American Dream Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Dream - Coursework Example This is living a life short of imposed constraints from class, race, caste or ethnicity (Miller, 2010). The play’s protagonist, Willie Loman, would define the American Dream from a traditional perspective from referring to his childhood after observing the failures of his father. Willie Loman would describe the American dream as an understanding that it predicated upon continual acquisition and wealth of money is doomed as failure. He believed that money was incapable of availing happiness to individuals. On the contrary, Willie’s sons would define the American Dream as a self set path to success that does not necessarily depend on past failures. Willie seems to instill the values of continuity from the past occurrences and at the same time positively emphasizing the need for hard work. What Willie failed in is advising his sons to start with big success rather than telling them to start from something small and grow it into an empire (Miller, 2010). The dramatist Miller could be referring the American dream and values as an ability to prosper from mere charisma. He believes that personality, not innovation and hard work are the key to success. In reaction to the play I believe that the dramatist wanted to show that one is open to choose the path that will lead them to their version of American dream. In reference to the act, â€Å"WILLY: Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff—he’s not lazy (Miller, 2010)." Miller attempts to discourage laziness. He is also in reference with the character’s past by saying, â€Å"Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up. When he walked down the street†¦( Miller,

The high cost of a breast cancer drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The high cost of a breast cancer drug - Essay Example (3). Evidence from studies show that the essential benefit derived from Tykerb is that it doubles the time required for the progression of the disease. What this means is that women pay a high price for delaying the progress of the disease by a few months, with no hope of a cure. (4). This high cost of drug therapy for women with breast cancer repeats itself as we examine another recent drug introduction for the treatment of breast cancer. The drug Avastin has been in use in the treatment of some other forms of cancer, and has recently received FDA approval for its use in the treatment of breast cancer. Through this approval it is estimated that its use would increase involving about 43,000 women found suitable for its use. These women are however going to pay a high cost for this treatment. The annual cost involved in the use of Avastin would be to the tune of $ 92,000. Women with an annual family income would have to pay $ 55,000 for the Avastin drug regimen for a year. The pharmaceutical company involved Genentech makes the oft repeated claim in support of high cost of drugs and that is the recovery of investment in research for the drug. If drug treatment of breast cancer is to be so expensive, then many women are going to be denied the benefits of drug development for the treatment of breast cancer. (5). The use of Avastin in the treatment of breast cancer virtually means an escalation in cost by as much as four times the other adjuvant drug treatments. This is an example of the enhanced costs of the newer drugs that are coming into the market for the treatment of breast cancer. Limited finances available for spending on the treatment of breast cancer in women, which means that with the high costs of drugs in the treatment of breast cancer many women are going to be denied the benefits of drug therapy in the treatment of cancer. Patients denied the treatment will simply have to be told they cannot be given the better drugs, useful in

