Why I Love South Africa

South Africa bubbles with wonderful, culturally diverse people. A colourful array of different foods, religions, beliefs and traditions are blended together to make up the amazing nation of the republic of South Africa It is, arguably (and ironically), one of the most liberal, free, and constitutionally healthy democracies in the Western World – and, most certainly, in Africa. To have achieved this after hundreds of years of the most brutal repression and trashing of human rights – 15 years of true democracy, is nothing if not a monumental achievement. Then there are the challenges – yes, South Africa has many. But that’s what makes it exciting to be here. To be part of facing these challenges and (re)building a country . The people – ALL the people – are just great. There are simply no sacred cows in South Africa any more. Anything and everything can and is being discussed openly. Only once you have been to a South African braai, the beach in December, the bustling cities zig-zaged by taxis, a game park and met our vibrant inhabitants can you under. Where else in the world can you go from Oceans and Mountains, through beautiful vinyards and into arid desert, from open bushveld, to tropical forest. Where else can you find such a diversity of people that 11 official languages are required. South Africa is a country rich with resources, cultures and geographies and few countries the size of South Africa can boast such diversity. But none of this matters, if it doesn’t feel like home, and thats why I love SA. Its home. This is the home of ubuntu. For those of you who don't know, it basically means a spirit of community and sharing and kindness. Here’s to the glorious South African sunsets and the great blue African skies. Here’s to the rich wildlife and the friendly, happy people. Here’s to melktert and koeksusters, mampoer, bobotie, sosaties, amasi, isidudu, chutney and bunny chow, vetkeok and malva pudding. Here’s to a melting pot of cultures, coming together in one home under one roof – Indians, Chinese, Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Afrikaans, the San bushmen, English†¦ Here’s to Shaka Zulu, Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron, Freek Robinson, Riaan Crywagen, Natalie du Toit, Makhaya Ntini and the man on the street. Here’s to the Drakensburg, Table Mountain, The Tsitsikama forests in Knysna, the Garden Route, the warm Indian ocean intermingling with the cool Atlantic, the dry escarpment of Gauteng and the Great Karoo. Here’s to every different season and landscape contained in one immensely beautiful country.

Writing the Memo

WRITING AN OFFICE MEMORANDUM If you work as a paralegal or law clerk after your first or second year of law school, you will most likely spend some of your time researching and writing objective memoranda, or interoffice memos. Typically, an attorney asks you to provide a realistic analysis of the law as it applies to the facts of a client’s case. The purpose is to inform – not persuade. Although you should remember which conclusion favors your client, also keep in mind that you will represent the client most effectively by being objective and realistic.The memo might be read many times – possibly, over a period of months or years by several different attorneys, including the writer, who may use it as a resource long after it is drafted. The attorney will use the information contained in the memo to advise the client and may use it to prepare a document that will ultimately be filed in court. For example, a partner may be asking you whether a particular client ha s a valid legal claim. If you conclude that the answer is â€Å"yes,† then this will probably turn into a lawsuit. At that point, some parts of the memo may be incorporated when the complaint is drafted.The memo might me consulted a third time when the attorney responds to a motion to dismiss; a fourth time while drafting interrogatories; a fifth time before making a motion for summary judgment; a sixth time before trial; and a seventh during an appeal; and so on. PARTS OF MEMO[1] 1. A memorandum heading 2. The Issue (sometimes called Question Presented) states the question(s) that the memorandum resolves. The Issue also itemizes the few facts that you predict to be crucial to the answer. (Such as travel expenses to out-of-state, keeping child out of danger, and commission of crime).The reader should understand the question without having to refer to the facts. 3. Brief Answer (sometimes called Conclusion) states the writer’s prediction and summarizes concisely why it is likely to happen. Some writers begin with a direct response such as â€Å"yes† or â€Å"probably not. † Our book says that they do not prefer this. Sometimes this is client or partner driven. Also, some questions lend themselves to answers such as â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no. † Allusion to determinative facts and rules. Do not omit key facts. Begin by just re-stating your issue as a declarative sentence. Do not omit the reasoning.Do not include citation to authority or application of relevant law. Many attorneys only read this part. 4. Facts set out the facts on which the prediction is based. 5. Discussion is the largest and most complex part of memo. It proves the conclusion set out in brief answer. If the discussion is highly detailed or analyzes several issues, it should be broken down into subheadings. Here is what the memo will look like and more information on each section. MEMORANDUM TO:Senior Partner [Please block-indent so that the information line s up, as demonstrated] FROM:Your Name DATE:(date assignment is submitted)RE:(A concise label for the issue considered: mention the parties; your firm will file your Memo by names and cause of action–and, perhaps, by jurisdiction) The proper format is always double-spaced. Do not double-double space between sections. Plain old, regular double-space is sufficient. FACTS Here, recite all material facts, usually in chronological order. A â€Å"material† fact is a â€Å"dispositive† fact, or one upon which the outcome will depend. It is a fact that will affect the outcome in one way or another. Please include all material procedural facts as well as all material substantive facts.This means that it is essential to include all relevant times, dates, and places. You should begin with an â€Å"overview† sentence that sets the full context and begins to describe the problem presented. Please review your reading and as many samples as possible to understand both th e range and scope of what is acceptable as professional practice. Remember your role Watch for the tendency to try to â€Å"prove† something by the way you tell the story. NO LEGAL ANALYSIS! 1) USE NEUTRAL LANGUAGE AND OBJECTIVE CHARACTERIZATIONS. Rather than writing â€Å"the D was speeding through the school zone,† write â€Å"the D was traveling 50 MPH through the school zone. Rather than writing â€Å"The D brutally beat the victim,† write â€Å"The D struck the P on the head, resulting in a cut over his left eye. † 2) Include unfavorable and favorable facts. QUESTION PRESENTED Phrased as a question and ending with a question mark, state the specific issue or issues you will address. One method is to use the technique: under? (describe the law); does? (state the issue); what? (give the legally relevant or â€Å"dispositive† facts). Some memoranda use the commonly seen style of: â€Å"Whether . . . .† As always, discuss with your profess or to see which he or she prefers.But whatever the method, the following advice applies: †¢ Should be concise single sentences that include relevant facts and general propositions of law. †¢ Don’t say, â€Å"Whether a niece can recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress,† when you can say, â€Å"Whether, under Iowa law, a niece who witnesses the aftermath of an automobile accident involving her uncle from a block away can recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress when she observes his severe injuries upon arrival at the scene. † BRIEF ANSWER You phrased (or asked) a question in the section above. Answer it here: â€Å"Yes. † â€Å"No. â€Å"Probably not. † Use a period. Your Brief Answer follows the same formula and sequence as your Question Presented. It answers the questions â€Å"under? does? what? † except, the Brief Answer should include a brief statement of your reasons beginning with the word  "because. † DISCUSSION The heart of a Memorandum, this section asks you to explain the law and explain the facts. Getting it â€Å"right† will take time. Be patient. Your goal is to â€Å"synthesize† the cases and extract a common rule of law. To do this, you will need to identify the common elements that allow you to analyze and discuss several cases at once.A common mistake, legal writers frequently engage in â€Å"listing behavior. † They treat each case independently and sequentially, beginning each paragraph with â€Å"In†Ã¢â‚¬â€œfor example, â€Å"In Callow v. Thomas† or â€Å"In Brown v. Brown. † Looking down a written page, the lawyer will see a ladder-like effect, the â€Å"in-ladder,† where each succeeding paragraph begins with the word â€Å"in† followed by a case title. Often â€Å"listing behavior† culminates in â€Å"dump-trucking† when the lawyer saves up and â€Å"dumps† all the legal analysis into the last paragraph.In addition, lawyers will frequently â€Å"front-load,† squeezing all the legal rules of law into the very first paragraph. To avoid these pitfalls, begin your discussion with a general overview in a thesis or â€Å"roadmap† paragraph. Your thesis paragraph is the first paragraph in the Memorandum – and the first paragraph in a Discussion section. Always begin your thesis paragraph with a sentence to anticipate–and announce–your ultimate conclusion. Tell the reader where you are headed and be a tour-guide to your argument or analysis. Then, taking one point at a time, write a thesis sentence that answers the questions of â€Å"what-is-your-point? of this particular paragraph. Next, set forth the legal Rule that applies. Include the proper citation. Next, Analyze (explain) what the law or legal rule means. Next, Analyze (explain) how the relevant facts fit (or do not fit) the legal or factual standard. Finally, Conc lude each paragraph with a summarizing statement and each sub-issue with a specific sub-issue summary. Sometimes, this method is referred to as a variation of the acronym: IRAC. Other legal writing professors have some other acronym such as REAAC or FIRAC. Still, others simply refer to it as the 5-step process. Keep in ind that these are all â€Å"formulas† that legal writing professionals are using to introduce you to presenting a legal argument. Ultimately, you will use a style or formula that works best for your particular argument. But virtually every aspect of every legal argument must contain a 1) Statement of Rule or Applicable Law; 2) Analysis of the law and how it Applies to your relevant facts; and 3) a Conclusion on each of these sub-issues. Similarly, when a discussion requires several paragraphs, the writer may not reproduce the exact IRAC structure within each and every paragraph, but may require several paragraphs to develop fully the full set.As always, know y our audience and talk about the method of legal analysis that your professor, or in the future, your employer, prefers. And remember that learning how to synthesize statutes, cases, and secondary sources and then presenting them in a clear, concise, and logical manner takes time and practice. A FEW IDEAS ABOUT WRITING — MEMORANDA[2] Many students, approaching memo writing for the first time, are often unsure of how to proceed. We have put together a few tips for first (and second and third) time memo writers that we hope will be helpful.Note: No single set of guidelines could possibly address all the matters related to memo writing. If you have questions about a particular assignment, be sure to check with your professor. 1. Find the test(s). In assigning a memorandum, professors are generally evaluating you on parsing a particular statute or test. In other words, they want you to use other cases to explain how your case either does or does not satisfy a test laid out in a ca se or a statute. For example, let’s say your case involves a niece (Mary) who witnessed her uncle (Jack) being injured in an automobile accident.Mary wants to bring suit for negligent infliction of emotional distress as a result of witnessing that accident. In Burger v. McDonald, the Supreme Court of Iowa laid out a three part test to determine whether a bystander’s injury was reasonably foreseeable and, thus, legally actionable: 1. Whether the bystander was located near the accident. 2. Whether the injury resulted from sensory and contemporaneous observance of the accident, as opposed to hearing about it from others after its occurrence. 3. Whether the bystander and the victim were closely related.NOTE: If the memo involves more than one issue, your memorandum may involve more than one test. 2. Use the test as your outline. Tests come in two parts, or three (as above), often with subsections. Ideal for an outline. Use the major parts of the test as your major points, the subparts as sub-sections. Paragraph Structure 3. Begin paragraphs with affirmative propositions that parallel the test. In the above example, your first sentence should say something like: â€Å"Mary was located near the scene of her uncle’s accident, satisfying the first part of the Burger test. † 4.Support your affirmative propositions. All propositions of a legal nature must have legal support. Where is your authority for your proposition? Cite it. For example: â€Å"See Burger, 606 N. W. 2d at 321 (bystander must be located near accident to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress). † 5. Discuss the facts of your support. What happened in the case you just cited? Explain in a concise and relevant way. For example: â€Å"In Burger, the court held that a mother who witnessed an accident on the street from the front door of her house was located near the scene of an accident. 6. Discuss the relevant facts of your case. Point to the facts that are similar to the facts of the authority you’ve just discussed. For example, you could continue from above as follows: â€Å"Mary was standing a block from the accident, heard the crash, and saw her uncle being pulled, bleeding, from the car. † 7. Analogize/Conclude. What conclusions do you think the court will draw from the similarity between your facts and the facts of your authority? For example: â€Å"Although Mary did not see the accident, she was close enough to hear it and witness her uncle being pulled from the car.Thus, a court will likely conclude that she was located near the accident. † Alternative Paragraph Structure 8. Discuss other relevant authority. Once you’ve opened the previous paragraph with your affirmative proposition, your subsequent paragraphs can discuss the facts of other relevant cases without repeating the proposition as your opening sentence. For example, you could begin the next paragraph: â€Å"In Cameron v. Jones, the C ourt of Appeals held that a mother who was twenty-five feet away from her child when she heard a metal sculpture fall on him was located near the scene of the accident. 9.Discuss contrary authority. Are there cases that go against your position (or the position the partner/judge/etc. would like you to hold)? Another subsequent paragraph could open with: â€Å"But, in Alfred v. Stern, the court held that a father did not have a valid cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress. † Then follow steps 5, 6, and 7, above, except this time, when concluding, tell the reader why the court won’t follow or give much weight to this contrary authority (e. g. , the facts are different). 10. Move on to the next part of the test. Follow steps 3-9 above for the next section of your test.Remember, a memorandum also includes issues presented, a brief answer (which usually follows the issues presented), and a statement of facts. These are often best written after youâ⠂¬â„¢ve written the body of the memorandum, since you’ll have a better idea of the issues once you’ve tackled the problem (though a tentative draft might help to get you started). Here is a checklist for those introductory sections of an office memorandum: Heading 1. Have you included the name of the requesting attorney (or professor), your name, the date, the client’s name, and a phrase identifying the particular legal matter or issue?Facts 2. Have you included all legally significant facts? 3. Have you included sufficient factual context? 4. Have you included any major emotional facts? 5. Have you avoided including discussion of legal authority? 6. Have you avoided â€Å"arguing† the facts or drawing legal conclusions? 7. Have you identified the client and the client’s situation at the beginning of the Fact Statement? 8. Have you selected an appropriate organization (chronological, topical) for the facts? 9. Have you maintained neutral language a nd objective characterizations? 10.Have you included both favorable and unfavorable facts? Question Presented 11. Have you stated the legal question and the significant facts? 12. Have you edited to achieve one readable sentence? 13. Have you maintained an objective perspective? Brief Answer 14. Have you stated the answer in the first several words? 15. Have you included a statement of the rule? 16. Have you stated a summary of the reasoning leading to the answer? 17. Have you kept the BA to a maximum of one-third to one-half a double-spaced page? 18. Have you taken a position, even if you are not sure? ———————– 1] Be sure to keep in mind that an office memo is an internal document for law firms; therefore, each particular firm is likely to have a preferred format. For example, the firm may use different words for different sections title, may order sections differently than described here, or it may include other sections not described in this manual. If your reader (whether it be your professor or your employer) has a preferred format, obviously use it. If you are not sure if your reader has a particular preference, then ask! [2] Many of these tips were originally created by Writing Resource Center, University of Iowa College of Law.

