Campbell Soup Case Essay

Synopsis The Campbell Soup Company has dominated the soup â€Å"industry† since the company developed a cost-effective method of producing condensed soup products in 1899. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Campbell was known as one of the most conservative companies in the United States. In 1980, Campbell startled the business world by selling debt securities for the first time and by embarking on a program to lengthen and diversify its historically â€Å"short† product line. Despite a sizable increase in revenues, the diversification program failed to improve Campbell’s profitability, which prompted the company’s executives to refocus their attention on their core business, namely, manufacturing and marketing soup products. Unfortunately, by the end of the twentieth century, the public’s interest in soup was waning. Faced with a shrinking market for its primary product, Campbell’s management team allegedly began using a series of questionable business practices and accounting gimmicks to prop up the company’s reported profits. A class-action lawsuit filed in early 2000 by disgruntled Campbell stockholders charged top company executives with misrepresenting Campbell’s operating results in the late 1990s. The principal allegation was that the executives had used a variety of methods to inflate the company’s revenues, gross margins, and profits during that time frame. Eventually, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Campbell’s independent audit firm, was named as a co-defendant in the case. The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claimed that PwC had recklessly audited Campbell, which effectively allowed Campbell’s executives to continue their illicit schemes. This case examines the allegations filed against PwC by Campbell’s stockholders with the primary purpose of illustrating the audit objectives and procedures that can and should be applied to a client’s revenue and revenue-related accounts. The case also provides students with important insights on how the Private  Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has affected auditors’ civil liability in lawsuits filed under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Campbell Soup Company–Key Facts 1.During much of its history, Campbell Soup was known as one of the most conservative large companies in the U.S. economy. 2. Campbell’s conservative corporate culture abruptly changed in the 1980s when the company sold debt securities for the first time and embarked on an ambitious program to diversify and expand its product line. 3.In the late 1990s, after the diversification program had produced disappointing financial results and when market data indicated that the public’s interest in soup was waning, Campbell executives allegedly began using several illicit methods to meet Wall Street’s earnings targets for the company. 4.A class-action lawsuit filed in 2000 charged that Campbell had offered customers large, period-ending discounts to artificially inflate sales, accounted improperly for those discounts, recorded bogus sales, and failed to record appropriate reserves for anticipated sales returns. 5.PwC, Campbell’s audit firm, was named as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit and was charged with recklessly auditing Campbell’s financial statements. 6.Because the class-action lawsuit was filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the federal judge presiding over the case had to decide whether the allegations involving PwC satisfied the new â€Å"pleading standard† established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 7.The PSLRA’s pleading standard requires plaintiffs to plead or allege facts  suggesting that there is a â€Å"strong inference of scienter† on the part of a given defendant. 8.To satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard in the Third Circuit of the U.S. District Court in which the Campbell lawsuit was filed, a plaintiff, at a minimum, must allege that the given defendant acted with â€Å"recklessness.† 9.After reviewing PwC’s audit workpapers, the federal judge ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard, which resulted in PwC being dismissed as a defendant in the case. 10.In February 2003, Campbell settled the class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay the plaintiffs $35 million, although company executives denied any wrongdoing. Instructional Objectives 1.To demonstrate that even the largest and highest profile audit clients can pose significant audit risks. 2.To identify discretionary business practices and accounting â€Å"gimmicks† that can be used to distort a company’s reported operating results. 3.To identify audit procedures that should be applied to a client’s sales and sales-related accounts. 4.To examine the implications that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has for the civil liability of independent auditors in lawsuits filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 5.To examine the concepts of recklessness and negligence in the context of auditors’ civil liability. Suggestions for Use The â€Å"high-risk† accounts that are the focus of this case are sales and sales-related accounts. This case focuses students’ attention on schemes that companies can use to enhance their reported operating results. These schemes involve both â€Å"discretionary† business practices and accounting gimmicks. Auditing textbooks generally ignore the fact that audit clients often manage or manipulate their reported profits by using discretionary business practices—such as delaying advertising or maintenance expenditures. This case requires students to address this possibility and consider the resulting audit implications. After discussing this case, I hope my students recognize that companies that use discretionary business practices to â€Å"rig† their profits are likely inclined to use accounting gimmicks for the same purpose. As an out-of-class assignment, you might ask students to find in the business press recent examples of companies that have attempted to manage their earnings without violating any accounting or financial reporting rules. Have students present these examples and then discuss them when addressing case question No. 1. I think you will find that students have very different opinions on whether it is ethical for public companies to â€Å"massage† their income statement data while complying with the technical requirements of GAAP. You might consider packaging this case with the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4). The Health Management case provides a general discussion of the PSLRA. The Campbell Soup case contributes to students’ understanding of the PSLRA by examining in more depth the â€Å"pleading standard† established by that federal statute and the impact that standard has on lawsuits filed against auditors under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Suggested Solutions to Case Questions 1.Here are a few examples of discretionary business practices that corporate executives can use to influence their company’s revenues and/or expenses. ââ€" ºDeferring advertising, maintenance, or other discretionary expenditures until the following period. ââ€" ºSlowing down (or accelerating) work on long-term construction projects or contracts for which the percentage-of-completion accounting method is used to recognize revenue. ââ€" ºUsing economic incentives to stimulate sales near the end of an accounting period (a technique used by Campbell). Are the practices just listed â€Å"ethical†? Typically, students suggest that since these practices do not violate any laws, GAAP, or other â€Å"black and white† rules, the practices cannot be considered â€Å"unethical†Ã¢â‚¬â€a roundabout way of arguing that they are ethical. That general point-of-view seems consistent with the following comment that Judge Irenas made regarding Campbell’s period-ending â€Å"trade loading:† â€Å"There is nothing inherently improper in pressing for sales to be made earlier than in the normal course . . . there may be any number of legitimate reasons for attempting to achieve sales earlier.† For what it is worth, I believe that corporate executives who defer needed maintenance expenses or who postpone advertising programs that would likely produce sizable sales in future periods are not acting in the best interests of their stockholders. In other words, I do not believe such practices are proper or â€Å"ethical.† Likewise, corporate executives who take advantage of the inherent flexibility of the percentage-of-completion accounting method, ostensibly to serve their own economic interests, are not individuals who I would want serving as stewards of my investments. In my view, it is a little more difficult to characterize the â€Å"trade loading† practices of Campbell as unethical. Why? Because, allegedly, the company’s competitors were using the same practice. If Campbell chose not to offer large, period-ending discounts to their customers, the company would likely have lost sales to its competitors. [Note: Campbell’s CEO who resigned in 2000 announced in mid-1999 that his company was discontinuing trade loading.] 2. I would suggest that companies that use various â€Å"legitimate† business practices to â€Å"manage† their earnings are more prone to use illicit methods (accounting gimmicks, etc.) for the same purpose. As a result, auditors could reasonably consider such business practices as a â€Å"red flag† that mandates more extensive and/or rigorous audit tests. [Note: Professional auditing standards suggest that corporate executives who place excessive emphasis on achieving earnings forecasts may be prone to misrepresenting  their company’s financial statement data.] 3.SAS No. 106, â€Å"Audit Evidence,† identifies three categories of management assertions implicit in an entity’s financial statements that independent auditors should attempt to corroborate by collecting sufficient appropriate audit evidence. The third of these categories is â€Å"presentation and disclosure.† Included in the latter category is the following item: â€Å"Classification and understandability. Financial information is appropriately presented and described and disclosures are clearly expressed.† [AU 326.15] Likewise, one of the five transaction-related assertions is entitled â€Å"Classification.† This latter assertion suggests that, â€Å"Transactions and events have been recorded in the proper accounts.† Here are examples of â€Å"spin† techniques that can be used to enhance income statement data without changing net income: ââ€" ºClassifying cost of goods sold components as SG&A expenses to inflate gross profit on sales. ââ€" ºReporting items that qualify as operating expenses/losses as nonoperating expenses/losses to inflate operating income. (One of the most common variations of this â€Å"trick† in recent years has been including legitimate operating expenses in â€Å"restructuring† losses.) ââ€" ºTreating â€Å"other losses† as extraordinary losses to inflate income from continuing operations. 4.Shipping to the yard: Year-end sales cutoff tests are intended to identify misclassification of sales occurring near the end of a client’s fiscal year. Auditors will typically choose a small sample of sales that the client recorded in the final few days of the fiscal year and a comparable sample of sales that occurred in the first few days of the new fiscal year. Then, the relevant shipping and other accounting documents for those sales will be inspected to determine that they were recorded in the proper period. This standard test might have revealed the fact that Campbell was booking some unusually large sales near the end of accounting periods. Even though the shipping documents for these sales might have suggested that they were valid period-ending sales, a curious auditor might have  investigated the sales further. For example, that auditor might have attempted to determine whether the resulting receivables were collected on a timely basis. During the course of such an investigation, the auditor would likely have discovered that the sales were reversed in the following period or dealt with in some other nonstandard way. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures might also have resulted in the discovery of these â€Å"sales.† Customers to whom such sales were charged would likely have identified them as differences or discrepancies on returned confirmations. Subsequent investigation of these items by the auditors may have revealed their true nature. As pointed out by the plaintiffs in this case, during physical inventory counting procedures auditors typically take notice of any inventory that has been segregated and not counted—for example, inventory that is sitting in parked trucks. If there is an unusually large amount of such segregated inventory—which was apparently true in this case, the auditors should have inquired of the client and obtained a reasonable explanation. The old, reliable â€Å"scanning year-end transactions to identify large and/or unusual transactions† might also have led to the discovery of Campbell’s sales â€Å"shipped to the yard.† Guaranteed sales: During the first few weeks of a client’s new fiscal year, auditors should review the client’s sales returns and allowances account to determine whether there are any unusual trends apparent in that account. Auditors should be particularly cognizant of unusually high sales returns and allowances, which may signal that a client overstated reported sales for the prior accounting period. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures may also result in auditors discovering an unusually high rate of â€Å"charge-backs† by the client’s customers. In some cases, clients will have written contracts that document the key features of sales contracts. Reviewing such contracts may result in the discovery of â€Å"guaranteed sales† or similar transactions. Finally, simply discussing a client’s sales policies and procedures with client personnel may result in those personnel intentionally or inadvertently â€Å"tipping off† auditors regarding questionable accounting practices for sales, such as shipping to the yard or guaranteed sales. 5. Here are definitions of â€Å"negligence† and â€Å"recklessness† that I have referred to in suggested solutions for questions in other cases. These definitions were taken from the following source: D.M. Guy, C.W. Alderman, and A.J. Winters, Auditing, Fifth Edition (San Diego: Dryden, 1999), 85-86. Negligence: â€Å"The failure of the CPA to perform or report on an engagement with the due professional care and competence of a prudent auditor.† Recklessness: â€Å"A serious occurrence of negligence tantamount to a flagrant or reckless departure from the standard of due care.† After reviewing the definition of â€Å"negligence,† ask your students to define or describe a â€Å"prudent auditor.† Then, ask them whether they believe that definition/description applies to the PwC auditors assigned to the 1998 Campbell audit. Here are two hypothetical examples drawn from this case involving what I would characterize as â€Å"reckless auditors.† ââ€" ºA client employee tells PwC auditors that many year-end sales are â€Å"guaranteed† and that no reserve has been established for the large amount of returns that will likely be produced by those sales. PwC decides not to investigate this allegation because of manpower constraints on the engagement. ââ€" ºWhile reviewing receivables confirmations returned by Campbell customers, PwC auditors discover that approximately one-fourth of those customers indicate that their balances include charges for large amounts of product purchased near the end of the year, product that they did not order or receive. PwC dismisses this unusually large number of similar reported differences as a â€Å"coincidence.† 6.Here is a list of key parties that have been affected by the PSLRA. ââ€" ºInvestors who suffer large losses that they believe were caused by reckless or fraudulent conduct on the part of a given company’s management team, its auditors, or other parties associated with the company’s financial statements. At least some of these investors have likely found it more  difficult and costly to recover their losses because of the barrier to securities lawsuits erected by the PSLRA. [Note: Granted, the PSLRA has little impact on the ability of investors to recover losses in those cases involving obvious gross fraud or malfeasance by corporate management or other parties.] ââ€" ºSome parties have argued that the PSLRA diminishes the overall efficiency of the stock market. These parties argue that by making it more difficult for investors to file lawsuits under the 1934 Securities Act, the PSLRA has resulted in a larger portion of scarce investment capital being squandered by irresponsible corporate executives, which, in the long run, diminishes the strength of our economy and our nation’s standard of living. ââ€" ºGenerally, corporate executives have benefited from the PSLRA since it has reduced, to some degree, their exposure to civil liability. ââ€" ºAs pointed out in the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4), the PSLRA apparently has not been very beneficial to large accounting firms. For whatever reason, in recent years, there has been a general upward trend in federal securities cases alleging accounting irregularities. Not only are independent auditors more likely to be named as defendants in such cases, the settlements in those cases tend to be considerably higher than in other lawsuits filed under the federal securities laws.

