The Economic Trend of the United States

Economy can be defined as the wealth and resources of a community,especially in terms of production and consumption of goods and services. Currently, the United States is the leading super power in the world and it acts as a role model to other states. The economic trend in the United States influences the economic status of the whole world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Economic Trend of the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is to say, the economic status in the United States reflects the economic situation in the whole world. At the moment, there is a slight improvement in the United States’ economy. Even with these improvements, it is still not where it had been anticipated before the whole world went through a great depression (Economic outlook, 2012). Over 100,000 jobs have been created in the past seven months by the U.S. economy. However, it still remains halfway below the se t bar of 200,000. Jobs stipulated to bring down the rate of unemployment remained at 8.2 percent in the month of March. This has been a major obstacle in re-electing president Barrack Obama among other fiscal matters. There has been a slight growth in consumption levels, Gross Domestic Product and income levels in the U.S., but this slight growth is not what was expected. The housing mortgage market is still dead, one of the major contributors of the bad American economy. The Federal Reserve has continued to stimulate oil prices by reducing the interest rates to almost zero and quantitative ease but to no avail. In the fiscal year 2012/2013, even though weak, the U.S. economy has recorded a positive growth rate of 2 percent in its Gross Domestic Product (World Financial Watch, 2013). Consumption in households has continued to be a major point to be pondered. Consumption households in the U.S. indicated an increase in the year 2012 and the beginning of 2013 because of the additional jobs created and the stimuli of fiscal policies which put it at an additional gain of +2.2 percent in the fiscal year 2011. In this period of 2011 and early 2012, a lower spending rate was recorded of +1.4 percent because people could not afford luxuries. They could not afford to go for vacations and host extra visitors. This is low as compared to the previous 3.3 percent on average that was recorded in the earlier years. This can be blamed on the high unemployment rates, but mostly on the low personal income which is disposable because of the increase in taxes at 0.6 percent year after year.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This has also been contributed largely by the acute and steady increase in gasoline prices. To cover up for this consumption, many consumers have continued to borrow through automatic loans, credit cards, consumer loans, corporate junk boards and the comm ercial real estates. The credits being taken by the consumers have gone up by fifteen, in the past sixteen, months making it just three points before it reaches eighteen as recorded in August 2008 (Economic Outlook, 2012). There have been small forms of development in investment areas in the U.S., insolvencies are on the other hand falling. Businesses that are investing in software and other equipment are rising up and have recovered from their losses and this has continued for the greater portion of the year 2012 and is continuing in the year 2013. This is possible because they are being sustained by the restoration of good health shown by the businesses which have had considerable cash liquidities, thereby presenting them with an opportunity to borrow at affordable interest rates, for example, the commercial banks. On the other hand, businesses involved in construction have continued to suffer greatly from the housing state markets like the subprime mortgages with starts of housin g permits to be at seventy percent, a rate that is lower compared to the 2006 rate, which was higher even though this rose slightly for some few months. In the light of this, bankruptcy in businesses declined for the fourth round in the year 2011, seventh straight quarter and is still feared to fall by 10 percent in the fiscal year 2012 (Moseley, 2009). The fiscal policy is currently facing turmoil. President Barrack Obama recently presented his budget for the 2013 fiscal year, and would most likely raise the deficit instead of increasing the value of the economy. Republicans also presented a budget that countered Obama’s budget, indicating that it would reform entitlements and cut on government spending. Unfortunately, none of the two budgets presented by the two parties passed the test of solving the poor economy. Serious matters regarding the economy were expected to come up, because one,- the tax that was reduced during President George W. Bush regime and the reduced payr oll were meant to be phased out as in the case of benefits in joblessness reduction as well as the cut in budget sequences that must increase. Secondly, the goal that was set might have been too low and would have had to bet set higher. Thirdly, the presidential elections are more likely to focus on the U.S. nation’s finances and the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, since World War II, no president has ever been put back on the presidential sit with a high rate of unemployment as it has been seen recently (World Financial Watch, 2013)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Economic Trend of the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The monetary policy in America is facing up but the third round of easing quantitatively is quiet an unreachable ambition. Benarke, a chairman at the Federal Reserve, has been increasingly thorough in his assessment of the of the U.S. economy currently resulting in the increase o f the treasury yields. He however continues to work hard and to do whatever it takes to lower the interest rates to zero. He plans to go on with his strategies till the end of the fiscal year 2014. This is a situation that seems so impossible that the rest of the people in the federal sector wonder if it is achievable and workable for a better future. Reduction in the interest rates has led to the weakening of the dollar. Benarke still believes in the QE3 (a third round of quantitative easing). According to him, risking another round of recession is too dangerous. It is a sharp rise in the oil prices that would most likely lead to the third round of quantitative easing without which there could be no QE3. Reduction in unemployment and the growth of the economy would make a third round of quantitative easing not necessary because there would be no exaggerated inflation rates in the future (Economic Outlook, 2012). External trade in the USA still remains at a big loss. The growth impu lse obtained fromexternal or foreign trade was only for a shorter period of time recorded to be positive. This was only seen in 2011. From 2012 onwards, it has been seen to be negative. Meanwhile, thecurrent account balances and trade balance are at a risk of being strongly being deficit. This is likely so because of one, America mainly demands for its imports from Japan, Europe and china. Secondly, it is the weaknesses experienced in these economies, Japan, China and Europe, that are widening the economic gap in America. Thirdly, the constant increasing oil prices have contributed largely to the shortage with the oil producing nations (OPEC). America imports comprises of food products like fish from Japan as well as some makes of vehicles from Japan, china and Europe. It tends to overlook other states. Any problem experienced by any of these states will also be experienced by America. It is wise that America has a wide variety in terms of where to source for its products. It should instead focus on expanding its scope and import from other states that might be more convenient in terms of prices and continued production. The continuous changing oil prices also have contributed to the poor economy not just in America but worldwide. A solution should be put in place to be able to stabilize prices (Economic Outlook, 2012). America has experienced a decline in the profit rates. This has also been a major reason to the fall of the U.S. economy. This happened in the 1950s all through to the 1970 where the profit declined almost to 50 percent which was at 22 percent and went down to 12 percent.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even though there has been a slight improvement, it is still the case in the year 2013. This is mostly reflected in the capitalist states because they are all dependent in America. According to Marxist theory, it has resulted in the high rate of unemployment, high rate of inflation and consequently, low wages resulting in low investments. People can no longer invest because they have no money for investments. This is the reason for the slow growth rate. The U.S. government is putting in much effort to reduce the unemployment rate by implementing monetary policies like the reduction in government spending, controlled interestrates and controlled taxes. Organizations have put in insolvency approaches to cut wagesfor them to continue working, negotiating their arrears and consider union agreements invalid (Economic Outlook, 2012). Even though America has been seen to grow in its economy, a lot still needs to be done to see it achieve the best economy. This is important because its econ omy is a mirror to the rest of the capitalist’s states in the whole world. A bad economy has a bad impact on its people. This can be seen in the expensive health care that the common citizen cannot afford, the poor living standards seen by the poor housing and lack of basic needs like food, shelter and proper clothing. A poor economy has its people exhausted and stressed up at the work place because they are not motivated. America has to come up with various approaches that will see the continent grow as a whole and not just individually. This can also be achieved if fair and proper policies are put in place (William, 2011). References Economic Outlook. (2012). Economic outlook as of May 2012. Retrieved from www.eulerhemes.us/eu/economic-research.html. Moseley, F. (2009).Us economic crisis: Causes and solutions. ISR. 64. Retrieved from www.isreview.org/issues/64/feat-moseley-shmtl. William, M. A. (2011). Economics: A Contemporary introduction (9th Ed.). New York: South Wester n College. World Financial Watch. (2013, April 13). World financial watch. Retrieved from www.worldfinanacialwatch.com/us-economy/the -current-state-of-us-economy. This essay on The Economic Trend of the United States was written and submitted by user Cali Howell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Negative Slope and Negative Correlation

