded Sinai and occupied much of the peninsula within a few days. Several months later Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai, following strong pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union. Thereafter, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed in Sinai to prevent any military occupation of the Sinai. In 1967, Egypt reinforced its military presence in Sinai, changed the prohibition of Israeli shipping using Egyptian territorial waters and on May 16, ordered the UNEF out of Sinai with immediate effect. Secretary-General U Thant eventually complied and ordered the withdrawal without Security Council authorization. Subsequent to Egyptian actions, Israel attacked Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, starting the Six-Day War. Israel captured the entire Sinai Peninsula, and Palestine's Strip from Egypt, the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan (which it had ruled since 1949), and the Golan Heights from Syria. The Suez Canal, the east bank of which was now occupied by Israel, was closed. Israel expelled thousands of Egyptians from Sinai, and commenced efforts at large scale Israeli settlement in the peninsula, concurrently with similar settlement in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights. Following the Israeli conquest of Sinai, Egypt launched the War of Attrition aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from Egyptian territory. The war saw protracted conflict in the Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large scale combat. Israeli shelling of civilian areas in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez on the west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of some one million Egyptian internal refugees. Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line. Upon becoming President of Egypt following the death in office of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Al-Sadat sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict, offering peace and recognition to Israel in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from all the Egyptian, Palestinian, and Syrian territory occupied in 1967, and a resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem. Israel rejected all of Egypt's proposals, with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir insisting that Sinai was now part of Israel, and that it would be settled by Israelis. Consequently, Egypt and Syria began planning jointly for a military offensive to re-take their respective territories under Israeli occupation. On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to liberate Sinai, whilst Syria launched a simultaneous operation to liberate the Golan Heights, thereby beginning the Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt as the October War). Egyptian engineering forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal, and stormed the supposedly impregnable Bar-Lev Line, Israel's defensive line along the canal. Though the Egyptians maintained control of most of the east bank of the Canal, in the later stages of the war, the Israeli military crossed the southern section of Canal, cutting off the Egyptian 3rd Army, and occupied a section of the west bank. The war ended following a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire. After the war, as part of the subsequent Sinai Disengagement Agreements, Israel withdrew from the Canal, with Egypt agreeing to permit passage of Israeli ships. The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Sadat leading the first convoy through the canal aboard an Egyptian destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of Sinai. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending in 1982. The Israeli pull-out involved dismantling almost all Israeli settlements, including the settlement of Yamit in north-eastern Sinai. The exception was the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh, which the Israelis had renamed as Ofira during the period of their occupation. The Treaty allows monitoring of Sinai by the Multinational Force and Observers, and limits the number of Egyptian military forces in the peninsula. † (Wikipedia, 2013) Problem Since Egypt and Israel were always fighting for the right to be at the Sinai Peninsula, they damaged it. Everyone is trying to have Sinai peninsula because of its important role when it came to power for trade in the sea. After a lot of years, Egypt finally came to make a peace treaty that said that Israel would have to withdraw from the entirety of Sinai. Israel did it, with the exception of the city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Causes Egypt and Israel wanted Sinai because of the trade they could gain if they had it for their country. Each wanted Sinai for the territory. Now days, there has been a lot of terrorist attacks because of the resentment of the poverty faced by many Bedouin in the area. Attacking the tourist industry was viewed as a method of damaging the industry so that the government would pay more attention to their situation. Since the 2011 Egyptian Revolution unrest has become more prevalent in the area including the 2012 Egyptian-Israeli border attack in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants 3. Responsible People â€Å"The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights has denounced what it calls terrorist acts in Sinai in the early hours of Monday morning, blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for the violence in which civilians, including children, were killed and wounded. The organization blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for attacs which saw civilians, including children, killed Monday. The EOHR claimed Ikhwan leaders had aggravated the situation, by stating that â€Å"the situation in Sinai will calm down only if President [Mohamed] Morsy is reinstated. â€Å"† (Egypt Independent, 2013) Tripartite aggression: Because they invaded Sinai Peninsula Egypt government of that time: Because they nationalized the Suez Canal and began the war.