My Clothes

Clothes can tell a lot about a person. As we all know that clothes are very important thing which can describe our personality. In order to describe ourselves we always make sure that our clothes are perfect. The are a lot of examples can tell about someone judging from the clothes he or she wears. Let’s say for example, when you are going to job interview and wear t-shirt with jeans, this would make a bad impression about you. For job interview you should be wearing something formal like a black suit. Take, for instance the colors of clothes.The colors is very important thing because each color have meaning. To be more clear, the black color is the most misunderstood color. A black tie dinner is very formal and elegant. Women can wear that â€Å"must have little black dress† to the black tie dinner. Also the color white the color of purity. Brides wear white in many countries, because white symbolizes a virgin. White means kindness. In some cultures white is worn at fu nerals. A final example is that in every place or event you must be careful about what you are wearing.For instance, when you want to go to consolation you shouldn’t be wearing something with brightly colors or wearing a lot of jewelry, you can do that things you are going to party or to celebrates with friends. We must be careful to choose the clothes that really represents us and that sometimes or some places have a different type of clothes which you should be wearing. Finally, always make sure that you wear the perfect thing because people will judge you from your clothes.

Strategies and Tactics of Charleston SC Super Sofa Fire (June18,2007) Research Paper

Strategies and Tactics of Charleston SC Super Sofa Fire (June18,2007) - Research Paper Example It was reported as the greatest single loss of firefighters since the bombing incident of the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001 (Newman, 2010). It is believed that the fire started shortly before 7pm, well within the working hours of the store. This is also a time when there is significant traffic outside the store. The staff of the store believed that the fire started in the trash outside the loading dock and quickly spread inside loading dock, then to the retail showroom and the annexed warehouse are thereafter. The first call reporting the fire was made to Charleston Fire Department at around 7:08 pm and units were dispatched a minute later. It took the approximately three minutes to arrive at the scene, an admirable response time. Another battalion from the St. Andrews Public Service District arrived at the scene a minute later to reinforce the initial team. On arrival they observed that there was a trash and debris fire against the docking area wall. A team entered the showroom but they didn’t observe any obvious fire other than smoke and light at the ceiling tiles where the fire was burning form outside. It has been noted that the Incident Commander opened the door from the dock area leading the showroom prompting an inrush of oxygen which aggravated the fire to enter the showroom. It is thought that the fire’s fury made it impossible for the commander to close the door to prevent the fire from engulfing the showroom. It is also suggested that the fire was slowly burning due to lack of oxygen in the dock area but the sudden influx of oxygen made it possible for the fire to migrate to the mail retail showroom (Newman, 2010). Approximately forty five minutes later the fire is still razing and a flashover occurs. The interior of the showroom erupts into a fireball and collapse sending ashes and debris all over the area. The fire is brought under control four hour later but in those four hours six firefighters from the Charleston had

The Problem with the Reward Systems of Ramapo Manor Term Paper - 1

The Problem with the Reward Systems of Ramapo Manor - Term Paper Example I believe the problem with their reward systems, affecting performance has been a long-standing problem prior to the current economic crises. Clients have constantly complained about the quality of service in which they receive from Ramapo Manor and report a decline not only in the services offered, to help them sustain during these economic crises, but also the attitudes, performance, timeliness, and quality of service they receive from the employees. This assessment will research the lack of reward systems in place and the cutting of reward systems, which kept employees providing better service and increasing productivity. The nature of the problem is Ramapo Manors current reward system, which is causing employees to leave their current positions for either a different department/division within Ramapo Manor, which has not been affected greatly by the economic crises. They are returning to pursue their education in different fields, which yield a more promising livable status, they are leaving Ramapo Manor and pursing positions in a different organization, there are gaps in positions, which are crucial to running Ramapo Manor effectively. This causes budget cuts, not allowing for reward systems and incentives to keep their current employees or encourage potential employees. Lay-offs, mandatory unpaid furlough days, holiday pay, bonuses and hourly pay cuts are the core to the nature of this problem. This problem cannot be pointed to one single figure. It could be pointed to Kathleen Falk, an executive for Ramapo Manor statewide, as the ultimate decisions fall on her, her decision-making process and communication to her subordinates.  

Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years - Essay Example The push would even be more for an adult, at 18, who would be allowed all other privileges of an adult apart from alcohol consumption. It would cause a feeling of being unjustly targeted resulting in resistance to the implied injustice in an attempt to regain control. (2012). Therefore, such persons would be driven more to drinking, referred to as reactance motivation by Hanson (2012). Since these persons are already adults, they should be allowed to drink to avoid such eventualities. Such a viewpoint is useful to examine due to the fact that as long as the crimes associated with alcohol are limited to the actual age of consumption; very little positive effects to society are instigated. On the flip side, if the bulk of the crime that is a function of alcohol consumption can be linked to those crimes committed under its influence (which has been proven to be the case), then such crimes should be treated distinctly separately from those associated with merely imbibing alcohol while un derage. Moreover, due to the fact that research indicates that reducing the drinking age would have minimal behavioral change, it is not really a contributing factor to modifying the behavior of the target demographic. Such a change would only be achieved through proper training, giving responsibilities and holding one accountable for whatever actions. Therefore, with all these benefits attached to the raised drinking age, it would be beneficial to reduce the drinking age to 18. Hanson, D. J. (2012).

Examine protocols for the interview process Essay

Examine protocols for the interview process - Essay Example Each applicant is given a time slice to respond to the questions asked. Behavioral interview- It is based on discovering how the applicant behaved in the past employment. This interview method depends on the assumption that the past experience and performance will most probably predict the future performance of the prospective employee. In this type of interview, the employer already has in mind the kind of skills needed for the job and will therefore ask questions to determine whether the candidate has those skills. The success of any applicant will depend on the precedent behaviour. Working interview- This is where the interview involves the applicant being given a task to perform and watched with a view of determining ability to perform such a task. Information is then gathered, analyzed and a final decision arrived at based on the findings. Stress interview- This is a case where some interviewers intentionally try to induce stress with a view of establishing interviewee’s ability to withstand stressing situations. This can be done by using several approaches for instance, by not accepting something said by the applicant as true or by firing questions to the applicant. Open-ended interview -This type of interview uses an open ended question that requires a more comprehensive response along with an explanation and justification from the interviewee. It eliminates direct responses such as yes or no, right or wrong. Before appearing for any interview it is worthwhile to research some facts about the company on areas such as company operations, markets and challenges facing the company. Some of the vital information needed may include among others; the goods or services sold or offered the number of branches and offices, existing markets and its potential room for expansion. This gives the interviewee confidence to face the interviewers and answer questions as

Philosophy, Mission, and Organizing Framework of caring nursing theory Assignment

Philosophy, Mission, and Organizing Framework of caring nursing theory - Assignment Example The college lives on the philosophy that the nursing discipline and profession is based on caring. The philosophy states that the contributions of nursing to the society focuses on the person as a whole through caring. The discipline requires a response by the practitioners towards the enhancement of a person’s well-being. There are situations that call for nursing to occur and include enhancement of well-being through the contact of nurses and persons involved. He discipline has an art and science presence with the former etched on creativity in practice, and the latter on the complex body of knowledge. My philosophy in nursing is that, as a nurse, I have the responsibility of providing safe, holistic and patient-centered care to the public or the nursed individuals (American Nurses Association, 2010). In this case, patients deserve and require individualized attention and assistance whenever they need. On the other hand, nurses remain the providers of health assistance and care. The organizational framework of the college is based on criteria of nurturing a person through caring. Therefore, the main basis for examination is caring. Nursing is unique and requires a response from the nurse to a call from another person, where the nurse is supposed to respond by getting into the person’s situation and assisting professionally. According to Ray (2007), there is a challenge in nursing caring as described in her theory of bureaucratic caring. The theory suggests that nurses struggle with the requirement of serving the bureaucratic needs of the system while required to serve the caring needs of the human beings. This philosophy seems to be in opposition to the CON philosophy that aims at human needs for caring as the primary necessity. The bureaucracy has been brought about in the society by politics, social statuses, economy and technological advancements. The author notes that various hospital units

Conceptual Model in Mental Health Nursing Essay

Conceptual Model in Mental Health Nursing - Essay Example For instance, the client is having a difficult time reorienting himself into his Muslim culture. Basically this client needs the service providers to establish a health model that will provide him with more information about his mental health illness and give him clear perspectives concerning the form of treatment that would be best for him. A good percentage of information and research shows that the psychodynamic model would be good for him because it would help him come to accept his situation fully and then would allow for him to be able to cope and be involved in the decision making areas of his treatment process. This would allow him to be able to fulfill his desire of continuing his education as he would be more comprehensive about what his illness entails and what to expect from the mental health care providers with regards to his treatment. Of course this does not mean that he won't require a supportive environment to help with the emotional pressures that he has to face. The utilization of the psychodynamic model can bring a better enlightenment into all of these issues, not just for this client but for the service providers as well. This client suffers from many repressed memories which have led to him developing a mental health illness that is ultimately crippling his ability to c... el is very useful in bringing about awareness within client's, concerning their past circumstances that are either adverse or even positive (Blum 2003). This is done in stages and carries with it a very humanistic appeal which in many ways shelters the client but not to the point of overshadowing their memories that are being brought forth. This model deals with the patient on a very humane and caring basis, recognizing them as human beings who need help and have needs just as anyone else (Gabbard 2004). The main reasoning behind choosing it is this client is already suffering from depression, schizophrenia, delusions, hallucinations, false auditory and visual perceptions and other troubling problems as well. It is believed that the psychodynamic model will allow for the service providers to get to the root causes of the problem and thus facilitate means to assist the client in dealing with these repressed memories and current daily problems as well. The Psychodynamic Model and it's Advantages It has been unquestionably proven that the psychodynamic model is very helpful for the service providers as it helps them in acquiring a firmer understanding of all of the needs of the service user (Smith 2002). For this client in particular this is extremely important as there are a multitude of issues that are taking place which in fact are complicating his illness and treatment process. Furthermore, the psychodynamic approach is far better in assisting this client for many other reasons other than what has been stated as well. While some mental health care models only look at the medical circumstances, the psychodynamic approach looks at socioeconomic and personal causes as being probable reasons why a specific mental breakdown occurs. It also draws upon more