Negative Slope and Negative Correlation In mathematics, the slope of a line (m) describes how rapidly or slowly change is occurring and in which direction, whether positive or negative. Linear functions- those whose graph is a straight line- have four possible types of slope: positive, negative, zero, and undefined.  A function with a positive slope is represented by a line that goes up from left to right, while a function with a negative slope is represented by a line that goes down from left to right. A function with zero slope is represented by a horizontal line, and a function with an undefined slope is represented by a vertical line. Slope is usually expressed as an absolute value. A positive value indicates a positive slope, while a negative value indicates a negative slope. In the function y 3x, for example, the slope is positive 3, the coefficient of x. In statistics, a graph with a negative slope represents a negative correlation between two variables. This means that as one variable increases, the other decreases- and vice versa. Negative correlation represents a significant relationship between the variables x and y, which, depending on what they are modeling, can be understood as input and output, or cause and effect. How to Find Slope Negative slope is calculated just like any other type of slope. You can find it by dividing the rise of two points (the difference along the vertical or y-axis) by the run (the difference along the x-axis). Just remember that the rise is really a fall, so the resulting number will be negative. m (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) Once the line is graphed, youll see that the slope is negative because the line will go down from left to right. Even without drawing a graph, you will be able to see that the slope is negative simply by calculating m using the values given for the two points. For example, the slope of a line that contains the two points (2,-1) and (1,1) is: m [1 - (-1)] / (1 - 2)m (1 1) / -1m 2 / -1m -2 A slope of -2 means that for every positive change in x, there will be twice as much negative change in y. Negative Slope = Negative Correlation A negative slope demonstrates a negative correlation between the following: variables x and yinput and outputindependent variable and dependent variablecause and effect Negative correlation occurs when the two variables of a function move in opposite directions. As the value of x increases, the value of y decreases. Likewise, as the value of x decreases, the value of y increases. Negative correlation, then, indicates a clear relationship between the variables, meaning one affects the other in a meaningful way. In a scientific experiment, a negative correlation would show that an increase in the independent variable (the one manipulated by the researcher) would cause a decrease in the dependent variable (the one measured by the researcher). For example, a scientist might find that as predators are introduced into an environment, the number of prey gets smaller. In other words, there is a negative correlation between number of predators and number of prey. Reals A simple example of negative slope in the real world is going down a hill. The further you travel, the further down you drop. This can be represented as a mathematical function where x equals distance traveled and y equals elevation. Other examples of negative slope demonstrate the relationship between two variables: Mr. Nguyen drinks caffeinated coffee two hours before his bedtime. The more cups of coffee he drinks (input), the fewer hours he will sleep (output).Aisha is purchasing a plane ticket. The fewer days between the purchase date and the departure date (input), the more money Aisha will have to spend on airfare (output).John is spending some of the money from his last paycheck on presents for his children. The more money John spends (input), the less money John will have in his bank account (output).Mike has an exam at the end of the week. Unfortunately, he would rather spend his time watching sports on TV than studying for the test. The more time Mike spends watching TV (input), the lower Mikes score will be on the exam (output). (In contrast, the relationship between time spent studying and exam score would be represented by a positive correlation, since an increase in studying would lead to a higher score.)

Smoking physical activity, and diet in North American Youth essays

Smoking physical activity, and diet in North American Youth essays I found an article titled Smoking, physical activity, and diet in North American Youth from the Canadian Journal of Public Health. This article basically states the problems and risk factors associated with todays youth health. There are many causes and reasons for todays unhealthy population, but the main cause is unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. There is a growing concern for youth health because the majority of these unhealthy behaviors can be prevented. Smoking among adolescents has increased in North America over the past decade. The average age that children smoke their first cigarette is around 12 years old (OLoughlin, Tarasuk). The number one reason children begin smoking is to look cool. Other reasons include depression, weight control and stress management. Although many attempts have been made to reduce youth smoking through prevention programs and health warnings, little progress has been made. Research shows that during adolescents girls smoke more than boys. This is due to mainly maintain weight and deal with stress. Around the age of 16 daily smoking begins, and the earlier one starts the harder it is to quit (OLoughlin, Tarasuk). Nicotine dependence is the reason people get addicted to smoking. Recent research is being conducted on nicotine dependence and the level of exposure that causes addiction. Not only is smoking a problem in the youth population, but physical inactivity is as well. Around 35% of youth do not participate in any level of physical activity, and this percentage is slowly increasing (OLoughlin, Tarasuk). This is mainly due to the media and technological boom. Children spend four hours a day with technology on average. Other reasons include reduction of physical education classes and increased time in automobiles. Children should be engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes eac...

Meaning of Over There, The Famous World War I Song

Meaning of Over There, The Famous World War I Song The song Over There was one of the most famous songs of World War I. Over There proved to be an inspiration both to the young men who were being sent to fight the war as well as to those on the home front who worried about their loved ones. The Meaning Behind the Lyrics On the morning of April 6, 1917, newspaper headlines across America announced the news that the United States had declared war on Germany. While most people who read the newspaper headlines that morning tried to comprehend how their lives were going to change, one man started humming. That may seem like an odd reaction to most people, but not for George M. Cohan. George Cohan was an actor, singer, dancer, songwriter, playwright, and Broadway producer who had composed hundreds of songs, including such famous songs as â€Å"Youre a Grand Old Flag,† â€Å"Marys a Grand Old Name,† Lifes a Funny Proposition After All, â€Å"Give My Regards to Broadway,† and â€Å"Im a Yankee Doodle Dandy.† So it is perhaps not completely surprising that Cohans reaction to reading the headlines that morning was to hum, but few might have expected Cohans humming to be the start of a very popular song. Cohan continued to hum all morning and soon began to compose a few lyrics. By the time Cohan arrived at work that morning, he already had the verses, chorus, tune, and title of what became the very popular Over There. Over There was an instant success, selling over 2 million copies by the end of the war. Perhaps the most popular version of Over There was sung by Nora Bayes, but Enrico Caruso and Billy Murray sang beautiful renditions as well. The song Over There is about the Yanks (the Americans) going over there (across the Atlantic) to help fight the Huns (what the Americans called the Germans at the time) during World War I. In 1936, Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for writing the song, and it experienced a revival in World War II when the United States again faced Germany in war. Lyrics to Over There Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gunTake it on the run, on the run, on the runHear them calling you and meEvery son of liberty Hurry right away, no delay, go todayMake your daddy glad to have had such a ladTell your sweetheart not to pineTo be proud her boys in line. CHORUS (repeated twice):Over there, over thereSend the word, send the word over thereThat the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are comingThe drums are rum-tumming everywhere So prepare, say a prayerSend the word, send the word to bewareWell be over there, were coming overAnd we wont come back till its over over there.Over there. Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gunJohnnie show the Hun youre a son of a gunHoist the flag and let her flyYankee Doodle do or die Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bitYankees to the ranks from the towns and the tanksMake your mother proud of youAnd the old Red White and Blue. CHORUS (repeated twice):Over there, over thereSend the word, send the word over thereThat the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are comingThe drums are rum-tumming everywhere So prepare, say a prayerSend the word, send the word to bewareWell be over there, were coming overAnd we wont come back till its over over there.Over there.

Applying Utilitarianism in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applying Utilitarianism in Business - Essay Example Businesses have to apply this theory as its application is more realistic in ethical situations because the likelihood of doing actions that lead to greatest harm is more than that of greatest good and they lead to serious consequences. Businesses are required to use this policy in determining the most efficient way to release its negative externalities. Despite all the advantages in the application of utilitarianism in business, this theory has criticism that the businesses need to consider to facilitate their efficient application of the theory to maximize utility. Utilitarianism theory has difficulty distinguishing between different types and degrees of happiness. It is, therefore, the business duty to categories the types and degrees of pleasure in their application of this theory of utility. Categorization will solve the ethical dilemma in choosing between short-term happiness and long-term happiness. Businesses need to identify the degree of happiness that is preferable. Utilit arianism concept assumes that the pleasure is neutral between different types of people. Many criticize this assumption since the pleasure of a sadist cannot match that of the altruist. Businesses are required to evaluate the degree of happiness they inflict in the different types of stakeholders they associate within their application of utilitarianism since individuals respond differently to happiness. Businesses are required to consider the interests of the minority in their application of utilitarianism.

Should English be made the official language of the United States Research Paper

Should English be made the official language of the United States Consider Amy Tans article "Mother Tongue" - Research Paper Example English should be made the official language of the United States because a majority of the Americans speak English, this will encourage cultural assimilation and unity in the nation and it is economical to have only one official language. English does need to be made the official language of the United States because a majority of the Americans can and do speak English. English happens to be the most popular and most spoken language in the nation (Bailey 128). If English is not given a predominant status in the United States, it will give way to chaos because most of the people here can only speak English. Besides, not only in America, but English after Mandarin also happens to be the most used and spoken language in the world. The other thing is that the United States is the home to an array of cultures, ethnicities and races. In other words this nation is the land of diversity. In the presence of such rich diversity, it is important that the country does have a unifying factor that unites its entire population hailing from diverse linguistic backgrounds (Mair 170). Thereby declaring English to be the official language of the United States will aid assimilation and unity in the nation. It will encourage the varied people affiliated to diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to learn English so that they could become an integral part of this great nation. Yes, it is understandable that one needs to respect and encourage diversity. Yet, it is also important that there exist unifying influences that bring in cohesion amongst diversity and multiculturalism. In that context the English language could act as the unifying factor that could bind the whole nation together. Every year the nation spends millions of dollars translating the public and private documents into varied languages because it does not have an official language and â€Å"trimming the translation budget (Crystal 12)† is a big problem.

