Social and Moral Values in Relation to the Downfall of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream. Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental neces sities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity. Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status. Social and Moral Values in Relation to the Downfall of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers ‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream. Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental neces sities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity. Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status.

Find the concentration of sucrose in a potato cell - Plan :: GCSE Biology A2 A-Level Coursework

Find the concentration of sucrose in a potato cell - Plan Plan For Osmosis/Plasmolysis Experiment AIM In this experiment, I am trying to find the concentration of sucrose in a potato cell. Also I can observe when a cell is totally plasmolyised. PLAN I plan to complete this experiment within an hour. Firstly, I will cut 15 potato chips, 3 each for 5 different solutions, each weighing 1.2grams, cut with a 4mm corer to approx (full word) 4cm. I will measure weight, as length is less accurate. The weight of the chip may vary as much as 0.02 g each way, which will make it a lot easier to do, but may provide me with less accurate results. I will use 5 different molar solutions of 20 cm3 each, shown to the right. 0M (water), 0.5M, 1M, 1.5M and 2M. I will create 0.5 molar solutions by mixing 10cm3 of water and 10cm3 of 1 molar solution. I will use 3 of each solution to ensure that my results are correct, and to prevent any anomalies disturbing my result graphs. One of each solution will be dropped into the solution at 10-second intervals. They will be taken out 30 minutes after precisely, to ensure a reliable result. They will then be dried on a paper towel, and quickly weighed, and recorded in a pre-written table. RELIABILITY/ FAIR TEST I must control many variables in this test. I will control the time that they are left in the solution, as this will greatly affect results if they are left in for different amounts of time. Also I must control how much I dry the chips before weighing them, because if I leave some excess water on one of them, it will be an unfair test, as ill be weighing the water as well as the chip. Another point is simple, but just to make sure that the scales I am weighing the chip on are at 0 before weighing the chip, as it may add some mass to the chip. I will use 5 different solutions, starting at 0 molar and going up in 0.5 molar concentrations. I have chosen this because they are equidistant, allowing for easy graph drawing, and also because from the preliminary experiment, I know that this will give me results that can show me the concentration of sucrose in the cells sap, and also go on to show me the concentration that the cell will plasmolyise at. I will also control the variety of potato- I will only use 1 brand, as

Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base Introduction ============ Neutralisation is the reaction of a base with an acid to form a neutral solution; which contains salt and water. Acid + Base Salt + Water --------------------------- In my experiment I am trying to find out how much acid it takes to neutralise a base to form a neutral solution. I will use one molar of Nitric Acid as the acid and one molar of Ammonium Hydroxide as the base. So this will be a 1:1 ratio. (Molarity = how many molecules of the acid or alkali per 1000 cm3 (1 litre) of water.) Nitric Acid + Ammonium Hydroxide à   Ammonium Nitrate + Water ----------------------------------------------------------- HNO + NH OH NH NO + H O Ionic bonding must take place to form the salt and the water. Ions have been formed because the original atoms have lost or gained electrons. These ions then have electrical charges because they do not have the same amount of positive protons and negative electrons. Atoms that loose electrons are called cations and have a positive charge. Atoms that have gained an electron and have a negative charge are called anions. The General equation for making water is: H + OH H O --------------- In this equation the Hydrogen ion has lost and electron and has become a cation with a positive charge. The Hydroxide ion has gained an electron and has become a negatively charged anion. Ionic bonds are created when ions combine in order to share and thus become electrically stable. From the main neutralisation equation I have circled the parts to make water: HNO + NH OH à   NH NO + H O Equipment Ammonium Hydroxide – (base) Nitric Acid – (acid) Methyl Oxide - (to show the pH of the solution) Clamp – (to hold the burette safely and securely in place) Burette - (to hold the acid) White Tile – Funnel – (to pour the acid into the burette) Goggles - (to protect the eyes) Conical Flask – (to hold the base) Measuring Cylinder – (to measure out the acid and the base) Preliminary Before we began our practical our teacher performed the experiment as an example to our class. The teacher set up the equipment as shown above. She informed us of the safety precautions and then began the experiment. She used 20ml of Ammonium Hydroxide (base), placing that in the conical flask. Then she added 6 drops of Methyl Orange (indicator). From the Burette she added 12ml of Nitric acid and swilled the conical flask. After this point she decided to control the amount added to the base and indicator by using the burette. Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base Introduction ============ Neutralisation is the reaction of a base with an acid to form a neutral solution; which contains salt and water. Acid + Base Salt + Water --------------------------- In my experiment I am trying to find out how much acid it takes to neutralise a base to form a neutral solution. I will use one molar of Nitric Acid as the acid and one molar of Ammonium Hydroxide as the base. So this will be a 1:1 ratio. (Molarity = how many molecules of the acid or alkali per 1000 cm3 (1 litre) of water.) Nitric Acid + Ammonium Hydroxide à   Ammonium Nitrate + Water ----------------------------------------------------------- HNO + NH OH NH NO + H O Ionic bonding must take place to form the salt and the water. Ions have been formed because the original atoms have lost or gained electrons. These ions then have electrical charges because they do not have the same amount of positive protons and negative electrons. Atoms that loose electrons are called cations and have a positive charge. Atoms that have gained an electron and have a negative charge are called anions. The General equation for making water is: H + OH H O --------------- In this equation the Hydrogen ion has lost and electron and has become a cation with a positive charge. The Hydroxide ion has gained an electron and has become a negatively charged anion. Ionic bonds are created when ions combine in order to share and thus become electrically stable. From the main neutralisation equation I have circled the parts to make water: HNO + NH OH à   NH NO + H O Equipment Ammonium Hydroxide – (base) Nitric Acid – (acid) Methyl Oxide - (to show the pH of the solution) Clamp – (to hold the burette safely and securely in place) Burette - (to hold the acid) White Tile – Funnel – (to pour the acid into the burette) Goggles - (to protect the eyes) Conical Flask – (to hold the base) Measuring Cylinder – (to measure out the acid and the base) Preliminary Before we began our practical our teacher performed the experiment as an example to our class. The teacher set up the equipment as shown above. She informed us of the safety precautions and then began the experiment. She used 20ml of Ammonium Hydroxide (base), placing that in the conical flask. Then she added 6 drops of Methyl Orange (indicator). From the Burette she added 12ml of Nitric acid and swilled the conical flask. After this point she decided to control the amount added to the base and indicator by using the burette.

Perception Toward Commit Suicide Among Utar Students Essay

Abstract This research is about the â€Å"Perception toward commit suicide among UTAR students†. We want to understand how the UTAR students think about suicide with carry different opinion from different races and gender. We will distribute 100 sheets of the questionnaire to UTAR students based on their races and gender. In this assignment, we will distribute 50 sheets of survey question to male students and 50 sheets for female students. In this questionnaire we also ask about UTAR student’s opinion which is â€Å"does suicide makes soreness disappear†? Most of the students answer no, because they think commit suicide cannot help them solve the problem, it just a way to deny from the problem. So they should think positively and find the solution because all problem have their own solution, just see how we view the issues. If we try to commit suicide it just make some trouble to our family because they will to face the society, maybe your neighbor will talk bad word abou t your family. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Literature Review After our searching for whole week, we had found at least 5 academic journals with online source from not only Malaysia, but in other country in Asia too. From these journals and report, we able to have more understanding on suicide rate among several countries in Asia and Malaysia, the pattern, or the frequently used method, and even some of the reason for suicide. Two of the journals published by same organization, which is National Suicide Registry Malaysia, are about the research on Malaysia. One of them is explaining objective and the data collection method for research in NSRM, while another journal explain about what they found, example like stated out the high risk group, and the factor cause suicide, based on the data they collect so far. Another journal we found is not provided by NSRM, but also related to Malaysia. In this research, they concentrate about the race suicide method, and age group of suicide victim, this provide us helpful information that able us to see a mor e clear picture about suicide in Malaysia. Other two journals is talking about the research in other countries of Asia, one of them is a research conducted by World health Organization in 2008 regarding the suicide case among countries, while another is a old research that had conduct a similar research, which also the 48 countries, published by University of North Carolina Press in 1965. According to one of the journal we found (Quinney, 1965) even though there was no research conducted in Malaysia that time, but still, it enables us to know that a country economic development level will also affect the suicide rate. The other journals, which we found, had found a similar age group that has high frequency to suicide compared to other age group. The high risk group of suicide is 20-30, which is young adult stage (Hayati & Khairul, 2008; Nadesan, 1999; Hendin et al., 2008). These were also two journals, which is research on Malaysia, found out that the most common method people use to suicide is hanging, poisoning and jumping from height (Hayati & Khairul, 2008, Nadesan, 1999). The method of jumping off from height and by poisoning themselves cases had been increased, meanwhile hanging themselves has been decreased compared to two decade ago (Hayati & Khairul, 2008). In order to know more about suicide case in Malaysia, it was necessary to do more research within Malaysia for the factor of suicide, since we cannot deny the fact that media influence nowadays has slowly become one of the most influencing factor that increased suicide, example poisoning case had increased since Indian movie had introduced the way of suicide by consuming seed kernel of yellow oleander plant (Nadesan, 1999). 1.2 Research Question Our purpose of conducting this research is have a better understanding in study 2 main category group of UTAR students towards suicide cases. We decided to focus in both gender and 3 main races and others. We would like to look into Gender differences as our first research question by setting the question â€Å"What are the perceptions in gender differences towards suicide cases in Malaysia?† due to the reason that different gender will have different perception on that particular cases and will able to get more opinion and feedback. Besides, we also choose to concentrate in Races which including Chinese, Malay, Indians and others. â€Å"What are the opinions of difference races towards suicide cases in Malaysia?