Grapes of Wrath Journal Essay Example for Free

Grapes of Wrath Journal Essay Connection (Family) As the Joads ride on their journey to California, they travel as a whole, one unit, one family. And on one night they camp off the side of the road, and run into the Wilsons, creating and merging into one large family, with one goal in mind, reaching California. But as the days of traveling continue, the family struggles to stay intact due to obstacles such as the staggering heat, lack of money, automobile breaking down, doubts brought upon by people who have been in California, and even death. But Steinbeck defines family as a unit with members who think of other members before themselves, and Ma expresses this idea clearly with Granmas death. The Joads have a connection where each member truly has someone to have their back when in need. Tom shares this with Casy and Al, Ma and Granma, Pa with Granpa and Uncle John, Ruthie and Winfield, Rose of Sharon and Connie, but then theres Noah who doesnt feel the same love which is one of the reasons that persuades him to depart from the family. They also have a structure in which Tom, Pa, Al, usually make family decisions and the eventually the final verdict is given to Ma. Overall, family is suppose to take care of each other when in time of need and work as one rather than individuals. Adaptation (Positives and Negatives) With the family traveling together, its evident that migration is a change that is supported and has to be overcome. And although the outcome of migration is suppose to be glorious, the journey to achieved the so call promise land gives the family a brutal beating of struggle, hunger, and even death. Granpa and Granma died due to lack of health and high heat, but then again the conditions were somewhat the same in Sallisaw. Then there was also the death of the Joads dog. With migration, the Joads needed leaders and this is where characters such as Tom and Ma come into play as the heads of the family. Tom in a way leads the men, especially Al, and Ma leads Granma, Rose of Sharon, and the kids. To conclude, adaptation or migration changed characters into leaders to lead the family to California but at great costs and struggle. Compassion Compassion is taking pity or seeing those in need and taking action in anyway possible to help them overcome their problems and obstacles. In Chapter 12, a general chapter, a story of a family of 12 who were forced off their land and had to carry their belongings in a trailer, waited on the side of the 66. They were eventually hauled by a man who took them to California and fed them. This act by the random stranger is compassionate because he sees the family in need of help and no way to get to California and offers to take them and even feeds them. Its one thing to feed 4 or 5 people but 12, it must come from the heart. With the Joads, they do the same with the Wilsons but the Joads are less compassionate because they use them for their car to ease the weight from their own car. Then theres also the part where a man enters a diner and begs for some cheap bread and the worker is pressured by the cook to be compassionate and give the man bread at a discount. Another example of being compassionate is when Tom comes back from his venture for a con rod with Al and Casy and meets up with the family at a campsite but are forced to leave. When Tom leaves, he walks by a women cooking and comments on how hed like some. The woman smiles and says when the foods ready, he can have some. Throughout the journey of the Joads we see that food is scarce yet this woman offers to share. And the final example is when the Joads decide to cross the desert leading to California and at the same time leaving the Wilsons behind. Pa leaves behind cooked food and money for them, knowing how hard their desert journey will be. We see a sweeter side of Pa rather than the serious and quiet Pa that is usually portrayed. Overall, compassion is still around even with such devastation surrounding folks due to the dust bowl and overproduction causing foreclosures, the AAA telling farmers what they cant farm. Many have lost their homes, land and past life, but some still ha ve their heart. Symbols (Biblical Allusions) One thing that made be think of any biblical symbols or allusions that Steinbeck could have used was when the Joads formally entered California just after running over a snake. The snake part gave it away due to it usually referring or having to do with the devil along with the desert part. When the Joads spent a night traveling over the feared desert, it made me  think what they went through so far. They lost Granma, Granpa, their dog, and separated from Noah. They were traveling by force through the desert on a low budget, with little food, heat anxiety, and were crowded in their old jalopy truck. With the desert, what comes to mind is the desert that Jesus traveled through for forty days and forty nights, and as he traveled he was tempted numerous times by the devil. And one thing to keep in mind is that God forced Jesus to walk and pray in the desert. As Jesus was forced to travel in the desert so were the Joads by the officer. I see the temptations as the conditions that the J oads were traveling with, lack of food, heat, little money etc. Just like the temptations from the devil, and the conditions of the Joads, they were suppose stop them from continuing on with their journey and to give up. But instead just like Jesus did, the Joads overcame the desert and won against the devil and that’s where the running over the snake comes in. Antagonists (People along the 66) Throughout the section, businessmen, state officials, land, and migrates who have been in California add on to the already challenging journey to California with their sound business, anti-farming seizes, mountains, discrimination, and doubts. In chapter 12, a tire store raise their prices because they know its an essential for family to keep going, and in this case, the salesman lies to the customer about the condition of a tire just to get an extra buck. Throughout the journey, the fear of high slopes and the desert scare the Joads and Wilson of stopping them from reaching the promise land. And along with the fear of nature not playing on their side, the Joads hear all the same stories of California not being what people thought it would be like. One man tells them that jobs are in a sense free labor or slave like work because so many are migrating to California giving an abundance of workers to employers, giving the the chance to give them whatever wages and they want. Thereâ€⠄¢s also stories about not being able to farm or touch any fruit on trees, stories that it’s not worth going. The Joads meet a couple of families who were heading back home east, away from California. With these stories and testimonies, it’s hard for the Joads to have confidence and faith in their journey and destination. Characterization (Tom) In chapter 13, when Tom pulls alongside the road where a family is camping,, the Wilsons, he politely asks if they have permission to camp along with them, even though the strip of land wasnt under their ownership. With this action we see how kind hearted and friendly Tom is even though he killed a man. Another example depicting his traits is in chapter 16 when he proposes a plan that will split him and Casy from the rest, in order to fix their truck and have the others move along. His proposal and plan show his leadership skills. Another example is when he attacks the one eyed man for giving up on life due to losing his eye. Tom expresses his opinion that whatever defects or disadvantages a person has that they should make the best of it. Overall we see Tom as a generous, kind hearted, leader, that believes everyone has the opportunity to make something out of themselves. Quote a Passage (Unity) â€Å"When this family meets another family on the highway, they share their stories of loss For here I lost my land is changed We lost our land.† (193). This quote is significant because it expresses the idea of unity that pushes the migrates to move as ahead as one. They share a common tragedy, the heartbreak of losing their land, home, or farm. A large part of the country is the same position, a dilemma, and the only solution is to head out west. And to do so, Steinbeck helps portray the families migrating as one by using â€Å"we† and â€Å"our† and if they want to achieve their prosperity, they must not only have the same issues but work together to solve those issues. In a way, the havok laid upon by the dust bowl, foreclosures, and overproduction can’t be solve by one individual but by the aid, work, and cooperation of many.

Utility of Domesticated Animals Essay Example for Free

Utility of Domesticated Animals Essay The biosphere around us comprises of plants, animals and humans. Each has its own role and part to play. They contribute immensely to make it functional and viable for each other. It is indeed true that it would not be full circle if one part or whole would be missing. Man however has utilized his supreme intelligence to extract the best from plants and animals for his very existence and to lead a luxurious lifestyle. Man has domesticated animals since times immemorial. It is man who has used camels, horses, cows, sheep, goat and dogs for his own needs. A camel is an amazing animal inhabitant to the dry desert. The shorter, two-humped Bactrian camels are cold climate camels while the Arabian camels having a single hump live in hot deserts. Camels provide transport, shade, milk, meat, wool and hides. Their gait like a rolling boat has earned it the adage of being the ship of the desert. Camel has a large mouth with sharp teeth to eat thorny bushes, grass, grains, seeds and dates. Long eyelashes, ear hair and sealable nostrils protect it from sand. Camels have long, thin legs with powerful muscles which carry heavy loads over long distances. Camels milk is more nutritious than cows milk; low in fat and is sweet. Young male camels have the best camel meat and its hump is a delicacy. Camels hair makes high quality coats, artists brushes and garments. a camel draws energy from its hump fat during its long and tedious journeys. the God gifted camel is the symbol of adaptability and toughness. A cow is a gentle animal. It is revered as the second mother to millions for its milk. They are found in herds on farms. They are raised for milk, meat and leather. They graze on grass and feed on grains, crops and legumes. India has the largest number of cattle in the world followed by Brazil and China. Its milk is used to make cheese, butter, ghee, cottage cheese, curd, whey, sweets and ice-cream. Its hide is used for leather to make shoes and clothing. Combs are made from its horns. The small, honey-brown Jersey cow is famous for the high butterfat in its milk and its genial disposition. In Hinduism the cow is a symbol of wealth, strength, abundance and selfless giving. A horse is a noble animal. It has four strong legs, a stout body and a short tail. The mane on its shoulders makes it look magnificently powerful. Arabian horses are the best in the world. In old days horses were used for traveling and in wars and games. Later they were harnessed to carts and carriages to pull goods. Now-a-days horses are seen in cavalry, circuses and race courses. Horses feed on grass and lentils. Horse is the symbol of power and courage for its great speed and splendid look.

