Right To Vote Essays - Grandpa, , Term Papers

Right To Vote Situated between majestic Great Lakes and the marshes, Ortonville is much like any other small northern Michigan town. It was election day, looking forward to a visit to the ice cream shop, I accompanied my grandpa as he drove the fifteen-mile tripe into town. Country life offered little excitement, but that day an air of uneasiness replaced the usual contentment I felt while passing aged buildings, their drabness contrasted sharply by a few colorful, modern improvements. Having spent the first of my teen years here, it was easy to detect any change in the town's mood. I pondered the worried expression on the faces of the few people we saw on the streets. It seemed everyone was in a hurry. There were not the usual groups gathered to exchange local gossip. Most noticeable was the absence of kids playing in the near by park. As my grandpa messed with the radio in our rusted out Chevy, we approached the traffic light, greeted-not by flashing red, yellow or green, but by uniformed police men armed with guns and appearing much out of place in such peaceful surroundings. As our vehicle slowed to a stop, I was shocked as I saw before me a huge machine gun, pointed in our direction. A young officer walked slowly to the truck and explained, what was going on, "Sorry Sir, but we'll have to search your truck, just routine procedure." As the car was being searched, we learned the reason for such drastic precautionary measures. A man whom we knew and who was a candidate for the sheriff's office, had been brutally murdered in the presence of his wife and daughter. It was rumored that the opposing party was responsible for the fatal shotgun blast, and other rumors stated that explosives would be brought into town to bomb the courthouse. As this unbelievable information was being given, I sat petrified, trying to convince myself that this was the same town where, only yesterday, I was shopping here with my friends, and talking about school. Where dogs and children had ran freely on the sidewalks cops now stood with shotguns. Strangely, all this had changed overnight, and the preconceptions I had about my peaceful country and the glorious right to vote were beginning to sound as a sour note. Marching through the streets like ants, the cops with guns gave the appearance of towns I had seen in the movies. Towns which did not know freedom, but captivity. "He'll probably go home," I mused to myself as my grandpa began changing the gears to move on. Surely no one could be so stupid as to go into that courthouse now! Thinking how wonderful it would be to get back to the safety of our farmhouse, I was somewhat taken aback when Grandpa parked near the entrance of the threatened building. The lines in his face seemed to be carved with determination, and with unfaltering stride he quickly mounted the steps to the building. A man had died at the hands of those who tried to control a county's right to vote. That "right" was now even more precious. Grandpa was going to vote.

MyBurgerLab Essays

MyBurgerLab Essays MyBurgerLab Essay MyBurgerLab Essay They want a burger brand that belongs to Malaysia, therefore they start their first step to start up unbearably. At first, unbearably started tit a very simple objective which is sell a really good, juicy burger on fresh bun. No shortcuts. (unbearably, 2014) Their objective seems simple and normal, but this objective have led a very clear strength to unbearably as they put all their effort, included money, into making a good burger. In unbearably, you will see their special charcoal bun instead of those normal sesame bun that used by others. Other than their own made charcoal bun, patty will be another core element that affect the burger taste. In unbearably, they mainly sell beef burger so they also grind their own beef patty so that they can serve the most fresh beef burger to their customer. Without any realization, people know unbearably most likely is from world-of-mouth instead of advertisement, and this is unbearably another strength in their promotion way. They believe in a good thing is worth for people to share, therefore they didnt put a lot of effort in doing advertising but make sure serve every customer with their best and juicy burger. unbearably may be a good restaurant, but they also have some weakness that will make people feel unsatisfied about them. For a very obvious meekness for them is their operation hours. They only operate from Tuesday to Sunday and when come to worse, they only open their restaurant by evening 5 and only operate until night 10. 15. Their operation hour make people need to queue for get a seat in their restaurant. Other than that, their concentration on making a nice juicy burger also caused a side effect which every customer need to wait at least minutes before their order can reach to their table. As mentioned in their strengths, they did not put a lot of effort in advertisement and this made their brand awareness highly rely on world- f-mouth. unbearably took a lot of opportunity in starting up their business as they start quite early in Malaysia as a gourmet restaurant that mainly sell burger. Other than that, their charcoal burger also a core element that grab a lot of market opportunity as they are the first restaurant that introduced a black burger in Malaysia. Furthermore, they took the opportunity to make unbearably this brand a more community concern brand as they run a food donation drive at their outlet during their first and second year anniversary. Last but not least, unbearably choose to sell chicken burger because they now the demand in the market and they took this opportunity to become a restaurant that sell two types of burger. On the other hand, unbearably have launch a new burger market in Malaysia, so this become other entrepreneurs target in setting up an eatery business. Some threat that unbearably facing is caused by creating such new market and attracted new competitors like Fatsos The Burger Bar. Other than that, their location also quite not strategy as the place is hard to find parking, and the shop itself is quite small that hardly can fit in all customers that want to enjoy their burger.

Philosophy inquiry- A mini-version of a possible chapter 3 of a Assignment

Philosophy inquiry- A mini-version of a possible chapter 3 of a dissertation proposal - Assignment Example Aristotle refuses to imitate a theory that has been formulated without empirical estimation of regular and in-depth observation of the universal facts and realities (Thomas & Thomas, 1960). Turner opin...... The same is applied to social exchange theory, cognitive development perspective, deviance theories and others. The studies demonstrate various models and paradigms observed and followed by the researchers while developing an outline for conducting a qualitative research. Guba (1990) argues that a paradigm serves as an interpretative framework, which is guided by the set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be understood and studied. In other words, a research paradigm determines and decides the epistemology, ontology and methodology to be applied on the basis of the topic selected for conducting the research work. Epistemology stands for describing the source of knowledge, which includes what is known, and what is going to be explored. The term epistemology has been derived from the Greek notion episteme, which stands for the philosophy of knowledge (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996). In simple words, epistemology aims to explore the source and origin of some specific k nowledge or information. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge and the process by which knowledge is acquired and validated Epistemology poses the questions including: What is the relationship between the knower and what is known? How do we know what we know? What counts as knowledge? (Krauss, 2005:759). On the other hand, ontology is determined to unveil the realities of the concepts involved in the study. It also discovers the reality about the topic as well as the units of analysis selected for the research. For instance, while discovering the relationship between domestic violence and children’s alienation towards

