Intro and conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Intro and conclusion - Essay Example Greece is one of the prominent countries in the European Union. However, unlike many other countries in EU, Greece is currently struggling a lot because of financial problems. EU is doing everything possible to revitalize Greece’s economy. However, the depth of the financial problems facing by Greece seems to be big. However, Greece still offers enough opportunities to foreign direct investments. Greece realized that internal resources are limited to streamline the economic progress in the right path. Currently they are trying hard to attract Foreign Direct Investment as much as possible to escape from the financial problems. New products and existing products have equal opportunities in Greece at present. Because of the blind faith in the abilities of Americans, American products are accepted with both hands by Greeks. Product manufacturers in America can capitalize on such attitudes of Greek people. We have planned to develop a new multipurpose product; alarm clock/ smart phone charger / coffee maker and market it in Greece. This paper is written as a marketing plan for the newly developed alarm clock in Greece. The current population in Greece right now is 10,767,827 (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). There are currently 4,704,248 people that makes up our products target market, which is roughly 44% of the total current market (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). Over the past three years, Greece’s economy has been on the decline and with the recently raised income taxes, there has been a decline in disposable income as well (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). For the average adult, the normal work week consists of 40 hours, but during this time, Greeks do not take normal lunch breaks (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Instead they take multiple shirt breaks throughout the day in which they get coffee or a quick snack (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Coffee has become apart of Greek culture where its is a daily routine. Greeks

Vascular Dementia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Vascular Dementia - Research Paper Example The patient is undergoing transient ischemic attack commonly referred to as TIA, usually, lasts for twenty-four hours. It is a neurologic dysfunction which results from blood deprivation of one or more parts of the brain. It causes blurred or loss of vision, dysarthria, aphasia and mental confusion associated with loss of memory. The formation of thrombus or clot in the blood supply and alarming rate of vasoconstriction may lead to Ischemia. The patient was diagnosed with heart disease six months previously and presently with vascular dementia which is the loss of memory caused by many minor strokes.TIA and Vascular Dementia both are associated with diseases of the heart like hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Males aged above 55 years of age and having a family history of stroke are at a greater risk.The cause should be diagnosed by the imaging of the brain and an electrocardiogram. Sometimes surgery endarterectomy is requisite for removing the plaque, thrombus or clot from the carotid arteries. However, a stroke can occur during the procedure. In case of emergency situations, medication such as anticoagulants is given. Heparin, warfarin or the antiplatelet medication such as aspirin are prominently used. These drugs help in thinning the blood thereby minimizing the probability of thrombus formation and the travel of clot towards the brain. The patient should take care and bring a clear change in their life styles by quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, weight loss, and regular exercise.