Effects of Death on the Family

Effects of Death on the Family Cadence Matthews To begin, grief and death can be difficult to understand, Fumia said, When it comes to grieving the death of a loved one, there are no linear patterns, no normal reactions, no formulas to follow[K1]. The word grief is derived from the French word grà ¨ve, meaning a heavy burden. Indeed, the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual implications can be overwhelming[K2]. The reality of death effects families from an emotional/physical myriad while also shifting family systems, and impacting spirituality. To start, the emotional and physical effects of death on a family are many and varied. The potential negative effects of grief can be significant. For illustration, research shows that 40% of bereaved people will suffer from some form of anxiety disorder in the first year after the death of a loved one, and there can even be up to a 70% increase in death risk of the surviving spouse within the first six months after the death of their spouse.[1] Overall, understanding the myriad of physical and emotional reactions   is essential. Commonly, those grieving within a family often feel like theyre[K3] going crazy as the emotions of loss are so great and ebb and flow constantly. Bozarth in her book, A Journey Through Grief: Gentle, Specific Help to Get You Through the Most Difficult Stages of Grief writes, while you are grieving, your emotional life may be unpredictable and unstable. You may feel that there are gaps in your remembered experienceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. You may alternate between depression and euphoria, between wailing rage and passive resignation. If youve experienced loss and are hurting, its reasonable that your responses will be unreasonable.[2] Furthermore[K4], one huge side effect that families face in grief is exhaustion. Research has noted that the griever may even feel as though they have the flu since the exhaustion is so deep. Additionally, families face days of distraction. When a family goes through a loss they often lose the most basic life skills[K5], such as organization or accomplishment at least for a while. It must be noted that grief has no schedule. It comes in waves, waves none the less[K6]. When grief covers, a family it takes over emotionally and physically with a variety of symptoms such as: sleep difficulties, poor appetite or overeating, shakiness or trembling, listlessness, disorientation, migraines or headaches, dizziness, dry mouth, crying, numbness, shortness of breath, and exhaustion. Some individuals often withdraw from society and people for a while as many emotions surface. Often experiences, or people that once evoked joy evoke nothing at all, activities once enjoyed seem far-off[K7]. While some members of the family turn to impulsive living. The first year can involve a lot of unnecessary risks. Further, grief can make everything feel surreal[K8], as if reality is just a terrible dream. Everything becomes a blur as the idea of time vanishes. Days are measured by: one day after they died, two days after they diedall standard concepts fade away[K9].[ 3] Helen Fitzgerald, the writer of, the Mourning Handbook writes, During this initial period of grief, you will feel a numbness and a disassociation with the world around you. People who are going through this often tell me that they feel as if they are watching a play in which they are but spectators. [4][K10] Secondly, another huge area that can affect families as they grieve is spirituality. There are many spiritual effects and struggles within a family after facing a death. To start, people vary in their response to death as they differ in how they cope with stress in general. Some people experience a very positive religious[K11] coping[K12] a conceptualization by Pargament, Smith, Koenig, and Perez. They articulate it as such, an expression of a sense of spirituality, a secure relationship with God, a belief that there is meaning to be found in life, and a sense of spiritual connectedness with others. Yet[K13] on the other side of things there can be negative coping which the same individuals describe it as, spiritual discontent, punishing God reappraisals, interpersonal religious discontent, demonic reappraisals (attributing the event to the work of the devil), and reappraisals of Gods power. Religious[K14] coping can help or not help when adapting to loss, it varies between individua ls. The positive side of things could be that the griever finds meaning in the loss and surrenders the feelings of being out of control, learning to depend on Gods comfort presence, and the fellowship of other believers while grieving. This can lead to a grievers transformation and hope in the midst of deep pain. It has even been proven that spiritual coping has helped with chronic illness. The four core dimensions of spiritual[K15] needs are connection, peace, meaning/purpose, and transcendence, which help recovery for ill people as well as when coping with a death in the family. Also, when a mourner has a spiritual community around this can help with bereavement outcomes. Yet[K16], as much as a spirituality can be a source of strength it can also be a source of strain. A two-year longitudinal study was done on a crisis of faith. In elderly patients[K17], those who had a crisis of faith were much closer to death[K18], even when all other variables were controlled. Spirituality is n ot always helpful in terms of adjusting to losses. Even more so, loss can sometimes foster spiritual distress this is seen in things like anger towards God, or an inability to believe in the sovereignty of God, especially when the death is gruesome. These things are bad[K19], but if one does not move from these mindsets, it will destroy them spirituality. Those who have suffered terrible violence[K20], such as a death through homicide, they are much more likely to have extreme unrelenting anger towards God. This can lead to a very sad and tainted view of God of [K21]the griever never moves from this. For some people begin to believe that God has arranged the death of their loved one. Although, spiritual distress in grief is found worse for those with complicated grief. An example of negative spiritual coping shows up in a young boys distressed response, I dont really care now about sinning It doesnt matter to me as much since (my brothers death). I guess it is my way of getting back at God. All in all, we cannot ignore the link between crisis of faith and overall poor grief outcomes.[5] Another huge reality that families face in losing a loved one within the family is the shifting of the family system and its dynamics.The loss of someone within the family unit creates a structural void that requires adjustment. Norna Bowlby-West the author of a helpful article on the journey of family therapy called, the Impact of Death on the Family System suggests that family member may be stuck in one of these three phases of grieving, which contributes to the homeostatic utilization of one or more of these adjustments. When the common homeostatic adjustments of the family system shift often the individuals have no awareness of this change and are often like victims in the process of adjustment. The change can destroy existing relationships and personal effectiveness. An example of this is when a sibling tries to become a parent to their sibling to which they have both lost a parent. West in her article goes over twelve common hemostatic adjustments that can take place within a f amily. First is the anniversary reactions which can be things like: anniversary of death date, their birthday, date of marriage, or traditional holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving). These times are stressful and can sometimes reinforce unresolved if grief work in the family has not occurred. For example, if a baby brother died on another brothers birthday, leaving the one brother an only child, from[K22] then on that child may never view a birthday as a celebratory thing and only feel depressed on that day. In this case, the effect on the sibling who was left an only child, was lack of self- esteem and the withdrawal of parental affection and attention. The family structure was maintained, as though the dead child was still present physically. Another adjustment is displacement of feelings which can be a mix of: bottled up grief, projections of anger on doctors, nurses, hospitals, care givers, or family members, projection of guilt (may feel need to punish oneself or others), helpless ness, paranoia, or feelings of shame or embarrassment especially with suicide. The scape goat in the family often is found with displaced feelings. Another adjustment is enmeshment which can be: the fear of more loss-overprotective behaviour[K23], increased closeness- tightening of family boundary, expectation that other family members are experiencing the same grief, lack of privacy/space. For example, if a child within the family committed suicide the parents might cope by not letting their kids be alone ever[K24]. When a family member dies, there is an unspoken tightening of the family boundary and in an increased dependency on those whoare left to fill the void. Another adjustment is family secrets some examples of this are: intentionally not talking about the death, not expressing emotions/pain, seeing the death as a punishment for past sin, or experiencing a deep sense of failure when the subject[K25] is mentioned (not living up the legacy of the person who has passed). Anothe r adjustment is the reality of generation gap[K26], for example: extended family (ex. Grandparents[K27]) may need to grieve more openly, or bereaved spouse or parent may not be able to get support from other generation, or over parenting can cause more harm, or one grieving may need more nurturing. For example, the death of a child usually entangles the extended family of at least three generations who might all need different things. Additionally, another element to adjustment and the shift of roles is seen in idealization. For example, if a member is unable to let go of attachment the person who has passed and puts them on a pedestal. Further, siblings may feel like they have to compete with the idealized image of the sibling who has passed on. This can cause kids to always feel like they need to fight for their parents approval. Another example of this would be that a dead husband or wife is idealized to the point were no other relationship is able to compete which can leave the individual always stuck in the past. Evermore so, sometimes ones personal identity becomes frozen in the strong attachment to the dead person and they try to let nothing of their new normal change. This can be seen in someone not being willing to get rid of the deceased belongings or not allowing for any change. Some parents as a way of coping with losing a child are much stricter on their remaining kids. This can lead some parents to reinforce infantile behaviour[K28] and prevent their kids from risk taking and such. This stress of infantile behaviour[K29] often takes place because the parents fear their surviving children may hurt themselves and in tail overprotect them[K30]. Another element of [K31] adjustment is some grievers face obsessive paranoia. They may focus on death, reliving experience and always dwelling on the negative experiences. This also includes a strong fear about death that is projected onto others. This can also involve high expectations, self-destructive thoughts, and self-punishing. For those who face this, the focusing on death this prevents the griever from normal communication. The fear of death and response to that fear can become a homeostatic device of the family. Obsessive paranoia if serious enough has led to many cases of suicide or violence. When grieving sometimes family members try to replace the missing person which really affects[K32] the family structure. Some parents may adopt, re-marry, or get pregnant. But replacement can sometimes only damage the replacement as the aborted grief still remains. To end, there is still a lot more to say about the ways families shift in structure in grief[K33], but this at least scratches some of surface.[6] To conclude, as seen grief is multifaceted, and complex. Grief affects every part of a being emotionally, physically and spirituality, and as each individual is effected a whole family dynamic is affected. Bibliography Bozarth, Alla Renee. 1st ed. Hazelden Publishing, 1994[K35]. Bowlby-West, Lorna. The Impact Of Death On The Family System. Journal of Family Therapy 5, no. 3 (1983): 279-294. Burke, Laurie, and Robert Neimeyer. Spiritual Distress In Bereavement: Evolution Of A Research Program. Religions 5, no. 4 (2014): 1087-1115. http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions. Fitzgerald, Helen. The Mourning Handbook. 1st ed. New York: Simon Schuster, 1995. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD. Grief: Loss Of A Loved One Symptoms, Treatment, Causes What Is Mourning? Medicinenet. Medicinenet. Last modified 2017. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.medicinenet.com/loss_grief_and_bereavement/page2.htm. The Physical And Emotional Effects Of Grief. Funeralplan.Com. Last modified 2017. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.funeralplan.com/griefsupport/griefsteps.html. [1] MD Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, Grief: Loss Of A Loved One Symptoms, Treatment, Causes What Is Mourning? Medicinenet, Medicinenet, last modified 2017, accessed March 13, 2017, http://www.medicinenet.com/loss_grief_and_bereavement/page2.htm. [2] Alla Renee Bozarth, 1st ed. (Hazelden Publishing, 1994). [3] The Physical And Emotional Effects Of Grief, Funeralplan.Com, last modified 2017, accessed March 15, 2017, http://www.funeralplan.com/griefsupport/griefsteps.html. [4] Helen Fitzgerald, The Mourning Handbook, 1st ed. (New York: Simon Schuster, 1995). [5] Laurie Burke and Robert Neimeyer, Spiritual Distress In Bereavement: Evolution Of A Research Program, Religions 5, no. 4 (2014): 1087-1115, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions. [6] Lorna Bowlby-West, The Impact Of Death On The Family System, Journal of Family Therapy 5, no. 3 (1983): 279-294. [K1]Who is Fumia?   Where does this quote come from no referencing. [K2]Is this still part of the first quote   Appears to come from this site but not referenced http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/emotional-health/coping-with-death-and-grief/understanding-the-grieving-process   Fumia says it well. When it comes to grieving the death of a loved one, there are no linear patterns, no normal reactions, no formulas to follow. The word grief is derived from the French word grà ¨ve, meaning a heavy burden. Indeed, the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual implications can be overwhelming. [K3]Avoid contractions in formal writing [K4]Quote appears to come from a website rather than the book itself since the breaks in the quote are identical. http://www.funeralplan.com/griefsupport/griefsteps.html.   Should quote this as the source then. You have it listed as a source in the Bibliography but do not refer to it here so that is improper. [K5]comma [K6]poor sentence [K7]poor sentence [K8]comma [K9]this quote is also found on this site: http://www.funeralplan.com/griefsupport/griefsteps.html. [K10]And this one: http://www.funeralplan.com/griefsupport/griefsteps.html. [K11]Sentence is fragmented [K12]Verb confusion [K13]Where did you find this quote No footnote. [K14]Another quote with no footnote.   Oxford textbook of spirituality in healthcare [K15]Seems like this would need a reference as well. Very specific, not common knowledge [K16]comma [K17]comma [K18]comma [K19]comma [K20]comma [K21]awkward [K22]makes it a complete sentence [K23]spelling [K24]this example came from the article needs referencing [K25]added the [K26]comma [K27]capital letter needed [K28]spelling [K29]spelling [K30]Is there supporting material that can be referenced to back this up? [K31]word use [K32]word use [K33]comma [K34]word use [K35]Missing title of Book