Statistic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Statistic - Essay Example Since the figure bracket we are wondering about is somewhere between $45 and $50k, we must use the product rule and the sum rule to gain the answer. The chances of a graduate earning a $45k salary begins in the first noted price bracket but is only represented by the second half of that bracket. That means we must multiply 50% x 33% = 17%. This is the same for the second and third bracket requiring us to employ the sum rule. 17% + 17% = 33%. B. The probability of a new graduate making a starting salary which exceeds 55k is as follows: The farther away we get from the mean, the more income brackets need to be added in both directions in order to maintain $47,500 as the mean leaving only a 20% chance of a new graduate being hired at a starting salary of 55k or more. C. The percentage of staring salaries which are no more than $42,250 is a 36% chance. This was calculated by representing 5 brackets with 20% chances: 38.5k, 43k, 47.5k, 52k and 56.5k all with a 20% chance each due to even distribution. The bracket between 38.5k and 43.k together represent a 40% chance cumulatively. Those brackets can be divided into smaller brackets leaving the bracket of 42.5 k and everything beneath that amount represented by a 36% chance. First, let us allow n to represent the sample size and N to represent the population size. In the event that the value of n is greater than 5% of the finite population N, the population correction factor may be used. In this case, n=40 and N=500. The sample population is equal to 8% of the finite population of 500 which is again, represented by N. B. To establish standard of error utilizing the given information thus far, we can use the formula , which represents the variability of the original data which can divided by the square root n. We may also find the answer by utilizing the following formula: ((N-n)/N-1)) which gives us the number 9.5917 as our standard error. Using

Reflective paper The concept of the Dreaming Essay

Reflective paper The concept of the Dreaming - Essay Example It is the commonality tying all Australian indigenous groups and guiding them through all aspects of life. People see it as an embodiment of creation giving meaning to everything. It is said to establish rules that govern relationships between people, land and every existing thing for the aboriginal people. Edward refers to the dreaming as the time that the aboriginal people came to existence (Bingham, 2004). The dreaming is by far the most prominent views and ideals of the indigenous people despite the vast variety amongst the aboriginal people across Australia. Indigenous Australia was and is a multi-cultural society. Although quite a number of groups across the whole of Australia had their own languages distinct from each other also different life styles and dreaming stories, all of them had teachings concerning the natural and spiritual worlds, proper behaviors among themselves and also the laws that would govern the society(Caruana, 2003). There are three waves of migration into Australia. Edward termed the Ocean Negritos first wave’, with Murrayians being the second, and Carpentarians being the third. All the migrated people groups of the people that migrated had a diversified language. The number Aboriginal tongues were estimated to be 6000 in the entire Australia at that time. The diversity came up with different values and faith in the entire Dreaming era. The importance of Dreaming every bit of life forces the humans, the land, flora, fauna, the ancestral beings, and natural phenomena is inextricably and eternally connected to every other part (Buist, 2011). There are three key aspects of the dreaming. This includes the spiritual beings, kinships and dreaming stories. As seen earlier despite the differences in the languages or the land, they were born in the aboriginal people had common beliefs on the spiritual beings. They did have kinship systems but were not governed by chiefs or sub-chief as opposed to the case that came

Service Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Service Management - Assignment Example The guitar was damaged which made Dave Carrols to come up with a video song and posted it on the You Tube with an aim of harming the company. The video tarnished the reputation of the Airline Flight and attracted more than one hundred and fifty thousand online audience (Thomas and Grà ©goire, p.2). The article indicates that the main reason why customers post their frustration online is due to anger as they feel that the organisations had betrayed them. Dave Carrols had pleaded severally with United Airlines Flight Airline regarding his destroyed guitar. However, the company did not act to assist him; the only way he could be heard was via the internet. Therefore, companies should listen to their customer’s problems to prevent customers from tarnishing their reputation. The article indicates that customers continue to hold a grudge against a company for a long time. Some even avoid transacting with such companies again in the future due to the fear that they might be betrayed. The article further indicate that companies may avoid complains made by their customers over the internet by acting fairly and compensating those who had been hart. In case a customer had made an online complain, the company should respond by making a sincere apology to the customer to prevent fur ther damages (Thomas and

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay The comedy in Importance of Being Earnest focuses on the aristocratic classes at the turn of the 19th century, the time when the play was written and set. Whilst creating humour by mocking their absurdities i. e. moral and social values and ideas, he also provides the audience the witty banter of the idle rich and their somewhat ridiculous lifestyles and attitudes to enjoy. These idle rich seem to revel in making trivial matters important and important matters trivial. Wilde uses a range of techniques to simultaneously mock aristocratic Victorian society and to create humour: dramatic irony; the dialogue and language of the characters i. e. puns/wordplay, paradoxes and their witticisms; the significance of the themes at the time of the play and today; the actions of the characters; characterisation and the development of the increasingly ridiculous plot, which all culminates in the discovery that Jack was the baby in the handbag. The play begins in a realistic atmosphere for the time that the play was set; the characters behave and talk in the leisurely, pointed and conscious manner of their day. The bachelors only relax when they are alone. We see their idle nature almost immediately through the characters trivial preoccupation with food, one of the themes of the play. In the first few lines of dialogue in the opening scene, we witness Wildes witty way with words and the consequent humour he creates in the scene. Algernon, avoids admitting that he plays poorly and claims that he plays with wonderful expression, as though doing so were more transcendent. He emerges to be quite a conceited character and it seems that Wilde intends him to represent the pompous nature of the rich, rather like Lady Bracknell does. Algernons dialogue is always polished and his quips, paradoxes and unorthodox attitudes provide quite a lot of the humour in the play. Sometimes, what the characters say might sound intelligent but in fact, is silly. It is hidden by the sophisticated sentence structures. Wildes use of language is rarely simple: as Gwendolen says, it is style not sincerity which is important, i. e. he cares more for a statement being clever rather than true. The characters in The Importance Of Being Earnest are all language conscious. The sentences they speak are perfectly formed and a reflection of how aristocrats would like to speak, not how they did speak at the time. They all try to sound intelligent. At all times, even at tense times, the characters prioritise the upholding of a fake mask of politeness. An example of this is when Lady Bracknell says rise from this semi-recumbent posture at once. Again it is a mockery of Victorian aristocrats. Both Dr Chasuble, who is somewhat pedantic, and Miss Prism show an explicit interest in the language they use, they repeatedly state where their metaphors are drawn from: Were I fortunate enough to be Miss Prisms pupil, I would hang upon her lips. I spoke metaphorically my metaphor was drawn from bee.

