Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Why The Confederacy Lost Essays - American Civil War,

Why The Confederacy Lost Why the Confederacy Lost Throughout history many historians have tried to put their finger on the exact reason for the Confederacy losing the war. Some historians blame the head of the confederacy Jefferson Davis, however others believe that it was the shear numbers of the Northern army that won out. Yet others have blamed almost every general that the Confederacy had, according to James M. McPherson: Among them Robert E. Lee himself for mismanagement, overconfidence, and poor judgment; Jeb Stuart for riding off an a raid around the Union army and losing contact with his own army, leaving Lee blind in the enemy's country; Richard Ewell and Jubal Early for failing to attack Cemetery Hill on the afternoon of July 1st and again for tardiness in attacking on the 2nd; and above all, James Longstreet for lack of cooperation, promptness, and vigor in the assaults of July 2nd and 3rd.(P.19). Hopefully, this paper will shed some light on the true reasons for the Confederacy losing the war. There are two categories that interpretations can fall under, one is internal- internal is looking only at the south, what they did right and what they did wrong. The next one is external-external is looking at both the North and the South, seeing the problems and the successes of both sides. For and example of an external explanation, when Pickett was asked what he thought was the reason for the Confederacy losing the Battle of Gettysburg he said, ? I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it? (19). The idea that the Yankees had way too many

Friday, March 6, 2020

Using the Comma in Spanish

Using the Comma in Spanish Most of the time, the comma in Spanish is used much like the comma in English. However, there are some differences, particularly in numbers and in comments that are inserted within sentences. Using Commas to Separate Items in a Series Unlike in English, where the Oxford comma  is optionally  used before the final item in a series, a comma is not used before the final item of a series when it follows the conjunction e, o, ni, u or y. El libro explicaba de una forma concisa, sencilla y profunda la crisis financiera. The book explained the financial crisis in a concise, simple and profound way. (In English, a comma could optionally be added after simple.)Mezcle bien con las papas, los huevos y las remolachas. (Mix well with the potatoes, eggs, and beets.) ¿Quieres tres, dos o una? (Do you want three, two, or one?) If an item in a series has a comma within it, you should use a  semicolon. Using Commas for  Explanatory Phrases and Apposition The rule on explanatory phrases is much the same as it is in English. If a phrase is used to explain what something is like, it is set off by commas. If it is used to define which something is being referred to, it is not. For example, in the sentence El coche que est en el garaje es rojo (The car that is in the garage is red), commas are not needed because the explanatory phrase (que est en el garaje/that is in the garage) is telling the reader which car is being discussed. But punctuated differently, the sentence el coche, que est en el garaje, es rojo (the car, which is in the garage, is red) uses the phrase not to tell the reader which car is being discussed but to describe where it is. An overlapping concept is that of apposition, in which a phrase or word (usually a noun) is immediately followed by another phrase or word that in the context means the same thing,  is similarly punctuated much as in English. El hombre, quien tiene hambre, quiere verte. (The man, who is hungry, wants to see you. The phrase quien  tiene hambre is being used to describe the man, not to define which man is being talked about.)El hombre en el cuarto quiere verte. (The man in the room wants to see you. No comma is needed because en el cuarto is being used to say which man is being talked about.)Amo a mi hermano, Roberto. I love my brother, Roberto. (I have one brother, and he is named Roberto.)Amo a mi hermano Roberto. I love my brother Roberto. (I have more than one brother, and I love Roberto.)Conozco a Julio Iglesias, cantante famoso. (I know Julio Iglesias, the famous singer.)Conozco al cantante famoso  Julio Iglesias. (I know the famous singer Julio Iglesias. The speaker is assuming that the listener doesnt know who Iglesias is.) Using Commas to Set Off Quotes When quotation marks are used, the comma goes outside the quotation marks, unlike in American English. Los familiares no comprendieron la ley, aclarà ³ el abogado. (The family members did not understand the law, the lawyer clarified.)Muchos no saben distinguir las dos cosas, dijo lvarez. (Many do not know how to distinguish the two things, Alvarez said.) Using Commas With Exclamations Commas can be used to set off exclamations that are inserted within a sentence. In English, the equivalent would normally be accomplished with long dashes. El nuevo presidente,  ¡no lo creo!, es oriundo  de Nueva York. The new president - I cant believe it! - is a native of New York. Using Commas Before Some Conjunctions A comma should precede conjunctions that mean except.  These words are excepto, salvo and menos: Nada hay que temer, excepto el miedo. (There is nothing to fear except fear.)Recibà ­ felicitaciones de todos, salvo de mi jefe. (I was congratulated by everyone except for my boss.)Fueron aceptados por todas las autoridades, excepto el vice presidente.  (They were accepted by all the authorities, except the vice president.) Using Commas After Some Adverbs A comma should separate adverbs or adverbial phrases that affect the meaning of the entire sentence from the rest of the sentence.  Such words and phrases often come at the beginning of a sentence, although they can also be inserted. Por supuesto, no puedo comprenderlo. (Of course, I cant understand it.)Por lo contrario, la realidad argentina no difiere de la dominicana.  (To the contrary, the Argentine reality doesnt differ from the Dominican reality.)Naturalmente, gana mucho dinero. Naturally, he earns a lot of money. (Without the comma, the Spanish sentence would become the equivalent of He naturally earns a lot of money, so that naturalmente would describe just the word gana rather than the entire sentence.)Sin embargo, pienso que eres muy talentosa.  (Nevertheless, I think youre very talented.)El trfico de bebà ©s, desgraciadamente, es una realidad.  (The trafficking of babies, unfortunately, is a reality.) Using Commas in Compound Sentences It is not unusual to join two sentences into one, often with y in Spanish or and in English. A comma should also be used before the conjunction. Roma es el centro espiritual del catolicismo, y su centro ha sido declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por UNESCO.  (Rome is the spiritual center of Catholicism, and its center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)Muchos lagos se forman por la obstruccià ³n de valles debido a avalanchas, y tambià ©n se puede formar un lago artificialmente por la construccià ³n de una presa.  (Many lakes are formed by the obstruction of valleys due to avalanches, and a lake also can be formed artificially by the construction of a dam.) If a compound sentence is very short, the comma can be omitted: Te amo y la amo. (I love you and I love her.) Using the Decimal Comma In Spain, South America and parts of Central America, the comma and period are used in long numbers in the opposite way that they are in American English. Thus 123,456,789.01 in English becomes  123.456.789,01  in most areas where Spanish is used. However, in Mexico, Puerto Rico and parts of Central America, the convention used in American English is followed. When Not to Use the Comma Perhaps one of the most common misuses of the comma in Spanish by English speakers is its use in salutations in  letters. In Spanish, the salutation should be followed by a  colon. Thus letters should begin, for example, with Querido Juan: rather than following  Juan  with a comma. Also, as a general rule, as in English, a comma should not be used to separate the subject of a sentence from the main verb unless necessary to separate words of apposition or intervening phrases. Correct: El aà ±o pasado era muy difà ­cil. (The past year was very difficult.)Incorrect: El aà ±o pasado, era muy difà ­cil. (The past year, was very difficult.)