Discuss and Evaluate how to Improving Prenatal nutrition in the UK Literature review

Discuss and Evaluate how to Improving Prenatal nutrition in the UK - Literature review Example other’s prenatal nutrition and birth outcome as the knowledge provide a basis for understanding and design of nutritional interventions for the improvement of positive birth results, long term maternal life quality, reduced mortality rates and health care expenses† (Alexander & Cornely, 1987). This review seeks to provide a broad overview on the ways through which prenatal nutrition can be improved in the United Kingdom. The overview of the literature reviews status of maternal nutrition and birth results in the United Kingdom. â€Å"Nutrition of an expectant mother is a crucial issue owing to the fact that the kind of diet intake during pregnancy may likely have a positive or a negative impact on the mother’s health as well as the newborn baby† (Duggan, Watkins, & Walker, 2008). These effects manifest in the child’s life early or late in life including adulthood. It is for this reason that the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom deems necessary to offer dietary advice for mothers during their gravidity period. The advices offered range from appropriate diet to the undesirable ones. â€Å"A number of studies conducted in the United Kingdom show evidence that expectant mothers take insufficient major nutrients† (Langley-Evans, 2009). The studies further reveal that the current state can be improved through various dietary interventions. This review seeks to bring out dietary interventions that can be provided to expectant mothers with a purpose of improving prenatal care and the general improvement of the birth outcomes. Improved access to quality nutrition among expectant mothers in the United Kingdom has for the last 10 years the government’s headache. The United Kingdom’s department of health has been formulating various prenatal care policies geared at quality nutrition and care for pregnant women that would see reduced risks among the high risk groups. This paper uses numerous literature review works conducted by earlier researchers to

How is Transformation Related to the Concepts of Trust and Truth Essay

How is Transformation Related to the Concepts of Trust and Truth - Essay Example Only tragedy, or trauma, has the possibility of rattling these contextual cages, and thus opening up ourselves to new perspectives, and new truths. But to open ourselves up, we must experiences a process or event that fundamentally calls into questions the structure of the social agreement we trust to provide a sense of external validity in our understanding of the world. Malcolm Gladwell identifies the power of this social agreement when he explains the Power of Context. While sociologists and psychologists seem set to battle over the cause of criminal activity (inherent psychological traits or conditioning from trauma vs. large scale environmental factors that erode community institutions and thus beget crime), Gladwell suggests that the â€Å"Power of Context is an environmental argument. It says that behavior is a function of social context. But it is a very strange kind of environmentalism... The Power of Context says that what really matters is little things. (Gladwell 242). I nstead of the big picture issues that liberals might associate with crime, Gladwell highlights the importance of minutia—broken windows, graffiti—that might influence and trigger criminal behavior. These sorts of conditions function as catalysts, enabling behavior that would seem grossly inappropriate in other contexts. The horrible assault and brutal killing of Matthew Shepard provides a chilling case-in-point. The collection of males who thought of themselves as men—manly men—who found themselves threatened by Shepard's revelation that he was gay, moved from a bar conversation to a chilling beating. Had that conversation been elsewhere, had those boys not been together on that particular night, had they not felt that masculinity was tied in multiple ways and in myriad instances to the strength of their heterosexuality, the events of that night might never have taken place. These â€Å"essential facts† (Loffreda 373) were themselves circumstantial , in the non-legal sense of the word. Whatever the norms that gave rise to the attack, they floundered when the attack itself was brought to trial. Loffreda explains that â€Å"After each count, Castor recited 'the essential facts' supporting the charge, in what became a truly grim ritual of repetition... During the incident, the victim was begging for his life. The subject then left the area, leaving the victim for dead.' By the third time Cator read that Matt had begged for his life, the courtroom had become choked with sickness and grief. The true darkness of the crime had become impossible to flee (Loffreda 373). This impossibility is precisely what makes transformation possible. One could no longer escape into the narrow constraints of those trusted contexts that helped to provide a foundation for one's world-view. If Gladwell is right about the Power of Context, that â€Å"our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances† (Gladwell 243), here was a situation in which the outer circumstances demanded change. That this change resulted from a trauma both profoundly personal and public cannot be overstated. Such a disruption calls into question what we trust, and thus what we hold to be true. That being said, the shift in the communal norms does not imply