The Definition Of Gonzo Journalism

The Definition Of Gonzo Journalism Gonzo journalism continues to be one of the most popular styles of writing that has ever been crafted in journalism. The interest that surrounds the published works of gonzo seems to be that it will always contort the general structure of normal journalism. In a large majority of news stories today, there is the pyramid of information where by the news worthy information will be at the top with less interesting details going further down. In gonzo the balance went missing and an article was defined by what the author experienced more than what the actual story was trying to report. The gonzo journalism style has always been widely accepted as being associated with the unusual and quirky writing of Dr Hunter S Thompson. (Wenner Seymour, 2007) Thompson became one of the most popular journalists ever thanks to writing in a simplistic style that consisted of telling a news story through the eyes of the author. Despite having many differences, gonzo has long been shoved in the same pigeon-hole as the new journalism revolution. (Weingarten, 2005) Although the form of journalism has slipped out of the public eye since the death of Thompson, Gonzo still plays a vital part in making news interesting. This is proven by how popular the works of Hunter S Thompson are today in comparison to when they were written and this shows the skill involved in creating this intricate art. All areas of the media have, at some point, incorporated gonzo into their style because it keeps well reported subjects fresh and allows new angles to be examined. While the style has remained popular, Thompson has concreted himself as the inventor and perfectionist of the gonzo craft a writer to be imitated but never bettered. Gonzo journalism is one of the most entertaining forms of writing and its continuation and development is extremely important for the future of journalism. 1.2 Aims and Objectives The primary aim for this dissertation is to examine the origins and definition of gonzo journalism and to understand the implications of this style of writing on journalism and finally composing recommendations and conclusions. The authors own aim is to use multiple research techniques to achieve an improved understanding of gonzo journalism and the implications for the use of this style. The following objectives have been structured in order for the author to be able to achieve the aims set out above: Thoroughly research all material which is related to gonzo journalism and/or Hunter S Thompson Investigate the origins and definition of gonzo journalism Review multiple forms of literature relating to and including the works of Hunter S Thompson Understand the implications that gonzo created within the practice of journalism Examine relevant sources on gonzo to find whether the style has been productive to journalism Explore what will be beneficial for gonzo journalism to continue being implicated in the future practice of journalism 1.3 Methodology 1.3.1 Selected method of research This dissertation is derived from research that has come from primary or secondary sources, or in some instances both of these sources. Primary research has many advantages over secondary sources as the researcher can modify the research question to focus on a tiny subject matter. Surveys and questionnaires are a great way of achieving relevant answers to a question that has not been asked before by a secondary source. The results from the surveys and questionnaires provide the author with up-to-date findings and results that help to meet the aims of the dissertation. Secondary sources are readily available and take less time and energy to produce results that will help to meet the objectives. The majority of books and journals can be accessed through online academic databases such as Athens and this makes the reliability of the sources much higher. The search functions can track down relevant sources quickly and accurately to make sure that the sources used match all the objectives. To complete the objectives set out above, primary research and secondary research were both adopted. The primary research would take the form of interviews and surveys as these were the most simplistic ways to achieve the dissertation aims. Secondary sources were gained through endless searches of the Edinburgh Napier University libraries and the online databases available to the University through Athens. Background readings and definitions on gonzo were also obtained from online resources such as newspapers, magazines and blogs. The reason for including secondary sources was to add extra reliability to the results as primary sources can often have limitations. 1.3.2 Limitations of research method Limitations for this dissertation have surrounded the decision to include primary sources as often these have more disadvantages than advantages. Secondary sources were essential but, while the death of Hunter S Thompson is highly documented, there are very few sources that discuss gonzo journalism and the history behind it. This limitation meant that more primary sources such as interviews would need to be used to gain reliable research on the true definition of gonzo. Surveys and questionnaires can be invaluable sources but are time consuming and provide many issues regarding the validity. There is a question over the knowledge of the respondents answers and even a small chance that the respondent is unaware of the subject and are guess answering. The limitations of secondary sources are mainly concerned with the unavailability of enough relevant sources and those sources that are found being non-academic and some even inaccurate. Many online sources have to be double checked for validity as blogs, newspapers and magazines can sometimes be written by inexperienced writers who are not knowledgeable about the subject. 1.4 Structure The dissertation shall begin with a literature review of gonzo (This dissertation will start out with a literature review on Enterprise Resource Planning in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is then dedicated to a literature review on Organisational Culture. The two topics will be combined in Chapter 4, first in a literature review and then in an analysis of the discussed literature. The conclusions and recommendations out of this analysis follow in Chapter 5.) 2. Literature Review 2.1 Literature review: Gonzo: a definition One reason Thompson hasnt shown up in journals much is his association with New Journalism. In a 1989 survey of critical literature about New Journalism, James Stull1 found only sixteen scholarly works that address the genre. Since then, little has been added. New Journalisms general omission from critical consideration in literary journals may exist simply because the genre is only forty years old, a baby in the eyes of academia. It is also regarded as something of a bastard child, somewhere between fiction and journalism. New Journalists are notorious for blending fact and fiction, writing through overt subjectivity, and even instigating events they report on. These factors make it difficult to point out exactly where journalism ends 1 Stull, James N. New Journalism: Surveying the Critical Literature. North Dakota Quarterly 57 (1989), 164-74. 2 and fiction begins. While gonzo might the best genre to file Thompson under, and the most commonly employed to do so, it seems a shame to do so. Gonzo, while an almost onomatopoetic hint at what to expect, is something of an Other category. Well, hes not quite this one, not quite that oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦oh, lets just toss him over there. The term also carries an implied inferiority. Gonzo sounds unprepared, strung together, and madcap. Thompson himself has expressed an uneasiness with the term. I never really was entirely comfortable with the word gonzo,' he says in an interview50. It was not mine originally. Thompsons term was outlaw journalism. This is much more appealing than gonzo. Gonzo might as well be replaced with wacky. The realists (the safer group, headed by Wolfe) are concerned with intense observation and the accurate reportage of what was observed. They assume there exists a conventional, shared context between the writer and reader. On the other hand, the modernists, such as Norman Mailer and Thompson, believe there can be no single frame of reference and focus on breaking down that notion, which they see as a false assumption (192). 2.2 Literature review: the works of Hunter S. Thompson 2.3 Literature review Gonzo: the implications for practice Four years after his death, Dr Hunter S. Thompson remains one of journalisms greatest cult figures. His work created a whole new genre of journalism entitled Gonzo and his legacy still remains just as strong today as it did when he started his unique style in the 1970s. The term gonzo has more often than not been related back to Hunter S Thompson and his unique style of reporting news. The term has become increasingly popular since the creation of gonzo journalism and was even accepted into the dictionary in 2003. The Oxford Dictionary states that gonzo is 1 of or associated with journalism of an exaggerated, subjective, and fictionalized style. 2 bizarre or crazy. The first reported case of Thompson using this style was during the time he wrote the article The Kentucky Derby which was published in June 1970. The article was originally meant to be a straight sports story that told the outcome of a race but Thompson was disgusted by the decadent and depraved way in which the crowd behaved. According to his book The Great Shark Hunt, Thompson explained that he had scribbled down notes of everything he had witnessed that day and then faxed them through in a random order to his editor. The outcome was an incoherent, first-person rambling about society a s a whole rather than anything to do with the Kentucky Derby. Another journalist at the newspaper read over the article and told Thompson that his style was totally gonzo.  [1]  Although Hunter later confessed he had no idea what the saying meant, he kept it as his own. In interviews with numerous magazines since then, he has given a literary meaning of the word by saying that it followed William Faulkners dictum that the best fiction is more true than any kind of journalism.  [2]   In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Thompson described stumbling upon gonzo journalism as like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool of mermaids.  [3]   While gonzo journalism is a popular subject in society, it is not often talked about in academic literature other than to be referenced when discussing larger movements, such as The New Journalism. (Hoover, 2009) Thompson continually broke the rules throughout his career and for a long time was rejected by many publications because of his erratic style and behaviour. In the 2007 book by Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour entitled Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, the people closest to Thompson give interviews surrounding his controversial life. It is a biography with a difference as it gives a detailed analysis of Hunters entire life by the people who knew him best the ones he grew up with and worked alongside. A different side to Thompson is found in this book because not all the people who are interviewed particularly like him. Ex-editors and his ex-wife tell tales of his erratic drink and drug fuelled trips that ended in him not contacting anyone for days. Editors talk brutally about Hunter being unpredictable and never on time which made him virtually unemployable. The reader gets a sense of why Thompson always freelanced and even when he was doing okay; why he would get up and find work elsewhere. It sums up why Hunter remains as idolised as he still is today, the man lived his life exactly how he wanted to and did things his own way. In his own right he managed to become as famous as any rock icon of his era and all the while by using a pen and typewriter. Outlaw Journalist: The life of Hunter S. Thompson by William McKeen is another book that underlies the reason that people are still entranced by Thompsons life and personal style. This book looks closely at the relationship between Hunter as a writer and his rise to becoming a cult icon. The brutal truth that Hunter would write about offended most but at the same time encapsulated a large majority of readers. McKeen analyses Thompsons bad boy image and reputation and ties in the facts that people felt like they could trust Thompson because he spoke his mind and unveiled the darker side of a world people know exists. However, the author is quick to point out the irony of a man out of his mind on drugs talking about how much of a liar Nixon is and how the American dream was all a farce. The book delves into Thompsons dark and violent past with interviews from his ex-wife explaining that his temper was the reason why they were divorced. Like all the people Hunter met in life, there are always good stories and bad stories about him and Mckeen balances the two to create a book that shows both sides of Thompson. The work-aholic journalist who would give his all and even risk his own wellbeing to get a better story and the violent, drugged-up man who was shouting his head off while holding a shotgun. McKeens conclusions are that Hunter gave the writing world a stand-alone figure who would dare to break all the rules and take risks just for the entertainment of others. Most of the conclusion on this analysis looks back at Thompsons book Hells Angels and how he had risked his life and almost paid for it by trying to get an inside story. Marc Weingartens book, The Gang that Wouldnt Write Straight, focuses on gonzo journalism as a whole genre rather than just describing the works of Hunter Thompson. Around the time that Thompson had chiselled his unique style and found an appropriate title for it, there were already authors who had shown similar signs of creativity. Tom Wolfe and older writers such as Truman Capote had already published stories that were in many ways similar to Thompsons gonzo journalism but lacked the harsh truth that only Hunter could properly tell. The book is an interesting read because much of the books focus merely on Thompson and his career before and after the creation of gonzo journalism. This book looks at seven authors that helped shape the new journalism revolution and then each of them brings their own memories and opinions of that time into each chapter. When asked why he felt that he had become more famous out of gonzo, Hunter wrote, Wolfes problem is that he is too crusty to participate in his stories. The people he feels comfortable with are dull as stale dogshit, and the people who seem to fascinate him as a writer are so weird that they make him nervous. The only thing new and unusual about Wolfes journalism is that hes an abnormally good reporter. There are a lot of quirky parts to the book that make it different to other gonzo pieces and another reason is that the authors give their reasons behind the stories. For Hunter, this meant going into great detail about what had gone through his head for wanting to join the Hells Angels. The implications for practice today can certainly be understood from this chapter alone, as Hunter talks about his need to show the true side of human nature no matter what the outcome was to him. At the time, everyone knew the Hells Angels were no good but no-one quite knew the extent of what they were capable until Hunter had gone along and unveiled everything. In his own book Hells Angels, Thompson obviously tells the story how it was but it is fascinating getting inside the mans head to know why he wanted to report on something so dangerous. Probably another reason why Hunter remains a cult icon and gonzo journalism is still practiced today is because he constantly felt the urge to stand up to w hat most people would turn a blind eye to. Much like the way stories are found today, he was passionate about getting the truth and he would get involved with anyone with that information, just for the purpose of entertainment. Weingarten concludes that Hunters success was because he was truly different from other investigative journalists at the time because once he had locked in on a story it would consume him. That would be to the point where he would take unnecessary risks and ask questions to people who anyone else would leave well alone. Hunter got away from the Hells Angels with a severe beating but the legacy of that story remains Thompsons most hard-hitting gonzo classic. Steven Hoovers journal article, Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism: a guide to the research, is essential for being able to find the best materials that are most relevant to researching and writing any articles on Thompsons work. As the article points out, While Gonzo seems to be a unique word at first glance, it is not as uncommon as one might imagine. Gonzo is also a surname, a Muppet, a Japanese animation studio, and a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived in the Heian Period. The research journal offers a great deal more than any Thompson bibliography could because years of literary reviews have already been carried out on the best research material by Hoover. Hoover argues that because of technological advancements of the internet it has become increasingly difficult to get hold of Hunters older material due to search results not flagging the right results up. When trying to get hold of proper gonzo journalism, search results more often than not bring up journalism websites that have a Hunter S Thompson obituary instead. Hoover successfully points the way to the most helpful resources available and gives a detailed description of the materials that are found in each of them. This proves invaluable for being able to find reliable sources that can provide academic opinions for any research articles being conducted about Thompson. In conclusion, it is a difficult task to find any academic opinion on Thompson because he was such a controversial figure. Very few academics have discussed Hunters private life and the true meanings behind gonzo journalism let alone how it has helped pave the way to journalism the way it is today. The authors who have the knowledge of Hunters career are life-long fans of his work and know a great deal about his upbringing and personality. However, it is the lack of acknowledgment surrounding Hunters involvement in forever changing the way reporters tell stories, that proves to be challenging. There are plenty of books and journals about new journalism but these merely glide over the facts about Hunters unusual style and concentrate on how he is the creator of gonzo journalism. I feel that the books I have read so far cover part of what I need to complete my dissertation but I will need to find other ways of analysing Hunters impact on todays society. 3. Methodology 4. Analysis 5. Conclusions and recommendations 6. Appendices 7. References