Foreign Direct Investment in (FDI) China by opening a second filter Assignment

Foreign Direct Investment in (FDI) China by opening a second filter factory in China - Assignment Example Both north and south parts are within the eastern-monsoon area that is separated by Qin Mountains-Huai River with nearly 95% of people in the country living in the region. The country’s geographic location and its natural environment have significantly influenced and shaped civilization in the country (Travel China guide, 2013). Economic Situation in China China is a nation with huge attraction factor for companies from all over the world interested by either its cost efficient production environment or even the huge market potential of more than 1.3 billion citizens (Hecker, 2012). China’s economy rose spectacularly since the onset of its reform in 1978 growing at an average rate of 9.9% for more than three decades and was not affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and recently in the global crisis of 2008 the nations remained largely unaffected, even though the crisis left many nations grieving and many having negative growth. However, China’s economic gro wth of 2009 remained 9% and increased to 10% in 2010 after government injection of massive stimulus package; therefore, China economy quickly bounced back in high growth and was at the forefront in global economic recovery. Before, the global financial crisis, china had transformed itself into a leading contributor of world economic growth since the nation’s contribution to world GDP growth rose from 4.6% in2003 to 14.5% in 2009. In 2010, China replaced Japan to become the world’s second largest economy with a GDP of US$7.4trillion in 2011, which was about half of US’s level, US$15 trillion. China’s purchasing power parity has for a long time been the world’s number two after USA and in 2011 china’s PPP was 70% that of US. For many years, china remained and remains to be the world’s largest exporting country with 2011 exports amounting to US$1.9 trillion that took 11% of world market share. In post-crisis world, China has managed to d istinguish herself by holding the world’s largest reserves worth US$3.1 trillion and remains to be the only large economy not burdened by domestic and external debts. To get the right sense of Chinese economic production scale and the fact that the nation remains to be the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, it is worth looking at the output levels of China’s core industrial products. For instance in 2011, China was number one in the world in production of coal, steel, cement, automobile, TV and refrigerators among others (Wong, 2013). China’s economy is expected to prolong its high growth in short-term while at the same time rebalancing and restructuring and since China’s economy has already developed a wide base, further growth will produce its dynamics of sped compounded by scale. Owing to its sheer size, Chinese level of domestic production and consumption as well as its imports and exports will continue to have significant regional as well as in ternational ramifications. Based on the massive industrializations reflected in mega output volumes, china has become global top consumer of various natural resources and essential commodities from steel, aluminium, oil and gas. Rising demand of such products in China has driven the prices of those products up, hence

Historical Theology Essay Example for Free

Historical Theology Essay I. Introduction: As I said in my first Reflection Paper, my knowledge and exposure to Christianity has been somewhat limited. Throughout my life I have been a person who wanted to know â€Å"Why† and have factual proof to support my thoughts and ideas. I have chosen Historical Theology and Fulfilled Prophecy as my two topics. By reading about Historical Theology I am developing a better understanding of some of the essential points of Christian Doctrine. Fulfilled Prophesies provide definitive proof to give my beliefs in Christianity and the Bible a solid foundation. I plan on using both to develop as a knowledgeable and responsible Christian. Since my knowledge of these two topics is in its infancy and I must always keep in mind to crawl before walking and walk before running. II. Part One: Historical Theology a. Historical Theology is described as the study of the development and history of Christian doctrine. While closely related to Historical Theology, Church History should remain separate from Historical Theology. Historical Theology records changes in doctrine that led to divisions and movements within church and Church History is the record of the divisions and movements. b. Luke gives us the Biblical Foundation for Theological History. He began by recording his account of â€Å"all that Jesus began to do and to teach† (Acts 1:1). The book of Acts is the account of what Jesus continued to do and teach through his church. Acts 28:30-31 conclude with, â€Å"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!† c. While not one of my deepest thoughts, I’ve often wondered why there were so many different churches all claiming to be the one true path to the end goal of heaven. As I progress in my readings of Church History, I am awed by the impact relatively small revisions in doctrine have upon Church History and Historical Theology. A change in wording or different interpretation of a word, phrase or paragraph resulted in â€Å"A new and improved version.† I welcome and value the benefits of the church community, but since becoming a â€Å"Christian† the desire to belong to the right church doesn’t have the same strength as my desire need for salvation. III. Part Two: Fulfilled Prophecy a. The Bible is the Word of God and provides our path to salvation. Fulfilled prophecy provides positive and unerring proof of the validity and accuracy of the Bible. However, while I believe this, there are those who don’t. They use false arguments such as, man wrote the bible and since man is fallible how can the Bible be the Word of God? I have found references that agree there are about 2,500 prophecies of which nearly 2,000 have been fulfilled. That’s 2,000 prophecies fulfilled without error. Man can never achieve a perfect completion rate. A perfect completion rate is God’s territory. The prophecies that remain unfulfilled occur in the future. b. There are two examples of Biblical Foundation that apply to Fulfilled prophecy I’d like to use. First, Moses in Deuteronomy 18:21-22 sets the test for a true prophet. A true prophet’s predictions are 100 percent accurate. No errors. Second, in 700 B.C. Micah predicted the birthplace of the Messiah. (M icah 5:2). That’s an astounding feat. Of all the births that occurred in all the known cities, towns and lands in 700 years it is simply astounding that he predicted Bethlehem as Christ’s birthplace. c. Fulfilled Prophecy has been helpful to my Christian education and growth. People with greater Biblical knowledge and understanding than me have said the Bible is error free. I use internet the to find information about Biblical prophecies and am interested and intrigued by what I find. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious sects all may have written or oral guidance. None of them have, nor will they ever have, the fulfilled prophecies and promise of the Bible. Satan and his helpers have made prophecies. Unlike those in the bible, they are not detailed, but filled with generalities, may fit several situations and never 100 percent correct. Satan’s prophecies exclude a call for repentance, one of the key components in our path to salvation. IV. Conclusion: Inexperience and unfamiliarity with the Bible makes me avoid participating in discussions with the more skilled or better Biblically educated. Rather than participate verbally, I actively listen to identify points/events that I’m unfamiliar with or don’t understand. I research these points/events in order to try and better understand them. Studying Historical Theology helps me understand the history behind the doctrine. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and provides our path to salvation. A Biblical prophecy must contain evidence of divine inspiration. That is the prophecy must contain information the prophet could not have known or been aware of under normal circumstances in effect at the time of the prophecy. Fulfilled Prophecy is an essential element in the argument that the Bible is the Word of God. For me I believe God breathed the Word. That is it. No debate and no argument.