Sensing of Human Blood Group by SPR Based Sensors

Sensing of Human Blood Group by SPR Based Sensors Contents- Introduction Basic of Surface Plasmon P and S polarized light waves Properties of Surface Plasmon Waves Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic Waves Dispersion Relation for Surface Plasmon Principle Total Internal Reflection N-Layer Model and Fresnel’s Relation Evanescent Waves Resonance Condition Minimum of Reflectance at Resonance Drude Model For free electron gas Angular Interrogation and Wavelength Interrogation Performance parameters for SPR based sensors Experiment Kretscheman and Otto Configuration Coating of metal layer by Vacuum Coating Machine Basic Of Surface Plasmons- The electron charges on a metal boundary can perform coherent fluctuations hence collective charge density oscillations of electrons at metal-dielectric interface are known as plasma oscillations and the quantum of these oscillations are known as surface plasmons. The surface plasmons are accompanied by a longitudinal (TM- or P-polarized) electric field which decays exponentially in metal as well as in dielectric medium. The electric field has its maximum at metal-dielectric interface. The TM- polarization and exponential decay of electric field are found by solving the Maxwell equation. The charge motion in a surface plasmon always creates electromagnetic fields outside (as well as inside) the metal. The total excitation, including both the charge motion and associated electromagnetic field, is called either surface plasmon polaritonat a planar interface. . Properties of Surface Plasmon Waves- Surface Plasmon waves are the surface localized electromagnetic waves produced by the collective resonating oscillations of free electrons on the plasma surface. The surface Plasmon is a transverse wave propagating along the plasma surface with the oscillating electric field vector normal to the surface. The two main properties of the surface Plasmon waves are firstly they are of exponentially decaying nature, when propagate along the surface of metal-dielecric interface it gets decay both in metal as well as in dielectric and secondly it gets excited only by P-polarized incident light wave. P-polarized and S-polarized light waves- When the electric field vector of incident light wave is perpendicular to the plane of incidence than light wave is called S-polarized light wave and when the electric field vector are parallel to plane of incidence than light wave is called P-polarized light wave. Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic Waves If the incident, transmitted and reflected waves all have a wave vector component along the z direction, that is, they have an effective velocity along z. The fields Ei,perp, Er,perp, and Et,perp are all perpendicular to the z direction. These waves are called transverse electric field (TE) waves. On the other hand, waves with Ei,//, Er,//, and Et,// only have their magnetic field components perpendicular to the z direction and these are called transverse magnetic field (TM) waves. Dispersion Relation for Surface Plasmon- Principle Total internal reflection- Internal Reflectionis a phenomenon that happens when a propagatingwave strikes a medium boundary at an angle larger than a particular critical anglewith respect to thenormalto the surface. If the refractive indexis lower on the other side of the boundary and the incident angle is greater than the critical angle, the wave cannot pass through and is entirelyreflected. The critical angleis theangle of incidenceabove which the total internal reflectance occurs. This is particularly common as anoptical phenomenon, where light waves are involved, but it occurs with many types of waves, such aselectromagnetic wavesin general orsound waves. When a wave crosses a boundary between materials with different kinds of refractive indices, the wave will be partiallyrefractedat the boundary surface, and partially reflected. However, if the angle of incidence is greater (i.e. the direction of propagation or ray is closer to being parallel to the boundary) than the critical angle – the angle of incidence at which light is refracted such that it travels along the boundary – then the wave will not cross the boundary and instead be totally reflected back internally. This can only occur when the wave in a medium with a higher refractive index (n1) hits its surface thats in contact with a medium of lower refractive index (n2). For example, it will occur with light hittingairfrom glass, but not when hitting glass from air. Fresnel’s Relation We will describe the incident, reflected and refracted waves by the exponential representation of a travelling wave, i.e., Where r is theposition vector, the wavevectors ki, kr, kt describe respectively the derictions of the incident, reflected and transmitted waves and Eio, Ero and Eto are the respective amplitudes. Any phase changes such as phir and phit in the reflected and transmitted waves with respect to the phase of the incident wave are incorporated into the complex amplitudes Ero and Eto. Our objective is to find Ero and Eto with respect to Eio. Similar equations can be stated for the magnetic field components in the incident, reflected and transmitted waves but will be perpendicular to the corresponding electric fields. The electric and magnetic fields anywhere on the wave must be perpendicular to each other as a requirement of electromagnetic wave theary. This means that with E// in the EM wave we have a magnetic field Bperp associated with it such that Bperp= (n/c)E//. Simillarly, Eperp will have a magnetic field B// associated with it such that B//=(n/c)Eperp. There are two useful fundamental rules in electromagnetism that govern the behaviour of the electric and magnetic fields at a boundary between two dielectric media which we can arbitrary label as 1 and 2. These rules are called boundary conditions. The first states that the electric field that is tangential to the boundary surface Etangential must be continuous across the boundary from medium 1 to 2 i.e., at the boundary y=0. Etangential(1)=Etangential(2) The second rule is that the tangential component of the magnetic field Btangential to boundary must be likewise continuous from medium 1 to 2 provided that the two media are non-magnetic (relative permeability  µr=1), Btangential(1)=Btangential(2) Using these boundary conditions for the fields at y=0, and the relationship between the electric and magnetic fields, we can find the reflected and transmitted waves in terms of the incident wave. The boundary conditions can only be satisfied if the reflection and incidence angles are equal, @[emailprotected], and the angles for the transmited and incident waves obey Snell’s [emailprotected][emailprotected] Applying the boundary conditions to the EM wave going from medium 1 to medium 2, the amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted waves can be readily obtained in terms of n1, n2, and incidence angle @i alone. These relationships are called Fresnel’s equations. If we define n=n2/n1, as the relative refractive index of medium 2 to that of 1, then the reflection and transmission coefficients for Eperp are Rperp And Tperp These are corresponding coefficients for the E// fields with corresponding reflection and transmission coefficients r// and t//: r// t// Further, the reflection and transmission coefficients are related by r// + nt// = 1 rperp +1 = tperp The significance of these equations is that they allow the amplitudes and phases of the reflected and transmitted waves to be determined from the coefficients rperp, r//, t//, and tperp. Evanescent waves- Evanescent waves are formed when sinusoidal waves are (internally) reflected off an interface at an angle greater than the critical angle so that total internal reflection occurs. Evanescent means tending to vanish, which is appropriate because the intensity of evanescent waves decays exponentially with distance from the interface at which they are formed. Any propagating wave is converted into an evanescent wave when hitting a classically forbidden region. In this case, at least one component of the wave vector kbecomes imaginary or complex and the wave experiences exponential damping when propagating in this region. In the case of an optical fibre the cladding has less refractive index than the core of the fibre. When light experience total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface, some of the energy of the light waves in the core of the fibre penetrate into the cladding for a very short distance. The energy flow of this evanescent wave is parallel to the surface of the core and in the same direction as the main flow of energy within the core. Resonance Condition- The propagation constant (Ksp) Of the surface Plasmon wave propagating along the metal-dielectric interface is given by- Where