Corporate Governance and Value Creation Relationship

Corporate Governance and Value Creation Relationship Department of Economics VALUE CREATION AND THE ROLE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Abstract Corporate Governance is a subject of many professional and academic debates. Since there are many different research and contexts associated with corporate governance problem, then, this topic has continued to be an interesting topic under scrutiny. However, is has been observed that the relationship between corporate governance and value creation of corporation remains as an untapped area with enough consideration. This paper tends to investigate this linkage and using Enron case as critical analysis. TABLE OF CONTENTS (JUMP TO) 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2. Literature Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3. Corporate governance and performance of the company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 1. Definition and explanation of key concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 1. 1. The concept of corporate governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 2. 2. The concept of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3. 2. 2. 1. Definition of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3. 2. 2. 2. The importance of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3. 2. 2. 3. Measuring Value-creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3. 2. The impact of corporate governance in the Value Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4. The role of finance in creating value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. The principles of management by the financial value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. 1. The principle of double market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. 2. The principle of identifying financial levers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4. 1. 3. The principle of internal steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4. 2. The mechanisms and the extent of creating value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. 2. 1. The economic indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. 2. 2. The indicators such as accounting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4. 2. 3. The nature of stock market indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4. 3. The limits of management by the financial value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264. 3. 1. Scope limited and performance standards unrealistic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 4. 3. 2. Transfer of risk to the employee shareholder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4. 3. 3. Focus on short-term and limits the cost of capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5. Critical approach to corporate governance: the case of Enron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5. 1. Introduction of the Enron affair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5. 2. Enrons scandal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 5. 3. The consequences of this scandal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 5. 4. The lesson from Enron Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 7. Further study recommendation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 List of Abbreviations NGO Non- Governmental Organization US United State CEO Chief Executive Officer BOD Board of Directors COO Chief Operating Officer CFO Chief Financial Officer CRO Chief Risk Officer CFROI Cash Flow Return on Investment EVA Economic Value Added RCF Residual Cash Flow DCF Discounted Cash Flow CVA Cash Value Added RAN The Rainforest Action Network MFV Management by the Financial Value TSR Total Shareholder Return MVA Market Value Added NPV Net Present Value EPS Earnings per Share ROE Return on Equity EROR Economic Rate of Return PBR Price to Book Ratio 1. Introduction The successive industrial revolutions of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century were a major factor for the development of Western capitalism and gave gradually traits that characterize it today. In this movement, the company as a structure that brings together human beings who are organized to act on nature to obtain useful results and thus create value has always been at the heart of the capitalist system. However, in recent decades, many changes have affected the financial-market capitalism and gave new prominence to creating value for shareholders of the company. This has resulted in the emergence of a form of management oriented to advance the financial value and mobilize employees to that goal. This focus on value creation reflects a desire to meet the requirements of the shareholder because it has become in the current financial world a king increasingly adulated and increasingly capricious. Undoubtedly, this logic has largely influenced the conduct of the strategy of com panies that demonstrate ingenuity to cope with competition and remain competitive. However, it has undergone profound questioned at a number of scandals that have marked with an indelible history of finance and have been accompanied by strengthening institutional mechanisms for regulation of businesses and financial markets. In such a context of questioning, suspicion and doubt in respect of managerial practices, questions about the role of governance and firms value creation does it not absolute importance to apprehend the changes that occurring within the company? The aim of this paper is to answer this question. The structure of the paper is organized as follows. Section 1 provides a background of what has been done in the literature in the effort to capture relationship between corporate governance and value creation. Section 2 introduces the key concepts such as corporate governance and value creation. Section 3 illustrates the role of finance in creating value in firms. Empirical approach are presented and discussed in section 4, with special stress on the managerial behaviour in Enrons Company. Section 5 will conclude and propose further areas of research. 2. Literature review On the topic of relationship between corporate governance and value creation, there have been various researches and conclusions. Before examining about the relationship between corporate governance and value creation, many early studies has explored the linkage between Ownership and Value Creation as a beginning. Talking about owners who have been passionate about their ideas and visions to create the best value for their company, study named Ownership and Value creation of Carlsson. R. H (2001) gave a valuable historical review and illustration with case how active ownership has played an important role in company development. Through this book, we can see that ownership makes significant differences in corporate governance, it fulfils an indispensable role in the market and its quality made firm the best value. Later, in his research Corporate Governance and Value Creation, Jean-Paul Page (2005) has referred to the financial approach to corporate governance in his analysis. He has explored the connection between the foundation of power and decision making to create the large value for firms. In order to focus on an in-depth analysis of the links between value creation and governance, his research started with the assumption that regulation and laws exist to constrain corporate activities which could harm society as well as the economy, then corporate agreement is expected. Through a research, he tried to find the answers of who should hold the ultimate power which companies can create maximum value or how this power should be used. To do this, first, he discussed the delegation of shareholder power and a variety of standard to evaluate the performance of managers. Then, he presented a framework by which securities analysts can evaluate corporate governance system. As the result of his study , he strongly believed that directors of companies have the necessary judgment to discharge their value creation responsibility. Jean-Paul Page result is developed further in detail by Monks (2002) when he applied this theory into Volkswagen Company. After that, Huse (2007) successfully combines the behavioural of directors work and the value creation which contributes to both the practitioner and the academic debate. Huses book is based on two key ideas: the main task of a broad of director is to create value for company and looking inside board to understand the value creation process needs. His book provided a good discussion about governance effectiveness and value creation by an exploration of behavioural perspectives on governance and how various types of related factors influence governance as well as value creation. In addition, in his recent research named The Value Broad: Corporate governance and organizational behaviour in 2008, he aimed to go further and explore actual behaviour in creating value from entrepreneurial management perception throughout various European countries such as Netherlands, Italy. Beside, The differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational Corporation for value creation of Nohria. N and Ghoshal. S (1997) was successful to present the globally distributed capabilities of multinational corporations and organize these corporations for value creation. This study is built to develop these ideas of both authors above. Besides theoretical research and studies, many case studies were analysed to examine the implication of all theories in the real economic market. Case study in Finances: Managing for Corporate Value Creation of Bruner. R. F (1990) provided numerous financial analyses of the world famous and successful corporations such as Walt Disney, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Morgan Stanley Group INC, Merit Marine Corporation. . . However, this analysis was published in 1990, it can not update with changes in the economy as well as financial scandals have been happened through recent years. Based on all these suggestions, an analysis of value creation and the role of corporate governance is an interesting paper. And Enrons scandal in 2001 is an updated illustration. 3. Corporate governance and performance of the company 3. 1. Definition and explanation of key concepts 3. 1. 1. The concept of corporate governance We can consider that the practices of corporate governance have ancient origins insofar as they are inseparable from the very concept of enterprise. Indeed, corporate governance problem was already in the eighteenth century. Adam Smith posed as soon as 1776, in the Wealth of Nations, the problem of separation of interests between managers and owners in companies per share. This question will take a new turn with the emergence in 1807 in France and then England with the Company Act and a little later the United States, the limited liability company. In general, governance refers to the governing relations between the leaders of a company more broadly, an organization and the parties concerned by the fate of the so-called organization, mainly those who hold legitimate rights - namely shareholders. Even if made generally and in order to illuminate our analysis, such a definition requires clarification. First, governance is focused on a category of actors of any organization: the lea ders of this organization, category sometimes reduced to a person, most often represented by a small group strongly hierarchical around the leader, sometimes expressed by semi-hierarchical and ill-defined contours. Whatever the difficulties of defining exactly and narrow, this category of actors always pay attention on a system of governance. Corporate governance can be seen as vast field and its works as regulatory body that includes (OECD, 2004): Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Board of Directors (BOD) Management of Organization Shareholders Stakeholders (Suppliers, Employees, Creditors, Clients and Social Communities) Then, the issue of governance is also the role and control of corporate officers in legal persons. The leaders of an organization finalized commercial, public . . . Speak and act on behalf of this organization: a title that they can buy, sells, hire, dismiss and so on. They have before it the financial, material, human, which can be considerable even excessive. Issues relating to their appointment as corporate officers, the conditions for exercising their mandates are, therefore, legitimate and make corporate governance a key point of management systems of the latter. Finally, the governance system includes various components that can be, simplifying, grouped into three sets of components: structures, procedures and behaviour. The structures involved in the governance system are varied. Some are specific to the organization concerned: general meeting, board of directors, ad hoc committees. Others are external and intervene on the basis of contractual missions (auditors, rating agencies) or as part of missions of general interest (regulatory authorities). The procedures are also very varied and more or less diversified in codes or codes imposed on the actors involved (chart of accounts, commercial code . . . ). They may involve both methods of collection and dissemination of information on the functioning of the entities concerned that ways and means to carry out such an operation such as changing the parameters of the structure or listing on the financial market. The behaviour complements the first two components by providing a dimension without which they would remain for the most formal. Such behaviour are those agents individuals is not the legal fiction made up by legal persons involved in the institutional and responsible to implement it and animate it. Therefore, their best practices, their ethics or, conversely, their lack of scruples and their departures were a major part in the effectiveness of governance systems like any human system. In their brilliant literature review of corporate governance topic, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) offered a definition of corporate governance: Corporate governance deals with the ways in which suppliers of finance to corporations assure themselves of getting a return on their investment (p. 737). This notion of governance seems rather simplistic. Because it is limited to the individual control worked out by shareholders and ignores the rights of all the other stakeholders in the company such as creditors, suppliers, customers, employees, and finally, the State and society in general. Indeed, the shareholder affects some form of power and imposes limits in varying degrees that affect value creation. Besides, this definition of governance fails to take into account the implicit rules and standard such as legislation, regulations and contracts. All these things actually have an important influence on final decision. In his book, Jean- Paul also gave the broad definition of corporate governance as follows: Corporate governance consists of the legal, contractual, and implicit frameworks that define the exercise of power within a company, that influence decision making, that allow the stakeholders to assume their responsibilities, and that ensure that their rights and privileges are respected. (pp. 2) To be successful in this notion, corporations must acquire the best resources such as: finance, material and human at the best if they want to create value or wealth. Good corporate governance is assessed in a book named Corporate Governance: Responsibilities, Risk and Remuneration, Keasey. K and Wright. M (1997) He defined a good corporate governance is as concerned with correctly motivating managerial behaviour towards improving the business, as directly controlling the behaviour of managers. They also analysed executive remuneration is one mean of motivating good behaviour. Illustrating the standard corporate governance frame work, both authors above indicated that the key elements concern the enhancement of corporate governance is via supervisors of management performance and ensuring the accountability of management to shareholder and other stakeholders. Analysis of a frame work of corporate governance was also carried by Hart (1995). He discussed the need for accountability and supervisor of director come up because there is a divorce between ownership and control power in large firms. According Harts study, supervision may take various forms ranging form system where shareholders are outsiders with little direct incentive to monitor management. Moreover, Whittington (1993) argued that is has to be noted that the accountability and supervision aspects take place within a wider regulatory framework which regulates relationship with external third party contractors. 3. 1. 2. The concept of value creation 3. 1. 2. 1. Definition of Value Creation As for value creation, it is an ambiguous concept because of the multiplicity of managerial practices associated with it: exchange value, book value or economic value partnership, value for the customer, and so on. In all case, the most important objective of every firm is to maximize resource allocation, to produce as much economic value as much as possible and to look up social well-being. Offering the best product and services at reasonable price is the way which firms can do to achieve these objective above. Jean-Paul Page (2005) examined economic value as creating wealth. Because the firms wealth is measured by the value of their product on the market, then, creating value for firm mean company will observe its prices and value increase as demand for its services and goods rises. Concisely, creating economic value means increasing in firms value, increasing in share price and creating wealth. As a result, corporate governance have to focus on decision that tend to maximize share price and then on the creation of economic value. This way will translate the wealth creation objective of firms into tangible results. 3. 1. 2. 2. The importance of value creation In his academic journal, Favaro. Khas proved that if firm puts their value creation as a first strategy, it will help a corporation growth in the greatest rate. First of all, by understanding how, why, where the value is created within your company; which is the market where your company perform best; identifying which of your companys activity and asset is distinctive enough to be a profitable growth will tell your company where and how to grow. The best example of this case, we have to mention about Coca -cola. Since the early of 1980s, Coca-colas leader discovered the value creation in their mix businesses and in the entire beverage system; then, this company have taken a major growth opportunity in their core business. Secondly, there are two advantages which putting value creation first can gives firms are: capital and talent. When firm set value creation first, they will never suffer from a capital shortage. Favaro gave explanation that, these companies which put value creation first will find sufficient capital for their investment needs and can attract a large capital from the market, and then they never miss any investment opportunities. In addition, knowing all important targets, these companies also understand how important the high standard and good qualification managers are. Therefore, over time, these firms will build a team of manager with better capabilities and standards. This will give company more managerial talent and help these companies achieve higher level of profitable and also sustainable growth than their competitors. Value creation enhances companys ability to grow up which requires perseverance Discipline and leadership skills. Through his experience, Favaro suggests that: By product, channel, customer, market and technology; skilled managers who always put value creation first will understand how or why value is created or destroyed. Then, they will know whatever cut will be the best reveal the truly capabilities or asset which their company have to do to get profitable and growth. Promoting, celebrating and rewarding managers who see growth is an outcome of their focus on value creation. Briefly, if a company put value creation first in the right way, their managers can identify how and where to grow, they will use capital better than others and build up more talents. Consequently, value creation will offer you a vast advantage to achieve profitable and long-term growth. It should be noted that these multiple approaches are experiencing varying degrees of success. Thus, while some of them are rather a fashion effect, others seem more rooted in the reality of management. This is particularly the case in the field of strategy with the general themes related to the competitive advantage that determines the value that a company can create for its customers and in the field of finance with the concept of maximizing the shareholder value. However, there are two themes refer to distinct managerial logic. In schematising, one can oppose a logic of financial reform dominated the creation of financial value and logic of integration that connects the various aspects of value creation. The financial approach emphasizes the idea that any asset is comparable, at least conceptually, a financial asset whose correct measure is the present value of expected flows of that asset, given the risk that it is linked. Thus, by analogy with financial assets, it is possible to buy or sell at any time comparable assets or reinvest the funds on other opportunities. The option is part of choice and is a factor of flexibility. The logic of integration recognizes the importance of value creation but the analysis as the result of a synthesis of different components of value, whether organizational aspects, competitive or institutional. It puts forward concepts such as basic skills, know-how of cooperation and coordination, competitive advantage. It requires a broader view of performance and the development of a scoreboard, including non-financial aspects. This concept of value creation is currently experiencing a revival and for several reasons. This renewal first undoubtedly result of the transformation of financial capitalism and its origin movements takeover carried out on companies that exploitation not effectively their asset base for shareholders. These practices have provided external visibility to market discipline that has prompted leaders to do more attention to creating value and bring back the shareholder at the centre of the strategy. In addition, development of globalization and the rise of new technologies of information and communication technologies have accelerated the process of internationalization of enterprises and networking complex and globalize. The result is a financial reform of the strategy based on the refocusing on the principal market and the pursuit of critical size. That is why the purchase of shares and options markets external growth is systematically privileged at the expense of endogenous development of the company. But for institutional investors, who control more companies using their power, the ability of business to create value is an essential criterion of assessment. Finally, another external factor that has boosted the value creation is the gradual disappearance of state monopolies especially in the case of France. The purpose of the public monopoly system based on the existence of cross-shareholdings is to ensure a stable partnership. The financial globalization has gradually reduce d the interest of a national shareholding making less essential closures capital that provides few resources. 3. 1. 2. 3. Measuring Value-creation: When evaluating value creation, there are three main measurements are: Cash Flow Return on Investment (CFROI), Economic Value Added (EVA), and Residual Cash Flow (RCF). G. Bennett Stewart III (1991). The Quest for Value. HarperCollins discussed Economic Value Added (EVA) as the heart and soul of Value planning. He described EVA is the one measure which properly accounts for all the complex trade-offs involved in creating value. EVA computed by taking the spread between the rate of return on capital r and the cost of capital c* and then multiplying by the economic book value of the capital committed to the business: EVA = (r-c*) x Capital EVA = (rate of return cost of capital) x capital EVA will increase when: The rate of return earned on the existing base of capital improves; that is, more operating profits are generated without tying up more funds in the business. Additional capital is invested in projects that return more the cost of obtaining the new capital Capital is liquidated from, or further investment is curtailed in, substandard operations when inadequate return being earned. These are the only way in which value can be created

The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth Essay -- William W

The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth In William Wordsworth's 'The World is Too Much With Us,' this poem heeds warning to his generation. This warning is that they are losing sight of what is actually important in this world: nature and God. To some people both of these are the same thing '...as if lacking appreciation for the natural gifts of God is not sin enough, we add to it the insult of pride for our rape of His land' (Wordsworth). With his words, Wordsworth makes this message perpetual and everlasting. William Wordsworth loved nature and based many of his poems on it. He uses very strong diction to get his point and feelings across. This poem expresses Wordsworth's feeling about nature and religion containing a melodic rhythm (Wordsworth). Each line and each word were chosen very carefully to express his thoughts and feelings. His references to God and Greek Gods catch the reader's eye to find out why he connects God to nature (Gill). His soft tones and harsh words make the reader feel and see what the speaker do es. This relatively simple poem angrily states that human beings are too preoccupied with the material and have lost touch with the spiritual and with nature. The first part, the octave, of "The World Is Too Much with Us" begins with Wordsworth accusing the modern age of having lost its connection to nature and everything meaningful: "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; /Little we see in Nature that is ours; /We have given our ...