Teenagers and gatrway drugs essays

Teenagers and gatrway drugs essays Teenagers today are faced with many obstacles and decisions as they make their way into adulthood. It is a heavy burden to bear, to know that every decision you make, could effect the rest of your life. For teenagers one bad choice could have a negative effect years down the road. One major issue that teenagers deal with on a daily basis, are drugs. Every teen at one time or another is pressured to use drugs. Its not peer pressure alone that influence teens to use drugs. Most teenagers would never try them if it were not for gateway drugs. Gateway drugs are drugs that might seem harmless, but could become addictive and dangerous. Gateway drugs almost always lead to even more serious, addictive, and harmful drugs. Cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana are three of the Cigarettes are the most common of the gateway drugs. Cigarettes are not always considered a drug, because they do not get you high or alter your state of mind. Cigarettes are still highly addictive and cause life threatening illnesses. Lung cancer and emphysema are common desieses that life time smokers could possibly face. Over 80% of all adult smokers started smoking before they turned eighteen. Some young people are introduced with cigarettes as early as eight years old. While peer pressure plays a part in children taking a puff of that first cigarette, curiosity can also influence that decision. Just as curiosity and rebellion influence that first puff, it could sway your curiosity to drink that first beer. As with cigarettes, alcohol is not often referred to as a drug. The dangerous potential of alcohol being a gateway drug is obvious, but not often seen until it is too late. Alcohol can be a harmful drug for adults, but even more harmful for teenagers. Teenage drinking is a serious problem in high schools across America. The number of underage ...

Raul Castro Biography and Profile

Raul Castro Biography and Profile Raà ºl Castro (1931-) is the current President of Cuba and brother of Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro. Unlike his brother, Raà ºl is quiet and reserved and spent most of his life in his older brother’s shadow. Nevertheless, Raà ºl played a very important role in the Cuban Revolution as well as in the government of Cuba after the revolution was over. Early Years Raà ºl Modesto Castro Ruz was one of the  several illegitimate children born to sugar farmer Angel Castro and his maid, Lina Ruz Gonzlez. Young Raà ºl attended the same schools as his older brother but was neither as studious nor gregarious as Fidel. He was just as rebellious, however, and had a history of discipline problems. When Fidel became active in student groups as a leader, Raà ºl quietly joined a student communist group. He would always be as ardent a communist as his brother, if not more so. Raà ºl eventually became a leader himself of these student groups, organizing protests and demonstrations. Personal Life Raà ºl married his girlfriend and fellow revolutionary Vilma Espà ­n not long after the triumph of the revolution. They have four children. She passed away in 2007. Raà ºl leads an austere personal life, although there have been rumors that he may be an alcoholic. He is thought to despise homosexuals and reputedly influenced Fidel to jail them in the early years of their administration. Raà ºl has been consistently dogged by rumors that Angel Castro was not his real father. The most likely candidate, former rural guardsman Felipe Miraval, never denied nor confirmed the possibility. Moncada Like many socialists, Raà ºl was disgusted by the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. When Fidel began planning a revolution, Raà ºl was included from the start. The first armed action of the rebels was the July 26, 1953, attack on the federal barracks at Moncada outside of Santiago. Raà ºl, barely 22 years old, was assigned to the team sent to occupy the Palace of Justice. His car got lost on the way there, so they arrived late, but did secure the building. When the operation fell apart, Raà ºl and his companions dropped their weapons, put on civilian clothes, and walked out onto the street. He was eventually arrested. Prison and Exile Raà ºl was convicted of his role in the uprising and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Like his brother and some of the other leaders of the Moncada assault, he was sent to the Isle of Pines prison. There, they formed the 26th of July Movement (named for the date of the Moncada assault) and began plotting how to continue the revolution. In 1955 President Batista, responding to international pressure to release political prisoners, freed the men who had planned and carried out the Moncada assault. Fidel and Raà ºl, fearing for their lives, quickly went into exile in Mexico. Return to Cuba During their time in exile, Raà ºl befriended Ernesto â€Å"Chà ©Ã¢â‚¬  Guevara, an Argentine doctor who was also a committed communist. Raà ºl introduced his new friend to his brother, and the two hit it right off. Raà ºl, by now a veteran of armed actions as well as prison, took an active role in the 26th of July Movement. Raà ºl, Fidel, Chà ©, and new recruit Camilo Cienfuegos were among the 82 people who crowded on board the 12-person yacht Granma in November 1956 along with food and weapons to return to Cuba and start the revolution. In the Sierra Miraculously, the battered Granma carried all 82 passengers the 1,500 miles to Cuba. The rebels were quickly discovered and attacked by the army, however, and less than 20 made it into the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The Castro brothers soon began waging a guerrilla war against Batista, collecting recruits and weapons when they could. In 1958 Raà ºl was promoted to Comandante and given a force of 65 men and sent to the north coast of Oriente Province. While there, he imprisoned about 50 Americans, hoping to use them to keep the United States from intervening on behalf of Batista. The hostages were quickly released. Triumph of the Revolution In the waning days of 1958, Fidel made his move, sending Cienfuegos and Guevara in command of most of the rebel army, against army installations and important cities. When Guevara decisively won the Battle of Santa Clara, Batista realized he could not win and fled the country on January 1, 1959. The rebels, including Raà ºl, rode triumphantly into Havana. Mopping Up After Batista In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Raà ºl and Chà © were given the task of rooting out supporters of former dictator Batista. Raà ºl, who had already begun setting up an intelligence service, was the perfect man for the job: he was ruthless and totally loyal to his brother. Raà ºl and Chà © oversaw hundreds of trials, many of which resulted in executions. Most of those executed had served as policemen or army officers under Batista. Role in Government and Legacy As Fidel Castro transformed the revolution into government, he came to rely on Raà ºl more and more. In the 50 years after the revolution, Raà ºl served as head of the Communist Party, minister of defense, vice president of the Council of State, and many more important positions. He has generally been most identified with the military: he has been Cuba’s top-ranking military officer since soon after the Revolution. He advised his brother during times of crisis such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Fidel’s health faded, Raà ºl came to be considered as the logical (and perhaps the only possible) successor. An ailing Castro turned over the reins of power to Raà ºl in July 2006, and in January 2008 Raà ºl was elected president in his own right, Fidel having withdrawn his name from consideration. Many see Raà ºl as being more pragmatic than Fidel, and there was some hope that Raà ºl would loosen the restrictions placed on Cuban citizens. He has done so, although not to the extent that some expected. Cubans can now own cell phones and consumer electronics. Economic reforms were implemented in 2011 to encourage more private initiative, foreign investment, and agrarian reforms. He limited terms for president, and he will step down after his second term as president ends in 2018. Normalization of relations with the United States began in earnest under  Raà ºl, and full diplomatic relations were resumed in 2015. President Obama visited Cuba and met with  Raà ºl in 2016. It will be interesting to see who succeeds Raà ºl as President of Cuba, as the torch gets handed to the next generation. Sources Castaà ±eda, Jorge C. Compaà ±ero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Coltman, Leycester. The Real Fidel Castro. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Law of Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law of Equity and Trusts - Essay Example In 2009, he declared, â€Å"all of my property including our lovely barge home is as much your Lorraine as it is mine†. This takes the form of an oral promise and judging from the fact that it was made on several occasions, Lorraine can establish that it amounts to an interest of some kind in the property (Ungarian v Lesnoff (1990) and Eves v Eves (1975)). Thus, the second step for Lorraine in order to establish her equitable interest in the property would be to prove that she relied upon the promise to her detriment. Lorraine spent a considerable amount of structural repairs and decoration, to the tune of 65000 pounds and contributed half of her salary to maintenance while she was working. This satisfies the additional requirement that the detriment faced must be in relation to the property in question (Gissing and Christian v Christian (1981)). However, the detriment must be in reliance on the promise, and it seems that she spent the money BEFORE the actual promise was made, as the promises came after the birth of the triplets in 2009 and the money was spent much earlier. However, Lorraine also quit her job and was unable to return to it after the birth of the children. This could easily be a detriment that flowed from the promise. Lord Bridge in Lloyds Bank carefully acknowledged the operation of a constructive trust to be used to ‘do justice’ and its presence cannot be willfully denied in this case just because the job was not directly related to the property (a requirement set by Gissing).  