ÃŽ µm and ÃŽ µs are the dielectric constants of metal and the dielectric medium respectively, ω is the frequency of incident light, and c is the velocity of light and from above equation it may be noted that the propagation constant of surface Plasmon wave depends on the dielectric constants of both the metal and the dielectric medium. The surface plasmons can be excited by light with same polarization state as that of surface Plasmons. The propagation constant (Ks) of the light wave with frequency w propagating through the dielectric medium is given by- Since ÃŽ µms>0 (for dielectric), for a given frequency, the propagation constant of surface Plasmon (Ksp) is greater than that of light wave in dielectric medium (Ks). To excite surface plasmons, two propagation wave- vectors should be equal. Hence, the direct light cannot excite surface plasmons at a metal-dielectric interface. To excite surface plasmons their momentum and hence the wave vector of the exciting light in dielectric medium should be increased. This can be done if instead of a direct light, evanescent wave is used to excite the surface plasmons. To obtain the evanescent wave for the excitation of surface plasmons, a prism with high dielectric constant is used. When a light beam is incident through one of the two sides of the prism at an angle greater than the critical angle at prism-air interface the total internal reflection of light beam takes place. In the condition of total internal reflection light beam does not return exactly from the interface. Instead it returns after penetrating in the lower refractive index medium (air in this case). The field in the lower refractive index medium is called evanescent field and the wave corresponding to this is called evanescent wave. The evanescent wave propagates along the prism-air interface and decays exponentially in the rarer medium (air). The propagation constant of the evanescent wave at prism-air interface is given by- Where, ÃŽ µp, represents the dielectric constant of the material of the prism and ÃŽ ¸ is the angle of incidence of the beam. Increase in the dielectric constant of the prism increases the propagation constant of the evanescent wave and hence this can be made equal to propagation constant of the surface Plasmon wave to propagation constant of the surface Plasmon wave to satisfy the surface Plasmon resonance condition. When a p-polarized light beam is incident through the prism on the prism-metal layer interface at an angle ÃŽ ¸ equal to or greater than the critical angle, the evanescent wave is produced at the prism-metal interface. The excitation of surface plasmons occurs when the wave vector of evanescent wave exactly matches with that of the surface plasmons of similar frequency. This occurs at a particular angle of incidence ÃŽ ¸res. Thus the resonance condition for surface Plasmon resonance is- The excitation of surface plasmons at metal-dielectric interface results in the transfer of energy from incident light to surface plasmons, which reduces the intensity of the reflected light. If the intensity of the reflected light is measured as a function of angle of incidence ÃŽ ¸ for a fixed values of frequency, metal layer thickness and dielectric layer thickness then a sharp dip is observed at resonance angle, ÃŽ ¸res, due to an efficient transfer of energy to surface plasmons. Minimum of Reflectance at Resonance The excitation of surface plasmons at metal-dielectric interface results in the transfer of energy from incident photons to surface plasmons, which reduces the energy of the reflected light. If the normalized reflected intensity (R), which is basically the output signal, is measured as a function of incident angle @ by keeping other parameters and components (such as frequency, metal layer, and dielectric layer) unchanged, then a sharp dip is observed at resonance angle @sp due to an efficient transfer of energy to surface plasmons The minimum of the normalized reflected intensity (R) can be quantitatively described with the help of Fresnel’s equations for the three-layer system p/m/s. Here, p, stands for high refractive index material prism m, stands for metal film of thickness dm and s, stands for low index dielectric medium, eg: air, water etc. The light wave is incident at an angle greater than the corresponding ATR angle. At this point, one important fact is the energy conservation that requires R+A+T=1, that is, the sum of relative reflection, absorption, and transmission is unity. Since, T=0 at ATR, hence we are left with A+R=1 in the present case. The light wave having passed the glass prism (ÃŽ µp), is reflected partially at prism interface. A part of the incident light wave energy traverses the metal film(of thickness dm) as an exponential decaying evanescent wave. At the metal-dielectric (m/s) interface, it induces the surface Plasmon excitation, which radiate light back into the metal film. If the metal layer thickness (dm) is small, the back scattered field tends to increase. Since, this back scattered wave is out-of-phase with the incoming wave, the two interfere destructively and cause R to reduce. For minimum value of dm, they compensate each other and R becomes equal to zero. Thus, the absorption A becomes equal to 1, that is, whole radiation field is captured in the metal film. On the other hand, if the metal layer thickness is large enough, then the back scattered field disappears and R approaches to 1. It means that no absorption of incident light wave is taking place. Hence, one can say that the value of R depends on the combination of incident light frequency, angle of incidence, and the thickness of the metal layer. Performance parameters for SPR sensors Sensitivity and Detection accuracy are the two important parameters that are used to analyze the performance of SPR based sensors. Sensitivity- Suppose, we are sensing any medium of any particular refractive index, than we will get a minimum reflectance curve at any particular value of ÃŽ »res, but if change the medium than refractive index will change and we will get a minimum reflectance curve at any other value of ÃŽ »res, hence we can say the minimum reflectance curve is shifted from one wavelength value to another wavelength value. This shift in the minimum reflectance curve with the change in the refractive index (by changing the medium) is called sensitivity of the SPR sensor. Hence we can say, sensitivity is the rate of change of ÃŽ »res value with the change in refractive index, S= If the shift is large, the sensitivity is large Detection accuracy- How accurately and precisely our sensor can sense or detect this shift in minimum reflectance curve is called Detection Accuracy of the sensor DA= For the best performance of the sensor, both the parameters should be as high as possible to attain a perfect sensing procedure. Otto Configuration The general idea behind this configuration was the coupling of surface Plasmon wave the evanescent wave, which is set up to ATR at the base of a coupling prism when a light beam is incident at an angle greater than the critical angle (@ATR) at prism-air interface. The nature of evanescent wave is known to have the propagation constant along the interface and to decay exponentially in the dielectric medium adjacent to metal layer. Both of these characteristics of evanescent waveare similar to those of a surface Plasmon wave, therefore, there is a strong possibility of interaction between these waves. The x-component of the wave propagation constant of the evanescent wave at prism-air interface is given by Kev= If a metal surface is now brought in contact of this decaying evanescent field in such a way that an air gap remains between the prism base and metal layer, then the evanescent field at prism-air interface can excite the surface plasmons at the air-metal interface. However, this configuration is difficult to realize practically as the metal has to be brought within around 200 nm of the prism surface. This approach has been found to be very useful in studying single-crystal metal surfaces and adsorption on them. Kretschmann configuration As a significant improvement to Otto configuration, Kretschmann and Reather realized that the metal layer could be used as the spacing layer, that is, evanescent wave generated at the prism-metal layer interface can excite surface plasmons at the metal-air interface so long as the metal layer thickness is not too large. They devised a new configuration. In this configuration as well, surface plasmons are excited by an evanescent wave from a high refractive index glass prism at ATR condition. However, unlike Otto configuration, the base of the glass prism is coated with a thin metal film (typically around 50 nm thick) and is kept in direct contact with the dielectric medium of lower refractive index (such as air or some other dielectric sample).