Pink-Dear Mr President Analysis

Pink wrote the song â€Å"Dear Mr. President,† on Martin Luther King Day in 2005. The song was released as a single in 2007 and became apart of her album I’m Not Dead. The song is a direct criticism of President George W. Bush and the policies of his administration. Pink addresses the major concerns of most Americans. The song begins â€Å"Dear Mr. President/ Come take a walk with me. Let’s pretend we’re just two people and/ You’re not better than me. † By stating this as an invitation Pink is directly asking the President to listen to her opinions.Through equalizing social standings, she is diminishing the respect that the President demands, Pink is stating that she will be truthful with him and not sugar coat Tanya Kaplan Song Analysis 03/10/09 her opinions. She will tell him the truth about what everyone is thinking but no one is willing to tell him directly. She states, â€Å"You have come along way from whiskey and cocaine,† addre ssing Mr. Bush’s tainted past, which the media seems to ignore. Pink asks Mr. Bush who he prays for at night. She also asks how he feels when he looks in the mirror and if he is proud of himself.These statements address that Mr. Bush forgot to make good on his promises to help people. He had the power to change society and be a positive force for society but failed to do so. Pink then asks Mr. Bush to look her in the eye, this is a sign that she is aware that he is not proud of his own and is unable to face his own actions, she is challenging him to state that he is proud of his actions. She is also addressing the political corruption that is believed to have occurred in the Bush administration.There are many policies, that were enacted, such as political detainees, which the President directly partook in, while the policy blatantly violated the principles set forth in our constitution. Pink addresses many social issues during this song. â€Å"How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?†¦ Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away,† this is a direct attack on the President’s Iraq war policy. There are thousands of mothers who have lost their children in the war on Iraq; some are soldiers while others are innocent children who are ystanders. During the Presidential Election of 2008, the majority of people stated that they did not support the war in Iraq; however, when this song was written it was very uncommon to have a majority of the people not support the war, let alone discuss the destruction that we are inflicting on the residents of Iraq and their infrastructure. The media did not portray the mass destruction inflicted on the country of Iraq or report the effect that the war was having on military families.There are additional hot button social issues that Pink addresses with the President through her song. She states â€Å"What kind of father would take his own daughter’s rights away? And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay? I can only imagine what the first lady has to say. † Tanya Kaplan Song Analysis 03/10/09 These statements denote George Bush’s policy of anti? abortion, his attempt to refute the Rowe v. Wade decision and to take away a women’s right to abortion.These statements also call into question the administrations anti? gay policies. Ironically Vice? President Cheney’s daughter is gay. It is near impossible to imagine how the President can instill his anti? gay rhetoric while his second in command’s child part takes in a homosexual lifestyle. One must truly wonder what the first lady does say to Mr. Bush, when such a close family friend is directly being affected by his distorted view of appropriate sexuality. Pink also address the non? action that was insinuated by the no child left behind act.The President adamantly states that he is helping the education system in the country through this act, ye t he fails to provide any sort of funding to instill his policy changes. How can one expect to implement new policies yet not provide any funds to do so, while billions of dollars are being spent to make war? Poverty is addressed when Pink explains that Mr. Bush has no idea what it is like to work from minimum wage and be pregnant, or how it would feel to sleep in a cardboard box. She states Mr. Bush knows nothing about hard work.This is a very plausible assertion considering that his own father was the President and he was raised in a more affluent segment of society. The song â€Å"Dear Mr. President† did not get large amounts of play time on the United States radio, in fact it got very little airtime. Pink was quoted as saying that she wrote the song as an attack on the President and his administration to prove that she could and what a great country that we live in to allow her to do so. The song provides for a valid attack on the policies of the Bush administration and o f President Bush himself.

Nebobites Ethical Dilemma Essay

This case involves a small public traded company named Nebobites, which manufactures dog treats. Jenny O. , CPA, is the new Assistant Controller for the Nebobites’ company, and her job is to review and audit the financial statements for the 2012 year. While reviewing the financial statements, Jenny noticed the company’s Allowance for Doubtful Accounts balance seemed significantly higher than in the past. This increase in the Allowance account was due to the Bad Debt Expense estimation being based off 3% of net credit sales instead of the prior years’ estimate of 1. %. The increase in Bad Debts expense as a result of the increase in estimate materially affected the 2012 earnings. However, 2012 had been a great year for earnings, so the additional expense did not disturb the earnings growth trend Nebobites’ had experienced in the past. However, upon further research, Jenny could find no justification for the increase in the Bad Debt Expense estimate from 1. 5% of net credit sales to 3%. Jenny decides to approach her boss, the Controller, Maxwell Devious. He tells Jenny he is aware of the practice known as â€Å"income smoothing. Maxwell Devious says showing a steady growth in earnings was essential to keep the Nebobite stock price high as possible as the Smith family planned to sell-off a significant number of shares in early 2014. Jenny feels extremely uncomfortable with this practice, and she knows that this year’s financial statements will retain an overstated Bad Debt Expense estimate and more than likely result in an understated Bad Debt Expense estimate in 2013. 2. An ethical decision must be made by Jenny, because she is going to have to decide what is morally right or wrong. This fake presentation of increase in earnings will potentially affect every stakeholder involved with the company including their shareholders, creditors, management, employees and the customers. This faulty practice will leave an overstated Bad Debt Expense estimate for the year and more than likely result in an understated Bad Debt Expense estimate in 2013. Jenny needs to decide whether she thinks it is more important to look profitable to investors and appear to have greater wealth or is it more important to show creditors that they do not have sufficient funds to cover their debts. She also knows that Maxwell Devious, the Controller, has an employee profit sharing plan, a management bonus plan based on earnings, significant bank loans outstanding and is planning on raising funds through a bond issue in 2014; all of these are affected by the earnings for the year. 3. By deciding not to change the estimate back to the appropriate percentage of 1. 5%, it does single out individuals and the upper management group. These individuals that are Jenny’s superiors simply do not want her to make the adjustment because it is in their best interest (looking profitable & performance bonuses) and not in the company and its stakeholders’ best interest as a whole. It is also a legal violation because the company’s CEO and other top-level personnel should swear that all financial data for the company is relevant and accurate, and they knowingly defy corporate policies and the GAAP. 4. In this particular situation, Jenny is faced with a couple options; some of which are favorable, others not so much. Jenny can choose to abide by her scandalous boss, and decide to go along with the inappropriate change in estimate. This choice may blow over for the time being, but in the long run, Jenny and the company may be audited in the future exploiting their mistakes made in the 2012 financial statements. This could cause Jenny to be immediately terminated when the mistakes were finally found, as well as the possibility of jail time after an investigation and trial. Another possible route Jenny could take would be to report the inappropriate practices to an outsider’s attention, such as an external auditing firm. By doing so, she could save her job possibly for the time the company is being investigated, but may later be fired. Although she will eventually have to find a new job, this choice may save her from being in trouble with the law and potentially boost her chances of finding a new job due to her discovery at Nebobites. Another final option that I would see plausible in this situation would be to simply quit, if the Controller did not want to change the estimation and swear on the financial statements. The legal risk is too high in the case, and you do not want the downfall of Nebobites to be on your shoulders. 5. By deciding to go along with the inappropriate change in estimate, Jenny’s job may be safe for the time being, but in the long run, Jenny and the company may be audited in the future exploiting their mistakes made in the 2012 financial statements. This could cause Jenny to be immediately terminated when the mistakes were finally found, as well as the possibility of jail time after an investigation and trial. This is morally and legally wrong because she knowingly goes against corporate policies and the generally accepted accounting principles in order to reap the benefits. By reporting the inappropriate practices to an outsider’s attention, such as an external auditing firm, she could save her job possibly for the time the company is being investigated, but may later be fired. Although she will eventually have to find a new job, this choice may save her from being in trouble with the law and potentially boost her chances of finding a new job due to her discovery at Nebobites. By choosing this option, Jenny acts in a dignified and legal manner. She knows that she is doing what is right and is protecting stakeholders of the company. The other option of simply just resigning or quitting her position would not have much effect on the company. She is acting morally because she is not going along with the inappropriate practices of Nebobites, but she is not doing what is in the best interest for all stakeholders. The company will most likely find a new Assistant Controller for the operation who will go along with the unlawful scheme. This ultimately resulting in the downfall of the company, when Jenny could have prevented this and saved thousands of jobs by alerting an outside auditor. 6. By alerting an outside auditor to investigate this situation, Jenny does what is in the best interest for all stakeholders. This will eventually reveal the truth and allow shareholders to see the negative affect on stock prices, creditors can be informed on the debt situation of our company and be aware of the risk of dealing with us. Management will be disappointed with the actions of Jenny, in which they sacrificed their performance bonuses and will most likely fire her. The company will still have a chance to flourish, however, when the economy turns back around. By keeping the inappropriate estimate, Jenny will most likely be in the praises of her superiors for the bonuses they received; but, in the longer run, the company’s financial statements will be inaccurate and liabilities to creditors will go unpaid. Shareholders will actual lose more money and the company has the potential to go bankrupt any day if the economy does not take a sudden turn around. The top executives, as well as Jenny, should live in fear of being exploited of their misinterpretations and eventually will get caught up in severe legal trouble. If Jenny simply quit without seeking outside assistance from auditors, she is still acting in a somewhat immoral and illegal manner. This is because the stakeholders of the company will inevitably still be in serious trouble due to the deception of Jenny and the upper management of the Nebobites’ company. . I believe that it is in the best interest for Jenny to consult an outside auditing firm. Although it could potentially make her lose her job when her superiors are notified, it enlightens all stakeholders involved with the Nebobites’ company. The risk is too great if Jenny decides to leave the inappropriate estimate as is; she risks not only losing her job, bu t also risks going to jail, as well as losing her CPA license entirely. It is worth far more in life to be an honest and truthful person who looks out for others than it is to be a deceitful and uncaring.