Eleanor Roosevelt :: Essays Papers

Eleanor Roosevelt Growing up in India, as I did, one never hears about female elected officials of United States. We had our own female leaders to study that not much was taught about female leaders of other countries. But among the exception was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of one the greatest American President. Though, she was the wife of Franklin Roosevelt, she was not known for being his wife. She, as I remember, more than any other woman, "typified... the realizaton of the dreams of the female Crusaders of the 19th century who threw off the restrictions of the Victorian age." So when I had the opportuinity to study the life of any female American leader, I choose Eleanor Roosevelt for her achivements, her strugel and her vision of a United world. For someone who never held elective office, Eleanor Roosevelt wielded a great deal of political power. She wrote now laws and appointed no high officials, yet the self-knowledge and profound humility that invested her regard for every human being has made the story of her life a morality play that brightens the American memory. "There is no human being," wrote Eleanor Roosevelt in one of her several columns that she frequently wrote for newspaper, from whom we cannot learn something if we are interested enough to dig deep." This basic sense fo kinship with which she approaced the world dictated her vocation of helpfulness. The honesty with which she told us of hte long path she travelded to free herself of fear and prejudice and become an independent person has pl aced her in that specaila pantheon reserved for shapers of the human spirit. Eleanor Roosevelt appeared on the American secent, and began being herself, out in the open wehre folks could see the process of women's long struggle to free themselves from their husbands's dutiful shadows. "It is said that famous mane are usually the product of an unhappy childhood," wrote Winston Churchill. "The stern compression of circumstance, the spur of slights and taunts in early years are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious mother-wit without wich great actions are seldom accomplished." His words, about an unhappy childhood shaping the reateness of later years, were applicable to Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1 make friends easily. She would have to regain her trust in the world befor she could act upon the lession her Grandfather Theodore had impressed upon his children-receive people's love and peopld will love you. Eleanor Roosevelt :: Essays Papers Eleanor Roosevelt Growing up in India, as I did, one never hears about female elected officials of United States. We had our own female leaders to study that not much was taught about female leaders of other countries. But among the exception was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of one the greatest American President. Though, she was the wife of Franklin Roosevelt, she was not known for being his wife. She, as I remember, more than any other woman, "typified... the realizaton of the dreams of the female Crusaders of the 19th century who threw off the restrictions of the Victorian age." So when I had the opportuinity to study the life of any female American leader, I choose Eleanor Roosevelt for her achivements, her strugel and her vision of a United world. For someone who never held elective office, Eleanor Roosevelt wielded a great deal of political power. She wrote now laws and appointed no high officials, yet the self-knowledge and profound humility that invested her regard for every human being has made the story of her life a morality play that brightens the American memory. "There is no human being," wrote Eleanor Roosevelt in one of her several columns that she frequently wrote for newspaper, from whom we cannot learn something if we are interested enough to dig deep." This basic sense fo kinship with which she approaced the world dictated her vocation of helpfulness. The honesty with which she told us of hte long path she travelded to free herself of fear and prejudice and become an independent person has pl aced her in that specaila pantheon reserved for shapers of the human spirit. Eleanor Roosevelt appeared on the American secent, and began being herself, out in the open wehre folks could see the process of women's long struggle to free themselves from their husbands's dutiful shadows. "It is said that famous mane are usually the product of an unhappy childhood," wrote Winston Churchill. "The stern compression of circumstance, the spur of slights and taunts in early years are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious mother-wit without wich great actions are seldom accomplished." His words, about an unhappy childhood shaping the reateness of later years, were applicable to Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1 make friends easily. She would have to regain her trust in the world befor she could act upon the lession her Grandfather Theodore had impressed upon his children-receive people's love and peopld will love you.

Venice, Italy Essay -- Geography Geographical Papers

Venice, Italy The city of Venice was built on the water; therefore the canals of Venice have always been an important part of the life of Venetians. Venice is a city of 120 small islands with over 400 bridges linking them. The more than 150 canals serve as streets of the city, making it unlike any other city (Kertzer). It is connected to the mainland, which is two and a half miles away by both rail and highway bridge (encyclopedia.com). Venice?s history as well as its state in the present revolves around the water and the canals that serve the city. A Brief History The first settlers to Venice were refuges fleeing the Visigoth and Hun invaders after the fall of Rome (Steves). At this time the islands were uninhibited, muddy, and very small. (Steves) They expanded the tiny islands by creating platforms by shoving pylons into the sea floor and topping them with stone (Simonis). The little streams that the inhabitants kept from silting became the canals that exist today. The first settlers harvested fish and salt, but soon trading began up the river. When Ravenna, the leading trade city, fell the Venetians became the connection between the East and the West. Venice regulated trading between Constantinople (now Istabul), other Italian cities, and northern Africa (Kertzer). These goods included silk, ceramics, and carpets exported from Asia to Europe and iron and wood exported from Europe to Asia (silkroadproject.com). In the sixth century the Lombards attacked and with them came noble families. During this time organization began among the islands with shops, clergy, noble, and a ruler called the Doge. Eventually, all of the island communities decided to merge by building bridges. They also had to shorten the canals and ... ...s, 2001 Kerper, Barrie. "Venice: The Art, Mass Tourism and High Water." Venice. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002. Rpt. in Venice. Kertzer, David I. "Venice." World Book Encyclopedia. 1993 ed. Vol. 20. 306-308. "The Silk Road: Connecting Cultures, Creating Trust." 36th annual Smithsonain Folklife Festival. Silk Road Project Inc.. 27 Nov. 2003. <http://silkroadproject.org/smithsonian/venice.html>. Simonis, Damien. Venice. Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2002. Steves, Rick. Venice 2004. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2003. Venice. 2003. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia . 27 Nov. 2003 <http://www.thehistorychannel.com/perl/print_book.pl?ID=11 8895>. "Venice- History." Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2003. 27 Nov. 2003<http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/ venice_history.asp>. Venice, Italy Essay -- Geography Geographical Papers Venice, Italy The city of Venice was built on the water; therefore the canals of Venice have always been an important part of the life of Venetians. Venice is a city of 120 small islands with over 400 bridges linking them. The more than 150 canals serve as streets of the city, making it unlike any other city (Kertzer). It is connected to the mainland, which is two and a half miles away by both rail and highway bridge (encyclopedia.com). Venice?s history as well as its state in the present revolves around the water and the canals that serve the city. A Brief History The first settlers to Venice were refuges fleeing the Visigoth and Hun invaders after the fall of Rome (Steves). At this time the islands were uninhibited, muddy, and very small. (Steves) They expanded the tiny islands by creating platforms by shoving pylons into the sea floor and topping them with stone (Simonis). The little streams that the inhabitants kept from silting became the canals that exist today. The first settlers harvested fish and salt, but soon trading began up the river. When Ravenna, the leading trade city, fell the Venetians became the connection between the East and the West. Venice regulated trading between Constantinople (now Istabul), other Italian cities, and northern Africa (Kertzer). These goods included silk, ceramics, and carpets exported from Asia to Europe and iron and wood exported from Europe to Asia (silkroadproject.com). In the sixth century the Lombards attacked and with them came noble families. During this time organization began among the islands with shops, clergy, noble, and a ruler called the Doge. Eventually, all of the island communities decided to merge by building bridges. They also had to shorten the canals and ... ...s, 2001 Kerper, Barrie. "Venice: The Art, Mass Tourism and High Water." Venice. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002. Rpt. in Venice. Kertzer, David I. "Venice." World Book Encyclopedia. 1993 ed. Vol. 20. 306-308. "The Silk Road: Connecting Cultures, Creating Trust." 36th annual Smithsonain Folklife Festival. Silk Road Project Inc.. 27 Nov. 2003. <http://silkroadproject.org/smithsonian/venice.html>. Simonis, Damien. Venice. Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2002. Steves, Rick. Venice 2004. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2003. Venice. 2003. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia . 27 Nov. 2003 <http://www.thehistorychannel.com/perl/print_book.pl?ID=11 8895>. "Venice- History." Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2003. 27 Nov. 2003<http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/ venice_history.asp>.

Bloomberg and the Soda Law Essay

The soda law introduced by Mayor Bloomberg to ban the sale of sodas larger than 16 fl. oz. at restaurants across the city will have zero to minimal economic impact on people who are currently buying them. The soda ban will have an extremely small net positive economic impact on businesses. And the rationale behind this is the fact that whoever drinks more soda will acquire more soda, regardless of how big or small the drink is. A 20 fl. oz. soda, when banned will be replaced by a 16 fl. oz. cup of soda. How much soda an individual drinks may even increase if instead of drinking just one 20 fl. oz. soda, he decides to get a refill of his 16 fl. oz. soda, something that most restaurants allow. The benefits projected for the society from this law, that may reduce obesity are preposterous. The cost of soda for restaurants is roughly $0. 0132 per ounce (see Appendix). On a 20 fl. oz. soda, the net cost to the restaurant is about $0. 22 (Appendix). A 20 fl. oz. cup of soda at an establishment such as McDonald’s, perhaps the main target of this law, sells for roughly $2. 50. Once the 20 fl. oz. cup is gone, it will be replaced by the 16 fl. oz. cup, but at the same price. The restaurants will re-label the 16 fl. oz. cup as the new large, introduce a 12 fl. oz. cup as a medium and keep the 8 –ounce cup as a small. But will this add significantly to the revenues of the restaurant? It is very unlikely, since the customers will just get refills for their 16 fl. oz. cups. The only economical benefit for the restaurant might be the people who do not refill their cups and this is minimal since the cost of soda is just a rounding error for most restaurants. This law is ineffective because it does not stop the consumer from consuming any less soda from what was being consumed before. The economic impact on the society will be in the red because of the hundreds and thousands of dollars spent on structuring the bill, the flawed methodologies of research that determined a small cup would result in less consumption of soda, and finally the money spent by various groups opposing or supporting this law. To effectively tackle the problem of obesity, the government needs to look at other avenues. Soda is a big cause of obesity, it is made of sugar and has calories, but the ban on a larger serving is not the solution. An effective solution would be to raise the taxes on sodas. Another solution is to ban refills, thus prompting the customer to purchase another soda, which will either discourage the purchase or add more to tax revenues collected by the government. In turn, this tax revenue can be used to build jogging tracks, exercise equipment and other recreational facilities for the community. Another option for the government is to advertise the ill effects of drinking soda and promote healthier alternatives such as fruit and vegetable juices at affordable prices at those restaurants. There are several other options for soda drinkers to consume the same amount of soda when this law is enforced. Restaurants and movie theatres give free refills, convenience stores such as 7-11 are exempt from this law, and grocery stores still sell the large bottles and cases. The answer to this problem lies in educating the people about the ill effects of soda and only then will this law be economically beneficial for the society. This law does not have any health benefits that can be converted in to economical benefits for the society. Appendix: â€Å"Costing Out Soda & Free Refills – How to Price Soda. † Wholesale Food & Restaurant Distribution by Pate Dawson Company. Pate Dawson Company, 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .

The Beat That Stole My Heart

A Personal Narrative by Giuditta Paci. February 2nd, 2013. The Beat That Stole My Heart†¦ It seems like some things have never happened to me or I am an alien from some other distant planet. â€Å"Human beings† surprise me, make me cry, make me laugh and make me happy. That Saturday night, my â€Å"alien being† went out the house in desperate search of meaningful paths, beautiful smiles, the sounds of music and something that would make my heart beat just a little faster.Summer was almost over and I was thinking about how strange was the world and how could I possibly find someone to share some interesting conversation and a good dance before the warm and hazy summer nights will turn in to cold and lonely winter nights. It is not that I was broken hearted by the thought that my patience has come to its end, and that I may have to spend the last few weeks of summer wondering about a possible date that will never happen. I looked at the vast starry night-sky and cont inued to walked towards the Bar. I sat there thinking about how I wanted to be another person.I longed for interaction with the opposite sex. Eventually, I realized what my main problem was. I felt that I could not overcome all the â€Å"love† obstacles that life had made me face in the past. I recalled everything I have read in books about love as well as everything that I have experienced myself. In the books everything seemed to be much smoother and easier. My main thought was â€Å"how people can possibly spend their whole life together and stay in love? † specially after ending a ten year marriage only three months ago, and experiencing the big disappointment that love does not last forever.The music started and made me feel even more stupid: standing alone at the bar, listening to songs about love and relationships, without anyone here with me to dance or have a meaningful conversation with. I was ready to leave and call it a night. I decided to walk outside to b reath some air before departing. The summer wind woke me up from my dream and I took a deep breath and looked around. Suddenly I saw this attractive male. He was walking towards me†¦ As there was no one else outside, everyone was inside dancing and having a good time or so I thought.He definitely caught my attention. As he was getting closer I felt a strange sensation in my stomach†¦ I was nervous and didn’t understand why. I had never seen this person before and yet I felt this strange connection. He came up to me and said, â€Å"Hi! Are you enjoying the music? † I replied â€Å"Well, to be honest with you I wasn’t really paying attention. I was getting ready to leave. † This made him laugh for some reason. I felt a bit irritated as if he had broken my unity with nature and disturbed my thoughts with his presence and questions.All the sudden I took a good look at him. I hadn’t really before. He was relatively tall, dark hair, and deep bl ue eyes. His smile reminded me of those toothpaste TV commercials. A perfect smile. He had this smooth but primal Aura to him that made him very attractive and sexy. I could not clearly identify the age, but he looked like he was around 30-36 years old. He seemed so peaceful and yet so full of life and adventure, he was definitely in harmony with himself†¦ He had an edgy style. He was dressed appropriately for this type of event. He looked very much like a â€Å"rock star. Which made me even more curious about him, Part of me has always being attracted to that kind of â€Å"look† At that point I wanted to know who he was and where did he come from? I didn’t do a great job with that. Anyhow, this is how the rest of our conversation went. Me, â€Å"I think I should go home. It’s the same thing here every Saturday. I love being around people, but it’s always the same people. † –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Him, â€Å"Well I guess you are right in a way†¦ Although tonight is different†¦ at least the music is†¦ You should come inside and check out the band. You may just change your mind. He looked at me, smiled, and made the gesture to follow him inside. I agreed to go with him to check out this â€Å"Band. † I thought about how kind of him to invite me in, at that moment I realized that we hadn’t exchanged names yet. I was now following a complete stranger without even knowing their name. That’s smart I thought! Once inside the venue, he went straight on to the stage and sat in front of the drum set. I was shocked. He was the drummer of the â€Å"band. † I have to be honest, I was a little embarrassed with the way I had acted when we were outside.At this point nothing mattered anymore. The music started playing, and I immediately got captivated by their sounds. My mood had completely shifted from a depressed moody bitch to completely happy girl! Now I was dancing to his beat. My body was moving along with this erotic and Alternative sound. I remember this energy rising thru my spine that made feel alive and aroused. In my mind he was playing for me, or at least that’s what It felt like to me. A couple of times I directed my gaze at him. He was so amazingly handsome and talented. I can honestly say I could see his soul.He was in a trance like state, just like Shamans when they chant or drum in ceremonies for people who are looking for a way to heal their souls. Now, I was now one of those souls. My soul was not only getting healed but my heart was falling in love. It was not only the music or the way he pulsated on the drums. There was a connection that I had never felt before. I could not understand at that very moment what was happening to me. That night I knew it was going to be the beginning of a whole new chapter in my life. Maybe after all†¦ Those winter nights may not be as cold and long as I thought they would be.

Holden’s Transition Into an Adult

There is a moment in every child’s life where he or she realizes that growing up is not as desirable as they once thought. Before this moment they fantasize about not having a bedtime or driving or finally being able to drink. But then they feel the weight of the adult world with its responsibilities and restrictions of a society that doesn’t value the individual and expects its citizens to morph into mature, controllable adults. This is the time parents hate, the time when their children try to rebel or run away to escape their future as adults, but time, alas, cannot be outrun. The adult world expects many things of its inhabitants—a job, a family, taxes, sex, and much more. Unfortunately, most young adults feel as though they will be crushed under this strange new world. Holden Caulfield is no different. When we meet Holden and when we leave him at the end of the novel he is in a mental hospital because of a recent break down. J. D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is Holden’s reflection on the events that led to this mental break down. He is a young adult still trying to hold on to the world of children for as long as he can. The child world is a place with very few things to worry about. It is a place of innocence and a time when anything is possible. The adult world could not be more different. As Holden is starting to see, the world of adults is cold, uncaring, and unfair. When people make the transition from children to adults they change forever—they become what society believes acceptable adults to be. Holden is reluctant to make the transition and conform to the adult world because he believes that in conforming he would lose his innocence and disappear. Holden is reluctant to leave his childhood behind because that would mean conforming to the public opinion of what adults should be. There are very few examples of adults in this novel for Holden to see what an exemplary adult is and does. One of the few adults we meet is Mr. Spencer. Even if Holden doesn’t fully respect Mr. Spencer he does like the man enough to go and see him before leaving Pency Prep. During that visit Mr. Spencer tells Holden that â€Å"life is a game that one plays according to the rules† if they want to survive in this world (Salinger 8). The problem is Holden has no desire to follow anybody’s rules just because some one tells him he has to—there is no reason for Holden to learn faulty and unnecessary rules. Holden believes that life is only a game for the people who are winning. The winners only believe in the rules because they work for them. Holden, according to Mr. Spencer, is not one of the winners because he won’t shut up and do what the adults tell him to do. The thing is, Holden doesn’t fully understand what the rules are because Holden doesn’t truly understand the world of adults. A side effect of this, as Peter Shaw points out, is that Holden is â€Å"most reliable when dealing with the world of children, and less reliable when addressing the adult world† (Shaw 124). Holden doesn’t want to understand the world of adults; he doesn’t ever intend to enter the game so why should he learn the rules? Holden scoffs at the â€Å"phonies† who have succumbed to life’s rules. He only hates these phonies because he is afraid of turning into one himself. All throughout the novel, Holden is reluctant to join the world of adults because he is afraid of changing into something he’s not. Literary critic Alsen agrees by saying that Holden is afraid that he is going to turn into a phony of he is forced to live around them in the near future (Alsen 3). He is out on a date with the queen of phonies Sally Hayes when he reveals how he believes he can escape the adult world. It is then that he shows us how he believes he is going to escape the adult world; he says he’s going to live in a cabin â€Å"with a brook and all† where he would pretend to be a deaf-mute so he wouldn’t have to deal with anybody (Salinger 132). This way, Holden avoids all of the things that would force him to grow up such as a job and relationships with people such as friends and family—in short, society. That, however, wouldn’t solve anything because he knows deep down that would never happen. Sally points out that his plan is not practical. Holden wouldn’t be able to keep himself alive for longer than a week if he just packed up and moved to the wilderness. And he would still need to communicate with adults to get the supplies he wanted even if he did pretend to be a deaf-mute. Sally’s flat out refusal of the plan shows the qualities of a sure thinking adult, and that is why he calls her the queen of phonies—because she’s already acting like an adult. Physiologists say that girls mature faster than boys do so it would make sense that Holden is avoiding the adult world instead or embracing it like Sally. But Holden already knew Sally’s personality from previous encounters. Jane, however, he is not too sure about. Another thing that Holden is afraid might have changed is Jane Gallagher. Throughout the novel Holden is searching for a person to call and almost calls her but time after time he puts it off by saying that he’s â€Å"not in the mood† (Salinger 59). Holden doesn’t want to call Jane and find out that she has changed since the last time they were together. Holden would rather live with a memory of a girl who won’t move the last row of checkers than get to know Jane all over again. Holden doesn’t want to face it, but his world is losing its innocence—Sally, Jane, and even Holden are maturing, even if it is at different rates. Holden is dimly aware that in the process of losing his innocence he is being dragged into the adult world whether he likes it or not. This losing of innocence has been happening gradually over time and it’s impossible to stop mostly because Holden didn’t realize it until it was too late. One point in the novel where Holden becomes aware of this is when he is at Mr. Antolini’s house. Holden believes that Mr. Antolini is â€Å"being perverty† by making a pass at him when he wakes up to find Mr. Antolini stroking his hair. Holden is at a kind of limbo in his life where he is mature enough to know what a sexual pass is but immature enough to not be able to differentiate that from a warm gesture of caring love (Salinger 192). Holden is scared and confused by this; he is actively trying to prevent himself from growing up but the losing of innocence happens with the passage of time and cannot be prevented. The imbalance of maturity and innocence inside of Holden is dangerous and Mr. Antolini can see that; that’s why he tries to help him. But then Holden misreads Mr. Antolini’s intentions and flees his house in an even more desperate state than which he came. Another way his departing innocence is made know to Holden is when he goes to his sister’s school and the history museum after quitting Mr. Antolini’s house. He goes inside his sister’s school—his old school—when he sees the worlds â€Å"Fuck you† on the wall (Salinger 201). After he wipes them off the wall he realize that even if he spent his whole life rubbing Holden’s life where he realizes that evil exists in the world and he can’t get rid of it nor protect people from it. The adult world is a nasty place and no one can change that. Then he goes to the museum and once inside he heads for the mummies’ tombs. These are the final resting places of some ancient and highly respected people—it is supposed to be a place of peace. However, Holden sees another â€Å"Fuck you† sign written there (Salinger 204). This enforces his revelation he had at the school; that there is no escaping the bitterness of the world no matter where he goes. Even though Holden is just realizing these things now, his real changing point is when he saw James Castle lying dead on the ground after his fatal jump. During the talk Holden has with Mr. Antolini we see some parallels drawn between Holden and James Castle. Mr. Antolini says that he can see Holden â€Å"dying nobly [†¦] for a highly unworthy cause,† which is exactly what James Castle did (Salinger 188). James died protecting something he said because he believed it to be true, but his death didn’t change anything. If Holden carries on like he is he’s going the come to the same end James did—suicide. Antolini also lays out a new meaning for maturity that Holden might be able to live with; he says that an immature man is one who dies â€Å"nobly for a cause† rather than a mature man who is willing to â€Å"live humbly for one† (Salinger 188). Holden, however, doesn’t fully understand what Antolini is saying and just assumes that, like everybody else, Mr. Antolini is trying to turn Holden into something that he’s not. Holden can’t envision himself living in the adult worlds and as a result, he feels as though he is fading away, soon to be lost forever. A strong moment where Holden is afraid he is going to disappear I when he is talking a walk in New York. He feels as though once he steps off of the ledge he’s â€Å"never going to get to the other side of the street [and] go down, down, down, and no one would ever see [him] again† (Salinger 197). Whenever this happens he prays to Allie, his strongest link to the world of children, that he won’t disappear. Allie is symbolic or Holden’s childhood because Allie is never going to mature—he’s dead. Also, Allie died when Holden was at a tender young age, â€Å"only thirteen,† which is the time when puberty is supposed to start (Salinger 38). That is part of the reason why Holden misses Allie so much; it’s because Holden’s childhoods disappeared along with Allie. Even the structure of the end of the novel lends evidence to Holden’s predicament. At the end of the novel we don’t know if Holden is going to be ok, or what he is going to become in future years—in short, we don’t know any more than Holden does. Holden’s problem is that he has been trying to change the world to fit him, while everybody else is saying that he needs to shape himself to fit the world. Even though Holden ends up in a mental hospital doesn’t mean he is crazy. Carl Luce, one of Holden’s friends from the many schools he has attended, is the first person in the novel that suggests that Holden gets Psychoanalyzed which, as Trowbridge points out, suggests that the world will not change to Holden’s needs, but that he needs to tune his mind to the world (Trowbridge 25). This is exactly what Holden is afraid of—the whole reason why he is avoiding the adult world is because he wants to stay true to himself. The thing he doesn’t realize is that he can do both. There is a way to adapt to the changing world and still remain Holden Caulfield. We, however, never find out if Holden learns this crucial lesson. We do know that as long as Holden remains in New York he will remain confused about the adult world. Holden is baffled by the world that surrounds him when he is in New York because New York is symbolic of the adult world. As Robert P. Moore points out, the vulgarity of the story comes not from Holden but from his surroundings (Moore 159). Seeing as how Holden spends most of the novel in the adult world, Moore backs up Holden’s belief that the world of adults is a vile place not fit for the innocent. Another thing that enforces that belief is when Holden is in the hotel and he is watching the people on other floors play these weird sex games like the guy and girl spitting water on each other or the man dressing up in women’s clothing. Holden frightened of the adult world because he believes that the adult world destroys the beautiful. This harsh world destroys the beautifully simplistic things in life like a short story about a boy and his goldfish or a perfectly formed snowball. Holden is afraid of his journey from childhood to adulthood because he doesn’t want to conform to society, disappear, or lose his innocence. The problem is, the process has already begun. Holden is becoming more aware of the adult world and he does not like what he sees. Holden is being forced into a cruel world that consumes child after child. So, predictably, Holden is trying to run away from the unpleasantness like any scared and misguided person would. Holden is unaccustomed to dealing with the complexities of adult life, and he therefore tries to cling to the simplistic life of a child, simply because he can’t deal with this strange new world. And Holden is not alone in his feelings of helplessness and melancholy—most every child has felt this way before, at varying degrees. Holden is just has extremely passionate feelings so naturally he feel very strongly about this. Holden believes that the only person he can count on one hundred percent of the time is himself. He doesn’t trust people too easily and is an accomplished liar. So naturally he doesn’t trust the few people who actually try to help him to ease his way into the adult world, like Mr. Antolini. All Holden sees is a bunch of adults trying to squish him into the mold of a mature, respectable adult. Any young adult would be wary of people trying to impose their will onto them—adolescents hate structures that try to stifle their individuality and will do almost anything within their power to actively avoid them. Many people find it strange that children can’t wait to grow up but adults spend an eternity trying to regain their youth, but both the children and the adults want the same thing—freedom to do what they want when they want.