Hatchet Essay -- essays research papers

This book is written by Gary Paulsen. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness, where Brian Robeson’s, who is 13 yrs. Old, plane crashes. Brian shows a lot of determination and strength, to be able to survive in the wilderness, with no one else. The story starts out with Brian in the city, he lives with his mother, who is divorced. His mother gives him a gift before he leaves and it is a hatchet that fits on his belt so Brian puts it there. Brian meets the pilot and he is a nice man. Brian and the pilot get ready to leave and then Brian remembers that he saw a man kissing his mom but he does not let it bother him. Brian leaves and after an hour or so, the pilot was yelling and screaming that his chest hurts. He had a heart attack and died. Now Brian had to fly the plane on his own. Brian picked up the CB radio and called for help. He made contact with a man and Brian told him that the pilot had a heart attack and died and that he did not know how to fly a plane. Brian did not get an answer. Brian is flying to Alaska to visit his dad for the summer when suddenly the pilot has a heart attack and dies. He grabs onto the controls and tries to land the plane but there's no flat area so he decides to crash into a lake. He hustles out of the plane with his hatchet at his side and swims to the shore. He has to use the natural resources and his brain. Brian uses his hatchet to make a shelter and weapons. He chops down branches and sets them up for his shelter. "With the branch...

Contemporary Issues in Information Systems Management

Assignment 1 Due Date: 05 February 20141. Analyze the relationships among ethical, social, and political issues that are raised by information systems. [10] 2. (a) Identify the main moral dimensions of an information society and specific principles for conduct that can be used to guide ethical decisions. [10] (b) Evaluate the impact of contemporary information systems and the Internet on the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property. [15] 3. Present three major arguments of those who believe that IT will not result in massive unemployment.[15]Assignment 2 Due Date: 19 February 20141. Should producers of software-based services, such as ATMs, be held liable for economic injuries suffered when their systems fail? [10] 2. It is often said that business information systems play a vital part in the success or failure of a business enterprise. a) Explain why computer-based business information systems are so vital to the operation of an organization. [10] b) Computer-based information systems can be categorized into operational information systems and management information systems. Discuss these two categories giving business examples for each one. [15] 3. Organisations are not always able to perform their own business information systems functions and some businesses prefer not to do so for various reasons. The solution for some is outsourcing. Briefly explain the concept of information systems outsourcing. Is it a good option? [10]Assignment 3 Due Date: 5 March 20141. The Internet has had a significant impact on business processes and led some organizations to consider developing a business strategy more appropriate to an e-business environment. a) Explain what is meant by an e-business strategy. [5] b) Discuss the impact on the business information systems function if the organization decided to develop an e-business strategy. [20] 2. Discuss the impacts of IT and individuals at work. [10] 3. Identify some of the major societal impacts of the Web including the digital divide and computer crime. [15] 4. Outline the role and impact of virtual communities. [15]

How to Find Funeral Home Records

How to Find Funeral Home Records Funeral home records can be a valuable, but often underutilized, resource for family historians and other researchers trying to identify a date of death, or the names of relatives, for a particular individual. This is especially true in localities where funeral home records may pre-date state or local laws requiring the recording of deaths. While funeral homes are generally private businesses, their records can still often be accessed for family history research, if you know where to look and who to ask. What Can I Expect to Find in Funeral Home Records? Funeral home records vary greatly by location and time period, but typically contain basic information about where a person died, names of surviving relatives, the dates of birth and death, and the place of burial. More recent funeral home records may include more in-depth information, such as details on parentage, occupation, military service, organizational memberships, the clergymans name and church, and even the name of the deceaseds insurance company. How to Locate the Funeral Home To determine the undertaker or funeral home who handled the arrangements for your ancestor or other deceased individual, search out a copy of the death certificate, obituary notice or funeral card to see if the undertaker or funeral home is listed. The cemetery where your ancestor is buried may also have a record of the funeral home which handled the arrangements. City or business directories from the time period may be of assistance in learning which funeral homes were in business in the area. If that fails, the local library or genealogical society may be able to help you identify likely funeral homes. Once you locate a name and city, you can get the actual address of the funeral home through the American Blue Book of Funeral Directors, or through the phone book. How to Get Information from a Funeral Home Many funeral homes are small, family-owned businesses with few people on staff and little time to handle genealogy requests. They are also privately-owned businesses and are under no obligation to provide any information. The best way to approach a funeral home with a genealogy or other non-urgent request is to write a polite letter with as many details as you can provide and the specific information for which you are searching. Offer to pay for any time or copying expenses that are incurred, and enclose a SASE for their reply. This allows them to handle your request when they have the time, and increases the chances of receiving a response - even if the answer is no. What if the Funeral Home Is Out of Business? If the funeral home is no longer in business, dont despair. Most defunct funeral homes were actually taken over by other funeral homes who will often keep the older records. Funeral home records can also be found in library, historical society, or other archival collections and, increasingly, online (do a search for funeral home plus the [name of the locality] in which you are searching). Was a Funeral Home Even Used? Funeral records in the United States generally date back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The practice of embalming was not very prevalent prior to the Civil War and the death of President Abraham Lincoln.  Most funerals prior to that time (and even more recently in more rural areas) generally took place at the decedent’s home or a local church, with burial taking place within one to two days of death. The local undertaker was often a cabinet or furniture maker, with a side business making caskets. If no funeral home was operating in the locality at the time, it is still possible that business records of the local undertaker may be found preserved as a manuscript collection at a state library or local historical society. Some records of a funeral can also often be gleaned from probate records, which may include receipts for funeral expenses such as the casket and digging of the grave.