Koolhaas and metabolist movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Koolhaas and metabolist movement - Essay Example architecture's most-reproduced forms and structures: the giraffe-legged Villa dall'Ava in suburban Paris, one of the greatest buildings of the late twentieth century, and the stupendous fishnet-steel-and-glass-covered Seattle Public Library, which opened in 2004. Some of his best works in Europe are the master plan and Grand Palais for Lille, France which is his largest realized urban planning project; a residence in Bordeaux, France; the Educatorium, a multifunction building for Utrecht University in the Netherlands; and the Kunsthal, providing exhibition space, a restaurant and auditoriums in Rotterdam. The Bordeaux house is one of his most important works and was named as Best Design of 1998 by Time magazine. It was designed to fill the needs of a couple whose old house was problematic to the old man as had been confined to a wheel chair due to an accident. Koolhaas proposed a home in three parts with the lowest part having a series of caverns carved out from the hill. While the top part is divided into spaces for the couple, and spaces for their children. The middle part is an invisible glass room that is a vertically moving platform functioning as an elevator allowing the old man access to all levels. In the 1950s, the Japanese Metabolists proposed giant mega-structures as an answer to the ever-growing problem of overcrowding in their cities. These architects came up with innovative designs of floating cities and giant prefabricated "plug-in" living cells that could be inserted into skyscrapers. But due to the scale and reality constraints Metabolist vision could not be realized completely. They regarded the city as an organic process that featured some of the innovative concepts such as marine civilization, artificial terrain, and metabolic cycle.... Koolhaas was fond of the "Megastructure" concept. This is basically a large size building or plan meant for urban improvement. His company OMA applied Megastructure for its designs for a vast complex of shops, housing, and offices, together with a railway station, in Lille, France or Lille Masterplan.Metabolists used the concept of the natural flows of air, water, and people in cities. They conceptualized biomorphic mega structures capturing and materializing urban flows. In 1961, Kenzo Tange’s studio proposed a plan for Tokyo Bay that clearly illustrates the principles of metabolism. The project comprised of a spine, or trunk, and an array of branches and leaves that together formed a clear tree-like structure. In the same year, Kurokawa produced a series of utopian projects inspired by biological forms and a process of growth representing that of living cells. At the same period, Isosaki developed his project â€Å"City in the Air† as a system of urban intersections a nd interconnections in the air, providing a grand structure supported by infrastructural trunks, like a forest of trees. Each trunk affords commercial and residential plugins like those found in Peter Cook’s â€Å"Plug-in City†. Metabolist architecture shows a tilt towards the evolutive, and irreversible, development of cities. Their projects were inspired by the natural movements of air, water, corporeal fluids and plants, but had a very formal and functional conception of urbanism.

Customer Value Measurement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Value Measurement - Essay Example New ways are needed to achieve an edge and to stand one step ahead of others (Keller 2003). In the phase of increasing competition, many corporate mission statements set customers as the focus of an organisation's business activities, and key thinkers have defined the quality of goods and services with reference to how well they satisfy needs and expectations of the customer base (Johnson et al 2005). At the other end, some companies are paying performance premiums. According to Aaker & Keller (1990) delivering superior value to carefully targeted customers seems to be the generally accepted path to sustained profitability (Keller 2003). In the light of the above, this essay essay is an attempt to clarify how developing a customer orientation affects the profitability of firms by referring to the fundamental elements of a customer driven marketing strategy: segmentation, targeting and positioning. It also presents a comprehensive understanding of the customer and the customer value imperative by using relevant examples. As competition grows bigger, more and more organisations try to maximize customer value in order to achieve their full potential and get a competitive edge. There are several reasons for this awakening and change in perception (Porter 1990). Realizing the role of 'customers' and 'customers' equity, companies strive at satisfying their customers through the creation of brand equity (Aaker 1990). Customers are important stakeholders of a company. According to Sacconi, (2004), customers need quality products and services as well as increased customer value and customer satisfaction (Sacconi 2004). A customer is one who buys and uses goods and services. They are individuals who are affected by or who affect the product and service supplied, and bear the value and cost of a company's activities (Sacconi 2004). In most companies, customers are seen as the most important assets. For example, Berry & Parasuraman (1991) argue that, It is easier - and much cheaper - to keep existing customers than to get new ones. To Berry et al. (1990), the benefit from achieving satisfied and loyal customers stems from the fact that, the willingness for future repurchases will be much higher for satisfied and loyal customers than for dissatisfied and indifferent ones. Despite this awareness concerning the importance of customer satisfaction, it is beyond the ability of many of today's companies to maintain satisfied customers (Aaker 1989). To fully understand the meaning of 'customer value' and customers value creation, Aaker (1990) argues that this should be approached from the customer's perspective. Today, most companies have realized the importance of satisfied custome