Dhaka Stock Exchange Collapse of 2010â€2011 Essay

Dhaka Stock Exchange (Generally known as DSE) is the main stock exchange of Bangladesh. It is located in Motijheel at the heart of the Dhaka city. It was incorporated in 1954. Dhaka stock exchange is the first stock exchange of the country. As of 18 August 2010, the Dhaka Stock Exchange had over 750 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $50.28 billion. 1.1 History First incorporated as East Pakistan Stock Exchange Association Ltd in 28 April 1954 and started formal trading in 1956. It was renamed as East Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd in 23 June 1962. Again renamed as Dacca Stock Exchange Ltd in 13 May 1964. After the liberation war in 1971 the trading was discontinued for five years. In 1976 trading restarted in Bangladesh, on 16 September 1986 DSE was started. The formula for calculating DSE all share price index was changed according to IFC on 1 November 1993. The automated trading was initiated in 10 August 1998 and started on 1 January 2001. Central Depository System was initiated in 24 January 2004. As of November 16, 2009, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed 4000 points for the first time, setting another new high at 4148 points. In 2010, the index crossed 8500 points and finally crashed in the first quarter of 2011. 1.2 Formation Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is a public limited company. It is formed and managed under Company Act 1994, Security and Exchange Commission Act 1993, Security and Exchange Commission Regulation 1994, and Security Exchange (Inside Trading) regulation 1994. The issued capital of this company is Tk.  500,000 which is divided up to 250 shares each pricing Tk. 2000. No individual or firm can buy more than one share. According to stock market rule only members can participate in the floor and can buy shares for himself or his clients. At present it has 238 members. Market capitalization of the Dhaka Stock Exchange reached nearly $9 billion in September 2007 and $27.4 billion on Dec 9, 2009. 1.3 Management The management and operation of Dhaka Stock Exchange is entrusted on a 25 members Board of Director. Among them 12 are elected from DSE members, another 12 are selected from different trade bodies and relevant organizations. The CEO is the 25th ex-officio member of the board. The following organizations are currently holding positions in DSE Board: Bangladesh Bank ICB President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries President of Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce and Industries Professor of Finance Department of Dhaka University President of DCCI (Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry) 1.4 Trading time The Dhaka Stock Exchange is open for trading Sunday through Thursday between 10:30am – 2:30pm BST, with the exception of holidays declared by the Exchange in advance. In the month of Ramadan, the exchange is open for trading between 10:30am – 1:30pm BST. 2. Previous major crash – Stock market crash in 1996 The number of BO account holders in 1996 was only 300,000 and most of them were new in the market. At that time it was not easy for investors to detect the fake shares from the genuine ones. Because during the crash of 1996, paper shares used to be sold in front of DSE.There was no automated trading system, surveillance was not strong enough, and there were no circuit breakers as well as international protection. From 1991 to the end of 1995, DSE General Index price gained by 139.3 per cent and reached 834 point. But  in 1996, the market experienced a dramatic change and pushed the price index up by 337 percent. DSE General Index recorded a high growth from July and stood at 3648.7 points on 5th November 1996. Besides, Chittagong Stock Exchange experienced the same change and grew by 258 percent. Chittagong Stock Exchange index increased from 409 to 1157 points in 1996 within a one year’s time. But the steps taken by the government did not work. The index lost over 233 points on November 6, 1996. After the bubble burst, DGEN index dropped to its lowest point and stood at 957 in April 1997. It stood at around the same point, where it was 10 months before and DSE General Price Index lost almost 70 percent from its highest point in November 1996. Then the index continued to decrease for the next 7 years until April 2004. During this long period, DGEN Index seldom crossed 1000 point. In short this can be described by using a graphical presentation. Figure 1. Scenario of Share price index points of Dhaka Stock Exchange 3. Cause of market crush in 2010-2011 The stock market crashed again in 2010-2011. The major causes are as follows- 3.1 Margin Calls & Illiquidity crisis When investors pay a part of future market contracting by cash or selected instruments in an account with a broker which is called Margin. To make sure obligations of investor when contract expired, more Margins is necessary if value of the contract decreases. The process is called Margin call. On â€Å"Black Monday†, price movement of future contracts created record amount of Margin calls for firms which were about 10 times the average size. Collected payments are paid to investors whose position had gained. Some investors lost their ability to enter new positions due to Margin calls and some needing to extend credit to make the payment. As investors were unable to pay margins, brokers placed emergency margin calls with exposed options positions which were assumed to be liquidated due to failure of meeting margin calls. It occurred repeatedly which possibly made selling pressure in the market and markets were not able to handle these sell orders. 3.2 Program Trading Summit Financial Advisors has stated that many analysts accused program trading, especially portfolio insurance as a major reason for the crash. In this trading, computers automatically order large stocks trades when certain market trends prevailed. Analysts blamed that the program trading blindly sold stocks when prices declined on 19th October. 3.3 Derivative Securities Investors not only invested in actual stock market but also in index options and futures markets. Option and future market are called derivatives as the value derives due to change of stock prices. The Brady Commission which was commissioned to examine the reasons of the crash found that the failure of stock mar-kets and derivatives markets to operate in sync was an important factor that contributed to the severity of the crash. 3.4 Role of market regulators and their employees The role of SEC to control & monitor capital market, working in favor of manipulators, approving unethical proposal and issuing wrong directives which lead to unexpected market conditions deteriorated the image of SEC. Investigation report mentioned some names of corrupt employees of the market regulators who were directly or indirectly responsible in the market manipulation. There is a job overlapping between SEC and exchanges. Such as, DSE & SEC both organizations have surveillance department for the same job but there is no co-ordination. Listing committee of DSE & CSE examines listing application of company but SEC doesn’t do it properly and approve it. Placement of Mutual fund & IPO at a price lower than the market value has become a new method of bribery for powerful employees of regulators. There is another accusation that these senior level employees received placement by using other`s name which is very difficult to identify. The report admits that SEC doesn’t have enough employees for example; qualified accountant, financial analyst and researcher to control and monitor the market. Rahman & Moazzem (2011) identified in their study that Dhaka stock exchange is becoming more volatile but the regulators are unable to defend it. They also suggested increasing manpower and quality of professionals in SEC. 3.5 Demutualization of Exchanges There are both elected & nominated members in DSE and CSE. Basically, elected members run the administration due to less interest & relation of nominated members. As a result, the players of the capital market act as controllers. Meanwhile, controllers are inactive during unethical activities due to conflict of interest. In the investigation report it was said that different stake holders of capital market and civil society support & demand for demutualization of exchanges. The meaning of Demutualization is separating controlling functions from controller’s functions, empowering controller and taking decisions without being motivated by the market players. 3.6 Investment of bank in the capital market In 2009 & 10 banks and financial institutions invested huge amount of deposit money in the stock market. As a result share prices sky rocketed until December 2010. When Bangladesh Bank restricted more than 10 percent investment of deposited money, increased CRR and SLR ratio, created liquidity crisis and market crashed. 3.7 Pre-IPO & IPO process Investigation committee considered that due to Pre-IPO & IPO manipulation share prices sky rocketed and that is the main reason for the share market crash. Manipulators illegally & unethically created a Kerb market in Pre-IPO stage. Without recommendation by the listing committee application for IPO was accepted. SEC did not examine abnormal asset revaluation and indicative price. As a result in Pre-IPO or IPO stage placement process and placement trade Kerb market overvalued share prices. This eventually generated liquidity crisis in the capital market. 3.8 Uniform face value of share During the meeting between investigation committee and different stake holders of share market, a most important reason for abnormal climbing of index was indicated to uniform face value of share at Taka 10. Splitting share does not change revenue or asset of a company and should not affect the share price. But Small investors showed their utmost inter-est to buy split share with their small investment and consequently pushed the price up. Up to 62 listed companies split their shares in 2009 & 2010. So, it  abnormally increased liquidity of the market and brought notable change in market capitalization. Investigation report shows that MC increased 655% of companies those adopted share uniform and MC increased only 46% of those that did not adopt. From July 2009 to December 2010 the role of total MC were 81.5% of companies which adopted share uniform and only18.5% those that did not adopt. 3.9 Placement trade / Kerb market Before issuing IPO, Issue manager or Issuer Company sell shares to their nominated person and that is called Private placement or pre-IPO placement. Private placement is risky because it doesn’t have accounting discloser. In the developed countries there are some fixed rules but in Bangladesh SEC didn’t have proper rules for it. As a result some manipulators used it as a tool of price manipulation. Investigation committee found that in most of the cases placement was offered at less than the IPO price. Though aim of public offering is participation of public but placement doesn’t make sure it. Eight companies issued convertible preference share in 2009 & 10 in which average 69% went for placement. So, participation of the public was hindered and that created placement trade or Kerb market. Some companies distributed 50-90 percent of their paid up capital in private placement. However, when a company raises too much paid up capital through private placement, the number of free-floating shares decreased. That’s why the difference between demand & supply push share prices up. Moreover, non-listed companies created liquidity crisis as huge investment was stuck up with these companies. Placement created new process of trading outside of the share market and that is illegal. By taking chance of placement many small companies raised capital from illiterate and un-informed investors with their artificial financial reports. 3.10 Omnibus account Investigation report found Omnibus accounts of ICB and merchant banks as another major reason behind the stock market debacle. Every branch of merchant bank operates only one omnibus account. There could be 3-10 thousands BO Accounts under the omnibus account which are not under the surveillance of SEC. So, information of individual accounts and its transaction are kept only with merchant banks. As investigation reports  shows that this kind of account made a lot of illegal transactions. It publishes name of 30 big players including ICB for a lot of suspicious transactions and says most manipulators traded from the omnibus accounts. It was also reported at least Taka 2.5 billion has been traded from hidden or omnibus accounts. 