Political Policies Between The United States and The Soviet Union During the 1970s :: American America History

Political Policies Between The United States and The Soviet Union During the 1970s One can not effectively interpret world political policies of the 1970's without the inclusion of the relationship known as dà ©tente, and the breakdown there of. The breakdown of the 1970's dà ©tente can be attributed to many different issues and events. In researching these events the varying opinions from both world superpowers which would establish the failure of dà ©tente in history, as a breakdown in communication and talks between the United State's White House and the Soviet Union's Kremlin with the collapse of dà ©tente marking the end of the 1970's. During the 1976 presidential campaign, the tension between the objective of transformation and the importance of coexistence became crucial. Conservatives criticized dà ©tente for not moderating the Soviets involvement in the Third World transformation to communism. In the United States, many saw accumulative series of Soviet interventions which involved military means; Angola, Ethiopia, Kampuchea, Afghanistan, as a pattern of Soviet expansion, which was not consistent with dà ©tente. Many actually believed that these expansionist moves were encouraged by dà ©tente. Ultimately, the expectations that dà ©tente would achieve more were held by both powers. It was the failure to satisfy these expectations which led to its demise. Kissinger suggested that "dà ©tente, with all its weaknesses, should be judged not against some ideal but against what would have happened in its absence. Dà ©tente did not cause the Soviet arms build-up, nor could it have stopped it. However, it may have slowed it down or made it more benign" (Garthoff 1994:1123). Perhaps dà ©tente could be viewed, not as a method of preventing or deterring tension which might lead to war, but as a way of postponing their effect until the United States could more effectively deal with them. By 1976, dà ©tente was a controversial term with both left and right hands of the disagreement criticizing its development. With the Administration of Jimmy Carter, a campaign for restoring confidence in government institutions and reforming American foreign policy was implemented (Froman 1991:74). President Carter appointed Zbigniew Brzezinski as National Security Adviser and Cyrus Vance as Secretary of State. The ongoing differences between Brzezinski and Vance resulted in turmoil for the Carter administration as well as destroyed Carter's efforts to develop a set of boundaries for the principles of dà ©tente. Dà ©tente began to collapse almost as soon as it had begun. Watergate undermined President Richard M.