Jet Blue in the United Kingdom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jet Blue in the United Kingdom - Research Paper Example As an MNE, Jet Blue also services Aruba, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Bermuda. Jet Blue is able to compete with much larger U.S.-based airline companies such as American Airlines as the business has been able to shed much of its high operating costs related to supply chain and fleet management by maintaining a lean operations methodology (Jet Blue, 2011). Price reductions in the form of lower and competitive ticket prices are accomplished through its lean business model that makes Jet Blue an attractive alternative to high-frills airline companies. A country where Jet Blue does not have market presence is the United Kingdom, a generally attractive market for foreign direct investment by the organization. The United Kingdom maintains a significant airline infrastructure that will assist Jet Blue in establishing a centralized hub in order to serve the UK market effectively. Major renovations to such airports as Heathrow International have provided more traffic space and feasibi lity for structured and timely arrivals and departures. Alongside the infrastructure exists recent government deregulation of the airline industry that had once controlled pricing and established anti-monopoly legislation by major carriers. This has removed some of the financial and regulatory barriers to new entry by airline competitors, making the United Kingdom a viable market for direct investment. Another advantage of investing in the United Kingdom is the economic environment. Currently, the United Kingdom still measures its currency against the Pound Sterling, a method of isolating volatility and risk associated with the current Eurozone economic crisis related to the Euro. The UK Pound Sterling is currently worth $1.61 as compared to a single U.S. dollar. Jet Blue currently has established a very viable and well-developed supply infrastructure within the United States, giving it many comparative advantages in relation to procurement. By investing in the United Kingdom, Jet B lue can establish a moderately higher pricing structure that is comparative to the British Pound Sterling, providing profit opportunities of approximately 60 percent, especially when moving materials procured in the United States into the foreign UK market where import pricing risks are dramatically reduced compared to this much higher-valued Sterling currency. Procurement costs for on-board operations management will be fundamentally less expensive than in the United States if not procured domestically in the United Kingdom. There is, however, a significant disadvantage to entering the United Kingdom for direct investment. There are currently many different low cost carriers, such as RyanAir and Air Asia, that provide similar low-cost and low-frills options for consumers and business travelers. Deregulation occurring in the last few years has removed entry barriers to these companies that now have high cash flow and considerable positive brand reputation with price sensitive consum ers. Even Virgin Airlines offers similar low-cost methodology allowing this carrier and those such as RyanAir and Air Asia to have comparative and competitive advantages in pricing and quality. Jet Blue is not a well-known brand name in the United Kingdom which could provide much higher cost allocation toward the promotional function (such as advertising and online marketing) in order to compete in this dynamic competitive market. Minimizing foreign exchange risks is not that complicated for Jet Blue, considering the currencies regularly traded in this market. The Euro and the Pound Sterling are both valued much higher than the

Water supply Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water supply - Personal Statement Example Although most people take it for granted, the availability of an abundant water supply has become an increasingly important and contentious issue.This essay will argue that water resources should and will become an increasingly important global issue Drinking water was temporarily privatized in Bolivia, access to water resources affect demands in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and issues of water sustainability have begun to find themselves inserted into broader discussions dealing with human rights and national security.This essay will argue that water resources should and will become an increasingly important global issue; more particularly, water issues will assume global significance because life on Earth is water-dependent, because human population growth and industrial growth are leading to water scarcity, and because increasing competition for water cannot ethically be resolved by market forces alone.As an initial matter, all life on Earth is dependent on water. T here is no more fundamental resource or need. In addition to providing basic physiological sustenance, water is also used as a raw material for agricultural production and for many industrial processes. Both population changes and migration rates have been shown to correlate with historical changes in access to water and water availability. Water is, in short, an issue of life and death. Significantly, migration patterns have flattened in recent times and there is less opportunity for groups or for larger communities to simply move to an area with better water resources. Sri Lanka, to be sure, cannot simply migrate in total to Thailand in times of water crisis. There are immigration constraints and old methods of migration are no longer an answer to water shortages. Whole countries can become trapped inside of their geographical borders and forced to find alternative solutions. Particularly worrisome is that there are no real substitutes for water. This is true both in the context of human population growth and in terms of agriculture and industrial use. The increasing demand for this increasingly scarce resource forces competition. How this competition manifests itself, either peacefully or violently, ought to be of concern to all nations. We see that old border disputes between Israel and Lebanon are now burdened with additional conflicts regarding access to water. China builds the world's largest dam, and downstream countries, such as Thailand and Laos, protest that their rivers are drying up in critical agricultural seasons. We have seen how aggressively that countries will fight for oil; simply imagine how aggressive countries might become in a conflict over water. The potential for serious conflict is real. In the final analysis, there are ways to address these water scarcity issues. First, there needs to be a global consensus that issues of water scarcity are of fundamental importance. These issues should be declared a priority because water for human consumption ought to be an enforced human right, because the use of water for agriculture and industrial processes is a commercial necessity, and because the potential for conflict is great. An old saying suggests that "blood is thicker than water"; in this context, however, I would suggest rather confidently that water is more necessary than oil. As a result, scarcity issues ought to be addressed and resolved at a global level. In ten years, I am of the firm opinion that my chosen field of study will be far more interdisciplinary. By this, I mean to suggest that traditional engineering programs will be far more diverse and require far more critical thinking; the ability to synthesize and apply theories from traditionally separate fields, such as mechanical engineering and medicine, will be encouraged and required. This essay will present the emerging field of biomedical engineering as an example of the future of engineering programs. To begin, it must be acknowledged that many advances in medical science

Gout as a Metabolic Disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Gout as a Metabolic Disorder - Research Paper Example When urates in the blood reach the physiological saturation levels, they crystallize to form monosodium urate (MSU) and gradually accumulate in tissues. This leads to development of asymptomatic hyperuricemia which results into gout (Luk & Simkin, 2005). The clinical manifestations of gout include acute gouty arthritis, deposition of MSU crystals in soft tissues leading to formation of ‘tophi’, urate urolithiasis along with rare incidences of nephropathy. The disease develops in four stages; an asymptomatic hyperuricemia, acute gout with intermittent flares, the intercritical period, and chronic gout (Sundram, 2010). The prevalence of gout have been on a rise during the last few decades chiefly due to changes in life style patterns and increased longevity. In US prevalence has been estimated to be 5.1 million during the period spanning 1988-1994 by the third national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES III). 5.2 cases per 1000 have been reported by the US man aged care database during the year 1999 compared to 2.9 cases in 1990. The disease prevalence rates reportedly are higher in older men than those of rheumatoid arthritis. Incidences of gout have also escalated during the last two decades with annual levels reported by Rochester Epidemiology Project to be twice as high as those reported two decades earlier for primary gout. Higher incidences of disease are reported in men than in women with increased incidences reported with advancing age in both sexes (Weaver, 2008). Despite high prevalence and severe burden of the disease, frequent mismanagement of the disease leads to avoidable incidences of morbidities and mortality (Luk & Simkin, 2005). The current report aims to present an in depth exploration of the risk factors, pathogenesis and treatment modalities of gout. RISK FACTORS Sex Men have a higher level of serum urate rendering them significantly more vulnerable to gout with higher probability of development of gout in men below t he age of 30 compared to women of comparable age. The risk of gout development in men peaks in the age range of 75-84 years, while in women the risks are higher during post menopausal phase. After the age of 60, both men and women are equally vulnerable to the disease (Rott & Agudelo, 2003). Diuretics Diuretic intake is a major cause of hyperuricemia since it causes significant enhancement of reabsorption of uric acid in kidney (Rott & Agudelo, 2003). Several other medications such as low dose aspirin, cyclosporine (increases tubular reabsorption of urate), pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and niacin also lead to hyperuricemia (Weaver, 2008). Comorbidities Individuals with hypertension, insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, neuropathy, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney diseases and metabolic syndrome are highly vulnerable to gout (Rott & Agudelo, 2003). Lead exposure has also been found to be associated with gout (Sundram, 2010). Poor urate clearance may render a hemodialysis patient v ulnerable to urate deposition and gout. Obesity Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) in the range of 21-22 have been reported to be at much lower risk of developing gout compared to individuals with higher BMI. Alevel of 35 raise the risk three fold. Obesity has been found to be associated with enhance urate synthesis and lower excretion of urate from the kidneys; thereby leading to raised serum urate levels (Weaver, 2008). Dietary Habits A diet rich in meat such as red meat, organ meat; and sea food has been associated with higher vulnerabilities to gout. The same has also been reported for alcohol consumption; especially beer (Choi et al. 2004). On the contrary, purine rich vegetables exhibit no correlation with gout development and dairy products lower the risk marginally (Weaver,

Personal Statements Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Statements - Personal Statement Example In flight instruction, where evaluating and documenting risk can be real time or anticipated for the future, my ability to recognize and evaluate the risk at every conceivable instant allows me to complete each flight safely; in flight instruction, there is no room for errors. In real time, I evaluate and identify risks from the pre-flight briefing through the post-flight briefing of every lesson. By documenting the flight lesson in the student’s records, I anticipate potential risks that must be addressed until I am satisfied that the risk can be managed and mitigated by the student when I no longer unsupervised their development and risk management. This is a complicated process that requires I document flight lessons in both my and the student’s records to pinpoint dysfunctions and areas that require further evaluation and improvement. The goal that is achieved provides a viewfinder for identifying, and eliminating risk within program parameters. I also managed risk while flying freight. One risk that constantly required monitoring was icing potential. I would perform a pre-flight evaluation to review the route of flight. I would evaluate the weather using documented and approved sources, and I would evaluate the potential for icing. I would assess the type of aircraft required for the flight and based on these risk evaluations request the appropriate aircraft to control the risk. Simply stated, if I was going into icing, I would demand an aircraft useable for known icing. If the appropriate aircraft was not available, I would explain the risk involved with the flight, provide the information I had obtained while assessing the risk and explain how that risk would be mitigated by using appropriate equipment. I was never denied an aircraft after explaining my documented, risk-assessment evaluation. 2. In this text area, please provide a brief explanation of your