L.A. Gang Member by Sanyika Shakur Essay -- Monster Autobiography L.A.

L.A. Gang Member by Sanyika Shakur Kody Scott grew up in South Central L.A. during the nineteen-sixties and seventies, soon after the creation of the Crips. Raised in poverty without a father, and a full family raised solely by his mother, Kody Scott led the stereotypical â€Å"ghetto† life, a poor and broken home. However he does not blame this on his own personal decision to join the Crips while only eleven year’s old. The allure of the respect and â€Å"glory† that â€Å"bangers† got, along with the unity of the â€Å"set†(name for the specific gang) is what drew him into the gang. Once joined, he vowed to stay in the â€Å"set† for life, and claimed that banging was his life. After many years of still believing this, he eventually realized that the thug life was no longer for him, and that gangs were a problem on society and the â€Å"Afrikan† race(page 382-383). In his book â€Å"Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member†, he tells of his life story and how he came and left the gang life. For thirteen years he was a member of the Eight Tray Gangsters, a set of the Crips, and throughout the book he explains, sometimes in full detail, the life he led while in the gang and his many times in jail and prison. These life stories he tells, include drive-byes, shootouts in supermarkets, parks, streets, houses etc., fist fights, group beatings, kidnapings, doing drugs, selling drugs, car-jacks, amputation, robbery, friend’s deaths, enemies’ deaths, being shot, knife fights, police abuse, jail riots, jail rapes and any other part of the gang life possible. Now if possible, imagine that this all happened within thirteen years, and to a teenager. These crimes, more specifically the brutal ones, are what got him his nickname â€Å"Monster Kody†. None of this really affected him though, until when in jail, he was c onverted to a Muslim, when he changed his name to Sanyika Shakur. However, it took him a while to realize that what he was doing was wrong and it was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Although he now realized this, it wasn’t because of religion really, but more for the survival and advancement of the â€Å"Afrikan† race, as he was now becoming more and more politically and morally conscious(page 277). After coming and going out of prison, he was struggling between the two lives he was trying to lead, one as a banger and the other as a leader for the â€Å"Afrikan†... ...left the gang life behind in order to raise his family in a safer environment and also to settle his conscience down and feel better about himself. In conclusion, Kody Scott a.k.a. Sanyika Shakur, used this book as a tool to help let society know the dangers of the gang life, and possibly some advice to help prevent gangs from growing and spreading, and also to prevent his past from becoming somebodies future. Which is best summed up in his last paragraph from the book in which he states: â€Å"How do we come to grips with the fact that this thing has gotten way too real, out of control like some huge snowball running down a hill, threatening to smash and kill all in it’s path, including those who originally fashioned it? Time is of the essence, and every thinking person with a stake in life-especially those involved in the fighting-should put forth an effort, something more concrete than a â€Å"media truce,† to deal with this tragedy. The children deserve to have a descent childhood where they live. They shouldn’t have to be uprooted to the suburbs to experience peace. We cannot contaminate them with our feuds of madness, which are predicated on factors over which we have no control.†

Jack: Almost the Hero of Lord of the Flies :: Lord of the Flies Essays

Jack: Almost the Hero of Lord of the Flies Jack Merridew is the devil-like figure in the story, Lord of the Flies. Jack is wicked in nature having no feelings for any living creature. His appearance and behavior intimidates the others from their first encounter. The leading savage, Jack leans more towards hunting and killing and is the main reason behind the splitting of the boys. It has been said that Jack represents the evilness of human nature; but in the end, Jack is almost a hero. With his totalitarian leadership, he was able to organize the group of boys into a useful and productive society From the beginning of the novel Jack intimidates the other boys with his flaming red hair, his long black cape, and the brutal way he shouts orders to his choir. Although he is not a good-looking boy, he is amazingly arrogant. He always has to look good in people's eyes. Not that he cares if people like him, but more that they respect him. The only way he knows how to gain people's admiration is by getting them to fear him. He spots Piggy as an easy target and immediately starts to humiliate him in front of the others: "You're talking too much," said Jack Merridew. "Shut up, Fatty."(21) He sizes up Piggy right from the beginning knowing that Piggy wouldn't stand up to him and by making fun of him he was letting the other boys know that he not one to be messed with. When he feels that people are about to think him to be weak or gutless, he uses his knife as if it were a symbol of his superiority: "Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked round challengingly"(33). His knife gives him power, a weapon that he would use against anyone who dares to mock him. He shows early on how he has no sympathy for anyone. For example, when Simon passed out from heat exhaustion on the beach Jack showed no compassion: "Let him alone.He's always throwing a faint."(20) Simon was not a stranger, he was a boy that Jack has spent a great deal of time with and yet he displays no feelings for him at all. He demonstrates a great deal of power over his choir. He orders them around as if they were puppets that he controls by working their strings and making them dance at will.