Salem Telephone Company – Essay

Salem Telephone Company 1. ) Variable and Fixed Costs The variable costs that Salem Data Services incurs with respect to revenue hours are power usage and hourly personnel wages. Power usage is a variable cost because the monthly power expense changes as a result of how much of the computer service is used. The hourly personnel wages are a variable cost as well because hourly workers are required to work when the computer service is operational. The revenue hours change each month and this causes the hourly workers salary to change too.The fixed costs, with respect to revenue hours, are rent and custodial services for the space that is leased by Salem Data Services as well as the computer leases, maintenance, depreciation of the computer equipment and the depreciation of the office equipment and fixtures. Other fixed costs include the salaried staff in charge of operations, the salaried staff that are in charge of the systems development and maintenance, the administration staff and the sales staff, which are also salaried. These are all fixed costs because they stay the same each month and are not affected by the change in revenue hours each month.The last two fixed costs are sales promotion and corporate services. Sales promotion is considered a fixed cost because the expense is not related to the current level of work. This cost was determined by the managers’ estimation of how much they needed to spend in order to acquire new clients. Corporate services are also considered a fixed cost because they not related to the level of work or monthly revenue hours that are generated. Exhibit 1A on the attached worksheet shows the variable and fixed cost breakdown for each month. 2. ) Cost Per Revenue HourFor the power variable cost, the cost per revenue hour is found by taking the power expense for each month and dividing it by the total revenue hours for each month. For January, the power expense is $1,546 and the total revenue hours are 329. The cost per re venue hour is $4. 70 ($1,546/329). For February, the power expense is $1,485 and the total revenue hours are 316. The cost per revenue is $4. 70 as well ($1,485/316). For March, the power expense is $1,697 and the total revenue hours are 361. Cost per revenue is again $4. 70 ($1,697/361).For the hourly personnel, the steps taken above are used to compute the cost per revenue. For January, the hourly personnel wages are $7,896 and the total revenue hours are 329. The cost per revenue hour is $24 ($7,896/329). In February, the hourly personnel wages are $7,584 and total revenue hours are 316. The cost per revenue hour is again $24 ($7,584/316). Finally in March, the hourly personnel wages are $8,664 and the total revenue hours are 361. The cost per revenue hour comes out to be $24 ($8,664/361). The total cost per revenue hour for each is $28. 0 and this is computed by adding the cost per revenue hour for the power expense and the hourly personnel together. These calculations can be fo und in Exhibit 2A on the attached worksheet. 3. ) Contribution Margin Income Statement Exhibit 3A on the attached worksheet shows the contribution margin income statement for Salem Data Services when Salem Telephone usage is 205 hours and the commercial usage is at the March level of 138 hours. The total sales are $192,400 of which $82,000 belongs to sales made from Salem Telephone at a $400 sales price and $110,400 of this belongs to commercial usage at a sales price of $800.The total variable costs are $9,844. 10. This was found by taking the total cost per revenue hour of $28. 70 and multiplying it by the total revenue hours, which were 343 (205+138). The contribution margin is $182,555. 90. This was determined by taking the total sales of $192,400 and subtracting out the variable costs of $9,844. 10. To get the net income, the total fixed costs of $212,939 are subtracted from the contribution margin, which produces a loss of ($30,383. 10). 4. ) Breakeven Point In order for Salem Data Services to breakeven each month, they will need to produce roughly 178 hours.Exhibit 4A on the attached worksheet shows the equation and calculation for the breakeven point. The equation for breakeven point is total sales equals total cost (variable and fixed). The total sales for Salem Data Services was the intracompany sales of $82,000 (205 hours X $800) plus the commercial sales of $800(X). The (X) represents the amount of unknown commercial hours that we are trying to find. The total costs are the cost per revenue hour of $28. 70 multiplied by both the 205 intracompany hours and the unknown commercial hours (X) plus the fixed costs of $212,939.The breakeven point is 40 more hours than Salem Data Services sold in March. Overall, from January to March, the amount of commercial hours sold has increased, but in small increments. Salem Data could reach this breakeven point in a future month if their hours continue to increase, but they will be susceptible to an increase in the ir variable costs and an increase in a couple of their fixed costs, such as sales promotion and corporate services. 