Explain the legal position of cohabitees whose relationship breaks Essay

Explain the legal position of cohabitees whose relationship breaks down. Consider whether the law (statutory or otherwise) provi - Essay Example that partner is not entitled to any equity in the home.4 Neither partner is entitled to alimony, either.5 Moreover, the children who are born during the partnership are not automatically considered to be the children of the man in the relationship – other steps must be taken to establish paternity, and couples often do not take these extra steps, so the man has neither the rights nor the responsibilities regarding these children.6 This essay will examine the issues surrounding people who cohabit, as well as the specific cases regarding cohabitation, and will attempt to make recommendations that would help couples be better protected under the UK law. Issues Surrounding Cohabitation One of the major issues surrounding cohabitants is the way that they run their finances.7 Specifically, the rule in the UK about cohabitants is that there is an assumption in the UK law that the partners in the cohabiting relationship are bound to one another to support one another financially.8 Thi s is played out in the context of benefit entitlement – the law in the UK states that two people who are married or co-habiting cannot make individual claims for benefits.9 One of the people in the relationship must make the claim for both people in the relationship, as well as any children who are a part of the relationship.10 The UK law then looks at the joint income of the household, and if the joint income of the household is above a certain threshold, then the people in the household are not entitled to certain benefits.11 The issue with this is that the unmarried cohabiting couple are not obligated to support one another, yet the law treats them as if they are.12 This has implications especially for the female non-working partner. The status for women, with regards to state support, previously was that she could have a valid claim for benefits if she were in an unmarried relationship with a man, but this changed with the Supplementary Benefit Act 1966.13 The Supplementa ry Benefit Act 1966 states that unmarried persons must apply for benefits jointly if they are cohabiting.14 The reason that the law treats the two people in a cohabiting relationship as if they are married is that social policy is geared towards encouraging marriage and discouraging cohabiting relationships.15 In other words, it was in the best interest of the UK government to encourage marriage by not treating cohabitants differently than married couples. This is because, if the UK government chooses to treat cohabitants more favorably than married couples, by giving each partner separate benefits, then this would discourage the couples from marrying. The upshot of this cohabitation rule, is that the non-working partner loses his or her lone parent status, and the benefits that are associated with this status.16 The non-working partner, therefore loses the ability to have their own money, if they are staying home and taking care of the children, and they are forced to rely upon som etimes

Hannah and Her Sisters Essay Example for Free

Hannah and Her Sisters Essay Relationships in New York are as complex as the city itself. Nothing can be considered as sedentary because of the always changing temperaments of people, development in the place and other factors that contribute to change. It is surprising though that no matter how complex human relationships are; people (in New York) seem not to take it heavily. It may be because of their fast paced lifestyle that they don’t see the heavy impact of certain situations unless it has something to do with career goals. In the movie Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen used comic archetypes to satirize relationships on New York City by exaggerating the kind of intricate relationships and character’s reactions towards situations in a comical way. He showed that people have the tendency not to care how absurd their relationships with others are as long as they maintain their image and keep up with their goals. The story revolved around the intertwined relationships of three sisters with their husbands and exes. To some cultures (other states), the circumstances that the sisters got into may not be dealt as light as they did. To others, the family might condemn the husband if he falls in love with his wife’s sister because it will cause conflicts between the sisters. Woody Allen made the characters in the movie treat the state of affairs in a romantic and funny way. Through the movie, Woody Allen showed that relationships in New York are that complicated however, people generally manage to maintain a positive outlook in life. It is noticeable that in the movie, Allen imposed a happy ending when all of the sisters are happily married.