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Human Resource Management - Essay Example In a holistic picture, performance management strives to improve overall processes; achieve continually improving results; and continuously develop resources and effective leadership; it also aims at sustaining employee motivation and commitment. As Cooper (2004) explains, performance measurement can help organisations to demonstrate their value to many types of stakeholders, including the clients and customers, employees and shareholders. The results from performance measurement can help in improving performance further, thereby meeting and even exceeding customer expectations, generating more revenue and profit for the organisation, improving employee satisfaction and morale. However, Colbran Medical Institute does not seem to emphasize customer satisfaction or employee motivation in the real sense. A few effective performance management practices based on theory have been evaluated with respect to situation at Colbran Medical Institute. Benchmarking: Performance measurement is a r ecurring activity, and an essential aspect of performance management. ... The performance appraisal forms at Colbran do not give much evidence of work on benchmarking performance metrics, which further rules out possibilities of effective performance measurement. If performance measurement is only internally focused, then such measurement cannot produce competitive position for the organisation irrespective of its level of performance. Therefore, benchmarking ensures that performance establishes competitiveness and best practice through doing the right things, right first time in the eyes of the end customer (Zaiiri & Leonard, 1994; 81). Performance indicators: At Colbran Medical Institute, performance seems to be measured based on number of goods produced. This is a very generalized approach and tends to ignore many issues that could have occurred during the production process. This process needs to be streamlined in order to provide accurate performance measurement as well as address the issues so that overall productivity can also be improvised. All goa ls that have been benchmarked need to be measurable. For this, the goals need to be converted to measurable indicators. Hatry (2006) asserts that measurement and improvement can be gauged based on specific indicators, and not based on the outcomes. Production units cannot wait until the output is achieved in order to assess performance; in doing so, significant time, effort and money will be lost. Moreover, performance measurement based on outcomes will not consider the gaps or issues that had risen during the production. Therefore, to address these issues, specific outcome indicators or performance indicators need to be assigned to every intended outcome or goal. Performance appraisal system: Performance