Probation Officers Essay

Probation officers work with criminal offenders, some of whom may be dangerous. They also monitor offenders to prevent them from committing new crimes. Workers in this occupation must meet many court-imposed deadlines and also travel, especially if they work in rural areas. Probation officers usually have to have a bachelor’s degree, but the requirement varies by agency. Officers who work in the probation system have various duties that keep their job busy. They evaluate offenders to determine the best course of treatment. They provide offenders with resources to aid in rehabilitation. Probation officers discuss treatment options and arrange those treatment programs for offenders. One of the main duties for a probation officer is to supervise offenders and monitor their progress. They conduct meetings with offenders as well as their family and friends. Then the most boring part of their job is to write reports on the progress of offenders. Probation officers are also associated with correctional treatment specialists since they both are relatively the same occupation. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists work with offenders who are given probation instead of jail time, who are still in prison, or who have been released from prison. There are several types of probation officers and correctional treatment specialists. Probation officers, who are called community supervision officers in some states, supervise people who have been placed on probation. They work to ensure that the offender is not a danger to the community and to help in their rehabilitation. Probation officers write reports that detail each offender’s treatment plans and their progress since they were put on probation. Most probation officers work with either adults or juveniles. Only in small, mostly rural, jurisdictions do probation officers counsel both adults and juveniles. Pretrial services officers investigate an offender’s background to determine if that offender can be safely allowed back into the community before his or her trial date. They must assess the risk and make a recommendation to a judge who decides on the appropriate sentencing or bond amount. When offenders are allowed back into the community, pretrial officers supervise them to make sure that they stay with the terms of their release and appear at their trials. Parole officers work with people who have been released from jail and are serving parole to help them re-enter society. Parole officers monitor post-release offenders and provide them with various resources, such as substance abuse counseling or job training, to aid in their rehabilitation. By doing so, the officers try to change the offenders’ behavior and thus to reduce the risk of that person committing another crime and having to return to jail or prison. Both probation and parole officers supervise offenders though personal contact with the offenders and their families. Probation and parole officers require regularly scheduled contact with offenders by telephone or through office visits, and they may also check on offenders at their homes or places of work. Probation and parole officers also oversee drug testing and electronic monitoring of offenders. In some states, officers do the jobs of both probation and parole officers. Correctional treatment specialists, who also may be known as case managers or correctional counselors, counsel offenders and develop rehabilitation plans for them to follow when they are no longer in prison or on parole. They may evaluate inmates using questionnaires and psychological tests. They also work with inmates, probation officers, and staff of other agencies to develop parole and release plans. For example, they may plan education and training programs to improve offenders’ job skills. Correctional treatment specialists write case reports that cover the inmate’s history and the likelihood that he or she will commit another crime. When their clients are eligible for release, the case reports are given to the appropriate parole board. The specialist may help set up counseling for the offenders and their families, find substance-abuse or mental health treatment options, aid in job placement, and find housing. Correctional treatment specialists also explain the terms and conditions of the prisoner’s release, write reports, and keep detailed written accounts of each offender’s progress. Specialists who work in parole and probation agencies have many of the same duties as their counterparts in correctional institutions. The number of cases a probation officer or correctional treatment specialist handles at one time depends on the need of offenders and the risks associated with each individual. Higher risk offenders usually command more of the officer’s time and resources. The caseload size also varies by agency. Technological advancements, such as, improved tests for screening drug use, electronic devices to monitor clients, and kiosks that allow clients to check in remotely, help probation officers and correctional treatment specialists supervise and counsel offenders. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists must meet many court-imposed deadlines, which contribute to heavy workloads and extensive paperwork. Many officers travel to do home and employment checks and property searches, especially in rural areas. Because of the hostile environments probation officers may encounter, some must carry a firearm or other weapon for protection. All of these factors, as well as the frustration some officers and specialists feel in dealing with offenders who violate the terms of their release, contribute to a stressful work environment. Although the high stress levels make the job difficult at times, this work also can be rewarding. Many officers and specialists receive personal satisfaction from counseling members of their community and helping them become productive citizens. Although many officers and specialists work full time, the demands of the job often lead to their working much longer hours. For example, many agencies rotate an on-call officer position. When these workers are on-call, they must respond to any issues with offenders of law enforcement 24 hours a day. Extensive travel and paperwork can also contribute to their having to work longer hours. A bachelor’s degree in social work, criminal justice, psychology, or a related field is usually required. Some employers require a master’s degree in a related field for candidates who do not have previous related work experience. Although job requirements may vary, related work may include work in probation, pretrial services, parole, corrections, criminal investigations, substance abuse treatment, social work, or counseling. Work in any of these fields is typically considered a plus in the hiring process. Most probation officers and correctional treatment specialists must complete a training program sponsored by their state government or the federal government, after which they may have to pass a certification test. In addition, they may be required to work as trainees or on a probationary period for up to one year before being offered a permanent position. Some probation officers go on to specialize in a certain type of casework. For example, an officer may work only with domestic violence offenders or deal only with substance-abuse cases. Officers receive training specific to the group that they are working with so that they are better prepared to help that type of offender. Most agencies require applicants to be at least 21 years old and, for federal employment, not older than 37 years of age. In addition, most departments require candidates to have a record free of felony convictions and to submit to drug testing and a valid driver’s license is often required. Being a probation officer or a correctional treatment specialist is a very important job for the justice department because some of the offenders who are returning to civilian life need help adjusting back from the prison life that they had been accustomed to for so long. Also, a probation officer is needed for the offenders who are not quite bad enough to be put in jail or prison. They just need to have an eye kept on them to prevent them from committing another violation or commit a more serious crime. Even though probation officers have offenders to monitor, they also have a ton of paperwork to record and keep for the offenders file. The officers have to be perceptive in noticing minor details in the offender’s behavior and overall attitude toward the situation they are in. Probation officers are a key asset for the courts to use and without them the justice system would not be able to function because the judges would have no other option than to send the offenders to jail or prison and that would overpopulate the already overpopulated jail and prisons. Bibliography http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occguide/PROBOFF.HTM http://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/probation-officers-and-correctional-treatment-specialists.htm#tab-4

Mark Company Executive Summary Essay

Analysis Analyzing Mark X Company’s financial statements and projecting the expected numbers for the coming years we make a decision on whether or not Mark X Company qualifies for the loan extension of $6,375,000. The strength of Mark X as a company is its fixed assets turnover ratio, which rose from 1990 to 1992. This tells us Mark X’s ability to generate net sales from each addition of a fixed asset. Sales generated from the fixed assets are greater than the costs of the fixed assets, which imply that the fixed assets that were purchased are good investments for the company. This is really the only positive ratio they have at the moment. Weaknesses we found in Mark X were its debt ratio, which increased from 40.47% in 1990 to 46.33% in 1991 and from 46.33% to 59.80% in 1992. This shows us Mark X’s amount of debt relative to its assets is increasing and that its debt is equal to more than half of its assets by 1992. The current ratio and quick ratio has also indicated ne gative change, both decreasing between 1990 and 1992. The current ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures a company’s ability to pay short term obligations, while the quick ratio shows a company’s ability to pay its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. Both ratios are steadily decreasing, indicating to us the position of the company has become less and less favorable. The company’s asset management ratios also show decreasing numbers. The inventory turnover ratios have decreased as well as the total asset turnover. This explains the number of times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced during a period. The company’s days sales outstanding (ACP) also rose from 36.00 in 1990 to 53.99 in 1992. This shows us that Mark X’s average number of days to collect revenues after a sale has increased. This number is unfavorable because this means the company’s cash is tied up in accounts receivable for longer period. The profit margin ratio also fell from 5.50% in 1990 to 3.44% in 1991, and then from 3.44% to  0.39% in 1992. This is a ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, showing us that the company’s profitability has dropped substantially. Similarly, the gross profit margin and the return on total assets has decreased over the past three years, the gross profit margin dropping from 19.48% in 1990 to 14.76% in 1992, and the return on total assets dropping from 16.82% in 1990 to 0.79% in 1992. This shows us the company’s financial health has declined, and the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for cost of goods sold has decreased. The return on equity using the extended DuPont Equation shows how the ROE was 28.26% in 1990, and quickly fell to 1.95% in 1992, well below the industry average. Looking at the data from 1990-1992, we feel that the bank should not lend the requested money to Mark X. Based on their data’s ratio-analysis; the companies leverage and liquidity are both dropping. The liquidity ratios show that not only does Mark X have problems obtaining cash, but these problems have been getting worse. Notice that their current assets consist of a very high percentage of inventories. This will make the task of converting its current assets into cash in a short period of time difficult. The leverage ratios show that their debt levels are not only extremely high, but they are only getting worse. Its TIE ratio is decreasing also; showing that Mark X’s ability to pay interests is decreasing. The problems do not stop there. Their efficiency ratios indicate that even though their fixed assets are increasingly being used to promote sales during 1990 and 1991, which is shown by their fixed asset turnover ratio, the decreasing total assets turnover ratio shows that Mark X’s total assets are not being efficiently used, so their overall asset management is becoming less efficient. Finally, their profitability ratios are showing that their ability to generate profit is decreasing. One of the major factors in the possible denial of the new loan is the lack of payments on their short term loans. Mark X could pay off their outstanding short-term loans by the end of 1993. The 1993 forecasted balance sheet shows a cash balance of $35,874 (all  dollar values in thousands). Their current outstanding short term bank loans are projected to be $24,608. Assuming that the company can survive on a cash balance of $11,266, it would be possible for Mark X to pay off all the short term debt by the end of the year. There is a potential that the bank could withdraw its line of credit and demand immediate repayment of the two existing loans. If that happens, Mark X has very limited plans of action. If the bank were to demand immediate payment of all outstanding loans, Mark X would have a real mess on their hands. They would need to make payments of $18,233 for the short term debt and $9,563 for the long term debt. This means that Mark X would need to pay $27,796 within a period of 10 days. Their total ending cash at the end of the 1992 year is only $3,906 which would only be a small chunk of the outstanding loans. The company now would be forced to demand payment from their accounts receivables which are valued at $29,357 and would cover the total of the loan. However, they would need to collect the entire amount in under 10 days to pay the bank back. If they do not succeed in obtaining the $27,796, their only other option is file for bankruptcy. The validity of comparative ratio analysis could be considered questionable in a couple of different situations. The first thing is that there could be some uncontrollable changes and the second is that the companies are not comparable in size. Large businesses have the advantage of economies of scale. For example, a large company can have larger earnings per fixed asset because they have a much larger market share than a small company that uses the same technology. You should also be careful comparing different years without taking the state of the economy into consideration. In recessions, it would not be smart to compare the earnings per share to a previous year before the recession. This may make it possible to lay blame on the wrong reasons and not properly evaluate the state of the company. The ratios should be used to measure areas that are controllable by them. In the situation of a recession, there is nothing that the company can do about it. The sensitivity analysis is a technique that indicates how much NPV will change in response to a given change in an input variable, other things held  constant. We perform a sensitivity analysis to show how sensitive the results are to things such as the sales growth rate, the cost of goods sold percentage, and the administrative expense ratio. If the results don’t vary too much when a given variable is changed to a less favorable value, than the bank would have greater confidence in extending its line of credit. Based on the analyses, Karen should recommend the extension of the existing short and long term loans and grant the additional $6,375,000. We feel the loan should be given because the projections show substantial improvement in many areas of the financial statements. Cash on hand in 1993 alone significantly increases about $32 million. Accounts payable and receivable both show improvements while the ratios continue to recover and regain strength. The Altman Z score of Mark X is projected to rise well above the industry average reducing their chances of bankruptcy. Contractual requirements for current, quick and debt ratios should be changed to require a higher standard of financial security for the bank. During the first quarter after the grant of additional funds, the bank should also continue the requirement of quarterly financial statements and continue to calculate the key ratios and the trends in these ratios to identify any deficiencies. If improvements aren’t shown after the 1993 appropriate measures will be taken by the bank.