† will be our second research question. In this question we would like to find out all the different perception from different races due to culture issue or family background issue to view on suicide cases. Chapter 2: Method 2.1 Respondent In this research, our population is on UTAR student’s and we will choose 100 student’s as our sample. From the 100 student’s we will divide into 2 part which are the gender and the races because we are using the stratified sampling method. The definition of stratified samping method is we will dividing the population into groups according to some characteristic (Allan,2009,p.12), for example we will distribute the questionnaire equally to the student’s which is 50 male student’s and 50 female student’s, from the gender we will divide it into difference races. We plan to distribute 50 questionnaire to Chinese student’s, 30 questionnaire to Indian student’s, 10 questionnaire to Malay student’s and other races student’s. After that from the races we will divide it into 2 part which is the gender. 2.2 Apparatus We will use survey question to collect our data because it is the simple instrument to help us gain some data, we create the question by ourselves which is after having group discussion. In this questionnaire, it contain 10 question which incude 9 opended question and 1 closed ended question. We forming the question based on the 4 type of measurement which are norminal, ordinal, interval and ratio(Allan, 2009, p. 7-8). In this survey question it contain 1 ratio question, 4 norminal questions, 3 interval questions and 2 ordinal questions. 2.3 Procedure Activities| Week (duration)| The tutor briefly discuss about how to do the assignment and APA format.| Week 1| We start to form a group which is 5 people in the group. We discuss a topic which we interested in and finally we plan to do a topic which is â€Å"The Perception among UTAR Student’s toward Suicide†. We also distribute some task among the group members and find some journals that are related with the topic.| Week 2| In week 3, we discuss again among the group members and start to create a questionnaire that is related with our topic. After discussing, we plan to create 10 questions which include open ended and closed ended question.| Week 3| After that, we type the questionnaire and consult with the tutor and let her checks whether the questions are reliable to use or not. At the same time, we also give her check the journal whether it can be used or not. On the consultation time, she guides and teaches us how to complete this assignment.| Week 4| In week 5, after the tutor agrees with our questionnaire, then we start to print 100 sheet of survey question and distribute it to the UTAR students based on our sample.| Week 5| This week is our critical period which we have to collect all the data and interpret it. We also have to summarize all the data and create a graph to show that we done the entire task.| Week 6| Finally, this week is coming and we should hang in our assignment. Luckily we can do it on time. Chapter 3: Results Question 1: Which gender is the highest possibility to commit suicide? Most of the male respondents think that man is common in commit suicide, while most of the female respondents think that woman is common in commit suicide. According to the bar graph, the Chinese and Malay respondents think that woman has the highest tendency to commit suicide; while vice versa for the Indian and other races respondents who think that man has the higher tendency to commit suicide. Question 2: Which is the majority races involve in suicide? The pie charts above show that for male respondents, Chinese has the highest chance to involve in suicide and is followed by Indian. The UTAR male students think that just 10% of Malay will commit suicide and 0% for other races. However, in female respondents’ opinion, they think that 52% of Chinese will involve in suicide cases and is followed by Indian which is 40%. Lastly, only 8% of female students think that Malay will involve in commit suicide and 0% for other races. From this 2 pie chart we can conclude that most of the students think that Chinese is the highest chances to involve in this case. The bar graph above shows that most of the UTAR students think that Chinese is the majority race that involved in suicide. Indian is the second highest chance to involve in suicide cases and is followed by the Malay. No students choose for the others races because there is only a small population of other races compared to the three major races in Malaysia, so they are not easily involved in suicide cases. Majority of the UTAR Chinese student’s think that Chinese are easily to involve in suicide because they think that Chinese are afraid to lose, so they scared to share their problem with their family members or their friends even though when they faced any problem. Question 3: Which shows the most common range of age in commit suicide in Malaysia? Both male and female respondents think that age range between 17 and 21 has the highest tendency to commit suicide, followed by 22-26, 27-31, and then other age range which will be above 31. Age range between 12 and 16 has the lowest vote from male respondents but none from female respondents. Age range between 17 and 21 has the highest vote from the Chinese and Indian respondents, followed by the age range of 22-26 and 27-31. Age ranges of 17-21, 22-26 and 27-31 get the equal votes from other races. The age range between 27-31 get the highest votes while 22-26 get the lowest votes among the Malay respondents. Others age ranges which are above 31 got the same votes from Chinese and Indian respondents only, but no vote for the age range between 12-16. Question 4: In which condition will caused people have the intension to commit suicide in Malaysia? Based on the pie charts above, we can conclude that most of the UTAR students will give their idea on people who tend to suicide are due to the relationship issue with a percentage of 34% of male student and 42% of the female student. Besides, it can also clearly show that people do not put the blame on the mass media factor. According to the report of Hayati and Kamarul from National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) (2008), they stated all the young male adults will tend to commit suicide due to the reason of being stressed up with the transition to adult roles and relationship issues. It is also the timing in a higher risk of getting mental disorder, or easily access to alcohol and drugs to overcome their current issue. As the lowest