50 Greek and Latin Root Words

50 Greek and Latin Root Words In English grammar, a  root  is a word or portion of a word from which other words grow, usually through the addition of  prefixes and suffixes. By learning root words, you can decipher unfamiliar words, expand your vocabulary, and become a better English speaker.   The Roots of Words Most words in the English language are based on words from ancient Greek and Latin. The root of the word vocabulary, for example, is ​voc, a Latin root meaning word or name. This root also appears in such  words  as advocacy, convocation, evocative, vocal, and vowel. By dissecting words such as these, etymologists can study how a word has evolved over time and tell us about the cultures they came from. Root words are also useful for creating new words, especially in technology and medicine, where new innovations occur frequently. Think of the Greek root word tele, which means far, and inventions that traverse long distances, such as the telegraph, telephone, and television. The word technology itself is a combination of two other Greek root words, techne, meaning skill or art, and logos, or study. Greek Root Words The table below defines and illustrates 25  of the most common Greek roots. Root Meaning Examples anti against antibacterial, antidote, antithesis ast(er) star asteroid, astronomy, astronaut aqu water aquarium, aquatic, aqualung auto self automatic, automate, autobiograph biblio book bibliography, bibliophile bio life biography, biology, biodegradable chrome color monochromatic, phytochrome chrono time chronic, synchronize, chronicle doc teach document, docile, doctrinal dyna power dynasty, dynamic, dynamite geo earth geography, geology, geometry gno to know agnostic, acknowledge graph write autograph, graphic, demographic hydr water dehydrate, hydrant, hydropower kinesis movement kinetic, photokinesis logos word, study astrology, biology, theologian narc sleep narcotic, narcolepsy path feel empathy, pathetic, apathy phil love philosophy, bibliophile, philanthropy phon sound microphone, phonograph, telephone photo light photograph, photocopy, photon schem plan scheme, schematic syn together, with synthetic, photosynthesis tele far telescope, telepathy, television tropos turning heliotrope, tropical Latin Root Words The table below defines and illustrates 25  of the most common Latin  roots. Root Meaning Examples ab to move away abstract, abstain, aversion acer, acri bitter acrid, acrimony, exacerbate audi hear audible, audience, auditorium bene good benefit, benign, benefactor brev short abbreviate, brief circ round circus, circulate dict say dictate, edict, dictionary duc lead, make deduce, produce, educate fund bottom founder, foundation, funding gen to birth gene, generate, generous hab to have ability, exhibit, inhabit jur law jury, justice, justify lev to lift levitate, elevate, leverage log, logue thought logic, apologize, analogy luc, lum light lucid, illuminate, translucent manu hand manual, manicure, manipulate mis, mit send missile, transmit, permit omni all omnivorous, omnipotent, omniscent pac peace pacify, pacific, pacifist port carry export, import, important quit silent, restive tranquil, requiem, acquit scrib, script to write script, proscribe, describe sens to feel sensitive, sentient, resent terr earth terrain, territory, extraterrestrial tim to fear timid, timorous vac empty vacuum, vacate, evacuate vid, vis to see video, vivid, invisible ​Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter. But be careful: root words can have more than one meaning as well as various shades of meaning. In addition, words that look similar may  derive  from different roots. Sources Bryant, Alice, and Robbins, Jill. Grow Your Vocabulary by Learning Root Words. VOANews.com, 28 November 2017.Grammarly staff. Why You Should Learn Roots. Grammarly.com, 6 February 2016.McCammon, Ellen. 50 GRE Words You Should Know. PrepScholar.com, 8 February 2017.

Saks Fifth Avenue vs. Neiman Marcus - A Detailed Company Analysis Using Balance Sheets and Income Statements

Saks Fifth Avenue vs. Neiman Marcus - A Detailed Company Analysis Using Balance Sheets and Income Statements I am writing to analyse the company's current balance sheet and income statement. Particularly, I will critique on the company's results, compare it to past years, compare it to competitors, and make recommendations on how to improve its financial position.Neiman Marcus department stores offer luxurious and high-quality men's and women's apparel and accessories. The Neiman Marcus Group operates 35 stores in nearly 20 states. The 2004 net income was an impressive $204 million and revenue was $3.5 billion. More importantly, their gross profit was $1.2 billion. Their net income is approximately 5.8% (compared to total revenue) and 1.7% (compared to their gross profit). This may seem little, but when a company revenues such a large amount, a small percentage net income is a very large amount, as exemplified. Comparing it with their largest competition - Off Fifth Saks Avenue (Saks) - Neiman Marcus earns 5 times their competition's income.English: Neiman Marcus flagship store, Dallas, Tex ...The profit figure is very adequate.Neiman Marcus' income statement shows their fiscal period ends in July. The total revenue was $3.5 billion but their cost of revenue was $2.3 billion. This is 66% of their revenue. This is significantly high, but again, to increase revenue comes with expenses. After calculations, the total expenses were approximately $1 billion. On the given income statement (attached) they show mostly taxation and interest expenses. These expenses cannot be commented on because they are standard, as directed by the government. However, we are given the "selling general and administrative expense", which was $875 million. These are associated with payrolls and running the company. These expenses are 71.5% of the company's gross profit. These expenses are high and should be lowered; but in comparison to their competition, it is 10% lower.There is always room for improvement and by lowering expenses, one can...

Active contours

Active contours Active contours are one category of variational methods that have been used widely within image segmentation applications. An energy functional is defined with arguments as the image parameters and a closed curve that partitions the objects in the image. There are two main methods of representing the curves such as (a) extrinsic and (b) intrinsic. Extrinsic representation keeps function values at boundary points. Intrinsic lets use of functions that are defined on all the point of the image and are more desirable. Intrinsic representation of a planar curve C using an auxiliary function is denoted as C = f(x; y) j (x; y) = 0g (22) where (x; y) is called level set function of curve C and the zero level of (x; y) is taken as the contour. Curvature  of the closed curve C with level set function  is given by  = div( 5 k5k ) (23) The deformation of the contour is reprsented in a numerical form as a partial differential equation @(x;y) @t =j 5(x; y) j ( + ((x; y))) (24) where  is a constant speed term to push or pull the contour. Mean curvature of the level set function is defined as: ((x; y)) = xx2 yà ´Ã‚€Â€Â€2xyxy+yy2 x (2 x+2 y)3=2 (25) where x is the first derivative with respect to x and xx is the second derivative with respect to x. The role of the curvature term is to control the regularity of the contour and  controls the balance between the regularity and robustness of the contour. Chan Vese formulated the energy function F in terms of an internal force Eint and an external force Eext F(C) = R 1 0 [Eint(C(S)) + Eext(C(S))]ds (26) Eint = length(C) + Area(Cin) (27) Eext = R Cin j I(x; y) à ´Ã‚€Â€Â€ I1 j2 + R Cout j I(x; y) à ´Ã‚€Â€Â€ I2 j2 (28) where  and  are positive fixed parameters which help to smoothen the growing contour. I(x; y) is intensity value of image region and I1 and I2 are average intensity value inside and outside the object region, respectively. IV. IMPLEMENTATION AND ANALYSIS All qualitative and quantitative outcome of the algorithm were recorded by running the Matlab programs with Intel(R) Core (TM) i7 CPU, 3.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM with Matlab 14 (a) on Windows 8. A. Description of Test Data The dataset used in the proposed algorithm consists of scanned images of stained breast biopsy slides from MITOS dataset [35]. Each set is composed of 96 high power field (HPF) images of breast tissue scanned at 40X magnification using two different scanners, Aperio (AP) and Hamamatsu (HM), with a resolution of 0.23-0.24 m:. All the images are 1376  1539  3 size. B. Experimental Strategies This paper qualitatively and quantitatively compares the KHO based optimal nuclei detection performance with the watershed based detection done by S. Ali et al. [8] and blue ratio image based detection done by Irshad et al. [21]. The segmentation performance is compared with local threshold method done by Cheng Lu et al. [22]. 1) Experiment 1: Evaluating the optimal threshold value: Goal of this experiment was to prove the power of KHO based optimal thresholding to detect the exact nuclei regions in histology images. It also compares the optimum value of the threshold obtained by KHO in breast histopathology images with GA, HSA and BFA. 2) Experiment 2: Comparison of Detection Accuracy: Aim of this work is to validate the detection performance of the proposed technique against the watershed and blue ratio techniques in terms of detection sensitivity and precision. 3) Experiment 3: Comparison of Segmentation Accuracy: This evaluates the performance of the detection algorithm in ACM segmentation and compare the results against two state-of-the-art techniques in terms of boundary based distance measures. This experiment also measure the strength of the algorithm to resolve the touching nuclei in terms of touching nuclei resolution.1) Evaluation of Detection Performance: This paper qualitatively and quantitatively evaluates the application of optimal thresholding in nuclei detection performance. The mean objective value and standard deviation express the consistency and stability of the algorithms. The results obtained by KHO are compared with GA, HSA and BFA. The parameters used in these algorithms are given in Table II.The quantitative evaluation of detection performance is carried out by locating the centroid of detected nuclear regions. The measures used to assess the nuclei detection comprise of: 1) Sensitivity (SD); 2) Positive Predictive value or Precision (PD); and 3) F-measure (FD) as given in eq. (26), (27), and (28), respectively. The results obtained are compared with manual detection results by an expert pathologist. The SD and PD values are computed from the number of truepositives (number of correctly detected nuclei, Ntp) , falsepositives (number of wrongly identified nuclei, Nfp) and false negatives(number of nuclei not detected by the algorithm, Nfn). The detected object is considered as true positive if its centroid is within 10 pixels range of manually determined centroid location. If no centroid was manually located within