Morality and Ralph Essay

1. Dominant impression: Genuine goodness is rare and can even overtake the sense of order or of savagery. Ralph, who represents order, and Jack, who represents barbarism, both try to look for Simon (representing human goodness), but he doesn’t follow either of them, only his own heart. Genre: Fiction 2. Allegory. Ralph is order, shown when he says â€Å"I’ll go on with the shelter†. Shelter, to safety, leadership, thinks about others’ as well, not just himself. Jack is savagery, shown when he says â€Å"If I could only get a pig! †. He wants to hunt, resorts to his gut instinct, selfishness, bloodlust. Also this is characterization. 3. Graphic/visual details of Simon’s physique sets Simon as a genuine, Christ-like character. â€Å"an air of purpose† Christ’s purpose is to save people. â€Å"Skinny boy, chin pointed, eyes so bright† all a sense of brilliance and deep understanding of human nature to its core. â€Å"Feet bare like Jack’s†, comparison to Jack. Like Jack, Simon relies on his gut instinct. But instead of being bad, it is good. â€Å"frowning at the little house† observant. This is also characterization of Simon as someone caring and genuine. 4. Antithesis between Ralph and Jack. â€Å"If I could only get a pig! † (Jack) vs â€Å"I’ll go on with the shelter† (Ralph) juxtaposed to show contrast between the two as being very different in morality. Jack is savagery, Ralph is order. Jack is instinct, Ralph is reason. Jack is selfish, Ralph is altruistic. 5. â€Å"They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate†. Juxtaposition â€Å"love† and â€Å"hate†. To emphasize their differences, contrast, antithesis, etc. They also both respect (? ) each other for being â€Å"leaders† but in a very different way. 6. â€Å"shouting, and splashing and laughing† repetition, establishing rhythm in the actions. Set the atmosphere of the actions as being continuous and numerous and fun. 7. â€Å"They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate†. Referring to Jack and Ralph, this shows that they are both â€Å"continents† or leaders, and they both possess â€Å"experience and feeling†, but in very different ways. Contrasting mentalities: Ralph is reason, Jack is instinct. Atmosphere: conflicting (feelings and experiences), tense. ? which makes them unable to communicate with each other because they are so different morally. 8. Change in atmosphere when describing Simon, to something more open and mystical. â€Å"delightfully, bright, almost concealing†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Shows that Simon is different from the other two. He is more genuine, and good to his core. â€Å"Bathe† ? symbol for cleansing?

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Traditional religion as well as religious beliefs and practices are important issues which are discussed in ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe. The major theme focuses on the conflict between the Igbo society and culture as well as the religion of the colonists. The Umuofia society is religious as it is characterized by the worship of Chuckwu the chief the god, spirits and the ancestors. It is clear that the religion practiced in Umuofia is animistic in nature similar to other  traditional religions in other parts of Africa.   The people of Umuofia believed that most of both the living and non living things had the ability of possessing souls and the spirits. For instance, members of the society believed that forests like the evil forests had sprits of  evil and that is why twins were abandoned there as they  were considered to carry bad luck. Further studies indicate  that it was possible for a man to buy a craving in the market and make it to be an object o f worship after invoking his spirit in it.   There were other spirits like the spirits of rivers, lakes, wells and the earth, to name just a few.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the Umuofia society, men and women were regarded differently as they did not hold the same positions. For instance, men were rulers as well as leaders while women were considered   Ã‚  as servants. Therefore, the spirits of women were inferior to the spirits of men although women were also allowed to carry out religious rituals since they could become priests. According to Achebe (pp. 30), the Umuofia community had a female deity who was known as ‘Ani’. In addition, there was also a male deity who was known as Agbala or the ‘Oracle of the Hills and the Caves’ (Achebe pp.30). According to Achebe, (pp. xxxv) ‘chi’  was a personal god for an  individual  which had the ability to  follow people throughout  their whole life.   One of the major characteristic of ‘chi’ was the fact that it was  capable of either  being  good or bad.   Such a characteristic was very important because  it  determined the success of an individual. Therefore, incase someone had a good ‘chi’, such a person ended up being successful while people with a bad chi were full of misfortunes. However, although ‘chi’ was powerful,  a person had the power of determining his destiny. In addition, medicine men could intervene and help someone with a bad ‘chi’  to become successful. The Umoufia society was powerful among its neighbors and was greatly feared. The neighbors considered going into war  with it as a last option, incase all the  other options  failed.   The priests and medicine men who were vey powerful contributed  greatly to  its  superiority.    Its source of the military power was the war medicine although the age of the same was not known.   The medicine  which was the source of  the strength was known as agadi-nwayi which meant an old  woman. Villagers  believed that an old woman with one leg was often seen by someone who passed by the shrine which was centrally placed in the evenings.   Since  the villagers believed that she was sacrificed when the village was being formed, that explains why she was capable of being powerful.   In addition, the villagers believed that performing religious practices and rituals made someone to be powerful. As a result, the woman could have derived  her power from the sacrifices  that took place during the formation of the village.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996. Print.

Female colonial Poetry Essays

Female colonial Poetry Essays Female colonial Poetry Paper Female colonial Poetry Paper Essay Topic: Poetry Read the quotation from To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty. Great God, direct, and guard him from on high, And from his head let evry evil fly! How does the couplet form support the meaning of the lines? by completing the speakers thought Read the excerpt from To My Dear Loving Husband. If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lovd by wife, then thee; If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me ye women if you can. What is the rhyme scheme in these line A,A,B,B Read the quotation from To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty. : And may each clime with equal gladness see A monarchs smile can set his subjects free! Wheatley uses the word free in these lines to suggest that the king has the potential to make his subjects happy What is the effect of the couplets in To My Dear Loving Husband and To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty? They allow a poet a link lines of poetry together using sound A theme expressed in both To My Dear Loving Husband and To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty is . gratitude and loyalty The theme best expressed in To My Dear Loving Husband and To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty is . respect and adoration How does Bradstreet use figurative language throughout To My Dear Loving Husband to develop the theme? Her comparisons emphasize her undying love for her husband Read the quotation from To My Dear Loving Husband. I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that the East doth hold. These lines contain an example of hyperbole Which statement best describes how Wheatleys word choice in To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty expresses her colonial values Using hyperbole, it stresses admiration and praise for the king How does each poets use of figurative language contribute to the overall meaning of To My Dear Loving Husband and To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty? Wheatleys use of hyperbole accentuates her respect for the king; Bradstreet use of hyperbole shows how greatly the speaker values her husbands love

Tobaco Indusrty Influence essays

Tobaco Indusrty Influence essays Over the last five years, researchers have calculated that the teenage smoking rates have climbed tremendously. Graph number one shows a steady increase in the number of teenagers who smoke heavily. Graph number two shows how teenage smoking has made a comeback, and how the number of teen-agers smoke occasionally and who develop heavier habits has increased sharply in recent years. The tobacco industry and the critics have very different ideas why this rapid increase of teenage smoking is developing. The tobacco industry says the increase of teenage smoking is due to a broad range of social forces. The tobacco industry also notes that not only the use of cigarettes have increased, but also the use of marijuana and other drugs. The industry also states that teenagers tend to rebel to the increasing efforts to stop them from smoking. Tobacco industries say that the critics over exaggerate the effects of their marketing. They also point out that teenage smoking is also increasing in countries where most forms of advertising have been banned. The critics of the tobacco industry agree with the industry that rebelliousness and other forces are a contributing factor, but say it is not the prime reason of the increase in teen smoking. The critics say the industry is the most important factor to the upraise. The industrys spending on domestic advertising and promotions have soared form $361 million in 1970, to $4.83 billion in 1994. That is a 250 percent increase. A big part of the reason for the surge in teenage smoking was an expansion by both Reynolds and Philip Morris in giveaways. Items like T-shirts were given out in return for coupons accumulated by buying their cigarettes. Some critics say it is Hollywoods long love affair with smoking that seems to be heating up. Cigars, they say, symbolize success as portrayed in movies like The Associate. In conclusion whether the increase of teenage smoking is...