Revenue Leakages, Prevention and Internal Controls in MMDAs

Revenue Leakages, Prevention and Internal Controls in MMDAs APPLICATION OF THEORIES TO REAL LIFE SITUATION 3.0 Introduction This chapter is organized into four parts, with the first part dealing with explanation of the nature of problem in LEKMA, the second part is on the solutions provided by the researchers to the problem, the third part talks about the contributions of the students to LEKMA revenue mobilization and prevention with the last part drawing conclusion on the chapter. 3.1 Explanation of the Nature of Problem in Organization There had been an increasing demand for fiscal decentralization in both developed and developing countries due to the inherent benefits in terms of infrastructural development and quality service delivery. The pertinent question here is, has this been properly implemented at LEKMA? What are the challenges and the way forward with regards to fiscal decentralization in LEKMA? In view of the strategic location of the Assembly in the country, thus, its exact position between Tema an industrial hub of the country, and Accra, the capital city of Ghana, LEKMA is well placed to generate enough internal Revenue to meet its recurrent expenditure and local infrastructural development needs. However, the situation in the Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) regarding Internally Generated Funds (IGF) performance showed huge gaps between projected revenues and reported actuals. Initial projected figures had to be revised downwards through mid- year budget review process in order to meet Functional Organizational Assessment Tool (FOAT) benchmarks as a result of massive revenue leakages from the system. This reflection does not depict the full potentials of the Assembly and the analysis below give evidence to back the statements made above using 2014 and 2015 composite budgets of LEKMA. The 2014 composite budget of LEKMA projected GHÈÂ » 5,710, 975.00as initial revenue target to be collected internally (IGF). However, only 54.13% of the projected figure was realized representing GHÈÂ » 3,091, 081.06by the end of the fiscal year. The trend in 2015 fiscal year was not anything different from the previous years achievement. Out of the budgeted revenue of GHÈÂ » 6,889, 512.00t o be collected internally, only 62.51% was realized, representing GHÈÂ » 4,306, 966.40in nominal figures. The worse performance which threw the whole Municipal Assembly into disarray was recorded in 2013 fiscal year. The Municipal Assembly had in its Composite budget GHÈÂ » 4,907, 779.40 as the amount to be mobilized internally. Only 44.87% of the projected amount was achieved, representing GHÈÂ » 2,202, 178.08in absolute terms. The Internal auditors report (2013) of the Municipal Assembly revealed that, revenue collectors were indulging in under carboning. This is just one of the numerous revenue mobilization malpractices confronting LEKMA. Sixteen revenue officers of the Municipal Assembly were interdicted in connection with the above mention financial fraud. The report of the auditors also showed a lot of revenue leakages in the system due to weak internal controls and prevention mechanisms. The gravity of the situation also stems from the fact that, the units who are responsible for these internal controls are also handicap in terms of financial and non-financial resources. This prevented them from executing their constitutionally mandated duties and hence the massive leakages of IGF revenue. This worrying situation calls for an empirical researched that prescribes concrete solutions to the problems. To resolve this problem, a study design which gives the broad objective framework of the researchers enquiry (Brown, 2006) provided a basis for collecting and analyzing the data to inform policy direction. In order to put the nature of the problem in the right perspective and better analyze for solutions, a descriptive study was employed. The main purpose of the study was to describe the already existing strategies, challenges and the causes. In view of this, descriptive approach is best suited for the study. According to Miller and Brewer (2003), qualitative technique aids the investigator to explore further potentials and challenges to achieve the desire objectives of the study. The researchers wanted to explore other strategies that could be used to improve revenue mobilization and reduce leakages in the system. According to Neuman (2007), the subjects or concerns in the research design includes the purpose of the study, the type of investigation, the type of the sample which will be used, the methods by which the required data will be collected, as well as the process that will be followed for the analysis. The study used the exploratory and descriptive approach to evaluate revenue mobilization challenges in LEKMA. The research technique provided an opportunity for the researcher to interact with respondents in the field of study, which enabled the researcher to generate valid data and information using multiple sources of evidence. According to Stake (1995), interviews techniques enables the researcher to achieve reality by drawing closer and getting involve in the phenomenon under study in order to understand the environment and its participants. Robinson (2002, p.178) defines case study as a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. The topic under study is a case study because it is impossible to study all MMDAs in Ghana c oncerning their revenue mobilization. The research also aim at putting the theory into empirical test and unearth the challenges confronting LEKMA in terms of their revenue and expenditure. 3.1.1 Data Sources Data used for analyses by the researchers came from both primary and secondary sources. The interview schedule was used to collect primary data. In using this instrument, the researcher considered all laid down ethical procedure in research (Stake, 1995). Primary data included interviews conducted by the researchers. Core management staff of the assembly as well revenue collectors and rate payers were interviewed to allow for more in-depth evaluation. The researchers conducted 34 interviews comprising key personnel in revenue mobilization across all the responsible departments of the Assembly, revenue collectors and rate payers. These are stakeholders play vital role in the efficient mobilization of revenue for the Assembly. In addition to this, key officers interviewed have the capacity to formulate and implement policies concerning IGF mobilization of the Assembly. The documentary analysis was done because documentary information is relevant in a case study research (Yin 2003). See king answers to the research questions required an examination of the organizations annual budgets and financial statements. 3.1.2 Target population and sampling technique The target population for the study was core management staff of the assembly, revenue collectors and rate payers. Purposive and convenient sampling technique was employed to select the respondents who could provide relevant required information and who were available to participate in the study. A small sample size was chosen because of the constraints; time and money. Furthermore, the small sample was used as the study did not set out to test hypotheses but to gather expert opinions necessary in answering the research questions. Interviews were conducted with these persons. Excerpts of interview have been replicated as evidence in this report. A level of measured but subjective interpretation, in line with the subjective view and interpretive position taken by the researcher, was applied in analyzing respondents responses. 3.2 Solution Provided for the Problem Upon our review and analysis of both primary and secondary data gathered, the following are the proposed solutions to the challenges. LEKMA should adopt and implement software that will generate and assign a Unique Tax Identification Number to every tax payer in the database. This becomes a permanent code that identifies the business and the rate payer in case of none payment. Rates should be collected electronically through mobile money and other banking system. LEKMA should partner with the Banks which will provide an opportunity for tax payers to use their Unique Tax Code to pay at the bank and obtain receipt. This will prevent fraud through physical cash handling as reported in the challenges. LEKMA should employ the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify old and new business and properties within the municipality. Through this computerized system, a comprehensive database will be built which will then improve the revenue collection. LEKMA should adopt one community one stakeholder meeting project in addition to the town hall meetings for every fiscal year. This will promote awareness creation, transparency and accountability. Through this, rate payers and other stakeholders will get to know what their taxes are used for. Challenges such as lack of education, sensitization, transparency and accountability will be minimised. Refresher training for revenue collectors and contractors should be done on a regular basis in areas such as communications skills, customer relation ethics, revenue mobilization strategies, local governance Act, Assembly by-laws and other control mechanisms to ensure efficiency. LEKMA should advocate for the printing of General Counterfoil Receipt (GCR) with adequate security features so as to avoid duplication of the receipt by revenue collectors and contractors. Revenue targets should be set for collectors and contractors which should be closely monitored and supervised to ensure that the overall target of the Assembly is achieved. LEKMA should intensify the prosecution of rate defaulters in accordance with the bye laws of the Assembly to ensure that rate payers meet their civic obligations as well as serve as a deterrent for future defaulters. Regular field monitoring and supervision should be carried out by the superintendents to ensure that revenue collectors and contractors are deterred from engaging in fraudulent activities. All revenue collectors should be bond and stiffer punishment meted out to those found in financial fraud. 3.3 Contribution of Students to Organization The contributions of the students to Ledzorkuku Krowor Municipal Assembly in terms revenue mobilization, leakages and prevention techniques cannot be over emphasized. Students professional and personal skills, experiences and capability are being leverage on to augment the expertise of the Assembly staff handling revenue mobilization and expenditure portfolios. The students also contributed immensely to the organizations revenue and expenditure policy decisions by collecting detailed information on revenue mobilization leakages and prevention to enable top management design and implement strategies with high level of efficiency. This has become very crucial given that LEKMA hardly meet their IGF revenue projections. Students also contributed to the deepening of fiscal decentralization in Ghana, Africa and the world at large through the findings and the recommendation from this study. The prime objective of decentralization is to take governance closer to the people, improve on qualit y service and infrastructural provision and to promote transparency and accountability in the expenditure of public funds. Students prescribed solutions in this regard which will increase revenue of the Assembly and subsequently leads to quality service delivery. 3.4 Conclusion This chapter has discussed the application of theories to real life. The researchers discussed in detail the research design, approach, strategy, time horizon, methods and procedures employed in data analysis. The descriptive research design guided the researchers evaluation of revenue mobilization leakages, prevention and internal controls in Ledzorkuku Krowor Municipal Assembly. In order to collect more detailed and evidence based data, a multi-method data collection technique involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques were employed. Students employed convenient and purposive sampling approaches to select respondents who could provide relevant required information and who were more available to participate in the study. CHAPTER FOUR LESSONS LEARNT AND CHALLENGES 4.0 Introduction This chapter discusses the lessons learnt from undertaking this project and challenges the researchers confronted and how they were resolved. Analyses and interpretations of data collected had also been covered in this chapter. Excerpts from the interviews are integrated as confirmation of respondents perspectives which is accepted in social research theory (Yin, 2009). To ensure ethical requirement in this kind of research namely; assuring anonymity of identity and confidentiality of respondents, generic terms like officer, rate payer, among others are used in place of personal names (Yin, 2009). 4.1 Lessons Learnt In both empirical and theoretical literature, designing and implementing policies, programmes and strategies aimed at ensuring effective and efficient revenue mobilization are not without limitations. In our interview with the officials of the Assembly, it came out evidently that the Municipal Assembly has some revenue mobilization strategies in place. This was what the Municipal Finance Officer (MFO) said with regards to revenue mobilization strategies of the assembly. We have revenue mobilization strategies in place and they include; Building the capacity of revenue collectors, frequent sensitization and education of rate payers, involvement of rate payers in the budgeting process, holding stakeholders meetings with rate payers to determine their ability to pay, involving revenue collectors in annual revenue projections, enforcement of revenue, establish a data base of all economic activities in the municipality, mobilization laws, using Assembly members in the hard to collect areas, etc. Upon further investigation and evaluation of the revenue mobilization challenges, we realized there were implementation issues. Revenue collectors were not involved in coming out with annual IGF targets, they were not frequently trained, no up to date data base on economic activities within the municipality and enforcement of revenue by-laws were poorly handled. Another key management staff has this to say on why they are not able to enforce the by-laws to the later as an assembly. The limitation we have in this area has to do with political interference. Especially when we are getting closer to an electioneering period, for fear of losing the election they do not allow to punish those who flout the laws to deter others. We are constrained but all cannot be attributed to politicians, we are also to be blamed for our inefficiencies. The researchers learned further that, logistics constraint, especially on the part of revenue collectors, contributed to the poor implementation of the strategies as well as the enforcement of the by-laws. The next objective of the study was to evaluate the existing internal controls in the Municipal Assembly. Selected officers were interviewed which included the internal auditor of the organization. In this section, the researchers wanted to know the exact internal controls the Assembly has and how they are implemented and the challenges faced. This is what the Municipal Internal Auditor had to say on internal control issues during our interview. This is a legal and a well-established institution and therefore have internal controls in place ranging from revenue mobilization to expenditure. The LI 1961 outlined the functions of each unit and department at the local level. However, ensuring effective internal controls is a shared responsibility. Let me give you internal controls we have as an Assembly; Daily checks of their general counterfoil receipt and verifying the daily banking of cash into the Assemblys account, Field audit and periodic inspection of value books, Regular monitoring of revenue activities, revenue collectors are to submit their returns daily for verification, Weekly auditing of revenue collectors cash books, we do periodic field audits, monitoring of reports by rate payers, Weekly performance of field audit, tracking of the value books to ensure that the value books used are from the Assemblys stock and duly registered in the stock register of the Assembly, that the revenue collected paid to the Assemblys account within the 24hrs. With regards to the challenges they faced by the Assembly in their implementation of revenue strategies, the following were the major concerns raised; revenue collectors attitudes towards revenue collection, rate payers connivance with collectors to under pay the required rate bill and logistic constraints. These three concerns surfaced in our interviews with the key management staffs as being the major causes of revenue leakages from the system. However, a lot of progress had been made in these areas to remove barriers and bad nuts from the system to improve IGF performance. This was evident via the interviews and our personal verification from the 2016 fiscal year revenue performance. Key revenue items such as business operating permit (BOP) and property rates showed an upward trend. Another key objective of the study was to identify the channels of revenue leakages from the system and what causes it. In view of this we had interviews with some rate payers and revenue collectors. It was very interesting during our interview with one of the rate payers and commenting on the channels, of leakages this is what she has to say; People who come for the taxes sometimes come at the wrong time when we does not have any money with huge bills, so they take bribe from us and go. Sometimes they come back to take again and others do not come again. We also realized they have their own receipts different from assemblys receipt which they issue sometimes when they take the bribe. Our taxes collected goes into individual pocket, so at the end the Assembly do not receive the supposed revenue and that is why we sometimes do not pay. I will not give my money to someone to spend. We did not limit our interviews to only individual rate payers, institutions were also added since they pay both BOP and property rates and more especially we needed varied opinions from different perspectives. During our interview with one of the executives of a bank, this was what he had to say concerning the causes of revenue leakages. They do not give us enough education on what the taxes are used for and moreover, they failed to use an electronic system to mobilize the revenue. Taxes paid in cash to revenue collectors or task force causes corruption and mistrust. For the purpose of obtaining a comprehensive view of the situation on the ground, the researchers had interviews with some key revenue collectors of the Assembly. Two major concerns runs throughout our interviews with them namely; inadequate motivation and lack of frequent trainings on the job. In summary the lessons leant through this project work include; Educating rate payers that it is their civic responsibility to pay taxes and also on the uses of their taxes are vital in local government revenue mobilization processes. Training revenue collectors on the new revenue mobilization tools, techniques and the revenue mobilization strategies of the Assembly is essential. Stakeholder consultative meetings which involve rate payers in fee-fixing and rate imposition of the Assembly is very important in facilitating effective and efficient revenue mobilization within the local government system. Another important lesson is the issue of transparency and accountability. Local authorities or duty bearers within the sub-national governments, ability to account to the citizens or local constituents builds trust between rate payers and the Assemblies. Proper accountability promotes effective revenue mobilization and increase the willingness to pay. Electronic technique of revenue mobilization cannot be disregarded. Automation of the tax collection system discourages corruption, temptation to steal and increase efficiency in the revenue mobilization drive. The responsibility to secure electronic equipment to migrate local authorities to this stage is a collective effort. 4.2 Challenges encountered Executing this project work was not all that smooth. We were confronted with a lot of challenges ranging from research design to its execution. The first challenge we faced had to do with the research instrument and the interviews thereafter. As mentioned earlier in this work, we wanted to explore a lot of areas within the local government revenue mobilization scheme so as to prescribe solutions which will greater impact on the revenue mobilization of the Assembly. There are laid down ethical considerations that must be adhered to in social science research namely; anonymity and confidentiality. Our major challenge was how to get interpretations for our respondents who were not literate in order to preserve anonymity and confidentiality. In view of this we have to make several trips to them which was a herculean task. Added to this, designing an instrument to cover a lot of areas on the topic was not that easy considering the complicated nature of fiscal decentralization and the various stakeholders involved. Furthermore, our analysis of the situation employed both secondary and primary data. Retrieving or getting access to annual composite budgets and financial statements of the previous years for the necessary reviews was a big challenge. Several calls and personal visits were made before those documents were made available. Reviewing and analyzing the data therein was also challenging and exciting. One key issue was the incorrect postings (2015 fiscal year) and some revenue items which had no unique codes. This inconsistency post a big challenge to us in the analysis and the Key Officers had to come in to rectify the situation. We were told that, this problem occurred on the field as revenue collectors were not able to describe the business well. CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Introduction This last chapter of the study gives the conclusion and recommendations. In this chapter, the researchers give the conclusions and recommendations of the study. 5.1Â  Conclusion Findings from the project work supports both theoretical and empirical literature which says that, sensitization and education of rate payers on their tax obligation and the uses of their monies have a positive impact on revenue mobilization. Transparency and accountability as well as the provision of efficient service and developmental projects to the local residents increases their willingness to pay and decreases if the reverse is applied. This suggests that citizens are now more concern about accountability and cannot be taken for granted. Fiscal decentralization is very crucial in the decentralization process and demands central government commitment to ensure its success. Linking fiscal federalism theory to the findings from this study, revealed that some core components or elements in the theory has not been applied. Components such as effective revenue mobilization scheme, efficient service delivery, and efficient internal controls to prevent revenue leakages have not been fully executed. This was clearly shown when local constituents were demanding physical projects to showcase for the taxes they pay. Notwithstanding that, the findings also support theory from the public commodities with a different geographical pattern of consumption. The results showed that residents were asking for projects and services that suit their consumption pattern. 5.2 Recommendations The main objective of this study was to assess revenue leakages, internal controls and prevention in local authorities. The study did found that there exist revenue mobilization leakages and thus has few dynamic policy recommendations for LEKMA, policymakers, and stakeholders in local governance system. Transparency and accountability from local authorities or duty bearers must be enforced. LEKMA must therefore design and implement policies which gives enough punishment to corrupt local government official and those who fail to properly account to their local constituents. Furthermore, involving ratepayers in fee-fixing and rate imposition through stakeholders meeting is very crucial in revenue mobilization within the local government system. This calls for a policy direction to make their involvement mandatory. Assembly members at LEKMA should pass a resolution to this effect. Capacity building should not be limited to top management of Assembly but must be extended to lower ranks as well. Building the capacity of revenue collectors is vital in local government revenue mobilization and the promotion fiscal decentralization. Management of LEKMA should direct policy to make their training a priority. They are implementers of revenue mobilization strategies formulated by LEKMA and therefore need to be equipped with the latest techniques in revenue mobilization. Automation of revenue collection process is another important way of achieving efficient revenue mobilization and prevention of fraud. LEKMA should adopt and implement policies that mandates it to migrate onto automated system of rate paying REFERENCES Aryee, J.R.A. (2003). Towards Effective and Accountable Local Government in Ghana. Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Accra. Arowolo, D. (2011). Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria: Theory and Dimensions. Afro Asian Journal of Social Science, 2 (2.2), 1-21. Badu, R., A. (2007) Mobilization of Internally Generated Funds in District Assemblies in Ghana: A Case Study of the Shama Ahanta East District Assembly. Unpublished Document Submitted to the Department of Planning, KNUST, Kumasi. Bird, R.M. (2009). Fiscal Federalism. University of Toronto, Canada. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi (2014) Effective Revenue Mobilization by District Assemblies: A Case Study of Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly of Ghana: Public Policy and Administration Review, American Research Institute for Policy Development. Joseph, K. N., John, P. T. and Job Asante (2013). The Relationship Between Financial Control Systems and Public Sector Efficiency in Ghana: International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, Vol.2|No. 7 Korten, D. and Klaus R. (1984). People-Central Development, Connecticut: Kumarian Press. Kesner-Skreb, M. (2009). Fiscal Federalism: Financial Theory and Practice. 33 (2), 235-237 Oates, W.E. (1999). An Eassy on Fiscal Federalism. Journal of Economic Literature, 1120-1149 Oates, W.E (1972). Fiscal Federalism. New York, Harcourt Brace, Jovanovich, Olson, M. (1996). The Theory of Regulatory Federalism: The Case of Environmental Management. In The Economics of Environmental Regulation, pp319-31. Ozo-Eson (2005). Fiscal Federalism: Theory, Issues and Perspectives. Daily Intdependent. Musgrave, R. (1959). The Theory of Public Finance. New York, Mcgraw Hill Sharma, C.K. (2005). The Federal Approach to Fiscal Decentralization: Conceptual Contours for Sulley Gariba, (2009), Political Decentralization Ghana: Policy Issues, Legislation and the Way Forward. Presented at the first Annual Parliamentary Workshop on Local Government Reform and Decentralization organized by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Koforidua, November 6-8, 2009. James Edwin Kee (2003). Fiscal Decentralization: Theory as Reform, The George Washington University, Cheema, G.S, Dennis, A.R. (1983). Implementing Decentralization Policies: An Introduction. In G. Shabbir Cheema and Dennis A. Rondinelli (Eds.). Decentralization and Development: Policy Implementation In Developing Countries Beverly Hills; New Delhi: Sage Publications. Pp 9.37. Cleeve, E. (2008), How effective are fiscal incentives to attract FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa?, The Journal of Developing Areas, 42 (1), 135-153. Adenike A. Adedokun (undated). Local Government Tax Mobilization and Utilization in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects; The Polytechnique, Ibadan, Nigeria. Stake, R. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications Inc. Brewer, J. D., and Miller, R.L. (2003). The A-Z of Social Research: A dictionary of Key Social Science Research Concepts. Thousand Oaks, London: Sage. Neuman, L. (2007). Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Research Approaches, Second Edition. University of Wisconsin Whitewater Pearson Education Incorporated, USA