Matrix Organization Structure in Jebal Ali Harbor Case Study

Matrix Organization Structure in Jebal Ali Harbor - Case Study Example The whole project was very complex, owing to the nature of the land terrain on which the project was undertaken, coupled with the immense risks involved, such as the risk of gulf fall. The Jebal Ali Harbor project was characterized by lack of bureaucracy, where the major decisions that were made impromptu, did not require bureaucratic procedures to be approved but were immediately rendered to tests and assessments, after which they were easily approved if they proved economical and feasible. Communication among the project team members was also smooth, despite the fact that the project comprised of diverse experts and contractors with different experiences and specializations. This enhanced the team coordination and promoted the project success. â€Å"Matrix organization structure† refers to a structure of an organization that has operations running from different locations, but the structure of the management team is arranged such that the top management is only located in the organization’s major office or headquarters, while the low-level managers are based on different site locations, where the organization has some businesses running, and the chain of command flows from the different locations. Pauling plc. is a good example of a contractor operating a â€Å"matrix organization structure†, with the top management of the company; the managing director based in London, the general manager based in Dubai, and the manager of the project based at the site location; Jebel Ali, where the construction process is ongoing. In the Pauling’s case, the chain of command is such that, the Managing Director based in London makes crucial decisions regarding the project, while the general manager implements th e decisions through delegating the same to the manager of the project on site. Nevertheless, both the project manager and the general manager make relevant decisions, based on the project situations, while consulting the same with the managing director.  Ã‚