Good TOEFL Scores for Top Universities

Good TOEFL Scores for Top Universities The TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language, is designed to measure the English proficiency of non-English speaking people. Many universities require this test for admittance for people who typically speak a language other than English. Although the test isnt necessarily a competitive exam (college admissions officers arent using the scores like they would the GRE or SAT), it is an incredibly important  exam because a good TOEFL score is not subjective.  Among the 8,500 universities that accept TOEFL scores, each university to which you submit your TOEFL score has a published minimum score they accept. There are no, Is my score good enough? worries because universities and colleges publish the absolute minimum scores they will accept on this exam. The TOEFL process is pretty straight-forward. The only reason youd need to retake the test is if you did not make the minimum score requirement of the university or college to which you are thinking of applying.   To find out the minimum TOEFL score requirement for the school to which youre interested in applying, contact the universitys admissions office or check out the website. Each school typically publishes their minimum TOEFL requirements.   Here are a few examples of good TOEFL scores, based on the best universities in the United States. Good TOEFL Scores for Top Public Universities University of California - Berkeley TOEFL iBT: 68TOEFL Paper:570 University of California - Los Angeles TOEFL iBT: 87TOEFL Paper:560 University of Virginia TOEFL iBT: 80TOEFL Paper:550 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor TOEFL iBT: 88 - 106TOEFL Paper: 570 - 610 University of California - Berkeley TOEFL iBT: 79TOEFL Paper:550 Good TOEFL Scores for Top Private Universities Princeton University TOEFL iBT: 108TOEFL Paper: does not typically accept Harvard University TOEFL iBT: 100TOEFL Paper: 600 Yale University TOEFL iBT: 100TOEFL Paper:600 Columbia University TOEFL iBT: 100TOEFL Paper:600 Stanford University TOEFL iBT: 100TOEFL Paper:600 TOEFL Score Info for the Internet-Based Test As you can see from the numbers above, the TOEFL iBT is scored much differently from the paper-based test. Below, you can see the ranges for high, intermediate and low TOEFL scores for the test taken online.   Reading Skills: High: 22-30 points; Intermediate: 15-21 points; Low: 0-14 pointsListening Skills: High: 22-30 points; Intermediate: 14-21 points; Low: 0-13 pointsSpeaking Skills: Good: 3.5-4.0; Fair: 2.5-3.0; Limited: 1.5-2.0; Weak: 0-1.0Writing Skills: Good: 4.0-5.0; Fair: 2.0-3.0; Limited: 1.0-2.0 The Speaking and Writing sections are converted to a 0-30 scale like the Reading and Listening sections. If you add them all together, which is how the scores are tabulated, the highest total score possible you could receive is a 120 on the TOEFL IBT.   TOEFL Score Info for the Paper-Based Test The TOEFL paper test is quite different. Here, scores range from from 31 on the low end to 68 on the highest end of three separate sections. Hence, the highest total score you can hope to achieve is a 677 on the paper-based test.   Listening Comprehension: Score range: 31 (low) - 68 (high)Structure/Written Expression:Score range: 31 (low) - 68 (high)Reading Comprehension: Score range: 31 (low) - 67 (high)Total Score:  Score range: 310 (low) - 677 (high) Boosting Your TOEFL Score If you are on the fringe of getting the TOEFL score you would like, but have taken the test or numerous practice tests, and just arent quite getting to that minimum, then consider using some of these test prep options to help you out. First, figure out which method of test prep suits you best - an app, a book, a tutor, a test prep course or a combination. Then, use the TOEFL Go Anywhere free prep offered by ETS to get started on preparing for this exam the right way.

UK Luxury Fashion Online Retailer Net-A-Porter Coursework

UK Luxury Fashion Online Retailer Net-A-Porter - Coursework Example From this paper it is clear that Net-a-Porter is a luxury fashion retailer that provides products and services to customers online. The main USP of the company’s website is that it is designed like a magazine. Presently the company has many brands popular that it retails including  Yves Saint Laurent,  Diane von Furstenberg and Stella McCartney.  Although the economy of UK and US is experiencing a general slowdown after the global financial crisis, the company shows no signs of holding up operations. It has recently launched a beauty products segment, a new publishing business, and planned logistics expansions in the Asia-Pacific regions. The company also  added a dedicated sportswear section to their website.This discussion highlights that the company presently operates in three offices located in two countries, US and UK. It is headquartered in London and it has distribution centres in US. The business model of Net-a-Porter is e-commerce based and hence it provides 2 4/7 services to customers. It has 2600 employees and it is also planning to expand full-scale operations in emerging economies such as China where the demand is very strong. The main products of the company may be classified into major segments, apparels and accessories. Different types of luxury clothes are offered by the company including beachwear, coats, bridal, Denim, gowns, jumpsuits, shirts, sportswear, premium suits, jeans and jackets. The accessories include products like belts, gloves, jewellery, hats, shoes, etc.      

A Step For the future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Step For the future - Essay Example Mama says, â€Å"In real life I am a large, big.boned woman with rough, man.working hands† (Walker). Although she is very weak financially, yet she has remained composed through all thick and thin of life. To me, Mama is a role model because being a woman does not make her deprived of any thing in any sense. Having studied Mama as a character in Everyday Use, I have come to realize that much of the injustice women conventionally complain of can be attributed to their self perception of a weaker sex. It is their own sense of delicacy and insecurity that makes them underestimate themselves, and the opposite gender takes advantage of it. If women leave underestimating themselves, no man can undermine them, and Mama stays as an evidence for this. A & P: Having read A & P, the biggest lesson that I have learnt is that men’s preferences and sense of responsibility in life change as they mature. For a man who is as young and immature as Sammy, gaining approval of a girl passin g by may mean more than job, that is the most fundamental demand of a mature man. Sammy enters into an extremely useless and unproductive argument with the store manager for girls whom he has seen for the first, and perhaps the last time in his life in the store.

Conduct an external environment analysis for a company of your choice Essay

Conduct an external environment analysis for a company of your choice assessing the impact of the external environment on Human - Essay Example The main objective of external analysis is to identify the opportunities and threats in the environment. Identifying and exploiting the opportunities and minimizing the threats, which are hindering performance can help the organization achieve its strategic competitiveness (Hitt, et al, 2009). This external environment has its impact on business strategy and hence on the human resource strategy as well. This paper aims at conducting the external environment analysis of Toyota and studies its impact on the human resource policies and practices of the organization. This paper will make use of different matrices, methods and tools to conduct the industry analysis. Automobile manufacturing is a very significant industry which contributes to 10% of the world GDP. Globalization has resulted in increased pressure on the firms to achieve global competitive advantage. Automotive industry has recently witnessed large scale consolidation of organization resulting in mergers and acquisitions to capitalize the strengths of each market and organization. Most of the organizations in the automobile industry are doing business offshore. The automobile industry global competition is characterized by big three American and Japanese giants with the shift moving towards Japanese automakers which includes Toyota. Toyota is increasing its market share and becoming more dominant and less threatened by its competitors. An external audit of Toyota will reveal its opportunities and threats and its impact on the business and HR strategy. External Environment Analysis The external environment or the macro environment has a strong impact on the all activities and strategies of the organization. These factors include political, social, economic, legal, technological and eco-environmental factors. Two models are used to analyze the force and impact of these factors. These two models are called â€Å"PESTEL Analysis† and â€Å"Porters five forces†. An industry’s attractive ness is evaluated through Porter’s five forces model. According to the model the forces that affect an industry are the threat of entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and the level of rivalry among the existing competitors (Porter, 2008). The evaluation determines the attractiveness or unattractiveness of the industry and also helps in formulating strategies for obtaining competitive advantage. The attractiveness of an industry in turn determines the overall profitability of the industry measured through overall return on investment. It requires utilizing the existing industry environment to gain competitive advantage. Out of the five forces the strongest competitive force indicates the profitability of the industry and forms the most crucial part of strategy formulation. If the affect of forces is intense then the industry is said to be unattractive that is companies in the industry will not earn attractive return on thei r investments while if the forces are not intense then the industry is attractive and the companies in the

History 158 Mid-term Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History 158 Mid-term Exam - Essay Example President William McKinley was known not to have taste for war, but the public opinion and the press proved to be a force that changed his mind and drove him onward. The violent aggression and conflicts in Cuba caused so much political and economic instability in the region. This was a cause to worry and it caught the attention of the United States which had long-held interest in managing the Western Hemisphere. The tensions between Spain and the United States had been gradually mounting for months. With the mysterious sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor that killed 259 sailors and injuring 80, military intervention by the United States in Cuba became very likely. On the 11th of April 1898, President William asked for the authorization from the Congress to end the conflicts in Cuba between Spanish forces and the rebels. The United States wanted peace, tranquility and security of its citizens and the Cubans living on the island and the way to do it was to establish a stab le government which would oversee law and order maintained. McKinley was authorized by the Congress to use whatever military force deemed necessary to ensure Cuba’s Independence. ... On the 2nd of April 1917, President Wilson requested the joint session of Congress to declare war on Germany. His request for war was based upon Germany’s involvement in submarine warfare in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, and several attempts to get Mexico into an alliance with them against the United States. The U.S senate voted unanimously in support of war on Germany, Austria and Hungary on the 7th of December 1917 (Davis 68). Germany’s involvement in submarine attack on merchant and passenger ships was the primary driving force behind president Woodrow’s decision that led the US into World War One. President Woodrow had to balance issues regarding German’s submarines attacks as well as their numerous attempts to pull Mexico into an alliance against the United States. On the 19th of January 1917, the British intelligence had decrypted an intercepted telegram that had been sent by the German Foreign Minister Zimmerman. The telegram was sent to the Ambassador in Mexico and in it was the promise by German Government to help Mexico regain the territories it had surrendered to the US after the Mexican-American War. All that the German government wanted were the full support of Mexico in the war against the United States and its allies. Initially, the Britons had not shared the telegram news with United States officials mainly because they wanted to keep secret their ability to break the German’s code. Germany’s resumption of submarine warfare could not hold the secret back and the Britons decided to use the telegram to help sway public opinion and American officials to join the World War (Davis 73). Despite the shocking telegram’s news, President Wilson hesitated on