Small businesses Essay Example

Small businesses Essay Example Small businesses Essay Small businesses Essay Small businesses can be defined as those businesses which have a small number of employees. In the United States, the legal definition of small implies less than 100 employees. The SBA (US Small Business Administration), which is an independent agency of the US government that protects the legitimate interests of small businesses, specifies size standards for a small business that pertain to its affiliation, number of employees, revenue etc. and are used to determine whether a business is small or not. 1Common examples of small businesses are restaurants, solicitors, hairdressers, accountants, tradesmen, photographers, guest houses etc. There are various forms of businesses; sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations. Therefore it is important to know why a particular business is registered as a small business or otherwise, and what are the advantages, drawbacks, and legal implications of these decisions. Scott Holmes (2001) opines that the motivations for Small Business Owners are Economic factors as well as Social/Psychological factors. He goes onto argue that small firms can maximize relative returns by minimizing key costs, especially the cost of monitoring managers, who in traditional firms, are separated from the owners. It is obvious that in order to sustain this very advantage, small firms do not grow beyond a certain size.2There are various advantages of operating a small business. The most obvious advantage is that a small business can be initiated at a low cost, and it can be managed on a part-time basis as well. Compared to large businesses, small businesses take lesser time in reacting to customer complaints, and thus the small size enables them to give better customer service. This aspect is missing in large corporations, which, due to their elaborate chain of command, take a long time in reacting to customer complaints and objections. Karen, 2000, states that large firms often don’t seem to care whether the customer does business wit h them or not. On the other hand, the small businesses can win the day because they know the customer personally and value their relationship with the customer, and show them you care by offering sincere personal attention. In addition to that, decisions in small businesses are not subservient to a lengthy chain-of-command, therefore the decision making process is much faster in a small business, making them more flexible in managing new product decisions, inventory, billing policies etc.3 Operating a small business also has a distinct advantage in that it enables the owner to take more risks, and to more quickly to satisfy a newly emerging market niche. This makes a small business particularly well suited to internet marketing.However, the advantages not-withstanding, a small business owner also has to take care not to fall into several traps; the most important of which is undercapitalization. According to a rule of thumb, the owner must have available with him funds equal to the projected revenues of the first year of business plus the expenses for that period. Not meeting this requirement might result in the owner being liable for the business debts in case of bankruptcy. According to SBA, poor management is the major reason most small businesses fail, followed by ill-advised financing. The financing should be a balanced mix of equity and debt financing, based on the ratio of equity to debt for the firm.4Sole proprietorships are a form of business where the legal existence of the business is not separate from the owner himself. According to IRS, a sole proprietor is someone who owns an unincorporated business, including an LLC, by himself. 5 Thus, the rules of limited liability do not apply, and the owner himself is liable for the companys debts. Technically speaking, there can be only one owner of a sole proprietorship. This is the type of business entity to which the least amount of government regulations apply. Over 80 of the small businesses in the US operate as sole proprietorships.6 On the other side of the bargain, the owner faces a challenge in raising finances as a sole proprietorship cannot issue shares. And as the business grows, more and more owners look to convert their businesses into other types of business entities.To understand the taxation and legal consequences of sole proprietorships, it is important to note that all the profit made by the business entity is treated as the income of the owner. Thus the form 1040 of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is used to report the income and expenses of the business. The profit and loss information of the business is filled out in Schedule C, which is attached with form 1040. The sole proprietors are required to pay a Self-Employment tax on their profit if it exceeds $400. This tax is equivalent to 15.3% of the net profit made by the business. The form Schedule SE is required to be filed for this purpose. The Self -Employment tax is apart from the income tax which has to be paid separately on the combined income of the owner.7 Sole proprietors are required to pay quarterly tax liabilities to the state and federal government. Legitimate business expenses can be deducted from the income while calculating the taxes.8According to the definition of IRS, a Partnership is the relation between two or more persons who join to carry on a trade or a business. Although a written partnership agreement is not a legal obligation, but it is generally recommended to formalize the business relationship, specifying the profit sharing, business contribution of the partners etc. The liability issues in a partnership are similar to those of a sole proprietorship, but an added element here is that a partner is not only liable for the business debts and liabilities, but also for the business-related conduct of his other partners. Generally the profit sharing is based on the percentage of ownership of a particular partner.9The taxation issues in a partnership are also similar to that of a sole proprietorship. The income of a partner is not considered to be separate from his personal income. The income is taxable in the year its earned. The partnership is required to file annual information return to inform the IRS about its income, losses, etc. But the partnership does not pay income tax. Instead, the profits (or losses) are passed through to the partners and they include this amount on their respective tax returns. The partners submit Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) along with the Form 1065. The individual partners who are liable for income tax and self-employment tax may file Form 1040.10A Corporation is significantly different than the two types of business entities discussed earlier. It is created under state law, and is a complete business entity separate from its directors and shareholders. Thus, the corporation continues to exist even after the founders pass away, or the shareholders transfer their shares. The main benefit that the shareholders gain fro m corporations is Limited Liability, i.e. they are shielded from the business obligations to its creditors even if the business goes bankrupt. There are various types of Corporations. The type under discussion here is the C Corporation (S Corporations are discussed in the next section).11Corporations are treated as C Corporations unless they are approved as S Corporations. The C Corporation pays taxes under the Subsection C of the tax code. A C Corporation is under obligation to file an annual tax return. The taxable income consists of the Retained Earnings and the dividends paid to the shareholders. Corporations also involve more government regulations and red tape than the earlier discussed business entities. They are also required to pay franchise taxes (which S Corporations are exempted from). The bane of double taxation is also attached with corporations as Corporations pay income tax on their earnings, and furthermore the shareholders are required to pay income tax on the divi dends that they receive from the corporation.12An S Corporation is a corporation that makes a valid election to be taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of IRS (Internal Revenue Code). In other words, an S Corporation is a standard corporation that has a special tax status elected by the IRS.A short overview of how the taxing system in S Corporations works is as follows. The S Corporation doesn’t pay corporate taxes on its profits. Instead, the shareholders who hold distributive shares for the Corporation, pay the income taxes on their proportionate