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Explain Vince Rizzo's search for identity in the movie City Island Essay

Explain Vince Rizzo's search for identity in the movie City Island - Essay Example This paper will shed light upon Vince’s search for identity in the movie; light will also be thrown upon how he fathered a child in his teenage, who comes back in his life and how things progress from there. Vince is a native of the island, he is uncomfortable with people who come to stay there and bring about unwanted changes, and the opening scene of his voiceover presents the same very comprehensively. Vince is not comfortable with his job, he is a prison guard, and his ambition of becoming an actor is perhaps the most important thing in the movie. He lies to his wife and moves to Manhattan to pursue a career as an actor. There are a lot of misunderstandings in the movie, Vince’s wife thinks that her husband is after some mistress who he has been pursuing for quite some time, Vince’s ambition and several misunderstandings make this movie very intriguing. Vince has several problems which he is completely unaware of, his daughter strips at a club in order to pay her school fees; he meets his step son who he fathered out of wedlock. Vince’s son is addicted to porn on internet and wants to fulfill his fantasies with a girl residing in the neighborhood; these are some of the many problems which Vince was facing. The introduction of Tony, Vince’s step-son brings a huge twist in the movie.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, written in the years following World War II (WWII), is widely considered to be among Americas most celebrated theatrical works. Willy Loman, the plays protagonist, is a salesman whose dwindling commission can no longer afford to maintain the lifestyle his family leads. As the plot unravels, what is revealed is a contrarian depiction of the American Dream, the notion that wealth, material comfort, and the happiness they supposedly provide can be attained with hard work. The play was massively popular because it shed light on what many Americans felt was an unrealistic pressure placed on their shoulders; rather than work to be happy, Americans were working to be financially wealthy. The discontent of Willy and his descent into darkness, both moral and mental, embodied the reality of the American middle class. Life in American pop culture was a saccharine, morally whitewashed stereotype, presenting expectations to which few could live up. Pressured to work and achieve the financial successes expected in a post-war society that covets monetary excess, Willy is slowly driven into a state of emotional and mental ruin. Essentially, Willy dies doing all the right things a typical American man in the Post-War Era ought to. Scholar Gerald Weales asserts that for Miller, Willys tragedy lies in the fat that he had an alternative he did not take, [and] having chosen the wrong star he reached fro it until he died of stretching. A significant part of the plays popularity is grounded in this clash of ideology the sparring concepts of American wealth and prosperity with individuality and reality. Terry Otten writes in Temptation of Innocence in the Dramas of Arthur Miller that Death of a Salesman, probably more than any other dramatic play, provokes critical [arguments] about the viability of tragedy in the modern age and particularly in American culture. Willys descent is found in all aspects of his life, from the stock character of the nuclear family to gainful employment and the desire to achieve and earn more in life. Members of his immediate family his wife, Linda, and his youngest son, Happy, in particular reinforce the notions that drive Willy into his state of despair. Ironically, Willy can never shake himself free of the shackles he fastens to his own life by holding onto the illusory notion that he can somehow become wealthy by simply living life the way he thinks it should be lived. He still looks up to Ben, an older relative who built his wealth off African diamond mines. The only Loman to leave material gain behind is Willys eldest son, Biff, who with his work in Texas represents the agrarian icon of American life glorified before financial gain dominated the cultural zeitgeist. Consequently, Willy looks down on him to a degree, concluding that Biff can never attain the dream in his current role. Ironically, Biff is perhaps the sole character in the play to accurately observe what happens to his father, and disillusioned by Willys state, decides to seek his own path to happiness and the American Dream. The concept of the dream is something that is debilitating to Willy; the more he pursues it, the further he descends, growing increasingly delusional in his encounters with his sons. His moral fiber, a concept valued possibly even more in Protestant America than money, wanes as he takes on a mistress despite his wifes devotion. In keeping with the concept of materialism eroding the human spirit and morality, Biff, the character least associated with Willys lifestyle, is the one to gain the most from Willys suicide, a path upon which the salesman ventured in order to provide his eldest son with a life insurance settlement. At the end of the play, it is revealed that Linda has made the final payments on the house she and Willy spent their lives paying off, stating that they are finally free. Arthur Millers story of the destruction of a middle class American worker follows the structure of a classic protest play, or a stage play with a social message. Dan Vogel writes on the complexity of Willys character and the plot at large, stating that despite Willys end, his story is not necessarily a tragedy since Death of a Salesman merely tells the story of a little man succumbing to his environment, rather than a great man destroyed through his greatness; there is no question of grandeur in such a tragedy. I. R. Choudhuri notes the irony of the American Dream is what draws its audience, stating that democracy proclaims the individual in society to be free, and American democracy, in addition, approves the myth of [Willys] infinite success and happiness; and yet, these same laws and social conventions constrain and frustrate him in what he has come to believe as the birth-right of a member of the greatest open society. For Choudhuri, Millers approach to the theme of the play is drawn through undistinguished citizens, everyman-type characters whose appeal to the typical American audience is in their mundane nature. Willys circumstances are not outlandish and fantastical. He is not a Danish prince avenging the death of his father, nor is he a Moor in Venice struggling against the machinations of a society that ostracizes him. Lomans downfall is perhaps the most appealing part of the play and the component of Millers work that made Death of a Salesman so popular. Willys demise is not something out of a fairy tale it is by his own hand metaphorically and in the end quite literally. Loman cuts himself off from any help he might get from his neighbor, his sons, and his wife; unsure even of his performance as a salesman should he act the rugged individualist or play at casual charm? Willy feels deeply guilty about his past performances as a breadwinner, father, and husband. The pressure placed on Willy warps the values of the family and leaves the protagonist unsure of his identity, which leads to his destruction and ultimately made the play palatable for an audience who may very well have been a collection of Lomans. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bigsby, C.W.E. (2000) Modern American Drama, 1945-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge U P. Bloom, Harold (ed). (1991) Willy Loman. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. Bloom, Harold (ed). (1996) Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. Bloom, Harold (ed). (2000) Arthur Miller. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. McConachie, Bruce. (2003) American Theater in the Culture of the Cold War: Producing and Contesting Containment. Iowa City: U of Iowa P. Miller, Arthur. (2005) Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books. Otten, Terry. (2002) Temptation of Innocence in the Dramas of Arthur Miller. Columbia: U of Missouri P.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Appointment with Love