3.11 Asset revaluation & Rumor By taking chance of weak asset revaluation method companies have overvalued their asset. In this process dishonest auditors generated artificial audit reports. So, calculating of NAV on overvalued asset indicates wrong signal. Some companies issued Bonus shares against unrealized gain of revalued asset price which is a faulty accounting practice. There is rule to maintain provision against â€Å"deferred tax† during asset revaluation to pay tax in future, but companies are not following it. Investigation reports pointed some companies which got NAV more than 100% to 3,472% after asset revaluation. 3.12 Book building method It’s a procedure of determining price of IPO at which it is offered. The fair price is determined by the demand of a security from institutional investors and their indicative price. The main aim of introducing this method in Bangladesh stock market was to attract more firms for enlisting in the stock exchanges through fair share pricing. However, it was found as an instrument of manipulating market prices. Investigation report reveals that during the price discovery/bidding stage investors manipulated share prices for placement with too high price. High price was maintained only for the lock-in period and then investors offloaded their shares. As a result they pulled out a lot of profit within a short period and after that the share price did not increase. In this process corrupted Issuer and issue manager manipulated the price. 3.13 Serial and artificial trading Some manipulators created artificial active trading environment among themselves through bulk transaction and increased share prices. Moreover serial trading and price manipulation by many buy-sell orders through different accounts and broker houses which overheated the market. 3.14 Issue of Right and preference share Right Share is issued at a discount price to existing shareholders. SEC took 4/5 months to take the decision of right issue proposal which is mysterious. Meanwhile companies inform the market about Right issuance and increased the share price. Moreover, issuance of Right share increase number of share which should decrease share price but it did not hap-pen. Investing in Preference share is safe to get a fixed percentage of profit. To make the share attractive companies keep an opportunity to convert it and in that case it is called Convertible Preference Share. Companies issued preference share for only 2-3 months even for 1 month which is not common in other countries. The faults with convertible preference share were its time period (short), convertible process and private placement. Investigation committee found that SEC did not have proper guidelines for Right and Preference Share issuance. 3.15 Suspicious transaction of top players Investigation report reveals some names of individual and institutional investors as top buyers and sellers during abnormal increase and decrease of index in different time periods. The transactions of these investors were suspicious and affected the market heavily and liable for abnormal rise and fall. 3.16 Block placement There was a lot of suspicious block trading of mutual funds. Some investors got enormous amount of placement time to time. 3.17 Direct listing With the approval of SEC few companies have been directly listed in the stock exchange. These companies come to the market with inflated share prices. Investigation report mentioned that indicative prices of these companies were determined even 58 times more than EPS and 9 times of NAV. Though share prices of these types of directly listed companies have been artificially determined, but SEC or exchanges did not investigate the reason of abnormal price. 4. Impact of the crash Bangladeshi stock market experienced through inefficient and irrational fluctuation of DGEN Index in the year 1996 and 2011 . During 2010, the bullish market turned bearish with the exchange losing 1,800 points between December 2010 and January 2011. DGEN Index climbed at point 8918.51 on December 05, 2010 which was overvalued in all aspect. Then the market crashed at point 4877 in November 2011. Figure 3: Daily DGEN index of January, 2011 Figure 4: Showing the Movement of DSE General Index from June- ’10 to May- ‘11 Impacts of the crash were: As a result of the market crash, millions of investors have been rendered bankrupt. Because of free fall of share prices, Investors came out in the street again and started protesting against free fall of share prices and chanted slogans against market regulators. Random objects like wood and papers were set on fire in front of the DSE office in Motijheel. Investors came out in the street with processions and demonstrated against free fall of Share index in both bourses as well as suspension of trading. Investors from different parts of the country such as, Chittagong, Comilla, Narsingdi, Narayanganj and Jessore brought out processions and clashed with law en-forces in some places as well. Investors blamed the speculators and regulators for the bubble that finally burst. Economy faced liquidity crisis. Authoritites and government took steps to handle the crisis. But stock market of Bangladesh had already got the adjective of â€Å"the worst stock market in the world†. And an o ngoing market turmoil is still going on. 5. Measures taken to stabilize the stock market Since the collapse of the market in December 2010, a number of initiatives were undertaken by Ministry of Finance (MoF), Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bangladesh Bank, Government and Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE)/ Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) to stabilize the market. 5.1 Steps taken by government- The government took a number of measures to inject money in the market. This included Tk. 600 crore worth of funds distributed to the state-owned banks and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), and formation of a mutual fund titled Bangladesh Fund with an initial resource of Tk. 1,500 crore. Under the national budget of FY2011-12, government announced a number of incentives to recover the capital market situation. Some of these were re-introduction of tax rebate facilities, tax-free facilities for mutual funds, time extension for non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) to adjust their investment in stock market (revised timeline is December 2013), and adjustment of single borrower exposure limit by the commercial banks (revised timeline is December 2013). All these budgetary measures have direct and indirect implications for raising fund for the ailing capital market. A probe committee was created by the government to identify the reasons, people and solution regarding the prob lem of the stock market. The Probe Committee and the MOF came up with a list of 36-point measures which were to be implemented in three phases (i.e. immediate, short and medium-term). 5.2 Steps taken by SEC- Security & Exchange Commissions applied a lot of directives to keep the market under control in 2010. SEC changed directive of margin loan ratio by increasing it from 1:0.5 to 1:1 on 13th December and later it was again hiked to 1:1.5 & 1:2 because of free fall of share prices. Actions were taken against persons found guilty for their fraudulent activities, investigation of allegations against the SEC officials who indulged in market manipulation, examination of assets of some of the companies alleged to have been involved in illegal trading, and initiation to probe allegations against several companies was also done. Criminal investigation against a number of companies and persons which was supposed to be carried out by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was started but without much visible progress. SEC under its new management has also prepared a 29-point work plan. Of these, eight activities were identified as ‘top urgent’, three as ‘urgent’, 14 as ‘short term tasks’ and four as ‘medium term tasks’. The MoF along with SEC and other stakeholders prepared the much-hyped Market Rejuvenation Package. This 21-point package focuses on greater participation of banks and other financial institutions in the stock market, besides setting up a ‘special scheme’ to provide support to small investors who lost their capital. 5.3 Steps taken by Bangladesh Bank- Bangladesh Bank pushed money into the market as liquidity support. Banks have reportedly kept buying shares despite suffering from liquidity crises themselves, and not selling any shares. 6. Outlook for the future To protect the share market of Bangladesh, the regulatory body should take some effective measures. It should introduce some monitoring systems to protect the price manipulations of the share. Provisions should be made to provide all the financial data to the investors so that they can get a proper idea about the company. The market should be free from fake certificates. The government should offer income tax rebate on the income of share market and encourage the banks and non banking institutions to come to the market directly. Some incentives package for the investors like getting financing at a low cost has to be offered to bring back the investors in the market. Market stabilization fund must be introduced so that it can help to meet up with crisis situation. Since Bangladesh is heading toward the developing nation, capital market can be the engine of growth for its economy if market becomes structured and efficient. Around the world well reputed stock markets like – New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Australian Securities Exchange, Dubai Stock Exchange and so on, are regulated and running efficiently that provides significant contribution to their individual economy. Because, stock market is knowledge based game rather than a place of gambling; there must be rational win-lose situation always. But Bangladeshi stock market experienced through inefficient and irrational fluctuation of DGEN Index in the year 1996 and 2011 which resembles the place of gambling. To sum up, from our study, we have found that, there are problems like – Big Gap between the Demand and Supply of stock, extraordinary over pricing of stock, market manipulation, lack of knowledge about the stoc k market mechanism among the general investors, price distortion, inefficient regulations, political unrest, etc. These caused the steepest downward fall of DGEN Index in the financial year 2011.  As a result, about millions of investors lost their capital which turned them empty within few months. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Bangladesh and government should take the short term and long term initiatives to stabilize the market. They should encourage more public limited companies to offer more share to meet the current demands. Income tax rebate, Injection of Market Stabilization Fund, Mandatory holding certain percentage of share among the board of directors, short term incentives packages should be introduced to get back the confidence among the existing investors. Regulatory bodies of Bangladesh stock market must educate the current and potential investors about the market mechanism and provide them the accurate information so that investors trade their shares carefully. Unless, appropiate corrective measures are well formulated and implemented, Bangladeshi stock market will be facing this irrational downward again in the near future. 7. ARAMIT from 2010- 2013 From the graph we see that, before the crash market price was above tk 450. And in the time of market crash from December 2010- January’11, the price of aramit started to fall and reached tk 436 at the end of January 2011. After that the market fluctuated and hit its lowest of tk 192.6 on february 2012. The current market price as of 24th February,2013 is tk 216. Profit Status: Based on Annualized EPS of 2012 (Q3): Basic Current Price Earning Ratio (P/E) (Based on Continuing operation) 12.65 Based on audited EPS of 2011 Current Price Earning Ratio (P/E) (Based on Continuing Operation) 15.15 Reference : 1. http://www.cpd.org.bd/pub_attach/WP95.pdf 2. http://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/47195/saha_sangit.pdf?sequence=1 3. http://www.dsebd.org/displayCompany.php?name=ARAMIT 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Bangladesh_share_market_scam 5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaka_Stock_Exchange 6. http://www.similarsites.com/goto/bdstock.com?pos=2&s=10