possibility to the influences toward commit suicide is mass media where may be down to the reason that people may tend to learn from the drama or movie with related to suicide cases. The bar graph above shows that, all the races do agree with the point of view that most of the people who commit suicide are because of relationship issue. Current flow that showing a very obvious example of committing suicide caused by relationship issue which is the case of Alviss Kong. Before he commits suicide, he leaved the last message stated that his failure in love relationship with his girlfriend. He felt that he had nothing else to give him motivation to continue to stay alive. Most of the suicidal that because of relationship issue will tend to look in their relationship as a very important factor to stay alive. In another point of view for all the suicide among seniors in suggested risk factors such as including unemployment, isolation, poor health, pain, depression, alcoholism, low self-esteem, feeling rejected a history of mental illness, and previous suicide attempts (NSRM, 2008). As a result, most of the late middle-age people will face the financial problem due to unemployment and lack of self confidence. Question 5: Generally how Malaysian commits suicide? In this question, we ask the participants to rank the method of commit suicide from the most frequently used to the most rarely used based on their opinions.   First, we will look for the data by different opinion between both genders. According to the data we collect, both genders, which are male and female, got the same opinion that the Malaysians will always use jumping from height to suicide, then followed by wrist cutting. The participants from both genders also ranked that self-immolation is the most rarely method use in suicide in Malaysia. Then we collect the data and divide it based on the races. We found out that, in most participants, no matter what race they are, also think that jumping from height is the most frequently used method to suicide in Malaysia. Many of Chinese participants chose to believe that the second frequently used method to suicide is by overdose on medicine, which is a totally different from other race, which they think this method is rare method among Malaysian. Except for Indian participant, other race think that the self immolation method still is the rarest method that used in Malaysia. Most of the participant, regarding of their race and gender, also think that jumping from height is the most common used method to suicide in Malaysia. From our searching, we found out that the jumping from height method is the second frequently used method besides hanging (National Suicide Registry Malaysia, 2007). This maybe is because the media influence, which the newspaper always got report or news that people suicide and died, for example Alviss Kong case which the method he used is exactly jumping from height, this somehow influence participant got deep impression in it. Chinese participants mostly chose the taking of overdose on medicine is the second frequently used method for suicide in Malaysia, which we interpret that is because the Chinese normally will try the most relaxing or less painful way to suicide when compared to other races. Question 6: How to prevent people from commit suicide in Malaysia? Based on the chart, the highest respond comes towards the best way to prevent from commit suicide is share a problem with friends. 42 people support towards share a problem with a friend as the best way to prevent from commit suicide. It includes 15 males and 27 females. The second highest way rank to 40 people who sound off that meet a counselor is the best way. 23 males and 17 females give a respond towards it. The least response agreed with mass media is 7 people which are 5 males and 2 females. Based from the graph, we can conclude that, the races that support the most towards the way by meeting a counselor as the best way to prevent from commit suicide is Chinese and Indians. Both showing 15 peoples and followed by Malay and others with the same value or amount of people that is 5 people. Most of the Chinese support towards share a problem with a friends as the best way to prevents from commit suicide and followed by Indian who more to meet a counselor as the best way. It show 50% of them support towards it. Less people supported that mass media is the best way to prevent commit suicide. It shows the range of 4 Chinese, 2 Indians, 4 Malays and 1 from other races. Question 7: Do you think euthanasia is considered as commit suicide? The pie chart above show that, 40% of the male students and 24% of female students think that euthanasia is considered as commit suicide. However, 60% of male students and 76% of female students think that euthanasia is not considered as commit suicide. From this pie chart, we can say that most of the students do not agree that euthanasia is considered as commit suicide. It is because they think euthanasia is ways to help those patients that are suffer from the pain to feel relief. The graph shows that most of the UTAR students from different races think that euthanasia is not considered as commit suicide. The graph also shows that just few of the students think that euthanasia is considered as commit suicide. There have 16 Chinese students, 9 Indian students, 4 Malay students and 7 other races students think that euthanasia is considered as commit suicide. Chapter 4: Discussion The findings on this topic are based on the genders and the races among adolescents and adults in Malaysia. The surveys done among UTAR students show that woman has the highest probability among gender while Chinese has the highest risks among races in exposure to commit suicide, while age range between 17-26 has higher rate compared to others. The conditions that caused people have the intensity to commit suicide are mostly related to the relationship issue and financial problem and the common ways used to commit suicide are jumping from the height and wrist cutting. The ways that suggested by the respondents are to share their problems with friends or family, and refer to psychiatrist or counselor. Most of the participants do not think that euthanasia is considered as commit suicide. They also agreed that people who commit suicide have low Emotional Quotient (EQ) and agreed that most of the suicidal who want to commit suicide