Blue ocean strategy book summery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blue ocean strategy book summery - Essay Example Due to this environment, the struggle for success in the business world has become a battle among the competing interests (Kim & Mauborgne, 2013). Originally, the red ocean strategy was the most used mode of emerging top of the competition. However, the book talks about a new and different approach that is the blue ocean strategy. The terms blue ocean strategy is metaphorical to the authors’ envisioning and perception of the strategy in physical terms. The red ocean strategy as described in the book refers to the previously most popular way of beating the competition in the present environment. The red ocean strategy represents an environment where the rules of competition are defined and set. In addition, a well-known market space exists (Kim & Mauborgne, 2013). The only way for companies to beat the competition in the red ocean strategies is by fighting and struggling to outdo each other by taking actions that make their products more appealing to the market. The actions taken in the end gradually reduce the profit margin of the products. Methods of winning in the red ocean strategy involve approaches such as lowering the price of commodities to be cheaper than the ones in the market (Kim & Mauborgne, 2013). An action like this puts pressure on other competitors in the market to take a similar action culminating into a chain effect. Consequently, the price of the product or service lowers further and so does the profit margins o f the products or services. The author envisages the red ocean strategy as a gory competition to acquire a bigger market share of the product or service. The authors describe the main differences between the red ocean strategies and the blue ocean strategies. The approach towards market space whereby the red ocean strategies focuses on competing in existing market space while the blue ocean strategy relies on creating new uncontested market space which involves a great deal of innovation (Kim & Mauborgne,

Procter and Gamble Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Procter and Gamble - Assignment Example As the paper declares the matrix formula suggested by Burrell and Morgan demonstrates interaction by any organization with its internal and external environment. The matrix is summarized into four quadrants representing the four paradigms: radical humanistic, radical structuralist, interpretive and functionalist.This discussion highlights that  the society constitutes of organizations that share civic values on which they base their status quo. Change would be realized by implementing minimal structural adjustment to fit within prevailing external context. Interpretive researchers hold that reality is a construct of individuals based on how they interpret their environment. Individual elements and members of an organization influence its competitiveness. Change can be realized as a result of individual reframing of events and other factors in the organizational context. An organizational analysis from this perspective investigates input by individual departments, management decisio ns, staff members and performance of individual products. Its subjective nature allows for creative ideas in crisis resolution and implementing change in organizations.  An appreciation of unique strength and weaknesses among members of staff provides insight in responsibility allocations. In market competitiveness interpretive research realize that various regions are defined by unique characteristics which marketers should be aware. In order to penetrate such regions evaluation of specific marketing strategies and their relevance should be conducted by marketers on the basis of the product being handled. This is based on the interpretive view that events are better understood through active

Education for Indigenous Australians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Education for Indigenous Australians - Essay Example AESOC (2008) reckons that the representation of students in other areas in vocational education and training is also something to write about even though with pinch of salt. Regardless of some remarkable milestones, educational stakeholders both in government agencies and the private sector have expressed concerns about the sluggish pace at which reforms have unfolded. Often, many indigenous students drop out of school while at quite an early age. This has been marked by the existing gaps in indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (AESOC, 2008). The government has however increasingly crafted policy interventions in favor of indigenous-specific intervention programs (Carol 2004). A number of leaders in Australia and elsewhere in the world are of the opinion that it is important to review school curriculum with a view to prepare students for further education and successful careers. Even more importantly is the notion that many schools should expand aims of learning in a manner that takes care of a more career oriented approach to education. This means the adoption of new strategies and expansion of career oriented approach to learning rather than just preparing students for University Education in Australia (Hudis 2001). Some high schools are re-organizing their curriculum around careers with the explicit view of aiding students for further education and putting more emphasis on careers with market angling to employment needs (Hudis 2004). Pundits have argued that some of the major bottlenecks of globalization that brought about the current economic crisis are found in the failure of governance in educational role at both the national and international levels in relation to educational policies and building up of sound economies based on realistic and sustainable education-based skills. Consequently, a grave focus has been put on relevant education coupled with factors such as effective educational policies that appreciate the dynamics of the global economy (Carol, 2004). Fazal et al. (2005) notes that educational policies have been affected a great deal. He states that various governments and their agencies, under the conditions of globalization, have been changing a number of things. These include not only the rationale for education but also getting actively involved in reconstructing the syllabi and approaches of teaching by being cognizant of factors such as technology e.g. the use of internet and other technological advancements in the world today. Largely, all these take into account the ever-changing aspects of international relations and globalization. Opportunities and Reasons for More Career Oriented Approach in Enhancing Academic Achievements of Students in the Market Place, both Globally and for Australians Interestingly, majority of school leaders have in recent past shown concern that in the communities, many educators, those in business leadership and parents are becoming worried that many high school graduates are increasingly falling below standards as far as responding to the needs of employers in the job market are concerned (ASI, 2003). Further, with no exception to Australia, the curre nt economic challenges have brought about the issue of employers looking workers with high-end skills rather than just education (Carol 2004). Through globalization, educational policies that appreciate the understanding of the global economy are being empathized. Education meets two basic levels: equality and social issues and skills demanded by employers. Accordingly, the concept of democratic level-headedness suggests the call for a system of education that facilitates socio-economic progress and appreciation of a culture of economic relevance, which can be used meaningfully to take part in communities’

MBA in Supply Chain Management module Change and performance measures Essay

MBA in Supply Chain Management module Change and performance measures - Essay Example The ltter brngs fewer volumes of effectve negotton nd brgnng power nd t gurntees flexble nd quck responses for busness. n vew of bove, t s beng questoned why compnes turn to delng wth decentrlzed mngement when centrlzed procurement results n obvously domnnt effectveness. The response to ths queston wll be tht there re no dvntges of one pproch to purchsng over nother; there s one wy of effectve procurement tht gurntees successful outcome nd t by mens - blncng decentrlzed nd centrlzed pproches when dong regulr purchses n the system of supply chn mngement. Centrlzed keepng of wrehouse purchses s n effectve step towrds keepng the sfety stocks nd ncrese nventory turnover. However, whle centrlzng solves the nventory mngement problem to degree, wth very lrge number of prts the nventory mngement of slow movng prts s stll formdble chllenge. To llustrte the problem we cn use the Preto, or 20/80 rule (Donld, Bowersox, Closs, 1996), to see how lrge number of tems drve up nventory mngement costs nd undermnes the development of more cost-effectve servce strtegy. Usng the rule we cn see tht lmted number of fst movng tems - usully round 20 % of the tems - mke up 80% of sles nd profts nd only smll frcton of nventory mngement costs. These re the fst movng -prts. The rest re the B- nd C- prts tht drve hgh nventory mngement costs whle not contrbutng to the proftblty of the busness (B-prts re the 50% of the products tht mke up 15% of the sles. C-prts contrbute wth 5% of sles but mke up 30% of the tems n nventory). However, the perspectve provded by the Preto nlyss helps us see potentl soluton. Wht f t were found tht number of the slow movng B- nd C- prts fulfl the necessry techncl requrements for beng produced usng Rpd Mnufcturng f ths were the cse t would be possble to replce keepng prt n nventory wth producng t on demnd. n other words, the soluton would be to replce nventory n the centrlzed wrehouse wth Rpd Mnufcturng cpcty n connecton wth the centrlzed spre prts centre. Wht s the potentl beneft of replcng nventory holdng wth rpd mnufcturng cpcty n the centrlzed spre prts centre Currently the slow movng B- nd C- prts drve up nventory holdng nd logstcs costs tht need to be subsdzed wth profts from fst movng prts. ntroducng Rpd Mnufcturng would cut the hgh nventory holdng nd logstcs costs of the slow movng prts, nd reduce the need to subsdze the hgh costs of B- nd C-prts wth profts from fst movng prts. Ths would lso reduce the vulnerblty of the OEM's busness to rlnes nvestng n Rpd Mnufcturng cpcty on ther own. Centrlzed wrehousng combned wth centrlzed Rpd Mnufcturng for the slow movng B- nd C- prts keeps nventory low whle t the sme tme keepng nvestments n rpd mnufcturng cpcty well utlzed. Opertng stnd-lone mchnes n number of dfferent loctons s neffcent becuse the requred qulfed personnel cn not be employed very effectvely. s more prts re found where nventory holdng cn be replced wth Rpd Mnufcturng, nd the demnd for these prts exceeds the cpcty of sngle RM