Hong Kong must move with the times by making itself an efficient :: Economics

Hong Kong must move with the times by making itself an efficient platform for Mainland financial intermediation. A number of journalists with specialised interests in financial developments in Hong Kong asked for my interpretation of the "move with the times" speech delivered by the Governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan at the Annual Dinner of the Hong Kong Association of Banks on 30 September 2005. The "move with the times" comment was made by Governor Zhou in relation to maintaining the status of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. We should of course all move with the times and be alert to changes taking place around us if we do not wish to be left behind. This comment has a universal application and is particularly important when times are changing rapidly. Those with the ability to anticipate changes and prepare for them stand a much higher chance of success. Those that carry on doing the same things in the same old way will simply be left behind. This is the reality. I obviously do not wish to quote others out of context or to put words in others' mouths, just as I do not wish anybody to do the same to me. But Governor Zhou delivered an important speech on a matter of great importance to Hong Kong - so important that it merited special reference in Article 109 of the Basic Law - the maintenance of the status of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. And the HKMA does have certain indirect responsibilities for this subject, derived from the Financial Secretary's authority in the Exchange Fund Ordinance to use the Exchange Fund, with a view to maintaining Hong Kong as an international financial centre, to maintain the stability and the integrity of the monetary and financial systems of Hong Kong. So, for what it is worth, I will make an exception to my usual practice and offer my (undoubtedly subjective and possibly biased) interpretation. Since I don't speak from a position of authority, my comments will concentrate more on how times are changing and less on how we in Hong Kong should move with them. Governor Zhou made it abundantly clear that, in terms of the financial environment in which Hong Kong operates, times are changing and changing fast. He made six important points. First, the savings rate on the Mainland is high by international standards and increasing, in contrast to a zero savings rate in the United States. I take this to mean that there is an exceedingly large amount (relative to GDP) of domestic savings on the Mainland to be mobilised and channelled into

Financial Analysis of Scholastic and Daktronics Essay -- Financial Ana

Evaluating a company’s financial condition can be done by looking at its profitability or its ability to satisfy long-term commitments. These measures can be viewed through an analysis of a company’s financial statements, including the balance sheet and income statement. This paper will look at the status of Scholastic Company’s (Scholastic) ability to satisfy its long-term commitments and at the profitability of Daktronics, Inc. (Daktronics). This paper will include various financial ratio calculations and an analysis of the notable trends. It will also discuss the profitability and long-term borrowing positions of the firms discussed. Scholastic Company is a multibillion dollar children’s book publisher and distributor with more than 9,000 worldwide employees (Scholastic Inc., n.d.). Scholastic leases some of its physical office and storage locations and equipment (as cited in Gibson, 2011). Cornaggia, Franzen, and Simin (2013) noted the reasons firms lease may be the result of a company’s financial distress which prevents sufficient capital being raised to purchase instead of leasing. They also suggested if profitability of the firm is not at issue, leasing can be used to reduce taxes thus reducing borrowing costs. Though the reason for maintaining material lease obligations is not disclosed in its financial statements (as cited in Gibson, 2011), Scholastic’s ability to satisfy its long-term commitments is important for investors, creditors, and management. The long-term borrowing capacity of Scholastic can be determined through an analysis of its times interest earned, fixed charge cove rage, and debt ratios. The times interest earned ratio uses a company’s income statement to assess its ability to meet long-... ... Cited Cornaggia, K. J., Franzen, L. A., & Simin, T. T. (2013). Bringing leased assets onto the balance sheet. Journal of Corporate Finance, 22345-360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016 /j.jcorpfin.2013.06.007 Damodaran, A. (n.d.). Operating versus capital leases. Retrieved from http://pages.stern.nyu.edu /~adamodar/New_Home_Page/AccPrimer/lease.htm Daktronics, Inc. (n.d.). Our company. Retrieved from http://www.daktronics.com/en-us/about-us Gibson, C. H. (2011). Financial reporting & analysis: Using financial accounting information. (12th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Monea, M. (2009). Financial ratios – Reveal how a business is doing? Annals of the University Of Petrosani Economics, 9(2), 137-144. Retrieved from http://www.upet.ro/eng Scholastic Inc. (n.d.). About Scholastic. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com /aboutscholastic/index.htm

Cancer Genesis and Cancer Treatments: an Overview Essay -- Health, Dis

The human body is made up of trillions of living cells all working together. Normally, these cells grow, divide, and die. However, sometimes the process is mismanaged; and during this time, uncontrolled cellular growth and division occurs. The uncontrolled growth and division lead to tumors, which usually leads to cancer. However, not all tumors lead to cancer. In addition, the word cancer is a general name given to over 100 diseases, which begin with uncontrolled cellular growth. If these growths are left untreated, they can cause severe illness and even death. In the United States, half of all men and one-third of all women will develop cancer sometime during their lifetimes. The threat of developing cancer can be reduced by changing one’s lifestyle. A better diet (Ames, 2001; Bergstrà ¶m et al., 2001), daily physical activity( Kampert et al., 1996), limiting sun exposure (Elwood et al., 1997), quitting smoking (Peto et al., 2000), and reducing excessive alcohol consumption (Tsugane et al., 1999); all add up to a reduced the probability of developing cancer. In addition, the earlier a cancer is diagnosed and treated, the less likely that that individual will die of it. Therefore, the combination of early diagnosis, therapies and lifestyle changes can beat the occurrence of cancer. Cancer Genesis Cancer begins when a cell starts to grow out of control. All cancers begin with out-of-control growth due to damaged DNA. DNA is the genetic material found in every cell, it contains instruction and blue prints for cellular growth, division, and death. Normally, when DNA damage occurs the cell has mechanism to either repair the damage or initiate its own death. However in cancer cells, the DNA damage is not repaired nor does the cell com... ...l activity involving regulatory, metabolic and healing processes. Electrical currents that occur at the site of injuries such as bone fractures are considered a sign of healing energy. In salamanders this contributes to the processes involved in limb regeneration† (O’Clock, 1999). Another type of energy medicine is Ayurveda, which is an ancient Indian medicine system .The therapy re-establishes harmony between the body, mind, and forces of nature to cure cancers and other illness. The therapy requires exercise, herbal remedies, lifestyle changes, and meditation. Practitioners of Ayurveda strengthen and purify their bodies and mind and increase their spiritual awareness. A recent clinical study, by the National Institutes of Health, showed that in 79% of cases, patients with chronic disease had significant improvements after Ayurvedic treatment (Treatments, 2011).