are because of feeling helpless or hopeless. Most of the results show similarities to our research except for the gender, races and age in which we found out that most of the research showed that man (gender) and Indian (races) have the highest tendency to commit suicide. And some research also showed that middle-aged and elderly persons have the high suicide rate. (Hayati & Kamarul, 2008) The problems that we faced during the research are mostly due to the time and cost. The time for us to do the research is too short because of the holidays, and some of the group members who came from STPM background have not expose to the introduction to psychology, the style of APA citation and the method to do an assignment. Hence, a lot of effort and time are used by the group members to understand the APA style and the way of doing assignment. Besides, we also faced the problems on transportation and the places of each members currently staying as some of the members stayed at different areas. The printing of the survey forms and the assignment cost a lot for students as they are not working and might be causing a burden for them especially for those that are from poor family. The other problem that we faced during the research is some of the participants may not serious when they were filling the survey form, fear to tell the truth, or do not have enough information about the t opic caused us could not get accurate results. One of the suggestion from the group members is the time to hand up the assignment can be delay until the end of the week (Friday) so that the members have enough time to gather around to discuss and make a summary together as the members can only meet at the campus to make discussion. Another suggestion is students should be exposed to the introduction to psychology and APA format for the Year One Semester One students as they are still new and do not have much information to this field. Besides that, two sets of questionnaire can be printed into one piece of A4 paper and cut into half. This method is not can save the cost, but also can reduce the number of paper used. Lastly, the students should be informed and advised to take the survey seriously as their opinions are very important and can affect the results of the survey. References Allan, G. (2009). Elementary statistics. McGraw-Hill Higher Education Chris, G. (n.d). Age, gender, and suicide: A cross-national analysis, 553-574. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from JSTOR online database Hayati and Aziz, (2008). National Suicide Registry Malaysia: preliminary report July-December 2007, 1-27. Retrieved February 7, 2011, from National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) Hayati and Kamarul, (2008). National Suicide Registry Malaysia, 50-54. Retrieved February 7, 2011, from National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) Murad, M. (2005). Suicide prevention and developing countries, 459-463. Retrieved February 8, 2011, from Journal of the royal society of medicine Quinney, (1963). Suicide, Homicide and economic development, 401-406. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from JSTOR online database

Dicken’s Hard Times Essay

â€Å"Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.† (Dickens, 1854, p.1) With these beginning sentences of the novel â€Å"Hard Times†, Charles Dickens has made readers doubt whether it is true that facts alone are wanted in life. This question leads to the main theme of the story, fact against fancy, that author has never been written this kind of plot in his other stories before. In fact, Hard Times is considered as â€Å"the unlike-the-rest of Dickens’ works† (Collins, 1992, p.xi) because the plot is not involved the social problems in Victorian Age such as poverty or child labor, but it is â€Å"an abstract that exalts instinct above reason.† (Collins, 1992, p.xiii) Although it is not Dickensian, author still put his cliff-hanger characteristic on his work which makes the story enjoyable and worth reading for all-age-readers. Due to many interesting factors, this novel has been chosen to be the topic of this essay consisting of three parts that are the historical backgrounds, the facts about this novel and my critical refle ctions. To gain the comprehensive perspective of the story, we need to look back on historical backgrounds of the age that this novel took place which can be seen in three ways that are the economy, the social class and the education. Victorian Age is the period of economic progress that Industrial Revolution played important part in the British society. As a result, there were many factories located in town and it is imaginary described in a story that industrial Coketown is â€Å"where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness.† (Dickens, 1854, p.20). So, it shows that Hard Times is â€Å"a realistic novel that author voiced a radically dissident attitude on Industrial Revolution in his story.† (Lowy 2007 218) According to the growth of economy, there was the distinction found in social classes especially between labor and management (Cliffnote, n.d.) in this story that can be seen at Mr. Boun derby, a wealthy manufacturer, considers himself as self-made man and later found that he is not, who is in upper class and has predominant power over Blackpool – a hard working labor in Mr. Bounderby’s factory. However, the social class distinction is not raised as a serious problem in the story. Also, this economic progress has a great impact on the education system in which the schools are dominated with the Utilitarian spirit. From the plot, it shows that Dickens held a strong vision against the Utilitarianism, a theory that considers self-interest is maximum utility and denies on imagination (Diniejko, n.d.), that he ends the story with the tragic event caused by failure of the Utilitarian education system that teaches students only fact, but he oppositely admired hospitality of the Sleary’s circus that teaches the children with imagination. These are historical backgrounds that influenced the story and make it more understandable. As it is claimed at first that this novel is not like the other Dickens’ stories, it is contained some facts that makes the novel interesting which are its background, cliff-hanger plot and impressive critiques. Unlike Dickens’ â€Å"usual shilling monthly numbers, Hard Times was a part in his two penny weekly edited magazine† (Collin, 1992, p.xi), Household Words, which â€Å"faced a shrinking circulation and falling profits† (Enote editor, n.d.). Therefore, the story was written in form of â€Å"serialization and finally titled Hard Times For These Times when it was gathered into fuller version.