Appointment with Love This is a short romantic story about a young lieutenant Blandford and a lady, Hollis Meynell, who had fallen in love with each other. The author shows us the possibility of existence of a real strong relationships even through a great distance and the fact that two people can be very close to each other even having never seen one another. The young lieutenant Blandford served during the war time in the air forces , while once he run across some witty notes made by a woman in the book which he had taken from the army library .He contacted her later and it so happened that she had had the power to reach inside of him through writing and renew his strength even from a far. They had been in touch, through writing, during thirteen month. This time the woman, who was 30, supported and inspired the lieutenant and they both trusted their true inner feelings to each other. At last the young people decided to meet ,personally, when the lieutenant was back from the Army, a t the train station in New York city.They both agreed that Hollis would identify him through the book â€Å"Of Human Bondage† and Hollis, would wear a red rose in her suit lapel, because actually, they did not know how which one of them looked like. Now the young lieutenant was waiting for this woman in Grand Central Station and worried a lot. They knew about each other only from their own words. The first woman he saw was a beautiful lady, wearing a green suit but unfortunately, she had no red rose on her jacket, as it was in their agreement.Then he turned around and saw a middle aged and unattractive woman who had, to his disappointment and chagrin, a red rose in her jacket’s lapel. For the young lieutenant that was the moment of truth. A lot of thoughts and feelings had flown throughout his mind and his heart like a hurricane during that dreadful moment but at last he somehow managed to control himself and moved towards her. He decided that no matter what would beco me with their relationship to stay friends with that woman , thinking that if so, their good friendship, for that matter, could be more valuable than love.He approached and greeted the lady and then asked for permission to take her to dinner. But was pleased to hear that she is not the one he was waiting for. She told him that Hollis had asked her to be her substitute for a little while and to wear the rose in her suit lapel so that she could test whether Blanford's feelings and intentions were really sincere. The main idea of the story is that if you love someone, you should love them for what they really are, and not for what they look like.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Aplikasi Endnote