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration - Essay Example Locking up the criminals and isolating them from the society would prevent them from committing more crimes. Moreover, incarceration would introduce the criminals to criminal lifestyle, which they would never like to adopt for themselves. However, there are other people who do not agree with these views. They believe that incarceration changes nothing, the prisoners are just â€Å"locked up† and the â€Å"key is thrown away†. According to them, this system does not do enough good to the society. The present essay examines the different approaches in regards of incarceration, analyze the present situation, and provide a viable conclusion at the end. In USA, the policy of criminal justice has been shaped under the guidance of President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1969). According to Samuel Walker, this commission issued a report called â€Å"The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society†, which had ground breaking effects. The report had over two hundred recommendations, which developed a comprehensive approach in fighting and prevention of crime in the United States. This involved a system that required coordination among the courts, law enforcement agencies, and correctional agencies. Incarceration is an important instrument in relation to the activities of the correctional agencies. Actually, incarceration would effectively do the following: However, people who are against incarceration have their own arguments. According to Hide Yamatani and Solveig Spjeldnes, â€Å"The Second Chance Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-199) is a federal recognition that the decades old strategy of locking up the criminals in the name of public safety has been disastrous.† In this context, elimination of racial discrimination and disparity in regards of recidivism among the people who are exposed to the social services during their imprisonment is critical indeed. Hence, â€Å"seamless, intensive, and comprehensive

Education for Indigenous Australians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Education for Indigenous Australians - Essay Example AESOC (2008) reckons that the representation of students in other areas in vocational education and training is also something to write about even though with pinch of salt. Regardless of some remarkable milestones, educational stakeholders both in government agencies and the private sector have expressed concerns about the sluggish pace at which reforms have unfolded. Often, many indigenous students drop out of school while at quite an early age. This has been marked by the existing gaps in indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (AESOC, 2008). The government has however increasingly crafted policy interventions in favor of indigenous-specific intervention programs (Carol 2004). A number of leaders in Australia and elsewhere in the world are of the opinion that it is important to review school curriculum with a view to prepare students for further education and successful careers. Even more importantly is the notion that many schools should expand aims of learning in a manner that takes care of a more career oriented approach to education. This means the adoption of new strategies and expansion of career oriented approach to learning rather than just preparing students for University Education in Australia (Hudis 2001). Some high schools are re-organizing their curriculum around careers with the explicit view of aiding students for further education and putting more emphasis on careers with market angling to employment needs (Hudis 2004). Pundits have argued that some of the major bottlenecks of globalization that brought about the current economic crisis are found in the failure of governance in educational role at both the national and international levels in relation to educational policies and building up of sound economies based on realistic and sustainable education-based skills. Consequently, a grave focus has been put on relevant education coupled with factors such as effective educational policies that appreciate the dynamics of the global economy (Carol, 2004). Fazal et al. (2005) notes that educational policies have been affected a great deal. He states that various governments and their agencies, under the conditions of globalization, have been changing a number of things. These include not only the rationale for education but also getting actively involved in reconstructing the syllabi and approaches of teaching by being cognizant of factors such as technology e.g. the use of internet and other technological advancements in the world today. Largely, all these take into account the ever-changing aspects of international relations and globalization. Opportunities and Reasons for More Career Oriented Approach in Enhancing Academic Achievements of Students in the Market Place, both Globally and for Australians Interestingly, majority of school leaders have in recent past shown concern that in the communities, many educators, those in business leadership and parents are becoming worried that many high school graduates are increasingly falling below standards as far as responding to the needs of employers in the job market are concerned (ASI, 2003). Further, with no exception to Australia, the curre nt economic challenges have brought about the issue of employers looking workers with high-end skills rather than just education (Carol 2004). Through globalization, educational policies that appreciate the understanding of the global economy are being empathized. Education meets two basic levels: equality and social issues and skills demanded by employers. Accordingly, the concept of democratic level-headedness suggests the call for a system of education that facilitates socio-economic progress and appreciation of a culture of economic relevance, which can be used meaningfully to take part in communities’

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration - Essay Example Locking up the criminals and isolating them from the society would prevent them from committing more crimes. Moreover, incarceration would introduce the criminals to criminal lifestyle, which they would never like to adopt for themselves. However, there are other people who do not agree with these views. They believe that incarceration changes nothing, the prisoners are just â€Å"locked up† and the â€Å"key is thrown away†. According to them, this system does not do enough good to the society. The present essay examines the different approaches in regards of incarceration, analyze the present situation, and provide a viable conclusion at the end. In USA, the policy of criminal justice has been shaped under the guidance of President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1969). According to Samuel Walker, this commission issued a report called â€Å"The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society†, which had ground breaking effects. The report had over two hundred recommendations, which developed a comprehensive approach in fighting and prevention of crime in the United States. This involved a system that required coordination among the courts, law enforcement agencies, and correctional agencies. Incarceration is an important instrument in relation to the activities of the correctional agencies. Actually, incarceration would effectively do the following: However, people who are against incarceration have their own arguments. According to Hide Yamatani and Solveig Spjeldnes, â€Å"The Second Chance Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-199) is a federal recognition that the decades old strategy of locking up the criminals in the name of public safety has been disastrous.† In this context, elimination of racial discrimination and disparity in regards of recidivism among the people who are exposed to the social services during their imprisonment is critical indeed. Hence, â€Å"seamless, intensive, and comprehensive

The Metaphysics of John Stuart Mill in Relation to Philippine Government Essay Example for Free