† (Collin, 1992, p.xi) Although it is not a notably work, it has a Dickens’ famous cliff-hanger plot. The main theme is the conflict between fact and fancy in which Mr. Gradgrind teaches his students and his children to believe in fact, but the story turns out unexpected that two of his children have to live in misery; Louisa has a loveless marriage with Mr. Bounderby – a friend of her father and a bank owner. Tom, Louisa’s brother, becomes a bank robber who almost cannot escape abroad. In order to help his son, Mr. Gradgrind eventually has to ask Sleary’s circus, who he never favour because they teaches children with imagination, for help and he comes to realize that his philosophy he has been teaching all along for his children is a failure. The story also contains many subplot stories such as an impossible love between Louisa and Mr. Harthouse, a secret life of Mr. Bounderby and a social class love. With his sharp and sarcastic writing skill, Hard Times receives impressive critiques from many admirers. The outstanding critique is one from Dr F. R. Leavis in 1948 that saysâ€Å"†¦ of all Dickens’ works the one that has all the strength of his genius, together with a strength no other of them can show—that of a completely serious work of art†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Collin, 1992, p.xii). These three facts of this novel even make it more astonishing. A good novel not only gives reader an appreciation but also provides some points that need to be analyzed through critical thinking process. So does the Hard Times, it is a valuable novel that I favor and have critical reflections on the Dickens’ satire, the well-rounded characters and the comparison on the different abstract ideas. I was hooked by this novel right from the first three sentences, claimed at the beginning of the essay, because it provokes readers’ brain to think until we find the answer that it is wrong to lean on facts alone in life and that is the first satire in a story. There is the using of repeated word to sarcastically equate the teacher and Mr. Gradgrind with the mechanic engine as shown â€Å"Fact, fact, fact!’ said the gentleman. And ‘Fact, fact, fact!’ repeated Thomas Gradgrind† (Dickens, 1854, p.6). Moreover, all the well-rounded characters are formed in satirist way. For example, there is the difference between Lou isa and Sissy which we see the development of these two characters. The first is Louisa who was born and raised in a wealthy family teaching her only facts are wanted in life, but she ends up living in mournful as it says â€Å"†¦any hoarded scrap of which, is a blessing and happiness to the wisest? Did Louisa see this? Such a thing was never to be.† (Dickens, 1854, p.283). On the other hand, the second is Sissy, was born in circus and taught her with imagination, who ends up living with happiness as it says â€Å"trying hard to know her humbler fellow-creatures, and to beautify their lives of machinery and reality with those imaginative graces and delights† (Dickens, 1854, p.283). Lastly, I am very appreciated with the comparison on the different abstract ideas especially one in this example; the different perspectives of horse that the student in Mr. Gradgrind’s school describes in scientific and arithmetic way as shown: â€Å"Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye teeth, and twelve incisive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dickens, 1854, p.4), while the Sleary’s circus people describe it as beautiful imaginary way as shown: â€Å"The public house was the Pegasus’s Arms. The Pegasus’s legs might have been more to the purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dickens, 1854, p.25). It can be interpreted that students see no abstract from object, they have blunted mind, while circus people, who live in Victorian Era – the golden age of circus, have something that students do not have which are morality and hospitality. These are my critical reflections that makes Hard Times become one of my favorite novels. All of these are the historical backgrounds, the facts about this novel and my critical reflections for the Dickens’ Hard Times. It is a story of wrong philosophy that facts which are actually not the only needful thing in life. This novel gives readers the way to approach history of Victorian A ge, also, an appreciation. And the most importantly, it persuades readers to live their lives happily with imagination and hospitality to everyone that will come into life. References Collins, Philip (1992). Introduction. Charles Dickens Hard Times(p. xi,xii,xiii). Berwick Street, London: The Millennium Library. Dickens, Charles (1854). Hard Times For These Times. Charles Dickens Hard Times(p. 1,4,6,20,25,283). Berwick Street, London: The Millennium Library. Diniejko, Dr Andrzej.Charles Dickens as Social Commentator and Critic. The Victorian Web: An Overview. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/diniejko.html Hard Times Critical Essay by Charles Dickens. Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers & More – enotes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.enotes.com/hard-times-essays/dickens-charles-hard-times-these-times Hard Times: Critical Essays: Dickens’ Philosophy and Style – CliffsNotes . Get Homework Help with CliffsNotes Study Guides . Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hard-times/critical-essays/dickens- philosophy-style.html Lowy, M. (2007). The Current of Critical Irrealism. A concise companion to realism(p. 218). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Ifrs Adoption in Spain and the United Kingdom: Effects on Accounting Numbers and Relevance