income. This payment must be done irrespective of whether the shareholders receive distributions from the S Corporation or not.In order to form an S Corporation, the following conditions must hold: the company must be an eligible entity (a domestic corporation, LLC or partnership), it should not have more than 75 shareholders, all the shareholders must be American citizens, it should have only one type of stock and the profits and losses to the shareholders should be proportionate to their share in the business.13If the business meets the above stated requirements, the shareholders of the business can file the form 2553 of the IRS: Election by a small Business Corporation, in order to be taxed under Subchapter S.14 This form must be signed by all the shareholders of the business. If a corporation that has been elected as an S Corporation ceases to fulfill one of the above stated conditions, i.e. its shareholders exceed 125, or it acquires a foreign shareholder, then its status as an S Corporation would be rescinded and would be treated as a regular C Corporation.Before moving on to discuss the taxation issues in detail, it would be appropriate to consider the pros and cons of having an S Corporation. The biggest and most obvious advantage of having an S Corporation is the tax advantage. The profits (and losses) of the S Corporation pass through to the owner, as is the case in sole proprietorships, partnershi ps and LLCs. Thus the S Corporation itself doesn’t pay any taxes. This means there is no double taxation. Also, when the business is sold, the taxable gain on the sale of business is less than what it would have been if the business was operating as a regular corporation. Another positive of S Corporations applies to a new business which has lots of expenses and losses. In a regular corporation, these losses get locked up within the corporation, but in an S Corporation, these losses are offset against the owners personal incomes, enabling them to write off start-up losses. Another benefit of operating an S-Corporation is that it offers limited liability protection. Although the liability protection is not as complete as that in a corporation, it is still better than that in sole proprietorships and partnerships. Other advantages include less frequent auditing for S Corporations, certain business expenses being tax-deductible, and customers perceiving an S Corporation as a mor e professional body than sole proprietorships and partnerships.But along with the above stated benefits, an S Corporation also has some drawbacks. The S Corporation is limited to issuing only one type of stock, i.e. distributive stock. Thus the business has less control over the company and the stock value is also limited.15In order to grow rapidly, a company needs to attract finances, and venture capitalists usually do not prefer to finance a company that has an unconventional tax setup, and has an upper limit of 75 on the shareholders. So if a business would need to attract venture capitalists, it would be better suited to a C Corporation. Secondly, although an S Corporation is exempted from paying corporate taxes, it still has to file annual tax returns. A liability in time also needs to be considered, as the S Corporation is still a corporation and has the requirement of conducting regular meetings and the maintenance of minutes of the meetings. An interesting downside to S Corp orations is with respect to the Tax Treatment of Benefits. If an employee is a shareholder as well, and the company provides health and accident insurance premiums, then the corporation deducts these items, but then these expenses are added to the gross income again.16As mentioned in the text earlier, S Corporations are generally exempted from paying corporate taxes, and for income tax purposes, the net earnings of the corporation are attributed to the individual shareholders, who pay the income tax in proportion to the share that they hold in the corporation. Thus when this income is distributed to the shareholders in the form of dividends, the shareholders are not required to pay income tax (the very concept of no double taxation). The interesting part here is that this arrangement gives the shareholders an incentive to enter into arrangements with the corporation to treat their incomes as dividends rather than treating them as compensation for services. This would result in the s hareholders paying lesser taxes.In this scenario, the position that the IRS holds is that if the corporation pays a shareholder in the form of dividends, for the services he performed for the corporation, these dividends would really be considered as wages paid to the employee, and not as dividends. Thus they would be taxable under FICA. This position of IRS holds weight as it has been upheld by the courts. E.g. in Joseph Radtke, S.C. v. United States, 1990, a lawyer was the only shareholder of an S Corporation, and was paid $18,225 as dividends in 1982, and no amount as wages for the services that he rendered for the organization during that period. The court ruled that the payment was in fact wages, and came under the tax bracket under FICA and FUTA.17Another case serves to highlight this issue, Spicer Accounting, Inc. v. United States. This case involves an accountant who was simultaneously the President, treasurer and Director of an S Corporation. There was no formal employment agreement between him and the corporation, and he offered his services to the organization free of cost, but at the same time, using his status as stockholder, withdrew dividends. The Court ruled in favor of IDS, and declared that the dividend earning was in fact remuneration for the services he performed for the S Corporation, and therefore subject to FICA taxes. 18There are several other such cases too, but the above two cases provide us enough proof that there exists a precedent for treating dividends paid to employees of an S Corporation in return for their services to the corporation, as wages (or compensation of services).19That brings us to the next logical question: What is the right amount of compensation for an S Corporation Employee? The US Tax Court opinion of 2001 does provide an insight into this very question, but it is not a binding precedent as it was unpublished, but tax advisors agree that it can be used as reliable guidance.20The court cites one case in particula r. The case deals with a CPA, Wiley Barron, who created an S Corporation to practice public Accounting in Arkansas. He was paid a large chunk of the profits by the firm, but only $2,000 of the amount, paid during one quarter, was treated as taxable compensation. IRS intervened, citing Internal Revenue Code Section 3121(d), which states that a corporate officer is an employee21. Thus, it came out that Mr. Barron was the only CPA at the company and was providing full-time service to the company. Compared to that, the amount of compensation that he was being paid was not appropriate. The court thus ruled in favor of IRS, declaring that Mr. Barron was using the S Corporation to avoid paying employment tax. Based on several variables, the Court decided that reasonable compensation for a CPA in Arkansas for the relevant years was in the range of $45,000 $49,000.The case of Tribune Company is also illustrative of this phenomenon. Sam Zell took advantage of a loophole in a minimum wage bil l, and thus ended up paying zero income tax, post-buyout, on Tribune. He combined the S Corporation and the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and thus turning Tribune into an S Corporation completely owned by this ESOP and paying no taxes. The rule that Zell took advantage of here, is that like pension funds, an ESOP pays no taxes on its income. This provision was part of a minimum wage increase bill that was passed by the Congress 11 years ago.22To avoid complications and to stay within the legal limits prescribed by the government and the IRS, Milani and Wittenbach, 2005, have the following suggestions to minimize the probability of an IRS objection: Develop a comprehensive wage policy and compensate all employees with respect to that policy; while setting a compensation level, consider the following factors: qualification of employee, scope and extent of work, nature of business, financial implications of the business, market rates. By documenting these wages, the company woul d have a strong defense that the payments paid to shareholders are not wages, but dividends.23In conclusion, it can be said that every business professional should make the important choice of the business format after carefully discussing the pros and cons with their lawyers and tax professionals.