Transcoding Jpeg

Melvin Berena BTC640 February 1, 2012 Abstract There is a transcoding scheme that proposed to compresses existing JPEG files without losing the quality. It does it by using the H. 264-like block-adaptive intra prediction to use inter-block relationship of quantized DCT coefficients that are stored in the JPEG file. This prediction is performed in spatial domain of each block composed of 8? 8 pels, but the corresponding prediction residuals are calculated in DCT domain to ensure lossless reconstruction of the original coef? cients. Block-based classification is carried out to allow accurate modeling of PDF’s.A multi-symbol arithmetic coder and the PDF model is used for entropy coding to predicting residual of each DCT coefficient located in the in JPEG files. For monochrome JPEG images end result usually shows the reduction of coding rates about 18 – 28 %. Transcoding [Scheme] Scheme is a digital-to-digital data conversion method of converting to another type/format, lik e movie or audio files. This is frequently done when a particular target device does not support the file format or has limited storage capacity that requires a reduced file size.This is also done to convert incompatible or out dated data to a better and modern format. One good advantage of transcoding is to reduce storage cost. Example, Cineon and DPX are widely used as a standard movie format but it cost a lot of space (2hour movie = about 8 terabytes). It would be demand more storage and processing power to handle this this kind of file format. However, transcoding into a JPEG2000 lossless format has better compression performance than other lossless coding technologies. The Challenge The number one challenge I faced was when I approached this academic paper review and read the abstract.I did not understand a lot of information printed in this paper but as I kept reading the whole article I started getting a basic idea of what the paper is talking about. I took me a lot of time t o just read the Abstract as I was using the search engine (Google) to understand every other word. The second problem I faced was when I approached the Spatial Domain, I still don’t completely understand that concept but I get the basic understanding how the object ends up with the blurriness effect as the object enters a repetitive intensity variation. ReferencesAcademic Paper review: http://zenit. senecac. on. ca/wiki/imgs/Lossless_re-enconfig_of_jpeg_images. pdf Websites: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/JPEG#Block_splitting http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Transcoding http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Point_spread_function http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Discrete_cosine_transform http://www. eurasip. org/Proceedings/Eusipco/Eusipco2011/papers/1569428105. pdf (Coding rates) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Entropy_encoding http://research. microsoft. com/en-us/people/fengwu/screen_icme_06. pdf (Block-based Classification)

Critical Approaches Paper: The Wife of Bath Essay

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) was an English author, poet, philosopher, courtier as well as a diplomat. Sometimes referred to as the father of English literature, the man is most famous for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s major works also include the translation of Roman de la Rose; The Book of the Duchess; The House of Fame; Anelida and Arcite; The Parliament of Fowls; the translation of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy as Boece; Troilus and Criseyde; The Legend of Good Women; and the Treatise on the Astrolabe (Geoffrey Chaucer, 2007). Being a well-rounded intellectual, Chaucer was aware of the gender stereotypes permeating his medieval society. As a matter of fact, men of the Middle Ages deeming marriage â€Å"a full great sacrament† took most seriously the woman’s promise â€Å"to honor and obey. † The slightest breach of this vow of obedience was hailed as a crying offense to both God and man. The principal vice of the medieval times was pride. Disobedience was but an offshoot of this self same vice. And so, obedience was due not only unto God and one’s parents, but, as the old phrase went, â€Å"to husbands and other benefactors and sovereigns. † Women were known to be subjected to men, and there was not as much thought poured over women’s equal right to manage affairs. Thus, we find in medieval literature instances such as the ones briefly touched on by Frederick Tupper (1968) in Types of Society in Medieval Literature: An old Parisian benedict of the fourteenth century, playing mentor to his young bride offsets Petrarch’s story of the obedient Griselda with the example of a wife rightly burned for the disobedience into which she was led by her pride – quite as CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 2 grievous an offense this, so he tells us many times, as the fault of Eve or of Lucifer. It was during this period that Chaucer chose to represent his woman in literature – the Wife of Bath – as an extraordinary lady who believed in subjecting her men to her desires. The lady is open to express her views about a different role that women can play despite the essential gender stereotypes of medieval society. The Wife of Bath has control of her husbands’ property, presumably acquired through successive marriage settlements. She therefore has no need to make efforts to please her mates, if such efforts would have given her greater authority over her men in terms of wealth or pleasure. According to her Prologue, her first three husbands had â€Å"bad luck in bed,† for which they are chided by her. The woman would demand payment in bed, in return for which she would make payment (sexually) of the marriage debt she owed them (Nelson, 2002). Knowing that all medieval women do not behave like her when it comes to controlling their husbands’ property or getting money out of them, the Wife of Bath is asking young girls to back out of marriage altogether. Why please a man when it is more fruitful over all to please and serve God? – is her final argument on the question of marriage. The Wife of Bath says that three of her husbands were good, and two were bad. The first three were rich, old, and submissive, although she tormented them with accusations that were total lies – she confesses to the rest of the pilgrims. She accused her husband of having an affair, for example, and then launched into a tirade in which she charged him with a bewildering array of accusations. If one of her husbands got drunk, the Wife of Bath claimed that every wife was out to destroy her husband in particular. She also made her husband feel guilty this way, and so CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 3 he gave her what she wanted. The Wife of Bath admits that she deliberately caused her husbands grief. She teased them in bed by refusing to give them full satisfaction until they had promised her money. She says that she made them work at night, in fact, to pay her marriage â€Å"dette. † What is more, the woman admits proudly that she used her verbal and sexual power to bring her husbands to total submission. In point of fact, the Wife of Bath uses the same tactic, i. e. , verbal power to bring the young knight to total submission in her Tale. She confesses in her Prologue that she failed to follow the marriage rule of â€Å"biheste is dette. † But when the young knight in her Tale is sentenced to death by King Arthur’s court for raping a defenseless young woman, his only chance to escape the penalty of execution is to find the answer to the question, ‘What do women want most? ’ The young man’s search for the answer is fruitless until he meets an old woman who promises to give him the answer if he would promise her, in return, to grant the request she makes of him. The rapist promises to keep his word, and after he has supplied Arthur’s queen with the answer that can save his life, the old woman asks him to marry her. In this case, as in the personal story of the Wife of Bath, the woman is subjecting the man unto herself by asking him to make a promise for something in return (Nelson). The Wife of Bath is knowledgeable enough to admit that more than a few Fathers of the Church, including the Apostle Paul, had proclaimed the importance of virginity. But if virginity was so critical, there would be someone still to produce virgins! Thus, she would leave virginity to the perfect, and allow herself instead to use her gifts as best as she could. Besides her use of intellect in marital affairs, undoubtedly the gift that she refers to is sexual power. She uses this power not only to enjoy her life to the full, but as an instrument to manipulate her men as well. CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 4 Patricia Clare Ingham (2002) calls the Wife of Bath one of the most ingenious readers in the history of literature, and sees the aggressive â€Å"re-reading of scripture† on the part of the Wife of Bath as a means of displaying and resisting the medieval anti-feminist tradition or misogyny. The Wife of Bath frequently misquotes the scriptures. Scholars believe that these â€Å"misreadings† of texts were a mark of political and cultural acuity on the part of the Wife of Bath, as these bad readings give us a clearer picture of the culture of the time and the medieval gender relations (Schibanoff, 1986). The Wife of Bath’s re-readings of scripture have additionally been referred to as a â€Å"utopian group fantasy,† whereby the women would direct themselves against the anti-feminist tradition of the time, which was actually a social institution that was neither necessary nor the only face of truth of the Middle Ages. This idea of â€Å"group† or sorority was, in fact, explored by Brian W. Gastle, who wrote that although it is difficult to prove that women had gathered forces to beat the odds, there may have been a sorority of this kind that functioned outside the boundaries set by the established guilds to which working women also belonged. The Wife of Bath, as we know, is into the cloth making business (Ingham). The lady blasts clerkly writers for their biased perspectives, and in so doing, activates the literary tradition for an entirely new set of social uses, such as understanding the importance of women. Her assessment of the politics of writing is interlinked with her representation of the politics of reading. She desires the production of an entirely different kind of literature, the kind that the feminist classroom would read. Her Tale is included in this category, of course, and it is revolutionary. Still, critics worry that the Wife of Bath may be strangely affirming masculine desire through her Tale. As Lynne Dickson (1993) puts it, the Tale may really â€Å"reward the CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 5 concession of masculine ‘maistrie’ with the very thing patriarchy wants to begin with. † The Tale is, after all, about a rapist knight who can turn magically into a dutiful husband; and about an aged lady who becomes a sweet young thing yet again; apart from an old middle-class woman, â€Å"comen of so lough a kynde,† who gains status and rule from her aristocrat husband. Most scholars have interpreted the Wife of Bath’s interest in sovereignty of wife over husband as an expression of her dissatisfaction over the rule of her nation. Sovereignty extends beyond the confines of the bourgeois household in this case, given that the Irish were concerned about sovereignty over a nation at the same time as Chaucer and his contemporaries were writing about sovereignty over a husband (Eisner, 1957). Indeed, there do appear to be political questions posed in the Wife of Bath’s Tale, especially when the recalcitrant knight objects to his marriage to the old lady, saying, â€Å"Alas, that any of my nacion/ sholde evere so foule disparaged be! † The old lady wonders aloud if the knight’s rejection comes through his subjection to the laws of the court: â€Å"Is this the lawe of Arthures hous? † she asks; â€Å"Is every knight of his so dangerous? † Only a lady of charisma, of great political insight coupled with leadership qualities, could have addressed intricacies of the political life of the nation at the time of the Wife of Bath when gender stereotypes were comprehensively controlled by the authorities, including the Church. The woman seems to know how to tackle legal terminology to boot (Ingham). She truly is remarkable for the Middle Ages, and deserves a continual round of applause from everyone today. CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 6 References 1. Dickson, Lynne. (1993). â€Å"Deflection in the Mirror: Feminine Discourse in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale. † SAC, 15, 1993, p. 61-90. 2. Eisner, Sigmund. (1957). A Tale of Wonder: A Source Study of the Wife of Bath’s Tale New York: Burt Franklin. 3. Geoffrey Chaucer. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer. (24 February 2007). 4. Ingham, Patricia Clare. (2002). Pastoral Histories: Utopia, Conquest, and the Wife of Bath’s Tale. Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Vol. 44, Issue 1. 5. Nelson, Marie. (2002). Biheste Is Dette: Marriage Promises in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Papers on Language & Literature, Vol. 38, Issue 2, 2002, p. 167. 6. Schibanoff, Susan. (1986). â€Å"Taking the Gold out of Egypt: The Art of Reading as a Woman† In Gender and Reading: Essays on Readers, Texts and Contexts (Ed. Elizabeth Flynn and Patrocinio P. Schweickart). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. CRITICAL APPROACHES PAPER: THE WIFE OF BATH Page # 7 7. Tupper, Frederick. (1968). Types of Society in Medieval Literature New York: Biblo and Tannen.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 1-5 Summaries