Tutorial questions for Topic 6 Reading exercise Read Gaston et al (2010) article â€Å"IFRS adoption in Spain and the United Kingdom: Effects on accounting numbers and relevance† and find out the answer for the following questions: Q1 What are the research objectives? (the last 5 paragraphs of section 1) The main purpose of this research is to compare and contrast the quantitative impact of the IFRS adoption on financial reporting in Spain and the UK.There are two main research objectives. First it explores the economic and financial effect of the IFRS adoption for companies in the two countries. The second objective is to examine whether or not the IFRS will improve the usefulness of financial reporting. It is expected that companies’ market value and book value will increase under the IFRS adoption in both countries (Gaston et al, 2010). If you use direct quotation instead: The first objective of our study is to analyse the impact of IFRS on financial reports issued b y companies in Spain and the UK† (Gaston et al, 2010, p306). Q2 What is the research sample size? (section 3. 1 in page 306) 100 companies from the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index (IGBM) and 74 companies from the Financial Time Stock Exchange Index 100 (FTSE 100) (excluding financial institutions, holding companies and insurance firms) are used for this research.Q3 How many hypotheses are proposed, and what are they? (section 3. 3, p306-308) There are three hypotheses are proposed in this study and they are: â€Å"H01: There are no significant differences in the value of accounting figures and financial ratios determined under local GAAP and IFRS† â€Å"H02: There are no significant differences in the relative impact of IFRS on the value of accounting figures and financial ratios in the UK and Spain† â€Å"H03:There are no significant differences in the book values (per local GAAP and IFRS) and market value of firms† â€Å"H04: There are no significan t differences in the Gap(spainlocal), Gap(uklocal) and Gap(spainifrs), Gap(ukifrs) (Gaston et al, 2010, p307). Q4 What are the research findings? (section 5, page 312) â€Å"H01: There are no significant differences in the value of accounting figures and financial ratios determined under local GAAP and IFRS† H01 is rejected (not true) in both Spanish and British companies because: After IFRS adoption, Spanish firms showing (p308):Increases in fixed and total assets, long-term liabilities, short-term liabilities and indebtedness. Decreases in current assets, current ratio and solvency After IFRS adoption, UK firms showing (p309): Increases in fixed and total assets, long-term liabilities, short-term liabilities, operating income, net income, indebtedness and return on equity. Decreases in current assets, equity and solvency H02: There are no significant differences in the relative impact of IFRS on the value of accounting figures and financial ratios in the UK and Spain† H02 is rejected (not true) in both Spanish and British companies because: â€Å"the relative impact of IFRS has been statistically different in Spain and the UK on fixed assets, current assets, long-term and short-term liabilities, operating and net income, solvency, indebtedness, return on assets and return on equity (Table 8, p309) H03: There are no significant differences in the book values (per local GAAP and IFRS) and market value of firms† H03 is rejected (not true) in both Spanish and British companies because â€Å"the market value of firms is statistically different from the book value calculated with both local standards and IFRS† (Table 11, p311). H04: There are no significant differences in the Gap(spainlocal), Gap(uklocal) and Gap(spainifrs), Gap(ukifrs) H04 is rejected (not true) in both Spanish and British companies because there are â€Å"significant differences between accounting and market values†¦ these results are the same both in Spain and U K, as well as they apply local or international standards†¦the market value is significantly higher than the book value in all cases† (p312)

Effects of H-1B Visa Program on Employment and Wage in the United States Essay

The United States is the most powerful country in the world. Its dominant culture, military, and economy make it the most influential nation across the globe. The power of the US doesn’t only come from its native citizens but also from the foreigners who come to its shores every day to work and live there. These people play a very significant role in driving the US economy. A number of national programs have been developed in order to influence the influx of these people into the US. One of those programs is called the H-1B visa program. The program, which allows foreigners to work in the US, has critical effects on various sectors of American society, but especially the economy. Based on the data that have been so far collected, it is clear that the H-1B visa program, in terms of employment in the technology sector, is important in maintaining the status of the country as a leader in science and technology. However, the H-1B visa program may also have negative effects on the wage of native citizens because they would have to compete with the low wages of foreign workers. Many companies in the US needed temporary workers, so the H1 category of non-immigrants was created under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Unlike immigrants, non-immigrants only stay in the US temporarily to accomplish a specific purpose, for instance, education or work. The current H1-B visa program of the United States was created through the Immigration Act of 1990 and the amendment of the 1952 act. The result of the amendment was a program that allows an employer to temporarily hire a foreigner to work in the US provided that he’s under the category of non-immigrants. Also, the worker must have a specialty occupation or be a fashion model with exceptional ability and merit. The law describes a â€Å"specialty occupation† as something that requires theoretical and practical application of a specialized body of knowledge. The worker must also have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in specialties such as business, biotechnology, education, health care, medicine, and sciences. The H1-B program currently limits the number of foreign nonimmigrant workers in the US to 65,000 per year (Bartik et al. 134). H-1B’s cap has not always remained the same, however. Congress increased it to 115,000 in 1998 for fiscal years 1999 and 2000. Then in 2000, Congress increased it even further to 195,000 for the 2001 fiscal year. It was maintained during 2002 and 2003, and was slashed to 65,000 again from 2004 onward. Not all foreign workers are affected by the cap, however. The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 states that foreign workers employed by institutions of government research