The Metaphysics of John Stuart Mill in Relation to Philippine Government Essay This is a discourse that is made for metaphysical study that brought enlightenment with the two different paradigms that explicate the essential attribution to the implication of the self to the Filipino. I would like to acknowledge the help of some people who made this research possible Dr. Segundo Sim for his direction, assistance, and guidance particularly in his recommendations and suggestions have been invaluable for the research. I also wish to thank Sir Garnace, who has taught me techniques of writing. Special thanks should be given to my classmates and colleagues who helped me in many ways. Finally, words alone cannot express the thanks I owe to my family for their encouragement and assistance. Abstract Although philosophical inquiries regarding the notion of the self bombarded through different elucidation of philosophers still encompasses the internal aspect of within as a metaphysical commitment which regard to the notion of the East and West paradigm. This paper aims to elucidate in comparative way the essential contribution of the philosophies of two different paradigms with the essential thought of metaphysical assertion. It entails the significance towards metaphysical endowment as a very profound distinction and similarities thru a bi polar elucidation regarding the concept of David Hume’s commencement of the self as no self at all, that everything underlies within the notion of impression, and that the self is no self at all. In Nishida Kitaro’s commencement he explicitly determined the stance of the self in the pure experience towards a nihilistic point of view which he determined that a self is a Basho or place, as an empty self. Towards the two philosophies of the self as a metaphysical genealogy intertwine the metaphysical through ethical relation of the centripetal morality of the actuality and the potentiality of the being ness of the Filipinos. Chapter 2 Introduction This paper aims to expose in a comparative way the ideas of Scottish philosopher David Hume and Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro both studies talks about the metaphysical understanding a propos notion of the Self and the repercussion to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos. A comparative way of explicating not leading to a chauvinistic elucidation but an affirmative thought between the two. Both thoughts consider the metaphysical attribution of the Self in a necessary relation determining the pursuit of the self or a person and the extraordinary conception of causation of beings. The unravel spirit of formulating thoughts regarding the diversity of the concept is a view of exhilarating the close door in a new light of horizon. The ideas of two different paradigms, the East and West have in a way the same conception that will elucidate their affinity and even the diversity will be serve somehow as an enlightenment, a determinant factor of a fascinating point of view of life in the meadow of philosophizing in a prolific manner. This will somehow shows a connection that will outpour the transcendental understanding of the self of an individual and the intertwining part towards morality. Thou, it implied denotes the bond within the necessary connection of the two paradigm will surely enlighten the reader in the spirit signification of a merely self of a person into a selfhood act to forsake what is the reality of the inter connection that purports the two representation and the metaphysical connection of the self and the pure experience as a notion that is necessarily for the convenience essentiality of this paper. The relationship of the self to metaphysics is the being of man that constitutes the whole embedded part of the ontological and transcendental aspect of one’s own essential attribute in the world. Man is a Self determining being, the place of the self to reality serve as a teleological concept, thou not genuine still emerge the possibility of the impossibility that takes place in the being ness capable of living. The teleological character of the unity we ascribe to the self is further illustrated by the puzzles suggested by the â€Å"alternate and multiple† personalities a connection of the past life to a new life as being the expression of aims and interests which were at least implicitly and as tendencies already present though concealed in the old connotation that will lead to uplift the individual self. The self implies and has no existence apart from a not self and it is only the contrast with the not self that’s aware of it self as a self. The feeling of self is certainly not an inseparable concomitant of all our experience. Self consciousnesses are source of weakness and moral failure. While we are steadily engaged in the progressive execution of a purpose we lose ourselves in the work, it is only upon a check that we become self conscious. Self consciousness in the bad sense always arises from a sense of an incongruity between the self and some contrasted object or environment. This paper will elucidate the two philosophies of the great philosophers which regard to self Theoretical Framework. The researcher uses a theoretical framework to explain the concept of Nishida Kitaro and David Hume’s notion of the Self and its relation to the Centripetal Morality of Filipinos. The researcher will elucidate the two paradigm enable to have a grasp in the two different philosophies of the East and West and how they are connected to the centripetal morality of Filipinos. And through discussing what are the two diverse fields of a metaphysical philosophy the researcher will explicate the essential correlation towards the moral aspect in effect to the morality of Filipinos. Statement of the problem 1. What is the problem of the Self according to Nishida Kitaro? 2. What is David Hume’s concept of the Self? 3. What is the implication of their Metaphysical philosophies of the Self to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos? Thesis Statement The Metaphysical philosophy of Hume and Nishida is a manifestation of a life, a life that embedded a direct way of viewing the external exemplification to substantiate the discourse between the two, through the ordinary. An internal co relation to the external out view of the self towards the life of the Filipinos will surely afflict the individual of a person towards the being ness as an uninfringeable essential factor of one’s own self. There is no definite line of demarcation between self and not-self the self on its side consisting of me and the not self is social, the self on its side consisting of me and the not-self of other men. The self is essentially a thing of development and as such has its being in the time process. The nature of the experience is the concept of the self is based. The self is never identical with anything that could be found completely existing at any one moment in the mental life. Self is essentially an ideal and an ideal which is apprehended as contrasted with present actuality. They ought and the must also know nothing of the feeling of self. Review of Related Literature Kant’s concept of the self Kant’s concept of the self is a response to Hume in part. Kant wished to justify a conviction in physics as a body of universal truth. The other being to insulate religion, especially a belief in immortality and free will (Brooks 2004). In the Inaugural Dissertation of 1770, Kant corrected earlier problems of a non-material soul having localization in space. Kant used inner sense to defend the heterogeneity of body and soul: â€Å"bodies are objects of outer sense; souls are objects of inner sense† (Carpenter 2004). In Kant’s thought there are two components of the self: 1. inner-self 2. Outer-self (Brooks 2004). There are two kinds of consciousness of self: consciousness of oneself and ones psychological states in inner sense and consciousness of oneself and ones states via performing acts of apperception. Empirical self-consciousness is the term Kant used to describe the inner self. Transcendental apperception or (TA) is used in two manners by Kant for the term. The first being a synthetic faculty and a second as the â€Å"I† as subject. One will note that logically this function would occur in inner sense (Brooks 2004). Kant states that all representational states are in inner sense include all spatially localized outer objects. The origin or our representations regardless if they are the product of a priori or outer objects as modifications of the mind belong to inner sense. Kant presents apperception as a means to consciousness to one’s self. Inner sense is not pure apperception. It is an awareness of what we are experiencing as we are affected by thought (Brooks 2004). Brooks cites three types of synthesis. Kant claimed, there are three types of synthesis required to organize information, namely apprehending in intuition, reproducing in imagination, and recognizing in concepts (A97-A105). â€Å"Synthesis of apprehension concerns raw perceptual input, synthesis of recognition concerns concepts, and synthesis of reproduction in imagination allows the mind to go from the one to the other. † (Brooks 2004). Unity of experience and consciousness are integral to the concept of the self. Transcendental apperception has function to unite all appearances into one experience. This is a unity based on causal laws. There is a synthesis according to concepts that subordinates all to transcendental unity. According to Kant the contents of consciousness must have causal connections to be unified (Brooks 2004). Kant argues that in the present progressive one can be aware of oneself by an act of representing (Kant 1789). Representation is not intuitive but a spontaneous act of performing or doing things. Man knows that by doing and fulfilling activities that these impressions cannot be simply sensations resulting from the senses. Representation fulfills three acts. An act of representing can make one conscious of its object, itself and oneself as its subject; the representational base of consciousness of these three items. Becoming conscious of our selves is simply an act of representation and nothing more (Brooks 2004). Kant postulates that there is a plurality of representations that gives rise to our view of self as a â€Å"single common subject†. This concept requires a constant undivided self. This concept is a continuation of global unity that spans many representations, one does not have to be conscious of the global object but of oneself as subject of all representations (Kant 1787). Kant’s self has a unity of self reference, â€Å"When we are conscious of ourselves as subject, we are conscious of ourselves as the â€Å"single common subject† [CPR, A350] of a number of representations. † (Kant 1787). Here Kant confirms that the impressions we perceive have one single common aim and that is the self as subject of these experiences. Kant postulates both senses as empirical but with the object of inner self being the soul. Transcendental apperception is a priori. Kant maintains the use of intuitive faculties of intuition and synthesis in inner self where innate material unites the spatially located objects from the outer self. Here, this permits a downward deductive operation to act from Kant’s theology while preserving an inductive operation from the sense world of our experience. The Essential Self through the Essence and Existence With the concept of rationality, we found ourselves moving from questions about pure reality and back to questions about ourselves and our own activities. In deed with the concept of subjective truth, we found a renewed emphasis on personal questions, questions about self rather than questions about the world. What is the self? What is to be a person? What do you know when you ‘know your self? What is someone telling you to be when he or she tells you ‘just to be yourself†? Real self, a self that does not vary from context. Philosophers have called the real self the essential self that is the set of characteristics that defines a particular person. The experience of our real, or essential, self is familiar to us in a great many circumstances. Self as Consciousness What am I? A thing which thinks. What is a thing which thinks? It is a thing which doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, which also imagines and feels. The theory that the essential self of self identity is the mind or self consciousness can be traced back to ancient times, but its best known defender is the philosopher Descartes, who presented a simple but elegant argument that the individual self is the first thing that each of us can know for certain and that this self, which is indubitable is nothings else but the thinking self, the self that is aware of itself. Kierkegaard: The Passionate Self It is impossible to exist without passion, unless we understand the world exist in the loose sense of a so called existence. Eternity is the winged horse, infinitely fast and time is a worn out nag; the existing individual is the driver, that is to say he is such a driver when his mode of existence is not an existence loosely so called; for then he is no driver but a drunken peasant who lies asleep in the wagon and lets the horses take care of themselves. To be sure he also drives and is a driver; and so there are perhaps many who also exist. The Self as an Open Question If self identity is defined by our answer to the question who am i? One possible answer is nothing yet, nothing definite. If one sees the self not as an inner soul which is in us from birth, but rather as a product of our actions and thought, then self identity is something to be earned, not an already existing fact to be discovered. The existentialist Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) would say that all of those theories which take the self to be found in consciousness are misconceived, the self is not simply thinking, not is it memory of past. The self lies always in the future; it is what we aim toward as we try to make ourselves into something. But this means that as long as we are alive there is no self at least, no fixes and finished self. The self is an open question. What this means is that there is no real self other than the self that we make for ourselves. Kierkegaard’s language all choices are subjective truths, true for the person who makes them but not necessarily true for anyone else. The self is what each of us chooses for ourselves, our protection into our future, our intentions to become a particular kind of person. But as we never wholly achieve this for even when our ambitions are fulfilled we can always change our mind, formulate new ambitions, and so on the self never really exists in full. It is always at best. Alternative Conceptions of Self as Consciousness Plato has defined self in terms of rational thought as opposed to mere thinking, which can be rational or irrational. The Self in Contextualized Action (Shaun Gallagher and Anthony J. Marcel) We identify two forms of self-consciousness, ecological self-awareness and embedded reflection, that (1) function within the kinds of contextualized activity we have indicated, and (2) can be the basis for a theoretical account of the self. Both forms of consciousness are closely tied to action and promise to provide a less abstract basis for developing a theoretical approach to the self. To get clear about philosophical problems, it is useful to become conscious of the apparently unimportant details of the particular situation in which we are inclined to make a certain metaphysical assertion. (Wittgenstein) The self that we are does not possess itself; one could say that it happens' (Gadamer) Overt action is indivisible . . . . It is the whole individual who acts in the real environment (Neisser) Surprising and seemingly counter-intuitive results are not uncommon when philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists, employing a variety of first- and third-person approaches, search for an adequate model of the self. At least one philosopher equates the self with a momentary existence so that we are said to live through a large number of consecutive momentary selves (Strawson 1997). Other philosophers, introspectively exploring the