In Chapter 1, the narrator introduces himself as Nick Carraway and talks about himself and his father. He describes himself as tolerant but fails to realizes his views are very biased and speaks with pity to those who â€Å"haven't had the advantages that you've had,† as his father says. Nick comes from a well-known Mid-Western family, and graduated from Yale (as his ancestors have) in 1915. After fighting in World War I, he comes home restless and decides to learn the bond business. His father finances Nick for a year and Nick lives in a house on West Egg. He talks about West and East Egg.West Egg is the less fashionable of the two, and consists of new money. He lives between Gatsby's mansion and another millionaire. East Egg consists of old money people, and that is where his cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom Buchanan, live. Tom was one of Nick's classmates at Yale who played football professionally and came from a wealthy family. The Buchanans invite Nick over for dinner, and Nick meets Daisy's friend, Jordan Baker. She is a professional golfer and seems to be bored of being wealthy. At dinner, Tom talks about the book, â€Å"The Rise of the Colored Empires†, and readers learn that Tom is pro-white dominance.Dinner is interrupted by a phone call for Tom, and Jordan tells Nick that it's a phone call from Tom's lover in New York. Daisy and Nick catch up in private out on the veranda. After dinner, everyone chats in a crimson room and when Jordan heads to sleep, Daisy jokes that Jordan and Nick should marry each other. Soon, Nick heads home and sees Gatsby on his dock reaching out his hand across the Sound. Chapter 2 begins with a description of the valley of ashes which is located between West Egg and New York. The area is a barren wasteland and a large billboard with Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's eyes decay in the valley.Tom takes Nick to the valley of ashes so he can meet Tom's mistress. They arrive at George Wilson's garage on the edge of the val ley of ashes and meet with him and his wife, Myrtle. Tom then forces Myrtle (his mistress) and Nick to his flat in New York and throws an improper small party with Myrtle's sister, Catherine, and a couple named McKee. The group then gossips about Jay Gatsby and Catherine claims that he is somehow related to Kaiser Wilhelm, the despised ruler of Germany during World War I. As the group gets more drunk, Myrtle begins to act harsh and almost teenage-like.Catherine states that the only reason Tom hasn't left Daisy is because Daisy is Catholic, and Catholics don't believe in divorce. Nick is surprised by such an accusation because he knows that Daisy is not Catholic. Myrtle then talks about how she never loved her husband, and she made the biggest mistake marrying him. Later, Tom gives Myrtle a puppy as a gift, and the drinking goes on. Sometime after, Myrtle starts chanting Daisy's name, and Tom punches her in the face, breaking her nose. Chapter 3 begins with Nick's description of Gats by's Saturday night parties.These parties are extremely lavish, and earned the reputation of being one of the best parties in New York. Guests gather to admire Gatsby's Rolls Royce and enormous swimming pool, eat delicious food, enjoy the live band, and drink unlimited amounts of alcohol that Gatsby supplies everyone with. Eventually, Gatsby's chauffeur brings an invitation to Nick's door and Nick heads over the next day. When he arrives, the mansion is already packed with anyone and everyone. Many attendees were not invited, even more have not met Gatsby face to face.The crowd is mixed, with people from West Egg and East Egg, and people from New York and some that weren't high up on the social ladder. Nick then runs into Jordan Baker, and they hear rumors among the crowd about Gatsby. Nick and Jordan roam around to try to find Gatsby, and at first end up in Gatsby's library. In his library, they meet a man they call Owl Eyes, who is fascinated by the fact that all the books in the library are real. Afterward, they head out to the garden and begin talking to a man that is young and handsome. He tells them that he served in the same division as Nick in the war.He then introduces himself as Gatsby. Gatsby leaves to take a phone call, but tells one of his servants to seek out Jordan Baker to tell her he needs to speak with her in private. A few hours later, Jordan comes out of the library and tells Nick the conversation was â€Å"simply amazing. † Before Nick leaves, Gatsby invites him to go hydroplaning the next morning and Nick agrees to go. As Nick leaves the mansion, fifty feet from the door, he sees that a car has landed in a ditch. He sees Owl Eyes there and the whole situation is very bizarre. Nick then breaks off to talk about his overall summer of 1922.He states that he did not only attend parties all summer long, but also worked in New York. He met again with Jordan in midsummer, and realized that she had cheated in a golf tournament. Although he knows that Jordan lies constantly, he is still somehow attracted to her. In Chapter 4, Nick returns to one of Gatsby's Sunday morning parties, and he hears a couple of young ladies gossip about Gatsby. They say he is a bootlegger and killed a man because he found out. On another morning, Gatsby invites Nick to lunch in the city. Gatsby then asks Nick what he thinks of him.Nick is very evasive in the way he responds. Gatsby then tells Nick about his past, claiming to be from a MidWestern family and says he is from the city of San Francisco. He then goes on to say that he studied at Oxford and lived in all of the capitals of Europe. And that he enlisted in the war effort, where he was quickly promoted to major and celebrated by every Allied government. Gatsby even pulls out a picture of himself at Oxford and also a medal with his name on it from Montenegro. Gatsby drives very fast through the valley of ashes and is pulled over by a policeman for speeding.Gatsby shows the policeman a white card and the policeman apologizes and doesn't give him a ticket. At lunch, Gatsby introduces Carraway to Meyer Wolfsheim, who is a Jewish man that is an infamous gambler and who claims to have fixed the 1919 World Series. Wolfsheim proudly shows Nick his arm cuff that is made of human molars. Nick soon believes that Gatsby is involved in dark business. After Wolfsheim leaves the restaurant, Nick spots Tom at a table and introduces Gatsby to him. Gatsby is visibly uncomfortable around Tom and leaves suddenly without an explanation.The next time Nick meets with Jordan, she tells him that Gatsby is in love with Daisy. She says that back in 1917, both Daisy and Gatsby volunteered at the Red Cross and Daisy madly fell in love with him. She promised that she would wait for Gatsby to return from war, but while he was away, Tom proposed to her and she accepted. The night before Daisy's wedding, she had realized her huge mistake and drank herself to insanity. Jordan tells Nick that the only reason why Gatsby bought his mansion on West Egg was to be directly across the bay from Daisy.Nick then realizes why Gatsby was on his dock reaching out to the green light across the Sound (because the light is the light on the end of Daisy's dock). Jordan then tells Nick that Gatsby wanted him to arrange a meeting for himself and Daisy at Nick's house. In Chapter 5, the night Nick returns home after talking to Jordan, he sees that Gatsby's mansion is lit from top to bottom. Nick is approached by an eager and nervous Gatsby, and Nick tells him that he has spoken with Jordan. In return for helping him, Gastby offers Nick an under-the-table job that hasn't anything to do with Wolfsheim.Nick is offended by his wish to pay him back for setting up the meeting, and declines the offer. On the day that Gatsby and Daisy are to meet, it begins to rain. When Daisy first arrives, the tension and conversations are very awkward between them. Gatsby is so nervous to be around Daisy that he k nocks over Nick's clock. Nick tells Gatsby to calm down, and leaves them alone for a short while. When Nick returns, he sees that they have just finished hugging and Daisy has joyful tears on her cheeks. They are much more relaxed and comfortable around one another, and they head over to Gatbsy's mansion.Gatsby shows them around, first at some luxurious shirts imported from Europe, and Daisy bursts into tears. Then looking out from a window, Gatsby tells Daisy that he can see the green light at the end of her dock when the night air is clear. After, Gatsby wakes Ewing Klipspringer so he can play â€Å"Ain't We Got Fun† on the piano. While the music floats around in the room, Nick thinks to himself that Daisy will not be able to live up to Gatsby's standards and forget the last five years has ever happened. As Gatsby and Daisy get closer, Nick realizes it is time for him to leave and starts walking home.