organizations, institutions of higher education and NGOs are exempt from the cap. Also, a separate cap of 20,000 exists on petitions that are filed on behalf of foreigners with master’s or higher degrees earned in the US (Bartik et al. 135). Recently, lobbyists composed of universities and members of the technology industry are pushing for a huge increase in the annual cap of H-1B visas. They argue that H-1B visas otherwise known as â€Å"guest worker visas† serve a crucial role in driving the economy, especially in the high technology sector. According to them, there is a systemic shortage of American engineers and scientists in the country. There is a very high demand domestically for these highly skilled workers and the small supply cannot fill that gap. The only way to solve this problem therefore is through the import of foreign workers through the H-1B visa program (Hira et al. 150). These lobbyists argue that they will be forced to resort to outsourcing jobs to foreign engineers and scientists in their home countries if the H-1B cap is not increased. They also claim that the visa program actually serves as a tool for the country to gather the best and the brightest highly skilled workers in the world. This is supposedly a result that is to be expected if the cap on the H-1B visa program is increased (Hira et al. 150). There are many evidences for the advantages brought about by hiring foreign workers in the technology sector. For example, a 2008 study by the National Research Council looked at the effects of hiring H-1B workers by large US companies Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Motorola/Freescale, Intel, and IBM. Of the five companies, IBM employed the most number of H-1B workers, granting almost 4,000 in five years. Most applications in the company stated a range of earnings of about $82,072. This was considerably bigger than the other four companies’ average minimum earnings. The researchers thought that the applications were for jobs that were not chip-related since IBM had become a software company from a hardware company (National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering 152). It is clear from the example above that foreign workers in the technology sector do indeed get attracted to the United States through H-1B visas. IBM was hiring more foreign workers than anybody else in the group, and these people were earning higher. However, there are still many â€Å"experts† that love to criticize the H-1B visa program. John McCain and Edward Kennedy defended the H-1B visa program in 2006. The two senators supported the immigration bill that passed the Senate and insisted that their bill required employers to search for workers in the US first. However, their bill actually didn’t have any of these provisions (Hira et al. 152). Indeed, it’s a common misconception that the current law instructs US companies to look for workers in the US first. Many government officials also have this incorrect belief. Senator Norman Coleman, for example, says that he supports the issuance of H-1B visas as long as a number of conditions are met. One, the employer must show that there is not enough US workers qualified for the position; two, that the employer has not laid off a US worker 90 days before or after hiring a foreign worker; three, the employer must demonstrate that they tried to hire US workers before foreign workers; and finally, that the recruitment of H-1B workers will not have adverse effects on the waves, working conditions, and job opportunities of US workers. Even then Senator Barack Obama thinks that the H-1B policy aims to exhaust all means of recruiting US workers before foreign workers. He believed that hiring H1-B workers should be a last recourse for American employers (Hira et al. 152). The truth is however, that the provisions mentioned by the two people above actually don’t exist for the majority of employers who use the H-1B visa program. Even Obama’s wish that employers should hire foreign workers as a last option is not practiced in the real world (Hira et al. 152). Also, according to market indicators, there is not enough evidence of a systemic shortage of resident engineers and scientists in the US, one of the main arguments of lobbyists for the increase in H-1B cap. Also, earnings and wage growth have been moderate and more or less the same as other professions. The unemployment rate, while it sharply increased during the dot-com bubble, has now fallen. Researchers have also supported the idea that there is little evidence of shortage in high technology jobs. Private surveys and public data are also conflicting when it comes to determining shortages. Trade surveys show there are indeed shortages, but public data indicate the opposite (Bartik et al. 137). Determining shortages in scientists and engineers is a real problem because any increase in the number of H-1B visas issued by employers alone is not indicative of a systemic shortage. Other factors contribute to perceived shortages, for example, the growing significance of foreign students in American institutions. These are foreign students who remain in the United States after they graduate to convert their student visa to a working visa. Other equally important factors include: economic growth, cyclical demand in IT industries, especially during the 1990s, and even backlogs in the application process for permanent visa. Employers today are constantly hiring H-1B workers, but that is clearly not enough reason to increase the cap on H-1B visas. Aside from the effects it will have on the wages and earnings of American workers, the increased cap will create some problems in the permanent residency part of immigration because there are already backlogs there (Bartik et al. 137). The influx of H-1B workers into the United States has been going on vigorously since the 1990s. During that time, about 30 million people were able to stay in America through nonimmigrant admissions. The fastest growing nonimmigrant admissions fall under categories where a foreigner first applies as a temporary foreign worker or student. He then tries to find a US sponsor to able to obtain the immigrant visa. Between 1992 and 1998, the number of foreign students admitted into the country with F1 visas rose from 53% to 565,00. The number of trainers and temporary workers also increased from 128% to 372,000 during that period of time (OECD 35).