stream of consciousness, fail to find anything at all that resembles a self (Hume 1739). When faced with a range of questions about self (questions pertaining to identity, experience of self, nature of self, and so forth) most theorists approach the topic in a manner that is abstract or detached from behavior and/or action normally embedded in contextualized situations. We also want to suggest that most of the controversies, problems, and paradoxes concerning the notion of self are the result of searching for the self within these abstract perspectives. We suggest a different starting point and strategy for developing models of a self which is more contextualized within the realm of action. First, we want to be clear that although this paper is centrally concerned with the nature of the self, there is a necessarily related issue that we address, namely, the question of access to the self, and whether there can be certain forms of self-consciousness that are not abstractions from contextualized situations. The promise of a sound basis for the development of a theoretical conception of a contextualized self is only good if in fact there are reliable forms of contextualized self-consciousness since the primary method for getting a grasp on the self is through first-person self-experience. Beyond this, however, the question of access is essentially linked with the question of the nature of the self. Access (self-consciousness) is constitutive of self. Second, we wish to be clear that in sketching an approach to a conception of a self in contextualized action, we do not assume that there is only one kind of self or that an explanation of the contextualized self will be an explanation of every sense of self. Other approaches, such as the Meadian analysis of a socially constituted self, or the notion of an autobiographical self, can reveal important and valid conceptions of self. The Ethical Self What we want to call embedded reflection is not the same as the hyper reflective or introspective consciousness we identified in previous sections as a form of abstract, de contextualized behavior. We may state the difference in this way. Embedded reflection is a first-person reflective consciousness that is embedded in a pragmatically or socially contextualized situation. It involves the type of activity that I engage in when someone asks me what I am doing or what I plan to do. In such reflection I do not take consciousness or the self as a direct or introspective object of my reflection; I do not suddenly take on the role of a phenomenologist or theorist for the sake of answering the question. Rather I start to think matters through in terms of possible actions. I treat myself (I discover myself) as an agent. In such situations, my attention is directed not in a reflective inspection of consciousness as consciousness, but toward my own activities in the world where my intentions are already directed. Often my aim in such reflection is not to represent my self to myself, as if it were a piece of furniture in my mind, but to continue certain actions or to explain myself in terms of my action. What is the Self? The Numerical Self (Claro R. Ceniza) Two dimensions of identity of things; their generic and specific identities, on the one hand, and their numerical identities on the other. The generic and specific identities of object refer to their identities as classes, the generic identity having references to the larger class to which an entity belongs, and the specific identity referring to the lowest class to which the individuals belongs and this for our purposes could be the individuals itself. Generics identities may be arrange in a hierarchy of higher and higher classes, the highest class to which an individual belongs being called its SUMMUM GENUS that is in highest class. We may speak of identity in the sense of numerical identity. The numerical identity refers to the identity of individuals with itself. Numerical identity refers to the identity of an individual neither in terms of the classes to which it could belong nor to its properties, but to its history’s individual. For things, spatio- temporal continuities the general criterion although there are exception to this. For humans, memory is perhaps the ultimate criterion, although for ordinary cases. Spatio-temporal continuity is often regarded as adequate. Numerically one and the same. Another example is dotted lines obviously. These are not spatio-temporally continuous, but dotted lines may often be numerically distinguished from each other. With human the continuity of memory is more important than spatio-temporal continuity. When a person writes his bio-data, he more often than not to refer to his numerical identity and recounts his personal history and achievements as an individual. The greater importance of a continuous memory train as the more significant criterion for the numerical identity o persons is shown by the fact that, whether ones believes in it or not, the concept of reincarnation would be impossible, if not for the fact that the possible continuity of memory could be taken as more basic for The numerical identification of an individual, than spatio-temporal continuity, since clearly there is no spatio-temporal continuity between death of a previous embodiment and the birth of the next, spatio –temporal continuity is often considered adequate for the numerical identification of persons. We may regard the numerical identity of a person as his objective self. It is one’ self as seen by others, and as one sees himself objectively as part of a community of persons. What is the Self? The Generic Self The generic self of a person is the class or classes to which the person belongs, according to the way the custom has established these classes relative to him. Thus, a person may be classified as a father, a citizen, a teacher, husband, adult, etc. These classifications and the way he behaves accordingly are important to a person’s self-identity and self-identification and they usually determine his normal behavior, and what others expect. Confucius recognized the importance of role-playing in the society. He said that we all play roles in society- perhaps many roles for each one of us. A harmonious society is one where everyone plays his role at it should be played, according to the name given to that role. A person’s actions should be in accordance with the role or roles that he plays. A person is his roles, He may add to it the unique way he plays it well. Chapter 3 Methodology The researcher will use the comparative way of explicating the metaphysical philosophies of Nishida vis-a-vis Hume and the interrelation of the two philosophers to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos. All the materials are gathered from different libraries and internet research. A documentary abstraction guide will be used by the researcher as an instrument in gathering data. The researcher is able to come up to this topic because the essential part of being ness lies within the self, starts within the self before outpouring with the whole, a part that embedded the necessary significant towards metaphysical aspect to the paradigm of ethics. This study only discusses the definition, exposition of the comparative field of the East and West paradigm. For the philosophical metaphysics of Nishida and for Hume, the main idea regarding the two philosophers purports the essential connection imply with the centripetal morality of Filipinos. Analysis of Data. The first level of discussion will discuss the metaphysical philosophy of Nishida and Hume. The second level of discussion will discuss the comparison and contrast, difference and similarities, of the Philosophers metaphysical thought and the relationship to the centripetal morality of Filipinos. Chapter 1 introduces the study. Chapter 2 discusses the different concepts philosopher regarding the self. Chapter 3 presents some concepts of the self and Nishida’s as well as Hume’s in relation to centripetal morality of Filipinos. Presentation and Analysis of Problems 1. What is the problem of the Self according to Nishida Kitaro? Nishida practiced Zen meditation in his early years and most of his work can be seen as an attempt to explore this experience. One of the fundamental questions that is considered between subject and object. His solution to the polarities of mind body, self world, me-other is to posit an original ground of existence that goes beyond such distinctions. In his first work, Zen No Kenkyo he writes variously on his topic: When one experiences directly one’s conscious state there is as yet neither subject nor object, and knowledge and its object are completely united, this is the purest form of experience. Why is love the union of subject and object? To love something is to cast away the self unite with that other. As emphasized in basic Buddhist thought, the self and the universe share the same foundation, or rather, they are the same thing. Nishida proposed a new thesis: that of ultimate reality as mu no basho, the place of absolute nothingness. Nothingness here corresponds closely to Nagarjuna’s concept shunyata or emptiness. This nothingness is not an absence of God or the self but an absence of quality, division or concept of all of the things which we need in order to define the separate existence of the ego self. By not being anything in particular, we are everything. Nishida eliminates the psychological terminology that had characterized his earlier work. Nishida’s Basho is a radically new concept. By imagining the self as Basho or place rather than as a point, consciousness or presence we move away from all ideas of individuality. Nishida sees in the extinguishing of the ego-self in the Basho the birth of the self as Basho. The basho has the power to unify the contradictions which underlie all existence, to effect the continuity of the discontinuity. In terms of Western logic, the basho violates the principles of contradictions and identity. Nishida claimed that the contradictions at the heart of everything were what caused the constant change and motion we observe in the universe. Only in the mu no basho are these dynamic oppositions reconciled. As a Buddhist, the ultimate good for Nishida is the realization of the true self, the Buddha nature. As a Zen Buddhist, Nishida argues that this realization should take place in he active world. His concept of acting intuition illustrates this the physical world of actions is expressive of the inner creativity of the basho. Only by living fully as historical individuals will the power of the self as Basho be made manifest. Nishida reminds us that â€Å"To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to realize oneself as all things. † For much of Japanese philosophy, in order to know our true self we must let go of the subject-object dichotomy with which we have been taken conditioned. We must let go of the voice of intellect in our pursuit and let our intuition open us up and allow awakening. In this awakening, not only do we awaken to our self, but we awaken to all reality. Before we look more closely at some Japanese Buddhist teachings, let us review some of ideas from the Neo-Confucian school. What can be constructed as the extreme positions with regard to the nature of the self? Self is an object or some thing Self is nothing Nishida Kitaro attempted to steer a path between these two extremes. For Nishida we cannot truly know the self if we take it to be either the subject or object of our knowing process. That is to say, the self is a place, or basho, that gives rise to knowledge. The self is neither the subject of an experience nor the object of knowing. The self is the experience discussing Nishida, Nishitani described this rapport between experience and self, â€Å"of which it is said not that there is experience because there is a self, but rather that there is a self because there is experience. † This confirms the long standing Buddhist teaching of no self. The actual self is a process. To this process, Nishida assigned a term, koiteki chokkan, acting intuition. Basho literally means â€Å"place† or â€Å"field† and suggests an all embracing environment within which all activity occurs. Because it is all embracing, this place o field is without boundaries and without a center of reference. Imagine an infinite circle without a circumference and without a center. As Yuasa stated: The basho is a fundamental restriction on being’ existence; without it, no beings can exist in the world. Even though basho is without boundaries, boundaries are in practice erected. They are constructed by our empirical self, or ego. Our empirical self, however, is not our true self, but instead the self as subject, a self –referential point of view whereby all else becomes the object for the empirical self. On other words, whereas Basho is a primordial field of oneness, discrimination now results from the construction of boundaries. The discriminating self, as subject, is not the true self. The genuine self, for Nishida and in line with Buddhist teachings, is thus a â€Å"self that is not a self. † This is why Nishida claimed that the self â€Å"lives by dying. † This is also why Nishida emphasized the faculty of intuition, not in a passive but in an active sense. It is through this active intuition that self realizes itself. Discursive, analytical knowledge is sufficient. For instance, consider the example of viewing a mountain. From one perspective the â€Å"I† is imbedded in a world of subject-object and mountain is the object of my knowledge. From another perspective, I realize the essential unity of all things. In this case, there is no subject-object duality, and the mountain is no longer separate from me. This native intuition maintains both perspectives at the same time. When this secret is mastered, living is dying and vice versa. Apparent contradictions are resolved. For Nishida, the self constitutes a unity of contradictions. Living is dying and dying is living. The opposition we normally pose between life and death is embraced in the Basho of self. We die and live at each single moment. This is the singular Buddhist truth of no substantiality; it reflects the paradox of our existence. When seem from our ordinary perspective, this paradox of life and death gives way to anxiety. When viewed from the perspective of the Basho of self, the paradox is embraced: My very existence is, therefore, an absolute contradiction, and it is this very realization that enables me to become truly self conscious. My individuality is my mortality, and my true nothingness is my immortality. I am a contradictory self, and my awareness of this is the ground of my religious awareness. Reality as Pure Experience, Nishida’s view is reminiscent of Zen Buddhism; he promotes Zen teachings using philosophical categories. Now Zen points directly to reality – what exists in its immediacy? Nishida viewed reality in much the same way; he directly pointed to pure experience as ultimate reality. Reality is that which underlies all our so called â€Å"experience. † We conventionally live in our ideas or images of the real, rather than in the real. Reality is the pure experience, which is the basis for conceptualization once conceptualization through reflection occurs, the experience becomes indirect. Reality remains the same unaffected by reflection. Reflection however gives birth to apparent modes of reality that are not in themselves truly real. When Nishida declares that reality is â€Å"pure experience† this means that reality within the present moment. Reality as Absolute Nothingness, all this is further sustained by his teaching concerning the primacy of â€Å"nothingness† over being. â€Å"Absolute nothingness† is another phrase he ascribes to this pure experience. It is crucial to be aware that this â€Å"nothingness† is not the same as nihilism. Rather absolute nothingness transcends the opposition between being and nonbeing by embracing them. The term transcend can be misleading; it can give the impression of something beyond the realm of experience. The term immanent is also to be avoided because it may lead to the impression of being immersed in our world if experience. Each of these terms implies the other. They each set up a dichotomy betwee.