5. ) Income Effect Estimation In option 1, Flores has suggested that Wu increase the price to commercial customers from $800 to $1,000.He projects that this will decrease demand by 30%. If this were to occur, the net income would be a loss of ($42,995). Exhibit 5A on the attached worksheet illustrates how this number was determined. Total sales were $178,600, variable costs were $8,656, and fixed costs were $212,939. When the variable fixed costs were subtracted from the total sales, this produced the loss mentioned above. Option 1 would not be a viable option for Salem Data Services because it still produces a negative net income.In option 2, Flores suggested that Wu decrease the price to $600 for commercial customers. Making this change is projected to increase demand by 30%. In this projection, net income will still be a loss of ($34,331). Exhibit 5B illustrates how this number was determined. Total Sales were $189,640, variable costs were $11,032, and fixed costs were $212,939. After the variable and fixed costs were subtracted from the total sales, the effect was a loss. Option 2 would also not be a viable option for Salem Data Services because again it still produces a negative net income.In option 3, Flores has suggested to Wu that increased promotion would increase revenue by 30%, but Wu is not sure how much promotion would be needed. To find how much promotion would be needed, we calculated the effect of the 30% increase. The price in this option remained at $800 for commercial customers. Exhibit 5C illustrates this. The total sales were $225,520, variable costs remained the same as in option 2 of $11,032, and fixed costs were still $212,939. When the variable and fixed costs were subtracted from the total sales, this produced a positive net income of $1,549.Wu should increase the sales promotion expense by this amount to generate positi ve income. This, however, is contingent upon the demand increasing by 30%. 6. ) Based on my analysis, Salem Data Services is a problem to Salem Telephone Company right now because even with a price increase or a demand increase, the company will still produce a loss. If Flores were to close down Salem Data Services, he would save Salem Telephone Company the following costs: Rent| $8,000| Maintenance| $5,400| Power| $1,697| Operations: Salaried Staff| $21,600| Operations: Hourly Personnel| $8,664|Systems Development and Maintenance| $12,000| Administration| $9,000| Sales| $11,200| Sales Promotion| $8,083| Total| $85,644| The custodial services and the expenses for the equipment and depreciation are not included in this list because the custodial services were based on an estimated annual cost per square foot and will still have to be paid for the remaining months of the year. The leases for are noncancelable and will still have to be paid until the lease period is up. The depreciatio n will also still occur while Salem Telephone has the equipment in their possession.Moreover, I did not include the corporate services in this list because I assume that Salem Telephone will still have to collect some accounts receivable and will still try to collect on past-due accounts, even after Salem Data Services is closed. Furthermore, if Flores decides to shut down Salem Data Services, he will have to outsource his computer services to another company and pay the market price of $800 instead of $400, which is currently being paid to Salem Data Services. If Salem Telephone were to use the 205 hours as estimated previously, then the company would have to pay $164,000 (205 hours X $800) monthly to another ompany. This means that Salem Telephone would end up paying $78,356 ($164,000-$85,644) more to another company rather than keeping Salem Data Services in business. My recommendation to Flores would be to keep Salem Data Services open. I believe as Wu does that given time, the company will start to generate a profit. In the meantime, Flores should have Wu keep the price of commercial usage at $800, but try to increase demand by 30% to at least breakeven each month. Once this occurs, then Wu should increase sales promotion to try to obtain more customers and increase commercial usage.

Memories of My College Life Essay

When I was younger and someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up it was always the same response, a Nurse. In fifth grade I broke my wrist on Thanksgiving Day. I was jumping on the bed and got pushed off and of course I had to immediately go to the hospital. Once we got there the Nurses were super nice and took care of me the whole time. Since that moment, I have just wanted to have the same effect on other people as they did for me. Also I want to be the first to graduate from college in my family. I want to show my family that I will succeed in life just like they want me to. My family wants to me to get a good job and not have to worry about money so much unlike they have. My parents showed me how important it is to continue schooling. They live paycheck to paycheck and I know what it feels like to not be the kid with more money. I don’t want to have to live like that or have my future family have to live like that. I want to show everyone that I can do it and make a difference in people’s lives. College will help me become a Nurse and do what I have always wanted to. I want to be able to be a travel Nurse and help people in poorer areas that can’t travel to hospitals and help them get better and know that they have a chance to live again. I have always wanted to make a difference and fortunately JJC will help me do that. Right now especially it is important to get a degree in something because our economy is not the best and you need a lot of schooling to go far. That’s why I am here at JJC to better my life and other people’s life too.