Contoh Aplikasi Software EndNotes Researches on value relevance of accounting information in Indonesia an d other developing countries generally suggested that accounting numbers are relevant to measure firm value (1, one author of journal). However, value relevance of accounting information in Asian countries are also found to fluctuate over time as a result of financial crisis, negative earnings, accounting scandals and violation of regulations in the capital market. These events have negatively affected value relevance of accounting information.Researches on value relevance of accounting information have continued to develop following such changes (2, three authors of journal) investigate the value relevance of book value and earnings between two different financial reporting regimes i. e. during MASB and FRS period in Malaysia. The result of the study suggests that book values are value relevant under both regimes but earnings are value relevant only during the MASB time period. That means that the change in financial reporting regime also affects significantly the value relevance of book value and but not earnings.Another study which investigates the value relevance between aggregated and disaggregated book value and earnings among Malaysian high-tech firms is performed by (3, three authors = 2). The result of the study shows that the explanatory power of both book value and earnings are fluctuating, book value is in a decreasing trend, while earnings show an increasing trend. In addition, the result also suggests that disaggregated book value and earnings could explain the variation in market value better than aggregated book value and earnings.The relationship between earnings management and value relevance of accounting information can also be explained through earnings quality. (4, two authors of book) argue that earnings management is associated to earnings quality. (5, single author of journal) also states that highly managed earnings have low qualit y. It means that earnings management actions will reduce earnings quality i. e. reliability of earnings. The relevance of accounting information in valuation of a firm can be affected by market’s insight of the reliability of the information (6, four authors of book series).This means earnings management actions negatively affect value relevance of earnings. Most of the studies on the relationship between earnings management and value relevance of accounting information are conducted in the West or developed countries. These studies attempted to examine earnings management using discretionary accruals (7, three authors of journal; 8, two author of journals; 9, single author of journal). Governance system plays an important role in the financial reporting process.As suggested by prior researches, rules and regulations formulated to protect investors are key institutional factors affecting the corporate policy choices (10, three authors of conference proceding; 11, two authors of journal). The researchers find that the protection level performed by institutions are associated with the usefulness of accrual-based accounting information. The level of protection imposed by the capital market supervisory agency plays a role in reducing the level of manipulation that can be conducted by managers and controlling shareholders through accruals transactions. Several international studies provide evidence on the association between earnings quality and the degree of protection to investors from the expropriation by controlling shareholders and managers. These studies assert that the characteristics of earnings are affected by the degree of investors’ protection (12, same aurhor with no 11 and 2). As an emerging capital market, many of the listed companies in Indonesia have evolved from the traditional family owned enterprises with highly concentrated ownership structure (13, single author of thesis).In the context where firms have a controlling block of shar es held by the major shareholders, the key agency problem is between the controlling (majority) and minority shareholders. The condition gives great opportunities for managers to engage in real earnings management especially in Indonesia. Under the condition of a highly concentrated ownership structure, it is argued that the controlling shareholders effectively possess greater control rights than the control rights provided through their voting shares as they are also involved in the management decisions (13, three authors of electronic article).Concentrated share ownership thus creates opportunities for controlling shareholders to expropriate the resources of an entity. Expropriation is a process of using one's control rights to maximize their welfare through the distribution of wealth from others to him (14, four authors of book series). Expropriation is one of the earnings management tactics conducted by management for the benefit of the controlling shareholders. Furthermore, (15 , same authors with no 14) state that the monitoring function will be hard if managers are part of the majority shareholders when their ownership increases to a certain level.If one’s voting shares have reached a certain threshold, then he/she can have a full control and tend to steer the company to accomplish his/her personal objectives (16, two authors of journal). In addition, it is also argued that to engage in expropriation in countries that adheres to the civil law is easier as compared to countries which practise common law legal system (17, three authors of journal; 18, two authors of journal).Under the Common Law system, accounting standards and policies are more stringent and protection of the rights of shareholders and creditors is greater with the implementation of various contract system (19, three authors of book series). It is perceived that a country like Indonesia which has its legal tradition originated from the civil law has relatively weaker development in its capital market and various financial institutions as compared to those countries which have legal environment rooted from the Common Law system.The evidence is consistent with study conducted by (20, same authors with no 19). On the contrary, The German’s companies with principle-based accounting standards would prefer to perform accrual earnings management because lenient standards still allow the conduct of accrual earnings management whichis less costly. The findings are in line with (21, same authors with no 17) which found that accounting standards which are more stringent (tighter) is able to reduce the practice of accrual earnings management, but triger real earnings management.