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example In addition to this topic being of interest from a researcher’s point of view, it also represents a social issue. Are home school laws being followed in households? What kind of homeschooling laws are in place to ensure that these children get the best possible education? Do these laws need any changes or amendments? These questions are the basis of this research paper. The homeschooling laws across all the states in USA need to be uniform, thus they need to be reviewed on a national level and implemented (Sykes, Schneider, & Plank, 2012). This research will explore the topic â€Å"Should Regulations for Home Schools Be Changed?† The research is going to be organized as follows. The literature review will examine the homeschooling laws which are already in place in the country. As mentioned before, these laws differ across different states. Thus, the major states of the country will be covered and the laws will be examined. In addition, this section will review previous researches or papers written on the prevailing homeschooling laws and regulations in the United States. The â€Å"Methodology† will explain how effective and satisfactory the regulations regarding home schools are through qualitative data collection. Questionnaires will be distributed to parents of home schooled children and those children themselves. â€Å"Results† will give the findings of the research. â€Å"Conclusion and Recommendations† will then analyze the results and discuss possible ways of making amendments to the home school regulations so that the entire system can benefit (Denicolo & Becker, 2012). The research is going to be useful for the parents of home schooled children. It will help them understand the dynamics of the home schooling system and how it can be improved by making the required changes in the regulations so that their child gets the best possible education. The audience for this research is not only these parents but also policy ma kers. Government officials are the ones who devise these policies to begin with. These people have official positions in the government; they have the required decision making authority so as to make sure that the suggested changes are pondered upon, if not actually implemented. The officials responsible for the education sector already have a view on the topic. They are aware of the dynamics of this sector and how home schools work. This research, however, will provide them with a fresh point of view and probably a new angle of looking at how things are being run in this sector (Saliger, 2010). The research on the whole will encompass ways in which the regulations can be amended in a way so that home schools across the country will benefit from it. The research does not aim at changing the entire system of home education. It just aims at analyzing the existing laws and gaining public opinion about the effectiveness of those laws. The research aims at finding out the extent to which these laws are being implemented in the country, and in cases where they are not, the research aims to find out the possible reasons for it. Are the laws too difficult to adhere to? Are they impractical? Are parents just being ignorant of their child’s education needs? (Imber & Geel, 2004) These are some additional questions which will be addressed by the research. This research will shed some light on the problems in the home education system and will help

Homework 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homework 3 - Assignment Example Hatfill and spoilt his good name as a doctor and biomedical researcher, and thereby constituted, discretely, defamation, defamation per se, and defamation by fake light." To add, the complaint suspected that Kristofs "intentional public criticism of Dr. Hatfill as the likely anthrax assassin regardless of whether Dr. Hatfill was culpable or not guilty" constituted purposeful infliction of emotional suffering. The court’s ruling does not seem to favor one value over the other because all claims were dealt with as per the law. The case is largely dependent on the use of particular terms since it has so many terms being defined to enable the reader to understand a particular term being used. The definitions used are impeccable in that they clearly simplifies this terms which makes it easier to understand. 2) What assumption allows for existing entities to be held responsible for the actions of deceased individuals? Especially in a case such as this, in which the plaintiff was present as a matter of random chance – a situation out of control of those now held responsible-what reasoning allows for assignment of culpability? Existing entities can be held responsible for the actions of the deceased because when Charles Scarlett told Lourecy that his wife was having a seizure, Lourecy took off her phone to ask for help this might have led to Charles Scarlett shooting his wife and later shooting himself while looking directly at Lourecy. Mrs. Palsgraf should not be awarded the damages because the relationship of the guards doings to Palsgrafs harm was not direct to make him accountable. I am convinced with the court’s ruling because it was difficult for the guard to have known that the wrap up was unsafe and that pushing the traveler would thereby cause a